LEVI'S P.O.V.

When they got into the forest, all the cadets were lined up anxiously, dressed in their 3DMG, chatting away. The commanders and instructors were in one section and Levi started heading over towards them until Dilan spoke.

"Hey, can I just go talk to them for a sec. Then I can be focused for the rest of training. No harm done and we're both happy right?" She said logically. Levi looked over to where she was looking, seeing the four shits speaking to each other, Eld not so subtly making googly eyes at Dilan and unconsciously frowned. He wanted to say no. Drag her away with him but that would be unprofessional just like she said.

"Fine, make it quick." He warned. Dilan smiled and nodded before jogging over to them. Levi sighed, raking a hand through his hair before continuing on his course. He didn't know why her talking with Eld all buddy, buddy made him so fucking pissed. Maybe it was the natural distrust of Eld he had, and he didn't want Dilan to get hurt again. Levi didn't know if he could lose her for 6 more months or even longer but... there was no real reason why he was sceptical of the blonde.

Just the way he looked at Dilan. The way he smiled at her. It made Levi want to rip a book in half. What the fuck was that and how can he stop it? He had to think professionally. Maybe he was just being overly protective. He was like this a lot with Izzy in the underground. If any gross pervert looked at her, Levi had to restrain himself from smashing the bastards face in. But that was fine back then. She was his little sister and he wanted to protect her. Eld wasn't some gross pervert and Dilan wasn't like his little sister. She was his best friend. Why should he care if she wants to have a thing with Eld? Ugh, even the thought made him feel sick. Why did he care? What was this feeling?

Levi shook his head. Whatever the feeling was, he didn't like it and he was going to push it away for as long as possible. He had a job to do right now. Levi walked over to the small group that had collected. Hanji and Erwin were present here along with the idiot instructor.

"Levi!" Hanji squealed, jumping up and down on the spot like a crazy person. Levi rolled his eyes. "This is so exciting. It's so exciting!" She yelled, calming a bit after Erwin gave her an amused but stern look to control herself. She stopped jumping but the woman was practically vibrating on the spot.

"How was combat?" Erwin asked. Levi nodded.

"Shortlisted four. But they'd have to prove them in more areas before I'd think about taking them on." Levi replied simply. Erwin smiled and nodded in approval.

"Excellent. Let's move onto the next category then." Erwin said happily as Dilan ran over to them just in time, getting ambushed by an overexcited Hanji in a hug.

"Careful, section commander." Moblit whispered a reminder and Hanji nodded, not hugging Dilan too tight. Dilan laughed and hugged her friend back before Erwin coughed, subtly reminding them to be more professional. Dilan and Hanji separated sharing an amused cringe before going back to their superiors' sides. Levi raised an eyebrow at his second, and she mouthed a 'sorry' with a cheeky grin. Levi had to look away to keep from caving. Why couldn't he never stay mad at her? Wow. They had really come a long way.

"CADETS." Erwin boomed and the forest fell silent part from the tweeting's of the birds and the leaf's rustling in the wind. "I would like to congratulate those who made the short list in combat training. Your hard work is sure to pay off as long as you keep it up." He praised and Levi saw Dilan's group of four smiling and patting Eld and Petra on the back. His jaw tightened at the blonde unconsciously. "I will now pass you onto Captain Levi and he will give you instructions for the next task." Erwin nodded and Levi stepped forward, eyeing the nervous crowd. There was too many to observe all at once through the trees, so he needed to thin the herd and make sure he got the best cadets while doing it.

"Here are my simple instructions. This is not a trick. I want to you listen closely and do what I say." Levi started, crossing his arms. The sweaty cadets gulped but listened intently. "Line up horizontally. When I give you the order, fly as fast as you can, kill the first titan dummy you can find and come straight back." Levi said simply. They blinked at him, mumbles of 'is that it?'. "Those who make it back in my preferred time span will stay onto the next round. Otherwise you can beat it." Levi added and faces dropped. Levi raised an eyebrow as a shaky hand was lifted in the crowd. This kid is brave. "Yeah?"

"E-excuse me, s-sir, but w-what is your p-preferred t-time span?" He stuttered out nervously, others nodded to the question.

"I won't be informing you of that." Levi replied, biting back a smirk as panic started forming in their eyes. Dilan was right. Making them sweat was fun.

