Hello again everyone! Once again, thanks for all of the follows/favorites/reviews and for being patient for the updates.

Remember, stuff in italics is the character's inner thoughts.

After another hour and a half of riding, Levi and his squad finally arrived at the abandoned castle that would be their new headquarters. Eren marveled at the sight of the grand structure. It really was as big as the books had made it out to be.

It looks straight out of a fairytale.

The squad dismounted and led their horses around to the stables that were located alongside the castle. Eren had been stuck with the task of fetching water for the horse trough. After filling up a large bucket from the outside pump, Eren carried the (incredibly heavy) water over to the trough and dumped it in. He took off Phoenix's saddle and bridle and gave her a few pats on the nose before turning her loose in the small corral outside of the stables.

He spotted Levi doing the same to Onyx, secretly sneaking the horse a carrot from his pocket and scratching behind his ears. The man was a total mystery to Eren. Most of the time he got to see the stern, serious and easily irritated side of the Corporal, but very rarely he would catch a glimpse of a kinder, gentler side of him. He secretly wished that he could see it more often.

He decided that it would probably be a good idea to apologize to Levi for being such a pervert earlier. He was sure the man had put Eren on his shit-list long ago, but it didn't hurt to try and redeem himself at least a little bit. He slowly approached Levi as he undid the saddle and bridle from Onyx and turned him loose to drink. He gathered up all his courage and prayed that Levi was in a somewhat good mood.

"Um…can I talk to you for a minute, Corporal?"

Levi turned to face him. Eren was relieved to see that the man's expression was not one of anger or annoyance but total indifference.

"What is it, Jaeger?"

A tiny bit of redness appeared on Eren's cheeks and he searched for the right words to say. "I..umm.." He was having trouble getting the words to come out of his mouth. "Er…that is…I wanted to apologize for…what happened earlier…at the stream. I didn't realize that I was staring at you…like that."

Eren thought he was going to die of embarrassment. He wished he could just sink into the ground and disappear. He was slightly relieved when Levi didn't seem touchy about the subject. He heaved the riding equipment over his shoulder and headed inside the stable to put it away. He yelled back over his shoulder,

"Don't worry about it, Jaeger. I plan to have you make it up to me."

That statement didn't sit well with Eren for some reason. He was a little afraid of just what Levi had planned for him. He wanted to ask but was too scared to push his luck with the older man. He was more than a little grateful when Petra and Mike, two other members of Levi's squad, came riding out of the forest. They had ridden far ahead of the group to scout out the area and make sure that no titans were anywhere in the vicinity. They had arrived at the castle about half an hour before the others and decided to search the grounds surrounding it. When they sensed no immediate threat they made their way back to report to Levi. Petra dismounted and immediately saluted the Corporal, who emerged from the stables, dusting himself off.

"Sir! Mike and I have confirmed that no titans are present in the area for now. We've stationed some lookouts around the perimeter of the castle just in case they decide to appear this evening."

Levi nodded. "Good. Your next assignment is to investigate the castle and report back to me what kind of condition it's in." Petra saluted once more. "Sir, yes sir!" She relaxed when Levi departed to rendezvous with the rest of the squad. She turned her attention towards Eren, smiling brightly. "Oh, hello there! You must be Eren Jaeger! I've heard so much about you! My name's Petra Ral. Nice to meet you!"

Eren tried to process all of the information she'd dumped on him at once. The redhead just beamed at him, waiting for a response. He finally realized that he was being rude and stuck out his hand for a handshake.

"Oh sorry. I spaced out there for a minute. Yeah, I'm Eren. It's nice to meet you, Petra!" He smiled back and tried to appear more friendly. She enthusiastically shook his hand and Eren was relieved that he hadn't put her off. If he made a good first impression maybe she wouldn't think he was a monster. She was cute, in a kid sister kind of way. Her gold eyes seemed to be full of nothing but kindness.

All was going well until Eren heard a sniffing sound behind him. He turned around to find Mike looking much like a dog sniffing a new person. Except, they had already met once before and it was just as awkward back then as it was now. He did his best to just ignore it until the man seemed to be satisfied and moved away from the boy. Petra gave Eren another smile, chuckling a bit. "Oh, I think you already met Mike, he's a little strange, but who isn't these days? Oh! We better get going, Mike! Corporal Levi will be furious if we don't scope out the castle for him. See ya later, Eren!" Mike nodded. The two began making their way to the castle, Petra turning and waving goodbye at Eren, who returned the gesture.

