The Royal Decree (Erwin x Levi)

chapter 6

The Survey Corps was in a state of disarray. The last couple of weeks had been spent planning weddings and baby showers instead of scouting formations, and that had definitely taken a toll on their readiness for the next mission. In fact, it had not been Erwin who'd initiated the launch, but the capital that had prompted the Commander to start moving. When the letter had arrived, the wall had taken a punch courtesy of Levi, and Erwin had sighed apologetically when announcing his so-called decision to the soldiers. In reality, it had not even been his.

It was time to move, just one day after Hanji and Mike's unfortunate wedding to each other. The two had decided to take the easy way out, like Levi and Erwin had, and had come to grudging agreement under the strict condition not to touch each other for as long as possible, or as long as the government let them get away with not bringing children into existence to "expand the glory of the human race." The newlyweds wished each other luck amicably as they made their separate ways to their squads, and Levi watched them with an uneasy feeling growing in his chest. He wished he could be like that with Erwin: friendly yet distant. Instead, the two were distant, all right, but in a very unpleasant way that made both of them squirm.

He had been assigned to ride right behind Commander Erwin with his squad in tow, which now included the inseparable trio from Shiganshina and Horseface. The amount of teenage hormones per square centimeter made him want to pull out his own hair, as he watched Eren and Jean try to look at each other all the while avoiding direct eye contact. He wanted to knock their foreheads together and make the two realize they were smitten and get married already if only to eliminate the two things that hung over his head like Damocles' sword: the repercussions Kitschtein would suffer if he failed to follow the marriage law and Eren's astonishing ineptitude at concealing his frustration which resulted in spontaneous Titan-shifting and property damage.

They charged out of the gates with less enthusiasm than ever. As the long-distance scouting formation dispersed over the fields and headed towards the forest of giant trees, Levi could vaguely discern the outline of his husband's proud back in front of him. He watched the cape of his Commander swish in front of him and felt the weight of the bonding bracelet on his wrist every time his horse's hooves hit the ground. After their dinner with the King, they had gained a better understanding of what the other wanted: Erwin just needed time to achieve his political goals, and Levi just needed to be left alone. However, the deadline was fast approaching for the two of them, and they were nowhere near close to even beginning to execute any semblance of a coherent plan. Soon, Erwin would have to impregnate his spouse, and Levi would be forced to withdraw from the vanguard, staying back at the headquarters and nursing his swollen feet and belly. The two avoided talking about it, as they knew it was a sore topic. The Titan in the room was growing bigger and stronger each day.

Levi was forced out of his reverie when someone to his left called out that there had been a sighting towards the edge of the formation. A smoke signal went off within a moment, and they carried on riding until Erwin indicated a slight turn towards the right.

They had ridden for another half hour before black smoke erupted right behind them, and Levi cursed. An Aberrant was hot on their heels, and they were still miles away from the forest. The horses were already getting tired, and there was no possibility of stopping until they reached Maneuver Gear-friendly terrain. He could already hear the heavy stomping of Titan feet approaching them, and he placed his finger on the trigger, ready to jump off and grapple himself to the Titan's neck. It was a very risky move, but if anyone were able to pull it off, he was. A second before he had to make his decision, he heard the Titan topple to the ground and looked back to see three other soldiers tackle it and sever the nape of its neck. He turned to glance at his squad: Eren was already putting down his hand, which had been raised to his mouth, a hard look playing on his face.