DILAN'S P.O.V.

3 MONTHS LATER...

The next three months passed in a blur. Training took up most of the day, every day. Levi got ruthless, especially with Oluo in their ranks. The boy had proved himself to be good enough to join the team, but he was still shit and thanks to how in sync the team was supposed to be, they basically had to retrain themselves, adding Oluo into the mix. It was an exhausting procedure and it was safe to say that Dilan and the rest of the team hoped no one else would get eaten by a titan. If not for the tragic lost but the fact that they didn't want to go through that brutal type of training again.

Dilan's muscles had never ached that long non before. She felt dead at the end of every day and that was coming from the girl who loves getting her blood pumping and feeling the adrenaline of a harsh train. The other members of the squad were practically crippled.

Spring had passed and they were well into summer, which everyone was particularly sour about. Especially considering they were in the middle of a massive heat wave right now. Training was a sweaty and smelling ordeal. Especially considering the three boys on the team if you don't count Levi. He never really smelled which Dilan used to think was odd considering he was part of the male species but somehow the guy managed to pull it off.

Not that Dilan was complaining. One less sweaty boy in the common rooms the better. And what was worse, thanks to all the sweat and smell, Levi made them clean twice as hard to remove the grime, making them sweat even worse. Levi's logic was pretty flawed but to deny his orders meant death by roasting out on the track doing laps. Oluo looked like a raw chicken after one particularly stupid comment. Dilan had never laughed so hard when she saw him. She fell off of her chair.

Things were good in terms of relationship with the squad. Dilan and Petra had grown closer after Stacy's passing and Dilan had become pretty close with Gunther too, hanging out with him when he felt down. The boy had become something of a little brother to her which was funny considering how tall the shit was.

What was weird was Eld and Oluo. They seemed to always be competing for her attentions and it was kind of freaky. She had started teaching Eld how to fight properly but then Oluo found out about the lessons and demanded some from her too. They argued constantly and were always trying to get her alone.

Honestly it had become so weird with both of them she preferred to just hang out with Petra and Gunther. She found that's what she did with most of her free time nowadays. Levi had been blanking her again lately and she wasn't sure why.

It wasn't as though he was overly mean, and he was still himself when they were alone together, but he never stuck around for long. He always had an excuse to be doing something else away from her and it pissed her off to no end because the excuses were legitimate, and she couldn't exactly challenge them. He was the Captain of the fucking survey corps, he had serious stuff to do, especially since the corps was in a funding crisis right now. Everyone was busting their asses to come up with ideas on how to fund the next expedition.

If they didn't go on expeditions, the government would shut them down. And yet the government was refusing to fund them. Shitty logic in Dilan's opinion. Besides, it wasn't as though Levi was being overly weird. He didn't drink excessively, he looked relatively well rested. In fact, Dilan assumed he had been sleeping better since he didn't come up to the roof much anymore. He even continued to make all of his shit jokes, but Dilan rarely ever spent any time with him. She didn't want to complain considering he was working his ass of right now, but Dilan couldn't help but feel sad. She missed her best friend.

A knock snapped her out of her thoughts and she barely had time to sit up in bed before the door was opened and a hyper girl with ginger hair ran in squealing and throwing herself on the bed, gripping Dilan's shoulders with a scary intensity.

"Did you hear, did you?!" Petra asked excitedly. Dilan blinked, still incredibly tired.

"Huh?" She mumbled, rubbing her eyes. Petra grinned.

"We have three whole days off! THREE WHOLE DAYS DILAN!" Petra squealed and Dilan's eyes widened, cracking a smile.

"No shit? How come?" Dilan asked, curious. Levi was the type to give days off.

"The Captain just told us. Apparently, the heat stroke has gotten worse and it isn't medically legal for us to train for a few days. They can't risk a lawsuit if someone gets heatstroke right now with the funding problem." Petra explained. Dilan nodded, guessing that made sense.

"Cool. So, what'd you want to do?" She asked with a smirk. Petra smirked back. Dilan had a feeling the girl had already planned out their next three days to the second.

An hour later and the five were packed, with a picnic, swimming costumes, towels and any other crap they wanted to bring to the lake. They were taking their horses to a forest in wall Maria that apparently the guys new about, having lived in the area. They planned to swim, hang out and have a relaxing day off. Honestly Dilan needed this after all the training.

The break was appreciated.

