Eren woke up alone. The fluorescent lights blinded him at first, but his eyes soon adjusted to the brightness. His room was white and bare, the only furniture being the bed he was strapped to and a metal table. Both were bolted to the floor. An IV was attached to his hand, and he could hear the faint beeping of machines. A mirror ran the length of one of the walls; cameras hung from the ceiling in all four corners of the room. He was unable to sit up due to his restraints, so he decided to take care of those first.

After trying to loosen the straps around his wrists and ankles, Eren groaned. All he had managed to do was kick his only blanket onto the floor. His hand burned where he'd hit the IV, and he was thankful when the pain returned to a dull throb. He shivered, realizing just how cold the room was. Without the blanket, his only protection was the thin hospital gown he'd woken up in.

As tired as he was after his struggle, the thought of being watched agitated him and made it impossible for him to sleep. Unease was a knot in his stomach. He had no idea where he was or how long he'd been there. The yellow bruises around the IV suggested he'd been there at least a few days, but that was only a guess.

The last thing he remembered was becoming lost in the crowd looking for his sister and best friend. He recalled the panic; people abandoned each other in an attempt to save themselves and their families. Something had happened to the wall, something bad. It was on the edge of his mind, but he couldn't recall what exactly had happened.

Loneliness hit him suddenly and hard. Where are Armin and Mikasa? He closed his eyes and let himself drift into his thoughts.

There was a loud rap on the door, and Eren jumped in surprise. He had gotten used to the noises of the room, the beeps of the machines steady with his breathing. Sighing, but somewhat excited at the change, he turned his head to watch the man walk into his room. He was short and pretty, but his eyes were hard, and Eren could feel the contempt rolling off of him in waves. He wore green scrubs and a white lab coat. Both articles of clothing had a crest of wings on them.

His head hit his pillow with a plop as he returned to staring at the ceiling. The symbol was familiar, but he couldn't quite grasp from where. Thinking only confused him further, so he listened to the man instead. It didn't take long for him to finish whatever he was doing. The man worked quickly, and without one look at Eren, headed back towards the door.

Eren had remained quiet until that point. It was unlikely that the people behind the cameras would respond anyway. Something about the strange man, however, gave him hope. Eren opened his mouth to speak, to ask all of the questions that had been swirling in his head, when he was abruptly cut off.

"Don't talk, brat, or I'll sew that pretty little mouth of yours shut."

The man glared at him over his shoulder before turning around to slam the door and walk away.

Levi laughed despite himself as he exited the door. The look on the brat's face had been priceless. His eyes had been wide and blinking, his lips parted slightly. Smiling to himself, he looked down at the chart in his hands.

The brat, Eren Jaeger, had arrived almost a week ago, unconscious with a fever. He'd been found in the street by someone in the Recon Corps after the breach in wall Rose. The disease had spread quickly through the citizens and those not fast or rich enough to move deeper within the walls to receive the medicine had died.

Even though his blood had tested positive, he still remained alive. Sure, he'd been unconscious for at least a week, maybe even longer, but he was alive. That in itself was a miracle- one that his team would and was taking full advantage of.

The disease worked fast and spread quickly, and that, coupled with the fact that scientists had yet to determine a cause, kept the people in a panic. Medicine had been created, but it was in extremely short supply.

Levi frowned. The other patients he'd seen who had survived to stage three were different. Levi's team had found that's those infected had an enlarged amygdala-which caused cases of extreme aggression and emotional instability- and the loss of higher thinking. The brat had been calm, and from what he could see, rational.

Making his way down the hall, Levi found that his mind kept wandering back to the brat. Eren's eyes were a beautiful shade of turquoise, but they were dull and, well, lifeless. It annoyed Levi; he imagined them shining with emotion. Rage, lust, sorrow: anything would do.

The amount of tranquilizers pumping though his veins was no doubt at fault, and Levi was determined to have them reduced. He had a feeling the brat had a temper under normal circumstances, and though it irritated him, he longed to see that spark. He could deal with the repercussions later.

Years working in the quarantined zones under Trost had made him bored. His need for cleanliness and order had made him perfect for the job, but its monotony had not been his first choice. Erwin had all but forced him into the position.

Despite his general complaints, it was still far better than his other options. As one of the 'Wings of Freedom', he didn't need to worry about food or shelter or contracting the disease. While not easy, his life could've been a lot worse.

It had been over a week since the man had come into Eren's room. His days had blurred together. He slipped into and out of consciousness frequently. Eren didn't dream, and his time awake was riddled with hallucinations. People came and went, but much to Eren's disappointment he never saw the man's face among them. Eventually he stopped looking.

While his IV hadn't been taken out, he didn't feel as dead as when he'd first woken up. He found himself becoming riled up at the smallest details. He'd learned shortly, however, to not show it. After he'd lashed out at a nurse, he noticed a return of the numbness, and he then knew for certain he'd been given tranquillizers.

Exactly three weeks after he first woke up, the man came back.

Levi's face was blank as he stepped into the brat's room for the second time. The only sign of emotion was the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, but Eren was in no position to see it.

'That will change today', he thought smugly to himself.

It had taken three weeks, but Erwin had finally given in to Levi's request for the removal of Eren's restraints. Levi personally wanted to be there when they were removed. The brat's dose of tranquilizers had been almost halved since the time he'd woken up, and the older man couldn't wait to see the boy's face when he received the news.

Eren's eyes were closed when he strode over to his side, clipboard in hand. Levi looked down at him and in one fluid motion, swung the board. It made a loud crack when it connected with the brat's forehead; the nurse that had followed Levi inside the room visibly flinched. Eren, not expecting the pain, gasped as his eyes shot open. Much to Levi's delight, the boys growled and squirmed under his restraints, desperate to get free.

"Oi! Wakey, wakey, brat. I've got some news you might want to hear."

The boy snarled, his voice raw from disuse, "What the fuck! Who the hell are you?"

Laughing softly, Levi smiled sweetly and leaned over the boy to whisper into his ear.

"You can call me Corporal."

A/N:

Uh, hi there! First of all, thanks for reading. : This is my first fanfiction ever. I really hope I don't disappoint. The chapters start out a bit short (quite short, actually), but I'm hoping that they'll get longer when I wrap my head around where the plot is going. I also kinda tend to get writer's block when I go for longer chapters. OTL Anyways... You can me reach at:

.com (I tend to be on there more.)br / .combr / or you can just comment here :D

Also, you should go check out /users/foreverautumn/pseuds/foreverautumn, if you haven't already. Half Light is what finally pushed me to try writing. There are so many amazing people apart of this fandom. ^_^