Author's Note: Hey everyone! Firstly, I just want to apologise that this update has been a little slower than previously ... my circumstances have changed recently in that I'm back in full time work after a few months off, so I'm not getting to sit down and write for as long a periods as I have previously. I'm quite slow as I have a habit of re-reading and checking everything multiple times as I go (and yet I still manage to miss some mistakes)! So chapters are taking me a little longer. I have also found out my Husband and I are expecting our first child! (I know, ironic - Sadly, not Captain Levi's xD so no super Ackerman genes here) so everything has been a little crazy. But please, please be reassured that I am still as inspired with this story as ever, and I will most certainly be continuing to update, although it may not be as speedy as before. I promise I'll do my best to get at least a chapter out a week though.
Also, I previously had a rough idea of where this story was headed and how it would end, however this week I actually sat down and plotted the chapters along with the main events and character arcs, and tried my best to match these up to the timelines of the Manga (which did get confusing at points, let me tell you!) so I'm super excited with where this is headed, and I really hope you will all continue on the journey with me!
Finally, a big, big thank you to all my reviewers and those of you who have followed and favourited. It means the world to me, it really does! :-)
Levi found himself in a foul mood by the time he and his remaining squad members, along with Floch, arrived back at HQ. For some reason, leaving Historia with that lanky George kid irked him, and although he trusted in their skill as soldiers, he wondered whether Connie and Sasha were really adequate protection should the shit hit the fan in some way. Thank god that potato girl was decent with a bow.
As the Captain swept through the stone walled corridors towards the senior officers' quarters at HQ, he found himself keen to get his update with Hange over and done with as quickly as possible so that he could shut himself away and get to work on the large stack of paperwork on his desk. He'd been putting it off for days.
To his dismay, before he could reach Hange's quarters, he heard hurried footsteps behind him, followed by a familiar voice.
"Captain!"
He sighed in annoyance before turning to greet Eren.
"Oh, have the time to chat now, do we, Jaeger? Shame you were too busy off gallivanting due to your own secretive plans earlier, while the rest of your squad was following my orders!"
Eren had stopped a few feet away from the Captain, but Levi was already closing the gap between them.
"You know I can't …" his words faltered. "I'm doing this for the right reasons!" The emerald eyed young man exclaimed as he was backed up against the wall by his Captain.
"Right reasons be damned. Your reluctance to actually play ball with Hange or I when it comes to what exactly you're up to is starting to really piss me off." Levi threatened coolly. His face was inches away from Eren's, and his gaze was searching for something in the Titan Shifter's eyes. Eren kept his mouth defiantly closed, instead gazing back at Levi fiercely.
"This isn't the first time you've gone against my instruction. Disobeying orders is NOT acceptable; I don't give a shit who you are, what freaky bastard Titan powers you have, or who the fuck your brother is." Levi's voice became a low growl as he suddenly grabbed Eren by the collar. "Perhaps you've forgotten how uncomfortable the dungeons are … Maybe you need teaching another lesson? Violence always did seem more effective when it came to you, Jaeger" He raised his hand slightly, and Eren squeezed his eyes shut, wincing.
Levi hesitated. What was the point? Zeke would probably love Levi to make a martyr out of the kid. All he was doing was giving Eren more reason to place all his trust in the Beast Titan. Levi could feel his charge of so many years slowly slipping away from him, and the Scouts. They couldn't afford to lose Eren's trust right now.
He shoved Eren roughly aside, and the soldier glanced at Levi's now relaxed arm in relief.
"Luckily for you, I need to go report to Hange, so I don't have time for this bullshit." His air of cool seemed to have returned. "Historia's fine, by the way. But the MPs are still suspicious. They've placed additional men in the area. We need to tread carefully."
"Do we have people with her?" Eren asked, straightening his jacket collar after Levi's rough handling.
"Of course," Levi replied. "But minimal; it's too risky to draw any more attention."
Eren nodded. He seemed to hesitate, before asking "and you …?"
"I'm clearly standing in front of you, idiot." Levi muttered.
"No, no … I mean …" Eren seemed pained in his attempt to get the words out. "Is the plan … in motion? Have you …?"
Levi gritted his teeth. The last thing he wanted to be doing was discussing his sex life with Eren. Even if it had now crazily, somehow, become part of his duty as a soldier. He surveyed his subordinate coldly, before replying, "You could have asked Historia yourself if you'd have bothered showing up today. I'm not discussing the matter with you."
He turned on his heel to leave.
Eren scoffed slightly; muttering "That's a little childish."
Levi glanced backwards, a dangerous glint in his eye. "Get the fuck out of my sight, Jaeger, before I change my mind about breaking your nose."
Recognising when he'd over stepped the mark, Eren bowed his head, turning in the opposite direction to Levi. "I'll be present at breakfast and ready to report for duty, sir," He called back.
