Chapter Text
“What do you think Captain Levi is always writing about?” Pondered Connie. The short man had a vacant finger up his nose as he leaned over the table and stared holes into their superior.
It’s true, he was always writing. Thought Eren dreamily as she leaned into her hand and openly gawked at her superior.
Captain Levi was leaned against the wall directly maybe fifteen feet away from Eren and his friends. He had a small, leather notebook in one hand and a pen in the other. There, he scribbled away and looked almost annoyed at his words.
Eren thought he looked stunning—per usual. The man’s midnight dark hair absorbed the warm light emitted by the lanterns around them. It shadowed his pale and sharp features beautifully, making him look almost skeletal in the light. Despite that, his stature was broad packed with muscle. How Eren would kill for a chance to see him underneath the stuffy uniform.
Jean shrugged, looking as annoyed as ever. “Who knows—the guy’s a psycho. Maybe it’s his murder journal.” The comment elicited a few chuckles around the table, but there was one particular soldier who glared at the joke.
“That’s not funny, Jean,” Eren butt in, attempting to make her voice sound as intimidating as possible. “Captain Levi isn’t a murderer—“
“Give it a break, why don’t you?” Jean rolled his eyes and stirred his potato soup. “We get it. You have a big fat crush on Captai—“
“Jean!” Armin interjected, his gem blue eyes glittering. They darted eyes between Eren and the approaching Captain Levi.
The man approached, the entire table going still. Eren consciously combed her hair back and sat up a bit straighter, making sure her breasts are the first line of sight! Captain Levi was sure to notice, right?
And the man walked by, looking vacant and stoic as usual.
“Wow!” Sasha breathed, her eyes wide. “He’s so scary, you guys.”
“That was pathetic,” Jean scoffed, landing a knowing look over to Eren, who slouched again with a pissed off face.
If it were any other day, Eren would have half a mind to knock Jean senseless over the table. Despite Eren being a girl and a few inches shorter than Jean, Eren didn’t hesitate to try and knock his ass out whenever she could. Though her friends, Mikasa and Armin, tried to stop her as often as they could.
Eren simply shook her head with annoyance. Captain Levi was here, and Walls forbid she embarrass herself in front of humanity’s strongest soldier.
The brunette looked over to Levi’s table, where he sat uncomfortably close with Petra. She greeted him with a smile and they ate together, much to Eren’s annoyance.
What does she have that I don’t? Eren wanted to cry out miserably.
She’s a real soldier with real kills. And she’s pretty good at it too. A tiny voice in the back of her mind garbled, making Eren incredibly annoyed. She’s also older, with more fair skin and so much friendlier to people—
Eren stabbed into a potato violently, making her table mates flinch and glance over. Jean opened his mouth to say something stupid, to which Armin shook his head eagerly. Jean simply huffed and continued his dinner.
Meanwhile, Eren pouted into her potato soup and tried to drown out the noise of Captain Levi chuckling a few tables over.
-
To be completely honest, Eren didn’t mind training all that much.
The exercises were grueling and probably the most grating pain she’s ever felt, sure, but it was nice to get out and exercise. There was something about burning muscles to exhaustion that made Eren feel a sense of freedom and triumph.
They started off their morning with jogs around the castle, which of course, was the easiest part. Eren wasn’t sure what was in store for them today, but she didn’t mind anything. After all, this was to help her continue her skills with her titan and to help further the advancement of humanity.
After the light jog session, everyone was to transport their supplies to the forest of giant trees. Which was a relief for Eren. Granted, she wasn’t as spectacular at the 3DMG as some of her teammates, but it was better than practicing sparring or the titan experiments with Hanji.
They then fell into their regular routine—racing one another across a dotted line of trees. This was a good warm-up and an adequate way of having fun with one another, so Eren really wasn’t complaining.
She waited in line and noticed Connie her partner to race against. Not bad—she was mostly confident she could beat the shorter man.
Connie looked up at her with a smirk. “Your boyfriend is here. Better not screw up.”
What? Eren’s vision shrunk and just then, she noticed Captain Levi up at the front of the line! He was crossing his arms and looking as uninterested as usual, but Eren could die happy right now. Captain Levi was their captain, but he also seemed to busy to be overlooking things like menial training sessions or the likes. What an honor!
