A/N: Hooray for LevixCarynnnn~
Annnnnd that's about it. (;
(o~o~o~)
She was ready.
After what seemed like an agonizingly long trip back to HQ, Caryn and Levi finally caught up to Erwin and Petra, who were chatting animatedly in front of what looked to be a dirt-grounded training area. It had some trees here and there, but it was otherwise barren. A couple of soldiers stood several feet away, and they looked to be sparring.
Much to her relief, Levi sat her down and gave her a warning look, as if not to do something stupid. Of course, she didn't plan on it. She was just prone to making bad decisions sometimes, especially on Earth.
The duo strode towards the commander and his subordinate, averting their attention to them. Caryn's eyes lit up when she saw that Erwin had Exodus with him at his side, and she thought he almost looked a bit like Kadir with the way he was standing with it.
"Good, you've finally arrived." He smiled at the two, and Levi's eyes twitched at the almost teasing tone of his superior's voice. "I thought we had lost you for a minute there."
"Shut up, Erwin. Had it not been for this brat, I would have been here before you." Levi scowled, crossing his arms over his chest in aggravation. He was not amused with the blonde-haired commander, not one bit.
Caryn felt a bit guilty that she had slowed Levi down a bit, but it didn't fully consume her because even though he wasn't as fast as Erwin at the time, he was still incredibly quick. He had moved effortlessly through the air as if she was as light as a feather.
Erwin lifted a brow at the raven-haired corporal. "What did you do?" he asked, a mischievous glint tinting his blue eyes. Levi made a 'tch' sound, eyes darting towards the blonde goddess before diverting them again.
"This shitty-woman was nearly pissing her pants in fear for failing with the 3DMG, so I had to carry her."
"Aww! Was shorty being nice to a cadet for once? How sweet of him!" a voice interrupted them, squealing in delight at the thought of Levi actually helping someone out.
As Hanji popped out of nowhere, startling both Petra and Caryn, she scanned her eyes over the two woman before letting them fall on the goddess, her eyes sparkling. She lunged, pulling the shorter girl into a tight hug. Caryn's breath let itself out with a 'whoosh'.
"How's my little test subject doing todayyyy?!~" She asked cheerfully, hugging the life out of the deity. The others watched as her face began to turn a purplish-hue.
"F-Fine, now please let go, Hanji! I can't breathe!" Caryn begged the scientist, and Hanji's mouth formed into an 'o' shape before she let go, laughing half-heartedly.
'Are all humans that strong? Sheesh.'
"Hehe, sorry."
Levi pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation, the scowl still marring his face as he watched the two annoying girls in front of him. "Damnit, four-eyes. She's not here for you to dissect. Today is strictly evaluation and training." He told the pony-tailed woman, and she huffed, putting her hands on her hips.
"I knew that! I just wanted to give her a little warm greeting is all!" she explained, waving her hands wildly. Levi just rolled his eyes, deciding to ignore the crazy woman's antics and tune back into the more important matters.
"I'm glad that you came, Hanji. Let's begin now," he instructed, and Levi clenched his teeth in silent anger.
'That fucking bastard. Why the hell would he invite shitty-glasses?!'
Erwin looked at Caryn with calculating eyes, studying her quickly before continuing. "First, we would like to see just how powerful this weapon of yours is. You seemed to have used it fairly well in battle, so we'd like to see the full extent of its power."
Caryn nodded in understanding. "Of course. But may I ask one thing, first?"
"Proceed."
"Can I please take this gear off first? It will halt my movements." She asked meekly, running her finger along the cool metal top of the maneuvering gear. Erwin chuckled, waving his hand.
"That's fine. Go on ahead."
The goddess didn't spare a second word as she quickly unbuckled all off the belts and taking off the gear with it, hearing it clink as it hit the ground and letting out a sigh of relief. Considering the belts on her legs were still attached, the uniform continued to feel a bit tight, but at least she could breathe.
The four of them were amused when she did this, and Erwin grasped Exodus, holding the hilt out to Caryn and watching her take it in silence and determination. She tilted her head to the side in confusion, looking around her. What would she use Exodus on? Surely not people?
"Commander, how would you like me to demonstrate my skills? Not on your own soldiers, correct?"
"Correct," he agreed, pointing to some average looked trees that were pretty thick. "You can attack those trees there, considering we were going to cut them down soon anyways. They are constantly in the way of a soldier's sparring match."
Caryn's eyes landed on the nearest tree from her, and she rolled her shoulders to loosen them up, changing her stance and getting ready to pounce. Levi was in his element earlier; well, now she was in hers.
Tilting Exodus up a bit, she lunged, flying towards the tree with breakneck speed, cutting it cleanly down the hilt less than seconds. But of course, she wasn't done yet. There were at least eight more trees in the area that needed to be cut down.
'I'll pretend that they're enemies…'
Picturing them as threats in her mind, she quickly moved on from one to the other, repeating how she cut the latter down before moving on again and again.
'Seven, six, five…'
Again, she gave more clean cuts. It was too easy. But she wanted to move faster.
'Four, three, two…'
As she skidded to a stop in front of the last tree, she imagined it was the most dangerous enemy of all; the boss. She glared, raising her weapon.
'One…!'
Pure adrenaline shot through her veins as she swiftly cut through the tree, but this time, gave it no mercy as she continued her assault on the bark, slicing through the middle and cutting the wood into neat, shapely logs that would be perfect for firewood. The logs hit the dirt ground in a row of about six, the other end of the tree fallen next to the panting blonde.
She turned around to look at her superiors, waiting for their comments. Petra's face looked absolutely stunned, as did Hanji as she held a pocket watch in her hand, the time on it stopped. Levi's expression was unreadable, and his stare penetrated hers with cold, slate-grey eyes. He looked as if he expected this out of her. Of course, he should have. Erwin looked surprised and impressed at the display, turning to Hanji while she was standing beside him.
