To say that life was unpredictable was an understatement, if anything. It used to seem easy, clear and obvious. He always knew what he wanted and was not afraid to act accordingly. Over time, though, he had to come to the realization that the world was far more complex than he could have ever imagined.

It had been pretty simple. He wanted to see the world. For that, he had to leave the safety of the walls. Despite his mother's or sister's worries there had never been an argument that compelled him to change his mind. Of course he could grow old in the company of his own family and live a life of no mind blowing worries. But what was safety compared to happiness? There was no way that a life inside the walls, no matter how long and good, could make him feel true peace. Knowing there was a world full of beauty and mystery out there that he would have to experience with all of his senses to remotely feel truly alive made it obvious what he wanted.

To his surprise, once he had gotten to the outside world he had to realize that it wasn't much different from the world he had come from. People were still people. Despite being free, they didn't seem to care much about it. The more he learned about the truth of the world, the less it felt like the world was something worth saving. Or rather the people weren't worth fighting for. But then he remembered again those that were worth saving and everything else seemed irrelevant.

"Captain Levi!" The sudden yelling of a soldier approaching on a horse made everyone's heads pop up. He brought his horse to a stop and stepped down on the ground again and stood in front of the man he was looking for.

"What is it?" Levi asked, waiting for a quick reply.

"Commander Hanji sent me to give you this urgent message: Commander-In-Chief Zackly was killed in an attack. Although the culprits and their motifs are unknown, it is believed to be connected to the military government wanting to find a successor for Eren Jäger's Founding Titan powers. Jäger has escaped imprisonment and is now on the loose," the soldier quickly announced.

Great. Why did he have to be so dramatic?

After a short moment of thinking about the best course of action, Levi declared his order to everyone: "Go search for Eren. We don't know who he is with or how prepared he is, so he could be anywhere by now and in good hiding. Once you find him, bring him to me immediately. Most importantly: We need him alive! He might try to fight you, so just tell him that you'll bring him to me. Don't underestimate him."

What a messy situation this was. And the news of the military wanting to replace Eren didn't exactly make it any easier. Back when Erwin had forced him to join the survey corps, Levi thought he would finally leave the underground and feel a little more free. Without so much worry and disgust. Then the two people that were most important to him died in the worst way possible, leaving him all alone in that strange new world. It hadn't been his dream to slay titans, but the idea of ending that nightmare and just live without people constantly dying and leaving him was rather intriguing. Growing up, Levi had always been locking his feelings away. At least to the outside world. He still felt it all, but displaying them for all the world to see never helped. Eventually it felt like he really didn't care. And for a moment it all worked out fine. He was surrounded by strange people that he didn't mind being around and working with, despite their weirdness, and he thought life would just go on like that. Until he kinda sorta adopted this kid that reminded him a little bit too much of himself and gave him real hope for the first time in his life. So he understood him, even though no one else seemed to. And he wanted him to just be happy, even though he didn't know how to. To put it simply, Eren had become Levi's priority. Levi cared a lot about Eren and his well-being. But not in the same way that he had with Erwin, or the way Mikasa cared about Eren. This was a lot more mutual, based on understanding each other and being able to relate. The other relationships were important in their own right, of course, but this was a different kind of loyalty and overall feeling he had. There was a little thought in his mind recently that reminded him that one day this would probably destroy him. So he had to make sure to keep that moment away for as long as possible. To keep Eren save for as long as possible.

The soldiers all loudly agreed before gathering their horses and splitting up to find Eren.

"Are you sure he's going to make it here without being caught?" Zeke asked, still sitting on his log with a hot drink in his hands.

It always took Levi all his nerves to not kill him, but that was currently not an option. So he decided to sit back on his own log across from Zeke, looking him dead in the eyes as he replied, "I said don't underestimate him."

It had always been his biggest dream to leave the cage that was the walls. Despite that, he had spent quite a large amount of his life being even more imprisoned in various different ways. And every time he was captured again, he swore to himself that it had been the last time. But it probably wasn't. Over time he had realized that freedom wasn't as easy to obtain as he had imagined as a kid. But he still had the hope of helping to free the world a little more so that at the very least his friends would be able to be free one day. For now he had to focus, though. In order to reach his goal, he needed help.

"We couldn't find out their exact location, but we roughly know where Zeke is currently located," Floch informed Eren while they all walked in the direction of the camp, "He is being watched by Captain Levi and some other soldiers. Should a fight break out, we will-"

"There won't be a fight," Eren blankly stated.

"Let's just hope you're right."

"It's not like we could do this without Levi, anyway," Eren added. He felt lucky to have Levi on his side, but he couldn't shake off the worry surrounding that fact. Whether it was the worry that Levi would at some point not put up with him anymore or whether it was the worry that Levi would get hurt because of him. He was, after all, one of the people that made it all worth fighting for.

