Hello my readers, the few that you are. I hope that you are all doing well, and are prepared for some feels. Also, since we shall have the glory that is Annabeth, she isn't quite as tall as she was in the final book. So she's 5'5 in this instead of 5'9. Since Eren is 5'7. Be ready for some minor feels.
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Eren POV
The last week had passed in a blur, filled with training, horses, finding out all of my surviving friends joined the survey corps, cleaning with my squad, and camp finally contacting me. I twirl the spoon in my hand, not really eating the oatmeal in my bowl as I think over today. We're free today, which means we can go to the town. Since Chiron said that I would see them there, it means I'm really going to have to be watchful today. I look up at Petra as she asks "So Eren! What are you doing today?!"
I smile at her and say "I was hoping to walk the town with my friends. You guys?" I glance around the table as a few of them nod, Erwin smiles down at me and says "Hanji, Mike, and I were planning on dragging Levi out with us today." I laugh at the indignant sound that Levi let's out, staring at Erwin like he was on drugs. I shake my head and say "You seem thrilled with this plan Corporal." He let's out a tiny huff before looking back down, quietly glaring at his food in a way that I can't help but find adorable.
It's not a crush! I can think him cute all I want, that does not mean I have a crush. I assure myself, hearing my subconscious scoff at my thoughts before Levi everyone begins to clean up, taking their trays to the window and letting the cadets clean them. I set mine down before Hanji was calling me over to her. "Eren! Do you have a date to the ball?" She asks, bouncing on her heels as she talks. I shake my head and say "No I don't. That's tomorrow isn't it?" She nods and says "You have to have a date! It's required! Since there is a massive dance in the middle of the ball that's mandatory for all military personnel, and since it's a military ball…"
I nod at her and ask "What if I don't have a date?" She nods and says "Than tell Erwin. He assigns a date to those who either didn't find one or lost there's." I nod again and say "Alright. There's still the rest of the day, I can probably find one in that amount of time." She nods before she gets a wicked grin and says "Alright. Tell us if you can't alright?" I nod at her as I stand, grabbing my tray and wishing them all a good day before turning and setting my barely touched tray next to Sasha, who happily set about to devouring it.
"I'll meet you guys at the gate in 20 minutes okay?" I say, giving all of them a grin. Mikasa nods at me as I walk out of the mess hall. I quickly make my descent into the dungeon of the base and walk over to my room, easily finding my money pouch by my bed. I toss it into my pocket, making sure I have everything before I exit once again, thinking back to the Iris message I had received from Chiron two days ago.
FlashBack
I stood by my bed, stretching my arms over my head, just about to climb into bed before a saw a familiar shimmer to the space to my left. I looked over to see an Iris message forming, revealing Chiron who was sitting in his wheelchair in what looked like my cabin. He smiles softly at me before he says "I'm sorry if I caught you at a bad time, this was the only time I could be sure that you wouldn't be caught."
I chuckle and say "It's fine… How is everyone?" My question causes him to blink before he shakes his head and says "Their fine. What I do need to tell you though, is that we shall be sending someone to see you, if you can that is…" I nod at his words and explain about our weekends to him.
He nods along to my words before saying "Alright. I shall have them arrive in the village near to you on saturday. Nico said that his Father had showed him how to get to you, and as such he shall be how we can bring you help if need be. You shall have to talk to someone on the island though, as Lady Iris said that IMing on the island is difficult, and she can't keep the connection long."
As if to agree to his words the image fuzzed out for a moment, becoming a blur of colors before solidifying into the image of Chiron as he shook his head at it. "I wish you well my boy." He says, giving me a smile. "Thank you Sir." I say before the image fades completely.
Back to the Present
I stretched my arms over my head as I walked out of the castle doors, seeing my friends waiting for me. "There you are, what took so long?" I shake my head and say "I was back before my twenty minutes were up. Thus meaning you can't ask 'What took so long'." I say with a grin, watching as Armin rolls his eyes before we all begin walking toward the the town.
The walk wasn't long, mostly with Armin and Krista talking. I have to catch myself everytime I speak to her, I keep wanting to call her Historia. I think as I watch them. As we enter the town I feel a small smile creep onto my face. Chiron didn't say who would be here, so that means that I should recognize them on sight. "I wonder if they're here yet…" I softly ask myself, glancing around the town.
"Who's here?" Armin suddenly asks, looking up at me. I blink down at him before I smile and say "I had a friend who said they may be able to meet me today." He nods and says "Who?" I shake my head and say "You'll see." And so shall I. I continue walking as Armin pouts, Mikasa takes his place beside me and asks "Who?" In a far less friendly tone.
I raise an eyebrow at her and say "Patience my lovely sister. You'll see in time." As I keep walking down the path, seeing the main street begin to fill up with citizens and soldiers as the minutes pass as we split up, Marco and Jean making there way down another street as Christa, Ymir, Connie and Sasha walked toward a pet store.
Reiner and Berthold had vanished, heading off elsewhere the moment we had stepped foot in town, as Mikasa and Armin stayed with me. I let my eyes skim over the crowd, both hunting for anything bizarre or underhanded, and also watching for anyone who I may know.
My eyes swept through the crowd, finally stopping when I see a someone extremely familiar. I see Annabeth, who was wearing a bright blue peasant dress, which reached her knees and had half length sleeves. She had her hair done in a side braid, which started behind her right ear and braided down to the end. I couldn't help the grin that made it's way onto my face as I saw her.
