Set after Humanity's victory. Based on potential Ackerman family connections revealed in Ch. 56.
He looked even tinier than usual, standing alone under the gates, the sleeves of his crew neck pushed up to his elbows and a worn, canvas sack representing all he owned in the world slumped in the dirt by his feet. Every now and again, he nodded solemnly as the Survey Legion's soldiers – now civilians truly possessed of the wings that had shackled them all these years – trickled through the shadows, giving their captain a last, heartfelt salute before setting off into the freedom beyond the walls.
He had no words of affection to offer them, no wisdom to give – only a quiet gratitude as he finally released them from the circle of sacrifice, and an honest wish for a long and fulfilling life, hidden in subdued tones as he addressed each and every one of them by name.
"There you are, Levi."
The young woman's voice echoed against the stone walls as she approached him, with absolutely no sign of deference. He couldn't remember when it had begun, but she was the only one amongst the younger soldiers who had stopped bothering to address him by his title.
Not that he cared, either way.
"Mikasa," he greeted, his rough voice stifled by the heat. "Are you leaving, as well?"
"Just about. And you," she interjected quickly, before he had a chance to ask where. "What are you planning to do, now that the Legion has been dismissed?"
Levi opened his mouth as if to speak, but then he stopped; folding and unfolding his arms, he finally stuffed them heavily into the pockets of his faded pants.
"I... don't know," he admitted.
A frown pulled at his lips as he gazed out beyond the archway, following the breeze that rushed out into the open. "The air today is absurdly fresh. It's ridiculous."
"It is, isn't it..." Mikasa replied, absentmindedly.
When he spoke again, the words drifted in from a distant place. "So, I guess... you are going to find the sea."
"Yes. It's always been their dream, after all..."
"Hn."
"I never thought it would be possible, but..." She smiled fondly. "The two of them have been so excited, they've hardly slept these few days."
"And what about you, Mikasa," Levi murmured. "Are you looking forward to it, too?"
"Yes, of course. Because that is where I belong."
There was no hesitation as she met his eyes; he nodded, pushing his disquiet aside as he faced her with sincerity. "Then... I am glad."
She did not answer, but tugged at her scarf in the awkward silence, wrenching the last dregs of breath from his lungs with the familiar gesture. He turned away quickly, looking back towards the Legion's headquarters, its fortified towers rigid under the dark green banners that fluttered emptily in the breeze.
Where you belong... huh.
"Come with us."
For a moment, his face fell, lost and bereft of purpose. But just as swiftly, he plastered over it with the habitual lines of a scowl.
"What for?"
"You don't have anywhere else to go," she stated plainly.
"I can go wherever I want," he retorted.
"Of course."
"So?"
"I want you to come with us," she spat. "Is that so hard to understand?"
"Yes. Yes, it is, Mikasa."
"Why?"
She seemed almost... hurt. And it was strange. Because stepping out of all their lives was the one thing he should do, after all these years of pain.
"Mikasa..." He sighed, defeated. "You don't need any protection on your journey. I only know how to fight. But you, and Eren and Armin... you don't need any more death."
Slowly, he pulled his hands from his pockets, examining the scars that wound their way across the hardened skin. "I don't know why you would ask me to go with you."
Another pair of hands, thin and supple, reached up to enfold his. "Because we're family."
He closed his eyes, and scoffed ruefully. "Family? More like that one bastard, that everyone dreads to see, and secretly wishes they weren't related to."
"Well yes, you're quite the grumpy, violent piece of shit," she said, with a tinge of amusement. "But... we don't choose our relatives. They just... are."
She dropped his hands abruptly as the sound of footsteps rose up behind them, but fixed her eyes on Levi's face as the soldier paused before them, and thumped his fist to his chest.
"Live well, Kratz," Levi said; Kratz nodded respectfully, and strode out of the gate.
"Besides," Mikasa continued gently, after the departing figure had vanished down the path. "I know what it is like... to lose the only family you have."
He kept his eyes averted, but somewhere deep inside him, he could still feel the warmth of her hands.
"Oi, Mikasa!" Eren's impatient yell bounded across the way. "Are you and the Ca- Levi, ready to go yet?"
"Yes, Eren," Mikasa called over her shoulder. "We'll be right there."
Glancing up beyond the gates to where Eren and Armin stood waiting, Levi was surprised to find not three, but four saddled horses between them, pawing restlessly at the ground and sending tiny clouds of dust into the air.
He shot a glare at Mikasa; the corners of her mouth twitched upwards mischievously in response. "Armin does all of our planning, of course."
Looking down, she kicked his bag with her boot. "It's a good thing you don't have much luggage, since your clothes are so small," Mikasa said. "You can carry the extra rations; Eren eats a lot when he's excited. Also – I don't like to be late."
She barely gave Levi enough time to snatch up his bag, as she grabbed his arm and pulled him out from under the shadows of archway, and into the blinding sunlight.