DILAN'S P.O.V.

It was three months later in the corps. Dilan's head injury had cleared up nicely after a few days in the infirmary. Thankfully she was put on the opposite side, so she didn't have to see that jerk Nile's face. She had a minor concussion, but it was just a flesh wound. Considering both Brand and Johnson made it out alive Dilan was pretty pleased with the results. Levi still called her a fucking idiot for being so reckless, but she chose to ignore him. She was happy with the outcome, so she didn't care what he thought. She knew deep down he was just worried about her. The man just had weird ways of showing it.

Things had gotten relatively back to normal. She couldn't believe she had been here for over half a year now. People still generally stayed out of her way and gave her weird looks every now and then, but it wasn't all bad. They left her alone she left them alone. It was a good deal. Besides, she didn't need anyone other than the squad and Hanji anyway. Moblit was still nice to her as well. What surprised Dilan was that Nile never told anyone else she was raped. It put her on edge at first. She wondered when he would tell. Was he going to use it against her? But after voicing these concerns to Tabitha she was informed that apparently Levi had dealt with it the night it happened. Dilan was surprised to say the least. He must have talked to Nile after their talk on the roof. The fact that he went out of his way to make her happy warmed Dilan's heart. He was a good guy. Grumpy but good.

Her and Levi had become pretty great friends over the past few months. They had decided to train together in their spare time on Dilan's idea of becoming the best soldiers they could become. Dilan had helped him improve his speed and he was as good as her now. He helped her improve her horse-riding and her stamina. Her hits packed a lot more of a punch now. They spared a lot in their free time. Due to their similar abilities the outcome of the matches was always uncertain. Sometimes Dilan got the upper hand, sometimes it was Levi. It always took a long time to defeat the other and they were both sweating buckets by the end of their matches. It had basically come down to who had the most endurance. Levi helped her learn how to preform her titan kills with more efficiency. It was easy for him to teach her since they held their blades the same way. Turns out Levi did use knifes in the underground and it was likely why they were both so different to the others when using the gear. Dilan's theory was working well. They were both close to perfect soldiers. And thanks to their training together they had become every synchronised fighter which Mike commented would be beneficial in the field, especially when they were Captain and second in command.

When they weren't training together, Dilan hung out with the squad as usual. Levi was still reclusive with them whenever they all had free time no matter how many times Dilan tried to convince him to come and hang out with them. The stubborn fucker wouldn't budge. However, Dilan and Levi still met up a lot on the roof. Dilan had started coming out there a lot more when she'd have nightmares about what happened. Levi was normally always there, and he helped her calm down. He didn't have to say anything, just a friend being there was enough. Sometimes they'd talk during their roof nights. Talk about the underground, their past. Dilan had learnt Levi used to use the 3DMG to run cons and steal cargo, mess up different businesses for money. Dilan told him more about her life as an assassin and how she met Kenny. Levi had even opened up to the fact that Kenny used to be his guardian. That had surprised her and all she could manage was an 'that's fucked up'. Levi had laughed a bit at that, agreeing. Levi expressed himself a bit more these days. Only when they were alone of course but Dilan was still happy to see it. Her friend deserved to laugh every now and then.

One topic both of them had skilfully dodged was Dilan's brother and Levi's friends. Neither wanted to talk about it no matter how many times the other brought it up. In the end they both accepted defeat and it had become and unspeakable topic, much to Dilan's annoyance. She didn't know if she would even find out if Levi knew her brother.

Although as every day passed, she found it harder to think about leaving this place. It had become her home. Her kill Erwin plan was put on hold for the time being, she just didn't see it happening for a long time.

She had managed to send a letter to Mama P a while ago since she was forbidden by Erwin to go back down to the underground. That had been a massive argument that he won to her dismay. The bastard threatened to move her into a different squad if she didn't change her tune. She couldn't risk that. The squad had become her family, she couldn't leave them. She told Mama P she was safe and thanked her for finding Levi, telling her she hoped to see her again one day soon. She knew Mama P couldn't write back since she didn't have the money, but Levi assured her he had gotten the letter to her.

