We arrived at the castle ruins by nightfall. My squad members seemed to have warmed up to me quickly after our understanding in the fields. As we rode they kept bugging me about irrelevant things.

They questioned if I had a favorite food or if I have a certain pet peeve. All their questions were centered around me. I wondered where these four got the guts to interrogate me in such a way but, I didn't stop them.

It was different to be acknowledged like this for once and not have anyone avoid me. I constantly get the sense of deja vu around them.

"Look, the question is stupid," I sigh tiredly as we walk inside the stone castle. "I'm not going to answer."

"Awe, c'mon, Emma!" Sean cackles behind me. They all follow me like a pack of puppies. "The question is simple!"

"But also stupid!" I sigh with a small smile. "Why the hell would I tell you my preference of men?"

Before any of them could rebuke me, a group of rushed footsteps head towards us.

"Em, you're alive!"

I didn't react to Edward slamming his body into mine, trapping me into a bear hug. I focused on keeping my arms out awkwardly as I try to breathe under his tight grip. I notice Hanji and Nifa. They stood a couple feet away, pressing their lips together to fight back a laugh.

"My god, you scared the living lights out of us!" Edward exclaims while burying his face into the crook of my neck. A tingling sensation rouses my whole body and my eyes widen.

"And I'll do just that if you don't let go!" I wheeze. Realizing he was squeezing me too hard he lets go with a sheepish smile. I sigh through my nose feeling a bright blush coming to my cheeks. "Damn, couldn't you just greet me normally?" I scold.

I do my best to mask the embarrassment I felt. However, it did little when I notice how tight lipped Hanji and Nifa were as their eyes gleamed in amusement. I roll my eyes at the two before turning back to Edward.

"Sorry," he mutters while rubbing his head. "I was just really worried."

"Just her or all of us?" Nat takes a step forward with her hands on hips. She gives him a pointed glare with a pouty look. Edward blinks unresponsive towards her before nodding vigorously.

"O-of course I was worried about all of you!" He exclaims. "I wanted more than anything to help you guys but Captain Levi told me not to!" Nat stares at him a moment longer before accepting his quick-witted response. She drops her hands and gives him a sweet smile instead.

"I killed a Titan!" She says happily. "Aren't you proud?"

I stood silently as I watch the two converse. Well, more like, Nat talking Edward's ear off as she tries to gain a praise from him. The others, Elise, Sean, and Daniel, adding more to the fire by teasing the two.

It was nice to see them so relaxed after the uncanny encounter we had hours ago. But the feeling was short-lived when I hear a loud ahem.

"Oi, brats the more you stand around and run your mouths the more annoyed I'll get."

Peering over Edward's shoulder I see Levi glaring at us with crossed arms. I gladly glare back.

"Who cares?" I sneer. "If you're so prone to getting annoyed while people converse then do us all a favor and quit bothering us."

Everyone pipes down as soon as those words left my lips. I could feel everyone's stare upon us. Levi shifts his weight onto one leg, his chin lifting while his eyes narrow even more.

"What did you say?"

I had no recollection as to where all my anger came from. I found myself glaring daggers at Levi. My heart rapping tremendously against my chest. I clench my hands into fists.

"You heard me," I spat as I push past Edward. "Why don't you go somewhere else and play lovebirds with one of your subordinates."

Levi was quick to grab hold of my collar. I do the same.

"You really going to tell me to do some shit like that when I see you touching and flirting with Cadets yourself?" He explodes.

"Tch, are you jealous?" I smirk deviously. It only pisses him off even more. He gets in my face, his teeth bared into a snarl.

"Why would I be jealous of Cadets touching trash like you? I'll get my hands filthy."

"Then what are you doing right now?"

"I'm about to punch some sense into---"

"Whoa, whoa! No need to get violent!" Hanji pushes herself between Levi and I. She keeps a firm hand on both our shoulders to keep us from ramming back into each other.

"Oi, what are you doing?" I demand. Levi doesn't react as I did but only sends her an annoyed glare.

"Keeping you guys in check," Hanji hisses. Discreetly she motions her head behind me. Glancing in that direction, we see Erwin and Mike enter the castle while conversing. They didn't seem to notice us first. "Now, do you guys want to get punished while we're on a mission? Or would you rather resist the urge to flirt in whatever crazy way you're doing it?"

I whirl back to her my eyes wide in rage. She only stares at us both with that mischievous smirk of hers. I found nothing amusing.

"We weren't flirting!"

To my surprise I wasn't the only one who shouted that claim. I look at Levi who was staring coldly at Hanji. He meets my gaze and something jolts inside me.

His grey eyes layered in despise was enough to make me flinch. I click my tongue, I never understood the stinging sensation that built up inside me each time he glares at me in such a way.

He roughly shoves away Hanji's hand and looks around us. Every Scout was gaping like idiots at us. It only pissed Levi even more.

"What the hell are you all looking at?" He snaps. "Don't you oafs have something better to do? Get out of my sight or I'll set you all to cleaning this place till it's spotless!" 

Just like that everyone scurries away, even my squad members. Levi sends me one last glare. I only stare back layering my eyes in bitterness but, I don't glare at him with disgust as he does to me.

Levi then stomps off with Petra not far from his tail. I scowl at the sight, does she always have to be near him?

\/\/\/\/\/\/

"Oh that's a great question!" Edward exclaims with a chuckle. He turns to me, excitement radiating through him. "Did you answer it??"

"Hell no!" I shout with a huff.

As of now, after Levi's explosion everyone had deemed it wise to keep to themselves. This meant my squad members, Edward, Hanji, and Nifa had a chance to annoy me further.

"Have a little fun, Emma!" Hanji laughs while hooking an arm around my shoulders. "For the five years I've known you, I don't know the type of men you prefer."

