When I grow up I want to be clever.
"I'm Erwin Smith, the Commander of the Survey Corps. Today you'll decide where you'll enlist and, to be blunt, I'm here to recruit soldiers for the Survey Corps."
The Commander stood, in perfect posture, in the center of the small stage set up so that he could speak to the entire 104th Recruit Corps.
Just behind him, to his right, on Erwin's precise order, Elizabeth maintained the same position, with her hands clasped behind her back and her legs slightly apart.
The two had confronted a couple of times on the subject, deciding that the best choice would be to study those guys from the first moment. And what better eye to do it than that of the blonde.
Her gaze did not abandon anyone, landing on every single face and impressing every facet of their gaze, their expressions intent on listening to the words of their superior and the way they reacted in listening to him.
"I'm sure the latest titan attack has made you fear the titans and recognize the limits of your strength. However, thought that battle, mankind has made unprecedented progress in its struggle. The key was Eren Jeager. His willingness to risk his life for mankind signifies his unquestionable allegiance to us."
In mentioning Eren, a couple of faces immediately caught Elizabeth's attention; two in particular that she had already seen during the young man's trial.
A raven girl with oriental features, who tried in every way not to react to the boy's name, but Elizabeth noticed an immense concern; and a blond boy next to her, with two big, deep eyes and an incredibly alert and attentive face.
He was the same one who had stopped Mikasa during the trial, when she would throw herself on the Captain to make him stop beating Eren.
When it came to Eren, she got more overwhelmed by emotions, while he was able to keep his mind clear and reason despite the emotional involvement.
"Furthermore, not only did he allow us to stop the titans, he also provided us a way to unveil the titans' mystery! In the basement of his home in Shiganshina District lies the secret of the titans, unknown even to him. If we can just reach that basement we might find a clue that will aid us in overthrowing the titans' century-long rule! If we figure them out, we could win. We aim to reach that basement in Shiganshina District but to that end, the recapture of Wall Maria is crucial. In other words our goal hasn't changed."
With a nod, Erwin gave permission to unroll the map to illustrate the plan that would also involve their younger ones, taking them on a mission. Or at least, which of them would have stayed.
The young people observed all with attention but it was evident that there were many who were not at all convinced; some looked at the Commander with terror, others as if he were just a foolish visionary.
And then there was a girl who seemed completely indifferent to everything. Blond hair and stiff eyes, perfect posture, a soldier in all respects, with a look completely devoid of any interest.
"But now that Trost District's gate is unusable we'll have to go around from the Karanes District in the east. The military route we spent for years to prepare has been rendered useless. During those four years we lost more than sixty percent of our men. Sixty percent in four years it's an absurd figure. Those of you who join us will participate in an expedition a month from now in which the predicted mortality rate is thirty percent. Most of you will likely die in four years. However, if you manage to survive, you'll be an elite soldier who can overcome all odds."
Many swallowed in fright and Elizabeth couldn't help but feel sorry for them. And also experience mixed sensations. They had once seen what it meant to fight the titan and many already they were terrified of it, they did it every day of their lives and they never complained.
Those guys already knew what awaited them, the previous recruits, however, including her, were not even aware of it.
"If you are still willing to endanger your lives with us, remain here. Please ask yourselves: are you capable of offering your lives for mankind? That is all. Those of you who wish to enlist elsewhere may leave."
Erwin turned, leaving the stage to give them time to make up their minds, and called Elizabeth back with a nod.
He barely looked at her, serious and expectant, and was about to speak before a soldier interrupted them.
She had spent all her time thinking until she came to a conclusion and Erwin by now knew her well enough to know that. He could see it on her face.
"Commander don't you think you went too far? You might've scared them all off."
The Commander looked at him for a few moments before turning back to the Vice Captain.
"Do you think I was wrong Elizabeth?"
"Honestly?" she asked rhetorically, crossing her arms over her chest. "No. They need to know what we're getting into, teasing them would just be useless. I would have done the same."
