Notes: Sorry for the late update, this chapter really gave me some trouble. I'm still not really happy with the second half, but I needed to convey some information to Eren, so I couldn't leave it out. I'll probably end up doing a longer Tumblr post about the tribulations I had with this chapter in the 'aus writing' tag - and believe me, the chapter title is only a minor issue.

Edit: Here is the post, if you want to read the extended notes: leviplease,tumblr,com/post/62091785979 (Replace the commas with dots for the link to work.)


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Chapter 6: Unexpected Turns

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"So?" Levi asked still leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "Did you get what you came for this time?"

"Er…"

The question took Eren by surprise. He'd expected at least a little bit of anger coming his way and probably something along the lines of "you've really gone too far this time, brat" or "now you're really making me do it, brat" or he didn't even know – definitely something with him being called a brat in a threatening way. But instead he was asked the same question as he had received when leaving Annie's cell for the first time the other night like it was nothing, like he was allowed to be here.

He stared at his superior, trying to measure how mad the man was. Anger seemed to be the first thing to seep through the mask of indifference. But as usual the impassive face gave nothing away about the feelings of the man behind it. If he was boiling he hid it incredibly well.

"Yes, pretty much," the young scout stated truthfully – because in a way or another he had.

He wasn't quite sure how to behave towards the captain now, but he figured honesty was his best shot. Well, not that he'd had many options to answer that question. There really was no point in saying "no", was there? Maybe it would spare him further questions as for now. But he might as well be caught at lying. After all he hadn't tested his ability to be deceiving in a while.

"Good," Levi just said and pushed himself away from the wall. "Let's go."

Eren was left perplexed as the man started heading down the corridor. However he caught himself quickly enough and managed an affirmative "yes" before actually hurrying after his superior. The thoughts in his head had picked up an even quicker pace.

Was he off the hook so easily? Or had Levi a punishment in mind that would require them to go somewhere specific? Maybe the captain just didn't want to beat him up in front of the guards. Because no matter how nonviolent his superior's behaviour towards him had been ever since his trial – that first impression still stuck with the boy unpleasantly, even though he knew it had been an act.

As he caught up with the captain, he fell into a silent trot beside him. His eyes occasionally wandered to search the smaller man's face for a hint of anger – anything at all. But there was nothing he could make out. So he decided to say nothing regarding his unauthorised visit to the dungeon until the older man brought it up himself.

"You didn't mention she provoked you," Eren noted as they were out of the guard's earshot.

Now that he had gained some new insight on the events of the previous night it was his way of coming to terms with Levi after his outburst in the mess hall earlier this morning. Maybe he even could pass it off as an apology, though it wasn't an entirely earnest one.

He still thought what the captain had done was horrible and he wasn't willing to forgive him yet – not after Annie had cried in his arms. But he was a soldier after all and Levi was his superior and they were not supposed to have sympathy with the enemy. So from this point of view he didn't really have the right to speak up.

Levi shot him a glance with a raised eyebrow that could almost be called amused. Maybe he wasn't angry after all, but Eren didn't dare to bet on that. Not yet.

"Did she mention that? How cute," the man commented in – had there been a hint of mockery in his tone? Eren wasn't sure. But maybe he'd just imagined it.

"You don't have to be so mean," he mumbled without thinking.

The reply he received was clearly sarcastic this time.

"Oh, I'm sorry not all of us where so privileged to train with miss tiny-killer-titan and get to know her good side. I'm sure she's lovely when she doesn't squash people."

Eren did not point out that a remark regarding Annie's height was ironic coming from Levi. He didn't want to strain the man's good will and patience any further for the day. Most of all he tried not to jump into an argument over how his superior saw the blond girl. It was highly inappropriate – so much even he could tell – and the captain had a point: Eren had met Annie as a comrade Levi however had met her as an enemy.

What would he have done, Eren wondered, if he hadn't known Annie for three years? How would he treat her if it wasn't for the bond with her he had unconsciously developed while sparring with her? If he thought back to their fight in the forest of giant trees and how he'd promised to rip her to pieces that was probably what he'd eventually done if given the chance.