"B-but w-what if other cadets take out the first row of t-titans and there's none left for the rest of us!" Another cadet asked. Levi was not amused.

"You make a good point, cadet. I suggest you get there first then." Levi said seriously, hearing the gulps in response. "Did I stutter? Line up." Levi ordered and the cadets jumped into action, forming a straight line, readying their 3DMG. Levi waited until everyone was arranged, the tense silence clear in the air. "Go." Levi said simply and the sound of gas, lines and hooks rebounded off of the trees in the forces. Some cadets were gone in a flash while others zipped off, doing the best they could. Poor bastards.

"Anyone ever tell you, you're a sadistic bastard?" Dilan commented from his side. Levi smirked a bit.

"Once or twice."

DILAN'S P.O.V.

"Fine, make it quick." Levi warned, still looking grumpy but Dilan decided to look past it. She smiled and nodded, jogging over to the four, needing to be quick otherwise Levi might completely lose his shit. She slowed down to a walk as she got closer and they noticed her. Petra's face lit up and she smiled brightly.

"Dilan!" She cheered, reaching out before pulling herself back. She smiled awkwardly when Dilan raised an eyebrow at her behaviour. "Sorry, I'm not sure how protocol works anymore." She mumbled. Oluo crossed his arms.

"Or how anything else works. What the fuck Dilan? You totally blank us for 6 months and now what? What is this?" Oluo said brashly. Gunther frowned.

"Oluo she lost her squad, stop being so insensitive." He whispered and a bit of regret twisted in Oluo's face. Dilan's heart clenched at the painful reminder and Eld looked at her with concern before she managed to brush herself off, taking a breath.

"Look. I know I've been... out of sort lately and I apologise for avoiding you like that. Especially after all we went through together." She started and their eyes softened a bit. "Honestly, I've been really fucked up lately. What happened to the squad... it hit me hard. I pushed everyone away and that included you guys. It's been difficult dealing with it..." She mumbled, subconsciously rubbing her forearms. Dilan blinked and snapped out of it, cringing internally as all of them were looking at her with worried eyes and smiled reassuringly. "But I'm doing better. I'm getting better. The point is, I'm sorry for being a bitch and I hope we can start over. I never got to thank you for having my back out on the field. You were real soldiers and I couldn't have done it without your support. We cool?" She asked cheerfully. The boys smiled and nodded while Petra jumped forward and hugged her tightly, tears clinging to her eyes.

"Damn protocol to hell." She mumbled. Dilan laughed and hugged the girl back; glad they weren't angry at her.

"Yeah. The truth is, we've been wanting to thank you for everything you did for us. For all the cadets." Oluo started, still looking guilty for lashing out after hearing what she was going through. Gunther nodding in agreement.

"And apologise for not helping you with all those titans at the end. I still don't know how you did it. You were like a machine." He pointed out. Dilan laughed, rolling her eyes.

"Don't be sorry. I did just fine, besides, I'm told you had orders to stay." She shrugged as Petra pulled back.

"It doesn't matter. You sacrificed everything for us, to keep us safe. We should have been there for you." Petra sniffed, looking down in shame as did the others. Dilan frowned slightly, not liking their guilt. They had nothing to feel bad about.

"Stop being stupid. I aint dead and thanks to my little trip my solo count is way up." She grinned and the others cracked a smile while Petra still looked down. Dilan sighed and put a hand on her shoulder. "You tried, didn't you? I'm thankful for that. It was brave of you." She smiled comfortingly. Petra looked up at her, smiling and nodding in understanding. Dilan grinned, happy everyone was cool. "Sweet! I better get back before Levi kicks my ass. You both did some great fighting. Oluo and Gunther, no offense but you sucked. See ya!" She teased, turning and jogging back to the front. She smirked to herself as she heard Petra burst out laughing while Oluo and Gunther protested loudly that they were good fighters. Dilan glanced back to see Eld smiling in amusement.


Dilan glanced over to Hanji as Levi was giving out instructing, damn impressed at this point. Her friend was kind of amazing at this.

"How is he so good at this?" Dilan whispered to Hanji. She chuckled.

"Shorty loves ordering people around. Always has always will." She teased quietly. Dilan sniggered. That was for damn sure. Still this was pretty impressive. He had their full attention and his tactic to thin out the herd by finding those quickest with the gear was spot on.