But also, how terrifying! Eren began sweating in her boots as the line to the front grew shorter and shorter. All while she was thinking up strategies on how to beat the snot out of Connie while looking cool.
Finally, they reached the front of the line. Levi was on Eren’s side, scribbling in his notebook and looking pissed off to have even woken up today.
Hanji was on Connie’s side, and once they opened their mouth, Connie’s face fell flat. Eren smirked.
“Morning, Captain Levi,” Eren decided to straighten her posture. She gave her superior a kind smile, giving off the impression she was a lovely and well-mannered girl.
Levi raised a brow, but didn’t look up from his writing. “Morning, Eren.”
Eren tried to hide her smile. Bubbling feelings of euphoria rose throughout her core and her hands felt hot—Captain Levi just addressed Eren by her first name!! Of course, he’s always done that, but not with anyone else! And the way his voice—
“Captain!” A voice broke the wind. Eren noticed a soldier zooming straight towards them from the forest. They seemed to speak urgently to one another, piquing Eren’s interest.
The soldier and Levi exchanged some quick words before Levi turned and made direct eye contact with Hanji.
“I’ll be back, four eyes. Don’t start the next race until I say so.”
“You got it, grumpy pants!”
Hanji didn’t seem to mind the insult not a single bit, only watching their friend zoom away with a dumb smile on their face. Eren watched the two interact with no semblance of jealousy, only curiosity.
“How long have you and Captain Levi been friends?” Eren asked eagerly, much to the annoyance of Connie right next to her.
Hanji looked mildly surprised at the question. “Oh, me and shorty? Well, it’s been years, I suppose. Why do you ask, my dear?”
Eren blushed. “I’m only curious. He doesn’t seem like the type to have friends.”
Hanji grinned, causing a sinking feeling to erupt in Eren’s gut. She knew that smile. Hanji had just put two and two together, no doubt. Hanji was very smart, so it would make sense they would put the pieces together.
Connie, appearing annoyed, snapped, “Why don’t you just ask him out already?!”
Eren gasped before scowling and punching her friend in the arm. It sent him flying, before an amused Hanji caught the short soldier.
“That’s—“ Eren gasped for air, looking thoroughly embarrassed. “That’s so inappropriate!! He’s our Captain, he’s humanity’s strongest soldier!! He shouldn’t bother himself with—with someone like me! Hanji?” The brunette looked towards the Squad Leader for help.
Hanji only raised their hands with a smirk on their face. “For once, Eren, as much as I’d love to help you, I’m staying out of this one.”
Eren shot Connie a look that read, ‘I’ll kick your ass’. Before turning away and crossing her arms.
-
Eren couldn’t sleep.
She tossed and turned in her dungeon cell, feeling hot and cold, aches and pains, it was absolute torture!
She sat up in bed, the chains binding her wrists and ankles doing little to help her feel relaxed. Though, she should’ve gotten used to being in chains by now. After all, when she wasn’t in uniform, she was shackled up and constantly supervised by guards.
There were a few guards standing watch. There was one that stood outside Eren’s cell and two that stood above ground, right outside the stairs. At first, the two guards above ground weren’t necessary, but there were also some guards that had malicious intent with Eren, so they were necessary to be stationed up front in case she needed help.
Speaking of which, the guard under Eren’s watch fell asleep a few hours ago. Eren recognized him from a few shifts before, believing his name to be Felix or Ferdinand— whatever. Something. Eren didn’t ever mind his presence. Though he was rude, he never tried touching Eren or taking advantage of her like some guards had in the past.
He was sat lazily on the stool with his head pressed against the cold metal of her cell. Eren didn’t mind—he probably needed his sleep.
But she needed out.
“Hey!” Eren snapped, shaking a chain to generate noise. “Hey, you! I gotta take a piss!! You hear me? Wake up!”
The guard’s eyes fluttered before narrowing at the prisoner with disdain. “For a little girl, you sure do talk like a sailor.”
Eren frowned. She didn’t mean to talk like that, it’s just how she feels!! Sure, her mom would constantly berate her for speaking so poorly, but who gives a fuck?
As the guard unlocked her cell and came over to undo her shackles, Eren started to feel a bit more insecure at what the guard had said. The titan shifter really did speak poorly, and that’s what drove a lot of boys away from her. She had memories of being younger, being rejected due to her brash nature . . . Perhaps Captain Levi was the same? Maybe that’s why he was so attracted to Petra, who was the kindest and meekest soldier Eren had ever met.
