Serendipity

by KrystalFlare

Two timelines. Two people. One future... – At twenty-two, Natalie Dietrich is the oldest rookie admitted to the Survey Corps. With the responsibility of making a better future forced onto her, she finds the most unlikely ally and protector in the young Captain. The tear left in the fabric of time, however, is closing... and it seems like nothing will stop it from correcting itself.

43. Adult games

Another week, another chapter my sweets! Not really much to say for now, other than that I'm so grateful for each and every one of you lovelies who keep reading my silly story. I'm really grateful for every single comment, because all of them - no matter how long or short - make my day! Thank you all so much for having stuck with this story for so long. Now we're slowly entering the last stretch of the plot, and I hope that what I have planned will be just as entertaining for all of you!

As always my lovelies, go ahead and enjoy this chapter and don't forget to toss me a little review, to let me know what you think~ ;)

P.S. All Attack on Titan characters belong to Isayama Hajime. I only own my OCs.

---

42. Adult games

~ 854 ~

"Commander Erwin."

At Historia's call, the man halted in his tracks and turned to face the Queen, still sitting at her desk, hands daintily clasped atop the polished wood.

"There are some matters I wish to discuss further with you." she went on, subtly gesturing to the now empty chairs around the table.

"Go on." Levi spoke up, clapping him on the back. "I have our guests to attend to before I leave."

One look at the Captain's face told Erwin he had picked up on something, either from Historia's expression or her tone; something he hadn't yet registered. Waiting until everyone else had vacated the office, and the door had closed to separate them from the rest of the world, he headed back to the chair he had occupied during the meeting.

"Not there, Commander." Historia chimed in, as soon as he had laid a hand on the chair's backrest, drawing his gaze to her when she stood from the desk.

Gesturing for him to join her at the smaller table placed outside on the sunny balcony, she stepped into the warm light mere moments before Julie had finished serving tea for both of them. She had to admit that some part of her enjoyed the rush she felt from knowing that he was at her mercy. That she could order him to do anything, and he would do it—he was just that kind of man.

'I will live my life the way I want... I will live a life I'm proud of; just like I promised.' she contemplated with a subtle smile, watching the clear sky that reminded her of that snowy sunrise when she had made her vow to Ymir.

With a deep breath, she turned around just as Erwin was stepping through the glass doors, his gaze telling that he was cautious yet intrigued by her acting all mysterious. For the duration of a heartbeat, she watched the breeze playing in his sun-colored hair and the endless blue sky that had nestled in his eyes.

"Please." she said with a polite smile, gesturing to the table where the corners of the pristine tablecloth were dancing in the current.

Though he obeyed silently, it didn't escape her how he only sat down after she had done so. She couldn't deny that she found his courtesy and impeccable manners refreshing.

"Thank you for indulging me, Commander; I know how busy you are." she began, whilst removing her gloves, carefully measuring his expression to try and read him. "I wished to make sure that you were not terribly offended by how I made use of you during this meeting."

"I am but your subject now, Your Highness." he replied, just as she had expected him to.

"Please... you may speak freely with me, always."

For but a moment, she saw his eyes slightly narrowing, as he was likely trying to guess what she was playing at.

"That was a bold move." he finally spoke up again, and she could hear how he was carefully measuring his words despite her permission. "I didn't know you had it in you to do something like that."

"I didn't either." she replied in a more relaxed tone than the one she had been using until then.

"I do advise that next time, however, you plan ahead a bit more before repeating something similar. We were fortunate this time, but there is only so much you can gamble with."

"Would you believe it if I told you I did plan ahead?"

At her smile, he again narrowed his eyes, this time more visibly, until he saw her gesturing with her eyes to the tea and pastries on the table between them.

"A Queen never goes back on her word, Commander." she concluded, taking great delight in seeing the realization that filled his eyes when his gaze snapped back up to meet hers, just as she picked up her teacup to take a sip.

"What are you playing at, Your Highness?"

"Oh, I'm not playing, I assure you. I'm having tea with one Erwin Smith."

Calling him by his name in such an informal manner still rolled a bit awkwardly off her tongue, but if she was going to have him involved in her future in such a way, she certainly couldn't keep addressing him by his rank. At first, she wondered if she had offended him by being so bold, but then she sensed how he relaxed. And all at once, he was again in full control of himself and the situation as he leaned back in the chair. When he clasped his hands on the table in front of him, it shocked Historia to see just how natural and easy it was for him to command respect and to make her feel like meek, timid Krista again.

"You are playing, Your Highness." he stated, and she couldn't read the sub-tone in his words for the life of her. "You have simply moved on to adults' games."

She couldn't tell if he was impressed or if he was attempting to scold her for taking such a risk without consulting anyone beforehand.

"We are both of age, after all." the young woman replied. "Even though I am still far less experienced than you. However, when last I checked, there were no laws stating that two consenting adults were not allowed to socialize."

In the way he subtly tilted his head, she recognized that he was analyzing her words, weighing his options as well as hers.

"As you have given me permission to speak freely, I will do just so." he replied after a lengthy silence. "Why me? I am hardly your only option... not to mention I am certainly not your best option."

"Allow me to be the judge of that."

Her reply and the trace of a soft smile on her lips had his expression tighten, such that it also compelled her to finally offer him a serious answer. She remembered that ever so subtle displeased look that seemed to overshadow his entire face, and she knew she was on the verge of crossing the line. So she did all that she could—which was to answer honestly.

"You were the best option I could think of, and you are the option I consider the best one for me." she said, and this time she had dropped all pretense and all masks; she was not speaking to him as the Queen, but simply as Historia. "It would benefit you by elevating your position—rightfully so, if you ask me. By reaffirming it in front of those who want to believe they can simply brush you aside and replace you without having the capability to take your place. Would it be dangerous? Undoubtedly. But would it be worth it? I certainly believe so. And... forgive me if this is a touchy subject, however to my knowledge, you have never had much companionship in your life. After you sacrificed your entire life for our people, I believe it only fair that even you would one day get to know what it is like to be welcomed home by someone. As opposed to always being the bearer of news for those who will never return at all."

It was the very first time since she had met him that she saw his eyes coming alight, and though she had before seen the subtle twitch his brow did whenever his body was trying to betray what he felt, she still wondered if she had gone too far. All at once, she realized that he may have had a tragic past she had yet to be privy to, and she regretted for a moment the thought she might have caused some old wound to resurface.

"And how would it benefit you?" he at last inquired, almost visibly startling her.

"Aside from what was discussed during the meeting? You are the one least likely to cause me any worries or to be a burden. I also know you would treat me well, not just as a Queen but as a woman. Also... you may consider this a girly crush, I don't mind. But does anyone ever have a grand reason to be interested in someone they feel attracted to? Do they need a grand reason for that?"

Was she attracted to Erwin? Perhaps not in the romantic sense—though she would have had to be blind in order not to notice that he was a handsome man. But no, what truly attracted her to him was his confidence, his brilliant mind, his ability to wrest control of a situation and keep it regardless of the circumstances. Even now, when she was blurting all of that in his face, his entire demeanor spoke of nothing but tenacity, demanded nothing but respect. He looked and held himself with a much more regal demeanor than she ever had. But most of all... after everyone had placed her on some unreachable pedestal, he was the only one who made her feel like a normal woman anymore.

And then all at once, his demeanor shifted—and she sensed the change before ever seeing it. His shoulders relaxed, his expression eased, and the simple act of him unclasping his hands nearly had her breathe a sigh of relief while at the same time quickening her pulse in a way that she had never experienced before. It was like he had unlocked some door for her that he had so far kept tightly shut... like his whole being had opened to her in the same way he had parted his hands.

"Very well... Historia." he replied, at long last reaching for the now lukewarm tea in front of him. "What would you like to know?"

But she was too dazed at first to even register his question. Not only because he had called her by her name, without sounding patronizing by any means. Even more so by how suddenly charming and inviting his entire demeanor was. She had never before seen him like this; never before felt so captivated by his gaze; never before been so mesmerized by his voice. And she wondered if this was the real Erwin Smith... she wondered if this was why he could so easily move masses of people; if this was why his men were willing to die for him without a moment's hesitation. She wondered how many people had ever been given a chance to see him like this—so open, so willingly vulnerable, so fascinating.

It was the sound of his teacup clinking against the porcelain plate as he set it down that brought Historia out of her thoughts and back into the moment. Judging by the heat she could feel radiating from her entire head, she had to be blushing. There was no way he hadn't seen it, but he looked unperturbed in the least—as though having women blush in front of him was nothing new.

"Tell me about yourself then." she said, picking up her own tea and taking a delicate sip in an attempt to preserve at least some of her dignity.

