Author's Notes:

Wow, this one turned out much longer than I thought it would, I needed to have it all in there, and couldn't find a natural stopping place half way through, so welcome to the longest chapter yet! 3

~0~

Chapter VII

Mikasa and Armin barely left Eren's side until he woke. Since Levi deposited him there, they had been with him for nine hours and counting. They learned from a medic who came to check on him that Eren had just got back from another attempt and they found out that still Squad Leader Hanji could not get a response from him other than some pissed off growling.

The medic explained that Levi had cut him out yet again, and that Eren should be waking up soon, his approximated waking time was down to ten hours.

Mikasa was holding his hand, thumb gently rubbing soothing circles as she waited. Armin was busy scribbling down notes in a note pad, deciding it was a good idea to jot down his own findings and methods from his memory of Trost so that he could discuss them with Hanji.

There was a groan from the bed and Mikasa blinked out of her stupor, eyes settling on Eren's face instead of his hand and she watched as his eyes swam into focus.

"Oh, Eren…" she breathed, lifting from her seat to give him a one armed hug. Eren huffed her hair out of his mouth,

"Mikasa?"

He felt her nod against him and tighten her hold before releasing him and sitting down again, fingers still laced between his own. He squeezed back and looked at her, then spotted Armin in the corner, who had raised from his own chair to make his way over to perch on the side of the bed.

"Hey Armin," He said, watching as the blonde waved at him. He felt his whole body sag, relieved to finally see some other faces that didn't hate him.

He sat up in bed, Mikasa passing him some water for his parched throat.

"I can't believe you're here," he said, looking over them both and noticing the cloaks adorning them that looked new, "Did you join the Survey Corps? But initiation isn't for a few weeks yet."

Armin grinned at him, "Commander Smith collected us, and I'm glad too because I think Mikasa was about to murder some people, either that or some potatoes, I'm not sure."

Mikasa rolled her eyes but couldn't help smile, "They deserved it."

Eren blinked, "The people or the potatoes?"

"Both." She deadpanned, but soon cracked into a smile when Eren and Armin started laughing.

The three of them spent the next few hours crowded around Eren's bed, catching up over the time passed and Mikasa squeezing every detail out of him. Eren didn't mind, if anything he had missed her incessant checking of his wellbeing and found himself chatting away with them with an ease he hadn't felt since he last saw them both.

Armin was particularly curious over the spoon incident, comparing Hanji's outcome to the events in Trost. Yet even he was puzzled as to why Eren couldn't bring his own mind to the surface when controlling the titan.

Eren described the Special Ops Squad to them both, picking out the members and their odd personality quirks, and when he explained Levi, Mikasa became on edge.

Eren noticed, "Mikasa, he isn't an evil person, he hasn't hit me since…"

Armin smirked behind his hand, "I don't think that's the reason why she's on edge, Eren."

Eren cocked his head to the side, watching as Mikasa sent a glare Armin's way, "Then why?"

The blonde raised both eyebrows high, as though Eren was acting dumb on purpose, "Maybe it's because the Corporal and you are quite… close? Mikasa, I'm just going to throw it out there," He said, ignoring her sharp look towards him, "We thought you'd need us more than this when we arrived, Eren, but you were practically humming when you were speaking of him."

Eren pushed his head back against the headboard, as though reeling from the information, he looked between the both of them, feeling his cheeks grow hot.

"We-we aren't that close!" He squawked.

Mikasa frowned, "Then why was he carrying you in here and brushing your hair from your eyes?"

Eren slapped his palms against the bed covers as he leaned forward towards them, mouth agape and face in shock, "He did what?!"

Armin's cheeks were hurting, his smile stretching from ear to ear, "You didn't know he carried you?"

"No! I just assumed…" He paused here, realising that actually, he never stopped to think how he ended up from down the bottom of a well to a comfy bed after each experiment. All those times… all those times he had been carried up here from the fields. By Levi…

He groaned loud and long as he grabbed a pillow and smothered his face behind it.

Clever little Armin though was having none of it. All these conclusions he had come to in just twenty four hours, oh how his brain had missed these mental workouts. There seemed to be a very obvious attraction between his best friend and the Corporal, and like most ignorant people, they both didn't realise it. Armin often wondered what it was like in the world of other people's brains, it must be so frustratingly confusing!

Still, at least he could have some fun.

"We caught him bringing you in, he didn't realise we were there. Settled you down on the bed as though you were made of glass. Then he brushed your hair out of your eyes for you. It was quite sweet, wasn't it Mikasa?"

Mikasa contributed to this conversation using her eyes alone. It didn't take a genius like Armin to figure out that she was screaming murder. He felt happy bubbles flooding his insides, yet he choked them down to just a happy smile.