I see Armin look up at me from my peripheral vision as I walk over toward her. "Hey Annabeth." I say as I approach, seeing her look up instantly. Her expression is one of shock before changing to one of joy as she jumps forward and wraps her hands around my neck. I hug her back, letting out a laugh as I pick her up and spin her around.
She pulls away after a moment and says "It's been forever! How are you?" I smile at her, thanking the boots for making me slightly taller than I already am. She smiles softly at me and says "I'm doing well at the moment. There are quite a few people who miss you." My grin widens as I hear this. I throw an arm over her shoulders and turn to my friends, who are wearing two opposite expressions. Armin's is of delight, whereas Mikasa looked like a thundercloud. I pull her towards them as I softly say "Armin is an owl like you."
She stares up at me, shock hidden well by a smile as she softly says "I bet he keeps you in line." Before turning her smile to Armin as I say "Annabeth, these are my friends Armin and Mikasa. Armin and Mikasa, this is Annabeth. And yes Armin, she loves books." Armin instantly brightens even further, instantly delving into a conversation about Architecture with her. I smile at them as they delve into areas of Architecture I didn't know. Mikasa glares at her, as though she was trying to make her leave by will alone.
I shake my head at her before I ask "Hey. Armin didn't you want to go to that bookstore?" Armin nods at me and glances at Mikasa before saying "Yeah! Mika and I can do that really fast and you two can meet us over at the ice cream shop over there in 20 minutes okay?" I nod at him before he grabs Mikasa and drags her off into the store. I sigh after them as she says "Well. That was nice." I nod at her before she asks "Well Seaweed brain, what's been happening with you?"
I smile down at her as I lead her over toward the ice cream shop and begin to tell her about the last week and a half, taking a second to order my thoughts as I think just a week and a half?... It feels so much longer… she listens with wrapped attention as I tell her about my time here as I lean against the wall next to the shop, not even paying attention to the people going in and out as I lighten the story to ensure that Annabeth doesn't go murder Levi. And for some reason, the thought of anyone trying to harm him made me want to maim them. It's not a crush. I think loudly, and unfortunately say outloud as well.
"What's not a crush?" Annabeth asks teasingly, giving me a knowing smile. I sigh softly and smile back as I say "I think… I might have a small crush on someone…" Her eyes widen and she says "Okay. Now you have to tell me." I hang my head as say "Okay…" And begin telling her about him as she clings to my arm and listens.
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Levi POV
I walk around the ice cream shop with Hanji, who was happily bouncing around as she tried to figure out which flavor she wanted. I internally smile at her shenanigans as Erwin intercedes and says "Hey Hanji. Why don't you try their Red Velvet Cake Ice Cream?" She instantly darts over, the person behind the counter giving her a pleasant smile as Hanji orders some.
I glance through them, contemplating getting chocolate, but still rather curious about the Peach one as well. I shrug and ask for a cone with Peach Ice Cream. "Oh! I love that one!" The girl behind the counter says, instantly putting on a pair of gloves and scooping out my ordered ice cream and handing me my cone, allowing me to pay her for it.
Hanji than drags us out of the shop, looking around as I glance to the side, and see something that makes my heart both soar and sink. I see Eren, who is laughing at something his partner said, and has a giant grin on his face. But what makes my heart sink down to my feet and shatter into a thousand pieces is who he's talking to.
She's absolutely stunning. She has golden blonde hair, which has lighter streaks throughout it from sunlight. She was slightly taller than me, and was wearing a bright blue dress that accented her figure perfectly, along with a pair of black sandals. She was smiling up at him, looking positively angelic as she clung to his arm, the pair talking softly to each other. I listen in, not really meaning to, as I hear her say "I'd love to go to the ball with you Eren!"
I stare at them, realizing exactly what I had just heard as I feel the barest beginnings of tears well up behind my eyes as I quickly blink them away, taking a step forward to hide behind Hanji for a moment before I hear Eren call "Hey Corporal!" I move from behind Hanji to see that Eren had moved from his spot leaning against the wall and was walking over toward me, his girlfriend holding his hand. She gives me a kind smile but I'm more focused on the massive grin that's on Eren's face.
I adjust slightly under his gaze as he suddenly looks me over before getting a worried look as he tilts his head slightly to the side and asks "Sir?... Are you alright? You look a little...Upset?" I stare up at him for a moment. Can you read me that easily? I mentally ask him before I say "I'm fine you brat." Sounding a little more snappish than I normally do but I can't take the words back. But instead of being put off he nods and smiles again and says "That's good! Oh! Corporal, this is Annabeth."
He looks over at her with a smile she returns, the pair seeming to share words without speaking before he turns back to me, where as I feel as though my heart was being torn out and shredded in the most painful of ways. It hurt to see her with him, both emotionally and physically. I had wondered for years why they called it heartache, now I understand. My chest literally ached. The sound of Eren's friends approaching made his gaze leave me.
I let out a tiny sigh, letting the hurt show for a fraction of a second before I schooled my face back to an impassive mask. I shoved my hurt emotions away, leaving me with an empty feeling. He grins back at me before turning to Annabeth and asking "You needed to go shopping right?" She nods and says "Yeah. If I'm going with you to the ball, I'm going to need a dress."
Mikasa balks at her words, giving Annabeth a deadly glare as she steps forward. I see my friends had all stopped talking and were watching this confrontation with a mixture of feelings as Hanji leans down and asks "Who's the girl next to Eren?" I shake my head and say "Listen." As Mikasa says "What do you mean by that?"
