Makes Me Feel Like I'm Falling Down

Chapter Eight (Still 1/3)

[And we're back to our irregularly scheduled updates. Let's hope no more bad things happen in SnK (hahahaha). The point of the bonus chapter was to write the fluffiest thing I could come up with in less than two hours, and it's a good thing that everyone's young in this story, otherwise sulking!Levi wouldn't have been possible. I think at 24 he still wouldn't be above it (and considering he makes poop jokes at 34, I suspect he's only barely above it in canon). Eren had to win because his life is bad enough in the series, he deserves to win at cards (even if they say that good luck at gambling means bad luck in love). In other news, I love the nameless Scouting Legion soldiers. They can show up, do something, and disappear, and I don't have to worry about their personalities, or about whether or not they'll survive the story (I'm still sad about Isabel). I still don't know why I decided to make them play cards. I think it might be because I finished the second "Kieli" light novel a few days ago, and cards were a part of the story; otherwise I'd probably have written something about making cookies (who cares if cookies are probably a luxury and the military doesn't have the resources for that, when you need something fluffy to fight a sad episode you can suspend disbelief for it). I'm glad the bonus helped to make your lives a bit happier after ep. 21.

Again, thank you for your comments, you make my day.]

VIII.

Hanji woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of an explosion, and she had a gut feeling that Eren was to blame. Finding the top bunk empty only served to strengthen her suspicions, so she ran out of the room still in her pajamas, only bothering to put on her boots and grab a blade, just in case.

In the hallway, it was chaos. Soldiers were running to see what happened and getting ready to defend the place from what they assumed was an attack, and Hanji ignored everyone as she quickly made her way outside, to the place everyone was talking about: the stables.

She arrived to find a group of soldiers surrounding the entrance to the stables, yelling and preparing their weapons, and when she approached them they all looked at her, their faces showing so many different emotions Hanji didn't know what to do. Some looked angry, and seemed to despise her, others looked hurt, like she'd betrayed their trust, and others looked wary. Everyone seemed afraid, and when she got through enough people to see what had made everyone so defensive, she found out she couldn't blame them.

The door of the stable was closed, and blocked by a hand and arm big enough to belong to a 15 meter titan. There was skin on the parts that were in contact with the door, but at the point where the arm should have connected to the upper body the skin disappeared and there were just the basics of a torso, only enough muscle and bone to keep the arm in place and stop the door from opening, and in the middle of the muscle Eren could be seen, his left arm and his lower body buried in the titan flesh. Around him, everyone was screaming, some people asking for blood, others trying to rationalize the situation, some trying to point out that, for fuck's sake, he was a kid.

Eren looked around him, his face full of terror, and he kept trying to pull himself out of the mass of gore. He opened and closed his mouth, as if completely unable to speak, but when his eyes landed on Hanji his eyes widened and he found his voice.

"Hanji!" he called, a choked sound that passed almost unnoticed among the disaster around him, but Hanji had been waiting for his recognition, for a sign that she was looking at a scared boy and not at some monster, and she hated herself for a second, for doubting him when she'd known the risks since she'd found him.

She ran to the door of the stable and, with her blade ready, turned around to face the other soldiers, who were still undecided on what to do. She knew it was only a matter of minutes before someone found the courage to enforce whichever decision they thought was better, but they'd have to fight her if they thought she'd let them hurt Eren.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Eren said, behind her, his voice slightly more high-pitched and shaky.

"Stop moving," Hanji said, glancing back at him to give him a stern look. "I'll handle this."

She turned her eyes back to the soldiers, and saw a familiar figure emerge from among them. Unlike Hanji, he'd actually taken the time to put on his uniform, so it probably made more of an impression when he approached her, his blade ready and a disapproving look on his face. If Levi wanted to hurt Eren, Hanji would fight him too, it didn't matter how good a combatant he'd proven to be in the few expeditions he'd been on. Instead of trying to get past her, he turned around to face the others.

"Cut him out before anyone gets any ideas," he told her.

Hanji didn't need to be told twice, she ran to Eren and pulled and cut the titan flesh until he was free to move, and then she dropped her blade to hold him firmly and get him away from it. Eren's arms wrapped around her neck and he hid his face on her chest. He was shaking, and he clung to her tightly, like he feared she'd drop him or push him away from her. She strengthened her hold of him with one arm and used her other hand to rub his back in small circles in what she hoped was a comforting gesture. In front of her, Levi stood in a defensive position, and Hanji thought of the knights featured in the stories Philip had told Eren so many times already, brave men who travelled the world to kill a dragon and save their ladies, only this time the lady belonged to herself and could fight as well as the knight, and together they'd protect the dragon from the rest of the world.

"What the fuck's that?" someone yelled.

"That was a titan's arm!"

"What did you bring here?"

"Where did you find it?"

"What the fuck were you thinking?"

"Kill it!"

"It's a kid!"

"Is he even human?"

"What else can he do?"

"Enough!" said the voice of the Commander, and for the first time since she'd realized he knew about Eren, Hanji felt relieved he did.

The Commander made his way to the center, straight back, looking disappointed and tired. Close behind was Erwin, his lips tight and his eyes hard, his face revealing nothing.

What came next was the biggest lie Hanji had heard in a long time, and she had to lower her head to keep her astonishment from showing on her face.

They claimed Eren was the result of years of research and experimentation that intended to create a human-titan hybrid to be used in the war. That he'd been given to a normal family to raise to make sure that he grew up as a normal person, and that the reason they'd found him outside the walls had been because the caretakers had grown irresponsible and had activated his titan-shifting abilities before he reached the right age, which was why the Survey Corps, as the only ones capable of handling such a threat, were looking after him.

No one looked very convinced, but questioning your superiors has historically been considered a fast way to get into trouble, so everyone stayed quiet and directed suspicious stares at Hanji and Eren. Levi had stopped facing the soldiers and was looking at them as well, his eyebrows almost imperceptibly raised in doubt. The only person who seemed to fully believe the story was Eren, judging by the way he'd gone limp in Hanji's arms, and the look of hopelessness he was giving her.

Hanji could only think to murmur soothing words into his ear as she rocked him back and forth.