A/N: Phew, finally got this chapter up! I've been looking forward to getting to this part, and I gotta say, it was super fun to write. Well. Mostly. You see, I've never really wrote hetero smut before, so there was some struggling. But hey, it was a learning experience. Hope you guys enjoy the M-rated goodness~


Snow no longer fell from the gray overcast; the clouds finally ran out of its icy supply after spitting out an endless bizarre for the past few days. The thick accumulation of snow blanketed over the vast landscape, piles of it packed into dunes below. And above on the high tree branches, it sprinkled down like white powder every time the wind shook the trees.

A strip of red cloth whipped in the wind. A pair of blue gems glinted in the morning sun. Mikasa tucked her scarf into a secure loop around her neck, and Levi momentary closed his soar, dry eyes.

"I grew up with Kenny, as you know," a thick fog discharged from Levi's chattering lips as he ambled through the crunching snow. Scoping the vast frozen lands, Levi's windburnt eyes landed back on Mikasa, who trudged close behind. "His motives and actions were always crystal clear to me; plans foreseen far before conducted. You could say we share one mind, but I did not see this coming."

The sudden escape was probably a last minute decision on Kenny's end—if they hadn't forgotten to lock the basement door last night, Kenny wouldn't have took the risk to break free. Since the opportunity was practically handed to him, he took it. Because of their carelessness, Mikasa and Levi are being punished, forced to search for their runaway prisoner in post-blizzard conditions.

Mikasa and Levi were both up until late into the night, indicating that Kenny fled sometime during the black of morning. The sun had long awaken from its slumber, meaning Kenny had the lead by a few hours.

"I barely know Kenny and even I didn't see this coming," Mikasa stated crossly; not that she placed any blame on her Captain. The whole dreaded situation just made her short-fused. And trying to keep up with Levi's pace made her far more tired. Also, cold and angry when she realized how difficult it would be to track her uncle down in this frozen wasteland.

"You don't understand what I mean;" he drawled, winded. Already, Levi felt wrung out from the laborious tromp through the high snow. "Kenny isn't stupid—shocker, I know. He might come off as a reckless serial killer, but he's not the type of man to run off into fatal conditions. The Kenny I know would wait for an ideal chance to escape—not spontaneously vanish in the midst of no where."

As Mikasa considered his words, she followed him into the forest, leaving behind the scenic view of the white plains that lead to mountains boarding the horizon, tops dipped in golden orange. The forest hadn't yet been touched by light, or perhaps never seen light due to its massive trees and canopies of bare branches.

"I anticipated Kenny trying to flee, but not like this," Levi started, "not while we were here under these dire conditions. I expected him to attempt an escape once we were on the road again, or when the snow thawed. It just doesn't make sense."

"Well," Mikasa caught up to his side in a jog, "don't stress yourself out trying to figure out his motives. We'll question him on his actions ourselves once we secure him back into out custody."

Levi gave her a measured look, accompanied by a nod. "You're right," turning from her, he marveled up at the trees in passing. Particles of snow flaked down from the high branchs, melting as soon as they made contact with his cheek. "I'm also kicking his ass for putting us through this trouble."

"Think about punishment later. We have to use our time wisely or else well freeze to death," Mikasa reminded him, again. She first reminded him of their ticking clock after proposing to search for a lead in the horse stable, thinking he might've stole one for transportation. Both of their horses were accounted for, strangely enough, suggesting that Kenny was on foot.

With that known, Levi stubbornly said: "If that bastard could survive on foot in this weather, we can, too."

But something important to consider was that Kenny had a head start and likely had a destination, where Levi and Mikasa were wandering aimlessly in a motionless forest with no leads or hints as to where the man ran off to.

"Of course we'll use our time wisely," Levi assured. "We don't want that shithead getting too far. He'll never make it to civilization, not on foot. Knowing he won't cause anyone other than us trouble is slightly comforting, I guess."

In truth, that granted neither of them comfort, and they both knew those words didn't fool the other as they pushed onward, leaving their mark behind them. There's always unforeseeable possibilities in this unpredictable world they lived in. Too little was know about Kenny to assume anything from him. For all they know, he could've planned an escape route, or had his Central MP buddies pick him up.

Distant ululating from wildlife echoed throughout the dispiriting woods. A growl from a bear. A hiss from a mountain lion. A howl from a wolf sounded the closest. Not even a flicker of fear invaded either Levi or Mikasa.

Creatures in the woods didn't scare them. Very few things scared them, in fact. The few things they did fear had nothing to do with animals or monsters or Titans. No, that's child's play. The real nightmares came from a fear that touched close to home, a fear you couldn't always avoid no matter how hard you try; a fear that affects the very lives of everyone.

Failure.

Losing Kenny ignited that fear.

What would he do if he flees? Would he steal Eren again? Mikasa feared.

Would he kill another ally. Like Nita or Reeves? Levi wondered.

To humanity's strongest duo, that was what fear looked like.

As they entered a clearing, a cloud floated over the freshly risen sun. The forest dimmed more so, as if a blanket tossed over them. With the only heat source covered, it felt more like a warm blanket was ripped off them.

All that stood out in this winter wasteland was the assortment of creaking black trees, shivering from the constant howling gust. That, and the spying black crows perched up on the branches, watching them pass with their beady eyes. They cawed impatiently, as if the crows were hungry and wanted the two soldiers to die already so they could make a chilled snack out of their rotted meat.

The crows made Mikasa anxious. She found her feet stopping, her eyes fixated on the shine of black feathers, and her lips twitching into a distressed frown. She also found her hand reaching blindly for the only other human within reach in this grim forest.

"What is it?" Levi felt the tug on his sleeve and followed her gaze, and noticed the lined up crows overhead, adorning the branches like sprouted black leaves.

Levi discovered for himself what had made Mikasa uneasy. The sight of crows was never a good sign—not that he considered himself to be the superstitious type.

"They're bad omens," her breath steamed a whisper of worry. Her fingers grasped his bunched up sleeve tighter. "Kenny's gone, and I just keep thinking he's going to hurt more people, or take Eren, or—" her voice cracked from the frost biting her throat. She wanted to keep her personal worries to herself, like she always had, but for the first time she felt that she could confide with someone else.

"We'll get him back," Levi promised, clasping her shoulder a moment before setting his eyes on the ground, searching. His fingers burned when he dusted the snow off a jagged surface.

Mikasa saw the rock toss once in his hand before he pitched it with a whipping swing at the spying birds. The flock of them scattered, fluttering their wings in a roaring cry. A swarming black cloud formed above once they ascended to the skies, their black feathers raining down in the place of snow.

"There." Levi looked away from the soaring crows. "No birds, no bad omens."

Mikasa would've smiled at his attempt to cheer her up if her chapped lips weren't frozen into a frown.

Levi didn't want to admit that he, too, felt uneasy. Not at the birds, or at the threatening chill dropping his body temperature, but because he shared the same fears as Mikasa. He did not know what Kenny would do if they could not recapture him in time, either. Even if he Kenny died out here it would be a hindrance to them all. Currently, he's their most valued source for information. As hard as it was to admit, they needed him alive and in their company, but the biggest paradox of all was him being alive and on the run, because that itself caused yet another hindrance.

