(Sal is my friend's OC)
It had been a tough day of training today and all that Sal wanted to do was sleep. But his stomach had other plans. He walked slowly with Jason towards the Mess Hall in the Headquarters. Sal was okay with going in but it was talking to people that was the problem. There was a table for Levi Squad, one for the Commanders and Captains and other Squad Leaders, and others for cadets. He wasn't a big fan of socializing. Jason parted ways with Sal to talk to Mike. "Hey, I'll be over in a minute." Sal nodded his head and watched Jason walk towards Mike. Sal breathed in and out slowly and softly, tugging on his hair softly. He looked around, trying to find a place to sit. Jason finished his conversation with Mike and headed towards the Levi Squad table. Sal continued to look around, tugging on his hair and started to walk around the Mess Hall, observing everything. "Hey, Sal!" Jason waved, signaling slate haired boy to come over. Sal broke out of his trance and looked over at who said his name. It was Jason, waving him over. He swallowed nervously and slowly walked over to him. He shyly sat down next to Jason. Levi observed all of this and sighed. "Looks like that cadet is still having trouble talking to people." He told Erwin. Erwin smiled. "Just like you when you first joined Levi." Levi scoffed. "Shut up Eyebrows." He insulted, taking a sip of his tea. "Anyways, what should we do about him? He seems jittery around people. Hell, he doesn't even talk to us. The only one he's really spoken to was Jason, Four Eyes, and Jaeger." "Pairing him up with someone different each day for cleaning or training. That's what I do for the new cadets in my squad." Mike suggested. Levi thought about it. That could help him. "Alright. I'll assign someone else as his partner in cleaning tomorrow. Maybe he'll open up." He stated.
✨THE NEXT DAY✨
Sal arrived outside after breakfast. They were to clean the headquarters today. At least they would get a break from training. He stood next to Eren, holding his hand like how he always does whenever he was near him. Jason stood next to Oluo as per usual. He was tired and desperately needed coffee. Sal softly giggled at the sight of sleepy Jason. Just then, Levi approached his squad. Everyone saluted as he began to talk, "Alright brats. We'll be cleaning the whole Headquarters today, top to bottom. You know the drill. But this time you'll have different cleaning partners." Jason yawned. Confused. "Captain, if you don't mind me asking.. why are we changing partners?"Levi shrugged. "Me, Erwin and Mike talked about this last night. We think it'll be good for everyone to get to know their squad members." Sal nervously gripped Eren's hand. Jason noticed Sal worried look. "Hey kid, you'll be alright. Hopefully you get Petra she's the easiest person to talk to." Sal smiled softly and nodded. "Thanks Jason." He said softly. Jason was the first and only person in Levi Squad who talked to him. Hopefully he will get Petra. From what Jason told him, she's the easiest to talk to. "Alright. Here are the pairs. Jason and Jaeger, Oluo and Petra, And Gunter and Eld." Jason mumbled a curse. Not that he had anything against Eren. Eren knew Jason was kinda jealous of Petra because Oluo flirted with her. "Alright, Jason and Jaeger, you do the first floor. Petra and Oluo, you do the second floor. Eld and Gunther, you're doing the outside." Jason nods and walks over to Eren. "Hey, is it just me or is something off?" Eren nodded. "I felt so too. You don't think Captain Levi is punishing Sal, don't you?" He asked "No. He has no reason to. Unless it's about his socializing with the others. He only talks to us and Hange." Jason said worried. Eren nodded. "Yeah I've noticed. I don't blame Sal for being scared to socialize. He's not good at making friends. He never really was." He said before he made an angry frown. "The bullying didn't help him." He growled. "Yeah. I figured he was bullied or something. He'll be ok right?" Eren sighed. "As long as Captain Levi doesn't yell at him, threaten him, or anything that could trigger his anxiety, he'll be alright. If Captain Levi does any of those things, Sal's anxiety will get to him and there's a high chance he'll have a panic attack. But as long as Captain Levi is easy on him, he'll be okay." "Now let's get to work." Eren nodded and followed Jason inside to clean the first floor. Meanwhile, Sal watched his comrades start working. He breathed in and out softly and played with the sleeves of his jacket. Levi glanced over at the cadet. "Oi brat. I've noticed you have trouble socializing. I want to help you." Sal gasped softly at Levi's sudden words. He turned his head towards the Captain, his long slate colored hair swishing from the head turn. 'He wants to help me?' He thought to himself. "Y-you do Captain?" He asked shyly. "Yes. I used to be like you. I didn't have many friends but I started to open up a bit and well I'm a Captain now." Sal was surprised that the Captain Levi was incredibly introverted like he was. Considering that Levi was always so upfront and very blunt. "Wow. Really? I..... never knew that." He said softly. 