four

"She's smart and all but sometimes she can be a little clueless."

You woke up to the bright light from the outside shining in through the window. It was something new to you. Something you weren't sure you could get used to or not. But you knew you had to. 

Maybe not for long since you were to join the Scout Regiment and they had an upcoming mission that had a survival rate of 2% only. So maybe you only had to get used to this until the mission ends because you'd die. 

You shrugged, slightly amused by such a thought. Gently, you tossed your blanket to the side, the fabric folded messily before you made your bed carefully. You walked over to the window, gazing at the beautiful sky. It was such a beautiful view. You missed out on it for the past 20 something years. 

Sighing, you walked over to the bathroom to take a bath. A set of clothes were given to you specifically for the day since you were going to meet the Queen. It seems that the rumors of the politics changing were all true. 

But to think, the new Queen, the rightful heir, is only a teenager. And with such a burden, too. Maybe children couldn't really be children in this world of terror you live in. You certainly understood that better than anyone. Once you had gotten ready, you heard a knock on your door. 

"Come in," you shouted as you were still buttoning up the dress. 

You were standing in front of a mirror, your eyes looking down as you were halfway done with the buttons. The top buttons were still opened, revealing the inner that covered your chest. You heard as the door creaked open. Your body turned towards the door but you were still focused on buttoning up the rest of your dress. 

"Shit!" You heard a boy cursing loudly before shutting the door with a loud thud. 

"Wha-" You frowned, looking up in confusion. 

Your hands stopped moving as you were left in confusion. You heard murmuring on the other side of the door. Once again, you called out for whoever it was to come in. You let out a sigh, continuing to button up the rest. The door creaked open, your body facing it but your eyes down to focus on your hands. 

"Oi, don't call someone in if you're still not done," you heard Levi scolding you. 

"I am done," you frowned, lifting your gaze to him, noticing the boy near the door.

You recognized him as the one named Jean. He was trying to look away, a red hue tinting his cheeks. Your eyebrows were stitched together in confusion. 

"What's his deal?" You nodded towards him. 

"He's a teenage boy, he's going through a phase," Levi lazily replied. 

"Who chose this dress, by the way?" You asked, ironing out the bottom with your hands. 

"Hange."

"Unsurprisingly," you mumbled. 

"Are you ready, then?" Levi raised his brows, eyes looking up and down at your figure. 

"Yeah, I am," you nodded, throwing a glance over your shoulder to look at yourself once more. "Nice dress," you pursed your lips. 

"Come on, then. Let's not waste time," Levi tried to take your hand but at the faintest touch of his calloused fingertips, you pulled away immediately. Your eyes sharply glared at him before you walked past him. 

"Good morning, Jean," you gave him a pat on his shoulder. 

"G-Good morning!" He enthusiastically greeted, bowing. 

You blinked a few times, shocked at such energy and greeting. You shrugged it off when you felt Levi's touch. He inserted his arm by your elbow, pulling you slightly. It was not too hard but it caught you off-guard. 

You tried to move away from him but each time you tried, he held you tighter. You could only follow him though your eyes were constantly stuck in a look of sharp daggers. He dragged you outside, letting you go when you met up with Hange. 

Once he released you, you pulled your hand away immediately, anger resonating off your body. Levi replied with the same intimidating look. Noticing the obvious tension between you two, Hange quickly ushered you all to enter the carriage. 

"Looks like our most important part of the job is to make sure they don't kill each other," Hange whispered to Jean who only nodded in agreement. 

As the carriage started to move, your gaze immediately went to the window. After all, you still weren't used to seeing the beautiful nature the Earth provided. You were in awe, your eyes speaking as such. It was clear to everyone. Levi watched intently how content you looked as you indulged your vision of the green trees that were being passed by. 

'I'm sorry for having left you, my love,' he thought grimly. 'The only regret I have.'

"Hey, Y/N, what's your favorite food?" Hange broke the silence, gaining your attention. 

"Well, I don't really have a favorite," you chuckled nervously. "I pretty much just eat whatever is edible cause you know, can't be too picky down there," you shrugged, trying your best not to make the situation awkward. 

"I see," they replied with a look of hard thinking. "What do you think about Titans?" They asked excitedly. 

"I've never seen one," you answered politely. 

"I'm sure you'd love it!" They cheered happily. 

"She won't be seeing Titans anytime soon," Levi angrily interfered. 

"No one asked you, shorty," you scoffed bitterly, glaring at him only to receive the same sentiment through his eyes. 

The silence was awkward yet full of tension. Both Hange and Jean exchanged a look, fear slightly written upon their complexions. They were both aware of how you and Levi had a history. 