Gathering all the courage she could muster to look back into his eyes, she saw him calculating just how much he should tell.

"I grew up in Utopia District, in the northern part of Wall Rose. My father was a teacher at the school I went to as a child. After his death, I enrolled in the Cadet Corps, then in the Survey Corps after graduation. My father's belief that there was something strange about the history we were being taught, and his theory that perhaps there was something more outside the Walls than just Titans, was what fueled my desire to join the Scouts. I rose in the ranks just like any other soldier, through hard work; I eventually met Levi and his friends and brought them into the Survey Corps. Not long after that, Commander Shadis asked me to take his place before he retired."

"That sounds like a lonely way of living."

For but a moment, she could swear he looked impressed—perhaps by the fact that she had picked up on that sentiment in his tone.

"It is, I will not deny that." he eventually nodded, and Historia would have missed the weariness that overtook his gaze if she hadn't been staring straight into his eyes. "However, I cannot afford to live my life any other way. In my position—though I too care about individual people—you have to be willing and able to become a devil whenever necessary. You must have the fortitude to make hard choices, to know when and where to spend the lives of your men. That is the ugly truth of what we do in the military... sometimes it has to be done. And there are few people who can accept or bear this lonely road. Karl Dietrich, Natalie's brother, was one such man; Miche was another. Levi too understands it, but..."

At that, he huffed, a corner of his lips curling into a shade of a smile, and his entire expression softened as he spoke again.

"Levi... is truly special. He's so much stronger and braver than the rest of us. I admit I sometimes envy him for how he managed to walk this path while refusing to live a lonely, miserable life. I sometimes wish I was as confident as he is; that I could take the risk of losing that kind of bond."

"Do you have anyone other than him that you care about? I mean people you care about as more than just subordinates, or human beings. Or did you try to distance yourself from everyone in that manner?"

"Despite my best attempts to remove myself from such bonds, I have come to accept over the years that it was impossible. I would have to say that aside from Levi and Hange, I only have two close friends; Nile and his wife, Marie."

In wake of his words, Historia stared him down in silence for a long moment. The way he had spoken that woman's name had, for some reason, reminded her of how much she missed Ymir.

'Is that... what I think it is?' she pondered, wondering if she had been right to think that Erwin might have had some feelings for that woman at some point.

"Did you have feelings for her?" she asked before she could stop herself, and she saw the glint that came to his eyes as they snapped up from his tea and back to hers. "You are well versed in concealing your true thoughts and feelings, Erwin... but even you are not perfect."

The fact that she had returned his favor in addressing him by his name gave her a moment of anxiety, as she again wondered if she had crossed the line with him. However, the Commander seemed entirely unbothered by it, instead focusing an intrigued stare upon her. Was he impressed that she had been able to read him so well? She couldn't tell, but he certainly seemed to see her in a new light.

"One of us did, at least." he admitted, his deliberate use of past tense not escaping her. "Nile and I met her at our favorite bar, where we used to go out for drinks whenever we had the time. She worked there as a server; she was friendly and intelligent, witty and inviting. I suppose you could say that we both fell for her... each in our own ways."

"And her...?"

Though his expression didn't flinch, she could see his regrets just from how his long lashes overshadowed his eyes when he lowered his gaze to the tea in his cup.

"She loved me... or so Nile likes to remind me every chance he gets." he said in the end, and even Historia was amazed at herself for how easily she was able to piece things together.

"You left her to join the Survey Corps, didn't you?" she said, barely louder than a whisper, unable to tell why her heart was pounding as she asked the question.

It seemed like forever until he looked back at her, and she already knew his answer before he had even spoken.

"We were never together, to begin with, as you in the younger generation would put it. What happened was that she eventually confessed to having feelings for me and I turned her down. I told her that anything between us was impossible, that for a Scout any day could be their last, that it would only hurt her worse to lose a lover or a husband than to lose a friend. I didn't want her to suffer if I died out there, nor did I want to simply leave her heartbroken. So I encouraged Nile to pursue her without feeling guilty or worrying about me. Later, I encouraged him to marry her so that she would live a comfortable life as far away as possible from the battlefield I was heading to. They now have three beautiful children and they're happy together. And I am happy for them."

"What did you feel for her, then? What did you really feel?" she asked, feeling such a sudden and powerful connection with him in wake of his words.

The way her tone softened as she asked him that was something Erwin knew; he had heard it before, several times when Natalie spoke to or about Levi. Still, he contemplated at first whether to offer a truthful answer. But lying would not bring any sort of gains—he had agreed to enter a relationship with Historia. Convenient or not, if they were going to see it through together, they needed to be on the same page.

"I do not know." he replied, his tone more sincere than she was likely expecting. "Truthfully, I never concerned myself with such specific definitions of my emotions. I can, however, assure you that her presence was something I did not mind. Though she did occasionally become nonsensically obstinate about certain ideas, she was far less grating than most of my peers."

'Oh... you did love her, you stupid genius.' Historia internally sighed, her softened expression lighting up with a trace of an amused smile at the walking contradiction that he was.

"It takes great courage to give up the one you love, for something greater than yourself."

She could hear Natalie's words clear as day in her mind, and the memory brought on a whole new level of respect for the man sitting before her. Whereas she had been forced to give up on the one she loved, he had done it willingly... just like Ymir. Again she felt that unmistakable connection—the thread that linked them: two lonely people, two broken souls whom she felt could find comfort in each other, even if they never found love again.

It was that thought which urged her to reach out to where his hand was resting upon the pristine tablecloth. The contact with his skin startled her, even though she had been the one to initiate it, because all at once it made her aware of what she was doing; of the warmth and strength his hand gave off; of how tiny her own hand was compared to his. But she pushed the awkwardness aside, her eyes never leaving his as she weighed her palm atop his knuckles.

One heartbeat passed between them, and she could see him reading her gaze to gauge her true intentions. Two heartbeats, and his expression again relaxed. Three heartbeats, and she felt him turning his hand sideways, allowing her fingers to vanish within his gentle grasp.

~ oOo ~

The sound of the heavy door being pushed open made Paul's heart jump even though, to his credit, his outward demeanor showed nothing. The two Interior Police soldiers had strapped him to that chair sometime earlier, but for now seemed to have grown bored with his lack of response. They had presented each of the torture devices on the nearby table, waving them in front of his face and joking about how much fun it was going to be trying them on him.

'You think I'm an idiot? Commander Erwin would never agree to something like this.' was what he had repeated to himself, again and again, taking comfort in that thought.

But seeing Levi entering the room made his pulse race, and he had to will himself to not let it show on his face. At first, the Captain didn't even look at him, only directing one soldier to take a seat at the smaller table on the far wall, instructing the man to write down everything that would be said in the room once they began. The other one, he ordered to make sure the coals in the fireplace were still hot and then to fill a bucket with water to have on hand.

'This is just a scare tactic. There's no way the Captain would do something like that! Relax, they're just trying to scare you.'

However, there was something so ominous in how Levi removed his coat and placed it over the backrest of a chair with deliberately calm motions; in how he untied his cravat and popped his collar open; in how he retrieved the apron hanging on a hook on the wall—covered in almost black stains from heaven knew how many past tortures—wrapping the leather across his front; in how he retrieved the elbow-length leather gloves before at last turning to look straight at him.

"Look, I'm hoping things won't have to get ugly." he said calmly—almost with a friendly note to his tone, it seemed to Paul. "I'd very much prefer if you just talked to me willingly."

Walking over as he spoke, until he was standing just one step away from his victim, the young Ackerman took that moment to properly examine him. He knew Paul's background from the file Erwin had provided the previous day. He was twenty-one years old. His mother was dead and his father an incurable alcoholic due to the grief of losing his wife. Paul had joined the military in the hopes of a better life, away from the beatings and verbal abuse he'd suffered as a child. With that kind of background, he had to be used to pain and insults—it would take a lot to break him in if they had to resort to torture.

He took a moment to look over the Scout, from his dirty blond hair to his green eyes—burning with conviction and defiance—to his tightly shut lips, to his clenched-up body, to how he was squeezing the armrests of the wooden chair such that his knuckles had bled white.

"I really don't want to hurt you at all, Paul." he said again, the words like lead on his tongue.

The truth of the matter was that he did want to hurt both him and Liam. He wanted them to pay for almost killing Natalie. He wanted to make them suffer, to show them what it meant to fuck with him. Some part of him—the one he hadn't focused on since leaving the Underground—wanted them to die slow, agonizing deaths for daring to think they could take away what belonged to him.