"Come on Dil, hurry!" Petra grinned, trying to hurry her along. Dilan laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Go catch up with the guys, I'll be out in a sec." Dilan assured, and Petra narrowed her eyes but smiled and nodded anyway, running out the door.

Dilan chuckled to herself, grabbing her book and packing it in her bag. it's not like she could swim so she would need something to do while the guys were in the water. Hopefully there'll be decent shade, Dilan thought, wiping a bead of sweat off of her brow.

She heard the office door opening and tilted her head, looking around the corner to see Levi coming out, his head down, looking at a file.

"Hey!" She smiled, happy to see him. He was not to be disturbed whenever he was in his office recently. Another thing that made Dilan suspicious that something was up with him.

Levi looked up, seemingly surprised. Did he think she'd already left? Was that why he came out? Dilan's face dropped a bit at the thought, and she looked down in confusion as she finished packing.

What did I do?

"Hey brat. You guys are going to the lake, right?" Levi said casually which made Dilan wonder if she was imagining the whole thing. Was he acting differently or was Dilan making something out of nothing?

"Yeah. I'd say you should come but you'd probably rather listen to Hanji lecture about titans for an hour than swim in a lake, right?" Dilan chuckled, imagining Levi with all the dirt. Levi gave her a glare.

"Don't even joke about it. Do you know how much fucking bacteria-" Levi started his rant, but Dilan laughed and cut him off.

"I think I have your clean freak speech memorised by now, thank you." She said cheekily, earning herself another glare. Dilan quickly finished packing and slung the bag over her shoulder. "What will do you today? Did you get the day off too?" She asked curiously. Levi frowned slightly, sliding his file to the left on the table so it was angled straight.

"No, I'm still loaded. I've got a meeting with Erwin in an hour." Levi shrugged. Dilan nodded, rocking back and forth on her heel and the front of her toes. She bit her lip, wanting to say something but nothing came to mind. She supressed a sigh and opened the door when Levi spoke again. "Dil." Levi said, and Dilan looked back at him.

"Yeah?"

"Be careful with them. I know they're your friends, but they are also men." Levi warned, concern in his steel eyes. Dilan felt a splash of relief, seeing her friend before her right now. Maybe everything was indeed fine. She cracked a smile of reassurance.

"I'll be careful." She assured, wanting to put his mind at ease. She knew the guys would never try something, but Dilan appreciated that Levi cared.

Levi nodded in satisfaction and turned to make his tea as Dilan turned to the door. She didn't really want to leave him, but she had promised to spend the day with Petra, and Levi would be at a meeting in an hour anyway. She left the house, closing the door behind her and jogged over to where the others were waiting.

"Finally!" Gunther said with an overdramatic sigh. Dilan laughed, mounting her horse and ruffling his hair when she was high enough. Gunther pouted as the previously gelled hair, flopped in front of his eyes and the group laughed.

"Hell yes! I can't wait to go home!" Oluo grinned and the others voice their agreements. Dilan smiled.

"Lead the way then."

LEVI'S P.O.V.

Levi sighed as the door closed behind Dilan and he was left alone in the silence. He sat down at the table and leant his head on the surface, listening to the ticking of the clock.

"What a liar you've become." He muttered to himself with an unamused chuckle.

Things had changed recently. He'd changed... he had never hated himself more these past months. He had failed in so many ways and he was stuck in a cycle that he couldn't get out of, not by himself.

He wanted so desperately to talk to Dilan. To spend a decent amount of time with her as being with her was the only thing that made his miserable life worth living, even if he wasn't with her in the way he would like to be. Friends was good enough for him. And yet... that small consolation prize had been ripped away too.

When did his life become so fucked? 2 months ago, that's when.

He had been called into Erwin's office on 'personal business' which Levi didn't really like the sound of by he went anyway.

"Come in." Erwin's firm voice called, and Levi opened the door, closing it behind him and walking inside.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Levi asked, monotoned. Things had been intense between the pair since Levi threatened to resign for Dilan. It was worse than after he had punched the blonde bastard.

"Yes, I did. Please take a seat." Erwin said, not asking but demanding from his tone. Levi frowned slightly but did as he was told.

"What's this about?" He asked. he hadn't done anything wrong of note lately. It had been a month since the incident so Levi didn't see why Erwin would wait all this time and bring it up now.

"You trouble me, Levi." Erwin sighed, interlocking his fingers and leaning his chin on them, his stone-cold blue eyes boring into Levi's.