"Tch." Levi continued on his path to see Hange.
Arriving at the Commander's door, Levi knocked twice swiftly.
"Come in, Levi."
He entered Hange's quarters, and grimaced at the chaotic mess he found before him.
"How has your place gotten to this state already? I only cleaned it for you a few days ago …"
Hange dismissed his criticism with a flick of her hand, before gesturing for him to sit down on a chair currently occupied with a mountain of paperwork. The Commander herself was sat behind a large desk, also surrounded by several mountains of paperwork.
Levi shifted the papers onto the floor with a look of disgust, before sweeping down the seat and perching uncomfortably. "Shit, and I thought the pile of paperwork I'd been putting off was bad."
Hange sighed, before slouching back into her seat and pushing her glasses up onto her forehead. "Erwin never let on how much of this shit he had to do, did he; the fucker. Maybe I'd have thought twice about taking the Corps on if I'd have known …"
"Tsk. Like you had a choice," Levi pointed out.
Hange yawned loudly, stretching her arms above her head, before replacing her glasses and staring at Levi intently.
"Well?"
"Well what, Four Eyes?" Levi asked, although he knew exactly what.
Hange raised an eyebrow above one of her smudged lenses. "Did everything go to plan today?"
Levi nodded. "Of course. The Queen is back at the Orphanage, the decoy plan is in motion. I've got two of mine stationed there now; they're keeping a low profile. We'll be working in shifts to keep an eye. I trusted that would seem reasonable to you."
Hange tilted her head to the side, thoughtful. "Seems fair. Although I don't think it's likely they will move any time soon, Zackley and the others seem to be a little suspicious of our close involvement with Historia, and particularly the connection between Zeke, Eren and the Queen, so I couldn't rule out them making some sort of move against her."
"Yeah, well, more MPs have been stationed nearby. They clearly want to keep a close eye on her movements if they can help it."
Hange frowned. "You'll need to be careful then."
Levi rolled his eyes. "Don't worry; public displays of affection really aren't my thing, in case you hadn't noticed. And she's hardly skipping through the cornfields singing about it, trust me. Besides, she's got that fucking decoy boy on hand now."
Hange leaned forward, an amused look on her face. "Affection, you say? So you're developing affections for her, now?"
Levi threw a pen at the Commander. "Fuck off, Hange. You knew what I meant."
Hange chuckled softly, a devlish look on her face. "But you've done it, though? I mean, I wouldn't put it past you. I can't imagine the window of opportunity was very wide today, but you hate dawdling when you've got a job to do. Always the efficient one, Captain. Am I right?"
Levi clenched his jaw in annoyance. "I'm not discussing this with you, Hange. The job will get done – that's all you need to know."
Hange chuckled again softly. "The railroad is almost done, you know," she stated, changing the subject.
"Hmm. Wonder how much use it will be considering the situation with Hizuru," Levi pondered, glad that the Commander had moved on from his relations with Historia.
"Well, everyone's talking about throwing a big party to celebrate," Hange continued. "No doubt they'll want to parade The Queen out for everyone. Plus we'll likely be drafted to help the MPs keep an eye on things."
"Rather that than actually have to attend as guests," Levi muttered.
"Oh I don't know; I like a good party," Hange stated. "Plus it would be good for the soldiers. It's about time they had a reason to be in high spirits."
"You mean, you like a good drink," Levi pointed out. "Anyway, if there's nothing else, I've got my own mountain of paperwork to be getting on with before I attempt any shut eye tonight." He eyed the masses of paperwork around Hange's office again, fighting back the urge to re-stack them into neat piles. He rose."Good night, Four Eyes."
"Levi …" Hange called before Levi had chance to exit the room.
He glanced back at her, eyebrows raised.
"Eren … wasn't with you today, was he?" Hange held his gaze seriously. "You took Floch. Do you know …?"
"I'm dealing with it." Levi cut her off abruptly, before closing the door firmly behind him.
"Okay …" Hange murmured, her eyebrows knotted together as she found herself once again alone in her office.
The first 8 days of the Scout's watch over the Orphanage passed by with little to report. Sasha wailed openly when she had to say goodbye to Historia's surprisingly excellent home cooked dinners, and Connie gave her an affectionate bow before handing their post over to Armin and Mikasa on the fourth day.
The second pair were markedly quieter than Connie and Sasha had been, although Historia enjoyed their company no less. Armin took the day watch, handing over to Mikasa after dinner in the evening. To Historia's surprise and great delight, from the second evening onwards, Armin took to reading to the children before they would be ushered up to bed by George as the last sign of the sun dipped below the horizon. The blond soldier had eyed up the many volumes lining the shelves of a large pinewood bookcase resting against one of the sitting room walls on the eve of the first night. Historia had noticed, and implored him to help himself if he wanted to read with the cup of tea she had just made him. Although, she admitted, most were children's fairytales which had been donated. Armin had eagerly browsed through the tomes, and by the second night had earned himself his own miniature audience as he read aloud. Historia had made a mental note to finish reading 'The Princess and the Dragon' with the children after Armin and Mikasa left, or she would never hear the end of it.
