Chapter 7

58th Expedition behind the Walls


Perhaps protecting these two would be my goal for life. There's no pain when you're with them, only more and more joy building up in yourself. Perhaps, he thought, just perhaps. There's freedom with them Levi thought before drifting off to sleep. He felt exhausted, he had just let out all these strange emotions he hadn't come across for a few years; there was sadness, guilt, anxiety, fear, despair, shock, helplessness… He felt weak, but he knew it was okay for now. He let his eyelids close, they were too heavy.

Eren carried his Corporal's sleeping body onto his bed after bandaging his leg up again and pulled the blankets up to his chest. Monica stood next to his bed watching Levi's chest rise and fall at his even breathing rhythm. She pulled herself up onto the bed and gazed upon Levi's sleeping face; it was so peaceful. She reached a hand out to Levi's face and wiped his tears away. Eren watched as Monica then leaned over him and planted a small kiss on his forehead.

Eren smiled. Monica was really mature and caring for her age. All the 5 year olds he knew were crazy and disobedient. The smell of food suddenly disrupted his thoughts.

"Monica, let's go eat dinner." Eren whispered. Monica nodded and jumped off the bed. She didn't want to leave Uncle Levi but the growling in her stomach betrayed her. Monica grabbed Eren's hand and followed him out of the door which Eren closed gently behind him.

As they walked downstairs they saw Jean setting the table for dinner. The time had flown by when they were with Levi.

"Wow! I didn't know you could cook!" Eren gasped.

"Basic survival skills." Jean retorted. He took a tray of cookies out of the oven. "These are for you, Monica." Monica squealed in delight.

Eren laughed, "I didn't know you had a soft spot for kids!" Jean turned around and hit Eren square in his face. Eren kicked him harshly in the shins in response. Jean smirked, they were back to their usual selves; constantly looking for ways to provoke the other was one way of proving this.

Eren, Jean and Monica took their seats at the dining table and dug into their food.

"Uncle, your food tastes really good!" Monica commented. Little crumbs dotted her chin as she continued to eat. Jean smiled.

As they started to finish up their dinner Eren asked the question that had been bothering him upon Jean's arrival.

"Where did the remaining members go?"

Jean immediately stopped eating and looked fearfully into Eren's eyes, "The rest of us ran for it on the shifter's orders, but since that titan had substituted into me I knew that I had to kill it. It brought me all the way here. I think some headed back to the wall."

"Mikasa?" Eren whispered.

"She should be fine, but I don't remember her being killed by that shifter."

Eren breathed out a sigh of relief. He finished up his dinner, excused himself and went to take a bath.

As Eren immersed himself in the warm water, he couldn't help but wonder if his friends were fighting out there while he was nice and healthy with good food and a soft bed. He sure hoped they were okay; there weren't any more safe places to hide. Their last wall had been breached and now there were titans running everywhere. Eren grabbed a towel, dried himself and pulled on his clothes. Now he had to give Monica a bath.

"Monica! Bath time!" Eren called from the bathroom. He heard a small 'Yes' before going to fill the tub up with water again. He quickly rubbed her down with soap and rinsed her small body; they could only take short baths because there was limited water in this house.

Monica sat on a small stool with her white makeshift dress splayed out around her and a red bow tied behind her back. He knelt beside her and started to comb her soft hair with a brush-looking thing he found. Her dark brown hair trailed down right below her shoulders. Once Eren was done, Monica said a sweet little thank you and left the bathroom. He stayed behind to clean up the puddles of water everywhere; he knew his Corporal wouldn't be happy if he saw this.

After he had mopped up all the water he realised that Jean wasn't in the house anymore, he quickly ran outside only to see him standing next to his horse and gently stroking its mane. The sun was slowly setting in the background and another day was wasted. He should be out there saving people; not having a little tea party!

"Horse-face! Go take a bath." Jean lifted his head to where the voice came from. He grunted and stood up.

"Coming, Green eyed Bastard." Jean smirked. He made his way back to the house and went to take a bath.

Eren saw that the door to his Corporal's room was opened and he quickly walked upstairs, only to see Monica sitting by his Corporal on a chair and keeping careful watch on him. Damn, that child never ceased to surprise him. He silently walked up to her and surprised her by ruffling her hair.

"Go to sleep soon, okay?" Eren murmured. The girl nodded then turned her gaze back to his Corporal. He walked a few minutes later shutting the door with a soft click.

Eren had something to discuss with Jean as he was the only who would understand right now, they needed to start moving soon. They were defenceless sitting right in the middle of enemy territory. Despite his Corporal always calling him stupid, he hoped that his stupidity would save them. Jean came out of the bathroom a few minutes later with droplets of water hanging on his hair. He looked much more refreshed.

