AoT/SnK Fan-Fiction: Broken Steps

Chapter 4

That night, you sat across from Eren and Mikasa at a table in the back corner of the dining hall. You leaned back in your chair, playing with your food with a fork. You were thinking about what happened earlier, if you hurt Armin so badly that he just no longer cares about you. Eren seemed to notice your behavior and looked over at Mikasa.

"Hey, Mikasa, would you mind getting me another glass of water, please?"

Mikasa nodded and took Eren's empty glass. Once she was out of range, Eren leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table and allowing his arms to rest in front of him.

"He's jealous, that's all", he comforted.

You didn't look up from your messy plate as you continued to fork the scrambled peas and flip unwanted meat. You set an elbow on the table, letting your head rest upon the designated hand.

"Guys don't get jealous over girls like me, Eren. They never have, and they never will."

You let out a sigh as you pushed your unfinished dinner away, standing up and walking out of the hall. You left Eren there without a word. You seemed to do that to a lot of people these days, but, then again, you've done it all your life.

As you entered the brisk air outside the dining hall, you felt the bristles of cold feel along your face, as if a caress from a lover. You've never personally known what that feels like, seeing as you've never loved anyone. You've only ever liked or tolerated people. You turned your head to the left as if to watch for oncoming strollers before going to your right. You walked with your eyes to the ground, every so often looking up to watch where you were going.

As you let out another sigh, you watched your breath form into clouds, dancing along an invisible path of air. You walked right through your own evaporated and freezing carbon dioxide, making your vision go slightly hazy. You didn't know where you were going, let alone doing outside in the cold, but you just felt the need to get out.

You placed your hands underneath your arms to keep warm as you walked around without any sense of direction. You wished you brought a jacket with you, or something. 

You felt something suddenly drape over your shoulders. What the-? You picked up whatever the object was. A cloak…? But how-? Who-? You looked up, seeing nobody in front of you. You turned your head to the right and found Levi walking next to you.

"Tch. So damn useless. You can't even remember to bring a damn jacket when you knew it was going to be cold. What a bother."

He folded his arms over his chest and looked away from you. You narrowed your eyes before tossing his cloak back at him, watching it cover over his head.

"I don't need your fucking sympathy, Corporal", you spat out in disgust.

You placed your hands under your arms once again, continuing to walk away. You could only get so far before you felt the same sensation. This time, he made sure to tie it so it was more difficult to take off.

"Getting sick is a bother. Also, I don't want you sneezing and coughing all over the damn place. I don't want to have to clean up after your filth."

You stopped in your tracks from his words. Was Corporal Levi actually…concerned about my well-being…?

You watched as he walked off.

"Just make sure you give it back to me by tomorrow. You'll get your own after graduation".

As he turned a corner, you just stood there in awe. You couldn't believe that the Corporal actually offered you his own cloak like that. This was totally unreal, you thought. You felt a slight smile appear on your face as you grabbed the cloak closer, wrapping yourself in it. You had brushed it ever so slightly under your nose, the smell of Levi still lingering. You didn't know what the smell was, but it was…sweet. You continued your walk to your cabin, still wrapped in the article of clothing that smelled so nice.

The next morning, you woke up later than usual. You fluttered your eyes open, noticing something green on your bedside near your pillow. You rubbed your eyes to rid them of blurring. Once your vision was restored, you looked down at the object, trying to remember how it got into your bed.

Oh, yeah, you thought to yourself. Levi gave it to me last night. You could feel your face burn again. What the hell!? Stop it, __________! He's your commanding officer. There's no way in hell he could care about  little 'ol you! Stop it! Stop these thoughts right now! You pounded your head around to rid yourself of the thought.

Sure, you thought he was slightly on the attractive side…and that attitude…..oh, lord, and the way he doesn't directly say that he cares about you….

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~!!!!!!!!!"

You screamed louder than you could hear the castle bells ring.

Wait. The bells. Why are they going off?

You quickly got out of bed to see what was happening from outside your small window. You saw that everyone had been rushing around in a frantic manner. You rushed to your door and flew it open, looking around and spotting Sasha in the stampede.

"Sasha! What the hell's going on? Why's every running aro-"

"It's back!" she yelled in horror.

You felt her hands grab onto your shoulder as she looked you dead in the eyes, her pupils screaming with terror. Her grip tightened as she could only whisper her next sentence.

"The Colossal Titan broke into the wall again…"