Artemis stood within the crowd of the 104th training corps, her fist balled against her heart as she listened to Keith Shadis's speech.

Light rain pattered delicately against the windowpanes of the hall, causing Missy's attention to shift temporarily away from the words coming out of the trainer's mouth. Missy loved the rain. She loved the way it felt against her face when she stood out in the center of the training yard with her head facing the sky. She sighed contently at the thought, before quickly averting her attention back to where Shadis stood. The past three years had flown by in what felt like one breath, she had been raised as a soldier, training since she was old enough to walk on two feet, and tomorrow she would officially be one.

Out of her peripheral vision, she could see her friend Connie standing beside her, and although his fist was over his own heart and his eyes were focused on Shadis, she knew he was most likely not paying attention to a word that was being said. Connie was a great fighter, agile, swift, and confident, but when it came to smarts- well let's just say she was sure right now if you looked inside his brain you would most likely find the image of a monkey slapping two symbols together.

Missy had been painfully unskilled in the art of socializing when she had joined the training corps three years ago. She had kept to herself mostly, until a certain group of misfit trainees decided to take on the seemingly impossible challenge of breaking down her walls. They had won in the end, and now Missy found herself comfortably surrounded by a swarm of chaotic idiots. Idiots she had grown to care for. However, training was now over. Missy and her pack of idiots now had a very important choice to make.

Which regiment they would join.

To no one's surprise, Artemis had placed at the top of their class. Mikasa had placed second, just half a point behind her and the two had shared nothing but a supportive nod between each other. Missy's twin brother, Apollo, had placed third in the class which had seemed to sour his already bitter feelings towards Missy and her friends.

Missy's relationship with her twin brother was strained to say the least. Joining the training corps together had attracted a lot of unwanted attention towards the pair, putting pressure on their already difficult relationship. They were whispered about in the halls for months, seeing as twins were exceptionally rare in Eldian society. Not only rare, but an omen of terribly bad luck.

Missy found herself wondering how her parents would react to her brother's position of third place. They were due to be returning home over the weekend before they began their jobs in their chosen regiment, so she would find out very soon. Although, knowing her father, the visit would be as unpleasant as it always was.

"You'll all have until tomorrow afternoon to choose which regiment you care to join," Shadis's booming voice filled the hall. "Make your choice wisely, as this will be the regiment you dedicate your hearts to for the rest of your careers".

With those final words, the 104th was dismissed.

"Come on," Missy spoke, shaking Connie's shoulder to pull him out of his daydream.

"Huh?".

"I knew you weren't listening to a word of that," She sighed, taking in the boy's confused expression. "We've been dismissed, dickhead, let's go and eat".

"Did someone say eat?" Sasha asked with a wide grin, popping up from behind Connie's shoulder before grabbing him by the collar and marching off towards the mess hall.

Missy couldn't fight back her eye roll as she followed the pair towards the dimly lit hall that was already bustling with her comrades, all indulged in excited conversations about their futures. She sat down with her plate at a table occupied by her pack of idiots.

"Missy will you tell this prat to stop being a naive, immature, little shit?" Jean spat, his eyes narrowed towards Eren who sat across from him.

Missy said nothing as she dug into her meal, acting as if she had never heard him speak.

"I'm the immature one?" Eren forced out a laugh, stabbing his potato with his fork rather forcefully. "You're all worked up because I'm joining the Scouting Regiment. Anyone would think you cared for me, Jean".

"Yeah Jean be careful," Ymir snickered, one arm wrapped around Historia's shoulder. "Can't be having people think you care about the suicidal maniac".

Eren pointed his fork at her, the potato still hanging from the end of it. "You shut up, freckles".

Missy raised her eyebrows, watching as the scene unfolded before her. She was more than used to this kind of dynamic within their group, especially between Eren and Jean.

"I don't give a shit about him or what he does," Jean scoffed. "I care about him preaching his bullshit to the rest of the group, trying to convince them to join the Scouts too".

"Just because you wanna be tucked away in the Capitol with the Military police doesn't mean everyone else has too," Eren retorted, rolling his teal-colored eyes and brushing his shoulder length hair out of his face.

