Author's Playlist (Highly Recommended :)): 'A Place by the Fire' by BigRicePiano

Thirty minutes later, the Scout Regiment and their Military Police and Wall Garrison associates were taking a break from riding. Soldiers everywhere were drinking water, tending to injuries, or taking a simple thirty minutes' rest.

Yavena was busy wrapping Hannes's leg with a thick layer of gauze. She'd been careful to inspect the wound for any dirt or debris before washing over it with some water—although her stomach had been churning the entire time, she knew that she had to see this through, as she was the reason that half of his right leg was now missing.

Sitting next to her while this was being done were Eren, Armin, and Mikasa. All of them had been relieved upon seeing that Hannes was alive, especially Eren. He sat dutifully next to Hannes, letting the man ruffle his dark hair and squeeze his shoulder when the pain became overbearing.

"Shit," grumbled Hannes, after taking another swig of water. "It'll sting like a bitch for the next few days… still beats being turned into Titan chow, though." He looked up at Yavena and saluted with his right arm, a flash of thanks directed her way. "Reckon I wouldn't have made it out of that mess without you, Captain Verman."

She tied the cotton wrappings off at the end. A few splotches of red were already seeping through the bindings, but the bleeding had lessened considerably when compared with ten minutes earlier. Yavena's uniform was practically covered in his blood, tainting her white pants and shirts a dark, crusty red.

"I'm glad I was able to help," she said. Now that the sight of the wound was gone, she felt remarkably better. "Although I think we both should be thanking Eren instead. Without him, I might not have broken through how frightened I was."

"You?" Eren asked incredulously. "Frightened?"

The corners of Yavena's lips turned upwards. "Of course, Eren. There are moments you can never prepare for, despite how badly you may wish or try to. Being grabbed by a Titan like that—that's one of them. I may have fourteen years of service under my belt, but that doesn't mean I don't feel fear anymore."

Eren was quiet with this, as though her words had stumped him. She wouldn't have been surprised if he was; he had idealized and romanticized the Scout Regiment for so long. A few months wouldn't be long enough to change his childhood perceptions.

"How are you feeling, Mikasa?" she asked next, turning to the young woman.

Mikasa was clutching at the red scarf that she always wore around her neck, a detectable brightness to her face now that Eren was back. Smiling, she said, "I'm all right."

Although she figured this was the case, Yavena still found it likely that she would need to recuperate from whatever wounds she'd sustained while being grabbed. "That's good. But you aren't to exert yourself physically or attend training practices for two weeks. Captain's orders. Okay?"

She nodded, although Yavena figured that Mikasa would try and wriggle her way out of said orders.

But that would be a problem for later on. Yavena then turned towards Armin and said smilingly, "And you, Armin? You aren't hurt at all, are you?"

The young man shook his head. "No. Thanks to you, I'm fine."

Yavena was once again glad that she'd managed to grab him and haul him away from the blast zone of the Colossal Titan's fall. She reached out and ruffled his blond hair before tearing her gaze away. "I'm going to check in on the Commander. The four of you should relax as best as you're able before we go."

None of them stopped her as she rose to her feet, and so Yavena trudged off towards Erwin, who was having bandages wrapped around what remained of his right arm.

As Yavena passed many of the soldiers, she felt their eyes upon her. She figured to know why: she had lead the charge to reclaim Eren in Erwin's stead, when he had been grabbed off of the Titan. There was no way of knowing whether their whispers were in praise of her actions for following orders, or of scorn for the fact that she had led so many good men and women to their deaths.

It didn't matter either way. Yavena knew that she had done what needed to be done, and dwelling on the scrutiny would benefit her not at all.

"How's your arm?" she asked as she sat herself in front of Erwin.

"It will be fine," he said, gesturing for her to look at some papers he held in his hands. As Yavena scooched herself so she could see, he added, "I have a good feeling that we flushed out all of the traitors in our midst. Some of the team assigned to guard Annie Leonhart sent another report before I set out here today. There has been no progress on getting through the crystal."

