Clipped Wings

7

It's been a few days since Levi and I had our talk. My cadets have basically mastered free hanging ODM and today is the last day Eren can prove he has what it takes to remain in the corps. Every time he tries to free hang, he flips upside down. 

We all stand in formation while waiting for Eren to connect his gear. Once he is hoisted up, he starts to struggle. However, he has determination written all over his face. He finally hangs perfectly still for a solid 2 minutes until he flips upside down again. This makes me question something. 

"May I see your gear?" I ask Eren.

He nods, trying to hide how flustered he is. As I inspect his ODM gear, I see it as a perfect learning opportunity. 

"Attention!" I yell. "I want every single one of you to inspect this unit and tell me or Captain Keith what is wrong with it," I hand it off to Jean. 

"Do you want me to tell you now or wait until everyone has seen it?" Jean asks.

"Wait."

The gear gets passed around to every last cadet and finally I tell them to explain to us what is wrong with it. 

"Yes, and since we know this is a key factor in keeping your balance while using the ODM gear, that means Eren  balanced without this component. I'd say he has worked hard enough. Let's see how he does with good gear," I say. "Jean, can I borrow your gear please?" 

 "Uh sure," he takes it off and hands it to me. 

I give it to Eren and he starts to free hang. He does it perfectly, without struggle. 

"I was right," I look over at Keith who seems to be irritated that I noticed the flaw before him.

Keith dismisses the cadets and walks away rather grumpily. I take the damaged gear with me as I head to meet Levi and Hange.

"Take a look at this," I place it on the table in front of them. 

"It's damaged," Hange says.

"Why?" Levi asks. 

"Eren Jaeger balanced for a solid 2 minutes without this piece. More importantly, this gear was tampered with, this isn't a manufacturing flaw," I say.

"Who would have done this?" Levi looks at me. 

"I bet it was the Jean kid," Hange says as they push up their glasses.

"No, I don't think so. This was to get him to fail. Someone is targeting him but I'm not sure who or why or even if it's malicious. I'll inform my squad to keep an eye on the cadets." I sit next to Levi.

He rests his hand on mine as the three of us talk about our days, more Hange and I than Levi, but he's peacefully listening. After Hange is done with their dinner, they excuse themselves and I'm left alone with Levi. I lean my head against his shoulder and close my eyes. 

"Hey, no falling asleep at the table," he nudges me. 

"I'm not, don't worry. I still have to take a bath," I lift my head to look at him.

He starts to lean closer to me and just has his face was close enough to touch mine, Keith walks in with a huff. Both Levi and I sigh and see what Keith is going to complain about. Probably me.

"How could you tell the kid's gear was defective?" He sounded angry.

"How couldn't you? He balanced perfectly well on the beams, but then he flops the free hanging tests? Not likely. Someone tampered with his gear," I point to the damaged component.

"Don't get smart with me Erhart. I've been in the military for far longer than you, I've seen things you can't even imagine. I've seen thousands of units that look exactly like this one," he slams his hand on the table.

Levi tenses beside me, but I squeeze his hand to let him know I'm fine. I narrow my eyes at Keith.

"I suggest you take your tone down several notches, Captain. You may have been here longer," I stand. "but I outrank you in skill easily."

"Are you threatening me Erhart?" 

"It's Captain Erhart. No, there is no threat, however, if you feel there is one, that's on you." I can hear my heartbeat in my head.

"I think you set all this up so you can look better to the Commander, so he'll give you a bigger squad to get killed." 

I feel my head get hot and I clench my teeth. 

"I will not say it again, Captain," I glare at him, "I suggest you tone it down."

Levi stands with me. "Break it up you two."

Keith scoffs and storms out of the room. My heart is pounding in my head and the edges of my vision are fuzzy. Levi takes my hand and we start walking around the building. After a few moments, my heart slows to the usual pace and my vision is much clearer. My chest, however, feels heavy. 

"Are you okay?" Levi stops at the railing we were at the other night.

"I'm much better now," I say as my eyes start to get cloudy.

I don't realize it until its too late, but I'm crying. Levi pulls me into his chest and pets my hair. He doesn't say anything, he just lets me cry. I've never cried in front of him before. He must think I'm a mess. 

After I settle, he makes me look at him. His eyes are soft and gentle. He wipes my cheeks with his thumbs. "Better?" he asks quietly. 

I nod. He gives me a small smile and leans closer to me, but he pauses right before he reaches my lips. I fill the space and press mine against his. He wraps his arms around me and smiles, a real smile. They're very rare from him. We sit between the railing, out feet dangling over the edge and our hands intertwined. I still feel myself smiling. Seeing him leave for Wall Maria is going to be a different kind of pain that I haven't felt yet.