A gentler breeze ruffled Mikasa hair as she turned direction in time to see Levi hopping up on a rotting log, his eyes searching for tracks. The gust turned harsher at him, tugging at his thin clothing. With the way the wind kept sweeping the ground, it must've covered all of Kenny's tracks. It was as if he disappeared into thin air.

Mikasa looked down at the show crushed beneath her feet, then let her view expand over the white ground surrounded by trees. There wasn't even a foot step made by an animal, never mind a human. Not even the wildlife was foolish enough to venture out in this cold. She pulled her scarf over her numbed nose and red ears to protect them; her eyes teared for uncountable reasons.

Levi looked back at her then with a gaze filtered in a glossy film. His complexion ashen, his lips chapped; his dry cheeks ruddy and fragile looking, like porcelain about to crack.

Levi could feel the cold hug around him, vicious enough to pierce his gut like a cold blade. His skin pricked and his hair bristled when the crying wind tackled him fiercely with no remorse.

Mikasa feared what would happen if Kenny wasn't recovered in time, but checking the current state of Levi now made her far more worried about him. "Captain, I think we should head back. It's entirely too cold, and we have no leads on Kenny. We'll only end up hurting ourselves at this rate." Mikasa peered up at the clear passage of open skies around the trees, holding herself for warmth. The skies were gray but no threatening storm clouds were in sight. There was no worry about another blizzard sweeping up their time. "I don't think it'll snow any more. We can go back to the base and form a plan, then head off in a different direction and track him down when we're more prepared."

Levi kicked up the snow when he hopped off the log, his gait frozen and hard as he walked up to her—his gaze was locked on something in the distance. "I think you're right. But before we head back," he elongated his arm with a point. Mikasa squinted through the mist and tress to the target. A craggy terrain came to view, with sparkling icicles decorating a dark gap.

"Let's inspect that cave," Levi proposed. "There's no way in hell Kenny could survive the long journey back to civilization on foot—hell, there's a fat chance he'd even survive on horseback in this temperature. We can conjecture that he's hiding somewhere warm until he's given the right circumstances to leave."

That's sharp thinking; Mikasa didn't even considered Kenny being somewhere close in the vicinity. Now when she thought it over, it made sense. In these weather conditions without supplies or a horse for travel, Kenny had to be close by. Just like Levi guessed, he's probably waiting out somewhere warm, waiting for the snow to thaw so he could escape for good. Captain Levi wasn't know for his strategics, but Mikasa thought then that he's more intellectual than he puts off.

Before they could reach the cave in the foggy distance, however, they had a bridge to cross. If only they had an actual bridge to use. All they had to walk on was a slippery sheet of ice. The frozen creek shining across their path would only take a few dozen careful strides, but the hazard of walking on frozen water was highlighted without either of them having to point it out.

Levi ran his eyes along the ridged rocks trimming the creek until they disappeared out of sight's range. With no visible way around the frozen water, Levi braved the first step. First he hovered his boot over the sheen and pressed down his weight pound by pound, slowly, as if testing the limit. Once the sheet calculated half his weight, he dared another step. Both his feet were now grounded on the ice, unaffected by the added weight.

"Seems thick enough to walk on." To be absolutely sure, he boldly pounded his foot into a section. Solid as cement.

Mikasa went next, taking her first steps just as cautiously as Levi, who now took the lead about a foot from her.

Trying to concentrate on her steps while witnessing Levi—the great prodigy of the Survey Corps—slip about as if his body was made of rubber in her peripheral vision was not an easy task.

"Careful, it's slippery," he said, skidding again.

"You're telling me?" Her words dipped in a giggle. "You're the only one slipping." She wanted to laugh but her heart leaped into her throat when a step turned into a brief glide. She returned to focusing.

"Shut up," he slipped and did everything but fall, obliquely faltering until he regained his balance. "I don't know what the brats in your graduating class learned in training, but I never learn how to walk on frozen water."

"It's not that hard. You're just walking too hard."

"That's just how I walk," he slued to one side, catching his balance before tipping over.

"Walk gentler," she instructed.

He considered and tried.

"That's worse."

"You are still walking exactly the same," she pointed out.

"I really don't need a lesson on walking right now," he held his arms out as if balancing on a fifty-foot beam. He might fail at walking on ice, but at least his good balance kept him from falling on his tush, so far.

"If Kenny did go this way," he wondered aloud, "how the fuck side he get across this?" Levi was obviously frustrated, and since he wasn't making much progress, Mikasa soon took the lead, flaunting off her lecture stride for his envious eyes.

Just as she passed him, Mikasa whirled around in a jerky glide, detecting Levi's unstable posture before his feet could even leave the ground. Just as he was falling back, she curled her braced fingers around his wrist, her shoes slipping and her posture limbering forward with his weight before tugging him up right.

Even with her tethering aid, he wiggled and flailed, reflexively trying to find the stable balance he lost, and in doing so, caused Mikasa, too, to start losing her balance.

Wobbling as she were, she let go of Levi's wrist, hoping that would help her regain control. Instead, she gained a cold and painful seat when she fell back on her ass.

"You okay?" He said, gliding into a static pose (as static as his slippy feet could manage).

Mikasa felt if she moved, her body would shatter like cracked glass. "If having a broken tailbone is okay, then sure," her voice strained in pain, and after a second of bracing the new pain, she carefully heaved herself up and lifted to her knee.

Just before she stood, she snapped her eyes on Levi, and he looked back at her in disbelieving concern, because what they heard then was more unnerving than the sound of wild animals or crows.

A crunching, snapping crack sounded beneath Mikasa, and the next sound that followed was the sound of flowing water spashing after Mikasa fell straight down into the freezing water.

Not wanting to cause any worry, Mikasa diluted the shock and immediately said, "I'm okay."

Levi barely made out her words through her chattering teeth.

"It's not deep," she demonstrated her ability to stand in the shallow water.

Levi approached slowly as to not disrupt the ice further. "You're going to need to push yourself up. If I come any closer I'll fall in, too."

Luckily the creek wasn't very deep; the frozen water only reached her hip. Getting out was the issue; every time she set her hands on the icy edges, her palms would either slip or her weight would break away more ice, making the hole she sunk into larger.

"Shit," Levi spat as he observed her struggle.

His worried eyes looked sharper than the numbing pain shooting up her legs. Hopelessly, he skimmed his eyes around the deaf woods, as if searching for help. Knowing damn well there was no one else to aid her, Levi inspected the space around her and took a step on a solid-looking area.

"Stop," Mikasa, still clutching at the edge, demanded through blue tinted lips. "You're going to fall in."

"It's fine," he took one more careful step. The ice cracked but didn't break apart. He lurched over, stretching out his arm. "Give me your hand."

Only the brush of their finger tips could reach. He still wasn't close enough, much to their dismay, and getting closer held great risks. Levi dared another careful, light step.

In the next hazy second, the ice broke away beneath Levi's boot, and their hands clasped together. Mikasa was freed by a mighty strength that nearly dislocated her arm from its socket—but in doing so, pressure was added to Levi's feet, so even when he stepped back to escape the broken patch, his leg slipped through the ice.

Mikasa, still having a good hold on his hand, yanked him back toward her, and he effortlessly unclogged his leg from the hole.

They stood perfectly still for a moment, catching their breaths while trying to figure out what happened in those quick seconds.

"Thanks," they both said in unison.

Levi dipped his head meekly. "Don't thank me yet. We still have a few more steps to get through."

