Holy heck, it's been a hot minute since this fic updated! Don't worry, I haven't abandoned fanfiction completely; I've just been posting on AO3 instead of , since the system's way easier there (FF is 21 years old - you'd have thought they would have updated it by now).

So, yeah, I'm back! I have some things going on in my own life (not failing high school, extracurriculars, sports, personal projects, etc.), so the updates may be less frequent.

Thanks for understanding!

When Levi had been called out of babysitting his squad by a frantic messenger, telling him that 'Commander Erwin needed to see him' and that it was 'urgent', he had been expecting the Commander to be standing with his back to the door, fists clenched, or, maybe, sitting at his desk, frowning at whatever disturbing letter he'd received. Or showing some type of discomfort, at least.

What he hadn't been expecting was for Erwin to be sitting at his desk (well, he'd gotten that part right), sipping a cup of coffee, looking like he didn't have a care in the world.

"From the way that kid was blabbing, I was expecting there to be some sort of emergency or some shit – I don't appreciate being called from training to see what kind of books you read in your spare time." Erwin chuckled as he folded a corner of the novel he'd been reading (Some sort of sappy romance, judging by the title: Love Amongst the Dragons. Yuck), awkwardly maneuvering the book with his single arm.

"Sit down," he gestures at the wooden chair in front of his desk and reaches across the worn, messy surface of his workspace. Levi scowled, dusting off the top of one of the towering stacks of paperwork and chasing an ant off another.

"You couldn't even bother to clean up the useless ones?" Levi picked up a sheaf of papers stamped with the seal of one of the old noble families – dull and void, now that Historia was in power and the fat old pig was enjoying some quality time with Zackly. He tossed it over his shoulder, hearing the satisfying thunk as it landed in the wastepaper basket as Erwin placed a glass in front of him. He cocked an eyebrow, looking down at the swirling amber liquid with a frown.

Shit.

"The expedition for next week's been cancelled," Erwin said, taking a small sip of the whisky. Levi leaned back in his seat, balancing on the back two legs as he propped his feet up on top of another stack of paperwork. It was already filthy, anyways.

"That's it?" Levi scoffed, turning his head away from Erwin, glancing out the window. "I was expecting something a bit more pressing; that messenger kid said it was 'urgent'." He glared down into the courtyard, glaring down at the sorry excuses for soldiers that made up his squad as they lounged around, chatting casually. "So, can I leave now? I need to finish babysitting those brats." Arlert glanced up, catching his cold glare, and frantically nudged Jaeger. The entire squad was sparring panickily not ten seconds later.

Erwin sighed. "Levi." The tone in his voice caused him to frown, and he dropped his feet, chair landing on all fours.

"So, why's it been cancelled?" Levi asked as Erwin took another sip of the alcohol. "I thought Historia said we'd be getting all the funds she could spare."

Erwin didn't meet Levi's eyes as he swirled his drink around. "She called me into the capital a few days ago," he said, voice careful, each word measured. "Said she had something urgent to discuss."

"Sounds familiar," Levi grumbled, and made a motion for him to continue as Erwin shot him a steely look.

"MPs have been disappearing from off the streets. Garrison, too. Even a Scout, on his day off."

Levi frowned. "Shouldn't this be the MP's job? Why's she talking to you about it?"

"Because supplies have been disappearing, too," Erwin tapped his finger on his desk. "And not just your standard thug snatching a cloak when the Interior Police aren't looking – entire crates of 3DMG, blades, saddles, rifles, and whatnot have been vanishing."

Levi placed his chin in his hand. "Again, shouldn't this be the MP's work?"

Erwin sighed, as if steeling himself. "There've been spikes in criminal activity lately. Especially in the Underground."

The reason for this visit crashes down, knocking Levi unceremoniously on the head. "No," he says, not giving Erwin the chance to say anything else.

"Levi –"

"No."

"Levi," Levi glares at the Commander before grabbing the tiny glass on the table and downing the whole thing in a single gulp. It's only then that he realizes his hands are shaking.

Erwin clenched his hand, looking down at his fingers. "I don't want to ask you to do this, but you're the only person in the whole military who knows the Underground well enough –"

"Does it look like I care?" Levi spat, glaring down at the empty glass. Erwin sighs, filling it back up for him.

"Consider it something of a recon mission, then," Erwin said. "You could go back, collect anything you left behind when you left –"

Levi lets out a cold bark of laughter. "I didn't have anything to bring. You made sure of that," Erwin cringes slightly under the shorter man's icy glare as he tips back the glass again. "And, besides, anything I did have would have been looted or destroyed by time. It's been almost ten years." The last part was spoken softly, and the glass clinked on the wood of Erwin's desk.

"Please, Levi," Erwin didn't beg. But the two words were the closest thing to a plea that had ever come out of his mouth. "Nobody else in the military knows the Underground like you do –"

"I'm not going back."

Erwin didn't look into Levi's eyes. "I don't want to order you, but I will if I have to." Levi didn't reply, and, only then, did Erwin look up. "Bring your squad. I know that they'll hold you back in many ways," he said, cutting Levi off before he could protest. "But they could help you, too. You were able to use their combined skillsets against the MPs." He looked out the window at the group that were half-sparring and half-relaxing, glancing up occasionally at the window to make sure that Levi didn't have his eyes on them. "Tell them at dinner," Erwin said, looking back. "You leave tomorrow."

