Author's note:

Hi Cohali here, posting chapter 3 :) I have to continue writing now as chapter 3 catches me up to date, I will have to get my butt in gear!

Anyways, please enjoy ! x

~0~

Chapter III

The next few weeks consisted somewhat of a routine for Eren.

He would wake to Levi letting him out of his cell, followed by hygiene then breakfast. He'd then set about his chores before Hanji would call for him to meet with the special operations squad. He trained hard with them, noticing that not only were his own skills improving, but his skills as a team member as well.

He was beginning to see a change within Levi's—no, his squad now, they were starting to accept him as part of their dysfunctional family. While Hanji and Erd had accepted him quite easily from the get go, members like Oluo, Gunther and Petra and taken these extra few weeks to come round. He had seen Petra change her attitude towards him one night at dinner.

Although she was friendly towards Eren from the start, she had always acted with a sense of space between them, Eren had realized this when he had sat down on the right side of Levi during their dinner last week.

He had caught the dining hall at its busiest time, and had weaved through crowds of Survey Corp's members that he didn't recognise. He ignored the customary stares and the way members would move out of his way, if even in a subtle nature, to find his squad near the back of the hall.

Once where he would have lost his appetite over the loss of humanity that he would be feeling, he slumped down next to the Corporal to dig into his stew while it remained hot. Levi had said nothing when he had noticed Eren by his side, so Eren had ploughed right into his meal, feeling the hunger claw at his insides.

Oluo approached the table, seemingly annoyed that Eren had taken the last remaining spot. His eyes flickered around at the occupants, seeking the reason why there was lack of space today. Mike Zacharius had joined them, he was usually up in Erwin's quarters during dinner, going over the upcoming events with Erwin as they ate. However today he was present, leaving no room for Oluo. The man stopped short of Eren's chair, tapping the leg with a jolt of his boot.

"Oi Kid, hop off to some other table, will ya?"

The others looked up from their meal, spoons various degrees from their mouths or bowls. Petra, who was seated opposite Eren, glanced at Levi, who continued with his meal unfazed. Eren was unsure what to do, there had never been a problem with seating arrangements before today. He felt uncomfortable at the thought of having to sit on another table with people who could barely tolerate his presence. No one seemed to be objecting to Oluo's demands, and with one quick glance to his right at Levi, who had continued eating, he grabbed his bowl and went to stand.

"Don't you dare move, Eren."

Eren halted, bowl clutched in his hand and spoon teetering towards the edge. He had barely heard Levi speak over the loud background noise from the other tables in the hall, yet he looked back once more to the Corporal, who looked like he had uttered nothing at all. Eren had definitely heard it though, and by the way Petra had looked sharply at the man, she had heard it too. He sat back down, placing his bowl onto the table once more.

The other members looked like they hadn't heard Levi, and was looking at Eren with mixed expressions, some seemed impressed that he had the balls to ignore Oluo's request, he was the newest member, after all. Eren picked his spoon back up, set on continuing with his meal.

Oluo became a little flushed in the face, booting Eren's chair leg once more. "Oi, shitty brat, did you not hear? I said scoot."

"No." Eren stated, eyes on his stew and determination kicking in. Levi was telling him to stand his ground, as an equal member of his squad. And Eren would do just that.

Oluo went to grab the back on his chair, with the purpose of pulling Eren away from the table, but Eren's quick reflexes had him blocking his hand.

"I said no Oluo, if you want to sit so close to the Corporal, then I suggest his lap."

Levi had looked at Eren then, and Eren had to wonder if he had crossed some line, before Hanji's loud laughter rang across the table, she was slapping the wood whole heartedly as the other members joined in. Even Petra had to stifle a giggle behind her hand. Oluo took a look at Levi, as if to share a moment of outrage with such insubordination, yet Levi raised one shoulder, as though to shrug the matter off. Oluo had retreated to another table after that.

