"Zoë? I want to talk to you."

As always from him, a command, not a question. Swallowing a childish, rude retort, Zoë followed her father into his study on the ground floor. The dark wood of the furniture and the heavy green curtains gave it a dark, somber look, the low fire smoldering in the grate adding a touch of woodsmoke to the air that otherwise smelled of what she associated with her father's crushing authority. She wanted to rip open the window to air it out but he was blocking her access to it.

"Can you open the window?" she asked. "It's fucking stifling in here."

"No," he replied. "The draft is unhealthy."

She felt the onset of one of those headaches that began with a slight pressure behind her eyes and then exploded into her skull at the most inopportune moments. Hopefully, she wouldn't be fighting for balance in front of him later.

"Well," her father sat down behind his desk and pointed to one of the pompous chairs facing it for her to take a seat too. "You for once did what I told you - I am very pleased with you."

She sat down, suddenly no longer trusting her legs. Her father was pleased? Damnation. It could mean only one thing...

Too fucking sure of herself, she had "tested" the word on Mikasa last night when she had gone to see the kiddos in Historia's room. The lot of them had been a bit anxious but she had calmed them down, assuring them that it wasn't likely that anything exciting would happen before Tybur's arrival. When she had asked the young woman to step out into the corridor with her, Mikasa had complied. A word that worked on Ackermans? Yes, she was eager to help Zoë find out what it did!

Nothing, that's what it had done.

Mikasa had blinked at her expectantly first, but when it had become clear that it was a dud, they had both laughed. An evil joke from an evil man, as expected.

She had been stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why had she whispered it into Levi's ear later? Why?! Was it a morbid type of curiosity that had made her do it? That part of her that got so interested in random things she forgot to eat and drink? That part that wanted to cut open Titans and study their entrails?

Levi's behavior this morning could mean one thing only: he had heard her say it and he was pissed off about it. Understatement: He was furious. And who could blame him, she would be too in his place. The big unanswered question was… had it had an effect? One she had not seen?

"What did Levi want to discuss with you earlier?" Zoë demanded to know.

"He tried to blackmail me," Council Hange answered with a little smirk. "The little shit will have to be taught his place."

"Try to touch him and I'll kill you," she growled.

Her father laughed. "Oh my dear girl. What misguided loyalty. He has gone behind your back so many times before. Are you too blind to see it?"

Poison. Her father's words were like poison, she knew that. Don't let him get to you, don't let him get to you…

"He wants to kill Tybur. I don't really blame him. Tybur really almost broke him, you saw the records. But then, all the Ackermans are unstable to begin with," he patted his pocket from which he had drawn the red booklet the night before. "Must have something to do with the Titan fluids they were injected with when their line was created."

Poison. And bait. More information, knowledge about experiments on human beings with Titan fluids! Maybe he believed that if he just dangled such a thing in front of her mouth long enough, she would eventually bite?

Levi would not single-handedly plot against Tybur… or would he? Maybe she had underestimated his invisible wounds.

"Sadly, Tybur is our only hope for survival. Not that I like it but he has access to superior weapons, which will cause almost all the great families to side with him. Levi Ackerman cannot go ahead with his vengeance, we need Tybur. That's where you come in. Levi imprinted on you, so he'll do anything for you. He'll do anything you tell him to."

Poison. His words are poison. Beware... But her damn curiosity was pushing to the front. If such a thing like an "imprint" was truly possible, what else was?

"Oh yes, I forgot to mention," her father turned his head to look out of the window. Another sunny day with hardly a cloud in the sky. She felt that it was all wrong. Rain would have fit her mood much better. "The word I gave you only works when it is spoken by the one person the Ackerman has pledged his soul to. It took me forever to figure that out."

Her headache intensified. She fingered the slip of paper in her pocket with the series of numbers on it. So the word had worked. Damn. Damn, damn, damn.

"That person the Ackermans pledged their souls to used to be the King. The Hanges managed to change that, did you guess? We have your granny Clothilde to thank for that. No idea how she made that Elior fall so madly in love with her."

