It was the morning of the expedition and preparations were almost complete, however Kaya had one preparation that she was questioning to fulfil. She'd finally accepted her feelings for her captain but was overwhelmed by the pressure that came with confessing. The ghoul kept wondering if it would be selfish to confront Levi just before the expedition, what if one of them died? Would it be a secret best kept or would it be mutual? Regardless, even if she did make it back from the expedition she'd have to shed light about ghouls on her squad, which she wasn't exactly looking forwards to.
"Kaya, a word if don't mind." Erwin broke Kaya out of her train of thoughts.
The thief nodded and followed Erwin into his office, it felt as though she was about to get scolded once again by the commander and the ghoul didn't enjoy the feeling of being perceived as a child.
"I understand of your relationship with Levi." He began.
"What relationship?" Kaya asked, she'd decided to annoy Erwin by denying any claims he could possibly make during their encounter.
"You and him share a close bond, do you not?"
"Nope."
Erwin sighed, clearly giving up on his attempt to find common ground with the underground woman. "You didn't eat last night, did you?"
"We're you watching me all night? That's not exactly flattering Erwin, I expected better from the commander of the survey corps." She tried to change the subject.
"You possess some kind of ability, right?" His question came off as more of a statement.
"Nope."
"I've asked everyone you're close with but none of them seem to know any answers." He disregarded Kaya's answer. "However, your squad do have some concerns, you're lucky that they are so trusting of you to not hand out the information." Erwin countered in a threatening tone.
The ghoul hummed in response before getting out of her seat. "If that's all you wanted to discuss then I'll be leaving now. I'll see you on the field Erwin." Kaya spoke, her voiced laced with mockery as she refused to use his military title.
As soon as Kaya heard the click of the door, she sighed and pressed her weight against the barrier between her and Erwin. Levi had described Erwin as a genius and had even gone as far as to say he was humanities hope, but to the ghoul, he was just a pain in the ass.
Shortly later,the scouts set off towards their new destination, riding their horses along the walls to conserve time and effort. The people of Trost were pleased to see the scouts and the famous titan shifter due to previously being saved by the boy. It was truly motivating to see so many people in support of the scouts, of the few months Kaya had spent with them, she'd never seen the crowds so non-critical and joyful.
"It's a nice change, isn't it?" Levi whispered to the thief as they waited for Erwin the make his orders.
"Yeah, inspiring to say the least." She smiled, turning her head once hearing the screams of her squad mates. "They seem to be feeling it."
"I need to learn how to get this squad under control." Levi sighed while the duo watched the squad cheer and reinforce the audiences screams.
"It's a lost cause, no amount of kicking can make these guys disciplined." Kaya countered, depriving Levi of the reassurance he needed.
"I wonder how long it's been since the scouts got a send off like this?" A scout asked.
"Don't think we ever have."
"Well as far as I'm aware at least, this is a first." Erwin's face moulded into a determined smile. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The commander shouted, raising his hand and beckoning the crowd to follow his actions.
"Holy shit." Kaya cursed, looking at Erwin as if to ask 'was that really necessary'.
The group bellow the walls mimicked Erwins battle cry, sending shivers up Kaya's spine as she presented herself humanly. "The operation to retake wall Maria begins now!" Erwin confirmed, signalling the horses to be sent to the other side of the wall. "Scouts move out!"
Everyone complied to Erwins orders, promptly setting off on their horses to complete a mission they assumed would be easy, but none were prepared for the true fight they were about to face.
.
.
.
Soon enough, nightfall had slithered around the corner, providing safety for the scouts passing through the dimly flit forest. Most the scouts were on edge at the situation, other than the strong willed and the ghoul who could see as clear as day. It was times like this when Kaya enjoyed being a ghoul, being immune to titans hunger and having senses beyond other scouts' imagination was a real confidence boost.
Just behind the ghoul, one of the scouts tumbled, dropping his lantern and startling most of the horses, it was clear they were all scared, hands were shaking and hearts were racing, accidents were bound to happen.