Annabeth raised an eyebrow at her, completely unafraid of the taller, more menacing girl. Eren straightens slightly, looking between the two with a slightly worried expression, as they have about two feet separating them. "Eren asked me to be his date to the ball. Why? What else could I have meant?" She says, looking at her with an almost bored expression.
I hear Hanji let out a small gasp beside me as I see Mike's eyes widen slightly as Erwin's expression makes no change. I take a moment to ignore them all as I eat some of my ice cream, which was melting in the warmth of the day. I eat about three bites of the extremely good concoction before I lost my appetite.
I tune back into the conversation as I hear Mikasa say "Why the hell are you going out with some whore you don't even know!" The effect was instantaneous, Eren's expression had shifted from slightly annoyed to beyond pissed within the space of a blink. He had taken a single, extremely threatening, step forward. Whereas Mikasa seemed to think that whatever Eren was about to say was inconsequential to her as she didn't even blink.
He moved till he was barely a foot away from her, looking truly murderous. "Don't you ever call her that again. Do you understand me?" He says, in a deceptively calm voice as he looked directly into her eyes. She scoffs at him, saying "I will call that whore-" Before she had even finished her sentence Eren had moved, grabbing her shirt and lifting her off the ground, holding her at least six inches off the ground as he glared at her, his face suddenly inches from hers.
He growled at her, her face finally showing the slightest hint of fear, finally seeing that she had crossed the line. "You will never call her that again. Do you understand me Mikasa? Because next time you do, I will not stop Annabeth from beating the shit out of you." He says, dropping her onto the ground. She falls to the ground, landing on her ass as she stared up at him as he turned and offered Annabeth a hand.
He looked over his shoulder, giving me a grin that warmed me to my toes, and made my chest ache even more as the pair of them walked off. For some reason, despite the level of rage he showed, I felt no fear towards him. Like some gut feeling was telling me that he wouldn't hurt me. I shake my head as I see Armin help Mikasa up, who is hiding her face behind her scarf.
Hanji than grabs my arm, giving everyone a perky, but fake, smile as she said something before dragging me off. Mike and Erwin follow, Hanji leading us down the street before heading down an alley and walking towards the towns Rose garden. I let her pull me along, not even paying attention until she stopped.
I stood still as she turned around and grabbed the ice cream in my hand, handing it to Erwin and wrapping me up in a tight hug. I gently hugged her back not even sure why I did, but once I did I became aware of how much my heart ached. I felt like someone had taken my heart and crushed it, leaving behind the pieces.
It took me a few seconds before I tightened my grip on Hanji. I held onto her for a moment, letting her comfort me before I let her go. I nod at her and say "I'm gonna head back to the base, and probably stay in my room for a bit." My voice is quivers slightly and I instantly scold myself for it. Hanji nods back and asks "Do you want us to go with you? Or do you want to be alone for a bit."
I look around, thankful for her having brought us to a secluded area before I say "I'll go alone… You guys have fun okay?" She nods and gives me a small smile, I glance up at Erwin and say "You can decide my date…" He doesn't reply, simply nodding before I turn and go further into the garden, making my way to the back exit that leads into the forest.
I easily avoid the people within the garden, entering the forest with ease as I make my way back toward the main road. Once I make it to the road I begin the 20 minute walk back to the base, entering the forest whenever I saw anyone, since I really didn't want to be around people at the moment.
I quietly enter the castle, making my way to my room. I shut the door softly, leaning against it as I let out a small sigh, slowly sliding down the door till I was curled up on the floor, head resting on my knees. I breathed deeply, still trying in vain to keep back the tears that had been clouding my vision the entire way back.
I finally crack, feeling the pain and heartache slowly seep into my chest as I let out a small sob, tears slowly making there way down my face. I tighten my grip on my legs as my sobs grow in intensity and I'm struck by how much it hurt. It made my entire chest have a deep radiating ache that seemed to even reach my toes.
I had no clue how long I sat there, sobbing my heart out as though that would somehow make me feel better. I take a deeper siff, wiping my eyes as I move, standing up once I got the feeling back in my legs. I make my way over to my bathroom, stripping as quickly as I could while I turned on my shower, stepping into the freezing stream of water and shivering instantly.
I turn up the heat, hoping that the water will quickly warm up as I stand there, soaking and freezing as I start trying to calm myself down. As the water warms up my body relaxes beneath the stream, and I begin washing myself down, taking my time as I pushed away the heartache and hurt I had from finding out that Eren had a girlfriend.
I don't know why I'm so upset… He wasn't mine to begin with… He never made even the smallest hint that he was gay, or even Bi… He never even showed an interest in me! He was just friendly! I tell myself as I can almost hear Hanji say Yeah right dumbass. That's why you were crying. I roll my shoulders as I take a deep breath, exhaling after a moment before I make the decision that I'm going to act like I always have, and I'm not going to let Eren's girlfriend stop me from liking him.
Wait. Did I just admit that I like him? I ask myself as I feel my face heat up, exhaling slowly as I shook my head, finally feeling seminormal. I can do this. I tell myself as I do so, only to feel my subconscious once more appear with the simple comment of don't be stupid.
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Annabeth POV when Levi exited the Ice Cream shop.
I smile up at Eren, having understood his reasoning for asking me to go with him. Dear lord you'd never think this furball would fall for someone so hard within almost two weeks. But after all this bullshit, Aphrodite better not be fucking with him. I think as I watch him, happy to be able to talk to my best friend after so long as I glance over my shoulder, seeing a group of people.
