A/N
This chapter very much explores my headcanon about bonding in Loveless, since we see pairs that are lovers, siblings, friends, etc. There is no one type of bond and every one is beautiful in its own way, even when it's tragic. It's one thing that I've always admired about that series-It's about love in all its forms, even when it's toxic and painful. Hopefully it puts a bit more insight into some of the pairs that I picked/are possible/will be possible.

And appreciate the fact that my NoTP wrote itself into my own fic. WTF self.

Ch 6: Guileless

Eren entered the library with Mike still pushing at his back. He saw three other people scattered around the room, each reading a book. He looked at Mike who gestured towards everyone. Eren hated breaking the silence in a library, but it couldn't be helped.

"Hello everybody, sorry I missed this morning, but I'm new here…" Oh this was painful.

A boy with a buzz cut looked up. "Oh, it's you! Sasha told me she saw you last night in the kitchens after dinner!"

A small girl with blonde hair put her book down. "Yeah, we all knew you were here, but we didn't know where to find you this morning. Do you have a special room somewhere?"

"Oh right, Sasha said she heard you don't have a fighter, so it would make sense if you weren't on our floor. I mean Aururo's not and he has no sacrifice."

A taller boy looked at him with an amused expression. "Are you wearing Jean's clothes?"

Eren's tail poofed out again. He looked back for Mike but found that he had already left. The man was silent as a panther.

The tall boy looked at Eren's tail. "Whoa! I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I only thought it was funny." He got up and extended a hand to Eren. "I just recognized them because I'm Marco, Jean's sacrifice. We're—"

"Infinity!" Eren shouted. "Power streaming from a realm of infinite possibilities."

Marco laughed. "No, that's not us."

"Huh?" Eren was confused.

Marco shook his head. "Infinity, a quantity of power knowing no limits and no end." He slid his sleeve up to show an infinity symbol stamped across his bicep.

"Oh, so what I said was…"

"Yeah, you said the incantation associated with Levi's name. We might be Infinity types, but even in Infinity, each pair remains unique," said Marco. He twitched his tail. "So how do you even know his anyway? Levi's not much for talking."

The image of the titan reaching towards Levi flashed through his mind. Levi never said as much, but he had a feeling that the titan shouldn't be mentioned to anyone he wasn't sure about. Did the students know? He better not.

"We had a quick battle in the forest. It was just some crazy lone fighter who had untethered Levi's horse. Anyway, by the time that was sorted out, the horse was long gone and we had to walk all the way home because of it," said Eren. "It's why I got here so late."

"Oh, that makes sense." Said the boy with the buzz cut. "I'm Connie, by the way. I know you met Sasha yesterday because she wouldn't shut up about watching you eat the sandwich Petra made you."

"I know your name is Bottomless, but you don't seem to be as…" Eren trailed off.

"Yeah, I know. My fighter has a bit of a one-track mind, but in a way, it makes her easier to work with, I think." Connie scratched his grey colored ears. "It's important to know your fighter's mind so that you can save them from themselves."

Save them from themselves? Eren pondered Connie's words. What did Levi need to be saved from?

The blonde girl finally got up to join them. "My name is Christa. You probably haven't had the chance to meet my fighter yet. Ymir is warmer than she acts. Our name is Lawless."

"I stumbled into the fighter class earlier, but I didn't get to be introduced to anyone." Eren looked at his clothes. "Well, I met Jean and he wasn't too happy that I was given his clothing to wear."

Marco laughed. "He'll get over it. If it was given to you, there's not much you can do about it."

"It's nice to meet everyone who's a sacrifice," said Eren. "If I'm being honest, I only found out that I was a sacrifice yesterday."

"Well, today Petra can't teach us, so we're doing readings," said Marco. "These are some good books about spell battling for beginners. Even though we aren't fighters, it's important that we understand how they work, just as much as we understand our role as a sacrifice."

Eren accepted the books and tucked them under an arm.

Everyone in the room went back to their studies. Eren sat himself down at Marco's table and opened one of the books. He tried to read, but at this point, there was only one thing on his mind. He scooted his chair closer to Marco.

"Actually, can I talk to you for a second?" asked Eren. "Hanji's recommending me for the Infinity program, and I think it would be nice to talk to someone who's not a fighter."

Marco blinked. "Oh wow. That's a big decision. Especially if you don't know much about being a sacrifice."

"Because I don't have a name or a fighter, Hanji and Petra said that it might make a lot of sense for me to become an Infinity."