"Slow down. Make sure the ground is lit." Levi ordered.
"Right, sorry sir."
"Will we get there soon? It's just about dawn." He asked another higher up.
"Once we get over this mountain, Shiganshina should be close by."
"Titan on the left, everyone holt, light up the area." Jean yelled, guiding everyone's lanterns towards an oblivious titan.
"It's all right, pretty sure he's asleep. It doesn't look like this is one of the new types that can move around at night." Hange chuckled. "Well isn't that a shame."
"A shame?" Kaya quirked a brow.
"Yes, I'd love to be able to conduct some experiments on one of the moonlights." Hange had a psychotic grin plastered on their face.
"Four eyed maniac." Levi muttered. Hange looked shocked at Levi's comment but Kaya felt compelled to agree.
"Can't argue with that."
"Huh? Kaya, I thought you were on my side? Do we not share a bond?" Hange gasped.
"What, I don't take sides, that's absurd." Kaya claimed before sending a wink in Levi's direction.
"I saw that!" They whisper-yelled, walking towards their assistant to receive comfort their friends denied.
"Levi, I wanted to talk to you, but I don't know if it'll ever be the right time to discuss this. And then Erwin dragged me away this morning and it got me thinking, what if I die with regrets.it sounds pretty depressing but I heard it's a pretty shitty way to go. Last night I- you know- kinda- why is this so hard to say?" Kaya panicked, rambling about the topic she wanted to discuss.
"You're not going to die, there's nothing to worry about. So just get to the point already." Levi interrupted.
"You asshole, I'm trying to confess my feelings." Kaya retorted, slapping a hand around her mouth when she realised how upfront she was being.
"What feelings?" Levi teased.
"You know damn well, quit trying to get me all flustered because it ain't gonna happen."
Levi smiled. "I sometimes forget you're from the underground. Besides, I'm not an idiot, I figured it was me you were talking about."
"I'm not saying I'm an idiot, but hypothetically, if I assumed you were talking about me, would I be right?" Kaya inquired, trying to see if the feeling was mutual between them.
"Then I would hypothetically do this." The captain replied, leaning towards Kaya and averting his gaze towards her lips then back into her eyes. Kaya was shocked to say the least, she'd been hoping for a repeat of what happened last night, without Eren of course. Just before the two made contact, Levi smirked and went back to his original stance. "Hypothetically." He repeated.
The ghoul rolled her eyes, she'd never imagined that Levi would be such a tease. However that wasn't going to stop her from receiving her kiss, even if it wasn't the captain who initiated it. After a spark of the moment decision, Kaya grabbed Levi's collar and pulled him towards her, once they were in close proximity, Kaya pulled the same stunt Levi had began, only this time, she didn't bother to stick to their hypothetical situation. Lip quivering, Kaya let out a shaky breath, not entirely sure if this was the right decision. Before she could reconsider, Levi's lips cut her off, gently pressing against hers in a soft, yet passionate way.
Neither faltered nor moved away, allowing each of them to know this wasn't a mistake or a misunderstanding. Kaya slowly let go of Levi's collar and the scouts sensitivity pulled away from the kiss, leaving both of them breathless and flustered.
"We should catch up with the squad, we're running behind." Levi broke the silence.
"Yeah." Kaya responded, too bewildered at Levi's switch in persona to make the usual sarcastic comment. "Wait what? You're just gonna carry on as though nothing happened?"
"That was a mistake, I shouldn't have done that." The captain promptly answered, quickening his pace to reach the rest of the scouts.
"A mistake?" The ghoul asked with a saddened tone. "What do you mean?"
"Look, I can't do this." Levi said quietly, Kaya was beginning to understand what he was getting at. "Everyone around me dies, that's just how it is."
"You forget, it's actually quite difficult to get rid of me." She placed her hand on his shoulder for reassurance. "I promise, I won't leave you behind." Kaya looked into Levi's grey eyes, hoping to find a spec of trust within them.
"Promise me that after we win this battle. Then I'll consider."
"Until then."