The first one is an extremely tall blonde, with hair that almost hung in his eyes, he reminded me a lot of the guys I saw around the Hephaestus cabin. The next one was another tall blonde, reminding me strongly of my elder brothers at camp. After him was a bouncy brunette woman who seemed to almost want to know everything about you everything. Behind her though was a rather short male, who was barely an inch shorter than I was, with black hair that was styled in an undercut.
All of them were wearing the same uniform that Eren was wearing, telling me that they were in the same military branch that Eren was in. The smallest of the group was looking at us and I saw the smallest glimmer of hurt in his eyes before he takes a step forward, hiding his form behind the brunettes.
However this doesn't last long as Eren saw him as well and instantly brightens, smiling at him and saying "Hey Corporal!" The small male, who I now know is Levi, takes a step back into our line of view as Eren pulls me over to him. I glance up at Eren and see that all of his attention was focused on the male in front of him.
After Eren identified Levi I knew who the rest of them were, as he told me their descriptions and what they did, which was extremely useful when it came to figuring out who was who. But it was nice to know that he'd found so many Demigods for us to have at camp. But he didn't tell me who they were, or what cabin they might belong too. However he did say that and soon he would have to get in contact with Leo and Nico so he can figure out how we're gonna get them all home.
I look up at Eren and have to hold in a giggle. Oh Eren! You really do have it bad… I look back at Levi, and see him wearing an impassive mask. Eren seems to notice something off however as he suddenly looks him over before getting a worried look as he tilts his head slightly to the side and asks "Sir?... Are you alright? You look a little...Upset?" He blinks up at him, letting out a small huff before he says "I'm fine you brat." Sounding annoyed. Eren however ignores his tone and nods before smiles again and says "That's good! Oh! Corporal, this is Annabeth."
He grins over at me as I give him a knowing smile. His eyes seemed to scream at me to keep his feelings a secret as he turns back to Levi, who once more has the smallest amount of hurt showing in his eyes. Eren looks back at Levi, giving him a smile that would have made anyone who had the smallest amount of attraction to Eren swoon.
Eren's friends Armin and Mikasa walk over, Mikasa instantly fixing me with a glare that didn't even make me flinch. Up your game girl. I've had 6 year olds glare better than that. After a moment Eren turns back to me and asks "You needed to go shopping right?" I nod and say "Yeah. If I'm going with you to the ball, I'm going to need a dress." I can hear Levi and Hanji talking quickly and softly as Mikasa says "What do you mean by that?"
I raised an eyebrow at her, watching as the girl attempted to be threatening. Eren straightens slightly, looking between us with a small amount of worry. I cross my arms across my chest. "Eren asked me to be his date to the ball. Why? What else could I have meant?" I say after a moment, letting my voice drip with sarcasm.
I hear Hanji let out a gasp as I see her give Levi a worried look, who seems to be paying attention to anything but us. I feel my eyes widen as I feel a pang of hurt for him, finally realizing why he was acting like that. Oh Eren… You're not the only one who's crushing hard… He must think were dating, that's why he looked so hurt when he first saw us. I really want to rush over to the male, who reminds me so much of Nico and assure him that I'm not dating Eren.
But just as I go to move toward him I hear Mikasa say "Why the hell are you going out with some whore you don't even know!" I turn to her, feeling beyond pissed as I feel my right hand reach toward my hip, to the place where my knife is hidden within my dress. I had gotten Leo to make me a new one after we returned to camp.
Just as I go to fuck her up I see Eren take a single step between us, blocking her from my view as I feel him brush my arm as he does so, issuing a silent warning. I relaxed slightly, allowing Eren to take care of it this once. I could still get by you if I had to, but I'd be in an assload of pain before the end of it.
He moved till he was barely a foot away from her, looking truly murderous. "Don't you ever call her that again. Do you understand me?" He says, in a deceptively calm voice as he looked directly into her eyes. She scoffs at him, saying "I will call that whore-" Before she had even finished her sentence Eren had moved, grabbing her shirt and lifting her off the ground, holding her at least six inches off the ground as he glared at her, his face suddenly inches from hers.
He growled at her, her face finally showing the slightest hint of fear, finally seeing that she had crossed the line. "You will never call her that again. Do you understand me Mikasa? Because next time you do, I will not stop Annabeth from beating the shit out of you." He says, dropping her onto the ground.
Like Hell you'd stop me next time seaweed brain. She falls to the ground, landing on her ass as she stared up at him as he turned and offered me a hand. I take his hand, choosing to leave the area before I ended up burying a body. Eren throws Levi a grin, before leading me farther into town.
He let's out a sigh before shaking his head and saying "I think there's a dress shop near here, want to try there?" I nod at him and say "Sure. I can try a shop or two here. If I can't find something I like I can just as Piper and Hazel to make me one." He gives me a smile as we enter a large shop, which is completely filled with dresses of every design and color.
As soon as the door shuts behind us a young woman appears in front of us, giving us a smile. She was taller than I was with blonde hair that was pulled up into a high ponytail. "Do you need any help?" She asks, looking between the two of us. I shake my head and say "No. I wanted to look around first." She nods and returns to the desk nearby, opening a book and reading as she waited.