"Hanji, did you clock her?"
"Y-Yes, I did." She confirmed. Erwin frowned at her stuttering, trying to peer down at the watch in her hand.
"And her timing was?"
Hanji paused, the air potent with puzzlement and shock. Caryn thumped her fingers against her thigh, a bit nervous as to why it was taking the scientist so long to reply. Had she done horrible?
"Six point eighty-two seconds, sir."
Caryn sighed in relief. She had done better than she thought she would. Of course, it was only trees that were standing in her way at the time, but it was good to know that she could rely on her speed when need be.
"Impressive," Erwin commented, praising the blonde-haired deity. "Caryn, you are almost as fast as Humanity's Strongest. He may have some competition." He chuckled lightly, his eyes shifting to the short, stoic man. Said man glared at the commander.
"The hell are you saying? She only cut down a few trees. There's nothing special about that."
Caryn blinked, laughing sheepishly and lightly prodding her cheek. She wasn't sure how far Levi could extend his power, so she didn't want to judge and say that she was more skilled than he. That would surely anger him more.
"Why don't we see for ourselves, then?" Erwin suggested, a ghost of a smirk on his face as he challenged the shorter man. Levi's expression darkened drastically, a shadow falling over his face.
"What are you playing at?" he growled.
"I want the both of you to spar. It would be interesting to see who the winner would be, yes?"
Petra's and Hanji's eyes widened, and Levi gritted his teeth in anger.
"E-Eh?!" Caryn's eyes were the size of saucers. Not only did she not want to spar with him, she didn't want to bear near him right now, especially since she wasn't good at hiding her embarrassment.
But, she did wonder a bit. Was he as powerful as she? Or maybe even more powerful? Could he be as strong as a god?
"No fucking way," Levi snapped harshly at his commander, who was still giving that same challenging smirk. "I'm not going to get my hands dirty just to show up some pansy cadet."
The blonde goddess felt a little offended. Sure, she wasn't a squad leader or a high rank like him, but that didn't make her any less strong. Maybe she should prove her skill to the one bluntly denying it.
"It's an order, Levi." Erwin said, and that was the end of it. Levi made a 'tch' sound, knowing that he couldn't defy a direct order. "Draw your blades and stand a couple feet away. I will referee this match. Considering there are no more trees around, it will be easier to move around." He looked at Caryn before looking back to Levi again.
"And no using your 3DMG. Caryn has already taken hers off, so we wouldn't want it to be an unfair battle between you two."
At his command, Levi drew his blades from his 3DMG, moving a little closer and standing a few steps away from her. He stopped, an impassive look on his face as he stared at her. His eyes pierced her like knives, and Caryn shivered at the coldness in them. He looked like a completely different person.
He held the blades in both hands, pointing them towards her and Caryn followed suit, putting out a hand in front of her for balance and raising Exodus parallel to the ground in a fighting stance.
'Those eyes…' she thought, her own hardening as she stared at her Captain quietly.
'Those eyes…are the eyes of a killer.'
She hated to admit it, she really did, but...
She was scared.
She was scared, but prepared.
'Knowing him, I can't let my guard down at all. This is bound to be a long, tiresome fight. Unless…'
An idea popped into her head, and at first, she didn't want to act on it. But it was proving to be a pain when she tried to ignore it. Biting her lip slightly, she closed her eyes, calling on her power.
'I'll be able to find weak spots, but I won't kill him. If I can just disarm him, that will be enough of a victory for me.'
Opening her eyes again, this time they shown a bright, sparkling gold instead of her regular hazel-blue. Levi looked at her in shock before quickly wiping the look of his face, the expression now replaced with a monotonous one. If the others were shocked as well, she couldn't see it as her gaze was focused only on the Corporal, the weak spots of his body glowing red while the rest of him was orange and yellow. The blades were blue, signaling that they were a threat to her safety. Everything else that was an inanimate object was either black or green. This was a truly helpful power that she possessed.
'Rogue Sight. I'll just have to trust that I won't blow a fuse too early.'
Erwin had made his way into the duo's view, and a few other soldiers watched from afar, interested in their sparring match instead of their own. The blonde commander lifted a hand in the air. In a cutting motion, he swung it down.
"Begin."
It was as if time stopped.
For a minute, neither Levi nor Caryn moved an inch, and they silently stared at one another, trying to penetrate each other's gazes. Neither of them backed down, not one bit. Caryn hadn't felt nervous in the slightest. Right now, he was her enemy; an enemy that was standing in the way of her goal, and she could not let him beat her.
She would win.
Finally, Caryn inched herself forward, getting ready to pounce.
But it was all for nothing when Levi suddenly disappeared, his aura and all.
Caryn gasped in surprise, looking everywhere around her. It was like he vanished in thin air.
Not even a second later, she felt an alarming presence behind her, and quickly reacting, she swung Exodus. A sharp 'ting' was heard as her sword connected with both of Levi's, the ravenette pushing his blades down on hers and making her skid a bit backwards, her feet dragging into the dirt and kicking up dust.
'S-So fast! I couldn't even feel him moving!'
The strength he possessed was nothing short of impressive as he kept bearing his weight down on her, making Exodus cut a little into her left hand as she gripped it with her right. Gritting her teeth, she pushed back even though it wasn't very effective.
"So you blocked that, huh? Can't really say I'm surprised." He said, his eyes narrowing dangerously at her and waiting for her to back down. But there was no way she would.
"I'm not as weak as I may look, so don't underestimate me." Caryn replied, giving a challenging smile. Levi's lips twitched, and for a second, he had smirked at her cockiness.
