When I grow up I want to be trustful.

"With everything that has happened in the last few days, I haven't even had time to introduce myself properly. I'm Elizabeth." exclaimed the blonde, reaching out her hand, smiling at the young man who had joined the team.

Not even Eren had noticed it among all the thoughts he had on his mind but, in fact, it was true. They had all introduced themselves, even the Captain and the Commander, except for her.

The boy smiled at her, grabbing her hand and shaking it gently in respect.

"She's a demon." Oluo commented pretending to be serious but only managed to get a look from Petra, who rolled her eyes.

"She's Elizabeth."

"She looks human but she's a devil."

Elizabeth released the boy's hand and placed them both on her hips, trying to assume an authoritarian position.

"Are you done?"

"Now yes." he answered smiling; he pretended not to but in reality he respected her very much and she knew it.

"I should really assert my authority more."

"We joke but we respect her a lot Eren, don't worry." Eld added with a smile, noting how the young man was somewhat confused to see so much confidence in someone who should be their superior.

"Vice Captain Elizabeth Blossom. You alone killed 58 titans and contributed to the killing of 34 others." Eren commented, remembering very well what he had been told about her and admiring her a lot not only for the speed with which she had climbed the ranks but also, now that he knew her, with the lightness with which she lived.

"Have you kept the count?" Elizabeth asked, barely laughing and making Eren smile too, removing that agitated expression from his face. "I suppose so."

"Shadis talked about you in training. If I'm not mistaken, it was when you were promoted."

"Please Eren, when we're not on a mission, just call me Elizabeth." she answered making him understand why the team took such confidence with her. It was she who permitted. "And... what did Shadis say?"

"He called you insubordinate and a terrible example to follow."

"Ha ha, I have stayed in his mind." the blonde laughed, amused and satisfied with her work. When she enlisted she had taken quite a heavy punishment from the man and the thing that shocked him was that she managed it perfectly. Running until sunset was no problem at all for her, she finished her task and took leave before the bewildered gaze of the man.

"This terrible example to follow is the best soldier in the ranks so we have to put up with it like this." commented a voice behind them, flat and calm as usual, but Elizabeth did not miss the way he looked at her in secret.

"Hi Captain."

"Annoying." he commented in response, as he approached them and, in particular, her. Elizabeth turned to Eren who was not yet used to her way of being so easy-going and hastened to explain the reason for that exchange.

"I love to annoy him."

"Move." he exclaimed leading the group to a classroom that was used long ago for lessons and the elaboration of tactical schemes.

The desks inside were neatly placed and there was a blackboard in the center of the wall, complete with chalk.

Hange joined them instantly, not wanting to delay too long and went to sit next to Elizabeth, on the desk, to everyone's right and with his elbows resting on her knees. The blonde instead stood with one leg bent and the arm resting up on the knee.

The other five, on the other hand, remained standing, near the benches, while Levi took his place in front of everyone, grabbing a piece of chalk.

"I talked to Elizabeth and we found a way to stop you without killing you."

"What?" Eren asked somewhat frightened by that statement. He just turned to the blonde who had already changed her expression, becoming immediately serious and attentive. He didn't know if she was bipolar or just aware of how to manage her emotions but if it was the latter then he too had to learn how to do it...

"I said the only way to stop you in your titan form is to kill you. But with this method you'll only be injured. That said it requires a certain amount of skill. In essence you'll be cut out along with the nape, as a result the ends of your arms and legs will be severed. Then again they'll just grow back like a lizard's, right? How disgusting."

Levi made a drawing on the blackboard, a shape that depicted the titan that he was, and surrounded him by cutting cleanly the parts he had just mentioned.

"What a minute, I don't know how they grow back or anything. Isn't there any other way..."

Elizabeth shook her head; bad choice of words...

In fact, Levi narrowed his gaze, instilling fear in the young man who immediately regretted having spoken.

"So you want there to be no danger and no cost whatsoever?"

"N-no."

"Then prepare yourself, we're in the same boat. There's a risk that you'll kill us so rest at ease."

"It's true. Yes, I understand sir."

Hange interjected into that exchange, still standing in the same posture but with a stiff gaze, hidden behind the reflection of her glasses and with her hands in front of her mouth. She couldn't wait to get started and already knew how and what to do.

"So I can experiment now?"

"The risk is high but even so, we can't afford to not inspect him." the Captain replied, giving her due attention and turning slightly towards her.

"I can take care of the planning, right? Eren if you're confused about anything, figure it out. There's plenty reason to risk our lives for this. Anyway I'll keep Elizabeth with me, she has Zackly's orders to kill you, right? Even if it would be a real shame."

Hange's comment, coupled with the serious look the blonde had, was the last thing Eren remembered of that conversation and he couldn't get it out of his head.

