So this next chapter has pretty much skipped a lot of ground, and now we're at the time around episode 15 where Eren joins Squad Levi and between the part where the whole anime time lapsed to a month later when they left for the expedition.

CHAPTER 11

I couldn't say I didn't feel bad when Captain Levi disciplined Eren Jaeger. But for me to question the Captain's authority by stopping him would be inappropriate, so I held my tongue. I knew Levi would be making the right choices, but that also doesn't mean that I didn't think that Eren couldn't be helped a little.

As night fell, I sat up in my room, with the window open, letting in the lightest summer breeze into my room. I sat at my desk, pen in hand, and a stack of papers sprawled across the wooden surface. I knew I should write to my parents, but what should I tell them? They worried about me enough as it was, so I didn't want to write that I was staying in a castle with the famed titan-shifting boy, and then that I was going to go off to an expedition to the unknown—again—in a month. I sighed, and placed the pen onto the table, closing my eyes briefly.

It was pretty warm out, so letting air into the room was nice. Over the course of an hour, I hoped that maybe I would find the words to put onto the paper, but they never came. Instead I found myself thinking about the boy Eren Jaeger.

I was surprised when they first told us that we were to get a sixth member, as I thought that five was already pretty solid. When they said that, the first thing I thought was that somehow we had fallen short and they thought of us as inadequate, but thoughts like that wouldn't helped. So I brushed them away, and thought that having a sixth member wouldn't be too bad. At least it'd mean that we'd finally have an even number of people.

But then a few days before his arrival, they told us a bit more about him. First they said that we were moving. Second, they told us why. Naturally, I was surprised and filled with shock. I had heard rumors about an aberrant titan running around killing other titans, but I never thought I'd meet the titan. Much less that they'd actually be a human. Initially, I was extremely cautious, and was mentally preparing myself to kill the guy at any second of the day. But then one more factor was added: he was only fifteen.

The rain had started without my notice, and wet droplets fell through the open window, threatening to stain my paper. I hurried over, and slammed the window shut before it could do anymore damage, and gazed out. The sky was covered in a dark gray veil, and it began raining harder and harder. Despite that, it was still warm.

I opened the door to my room, and left it wide open in an attempt to let some cool air in, then returned to my desk where I continued to stare at the blank page. The candles in the halls were still lit, so I assumed that meant that nobody had made the final check around the castle. But as it was so late, I assumed that everyone was preparing for bed. Personally, I didn't mind the uniform, and was still wearing it despite this first arduous day of cleaning. Even after slaving away today, we still had so much more to clean. It's times like these that I wished that Levi was a slob.

A few minutes later, I heard footsteps. I glanced over my shoulder, and saw that the lights in the hall were being extinguished one by one, while a single candle forged its way through the darkness. It meant that someone had finally came and was doing the final checks. I didn't recall who was doing it, I only knew it wasn't my turn, so all the details were lost.

I pretended to work, but began to put everything away. It was getting late, and it wasn't like I was going to get anything done at this rate. Better to stow my materials away before I spilled ink on all the pages.

I placed them all neatly into an empty drawer, then opened the one right above it where I stored some of the belongings I had packed when coming here. Inside was a leather bound book, which I slipped under my arm.

I turned around once again, and noticed that all the surroundings lights were put out. I looped my thumb through the handle of my candlestick, and set out of my room.

It was incredibly quiet in the entire castle, which was no surprise given how few of us were occupying the complex. But even then, I felt like it was emptier with nothing to occupy it—no light, no people, only the lightning to keep me company. These thoughts didn't exactly comfort me as I walked down the dark corridors, with only a small flame to keep my company.

I reached the end of the hall where it split into two, and held my candle up, moving it around slowly until it shined on a small golden doorknob. I opened the door, and there was the linen closet.

I removed my book from under my arm, struggling in an effort to keep the candle for touching anything, but finally prevailing and setting it down on a wool comforter on the shelf.

With my right hand, I ran the candle up and down, until I finally found a blue blanket, folded neatly. It was one of the few items I had brought that really reminded me of home. It was a knit blanket that my mother had made for me when I was younger. I touched its soft surface, and felt a wave of happiness and nostalgia rush through me. It would feel so nice to bring it back to my room, and just go to bed. However, I felt that there was someone else in this castle who could use it more than me.