But the same was true that he no longer was the same thug who had once ruled the darkness beneath the nobles' feet. It would have been impossible to stay the same entirely, after having Natalie in his life for so long. Yet now he hated the fact that he couldn't fully bring forth that part of him anymore; he hated the fact that her influence on him meant he was aware Paul was still a boy in many regards... barely any older than Eren and the other brats on his squad. He hated the fact that he cared about Paul being their comrade, about him risking his life outside the Walls along with the rest of them.

'He deserves it.' the Captain repeated to himself, trying his best to dehumanize the man before him. 'He chose to follow that fucking degenerate; he chose to try and take her from me. He knew very well this was coming the moment he got caught. He deserves it... he deserves it!'

"How old are you?" he asked, trying to establish a pattern he could use to gauge how honest and how open the Scout was to communicate peacefully.

When Paul didn't answer, Levi's eyes almost imperceptibly narrowed—so he wouldn't talk nicely.

"I don't want to hurt you any more than you already have been, Paul."

It was near-invisible, but he noticed the twitch at the corner of the soldier's eye. He had expected the trauma he'd suffered as a child would be a suitable weapon to use.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk to me?" he pushed.

"Fuck off." was all the soldier answered, the words spat through his clenched teeth. "You really expect me to believe Commander Erwin would allow this? You're just trying to scare me into talking. Well, it's not going to work!"

"See, I don't care what you believe." Levi retorted matter-of-factly, at last pulling the gloves on with deliberately slow motions to allow Paul to watch every moment of it. "You can either talk to me and avoid what's coming... or you can talk to my friends here."

At that, he gestured widely to the table where the torture devices were laid out, a sadistic smirk painted at the corner of his lips.

"I'll ask nicely one more time, and it's in your best interest to be honest with me." he said, this time stepping close enough that he could rest a hand onto the chair and loom over his victim. "How old are you?"

"Fifty." Paul retorted mockingly.

A huff and a brief flash of a smile on Levi's lips were immediately replaced by the pain that erupted in his cheek, the protest of his neck muscles as his head twisted to the side, and the sound of something hitting the floor. All of a sudden, his eyes were blurry with tears, his mouth was full of the metallic taste of blood, and his mind was stunned, trying to process what had happened.

"Wrong." he heard Levi's ever-calm voice coming from above him, and when his gaze cleared, he spotted the tooth that now lay on the floor.

'When... did he hit me?' the Scout mused, at last registering that Levi had punched him; but the man had been so fast his mind was only now catching up to it.

Taking a deep breath and spitting out the blood, he turned back to Levi, whose deadpan stare convinced him he hadn't imagined that punch.

"Alright, you don't want to talk about yourself. Then let's not beat around the bush. I know Floch and your team tried to kill Natalie in Liberio. Why?"

"Fuck you." Paul spat back.

"Fuck me? How about you fuck this?" Levi replied so calmly that it caught Paul off guard.

In that same moment when he read the spark of hesitation in the soldier's eyes, Levi reached down to grab the middle finger of his left hand and push it back until he felt the resistance of the flesh. He saw the muscles in the Scout's cheeks tensing when the man clenched his jaw at the gradually growing pain, heard his breathing pick up until he was heaving, felt the tendons in his finger slowly losing the battle as he kept forcing it to bend backward. And then, with a sickening crunch, he heard the bone popping, the tearing of flesh on the inside, and Paul grunting in pain.

"Why did you try to kill Natalie?" he asked again, taking hold of a second finger.

He could see the realization dawning on the man that he was serious, that he would torture him further if he kept refusing to answer. But the same he could see he was determined not to break, only willing himself to remain calm through the pain and staring him down with that dark scowl while his breath slowly settled.

"Alright." he said, repeating the process at the same slow pace until he could bend that second finger all the way down to the back of Paul's hand.

This time his grunt came louder, his forehead broke out into a layer of sweat and he saw the involuntary tears gathering in the young man's eyes. His heaves were faster now, his healthy hand gripping the armrest so tight that Levi wondered how his fingers weren't breaking on their own.

"I'm really not enjoying this in the least, Paul." he spoke again, as if to a small child.

Straightening his posture and reaching out to tousle the man's hair in an abrupt, almost fatherly manner, he then grasped a tuft of it and pulled until it forced his victim to bend his neck back.

"But I will use whatever means necessary to convince you to talk." the Captain promised. "Why did you try to kill Natalie?"

The bloodied grin he got in reply made him realize he would be getting another mocking retort before Paul even spoke up.

"Fuck you... and that redheaded whore of yours..." he huffed defiantly.

In the same instant when he spoke the last word, he heard the crunch of bone and felt the vertebrae in his neck cracking from the force which had pushed it even further back. Stars were still playing behind his eyes as he came to the realization that the burning pain which had exploded inside his head came from his nose, which was undeniably broken. Then he felt the Captain forcing him to angle his head down so he could get a view of what awaited him, and he saw the red liquid dripping onto his lap, though he was still half-blinded by the pain.

"Wrong." Levi said, as calm as ever. "Paul, I can keep doing this all day."

"Fuck you!" he spat again, glaring at the Captain as much as his forced position allowed him to. "I've had worse than anything you can do!"

"See, I'm of the belief that family is very important." Levi said, at last seeing the soldier's eyes come alive with something other than conviction. "But you didn't really have a nice time with your daddy, did you? After your mother died, you became his stress relief, right?"

In the same motion of releasing his hair, the Captain rounded upon him and punched him in the chin, forcing his head back and stunning him for a moment when he suddenly found himself staring at the ceiling. It was a few seconds before he could register the fact that Levi was now holding his healthy hand, his thumb trailing along the knuckles as though the Captain was taking a moment to admire his fingers.

"You bite your nails." he stated, his thumb tracing the jagged edge. "A habit you no doubt developed as a brat. It's a soothing thing, isn't it? It helps to take your mind off the shitty world around you. It helps to keep the nightmares away... to not remember all the beatings, all the pain, all the neglect; to not remember the hatred burning in your daddy's eyes as he yelled at you."

At last, he looked up to find Paul staring at him with a mixture of horror and disbelief that had nearly drowned out his resolve. Saying nothing else, the Captain stepped away from the hyperventilating soldier and to the table. Taking his time to look over the devices lined up in front of him, he at last reached for a simple metal bar no thicker than his finger, one of its ends chiseled down into a sharp flat edge.

"What you need is help in getting rid of this unsanitary habit. Do you have any idea how much dirt you gather under your nails?"

Releasing a long, deep breath as he contemplated that, he at last turned to the free Interior Police soldier who had been patiently standing nearby.

"Let's make sure we clean his nails properly." he said, gesturing with his chin to the pre-prepared canteen he knew to contain oil.

"Yes, Captain." the soldier replied, retrieving the canteen and pouring the contents into a metal pot, which he went to place atop the reddened coals after stirring them to release some of the heat.

While they waited for the oil to reach its boiling point, Levi no longer even looked at Paul, leaving the Scout to anticipate what he would choose to do. Several times he set down the wedge and picked up other instruments from the table, as though he was contemplating using those instead. But at last, when the assisting soldier returned bearing the heated container, he picked up the wedge again and turned back to his victim.

"Are you going to start talking?" he asked, putting the wedge into the pot and leaving it there to heat up.

"Fuck you, you crazy bastard!"

Sighing and rolling his eyes, the Captain this time reached into the small leather sheath tied to the back of his belt, which contained the knife he had used since before joining the Survey Corps. Taking out the blade that had tasted the blood of so many men, he flipped it backward and stepped forth so fast that Paul only really registered his movement when he felt the edge of the knife pressing down on the base of his finger. Levi's other hand was weighing down onto his left shoulder, and his face was so close now that the soldier could perfectly see the promise in his gaze even before he spoke.

"Say that again, you little shithead. I'll cut off your finger and fuck you bloody with it. And if that won't work, I have plenty of other tools I can shove up there. You won't be able to use your ass to shit ever again."

"Didn't know you were into that freaky shit, Captain." Paul retorted, his snarky tone drawing an ominous scowl from Levi. "Does your little bitch know, or did you already let her fuck you up the ass?"

His mocking grin lasted for all of five seconds before he threw his head back and screamed at the ceiling as Levi leaned back and brought his fist down on top of the blade. The pressure resulted was enough to slice the finger clean off, the Captain's expression not twitching a muscle in wake of what he had just done. Straightening his posture and moving away from the now wailing soldier, he retrieved the wedge, watching for a moment as the viscous liquid dribbled off the metal.

"I'm done being nice." he said, twirling the wedge until the oil stopped dripping. "You don't want to talk, that's fine. But don't think I'm done with you... not by a long shot."

