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*2 weeks before*

‘You know what? I give up.’ You stood up, brushing dirt off your clothes. ‘This is completely pointless.’

Levi looked up at the sky as if he wanted to call down some heavenly aid. ‘We’re barely half an hour into training, and you already want to quit. This is a new low, even for you.’

Throwing him an annoyed glare, you picked up the water bottle and gulped down its contents. ‘I don’t really see the point of carving out a Titan’s neck with a couple of knives.’ You wiped away a couple of stray droplets from your mouth. ‘It’s not like it’s just going to stand there and be all, ‘oh look tiny human! I see you don’t have any turkey roast for Christmas dinner tonight. Would you like some of my neck flesh?’

Levi paused. ‘Neck flesh?’

You shrugged. ‘They’re stupid. But not that stupid.’

He sighed. ‘Bloody hell (f/n), I didn’t teach you this so you could learn how to make turkey roast, you idiot.’ Levi picked up a few knives and twirled them expertly around his fingers.

Show off.

‘I taught you this so you can kill, without having to think about it.’ Without warning, he leaped off the platform, backwards to your sharp cry of alarm. Closing his eyes, he flipped backwards and scissored his arms. In a sort of timeless grace, he landed on the next platform with the pieces of foam floating down behind him.

‘I don’t see why we can’t use proper swords,’ you grumbled, watching as he effortlessly sailed back.

‘Do you remember the last time we tried to use them?’ Levi handed the knives to you. ‘You almost took my head off.’

‘Details,’ you waved your hand airily. Levi only groaned. ‘Just go.’ Resignedly, you flew off the platform, took a half-hearted swipe at the decoy, acknowledged it when you missed and landed on the platform. Levi threw his hands up in a ‘what-the-f**k-just-happened’ gesture.

‘My grandma would have done better,’ he yelled.

‘Well I don’t care,’ you yelled back, frustrated with his constant nagging and the fact that you were incapable of performing a simple skill. ‘I’m leaving.’

With an angry cry, you hurled the knives at the decoy, storming off in an immature huff. Stupid Levi and his stupid insults and stupid face and stupid abs and stupid-

‘(F/n)!’

You stopped in your tracks. ‘What?’ you snapped.

Levi’s face was as blank as a sheet of paper. He was looking at the decoy, where two knives were quivering, having been perfectly thrown into the centre of the neck.

‘What the hell?’ you finally blurted.

Levi frowned, then gestured for you to come back up. Anger forgotten, you soared to him, where he wordlessly handed you two more knives.

‘Throw them again.’

‘What?’

‘Are you deaf? Throw them again.’ Crossing his arms, he stood back, watching intently. With a shrug, you eyed up the target and hurled the knives. One after the other, maybe by sheer dumb luck, maybe with a hidden skill, they slammed into the neck with a force unknown even to you, that the decapitated head slowly slid off and tumbled into the foliage below.

The pair of you stared at it in silence.

‘Hmmm,’ Levi finally spoke. ‘Not bad.’

‘Not bad?’ You indignantly put your hands on your hips. ‘I believe you mean TOTALLY AWESOME.’

‘Fine, it’s an excellent skill to have. And you seem to possess the natural talent for it,’ he said grudgingly, while you preened. ‘And don’t let it get to your head, brat.’

‘You know, it’s nice when the words that come out of your mouth are compliments. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.’

‘Tch, don’t get used to it. You’re still as graceful as a donkey on stilts.’

‘Thanks.’

‘You’re welcome. And anyway, that aside, this skill is extremely useful. I don’t need to teach you how to improve; you already have the talent. Just be sure to use it when the time comes. It’s a huge advantage.’

‘Yeah,’ you nodded in agreement. ‘I will.’

***

You know, they say that time slows down when you’re about to die. Your life flashes by, in snatches of memories. Faces filter in and out of focus; the sound of faded laughter there, a tearful face… Memories of victories, of losses, of family… your own blockbuster movie, starring you.

But you? You only saw Levi. His face, his beautiful features telling you, urging you to do it, to use what you were gifted with. His quicksilver eyes telling you, believing in you.

You will not die.

With a cry, you sprang out of my prone position and somersaulted into the air, severing the wires with a single swipe and hurling my blades at the Titan with deadly precision. The metal sang as it arced perfectly through the air and struck the behemoth in its eyes, blood cascading down its face. It lurched back, clutching the tattered remains with a howl as you spun onto its head, detaching the blades from its eyes as you went. Of course, you couldn’t hold back and with a battle cry only worth of you, you struck down, slicing your blades through the nape of the neck. Gore, blood, the stench of death… that was all you could sense as the Titan screamed one last scream and toppled, while you leapt off and landed on the roof, panting hard, your clothes stained with the carnage.

‘YEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!’ cried a voice to your right. You looked up, and saw Eren on the adjacent roof, leaping up and down and pointing to you. ‘BADASS AS HELL. YOU REALLY FU-‘
But Eren was cut off as another shadow loomed behind you. Turning around, you glimpsed a wide, smiling maw before-

‘Oh no you don’t, you hulking bastard,’ seethed a familiar voice as a figure arced over its head, streaming ribbons of blood as it went, effortlessly sending the Titan down. Boots clattered across the rooftop and stopped in front of you. Mustering all your strength, you stood up, looking into flashing silver eyes.