Yavena sighed, more in resignation than annoyance. "I feared that would be the case. The only thing that seems to break through hardened Titan skin is another Titan… and even then, it's debatable. Eren has not yet attempted the hardening ability. If we're to seal the hole in Wall Maria, he'll need to begin soon."

Erwin nodded. "I agree. I'll be assigning Hange to begin experiments as soon as she is fully recovered."

At the mention of Hange, Yavena chewed the inside of her cheek. She was hoping the burns that had been on her face were not as bad as she'd remembered them being—perhaps it was her own frenzy over the fact that Hange had been hurt that exaggerated their severity…

"Thank you for your efforts today, Captain," said Erwin. He folded up the papers that had been upon the ground, the ones that had reports from Scout Regiment soldiers in other positions. "I have grown to trust that you will give your heart every time."

She could not help but smile and salute—and then slap a hand on Erwin's remaining arm. "Of course, Commander. Never let it be said that I'll suffer defeat three times in a row."

A low chuckle escaped him; then he began to rise to his feet. "We shall set off for Trost District in the next ten minutes. Let the recruits and the soldiers in the Scout Regiment know, if you please."

Knowing that the prospect of a hot meal and a warm bath were within sight, Yavena leapt to her feet and went off to spread the word as requested. She located all of the officers quickly, telling them to begin preparing once more—many of them were regarding her with respect, saluting at her words. It was an unexpected change, one that Yavena was not sure how to feel about.

For so many years, she had been decently known, but never on the level that Hange or Levi had been. She was content to stay further in the shadows, supporting their efforts when they needed. But now it seemed as though her reputation preceded her: as a member of Squad Levi, as a new Captain, as a trusted friend and accomplice of the Commander.

When Yavena returned to the others, both Eren and Armin chuckled at the mildly disgruntled look upon her face. It was Armin who said, "Something wrong?"

"Not necessarily. It's just… strange, to have grown in the Scout Regiment's esteem so quickly," she answered, rubbing her arm somewhat. She blinked upon feeling a light twinge and realized that sometime during all of the fighting, a chunk of her jacket and her skin had been torn away.

"You deserve it," Eren said. A boyish smile had taken over his face.

Although Yavena knew that he had no idea as to her previous preferences, the goodwill within his expression was easy to see. She nudged him lightly with her shoulder as she passed, once again bemoaning the fact that he was several centimeters taller than she was.

The ride back to Trost District was an easy one, but Yavena was exhausted by the time the nearly two hundred soldiers returned inside Wall Rose. She had not slept in over thirty-six hours, and now that she was safe, she was practically swaying on her feet. Still, there were things to do—the horses needed to be taken care of, she needed to check in with Erwin again, she needed to check on Hange…

Fortunately, Erwin called a halt outside one of the large buildings within Trost. It appeared that the Scout Regiment had managed to secure an outpost inside the district thanks to their efforts at reclaiming it just a couple months ago, which meant that there would be no additional hours of riding to get to headquarters proper further inside Wall Rose.

As Yavena slid off of her steed, a familiar voice called her name. "Oye, Yavena!"

She whirled around, her fatigue forgotten. Rushing towards her was Hange, whose red blisters were no longer so fiery and intense, and who was wearing a cheesy grin upon her face.

Yavena raced to her friend with extended arms, colliding into the other woman with an, "Ooph! Hange! Your burns are already…"

"Top of the line treatment as soon as we got back. Lauda and the others will be right as rain in a few days' time. We were lucky," interrupted Hange as she clapped a hand onto Yavena's shoulder. Her eyes narrowed as she looked her over. "What the hell happened to you? You're covered in blood! Are you all right?"

"It's not my blood," Yavena replied, though her voice dropped a number of pitches. "There were a lot of casualties today, but we got Eren and Historia back."

Hange frowned, a few lines appearing on her face. She cringed as some of the burned skin folded and returned her expression to neutral. "I see. I'm glad we retrieved them, at least. Were we unable to kill either the Armored or Colossal Titans?"

