Levi

Eren and I enter Erwin's office. He looks tired and stressed. I shudder when I see the mountain of paperwork in front of him. Suddenly the stack of reports sitting on my desk doesn't seem so bad.

He welcomes us both with a smile, and then turns his attention to the boy next to me. "So I hear Hange's given you a clean bill of health?"

Eren scowls. "Took her long enough."

I roll my eyes. "It's been three days."

"And you left me alone in the room the whole time!"

I click my tongue. "I had shit to do."

Erwin clears his throat, and we both turn our attention back to him. "I'd like to thank you, Eren, for your work the other day. You saved many lives."

The boy rubs his neck. "I just did what I needed to."

"What you did went beyond my expectations. As such, it seems only appropriate that we adjust your duties here accordingly. If you're still interested, I'm willing to let you join squad Levi as a trial member."

A smile lights up his face. "Really?" He turns towards me, and I can practically feel his excitement contaminating the air. "That's ok with you?"

"More than half our personnel is dead. It would be stupid not to use you at this point."

He pauses. "Are you going to train me?"

I rub my forehead. "Yes, who else."

His smile gets even bigger. "When do we start?"

I sigh. His enthusiasm is already making my head hurt. "I'm taking you over to the practice room after this, so calm down."

"I'm calm, I'm calm."

"You are the opposite of calm, stop acting like a kid." He scowls, and I roll my eyes.

Erwin clears his throat again. I grimace. Maybe not the best time to get distracted by Eren. "One more thing before you leave." He slides an ID card across the desk towards the boy. "This is for you. It only opens Levi's door and the door to the practice room you'll be using, but now you'll have a bit more freedom."

Eren's eyes light up as he takes the card. He looks over it with an expression of wonder. "This is awesome!" He slips it into his pocket with a wide grin.

Erwin smiles back and then turns to me. "Levi, may I have a moment to talk to you alone?"

I put my hand on Eren's shoulder. "Why don't you go back to the room and change into something easier to move around in? I'll meet you in our practice room in a bit."

He nods, still with a ridiculous smile on his face, and runs off. Probably can't wait to use his new key card. I shake my head.

I turn back to see Erwin watching me closely. "You shouldn't let yourself get too attached. This is temporary."

I narrow my eyes. "You don't think he'll be able to control himself."

"There's no way to be sure. We've never encountered someone like him before. It's my job to assume the worst. As such, I need to know that you'll be able to do your duty."

"Do I strike you as the sentimental type?"

"I have to be sure."

My mouth draws into a grim line. "I'll do what's necessary. It wouldn't be the first time. Is that all you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Yes that's all. Don't leave your little admirer alone too long." I raise an eyebrow and Erwin sighs "Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. He watches you constantly."

"He's a vampire. He's hungry."

Erwin snorts. "Yeah, sure."

I shake my head and walk to the door. "Whatever. See you around."

When I get to the practice room, Eren is already there, dressed in a t shirt and sweatpants. The smile has been replaced with a look of mild discomfort and he's shifting from foot to foot. "So, how's this going to work?" he asks as I approach.

"For now you'll be training with me in the morning. In the afternoon, you'll practice on your own while I work with my squad. I'll start teaching you to shoot once you get a handle on the physical side of things." I walk out onto the mat. He hesitates and then follows. "Normally we'd start with strengthening exercises," I continue, "but given your condition, there's no point." He nods, and I sigh. "Where'd all your energy from earlier go?"

He gives me a sheepish look. "Sorry. I guess I'm a little nervous. You're so good at this, and I'm well... not."

"If that bothers you work hard and pay attention. You've been watching our training sessions for a while now, so you know we focus mainly on hand to hand combat. That's because we can't fire our guns recklessly. A stray bullet could go through several houses, maybe even hit a civilian."

"Then how do you beat them?"

"Dodge, until you can use their momentum to knock them over. And if you have to block, deflect, otherwise you'll find yourself with at least one broken bone."

He shudders. "I'd rather avoid any more of those."

"Exactly, now let's see what you're made of. Try to hit me."

His eyes widen. "I, uh-" he stutters looking lost.

I sigh. "How long are you going to keep me waiting kid?"

He scowls. "I'm not a kid."

"Then pull yourself together and hit me."

He takes a breath and sets his jaw. He comes at me with a messy punch. Great for hitting a motionless idiot, but he completely loses his center of gravity. At least he's not totally new to this, but still another vampire would have no trouble hitting him into the nearest wall. All I need to do is dodge to the side and give him little push and he goes tumbling to the mat.

I click my tongue. "Back up, give it another shot. This time try not to fall over so quickly."

He glares at me and tries again. This punch also throws him completely off balance, and in another moment I have him back on the mat.

He gives a frustrated huff. "You're just showing off. I'm not going to learn anything this way."

