A/N: I'M BACK BABY!

In all seriousness, I'm so sorry for the lack of update ... long story short, Xmas was super busy, but I had the opening scene of this chapter all done. And then a spinal operation my husband underwent ended up having some unexpected consequences, to the point where he can't walk at the moment. He's still in hospital currently, so it's just me and my awesome baby girl in the house for now, so you can imagine both the time and inclination/emotional headspace to do much writing has alluded me these past weeks! It's moving in a positive direction though so we're all good - we're hoping to have him back home and mobile in the next month or two :D (I swear we really are like irl Levi and Hange - he's utterly hating every moment of being stuck unable to do everything that he used to for us, the little grump, whilst my attempts at up-beat, motivational speeches and humour and just typical over-the-top-ness are being met with exasperated sighs coupled with quiet, to-the-point reassurances and determination. He really is my hero right now.)

ANYWAY. I just felt like I owed you all an explanation - I've hated falling out of my usual schedule and I'm sorry to keep you waiting. This one is short, but the next scenes after these needed their own standalone chapter. I hope it's enough to tide you over while I get this next one finished up!

ARC 4: DELIVERANCE

'The action of being rescued or set free.'

CHAPTER 36: The Disappearance of Eren Jaeger, Part III

Hange's fingers formed a steeple as she sat behind her desk, observing the other commanders.

"Gentleman. You know why we're here, right?"

Nile seemed to settle further into his chair, the wood giving off a quiet creak. He rested his elbow on the arm, stroking the soft hairs on his chin, but he didn't reply. Pixis, on the other hand, cleared his throat pointedly.

"I could only presume, my dear, that it has something to do with Her Majesty Historia's pregnancy."

Nile's eyes flicked sideways to Commander Pixis, but still he didn't speak.

Hange nodded slowly. "You would be correct in that assumption, Commander Pixis."

"Ah-ha. So how is it we can help?"

The Survey Corps Commander reached to shuffle the papers laying strewn across her desk. "I made an observation. At our meeting with Zackley and the other Officials." She plucked out a particular sheaf of paper, and frowned at it. After a moment, her eyes lifted again. "You didn't seem surprised by the news. Either of you."

"That's because we weren't." Nile finally spoke. "And neither were you."

Hange neither confirmed nor denied his claim, merely tilting her head to one side as she observed him. "Hmm. And what makes you say that?"

Finally, Nile seemed to break. "Oh, come on, Hange. We both know we're dancing around the truth here. Historia Reiss is having Captain Levi's child."

Hange fought to keep her face neutral, although she knew her eyebrows rose a fraction. "What on earth could have given you that idea, Nile?"

"It was planned months ago - I've no idea of the specifics of what exactly you lot are up to now, but I've had orders from Zackley to have a select group of MPs keep a close eye on the pair since back in the summer. You may recall your Captain getting his noise put literally out of joint one evening when returning from Her Majesty's quarters?"

Hange blinked at him, concern twisting her features. "What? Zackley knows?"

"Of course not, Commander Hange," Pixie interjected. "That would spell the end for the Corps if he knew there was some sort of plan to go against his and the government's directions. It's been quite obvious for a while now that their main priority in terms of Zeke is to have him consumed by Historia as soon as he should set foot anywhere near this island - a strategically sound move, by all accounts; it wouldn't harm us as a nation to remove another of the nine titans from Marley's clutches. Although how and when he might actually make a move to turn up here is anyone's guess."

Hange frowned, trying to work out what all this meant. "So - what you're saying is, you both know about all of this, but you haven't told Zackley? May I ask why?"

The two men shared a look as Hange waited patiently for her answer, her fingers reaching to push her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"Honestly?" Pixis cleared his throat. "Erwin was right to have Historia Reiss take her position as the true ruler of the three walls four years ago. Whatever you're all planning, we cannot afford to have her position endangered. Having her orchestrate a pregnancy to delay being coerced into taking the Beast Titan's power does seem rather extreme to me - and I think Nile agrees - had you come to us regarding the situation before the fact, we could potentially have found another way. And tying Captain Levi up in all this is, quite frankly, a shocking move, although I can see the benefits to the Queen by having him father her child. But we are in the position we're in, now. The question is, where do we all go from here?"

