Chapter 11

Crystal stirred awake to the sound of Hanji calling for her outside her quarters and Crystal sat up, she was in HQ. Her mind raced, was she asleep and dreaming? Or was all of that just some big messed-up dream?

"Crystal! You're going to miss breakfast!" Hanji called out and Crystal got up to walk over to her door and opened it, "Finally! Oh, you're already dressed. Are you okay?" Hanji suddenly asked and Crystal realized tears were flowing down her cheeks.

"Hanji..." She mutters, "How many gunshot wounds do I have...?"

"40 if I remember correctly... Why are they hurting?"

"N-No... I just had the longest... Most horrible dream I could've ever had..." Crystal collapsed to the floor and started to sob. The feelings she shared with Levi, the fighting against the Yulvaskians, and getting the scouts the ability to retire were all just a dream.

"Oh, you poor thing..." Hanji says softly, rubbing Crystal's back as she sobbed louder, "It must have been one long dream... Let's get you cleaned up." Hanji helped Crystal up to her feet and brought her back into her quarters. Brushing her hair, Crystal felt her sobs dying down, "Care to tell me about this dream...?"

"I... I..." Crystal mutters before sobbing loudly again and Hanji glanced at her with concern, "I finally told Levi how I felt... I was able to take every risk and won victory for the scouts so everyone could retire for a bit... I was living back home with Levi and Armin, and you were there..." Crystal blurted out as sobs wracked her body, Hanji blinked in surprise.

"That sounds like the longest dream in the world..." Hanji wiped Crystal's face clean, "Come on... Let us get you some food." Hanji helped Crystal off the bed and led her down the hallway toward the dining hall. Crystal finally calmed down when her eyes landed on Levi, his legs crossed as he sipped on his black tea, "Oh no..." Hanji mutters when Crystal broke down into sobs again, collapsing against Hanji. Earning concerned and freaked-out glances from everyone, even a slight one from Levi, "She just woke up from a bad dream guys... If someone could get her breakfast..."

"Oi. I'll get it," Levi spoke before standing up and Hanji helped Crystal to the higher-up's table.

"Crystal... It's alright now. You're back to reality..." Hanji says softly, rubbing her back in circles.

"I know... But I was so happy..." Crystal mutters, "Knowing that it was a dream means that it'll possibly never come true in real life." Hanji sighs softly as Levi puts the food down and Crystal snaps her head up to look at him, making him tense up.

"Levi-" Hanji went to say something when Levi spoke up.

"Oi... Brat. What about my face makes you burst into tears?" Crystal's eyes started to fill up with tears once again, but she held her sobs down.

"All of it, Sir... Every part of your face is making my head spin and my heart ache..." Crystal says bluntly, making Hanji's hand on her back freeze up.

"Should I leave for my Office then so you can calm down...?" Levi asks surprisingly softly, and Crystal looks down at her food.

"N-No... Thank you for getting my breakfast."

"Tsk. You're welcome, you stupid brat..." Levi hit her upside the head with the back of his hand, but gently enough not to cause any amount of pain. Crystal watched as he sat down in his spot, and resumed drinking his black tea. Looking down at her bread and soup, she started to pick at it as she did in her dream.

When his orders flashed across her mind, the last words he spoke to her in the dream, she started to stuff the soup into her mouth as waterfalls of tears caressed her cheeks. Hanji glanced at her worriedly before nodding to some of the concerned cadets, letting them know she would be okay.

As she finished eating, Crystal felt her heart aching more as she watched Levi get up to leave, should she say something? Should she just get it over with and tell him how she felt? He did say it was foolish that she held that kind of information to herself.

"C-C-Captain Levi." Crystal spoke up, standing up, "Can... We talk for a moment in your office?"

"If you break down into sobs..." Levi goes to say but stops when he notices her face, "Yeah... Come on." Crystal follows him out quietly, the walk to his office was painful and long, "You haven't ever cried like that, Cadet... Some nasty dream you must've had."

"N-No... Quite the opposite, Captain..." Crystal says softly as Levi holds his office door open for her and she walks in, he goes to sit behind his desk, "My dream was beautiful... For once in my life, I was blissfully happy..."

"I see..." Levi motioned for her to sit down and she shook her head.

"I won't be long... There's just something I want to get off my chest..." Crystal shifted uncomfortably from where she stood as Levi looked at her, urging her to continue, "I Love you, Levi... I always have." Levi's breath visibly hitched in his throat, and Crystal smiles sweetly at him, "Don't stress over it... Okay? After that dream... I just needed to get it off my chest..." Crystal turned quickly and started to head for the door.

"Oi. Brat, I never dismissed you." Levi's footsteps could be heard as he walked up to her and spun her around to face him, "Tell me more about this... Dream you had."

"... It was the most beautiful dream I could've ever had... By the end of it, you had asked me to marry you and we were living peacefully at my cottage..." Levi's grip on her shoulder tightens and he leans down to be at eye level with her.

"Crystal..." Levi mutters, and she tensed up, lifting her chin to make her look up into his eyes.

"Wait..." Crystal goes to question but Levi crashed his lips to hers and she moans softly. The feeling was just like how she imagined it in her dreams. His hand entangled itself in her hair, making her moan softly and he took that chance to explore her mouth with his tongue. Easily taking dominance without much of a fight, he let his other hand rest on her lower back.

A loud knock came on his door and Levi hesitated to break the kiss, making it deeper for a moment before breaking away.

"Oi. Who the fuck is interrupting me right now?!"

"Just Hanji- I came to check on Crystal," Hanji says softly, and Levi pulled his hands off Crystal, unaware of how lonely she felt at that moment.

"Oi. Come in, she's here." Levi walked over to his desk and the door swung open as Crystal stayed where she was.

