Hange wanted to know about Annie. Eren dutifully went over every conversation he could remember, every action she'd made. It was repetitive, and, every time Levi glanced in to see how it was going, seemingly pointless. Eren just looked more frustrated and bewildered each time.
Annie complicated the world in a way Levi did not like. Eren complicated it too, but Levi understood Eren; he was easy to understand, and while a loss of control was always a possibility, Levi honestly didn't think it was likely. Eren was human, far more human than Levi himself.
Eren didn't stop talking, and Hange didn't stop listening. Eren clearly wanted to understand, and even perhaps find an excuse to forgive. But by the time Levi had heard the same story three times he called a halt to the proceedings.
"This isn't getting anywhere," he said. "Eren should get back to his training for today." Hange caught the look in his eye and didn't argue. Hange focused on titans so much, they often overlooked the limits of their more human subjects.
They couldn't afford to let Eren break, and this was merely serving to wind him up further. Getting him moving, getting him out in fresh air and swinging his blades again, was what he needed now, and Levi followed him to make sure he got it.
"How many titans have you actually killed, Eren?" Levi asked, noting that Eren had apparently absorbed his lessons regarding how equipment should be checked before use every time. He was leaning against the door frame while Eren prepared, checking all the wires were connected how they were supposed to be and pretending that Levi's scrutiny didn't make him slow and clumsy while doing so.
Eren looked surprised by the question. "Twenty, Corporal" he said confidently.
"I'm not talking about your titan, I'm talking about you," Levi said.
"Ah." He took a deep breath. "None, Sir."
"And that's fucking ridiculous," Levi said flatly.
Eren looked at him with wide eyes, "We're going to go hunting now?"
"Did someone drop you on your head?" Levi turned and started walking and Eren hurried to catch up. Levi walked fast when he wanted to. "To put you in the front lines and then have you rely entirely on your powers is irresponsible at best. We've been short on time, up until now, but unless Hange needs you for an experiment, you're going to be training with me." He glanced at Eren and his eyes widened.
For the first time since the expedition, Eren smiled. "Thank you, Corporal Levi."
"I'll make you eat those words," Levi promised.
"Look forward to it."
Levi tried very hard not to be pleased.
On paper, Eren should be a bundle of rebellious hormones, PTSD, and titan-fuelled rage. And he was. But he was also nowhere near as stupid as Levi told him he was, and Levi could see it was a relief for him to follow orders, to let someone else shoulder the burden sometimes. He could be persuaded; he had to be persuaded, as orders alone weren't enough. Levi could see he had the determination to change the world; the walls, as tall and strong (and distressingly permeable) as they were, couldn't, wouldn't, hold him. That made him a monster. A monster that fought for freedom and humanity. Levi understood his role in this was to be relied upon, to help Eren direct his will.
And to whip Eren into some sort of shape.
Eren had been through the basic training, but if he thought that would be enough to pass muster in Levi's special squad, he was wrong. Levi rarely trained anyone, and it was partly because he wasn't all that good at it. Someone who couldn't keep up was dead, and Levi was not shy about saying so. Eager soldiers who leapt at the chance to train with him soon realised that a constant barrage of insults, coupled with a complete lack of advice often ended up making them worse rather than better until they got their confidence back.
Eren was not like that. He seemed to thrive on insults and never listened to advice. He improved by sheer willpower and the more Levi berated him the sharper he got. He needed to get sharper.
"You'll dull your blades doing that," Levi said, as Eren swung past another training dummy. "Precision, not brute strength, you moron. You're supposed to be human, so act like it."
Eren swung around to look at his handiwork, sweat sticking strands of hair to his face. He wiped his forehead with the back of his arm.
"Corporal?"
"What? Are you giving up already?"
"How do you do that spinning thing you do? I saw the others do it too. How do you spin so fast?" Eren narrowed his eyes and Levi knew he'd caught his faint smile.
"Put your blades away," Levi said as he drew his own. "Watch and try it yourself."
Two minutes later Eren was on his hands and knees emptying the contents of his stomach into the long grass at the side of the training field. Then he nearly fell face-first into his own sick and Levi was obliged to grab him by his collar and haul him sideways. Levi curled his lip. Disgusting, but not surprising.
Eren dug his fingers into the ground, clinging to it while he waited for the world to stop spinning around him.
"How the fuck do you do that?" he asked.
"Mind your language, you shitty excuse for a soldier." He turned to go, "We're done for today. Master the basics before trying any more advanced manoeuvres in future. And clean yourself up, that stinks."
Eren groaned his assent.
The next day he was right back at it, and Levi knew Eren was grateful for the stomach-churning distraction.
And then there were Hange's experiments with Eren's titan form. Levi was forcefully reminded of the posters he'd found in the capital the first time Hange gathered their team and took Eren back out to the disused well.
