Heyy :P So I know it was supposed to be only one-shots, but occasionally, like with this one, I'll have to split the chapters in two. In one chapter it would have been a wee bit too long. Soo... here's the second part. I hope you enjoy.
Previously on Squad Goals:
Erwin sent squads Hanji and Levi to help a village, that's under the tyranny of robbers. They are keeping the people prisoners and only one managed to escape. Captain Levi goes for a stealth mission to scout ahead in the village. Later that day, the others receive Levi's letter where he tell them they've been fooled. They send messengers to get backup. Eren later meets Levi in the village sewers, where they plan out the attack. Captain Levi stays undercover.
.: TWO DAYS LATER :.
Erwin was worried sick. When Kirschtein and Springer had returned, riding like the devil himself was chasing them, he had known something was terribly wrong. According to them, when they had left only Levi had been in immediate danger – but that was already enough to worry about. Erwin knew that the captain was very capable to handle a situation like this, but he still felt worried for his friend. Humanity sure didn't afford to lose him.
And so commander Erwin was now leading thirty soldiers towards the small village at the mountains. Mike was riding next to him, Connie and Jean not far behind. It was their job to tell them to slow down in time, so that the enemies wouldn't hear them.
The two messengers had been up for forty-eight hours straight, and they were beat. Still both of them refused to slow them down. Erwin was impressed – they sure were tough.
"Commander", Jean shouted over the sound of galloping horses. "Let's slow down now and walk the rest of the way. We should run into Hanji in about half an hour."
Erwin nodded and gave the order to slow down the horses to walking speed. He eyed at the terrain around them – rocks, dirt, many different trees – it sure was a great area for hunters, he thought.
Indeed, about half an hour later he could see Hanji and her squad, along with Levi's. No Levi, though. Hanji waved at them, glasses glimmering in the sun.
"Hey there, Erwin", she greeted as he dismounted his horse.
"Updates on the situation?" he asked with a tight tone.
"Yes", Hanji nodded. "I'll explain everything I know so far."
Erwin nodded, walking next to her to the place where they had been taking camp.
"Those are two of the village kids Levi helped to escape", she said, pointing at two children sitting next to Moblit and Gisela.
"Where is Levi?" Erwin asked and looked down at the woman, who answered to his gaze with a concerned expression.
"He's undercover in there. We haven't had a chance to hear from him in two days", she explained. "He arranged a meeting to the sewers down there", she waved her finger vaguely to a direction, "and explained what was going on. Originally it was a stealth mission, and we decided Levi was the best one for it. As he went in there, he realized it was a trap for us."
Erwin froze in his steps. "A trap?"
"To steal our gear, maybe take hostages. The guy who escaped was one of them, and his task was to make sure that you didn't send enough soldiers to beat them", Hanji kept explaining.
"Levi said he'd get the vulnerable villagers to safety and free the village leader when the fight comes. He will give us a sign to come in sometime tomorrow night."
Erwin had started pacing, listening to Hanji's every word. Battle plans were already developing inside his head.
Levi squinted his eyes in the morning sun. There were no more clouds on the sky. He was making his way to the house across the street he was staying in. The captain was already known to the people of the village – they knew who he was and what he was doing there. Now it was time to plan out exactly what would happen tonight.
"Hey brat, where are you going?" a gruff voice barked at him. Levi knew that they were talking to him. He couldn't help the boiling rage inside of him – brat?
Levi stopped and turned around, keeping his head down. He hated every second – he was not meant to be bowing in front of scum like this. He was the captain of the Survey Corps, humanity's strongest soldier. And he was bowing to this shitpuddle.
"Just running an errand for the master of the house", Levi said and nodded towards the house he just came from. The bandit trash bent his head.
"Is that so?" he asked and then frowned. Levi's warning bells were ringing when the guy suddenly leaned closer and grabbed his arm.
