Eren
I follow Levi from the lab to the cafeteria. It's a large room, but only several dozen seats are filled. As soon as we walk in, everyone falls silent. I guess they all know who I am, or rather what I am.
Levi leads me to a table where four other people are already seated. They watch me warily, hands tight on their guns. I give them an awkward smile, which was maybe not the best idea because they all tense even more when they see my fangs.
Levi gestures to the people around the table. "Eren, this is squad Levi. Everyone else, meet Eren Jaeger." No one moves. Levi sighs. "He won't bite. He knows I'll kill him if he tries."
The one who recovers first is the girl with red hair. She holds her hand out. "I'm Petra. As long as you keep yourself under control, I'm sure we'll get along just fine." I nod and shake her hand. She gives me a cautious smile.
Next a blonde man with his hair pulled back into a ponytail reaches out and gives me a firm handshake. "I'm Eld, second in command after Levi. Petra said it well."
After that is the man with short black hair and an anxious look in his eye. He shakes my hand. "I'm Gunther."
The last, a man with brown hair, gives me a disgusted look. "You want me to shake hands with a vampire?"
Petra elbows him. "We decided we'd give him a chance, remember?"
He lets out a hmph and turns his eyes to me. "I'm Oluo. I've killed thirty nine vamps, and I'm more than ready to make it forty." Petra sighs.
Levi leaves me to sit down while he goes to get a tray of food. An awkward silence falls between us. A couple of the squad members continue eating. My mouth starts to water. Even if I can't eat normal food, watching them eat is making me hungry. I clench my jaw.
Finally, Gunther speaks. "How does a vampire end up working with us?"
My face clouds. "I don't want to kill innocent people."
Oluo snorts. "And we're supposed to just believe that?"
I glare at him. "Believe whatever you want, it's true."
He shakes his head. "I can't believe our captain has to spend all his time with a brat like you."
"It's an order from Erwin," Levi cuts in, back from getting his food. "And I think he is telling the truth. Whether or not he'll be able to control himself in the long run is a different story." I open my mouth for a sarcastic retort, but one look around the table and I think better of it.
Petra gives Oluo a pointed look. "Well, if Levi believes it, that's enough for me." I give her a grateful smile. After that the rest of lunch goes more smoothly.
When everyone is through eating, Levi and I drop by his room again so he can grab a change of clothes, then we all meet in the training area. It's a large room with thick mats on the floor and three of the walls. The fourth wall has a row of sturdy punching bags as well as some other training equipment. There are also a couple benches along the far side where people have left piles of their stuff. Levi wrinkles his nose when he sees it. "Why can't people just clean up their shit."
He takes me to a seating area separated from the rest of the room by a sturdy metal railing. He holds up a pair of handcuffs. "I'm going to put these back on while I'm busy, alright?" I nod and he cuffs one of my hands to the railing, leaving me just barely enough room to sit comfortably.
After I'm secured, he walks over to the rest of the squad. They're all exchanging their guns for fake ones out of a bin in the corner. Levi glances over at me and hesitates for a moment, but then sets down his gun as well.
The team splits up into pairs, and I watch Petra start to spar with Eld. She moves first, darting forward with a swift kick aimed at his side. He blocks, grimacing from the impact, and counters with sharp punches. Petra dodges the first two gracefully, then loses her balance on the third. Her eyes widen as Eld grabs her arm and flips her to the ground. He presses his gun to the base of her skull.
Levi steps forward and the two stand back up. He says something I can't hear, and then switches places with Eld. This time the match takes longer, but I get the sense Levi could end it at any time. He controls the flow completely with swift and deliberate blows that leave Petra struggling to keep up.
She lunges forward, but Levi knocks her feet out from under her. She falls, landing on the mat with a heavy thud. He presses his gun to her head the same way Eld had, and then steps back to help her up.
Practice continues like this- everyone sparring, and Levi moving between the two pairs. I keep my eyes on him as he takes down his teammates again and again. A couple of times someone gets a good hit in, but he's always ready with some move that overwhelms them and leaves them flat on the mat.
After about an hour, Levi calls for a break, and everyone goes to get water. I watch Levi as he walks over to the benches and picks up his bottle. He's covered in sweat, shirt clinging to his body revealing well defined muscles. He brings the bottle to his lips and tilts back his head. A little drip of water escapes his mouth and trickles down the side of his chin. I swallow.
"Pretty impressive, right? His fighting I mean." I turn to where Petra is standing next to me. I rub my neck, a little guilty at having been caught staring. She laughs.
"How come he's the one teaching you guys?"
She shrugs. "He has the most experience killing vampires. It's difficult to do. No one else comes close to his success rate."
"What do you mean?"
Petra sighs. "There's only one way to kill a vampire, and that's to destroy their brain stem. We do it with a point blank shot from a fifty caliber gun."
I raise my eyebrows. "Isn't that overkill?"
