Nathalie returned back to the small establishment that housed the Special Operations Squad. The kids were there. Connie and Jean were chopping firewood and Sasha was practicing her aiming skills, shooting arrows on a target that she had set nearby. Nathalie was willing to bet, Eren, Mikasa and Armin were inside making dinner. She should probably go help them.

Historia was sent to the Capital to learn the nobility's manners and other things that Nathalie barely knew about. Her coronation was to take place two days from now and the people in the Capital had started making the proper preparations for the crowning ceremony and the celebrations afterwards. Rumour said that the celebrations were to last a week.

Nathalie unmounted her horse and she settled it at the small stable to eat hay and drink water, before she returned at the kids. They stopped what they were doing and they turned to welcome her with their smiles.

"Hey, Nat!"

"How come you return earlier than the Captain?" Jean asked as he rested a hand on his waist.

The boys didn't seem to have noticed it. Nathalie was fairly certain the wind had dried off her tears, but Sasha was much less oblivious than the other two. Sasha only gasped. Her hands found Nathalie's shoulders, grasping tightly.

"Were you crying?!" Sasha cried out worriedly.

"What?!" Connie cried out confusedly. His hand found Nathalie's shoulder. "Are you okay? What happened?!"

"Did that smug midget hurt you?!" Jean cried out angrily. "If so, he and I are gonna have some words when he gets back,"

"There's no way any of us has the guts to have a few words with Captain Levi," Connie grinned.

"It's alright, guys, I'm- I'm fine," It came out way more pathetic than she hoping it to be. Oh, fuck it. She had no reason to hide in front of those kids. The rest of her tears came running down her cheeks and Sasha pulled her immediately into a hug. Sasha's hand frantically stroked on her back, not really knowing what to do as Nathalie sobbed on her shoulder.

Before she even knew it, the kids had brought her inside, and they were eating the soup that Mikasa with Armin and Eren had prepared. They were all making questions and she was helplessly answering. She told them about Erwin, and Levi, and the conversation that she had run off from. She knew Levi would probably kill her for filling them in with their love-life. Or at least, the appropriate parts of it. Well, he was going to kill her anyway at this point. Still, no matter how long they talked, it got late in the night and it was time to go to bed.

"You're sure you don't want to sleep with us tonight?" Sasha asked. "We got enough hay to make a matt! C'mon, it'll be no trouble," She suggested. Eyes wide and excited.

"That's a great idea, you can tell us stories of how the Captain was when he was little," Jean raised an eyebrow with a sly smile.

Eren laughed. "Oh boy, what wouldn't I give to know if he's ever gotten his bed wet," He grinned and Nathalie could do nothing but laugh.

"Wait! Has he?!" Connie cried out.

"No way!" Armin said. Eyes wide in surprise.

Nathalie's hand clutched on her stomach as she laughed hard enough to hurt. "I'm sorry, kids, but Levi never wetted his bed,"

Everybody groaned in disappointment. "Aw man, why isn't there something to shame him about?!" Jean asked irritatingly.

"As a matter of fact, the whole twenty-five years I've known him, there's absolutely nothing that I can say it's embarrassing," Nathalie's hand found her chin and she rubbed thoughtfully.

"Wait! Twenty-five years?!" Sasha asked surprised.

"Just how old is the Captain?" Connie asked confusedly.

"That's what I've been wondering. Rumour has it he's over forty-years-old," Armin said. Nathalie started laughing again. Everybody saw Levi as the oldest one around and she always wondered why. Maybe it was his calm, mature composure and the skills that could only match a very experienced soldier's.

"Then he's too old for you," Jean said disapprovingly turning at Nathalie.

Nathalie raised an eyebrow. "Really? How old do you think I am, Jean?"

"Well… you said you've known him twenty-five years so I guess you're… twenty-eight?" Jean asked.

Nathalie nodded. "That's very close,"

"OH! I bet you're thirty-years-old!" Sasha suggested.

"That's still pretty close," Nathalie pointed at her.

"What if you're… thirty-five?" Eren guessed and Nathalie laughed.

"That's… not so close," Nathalie hinted.

"So, it's definitely below thirty," Armin said.

Nathalie raised an eyebrow as all the kids fell in silence as they tried to think. "Should I just say it or are you guys gonna figure it out?"

Connie scratched his head. "I dunno. I honestly thought you were twenty-five or something,"

Jean groaned impatiently. "Just say it already!"

"Ooh! And say how old the Captain is! I wanna know!" Sasha cried out.

Nathalie grinned. "Okay. Captain Levi is thirty-years-old, and I'm twenty-nine,"

"WHAT?!"

"Just thirty?!"