As he walked alongside the man, the young scout tried to put himself in his superior's shoes. From the captains point of view the most prominent thing about Annie was most likely the fact that she'd brought about the death of several of his comrades. Considering this, he had actually treated her surprisingly well since she had been captured.

Well, apart from the previous night. But she had called the deaths of his squad and the other scouts pointless and as a man who – as Eren had learned in his time with him – valued human lives highly, of course that had triggered his fury.

What had Annie meant anyway when she had called the scouts sacrifices? Was it even of significance or had she just said it in order to provoke? Eren guessed he'd learn the next day when he'd come to visit her again. Speaking of which…

"She said she'd tell me everything," he informed his superior as he started to climb the staircase behind him. He figured that this time he definitely needed permission to visit Annie, if he didn't want to have his neck broken for sure.

Levi stopped in his tracks and turned to face him. The young scout reacted in the blink of an eye, halting a few steps beneath him, so he actually had to look up to see the man's face. Pierced by blue eyes, Eren quickly offered more on the matter.

"Tomorrow," he specified. "She said if I come by tomorrow, she'll tell me everything."

Silence. The gaze fixing him was so intense, he almost felt himself shrinking beneath it.

"She said, you can come, too," he added more subdued.

The staring continued and he felt challenged by the older man not to blink or break eye contact first. There was no telling what Levi thought of the new information or how he would judge it. But as he looked up into those unreadable eyes, Eren considered his chances to see Annie again – no matter for what reason – to be really low.

"Can you take it?" the captain finally inquired quietly.

"Huh?" Eren blinked in confusion, because he couldn't quite follow.

The senior scout inhaled audibly which indicated that he was going to waste a few more words on him than most of the time.

"Can you take everything that she said she was going to tell you? Because "everything" can be a lot and "everything" can be cruel and we're most likely talking about the reason for the attack on mankind. And the trouble with reasons is that they might be perfectly acceptable for one, but seem horribly wrong to the other."

He paused to make sure his words were fully perceived. Eren couldn't quite shake the feeling that with the last half-sentence he and his short temper were what the man referred to in particular.

"So I'm asking you, Eren," Levi's tone was more intense than usual, his eyes were piercing the boy, "can you take it? Can you keep your cool no matter how cruel and infuriating the things you'll learn tomorrow might seem to you?"

So this was what it came down to after all.

Eren swallowed the lump the intensity of the captain's gaze and words had left in his throat. He hadn't really thought it through when Annie had offered to tell him everything, so he was caught off guard now. But he was determined to see it through and if he had to bite his tongue – well, maybe not literally or he might end up transforming into a titan. That would be more than counterproductive – or should he say inconvenient?

"Yes sir," he whispered firmly.

Levi nodded merely visible.

"Good," he concluded. "We'll arrange everything then."

With those words he turned back around and continued climbing the stairs like nothing happened, leaving a shocked Eren who had been frozen in place to hurry after him yet again. But the young scout caught up easily enough with a few quick steps. Those were the perks of having longer legs than your superior.

They let silence take over again. For now everything was said, though the boy still expected to get some kind of feedback for his unauthorised entry of Annie's cell. But it didn't seem like a worst-case-scenario was coming for him, which was a relief.

Also, Levi let him take part in a crucial interrogation of Annie despite his misbehaviour. Did that mean the man trusted in him or was it just a compromise to finally gain the long awaited information? Eren could only guess, but he tended towards the latter.

The stairs led to the entrance hall where unexpectedly a group of people was gathered. The wings of freedom on the backs of their green hoods clearly identified them as fellow scouts. The sound of Levi's and Eren's footsteps on entering the hall caught their attention and the one standing closest who was also the tallest of them turned around to face them.

It was commander Erwin.

"Ah, perfect timing," he greeted them in his usual formal voice.

"What an unexpected surprise," Levi replied as he and Eren walked over.

He sounded sarcastic again, which Eren began to wonder about. While regularly bored by the world and seeming to stand above everything, anything coming from the captain that didn't sound indifferent seemed out of character to his subordinate.

