Author's Note

In order to mentally prepare for this Chapter, I listened to unhealthy amounts of Lana del Rey, Taylor Swift and Phoebe Bridgers. I hope you enjoy reading it just as much as I did writing it!

Sophie left the scene with an almost spectral aura as if she were luring Levi to follow her. There was no exchange of words. A simple look between them across a weeping crowd was enough.

He was staring at the entrance of the graveyard's chapel. It was a small and round stone building, like a miniature of one of the walls, with a roof composed of mossy tiles. The day had been sunny so far, but as he found himself wavering to open the door, he felt a cold breeze brush against his face. His hand was on the gate, but he lacked the force to push. He was angry and hurt, but the gloom of the funeral prevented him from getting carried away. He wanted to give in to his feelings, but he didn't allow himself to do so.

He took a deep breath and pushed the door, hearing the wood's creak resonate inside the chapel.

She was there, observing the inscription on the wall opposite to the door, which depicted the three walls with their corresponding pennants. Nothing was fascinating about it, just a simple carving on a stone panel, yet she seemed so mesmerized by it that she did not bother to turn around and acknowledge Levi as he entered the building.

An air current from the outside wiggled the flames of all the small, white candles surrounding the circular contour of the chapel. Levi gently closed the door to prevent them from getting extinguished. Despite the coldness outside and the stone structure of the building, the little candles had managed to create a rather pleasant warmth inside.

He moved a few steps closer to Sophie in silence, observing her silhouette as she continued to have her back to Levi. He could tell that, despite the simple shape of the dress, it was an expensive one, judging by how the candlelight shone on its folds. As always, her hair was in a bun, but with no needle holding it together this time. He knew why.

He wanted to confront her at that exact moment. But first, he felt like he had to deliver the news regarding their promise and finally be done with it.

"Kenny is dead," said Levi with firmness.

"I've heard," she replied without turning around. She rubbed her arms with her hands for a moment as if she were trying to calm herself down. "Did you ask him about my father?"

"I did. He said he didn't remember him," he answered without hesitation. He didn't want to sugarcoat it, so he reported the information like the soldier he was. "I guess that's what happens when you kill a lot of people. At some point, you lose count."

She finally turned around, revealing a weeping face with taints of red on her cheeks and nose tip. The watery eyes made her dark iris gleam like crystal. She wore no makeup, and so the tiredness and sadness were clearly visible. Despite his initial anger, the acid remark on Kenny's pursuits felt wrong to say to an afflicted lady.

"Thank you," she said with a broken voice before wiping away some of the water traces under her eyes.

His expression remained impassible at the sight, but he could not help but feel uneasy about the situation. It would be selfish of him to continue torturing her like that, and so he decided to detach himself from her as much as possible before confronting her about the dinner.

He slid a hand into his jacket's inner pocket and grabbed the metal needle that he had removed from her hair that night. He clenched his hand against it, thinking about how he had brought it with him to the mission as a token of her presence. A symbol of what he had chosen to come back to once everything was over. He found it ironic that he had to give up both Erwin and Sophie on the same day.

He slowly handed the artifact to her. She approached him and looked at it with a long, melancholic gaze.

"You dropped this at the Survey Corps dinner—"

"I believe you seized it before you kissed me," she interrupted him without a trace of doubt in her voice. Despite the sadness in her aspect, she was not acting like a weeper anymore. She reached out to his hand and grabbed the needle, slowly sliding it away from his fingers, but without any actual touch between them. She proceeded to insert it in her updo. "We are in a holy building. Let's be respectful and not lie to each other here."

"I didn't think you'd remember. "

"Would you prefer that?" she answered, defiant.

"Yes, given your status." He looked at her hands, but there were no rings on any of her fingers. She hadn't even bothered to change her surname. "I wouldn't have guessed you were married. None of your letters came with a wedding invitation."

She seemed perplexed at his comment, "I thought even the Titans knew me as the big spender engineer who sleeps with half of Mitras and has a thousand empty alcohol bottles under her bed."

He frowned as she admitted that this had not been her first time committing adultery. He was hurt, but also not surprised, given the easiness that she had shown that night.

