Disclaimer: I do not own Attack on Titan.

AN: This is my first fiction. So, bear with me. I'm not 100 percent sure what I'm doing here, but I figured I'd give this a try. I hope you all enjoy and please review!

Kali Smith wiped her brow, leaving a streak of flour across her forehead. She knew that her cousin was going to be returning to the castle any moment with a batch of new recruits. She was sure they would all be starving from their long journey. She was bound and determined to have a feast waiting for them when they returned. It was the least she could do, considering Erwin pulled a lot of strings to let her stay with them. Mostly bragging about her cooking skills. She had become the unofficial cook for the Survey Corps ever since. Only having to put on her 3D gear for the occasional training purpose or easy mission if a higher up requested it. The rest of the time she spent in the kitchen, making meals for her comrades.

Kali put the finishing touches on the sweet bread she was making and stuck it in the oven, when she heard the distant sound of horses. She smiled knowing what that meant. Her cousin and the rest of the soldiers where almost home. She took her apron off and headed for the front door. Just as she opened it, Erwin was descending from his horse, along with the original Corps members. The new recruits hesitant to dismount, as the order had not been given verbally.

Erwin looked over his shoulder at his new members and smirked to himself. He wasn't surprised to see that Levi was the only one to slide of his horse with out even a second thought. "You may dismount."

Kali crossed her arms across her chest as she watched everyone put their horses in a stall as the originals headed towards the castle. Each greeting Kali warmly. Most with hugs. Erwin had the new recruits line up in the yard then walked up to his younger cousin. He couldn't help but chuckle at her appearance. Despite taking off her apron, the girl still had flour across her forehead.

"I hope you didn't go all out for their first meal." Erwin teased and Kali blushed. "They are going to think themselves spoiled."

"I cooked for my returning family Erwin." Kali replied with a sweet smile as she brushed her long, straight, light brown hair over her shoulder. "I can't help the fact that you brought guests. I do hope they are hungry though."

Erwin chuckled and turned to face the new recruits, who where standing patiently for their commander's orders. "This is Kali Smith. She is not an officer in the Survey Corps, but she has been here longer than the rest of my squad and I expect you to treat her with just as much respect as you would me. If I hear any of you have given her anything less than the respect she deserves for feeding your sorry asses, you will have to deal with me."

Kali giggled behind Erwin and shook her head at him. "What he is trying to say, is if your rude to me, I won't feed you and there is nothing he can do about it. Now if your Commander would be so generous to let all of you go, there is a warm meal waiting for you inside. And Sweet bread in the oven."

Kali waved goodbye and headed back into the kitchen. She had made it just in time to get her bread out of the oven with out burning it. She smiled and quickly set the bread aside to cool down. Erwin walked in a few minutes later and reached out for one of the loafs. Kali quickly smacked his hand away.

"Those are for the new ones." Kali said as she handed her cousin a knife and used her another to slice one of the loafs into pieces. Erwin rolled his eyes and started to slice a loaf as well.

"Smacking a superior officer and putting him to work. I should write you up for this." Erwin teased. "Or at least get a slice of your famous sweet bread."

"We both know neither of those things are going to happen." Kali said with a smirk. "Any interesting recruits this time?"

"Yeah, the boy I took out of the Underground." Erwin said with a smirk. Kali had been with him the day they had first spotted Levi. He had amazing skills with the gear they used, easily getting away from the Military police and catching Erwin's eye. A few days later, Erwin went back to the Underground and took the boy to the training camp. Promising a spot in the Survey Corps or a cell in jail. They boy grudgingly took up his offer.

"Then this slice is for him." Kali said putting aside a larger slice of bread. "I'm sure he is in need of a few good meals. Give him the strength he's going to need to put up with you."

"Stay away from him Kali. I mean it." Erwin warned. "He is still rebellious, and I don't trust him not to do something."

"The guy came from the Underground Erwin." Kali said with yet another roll of her eyes. "He's not dangerous. Just misguided. I'm sure he'll come around eventually. You can't expect the poor guy to make it this far because he was an upstanding citizen down there. I'm sure he has done things to make even your skin crawl."

