Dreams

Part 1: Fractured Fairy Tales

It was dark and foggy, and Levi was running through the rain, unable to see more than three feet in front of him. He had to get somewhere, to find someone, it was very important, but that was all he knew. He couldn't remember how he got there or what the situation was exactly, but he had to hurry. 

The fog cleared slightly, though the area that Levi could see only consisted of about fifty square feet. He moved to the center of the area, his pace increasing in speed as he went. He fell to his knees on the muddy ground. Isabel's severed head was there in a pool of blood. 

Levi's breathing became rapid as he heard the sound of a large creature moving. A titan crawling on its hands and knees appeared, its eyes glowing red. Half of Farlan's corpse hunt from the creature's mouth. The monster dropped the dead body and charged towards Levi.

Levi was determined to slay it, but he couldn't move. Try as he might to move, to fight, he couldn't. Anger, pain and desperation mixed together as the titan loomed over him, ready to devour him. The creature open its mouth and...

Levi sat up on his bed in alarm, looking in every direction. He was unpleasantly sweaty and tangled up in the sheets, the pillow laying on the floor next to the bed. He shook his head and took in his surroundings, it was dark, still the middle of the night, he wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight either.

Levi got up and showered, then changed into his uniform and ODM gear. He went to train as he did in sleepless nights lately. If a titan came, he would have to be ready, yet a part of him knew that if he didn't rest properly, he wouldn't be. This had happened too many days in a row and his efforts to practice his skills were no longer making up for the exhaustion that plagued his body and mind.

Unknown to Levi, two angels sat on a cloud above the Survey Corps base, hoping that they wouldn't see him go outside tonight. When they spotted him, their concern grew over the fact that he wasn't getting any sleep lately.

Farlan shook his head in worry, "he'll make himself sick if he keeps working this hard without rest." 

Isabel frowned, "at this rate, big bro is going to die a lonely, cranky old man, if he even survives long enough to get old."

The two angels guessed that Levi was having nightmares again, as he often did in the anniversary of their deaths. When they first became angels, they tried telling Levi they were doing fine at the angel academy and that he didn't need to feel bad about them having been killed by titans, but Levi always disregarded the angelic encounters as mere dreams and only felt worse. 

Realizing they weren't making things easier for Levi, Isabel and Farlan stopped visiting his dreams. Though they missed being able to talk to Levi, at least he seemed to be moving on after a while. Yet as time passed, they noticed that he had not moved on completely, part of him was still reluctant to form attachments, familial or otherwise. 

That night, as they watched Levi practice with his ODM gear just outside the Survey Corps' base, they decided it was time to try a different tactic to help him, they would play matchmaker for Levi. They would pick a sweet girl that they approved of for their brother and send them on dates in his dreams. 

Later, they would guide her to meet him in person, and hopefully Levi would be so accustomed to seeing her in his dreams by then, that he would let down his defenses and allow himself to develop a real liking for her. If he had someone to love, who loved him, then surely that would make him happy and stop the nightmares. That was all Isabel and Farlan really wanted, to watch over their brother and bring him happiness. 

xoxox xox xoxox

The angels' plan went through a series of trials and errors when they tried to theme the dreams with fairy tales. On one such failed attempt at a dream date, Levi suddenly found himself dancing in a ball room, with little context, since Isabel and Farlan had skipped to the romantic part of Cinderella. The clock twelve, the sound of the bells echoed through the land and you got the irresistible urge to run away. Later you would question your dream self's sanity, why would you run away from dancing with a handsome man? Yet in the dream, you were predisposed to follow the story and ran.

"Wait!" Levi wasn't sure why, but he felt he had to follow the unknown young woman he had been dancing with. He dashed after her as she went out of the castle they were in. One of her glass slippers slipped off in her haste just outside at the castle's main entrance. Levi stopped and observed the woman who was getting away. "What are you doing running around outside barefoot? How could you not notice you dropped a shoe? Stop dragging your dress through the ground, do you have any idea how difficult it is to get stains off silk without damaging it?!" 

Farlan and Isabel floated above the scene, shaking their heads. "That was not romantic..." Farlan stated the obvious.

"Big bro, you're supposed to be the prince, not the guy that does her laundry!" Isabel shouted in frustration. "Never mind, let's try something else."

xoxox xox xoxox

The scene changed and the two angels flew over a city. "There's (Name)," Farlan spotted you, walking down the street dressed as a gypsy, enjoying the carnival. "Why is there a centaur in Notredame?" Farlan pointed at Jean, who was a half horse creature, sitting sadly at the base of the steps leading up to a church.

Isabel shrugged, "because it's more interesting than a hunchback I guess." She landed near the centaur. "Hey dream projection Jean, have you seen a cleaning obsessed templar knight around here?"

"Yes!" Jean exclaimed in indignation. "He said I was fired as the bell ringer and that the bells were disgracefully filthy. Then he went to clean them." 

Sure enough, Levi was found at the bell tower, in his knight costume, cleaning the church bells like the number one knight of cleanliness. "Oh come on big bro, work with us here!" A change in scenery was in order.

xoxox xox xoxox

The angels soon found themselves in a forest. They went deeper into the woods, looking for their protagonists. They found you laying on the ground, a bitten apple in your hand. Well ok, so far so good, Snow White was in position, now they just had to wait for prince Levi. They decided to go look for him in case he was lost or something and came upon a little cabin deep in the forest. They went inside and found seven chibified Levis running around in every direction, obsessively cleaning the place. 

"This isn't going to work," Farlan terminated that dream sequence as well and went to the next fairy tale date in the plan. 

xoxox xox xoxox

The angels peeked out from behind a coral reef, watching you swim toward the surface in mermaid form. The location was the open sea, so it was quite an exotic place for people who were used to living in the walled city, maybe that would make it romantic. Unfortunately, you turned back and swam away in a hurry as the surface became clouded with something foamy like... soap. 

The angels went up to investigate and found Levi, Eren, Mikasa and Armin on a ship with laundry lines where there should be sails. "Prince Levi, should we really be doing the laundry at a time like this?" Armin voiced in worry. "Look at those storm clouds ahead, maybe we should put the sails back on and try to get away."

"No!" Levi snapped. "Just because we're at sea that doesn't mean we're going to wear dirty clothes. We'll put the sails back on when the laundry is dry. Now scrub the deck!" Needless to say, that fairy tale wasn't going to work either, so Isabel and Farlan moved on to the next.

xoxox xox xoxox

The angels found themselves in front of the Survey Corps' base. You were there, leaving the building with a Dalmatian puppy in your arms. "I'm going to call you Lucky. It was sure nice of that scout to give away free puppies. I hope he manages to get the other one hundred adopted soon, he seemed stressed taking care of them."

There was a lot of barking and yelling coming from inside the base. "Who's idea was it to bring this many dogs inside?!"Levi shouted at the top of his lungs. "Eren! Mikasa! Armin! Get over here and help me get them outside! Erwin! Sasha! Connie! Jean! Anyone! Am I the only one here? Hange! Even your help would be appreciated at a time like this! Stop! Get your muddy paws off my bed! Hey you! Stop chewing my boots! No! The carpet is not a bathroom! Get out! If you don't get out this instant, I'm going to skin you and use your fur to clean the floor!"

Farlan and Isabel felt themselves twitch nervously as they flew over to Levi's window and watched. "This one was a bad idea. Trying to house train a hundred and one, or a hundred, puppies must be one of Levi's worse nightmares."

"You said it," Isabel sighed. "Look, he's even getting premature white hairs from all the stress in this dream. We better go to the next one."

xoxox xox xoxox

Farlan and Isabel moved on to the next story scenario. They saw you looking out the window of a palace, dressed like an Arabian princess, but Levi was nowhere to be seen. The strangest thing however, was the ground. All over the kingdom, the ground was made of pristine white polished marble. 

They kept searching for Levi, until they found him just outside the city, looking satisfied with a lamp in hand. Next to him there stood a very blue Eren. "Well done, genie, the desert is finally clean, you've done humanity a great service."

"So, are you going to free me from the lamp now?" Eren eagerly inquired.

"Not yet, you lazy genie! I said I would free you with my last wish and I get three, so I still have one more wish to make." Levi was in deep thought, considering his options. "What should I wish for..."

"He's probably going to wish for infinite cleaning supplies or something and not even take notice of the princess," Isabel pouted. This was getting tiresome.

xoxox xox xoxox

Changing the scenery again, the angels flew over a neatly set table where you were just arriving, wearing a blue dress and white apron. You curiously looked at the man with the top hat, who was preparing a tea party. "Welcome guest, today we celebrate un-spring cleaning. It's the days of the years that are not spring, but you can spend them cleaning anyway! Happy un-spring cleaning! We'll have so much fun washing this tea set when we're done drinking our tea!"

"Um..." Ok, he was cute, but this was crazy. None the less you sat down at the table and let him pour you a cup of tea. You noticed a little tag attached to the handle of the tea cup with the words 'drink me' written on it. you shrugged and drank the tea, then suddenly found yourself growing larger by the second, until you were fourteen meters tall. 

"A titan has come to soil my tea party!" Levi pulled a sword from under the table and jumped up, ignoring the laws of gravity, except for when his top hat fell off, revealing a pair of bunny ears underneath.

"No, no, don't kill her, kiss her!" Isabel shouted to no avail. "Next!"

xoxox xox xoxox

The two angels ventured into a castle, searching for their main characters. "I see, so your titan killing obsession led an enchantress to turn you into a titan yourself." Mikasa was there, talking to a titanified Eren, who seemed to be stuck in that form.

"Huh? Why are they the main characters? The dream characters are only supposed to be in the supporting cast." Isabel scratched her head in confusion.

"I'm not sure what went wrong... Wait, is this supposed to be Beauty and the Beast? I get it now, there's no way Levi would play the role of a," Farlan made air quotes as he spoke, "filthy beast."

"Good point, so where is he?" The two angels continued exploring the castle and went into the dining room.

A horse shaped candle and a round pocket watch were at a dining table conversing with each other, while a blond young man sat there holding a spoon uneasily. "Hey Jean, why do you think the guest isn't eating?" The watch asked.

"I don't know, Connie, maybe because Sasha is eating all his food," the horse shaped candle replied.

Armin stared at the odd spoon that ate everything on his plate. "What kind of spoon are you?"

"The hungry kind!" The spoon replied and continued devouring the meal.

Farlan and Isabel were still trying to make sense of how the dream could get so messed up when suddenly there was an earsplitting scream and you dashed across the scene. You were dripping wet and clad in a towel, furiously chasing after a bar of soap. "Come back here you erted haunted soap!" 

"You stupid brat, you're the one who tried to use me to clean your filthy body!" The soap bar dashed away, slipping across the floor and leaving a trail of foamy bubbles in its wake.

"I'm human again!" Eren suddenly burst into the dining room, followed by Mikasa.

"The curse is broken!" The pocket watch turned into a human and the horse shaped candle turned into... an actual horse. 

At the same time, you slipped on the foamy soap trail and fell, but the soap turned into a man and you ended up falling on top of him. You stared into each other's eyes and... The spoon turned into a gigantic titan who roared at the top of her lungs, "I'm going to eat you all!"

"Too crazy! Next fairy tale!" Isabel terminated the dream sequence and tried again. 

xoxox xox xoxox

The angels appeared outside a tower, where there was a spinning wheel, and they hid quietly, looking in from the window. You arrived at the top of the tower, feeling inexplicably curious about the spinning wheel. "What a strange thing this is..." You reached out for it, but froze upon hearing a voice.

"Stop!" You turned around and saw someone else entering the top floor of the tower. The man was dressed like a prince, except for the cloths covering his hair and the lower portion of his face, plus the fact that he was carrying a multitude of cleaning supplies. "Are you the princess of this castle? What a slob. Here, let me clean that filthy thing for you." You stepped aside as Levi began to clean the spinning wheel. He accidentally pricked his finger on the needle and abruptly fell over in a sudden fit of narcolepsy.

You gasped, "he fainted!" And curiously looked over at the man on the floor.

"It's ok, the roles are reversed, but this can still work. (Name) just has to kiss big bro and wake him up!" Isabel held on to the hope that at least one of their fairy tale dates turned out more or less how it should. 

"There's a problem, we're out of time, Levi is going to wake up soon!" Farlan reminded with urgency.

Isabel sighed hopelessly. "There's no choice, we'll have to end it here, we'll try again tomorrow night."

"Let's keep it simple next time," Farlan suggested. 