The laughter had died down to quiet guffaws and Petra had spoken up, "He was trying to pull another rubbish impression of the Corporal, after all." Eren smiled at her then, feeling as though she was defending him. Hanji reached across Mike to pat Eren on the back, looking at him as though he was a national treasure.

"Hooo, boy-o, I didn't know you had it in ya, now that's what I call some balls, right there!" Eren grinned at her, feeling camaraderie sweep through him.

Levi cleared his throat, and patted his mouth with a napkin.

"Yes, that may all be well and good, but I don't see the appeal of Oluo on my lap, he's not my type. Also, the oaf would crush me."

The members of the table blinked, before Hanji was howling again. The squad joined in, rare a thing it was for the Corporal to humour them. Eren sagged in relief, glancing at Levi, who was sat back in his chair, relaxed, and then at Petra who was still chuckling away and smiling towards him, he smiled back then tucked into his stew once more.

Suddenly it tasted better than before.

After that incident, Petra had become much more approachable, Erd and Gunther showed new signs of respect and ease, and Oluo, well Oluo was the same as ever, which Eren didn't mind, he could handle him now he believed.

That's not to say it was all good news. Levi was a busy man after all, and Eren found his attention split many different ways. The more he grew at ease with the squad, the less he would see The Corporal throughout the days. Sure, Levi still let him out in the morning, briefly greeting him before retreating for breakfast. Eren still had him to himself for horse exercises, and on most occasions' dinner in the evening found Levi in his company, but still Eren found long periods in the day without Levi, much to be expected.

It was these points in the day that Eren found time lull. He kept up his best efforts whilst training and he always worked hard at his chores, but when it came time to watch the clearing after lunch, looking out for Levi and the two horses, Eren found it hard to contain his excitement.

It was nearing that time now, as he wiped the sweat from his brow and leaned his elbows on the bench behind him. Hanji was trying hard to explain to him the extreme healing qualities of a titan in gross detail, but Eren had checked out.

He squinted at the clearing, ears straining for the tell-tale signs of hooves clomping on the earth. Today, Levi had explained that Eren was to actually ride his horse. After weeks of learning maintenance and gaining the horses trust, of grooming and having the horse walk calmly beside him, Levi had deemed him ready.

He practically jumped up from the bench as soon as he saw movement through the clearing. He called a 'cya!' over his shoulder to Hanji, who realised her spotlight was stolen by the arrival of the Corporal. She waved him off, smirking as she watched him jog over to the short man.

Levi had spotted Eren and had slowed the horses to a stop, seeing no point in walking further into the field when they were just going to leave it anyways.

Eren came running at him full force, Levi could hear his stomping from miles off. He rolled his eyes as he waited for the exuberant teen. Once Eren arrived, skidding to a halt and jarring the horses a little, he bent over on his knees and sucked in gulps of air.

Levi shushed the animals and sighed. "Alright Eren, calm your horses."

Eren peered up at Levi through his long lashes, "Did you just make a joke—."

Levi tsked. "No. Let's go."

He heard Eren huff out a laugh as the teen reached over and took his horses reins from him. They walked in companionable silence through the two fields, much like they had done every day for the last few weeks. Levi had enjoyed this time of day, he didn't question why, he just believed he enjoyed Eren's company since the boy had gotten his spirit back. He was a quick learner, impatient round the edges but eager to please.

In ways Eren reminded him of himself when he was just that touch younger. Their chosen field came to view as they walked on, their path had become easier to trek across due to their various trips, and they soon found themselves slowing to a stop. Eren patted his mare's neck, cooing her and telling her that she had done a good job. Levi averted his eyes, unsure as to whether he wanted to laugh or point out that the horse had done jack shit except walk here.

"Are you ready to climb on?" He asked, rounding the horse's front and keeping her still. Eren looked up at his horse, suddenly feeling as though she grew twice in height. "Uh, sure?" he offered, rubbing the back of his neck.

