Y/N L/N, are you here?" a fellow soldier asked as you were seated outside the court hall.

You looked at him with deadpanned eyes, internally planning out your master-plan to murder Lance-Corporal Levi. "Yes, sir."

Your voice drew the soldier towards you, and once he reached you, he smiled brightly. It made you smiled a bit as well because at least someone within these walls still had a radiant smile. "Commander Erwin has requested to see you. Please follow me."

You got up and followed the soldier as he led you down into an underground basement. It was cold, creepy, disgusting, but surprisingly clean in terms of what you expected. "The Commander will be waiting inside," he bowed and took his leave, abandoning you.

You pushed open the door, revealing Commander Erwin sitting on a chair, along with the man you had been planning to strangle in his sleep, Levi.

"Y/N L/N, right?" the Commander smiled warmly, completely catching you off guard at how warm his aura actually was. You nodded and saluted the Commander, but broke the salute once you made eye contact with the steely eyes you've come to recognize.

"Yes, sir," you said, trying to act calm.

"No need for formalities here, Y/N."

You sighed and took a seat across from the Commander, sprawling out your body in every way possible.

You could see the glimpse of distaste in Levi's eyes, even if only for a second.

Oh, how amusing it was to torture him in little ways.

"That was quite a scene you caused in there," Erwin chuckled. You smiled crookedly at the Commander.

"Thank you, sir," you smiled. As the Commander's eyes closed from chuckling, you took advantage of the situation to send a glare to Levi who stood beside him.

Only, much to your surprise and dismay was smirking at you.

"You do have quite a strategic, quick-thinking mind there. You knew exactly what to say, and might I add that comment you blew off on Nile Dawk made me quite happy inside," Commander Eyebrows laughed whole-heartedly.

"Thank you, sir," you sheepishly grinned, taken aback from the sudden compliment.

"No wonder you became second in class," Levi sighed, but he dropped his smirk as soon as Erwin turned around to face him. "But you still need more than a quick-thinking mind to survive outside the walls."

You got easily pissed off by his comment, and all of a sudden you found yourself rambling in his direction. "Okay, look here, Lance-Corporal Midget! I didn't see or hear you forming a quick plan to save Eren's ass in there. The first attempt you did was beating him up! How smart does that make you?" you spat, crossing your arms.

He didn't look fazed at all. Actually, if anything, he was amused as he arched his eyebrow with a smirk.

"It did make the judge give him to us, didn't it?"

Fuck, he was right. You quickly shut your mouth. Damn, your lap suddenly looked interesting as fuck.

"Cadet." Your attention flew to the Commander. "I don't think you know who you're talking to. This man right here is quoted 'Humanity's Strongest Soldier', and is the current Lance-Corporal of the Survey Corps."

No reaction cam form you. You had honestly thought that Levi had told the Commander about the day you cried on his shoulder, but you guess not.

You looked at Levi with a deadpanned expression. He returned the look and cocked an eyebrow as if saying 'Act surprised or you'll regret it.". You went 'meh' and bowed, a lazy apology leaving your lips.

Levi clicked his tongue at this. "I'm still impressed, though. You're better than any other cadet I've had the experience of meeting in the last few years. And not only that, you dare call me a midget even after experiencing the whole ordeal with Eren inside."

Levi, out of nowhere, took a step towards you and yanked you up by your jacket. "Although you're one to talk, midget."

You looked up at him, unamused with his answer.

He shrugged and continued. "From the things I've heard, you slew around 8 titans in the battle of Trost, right? Not bad for a first-timer."

You made a pokerface as Levi released you, taking a huge step back.

The Commander sighed with a smile as Levi gazed at you with frigid eyes. He had honestly expected more of a reaction from you, seeing as he had just given you a huge compliment.

Which was something Levi never did.

"What branch are you going to?" Erwin asked out of the blue, asking the question that he's been itching to ask you since your arrival.

"The Survey Corps, sir."

"Why on earth would you go to the Survey Corps? A brat like you could go to the Garrison, or even the Military Police if wished upon," Levi mumbled the last part, though you heard him clear as day.

It left you so confused.

You averted your eyes from both of them and took a deep breath, trying to think of the best answer to Erwin's question.

"When Wall Maria fell, I witnessed the death of someone close to me. So I guess I want to slay the titans so people can rest assured that they'll never again experience death in such a horrible way."

The Lance-Corporal nodded, scratching his chin with his long, slender fingers, quite an unreadable expression on his face. Once or twice he would glance at you, eyes full of curiosity, but also something else.

Something hidden.

"Erwin."

Said man looked at Levi. "I want to apply Y/N for my squad. You don't have a problem with that, do you?"

Erwin looked stunned at Levi. What did Levi see in you that Erwin couldn't see? For him, you were just an average cadet╴don't get him wrong, a talented one╴but an average cadet with normal morals. Thus, he felt the need to object. "Levi, it takes a lot to get into your squad."

Levi looked Erwin dead in the eye and gave him the stinkeye, a thing that Levi would do whenever he felt that he was more right than Erwin.

