Your first week of training with the scout regiment was done.
You slumped onto your bed, exhausted, thinking about everything that happened. You made a few new friends and finally felt like you were doing something with your life. Maybe you hadn't actually been on an expedition yet but at least you've actually done something other than sit around feeling like an outcast.
Of course the first few days were daunting but you quickly got the hang of it all. You were assigned to Levi's squad along with your new friends Sasha, Jean and Connie. You hadn't quite gotten acquainted with the others yet, especially not the Captain.
He was a small man, but extremely intimidating. He carried an aura of "don't fuck with me" authority. He had raven hair parted in the middle with an undercut, steely eyes and an unreadable facial expression.
You were only assigned to his squad due to his entire last squad being killed by the female titan, Who turned out to be a fellow MP, Annie Leonhart.
If it weren't for that, you doubt you'd ever be good enough to be on this squad, and you definitely felt that Levi thought the same. Humanity's strongest would only want the best of course.
Just as you were about to drift off to sleep, still in your clothes , you were startled awake by a knock on your door.
"It's open!" you called out, not bothering to move.
Connie and Sasha burst the door open, Wrestling and tripping over each other, Each one fighting to get into the room before the other.
You chuckled without moving from your starfish position on the bed, and greeted them.
"Hey guys! Don't mind me I'm exhausted, What's up?"
Connie spoke first "Y/N!! We're all going to have drinks in the mess hall tonight! You're coming with us right?"
"Drinks and food!!" Sasha quickly chimed in.
As tired as you were, and as much as you usually avoided drinking nights, you finally met people you'd like to get to know better, So you agreed to meet them after showering and changing.
You watched them jump up and down, high five and exit your room in the same manner they had entered.
You wondered how they always seemed so carefree when they had seen such awful things and likely lost many friends.
You quickly gathered your stuff to head to the showers. You headed down the hall feeling self conscious about your current hygiene, so of course when you saw Captain Levi round corner and head in your direction, you tried your best to act as if you didn't notice him, He was the last person you wanted to see you in this state, especially with everyone talking about him being an obsessive clean freak.
You fear if he smelled you right now he would give you the same treatment he gave Eren at his court hearing. Just as he was about to pass you, you made the mistake of glancing at him.
You couldn't help it, He's so handsome, you thought to yourself. He promptly cleared his throat, but didn't say a word, he wasn't looking back at you but you could swear you saw him quickly avert his eyes away from you and speed up his walking just as you looked his way, almost too quickly.
You found it strange how he seemed to be overly confident, maybe even harsh, with all the other squad members, but you could swear he wouldn't even look at you, let alone say a single word to you. Once you had tried to speak to him when he was talking with others, and he immediately looked at the ground and fell silent.
You really enjoyed this new squad, but something was off about Levi and the way he behaved towards you. Does he hate me?
You physically shook these thoughts away and quickened your pace to the showers. It felt amazing to wash the day away, get rid of the unpleasant smell and finally feel fresh. You then got ready to meet the others.
You decided to make yourself look a bit more presentable than you had since joining the Scouts. You wore your hair loose and applied a bit of makeup. You wore tight black trousers and a form fitting T-shirt. Nothing too dressy, but enough to accentuate your curves and make you look pretty.
You headed down towards the mess hall, only expecting to find a few people inside, but it seemed everyone was there, Even the higher ups.
The room was heaving with chatter, laughter and movement. You could barely see through the crowds of people dancing around the tables.
You scanned the crowd, looking for familiar faces, you noticed a few heads turn in your direction but paid them no mind as you continued searching the crowd for Connie and Sasha. You soon spotted them.
Jean and Connie were holding Sasha back while she tried to snatch a piece of bread from another girls hands. She was like a wild animal, the boys were very clearly struggling to keep their grip on her. She was fast and had a dark look in her eyes.
What a strange girl you laughed to yourself as you headed towards them, now a fraction less nervous than you were when first entering the room.
"Y/N! you came!! A little help?" Connie yelled, waving you over and nodding his head towards the feral Sasha.
You jumped in front of Sasha, blocking her view from the girl and her bread. The girl nodded a thanks towards you and promptly snuck off.
Now there were three of you restraining Sasha, it was much easier to calm her down and talk her back to sanity. You and the two boys were gasping for air and wiping sweat from your foreheads after the event.