I pull Eren further into the store, seeing that the majority of the dresses are large and fluffy. Hmm. They look like ball gowns from…. What movie? I look up at Eren and ask "What time do you think these are from? Cause they look like older ball gowns, but I can't remember what time frame." He nods at me before taking a bright red one off the rack, feeling the fabric before looking the entire thing over and saying "It looks like a dress worn around the 1780's or 1790's."
I nod at him and say "That sounds about right... They're so pretty!" I take the dress from him, holding it up as I look over the bright red material. Eren smiles at me before he seems to get an idea and says "Wait here." As he walks down the rack of dresses, seeming to search for a specific one. Within a minute he stops, reaching into the rack and grabbing two dresses, one an emerald green, and the other a deep blue. (AN: Okay readers. You're going to take those hands of yours and you're going to open a new tab and look up 'Interview With A Vampire Claudia's and Louis Dresses.' The blue one that Claudia wears. That one. See that shit? Remember it. Now remember the green one next to it, as it has meaning too.)
He walks back to me, holding the two dresses in front of him as he asks "This your style?" I take the blue one, taking a closer look at it. It was designed to be worn with a corset, giving you the lovely hourglass figure. The fabric was tight fitting until it got down to the waist, where it then ruffled out, much of the fabric being pulled to the right side of the dress, where it than fell like a blue silky waterfall down to the floor.
The top of the dress was designed to hang off of your shoulders, making it both flirty and covering at the same time. I hold up the dress to myself, nearly sighing with relief when the dress was a little long on me. That means they can edit it to fit me perfectly. I smile at him and say "Yes they are my style, thank you seaweed brain. Now, would you mind carrying beth of these to a dressing room for me while I grab a seamstress?"
He nods at me with a grin as he takes the dress back, walking over toward a dressing room sign. "Wait Eren!" I say soft, motioning him back over. He nods and returns, letting me look the dress over before I see a price tag, which is held onto the dress with a single, turquoise thread. I look at it, seeing the words 200 Coins scrolled onto the paper.
Thank you camp for handing every questing Demigod a bunch of cash. Or in this case, coins! I smile to myself as I check the other tag, seeing that it too is 200 coins. I have 1000 coins on me, and if I spend 400 on the dresses, and about 100 on tailoring, since they probably charge to have the dress edited, than I'll have 500 left to do whatever the heck I want.
I nod at Eren who then takes the dresses to the dressing room as I walk over to the main desk, finding the lady who greeted us at the door. She looks up as I approach and asks "Have you made a selection ma'am?" I nod at her and say "I found two I like, would you have someone help me with them? And a seamstress to tailor them?"
She nods at me and says "Tailoring costs more depending on how much we have to change the dress. Usually it's around 20 coins to have a dress taken up. 40 for two." I nod at her and say "That's fine. But I am unfortunately not wearing a corset at the moment, do you have one that I may wear while I try them on?"
She nods and says "Of course. I'll go get our seamstress and have her meet you at the dressing rooms." I smile at her before I set about to finding Eren. Once I see him I give him a grin before saying "Time to get them tailored!" Sounding beyond happy at this development. He let's out a groan, which told me exactly how 'happy' he was with this as he sat down in a nearby chair.
He motions to the first room and says "I placed them in there." I nod at him before I walk into the room, finding that it was about 5 feet wide and about 6 feet deep, making it easy for two people to move around in here. I nod to myself as I look over the blue dress, which looked stunning, even on a hanger.
This, is going to be tons of fun for me…. With a good bit of embarrassment on Eren's part. Because I will not stop till I ensure that he realizes how much he likes Levi. And they'll be so cute together! I nearly giggle at my plan, before I stop dead in my tracks and shake my head. I am spending WAY too much time in the Aphrodite cabin.
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Eren POV
I sighed again for the umthenth time as Annabeth and I walked back to the base. I was carrying her two massive dresses while she carried a smaller bag with whatever else she got with it, which I know that Piper is going to freak out over. Annabeth gave me a grin before she asked "Do you mind if I leave this stuff with you? It'd be kinda hard take with me, considering my mode of transport."
Yeah. Carrying a dress that would make you fit in perfectly at a 1790's costume party is a little hard to hold while riding a hellhound. I shake my head before asking "Hey. Speaking of transport. When were you supposed to meet your ride?" She glanced up at the sky, seeing that the sun was about an hour from setting.
"In about 20 minutes." She replies after a moment, turning back to me. I hold out a hand and say "Sure I can keep your stuff here for you. Now give me that and get your butt over there. I can't have you missing your ride because she decided to go home early." She nods and hands me the bag, hugging me before running off into the forest. Only to turn around and return.
She looks more than a little annoyed as she says "Could you make our friend sound off for me? Just so I know where she is…" I let out a laugh before nodding, adjusting the bags in my hands before using my right hand to let out a shrill, new yorker cabbie whistle. Within a second I heard a responding howl.
I grin at Annabeth as Mrs O'Leary's howl dies away. She huffs before saying "Thanks Seaweed brain." I nod at her and respond with "Welcome Wise Girl." She than begins walking off in the direction of Mrs O'Leary. I smile at her retreating form before I continue on my way back to the base, which was a surprisingly short walk.
Within 10 minutes I had entered the base and put all of her stuff in my closet. I shake my head before I stretch, glancing at the nearby clock. "Shit." I say, exiting my room before walking upstairs, quickly making my way over to the mess hall. Thank god I hurried back, If I hadn't I'd have missed dinner. I think as I catch Armin just as he's about to enter.