Meanwhile, Eren had abandoned his face pillow, and was staring at Armin in genuine shock, hand raised to his fringe as though checking if the Corporal's fingers were still there.

Armin had to look away, he felt tears threatening to fall down his face, leaving behind 'ha ha ha's' on his cheeks.

Mikasa interrupted abruptly, "Eren, do you like him?"

And wasn't that just the question to ask?

Hadn't Eren sort of been asking himself this question, in a roundabout way, to himself? Hadn't he been asking why he liked spending time with Levi more and more? Hadn't that been why he found himself admiring the man's physique and questioning why? Why he felt infinitely better when he was in his company? It all came down to that one question Mikasa had nailed on the head, really.

Did Eren like him?

He never really considered what that truly meant until it was thrust upon him in the form of a blunt question. What did it mean to really like someone? Eren had been so caught up on just staying alive, avenging, growing in strength for so long now. He had been so focused on just keeping those close to him alive, on making sure he was strong enough to ensure his friends saw each new day.

Not to mention the fact that he hadn't had any breathing space. Three years focused on training then one day flipped him into dealing with being a monster and dealing with all the emotional hate he was receiving from the public.

Eren thought about Levi and the days he had spent with him. He thought about their conversations, sometimes brief as they were, and thought about all the life lessons Levi had given him. He felt like a better person around Levi, and he was very aware of the fact that he owed a lot to the Corporal.

He wasn't sure of it, but he felt like he knew Levi better than the majority of people. That may be foolish thinking on Eren's behalf, but he couldn't help but think it true. Levi was actually very caring under his dismissive demeanour, he fought not because he was strong, but because he refused to see anyone else die. Eren remembered standing on a box in the crowd, getting a glimpse of Levi and the Survey Corps, and wishing to be like him one day.

He also remembered being seated on Hanji's couch, legs daringly covering Levi's lap, and how nice it had felt to share his warmth. Also his knuckles brushing taunt thigh, close to his ass when they were sparring.

He felt his cheeks grow hot once more. It had felt nice, hadn't it? He most definitely knew that he didn't mind that sort of physical contact with Levi, and although he first pegged that up to being lonely, he realised now that that kind of physical contact with anyone else would feel weird. He didn't want that with someone else. Just Levi…

Eren's eyes widened.

Armin smiled gleefully, "Ah, there's nothing more fascinating to watch than a loveable idiot's personal revelation."

Eren blinked out of his stupor and threw the abandoned pillow at Armin's head, "Absolutely shut up right now."

Armin mocked hurt, but soon retaliated by throwing the pillow back. Eren took it directly to the face so that he could grab Armin's extended arm, tugging him further on the bed so he could prod his sides. Soon they were a mass of flailing limbs and boyish giggles, each squawking their protests at the other.

Mikasa just sighed and stood, evacuating her seat on the bed to take up the chair in the corner. She avoided a pillow to the head by a swift dodge to the left, and took to reading a book, pretending the two closest people to her were not a pair of snickering chumps.

Soon, they were hollering and wrestling on the bed, pillows scattered around the room and throwing poorly constructed battle cries. In their great war, they had failed to hear the knock on the door, and had failed to see light footed Levi standing there studying the scene.

It was only when he had dodged a pillow with his own quick reflexes that Mikasa caught him move out of the corner of her eye. They locked stares, remaining silent for a long pause. Soon Mikasa decided to end it after Levi broke contact to watch Eren and Armin as they became an intangible mess of human limbs and inhuman noise,

"Boys."

It didn't work, neither of them heard her in the slightest. Then again, she hadn't spoken very loudly. If anything, she had picked the exact moment when Eren decided to unsheathe his imaginary sword and impale poor Armin in the gut.

Levi rolled his eyes,

"Eren."

The brunette's head shot up, body pivoting to look behind him. Levi hadn't called any louder than Mikasa had, so when Mikasa looked at Levi, it wasn't with fondness.

Armin sat up on one elbow, also noticing the new presence in the room.

The silence was astounding.

Levi was used to pregnant silences, yet in this case, he could feel the elephant in the room as though it had steamrolled over him. All three of them were staring at him like he had grown three heads. He felt very aware of himself in that moment, mind reeling as to why two of them had their mouths hanging open and one of them was trying to send him to his grave through glaring alone.

His eyes settled on Eren, "Breakfast in ten, go shower. Fields after that."

Eren's whole face looked flushed and Levi couldn't help but wonder if his temperature was still up from his last transformation. He watched briefly as Eren called out a hurried "Yes sir!" as the boy scrambled off the bed, tripping up slightly as he disentangled from the blonde.

When Eren had a handful of hygiene products and a fresh outfit, he was just passing Levi when the raven haired man stopped him with a touch to his arm.