Eren had always appreciated and looked up to Levi. Levi used to be his biggest hero as a kid. Humanity's Strongest turned out to be much different than it had seemed. He wasn't the perfect hero. Instead, he was a human. And that's when Eren started to look up to him in a much different sense. He wasn't this perfect killing machine that could save everyone from this hell they were living in but rather an extremely skilled and strong soldier that just wanted to be free. Eren felt lucky to have Levi around. He didn't just tell him what to do, like he was some kind of mere weapon. Levi always gave Eren the choice. And always made sure that Eren was okay. Eren wasn't sure at what point they started to care for each other on a personal level. All he knew was that it had happened quite early on. Like they just immediately understood each other. With Levi, Eren didn't have to explain himself only to end up still not being taken seriously. Everything was just a whole lot easier with Levi.

"That doesn't mean we should blindly trust him."

"I'm not blindly trusting him, I am fully trusting him. If you don't trust him then at the very least trust me," of course he was grateful for every single one of them that helped him and stood by his side. Trying to do this on his own would have been impossible. And even after reuniting with Levi and Zeke it would be better to have as many other people supporting them as possible.

Floch studied Eren's face while gathering his thoughts, "That's great, but you heard what I said, right? They are looking for someone else to inherit the Founding Titan and then they will take it from you. There isn't much Captain Levi will be able to do either."

"I know," Eren kept looking straight ahead. Hopefully it wasn't much longer until they arrived at their destination. He wasn't really in the mood to discuss this right now. It was far more important to get to the camp and finally set the plan into motion. "But we can do even less without him and Zeke."

"Fine."

It had been a few hours since everyone had left to search the area. Levi could only hope that Eren would manage to make it to them without being noticed by any of the soldiers. It would be too much of a pain to have the unknowing soldiers around. It was already too much of a pain to have Zeke around, but he was vital in the current situation they were in, so he had to let it slide.

"You know," Zeke started and Levi already didn't want to hear anymore of it, "I'm going to miss our little time away here. Wouldn't that be nice? To just live in peace somewhere with no worries and no responsibilities?"

Levi had never had a plan like that for his future. It was always about survival and winning fights. There wasn't really ever a larger goal in life that he was eagerly working towards. A peaceful life had never been an option in the underground anyway. Once he had left the underground and saw how people from above lived it had dawned on him that it wasn't much different to before. People didn't question their lives. They just accepted their fates and went through the day like it didn't matter. They pretended like nothing was wrong. He wanted to pity those people that seemed so blinded by their own fantasies, yet deep down that world of illusions seemed like a happy place for everyone inside. Levi was aware that too much had already happened in his life for him to ever enter said world, which he had accepted a long time ago already. But maybe…

Zeke stood up suddenly, his eyes focused on something behind Levi as he walked past the man who was still sitting on his log. Levi got up and turned around, not wanting to let the monkey man out of his sight as his eyes immediately met with those of a very familiar figure.

Although determined to greet his little brother after such a long time of waiting, he was stopped as a strong wind rushed right passed him. Confusion immediately formed in his mind. Was a storm approaching? He looked up to the sky, but nothing was to be seen. When he looked back in the direction of Eren he realized that it hadn't just been the wind. Apparently he had underestimated the speed at which that small man was able to move without his fancy maneuver gear. But there he was, standing right in front of Eren.

The two of them stood in front of each other, a reasonable distance between them, looking into each other's eyes with so much to say. Neither of them did say anything, though, and the only sound to be heard was that of the remaining people that came with Eren approaching. Apparently Eren had quite picked up the pace as soon as his eyes caught the sight of his destination.

"Huh, I assumed there would be a whole bunch of soldiers around," Floch began breaking the silence as his eyes wandered around the rather empty camp.

Having finally caught up with the rest of the people, Zeke replied, "There were, but Levi sent them away to look for Eren after a soldier came by to tell us about what happened."

"You forgot how to dress?" Levi finally started speaking after taking a better look at Eren. Not the best choice of words but the lack of shoes and a shirt were a bit too distracting to be having another thought. The camp was quite far away from the headquarters where they had kept Eren so it wasn't exactly the best option for him to be walking through all that dirt barefoot. It would only add to their problems if Eren had injured his feet along the way. Did anyone ever think anything through?

"Good thing I brought everything for you, then," Levi continued before anyone else had the chance to reply.

"I'll get changed and then we should leave to somewhere safer," Eren suggested, determination clearly audible. He had always been set on his plans, but now there was something different about his tone. Something that didn't sit right with Levi and that made him feel like he was looking at an injured animal that was definitely not going to make it but kept walking as though it were unaware of its own state.

"Come with me," Levi ordered Eren before turning to Floch, "Just keep an eye out for anyone coming back and make it look like there was a fight here."

That being said, Levi turned around and walked towards one of the larger tents, silently followed by Eren.

Once they entered the tent, Levi looked around and grabbed a pair of socks and boots that he handed to Eren, "These should fit."

Eren looked at his superior for a few seconds before taking the items and sitting down on a nearby box, "Thanks."