Levi came round to stand next to Eren, hand sliding into the animal's mane gently. He knew this was awkward for any first time rider. He contemplated the situation, choosing to give Eren a boost up for his first try. He bumped shoulders with the boy, making him move slightly aside as Levi bent his knees, enveloping his hands together to make a step for Eren's boot.

"Put your foot on my hands, I'm going to boost you up." He stated, waiting for Eren to move into action.

Eren looked down at his boots, then at Levi's pristine hands, and frowned. "But my boots are dirty?" He offered, tactfully noting Levi's partialness when it came to being clean.

Levi looked up at Eren from his slightly bent position. "I'm sure I'll survive."

Eren couldn't complain about that, he had respected Levi's mannerisms first, and if the man said it was fine, then it was fine. At least he had the decency to state it at all. He brought his thigh up high, heel being cupped by Levi's hands, and hopped a little into the air, feeling his weight suddenly propelled up a lot quicker than he had expected.

He scrambled to grab onto the horse's neck, but his other foot caught the backside of the animal in his momentum to swing his leg over. Eren felt his body lean much too fast to the other side and before it was too late, he was landing head first to the ground, sprawled and gazed.

He felt, rather than saw the amusement radiating off the man before him, who had walked around to his side. His cheeks flushed hot as he groaned in embarrassment, wishing the ground swallowed him whole. Fuck, as if Humanity's Strongest just saw him stack it off a horse, it was intolerable to even think! He brought his arms up to cover his eyes and tried his best to ignore the situation.

"Smooth, Jaeger." Levi stated, eyes gleaming as he nudged his boot into Eren's arm. Eren just groaned louder as he rolled onto his side, using an elbow to prop himself up.

"Did you do that on purpose, Corporal?" Eren asked as he suddenly remembered that he was propelled upward rather quickly.

Levi raised an eyebrow, the corner of his lips tugging up. "Guess I didn't know my own strength."

Eren scrambled up, pointing an accusing finger towards the shorter man, eyes squinting in disbelief, "You're titled Humanity's Strongest, as if you didn't know your own strength!"

Levi just adjusted his cravat then bent down, crossing his fingers into the foot hold again, "Shall we try this one more time?"

They did. They spent a few hours out in the fields, long into the afternoon. Eventually Eren did get used to climbing atop of his horse, and by the end of the afternoon, he had learnt to make figure of eights, how to trot and was getting the hang of cantering. It was hard work, Levi was not a man to praise sloppy performance.

They had only stopped twice for a drink of water, yet Eren didn't care, he felt exhilarated after finally making some progress. After Levi had made another circle around him, inspecting his form, correcting him where needed, Eren felt his legs burning, every muscle supporting his weight. His butt even hurt, glutes getting a better work out than they had in a long time.

The sky was stained various hues of pinks and oranges over them, the bottom of the sun sitting low to the earth. Levi had noticed Eren's form becoming sloppier and came to a halt.

"Tired?" He called, he could see the boy's legs shaking from here.

Eren felt tired to his core, his brain had disengaged half hour ago, he stifled a yawn as he ran a hand through his windswept hair.

"Yeah, and my butt aches." He answered, going to give his glutes a rub. His hand just touched his butt before his eyes widened, remembering just who he was addressing. He glanced over at Levi who had furrowed his eyebrows, an expression on his face Eren couldn't recognise. Levi's eyes were staring at Eren's hand, which was placed on his sore cheek. Eren flushed red, heart giving a little skip as he realised what he had drawn the Corporal's attention to.

He faltered, confused at the look on Levi's face. It hadn't changed much from usual per se, except his eyes held an intense focus, a look that nearly swallowed him and his aching ass whole. The masochist inside him had him giving his own ass an experimental squeeze just to see Levi's reaction, feeling the deep ache set in his muscles. Much to his disappointment, Levi's eyes lingered on only for a few moments more, before he found the man swinging his leg off his own horse and dropping to the ground.