"Ok, no more fairy tales, maybe if we're more direct there will be better results," Isabel agreed.

xoxox xox xoxox

Part 2: Sweet Dreams

"(Name)," you looked around, for the source of the voice calling you, it was melodious, angelic. "(Name)," you were floating in an endless sky, then you saw her, an angel with red hair in pigtails and green eyes. Her beautiful white wings were extended as she glided closer to you. "Come with me to meet the man of your dreams. I'll have to take you out of your body, but I'll put your soul right back. Are you willing to come?" 

The dream was so vivid, so real, so... fun. You decided to play along, "yes." You smiled and took the angel's hand, though to her your soul looked like she held a wisp of light. You found yourself in your room, except your body was still on the bed, sleeping. The angel led you out of your modest room in the Rose farmlands, flying through the air across the farm and the city, until you reached the Survey Corps' base. 

You went through the walls and arrived at a particular room, where a man was sleeping uneasily with another angel standing beside him. "This is our brother, Levi, well, adopted brother, but you get the point. Isn't he awesome? Feel free to fall in love with him." The redhead angel encouraged. This time the dreams were lucid, allowing you and Levi full control over your respective projections.

You giggled at the silliness of your dream. You knew it had to be a dream, what else could it be? "So I'm dreaming about a scout with angel relatives, this is a crazy dream, but it could be fun. What are your names?" 

"I'm Isabel and this is Farlan," Isabel introduced, while Farlan seemed too unsure to breathe a word. Their intentions were good, but did that make this whole plan ok? Farlan hoped that everything would work out in the end, the last thing they wanted was to make things harder on Levi.

"Izzy and Lanlan," you decided. This was your dream and you could give the characters nicknames if you wanted. "I think I get it." You theorized about the theme of this dream, since you had been having themed dreams lately. "we're the angels of good dreams and need to fight off the evils of nightmares." You leaned over Levi, examining his sleeping form. "He definitely looks like he's having bad dreams, maybe they're about the titans."

"That's kind of true," Isabel mused. "Let's go now, we have a nightmare to stop!" The three of you entered Levi's dream. The atmosphere was dark and bloody, then you realized that you were standing on the broken body of a titan. Many corpses littered the area. This was a dream, but it was very creepy, even if you knew it wasn't real. 

"Alright, let's give this projection a new outfit." Isabel snapped her fingers and you were suddenly wearing a maid outfit. It wasn't the kind of practical outfit that maids used to clean, but an overly cute version of a maid outfit. It was a light blue and white costume with a frilly apron, poofy sleeves and oversized bow.

"He's over here," Farlan hurried over to Levi, making his way from the middle of the titan's back to the neck. You and Isabel quickly followed. 

A dark haired girl was laying near the neck, her wounds clearly fatal. A blond boy was still beside her, already dead. "Please... save... Eren..." The girl whispered with her dying breath.

"I'll get him out, I'll get all of you out of here." Levi was trying to carefully cut through the skin on the sides of the titan's neck, but his swords had no effect. The fog cleared slightly and you could see a multitude of titans heading towards you. Then you realized you were all in the middle of a vast field of ruins, the walled city had fallen and the gory casualties were all around.

"Levi!" Farlan pulled him away from his task, which shocked him. 

"Big bro, it's ok, you're dreaming," Isabel tried to calm Levi so that his dreamscape would start listening to their angelic influence. "Eren, Mikasa, Armin and the others are safe."

"But you're not." The fact sunk in for Levi that this was all a dream. He had been so caught up in it that he didn't realize it at first. Now he knew he was dreaming, he knew he didn't have to do anything, but he couldn't simply stand by and do nothing, even in a dream. 

"It's ok, we're still with you in a sense. We're not alive in the human world, but we exist and it's really nice in the angel academy, please don't worry about us," Farlan explained, though he couldn't reveal too many specific details.

This was your dream, you were the heroine, so this had to be your cue to say something inspiring. "Some of your friends have fallen, but there are still others that are counting on you." You felt somewhat embarrassed giving an inspiring speech in such a silly maid outfit, though it was kind of cute. "If you spend your hours of rest regretting the past, you won't be able to make the best of the present or build a future. Your friends wouldn't want you to give up, but in the end, it has to be your choice to move forward for their sake." You took Levi's blood stained hands in yours and looked into his eyes. "You're the one you has to make the choice to live!"

Levi blinked, staring at you with curiosity. "Who are you supposed to be? My conscience? Or maybe a representation of my enjoyment of cleaning?" 

"It's working!" Isabel exclaimed, using her angelic energy to change the scenery. 

"Alright, together, just as we planned," Farlan and Isabel modified the dream, and the next thing you knew, you were in the middle of a field of flowers with Levi.

"Wow, that's a nice change in scenery." You looked around at the beautiful flowers, the ground was covered in a variety of colors under clear blues skies as far as the eye could see. You, Levi and the two angels were the only ones there. All the blood and gore was gone and even Levi's previously blood soaked clothes were now clean.

Isabel cleared and Farlan sighed. He caused kitty ears and a tail to appear on Levi, which made you squeal, "cute!"

"What the?!" Levi felt the ears and tail. "A maid and a cat boy? This dream is turning into a crazy manga."

"It's better than a nightmare," Isabel cheered. "Well, how about we leave the two of you alone to go on a date."

The angels were about to leave, but Levi stopped them. "Wait! I only see you in nightmares lately. I know this isn't real, but even if it's some insane dream, don't leave."

They couldn't possibly say no to a request like that. "Alright," Farlan agreed. "We'll stay. Let's have a picnic, that was the plan for you two."

The four of you sat around a picnic blanket with a basket that held more treats than its size should be able to contain. Levi was convinced everything was a figment of his imagination and you thought this was all your imagination. It was still a welcomed change for him though, since this was a nice dream, rather than a horrible nightmare. If all he had to do to get some decent sleep was play along with his crazy dreams, he could do that.

xoxox xox xoxox

Several dreams happened that way, with you, Levi and the two angels doing all sorts of activities together, including cleaning, when Levi was asked what he wanted to do. You learned a lot about Levi, or at least about the story of dream Levi. Your curiosity made you investigate and find that there was indeed a real Levi who looked just like the one in your dream, except for the cat ears and tail obviously. You wondered how similar his life was to the fictional life that your imagination conjured. You were sometimes amused and sometimes saddened by Levi's stories. You were also very curious about what your overactive subconscious would come up with next. If the dreams stopped happening, you would miss them, you would miss Levi. 

Levi talked about a lot of things he wouldn't say when he was awake. It was like an odd form of therapy that took place in the privacy of his mind, or so he thought. He could sort out his thoughts and feelings and hear imaginary input from Isabel and Farlan that felt so very real. Then there was you, the girl that he couldn't explain. He had never seen you, so he assumed that you were purely fictional. You weren't based on memories like Farlan and Isabel, you came completely out of his subconscious thoughts.

On one particular day, Isabel and Farlan made an excuse to leave. Unlike in past occasions when Levi protested, this time he let them go, knowing that they would return, they always returned in his dreams. The setting was a forest, you and Levi were sitting under the shade of a tree and everything was peaceful and calm. "Um... Levi... Can I pet your ears?" You asked shyly. This was a dream, but part of you couldn't help it but to be shy, especially because you knew there was a real life version of Levi out there, though you were certain he didn't know you existed. 

"Go ahead," Levi laid his head on your lap, taking you by surprise. This was a dream, so he could do anything and no one would know or say anything about it in reality. You petted his head, enjoying the feeling of his soft hair and kitty ears on your fingers. "So, miss dream girl, where did you come from? And don't give me the obvious answer, I know you came from my imagination."

You smiled in amusement. "You're the one who came from my imagination," you reminded. "This is my dream."

"No, it's my dream," Levi insisted, somewhat playfully. "That's why you're such a puzzle. I understand why Isabel and Farlan are in my dreams, I was having a hard time with the nightmares and wishing they were here. I've been thinking I'm starting to depend a little too much on the dreams, maybe that's why they keep trying to leave, but you always stay. I thought I was too busy with the scouts and that I didn't have time for a girl and didn't want to get attached to anyone, but you're always here in my dreams. Is this a subconscious wish? How could my own mind be so confusing? Tell me something about yourself, maybe then I can figure this out."

"I'm no one special..." You were feeling a little overwhelmed by how real this dream felt. You wondered if Levi's theory was actually your subconscious wish, to find a boyfriend? Or maybe to leave your boring life at the farmlands and join the military? "I'm just an ordinary girl from the Rose farmlands." 

"That doesn't sound like my dream girl, your free spirit wouldn't allow you to live in a farm your whole life." Levi looked up at you, while you continued petting his head and gently scratching him behind the kitty ears. "Everything else is as it should be."

You never actually applied for the military, but maybe you could pass. It would still be a few months until you could try out though. Your family would oppose it, unless you told them that you were going to aim for the Military Police in the interior. You'd convince them that if you didn't make it to the MP, you'd go right back to the farm, they wouldn't try to stop you then. It was sneaky, but you didn't want to deal with any drama or cause them any worry, so they were better off not knowing. "I'm going to join the Survey Corps."

"At least I don't need to worry about you dying on a mission since you're imaginary," Levi whispered in a bittersweet tone. 

You weren't sure how to reply to that and instead asked, "what did you mean by everything else is as it should be?"

"For my dream girl," Levi closed his eyes and allowed himself to relax. He really didn't have time for this when he was awake. He needed to focus on the scouts, but if his subconscious was reminding him of a human need for companionship, then let his subconscious provide a solution for it. "You're sweet, kind and have a good heart, being with you is relaxing. There's your willingness to participate in my cleaning spree without complaint and that song you were singing while we were cleaning the other day was nice too. Did you really write those lyrics? I never thought of myself as poetic, so I'm not sure how my subconscious came up with that, but I would like to have another dream like that."

"If it makes you happy, we can clean together again and I'll sing, I'll even write a poem about cleaning and make it into a song," you offered. It was silly, but cute, plus if Levi was happy, that would make you happy. Ok, so maybe it was a little crazy to have a crush on your own subconscious, but it's not like real life men were this honest about their every thought and feeling as if it was just him silently talking to himself in the privacy of his mind. Then again, even if they were, they wouldn't be half this interesting.

Actually, you had to admit you wouldn't be that open immediately either, it would take a long time and a lot of hard earned trust for you to allow anyone in the real world to know your every thought. There in your dreams, you could be completely honest. Your subconscious sometimes agreed with you and sometimes had little disagreements. You even sometimes had debates, but it wasn't a real argument, more like two opinions existing in harmony, this was all coming from your own mind after all... 

The Levi in your dreams was so interesting and brave. He had been through a lot and you wanted to make life better for him, even if he was only a figment of your imagination. You also had a lot to think about for real too, since you had decided to become a scout. This might have all been your subconscious, but maybe there was something to it. Maybe you should fight for humanity. "Levi, let's do some of that visualization mental training stuff sometime, since I'm applying for the Survey Corps and all. I don't know if it works, but I heard it does."

"It does help in some ways. You have to get used to seeing the ODM gear not as a device you use, but as a part of you and move it as quickly and naturally as a limb. You don't have time to think too much in battle, you need to be able to move reflexively even when your thoughts are racing in every direction," Levi explained.

Isabel and Farlan returned because it was almost time to wake up. They didn't want to cut it close, since your soul had to be returned to your body before Levi woke up, or it would just be harshly tossed out of the disappearing dreamscape. 

xoxox xox xoxox 

You had many dreams about training, which was oddly helpful. The whole mind over matter thing had its truths, though you were still very sore from your real life training. Dream Levi was exceptionally good at giving advice, it's like he knew all the tricks to making ODM gear work in the best way possible. When you needed equipment, the angels would provide it, making it appear out of thin air. They also gave you a Survey Corps uniform to wear for training, which made you feel as if you had already made it. With the passing of time, your balance improved considerably, though you kind of missed the times when Levi caught you before you hit the ground and held your hands until you got the hang of the training. 

"It's going to be time to wake up soon," Farlan announced one day after training.

Levi helped you out of your practice harness. "It's funny, I'd be very impatient by now if this wasn't a dream." You took his remark as your subconscious assuming that the real Levi wouldn't be this patient with your learning process, which you thought was a reasonable assumption. It was the same conclusion you always reached, you were convinced this was your dream and Levi was certain that it was his dream. You thought that the real Levi must be quite different from your dream Levi and he was sure that you were entirely fictional with no real world counterpart in existence. "Maybe it just means I should be a little more patient. There will be new recruits coming soon," he recalled. "This must be my subconscious preparing me. See you tomorrow night, (Name)." 