"I couldn't care less for whatever gossip you classy snobs entertain yourself with, but I'm not a homewrecker."

She scoffed, "There is nothing to wreck."

"I don't care. I failed my rank, and you failed your husband. Let's just blame this on the alcohol and move on." He adjusted his jacket, getting ready to leave the scene and forget about her forever. That would've been the wise decision.

"Is that what you really want?" she said with urgency as if she were trying to keep him from leaving. Levi crossed his arms and looked at the floor in silence. Throughout his life on the surface, he had only considered what Erwin wanted, what was best for humanity, and what the Survey Corps needed. He had barely paid attention to his desires. Even when he had attempted to prevent Erwin from leading the mission, he had ended up following his command anyway. Her question reminded him that Erwin wasn't there anymore and that he had to follow his own path now.

"You said no lies, right?" asked Levi, looking at Sophie again. She nodded in response and straightened her back like she was about to protect herself from something she did not want to hear. "Do you love him?"

"Do you think I would've kissed you that night if I did?"

"Well, you had a bit too much wine. Maybe you got carried away."

"We already established that alcohol was not to blame. Unless you want to." Levi took the comment as an insinuation that he wouldn't have kissed her if she had been sober. He decided to let the provocation slide.

"If you don't love him, then why are you still with him?"

"Because I used to love him. However, in the inner Walls, marriage is like a contract. One cannot break a contract with a businessman so easily."

"What do you mean?"

"I wasn't as lucky as you. I couldn't—prove myself the way you did. For the people at Mitras, I was just a filthy slut from the Underground that had managed to get a job at one of the most prestigious divisions without attending any of their fancy schools. When you are so used to people looking down on you, and you finally find someone above who doesn't—someone who even finds you special, you do anything for them." Levi recalled her words from their reunion at Ehrmich. I was the good girl. I just needed someone to tell me that I was doing the right thing, even if it was a lie. She paused to take a deep breath and got closer to him,"You have always been powerful, Levi. There is strength within you. After being belittled for so long, I wanted that power too, so did Asbel. We were both willing to do anything for it."

Her tone showcased confidence, but her expression remained vulnerable. Levi looked at her in silence, remembering all the letters she had sent him. He had promised himself to not regret his choices or to dwell on the past, but for a moment he wondered what would've happened if he had reached out instead of protecting her from his imminent death. In the end, he had done that so that she could live a better life with someone else, instead of mourning him. She had followed that path, but instead of looking after her, he had failed her. He had entered the chapel hurt and disappointed, ready to break off all ties with her. But now that he had finally learned what her life had been like, he felt sympathy and even a bit of regret.

"You must have felt very lonely," he said with softness, looking down to hide his disheartened expression.

"It wasn't just loneliness…it was also…guilt. No money, lust, or alcohol can cover that up."

He looked at her again, confused, "I told you I didn't blame you for what happened to the others."

She stared at him in silence for a moment, like there was an invisible rope tightened around her neck that prevented her from talking. He got closer, trying to let her know that she was safe with him, but she crossed her arms and looked away, biting her lower lip in an act of nervousness.

"Levi, that night at the den…Why me?" she said with hesitation. He was visibly confused at her question, but as he opened his mouth to ask for clarification, she continued, "There were…much prettier girls in the Underground."

He let out a small breath in surprise, feeling his lungs and heart tightening for a second. He could sense his entire body tense up and relax as he remembered all their time together in the Underground. It was crushing for him to see that she still didn't know how much he cared for her. All the feelings and thoughts from his teenage years rushed into his mind as if a switch inside of him had been triggered, turning him from Captain Levi Ackerman to simply Levi.

"Because you were strong," he said in a heartbeat. Sophie scoffed at the comment, which released some of the tension in her face.

"I got beat up almost every day. Because of my big mouth, you were always rushing to get me out of some brawl," she said, stroking a strand of her hair and smirking at the memories while her cheeks turned red.