"Eren, are you fit enough today? You look like you're running a temperature." He murmured.

The brunette turned his wide eyes to look at Levi, "Yes sir, I feel fine."

From this close, Levi swore Eren turned even redder, yet he couldn't feel any extra heat seeping from the boy. He nodded and released his elbow, watching as Eren tried to salute, but thought better of it when he realised he was encumbered.

Once Eren's footsteps could no longer be heard, he turned his sharp eyes to Arlert and Ackerman.

"You two come with me, there's a particular mad woman who wants to meet you. But first, showers and breakfast."

Levi turned on his heel, wondering when he had become tour guide and guardian of the new brats. He guessed he had opted into it when he decided to collect Eren for the day. As the two trailed behind him, he wondered how many times he would be expecting to collect the brunette and finding he had to separate this noisy and eccentric trio.

He hoped not often. He was used to grabbing Eren on the fly without anything else to consider and he damned well didn't like that silence when he entered. Or the wrestling for that matter.

Levi sighed silently through his nose.

~0~

Levi and Eren had made it early to the fields, long before any of the teams were due to show up. The tents sat abandoned and the wind rustled the grassy expanse before them.

Mikasa and Armin were currently with Hanji, discussing in detail the planned events and swapping information that Hanji could not gather from the written reports of the Trost battle.

Whilst Eren and Levi had been walking to the fields, Levi explained that Hanji and Erwin had been debating the best way to move forward now with the addition of Mikasa and Armin. It had been decided that once Eren was transformed and secure in the well, the two of them would have free reign for a little while. It was agreed that two fresh minds to this experiment were best left to take their own course of action, undeterred by opinions from Hanji. Special Ops would be on standby like usual just in case.

If that did not work then they would pause and regroup for ideas.

Eren nodded along, taking the information in. To be honest, it didn't matter too much for him, as long as they were safe from him. He had no part in this experiment until he could gain mental control anyways. He never knew the outcome until he woke up from it hours later.

They settled down, perching on the lip of the well and staring out into the distance. They shared a comfortable silence for a while, both feeling no need to fill the peace with incessant chatter. Eren picked at the rough stone of the well, watching as little chunks broke loose and fell to the grass, tiny dust plumes stirring in the wind.

Half an hour passed before Eren spoke, "I hope today we have a breakthrough." He said quietly, the time had let his mind wander, about his frustrating failures, "I'm so tired of being weak."

Levi crossed his extended legs at the ankle, adjusting his gaze to Eren's boot.

"You aren't weak, Eren. Weakness is for those who stop trying."

Eren bit his lip, realizing that he mostly wanted to make a breakthrough today just so he could feel some relief, so he could reassure his Corporal that he wasn't a wasted investment. He didn't say it aloud this time though, remembering the time Levi had told him he wasn't a waste of his time.

"I hate not knowing though, and it's so infuriating that I was able to do it before, so why not now? I just don't know what I can do."

Levi glanced at the brunette's face, staring off into the distance but not really seeing it. Eren was lost in his own warring thoughts, struggling to find any sort of peace with it. This boy felt so much, he had so much anger and confusion and nowhere to put it and no way of understanding it.

Levi averted his gaze, opting to look out across the fields like Eren.

"Everything is uncertain, Eren. It's always been like this for me… I believe in my own strength, and you should too. But… No one can truly know how it will end, you just keep trying until you have an outcome you can live with."

Eren looked at him then, eyes flickering across his face, taking in his words.

Levi returned his gaze and silence settled over them once more.

Eren eventually nodded, lips pulling up into a quiet smile, and Levi couldn't help but feel it was a private kind of smile, as though Eren had taken the time to consider his words, commit them to memory and accept them.

Eren turned his head back to the front, but not before whispering a quiet, "Thank you, Levi."

Levi felt the immediate decision to dismiss the lack of title and use of his name, knowing he was right that he would feel no need to pull rank when they were alone.

Instead, he settled for nodding his head.

"You're welcome."

~0~

They were both fully dressed in their 3DMG gear, brand new and tested that morning. Armin adjusted his straps pulling them taunt as he watched Mikasa untuck her short hair from the collar of her cloak.

There was a bustle of activity around them, members milling in and out of tents, some already seated on the floor looking bored, some already scribbling in notes or preparing the flare gun.

Armin glanced around them and then let out a steady breath. He could see a short way into the distance Corporal Levi clapping Eren on the shoulder before retreating into the trees, Eren giving him a half wave before clambering down a rope ladder, where a member was soon pulling it up and dragging it back towards them. The Corporal had disappeared from sight and soon Armin's attention was drawn to Hanji beside them, cocking a grin and also a flare gun.

"Just remember, don't be scared of him, he's just a little pissed." She grinned, lifting one hand to her ear and the other high above her, winking as the flare went sailing above them.