"The only reason why the ice shattered was because I fell on it." It was like knocking the ice with a hundred and fifty pound hammer. She took a careful step forward, her wet legs feeling aflame. "I think we'll be fine so long as that doesn't happen again."

And she would be right—they crossed the frozen gap without anymore delays (besides Levi precariously skidding his way to the finish line). Mikasa's pants were fast to frost; the pant sleeves so stiff and solid you would think they were forged from metal rather than woven cloth. Also, her legs were painfully numb and just having the frostbitten fabric friction against her already stinging skin was torture.

Mikasa's lips were dyed a faint blue and her teeth chattered as much as her tittering knees buckling together.

Levi, noticing her condition, rendered up the most sympathetic expression he could. "Are you alright to continue or do you want me to take you back?" Not that being in that freezing cabin would do her much better, but staying in these freezing elements in her condition wasn't wise.

"I'm fine. A little water won't kill me."

"Perhaps. But being half drenched in this temperature might make you lose a leg." He eyed her head to toe—she's gotten so very pale and her shivering was constant. "Are you absolutely sure? I could continue the search alone. It wouldn't be any inconvenience to me." Levi was already used to doing everything alone until Mikasa joined the SC. She could fight on equal level at him, and admittedly it was refreshing to have a partner with skills that matched his own. Though, sometimes when they fought together he found himself keeping a closer watch on her than the target in front of him, so working together had its inconvenient downsides.

"Really, I'm fine," she repeated for the umpteenth time. Kenny was Mikasa's blood after all. She couldn't help but to feel a tad bit responsible, plus she felt equally at fault that Kenny escaped in the first place. In the back of her mind, she blamed Levi's lips most of all; they had made her forget Kenny even existed in the first place, they made her forget a lot, actually. For the first time in her life she didn't feel like an older sister or a nagging mother, or an unstoppable solider—she felt like a young woman. She felt normal, yet special. Overall, she felt beautiful.

"I hope you're right." Levi's face plagued with worry. The only reason why he didn't abuse his authority and command her go back to warm up indoors was because he figure the inside of the cave would offer her some warmth—or at least reward her a break from the remorseless wind.

Once they approached the cave, they stared into the dark abyss of an entrance. The ominous abyss stared back. Levi and Mikasa exchanged ready glances to each other, then after a nod, they traveled forth into the mouth of the cave, ducking their heads under the rocky overhang.

Up on the jagged ceiling, crystallized and rocky spears naturally formed, row upon row like the vicious teeth of a leech. If one would chip off above, it'd pierce them dead.

A drafty wind crawled behind from the outdoors, as if reaching for them with cold hands, and a notably warmer breath allured them forward. Not able to see much in the darkness, they followed that yawn emitting from the front of them.

Once they cleared the long throat, they ended up in a spacey clearing. Natural skylights from above shone down rays of sun light that glistened on the glazed rocks skirting a steaming pool of water. Thick roots from the bottom of tree trunks twined and twisted around every corner of the high limestone ceiling. The small trickling fountain ran hot and consistently like a boiling pot spilling over.

The shift in temperature was drastic: Levi went from shivering to patting sweat beads off his head in the matter of seconds. The scarcely ventilated moister in the air from the natural hot spring made it a little stifle and overwhelmingly hot. For the past few days, he did nothing but secretly beg for warmth, but now that he got it he couldn't believe he was complaining about it.

As he ambled on through the pebble littered floor, he undid a few buttons of his shirt and leaped on a boulder, giving himself a panoptic view.

An army of stalactite loomed overhead like a bed of spears ready to plummet them with just the slightest quiver of the earth. Stalagmite caged around them, making them feel as tightly pressed as their clothes stuck to their dampened skin. The smell of earthly minerals and stagnated musk filled the air.

After Levi and Mikasa made a few rounds around the heated pool and checked behind every rock and in between every crevice, they both sat, mirroring each other on flat boulders. They didn't find any other passage ways that lead elsewhere or places Kenny could've hid. Without confirming it, they silently agreed that the escaped convict wasn't here.

"I'm stumped." Levi crossed his arms and legs, looking as hard and sharp as the rocks formed around him. "If he isn't here I don't know where he could be. The idiot probably froze to death in a ditch."

"There might be other caves like this in the area. Now we know he has to stay somewhere warm and only caves like this can provide that." Mikasa stood then, set on leaving and searching for another cave, but before she cleared a step, a slight tug on her sleeve pulled her attention back.

Levi had pinched the cuff of her sleeve between his fingers. Keeping his focus on the ground, he spoke low enough that the natural walls didn't throw back his echo, "There's time for that later. We know he has to stay put somewhere warm. For now, try to warm up." The gentle (and rare) drop in his voice convinced her to sit back down without any thought.

There was no immediate threat to address, she supposed (although her body still pumped urgently because there were always those unforeseeable possibilities). Now that she thought about it, Kenny couldn't go too far until the snow thawed. Like Levi said, he had to be held up somewhere close by.

Levi's still sick with a fever, she remembered—it would due him some good to warm up. And with some of her clothes frosted and wet she thought it wise to warm up before she permitted herself to catching frostbite.

She entertained her sight by watching the water cascade into the foggy gray waters. She found herself hypnotized by the gentle trickle and the sound of drips bouncing off onto the stalagmite.

"How are you feeling?" Levi said, rubbing his sweaty hands together after fifteen minutes of silence.

"I'm feeling okay," she reported. A little hot, she wanted to add. She slipped a finger in her scarf and loosened the noose-like hold around her neck and folding it in her lap. "Why are you asking so suddenly?"

He kept his eyes pinned down at his fingers, flexing out and curling tensely. He had to bring this up eventually. "It's just," he swallowed dryly. "A lot happened last night."

Mikasa's gaze retracted to her lap. She played with the edged tongs of the scarf and gulped down the scrambled words that wouldn't make sense if she voiced—but this reaction, little did Mikasa know, caused Levi to enter dread-mode.

"I'm sorry...if I put any pressure on you, or forced anything on you..." Levi paused here, trying to organized his choppy words. "If you're having more rational thoughts now, there would be no hard feeling; we can forget it happened, if you feel that way. I know it was a shock, all of it—and you might be having second thoughts. I want you to know that's oka—"

"I don't regret any of it," she snapped in a beat with genuine conviction, straightening her slumped posture. "What happened last night... Yes, it was shocking and apart of me still can't believe it happened. But what you and I did..." she recalled the touch of Levi's lips and the way it felt when his hands touched her in places she's never been touched before. Her skin prickled with goosebumps, her heart fluttered. "I don't regret doing that—not at all. So you don't have a reason to apologize."

Levi, finally looking directly across at her, let out a heavy breath he kept bottled up in his chest. "That's a relief."

The last thing he ever wanted to do was to cause Mikasa discomfort. And he never wanted to take advantage of her. A part of him felt that the heat of the moment brisked her away last night; she might've been shocked from the blow of being engaged to him, and reliving memories of her parents was also added to the confusing mix. He feared, that after some thought, she would have doubts and regrets about the whole ordeal.

Levi wanted to make it absolutely clear that if that were the case, it would be fine, that nothing had to change and no hard feelings would linger. Unbelievable enough, she actually felt okay with it. And so did he. At least they're on mutual grounds.