"It wasn't like I was planning to. But I do feel like hurrying this up, so…" he brought his swords up, his actions a blur as he swung down again and trying to disarm her in the process. But Caryn saw him coming before he even moved.
Evading the attack, she dodged the oncoming threat and sliced the right side of Levi's bicep, tearing his shirt and making him bleed as a small cut was placed there. She made a move to disarm his as well, but what stopped short as he blocked Exodus.
"Tch. Look what you did now, brat. You ruined a perfectly good shirt." He complained, and before she could process his movement, he moved with incredible speed, kicking her in the gut and slicing her cheek with his blades. Her golden blood began to pour out of the cut, and she flew back a few feet, hitting the ground before somersaulting and getting back to her feet.
"So sorry, Captain. But I don't intend on losing." She wiped her cheek with her sleeve, hoping that the cut would heal fast. Having wounds on your face wasn't very fun to deal with. Levi moved with precision, flying towards her and slashing her in the thigh. Yet another cut.
"And neither do I."
The fight continued on, with both sides getting cuts here and there. Levi and Caryn never backed down against each other, their speed and strength so impressive it was almost terrifying. By the time they had reached twenty minutes without stopping, half of the Scout Regiment were watching their match.
In a shocking breakthrough, Caryn had dodged the oncoming blades with perfect timing, giving her the perfect view of both oh his weapons and his hands.
'There!'
She swung Exodus down, and when it made contact with Levi's blades, her weapon cut cleanly through the both of them, shortening them down to the size of medium-length knives. Even when she did that, Levi wasn't fazed.
The both of them made distance away from each other, Caryn panting and Levi, nothing. He still looked impassive as ever, as if nothing bothered him in the least. How the hell was he not tired and she was?
Then, the squad leader did something she didn't expect; he put his left blade and clasp away, now only holding his right blade. He shifted his stance slightly, looking much like her own. And then, once again, he disappeared, alarming the goddess to a grave extent.
This time, he was gone longer than she expected. She could hear the shuffling of feet all around her, and it was starting to make her feel paranoid. Caryn looked left and right, up and down, even behind her, and he wasn't there.
'Goddesses, just where did he go?!'
WHACK!
A cry, more shocked than pained, left Caryn's throat as a leg kicked her side, sending her barreling towards the ground. Cheers went up into the air by the soldiers as Exodus flew from her grasp, ending up on the opposite side of the sparring grounds.
And then, without being able to react fast enough, she was pinned onto her back.
Levi straddled the deity, grabbing a fistful of her hair as she was beneath him and had the blade pointed at her jugular to not make any sudden movements. She had lost all of her defenses, and she stared gaping at him. This was Humanity's Strongest.
'I…lost…?'
"Looks like I win." Levi smirked faintly at the wide-eyed, stunned cadet. She didn't move, didn't speak.
'I…really lost..'
Much to his dismay, tears began to prick Caryn's eyes. They were hardly visible, but they were there. They shimmered slightly in her eyes before spilling over, the gold streaks catching the rays of the sun. Levi raised a confused brow.
"What the hell? Why are you crying?"
'I lost…what kind of goddess am I, if I can't even beat a human? He's too strong…'
A choked sob escaped her, and she threw an arm over her eyes, the tears now out of view as Levi slowly took the blade away from her throat, questioning her sanity. What was the matter with this girl? She should have been proud of herself; no one had lasted that long with him in a sparring match before.
"Oi, stop crying! It's not that big of a deal." He snapped at her, but the blonde didn't reply as she continued to cry. It was starting to irritate him. He had never seen someone so broken about losing a fight, and even worse, he didn't know how to make her stop bawling.
'Damnit, I'm not good at this kind of thing! Why the hell was I stuck watching such a cry-baby?!' he thought, already regretting his decision of taking responsibility for her.
Caryn cried and cried; she had never been this upset about losing before. Maybe it was because she thought of herself as weak, or maybe because she lost to a human. Why she was crying so hard, she didn't know. All she knew was she couldn't stop the tears from overflowing over her waterline.
The hand that was gripping her hair let go, then was placed on the top of her head, just nearly ruffling her bangs and mussing them up. Her tears finally halted and she removed the arm from her eyes, looking at Levi through blurred vision. He looked irritated, but his eyes held remorse as he continued to awkwardly stroke the top of her head. The gesture was gentle and made her wonder how he could transition from annoyed to reassuring so fast, as it wasn't like him at all to be comforting someone.
"Are you quite done, brat?" Levi asked, his voice harsh but his touch was anything but. Caryn blinked, nodding her head as a few stray gold tears escaped her eyes just being the last ones to fall.
They stared unblinking into each other's eyes, and Levi took the time to take in her appearance. For a woman, she was rather tiny, but so was he for a man. Her white-blonde hair was a disheveled mess and was starting to come out of her pony-tail from him pulling it, and her bangs mussed up her face as he continued to pat the top of her head. Her eyes were a sparkling hazel-blue, now back to their original color and not that strange gold one. Her cheeks and eyes were flushed and red because of her crying, but her expression softened to a relaxed one when she had ceased it. He didn't know that he could have this kind of influence on someone, especially someone like her.
He felt a bit conflicted when his heartrate began to pick up speed just by looking at her, and he felt a strange feeling in his gut. He didn't know what it was, but he didn't like it. It was as if this goddess had a power over him that no one else had. No one should have power over him, though. He was Humanity's Strongest Soldier, he should possess a power like no other. And he did.
'Damn this woman, making me forget what kind of situation we're in.'
For a few seconds, they sat there, taking in each other's presence and forgetting everything else around them.