What she hated the most about her father was his blatant up-in-you-face smugness when he had backed his adversaries into a corner. He belonged in prison. But even though she still had those documents her mother had given her, she doubted that they would be sufficient. The mood in the government was different now that they knew the whole world was plotting to annihilate them. Anything for survival.

"I guess a lot of the Ackermans liked the change," her father continued. "I have to say, there were a few very lousy kings to serve."

"How do you know it worked?" Zoë demanded to know.

"Your little boyfriend confirmed it," he turned his eyes back on her. "Go ask him yourself what happened."

Because you don't know exactly either, is that it?

"You're saying I'm the only one who can use this word on him? Why would I? You must have something else up your sleeve."

"Yes," her father smiled coldly. "You get the drift. You need something that I have. And I will give it to you in exchange for the Ackerman's services."

"I need nothing from you," she frowned.

"Think again, Commander. You lost almost everyone when you retook Wall Maria - it's too sad that the Survey Corps is no more. And the irony is that even after such an incredible success, humanity is still not one iota better off than before. Starving and full of hate for each other. It takes so much effort to prevent a riot."

Fertile lands infested by Titans. There was the Executioner from Hell, but that was not enough, not by far - they needed to rid the wall territory off the monsters.

"As a token of goodwill I will get the other noble families to lend you troops. The house guards are the best trained soldiers left behind the walls. I think I can get you at least one hundred. You don't have the time to send more children through your recruitment system."

"Why would they lend me troops?" Poison, bait and traps. He was about to make her an offer she shouldn't refuse.

"Survival, Zoë. It is all they care about. Their own. The survival of their families."

"Not humanity's."

"We face extinction, Zoë. You know that. We have to keep people happy inside the Walls. Then we need to go outside and show the world that we are not to be trifled with."

It felt perturbing to be in agreement with her father.

"Tybur has royal blood. That means he cannot use the power of the Founder to break the peace. So what's the point of this?"

"You don't know him yet, Zoë. You must believe me when I am telling you that Tybur is too smart not to understand that your boy is a little different. I don't assume he will want to eat Eren when I tell him we have the means to control him."

He means Levi.

"And because I know you are not easily convinced especially since all of this is coming from me… you know what else Tybur has apart from weapons and war material?" He made a dramatic pause. "Information about Titan experiments on humans. A lab infrastructure that is phenomenal and simply all you have ever dreamed about. I cannot speak for him but something tells me he would be amenable to sharing his practical knowledge with you. What do you say?"

No was the only possible answer. But… What would Erwin have done? Erwin would have said yes. Dedicate your heart. Survival is the goal. There is nothing more important. Right?

"Okay," she said slowly. "And how do we do this?"

###

It was way past noon when Zoë finally found Levi outside the stables, where he was rubbing down sweaty Blitz whose little mare was eying her handsome stallion proudly from the side. Annoyance pierced through her. She had searched for him almost frantically towards the end. Riding out alone without telling her or anyone else where he was going? An outright provocation, what else. She had made it abundantly clear to him she wanted to be informed about his whereabouts, especially now that Tybur's arrival was imminent.

"Captain Levi!" she yelled across the yard, accelerating her steps.

"Here she comes," the snotty shithead mumbled moodily, patting his skittish horse's neck.

"Are you done avoiding me, idiot?" she snapped.

"That depends," he gave her a sullen look. It was unnerving that he was still wearing the Hange black like he didn't care what it symbolized. His Survey Corps uniform had to be cleaned and ironed by now? She had made sure to tell the maids that it was urgent. She did not want him to look like he belonged to her father. Did he not understand how important it was that she could trust him? There was no room for doubts.

"Did you go see Tybur without my permission?" she confronted him.

"Don't push me," he growled, his features darkening.

She became aware of people staring. There were a couple of house guards standing around in the courtyard and a whole flock of stablehands poking their heads out of the stables. She probably shouldn't make a scene in front of them.

"Follow me!" she ordered him brusquely.

"Ask me nicely?"

"It's a goddamn order, Ackerman, so no… I won't."

"Call me by my first name, shitty glasses," he grumbled but handed the reins to a stableboy and followed grudgingly when she set out towards the garden at a fast clip. Shorty better move his little legs!

