The fence rattled in the wind. The grass still had dew, but it was drying quickly. It was the scene Erwin was used to for what seemed like forever. He rubbed the dirt in between his fingers, remembering his parents.

"Get out of the house."

Running. Always running.

Screaming.

"56789."

That was his name that they gave him. He hated it.

He looked up at the person dressed in green and red. Wearing the symbol he's learned to hate. They had taken everything from him. The life he knew, the family and friends he'd loved. Those bastards. Erwin kept going back to the beginning, trying to figure out what he and his family have done wrong. All they were, were just simple Jews. Why would they be sent to this fenced in hell. He remembered watching a shorter soldier with ebony hair and steel gray eyes shot his family, look at him with that unreadable expression and lower his gun. The soldier who shot his father raised the gun to Erwin's head.

"No. Let this one live, he will be very useful in the concentration camps. He looks powerful."

Erwin shuddered involuntarily at the sound of that soldier's voice echoing in his head.

"Why would that soldier spare me? Father was not much older than me and was twice as strong as me. Why would that soldier shot him and save me from his buddy? Maybe it's some form of torture. But then, why when I rush him or try to escape does he not shoot me and keeps the others from shooting me like they do to the others? I can't make sense of it."

He was pulled from his thoughts by the feeling of those terrifying gray eyes baring into his back. He heard footsteps, and couldn't move. That soldier may be a few inches shorter and possibly a little weaker than him, but he terrified Erwin.

"56789, why have you stopped working, and are just examining the dirt? You do realize it's just some dirt, right?"

"Y-yes I was j-just getting back to work..." he trailed off. "How could I have been in this hell for so long and not know how to address him?!" He scolded himself.

"Levi Ackerman."

"S-sir?"

"My name. Levi Ackerman. I don't care which name you call me by, but I would prefer Levi when we're alone. In a large group or so, call me Captain Ackerman."

With that the captain turned heal and left Erwin standing there, all kinds of confused.

"Why was his tone so kind? It was almost comforting. Something feels off, most of the time the soldiers won't even think about addressing us unless we slack off..."

"BACK TO WORK 56789!" cried another Nazi soldier somewhere in the near distance. Brushing it aside, Erwin put his head down and continued to do his work

THE NEXT MONTH

"Hey 56789," Levi paced up to Erwin, "What is your birth name?"

"M-my birth name?"

"Yes. The name your parents gave you, what is it? And please try not to be so nervous, you studder and I can't understand you."

"Did he just say please? How can he expect me not to be nervous? I watched them destroy my life, and he asked me NOT to be nervous? Why in the world is he being so polite to me? I just don't get-"

"Well," Levi pulled him out of his revere, "May I know your birth name?"

Erwin took a deep breath and swallowed. "Erwin," he said, surprised by the confidence he found somewhere, "Erwin Smith."

Levi looked as surprised as Erwin felt. His eyebrows shot up to his hairline. He apparently caught another officer's attention.

"Levi, is this one causing you trouble?" asked a blonde.

"No Mike I got it," Levi started. "He was just answering a few questions." He answered poking poor Erwin in the neck with the barrel of his gun. It was warm, Erwin remembered hearing somebody cry out and shots fired, but he didn't think much about it... until now.

"Ahh!" Erwin yelped and threw himself backwards away from the gun's touch as the realization hit him like a pile of the huge stones the soldiers often made them move to different parts of the camp, much to the amusement of the pair of Nazi's in front of him.

"Not as stupid as we were told about in training are they? This one in particular... HEY! GET BACK HERE!" Mike called as Erwin tore away as fast as he could.

"Don't worry Mike", Levi said, "I got him." He turned and ran off in the direction Erwin ran.

Levi finally managed to catch him. "whoa, whoa, whoa! Take it easy Erwin!" he lowered his voice and knelt down, causing Erwin to shiver and whimper.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no! I've done it now! I'm dead! He's gonna shoot me!" Erwin's insides screeched at him.

"Hey, didn't I say take it easy? Just calm down Erwin, calm down." Levi said in an oddly soothing way.

"Why?" Erwin asked.

"Why what, Erwin?"

"Why are you doing this to us?" He couldn't stop himself, he'd manage to hold in all his tears, his frustrations his questions, up until now.

"You just came along and ruined my life! You killed everybody I ever cared about! Even earlier, you shot somebody! Do you even care that you did it?!"

He could hardly breath between the way he was yelling at Levi and the way he was taking shallow gulps of air as the tears rolled and his self pride left him, but that didn't stop him.

"And why do you treat me so differently?! Every time I try to escape or do something that will just make you end my suffering you protect me! Why do you keep doing that?!" He broke down completely, falling to his hands and knees in front of Levi.

"I'm sorry."

"W-what?!"

"I said I'm sorry, Erwin. I was trained to see people like you as animals, no, worse. I was trained not to care about what we did, about the lives we've ruined. I developed the rock steady demeanor so I could become a soldier. I couldn't disappoint my parents."

Erwin looked up and saw the regret, the pain in Levi's eyes. He knew they were more alike then Erwin could ever hope to understand.

Or were they?

To be continued...