Caryn wanted to stare at him forever. She had seen many handsome gods, and even humans that were more appealing that Levi was, but there was something special about him that didn't make him like all the other immortal and mortal males. Something that she liked, but couldn't put her finger on it.
She resisted the urge to reach out and touch his smooth, ivory cheek, and just took his appearance in instead. Raven hair that was shaved neatly into an undercut, and his bangs brushed his forehead softly, looking just like dark feathers. His eyes were beautiful; slate-grey orbs that held most of his emotion that he couldn't show on his face. Caryn could notice that he had shadowed bags under them, probably from insomnia. She didn't blame him with the current occupation he was in. He was toned for someone of short stature, and she almost regretted when she had sliced his bicep open.
To her, he was even more beautiful than any god she had seen.
The blonde had wanted to wonder why she was acting so infatuated with this human male named Levi Ackerman, but she didn't have any answers to her own questions. All she could do was stare and enjoy his presence and his aura, which for once was calm and inviting.
And then, she blindly realized something.
He was on top of her.
In front of a large crowd.
And he was being affectionate towards her.
Caryn's cheeks heated up to a scorching red color, making Levi lift a brow at her sudden humiliation. He was straddling her in front of nearly the whole entire Legion! If he didn't get off right then and there, than people would begin to assume things!
"Ahhh!" she suddenly let out a mortified scream, shocking Levi out of his stupor. His hand left her head and she began to squirm under him, trying to push him off of her. But he wouldn't budge. He was too surprised at her outburst.
"Offoffoffoffoff!"
When he didn't comply fast enough, Caryn placed both hands on his chest, pushing him with force as a gust of wind escaped her hands, dislodging him from her. He did a flip in the air before landing gracefully on his feet, his features plagued with a furious look. His glare was nothing short of frightening.
"What the fuck is your problem?!" he snarled, and Caryn rushed to her feet while looking away from him. She was brighter than a tomato from embarrassment. She had just let Lance Corporal Levi straddle her, and he didn't even seem bothered by their position one bit! That was her problem.
"P-Pervert!" she shouted at him, picking up pebbles and chucking them childishly. He scowled, leaning left and right to avoid being hit by the tiny assaulters. He took measured steps toward the blonde, but with the last pebble she threw, which bounced off his head, she fled behind the tall safety of Erwin's back.
"Get back here, you shitty-brat! I'm going to kick your ass!"
Erwin looked amusedly behind him at the cowering goddess, then turned back to gaze out at all the soldiers who had gathered to watch the fight commence. He cleared his throat, speaking in authority to the crowd.
"Everyone, go back to your stations immediately. This battle is now over."
Without a second thought, they disbanded, some muttering grouchily while others chatting animatedly about the battle between a goddess and humanity's strongest. A conversation that would surely pique the interests of people for years to come.
After everyone except for the five of them were gone, Erwin held a hand up to halt Levi, who was trying to get around him to the blonde who was hiding behind his broad back. "Easy, Levi. It's over now."
"Stop protecting her. She needs to face her punishment for disrespecting her superior." Levi insisted, glaring at the commander with eyes that promised retribution. Erwin just shook his head at the ravenette.
"Nonsense. She's definitely a skilled edition to the Corps." He turned to smile at the goddess who, in turn, gave a sheepish one back. She came out of hiding and stood beside the commander, and he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You and Eren Yeager may just be the pieces that were missing from our puzzle all these years. We're glad to have your contribution."
Caryn grinned widely at the praise, saluting Erwin with pride. She may have not won against Levi, but that didn't mean she was any less powerful. Yes, he was a frightening person, and yes, he was Humanity's Strongest. But maybe somewhere there was a category for her to fill in the Scout Regiment.
"Thank you, sir."
"Not at all," he dismissed, giving her shoulder a pat. "I think that's enough training for today. Make use of the remaining time you have left and go wash up and get situated." He turned his back, walking off back in the direction of the castle. "Tomorrow, our expedition commences."
"E-Expedition? You mean to say that tomorrow is the day we venture back outside the walls?" she asked, watching as Erwin faded out of her sight. He looked over his shoulder at her.
"Indeed. I suggest you rest up well."
And with that, he disappeared out of sight. A shiver went up the goddess's spine. She knew that she would soon be going on a mission again, but not this soon. What if she wasn't fully prepared to face more titans?
'No, I can't think like that. I have to be strong. I'm protecting humanity, I'm not in the sanctuary of Elysium anymore.' She thought, clenching her fist tightly.
"Don't worry, Caryn. You'll be with us the whole time, we've got your back!" Petra reassured her, meeting her gaze. She smiled cheerfully at the blonde, but even if she acted that way, she still held fear in her honey-colored orbs. Caryn relaxed some, nodding at the shorter girl and giving her a small smile.
And then, she was once again stuck in a bone-crushing hug.
"I'm so proud of you, my little test subject!" Hanji squealed, spinning the goddess too much for her liking. Her face took on a greenish hue, not only suffocating, but also feeling sick as the scientist continued to hold her in a tight embrace.
"Like I said before, today is strictly training," Levi grumbled, watching the pair for the second time today as they hugged. Well, Hanji was mostly squeezing the life out of his new subordinate, and she lay limp in the taller woman's arms.
"Oh, I know that Levi! Well, I better go file these reports now. Bye, have fun!" she set the blonde down, a little roughly as Petra steadied her when she almost toppled over. Hanji left the way Erwin disappeared in, going through the same doors he had and disappearing behind them.
Levi sighed, running a hand through his hair. 'That woman is a pain in the ass.'
"Are you alright? You look as if you're going to be sick." Petra asked worriedly, and Caryn waved her off with a sluggish hand, the green color still not gone from her cheeks.