"Woah", the reeking fuckwit breathed out. "You've got some serious muscle around your bones. You might be useful at some point."
"Okay", the captain breathed out, still a bit startled. Another two of the fuckers suddenly walked by.
"Everything alright with the shortstack there?" the other grinned.
"Sure, sure", was the answer. Levi was really hoping that the guy would let go of his arm already, because his self-control was pretty much on it's breaking point. He could beat the shit out of these three if he wanted to, but for the sake of the villagers he'd have to suck it in.
"Just look at the muscle on this kid", the cockwumble holding Levi said enthusiastically. The other two shitstacks walked closer.
"Would you look at that", one of them smirked. "Been doing some heavy lifting, kid?"
"Something like that", Levi answered dryly. He didn't enjoy how all the fuckers were like a foot taller than he was.
"But why is it so small?" one of them wondered. Levi's fist clenched, but he forced himself to look down. Tonight, Levi. Just last this one more day and tonight you can fuck up these useless sacks of shit.
"Could it be a threat to us?" one frowned.
"Nah", the other answered. "He's way too small. Look at the bastard. Didn't drink enough milk as a child."
Levi was counting slowly to ten inside his head and he did it over again once he got to ten. Meanwhile the shitstains kept spewing their shit at him.
"We should totally fight with this one!"
"You think you could keep him one arm away?"
"I certainly could lift him with one arm!"
Levi gritted his teeth and breathed some air out. "I should be on my way now", he managed to grunt out and looked down to avoid giving the bandits some stabbing glares. It could make them mad.
"Nah, come on", one of the fuckers smirked. "Let's have a few rounds."
"Don't you think it's a bit unfair?" Levi asked innocently.
"He is a bit too small to fight seriously with", he admitted. "But come on, I haven't beaten anyone up in ages."
Levi closed his eyes for a moment. These people were asking for a fight. It wasn't his fault, for once. But should he fight or should he do just refuse? He would definitely get beaten up he didn't fight back.
The other bandits went a bit further away. Some other villagers had stopped to watch and so had a few other bandit patrollers.
"Come on then, shortie", the fuckwit grinned. "I'm going to give you the first hit for free."
Levi raised his brows. "No thanks", he answered.
"Really? Well, suit yourself", was the answer. The bandit raised his hands to the basic fight position. Levi did the same, bringing his clenched fists to the front of his chest, taking a steady stand in the dirt.
The bandit grinned once again, showing his reeking, yellow-and-black teeth. Then he grunted out in bloodlust and dashed forward. Levi almost raised his eyebrows. This was ridiculous.
When the bandit's fist was a second away from his face, he ducked and kicked the guy in the stomach. He heard a loud 'uuuf'-sound leave his opponent's lips and watched as the guy fell to the ground, coughing and catching his breath.
He was spitting through spitted teeth, and Levi felt the other bandits laugh at him. The villagers were watching the fight with both hope and worry in their eyes. Levi shared their feelings – he couldn't help he was enjoying when he got to hurt these pisspuddles. He would maybe have to hold back, though – just as he was doing right now. Just one kick to the stomach when he could have beaten the shit out of this guy.
"I'll show you-" the man grunted out, but Levi was tired of his shit. The captain dashed forward and with a quick roundhouse kick he knocked the man out on the ground.
"Damn", the bandits whistled. "Come on, Gellert, get the fuck up!"
"He got beaten up by that little haystick!"
"Are you kidding me?"
Levi glared at the unmoving fucktard, before nodding to the guy's friends. He slowly started making his way out of the open. The man couldn't help but feel a bit unnerved when a few bandits were staring after him. He sure hoped he'd dodged the bullet.
"Levi", one of the villagers, a young man called Lucian, patted him on the shoulder. "Aren't they going to realize who you are? I mean, you used military-taught techniques, right?"
Levi scoffed. "Who said I was taught to fight in the military?"
