Eren's breath hitched. Just then, his life had been flashing before his eyes, from the earliest toddle on the dry, hard wood of his childhood home to what he'd had for breakfast that morning. If he hadn't been too dazzled and astounded at the moment, he would have been relieved that that slop might not end up being his last meal after all.
Hypnotized, he watched as his savior tumbled through the air in a vortex of blood and fury, eyes shining like bullets. With his blade turned wrong side up in one hand, he danced from titan to titan in a deadly pirouette, almost too fast for the eye to follow. The technique, Eren noted with awe, was nearly identical to that of the Captain. Yet how could that be? How many frighteningly powerful combatants had called that method unique and otherwise impossible to master? His eyes followed with wonder as this impossible stranger changed course as smoothly as one might take a breath and sailed to a skidding halt before him.
The boy, whose friendly features belied his terrible strength, was surprisingly small and Eren wondered how such a tiny frame could move with such alarming force. Eren looked up into the eyes of his rescuer. Steely gray gazed back and, despite his frame, with those eyes and that technique, almost anyone would have been a little intimidated. But Eren somehow detected a warm glow in all that cold metal as deft hands sheathed steaming blades in one fluid motion.
He bent over with a smile, offering a dainty hand out to Eren, who found himself exhaling loudly. When had he stopped breathing? Gasping for air, he gazed at the offered hand suspiciously. He noted the long scar across the palm, right over where the life line would have been. Eventually, he dared to take it, and the deceptively petite titan-slayer hoisted him to his feet.
"Wh-who are you?" Eren asked, still dazed and impressed.
Gradually, he came to his senses and began to observe the civilian clothes clashing curiously with a tattered green Survey Corps cloak. Who was this person indeed?
The boy's smile faltered and he hesitated to answer. Eventually, he cleared his throat. "Currer—Currer Bell. And you?"
Eren caught himself gawping stupidly for a moment before sputtering out "E-Eren Jaeger!"
Currer gave him a small, accommodating smile. "Alright, Eren. Is your equipment functional?"
Was it? Eren looked down at his handles in wonderment, and pulled the triggers experimentally. Nothing. He swallowed hard.
Currer put his hand on Eren's shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry. I've lugged deader weight through worse situations. Do you know where the rest of your squad is?"
Eren bit his lip. Was it really wise to lead this stranger to the others? How could he know if this Currer Bell was really an ally? Even if he wore the wings of freedom, even if he risked his life to save Eren's hide, could Eren really trust him? What was this guy even doing way out here in titan territory by himself? How did he get there?
The young scout stepped back uneasily. Currer seemed to detect his apprehension and sighed. Then, to Eren's astonishment, the mysterious boy straightened up, put his feet together, and pressed his fist against his heart in salute, gazing at Eren courageously.
"I may not look it, but I once swore an oath to protect humanity at any cost. I can't offer you anything but my word. You can trust me."
Taken aback, Eren looked him over once more with caution. Could he trust this stranger? Something in his gentle, steady gaze told Eren that he could. He nodded.
Currer smiled and, without dawdling for formalities, hooked his arm around Eren's waist and snaked their legs together, permitting Eren to use the top of his shoe as a foothold. Without ceremony, they catapulted into the treetops and Eren let out an involuntary yelp at the incredible speed and agility that could be commanded even under the burden of Eren's own heavier body. They whipped around trunks and betwixt branches at breakneck velocity, soaring and diving at a pace that left even Eren feeling a bit dizzy.
"Aren't you using up a lot of gas!?" Eren cried in alarm.
"No," Currer called back, his bell-like voice almost lost in the wind around him. "I'm using up a lot of a much more renewable resource—Newtonian physics!"
Eren frowned skeptically, and also because bugs were splattering on his face, but quietly admitted to himself that he had no choice but to believe that this stranger knew what he was doing. He pointed in the direction his squad had gone, hoping he was making the right decision.
It wasn't long before they began to come across the signs of humanity in the woods. Anchor holes, split bark, snapped branches, horseshoe tracks. From that point on, Eren found his directions feeling more and more like a ceremonial courtesy, for Currer seemed to be reading the clues in the trees much faster than his own memory could serve him.
"We're close!" Currer exclaimed.
"How can you tell?" Eren asked, baffled.
"Because I smell burning oak and—"
Suddenly, Currer came to a hard stop on a sturdy tree branch. Eren marveled that he hadn't gone flying headfirst into the next tree with a stop that abrupt and, steadying the swirling juices in his head, he wondered what could have spooked Currer so suddenly. A titan? No. He peered down through the trees at the little clearing where Petra, Levi, and the others had set up a small camp. The beginnings of a little fire smoked in the center.
Unexpectedly, Currer unwound himself from Eren and stepped away. "This is as far as I go. Good luck, Eren Jaeger."
"W-wait!" Eren, reached out to grab the retreating Currer by the shoulder. "Please, stay—talk to my superior. We could really use your help!"
Currer's face paled. "Sorry, kid, I'm not for hire."
Eren held fast to Currer's shoulder. "You said you swore an oath once. Well, humanity's in big trouble right now, in case you hadn't noticed!"