Hange sat a little further back into her chair as she digested Pixis' words. So they'd been aware of the plan from the start - Levi and Historia had been watched more closely than they'd realised.

But Zackley hadn't been told. The Commanders at least weren't working against the Survey Corps, even if they weren't explicitly working with them at this point. Hange wondered how much she should reveal about Eren to them. Perhaps integrity was most important to all of them right now - it was obvious she could trust them to be reasonable. She owed them her honesty, didn't she?

"Eren Jaeger ... He's aware of a plan involving Zeke Jaeger, and he has advised that we need Zeke alive when he reaches Paradis. There is a solution of sorts, but it relies on Zeke's cooperation with us. It can be achieved without turning Historia. That is as much as we are aware of at this point."

Nile sat forwards, hands splayed on the desk, an incredulous look on his face. "Are you joking, Hange? You're doing all of this because of some half-baked plan Eren Jaeger has told you about? How do we know he's not working with his brother in this for their own end goal?"

Pixis spoke before Hange had chance. "Now, you're being foolish, Nile. Eren has always acted with Paradis' best interests at heart since we discovered he was a Titan Shifter, despite us denying him our trust at the start and threatening to have him dissected - as I'm sure you recall." He gave the MP Commander a pointed look, before turning back to Hange. "I trust your judgment Commander Hange. If you say Eren is working in favour of Paradis, then I am inclined to believe you."

Nile made a small noise of disbelief through his nose, but said nothing further.

"I think that in the current climate, this is the best we have …" Hange stroked her chin in thought. She toyed briefly with sharing her proposal to head to Marley to try and gauge the level of hostility for Paradis, and even engage in some sort of peace talks. But it was likely the pair of Commanders would laugh her out of the room at that revelation - best to hedge her bets while she had them onside, rather than lose them completely. She slid the sheaf of paper she'd been fingering across the table towards them. 'I had an inkling you both may know more than you were letting on, but the extent of your knowledge does make this a little easier."

Nile was the first to pick up the paper. "What's this?"

"An agreement,' Hange stated simply. "A statement of intent - that as Commanders of the three military factions of Paradis, we will work together to ensure the Queen's safety."

Nile scoffed. "I'm pretty sure that already falls within our remit of duty, Hange."

Hange smirked. "We will protect Queen Historia above all else, and regardless of the orders of our superiors."

Pixis hummed thoughtfully. "You want us to agree to disregard an order from The Premier that may endanger the Queen, for example, an order to have her devour an enemy shifter, despite her current pregnant state …"

Hange nodded. "The pregnancy should deter them, but I cannot rule out anything reckless. These are fraught times right now."

"I see." Pixis twirled the tip of his moustache in steady fingers. "I must say, Commander Hange, you are very much the prodigy of your predecessor. Although … Erwin was never a man for unnecessary formalities such as this. My word was always good enough for him. You understand this paperwork is meaningless, in the scheme of things?"

Hange continued to smirk as, despite his words, Pixis took a pen and the paper from an incredulous Nile, and began signing the document, before offering it back to the mp commander. "Yes, I do, however people don't seem to realise I'm far more sentimental than Erwin ever was. Let's just say I enjoy keeping little physical reminders of who my allies truly are."

Nile scoffed and rolled his eyes, but the pen was already in his hand. "If I was going to harm the Queen or this ridiculous plan of yours, I've had plenty of opportunity already." His looped signature was on the document before he'd finished speaking.

"Alright, then." Pixis swept his eyes over the document once more, before sliding it back towards Hange. "Should we be expecting the Beast Titan in our presence soon, Commander Hange?"

"I'm going to meet Zeke."

Historia stared at Eren as he stood on the doorstep to the Orphanage, rain soaking his shirt and plastering his hair to his cheeks, red from his ride in the elements.

"What?" She asked, confused.

"I'm going to Marley."