Erd, who was beside her frowned, after the ringing in their ears stopped, he leaned towards them hurriedly, "That doesn't mean he isn't dangerous, treat this with extreme caution. He isn't your friend right now."

He could hear Eren's distinctive human cry, the sound full of pain which had him on edge and Mikasa taking a step forward on instinct. Soon the tone changed louder and deeper as the smoke billowed up over the well and the looming figure of Eren's titan appeared. Armin couldn't help his mouth from dropping open slightly in awe. He had seen Eren before of course, yet the eyes took a little time to adjust to, it was an extraordinary occurrence, after all.

The smoke settled with the silence, and as the heavy breathing of Eren's titan filled their surroundings, Armin looked high above him into his best friend's face. He was barely recognisable, but those eyes never lied, it was what Armin loved most about Eren's appearance, human or titan it seemed. Those eyes could never hold back how much his best friend felt, even now they were smouldering with emotions. Yes, Armin thought, as he looked to Mikasa who wore a similar expression on her face, she turned to look at him and nodded, both thinking the same thing, their Eren is in there.

Something settled in Armin, he ignored the people around him, all who wore bored expressions as though this task was a useless one, and felt a great calm sweep over his body like the gentle puffs of air Eren was sending over them.

He knew he wasn't a particularly strong soldier. His use of the 3DMG gear was subpar at best, his fighting skills worse than that. He found the 'light swords' kinda heavy and the ache of his muscles came too quick with exertion. He became out of breath a little sooner than he'd like, he often lagged just behind the rest of the group, and as long as he was being honest with himself, a little intimidated with the horses, but, goddamn it, he could rely on his brain.

He knew Eren, he thought, as those giant green eyes studied him from above, he knew his best friend second to none other than Mikasa. He knew Eren's deep rooted anger for himself for not being able to control his titan, he could practically feel the frustration rolling off him. He also knew Eren could achieve anything, if guided in the right direction. Eren had saved Armin, perhaps not in such an obvious way as he had saved Mikasa, committing a double homicide at the age of nine, but Eren had become his friend, no questions asked, when they were much much younger and Armin was still full of sadness.

Eren had taken Armin's hand and drove his sadness away, and as Armin studied the face of titan Eren, which was only discovered once he had actually saved Armin from a titan's mouth and then miraculously transformed, Armin felt driven by the need to help Eren, like Eren had been helping Armin all these years.

He took a step forward.

"Mikasa," He almost whispered, blue eyes still focused entirely on Eren's watchful ones.

She titled her chin slightly toward him, eyes also never leaving Eren's face. She didn't say anything, already assuming Armin knew she was listening.

He gripped his lever pistons tightly, "Let's say we smack some sense into our best friend, kay?"

She smirked, eyes glinting in amusement before Armin felt the air pressure rustle his cloak, he blinked, and she was gone. He had no time to admire her speed before he took off running, choosing to only run a few feet forward for momentum before hooking a fast right lever into the nearest tree. He swung up high into the air, and arched a wide loop around their target.

Nobody knew this, but as they had sat for hours in Eren's room waiting for him to wake up, Armin and Mikasa had spent time discussing the best course of action. They knew, better than anybody, that to get results from Eren, they had to take drastic action. That's just how it worked when dealing with a fiery personality like Eren's.

So when Mikasa let loose her lever, allowing it to zip fast through the air to land snuggly in Eren's shoulder, releasing the trigger to pull her up towards Eren's face, the members started shouting.

Even Erd and Gunter made to race after her until Hanji stopped them,

"Don't." Hanji called, whipping her arms out to block them. "Just trust them."

They didn't reply, mouths hanging open in shock as Mikasa landed straight on Eren's nose, a fistful of hair in her hand and one leg dangling. Hanji daren't take her eyes off the scene in front of her, instead opting to call out loudly for her members to hear,

"One of you better fucking be taking notes until your fingers bleed," she almost wailed, the excitement getting to her. They were quite literally replicating Trost. All barring the fact that Eren was very much conscious, Hanji felt ecstatic. Over the last few weeks her squads had been zipping around Eren's titan, never actually landing on him, it had taken weeks for them to get comfortable with just flying quickly past him, afraid of his snapping mouth, yet here was this girl, landing straight on his face as though she was catapulted there.

She tore her eyes away to see where the little blonde had gone, yet she couldn't spot him. In fact, Armin had arched around Eren, until he landed in a tree facing Eren's back. Here he waited for Mikasa and soon heard her shouts as planned.

"Eren!" She called, shouting as loud as she could, "Eren, it's me, Mikasa!"

During this time, Eren's titan had actually moved very little, even right now he had gone slightly boss eyed whilst he was studying her on his nose. She continued to shout, "Eren! You have to fight your anger, you have titans to kill, don't you? How are you going to do that if you can't even control your own!"

