I see people have looked at this chapter while no one has looked at the previous two. You skipped. You're seriously missing part of the story here. I do not comprehend.

AN: If you've come this far, please take a moment to comment on what you've read. If satisfaction were the only reward of writing, no one would post stories online. Writers want to hear how their stories have made other people feel, what they have done well, and what they could do better. This is my tenth chapter of a couple thousand words, and so far I have only two comments from one of my 37 readers—surely you can drop a line or two.

Ten: Expectations

Mikasa managed to tell me that though she had been shot, her Kevlar vest had absorbed most of the impact. I was trying to get a look at the damage, and she was trying not to let me do that out where everyone could see, when I heard Levi's voice behind me.

"Jaeger, were you hit?"

I looked up at him. "No, sir."

"Didn't I hear you scream?"

I felt my face go red. "Um... I saw that sniper about to shoot at you, and... I-I panicked."

"You saved my life."

I think I went redder. "I didn't think screaming would do that... but I'm glad," I muttered.

He gave me a light slap on the back and walked off to check on someone else.

I looked back at Mikasa, and in spite of shivering with adrenaline, she had this hint of a sly smile on her face. "Shut up," I said.

"Didn't say a thing," she said innocently.

"Uh-huh. Can you stand up?"

She could, and I walked her away from the messy aftermath of the shootout.

A lot of people were hurt. Of the officers we were particular friends with, Marco was in the worst condition. They were getting him into an ambulance, and I saw Jean getting in with him. I hoped fervently that Marco would be all right. He was such a nice guy, and it would be rough on all of us to lose him.

I also saw some injured civilians, and Christa told me tearfully that they had found a dead child. That made Mikasa's eyes flash, and I knew I needed to get her away from there before she did something crazy. Her team leader gave me permission to take her back to the station with me. There, Armin and I sat around his desk area with mugs of coffee while we waited for Hanji to tell us the extent of Mikasa's injuries.

A few minutes after we sat down, Hanji bounced out of her lab to tell us that Mikasa had escaped any broken bones or damaged organs, and though she would have a beautiful patch of bruising, she should be all right without a hospital visit. A lot of us would be expected to see a therapist, though; those of us who had killed someone or nearly been killed, along with those who had witnessed a friend dying, would all need some time to heal emotionally.

I wake up good and early. As soon as I move, Levi is awake, checking the time and starting to stretch.

"Don't get up yet," I say, pulling him close again.

He holds still while I fondle his hair and caress his chin. After a little while, he says, "Are you done?"

"Are you not enjoying it?" I ask anxiously.

"I didn't say that."

I smile and give him a squeeze. I can feel how solid his muscles are. I scoot over and rest my head on his chest. "You're so ripped," I murmur.

"You would be too, if you exercised more," he points out.

"Meh. So much work."

"Don't think it's worth it?"

I know I'm trapped. If I say it's not worth it, he'll say he'll just let himself go then, and I won't get the pleasure of feeling those tight abs anymore. On the other hand, if I say it is worth it, he's going to call me out for not working out more. I lift my head and look at him. "Have I ever told you that you have beautiful eyes?" I ask, going for a bald-faced distraction.

"Have I ever told you you're an ass?" he counters, not missing a beat.

I laugh and give his jaw a kiss before sitting up. "All right, let's get moving."

"Finally," he mutters.

"Boy, what a rotten Christmas," Armin said, opening his drawing present. It turned out to be a historical fiction book, and he brightened a little as he started looking in the first few pages.

I suddenly remembered the present that I still hadn't given to Levi. "Oh, I never gave the captain his gift. Do you want to come?" I asked Mikasa.

She shook her head knowingly. "You can go on your own. Unless you're scared."

"Oh, stop it." I pushed my chair back and went to get the gift out of my desk drawer.

I had acted carefree, but I have to admit that I definitely felt nervous as I approached Levi's office door. The blinds were drawn, but the light was on. I knocked firmly.

"Come in," came Levi's voice.

As I pushed the door open, I saw that Erwin was behind Levi's desk, sitting on the edge of it, and Levi was leaning on a front corner, looking back at him. They each had a tumbler in hand, and Erwin was speaking as I entered. Were they drinking on duty?

"...told you that you shouldn't have been there in the first place, since your leg isn't better yet." Erwin looked up and nodded to me.

"My leg's doing fine," Levi said, looking around at me. "And speaking of the devil..."

I flushed a little, feeling as if I'd interrupted something sacred. "Sorry to bother you," I said. "I didn't realize the commissioner was here."