"He looks way older,"

"Man, I thought he was forty-five or something!"

"So, how did you two meet?" Sasha asked curiously. "No, wait, does it involve food? Cause if it doesn't, I don't care,"

Jean groaned. "C'mon, Sasha, not everything has to involve food,"

"Yes, it does!"

"Well, I'll disappoint you, it doesn't involve food," Nathalie said and Sasha groaned.

"Of course, it doesn't, you dumbass," Jean said turning at Sasha. "They were in the Underground, they barely had anything to eat,"

"Ooh! Right," Sasha gritted her teeth. "Sorry, Nathalie,"

Nathalie chuckled. "No problem," But before they had the chance to make more questions, she cut them. "Now, now, time for bed. It has gotten pretty late I assume, and we got training tomorrow," She reminded them and Jean groaned in irritation.

"Can we not? Please?" Jean asked.

Nathalie could more than understand him. Thankfully, she was going to be the one to train them, and they'd get to avoid Levi's harsh training. At least, for tomorrow. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, but you kids need to be prepared for the battle in Shiganshina. The Commander is predicting a great deal of things that can happen when we get there,"

●▬▬▬▬▬๑۩۞۩๑▬▬▬▬▬●

It was difficult to laugh and keep a straight face. But she couldn't have them watching her as she'd cry. Sure, talking to them about it had really helped. But still, when Nathalie retreated back to their room, and she closed the door, and she pressed her back against the wooden door, she just realised how empty the room could be without him. Levi hadn't yet arrived and it was pretty late in the night. She only hoped he was okay.

No, it's Levi, she was sure he was okay. There was nothing in Trost -or anywhere at this point- that could threaten him. But she only feared something worse. Levi spending the night with someone else. There were lots of whores lurking at this time in the streets of Trost, and Levi was probably mad at her. He wasn't going to come back home tonight, was he? Nathalie just let her body slip down. Back against the wall and feet gathered against her chest.

That was exactly why she never wanted relationships. That was exactly why she never wanted to open her heart to anyone. She knew the most frequent part into a relationship was pain and disappointment. But she wouldn't blame him. She was the one who had disappointed him.

She didn't blame Erwin either. He had indeed taken advantage of that helpless, vulnerable position that she was in, back in that cell, and he had brought her close, offering his comfort. She regretted accepting it and letting him hold her, but part of her knew she wouldn't have made out without it. Not without those promises that he had made and he had kept true to his word.

But she had hurt Levi. She had hurt him. Again. As if breaking her promise and leaving him that night to wallow in despair wasn't enough. Nathalie buried her face in her hands. Tears slipped down her cheeks. Hurting Levi was just the same as hurting herself -if not, worse. She didn't know what she was going to tell him if he got back and looked at her in the eye. He was going to be furious. Or worse, he was going to be cold.

Cold, and ruthless. He played well the part of the cold and ruthless man who felt nothing and didn't care about anything and anyone. She could always see through that act, but if he pulled it up with her, he was going to become so foreign. Levi becoming foreign to her. Untouchable. That was a thought that was so, so terrifying. After all these years of being close, she couldn't watch him whilst he'd push her away.

"Oi,"

Nathalie's eyes widened. She pulled her face from her arms and she looked up at him. She wiped her tears right away and her body almost started trembling. He had his hands tucked in the pockets of his black pants. He was still wearing the black jacket on top, and the ascot that she had tied for him the same morning. She couldn't tell what he was thinking. He had that cold look on his face as he stared down at her. His eyes, unreadable. It frightened her.

Levi sighed and he took off his jacket, hanging it from the wooden coat-stand nearby. "Get up off the floor. You'll catch a cold," He walked towards the nearby mirror. There wasn't much light. Only the one coming from the oil lamp that he had brought with him. It was enough to help him untie his ascot from around his neck. "You took my horse," he said, seeing as he wasn't receiving an answer from his previous statement.

"Oh," Nathalie buried her face back in her arms and she remained seated and curled up like that onto the cold floor. "I'm sorry,"

Levi pulled off his ascot with a jerk, and he started untying the buttons of his white shirt. "I took Erwin's," He said. "Which I believe was yours," He looked at her reflection through the mirror. She was still there on the floor, and there was no doubt she was crying. He hated watching her like that.

Levi stopped untying his shirt halfway down his chest, and he sighed once more. She wasn't going to get up off the floor, was she? He could tell what she was thinking. He could tell she was blaming herself. Nathalie always threw the blame on herself, something that he had tried so hard to avoid from happening by choosing to always be the one to lead and hold all responsibility about everything.

