Levi pushed the door with his shoulder and the coffee table squealed in objection at moving moved. The sound of wood on stone had Elsie, having been laying face down, shooting up and rolling to the left side pillow. Her palm tightened around the cold hilt just as Levi slid through the space, shaking his head and pushing the table to the side before turning and banging on the door.

"What are you doing?" Elsie hissed. Her heart beat calmed at the sight of him and she sat up, trying to catch a glimpse at what he was doing in the middle of the night.

Levi stopped banging and bent to inspect the door frame, "I got a lock from Hange."

Elsie wanted to tell him he could've done it in the morning but bites her tongue. She lets herself fall back into bed and watch him undress in the dark, his pale skin disappearing beneath sweats. He hasn't worn a shirt to bed in two days. Elsie's hands take advantage and sweep across his torso as he gets into bed. He doesn't mind that she takes all the space or that she presses into him until they were nearly sweating. Levi rests his head and lets his hand find the back of her neck, thumb dragging against her skin.

"Was everything okay?" Elsie asked. She couldn't sleep with him back. They barely spoke besides when they were in bed.

Levi kept his eyes open. His pupils glowed in the dark, "The last one got away from us and I doubt he'd be so brave to come back for his friends. It's okay for now."

Elsie had no words to offer comfort. All Levi could do for now was install the lock in their room and all she could do for him was draw circles over his tense chest. White little lines shimmered under her scrutiny and she could see years of fights and wounds healed along his pecs. She pressed at the jagged skin and his hand shot upwards, catching her palm to keep it in place.

"What's that woman's name?" Elsie asked when no other words came.

"Traute Caven. Ugly, isn't it?"

Elsie doesn't meet his gaze, "Did she say anything?"

She'd become use to his hand on her neck and when he suddenly moved to tilt her chin upwards, she felt the cold air and goosebumps rose on her skin. Maybe it wasn't the chilly room but Levi himself, unbothered and casual and unreadable and a damn Adonis without a shirt on. One kiss had been enough to sedate Elsie but she wanted so badly to learn forward and break the distance between them. Wasn't it a sign that she was still in his bed and talking future?

"We'll talk about it in the morning. I'm sure Erwin will slit his throat if he doesn't hear this conversation."

"Don't say his name in here, ugh." Elsie crinkled her nose and Levi tutted, squeezing her chin just a little bit tighter.

"Who said you could make rules?"

Elsie giggled and without warning pulled the blanket over their heads. With the dark sheet keeping them protected from the outside world she had no fear in blurting, "In the future you get off at five o'clock and we have tea together every night."

Levi snorted, "We don't have tea every night as it is."

"Shush, no present talk. Your turn."

Elsie leaned at his side, her chin resting in the palm of his hand as he drawled, "What job would I have where I could home at a decent time?"

"Your tea shop."

"Ah yes, the infamous tea shop," His fingers play a symphony on her cheek, dancing up to play with her lashes. "No doubt you'll have dramatic stories from your heathen students and I'll have dealt with the idiots of the district. So, we'll spend time complaining about the youth."

Elsie laughed, "We'll sit on the yard and people watch, someone has to keep an eye on the neighborhood."

"Of course, the tulips will be our top priority."

"And maybe a stray cat will stay and we can name him something really serious like Einstein."

"No version of me would ever agree to a name like that. He needs something strong and durable, like Beast."

"As if I would let you name a cute little cat Beast."

He kisses her at the end of her sentence. She should've seen it coming with the way his eyes drooped to catch her lips moving, the tilt of his head, and when his hand suddenly tightened and held her still, she melted instantly at his hold. No where near as desperate as their first kiss, Levi nudges her back into the mattress and presses against her side. His hand cradles her cheek, deviously sweet lips coaxing gasps from Elsie. His free hand clenched a fistful of her hair, his own brushing against her eyebrows and sending tickles down her face.

Levi's legs brushed the side of hers as he moved away and she moaned in complaint, lazily opening her eyes to see where he disappeared too. She needn't worry for Levi was only gone a second to brush her hair aside and pepper her neck with wet kisses. She sighed with a smile, arching into his touch, her shaky hand searching for something to hold too. She found his fist in her hair the best and squeezed over his knuckles, arching when he bit into her neck.