Erwin sighed and turned to you, who had watched everything unfold with a pokerface.

He decided to put his trust in Levi. After all, something good always came out of it.

"Alright," Erwin muttered, causing your eyes to go wide. "But you'll have to test her abilities to the fullest. That's all I request."

"Shitty excuse for eyebrows, they're not even that pretty," The Corporal murmured under his breath, causing you to let out an unintentional snort, resulting in Levi hiding his own small smile behind a cough.

"L/N," he nudged his head to the side, signaling you to follow him.

You followed him up the stairs from the basement, as he led you to the training fields where you used to train hand-to-hand combat in your trainee days.

Levi suddenly stopped walking, causing you to crash into his back and stumble back. He turned around just in time as he grabbed your wrist, heaving you close to him.

Your faces were only mere inches apart.

"L/N," he began, scanning your whole face. You hummed in response. "I'm going to be testing your abilities. I want you to come at me with the intent to kill. Do you understand?"

He let you go and took a few steps back, both of you getting into your respective fighting stances.

Physical Strength

"Ready?"

"Anytime."

The Corporal waited for your move, and likewise, you waited for his as you both circled each other.

"Remember, Y/N, always wait for your opponent to strike first! That's the key to winning a match."

You intended to keep that advice from your dad alive in your mind.

The Corporal got sick of waiting for your move as he sped at you, bringing his leg up high. You went to block it with your hands, till he grabbed your left one, making you only have one hand to rely on. He almost kicked your gut until you jumped above his knee, making a whirl in the air.

You landed a kick in his face as he stumbled back from the sheer force.

For a moment, Levi looked utterly flabbergasted until his normally stoic face returned. This time, you charged at him, using a move that only you had mastered in the Trainee Corps. It was a move you had adapted from Kenny Ackerman when you had watched one of his fights in the underground, at a time where you were either 8 or 9.

You charged at Levi, and when he tried to grab you by your throat, you kneeled and slid across the grass past him under his arm, bringing his leg with you, causing Levi to fall flat on his back.

He didn't even have a chance to recover before you had straddled his hands with your right foot, your right leg just above his face as he opened his eyes.

Your left hand was pressed against his neck with slight, but not too much pressure. This was supposed to be where the knife would slit if you had one.

"Got you," you grinned. Levi sighed and closed his eyes. "Not bad, L/N."

"Thank you, sir╴"

"But," he whispered, letting a smirk twist his lips upwards. "Don't let your guard down."

Surprise overtook your body as you felt Levi jump up from the position using only the power in his legs, bringing himself standing on the ground while you were still mid-air.

Just before you hit the ground, you felt Levi's arms snake around your waist as he stopped your fall.

You didn't even notice Levi's nose digging into your back, inhaling your scent. You had seen that move before, and you damn well knew where and who it came from.

It came from none other than the man you had observed, Kenny Ackerman. You remember Kenny's tactics involving a lot of raw muscle strength, which was what made him so feared amongst thugs in the underground.

He could break one's neck in half with the most unpredictable move.

"Come, next," you heard Levi say, as he put you down gently onto the ground.

Battle Intelligence

"Tell me how much you need to slice off a titan's nape before it stops regenerating."

"Around 100 centimeters, with 10 cm width."

"Not bad," Levi hummed, his eyes softening. "Now, here's a difficult question."

You gulped as he came over, slamming his hand down in front of you on the table. He leaned his face closer.

"You got orders to continue your mission, but you see a fellow soldier, a friend even, in the grasp of a titan. What do you do?"

You smiled at him. "Anything else than rescuing them would be stupid."

Those words stunned him, which only urged him to keep questioning you. "What if it could break the formation?"

"As long as I can save my friends, I'm good. Besides..." you hummed softly as you traced the marble table's fine edges. "Isn't friends what makes you wanna fight and save humanity? I mean, if you're all alone, who do you want to fight for?" you played with your fingers as you spoke.

Levi's eyes went wide, his mouth slightly agape. What had he done to find you again, in the military of all places?

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. You were here now, you were alive, and he was damn well making sure that you were getting into his squad so he could protect you if anything happened.

3DMG

You followed the Corporal through the forest, struggling to keep up with him. He was way too fast. Not even Jean, the most talented one at 3DMG, came anywhere close to Levi's level.

You tried to find a way other than wasting your gas in futile attempts to quicken your speed. You clicked your blade handles in annoyance, shooting out your wire.

It was nearly impossible.

Damn, why do they need to be so hard? I'll never catch up to him like this.

You stopped to take a break on a nearby tree branch as you thought of an idea.

You weren't sure it was going to work, but it was worth a shot, right?

The blades faced the opposite way when you turned them around. You were not clicking with your middle╴and ring fingers. You tested it out, and it seemed to be a lot easier.

"Alright, let's try again," you said, suddenly full of confidence.

You readied yourself and jumped off the branch. You shifted your fingers, clicking for the wires to shoot out, which they did immediately, latching themselves onto trees with the speed of light. You decided to try it out with the gas next.