She doesn't seem so strange…yet.

Eren decided to head back to the entrance of the castle and find out what he was supposed to do next.

When he arrived he saw everyone standing outside the castle chatting until Petra pushed open the front doors, releasing a great cloud of dust from inside. She coughed a bit. "The castle is structurally sound, but incredibly dusty." Levi looked at the dust cloud with disdain. "Well, let's start cleaning." To everyone's surprise Levi volunteered to participate, slipping a bandana over his mouth to protect his lungs from breathing in the dust and one on his head to keep it out of his hair. "Everyone get to dusting and mopping. I'll do the dining hall." Everyone nodded, grabbing a white bandana each and heading into the castle.

Eren had never cleaned so much in his entire life. Every time he thought he was finished with a room Levi would come in and find a spot he'd missed, making him redo the whole thing. His back ached from bending over and he couldn't stop sneezing, even with the bandana wrapped around his nose and mouth. When he finally finished up the last room on the top floor he spotted Petra out in the hall sweeping up. She waved at him and stopped sweeping to come say hello.

"Hey Eren! How's the dusting going?" She noticed how tired, sweaty and dirty Eren was after she had asked and had her answer. Eren just have her a tired smile and replied. "I'm almost finished with this room. It should be the only one left that hasn't been cleaned by someone." Petra gave him a sympathetic look.

"Oh my, are you alright, Eren? You seem rather exhausted. I can finish up this room if you want."

Eren just sighed and shook his head. "It's ok. Once the Corporal inspects it I'm sure he will find a spot I didn't get and make me redo the entire thing. I don't want you to have to clean it because I made a mistake." Petra continued to give him a concerned look as if he were going to collapse at any moment. When Eren gave her another tired smile she sighed and nodded.

"Ok, if you say so. I'm sorry if Corporal Levi is working you extra hard. He can be really harsh sometimes, but he's not a bad person." Eren wasn't convinced at the moment, but he knew that it was true. He just couldn't understand why he seemed to be on the receiving end of the man's bad temper lately. He was reluctant to share his feelings, but Petra's honest expression convinced him that she was someone he could trust. He sighed again. "Yeah, I know. He's done more for humanity in a few short years than most do in a lifetime. It just seems like I'm an inconvenience to him."

Petra vigorously shook her head in protest. "No, don't think that Eren! If the Corporal really didn't want you around he wouldn't have fought so hard to get you into the Recon Corps. He also wouldn't have volunteered to look after you in case you turned into a titan again." Eren reluctantly nodded, even though he didn't quite agree with her last statement.

Look after me? You mean put me down like a rabid dog.

She continued, "And maybe the reason he's been hard on you is to toughen you up,not to be mean."

He knew that the redhead was trying her best to cheer him up, so he put on a smile despite his inner protests. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks, Petra." She gave him a bright smile and nodded.

Eren almost jumped out of his skin when he heard a familiar masculine voice from behind the girl. "Jaeger, are you finished cleaning this room yet?" He still had the bandana over his mouth and nose so that only his cold grey eyes were showing. Eren really hoped he hadn't been listening the entire time and was glad that his reddened cheeks were hidden by his bandana.

"Yes, sir. At least I think so." He watched as Levi checked his work, swiping his fingers over different surfaces to see if it came away free of dust. Eren had done his best to make sure he didn't have to clean this room twice. Much to Eren's relief he was unable to find a single dusty spot left. When he was satisfied with the state of the room he removed the bandana from his mouth. "Alright, Jaeger. You can head downstairs for your evening meal. You too, Ral. I'll finish sweeping the hall."

Eren sighed in relief. He really didn't know if he had it in him to clean one more spec of dust from the place. Petra nodded and handed Levi the broom, quickly heading back down the hall and descending the stairs before the man could change his mind. Eren untied his bandana and shoved it into his pocket. As he started to leave Levi spoke. "Oh, and your room will be in the basement. It's the only place where it will be possible to restrain you if you happen to change into your titan form. I've gone ahead and had a bed and closet moved down there for you." Eren just nodded. He'd gotten used to sleeping in dark, dreary places before and he could do it again. "Alright. Thank you, sir." Levi made a kind of "mmm" noise in response and began sweeping the hall. Eren made his way down the hall and descended the stairs. He really hoped there was plenty of food tonight because he was starving from working so hard.

