"Good morning." Eren sat down at one of the empty spaces the squad usually left either side of Levi at his end of the table, and he flinched when he snuck a glance at Levi and realised he was being glared at. But he had that determined look on his face as well; Levi recognised it by now. He'd nerved himself up, and made his decision.
"You stupid fucking brat." Levi said, quietly enough that the rest of the table didn't get the words, even if the gist was written over his face. He was feeling tired and he'd been awake for less than an hour. "How dare you?"
Eren turned bright red at those words, right to his ears, and he stared at his bowl of porridge like he wanted to drown himself in it. Levi's eyes widened and he raised his eyebrows; just what was he feeling so guilty about?
"Sorry, Corporal," he muttered, his chin sunk to his chest.
A vivid mental image of Eren deciding to make peace with his new feelings while alone in his cell crossed Levi's mind. Disgusting.
"I hope you washed your hands." He was so off-balance said it before he'd really considered how cruel that was. Eren could only nod, his hands clenched so hard the knuckles were white. Ah, fuck, he hadn't meant to torture the kid. He didn't really care who he chose to tug it to, although with so many younger and prettier candidates around Levi himself was a pretty bizarre choice.
Levi growled, and half the table turned to look and then immediately looked away again when they caught his expression. There was Levi being unsociable like he usually was and there was Levi genuinely angry, and by now the others could tell them apart.
"Jaeger," Levi said, and got to his feet, Eren following a respectful few paces behind.
Fuck fuck fuck fuck. He had to sort this out, not least because it was partially his fault. Trust Eren to take a moment's kindness the wrong way, but Levi honestly couldn't have foreseen this. He doubted anyone could have, Eren included. The teenager had what anyone with eyes could see was a gorgeous young woman deeply in love with him and he hadn't even noticed. It hadn't occurred to Levi that Eren even operated on this level.
Judging by Eren's expression, and the fact that it took him two weeks of intense concentration to face up to it, Eren hadn't realised he'd operated on this level until now either. He was utterly at Levi's mercy and didn't even realise it.
Levi halted and Eren walked into him. He rebounded with a squeak and Levi glared over his shoulder.
"For fuck's sake," he muttered.
"Sorry, Corporal."
They faced each other in the doorway leading towards the stables. Levi could hear the horses shifting in their stalls. Outside, it looked like it was going to be a nice day.
Levi stared Eren down. It didn't take much effort on his part, but despite his glare Eren didn't drop his gaze. He shifted his feet slightly, and when he swallowed his Adam's apple bobbed in his neck. Levi could practically see the hormones radiating off him as he outgrew his own skin.
And he could feel the answering pull.
"Eren."
"Corporal Levi."
"I'm not going to fuck you."
He inhaled sharply. "No Corporal, of course not." He looked so fucking disappointed and yet slightly relieved as well, and it was the latter which really twisted the knife. At least Eren was self-aware enough to know he couldn't handle this, couldn't handle Levi. And he didn't try to pretend he didn't know what Levi was talking about, either. Eren was always straightforward, like Levi himself.
"You'll get over it," Levi said flatly. "I'll see you on the field."
"Yes, sir." Levi turned to go. "I'm sorry," Eren added. "I don't expect anything, of course I'm too young and you're my Corporal, so of course we couldn't," he plunged on, tumbling the words out in a barely coherent jumble.
"And you don't know what the fuck you're doing," Levi added.
"You'd teach me." He spoke so quietly Levi had to strain to hear him.
Not could. Would. He'd given it thought, thought which Levi hadn't had time to even begin with. He'd been playing catch-up since Eren had arrived for breakfast, only minutes before. Levi was irritated to note his mouth was dry.
"You really think so little of me?" Levi knew he should stop talking. He'd said all he needed to.
"What I think is just that I want you to be a bit happier, that's all. I don't matter so much, really." He smiled, but it was a weird smile.
"You can make me happy by not dying," Levi said. "And not wasting my time."
So dramatic, he thought, so self-sacrificing. Levi finally stalked off to resume his interrupted breakfast. He gave it about a month at most before Eren's libido found someone else to fixate on, and frankly he didn't care who.
Eren got a grip, Levi would give him that much. He gritted his teeth and got on with things and concentrated on training. Except when Levi touched him for any reason, or even came close. Then he'd miss a breath, or a word, or his footing, or the target and those big green eyes would follow Levi around for the next five minutes. Levi refused to start avoiding him, as that would be like admitting defeat, and it meant he could keep track of Eren's obsession and hopefully pinpoint when it finally died. It wasn't because it was the slightest bit gratifying; that sort of thing was beneath him.
Weeks passed. So did months. Eren lived to see another birthday. He seemed surprised.
What really concerned Levi was how it would change things out beyond the walls. Eren needed to be tested. They had to try again.
The night before they left, Eren asked Levi what he should do if the colossal titan should reappear. He looked genuinely worried, as they spoke over the map-strewn table.
"Wait for me," Levi said. "I don't expect you to face that monster alone, even if you were stupid enough to do so last time."
Eren smiled, "Yes, Corporal. I'll wait." His eyes were alight with affection. When they talked like this, as solider and subordinate and with a heavy article of furniture between them, Eren seemed calm and happy. Levi wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. Because Eren was clearly waiting for him, patiently and without resentment.