Setting the bloody knife and the finger on the table, he grabbed a dirty cloth and shoved it into Paul's mouth to muffle his voice. Almost at the same time, he pressed the heated metal to the freshly opened wound, and the soldier thrashed in the chair as much as his restraints allowed him, screaming so loudly that even the gag could barely stifle the sound.

Within moments, the room filled with the stench of burned flesh, the boiling oil causing his blood to sizzle. His entire body was alight with pain. A sharp searing pain that came in waves and climbed all the way up his spine, driving countless needles straight into his brain. The ceiling was only a blurry mess of shadows as tears streamed down his face, and when he tried to grip the other armrest out of reflex, he screamed again at the reminder that his other hand had two broken fingers.

It felt like forever until Levi pulled the metal away, tearing the melted skin and flesh in the process and drawing fresh blood from the wound. For a moment he watched the Scout as he heaved through the pain, hunched over in his seat. And when he realized he felt no remorse for what he had done to Paul so far, he knew he was in the right mindset to get through that day without losing his sanity. The Scout was no longer a comrade to him, nor even a human... he was just a sack of meat, bones, and skin that belonged to him to do with as he pleased.

Again he dipped the wedge into the pot, which the Interior Police soldier had replaced onto the coals to keep the oil boiling, and left it there so that the metal could heat back up. Grabbing the tuft of Paul's hair, he pulled the man's head up to look him in the eye and removed the gag, wrinkling his nose at the spit that came out with it.

"Why did you try to kill Natalie? Who helped you plant the bombs in Liberio?" he demanded, his harsh tone losing any and all warmth or friendliness.

For a long moment, Paul did nothing but heave for air, his entire body still shaking from the pain. But then he regained just enough self-control to glare at Levi, the Captain's reflexes being the only thing that allowed him to dodge the mixture of saliva and blood that Paul spat in his face. And when the Ackerman turned back to look at him, was when Paul knew he had gone too far—so ominous was the glint that had come to Levi's eyes.

The gag came back in full force, such that he thought Levi would break his teeth when he shoved the cloth into his mouth. But when the Captain's punch followed and Paul heard his cheekbone crack, he knew the gag was the least of his worries. Grunting and biting into the cloth at the splitting pain that now swirled in his head, he looked back up and though Levi's expression was as calm as ever, the way his nostrils flared with every breath showed just how pissed he was.

The next punch was delivered to his diaphragm and the shock that stunned his lungs made him wonder if he would die. But it wasn't the end... a few moments later, just when his body remembered how to breathe, he felt another hit coming down onto his left eye, leaving him unable to see with it for a while and drawing another muffled scream from him. Just when he thought he would be getting a break, he felt Levi's hand tangling in his hair again and pulling so hard that he thought his scalp would start bleeding. And all of a sudden the Captain's face was so close to his that he could feel the man's breath on his bruised skin.

"Feisty little rat, eh?" he snarled, and instantly Paul's eyes widened at the words he had heard so many times before.

Immediately he was taken back to that shabby, dark, cold house; to the tiny chamber that had served him as both bedroom and cell after his mother's death; to the enraged expression of his father that he could see so vividly in front of his eyes—no longer able to discern the Captain's features over the image his mind had conjured.

"If you think anyone's coming to save you, you pathetic sack of bodily waste, you're dead wrong!" the Captain spat through clenched teeth, his other hand coming up to sink his fingers into Paul's already bruised cheeks. "No one knows you're here! And even if they did, no one gives a shit about you! No one would take the time to even piss on you if you were on fire!"

By now the soldier was whimpering and continuously speaking, though his voice only came out as muffled nonsense from the cloth stuffing his mouth. But Levi knew he had dredged up possibly Paul's worst memories, just from the look in his glassy eyes. Sheer terror, mixed with pain, sorrow, regret; all bathed in the tears continuously streaming down his face—the look he had seen so many times before, both in the Underground and in the Survey Corps. And though his own chest was heaving, the Captain recognized it was from elation when a corner of his mouth tugged involuntarily towards a sadistic smile. He had finally cracked Paul's hard exterior, and it felt fucking good!

"You tried to kill my woman! It's your fault she got hurt, so I'll carve her name into your fucking chest! I'll make sure you remember what you sorry cunts did to her, even after you fucking die!"

When the soldier's muffled voice went on, the Captain again removed the gag, watching as Paul doubled over in his seat while the Interior Police soldier seated at the table went back to writing.

"Please... I'm sorry..." he whimpered. "I'll be a good boy. Please, Dad... I didn't do anything to Mom. Please... please, I'll be good... I'll be good... I'll be good..."

The floor beneath his feet had turned back to the dusty wood of his childhood prison, and Levi's looming presence was nothing more than his father standing over him, catching his breath before he would continue using that leather belt on him. And when the Captain again grabbed him by his hair to pull his head back, all he could see was the enraged expression of his father staring back at him.

'He's too far gone.' the Captain mused, seeing the way Paul was looking through him. 'Maybe I overdid it... now he won't be able to tell us anything even if he wanted to.'

Still, his instinct urged him to make one final attempt at getting something out of him.

"Why did you try to kill Natalie? Who was behind the bombing in Liberio?" he ordered.

'Huh? Why... does Dad know that bitch?' Paul pondered, the idea cutting like a knife through the whirlwind that his mind had become. 'Wait, wha—what am I doing?'

All at once, he recalled his situation, and all the rage and hatred he had felt towards Levi in those hours turned upon the redhead. Everything was her fault! If it weren't for her, none of it would have happened! It was enough for his mind to snap out of that hallucination, and he was once again left staring at Levi's frown, the man's scowl deepening as he saw awareness returning to Paul's eyes.

"You finally ready to talk?" Levi inquired.

He had to admit—even if only to himself—that he was impressed with Paul's resilience and his ability to somehow come back from the verge of a mental breakdown. It was a pity that they had to lose a soldier so mentally strong. But then Paul's face split into a bloody grin just before he burst into manic laughter.

"How does it feel, Levi?" he sneered, dropping any pretense of courtesy; he would not give that stunted runt the satisfaction of betraying his comrades... he would rather die. "You carved up so many fucking Titans... but you can't even break one meager scumbag like me!"

Again he howled with laughter, intentionally trying to push Levi over the edge and make the Captain end his life before he would say anything to betray Floch and his team. And when he saw the murderous glint that lit up Levi's eyes, felt the way his hand clenched into his hair until his scalp hurt, he knew he was on the right track. But then he decided he wouldn't even give Levi the satisfaction of killing him... he would do it himself, on his terms!

"How does it feel, Levi?" he asked again. "I may be a worthless piece of shit, but at least I'm not flea-ridden Underground waste like you! You're just a second-hand thug who wants to play at being a soldier! Well, you can go to hell and take that manipulative sow with you!"

Before Levi could react, Paul saw the Captain's eyes widening when he stuck out his tongue and bit down hard enough to sever the muscle clean in half. His painful scream echoed at the ceiling, mixed with the gurgle of blood. But his attempt to choke on it was thwarted when Levi forced him to angle his head down and let it drain on the floor.

"Cauterize that and get him the fuck out of my sight!" the Captain ordered.

He was positively shaking with rage and at that moment didn't trust himself to not just shove the knife into Paul's throat and be done with him. While the two Interior soldiers moved to do as he had said before dragging the passed-out Scout out of the room, Levi was left there to heave through the anger, clenching and unclenching his fists repeatedly and gritting his teeth.

=0=0=

Now that he was alone in the room, while they brought Liam for his turn, Levi was left to lean onto the table with his head lowered. He had struggled for so long to leave that side of himself behind, to become a better man. And now that his mind had been given a reprieve, the full magnitude of what he had just done to his fellow soldier was soul-crushing. If he'd had any less self-control, he probably would have burst into tears right then and there. And the thought that he had to do it all over again to Liam—if that idiot refused to talk as well—felt like lead on his shoulders.

'She doesn't even know...' he mused, all of a sudden, his chest tightening at the thought of how Natalie would react when she found out.

Would she be angry? Would she call him a monster? Would she give him that soft, disappointed look—as she had on the beach when he'd admitted to never fully believing her? That look that would tear him to shreds and again make him feel like he didn't deserve her; like she was just too pure for a piece of trash like him; like he could never give her enough to make up for the gap between them.

The sound of footsteps and voices in the hallway had him open his eyes, and all at once he was again in his work mindset, his emotions locked away to deal with later. When he looked over as the two Interior Police soldiers opened the door to drag Liam in, he saw his fellow Scout gulp at his scowl. But to his credit, he managed to keep his composure as he was forcefully seated in the chair and strapped in.

Taking a deep breath before telling one soldier to get the oil pot off the coals, he turned to face Liam while adjusting his gloves. As with Paul, he took a moment to assess the man while mentally reviewing the file Erwin had given him to try and find any weak spots.

