Chapter 8: Rivalry

Eren's POV:

Why does she always sit with them? It's difficult getting her by herself to talk to her. I watch (y/n/n) as she disappears from the Mess Hall.

"What the hell is so special about her anyway?" I hear Oluo complain from beside me. I don't know why I chose to sit with my squad mates rather than Armin and Mikasa. And now I have to listen to a complaining Oluo. This is nothing new though, he has been complaining about (y/n/n) since Levi put her on the squad.

"Sounds to me like you're jealous," Petra smirks at Oluo's scowling face.

"I'm jealous? What about you, Petra?" Oluo snaps back at her, "Don't pretend you don't see the way he looks at (y/n/n), I know that gets to you."

Petra falls silent at Oluo's retort and goes back to picking at her food. Oluo gets up from the table, "I'm going to have to ask him about it. I refuse to come second to her." With that he storms out of the Mess Hall, probably to wait for Levi by his office. He doesn't want to make a scene in the Mess Hall.

Eld rolls his eyes, "He's never going to let this go is he?" Petra and Gunter both shake their heads.

I knew Oluo was competitive, and considered himself to be the 'next Levi', but I didn't think he actually openly despised (y/n/n) for being better than him. I hope he doesn't bother her about it, if he does I'll step in for sure.

Levi's POV:

I head toward my office to finish up some more paperwork before I go run some drills with my squad. On my way there, my thoughts were consumed by (y/n) once again.

I feel disgusted with myself for letting her get to me the way she is. Whenever I see her all I can think about is pulling her into an embrace. Though that would probably freak her out; I was definitely surprised to hear she was a virgin...

I reach my office and sink into my chair, my mind still clouded by inappropriate thoughts. I hear a loud knock on my door.

"Come in," I mutter and sit up straight in my chair. The door opens and Oluo walks in, I give him my usual frown, "Oluo, what do you want that can't wait until training later on today?"

"I need to speak with you about something, sir." He says as he closes the door behind him.

Your POV:

Ugh, this is getting awkward. Now the commander and captain know even more embarrassing facts about me. Are they going to think I'm frigid? Wait, why do I care? I shake my head, trying to clear my mind.

"(Y/n)," I jump at the use of my real name but relax again when I see it's only Peter.

"Peter," I reply, "Thank you for bringing up more of my personal secrets by the way."

"Come on, don't be like that," He waves off my complaint, "How are they going to get anywhere with you if you won't tell them about your background?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I narrow my eyes at him suspiciously.

"Nothing, never mind," he smirks, "Anyway, I wanted to let you know your mother has an appointment at my office in Stohess tomorrow. I was wondering if you wanted to come with me."

I pause and just stare at him. Do I even want to see her? She agreed to sell me to a horrible man... But she didn't really have a choice, did she? We probably both would have died if we stayed underground... But was the life I was sold into even better than dying?... I don't think so.

"She's your mother, (y/n)," Peter interrupted my thoughts, "I know she's worried about you and would love to see you. She is getting worse fast, and I know all she wants is to see you again."

"She probably should have thought of that before she sold me to Laurie," I mutter darkly as I turn to continue down the hallway.

"Ben and Beth will be there too," I pause as Peter mentions my siblings, "They have been begging for me to help look for you since you disappeared from Laurie's. I don't want to lie to them anymore."

I want to see my brother and sister, I miss them both so much. Ben is 5 years older than me, and Beth is 3 years older than me. I couldn't meet Beth until I was 10 because she was so afraid of coming to the underground, not that I blame her. But when I met her for the first time we got along as well as Ben and I did. They both visited me as much as they could when I lived at Laurie's. My heart aches whenever I think of them.

"Okay," I finally agree, "Let me go talk to Captain Levi, and ask for permission to skip training tomorrow."

I hear Peter sigh with relief, "I'll meet you in front of the castle after breakfast tomorrow."

I nod and slowly make my way toward Levi's office. I'm excited to see Ben and Beth, I hope Katrina doesn't decide to go too. I haven't spoken to her since Mac died, and I want to keep it that way.

Katrina is my oldest sibling. 10 years separate us. I looked up to her so much, until she decided to ruin my trust for her and use me for her own gain."

