Hello everyone! Thank you so much for the reviews/follows/favs, y'all are great! Sorry this chapter took so long. I lost all my work and wasn't able to recover it, then school started and I got so caught up with life situations.. I don't want to ramble on but I truly am so sorry for making you wait. I really hope you enjoy this chapter!

Mikasa squinted as the sun seeped through her curtains. She let out a deep yawn and stretched out her arms, letting them fall to rest on her head. Traces of the night before lingered in her mind. His lips. The way her skin felt under his calloused hands. Mikasa shook her head in disgust. How could she have allowed for that to have happened? Blaming it on the alcohol. Her face overcast as she remembered the reason why she and Levi were called to the castle in the first place. The deranged photos of the women and children were deeply embedded in her mind. Looking at them triggered thoughts and feelings that she had thrown into the back of her mind. But no matter how much she tried to forget, it was useless. She'd wake up trembling and drenched in sweat most nights. All she could do was put on a mask and go about her day like there was nothing wrong because showing weakness meant that those men won. The moment the photographs were spread out amongst the table, Mikasa had already made the decision to seek out the organization and kill every single person involved. She was thirsty for revenge.

Never in a million years did he think that his past would come back into his life. But it did— and now he had to stop the most stubborn woman alive from going there. Levi let out a frustrated sigh and slammed his fist against the wall. She is an idiot if she thinks that life down there is any different from the life up here. There may not be titans, but there were just as many disgusting creatures who would take her life instantaneously without any remorse. The damn woman thinks she can just march down there and slay down all her enemies without even knowing who she was up against. Moron. Moron. Moron.

He wasn't entirely sure what infuriated him more—the fact that this naïve soldier of his thinks she can do whatever she wants or the fact that an outsider has the audacity to enter the underground district and try to bring "justice". Levi hissed and got up from his seat. He had to stop her.

The empty halls echoed as his heavy footsteps reached her door. Without knocking, Levi swung the door open and walked into a vacant room. His eyes darted back and forth and noticed the neatly made bed, empty drawers left open, and no sign of Ackerman. That damn brat. He turned his heel and storm down the halls. There was no sign of any carriers that came by today so he knew she was somewhere in the premise. His blood began to boil as he thought of how idiotic this brat was. He checked every place he thought she could be—Eren and Armin's room, the weight room, the drill field, and even the dining hall but she was nowhere to be found. Beyond pissed, Levi walked back into his room and slammed the door shut, causing the books on the shelf nearby to shake.

"Throwing a tantrum, are we?" the familiar voice asked too nonchalantly.

Her back was facing him as she looked out of his wide window. Levi wasn't sure if he should be relieved that he had her in his grasp or angry that she had sent him off on a wild goose chase. She turned around and smirked, plopping down onto the bay window seat. That damn smirk. He chose the latter and felt his anger rise again.

"What are you doing here?"

"There's something that you need to do for me."

Levi shook his head softly and chuckled under his breath. The audacity…

"What are you laughing for? Nothing is funny here." Mikasa coldly stared at him with a slight frown.

"Who do you think you are to come into my office and order me around? Get the hell out of here." Levi's words came out harsher than he had anticipated and almost regretted his choice of words. He bore his eyes back into hers as he waited for a witty and rude remark.

"Don't tell Eren and Armin where I'm going. Whatever they ask of you, just lie." She got up and briskly walked away, not caring for a reply. But right as she was passing her captain, Levi stepped to the side, blocking her way and grabbed her wrists.

"I hate repeating myself and you are damn well aware of that. It is pointless for you to go there. You have absolutely no idea what the hell you are dealing with. I am telling you right now that the moment you leave HQ, you will immediately and permanently be removed from my squad." Levi held his gaze onto hers, hoping to see a sigh of defeat fall from her mouth. But this was Ackerman that he was talking to and he had no idea why he thought she would listen this time around.

Mikasa stared back at him with an expressionless face and yanked her arms free as she began to walk away.

"You will regret this. The world down there is worse than up here. We have titans that kill us, but where you're going, there are human beings killing other human beings out of pure joy."

His words left a bad taste in her mouth as she let it settle within her. Out of pure joy, huh? She thought of the men that carelessly took her parents life. She thought of how they argued about needing to keep her mother alive but because she got in the way, they simply decided to bring an axe to her skull. Before leaving the room, Mikasa stopped and looked back.

"What I would regret the most is to know that there are children being stripped of everything and simply looking away."

Levi's fists curled up as he faced his comrade. He knew that this was beyond the point of trying to have her stay. But something inside of him refused to let her go this easily.

"You aren't cut out for this. You will go down there and die. You won't be able to save anyone. You will simply just rot." He had to force the words out. He had to depict the most horrific illustration possible so that she might change her mind. He had to in order to save her. His eyes locked with hers and for a second he could see the sadness that flickered upon her face.