That night, Levi sat in front of a furnace, drinking a cup of tea. He had been living with a pleasant family for three days now, and they had been honored to offer him a place to sleep. The night they had all been waiting for was only five hours away. Levi had been concerned that the way these people gossiped would end up being the death of him, but apparently they knew their business. The shitstacks, as Levi liked to call them, didn't suspect a thing. Their leader, however, was getting rather impatient. They had thought that the Survey Corps would have arrived immediately.
Levi stared into the flames when Abel, the family's eight-year-old son along with her five-year-old twin sisters and their three-year-old brother Remus rushed to sit next to him.
"Levi-kun, could you please show us a magic trick again?" Abel begged with his bright virid eyes wide open.
"Pleeeease?" asked the twin girls in unison. The fire created an orange halo around their hazel curls. The family's mother, Moira, was smiling widely at them. Levi sighed before pulling out a coin.
"Just one", he said and showed them the silver coin. He saw it's shiny reflection from their huge, bright eyes.
"You can see this coin, right?" Levi asked with a dramatic tone. All four kids nodded with determination and excitement. "It's right here in my fingers..." he lowered his voice, twisted his fingers a little, making the coin disappear "and now it's gone."
The kids laughed in awe. "It's there..." Levi teased, rolling the coin back to his fingertips, "and then it's gone."
They tried to follow the movements of his long, bony fingers as closely as they could, but still couldn't figure out how he did it. Levi rolled the coin back to his fingers for one last time, before tossing to Abel.
"That was amazing, Levi-kun", he grinned.
"Time for you to go to sleep", he murmured.
"Couldn't you tell us a story of how you killed titans?" one of the twins asked.
Levi looked back into the fire. "I'm afraid those would be too scary for bedtime stories."
"What about the shadow animals?" Remus asked. Levi sighed patiently.
"Fine. Let's do ten shadow animals, and then you go to sleep?"
"Yes!" they all exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Promise?"
"We swear!"
Levi shifted on his chair, watching how the light of the fire danced on the wall. He raised his hands, and twisted his fingers into a right position.
"That's a rabbit!" Abel giggled.
"Correct", Levi replied as he changed the position of his fingers. "How about this?"
"Is that a duck?" asked the skinnier of the two twins – Frederica, if Levi remembered her name right. He was quite sure the other one was called Filippa.
"It is a duck", Levi admitted. The third shape appeared on the wall.
"A goat!" the kids guessed in unison.
Levi made them a fox, a stag, a rooster, a spider and a horse.
"How about this one?"
He used both of his hands to form another shadow.
"That's a snail", giggled Remus.
"Alright, last one", Levi promised before creating one last shadow.
"Wings of freedom" Abel said quietly, when he saw the dove that was now dancing on the wall. Levi lowered his hands.
"Damn right", he said quietly. "Tomorrow you'll all be free, I promise."
The children nodded and kept staring at him with those huge, bright eyes of theirs.
"Will you and dad fight tonight?" Filippa asked. Levi nodded at her.
"Me, and both of your parents. Aunt Teresa will come and get you when it's time."
They all nodded. Abel tried to look brave, but Levi could see his bottom lip tremble.
"You're humanity's strongest soldier, right?" Abel asked.
"And you will keep mommy and daddy safe?" added Frederica. Levi looked at the four in front of him and sighed, kneeling in front of them so that his head was in the same level with theirs.
"I will do my best. And I think my best is pretty good, eh?" he flashed them a smile. Suddenly Abel wrapped his thin arms around Levi's chest, and Remus and the twins followed their big brother's example. Levi was slightly surprised, but pulled the four kids closer and hugged them back.
"Now then", he said. "You promised me you'd go to sleep."
"We will!" the exclaimed. "Good night, Levi-kun!"
"Good night", he answered and watched as the children ran to the other side of the house into their bedroom.
Levi took a sip from his now cooled down tea and watched from the corner of his eye as Moira and the family father, Alarick, walked to him and sat next to him by the fire.
