I wrote an extra-long chapter for my lovely readers because I made you all wait extra-long

Enjoy 

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Levi was livid.

He did not allow himself to think any further on the topic as he walked to Erwin's office. A full day had passed since he laid eyes on Gaia. He had not bothered going back to their room, beating the hell out of anyone who tried to talk to him made the task of staying awake all night even easier than it was. A tough reality of what he had to face no matter how much he tried, was that  Gaia comforted him enough to sleep. He could rarely sleep for more than an hour a night before he had met her, but since her presence came into his life, sleeping came as easy as breathing to him.

It tried to make it matter a lot less to him in his head, as he tried to ignore the fact that it felt as if a titan was taking hold of both his arms and pulling them in separate directions, tearing him apart at his chest. He had touched his chest multiple times to check if he had not somehow injured himself. No blood. No bone sticking out. Physical pain, he could handle any day, he had built a tolerance for it, but this... It almost hurt to breathe, it made little to no sense to him. 

He knew what it was, but he refused to acknowledge that what he might be feeling is: Heartbreak...

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Levi sat in shock as he listened to the scout's battle report. The fact that he was busy having fights and essentially been experiencing a teenage emotional crisis, so much had transpired with the scouts. The titan's full-out battle and Eren's ability to fight against them. He bested Reiner, the armored titan, but was then overpowered when Betholdt, the colossal titan fell on them both. Furthermore, Eren and Ymir were kidnapped thereafter and were also revealed to be a titan as well. Christa was ready to abandon the survey corps to follow her and Eren discovered a new aspect of his power after being saved by Mikasa...The new power being able to command titans...

Levi said wide-eyed as the messenger finished the report, his eyes skimming over the formal reports in front of him. His form was clearly rigid from shock.

"Will that be all?" Levi asked almost sarcastically, the disbelief apparent in his voice, despite the official documents being in front of him,

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"What the hell has your panties in a knot?" Jean asked the girl next to him, sitting on a crate with crossed legs, 

"Wouldn't you like to know," Gaia said sarcastically, ignoring everyone's odd glances at her grumpy and distant behaviour.

"We left her alone with Levi for too long, she is behaving just like him," Connie, whispered to Sasha, Gaia ended up hissing at the two,

"What the hell? Are we hissing now?" Jean asked rhetorically, clearly disturbed by her reaction, 

"Hmm, you have a point," Hanji said, walking into the room where the scouts had all been sitting, Levi followed her in shortly after,

"Was she just eavesdropping?" Eren asked, narrowing his eyes,

"Perhaps we have left her alone with Levi for too long, he probably took advantage of their alone time," Hanji said making her way to Gaia putting an arm around her and grabbing her face with her other hand, squeezing her cheeks together making her pout,

"Look at the poor thing," Hanji said, cooing at Gaia, who was frowning at the gesture but did not fight her,

"Dark bags under her little eyes, that wanton beast barely let her get any sleep," Hanji concluded with an amused smirk as she watched an irritated tick form on Levi's forehead and Gaia, sighed and rolled her eyes. The rest of the scouts blushed, only noticing her fatigue once Hanji pointed it out.

She looked at Levi, who seemed to be making a point of not looking at her, she narrowed her eyes at his behaviour. She had looked for him almost all night, after her visit with the stranger,  trying to get a chance to explain herself, but as the night went on her worry, sadness, and embarrassment turned into anger. She understood that she had a close relationship with Eren, which mostly felt instinctual and completely motherly if she had not made it apparent enough. What kind of person did he think she was, after saying that she was his? Did not occur to him that Eren is a child?!

"Oh, he didn't satisf-" Hanji started but was cut off by Erwin,

"You were sent to ask Gaia if she felt it too, not to tease Levi about their personal affairs," he said as he entered the door,

"So everyone just eavesdrops until they get into the room?" Jean said to Eren, who also looked at the situation in disbelief,

"Feel whot?" Gaia asked, her still being squished by Hanji.

They then retold her of the events that happened the day before leading up to Eren being able to control the titans.

"So basically, we have the assumption that all titans were able to feel it, since Reiner, Betholdt, and Ymir, looked like they did, but we have no way to confirm this," Erwin explained and Armin nodded his head enthusiastically as well. Hanji released her face and everyone looked at her expectantly. Her gaze finally locked with Levi's, it looked as though he wanted to look the other way once again, but did not. He was completely unreadable. She could not tell what he was thinking. She did not like how the fiery rage in her chest, calmed down under his gaze.

"This man is going to be the end of me," she thought to herself, noticing that he did not look any better than her, the ghost of a stubble on his face, along with the dark bags underneath his eyes, told her that he too had not slept the night before. The thought that he also could not rest comforted her in a way.