Once the youngsters were safely tucked up in their beds, George would often stay for one final cup of black tea with Historia and Armin before leaving for home finally. Historia did wonder whether she should invite him to stay; in one of the spare rooms, of course. It would add much more credibility to the ruse she and Levi were looking to set in motion. She found the young man often staring at her, a look of concern painted on his freckled features, when he thought she wasn't watching. She wished so many people wouldn't worry about her so much – it was beginning to make her feel like she was a fragile china doll, ready to shatter at any moment. It was becoming harder to believe that she had once been a soldier on the front lines of battle, and was more than capable of handling herself. The only person who continued to treat her with the same roughness as always was Captain Levi. And for that, she found herself strangely grateful. So much so, that his curt words to her on his arrival on the eighth day of the watch flooded her with relief, where previously they had only caused her hurt.
"Your Majesty." The Captain dipped his head slightly as he led his horse towards the stables along with Jean, his face stoic.
"Tea?" Historia asked.
"Good." He replied without looking back at her.
She smiled softly. It was good to have his sullen face around again.
After Mikasa and Armin had debriefed with their Captain and said their farewells (the children were particularly disheartened to see Armin go, there were even some tears) Levi, Jean, Historia and George all found themselves sat around the table, drinking their tea in silence. Everyone seemed reluctant to speak before the Captain. Historia pondered how it was only poor Jean who really had no clue about the strange dynamic of the group around him. The Queen, her duty bound lover, and her faithful decoy. Finally, she could stand the silence no longer.
"So, what's the plan for the next four days? Will you be alternating between day and night watch, or …?"
Jean glanced at the Captain, clearly none the wiser of Levi's intentions.
"I will take day watch. Jean will switch with me after dinner. Same set up for the four days," Levi stated simply, before taking another sip of his tea. He didn't look at anyone in particular.
Historia noticed Jean looked a little crestfallen at the idea of four solid nights of being on watch, although she knew he would never admit it to his Captain. "Yes, sir," he agreed quietly.
"Well …" George spoke cheerfully, "I managed to get my hands on some excellent rabbit meat earlier today. Maybe we could have one of your outstanding stews for dinner?" He turned to Historia, a smile lifting the smattering of freckles across his cheeks.
"Absolutely," Historia agreed. "You will be joining us for dinner, Captain?" She fixed Levi with her gaze, determined to make him look at her square in the eye for the first time since he'd arrived.
He met her gaze evenly, his face void of emotion. "Someone needs to keep watch."
Historia was about to scowl, before he added, "But keep me a portion; that would be good. I'll have it when Jean takes over." He nodded at her slightly. "I'm sure it won't be worth missing."
Recognising her victory, Historia's mouth turned up at the corner in a half smile at the man before her.
"Well, I have a room made up for you both upstairs," She rose, collecting their empty cups, and glanced from the Captain to Jean. "Jean, if you want to get a few hours' sleep before dinner, I can show you up?"
Jean smiled and answered with a nod. "Thank you, Historia."
She returned the cups to the kitchen. Jean rose when she reappeared, and followed her upstairs, leaving George and Levi alone.
George glanced nervously at the Captain, wondering what he could say to lighten the air of tension between them. Levi appeared to be oblivious to the younger man's presence, instead staring stoically out of the window across from the table.
"Er, how was the ride here?" George ventured.
Levi remained silent for a moment, before turning to observe George with his cool grey stare. He didn't answer his question.
"Have you been here every day?"
George hesitated, wondering what the correct answer was. He decided to stick with the truth. "Yes, until late evening," he replied.
Levi nodded slightly. "But you haven't stayed the night?"
George felt suddenly nervous. Was he asking …?
"Tsk. Relax." Levi rolled his eyes, clearly sensing his nerves. "I just mean have you slept here, nothing more."
"Oh, erm, well … not yet, no." George stated. "I mean, Historia hasn't asked me to."
"I see." Levi appeared thoughtful. "So no-one has asked you any questions about your relationship with her? None of the other Scouts, or anyone else, I assume?"
George shook his head.
Levi clenched his jaw, addressing no-one in particular. "They need to be asking questions. She needs to step this up." He glanced back at George. "The pair of you need to not fuck this up."
With that, he rose, adjusted his cloak, and swept out of the room. "I'm taking watch. I'll be back after dinner."
There will be more action in all senses of the word next chapter, worry not ... ** wiggles eyebrows in anticipation **