Woooo anutha one!
Disclaimer: I do not own AoT
"God damn, Grey! I don't think I've seen moves like that since Captain!" Gunter exclaimed, rubbing the back of his neck in fascination. He sheathed his 3DMG blades and squatted on the dirt.
Dust settled in the clearing of the training forest as 2 figures landed lightly next to him. Petra grinned at her hooded female counterpart, slapping her back encouragingly. Skye could only offer a sheepish half-smile before sheathing her 3DMG blades and flexing her hands. Her gaze wandered to the shadowed figure of her Captain leaning calmly in the shade of a tree. He was watching her with mild interest before striding over to them.
Eld and Uluo swung above them on their 3DMG gear, releasing the wires as they landed next to Petra and Skye.
"Yeah and you almost cut my head off, Grey." Uluo complained, patting his greying hand self-consciously.
Petra rolled her eyes and retorted, "You were too slow, Skye couldn't wait all day for you to get the nape."
Uluo was about to fire back until Levi butt in, "Did Cadet Grey cut your head off?"
"No.." Uluo muttered under his breath.
"Then you're fine, suck it up, Uluo." Levi said coolly. Uluo's ears turned pink as he rolled his eyes and grumbled away.
Skye remained quiet during the whole exchange, her eyes wandering into the dense greenery of the forest. Her dark eyes turned blank as her mind drifted to another place...
"Oi."
Snapping back to reality, Skye blinked quickly and looked to her Captain who was waving a hand in her face.
"Sorry, sir," Skye said softly, "I got distracted."
Gunter snorted shaking his head, "Beats 4 elites in a game of Slice the Titan Dummy and doesn't say a thing! That's something right there."
Levi regarded his new recruit silently, before saying, "We're done for today. Tomorrow we'll do hand-to-hand combat." Earning a swift groan from his subordinates, except for Skye whose eyes dulled as her mind wandered.
"Walk with me, Brat." Levi said, turning on his heel and heading toward Survey Corps Headquarters, "Give your gear to Petra."
"Meet me for dinner, Skye!" Petra called out as she and the other squad members zoomed away in the trees toward the supply depot to drop off their gear.
The silver-haired woman fell in step with her Captain, shoving her hands in her jacket pocket. The two walked in silence through the forest for quite some time, and Skye enjoyed it. She could hear birds chirping and saw a few butterflies fluttering ahead. She watched as the tree branches swayed ever so slightly in the calm breeze. It was a beautiful day. Just like that one day...
A flash of a memory tore her from the peaceful scene in front of her.
Blood. Teeth. Titans.
"Nghh." Skye grunted, clutching her head. Levi turned quickly to see his subordinate clutch her head in pain.
"Cadet, what's wrong?" He asked, reaching out to steady her.
She slapped his hand away and doubled over, a scream bubbling in her throat. She grit her teeth to manage the noise, letting a gurgling sound erupt from her closed mouth. Skye felt her heart jolt into overdrive.
No no no no no, not here. This can't happen here. She thought.
Suddenly, she felt strong hands slam her into a tree trunk forcing her eyes open. Her hood fell back and her silver plait tumbled over her shoulder. Dizzied, she focused on two matching pairs of smoky eyes looking at her intently. The pain began to dissipate as she concentrated on her Captain's gaze, pulling her out of the nightmare she was about to fall into. His brows were dipped in a deep frown, a flash of concern rippled across his face. Her breathing was ragged as she tried desperately to regain air in her lungs but it felt as though she were breathing through a straw.
"Calm down, Grey." Levi's leveled voice echoed in her ears, "You need to steady your breathing."
Skye grit her teeth and nodded slowly breathing in her nose and out her mouth. After a few moments she nodded her head that she was okay. Levi waited a beat before releasing his grip on her. She slumped to the ground tiredly, rubbing her pale eyes with the heels of her hands. She could see stars bursting behind her eyelids at the ferocity of her rubbing. Her Captain did not move an inch, waiting for her to return to normal. Skye dropped her hands to her sides and leaned her head against the tree trunk, feeling her captain's stare. She felt herself regaining her composure.
Silently, she stood and drew her hood over her head.
"Sorry about that, sir." Skye said monotonously, trying to shake off the feeling of fear rippling throughout her body.
"Wanna tell me what that was, Brat?" Levi asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
She sent a furtive glance his way, it looked as though he wouldn't budge an inch unless she spilled. Skye groaned inwardly, she hadn't shared this information with anyone except Commander Erwin.
"It was nothing." Skye lied smoothly, tucking her braid into her hood. She tried to continue walking, but a muscular arm blocked her path.