I wrapped it around my book crudely, just so that it'd be easier to carry, then closed the door with the tip of my boot.

I turned around, and went down the hall to the left, which eventually split off to many other areas such as the armory and basement.

I walked with the sound of booming thunder for several minutes. Every moment filled me with a little bit of fear, but now that I had a piece of home to comfort me, I was filled with courage. The lightning didn't bother me that much. And it was a fairly short walk to the basement, especially if I quickened my pace.

A couple of minutes later, I was skipping down the stone stairs that led to the basement. I tried to keep my tread light and quiet, just in case Eren was asleep. As a precaution I blew out my candle before opening the door.

To my surprise, a candle was lit in his room. It was a fairly small area, with just barely enough room for a bed and desk. It would've been small, even for me, and Eren was much bigger than me. Maybe I could convince Levi to let him sleep upstairs…?

Eren sat on his bed, looking tensely at a key strung onto a necklace. He didn't notice me until I stepped on a wooden board that creaked. When I did, he looked up, startled. His expression was fierce, as if he was ready to put up a fight, but once he saw me, he softened.

"Oh, Miss Petra. It's you. What're you doing here?" I smiled at him, then walked over to his bedside.

"I thought it might be a little lonely down here, so I wanted to bring you something." I slipped my blanket off of the book, and handed it to him. He looked at it in surprise, then smiled at me.

"Thanks, but I don't need it. Anyways, you look at it like you have a special attachment to it." he replied.

I smiled at him once again. He was so endearingly sweet. "It is special to me," I sat down on the bed beside him. "My mother made it for me when I was younger." I said, fingering the blanket. "I thought that maybe it'd be nice to have something. I was hoping it could remind you of your mother."

"My mother…" he whispered softly, almost inaudible.

Eren was such a young boy, and I had no idea what he went through. .Something told me it must've been enough to push him to join the military at twelve. I gazed sadly at him. His eyes were filled with an unspeakable amount of sorrow, as if a memory had come back to him, and it obviously wasn't a sweet one.

Eren Jaeger. Humanity's last hope. A titan shifter, exiled. A soldier in the suicidal Survey Corps. But also, just a boy. A fifteen year old boy. A child.

"Eren, why don't you get into bed?" I said, forcing a smile back onto my face.

"Eh?" I laid him down forcibly so that he was lying on the bed, and pulled the covers up around him until the sheets were tucked under his chin.

When I had first stepped into this room I thought that it was the perfect winter escape from all the heat up above. It was until a bit later that I realized that it was too cold in the basement.

I wrapped my blue blanket on top of him, much to his protest, then sat down next to his pillow.

"Miss Petra, you honestly don't have to baby me, I'm fine!"

I gave a small laugh, then lifted Eren's head so that it laid back on my knees. I brushed at his hair, trying to get him to calm down.

He stopped his protests, and didn't say anything else. But he was still up. Anyone would have a difficult time sleeping down here.

"There once was a poor boy, who lived on a farm." I said softly, still stroking his hair. He didn't move, and I took it to be a good sign. So I continued to tell the story, knowing it already by heart. I tried to use my softest most melodic voice to tell this story, as I wanted Eren to be lulled into the sweetest dreams. I closed my eyes as I told this story, thinking back to the times my parents told me this.

As the story started to come to an end, I heard Eren's breathing start to slow to constant deep breaths, alerting me that he'd fallen asleep. I finished the story, and all I could hear was Eren's breathing. He looked so at peace when he was sleeping.

I lifted his head off gently, placing it onto the pillow, making sure not to disrupt him. I decided to leave the storybook at his bedside table. Even if I wasn't able to come and wait till he drifted asleep, he could still read the book.

I kissed his forehead, smiling down at this small child. It made me sad how the world we lived in stole the sweet innocence that only children had. But that was precisely the reason why I was fighting. So little ones like him could sleep peacefully every night.

I rose from the bed, then blew out his candle, and made my way out of the room.