Thankfully Levi had kept going to the orphanage since she wasn't allowed to. He told them she was alive which she was grateful for. The kids made loads of drawings for her which threatened to make her cry which made Levi tease her, so, naturally, she punched him. She had been giving him half her paycheck to put in the envelope. She wanted to give them her whole paycheck, but Levi had fought her on this. It was a long argument that ended with both of them yelling and storming off in different directions. Yes, even though they were friends they still had stupid spats like this. However, in the morning they met up for training and Dilan agreed to a compromise. She put in half her paycheck. He matched what she put in since he had a higher rank than him so half his paycheck was her whole paycheck. Still, it was a lot more than she had been giving the orphanage before when she lived in the underground, so she was grateful Levi contributed too.

Things were still hard sometimes. The nightmares still came often, and she'd wake up sweating and crying. Still, she always managed to calm herself down before heading up to the roof. Not many of them turned into panic attacks and only a really bad one had turned into a depressive episode. Thankfully Levi stayed up with her that night and kept her mind off her oh so appetising death. She had never been more grateful for her friend that night. She loved Tabitha and the others, but she would never want to show that side of herself to them. They just wouldn't understand. Levi did.

She didn't freak out when guys were near her anymore. Yes, she was still edgy, and she disliked them touching her, but she could normally clench her teeth and bear through it like she used to. Thankfully Levi and Tabitha had her back most of the time. One of them would always deal with Brand when he got too touchy. It wasn't his fault; Brand was just an affectionate guy. The only guy she didn't mind being close to her was Levi. She had come to trust him wholeheartedly. Odd considering how on edge the guy used to make her feel. They had really come a long way.

It was currently Sunday. A free day. More specifically, the day before the next expedition. The mission objective was rather difficult and more than likely going to kill a fair few scouts. They were to build a number of panels up high in the dark forest for future generations of scouts. Erwin had come to the conclusion that this would limit casualties in the future since a decent portion of the fallen had died in that forest. With these platforms up high, future members will be able to get themselves up high and flare for help if their squad is decimated. Of course, a number of men are likely to die building these planks, but Erwin claims it's for the greater good. Dilan on the other hand thought it was a bunch of bullshit. Levi agreed with her in secret but told her there was nothing she could do.

Today they were given a free day instead of training since this day was likely to be a lot of scouts last.

Dilan was blinked out of her thoughts as she almost bumped into someone in the hallway.

"Watch it!" They hissed before noticing it was her. The tall man's eyes widened, and he was quick to scurry away. Dilan chuckled to herself and kept walking. Got to laugh about it, Dil. She thought with a smile as she came out into the open.

"What are you smiling about? You look like an idiot." A deep voice commented. Dilan rolled her eyes and turned to see Levi leaning on a wall.

"You'd know a lot about looking like an idiot, wouldn't you, sir?" She teased with a smirk. Levi frowned, making her laugh. She knew he hated it when she called him sir. Mostly because they both knew she didn't mean it at all.

"Watch it brat. I've been waiting here a full 5 minutes you know?" He said, unamused, pushing off the wall and walking towards her. They met here every morning for training.

"Yeah, yeah. I had a late start." She mumbled. It had been a rough night. A lot of tossing and turning. She thought about going up to the roof a few times, but the nightmares weren't bad enough she needed as much sleep as she could get before the expedition. Levi observed her with mild concern.

"Nightmare?" He guessed. Dilan smiled.

"A few." She shrugged. "Only mild though, don't worry." She reassured, noticing her friend's relief before he turned neutral again.

"Since when do I worry about you?" he teased, a smirk in his voice. Dilan grinned.

"Since I'm your best friend!" She exclaimed, earning herself a flick on the forehead. "Ouch." She pouted.

"Fuck off. At the most you are a tolerable acquaintance. Be honoured brat." He smirked. Dilan glared at him.

"Oh yes, course. Honoured, I really am. Just being in your presence, oh great one, is such a privilege. Sometimes-" She smirked widely at Levi's annoyed face as she continued her soliloquy, getting more and more dramatic until she was cut off by another forehead flick. "Ouch! I was on a roll!" She complained. Levi rolled his eyes.

"I noticed. Let's go then, we're wasting daylight with your stupidity." He said, monotoned. Dilan frowned and rubbed her head. Does he have to flick that hard? Dick.