The four of you sat around a table drinking and chatting away. Sasha was in a much better mood and the boys were having a heated debate about military regiments when Hange appeared behind you, wrapping their arms around you and Sasha and leaning down between you both.
"Hey Girls! These boys aren't bothering ya are they? Make sure you guys are being nice to our new recruit! Don't scare her off just yet!" they laughed loudly.
Hange was an eccentric character as it is, Their messy ponytail, strange odor and titan obsession.. but now they were also very clearly tipsy. They were slurring their words, hiccupping between them and swaying.
They sat down between you and Sasha and turned to look behind them.
"HEY GUYS COME JOIN US!" They yelled, waving someone over.
Soon after Erwin, Miche and Levi approached your table.
Miche was a strange guy also. While he was very handsome, tall and broad, you had never once heard him speak. All he seemed to do was sniff people and grunt. You would probably be very attracted to him if he didn't make you feel so uncomfortable.
"Section Commander" Erwin nodded at Hange "What's all this then?"
"I think.. We should all let our new recruit get to know us better and vice versa. What better way than a game of never have I ever?!" Hange replied, practically bouncing on the bench.
You noticed Levi rolling his eyes, and then quickly glancing over everyone seated at the table, except you. Erwin went on to say how he had never heard of Never have I ever, and Miche quickly nodded in agreement, causing Connie and Sasha to share a glance and snigger. Levi piped up.
"It's a stupid game for dumbass teenagers."
"Shut up shorty!" Hange quickly retorted, and went on to explain the game to Miche and Erwin. They both looked at each other and shrugged.
"Well there's nothing wrong with a bit of harmless fun on the odd occasion, so I don't see why not" Erwin spoke and proceeded to take a seat.
He looked very out of place at this table, Like a strict headmaster hanging out with his most unruly students after hours. He was the only one still in uniform, including all the straps and his cape. He sat up straight, clearly sober and towered over everybody else. Erwin always seemed extremely uptight and proper, his mere presence always bought everyone around him to a tense silence.
Miche took a seat shortly after, leaning back in his chair with a grunt, not engaging in any interactions with the others.
Levi being the last one standing rolled his eyes and sat down at the table somewhat reluctantly, He was seated at the very end of the table, one arm thrown over the back of his chair, the other on the arm rest. He slouched, placed his left ankle onto his right knee and had a facial expression of complete boredom.
There, the game started.
"Never have I ever peed in the shower!" Hange started.
Everyone drank except for Erwin and Levi, to Levi's horror.
"Tch. Disgusting!" he said while glaring at most of who drank.
"Never have I ever tried to eat a friend" Connie said, while all eyes turned to Sasha.
"Honestly, the first thing I've tried to eat that didn't taste good" she admitted, after being the only one to take a swig.
The game continued like this until most of you were seeing double. You were having so much fun, laughing and bantering between drinks. Erwin was cracking dad jokes, Hange was being their usual self and even Miche was laughing and chatting, despite you having never heard a single word from him before.
"Okay, I'm going to take this to the next level." Jean spoke up, with raised eyebrows and a suggestive grin. "Never have I ever had sex."
"Well we all know you aint drinking this time horseface!" Sasha cackled.
After a few sniggers, the table grew quiet as most of them drank, you didn't pay attention to who, however you did not drink.
"You're a virgin!?" Hange gaped at you utterly shocked. "But you're so hot!! how have you not gotten laid yet?"
Before you got the chance to speak, a familiar monotonous voice spoke up.
"Have you met the piece of shit pigs in the military police regiment? I can't imagine any woman wanting to sleep with men who are too drunk to wash their own asses properly" and having said that, Levi actually glanced at you, even if just for a quick second.
"I whole heartedly agree. He took the words right out of my mouth" was your reply. An awkward silence fell upon the group, feeling responsible for it, you decided to break it.
"Uhh...Never have I ever been in love" .... Nobody drank. Not a single sip from any person on that table.
"well... that's morbid" Jean mumbled awkwardly.
Everyone shared a look at each other, obviously all surprised that every single person here had this one thing in common, The awkward silence persisted. Suddenly Hange stood up and slapped both hands on the table.
"Right, well I think that's us done for the night! Don't want this to get too depressing!!" they chirped and continued to skip away.