Eren sighed, unable to understand why he had done what he had done, or why he felt such strong disappointment coursing through him when he couldn't hold the Corporal's attention over it. He leant to sit back down properly on his horse, muscles screaming in protest at him for keeping himself up for so long. As he did so, he felt a nerve go in his right leg, having been pinched for too long. His whole leg started vibrating, knocking against the side of his horse as though it had a mind of its own.

"Fuck me," He muttered, gasping in a breath as he gripped his leg.

He heard Levi sigh beside him, as though uttering two faux pas in his presence was pushing it. Eren gritted his teeth as his leg started shaking harder, making his horse fidget as though confused with his actions. Levi stilled Eren's horse and gazed up at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked, taking in Eren's hands desperately trying to still his leg. Eren gave him a bewildered look, thoroughly confused as to why his leg had a life of its own. He pressed down harder into his thigh, only causing more discomfort.

Levi ran a hand through his hair, understanding the situation. "Ah, you trapped a nerve from holding position for too long. Not sure you're going to be able to walk on that leg properly until we have some salve and heat to it."

"Is this common?" Eren asked, feeling the jolts going straight into his hipbones.

"It can be for new riders, the unlucky ones anyway. You used a group of leg muscles your body probably didn't even realise were there. That would also explain your aching ass." Levi muttered, scratching his fingers along his undercut.

Eren closed his eyes, desperately trying to rid the thought of Levi commenting on his ass in such close proximity. It was fine when he was ten feet away, now he was close enough to see Eren's blush if it were to appear.

"Can you get down?" Enquired Levi, whose head came up just short of Eren's saddle. Eren leaned over, looking down at the distance to the ground. It looked a much steeper drop in his predicament.

"I can try…" He offered, concentrating fully to try to stop his leg from continuously knocking into the horse's side.

Levi blinked, face neutral as ever. "Well now I'm brimming just with confidence." He smirked, instructing Eren to bring his leg over the horse so that he was sitting to the side. Eren did so, feeling wobbly at even the slightest pressure on his leg. Levi stood in front of him, hands snaking up either side of his legs to settle on his hips. Eren's eyes widened dramatically as he felt the Corporal's fingers brush his sides and his thumbs pressed firmly to his hip bones.

"Let's get you down then." Levi stated, pulling at his hips and Eren felt himself sliding off his horse with ease. He settled his hands on Levi's shoulders, for lack of choice where else to put them. Levi gently released the pressure from Eren's hips, allowing gravity to let Eren fall between his hands.

Eren couldn't help it, the way the Corporal's hands slid up the length of his body felt very sensual, and he couldn't restrain the hot squirming that had started low in his belly. His palms were still on Levi's shoulders when his feet touched ground, Levi's own hands now resting tucked up against Eren's ribs.

They were face to face and Eren had a moment to look into Levi's own eyes, astounded at the depth of them, before his entire leg buckled beneath him, knee slamming ungracefully into the dirt.

Levi hoisted him up again, securing Eren's arm around the back of his neck and across his shoulder. He gripped the reins of Eren's horse, whistling his own horse over whilst his hand found purchase on Eren's hip again.

Eren felt hot under his collar, the last time he had this much contact with someone was when Armin and he had to share a bed as some fool had broken his bunk. Even then he had woken to a foot under his chin and blonde hair tickling his ankle. This contact felt intimate almost and what worried him was that he couldn't bring himself to hate it.

When the horse had reached Levi, he took those reins as well and tucked them into the same hand as the others, he then looked to his side at Eren and muttered, "Keep your weight off that leg and let's go."

Eren nodded, not trusting his voice as he limped along, supported heavily by Levi. His leg was growing hot at this point, hotter than any other part of his body, but he shrugged it off. They had a long walk back, and he couldn't afford to notice every little issue with it at the moment.

The sun was casting long shadows at the edge of the trees now, the pinks and oranges turning to purples and different hues of murky blues. The sun was setting quickly and the warm breeze was turning cooler.