"Is that so?" He asked, not getting where big brows was going with this. Erwin nodded.

"Falling in love with a subordinate. Very inappropriate." Erwin said emotionlessly and Levi had to use every inch of will power, barely managing to not show the utter shock on his face. He swallowed dryly as his pulse sped up but managed to keep a stoic expression.

Where, the actual fuck, did he get that information from?

"The hell are you on about now, eyebrows?" Levi sighed, feigning boredom as he crossed his legs and lent back in the armchair.

Erwin chuckled.

"You are very convincing, I'll give you that, Levi. Alas, I know it to be true." He replied.

Levi opened his mouth to spew another dismissive insult, but Erwin spoke first, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"I wonder what Farlan would think about you wanting to fuck his little sister." He smirked. Levi's eyes widened and he was on his feet in an instant, a dagger pressed up against the blonde bastard's neck. So, he knew. He knew Levi had found out. Did he plan it?! Was it all some giant ass manipulation?!

"If you even think about saying his name again, I will gut you here and now and that is a promise." Levi warned in a dangerous voice. His hand was grasping the man's collar so tightly, he knew it would be hard to breath and he was glad.

Erwin managed a strained smile.

"Understood." He managed to choke out. Levi hesitated before letting go, shoving Erwin backwards. The man let out a single cough before regaining some composure. Levi glared at him, gritting his teeth and raking a hand through his hair.

Erwin stared at him with a blank face and Levi couldn't catch his breath.

Shit. Not the time to have a panic attack, idiot.

Levi walked over to the Commanders personal supply of liquor, pouring a generous amount of bourbon into a fancy crystal cup and downing it in one, enjoying the burning that dripped down his throat. He took a breath and put the cup down on the tray, the clink ripping through the tense silence.

Levi took another second to calm himself down before walking back over and sitting down in the chair, crossing his arms.

"What, do you want?" Levi asked sharply, knowing there must be a motive for this. Erwin smiled smugly.

"Nothing much, I just wanted to have a chat with you. I figured you might be feeling frustrated and use a friend to talk to." Erwin lied with ease. Levi was not amused.

"Why the fuck would I waste my time talking to a robot like you? We're both adults, Erwin, spit it out or I'll leave now." Levi warned.

Erwin smirked, nodding.

"Very well. You see, Levi. I have done my research." He started. "Not only did I find out about the blood relation between Dilan and one of our fallen, I did a little more digging and found out some other things as well." He said happily and Levi grit his teeth but didn't reply.

Erwin got out a file from out of his desk and opened it up.

"I learnt more about the Church family. They were merchants who lived in the underground. They had a decent house, decent living but where murdered on the street by thugs. Apparently, Dilan's mother was what's called an oriental. Someone who looks different from the rest of us. If I'm correct she was French." Pausing to push a sketch of a woman over to Levi's side of the desk.

His eyes widened a fraction, gathering this was Dilan's mother. They looked exactly alike.

"Very beautiful and someone clearly thought so too as she was targeted, as was Dilan, thanks to her looks. The parents died protecting their children. Dilan only managed to escape thanks to her brother who somehow managed to best them, stabbing both of the attackers to death." Erwin continued reading emotionlessly and Levi honestly felt like he was going to be sick.

He couldn't take his eyes off the picture.

"There's not much in terms of the siblings after that. They were virtually off the radar until we came across your gang. Everything we know about Dilan in that time, you do to. However, what I recently came to discover after some thorough digging, was that Church had a contingency. See, I needed to find out whether Dilan knew her brother was captured. Whether she knew he was killed on an expedition. Whether she knew he excised at all. The girls a wild card after all. On the case that you ended up telling her I needed to be best prepared for her reaction. As it turns out, she knew everything." Erwin continued and Levi's wide eyes looked up.

Erwin seemed to notice.

"I'm unaware if she knew about you if that's what you're thinking. But she knew Church was in the survey corps and she was informed of his passing. Church had a paid informant that was to find Dilan in the underground, deliver the message of his passing and..." Erwin paused to turn a page in the file and pick up a dusty, yellow looking envelope. "This message. His final goodbye to her, I suppose. Guess he wasn't so trusting that he was going to make it through the crazy journey." Erwin chuckled and Levi wasn't convinced he was still breathing.

His steadied his hands on his thighs, feeling them start to shake.