"No name, hmmm…" Marco chewed on the idea. He furrowed his brow. "That makes sense from a logistics standpoint, but does it make sense for you?"

"What do you mean?" Eren thought Hanji and Petra's logic made sense. Even Levi bought the idea in the end. What was in Marco's mind?

"What is the role of a sacrifice?" he said, gently.

"A sacrifice takes the damage of an enemy fighter," answered Eren.

Marco smiled. "This is true, but it is a lot more than that. You've actually only described your relationship with the enemy."

Eren was puzzled. That was the definition that Levi had given him.

Marco patted his shoulder. "Maybe you should read a little bit and talk to other sacrifices, too. I'll always be here to talk about my experience as an Infinity sacrifice, but don't rush into things just because the older pairs say something. Peerless in particular tends to have a lot of enthusiasm."

"But Levi…" Eren clamped a hand over his mouth. His voice was no longer a whisper.

"It's okay," said Marco. "If you and Levi end up getting very attached to each other, you'll practice together and be sent on missions together. You don't have to shoulder the work of an Infinity sacrifice just to be by his side. If you're truly nameless, and he stays partnerless, there's no reason to pull you apart. In fact, it'd be better to keep you together."

Eren cocked his head. He had never thought about it that way. He had been so stuck on the idea of sharing a name. Granted, he still wanted to share a name with Levi, but now, he didn't feel so sick without it. People would still recognize them as a pair. Levi could rely on him in battle.

Everyone in the room was now looking at him. Eren smiled nervously.

Connie squinted at him. "Hey, I know why we couldn't find him this morning."

Eren was growing redder and redder by the minute.

"Why? I looked everywhere," said Christa.

Connie looked so proud of himself. "He's Mikasa's brother. He must have been staying in the Dauntless room!"

"Oh yeah, I didn't check there," said Christa. "Do you mind if we knock on your door and get you if we don't see you in the mornings?"

Now Eren was just dumbstruck. "No, it's okay, my alarm clock wasn't on today. I can get up fine."

"But what about on weekends when we don't have class and everyone wants to hang out or visit town or something," said Connie. "I don't care if people come and get me."

This was difficult. Maybe he was going to have to say something. "Well, maybe it's okay if you come and get me, but I don't know how happy my roommate will be."

"Dauntless is out on duty, so who is your roommate?" Connie said, scratching his head.

Eren could see the lightbulb flash on in Marco's eyes. "Connie, he's not staying with Dauntless." He turned to Eren with a sweet smile on his face. "You've already moved in with Levi, haven't you."

Eren watched the eyes bulge and the jaws drop. "Yeah, Hanji and Petra put me in there last night," he said, staring at his feet.

Christa shook her head. "Yup, definitely didn't check there. I guess now we know where to find you." She sighed and then smiled brightly. "Maybe with a partner, Levi won't be so grouchy in the morning!"

"No way," said Connie. "He's an amazing fighter, but he's not very friendly. And when he forms bonds…well it's a little awkward if you're not attracted to other dudes. I mean, not that two guys together is a bad thing."

Marco nodded. "He's best at forming connections based on sexual and romantic attraction. We all have our skills."

"What do you mean?" said Eren.

"Well, I'm good at forming connections based on friendship, so say if I'm paired up to Connie's figher, Sasha, we match very easily since she forms a strong friendship bond, too," Marco said.

He continued. "But, if I'm matched to Ymir, Christa's fighter, I can connect to her with a friendship bond, but it's not as strong as it would be if she could form a bond on sexual attraction. She only is attracted to girls, so yeah, it's the same problem that Connie has with Levi."

"So in other words, Infinity types are not fully interchangeable with a member of a pair?" Eren wanted to understand Infinity as best as he could, and there seemed to be a lot more to it than Hanji let on.

"That's correct. Nobody bonds as strongly as the one who shares your name, though depending on the pair, an Infinity can come close." Marco rested his hand on the table. "Like I know Levi and Erd bond with an extremely high affinity."

"I don't think I've met Erd yet," said Eren.

Levi was an Infinity; he could be paired with any sacrifice. Eren was fine with this. But why did he feel a little funny at knowing that he had the ability to form a strong bond—close to a name bond—with someone else?

"Erd and his fighter Gunter are the pair Relentless," said Christa. "They're usually on security detail, so you won't see them as teachers really, but you never know. They're a surprise!"

"Yeah, it's not uncommon for them to be gone for days or weeks at a time since the grounds are so huge. Erd makes a point of getting to know us student sacrifices, but Gunter I rarely ever see," said Connie. "Marco, have you ever paired with him?"