Hanji couldn't believe what she was seeing. Eren had yet to react, and Mikasa had been hovering on his nose for at least a full minute now, it was incredible, Hanji recalled weeks ago that she only took a few steps forward to have him howling at her. Maybe it was down to forced routine, his titan throughout all these past weeks had yet to have someone with enough balls to actually get up in his face like this. Maybe even Eren's titan was a little shocked.

Mikasa placed her palm on his cheek, "Eren… can you hear me? It's your sister, Mikasa…" She attempted. He blinked twice, before she could feel him inhaling deeply through his nose. She furrowed an eyebrow, trying to figure out what he was doing before her eyes widened. Oh no—

He positively bellowed at her, so loud her remaining free hand shot up to her ear, the vibrations from his throat travelled up through her feet and deep into her knees. It was filled with completely unadulterated rage, startled birds flew in groups from the trees and even the members on the ground chose to cover their own ears.

Mikasa only had moments to readjust her grip before he was savagely trying to fling her off, he shook his head ferociously, whipping it back and forth until she lost purchase on his nose. She disengaged from his hair and punctured a lever into his other shoulder.

"Armin! Plan B!" She called, barely avoiding his jaw as she swung up and around him.

They had figured it would come to plan B, not really placing much faith into plan A. It had not worked the first time in Trost, they were aware, when Eren had not listened to her then, but they didn't want to rule it out. Now they could however, and Mikasa had taken to flying around him, causing distraction.

He tracked her meticulously, mouth snapping and forever roaring, as Armin straightened his arm out in front of him, lining up his shot with the back of Eren's neck. His target landed, barely, and he jumped from his branch and landed roughly onto the nape of Eren's neck. He had to use his other lever to create a secure harness to Eren, where he could stand and use his hands.

It was much harder to stand this time, with Eren thrashing side to side, desperately trying to head butt Mikasa or catch her in his mouth. Yet as he pulled his blade out of its sheath and gripped it with two hands, he tried to pinpoint where Eren's human shoulder would be, buried under titan flesh.

They were planning to drive a blade through Eren's arm again, like he had in Trost. It had worked before, somehow, and when Eren had awoken again, he had been himself. Yet this time, Eren was fully conscious, so they didn't know if they'd have the same desired outcome.

"Okay, Head would be here…" he muttered, feet teetering around to gain footing every time Eren lashed out, causing him to become off balanced.

"Neck…. Damn it, Shoulders are there…. So arm would be… here!" Armin quickly sliced a shallow cut to where he intended to plunge his sword. He had to act quickly, steam was already gathering around the narrow wound.

He took a deep breath, "Forgive me again, Eren…"

Armin rose his sword above his head, but as he was about to sink it into the titan, something went seriously wrong.

Eren's cry had gained new force, and Armin felt the force much stronger this time, lurching an incredible amount to the left. He barely kept on his feet, yet frantically glanced around him to see that Eren was leaning forward, much further than the well restricting him should allow.

As Eren bent forward, Armin was brought higher into the air, until he could see past Eren's scruff of hair and see below him the Survey members looking back in undisputed shock.

Armin swallowed hard and let his eyes drop to the grass below him, looking past Eren's great shoulder to see huge chunks of rubble from the well strewn across the field.

He had broken the well.

And now, he was climbing out.

Without the lip of the well restricting his shoulders, Eren now had the room to pull one arm free, and with that the other one. He slammed his palms on the floor, using his strength to pull his torso out and then a knee. Once one foot was on the floor, the other one easily followed.

Armin, stuck in a stupor, only felt the panic kick in when Eren rose to full height, and Armin was looking down at the floor a full fifteen metres up into the air. He still had his sword in his hand, yet it felt loose in his palm as Eren threw his head back and yelled at the sky, the rage rolling through his muscles and all Armin could do was grip a hand to the metal wires that secured him.

And that's when everything became a blur of frantic motion.

Above Eren's yelling, Armin could hear the groups yelling in action. Green cloaks scattered on the ground, some already zipping through the air with the trees to aid them. Armin could feel every time Eren moved his head to track them, thick muscles flexing taunt and untaunt. Soon the air and ground around Eren were surrounded in green cloaks, already cutting into various strips of his flesh, making him roar and swing his arms out in protection.

Armin's foot lost purchase when Eren whipped around, strong thighs taking off into a run towards the open expanses of fields, the fields they had avoided due to lack of tree cover. Armin fell, one lever pinging loose from its hold on Eren's shoulder, until he was abruptly jolted in his fall from the other lever that held secure.

He was dangling, swinging with each giant stride Eren took until he was bashing repeatedly into his back and then out again. He felt disorientated, unable to stop the blows and unable to find a grip on his remaining wire to secure him.