"Took a long time to find this, I'll tell you that." Erwin mused, turning the letter over and Levi saw Dilan's name written out in Farlan's shitty handwriting. He felt like his heart was breaking in half. "You want this, correct?" Erwin asked, triumph clear in his tone.

Levi didn't have the mental capacity to fight back anymore. He would do anything to get that letter for Dilan. The blonde had won. He was officially under his control.

"What do you want?" Levi managed to force the words out. They sounded defeated but he was too broken to care.

"I want a few things. First, you will keep your distance from her from now on. Second, you will keep your affections for her to yourself. Under no circumstances are you allowed to start a relationship with Dilan Church. Are we clear on that?" Erwin asked. Levi nodded numbly. "And third, you may give her this letter, but you may not tell her your relation to her brother. Is that clear?" Erwin demanded. Levi nodded again.

"Did you open it?" He asked.

Erwin chuckled.

"No, of course not. I'm not that sick. Besides, I was worried as to what you would do to me." He smiled. Levi looked at him and the letter sceptically. "I promise, Levi. The seal hasn't been broken. Here, check it out." He offered the envelope over. Levi hesitated but took the parchment, holding it in his hands carefully, afraid it could burst into flames at any moment.

It was Farlan. The last thing he created before he left this world. Before Levi's stupid decisions killed him. Guess Farlan expected it otherwise he wouldn't have written this. The thought threatened tears, but he pushed them back, not wanting to give Erwin the satisfaction. He checked the envelope seal with cheap but clearly effective wax.

"Who was the informant?" Levi asked, confused. Erwin looked down at his file.

"A... Jan, I believe his name was. Apparently, he used to work for you. Ring any bells?" Erwin asked and Levi's eyes widened a fraction in realisation.

Jan, he worked with them on and off for 2 years. Farlan gave him some extra money once because his legs got so bad. Part of the deal with their benefactor that sent them up here was that Jan would get treated in a hospital above the surface. Levi had completely forgotten about him.

Farlan must have found him on the surface and given him the letter. But when would he have had time for such a thing? Wait... Levi remembered now. He woke up one night when Farlan had just come back into to room. He claimed to have just gone to the toilet but it's clear now he was lying.

"Where is he?" Levi demanded, wanting to talk with the man. Erwin gave him an apologetic look.

"My apologies, Levi. Jan had been rather ill for a few years. He was on his death bed when my men tracked him down in the underground. I was informed he passed around 3 months ago now." Erwin explained and Levi sighed.

Another link to Farlan gone. And he thought he could finally get some answers about why Farlan hid Dilan from him and Iz all those years. Levi supposed Jan must have been sent back down to the underground after his treatment, if he was ever given it in the first place.

Levi looked back up at Erwin, observing the curious look on his face. His narrow eyes flicked back down to the picture of Dilan's mother and reached out for it but Erwin already put his hand over it with a thud, sliding it over to his side of the desk.

Levi growled at him, standing up.

"I agreed to your stupid terms! That picture doesn't fucking belong to you!" Levi snapped. Dilan would want it; he knew she would. And that meant he was going to get it for her.

Erwin smirked at him.

"Technically, none of this belongs to me and yet you are still bargaining like it is. Because in truth it does. I am the one in control right now. Assess your situation and calm down." Erwin said logically. Levi was practically seething at the teeth, but the stupid commander was right. He had the control. Levi took a breath and controlled himself. Erwin nodded in approval. "I will give you this photo. I simply want one thing in return." Erwin explained.

Levi glared at him.

"What?" He gritted out. Erwin smiled.

"A favour. Down the line at some point I will ask you for a favour. You must accept that favour no questions asked and complete it." Erwin said seriously and Levi knew right then he was making a deal with the devil. Still, he had come this far.

"Deal." Levi said, taking the photo and sighing an internal breath of relief as he put both documents safely in the inside pocket of his jacket. Erwin nodded. "Wait, where did you even find this? Do you have anything else belonging to them?" Levi asked sceptically. It was completely possible Erwin had found a whole bunch of stuff belonging to the Church siblings and was waiting before letting Levi know it existed so he could keep extorting him over the years.

Erwin chuckled.

"No, no. that's all. Those items were all Jan kept in his possession. Besides, I've set all the terms I wanted anyway. I have no reason to continue this. It's dealt with as you are a man of your word are you not?" Erwin smirked smugly. Levi clenched his jaw and looked away.

He was indeed a man of his word.