"And," Mikasa began and Levi placed his undivided attention on her again, making her flush hesitantly under his gaze. She cornered her eyes aside so she could get the words out without tripping over them. "I still...want to marry you."

A few scattered drops of water filled the void of silence. The two strongest could face anything, any difficult obstacle or foe...but they could not face each other. They meekly kept their florid faces down.

Levi couldn't believe his hearing. Mikasa wanted to marry him: the girl he cared for more than anything, the one who taught him how to smile and love and protect was willing to bind herself to him and spend the rest of her days with him.

"I'm not saying you have to start writing vows or anything," Mikasa corrected, her voice light. "I want to spend time with you and get to know you first. That way, it'll be meaningful when we tie the knot. As it should be. If that's okay with you, of course."

"In other words," he blinked in thought. "You want to date me first?"

"If you're comfortable with that," she finished off with a nod to confirm.

Was he comfortable with dating the woman he's in love with? What a tough decision. "That sounds great, Mikasa. Really. We can go at any pace you're comfortable with."

She sucked in an exhilarated breath through a smile. It looked like it took a lot for her to say, and it took a lot for Levi to hear, too, and because of that they fell back into silence for a while.

"It's really beautiful in here," Mikasa said wistfully after a long lapse, reclining back on her hands as she peered up at the sepia stalactite above.

As she wandered her eyes at the earthly art adorning the ceiling, Levi's gaze never divagated from her. "Yes, very beautiful."

Growing stiff from sitting on a hard rock for the past half-hour, Mikasa stretched up, sending a glare at the pool that simmered like a cauldron. "I wanna feel the water, do you think it's safe?"

"I don't see why not." Levi stood, brushing himself off as he headed for the dip. Mikasa followed after curiously.

He approached the ledge and gazed down into the steaming pool as Mikasa squatted down on the soles of her shoes, tentatively pressing a flattened palm over the surface of the water.

"It doesn't appear to be too hot," her fingers cut through the water in a pendulum motion. Vapors rose from the waters, making the water look as tempting as a bowl of soup to a hungry traveler. It was hot, but not piping; about the temperature one would have a bath—and with that thought came an idea. Her head motioned up at Levi.

"We should take a bath." Some therapeutic soaking will do them both some good after dealing with all the recent stress.

"Wha—why," Levi's body harden in defense, the same way it did before he fought. He looked down at her as if she suggested to throw themselves into a Titan's mouth with no logical reason attached.

Mikasa straighten her legs up, wiping her wet hand on her pants. Hitching up a brow, she peered down at him with crossed arms. "Levi: Humanity's Cleanliest Man, is asking me why we should take a bath? Is the heat making you fatigue?" She flatted her hand against his forehead, "or is your fever making you delirious?"

Tightening his lip to block a retort to her teasing, he brushed her hand away and strolled along the edge, gazing down at the tempting water. "It's not that I wouldn't like to take a bath." He's been wanting one for days, actually. "Its just, I mean..."

"I never knew you flustered so easy."

"I'm not flustered," his words whipped the musky air. "You're a young girl and I'm a man, don't you think it would be inappropriate to bath together like you're implying?"

"Hm..." she played off the act of thinking, but her mind was already set. "But you're technically my fiancé—I don't think those rules apply to us. In fact, I think bathing together would be encouraged."

"Mikasa," he actually gasped. He could hardly recognize her through the smug cloud swarming around her, but he couldn't say he hated this side to her. But he was still hesitant to oblige with her risqué suggestion.

With a condescending eye roll, Mikasa tossed up her hands and came up with a compromise. "How about this: we'll close our eyes when we undress and won't open them until were in the bath. Sound reasonable?"

He swallowed loud enough to create an echo. "Fine..."

Standing back to back to back, Levi and Mikasa worked on peeling off their clothes, hearing only the rustling of the others cloths as they unraveled themselves. Mikasa tossed her defrosted clothes onto a pile of stalagmite and Levi set his clothes on a nearby craggy rock.

"I'll head in first," Levi announced bravely and tested the waters with the tip of his toe. He then stepped down onto the flat, stony platform, lowing himself down until submerged in the wispy vapors. Once settled, he situated his elbow back on the boarding rocks.

"Alright, I'm not looking," Levi looked off to his right as Mikasa joined in from the left. The water rippled around her as she eased herself up to her chest.

Gentle splashing and trickling from the cascade filled the overwhelming silence between them, but Mikasa soon broke that. "A natural hot spring. This really is a vacation," she commented, reclining her head back as she let the hot water seep into her aching muscles.

Levi finally looked in her direction, and she welcomed his gaze with a hooked smile. And at that moment, he felt blessed for seeing that smile directed at him.

If their mission in the wilderness could turn into a winter resort in the mountains, he could only imagine what their honeymoon would be like.

Levi entertained himself with the thought. An abstract future entered the forefront of his mind, and for once, he could say he's not completely delusional to imagine this: he pictured Mikasa in a white frilly gown trimmed with silver embroidery with a laced veil crown over her shiny black hair. The ceremony now completely replaced his sight of the steamy water. He envisioned those closest to them there, even ones they had lost were attending in spirit, cheering on their kiss that would seal their bond as man and wife.

The traditional wedding he imagined was inspired from the story book he read yesterday, with church bells and doves flying overhead as they descended down the cathedral steps hand in hand. They would jump into the carriage parked out front and head off to their honeymoon where they could consummate their marriage.

Levi gulped anxiously at that, and his fairy tale dream bubble popped in a flash.

Mikasa was no longer beside him when his surroundings restored around him. She had swam to the middle of the pool and dipped her head back, wetting her hair. Within this action he caught a glimpse of her exposed chest rising from the water. Even though he pulled his head away in a flash, he still couldn't erase the detailed image permanently carved in his memory. He tried not to let the panic show—but after months of trying to picture what Mikasa looked like under her shirt and harness gear in his free time, it was hard to mask his reaction to seeing The Real Thing.

When he dared to peek her way again, she was beneath the narrow waterfall (with the water line up to her neck) using it as a shower.

Immersing her sore neck a while, Mikasa soon rolled her neck back and opened her cloudy eyes on him, and as usual he was staring at her. For the first time, she actually understood why he looked at her like that. Levi broke eye contact then with abrupt haste, like he had something much more interesting to look at in this featureless cave. She dunk down into the foggy water and smirked beneath the surface. Who knew, the Captain of the Survey Corps was the shiest soldier ever recruited.

She swam up to him and took him by the hand. Despite his protest, she escorted him with a pull to the deeper end of the pool. She urged him back until his head submerged under the cascade. Wet hair fringed around her face and stuck to her cheeks. A stain of black tied to the corner of her lip as she kneaded his slick hair back with great concentration.

During the smoothing sensation of her fingers massaging deeply at his scalp, Levi had closed his eyes and relished in the tingling-inducing feelings. When his eyes opened again, his relaxed body tensed up again, for her chest was within inches of his face.

"M-Mikasa," he stuttered, his heart hammering and his face heated. He rose up, scrambling backward in splashing resist. When he finally found his balance, he swept up his damp bangs that had fallen out of place from his sudden haste. "Please, cover yourself."

Mikasa sunk back down, blowing bubbles into the water with a grumpy grimace; her silky hair danced above the waters like swirling tendrils. Her eyes drifted low, and she lifted her chin above the water to say: "You should practice what you preach. I can see your penis."