The squad leader took them, on horseback, near a well she had spotted upon their arrival. It was quite remote and they didn't run the risk of hurting anyone. After leaving the team, giving them the opportunity to work as they preferred to their training, the three accompanied the young man, following him and keeping him under close surveillance.

Hange was the only one to talk to Eren on the way, next to him on horseback, while the captain and his vice stayed further back, staring at him, but talking to each other in a low voice so that no one could hear them. And Eren wondered if they were talking about him.

The first thing he was told was to enter the well, helped in the descent to avoid getting hurt, he found it spacious enough but still feared doing some damage.

It was just as he looked around that Elizabeth gave him an encouraging smile and he suddenly felt ready for Hange's experiment.

"Once we're ready we'll fire a smoke signal. What you do after that is up to you." the squad leader explained to him, waiting for his confirmation before leaving and joining the couple on horseback.

"Yes I understand!"

"This dry old pit should be able to hold it back even if he loses control, maybe."

Elizabeth smiled at Hange's 'maybe', that woman was unscrupulous, she said things exactly as they were. She raised her arm firing a colored smoke bomb, with pinpoint accuracy that Eren would have been unable to miss. One of Elizabeth's talents was her aim, she only missed the target when she wanted to.

"He's not transforming..." the blonde remarked, while Hange gave her a confused look.

"I wonder if he didn't see the signal."

"No. We weren't particularly certain of this in the first place." Levi commented, then advancing on horseback to the well, followed by the two.

"Hey Eren! The experiment's on hold."

"Is something wrong?" the squad leader asked as Elizabeth preceded her to check the boy's condition. His mouth was stained with his own blood and his hand was bruised numerous times, from which the same red liquid came out, and the guilty look of someone who had failed. But she didn't blame him, the only thing she felt was huge sorrow for that boy.

"Fuck, he's bleeding." she exclaimed, attracting Hange's attention even more quickly.

"I can't transform myself anymore."

The best decision was to bring Eren back and heal the wounds he had inflicted on his hand. They joined the rest of the group, enjoying some rest under the warm rays of the sun that began to warm the air. It was too good a day to spend indoors.

Tea was served and they thought of drinking it all together, taking advantage of that tranquility to chat for a while.

Eren was holding his hand, feeling a lot of pain from the disinfectant that Elizabeth had put on his wounds, before bandaging them. And Levi did not miss that gesture.

"The wounds you got from biting yourself aren't healing?"

"Yes."

"If you can't turn into a titan sealing wall maria and all is nothing but a dream. This is an order. Do something about it." was the order of Levi who immediately turned to his woman.

"Elizabeth, a word."

"Yes."

She walked over to him, having finished with a sip what was left of her tea, and turning her back to the rest of the group like everyone else, but calling Petra with one hand, remembering that the girl wanted to tell him something.

"Are you absolutely sure of this theory?" Levi asked in a low voice.

Elizabeth sighed, clicking her tongue on the palate and looking at Eren sideways that looked lost.

"No, but maybe I know how to get information he doesn't know he has. I just have to talk to him."

"Try not to overdo it." Petra laughed as Elizabeth walked away so she could speak to the captain, asking for permission to take Elizabeth to her village as she had promised her. "Captain, I would like to ask you something..."

Elizabeth returned to the table where Eren seemed to be talking to the other three men but with her eyes completely lost. Beyond the harsh words of Levi, he had no reason to feel guilty about something that did not concern him personally and that was not his jurisdiction. She didn't even know she could do those things until recently, asking him to transform on command was a huge thing and she was fully aware of that. Maybe he just needed to know that not everyone was against him and that they had faith in him.

"Hey little titan." she called him softly making him smile barely. "I'd like to talk to you..."

But what happened next was too fast for anyone to record and somehow avoid it.

When Elizabeth came up behind him, Eren was lowering to grab a teaspoon he had noticed on the ground and a strange jolt of adrenaline flooded him from head to toe.

The explosion that followed caused a titan arm to be found on the leg of the vice captain and the rest of the group who immediately drew their swords to point them at him. He immediately panicked, frightened and guilty, and looked at Elizabeth convinced he would find anger in her eyes but he didn't.

He found understanding there.

"But why now?!" Eren asked excitedly while Elizabeth was already thinking about examining the situation. The titan's hand held something between its fingers; something she too had noticed on the ground, as well as the gesture he was making.

"Calm down. I'm telling you to calm down." Levi exclaimed calmly, then reaching out to Elizabeth to help her up, after she managed to get her leg out from under that arm. "Did you get hurt?"

"I'm fine."

"I..." Eren was in shock, he didn't know what to think and was incredibly scared. "Captain Levi I don't know what..."

"I just said don't panic. And it applies to everyone." Levi answered, holding Elizabeth with one arm from her hip, and his free arm stretched out against them trying to get them to lower the blades.