"Whatever, eyebrows. I hope you know you're a sick fuck." Levi spat, turning and stalking off, slamming the door behind him.

By the time he got back he felt like he was going to pass out. He managed to get to his office without suspicion, ordering that no one disturb him as he had 'urgent work' to do before shutting the door and sinking to the floor, a complete mess.

He had never felt more alone, looking down at those two pieces of paper. He felt like he had just given up his future to secure them. Perhaps that was accurate. If the future didn't include Dilan... did he even want to go there? With that agonising thought he couldn't take it anymore. He had quit cold turkey but that was over. He grabbed a blade and he cut.

Levi sighed, gripping his hair in frustration. So far, he had kept to the deal. He kept his distance from Dilan, using the excuse of being busy, which he was but he was still avoiding her. It was hard and he hadn't felt so depressed in his life, but he was pulling it off. He did all his unravelling in secret; the cutting, the drinking, the excessive training. Dilan hadn't asked if he was okay yet and she knew him better than anyone, so he was calling the scam a success this far.

Of course, he had to act normal on the rare occurrences that she'd catch him alone and Levi could feel her fiery eyes analysing his every move. He had to become a damn good liar and make sure his posture was normal as apparently It was his tell. The brat knew him too well which is why it was hard, but he did manage it. Yes, his heart was slowly shattering as he pushed her away and towards the squad, but he was doing it for her, right?

And yet, if that were true, he would have given her the stupid documents already. But he just couldn't manage it. He couldn't... something was preventing him and yet all of this was for nothing if she didn't get them, so what the hell was he doing?

Being a coward was the answer.

He was scared to hand her the only attachments to her family she had left, he was scared she would relapse like he did and most of all he was scared to see her cry and not be able to comfort her due to these stupid rules. He always hated seeing her cry. Even before he realised, he loved her. Even before they were friends. The first time he saw her cry he felt a pain in his heart like no other. That pain only got stronger the closer they became. He was scared to feel that pain again. He was a coward.

You need to man the fuck up, Levi!

Levi stood up with a sigh, picking up the file and ignoring the hiss of his arm as he aggravated his wounds. He had work to do. The corps had a crisis at the best possible time. When Levi needed a distraction. Focus on the job and it will all work out. He told himself. Maybe he should find someone else to give the letter and photo to Dilan. It could certainly be easier. Something to think about.

Levi sighed and rolled his eyes. What a pathetic shit you've become.

DILAN'S P.O.V.

It didn't take them long to get to the forest. Perhaps an hour and a half but the time flew by quickly as she made mindless conversation with her friends. They came through their home town and had a brief 30-minute pit stop for the four to run around the small area, going in a few of the 5 shops available and coming out with a lot of crap that they sure seemed excited about.

Petra had a bag full of mixed candy. Eld got some sort of yo-yo and Oluo and Gunther got this weird looking meat on a stick.

After they had stopped being tourists in their own town they rode to the forest and tied up their horses before walking through towards where the lake was supposed to be. It was a magnificent place. The trees were tall but not as tall as the ones back at HQ. These were what were apparently called oak trees and actually change colour in the autumn while the leaves fall off in the winter. Dilan was amazed by the idea and made Petra promise to take her back here one day.

Eventually they got to the lake, all pretty sweaty from the long ride at this point. The boys were quick to rip off their t-shirts and jump in the lake like a bunch of hooligans', cheering and yelling as they did so, since they already had their swimming trunks on.

Petra laughed, rolling her eyes as they boys had already gotten into a splash war and left for a moment to change, further into the woods. Dilan picked a nice shady spot by the lake, under an oak tree. She leant against the thick trunk and wiped the sweat off of her forehead, opening her book and continuing where she had left off. Levi had actually recommended it to her, and she was loving it.

The story was pretty dark, but she could deal with darkness. She'd been through it and she knew Levi had too. Dilan wondered what he was doing right now.

"Hey!" Petra's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she looked up into those bright hazel eyes. Petra was dressed in a light pink swimming costume.

"Yep?" Dilan smiled. Petra crossed her arms.

"You are not reading a book right now." She deadpanned.

Dilan smiled.

"Accept I am?" She retorted cheekily. Petra huffed.

"Dil! You can't bale now! I need you in there!" She protested. Dilan would like nothing more than to incline to the request but firstly she couldn't swim and secondly her arms and legs had cuts all over them. Sure, they had scarred which was good in the healing process, but they were still very noticeable. The others would see, and she didn't want them to look at her like she was broken.