"Levi," She laughed, pushing him back and taking the sheet with him. "You're not a vampire."

"You'd be the worst tasting meal," He murmured, nonplussed and continuing to nip at the junction between her shoulder and collar bone. "You smell of corn and lamb."

"Shut up you asshole." Elsie turned her head and caught his lips, forcing him to kiss her hard and smell her dinner. He chuckled against her kiss and she giggled as well, wishing this Levi would stay forever.

"Be a good girl and let me work." Levi turned her head, his hand tracing up her spine to gather her hair. He trailed sultry kisses down her chin to where he'd last been.

Elsie of course loved to hear his terms of endearment but she wanted kisses. She turned and caught him off guard, luring him to sweetly kiss her. Of course it only lasted a few seconds before Levi pinched her for distracting him.

A sudden thunk penetrated the room.

Neither moved.

Elsie kept her eyes closed, warmly tucked into Levi's chest, his breath hot against her ear as he slept. She'd been aware of his tense posture the entire night but he must've fallen asleep near daybreak. She knew killing had never sat well with him but she'd thought this time would be different. There was reason behind it, not just an old lady trying to steal bread for a nine year old. The Interior Police wanted to keep them inside the walls and that could not be done. Not with everyone else trying to come in. Levi had no choice, they were after him.

Over the days Elsie had lost track of time. She couldn't tell if day had come, honestly, but the thunk had not been continued and she wondered if Hange was heading out for breakfast and wanted to wake them. If she could open the blinds without waking Levi she would.

Did they have patrol tonight? Were they required to be somewhere? She didn't care, really. She had quite the army once, she could handle telling Erwin they needed a sick day.

Elsie pulled the blanket tighter around her and Levi. They're small bubble of isolation before the real world hit them.

The old metal shower nozzle being turned off woke her. She laid alone in bed, the drapes pulled to expose the orange sky of late afternoon, and didn't bother to sit up. She spread across the mattress in a star fish position. She'd found a way to feel like she was on ectasy without taking the pill.

Simply by kissing Levi she felt like her entire body was put on fire and filled with pure bliss. Her vision went white and her breathing became broken. It truly felt like when she'd taken a tempting blue pill at a concert one time. She could tell Levi all about it the next time they were playing their game.

Levi towel dried his hair at the mirror. He'd loosely wrapped the white one around his hips and Elsie sat up, suddenly awake, and appreciated the fading sun on his skin. Dewy skinned and slightly rested, Levi glanced at her and said, "Get ready, we're having a squad meeting."

Elsie stretched her arms and strolled to the shower, tossing her hair over her shoulder and asking, "What time is it?"

"Just before dinner," Levi turned when she took her sleep shirt off. He languidly looked her up and down, his eyes catching at her shoulder, and he grinned to himself with a secret. "You look good."

Elsie smiled even though she felt eye boogers and her morning breath, and could see the rats nest she called hair tangled on the side of her head she'd slept on. Compliments from Levi were a rarity, and on the days he gave them, she knew she looked truly radiant.

Elsie skipped ahead of Levi when she heard Sasha's distinct laugh from bellow. The second floor packed soldiers like they were sardines due to a problem happening in front of the bathroom. Elsie stayed on the last step, her hand supporting her on the stair case wall as she leaned around to catch Jean's fluffy hair disappearing beneath Eren's tackle.

They hit the wall and sent a loud crash through the hall. Onlookers groaned in sympathetic pain and stepped back to give them room to stand. Nothing kept them from wobbling to their feet and staring each other down, the bathroom door left cracked and broken behind Eren's back.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Levi grouched from behind, spotting the mess and the teens hugging each other around the shoulders and spinning, trying to make the other loose balance and let go first.

People began to loose interest fast. Historia deftly twirled around the spectacle with Ymir slinking behind her, hands in her pocket and tutting disdainfully at Jean's swollen face. Sasha used the fight to her advantage and reached the dining hall first, something Connie yelled in warning that sent the rest of the squads rushing to get their plates before the greedy girl took it all.

Elsie was ignored like the rest when she walked past. Levi didn't stop nor look back, his fingers pressing into her spine to urge her a little faster down the last staircase. She quirked an eyebrow in question and Levi feigned ignorance with, "Fucking ballerinas, let them spin themselves unconscious."