Erwin kept a straight face. The smaller man's remark seemed to neither impress him nor offend him in any way.

"Did you nearly die last night, or what's with the sarcasm?" he asked matter-of-factly.

Now Eren definitely was worried. If even the commander who had known Levi far longer picked up on his sarcasm, there had to be something to it. And what was that remark about nearly dying? How did something like that even play into it? Maybe it was some code the two men had developed between themselves.

Levi just offered a dismissive "tsk" and Erwin seemed to let it go. Instead he turned to the young scout who'd watched their exchange attentively.

"Hello Eren," he greeted. "How are you?"

"Hello," Eren replied, surprised about being addressed all of a sudden. "I'm good."

It was actually not far from the truth. He'd just failed to mention the inner turmoil from recent events and the anticipation for the next day, but that wasn't something you discussed in the middle of an entrance hall. And he wasn't sure if he even wanted to discuss it with the commander at all.

There was no rule you had to report any personal feelings or love affairs to him. At least as far as Eren knew. Before now he hadn't really concerned himself with something like that. He hadn't considered it could ever become relevant for him. But he vaguely recalled that any relationships of romantic or sexual nature – how Instructor Shadis had put it – had been strictly prohibited among trainees. Could the same rule apply to the scouts as well?

Actually Annie wasn't a scout, but a former member of the Military Police. And currently a prisoner, which made matters even worse. And Levi knew? How had Eren not ben told yet to get over her – as an order not just as a good advice?

"Good," Erwin nodded, regaining the boy's attention. "I've brought you some company."

Only now as the tall man's hand indicated the three scouts behind him who had stayed silent so far, Eren paid attention to them. In pleasant surprise he recognised Armin, Mikasa and…

"Don't ask me, what I'm doing here. I don't know either," Jean scowled at Eren who couldn't hide the dismay from his face completely as he recognised him.

However, before either of them could say another word Mikasa stepped in between them and called for Eren's attention. She took his hands in hers and asked him concernedly if he really was alright. She clearly didn't like having been separated from him yet again. Probably she still mistrusted Levi for his demeanour in the courtroom.

Eren nodded absentmindedly. His attention had shifted again to their superiors as Erwin suggested a private briefing on the current situation. Eren's heart faltered as he thought about how that meant the commander now would learn about everything with Annie and him and probably have the final say in the matter of Annie's interrogation the next day. He wasn't sure what outcome to expect.

Levi did not decline Erwin's suggestion, which seemed to be treated as an approval. The two men strode off without a further word, leaving their four subordinates to stare after them in wonder.

"Geez, what is it with these guys," Jean grumbled.

"I don't know," Armin replied thoughtfully. Probably he did some analysing, but he didn't consider it worth sharing.

"Anyway, hello Eren," he turned towards his childhood friend.

Eren who was still processing so many changes to his current situation, blinked confused. He only managed a short "hello" before Levi called for his attention from the other end of the hall once more.

"Eren, behave. Don't make me have your sorry ass report to me everywhere you go in advance."

Without even waiting for Eren's obedient "Yes sir!" the captain followed Commander Erwin out of the hall. They had left for the wing where his personal quarters and his office were located.

"What does that shorty think you are," Mikasa growled, "his dog?"

"Let it go, Mikasa," Eren begged her resigned.

There wasn't even much time for him to feel delighted about the arrival of his two childhood friends, because as he looked at their and Jean's faces he thought that he had no idea how to explain to them what had happened between him and Annie. And though he knew that conversation might not even reach the topic of her, it still left him uneasy.

"So, you want to go for lunch?" he asked, trying to hide his discomfort.

It was still a little too early for lunch, but he considered they could head there already anyway.

Armin accepted right away while Jean mumbled something like "yeah, whatever". Mikasa just silently joined them as Eren led them towards the mess hall. She was still scowling, quite possibly because of Levi. Eren suppressed a sigh. He really hoped this wasn't going to get awkward.

As they walked down the corridor, Eren feigned interest in how his comrades from training days were doing. It currently didn't concern him too much – he had other things on his mind – but it gave them something to talk about.

