DILAN'S P.O.V.

Dilan woke up in the hospital room. Her limbs felt heavy and sore and her head was pounding like a son of a bitch. None of that mattered though. Her squad was dead, and her heart was broken. She sat up, ignoring the pain that radiated through her whole body. She embraced it, wanting more. She deserved it after all.

"Dilan." She heard a muffled voice beside her and turned her dulled orange eyes to see Levi sitting on the armchair beside her hospital bed. He looked tired. Dilan wondered how long she had been out.

Levi started talking but Dilan couldn't hear him. it was like someone was washing her ears out with soap. It felt like she was underwater... like everything was in slow motion. All she could feel was the pain and she didn't care. Levi stopped talking after he realised, she wasn't listening and was just staring at him blankly. He sighed and stood, telling her to get some rest. Dilan barely managed a nod, wanting to be alone. Levi left and the room darkened. She looked around her with lidded eyes, narrowing in on a scalpel Hanji had been washing with some other equipment.

She managed to shift on the bed, taking deep breaths to stop from passing out at the pain. It was like her joints were rusted. Like the feeling you get after a day's work out but 100 times worse. Dilan didn't pay it much mind though. In fact, she craved something more intense. She stood on shaky legs and stumbled over to the sink, picking up the blade with trembling hands. She made it to the bathroom, turned on the shower, stripping herself quickly before sitting down under the cold stream and slicing into her flesh, sighing in relief as the pain cancelled out for a brief moment of peace.

Dilan opened her eyes, realising she was covered head to toe in sweat and she was shaking violently.

"Shit." Dilan hissed, standing up and looking down at her moist clothes. Cut. Cut. Cut. Cut. Cut. Cut. Cut. Cut. Cut. Cut. Cut. Cut. Cut. Cut. Cut. Cut. Cut. Cut. Cut. Cut. Dilan breathed heavily, closing her eyes and shaking her head. Calm down you pathetic shit. You can do this. Her first instinct was to go to Levi like she had done many times before. She needed a distraction. She needed a friend. A look at the time made her abandon the idea. People would be starting to wake up around now. She didn't need these people thinking she got this position by sleeping with their superior. They wouldn't respect her anymore. She couldn't have that.

Dilan took a deep breath and opened her eyes, the breath hitching in her throat as she looked down at the blade in her hands. She thought she gave all her blades to Levi, where the fuck did this come from? Did she keep one subconsciously? Oh no. Fuck this. Dilan shoved the blade back in her dresser and stripped herself of clothing, grabbing a towel and wrapping it round her torso before leaving her room and walking to the bathroom. She got inside and locked the door behind her, taking deep breaths and turning on the shower. She stood under it and tried to think of anything else. Anything calming. Anything with no sadness attached. Dilan breathed out shakily as she ended up thinking about the first time, she used the 3DMG.

She had been fixing it up for months and months. She honestly did know if it was going to work again and during her first trial run, she was pretty sure she was going to fall and snap her neck. Helped that she didn't give two shits back then. When she first jumped off the tallest building in the underground, taking a second to watch the fast advancing ground, she had smiled properly for the first time since her brother died. Some might say she was falling but Dilan disagreed. That freedom... that was flying.

She had wanted to savour the feeling for so long, she pulled up at the last second and made an idiotic job of burning half the skin on her back off, but she didn't care. She was happy for a good 20 seconds. She had missed the feeling.

Dilan breathed out as she calmed down and her body stopped shaking. I'm okay. It's okay. She reassured herself, still a bit shaky but she had come down from the violent urges. That was a win in her opinion. Dilan refocused and quickly scrubbed the sweat from her body, washing her hair and rinsing out the bubbles and wrapping her towel around her. She unlocked the bathroom and turned, about to head back to her bedroom when she bumped straight into something causing her to stumble back. Thankfully she only just managed to hold onto her towel, only just.

She looked up at the wide eyed Eld and mentally face palmed. Not to self. Bring your clothes with you and get changed in the bathroom from now on. It's not just you and Levi anymore, this is incredibly unprofessional.