Dilan wouldn't lie. This side of him was kind of hot. Holy shit, where did that come from? Eyes wide she pushed the thought away, burying it deep, deep down, never to be seen again. And with that done, she sighed in relief as the cadets zipped off into the breeze. Dilan walked up to Levi's side, rolling her eyes at his smug expression.

"Anyone ever tell you, you're a sadistic bastard?" She asked. It was obvious he loved watching them squirm. But it's not like Dilan could say she didn't find it hilarious too. Levi smirked a bit.

"Once or twice." He said simply. Dilan crossed her arms and let out a puff of amusement.

"So, how long did you give, em?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"They have 70 more seconds." Levi replied with a shrug. Dilan's eyes widened.

"They only had 2 minutes?!" She asked. Levi nodded.

"You and I could do it in 20 seconds. I'm giving them plenty of time." He said in a bored tone. Dilan rolled her eyes. It was true but these were fumbling cadets. Just how many would make it back in time? Just as that thought rang out, Oluo came crashing into the scene, landing awkwardly and almost falling over at the speed he was going at, but he did make it and its shocked Dilan to no end. THAT IDIOT MADE THE CUT?

Oluo seemed equally surprised as the rest of them as he looked around him and realised, he was alone.

"Holy fuck, what'd I do wrong now?" Oluo mumbled, squirming uncomfortably under all their gazes.

"Not something wrong. Something right. Name?" Levi asked. Dilan bit back a laugh at Oluo's half scared, half pissed face considering Levi forgot his name, but the boy was clearly too afraid to call him out on it.

"O-Oluo Bozado, Sir." He replied, continuing to look around him. Levi nodded and looked at Gavin, who flinched and wrote the name down quickly. Just as that happened more cadets came crashing into the scene just as the clock counted down to 0.

Gunther was next. Then Eld. Stacy, Jonna, Tim, a few other random cadets Dilan didn't know the names off. Last but not least Petra landed, just making the cut. Levi ordered them to the side, telling them to line up and give their names to Gavin. Dilan cringed as more and more cadets started landing, knowing they were not going to be happy, missing the mark by a few seconds. They tried to walk over to the line, but Dilan stopped them after getting a look from Levi.

"Sorry guys. Just missed the cut." She informed, watching all their faces drop and some twist in anger.

"Are you fricking kidding me? Ral was right in front of me, I couldn't have dropped more than a few seconds behind!" One of the older looking cadets pointed out. Dilan crossed her arms and glared.

"Yeah, you were a few seconds behind the allocated time." She replied, not liking the look on this guy's face. I know an entitled prick when I see one. He scoffed.

"What'd we get two minutes or something?!" He raised his voice, attracting more attention.

"Something like that. Now back off and stop making a scene." She said seriously. The man glared at her. Clearly he had no idea who she was.

"Do one, princess. I deserve to be in that line." He said brashly, putting a hand on her shoulder to try and move her out of the way. Dilan grabbed the hand that was touching her twisted it behind the man's back, making him kneel as he winced.

"This princess is your superior, punk. And I will not hesitate to teach you a lesson about respect. Stop throwing a temper tantrum and proving that you do not have the maturity to be on the special operations squad. Lose with a bit of grace and fuck off. Do I make myself clear?" She asked in a terrifyingly calm voice. He nodded quickly, a scared look on his face. Dilan let go and the man scrambled to his feet, looking at her with wide eyes. Dilan crossed her arms and jutted her head in the opposite direction. He huffed and walked off. Dilan looked to the rest of the cadets that had previously been challenging the time allocations and they all backed off immediately.

She looked to Levi and he nodded his approval. If another person was her squad leader perhaps, she would have been scolded for such an aggressive demonstration but her and Levi's mind worked in the same way. That was the only way she was going to set an example for the rest and stop the protests before they started.

Erwin stepped up, gaining attention as the rest of the cadets finished landing.

"Those of you who did not meet the cut may leave and resume your daily activities. Dismissed." He ordered. The cadets blinked at him for a second, quiet disappointment morphing into everyone's faces but they saluted anyway and walked off. Dilan felt kind of bad for a second. They had probably been training hard for this for the last week. Oh well, this will teach em to buck up a bit. Life's unfair. 'bout time they learn that.