"I mean it Kali." Erwin warned as he took a slice of bread and hurried out of the room before his cousin even had the chance to protest. He knew her mind was now on the new recruit, and the poor boy had no clue what he was getting into. Kali had become the resident mother hen of the Survey Corps. Taking care of each and every soldier that came in through the castle doors. Every once in a while, she babied one of the recruits. It looked like Levi was going to be the one she looked over a bit more than the rest. Erwin was sure the boy was going to resent her for it, but there was no stopping Kali's motherly nature. If she set her mind on something, there was no changing it. He had just gotten himself sat down when Kali walked out with a tray full of sweet bread, and an extra plate full of fruit. She dodged a few hands reaching for the sweet bread and laid it down at the recruit's table. She then walked farther down the table till she stood behind Levi. With out a word she placed the fruit plate down in front of him. She patted his shoulder then walked away. Erwin watched as Levi glared down at the plate. He knew the boy's mouth had to be watering at the sight of it. Down in the Underground, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to have fresh fruit like that. Levi pushed the plate away and got to his feet then turned his icy gray eyes on Erwin.

He had heard his warning about treating Kali with respect. But he didn't like being signaled out. He had a suspicion that Erwin had told the cook about him and she had taken pity on him. Something he wasn't going to stand for. He let his eyes wonder to Erwin's left, where Kali was standing over the mans shoulder. She placed a hand on the man's shoulder to show she wasn't mad if Levi walked away. Her reaction surprised Levi a bit and he wasn't liking it one bit. He wasn't sure who Kali was to Erwin, but it was obvious that the two where close. And if that was the case, he wanted nothing to do with the cook. From that moment on, he decided he was going to dislike her just as much as he disliked Erwin.

Levi took his eyes off the two Smiths and headed out of the ball room, that had been set up as a dining hall. He wasn't even sure where he was going. All he knew was that he wanted to get away from his commanding officer and the cook. He could feel both of them watching him walk away. The thought unnerved him. He still couldn't understand why they had taken such an interest in him.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Later that night Levi found himself back in the ball room when he believed everyone else had gone to bed. He was having a hard time sleeping. That wasn't new for him. Growing up in the Underground, he learned to sleep less and sleep lightly. A skill that had had saved his life on a few occasions.

What surprised him the most, was that Kali was also still awake, busy with scrubbing down the tables. He stood back in the shadows for a bit, but after a while Kali looked up and her blue eyes met his.

"If you are just going to stand there, I'm going to put you to work." Kali said with a sweet smile. "Or sit down, and I'll get you a plate of food. You must still be pretty hungry. I don't think you touched a single thing on your plate before you left."

Levi looked up at the girl and hid his surprise with a well practice emotionless stare. He could feel his stomach growl at the sound of food. But just like the lack of sleep, a lack of food was familiar to him as well. Despite his better judgement, Levi sat down at a table as far from the cook as he could get.

"I promise, I wont bite." Kali said with a laugh. "You're not as skinny as I remember. That's good. You at least ate at training. Is it just my cooking then?"

Levi shrugged. "I don't eat things that I don't know what they are. To easy to slip something in it."

Kali surprised him again as she smiled and sat her rag down on the table she was working on. "Understandable. I'll try to keep my meals simple till you trust me. I still have a couple slices of sweet bread left. I had saved it for Erwin, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"I'm fine." Levi growled at her. "I just came down to get away from my snoring roommate, no one can sleep with that awful noise. I don't need your pity."

Kali nodded, and her smile widened. Levi was finding her smile annoying. It seemed like she was always wearing one. Even when he insulted her. "It's not pity. I take care of the people in my squad. It's part of my job to look out or everyone."

"Who are you?" Levi asked sounding even more annoyed than before.

"Kali Smith. Erwin's cousin." Kali said with a knowing smile on her face. She was sure Erwin had mentioned her to the boy. Mentioning that she was there the day Erwin hand first noticed his skill. Levi gave no hints on her name or relation to Erwin sounding familiar. He just looked at her with that same emotionless expression on his face. With a heavy sigh Kali threw a rag down in front of Levi. "If you aren't willing to eat, at least help me clean these tables. Your fellow recruits are filthy."

Levi rolled his eyes but grabbed the rag any way. He was getting used to being clean and having clean surroundings, and if cleaning meant keeping the place dirt free, he was willing to put in a bit of elbow grease. Even if it meant helping out the cook a bit. They cleaned in silence for about fifteen minutes when Erwin came stumbling into the room. He looked around at the scene in front of him and his eyes landed on Levi.

"Off to bed, that's an order." Erwin almost growled at him. He didn't even wait for Levi to be out of ear shot before Erwin turned his anger on his cousin. "I thought I told you to stay away from him. It's not safe to be alone with him till he can be trusted."

