The next week was weird for Eren and Levi. The crew mates that had come with them to get the treasure with the Sina crew had shared that the couple were heterochromic. Hanji was thrilled about it, connecting many abnormalities to their mismatched eyes and ancestry. But some of the others were a little... disturbed, even though the two still wore their eyepatches. And this secret that the two shared, had brought them together technically, was something they had never wanted to get out. A few of the crewmembers had actually become rude to Eren about it, and less respectful of Levi.
"I say we have a re vote for our captain and leader of the Survey Pirates." One actually had the balls to say. Eren didn't know his name, but he instantly became angry.
"Yeah. I say let Erwin run everything. Everyone in favor?" Another asked.
"No one is voting anyone in charge." Erwin said. He had everyone pinned down with a cold, diplomatic stare. "The Maria is not the only ship under Captain Levi. We'd need the Sina crew, as well as the crew and civilians on Rose to vote and agree as well. And until that time, Levi is your captain."
"We can at least replace our Cabin Boy." That hurt Eren deeply hearing that, and many eyes had turned to him, some with complete disgust.
"The Captain and Quartermaster are the only ones with the power to replace crew members. And I don't think I need to remind you he's our captain's lover, or that I had brought him onto the ship in the first place." Erwin said calmly. "Eren stays. And any mistreatment of him will be treated the same as any mistreatment of any other member. I will remind you we have a brig."
"But he's a freak!" A nice slap echoed around the deck that everyone had grouped on. When everyone turned to see who, they saw Mikasa standing in front of the pirate who had spoken against Eren.
"There's nothing wrong with Eren. There's nothing wrong with Captain Levi." Mikasa turned to the rest of the crew. "Captain Levi is the man that saved us from the MPs and lives alone on the streets. We have become the best known pirates on the seas, because of Captain Levi's leadership." She pulled on the forest green bandanna she wore on her left upper thigh. "He gave us these because he trusts us, accepted us when the people on land no longer did. If you aren't loyal to him anymore, you best remove your bandanna and walk the plank now. Because if Levi stands down, these aren't the Survey Pirates anymore. Just a bunch of idiots in a boat."
"And you all loved having Eren on the ship. The ones from our last voyage, when being called for this one, we were all worried that Eren wouldn't be joining us because of how badly he pissed off Big Bro. You all stood by him and helped make things easier on him while he worked. And now you find out he's got something a little different about him, and you all shut him out? I thought we accepted everyone BECAUSE they were different. That's what the Survey Pirates about, accepting differences. And you're all going to make one thing what breaks this crew apart?" Isabel yelled, tears in her eyes as her emotions ran free. "In the short time he's been here, Eren's become the heart of the Maria. If we get rid of him, this ship will feel like nothing but drift wood in a typhoon."
"Isabel, Mikasa, stand down." Levi said as he came out of his cabin. Everyone became quiet. "I'm not fond of mutiny. So just shut your fucking faces up and act like adults until we get to Rose. We're three weeks away if the sea stays calm. Once we make it back to Rose, if you decide you want me to step down, I will. Want me off the island, fine. I'm not going to fight against the people I viewed as family. And I know it's not uncommon on a pirate ship, but I had been hoping I wasn't gathering a crew of fucking backstabbers when I started this shit." And Levi was gone, back into his cabin. The deck was quiet.
"He's calling us backstabbers? He's the one who lied about why he wore the damn eyepatch!"
"No he didn't. He just didn't tell you. Say it's lie from keeping the information, but did any of you ask why he wore it? No. Not one of you asked. You all just assumed that he lost it in a battle gone wrong." Hanji said, taking off her glasses to clean them off gently. "But with how all of you are acting, can you blame him for not? He grew up on the streets of Mitras' slums." The deck was completely silent, the sea seaming to have stopped moving as well. "As most of you know, Mitras is the richest island kingdom in the world, and the slums are absolute filth. Bad enough most pirates avoid them, which says something. Growing up with something like a different colored eye is bound to have you attacked frequently, stolen from. And when you're trying to take care of two other people, as well as as many children Levi tried to protect... well..." Hanji gave a humorless snort.
