A/N: Thank you, MeAFanfictionGirl and OniAya for favoriting my story! And thanks for following, ZoeyRageQuits. Also, MeAFanfictionGirl, thanks for commenting for a continuation! This one's for you then :P

Chapter 10

The next morning, I awoke shivering from the brisk cold. Had I forgotten to turn on my AC? Sitting up and rubbing my eyes, I recalled the events from last night and felt my face heat up. Slowly, I looked down at my body and felt relieved to see my dress still on me. Removing the blankets from my person, I threw my feet over the edge of the bed and instantly regretted it. I wracked with shivers as the cold of the frigid morning consumed me, and I tentatively pulled the blanket over my shoulders in an attempt to warm myself quickly.

Where was Levi? I walked over to the door, still covered up, and hesitated at the door knob. The second I decided to open it, it twisted on its own, so I stepped back to allow whoever through. Of course, it was Levi with two cups of what smelled like lemon tea in his hand. He handed me one without a word and then went over to his desk, sitting down and immediately picking up a pen to write.

Going back over to the bed, I sipped my tea and indulged in its warmth before I dared to speak. "Are you… feeling better this morning?"

He abruptly stopped writing, and I anticipated him to glare at me or yell something obscene or simply call me "idiot", yet… he only slouched back, still not looking at me. "Kind of. Better than I probably was going to be."

Was that… a compliment? With Levi, it was always hard to tell.

"I'm glad to hear that. And… And I know you hate to hear it, but I really am sorry. For your squad. How's, er, Eren?" He never said he'd died during the expedition, so I held out that at least he was safe.

"He's taking it hard, I know, but he's pulling through. He has his friends to keep his spirits up so…" So do you, I wanted to say. He had Hanji, Erwin, and even me, if he wanted to consider me a friend. We had to be something if we shared the same bed last night.

"Good to hear." As silence fell between us, I took the opportunity to sip more of my tea and think of what else to say.

He beat me to it. "How was your trip?" Now his head lulled back to face me, his eyes appearing bored as usual. "How's the future?"

"Ah… Alright. I celebrated my twenty-fourth birthday so…" I shrugged. "Same ol', same ol'." The usual, my mom's voice rang in my head, and I had to fight the smile that tried to form on my face.

"Happy belated birthday, then," he said, removing himself from his desk to set himself beside me. "Though it kind of got ruined."

"No, not at all." I handed him my cup to place on his bedside table and gave him a reassuring smile. "I was waiting to be—" Taken back here. That probably wouldn't have made any sense to him, but it was the down-home truth. "—kidnapped."

"This is becoming the norm for you." He didn't bother to form that into a question, only to make that into a straight forward statement.

"Yes, but I… I'm okay with that." Now my smile brightened. "I've… developed a home here. And even though it can be dangerous, I lo—like it. A lot."

He didn't say anything for a while, and I didn't want to risk making things more awkward by looking at him. After a few minutes, he stood, rubbed his hand in my hair roughly, and strode toward the door, stopping with his hand on the knob to speak. "I'm being summoned for some reason or another by Erwin downstairs. You're welcome to join us, but you have to change first."

I nodded and waited until his footsteps disappeared down the hall before moving from my spot. The only closet currently available was Levi's, and I assumed that was where he wanted me to get my new set of clothes. I could have gone to Petra's room but… it was far too soon.

Wait, how long ago did the mission take place? Was it just yesterday? Today? Last week? Time had a tendency to place me on different dates from my own, usually right back where I left off. So I was way in the future there, about a month, and a month backwards here?

My head hurt.

I slipped on some camo green pants and rolled them halfway up my calf then found a plain white long sleeved shirt, also rolling up the sleeves since they covered my hands. Wearing heels was probably out of the question, so I found a spare pair of dark brown loafers and then left his room, folding my dress and leaving my shoes by the desk chair before leaving.

Instead of joining Levi and Eren—even though a large part of me wanted to see if Eren was alright—I hid myself inside the fortress's study. Something told me that, even though Levi invited me to join him, I wasn't exactly welcomed in a conversation like that. It would be full of talk regarding military tactic and the like and I wouldn't be able to follow along.

