"Just forget it. There's no way it was a date. If it was, he would've surely said something about it, right?" It had been two days since the secret 3dmg session with Levi, but you simply couldn't get it off your mind… or him. "Wishful thinking. That's what this is. There aren't many girls in this city who wouldn't give anything for a date with the captain― The ones who aren't intimidated by him, that is― And I honestly don't think I'd be first in the line to get such an opportunity!" You sighed to yourself. "I'm just being stupid…"
"Stupid? Why?"
"Eh?!" You had been deepened into your thoughts, totally forgetting that you were middle of a card game and unintentionally muttered some of your thoughts out loud― You glanced up from your cards to receive a weirded out looks from the cadets you were playing with, both of them waiting you to explain yourself. "I... Uh… Just wondering why I even bother playing with you guys! Stakes are ridiculously low, if you ask me..!"
"Well sorry, but this is all you gonna get from a cadet's paycheck." Other one of the cadets, Marlo Freundenberg, huffed and turned his gaze back to his cards. "I'm not that into gambling anyways… During the working hours, especially." He added.
"Ugh… What's the point, then..?" Letting out a disappointed sigh as you threw your cards on the table, you stood up to grab your rifle which was leaning against the storage crates next to you.
"What? Where are you going?" Marlo blinked in confusion.
"I'll take a walk." You stated, grabbing a rusk from the paper bag on the table before turning away to leave. "I want to see the expedition launch, anyways."
"B-but… We're supposed to be in duty..?"
"You are." Snickering to yourself, you gave the duo a lazy wave of goodbye. "You can manage an hour or so without me. Think this as an opportunity to show what you're made of~! You and… Eh…"
"Hitch Dreyse." Replied a sour voice dryly behind you.
You could hear their grumbles of irritation as you went on your merry way, but you just simply didn't give a crap about it. This was how it always had been: Superior officers pushing around their subordinates. Compared to your fellow officers, you considered yourself to be quite upright with the cadets (most of the time, at least), but every now and then you gave yourself a permission to cut some slack. Main street was already packed with people when you arrived to the scene― There was still a good 10 minutes before the expedition launch, but nearly all of the scout regiment units were already on their horses and ready to go. Gnawing on the rusk, you squeezed through the crowd trying to find a good spot to watch the launch. Subconsciously, though, you were looking for someone specific from the scout regiment lines; Only when you reached the first squad of the formation you finally halted. Leaning against a lamp post, you quietly examined the situation― In the first squad were, of course, Commander Erwin Smith and the team leaders with their squads, not forgetting the special operations squad. Captain Levi was having a conversation with Erwin, most probably discussing about the details of the upcoming mission. As if feeling your eyes on him, Levi glanced over his shoulder to your direction.
"Oh geez… I hope he didn't catch me staring at him..! OK, just play it cool, act like you didn't even notice him..." Your 'cool act' crumbled almost immediately when Levi wrapped up his conversation with Erwin and turned around, now staring straight at you. You gave him a nervous smile and a nod as a greeting― But for your surprise, instead of returning the gesture, Levi briefly checked his surroundings before gesturing you to come over to him. "What? He wants me to go over there? For reals?" You frowned to yourself. "In the broad daylight and literally middle of the street… What happened to the part of 'better not to be seen in each other's company'?!" You anxiously shifted weight from one leg to another, scanning your surroundings for any military police members. Levi was starting to get impatient, raising his eyebrow in annoyance as he waited for you to make up your mind. "Damn it… Oh what the hell!" You cursed under your breath and squeezed through the crowd once again. Why you should care about what a bag of turd like Emmett would think about you? If he'd ever even find out, that is.
"Here to watch the launch, I see." Raven haired man stated as you walked up to him. "Or did you come all the way here just to wish me good luck?" He added, giving you a somewhat mischievous look.
"Yeah, sure." You sneered sarcastically. "But I think that humanity's strongest soldier can manage without a kiss for good luck, or am I wrong?"
"I suppose." Levi raised his brow slightly, apparently somewhat amused by your words.
