The Turquoise Cure (Eren X Reader)

Chapter 32: The New Squad Levi

    1 week after the last chapter...

    "How can that be possible?" you exclaimed, pounding your fist gently on the wooden table in frustration. A small poof of dust made you groan further, and you reapplied the cloth that you had been scrubbing the table with for what felt like hours. "I don't know," Connie shrugged, staring at the same spot on the table's underside that he'd been polishing for at least twenty minutes, "but I know it was her, it was my mom, and Hange agrees..." He trailed off, resorting back to buffing the table. But how could humans turn into titans? The thought had nagged at you ever since Connie had mentioned it, but, having been so distracted by the thought of rescuing Eren, you hadn't given it much brain space at the time. "I'm sorry, Connie," you said, softening your tone as you tugged the towel out of his hands and began to swat at cobwebs dangling from the corners of the ceiling that were much too high for your reach. "I'll bitch at Eren to get those when he gets back..." you mumbled, but his hand pinching your waist gave you a jolt. 

    "Bitch at me to do what?" he asked, his boyish smirk playing across his face. Ever since you had gotten him back, you hadn't seen that smile all too much recently, so this was a sure treat. You grinned, not hastening to stare into his eyes for a little longer than was likely appropriate, but you didn't care. "Get those cobwebs for me please," you smiled, handing him Connie's sodden towel. "You think this is going to be up to Levi's standards?" he asked, his voice raising several pitches after glancing around the room. "Probably not," you shrugged, pulling open the door as you heard the heavy boots of one of your comrades approaching. 

    "JEAN!" Eren shrieked, shooing him back out from where he came. "What the hell?" Jean asked, his arms full with supplies and firewood, "How else am I supposed to get it? Morph through the walls?" The vein in Eren's head was practically bulging out of his skin. You chuckled and took the firewood from his overflowing hands as they began to slip to the floor, wreaking all the more dust and debris. Eren practically seized. "MIKASA!" he shouted, only two seconds later. You turned to see Mikasa entering, laden down with at least twice as much firewood as Jean and accompanied by a rather crestfallen looking Historia. After the first night in the cabin for Levi's new team, she had told all of you about her past, her childhood, how she was the true heir to the throne, and most importantly, her real name, of which she had taken to being called. "You know you're supposed to be resting," you smirked, watching as Eren paced back and forth, trying to sweep the dirt under the table quickly. "What, like you?" she laughed, but she stopped quickly as her ribs seemed to strain from the effort. Eren screeched again as Sasha emerged from the kitchen, a loaf of bread peeking out of her apron pocket and a flustered Armin chasing her. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" Eren barked as Jean wrenched the loaf from her dress. "Leave me alone!" Sasha yelped, dodging the boys with elite skill and wrenching the loaf back from Jean before sticking it into her mouth. "I found it so I'm-"

    Everyone stopped what they were doing as the door creaked open a last time. Levi's small feet pranced over to where the majority of you were, the new recruits to his team staring impassively. With a swift flick of his finger under the crevice of the table that Connie had been scrubbing, he unearthed a great mound of dust. "You call this shit clean?" Levi grimaced. "Well," you struggled to restrain your laughter, "yeah, kind of."

    The cottage had been a wreck when the new members of Squad Levi had been invited. Naturally, Levi had wanted the place clean. It also had to be rather off the grid, as the capital was getting rather tired of the Survey Corps.' antics, and the government was behaving most peculiarly. It was, however, increasingly difficult to keep the place hidden when Hange was loading Eren down with experiments. She was trying to find a way to make him capable of hardening his skin, like Reiner or Annie so that he could potentially plug the hold in Wall Maria, or replicating the scream that had enabled him to control the titans, but he showed no signs of exhibiting such capacities. In fact, the experiments did nothing more but push him to limits that were far too much for him, and therefore, getting scary for you. As for the last one, his body had been scorching hot, and his face was gauntly impressed with the markings of his titan. He hadn't woken up for almost two days, all the time shaking feverishly and not once regaining consciousness. And still, he was no closer to achieving his hardening abilities.