'Of course you never knew that, he never told you! Stupid idiot!' He scolded himself as he tugged on his hair again. "I'll give you a fair warning. Oluo is the hardest person to talk to. Petra is the easiest person to talk to. Jason has a crush on Oluo and Oluo has a crush on Petra." Sal gasped softly. "Wow. A love triangle. Don't see one everyday." He said softly, playing his hair again. "Yeah it's gross. Oluo doesn't grasp the fact Petra don't like him and Jason should have realize that Oluo is not gay." Sal sighed softly and played with his hair again. "Jason's heart will be broken if he heard you say that Captain." He said softly, looking down, tugging on his hair. Levi sighs "I know but he needs to hear it. Him and Oluo are close. Really close and I don't want to one of my squad members hurt because they get rejected" Sal gasped softly. 'People say that Captain Levi is heartless and doesn't care about people. But he cares about Jason's feelings being hurt?' He thought to himself. Sal smiled softly. "That's... very sweet of you to think about Jason like that." He said shyly. "Tch, I care about my squad members equally. I've seen too many members of my get hurt." Sal looked at Levi shyly and sighed softly. "That's good. Majority of the cadets outside your squad think you're an emotionless jerk." He revealed shyly. "Like I care what they think." Sal's eyes widened. He wasn't expecting Levi to be like that, but then again, being blunt was his thing. He sighed. "Wish I had your way of thinking." He admitted softly. "That's exactly why I'm helping you." Sal sighed and nodded. He did need help. "Okay. I'll.... I'll do my best, Captain." He said shyly. "Good. Now we'll start cleaning the stables." Sal nodded. "Yes Captain." He said and followed Levi to the stables. All he could think about now was that the Captain was going out of his way to help him. He blushed lightly at the thought. Jason and Eren found Levi. "Captain! We finished the first floor." Sal let out a sigh of relief to see Jason and Eren. Levi nodded. "I'll check your work. Show our shy brat how to clean the stables. I want it spotless." He ordered as he walked towards Headquarters. "You got it!" Jason showed Sal how to clean the stables. He's cleaned it for sometime with Oluo during his first year. Sal picked up cleaning the stables quickly, considering it was just cleaning up the ground with a shovel or rake. Once he finished his section, he noticed a horse nuzzling its snout against his arm. He looked at the horse. It's fur and mane was a beautiful black. He placed his hand on its snout and started to pet it. "Ahh... it seems Levi's horse really likes you." Jason chuckled. Sal gasped. "This is Levi's horse? They're beautiful." He said in awe, petting the horse's snout some more. "Yeah. She doesn't warm up to people this quickly." Jason said. Sal hummed and nuzzle his face against her snout. "I'm glad to see that animals aren't scared of my face." He said before frowning. "Unlike most humans." He added sadly. "The squad isn't scared of you. You just have to warm up to them. You'll warm up to the Captain and Petra really quickly." Jason encouraged Sal "Thank you Jason." He said before smiling. Levi walked in on the sweet moment. "What's going on?" He asked, noticing Jason and Sal talking and Sal's cheek nuzzled on his horse's snout. "Your horse has taken a liking to Sal." Jason told the Captain. Jason went over to his own horse. A beautiful black Bay. "Here Sal. This is my horse. Midnight." Sal gasped softly and jogged excitedly towards Midnight. Stopping in front of the horse. "Hi Midnight. You have a great person as your rider, did you know that?" He softly asked the horse, talking to it like it could reply back before petting Midnight's mane. Levi was honestly surprised to see that his horse took a liking to their newest cadet. She was only really nice to him. She only started liking Jason a while into his first year. Sal was the first to be accepted instantly by her. The horse responded by nuzzling Sal. "She likes it when you talk to her. I do it if I'm upset." Jason said. Sal giggled softly and nuzzled Midnight back. "I like you too Midnight." He said, smiling. Eren had to stop himself from freaking out at how cute Sal was being, not wanting to make a scene. "You can come talk to her anytime you want. Just let me know." Jason smiled. Levi checked the whole stables and hummed. "Hmm. Pretty good. You taught the brat well Jason." He stated. Jason smilies. "What about the first floor?" "You two did well. As always. Good job Jason and Eren. You two the the rest of the day off. Sal I'll show you how a properly cleaned room looks." Sal smiled and nodded before following Levi. Jason looks at Eren. "I'm going to check on Oluo and Petra." Eren nodded before giggling. "Okay, be