Liam was nineteen years old—and Levi felt even worse upon recalling that, instantly seeing Eren and the rest of his squad in him. Unlike Paul, he'd had a normal life until then; his father was a retired Scout, having lost a leg outside the Walls. Zackley had decorated him for his bravery and allowed him to retire, to live the rest of his life as a war veteran. His mother was a nurse at the Trost hospital, and his younger sister was only a few months away from joining the Cadet Corps, wanting to follow in his footsteps and join the Survey Corps.

"Look, how about you spare yourself a world of hurt right now, by talking to me?" he asked; he knew he had an ace up his sleeve with Liam if the boy refused to talk, but he dearly hoped it wouldn't get to that.

"I can't, Captain." the Scout replied after a long silence.

Did he believe Levi would spare him the torture if he talked? Not really... he had seen the aftermath of it on Paul as they dragged him back to his cell. He didn't know what his teammate had told them, if anything, but he was resolved to not betray the ones who had helped them for the sake of all Eldians' future. He saw the faint motion of muscle beneath the skin on Levi's face when the Captain clenched his jaw, saw the way his eyes narrowed in annoyance, and followed his gaze as he nodded to the Interior Police soldier holding the oil pot.

"Please, Captain..." he said, drawing Levi's eyes back to him. "You and Commander Erwin know that what we believe isn't wrong; I know you do. You're both too smart to not know it."

"Know what? That you and your team tried to kill a comrade? Tried to make us lose one of the Titan Powers? That you almost got us all killed in Marley? Yes, we know that already... why do you think you're here, now?"

"It was necessary."

The sheer conviction in Liam's voice sent the faintest of shivers along Levi's spine, like a drop of ice-cold water sliding down his back.

"Why? Why did you decide Natalie had to die? Why her?" he demanded, moving to stand over the seated man.

"It is necessary." Liam repeated, his eyes never leaving Levi's despite the coil of terror in his stomach. "A peaceful outcome will never be possible, you know that, sir. We have tried the diplomatic approach for four years with no results. Marley will never let us live in peace; the only way to achieve a peaceful future is to destroy them."

"So why Natalie?"

"Because she's the one standing in the way of that future. She's so blinded by her desire for peace that she can't see her way of trying to achieve it is unrealistic. Even when Marley bombs us into oblivion, she would still try to befriend them. I don't want to kill any of my comrades... but I believe in Floch's dream of restoring the Eldian Empire with Eren's help. I believe that's the only way to achieve true peace."

"Tell me who helped you, outside of your team." Levi retorted after taking a moment to ensure he had full control over his voice. "Who helped you plant the bombs in Liberio?"

"I'm sorry; I can't tell you that, Captain."

"Is that so? Do you think apologizing will just erase the fact that you killed so many innocent people? That you tried to kill Natalie?"

"No... but if I had to, I would do it all over again. I believe in Floch's vision for our future."

His last word was almost cut off by the pain that suddenly blew up inside his head, spreading in searing waves from his left cheek and making him grunt through clenched teeth. He had felt his teeth rattling and only then realized Levi had punched him.

"I don't have time to waste on this shit." he heard the Captain saying, at the same time as he felt the man grabbing one of his fingers in a vice-like grip.

Before Liam could fully process what was happening, a scream tore itself from his chest when the heated steel was pushed beneath his fingernail. The combination of the sharp pain as the bond between the nail and the skin beneath it was forcefully severed, along with the burn from the oil that made the flesh and blood sizzle, nearly made him pass out.

"Tell me who helped you plant the bombs!" Levi ordered, while Liam thrashed in his seat and screamed at the ceiling. "Give me names!"

Only after the nail had been completely freed of the nail bed did Levi pull the wedge away from his finger to give him a reprieve. Watching as he heaved through the pain, doubled over in his seat, he returned the metal instrument to the oil pot and reached for the pliers on the table.

"I'll only ask this one more time and you'd better have an answer for me." the Captain warned, grabbing his finger again and pinching the nail with the pliers. "Who helped you plant the bombs in Liberio? Who gave you all those explosives? I want the names!"

"I... can't..." Liam panted. "I won't..."

"Wrong answer." Levi scowled, deliberately slow in pulling the nail completely free from the Scout's finger and drawing another shriek from him.

Overall, he had repeated the process four times—despite knowing that Liam wouldn't talk if he hadn't cracked at the first nail. But the Scout was resilient, despite not seeming like the type to be so.

"I can't... I can't... I can't..."

Taking another moment to watch him whimper those words like a prayer, the Captain at last set the pliers down.

"We're taking a break." he said to the other two, moving to step out of the room with them in tow.

"It doesn't look good, Captain." one of the soldiers contemplated.

"I'm running out of time." Levi scowled, adjusting his gloves again.

He knew it was almost time for the rest of his team to leave Trost, and if he wasn't there, they would start looking for him. He had ordered Natalie to lead them back without him, but he knew her too well—she would sooner order Jean to do that instead, while she stayed behind to wait for him.

"Maybe..." the other soldier spoke up, drawing his attention. "What about dry drowning?"

"What's that?" the Captain inquired.

"You saw that inclined table in there, right?" the Interior Police soldier asked, speaking again after Levi nodded. "We strap him there, head down, cover his face with a cloth, and pour water over it. It makes them think they're drowning when they're actually not. In between doses, we can interrogate him further. It never fails to give results, and fairly quick at that."

"It could work... if he breaks, he'll break fast with this." the other soldier agreed.

"Not like we have much of a choice. Alright."

At the Captain's nod, the two followed him back inside where they moved Liam from the chair onto said table. All the while, the Scout only moaned in pain, though the look in his eyes made Levi doubtful their new method would work.

'Damn it... I don't want to traumatize that kid, for this.' he clenched his jaw. 'Just break before that, you piece of shit!'

With his wrists and ankles shackled, one of the soldiers returned to his seat at the table to keep writing, while the other placed the cloth over Liam's face and went to retrieve the water bucket they had prepared at the start. At Levi's nod, he raised it and began pouring a steady stream onto the cloth.

Instantly Liam stiffened and when he turned his head to the side, Levi realized this wasn't a one-man job. Stepping over to the table, he reached down to grab Liam's head and hold it still, facing upwards. At first, the Scout held his breath for as long as he could before he started gasping and wheezing, and Levi heard the faint gurgle of him inhaling water. Nodding to the Interior Police soldier to pause, he pulled the cloth aside, leaving Liam to gasp and cough and try to pull air into his lungs again.

"Who helped you plant the bombs in Liberio?" he asked once he was certain Liam could speak again. "Give me their names!"

"I... I can't..." the Scout coughed, barely choking the words out. "I won't... betray my comrades..."

"You already did; we were your comrades." Levi scowled, covering his face again.

Even knowing what was coming now, it still startled Liam when the water first fell onto his face. His lungs and throat again clenched up when he inhaled a few water drops, forcefully trying to expel them from his body by making him cough. But with nothing aside from water to inhale in place of air, his brain was tricked again into thinking he was drowning. His chest hurt and felt like an iron corset around his lungs, and he wondered if he would really die—if he would have to leave his family behind.

Then the water stopped again, and the cloth came off, and it took a moment for his lungs to remember how to work. He felt nauseous and there was this throbbing pain in his head and his eyes stung and he couldn't breathe properly, only choking on the water he had inhaled each time he tried to pull air into his lungs.

"Who helped you plant the bombs in Liberio?" he heard Levi's voice as though it was echoing in his skull and realized his ears were clogged.

"I... can't... please, Captain..." he wheezed.

Again the cloth blocked his vision, and he tried pulling in a deep breath to hold it, only for the water to come rushing over his face just as he was doing that. With how much water he had inhaled, he spasmed violently against his restraints before darkness took him. When he came to, he was on his side on the table, his head angled down and he felt the painful fist that hit him between his shoulder blades, forcing the water out of his lungs in a series of throat-irritating coughs and hacks. For a few moments, he was permitted to stay like that, wheezing and gulping air into his starved lungs. He didn't know what the stench that stung his nose was until Levi, at last, pulled him onto his back. When he felt the creamy moisture around his genitals, he realized he had probably pissed and shit in his pants before passing out.

Over and over they repeated the process for the following two hours until, at last, Levi had had enough.

"Get him back in the chair." he ordered, wrinkling his nose in both anger and disgust at the revolting stench they had no way of getting out of the room until it was over and they could open the door.

"Alright. You won't talk... then maybe someone else will."

With that, the Captain removed his gloves and left the room—alone this time—and Liam actually hoped for a moment that it was all over; that he had managed to not betray Floch and his friends. It was only a couple of minutes later, however, when he heard footsteps in the hallway again through the door left wide open. And then... then that voice reached his ears, quivering in fear.