She didn't know if she should sit with him tonight. Erwin's meetings usually consisted of the Squad Leaders behind him, and Levi nudged her in the direction of the others when they came down the middle of the aisle to answer her unspoken question. She tried to be as strong as him and not look back, and she was proud to say that she lasted until her plate was fixed and Connie snatched one of the five breads off of Sasha's plate until she turned and tried to catch Levi's eye.

Hange moved two seats away from Levi and sat directly beside Miche, drinking her ale to keep from talking. The captain could tell something was off at the strange placement and stared at her, unblinking, in his eerie way that left a droplet of nervous sweat gliding down her brow. She was saved from further glowering when Erwin finally entered, the dining hall doors left open for his awaited arrival.

Having been on a nocturnal schedule compared to the rest of the castle, she suddenly wondered if anyone knew about Caven in the dungeon. Someone must have seen Eren and Elsie lumbering in the hallway with the sack of dead remains and someone must have heard from a friend about what transpired during their patrol. Yet, no one looked at Levi's Squad, and no one had an aphrenrsive face about this meeting.

Erwin took his usual place at the right corner of the circular table. He scanned his army before clearing his throat and saying, "I'm sure most of you heard that Levi's Squad ran into the perpetrators and managed to catch four out of the five. What we know as of now is we hold Traute Caven, an Interior Police sent to spy on the Corp. We have yet to discover their intentions and who has sent them, although do understand we will find the truth- no matter what. She is weakened from her fight and has been in and out of sleep, and as we are not able to bring her and promise to contain her on our mission to Shiganshina, I will consider which squad is to stay behind and guard Annie Leonhart and Traute Caven.

Do not take this as a victory. We have taken one of theirs and they are well aware of it. Either this will be handled between us, like men, as it has been or they will come back with royal reinforcements. Patrols will continue as scheduled, although do expect to be asked to do double shifts. This next week will be difficult on us all but until we are out of the walls, we are not safe from mankind."

Hange sprinted threw the aisles, seamlessly merging with the crowd shoving past haggard Eren and Jean, having just arrived and hopelessly staring at the empty platters. Levi had no chance in trying to pull her aside and speak to her about her odd behavior and Elsie gave him no chance in hunting Hange down. She stepped into his path, blocking him from further down the aisle, and stunting the annoyed ones behind Levi.

"Make me tea." Elsie demanded.

Levi tried to catch sight of Hange over her head and frowned when it became futile. She received sarcastic thanks for finally moving and Levi glanced back, taking note no doubt of who it was, and Elsie caught a sliver of light through Hange's door before she closed it completely. Momentarily she felt bad that Hange felt she had to hide from Levi to keep her mouth shut, but then again did it really matter anymore that Hange had been experimenting on her blood? Levi wanted her to stay now.

"I thought we would leave for Shiganshina early." Elsie said as they entered the warmed kitchen. The ones scheduled for kitchen duty glumly brought dirty dishes to the sink to wash and tried to keep their annoyed glances to themselves. Of course if it had only been Elsie she would've been snapped out of the room instantly.

Levi grabbed the kettle and tea, making a little section for himself to work. Elsie slid between the wall and counter, trying to stay out of everyone's way, and watched Levi pick leaves deftly. She never knew where she went wrong in her tea brewing but maybe it had always been she'd grabbed a fistful of tea leaves without care.

"Equipment is still coming in. We don't have enough gas for the whole regiment if we leave now," Levi drawled as if it was yesterday's news. He'd probably been up the whole night plotting ways to defend against a surprise attack and the upcoming suicide mission. "The lap dogs are probably lazy and won't come until we're long gone."

Elsie stayed in her spot when Levi went to put the kettle on the wood burning stove. Her fingers clenched at her side as if they could keep her back from spilling her guts. How could she talk to Levi about Kenny? The best she could do - since the asshole didn't like to talk about things - would just spit it out and let him process it in whatever way he does.

"Have you talked to Caven yet?" She asked when he returned.

Levi cleaned his mess and wiped the counter. The kitchen staff probably didn't complain because they knew the Captain would clean better than they could.

