AN: Time skip! Okay, so this is Chapter XX! I hope you guys liked the previous chapter. So, part three of I-still-have-no-idea-how-many of the Forgotten Arc (doesn't really focus on Petra but still part of it) takes place 3 months after the previous chapter, which took place in the last week of December, meaning this chapter takes place in the last week of March. Also, in this chapter I will tell you what I think drove Levi to being a thug before the Scouting Legion. Anyways, thanks to those who reviewed and will review here. I hope you guys enjoy this.
CHAPTER XX:
A NIGHT IN UTOPIA
3 months since that day, Celeste entered the HQ after taking a walk outside before the sun came up. Once she was done taking a bath, she headed for the kitchen and saw her dad sitting there with Petra both having coffee and breakfast.
"Good Morning, Celeste." Petra greeted her. Celeste gave a nod and grabbed a glass of water. She's been laying off coffee ever since Hanji put a spider on her bed as a prank and she punched the scientist in the face.
"Morning." She greeted back as Petra dragged her to the table to eat some breakfast.
"So, how are you feeling?" Petra asked her. Ever since 3 months ago, Petra hasn't made that much progress with getting her memories back. It was a relief that she remembered that Celeste came from the future but she still doesn't remember that she was married to Levi or that Celeste was their daughter.
"I'm good." Celeste answered as she ate. The three of them sat there in idle silence until Levi spoke up.
"Oh, Celeste, Hanji wants you to go to her lab in Trost later."
Celeste froze up upon hearing that. Ever since the spider incident, her trust of Hanji kind of went down.
"Why should I go? For all I know there could be a bunch of spiders there." She retorted.
"You can stand up to Titans, I'm pretty sure you can stand up to a bunch of Spiders." Levi said as he drank his coffee.
"Have you forgotten what happened 2 months ago? I had to get Armin up there!" Celeste reminded him as she finished eating.
"Go now. That's an order." He said. Celeste rolled her eyes and stood up.
"Celeste?" Petra called for her. She turned back immediately with a questioning look on her face.
"Happy Birthday." She said. Celeste smiled and nodded.
"Thanks." She answered as she went out the door. Her birthday was on March 25 so it was her 19th Birthday.
'I can't believe it's been 4 years already.' She thought to herself as she walked to stables.
"Come on, Clara. Time to visit the Crazy Scientist." She muttered as she hopped on Clara's saddle. They rode out to Trost and headed for Hanji's lab, which was also her squad's base. She entered immediately after tying Clara's reigns to make sure she wouldn't go anywhere.
"Hanji! Where are you, you crazy scientist?" She called around. Suddenly, Moblit came running down the stairs.
"Where is she, Moblit?" She asked immediately and Moblit just pointed upstairs. Celeste gave a frustrated groan and headed upstairs.
'Damn Scientist, making me come here on my birthday.' She thought as she entered Hanji's room. The room was dark because the windows were closed.
"Oh, crap." She muttered. Suddenly, she heard Hanji laughing.
"Hanji, I swear to God. If you put a Spider on my head again on my fucking 19th Birthday I will end your life!" Celeste said. Suddenly, the window opened and there was Hanji.
"Actually, I was just thinking of sticking this Syringe down your neck but it's your 19th birthday, already?" She asked. She rolled her eyes and nodded.
"Yes, it's my 19th."
With that, Hanji sat down on her bed.
"Wow. I remember back when you were just a little baby who looked so much like your mommy in your daddy's arms." She said. The blonde 19 year old rolled her eyes in frustration.
"What do you want? A trip down memory lane?" She asked. That snapped Hanji back to reality.
"Okay. I received permission from Eren and Commander Irvin and they said I could give this to you." Hanji said as she stuck the syringe on Celeste's right shoulder and injected the red liquid in. It took a while before Celeste realized what was going on.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?"
"Eren's blood. It's an Experiment." She answered with a crazy smile.
"You didn't get my permission or my dad's did you?" She asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Hehe…your dad will say no and kill me if he finds out about this." Hanji replied.
"I'm ready to kill you. Eren's blood has some sort of weird, mysterious serum that turns him into a fucking Titan and you put it on me? What are you trying to pull, Hanji?" Celeste asked angrily. She cusses like Levi when she's pissed. Hanji took the syringe out immediately.
