"[f/n] is one of the greatest soldiers I've ever seen..!" Eren declared, momentarily wrapping his arm around your shoulders. "Nothing can stop her!"

Now safe behind the walls, your little group was having a small get-together in the base mess hall to celebrate the return from a successful expedition; Rest of the trip went as planned and without too many casualties, which was enough of a reason for celebration. And, as a plus, if nothing else good came out of your near-to-death battle with two abnormals, at least Levi seemed to trust you a bit more out there on the field.

"Like I said, I just got lucky―" You sneered into your drink before taking a sip. "But, if there's any advice I can give you, it is to expect the unexpected… and never let your guard down. It would've been quite an anticlimax to get crushed by a crumbling watchtower instead of a titan."

"And who was that again who saved you from such a fate?" Connie grinned, giving you a poke below the ribs in a teasing manner.

"Captain." You slightly furrowed your brow as you replied to his question. "You were there. Why you-"

"No, not captain..!" Connie groaned, seemingly unpleased with your answer. "Let me ask it this way; Who brought Captain out there to save your ass?" A smug grin spread onto his face as he repeated the question in a bit different form this time.

"You're quite egotistical little brat, you knew that?" You shot a miffed look at your friend, but couldn't keep your act up for long and broke out giggling. Everyone else were laughing too― Everyone except Mikasa, who was quietly glaring at you across the table. Starting to feel slightly uncomfortable, you slipped away from the crowd and approached Krista and Ymir who were together as usually.

"What's up, hero?" Ymir greeted you in her usual haughty demeanor. "Looking troubled, I see."

"Well… yeah." Not even bothering to deny it, you chose to seek an advice instead. "I don't know if you've noticed it, but Mikasa keeps staring at me. Or at least I feel like she is, maybe it's just my imagination-"

"We're not blind!" Ymir scoffed. "Of course we've seen the way she glares at you."

"Ymir! Manners, please..!" Krista scowled at her friend, but she acted as if she didn't even notice it.

"Are you too dumb to notice how Eren is always clinging onto you? He's your number one fan, how cute~!" Brunette continued her condescending blabbering. "And secretly hopes to be more than that, I bet!" She added in more mischievous tone.

"What Ymir is trying to say, is that Mikasa might be a bit… jealous, I guess?" Krista tried to clear up her friend's words to you as you just stood there mouth open and dumbfounded.

"Jealous? Of me?" You furrowed your brow. "Why in the world?"

"Pfft, she really is dumber than she looks." Ymir rolled her eyes, but you were too focused on what Krista was about to say to even notice it.

"Well… You know how she is with Eren, right?" Krista smiled sheepishly. "And he does like you, a lot… not necessarily in a way Ymir thinks he does, but still."

"Not necessarily?" Ymir scoffed again. "Wanna bet on it?"

Now even more confused than before, you were about to head back and join the others when you noticed a raven haired man entering the room― Not too much of a people person, Levi lingered by the doorway, not-so-politely turning down the offer to join the merry bunch when Jean in his drunken courage asked him to take shots with them.

"Didn't expect to see you here..!" You gave Levi a smile as you walked up to him. "But if you want to actually enjoy the party, I'd suggest you to stop lingering in the doorway and come on in." You added with a wink, not even trying to hide the mischievous tone of your voice. "Sit down and have a drink, geez~!"

"And what makes you think I want to join to this…" He spoke in a bored tone as he scanned the room, pausing for a second when he saw Connie, who was trying to fit as many wine bottle corks into his mouth as possible because of the silly bet he had with Jean. "...this… party..?" Levi drawled, simply too baffled to take his eyes from the unpleasant sight of the cork-mouth Connie.

"Uh… If that's not the case, why you're here then?" You furrowed your brow in confusion. Slowly turning his gaze back to you, Levi opened his mouth to answer, but you could already tell what he was about to say. "You don't need a reason. Of course." You answered to your own question a stoic look on your face. "But, since you're here… a drink or two?" You suggested cautiously. Levi didn't look too excited about the idea, but you were persistent― Even though he didn't want to admit it, he must've come there for a reason. "Aw come on..! Don't be such a party-pooper!" Not giving him a chance to refuse, you grabbed onto his arm and marched back into the room, dragging the quietly grumbling regiment captain in there with you. Taken by a surprise by your bold actions, Levi didn't protest― Deciding it was better not to shove him middle of the craziest party-group, you led him to the quiet corner table instead. Only after sitting him down and plopping onto the seat across from him, you noticed that his cheeks were even so slightly flushed. Was it from embarrassment or purely out of discomfort, you didn't know.