The captain was immediately concerned about Elizabeth's condition, sharing for a moment the group's instinct to pull out the blades, but Elizabeth stared at him, begging him not to. And if it was she who asked him, he could only indulge her, he trusted her and her instincts too much.

"What was that sound?"

Hange ran towards them, immediately thrilled to see that half-transformation, while Elizabeth allowed herself to turn to the boy in an attempt to calm him down.

"I think she saw you."

"Eren what does all this mean?" Eld asked angrily, as were the other three.

"Guys, no..." the blonde tried to stop them but they were too blinded by the agitation and the single event to observe things with the same calm that distinguished their vice captain. And the captain.

"Why did you transform without permission?"

"That's enough Eld!" Levi began with verbal admonitions. They were completely deaf, they no longer listened to him or the girl in his arms and they couldn't even blame them. It wasn't a good thing for them but that was their job, they were trained for that and they reacted like they used to.

"Answer, Eren! What were your intentions ?! Did you want to kill Elizabeth? " Oluo asked aloud as Gunther and Eld humored him.

"No, save that for later. Prove us that you're not our enemy-mankind's enemy. Hurry up and prove it to us! It's you're responsibility to do so!"

"Don't you so much as dare twitch that arm! The moment you do you're head will roll. I'll do it, I'm serious. Want to try me?"

"Captain, Vice Captain, step away from Eren, you are too close." Petra exclaimed, quickly giving up the usually colloquial tone to distinguish what were officially their roles.

"No, you are the ones who should step away. Stand down." Levi answered, increasing his grip on Elizabeth's side. The blow had been strong enough and she found it hard to support her ankle but the Captain's firm grip allowed her not to strain it.

"Why sir?"

"My instinct tells me." Levi answered, then turning to Elizabeth and barely looking at her face.

And her eyes... he added mentally, avoiding to utter that phrase because of the young man's presence.

The three men started yelling at him and Eren could no longer hear anything but their accusations, at the same time, very strong in his head, until his breathing quickened for the anxiety that ensued.

"They're make him nervous..." the blonde commented, turning her gaze to the titan's fingers in the hope that someone would deign to listen to her.

"Guys, Eren didn't do it on purpose!"

"Please, shut up for a minute!" Eren shouted in despair, while the scream of Hange, who ran towards him, woke them all from the moment of tension that had been created, relieving him considerably. If that woman had a power it was just that: it wasn't easy to be serious in her presence, especially when there was a titan involved.

"Can I touch that arm? Hey, it is okay? I'm just gonna touch it."

"Squad leader Hange, please wait..."

Hange touched her arm with one hand, then jumped in pain as her flesh was burned by those of the titan arm, making her feel pain. But she kept smiling excitedly.

"Hot! It's damn hot where there's no skin! It's super hot! Say isn't it hot, Eren? How exactly are you connected to that arm? I really want to see."

Eren only then realized that his arm was stuck inside the titan one, as if the latter were an extension of it, and tried to pull out his own after looking for Elizabeth's consent. Nobody deigned to listen to her and she had given up on it by now, all too agitated to listen to her.

Eren managed to get his arm out, tearing the joints with the titan's one that began to smoke to disintegrate, much to the chagrin of the squad leader.

"Wait Eren, that's too soon! There's so much more I..."

"Hange, look at the fingers!"

Elizabeth yelled back, to someone who finally heard her. In fact, Hange stopped screaming and looked right where the blonde had pointed to her and she sighed in exhaustion. This was precisely one of the reasons why he didn't want to be a superior, it was emotionally tiring...

"Finally someone who listens to me..." Elizabeth said angrily and this time she was noticed by everyone, who looked down feeling guilty.

"Captain Levi." Eren murmured on the ground, catching his breath from the terrible experience. Not even fighting the titans had tired him that way.

"How do you feel now Eren?" Levi asked, turning to him but careful to avoid sudden movements to Elizabeth who was still holding.

"Not too good sir."

Elizabeth looked up at Levi, after sitting on the stairs trying to rub her ankle. Eren, beside her, looked at her apologetically, still feeling guilty.

"How's the leg?" the Captain asked with folded arms, trying not to show more than necessary in front of Eren.

"A couple of bruises but nothing serious, I'll be as good as new soon."

"I'm so sorry Elizabeth, I ..."

Eren began to speak but Elizabeth's voice stopped him instantly. She didn't need his apologies.

"Don't worry, I know you didn't do it on purpose. I'm not angry."

"I didn't noticed until they really turned on me. To think they had so little faith in me, well expect for you vice captain." concluded the younger, then moving a nod in the direction of the blonde next to him, who replied with an affable smile.

"Obviously. I picked them because they're such people. Elizabeth looks different but she is just used differently, so she analyzes everything... " the captain began to explain, giving the blonde a satisfied look. "It's popular opinion within the survey corps that you're not one of us until after a mission. When confronting titans you'll always lack intel, there are far too many situations where you can't make sense out of anything, so quick action and extraordinary determination are emphasized instead. Even so it's not as if they lack blood and tears. I doubt they felt nothing when they turned their blades on you."