Kali groaned in annoyance. "I'm not defenseless. I did pass in the top ten of my class. I think he was just hungry. Not used to having food whenever he likes. Old habits are hard to break."

"Like bringing him a plate of fruit." Erwin growled at her again. "You aren't doing him, or yourself any favors by babying the boy. You're only going to get yourself into trouble. He isn't used to generous treatment. It could turn bad."

Levi didn't want to hear any more of their conversation. But he couldn't help enjoy knowing that he was a had started a bit of a riff between them. Annoying his commanding officer was becoming a bit of a game with him. But the special treatment Kali was giving him wasn't going to fly either. Erwin was right. Kali was flirting with disaster.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

The next day during the recruits first day of training, Levi was a little shocked to see Kali dressed in training gear as well. The original Corp members seemed to be just as shocked as he was as they chanced a few whispers between themselves. Hoping that Erwin didn't hear them.

"She must have really pissed of Erwin."

"This should be an interesting training."

"What's he thinking, she hasn't been out for over a year."

Levi pretended to ignore the chatter between the seasoned soldiers, but he took in every whisper. Letting the information sink in. From what he gathered, Kali had a close call during a training exercise shortly after joining the Survey Corps and was almost kicked out completely. But Erwin pulled a few strings being the commanders favorite and got Kali a secured spot as the resident cook. On paper the girl was till an active member of the team. Only going out on missions when the risk was low.

"In line Kali." Erwin growled down at her. Kali stiffened but obeyed her cousin any way, stepping in line next to Levi. Erwin glared at her, and she met his icy glare with her own. Even if he was the Commander, she wasn't going to back down from him. He was still her cousin, and she was the only one that could get away with it. But last night, she had pushed him a bit too far by disobeying a direct order to stay away from Levi. And standing next to him in the recruit line was making his blood boil even more than it had before. She knew he couldn't call her out on it right then. It would be to obvious that Levi was the reason for their recent quibble.

"You really think its smart to push him?" A man said from behind Kali. He had been one of the original members. "The last time I saw him glare at you that way, you where sent over the wall. You both almost died that day."

"He should have stayed out of my way that day." Kali said as she finally broke eye contact with her cousin. Levi could see a bit of guilt slide across the Commander's face, obviously remembering what had happened the year before as well. He couldn't help but feel his curiosity peek. What had happened that almost got her kicked out of the Corps and what had happened the year before. Obviously, it was something big if she wasn't allowed over the wall very often. No wonder the woman looked after the group as much as she did. She had nothing better to do with her time. Maybe there was even a bit of guild about not being able to join them in the field. He couldn't help himself but want answers. He opened his mouth to ask but was instantly shot down.

"It's not something I'm willing to discuss with you." Kali seemed to snap over at him. "I'm sure you will hear about it someday. But today is not the day."

"Whatever. I could care less." Levi snapped back. He was almost glad to hear a bit of anger in her voice. From his experience with her the day before, Levi was starting to believe the girl didn't have any other emotion other than happy.

"Levi, Kali, Hange you three are with me. The rest of you are going with Capitan Nor to practice sparing." Erwin ordered. He gave Nor a slight nod an the man ordered the other members of the team to follow him to the open yard. Erwin on the other hand started to lead the three others towards the training woods. He wanted to test Levi's skills. Wondering if training had tainted the raw talent he had seen from him back in the Underground.

"We are breaking down into teams. Levi and Hange, Kali and me." Erwin explained. "It's going to be a bit of a hide and seek training excersise. Hange and Kali are going to into the woods and find a hiding spot. Levi and I will enter five minutes after. We will be looking for the other team. I look for Hange, Levi will be looking for Kali. Who ever finds the opposite player first, will send off a green flare. We will then meet back here and switch positions. Are you ready girls."

Hange replied with a respected 'Yes Sir' while Kali just crossed her arms and looked away from her cousin. She wasn't liking this training one bit. She felt like it was just a way to get Levi to himself for a few minutes.

"Kali?"

"I'm ready Sir." Kali bit out the word sir as if it was the same as punching Erwin in the face. She didn't call him sir very often. And if she did, it was because she was extremely mad at him. He let the word get to him and instead sent the girls into the forest. Hange going in on foot. Kali using her gear, going straight to the trees.

"She will put up a fight." Erwin warned as he glanced over at the shorter man. "Don't underestimate her. But if you hurt her, you are out. No second change. I will send you to jail in a heartbeat."