"Now, Brat." Levi said, clearly annoyed with her tough girl act.
Skye remained silent staring past her Captain's arm, hoping that her defensive body language was enough hint for him to fuck off.
"I guess I could just report this Commander and let him know you're not fit for duty." Levi said nonchalantly. Skye's head snapped up at him, her midnight blue eyes furious at the suggestion.
"Are you fucking serious?" She said loudly, glaring at her Captain.
Levi's charcoal eyes darkened intensely, "Watch your tone, Brat. And yes I'm fucking serious." Skye opened her mouth to protest but a swift look from her superior silenced her. "If you can't trust your Captain, let alone your team mates then you're dead fucking weight. We can't afford for you to lose yourself in that state when we're out there. So, either you explain what the hell just happened or I take you off my squad."
Skye gulped, she could feel her mask crack from her Captain's words. She needed this, she needed this to feel alive. To have something to live for.
She looked down ashamed and said quietly, "The reason why I'm here is because of what happened. I used to live in Wall Maria. My mother and father came from a bloodline that was special, I don't know what it was but I remember hearing them say we had to live far away. So we lived close to the wall. So many years ago. We encountered Titans all the time, but we had safety measures. We had a basement. One day, my older brother and I found 3DMG gear in the forest next to a few dead Scouts. We taught ourselves how to maneuver them. Until a horde of abnormals attacked while we were practicing. They caught his wire. He called for me to save him. But I was too scared, I was only 10 years old." Skye bit her lip to stop herself from crying, she hated crying, it made her feel weak. "I wasn't strong enough to save him. And he told me that I killed him. If I hadn't found the 3DMG gear we wouldn't have been in the forest. He died cursing me. I saw the Titan rip his head off and hid helplessly as the horde of Abnormals found my home and ripped it apart before my family could escape. I could have warned them. But I was too scared. Too scared..." Skye's voice trailed off.
Levi watched as Skye rubbed her face fiercely to erase any sign of tears. He thought she couldn't say more and hesitantly took a step toward her only to find her face rise, clear of any tears, and shining with determination.
"Commander Erwin found me few weeks later hiding in the forest of a tree, holding what remained of my little sister's body. He saw that I had 3DMG gear with me but knew I wasn't a Scout. He took me in." She fingered the silver bracelet wrapped around her wrist absently, "I couldn't save my family because I wasn't strong enough. Commander Erwin helped me become strong and now it's my chance to help save humanity and make Commander Erwin proud."
Skye realized she had divulged in a secret she promised the Commander she would keep to herself, the fact that he had secretly taken her in and raised her for years which allowed her to enter the Survey Corps without being a part of the Training corps. She awaited her Captain's response, trembling slightly at what he would do. She knew he was going to remove her from his squad, he didn't need her baggage to fuck up his team nor Commander's wrath.
To her surprise, her Captain placed a hand on her head and said solemnly, "Thank you, Brat."
"What?" Her mouth gaped open.
Levi looked straight into her deep blue eyes and said in a measured voice, "I knew you went through something terrible, but you put your trust in me and opened up to me and, shit, it was definitely worse than I thought." He paused, a flicker of an emotion Skye couldn't place glinted in his grey eyes.
He cleared his throat then looked toward Headquarters, "I think we're going to need to have a talk with Erwin," Levi said, "You have obvious triggers to your past, but we can't let them interfere. Everyone's had them and they've dealt with them. You need to do the same."
Skye nodded her head numbly, "Yes, sir." She responded.
She felt a finger lift her chin to look up, Levi's stormy eyes showed a raw emotion as he said quietly, "We are a team now, Brat, remember that." For a moment, the world fell silent as Skye could only focus on herself and her Captain who began to frown at their close proximity.
He dropped his hand swiftly and walked toward Headquarters, Skye's eyes watching him for a moment at the intimate contact before following in suit, rubbing her chin in wonder.
Knock. Knock.
"Enter."
Bright, sky blue eyes glanced up to see the form of Levi Ackerman enter the spacious office. Erwin Smith looked back down and continued his paperwork, waiting for the young prodigy to speak up. Levi sighed, rubbing his clean shaven undercut and leaned against his superior's wall.
"You just enjoy making my life hell, don't you, Erwin." The dark-haired man groaned, slamming the back of his head on the wall continuously as he stared up at the ceiling.
"I'm assuming you mean the opposite since I gave you the most outstanding cadet we've seen since you." Erwin responded calmly not looking up once from his paperwork.
"True, except you forgot to mention the fact that she has PTSD from when her entire family got slaughtered by Titans."