Mikasa's words immobilized Levi. It took a while to comprehend the meaning of those words. Slowly, the ability to think returned to him, and it was then he realized he was in fact standing in the shallow end. He looked down, and there it was, his manhood proudly on display (and also half-awake, as if liking the attention). With cheeks steaming hotter than the pool, he projected himself down into the water, covering his shame, but not the rest of his dignity. He kept sinking down, as if caught in quicksand, hoping he'd drown.

Mikasa giggled. He glowered at her with a bitter, "Quiet."

"I don't know why you're getting so worked up over this," she swam around him swiftly like a prowling piranha. "You're a guy who has a penis, and I'm a girl who has breasts." She paddled behind him, her lips close to his ear, "wow, I'm so shocked."

He slued to face her. Her sarcasm wasn't making him feel any better about this and the disapproval clearly showed on his face.

"You shouldn't even know about...boy parts," he mumbled, his eyes following her laps around him.

Mikasa's went slack. "Seriously? Boy parts? You sound younger than me."

He whipped his neck into an agitated roll. "Last I checked, you didn't even know how babies were made."

"You didn't either," she reminded him. "And in case you haven't noticed, I'm not five anymore."

Moving his eyes away from her, he fixated his sight on the foggy waters. Oh, he had noticed, all right.

"You're so serious," she teased, and he looked up in time to see her mimicking his pouting expression, her brows straightening and bunching up above the bridge, a downward curl on her lip.

She's good at that; like staring into a mirror. She must've had a lot of practice making fun of him behind his back with her friends.

"I said quiet." With a single swing, Levi splashed up a wave and the water washed away her mocking expression, leaving her with one of shock.

"Oh, you don't even know what you started. It's war now." Mikasa retaliated with splash created with greater intensity, and Levi felt like he was struck with a sudden tidal wave brewed up from a mighty storm. She had a good deal of strength in those arms, that's for certain.

The splashing continued, swishing combers back and forth until Levi clinched her wrists firmly, hauling her counter-splash. "I surrender."

She hummed victoriously. Not everyday do you hear the strongest man surrender.

The rippling whirlpool created by their roughhousing pushed their afloat bodies closer, and once the water stilled, the cave grew so quiet—so peacefully quiet. They stared longingly at one another then; Levi stared into her sharp steel eyes and Mikasa couldn't look away from those small gems of blue.

The water sparkled from the bright ray of light from above, as if a cloud drifted from the sun. The rippling water dispersed with twinkles, creating webbed reflections on their damp skin.

Their vision fogged, making them appear dreamy and soft to one another. Their minds drifted in a haze, and they lost themselves in that deep, longing stare full of intent and desire until Mikasa's eyes aimed at Levi's mouth. She rubbed her fingers along the back of his nape tenderly, gliding her nails over his prickled skin. And then, her voice pierced through the mist.

"Kiss me," she muttered in a humid whisper, her bright eyes switching to each of his in turn almost pleadingly.

Wanting to taste the mouth that made such a sweet request, Levi lightly pinched her chin and reeled her in with hooded eyes.

Mikasa didn't know if it were the stifle heat making her fatigue, but she felt light headed the moment their lips met, as if she'd faint any moment, but Levi's active mouth kept her alert. She pressed her lips, and her body, closer and as the kiss lengthen, the boundaries were no more.

Mikasa could feel Levi's hard pecks rising steeply against her chest as he took deep gasps between their kisses.

And Levi could feel the cushioned plush of Mikasa's breasts. All he could think about was how perfect he felt with her body meshed up against his.

Wanting to get even closer, Mikasa had wrapped her legs around his waist, tightly constricting his hips with her thighs, and her glazed breasts pressed harder against his chest. Every curve and indentation of their muscles were frictioning together, fluctuating and rubbing and fusing unbearably close.

Just before abolishing the levee blocking perilous impulses from overflowing, (and thus allowing himself to drive into mindless pleasure) Levi grabbed onto the only rational thought before it vanished from his fevered mind.

"We should stop," he dipped his head down, reluctantly detaching their lips. It felt like the right thing to say, but pulling away made him feel like a beggar turning down a meal. He wanted her. He had her, right now, in a predicament he never thought he'd be in with her. And that was precisely why he pulled away. This, the sudden shift in his and Mikasa's relationship, wasn't ever supposed to happen. When he'd lay awake and alone, he'd imagine kissing Mikasa, touching her, seeing her nude. Hundreds of times he had seen a scene like this play out in his mind, (albeit not in a cave setting) but having it actually happen was a whole other story.

Levi's dreams and fantasies didn't have consequences. Taking a risqué step with Mikasa now, however, did have consequences. Dire ones that could drastically alter both of their lives forever. Merging fantasy with reality not only didn't settle with him right, but it also terrified him to think of the risks involved.

"You promised me that we could go at any pace I'm comfortable with." Mikasa countered while continuously slicking back his hair and it drove Levi absolutely mad with lust. "Are you going back on your promise, Captain? You don't seem like the type of man who does that," she expressed almost connivingly.

A stroking fingers glided along his cheek and touched his lips. While tracing the plump shape of them, her eyes searched every inch of his face. She examined his equally sharp and delicate features: he had the eyes of a deadly cougar, but had the small nose of a domestic kitten. His whole body was constructed like that: built strong and solid but also small and petite at the same time. She was growing so fond of these little contradictions he possessed.

"We can't, Mikasa," he mustered up a stern tone and attempted to pry her hips from his, but it was like trying to pry a rusted bolt from its groove bare-handed. After a feeble effort to detach himself from her, he gave up after no success and allowed her to squirm even closer until her hip bones jutted into his.

There's nothing he wanted more than to forget the cruel world outside this cave and live in this safe sanctuary where only he and Mikasa existed—but the world had grown too dark and too perilous to allow fantasies to drive a person's mind. Although Mikasa was his top priority, there was a mission and orders at stake that needed to be addressed before delving into leisure pleasure.

"We still need to retrieve—" Levi tried to remind her of the current mission at hand, but forgot the bastards name when Mikasa's breasts emerged up from the misty water with a glossy glaze.

"That's all ever we do, Levi," she kept rubbing his cheek, her brows curled sadly in the center. "We take orders and ensure others survival. Day after day with no reward. I think you know that you and I hold the most weight on our shoulders, but we never complain because we know we're doing the right thing. But we never take some time for ourselves," she slithered her arms around his neck and kissed him there, right on his quickening pulse. "We deserve to unwind and have a little fun for a change, don't you think?"

Levi barely comprehended her distant sounding words because he had entered a dreamy state where his brain activity became low to make up for the blood rushing elsewhere. At her silent pecks and airy sighs hitting his ear, he melted and disregarded everything in that moment, and found his eyes closing in content. With his thoughts only teeming of Mikasa now, his hands wandering up Mikasa's hips as she lovingly nibbled on his ear.

Something growing and hardening pressed up against her lower stomach, and it was then that Levi knew something much more breathtaking than the freedom they sought was about to occur between them in this cave. This wasn't just a fantasy or dreams anymore, and that reality hit him just then. There were, of course, still concerns lingering. He wondered if Mikasa actually understood what was about to take place.

"Are you positive you don't want to wait?" he managed to say between her needy sucks along the slope of his neck. "I mean, I'd love to—I want to. But I don't want you making any rash decisions you'd regret."