"Alright, fine." Levi muttered under his breath, finally submitting to his fate as he watched you pour both of you a drink. "I guess there's a reason to celebrate, so why not?"

"Exactly." You smirked when Levi seemed to relax a bit, taking off his jacket and placing it on the back of his chair― You could even swear you saw his lips curl into a slight smile when he accepted the drink. Your joining to the scout regiment caused quite a bit more drama than expected, but things were slowly and surely returning to normal. Even though you still felt a sting in your heart when thinking back to the things he had said back then, it was time to forget and forgive; Even though you didn't want to admit it, you had missed him… a lot. "If I want things to return to normal between us, this is one step to the right direction." You thought to yourself, giving him a slightly teasing look as you raised your glass. "So, do we have a reason for a toast? Or are we just getting wasted?" You asked, flashing him another impish smirk.

"We can always do both." Levi replied to your witty remark. "For a successful expedition― and the fact that even an idiot like you made it back alive." He stated as he raised his glass.

"Oh geez, thanks. I feel so honored..!" You gave him a stoic look before taking a long gulp of your drink― even a bit too long, making it hard not to wince at the taste of the hard liquor. Levi chuckled a bit at your reaction, taking a sip of his drink as well.

"But honestly, though… you did well out there." He added after a short moment of silence.

"Well that sounds better..!" You smirked, handing your glass to him for a refill. "How about if you'll pour me another one and tell me more?"

Even though you were supposed to have only one or two drinks, you ended up finishing the whole bottle with Levi. Captain Levi indeed became more chatty and more approachable when he had a few drinks― He didn't even seem to mind when Eren and Jean joined to your company (Connie, instead, had called it a night after the shock of almost choking into one of the bottle corks). Even though you considered Eren as one of your closest friends in the scout regiment, you couldn't help but to feel slightly uncomfortable when he sat right next to you on the bench. Maybe it was just your imagination playing tricks on you, but you felt like he was sitting closer than normally he would.

"Damn Ymir..! Why she has to be such a lousy-mouth?!" You secretly scowled at her direction, trying your best to act as if nothing was wrong. "Now I can't help but to feel like everything Eren does has something to do with him possibly being interested in me!" On top of it all, you caught Mikasa glaring at you again from the another side of the room. The whole thing was getting ridiculous!

"What do you mean I'm speaking incom… incomprh…" Jean's loud gabble snapped you back to the reality.

"Incomprehensibly?" Eren repeated, not too convinced of his friend's performance.

"Whatever! I'll drink all of you under the table, just saying..!" Jean stated confidently, giving all of you a meaningful look to tell you the challenge was on.

"Alright, alright..! I believe you..!" You chuckled at his drunken act. Instinctively glancing at Levi, for your surprise you found him staring at the person next to you― Back in his usual stolid and severe act, Levi didn't take his eyes from Eren for a good minute, not breaking off the stare even after his target noticed this. When Eren answered the glare with a similar scowl, the atmosphere was quickly growing tense; Thankfully Jean, who didn't even notice the exchange of glares, just then realized that your table was running out of booze.

"I'll go get a few bottles more..!" You volunteered. Honestly, though, you just wanted out of the tensed up situation and clear up your head a bit. But, what you didn't expect, was Eren offering to accompany you.

"If you want some company, I'll gladly join you." He said, not even waiting for an answer before standing up. "The food storage room is such a murky place that-"

"We'll be fine, thank you very much."

You almost squealed in surprise when you felt someone grab a firm hold of your arm― Being so focused on trying to make up an excuse to turn down Eren's offer, you hadn't even noticed Levi get up from his seat. Leaving the flustered Eren at the table with Jean, Levi marched out of the room, tugging you after him in such a vigorous manner that you almost tripped over your own feet.

"I- I can go by myself―" You managed to blurt out after recovering from your bafflement, still struggling to keep up with his haste walking pace― Being more or less intoxicated didn't make it any easier, only the opposite. "It's no trouble, not at all..! And- Uh… Isn't the kitchen in the other direction?"