"Where are you taking me? What's going on?"

When Levi appeared in the doorway, was when genuine horror finally overtook Liam's features, his eyes fixated on the blindfolded girl in the Captain's grasp.

"...Yasmin!"

=0=0=

~ The previous morning ~

"What do you think, Levi?" Erwin inquired as the Captain examined the files of the two Scouts, with Armin looking on in apprehension.

"I don't know about Paul. He might be too tough to break, but I'll do my best. Liam, on the other hand..."

At that, he paused with a long sigh and pulled out the portrait of a young girl from the dossier, showing it to the Commander.

"If the torture doesn't break him, this will."

Even Erwin had to admit he was unsettled by what Levi's words and tone implied, as shown in the subtle way his eyes widened.

"Are you sure there's no other way? Paul and Liam are one thing... but I would rather you don't live with the burden of doing this to a little girl."

"What?!" Armin sucked in a sharp breath, at last understanding where Levi was going with that idea. "C-Captain, you can't!"

"I'll do whatever I have to." Levi replied, closing the file and placing it back onto Erwin's desk. "This isn't just about Natalie. They killed so many people... and we all almost died because of them."

"But... a child?" the blond deflated, racking his brain for an idea before at last, it struck him and he perked up again. "Wait! Commander, could we talk to Liam's family first?"

"What are you thinking?" Erwin inquired.

"His father's a retired Scout, correct? Then perhaps his parents could convince him to cooperate with us. Or... at least we could have them suggest how to deal with—"

"Are you going to be the one to tell them we're about to torture their son?" Levi cut him off.

"I..." Armin gulped, before straightening up and nodding with determination. "I will! If you can do what you need to do, if you can discard your humanity when you have to, so can I."

Staring him down for a long moment in which Armin didn't flinch, Levi finally turned back to Erwin.

"Well?"

"I'll send someone to call his family here." Erwin nodded.

It was almost half an hour before the office door opened after a knock, revealing a middle-aged man limping in aided by a crutch, followed by a similarly aged woman and a young dark-haired girl. The man was wearing the Survey Corps uniform, one leg of his pants folded and sewn to mold to the stump that had once been his right leg.

"Commander, Captain." the man saluted. "Forgive us for keeping you waiting..."

"It is no problem, Silvio." Erwin nodded alongside Levi.

"How may I be of service?"

"There is an issue regarding your son, that we have trouble resolving."

"What has that foolish boy done now?" the veteran sighed with the air of a long-suffering companion.

"One of our squad leaders has gone off the rails, and Liam was stupid enough to buy into his bullshit." Levi replied. "He not only took part in a bombing that killed dozens of innocent people, but was also part of the group who tried to kill one of our comrades directly."

He did feel sorry for the couple, watching as their expressions morphed into a mixture of horror and disappointment. If anything, he would have rather spared Liam for their sake... but there was no way around it if he refused to cooperate.

"He is imprisoned right now along with one of his teammates, and Premier Zackley has authorized the use of any means to get him talking." Erwin concurred, knowing from Silvio's gaze that he understood what that implied. "I would prefer to spare Liam from such and I was hoping, as his parents, that you might be able to tell us how to get through to him."

"You won't." the veteran replied after a long, deathly silence. "That boy's been mulishly stubborn since he was born. Do what you have to do."

Though his expression didn't show it, Erwin could see the anguish that was more than obvious in his eyes. He couldn't imagine what it must have felt like for him and his wife to know their son would be tortured; what it must have taken for Silvio to give his permission for them to do that to his child.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry." Levi spoke up in the deafening stillness that had engulfed the office after the veteran's last words. "I'll also need your daughter for this."

His wife and daughter were still rooted to the spot, staring blankly ahead like living statues, only the Captain's voice startling them back to reality. While the woman stared at him like he had grown three heads, it was the young girl who surprised all of them by stepping forth.

"What do I need to do, sir?" she asked, her hardened expression giving no hint to the heart pounding in her ears.

At first, Levi only stared her down, his very soul withering inside him at the thought that he would have to hurt her. And so it caught him off guard when Armin stepped forth at his side to speak.

"How good are you at acting?"

"As good as I need to be." she replied, unflinching.

"We'll trick your brother into thinking you're going to be hurt if he doesn't tell us who was involved in this, right Captain?" Armin said, looking over to Levi who finally caught on to his idea.

"Yeah. But for it to work, we need him to believe that. So you have to be good at pretending."

"I'm good at it if I have to be." she assured him with a curt nod.

=0=0=

Levi was certain that at least partially Yasmin wasn't acting. The way she was trembling in his hands was definitely no act, even if the pitiful mewls and the tears might have been.

"No, please Captain!" the Scout cried out even before Levi had had a chance to threaten her in any way. "She has nothing to do with this! Please!"

"...Aniki?" the girl whimpered, her voice tremulous and strangled, and Levi felt his soul wither again in his chest.

'Isabel...'

The redhead's grin flashed in his mind at that familiar moniker, and he had to clench his jaw, to consciously will himself to continue.

"Give me the names!" he ordered, pulling the girl to stand between them, facing Liam.

Holding her tied wrists with one hand, he brought the other up to grab her face, forcing her lips to purse when his fingers dug into her cheeks.

"Your brother's been a bad boy." he said ominously in her ear, his eyes never leaving Liam's terrified stare. "How about you tell me who helped him, hm? If you do, I'll let you both go."

"She doesn't know anything, Captain!" the Scout replied. "Please, she's not involved in this at all!"

"See, I'm having a hard time believing you Liam after you lied to me already." Levi retorted, shaking the girl's head lightly, almost playfully, to taunt him. "You lied to all of us—your comrades—and helped to destroy so many innocent lives. And you're still refusing to tell the truth. How can I believe you when you tell me she doesn't know anything?"

"Aniki, please... help me..." Yasmin sobbed. "What's happening?"

"What's happening is that you're going to give me some answers, in place of your dear brother here." Levi replied before Liam could reassure her. "And if you don't, I'll have to punish you. Who helped your brother plan the bombing in Liberio?"

"...What? I don't know... what are you talking about?"

"She doesn't know anything, Captain! No one in my family knew!" Liam begged, horrified to his core at the idea that he would have to watch his sister going through anything remotely similar to him. "Please, I'm telling the truth! They have nothing to do with this! Not her and not my parents! Please!"

"Well?" Levi spoke again after a long moment of letting the silence loom ominously over them, ignoring Liam's pleas. "Are you going to be a good girl and answer me?"

"I... don't know what you're... talking about... please..." she hiccupped.

"Is that so?" the Captain sighed, doing his best to paint a sadistic smirk on his face. "Looks like your parents didn't raise you very well. They didn't teach you that it's not nice to lie to people older than you. But don't you worry your pretty little head... we'll fix that."

Straightening his posture, he gestured to the standing soldier, who took the girl from him and shackled her facing the nearest wall. At the same time, Levi perused the torture items displayed on the table before finally settling on picking up a riding crop.

"What do you think? Will this be good enough to teach your sister some manners?" he inquired, making a show of trailing the flat leather head of the whip along Liam's cheek.

When the Scout didn't give an immediate answer, the Captain narrowed his eyes and pulled his arm back, smacking Liam across the face with it.

"I asked you a question!" he demanded, taking a moment to examine the red mark left behind and finally smirking again. "No matter... I'll just see for myself."

"No, please! She has nothing to do with this, Captain!" Liam cried out, struggling against his shackles to no avail as Levi walked over to Yasmin.

"It's up to you, Liam. Give me names or I'll make her ass bleed; she'll never sit down again!" he promised.

Again the Scout clamped up, and Levi was left to sigh with an air of mock sympathy.

"Alright."

At that, he positioned himself to the girl's right and pulled his arm back for the first hit, ignoring Liam's begging and the sounds of him thrashing in his seat. And then, just as his arm was sweeping an arch toward the girl's posterior...

"It was Yelena!"

The Scout's desperate scream halted Levi's hand just inches away from hitting her, and he turned to regard Liam—doubled over in his seat and sobbing.

"It was Yelena!" he spat out through clenched teeth, ashamed to his core that he'd had to betray Floch; but there was simply no way he could sit there and watch his sister go through that. "She had a Volunteer inside the Marleyan army—Elias. He made the explosives for us. I don't know which of the Volunteers planted them, only she and Floch know the names. Please, that's all I know... it's all I know..."

For a terrifyingly long moment, silence reigned in the room until at last, he heard footsteps approaching his chair and looked up to meet Levi's emotionless stare.

"That wasn't so hard now, was it?" he said in a deadpan tone.