"Gunter? Yeah, once," answered Marco. "He wasn't too hard to bond with. He's just very intense, so it takes a lot of energy to support him. It gives me a lot of respect for Erd. That can't be easy."

Eren closed his eyes.

Form a connection with me. His mind spoke with Levi's voice. It was urgent, hungry.

He hadn't seen their connection, but he'd certainly felt it, springing from deep in his chest. He remembered back when it was formed. He could smell the pine around him and feel the rough bark against his back. He sheared through the memory, isolating the connection. It was not romantic…it was lust. Deep in the night, that wasn't romance, it wasn't friendship; it was lust. Eren's cheeks grew hot.

Maybe this was what Marco was meaning for him to examine. To bond to another person, he would have to pick their best mode in order to connect with them. He'd felt how easily Levi formed a sexual connection. Could he do the same, with anyone, just like that? What about friendship? What did that bond even feel like with a fighter? What if he was bonded to Mikasa for a battle? Would working with a sister be harder or easier than with a friend or with a lover?

Was this best for him?

Eren looked down at the book that he had open. It had an almost alchemical looking drawing showing a fighter and a sacrifice, with bonds drawn connecting the two heads, the two hearts, and two of what was called the 'life force' and situated at the hips. In scripted letters, below the sacrifice it read 'source', and below the fighter, it said 'sink'. Eren frowned. The sacrifice was the source of what?

Eren heard the click of the door.

"Hello everyone. I'm sorry I couldn't make it for most of today. I know we only have a half hour left, or so." Petra limped into the library, most of her weight borne by a very dour looking Levi.

Christa ran up to her, taking her other arm. "Petra, you look terrible! What on earth happened?"

"And why is Levi here?" said Connie.

That was the question Eren wanted to know. Why was Levi here? Eren cursed his inability to see bonds. Were they together right now?

"Don't worry about me," said Petra. "This is only a temporary effect of a spell that Hanji did. I absorbed a portion of someone's pain. It's a very difficult healing spell, and as far as I'm aware Hanji is the only one who can cast it, so it's no surprise if you've never heard of it being done."

Christa helped Petra into a chair and sat back down. Levi continued to stand at her right hand, looking coolly off to the side.

"Hanji went to teach your fighters, and my power is sapped, so Levi agreed to come with me and lend me his energy until Hanji's done," Petra said.

Eren stared at them. So they were bonded right now, both of them, Levi supporting her effortlessly. Eren's mouth ran dry. He wondered what that felt like, to be weak and cradled in the energy of another. Did it feel weird to Petra not to have Hanji with her, but Levi instead? If Eren became an Infinity, what if he was the one who had to support a fighter who was in terrible shape? Could he do it?

"So, why don't you each give me something you learned from your readings today?"

Marco spoke up. "Actually, we just had a good group discussion on the nature of bonds and how they are formed."

"I'll bet you had a lot to say on the subject, yourself." Petra smiled. She looked over at Christa. "What about you?"

"I learned that speaking with strong perceptual isochrony** makes a spell stronger, and that if you use it in a command to your fighter, you can gain even more power when they finally cast a spell," said Christa.

"Yes, speechcraft is always said to be the domain of the fighters. But, words are powerful for even a sacrifice. They have a powerful effect on the fighter who hears them." Petra got out a notebook and jotted some words down. "You all are advanced enough to learn more sophisticated command styles. I'll teach you some next week."

Wait. Command styles? Eren was a bit lost.

Connie reopened his book. "I was reading about imaging techniques that fighters use. I thought that if I understood it more, I could give Sasha ideas for new spells. I'm not always the best at coming up with new ideas, but there are strategies that you can use even if you're bad at coming up with stuff on the fly."

"That is true," said Petra. "Sometimes you will see something that your fighter does not, even though all fighters are well versed in these techniques. Never be afraid to mention an idea to your fighter, even if you think it's stupid. Sometimes a fresh point of view is all it takes."

"How about you, Eren?" Petra asked. Levi looked up, gaze fixed on Eren.

Eren wanted to crawl under his chair. He really hadn't done much other than arrive late, gossip with everyone and open one book. And now Levi was here…

"Well, actually, I ran across something in a book that I didn't quite understand," he said.

He opened his book to the page with the diagram on it and gave it to Petra. She stared at the figures.

"In this book, in the diagram of a fighter and sacrifice, the sacrifice is labeled the 'source' and the fighter is the 'sink'. I thought that maybe I understood what it meant, but your presence here makes my theories fail."