Miche had already slipped away without anyone noticing, and Erwin soon got up to leave explaining that he needs to rest up. He still seemed completely sober as he walked away, his posture was as if he had a straight stick inside the back of his shirt.
Soon enough you, Connie, Sasha and Jean continued to banter and tell stories of funny or embarrassing things you've all done. They all began to discuss who they found attractive in the squad, Jean was quick to mention Mikasa. He started monologuing about her shiny black hair, her beautiful sparkling eyes, and then turned to grunting about how much Eren sucks.
Connie and Sasha were rolling their eyes, clearly they had heard this all before from Jean, so they turned to you.
"What about you Y/N? anyone taken your fancy yet?" Sasha wiggled her eyebrows
"Uhhh, well.. I guess there are some people I find easy on the eyes. But that's all I'm saying!" You thought of Erwin and Miche, both strong tall and handsome, but then you thought of Captain Levi. There was something about him that set him apart from the rest. He was attractive in a completely different way to the rest. You had never seen anyone quite like him before.
"We'll soon find out. Nothing gets past me" Connie teased, everyone laughed.
The hours flew by with these great conversations and you realized that you really liked these people. After years of being alone, you had a new group of real friends. Overwhelmed by the happiness and laughter, You proposed a toast.
"To my new squad!"
"To our new recruit!" Everyone spoke in unison, raising their tankards to the middle.
Out of nowhere, a teacup held from above joined the tankards with a clink, you all fell silent and looked over to see Levi, still sat lazily at the end of the table not even looking up, engrossed in a newspaper. You all slowly looked to him surprised, and then back at each other, sharing awkward glances and giggles.
"Was he there the entire time?!" you whispered, probably loudly, to the group, only to be met with shrugs.
How had you not noticed him sat there? Did he hear everything? You had been so wrapped up in your bubble with your new friends, you hadn't paid attention to anything happening around you, and now you noticed that the entire mess hall was empty except for the 5 of you.
"Right Brats, It's time we all head off to bed, I've heard enough for one night." Levi spoke while standing "Clean up after yourselves." He shouted while walking away, not even looking back.
Soon after you all said your goodbyes and headed off to your rooms. You slumped onto your bed and reflected on the evening. You had such a good time, but it felt weird that your squad Captain had sat there and heard everything you guys had said that night. You were surprised to see him there, but you wracked your brain to find that you never actually saw him leave when the others did.
After a while of tossing and turning, an unbelievable thirst invaded your mouth, and you started to feel a little hungry too. You got up and decided to get some water.
The hallways were dark and difficult to navigate. All of the lanterns jutting from the walls had been doused, but you managed to make your way through without making too much noise.
You heard snores from several doors you passed, it seemed you were the last person awake in this building now. A light underneath a random door caught your eye, though no sound came from inside the room. Looks like somebody is afraid of the dark.
You made it to the kitchen and after gulping down a pint of water, you leaned with your back to the sink, eating some leftover snacks from the party. You were surprised there were even any snacks left over with Sasha being an attendee.
After taking a second to catch your breath, you heard something. You snapped your head in the direction of the sound and figured out it was coming from outside, you got the overwhelming urge to investigate.
you followed the sounds outside until you were lead to a small alleyway. You peeked up at the windows surrounding this alley to ensure nobody caught you sneaking out, you froze as you saw movement from one of the windows, but after a few seconds it seemed the coast was clear and you continued to investigate the alley.
As your eyes adjusted to the dark, you noticed a few shadows moving around, and then several glowing pairs of eyes settled on you. What the hell is that?
Out of the darkness stepped a small black cat. Followed by several other cats varying in colours and sizes.
They all began to mewl and rub against your ankles "Oh my god you are all so cute!!" you crouched down to pet them all. "Are you hungry?" you asked, not exactly expecting an answer. You began to break the leftover snacks into little pieces and feed all the cats, and noticed there was a small kitten with striking red fur amongst them.
You spent some time feeding, petting and playing with these strays for what felt like hours, until you finally felt tired enough to sleep.
You headed back to your room, noticing the door you passed before no longer had light coming from underneath, and that the sun had just started to rise. You made it back to your room without issue, rushed to change into your underwear and collapsed onto the bed.
You were asleep from the moment you hit the pillow, and you dreamed of the friends you had lost years ago, being as happy as you were, that you had finally began to open up to people again.