I live in a world

where my honesty

is considered

Bravery.

and this is

the saddest truth

of all.

Kat Savage

-Emmryn's POV-

Shortly after leaving the dungeon, Erwin dismissed Levi and I to take some rest since I was injured and had to stay with Levi especially after the issue we had already had with the MP at the dungeon entrance. Levi led me silently to his barrack for this trip. As soon as we both got inside, Levi shut the door behind us and stood angrily in front of me. I sighed in my head and swallowed hard at the obviously pissed corporal.

"Why the hell are you so familiar with that titan brat?!" he demanded to know. My jaw dropped slightly. He was jealous. What the hell…

"We were both in the 104th Cadet Corps. He and the other two from Shiganshina were some of the only trainees who respected the Scouts and understood the terror of facing the titans," I replied, trying to reassure him, but he just seemed to be more irritated at my next comment, "The kid is harmless." Except when he tried to punch Mikasa who I saved and landed on my foot wrong as a result, which is why it was currently broken, but Levi doesn't need to know that. He was already pissed enough at the brunette, and the last thing Eren needed was a pissed off, protective Levi coming after him.

"He can turn into one of those man-eating bastards, Emmryn!" Levi snarled angrily, his usual bored expression completely slipping at this point, "And you are still on probation as is! Do you know what kind of danger this puts you in?! The MPs could argue that you can't be trusted and have you arrested!" My heart dropped slightly at this. He was right, but I was also stronger and more than capable of handling myself.

"If they say anything, I can claim to just know him because we were on the same squad in the Cadet Corps. I can handle myself, Levi! I'm not defenseless in this situation!" I argued, not wanting to seem weak, especially not to him, "Plus, he's my friend and is probably terrified! I can't just abandon him because it's more convenient for me. What kind of person would I be if I did that?" Levi clicked his tongue and rolled his steel gray eyes in annoyance before pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You are to stay away from the titan brat until all this bullshit is settled. That's an order from the Lance Corporal of the Survey Corps," Levi ordered, his tone that is saved for addressing his squad coming out as his bored expression returned, his eyes telling me that this discussion was over before adding for good measure as he saw that I opened my mouth to argue, "Remember, that you are still on probation and under my direct command. Since you are so keen on arguing and because I don't trust you to follow my orders, you will be staying with me constantly until we return to headquarters. Is that understood, Cadet Smith?"

At that last comment, I had to bite back the snarl that rose in the back of my throat. The feelings I may have for the raven-haired man in front of me taking a backseat as I was reminded why I hated him at first. When he acted like this, it pissed me off. Once again, he was showing that he did not fully respect me as a capable soldier that could be trusted. The lack of trust really hurt, but I didn't want to let him see that so I reverted to my training as a mindless soldier and gave him a salute. This shit could not be solved soon enough.

A few days later, it was finally time for Eren's trial. True to his word, I had not been allowed to leave Levi's side for longer than the time it took for him or I to use the restroom or shower. And even that had to be enforced by Erwin because Levi said and I quote, "It's not anything I haven't seen before anyways." which further pissed off Erwin and ended up working in my favor.

Needless to say, the raven-haired man and I were still not on good terms at this point. His words and actions before had really hurt me, but I refused to show that. Instead, I decided to make it seem like I was just angry. My heart felt safer that way.

Anyways, I followed Levi into the courtroom before standing at attention between him and Erwin. I could feel the eyes of a couple of the MPs on me as my hair was tied back in the front, showing my large scar and oddly colored right eye which was probably the only way any of them had to tell I was the same broken and beaten girl that had once been in the same place they now put Eren.

I fought to keep my face expressionless as the court proceedings started. My only hope was that Premier Zachary was what I considered a fairly just and unbiased man in these situations. He had handled my case rather kindly despite pressure from the MPs, and I was still thankful for that. As the court proceedings started, I found myself tuning out the whole thing to avoid getting pissed off, that is until I heard them mention my name.

"Yes, sir?" I responded, not showing any emotion in my voice despite the dread that was bubbling up in my stomach. Me being mentioned in this situation could not possibly mean anything good.

"It says in Squad Leader Rico's report that Eren Jaeger attempted to attack Cadet Mikasa Ackerman after transforming into his titan form. It also says that the only reason she was not injured is because you grabbed her just in time but were injured when you landed due to the force of his swing. Is that true, Cadet Smith?" Zachary asked, causing me to bite back a sigh and a shiver as the feelings of murderous intent flowed off my raven-haired lover in waves. The scariest part was I didn't know which of us three it was most directed at: Mikasa, Eren, or me.

"Yes, sir. Eren Jaeger appeared to temporarily lose control after his initial transformation, but after knocking himself out and being awakened by Cadet Arlert, he was able to -" I tried to defend but was interrupted by Zachary.