"I look forward to it, thank you for helping me practice!" As always, Isabel took you back to the scene of your sleeping form, though rather than at the farmlands, you were at the military training center.

xoxox xox xoxox

The dream training evolved into simulated titan battles, though the titan's faces looked hilariously cartoonish. Eventually, the day finally came when you graduated and tomorrow evening you would join the scouts, but for the time being, you would rest and hopefully see the man of your dreams again. You were a little concerned though. Would you even be able to look at the real Levi in the face knowing that you dreamed about an imaginary version of him every night? Part of you felt bad for stealing away his image without permission, while the other part was immensely thankful that dreams were 100% private.

That night's scenery was different from the previous ones. Isabel dropped you off in a field of cherry blossoms, their pink heart shaped petals falling all around. There was a magnificent sunset in the background as you walked towards Levi. You were in your scouts uniform, which you would wear for real soon, you hurried to him, eager to tell him the news. You weren't sure where the angels had gone off to, but you had a feeling that your winged dream pals were close. "I did it, I passed the training and tomorrow evening I'm going to join the scouts!" You threw your arms around him in celebration, jumping in place and hugging him at the same time.

"Congratulations (Name)," Levi was amused by how his dreams kept up with the schedule of his life. The dreams with the angels and this girl were so vivid and pleasant, he'd be quite happy if he could continue to have dreams like that for the rest of his life. Now that his dream girl was in the scouts according to his dream narrative, which had a continuity that was more perfect than what he thought a dream could have, maybe he would dream about defeating all the titans with her and then he might dream about living in a world that was peaceful and free. 

The sun sunk in the horizon and a beautiful starry sky with a bright full moon appeared overhead. "Chalalalalala my, oh my, looks like the boy's too shy, ain't gonna kiss the girl!" You looked to the trees above, searching for Isabel, who had started singing. "Chalalalalala ain't that sad? Ain't it a shame? Too bad, he's gonna miss the girl!"

You saw Isabel sitting on a cherry blossom branch, elbowing Farlan to join her in the song. They continued in unison, "Chalalalalala don’t be scared, you got the mood prepared, go on and kiss the girl! Chalalalalala don't stop now, don’t try to hide it how you wanna kiss the girl!" 

Levi was climbing the tree now, his cat tail moving from side to side as you watched him from the ground. The two angels took flight, floating just out of Levi's reach. "Chalalalalala float along and listen to the song, the song says kiss the girl! Chalalalalala music plays, do what the music says, you gotta kiss the girl!" 

Levi jumped down from the tree, but predictably, he landed perfectly on his feet. He was a cat boy and this was a dream, so real physics didn't always apply, though for some reason they seemed to apply when you were training, but that was actually useful. You considered teasing Levi about being a cat that couldn't catch the birds, but his words took you by surprise with an important reminder, "what happens in dreams, stays in dreams..." 

Did that mean he was going to...? You blushed as he drew you close. The angels suddenly got quiet, as if they didn't want to interrupt the moment. You returned the embrace, wondering in the back of your mind if this was what it would feel like to be hugged by a real boyfriend. One of his arms stayed around your waist, while the other hand went up your back, caressing your neck until it reached the side of your face, which by now was very red. He drew closer until your lips touched. 

The kiss was gentle at first, then gradually more intense until you were left breathless. You've heard of lucid dreaming, but this felt much more vivid, almost like an out of body experience. He kissed you again and, telling yourself that this was a dream and nothing more, you threw away your shyness and intensified your response. You had to admit, your imagination was a great kisser. 

Isabel blushed and grinned from ear to ear, watching the scene from behind a tree. "Our work is done, let's leave them alone for a while and come back when it's time to take her back to her body."

Farlan gave her a worried look as he reminded, "that's the problem, it's almost time for him to wake up."

Isabel pouted, "why do you have to get up so early, big bro? There's no choice, waking up abruptly with two souls in the same body can be dangerous. I'll go return her now." Not happy to have to interrupt, Isabel flew over to the couple. "Big bro, sis, that's enough for now." She was ignored. "Hey, big bro!"

"Um... I think she's talking to you," you shyly pointed out, still trying to catch your breath, your face blushing a bright red.

"You're the one who wanted me to kiss her," Levi reminded.

"Yes, and you can continue tomorrow night because right now, you're about to wake up." Without another word, Isabel took your hand and you were pulled out into the transition scene, as you called it. You were taken away from the scouts' base and back to the training center, to your sleeping form.

xoxox xox xoxox

Levi woke up in his room, everything seemed normal, but the dream was still fresh in his mind. That Isabel and Farlan were just illusions as far as he knew. It was nice to pretend they were there, but it was all a dream, so there was really no need to give too much thought to the fact that they saw him kissing his dream girl. Levi wondered how his subconscious came up with her, she was so real, so vivid, as if she was actually there, but of course, she didn't exist in real life. 

Levi got ready for the day, he would be busy today. In the evening, Erwin was going to try to get some recruits for the scouts and he would need to be there. He found it hard to focus though, he wished he had more time to sleep. He knew he couldn't think that way, he had too many things to do in the real world to spend his life dreaming, no matter how pleasant the dreams may be. He supposed a little romance would be inevitable, even natural not that he minded if it happened in the privacy of his mind. It would be too complicated in real life and he had the Survey Corps to focus on, but if he could have this in his dreams, then he would enjoy it. 

xoxox xox xoxox

Part 3: Wake Up Call

"Are you feeling optimistic about tonight?" Erwin asked as he and Levi made their way to address the new trainees.

"Not particularly," Levi truthfully replied. "Our track record this year was worse than usual, especially during that mission with the female titan. I doubt we'll get many recruits, if any at all."

Erwin let out a breath as he returned to reality. "You're probably right, but I was hoping for a different answer, since you seem to be in such a good mood lately, especially today."

"Not really, I'm in the same mood as always." Levi thought back on his day, if he was any different, he hadn't noticed.

Hange popped up next to them and commented, "I thought you were in love."

"Don't be stupid, four eyes. Why are you here?" Levi snapped, though he didn't sound quite as annoyed as he normally would be.

"See? See?" Hange cheered. "You don't sound half as angry as I expected. Yup, you're definitely in love," she nodded at herself, as if nothing could convince her that her conclusion was wrong. "The question is, with who?" 

"The question is, why are you here?" Levi insisted.

"I want to see the new recruits too," Hange finally replied. "Now back on topic, who could it be?" She looked at Erwin, as if requesting more information.

"Don't ask me, he hasn't told me anything," Erwin shrugged. "I didn't even think he had an interest in relationships in general."

Hange nodded, "I thought so too."

"I'm standing right here," Levi reminded, he didn't enjoy being discussed as if he wasn't present.

"Good, keep standing right there while I go give the speech. I don't want to sugar coat it, but maybe I should be a little less aggressive than last time," Erwin mused.

"I think..." Hange made a dramatic pause, during which Erwin and Levi didn't know if she was about to state her opinion about the speech or still theorizing about Levi's love life. "You should scare them out of their wits!" She delivered the line with a very mad scientist style grin. 

At least she had moved on to the topic of the speech, though Levi had a feeling he'd hear more theories about his imaginary girlfriend later, not that Hange or anyone could ever guess she was a product of his subconscious. "For once we actually agree on something," Levi revealed, much to Erwin's surprised curiosity. "We need more scouts, not more deaths. The ones that get scared would die too easily anyway."

"Right, then I'll keep it realistic," Erwin went off to give his speech, calling all the trainees to attention.

You stood in the crowd, your eyes fixated on Levi, the real Levi. He was so much like dream Levi, how could your subconscious mind construct his image in such perfect detail? You weren't even listening to the commander's speech and before you knew it, it was over. People started walking away, the crowd thinning rapidly. The people in front of you left until you had a clear view of Levi. His eyes met yours, his expression showed surprise, then you looked down at your feet, blushing intensely. 

This was not good, you couldn't blush every time you saw him, what if he ended up as your captain on a mission? You had to be able to pay attention and think rationally. You stood there, saluting, with your fist over your heart and your eyes on the ground for what felt like an eternity before you were finally allowed to leave. You followed the other two volunteers, a tall young man who had been picking fights among the trainees all the way to graduation and a skinny boy who seemed far too eager to be a scout.

"Why did you look so shocked?" Hange's voice snapped Levi's racing thoughts back to reality. "Three recruits is not so bad considering everything. I was worried we wouldn't get anyone at all. Is that what surprised you, that we actually got three?"

"Yes..." Levi finally replied, just for the sake of saying something. "I didn't think we'd get anyone either. Three is not so bad, we'll just have to make the best of what we have."

"Right," Erwin nodded, he glanced at Hange, as if exchanging a quiet message with her. They had both noticed that Levi looked surprised when the crowd cleared and the only female recruit became easy to see. Her reaction wasn't lost to them either. She was blushing brightly and staring at the ground in embarrassment.

A theory was already forming in Hange's mind. Levi must have been secretly dating that girl. She joined the military without telling him, she could pull it off, he would be busy at the base while she was training, so they only saw each other in the evenings. Then he was shocked to see her there, and probably worried about her future safety. She was blushing like mad, not knowing how to read his reaction and possibly imagining fighting titans to be a much more romantic activity than it actually was. 

Well, there was only one thing to do, the girl had to be trained well enough not to die. It was best to keep Levi in his unusually good mood, a heartbroken Levi was something that Hange couldn't imagine having to deal with. Meanwhile, all Levi could do was tell himself over and over that your appearance was only a coincidence.

xoxox xox xoxox

You more or less integrated yourself into the Survey Corps. You were rooming with a girl called Mikasa. It was a coin toss between her and Sasha, literally a coin toss. Sasha wanted a new friend who would share food with her, but Mikasa had a better record and had already agreed to show the new scouts around and help them adjust to the scouts' rhythm of training. It wouldn't have been an issue if at least two girls volunteered. You didn't know any of them, so you couldn't bring yourself to decide and just tossed a coin. 

Mikasa won, though Sasha seemed to feel better after you promised you'd share your food anyway. Sasha was your neighbor on one side, while the room on the other side of yours at the end of the hall was occupied by Krista and Ymir. Several other scouts occupied the general area, though you had only really gotten to know your closest neighbors so far. 

Being Mikasa's roommate meant getting invited to hang out with her friends. They were younger than you, because you didn't apply to the scouts the second you were old enough like they did, but you didn't really mind. 

The only thing that you were still trying to adjust to was to act natural around Levi. You weren't in his squad, or on anyone's squad officially. You, and the other two rookies, were temporarily placed with one of the less famous captains. Captain Larry was a man in his early thirties who was usually very quiet until he randomly sneezed for no reason. It was actually pretty funny and made his otherwise serious persona seem more approachable.

One day, the alert of a titan attack spread across the base. You soon found that it wasn't a drill. Though the situation wasn't too bad, the fact of the matter was that titans were getting too close to the wall. In the past, the residents of Maria shrugged it off when titans scratched at their wall, but after such a significant expanse of land was lost to the titans at Maria, titans getting close to the wall, especially the gate, was considered a serious situation.

You were geared up and ready to go, but as you followed your squad out, Hange called out to your captain. They exchanged a few words, then she came over to you. "(Name), you're coming with me on this mission." You didn't question the decision, you only saluted and went along with it. 

The scouts went down over the wall using their ODM gear, as opening the gate would be too risky with titans nearby. The area surrounding Rose was filled with damaged structures that were once the homes of the residents of Maria. You followed Hange's team as they got into formation, noting that there seemed to be an extra person there, you. "Um... Captain?" You began to ask, feeling as if you were missing something.

"You're my backup (Name), let's see what you can do," Hange declared with the air of someone who was proud of herself for being a good friend that made sure a certain someone's beloved didn't get killed. 

You spent the majority of the battle trying to keep up with Hange. She got way too close to titans and teased them with promises of  playing games and inflicting no pain on them, only to slash their weak spot after being ignored. Why did she even need to distract them in the first place? They were trying to eat everyone anyway, it's not like it took a lot to get their attention. Then it occurred to you that maybe you were supposed to do the slashing, you were the backup after all.