And my god, did you whirr by fast.

The familiar green-cloaked figure up ahead caught your eye as your snickered as you caught up with it.

"Sir," you greeted Levi with a grin, and you could have sworn those irises of his shrank, if only for a second even.

You both landed on the same branch, you panting slightly by the way you were now using your 3DMG.

It was time for the next one.

Morals

"Tell me again, why do you want to join the Survey Corps?"

"The titans took away my mother-figure, my friend, and the wall. I want to avenge everyone who has suffered because of the titans, I want to avenge the ones who died for humanity, and I want to free humanity from its hinges. That, and..." you gulped, pondering whether or not you should tell the Corporal about your dirty little secret.

"Up until I was 10 years of age, I lived in the underground," you admitted. Levi took notice of your reaction and looked away.

"I got lost," you chuckled dryly. Levi watched you intently. "You know, my dad was the best person I knew. And I remember when I got lost, I was so scared. But I do remember this person coming up to me and helping me find my dad, and when we found him, I hugged him so tight," you smiled from simply remembering the memory. It was one of your favorite ones.

"I don't know for sure where that person is now, but one day, I would like to thank them, you know? They even called me sunshine several times," you laughed.

Levi nodded, suddenly finding the grass very interesting. And damn, were his boots nor shiny as fuck right now? Enough nonsense, he found the courage to look up at you, and he could have sworn he saw an angel with the purest smile.

Your way of thinking, your love and care for your friends, literally everything about you was reeling him in.

Before he could process his own thoughts, Levi nodded and walked away, cocking his head to the side. "Next. I won't hesitate to kick your sorry ass from the Survey Corps if you fail this one."

Cleaning ╴(Levi's Personal Favorite!)

You scrubbed the floor furiously, gritting your teeth.

FffFFFfuuuUuuCCccKk

You never did clean as a child. Partially because you didn't have to, but also because you were the definition of lazy.

After an hour of scrubbing everywhere, you went to go get Lance-Corporal Levi from the other room, who had been sitting and enjoying a nice cup of tea.

As soon as he entered, he wasted no time in strutting around, inspecting everything.

"It's surprisingly okay," he nodded in approval.

Approval that only lasted about 3 seconds. He abruptly came to a halt, glaring at one specific corner.

Fuck╴

"What the fuck is this, cadet?" he hissed.

"I couldn't reach, sir," you groaned out, smacking your forehead.

"Come here, you fuck."

You lazily draped yourself over to Levi, not caring that he heard your groans. Out of nowhere, raven hair stuck out between your legs, and you got pulled into the air with ease. The Lance-Corporal's grip on your thighs tightened as he tried to keep his balance.

"I suddenly feel uncomfortable."

"Just clean the damn corner, Y/N."

You did as instructed, scrubbing and tweezing at the corner until all the spider web and dust was nowhere to be seen.

"Done."

Levi then sauntered over to the that was at the other corner of the room, and he flung himself backward, making you fall off of him and onto the cream white bed╴yet sOmEhOw your clumsy ass still managed to tumble off the bed in the process.

You clumsy potato.

"Clown," Levi sighed. "You had no balance-trouble when we fought earlier."

"Excuse you, I was on your shoulders, and you threw me off. That's my trust in you broken," you said, holding your hand on your heart, pretending to be offended.

Levi couldn't hold back the smile that tug at the corner of his lips. With you, he couldn't help but let his persona crack.

"We'll need to find Erwin. Come on," he said, sticking his hand out for you to take and his other covering his mouth.

You gratefully took his hand, and he heaved you up with ease.

"She may join the Survey Corps and Levi's Squad."

You smiled cheerfully to yourself, your heart pounding louder and louder as another soldier handed you a green cloak with the Wings of Freedom embroidered onto it.

"Congratulations," Erwin bowed slightly and squeezed your shoulder before he took his leave.

You stared at the cloak with the wings displayed proudly onto the back.

Silent, long streaks of tears cascaded down your cheek to your chin, dripping off like rain on a leaf.

Then you felt long, warm fingers brushing your tears away.

You jolted your head up in surprise, only to find Levi stroking your cheek lovingly.

"Y/N," he exhaled softly, and you couldn't believe your eyes as you watched Levi's face transform into a warm expression. The corner of his lips turner upwards ever so slightly. "Congratulations."

You smiled slightly at him as he took the cape from you, folding it out and placing it around your shoulders.

He took you by your shoulders and turned you around, buttoning your cape.

"Thank you, sir."

My journey to get into the Survey Corps succeeded, although in the most unexpected turn of events. Never had I thought that I would get into Lance-Corporal Levi's special operation squad, and nevertheless, him proposing the idea.

At the time, I was very confused about Levi's many different sides. His warm side, his cold side, his Lance-Corporal persona, his caring friend persona.

It won't make sense to you now. But trust me, as we progress into the story, you will have a better understanding of Humanity's Strongest Soldier, Levi Ackerman, the stoic, cold-hearted Lance-Corporal.