Historia stared at him for a moment longer, before standing aside and gesturing through the doorway. "Get inside, Eren. The draught will get in."

He must have lost it. The pressure of everything must be getting to him. There was no way …

Eren pulled out a chair at the large table, the chair legs scraping on the floorboards loudly.

"Shh," Historia shot at him. "You'll wake the children." She moved to stand beside him, frowning at the way his eyes were wide, but oddly focused. As though … he were seeing something in the room with them that wasn't actually there. When he didn't reply, she made to head into the kitchen. "I'll make us some tea … seems like you need it."

Eren took the tea cup from her wordlessly when she returned, and let her fill it with warm, steaming tea right to the brim. He simply nodded in thanks. She sat herself across from him, fingers curling around her own cup.

"How're you feeling? Has the morning sickness improved yet?" His question seemed so casual and out of place as he gazed down at the tea.

She simply stared at him for a moment, wondering whether his first statement to her about Marley had merely been some sort of silly joke.

"I know it must be hard, dealing with this mostly alone, what with the Captain -"

"Eren. What do you mean, you're going to Marley?" Her voice was even as she cut across him, although inwardly her thoughts were roiling like storms clouds. She lifted her teacup.

He finally looked at her then, and his eyes seemed to re-focus. "Tonight. I'm going to Marley. To get Zeke."

Historia immediately lowered her tea before the cup could touch her lips. "What? Tonight?"

"Don't worry - you're safe now. You're pregnant. They won't risk turning you while you're pregnant, so this buys us time."

Historia set her cup down.

"Eren … how … ?"

"It's all been arranged with The Volunteers. Onyankopon and I will leave the main port at dawn. We have plenty of ships."

"You're going alone?"

Eren frowned at her, shaking his head as though impatient with her question. "No - I just told you - Onyankopon -"

"But you have no protection from …"

The Survey Corps. History stopped herself short. Granted, it was extremely dangerous for Eren to be travelling to hostile territory without allies, but the alternative was not something she really wanted to consider.

She knew exactly who the most capable and logical choice to accompany Eren for his protection would be. The idea of being separated from Levi by not only miles of land; long, lonely roads which wound through vast countryside and little towns and sprawling cities; but also that impossibly huge expanse of water they found at the edge of their horizons as well, quite frankly brought the nausea back tenfold.

She clamped her mouth shut as she glared at the teal eyes across from her.

Eren didn't seem perturbed by her observation. "That's all in hand. You don't need to worry."

Historia couldn't stop her grip tightening around the handle of her teacup, her knuckles whitening. "Worry? Really?" She made an incredulous noise at the back of her throat. "Eren. What exactly are you going to do when you bring Zeke here? What is the end goal in all this?"

Eren sat stock still and straight as a board across from her, his gaze unwavering. "I can't -"

"No!' Historia banged her free hand down against the table, palm flat. Thoughts of waking the children momentarily vanished. "Don't you dare say you can't tell me any more - I'm sitting here carrying a child because I trusted you. Do you know how hard that decision was?" Her words were sharp as she launched them at him. "Do you honestly think I made it lightly, after everything I've been through? I am sick and tired of being what other people want me to be - I'm supposed to be a Queen, but up to this point honestly, I've been nothing but a damn pawn." She rose, uncaring about the way the chair legs scraped now. "I'm trying - I'm trying so hard to do the right thing, but it's getting harder and harder to believe in you, Eren." She turned away from the table, reaching to rub her forehead. It was late, and she was so tired, her body protesting at trying to sustain two lives without adequate rest. "Ymir would have a field day with all this," she muttered. "So much for living for myself."

Eren grit his teeth. "I've been on this path a long time, Historia. Longer than I was even aware. Do you remember when I kissed your hand … at the medal ceremony after Shiganshina …"

Historia glanced back at him. "Yes. You saw a memory of your fathers, didn't you?"

Eren inclined his head. "I did … but that's not all I saw."

She frowned at him. "What?"

"There weren't just memories. I saw something else."

Historia's pulse roared in her ears with his words.

Something else …?