"A cozy life in the Capitol does sound pretty tempting," Connie sighed thoughtfully, scratching his chin. "What do you think, Missy?".

Missy shrugged, swallowing her mouth full of food before replying. "I haven't decided".

Jean groaned into his hands before lifting his head to pin her with a glare. "Are you kidding? You're a Rhydduch! Isn't your blood curse supposed to pull you towards being closer to the Royal family or something?".

"Are you stupid?" Eren replied in an exasperated tone. "Her two oldest siblings are Captains in the Scouts, and Cassius is also a Squad Leader in the Scouts. Isn't there only two Rhydduch's in the MPs?"

"Yeah, Circe and Hades," Missy replied nonchalantly, not really wanting to enter a conversation regarding her siblings right now.

Eren smirked towards Jean who just rolled his eyes.

"Don't tell me you're considering joining the Military Police," A cold voice spoke from somewhere behind them.

They turned to see her twin brother, Apollo, sitting at the next table with his friends. "I was hoping to finally get rid of you, Artemis".

"You're joining the MPs?" Jean asked, looking a little less excited about it than he did before.

"Of course I am," Apollo scoffed.

"Yeah, of course you are," Eren muttered. "Anything to get out of doing any real, genuine work, right?".

"Shut up, Jeagar," Apollo growled. "I'm still surprised you made the top ten so be grateful you even have the choice".

"Just ignore him," Missy sighed, turning back to her food. "You know he thrives on attention".

"He's too much of a pussy to join the Scouts anyway," Eren smirked, lifting his arms to tie his hair into a messy man bun, almost as if he knew how this interaction would end. "Pretty sure the thought of being outside the walls and fighting gives you nightmares, right Apollo?"

"Who the fuck are you calling a pussy?" Apollo seethed, slamming his fists on the table before standing from his seat.

"You, clearly," Eren shrugged. "Come and talk to me when you can say the word 'Titan' without shitting your pants".

Missy pressed her lips into a thin line as the two nineteen-year-old's collided with a smack and landed on the floor in a flurry of fists and curses. Connie and Sasha scrambled up from their seats to get a better look, cheering Eren on.

"Do you want me to stop them?" Mikasa asked over the noise, placing her spoon down on the table.

"No, let them break a few bones," Missy answered, taking a sip of her water. "I'm sure they'll miss being each other's punching bags once they're in separate regiments".

"Enough".

The table immediately fell silent, looking up to see Captain Levi standing with his arms crossed, glaring at the two boys rolling around on the floor.

"Get up," He ordered, his narrowed grey eyes burning holes into them both.

They did as they were told, Eren wiping his bleeding nose with the back of his hand before they both placed their fists over their hearts in respect for the Captain. Levi glanced down at the blood now smeared over Eren's shirt and grimaced in disgust.

"I'd like to enjoy just one meal in peace without having to tear you two away from each other. Sit down and behave yourselves".

"Yes Captain," They both answered in unison before seating themselves back at their tables with their heads hung low.

Missy didn't look up from her plate once, choosing to ignore the Captain. Unfortunately for her, the Captain had already scanned the long wooden table, searching for her face.

"Artemis," Levi called out, causing her shoulders to immediately sag as she finally looked up at the man.

He wore a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, the top button undone. Apart from that, he wore his usual black pants, and his disapproving expression that Missy was all too familiar with.

"Yes, Captain?".

"Control your womb-mate," He snapped, his eyes leaving hers to shoot a glare to the back of Apollo's head. "And remember you have papers to shred after dinner".

"Yes, sir".

As Levi turned to walk away, she picked a baby potato up from her plate and flung it at Eren, earning a disgruntled noise from him as he wiped the butter residue from his cheek.

"What was that for?".

"Provoking my asshole of a brother," She replied simply, her eyes narrowed towards him.

After they had finished eating, Missy mumbled a goodnight to the idiots before standing from her seat and leaving the mess haul. She kept her eyes on the ground as she maneuvered her way to Levi's office. She faced the brown door, knocking twice.