Levi pulled up a chair and sat down opposite Eren. When they had first met, Levi knew that Eren was different. Not just in all the obvious ways but different for how he usually felt about people. Was it because he saw himself in Eren? Did the reason even matter? It was bittersweet how Levi got annoyed at people acting selfishly, so much that he had punched and kicked both Eren and Jean to let out his frustration after learning that Erwin wasn't as selfless as Levi always thought. At the same time, he couldn't keep those thoughts away that proposed for him to just take Eren and run away from everything. Not that he wanted to be running away with Eren, but that seemed like the only actual possibility to keep that idiot from harm.

"They went a bit overboard with blowing up Zackly," Levi simply stated.

"I didn't know about it. But apparently it was necessary because they want to find someone else to inherit the Founding Titan," Eren explained without looking up from his boots.

Levi just stared at Eren, waiting for him to finish and look back up at him. A part of him wanted to slap him. Not that he would, but he also didn't know any other method to bring Eren back to reality. And it wasn't any better when Eren finished at blankly stared back at Levi with those dead eyes. It was like looking into a mirror. Levi understood that it was easier to keep the emotions locked away and pretend like they didn't exist. Of course those emotions still existed noticeably to one's self, which could feel lonely. Even if sharing them didn't seem like a less lonely approach, but seeing into those eyes that were once filled with all the emotions in the world felt like Levi had done something wrong. It had always been his job to keep Eren safe, so why did it feel like he had failed at that?

"Put this on, or you're gonna freeze to death," Levi demanded as he handed Eren a shirt.

"Thanks," Eren softly replied, taking the shirt and putting it on. It probably was for the better to have proper footwear and a shirt instead of just a jacket on. Who knew what was to come.

Eren got up, ready to leave, when the comforting voice stopped him, "Sit down, Eren."

He looked at Levi, who seemed too convinced to ignore and Eren knew he had to listen to him. His mind, of course, wanted him to leave as quickly as possible. The obvious reason for that was the fact that they were escaping and couldn't risk getting caught, as well as having a lot ahead of them that they shouldn't postpone too much. And then there was his main reason for wanting to leave. He didn't want to be alone with Levi. In fact, he didn't even want Levi there. To be exact, he definitely wanted Levi by his side because that way he felt as safe as he possibly could. That was his selfish view. More importantly, though, he didn't want to drag Levi into this mess. He didn't want to get him intro trouble or danger or whatever else could possibly negatively affect the man that was so important to him. It was good to have him by his side and not having to worry what his current state was. Because it had been Levi's job to take care of Eren, Levi would just follow him, even though the last thing Eren wanted was for Levi to be dragged into all of his troubles. Seeing Levi again after being apart for a while felt good due to the comforting state of not feeling alone anymore, having someone around that really understood and accepted him. With that happiness also came the guilt of feeling like a burden, someone that made Levi do stupid things just for his sake. It wasn't something Eren was going to tell him, especially considering that he didn't want to know it, either. He just wanted to get this over with and not think about anyone. It made it all much more difficult.

Seeing as Eren didn't sit back down and seemed a little lost in thought, Levi decided to stand up instead. Of course the tent didn't have the most space, which made them stand a little too close for Levi to keep his trail of thought. Without being aware of what was happening and before he could stop himself from acting recklessly, his arms wrapped around Eren's torso before he knew it.

Eren was surprised, too, but this felt too good to be rational. He gently put his arms around Levi, resting his own head against his.

They both closed their eyes to just focus on the embrace. Feeling their body's breathe against each other, truly feeling the other being alive, made them realize how much they wanted to just stay like this forever. They both desired freedom, but they also wanted peace. And it wasn't until this very moment that either of them knew what peace would actually feel like. They wanted to stay like this forever, but any additional second would make it harder to let go again. After a while that seemed both forever and never they let go of each other again, though remaining close.

"I'm sorry. For dragging you into this mess," Eren confessed, the guilt now clearly written on his face, which shouldn't make Levi feel happy, but at least it was an emotion.

"I chose to do this."

"Also it's your job to keep an eye on me and protect me."

Levi's eyes studied Eren's for a bit, surprised at him for thinking that, "That may be so. I'd rather you drag me into this than leaving you into someone else's hands."

"You're referring to Zeke, aren't you?" Eren joked lightly and could feel Levi's annoyance just hearing the name.

"Your words, not mine," Levi returned, "I wouldn't trust anyone else to take care of you and that includes you. Deal with it."

Eren nodded in agreement, "Fine. I'm glad you're here."

"Not like you have a choice," Levi shrugged as he started to make his way past Eren to exit the tent.

Eren smiled at the sight for a moment, before following Levi.

They were both still concerned about what was to come, worried about the state of the other and the sacrifices they made. Their hug was still on each other's mind. It was something they both had needed, a comfort that gave them the strength to move forward with more confidence. And that tiny moment of peace increased their determination to pull through with it and end this war. Every risk, every crime, every lie – it was all worth it. To be able to feel that kind of peace was worth everything. Even if they weren't going to feel it again, someone else would. To ensure that possibility to become reality, they had to keep going. No matter what, they were going to fight side by side for a better future. All they needed were the other's strength and hope to keep fighting and the thought of experiencing that peace again one day to keep going.