They left the following morning. Eren did not allow his childhood friends to fill his ears with hollow apologies as their pitying gazes told him they wanted to do. He said his goodbyes with a smile though it was distant, and left without turning back. The ride was mostly silent. Levi had barely spoken to him since, the only time he had initiated a conversation being to inform him they would leave in the morning as per Erwin's orders.

He had been cold and unapproachable then, as he was while they galloped towards the old Survey Corp's headquarters. Erwin had written that Team Levi with the addition of Eren would stay in the castle for the duration of the Corp's stay inside the Walls. It was all Eren had managed to learn from the tight-lipped distant man that had replaced Levi.

They got there around mid-morning and met up with the squad. After warm welcomes which were somewhat dampened by the sombre mood between the two childhood friends, Levi decreed the castle needed to be thoroughly cleaned before they could even consider living in it. They were to leave no stone in the building unturned in their quest for perfect cleanliness. Predictably, Eren was sent as far away from Levi as the castle would allow.

Well, he thought as he headed towards the Northern part of the castle, at least he would enjoy Petra's company as he worked. That was not so bad.

He had never been as grateful for Petra's tactful discretion before. The woman carefully evaded the subject of the Corporal all day long, never saying a word about the strained atmosphere between the man and Eren. By the time Levi deemed the castle acceptably cleaned, which was already past sunset, Eren was in a much lighter mood. The fact that he had been ordered to sleep locked in the basement did not even dent it. Truthfully, he had expected such conditions to his remaining alive, so he accepted with an easy shrug.

Although he was avoiding Eren, Levi could not hide his annoyance and irritation at the rules Erwin had set and it warmed the boy's heart a little more.

At present, he had entered his new quarters, which consisted of a large cell with a wooden plank for a bed, and was sitting on the hard excuse for a resting place, adding some stuffing to a pillow with some straw. The echoing footsteps surprised him out his task and his first movement was to reach for a knife at his belt that was not there. He clicked his tongue irritably. He was starting to dislike these rules about non-official weapons. He calmed down slightly from reflecting that it was probably a member of the squad coming to check up on him. He need not be so on edge.

But it was not a member of the squad who entered the dungeon. It was Levi. He had gotten rid of his uniform, keeping only the tight trousers and the shirt. The man stood hesitantly in the doorway as his gaze met Eren's but quickly regained his countenance. He closed the door and entered the room, placing the lamp he had been carrying on Eren's bedside table before dropping next to the boy on the bed.

"Are you angry?" Levi asked almost softly after a long moment of silence.

Eren blinked.

"What?"

"Are you angry? Because I let Farlan and Isabel die." Levi said, gaze fixed on his pale fingers.

Eren stared at him fixedly. It was strange to see Levi so…he would not call it weak but almost…vulnerable. It made him want to reach out and hug him. He didn't though, because Levi wasn't big on physical contact. He wasn't about to ruin the moment by pushing Levi to smack him.

So he settled for a half-exasperated half-relieved sigh.

"I'm not angry." he answered, smiling at the man. "I've no reason to be. I know their deaths hit you harder than anyone. So there's no way I could hold anything against you."

There was a pregnant pause.

"I-I won't say it doesn't hurt. Because it does. It really does." a lump settled in his throat and he had to take in a shivering breath. "But I don't blame you. I'd never blame you for something like that Levi."

He looked up to see Levi staring at him with a strange look in his eyes. The tension evaporated all at once.

"What?" Eren asked feeling the beginning of a pout on his lips.

The man's eyes dropped to his lips for a brief second before it was forcibly removed and stuck on an abstract point far from Eren's face.

"Nothing." he muttered.

"I don't believe you." Eren retorted without missing a beat. "What is it? Come on, tell me!"

"Shut up." Levi grunted, shuffling away from him, still refusing to meet his eye.

Eren peered at him dubiously. He couldn't really tell due to the low light in the basement but was that red he could see on Levi's cheeks? The thought left him very unconvinced. He had never, ever seen Levi blush before. Unconsciously, he had even classified it amongst those 'completely impossible and utterly unthinkable' things. His doubts grew even more as a second later, Levi was once more as cool as a cucumber, no reddish tint visible on his cheeks at all.

Probably dreamt it, thought Eren, looking away from the man and back to his pillow, completely missing the burning gaze the man had turned on him once again.

Well, at least, things have gone back to normal.