And it was Levi himself who had said that you learned to fight from Levi. That in itself was proof that you were strong. God knows what would happen if you and Levi ended the tension by fighting instead of continuation of the glares. 

"You love Titans, Hange?" You broke the silence. 

"They're such interesting creatures! Magnificient and unknown! There's so much to learn about them!" They happily answered, a glint of awe surpassing their brown orbs. 

"What about you, Jean? Do you love Titans?" You turned to the boy next to you. 

"N-No," he stammered, a blush covering his cheeks. 

"What do you like, then?" You smiled, a total contrast of sincerity compared to the eye contact you maintained with Levi earlier in the silence. 

"A-Art," he stuttered, gulping audibly. 

"Art? That's nice," you mused, looking back outside. "My house in the Underground has a lot of art pieces. Stolen, mostly," you added, not noticing the shocked looks that belonged to Hange and Jean while Levi pretty much had to mentally face-palm himself. 

⤱

"She's always been better at dealing with the younger ones."

You were staring outside when the carriage suddenly halted to a stop. The rocky ground made friction against the carriage's wheels, causing the stop to be a little bumpy. 

"We're here!" Hange announced, looking at you to see the impatient look on your face. 

You watched as Hange opened the carriage door, Jean following them outside. You turned to look at Levi who was already looking back at you. His gray eyes were sharp on you, indicating for you to go out first. Rolling your eyes, you let out an annoyed sigh before following after your previous two companions. 

You stood next to Hange, your palms fixing the hem of your dress. Once Levi was out, you followed them as they began walking ahead. A few figures could be seen scattered throughout the farm estate. 

On the clear field, you saw a girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes, her beauty and presence unmatched by any you've seen so far. With her were a few children. The children were chasing after her, their complexions bright and happy as they played with her. 

At the sight, your lips curled widely into a smile. Relief flooded you as you realized that those kids with her were the same ones you had been caring for in the Underground. 

'So they are safe,' you thought gladly. 

"That's the Queen," Hange informed quietly. 

Your eyes widened when you looked at the glasses-wearing Titan lover. A look of disbelief was clear on your face. You knew the queen was just a teenager but you didn't expect her to look so young. And you certainly didn't expect that she would be running around on the field playing with young children. 

"Oh, Captain! And Section Commander, too!" A boy's voice was heard. 

You turned to the voice that belonged to a boy with brown hair and green eyes. You recognized him from that time you were being taken out to the surface. But you didn't know him since the only ones you've been with since then were Hange, Jean, Erwin, and unfortunately, Levi. 

"OI, EREN! DON'T SLACK OFF!" A girl's voice was heard. 

You turned your head, realizing that the girl that shouted was literally the Queen. Eyes widened, you were shocked but naturally, you found it quite refreshing. You noticed the boy whose name you assumed was Eren, tensed up, as though he was afraid of the petite girl. 

Then, you saw her noticing the presence of those she was supposed to meet. She said some things to the children before walking over in your direction. She greeted Levi and Hange with a bright smile and the two bowed slightly. 

"This is Y/N L/N. She's the one-"

"Come on," the Queen took your hand excitedly and pulled you behind her. 

Startled, your eyes widened but you just followed after her, realizing that she was bringing you to the field. Once you were in their line of sight, the children noticed you. Immediately, they all ran to you, bright smiles on their faces. 

"Y/N!" A chorus of your name was heard from the children. "We missed you!" One of them said. 

"I missed you guys, too," you beamed, lowering yourself to give them all hugs. 

"I'm glad you're safe. I thought they arrested you," Kira, one of the children who were a little older than everyone said. 

"Come on, you really think it'd be that easy to take me down?" You scoffed cheerfully. 

⤱

"She was always close with him."

"You did what?!" You laughed, putting down your teacup. Watching as Historia nodded with excitement, you laughed harder. "You seriously punched Levi after becoming Queen?"

"Yes," the Queen laughed alongside you. 

"Badass," you settled, shaking your head as you took another sip of the tea. "I would love to see that," you added, causing the teen to strike into another fit of giggles. "Oh my God, can you do it again?" You cheerfully asked. 

"I think he'd have me killed in secret by his own hands," she whispered while giggling. 

"Ah, I wanna stay here longer," you sighed, setting down your teacup once it emptied. 

"You can always visit," Historia suggested sweetly. 

"Ah, I don't think there would be time," you pursed your lips. "I don't know the details but there's an upcoming mission for the Scouts and well, I've been forced into the Regiment," you slouched back. "I need to be trained Scouts-style first, though. Levi had to go through the same thing when he was first recruited, too." 

