Morning broke cold and snowy. In the makeshift stables the horses voiced their displeasure as the handlers moved to place coats on them.
Levi woke slowly, his hand reaching along the bed to locate Eren. Instead he found an empty bed. He sat up slowly and realized he was still dressed. He thought for a moment. The last thing that came to mind was Eren massaging his shoulders and he shrugged. He must have fallen asleep.
The flap to the tent opened and Eren walked in. He brushed the snow from his jacket and sealed the flap closed.
"Good Morning, Levi. Are you feeling better?"
"I think so. Where have you been?"
"I went out to place coats on the horses and to feed them. I think they are both ready to head home."
Levi nodded. "As am I."
Eren peered out of the tent through the netting. "The snow isn't too heavy now, not sure if it will last long."
"If we get out soon, we might be able to make it back in one day." Levi said as he sat up.
"We don't need to rush. If the weather gets bad, we don't want to take any chances."
"True." Eren replied as he took off his jacket and moved to sit next to Levi. He leaned in to whisper. "We can always stop at that old house again." Eren nipped at Levi's ear, causing a smile to form on the older man's face.
"None of that now. We'll have time for that once we get back." Levi said.
"Party pooper." Eren said jokingly.
Levi leaned in to kiss Eren lightly. "I have a last meeting with Erwin, and then we can head back."
"I'll pack up here and ready the horses." Eren replied.
Levi stood up and smoothed his uniform. Eren watched from the bed as he pulled his boots on and ran his hand through his hair. He then walked to the tent flap and opened it.
"Be safe." Eren said.
"I will." Levi replied, leaving the tent.
Eren walked into the mess hall and headed over to the serving line to get food. Once he had a tray, he looked for a place to sit and saw Connie waving to him from across the room. Eren walked over and sat down beside him.
"Good Morning, Eren." Sasha said.
"Morning." He replied.
"How's things?" Connie asked.
"Good. We'll be heading out today. Levi-Heichou wants to get back. I think he's worried that Hanji may have burned the down the place in his absence."
Sasha smiled. "I miss Hanji. Say hi to her for me."
"I will." Eren said. He began to eat and looked around the room. No one had noticed him, which he was glad for. Although at this point he was used to the stares and pointed fingers, he was thankful that his friends treated him the same as the always had and that his notoriety had slowed down considerably.
Levi walked into Erwin's room and sat down beside the bed. Erwin was already awake and had a file of papers on his lap.
"Good morning, Erwin. How are you feeling?
"I'm doing alright. How are you feeling is the better question."
"I'm coming to grips with all this."
Erwin smiled. "I'm glad." He lifted the file from his lap. "These are some papers that I believe will help you set things up on your end. Once I'm able to get around, I'll come to the castle and help you out further.'
Levi took the file and flipped through it. "Thanks."
"Levi, don't try to do all this alone. Let Eren help you."
"I will." Levi said.
"Liar." Erwin said with a smile. "I'm serious, let him or someone else help you."
"Fine."
Erwin shook his head. He hoped Levi would let someone help him. Hanji perhaps, no not Hanji. Eren would be the perfect person to help.
"Levi, are you planning on leaving today?"
"Yes." He replied. "I want to get back."
"I'll be in touch soon. Have a safe trip back"
Levi stood up and turned to leave.
Erwin called to him. "Levi."
Levi turned. "Hmm?"
"Congratulations, I know you'll be fine."
"Thanks." Levi said as he left.
He walked back out of the hospital building and over towards the stables. Eren was already there with the horses. He could see him petting his horse in the doorway and he smiled when Eren's horse head butted him and Eren laughed as he stumbled back.
Eren looked up and saw Levi walking towards him. Levi noticed Eren already had both horses saddled, packed and ready to ride. Eren also has his gear on and that his own gear was positioned near the doorframe.
"We're ready to ride, Levi-Heichou." Eren said with a one armed salute.
Levi liked the way Eren hadn't dropped the "Heichou" when they were on duty. He also liked the smile that graced Eren's lips when he said the word.
"Thank you, Jaeger." Levi replied, ever in character.
Levi moved to attach his gear and Eren watched. A few minutes later, Eren handed Levi the reins to his horse and Levi mounted. He positioned himself on the saddle and petted the horse.
Eren moved to mount his steed and positioned himself. He looked at Levi and nodded. Levi clicked his tongue and the horse moved out of the stable. Eren followed behind.
Soon the camp was a dot in the distance to them as they made their way back to the castle.
Hanji stood in front of her work table staring at her notes. Something was missing and she couldn't put her finger on what it was. The notes were correct. The samples were correct. Then it clicked, she was missing Eren. Glancing over at the calendar, she saw that Eren and Levi were due back in a few days. She would be able to complete her research then. A knock on her door sounded.
"Come in." She said.
The door opened and Armin stepped in. "Sorry to bother you, Hanji-san, but I wanted to see if you needed any help."
"It's no bother, Armin. However, until Eren and Levi get back I'm stuck. How's things been with Mikasa?"
"Well, I managed to stop her from going after them. She got about a mile out when the tracks stopped. At that point she had no choice but to give up."
"Geez." Hanji said.
"Yeah, she's been a bit of a handful though. She has been questioning me every chance she gets."
"Well, they'll be back today or tomorrow, so she can question Eren all she likes."