Searching aimlessly, I sat in a section regarding space and star alignment. Picking out a random book, I fiddled between the pages, scanning over sentences and phrases but not actually reading anything. All I could think about was Levi and the look on his face last night, and how Eren had to be taking all this as well. Still, I stayed with my decision to remain here until called.

Apparently, I fell asleep in the middle of reading about the constellations in relation to zodiac signs and their accuracy to people, for someone had nudged me in the side with their foot—hard. I let out a growl and lifted my head up slowly, hoping to whatever deity lay above that there was no drool dripping down my face. Someone was looking out for me, for when I went to wipe my face it felt dry.

"Wha—" I cast my eyes up to meet Levi's. He looked… tired. Old. Like he needed another cigarette.

"I'm sendin' you back to Hanji's," he informed me, extending a hand to help me up.

Now on my feet, I couldn't help but comment, "Getting tired o' me already?" Sleep made my words slur slightly, and my vision blurred around me, but I was cognitive enough to give him a quip before stumbling passed him.

"Don't be an idiot," he mumbled under his breath, following after me. "She just wants you close for the next couple of days due to some plan Erwin has."

I stopped in my place, completely awake now. Turning on my heel, I gave him my best glare. Of course, it didn't faze him in the slightest. "What plan?"

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Sleeping Beauty," he joked in that same monotone voice, accompanying the statement with an eye roll. "We're just working on some revelations. At any rate, it's bound to get dangerous, so she's taking precautions. We all are."

"So she wants me at her place for a couple days," I repeated back to him, not to ensure I had heard him correctly but to make it clear that his vague behavior had me suspicious. He caught it, but said nothing, just turned me right around and made me pack the few things I had in his room.

"About last night…"

Shit. I hoped and prayed he would just let that go and pretended it didn't happen. But that would be my luck. "Hmm? What about it?" I pretended that re-folding my clothes was more important than looking at him; my red face would give away just how much I didn't want to have this conversation.

"Thank you."

I waited. And waited. And waited some more. I expected some type of smart-ass follow up to lighten the mood, but none came. My heart hammered a hectic beat in my chest, and only when I calmed down slightly did I dare to look back at him.

He was across the room, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed and eyes glued to the wooden floor. This made him just as uncomfortable. Picking up my dress and shoes, I smiled as sweetly as I could, hoping it didn't look at all as awkward as I felt. "You're very welcome, Levi. I was glad to have been here."

Now his expression changed, if only a miniscule amount, to that of shock, maybe confusion. "Oh? Why is that?" His voice held a lace of defensiveness that I would expect of him.

"Because…" This is embarrassing. "Because I… Even under the circumstances, I was glad to have been there for you. It was a good way to end my birthday."

"Right, your birthday."

Nothing further was said at all, and I made my way out the door without looking at him again.

….

It felt like an earthquake had erupted underneath my feet, making Hanji's entire house shake and rock. It caused statuettes, books and dishes all to come tumbling to the ground, glass raining all over the wooden floor. The earthquake would quiet down, but then it would build up and erupt so abruptly I hardly had time to react.

I hid underneath a table that was on the verge of breaking underneath the weight of Hanji's now-broken chandelier, my hands over my head. Keeping my emotions in check to avoid traveling was a feat in itself yet I managed, pressing my eyes closed and trying very hard to push the world around me as far away as possible.

Someone grabbed hold of my wrists and pulled me from under Hanji's table, a scream escaping my lips.

"Shut up, idiot!" he growled, tugging me toward the door, but not allowing us to exit until he surveyed the area. "We don't have time for you to be playing hide-and-seek."

"I wasn't doing it on purpose!" I snapped back, my eyes narrowing at my counterpart. "What's going on? Did titans break through the wall?" We were inside the innermost wall; if that were the case, we truly were doomed.