"Well my stupidity wants an apple. Go, I'll catch up." She said, running down towards the mess hall before Levi could retort or drag her to the training fields.

She got there quickly, noticing not many people were up yet. Guess people were spending their free day lying in. An interesting choice but Dilan wouldn't judge. She grabbed her apple and took a bite, about to leave when she was pounced on by a hyper Tabitha.

"Dil! Let's go shopping today!" She exclaimed with a wide smile. Tabitha loved shopping. The boys groaned behind her and Dilan rolled her eyes at them. Although she did share their hesitations. Shopping kind of sucked. Although she wouldn't dare tell Tabitha that. The girl may disown her as a friend.

"Sorry, Tabs. Training." She shrugged. Tabitha frowned.

"Again!? It's a free day." She whined. Dilan laughed and stood on her tip toes to pat the tall girl on the head.

"Yup. But we train every day. That includes free days." Dilan said simply, biting into her apple. Brand scoffed.

"Why do you and Levi even train anyway? You're both the best, what's the point? Who are you trying to prove it to?" He asked curiously draping an arm round her shoulder. "Hm?" He asked. Dilan gulped and looked to Tabitha for help who reacted immediately.

"Fuck off Brand. She's my underground girl." Tabitha hissed, grabbing Dilan and pulled her into a hug, away from Brand. Dilan breathed out in relief, forcing a laugh as Brand frowned, and hugging Tabitha back, thanking god for this girl.

"Tabitha! You're always doing that! Why are you so mean?" He pouted. The others laughed and Dilan rolled her eyes.

"Sorry Brand. Tabs called dibs months ago. I'm her underground girl." She shrugged, giggling as Tabitha wrapped her in a hug from behind and leant her chin on the top of Dilan's head.

"Yup." She smirked.

"Sorry Brand, she's right. She had first dibs." Toby chimed in. Brand gave him an exasperated look.

"When?" He huffed.

"The expedition, don't you remember?" Johnson laughed.

"This girl is an angel. You hurt her and I will kill you." Tabitha said protectively and Dilan grinned as the squad balked at them."Well that was a fierce change of heart!" Toby pointed out."Yeah, you tried to-" Johnson started but Tabitha cut him off with a palm."We shall not talk about that. The point is, I like her now and we're best friends. I call dibs." She grinned, being tall enough to rest her chin on the top of Dilan's head. Dilan laughed and rolled her eyes as the others smiled in amusement.

Brand sighed in defeat.

"Fine." He mumbled. Dilan laughed and rolled her eyes. They were always fighting over her like this. What was so great about her? She wasn't sure but it was amusing, nonetheless.

"Well thanks for this but Levi is seriously going to kick my ass for being late." Dilan ducked under Tabitha's arm.

"Probably right. I seriously have no idea how you two have put up with each other for as long as you have no without one of you killing the other. You're both so stubborn." Johnson chuckled. Dilan laughed.

"Yeah, potluck really. It will happen one day though. We still have the pact if it doesn't." Dilan mumbled the last bit. Toby looked around them before talking.

"D-doesn't he scare you Dilan? He's so intimidating." Toby whispered. Dilan smirked, patting the small boy on the head. She could deal with little touches like this but only when she was the one initiating them. There were rules apparently to what she could and couldn't cope with.

"That he is. He's also a huge asshole. And a miserable bastard. And a clean freak. And he has a serious hatred for any food with sugar in it. In short, he's a fucking weirdo but he's a good guy and I think if you gave him a proper chance you would have seen that a while ago." Dilan pointed out. The others looked guilty for a second.

"We know he's a good guy Dil, but he has a terrible personality and you're the only one that seems to be able to look past that. You're also the only one he lets get close to him. You think he's ever offered to train with us?" Tabitha asked, hands on her hips. Dilan rolled her eyes.

"That's because your all frustratingly bad at most things and if I were him, I'd probably get annoyed and push you off a cliff. Chow!" She grinned, running away and laughed to herself as the protests followed her.

She ran all the way to the forest, trying to eat the apple as she went to save time. Levi was not going to be impressed. She knew that already. She made it to the forest in record time. Levi was there, crossing his arms leaning back on a tree. His gear was already on and his eyes were narrowed dangerously.