Levi stood, the chair screeching on the cold stone floor. "Fine," he snaps shortly, striding out the door, slamming it with a bang that could probably be heard all the way from Sina.

Erwin sighed.

xxx

"No, I swear!"

"Ah, lay off, Potato Girl!"

"Yeah, stop jerking our legs!"

"I'm not – argh!"

Sasha banged her forehead on the table, groaning.

"Will you shut up and listen!"

Jean sighed, putting his mug down with a thud. . . right on top of Sasha's head. "Fine. Tell us about the commanding officers' abs!"

Sasha glared up at him, sitting up, sending his mug flying, and grabbed a chunk of bread off his plate ("Hey!") "So," she said, shoving it in her mouth, gulping it down. "I heard some veterans talking while we were training."

"When you were supposed to be training," Jean grumbled, but Connie whacked him on the back of the head.

"Shut up, I want to hear this," he said, turning back to Sasha. "The Commander?"

Sasha beamed as she shoveled beans into her mouth. "Six-pack."

Connie whistled, and Jean shrugged. "Not surprised, considering his job. Wonder how he works out now that he's only got one arm. . ."

"Okay, okay," Connie leaned even closer. "Hange?"

Sasha shrugged, another chunk of bread produced seemingly from nowhere halfway down her throat. "None."

"Don't you guys have anything better to talk about?" Eren interrupted, shooting them a glare.

"Like what? Shoving our swords up titan asses?" Jean scoffed. "Not everybody's a single-minded dope, ya know."

"At least I don't spend my time jerking off to the thought of my commander's abs," Eren challenged, and Jean snarled.

"You wanna go, titan breath?"

"Oh, real tough, barnyard brain!"

"That's enough," Mikasa snapped, grabbing both boys by their ears and forcing them back into their seats to the chuckles of the other soldiers in the hall. They'd long since grown use to the antics of the 104th, and the daily hijinks the Levi Squad pulled every meal were nothing short of commonplace in the Survey Corps.

"Fine," Jean growled. Then, after a short silence, he burst out, "What about Captain Levi?" Mikasa sighs as Eren rolls his eyes, stabbing at a lone carrot on his plate, skillfully dragging it away as Sasha made a grab for it.

Armin glanced up. "Hey, guys –"

"I was hoping you'd ask!" Sasha beamed, and, despite their obvious disinterest, even Eren and Mikasa leaned in a bit as Sasha grinned conspiratorially. She leaned forwards and whispered, "Ten-pack!"

"Um, guys –"

"No way!" Jean cried, throwing his hands in the air, earning them a bemused glance from the Commander on the other side of the dining hall. "I mean, yeah, he's strong and all –"

"No joke," Connie muttered.

"But ten-pack?" Jean hissed, leaning in again. "He's so tiny! Hell, even Armin's taller than him! You sure he's got enough room on him for that many?"

"Is a ten-pack even possible?" Eren asked.

"Duh! How else would he have one?"

"How do the veterans even know this?" Connie asked.

"Who knows? Maybe he's making those nightly rounds, if you know what I'm saying –"

"Huh, I never thought of him as a ladies' man –"

"Guys!" the four of them stopped talking and looked up to see Armin looking positively petrified, pointing to something behind them. They all turned to be hit with the full force of Levi's death glare.

"Um, hi, Captain," Sasha waved sheepishly as the rest of the Corps did a valiant job of ignoring the ensuing bloodbath. "How're you doing?"

Levi's eye twitched, and the entire group flinched back. "I'd appreciate it if you kept your discussion of my anatomical buildup to a minimum," he growled, and was met with frantic nodding. He sighed, turning his head. "Whatever," he grumbled. "Come with me, all of you. We need to talk."

The younger soldiers exchanged confused glances as they stood, following him out into the empty front hall. He was leaned up against a wall in his standard fashion, glaring at the opposite wall as if it had just kicked his mother.

"Captain?" Eren asked tentatively, and Levi' eyes turned towards his squad. He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Make sure that all of you are by the stables tomorrow at the crack of dawn. Tell no one and come in civilian clothes. Bring your gear."

"Captain?" Armin frowned. "Why would we –"

"We're going to the capital," Levi cut him off, and the soldiers exchanged surprised, confused glances. "Damned Military Police can't be bothered to do their jobs right," he growled as he continued glowering at the floor.

"Captain," Mikasa said, the tiniest hints of sarcasm in her voice as she very nearly spat out his title. He glanced up at her, one eyebrow raised slightly. "If we're going into the capital on military business, shouldn't we wear our uniforms?"

Levi's eyes narrowed slightly. "Consider it an undercover mission," he said shortly. "No more arguments," he added as she opened her mouth again. "Remember, tomorrow, stables, crack of dawn. We leave before the titans are able to move again.

"That's all."

EDIT 3/26/2019: So, I have no clue wtf happened earlier with the source code, but hopefully this fixes it!