She did not realize how long she had been staring at Levi until she heard Erwin clear his throat and Hanji giggle from next to her. Jean facepalmed and shook his head, which caused her to fight back a chuckle,

"Oh I felt it alright," she said, crossing her arms, she could tell from Levi's reaction that he knew that it meant that he made false assumptions about her,

"Really?" Eren asked,

"All the way out here?" he asked in disbelief,

"As clear as day, I heard you command someone to die as if you were right in the room with me," she explained further turning to Eren, she could tell that Erwin and Hanji were still thinking what it entails.

"Even before you said anything, I felt it. A connection, like a rope that tied me and pulled me in your direction," she said, she knew that those details were unneeded, but she felt spiteful because of Levi's assumptions, she could see him go rigid in the corner of her eye, but she ignored him,

"Can you still feel it now?" Eren asked as held his hands up examing them, which was a good question, she could tell Erwin had also wanted to know that very same thing,

"Uhm... it's like a... phantom limb syndrome," she said, thinking back to the medical books that Hanji let her read, her eyes trailed Eren's flexing hands intently, 

"It's not there, but I can feel where it once was, that space tingles every now and then, similar to when someone's leg gets amputated and then a few days later, they can feel their ankle itch," she explained, looking up at the ceiling as she tried to remember the facts, Hanji looked proud, whereas Jean's face darkened at the thought......

"This should not be as surprising as it is though," she said, her leaning against Jean, knowing that it would anger a certain Captain in the room, she did not bother to even watch for his reaction, 

"What do you mean?" Armin asked,  she looked over at Eren and tilted her head to the side, smiling softly,

"Well, you have been using it on me to get me to learn ever since I got here," there was a pregnant silence, 

"THE BABYSTARE WAS ACTUALLY CONTROLLING YOU?!" Eren, Jean, and Connie shouted, 

"It was not your soft spot for him?" Armin asked, just as taken aback, 

"It was right in front of us, this whole time," Hanji commented, removing her glasses and rubbing her eyes, 

"But it never worked on Annie, Betholdt, and Reiner, while they were human," Eren said, 

"Well, if anything, we know that Gaia seems to be the exception to everything we know a titan to be, why would this be any different?" Jean said, Erwin nodded at this, 

"So it felt exactly like that every time?" Hanji asked Gaia, running her hands through the shorter woman's long hair, 

"Not as intense, every other time it just felt like a prick...at the back of my eye, this time it was as if someone reached into my titan self, and pulled at my human self still nested in the nape...but from the top of my head," she explained touching the crown of her head. The group watched her and processed her explanation,

"Was it painful?" Eren asked, knowing the uncomfortable feeling of being pulled out before being ready to get out of his titan form, she shook her head, turning to him,  realizing that he was the only one who probably could relate to the feeling, 

"It felt... natural and almost... familiar?" she said, slightly confused. He searched her eyes for more information, but she was clearly baffled by the fact that she was familiar with the feeling. The only way she would have known that feeling was if she somehow felt it before when she was out there with the titans...She tilted her keeping eye contact with him because she could remember only waiting there and being bored...but nothing before that... His eyes widened, her not remembering meant that they could not rule out the fact that she might have encountered it before...But he was sure that they had never met before and she was sure that he was never that far outside of the walls. Then how? She groaned and ran her hands through her hair, while Eren's hand went to his temple. How long has she been aware of this feeling though? The first time she felt it was when he turned into a titan in front of her when she was her titan self as well...but it did not feel familiar at the time. If she had no recollection of him or this before- at that time, then how could it be familiar to her now- despite having been around him before...They both gasped, could this mean th-

"Will the two of you cut that out?" Levi said, finally voicing what the rest of the group was probably thinking. They had watched Eren and Gaia stare into each other's eyes, twitch, nodding, and squinting as if they were having an actual conversation. This must be what the others were referring to before, their silent communication. Despite all his suspicions becoming null and void with the confirmation of the reports that all the titans had a reaction to Eren's call, watching them make that eye contact made him feel unsettled. 

"Yeah, it's creepy," Jean said, 

"You are just jealous that you can't do it too," Eren teased, not knowing of the glare that he was receiving from Levi, Gaia chuckled at the whole situation as Eren smirked. They captured eachother's eyes again, 

"Gaia's memories might be coming back," Eren said, not taking his eyes off hers. Hanji turned to them, 

"How can you tell?" she asked, 

"What does she know?" Erwin asked, 

"Nothing much, it's just that that feeling was present the day that she first saw me turn, but it was not familiar to her then, but it is now," Eren explained, 

"Are you sure she isn't just remembering it from that time, which is why it feels familiar?" Mikasa asked, eyeing the pair suspiciously, it unnerved her the way they did not stop looking at each other, 

"No, the feeling was familiar from before..." Eren explained, 

"You got all of that from just staring at each other?" Connie asked looking at them both as if they had both grown another head. 

"Naturally," Eren and Gaia answered simultaneously, she felt Jean cringe, 

"Stop that!" he exclaimed, shivering, which caused them to laugh, knowing that they would get that reaction from him. 

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