careful." He joked. "I will." Jason responded Eren chuckled before he watched Jason walk towards Headquarters to the second floor to check on Oluo and Petra. Jason saw Petra scolding Oluo and sighed. "Oluo. What did you do?" "I didn't do anything." Oluo argued. "We were arguing about if we done with the second floor. Where's Captain Levi?" Petra asked. "I think he's checking Eld and Gunther's cleaning. Oluo sighed. "Guess we have to wait. And Petra thought I was flirting with her." "Come on, old man, you were. I'll get Captain Levi." She said before walking downstairs. "He also has Sal with him so be nice." Jason looks at Oluo. "Yes. I'm talking about you Oluo." Petra nodded hesitantly before walking outside, still confused and mildly annoyed about what made Sal so precious. Oluo rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah. Be nice to him. Whatever." He said, annoyed. Oluo wasn't a big fan of Sal, mainly because of his display at the Eren's court hearing. "Oluo, I'm serious. The poor kid is scared about interacting with people." The look in Jason's eyes was cold and serious. He means business. Oluo flinched a bit at Jason's cold and serious tone but didn't back down. "I can see why." He stated before leaving the room to get Captain Levi. "Considering his appearance." He added. Luckily, Sal didn't hear what Oluo said about him since he was outside with Captain Levi who was talking to Eld, Gunther and Petra. But he saw Oluo approach them, he grew nervous. Sal picked up on the fact that Oluo didn't approve of him, but didn't know why. He hugged himself, another coping mechanism for him. Jason was right behind Oluo to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid to upset Sal. Eren saw everyone huddled up outside and walked over before standing next to Jason. "How's Sal?" He asked quietly. "He's over there hugging himself. He seems nervous. You should go talk to him." Jason responds. Eren nodded before walking over to his nervous best friend. Sal saw Eren walk over to him and felt a wave of relief wash over him. He always felt safe around Eren. "Hey. Are you alright Sal?" Sal walked over to Eren and wrapped his arms around Eren's waist and buried his face into his chest. "Oluo's here. Am I safe?" He asked softly. "You're fine. If he makes any comments I'm sure Jason, Petra, or the Captain will handle it." Sal nodded and kept his hold on Eren, feeling safer that way. Meanwhile, Levi was telling his squad that they did well with cleaning and that they move on to some training. Jason walked to the training grounds and noticed something unusual. "Hange? What are you doing here?" Hange walked over to Jason. "Hey Jason. I just wanted to check on our soft boy Sal. How is he?" They asked. Hange was always worried about Sal. The moment they saw him, they knew they had to keep him close. "He's with Eren. He's nervous about Oluo. Come inside." Jason walked back inside. "Captain! Squad leader Hange is here!" Jason shouted from the entrance to let Levi know. Levi scoffed. "Damn Four Eyes. Alright. Be there in a minute." He said and turned to his squad. "Behave yourselves." He ordered before walking over to Jason and Hange. Hange greeted him. "Hello Levi. I'm here because I want want talk about our newest cadet. "Jason left to go back to the squad. "I'll keep an eye on them." Jason whispered to Levi. Levi nodded before letting Jason walk over to his squad. He trusted him. Hange watched as well before turning their attention back to Levi. "I just have some questions about him." "Then I'll get into some other stuff." Levi sighed. "Fine." He somewhat curious of what Hange was doing. "Okay. What was he like when he first met you and your squad mates?" Hange asked. "He's kinda meeting them now. He didn't interact with them at all except for Jeager and Jason." Jason stands next to Sal. Petra has just introduced herself to him. Sal waved shyly at Petra. Hange nodded. "Okay. Have you noticed any mannerisms or little actions that he does a lot?" "Yes. I know he's nervous and has anxiety. He reminds me of how I used to be when I first joined. I took him in to help him become more social." Hange nodded. "That's great. Does he have any habits? Anything you've noticed him doing a lot?" "He ether plays with his hair or tugs on his sleeves."Hange nodded before taking notes. "Okay. How about the way he talks? Notice anything about his manner of speaking?" "He stutterers when he's nervous." Hange nodded once more. "Alright. How does he interact with you?" "Are there certain emotions he gives off when interacting with you?" "He seems fine. Just nervous but that's with anyone." "Does he seem scared or nervous around you? Like he's afraid to slip up or say something wrong around you?" "I don't know." Hange nodded. "That's okay. Is he insecure about anything?" "Yeah. About his appearance."Hange nodded. "Alright. Based on what you told me, I can conclude that Sal suffers from anxiety, like you said, and there's a