After a brief consideration of options that would afford them sufficient privacy, she led him to the gazebo behind the pink rose bushes, which was almost completely hidden from the house. It had seen better days, its white paint was peeling off in places and brownish moss was covering the spots that were not often reached by the sun. Once inside the dainty structure, she swiveled around to face him. Mr. Disagreeable had put on his most provoking face for her, haughty and sullen at the same time. Highly smackable.

"Did I not make myself clear?" she snapped at him. "I do not want you to ride out without telling me where you're going."

"I took Blitz for a bit of exercise, he was very restless," Levi grumbled. "Would you have him kick down the box instead?"

"I want you to tell me before you go somewhere!"

"I see," his voice was dripping with spite. "Want to take your dog on a tighter leash?"

Ouch. "No, I want to be able to talk to you like a normal person, Levi!"

"That will never work because you're not normal."

Zoë took a few calming breaths. This felt too much like a deja-vu. When had she become someone who was so easily thrown by Levi's abrasiveness? When she had become fucking Commander, that was when. By the Walls, she hated this!

"We had this conversation before, was it only yesterday? I know you're not really working for my father. So stop pretending you do."

"Tch. Wrong, I am working for your father. Looks to me like you pushed me right into it. Hanges like to keep Ackerman dogs, wasn't it you who told me? You simply can't help it."

"I understand that you're angry," she lifted her chin. "Do you want to hit me?"

"No," the corners of his mouth dipped down.

"Sure?" She lifted her fists and moved into a fighter stance. "Isn't that how you normally settle grievances?"

"Cut the crap, Hanji," he snapped. "Hitting you would give me no satisfaction, only dirty hands."

But she was already charging him.

He stepped to the side at the last moment, a disbelieving look on his face as her fist missed his jaw by a fraction.

"Stop it," he said again but she swung anew. Her balance was off, her footwork was shit. And Levi wasn't even fighting back, just dodging.

"I'll teach you a lesson," she panted, jab, jab, jab, dodge, dodge, dodge. "For disrespecting me!"

"Pathetic," he kicked her feet out from under her. She landed on her back with a thud and the air was driven from her lungs with a whoosh.

Levi glared down at her disapprovingly. "You're that out of shape?"

"No," she sat up after catching her breath, finding herself shaking a little. "I let you win."

"Pfft," he offered her a hand. She took it and he pulled her up, yet letting go as soon as she settled on her own two feet.

"I won't stand you giving me the silent treatment again!" she confronted him. "Been there five years ago, didn't like it one bit! Tell me what happened tonight. Tell me what you talked about with my father. Tell me everything."

"Nope. Don't feel like it." He folded his arms, radiating anger.

"So what will you do then? Become cold and distant? Sleep with all the willing women you can find on the estate to prove you can?"

His eyes flashed. "Good idea."

They glared at each other. If she backed down, she'd lose more than just this row. What would Erwin have done, she asked herself once more. How had he managed Levi so well?

Maybe by not managing him. So she remained silent even though words were clamoring loudly in her head, demanding to be thrown at him.

"I acknowledge that you probably didn't do it to backstab me," Levi remarked after a short while of angry silence between them.

"You're right, I didn't," she retorted, short of letting out a sigh of relief. Oh blessed be, they were talking! The efforts this took!

"Yet, you did it anyway. You're the smartest person I know but sometimes…," he rolled his eyes. "So incredibly dumb. Did you think of me as one of your experiments?"

"No. No, I didn't expect anything to happen. I tried the word on Mikasa first and…"

"Huh?! What the fuck were you thinking?"

"I… I didn't believe it would do anything. Because… I don't know, I believed my father was lying about controlling you. He clearly didn't control you, not once in all these years. And maybe I wanted to prove it to you once again!"

"Noble," he scoffed. "Spoiler: that backfired. You're such a stupid cow, Hanji. But all things considering, I prefer being your slave rather than your father's."

"You're not my…"

"Shut your face, Hanji," he interrupted her. "Do you want to see whether you can force me to do things against my will? Go ahead. Use that word or whatever it is. I'm listening."