"Dilan." Levi said and Dilan walked back over to his side. "You alright?" He asked, the Captain gone for a second. It was just her friend she was talking to. Dilan looked down and realised her hands were shaking a bit, so she quickly shoved them in her pockets. Drawback was a bitch and she realised there were a fair few urges to cut swimming around her head right now. She didn't normally get them in the middle of the day but that man touching her had put her on edge. She had gotten slightly better with the whole touching thing over the past 6 months but if a stranger touch her, she still tenses up, feeling like she was just hit over the side of the head with a giant red warning flag.

"Yeah. I'll be fine in a sec. Don't worry." She forced a smile as Levi had enough going on. She didn't want to be a liability. Her friend didn't look convinced and gave her a look that they were definitely going to discuss this at a later time but dropped it for now and refocused.

"Alright, listen up." Levi turned to the cadets, whispering excitedly and everyone immediately fell silent. "You may have passed the first test, but you are a long way from being decent in my eyes. Got that?" He said emotionlessly and the group nodded quickly. Levi eyed them, making them sweat before turning to Erwin. "I'll take them into the forest now." Levi informed.

"Just you?" Hanji questioned, probably fearing the for the kids' lives. Levi rolled his eyes.

"Dilan too." Levi commented, glancing at Dilan with caution. Dilan gave him a playful glare, knowing he was still worried about her which seemed to put his mind at ease for the moment.

"Very well. Gavin, go get them some gear. Make it quick." Erwin ordered. Gavin nodded quickly before running towards the station. Dilan felt bad for the little guy. At least he wasn't out fighting titans. The kid would be eaten alive.

The group waited for a bit, Hanji, Levi and Erwin talking about something Dilan wasn't interested in. Instead she looked up at the trees. She wondered how trees could get that tall.

"You're an odd girl, you know that?" Eld commented, somehow beside her. Dilan kept watching the above, not flinching. It was only Eld after all.

"How'd you come to that conclusion?" She mused, twirling in a small circle, watching the different colours of greens twist and merge together. Eld chuckled.

"How about what your doing right now?" He pointed out. Dilan smiled and shrugged.

"People never look up enough these days. The sky is underappreciated." She said truthfully, smiling as she watched a bird peck on a tree. Eld looked up with her, smiling too.

"Guess it is pretty amazing. People who have lived on the surface take it for granted. Must have been hard in the underground." He empathised, the first surface dweller to ever do that with her. Dilan blinked and looked over at him. He was still looking up and she smiled.

"It was." She admitted. Eld looked down at her and smiled back.

"You were strong to keep going." He commented. Dilan chuckled, looking away to avoid the blush. Smooth talker this one.

"I don't know if I went as far as to keep going. Sort of just bobbed around until I ended up here. Hey, question?" She asked.

Eld nodded.

"Why aren't you scared of me? You know I was a criminal right?" She asked, observing his reaction. Eld simply smiled.

"I tend not to judge people on their past, just who they are now. Everyone's got mistakes buried along the road." He said thoughtfully. Dilan was pleasantly surprised at the answer.

"Oh yeah? What's your skeleton in the closet then, huh?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Tax evader." Eld said with a straight face and Dilan blinked at him before he cracked a smile. She laughed and rolled her eyes.

"That was lame." She snickered. Eld chuckled, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah. That's me, lame. There's not much to know about me really. Born on a farm, lots of siblings, grew up, joined the military. That's Eld Gin in a nutshell." He shrugged. Dilan smiled, liking how uncomplicated his life was. It gave her hope that some people weren't as miserable as her. She looked up at his warm blue eyes.

"Doesn't sound lame to me." She said truthfully, supressing a laugh as Eld blushed and looked away. It wasn't normally like when she did this to guys, trying to use them or manipulate them. It felt nice to talk to someone like this and she had this weird butterfly feeling in her stomach that she didn't hate.

"Dilan." Levi's voice cut Eld off as he was about to reply. Dilan looked over to him, 5 metres away from where she and Eld were standing and blinked. Guess she was wondering around while watching the sky. She quickly refocused, seeing the annoyance in Levi's eyes and gave Eld a goodbye look before walking back over to Levi. "Nice to see your keeping personal chat to a minimum." Levi mumbled sarcastically as he started putting on the gear Gavin brought them. Dilan rolled her eyes. This shit again?

"Fuck off, Levi. Everyone was chatting, we were on a break. Hanji was talking about god knows what, you going to scold her too?" Dilan spat back, confused as to why he was being so weird today. Hanji laughed.

