A/N: I am not actively writing for this fandom anymore, but I've had this sitting around in my drafts for years and figured I'd go ahead and post it rather than just throw it in my scrap file to never be seen by the public.

This chapter is not technically complete. The first scene takes place during ACNWR era, all soulmate pair bonding which should have come between that and the other scene of the fic is missing.

I don't remember if I'd intended that scene to be the end of the chapter or if something was supposed to come after it, like I said it's been sitting my drafts untouched for years.

~ Lovebirds ~
(Quetzal)

"Watch where you're going, Shitty Glasses!" Levi snaps. Not a second later, he is scrambling to shed his jacket and the upper part of his maneuver gear harness. He catches a flash of emerald green and charcoal gray before he finds his vision obscured by his soulmate's chest as he is pulled into an overenthusiastic hug.

At first glance, he thought the person was a guy, but the soft swell of flesh which is now pressing against his cheek tells him otherwise. Her fingers stroke though his hair and over the top edges of his wings.

Levi is attempting to enjoy his cup of tea, but he can feel that damn Titan kid staring at him. When he glances at him, the kid is fidgeting and seems to want to say something.

"What?" Levi snaps.

"N-nothing, sir!" Eren stammers out, sitting up straighter under the captain's glare.

"Don't play games with me," Levi snarls. "Just fucking say whatever it is you want to say."

"I just... well. It's not polite to ask about someone else's soulmate, right?"

Levi, who neither knows nor cares to learn what is considered 'polite' by society in general, does not answer. The silence drags on uncomfortably for a few minutes, the kid fidgeting even more, until finally Petra speaks up.

"Oh! You want to know about the captain's soulmate? They do have such pretty wings, don't they...?" she trails off with a guilty glance at Oluo. It is not public knowledge that the two of them are a couple, since their wings are small and easily hidden. Not to mention the ugly color... "Anyway, Eren! Don't worry, you'll be meeting Captain Levi's soulmate soon!"

"Yeah, she's on her way here to 'research' you," Gunther adds with a chuckle.

Before Eren has a chance to ask what that means, he is distracted by Eld telling him: "By the way, Eren, it's not impolite to inquire about someone's soulmate if they have their wings out on display."

Levi's wings are most definitely on display. He holds them flared out around himself, showing off the long ash-colored flight feathers which would be hidden if his wings were folded.

Eren feels a stab of envy and tucks his own wings more tightly against his back.

It must be nice to have a soulmate who isn't ashamed to let people know that you're their fated partner.

He doesn't have much time to dwell on that thought, however, as in the next moment the door bangs open and someone bursts into the room, shouting, "Where's the Titan kid?"

"Hanji." Levi's tone is distinctly distressed, and his face is the most expressive Eren has ever seen it as he addresses the soldier who just entered.

"What?" she replies, nonplussed.

"Your wings."

Her feathers are in such disarray that at first glance Eren hadn't realized that her wings match the captain's.

Hanji takes a few steps further into the room, stopping next to her soulmate's chair. Levi hooks an arm around her waist and pulls her into his lap.

"You can preen me later," Hanji whines as Levi begins running his hands over her wings. "I want to examine the Titan kid!"

Levi snorts and continues his task. Despite her verbal protests, his soulmate makes no move to get up from his lap.

"You have plenty of time for your experiments later. You're a mess right now."

And everyone in the room knows Levi's stance on messes.

The captain fishes in his jacket pocket for a moment, extracting several combs. Eren recognizes them as the special feather-combs that are provided for every winged person to keep themselves groomed. Levi's set looks nicer than the standard military-issued ones.

The rest of the squad ignores the couple and picks up their previous conversation from where they'd left off before the boy's awkward soulmate question - as if this is an entirely normal and easily ignored event to them - but Eren stares, transfixed, as Levi dips his head down between Hanji's shoulder blades. There is a slight crunching sound, audible over the murmured discussion taking place between Levi's squad members, and the captain comes up with a broken feather between his teeth, which he subsequently spits into his empty teacup.

He repeats the process several times before stopping to inquire, "How do you let yourself get in this condition?"

"I don't know. It just happens."

Hanji turns to hug him, and Levi sighs heavily as he wraps his arms around her waist in return.

~oOo~