"Shit. Sorry Eld. I normally have this floor to myself in the mornings, guess I forgot." She chuckled nervously as Eld was still staring at her, a slow blush creeping up on his cheeks. Dilan was starting to get uncomfortable when thankfully Eld snapped out of it.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sorry for bumping into you." He apologised. Dilan forced a smile and nodded, eager to get out of this awkward situation, she walked around him, escaping back to the safety of her room, making sure to lock the door behind her. She did not like the look on his face. Men are still men, no matter how nice they seem.

ELD'S P.O.V.

Eld looked at Dilan's door as it shut, hearing the distinct sound of a lock being pushed into place and rolled his eyes at himself. You freaked her out, dumbass! He should not have stared, that was a completely stupid, asshole type thing to do. He really hadn't meant to, it was simply the surprise of seeing her so well... exposed, since Dilan was normally quite covered up. That surprise combined with his hangover, was not good for the brain. Why the hell did he drink so much last night? He felt like a zombie and now he had to suffer through training. God he was an idiot. Dilan seemed fine. Maybe she didn't drink as much as the rest of them last night. Regardless, he would have to apologise for his behaviour as soon as possible.

Eld shook his head of the thoughts as another door opened and a yawning Gunther came stumbling out, holding his head.

"Shit, man. How much did we drink?" He groaned, walking towards him. Eld chuckled.

"Way more than we should off." He sighed as more doors opened, framing a sickly-looking Petra, which was no surprise to him. Petra never held her drink well. And an even sicker looking Stacy. Eld frowned slightly, remembering the girl was only 16. She should not have been drinking last night. So much for responsible adults.

He blinked as the girl gagged.

"Oh no." Petra gasped. Eld and Gunther's eyes widened as they all remembered what their Captain had said last night.

"Don't make too much noise, clean up after yourselves and be in bed by 12, we have training tomorrow. And I swear to god if one of you idiots throws up, I'll put you on stable duty for the next 5 years. Welcome to the special ops." He said, monotoned.

Stacy gagged again, holding a hand over her mouth and Eld rushed over to her, helping her into the closer bathroom as there were two available on this floor in time as the girl puked her guts out in toilet. Eld grimaced and let Petra take over, holding the girl's hair and rubbing her back comfortingly.

"Oh god." Stacy breathed heavily as she stopped throwing up. "I am never drinking again." She sighed and the group chuckled.

"We've all been there kid." Eld reassured and the girl cracked a tired smile.

"You alright, sweetie?" Petra asked, concern in her hazel eyes. Clearly, she had just remembered the girls age too. She really should not have been drinking last night.

"Stupid but fine. Thanks for that." She wiped her face and stood up, with a little help from Petra. Eld was impressed. The kid had balls. Eld nodded in reply. They were a team after all. They had each other's backs.

"Everything alright?" The confused voice of Dilan rang out behind them and everyone turned to see her fully dressed in uniform and ready with her hair tied up. They nodded quickly. "Great. Well, get dressed now and I'll give you the ground rules." She instructed and everyone was quick to comply.

Once everyone was dressed in uniform and ready, Dilan took them downstairs where it seems a bomb had exploded. Petra gasped.

"Oh my god, did we do this?" She asked, wide eyes. Eld gulped. The Captain was going to kill them.

Dilan sighed and turned to face them all.

"Yep. Listen up. If there's one thing you do to keep on the Captain's good books, it's clean up after yourself. A crumb out of place and he will make you do laps round the forest, trust me on that. You don't want to mess with him." She said seriously.

Everyone paled, looking at the mess.

"Other than that, be up early, before training starts if possible since he does not tolerate tardiness. Leave his room alone and knock on his office before entering. Do not interrupt him when he's having tea unless it's urgent. He likes his peace and that's pretty much always. So, don't be overly loud anywhere. Wear uniforms everyday until 6 when your off duty. Then you can wear whatever you want as long as it's appropriate. During free days, you may do as your wish but otherwise you should adhere to the training schedule. Work hard and don't slack off. He won't show it but if you give it you all every day, you'll impress him. Understood?" Dilan asked.

They all nodded again, everyone getting rightly anxious about the mess.

"Great. Let's clear up quickly, but do a good job or he'll make us redo it until it's right." Dilan chuckled, rolling up her sleeves and getting to work.