Yavena sighed, moving to rub her arm again before remembering that there was a nasty cut upon it and stopping herself. "Aye. There were too many regular Titans surrounding them, not to mention we were prioritizing recovery and retreat over battle. I'm sure we'll be seeing them again…"

"I'd expect nothing less. Well, we have some additional information on them now. You need to get inside and get something to eat."

"You need a bath, too."

Yavena rolled her eyes and smiled, though she was grateful that the familiar voice had come from behind her so he couldn't see the pinkness to her face. "I'm well aware of that, trust me," she said.

Up walked Levi, who strolled around her to stand next to Hange, his silver eyes inspecting every bit of her condition. Yavena bit her lip, recognizing that she was a terrible mess; there was blood and dirt across her uniform and hair. She hadn't gotten to sleep or bathe within the last thirty-six hours, either. Her saving grace was that everyone else was in similar shape.

A frown appeared on Levi's lips as he inspected her. "Whose blood is that?"

"Not mine," she answered. She gestured back towards where Eren and the others were standing. "I only just managed to get out of a Titan's grasp with Captain Hannes of the Wall Garrison. I had to cut off the bottom part of his leg to save him, though…"

Yavena glanced back over to the man, who was using Eren and Armin as supports while he hobbled towards the outpost for the Scout Regiment. Her heart was heavy; unless the Wall Garrison was able to form some sort of prosthetic for him, Hannes was going to have difficulty moving for the rest of his life…

A comforting hand was placed upon her shoulder; Yavena did not have to look back to know it was Hange. "You saved him. That's what matters."

As she was saying this, Hannes looked over and caught Yavena's eye. There was a bright smile to his face as he waved—Eren and Armin escorted him inside, and then he was gone again.

For a short moment, Yavena glanced across the soldiers in the courtyard of the outpost. Many of them were reuniting with some friends; a few were already attending to their duties. At least sixty percent of the returning members were wearing bandages around some kind of injury: around their heads, their arms, their legs, their torsos. Yavena had been one of the lucky ones.

Footsteps were drawing closer. She turned around to face the Commander, who was walking to the three of them with a familiar purpose in his stride. Hange gasped upon seeing him and cried, "Erwin, your arm…"

"Will not be a hindrance, I assure you," he finished with certainty.

Even Levi's eyes widened at the revelation that Erwin had been so battered during the short mission beyond the Wall. "What the hell happened?"

"We retrieved Eren and ensured humankind's ability to persevere. I must ask you three to meet me in my office immediately after breakfast tomorrow morning. As you might expect, I fear there will be little time to rest."

Yavena saluted, knowing that he was likely right. She did not think it beyond the realm of possibilities that Reiner, Bertholdt, and Ymir would attempt to recapture Eren within the next few days.

Erwin rewarded her with a modicum of a smile before placing a hand on her shoulder and saying, "Get some rest. We've all earned it today." He glanced back towards the remainder of his soldiers before nodding towards both Levi and Hange and retreating inside the new base.

"Well, you heard him!" Hange said brightly, grabbing Yavena's arm and all but pulling her towards the building. "I'll make you some tea while you clean up!"

Yavena, realizing that she had no choice in whether to stay or go, followed after her friend, listening to her talk all the while about how Hange remembered the way she liked her green tea, and that she would put it in the lounge as soon as it was ready, and that there was extra soap in one of the storage closets next to the hallway where her room would be located. Apparently she and Hange would have rooms right next to each other, now that Yavena was considered one of the top ranking officers and would be in the officer's barracks.

When they reached the hallway, however, Hange froze. "Oops… I rambled again," she said, her face flushing a light pink. "Ah well, you're used to it by now. Anyway, look! We're almost roommates!"

This last made her laugh. Yavena recalled the years where she and Hange had been roommates. She had always liked to keep her space quite neat and organized, whereas Hange had been more sporadic. While Hange's things were always strewn about in random places, she never forgot where anything was… save for her glasses.

There had been countless times where Hange couldn't remember where her glasses had gone—and they'd been right on top of her head the whole time. Yavena would almost always tell her of the fluke, and Hange would reach up and jerk in surprise upon feeling that they'd been with her all along. Once or twice, however, Yavena decided to say, "Sorry Hange, haven't seen them," and wait to see how long it would take Hange to locate them.