I try not to think of Katrina too much, thinking about her always puts me in a foul mood. I get close to Levi's office door when I hear raised voices behind it.

"You spend most of your time focusing your attention on (y/n/n)!" I recognize the voice as belonging to Oluo. I frown and listen closely when I hear him shout my name.

"Will you calm down," I hear Levi's frustrated response, "she hasn't been here for that long, of course, I'm going to focus on her more. She needs to be ready for the upcoming expedition, idiot!"

"Apart from you, I'm the most talented one on the squad! But you have her doing more in our practice formations! Are you sleeping with her or something for her to get such treatment?"

"Careful," I hear Levi growl dangerously, "You're skilled, but I won't hesitate to throw you off my squad if you continue to belittle her further."

"I refuse to come second to some little slut from the underground." Oluo's said angrily.

Before Levi could say anything else, I push the door open and step into the office. Oluo whips around to see who has interrupted his conversation with Levi, only to see me and the color drained from his face.

"Excuse me," I smile dangerously at Oluo, "But this 'little slut' from the underground is scheduled to help relieve some of the captain's stress. If you could please lock the door when you close it, we would really appreciate the privacy."

Oluo glares at me furiously, before turning on his heels and slamming the office door shut behind him.

Levi sighed heavily and sits back in his chair, "Sorry about him."

"I've heard worse," I shrug, "I didn't mean to interrupt your little lover's quarrel, but I need to know if I can possibly have tomorrow off."

"Why?" He says as he frowns at me.

"Dr. Thompson is going to his other office in Stohess to see my mother, and has asked me to go with him so she can see me."

He considers my request quietly for a moment before giving me a curt nod, "Fine, I'll excuse you."

"Thank you, sir." I salute him before turning to leave, "(L/n)," I hear him call to me before I reach the door, "Don't let Oluo get to you."

I turn around to face him once again, "Why would I? He is free to think whatever he likes." With that, I leave Levi's office and head to the training grounds to meet up with the rest of my squad.

Erwin's POV:

Mike was already in my office, but I was still waiting for Hange and Levi. This next mission is going to be a difficult one, and it is even harder keeping it a secret from everyone apart from our little group. But with the knowledge that it is possible for humans to turn into titans at will, we have to be as careful as possible.

I hear the door open and look up. Levi and Hange finally walk in. "Ah, you're here, let's get to it then, we don't have a lot of time." I greeted them, gesturing for them to have a seat.

"Before we start, I have a request," Levi said as he sat down, "(Y/n) will be going to Stohess tomorrow to see her mother." I raise my eyes from the papers in front of me, to give him my full attention. "I would like to accompany her if you can spare my squad and I tomorrow."

I narrow my eyes at him, "Why would she want you to go with her?" I ask him suspiciously, feeling slightly jealous.

"She'll be close to the capital, and I don't want anyone to find out she is there and follow her." Levi explained, "We still don't know the full story of her time in the capital, and I don't want any harm to come to her if someone were to recognize her."

Hange laughed, "Does she know you plan on following her to Stohess? That doesn't seem like something she would request." Levi glares at her, causing her to laugh even harder.

"Won't she be wearing her hood? I don't think she needs you and your squad to watch over everything." Mike commented, sitting back in his chair. "I know you've been to some of the districts within Wall Sina," Levi argued, "Can you recall ever seeing someone wearing a hood over their face to hide their identity? She'll stand out if she does that."

"She stands out if she wears a hood or not, have you met the girl?" Hange chimes in, "I doubt she'll stay in the open. I'm sure she will go from the carriage right into Thompson's office without taking a detour."

"Still," Levi grumbles, "She's a part of my squad, and I want to make sure nothing happens to her."

"Aw! Shorty! You like her!" Hange squealed, "Why else would you be so attentive with her?!"

"Shut up! She's a very skilled member of my squad, of course, I like her." Levi spluttered, face going a little red. I'll have to be careful around Levi, I don't feel threatened by other cadets or captains when it comes to (y/n), but Levi may have a chance to win her over... what am I even thinking right now?

"Maybe you have a point," I say, halting the back and forth between Levi and Hange, "I'll go with you as well." I raise my eyebrows at the glare Levi gave me.

"Ooooh, you have competition, shorty!" Hange smiled widely, "What about you, Mike?" Levi and I jerk our heads to look at Mike... Not him too.