possibility that he suffers PTSD." "I agree." Hange nodded. "Glad that you're noticing these signs since from what I hear from Jason and Eren, it's pretty bad." "Your correct Hange." Suddenly Levi heard a commotion from the main area. "Oluo! Why the hell did you say that!?" Jason was beyond furious. He was seething. If looks could kill Oluo would most certainly be dead. Sal hugging himself, shaking, and hyperventilating. Eren was also yelling at Oluo. "What the hell you bastard?! How dare you insult him like that!" Hange ran over with Levi. "What's going on?!" She exclaimed before gasping at the sight of Sal, shaking and hyperventilating. Jason pushed Oluo against the wall. "I can't believe you!" Jason let go and started walking. "To think I ever loved a guy like you." He made his way over to Sal. "Want to go talk to Midnight while Eren and the others handle this?" Jason had tears in his eyes. Sal saw Jason crying and nodded slowly. "Please." He said softly. Levi saw Jason leaving with Sal. "Now can someone tell me what the hell happened here!?" Eren was the first to speak. "Oluo insulted Sal." He growled. Levi looks at Oluo and then the others in confirmation. Everyone except Oluo nodded. "Continue Eren." Eren nodded. "We were just talking then it got to talking about each other and Oluo insulted......Oluo came at him about his appearance." He explained, hesitant because even talking about Sal's stitch scars made him sad because he thought Sal looked cute with his scars. Jason and Sal greeted Midnight. "Hey girl. Want to help us feel better?" Midnight sensed that the two were upset and rubbed her head against them. Sal giggled and nuzzled his face into Midnight's snout. "Thank you Midnight." He said softly. Eren explained to Levi that they were talking before they started to talk about themselves. When Sal tried to tell a story, Oluo started laughing and pointed out his stitch scars. Then he insulted him saying how he got into Levi Squad with his looks, personality and what he did at Eren's court hearing. Long story short, a Military Officer was about to shoot Eren but Sal jumped in and pushed the gun away so the bullet wouldn't pierce Eren. Then the officer fought back by pushing Sal but it also reopened the stitch scar that ran across his cheeks and nose. Levi glares at Oluo. He was so mad, no words came out. Eren was concerned that Levi didn't say anything. 'Is he so angry that he can't say anything? That's a new level of anger.' He thought to himself. Oluo didn't realize what he said until he repeated what Jason said. 'To think I ever loved a man like you.' 'Jason.... loved me?' He thought to himself. Levi finally spoke. "Oluo! Cleaning duty for a whole month! And you'll be paired with Jason for a week!" Oluo was shocked. Sure, a week of cleaning the whole castle was a punishment for sure, but a month?! That was torture! And to be paired with Jason?! He won't even look at his direction! He opened his mouth to protest but quickly shut it, knowing he can't win against Captain Levi. Once his mind is made up, it's difficult to change it. "Oh and you start tomorrow!" Levi left to tell Jason. Oluo growled angrily before he cursed out Eren and stomped off. Eren rolled his eyes and followed Captain Levi, so he can check on Sal. Levi saw Jason and Sal talking to Midnight. "Jason. Oluo has a month of cleaning duty. You're with him for a week. He heard what you said about liking him. You two need to talk about it. I know you don't have to talk if you don't want to. I'm not forcing you to talk to him." Sal noticed that Jason clenched his fists at the news but decided not to say anything. "C-captain?" "You what!!!!" Jason was mad. "I don't even want to see his stupid face!!"Sal flinched at Jason's outburst. "Maybe you could talk to him Jason. It's good to talk about things, especially about serious stuff like what just happened. Who knows what might be going through his head. You don't have to talk now. But if you don't talk about it soon, that'll make things worse and you'll regret it later. Please consider talking to him." Sal softly. Oluo heard everything said and couldn't believe it. He was sad because of Jason's words but also surprised that Sal said those words. "Ha! Sal listen, it's not that easy. I currently hate his guts. As much as I hate hating him. He deserves it." Sal sighed softly. He can't force Jason to do it. "Okay, but please consider it. Captain, how will training go for the next week and is there anything you need help with?" He asked Levi. Oluo felt his heart sink to his stomach at Jason's words. 