"Obviously you can see where the gaze of many does not even rest." Erwin just smiled and Elizabeth took the opportunity to talk to him openly.
"About this..." she began almost hesitantly. "...I have an idea. But I have to get one of those kids involved. Am I allowed to act?"
Erwin's smile spent but only to look at her with a completely new kind of respect. Until then he had always relied on her but he had never done so without knowing what it was.
"Elizabeth, I promoted you to Vice Captain because I have complete and absolute trust in you and your ideas. You don't need my permission. Act as you see fit and talk to me when the situation permits."
The Commander had immediately guessed that the woman's hesitation was caused by the too many ears they had available. He would have waited to go back, in the tranquility of his office, to listen to her but until then he would have had nothing to complain about regardless. If she had that determined look on her face then it was worth listening to her and letting her act.
Many cadets began to leave, while others stood still out of conviction. Two of whom were just Eren's friends.
A certain displeasure seized Elizabeth to see that the apparently apathetic girl was also leaving. Then she also noticed others in particular and felt enormous respect for them: in their faces she could read fear in the purest state that there was but still they could not move.
"They are terrified. They want to leave but they won't, at least not them." she commented next to the Commander, referring precisely to those three young people in particular.
Erwin returned to the stage, this time without Elizabeth who had already seen what she was interested in.
"Could you die if given the order to?"
"We don't want to die." was heard clearly among the slight shouting that had been created in response to Erwin's request. The Commander gave them a half smile, raising the corner of his mouth, but without daring to lose the seriousness of his gaze.
"I see. I like your expressions." Erwin put a hand to his chest, his left hand, officially concluding what would be their entry into their division. "Now, then, I accept all of you that remains as new Survey Corps soldiers! This will be a true salute! Offer your lives!"
"Yes sir!"
"You've all done well to suppress your fear, everyone of you is a brave soldier. You have my deepest respect."
After the ceremony Elizabeth found herself answering some soldiers who called her as superior to ask for things of various kinds, even just a comment on the young people, until a particular voice called her, a delicate but respectful one.
"Excuse me. Vice Captain Elizabeth, right? "
The young woman whom she recognized as Mikasa looked at her seriously but also with a lot of hope in her eyes and it was not difficult to guess what she wanted to know.
"Yes."
"Can I ask you how is Eren?"
Elizabeth looked at her a few moments before answering: she was very brave and determined and also seemed very intelligent. It would certainly have been a valuable asset to them.
"He's alive." she replied, then noticing the disappointment in the young woman's eyes.
"That's all?"
The young man next to her, the intelligent blond, grabbed her arm and pulled her back slightly, as if to remind her where she belonged.
"I can feel your anger from here, you know?" she mocked, not being able to restrain herself. She just licked her lips and decided to act. "You are...?"
"Mikasa Ackerman."
"Ackerman..." she repeated, keeping in mind that that was also her man's surname and she couldn't help but wonder once again if they were somehow related.
"Yes. Is there any problem?"
"No, it's..." she began, then remembering that the position that Erwin had imposed on her also served that purpose: she could act without having to give explanations to whoever, in the role, was under her. "Nothing. I'm sorry, but I can't tell you anything about Eren."
Mikasa seemed to give up but still did not look down. She remembered well that she was the one who had attacked Eren on the pole twice and who had stood by and watched when the Captain slaughtered him.
"Okay, thanks."
"You." then the Vice Captain began again, pointing to the young blond.
He knew immediately what she was asking him.
"Armin Arlert. Miss."
"I'd like to talk to you in private for a moment."
Armin looked at her for a shocked moment, before recovering. "Sure."
Elizabeth led Armin to Erwin's office, granted to her by the Commander himself while they were passing by. The first thing the young man noticed was how the Commander left her that key without hesitation, without even asking her why, which suggested how much he trusted her.
Elizabeth sat on the desk, leaning on it with her right thigh and crossing over her left. With one hand she urged the boy to take a seat and even sit down.
"You're in the same Recruit Corps as Eren, I guess you're the same Armin he told us about."