"Not long now", Moira said quietly and squeezed Alarick's hand.
"It'll be fine", Levi murmured. "Survey Corps backup forces are here already, I'm sure of it. The only thing we'll have to worry about is not dying, the soldiers will deal with the rest."
"We want to fight, too", Alarick grunted out and turned his bright blue eyes towards Levi.
"I know. Just don't die, is what I'm saying", Levi replied as he took another sip.
"You said you had a good plan?" Moira asked with a low tone.
Levi smiled into his cup. "Yes, I do."
Levi crouched behind the barrels. The leader of the shitlords was sleeping in the village leader's house, and there were two guards right on his door at all times. His hiding spot was just around the corner. He slowly raised his hand to give a sign to the five men, who were crouching right behind him, rubbing some rum to their clothes.
Two of the men walked into the open, pushing each other roughly.
"Who the fuck do you think you are, huh?" the other one blustered.
"Hey! This is the curfew time, you maggots!" the guards shouted and took big steps towards them. Levi nodded to the rest of the guys, and they quickly made their way to their friends. They bandit guards were getting really pissed and yelled and pushed the "drunk" villagers.
"I'll give you a lesson, boy..."
"What the bloody hell is going on?" an angry voice rumbled from the front door of the house. Levi took a deep breath. That was their guy, and now was his chance. As the leader's voice thundered angrily all over the yard, Levi quickly and quietly sneaked to the porch and straight inside. The villagers had started to run away in their "drunken" state, and though the bandits were rough and threatened to do all kinds of things, Levi knew that they were merely threats. They would end up in the cell, but that was the plan. The village leader needed to know what was going on.
It was dark inside. It took a while until his eyes adjusted, but then he recognized the familiar gear on a chair next to a huge bed. Levi quickly groped the straps to his hands and ran to the window. He opened it carefully, without making a noise, and dropped the leather straps. He could hear the leader bandit finish his roaring, and the captain's blood ran cold as the guy's heavy steps were approaching. There were no swords, unfortunately. Levi grabbed the rest of the gear and quietly as a mouse, hanged from the window until the metal hit the ground almost without a sound. He managed to jump down and push the window shut just in time.
:.:
Levi sat on the ground under the window for a few seconds, catching his breath and waiting for his new accomplices, who should arrive anytime now. He heard the shitwad fall onto his bed inside the house. The guards would be back anytime now, but the crucial part at this moment was to keep quiet.
"Captain Levi?" a quiet voice hissed.
The short man turned his head and saw the two fifteen-year-olds who he had chosen for this part.
"Quiet but quick", Levi murmured under his breath as the boys grabbed the gear. Levi carried the sword casings in his both arms. Together the three skinny figures disappeared into the shadows of the narrow streets.
"Not long now, brats", Levi thought as he glanced at the forest, that was looming in the distance.
After managing to hide from three more bandit guards, they sneaked into a house that belonged to other of the boys. There was a hatch on the floor that lead to the underground basement. It also happened to be the base of this whole crew.
Levi glanced at the ten people standing in the room. And grabbed the equipment the boys had been carrying.
"You made it!" on of the guys sighed in relief.
"Marius is in place? And the five others?" Levi asked as he started to tie up the straps around him.
"They've been there since afternoon", someone answered.
"Great. When I'm ready, we'll move on to the next stage", he said. "You're ready already, aren't you Lucian?"
"I've been ready since my birth", the young man grinned.
"That's the spirit."
:.:
The keymaster's house was luckily far away from the leader's. And, it was a high, three-floored building, which was exactly why they had planned the order of this plan the way they did. Levi was happy to be in a maneuver gear once again – even though he had no swords. He had to admit that the whole situation caused him a huge déjà vu-experience. His clothes, his role, his swordless gear… it was like he was in the Underground City all over again. Except this time he was leading a rebellion.