When I arrived back in the hallway, I started to walk back the way I came, when the sudden realization that I had no light to guide me back through this lightning storm. I was filled with a slight panic that the one thing that had kept me tethered and safe from my fears was gone.

I sighed, trying to recollect myself and say that it was fine—this place was going to be my home for a while. I might as well get used to it. And surely there would be summer showers very often. I would just have to get over the lightning.

I stumbled through the darkness, running my fingers along the walls to stabilize myself and make sure I wasn't going to miss the hall that led back to my room…eventually.

I tapped my fingers against the wall aimlessly, trying to find something to distract myself from the cracking thunder around me. A streak of blue lightning flashed on the wall beside me, and I jumped back. I had never been comfortable during always seemed like it had some evil intentions, like it was forever searching for something to attack, never sated. I managed to keep my fear at bay and a secret. After joining the army, I had thought that my fears were gone. And they almost were. Almost.

I jumped back in surprise when my fingers ran against someone as I turned the corner. Then I bumped into Levi. He caught me before I could fall, then straightened me back up.

"Petra? Why are you still up? It's pretty late." Levi said.

"Ah, yes. I was returning to my room actually. But I forgot to bring a candle, and…"

"Where'd you come from?"

"I went to go check on Eren." I admitted.

"Eren? He's fine down there. You honestly don't have to coddle him so much Petra."

"But he's a boy!"

"He's a soldier. And a titan. We have to keep him down there Petra. You trust me, don't you?"

His comment suddenly took me aback, and I turned my head away from him, prepared to run off, even if that meant running off towards the thunderstorm.

"Y-yes…" I replied cautiously.

"Good. Then I'm walking you back to your room before you trip and break your face." Levi stated firmly, wrapping his arm around my waist.

I glanced away bashfully, but even so, I felt relieved to have someone with me. I wouldn't have to go through the hallway of blue blazes alone, because I had Levi here to come and help me through it. I heaved out a sigh.

I could almost feel Levi's questioning eyes on me as we walked in silence, the only sound was our boots on the wooden floor.

"It…it might not be a great idea for us to be like this…what if someone saw us?" I said quietly.

Levi shrugged. "I doubt anybody would be walking around this castle this late. Plus, it's dark in the halls."

I caught a faint blue flicker of light behind me, streaming in through the window, and then it came. That awful sound that terrorized me as a child. The splintered sound of thunder. It crashed through the silence, and made me jump in both fear and shock. The blue light only offers so much warning.

Levi stopped walking, and only then did I realize that I had a slight quiver, shaking ever so slightly. I pressed my hands together, in an attempt to try to hide its minute movement.

"Oh, it looks like there's a storm outside." I said, trying to lighten the mood, but even then, I realized that my voice was shaky and unstable.

The sound of thunder came back, and I shivered, folding my arms into myself. I squeezed my whole self together, because it made me feel just a little bit better.

When the sound passed, I opened my eyes back up, and realized that Levi had enveloped me in his arms during the few moments when the thunder had came.

I took in a few deep breaths and tried to calm myself. It was gone, and shouldn't be back for a few moments. I could have a minute of peace.

It finally dawned on me that I was instead the Captain's arms, and my cheeks started to grow hot almost instantaneously.

"Petra. You never told me that you were afraid of thunder." he said, his voice monotonous. I dropped my gaze.

"Yeah. I didn't want to tell anybody because I didn't want to be a bother." I replied.

Levi didn't say anything. Instead he pressed me closer to him so that my chin was lying on his shoulder, then picked me up.

When I was first lifted into the air, I didn't know what was happening. But Levi did it so nonchalantly, as if this was the most obvious thing to do in the world right now. He began walking, and didn't seem even slightly disturbed by carrying extra weight.

"Eh?" I exclaimed. I felt every bump whenever he stepped, and to say I was scared is an understatement. I was terrified. Yes I trusted the Captain. But I also felt like I would drop, fall on the floor, and die. Come to think of it, it could've been a better alternative.

"P-please put me down." I stammered.

"It'll go faster this way. And anyways, you're light." Levi replied.