"Take care of Eren and Armin for me."

The rain came down harder as he stormed out of the castle. No luck again. Water splashed in every direction as he mindlessly walked into the puddles. It was his seventh visit in the past month and the king wasn't present at any of those times. Maxwell shooed him off every time as if he were some annoying gnat and would have him escorted out by several guards. Not wanting to cause a scene this time, Levi quickly slipped a piece of envelope under the king's master room before leaving the premises. He knew that the fat bastard was ignoring him on purpose. Probably orders from that new MP chief prick Marly or whatever the hell his name was. But Levi knew he would be hearing from the king after he saw the contents of the envelope. It was all just a matter of when.

A few weeks before Levi's visit to the king's castle

"I'm not going to ask again. Where is she?" the young man snarled at his captain.

Everyone dropped what they were doing as this question was what was burning in all their minds. Eren was fuming as it had been a week now that his sister was gone. And no one knew her whereabouts except for Levi. And for days the only answer he received was, "She's fine." But that two word response only built his anger up more and more. Mikasa had gone on trips where she would be gone for days but she never left without telling him where she was headed to. Not only did she leave without a word this time but her room was completely empty. Nothing remained. Eren grabbed a fistful of his captain's white cravat and drew the man closer to him.

"Answer me, damnit."

But his captain said nothing. He just looked at him with the usual bored eyes, but a strange smirk appeared on his face. Before he could react, Levi had spun Eren over and sent him crashing to the ground.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Such weakness. No wonder she didn't tell you where she was going." Levi straightened out his shirt, making sure there were no creases.

"Tell me where she is." Eren slowly got up ignoring the aching pain in his back.

Levi looked at his subordinate and sighed inwardly. "You really want to know? Fine. Your little girlfriend is on a classified expedition where only the most qualified soldiers were asked to go. Part of the mission strictly entailed that no one were to be known when or where she would go. But before she left, she asked me not to tell you anything regardless of how you behaved because she didn't want to hurt your pathetic feelings."

"My feelings? Why the hell would I be hurt? And what exactly is this expedition? Who else went?"

Levi rolled his eyes and grunted as Eren began to bombard him with more useless questions. He had no idea why he was even covering for her. But telling Eren the truth would only cause unnecessary headache and chaos. He had to keep his squad in order. This is what he told himself to get him through the past couple of days. If Levi had decided to go, then his squad would be in shambles. There was no way he could just up and leave. But no matter how many times he repeated these reasons in his head, he couldn't avoid the knot in his stomach. And every day that knot would only get tighter.

It was just a day later when Levi received a reply back from the king requesting him to come to the castle immediately. Levi crumbled up the letter and tossed it into his lit fireplace. His face warmed up as he dozed off staring at the flickering flames. Where are you right now, brat? You regret it, don't you? Have your belongings been stolen yet? You are stupid to have taken those clothes with you. Do you even know how to fend for yourself when you have nothing? Are you lying in a ditch somewhere?

The last thought trailed off as Levi shut his eyes, massaging the bridge of his nose. There wasn't a day that had gone by where his mind wasn't consumed with her whereabouts. He certainly didn't care for her in any other way but as simply a comrade. Every day he would find himself asking the same set of questions; could they really trust the king and the MP? Levi had spent the first week receiving intel about every single member on the new mission. There was nothing that he had come across about the men that made them suspicious or alarming in any way. But something about the mission didn't feel right. Maybe it was all in his head and he simply felt this way because of his view on the entire mission. Either way, he knew that sitting here and trying to figure everything out on his own was impossible. He needed the king. The fire had completely engulfed the letter by now. Levi walked across his room and got into bed. He stared blankly at the walls and watched the shadows of the flames dance around his room.

"Levi…" she ran her fingers through his hair and her legs loosened up on his waist as he let her ride out her orgasm. Levi pulled himself out, but not completely, allowing only his tip to be inside of her. He grinned as he saw how blissful she looked. With one final thrust, he expelled himself inside of her, and huskily groaned her name.

"My name is Hange and tell your pants that it's rude to point."

Levi shot up from his bed immediately as his dream was interrupted. Standing at the foot of his bed was his eccentric and annoying senior member. He pulled off his covers and planted his feet on the cold floor, sending chills up his spine. He rolled his neck around causing it to crack in three different places.

"What do you want?"

"Well Mr. Grumpy you're all about getting straight to the point today, aren't we?" he didn't have to face her to see the smirk on her face.

In all the years of working with people ever since he left the underground district, he learned that the quickest way to make someone stop pestering you was by not acknowledging their existence. So he walked around her as he made his way to the bathroom.

