Petra gets back to me in record time, like legitimately record time because I didn't even have fifteen minutes to try and clear my head before she was back again. She must have been flying- wait, she's an angel. Of course she was flying, wings- duh. I slap my hand to my forehead, hard.
"And that?" she asks as she scratches around in a bag and produces a pair of caramel coloured pants, a white shirt that buttons up and a jacket that stops just below my ribs. Kinda pointless for a jacket- oooh, wings, duh. Petra even managed to find a pair of combat boots, dark brown, in my size.
I dress quickly, years of firefighter instinct wouldn't allow otherwise. The pants hug my legs like a second skin, the shirt buttoned up and tucked in, boots secured to my feet and my jacket to top it all off. Is it strange that I feel sexy in these clothes? Is it strange that I feel like strutting around? Is it strange that I want Levi to see me right now? Is it strange that I want him to- no, don't go there. You need to get your head out of the trash so that Pixis will take you seriously. But if you must strut, then strut like you mean it, dammit!
Petra and I walk to the council room, I know I'm turning heads and I let my hips sway just a little. I didn't know swaying my hips could be this satisfying, and I'm probably going to get an earful for it later, but I feel sexy and I'm gonna own it for as long as I can.
Because fuck knows when last I felt this good in my own skin.
These days my skin either feels too tight or too loose or I just feel like some deformed freak of nature because of my stumps. I really should stop calling them that, they are wings. At least my wings will grow out. There are some out there who are not as fortunate as I am, so I should be grateful- shut up, brain, you aren't helping me.
The walk to the council meeting is shorter than I remember it being the first time, but then again I don't walk there often so it could just be my imagination. Petra is grim faced; her shoulders tense and her brow scrunched up as she presses the doors open with both hands.
"So if she did not come in through the main entrances and she didn't come in via the roof then how- oh, Petra, what brings you to our meeting?" Pixis glances up from the blue prints on the table before him.
"Eren-"
"I'm sorry Captain, Commander and General. I have something to report and Eren has some explaining to do,"
Pixis' eyebrows hike up his forehead while Erwin and Levi lean forward in their seats. "Close the doors, Petra. Eren, please take a seat,"
I sit down and stare at my hands, they are laced together and rest in my lap.
"I've been thinking about this for a while," Petra starts and takes the seat next to me. Gunther and Eld look at each other before looking at Petra and their eyes rest on Levi. Hanji cannot take her eyes off me, though not because she is being weird but because she is curious as to what I have to say. "Why did Annie attack Eren? I mean, Erwin was in the same room as Eren and from a Creators point of view it would have been more productive to get rid of the commander of the Tower, no offence boss,"
"What are you saying, Petra?"
"If it had been a normal attack, you would have been dead now, commander,"
"But it wasn't a normal attack, because Eren was the one to get hurt," Oluo states.
"Exactly. Why would Annie attack Eren? How did she even know about Eren? I'll tell you how she knew. She's been tracking Eren since the start,"
"What?" Levi slowly gets to his feet, his stormy greys pin me to my seat while they seemingly pull my soul out to search it.
"Eren's met Annie before the night she came here looking for him,"
Pixis turns to look at me. "Is that true?"
I gulp and nod my head. "Yes, sir,"
"Where did you first meet her?"
"I was young, there had been an incident with the lawnmower and I was bleeding. She offered to patch me up in her kitchen, she lived next door,"
"And you didn't see her wings?"
"No, she was wearing a gown of some sorts,"
"Where else did you see her?"
"I saw her, or someone who looks a lot like her, in London a few times. I thought she might have been a serial arsonist because she was always at the fires, but whenever I tried to report it to my commander in charge; he would say the heat was playing tricks on me. I saw her in the fire Levi saved me from, but only briefly. And I saw her before I went into the building where Levi was,"
"Why didn't you fucking say anything, brat?"
"Eren, this is vital information! How can you withhold it from us for this long?"
"Jeager, you son of a-"
"Hey! Enough! Okay? I didn't know who she was, I didn't even know if I was seeing her for real! I thought it was the heat and the adrenaline, okay? Walk a mile in my shoes, see the shit I've seen under the circumstances I've seen them and maybe, just fucking maybe, you will understand why it is harder to remember some things than it is to remember others. So don't go pissing on me for not remembering a face,"
They are all taken a back slightly by my outburst, as if they hadn't been expecting me to fight back. Yeah, right, like I'm just going to sit here and take a verbal bashing because my memory isn't up to their standards. Well fuck them; I know I'm not perfect. I never said I was.
"And I will tell you arseholes why she attacked me. She wanted to get to Levi. She didn't give a shit about the Tower; she just wanted to hurt Levi as much as she could without actually going toe to toe with him. Now you're probably wondering how I know that, well the crazy cow told me! So respect the little man just a little here, okay? Now, if you will excuse me, I can feel a growth spurt coming on and I really don't want to bleed all over this new jacket of mine," I hiss softly and I stand up again.
The dull throb at the base of my wings is slowly becoming more insistent and my legs feel a little weak. My head feels light and heavy at the same time and I stumble a little bit.
"Eren-"
"It's okay, Petra. You stay here for the rest and brief me later; I'll take care of my brat. Maybe I'll teach him some manners along the way,"
Levi walks around the table, hooks his arm around my waist while wrapping my own arm across his shoulder. We walk out in silence.
"Don't ever talk like that in front of Pixis again, Eren. You will respect the General, because he can end you whenever he sees fit and I won't be able to stop him," He stares straight ahead; his face is an expressionless mask but his eyes burn. I'm not exactly sure what I see there, but Levi called me by my name.
"I'm sorry Levi," I mumble.
"I know brat, I know. Let's just get you in the shower so that you don't bleed all over my fucking apartment. Or all over your new clothes," he adds and I spot a small smirk.
"Do I look okay in them?" I can't help but ask. I feel a little anxious about asking him these sorts of questions.
"No, you don't look okay at all,"
My face falls as we reach his apartment. He opens the door and we walk in.
"You look fucking gorgeous," Levi's whisper is warm against my ear and cheek. I can't stop the blush that spreads over my face and down my neck. I feel like a fucking teenage girl. And then pain spikes through my system.
A/N
You people are awesome, really. I love you all so much.
I will work harder just for you :D
And remember, comments feed the muse