"I'm fine, I just need the world to stop spinning at the moment." The deity laughed half-heartedly before coming to her senses, the dizziness feeling now completely faded. Her relief was short lived when Levi flicked her on her forehead, causing Caryn to let out a squeak.
"Ow!" she rubbed the area where he had flicked her, pouting at him as he crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn't sorry in the slightest for his actions.
"Punishment for throwing rocks at me, brat." He told her, amused at how hard she tried to rub the feeling of pain from her forehead. Her attempts were in vain when she had tried, though.
"Captain, I'm going to go train with the others. Is that okay?" Petra asked, referring to the rest of the squad that was in the forest busy defeating wooden Titans. Levi nodded, not giving her a second glance as she saluted, heading towards the tree line and using the 3DMG to lift herself onto the branches and vanishing from sight.
Levi began to head to the castle headquarters, calling to the dazed blonde behind him. "Follow me, cadet."
Caryn obliged, following him suit and running to catch up with him. It was a bit nerving; despite being so short, his strides were much longer than hers, and caused her to be slower than him. Seeing her struggle to keep up, he slowed down a bit to match her pace, which she was grateful for.
"May I ask where we are going, Captain?" she asked curiously, now using formalities again. She hadn't meant to call him a Pervert earlier, it was just that she was thoroughly embarrassed when she was pinned by him. He was so close to her in that moment.
"Showing you to your punishment."
When she gave an incredulous look, he glared at her. "What? Did you think I would let you off the hook so easily? Not a chance." He instantly denied her. He knew what she was thinking. She wanted to go take a shower and change into cleaner clothes. To be honest, so did he. He would go wash up right after he gave her the punishment she deserved.
Caryn wanted to disobey; Erwin had said to rest, but Levi wasn't letting her. What happened to him? He was being so kind not too long ago. She was conflicted with his mixed feelings and emotions.
'Let's just hope it's not something extreme, like another beating. I'll do anything but that.'
She instantly regretted her thoughts.
(o~o~o~)
"I cannot, and repeat, CANNOT believe this!"
Caryn cursed Levi in her mind over and over again, but it wasn't enough to stop her from vigorously moving the mop around on the floor, spreading the dirt instead of cleaning it.
Her punishment wasn't as harsh as she expected it to be; but that went both ways. When she hadn't gotten a severe punishment, she was glad. But even if it ended up to be mild, she was still pissed beyond belief.
He had given her cleaning duty, of all things! 'I want this whole entire room spotless.' He had ordered her before leaving her to clean the gigantic room, which looked to be an office, by herself.
In normal circumstances, she wouldn't have minded cleaning. But the thing was, the room was completely spotless!
"This is ridiculous. I have never cleaned this big of a room in my entire life!" she complained, spreading the dirty water around the room's floors. Seriously, the only dirty part of the room was the floor, because of the dirt scuffs from boots. And that was it. Why did everything else, which was all perfectly clean, need to be scrubbed down?!
Caryn was starting to feel like she shouldn't care for insulting the Captain. In fact, when she saw him again, she would most likely give him an earful that he wouldn't want to listen to. Yeah, that's exactly what she'd do! Cleaning was a maid's job, not a princesses!
After (grudgingly) finishing the floor, she grabbed a nearby stool, standing on top of it to reach the high shelves of a bookshelf. She dusted it lightly, bringing the duster to her face and closely inspecting it. Not one fleck of dust. Not one.
Groaning, she continued to dust nothing. Caryn tried her best to keep her balance on the wobbly stool, which was probably somewhat broken. Possibly one of the legs. Shrugging, she kept cleaning, moving up one shelf to glide the duster over the polished surface.
"You're doing it wrong, idiot."
A startled cry escaped her throat. Levi had entered the room since the door was wide open, watching her from his position in the doorway. She began to fumble, a mistake she made when she turned around to look at him. Clicking his tongue, he rushed to her side and caught her before she could hit the hard floor.
"Just how many goddamn times am I going to have to catch you today?" he scolded her, wanting to flick her again but since both of his arms were occupied, he decided against it.
For the second, no, third time today, Levi was touching her. Goose fleck broke out on the small of her back and her left upper-arm, the spots where his hands lay. It was like she was totally and utterly enthralled by him. Shaking her head furiously, she distanced herself from him so that they didn't have the same moment they had when he had straddled her earlier.
"S-S-Sorry, Captain. You startled me, and the stool I was using wasn't stable. Oh, and the shelves are completely spotless. I-I was just doing a run through over them just to be safe." She assured him, placing her hands behind her back and clasping them. Her hair hid her blush, and she could hear the shuffle of his boots against the floor as he moved.
"Oh really? I'll be the judge of that." He declared, running a finger along the smooth surface of the clean shelf. Not one speck of dust caught his finger, and he nodded in approval. "Well done. I was expecting you to fail drastically, but you don't do a half-assed job like every other cadet does."
As relieved as she was, Caryn was angry that he made her clean a room that was already dirt-and-dust free. "With all due respect, Captain," she punctuated strongly, making him turn a harsh glare on her. "This room was already done when I had begun to clean it. Why didn't you give me a dirtier area?"
"Don't question me, cadet. I gave you orders and you are to follow them. Unless you'd like to continue where we left off in the courthouse?" he mocked her, his expression cold and unfeeling. Caryn shuddered when she felt that familiar aura palpate the room, making her feel defenseless against the raven-haired Corporal.
'Damn him and his strong vibes,' she thought bitterly, lowering her head in silent submission. No matter how much she had wanted to talk back, she couldn't. He was her superior and any disrespect given to him would result in more intense punishment.
"No, sir. I apologize for speaking informally."
"Tch."