"No," she looked down on the ground. "No, I don't want that. Listen, I will give you the word, I did not memorize it, it's just a string of num…", she grabbed the slip of paper in her pocket.

"Stop!" he took a step backwards, lifting both his hands in a warding gesture. "I don't want to know. It's too dangerous."

"Why?"

"Because…," he seemed to consider something, then shook his head. "Whatever you do, Hanji. Never give Eren the word. Do you understand? Never."

"I don't understand," she frowned at him. "Why would I… oh. Oh, you mean because he could use it on… Mikasa? Because she's imprinted on him? Would that be... a bad thing?"

"Yes, it would be a bad thing."

"So… what happened last night?" She took a step towards him. "Was it bad?"

He shrugged but his attempt at nonchalance was futile, she saw clearly that whatever had happened it had rattled him deeply. "You sent me to the Paths. There was an Ackerman stronghold there. They want me to kill Eren because he's a bit of a problem."

"Holy shit," she breathed. "What is it like there?"

"Empty," Levi said after a brief pause.

"Did you agree?"

"Hanji, what the fuck are you thinking?" He looked almost shocked. "Of course I won't kill Eren. I almost like the boy."

"Oh." She began biting her lip, thinking hard. "My father wants me to force you to work for Tybur, who will seek to control Eren instead of eating him if my father is correct. And… Tybur has weapons and knowledge that could be very useful. Uhm… more than useful. Essential for our survival."

"I see," Levi said, his lips a thin line.

"And apparently, the noble families will lend us their guards to eradicate Titans. If my father tells them to. Could you work with them?"

"Is it an order?" He looked to the side, acute displeasure visible on his features. Of course he didn't like this. "You want me to submit to Tybur?"

Did she?

"Your call," she said quietly. "I won't order you to do this, it wouldn't be fair. I know what Tybur did to you before."

"Duh," he shrugged. "I guess we're a little desperate? I will work for Tybur for as long as that is useful to us. And I can take the house guards to get eaten by Titans, sure."

"Thank you," she closed the distance between them and put her arms around his shoulders, "thank you so much."

"What for," he grumbled but put his arms around her middle, their warmth soothing on her tense lower back.

"For being my friend," she breathed. "For walking to the end with me."

"Huh," he said, pulling her a bit closer. "Let's first see whether our actions even make a fucking difference in the future."

But why think of the future if the present felt so right. Hugging him like this made happiness surge inside of her. It surged and surged and made her super dizzy, but she was holding onto him and wouldn't fall. She felt that as long as Levi was by her side, it was going to be okay.

"Don't ever leave me," she murmured against his hair. An emotion welled up inside of her, sweet yet painful. "I'm madly in love with you."

He went very still in her embrace. After a moment of shock at her own words, she just pressed his tight body even harder to hers. Whatever his reaction to her spontaneous confession was going to be, it was alright. It was the truth and nothing could change it.

"And Levi," she continued, "I need a favor. It's not getting better with the headaches and the dizziness. You will have to take over from me. Soon."

"What the…," he pushed her away, hard. "Fuck, Hanji! Did you want to soften me up before springing this on me?!"

"What?" she staggered a little before finding her balance again. "No. Looking at it pragmatically, I can't stay Commander with these headaches and this dizziness. I could fall off my horse and die tomorrow. It's my duty to think of a successor!"

"Shut your fucking mouth," he gritted his teeth. "And stop talking about dying, you lunatic."

"I'm not saying I'm dying," she threw up her hands. "I'm just saying that I'm impaired. And you're the only one who can take over."

"The fuck I am!" he glared. "You have to ask somebody else. Armin. Ask Armin."

"Armin?" Yeah, the idea wasn't bad. In 5 years or so. Not now. "He's much too young and inexperienced."

"I can't be Commander," Levi pulled a face like he was going to be sick.

"Why not? You're by far the best soldier, you have the right kind of instincts, you've done this long enough, you know no fear. You'd be perfect."

"I just… can't," Levi turned around, staring into the garden. "I have other things to do."

"What things?" she frowned.

"Cleaning up the Underground for starters," he said but it sounded like an excuse to her. Something was on his mind, something he did not want to share. Fine, she decided not to press her luck with him any further.