Levi nodded to Lucian and shot himself up on the keymaster's house roof. There was a window on the roof – and that window was the thing that made all of this possible. He pulled out a nail and a pin from his pocket, and went to work.
The whole plan was about to burn down, when an unseen guard appeared from behind the corner. Levi rolled behind the chimney with his heart pounding, and listened to the bandit guard's steps.
"Move, move, move", Levi grimaced. The bandit guard took his time, several painful minutes, but finally he disappeared out of sight. The captain let out the breath he'd been holding.
The lock was a tricky one, but Levi got it open. They needed actual keys, for lockpicking was not reliable. They had a backup plan for everything, but luckily none of them had been needed yet. It was all going so well it was almost ridiculous.
Levi dropped the pin on the ground as a sign for Lucian that he had made it inside. The younger man was currently hiding behind a stack on boxes. Levi made sure his maneuver gear hooks were properly attached to the chimney, before he went inside.
He could hear the keymaster's snoring all the way upstairs. Levi wrinkled his nose at the smell – this person sure wasn't the cleanliest one…
The captain knew he had to move carefully and quietly not to make a noise. He needed to be slow in his moves to not wake this pig up…
Levi made it to the next floor, and that's where the shitty bandit was snoring. The captain got slight nausea from the smell of alcohol and sweat, that was floating around the guy. The fat pig had a rough beard, a scar across his face and a big nose. Levi noticed to his horror, that the ring of keys was attached on the bastard's belt – and the belt was still on him.
The captain cursed his luck, but still crept closer. He would have to try. Judging by the amount of liquor bottles around him, he'd be sleeping like a baby.
Levi rubbed nervously his hands together and twiddled his fingers before raising his sleeves and finally leaning over the snoring guy. A rotten breath hit his face when the man's mouth opened in his sleep, and Levi had to cover his mouth and nose to stop himself from gagging.
The captain couldn't help it that the keys clinked and jingled against each other. To Levi's horror, the man suddenly changed his position and turned to his stomach. The keys were under him, now.
How the fuck am I supposed to get them now?
Levi grimaced. He gently grabbed the belt and slowly pulled the leather so that the keys would eventually show up.
"Mama!" the man suddenly cried out in his sleep. It startled Levi and he stumbled backwards a few steps, hitting a bottle on the floor with the heel of his shoe.
Levi grimaced again, but didn't give up. He approached the man once again – the keys were almost in his grasp.
That's when the man's small, raisin-colored eyes shot open and he grabbed Levi's arm.
"Mother! I'm so sorry!"
Levi was frozen still. Should he knock the guy out?
"Mother, will you forgive me?" the guy whimpered on.
"I am very disappointed in you", Levi said with a harsh tone. "You'll have to do better than this."
The bandit started sobbing. "I'm so sorry, mama..."
"You never went to sleep when I told you to. You can still redeem yourself if you listen to me now", Levi put his words out carefully.
"I will do whatever you say, ma!" the man's slurry eyes brightened.
"Go to sleep."
"Yes, ma!"
The man obeyed and put his head on the pillow. "Wuv ya, ma", he slurred before his breath took a steady, sleepy rhythm. Levi needed to a catch his own breath before he finally grabbed the keys and pressed them against his chest.
Very slowly and very quietly Levi sneaked back upstairs. He shot the cables to the chimney with a clank that was a little louder than he expected, but as he froze to place and listened, there was no commotion.
Mission number two, achieved. Levi quickly glanced around for guards, then slowly jumped next to Lucian.
"Got them", he murmured.
"You're the best", Lucina giggled under his breath and grabbed the keys. "This is the one for the sewers", he breathed out, as he threaded the key out of the ring. He grinned and squeezed the rusty key in his fist. Levi felt victorious too, but he knew that now it was when the real shit actually started.
"You know what to do", Levi murmured. Lucian nodded, and disappeared into the shadows.
