"Have you ever thought about… running?"

He stopped writing mid-sentence and looked up at the soldier that was sitting in his room.

"Running?" Levi repeated.

"Yes, running," Petra replied. She made a running motion with her fingers, hoping it would explain what she was talking about. He raised his eyebrow. What was she talking about?

Dropping his pen, he folded his hands behind his head and laid back on his chair. His eyes closed and he let out a sigh. "What do you mean by running?"

"Like," she bit her lip. Maybe she should stop talking? Maybe she should change the topic? But his eyes were open now, and set on her. "Running," A deep breath. "Running away, Captain. Have you ever thought about running away from all this? From the military?"

Her eyes met his. She searched for any sign of emotion that would give her an answer. Whether the answer be positive or negative, she didn't care, she just needed to know.

His chair creaked from the sound of him repositioning himself so he could sit up straight. Putting his hand to his chin, he said, "Yes." His answer was simple, easy. He served no explanation for why, and Petra began to think she didn't want to know.

Until she opened her mouth. "Why?"

She didn't mean to ask. It had slipped out.

His eyes casted downwards, looking at the paper he was writing on moments ago before she spoke. Should he tell her? Should he give her the entire story, or just another simple answer?

"Because," he started, "I was alone after the death of two friends." It all came out in one tone, his voice never wavering. The tone only let out a hint of sadness, remorse, and regret.

This was not the way Petra wanted the conversation to go. She wanted to ask more. Who were his friends? Did they join together? At the same time? Friends from his child hood?

She decided that she couldn't keep looking at him; she turned her face so she was looking at a book on his nightstand and her eyes started to water only a little bit. She choked back a sob. "I'm sorry."

"Have you?"

For a moment she had to let his question process. She had forgotten what the conversation was about. Running away.

Her answer was yes. She didn't think about it often, but it was something that has always been in the back of her mind. Running away from the military, running away from the responsibilities that came with being in the survey corps, and running away from the possibility of being eaten by a Titan. She thought about running away to a different location, where people wouldn't think of finding her. She thought of running away with him. With the man she called captain.

But she couldn't say that now. Not when he had told her something so devastating.