Levi's POV

"How was the hike?" Erwin asks me the next day as we were walking to the horse stables. He was grinning and I knew that he knew something. "Anything happens with Hanji?"

"Shut up."

"You're turning red." He points to my face, and I tried covering it. "Are you guys dating now?"

I sigh, spotting Hanji walking with a couple of campers, I froze in place. We didn't officially say it, but we are dating. Of course, not far along the dating phase, but it's better than nothing. I love her... and that feeling is affecting me with every passing hour when I'm not with her. 

"Silence is key," Erwin snickers as I punched him in his shoulder blade.

"Shut up," I repeat, walking toward the stables at a faster pace. Erwin didn't need to come with me, but the campers that he's in charge of are having a trip with the horses, and since he realized I was going on the trip, he wanted us to walk together. But I knew exactly what he wanted: the truth. "Just keep your mouth shut, Erwin. I don't want rumors spreading again as they did in middle school."

"How is a rumor if it's true?"

"I don't want my teens to be asking me questions about Hanji."

"Your fault you chose to be with those teens."

"Just... leave me alone. I just want to spend time with Hanji."

"So you admit that you're in a relationship with her?"

Erwin had a smirk on his face when I confessed. I nearly shouted it at the top of my lungs. I wasn't trying to convince him, but I'm trying to convince myself that I'm her boyfriend. Sometimes, I fear I'm dreaming and only wake up to hear that she rejected me. But I know this is true. This is real.

"I just want to spend time with my girlfriend. Just drop it, please."

"Alright, I just wanted to know the truth from the beginning. I could've stopped all of this if you could just confess it to me."

"I am not the kind of person to confess something like this easily, Erwin. You, of all people, should know this about me." I continued, walking closer to Hanji. "Don't ruin this for me... I feel like I don't deserve her, but she says I do. Don't make me lose her..."

Erwin nods his head, "I could never do that."

"You would, Erwin."

Without another word from him, I ran up to Hanji, wrapping my arm around her waist and laying my head on her shoulder. I felt her jolt from my touch, but she held me close. "Hey, Levi. Are you excited to ride on the horses as I am?"

"I guess." A smile grew on my face as I couldn't stop myself from talking out of turn. "As long as I'm with you."

"That's cheesy. Hit me with something different."

"How am I supposed to do that?" The smile was wiped off my face as I turned to her. "Explain that to me, Hanji."

"Use your romance books, Levi. Those are books of wisdom."

"Not when the current romance book is about someone falling in love after almost being hit by a car from their crush. Should I run you over with a horse and you'll fall in love with me?"

Hanji shook her head, "Use other books. Jeez, you're adorable when you don't know a thing." She giggles softly as the instructor began to tell her the dos and don't when riding a horse. 

I've heard of this lecture more times than I need to. We were able to get onto our horses and ride around a bit as the instructor helped the children. Just by watching Hanji, I could tell she was itching for the ride. Her horse walked around the pen three times, and Hanji kept staring out into the forest.

"We'll get out there," I say, riding up to her. "Don't worry."

She turns to me, tilting her head as she points down at the horse. "You know, I have a question, Levi. How can you sit on a horse with your male parts? I mean, I never questioned it because I don't have that problem. But how is it for you?"

I turned away, sighing, "Just... adjusting? I guess? That's pretty much it."

"Does it hurt?"

"If I move from where I am on the horse, it might. Can we please not talk about it, Hanji?"

"I was just curious. Is that a problem?"

"It's just weird, Hanji. How would you feel if I asked you questions about your private parts?"

"I wouldn't mind. It's been hard to discuss a few things-."

I held my hand to stop her as I sighed heavily. "Just... later. I just want to go on a ride with you. Don't want those details yet, Hanji, okay?" All she did was laugh at my embarrassment. It doesn't take a lot of effort to entertain her. But it does take effort for how long you can keep her attention on you. Like a toddler, she'll wander somewhere else if something shiny catches her eyes.