The look on Hange's face had always been priceless.

"Thanks, Hange," said Yavena, the past memories warming her better than any mug of tea ever could. "I'm going to grab a bucket of hot water and clean myself up, and then I'll join you in the lounge."

She was met with a nod and a devious look; Hange raised her glasses up the bridge of her nose, the way she did whenever she knew something that Yavena didn't. Yavena raised an eyebrow at such an expression, but did not inquire on why it had appeared. Instead, she walked to the end of the hall, retrieved her bathing necessities, and entered her new room.

Luckily, it seemed that there was an extra uniform prepared for her, which meant she could scrub the current one out once she was done bathing. The stone basin in the room was deep enough where she could sit down and not have to worry about spilling water over it, which was nice. Yavena shrugged off all of her clothes and kicked them onto the floor, pouring the water in after her.

For a long time, she simply relaxed in the newfound warmth. She hadn't realized how cold she had been until submerging her fingers and toes—a quick blaze took them over, as though they were uncomfortably hot. But Yavena knew she shouldn't have been surprised. Winter was slowly drawing upon them, like it or not. It was likely that the Scout Regiment activities outside the Wall would be fewer and farther between with the cold arriving.

Yavena thoroughly cleansed her hair and all she could of her skin. The water went dark around her; both satisfying and a bit disgusting. But it was good to feel clean and smell nice again—and it would be even better to be able to sleep after such a long couple of days…

Figuring that she didn't want her tea getting cold, Yavena did what she could to purify her uniform. It would take a few washes for this particular set of shirts to be white again, but that didn't bother her. Everyone's uniforms had some blemishes to them, after all.

With that, Yavena donned the new set of clothes and dried her hair out as best as she could. It still hang limply around her shoulders, a dark burnt orange, but the moisture wouldn't be an issue—it would dry within the next hour or so.

It was a short walk downstairs and into the lounge where, true to Hange's word, a steaming pot of tea was waiting. To Yavena's surprise, the room was completely empty. It was obvious that she was expected, however; the blanket upon the chair and the cups by the fire made that obvious.

She moved forward and took a seat upon the couch by the fireplace, fixing herself a cup of tea. The lounge was quite similar to that of the Scout Regiment headquarters. It made her feel comfortable; in a familiar place.

Right after she'd taken her first sip of her drink, the door opened. Yavena turned to see that it was Levi, who frowned somewhat as he walked inside and noted the emptiness of the room. "Where's Hange?"

"No idea," said Yavena. She looked back to the fireplace, suddenly realizing what that devious glint in her eye had been. It was another one of Hange's purposeful 'plans,' formulated without Yavena's own input…

"Tch. She probably got distracted trying to think on how to get another one of her Titan dates inside the Walls."

Even though Yavena wanted to smile at this, she couldn't quite manage it. The fact of the matter was that she had been hoping to relax after such a long and tiresome day—but all she would be if it was only herself and Levi was anxious, even though she didn't want to be…

Yavena frowned now, clutching her teacup with the palms of both of her hands. She had never been like this back in the normal days. It was only a recent anxiety that she had developed, and there was no clear reason for it. All she knew was that it started after she had admitted to herself—and to Hange—that she cared about him…

Levi approached, grabbing himself a cup, apparently unbothered by the fact it was green tea and not black. His eyes found Yavena's face. The frown upon his own deepened. Then, without a word, he set down the cup and exited the lounge.

Yavena blinked and stared after him, wondering what she had done wrong… then she immediately clenched her fists, her fingernails digging into her own palms. She knew that she was being stupid. She'd done nothing wrong at all, and these thoughts and concerns were childish.

Within a minute, Levi reentered the room holding a damp handkerchief. "There's a cut on your forehead that's still bleeding."

Her hand flew to the aforementioned spot. "Is there?" When she looked at her fingertips, she was stunned to note they were covered in a thin layer of bright red.

"Don't touch it," he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You could infect it."

Now she laughed. "I should hope not. I did just spend a goodly amount of time getting myself clean."

"And thank fuck for it. You were a mess."