Erwin smiled at me. "Don't be so formal, kid. What's that you've got there?"

I looked stupidly down at the present in my hands, wishing I had been more careful about my timing. "I, um... Mikasa and I got you something, captain," I managed.

Levi looked a little confused, and I suddenly had that sinking feeling you get when you show up at someone's house on the wrong day. But no, it was Christmas Day. I knew that. I tried to shake the feeling off.

"It's a... a sort of a birthday present," I went on, hating how muddled I sounded. "But mostly to say thank you. For keeping us safe and... everything." Quailing at the thought of trying to come up with more words, I shoved the present at him.

Levi stared at it as if I were offering him a rubber chicken.

"Aren't you going to take it?" Erwin asked.

He took it. "You didn't have to do that," he said.

"I know... we just... wanted to," I said. Levi was showing no signs of opening it, and the longer I stayed, the more awkward I felt. This was not going at all how I had hoped. I took a step back, toward the door.

"Go on, can't you see he wants to watch you open it?" Erwin prompted.

Still looking slightly confused under his level of don't-give-a-shit, Levi turned the present over and started pulling the wrapping paper apart at the seams. He did it methodically, but at least he didn't carefully fold the paper and set it aside like a recycle-happy girl. Once it was off, he dropped it into the waste can by his desk and looked at the gift.

"A phone case?" he said after a moment.

"Yeah... we got the precinct insignia engraved on it," I said in a low voice. "And... an inscription."

Levi was studying the shiny blue and silver wings on the back of the brown leather case reinforced with hard rubber. When I mentioned the inscription, he flipped it over.

"So, what's it say?" Erwin asked in a patronizing tone.

Levi passed the case to him without a word and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"To Captain Levi Ackerman," Erwin read, "in gratitude for his devoted leadership and protection. With affection, Mikasa A. And Eren J., December 25th, 20—." He looked up again. "This is beautiful, Eren." He passed it back to Levi, who had popped his phone out of its cheap rubber case and now started fitting it into the new one. "I'm sure if the captain had any manners, he'd have said so himself."

"Tch. Why state the obvious?" Levi said flatly. He finished fitting the case to the phone and tested the side buttons to make sure they worked through it. "It fits perfectly," he said, looking at me at last. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," I said, feeling a little better, though still warm in the face.

"How did you know it was his birthday?" Erwin asked.

"I didn't until yesterday," I admitted. "I heard someone mention it." I didn't care to say just who had been gossiping about Levi. "That's why I waited until today. I guess I figured you don't get many birthday presents."

"He doesn't even let me give him any," Erwin said in confirmation. "A little drink together in the name of Christmas is all I get."

I was really starting to feel like Erwin thought the same as Mikasa, that I had a growing crush on Levi, and I wasn't sure he'd be wrong if he did. "Well, um... I'm glad you like it," I said, though technically Levi hadn't said any such thing. "Merry Christmas."

I ducked out of the office, closed the door behind me, stepped to the side and leaned against the wall. I heard Erwin say something like, "You could have acted a little more grateful. They obviously went to a lot of trouble."

I pulled myself away and went back to Armin and Mikasa, feeling somewhat disappointed.

"Did he like it?" Armin asked.

"Yeah... it fit his phone, anyway. And he said thank you."

Mikasa smiled a little, but I knew she could tell there was more I wasn't saying.

"That's good," said Armin. "Here, Mikasa found your gift under the tree."

I took the present and opened it unceremoniously, not pausing to wonder what it was. Inside, I found a tie with the wing insignia on it, and matching pins. Everyone on the force knew I was all about my job, so getting precinct merch wasn't a big surprise. I wasn't sure if I liked the tie though, because I hardly ever wore them if they weren't required.

"Here," Mikasa said, taking the tie and flipping it around my neck. She was really good at tying them from the front, and soon it was in a neat Windsor knot. She smoothed it down against my dark uniform shirt. "It looks nice," she said.

"Thanks." I decided to leave it on. Maybe I'd wear it now and then.

I looked up and was surprised to see Levi coming toward us.

"Hello, captain," Armin greeted him.

"Arlert," Levi said nodding. "Mikasa, I wanted to thank you for the gift you and Eren got me."

"You're welcome, sir," she answered. "It was Eren's idea."

"But Mikasa wrote the inscription," I said quickly, not wanting all the attention on me.

"Well, it was a thoughtful gesture," he said. "Maybe you can help me with the damned drawing next year—I never know what to get for people."