"Late." He glared. Dilan cringed and put the apple in her mouth while she struggled to claw the 3DMG on as fast as she could. Levi openly grimaced at her messiness which made her laugh, which made her choke on the apple and she was forced to spit it out. Dilan's eyes widened in dread as it hit the ground. It was... only half eaten. "Serves you right for being late." Levi smirked. Dilan stared at it in horror, still so hungry. She glanced up at Levi and he seemed to pick up on what she was about to do. "Brat don't you dare!" He hissed as Dilan lunged for the apple. Levi kicked it to their left before she could grab it.

"Levi! It's just a bit of dirt!" She protested. Levi stared at her, exasperated.

"Just a- just a bit of dirt! Do you know how much fucking bacteria..." Levi started ranting but Dilan had already tuned him out, waving a hand dismissingly and walking towards the apple. She had eaten worse things in the underground. Cooked a rat once when things were desperate. It wasn't terrible. Far from good but it wasn't terrible. "Oi! Dilan! You even touch that apple-!" He warned. Dilan ignored him.

"I'm hungry!" She yelled back, bending down to pick up the delicious fruit, only slightly muddy from the dirt. That would wipe right off with some spit. However, before she could grab the fruit the world span upside down and suddenly, she was on her back in the mud, gasping as the wind was knocked out of her. "Fuck..." She groaned, squirming uncomfortably.

"Tch. I warned you." Levi said simply before stomping on the apple right in front of her. Dilan gasped.

"How dare you! Murderer!" She accused. Levi gave her a deadpan look.

"You've killed over 50 people." He pointed out. Dilan rolled her eyes.

"And you've killed over 10 and an apple." She spat back. They had talked about their death count a while ago. That was a dark night.

"Actually, I just saved you from eating some animals piss and shit. Now are we going to train or what?" He glared, offering her a hand up. Dilan frowned, sparing a glance to her fallen snack before taking the hand and letting Levi help her up. She dusted herself off, scowling at him.

"Did you have to flip me that hard?" She muttered, rubbing her sore back.

Levi only smirked in response as they walked back to the side and ran into the forest shooting their gears and soaring through the air at lightning speed. Levi was as good at her using the falling technique now. Their races were actually interesting. And when Mike tested them seeing how many Titan dummies, they could kill in a given time they had both broken the record a number of times. It had become a game, really. First Levi got 166, then Dilan got 169, Levi got 170, Dilan got 172. This went on, both of them pushing each other to do better by pissing each other off. Dilan currently held the record for 180 titan dummies. Although she had a feeling Levi was coming for his title soon. The bastard loved to win.

"Oi brat!" Levi called after a while of flying and Dilan twisted round a tree, shooting a hook to get closer. Levi jutted his head towards a branch, and she nodded. They both slowed down and landed on the branch.

"What's up?" She asked, catching her breath.

"Teach me the evasion thing now." He said firmly. Dilan frowned. Not this again.

"No." She said sternly. Levi had been asking her to teach him her evasion technique that she used to get out of tricky spaces for the past 2 months. Dilan had been refusing. It was too dangerous and not something that could be taught safely. Levi glared at her.

"Yes." He shot back.

"No." She gritted. Levi remained straight faced.

"Yes." He said simply. Dilan knew he could do this all day.

"No, Levi! Do you know how many times I've almost died pulling off those moves? Or almost broken my back? I've burnt the top layer of my skin off before because I pulled up at the last second. It's too dangerous and it was invented by someone who doesn't care if they live or die. Not to be taught." She said seriously. Levi frowned.

"Doesn't? As in presently? You still don't care if you live or die?" He gritted, losing focus of their original argument. Dilan sighed.

"You're twisting my words." She said calmly.

"Your avoiding the question." He replied angrily. Dilan looked away. It was true after all. She was trying and she was getting better day by day. She didn't mind living but when thinking about her death, she didn't have many opinions on when. "All this time and you still don't give a damn? I can't believe you! You have so many people who would be crushed if you died and you still don't give a shit. You promised me you would try. Guess that was bullshit, huh?" Levi scoffed. Guilt twisted in Dilan's stomach.

