Chapter Text
The alarm howls for the next summon to the Paradisan interior, in lieu of more back-and-forth with Kiyomi and her associates. As expected, another tread over future technological integration for the island. The railroad, inching through its slow crawl of construction, will be completed eventually. And like any ruling body, “What’s next?” would be stationed not too far off in the distance.
‘Next’ finally arrived and chipped away the monotony trekking through the cool autumn afternoon. Communication took center stage over transportation concerns. Radios, signal towers, telephones, the like. The ceiling barricading the exclusive use of letters and horseback in intel trade will start to erode. Another massive leap for the island’s future some will hope.
Eren had a vague idea of how these devices operated. Those battleships he intercepted on the shoreline were chock full of them. Most of the context farmed from the Commander’s unstoppable rambling, overclocking whenever she disassembled the bite-sized hunks of metal and wire to satisfy that ever-expanding brain of hers. Its lengthiness degenerated him into a sleep-deprived puddle as usual whenever he indulged in her spiels, but he appreciated the added information nonetheless.
He’d figure that everyone would’ve addressed communication from the get-go, but better late than never he supposes. Not being an engineer in any field, Eren kept quiet the majority of the meeting. Hange shouldered the bulk of the Scouts’ weigh-in at the summit by request anyway, so he idled and jotted down notes with each minute that ticked by.
The fiery soldier’s mind thankfully never found its habitual wandering during, but it still wrestled that persistent surge of fatigue. Routinely flaring up each instance he entered the capital. It hasn’t really inched away with repeat visits, at least from how he felt.
It never stemmed from how every yank of his chain that led here was work-related. Eren’s long since adjusted to the ghoulish, busted siren dubbed warfare.
The persistent smog of lethargy pumping through his senses was perpetrated by how out of his element he felt nowadays. As for why the capital cast the worst of it, his less-than-stellar track record finely baked into this slice of the island was the culprit
Finely crafted floors, walls, and foliage budded eyes to scrutinize the slightest twitch of his muscles. His unintentional rampage through Stohess and the Scouts’ coup d'état against the Fritz family still ripe in his mind, likewise for lavish officials and citizens lining each clean-enough-to-eat-off-of brick in the area. Putrid icing on the cake that was his ability to transform into one of those monsters at the draw of blood.
Even if Eren’s nerves finally got the better of him, that version of him still wouldn’t blind himself to the honest reality: these people were some parts justified in their subtle flavor of ostracization. He still never minded strangers’ perception of him, though that never made it any less draining to take notice of it day in and day out.
Barring a couple cautious glances from that aforementioned body, Eren and his friends were thankfully left be. Call it the royal guards’ natural repellent or the people biting their tongues long enough to maintain courteousness, he was nevertheless relieved his group wasn’t heckled on the clock.
That alone didn’t ease that vicing around his very being. Majority credit attributed to the only thing the teen wished to see every time he was here. No telling when he can, let alone if at all, but the moment said opportunity bared itself to him, he w-
“Y’know, that phase thing I said when you were in prison wasn’t that serious but now I take it back.” a rustic voice chided from the right.
Milliseconds barely ticked by before light penetrated those blazing drops of teal, their owner out of his stupor and recognizing the habitual bite of his Squad Captain’s speech. Said figure lounged next to him, by his definition at least. Back firm and upright, arms neatly crossed, looking out to the end of the conference hall. Fingers could never feel around for a why, but Eren knew Levi was patiently waiting on him for something.
“Hm?” was all Eren could say as he kept indiscriminately flailing in his brain fog. There was no feeling around for what the captain wanted, as there was literally nothing to work with.
The Shiganshina native didn’t do or say much since he made it to the convocation or the capital in general. The most he could guess was the lackadaisical scribbling in his notepad for the last few minutes during closing statements, but it didn’t seem cause for scorn or alarm. What could he possibly be hinting towards?
“It’s that creepy ass staring again. You do it almost every time she shows up.” Levi huffed, not wasting any time in providing his subordinate with an answer.
With how frequently these episodes started cropping up in the last few months, Levi awaited the day one or two rumors about it began encircling the troops at the drop of a hat. To his surprise, there wasn't anything of the sort for him to take in.
Neither stranger nor comrade spilled out anything close to gossip. Not even an offhand, jokey comment on how most of Eren’s free days were spent with her. With how monotonous a soldier’s life can be most days, a premise such as Eren’s would spread like the plague. If anything caught fire at all, it would be kindling in his blind spot.