"Hey there!" Hange landed on a rooftop and waved, smiling up at a large titan with jaws that opened up to its cheeks. "My, my, what a big mouth you have." While the creature was distracted by Hange, you shot your ODM gear and hooked onto the titan's back as it made a grab for Hange. She flew out of the way at the same time that your blades cut through the weak spot. You put everything you had into it, using your momentum to add force to the cut and ensure it was deep enough. As the monster fell, you joined Hange at a rooftop nearby. "Your first titan, congratulations, (Name)!" She wasn't really expecting you to do anything except follow her and stay alive until you could get enough experience to stay alive on your own, but if you had the guts to go for the kill on your first mission, then maybe you didn't need to be taken care of after all. " Levi sure knows how to pick 'em. It looks like you'll be just fine."

"Thank you," you were pretty excited about having taken down your first titan, but what did Hange mean by what she said about Levi? Was it his idea that you should join her squad? You didn't think he had noticed you at all. After all you did kind of avoid him and he seemed to be content not noticing your existence. Either way, this wasn't the time to think about it, there were still a few more titans to clear out.

Captain Larry zoomed by on his ODM gear, his oddly timed sneeze echoing as he went. "Barlen, come back here!" You recognized the name as belonging to the burly troublemaker that liked to picked fights during the training. It was his fault a few cadets failed the training due to injuries resulting from fights with him, but no one ever came forward to say anything, fearful of what more he might do. You generally focused on your training and didn't cross his path. You weren't top ten material, at least according to the trainers, so he wouldn't acknowledge your existence if you stayed out of his way. 

"Oh oh, looks like Larry's got his hands full," Hange watched the chase, wondering if she should help out, but then she spotted another titan heading towards the gate. The creature was tall and bony, with beady eyes and a puff of hair in the middle of its skull. She looked to the streets below, the rest of Larry's squad had spread around, playing support to the other squads, he probably assigned them to do that before rushing off to chase the hotheaded one. They seemed to be alright, and they were by no means rookies, except for one of them, the skinny freckled boy with the overly optimistic attitude. Well, he was clearly not being overly optimistic now. "(Name), go get Carl before he gets eaten, I'll go say hi to the titan."

You replied with the affirmative and wasted no time in flying off to meet the boy. "Carl!" You called out to the frightened boy as you landed near him.

"(Name?) (Name!) I saw someone get eaten!" He panicked. "Someone more experienced than us got eaten, bitten in half!" 

"You better get to the rooftops if you don't want to be next!" You tried to make him wake up from his panic. "C'mon, follow me, Hange sent me to get you." But she didn't tell you what else to do after. "Did you have something that you're supposed to do?"

"Captain Larry said to stay close to where Levi's squad is and support them if I can, but not to get in the way," Carl recited, before going back to his previous assertion. "(Name), these monsters, they can devour us, even if we're careful, even if we really try."

"Snap out of it!" You think scouts have been dying this whole time because they're careless? Of course there's danger even if you're careful!" Your own words continued to resonate in your brain, but this was what you had chosen and being afraid wouldn't make it any easier. You repeated something Levi had told you in a dream, "don't try to be a hero, just try to stay alive, you'll do more good that way in the long run." A shadow behind the building at the end of the street caught your attention. "Move, now!" You took to the rooftops, with Carl fortunately following.

A titan emerged onto the street where you stood seconds ago, crawling on its hands and knees. It had an elongated chin and nose with long messy brown hair falling over its face and shoulders. Its neck was exposed, right below you, it was an easy target. "I'll get this one!" When Carl got his bravado back and jumped into action, you had no doubts that he would be successful. He jumped from the side of the building next to the monster and shot a hook towards its neck, but the creature spun so it was laying face up all of a sudden.

"Disengage the hook, get out of there!" The line was around the titan's neck, you shot your ODM gear to the building across the street and zoomed by, cutting Carl's right forward line. "Shoot to the side!" you called as you made it to the rooftop across the street. Carl squeezed the controls on his swords' handles and two lines shot out from the sides of his ODM gear, but they were pulling him in opposite directions and he wasn't going anywhere. The titan grabbed him and stuffed him into its mouth, chewing loudly. "No!"

You heard some yelling in the distance, but you were focused on the titan. 'I failed...' you thought bitterly. You gripped your blades and followed the titan from the rooftops. You couldn't slay it from above, it would just turn over and eat you. You switched to the other side of the street. The titan turned over and tried to grab you, but it couldn't reach far enough, as if its limbs weren't quite formed well enough to allow it to stand upright. It turned over again facing downward to crawl. From your periphery, you saw someone land on a rooftop nearby, but didn't take note of who it was. 

You crossed the street from one rooftop to another, left, right, left, right. The titan stopped crawling and remained on its back, facing up, reaching for you. You remained out of its grasp, tempting it by jumping back and forth, until it occurred to the monster to push itself up with one arm, while reaching for you with the other. That was your chance, as soon as the monster lifted itself, you pretended to follow along with your predictable motions like before and jumped from the building, but you allowed yourself to fall and shot your ODM gear at an angle to the building across the street. The device pulled you forward, making you swing below the monster's head, you reached up, slashing its neck, but unfortunately, the cut was too shallow. 

The titan lost its balance and fell flat on its back, the weak spot out of your reach. If you could trick it into getting up again, you could try the same tactic. The titan seemed a bit tired though, not all of them had the same level of energy. It reached up for you, while laying on its back, you were safe above it, but how could you slay it when it was like that? You moved to another rooftop, hoping that it would get up to try to chase you and expose its back again. The creature began to struggle to do just that and you waited to try again, glancing at your fuel level for a moment. you heard footsteps on the roof, human footsteps, and finally took note of the person who had landed nearby earlier. "Captain Levi! I'm sorry sir..." 

Levi's expression remained neutral as he studied the situation. "Rookies don't usually come up with moves like that at all." He glanced at your worried expression and clarified, "it's not a bad thing." Was it a compliment then? Were you doing well for a rookie? 

You didn't think you were doing all that well at all. "Carl is dead..."

"I saw, I was too far to stop it, but you did all you could." Hearing that made you feel that maybe it wasn't your fault, you had tried to save him. "This is the last titan close to the gate, finish it." You glanced at your fuel level again. You wouldn't be able to taunt the titan in an effort to teach it a pattern to expect. 

"Maybe I can blind it." You moved your arms forward, ready to detach the blades, trying to take aim. 

"Aim for the eyes, not the nose," Levi interrupted impatiently. "Here," he stood beside you, positioning your arms properly, "now." 

You shot the blades and they hit the targets, the titan screeched and suddenly turned over on its belly, its hands over its face, neck exposed to a hit from above. You went for it and finally finished the monster, then returned to the rooftop where Levi was. Your cheeks were still crimson, though all he did was touch your arms for the sake of correcting your poor aim. "Thank you," you voiced shyly.

"What was your rank?" Levi asked, his poker face still present, no real interest reflected in his voice beyond idle curiosity.

It took you a moment too long to process his question and as soon as you managed to figure out what he meant, you rushed to reply, "fifteen, sir."

"Fifteen..." Levi shook his head and it made you feel very self-conscious about your rank.

"I'll do my best to improve!" You felt the need to say something that made you looked like you weren't entirely worthless. Levi didn't say anything and you couldn't stop wondering what he was thinking.

The flare signal announcing the end of the mission was shot across the sky and the scouts all returned to the city and to the base. You learned that Larry was seriously injured, a broken leg, fractured ribs and they weren't sure what else. Barlen was suspended, his full punishment pending. Everyone was whispering that he was too reckless on the mission and with his record from the academy, he would surely be kicked out of the Survey Corps. He was strong and skilled, which was what drove him to graduate in the first place, but his constant fighting put him at the bottom of the class and proved he was unfit to work with a team. 

To be Continued

The fairy tales in part 1 were: Cinderella (and the horrors of stained silk), The Horseman of... The Hunchback of Notredame, Snow White (and the Seven Chibi Levis), The Little Mermaid (and how she choked on soap), One Hundred and One (not house trained) Dalmatians, Aladdin ("I can clean up the world, shining, shimmering, splended!"), Alice in Wonderland: The Un-Spring Cleaning Mad Tea Party, Beauty and the Soap... Beauty and the Beast, and Sleeping (Neat Freak) Beauty. 

Isabel and Farlan's song in part 2 is "Kiss the Girl" from The Little Mermaid.

Dreams

Part 4: Out of Body Experience

It had been a long day and you went to bed early. As usual, Isabel came to get you and you were taken to Levi. You were feeling a little uneasy though. Even if you only saw a portion of the scouts' base in your dreams and another portion in reality, they fit together so perfectly it was odd, especially since you were having the dreams before you had ever set foot in the structure. 

Dream Levi seemed to reflect your uneasy mood. "Everything fits too perfectly, how is it even possible?" He paced around a familiar cherry blossom field, it was the scene of the dream where he kissed you. 

"Levi?" You found yourself blushing even if you told yourself this was only a dream. you let out a breath and shook your head in defeat. "I can't keep dreaming like this, I get all nervous when I see the real one. I know this one is just an illusion, but it still feels... invasive. Izzy, Lan, show me a dream man who's completely fictional, like you two."

Isabel and Farlan exchanged nervous looks. They had hoped that the transition from dream to reality would go smoother than this. "Why settle for fiction when you can have the real deal," Isabel pushed you forward towards Levi. "Big bro is the greatest, don't miss your chance."

Levi continued to pace around, completely ignoring the people around him. "I checked her file and her background fits. I even heard some gossip about a book of poetry she writes in and there was a song about cleaning just like the dream." The grape vine was as active as ever in the Survey Corps and it wasn't making things any less strange. "Is this supposed to be some sort of prophetic dream? Why can't I predict something useful, like the next titan attack or something."

"I'm really stressing out about this, aren't I?" You observed, watching Levi and assuming everything he did was a projection of your thoughts.

"She's too good for a rookie, too calm, too ready to come up with a strategy. It's like she's following all the advice I gave the dream version, but how is that possible?" He finally stopped pacing, running his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"Levi," Farlan tried to say something helpful, but he couldn't think of anything except, "maybe you should just go with it?"

"I'm not psychic, there's no such thing, so I must be... Going crazy..." That was not the conclusion that Isabel and Farlan were hoping that Levi would reach.

You gasped, "I'm crazy? No, that can't be right, then again, that's what people say about those who willingly join the Survey Corps. Maybe I am crazy."

"Ok, that's enough you two, you're not crazy!" Isabel yelled. Farlan gave her a worried look and tried to calm her down, but she was at the end of her patience. "Big bro, Farlan and I were worried about you so we got you a date, then she joined the scouts and you two ended up meeting in a different way than the subtle coincidental meeting we were planning. (Name) you believe in angels, don't you?"

"Well, yes," you replied, "but angels should have more important stuff to do than playing matchmaker, I think."

"Such as saving humanity from the titans," Levi supplied.

"That's kind of against the rules," Isabel explained, ignoring Farlan who was frantically shaking his head. "The free will of humans is something no supernatural creature is allowed to mess with. Some creatures might try to trick you or negotiate a costly contract, ridding the world of evil spirits like that is our primary job. However, the fact still stands that no one can simply decide your will, try to break your will maybe, but not decide over it. That's where it gets complicated, human A could use their free will to steal the free will of human B, but we supernatural creatures can't do anything about it because that would mean taking away the free will of human A. Basically, if humanity starts a fight, humanity has to end it. After all, if people are forced to be good, they're not really being good, they're just being slaves."

"Isabel!" Farlan snapped. "You've said too much. What if we get into trouble and get their memories wiped?"

Isabel rolled her eyes, "relax, I haven't said anything too specific." She continued offering an explanation to Levi. "Anyway, to counteract that situation, a special clause was made that basically says that no human is ever to be allowed to face a challenge so great that it would make their soul break. Souls are quite durable things, I mean, you know what happen to Farlan and me and we're still here, albeit without our human vessels. Technically, you dying a lonely and cranky old man isn't exactly a soul shattering danger, but it's still something that we wanted to prevent."

Levi stared at the odd inhabitants of his dream in silence, while you mused over their words. "That logic would only work if the titans were controlled by humans." They didn't have to be human, you reasoned, just controlled by the will of humans and that would make the explanation work. 

"I can't do this anymore, it's too confusing and too strange," Levi shook his head and closed his eyes tightly. "Let... this... dream... end!" Suddenly, the world around you began to distort and fall apart. The colors faded away and the shapes became faint, until there was nothing but darkness.

xoxox xox xoxox

"Ugh... Why did you have to go and wake up so suddenly, big bro?" Isabel rubbed her head, Levi was on his bed, looking around in confusion. 

"That did not go well, where's (Name)?" Farlan looked around for the floating soul. "Quick, we need to get her back in her body before her soul wanders off and passes on. Things will get even more complicated if she becomes one of us before her time."