Levi sneaked in the narrow alleys, making his way to the sheriff's office that also held the cells. The key ring was hanging on his belt. There was a bandit guard in the front, of the sheriff's office, slowly walking around the building. The captain quickly glanced inside and saw one more guard sitting inside.
That was quite alright, though – they didn't really need to be stealth anymore. As long as all the children, elders and one pregnant lady had been escorted out of the village to the sewers, the attack could truly begin. Right now a few of the good guys were aiding Lucian to get the vulnerable ones into the sewers. They would need to knock out a few guards, not to much fuss, but then it should be fine.
Levi sneaked around the corner, and practically walked into the arms of this huge bandit guard. He let out a sharp scream and pulled out his knife.
"You're breaking the curfew, you little rat!" he growled.
That's when Levi's inner captain woke up once again. He glared his opponent with cold, narrow eyes. This guy had no idea what he was getting into.
"I'll teach you-" the guy began, but Levi didn't want to hear any more bullshit. He ducked away of the massive guys hand, grabbed it and then, using his knee, broke the man's arm. Before the guy had a chance to scream, Levi had slit his throat with one of the knives that had been hanging on his belt (those knives had been hidden away in the basement for a few days, since officially the villagers weren't allowed to have any weapons.).
The man's limp body fell to the ground. Levi wiped the knife to the guy's shirt and wrinkled his nose. It was time.
Levi walked a few block further till he reached what he was looking for. The barrels. He kicked the nearest one, and hissed a command.
"It's time?"
"It's time."
Levi threw the keys to the man, who climbed out of the barrel. Four others followed and they made their way towards the sheriff's office. Levi would join them in a minute, but he had a task first.
Levi was using the 3DMG with it's maximum speed, and he whirled around the corners and alleys with the wind flowing through his hair. He had used most of the days by examining these streets.
The market place was right ahead. In the middle, there was a cart full of hay. Levi knew, that under all that hay there was a ten-year-old kid with a tinderbox. The captain whistled loudly, made sure that Marius had heard him, and then he had to run away from the three bandit guards who had realized he was up on the roofs.
"Catch me if you can", Levi grimaced. "Come on and chase me."
While the guards were distracted by Levi, the little boy Marius crouched out of the haystack, grinned at him with his hair full of hay and lit a match. He threw the burning stick into the cart, then lit another. Levi didn't stop to look as the cart started flaming.
The bandits had no chance at all to keep up with him. Some of the sleeping ones had woken up, too. And seemed to be quite eager to catch him. Levi decided not to lead them to the sheriff's office – he was sure that the guys could take out one guard.
Levi glanced towards the forest and felt exultation blossom in his heart. He could see his comrades. The fence guards had been wiped out and now the soldiers were all heading towards the village, maneuver gears glimmering in the night.
He raised his eyebrows as he saw a geared up bandit show up from around the corner. He knew there had been three stolen maneover gears in the village, and since he was wearing one himself, there were two left. Levi grimaced as the third one with gear showed up in front of him.
I kill titans, you little dickweeds. You actually think you can get me?
Levi pressed deliberately and with quick reflexes a few buttons on the handles he was holding. The cables suddenly went limp, letting Levi drop through the air. His chasers almost bumped into each other and they actually managed to get their cables in a knot-like mix.
Amateurs.
Levi almost touched the ground as he pulled himself through the air. Leaving the amateurs behind, he rose up high once again. The captain noticed how the now free head of the village was leading an angry group of farmers through the market place.
"Captain Levi!" he heard a familiar voice behind him. He glanced over his shoulder, and saw Eren landing right behind him. "You alright?"
"Obviously I'm alright", Levi grunted. "Do you mind if I borrow a pair of blades, though?"
"Of course not", Eren replied. The captain shoved his handles to the blades, that were hanging in Eren's sword casings. He glanced over his shoulder to see how the fight was going. They would win, no doubt.