What wasn’t is the fact that if that thick-headed boy would stare off, it’d be into space, not at a person. His behavior has certainly been shifting around these past several months, but this sore thumb pulsed angrily in comparison to all that mellowing out he’s adopted lately.
Said man of the hour turned his head to zero in on this ‘she’ the Ackerman clansman was referring to. To the right lay the now vacant desks behind the pair, and the main door. Offhand conversing amongst two male guards peeped through the crack of it, reverberating through the room and the connecting hallway.
He didn’t have to continue piecing it together once he eyed his right, instantly catching wind of the apparent ‘she’, seated a few paces away, toiling away at whatever lined her desk. Eren’s train of thought finally caught up to him.
Dammit, he cursed himself. Why couldn’t he be more careful?
“I-“ If there was any rebuttal coming to Eren’s rescue, it only tripped on its laces once Levi’s hand rested upon his shoulder.
“Save it. When you’ve been working with kids for so many years you pick up on this crap all the time.”
The man’s arm sank back to the table, watching the younger of the two silently wrestle with his red-handedness. Eren could only clam up, not sure where to put his feelings on the captain having such a more-or-less nonchalant reaction to his secret.
If there was any merit in this haphazard salvaging, it would be found in Levi specifically being the person coming to him about it. He’s nothing short of adept in fishing for subtle oddities out of people, and coupled with the private approach to the exposure told Eren that the lovestruck ogling was either brief or vague enough to where most wouldn’t form any lingering opinions on it.
Someone akin to Conny or Sasha prodding him about this would make him leagues more paranoid over just how discreet he was about the whole mess. But it wasn’t about him at the end of the day. He can easily stomach any downpour of disapproval on his end, but the last thing he wanted to do was indirectly lob Historia into a scalding pot of controversy.
Of course, they could always stop their private affair and render any risk null on the spot. Though it’s not like they wanted to. Their stunt grew to be in line with eating and sleeping in how essential it was to them.
Relinquishing their stuffy uniforms, any orders to belt or carry out, and the constant fretting over every if, when, and why that the future will answer in their stead regardless. Only two young adults relishing in each other’s intimacy remained. Until the Wings of Freedom swooped its talons down and hauled them back to their opposing nests for God knows how long.
Eren was patient enough to know they can’t dip into that stuff right now, but he wanted to at least talk with her a bit. With some last-minute scheduling issues, those set to attend the first meeting had virtually no downtime beforehand. Nothing to spend on even a brief hello before jumping into things.
Things just bettered instantly whenever he could just let go and smell the roses with her, as weird as it sounds.
By now, Historia was one of the few things that siphoned out that irritating pressure ballooning in his gut each waking moment, and the only one that could do it in an instant. Same applied to her when it came to him.
Counting down the days till he can drop by the orphanage alone and see her was a constant for him now. So just for a bit, they can greedily shut everything out and just sleep in or drone on about whatever randomly crossed their minds when knocking out chores at the orphanage.
Considering how his behavior when he was younger, especially when it comes to things like romance, he’d cringe at how present him conducted himself on the matter. Half a decade or so since enrolling as a trainee, his favorite pastime became lazing in a field and doing nothing with a pretty girl for hours on end. He could clearly imagine how that'd conversation would. He is himself after all.
“You should be working and not making goo-goo eyes at Christa.” the little hothead would say.
“It just sort of happened and I didn’t really stop it.” present him would shrug and nonchalantly toss back.
Several seconds went by before Levi decided to speak his mind and drag Eren out of his numbing quiet.
“When’d this start?” There was no need to elaborate on what this was. It wasn’t the staring that’s for sure.
“Shortly after we met Yelena and the others.” Eren spared no time in replying. Anyone with a functioning brain knows that the worst thing you can do is waste Levi Ackerman’s time.
“That wasn’t why you spoke up during our discussion about inheriting the Beast Titan was it?"
Eren shook his head. “No. I would’ve said the same thing if anyone else was asked to eat Zeke.”
Were it stranger over any of his friends being sacrificed into a Titan factory he might’ve held this tongue a little longer, but Eren wasn't lying at the end of the day. He didn’t care how necessary or efficient it was for Paradis’ survival: that was no way to live.
Literal livestock to be housed, stuffed, and bred till it withers into a watered-down, mangled sack of flesh that barely classifies as a person. He could puke at just the thought of it.