Elizabeth felt immensely sorry for Eren. That guy wasn't doing well at all, especially after discovering that he could transform himself into what he hated the most, he had to be extremely torn and emotionally destroyed, as well as feeling very lonely without his friends. She reached out, giving him a light squeeze on the shoulder of encouragement and another sweeter smile.

"Captain, Vice Captain... squad leader Hange called you." a soldier informed them, thus attracting their attention to make their way to the room where the squad leader had settled with the others.

"Constipated or something?" the Captain asked sarcastically, while Eren made a request look to which the blonde replied with a shake of the head.

Don't ask. He's just like that...

"Not at all. It was nice and smooth. Explaining to the higher-ups took some time. Well, anyway take a look at this."

"A teaspoon?" Eren asked to see what the woman was showing him, after unrolling a handkerchief to show its contents.

"Yes. As Liz noticed, Eren's titan arm was holding onto this. Like this, between the index finger and thumb. It's hard to believe it was a mere coincidence. And for some reason there's no deformation from heat or pressure. Does anything come to mind?"

Eren seemed to think about Hange's question and remembered what he was doing right now. He remembered Elizabeth's voice approaching him and then the gesture he was making.

"Yes, I was trying to pick it up when the transformation happened."

"As I thought. Elizabeth you were right. Then that could explain why you weren't able to turn into a titan before. Kill the titans, defend against the cannon, lift the boulder..." the squad leader resumed explaining, drawing the young man's full attention. "Killing titans, protecting yourself from a cannonball, lifting a boulder... in every instance you had clear goal before you transformed, it's likely that self injury isn't the trigger on its own, you need some sort of objective as well."

"It's true that this is similar to when I defended against the cannon, but still... turning into a titan to pick up a spoon... what the hell's up with that?" the young man asked, thinking aloud and not expecting a real answer. Elizabeth tried to console him again, patting him on the shoulder. It wasn't going to be easy but she was quietly promising to help him find out.

"So basically you didn't act against orders on purpose, right?" Gunther asked when the others finally understood what the blonde had noticed from the start.

"That's right."

Elizabeth looked at them for a few moments, perhaps for the first time really as their superior and that look of almost disappointment on her face was enough to give all four the strength to put aside their pride and apologize. And they bit a hand.

"It hurts." Gunther commented, followed by Eld.

"This is though. Eren I'm surprised you can bite yourself like that."

"It was the wrong call on our part, this is our modest way of apologizing. Not that it really makes a difference though."

At Gunther's words all four felt more relieved to see the blonde's gaze lighten and become more serene. This time she was proud of them, proud of being their vice captain and their friend even before.

"Our job is to keep you in check after all, we made no mistakes about that. Don't get too cocky, brat."

Oluo remained the proudest of all but that was his way of apologizing and even Eren had understood it by now. Petra's words, on the other hand, were sweeter and more soulful, so much so that the blonde smiled at her in particular.

"I'm sorry Eren. We were too on edge, you must be upset by our indiscretion but despite that as we rely on you we also want you to rely on us, so... believe in us. And you too Liz. We should have listened to you when you were talking to us."

"Don't worry." she answered sympathetically, while the team prepared to make their apologies, with Eld in particular who stood up and stretched an arm on the shoulders of the blonde, hugging her fraternally.

"Yeah Liz it's true, we're sorry."

"Come here little princess."

And Elizabeth saw, for the first time, Eren smiling relieved and perhaps even lighter than before.

Holed up in their room, because for Levi that room was not only his but also Elizabeth's, he was finally able to pay due attention to her condition.

She claimed to be fine but still had a slight difficulty walking and he had helped her until she sat on the stairs next to Eren.

"Do you need something for the leg?" he asked grabbing her hips and stopping her from doing whatever she was about to do. He brought their faces together until their foreheads met, enjoying the feeling of peace that her closeness could give him.

"Just a bruise, I'll just not kick anyone for a couple of days." she joked but also pushing the captain to open his eyes, genuinely worried about her.

"Are you sure you don't need anything?"

"Yes. I'm fine, really." she replied stretching her arms along his sides and lacing her hands behind his back, getting so close to lean with her head on his shoulders and hug him gently. "I can handle some bruises."

"Right, you are my big little girl." he answered with a hint of sarcasm and the corner of his mouth raised in an amused grin.

"However..." she began, raising her head to bring their lips together this time, as if recalled. That grin meant only one thing and he had no intention of letting the opportunity slip. "... this little girl may need some cuddles to heal sooner."

Levi did not have her repeat it a second time, raising a hand to take her face and kiss her before picking her up and leading her to the bed.