The forest was quiet. Too quiet. Fog curled low over the ground, clinging to the underbrush like fingers. A lone crow cawed somewhere in the distance, but otherwise—nothing.
The calm before the storm.
Beatrice stood in full gear, eyes sharp beneath the brim of her cloak, fingers flexing lightly on the grips of her manoeuvre gear. She was calm. Steady. Focused. But her heart was pounding. Her first real mission. Her first outside the walls. She could feel the weight of the air. The scent of bark. The quiet warnings in every branch that swayed too softly.
And beside her, just to the left, Levi. Silent. Still. Watching everything. He hadn't said much during the briefing—just nodded once when her name came up and adjusted his cravat like it meant something—but now, his eyes rarely left her. He told himself he was just assessing her form. Making sure she remembered everything he drilled into her. Making sure she didn't fall behind.
He told himself a lot of things.
"Three titans," Hange's voice crackled through the formation channel. "Two small, one mid-sized. All moving east. We intercept."
Beatrice exhaled slowly, nodding once.
Isabel was bouncing on her heels a few paces behind her, buzzing with energy. "You ready? You look like you're ready. You'd better be ready. Farlan said you're scarily calm, and he's never wrong."
Farlan, already clipped in beside her, gave a quiet, reassuring smile. "We stick to the formation. Don't try to be a hero. Watch Levi—he always makes the cleanest openings."
"I know," Beatrice murmured.
"Split in three—NOW!" Erwin called.
The team scattered. And the world exploded. Steam. Screams. Thunderous footfalls. The air filled with the shriek of manoeuvre gear launching into trees. Beatrice shot forward like an arrow, instincts firing with perfect clarity.
She didn't think. She moved.
And Levi—already airborne—was right beside her. They didn't plan it. Didn't speak. But their paths folded together like pieces of a map, every movement in sync, her blade already turning just as his strike finished. He twisted midair—she was already behind him, a blur of white hair and silver steel.
"Since when—" Isabel started.
"They're moving in sync," Farlan said, stunned.
"They're moving like they've been training together for years," Hange whispered.
Levi didn't say a word. But he saw it. Felt it. The way she mirrored his trajectory. The way she read his tempo. The way she caught his blind side without hesitation. Beatrice didn't need orders. She already knew. And Levi had never hated that more—because it terrified him. Because it meant if something happened—
Don't.
A titan lunged.
Beatrice twisted, narrowly avoiding the jaws. Levi snapped. He dove before she even touched her triggers again, slicing clean through the titan's nape with such vicious precision the others paused for a breath.
"Unnecessary," Erwin muttered.
"Possessive," Isabel muttered gleefully.
"Terrifying," Farlan added, worried.
"Fine," Levi snapped back through gritted teeth.
Beatrice landed a second later, panting slightly, her blade dripping. "You didn't need to do that."
"You let it get too close."
"I had it under control."
He turned toward her, eyes sharp, breath low. "You don't know how fast you can die out here."
She didn't flinch. "And you don't know how much I've learned waiting to be here."
Their eyes locked. The world pulsed between them.
And behind them, the final titan fell.
Mission complete.
Later – Just Beyond the Forest, Camp Perimeter
The squad was quiet, collecting breath and checking gear. Beatrice sat near a tree, wiping blood from her blades, steam rising from her shoulders. Levi stood nearby, watching her with that unreadable expression. He didn't speak. But his hand hovered near her shoulder for a second longer than necessary when she passed him her damaged harness for inspection.
Farlan approached and knelt beside her. "You were incredible," he said softly, offering her a small cloth to wipe her hands. "I knew you would be. But that was…"
Beatrice smiled faintly. "Levi carried most of it."
"You moved with him like you were one person."
She blinked. "Did I?"
Farlan looked at her like she'd said the sky was purple. "Bea… you didn't notice?"
She shook her head.
Isabel, passing by, nearly choked on her water. "She didn't notice. Oh my god. They're actually married and they don't even know it."
Levi, just within earshot, turned his head away—but the faintest twitch of his jaw betrayed him. He'd felt it too. He just didn't know how to say it.
Not yet.