"Did Eren talk about me, miss?" he asked a little in awe. It almost made her tenderness, he seemed so innocent that for a moment she thought of asking Mikasa but he was the right one.
"Yes. You and Mikasa Ackerman, actually. But now I need you."
"What can I do for you?"
Elizabeth knew how to talk and how to play her cards: she had always been shrewd enough to fool men older and more experienced than herself.
"You stayed, which now makes you a Survey Corps recruit. And I also suppose that, as Eren's friend, you care a lot about him and would like to avoid him... unpleasant events. Am I right?"
"Sure." Armin affirmed now with a more determined and attentive look. "But I don't think I understand."
"I watched you during Erwin's speech and Eren is right, you look pretty smart. But first I have to make sure that I can trust you." she began, then hardening her gaze until Armin shivered. "If you talk to someone about what I am about to tell you, I will ensure that you spend all the days you have left to live in a dark and cold cell and you will never see the sunlight again."
"I won't say anything miss, I swear to you."
"Well, I want to believe you." she said lightening her features just to put him a little more at ease. "As you also know by now, the two titans we captured were killed in the night and you were all controlled. However, I do not believe in the least that the person responsible is so idiotic to get caught with a simple check."
"Are you saying that..." Armin began, now aware of what was happening.
"I want you to think carefully about all your teammates and give me a detailed report with everything you know about them. Even the most stupid thing, a detail that you have noticed and which may seem irrelevant, I want it all written."
"Vice Captain I..."
"I'll be completely honest with you Armin, you seem like a good guy." she interrupted him, throwing on the table the last card she had left. The one that would lead her to victory. "Whoever killed the two titans could also be aiming for Eren. And we must be ready."
"I admit I thought so too miss." Armin stated, lowering his gaze briefly before looking up again at the Vice Captain. "The doubt arose when we heard about the event. And right where Eren is, by the way."
"And you're worried about him."
"Yes."
"So... will you help me?" Elizabeth asked for confirmation but it was not difficult to guess the young man's answer.
"Yes Miss."
"We of the special-ops squad will be here in the center of the rear, on standby."
Gunther began explaining the plan to Eren, with the rest of the team standing around looking at a map to help with their intent.
"That's quite far back." Eren asked, then listening to the answer with some attention but his gaze completely lost.
"It's the safest position in this formation, even more secure that where the supply wagons are. Well, we don't have a real objective this time. The expedition won't cover much ground since it's just a test run before getting you to Shiganshina District."
"Um I still have no idea what to do with this power yet."
"Did you understand the meaning of the Commander's question back then?"
"Did any of you understand?"
Eld also intervened in the exchange between Gunther and Eren, who answered that particular question with extreme sincerity.
"No."
"I'd be lying if I said I knew for sure." Oluo began, then stopped by the voice of his companion who resumed speaking.
"This operation may have another objective, however the Commander decided to keep that hidden from everyone so we just focus on pulling this off without incident. Trust in the Commander."
"Yes sir."
Levi and Elizabeth stood close by, turning their backs to talk to each other in a low voice so that no one would hear them.
"So you talked to the brat."
Elizabeth told the Captain about the ceremony in which the young men had made their choice.
Eren that day was particularly excited, his friends were about to join him and his happiness had infected her. But Levi also needed to be informed of her actions, as she had done with Erwin as soon as Armin left the office.
Levi was in complete agreement with her, even if he didn't trust the brats. He didn't know them and he never trusted anyone without first knowing them.
"You threatened him, right?" he asked when he was about to assure himself of the boy's loyalty. Answer she gave him first with a simple look.
The Captain held a cup of hot tea in his hand, sipping it slowly and savoring its flavor. Elizabeth smiled faintly; watching him drink tea was something she really enjoyed doing, he seemed relaxed and at peace with himself.
She took the cup out of his hands, sipping some of the drink before returning it to him, even earning a dirty look.
"Not as you think but enough to make sure he keeps his mouth shut."