"I can't swim." She admitted, choosing to use option number one as her excuse. Petra smiled.

"Don't worry about that. The lakes not that deep. Even I can stand up and my heads still above the water, see?" Petra pointed to the boys, wading through the water and roughhousing, splashing everywhere. They both sniggered as Oluo was kicked in the face by Gunther and flopped backwards like a fish.

Dilan wished she could join in.

"I'm sorry Petra." She mumbled, looking back at her book. Petra sighed and sat down next to her.

"Dilan is this about the scars on your arms." Petra asked quietly and Dilan's eyes widened in shock.

When did she...?

Petra smiled sadly, taking her hand for support.

"Dilan I've known you for over a year and you've slept in my room a lot. I've noticed and Stacy did too. But I want to know I have never and will never judge you for them. It's obvious you didn't have the best life so it's not right for me to decide whether you did or didn't need to do that to yourself. I'm just happy that your happier now and you've stopped doing it. Right?" Petra asked hopefully with glossy eyes.

Dilan cracked a grateful smile back, her eyes similarly glossy.

"Yes, I have. Thank you for understanding." She said genuinely, squeezing her hand in gratitude. Petra smiled and nodded, pulling Dilan into a hug.

"Of course. I'm always here for you and the squad is too." She assured. Dilan felt a warmth in her chest, believing the girl was telling the truth.

"I know and I'm grateful but I'm still not ready for them to see." Dilan explained after Petra pulled back.

She nodded in understanding.

"I thought you might say that which is why I brought you this." Petra said, grabbing a tight, black long-sleeved top that seemed to fit a child on the torso and an adult on the arms.

"I think the person that made this is confused." Dilan commented and Petra giggled.

"It's a cropped top, silly. I heard their all the fashion in Sina for swim wear, but I just brought a cheap one. Just put your bikini underneath and this over the top, it will cover your arms and a little past your bikini." She said happily. Dilan smiled at her thoughtfulness but there were a few problems with her plan.

"I don't have a bikini and-" Dilan stated but Petra cut her off, grabbing another 2 pieces of black cloth from her bag and passing it to Dilan.

"Now you do." She grinned. Dilan chuckled but there was still one other problem.

"Petra..." Dilan swallowed, not meeting the girl's eyes. "I have cuts on my legs too. They're way worse than my arms." She managed to admit. Petra's eyes softened in a sad realisation before she shook her head stubbornly.

"No matter. They won't see your legs when you're in the water anyway. I'll just be a distraction while you're getting in and out. You can wrap a towel around out both before you get in and out of the water. You in, girl?" Petra smirked. Dilan hesitated but sighed in defeat, cracking a smirk of her own.

The sneaky bitch seemed to have thought of everything.

"Fine. Let's do this."

Petra's plan worked perfectly, she distracted the boys by pointing at something in the distance that wasn't there and like the idiots that they were, they all fell for it. Dilan slipped into the water without any trouble. It reached up to her shoulders so she wouldn't drown. She had never been in a lake before. It was pretty exciting.

"DILAN!" Petra giggled as she ran towards the edge and canon balled in, splashing all the boys. Dilan laughed and moved over to all of them. It was weird being underwater like this. This much water could keep the underground hydrated for an entire winter. The sad realisation made her spirits dampen a bit, but the boys mindless arguing snapped her out of it.

"I'M THE BEST! NO ONE CAN COMPARE!" Oluo protested loudly as Dilan finally got over to them. She rolled her eyes and pinched him on the nose before the others could retort.

Oluo pouted.

"What are you idiots arguing about now?" She asked, smiling as Petra wrapped an arm around her waist and tugged her closer through the water.

"Oluo claims he's best with the gear out of the four of us. Complete bull, right?" Eld chuckled.

Dilan hummed in thought.

"No, he's the best." Dilan said with a shrug and all of them balked at her apart from Oluo who had the widest grin on his face.

"HUH?!" They yelled. Dilan chuckled, rolling her eyes.

"Other than me and Levi, Oluo's the best at the gear. His combat's shitty and he's a virtual idiot, why else do you think he's in the special ops." Dilan asked with a smirk and they all burst out laughing as Oluo blushed with embarrassment.

"YOU'RE... LIKE A... WELL-TRAINED DOG!" Gunther choked out through loud laughs. Oluo growled and lunged at him in the water, getting him in a choke hold.