Levi sat down upon the couch beside her and pressed the handkerchief to the spot from which her blood trailed down her face. Yavena raised a hand as though to take it from him, but he seized her wrist with his other hand and lightly tossed her arm aside. "Just drink your tea."

And just like that, the nervousness melted away. She could not help smiling now. In fact, she couldn't quite figure out why she'd been uneasy in the first place.

"I know I asked you this only three days ago, but how's the leg?" she said, raising her teacup to her lips.

He moved the handkerchief away for a brief moment, inspecting the cloth; and then he carefully set it back upon her skin. "Better," he answered. "It should be back to normal in another week. Maybe less."

This was heartening, and Yavena did not shy away from revealing how much it reassured her. But all she said was, "That's good."

Beyond the lounge were the sounds of some of the other soldiers in what could only be the dining hall, grabbing something to eat. Even though Yavena had been living off of spare rations the last two days, she didn't find herself very hungry at all. She was quite happy to be sitting by a fire with a mug of tea in her hands, with the company she was currently keeping.

"Tell me what happened outside the Wall," said Levi, finally placing the handkerchief—neatly folded—back into his pocket.

And so she told him all that she remembered, starting from the ruined state of Castle Utgard and the fact that Ymir had been a Titan, to the revelation of Reiner's and Bertholdt's treachery. She spoke of the fight that had ensued, the way that it had ended, the injuries sustained. She told him of Erwin's arrival and their pursuing the Armored and Colossal Titans to a forest, and of the battle that had unfolded there. She talked of Erwin's bravery, how he had rescued Eren and how she'd refused to leave him behind—and then of the smiling Titan.

When Yavena reached the portion of the story about how she had been grabbed, she hesitated. It would be easier to leave that part out…

But of course things could not be so simple. Upon hearing her silence, Levi's eyes flashed. "You said earlier that you only barely managed to escape being grabbed by a Titan."

His voice was not so far out of the ordinary to make her suspicious, but it was clearly absent of its normal edge. Sighing a little, she admitted, "I did. In truth, it was… an insanely close call. It was only thanks to Eren that we survived."

"Eren?"

"Aye. He reminded me of something. Something worth fighting for."

Levi did not speak. He was turned towards the fireplace with his teacup held in his hands—the corners of Yavena's lips tugged upwards as she noticed the way he was grasping it. He'd always held the cup so differently: by its rim rather than its handle. It was a little quirk of his that she had noticed… a miniscule detail she'd come to appreciate.

But then he looked back to her from the corner of his eye. Still he was silent, but the question did not need to be asked. He wished to know what Eren had said.

Yavena placed her teacup upon the table ahead of them and clasped her hands together. "He told me that you and Hange were waiting for me here. And… it reminded me of the promise I made you."

His attention returned to the fireplace.

Something heavy fell across Yavena's consciousness; she knew it was sleep. It was hard to resist after so many hours of fear and uncertainty. Now that she was here and safe, with someone she trusted completely, it was more insistent than ever.

But there was something she wanted answered first. Keeping her voice calm, she asked, "Would you tell me what you're thinking?"

Levi leaned against the back of the couch, his left leg crossed over his right. "That I'm glad you're back."

Yavena swallowed hard, forcing her eyes to keep from stinging. "Me too." Then, figuring it would be easier to hide her quiet happiness with a joke, she said, "And you'll be glad to note that I completed your revised grocery list."

"Erwin gave it to you, then?"

"Aye. And I hope you don't mind, but I was quite interested—I told him that you spoke of being drafted into the Scout Regiment."

Something vaguely similar to a smirk danced across his face. He waved her onward, a clear gesture for her to say what she had been told.

"He said that you and your friends had been tasked to steal some documents and murder him?"

A faint exhale with a curious resemblance to a chuckle was her response. Levi looked back to her and said, obviously still amused, "He's right. The job was supposed to give us a significant amount of money… and citizenship upon the surface."

Yavena's eyes widened. Even someone like herself, someone who grew up in the outer confines of Wall Maria, knew how difficult it was for people in the Underground District to gain citizenship upon the surface. They could visit by paying for usage of the Stairway Tolls, but they were never able to stay for long. Eventually, the Military Police would cart them back underground, dashing those people's dreams of living underneath the sun.