'Jason has every right to hate me.' He thought to himself. Jason felt tears in his eyes. "But that doesn't mean I don't still love him. I do. I really do but..." Jason couldn't take it and started crying. "He hurt you." Sal went over to Jason and wrapped his arms around Jason's shoulders and placed a kiss on his cheek. "I know. He did hurt me. But.... to be honest. I'm use to it now. Sure, it triggers my anxiety, but I have safe ways of coping. Like you or Eren hugging me. That really helps me. But still, I'm use to it. I've been called worse things. But it still did hurt. But now, I chose to ignore it. He's still our comrade. He may be a cocky jerk but we should still care about him, because he's our comrade." Sal said truthfully. Jason kept crying. He ended up getting too upset and his emotions got the best of him. Sal kept hugging Jason tightly and it wasn't long before Eren joined in on the hug, wrapping his arms around his two friends/comrades. Oluo heard everything that Sal and Jason said and now he really regrets what he said. Sure, he still didn't trust Sal but what he said to him was going a bit too far. He wanted to talk to Jason but he was too ashamed to face him at that moment. Jason sighed. "I'll have to talk to him eventually. I'll talk to him tomorrow." Jason hung his head. Sal nodded and gave Jason another cheek kiss. "Okay. Whatever pleases you." He said softly. Eren nodded. "Yeah. You do you Jason." He said before he ruffled Jason's hair. "Hey don't mess up my hair kid. That's my job." Jason chuckled. Eren chuckled and backed off. "Call it revenge for how many times you do that to me." He said playfully. Levi smirked and ruffles Jason's hair. "Not you too captain!" Eren and Sal chuckled at the adorable little scene. Levi scoffed playfully. "Shut up Berry Head. You need a laugh. I like you better when you're smart ass flirt." He stated honestly but with a hint of playfulness. Oluo heard the four boys messing around but decided to let it go. Jason said he'll talk to him tomorrow. He'll take that; he'll be able to come up with what he wants to say in that amount of time. Jason yawned. "I'm heading to bed. It's been a long day." Oluo took this cue to run back to his quarters. Sal nodded and gave Jason one more hug. "Good night Jason." He said sweetly and cutely. "Good night Sal, good night Eren, good night Levi." Eren smiled before ruffling Jason's hair again. "Good night Jason." He said playfully. He saluted to Levi, wishing him good night before he turned to l Sal. "Good night Sal." He whispered before he tucked a loose stand of Sal's hair behind his ear and walked off to his quarters in the cellar so Levi could help him, leaving Sal with a light blush on his face, which didn't go unnoticed. Jason's room was next to Oluo's so he had to walk past Oluo. Oluo groaned softly before speed walking away, not anticipating Jason to see him for the rest of the day. "Oluo." Jason called out to him. Oluo stopped in his tracks before looking out of his peripheral vision. "Y-yes?" He said nervously. Sal watched Eren and Levi walk towards the Headquarters and quickly ran after them. "Wait! Captain!" He yelled. Jason ran up to him and hugged him. "I'm sorry. I kinda lost control of my emotions earlier today." Oluo was surprised by Jason's actions but hesitantly hugged Jason back. "No no. I'm the one who should be apologizing. I hurt not only one of our comrades but a friend of yours. I'm truly sorry Jason." He said softly. Jason buried his face in Oluo's chest. Oluo just let Jason do whatever and held him close. "I forgive you." Oluo gasped softly and held Jason tighter, burying his face into Jason's hair. "Thank you.... Jason." He said softly. Sal just finished talking to Captain Levi. He wanted to try to talk and open up to Commander Erwin. Levi allowed it and subtly praised Sal for being mature about the whole incident today, which made the slate haired boy blush. He said good night to his Captain and walked towards his room until he saw Oluo and Jason embracing. He squealed softly; his ship was sailing. While he was a bit upset at first, since he kind of had a crush on Jason but he was okay with this. Jason was happy; that made him happy. He smiled before walking off to his room. Jason let go of Oluo. An idea popped in his head. He quickly kissed Oluo's cheek. "See you tomorrow~" Jason winked before head to his room. Oluo gasped softly and blushed dark red. "Um.... see you tomorrow!" He said dumbly, waving at Jason. Jason smiled and quickly ran back, kissing Oluo on his lips. "Good night Oluo. Love you~"Oluo was once again floored by Jason's actions. "Good night Jason. I love you too... baby." It was Jason's turn to become bright red. He looked like a tomato. He went into his room and screamed excitedly into his pillow. Oluo smirked playfully at Jason's flustered face and walked to his room, his heart beating happily. Jason couldn't help but "fangirl" at what just happened. He couldn't stop giggling. Oluo got to his room and actually smiled and hugged himself happily. Jason loved him! He was so happy. Jason calmed down and went to bed. At around midnight he woke up and went to Oluo's room. Oluo had fallen asleep not too long ago but woke up when he felt the bed indent. He saw it was Jason and smiled softly. He wrapped his arms around his waist and fell back asleep, holding his new boyfriend close.