When he looked back to the girl, Liam followed his gaze to see the Interior Police soldier unchaining his sister and removing her blindfold, allowing her to come stand next to the Captain.

"Yas... are you alright?" he asked, relieved that she looked unharmed.

But his sister ignored his question in favor of turning to properly face Levi, placing her left hand behind her back and bringing her right fist up to place it over her heart, just like their father had taught them.

"Well done." the Captain praised her, reaching out to briefly tousle her hair. "I'll make sure to put in a good word for you with Erwin. Stick to your training and you might just make the ranks when you're done with boot camp."

"Yasmin... what... what is this?"

At her brother's shocked tone, the girl finally turned back to him with a frown and a stare that froze him to his core.

"This is me trying to erase the shame you brought on our family, you idiot." she replied. "Do you know how you embarrassed Father and Mother in front of Commander Erwin with this? Unlike you, I choose to offer my heart up for Paradis instead of chasing after some batshit crazy asshole and his deranged ideals."

~ oOo ~

"I wonder what's holding the Captain." Jean contemplated as the team finished up with saddling the horses.

The supply carts were ready as well, three of their comrades waiting to drive them to the forest. Levi had been supposed to meet them there an hour earlier, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Yeah, it's not like him to be this late." Connie agreed.

"Maybe Commander Erwin had some business with him?" Sasha suggested.

From where she was standing, rubbing the side of Ran's face, Natalie could hear the impatience in their tone. And she didn't blame them; for someone who had drilled it into their bones to never be tardy, Levi doing it was something completely out of the ordinary. And the way his gaze had sent that icy shiver down her spine before the meeting was something she couldn't get out of her head.

"We're wasting time, like this." she at last decided, turning to the others. "Jean. You're in charge... get the others back to camp."

"Huh? What about you?"

"I'll see what's keeping Levi. We'll catch up later." she replied, moving her gaze to Eren. "Be careful."

Something was afoot and she would be damned if she didn't get to the bottom of it. But there was also an uneasiness hanging heavy in her chest that had made her issue the warning to Eren.

"Are you sure?"

Jean's question caught her off guard and drew her attention back to him, and the look in his eyes told her he had caught on that something was amiss.

"Yeah, you take care of them alright?" she nodded, moving to lead Ran back to his pen.

While the team went to obey her order and mount, she stood in the doorway of the stables to watch until they rode out of the yard into the streets of Trost. Taking a deep breath, she turned on her heel and went back inside the main building, heading to Erwin's office to check if Levi was there.

"Come in!" she heard the Commander call out at her knock.

Looking up from the papers he had been writing, she saw the surprise in his eyes at seeing her.

"Commander, do you know where Levi is?" she asked before he could speak. "He was supposed to meet us here an hour ago."

Had she not been staring intently at him, she would have missed that subtle twitch of the brow that showed he wasn't telling her something.

"Erwin..." she said in a softer tone, after approaching his desk, as though afraid someone might overhear her addressing him so informally. "What's going on? Levi's been acting oddly before the meeting with Historia. I know something's happening."

Briefly, the Commander contemplated telling her, but ultimately realized it was up to Levi if he wanted to subject her to that knowledge or not.

"Levi was busy with a task I asked him to do. He just left the office about ten minutes ago, saying he needed a shower."

"That—" she spoke up, before sighing at his roundabout way of answering. "It's not the entire answer I was looking for, but I suppose it'll have to do. I'll just get it out of Levi."

Offering a salute, she left the office, and Erwin released a breath he hadn't even noticed he was holding in under her stern, skeptical stare. And upon that realization, he couldn't help smiling to himself; to think how far she had come from that shy yet stubborn girl he had met nearly a decade before, that she could have that kind of effect on him. He could only hope Levi was as proud of her as he now felt.

Meanwhile, Natalie was stalking toward Levi's room, only to realize he wasn't there after knocking, receiving no answer, and poking her head in to find the room empty. Deciding that she wasn't about to let him get away without answering, she stepped inside and closed the door to wait for him.

'Huh... I've never been in here alone.' she mused, as it dawned on her that it was the first time she had entered that bedroom without Levi.

Everything was, of course, pristine and perfectly organized—not that she ever expected any less from him. But, though she had been in his room on several occasions, now that she was alone, it was like seeing it for the first time. Now she noticed the books aligned on his desk just beneath the windowsill—all titles she had suggested that he read. Now she noticed the small vase atop the sill, holding a lone white daisy—her favorite flower. And then her eyes fell upon the leather-bound booklet resting on the bedside table, her name stamped into the cover in cursive writing.

Her curiosity piqued, she walked over to pick it up. She couldn't remember ever giving him something like that, and it made no sense why he would have it. Opening the cover, she was caught off guard at the sight of a red rose pressed between the pages. Beneath it, in Levi's neat handwriting, was that day's date alongside a few lines that made her chest tighten with emotion and brought a smile to her lips.

15/06/854

You know I've never been good with words like you, so I won't pretend like I am now. And you already know everything I'm about to say, so I'll keep it short. I'm sure you have no idea why I picked today. But today four years ago, I suppose you can say we officially got together. It wasn't the first night we spent together, but it was the first time I got to see you without any pretense, without any masks. Since then you only ever showed me that real you, and it's still the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I can't ever thank you enough for being in my life, for keeping your word through all of those insane promises you made, for always coming back to me against all odds.

It's unlike me to think about the future so often, but I can't help it whenever I think of you. I can't help hoping that one day we'll get to stop fighting; that we'll have our own house one day; that one day I'll get to see you holding our child. But until then, I'll keep doing my best to live for you, just like you promised to live for me. I love you.

Yours,

Levi

As if on cue, she heard the doorknob and looked up from where she had taken a seat on his bed, to Levi's surprised expression at finding her there. His damp hair and the towel hanging around his neck told her he had just finished his shower.

"Well... can't even keep a surprise from you these days, you nosy brat." he commented upon seeing her holding the journal.

Closing the door, he threw the towel over the back of the chair at the desk and went to sit at her side, only to stiffen briefly when Natalie wrapped her arms around him.

"I can't believe you even remember that night anymore."

Her tone told him she was joking, but he still reached to pinch her cheek.

"Now look here, you—I haven't gone senile just yet." he retorted, drawing his hand back when she tried to swat it away, only to grab her chin and pull her face closer for a kiss. "That night was important to me too, not just to you... I made the best decision of my life back then. The only one I never regretted."

Though she looked flattered and her cheeks turned that rosy shade he had come to love so much, he could read in her eyes that she saw through his attempt to distract her.

"If you're trying to get away from me asking why you were late—"

"Don't ask." he cut her off, catching her off guard with the pleading note in his tone.

"Levi—"

"If you ask, I won't be able to hold back from answering. So don't ask..."

"...Was it that bad?" she whispered, her expression and her voice easing toward that familiar soothing note, while she reached up to run her fingers through his hair.

"Worse."

"And you think I'll be upset with you if you tell me? That I'll think you're a monster?"

He knew what she was doing. He knew she was using that damn smart tongue of hers to coax it out of him. He knew that she knew he would answer any question she asked... that deep down he needed to let it out, to tell her what he had done. But when he clenched up, fighting with himself over whether to say it or not, she huffed softly and wrapped him in her arms.

"If you really don't want to talk about it, then don't." she whispered, pressing a kiss at the base of his neck before resting her cheek on his shoulder. "But you know I'll never judge you for anything you had to do. Even if you consider yourself a monster, I never will. You're just Levi... my Levi."

The sigh that left him was so deep, she could have sworn his very soul had been forced out of his body. And when he finally returned her embrace, she knew he would tell her.

"Just make sure you don't let this slip in front of anyone. Heaven knows the Survey Corps doesn't need any more negative rumors flying around."

When she tried to lean back to see his face, his hand pressed gently to the back of her head to hold her in place while he talked next to her ear.

"Erwin got permission from Zackley to interrogate those two we caught. He allowed us to make use of any means at our disposal to get information out of them."

"And you were those 'any means'?"

"I—" he choked, and Natalie could picture the pained look on his face just from the way his tone had changed. "I thought I wasn't the same person anymore... that filthy Underground rat that only knew violence and cruelty. I tried so hard to become a better man—even more so after you came into my life. And I thought I'd done it. Maybe not completely, but I thought I was much better than before. You made me want to be better and to show that to everyone else; even more to myself. But after all that, here I am, doing the same bullshit I did before. You have no idea what I did to those boys today. And as disgusting as it sounds when I remembered what they did to you... a part of me enjoyed it."

In the heavy silence, the only thing offering him any semblance of comfort was how tightly she was holding him, the heartbeat he could feel through her chest pressed so tightly to his, the breaths warming his neck.

