Prove Yourself

Levi's POV:

Leave time had rolled around faster than expected and HQ was crawling with soldiers packing up to go home and visit with their families. Stepping out of my office, I leaned against the doorframe and watched as people scurried up and down the halls. A little further down the way, Uma was saying goodbye to Franc who was loaded down with at least four canvas duffle bags. Why he needed to take so much shit with him was a mystery. He'd only be gone for five days.

The muscled giant stuck close to Uma ever since she saved his life. Wherever Uma went, Franc was never far behind. It was pretty idiotic, but I suppose he felt a strong sense of loyalty towards her now. Regardless, it was better than the two of them fighting.

By the middle of the afternoon, everything had settled down. HQ was basically empty except for a few stragglers and myself. Leave time meant I got to catch up on all the shitty paperwork and red tape that was passed my way. Unfortunately, I couldn't force myself to get it done without coffee. Leaving my office, I went down to the mess hall to get a cup… what I knew would be the first of many.

Walking down the hall, I saw Uma heading in the opposite direction. Usually, she looked so purposeful, but at the moment she seemed to be aimlessly wandering, like she was bored. Right then I decided the paperwork would have to wait. After all, the most pressing matter on my hands at the moment was right there in front of me. Our eyes locked as I approached her.

"Leave time's started, Belova. You got anywhere to go?" I asked, figuring she didn't.

"No."

"Good. Then you're here with me." I told her.

Needless to say, the tension was palpable, not that I gave a shit. Still, she hadn't tried to avoid me, which I gave her credit for. Usually the people who knew they were on my shit list ran and hid. Not her though. She was one of the only people I knew who would face me head on.

Just then, I could see Uma pull an uncomfortable expression that told me she wanted to say something. I was about to ask her if she were constipated but she spoke up before I could.

"Captain… I'm sorry for raising my voice the other day. It was out of line." She told me. It was more of an admission rather than an apology. Still, knowing how stubborn she was, it must have killed her to say it.

"What about disobeying my orders?" I asked pointedly. She stared at me, dead silent, that defiant spark flaring up behind her eyes. I could tell she wasn't going to give on this one. "Tch- thought as much."

Uma was the most stubborn, prideful woman I had ever met. Even now, when she was in deep shit, she still stuck to her guns. Clearly, I had a knack for picking talent. I didn't resent her for it. Actually, I admired her fire. And though I promised Erwin I would tame her, the more I saw of her, the more I realized I didn't actually want to break her spirit. Uma was not like other soldiers. Hell, she was not like other women. I hated to admit it, but I had developed somewhat of a personal interest in her. I wasn't quite sure what that was, but it was enough to continue baiting my curiosity.

Regardless, I couldn't let that compromise my judgment regarding the safety of my squad. Something about this dynamic had to change or disaster was imminent. It seemed like the only way to do that was to push aside all the military bullshit and settle things my way. I had decided what to do couple days ago and now was as good a time as any to determine her fate.

"You're never going to regret that decision are you?" I muttered.

"No." Her answer was simple, honest, and defiant.

"Good, then whatever happens next shouldn't matter. Get your gear on and meet me at the training forest." I told her.

Uma's heated expression immediately twisted into one of startled confusion.

"What?"

"Just do it, Belova." I told her. With that, I walked off.

TITANTITANTITANTITAN

I waited at the edge of the forest for about ten minutes, fully outfitted in my 3DMG gear, before I saw Uma making her way across the field towards me. She came prepared, as I had asked her to.

"Sir, what are we doing out here?" She asked, adjusting the blade holsters at her sides.

"You're going to show me why I should keep you around." I told her, bluntly.

The only thing that gave away her surprise was the slightest widening of her eyes. Usually she was so controlled, I was somewhat pleased I could catch her off-guard.

"I'll admit, I'm a little pissed off I couldn't catch you in the Titan Forest." I told her, looking off into the trees. The terrain was ideal for my purposes. "I want to see if you're really the badass everyone says you are."

Uma's jaw tightened as she stared at me with her narrowed eyes.

"How are we going to determine that?" she asked.

"Simple. We replay the scenario. You run… I'll chase." I said, nodding in the direction of the training woods. "If you win, I'll forget about how you fucked up the other day. If I win, you're out of my squad."

A heavy silence passed between us before she answered me.