Not bothering to close the door, Hange took that as an invitation to come in. She hopped onto the sink counter and leaned against the mirror while admiring her friend's bathroom. Levi walked to the corner of the bathroom and dropped his pants to take a piss.

"Wow, your toilet is probably cleaner than my room."

Levi finished, pulling up his pants and ignored the repulsive comment. He walked over to where Hange was sitting and turned on his sink to wash up.

"So… When did you and Mikasa find time to have sex?" Hange snickered and waved a finger in the air, "I knew it would only be a matter of time before you two would sleep together. You two are literally the same person just split in two, and one has a penis while the other has a vagina!"

Levi reached for the towel across from him and patted his face and neck dry. Just ignore her. She'll go away soon. He saw the growing frustration on her face as she found no smart remark come from her friend. Growling, she pushed herself off the counter and folded her arms.

"A carriage is here and they're waiting on you."

But before Levi could ask what for, she had already left his room. Curious, he walked over to his window and looked down to see who it was. His eyes widened with surprise as he had not expected the king to come to him, especially after receiving the letter just last night. He smirked and quickly changed into his uniform. Blackmail was sometimes the best way to get what you want, other than force that is.

He walked down the corridor until he reached the main hall. He anticipated what the king had for him. It had to be more updates on the mission and maybe he knew where she was. Levi walked outside and opened the carriage to see the fat bastard sitting down, looking at a thick packet. He ushered Levi in with a wave of his finger and before Levi could even sit down, they began their journey back to the castle.

Levi sat across from the king and waited for the man to discuss what was going on. He leaned back on his seat with his arms folded and legs crossed. Whatever it was that was on those papers must have been extremely compelling because during the entire ride, no words were exchanged. Just furrowed eyebrows, grunts, and the frequent wheezing from the king. Levi had to force himself not to ask what was going on so that he didn't look too desperate or weak. If the king knew how little the captain was aware of then he probably wouldn't tell him everything. So when the carriage had finally stopped, Levi almost let out a sigh of relief. He could finally figure out what was going on.

She didn't even look up when he walked in, instead she was focused on the map spread out across the table. Levi blinked in confusion as he saw Mikasa standing at the edge of the table.

"Why are you here?"

She didn't respond. Expected of her. Levi walked over to her and as he tried to grab her, she swatted his hand away and tapped the pencil in her hand impatiently against the wooden table.

"This map is different from the one back at our base. Are you sure these routes are correct?"

"My men were down there just a few days ago. Do not question them. If you cannot trust the given map, then simply do not take it." The king spoke more harshly than usual.

Levi raised an eyebrow. He must have missed out on an argument from these two. He quickly examined Mikasa for any signs of injury but it was impossible to tell since she was covered from head to toe with her usual uniform. Before he could ask her why she was back, Mikasa pushed off the table and rolled the map quickly. She turned and looked at Levi with an annoyed expression.

"Let's go."

Levi gritted his teeth but complied as he followed behind her. Before leaving the room, Levi stopped and waited until Mikasa was out of earshot.

"I have much more than those photographs that you found in your room. I suggest you be of better assistance if you want to secure your image as a loyal and respectable king… Husband and father." Levi said the last part a little louder.

The king hissed and slammed the door forcing Levi out of the doorway. It brought the captain a sense of joy when he saw the king infuriated. He walked down the dimly lit hallways with a smirk on his face. It only widened when he saw his squad member with her arms crossed over her chest as she impatiently waited for him.

"Come on. We have to get going." Mikasa steps into the carriage and slams the door behind her.

She takes the seat by the window and looks out, refusing to meet his eyes. Levi sits in front of her, leans back, and rests his arms on the top of the seat. He smirks as he sees her hands gripping the edge of her seat.

"Relax, Ackerman."

"I am relaxed," her hands loosen up but she continues to stare out the window.

Levi studies her. Small dark circles, her lips lost color of their pink hue, and her eyes were dull. He didn't know what compelled him to, but his hands found his way towards her face but just as he was about to touch her, she brushed his hand away.

"Don't touch me" She said coldly.

Levi could tell she was stressed out. He heaved a deep sigh and sat back.

"Mind telling me what is going on?"

"You'll see when we get back to base."

His eyebrow arched in confusion, "What do you mean base?"

"You're part of the mission now."

The trip was agonizingly long as Levi couldn't get more information as to why he was part of the mission now. The carriage finally came to a stop and Mikasa wasted no time to get off. Levi followed her shortly after. They walked deep into the woods but faint voices of men could be heart. Burning wood and the strong smell of ale became stronger.

This must be where they have been the entire time. Plotting to take down the district in the fucking wild. Unbelievable. Levi's face grew grimmer as he saw the type of men surrounding the various campfires. They're all going to die for nothing. Waste of casualties. The men stood up immediately and bowed as the captain and Mikasa walked past them.