She dragged her eyes up to look at his, her lashes fluttering heavy. "I'd only regret not doing it. None of us are promised tomorrow anymore, Levi. If you want to do it and I know I want to, then we should. This might be our only chance to go through with it. I know it seems like were moving fast, but we could die tomorrow, or we could even die as soon as we leave this cave. I don't know about you, but the only thing I'd regret would be passing this chance up. For once I just want to do something I want to do, something normal and natural. Something that benefits me and someone I care about," she traced her fingers along his clenching jaw, her eyes slick. "We should do something selfish for once, we should live. You and I are more than our skills and kill count. We deserve to be normal people with desires and emotions for a change."

Admittedly, he'd hate dying if he knew he had the chance to share a special intimate moment with Mikasa. At least, if Levi does die tomorrow, he'll die feeling a little more human than he did before. He'd let death take him while reflecting on a good memory with someone he cared deeply about. He doesn't want to see a montage of death and sadness when he dies—he wanted to see this moment, right now, the first moment he experienced in years that made him feel alive again.

Mikasa felt the same. When she died, she wanted to see Levi as he looked right now and reflect back to the way he looked at her so preciously. No one had ever looked at Mikasa the way Levi did; with such fond devotion. That welled her up with a feeling so strong because she understood that look—that's the look you give when staring at someone you care about more than anything in the world. Mikasa knows this because she spent the past six years looking at Eren in that very same way. She never thought anyone would look at her like that. For once, she felt special and wanted and most of all, loved.

In the end, neither of them wanted to die as unstoppable, emotionless machines that killed Titans and had tragic tales engraved in their souls. They don't want to be remembered like that. Heartless warriors who never loved or expressed emotion was not a title they wanted to take to the graves.

If Levi must leave people behind someday, he wanted to leave knowing he made a difference in someone's life, knowing they could think back on the good times outside of battle. So far, he hadn't achieved such memories with anyone. Mikasa had her friends, at least, to remember the real her. But Levi never loved, and was never loved by anyone before.

In truth, however, Levi had no plans of dying anytime soon and as long as he's alive he will keep Mikasa alive, too. But he wanted to prove to her now how much she meant to him—but not with words (because he certainly doesn't posses the lyrical prose needed to captivate just how much she means to him). Levi might not be well versed in words and expression, but he had always been especially adept in one area of expertise: his body. And right now he planned to use his body to demonstrate to her just how much he cared about her.

No more words, no more struggling for the right expression. All they wanted to see now was the magic both of their skilled bodies could create once linked together.

Levi's hand swam beneath the current, sweeping up her inner thigh. He focused on her eyes until they squeezed closed tightly, and her bottom lip dropped open with a stuttering breath as Levi grazed virgin territories. A hiccup of a sound sputtered from her, and she herself even looked surprised (and a little abashed) at the sounds she just made.

A burning sting that ached so good swelled up between her, and a part of Levi swelled up against her. Dryness invested her mouth from her steep gasps; leaving her throat stinging. Soon enough, Mikasa felt her thighs quiver and clamp around his caressing hand, her area becoming inflamed more so with every stroke.

Applying more pressure, his finger rubbed in quick semi-circles until Mikasa fell paralyzed with numbness from the waist down, feeling nothing but the surges of pleasure Levi inflicted upon her.

Levi's attention became memorized by all the expressions she gifted him with. Greedily, he buffed his fingers against her sensitive zone with added pressure, wanting more reactions, wanting her to get louder. He immersed his hearing in every sweet sound that slipped off her tongue, each moan sounding shaky, feeble and just beautiful—he still couldn't fathom how he was making her like this. What had he done to deserve this beauty and have her all to himself?

And just then, Mikasa did something that unleashed a wild rush of seduction: she said his name in a quivering breath.

Simulated with covetous arousal, he backed himself up into the side of the pool and situated her in his lap. In a desperate second he grabbed hold his throbbing piece and slipped into her without so much as a warning. Placing one hand on the small of her back and the other on her vibrating thigh to keep her in place, he pushed himself right into her.

Mikasa's brows drew down deeply in the center, half pained, half pleasure, but her teary eyes gazed at him as if he single handedly bestowed her with the world itself. She felt the inches slowly insert within her, and she felt herself riven to accommodate him. She grid her teeth and sucked in a fierce breath that lingered in her chest. Unable to move or breath, she bared through the new space taken up within her and remained still.

The same didn't apply for Levi—he started moving immediately inside her, unsettling the water with his thrusting hips. A tinge of galvanizing energy billowed though him, rousing him with a high of adrenaline that he intended to exhaust until he ran low on fumes.

Mikasa's thighs shuddered as she adjusted to the size spreading her internally. Keeping a confiding hold around her to sooth her thrashing body, Levi plunged deeper between her legs, gliding along her slick inner walls.

While he advanced his way up the tight enclosure, Mikasa placed her hands on either side of his face, holding him like something valuable. Feebly, she scraped her forehead against his, attempting to steady her breath to match his. She kissed the center of his brow, where his wrinkles always bunched up, hoping to iron out the creases with her hot lips. When she pulled back, his face relaxed significantly and Mikasa still couldn't fathom the way he looked at her; like the most valued treasure the world had ever know. It was as if he was the proud owner marveling at his most prized possession.

"My heart is beating so fast," she maundered flimsily between airy sighs, her eyes brimming with tears. "I feel like it's going to explode."

Levi gave a sensual grunt and sloppily claimed her lips before asking, "Wanna slow down?"

"Actually, I was about to ask you to go faster..." she requested bashfully.

"What the lady wants, the lady gets," he obliged politely, but nothing was chivalrous about his following actions. While he took extra precaution not to hurt her, he drilled in with nearly all his strength and for a hazy beat Mikasa couldn't even recall how to breath—and that's exactly how she wanted it. It felt wonderful to go blank in the mind and allow her body to dip into mindless pleasure for once. Right now, all that existed was her and Levi and the mind blowing stimulus they created together.

Right as he fully buried himself to the hilt, in that moment, Mikasa caught herself thinking that she would never tease Levi about being a little man ever again. Every time he'd move she'd brace herself by clutching him tighter. Levi pulled himself out teasingly slow, then rammed right into her tender zone, making her voice shatter like fragile ice.

The feel of his pulse echoing deep inside her was like nothing she felt before. When he started to pump even harder while fondling her madly, the new sensations racked up by the dozen. The feel of her delicate lips spreading apart for his smoothness drove her to the brink. The labored sighs and moans they made together synced into something as beautiful as music.

Levi clenched his jaw, and the movement of his hips stopped with a jerky halt. "Are you sure I'm not hurting you?"

She shook her head before he was even done speaking, as if she wanted him to keep moving without breaks. Mikasa, too dazed to vocalize, mouthed the word "no" a few times. Then she gave him a weak, needy kiss and rubbed their noses together after their lips parted.

He continued to plow into her, and her body responded with a wild tremble, like a bolt shot through her, leaving her twitching. Levi kept his eyes glued to her, totally absorbed by her lustful gaping mouth, her hooded eyes, her voluptuous body connected to his. Levi memorized every twitch, every sound that was created for him only to witness.

