AN: This fanfiction contains SPOILERS to season 4. Just a warning. If you are up to date with the manga, feel free to skip these author's notes if you just want to get stuck in and read. You're only missing my useless ramblings anyway but beware... I tend to be a little nuts 😁

I've been of two minds whether I should post this fanfiction. It's a Rivahisu (Levi and Historia ship, so a bit out there). Soron Rocket, the author of A Queen's Request, encouraged me to publish after I read her amazing fanfiction, so a shout out to her.

I'm pretty open-minded to a lot of ships in the fandom, but only this one has piqued my interest so far. It's because I'm a sucker for a stoic guy, sweet girl romance. It's where I get my dopamine kick as a writer. I have Historia hitting close to 18 as there won't be any action until Historia reaches 18. That was my rule. So at most this will be a slow-burn romance.

Anyway, read on. Rambling author notes were always a bad habit of mine on this site, sorry.

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to characters from Attack on Titan. Also, I found the cover art on Pinterest. It's not mine either.

...

Historia

Multiple gunshots fire through the air as I duck, covering my head. The crowd screams as a ringing invades my ears, muffling all sound, but all I hear is my erratic pulse.

Time ceases to a standstill. I'm too afraid to move.

This is it. I'm... going to die.

Images from my life flash before my eyes. I see my mother sitting by the tree, reading her book; my sister, Frieda, climbing over the fence to visit me at the farm, and my father, Rod Reiss, just moments before he transforms into a titan.

And then that all too familiar, freckled face pops up, the one that always wore that permanent scowl, but I knew deep down she was smiling...

I choke back a sob, squeezing my eyes. Tears slip past my eyelashes. At least I will get to see her again... Ymir. My old friend.

It's been a good, short life.

Someone shoves me roughly aside, almost knocking my head on the pavement, and I look up and gasp. The Wings of Freedom... They're the only thing I can see — those blue and white wings rippling upon a cape of dark forest green.

Slowly, I avert my eyes, meeting those cold, grey irises. They're as sharp as the very blade in his hands, and all I can do is stare.

Captain Levi. He... saved my life.

As the revelation crosses my mind, more gunshots echo through the air, and I flinch, crashing back down to earth again. The assassin. They're still out there... I... I have to protect my people!

In the blink of an eye, the captain shifts his blade, and now the bullets ricochet off the Ultrahard steel. Besides my best efforts, I squeal.

Good going, Historia. You embarrassed yourself in front of the captain...

People scream and scramble below, but through the din, I hear Nile Dok shouting his orders, "Find the shooter! And protect the queen at all costs!"

Dozens of rifles click into position, and soon a semi-circle of Military Police forms around me and the captain. As if he needs protecting, unlike me — unarmed, useless.

That good girl Krista who made the top ten of her class is ancient history now.

"Captain Levi." Nile rushes up to the captain. "Get inside quick and get the queen to safety. You're the best man for the job right now. We'll handle the rest."

The captain narrows his sharp eyes. "All right... I leave my squad in your capable hands, Nile. Just... when you find the culprit... bring him to me. It's been a while since I whet my blades."

Rough hands yank me up to my feet, and now a low voice mutters into my ear, "Time to go, Your Majesty."

I fall back to reality once again. "W-wait... what?"

Without warning, I'm dragged through a set of double doors, and now I'm running down the polished halls of Orvud HQ with Captain Levi. Our feet echo off the smooth granite floor, but I'm still too numb to truly process what is happening.

I... I got shot at... Someone tried to kill me and nearly succeeded.

Lucky thing the captain was around. I'd be dead.

I'm vaguely aware of his hand clutching the back of my robes, and it's like I have no other choice. We go where he goes.

My feet barely keep up with his, so he more or less drags me down the corridors, checking room after room before moving on to the next. All the while he's vigilant, like a snake poised to attack.

He finally deems a room worthy enough in the end on the top floor and throws me inside, locking the door. All I can do is stand there in the middle of the room like a statue. I catch sight of my reflection inside the glass of a tall window, and there they are — my big, saucer-sized blue eyes.

The look of a girl who's entire life just flashed before her. Literally. I don't even remember eating that bug at three-years-old (though it's not as if any caring adults were around to stop me, anyway).

The glint of my gold crown mocks me, and the thick red of my royal mantle, and now I tremble, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Captain Levi brushes past me next, bumping into my right shoulder, and I yelp at the sudden contact. He makes a "tch" sound and proceeds to the window, glancing left and right before drawing the curtains, and now we stand in total darkness.

Then silence. Well, except for the thin rasps of my breaths, and the crazy rhythm of my heartbeat.

A match ignites, and then the captain's face illuminates in the dark. The light casts eerie shadows in the hollows of his pale visage, and he's never looked so grim.

It's not the kindest way to refer to the man who just saved your life, but there's only one time I've ever seen him smile, and that was after I punched him.

I like to think that my knuckles had left a tiny bruise, but I doubt it. It was like punching solid brick.

There was also the slightest ghost of a smile when we both won our case to use the Reiss family's fortune to build the orphanage, but other than those two times... nothing. He's just the usual, stoic captain of the Survey Corps.