When he arrived in the dining hall he noticed that everyone was finishing their meals. Apparently they hadn't been assigned to clean near as many rooms as he had. He really wasn't surprised. He sat down and helped himself to the spread of food on the long wooden table. There were baked potatoes, fish filets, wild mushrooms in gravy and huge flaky biscuits. A freshly brewed pot of tea was provided for him to drink. He greedily took a heaping spoonful of all the main dishes and three biscuits, devouring it all as if he hadn't eaten in weeks. It was delicious, much better than the gruel he'd had to consume during training. Petra and Mike were sitting down from him at the same table, chatting amongst themselves. Eren was about to get up to get a glass of water (the tea really wasn't to his taste), when one was suddenly placed before him. He looked up to see that Hanji had delivered it.

"Hey, Eren! I hope the Corporal didn't work you too hard. Here's some water for you. Oh! And before I forget, this was just delivered a few moments ago. It's for you." She pulled a small white envelope out of her pocket and handed it to him. It was a letter addressed to him in a familiar messy scrawl. Eren's spirits were instantly lifted when he recognized the writing as Armin's. He took the letter from her and eagerly ripped the envelope open, careful not to tear the letter. Hanji grinned and walked back to the table she was previously sitting at as Eren began to read it.

Dear Eren,

How are you? It feels like it's been forever since we last spoke. I know I was at the trial but I regret that I didn't get the chance to say anything to you before they hauled you away. Mikasa and I really miss you, and so does the rest of the 104th squad. Even Jean misses you, though he would never admit it. We are all doing ok, but it's been dull around here without you. I'm writing to you because I have something I'd like to deliver to you personally. I'll be making my way towards the castle tomorrow morning. I should arrive by noon if I take the same path the Recon Corps traveled. We can meet halfway and ride there together, if you want. I would love a chance to catch up and talk about everything that's happened in the past few days. I hope they've been treating you well. Corporal Levi is a fierce man but I believe you can trust him.

Oh, and I'm keeping this meeting a secret from the others, especially Mikasa. I know that she would try her best to bring you back, even if it meant kidnapping you. Make sure you get permission to leave before you head out. I don't want you to get into any trouble because of me.

Best wishes,

Armin

Eren couldn't help but smile at the thought of meeting up with his childhood friend. He missed Armin and Mikasa more than words could say and it was a relief to hear that they and everyone else in the 104th training squad were doing ok. He had been constantly worried about them ever since he'd woken up chained to the bed in the prison beneath the courthouse. He was certain he'd sleep better tonight knowing that they were all safe. Now he had something to look forward to tomorrow besides hard work. He cheerfully stuffed the letter in his jacket pocket and continued eating.

As he popped a rather large piece of potato into his mouth he noticed Levi coming down the stairs to the dining room. He had finally finished cleaning and it looked like he had just gotten out of the bath. No one would be able to tell that he'd been dusting and cleaning the entire day. His clothes were clean and pressed and his raven hair was neatly combed.

Figures. I guess he really is a clean freak.

The older man scanned the room as he descended the stairs, looking for the least populated table to dine at. He really didn't like eating with a lot of other people. He couldn't stand watching them chew with their mouth open or wipe their hands on their clothes like disgusting pigs. He realized that this was the military but he was still disappointed with the lack of basic manners among the rest of the soldiers.

Eren looked back down at his plate and secretly hoped the man didn't decide to sit at his table. He had been eating like a starved animal and had made a huge mess in the process. Biscuit crumbs and bits of potato and gravy covered his end of the table. He had really thought he wouldn't have to worry about anyone bothering him, since almost everyone was finished eating already. He hadn't been worried about not looking like a slob until now.

Please don't come over here. I don't want to spend the rest of the night scrubbing the dining hall because I spilled a few things.

