After lunch the five set out on horses, riding towards Shinganshina. They had been on the opposite side of Wall Maria so the trip was expected to take a while. Erwin rode in front with Hanji and Mike in the middle and Levi and Claire in the back. It was a simple mission to pick up some reports the Garrison had for them.

"You're not still mad at me, are you?" Claire asked Levi, raising her voice to be heard through the wind, the sound of their gear, and the trotting of horses.

"No" he replied plainly.

"You sound as if you are" she stated, worried about his tone.

"I'm not mad at you. It's more myself. I knew to some extent that there was caffeine in tea, but I didn't think to look into it and assume the caffeine might stun growth"

"I'm sorry, if I hadn't told you that, you could have grown taller"

"It doesn't matter. I told you, as long as I'm still taller than you, it won't matter"

Claire smiled. Even though it was only his height they were talking about, it was a sweet comment to say he didn't care if he never grew again as long as he still had the height between them bonding them together.

After a while longer of riding, Erwin had them stop to take a break and give the horses water.

"Levi?" Claire called, coming close to him.

"What is it?"

"I-uh- I have to use the bathroom" she whispered in his ear.

"No one is watching, go on. Be careful" he replied dully.

She smiled. She was afraid he would've told her to hold it. Claire began to walk farther in to the forest, excitement welling up inside her. She had always wanted to try this, but the time never came.

Levi watched in which direction she went in case she got lost and he would have to go find her. Several minutes passed and Levi began to worry. Did a bear get her? Did she dig a whole too deep and fall in? Was she hurt, or just constipated?

"Erwin, I'm going to go get Claire, I'll be back momentarily" Levi told the elder.

"Take Hanji with you, send her back to report what happened"

Levi nodded and the two of them walked into the forest in the direction Claire had gone.

"Claire!" Hanji called after walking for a short time. It wasn't until Levi saw Claire's necklace, laying on the ground that he slapped a hand over her mouth to silence her.

"Thugs. Stay quiet" Levi ordered, picking up the locket, that looked like it had been ripped off of her fragile neck, and looking around for any other evidence. A small scrap of pink silk caught his attention when he walked closer. He carefully placed the necklace in his pocket before continuing.

"Hanji, go report the situation to Erwin, I'm going after them and will be back soon. If I'm not back in five minutes, come after me" Levi ordered before enabling his 3DM gear and flying off into the trees. Hanji called after him once before retreating. He knew he'd be able to see better from there and had a better chance of spotting them. He finally came upon a small, makeshift camp. Levi took count of the enemy before scratching a plan. There were at least seven of them. He was sure Claire was either in one of the tents or in the wagon, probably the later. He would have to be quick and precise if he wanted to get her away without injury.

Claire thrashed around on her back inside the sealed wagon. Her hands were tied and she'd been gagged and blindfolded, but that didn't exhaust her fiery spirit.

"Stop moving" one of the men ordered before kicking her hard in the stomach. Tears brimmed in her eyes at the thought of never being free again. At the thought of loosing the life she loved. At the thought of Levi when she was gone.

Sudden loud noises from outside caused the two to freeze. "What the hell?" the man wondered before leaving the girl in the wagon alone. More thrashing and yelling came from outside as Claire stayed silent as possible. She didn't know what was out there, but by the sound of it, it was more violent and lethal than a Titan. It didn't take long for most of the noises to stop and the only thing she was able to hear were the loud pants coming from one individual. She tried to picture them as a gentle woman that had miraculously come to her rescue, but all she could picture was a giant man who wanted nothing but to kill. The thought scared her. Would she die today?

Claire heard foot steps before a large slice slit through the side of the wagon, opening it up. Her heart beat a million miles a second before she heard the cold, harsh voice that ended all fear, for her at least.

"Claire!" It was Levi. He had come for her! "Stupid Brat, I thought I told you to be careful" Levi scolded, quickly running to her before taking off the blindfold and gag and unfastening her hands from the ropes. She sobbed quietly as Levi picked her up bridal style and walked her back to the group. They ran into the other three on their walk back. Apparently, it had been over five minutes and they thought the two had died.

They soon continued their journey, however, Claire sat on Levi's horse with him. Her arms clutched around his stomach and her ear pressed against his back, listening to the calming sound of his heart beat.

Twenty-one years prior...Year 824...Six year old Claire.

The little girl sat idly on the steps out front of the beat-up orphanage. She was waiting. Waiting for her mother to come back and get her. Inside, Emily sat staring out the window at her younger sister. Calamity was six and Emily had just turned twelve. It hadn't even been a week since their mother abandoned them at the orphanage, yet it felt like a lifetime. Emily had expected it. She knew what would happen eventually, however, Calamity still thought their mother had loved her and when she said, 'it was only for a little while', that she had meant it. However, Calamity had gone into a time of grief after the first day and hadn't spoken a word since.

It wasn't until she noticed a young, suspicious looking boy approaching Calamity, that Emily felt alarmed and stood up and walked outside.

"You've been in this exact spot for the last five days. I'm surprised you don't have a sunburn. You should get up and do something. If you stay there forever, nothing is gonna change" he told her. His hands were placed carelessly in his pockets and his hair was the color of a raven, giving him the aura of unapproachable, yet he had been the one to approach the small girl.

"I'm waiting for my mommy" Calamity replied simply, shocking Emily for the fact that she had spoken.

"Don't you understand where you are. This is an orphanage. Your 'mommy' isn't coming back" he replied harshly, emphasizing the word mommy.