Dilan pointed out where the cleaning supplies were, and everyone got to work.

"So, Dilan. How long have you known the Captain for?" Petra asked as Eld swept the floor. Gunther made a dramatic show of rolling his eyes and Eld bit back a laugh. Petra's little crush was pretty obvious, and everyone knew about it already.

"Guess around a year now." Dilan shrugged, picking up empty beer bottles.

"You must know him pretty well then." Stacy added.

"He's a good leader, he's taught me a lot." Dilan continued in a casual but professional tone. Stacy huffed, clearly wanting some dirt that Dilan didn't know or wasn't going to tell her.

"Hey, aren't you from the underground?" The kid asked and everyone stopped working briefly to glance at Dilan.

"Stacy-" Petra was probably about to scold the girl, but she cut her off.

"I lived in the underground for a bit." She admitted casually and everyone including Dilan, balked at her.

"You did?" Dilan asked. Stacy nodded, crouching while she scrubbed a stubborn stain on the floor.

"Yup... why is everyone looking at me like that?" She mumbled and everyone got back to work. "Did I say something wrong?" Stacy whispered to Dilan. Eld saw Dilan smile out of the corner of his eye and pat the girl on the head.

"No, kid. You didn't say anything wrong." Dilan reassured. Stacy smiled in relief and continued working, as did everyone else.

They all tensed as they heard someone coming down the stairs and turned to look into the dulled, narrow eyes of their Captain.

"And who exactly is to blame for this mess?" His monotoned voice asked and Eld swallowed nervously. No one answered and he sighed in annoyance. "We clean until it's spotless, is that understood?" Levi asked, grabbing a face and hair cloth like the rest of them.

"Yes sir!" They replied and got to work. Eld was equally surprised as the rest of them that the Captain had joined in on clean up considering he was their superior, but especially since he didn't make the mess in the first place. He shared surprised glances with Gunther and the others but noticed Dilan didn't look surprised. Eld watched with curiosity as Dilan gave Levi a 'sorry' look and he rolled his eyes back before they both got to work. Their Captain was definitely a complicated character. Maybe he wasn't the usual asshole superior they were all used to.

DILAN'S P.O.V.

Cleaning took a long time but that didn't surprise Dilan. It took a long time for them to clean to Levi's standards. Dilan had gotten used to his methods after a while, especially after they started living together. That was a fight and a half. Still, she had adapted, and she knew they would too after a while.

After a while being the key point. Turns out they were all pretty shitty at cleaning. Levi pointed out their mistakes which they couldn't find by the looks on their faces. Dilan could see it through. After being friends with Levi for a year, she had become much more aware of all the dirt and bacteria in the world. She could almost see it the way he did, and she had to admit, it was disgusting.

Stacy was so terrible at cleaning her section that Dilan had to take over and do it for her, if they were to start training on time. They had already missed breakfast and the squad looked exhausted already. Levi checked her work and couldn't find any mistakes. All of them sighed in relief and Dilan was glad for the experience. They had all definitely got what she meant when she said the Captain likes things clean. Hopefully they would keep their messes to themselves from now on.

They got outside and Levi told them to do ten laps round the grounds to start off. Dilan simply grinned, needing a good run while the others looked horrified, especially at the 'to start off' part. That gave Dilan the impression that their squad leaders were slackers. Levi did not look amused that the only person who had started running was Dilan and the rest were quick to follow.

10 laps later and Dilan sighed in relief, catching her breath and wiping the few beads of sweat off of her forehead. She walked up to Levi's side watching with amusement at the others who looked like they were about to drop dead at any second. They were all still on their 7th lap.

"Their stamina is pathetic." Levi commented. Dilan chuckled.

"Yeah well they are suffering from hangovers. I bet they'll be better tomorrow. Besides, they aren't used to a real schedule." She shrugged. Levi nodded in agreement.

"Still, the hangover is their problem not mine. I won't be going easy on them." He pointed out. Dilan smirked.

"Wouldn't expect any less, Captain." She replied, noticing Levi bit back a smirk of his own.