The groups watched as Eren took off, soon losing the cover of their trees.

"Squad Leader Hanji! Orders, please!" Shouted a member of her squad, as they watched the Special Op's squad already climbing on top of their horses and urging them out of the small paddock.

The small elite squad pelted past them, a flurry of shouts and actions.

Hanji blinked at the member, "Get me my horse, our priority is Armin first. Then cutting Eren out. Go!" She cried, watching as another member was already bringing her horse.

She climbed atop and galloped full speed towards them. Her heart was racing, mind fully battling through a dozen thoughts. Usually, as cruel as this sounds, saving a comrade isn't actually first priority when they have a titan to slay or a higher objective to be met. Yet in this instance, Armin must be first priority.

If Eren ever caused the boy injury, to which she couldn't determine in this moment in time if it was intentional or not, then that was the end. They could kiss the idea of Humanity's Hope goodbye. Not because of the Survey Corps, not even because of the damned Council, but because it would break the boy's heart. It would wreck him.

She urged her horse forward, heels digging into its side, they must secure Armin.

Out to her far right, much further behind her, she could spot a black horse, rider raised out of their seat, flying across the field at great speed.

An earth shaking roar from up ahead had her whipping her head round, measuring the scene. Eren had come to a halt, turning his great head to survey his surroundings. Hanji squinted, and could barely make out Armin hanging from the belt on his waist, swaying around Eren's back. Just seeing Armin had her jolt hard,

"Armin!" she breathed, relief washing through her when she saw his small arm reach up to clutch his wire.

Armin felt a little shell shocked at this point, as he gripped his wire, using it to pull him up into a semi seated position. He needed to find his footing, and quickly, before titan Eren started on the move again. He would have to abseil his way up the long slope of his best friend's back, to find a better grip on his hair, at the least. Right now, he was vulnerable, too open to any momentum and already feeling beaten and bruised by the constant contact with Eren's back.

Not to mention the fact that at this point he had sweated entirely through his clothes, the uncomfortable heat making his skin clammy and slippery. He ignored the dull throbbing in his head and rotated around until he had both feet planted.

He tried to pull himself up a few steps but found his palms too sweaty and began sliding down to where he was originally.

"Arghh," he cried, feeling the frustration kick in, he gripped the wire of his other lever, which was still dangling below him from where it had pinged free. He reeled it in and decided that he'd have to take his chances of firing it back into Eren's flesh.

He set it, and aimed, praying that Eren was too distracted to feel it. It went whizzing up his back and hooked deep in the flesh between the shoulder blades. Armin held his breath yet it was short lived when Eren wailed loudly and pivoted on the spot.

The force of the pivot had him slam back into flesh and left him slightly dazed.

Then, before Armin had time to even realise it, a hand came swinging round the side until it touched him. He yelped when he felt fingers enclose around his body and pluck him away. The wires snapped and he was brought round to the front of Eren, where he was raised to eye level.

There was an odd elongated silence, as titan Eren's eyes studied him in his grip, head and shoulders barely peaking over his giant fist. Armin felt the breath catch in his throat, hair becoming tousled by the titan's breathing. They were staring at each other, one stunned to silence and the other with an unreadable expression.

"Armin!" Mikasa screeched, voice torn and face desperate, she was pushing a horse with as much force as she could get, catching up to the Special Op's squad who had just come to a halt surrounding Eren.

They had frozen, the situation extremely delicate. They had all thought they'd reach him before he discovered Armin swinging loose from his back, but now the boy was tight in his fist.

Mikasa scrambled off her horse, pushing into a run before Petra grabbed her by the back of her collar, "Don't move," she whispered, all of them staring up at Eren who had tilted his head to watch the surrounding Corps form a circle at his feet.

It was a standoff, ragged breathing filling the air and a tension so thick it was palpable.

"What do we do," Erd hissed, as Hanji came to a stop next to them,

"You know what the priority is, we aim for the fingers, once Armin is secure you're free to engage the neck."

Armin was finding it slightly hard to breath, Eren's grip wasn't enough to be crushing him, but it felt constricting enough to cause discomfort. He didn't dare take his wide eyes off his friend's face, which was looking down at the cloaks on the ground.

He could see the tension in his shoulders, coiling higher the more members showed up. He was acting like a surrounded trapped animal, tetchy and unpredictable. Armin couldn't help but stop to wonder why, cynical as it was, that Eren hadn't crushed him yet, or eaten him. He clearly didn't recognise him, yet here he was.

It wasn't much of a comforting thought though, he had to grit his teeth together to stop his jaw clacking together with nerves.

The last group came galloping in, slowing to a halt but not quite quick enough, three of the members took too long coming to a stop and they were just that little bit closer than the titan felt comfortable with.