"Erwin had mentioned that he knew the plan from the start. That the man who hired you had been one step behind…" she said quietly.

Levi's head tilted downwards. He was glancing at his hands; Yavena noticed that his fingers were incessantly curling inwards and outwards again. "We didn't know how well-informed Erwin was. Only after Farlan and Isabel were killed did he finally tell me he'd already sent the incriminating documents to Dhalis Zachary. We were too late, even before we'd arrived."

Even though this had been so long ago, there was still hurt in his voice. Yavena could not help but wonder; if she had met Levi back then and known him and his friends, would she have been able to do anything to save Farlan and Isabel? Or would she have been killed by that Abnormal, the one with crimson eyes that he'd told her about back in the old headquarters?

"And then you stayed," she decided to say.

He nodded. "I stayed. And I will never regret that decision."

Yavena's dark eyes were fixed upon the embers of the fireplace, burning a bright orange, red, and gold. That orange was the color of her hair; the gold the color of the sun; the red the color of the poppies in the Scout Regiment headquarters garden. She stared at them, having never quite appreciated the beauty of each color that was separated before.

But now felt like a good time to appreciate the little things.

"You grew up in Shiganshina."

Levi did not say this as a question so much as a statement. Something he already knew; something he had remembered.

She nodded, leaning back against the couch. "I did, with my Aunt Dorothea. Both of my parents were in the Scout Regiment, too… Louis and Vanessa Verman."

"You said they were Captains," he said, taking another sip of his tea.

A small smile crossed her face at the fact that he recalled this. Yavena had only mentioned this detail in passing, during her very first mission alongside Squad Levi. "That they were. My father died before you joined, I think. But my mother… she went on a mission with us, a little over three years ago. You may have met her."

"It was easy to see where you got your pumpkin head from," he remarked, casting her a sideways glance.

That made her laugh. It was true, Yavena did look remarkably similar to her mother. They'd had the same hair color—though Yavena's was straight while her mother's had been a little wavy—and the same small nose. The only trait of her father's that was blatantly obvious within Yavena's face was his dark eyes: so deeply brown they were almost black in fading light.

"I think she was amused by your nickname for me," said Yavena. She leaned forward to grab herself another cup of tea; luckily, it was still steaming. Settling herself back into the cushions of the couch, she sighed, "If she'd survived and gone on more missions with you, she would've demanded a nickname, too."

Levi smirked. "That would've been easy enough."

The veil of fatigue began to grow stronger, but now Yavena did not wish to sleep. Stifling a yawn, she asked, "By chance, would her nickname have been pumpkin-related?"

"Possibly. I'd hate to be so unoriginal, though."

She laughed at that, almost spilling her cup of tea in the process. Levi's eyes widened at the prospect of a mess—but as soon as it became clear that Yavena had it under control, he relaxed again. Biting her lip to keep from smirking, she said, "Sorry."

There was no indication that he had heard what she had said. Keeping her gaze fixed straight ahead, she added, "You know, Hange said something interesting a number of months ago."

"That's kind of you. Nothing that comes out of her mouth is interesting."

"She said that she saw you sneaking extra pumpkin juice at breakfast," said Yavena, ignoring his jab against her best friend. Her dark eyes narrowed slightly, more out of playfulness than anything else. "Does that mean you don't detest pumpkins so much, then?"

He scoffed. "Tch. Her vision must be getting worse. I'll tell Erwin she needs a stronger pair of glasses."

Yavena smiled again, keeping her focus largely upon the teacup in her hands. Even now, her eyelids were threatening to close, and everything was simply becoming so much heavier than she felt it was supposed to be.

After a few more moments of tranquil silence, Yavena felt herself drifting off—and then something suffocating her face. She spluttered somewhat, her eyes snapping open even though she didn't remember closing them; it was the blanket that had been on the chair. Levi had tossed it toward her, clearly having caught on to how exhausted she was.

"You haven't slept in two days," he said. "Get some rest."