‘How dare you steal my kill,’ you said. ‘I had it all under control, until you decided to parade in here and take the spotlight.’

‘Oh please, you would totally have died, if I hadn’t stepped in and saved you,’ he retorted.

‘As you can see,’ you gestured to the remains of the Titan you had killed. ‘I didn’t need saving.’
‘I’m sure you didn’t.’ Reaching out, he tugged your arm gently, having you lean forward until your foreheads touched.

‘You know, I still haven’t forgiven you for what you did,’ you said, trying to be angry, but failing of course.

‘I haven’t expected you to. I was being completely irrational, and I sincerely apologise for being an ass.’

‘Apology half accepted.’

‘I thought you died,’ he confessed, closing his eyes.

‘I thought I was going to,’ you admitted, reaching a hand up to cup his face. ‘Until I remembered what you said to me.’

‘So my lessons did come in handy right?’ He grinned then, and the sight of it, so free and beautiful and stunning and amazing, sent a warm flutter through your heart.

‘You don’t know how badly I want to kiss you right now,’ he breathed.

‘Defiling me on a battlefield? Naughty,’ you tsked.

‘Wouldn’t be the first time,’ he smirked.

‘Wait, wha-‘ But he silenced you with his mouth.

The pair of you, a tangle of blood and gore and happiness, against the setting sun, his mouth moving over yours, whispering your name over and over again and you weaving your hands through his hair, tasting him, melting, and-

‘OI!’ shouted a very annoyed Erwin. ‘If it isn’t any inconvenience, may the pair of you cease eating each other’s faces and get on with what you’re supposed to be doing? Say, I don’t know… KILLING SOME TITANS?’

You broke apart, gasping while Levi shot a glare at Erwin and the onlookers who were wolf whistling.

‘I didn’t know Erwin had a sense of humour,’ you said, laughing.

‘It comes out to play sometimes.’

‘The more you know.’ You sighed, already feeling cold as you stepped away from Levi. ‘Shall we?’

You withdrew your swords and gestured at the last of them.

‘We shall.’

And with that, the two of you, in perfect sync, flew off to battle, saving the city and well, to you?

It felt like saving the world.

***

‘You know, it feels good.’

‘What?’

‘This. It’s peaceful.’ You and Levi were walking through the park behind Wall Sina, at night of course. The pair of you had snuck in, stealthily concealing your gear in a hole behind a tree and now, you gestured at him to sit down in the middle of the lawn, looking up at the stars.

‘This, as in, breaking and entering?’

You rolled over on your stomach and looked at Levi, whose hands were behind his head. ‘You really do know how to ruin a perfectly good conversation.’

Levi was silent for a while. ‘You know, you haven’t fully accepted my apology yet.’

You sat back up. ‘But you know, I’ve already forg-‘

‘No you haven’t.’ He sat up as well, his hair tousled. ‘Do you know why I kissed you last night?’

You didn’t know how to answer. ‘Levi, you know I was drunk. I could have been kissing a tree for all I knew.’

‘But you knew it was me.’

You exhaled. ‘Yeah,’ you whispered. Levi leaned forward and took both your hands in his.

‘I kissed you, because you were annoying.’

You jerked back. ‘Well that wasn’t the response I was looking for.’

‘Just let me finish.’ Levi sighed. ‘I kissed you, because you were the most annoying, irritating, incorrigible, sarcastic, brave, beautiful, passionate girl that I came to know you to be. I kissed you, because I didn’t know how to express my feelings, and I pushed you away, because I was scared of those feelings.’ His eyes darkened. ‘All my life, I shut myself behind a wall, forcing myself to stop feeling, but then I met you and I failed. At first I was angry and frustrated and confused and I didn’t know what to do. I hated you.’

You cringed, but he only tightened his grip on your hands. ‘But then I got to know you, and you reminded me so much of myself that I couldn’t help but fall in love with you. And if that speech was any good, would you please formally and fully accept my apology for not realising that sooner?’ Levi looked at you hopefully.

‘Well…’ you started.

‘I’ll have you know, I practised in front of Erwin before we came here.’

‘Did he approve?’

‘I’m not sure, but I know I looked damn good delivering it.’

‘God, I forgot how annoying you were for a second,’ you muttered, before you playfully messed up his hair.

‘Alright, that speech did get me,’ you admitted, laughing. ‘I sincerely and fully accept your apology, Mr. Rivaille.’ With that, he grinned and tackled you to the ground tickling you and attacking your mouth with his. For a moment, the pair of you lay there, then he abruptly pulled back.

‘What? I was enjoying myself,’ you grumbled, while stroking his cheek.

‘Mmmm… but I just wanted to take it slow,’ he said.

‘Doesn’t the girl usually say that?’ you teased, and laughed even harder when a faint blush appeared on his cheeks.