"No. Don't ask questions right now, Rosemary. Just grab on." When Levi said my name like that, it was like some deep part of me couldn't help but obey. I wrapped my arms around his neck, much as I had Jean's though this time I was more painfully aware of our proximity, and held on as tightly as I could.

Flying with Levi seemed different than with Jean. Though Jean used the 3DMG very well, Levi ducked and dove and soared in a much more graceful way. I could see the city within every single angle in just a matter of a minute, and it was horrifying as well as breathtaking. At the sight of the church completely shattered, the blood and bodies painting and decorating it, I had to look away, burying my eyes into his shoulder and closing them again.

"Where are we going?" I asked against his collarbone.

"You're going to safety," he answered simply, though I looked back to stare at him incredulously.

"I asked where we are going. What about you?"

"I got another agenda, Rosemary." Even though he should have been focusing on whatever was ahead of him, he met his eyes with mine and locked them. "Trust me."

So I did.

He set me down on a roof nearby and slightly above Hanji and Erwin and their little brigade. They had gathered on a large bridge overlooking the inner city, and I was puzzled as well as disheartened by Erwin's expression. He just looked… shocked. Angry. That air of leadership still could be sensed, even from my elevation.

"Be right back." Before I could protest, Levi was gone, flying toward Eren's titan body—and to that of another titan he had pinned underneath him.

Hanji had told me what had happened during the mission, what had made Levi so tremendously troubled. A titan they identified as the Female Titan had wreaked utter havoc on their mission. It'd killed a lot of soldiers, including Levi's squad, and even almost made off with Eren after he had shifted into his titan form. Thankfully, Mikasa and Levi had been around to apprehend him and take him back home, though it meant the sacrifice of leaving some of the soldiers' bodies behind.

But now they had her pinned.

Or so we thought.

A bright light flashed from the back of the Female Titan's neck, melting Eren's titan form into it. Eren cried out in pain, pulling himself away but to no avail. That was when I saw a speck of a human fly in and cut the nape of the male titan's neck open, revealing human-Eren within.

Annie Leonhardt. I didn't know much about her, nor did I care to. If she had done this damage, if she truly had killed that many people and brought so much devastation to people I cared about, there was nothing more I wanted to know about her. Sure, there was probably a reason; there was always a reason. Yet, I didn't believe it would justify what she did.

"You shouldn't be doing that with your leg injured," I whispered as I walked up to Levi's side.

"Someone had to save that self-sacrificing retard," he retorted, though not in his usual harsh voice. "Let's get her to headquarters," he commanded the other soldiers before turning on his feet and leaving the scene.

Always walking away without a word. I had grown to expect that behavior from him at this point.

….

The moon shone so bright tonight, making me feel nostalgic and lost in my own thoughts. A lot had happened to me in a very short amount of time, and sometimes I felt as if it were a dream. I waited with dread and anticipation to wake up one morning and find out all of this wasn't true, which would have left me in a pit of… well, despair.

I had grown fond of being here. I loved the relationships I was starting to develop: there was Hanji, Eren and his band of misfits, Commander Erwin, but especially…

"You're going to end up falling forward if you keep looking at the sky any harder."

My heart gave an erratic thump before calming down and I dared a glance at him. He was staring up at the nighttime sky as well, his hands in his pockets and just looking… radiant. There was no other way to describe him.

"Time'll catch me. He always does." Quicky, I added, "What are you doing here?"

"Hanji said you'd snuck away to be here, so I decided to keep an eye out on you."

"Why do you do that?" I asked with more acid than I had intended. More calmly, I said, "I'm not a child. I can handle myself."

"I don't doubt that." After waiting for him to answer my question, I gave up; he made it clear he had no intention to.

Once drowsiness started to consume, I knew it was about time to creep away from the roof and inside to my warm bed. Standing up, I swung my legs over the edge and back onto the ceiling's paved top, trying my best to steady myself.

Here we go.

My upper balance was what set me up for disaster, the ledge of the roof my only leverage—but of course, failing. Levi's hand grabbed hold of mine, but he came falling with me.

And right into that goddamn portal.

A/N: Cliff. Hanger.