Trust Me Eren

Training

Chapter 5: Training

"Hey Eren, what did the cor-" Armin started to ask but he stopped dead when he looked up at me. It was understandable that he was shocked, even if he did know I was a girl. He knew when we were kids and before I was, how should I say 'fully developed'.

A few heads rose when I said hello and the rest lifted when Armin had stopped talking abruptly. There was a moment of stunned silence as the squad stared at me. It was so awkward..

"Oi, quit looking like a shit just started speaking to you" I hadn't noticed Levi was still behind me until he broke the silence. All eyes moved off me and onto him.

"Eren has been hiding that she is a girl under request of the survey corps because of circumstance which we cannot discuss. However this issue has been dealt with now and Eren will not longer be masquerading as a boy. I hope you can forgive us for misleading you" He went and sat in his usual seat at the end of the table. I was a little shocked myself. He lied for me.

"Y-Yeah.. Sorry guys.." I played along, sitting down.

"B-But, what about in your training days?" Connie asked confused.

"Late bloomer" I lied with a small giggle. It was a nervous one but I managed to make it sound somewhat normal.

"But you were in the boy's dorm" Jean pointed out and I sighed.

"It was a mistake, the Sargent put me in the wrong dorm. I didn't care enough to correct him and everyone just assumed I was a guy" I shrugged

"How could the Sargent make such a mistake? Surely you registered as male" Jean pressed. Damn it Jean.

"It was a mistake by the military that was never corrected and the survey corps later took advantage of" Levi interrupted "It's been corrected now so just drop it and leave her alone" He put an end to the questioning before they started poking holes in our story.

I looked over at him gratefully and he gave a small nod. Thank you sir...

You know, everyone seems to think that the Corporal is a mean and cold man. But I think they're wrong. Yes, he can be a little blunt and he is quite rude at times. He also tends to glare at everyone and has been known to be violent..

That all may be true but there's more to him than that. He's a good man. And a lot more kind than everyone thinks. He could have just let everyone know that I was a coward but he didn't. He lied to save me any embarrassment.

It's not just that either, back when the female titan attacked he ended up getting hurt protecting Mikasa. Petra even told my once that he would often comfort dying soldiers. Holding their hand and speaking to them.

He puts up a wall but if you pay attention you can see through the cracks. On the inside he's really quite caring.

And I get the feeling that he's put up a wall for a reason. He has been through a lot. He had to keep running as all his old squad were killed and he must have seen so many more die. There may even have been a couple which he cared for deeply.

I don't even know what he had to go through before joining the survey corps. But there is no way he could be in the survey corps for as long as he has without seeing some seriously horrible things.

I think he does what he needs to do to survive. There are a lot of horrible things in this world that could break even the strongest people. And Levi's seen some of the worst of them. Yet he's still going strong.

I don't think it's the case that he simply doesn't care. I think he just doesn't let it get to him. Everyone seems to have their own way of coping. And this is his.

So I don't think he's cold hearted at all. He's only human. And he's a lot nicer than people think.

I smiled a little as I thought about it. I liked this side of the Corporal. When his guard slips a little and you see the kind man he truly is.

"What you smiling about Jaeger?" Levi raised an eyebrow and I laughed a little

"Nothing.. It's just nice to be able to breathe properly" I said to excuse my smiling. Of course I wasn't going to tell him what I was really thinking.

He shook his head "Hurry up and eat, you've got a lot of training to catch up on"

I nodded and went back to eating my breakfast. I'd almost forgotten about training.

After breakfast Levi took me past our usual training grounds and into the forest that surrounded our base.

"Um sir.. Where are we going?" I asked as I trailed along behind him

"You'll see.." He just continued walking and we soon came across a small clearing "This will do" he said, going to the centre of the clearing.

"Sir why are we he-"

"Knock me down" he instructed bluntly, turning to face me

"What??" My eyes widened slightly at the sudden instruction

"Knock me down" he repeated, moving closer to me "You say you can't defend yourself but if you can fight me off, you can fight anyone off"

"B-But sir-" he cut me off

"No buts. Just do it." He said and when I still hesitated he clicked his tongue "Come on!"

He grabbed my belt and yanked me towards him. I yelped in fright and swung my hand randomly, smacking Levi right across the face.

"Ah Corporal! I'm sorry!" I panicked, not meaning to slap him

"I suppose that's a start" he chuckled, rubbing his cheek

"I-I didn't mean to..! I just panicked.." I worried

"Feisty.. I like it " he smirked a little and I could feel my cheeks begin to burn

"S-Sir..!" I got all flustered as he came close again, slowly hooking his fingers through my belt loops

"Let's see what else you can do~" he winked

"S-Stop it!" I tried to push his hands away. But he quickly grabbed hold of my belt buckle with one hand and pulled me close until our hips touched

"Make me.." He whispered. I felt my heartbeat speed up. That was really hot.. Wait, what?!

I shook my head to get rid of that thought and pushed him away "I said stop it!"

Next thing I knew, I was on the ground. His leg was between mine and his hands pinned my wrists. I just froze up completely as I looked up at him. He looked somewhat menacing but I wasn't scared..

Rather, my heart raced like mad and I blushed brightly. He was so close..

He looked back at me and the menacing look he put on faded away. He didn't say anything and nor did I, we just stared at each other for a moment.

I'd always thought the Corporal's eyes were gray but as we looked at each other I realised that wasn't true at all. I could see now that his eyes were actually a sort of silvery blue. They were breathtaking..

That thought was cut off abruptly as he gently pressed his lips to mine.