Chapter 13: Blessing

Amelia let out a noisy grunt as she dragged her body up, her shoulder blades squeezing together as her arms and back muscles worked together to pull her body up to the pull-up bar. Her chin rising above it, Amelia let her elbows flare out as she reversed her strategy, pushing down on the bar now, her arms straightening out as her torso came fully over the bar. Letting herself fall forward, she flipped over the bar in an agonizingly slow and controlled twist, her toes resting on the ground once more.

Letting herself fall to the ground, Amelia panted, her arms crying out to her, dropping from her shoulder sockets like lead weights. She had done seven reps of muscle-ups today, having worked her way up from only being able to do three when Levi had first shown them to her. She'd been working on improving her arm strength since her leg had been injured, and she was happy with her progress. Amelia had needed to go easy on her leg, careful not to overstretch or overtax her muscles right away. By now the thick scar had faded to a bright white ridge traveling down the length of her thigh and the deep ache that had long accompanied the wound was now gone.

Rubbing her thigh, Amelia's eyes were drawn to her wrist by the soft gleam of purple and green. A bracelet of braided twine now encircled her wrist, adorned by one stone, polished into a perfect ellipse about the size of her thumbnail. The crystal was clear in spots, intermingled with opaque clouds of emerald green and royal purple. The bracelet itself didn't appear to be much, but Amelia's heart still fluttered with the memory of Levi giving it to her.

She had been sitting with members of her team in the mess hall enjoying a late dinner and had been surprised when Levi had come up to her. They had been spending a lot of time together over the past week after the renewal of their physical relationship, but it had mostly been out of view of others. Amelia had assumed that Levi wasn't comfortable with others knowing of their mutual interest in each other and had been content not to push whatever this blossoming relationship was—if relationship was even the word for it. He'd just returned from an excursion to town, his hair windswept by the spring breeze that had been ravaging Trost district and clutched a small package in his hand. Ignoring the people sitting around her, he'd presented her with the small box.

"Oh," she'd said, accepting it awkwardly, aware of the stares of the rest of her team. "Thank you."

"I thought it would suit you." He'd told her, shifting uncomfortably, before moving away, obviously not wanting to retain the attention they were getting from the other scouts.

She'd cautiously unwrapped it to find the bracelet nestled in a velvet box. Keiji had leaned over her shoulder and poked her in the ribs with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows. Amelia had turned bright red, snapping the box shut and burying it in her lap as her friends began to tease her and whisper to each other about the Captain's gift. Rumors had been spreading across the Scout Regiment for the past few days as people speculated on what their relationship might be.

Amelia looked at the bracelet now with an appreciative smile. The crystal was fluorite, not an expensive or rare stone, but one which held special significance for both of them. The mineral was mined in the Underground, and veins of it could be seen running through the rocks, fluorescing a soft blue in the darkness. It frequently adorned cribs or walls in children's rooms to entrance them and help them fall asleep. Young girls would occasionally make jewelry out of the raw stones and pretend to be queens instead of beggars. Amelia recalled her mother's necklace which had contained a single roughly hewn fluorite pendant, not nearly as artfully crafted as the bracelet Amelia now wore. Fluorite was called Star Seed by the inhabitants of the Underground, used to describe what the night sky looked like to people who would spend their whole lives without ever seeing it.

"Lance Corporal Amelia," Commander Erwin's voice snapped her out of her reverie. She jumped up from her position on the ground and saluted him sharply. He nodded at her appreciatively, his eyes lingering on her wrist for a moment before meeting hers. "Are you well enough to join me for a run?"

Amelia blinked in surprise before nodding, her mouth dry from nervousness at his presence. She fell into step with him as he headed around the training field's track. Her heart was beating faster than normal due to his towering presence beside her, and Amelia wasn't sure whether to be excited that she'd been invited to run with him or terrified. Breathing deeply, Amelia turned her head to look around them at the bright green leaves of spring which had been unfolding for the past couple of weeks. The flowers were beginning to unfurl and fill the air with a myriad of pleasant perfumes. Amelia knew the pollen would be wreaking havoc on her sinuses in a few days, but for now she would enjoy their beauty.

They ran in silence, and Amelia's anxiety began to slowly dissipate in his comfortable and self-assured presence. She rarely interacted with Erwin on her own and this was the first time she'd ever been individually invited to join him and found herself grateful to have the opportunity. Erwin was an incredible figure who was greatly admired by everyone in the Survey Corps and at the very least was cautiously respected by everyone outside of it. Since being under his command, she could only appreciate his genius and undeniable authority.