"YOU WANT TO SAY THAT AGAIN BEAN-POLE!?" He yelled as he dunked Gunther's head in the water. Petra went to separate them while Eld and Dilan laughed, watching them.

ELD'S P.O.V.

Eld shook his head in disbelief as his idiot friends continued trying to drown each other and Petra failed to separate them as they kept moving about in the water, splashing till no tomorrow.

He looked beside him at Dilan who was also watching the scene with a smile on her face. She looked breath-taking, her tanned skin glowing in the water, reflected by the sun. Eld wondered why she was wearing half at t-shirt but didn't think it was his business. Besides he wasn't complaining. She looked amazing and Eld had to force his eyes away from her before he was caught staring.

The last few months had been a right mess for him. Oluo the bastard, kept getting in his way when he wanted to talk to Dilan. He knew they had freaked her out and now preferred to hang out with Petra and Gunther and it pissed him off to no end.

Oluo was ruining his chance with her. in fact, this was the only time he had managed to get alone with her in a long time. His eyes widened at the realisation and he quickly thought of a plan to get her alone more over these free days. He smiled when he remembered something he had heard about in Sina recently.

"Hey Dil?" Eld asked. Dilan looked at him with those bright orange eyes and smiled.

"Yep?" She replied. Eld took a breath.

Now or never, don't fuck it up, idiot.

"Well, I heard about this concert in Sina that's happening tomorrow." Eld started, managing to keep the nerves out of his voice. Dilan blinked.

"Concert?" She asked, tilting her head.

"Yeah, like music?" He tried to explain, guessing she had never heard of one before. Her eyes widened a bit in realisation.

"Oh yeah! I like music." She grinned and Eld felt a few of his nerves die.

"Great! Me too. I figured since we have two more free days, we could go see it. It's tomorrow evening so we'll probably have to get a hotel, but it should be fine considering our paycheck and it's only a night anyway." Eld explained, trying to keep it casual.

Dilan hummed and Eld noticed she looked a little reluctant about the idea of a hotel. He cringed when he realised, he hadn't specified different hotel rooms and opened his mouth to correct his mistake when Oluo crashed the party like he always did.

"Did I hear something about a concert!?" He asked and Eld's eyes widened.

No, no, no, no, no!

"A CONCERT!" Petra shrieked and bounded over excitedly.

NO! FUCKING NO!

"Woah-really!?" Gunther's head snapped up too and Eld was seriously thinking about killing them, then himself.

Dilan smiled, nodding, clearly completely obvious to the fact he was asking her out on a date. Although he supposed he didn't specify.

That was stupid of him.

"Yeah, Eld was telling me about a concert... with real music!" She said excitedly, completely in love with the idea. Eld sighed silently. Well, he had a brilliant plan, but the execution was flawed. Petra laughed, pulling Dilan towards her.

"Dilan you are so cute!" She squealed, kissing her cheek. Dilan laughed.

"I'd love to go to another concert. I haven't been to one of those since that school trip like 10 years ago, remember guys?" Gunther asked Petra and Oluo. Eld was in an older class so he wasn't with them, but he had been on a similar trip. The others nodded.

"Sounds great Eld! When is it?" Oluo asked with an all-knowing smirk, clearly pleased that he had ruined Eld's plans with Dilan once again. Eld glared at him with a burning hatred.

He was going to get it when they were alone.

"Tomorrow at 8." He gritted out. Petra smiled widely, clapping her hands.

"This is so great! We can get dressed up and go to the concert and stay in a hotel room! Dilan, you'll stay with me and we can do facials!" She said excitedly.

Dilan tilted her head.

"What's a facial?" She asked, confused. Petra chuckled.

"I'll show you! This is going to be awesome!" Petra exclaimed and Dilan laughed.

"Sounds great. We'll leave around 5 then, yeah? We can check into the hotel and get dressed before we go." Gunther offered. Everyone nodded.

Eld sighed but nodded too. Technically he got the date. He just was going with more people. Maybe he would still get a chance with Dilan, who knows. At least they were spending time together somewhere, even if all their annoying friends were alone for the ride.

"Cool. Thanks Green, great idea." Dilan smiled, punching him on the arm before Petra grabbed her and pulled her away to start a splashing war. Eld sighed and smiled, watching her. He wished he was less of a coward. Maybe then he could just come out and say it.