In fact, since Commander Erwin's death... he seems a lot worse. Not that I'm a stranger to grief. Something inside me died a little too the day I lost Ymir.

He lights the candle then shuts the lantern, regarding me coolly from the corner of his eye. "What's with that shitty face? No one died..."

I blink. "Excuse me?"

He waves the match until the flame goes out, and now he turns around to look at me fully. "You look like you've stepped in dog shit."

A gasp leaves my lips, and I step back. Seriously? I always knew he was unfriendly, but this... this is just plain old spiteful. I got shot at; I could be dead now!

I ball my fists, and the blood rushes to the tips of my ears. "Well, I'm sorry that my being shot at doesn't bring out my more sunny side, Captain, but I almost died!"

My shrill voice rebounds off the walls, and I cover my mouth. What the... I just yelled at a superior officer.

No, he's not my superior anymore. Yet why do I still feel so inferior whenever I gaze into those cutting grey eyes?

Sometimes I forget that I'm not a soldier anymore. They drill it enough into your brain for three years at the Cadet Corps, how could I forget?

Captain Levi doesn't blink, not once. He just keeps that piercing gaze on me, the one that forms a ridge between his brows, and I swear there's a flash of red.

"I'm... s-sorry, I... d-didn't mean to..." I stagger, falling back into a plush chair, and now I gaze at the floral patterns of the rug.

He releases a sigh through his gritted teeth, blowing the loose strands from his face, and now he looks the other way, forgiving me it seems. "It's fine. I'll let you off... this time..."

He mutters the last, but I'm just too lost in my own thoughts, wondering what the heck's going on. We're too far up in HQ, I can't even hear the sounds of the street anymore.

Did they find the shooter? Did anyone get hurt? I remember seeing Connie and Sasha out there with the captain, and I worry for my fellow, former members of the 104th Cadet Corps.

So many questions, but little means of having them answered.

Our best bet is to stay cooped up in this dark room with nothing but each other's company. How delightful. At least I know I'm safe. Whether I like it or not, no one could protect me like the captain. He moves like a bullet.

As Commander Dok said — Captain Levi's the best man for the job.

"What's... what's going to happen now?"

My pathetic, girlish voice drifts through the room, breaking the awful silence, and I've long stopped wondering when I will finally sound like an adult woman. I am seventeen now.

I still sound like that same, terrified twelve-year-old back on the first day of Cadets. The one who snuck bread and water out to Sasha Blouse so she wouldn't starve.

That poor girl... She'd looked at the bread like a stray dog.

The captain produces another grave sigh. "We wait. The assailant could still be out there."

Now that's one impressive voice — deep, demanding, and without the slightest quiver of fear. He never shows emotion, even when he's scared. When we were all nearly crushed to death at the Reiss chapel, he'd looked bored.

I close my eyes, taking a deep, shuddery breath. "Do... do you think it could be... Marley?"

The room's temperature suddenly drops, and I shiver. Why did I open my mouth? If I thought he was cold before...

"It's best we don't rule out any possibilities yet, but... no. This threat comes from within our walls. Besides, Kiyomi Azumabito assured us that enemy nations wouldn't attack for another fifty years. So long as we—"

"Have the Rumbling... Yeah... I remember..."

How could I forget? That was the day I learnt that I must eat a fellow Eldian in order to inherit his Beast Titan, as well as producing many, many heirs for the next thirteen years thereafter.

I let out a shaky sigh, rubbing my damp forehead. The captain, however, doesn't break a sweat, but that deep ridge never leaves his brows.

Is he afraid too?

"This... this isn't what I signed up for..."

My soft, girlish voice flutters throughout the silent room, and for the first time since we arrived, the captain's frozen mask cracks, and I see the human being at last.

"I... I know..."

He gazes off into the distance, and it seems he's transporting himself back to another time.

I'm transported back there too, and now I fight off the image of him stalking towards me, slow, deliberate, like a predator, fixing me with those frigid eyes. Then he closes his fingers around my throat, lifts me up off the ground, and...

I recoil, fighting off the unwanted memory. I can't believe it's been over two years. I was fifteen, a kid. And he was... thirty? Twice my age.

No one knows how old the captain is. Me and the 104th gang—well, what's left of us—have discussed it in private when he's not around.

He's a true enigma, Humanity's Strongest. With the face of a boy, but the strength and stamina of a hundred men.

I give a mirthless laugh. "I... I tried... I really did. Tried to make this a better world... but... it still wasn't enough..."

He's still silent, and I know I'm not going to get any more words out of him.

There's only one thing I can think of now that can warm the frost that's formed between us. "C-Captain?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you... for... saving me."

My stupid child's voice wavers again, but it seems to stir something deep inside the captain, and finally, he meets my eyes.

"You're welcome, Your Majesty..."

What a sweet ending. These characters are so fun to write.

Please drop a review and tell me what you think. Have I kept them in IC? Do you want to know what happens next? Do you want to hear Levi break out in song and sing Whitney Houston? No, okay, fair enough...

CartoonPrincessSigningOff.