"Hello, Levi!" the words echoed endlessly inside his head. Commander and Squad Leaders, dumbfounded, stared silently at the woman while confused cadets whispered theories and questions among each other.
Brown hair bright as ever, though longer, flew around the female figure, pools of brown shone at the sight of familiar faces and expressions.
Pale fingers ran across pale cheekbones, silver orbs were glassed by tears.
"S-Silvia... it really is you... Y-you didn't die...!" a soft sob was heard.
"Hey, don't cry!" she begged out of panic, hugging the slightly taller male. "I promised I would only die when you did, didn't I? Did you honestly think I had broken my promise?" but no response came.
There, the one known as humanity's strongest appeared fragile and no stronger than a child. He, himself, felt confused and defenceless, unaware of what to do, say or even think...
"The corporal's crying? I didn't even know that was possible!" Jean...
"Why do you that? He IS human after all, he was bound to have feelings!" Christa...
"I guess... He never shows them though, so it was unexpected..." Kirstein...
"You're right on that." Lenz...
Minutes had already passed when the raven haired man calmed down, stepping away from the girl a bit.
"At least you're back, not like Farlan and Isabel..." he whispered, clouded pools of silver casted downwards in sorrow.
"What do you mean...?" the answer was evident; still, she hoped her suspicions to be wrong... however...
"They died... They died on the day you disappeared...!"
"..."
For the following two days the exhausted soldiers collected their comrades' bodies under the moon and hid from the beasts when the sun was high.
Two were the corpses gathered by Levi, for, aside the duo, only one other thing filled his mind... Every second he had, he used to vanish from sight and look everywhere for any signs of the brunette; Hanji had joined him in the frantic search, but no luck...
Caught and eaten or escaped and soon to be dead... They had to leave, and so both decided for the less painful option, the first; that way, they would be able to grieve and carry on at the best of their abilities...
For months... Levi didn't train, clean, work... Hanji didn't smile, laugh, experiment, prank... For months the two mourned, until Erwin, Mike, Flagon and some others succeeded in bringing them back to their senses, even if not completely...
"I'm sorry I wasn't there... I'm sorry, Levi..." she muttered, pale features bathed in tears.
"It's alright, I was the one who left you three to fend for yourselves." he hushed, pale fingers collecting the falling tears as his lips gently touched the girl's cool forehead.
Saddened, Silvia let herself be engulfed in the man's embrace.
"We can't linger much longer, we need to return!" the commander's voice sounded; every soldier mounted and the way back began.
'I didn't get to talk to her...' Hanji thought. 'But after Levi's revelation it's probably for the best...'
