You rode your newly picked, white maned and otherwise hazelnut coloured horse. You named him Pedro. A fitting name for your horse, as stoic and unmoving as a rock, so you picked a long lost word for it.
Olou was talking non-stop about an old castle you were staying in, or something like that, referring to you and Eren as 'Toys' the entire time.
Eren looked back to Levi, who was staring back with a blank face, clearly unnerving the boy.
You couldn't be less bothered about what Levi thought of you, a monster, a uncontrollable beast or a person. All you wanted was for him to not have any bias when he spoke to or about you.
"Listen up newbies, you won't be getting the royal treatment, the good captain doesn-" The man was cut off as he bit his tongue, blood spurting everywhere.
Disgusting. You thought to yourself as you continued to make way to the castle.
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You and Eren were on cleaning duty, Levi had been quite adamant about the place being absolutely spec-less, and you had a feeling he meant it in the quite literal way.
"Alright Y/N, we're done here, I'll go inform the captain and-"
"No we're not. People like Levi mean what they say, and him saying spec-less means he wants literally not a spec of dirt or dust, got it? The only spot we may be able to get away with is the outside of the window, but even that may be asking for too much."
And speak of the devil, just as you said this Levi walked around the corner and interrupted the conversation you two were having.
"Hoping I'm not interrupting anything, but I've given you two enough time, this place better be up to standards or you'll be down for horse feeding duties for a week."
Fucking called it.
You put your hands up in surrender as you stepped out of the room, Eren following behind.
"He's gonna be out in like 3 seconds either screaming or in silent rage."
Eren looked at you in a confused manner as you just watched the door, Levi burst out while holding a cleaning rag.
"You two are pathetic. You call that clean? A literal horse could do better."
Eren started snickering, you were on the edge as well, remembering the nickname that Jean had been given.
"What's so funny Yeager?"
"N-Nothing sir!" Eren quickly stood to attention, saluting with a scared expression on his face.
"Since you two are both new, I would have let you off. But since Eren thinks he's a funny-man he can have the horse duties. Y/N, you're on free time now, go do what you want, but don't go too far from here."
You nodded, walking away while smirking.
Dear me Eren, you wanted to join the scouts so much but had no clue what it entailed, even I'm doing better then you here, I mean, not sleeping in a dungeon has to count for something right?
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You sat down at the desk in your room and took out a notebook and pencil, you flipped a few pages and looked at your drawings. (not mine btw)
You flipped the pencil around as you sketched a small button just above the hammer switch. You flicked a few pages back and found your picture of the ODM itself. (again not mine)
You added a wire on the inside of the cylinder, adding some tiny holes with a short label next to them
'Add compression propulsion system, allows all of pre-stored gas to be expelled at a single button push, allows for quick orbiting of a single point if one is pushed at a time, but when pressed together propels user towards the facing direction, small holes allow for more pressure to be applied and therefore more lift, heavy gas use but can be used easily by light-weight people for limited flight (Helps when no tall objects are around to grapple onto, may save lives.), added momentum beforehand could benefit especially well.'
You slapped yourself in a attempt to get more answers, unfortunately none would appear. You sighed and stood up, going outside to see how the improved gear may be used.
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You sat down with the rest of the squad, the tea you had was as bitter as Sasha without food for a day, Eld was saying something about a expedition in a month, you already knew about that and couldn't be bothered to listen, at least until the conversation turned to you and Eren.
"How does it work? The titan transformation thing."
Eren responded. "I wish I could tell you but my memory isn't too clear, like being in a trance. Although I do-"
"Let me explain Eren, you can't remember jack shit, and with you not having full control it really doesn't help anyone with your incomplete theories." You cut the boy off, turning to Eld. "From what I know it has to be some sort of injury, as well as a need to do so. The thing is that need may be conscious or not, so unprepared transformations can occur if hurt without knowing. And that may also lead to a loss of control, not having a goal in sight would probably lead to the root instincts of someone taking control of the titan, not any rational thought. For me it was generally to help people, protect my friends, move the boulder. After the initial need for the transformation has passed though, it's possible to stay in the titan, it's just in all cases I was either too tired to continue or didn't think a titan would be useful. Eren was too tired during Trost and was pulled out by me the second time." You explained what little you did know, rounding it out based on what Frieda told you, it also felt natural to do it. Like you knew how all along but didn't know how to put it into words.
There was a loud bash at the doors, Levi sighed and told Petra to get the door.
"She's here already..." The grown man mumbled out, how in gods name did he survive fighting titans this long with that amount of energy?
"Hey there Levi squad, how's castle life been?"
"You're early."
"Couldn't help myself could I?"
"Section commander Hange?" Eren questioned, you were a bit uncertain yourself but you had an idea of where this would go from the rumours you heard.
"Hello you two, if you somehow haven't pieced it together, I'm the scouts lead engineer and researcher, essentially I run experiments on captured titans. The help of you two would be extremely beneficial."
"We- well no, I can do it in free time but Eren can't give permission for himself, that's up to-" You tried to explain the situation to Hange but she ignored you and started talking to Levi.
"Eren's on horse duty and Y/N's removing weeds."
"It's settled then, you two will come by and help me do experiments tomorrow!" Hange squealed, you quickly stood up, the rumours were true and things weren't gonna go well.