"Okay, done. You can go." She said. Without another word, Celeste made a beeline for the door and left the lab. Hopping on Clara once again, she left Trost immediately.
'Dad is going to kill her.' She thought as she rode back to HQ. When she arrived, she stuck Clara in the stables once again and entered the building.
"Celeste, you there?" Armin called for her from the kitchen.
"Yeah, I'm back." She answered as she entered. When she entered, Commander Irvin was there and the whole squad was sitting around the table. Giving a quick salute, she sat down when he made her sit down.
"Alright, Celeste, first off, Happy Birthday. And secondly, we're going somewhere this evening." The Commander said.
"What? Where are we going?" Celeste asked them.
"To Utopia (1)." He answered immediately. Celeste hated Utopia; it was full of rich, stuck up nobles. The only noble she liked was Historia.
"Okay, why?" She asked.
"Fundraising ball for the three Military Divisions." Levi answered.
"Goodbye." Celeste answered as she stood up but Armin and Petra prevented her from leaving.
"You're all going. And the ladies have to wear a dress." The Commander said. She groaned in frustration before banging her head on the table. Another reason not to go.
"Can I not go? I'll do the Captain's paperwork." She offered but they all shook their head.
"Come on, Celeste. It's your birthday. You should get out and have fun." Eren said, while Mikasa, Armin and Petra nodded in agreement.
"But I don't want to go. I don't want to kiss some noble ass for funds." She moaned yet again.
"You're going. That's an order." Levi said. Again, she banged her head on the table.
"It'll be fun, Celeste. Every noble man there will be clamouring for a dance with the Ice Princess." Petra pointed out. Again, Celeste stood up.
"I'm going to take a nap." She said as she walked out of the dining hall and headed for her room to get a much needed nap.
Hours later, while Celeste was sleeping in her room, Petra decided to come in and wake her up. The scene looked awfully familiar to her; Celeste sleeping with her mouth hanging open a bit. She felt a connection to the girl the moment she saw her.
"Celeste, wake up." She whispered. The girl immediately woke up and sat up in her bed.
"Petra? What's up?" Celeste asked as she rubbed her eyes. Petra held out a dark blue folded dress with some shoes in front of Celeste.
"Don't tell me. I still have to go?" She asked and Petra nodded.
"What? Did you think going to bed will make the Captain change his mind?"
"Of course, I didn't." She answered.
"Don't worry. They have sleeves so your tattoos are pretty much covered." Petra whispered with a wink.
'She remembers the tattoos. Joy.' Celeste thought to herself. Come to think of it, her dad doesn't know a thing about the tattoo. He'd probably skin her alive for that. Celeste stood up and headed for the bathroom and took a bath before changing into the dress. It reaches up to her knees and actually covers her tattoos.
"At least, it's not too revealing." She muttered to herself before putting the shoes on. She could swear they're freaking death traps.
'Time to lose some dignity, I guess.' She thought to herself before walking out of the bathroom and heading for the dining hall. When she was about to enter, she saw that the men were already waiting for them. Levi, Eren and Armin were wearing identical black suits. When Celeste was going to turn around to make an escape, she was shoved in by Mikasa.
"Don't even think about it." The older woman told her. Mikasa was wearing a black knee length dress and as usual, her scarf was always around her.
"Fix your hair, Celeste." Levi told her.
"What? In the future, chicks and guys alike dig my messy hair." She said with a smile.
"Fix it. That's an order." He said emotionlessly.
"Oh, now that's abuse of power." Celeste said as she sat down. Honestly, she just had no idea how to tie her hair and eventually, her messy hair became a trademark of hers. Just then, Irvin and Hanji came in with Petra. Irvin wore a suit identical to the men while Hanji wore a green dress and Petra wore a red cocktail dress. Celeste nudged her father and subtly gestured towards her mother. He responded with a cold look towards his daughter.
"So, are you guys ready to go?" The Commander asked and they all nodded. Celeste reluctantly stood up and followed the adults out of the room.
'This is going to be the worst night of my life.' She thought.
About 2 hours after they arrived in Utopia and where the ball was being held, Celeste only has one thing in her mind…
'This is the worst and most disturbing night of my life.'