Armin gasped, yelling a "Stop!" too late. Eren took a step back, roaring at them, and that's when then groups dashed into action.

Two groups slashed at his shins, another group hooked levers into flesh above his hips, using momentum to travel further up his body, slashing as they went, he yelled at them, swinging his limbs in protection. When one particular member slashed a deep wound right across his stomach, he bellowed, bringing his fist, with Armin in it directly in front of him.

Armin cried out in pain when the fingers tensed harder around him, the members stopping in their tracks with bated breaths.

Mikasa, more frantic than ever, screamed at them to retreat. They did so, dropping to the field and freezing.

He was angry, infuriated and wound up tight. Without buildings or trees to support them, they hadn't enough time to get past his chest, before having to retreat again. He was too tall, and acted too quickly to allow them the adequate time to reach his fingers. He was an abnormal after all, which allowed for less mistakes and much more caution.

Armin felt the tight fingers constricting his chest, he could feel the tension in his muscles, enveloping him until he could only take shallow breaths. His bones ached, his ribs bruised, his legs tingled from lack of circulation. He could feel as much as hear Eren's growling. Eren was beyond gone, completely irrational now that he thought he was under attack, one small move, one more mistake and Armin knew it would be his last.

No body dared move an inch.

Except one, one glorious fool who had been concentrated on Eren's face so hard that they jumped out of their skin when their horse shifted footing from behind and nudged them in the back. The soldier yelped, startled, and took a step forward, glancing behind him to notice it was just his horse.

However, that had been the last straw for Eren, he roared again, fist tightening as though readying for an attack. There was a loud crack in the air, and Armin screamed out in pain, voice sounding broken from the strain as he felt a rib break from the pressure. The groups bent their knees, readying their levers again, knowing that it was probably too late for Armin, for the time it took to reach him.

Before they sprang, there was a voice, carrying out far above the noise of the commotion, the black horse earlier spotted by Hanji galloped directly from the right of Eren,

Levi had chosen to arrive.

"EREN." He boomed, dismounting his horse and pushing through the right side of the group, where they parted to let him through.

The titan paused mid bellow, the sound cutting off abruptly. He turned his giant head, eyes skimming the group until they settled on Levi.

Everyone had frozen, and yet again they found themselves holding their breaths.

Armin sucked in a lungful of air, groaning from the pain.

Eren's giant form was completely still now, eyes locked on Levi with a sudden intense unwavering focus.

Levi folded his arms over his chest, naturally holding a strong stance. He may be the shortest person to this party, yet every single pair of eyes were trained on him. He ignored them all, staring up high into the face of Eren, where he held eye contact and did not falter. The silence settled around them, tension so coiled it felt uncomfortable.

Levi and titan Eren studied each other, before Levi felt he had his full attention,

"Release him, Eren." He commanded, surprisingly calm. The order was not shouted, it was spoken, just like he would if he was talking to the boy, and not to the beast.

Eren didn't react at first, continuing to stare directly into Levi's eyes, then, with a long pause, he brought his fist up to his face.

The group took a few steps forward in panic,

"Freeze." Levi shouted at his team, each one doing so at the sharpness of his order. He had never taken his face off Eren's though, studying each movement carefully. The titan had brought Armin up to the front of his face, to which he unfurled his fist, excruciatingly slowly. His bright green eyes travelled from Levi's face, to the blonde resting in his hand, eyes roaming over Armin's form.

Armin sat still, in the middle of his palm, arm clutching his ribs and observing Eren's expression. He watched as Eren's giant eyes dilated a fraction, and then nearly panicked when the titan let out a long high pitched keening noise. He was in a lot of pain in that moment, yet as he stared into his best friend's eyes, he realised that Eren now recognised him, and that Eren was upset that he was in pain.

Feeling relief wash over him in continuous waves, Armin gave Eren a wobbly smile, as though to say it was okay.

"Eren," Levi called, pulling the titan's attention instantly from Armin, bright green eyes settled on Levi once more.

"Lower him to me."

The gasps rippled through the members as Eren did so, lowering his hand slowly and with incredible gentleness. His knuckles brushed the dirt and remained there, palm flat and open. Levi uncrossed his arms and took a few steps forward.

"Corporal-!"

"Hush," He stated, raising a foot and placing it down onto the pad of Eren's finger. His other foot followed, until he was walking across Eren's palm. He bent low, scooping Armin up swiftly into his arms, then turned, back to Eren as he looked to Mikasa,

"You, take Arlert." He stated, walking over to the edge of the palm but not getting off, instead, he waited until Mikasa was at the edge until he dipped his knees, lowering the small blonde into her arms.

He straightened and turned, facing Eren once more.

"Eren, kneel."