Levi couldn't really bring himself to stay mad at her for more than a couple minutes. She was too innocent, too polite. In a way, Caryn almost reminded him of Petra. They had the same gentle demeanor and strong determination. It was almost as if they were twins, though fraternal considering they looked nothing alike.
He sighed, squeezing the back of his neck and going to sit at the large, plush chair that was right by a matching desk. "It never hurts to keep one's office space clean, does it?"
Caryn let her mind process his words. Ones…office…clean…
And then she realized, this was Levi's office.
She was puzzled. He had kept his work area so clean, not a speck of dirt or dust anywhere in sight. Maybe he was a clean freak?
"You're dismissed. Go clean up, you're filthy and I don't feel like mopping the floor again because of your dirty ass boots." He ordered, shuffling through some papers on his desk while waving a hand at her nonchalantly. The goddess's eyebrow twitched. If he hadn't wanted her to dirty the floor, then why didn't he just let her clean up before she came here?
Letting out a small sigh, she turned her back on the ravenette and exiting out the door with a quiet 'yes sir'. She had hope that cleaning wouldn't be the only job she was left with. Besides, she wasn't very good at cleaning. She had only skimmed over the room since it wasn't dirty. But what would she do when he assigned her to one that was actually filthy. Gulping slightly, she turned the hall, heading to the room she shared with Petra to grab fresh clothes and head to the women's showers.
As Levi watched her go, he was captured by the long blonde hair that went just past her hips. He wondered how she would be able to take care of such a thing when she was now a soldier in the Survey Corps. The training here was rigorous, especially his. And knowing just how injury prone she was, her hair would definitely get in the way if she didn't cut it.
'I'll let her know to shorten the length later. But honestly…'
Honestly, Levi had found her white-blonde hair to be a capturing, attractive feature. Usually, he didn't care for women much. He considered them equal to men, as long as they obeyed him and had admirable skill. But he was intrigued with the goddess; nothing seemed to faze her in dangerous situations. Not even if her hair had gotten in the way. Somehow, she had kept it from distracting her, proof of when she sparred with him. But it had also cost her. Levi found this as a weakness when he had decided to use that attribute against her, tugging on her hair firmly to get a good grip on her when he pinned her.
The goddess had seemed enamored with him while she gazed back at him then, but that moment had been short lived when she had turned embarrassed, sending him flying off of her with one of her powers. It felt like an insanely strong gust of wind. She had other powers that she was hiding from them, but not for long.
And then Levi recalled the time she called him a pervert, when he was anything but. That was the first time in his life that he had actually stared at a woman for that long. How did that make him a pervert? He began to feel indignant about the whole thing again, taking deep breaths to calm himself. He admitted that he had almost wanted to beat her senseless again for calling him that in front of nearly the whole entire Legion, but decided against it. When he had seen the absolute fear in her hazel-blue orbs, he couldn't bring himself to harm her like that again. After all, the time when he had in the courtroom was to save her.
Levi saw just how afraid most cadets were of him, and even some squad leaders, but he hadn't seen someone look at him with that much trepidation in their eyes before. It was a bit unnerving, to say in the least; he knew that she trusted him, but to what extent?
'Enough thinking about the brat. I have more important things to do,' he scolded himself, inking the tip of his quill and beginning to write the reports in long, cursive scrawl. He had a lot of work to do before the expedition tomorrow.
(o~o~o~)
After taking a long, comforting shower and changing into (thankfully) much more comfortable clothing, Caryn had met with her squad after dinner in an empty dining hall, the room dimmed because of a small oil-lamp. It was a rather relaxing atmosphere, but the air was still tinged with the feeling of nervousness and dread. She knew it was because of the expedition tomorrow, and she shared the feeling with the rest of her comrades. Everyone chatted with one another, having conversations about non-related Titan things. The goddess was grateful that no one had brought up the oncoming mission. Well, yet.
"Here," the voice next to her spoke, and a hand reached out with a teapot to refill her cup for her. The tea wasn't ambrosia water, but it was just as soothing. Caryn decided that when she got the chance, she would share her beverage with them, just as they had with her.
"Thank you, Eren." She smiled at the brunette teen who in turn smiled back at her. She hadn't spoken much to the boy before now, but she learned that he was rather kind, aside from the seriousness about killing every last Titan. But who could blame him? They all wanted to extinguish the giant beasts.
"No problem."
"Say, Eren…" Caryn looked into the male's teal-green eyes, a spark of appreciation in her own orbs. "I actually wanted to thank you for before."
Eren looked at the goddess in slight confusion. "For before?"
Caryn wanted to roll her eyes at the poor memory he seemed to have, but decided to bear with him. "For carrying me when I was injured. I had thought you would have left me there, considering the danger you were all in. I thought you wouldn't be able to afford to stop there and take me with you all."
Realization came over his features, and he laughed sheepishly, alerting some of her comrade's eyes their way. "O-Oh! You meant that," he waved his hands drastically, his eyes set in gratitude of the blonde-haired deity. "If anything, I should be thanking you. You saved us, Caryn. If you hadn't of attacked when you did, we would all probably be titan fodder by now."
Caryn grinned brightly, and the gesture was contagious when the teen grinned back. "I guess we both have something to be thankful for, right?" She insisted, bringing the boy into a warm embrace. Eren blushed as the goddesses arms suddenly wrapped around his neck, not used to the affection. Mikasa hugged him all the time, but this was different. He felt all of his worries melt away when her skin had touched his, as if she had the power to take all of his troubles and store them into a locked chest. His arms hesitantly came around the smaller girls back, as if she was as fragile as a porcelain doll.
'Crap, do I like her?' Eren thought alarmingly, trying to control his red face. He sure hope he didn't, he had a feeling it wouldn't be good for him or her.