"Levi-"

"Save it. Figures that the only person I choose to let in has a fucking death wish. I've told you things I haven't told anyone because I trust you. But how am I supposed to trust you if I can't trust you to fucking stay alive? Or even want to stay alive. I might have well been talking to the fucking sky. At least the sky won't jump headfirst towards death every chance it gets." Levi spat. Dilan tried hard to ignore the hurt she felt from his words.

"I'm trying-" She tried but Levi cut her off again.

"Try harder." He snapped, jumping off the branch and leaving her alone. Dilan sighed, sinking down against the trunk. He wasn't wrong. She wished he had a more stable friend too. But she was trying, she needed him to know that. He was clearly upset though. She'll give him a bit of time to cool down. That was always best when dealing with an angry Levi. Geez, when did I become such an expert?

LEVI'S P.O.V.

"Shit." He hissed, landing on a branch at the edge of the treeline, catching his breath. He sighed and rubbed his face. He shouldn't have said those things. They were completely unfair. Dilan couldn't help it. She was still getting over a lot of shit. He hadn't been through what she had so he didn't have any right to say she wasn't trying hard enough. God, he was a dick sometimes. How does she put up with me?

Levi sat over the edge of the branch, putting one of his legs to his chest while dangling the other. He just... wanted her to be happy. He wanted her so badly to care about life, it physically hurt him when she told him she didn't. He forgot what they were even arguing about before. He hated himself for letting it happen, but Dilan had become his friend. His only friend. She was the only person in the world he could be himself around. It was so fucking refreshing and he loved it. But the closer he got with Dilan, the more he was reminded of his friends. What happened to them the moment he let his guard down. It was his fault they died. It happened to quickly he didn't have time to help them. With the expedition coming up, he was on edge. Dilan had almost died twice on the last expedition. He was worried it was going to happen again. It was going to feel like he was losing his friends all over again. He would be alone... again. Levi just didn't know if he could go back to that.

He wanted her to care so she would be more careful. He wanted her to fear death so she wouldn't sacrifice herself for anyone that passed her by, thinking her life was worth less than theirs. It wasn't true and he wanted her to know that. She was worth so much. It pissed him off that she didn't see that. His friends cared whether they died, and they were killed anyway. Dilan's odds weren't looking good and it was tearing him apart on the inside. Didn't she care what would happen after she was gone? Didn't she realise he would be destroyed?

Levi sighed, leaning his forehead on his knee. He was still a dick and he would apologise later but he couldn't help how he felt. He needed her to care so she would fight to survive tomorrow. He couldn't go back to being alone again. He just couldn't. Yes, that made him pathetic, especially after how hard he fought the friendship in the first place, but he didn't give two shits. Dilan was his friend now and that's what mattered. Did it matter to her?


Levi spent an hour on that branch, trying to find the courage to pick himself up and find Dilan. He needed to apologise. He was a complete asshole and he shouldn't have snapped at her like that. But he didn't move since he was pathetic and was still trying to figure out what to say. And yet, the distant sound of gears made the choice for him before there was a thud on the tree trunk and the brat sat down beside him. Levi didn't look at her. He felt too guilty.

"You know what? I was going to apologise but you were pretty shitty to me just then so I'm going to wait for my apology first." She frowned, crossing her legs on the trunk and facing him, orange eyes narrowed expectantly. Levi sighed. Fair enough. What does she even have to apologise for in the first place? Levi turned and copied the way she was sitting to face her too.

"Dil... I'm sorry. I know it's out of your control and I know your trying. I was a dick to suggest you weren't trying hard enough. I don't know- I just-" Levi sighed in frustration, running a hand through his hair. "As pathetic as it is you probably are my best friend. Hell, you're my only friend. The expeditions put me on edge. I want you to come back, in one piece preferably. It's a battlefield out there. I just... I don't see you coming back if you don't care. I don't see you fighting to live if you don't care and it scares the hell out of me. I... I lost my friends and it broke me. I haven't made friends since and I wasn't supposed to again. But you fucking annoyed me into it and now I care, and I hate it. I just don't- I'm not used to- fuck, this is hard. You now I'm shit at this-" Levi complained, avoiding Dilan's eyes, getting uncomfortable with how real he was being. Dilan cut him off though as she sat up a bit and pulled him into a hug. Levi tensed in surprise, not expecting that. "W-what are you doing?" He asked quietly, cursing himself for stuttering. Dilan laughed softly.