"There she is!" Isabel flew towards the wisp of light. Humans who were still living within their vessels of flesh didn't have enough spiritual energy to form a clear projection outside of dreams. Isabel reached for the wisp of light, carrying it in her hand, which to you had seemed like she was holding your hand to lead you away. She flew off with the light, going through a wall and exiting Levi's room.

You watched the whole scene in confusion. "What a weird dream," you gasped in surprise at the sound of your voice. "Why do I sound like Levi?" You stumbled out of bed while Farlan stared, mouth open in shock. You realized that you could still see the angels, so you didn't really wake up, it was just one of those weird dreams were you dreamt about waking up, or at least that's what you assumed had happened. 

"(Name?!)" Farlan exclaimed in alarm. 

"Lan," you nodded at him in reply and curiously went through a door, which led to a bathroom. There you examined yourself in the mirror, but your reflection was that of Levi, a shirtless Levi. "Wow, I'm Levi, this is by far the strangest dream I've ever had."

"Oh no!" Farlan dashed off to get Isabel, but only bumped into her in the hallway after passing through the door. "We have a problem, (Name)'s soul is in Levi's body, which means that the soul you put in (Name)'s body was actually Levi's."

Isabel's eyes widened, "oh oh..." She and Farlan rushed to the room you shared with Mikasa.

xoxox xox xoxox

Levi looked around in confusion. There was a second bed in the room, this wasn't his room. Mikasa was asleep on the bed and, was that an Eren doll she was cuddling? He got up, wondering if this would turn into another nightmare, the other scouts, such as Eren and his friends, usually suffered terrible deaths that he tried and failed to prevent in his nightmares. Maybe if he left the scene, he wouldn't have to see that. He rushed out of the room and saw the angel Farlan and Isabel heading in the opposite direction.

"It's ok big bro, we'll put everything the way it was," Isabel assured with an apologetic look. "Just go back to sleep, alright?" 

She tried to usher him back into the room but Levi refused to go. "I'm not going over there. I don't need any more dreams about any scouts dying. There's already too much of that in real life." Something wasn't right. "Why do I sound like a girl?"

"Just stay calm, stay calm," Isabel chanted, though she was panicking herself.

"Ok... it's going to be ok... Let's go this way, alright?" Farlan pointed towards the opposite side of the building, in the direction of Levi's room.

Levi nodded, "alright, maybe if I dream about going to sleep on my own bed, this crazy dream will end." He curiously investigated what it was that kept brushing against his neck and shoulders and examined a strand of long hair. "It's the same color as (Name)'s hair and I sound just like her." He looked down at the white tshirt and pink shorts, noting that the body was indeed female. "This is by far the strangest dream ever," and he was most certainly not amused.

The three returned to Levi's room, where you were examining the reflection in the mirror like a fan girl, which just made you look narcissistic since it was your reflection, though it wasn't your original body. 

"Ok, you two need to go back to sleep so we can switch your souls back into your proper bodies, alright?" Isabel urged.

You managed to get your eyes away from the mirror to stare at the image of yourself in puzzlement. The copy was staring right back at you with similar confusion. 

"Guys, focus!" Isabel snapped. "Go to sleep so we can fix this!"

Confused and weirded out, you and Levi nodded, then got into his bed, trying to get as comfortable as possible. Hoping that the weirdness would end, you and Levi drifted off to sleep.

xoxox xox xoxox

The next morning, Levi woke up and looked around his room, everything was normal, this was indeed his own room. Trying to shake the dream off his mind he got out of bed and drowsily headed for the bathroom, he was unusually tired and slow to wake up this morning. He splashed some cold water on his face, hoping that would wake him up and jumped back in surprise when he looked up at the mirror. That reflection was not his. "I'm still dreaming..." But it was morning and it felt so real. He went back to the bedroom area and examined the bed, now awake enough to notice that there was someone occupying it, someone who looked exactly as he should.

You woke up and sat up in bed. You were feeling unusually alert this morning, you were normally much slower than this to wake up. You looked to the side to see if Mikasa was still sleeping, she usually had to wake you up or you would oversleep. Instead of finding Mikasa, you found your twin staring at you. "Who are you?" You blinked in confusion. "Why do I sound like..." You looked down at your body, well define muscles, perfect abs... yup, that was dream Levi alright. "This dream is so weird, but it feels so real."

Farlan and Isabel entered the room, passing through the wall. They looked absolutely exhausted. "Oh, you're awake," Isabel frowned.

"We have to tell them," Farlan voiced worriedly.

Isabel sighed in exhaustion. "Big bro, (Name), please understand this isn't a dream and it's also not a hallucination. You two switched bodies."

"If we're not dreaming, then how come you two are here," Levi inquired, in your voice.

"You can only see angels if you have a good heart and you're either dreaming or having an out of body experience. You're in a body, so your souls are safe from accidentally passing on, but you're not in your own body, so that still technically counts as an out of body experience," Isabel explained. "go on, pinch yourself, it'll hurt."

Levi thought about it for a moment, surprised at himself for actually considering it. When he got hurt in his nightmares, it didn't actually hurt, but he was so focused on the painful images that he didn't even think about the lack of physical pain. You suddenly felt a sharp pain as he pinched you on the arm, since you looked like him and he was trying to pinch himself. "That didn't hurt." You returned the favor, pinching him back. "That did hurt."

"Are you convinced?" Farlan asked hopefully. You nodded reluctantly. You never felt any pain from your ODM gear dream training, though you were certainly sore when you were awake trying to get used to it at first.

"So, this is real... You're both really here," Levi stared at Isabel and Farlan, he had missed them so much. Troublesome body switch aside, it was good to see them.

"That's right, big bro, we're really here, we're your guardian angels," Isabel happily declared.

"Sorry we're not doing a very good job," Farlan laughed nervously.

"It's alright... I'm glad you two are doing well and it's good to see you again but," he looked at his own body, which wore a very confused expression. "Just who is she," he pointed at you, but you looked like him. "Her," he pointed at himself, "(Name)," he finally asked. "Who is (Name) and how is she related to all of this."

You looked at the angels, eagerly awaiting their further explanations. "She's..." Isabel began to explain a little uneasily. "You already know, big bro," she laughed nervously, "she's your dream girl."

"No, seriously, who is she," Levi insisted, not amused.

"Sorry," Farlan apologized. "(Name) is a sweet girl that we thought you might like. We set up some dates for you in your dreams, hoping that you would warm up to the idea of dating in real life. We just thought you might be a little lonely..."

"Please don't be angry big bro," Isabel pleaded. "We were only trying to help!"

Levi shook his head and let everything sink in. "Isabel and Farlan exist as angels, that's good, but now I'm stuck in (Name)'s body and she's stuck in mine... I wish I had believed you two when you first came to me years ago. What a mess," he observed their saddened expressions. Those two were his dearest friends, he couldn't stay mad at them, especially after he missed them for so long. "I forgive you, just change us back."

"About that..." Isabel's nervous expression was back on her face. "Because you woke up so abruptly during (Name)'s last out of body experience, it cause both your souls to wake up within the same body. The friction of having two human souls in one vessel made one of them get tossed out. Because you were the one under the greatest amount of stress, you ended up being the one getting tossed out of your own body and (Name) stayed behind."

"Souls that are still human look like wisps of light outside of the dream world and their bodies. There was a bit of a mix up," Farlan continued. "But don't worry, we can fix this tonight."

"Why not now?" You asked. If all you needed was to go to sleep, you could start trying to do that right away. You tried to focus on the current dilemma so that you wouldn't have to think about the realization that the kiss had been real. Technically it wasn't physical, though it certainly felt like it was, but two souls kissing was as direct as it could get.

"Waking up abruptly like that is not good," Isabel explained. "Souls tend to cling to the body when that happens. Normally this is a good thing, because it prevents the soul from getting out on accident, though such accidents are extremely rare. The problem is that because your souls are in unfamiliar bodies they're a bit stressed, in survival mode in a sense."

"In other words, they're really holding on to the only body they can hold on to, the body they are each currently in," Farlan added. "Once the rush of spiritual adrenaline, so to speak, wears off, we'll be able to detach your souls again and return you to your respective bodies."

"So we just need to relax?" You concluded, though that was easier said than done.

"Today the newer cadets are supposed to be tested, the 104th and 105th trainees," Levi reminded. You would be tested along with the 104th trainees, since you were the only one from the 105th trainees who joined the Survey Corps, was alive and not under suspension. 

"What should we do? Take a sick day?" You asked.

"I never take a sick day," Levi refused. "Besides, I'm a captain, I don't really need to do anything today other than assist in grading. Just copy off Erwin's scores but change them a little bit so it's not too obvious."

"Alright, then you can train in my place. Don't do anything fancy that I won't be able to do, but please get me a passing grade," you requested.

"I can get you a good grade," he offered.

"Keep it realistic," you insisted. "As much as I would love an excellent grade, it wouldn't be mine and I don't want anyone to get killed because they're counting on me to do something I'm unable to do." You became sad at the memory of Carl.

"That boy never stood a chance," Levi could read your expression easily, more so since it was written on a face that truly belonged to him. "I wish I had been closer to the area, I should have rushed over the second Larry left the formation. Then I could have gotten rid of that titan near the gate and Hange could have saved Carl or vice versa. You did all you could. You're actually pretty good for a rookie, if you were better prepared you would have made it to the top ten." Levi fell silent all of a sudden, his expression abruptly turning frustrated. "Let's just get this over with," he snapped.

You kind of understood what had happened. He was used to speaking his mind because he thought you were a part of his mind. This situation was so weird that it was taking some time for it to fully sink in that it was real. You got a glance of dream Levi before he retreated behind the defensive walls he usually put up around him when he was awake. "Let's just get ready," you got up and paused. "How are we supposed to get ready?"

Levi began to list off a few things that were part of a normal morning routine, as if you had asked a very stupid question. "Shower,  uniforms, breakfast-"

"No!" You interrupted. "You can't shower me, my body," you could feel your face turning bright red and fought the urge to run to the mirror to see what Levi would look like blushing like that. 

Levi made a very disgusted face. "I can survive switching bodies for a day, but you can't expect me to go that long without a shower!"

"You can shower all you want after we change back!" You insisted. 

"Maybe you should try to come to an understanding," Farlan suggested, trying to keep the peace. 

"Yeah, big bro, you can see it when you earn it," Isabel nodded at her own statement, as if she had made a good point. Your face became redder and a heavy silence settled in. Isabel's smug expression fell and she began to wonder if she was helping or hurting the situation. 

"Let's just get this over with," Levi finally snapped. "Can I at least brush my teeth? Your teeth?"

"I suppose..." You agreed to at least that much and watched as Levi retrieved a new tooth brush and began to take it out of the package. "Here, you can have a new one too if you want." He gave you a tooth brush as well. Just how many extra tooth brushes did he have? You decided you didn't need to know and focused on brushing your (Levi's) teeth, copying what he was doing to your teeth as closely as you could. It looked like he was enjoying the simple mundane morning activity a little too much, but at least it relaxed him a bit, too bad you were still on edge.

After the teeth cleaning was done, Levi began to look through his drawers for a uniform. He shoved some clothes into your hands and continued looking through the drawers.

"We'll be around..." Farlan went through the door without opening it, hoping that no arguments would break out through the day.

"Yeah, see you..." Isabel followed him, exiting the room, passing through the closed door as well.

You stood there silently, with the uniform in your arms until Levi turned to glare at you. It was odd seeing your mirror image glaring at you. "Well? Aren't you going to change?" He asked in annoyance.

"But you're still here..." You paused, realizing how illogical the statement was. What was the point of him leaving if he took your body along? "Never mind, just close your eyes when you change." You got Levi's body dressed as quickly as you could, trying not to get distracted by it and trying not to think about your own body being dressed beside you. Once you were done, you looked at the image of yourself in a uniform that wasn't yours. Thankfully, it fit well enough that people might not question it, even if it wasn't a perfect fit. 

"Try not to blush so much," Levi put on his usual tie on his original body. You stayed still waiting for him to be done and waiting for the color in your cheeks to return to normal. He dug around the drawers some more, but it's not like he kept any ribbons laying around his room, so he resolved to using another tie to put your hair in a ponytail. He tied it into a white bow and, since the fabric was wider than an average ribbon, it looked poofy and cute, which he apparently didn't even realize, as he was just thinking about the practicality of getting your hair out of the way. None the less, you'd have to try wearing something like that when you were back in your own body.