"Other than a fuck you and fuck you too we haven't gotten far. The bitch keeps knocking out from Hange's medication." It's been an obvious problem between them, Elsie can hear the aggravation in his voice. Was that why Levi wanted to talk to Hange?

Elsie bites her lip, "She's really important to the leader."

The kettle screams and Levi turned to look at it. He glanced back, eyes darker than before, and said, "We'll talk about it tomorrow."

His insistence to not speak about the battle outside their door led Elsie and Levi to the abounded sitting room. She stopped at the archway, having not been in the room since she spoke of marshmallows and old bed time stories with Petra, Eld, Gunther, and Oluo. As if alive and well, Elsie could see Gunther lounging on the sofa and knocking his boots together to annoy Oluo who was sitting on the floor. Petra curled into the tight arm chair, a cup of ale and cheery smiles as she teased the others for their awful training years. Eld would stand in the back, never a relaxed man, and as Levi passed Elsie to breeze to the small bookcase pushed to the back of the wall, she swore Eld smiled at him in greeting.

She sighed and strolled to Levi's side, stopping a hair width from touching him, and reading the worn spines of the military's bookcase. Gunther read on occasion and Petra picked up a book once or twice when she couldn't sleep. It was a nice hobby none of the soldiers had time for.

"You read?" She asked, fingering a book that she thought said Edgar Allen Poe. Alas, Poe Allwin was the author of a text describing the etiquette to clean ODM gear.

Levi grabbed one from the bottom of the shelf and thumbed through it, "Never in my life. I couldn't read until I joined the Corp six years ago," He glanced at her, shrugging as if it was sort of funny and not sad. "Erwin taught me since he couldn't have a soldier not able to read the messages."

"How's Erwin as a teacher?" Elsie teased, finding it rather outlandish to imagine Erwin hunched over Levi telling him to sound out sight words.

Levi returned the book, "Rather patient. Didn't mind it if I ripped a book or two. I think he went back and taped them up."

"He is nice like that," Elsie agreed. "I guess you never fell in love with a book then."

"All the books I read were about the Survey Corp," He rolled his eyes. "Farlan said we were in a cult, what with the green cloaks and saluting and shit. Once they brought out the books he was ready to go home."

"How did Isobel like it here?" Elsie couldn't help herself. Levi's demeanor changed when he spoke of his late friends, the only ones he probably truly loved and trusted.

"She loved every second of it. There wasn't wind or sun in the tunnels and once we came up, she swore she would never go back. The animals, the grass, all of it," Levi folds his arms and looked away from the books to meet her eyes. He's not sad to tell her these attributes of Isobel. Elsie thinks he's happy someone wants to hear about her so that he could remember, to know that she was real and other people knew her too. "She tried to convince Erwin to let her live in the woods so she could be closer to nature. She had a whole plan with a tent and her horse, Bareea, tied to drag water for a shower. I think when he said no was the only time she truly wanted to run away."

Elsie laughs at the thought of pig tailed Isobel pouting, already packed with her horse and tent to set up camp and looming bushy eyed Erwin breaking her heart.

"If that man hadn't made you do it, would you have liked being in the Scout Regiment?"

Levi stares, blank faced, "You really know everything, don't you? You know why I came up?" He acknowledged her power, as if forgetting Elsie's true depth in knowledge in all the bloody spew over words.

"He took Farlan's friend with the leg problem, didn't he? And he told you that he could get you guys up there if you killed Erwin."

He's lost in memory, "Yeah. Yeah, pretty much. We'd get paid enough to survive and we'd never have to forget the feeling of what the fucking sun felt like or fight to eat again. Damn bastards, it pisses me off that they get away with keeping us locked down there."

Elsie saw a book that had drifted in and out of the classrooms in Trost. She slid it off the shelf, dusty and untouched for years, and wiped it to read the title. Red Rose. A simple book with basic words, a perfect beginners and enders course for the students. Reading wasn't expected once they left public school - only the more fortunate families can afford send their children to an academy to get a higher level of education.

"It won't be like that forever, not with Historia planning to be Queen," Elsie foretold, keeping her back to him as she flipped to the back of the book. "You didn't answer my question."

Levi said from behind, "I don't think I could live a life without action."

No. She didn't think so either.