"Hugging. I'm not an expert but I believe the technique is right." She joked lightly. Levi swallowed. He hadn't been hugged in... he actually wasn't sure how many years it had been.

"Uh... why?" He said stupidly. Dilan chuckled.

"You're stressed out." She replied. Levi couldn't deny that. "Want me to stop?" She asked.

"No." Levi said quietly, forcing down a blush. Damn he was pathetic. What the fuck was he doing? He could practically hear the smile in Dilan's voice when she spoke again.

"Okay... want to hug me back?" She asked again. Levi bit his lip. This was all so weird, but he couldn't deny it was hella comforting and he didn't want it to stop quite yet.

"I guess..." He mumbled, gingerly wrapping his arms around Dilan. He cringed at his own hesitance. "I don't know what I'm doing." He admitted quietly, embarrassed. Dilan chuckled softly.

"Me neither, really. But sometimes things don't have to be difficult." Dilan said simply. With that little bit of encouragement, Levi wrapped his arms around Dilan more securely, giving into the comforting feeling. He could feel pathetic later.

Levi didn't know how long they stayed like that, but he felt his stress levels drop with every second. He also noticed that Dilan was holding onto him as tightly as he was holding onto her. Maybe they both needed this. The fact that Dilan was completely comfortable around him even though he was a guy still made a warm feeling form in his chest after all this time. Eventually, Dilan started to pull back, so Levi let go of her. She knelt in front of him, her tanned cheeks dusting a light pink. Levi was forcing down a blush of his own, trying not to let his awkwardness show on his face.

"I'm sorry I don't care. I want to and I am trying. One day I think it could happen, I just need more time. But just because I don't care about myself as much as I should doesn't mean I don't care about the people in my life. Don't tell Tabs but your probably my best friend too. I care about your life meaning if me dying is going to affect you then I will do my best to fight to make sure it doesn't happen. Is that good enough for you for now?" Dilan asked with a smile. Levi smiled back a bit, nodding, her words filling him with more relief that he would care to admit. He still didn't see how she was always so tolerant with his shit.

"Yeah. Sorry I flipped. Insomnia's been a bitch lately." He admitted. Dilan smiled sadly in understanding.

"Don't mention it. We're cool." She replied, biting her lip as she thought about something. Levi raised an eyebrow as she sighed and put a hand over her face. "I'm going to regret this but... do you want me to teach you the evasion moves now?" She asked hesitantly. Levi smirked.

"Hell yes." He replied standing eagerly. Dilan laughed and all the tension from earlier was magically gone. That's what was relieving about their fights. They always got everything off of their chests. Neither held grudges after they made up again.

"God this is going to be terrible." She mumbled, re-tying her hair. "I'm going to demonstrate. See that thick-ass looking tree in the distance?" Dilan asked. Levi nodded. "I guess we're imagining this is a titan. But anything that moves and comes out of nowhere at the last moment will do. The trick to this is relying solely on your instincts. When you realise there's danger you can't panic. Just give in to your instincts. I'm going to fly straight at the tree like that time Brand and Johnson did but I'm not going to freak out. I'll probably grapple to the right and twist, but I'll see what I feel like doing when I get there." Dilan shrugged. Levi nodded and the girl was off, building up speed with every second headed straight for the tree. She was so close to it Levi could feel his heart pounding in anticipation. What if she fucked up?

Levi watched with wide eyes as Dilan waited until the absolute last moment, switching gears and twisting to the right of the tree. She was so close to hitting it her uniform scraped the side of the bark.

"Shit." Levi muttered; he wasn't sure if he could pull that off without breaking his neck. Dilan swung around the other side and came back, landing next to him.

"Get it?" She asked with a smirk. Levi frowned. "Or do you realise it can't be taught." She smirked wider. Levi scowled at her.

"Fuck off. How'd you learn how to do that anyway? How did you learn the gear, period?" He asked, crossing his arms. Dilan sighed and leant back on the trunk.

