Levi stood at the top of the grassy hill and closed his eyes when a soft breeze moved the leaves of the tree beside him. He was dressed in the most casual attire he could manage; a clean cut white shirt with a black coat and of course, his white cravat. He opened his eyes to face the blue cloudless sky and stared at it. It was so beautiful. Days like this were very rare for the Captain, in fact, he couldn't remember the last time he had seen a sky so clear. Even wen the Colossal titan made his appearance, there were clouds in the sky that were soon taken over by steam. With a shake to his head, Levi pushed the titans from his thoughts. He didn't have the time to think about them today. He drew a deep breath and started down the tall hill. With each step, his chest tightened along with his jaw and fists. Even though he was alone, he kept his face completely blank of the emotions that were building up inside him. When the breeze blew again, he paused to let it flow through his hair and relax him. The light pink flowers he held bent slightly in his hand with the breeze. His hand tightened on their stems and he began to walk forward again. As the gray rocks came into view, he felt a wrenching pain in his gut, but still, refused to let it show. He could not get emotional on them. He came up and frowned, the stones were dirty. He knelt at the first one and pulled a cloth from his pocket and wet it a little with his tongue. He wiped the stone to reveal the name of the soldier it stood for. Gunther, it read in plain letters. That was all it said, and all that it needed to say. No words could ever have described the soldier on this small stone. Levi wiped the remaining dirt from the stone with his hand and his lip began to quiver. Stop this, Levi, he told himself, you're being pathetic and weak. The correction was sharp and quick, and the quiver was gone. "I'm sorry it has been taken so long. I've been busy keeping Eren from destroying everything. It's been tough, he's such an idiot," he spoke as he always did to the cold stone. But now, there was evidence of a rock in his throat. Something choking the Captains voice. He pulled a flower from his hand and dug a small hole in the ground with his fingers. He kissed the stem of the flower before sticking it in the ground at the base of the stone. "Hang in there, Gunther," he joked before turning from the stone. The humor was cruel, but Levi figured if he joked about what had happened, he would be able to move past it. The next stone received the same cleaning as Gunther's, and, same as Gunther's said nothing but a name. Eld, it read in the center of the stone. The letters blurred a moment after Levi read the stone and Levi was quick to make the unwanted water vanish. Stop that. He might see and what would he think of you if he saw you like this? The Captain scolded himself like a child. He was acting like one, after all. "I hate to report this, but our mission failed. I," his voice broke against his will, "I am sorry I led you on that hopeless mission." He stood and touched the top of the stone, "I know you never slept well during your service, I hope you have found rest now." The image of the blonde man on his back flashed before him and Levi quickly shut his eyes to push it away. "And I hope you're quiet," he added in his almost rude way of speaking, "Sleeping like you did made you snore." He placed the flower in the small hole he had created by the headstone and turned away. Once the next stone was cleaned, he was very thankful to be kneeling because he could feel his legs getting weaker and his feel going numb. "Olou," he said allowed to the stone as he put the flower in it's place, "you true idiot." In honesty, Levi never disliked Olou for his cockiness. It did get annoying at times, but it wasn't as bad as most made it out to be. "How's your tongue," he asked the gray stone when he ran his hand along the top. The younger man always bit it in the stupidest ways. He didn't even have to me moving for his teeth to chomp down on the muscle. "Ya know," he added, "it might not have been that bad of you just shut up," he tried to chuckle but it died in his throat when he saw his hand was shaking. "Tch," he held the shaking hand with his other in an attempt to calm it. Despite the growing hole in his chest, Levi glanced at the stone once more and said, "I hope your tongue scarred, that last bite looked like it hurt." Levi hesitated before he turned to the next stone. The wind blew calmly at his back and the leaves above his head rustled softly. Shadows of the canopy danced around the Captain and he closed his eyes. One more flower moved in his hand gently. His heart twisted in his chest, the hole there started to grow; an agonizing knot formed in his gut, and he found his legs growing weak. He knew he was prepared to see his friends, his squad, but he never knew it would be this hard. The last stone sat just below the trunk of the tree. Petra the gray stone read. It was the same as the others; not special. Before his vision went black, it blurred with tears; tears he never shed in all his years with the Survey Corps. He felt hot water spill onto his cheeks in the darkness. When he saw the stone again, he realized he had fallen to his knees. His hands shook, and he couldn't stop them now. The tremor made it harder to clean this stone, but he didn't stop. It will shine, he thought. "Petra," Levi forced the words out of his throat, "I hope you have found peace." A sob interrupted him, and he struggled hard to control himself from completely falling apart. She wouldn't want you to cry, Levi...so stop it, but he couldn't. "Thank you for convincing Eren to trust us, I was very proud of you," again, he choked back a pathetic sob. "I heard these were your favorite," he said as he planted the flower, "I hope you can see it." Reaching out, he gripped the top of the stone partially in an attempt to stop the shaking, but also, to give him strength. "I hope you're keeping Olou in line," he finished as he stood. He couldn't walk away just yet, though. Backing away to a central point in front of all four gray stones, he took a deep, shaky breath. The Captain snapped his body into the honorable salute of the Military and addressed his squad, "You served humanity well, my friends. I will never forget your service." He fought back the break in his voice, he had to get all of this over with. "There's a grief that can't be spoken. There's a pain goes on and on...I remember when you sang about `tomorrow' but tomorrow never came. Oh my friends, my friends forgive me...That I live and you are gone. There's a grief that can't be spoken. There's a pain goes on and on..." Before he continued, a sob broke through his throat and he once more fell to his knees. His body folded over and he no longer had the strength to hold the tears back or to calm his body's shaking, "Oh my friends, my friends! don't ask me what your sacrifice was for! Because there are empty chairs at empty tables where you, my friends, will sing no more."