"I can't tell you anymore though; I don't know how the knowledge might change things for you. I …"

The sound of creaking stairs made Eren's voice die suddenly. Historia glanced at the hallway.

"I should go." Eren rose measuredly.

"No - wait."

"'Storia?" Sam's sleepy voice drifted down from the top of stairs.

Historia looked at Eren desperately as he was making to leave.

"I'm coming now, Sam!"

She moved quickly around the table towards the Titan Shifter, who was turning to head to the front door. She grabbed a fistful of his soaked shirt. "Eren -"

He paused, but didn't look at her. "You're not just a pawn, Historia."

She squeezed her eyes shut against his statement, wanting so desperately to trust what he was saying to her. Their sudden close proximity made her realise that there were goose pimples raising up his neck. "You're freezing."

"I forgot my cloak."

She opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Take one of George's then … He always keeps spares here."

She moved past him, retrieving one of the thick, woollen cloaks from the coat stand in the hallway. Eren was silent as she moved on to her tiptoes to help him shrug it on; there was once a time where a cloak of that size would drown her friend, but now he towered above her, and his broad shoulders carried it perfectly. She smoothed down the arms, and finally, he spoke. "Huh … lending the spare clothes of your fake lover, while you're pregnant with another man's child … this is not something I foresaw."

His voice was quietly wistful. Historia let her hand rest against his forearm for a moment, searching for some way to respond.

A small, insistent voice broke the weighted silence.

"'Storia? Are you coming? I heard shouting …"

Historia looked back towards the stairs. "Yes." She met Eren's gaze as he looked back at her, hand reaching for the doorknob.

"I don't think there is any other path for me to take now, Historia, but I'm still looking." He turned back to the door. "The Captain … he's bound by his duty. There will be a time for you to change that, but this isn't it. Don't stop him, Historia."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

'Goodbye, His."

"Wait - Eren - don't stop him doing what? Eren!"

But he was gone into the rain battered night before she could stop him, and she was left, hand resting against the curve of her stomach, as she stood in the shelter of the little porch.

"What do you mean, he's gone to Marley?"

Hange stared at Yelena as she sat across from her in the Commander's office. It was stupidly early, even for her; the sky outside of her windows was still dusky.

The Volunteer had her hands clasped on her lap, her expression sombre. "We tried to talk him out of it, but he was adamant. He said he couldn't afford to wait for your peace talks. I sent Onyankopon to tail him, and came as soon as I could to inform you, but you understand, it's a little difficult jumping through the bureaucratic hoops you all have here before I was allowed -"

Hange's balled fist met the desk, cutting Yelena off. "Yes," she forced through grit teeth. "I see. Although apparently, it was easy enough for you to speak with Eren …"

Yelena bristled visibly in her seat, but she didn't respond to Hange's pointed comment.

"I'm going to need to discuss this with my colleagues. You can go, Yelena. Unless there's anything else we should know?"

Yelena rose, but hesitated before leaving. "Last night - he went to visit Her Majesty Queen Historia."

Hange unfurled her fist, tapping her long fingers against the table slowly. "Tell the soldier that escorted you here to get me Captain Levi."

It was still dim outside when Historia made it back downstairs during the small hours of the morning, unable to catch a deep sleep after the previous evening's revelations. Her feet carried her towards the kitchen in search of tea, but something on the dining room table caught her eye as she passed.

Eren's tea cup sat next to hers on the rough wooden surface; the tea inside untouched and now stone cold. Historia let her face settle vacantly as she stared at it. Despite spending most of the night tossing and turning, she had no idea what to make of what her friend had told her - whether to believe him, even.

Surely, he couldn't be going to Marley?

She ought to tell someone, she knew, but by the time any message had been taken to the Corps HQ, his disappearance would likely have already been noticed and investigated. She carried the cups through to the kitchen, clinging on to some small hope that Eren's words were lies, and he hadn't left Paradis at all.

That same hope which she carried with her as she washed the china cups, brewed fresh tea, dressed the children and sent them on their way to school with George, and folded herself into an armchair with a book, was dashed in a matter of moments when a brusque knock broke through the quiet of the farmhouse.