Much to his dismay Levi had indeed selected his table to sit at, pouring himself a cup of tea and grabbing a biscuit from the tray. Eren swallowed his potato and decided he really wasn't hungry anymore, pushing away the food that remained on his plate. Luckily Levi had sat on the other end of the table but on the same side that he was sitting on. Thankfully the man didn't seem to notice the mess on his end.

The older man didn't even seem to acknowledge his presence, which Eren was very grateful for. He decided that it was time to leave and collected the plates he'd dirtied and stacked a half-full glass of tea on top, doing his best to balance it as he got up from the table and began to make his way to the giant tub of soapy water at the end of the dining hall where dirty dishes were placed to be washed later by whoever was on kitchen duty that day.

He really should have known that if something bad was going to happen to him, it would happen in front of Levi.

As he passed the older man Eren failed to notice the slick spot of gravy under his feet. He immediately lost his footing, sending the plates and the cup of tea flying into the air until they landed with a loud crash on the hard stone floor. Eren fell, landing with an "oof" on his stomach, the wind knocked out of him as he hit the ground. He heard the collective gasp of those that still remained in the dining hall.

He pushed himself up to a sitting position and tried to catch his breath. He slowly got to feet, dusting himself off and noticing that everyone was staring in his direction. He blushed a bit in embarrassment, rubbing the back of his neck in a nervous gesture.

"Umm…sorry everyone, I didn't mean to startle you. I guess I slipped, haha."

As he watched the others he noticed that they weren't looking at him, but behind him. Curious to what they could possibly be staring at, he turned around.

Still sitting at the table was a very soaked, very furious looking Corporal. Eren hadn't realized that when he slipped, his teacup had gone flying in Levi's direction, spilling its contents onto the older man. His raven hair was dripping with the liquid, soaking his clean white undershirt and staining it brown. Luckily the tea had only been lukewarm when Eren finished eating; otherwise it would have surely scalded him. Eren began sweating profusely, a look of pure fear and panic crossing his features. He could feel the seething rage emanating from the older man, his grey eyes narrowed in anger. Eren felt like he'd stepped on the tail of a sleeping lion.

Shit shit shit. He's going to murder me, right here in front of everyone, I just know it. This is it, this is how I die.

Everyone exchanged nervous glanced between each other as Levi finally stood up from the table. As he turned to face him Eren flinched. He just wanted to shrink down until he fell through the floor. Unfortunately he remained glued to the spot, paralyzed by fear.

This must be how it feels for prey to be cornered by a hunter.

He knew there was no escape and tried to prepare himself for the beating that sure to come. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists at his sides, bracing himself for whatever Levi was going to throw at him. He winced a bit when Levi spoke, anger clearly present in his voice.

"Jaeger. You do realize that I'm going to have to make you pay for this?"

Eren only nodded, not opening his eyes. He didn't want to see the death glare the man was surely giving him at the moment. As he heard Levi move he mentally prepared himself for the great pain that was surely to come.

He was certainly not expecting to feel a warm liquid being dumped on his head, soaking his hair and clothing. His eyes shot open in surprise and he saw that Levi had poured his own cup of tea on Eren's head. His hair stuck to his face and he had to wipe the brown liquid out of his eyes. It stung his eyes a little but it was nothing compared to the punch or kick he'd been expecting. The dining hall was completely silent, everyone at a loss for words. Levi calmly sat the teacup back down on the table and spoke once more.

"Now, you will clean this dining hall from top to bottom, and that includes all the dirty dishes. If even a single speck of dust remains in the morning you will regret it."

With that Levi stormed off, making his way back up the stairs to bathe and get another clean set of clothes, leaving everyone in the dining hall utterly flabbergasted.

Eren was still trying to understand what had just occurred. Levi hadn't beaten him, or even yelled at him really. It was almost as if the man was letting him off easy, even with the monumental task of cleaning the entire dining hall. He had no idea how he'd just escaped a brutal beating. When Levi had dumped the tea onto him it had almost seemed…playful.

That's impossible. He was probably just too tired to beat me, that's all. I guess I just got lucky.

He glanced back at the others and saw that everyone else looked equally as surprised as him. They had all expected to witness an act of violence. After a few seconds they all relaxed and resumed eating and talking amongst themselves.

Eren finally snapped out of his stupor, looking around at the shattered dishes and remnants of food that littered the floor. He sighed and supposed that he should find a broom to begin cleaning up the mess. It was going to be a long night.