‘Awwwww you’re so cute,’ you crooned, poking the crimson on his skin while he muttered unintelligibly. ‘Of course we will. It’s not like I want to get pre-‘

‘(F/n)?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Too soon.’

‘Right. So, how is-‘

‘You know, I enjoy watching couples, but you two really aren’t supposed to be here.’ mused a voice from above. Levi and you abruptly sat up, self-consciously brushing grass and dirt off your clothes.

‘Oh shove off Erwin,’ griped Levi. Erwin only chuckled, then turned to you.

‘That was a very impressive feat you showed at the battle today. Well done,’ praised Erwin.

‘Um… thank you sir,’ you said, not sure what else to say.

‘In fact, that already puts you at first rank in the class, so I don’t know what you’re worried about.’

You jerked up, hearing his words. ‘Sorry, sir? First rank? But the evaluation is tomorrow.’

Erwin waved his hand dismissively. ‘Oh don’t worry about that. You’ve demonstrated enough skill as it is. A cadet, saving her friend and killing her first Titan on the same day? I think that is merit enough. Now you should think about which military branch you want to go into. Of course, the Military Police very much welcomes you, but we at the Survey Corps will be very happy to have such talent amongst our ranks.’ With that Erwin looked over at the huge town clock. ‘Look at that. Well, I’ll leave you two alone. Don’t get into anything stupid. Levi?’

‘What?’

‘Can I talk to you for a second?’

‘Sure.’ Levi, although confused, at once stood up and followed after Erwin, leaving you to sit there alone with your thoughts.

Wow. You were first rank in the class. Above Mikasa Ackerman. It was completely overwhelming, but now the decision remained. Military Police, or Survey Corps? It had been your dream forever to make it into the Military Police and it felt good to know that you were the elite force, but… You knew they were extremely secret, and you had never seen them fight before; even at the battle, they were right at the back of the force, guarding the nobility and royalty. To you, they were a mystery, but often you had heard Levi’s rants about their ineffectiveness and laziness… On the other hand, the Survey Corps had a life of adventure; wasn’t that what you had always wanted? And plus, Levi was in it, so that was a bonus.

The answer was pretty clear. There was no way you were going to survive without seeing Levi. It was an honour to be nominated as an elite, but your heart told you to stay with him, and live the adventure you had always dreamed of.

The Survey Corps was going to have to make room for one more member.

***

‘So, what’s this all about?’ Erwin gestured to me, then (f/n), then the general park direction.

‘It looks exactly what it is,’ I said, crossing my arms. ‘And I don’t need you coming in here and messing it up.’

‘I see,’ said Erwin slowly. ‘So you have feelings for her. So much that you don’t care about the dirt on your pants. That’s a first.’

‘Is that of any concern to you?’ I bit back coldly, while surreptitiously brushing the grit off my clothes. Erwin sighed, then put a hand on my shoulder.

‘I just don’t want to clean up the mess if things get bad.’ I rolled my eyes.

‘Come on Erwin, you’ve known me for how long now? Ages. Have I ever done something wrong that didn’t follow your orders?’

‘Multiple times now, actually.’ Erwin raised an eyebrow. ‘Follow orders, my ass… you don’t even follow the law.’

‘Whatever. The point is, I will never ever ever, hurt her. I swear on my life and on my honour as a corporal and a soldier. Hurting her will be worse than breaking the law.’

Erwin shook his head but smiled. ‘Just make sure you don’t do either.’

‘Well I can’t guarantee you on the latter… but the former is set in stone.’ I uncrossed my arms, stepping back.

He exhaled. ‘You’re never going to change, are you?’

‘Nope.’ I started jogging backwards. ‘Thanks for the unnecessary relationship advice, Mum.’

‘No worries, you little brat,’ Erwin said fondly, under his breath as he watched Levi disappear.

***

‘Relationship advice?’

‘Yeah, don’t worry about it. So, have you thought about what branch you’re going to pick?’ Levi looked at me, his expression betraying nothing as usual.

‘Of course I have. The answer’s pretty clear.’ You grinned. ‘Survey Corps of course you dummy.’

‘Hey, who are you calling dummy?’ Levi pointed a finger at me, with a mock severe look.

‘Aww come on shorty-pants, you can’t stay mad at me forever,’ you said, poking his nose. He sighed.
‘You know, there was a time when people were actually scared of me? Now, being around you, I wouldn’t be surprised if I suddenly started smelling like roses and singing ‘Over the Rainbow,’ while wearing a tutu.’

You giggled at the image of a grumpy-faced Levi prancing around a meadow waving a wand. ‘I would still find you attractive though.’

‘Of course you would.’ He kissed your head, and laid his on yours, laying his arms around your waist. ‘Otherwise I’d have to have a serious talk with you.’

You stifled another laugh, then fell into silence.

‘Promise you’ll never leave me,’ you said quietly, twisting around to look into his eyes. Levi grasped your hand and brought it to his mouth.

‘Never,’ he whispered against your skin. Then, raising his hand, he tapped it against your fist, sealing it like you always did.

‘I promise.’