"It's been a long time since I've seen this book," she said. She held Eren in her amber eyes. "Answer me this, Eren. What is a sacrifice?"

"I was told that a sacrifice takes the damage of an enemy fighter." Eren gulped. "I have some other ideas, but I'm not the best person to speak on the subject."

"That's not true, you've seen battle," said Petra. She looked at Levi. "You got that definition from him didn't you."

"It got the basic point across," said Levi dryly. Petra glared at him. "What?" Levi said, defensively.

Petra turned back to the class. "Though they don't like to hear it, being born a fighter means living life with a set of blinders on." She sighed. "However, it is also true that any fighter can go out and fight without a sacrifice."

Petra continued. "Even though they can fight alone, a fighter only reaches his or her potential when connected to a sacrifice. That fighting peak of 100% exists only because they also command the energy that is your life source. They are drawing from you as much as they are drawing from themselves."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Eren asked.

"It shouldn't be if you are strongly bound to your fighter," Petra answered. "A sacrifice must also bear the damage during a fight, so you must learn to manage your own energies. As a sacrifice, you don't have ability to draw energy from your fighter, but why would you? You need the fighter to have as much power as you can manage."

Petra showed the diagram in the book around the room. "This is why the old models like this diagram say 'source' and 'sink'. A sacrifice is literally a source of energy, and that power is sunk into the fighter."

"Yes, that makes sense, but—" Eren was interrupted.

Petra gestured to herself and Levi. "But, energy is being given from a sink to a source, right in front of you?"

"Yeah." Eren nodded.

"Sacrifices cannot take from their fighters, but fighters can reverse the energy flow and give their own life force to their sacrifice." She looked at Levi. "Naturally, it is an easier process for Hanji to give to me, but Infinity fighters can do this for any sacrifice they bond with."

Petra grinned at Eren. "Like I said before, fighters fight with blinders on. If you need something from your fighter, command him to do it. It is his job—no, his purpose—to hear every word you say. As a sacrifice, you must see the world exactly as it is and to point him in the right direction. A fighter without a sacrifice is dangerously untempered."

Eren thought about the Heartless fighter, Annie. Now that he knew this, he had a hard time understanding why she would have even challenged them. But maybe that was wisdom that her absent sacrifice would have provided.

Eren stared at Levi who didn't seem to be making an expression that showed how he felt one way or the other. It was like Petra's words were nothing but fact and about as interesting to him as a chat about the weather.

As a sacrifice, he actually had some power?

When joined, Levi was obligated to listen to him…

Eren thought back to the night before. Was the fact that they were still sharing a bond part of the reason why Levi spoke so candidly and then acquiesced?

This was fascinating. He was going to have to talk to other sacrifices about this…when Levi was nowhere near him.

Suddenly, the door was unceremoniously flung open and a terribly excited Hanji burst into the room. She ran up behind Petra's chair and threw her arms around her.

"Relieved of duty," she said to Levi as she continued to nuzzle Petra.

"Finally," he said. "I was gonna fall asleep standing up just listening to her teach the most basic stuff in the universe."

Petra waved at the class. "It's Friday, so class dismissed until Monday. I'll see you then."

The other sacrifices left the library, leaving Eren behind with Levi, Hanji, and Petra. It was the perfect opportunity for him to talk to figure out what to do about clothes.

"Petra, you were gone so I couldn't talk to you," said Eren. "I don't have any clothes here, and am actually wearing Jean's stuff now. Levi said that I should talk to you about giving you my sizes?"

"Oh! Darn!" Petra said. "You'd have been so cute to dress up, too."

Hanji stepped in. "Petra's too weak to pick up anything in town right now. I'd go, but I need to be supporting her."

Eren was not relishing the idea of going to ask Jean for more things to wear. Well, maybe if he could go through Marco, the process would be easier. He'd have to think on that one.

"I can see it in your face; don't worry about it," said Petra. "Levi's going to take you out on the town."

"What?" Levi said annoyance in his eyes. "I'm not doing the girly stuff."

Petra giggled. "You go to town pick out your own things and don't let me shop for you because you're just that picky. Admit it. You like it."

"Think of it as a date!" said Hanji.

Eren blushed. He'd never been on a date. And this was the weirdest circumstance to warrant one.

Levi balled his hands into fists. "Why are you trying so hard to set us up!? I've barely agreed to let him be my sacrifice, and you're pushing him into my bed and fucking with my alarm clock, and doing who the hell knows what. You perverts just want to hear lewd noises through the wall like I have to hear every goddamn night!"