"Fine." She said, knowing she didn't have a choice. I could tell she was starting to sweat now. After all, the stakes were high. Still, I didn't give a shit. If she was too nervous to perform well, then too fucking bad. If that was the case, she didn't deserve to be in my squad anyway. This was the way we were going to settle things.

"You'll have a five second head start." I told her, taking my position in front of the forest. "Begin whenever you want."

She watched me standing there with some hesitation and, I'm sure, resentment. Clenching her fists together, she walked up next to me and let out a frustrated sigh. Her expression grew stony once more, that fire I now associated her with lighting behind her eyes.

"Alright. Fuck it." She growled. A second later, she shot off into the trees.

The moment her feet left the ground, I began counting down from five in my head. Belova wasn't going to win this… not by a long shot. Reaching zero, I tore off after her.

Within the first minute of the chase, I realized she was just as determined to escape me, as I was to catch her. She was doing a damn good job of evading me too. Every time I got close, she'd find an escape and put a couple feet of distance between us once more.

Her moves weren't even the slightest bit jerky or forced, every execution was flawless making her seem like she rode on the wind. If she suddenly sprouted wings and flew off, I wouldn't be fucking surprised. I always knew she was good, but this was damn impressive. It seemed this was going to push me to my limits as well. Unfortunately for her, I refused to lose.

Seeing an opening, I threw out a grappling line and snared her around the ankle. I watched as lead she was attached to spooled out farther and farther until she was quite literally at the end of her rope. I had her right where I wanted her until the second before the line went completely taught and she twisted around and sliced through it with her blade. Shit. I hadn't brought any spares with me. I was going to have to ground her immediately or else I'd never catch her.

I had an idea, but I couldn't get cocky about it or I might eviscerate her. Pulling out my blades and flipping them into a reverse hold, I rocketed towards Uma. Spinning in a tight corkscrew, as I shot across her back. Spotting my target, I sliced through both her grappling lines, sending her tumbling towards the ground. Kicking off of the nearest tree trunk, I jumped after her, using a bit of gas so I could reach her before she hit the dirt. I only wanted to defeat her, not maim her.

Catching up, I wrapped an arm tightly around her waist while shooting my one grappling line into a sturdy tree limb above us. Just as the line snapped tight, catching our fall, I saw Uma reach into her boot, pulling out a four-inch blade. Damn it! She moved so fast, I wasn't able stop her. One precise slice to my harness and half my gear went flying off, including the grappling device we were attached to.

We tumbled to the ground in a big heap, rolling across the grass, still holding onto one another as we fought for dominance. Now I was pissed. When we finally slowed down, Uma used the last bit of momentum to force herself on top of me, her muscled legs straddling my hips and her hands tightly gripping my shirt as she pushed me down into the grass.

"I win," she huffed out angrily, thinking that just because she pinned me down she was the victor.

"Tch, doubt that," I grumbled, my arm shooting up from my side as I knocked my open palm against her chin. Once I made contact I grabbed a hold of her face and pushed her off me. Before I could get her down to the ground, she brought her leg up and kicked me square in the gut, sending me backwards across the dirt.

I could see her scramble to her feet with the time she bought and begin to search for something in the grass. Realizing she was looking for her boot knife, I immediately jumped to standing and ran at her. She was already picking something up as I hooked her around the middle and threw her back down to the ground.

This time, I was on top of her, and as fortune would have it, there was a sword from my destroyed gear lying next to her head. The blade was broken off, only a four-inch shiv of steel remaining. Grabbing it up, I firmly held it down at her throat in a hammer-fisted hold. I now burned with determination to see her yield to me. It wasn't until I felt the cold touch of steal on my neck that I realized she had the blade of her boot knife pressed across my jugular. Fuck. She had me just as I had her. At this point, there was nothing more we could do, short of killing each other. The fight had ended in a draw.

AN: REVIEW FAVOR FOLLOW! I'm so sorry this took so long to update. I've been extremely busy the past few weeks. Also, I was having trouble mapping out the direction I am taking this story. However, I think I have everything settled now. I'm just starting to realize how hard writing a 'Levi romance' actually is. I want Uma to stand alone as her own person and yet be someone Levi would realistically connect with. UP NEXT: being their fight ended in a draw, will Levi let Uma stay in Squad Levi, or is she sent down another path?