"I thought you were doing it on purpose," he replied with a playful voice, happy to see a hint of a smile on her face, despite his initial resentment. "But I don't mean that kind of strength. You had something to fight for. You wanted to fix that gear no matter how much it cost or how long it took. You could've just quit and become a criminal like the rest of us. But I remember seeing you day and night doing things none of us could understand. When something didn't work like you wanted to, you didn't give up. Instead, you stayed longer and worked harder until it did."

"I was just…fulfilling my father's wish. And I broke my mum's promise because of it."

"Now that I've been outside, I can see why she deserted, but the Underground was not a way to live either. You deserved something better than that. And as for your dad…" He clenched his fist, remembering everything that had happened at Wall Maria, his choice to sacrifice Erwin and his dream, and his promise to kill the Beast Titan. "Back then, I admired that you had a goal. Something that kept you moving forward, even if it wasn't your own dream. It wasn't until I met Erwin that I understood what that was. And I also decided to follow his path as my own."

Suddenly, she grabbed his tensed-up fist, and moved it towards her, gently passing her fingers through his palm to release the grip. Once it was fully extended and relaxed, she used both of her hands to cover it. He blinked in surprise, but as the warmth of her skin passed onto his, he felt calm.

"I'm sorry. You must've really loved him," there was no jealousy in her voice or gaze, just empathy, and serenity as she caressed his wrist with her thumb.

"I—"

"It's okay. You don't have to explain."

They remained in silence, with the flickering candlelight accompanying their breaths as they continued to stare into one another. There was no rush, nothing for him to expect. They were simply enjoying the moment, frozen in time. He tried reading her expression to decipher what was on her mind, but he could only feel that she was still holding something back. Unfortunately, he knew that time was not truly frozen and that someone could very well open the door at any moment.

"Why did you ask me that? About the other girls, I mean."

She looked down for a moment, "Because I'm afraid I'm not that like that anymore."

"True, you are prettier now." She blushed at his comment, just like the girl he once knew would. He still didn't understand why she was holding back, but he also did not want to pressure her. For once after all those crazy weeks fighting the government and the Titans, he felt at peace.

"No, I mean…" she paused. He wanted to hug her, tell her that everything would be alright. But just as she was not that young reckless girl, he wasn't a protective thug either. His success as a Captain had also depended on his ability to distance himself from his emotions. That was not something he could easily get rid of.

"It's okay. You don't have to explain."

She moved her hands away from his, "No, you don't understand…I…" she babbled. "You would never forgive me."

"I forgave you about Kenny."

She rubbed her forehead and her breathing got more intense. Levi tried to put a hand on her shoulder, but she moved away with a guilty expression on her face.

"Why did you? He killed your friends because of me," she said, distressed.

"If you hadn't made those guns, someone else would've. I told you I've made wrong choices and killed innocent people too. What matters is to keep going forward instead of regretting them." She did not seem satisfied with his answer, shaking her head as if he did not understand what she was going through. "Isn't that why you want to join the Corps?"

"It's…more complex than that."

"Your death won't change anything. Humanity and the Corps need you inside, Sophie." And I need you, he thought to himself. His military mindset prevented him from saying it out loud. "You have that gift. You can create things that others can only dream of. Don't waste it against some big ass monster."

She was still far from him, looking away whenever possible. His words were unable to pass through the invisible wall she had put between them. He did not know how to get closer, how to show how her how valuable she was, both to Humanity and himself. He never hesitated when fighting, why was he staggering now?

The door suddenly opened, and Sophie's husband entered along with the cold wind, blowing off some of the candles close to the entrance. Levi managed to get a better look on him: he was tall, with blue eyes and brown short hair, wearing a black fitted suit.

"Ah, there you are, dear," he said, looking at Sophie before acknowledging Levi's presence. "Forgive me, I don't think we have been introduced before. Asbel Barnes," he said as he extended his hand. Levi frowned, but concurred to his proposal and shook his hand.

"Captain Levi, from the Special Operations Squad," he said his full rank, trying to make up for the height difference between them.

"Humanity's strongest soldier! What a pleasure," he smiled. "I will feel much more relieved knowing my wife will be under your command, now that the math and the blueprints have become a tad boring to her."

"I was just telling her that she is not fit for these missions. I hope she reconsiders her choice," Levi looked back on Sophie, who sighed in response.