I kept in my last protest, biting my tongue like Auruo when the sound of thunder came back. I buried my face into Levi, and tried to become smaller like at first. Egad.

Levi quickened his pace, which I obviously couldn't ignore. I wrapped my arms around his neck to reassure myself that I wasn't going to fall and break open my skull. That would be bad.

I opened my eyes and watched the lightning streak down the wooden floor where we were just a second ago. My eyes, which were drooping from drowsiness a second ago, flipped back open. I groaned. It seemed like I'd never be at peace.

"We're almost there Petra." Levi said, hugging me. "So just make sure you don't piss on me or anything."

"EH?" I exclaimed. My cheeks burned and I my head popped off of Levi's back. "Where did you get that idea?" I demanded fiercely. Trust Levi to fit in some joke about shit or pissing at a moment like this.

Levi's lips brushed my cheek, and I could tell he was certainly entertained by this whole setup. My chest seized, and my cheeks flared up once again. I resigned to laying back on his shoulder, and bunched my hands up into his jacket, not caring if I wrinkled it.

"Your heart is beating fast, Petra." Levi commented.

"No it's not." I protested, feeling it pulse faster. "Just get me back to my room."

"When did you get so spunky all of a sudden? Talking to a superior like that?"

I buried my face into his shoulder, and closed my eyes. "Please say you're not enjoying this."

Silence.

Good thing he was higher ranking, otherwise…

Levi kicked the door open, per usual, then set me down on my bed. I watched him pull the sheets from under me, almost ripping it out from under the mattress. Then, he yanked my boots off, and set them at the foot of my bed. Finally he tucked me in, pulling the covers up to my chin, just like I did when I was with Eren at first.

All that time, Levi's face seemed so intent on completely his task. It almost looked endearing. But then I remembered that he was tucking me into bed, and looked away, blushing.

He moved to the windows, and pulled the curtains over it, keeping the brightness of the lightning outside out of my room. Then he pulled the chair to my bed, and sat by my side.

I looked up at him expectantly, and he glanced back down at me.

His expression softened, and he placed his hand on my hair, petting me. I shyed away from his gaze.

"All six of us are going out tomorrow to look over the plans for the upcoming expedition. And…we will have a picnic." Levi said, choking out the words as if they were foreign to him. "You should sleep."

He stroked my hair, and I couldn't help but notice how comforting it felt. My eyes closed, but though sleep was coming to claim me soon, I still felt…almost nervous. I pretended that I was falling asleep, but I knew it would be a while before that happened.

My eyes cracked back open, and I caught Levi's fleeting look of surprise when I glanced up at him. Looks like I got him for once.

"Not tired?" he asked.

I shook my head in response.

"Well I feel like shit." he deadpanned. I smiled at him, feeling caught in the state between sleep and reality. I raised my hand to his cheek, and he held it there, cupping his own over mine.

"You should go sleep." I said, echoing his words.

"I will. When you're asleep."

"So what if I don't sleep?"

"Then I'll be stuck in this fucking chair all night. Maybe I should just go get some coffee."

I smiled. "Then let's go." I said, rising from my position.

Levi removed my hand from his face, brushing it softly over his lips before giving it back to me.

"If you're awake when I come back, we'll drink the coffee. If you're asleep, I'll leave the coffee on your desk." he stated, exiting the room.

After he closed the door, I curled up into a ball, and held my hand to my chest, hugging it tightly. Levi.

I couldn't help but question what I had just done. Was it bad? Should I have done it? I mulled over all of my past actions, namely the more recent ones, and wondered why and if Levi actually liked me.

Of course he liked me. But…maybe he didn't. I'm his subordinate. Of course not.

I was starting to sound like a middle school girl. This was awful.

Before I knew it, I started thinking of all the times I spent with Levi. All those memories came flooding back to me, but the one that struck me the most, was the first memory I had.

The thunder boomed outside, but this time I didn't flinch.

It is late right now, and I think I need some green tea right now! Not much of a coffee fan.

I am currently working on the bonus chapter that has been suggested, so that'll be coming! Don't be afraid to PM or post your ideas in the comments! Thank you all! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