Eren often enjoyed these moments, albeit finding himself not quite in such an embarrassing situation up until this point. He usually felt tired, hungry and exhausted, but accomplished none the less. At this point of the day, Levi and he often fell into comfortable silence. On some occasions, Levi spun a tale or two, prompted by Eren's curiosity, and Eren would learn just a little bit more on whom he had spent his childhood in awe of.

Sometimes when he had asked just a little too much, Levi's words would fade out, uncomfortable with answering. Eren didn't resent him during those times, opting for a quick change of subject instead, Levi would oblige to the change of subject, picking up pace from where they left off.

Eren had first been surprised at how talkative Levi could be, contrasting from the times where he chose long periods of speaking very little. Yet where at first he found it a little strange, Eren soon became accustomed to it, placing it down as part of Levi's personality, and replacing it in his mind to the times where Corporal Levi had only been a hero seen from the back of a gathering on a crowded street.

He hadn't known Levi back then, only the misconceived personality Eren had pegged onto him. It was easy back then to think he knew what Levi was about from a glance, yet now with each passing day, with Levi showing just a little bit more of his true self; Eren had to agree that he much preferred this Levi.

It felt a little private, this side of Levi, and Eren felt much privilege for it. He wondered how much of the public thought they really knew the man like he had once done. He wondered how privy people were to his odd need for cleanliness, or his resounding patience and often silent protectiveness of his comrades. He wondered if they knew of his quirky habit of holding his cup at a strange angle, or, as Eren had recently found out, that Levi thought himself a perfect height and anyone taller were freaking looming giants.

Eren grinned at that last thought, he had asked Levi if he then considered Eren a looming giant, and Levi had crossed his arms over his chest and called Eren borderline.

After adjusting his grip around Levi's shoulder, Eren noted that they had already crossed one field. He felt Levi's grip on his hip shift a little as Eren had readjusted them, and felt his skin tingle when Levi's index finger brushed over his flesh. His shirt had shucked up slightly from having his arm raised as they walked and now he felt the occasional brush with every few strides. If Levi had noticed it, he hadn't said anything and Eren was glad for the coming darkness to cool his hot skin.

As they made their way across the second field, Levi cleared his throat and slowed their pace down.

"Eren, at the start of next week, we will begin exploring your titan form." Levi had stated, voice quiet as there was no need for volume in the quiet fields. Eren felt his heart jump once before he felt nothing. His comrades trusted him, and he trusted them. Now he just had to learn to trust himself. He felt the beginnings of fierce determination grip at him, he didn't want to let the Corporal down.

"Okay." He said, feeling no need to elaborate that he understood. Levi glanced at him anyways, trying to gain a feel of his emotions as though they were written on his face. Eren didn't particularly think his face was betraying him in anyways, he didn't feel much of anything now apart for the desire to get the monster in him under control.

Levi seemed satisfied by whatever he had found by looking at Eren, yet expanded his explanation anyways.

"We will proceed cautiously Eren, this is new ground to all of us. There will be a meeting before we start and Commander Erwin will be present. Hanji will have to explain each experiment to him before it is signed off for use."

Eren let Levi's words sink in, they didn't really have an effect on him, his mind just clinging to one thought. He wanted to voice it, but found he was finding it difficult.

"Just-." He pushed through clenched teeth. When no more words came to him, he slid his eyes closed and sucked in a breath. Levi noticed Eren's internal battle, mistaking his turmoil and choosing to speak for him.

"I won't let them kill you Eren, I will be there for these sessions to keep everyone in check."

Eren shook his head, coming to a complete stop and scrunching his eyes closed. Levi paused, patient as ever as he adjusted Eren's arm back over his shoulder correctly from where it had slid down his arm.

"No, " Eren finally muttered, voice so quiet Levi would have been hard pressed to hear it if they weren't stood so close to begin with. Eren opened his eyes and turned his head to look down into the Corporal's eyes. Levi saw spirit in those green eyes, full of chaos and fear and determination and life. When Eren looked like this at times, Levi found it hard to pay attention to anything else, the teen's eyes held fighting spirit so intense at times, Levi wondered how Eren had ever lost that fire, but he was glad to have returned it to the boy.