Levi’s face softened a tad as if a weight instantly turned into air as he heard Eren’s assertion. “Look, I don’t care what you do in your free time or with who, but this better not affect your work or Historia’s. With all that shit Marley is flinging at us we can’t afford any distractions. Understand?”
“ … Yes sir.” He followed up with a short mutter. Eren still wasn’t sure if that last bout of conversation was a test of some kind on Levi's end, but the less he dwindled on it the better. From how the older man looked and sounded, it seems like his lips were sealed. For the time being.
He'd be right. Levi honestly couldn’t care less about their little affair. Despite his warning, they’re just that stubborn to both manage a covert relationship and their job with no sacrifice in efficiency in either. Fully piecing things into one, no wonder their private charade seemed invisible to the untrained.
And contrary to Paradis’s largely conservative stance on most measures, there didn’t appear to be any legal fencing surrounding any member of the monarchy getting involved with a soldier. ‘The Queen can do whatever she wants’ holds water in that regard.
That being said, the rules would be swept into chump change in favor of the higher-ups’ personal views. Eren, even if you tally all the monstrous good he’s done since enlisting, was still somewhat infamous in their eyes from what he could tell. Historia is the youngest to be inaugurated queen, and the first lacking blood relation to the Fritz monarchy.
Having a landslide edge in public opinion didn’t sway internal skepticism, or blatant ire, by those questioning why the crown rested on her head to begin with. Sowing a secret relationship into leverage against her would be effortless in truth.
It's their risk to take at the end of the day, he thinks to himself.
Cruel as it sounds, they've obviously played this harsh tune enough times to ignore these obvious concerns. They're free to do whatever, as he is in letting them be and not getting involved. It's their responsibility, and theirs alone.
A light curse from Historia snatched the two from their minds, metallic clanking of a pen skirting near their ears and stopping by Eren’s end of the desk. He scooted out his chair and grabbed it, feeling Levi's eyes on him as he did so. The teal-eyed boy making way to the front of the room, admittedly a little tense as her form slowly overtook his line of sight.
“Here.” He gently handed her the pen.
“Thank you.” she faced him and returned a quaint nod, Eren finally getting a proper look at her for the first time in weeks.
The mute dishing of compliments flowed endlessly upon seeing her gussied up in her military garb, ignoring the plethora of times he’s seen her in and out of it. Always feeling like meeting her for the first time.
Her angelic spray of gold bound into that gorgeously braided bun, illuminated by the heavenly torch of the current midday sunlight. Those big, luminous eyes of hers mimicked the radiant sky she took charge under. Her crimson bolo tie and fern green uniform accentuated her light, but deceptively sturdy and nimble figure. He also caught wind of that adorable, subtle twitch in her nose that went off as she spoke. The same she swears he’s making up just to push her buttons.
"Sucks that we didn't get to talk before the day started," said Eren, not entirely sure where to begin.
The blonde let out an annoyed huff and absentmindedly shook her head.
"Yeah, sorry about that. Some last-minute issues came up that I had to iron out, so everything had to be pushed forward."
Eren carefully tipped over to settle his palms on the desk, giving a quick scan of the mess his familiar was slowly palming through. Loose scrap paper, a few fairly worn pens and pencils, and a basic map of the island marked with a collection of scribbled notches that look like signal antennae to him. Some were etched on top of the Walls themselves, though those seemed to have been erased and re-drawn several times over.
“You’d think we would need more towers because of the Walls obscuring them but I guess not.”
Historia hummed in agreement, soon pointing to the clutter of text and diagrams.
“Well, it helps that most of the island is wide-open grassland. So I was thinking …” It’s incredibly rude to lurch over the queen like that, so Eren, ever the saint, filled out the vacant chair as she aired out the potent brainstorm craning over her head these past few minutes.
Outside began dissolving to irrelevancy as they did the same into their first full conversation in a long, long time. Leading with another round of military hodge-podge never spoiling it. Just having a satisfying soak into the other’s voice and personal space struck them with enough vigor to last for the next stretch of days they’d work in the same building.
The queen and the soldier were too engrossed to be infatuated with how the energy in their voices instantly perked up as the words poured out. Or the fact that the room had a perplexing warmness slithering into it. The older man watching a few feet away did, and all he could do was sit there. There was no good reason to loiter his seat with the first congregation over, but he wasn’t that interested in getting up and crushing their little moment. He'll come up with some explanation for why to say later.
Lovesick brats, he chided.
Might as well get comfortable, for who knows how long.