"I'm no better than I was before Erwin found me." he concluded before she could find the words to speak. "I tried so hard to become a better man, to become someone you could be proud of, someone who would deserve you. But I'm not..."

"But you are." Natalie at last replied, her loving, reassuring whisper ghosting over his skin. "You always have been and you always will be."

Again, she pressed a loving kiss to his skin and he, almost out of reflex, began sifting his fingers through her soft hair.

"Oh, Levi..." she sighed, and he felt the resigned yet adoring smile in her tone. "You're the only one who can't see what a wonderful heart you have; how much you care about everyone but yourself. I wish you hadn't taken on this burden, but I know why you did it. You did it because you're too kind not to. You chose to bear this so no one else would have to, I know. Levi, there's no other man alive who could ever deserve me. There's no one I could ever love the way I love you; no one I could want the way I want you."

At last, he allowed her to lean back just enough so she could look him in the eye, but he still felt the need to hold her so close that he felt her breath on his lips as she spoke. He was too afraid to let go of her, because all he could see in his mind was her walking away from him, disgusted by what he had done.

"Levi." she whispered, startling him when her hands warmed his cheeks and her lips touched his in one of the tenderest kisses she had offered him until then.

"What was that for?"

"You were so far away, I had to try and bring you back to me somehow."

The startled stare he returned to her loving smile had her tilt her head with an amused huff.

"Did you expect me to be upset with you?" she asked, her smile turning bittersweet. "How could I, when it's my fault? I felt something was wrong with Floch since that night in the mess hall. Call it intuition or whatever, but I knew I had to be careful around him. I should have been more careful... and then you wouldn't have had to go through this."

"Sometimes you say such stupid things I don't even know what to do with you."

His reply and the way he intentionally bumped his forehead against hers were enough to silence her just long enough for Levi to claim another kiss.

"Whether you got injured or not, whether they shot at you or not, I still would have had to do this. If not for you, then for all the innocent people they blew to bits over there. You were just... better motivation for me." he retorted, before sighing at the look on her face. "Yes, I know you'll keep thinking it's your fault because you're stupidly kind like that, but—"

"It's not that." she interjected. "I just hope that in the future you won't try to keep things like this from me anymore. I know..." she smiled at the change in his expression. "I love you so much for the way you always try to protect me. But you can't keep me in a glass case, Levi. We're both in this relationship and I want to shoulder your burdens, the same way you shouldered mine even before you loved me back."

The following silence she allowed to take its course undisturbed, knowing from the look in his eyes that he was mulling over her words.

"You're right." he admitted in the end. "I've become so afraid of losing you after all this time that I keep forgetting how strong you are, even without me. I'm sorry..." he sighed, moving his lips to her forehead. "...I'll try my best to stop coddling you."

In some ways, he now realized, he still saw her as that little girl from the alleyway, clinging to him, her face full of tears and snot. She was right. He needed to let go of that and treat her like she deserved. It would be not only a test of his willpower to stop babysitting her but also proof that he trusted her, that he saw her for the capable soldier that she was, for the intelligent woman she had proven herself to be over and over. It would be proof that he considered her what he should have from the start... his equal.

In the end, Natalie had, as usual, talked him into trying to get some sleep. He had argued that they had to catch up to their squad, but she wouldn't have it.

"They'll be fine. They're past the age when they needed babysitters." she had said, leaving him no room to counter.

And so he had given in and done as she said on the condition that she stayed with him. He had lied back with her at his side, letting the warmth of her body and the way her hand slowly moved across his chest and the rhythm of her soft breaths lull him to sleep.

=0=0=

The next thing he knew, he was in the forest somewhere amidst the trees, hanging from one of the colossal trunks by his cables. Before him lied a huge clearing like nothing he had seen before in the giant forests, forming an almost perfect circle amidst the trees surrounding him on all sides. He couldn't remember getting up there, nor why he had done so, but upon realizing he couldn't see the camp, he felt the icy hand of anxiety creeping up his spine.

"Yelena."

The sudden whisper right in his ear made him lose his footing, and he was grateful that the anchors didn't snap to let him fall. Immediately redressing himself, he glanced around but saw no one, and yet that voice sounded vaguely familiar. Then the forest around him came alive with the torrent of birds that fled from the canopy, darkening the clear sky, then the flood of animals stampeding below him, clearly running from something. The eerie quiet and stillness left in their wake was unsettling, and he recognized by how his senses had sharpened that he was on the verge of a battle.

"It was Yelena!"

The distant echo startled him, another joining it before it completely faded. Then another and another and another, louder and louder, until the entire forest resounded of a cacophony repeating the same phrase: it was Yelena. Eventually, he had to cover his ears, still frantically glancing around for a source, and then just as abruptly as the shouts had started they died out, returning the forest to its uncanny quiet.

At last, he heard a movement in the underbrush and—against his better judgment—hurried to descend onto the grass, only to realize the midday light had turned to the reddish hues of sunset. Peering over to where the sound was coming from, he realized he couldn't see past the edge of the forest at all, as though the shadows had formed a veil so thick it resembled a dark wall.

It took all he had to keep himself from taking a step back when all of a sudden, a body pierced the darkness, falling onto its face. The blonde hair allowed him to recognize it was Zeke, and he felt himself walking over as though someone else was using his body to do so. He was visible only down to the waist, his lower half still engulfed by the impenetrable shadows. His clothes bore burn marks and his hair was singed at the tips. And when he crouched and reached for his shoulder, Zeke startled him by grabbing his wrist.

"Levi..." he groaned, and the Captain recognized the wheezing of someone who was dying from smoke poisoning. "Where were you? Why weren't you there?"

At last, the shifter turned his head sideways to look up at him and Levi felt his jaw clenching at the sight; his face was burned, half of it nothing more than exposed muscle through which he could see the white of the skull in places.

"Why? Where were you, Levi?" he asked again, his wide, desperate eyes sending an icy shiver down the Captain's spine. "Why weren't you there, Levi?! Levi! Levi!"

Instinct made him try to free his hand and stand, but Zeke's grasp was like lead and all he could do was to sit there staring back into the shifter's gaze as he called his name over and over. He couldn't tell how he knew from just hearing his name, from just the vice-like grip Zeke had on his wrist, but he knew the shifter was asking for his help. Then the disembodied voice returned, adding its own mantra to Zeke's frantic pleas until Levi wondered how his eardrums weren't bleeding already.

"It was Yelena!"

"Levi!"

"It was Yelena!"

"Why?!"

"It was Yelena!"

"Why weren't you there?!"

"It was Yelena!"

"Where were you, Levi?!"

"It was Yelena!"

"Levi!"

"It was Yelena!"

"Levi!"

"It was Yelena!"

"Levi!"

=0=0=

With a strangled gasp, he suddenly found himself staring at the ceiling of his room. His chest was heaving, and he was drenched in sweat, he could tell by how the shirt had stuck to his body.

"Levi!"

Natalie's voice startled him and drew another choked gasp from him, his eyes zeroing in on her concerned, teary expression. She was kneeling on the bed at his side, hands on his shoulders, and he realized she had been trying to shake him awake.

"Are you alright? You were thrashing in your sleep."

Rather than replying, he sat up and wrapped an arm around her, prompting her to hug him tightly. And when the scent of her rose perfume filled his mind, he felt the tension in his muscles start to ease. Sighing in relief, he closed his eyes and sank into her warmth; he was exhausted and wanted nothing but to go back to sleep right there, in her arms.

"Did you have a bad dream?"

Her soft question made his eyelids fly open, and his mind instantly recalled every bit of the nightmare. Pulling away from her, he glanced to the window and felt a chill coursing his entire body at the reddish sunset hues outside. Upon turning back to Natalie, he saw the moment when she realized it was something serious just from how her gaze changed, before his urgently spoken words had even reached her.

"We have to go back to camp... now!"

---

Sooo today's replies for my lovely reviewers :D

1. aLeexheaven - I can't tell you how happy I am that you picked up on that, because that's exactly what Natalie is supposed to be for her squad. I've done my best to build her and Levi into sort of "adoptive parents" for their team, and I tried to do it subtly that it wouldn't seem like I was trying too hard. But I'm so glad you picked up on it. As for her actually being a mother... well, we'll have to see how the future turns out ;)

2. RobbiS76 - Hahaha I can actually imagine him biting his tongue to hold back a chuckle... or maybe being too surprised that Historia would even be bold enough to make such a statement so directly. But he certainly was impressed with what she did; whether he was impressed in a good way or a bad way... well, that's probably apparent already after reading this newest chapter.

So these are my replies for today. Cheers, lovelies~ ( ˘ ³˘)❤