Eren stood from the bed and went towards the stone set of stairs, the guard watching her very closely.
“Can’t a young lady go relieve herself in private?” Eren scowled, staring at the soldier with the fury of 1000 suns.
The guard didn’t look phased. “Rules are rules, Princess.”
Eren huffed, but allowed herself to be followed anyway. Though, she was sure it was against the rules to be sleeping on the job, but what does Eren know?
-
Eren washed her hands quickly, trying to ignore how cold the stone floor was against her bare feet. She shivered, actually wanting to dive back into her uncomfortable bed with her blanket and warm air of the basement.
The guard actually waited outside, which was a relief. Felix (or Ferdinand) was pretty respectful of Eren’s space. Especially as a young lady.
Eren retreated her wet hands from the sink and looked around for a towel, her eyes narrowing to adjust to the dark. Instead, she saw a black book tucked into one of the sinks, looking unassuming and plain.
There was a strange need to open the book. She reached out for it and stopped herself, sucking in her teeth.
This was someone’s personal possession, most likely. Who was Eren to steal the damn thing and keep the owner from finding it in the future?
But Eren was awfully bored down there in the basement. Between bouts of insomnia and scare traces of sleep, all Eren had for entertainment was counting the bricks in the ceiling or getting yelled at by the guards.
Besides, wouldn’t it be better for the owner for Eren to turn in the book herself? She could simply find the owner, turn it in and forget about the book no problem! Had anyone else found this book, they might have thrown it away! Like Jean or Ymir, for example. Eren wasn’t even sure if those two buffoons could read.
Quickly, Eren grabbed the book and shoved it under her nightgown, right under her breasts. She held her hands tight around herself, making sure the guard wouldn’t see. Doubtful he would care about a stupid book she found, but Walls forbid Eren get the damn book taken away from her.
The guard said nothing as Eren walked out, only right away retreating back to the basement.
-
Once Felix (or Ferdinand—no wait, maybe it was Frederick?) fell asleep, Eren retrieved the book from her nightgown. How the guard managed to not see the damn thing as he was securing her to the bed will always be a mystery, but for now, Eren will count her blessings.
She reached over to flicker on her lantern, making sure to keep an eye on the guard. He didn’t flinch, making Eren exhale a breath out of relief.
Her thin fingers opened the book and found it was a journal of sorts, but it wasn’t formatted by dates or the likes—so a handwritten book?
Eren read the first page.
Main character: Leon, a knight born in a foreign kingdom. He is noble, stoic and devoted to his duties.
His love interest is Edris, a foolish girl. She’s the princess of a nearby kingdom, Titania.
Edris is a fair skinned maiden with eyes that glimmered like the sea. She had dark hair that fell like satin curtains, though she was anything but charming. She was clumsy, brash and misbehaved at most formal opportunities.
Their love is forbidden, as he is her noble knight and protector. In the journey of protecting her against monsters and neighboring kingdoms, Leon has fell deeply and irrevocably in love with her. There is something bright about the way she moved, as unsophisticated as she breathed. She smiled with the warmth of a billion suns, her eyes fluttering with the clumsiness of a teenager and her stance as bold as royalty. Blah, blah, blah, blah, forbidden love, blah blah.
Eren’s eyes fell flat. So this was someone’s weird, romantic novel they’ve been writing? How oddly intimate and so boring all at once! Eren was hoping to grab a hold of someone’s journal, and she foolishly hoped it was Jean’s. Though, she’d probably find nothing but love letters to her adoptive sister in there anyway.
Eren flipped to a random page, hoping to find something interesting.
Oh?
Eren began reading.
The scene was clear. Leon and Edris were running from a monster and they vacated themselves to a cave, to where they became trapped. The harshly written words read like silk to Eren, as her blue-green eyes read each passage like it was nothing. She became so immersed in this part of the story!
“We’re trapped, my dear Leon,” Edris fell defeated onto her knees. Her royal highness’ gown was torn, the deep red fabric tearing and exposing supple thighs and dirt clad skin.
She was filthy from running through the muck with Leon tugging her along at every step of the way. He still had not forgotten how grounding her hands felt clasped into his. This feeling would carry him to do an action he would soon regret.
“I have failed you,” Leon spoke, Edris’ head raising from the outburst from her loyal steed. “My highness.”