"Point to her, Levi. I was talking about what I'll name my beloved titans once I finally capture them." She squealed. Dilan paused in her practiced swipes and gave Levi a deadpanned 'see' look. He glared at her in return. "Why you so pissed shorty?" Hanji asked, raising an eyebrow. Erwin was off talking to some instructors, it was just them and Moblit. Levi ignored her.

"That's what I'd like to know." Dilan huffed to herself. Levi finished strapping up his gear to give her an annoyed look.

"You're chatting with the cadets, they should be focusing." He snapped. Dilan looked over to the cadets, conversing and laughing about trivial things before looking back to Levi.

"You for real, Captain?" She hissed. Levi glared at her and there was a moment of tense silence. Moblit swallowed, opening his mouth to probably try and clear the air before Hanji jumped into the air, startling all of them.

"I know why he's pissed!" Hanji said in a sing song voice. Dilan looked away from Levi to Hanji, crossing her arms.

"Then please enlighten me because I can't deal with his shit today." Dilan said sharply.

"Watch it brat, I'll give you stable duty." He threatened. Dilan rolled her eyes.

"That's not a punishment for me. We've been over this!" She said, exasperated. Levi never believed her when she told him she loved spending them with the horses. Apparently, Levi hates the stables because they smell like shit 24/7.

"And I don't believe you." He hissed back. Hanji sniggered.

"Sorry Dil, he doesn't know it himself yet. It would be mean for me to come out and say it." She nodded, scribbling something on a notebook. Levi looked like he was about to rip Hanji's head off.

"One more word out of you, shitty glasses, and I will shove that notebook so far up your ass, you won't be able to shit for weeks." Levi warned in a low, quiet, dangerous tone that made Hanji pale and Moblit flinch. Even Dilan felt a shiver run down her spine. He meant it. Levi kept to his threats.

Hanji swallowed, chuckling nervously and slowly putting her notebook back in her pocket before Levi could get violent. The silence was so thick everyone was startled again when Erwin re-joined their little circle.

"The titan dummies are ready for you." Erwin announced and Levi nodded his thanks. "We'll wait here. You can go as soon as your ready." Erwin informed. Levi nodded again, turning to walk back over to the cadets. Dilan rolled her eyes but followed him anyway.

"Right." Levi said and the talking seized. "Since there's only 15 of you, I want to see your 3DMG skills in action. One by one." He said, monotoned. Half the group paled significantly, and Dilan could guess they weren't very confident in their titan killing abilities yet.

"W-will everyone else be watching, sir?" A random male cadet asked timidly. Levi's grey eyes landed on him and he flinched.

"Problem?" He asked. The cadet backpedalled very quickly.

"N-no, no, Captain. I-it's just I'm c-concerned with all the people watching, I-I-It could affect some people's performances." He squeaked out and Dilan resisted the urge to roll her eyes. You mean your performance, dumbass, and we all know it. Levi did not look impressed and Dilan knew for sure this kid was not cut out for the elites. Apparently, Levi saw that too.

"Then I'll spare you. Dismissed, cadet." He said in a bored tone and the groups eyes widened. He opened his mouth to protest but a harsh look from Levi made him swallow down his words. Damn, he's merciless. But in his defence, it's necessary. If these kids can't cut it here, then they won't last outside the walls.

The cadet saluted miserably before running off towards HQ. Terrified eyes turned back to Levi.

"Anymore questions?" Levi asked. The group was quick to shake their head and Dilan had to prevent another laugh. She forgot how terrifying Levi was before you got to know him. Although he was turning it up here, so they knew who was boss. Dilan could respect that. She would do the same if she was in his position. "Let's go then." Levi said simply, walking towards the forest. Dilan followed him and the rest tottered on nervously behind. This would be interesting. She wondered who would crack under the pressure.

ELD'S P.O.V.

They got into the air and followed the Captain deep into the forest. From the looks on everyone faces they were all expecting hell and Eld agreed, pretty sure their superior was going to give it to them. If Eld had less pride, he might admit that Levi scared the absolute shit out of him. If he had to guess, the most terrifying thing about the short Captain was his eyes. Dead silver. They seemed to bore holes into him every time he looked at him. Eld had been receiving a fair few glares from the man and he wasn't sure why. He seemed to be impassive with everyone else, apart from Dilan. He had even complimented Stacy after she finished her fight with Dilan and Eld had sort of been expecting something. Alas he got a glare and a simple, but pissed sounding, dismissed, as though he was staying through gritted teeth. Eld didn't know what he had done but it must have been something bad.