Every other member of the squad, besides Eren, stood up and made their way out of the room, you did the same as you saw your brother conversing with Hange.
This poor soul doesn't know what he's in for...
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You stood next to Eren in silence, while you were sound asleep in your room and Eren talking to Hange, someone had snuck into the testing area and killed the captured titans. Nobody saw who did it and by the time the guards noticed, the killer had gotten away using ODM. Some people thought this was just a case of petty revenge, but you could tell this was larger then that.
"Oi brats, this is a issue for the Military Police. We're leaving in 5." Said a short haired midget, you merely nodded before turning back to the scene, the skeletons of the titans were slowly evaporating in the air.
You felt someone place a hand on your shoulder, you turned your head to see Erwin standing there, hunched over.
"What do you see here?" You turned back and responded plainly.
"A enemy of humanity, either that or someone trying to keep the secrets of the titans under-wraps. Not someone we need, that's for sure."
Eren was gawking in confusion, the commander shook his head as he stood straight.
"Sorry, that was a strange thing to ask."
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You were sat with Gunther and Eld, talking about the gear inspection while Eren was complaining about you not helping him with horses.
"Odd that they didn't come up with anything, even after inspecting every cadet's gear..." You mumbled, the past few days had been strenuous, both upon your mind and muscle.
"Come on Y/N, help me please?" Eren called out. You merely looked at him as you put down your drink.
"Keep your laughter in next time mate. If I didn't know better, you and Jean would have gotten right along with how you and the horse are treating each other!" You called back, giving a sly grin as you turned back to the other members of the Levi Squad.
"Hey Y/N, is anyone from your class joining the scouts?" Gunther asked, you merely sighed.
"Well I sure as hell didn't, as soon as I can I'm gonna request to switch branches, though it will probably only be after wall Maria is sealed, and who knows how long that will take... Answering your question though, I know for a fact two are, I feel like another 3 or so might but I'm not certain."
"Oh shit- fall in!" Gunther suddenly yelled out. You looked around confused and saw Levi, you merely stood up and moved forward a few steps.
"Get ready people, We're heading out!" Levi called.
"Yes sir!" Everybody but you called out, you couldn't care less what you were doing.
"Eren, you're not going any further then 10 metres away from me, and Y/N-"
"I'll go however far away from you as I want. I'm not your lapdog and I'm still waiting for that rematch." You interrupted the midget, he wasn't pleased.
"Tch."
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You decided to help Eren in the stables after training, it wasn't too much and allowed you to better know Pedro.
The sound of footsteps hit your ears as you finished up, you turned to the noise to be met by several cadets walking past, Eren noticed and ran up to the entrance, quickly asking for permission that you didn't need from Oluo.
"Hey Mikasa, Armin!" You called out, the two quickly turned to you and a moment later you were caught in a tight hug from Mikasa.
"Y/N! Have they treated you badly? Like putting you through cruel experiments?"
"No, no. They haven't tried anything with Eren either, at least I don't think so."
"That midget went too far, I will get payback one day." Mikasa's tone quickly darkened.
"I already told him I want a rematch, he told me to stay down so I played along, but then the bastard kicked me even more."
Your attention was dragged to behind you by a short "Ahem". You turned and low behold was the most of the top 10, as well as a few others.
"Dear god, I wasn't expecting this many of you to join the scouts. This really is a damn shocker, I ain't too surprised Annie joined the MP's, neither Marco, but Jean actually surpri-"
"Marco's dead."
You turned to the side to see Jean standing there, a expressionless look on his face.
You fell silent, only to break it shortly after with a simple "I see."
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(skip to 0:56)
You and Mikasa were sat on your bed, Eren and Armin were chatting with the others while you pulled your adoptive sister away from them to talk.
"So... We should probably start with the big stuff, how do you feel about me being your brother-in-law?"
Mikasa was silent, she merely hugged you, and with a small whisper uttered:
"I've missed you for so long."
You exhaled and hugged her close, letting the moment envelope you both.
Eventually you did have to pull back and you continued with your second point:
"So what was that kiss back in Trost about?"
She jolted upright and quickly pulled her scarf up to her face as she looked away.
"I-I-I..."
"Take your time."
"I-" She steadied herself for a moment, taking a deep breath in. "I love you Y/N, human or not, brother or not. I-" She started to tear up, you slowly stood and turned to face her.
"You do understand how dangerous it is to love someone in the scouts right? At any moment they could be taken away, nothing but maybe a arm or leg to remember they existed. That may not be the case for me, and I doubt it will be for you. But do you want to take that risk?" You bit your bottom lip, you were hoping, for her sake, that she would say no. You couldn't explain it, but you felt like you wouldn't be able to stick around with her in the living world for long.
"I-I... Yes... I'm willing to take the risk and the pain that will come along with it." She spoke.
"Well then, if that's truly how you feel. I'm in no place to hide my own feelings." You got level to her. "Mikasa Ackerman, my friend, my sister and a great person. Will you be my girlfriend?"
There was a short silence.
"Yes..."
You stood, offering your hand to her.
"That settles it then, we are officially in a relationship now, with all the good, bad and mediocrity that comes along with it."
She took your hand, you led her to the door and let her exit first, letting the door shut behind you.
<==To be continued...===============