"I know" she said quietly after a moment. Tears began welling up in her eyes as she continued, "I knew since the first day"

The boy said nothing for a while, only stared before finally speaking up, "You" he directed towards Emily, "go tell the head that I'm taking her out for a little while"

Emily nodded slightly before running inside to tell them. Meanwhile, the boy helped the younger girl up and they began to walk around the town.

"My name's Levi, what's yours?" he asked after they had been walking in silence for a while.

"I don't like my name" she replied.

"Why not?"

"Because my mother gave it to me out of spite"

"May I know what it is?" he asked, looking over at her.

"Calamity, meaning misfortune" she replied, her head down as she stared at the dirt.

"I don't think you're misfortune" Levi told her, trying to cheer her up, "You'd be more suited with a name like Amy or Claire"

"You think so?" she asked, smiling at him.

"Yeah, how about this, you pick your name. You don't have to rely on that woman anymore"

"I like Claire" she replied bashfully.

"Claire it is then. You are reborn into this body with new spirit and new life" he tells her before reaching in his pocket, "Here, this will be my baby shower gift to you. It was my friend's before she died" he said, handing the small locket to her. She opened it up and stared at the message inside. "Je te aime pour toujours" it said in a foreign language.

"What does it say?"

"I don't know" he replied, "It's in French. The only word I can make out it te which I think means you. I guess I'll make it your responsibility to find out what it says and report back to me, okay?"

Claire nodded. She was happy. She had a new name and a new mission to keep her busy.

That evening the group stopped along the outside of wall Rose to camp for the night. The tents were set up so that the men stayed in one and the women in another. They all sat on the ground around a fire, eating loaves and chatting merrily. They sat in a circle so that Erwin sat by Levi whom sat by Claire who sat next to Hanji whom had been sitting next to Mike. Claire was still quiet, speaking only a little every once in a while.

"Come on, Brat, you've gone back to the girl who was always sad. What does your name mean if you don't make it mean something?" Levi asked her, not in a whisper, but not loud enough to be announcing it to everyone.

"You know, when I sat there, afraid I was going to die, all I could think about was you. The only thought that went through my head was, how will Levi react? Will he search for me? Will he give up? Will he even care? It wasn't until I heard your stupid voice calling me by a weak name that I felt safe and relieved. I felt so happy to know you had cared enough to come for me" she said, letting her thoughts out.

"Why wouldn't I come for you?"

"I don't know. My question was why would you? I'm not an asset to you. I'm not important. I'm just an annoying Brat who can't fight her own battles, who needs you to save me every time"

Levi sighed, "Come with me" he ordered, standing up and extending his hand to help her up. She took it and followed him towards a small lake they had passed. Claire shivered slightly as the cold wind tickled her skin and make goosebumps appear. Levi took off his green survey corps cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders, hiding her some from the harsh chill.

"Thank you" she replied softly. Levi sat down in front of the water but far enough back so that it wouldn't touch him and Claire joined him, leaning close to share body heat.

"Levi, all these years I waited for you to come back so that I could see you again. One thing I learned from that is that you are more stubborn than before. Levi, you are cold, and mean, and hard to get along with at times, but I do love you, and I want to be with you. Forever" Claire confessed, not shifting her gaze from the water in front of her that sparkled in the moon light.

Levi sighed, "I know" were his only words as he kept his vision fixed on the same things.

"I want to be selfish, Levi. I want to take you away from the Scouts, I want to steal you away and lock you up close to me so that I never have to leave you again, but I know I can't" she continued, tears brimming in her eyes, "You told me the only reason you weren't in prison right now was because they made a deal with you. And I understand that you can't leave them abruptly, but I want you to. I don't like you leaving the walls because every time you do, you chance death. These last ten years, I had been nearly sure you had died. That I would never see you again. I cried for days after I received the MIA card, Levi. I knew there's no possibility to survive outside the walls for long, yet you did. How? How did you? Why can't I be strong like that?" by now she was crying, tears streaming down her face and sparkling in the moon light as small sobs escaped her lips.

"Claire" Levi began, pulling her chin to look at him and drying her tears, "The price of a solider is a high one. You constantly have to be on the look out for your life and for the lives of the people you love. It's a job that once you start it, there is no end. You fight until the battle is won or you've given your life trying. That is why I'm telling you now. Give up on me. I don't want to see you hurt because you've tried to follow me. Already today you've been hurt and it wasn't even by the hands of a Titan. It was our own kind, Kid. I know it's hard to believe, but it's not the Titan's I'm worried about. I know there are people out there that would do anything to see me die, but not only me, everyone I've ever come in contact with as well. They'd go to death to see me loose, even if it meant they didn't get to do their victory dance. I'm not about to let you get hurt when I know I can stop it"

Claire turned her head. She knew he was right. It wouldn't be the first time someone tried to use her to get to him. She was his week spot. And it haunted her everyday.

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you, and I think you need to know" Claire explained, not turning back.

"What is it?"

"You ha-"

"There you guys are! We were looking for you" Hanji called, interrupting Claire's words and walking closer, "You guys just up and disappeared"

Levi sighed before standing and extending his hand to Claire. She accepted it and stood next to him before they all walked back to camp.

A/N

Is it sad to think I only have about two more chapters? It truly is a short story. :(

Any who, how'd I do? (Hehe XD that rhymed) Let me know in the comments and don't forget to vote for the chapter. Thank you, guys, so much!

QOTD:

Why do you enjoy the Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin series?

My Answer?

I like the reality aspect of it. Not that Titans sound real to me, but that the characters aren't necessarily 'protected' by the program. It's a real thing. They won't live forever, and they know that. Its different from most animes where friendship and love is all you need to survive.

You Answer? Reply in the comments!