This was the most sociable I had seen Levi to date, and my earlier disappointment was quickly fading. "Who did you have this year?" I asked quietly.

"Mike. I know he likes coffee, so I got him some exotic blends..."

"He probably liked that," Mikasa said with a reassuring smile. "It shows that you were thinking of him without getting too personal."

He nodded. "I'll definitely consult you if I need advice next year."

For a second, I almost got jealous of Mikasa, which was ridiculous. It wasn't as if Levi could or should be friendly to only one of us.

Then he looked at me as he said, "I'll be in my office if you need anything, but I have a phone call to make, so be patient if I don't answer a knock right away."

"OK," I said.

It wasn't until much later that I found out he was calling his uncle, his only known living relative. They hadn't spoken in years.

Levi makes me breakfast as usual, and then we get ready for work. But instead of going to the station, we go to Erwin's office at headquarters. It's still early, and not many people are around yet.

Erwin receives us cordially and offers us tea and coffee, which Levi and I accept, respectively.

"So," he says, when we're sitting in relative comfort, "How was this weekend? Levi?"

I'm glad he asked Levi first, so I can listen and tailor my own answer accordingly. It's not lying; it's being tactful.

"Pretty good, I think," Levi says, giving nothing away in his tone or expression. "We didn't fight about anything. We talked a little. It wasn't... normal," he adds. "But it felt a lot closer to normal than before, when we weren't facing up to it."

I nod, and when Erwin asks for my input I say, "It was good being back together. I think we're on the right track."

"What were your sleeping arrangements?"

I avoid their eyes because I'm still shy about this, even though I don't mind Erwin asking because I know why he is. I'm glad Levi answers.

"We slept together in the bedroom like before, but the contact has mostly been platonic."

"How do you feel about that?"

"It's not that I don't want more than that. I'm just... not sure what's appropriate anymore."

It's huge to hear Levi admit that he isn't sure of something. I feel the need to reach across and take his hand.

"What about you, Eren?" Erwin asks me.

I'm tempted to just reiterate what Levi said, but I force myself to be a little braver than that. "I feel like I'm ready," I say. "But I don't want to rush it and make things weird or artificial. And I'm not scared of him. I think now that I've seen him snap, I know my boundaries and the warning signs to look for, like you said."

Levi squeezes my hand. I hope the way I worded things hasn't made him upset, but he'd be the first to say I have every right to say whatever I want about what happened, because he brought it on himself.

Erwin is as good at reading Levi's subtle body language as I am, and he asks him, "What is it about what Eren said just now that you don't like?"

"Not to put too fine a point on it," Levi mutters before answering, "I wish he didn't have to have boundaries. He should be able to say what he's thinking without worrying that I'll hurt him."

"Yes and no," Erwin says, tilting his head to the side. "It's a little like the laws regarding provocation. No one has a right to injure anyone else, but neither does anyone have the right to provoke another into acts of violence. There are calm and peaceful ways to settle disagreements, and it definitely won't do any harm for Eren to work on that. On the other hand, if he becomes hostile toward you, do you think you might hurt him again?"

Levi looks down. "I wish I could say for certain that I wouldn't, but that's what I would have said before all this."

"No one can make a promise like that, though," I interject. "We can state our intentions all day, but the truth is, none of us really knows what we'll do until a situation comes up and we confirm them. Or we surprise ourselves and outdo or fail our expectations... right?"

Erwin is smiling at me. "I'm afraid that ultimately, you're right. So, I think the question becomes, is Levi worth the risk to you? Do you trust his intentions to carry him through, and if you think they might not, do you love him enough to stay with him?"

"That's not really what worries me," I say. "Maybe you'll think this is foolish, but I know I love him enough to stay with him. What I'm really worried about is that he'll get some stupid noble idea to leave me for my own good. That's what freaks me out."

Levi rubs my hand with his thumb, still looking at the floor.

"Share your thoughts, Levi?" Erwin prompts.

"I think," Levi said slowly, "that if Eren truly wants me with him that much, then I'll stay with him regardless of what happens. But... if I hurt him again, something will have to change. I'm not sure what."

"I could keep you in handcuffs," I say, desperate to lighten the mood.

I see the corner of his mouth twitch, and I know I was successful.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Erwin says with a chuckle. "I mean, unless you like that kind of thing, but I won't pry." He glances at his watch. "Well, you two should get going. I'm going to say, go on staying together for now, and focus on rebuilding your bond. See me again tomorrow, and call day or night if you need anything."

We thank him and leave hand in hand.

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