"Then we just have to wait for the boy's actions." Levi concluded, taking back his cup and finishing what was left of its contents.
"This concludes today's training, prepare to head back."
Eren was finally reunited with his friends. It was nice to see them again after a month away and now that they were also in the Survey Corps he could share everything that had happened to them with them. He felt the need to throw out a lot of things...
They were all seated at the same table, granted by the superiors, where they were having a quick dinner before going to sleep.
The rest of the 'Levi squad' sat at a nearby table, while the Captain was at the same table as the Commander, squad leader Hange and other superiors whose names he did not care about at the moment. The only one missing was only Elizabeth.
"There is something between them." Connor murmured when the conversation turned to the Captain and his Vice, who they had seen working together with a coordination that would make anyone envy.
"Did you notice it too?" Eren asked absently, then trying not to bite his tongue just to avoid the risk of transforming himself. But he mentally admonished himself for saying it aloud.
"Do you know something?" Sasha asked far too enthusiastic, as she bit into a potato as if it were the last meal of her life.
"Actually no. I think they are a couple but I'm not sure." the young man murmured, praying the Captain wouldn't hear him. Neither does Elizabeth.
"It's so sweet. The Captain and his Vice who love each other." Sasha whispered after swallowing the last bite, folding her hands to her chest with a dreamy look.
"It must be tiring for them." Jean replied instead, focusing more on Mikasa than on speech in general.
Eren saw Elizabeth enter just then and a shiver ran down his spine at the thought that she might have overheard their conversation.
"I don't know anything guys; what I know is that it's none of my business and that I should stay out of their private lives."
"Yeah, you should." Elizabeth exclaimed as she passed them, but without looking at them and without stopping, to go directly to the place that Levi had held next to his.
"She terrifies me." Eren whispered in a low voice. And for the first time Jean found herself in perfect agreement with him.
"So ... Mikasa Ackerman chose the Survey Corps." Elizabeth murmured, stretching out her arms along the Captain's hips to tie her hands behind his back and hug him.
Still standing in the center of the room, she slowly approached him until their bodies fit together and rest her head on his shoulder, even giving him a little kiss on the neck that made him smile.
"You talked to her." he ascertained, immediately indulging her desire to cuddle and hugging her, taking her from the hips. "Maybe a cousin, I'm not sure."
"She may have the same powers as you." she examined alike everything that something stood before her. Her soul of perennial curiosity pushed her to ask herself the why of things and perhaps, he hypothesized, it was precisely the reason why she got along so well with Hange.
"Maybe." he conceded, smiling again as he felt another kiss on his neck.
Her willingness to have a real conversation was minimal, not that he minded.
"You won't tell her, right?"
"No."
"Levi." she called out in a voice so sweet it made his heart beat faster. "Kiss Me."
And she didn't have to repeat it again: he lowered his face just enough to take those rosy lips between his own and savor their flavor.
She was able to send him to damnation with a simple touch.
Her hands slowly went down to the button that held his pants closed, quickly undoing it and then going up to do the same with his shirt.
If there was one thing that excited Levi it was her, but when she was so eager not to even give him time to think she could darken his brain before even starting.
He found himself almost completely naked in front of her two-colors eyes that he saw sparkle as she scrutinized him.
The lips parted only to make him catch his breath but she was not willing to give him it because she immediately went down his body, studding him with small kisses, until she got close to his already throbbing erection.
The sight of her kneeling in front of him made him gulp as the sensation of her lips completely intoxicated him, forcing him to close his eyes and throw his head back.
Her tongue teased him properly as she rested on his hips. So lost in those sensations, he didn't notice he was about to cum and was about to do it inside her mouth. He usually warned her so that she could decide what to do but this time, so absorbed in those sensations, he could not help but just tighten his grip on her hair, stroking it with her thumb, while the breath became heavy and some moans came out from his mouth.
He realized it all only when he saw her swallow and get back on her feet, with a look too sly to consider it all over.
And, in fact, they weren't done yet. He had not the slightest intention of leaving her dressed any longer.