Happy Holidays! There will be four more chapters posted every other day. Thank you for all those who reviewed, it was very heartwarming to hear your opinions on the story so far. I hope you guys continue to enjoy the fic!

Saph's PoV

The outline of his muscles could be seen from the sweat soaked white t-shirt Levi wore. Keeping my focus on the dirt floor in front of me, I rolled my sore shoulders. It was the fourth week of extra training, and Levi was still trying to demonstrate his skill in a way that could teach us. I had given up as soon as Ruby, Eld, and Leon had tried to copy him. They were all more advanced at using the 3DMG than I was. A few whispers had been shared at the dining hall about how I wasn't suited to be on the new squad because of the lack of skill I possessed compared to the other members. It didn't help that I was also second in command. Thankfully, it seemed as if neither Leon, Eld, or Ruby shared in those concerns. With them not complaining themselves the whispers died. It also helped that I had pointed out that I could almost outrun a horse.

Well, almost all the horses except that damn grey stallion that I had decided to name Lucifer. Levi had to stop me from slaughtering that beast after it had intentionally rammed me into a tree while I was riding it. There was so much pain in my leg afterwards that I thought it had been broken for a few minutes. Instead of getting me a new horse, Levi just said that it was my 'shitty steering skills' that made Lucifer act that way. Sometimes it felt as if those two had teamed up to make my life difficult. Me trying to stay away from Levi ever since the conversation with Hanji turned out to be harder than I had originally imagined.

Something had shifted since my realization. Now instead of throwing every rude remark he made to me back at his face, I just tried to escape from the conflict. This usually backfired and resulted in me being ordered to clean a room for ignoring my 'superior'. The headquarters for the Special Operations Squad wasn't that big, so I sometimes felt as I was cleaning the whole house at least twice a week.

It was a wooden, two-story house. A small kitchen, bathroom, and three bedrooms were what consisted of the first floor. There were also three bedrooms on the 2nd floor. One was a large, fully furnished master bedroom that was all Levis. The one in the middle was only used to hold strategy meetings and to store information. Mine was on the other side of the house, with a bed but no desk, unlike Levi's. Having my own private space was an experience that I had missed, somewhat, from the Underground, but there was a drawback I hadn't foreseen with the new sleeping quarters.

Snoring from my companions had become a soothing sound to me. Now, I was all by myself, only hearing the wooden floor squeak at times. This kept me awake for the longest time. At first, I had spent night after night, unable to sleep. The comfort I had become accustomed too would have been even more appreciated ever since Hanji had revealed that I might hold a level of attraction towards Levi. Instead of letting dream world take me away, I spent my time staring at the ceiling going over in my head what had gone wrong to make me feel this way for my new commander.

Even now, I felt uncomfortable as he landed in front of us. I made no move to acknowledge his presence as he stared at us with an expectant face. He clearly wanted us to try and match his speed and movement.

"Sir, I don't think any of us are fast enough for your technique," Leon said, respectfully. The guy usually had an amicable smile on his face and a light in his green eyes, but he looked as if Levi might order him to clean up horseshit for stating his opinion. No. Levi only did that to me.

"I wonder what made you so strong and fast?" Hanji shouted trying to grab Levi's arm. "Did you have a unique diet? Do something to train your body everyday? Maybe it's due to you living in the Underground?" Her constant peppering of questions was considered to be annoying by the actual members of Levi's team, but her ability to wear Erwin down enough for him to let Hanji watch the demonstrations meant there was a certain level of respect.

Levi finally shoved her so that she landed on her butt on the grass floor. "If that was true, Saph would have the same capabilities," he snorted.

"But, I was only there for some years. I wasn't born in that environment," I tried to provide helpful information. It would be interesting to know the reason for Levi's abilities and if there was a way I could gain them myself. When the words enter the air, however, I'm brought back to the slaughter of Isabel and Farlan. As far as I knew, they had both been born in the Underground.

Ruby stepped forward. "I believe that it would be best if we stopped with the demonstrations and started trying to fight like an actual group. Our teamwork on the field is severely lacking." Her voice was strong without a hint of hesitation. It was easy to forget that she wasn't the commander nor the second in command.

"I agree," Eld stated.

Levi stared at his subordinates with distaste. Leon shifted uncomfortably under the hard stare that was being directed at him. "We're not trying to disagree with you, sir, or give up."