"You remember I told you I started cutting after my brother died?" She started. Levi nodded. "Well the time I stopped was around when I found the gear. The first time I used it... it felt like freedom. I liked the feeling and I realised cutting was just a chain I'd created for myself. So, I let it go and focused on the gear. I didn't do any work for a good few months, just dipping into my savings to pay for things. I'd sleep during the day and practice at night. I practiced religiously until I knew I was the best I could be. When I started using it for crime, the evasion just came naturally. Helped that I really still didn't give a shit back then. Those were dark days." She mused. Levi guessed that made sense.

"I should try it then. Can't have you being better than me at something, can we brat?" He teased and Dilan rolled her eyes.

"You'll never beat my sparkling personality." She grinned. Levi let out a small laugh at that, turning back to the tree. Guess this was it.

DILAN'S P.O.V.

An hour later and Levi was doing pretty well. They'd had a few mishaps of him almost dying or being sloppy with his landings that Dilan had yelled at them for to be more careful. Levi simply yelled back that 'it isn't an exact fucking science, give me a break!'. Dilan didn't agree or disagree but stopped yelling at him anyway. After a repeat of the tree over and over, Levi's evasion got better every time. Dilan had told him to start by pulling away a bit further away than she did, so he had time to get used to it. Levi had agreed and every time, he got closer until he was scraping the tree as he changed gears just like she had. That was the fun thing about teaching Levi and what Dilan imagined was the fun thing about teaching her. You didn't have to waste too much time. Explain it logically and the other got it pretty quick thanks to their skill. Which was good since they were both very impatient people.

Once he was an expert at dodging something coming from in front of him, Dilan focused on the side angle. She used the example of the first time they fought in the underground. Levi was coming at her from the side and would have clashed into her had she not let her instincts take over completely. The idea was to let go. Let go of all the controls, all the worries. You freefall, taking the time to reassess the situation, understanding what was about to get you, what you need to do next to make sure you aren't about to crack your head open on the floor. This move was easier for Levi to learn considering it was just like when she taught him her way of using the 3DMG. You fall, wait until he last moment to switch gears and pull up.

To teach Levi better once he got the technique down, Dilan had told him to go to the centre of the forest. She would sneak up on him and lunge, he had to evade her attacks. Yes, he could block them but that wasn't the point and therefore Dilan banned him from attacking. Dilan had waited 10 minutes before following him in. She kept to the floor of the forest, running on the tips of her feet most of the time. She didn't want Levi to hear the 3DMG. She smirked when she saw him up above on a branch. He was wearing his usual pissed off face. Probably because she was taking so long to attack.

Deciding to make this even harder for him, Dilan started silently climbing the tree he was on. She was still amazing at parkour. Dilan grabbed a small branch and it cracked slightly, alerting Levi's attention but she managed to swing round the side before Levi saw her, her heart beating fast. Damn this felt like when she was stalking her pray back in the underground. She couldn't deny she missed it and yet Levi wasn't for killing. Shame.

Waiting a few moments for him to be unprepared, Dilan kicked off the tree, shot her wires and flew straight into him, not giving him the time to evade. Levi cursed in surprise as she jumped on him causing them to both fall backwards. Thankfully the branch was thick, and Dilan fell on top of Levi anyway. She put a knife under his throat and smirked at his wide eyes.

"You're dead. That's 1-0 to me." She smirked, enjoying his annoyed face for a second before removing the knife and standing up from where she was sitting on top of him.

"Fucking hell. I knew I heard you." He complained. Dilan laughed and helped him up with a hand.

"And what was the number one rule?" She asked, hands on her hips. Levi frowned.

"Trust my instincts." He gritted. The man hated leaning from her even if it was him who asked her to teach him. Dilan smiled in approval, patting his shoulder.

"Yup. Up your game we're doing this until you get it right. See ya in a bit!" She laughed, jumping off the tree.


This game went on for a long time. The first 10 times, Levi lost tremendously. It was hilarious seeing Levi get so frustrated every time he lost. Especially since the guy was used to being great at everything. It was on that 10th time that Dilan pounced on him, pushing him up to the trunk of the tree they were currently on and sticking a knife to his throat that the man had finally had enough.

"This is pointless. I'm not getting it." He growled, shoving the knife away from his throat. Dilan rolled her eyes.

"Come on. We've only been here..." Dilan looked around and realised it was almost midday. Damn they had been here a long time. "Wow, I'm hungry..."