Petra's eyes went wide. "So you have decided to let him be your sacrifice! I knew it. You weren't half as mad at us as you would have been otherwise."

Hanji moved to play with Eren's ears. "We knew you couldn't resist him! He's so cute!"

"Ugh. Why do I even bother…" Levi grabbed Eren's wrist. "We're leaving. Now."

"We'll see you around!" Hanji said as she helped Petra up off of the chair.

Eren attempted to wave goodbye, but he was already moving halfway down the hallway.

xXx

Levi had an absolutely magical habit of disappearing, Eren had decided. It was not soon after they had left the library, Levi let go of his hand. But, Eren stopped to tie his shoelaces, and in that instant, Levi was gone. He hadn't even heard any footsteps, even on these old creaking floors. At least Eren recognized the way that Mike had taken him to the library, so he had no trouble following that downstairs.

Eren decided to do some more exploring of the building until dinner. It was Christa and her tall, dark haired fighter, Ymir, who had found him and brought him into the dining room. He noticed everybody was there in their respective pairs. Hanji sat practically cradling Petra. Jean and Marco sat by them, Jean still giving him the evil eye. Connie and Sasha were across from him at the table and Connie was trying to valiantly hold his plate against Sasha's constant forays to grab her favorite foods. A blond man with a sour expression he hadn't met sat on the other side of Petra, Aururo being what people seemed to call him. Christa had taken her place by Eren and truth be told, he felt a little uneasy under her fighter's sharp-eyed stare, so he was glad when Ymir finally sat down.

Mike and Nanaba were the last to sit down. "We figured since we were in town, we'd make the food tonight," they said.

And boy was Eren glad that they did. The seasoning on the baked chicken was delicious, and the rice pilaf was light and fluffy. He managed to get a piece of bread when Sasha wasn't looking and watched the two of them with amusement as Sasha tried to figure out where it went. He was deep in thought, munching on his mixed vegetables when Petra brought him back to earth.

"Hey, where's Levi?" she asked. "At this rate, he's not gonna get anything."

"I-I don't know," said Eren. "I don't even know how I lost him!"

"Yeah, he's good at that," said Nanaba. "If he doesn't want to be found, he won't be found."

"If he disappears on you tomorrow, I'll kill him!" said Petra as she stuffed her mouth with rice.

Nanaba looked at him. "If he vanishes tomorrow, I'll take you to town if you need to go."

Eren blushed. How did Nanaba know about this? Since if Nanaba knew, then who else did?

"No, no," said Hanji. "It's the principle of the matter. That's nice of you Nanaba, but it really does have to be Levi."

"Oh, I was just thinking that he'd get jealous and magically appear," said Nanaba as he gestured with a fork. "He's got animal sense like that."

Mike put his arm around Nanaba and crushed him to his chest. "You guys know it's completely true."

Eren looked over at his classmates, but they seemed to be too much into each other to be listening in on his conversation.

"Okay, it's settled. If he doesn't take you, find Nanaba and let the games begin!" Petra laughed.

But Eren really had to wonder. Where the hell was Levi?

The after dinner conversations only got more and more rowdy. Eren found it easy to forget that just yesterday he was taken from his home and flung into a world he had no idea existed. These people felt warm like family, like when his father, mother, and Mikasa lived with him under one roof. Soon it was time to clean and put everything away. He carried his dishes into the kitchen and washed them and left so that there was room for more people to use the sink.

Eren made his way to the hallway with all of the bedrooms. It wasn't so much that he was tired, but he just wanted some time to reflect on everything he was learning. The others were going to the activity room, but he wasn't really in the mood for games.

He stopped in front of the Infinity door and stared at the doorknob before touching it. He walked inside and turned on the light, shutting the door behind him.

"You said you wanted me to come to bed earlier."

Eren whirled around to find Levi sitting in his desk chair, his shirt taken off and folded on the floor. He felt the blood rush to his face…and some other places.

"Levi…" he breathed.

Levi stood up and padded towards him, staring at him with his intense eyes. "Was I wrong?"

Eren tried for words, but none came out. He tried to breathe, and that wasn't going well either. Levi continued to walk towards him. Their hands met; he leaned into Levi, and bent down to reach his lips.

How was he going to keep it together tonight?

**Perceptual Isochrony... My first publication in graduate school dealt with this phenomenon of human speech. It's basically the rhythms that form when you're speaking, like as if you could tap to a beat to your speech. So sorry, but I couldn't not include it. O_o

Needless to say, I'm super excited about Ch 7. Expect an early release. Also, expect a rating change.