"Agreed!" Nifa grins. She leans against a crate while chewing on some stale biscuits. "Do you like sexy guys? Cute ones?"

"I have no preference!" I exclaim hastily. I have no desire to answer this question as I find it immature and childish. Why would they care about something like that?

"That's BS!" Sean hollers. "Your type is Captain Levi, isn't it?" Blood immediately rushes to my cheeks and I abruptly stand.

"Like I hell it is!" I yell angrily. "That short stack means nothing to me!"

They all stare wide eyed at me, stunned by my outburst. I blink twice before realizing what I just did. I notice a few people glancing at us in questioning. I clear my throat awkwardly before settling back down to the floor.

"I don't like him." I cross my arms with a frown. Elise huffs with a smirk. It was like she doesn't believe my statement.

"So quick to deny, Emma," she teases.

"Fine, then. Forget about the Captain," Edward says. "At least answer the question."

"I said no already! That's something that only I should know."

"C'mon, Em!" He whines. "You said you'll answer three of my questions if I were to make it here alive!"

He glares at me childishly, pushing his bottom lip into a pout. My gaze softens slightly but I stand my ground. It's true I made the deal but I expected better questions than this. Seeing everyone's hopeful gazes I sigh in defeat.

"Alright, fine," I cave. "Guess I'll answer your dumb question then."

They lean towards me eagerly. It was the first time today did they voluntarily shut up. I roll my eyes at their idiocy.

"Strong," I mutter." "I like strong guys." They all nod thoughtfully and the guys start to inspect each other.

"Alright, strong guys. Go on." Hanji grins happily as she checks off something on a notepad. I look at her bewildered. Where the hell did she obtain a notepad? I push that ridiculous thought away and lean against the wall.

"Both cute and sexy," I answer Nifa's previous question. "Height isn't a big thing to me and they shouldn't be pushovers. If someone talks shit they should have the guts to put them in their place."

Hanji nods earnestly, her smiling widening with each scribble she makes. We all watch her intently while she mumbles to herself. I wasn't sure why she was taking notes but it seems to entertain her.

"Okay, anything else?" She questions. I give her a look, what more do they want to know? I shake my head in refusal but Hanji nods earnestly.

My nose scrunches at the sight of her and everyone else's curious gazes. I sigh tiredly, one way out of this was to tell them something they want. However, I wasn't sure what will be enough to satisfy them.

"Someone who's always there for me," I hear myself say.

I blink in surprise. It was a dumb thing to say, heck, it was too cliché. But when the words had left my lips they all seemed satisfied by my answer. My body eases when their eyes tore away from me.

"Alright! I narrowed the list down to two!" Hanji suddenly exclaims. I jump to her conclusion with dreadful feeling envelope me.

"What? What list?" I demand. "I thought you were writing down my preferences?"

Hanji laughs deviously with a nod. "I was, but using the information you gave, I was able to jot down who'll be a good match for you!" Elise and Nifa squeal in excitement and rush towards Hanji.

"Lemme see!" They demanded like children. I watch in irritation as Hanji secretly shows the two. They all gasp before laughing hysterically.

"What? Who's on this list?" I demand impatiently. I was confused and hated being left in the dark. It riled the balled up anger inside me. When Hanji shows the others while ignoring me, I begin to fume irritably.

"Damn it, stop laughing and let me see the list!" I snatch the notepad out of Hanji's hands leaving her to gasp.

"H-hey!"

I skim through the paper. Only what I said was on there and some checkmarks. Until I saw a name at the bottom of the list. It had a big circle around it as well as a star off to the side. I don't bother reading the other option. Seeing his stupid name brought my blood to a boil.

"Why the hell is Levi's name on the list?" I explode. "He's far from what I said!"

"Oh, on the contrary!" Hanji gleams. "You like strong guys, correct? Then Levi's strong. You want a guy whose sexy? Then BAM! You got a sexy short stack of a Captain!"

"And considering what he did to Reed, the Captain isn't afraid to teach anyone a lesson." Edward chimes.

I roll my eyes to their incredulous comments. This was becoming ridiculous. They were only teasing me after what Hanji said a couple hours ago. That didn't stop an embarrassing blush to envelope my cheeks however.

"The last part is tricky," Hanji hums thoughtfully. "I dunno if Levi is the type to always be there for someone but, we can test that!"

Seeing her mischievous grin I could only imagine the wheels spinning endlessly inside that head of hers. I quickly refuse the idea, my anger finally taking shape as I stood furiously.

"We're doing no such thing!" I shout in a stern tone. "If you guys think I like the Captain or even think of trying to test whatever dumb ideas you got then, forget it!" I show them the notepad and hold it tightly in hands. "I'm discarding this."

"Ah, that's vital information!" Hanji snatches it back before I could react. She holds the notepad close to her chest like a baby.

I scoff. "Vital information, my foot. Get some sleep. All of you. Maybe that'll get rid of these dumb thoughts."

"But what about my other two questions??" Edward sends me a look of a wounded puppy but, it did nothing to me. I sent him a warning glare. He stiffens and cowers to his blanket.

"I-I guess, I'll ask them later. . ."

Huffing in approval I step out of their little circle. As I start to walk away I hear someone quickly stand and ask me to wait. I spin around slowly while raising a brow.

"Aren't you sleeping here as well?" Nat asks with a small pout. She gestures to the huge room we were all in as it was mandatory for us to be here.

But I shake my head, "I sleep somewhere else."

I turn back around and start to walk once more. I do my best to ignore their questions towards Hanji and Nifa.

/\/\/\/\

Throwing hands over here after watching new episode of AOT

It ain't sitting with me well 😩

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