Levi went out of the room with you following him, though to anyone who saw the scene it looked like he was following you. You saw Isabel and Farlan nearby, but didn't say anything to them, since no one else could see them and it would look like you were crazy. For the same reason, telling anyone that you had switched bodies was out of the question.

"(Name?)" Eren seemed surprised to see you on that side of the building so early in the morning, walking around with Levi. You had to stop yourself from answering, you were Levi now. "Morning Captain..." He kept staring as if the simple image of the two of you walking together early in the morning from the direction of his room would yield some kind of explanation to confirm or deny what Hange was saying earlier about Levi and his girlfriend. So far the theory was being reinforced, maybe it wasn't just Hange reading too deeply into something. Armin, who was now Eren's roommate since he was moved out of the cellar, emerged from the room and silently joined in the staring.

"Good morning. (Name), aren't you going to greet your friends?" You tried to sound as natural as you could, though you knew you were breaking character, but you didn't want Levi to go around being all silent and pouty all day.

Levi turned around, plastering a smile on your face. "Good morning, Eren, Armin, I guess I'm still a little sleepy this morning," it wasn't entirely a lie. It seemed that you were not biologically predisposed to be a morning person and now it was Levi who had to deal with that, at least for a day. 

"It's ok," Eren smiled, his eyes going from you to Levi, not knowing what to say. Armin just kept staring with a silent analytical look, as if he was trying to crack a secret code.

"I should get to the mess hall now, see you later," Levi hurried away. You looked at your escaping form, at the two boys, then bolted in pursuit of yourself. Levi slowed down, allowing you to catch up. "Don't follow me around, there's no reason for you to do that, get into character." You tried to quicken your pace and walk ahead, but soon Levi hurried to catch up with you and whispered angrily. "Don't do that girly walk, it's ridiculous!"

You frowned, "sorry that my natural way to walk is ridiculous," you snapped back.

"It's cute when you do it, it just looks ridiculous on me," Levi retorted in annoyance.

"Cute?" You questioned in surprise.

Levi groaned and shook his head. "You're blushing again," maybe he should have taken that sick day. 

"Sorry, sorry," you discreetly looked around, you were drawing closer to the mess hall and people were staring.

"Just try not to draw attention," Levi ran off into the mess hall, disappearing among the crowds. 

You went to get some food then scanned the area for a place to sit. "Hey Levi, can I ask you something?" Hange popped up out of seemingly nowhere.

You jumped back a bit but tried to stay cool, automatically walking to one of the tables beside her. "Sure," captains ate together, didn't they? Erwin was at the table where Hange was heading to as well and you've seen Levi talking to the commander on a few occasions before. You resolved that it would be normal enough for you to sit with them and did.

"So, is it true that (Name) is your lover?" You were thankful that you were already seated by the time Hange asked that question.

"No," you tried to sound indifferent, like you had nothing to hide.

"Then how come she was visiting you in your room so early in the morning?" Hange asked, her face was the picture of curious mischief. "I have two eye witnesses that saw you two walking together this morning, plus one other witness who assures that (Name) is not a morning person. I don't think she was visiting you at all, she spent the night, didn't she? I also have several witnesses that saw her whispering to you just outside the mess hall and you were blushing. Plus you're blushing now."

"That doesn't mean anything!" You snapped, trying to keep the assumptions under control.

"See that, Erwin? I told you," Hange ignored your argument entirely, like she didn't believe it at all.

Erwin nodded, accepting Hange's theory despite your words. "Yes, I see, there's not much to be said except that I wish you both happiness."

"But we're not... I'm not... She's not..." You realized it was entirely useless to try to argue, you were just giving them more ammunition. You tried to focus on the food and picked up a glass of orange juice, but decided against drinking it and put it down again. You nibbled on the bread, you had to eat something, you didn't want your stomach to growl embarrassingly or something like that, but no liquids, you really didn't want to get stuck with the necessity of using the bathroom. 

You looked around the mess hall discretely until you spotted Levi, in your body, sitting at a table pretending to be you. Mikasa, Eren, Armin and Sasha were at the same table. He seemed to be entirely focused on eating and hoping that no one tried to make conversation, but the conversation came anyway. You weren't sure what they were talking about, since they were too far to hear, but they were looking at you, well at Levi-you, and he seemed rather annoyed, which only made them more insistent. Finally, he says something that shut them up and touched his (your) head. You surmised that he excused his lack of socializing this morning with a headache, smart move, the less he spoke the less likely he would be to break character. You decided to do your best to follow that advice.

xoxox xox xoxox

After breakfast was over, the scouts went about their assigned tasks for the day. Levi went along with the 104th trainees and you stood with Erwin and Hange to the side, clipboard and pencil in hand. Erwin explained the test. It was thankfully nothing too complicated. The group was in a forest near the base. The cadets were to use their ODM gear to maneuver in any pattern they chose to approach a tall thick tree. They would then slash at the tree at the painted X and be evaluated. 

Your name was called first, since you were the rookie. You had two tries because you were new, those who had already been there for a year would only get one. You hoped Levi would get you a passing score on his first try, though he wasn't looking too sure of himself, like something was bothering him. He took off and you saw yourself flying through the air, unsteadily at first, but then he seemed to get the hang of it and tried to imitate some of the moves he recalled you knew, without going overboard. Everything seemed to be fine until he reached the target, the cut was too shallow and you heard a snap. You realized that the sound came from the pencil you  were nervously twisting around in your hand, while hugging the clipboard. 

After Levi landed your body on the ground, you slipped away with the excuse of getting another pencil and didn't even bother to copy Erwin's score like Levi instructed, it was hard to see his clipboard when he held it over Levi's head anyway. You would get another try after the 104th trainees had their turn, so there was still a chance to make up for it. Levi noticed that you had left your position as an observer and slipped away to meet you. "What are you doing?" He whispered in annoyance.

"Me? What are you doing?" You countered. "My cuts aren't that pitiful, that has to be a fail. I've been trying my best to put up a decent act, really!"

"I didn't do that on purpose!" Levi defended. Isabel and Farlan watched the exchange with concern. They wanted to give Levi someone to fall in love with, not someone to argue with.

"With your experience?" You frowned, glaring.

"That's my point," Levi retorted. "I actually practiced, you haven't had that much practice. In fact, because of the dream training, you actually have more technical skill than what you should and your body hasn't quite caught up yet."

"Fine, I get it, I still need more training to be as strong as a scout should be," you tried to understand it was an accident and that he wasn't letting you fail on purpose. You let out a breath and looked at the situation in a reasonable light. "I bet the ODM gear feels heavier than what you're used to, I guess that could throw you off. I don't know how to do that crazy spin attack you do, in fact I haven't really seen anyone else doing that. I'm still a rookie, I need to go all out to make a good cut and it's still difficult to do it at an angle." Like when you swung below that crawling titan. "It's easier from above with gravity in my favor." Like when you took down the titan Hange was distracting.

"Do you have sunburn or something?" Levi's question threw you off. 

On the bright side, if he was asking that, it meant he didn't peek, or else he would already know the answer. "No, why do you ask?"

Levi shook his head, "never mind, my bad, I've just forgotten what it feels like to be a rookie." Though the scouts made it look easy, the ODM gear belts actually put a lot of pressure on the body, especially the legs. "Try bandaging yourself where the belts give the most pressure until you get used to it, or they'll press against your skin too much."

"I'll remember that for when we're back to normal." You nodded, making a mental note of that for the future. "Do you want me to get some bandages now?"

"Since you already snuck off," Levi pointed out, which made you feel a bit guilty for breaking character first.

"Be right back," you handed him the clipboard and broken pencil, then ran off. 

Levi shook his head at the lack of scores and held half the pencil as best he could to write down some numbers. He knew what to expect from each person anyway and (Name) was the only one that was really new. 

You returned with the bandages quickly, amused by the simple fact that your legs, or rather Levi's, responded so well when you told them to move faster. "Here, you're pretty agile you know."

"Work hard and you can be too," Levi handed you the clipboard and occupied himself in bandaging your feet and readjusting the ODM gear belts. He put the boots back on and stood.

You curiously looked over the scores. You haven't really seen the others in action enough to be able to score them, but you trusted in the accuracy of Levi's scores, even if he wasn't watching the test. That is all except for one score. "You didn't have to score me so high. A score that's just barely a pass would have been fine. I won't get mad and do anything crazy."

"I didn't give you any extra points. I gave you only what you earned on the mission," Levi replied as he began to walk back towards the group. "Now go back and try not to say or do any other suspicious things."

"Ok..." was all you could say while your mind was occupied in other matters. did he really think you did well on your first mission? Based on what? The fact that you didn't run away screaming the first time you saw a titan? You didn't think you did anything grand, you just fought the monsters and tried to find ways to defeat them, it was the bare basics of your job, wasn't it? You pushed the thoughts away for the moment and hurried back to stand beside Erwin and Hange.

"Find a new pencil?" Hange inquired with a big grin.

"This one still works..." You held the two halves of the pencil and pretended to scribble something onto the clipboard, to give the illusion that you were scoring people after watching them take the test.

Everyone had their turn and it was your turn to go again. Once again, Levi tried to imitate your style of using ODM gear. You were a bit unpredictable, unless you were trying to be predictable to trick titans that were smart enough to recognize patterns but not smart enough to know it was a trap. The belts were still a bit uncomfortable, but with some practice, you'd get used to it and it wouldn't be a bother anymore. At the end, Levi went up high, then went down toward the mark, reversing his hold on the blades to stab instead of slash. He twisted them like a pair of giant scissors on impact and took out a good chunk of the tree. You didn't even know you were strong enough to do that, you'd have to remember that trick for your next mission. That was definitely a pass, an overkill pass. 

Erwin collected the clipboards and went off to list the final scores, which would be posted on the bulletin board for everyone to see, which was another reason why the scouts tried to do well on this test. Hange walked off, saying something about having some research to do and it looked like Levi's duties as a captain were done. You were about to regroup with Levi, as discretely as possible, to inquire about what was next on the schedule, but then Barlen arrived to complain about not being allowed to take the test. 

Frankly, you were not in the mood to deal with that guy. He was insufferable during training, picking fights and trying to show off. "C'mon captain, you even let some ugly girl take the test twice. If a girl can pass, then-" he didn't get to finish, he finally pushed your temper past the breaking point and, losing all notion to stay in character, you reacted. Barlen's scream of absolute agony echoed through the land as the notion sunk into his tiny brain that he was probably never going to have descendants after a kick like that. Then he fell into a misery induced coma as you walked away. Did you ever want to kick that guy, it felt good to finally give him what he deserved.

Levi (in your body) stared in shock along with several others. Jean was shaking like a jelly as he stuttered, "remind me to never piss off Levi."

"I'm going to clean my room!" Connie announced and ran off.

"That was way harder than when he kicked me in the face in court," Eren fearfully voiced. 

Levi glanced at the two angels that the others couldn't see. Farlan's jaw hung open and he remained still as a statue, unable to produce any other reactions. Meanwhile, Isabel was spinning and giggling like crazy and flapping her wings, trapped in a laugh attack. Levi very slowly turned his head towards Mikasa, who was covering with both hands, trying her hardest not to laugh. 

This was not avoiding attention, this was attracting way too much attention. On the bright side, the boys seemed very motivated to clean their rooms, but (Name) had made him look like such a cruel tyrant that Levi didn't know what to think. He rushed after you as quickly as he could and tried to calm down by picturing himself browsing the cleaning product isle in the super market.

Levi reached you just in time to see you talking to Erwin. You were about to follow him, when you spotted Levi, well technically you spotted yourself, but you get the point. "I'll be there in a minute, commander."

Erwin glanced at Levi (you) and nodded, "alright, don't take too long."

Levi went over to you, muttering something about 'big clean spaces' under his breath. He had calmed down significantly thanks to the relaxation exercise. "That was attracting too much attention," he scolded, though at least he wasn't too loud.

"Sorry..." You pouted. "He said I was ugly..." You whispered sadly. Levi looked around, then pulled you into a supply closet. "What was that for?"

"You're cute when you're confident." It was so quiet that you weren't sure you heard correctly, before the topic shifted into something else, spoken in a much clearer and angrier tone. "Get into character, just get into character and don't cause me any trouble."

"Wait... I'm cute? But I look like you. Are you a narcissist? I can deal with the whole neat freak thing but I'm not sure how I feel about-"

"Just shut up and go see what Erwin wants!" Levi snapped in annoyance. "And please don't say anything  I wouldn't say."