"Hey Armin." I say, smiling at him as he nods at me and asks "Where did Annabeth go?"I snort and say "I don't even get a 'hi' first! And she's fine, she had to get back home. Don't worry though, you can see her again tomorrow." I grab a tray of food, Armin doing the same as he says "That's good. She was nice, and she knew a lot about Architecture."
I nod at him with a smile as I take my seat across from Levi, who seems to be impassive as usual, but he wasn't. Something's… Wrong. Something's bothering him, but I have no clue what. I pick up my burger and slowly begin eating. The burgers they had served were amazing, but he was bugging me.
Whats wrong with you Levi? And most importantly. WHY IS IT BOTHERING ME? I'm so torn between grabbing him and asking him exactly whats making him look so… Heartbroken. And just letting him be. I want to growl out in frustration before Petra saves me from doing something stupid.
"Hey Eren! Did you get a date to the ball? Or does Erwin have to find you one?" Petra asks, looking like her usual sweet self. Oulo scoffs and says "Like that brat could ever get a date…" Maybe you'd quit being such an ass of I kicked you… "Yes I did actually…" I say, smiling at the two of them, yet noticing how Levi flinched, and how Hanji threw him a sympathetic look.
Oulo looks downright flabbergasted whereas Petra looks ecstatic. "OH! Who? What do they look like? Can we meet them? What color will they be wearing? What are they like? What's there name? How long have you two known each other?" Petra asks in rapid fire, speaking so quickly I nearly missed what she was saying.
I chuckle and say "Hey, calm down. Now, Her name's Annabeth. She's been one of my best friends since I was twelve. She knows more about me than anyone else, and she'll be wearing blue. She's shorter than I am and she has blonde hair and gray eyes. She's amazingly bright and a wonderful person."
Oulo scoffs again and says "Like hell any chick would go out with some guy who got his ass handed to him by our corporal, who didn't even break a sweat in the process." I glare at him as Petra intercedes again and elbows Oulo and asks "What level did you graduate from Eren?" Giving me a smile as Oulo glares at her.
I shrug and say "I graduated 5th in my class. 2nd in hand to hand combat. And for your information Oulo, I didn't have my ass handed to me. And that was far from the worst ass-kicking I've ever received." That Crown is held by the glory and horror that is Tartarus. Yet as I say this I see Levi give me a disbelieving look.
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Levi POV
I was glaring down at my food as I see Eren shrug and say "I graduated 5th in my class. 2nd in hand to hand combat. And for your information Oulo, I didn't have my ass handed to me. And that was far from the worst ass-kicking I've ever received." My head snaps up as I hear him say that, feeling more than a little hurt.
I glare at him and say "I have some trouble believing that as I introduced your face to the floor a number of times." And mentally wince immediately afterward. I didn't mean to sound so cruel… I see him glare at me with a raised eyebrow and snaps back "Your point? I've had worse beatings than the one you gave me. And despite that, I've been in more pain than your little stunt put me in."
I feel my chest give a painful throb at his words before I shove the feeling aside, letting anger override the hurt that has made a home in my chest as I feel a not so small blow to my own personal pride. I glare at Eren and say "Fine then. Spar me. Than I can kick your ass again." He glares down at me and replies "Like hell you could."
Erwin than intercedes and says "Calm down you two. You can spar in a few moments, but Hanji, Mike and Myself must be present for it." He stands then, taking his tray and walking it over to the window. Eren is a step behind him as I follow them, the rest of our table getting up at well. Erwin leads us to the indoor training area, which is completely empty at this time. My squad nod at me as I enter before dispersing back to their rooms.
Mike walks over to a table and throws both Eren and I a roll of hand wrapping tape, which I quickly set about to putting on, feeling my own hurt slowly begin to take forefront in my mind. Eren however had taken off his jacket, placing it on the table before he set about to wrapping his hands with practiced ease.
Instead of his usual greenish top, he was wearing the normal white button up that most of the soldiers wear, meaning that I could just barely make out the dark lines of his tattoo as it seemed to crisscross across his back and chest, some lines even showing themselves on his arms, as I am once more struck with the want to ask Eren exactly how far down do they go? I shove that thought away as I yank off my boots, stepping onto the sparring mat.
Eren did the same, standing across from me and slipping easily into a stance, form looking absolutely perfect as he glared at me. Erwin walked up and handed us both a sealed plastic container. "Rules are simple. No hits below the belt, you must both wear a mouthguard, and the spar ends when either one of you taps out, you are pinned to the floor for more than 10 seconds, or you can no longer move. Please try not to break any bones." He says as he steps off the mat.
I rip into the container, pulling out a sterile mouthguard and popping it into my mouth. Eren follows suit before falling back into his stance and proceeding to watch me as Erwin gives us the go. Neither of us move, and I am finally struck by how much bigger than me he is. He's what, 5'7? 5'8? And he's only 15! He's going to be massive when he gets older… I toss my thoughts aside as I look him over trying to see anything I could use against him.
Yet instead of that happening Eren darted forward, aiming a basic left hook at my side, one I dodged by a centimeter. Dammit he's fast! My head screams as I barely block a right hook aimed at my other side, though the force of it jars my arm. I snap back, aiming a kick at his side, one he dodged as he quickly moved out of my reach.
I panted slightly, feeling a welcomed rush of adrenaline as I push forward, aiming an uppercut at his chin, which he avoids as he throws a right hook at my head, one I duck to avoid before I punch him directly in the gut. I hear the air rush out of him as he stumbles back, right before he swung a left kick toward my head.