"Name and business," Levi's voice called out, muffled by the closed door between them.

"Rhydduch," Missy replied bluntly. "Paper shredding".

"Enter".

She rolled her blue eyes before opening the door and stepping inside the room. The first thing she had noticed was the burning fire blazing in the corner, engulfing the otherwise dark office in an orange hue which danced along the plain walls.

Levi sat behind his desk, his eyes on the paperwork in front of him as he motioned for her to come closer with his middle and index finger. "I'm beginning to run out of punishments for you".

Missy approached the desk, standing with her fist over her heart.

"Shred those papers," Levi muttered, waving a dismissive hand towards the stack of papers on the corner of the desk. "Don't take too long, it's already late as it is".

"Yes, sir".

She began the task in silence, the crackling of the fire and the sound of paper tearing now the only sound in the small, pristine office. This wasn't new to her, spending her evenings doing some type of chore for the Captain.

Artemis may be the definition of a perfect soldier, but that didn't mean she was a perfect person. The blood curse running through her veins prevented her from disobeying orders from a superior, which was something she had gotten used to by now. She was a hard-working soldier regardless, excelling both academically and physically, but this little curse of hers just put the cherry on top of the cake.

A perfect soldier. Words she had heard countless times.

Of course, this curse wasn't Missy's to bare alone. Levi, being from the Ackerman clan, was bound by the same curse. He felt the same searing hotness in his veins every time Erwin placed him with an order. It was a curse given to Rhydduchs and Ackermans alone, a side effect of their gifts from the Goddess Ymir.

So as such, Missy followed every order given to her by her superiors. All except one. No one understood why, but Missy would often disregard the rule of having hair tied up. It wouldn't have been an issue if she had short hair, but it was currently down to her waist. She refused to cut it and she refused to tie it up.

It infuriated Levi.

He had trained the 104th Cadet core, stepping in when Erwin had asked him too. It had been out of Levi's comfort zone, training a group of kids when he was usually on the front lines with his Special Operations Squad, but he had quickly become accustomed to the new routine. He had heard of the Rhydduch twins long before they had even arrived at the base, yet one look at the two sixteen year old's and Levi knew that they were going to be trouble.

Apollo was an asshole. Levi still didn't understand how the boy had managed to make any friends within the training corps with an attitude like his. He was hateful and full of years of pent up rage. As a trainer, Levi despised him, but as a human, Levi couldn't blame him. He knew the Rhydduch children had experienced a rough upbringing thanks to their father.

Alec Rhydduch. A man that Levi absolutely despised with his entire being. The feeling was mutual.

Artemis had been the opposite of her brother when they had joined the cadets. She was quiet and jumpy, flinching at every little noise around her. Levi could imagine why, yet he chose not to dwell on it too much. Either way, she had come out of her shell eventually, even if she was still incredibly guarded. The matter of her hair had been an issue from the very start. She would tie it up when asked, only to pull her hairtie out again as soon as Levi's back was turned. He had grilled her over it many times, asking why she refused to follow such a simple instruction, yet she would simply shrug and tie her hair back up.

He frowned to himself, looking up from the report he was reading. She stood on the other side of his desk, tearing wads of paper apart. His gaze moved to her rich, dark, brown hair, settling at her slim waist. He narrowed his eyes, as if personally offended by the hair itself. Her eyes were focused on the paper in her hands, tearing it into shreds before depositing the remains into the trash can by her feet.

"Are you going home over the weekend?" The words slipped past his lips before he could stop them.

She paused her shredding and looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "I am".

He nodded, leaning back in his chair. "When was the last time you went home?".

"I don't remember," She replied. "A long while ago".

He took a moment to study her eyes. The flecks of silver in the deep, navy blue had always been a striking combination to him. The Rhydduch siblings all had the same eye color, yet Levi felt something different swirling within Artemis'.

"Go to bed".

Missy's brows furrowed, tilting her head to the side. "Sir?".

"You look like you haven't slept in days. Go to bed," He repeated, his attention returning to the report in front of him. "A weekend without you and that little brat of a brother of yours sounds wonderful, so get out of my sight".