The Royal Decree (Erwin x Levi)

Chapter 4

The next morning, Levi woke to see that Erwin had already gone. With a heavy sigh, the newly-wedded Corporal lifted himself out of bed, his legs still a bit sore from the utterly unnatural attempts at dancing they'd made the day before. He glanced at Erwin's side: of course, the idiot would not even try to straighten out the sheets before leaving. Cursing under his breath, more out of habit than annoyance, Levi proceeded to make the bed meticulously, pausing for a split second when his hands found the edge of Erwin's pillow. Even though Erwin was always glad to let Levi clean up the headquarters, the younger man had never set foot inside Erwin's room. For some reason, this felt like a violation of Erwin's privacy. The Corporal shook his head, glancing down at the silver bracelet around his wrist. What’s mine is yours, huh? Then why do I feel more like an unwanted guest than an equal partner?

He turned to the wardrobe and found his things spread out more evenly on the shelves Erwin had provided for him the previous night. It was as if the Commander wanted him to occupy more space. Stubbornly, Levi folded everything back into one corner. He had no need for this, Sina knew, Erwin owned more shirts and pants than any man Levi had ever met. Perhaps it was because his job frequently obliged him to attend various soirees and meetings with the government, or maybe it was because he liked playing dress-up. Either way, Erwin could have his fucking shelves.

Levi took his clothes and made his way to the bathroom. That was one good thing this whole arrangement had resulted in: Erwin’s private bathroom was much bigger than the one Levi had been forced to share with another Squad Leader, despite the fact that he had nearly begged the brass for a separate room. Now he had the luxury of cleaning his teeth in silence and ample space. He could even take a bath: the bathroom he had used before only offered a measly, rickety shower. As he went through his morning ablutions, Levi glanced around the room curiously. Perhaps Erwin owned a lot of clothing, but in terms of cosmetic and medical products, Levi surpassed his by quite a bit. Erwin’s modest collection consisted of a toothbrush, some tooth powder and soap, and some sort of thick, smelly oil whose use Levi really did not want to think about.

He grabbed a piece of bread on his way out, making a mental note to pester Erwin to buy more food for his private quarters, and pulled down the sleeve of his uniform jacket to hide the atrocity on his wrist as he walked swiftly towards the courtyard.

That day he was to drill some new recruits, a delight he’d been given (more like, forced into) by Hanji, who had had the gall to tell him it would be good practice for future parenting. Levi had nearly killed them on the spot right then and there, but agreed to the affair, as it was always a good idea to take a closer look at the forces they had at their disposal.

The new recruits were a pretty miserable bunch. Even though the Survey Corps had grown in popularity and had gained some grudging respect from the citizens of the Walls, this particular group was nothing special to any extent. Levi estimated the second he saw them, that about half would become Titan chow during the next mission. He hated himself for thinking this way, but Levi was a realist, and therefore he had to mentally prepare for the potential loss of more subordinates.

As he strode into the courtyard, back rigid, one of the recruits spotted him and yelled, fancying himself a Keith Shadis of sorts.

"Attention!" The recruits scrambled to get in line, and Levi raised an eyebrow when they started colliding with each other, tripping over each other's feet and landing in heaps onto the ground. How were they even able to master the Maneuvering Gear, again?

“You,” Levi pointed at the Shadis wannabe. “Care to explain what the hell you knob-heads are doing? What is your name?”

“Roger Titius, Corporal Smith, sir.”

Levi blanked for a moment. Fuck, that’s right. I’m Levi Smith now. That was another thing Levi had been reluctant to give up: his name. Granted, the name he'd borne before, Levi Ackerman, had not been his, to begin with, but he'd started to identify with it after he'd joined the Survey Corps. To Levi, that name meant something: countless victories over Titans, countless lives lost, lived that he'd been in charge of. Now his name meant only one thing. He was a trophy wife.