"This is a waste of time and I have paperwork." Levi said, monotoned walking towards the end on the branch. Dilan put her hands on her hips and quirked an eyebrow.

"Giving up?" She asked and Levi froze. The stubborn man would never willingly admit defeat. He turned to glare at her. Dilan chuckled and walked towards him, reaching for the pocket Dilan knew he always kept a white cloth to wipe the blood off of his blades with. Levi frowned and took a step back.

"What are you doing, brat?" He questioned. Dilan rolled her eyes at his scepticism.

"Trust me, okay?" She said. Levi narrowed his eyes but nodded anyway and Dilan grabbed the white cloth from his pocket, folding it before standing on the tips of her feet to tie it round Levi's eyes. He let her, albeit reluctantly. "You're letting too many senses confuse you. Focus on sound and trust your instincts. This will be a simple attack. When you feel like I'm close step forward or backwards to evade. Don't use 3DMG, I doubt that will end well blindfolded." She snickered and could practically see Levi's eye roll under the blindfold.

"Fine. You push me off this tree and I will make you clean out the stables." He warned. Dilan laughed. The bastard had used that as a threat before by pulling rank. And he had followed through too.

"I'll do my best. Focus up." She said before hopping off the tree. Dilan waited a while to get him on edge, climbing up a tree opposite to his and watching him. She was pleased to find him focused and was glad he trusted her enough to do something like this with her. Dilan waited till she deemed him ready before pushing off the tree and flying towards him like a bullet, using gas instead of grapples so it didn't make much sound. Dilan smirked proudly as she saw Levi's ears twitch and he stepped backwards in time to just avoid the attack. It was so close, their arms brushed up against each other. "Hell yes! Nice!" Dilan laughed, putting her fists in the air in triumph as Levi took the blindfold off and smirked back, rolling his eyes at her dramatics. Dilan grappled at the last movement swinging herself back up to the tree. She grinned at him. "Let's go again."


Another hour later and Levi was a master. It didn't matter where they were. Whether it was in the middle of the air or on a tree or while he was still moving, Dilan couldn't touch him. She was very proud of her student. The bastard had gotten so smug, he started trying to attack her first before she could attack him. It had become a game, but Dilan hadn't let him get her yet. He may be good, but he was still the student. She had been pulling these moves for a long time.

Dilan laughed loudly as Levi pounced on her, but she had ducked in time to watch him free fall before jumping off herself and propelling herself further into the forest. Although she made the mistake of letting her curiosity for the amazing view get the better off her and burst through the leaves, glimpsing at the world. As she dropped back down something collided into her and they both rolled onto a branch, Levi on top of her pinning her down with a wicked grin. Both of them were breathing heavily from the work out.

"Got you." He gloated happily. Dilan rolled her eyes but grinned back.

"Took you long enough." She teased. Levi gave her a deadpan look which made her laugh before he got off her and offered her a hand up. She was pulled to her feet and they both sighed in content. "Well I'd say we nailed that. Food?" She offered with a smile.

"Sure." Levi gave a genuine smile back that filled her with happiness. They jumped off the branch and raced back to the headquarters. Spoiler alert, Levi won, and it pissed Dilan off to no end.


A/N: Hey! I know it was only a day since I last posted but for some reason it feels like a l longer.

Anyway, yeah, major changes in this chapter. I honestly love them as friends and I loved writing this. I felt like the time skip here was necessary because in the previous chapters their friendship was building. This is the result after three months of that. They let each other in, even if they have both made themselves slightly more vulnerable by doing so. Obviously this bothers Levi since he is a much more isolated person than Dilan. He's still leaning how to express himself properly but Dilan knows it's hard for him which is why they are so great as friends.

About the time of this fanfic I'm sorry to say I was completely lazy on that side of things and forgot to think about that. You'll have to forgive me since I have to idea where we are right now. I might have to alter the timeline a bit since Shiganshina hasn't fallen yet in my story. I think we'll just have to say Levi comes up and joins the scouts earlier than he does in the real thing. I have plans to join to the cannon in the future and I'm sure everything will work itself out. You'll just have to bear with me :)

Thanks everyone again for reading and leaving comments! You're all so nice and I love discussing things with you! Say safe out there. X