"Sure, I'll go," he replies.. well damnit. "Now, can we get on with this meeting here, we're running out of time."

Eren's POV:

(Y/n/n) and I finish another session of hand-to-hand combat practice, and now we are heading toward the Mess Hall for dinner.

It was nice spending some time with her, though she did knock me on my ass quite a few times. I guess she was holding back a little when she was wearing her hood, not wanting to make any mistakes and it falling back.

We reach the Mess Hall and I invite her to sit with Mikasa, Armin, horse face, Reiner, Bertolt, and I.

Oluo seemed to be particularly pissed off today, so I wanted to keep them apart. Not that his attitude seemed to bother (y/n/n) at all, on the contrary, she seemed to find it amusing.

Reiner, Bertolt, Jean, and Armin were excited to see (y/n/n) sit with us. They don't get to spend much time with her and are very vocal about their jealousy towards her and I being on the same squad.

(Y/n/n) is chatting with Reiner about his training, when Petra taps me on the shoulder, "Captain Levi wanted to talk to us, but we are not to tell (y/n/n)." I give her an annoyed look, but reluctantly got up and followed Petra.

"Good," Levi nods as Petra and I join the rest of our squad, "Tomorrow (y/n/n) has to go to Stohess district, and for her protection, we will be covering her to make sure no one is following her. I'll assign you each a street leading up to and around her destination. You're to stay there until I get you. Keep your eye out for anyone who may seem suspicious and hanging around the area a lot."

Petra, Eld, Gunter, and I nodded in agreement. We still don't know much about her, but we are pretty protective of her... everyone except for Oluo anyway. "Really?" Oluo scoffs, "So now we have to babysit her when she leaves HQ? We are on this squad to work for you, Captain Levi, not (y/n/n)."

"You'll do it because I'm asking you to, and because she is a part of this squad. I don't hear you complain when I ask you to help out with Eren." Levi says, glaring darkly at Oluo. "This is what is happening tomorrow, it's not up for debate, and don't tell (y/n/n) about it."

"Why not?" Petra asked. "If we tell her she will break our legs so we can't follow her," I answered before Levi. Petra laughs, "Oh yes, that's probably true." Oluo rolls his eyes and looks like he is about to say more, but Levi shoots him a look that stops him in his tracks.

Levi dismisses us and we head back into the Mess Hall to finish dinner. I take my place back beside (y/n/n), who doesn't seem to have even noticed that I had left, still chatting away with Reiner and now Bertolt. Levi goes to sit with Erwin, Hange, and Mike. The rest of my squad sits at the empty table next to ours.

"Be careful kids," I hear Oluo behind us, smirking at (y/n/n) as she turns around to look up at him, "She already has enough men in her back pocket, it's not safe to get involved with her."

"Oh, I didn't realize that was you Oluo!" (Y/n/n) faked being surprised, "I'm afraid I didn't recognize you without your lips firmly attached to Captain Levi's ass." I tried to hold back a laugh, but it didn't work...

Oluo's face went red as he was about to say something back, but Levi flashed him a dangerous look. Petra rolled her eyes and pulled him toward their table.

"What was that about?" Armin asked (y/n/n), "Oh nothing," she shrugged, "He's just butt hurt because Captain Levi likes me more than him."

"Wait," Jean frowned at her, "You and Captain Levi?"

(Y/n/n) narrowed her eyes at Jean before responding, "Is that all you kids think about, sex? When I say 'like' I mean we get along, it is not an innuendo."

"Wait, kids?" I cut in, "How old do you think we are?"

"I don't know, like 12?" She jokes, punching my arm playfully.

"No, we are 15 and 16," I said, gesturing around the table. "Wait, how old are you?" Bertolt asked (y/n/n).

"23." She said simply and laughed at our shocked expressions. "I thought you were 18 at most!" Reiner said, still staring at her in shock. "Most people think that," (y/n/n) smirked, "But I am 23, I swear."

"I will be 18 before you know it, wait for me," Reiner replies hopefully.

(Y/n/n) stands from the table, "Okay, I'm going to go now. Behave yourselves." She waves at us and quickly makes her way out of the Mess Hall, with us staring longingly after her.