Levi noticed how tightly Mikasa was clenching the rolled up map that the king had given to her earlier. This map must have changed plans that they had made prior to today's meeting. Still it wasn't something to be this stressed out about. He decided to not say a word until he heard the details of what was going on.

The tent they entered was lit by candles all over the room. There was a large wooden table and men were surrounding it. They hardly noticed Levi and Mikasa walk in. The MP looked up from his table and beckoned Mikasa over with a wave of his finger.

Mikasa handed the man the now crinkled up map. They laid it out and Levi noticed how quickly everyone's faces grew with frustration as they scanned the new map.

"How is this possible? There are absolutely no similarities to these two maps."

"I know. We shouldn't trust the king. He was against us going on this mission in the first place. There's a high possibility that he is trying to lure us into some kind of trap." Another man spoke up.

"No. It is rare but the king is telling the truth. This map is interestingly accurate," Levi made his way to the table and ran his fingers along the paths drawn on the crinkled map. Interesting.. Very interesting. His thoughts were interrupted as the MP Chief, Marly cleared his throat asking for an explanation.

"What do you mean? How do you know that this map is valid?"

"Are you questioning the knowledge of where I spent my youth growing up?"

"You haven't been back there since you left. That was years ago. Things change, Captain Levi."

Levi chuckled. "You naïve thing, nothing ever changes in the district."

Two men on his side lunged forward as to take him down, but Levi swiftly took a step back and grabbed the backs of both their necks and slammed their foreheads to one another. Another man climbed over the table and raised his fist but the captain grabbed the unconscious man to his side and threw him towards his new attacker.

"ENOUGH!"

The Chief banged his fists on the wooden table, splitting it in half. Levi raised his eyebrow in amusement. He smirked as he fixed his cravat to smooth out any wrinkles. The men straggled away with their heads hung low.

"Out. Everyone." Marly commanded harshly.

Chairs pushed back and footsteps proceeded towards the exit.

"You. Stay."

Marly's eyes locked onto Levi's and the two men were left alone in the tent. The Chief walked around the broken table, never taking his eyes off of the shorter man. He stood face to face and looked down on the man.

"I do not care how you go about your business and handle your team, but this is my team. You do not come into my territory and cause havoc because of your inability to communicate with others. I know you want to be here so do not even try to put up some front. Pull this shit again and I will have you kicked off this base with the snap of my fingers. If you want to watch over Ackerman then I advise you to shut your damn mouth and speak only if spoken to."

Levi sensed the sincerity of the threat in the other man's voice. There was no point in trying to argue with the Chief. He came this far, there was no way he was going to back empty-handed. Levi nodded and grinned, "So where will I be staying?"

The only thing inside this tent were dirty sheets and a throw blanket. Not even a pillow. Levi stared at how disgusting the ground looked as he couldn't even bear the thought of insects crawling on top of him while he slept. Infuriated, he flapped the opening of the tent and intruded each tent until he could find hers.

Mikasa took off her boots and rubbed her aching feet. She let out a deep sigh. Today was a long day for her. She didn't expect the Chief to have her go back to the castle and meet with the king. She was in mid-workout when the orders came in. Then she spent two hours in the carriage with him. It was hell. His presence made her feel uncomfortable. Especially after their encounter that night at the king's castle. She groaned, defeated once again by those lingering thoughts. Focus, Mikasa. A yawn escaped from her mouth and the young woman continued to undress herself.

"What the hell?"

Mikasa gasped as she quickly covered her bare chest with her hands.

Levi stared at Mikasa as she stood there half-naked and completely flabbergasted.

"GET OUT!" she hissed.

Levi quickly darted his eyes away from her body and went back to focusing on her bed.

"Why the hell do you have a bed and I have to sleep on the disgusting ground that smells like piss?"

Mikasa's eyes widened, "Are you fucking kidding me right now? Get the hell out." Her voice was shaken by her anger.

The captain folded his arms, "Trade tents with me and I'll turn around so you can—" before he could finish his sentence he had to quickly duck his head as a dagger zipped towards him. "Now, now, no need to be wild." He yanked out the dagger that had drilled itself into a wooden pole. She definitely aimed for my forehead.

"Get. Out." She threatened again

Without giving her threat any concern, Levi plopped right onto her bed and turned his back to her. "Since this is your bed, I'll allow you to join me." When he didn't hear a reply, he looked over his shoulder and saw that the tent was empty. Well, that was easy. He closed his eyes and drifted to sleep in no time. It had been a long day for the captain as well.

Eep! Tension between these two as always. Tell me what you think will happen in the next chapter and what your hoping for! I love reading all of y'alls reviews! Again, I apologize for the late update. Graduating with my masters this semester so it has been extremely tough for me to balance my free time with work time! Will do my best to get the next chapter updated asap! Thanks for reading :)!