Caryn already adored the brunette boy. She had overheard Levi talking about him, saying that he was stubborn and didn't know how to obey orders, but that was hard to believe for her. He was actually very sweet. He almost reminded him of Eadric, who had a strong spirit but cared a lot for his family and friends. Remembering him had made her miss everyone back in Elysium.
'I wonder…when will I be able to see them again?'
Unbeknownst to her, but not to Eren, tears began to fall out of her eyes. She seemed to be having mixed emotions today. The green-eyed boy saw something glimmer out of the corner of his eye, where Caryn was leaning her head on his shoulder. He turned his head slightly, seeing the gold streaks marring her face and alarming him.
"H-Hey, don't cry!" he panicked, pushing her shoulders gently to look at her face. She had indeed been crying, and her eyes were glazed over. He had remembered seeing her golden tears in the courtroom, and guilt creeped into his stomach.
"What did you say to her, Eren?!" Petra asked suspiciously, watching each shimmering tear fall down the goddesses pale cheeks. She had a nostalgic look on her face as if she was reliving a memory. Each of his teammates, including his Captain, had their gazes set on the two now.
"I-I didn't say anything! She just started to cry suddenly!" he exclaimed, waving his hands wildly to reassure squad Levi. Said Corporal just leaned his chin into his hand, watching them in boredom. Truthfully, he had wanted to wring Eren's neck right then and there, but he didn't know why. He had a sudden feeling of dread upon seeing Caryn cry for the second time today.
"I'm sorry," the blonde spoke, wiping her tears away quickly and giving them all a small, reassuring smile. "Eren had just reminded me of my family, and I began to feel emotional because of it. You didn't do anything wrong." She placed her hand on top of Eren's head, ruffling his brunette hair lightly. "You just remind me so much of my brother is all. You both act the same way."
When she took her hand away, the teen rushed to fix his hair in slight embarrassment, making the deity laugh. He gave her a confused look. "Y-You have a brother?"
"Not one brother, but two." Caryn rolled her eyes and gave an amused smile. "Both of which have extremely hard-headed temperaments, but otherwise are very gentle and kind. Just like you."
Eren blushed again, scratching the back of his neck. "Heh, thanks I guess?"
Levi's eyebrow twitched unpleasantly at their conversation, now annoyed beyond measure when they were oblivious to anyone and everything around them but themselves. "Are you love-sick puppies quite done, or do you need a bedroom to follow as well?"
"N-no, sir." The duo replied in unison, blushes now staining both their cheeks for ignoring their comrades so easily. The group laughed, the tension in the room finally dying down some. Even their prized Captain gave a twitch of his lips, barely a smile, but it was there as he covered it with his teacup.
"So, Eren," Petra called to him, alerting the teen. "I heard that about a month from now, your friends from the 104th trainees are coming in."
"Y-Yeah, that's right. But aren't we having an expedition then, too? Don't you think that's going to be a little too soon for them?" Eren asked, worried for his childhood friends and comrades that he met during his trainee years.
"That's right. And I agree entirely. They've been through enough, even as cadets who've already had the unfortunate pleasure of dealing with the Titans." Gunther confirmed, a grave look on his face. Oluo and Petra nodded in agreement.
"Mission planning isn't my responsibility," Levi piped in, throwing an arm carelessly behind his chair. "But it is Erwin's. And you can bet that the man's obsessed with every angle of it."
"That's a truth. Especially given how unique the situation is." Eld also added his two cents in, leaning his elbows on the tabletop. "Considering how many people died while trying to take back wall Maria, then hope comes in a form no one expected. Well, one's that we're not entirely sure how to deal with." He glanced over at Caryn and Eren, making them stiffen nervously.
The group continued to stare at the two people they considered anomoly's to humanity, the atmosphere once again tight with tenstion. Caryn didn't like it one bit, and averted her gaze from the rest of theirs. Staring into their eyes meant showing them her most conflicted feelings, and that wasn't acceptable.
"Most of us still find it pretty hard to believe," Eld continued, narrowing his eyes at the duo. "So, just how do you guys function? The whole changing into a Titan trick, and using these so-called powers of yours."
Eren spoke first, and Caryn relaxed in gratitude. "Wish I could tell you, but I don't really know myself. My memory isn't clear enough to remember. It's almost as if I'm in some sort of trance. All I know is that I have to inflict some type of pain on myself—" he stopped short, his eyes widening.
"You're not going to get anything out of him, so just forget it." Levi's gaze landed on the goddess, who was busy twirling the ends of her long, blonde hair, unaware of his stare. "On the other hand, blondie is different."
Caryn felt her eyebrow twitch the slightest bit in irritation. 'So its blondie now, is it? He just doesn't know when to cease the useless nicknaming process.'
"Earlier, when we were sparring," Oluo's, Eld's, Eren's, and Gunther's eyes widened in surprise at this sudden confession, and Petra just smirked. She had already saw first-hand the intense battle between man and goddess. "She kept up with me without almost breaking a sweat. Almost." He smirked cockily, taking another sip of his tea. "After nearly twenty-five minutes, I rose as the victor in the end. Her skills are a force to be reckoned with. As for her powers, I didn't really get the chance to witness them for myself, but she did surprisingly throw a little bit of wind at me. Shit hit me like a thousand bricks."
"I-I hadn't meant to! I was just ashamed is all!" Caryn protested, hiding her face in her hands to stop her rising blush. She seemed to be doing a lot of things she hadn't usually done today. Squad Levi (excluding Petra) gave confused and uncertain looks.
"Why where you ashamed?" Eld asked curiously, and the blonde snapped her head towards him with a forced glare, making him sink back into his seat.