By the time the dining room was entirely spotless Eren could hardly move. It had taken him three hours to clean it. His entire body was stiff and aching and he was covered in sweat and grime. He barely had the energy to put the broom and mop away and head out the dining room doors. He vaguely recalled the direction Petra had told him the basement was in and made his way down the hall.

As exhausted as he was, he felt the overwhelming need to bathe before going to sleep. He knew that he wouldn't have time to do it before training tomorrow morning. He made his way to the downstairs bathing area, which consisted of nothing more than large wooden tubs filled with heated water. There was no privacy about them, and the castle servants would constantly enter and exit the room to empty and refill the water.

There hadn't been any servants when they arrived, so Eren had no idea where they had come from. He supposed they were just poor folk desperate enough to leave the walls to find work so that they could feed their families. Whatever the case, Eren was grateful that they had prepared him a bath at his request. He wasn't used to anyone doing anything for him since he'd joined the military, and it was a nice change of pace.

He slowly undressed, his sore muscles protesting every movement. He really didn't care that there were several other male squad members bathing there as well. No one even seemed to notice him, all relaxing in their own tubs, oblivious to the world around them. He was glad that Levi had either chosen a different place to bathe, or had finished already. If seeing his wet body fully clothed was enough to excite the boy then how would he react to seeing him naked?

Ugh, stop it Eren. Let's not think about those kinds of things while you're naked in public.

He tried not to think about it, instead anticipating the relief that the warm water would provide his aching body. He slowly lowered himself into the tub, taking a moment to get used to the temperature before fully submerging himself, head and all. He couldn't believe how wonderful the warm water felt at the moment and when he resurfaced he let out a satisfied sigh. He leaned back and hung his arms over the side of the tub. He hadn't gotten the chance to take a lengthy bath in such a long time he'd almost forgotten what it was like.

After letting his sore body soak in the heavenly water for a while, Eren grabbed the bar of soap that one of the servants had placed by the tub. He began to lather himself up from head to toe, scrubbing the caked on dirt from his skin, leaving it a flushed pink color. It vaguely smelled like a mixture of lavender and roses. He worked the suds into his hair and dunked his head under the water to rinse. He was glad to get rid of the smell of stale tea from his brown locks.

When he noticed that he was the only one that remained in the bathing area he decided that it would be a good idea for him to head to bed. He stood up and let some of the water drip off his body and back into the tub. He then grabbed the fluffy towel that had been provided for him beside the tub and stepped out onto to the cool stone floor.

He was thankful that the servants had really thought of everything and had brought him a change of clothes. It was a plain white button up shirt and loose brown pants, similar to his prison attire but much less raggedy. There was also a clean pair of boxers underneath the pants. He dried himself off, ruffling the towel through his wet hair and tossing it on floor. He then pulled on the plain pair of grey boxers and the loose brown pants, tying a knot in the front to keep them from falling off of his narrow hips. He slipped on the white shirt and buttoned it, leaving the top few buttons undone out of laziness. He was going straight to bed so it really didn't matter anyway.

When he was fully dressed he thanked the male servant standing by the door and made his way back down the hall to the basement. He didn't feel so sore anymore, but he was still exhausted. He pulled open the door to the basement and was glad to see that someone had lit the candles on the sconces by the stairs to prevent anyone from tripping. He figured one of the servants had done it. They must have been told that he would be staying in the basement. He slowly descended the stairs, careful not to accidentally skip any and fall. When he made it to the bottom he saw that Levi had indeed had a bed placed down there for him. It was small but comfortable looking, and Eren wasted no time in diving headfirst into the welcoming softness. He secretly wondered if anyone else had gotten a bed this comfortable.

He blew out the candle that had been placed on the small nightstand next to his bed and buried himself in the fluffy blankets. They were much more comfortable than the ones in his tiny cell back at the courthouse. He grinned when he discovered that the pillows were filled with fluffy down feathers and were incredibly soft. He hardly had time to think about how excited he was to meet Armin the next day as he fell into a wonderful, deep sleep.

That night he dreamed about Levi licking tea off of every inch of his body.

Thanks for reading! I'll be out of town until Sunday so the next update will probably come Monday.