I roll away, jumping to my feet and blocking the hit he has aimed at my head before I finally see an opening on his left side. I twist, bringing my left leg up and swinging full force at his side, and hear more than one snap as my leg comes in contact with his ribs. I see him grimace and I feel a bright flare of surprise at the fact he hadn't dodged me.
Yet before I had even fully realized that I had just broke my crushes ribs, Eren had wrapped an arm around my leg, pinning it to his side and off balancing me. The next second his right hand had come up and grabbed my throat, shoving us both off balance and making me fall, pinning me to the mat by my neck.
I grab his arm, holding onto it as I pant softly, as I feel him move and press his knee on my other leg, completely pinning me. I pant as I feel sweat trickle down my forehead and feel the heat of his hand wrapped around my throat as I realize how he has me pinned. I'm flat on my back on the mat, with one of his hands wrapped around my throat, and his other arm is holding my leg against his side.
Not only that both he's panting and sweating and glaring down at me in a way that is extremely arousing. I feel my face heat up even more as I take in our position, as he's kneeling between my legs and is practically on top of me. My head fills with quite a few other things we could be doing at this moment besides sparring.
I look up at his face, seeing his own piercing emerald glare seem to be old beyond his years. Like he had seen the very depths of hell, and had come out of it sane. I swallow reflexively when I feel his grip tightened slightly as I take one of my hands from his arm and tap the mat beside me twice.
Eren instantly let's me go, climbing off of me as he stands. He pants softly, holding his ribs on the left side as he let's out a grimace. Oh god…. He must hate me now…. I feel my heart clench as I'm torn between running away and apologizing. But before I do either he takes out his mouthpiece and suddenly starts… Chuckling?
His laughter grows until he's got his head thrown back, letting out an echoing laugh. Suddenly he straightens back up and gives me a grin, offering me a hand and saying "Now that was a spar. And one of the first times I've had these ribs broken." I take his hand, letting him pull me to my feet as I'm struck with a rather R rated image at the strength that he shows.
I am no lightweight, you have broken ribs, and you have just nearly picked me up off the floor with little to no effort. No I'm totally not attracted to that fact. And I don't notice that you keep grinning at me and that I really want to smile back. Okay body. Please be on my side and not give me a boner please… Great. I want to slap myself as I nod at Eren and pull out my mouthpiece before I say "I must agree. It's been a while since I fought anyone who could truly put up a fight."
He nods as Hanji runs over and asks "EREN DID YOU BREAK YOUR RIBS?!" Eren grins at her and says "Yeah. Wait… One second." He than gently presses against his side, grimacing before nodding and saying "Yeah. There at least fractured. I'd say the 4th, 5th and 6th rib. Maybe the 7th as well." Hanji nods along before grinning at me and saying "You really do have a powerful pair of legs, don't you Levi?" I feel my already red face deepen slightly in shade as I ask Eren "Does Hanji need to set them so you can heal? Or are you alright?"
He nods and says "A little help would be nice." Hanji instantly grabs his arm and says "Perfect! I can give you a physical after I fix your ribs!" She grabs his jacket immediately and starts dragging him off, ignoring his minor protests as they go to her lab. I barely remember that Mike and Erwin are there as Erwin says "I'm slightly surprised he beat you Levi. Are you sure you weren't going easy on him?" Giving me a teasing grin.
I glare at him and say "Hell no I didn't you ass." He chuckles in response and says "Oh. I set you up a date. She's from the Garrison though. So you'll have to deal with that, but it was her or a guy from the Military Police and I doubted you wanted to be with that kind of fool." I nod at him before saying "I'll see you tomorrow. I need to wash this sweat off." Erwin nods as Mike says "And jerk off." Before exiting the room, causing Erwin to laugh. "I am not!" I call back, letting out a huff before leaving the room, leaving Erwin who was still laughing his ass off.
I easily made it back up to my room as I jumped into a shower for the second time today and set about to washing the sweat off of my body. And no I did not jerk off too many thoughts of Eren while he had me pinned down to the mat…
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Eren POV after he leaves with Hanji.
No. I am not extremely aroused by the image of Levi pinned on his back. And I will not continue to think about this… and apparently I'm not listening to myself. I follow Hanji to her lab as I try to focus on anything but the image that is currently claiming all of my attention. She enters her lab, grabbing my arm and yanking me over to a medical table and saying "Sit! I'll grab some stuff and take care of your ribs."
The table sits behind a few hospital screens to provide some privacy. As she goes to run off I grab her arm and say "You don't need anything. I just need you to realign them. I can repair them after that, but you have to hurry. Because it's becoming very hard to keep my healing factor at bay, as I really don't want them to heal wrong and you have to break them again." Hanji nods instantly, changing from her own bouncy self to a calm and collected scientist.
She grabs a pair of gloves, pulling them on before she says "Take off your shirt." I comply, placing the material beside me as she turns back to me, eyes widening at the sight of my tattoo. "Wow…" She breaths out, awe coloring her voice before she shakes her head, clearing her thoughts before she gently prods at my right side, fingers gentle in their searching. I still hiss softly when she presses slightly harder as I devote all of my focus to not healing my wounds.
She nods suddenly and says "You're lucky. There fractured, meaning-" "That there in the same place, just more than a little worse for wear." I finish, finally relaxing and allowing my body to repair the damage that it'd been itching to repair since they were injured. Hanji watches me with absolute fascination as my Ribs heal. I look down and see the massive red area where Levi's leg had connected with my rib cage, watching with rapt attention as I see the area go from red to a patchwork of deep blues and purples before fading completely away.