Stacy finished next, which Dilan was impressed by. The girl did indeed have talent and Dilan was glad they chose her. Still, the comment about the underground had fazed Dilan a bit. How long did she live down there? When did she live down there? What kind of conditions? Dilan was worried. No one had a good experience down there no matter who you were. Dilan hoped the girl hadn't gone through the same things she had. She made a mental note to try and talk to her about it later. Eld finished after followed by Gunther and Petra. They were all panting heavily, drenched in sweat and guzzling down their waters.

"Pair off, I want to see you fight." Levi ordered and they did just that. Eld with Gunther, Petra with Stacy. Dilan and Levi watched as the pairs ran at each other after getting the go ahead from Levi.

"Levi." Dilan whispered, getting Levi's attentions and she jutted her head towards Petra, watching as the girl gained the upper hand, pulling a pretty sophisticated move, sweeping the leg and punched her in the side, getting her on the floor and pinning her down, bright brown eyes looking to Levi for approval.

He simply nodded and Dilan watched with slight amusement as Petra blushed and helped, Stacy up. Levi and Dilan turned their attention to the other fight in time to see Gunther lose epically as he was flipped onto his ass.

"Shit, man." Gunther groaned. Eld chuckled and helped him up.

"Stances." Levi instructed, crossing his arms and the four stood up straight, getting into their stances. Dilan watched as a disapproving look came onto Levi's face. Dilan couldn't blame him. The stances were, indeed, abysmal. She may not have one but that doesn't mean she didn't know a poor stance when she saw one. Gunther's was downright dreadful. "Pathetic." He sighed and their faces dropped a bit. "Dilan." He added and she nodded in understanding.

"Yes sir." She walked towards them, moving their hands, feet and adjusting their postures one by one, having to spend extra time on Gunther which eventually made him blush with embarrassment. Once she was done, she looked at her good work and returned back to Levi's side. He nodded in approval.

"Remember these. Every placement is there for a reason. Whether it's to block an attack or keep your ground after getting dealt a blow. If your opponent gets you on the ground, the match is likely over. I expect you to burn the way your body is standing into your memory, make it instinct to mould into that position before every fight. And make sure you remember because I won't be going over this again. Waste of my time, especially considering you should have learnt this at the training corps." He pointed out in a monotoned voice. "Understood?" He asked, they all nodded quickly.

"Yes sir." They replied with determination. Levi nodded.

"Go again." He ordered. Dilan bit back a smile. Her friend may be ruthless, but this was the best way to teach. He was drilling it into them now so on the field they wouldn't make any mistakes. The thought filled her with more relief than she would care to admit. Maybe with Levi as Captain, things would be different this time.

LEVI'S P.O.V.

He had them spar over and over until they were about to drop before telling them to break for lunch. He knew full well he was working them to the bone, but it was the only way to make them elites. Break them down so he can build them back up again. That's how he was taught and from the approved look on Dilan's face, it's how she was taught too. He didn't want them to be good. They were good already. He wanted them to be cold blooded killers. It was the only way they were going to survive and by god they were going to survive. Levi wouldn't allow any more deaths on his conscience. He wouldn't allow any more on Dilan's either.

The sweaty cadets rubbed the moisture off of their faces with towels and started stumbling back to the house in search of water since they had finished theirs a good 2 hours ago. Levi looked at Dilan, impressed by how well she was doing today as a second. She seemed to have a good control over them, perfectly balancing the scales of friend and mentor. She set a good example for them, following his orders directly which he was grateful for since he hated to repeat himself. Levi was finding it hard to believe that roughly a year ago now, he was absolutely fucking livid with the idea of Dilan as his second. Right now, he couldn't think of anyone better suited. How times change.

Levi was about to follow them in, needing a cup of tea since he missed this morning thanks to the idiots' mess, but Dilan stopped him.

"Levi." She said and Levi turned to look at her.

"Yeah, brat?" He asked. She opened her mouth to say something but clearly decided against it by the hesitation. Levi raised an eyebrow and was about to ask her what was wrong since something seemed to be bothering her, but she cut him off with a different topic.