I sigh. "I'm barely trying. Start using your brain. Figure out what you're doing wrong."

He closes his eyes and takes a couple deep breath. When he opens them he looks more focused. This time he's ready when I dodge out of the way. He turns, and throws a solid second punch. I drop and sweep his leg out from under him but he catches himself at the last moment.

He brings his fist at me with enough force to shatter bone. I grimace and dodge out of the way. This is rather different than teaching a human. I tip him off balance and he lands on the mat, but he's doing better. As he stands back up I almost catch myself smiling. His reflexes are a little slow, but his speed makes up for it.

We take a break an hour in. "So? What have you learned so far?" I ask him.

He grimaces. "I have terrible balance."

"Exactly, and balance is key to dodging effectively. Some of that comes from knowing the right moves, but most of it comes from practice. I have a feeling anything too fancy would go right over your head anyway."

He pouts, and I have to suppress a laugh. "That being said, I will teach you some techniques, especially for dodging. You may be more durable than us, but if they get a good grip they'll rip off your head and kill you." He shivers and rubs his neck.

I pull a notebook out of my bag and write down a couple moves, then hold it out to him. "You can use this for reference when you're practicing on your own. I'll add to it as we go."

He takes a look at it and raises his eyebrows. "Am I supposed to know what this says?"

"I'll demonstrate now, and if you need help, just ask anyone."

When practice is finished, I'm feeling a lot more optimistic. He's a fast learner and that combined with his superior speed and strength means it won't take him too long to catch up with the rest of the squad.

Just before we leave, he turns to me with a serious expression. "I know it must be a pain to teach someone like me, so thank you."

"Don't worry about it. You're not half bad." We walk back to my room to get ready for lunch.

Erwin

I lean back in my chair and rub my eyes. I've still got hours of paperwork to do, but I think I'll call it a night. I pull out my phone and click it on. I frown. Still no messages.

Ever since I gave Armin my number, he's been texting me constantly, but since the vampire incident I haven't heard a thing. He hasn't been in to work either. I don't blame him for avoiding this place, but the silence is more than a little worrying. I need to do something. I stand up, stretch, and take a look at the clock. It's getting late, but Armin strikes me as a night owl anyway.

I leave the facility and head towards his apartment. A while later I walk up to his door, knocking briskly. He appears wearing pajamas, hair messy. Shadows hang under his eyes, and his face is a little too pale. He looks embarrassed when he sees me.

I wince. He's really not doing so well. And it's all my fault. "Do you mind if I come in?" I ask.

He bites his lip and shakes his head. I follow him to the main room. There are empty coffee mugs lying around, and it looks like he hasn't done any cleaning in days. He points me to an armchair and then moves some clothing off the couch to make room for himself.

I sit down and rest my arms on my knees, folding and unfolding my hands. I know what I need to say, but I still find it hard to start. "Armin I… I apologize for getting you involved."

He plays with the hem of his shirt, avoiding my gaze. "I made the decision on my own."

"Still, I'm responsible. It's my job to keep people safe, and that includes you."

He gives a dry laugh. "If anything I'm the one who should have kept something like that from happening, right? I was in charge of computer security."

"That was not your fault. What I asked for was protection against further hacking. I hadn't considered an internal threat, although I should have. Given the situation, you did remarkably well. You're a valuable asset, it's a shame to see you go."

"Right. Sorry I haven't been in." He glances down, now picking at a loose thread on the couch.

I sigh. "Don't worry about that. It's not why I'm here." I do my best to sound calming. "Hange says you haven't been going to class?"

He shrugs. "It's just exams at this point. It's not like I learn anything by taking them."

I raise my eyebrows. "That doesn't mean they aren't important, especially if you're going to med school after this."

He finally raises his eyes to meet mine. "I'm not going med school."

I raise an eyebrow. "You need some sort of plan for the future, since you quit working for us."

A look of determination crosses his face. "I'm not quitting. I just needed a break."

I blink back my surprise. "Are you sure? I can't promise you that you won't be put in danger again."

"I know, and that scares me, but I can't leave. At first the job was just a way to pass the time. I knew the risks, but I couldn't even imagine something so horrible happening." He pulls at piece of his hair. "Now I know exactly what we're up against. I know just how real the threat is to my friends, my family, to everyone. I can't walk away from a chance to help them."

"You're sure about this."

"I've spent the last couple days thinking it through. This is what I want."

I lean back. This really wasn't what I was expecting. I'd rather leave him out of this and keep him safe, but whether I like it or not we need him. I give him a warm smile. "In that case I look forward to continuing to work with you. Will you be in tomorrow, or do you need a few more days off?"

He smiles a bit. "Tomorrow is fine."

"Great, I'll see you then. I'm really glad you're alright." My smile stays on my face as I leave his apartment. I'm truly happy this won't be the last I'm seeing of him.