"Fine," she sighed. "We'll talk about it later. Are we good?"

"Tch," he rolled his eyes, turning back to her. "Does that even matter? You can just snap your fingers and I have to dance for you."

"Oh yeah?" she smiled sweetly. "That sounds like fun. Captain Levi, why don't you kiss me? Wait… where's that word again..."

"Hm?" he grumbled. "Don't waste your efforts, I'll do that because you ask so nicely."

"What a shame," she grabbed his shoulders again and pulled him close, greedily inhaling the Levi scent. "I wonder what the point of owning an Ackerman is if he has you wrapped around his little finger."

"And you sure don't need a word to make me wag my tail," Levi murmured, his eyes falling on her lips, a hungry expression coming into his eyes. "We should…," his hand stroked along her side, over her hip, down her leg, made a right turn and came to a rest on her womanly parts. "... fuck."

"Here?" she gasped. "But…", she looked at the lush garden around them, noticing the many pebblestone paths that led to this place from all sides. It was… exposed. Excitement surged through her, pulsing between her legs.

"You owe me," he growled, moving his thumb over her nipple, watching how it stiffened under his attention. "For using me in my sleep. I want you bent over this little stone bench here, begging for mercy with your ass in the air."

Kind of alarming that she was warming to the idea very quickly.

"It's not a good idea to resolve conflict with sex," she complained while her mouth and other body parts watered.

"It's an excellent idea," his mouth was only inches away from hers. "It will take care of my pathetic horniness. I can't walk around with a raging boner in my pants when Tybur arrives."

"You're very excitable," she chuckled, putting her hand on the bulge in his trousers, rubbing it up and down. So hard.

"Pathetic," he groaned. "I can't help it. As soon as I set eyes on you I want to fuck you."

His lips were wet and hot on hers, demanding yet needy. She would take it, this coarse need of his. It suited her own, at least in part. Bodily closeness went a long way. Emotional closeness was a much more precarious thing to ask for. She wouldn't. She didn't feel she had a right to ask.

His tongue entwined with hers, he opened her trousers and moved his hand into her panties. She squirmed because it tickled, but his fingers soon began gliding deftly along her slick cleft, exciting her even further.

"Hmm, yes," he growled and bit her lower lip. "You're always so wet for me, Hanji."

"I guess I'm imprinted on you too," she panted, grinding against his hand.

With another growl, he swiveled her around and pushed down her pants.

"Bend over."

She put her elbows on the low stone bench, her cheeks aflame, feeling an urge to hide, then an urge to make mewling animal noises when he moved his fingers from her clit all the way up to her butthole and back several times along her soaked panties. The friction… she was about to beg him to hurry up. It wasn't like she had any dignity left. Which in itself... felt so fucking good.

"That beautiful ass of yours," Levi murmured, poking at her butthole with his thumb, sending a shower of sparks up her backbone. "Would you let me fuck it one day?"

The mere thought made her knees go weak.

"Doesn't it hurt?" she squealed.

"Don't know," he chuckled, "despite what you guys thought me and Erwin were doing, my asshole is untouched. Though... I might have said yes if he'd asked."

"Levi," she moaned.

"Turns you on, huh," he chuckled. "Thought so, you horny little minx." Without warning, he pulled her panties down to her knees. She squealed and he gasped. There was a moment of unnerving silence.

"Spread for me," he rasped then.

His mouth was on her ass, his tongue going to impossible places, his fingers were moving into her, pressing at sensitive spots until she wanted to thrash and scream.

"I'm coming," she moaned and everything inside her shook, it felt like an earthquake, her knees gave way and she hit the ground hard. There would be bruises. She didn't care.

"Louder, Hanji," Levi's warm breath at her ear made her shiver uncontrollably. "Make sure everyone knows what we are doing."

"Hurry up," she moaned, "I want you inside of me already."

"And I wanted you to beg for mercy," he said, and she heard from the soft rustle that he had dropped his pants. "And then I wanted to deny you your pleasure but… not gonna happen, I cannot wait to fuck you senseless."