"Alright, alright, I'm going!" You left the supply closet and hurried to Erwin's office.

xoxox xox xoxox

Part 5: A Dream Come True

When you arrived at the hallway where the commander's office was located, you saw Hange at the door, talking to Erwin. She seemed to be letting him know that the scores had been posted at the bulletin board and talking about the test schedule of the rest of the scouts. "Ok, I'll make sure tomorrow's cadet's know about their test." 

Hange was about to leave when Erwin stopped her with a question. "Did you see Levi on the way here? He said he would only be a minute and he's usually very punctual."

"Oh, he might be a while," Hange replied with a mischievous tone. "Levi and (name) are having a quickie in the supply closet downstairs."

Your face, which was actually Levi's face, turned scarlet while Erwin let out a surprised gasp. "What? But he has a private room upstairs."

Hange shrugged, "maybe seeing so many cleaning supplies in one place turns him on or something."

You wanted to run away and hide your burning face, but that didn't feel very in character. You did your best to look annoyed, rather than mortified, and glared as hard as you could. "Hange!"

"Eek!" Hange jumped back nervously. "That was fast... I guess that's why they call it a quickie... I gotta go now!" She zoomed away full speed.

"Levi?" Erwin asked with worry in his voice.

"What?" You snapped, making the commander jump back in his seat. You realized that there was no reason for you to be angry at Erwin and calmed down. "Did you want to talk to me, commander?" You inquired in a much calmer tone.

Erwin still seemed a bit worried, but nodded silently and motioned to the chair across the desk. You sat down and waited. Erwin looked a bit frightened, maybe you underestimated the potency of Levi's glare. Hange looked terrified out of her mind when she ran away. You smiled sweetly, hoping to balance out whatever damage you had caused. Erwin took a deep breath, trying to process Levi's seemingly erratic mood. Maybe Hange was right, maybe he was madly in love with (Name), literally mad. 

"I called you here to share the results of the investigation you suggested," Erwin explained. "It turns out that you were right. The ten cadets that went into the Military Police bought their way there. Their positions were revoked. The ten cadets that got the real best positions will be given the chance to join the Military Police. A few of the cadets that joined the Garrison have already began the transfer process to the Military Police, though most of them took a liking to being in the Garrison and decided to stay." Dot Pixis was likely one of the reasons for that, he could come up with some pretty inspiring speeches on the spot if he had to. "(Name)'s true rank was five rather than fifteen. She's the only one of the top ten who hasn't been informed of the discovery yet. Let her know and tell her to come see me when she's made her choice."

You were taken by surprise, you didn't think you could be in the top ten. Everyone else seemed to be so much more skilled and they made it look easy. You hoped you could be that talented when you had more experience. "I think (Name) wants to stay in the Survey Corps."

"I thought so too," Erwin nodded, not surprised. "She still needs to sign some documents to make it official though, proof that the offer for the Military Police was made and such."

"Alright, I'll let her know," the meeting was shorter and easier to handle than you had thought. 

After you were dismissed, you went off to find Levi. You didn't see him anywhere and wondered if he had been dragged off somewhere by your friends while trying not to break character. You decided to check your room and ventured down the familiar hallway. The sound of Sasha's loud singing in the shower carried out through her closed door and invaded the hallway. You arrived at your door and reached for the knob, then paused, thinking better of it and knocked. 

Mikasa opened the door, she seemed a bit surprised and held the door partially closed as if to block the view inside of the room. "Yes, captain?"

"Is (Name) here?" You asked simply, trying to sound indifferent.

"No, sir," Mikasa replied. She looked like she wanted Levi to leave and you reasoned that she must have left some stuff laying around the room and didn't want him to see the mess.

"Ok..." You left, making your way out of the area, leaving behind the sounds of Sasha's wild battle cry of a song.

xoxox xox xoxox

Levi had been in the kitchen cleaning some dishes. Sasha stole his juice during breakfast because of some promise (Name) had made to share her food and he was thirsty. He got sidetracked cleaning when he went to get a glass and ended up cleaning them. Later, he would have a word with whoever did the dishes this morning. Ok, now that the dishes were clean, he could finally have a glass of water.

"(Name!)" Mikasa appeared and began to drag him away. "We need to get ready!" 

"Ready for what? Can't I have a glass of water?" Levi reached for it but Mikasa pulled him away again.

"There's no time, you need to be prepared." Mikasa ran off, dragging Levi away by the arm, thinking he was you. 

xoxox xox xoxox

Mikasa and Levi approached the hallway where your room was located, as Mikasa explained. "Levi was here a few minutes ago. He was only looking for you, but I think he might have seen something."

"Seen what?" Levi asked, trying not to sound too suspicious about whatever was hidden in (Name) and Mikasa's room. 

Before Mikasa could explain, Sasha's door burst open and a still pained, limping Barlen hurried out, with an arrow stuck on his bleeding right shoulder. Sasha dashed after him, clad in a towel and armed with a bow and arrow. She let the arrow fly and it became embedded on Barlen's left knee, sending him crashing to the floor. Later, if anyone asked him why he wasn't in the military, instead of admitting he got kicked out, he'd claim he was a great scout, until he got an arrow to the knee... but no one would believe him.

"What happened?" Mikasa exclaimed.

"He tried to grab my marshmallows!" Sasha shouted angrily.

Mikasa looked murderous. "You disgusting low-life!" She began to kick him incessantly. 

"It was just a little peep," Barlen agonized.

"He confessed!" Sasha shouted in a fury. "He was trying to steal my marshmallows!"

Mikasa's face held a look of realization, then she shrugged and figure the crime was bad enough anyway and kicked him again. 

Sasha pushed Levi towards them. "Kick him for me!"

Trapped in the insanity, Levi shrugged and kicked him in the nose, which broke, earning an approving nod from Mikasa. "Good one, (Name). It looks like he's knocked out again, we need to take care of business before Levi comes back."

"What business?" Levi asked, his curiosity returning.

Krista suddenly emerged from her room, with Ymir following after. "It's here! It arrived in the mail!" She was hugging a box which seemed to be marked as coming from Sina. "The best artists in the city worked on this commission, Fangirl Vision: Survey Corps Edition!" She opened up the box and began to pass the paintings around. 

Levi spotted one that looked familiar and stared at it in shock. "That's..." 

Krista passed the picture over, "you can keep it, if you want." She smiled sweetly.

It was Levi, or an artistic representation of him. One hand had its fingers through his hair as he looked out of the frame seductively. The other hand was lazily holding a Survey Corps cloak in front of his lower body, as if he'd drop it at any moment, which would entirely change the context of the picture, given the fact that was the only article of clothing in it. Levi was tempted to destroy the picture, but tried his very best to stay in character and managed a quiet, "thank you."

"Here, Mikasa," Krista handed her a picture of Eren, his lower half was only covered by titan mist and a, shall we say 'stylized,' version of his titan appeared in the background for some bonus fanservice. 

Mikasa had a big smile on her face, "thank you!"

"Which one do you want, Ymir?" Krista offered.

Ymir looked through the pictures with little interest, pausing at one of them. "This one," she finally decided. She showed the picture to the other curious girls who wanted to see her pick. It was Armin, a very shota looking Armin. 

"Maybe I'll keep this one," Krista showed everyone a picture of Erwin. That was it, Levi was done putting up with this insanity. 

"Hey girls, what are you doing?" Hange arrived. Good, for once, Levi was actually glad to see her, maybe she would end this craziness.

"The Fangirl Vision: Survey Corps Edition commission is here!" Krista happily announced.

"Ohh!" Hange hurried over to look over the pictures, commenting with scores such as seven out of ten, eight out of ten and so on. It became evident that she wasn't going to present any complaints about this. She suddenly squealed and jumped around with a picture in her hands. "Can I keep this one?"

"Sure," Krista was quick to agree.

Consumed by curiosity, Levi glanced at the picture Hange held... The Colossal and the Armored... Only that crazy group of artists known as Fangirl Vision could somehow draw freaky titans in a y style. "Thank you!" Hange cheered, then went on her way, going on and on about where she was going to put the picture. 

Sasha, now fully dressed, joined the group and looked over the pictures, suddenly exclaiming, "this one has to be mine!" Her face was flushed bright red as her hand traced the outline of the image and watered. "This is perfection." This was scary. Levi tried to retreat, but Sasha turned the picture over to show it off. "Look (Name), isn't this the most amazingly y thing you've ever seen? Is it? Is it? Is it?"

The image showed... A cake, a chocolate cake with cookies around it and an abundance of frosting, sprinkles and caramels on top. "It... looks delicious," Levi finally managed to say, and honestly, it did. 

Levi attempted to escape again, but Mikasa recalled why she dragged him over there in the first place. "I almost forgot, we need to get ready, Levi was around here earlier."

"No!" Sasha agonized with such a dramatic pained voice that anyone would think she's dying. "Levi only walks these halls for one reason..."

"Two reasons now," Mikasa corrected, motioning towards the one who carried your appearance.

"Right, two reasons," Sasha nodded. "One of those reasons is (Name) and the other reason is..." Sasha paused dramatically, her expression showing just how grave the situation was.

"Why are you making Levi sound so sinister?" Levi reluctantly asked, wondering just what kind of image these insane creatures had of him. 

"Because that other reason is... A cleaning inspection!" Sasha dramatized as if it was indeed a terrible thing.

"He has the ability to glance at a room for a split second and pinpoint the position of every particle of dust," Ymir informed with a frown.

"We need to be careful not to open the door until we know who's knocking," Krista caution. "If it's Levi, just say that you're getting dressed and use that time to hide the mess. Just shove it all under the bed, Levi doesn't look there since Sasha convinced him there's nothing but tampons under there."

"Saved myself from the discovery of a lot of empty candy wrappers," Sasha recalled, like a survivor telling a tale of war. "It's like he could somehow sense they were there. Actually, I never got around to throw them out, so they're still there. I'll throw them out after I have a snack." Sasha skipped away. How could she be so calm when she knew there was such a disgusting mess under her bed?

Levi was having a very hard time trying to stay in character, "I have an idea." He tried to look sweet, so as to not show how disturbing all of this was. "How about-"

"Good idea, thanks (Name)," Mikasa smiled as if she already knew what the idea was.

Levi was only going to suggest that they clean their rooms instead of hiding the mess. Maybe Mikasa had reached the obvious conclusion on her own, well, it's about time.

"Yes, thank you for offering to distract Levi," Krista smiled.  

"Wait, what?" That was not what Levi was trying to say.

"Mikasa!" Eren's voice echoed as he dashed over with several cleaning supplies in his arms. With lightning speed, Mikasa hid the picture of Eren behind the Levi picture he held. "Mikasa! Please let me clean your room!"

"Me too!" Armin followed Eren, armed with a bunch of cleaning supplies of his own.

"Jean is hogging all the cleaning and we don't want to be the next one to get kicked!" Eren explained. "So please, let us clean your room! You don't mind, right (Name)?" He paused upon laying eyes on the painting. "Captain Levi?!"

Levi hugged the painting in an attempt to hide it. He was tempted to accidentally drop the one behind it, but decided not to complicate things. He just handed the paintings back to Krista, who put them back in the box for safe keeping. 

A moment of heavy silence passed, until Mikasa, relieved that the Eren painting wasn't discovered, finally replied. "You guys can clean our room, I'm sure (Name) won't mind, just give me a moment." Mikasa went off into her room, probably with the intention of hiding her Eren doll. "Ok, you can get started now."

"Thanks!" Eren and Armin rushed into the room and began to clean.

Jean arrived, armed with cleaning supplies of his own. "Does anyone need cleaning? Anyone?"

"Jean, you're hogging all the cleaning!" Connie appeared beside him, similarly armed with cleaning supplies. "I volunteer to clean Sasha's room!"

Sasha poked her head out of her room upon hearing the offer, "really?"

"I volunteer too!" Jean offered as well.

"No way!" Connie argued. "Sasha, pick me and I'll give you this!" He offered a chocolate bar as bribery.

"Deal!" Sasha snatched away the candy and Connie victoriously marched into her room. 

"Just make sure to casually mention to Levi that I'm the one who cleaned your room, ok?" Connie requested.

"Sure," Sasha agreed with a mouth full of chocolate.

"What about me?" Jean pouted.

"Why don't you just clean that?" Ymir pointed at the pitiful unconscious form of Barlen.