Mikasa, with the flame inside her smoldering hotter, matched his rhythm eventually, meeting him half way in their thrusts until she felt bold enough to take charge. While straddling him, she took hold of his shoulders dearly for balance. Sensuously arching her back, she bobbed in his lap, stirring her hips while cherishing each and every inch of him shifting inside her.

A husky, satisfied moan emitted from Levi, and he kept his hands securely attached to her hips, digging his fingers into her curves when she'd hit against a sensitive spot. Once she was used to the astride position, Mikasa let go of his shoulders and tangled her fingers in his hair while he shifted his palms down to grope behind her, aiding the flow of movement. Rocking together, they united together into a fusion of loud, fast-paced pleasure.

Mikasa practiced no restraint as she drilled down faster, and Levi dug his fingers into her flesh and panted wildly, nearly breathless as she bounced in his lap without a moments rest. Her shrilling moans, seasoned with lustful words and his name, motivated him to take over the movements again. Pumping up faster into her, harder just as she wanted, he gifted her with all the pleasure possible.

Even when they reached an ultimate peek it still wasn't enough. They wanted more. Their lips met rashly, their laving tongues intertwining and their passionate moans echoing in each others mouths. Levi seized a handful of her breasts, and Mikasa took over again, grinding roughly against him until neither of them could even see straight.

Mikasa curved her neck back, freeing a wail in a stiff tremor and Levi brought his head down for a succulent treat. Flicking his tongue pungently, he laved her nipple with a generous layer of saliva and nibbled at her sensitive skin. It felt as if Mikasa's heart dropped down and beat between her legs, and each pulse made her cry out for Levi as her fingers raked along the muscular indentations of his back.

Levi pinched the nub between his teeth and constricted the other between his fingers, and Mikasa screamed so loud her cry echoed off the craggy walls. The cave walls caught her cry and repeated it, over and over, and the walls cracked and settled again from the sound blast assaulting it.

Levi flinched with a twitching shiver and he bit the side of his lip. After sucking in a hissing breath, he let out a gravely sigh. Buzzing tingles spread out all throughout his body and he couldn't help but to convulse in Mikasa arms.

As she came closer to her peek, the lips between her legs clamped down tight around his hardness. That was the final stimulus Levi needed—his body shuddered tightly, then loosened limply, granting him relief. His mind hazed and his vision fringed with fuzzy white during his last stroke before pulling out, where he drained his liquids into the murky waters.

Between the shared climax and the hot vapors, they could hardly inhale a satisfying breath. Mikasa was still clinging to him, her chest rising and falling frantically as she took short rapid breaths. Levi closed his eyes then, indulging in the remaining twitches and numbness before the sensations left his system.

Still panting, Mikasa sunk down and rested her head on his fluctuating chest, and Levi wrapped his arms around her back, kissing the crown of her head lovingly.

~x~

The walk home was the worst. Not only had the temperature dropped drastically due to the sun setting, but neither of them wanted to leave the comfort and warmth of the cave. If it weren't for the light dimming from the skylights in the ceilings and their skin shriveling up like dry prunes from the moister, they probably wouldn't have left that warm and charming cavern.

Levi hated going back out into the cold after spoiling himself in the heat all day, and he hated crossing the slippy patch of ice over the pond again even more (thankfully no one fell, but Levi slipped so much he was sure he pulled his leg out of place).

Mikasa missed the feeling of the trickling warm water basting over her tired bones, and she hated passing the crows again, who were a bit quieter, and less menacing this time around since they were turning in for the night. After a few lazy caws, they ruffled their wings and let them go on their way.

With every step, Mikasa felt a new pain form in her muscles, particularly her thighs, pelvis, even her hips throbbed (and she was almost certain that Levi's hand prints were marked in a bruise there). She might've been a tad too ambitious during her first time—since her and Levi share a similar level of strength she thought she could take him at full power. Lesson learned: Levi outmatched her. The pleasure outweighed the pain, however, so given the chance for a do-over, she'd take it the same way. A little discomfort in payment for that mind blowing experience felt like a steal, in fact.

While walking home, Mikasa strayed a few steps behind and just admired Levi from afar, taking mental notes on the way he walked and the alertness held in his posture. He appeared so intimidating, so much bigger than he was. His gait was bold and rough, but somehow he remained graceful and light on his feet at the same time. Mikasa found herself loving all his contradictions.

Levi twisted his neck back, checking on her. The way a streak of somber sunlight hit the side of his face made him look so breathtakingly handsome, Mikasa thought. She ran up to his side, grabbing his cold hand before he could notice.

Looking down at their joined hands, Levi twitched his lip into a quick curl and squeezed her hand. They ambled on, their hands swinging between them. "You used to do this when you were little, too. You'd always hold my hand when we went out on an adventure."

Mikasa smiled warmly at the memory. She couldn't remember, but his words inspired her heart to recall a sensation of nostalgia. "I think this definitely counts as an adventure. Our biggest one yet, surely."

Coming out in the winterized wilderness with Mikasa, telling her about the engagement and the time they spent together, making love together—indeed, it was one hell of an adventure that topped them all.

When he went over the mission briefing with his squad and Hanji, he never imagined this would happen. A self explanatory mission of guard duty in a disclosed location in the wilderness to extract information from a Central MP: that's all it was meant to be. Boring and eventual, that's how he pictured this job, but it had been anything but that.

The mission never goes as plan, does it? But for once, it didn't end in tragedy, but ended on a beautiful note instead. If only they actually accomplished their key objective of keeping Kenny under house arrest (they royally failed that main objective today). But right now, Levi's only key objective was getting Mikasa back to their temporary home safely so she could get some needed rest.

The white forest was alive with glowing amber from the dulling sun. The waning sun burned like gold, obstructed by the silhouette of trees, and when they exited the woods, they could see the rays glaring on the vast white tops. It was a blinding sight, seeing the cold carpeting dusted with gems, as if the amber sparks were buried in the white powder and winking as they moved.

The rickety cabin drew into their visual range, and it sat there just as they left it. The blanket of snow still piled on the roof, the icicles still dripping from the trim of the poach, the frosted windows still resembling clouded ice, and the brick chimney coughing up gray plumes of smoke...

". . . . . ."

With both pairs of eyes clinging to the chimney, Levi and Mikasa balked. In a slow and unsure motion, they turned to gander at one another's reactions. Mikasa had hitched up a brow and tossed a bemused expression to Levi, and he gifted her with the same exact reaction.

They silently held the same thoughts, but dared not speak them because they were both convinced their eyes were playing tricks. The dwindling sunset must be casting shadows that made the illusion, or the white icy wind whirled just above the chimney...

There was no denying it. That smoke was rising from the hearth of a freshly kindled fire.

Certainly, the fire place shouldn't have the resources to manifest any smoke to cough up. The supply of wood ran out last night, and no one chopped down any more to replace the stock (and no one was even home to have filled the hearth if they had). It couldn't have been Levi's squad that had come to rendezvous with them; the conditions still weren't ideal, and surely if they were here, they would be seeing carriages and horses parked out front.

Unless another unknown traveler made temporary home there, just as they did?

Levi went on ahead, climbing the short flight up the pouch with attentive caution. As Mikasa went up the stairs soundlessly, Levi had sidled over to the window, pressing his back to the logged walls, trying to peek inside for movement or signs of another person inside. All he saw was the kitchen just as they left it, with his cool, untouched tea on the counter.