He entered her from behind with a grunt. She was going to die - the angle and the pressure were heavenly. Then he grabbed her hips as he began to move in and out of her with long, powerful strokes, each thrust lifting her up from the ground a little. She held onto the edge of the bench, whimpering, grinding, seeking release.

"What a beautiful cunny," he panted, "what a beautiful butt."

He spit on her butthole, using his thumb to spread the warm moisture around her butthole, circling it, then pressing inside. "Do you like this?" He rasped, slowly moving his thumb in and out.

"Yes," she moaned. She felt another tremor start somewhere inside of her. "YES!"

He pressed his thumb into her butt deeply and she shattered.

"Shit," he grunted, pulled out and came all over her ass and lower back, five hot spurts of semen. He collapsed on the ground next to her and pulled her into his arms, kissing the top of her head, her neck, her shoulders. She was so spent, she couldn't really move.

"Sorry," he said.

What… for? She wanted to ask but it was impossible to speak so she just nodded. He held her for a bit and his tenderness felt… heart wrenching, for whatever strange reason, and when he left her, pulled up his pants and walked away without a word, she felt that she had far too many feelings. But… her headache was gone.

Funny, that.

An Ackerman for luck. An Ackerman as an anti-headache remedy? That thought made her chuckle. Ah, why not curl up and sleep a little on the bench? She was tired. So tired...

###

Levi felt hot and cold, his legs were shaking and his heart was beating too fast. The fucking garden was a blur of green and brown around him, interjected by bright colors from whatever stupid blossom these rich, useless people thought decorative. He was so muddle-headed he stumbled in the wrong direction, only realizing when he came upon a large pond full of lotus flowers that he had never seen and had to turn around to look for a sign of the house to reorient himself.

He splashed water on his face - pond water that tasted like too many things had died in it.

It was crystal clear. Hanji had just said it because she had ulterior motives, wanting to arm-twist him into becoming the next Survey Corps Commander. An unconventional approach but quite effective - she had to know she held him in the palm of her hand, his tongue lolling, his tail wagging, his every fiber eager to please her.

He should have confronted her about it immediately: You love me madly? I don't believe you. But his tongue had knotted up and the moment had passed and now… now he kept wondering. Hoping?

He groaned miserably. The way she had trusted him just now … that pert little ass in the air, all of her most vulnerable parts exposed to him in the pale sunlight… it made him feel all kinds of heavy, stormy things. His need to protect her was almost unbearable and it only got worse. Hanji was… she was too good for this world, too beautiful and too smart. She shouldn't have to live through this hell, she shouldn't have to make deals with her monster of a father who was just waiting for an opportunity to throw her to the wolves.

No longer could he forget the future in which she died. The images from his nightmares were burnt into his brain, they made him want to bury his face in his hands and weep. Because the truth was… Levi took a deep breath. The truth was, he was madly in love with her and the thought of losing her was a constant pain in his chest that was suffocating him.

"Get a grip, you fucking idiot," he told himself through gritted teeth - but Hanji was occupying his mind, when would the future change, when would she be saved, when could he be certain?

The answer, he knew, was never.

He would never know because the future was always forming, never being, and whoever thought differently was a fool. Like Eren - who thought his power allowed him to shape something that wasn't the way he wished when this much power simply couldn't exist.

Staying away from Hanji again - yes, it was what Levi's instincts told him to do, flee, flee, flee from it, detach yourself, bring as much distance between the two of you as you possibly can … yeah, it hadn't worked back then and it wouldn't work now, so whom was he trying to fool?

You'll die anyway, so why get hung up about it? Just get the best out of the time you have left.

Yes, but how to deal with the pain of knowing?

He was almost back at the mansion when a white yapping ball ran between his legs from out of nowhere, making Levi start and swear. "Oi, you fucking little weasel! I almost stepped on you."

The thing Hanji had called a dog showed its teeth and growled at him, backing up while wiggling its behind as if it wanted to use it to clean the footpath, clearly undecided whether to hate or love him.

"Get lost or I'll roast you for dinner," Levi told it but bent down and offered his hand. The thing growled again as it approached, sniffed, then put a tentative tongue on Levi's hand.