Her gaze softened at the sentence, her eyes melting like liquid gold. Her pinkish lips parted as she laughed, her laughter sounding like bells to his ears. Suddenly, Leon didn’t mind the thought of perishing here in this cave.
“Hold me, Leon,” Edris cooed, her state turning almost puppy like. “It’s cold in this cave, much like the coldness felt in my chambers. How I long for you to enter my chambers, to lay with me.”
“This is speech unbefitting for a Princess,” Leon replied, trotting down to sit next to the young maiden. “But if we may die here, let it be known, my highness . . . I share the same wish.”
Edris’ thick eyebrows raised, her blush appearing in her cheeks like rose petals. “Leon . . .”
“Edris,” Leon swallowed his pride, taking his hands into hers. “My dear Edris, let me lie between your legs. It is my dying wish to bury myself in your fields of gold.”
“Take me, Leon!” Edris cried, bowing to—
Eren’s face scrunched. “Huh?!” Her sudden outburst made the guard stir on his stool, making Eren’s heart race.
Eren reread the lines again and braced herself for the next part.
Edris cried, bowing to the floor with her ripe backside exposed to the air. Her tan skin reflected in the darks of the caves like fresh limestone.
“Take you I shall,” Leon murmured, pulling down his drawers and taking out his manhood. He pressed it into her backside and entered. It felt nice.
Eren was immediately turned off.
How could this writer have been so poetic, so beautiful and descriptive—and yet when it came to the sex scene, it felt flat? Lifeless?
Eren wasn’t a virgin by any means, having sex one or two times before with nameless soldiers. So she ought to know a thing or two about pleasuring a woman! And this wasn’t it!
Eren flipped through the book carelessly, hoping to find any identifiers to the owner of this shitty romance novel! She ought to find them tomorrow morning and beat them senseless for teasing her like that!
The titan shifter found herself to the back of the book, surprised at the writing on the very last pages. The writing started backwards, almost as if the writer in question needed these pages for different purposes.
She examined the looser writing.
- Black tea
- Ink
- Gauze
- Medicinal leaves
- Rags
Eh? Eren’s eyes furrowed. A shopping list? What could something as menial as a shopping list be doing in the back of a romance novel?
She flipped to the penultimate page in the book, finding the passage written in the book to be like a slap in the face.
November.
Hanji was being a dumb ass again. Their experiments with the titan brat are proving fruitless once more.
Eren is getting tired. I hate how Hanji does this. It seems as though they have no human feelings to be putting such a young girl through this kind of training. Eren doesn’t want to admit it, but she’s tired. I wish I could help, but Erwin’s orders are Erwin’s orders.
Eren’s chest tightened as it began to dawn on her what this meant. This was Captain Levi’s book! This means he wrote in this, he held this and—wait, this was the book he writes in all the time!
Before Eren could feel giddy at what a talented writer he was, or even the passage where he expressed concern over Eren’s well-being, she felt grim. Levi was sure to be on the look out for this notebook, and when he finds out that it’s currently in Eren’s possession, he might actually just kill her.
How should Eren even approach this? Should she put it back in the bathroom and wake the guard again? Should she wait until morning?
But once morning starts, a bunch of other cadets will be swarming in and out of the halls, making Eren’s mission less than discretionary.
Eren bashed her fist into her skull. Damn it! Why is it that she was always stuck with these loathsome missions where she constantly looked like a bad person?
She shoved the book underneath the adjacent pillow, wanting to sleep this problem away.
-
Eren wandered into breakfast the next morning, sleep deprived.
She managed to get dressed and wake up on time. She also had the brilliant idea of hiding the leather notebook in the back of her shirt, right behind her jacket as to make the bulge less obvious. She pondered leaving it in her sleeping quarters, but it would be foolish to assume the guards don’t go through her things on the daily.
“Did you sleep well, Eren?” Mikasa asked immediately upon her sister sitting at the table. “You look awful.”
Eren rolled her eyes. “Gee, thanks. And no, I never do.”
Armin quickly swallowed his food before butting in. “It might help to drink some night time tea! You might want to ask Captain Levi for some, I heard he’s got a bunch.”
Eren’s eyes brightened. “That’s a really good idea!” And not for the reason Armin assumed. Eren had been meaning to return the notebook, and having an excuse made it all the more easier!
“I’ll go after breakfast!” Eren decided.