"He almost lost his eye." Isabel hiccuped. "So many times."
"Why are we all freaking out about this?" Ymir asked, swinging her feet as she sat on the railing of the quarter deck. "So Captain has an eye that's not blue and Eren has an eye that's not green. So what. Our Captain is still our kick ass Captain, and Eren's still our Cabin Cherry Boy. Nothing's changed about them." She shrugged. "I don't see why half of you are ready to mutiny."
"Gotta agree with her." Jean said from where he was leaning against the main mast. "Eren's still a dumbass, and Captain still saved most of us from dying. Kept some of us from being homeless. So what, we're pirates. But how many pirate captains have you seen going into a blind fury because another pirate attacked one of his own. Who remembers when Marco was taken and had a noose around his neck, and our captain not only shot the rope so he wouldn't be hung, but completely demolished the other crew. By. Him. Self." Jean made sure to put emphasis on his last three words.
"Or dove in after Connie when he went overboard. And let's remember Connie can't swim, and Levi had just injured his leg in a previous ship raid." Farlan added. "Not to mention how many of our requests and complaints he goes through, and tries to deal with." The ship continued to be quiet.
"And don't even start with Eren." Armin said, voice cold in a very unArmin-like tone. Eren turned to his childhood friend. "He's talked to all of us when we were down, always there to help our injured after an attack. Always willing to lend a hand, even if he was in the middle of a chore and got chewed out for it later. I don't think I've ever seen the ship shine brighter, and that's not from Eren finally learning to clean the ship. He's brightened all of us up. We're probably the happiest bunch of pirates on the sea, and we have a resting bitch face captain. And you all want to send him off for something he can't control. No, he wasn't raised in the slums of Mitras, didn't need to fight as long and hard as our Captain did. But he was bullied, and incase you all forgot, children may be 'innocent', but can be crueler than adults." Eren slipped away then, back into his and Levi's cabin.
Levi was sitting in his chair, elbows on his desk as he rested his face in his hands. When he looked up, his eyes were sharp and commanding, but when he realized it was Eren, he let out a deep breath and allowed his true exhaustion to show. He was tired of this shit. He was used to hateful words and stares, but it didn't mean it didn't get old after a while. And Eren... poor Eren wasn't able to keep his emotions hidden to save his life. Easily rattled and upset from people he thought he could trust turning their backs on him. Levi never wanted to see his own crew walk the plank before, and now he'd be happy to see each of them walk straight into the Kraken's mouth if it'd make Eren happy.
"Levi, you look tired." Eren said, leaning against the door.
"I always look tired." Levi pointed out with a tired smirk. Eren shrugged a little. "You tired of the fuckers trying to decide what to do with us?" Levi asked. Eren nodded.
"They've begun to defend me again, and I appreciate it but... that's not what I need right now." Eren said, releasing the last of his words on a tired exhale. Levi nodded. "What do we do now?" Eren asked. Levi sighed.
"I don't know what you're going to do. I plan to ignore the fuckers until Rose, and then let them decide what the fuck I'm doing next." Levi said.
"I'm coming with you if they kick you off the island." Eren said boldly. Levi smiled.
"Fucking hope you would." Levi said, taking off his eyepatch. Eren smiled, following suit and placing his eyepatch on the desk as he looked into Levi's eyes.
"So what do we do right now?" Eren asked. Levi smirked.
"We could always pop that cherry. Make sure to be loud and piss everyone the fuck off."
"Show them that they can be pissy as they want, but they won't ruin our lives. I like the sound of that." Eren replied.
"Lock the door?" Levi asked as Eren circled the desk.
"Did that once you took your eyepatch off." Eren replied.
"Good." And Levi pulled Eren down into a kiss.
The power of a true writer, able to pull drama out of NOWHERE! Anyways... next chapter I'm writing Eren and Levi fucking, so be prepared for that.