"No," Eren tried again, slightly louder and with tenacity. "Corporal, don't let me kill anyone. Mistake or not, please, don't let me." Levi frowned, he knew it was early days, and that they had a lot to learn about Eren and what happened during the shifting process, but Levi knew that Eren had returned to his senses for the mission in Trost. He had still been Eren in that bulk of flesh and bone.

"Is this about what happened with your sister, Mikasa—." Levi had wondered aloud, however he was surprised to find his words cut off by Eren.

"Levi, please."

Levi blanched, feeling at ends by the lack of title and the informal use of his name. He recovered quickly, deciding to let it slide if only for the desperation in Eren's voice. He wanted to protect humanity, but he didn't know if he could control himself. He was unsure whether humanity would need protecting from himself.

Levi knew Eren had come a long way in the few short weeks of being here, becoming more comfortable in his human side once more. Yet they had reached a plateau. Things were normal until they weren't. In this case, they had yet to explore the sole reason as to why Eren was in the Survey Corp's possession. The other side of Eren, in which he was still vastly freaked over.

Levi gave Eren's wrist a miniscule squeeze from where he was balancing it still across his shoulder.

"As long as I'm there, I can assure you that I will cut your limbs off and rip you out of the blasted thing before you can even think about farting in anyone's direction."

Eren's eyes softened at that, unsurprised by his Corporal's choice of poetic words. Levi felt assured, he knew Eren would rather hear of his own limbs being sawed off than his comrades coming to great harm because of him. Eren sagged against Levi a little more, as though releasing a long low breath he had been holding. They carried on towards the castle, sky now blue hues mixed with inky black.

The castle lights gleamed up ahead in the distance, throwing orange glows across the lawns that danced between the grass. Eren's stomach growled noisily and he felt Levi bend his neck to peer at his rumbling gut.

"Smell the food from here, Jaeger?" He mused, giving a small huff of disbelief. Eren patted his stomach with his free hand, trying to calm the noises.

"Can you blame me?" He asked, as they slightly picked up pace, Eren thought that he almost could smell the food, his mouth salivated at the thought. He heard Levi let out a small huff as he slowed to a stop. Eren jostled on the spot, not expecting to suddenly halt. He glanced at Levi quizzically, very much wondering why they had stopped so close to getting food. He could see the castle gates from here, and if he squinted, he could see the paddocks just inside them.

"Mmm…" Levi murmured, close to Eren's ear. He felt the sensation jolt straight down his spine, and his attention was snapped back to the shorter man beside him.

"What?" Eren wondered, prompting Levi to speak.

"I wonder…" He started, eyes fixed on Eren's face before travelling down to his leg. "I wonder just how long ago it has been since your leg was fully healed." Eren blanched, noting that yes, his leg definitely was not vibrating, that yes, he was standing with his full weight on it at that moment in time, and yes, it had certainly returned to normal temperature.

Lastly, he noted, that yes, he still very much had his arm draped over Humanity's Strongest as though it would have to start paying rent for its lodgings there. Minutely though, his mind threw back at him that Levi had stated this fact and had yet to remove Eren's arm. He tossed that though aside as quick as it had come and slid his arm off from around his Corporal.

"Huh, I guess you're right, who knows?" He tried, bending his knee as though testing its endurance.

Levi felt the cool air brush along his now exposed neck, before turning his attention towards the castle.

"Let's eat before the locusts leave us with piss all."

They lead their horses to the paddocks, handing them to the soldiers on patrol that covered the evening shifts when tired squads rolled in, too exhausted to care properly for their horses. A young soldier approached them, granting them a good evening before taking over the reins and leading the horses in to tend to them. Levi remained silent and Eren muttered his thanks before they lead their tired bodies inside in search for nourishment.

A/N: Hi all, hope you enjoyed it! Is anyone even reading this thing? I'd absolutely love to know what you thought! Please let me know :)

Cya next time x

Cohali