Maybe it was the last time they met properly. Eld had been so concerned about Dilan that he questioned what Levi was going to do with her. Could Eld have insulted him by accident, inadvertently suggesting the Captain wasn't going to do a good enough job looking after her? Maybe that was it. But Levi didn't seem like the type to hold stupid grudges like that. Although, Eld didn't know him every well and he doubt he ever would. He didn't need to know a man to sense when he was locked up like a steel trap. No one was getting inside to see his secrets. Except maybe Dilan but that was a whole different story. Dilan was special.

He had noticed this from the first moment he saw her, diving into the mouth of a titan to save a comrade from getting bitten in half. I mean a titan mouth for fucks sakes! She was the most amazing, most selfless, most beautiful person he had ever met, and he had gathered this in only a few second of knowing her. He immediately was drawn in, wanting to help her, aid her in any way he could.

He was surprised to find out the girl was the same 'savage' people talked about. The girl from the underground that behaved like an 'animal'. Eld never believed those rumours though. He knew they were likely far-fetched since the corps was a distrustful place. He was right too. Dilan may be insanely skilled and talented, but she was no animal.

Of course, that didn't mean she wasn't dangerous. Eld could see it in those fiery molten orange eyes. Dilan was a woman that you didn't want to upset. She had power and she want afraid to use it. And in the end, it only made Eld more drawn to her.

He was surprised after spending a bit of time with her. Dilan wasn't like other girls he'd dated back in his hometown. She wasn't obsessed with her looks, despite her being breathtakingly beautiful, and she wasn't fake or trying to put up a front. The girl was quirky, vulgar and a little weird. It only made Eld more interested.

Dilan was real and he wanted to get to know her better. Become friends and maybe something more one day if she felt the same way. And that meant he had to be worthy of her, which was why today he was going to give these trials everything he had. He couldn't fall behind. He had already messed up a bit when Oluo and Gunther got the slip on him earlier. They may be fast with the gear, but their kills were pretty pathetic. He just had to keep his focus and he can prove himself.

LEVI'S P.O.V.

Okay so his 'ignore whatever the hell that feeling is' plan isn't going down so well. When he saw Eld and Dilan talking together, he almost dragged her away. When he saw Eld blush, he almost flipped his shit. Now he knew for certain Eld must have a thing for Dilan and it made the feeling 10 times worse. Still, he was being a dick to Dilan for no reason and he needed to sort that out because from the way things were going, she wasn't going to put up with his shit much longer.

Levi shook his head of the thoughts, deciding they were far enough in the forest now and stopped on a branch beside the next titan dummy he came across. The group spread out on different branches close by and waited for orders. Levi nodded in approval; glad he wasn't getting anymore stupid questions like that pathetic cadet he had dismissed earlier. Perhaps it had been a little mean, but he didn't give two shits. If the kids were worried about pressure from his peers affecting his performance, then how was he going to cope outside the walls surrounded by death and titans trying to swallow him whole? Not well. That's the answer.

"You only get one shot at this each so do not disappoint yourselves." Levi warned. He didn't have the time, nor patience for do overs. "You won't get second chances outside the walls." The cadets tensed but nodded in understanding. "I'll be nice and give you an example for the level of skill I'm looking for. Dilan." He looked to his left and Dilan nodded, unsheathing her blades.

The group watched in silent amazement as the girl jumped off of the tree branch, not using a spec of gas as she twirled herself round a tree and sliced deep into the rubber nape with practiced ease, gracefully re-joining Levi's side. Stunned whispers broke out in the group.

"Did you see how fast she was?"

"She didn't even use any gas!"

"Well what do you expect from the titan ripper?"

"Yeah, Darrell. This is the elites." Someone hissed a reminded and Levi resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Let's get started then." Levi said simply and everyone gulped nervously as they moved onto the next nape.

DILAN'S P.O.V.

Later that evening Dilan and Levi were sprawled over the kitchen table, completely exhausted. After the trails which were long and full of disappointments, they had collected their horses, the heavy pile of files Erwin had given them on the final shortlisted group of cadets and ridden back to the Inn, slaving over the paperwork, debating who was going to cut it for a good 4 hours now. Dilan's back hurt and she just wanted to pass out.