Strong arms slipped beneath her and picked her up with ease. There was no way he was letting her sit on the floor. There was no way he was letting her cry herself to sleep. He knew exactly what was wrong. He knew exactly who was to blame, and it wasn't her. He settled her gently down on the mattress and he sat beside her. A hand reached for her cheeks, wiping away her tears with the back of his fingers.

Nathalie's hand reached for his own, urging him to cup her face. His rough thumb brushed gently across her wet cheek. He could tell her hands were cold and trembling. She was scared. She always trembled when she was scared. He clicked his tongue in displeasure.

"You? Scared of me? Of all people," Levi leaned in, pressing a tender kiss on her forehead. He heard her sigh out in relief. He pulled back just to look at her.

"Are we not going to talk about… today?"

Levi raised an eyebrow. "You wanna talk about how I almost gave Erwin a black eye?"

At that, the trembling stopped instantly. Her eyes widened as she looked up at him in utter confusion. "…what?"

Levi's hands reached for her glasses, pulling them off and placing them on the bedside table. "We didn't put up much of a show but… I would've gotten for his eye if Hange hadn't stopped me," He groaned in irritation, wishing once again that Hange hadn't stopped him.

"So, you two… beat each other up… for me?" Nathalie asked confusedly. There was no way this was happening. There was no way this was real. Having Commander Erwin and Captain Levi fighting over her like children who couldn't split a candy.

"No," Levi's hands reached for the rest of the buttons of his shirt, and he started unbuttoning them blindly. "I beat him up, for using you in such a fucked-up situation,"

She couldn't believe it. He wasn't mad at her? He wasn't furious? He wasn't thinking of turning cold and pushing her away, was he? A smile spread across her lips. Relief washed over her chest. Levi was smart too. She should never doubt that.

"I just need to make one thing sure," Levi said. His shirt finally open. All buttons untied. He turned his attention at her. A hand cupped her cheek. "Are you sure you still want this, Nat? Us? Are you sure you want to spend all your days waking up beside a short, cocky, possessive, ugly, bastard like me?"

She turned and pressed a kiss on the rough thumb that was stroking cheek. "Of course, I do," She cupped his face. She chuckled. "And you're none of that, Levi,"

A smile flashed across his lips and she cursed the darkness and her poor eyesight for not being able to see it clearly. He pressed his forehead against her own. Breaths merged together softly.

"I love you," Nathalie cupped his face with both hands. "I love you so much,"

Levi caught her lips in his own. Hands clutched around her clothes. Of course, he believed her. Nathalie loved him. Nathalie had chosen him. He felt proud of that. Nathalie was his and she always had been. He was going to keep it that way.

"I love you too," He moaned in her mouth. Her fingers found his hair and he shuddered. "You're mine," He growled in her mouth. "Mine," Arms tightened around her as he picked her up and settled her on his lap. Her knees, planted in each side of his waist as she straddled him. An arm remained tight around her, the other found her cheek to cup her face. He pulled from the kiss. His eyes met her own. "Marry me, Nat. Tomorrow, right here. No dress, no suits. You, me and our brats,"

Her eyes widened. Hands snuck beneath his unbuttoned shirt. Palms rested flat on his bare chest. "T- Tomorrow…?!"

"Hange is a Section Commander. It is very well within her jurisdiction to foresee such ceremony," Levi buried his face in her neck and her fingers found his hair. He closed his eyes. "Let's not wait until after we retake Wall Maria," His hands tightened around her. "I don't know whether we'll survive the next Expedition-"

"We will," She cupped his face urging him to pull back and look at her. "We will, Levi, you don't have to-" but he cut her.

"Let's not wait to find out,"

Foreheads pressed against each other. Breaths merged. Lips, only a few inches apart. He was right. The next Expedition was going to be mess. That was why Erwin had ordered large amounts of that serum to be prepared and handed to every single Scout. But Levi was right.

She did not need a fancy dress. He did not need a fancy suit. They had no one to invite but Hange, Moblit and their brats. It didn't have to be anybody else. She could tell they both didn't want anybody else. It could be a secret wedding for all she cared. The only thing they cared about was getting married. Levi was right. Nothing guaranteed that they'd make it out of the next Expedition alive. They should just seal their bond before death can come and break it apart.

Nathalie nodded, with a smile on her face. It was sudden. It wasn't the wedding that she had imagined. No. She hadn't imagined getting married at all. But she was getting married. Tomorrow. All so plain and simple. No dresses, no suits, no expensive food to be served afterwards. No celebrations. You, me and our brats. She wouldn't have it any other way.

"Alright. I'll marry you tomorrow, Mr. Ackerman,"

Now she was close enough to see his smile. It melted her heart right away. He caught her hand and placed a kiss on her knuckles. "A wise choice, Mrs. Ackerman,"