She followed Erwin as he turned off the main track and took a worn path that went around the small patch of woods near the HQ. The farther they went, the more Amelia began to lag behind. Steeling herself against the fatigue in her legs, she grimaced and pushed through it, determined to keep up with Erwin. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, and she thought she saw something like approval in his gaze. When they'd gone about a mile and a half, on the far side of the woods, Erwin slowed to a stop to let her catch her breath and rub some life back into her leg. Grabbing her ankle, she pulled it up flush against the back of her thigh, stretching her quad gently.

"I never thanked you for defending those wounded." Erwin told her, barely breathing hard, his eyes on her scarred leg which showed from beneath the hem of her shorts.

"Not at all sir, after all, I would have died too if I didn't do anything," Amelia attempted to brush off the compliment, and Erwin frowned.

"Never minimize your own accomplishments Lance Corporal," Erwin told her. "Others will do that for you often enough."

"Yes sir." She agreed, letting her leg fall from her hand, ready to begin their jog again, but to her surprise Erwin continued to consider her silently. She tried not to squirm beneath his discerning gaze.

"That's a lovely bracelet," he said at last, his eyes narrowing slightly as he persisted in appraising her, and Amelia blanched white at where the conversation was heading. Her hand moved instinctively to cover the bracelet from his gaze. "What exactly are your intentions towards Captain Levi?"

"E-Excuse me sir?" Amelia choked out, unsure whether she'd heard him correctly.

"Levi is our strongest and most valuable weapon in the fight against the titans, and there are many who might seek to exploit him."

"N-No sir, I would never. I lo—um, I'm very fond of Captain Levi." She glanced at the ground, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I don't know exactly what his expectations are, but for now I'm content just getting to know him better."

Lifting her eyes back to him, he nodded at her, apparently content with her answer to his inquiries. "See that you treat him in the way he deserves… even if he doesn't always act in a way that deserves it."

"Yes sir," she grinned at him, a small smile on his own face at her reaction, and they set off back to the main building of their Headquarters in an amicable silence. Her response seemed to have sincerely pleased him, and she felt lighter on her way back, despite already having run over a mile.

"Thank you for the run sir," she panted, and he nodded at her, passing Levi on his way back into the HQ. Levi's eyes moved from Amelia's sweaty form to Erwin's who gave him a congratulatory pat on the shoulder before moving inside. Levi's eyes narrowed at her, and Amelia grinned nervously, before turning abruptly and trying to get away from him.

"Mia." He called after her, and she tried to pretend as though she hadn't heard him. "Amelia. What did Erwin want? Goddammit Amelia, get back here!"

Glancing behind her, Amelia saw he was catching up to her, and she laughed and ran towards the woods, trying to get away from him. She could hear him pick up speed behind her as she darted between the trees. Her hair slid through his fingers as she side-stepped him, but she hadn't paid enough attention to her surroundings and found her back to a tree where he trapped her between his arms. Sliding to the ground, she grinned up at him, laughing enthusiastically at the annoyed look on his face. Scooting over, she laid back on the soft grass, patting the ground beside her. Rolling his eyes, he dropped down next to her, sitting with his back to the tree and staring out at the setting sun which was visible beyond a few trees to their left, the fingers of his right hand barely brushing her upper arm.

"What did Erwin talk to you about," he asked eventually, glancing down at her out of the corner of his eye. Rolling onto her stomach she looked up at him with a smile, and he plucked a blade of grass out of her messy hair with a click of his tongue.

"I think he just gave our relationship his blessing…" she laughed, before biting her tongue, realizing that they'd never clarified their intentions to each other, her face flushing. "That is, if we were in a position to need it…."

Levi dropped down to his elbow, twisting towards her and looking into her eyes. He pushed chestnut curls out of her face, his fingers trailing down her cheek where he ran his thumb across her bottom lip.

"It sounds like Commander Erwin has made our position clear," he said seriously.

"Levi," she admonished with a blush as he continued staring at her mouth. Licking her lips, Amelia leaned into his chest, and kissed him tenderly, his fingers entwining around a lock of her hair. Pulling away she smiled. "Do you really mean that?"

"Do I usually lie to you?" He asked, continuing to twirl a strand of her hair.

"No sir." She responded out of habit, watching him as he played with her hair. A slight smirk tugged at the corner of his lips at her use of the honorific.

"You'll have to stop calling me sir when we're alone." He chuckled softly before glancing at her with a suddenly hungry look. "Although I'm sure there are situations where exceptions can be made."

"Oh," she asked suggestively, "And what situations might those be?"

"It will be better to show you, I think." Levi answered, capturing her lips in his again, and pushing her back onto the grass.