Everyone was silent, each individual taking in the sight of a titan kneeling at the command of a human. It was an extraordinary moment, never being seen, never being imagined, until now. Yet, Eren bent his knees, crouching low until he was knelt in the grass, never breaking eye contact with the Corporal.

They were all waiting for the next command, titan and humans alike, yet as the beats of silence rolled on, Levi just quirked an eyebrow at him,

"Well?" He drawled, looking up at Eren expectantly.

The titan flicked his eyes to the side, then back to Levi, letting out a noise Levi could only interpret as confusion. He sighed, speaking to the mountain of flesh as though he was speaking to his subordinate,

"Well I'm not going to cut you out from down here, am I?" He quirked an eyebrow, watching as Eren appeared to have understood, hastily raising his palm up and towards his face. Once Levi was level with his eyes, they studied each other in close proximity.

Whilst they were doing so, Levi only had a moment to clock on to the sudden change in Eren's eyes, the pupils constricting at an alarming rate and when the growl built up at the back of Eren's throat, Levi understood the situation. It appeared that Eren was being attacked by his rage, he had been snapped out of it by Levi's presence yet it was washing through him again, threatening to take over.

He needed to control this, quickly.

"Eren," He said sharply, "listen to me, get that rage under control right now, and if you so much as let it take you then I will be severely disappointed. Am I clear?"

Apparently, he was. He watched Eren struggle until his eyes dilated back to how they were previously, his breathing becoming shallow once more. He dropped his eyes to the ground, no longer looking at Levi, and raised his palm up to his shoulder.

Once Levi hopped off his palm, Eren lowered his head, looking extremely sorry for himself.

Levi made quick work of cutting him out, yanking the boy out by his armpits with practised ease. He jumped down off the steaming titan and everyone cleared a path for him to walk. He deposited Eren on the ground a few metres away from the corpse, and was about to stand up when he heard a choking sound.

He turned sharply to look down at the boy, to find him sucking in great gulps of air, arms rising to his throat, gasping rapidly as though he couldn't breathe, and Levi was knelt by his side in an instant,

"Hanji!" He yelled, the brunette falling to the ground on the other side of Eren,

"He's hyperventilating," She diagnosed on sight, whipping her head to the side, "You," she pointed, eyes landing on Gunter, "Quick, get me the medical supplies," Gunter rushed towards one of the loaded horses, grabbing the medical sack and dragging it over.

Meanwhile, Levi had gripped Eren's wrists, gently prying them away from his throat, tutting at the angry scratch marks that had formed, red and angry against his skin. It was a hard thing to hear, Eren gasping over and over, in the midst of a full blown panic attack. Levi watched with difficultly as tears rolled down the boy's cheeks,

He was croaking out noises, until they became coherent clawed words, shaking his head and repeating and repeating, "I…. re-remember, I …remember…" body writhing fully now against Levi until he had to pin his arms with his elbows, hands already occupied with his wrists.

"Hanji, for fuck sake hurry it up," he stated through clenched teeth, feeling Eren's wrist twist in his grip and long fingers wrap around his wrist. Hanji was dousing a rag in some clear liquid and was then holding it close to Eren's nose.

Eren calmed down with immediate effect, only a few broken sobs emerging until he soon became still, fingers loosening from Levi's wrist.

Levi kneeled back on his haunches, feeling suddenly very drained and weary.

"What did you use?"

"A mild form of chloroform, made from pond algae. Knocks you right out."

Levi sighed, looking down into the now peaceful face Eren held.

"Remind me never to piss you off." He stated, scooping Eren up into his arms to take him back to the castle, and even though the strain of the situation was still in the air, Hanji let out a quiet cackle.

She watched Levi's retreating back, arms cradling humanity's weapon that appeared to respond only to him and him alone,

"Oh no, my dear Levi, remind me never to piss you off."

~0~

A/N: Did a little research on Chloroform and to see if they could have it in AoT based on the Era's progression and supplies. Turns out most likely they could! One of the major factors of it's compounds are founded by pond algae, and it's variants :D Give Hanji some artistic license and some afternoons spendt knee-deep in some lakes a voila! Lethal scientist.

Wanted hell to break loose in this chapter a little, did anyone spot the hint as to what was comig earlier in the chapter? :

"They settled down, perching on the lip of the well and staring out into the distance. They shared a comfortable silence for a while, both feeling no need to fill the peace with incessant chatter. Eren picked at the rough stone of the well, watching as little chunks broke loose and fell to the grass, tiny dust plumes stirring in the wind.

Half an hour passed before Eren spoke, "I hope today we have a breakthrough."

No? Just me then? /Cackles

Please review and comment and all those lovelies! I want to thank the people who have right down to the bottom of my squishy toes and back 33.