The blonde haired man's hands stopped writing as he looked up at the young Captain, his blue eyes ablaze. "What happened?" He asked.
Levi recounted what he had witnessed, obviously leaving out a few minute details such as when he had lifted her chin with his finger. Levi couldn't take a chance that Erwin would act as an overprotective father and try to wring his neck. For some reason he could still feel the heat from her skin on his index finger. Commander Erwin's normally impassive face began to form into a deep scowl as Levi finished his story.
"I had thought the day scares were gone." He grunted, folding his arms across his chest, "Seems as though she isn't ready for combat."
"With all due respect, Erwin, she is more than ready." Levi said.
Erwin narrowed his blue eyes at his subordinate, "Oh?"
Levi clicked his tongue in annoyance and strode to Erwin's desk, leaning against it with his palms flat on the wooden surface, "All soldiers experience PTSD. My squad will help her through this before the next expedition. Your protectiveness of her is clouding your otherwise sound judgment."
Erwin regarded the Captain silently, furrowing his thick brows at the Captain's comment of his 'protectiveness.' He came to the conclusion that Levi discovered his history with Skye.
"I'm surprised no one knows about her." Levi commented at Erwin's silence backing away from the table and sinking unceremoniously in a cushioned chair.
"Hm, she stayed in my home in Wall Rose and trained with Mike and myself during our 'vacation' days." Erwin said nonchalantly, continuing to fill out paperwork.
Levi snorted in surprise, "And to think we all made bets on how many high society women Mike fucked each time."
Erwin's face pinched in annoyance, "You are crude."
"I guess it was partly true, he was with a woman," Levi continued ignoring the blonde haired Commander who sighed audibly, "Still, I don't understand why you took the brat in."
Setting down his pen, Erwin looked up at Levi contemplatively before answering.
"She had a fierceness in her eyes I hadn't seen since you."
Levi raised his eyebrows in surprise.
Silence filled the room as Erwin went back to his paperwork.
"So," Erwin said after a few moments, "You suggest she continues to remain on your squad while you work on her PTSD?"
Levi thought on his newest recruit, "She's skilled and she'll fit in well with the team. I'll help her."
Erwin mused, "I'm surprised, I don't believe I've ever seen you lobby for a soldier, you've taken an invested interest in Grey."
Levi glared at the blonde haired man, noting his insinuation, "Christ, Erwin, you're a fucking sociopath. By the way, you must love picking up homeless nutters off the street." But Levi couldn't stop his pale face from turning a slight shade of pink. Anyone with a brain and a dick knew that Skye was probably the best looking female the Scout's have had in a long time, and he wasn't one to ignore that.
The Commander chuckled, "My, my, has my young charge struck a chord in you?"
Levi growled, "You're an annoying bastard you know that?"
"Do what you will about her PTSD," Erwin said waving him off. He was done toying with the young Captain, "Turn her into Humanity's next greatest soldier."
Levi nodded his head and walked out the office briskly not wanting to spend another moment talking about the silver-haired woman.
"Don't think I don't care for her," Levi heard the taller man say quietly, slight menace lacing his low voice, "However, I will make the right decision even if it means she must sacrifice her life. I hope you do the same as well."
Blue eyes watched the Captain leave, his good natured expression turning thoughtful. Levi hit the hammer on the head in his assumption that he was over protective of the young woman. Erwin had helped Skye grow from a frightened girl into a formidable soldier whose sole purpose was to save humanity. He knew that her skills came not only from constant practice, but from some mysterious bloodline that coursed through her veins. He knew that Skye was a very beautiful woman, yet his over protectiveness only went so far. He was not her father, so naturally he cared less about any relationship she developed, but he did care about her survival.
Erwin rubbed his temples with his fingertips attempting to soothe a headache that was a long time coming.
And while he ticked off every reason why he wanted her to stay safe, the obvious reason was that he could not bare to see that girl die. But for the good of humanity, if she had to be sacrificed in order to achieve peace then he knew she would be glad to die. However, Levi's usual emotionless face swam through the Commander's mind and he recalled how the young Captain was so fervent to keep Skye on his team. Erwin was unconcerned about her safety knowing that Levi would make the right decisions and keep his squad alive.
"Hm." Erwin pondered. He remembered when he found Levi and his crew of thieves in the Underground years after he found Skye. Filthy and homeless, he offered the young man a position in the Survey Corps, as long as he remained faithful to him. The young Levi agreed and from then on the greatest soldier the regiment has ever seen was born. If anyone could help Skye, it would be Levi.
Will be back soon!