"Jean, let's discuss what might be happening tomorrow." Jean's gaze shifted onto Eren.

"What are we doing tomorrow?"

"Embarking on our 58th Expedition behind the walls." Eren's reply was blunt.

"And, what is our motive?"

"To find the remaining Recon Corp members and take back Wall Sina."

Jean sighed, "Do you believe that'll actually happen?"

Eren grinned sheepishly, "Probably not the last part. There aren't many humans left in those walls." His expression turned serious again.

"Do you have a plan of some sort?" Jean asked.

"You could lead us back to where you guys camped out last time and we could start from there."

"Sounds good." Jean nodded. "Let's sleep now, we'll need to be in top condition since our Corporal looks completely out of it and is injured."

Eren nodded. "You can sleep in Monica's room."

Jean glanced at him looking confused. "Where does she sleep then?"

Eren pointed at himself. They murmured quiet goodnights to each other and Jean went into his room.

Eren walked up to his Corporal's room and quietly entered, the sky was completely dark but a candle was lit by his Corporal's bed. It cast eerie shadows on the walls.

"Monica?" Eren whispered. There was a slumped figure on the chair. Eren smiled. She fell asleep while looking after his Corporal. He carried her to his own room and fell asleep wrapping his arms around her.


Xx Morning xX

Levi sat up on his bed, stretched himself and sighed. That was the best night he'd ever slept through, there weren't any nightmares to haunt him, there weren't any memories to eat away at him; it was just a peaceful night of resting. A scene of what happened yesterday rushed back at him; a scene of him running into the brat's arms. Levi groaned, how was he going to explain this?

Then the memories flooded back, his tears and Monica's sweet words. It seemed like he was the earliest one awake. The sun was shining brightly like usual but his mind was still muddled by all the strange things he had encountered yesterday. Levi got out of bed and was about to go downstairs to make breakfast when he nearly ran into Monica who was standing outside her doorway and rubbing her eyes.

"Uncle Levi!" She half-screamed at him. Monica ran at him with her arms wide open, and Levi just couldn't say no so he bent down and picked her up.

"Do you want to make breakfast with me?" Levi asked. He whacked himself internally as soon as those words were spoken. He was getting too soft with these kids. He wasn't 'him.' Monica nodded eagerly to that question.

Monica was in charge of chopping up the vegetables while Levi fried some more bacon. Levi taught Monica how to safely chop up vegetables but she still managed to get a few cuts on her small fingers which Levi quickly put band aids on. Just as the table was set with food, both Eren and Jean appeared at the top of the stairs.

They grumbled as they took their seats at the dining table and Monica climbed onto Eren.

"Morning, Onii chan, Uncle!" Monica greeted them.

As they all started to dig into their food, Eren suddenly decided to introduce his plan for today which caused Levi to nearly choke on his food.

"Jeager, You WHAT?!" Levi yelled at Eren, who looked quite dumbfounded.

"J-Jean and I planned out our 58th Expedition behind the Walls. We just went with that name through tradition; th-there aren't any walls l-left. We plan to find as many missing soldiers as we possibly can and e-either find a safer place for us all to live or attempt to take back Wall Sina." Eren stuttered.

"Do you have any evidence or reason behind your stupid mission will be carried out or be successful?" Levi growled at him.

"Hei-chou, they could've left clues back at the place the shifter appeared, they might've also left tracks so we can group up, right now we're all scattered everywhere."

"Just how many do you think are still alive, Baka?" Eren's eyes widened at Levi's question. Levi's voice was stern.

"I...I…" Eren's voice trailed off.

"But I guess it's still worth a shot because it's not completely impossible." Levi smirked. "Let's go then." Levi finished up his breakfast and Eren smiled and Jean breathed out a sigh of relief. He thought that Eren would have been smashed against the wall.

"But if it fails, you know who's responsible." Levi warned him. Eren, Jean and Levi pulled on their gear with some uniform Levi found in a closet. It was pretty old and dusty but better than nothing. There were also some extra gas tubes sitting in a corner. Monica looked after the food and medication. She was amazed by all the gear and how they could fly through the air.

They jumped on all their horses but decided to leave Hanji's horse here; it would be too dangerous. Monica served to be a little nuisance but she tried her best not to get in anyone's way as she was also quite aware that she couldn't do much. She stayed on Eren's horse like usual.

Levi raised his blade in the air and yelled:

"Let the 58th expedition behind the walls begin!"


TBC…

Hope you liked that chapter, probably all action next chapter. This chapter is kinda just gathering everything up and planning and informing you of whats happening. Im going to be away for around 5 days. I'll make it up to you after, I promise!

Leave some feedback so I can improve yeah? (: Follow and favourite!

LET THE 58th EXPEDITION BEHIND THE WALLS BEGIN!

Elle-chan~