She shakes her head. "Vampire physiology is different from human. To withstand the strain from increased strength, their bones are much stronger, and their weak point is extra protected. If it's not sufficiently destroyed they can just regenerate-"
"Like a fucking lizard," Levi finishes from behind me. I jump, and he rolls his eyes. "Vampires shouldn't be so easy to sneak up on." He looks at Petra. "We're continuing practice, come on." She nods and the two walk back over to the others.
When we get back to the room after practice, Levi takes a quick shower. Then it's time for dinner.
"You can go ahead and bring your blood with you this time," Levi says as we're getting ready to leave.
I grimace. "Was it that obvious?"
"You were staring at my neck even more than usual."
I turn my head away. "Sorry."
Levi just shakes his head.
To my relief, no one says anything as I finish the last of my bottle at the table, although Oluo does shoot me a couple disgusted looks.
We finish eating, and Levi stands up. "I suppose we should go pick up your blood delivery now. And the stupid mini fridge."
We start down the long halls. As we're walking, a door opens ahead of us. A small figure with blonde hair comes out. Armin. My eyes widen, horrified. Why was he in a place like this?
I grab Levi by the front of his shirt. "What the hell is Armin doing here?"
He wrinkles his nose and places his hand on top of mine. In less than a second I'm on the ground with his boot on my back and his gun pressed into my skull. "I have no idea what he's doing here, I've been too busy with you, idiot. Next time you touch me, you die. Got it?"
A shiver runs down my spine under his glare, and I'm reminded just how easily he could kill me. "Got it."
Armin runs over when he sees what's happening. He glares at Levi. "What are you doing to him?!"
Erwin steps through the doorway after Armin. He raises his eyebrows when he sees our current positions. "Everything alright?"
Levi clicks his tongue. "Everything's fine." He takes a step back. I decide not to stand. I'd just land myself back on the floor, possibly with a bullet in me.
I glare at Erwin. "What is Armin doing here."
"I gave him a job," he says, like it isn't a big deal.
My stomach turns. "Why the fuck would you get him involved in this?"
"Like I said before, I didn't-"
"That is not my point!"
Armin turns to Erwin. "Do you mind if I talk to Eren alone for a bit?"
He presses his lips together. "Levi has to accompany you."
Armin narrows his eyes at Levi, then looks back at Erwin's firm expression and nods.
The three of us enter the room he and Erwin just came out of.
I turn to my friend, doing my best to reign in my anger. Shouldn't he know better than this? "What are you doing here, Armin?"
He looks at me calmly. "I'm going to work here."
I take a deep breath. "You could end up dead."
He sighs. "I'm just going to be dealing with computers, I'll be fine."
"This is a bad idea."
He frowns. "It's my choice to make. Besides, I couldn't just leave you here alone."
I tense. "You can't do something like this for me."
He fixes me with a steady gaze. "I'm not. I'm doing it for myself."
I look at him, then run my hand over my face and sigh. Once he's made his decision, he'll stick with it. There's nothing I can do. "You're crazy," I tell him.
He laughs softly. "How about you, are you doing alright here?"
"Yeah. They're treating me surprisingly well. The head of research is actually pretty nice…" I stop. A smile covers my face. "You're never going to guess who the head of research is." I look at Levi. "She's here, right?"
He rolls his eyes. "I can't believe you actually want to see her. Wasn't she cutting into your skin just a couple hours ago?" Armin's eyes widen.
I laugh awkwardly. "It's, uh, not as bad as it sounds, I promise. She just wanted to see how fast I heal." Armin looks skeptical. I sigh. "Let's just go see her, alright?"
When we walk into the lab we hear a loud squeal. Hange comes barrelling out of her office, arms outstretched. "Arrrmiiiiiin!"
His eyes widen. "Professor Hange?"
She throws her arms around him. "You took the job I'm sooo happy!"
For a moment he just stands there, shocked, but as she squeezes him his expression turns to one of good humored irritation. "Alright, you can let go of me now."
Hange takes a step back and clasps her arms to her chest. "I'm so glad you're here! Promise me you won't spend all your time on the computers, alright?"
He raises his eyebrows. "If you promise not to cut Eren anymore."
She tilts her head. "Hmm? But he heals right away."
Armin drops his head to his hand. "That is so not the point."
She thinks for a moment. "Alright then. I won't cut Eren while you're here."
He gives me a worried look and I just shrug. I really do heal right away.
Then he turns back to Hange and his eyebrows crease. "Were you the one who suggested I be hired?"
"Nope, that was all Erwin's idea. I just told him your coffee order. Now come on," Hange beckons for him to follow her. "I have so much to show you. You'll love the research I've been doing on vampires." Armin perks up, and with one last glance back at me, follows her.
Levi takes a step forward. "Alright. Let's leave the two crazy people here and go get your blood before it goes bad."
I bristle. "Armin's not crazy."
He raises one eyebrow. "Anyone who's friends with a vampire is crazy in my book. Let's go." I grit my teeth and follow him. Lashing out would only prove his point.
Armin and Hange don't even notice us leaving.