"I have read the report, Cadet Smith. Please just answer the questions you are asked from now on," he scolded, and I saluted with a small bow.

"My apologies, Premier Zachary," I said, my tone respectful and measured despite the panic I could feel bubbling up in my stomach. At my scolding, the snickerings of several MPs could be heard as comments like 'of course the prostitute would stand up for the monster,' 'maybe she's a titan too,' and 'should've imprisoned her last time.'

After Mikasa was questioned, more comments like this continued focusing on accusing her of being a titan and being much louder than the ones made about me. At this, Eren completely lost his shit. I sighed to myself as I watched the brunette make his situation so much worse and wished I could help. To my surprise, after Eren told everyone to put all their faith in him, as the MPs all drew their guns to shoot him, I felt Levi move from beside me.

Next thing I knew, Levi kicked Eren so hard in the face that a tooth went flying out of his mouth. At this, my hands went to the rail as tears filled my eyes and I resisted the urge to step in before returning to the relaxed attention stance I had been in previously. Looking at Erwin's stoic face out of the corner of my eye, I seethed internally. This kind of aggressive and gamble of a plan is exactly the kind of strategy my brother would come up with, and as much I hated this idea, my brother's plans had a ridiculous way of making things work out for the better.

Levi continued to kick the shit out of Eren. He was definitely overdoing it, and I had a sneaking suspicion that was confirmed when the stoic captain's intense gray eyes met my blue and white ones. He was pissed that I hid that from him, and he was even more pissed that Eren caused me to get hurt. He knew as well as I did that the foot injury most likely played a part in me losing focus and getting hurt even worse, and he was going to take this chance to abuse Eren for it.

Finally, Levi was stopped by some spineless MPs who pointed out that provoking Eren could cause him to transform. Levi all but taunted them in return, pointing out that he was liable to do that if the MPs got custody and they decided to dissect him. He then pointed out that Eren managed to kill 20 titans after transforming before he was brought down the first time, and challenged whether the MPs could handle him if it came to that again.

Using the silence in the room that was filled with uncertainty, Erwin stood up once again and suggested that Eren be put under Levi's watch and join the survey corps where his newfound titan powers could be monitored and used for the betterment of humanity, and to potentially take back Wall Maria. This earned unbelieving gasps from multiple soldiers throughout the crowd before Zachary quieted everyone before turning his attention to Levi, asking him if he could dispose of Eren if he got out of hand.

Levi didn't take his eyes off of Eren as he stomped on Eren's head for good measure, stating bluntly that it would be all or nothing but if it came to that, Levi would have no problem taking Eren down for good. That thought caused my stomach to churn, but I maintained my stoic expression as Supreme Commander Zachary announced his decision to give custody of Eren over to the Survey Corps under the direct supervision of Lance Corporal Levi Ackerman. At this, the court was dismissed, and I was ordered to follow Erwin, Hange, and Levi to where they were keeping Eren once again.

Once we reached the dungeon, I saw Levi sitting on the couch with his arm behind Eren. As gray eyes met mine, I fixed the man with a seething glare.

"Something you wanna say, Cadet Smith?" Levi asked, his eyes slightly narrowed, but his voice stayed his usually uninterested tone.

"Nope," I stated with a pop on the 'p', "Just thought humanity's strongest soldier would know better than to take his personal issues out on a potentially important, and innocent, ally, Lance Corporal Ackerman." I finished my statement in the most fake polite tone and smile I could muster causing Eren to stare at me with wide eyes as though I had just grown two heads. He could not believe that I had so obviously smarted off to the man who had just kicked the shit out of him. Hange focused on cleaning Eren's wounds but interrupted the impending argument.

"Walls! Can you two just fuck and makeup already?! We have enough to deal with without your relationship drama and sexual tension making things even more stressful!" Hanji snapped, irritated at our bickering that's been going on for three days now. I think Eren's eyes were about to fall out of his head with how shocked he looked at her comment. This would be funny if the whole situation wasn't so shit.

"HANGE! Not something I need to hear about my sister!" Erwin snapped angrily at the auburn haired woman before turning to Levi and I, "Now, you two need to go and resolve whatever the hell is going on. Hange is right. Crude, but right. We don't need added divisions or stress right now! So either figure it out or end it. I really do not give a damn which at this point, but it had better be done by the time we leave for headquarters tomorrow. That's an order."

Levi and I both glared at my angry older brother before Levi clicked his tongue and turned to leave the dungeon, not turning to see if I was following. I spared one last glare at my brother and Hange before following Levi to the barrack we had been sharing since he wouldn't let me leave his sight. I sighed as we reached the door and went inside. I had been doing that alot the past couple of days. Welp. Here goes nothing.

Song: Guns for Hands by Twenty-One Pilots

Edited: 03/26/2020