"I agree, it would be a shame if such a smart woman ended up being eaten. If a Titan were to absorb her intelligence it would be the end of us for sure!" The man laughed, while Levi and Sophie remained in complete silence, observing him with disapproval after the tasteless comment. He cleared his throat to break the ice and looked at Sophie again. "We have to leave, dear."

"Of course," she said with disdain, moving towards him. Asbel offered his arm to escort her outside, but she swiftly moved away from him and exited the chapel. She didn't look at Asbel, nor Levi. There was no unspoken goodbye with her gaze.

Asbel looked at Levi again, "I would love to chat more with such a skilled fighter as yourself. Perhaps you would like to join us sometime for tea at our Mitras residency?"

Levi frowned, surprised and uncomfortable at his offer, "I'm very busy."

The man smiled, despite the harshness of Levi's response, "Of course. I will still extend an invitation in case you change your mind. Anyway, it was a pleasure to meet you," he said as he opened the door, which allowed Levi to distinguish Sophie's silhouette waiting outside. Before Asbel let go of the gate, he looked at Levi again, "Oh, and I'm sorry for your loss."

The door shut, extinguishing some of the remaining candles' flames.

"I thought you liked them taller," said Asbel, breaking the silence between him and Sophie as the carriage brought them back to their manor. She didn't reply, instead, she kept looking through the small window. "You never told me that you used to know him. See? Lately, I've had to find out everything about you from others…It would be easier if you just talked to me."

"What do you want?" she said, irritated at his remarks.

"For you to be careful. That guy was extremely close to Erwin, who, in case you have forgotten, destroyed the government and killed Reiss, and with them, all our power and connections." Asbel sighed as Sophie kept ignoring him, but he continued to raise his concerns. "You were supposed to be loyal to the Corps, not sleep with the Captain."

She finally faced him with a furious stare, "I'm not sleeping with him."

"I don't care who you share your bed with, as long as it doesn't get us into trouble. I will not act like the devil you want me to be. I know we've had…difficulties, but I'm on your side. Remember that." Asbel took out a small flask from his jacket and offered it to Sophie. She stared at the container for a minute, hesitating on whether to accept his offer. With a quick and swift move, she grabbed the flask and took a big gulp before handing it back to Asbel. She always had trouble refusing the booze when he was present.

"If you were on my side, you would let me go. But you'd rather deal with gossip than lose your position."

"No, I'd rather deal with gossip about my smart but troubled wife than be hanged." Despite the concealed insult, he reached out for her hand, gently grabbing it to bring it to his lips and kiss it. She was disgusted but did not oppose it. He was right about not being the devil she wanted him to be. He had made sure to never act like one with her.

Levi waited inside the chapel, thinking of everything that had been said and done. Sophie was still hiding something, and the uncomfortable kindness of Asbel disturbed him.

When he finally went outside, Hage was waiting for him leaning against one of the trees, bored.

"Oh finally, please don't tell me you were playing Seven minutes in heaven at Erwin's funeral," they said greeting Levi as he approached them.

"Were you spying on us? Is that how lonely you are?" he responded with mockery. Hange simply shrugged and they walked back to the carriage. The somber aura between them at the beginning of the day had now disappeared, but none wanted to comment on the funeral.

Once inside the vehicle, Hange changed their expression to a more serious one, "Hey, I know this is sudden, but I've been through some of…Erwin's files."

Levi looked at them. It did feel sudden that Hange had already been through—and probably made a mess out of—the Commander's files. But after Shinganshina, they needed as much transparency as possible. Especially now that they were about to announce the truth about the outside world.

"And? Did he write any mean comments about us?"

Hange did not punch back at his mockery, which made Levi realize that this was no regular conversation.

"Have you ever heard the name of Cheria Oswell?"

"No. But I don't know that many people in general, why?"

"I couldn't find any records of her in the Engineering or Logistics divisions. She doesn't seem to have worked for the government…"

"Hey, you are mumbling again. Why do you care about that woman anyway? Do you have a crush on her or something?"

"She was the one who signed the blueprints for Rodd Reiss's chapel reconstruction."