"Stacy told me she lived in the underground." Dilan said and Levi blinked. He wasn't expecting that, although he knew it wasn't what the brat really wanted to talk to him about, he decided not to push. Maybe she would tell him later.

"Really? It didn't say that in her file." Levi pointed out. Dilan nodded.

"I don't think it was for long. Not long enough to put down as her background anyway. Where was she from on the report?" Dilan asked as they slowly started to walk back. Levi thought about it for a second.

"Pretty sure it was Sina." He replied, confused as to how someone could live in the richness of Sina and the underground. Dilan scrunched up her nose, clearly baffled by the idea too.

"Odd. I might talk to her about it." She mused. Levi nodded. It was probably a good idea to get some real background considering this girl was a part of their squad now. Secrets meant surprises and Levi hated surprises. "Training's going well." She commented with a smile. Levi had to stop himself from smiling back considering he was still in Captain mode. The brat was too easy to be around, making him drop his guard.

"I think so. Real shitty with combat though. We need to change that." He said. Dilan hummed in agreement.

"You're doing good though. They're all piss-pants scared of you." She grinned. Levi couldn't help but smirk back.

"Thanks brat. It means a lot." He replied and she laughed as they got to the front.

"Anytime, Cap." She teased. Levi frowned.

"Don't call me Cap." He warned dangerously. Dilan rolled her eyes but smiled anyway.

"Noted."

DILAN'S P.O.V.

They got into the house and Dilan bit back a laugh as she saw Levi openly grimace at the sweaty team collapsed in the kitchen.

"I'll bring your tea to your office if you want to catch up on paperwork?" Dilan suggested, knowing he was not going to want to go anywhere near the cloud of sweat and body oder over there. Levi nodded, mumbling a 'thanks brat' under his breath before walking away and disappearing behind his office door. As soon as he was gone the group seemed to collapse further, heads dropping onto the table they were sitting at. Dilan laughed and shook her head, walking over to fill the kettle.

"I feel like my arm sweat has arm sweat." Stacy groaned into the table.

"I can't move my limbs." Gunther complained.

"I can't move my eyelids." Petra mumbled; half passed out on the table. Eld looked the most composed out of all of them. Dilan rolled her eyes, heating up the kettle on the stove.

"It's only lunch, grow some balls." She commented and they groaned at the realisation.

"Says you, you didn't just spar for 2 hours." Gunther pointed out, lifting his head. Dilan smirked.

"Lucky for you shits otherwise you'd be sweating twice as much." She teased and Eld chuckled.

"She has a point." He said and the other three groaned again.

"Hey Dilan?" Stacy asked. Dilan hummed that she was listening. "What are you doing?" She yawned, rubbing her eyes as she sat up. Petra sat up a bit too.

"Bringing the Captain his tea." Dilan shrugged. Petra seemed to bolt up.

"Can I do it?" She asked, chestnut eyes bright with hope. Dilan chuckled as the boys shared an eyeroll.

"Sure, he's kind of picky though." Dilan warned, sitting down and letting Petra take over. The small ginger waved her off.

"I think I'll be fine." She commented. Dilan shrugged, not seeing the harm, leaning her head on her arm and watching with amusement as Gunther and Stacy started to debate who was better with the 3DMG.

"Dilan?" Eld asked quietly beside her and Dilan looked at the blonde. He looked nervous.

"Yeah?"

"Well um... I just wanted to apologise again for this morning. I was just startled because I didn't expect to see you there and I wanted to make sure you didn't think I was staring like a creepy pervert and now I feel like I'm saying what a creepy pervert would say-" Eld started to ramble quietly while the others were distracted, refusing to meet Dilan's eyes and scratching the back of his neck nervously. Dilan bit back a laugh and cut him off.

"Calm down, greenie." She interrupted kindly and Eld swallowed the rest of his words. "I know you're not a creepy pervert. It was my fault too, let's just put it behind us, yeah?" She reassured with a smile. Dilan was glad Eld had said something because in all honesty, she had been a bit edgy around him since this morning. It relieved her to know it was all just a big mistake. Eld sighed in relief and nodded.

"Great. Thanks." He smiled.

The group talked for a bit while Petra delivered the tea to the Captain. Dilan blinked as Petra came back, holding the tray with the tea still on it, a mortified expression on her face.