"Crystal? Are you okay now...?" Hanji asks softly and Levi visibly seemed creeped out, but Crystal nods.

"Yeah... Talking to Levi made me feel a lot better." Crystal put a hand over her heart and Hanji looked between them.

"Levi?" Hanji repeated, "Forgetting Captain?"

"Oh. Shit." Crystal cursed, looking at Levi apologetically who simply was looking down at his paperwork, trying to hide a red blush on his face.

"I guess Rank only really matters during orders," Hanji smiles, "Let's go. Today you can help me by being my company during some tests."

"Oh, okay." Crystal said softly, and Hanji looked at Levi for approval when he gave a simple 'tsk' in response. Hanji took Crystal's hand and started to head out when Crystal pulled it away from her, "I forgot something." She said softly, turning around and walking back into the open door. Walking right up to Levi, she swallowed her nerves before hooking her finger under his chin and pressing her lips to his cheek, "Thank you, Levi." Crystal walked back out to Hanji who smirked teasingly at her.

"Oh? A kiss goodbye?" Hanji teased, and Crystal playfully smacked her arm as they walked down the hallway.

"I confessed to him." Crystal said once they were far enough away, "In my dream, I told him after I was drunk from drinking alcohol."

"Oh?" Hanji cocked her head and urged Crystal to continue.

"From there we... We had a moment together. Kissing, he told me he didn't have a response to my feelings. It hurt at first, but I knew he was just as bad with feelings as I am..." Hanji giggled as she nodded in agreement, "We then had to go fight a battle against a country known as Yulvaska, and you ordered that I be the one to take the most risks. Fully using my capabilities to shift the war in our favor... Winning is an Armistice with them."

"Well-" Hanji started, "We will... End up fighting them in about a month-" She looked a little creeped out, "I played around with the idea of sending you into their base-"

"That's exactly what you did." Crystal said softly, "You sent me into their base and told me to kill. I received 9 gunshot wounds. 3 in my right shoulder, 2 in my stomach, 4 in my left leg." Crystal repeated the report she told Hanji in her dream, "But I was alive, and because of that you arranged for me to get a War Hero medal."

"If you singlehandedly killed the enemy like that, of course, you would receive a medal,"  Hanji said softly, by the look on her face she wasn't expecting the dream to be so detailed.

"Then after that... You told us fighting would cease for at least a year, and said we could all retire. The first stop on some of your minds was to join me at my Cottage, including Levi. I remember offering for all of you to live with me, but you said you had family in Sina."

"I... Do have family in Sina." Hanji shivers, "How would you know that?"

"I don't know?" Crystal shrugs, and sighs shakily, "The dream ended with Levi telling me he wanted me to marry him..." Crystal felt her cheeks heating up and Hanji froze in place as Crystal continued walking.

"Wait- are you telling me that what you talked to about Levi in there-" Hanji pointed back.

"I confessed to him as soon as I could." Crystal says softly, "No point in hiding my feelings when I was so open about them in my dream."

"I see... How did he respond?" Hanji smirks as she caught up to Crystal and Crystal looked at her nervously, "I promise I won't get you in trouble."

"He kissed me." Crystal says quietly, "After I confessed he asked me what else happened in the dream, and I briefly told him the happier bits... Then he kissed me."

"Ooh! Get him, girl! You deserve it." Hanji exclaimed, "Obviously he shares some form of feelings with you, otherwise I doubt he would kiss you."

"I think he might be nervous about the professionalism of it." Crystal said, remembering part of her dream where she felt like she switched consciousness with Levi, "Perhaps you should ease his worries."

"Professionalism? I guess I could..." Hanji said before opening the door to her lab Crystal shivered at the sight of the 4 Meter tall Titan that was being held captive inside, "Don't worry with the window closed he's asleep." Hanji assured as they walked in and Crystal sat down at her desk.

"Hey, Hanji... Have I told you the natural deterrent against Titans?" Crystal asks softly.

"No-" Hanji said quickly before her excitement kicked in, "What do you mean?!"

"Chamomile and Lavender blended and burned until their smoking make them uncomfortable. It's like an invisible barrier to keep them out."

"What?!" Hanji shouts as she opens the door above the Titan, allowing light in to eventually wake it up, before running over to her herb collection, "Luckily I've already got some!" She said excitedly and Crystal got up, helping Hanji prepare the concoction before putting it over a controlled fire. Just then the Titan started to awaken and as the smoke neared its face, it started to grunt as it tried to get away from Crystal who walked closer.

"See? He hates the smell." Crystal said softly, before turning away from the titan, "It's how I survived-" Crystal felt pressure on her back and she leaped forward. The titan had tried to bite her, "You damn bastard." She cursed as Hanji approached the still-smoking bowl.

"That must have been nervewracking the first few nights of using this concoction," Hanji says softly before waving the bowl in the Titan's face making him almost look like he was about to vomit.

"Trust me, nothing more agitating than thinking a titan was going to reach into your home while you were asleep and eat you." Crystal sat back down, and Hanji looked at her.

"You know... That dream must have affected you, you're very talkative today..." Hanji said as she sat down behind her desk.

"There's no point in keeping my thoughts in as much anymore..." Crystal shrugs, "Before it was merely because I thought I would upset someone by talking too much. Now I realize that a lot of people enjoy talking to me and I don't need to worry anymore."

"That's true, that's so... True." Hanji smiles softly at Crystal, "If you'd like you can have the rest of the day off, go bug Levi or something."

"Levi is busy with paperwork..." Crystal mutters and Hanji laughs.

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind a helping hand. I'll let it slide when I see pretty handwriting instead of his usual chicken scratch." Hanji says softly and Crystal stood up and left without a word. Hanji's ecstatic laughter echoed down the hallway as Crystal walked.