"You're not very popular with women are you?" Zeke rolled his eyes. The ginormous trees stopped any sunlight from reaching the ground, but the hatred in Levi's eyes was still aglow. "Don't act like you would understands someone else's thoughts." Zeke leaned back against the makeshift chair and crossed his arms watching Levi's scowl grow.
"I do understand. There was a time I was popular," Levi muttered shuffling his feet. Zeke's gaze shifted to Niema who leaned against one of the trees by where Levi was seated. It was no coincidence that she came along, even if Levi thought Zeke was an idiot he was able to connect the dots.
"Ah I see. You're popular enough for her—" Zeke stopped talking as he watched Levi rise from his seat with his fists balled up. The sound of Niema's foot steps, and the crunching of leaves beneath her boot as she stepped over made him freeze.
"I'll be going soon. So might I have a moment with Zeke?" Niema asked as she noticed the tension between Zeke and Levi rising. Levi reluctantly stepped away with our saying a word and slid inside of the tents to check in on his other comrades. Zeke was surprising calm for a man who was in the middle of the forest, and surrounded by highly trained soldiers. Niema was cautious, after hearing a bit about his backstory she could tell that Zeke Jaeger was certainly a more intricate person than she once thought.
"How are you Zeke?" The sudden pleasantry took him by surprise.
"If we're going to play good cop bad cop, might I offer you a drink before hand?" Zeke smirked and gestured toward the wine that was recently sent out. It was odd—usually drinking on duty would result in some form of punishment yet the people in the city almost forced the deliver to be sent out. It seemed to be expensive wine, and her comrades who had already finished a crate worth had raved about the taste. However interrogating war criminals didn't make Niema thirsty for an aged red wine.
"I'm not the good cop Zeke. I'd like to cut you down right here, but that's not my burden. It's Levi's." Niema rested her elbows on her shoulder and slouched so that she was closer to Zeke.
"Let's talk about your life back on Liberio, hm? Your old flame certainly had a lot to tell me," Niema's words suddenly changed Zeke's entire demeanor. Zeke who had been smug up to this point suddenly lost his smirk and glared up at Niema who look too pleased with herself. The wine bottle was beginning to get coated with condensation as the humidity made the air thick. Yet it wasn't the weather that made Zeke start to sweat, it was the mentioning of Liesl.
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The basement of HQ was where all titan experiments and inheritances occurred, it was the only place that was able to contain a titan without suspicion. The Warriors followed Magath single file down the stairs noticing how the hallways became more narrow the deeper down they went. Zeke was far more nervous than any of the other Warrior Candidates that night. Liesl's heartbroken expression was still burned in his memory and the knowledge of what was yet to come offered him no comfort. He knew that the time would come when he would have to eat Ksaver, but now that it was here it made him feel sick to his stomach.
"We've all went over the protocol already. I expect you to follow it as if your life depends on it—because it does." Magath turned around to face his subordinates when they reached the basement door.
Although they were nothing more than a group of mere children there was no question that they held on to a great reserve of strength. They couldn't of made it this far without being strong. Zeke tried
to remind himself of that as he watched Marcel enter the basement, his hands stuffed inside his pocket.
The sound of muffle roars made the group outside shutter, but Zeke was lost in his own thoughts and found himself unable to fully grasp what exactly was happening on the other side of the door. He wondered what it would feel like when he transformed, he thought about the chances of him hesitating to eat the one man whom he trusted completely. He thought about Ymir's curse, and what would happen if he ran away right now, would Ksaver still live? Most importantly Zeke thought of what happens when he exits HQ, would Liesl still be there to draw the curtains and let the light in to his life?
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Already Gone
Fanfiction"Leisl Bauer right?" Zeke spoke softly, afraid his parents would hear him talking outside his window and scold him. "Yes? Who are-" "I'm Zeke Jaeger." He smiled, noticing the ribbon that held her hair tied back matched the pale arm band on her shoul...