Seriously, in the 19 years that she's been alive, she has never been put in a situation like this. On one corner, Eren, Armin and Hanji were pigging out on the sweets (Okay, maybe Hanji was. Eren and Armin have the decency to eat like normal people), Irvin was mingling with other nobles, Mikasa was sulking on one corner like a creepy person and Petra was sitting on a chair, observing the people around her.
What Celeste wasn't expecting was her dad mingling with other nobles as well.
'And I'm just standing here, drinking Vine (2). Well, as long as I don't have to lodge my nose up their asses, I guess.'
And with that, she drank the Vine in her cup. Anyone who says she's too young for Vine can go suck it. When she was done, she put the glass on a passing waiter's tray and was about to make a move for the other glass of Vine but a hand shot out and stopped her. Looking to her right, she saw Levi.
"I think you've had enough." He said sternly.
"I'm not drunk yet." She answered.
"And I'm not letting you get drunk." Levi replied. Okay, anyone except her father can go suck it.
"You know, I was surprised; never pegged you for the sociable type." Celeste told him as she continued to lean on the pillar she was standing beside.
"I don't but sometimes you have to kiss some asses. Don't you have parties like these after those races you compete in? I'm pretty sure you socialize then, why don't you socialize now?" He said.
"I don't socialize in those parties either." She replied. "Why don't you ask her for a dance?"
Levi followed her gaze immediately, which landed on Petra. Celeste immediately knew that he wasn't going to do it. Fortunately for her, none of the nobles kept gushing on and on about how the Ice Princess resembled Captain Levi's Second in Command. Or the fact that the said Second in Command was married to Captain Levi.
"If you can't ask her for a dance, how the hell did you ask her to marry you?" She asked him to which he gave no reply but he simply clicked his tongue. They observed the people dancing and eating and mingling around. Every once in a while, Celeste would refuse a noble who would ask her for a dance. Petra was right; every guy was clamouring for a dance with her because they came every 3 minutes. Like clockwork. They watched Petra dance with a young noble and Celeste can see the jealousy in her dad's face. Suddenly, a woman (who was a couple inches shorter than her dad) approached Levi. Celeste recognized the woman as someone who came from a noble family who supported the Scouting Legion.
'And he's gonna kiss some ass.' She thought. While Levi was looking away, she grabbed another glass of Vine. Celeste watched as the woman dragged her dad away for a dance. This didn't avoid Petra's eyes either, who had a sad look in them and maybe even a little bit of jealousy as well. Celeste kept observing them, seeing if anything fishy could happen with their respective dance partners.
And something did. Because once the dance ended, Levi's dance partner kissed him. That small smile that Celeste has gradually turned into a frown and she walked out to the balcony with her glass of vine. The moon was out tonight and so were the stars. Celeste looked down at the glass, feeling frustrated by what she saw. Not only that, but the stress of keeping her real relationship with her mother is taking its toll on her.
"They probably wouldn't miss this glass." Celeste thought to herself. In her frustration, she broke the glass in her grip. Like before she removed the shards from her hand and let the ice seal the wounds. With a frustrated sigh, she buried her face in her hands, feeling a loss for what to do.
While Celeste was having her emo time in the balcony, Levi separated himself from his dance partner the moment the song ended. He saw the look on Petra's eyes and it brought him hope; maybe she was starting to remember him as her husband. Even though he knew he was married, kissing that woman reminded him of his days as a thug. Being able to be with any woman he wanted. While he was walking, he was cornered by Irvin and Hanji.
"Levi, have you seen Celeste?" Irvin asked. His voice told Levi immediately that he was hiding something.
"Yeah, you're her dad, shouldn't you be watching over your daughter in a party?" Hanji asked. Come to think of it, he hasn't seen Celeste since he was whisked away to dance.
"No. She's 19. She can take care of herself." He said emotionlessly. Levi remembered that he still hasn't greeted her a Happy Birthday.
"Celeste is in the balcony. I'm pretty sure she wasn't pleased with what she saw." Hanji said with a sly smile. Levi knew that didn't spell good news for him. Heading for the balcony, he saw Celeste standing there.
"Celeste." He called for her.
"What do you want?" She asked him. Celeste was still seething with anger with what she saw.
"What you saw. I know you're mad-"
Celeste immediately turned around. He saw the pure anger in her eyes.
"Mad? I am beyond mad. I am furious, dad." She answered him.
"I didn't even ask for it." He replied emotionlessly.