As the massive tingling sensation fades I look up at Hanji and say "Looks like I'm all fixed up." She nods and says "That was extremely fascinating to see." I chuckle and say "Yeah. It always is kinda cool to watch a bruise go through it's entire healing process within a minute." She nods again before returning to her perky self and saying "Now! Time for a physical. And one question?" I sigh and say "Phisical sure. As long as my pants stay on. And only one?" She nods enthusiastically and asks "How far down does your tattoo go?"
I raise an eyebrow at her and say "I'll tell you, but only if you promise to keep it between us. Since you've been the only one to see it so far since it's been completed." She nods, nearly vibrating with excitement. I shake my head at her and smirk before I say "My tattoo goes from my arms, as you can see, to my shoulders as you can also see, before going down all the way to stop just above my knees." My smirk widens as I watch her eyes widen.
"Damn. That must have hurt. But your artist was amazing, the lock looks almost like it's real…" She says, leaning close to look at the golden lock that rests directly above my heart. She then seems to think a moment before saying "I'll do your physical later. Since you did just repair multiple bone fractures. Also, remember that Erwin had a suit made for you. It should be in your room, since your file had all the measurements they needed." I nod at her, feeling slightly creeped out that a file had all of my physical information.
She let's me get dressed as she grabbed my jacket before waving me off to bed. I sigh and walk down toward my room, before I stop, seeing a prism on Hanjis desk. "Hey. Could I borrow that?" I ask her, pointing at the prism. She peeks her head out of a storage room and looks where I'm pointing before saying "Sure. As long as you don't break it." I nod before grabbing the object and exiting her lab, walking quickly to my room.
As I walk I come across another soldier. She was about 5'6 with blonde hair that was held back into a tight ponytail and slightly puffy green eyes. She sniffs softly, apparently not noticing me until she nearly ran into me. "Hey, you okay?" I ask her, seeing her look up at me and seem completely shocked. "H-hey Eren…I'm alright I think…" I smile down at her and say "That's good. Sorry, your name eludes me at the moment. What is it again?"
She sniffs and says "Gensa. Gensa Smith." I nod at her and say "Can you get back to the barracks on your own? Or do you need me to walk you?" She shakes her head and says "I'll be fine… I just have a question… Do you have a date to the Ball? Cause I heard you did…" I nod at her and say "Yeah… Why?"
She shakes her head and says "Curiosity… I'll get back to the barracks…" She steps around me, quickly moving toward the barracks. What the hell?... Oh… Shit. That was not the best way to handle that situation. I nearly facepalm as I continue to walk toward my room, completing the walk with a different thought in mind.
I walk into my room, seeing where I hung up Annabeth's dress, and a large object wrapped up in a clothing protector. I shake my head before tossing my jacket on the bed and grabbing a thin piece of string from a drawer. I than spend the next few minutes tying up the prism in a way that it hangs at just the right angle. After that I grab a screw in hook and quickly screw it into the ceiling.
I than gently hand the prism on the hook, making sure it won't fall before I look around my room, seeing a rainbow shine on the space directly above my bed. I grin at the space and grab the pouch out of my pocket, fishing a Drachma out of it before throwing it into the rainbow. "Oh Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering. Please show me Annabeth Chase."
The space shimmers, changing for a moment before clearing to reveal Annabeth, who was sitting on the Athena Cabin's porch. The image is sketchy at first before it cleared up. She looks up from the book she's reading, looking shocked for a moment before saying "Hey Eren! Whatcha need?" I smile at her and say "I don't need anything. But you do need to know something. The event starts at 6pm exactly. Which means be here a little bit early. But my one question was are you going to grab Piper and do everything here? Or are you going to get ready there? Provided your dress is here."
She nods and says "I already asked Piper and she packed everything she needs to help me get ready, and she'll accompany me over there on Mrs O'Leary, and we should be there about 9am. Nico will than entertain her while we're there. You however will have to walk us back, due to Mrs O'Leary missing you." I nod along and say "It can't be that bad!"
The look she gives me says otherwise before the image distorted for a moment, returning to normal as she says "She sits outside your cabin and howls. For hours on end. She didn't do it when you first left, only the last two nights. And she only howls whenever Nico or I aren't staring at her. And I mean Staring. Because if we fall asleep she starts barking and yipping until we wake up."
I nod along and say "Alright. I'll try and play with her while you guys are here. Which will be a little hard to do without the mist. But possible." She nods as I suddenly hear a deep, mournful howl. My eyes widen as I hear it, the sound drowning out whatever Annabeth had been about to say as she gets up and says "Gotta go. Seems like Nico can't watch her tonight."
I nod as she stands, going to step through the image before she stops and says "Wait Eren! I nearly forgot. Chiron spoke with the gods and they said that you may only tell 4 people of your true identity before your quest is finished. But there's a catch, you can only tell them if they ask." I nod at her before saying "Thank you Annabeth. Goodnight." She gives me a smile before replying in kind and stepping through the image.
Iit vanishes back into a rainbow that shines innocently on my wall. I sigh before clearing off my bed, setting everything in it's place before changing into my sleep pants and climbing into bed, relaxing after a moment, finally allowing the exhaustion that comes from healing broken bones take me to the land of dreams.
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And that's all you get for now.