"Were you forced into the Scouts?" Historia inquired. 

"It was either that or prison," you shrugged. "I wouldn't mind choosing prison, actually. At least then I wouldn't have to see that elf-looking shithead," you huffed bitterly. 

"Elf-looking shithead?" Historia repeated, frowning as she tried to figure out who you were referring to. "Are you talking about, Captain Levi?" 

"Who else?" 

"Eh, if you don't mind me asking, what happened between you two?"

"Basically, he got himself arrested by Erwin because he was trying to kill Erwin because some rich guy wanted that. Erwin recruited him into the Scouts by giving him that shitty-ass deal and he pretty much failed to kill Erwin. And instead of coming back for me like he ᴘʀᴏᴍɪꜱᴇᴅ he would, he left me. Because 'at least then, I'd be safe from Titans'," you lazily replied. 

"Were you close with him?" Historia asked sweetly. 

"He was the first person I was ever close with," you sighed, voice heavy with nostalgia. 

⥀

"Levi," you sighed. "I thought I told you to be careful."

"Tsk, we don't have the privilege for that down here," he hissed, feeling the sting as you cleaned his wounds. 

"I know but, there's no reason for you to go out that much, Levi," you shook your head. "We have everything we need. The only times we should go out is when our supplies run out-"

"And what? Stay in hiding forever?"

"We've been living in this shithole for 17 years, Levi," you began. "That's the only way we can survive-"

"We can fight. We can rule this pla-"

"I don't care about ruling this place, Levi," you scoffed, walking away once you were done tending to him. "All I care about is you, Levi. And every time you go out, you always come back hurt. I know you're unnaturally incapable of getting really hurt, but it scares me! I wake up in the morning and you're gone and the whole day, I have to wait for you to return! And that fucking scares me! What if you were lying dead somewhere and I can't find you?! Do you know how fucking worried I get every day?!"

"We can't just expect to stay here to survive, Y/N," he dimly said. "People break into houses to steal, to do shit I can't even think of. Staying here wouldn't guarantee our survival."

You knew he was right. You knew but you were worried. You were always worried about Levi. You couldn't bear the thought of losing him. You couldn't bear the image of Levi's corpse laying somewhere that couldn't be found. You took a deep breath, calming yourself down. 

"I just hate seeing you hurt, Levi," you exhaled sharply, taking a seat in front of him. 

"I know, but I don't think there's much of a choice," he reasoned, thumb rubbing small circles over your skin. 

"If you're going out, take me with you," you mumbled. 

"And risk you getting hurt?"

"Levi, you're being hypocritical," you let out a small chuckle, watching as a small smile formed on his lips. 

"Fine," he sighed, lifting his hand to tuck a stray strand of your hair behind your ear. 

Using that hand, he cupped your cheek, lowering it to hold your chin gently. Your eyes were gently gazing into his sharp grey ones, undoubtedly providing you with comfort. Comfort that only he could provide. Comfort you've only ever felt with him. Comfort you could only feel because of him. 

He guided your face closer to his, his warmth enveloping you with an utter and immense feeling of love. You felt his lips brush against yours, his eyes still maintaining contact before he closed them, and you followed suit. He guided your face once more, pressing his surprisingly soft lips against yours. 

You've always loved kissing Levi. Everything about it was magical yet the most real thing you've ever felt. You smiled against his lips, your entire being melting into his arms. Pulling away, he cupped your left cheek, your head tilting into his warm hand. A faint smile toyed with your lips as you studied his complexion. 

"Thank you for always taking care of me, my love," he smiled a little before his hand ruffled the mess of your hair. 

⥀

"If you two are done gossiping, we have to get back now," Levi's voice broke you out of your trance. 

Rolling your eyes, you turned to look at him. "You shouldn't say that to the Queen, Levi. That's impolite," you sassed. 

"Says the one gossiping," he retorted. 

"At least the Queen enjoys my presence. No one enjoys yours," you scoffed, running your hands through your hair. 

"That's it, you're done," he commanded. "As your superior-"

"I'm not a Scout yet. But even if I was, I'd be in Hange's squad, not yours," you spat harshly, standing up as you approached him. "That was the deal I made with Erwin." 

"What?" His haunted tone entered your hearing. 

"Thank you, Historia, for the day. It was such a pleasure," you smiled, waving goodbye to the Queen. 

"What did you say?" Levi stopped you, a hand on your forearm. 

It was gentle, not too much force because he didn't want to hurt you. He could never hurt you. Despite all the times he had accidentally done so. 

"I thought you wanted to leave," you plainly said, walking away but making sure to bump his shoulders.