"What do you think, Saph?" Hanji piped up.

Hearing my name caused me to tilt my head up. I could see that Levi's brow was furrowed like he was wondering where I had come from all of a sudden. Shrugging my shoulders, I sighed. "It's probably better to try something else since this doesn't seem as if it's ever going to work."

"See, Levi? Even your second in command agrees with the sentiment. Since I won't get to study Levi anymore, I'm going to head back!" Hanji declared as she got up off of the ground. "See you at dinner!"

Nobody made a move to wave back, but Levi gave an audible indication of relief where her excited form finally disappeared from our sight. "Good riddance." Levi stormed off not to soon afterwards. Tired from dealing with us.

Ruby and Eld both glanced at me when Levi has left the vicinity and was out of earshot from the rest of us. Leon ruffled my hair without asking for my permission to do so.

"I'm so glad that he listens to you! We would have probably had to clean the stables with our tongues if you weren't here!"

Ruby clicked her tongue. "He hasn't shown any attributes that would suggest he would make a good leader. I don't know what Erwin was thinking."

"Hey!" I shouted louder than I intended too, "he just started. Give him a break." What the hell am I doing defending Levi?

Leon seemed surprised by my words as well. "Aren't you loyal? Defending your commander even though you're the one he punishes the most often. What are you? A masochist or something?" Leon teased poking at my cheek.

It's hard not to break character during moments like these. Trying to withhold some strength, I try to make it look like I'm playfully smacking away his hand instead of slapping it the way I want to. "No!" What an idiot. If only Levi wouldn't suspect me to be the murderer if Leon ended up dead with a knife buried in his stomach in the middle of the night. I mean of course it would most likely be me, but that didn't mean he would even listen if I was innocent.

"Leave her be, Leon," Ruby commanded. Leon instantly stopped touching me.

"Sorry, Saph. I was just messing with you."

A weak grin made it way to my lips. "It's fine." Why oh why wasn't Ruby the Captain or at least in my position? Not a single person on the team respected me much less took orders, and the only reason they obeyed Levi was because of fear instead of respect. After giving each of them a polite nod, I quickly walked back to the headquarters. Levi was in the kitchen making tea when I entered.

"Are you not going to the dining hall for dinner?" I asked before I could stop myself. Starting a conversation wasn't a good idea if you were trying to avoid someone.

For a bit, I didn't think Levi was going to answer my question. He just kept casually sipping his drink. Then, he set it down on the counter in front of him. "No."

"Why not?"

"Why are you sticking your nose in business that isn't yours?"

What did I find remotely likable about a guy as irritating as him? "Curiosity." His size was that of a child, though his body wasn't. That's why it was just a physical thing. It had to just be a physical thing. Most people were supposed to be attracted in muscles and crap like that.

"All that damn noise that woman makes, gives me the bad shits later on."

My hormones must be raging if I found someone who made poop jokes constantly even a little nice to look at. Maybe if I just got it out of my system, this wouldn't be a problem anymore. "I could bring your serving here."

The befuddled expression on Levi's face about my offer almost made up for how much regret I was feeling for starting this little talk. His nose wrinkled up as he shook his head. "No."

"No?"

"You might poison it or something."

I bursted out laughing. When the first giggle escaped me, I saw Levi start for a second. His fingers gripping the cup just a little tighter than before. It was the way he said it, with so much conviction. Like that was the singular reason I would ever offer to bring him food. That's just how ridiculous I was acting. This person wasn't me, and I don't know where she came from or how to make her go away.

Nodding, I snorted out, "of course," before I went upstairs to leave a confused Levi behind. My sides were still shaking when I began to take off my gear in my room. I wouldn't want to be wearing this comfortable harness when I went down to eat.

Getting the contraption off was always time consuming, but I made sure to give Levi plenty of space to go somewhere else, so I wouldn't have to interact with him. When I heard a heavy set of footsteps going up the stairs, I paused. My breath resounding with every thunk on the wooden floor. It disappeared father down the hallway. I don't know what I had been expecting from him. A confirmation that I could bring back his food? Levi didn't trust me that much. His suspicions weren't entirely unfounded. If I was in his position, I wouldn't have trusted me either.