Currer lifted his hands defensively. "I also broke that oath once, if you couldn't tell! Among others!"
What was the big idea? Eren grimaced in confusion. How could this guy risk his life to save a complete stranger, dropping all those mind-blowing feats of agility and skill, and suddenly balk at taking him another twenty feet? Was he… a deserter?
Currer tried to pull himself loose. Eren held fast, so Currer tried to twist away. Soon, they were in a full-blown scuffle, teetering dangerously on the wobbly branch.
"Damn it, let go of me, you shit-eating brat!"
Eren let out a glurk as Currer's elbow collided with his solar plexus, too worried about wrestling him down to think much about the pain or how much 'shit-eating brat' sounded like the kind of insult he might expect from Captain Levi. The similarities were a curiosity indeed.
Then, both of them halted their scuffle in frightened silence when the branch began to crackle beneath them. Without much further prelude, it snapped and they both let out long girlish shrieks as they scrambled to detach from each other and grab another branch. At the last instant, Currer managed to shoot an anchor into another tree, snatching Eren out of his fall mere inches from the ground. At the end of the slow arc of their long line, the two tumbled over each other, right into the clearing where Eren's squad gaped at them in dumbfounded silence.
As Eren slowly rose to his feet with a groan, Currer sprung up alertly, whipping his head around like a cornered animal.
"Oh no you don't!" Eren exclaimed, quickly pulling the wily boy into a headlock. Currer began to kick his shins ruthlessly and Eren's grunts rose in pitch with each strike.
"Let-go-you-un-grateful-punk-ass-turd!" Currer barked, pontificating each word with a kick.
"Currer?"
Suddenly, Currer froze. Eren quirked his brow. He turned to look at Levi questioningly. The Captain knew this person? As Levi strode over, seeming tenser than usual, Eren broke his hold and backed up. The Captain halted right before the stranger, mouth hanging open in—could it be?—shock? Currer kept his eyes fixed on the ground.
"Currer, look at me," Levi said commandingly. But Currer was adamant. Eren watched as the boy's hands shook, how he shifted his weight cautiously, prepared to break into a run at any moment.
But Levi was not prepared to tolerate defiance. He grabbed Currer roughly by the chin and jerked the boy's head up to face him. Then, his breath seemed to catch in his throat. For a second, it was like he was lost in that warm glow hidden beneath the steel in Currer's eyes. Slowly, Levi's breath returned to him and his hold on Currer's face softened into a… caress?
Eren tilted his head uncomfortably. Then, a shockwave of disbelief rocked through him as Levi crashed his lips down onto Currer's, pulling the boy into an intimate embrace. Eren's jaw dangled freely. He looked to his comrades for sympathy, but no one else seemed to be affected by this irregular display. Even Petra seemed to have acquiesced peacefully. Eren rubbed his eyes frantically. But the scene remained the same. The Captain was… gay, apparently? Eren tried to rationalize this. There must have been signs? He did seem to remember the Captain enjoying beating the crap out of him a little too much, but…
Levi pulled away from Currer, whose face had grown red, and wet from tears.
"C-Captain…" Eren squeaked out. "Wh-what's going on? Who is this person?"
Levi sighed and wrapped his arm around Currer's waist, pulling the smaller boy's head to rest on his shoulder and drown out the sobs, as he looked icily at Eren. Didn't the brat know when to shut his trap?
"This," he said, pulling the boy closer still, "is my wife."
Eren's head almost spun three hundred and sixty degrees. Wife? The Captain was married? And Currer was a woman? It was almost too much for Eren's poor little titan heart. He remembered wrestling her in the trees and greatly regretted a number of his grabs. His face reddened. He dragged his hand over his jaw. As he tried to puzzle through the mystery, the rest of the squad drew in.
"Hmph!" Oluo exclaimed. "Still the same clumsy brat, it seems."
"Likin' the new digs," Gunther chuckled, flipping Currer's purple bow ascot into her face.
"Still can't wrestle for acorns, huh, squirrelly?" Eld laughed, slapping her back.
Petra squeezed past Levi and pulled Currer into a hug. "I'm so happy you're okay!"
Eren watched, perplexed beyond the capacity to seek answers. Wasn't Petra notoriously in love with Levi? But he had a wife? And how did Levi's mysterious wife turn up out here in the middle of nowhere, far beyond Wall Rose, slicing titans up like some gory tornado angel? All this and more he wondered as the rest of the team enjoyed their reunion. But, Eren noted with a frown, Currer didn't seem as pleased to see them as they were to see her.
Today's scene: sta . sh/01totuclvmk1
A/N: I decided I've been sitting on this way too long. I know it still needs work and the formatting is kinda sucky, but... Deep breaths... It's time. The first chapter takes place after Trost, but the rest of the story will take place before the attack on Wall Maria. I also had only seen up to season 1 when I first wrote this, so, fair warning, it's not totally canon compliant. Anyway, let me know what you think so far. Do you hate it? Love it? Should I probably have revised it another dozen times before posting my shit writing? (Answer: Yes).