Armin laughed. "Yeah, it's too bad I can't warn him."
It was Hanji's turn to laugh. "Poor Eren, he has no idea what he's in for."
Eren and Levi were making good time across the plains and hadn't had to stop. The horses were running at top speed and both Levi and Eren knew they'd have to stop soon for the horse's sake. Levi motioned to his left where a familiar cluster of trees stood. It was where they encountered the titan on the way to the camp.
They changed course and moved into the thick of the trees before stopping by a small brook. They dismounted and allowed the horses to drink. Eren pulled his canteen from the bag attached to the saddle and took a drink. He then handed his to Levi who drank from it. Levi looked up through the canopy of the trees and gauged the time of day.
"We won't get back today." Levi said.
Eren looked over to him. "How far do you think we'll get before nightfall?"
"Not sure. We can ride until it's too dark and then see if any towns or villages are nearby."
"Villages or Towns?" Eren said thoughtfully. "I know we pass by Stowell. Its slightly east, but its reachable without a high threat of titans."
Levi thought about it. "It will take us out of the way by about an hour. It's reachable before dark."
Eren nodded, but kept quiet.
Levi looked at him. "Let's go."
Eren smiled and moved to take the reins of his horse. Levi did the same. They remounted and headed east. The horse's galloped at a slower pace as they headed out of the woods and towards a road.
The road was a well-traveled one and several people nodded as they passed by. Seeing the green cloaks of the Survey Corps brought smiles to several people's faces and excited whispers from children. One boy recognized them, pointing and yelling as they approached. Once they got near the boy had called to his friends and they saluted as they went by.
Eren smiled and returned the salute. Levi just glanced at them. As they rode away Eren heard one of the kids telling his friend that "Corporal Levi looked at me!" while another one said "Nah ah, he looked at me." And the third said, "Well, Eren Jaeger returned my salute. He's so cool." The group became a loud voiced gaggle of talk. Eren shook his head and laughed.
"See Levi, there are people who like us."
"Yeah, it was kind of cute." Levi said. "In fact, I remember a certain green-eyed boy who once had that same look on his face."
Eren smiled. "I still remember that day." His face became melancholy for a moment before the mask of happiness slipped back in. "The wall fell that day. It seems so long ago…" Eren's sentence was cut off by a hand covering his. He looked up to see Levi looking at him.
Levi smiled at him, actually smiled. "Don't dwell on it. Your mother wouldn't want you to."
"You're right." Eren replied squeezing Levi's hand.
They arrived at the village as night fell and looked at the various inns. Levi decided on one that had a tavern attached. Eren stayed with the horses as Levi went in to see if any rooms were available. Levi appeared a few minutes later and nodded. They walked their horses to the stables and gave the stable hand a few bills to take care of the horses. The stable hand was grateful for the money and was even more thrilled to be able to take care of Survey Corps horses.
Eren and Levi walked back into the inn and looked around the tavern. The innkeeper walked over and showed the men to a table. Without even asking a decanter of mead was placed on the table along with two metal steins.
"On the house." He said before leaving.
Levi poured the dark liquid into both steins and placed one in front of Eren. Eren lifted the mug and stopped.
"You know, we never toasted our engagement." Eren said quietly to Levi.
Levi lifted his glass. "To us." He said simply before placing a quick kiss on Eren's lips.
"To us." Eren replied. They both took drinks from their steins and went back to people watching.
The innkeeper came back over to list the menu choices for the evening. Eren and Levi ordered and were then left alone until the food arrived. They ate in relative silence and found they were hungrier than they first though. Soon the food was gone and the glasses empty. Levi motioned for the innkeeper to come over and asked for the bill.
The innkeeper smiled again. "On the house, Corporal."
"Thank you." Levi said.
They stood up and headed to the stairs that would take them to the room. Levi opened the door and stepped inside. Eren followed and closed the door behind them. He then turned to lock the door. Eren placed his cloak over the chair and pulled off his jacket. He turned to see Levi staring at him with a rather predatory look in his eye.
"Levi." Eren said.
Levi moved forward closing the space between them. The only noises in the room coming from the fireplace and the footsteps from Levi's boots.
"You know," Levi purred. "We have a large bed with real sheets and blankets, a nice fire to warm our skin, and plenty of time."
He closed the space and ran his fingers down Eren's cheek.
"Did you just purr?" Eren asked leaning into the warm hand. "That's just sexy."
Levi smirked "Purr." He said as his lips brushed against Eren's.
Eren's hands came up to wrap around Levi's neck as he returned the kiss. Levi's hands cupped Eren's face and moved to tangle in his hair. Lips opened and tongues sparred. Hands moved of their own volition pushing a jacket and unbuttoning a shirt. Feet shuffled backwards pulling another set with them until backs of legs met the side of a bed.
The two fell to the bed in a release of breath followed by laughter from Eren. Levi looked up and brushed a lock of brown hair from Eren's face.
"I love it when you laugh." Levi said with the smile he reserved just for Eren.
"I love it when you smile." Eren replied.
The two just stared at each other for a moment before Levi wrapped his hand around Eren's waist and rolled them to their sides. Eren reached up to cup Levi's face and he leaned in to kiss him again. Soon legs were tangled and blankets rustled as things heated up between them.