AN: So, this will be where I lightly dump all of my SNK one-shots until I get a better hold on the characters. It's been a while since i've written any of them, so please bare with me.
Vow
He will not lose them again. He will not lose them to beasts and their tooth and fang, and he will not lose them to a world such as this.
Humanity's strongest; to protect those who cannot protect themselves. He is a beacon, and the wings that thread into his back are his symbol of freedom that is yet to be grasped. They believe, and they offer fiery stares and gazes of admiration, which, had they journeyed beyond these walls, would wither and contort into looks of hopelessness and fear.
And her. She will not falter. She will keep in toe, with determined support that only grows stronger the farther she goes. Soft glances and a tender touch, turned focused and calloused the moment terror reared its head. She would protect, she would fight, and she would follow, despite the deaths, and despite the uncertainty.
"Captain Levi." She smiles, and her hand extends, "thank you, for this. For everything. I am prepared to devote my life to your cause, to humanity."
His grasp is strong as his fingers curl and squeeze firmly around her forearm, and she meets him at eye level, meeting the calm stare that somehow still houses compassion.
"I didn't choose you all, so you could get torn apart," Levi mentions, before lessening his grip, "-so there will be no meaningless deaths. Understood?"
"Sir."
It is ignorance. Sweet, hopeful ignorance, and it coils and constricts, and even after their time together he regrets it all the same. Perhaps, too ambitious, too oblivious to the calculated risks.
"Petra, Oulo, Eld..." he sighs under a steady breath and lists them off one by one, as his eyes shift slowly before finding the blue and silver wings loosely crumpled in another soldier's and still as he mounts his horse, adjusting his hands on the reins, he keeps that promise, that none of them will have died with dishonored, hollow deaths, and his orders are still the same.
"I chose you to devote your lives...to me, and this. But, I can tell you now, there is no limit to the risks i'll take to ensure none of have died a meaningless death."