"You know, actually… There's something I wanted to ask you; Tell me why you arranged that little 3dmg session of ours?" You asked, crossing your arms over your chest. "You didn't have to do it― What was it about, really?"
"Do I need a reason?" He stated in an uninterested tone, clearly trying to dodge the question. At first you felt persistent not to let the matter slide that easily, but how confident Levi looked about himself made you decide not to even waste your breath― He had again that smug look on his face, as if he had the whole situation already figured out. Part of you found it irritating when he gave you that look, but there was something more to it; You wanted to feel annoyed by how his lips curled even so slightly to that impish smirk of his, damn hell, you wanted to hate that stupid-ass gleam he had in his eyes when he looked at you like that! ...But you didn't. You were forced to turn your gaze away when you felt the heat creep onto your cheeks, now only annoyed by the fact how much effect that single look had on you.
"Well… I guess not." You sighed, rolling your eyes to make sure he knew how dissatisfied you were with his answer. While trying to cool off the warmth from your cheeks, you turned your attention to his horse instead, giving her a few rubs as a greeting. For a moment neither of you said a word. You were too wrapped up in your thoughts to even notice the awkward silence, your mind wandering back to that evening few days ago; To be honest, before all of this you had thought Captain Levi was quite an intimidating character, but something had changed― His presence made you feel calm, secure… But that in the other hand gave you some very mixed feelings. "How I can feel like this― With him, from all of the guys?" You found yourself secretly glancing up at him, gloomy thoughts stirring up a nasty feeling down in your gut. It was a mixture of guilt and grief; Those feelings had become too familiar to you during your recovery after the battle of Trost, and now it all was coming back to you again. Levi had noticed the change in your mood, now quietly studying you as he tried to figure out what you were thinking about. "What's it like out there?" You quickly changed the subject before he'd ask you about it, turning your attention back to his horse. "Outside the walls, I mean."
"What's it like?" Levi repeated your words in a pondering tone, a bit surprised about the question. "You don't really notice it before you go outside the walls, but the air smells different― It's difficult to explain… And now when I said it out loud, it just sounds pretty stupid." He turned his gaze away, but you could tell he was trying to hide the fact he was quietly smiling to himself.
"It's not stupid." You assured, offering the rest of the rusk to his horse― Which she gobbled up in no time, now checking out if you had any more treats on you. "Sounds pretty cool, actually. I wonder if I'll ever-" A horn indicating the expedition launch made you jump in place, telling you it was time for you to skitter out of the way if you didn't want to get trampled by dozens of horses. "Oh dang it..! Gotta go! Bring me something nice from the outside~!" You chanted jokingly as you turned away to leave, waving Levi goodbye as you went on your way. He looked like he was about to say something, but only gave you a smile instead when you disappeared back into the crowd once again.
As you watched the every last scout regiment member disappear through the wall gates, a strange feeling of unrest flushed over you― You had lived your whole life inside the walls, but they had never felt so tall until now. Just before the wall gates slammed shut, a gentle breeze of air flowed in, sweeping over the dusty street as if just to tease you. Without giving it another thought, you dashed towards the closest garrison entrance, almost tripping onto your own feet more than once as you rushed up the stairs, dodging shrieking and cursing garrison members on your way up. Lungs burning and covered in sweat, you finally made it to the top― The wall area was mainly for garrison members only, but you doubted anyone would really give a shit about you being there. Dropping onto your knees from exhaustion, you took a moment to catch your breath and admire the view in front of you. Scout regiment was nowhere to be seen, already disappeared behind the hills and forests far away in the horizon.
"Holy shit… Captain Shorty was right." You sneered to yourself as you swiped your sweaty forehead. "The air really smells different, even just up here…" Hugging your knees against your body, you stared into the distance― The day when you signed up to the trainee corps, your goal was clear; You spent those three years busting your ass, spending nearly every waking hour either training like hell or devouring every military tactic book you could get your hands on… All that just to ensure your place in the top 10 of your class. You had never doubted your choice to become a military police officer― Not until now.