I looked in the mirror and straightened out my collar for the ninth time – it just didn't look right to me. I couldn't decide how I wanted to do my hair – in a ponytail, in a bun, maybe have it down, or maybe I could just chop it all off and walk out with short hair. It wasn't nervousness that swam through my veins, but it was restlessness. My nerves couldn't settle as I got dressed for the medal ceremony. Despair floated around my very being as I grabbed my boots and sat down on the edge of my bed, so I could slip my feet inside them, but I never did. I just sat on the edge of my bed with my hands on either side of me.

"Ryder?" I looked over to my door to see Levi leaning against the doorframe. I hadn't spoken to him since our meeting with the council to decide on what we were going to do with the information we found in the basement. The overall consensus was to print the information and allow the public know of our history with Ymir and why we were banished to this land. We wanted the citizens to know about our past and where we came from.

"Hi." My tone wasn't filled with excitement or happiness, but it was monotone. I looked back in front of me and stared at the wall. Levi closed my door behind him as he walked over to me and sat beside me on my bed.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

"Are you okay?" My head snapped in his direction as the words flew out my mouth. Levi's bored expression never changed as he answered me,

"I'm fine. How are you?" I looked away and began to kick my feet in the air as I answered him,

"I'm fine as well." There wasn't the feeling of awkwardness between us, but there was a feeling of change. The battle that we had gone through, the lives that were lost and the overall information that we gathered had changed us both in ways that we couldn't yet explain. I felt a light pressure on my right hand. When I looked over I saw that Levi was holding it in his.

"Thank you." He said.

"For what?" I asked.

"For helping me with Erwin." He answered.

My chest was about to break due to the pressure of my fast beating heart. My hands shook vigorously as I walked towards the house. The silence in the area was ominous and unsettling. The last thing I wanted right now was silence.

My feet lightly carried me up the stairs and towards the door. It was opened, so anyone could walk in and pay their respects to the man that wanted to change the world. To the man who fought for humanity until his very last breath. To the man that was Commander Erwin Smith.

Levi stood next to the bed that was pushed against the wall. There was a small nightstand beside the head of the bed with a bottle resting on top. Erwin lied in the bed with his Survey Corps cape on top of his torso and head. I walked up to Levi and stood beside him.

"I thought that he would like these." My words came out a whisper. Levi looked over and saw that flowers that I held in my hand. I never waited for his reply when I walked towards the bottle that sat on the bedside table and placed the flower inside. I took a step forward and kneeled down beside the bed. My hand rested on top of Erwin's forehead before leaning closer and placing a soft kiss on the fabric of his cape. "Goodnight, Erwin. Sweet dreams." I whispered as I stood up and stood beside Levi. The lump in my throat was hard to swallow and the tears in my eyes dared to escape. I looked over at Levi and saw the smallest tear escape his eye. My fingers wandered towards his cheek, so I could wipe it away. I held his hand and wrapped my arm around him, so I could be as close to Levi as possible.

"We should go." Levi whispered as he looked down at his shoes.

"We helped each other." I explained as I looked at the wall in front of me. Silence floated between us as we sat on the edge of my bed. Levi stood up before kneeling down. I looked at him with a confused look and saw him pick up my boots and gently place them on my feet.

"You can't go to the ceremony with no boots on – you'll look like a homeless person." He said to me. A small smile crept onto my lips as a light laugh pushed up from my belly and into my throat.

"Sorry, I hope the rest of my outfit will please you." I rolled my eyes at him. Levi stood up in front of me and pushed his hands into his pockets.

"You're wearing your uniform like everyone else, so you're not special." He said to me. I sighed and allowed for my shoulders to slump. Levi began to walk towards my door before he paused to look at me over his shoulder, "Aren't you coming?"

"I'll catch up." With that, Levi walked out of my room and down the hall. I stood up from my bed and looked at myself in my mirror once again. My uniform was in pristine condition, not a single crease was in sight. My hair was long and cascading down my back with nothing holding it up. My hair was never straight like everyone else, but it had curls that ran through every strand. The Survey Corps had now changed. My friends have now changed. Our world has now changed. I felt as if I had changed. So my hands reached for my scissors that were in my drawer.

I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE ERWIN IS GONE! :(