"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."

~Winnie the Pooh

-Levi's POV-

As soon as we made it back to HQ, I took Emmryn to the infirmary. She had already gained a fair amount of color back in her face, but it looked like the sedative or the pain killer was wearing off, if her wincing was any indication. Shitty Glasses met us in the infirmary and immediately started checking Emmryn's vitals and making sure her condition was stable. When she finished, she left us with a sad sympathetic nod in my direction as I stayed unmoving at the side of my dark copper haired wife, her hand clasped in mine as I rubbed small circles on it.

"Ah! Captain Levi! Commander Erwin would like to see you in his office immediately!" a soldier came in, informing me loudly with a salute, successfully snapping out of my concern and focus on Emmryn, and reminding me of how pissed off I was at the commander. I glared at the poor sap that got sent to fetch me, and I could see the brat begin to get very nervous.

"Quiet down you stupid brat! My wife is trying to recover, and if you impede on that with your unnecessary yelling, I'll having you cleaning this whole damn HQ top to bottom with a fucking toothbrush! Understand?" I responded with a glare, my voice sharp but not at a yell to avoid waking the injured woman beside me. The soldier nodded with a noticeable sheen of sweat on his forehead. Pathetic and disgusting.

"Y-yes sir. But Captain Levi, Commander Erwin has ordered a meeting with you immediately," the brat said in a softer tone, but still urgent, clearly afraid of Erwin as well. That brat is fearing the wrong commanding officer. Dumbass.

"Clean out your ears, dumbass. My wife is terribly injured after being targeted by people that have literally tortured her in the past. The least her older fucking brother can do is come here. I'm not going to Eyebrows's office. Tell that bastard if he wants to talk to me, than he fucking knows where to find me," I snapped irritated and completely done with this conversation, before turning back my attention to Emmryn. I heard a nervous "yessir" and five minutes later, much heavier footsteps entered the room.

"Levi, I know you're upset but you cannot defy direct orders like that," Erwin's voice reprimanded. I narrowed my eyes in irritation, refusing to look at the blonde man that I held at least part of the way responsible for Emmryn's current state.

"You obviously don't know how pissed I am then, Erwin. This is my wife… Your younger sister who you used as fucking bait. At the moment, she is my priority. You have two legs. You can walk here to talk to me," I responded in the most civil manner I could manage given the circumstances.

"I don't expect you to understand my methodology or agree with me, Levi, but I do expect you to follow orders," the blonde bastard responded. At this, I turned my glare to Erwin.

"Then, next time, don't use my wife as bait and get her hurt unnecessarily. This is not the first time you have put people I care about most at risk," I responded through gritted teeth, "But this time, you've gone too far. If she doesn't survive this, you're dead."

"I'm going to choose to ignore that you just threatened to murder a commanding officer, and let you know that I simply wanted to inform you that regardless of Emmryn's condition, we will be leaving for the expedition tomorrow. You will be required to be there of course. Your squad needs you. Humanity needs you," he stated simply, earning a nod in understanding from me before the bastard finally decided to leave me in peace.

"Wake up dammit," I gripped Emmryn's hand in both of mine and held it to my lips with my eyes squeezed shut. To my surprise, her hand gripped mine.

"I've been awake," her voice croaked and my eyes shot up to see her face contorted in pain with tears streaming down her cheeks, "Erwin is an asshole." I leaned over her and placed a kiss on her forehead to comfort her.

"Yeah. He is. I'm just glad that you're awake," I admitted, trying not to let tears come to my eyes as I kept my lips against her forehead, "Goddammit, Em. Don't do that shit again." I could practically feel her rolling her eyes with her response.

"No problem, Captain. Next time I'm targeted by one of those sons of bitches, I'll be sure not to get shot while I'm completely tied up," she responded sarcastically, her voice a little less hoarse but still sounding painful. I got up and got her a glass of water before helping her sit up. She thanked me and gave me a weak smile. We sat there in silence for a bit, neither of us having anything to say in light of everything that had happened. Finally, after several minutes, Emmryn spoke, her voice heavy with concern and emotion.

"Levi," she said my name with such affection that my eyes immediately locked with hers, "You have to come back alive from the expedition, okay?..." As my gray eyes stared into her mismatched ones, I saw a fear I had not seen in years in the eyes of the younger woman. She was terrified. She had already lost her older brother in her mind, and while she cared about the rest of our squad, she didn't want to lose the only person she had completely opened herself up to.

"You know I can't promise that," I replied bluntly, and when her face started to show her oncoming panic, I knew I had to reassure her somehow, "But I will do everything I can to come back to you, Em." At that she nodded and tried to scoot over with a slight wince before patting the spot beside her. Sighing at her stubbornness, I gave in and got into bed with her and pulled her into my chest, gently stroking her hair.

"Hey Levi…." she murmured, clearly getting tired, "I love you." I smiled slightly to myself and took a moment to enjoy what could possibly be my last time getting to rest with her like this and pressed my lips to the crown of her head.

"I love you too, Em." And with that, I saw a smile spread across her pale pink lips as her breathing evened out, indicating she had fallen asleep.

After a while, once I was sure she was in a very deep sleep, I gently laid her down and gave her one last soft kiss on her lips as to not wake her before walking out of the room and heading to our own room in the old HQ to prepare for the expedition tomorrow, silently thankful that Emmryn wouldn't be facing the same hell as the rest of us the next day. As long as she was safe, I would do my absolute best to return to her. Goddammit… You are turning me into a fucking sap, Emmryn, but still, I'll do everything in my power to come back to you. I don't want you to be alone anymore either.

Song: Weak by AJR

A/N:

I'm sorry the chapters have been short lately. This should be the last chapter that is this short until I finish this book. I have decided to split it into two books, separating at the end of the female titan arc. :) I will probably take like a two week break between the end of this book and the beginning of that one so I can get several chapters done ahead of time. In the meantime, feel free to check out some of my other stories. :)Thanks again for all the support! You guys are freaking amazing, and I'm so thankful! Love Always, Taeha 3