She sighed and pulled the blanket over the lower half of her face so he couldn't see her lips struggling to remain in a neutral position. Her dark eyes looked over him; he had been standing beside one of the bookcases, a specific book in his hands.

Then she realized she recognized that cover. Yavena opened her mouth to speak, but he held up a hand and cut her off before she could, saying, "This is the one Eld was about to finish, isn't it?"

At the mention of Eld, a lump appeared in her throat. But she still nodded.

Levi looked it over, front and back covers, before flopping back onto the couch. It might've been Yavena's wearied imagination, but she would've sworn he was a little closer to her now than before.

"You're going to read it?" she asked, although her voice was so lethargic she would've been surprised if he understood her.

"Only if it's interesting."

Out of everyone in the Scout Regiment, she did not expect Levi to be the one to voluntarily read one of her favorite books. It wasn't her very favorite, The Four Far Beyond, but it was a close second or third, this City of Dust.

Yavena shuffled somewhat in her seat, feeling as though she would be happy to sleep now… but then a question popped into her head, one that she would need the answer to, or said question would haunt her forever. "Levi, when I left… I didn't bother you, did I?"

Her mind returned to how happy she had been, thinking back on the embrace she'd given him before leaving to rescue Historia. Despite that joy, however, there had been a nagging thought in the back of her mind, one that would never let her rest: it said that she'd stepped out of line. That she was deluded for having ever thought such actions would be acceptable. Just a few months ago, she had refused to acknowledge how she'd felt because he was a comrade, and a soldier of humanity first.

Things were changing quickly again, this time in her own head.

She kept her eyes closed, not quite sure she had the willpower to face him after asking this. The hair on the back of her neck stood up, telling her that his eyes were upon her. It did not seem like the sharp glance that she usually received; this was softer. And then he said, "No. You didn't bother me."

"Oh… good," she said, holding back another yawn. "I was worried."

Yavena rested her head against the blanket, which was fluffier than she had expected. Although she would never say it aloud, she would much rather fall asleep here with Levi for company than in her own room alone. It was one of those nights, the ones after a particularly tough mission—one where it was possible she might have nightmares.

During the months when Yavena had been with Paul or Elias, on days where she felt anxious without any particular reason, she would sometimes spend the nights in their room or vice versa. Not for illicit company that was only mildly punished by Scout Regiment rule enforcers, but for the simple comfort of another presence. It seemed to help her sleeping subconscious, knowing that there was someone she loved nearby. As the years went on, she was able to pick apart those days and nights, and know when the nightmares would come.

Although Yavena had not been in any sort of romantic attachment with anyone for five years, she still had someone to turn to during difficult nights: Hange. As they had been best friends for so long, Yavena did not hide anything from her. She told Hange about the night demons, and Hange told Yavena about hers.

And yet, despite how close they were, sometimes Hange's company was not enough to hold them at bay.

As Yavena was thinking on this, on the verge of drifting into sleep, she felt Levi's arm wrap around her shoulder.

She did not hide the slow smile that appeared. If he wished to see it, then he could: she was happy.

"What are you thinking?"

Here at last, he seemed willing to simply ask her instead of trying to force an answer through his own observations. Of course, Yavena was guilty of doing that too sometimes… but tonight, she had asked, just as he was now doing. And she hoped that such simple communication could last.

"I'm thinking that I wouldn't want to be anywhere else," she said.

Figuring it was safe enough to do so, Yavena placed her head upon his shoulder. The last time she had done this was when she was so near death, and he had been carrying her towards the wagons for the injured. This was definitely a more preferable experience.

If Levi thought anything of this gesture, he did not say as much. He merely opened the book that he had retrieved and began scanning across the yellowed pages.

A number of minutes passed during which Yavena tried to fall asleep, but she just wasn't quite able to. The allure of City of Dust was too great, and although she knew Levi would not react at all while reading its words or passages, every now and then her eyes would flicker to his face, wondering if she'd be able to discern anything he was thinking.

Of course the answer was no, but that did not bother her. Thanks to this understanding they'd established tonight, Yavena knew that if her curiosity grew too great, she could just ask.