"Of course you didn't but standing there and just taking it isn't exactly my ideal view of husband and father. You're a married man yet you didn't do anything about it." Celeste countered.
"How do you know your mother isn't even doing the same thing now?" Levi asked her angrily. That made Celeste snap.
"Alright, Mom, I can understand if she does that but I highly doubt that but you? It's like you're going back to who you were."
That statement made Levi snap as well.
"What do you know about me?"
"I know everything, Mr. Big Time Thug. I have my ways of garnering information. What? You think I didn't know; if you weren't mugging nobles, you were sleeping around with random bimbos." She answered with a sadistic smile in her face. Levi's eyes widened; another thing he feared ever since she was born was that Celeste would eventually find out who he really was and what he really did before the Scouting Legion.
"That was before I met your mother." He replied. "Why are you so affected by this anyway?"
Celeste just turned away from him. The reason why she was so affected was that she's also had her fair share of bad luck when it comes to romance. When she was 14, she had a guy whom she thought was going to stick by her forever. But sadly, he didn't. Maybe partly because it was also Celeste's fault for choosing her racing career instead of him. But that never meant she didn't love him. And seeing that there was a possibility of that happening to her parents when she just found them made her feel like she was losing them again. Taking a deep breath, she faced him once more.
"None of your fucking business, dad."
"No, you're my daughter. It's my fucking business." Levi retorted as he grabbed her wrist, which she just threw off.
"I'm done. I'm going home." Celeste answered before walking back inside. Petra, Irvin, Hanji, Armin, Eren and Mikasa watched as she left the building, talked to the coachman, got in and left the party.
Hours later, Celeste was sleeping in her room when Levi came in. Everyone just got back. The Scouting Legion pretty much got a big fund tonight. Levi sat down on the sleeping girl's side and gently shook her.
"Wake up, you snippy brat." He told her. Celeste sat up and rubbed her eyes.
"The fuck do you want at this ungodly hour?" She snapped at him.
"I want you to tell me why you were so affected by what you saw earlier." He demanded.
"Fucking make me." She replied.
"I'm not letting you sleep until you do." Levi answered. He was getting pissed with Celeste's attitude the entire day. Deciding she wants to get this over with, she started talking.
"There was a guy in the future. He cheated on me because I was too focused on my racing career. But that also didn't mean I didn't love him. I guess it was my fault too. But I didn't like it when I saw my dad doing that." She answered. Levi sighed and patted her head.
"I'm sorry." He blurted out. Celeste's head shot up. Did he just say he's sorry? Are pigs flying nowadays?
"I'm sorry. I love your mom too much to do that to her even if she doesn't remember us." Levi said as patted her once more. They sat in silence for a while. Levi wondered what it would've been like to raise her. He was pretty sure it would've brought him immense happiness amidst this cruel and filthy world. During the 3 months that she was with them, he didn't show it but he was very happy raising a daughter with a beautiful wife. When he lost her, he regretted taking that happiness for granted.
"Dad?"
Levi was snapped out of his musings when he heard her call for him.
"What turned you to being a thug?" Celeste asked. Levi was reluctant to answer her question. But she was 19 and she was an adult and she could die outside the walls and should she die, Levi wanted her to know everything she can know about him. With a sigh, he started talking.
"Your grandfather, he was an abusive, cheating bastard. Your grandmother died in childbirth. One day, I had enough. I killed him. I was an orphan with nowhere to go so I became a thug. Channelled all my anger through that. Then Irvin found me and convinced me to join the Legion."
Celeste was stunned but she guessed if her dad was like that towards her as well, she figured she'd snap someday.
"Go to sleep, Celeste." He ordered her. Celeste lied back down immediately but what surprised her was that Levi gave her a kiss in the forehead.
"Night, Celeste."
"Night, Dad." She answered. Before Celeste fell asleep, she felt happy. Happy that she and her dad were finally getting along.
'Now, I just have to get mom to remember us and we'll be together again.' She thought as she closed her eyes.
AN: WAAAH! FUCKING HELL! 3000 SOMETHING WORDS? This is the longest chapter I have written in my life. I am so sleepy. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and now without further ado, I will tell you what the numbers mean;
1 – For those who don't know, according to the SNK wikia, Utopia is the inner district where the king and the nobles live.
2 – Again, for those who don't know, Vine is an alcoholic drink.