"Come on then, brat", said Levi and jumped back in the air. Swirling and jumping, flying and whirling in the air, Levi knocked out at least four asshats. The fight was practically over by now, and not a single villager had died. There were a few injuries, but nothing lethal. The fuckers, in the other hand, had almost all been killed. There were seven survivors, along with the leader and the keymaster. Levi wrinkled his nose in disgust as he walked past the prisoners. They were spitting threats and curses to Levi, who had tricked them quite successfully. They were taken to the cells.
To his surprise, he found out that commander Erwin was present. He had lead the backup troupes in himself when he had heard the situation. When the fight was over, the tall man had walked over to Levi and squeezed his shoulder.
"You alright?" he had asked.
"Never better."
"Good work here."
"I'll give you a full report later. It's been interesting", Levi said with a lighter tone. The ones who had escaped the village were now returning, along with Rikki and Milo – and Levi's horse. And his clothes.
"Thank God", he murmured.
Levi changed back to his soldier uniform in a locked bedroom. He got back his own Maneuver gear and it felt amazing. The captain stepped outside feeling like himself once again. Erwin had apparently been waiting for him.
"It's time we returned home", the commander stated shortly before calling the Survey Corps on the village market place, that was the only place where there was enough space for everybody. Levi walked to Erwin's right side. He didn't usually like standing next to him because their height difference was even more visible then, but his position as the captain often required it. Hanji and Mike were standing on Erwin's left side. The Survey Corps troupes were all behind them, including Levi's own squad. They seemed quite happy to see their captain, which made him quite touched.
Every villager was now gathered in the market place, facing the Survey Corps troupes. The head of the village, now free and well, was obviously speaking for all the people.
"I can't even begin how thankful we are", he started with a firm, warm tone. "This village was under terror and we were horribly humiliated and mistreated by that scum. You saved us, and we have to thank not especially Captain Levi for his undercover efforts." Everyone's eyes darted to the short man, who simply nodded with a serious impression.
The Survey Corps answered by saluting. Commander began his own speech about the importance of freedom and shit like that, and the troupes kept saluting.
Levi noticed a little kid dashed forward from the crowd. It was Remus, and he was running with his short little feet straight towards Levi. He looked at the kid in shock as he wrapped his arms around the man's leg.
Erwin's speech never stopped, but the captain knew that everyone was looking at him. He could hear his squad giggling and whispering. Levi sighed and dropped knelt next to the little boy.
"Hey, Remus", he whispered to the boy's ear. "Want to salute with me? Like a real soldier?"
The boy's eyes lit up and he nodded multiple times after Levi's words. The captain straightened up brought his right fist to his chest and his left arm behind his back, and watched as Remus mimicked him with pride and stood up as straight as he could.
They had been riding back home for about an hour. It had taken a long time to leave, since pretty much every villager had wanted to personally say their goodbyes to Levi. His squad was very proud of their captain, and Eren knew that Erwin and Hanji were too. And the fact that the commander himself had shown up here just proved how much the snarky little cleanfreak meant to the people close to him.
Eren sure was happy the captain was alright. Over time he had grown fond of him, and would never wish any harm on him. Sure, the man was rude, cold and strict, but he was also understanding and wise – and even though they weren't on the friend-territory yet, Eren trusted Levi with his life. And that trust was a bond not easily achieved.
So I guess that can be read as Ereri if you squint really hard, right? Anyway, you can choose yourself how you want to read it. I suppose I ship it too a little... :) Only ship I'm going to use in this story is Connie x Sasha, but it's basically canon anyway :^) Also, I hope I didn't over-shoot it with the way Levi was handling the children? But I always thought that he'd be gentler and actually pretty cool with kids, you know? Hopefully you liked it ;-; Reviews really appreciated!
Supergurkan: I appreciate a follower like you and I'm so glad you like it. Hopefully I won't disappoint you with the future chapters :)