"That's disgusting," he shuddered. "Your breath stinks, you swollen rat."

"Elior, is that you?"

Levi straightened and looked towards the tottering white-haired figure hobbling towards him with the help of an elegant cane.

"Not exactly, ma'am," he said. Had it been her who had snatched the secret of the Ackerman's from a fool's hand? Possible that she had been a great beauty in her youth, some of it lingered behind her wrinkled features.

"You're not Elior," the old lady remarked, looking taken aback.

"No, I'm Levi. I guess Elior was one of my forefathers."

She looked him over. "Handsome. But why are you so small? You're no child anymore."

Levi pulled a face. Rude. "Didn't get enough sunlight when I was little."

"I see," the old woman clicked her tongue. "Who controls you?"

"Fucking nobody," he frowned.

"Ha," the old woman chuckled. "It's what you all think, isn't it. Hmmm, to be young again…," she looked him over again, more slowly, and this time, Levi almost blushed. Randy old witch.

"I gotta go," Levi frowned, pointing a finger at the house.

"Sure, sure, scram, little Ackerman," she waved her hand at him benevolently.

The dog named Pomfrey barked after him as he hastened away, not entirely sure whether to be offended or amused. He took two steps up the main staircase at once, reaching the rooftop in no time. From here, one had a phenomenal view in all directions as he had found out early this morning.

Only this time, he wasn't alone.

Eren and Historia sat huddled up together in the shadow of a parapet, the latter with a blissful expression on her pale face that reminded Levi of pipe smokers from the underground, the former with his eyes shut tightly, his face tense. Each had their hands on the other's body, invisible underneath their clothes.

"Oi! What the fuck… stop that!"

The brats jerked apart.

"Captain Levi!" Eren stammered and came to his feet.

"Did I not tell you to stop this," Levi narrowed his eyes on the two, "it's too fucking dangerous. Nobody can know that touching this royal gives you the ability to tap into some of the Founder's powers."

"Hrmpf," the Queen's eyes shot daggers. "I do what I want, I'm the Queen!"

"She can see Frieda this way," Eren explained hastily. "See her and feel her!"

Levi crossed his arms and glared at the two teenagers. "Listen up, brats. Uncle Levi is here to tell you to quit fondling each other or else the big bad wolf is going to have a field day. Queen or not. Is it that hard to understand?"

"Do you mean Commander Hange's father?" Eren asked. "But I made sure he won't remember."

"He will remember if he sees you two with your hands underneath each other's shirts," Levi scoffed. "Or when his grandchildren fail to appear."

Eren nodded slowly. "Yeah. That's possible. I'm not quite sure how it works to be honest. How to permanently alter someone's memory, I mean. And what I don't get at all is how it's possible to alter a whole population's mind?"

Levi shuddered. "Aren't we lucky."

"You know I can't touch your mind," Eren said defensively. "Unless you stand in front of me in that… that other place."

Levi lifted his eyebrows.

"I told you I can't… I can't feel you through the Paths!"

When? Levi had no recollection of ever being told that. And it could mean only one thing: Either Eren was batshit crazy or Eren was batshit crazy. No, wrong. It probably meant that Eren was batshit crazy and that he had meddled with Levi's mind more often than Levi could recall. Because, logically, being able to recall was only possible when Eren made a mistake. Which he was bound to make often, the shithead. Like this morning when he had to admit at the fucking least opportune moment that he could not change the curses of Founders before him. Uri had punished the nobles and that was that. No more children.

Oh well. They had bought themselves time. Better than nothing.

"The only thing you are allowed to do on the Paths is to check whether the future looks more rosy, didn't we agree on that?"

Eren nodded. "Yes, it's what I was doing just now. I need to touch Historia to do that!"

"And?"

Eren solemnly shook his head.

"Damn," Levi swore.

And then he saw it.

"He's coming," he said, pointing his chin towards the little dust cloud at the horizon.

"My uncle," Historia said quietly and swallowed. "A bastard like me."

"Yeah, he's a bastard alright," Levi said. "Let's hope that Big Bad Wolf and Big Bad Bastard won't get along too well. Or we're fucked."