From Armin – who was the only one really taking part in the conversation with him – he learned that neither of those three had seen the others since their last mission. Word was they were doing formation training somewhere.

"Huh?" Eren expressed his surprise as he sat down on one of the tables in the still empty mess hall. "Why aren't you guys with them. Shouldn't you be training with them as well, then?"

"Yeah, about that…" Armin paused, piquing Eren's interest.

"I think that Commander Erwin and his most entrusted men consider at least one of our co-trainees to be Annie's spy."

Eren looked up shocked at his friend's assumption.

"What? Why? And how come they don't treat you as suspects as well?" he blurted out. "I mean, I know you'd never do that, but how would the commander know?"

"You see, Eren," Armin began and then he shared all the conclusions he had come to since the last mission.

He told his friend how Eren's position in the formation hadn't been marked in the formation plan and how diverse information about it had been given to the soldiers. He explained how Annie had approached from the right side and how all of their comrades – whose training sessions probably were just false pretence to keep them busy and unaware of Annie's capture – had been told that Eren was positioned on the right side of the formation. Then he also recalled Commander Erwin's speech the evening they had joined the Scouting Legion and how specific he had been about mentioning Eren.

"…so I think the whole mission was actually to lure out and capture an enemy," Armin concluded, not having to mention that that enemy had turned out to be Annie.

Eren was dumbstruck. He paid no attention to Mikasa sitting indifferently next to him and Jean looking bored vertically of him. If he had though he would've noticed that they didn't seem like the information was anything new to them.

"But how could Commander Erwin have known back then that someone would come after me? How could he assume it would be someone from our training squad?"

"Well, I can only guess again," Armin offered, "but I think it can be concluded from what happened at Trost."

"What do you mean?" Eren asked, holding back a comment on how not everyone was as intelligent as Armin and could conclude these things easily.

So Armin explained his thesis for him, the three stages he had derived on the basis of the attack on Shiganshina five years: The first was the destruction of the outer gate through the Colossal Titan, in the next stage the titans flooded the district, and at last the Armoured Titan destroyed the inner gate and breaching the wall.

"If you compare this with the attack on Trost about two months ago you'll realise that back then it never went beyond the second stage," he finished.

Eren felt a little dizzy from learning all this new information. Filtering through it was especially hard with everything else that had happened today already.

"So what, the Armoured Titan didn't show up, how has that anything to do with me?"

Maybe Armin was too polite to roll his eyes or it really didn't bother him that he had to explain to others some of the things that seemed so obvious to him.

"Not only did they not destroy the inner gate, they let you stopper the hole in the outer gate. They called off the attack, because they saw you. They must've seen you emerge from your titan form the first time and taken an interest in you."

Slowly the pieces fell into place, though Eren still couldn't quite understand how anyone could've figured this out two months ago.

"So you're saying…," he summed up to be sure he got it right, "…that the Armoured Titan and the Colossal Titan were among our training squad all the time?"

"Most likely," Armin agreed quietly.

Eren's shoulders hunched in resignation as he processed this. People he had trained with, people he possibly had talked to – gotten close to – were very likely the ones he blamed most for the horror that had happened at his home district Shiganshina.

The four young scouts sat together in gloomy silence each of them dwelling on their own thoughts. Armin, who had known it for the longest, probably just left the others some space to deal with this information. Mikasa wouldn't get thrown off by a revelation like this, she probably was still cursing Levi. And Jean – who knew, what Jean was thinking. Eren clearly didn't – but then he didn't really care. He had his own thoughts to mull over.

"I guess I know what I'm going to ask Annie tomorrow," he mumbled absentmindedly.

All three of his comrades suddenly turned to him. Their faces displayed a mixture of surprise and disbelief, as if they weren't sure they really had understood him right just now.

"What?" Jean and Armin asked almost simultaneously.

"Nothing," Eren tried to brush over it.

"I just realised that I have to help with lunch preparations in the kitchen today," he exclaimed then and got up hastily.

He left his friends without any further word alone in the mess hall and hurried to the kitchen. Technically he was still relieved from his duties.

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