"What happened?" She asked. Petra gulped, her face pale.

"H-he didn't want it." She explained reluctantly. Dilan raised an eyebrow.

"What? He said that?" Gunther asked. Petra put the tea down on the side and looked down.

"He said it was undrinkable." She sniffed. Dilan frowned, standing up. That was a pretty dicky thing to say. Even for Levi.

"Well that's pretty rude." Eld commented and Petra replied that he didn't even try it, but Dilan wasn't listening. She looked at the tea, trying hard not to laugh when she saw the tea leaves floating around in the cup. This was indeed an undrinkable cup of tea.

"Petra, have you ever made tea before?" Dilan asked, trying to keep her face straight. Petra sniffed again.

"No but... how hard can it be?" She frowned slightly. Dilan smiled sympathetically, locating the tea bag that the girl had cut open and poured into the cup and showing it. The others saw it and realisation dawned on their faces. Levi wasn't being rude, just overly truthful. "So?" She asked. Dilan chuckled.

"Petra, you soak the teabag in the water. You don't cut it open." She explained. Petra's eyes widened and she put a hand over her mouth.

"Shit." She squeaked as the boys burst out laughing. Dilan rolled her eyes and slapped them up the back of the heads.

"Ow!" They complained.

"I doubt you pigs would have done much better." She scolded, there was no need to laugh at the girl. They frowned but didn't reply and Dilan turned back to the very embarrassed girl. "Want me to teach you?" Dilan asked. Petra smiled but shook her head quickly.

"I don't think I can look him in the eye again." She sighed, sinking down into her chair. Stacy pat her on the back. Dilan chuckled, amused by her dramatics but didn't reply, making a fresh batch of tea and taking it over to Levi's office. She knocked, waiting until she heard the 'come in' before entering. She normally didn't do this, but they didn't live alone anymore.

"The fuck was that experiment? I almost choked on tea leaves." Levi mumbled, annoyed as Dilan closed the door behind her. She laughed and walked over.

"The girl wanted to make you tea, I didn't see the harm." Dilan shrugged, putting the tray down next to him. Levi glared up at her.

"What part of almost choked, you, dumb brat, did not get through your head?" He spat. Dilan rolled her eyes.

"I didn't see the harm, as in past tense. In my defence, who knew you could mess up a cup of tea?" She pointed out. Levi hummed with reluctant agreement as he took a sip and sighed in relief.

"Yeah well no more experiments. I'll make the damn tea myself or you can do it for me. I don't trust where the brat's hands have been." He mumbled, reading over some files. Dilan sighed, hoping Petra won't ask again. That will be an awkward conversation. Sorry Petra but he doesn't know where your hands have been. The girl would turn as red as a cherry.

"Sure, sure." She replied, biting the inside of her lip. She wanted to talk to him about the really bad urge she had this morning, but she didn't want to bother him. She had tried to tell him earlier, but they were too out in the open.

Dilan had been feeling shaky all morning and she thought maybe if she talked to him, she would feel better, but he was busy, and it was the middle of the day. She felt stupid and she shouldn't stay in here too long or the others will wonder where she went.

"Dilan." A deep voice cut her out of her musings, and she looked down to meet with concerned grey eyes. "You alright?" He asked, and Dilan almost spilled but swallowed down the words again, deciding he had enough on his plate right now.

"Yep." She forced a smile of reassurance that definitely was not convincing from the look on his face, but Dilan turned and left the room before he could make her answer honestly. Hopefully they would get to talk tonight.

LEVI'S P.O.V.

Levi watched Dilan leave with concern. Something was definitely wrong with her. She wanted to tell him something, he could see it in her eyes. Why wouldn't she just come out and say it? Levi was starting to get worried about her. She seemed off. He wished he had the time to talk to her, but he was overflowing with paperwork. Being Captain sure had its setbacks.

Levi drank his tea and finished probably 1/4 of the paperwork he needed to finished today, checking the time he saw that break was almost over and stood from his desk, stepping out and raking a hand through his hair. He raised an eyebrow as he was met with a blinking Petra, an obvious red covering her cheeks. He wondered why the fuck she was blushing right now. He hadn't even done anything. God this is annoying.