"No reason! No reason at all!" She snapped, a little bit too harshly for her liking. Eld gave a quiet 'sorry' before taking a sip of his own tea, relishing the flavor of the mint beverage.
"Regardless, she's going to have a field day when we let her get her hands on the both of them. Wouldn't be surprised if they suddenly ended up dead." Levi said monotonously behind the rim of his teacup.
"Of course, it's only a matter of time."
"W-Who are you talking about?" Eren stuttered nervously, and the blonde's eyes lit up in recognition beside him. Caryn knew who Levi was talking about. If she remembered correctly, it was—
BANG!
"Ahh!"
A pained voice broke out from the door behind the Corporal as something ran into it roughly, causing them to jump in alarm. Petra rose from her seat, going over and removing the block of wood that was locking the doors.
When they were opened, Hanji was revealed behind them, rubbing her forehead and grumbling before giving them all a sheepish smile. "I'm so sorry." She laughed good-naturedly, raising a hand in greeting. "Good evening, Squad Levi!"
"You're too damn early," the short-statured male muttered impassively, but the woman ignored him while walking over to Eren and Caryn's side of the table.
"S-Squad Leader Hanji," Eren greeted nervously, his face going a bit pale at seeing the crazed scientist. Caryn didn't blame him for acting that way. She was a very interesting character.
"Hello Eren, Caryn. In case you haven't pieced things together yet, it's my job as the Legion's researcher to essentially poke and prod our captured Titan specimens. For these next few events, I'd like both of you to assist me."
"How can we help you, Hanji?" Caryn asked, tilting her head to the side and skipping formalities. The blonde-haired goddess knew that the woman hated them, anyways, so she decided to respect her wishes by calling her by her first name. "Or should I ask, how are we going to help you," she added as an afterthought.
"Why, you will join me of course!" she blushed, clenching a proud fist as if she was dreaming of something. "By going on a quest of scientific discovery!"
"U-Um, well we would…" Eren said, a bit overwhelmed by the gluttonous scientist. "But it isn't really up to us. We're under orders of the higher-ups, so…"
"Levi, what's on their agenda for later on tonight?"
"Clearing out the weeds in the front." He said inexpressively, and the woman waved a hand in dismissal.
"Great! Then I won't tire them out too much before the expedition tomorrow." She exclaimed, grabbing both Eren and Caryn's hands in hers and squeezing abnormally tight. "We have many things to do, so let's start immediately!"
"O-Okay, but just to be clear, what are we going to be doing? Are we running experiments or something?" Eren asked in curiosity, and Hanji's glasses flashed knowingly in the light. Caryn began to feel uneasy at the look she was currently giving them.
'Why do I feel as if this is going elsewhere?'
As if reading her mind, her comrades hissed curses at the teen for starting something he shouldn't have started, quietly getting out of their seats and exiting the hall, their cups still halfway filled with lukewarm tea. While Hanji stared intensely at Eren, she gently removed her grip, stalking out the door and following her squad suit. She felt a little bad for leaving Eren there, but he asked the question, not her. She had a feeling he'd be there until sunrise, if not, maybe longer.
Catching up to Petra, she nudged the shorter girl's shoulder. "What exactly was she going to tell him?"
Petra shuddered, as if reliving something horrifying. "She probably would of told him all about her experiments, including Sonny and Bean. They're her two little Titan pets. We left because she is most likely going to be on that subject until dawn."
So, she was right. Thanking her gut feeling, she gave Petra a warm smile as the continued down the halls, going their separate ways with their comrades and Captain before heading to their own shared room. Levi had went inside his office, closing the door behind him without a second glance at the girls as they passed him.
'Now, for a hopefully good night's sleep.'
(o~o~o~)
"Caryn, wake up! It's an emergency!"
Swatting away the hand that was shaking her roughly in her warm bed, Caryn snarled at the intruder that was trying to wake her from her much needed slumber. The pestering hand pulled the covers away, and the cold creeped up onto Caryn, making her break out in goose fleck.
Glaring, she opened her eyes to see Petra standing over her, her blankets in hand. Her expression was one of panic, and she was already dressed in her uniform. At this, the blonde calmed down a bit, ruffling her bed-head back and giving the ginger-haired girl a questioning glance.
"What's the matter? Why are you dressed so suddenly?" she asked curiously, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. When they touched the stone floor, she shivered in the chilly room. Petra threw the blankets down, going over to her wardrobe and throwing on her cloak as quick as she could, the wings of freedom sprawled across the back of it.
"The expedition's been canceled!" she shouted, throwing a shirt and pants at the goddess as well as one of her own cloaks. Caryn's eyes widened in unexpected surprise, rushing to get dressed just as Petra was.
"What do you mean, it's been canceled?! Can they do this so suddenly?!" Caryn asked, panic now lacing her tone as she rummaged to get her boots on, not even caring to tie up the laces. She was thankful they weren't the original boots that the soldiers wore, they were much too tight on her calves. These ones thankfully laced. She tied the hanging shoelaces tightly, looking up at the ginger in hopes of getting an answer.
"It's Sonny and Bean!"
"What about Sonny and Bean?!" Caryn snapped at her, now annoyed with her. She was woken up much too early, and to top it all off, Petra was half-assing her answers. It was irritating, to say in the least. The next words that came out of the petite girls mouth made Caryn's blood run cold.
"They've been slaughtered!"
(o~o~o~)
Cliffhanger!
Normally, I would hate to leave a chapter hanging like this, because I like to keep things going smoothly. But hey, every now and then it's a bit fun to put things like this in the story.
I really enjoyed writing this chapter. It was 22 pages long and I finally finished it in two days (thank god). I might update between another two day period, but if not, maybe three or four. I have a very busy week ahead of me. Wish me luck!
Hope you enjoyed!
~M