Her breath caught in her throat as she rushed to the front door; she could recognise the way his knuckles rapped against wood in a heartbeat now.

The door was thrown open to the image of him, pristinely dressed in his uniform despite what must have been a hard, early ride to reach her at this hour, and markedly smaller than the man who had bid her farewell on that same porch the night before. His face was cemented with its usual stoicism, and he greeted her with a low growl in his throat. She said nothing, her eyes darting past his head, checking whether he had travelled alone. Apparently, he had.

"Where the fuck is he?"

She held his gaze for a moment, and she recognised the angry fire there. "If what he told me is true … on his way across the sea right now. Headed for … Marley."

Levi moved from his statuesque state for the first time since she'd opened the door, running a hand across his face. "Fuck."

Historia stood to the side of the doorway, gesturing for Levi to enter. "Come in and sit down for a moment, there's fresh tea in the living room."

He said nothing in response, but moved past her into the house. She tried to pretend his lack of warmth didn't sting; she knew the situation had him pre-occupied. But she failed to catch herself before her hand reached for his arm.

"Levi -"

He paused, looking back over his shoulder at her, expression level. It made her balk slightly.

"I'll … get you a cup."

When she returned, she found him perched in the chair she'd been using. He was turning the book she'd been reading over in his weathered hands, brows creased with a frown.

She set his cup down on a side table. He looked up at her as she began to pour.

"What happened to the romance stories? This shit's all swords and exaggerated fighting sequences."

She smiled at him as she passed him his cup, relieved to be able to talk to him about something other than Eren Jaeger for a moment. "Books are supposed to be an escape, aren't they? A fantasy?" She could tell by the look he was giving her that he had no idea what she was talking about, but she continued anyway. "Well; I don't need to fantasise about something I already have now, do I?"

He scoffed at that, but the tiny blush appearing across his cheeks made her stomach flutter. "Hardly. No shitty fairytale this, is it? Beautiful Queen settles for vertically lacking, miserable, old git? Pretty sure none of your ridiculous books ended like that."

His words made her smirk as she sipped from her own cup, settled in the chair across from him. "You have such a way with words, Captain."

He humphed, tossing her book onto the table, before reaching for his tea. He turned the cup in it's saucer carefully, seeming to consider something.

"I've missed your smart mouth, brat."

The sip he took from his cup was long and slow, and he met her gaze above the rim, his eyes suddenly earnest.

"Yeah. It's been so hard being apart these past few weeks." She rubbed her stomach, watching how his eyes fell to her hand. He frowned, and some of the warmth dropped from his features.

"Jaeger. He came here last night. Why? What did he tell you exactly?"

Historia felt her smile fade at the stark change in conversation. "He … told me he was heading to Marley, with Onyankopon. They were going to take one of the boats. He said he could see no other way …" She paused, worrying her bottom lip as Levi's stared at her with fierce intensity.

"No other way … ?"

She sucked in a rushed breath. "He said he's going to get Zeke; to bring him here, Levi."

Levi's eyes narrowed, and his nostrils flared at the mention of Zeke's name, but he didn't respond immediately, instead choosing to sip his tea slowly. Historia knew him well enough now to recognise his silence as an attempt to calm his own agitation.

To her surprise, when he finished the tea, he set it aside, and gestured to her with a curl of his index finger.

"Come here."

The words were bland and a little too much like an order to a subordinate, but nevertheless, she rose without hesitation and made her way over to him. Wordlessly, he reached for her and pulled her into his lap. She'd ached for this closeness with him for the past few weeks, so Historia let herself forget their conversation momentarily, leaning her head into the crook of his neck. The soft fabric of his cravat tickled her nose and pressed against her cheek, and the scent of soap made her take a long, deep breath in.

Levi knew he should be rushing back to Hange at HQ post-haste right now with the information Historia had given him, but fuck it. He'd missed her warmth so much, and the way her hair smelled of jasmine as it cascaded across his shoulder, and the way she was getting a little heavier in his lap each time he held her.