"I'm on it!" Jean began to push Barlen away with a broom as if he was an ordinary piece of trash, which he kind of was.

xoxox xox xoxox

You ventured down the hallway that led to your room. You heard from Hange that you were in that area. She was hiding a canvas, you couldn't see what was on it, she was really trying to keep it hidden. You found some of the guys cleaning and wondered if the extra chore of cleaning rooms that were not their own was a punishment of some kind. That theory was soon dismissed when they started coming to you, bragging about all the voluntary cleaning they were doing. "Very good..." You humored them with a compliment that seemed to fill them with great relief. 

Levi rushed over, at least you found him, though he was making you appear to be kind of stressed. "Captain," he tried to act calm and natural. "I'm ready for my cleaning lesson now."

"Cleaning? Oh right, cleaning," you nodded. The two of you hurried off away from the insanity. You had agreed that Levi would spend the rest of the day cleaning in an attempt to relax. That meant that you would be seen spending the day cleaning. You might as well join in, since that was Levi's thing. 

xoxox xox xoxox

"Ok, we have everything, so I guess we'll just clean for the rest of the day." You looked around the room. There was some spare equipment and a bookshelf there. It didn't look like the room was used often, albeit you thought it was already clean enough. 

"This room is so filthy," Levi frowned at it. "Look at all the dust!" Clearly, he couldn't wait to get started. "I need to get a glass of water first, I won't allow thirst to distract me from cleaning."

"No!" You hurried to stop Levi and tripped over your own feet, or rather Levi's own feet, in your rush. "Ow, no liquids... ow..."

Before Levi could reply, Hange passed by and poked her head into the room curiously. "Aw (Name), are you thinking about joining the Military Police?"

"What?" Levi blinked in confusion, while you lifted his body off the floor with as much dignity as possible.

"Isn't that the reason why Levi is on the floor, because he's begging you to stay?" Hange inquired.

"I just tripped," you tried to excuse the incident before Hange could read more deeply into it. 

Hange suddenly jumped back and hid behind the door, then carefully peeked into the room again. "Phew, no grim reaper glare this time. That was scary. Well, I don't want to be the third wheel, so I'll be going now," Hange left.

"What's that about the Military Police?" Levi asked.

"My rank was five, the top ten bought their ranks. Erwin mentioned you were the one who suggested that investigation. I'll sign the paperwork certifying that I was informed and agreed to stay in the Survey Corps tomorrow after we change back," you explained.

"You should join the Military Police," Levi voiced, which made you kind of disappointed.

"I know I have a lot to learn. Even if I was at the top ten, I'm still a rookie and I'm not nearly as good as everyone else here who has more experience. I know that, but I'll work hard and improve. I want to stay here, I won't be a burden," you argued.

"That's not what I meant, you'll be safer in the MP-"

"I'm not going, don't even think about trying to accept in my place because I'll come right back," you stubbornly stated with finality. 

"You're here because of some stupid dream, you can't risk your life for that," Levi argued.

"You're here too," you countered. "You can't tell me not to make this choice when you..." You fell silent, recalling the fact that the stories from the dream came from Levi himself. His background wasn't fiction, it was all real, which meant that initially, he really didn't have a choice. "I'm sorry..."

A heavy silence fell between you, which Levi didn't end. He simply began to clean, focusing on that. You started cleaning too, just to distract yourself. The silence was getting to you and you started humming, which eventually evolved into singing. That lasted for some time until Levi told you to be quiet. You were about to complain, you thought you had been doing a pretty good job adapting to the use of male vocals. However, the reason for Levi's interruption became evident before you said anything. He opened the door and a mountain of scouts went from leaning on it to laying on the floor. 

Hange was heading the pack, accompanied by Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Sasha, Jean and Connie. They hurried to get up and saluted, then backed away slowly, until they broke into a run down the hallway. "Oops..." You watched them run away while Isabel and Farlan laughed as discretely as they could. 

"Let's just get some lunch and take a nap," Levi suggested.

"Good idea, we should be able to change back by now." You followed him to the mess hall, where you ate little and didn't drink anything. 

xoxox xox xoxox

You couldn't go to your own room in Levi's body, since Mikasa would question why he was sleeping on your bed. Levi wasn't going to head back into that chaotic corner of the base, so you both just went to his room. The assumptions and rumors were already crazy as they were and you both had more important things to do. 

You took off the ODM gear belts to be more comfortable, removed the boots and jacket, then went to bed. You glanced at the image of yourself next to you on Levi's bed, still as a statue. If you could only fall asleep, this chaos would be over. You closed your eyes and tried to relax, letting your mind wander, even if it brought you memories of your sweet dreams of Levi that turned out to be so much more than dreams. 

You were finally dozing off when Levi sat up with the frustrated, very certain and final sounding, declaration of "I can't do this!"

You jolted out of your half asleep state and sat up. "You're not tired enough? Maybe if you exercise you'll get tired."

"No!" Levi snapped. "That'll just make me sweaty. But even if I sit still and wait I don't think I'll be able to fall asleep tonight. I need a shower."

"Oh, oh..." Farlan sighed. "Remember when there was a water shortage in the underground city?"

"Yeah," Isabel nodded worriedly. "Big bro still managed to stay clean, but he claimed he wasn't clean enough and couldn't sleep until he could take what he called a proper bath, whatever that means."

"He stayed awake for an entire week, until the problem was solved," Farlan recalled. "It might have been much longer if it wasn't."

"You've got to be kidding me," you groaned in exasperation. "Can't you make an exception this one time? Please?"

Levi shook his head, "I can't. Even if I try, I'm just unable to fall asleep when I'm this uneasy."

"How about a sleeping pill?" You suggested.

"We tried it," Isabel cautioned, "it only made him cranky because he was super tired but still couldn't fall asleep."

"There's a simple solution," you had a very uneasy feeling about Levi ending that sentence. "I could just go and-"

"No," you interrupted. "You're not bathing my body."

"You can go wash mine if that'll make you feel like we're even." You had to admit Levi's offer was tempting.

But the exchange was ultimately too embarrassing, "no."

"It can't be any worse than the soap thing," Levi snapped.

"Soap?" You questioned in confusion.

"The fairy tale themed dreams. I remember not being in full control like in the other dreams, but you were there, so those couldn't have been ordinary dreams," Levi theorized. Your eyes went wide. You looked at Levi and you looked at Isabel and Farlan's guilty expressions. Then you looked at Levi again as you blushed bright red. You gripped the sheets in embarrassment. "Before you give yourself a black eye," Levi raised his hands defensively. "That was entirely your fault. I was just cleaning the tub, minding my own business when you arrived and-"

"Shut up!" You snapped. "I don't want to hear it. Fine, go take a bath, I don't care, I'll wash you too if it'll end all of this. I just want to go back to normal and forget it all!"

"Don't you think I want to forget it too?" Levi argued. "I'm not doing this on purpose, if I say I can't sleep it's because I really can't. I really wish I could, but I just can't! Stop your stupid whining, it's not like I'm the one who invaded your mind and stole your private thoughts."

You wanted to argue back, but you simply couldn't. "Just go," you buried your face in the pillow and refused to move from that position or make any further effort to respond. In a sense, you had 'seen' more of him then he had of you. You didn't have secrets, you didn't have a complicated past, you didn't carry the memories he did. You stole those memories from him and you wondered if he hated you for it. The dream Levi that captured your heart and the real Levi were the same, but his trust was not easy to earn and you had taken too much from him too fast.

You weren't sure how much time had passed, but someone got into bed next to you and you felt like you were being watched. You lifted your face from the pillow and Levi, with damp hair and different clothes, frowned in dismay, except it was your face. "Don't sniffle on my pillow."

You defiantly buried your face on the pillow again, Levi's voice sounding off muffled as you spoke. "Sorry for breaking character, I forgot the invincible Levi doesn't cry." You growled in a mix of sarcasm, sadness and anger. You got up and stumbled towards the bathroom, in an effort to get some kind of payback.

"You already know that's not true," you heard Levi quietly say just as you closed the door.

All this arguing was just making you feel worse. You felt guilty for what you knew, for all the private thoughts he shared on accident. To him that was probably even more uncomfortable than the whole body switch. You let the water wash over you in the shower. Though Levi's body was certainly a sight to behold, you found it hard to enjoy when you were feeling so guilty. 

You listened to the voices on the other side of the door in the bedroom area. "Big bro, please don't blame (Name), this was all our fault," Isabel apologized.

"It was wrong of us to interfere," Farlan added. "We only made things worse for you and probably ruined the chance of something happening naturally." He stopped himself from speaking further. 

"It seems we're only good to cause you trouble after all," Isabel frowned, holding back tears. The two angels were clearly very sorry about what happened, as if the thought of hurting their precious brother was a torment, even if it was unintentional. "Please don't hate us."

"Stop that," Levi finally spoke. "I don't hate either of you and I don't blame you for this. I appreciate that you were trying to help, so don't feel bad about it. It's alright, don't let it bother you."

You finally exited the bathroom, "Levi..." you quietly voiced, though you couldn't get your thoughts in order to figure out exactly what you wanted to say.

"Go to sleep (Name), you'll be able to forget this and get on with your life soon." Levi laid down again and tried to fall asleep.

You let yourself fall back into the bed and tried to retreat into slumber, if only to get away from the world and its confusion.

xoxox xox xoxox

The scenery was completely empty, only an endless nothingness like the night sky without the moon and stars. Levi arrived with Isabel and Farlan, this dream must be taking place in Levi's body. Since that was the dream world, you and Levi were in control of your own respective projections. 

"Your souls are not entirely relaxed, but they're not in body clinging survival mode anymore. It looks like we'll be able to pry them off and put them in their respective bodies," Farlan informed with relief.

"Big bro, (Name), from now on we'll leave everything to you without interfering," Isabel assured. "I guess this is goodbye..."

Much to their surprise and yours, Levi hugged the two angels. "Visit my dreams whenever you can, just don't do any more out of body experiences."

"Alright big bro, we promise!" Isabel cheered.

"Right, we'll come to visit, but only that," Farlan agreed. "(Name) we apologize to you as well."

"Yeah, sorry to have dragged you into this," Isabel voiced.

"It's ok, I'm not angry at you," you replied honestly. Now that the chaos was ending you felt strangely sad. Then you realized why, you knew the dreams wouldn't return and you would miss them, you would miss Levi. "I know the two of you had good intentions and it's sweet that you're like Levi's guardian angels." You tried to stay calm, you didn't want Isabel and Farlan to think you were angry at them, and you weren't, you were just sad.

xoxox xox xoxox

When you woke up, you were back in your own body. You were physically alright, though kind of thirsty. "We're back to normal," you breathed. "Sorry for making things harder," you quietly voiced. "I never got around to properly apologizing."

"You got dragged into this even if it doesn't concern you, you're the only one who could rightfully complain," Levi replied. "Besides, all you ever did was be sincere and supportive in the dreams, that's not something to apologize for. I should be the one apologizing to you for encouraging you to join the Survey Corps and driving you to put your life in danger."

"You didn't make me join, I wanted to join. Do you remember? There were times when we disagreed on things and we ended up talking about it for the whole night. Sometimes in the end we found an agreement, but sometimes we just agreed to disagree. If I didn't want to join, I wouldn't have accepted it, I would have argued even if I thought I was arguing with myself. This is my choice and I'm glad I made it." you paused, moving on to the most difficult part of the situation. 

"All of this does concern me," you insisted. "Maybe it shouldn't, maybe I don't have the right to be concerned, but I am. The dreams are over and I'm going to miss them. It was nice being able to talk to you like that, but I know I don't deserve it. I'm sorry for stealing your thoughts, I'm sorry for taking more trust than what I had earned. I hope you don't hate me... because I really admire you. I swear, somehow I'll earn your trust, for real," you assured, filled with a fiery determination. "Until then, if you want, we can just forget anything happened... But I don't want to forget it forever."

A heavy silence settled between you. You waited for Levi to say something or show any hints of what he was thinking for a few seconds but it felt like hours. Then finally, he made his choice, "remember this." He kissed you, catching you completely off guard. His arms wrapped around you, holding you close against his warm body. Your brain stopped processing your thoughts and allowed instinct to take over. Kissing Levi in your dreams was amazing, but kissing him for real was even better.

End

The arrow to the knee is a reference to Skyrim. There's also a reference to marshmallow peeps.

Webdesign/Personal: http://azurelight.net
Deviant Art: http://mikaristar.deviantart.com
Fanart Central: http://fanart-central.net/user/AzureMikari/
Artrift: http://artrift.com/Mikari/
Tumblr: http://mikariazure.tumblr.com