"Oi, brat. You're going to drool on the paperwork." Levi's tired reminded called. Dilan rolled her head a bit to look up at him. He was sitting up straight, but his eyes were closed, and he was leaning on his elbow. Dilan blinked, he never got tired during the day. Being the Captain must have taken a lot out of him.

"Levi if you're tired you should get some sleep. We both know how rare it is for you to feel like this at any given time." Dilan pointed out, sitting up and sighing as she stretched her aching back. Levi hummed, not opening his eyes and Dilan smiled. She always loved how at ease Levi was around her. She knew for certain he would never behave like this with anyone else. Guess that was her privilege as best friend.

"You make a good point and yet as soon as I get ready to sleep, I'll be as awake as Hanji on drugs." Levi mumbled and Dilan laughed softly. Still she ignored his scepticism and stood up quietly, walking over to Levi's side and putting a hand on his shoulder which made him crack open his steel eyes slightly. Dilan smiled reassuringly, taking his hands.

"Keep your eyes closed." She ordered softly. Levi frowned slightly.

"Why?" He mumbled tiredly. Dilan chuckled.

"Just trust me, idiot." She replied. Levi sighed but kept his tired eyes closed and let Dilan help him up, leading him oven to the sofa. "Sit." She said, frowning when Levi opened his eyes and giving him a look, which made him close them again. "Lay down." She continued and Levi sighed but did as he was told.

"Not... going... to work." Levi muttered, already half asleep. Dilan smirked at her friend's stubbornness, pulling his shoes off of his feet, earning herself an annoyed tsk but he was too tired to do anything about it.

"Sleep. I doubt you got much last night." Dilan pointed out quietly as Levi cracked an eye open again. He yawned slightly and Dilan completely ignored how cute she was finding his behaviour. Levi would surely kill her if she described him as cute. Even in her head.

"I have work..." He protested poorly.

"I'll sort it. Stop being so stubborn and sleep before I beat your ass." She teased. Levi cracked a small, tired smirk before closing his eyes and giving in. Dilan smiled subconsciously and sighed in relief, grabbing a blanket and laying it over her friend before returning to the mess at the kitchen table. There had been a few impressive cadets during training today. After 4 hours of brutal debate they had shortened the list down to 5 cadets meaning one would have to be cut before they accepted the others into their team. Dilan ranked them in her head.

1. Eld Gin. Strong, calm and level-headed which are essential traits during battle. He has good leadership qualities that could be useful on the rare instance that both Levi and Dilan were out of commission for the moment. His combat skills were strong, and he had great awareness. His 3DMG was equally talented, a little slow on the killing but his technique was efficient. He had impressed her today and while Levi wasn't admitting it for some reason, she knew the blonde had impressed him too.

2. Stacy Monroe. Hot-headed and brash but skilful and ready to take orders. The arrogance had troubled Dilan and Levi too upon later discussion, but her friend had mentioned they could always train it out of her. No one was going to be a perfect soldier. That's what training was for. She had incredible combat skills and was fast with the gear. Her landings were clumsy, and she blamed another cadet for her stumble after her kill but otherwise the kill was decent. However, she didn't cut as deep as she should have done and that could get her killed out in the field. Dilan and Levi were on agreement about that one.

3. Gunther Swaltzs. To Dilan's pleasant surprise, Gunther was pretty good with the 3DMG. His usage of gas was well managed but is movements were inefficient meaning he lagged behind on occasion but Dilan was pretty sure she could help him with that. He just needed to let go a bit and stop thinking so much. Otherwise, his cuts were deep and quick. The only real problem were his shitty combat skills, but Dilan and Levi were certain they could sharpen them up over time.

4. Petra Ral. Dilan was proud of her friend here. She did well today. She wasn't an elite and she didn't pretend to be. She was modest with her skills, took her time at things to make sure she did them right, like with her combat or 3DMG. She was a thoughtful person and that could be an invaluable asset on the team. Dilan made the case to Levi that sometimes they didn't need raw talent, but potential. Someone who would be able to sort the others out if they get out of line when Levi and Dilan weren't present, and Dilan was surprised when Levi agreed with her. Apparently, Petra had made a good impression on her friend too.