Levi gave the man a look of boredom. "I'm missing the point of this exercise Sir."

"The point of this exercise is to see if you can be trusted." Erwin said turning on the boy. "To see if you truly have a place here, or if you are just another Underground thug with a waisted talent. I'm warning you, if you lose yourself out there, and hurt my cousin, I will see you executed. She has some sort of blind trust in you and I'm not fond of it."

"Maybe she finds me irresistible." Levi said with a yawn. More for affect than boredom. "Its been more than five minutes Sir."

Erwin glared Levi down, but nodded. Giving the silent go ahead. Both he and Levi took off into the forest. But unlike the girls. Both men took off into the trees. Hoping to get a better view of their surroundings. Levi had a sneaking suspicion that Kali wasn't that far into the woods. Wanting to get a bit of the men's conversation, to make sure her cousin didn't do something stupid. His suspicions turned out to be correct. He no sooner perched on a tree branch when he heard the familiar sound of the 3D gear from above him. He moved slightly out of the way as Kali dropped down next to him. Levi reached for his flare gun when his hand was kicked away from his body. He turned to see the girl in a fighting stance, ready to take the slightly shorter man on in a fist fight. Levi couldn't help but smirk a bit. He was going to enjoy this training exercise more than he expected.

"Its not nice to eaves drop on private conversations." Levi said, and Kali shrugged in response.

"Just making sure my cousin didn't try to kill you." Kali replied. "Your welcome."

She took a swing at him with her left and he easily blocked it. So, she swung with her right. He dodged it, but just in the nick of time. Erwin had been telling the truth. Kali wasn't some one to underestimate. She knew how to fight, and she was good at it.

"So how did you get stuck being a cook?" Levi asked as he pushed her back against the tree. He advanced on her quickly, pinning her up against the tree. He could see a flash of anger flash over her bright blue eyes. It was the only thing she and Erwin had in common. Those bright blue eyes. The rest of her showed no similarities to her cousin. Her hair was light like his, but more of a light brown than blonde. She had light freckles scattered across her cheeks and nose, something Levi would have missed if he hadn't been so close to her. She was even quite a bit shorter than Erwin, only an inch taller than himself. If she hadn't told him they where cousins, he would never had suspected it.

Kali watched as Levi took in her appearance. His gray, emotionless eyes, roaming her face as if he was studying a forbidden book. Trying to get something from her with out having to ask. She took this opportunity to knee him in the gut and push him off of her. He didn't see to fazed by her attack and realized this wasn't going to be an easy fight.

"My first mission out side the wall. A rookie scout leader made a stupid mistake. Only he and I made it out alive. Since he had sent me in first, I took the fall for his mistake. Erwin convinced the Commander at the time that my cooking was worth keeping me around." Kali replied simply waiting for Levi's next attack. But it never came he put his fists down to his side and tilted his head to the side. Taking the girl in one more time.

"The rookie was Erwin wasn't it." Levi asked. He didn't need her to answer out loud. The way she turned her head slightly to avoid eye contact said it all. Erwin had made a mistake and she covered for him. Now the man was leading the whole Survey Corps. "And a year ago?"

Kali glared the man down. He was pushing his luck. But she wanted to prove Erwin wrong. She wanted to prove that the boy could trust them eventually. Lying to him or putting the question off now wasn't worth it. She didn't know why, but she wanted Levi to succeed. She wanted to prove Erwin wrong. "There was an abnormal heading our way. I disobeyed his order to stay back and went to take care of it. Erwin followed. Somehow our tethers got crossed and we slammed into each other. He tried to cut our lines. His broke free. One of mine didn't. I twisted out of the way just in time and was able to kill it. But the body landed on top of him. Pinned his legs. I cut my line. I went to go free him when another came for us. I didn't see it. Damn thing had me in its mouth and was about to chomp down when two other members saved me. He hasn't let me outside the wall since."

"You are his weakness." Levi said already expecting that. It wasn't that Kali was unable to hold her own outside the wall that kept her locked away in the castle as the cook. It was because Erwin couldn't have her in the field and make clear choices. Keeping her safe clouded his judgement. He was keeping her behind, so he could make better judgment calls for the rest of his team. Levi wasn't sure why, but he had found himself respecting the Commander a little more than he ever believed he would. He looked at Kali and nodded. And before she had the chance to react. He lifted his flare gun into the air and shot off a green smoke signal.

"Tricky bastard." Kali said with a playful smile on her face. Erwin was never going to let her live this one down.