"Yes?" Levi encouraged as the girl continued to stand there saying nothing like an idiot. Petra cringed slightly and looked down.

"Sorry sir... I just wanted to apologise for the tea..." She said quietly. Is that it? Levi supress an eyeroll and simply nodded.

"Sure." He said briefly before walking around her. He caught a disapproving look from Dilan who was standing in the kitchen doorway and seemed to have watched the interaction. He gave her an annoyed look. What else was he supposed to say?

She simply shook her head in disbelief and walked past him towards the seemingly catatonic Petra. Levi ignored both of them. They had training to get to. "Clean up your mess and be outside in 5." Levi said while leaving the house. He didn't even want to look at the mess that had made during lunch. He heard the sounds of chair's scraping and a communal 'yes sir' before he left the room and got out into the fresh air.

PETRA'S P.O.V.

Petra stared at the floor with wide eyes as the Captain walked away and didn't know if she had ever been more embarrassed. If she could fuck up tea of all things how was she supposed to be a valuable member of the team? God, she was a mess. Why did he have to be so god damn gorgeous?

She had never had this problem with one of her squad leaders before. They were all old men and women. Levi was attractive, male and her age. Oh, and did she mention the man was insanely attractive. Everything about him made her want to drop her pants right then and there.

Sure, he was intimidating but Petra could barely see that through the fog of her hormones. Fuck you Petra, you, horny ass bitch. You really need to get laid. But not with the Captain. You're his subordinate. You need to be professional. Stop trying to impress him and making a fool of yourself. Petra groaned internally, flinching as she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Dilan giving her a sympathetic smile.

"You saw that?" She mumbled. Dilan nodded. "He hates me." She sighed. Dilan chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"He doesn't hate you, he's Levi. He's the single most unsociable bastard I have ever met." Dilan comforted and Petra held back a gasp.

"You talk about the Captain like that?" She asked with wide eyes. Dilan had even used his name informally. Just how close were those two? Petra had definitely noticed a thing or two that indicated they had a deeper relationship than simply subordinate and superior, and Petra knew the others had too. The worried look on The Captains face when he dived off that branch to get to Dilan before the titan did on that expedition that day said it all. He cared about her.

Dilan smiled.

"Yeah well I have known him for a long time. Don't tell the others but we didn't get off to the best start." Dilan chuckled fondly at the memories. Petra blinked, interested.

"Really? You seem pretty close now." She pointed out. Dilan shrugged as they started walking back to the kitchen.

"We respect each other, and we have each other's backs. But we properly hated each other when we first met. Holy shit he hated me with a burning passion, but I couldn't judge, I hated him a similar amount. At each other's throats every chance we got." Dilan explained. Petra was surprised to say the least. He hadn't seen the Captain without that terrifyingly calm look on his face. Well... apart from the day Dilan almost died on the front flank but she had already mentioned that.

"What happened?" She asked. Dilan smiled.

"Things change. Like I said, we have each other's backs. Anyway, my point is, I know hate in Levi when I see it. He doesn't hate you. You need to stop being so worried around him. Show him respect and work hard, that's all you need to do to impress him." Dilan comforted. Petra let out a breath of relief nodding. I can do that. She smiled at the orange eyed girl. She couldn't believe she used to be scared of the rumours of the 'savage' from the underground. Dilan was one of the nicest, most selfless people she had ever met. No wonder the Captain was more at ease around her.

"Thanks Dilan." She said genuinely. Dilan smiled and nodded and they left the house, ready for training.


A/N: Hey! First day of training. Petra likes Levi. Eld likes Dilan. Levi likes Dilan. And Dilan... is pretty oblivious. Next chapter will focus on the first day of training too and Dilan and Stacy should probably have a chat.

I wanted to say thank you for all your amazing comments guys. You don't know how much I appreciate them and it makes me so happy to know your enjoying my story. Also to all the people that binged this story I am hella impressed. I mean that's a lot of chapters to get through. But you like to binge read and I liked to binge write so we're basically made for each other :)

Thanks again for reading! Stay safe. X