"So many volunteers," Hange said gleefully, getting their underlings to carry equipment and notebooks. "More than I need, really," Hange confided to Levi.
"So why didn't you turn them away?"
"I just couldn't. It's so inspiring to see, and you never know they could come in handy. Maybe we could do some strength tests. We could have a tug of war and see how many people-" And Hange was off again and Levi knew there'd be no stopping them.
That was only half of it. Everyone who could conceivably have an excuse to observe did so, and there were a suspicious number of riding exercises in the vicinity. The fields around HQ were swarming with spectators in green cloaks.
Levi didn't have to worry about it all going to Eren's head. The young man looked deeply uncomfortable under all the scrutiny. There was no debate among the Survey Corps; they knew what it was to fight titans, and the thought of one of them, one of the biggest and strongest, fighting on their side- well, Levi could feel the hope on the breeze. Eren could too. He kept his head down and his hood up and a look of worried determination on his face.
He didn't look to Levi for reassurance and Levi was relieved, not disappointed.
He thought, anyway.
They started off with him in the well, but he just grew an enormous leg to get himself out of it, which excited Hange, but wasn't exactly what they'd intended. Eventually it was decided that with Levi himself attending it was safe enough for Eren to use his titan form aboveground.
It was strange to be looking at an unrestrained titan and not be in motion. It went against every instinct Levi had, to be in the air, to be out from under its feet. So he moved. His harness whirred and the grappling hooks sunk into Eren's back as he swung upwards. He could hear the collective intake of breath as his feet left the ground and his blades sang as he drew them.
Hange had their methods, and Levi had his. He had to know what kind of survival instinct Eren had when he was in titan form.
Apparently he had none whatsoever.
Levi's boots landed on Eren's shoulder, and all Eren did was turn his great head and look at him, and Levi couldn't read his imbecilic expression. He sheathed his blades. That had been anticlimactic.
"Levi!" Hange shouted up at him. "You forgot the measuring rope!" Hange waved it in the air. Levi stumbled back to keep his footing as Eren bent down and retrieved it. "Ooh! Thank you Eren! Such fine motor skills. Now wrap it round his head," Hange told Levi.
Hange wanted everything measured, and Levi and Eren stood with equal stoicism, the former holding the end of the rope, the latter allowing it to be wound around various parts of his anatomy. Levi drew the line at sticking his head into Eren's mouth to measure his teeth, so Hange did that part while Levi tried not to let the drool getting all over Hange's uniform get to him.
"They'd be measuring your dick if you had one," Levi muttered, as Hange dropped back down to the ground and Eren emitted a gush of steam from his nose; amusement or embarrassment it was hard to say.
"Aah! How did you get him to do that, Levi? Tell me."
"No."
Hange wanted to know how fast Eren was, and as his feet pounded into the earth, Levi stood anchored on his shoulder. This was what the titans saw, Levi thought, this was how they viewed the world. Eren was only too happy to run, to get out of sight. He probably would have kept going until he was exhausted, if Levi hadn't pulled him up.
"Stop!"
Eren did. His great chest heaved, and Levi scowled unhappily as Eren breathed all over him, his head twisted around enquiringly.
"Eyes front, you disgusting creature."
They had to go back, but Levi wasn't in any rush. The view from up here was magnificent. He could see Wall Sina far behind them, and the blocky shape of HQ, but in front of them the rolling hills obscured Wall Rosa. They could almost be outside although it didn't mean that much to Levi. The walls protected people, like he himself tried to, but he could see Eren's desperate desire to be free of them, and that was enough to give him a different perspective.
"When you're ready, Jaeger," Levi said, letting him have his moment of almost-solitary splendour.
Eren walked back, gazing at the countryside. Levi wondered just how much of him was concious; the impression he got from Eren himself was that it varied. Under such calm circumstances he was probably fully in control.
As usual, Eren was left feeling unwell and exhausted by his transformation, and after Hange subjected him to a thankfully fairly brief medical examination, he nodded off in the saddle as they rode back to HQ. The horse knew where it was going, but Levi ended up taking the reins anyway.
Levi escorted Eren back to his dungeon as he was practically sleepwalking and it would be a shame if humanity's hope tripped on the stairs and broke his neck.
"Annie is so strong," Eren said as he sank down into his bed, glad to be off his feet but still looking worried. "She was able to transform twice."
"You know what you have to do," Levi said.
"Train. Yes, Corporal."
"Get some rest. I'm sure Hange will want to do all that again tomorrow." Levi turned to go.
"Corporal?"
Levi halted, silently giving him permission to continue.
"What's it like outside the walls? Outside Wall Maria, I mean."
"No buildings, no farmland, and a lot of titans," Levi said.
"I mean, what does it feel like?" he asked.
"Nothing special. It's much the same."
Levi glanced over his shoulder, and although he didn't show it he was shocked by the look of sheer disappointment in Eren's huge green eyes.