The sacrifices I had already made showed just how much I was willing to give to get my brother back. Levi would never put me in the position of having to choose my squad or my family because he knew what I would choose without a moment of hesitation. Not even the budding attraction held enough sway over my heart for me to abandon my brother. Give everything I had to the Survey Corps.

My head was full of these thoughts as I strolled to the dining hall. Laughter and light spilled from the large structure. Death may surrounded the soldiers, so they tried to find merriment in everything. Sometimes that led to excessive drinking, gambling, or sleeping around. Anything to take one's mind off of what was going to come in the future.

None of my fellow seatmates partook in the abundant alcohol. I didn't know enough about them to make a guess on the other extracurricular activities the members of the military regularly visited.

Not a drop of the addictive liquid was needed for Hanji. She was always acting bizarre , so her weird behavior held no indication whether the mug in her hand contained water or a stronger substance.

"There she is!" she shouted, raising the container that was sloshing with her movements. "I thought you and Levi were going to stay holed up in that little house of yours to drink tea and nibble on biscuits!"

Ruby, ever the responsible one, was trying to make her energetic friend set the mug down so as to not make a bigger mess. "If Levi heard you saying things like that, he would order you to wash every cape of every member of the Survey Corps."

Leon was choking on his dinner. The image of Levi and I having a tea party must have been hysterical in his mind. "Where is he anyways?"

"Said he wasn't going to come since Hanji gave him the bad shits."

Shaking her head, Ruby said in a low tone, "I wish he wouldn't say such crass things like that."

"A man more refined has always been your type, Ruby," Haji started, while snickering, "I'm guessing that while Levi isn't too hard on the eyes, you still prefer your guys to have 'sunshine for hair' and 'baby blue eyes like the sky."

Clearly embarrassed, Ruby's face was turning as red as her namesake. "Please don't quote me on things I said while I was intoxicated!"

The two began to bicker as I slid onto the empty spot between Eld and Leon. Munching on my bread, I warily kept an eye on Leon who was staring at me. He leaned over to speak. His breath tickling my ear which made me lean farther away.

"So Saph? What's your story? I knew that you came from the Underground, but I didn't know you hadn't grown up there." His words were amicable, but I still felt a shiver run down my spine. I hadn't expected anyone to be curious about my words earlier.

Narrowing my gaze at him, I tried to figure out what my next words should be. It was important to make it seem like I was making an attempt to get closer with the fellow members, but I didn't want to give too many details about myself. "My parents died when I was around eight, so I was forced to go live in the Underground."

"What happened to them?"

"They were both eaten by a Titan during an expedition."

"So they were in the Survey Corps? You must feel proud about following in their footsteps!"

Could Leon really regard risking my life for something so intangible as something to be proud of? Shaking my head, I murmured, "But look what ended up happening to them. Their abandoned children were forced to live in the slums."

"Children?"

Noticing my mistake, I tried to wave it off. "My brother. He would be here now if it wasn't for the living arrangement forced upon us when they died." It's true that he might have joined the Survey Corps if we had been allowed to live on the surface. Though I was implying that he had been killed, I felt as if the white lie was small enough to grace his ears with ease. I hoped my white lie would be taken at face value. Ducking my head down, I bit my bottom lip. That wasn't something I wanted to discuss. Appearing as if I was in pain, I hoped the conversation would move forward with a new topic.

Hanji came to my rescue. "I heard that you used to be in the Military Police, Leon. Why did you switch?"

A dry laugh filled the room as Leon's green eyes darkened considerably. "Once I saw the destruction and pain the Titan's had brought with them, I knew I couldn't stay in the sidelines."

"You're very brave to experience that firsthand and still want to deal with Titans," Ruby commented.

Nodding, Leon stared at the empty plate in front of him. "I had been considering entering the Survey Corps after my training was done. I was first in my training group. However, I thought I could be more of help with keeping the inner walls safe, but there is no point in keeping peace within if Titan's could easily take that away at any moment."

Solemn faces mirrored his own. Their own reasons for choosing the Survey Corps was reflecting back to them. Why they had fought for so long, and why they continued to face their own chance of destruction constantly. A hush silence had fallen at our table.

Studying my jagged nails, I thought over what Leon had said. He must have shown exceptional skill for Erwin to choose him to be in Levi's squad without having as much experience as the rest of us. No one else had regarded it as strange though. There must be more to Leon than I had first thought.