"Nice try. But you'll need more to defeat-" Oluo started with an evil smirk but bit down on his tongue halfway through his sentence and his face twisted in pain. Eld rolled his eyes and swam away from him. That idiot had no chance. Eld could make Dilan his, he just needed to keep trying.

DILAN'S P.O.V.

Dilan sighed in relaxation, looking up at the clouds. The sky was filled with the bright pastel oranges and purples as the sun started to set over the wonderful summer day.

Their trip had been a pleasant one. They hung around in the water for a long while, splashing around. Petra started teaching her how to swim on the down low while the boys were rough housing. She was still shit but she could doggy paddle places. Not a terrible achievement in her opinion.

That girl really was a saint. She had helped Dilan get out without anyone noticing too and held a towel around her while she changed. As much as she liked the water, she felt a lot more at ease now she was back in her clothes, covered up properly. She loved the boys, but Levi was right. They were still boys and she caught them staring at her a few times.

While she knew she was safe it still made her uncomfortable.

After they had gotten out of the water, and their hands were properly pruned, Petra set out the picnic blanket and they ate their feast. From there they all relaxed and chatted mindlessly. Dilan was laid down with her head on Petra's lap as the girl pet her, now, dryer raven locks. Dilan hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time.

It had been a hectic few months.

"Hey." Gunther started, gaining people's attention. Dilan wasn't really listening though. She was half asleep. He was leaning against the tree trunk. "Have any of you noticed anything off with the Captain recently?" He asked and Dilan was immediately interested in what he knew, all remnants of tiredness gone.

Still, she didn't want to seem too eager, so she simply sat up to look at him properly.

"What'd you mean?" Oluo asked. the others looked to the answer too. Gunther sighed, rubbing his ruffled hair that had turned slightly curly from the water.

"I don't know he just seems on edge if that's the right word. Like somethings bothering him." Gunther shrugged. Oluo scoffed, slapping Gunther up the back of the head.

"Since when are you an expert on the Captain's feelings. The guys a blank face, no one can read him. Your making something out of nothing, can he even get on edge?" Oluo said confidently.

Petra frowned.

"He's not a robot, Oluo! He has feelings!" She defended.

Oluo smirked.

"We don't know that; you only want him to have feelings because then he could like you back." He teased and Petra blushed.

"Shut up!" She shot back.

"Am I seriously the only one who thinks somethings up?" Gunther refocused.

"Now that you mention it, he spends a lot of time in his office. He passes the training to Dil a lot." Eld pointed out and the others stopped fighting.

"Well he's been really busy lately." Petra shrugged.

"Yeah but he's been overloaded before. He's never stopped attending training, sometimes he brought his paperwork out to do while supervising to make sure we weren't slacking off, remember?" Eld replied and Dilan bit her lip in thought.

"You think somethings bothering him then?" Petra asked, concerned. Eld shrugged.

"No clue. I'm just pointing out what I've noticed." He replied.

"Dil, you've been pretty quiet. You've known the Captain the longest. What do you think?" Gunther asked. Dilan looked up to see they were all staring at her.

She had been completely lost in thought. If the others had noticed it too then maybe she wasn't making something out of nothing. Something was definitely up with him. Levi had failed to ever tell her what happened to make him shut down on her before the last expedition. Honestly, she had figured it must have worked itself out because he got back to normal and didn't bring it up again. But perhaps it never did work itself out. Whatever's happening, if he wasn't telling her about it, it was serious.

Still, Levi wouldn't want the others to know about it so she forced a reassuring smile.

"Guys, you're being stupid. The corps is under crisis, and the Captain has the second highest rank in the whole of the survey corps. He's loaded with stuff, but it'll calm down. I'm sure he'll be back to training soon." Dilan said casually and everyone looked a lot more relieved.

Dilan made a mental note to watch her friend more carefully.

Idiot. Why do you always try and bear things alone?

A/N: Damn! Erwin is the actual devil! You guys were spot on with your last comments. I actually hate him. Which is weird because I don't mind Erwin in cannon. Maybe this is how he used to be before the wall fell. Who knows?

I know I have said this before. In fact, I have said it for the past few chapters but seriously...

We. Are. So. Fucking. Close.

Be prepared.

Also I wanted to mention something. While Dilan is indeed the child of an oriental, and we will get more into that later, she is in no way related to the Ackerman clan. We ain't going down a disturbing path like that. Don't worry.

Thanks for reading guys! Stay safe! X