5. Oluo Bozado. Now this kid surprised her. Like a lot. He was somehow insanely fast on the gear. Like as fast as Dilan and Levi and Dilan still wasn't sure how. The man was as stupid as it comes but his gas usage was excellent, and he was soaring past all the other cadets. The only downside was that Oluo sucked at everything else. His combat was lamentable. Safe to say he was one of the Lanky Larry's, even if he had beaten his opponent it was only due to the fact his opponent was worse than him. And that was saying something. His skills with the 3DMG when killing titans threw him right down the competition too. He was all over the place and Dilan actually had to intervene to stop the kid from killing himself when he bit his tongue and almost went straight into a tree. Levi was willing to throw him right out, but Dilan pointed out if they could train him up, they could weaponize his speed and make him into a great soldier. That had been one hell of an argument.

The guarantees for the team at the moment were Eld, Gunther and Petra. The decider was between Stacy and Oluo since they both had deal breakers. Stacy was too arrogant for her own good and it was bound to get her killed when the time came where she wanted to prove herself. She reminded Dilan a bit of Tabitha in that aspect, but the difference was Tabitha knew when to take a step back. Another thing was that she was a fresh cadet. Barely 16. A greenie and they wouldn't be able to know her mental capabilities until they tested her out in the field in stressful situations. Oluo on the other hand, had been outside. He had faced certain death and while at the time he panicked like any rational human being, Dilan was able to talk some sense into him and he got a hold of himself, becoming a real asset out there. But the fact still remains that other than his speed, he was rather disappointing in all other categories.

Dilan sighed as she started folding the files up and stacking them in the corner. They would discuss it more tomorrow. Erwin was giving them until the end of the next day to present their decisions. She looked around at the peaceful space, Levi's quiet, even breathing coming from the lounge. Guess after tomorrow it wasn't going to be so peaceful anymore. Dilan frowned a bit subconsciously. She liked all of the people who were potentially living here which was a bonus, but she couldn't deny that living with just Levi made her insanely comfortable. They were out in the middle of nowhere away from all the cadets. It was just him and she could trust him. The others... they didn't have her trust. Not yet anyway. Trust came with time. God knows it took a hell of a lot for Levi to gain hers.

Dilan finished cleaning up the kitchen quietly, washing the dishes from the half assed dinner they made. As it turns out, Levi couldn't cook either. They both sucked. Dilan hoped one of the fresh kids would be able to cook up something edible. They'd been eating poorly made sandwiches for almost two weeks now. Dilan missed Moblit and the omelettes that came with him.

30 minutes or so later and she blew out the candle in the kitchen, leaving the few in the lounge burning in case Levi woke up, and moved passed him, attempting to go upstairs. She cringed as she stepped on a particularly brutal creak in the floorboards and turned back to check if Levi had woken up. Thankfully he hadn't but the look on his face made Dilan freeze to the spot. He looked absolutely anguished. His breathing was heavy and there were beads of sweat rolling down the side of his face. Dilan's heart pained seeing him like that. She had never seen him look so upset before. Guess even Humanities strongest has nightmares.

"Don't... leave them..." He strained out a whisper and Dilan's eyes went slightly glossy at the pain in his voice. She slowly walked towards him, kneeling down by the side of the sofa. His breathing got heavier, and Dilan's heart lurched as a rogue tear dripped down his pale cheek onto the leather of the couch. She wiped it away gently, slipping her hand into his for support and stroking the sweaty hair out of his face. She wanted to wake him up, but you're not supposed to wake people from nightmares. Not traumatising ones like this. The best she could do is be here for him and hope he either wakes up soon or gets back to a gentler sleep.

"Shh, it's okay. I got you, grumpy." She whispered, softly combing through his silky hair. She sighed in relief as his breathing evened out and the tight grip, he had on her hand previously loosened a bit. Hopefully the nightmare ended. Dilan wondered if this was the real reason he got so little sleep. Did he have this nightmare every time? Why wouldn't he tell her about it?

Dilan looked at her tortured friend, smiling sadly before slowly sliding her hand out of his grip and pulling the blanket further other him. she was about to head upstairs but a nagging feeling told her not to leave him alone tonight and ended up taking a seat on the small sofa, settling down and closing her eyes too.


A/N: Yo! The cadet trails are done and we have the shortlist. Levi will officially have his squad by the end of the next chapter along with perhaps some troubling realisations. But we'll have to see.

It's going to start picking up soon guys, secrets-wise anyway. I have big plans! Thanks for reading! Drop a comment if you can. I love the motivation! X