Riding On The Wings Of Freedom

Chapter 3

"The secret of happiness is freedom, the secret of freedom is courage."

― Carrie Jones

The trial for Eren was surprisingly a success. Everything was planned out carefully by Erwin, including the part where Eren was severely beaten by Levi to prove his dominance over the child. Now, they had Eren as a member of the Scouting Regiment, and he was on his way to an abandoned castle that they used to use with Levi and his Special Operations Squad.

The castle was ancient, it was abandoned, and it was dirty. This was something Levi detested more than anything. Erens first mission as a member of the Scouting Regiment was to help the rest of the members clean the castle from top to bottom. He was surprised to learn that the great Captain Levi was a clean-freak. Eren chuckled to himself when Levi wasn't around to hear it.

While cleaning, Eren got better aquainted with the other members of Levi's Squad. There was Petra Ral, Oluo Bozado, Eld Jinn, and Gunther Schultz. Petra was the nicest to Eren, smiling at him and having a full conversation with him, but Eren knew she didn't trust him. Nor did any of the other members, but he still liked them anyway.

At night, Eren was sent to the dungeon to be locked away in a cell until Levi came for him in the morning. Eren never said anything against it, afraid that Levi would beat him up for disobeying orders, but he was truly afraid to be down there alone, with no light, and no one to keep him company. It was even worse since he couldn't sleep barely at all anymore. He was constantly haunted by nightmares of Titans and of his Mother's death.

"Please…Someone help me…," Eren would say to himself every night through his sorrowful tears. What he didn't know was that someone was always listening to him.

Levi came down into the dungeon every night after sleeping a little bit to watch over Eren and make sure he stayed safe. He brought a blanket and a pillow and sat on the stairs with a candle and a book, but still out of Eren's eyesight and earshot. He didn't want him to know he was there, for fear that his reputation of being heartless and cold would be ruined. He didn't work hard just for some little brat to ruin his reputation, although he actually really enjoyed being around him. Levi didn't know what possessed him to watch over the kid, but listening to him cry all night and scream when he did sleep was heart breaking, to say the least. Levi decided one night to keep Eren company, truly, this time.

"Hey," Levi spoke to Eren, who had his face buried in his pillow to try and quiet his sobs and soak up his tears. Eren shot up, surprised, and it took him a second to register who was speaking to him.

"Captain Levi?!" He said. He tried to remain calm, stop the tears from coming, but it didn't hide his puffy, red, eyes and cheeks that were already stained with tears. "What are you doing down here?"

"I came to check up on you, and by the sight of your eyes, you aren't holding up too good."

"I…It's nothing, really…," Eren tried to lie and hide it from Levi, but Levi wasn't having any of that.

"You're a terrible liar, Jaeger." Levi unlocked the cage and walked in, carrying his pillow and tossing it onto the bed beside Erens. Levi was already dressed in his nighttime wear so there was no need to change, and he set his book down on the small table that resided in the chamber.

"Um, Captain Levi, sir? What are you doing?"

"I am joining you. You sound like you need someone to babysit you down here, so I figured it should be me, you know, in case you go crazy and I have to kill you," Levi smirked, but Eren looked at him with fear and alarm. "Relax, I made a joke. Don't appreciate my humour?"

"No, sir! You just surprised me," Eren said, face going red when Levi crossed his arms and got right into his face, their noses almost touching.

"I see. Good, then." And with that, Levi made himself comfortable underneath the covers as he layed down to face Eren. "Hey, Jaeger."

"Yes, sir?"

"What is it that you dream about every night that makes you cry so much?"

Erens eyes widened in surprise. Was the Captain listening to him every night?!

"I…Well…I dream about my Mother and how she died. I dream about how I wasn't strong enough to save her that day, and the guilt I feel for not being able to save her, and…I keep dreaming about someone else dying…," Eren trailed off, almost afraid to say anymore.

"Who was it?" Levi asked. Eren shook his head, not wanting to say. Levi narrowed his eyes, delving into personal territory he knew he shouldn't be, but figured that he couldn't help Eren if he didn't know who it was. He asked again, this time in a more demanding voice, making Eren flinch a little at the tone.

"It…It was you, Captain…," Eren said shyly but sadly, blushing slightly at hearing himself say those words. Levi's eyes widened, displaying a look of shock. Eren Jaeger dreamt about him dying, and it upset him to the point of tears? Levi didn't know what to make of it at first, but he did what his first reactions said to do. He took Eren into his arms, putting his face to his chest, and held him there, comforting him.

"I don't know exactly why that upsets you so much, but if you need to cry about it, then cry about it to me. I will try to help you as best as I can. Just don't tell any of the other Scouts, got it?"

"Yes, Captain Levi, sir…," Eren said, blushing, and starting to cry into Levi's chest as Levi held him there, humming a song to him and petting his head, lulling him into a peaceful sleep for the first time in many years.

A/N: Ooooh, and I ended it there~ Sorry, no Levi X Eren yaoi yet~ xD I can be mean, too. Next chapter will be introducing the rest of the Cadets into the Scouting Regiment, I think, but maybe not. Not sure yet x3 Will be updated soon x3

~Kayla~