After ten to fifteen minutes of stillness, the door on the far side of the room opened, and Eren's voice was suddenly saying, "Captain Levi, I have a message for you from the Commander."

Levi outstretched his hand without looking at Eren.

Footsteps signaled that Eren was drawing closer—but Yavena was not quite sure she wished to deal with any silly faces from her friend at the moment. That could be a problem for tomorrow. For tonight, she closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep.

Eren walked over towards them; based on the way Levi's arm shifted, Yavena could only guess that he had retrieved whatever message was sent for him and had returned to the book.

"Thank you, Eren. Dismissed."

More footsteps were retreating… and then the door was closed, with the light click of someone being gentle.

As soon as it was only them in the lounge again, Levi said, "He knew you were awake."

Yavena groaned somewhat. "Really? How do you know?"

"It was written all over his brat face."

Somehow, this did not surprise Yavena in the slightest. She shifted somewhat, allowing herself to lean in ever so slightly closer to him, and lamented, "Then I'll be getting an earful tomorrow, I'm sure. He can be a cheeky little shit when he wants to be. You're lucky he's piss scared of you so you don't have to suffer it."

"He's not scared of me. I'm obviously his favorite Captain."

This made her laugh again. She watched as he unfolded the message from the Commander and read it. Once that was done, he stated, "It seems something has caught Erwin's attention. Our meeting will be tomorrow afternoon instead of morning."

"Hmm. I'm surprised Erwin didn't send me a message, too."

"He knows you're here."

Yavena sighed, although she couldn't say she was surprised. It had been plastered across Erwin's face when he had handed her the revised orders from Levi just earlier that day. Although it might've also been Hange's doing…

Either way, the fact that Levi didn't seem bothered by Eren's or Erwin's little jibes made her feel better. He picked up the book with one hand, the other still around her shoulder, and continued to read.

"You don't have to continue if you don't want to, by the way," said Yavena, her dark eyes closing once again.

"I know."

The tiredness was beginning to wash over her again. As much as she wanted to sleep, as badly as she did not wish to do so alone, she knew that falling asleep here might be a bad idea. She did not want to make Levi feel as though he was trapped—although even as she thought about it, she figured he'd probably just push her aside if he wished to leave—and more importantly than that, she did not wish to be any sort of burden.

Just as she was about to say as much, he narrowed his eyes and said, "I thought I already told you to get some rest."

Yavena glanced up at him, her unspoken question in her face.

Just as she did not ask, so he did not answer. Levi simply looked back to the book in his hands, apparently content to pay her no more mind so she would finally be able to sleep.

The minutes ticked by, slowly but surely. And throughout them all, Yavena found herself smiling. It had been a long time since she had been simply happy.

Things were going well, comparatively speaking. Eren and Historia were safe. Hange, Erwin, and Levi were safe. The moles within the military were gone; one had even been captured. There was no hole breaching Wall Rose after all.

Yavena figured that she could allow herself a little peace.

She fell asleep.

Hi all, I wanted to remind you all that starting on Monday, I'll be updating once a week! I've calculated how many chapters it'll be until Part 2 of Season 4 comes out, and I think I've managed to time it so that none of my chapters with big manga spoilers come out before the actual show. I'll obviously be keeping an eye on it to make sure any of you anime-onlys don't get spoiled, I promise! I was an anime only myself until I got some spoilers for the manga, and then I caved and read it lol. So I understand how you feel!

On another note, just to explicitly say: as evidenced by the last chapter, I will absolutely be saving characters in this fic. I wouldn't call it an 'Everyone Lives' (RIP Eld, Gunther, Petra, and Olou), but there is definite canon divergence (particularly after S3 events). My rule is this: if Yavena is around and it is within her capabilities to save someone, it is possible that she can do so. Take that how you will! :)

Otherwise, feel free to let me know your thoughts on the story! If anyone notices any typos, please point them out to me and I'll try to fix them! I really appreciate the support again you guys. Seriously, the kudos and reviews always make my day :D Have a good one everybody, and take care of yourselves!