The first day of the expedition went fairly well, all things considered, until the afternoon. The colossal titan didn't put on an appearance, and Eren transformed when required. But that didn't mean things went entirely smoothly.
They would set up a camp, first by attracting all the titans in the vicinity and putting them to the sword, or to Eren, and securing the area. There was no danger of missing one, the massed humanity that comprised the expedition brought the titans out in their dozens.
Levi knew from long experience that one of the most dangerous things about titans was they way they paralysed soldiers. They were just human enough to push ancient instincts into overriding common sense or even sometimes self-preservation. He'd heard the story of how Armin had frozen up completely, back in Trost, allowing a titan to drop him into its mouth whole.
Eren was a beacon of hope on the battlefield. If he couldn't be seen, he could be heard, his titan scream echoing across the fields, and instinctively soldiers ran towards him, seeking the shelter of his massive fists. And they brought their pursuing titans with them.
In the maelstrom of battle, it was almost impossible to keep track of what was happening everywhere, and they had lured the titans to a ruined town, to better make use of their 3D manoeuvre gear. It was Eren's howl of frustration and a flare fired by Armin that alerted Levi to the danger Eren had been placed in.
Titans ate titan shifters, and Eren was neither invulnerable nor untiring. At first he had killed so easily that the Special Operations Unit had spread out to help the other soldiers, but as the titans had converged on Eren they'd found themselves getting overwhelmed.
"It's like what happened to the female titan," Hange said, as they made their way to Eren's side, slicing and dicing as they went. "I wonder what makes titan shifters more compelling to titans than humans. Do they taste different? Ooh, too slow."
"You are not testing that out, Glasses," Levi said.
"Maybe it's smell. Do you think Eren smells different when he's in titan form?"
Levi wasn't about to dignify that with an answer, and he had more important things to concentrate on. He wouldn't let Eren share the same fate as the female titan. They'd equipped him with 3D gear before he'd transformed, but he was still almost helpless when he transformed back and there was no guarantee he'd be able to use it.
Eren was shrouded in steam as he attempted to regenerate from dozens of bites, his broken fists still swinging. The squad regrouped nearby, attempting to cut a swathe through to him. Levi went over their heads, his grappling hooks sank into the titans themselves and his blades flashed as he darted from one to the next, leaving a trail of falling bodies in his wake.
Eren's shoulders slumped, his torso heaving with exhaustion. Levi grappled onto him, prepared to cut him loose and drag him out if necessary. Eren turned his head, and Levi saw his own silhouette reflected briefly in a huge green eye. Then Eren lifted his head and howled, and Levi could suddenly feel heat pouring through the soles of his boots. He abandoned his perch, shouting a warning to Mikasa, who was close on his heels.
"Give him space, he's heating up!" They split up, falling back as Eren laid into the other titans with renewed ferocity, the gashes in his skin glowing red. Levi remembered the same thing had happened during the fight in the city; clearly the training never put Eren under enough stress to trigger it. Something else for Hange to have a crack at during the next round of experiments.
Levi tried to get the orders through for everyone to keep their distance; Eren looked out of control like this, and it was best for them to back off and let him wear himself out, concentrating on mopping up the titans at the edges of hurricane Eren.
"Keep them back!" he shouted, watching Eren's general trajectory and trying to warn people in his path. With all this steam even a smoke signal wouldn't get through, and they didn't have a signal for 'give Eren space' anyway; they were running out of colours for the smoke.
You couldn't warn everyone. It was probably inevitable in the end. Levi was circling around Eren, trying to watch in all directions at once, and he flew out of the way as he heard Eren's feet thundering against the ground, coming closer.
"Get back!" he shouted to another airborne form, but rather than going back the way the came, they went forward, towards him.Levi's eyes widened as he saw Eren's knee catch the figure, battering them out of the air. They were flung aside and Levi swooped in to catch them before they hit the ground.
It made no difference. The dark-haired man had only a shadow of stubble on his face and pale blue eyes, and when Levi grabbed him around the waist he knew instantly that his neck and back were broken. He was dead weight. Levi released him, letting him fall in a tangle of wires as the titans closed in around him, and his blades flashed as he carved his way up to the rooftops again. His only concern now was to keep up with Eren.
Eren didn't last much longer. Whatever berserk rage he'd activated, it chewed through his reserves fast and with a groan he fell to his knees. The squad converged on him, and by now Levi had grown adept at slicing him loose from the titan's body. His blades neatly took a slab of flesh off the back of the titan's neck, and he grabbed Eren under his arms and hauled him loose. Armin joined him a moment later and between them they had Eren freed in seconds – it was something the squad had practised, although everyone agreed that Levi should continue to make the initial incision if he was available to do so. Eren would probably grow back anything they lopped off, as long as it wasn't his head, but no one wanted to take the chance if they didn't have to.
They hauled him up and out of the way, and Levi left Eren in Armin's care while the rest of the titans were taken care of.
It was entirely dark by the time they'd fortified their camp site and got everything set up. They were serving dinner by the time Levi had a spare moment to go and find Eren.
He found him in Hange's tent, Armin and Mikasa on their way out to get him some food, and Hange taking his blood pressure and asking him a lot of questions. Eren sat slumped in a chair, letting Hange do whatever they liked, his eyes shadowed.
He looked up when he heard Levi enter.
"What have I done?" he asked.