But it wasn't just that.

This latest shit show of a move Eren had apparently pulled had his mind reeling. Eren; who was the biggest pain in the ass right now, but equally, Paradis' biggest asset, and Marley's ultimate prize should they manage to get their hands on him and the Founding Titan. Levi had worked with Hange long enough now to have a pretty damn good idea of what her response to this situation would be. And the idea made his stomach lurch sickeningly.

"This is nice …" Her voice was an angelic sigh muffled against his neck.

His arms tightened around her as he buried his face in her hair.

"Hey -" she wriggled in his grasp. "Not so tight - it's two of us you've got your arms around now, remember."

Yeah. Two precious, breakable things. How could he forget?

"Sorry …" he mumbled, slackening his hold, but he didn't lift his chin from her hair.

Historia sighed again. "Don't be. Just don't leave it so long, next time, huh?"

Fuck this. Fuck it all to hell.

He pulled back from her, causing her to lift her head so their gazes met. He reached to tip her chin up, bringing his lips to hers with a roughness he knew he'd never be able to shed, no matter how much time he spent with her softness. She made a small sound of surprise, before her fingers found their way into his hair. How had he managed to hit thirty without allowing himself to enjoy a woman the way he enjoyed her? He'd had the briefest glimpse of it with Petra, but this ... this was magic. She was magic.

He needed to commit this moment to memory. He needed to swallow down the way it felt to have her curled safely in his arms. He had a feeling these moments might be lacking in frequency pretty soon. He brought his hand around to lay his palm flat against her protruding stomach as she kissed him. His chest ached painfully; it was almost as though he could feel his body and his soul being tugged in two different directions …

"Levi …?" Her mouth left his as they brushed noses, pausing for breath.

"Hmm?"

"… Eren told me I shouldn't stop you. I … I'm not sure what he meant? Stop you doing what?"

She'd pulled back from him properly, and was staring at him wide eyed, her hands still entwined around his neck.

Shit.

He leant his forehead against hers, closing his eyes against her beautifully genuine gaze. "I need to go and speak to Hange."

"You're not answering my question …" Her breath was hot and insistent against his lips. He stole another kiss from her, indulging himself more than he knew he should. "Let me speak to Hange. I'll come back afterwards, I promise."

He felt her lips curve upwards against his own momentarily. "Nothing for weeks and then two visits in one day?"

"Shut up and just let me kiss you for a damn minute," he scolded her. She complied readily, and they stayed in one another's arms, exploring each other's mouths for what Levi knew was far too long.

When he finally gently ushered her off his lap, he wore his best attempt at a neutral expression. "Is there anything else I should know about your conversation with Eren?"

Historia moved to collect their empty cups, shaking her head. "No … that was it."

Levi nodded once as he straightened his cravat and pushed a hand through his hair, brushing away the evidence of Historia's eager fingers. "I'll be back as quickly as I can."

Historia flashed him a contented smile. "Alright. I'll make sure there's tea brewed, and maybe even something good to eat, too."

It had been too long since they'd been able to enjoy even a simple meal together. Perhaps she'd make a pie … she knew Levi was a sucker for her pastry. Yes, pie sounded good.

She followed him out to the porch, but despite her optimism for his return, she couldn't shake Eren's words echoing through her mind.

Don't stop him.

She reached for his hand as he turned to leave.

"Hey …"

He turned back to her, and something about his expression made her chest constrict uncomfortably.

"You're not … you won't … go after -"

"I'll be back as soon as I've spoken to Hange, I promise." His words were firm, but his eyes seemed disconcertingly clouded as he looked at her.

Their gazes held for a moment, before his hand slipped from hers. And then he was gone, too.

Just like Eren.

OOF. I'm so sorry, but the angst is coming. Don't blame me, blame Isayama. I'm still trying to follow the corresponding manga scenes to these chapters roughly, however this story will diverge from manga events eventually as I have my ending pretty cemented. Just enjoy the rough ride guys - I promise I will do my best to make the final pay off worth the heartache!