Realizing he hadn't any weapons on him—which was a dumb, half asleep mistake made earlier in the midst of sullen panic—Levi prepared for the worse and braced himself. After beckoning Mikasa closer with a signal, he pushed the slab of the door open.

At first Levi thought the inside of the home only felt warm in comparison with the outside, but when they heard a blazing crackle coming from the living room, the two strongest sought out one another's reactions, and they both just blinked dumbly at each other—until they heard a creak from the floorboards.

In that instant, they powered their legs into the living room, and there they met the back of tall black stature, outlined with a somber glow, standing in front of the fire burning in the pit.

They didn't know if the fire roaring or the man standing in front of the hearth shocked them more.

Mikasa had taken a step in reverse, lurching her chin back and flapping her lips wordlessly, but Levi heaved forward in a single stomp, his eyes bulging.

"What the..." Levi sucked in a breath. "Kenny?"

The man continued to idly watch the fire below, shifting his weight back on his heels with his hands secured in his pockets.

There's no mistaking it—that's Kenny.

He should be deep within hiding by now. What was he doing here? Never did Levi expect to find him back here of all places. A new traveler making a pit-stop here seemed more plausible than that. Kenny being long gone or long dead made more sense than what his eyes showed him. Kenny escaped them, why would he come back? Levi could always predict Kenny's thoughts and motives, but this left him clueless. It was far too out of character for Kenny to even leave in the first place—but for him to return to imprisonment when he was given the opportunity to flee without even a pesky a quarrel was unbelievable.

"Where were you?" Mikasa, finally catching up with the situation in front of her, step forward, right beside Levi.

The man shot them an indifferent look over his shoulder, which contrasted the doubtful and questioning glares shooting back at him. Kenny sighed, slumping his shoulders as if they rudely barged in and interrupted his peaceful evening. "I went out to get some firewood earlier because you two were afraid of lumbering through some snow."

Based on the new pyramid of chopped wood in the corner, Levi had already made that assessment. Levi was too focused on figuring out Kenny that he decided to let his dig pass—it's not like they were afraid to go out, they were unable to during the blizzard.

"We thought you escaped," Mikasa said like it was a question.

"Ha," the man snorted defiantly and readjusted his hat. "The weather conditions still aren't ideal enough for something that ambitious—but chopping down some wood isn't a problem for me."

Levi took another galvanizing step, growing tense with anger. "You know damn well that you shouldn't sneak out without permission."

"I didn't sneak out," Kenny countered curtly, pointing down the hall. "You didn't lock the door to the basement last night. You basically invited me to come and go as I please."

Levi cringed. It was a careless mistake on his part. "I...forgot."

"Obviously." Kenny crashed down on the couch, kicking his boots up on the coffee table. "You always chose brawn before brains, after all." Kenny chuckled, and Levi wanted to quip back but seeing Kenny's wet, dirty boots on the coffee table made him go into a trance-like state.

Kenny dug through his coat, pulling out his thick cigar which he parked in the corner of his mouth, he continued rummaging through his many pockets. "I was hoping I'd be back before you two panicked and conducted an all-out man hunt." He puffed his cigar after lighting it, and Levi and Mikasa groaned at the irony of his words. It was a little too late for that. Even if Kenny wasn't gone long, they had no evidence left behind suggesting he would be back. It was more logical to assume he was gone for good, which was why they left immediately and started searching—but in reality, he probably came back home within the hour they left.

"I still stand by what I said, you should've told us." Levi folded his arms and stood his ground.

Mikasa observed the scene quietly for now, knowing she would need to save her strength in case a fight ensued between them (and it always did without fail).

Kenny flicked his ash into a bowl (which he took upon himself to convert into an ashtray). "Tch. Excuse me, but you two looked so cozy this morning, all cuddled up in each others arms—I didn't want to disturb you two."

Both of their cheeks kindled hotter than the end of his cigar. A shiny glint sparked in Kenny's droopy eyes as he looked at them in turn. Smoke emitted from his stretched smile.

"By the way," Kenny paused for another drag, "I didn't get wood to keep you warm, pipsqueak. I did it for myself. And for my dear niece. You would've let her freeze to death," he scolded.

"No I wouldn't have," Levi took offense.

"What, plan on keeping her toasty with your body heat? Hate to break it to you, runt, but you ain't big enough to generate enough of heat for her."

Mikasa stepped in before the banter got out of control. As Mikasa saw it, Kenny carried out a good deed and he should be rewarded for it. Saying how he should've went about the deed itself shouldn't be discussed right now; he's back under their watch and that's all that actually mattered. Now was not the time to argue when a big problem was easily resolved by Kenny doing the right thing. "Thanks Kenny, you really helped us all out."

Levi's folded arms braced tighter, his muscles flexing while he kept his eyes locked on Kenny. Obviously, he did not agree with his betrothal. "Oh yeah, really helped us out by making us go out in the fucking snow anyway to look for you. You knew I'd hunt you down so you didn't save us from any trouble."

Kenny found that amusing. "That's a good point. If you can go out to look for me, why couldn't you get wood? Oh, I know. Because you could use it as an excuse to get close to a pretty lady, what a dog," he quipped.

"It's not like that," Levi muttered. In an emergency, like a prisoner escaping, they are trained to accept their missions even if it kills them and without Kenny there was no mission, but Levi didn't feel like explaining all that. Besides, during the blizzard no one could've went out—not even Kenny. The storm just happened to stop this morning.

Levi would've been much more pissed if he said something like that before he had become an item with Mikasa, but since the relationship changed between them, he didn't feel the need to correct the suggestive remark—and Kenny noticed that. He awaited the lash back, but didn't get any...it almost made the man anxious not to hear a quip from Levi. It was like seeing a deer sensing the hunters aim on him, waiting for the trigger to squeeze but the blow never comes.

"What? You admit it then?" Kenny pressed for a comeback of any kind, not satisfied with the lack of heated retorts from his ex-successor.

"I'm the one who offered to conserve body heat together last night..." Mikasa confessed.

"Oh...' Kenny's hard face softened. "Now I kind of wish I didn't get the wood," Kenny muttered in a drawl, "I feel like I ruined a good system you two had going on..."

"For fucks sake, be quiet," Levi finally snapped, having enough of the idiotic chatter. This wasn't a game, but Kenny's making survival seem like it. Levi nursed his head and walked into the kitchen—then twirled right back around and landed in his previous spot beside Mikasa. "I forgot, we have no tea left," he said it with an eerie air of irony.

Kenny chuckled idly at Levi's misfortune like the prick he was.

Levi swooped a hand over his face, revealing a cold stare at his ex-mentor. "If you want to perform good deeds, old man, you should've got me tea."

Kenny balked offensively, brows knitted and posture hunched forward. "Sorry, your highness. Let me just stop by a corner shop in the middle of fucking no where."

Levi shook his hands out, wanting to hit something (preferably Kenny's face), Mikasa stared worryingly between the two hostile boys, and Kenny bit the end of his cigar and eased back into the press of the couch, seemingly done with arguing.

"Now that I think about it, you two have been gone for a really long time," Kenny mused. "I don't know what time you left, but when I came back you were gone, and I've been here waiting all day. Where you two searching for me out in this cold all this time? How are you two alive?"

"We got...lost in a cave." Mikasa spat out in a panic, afraid her uncle might connect some dots due to their absence.

As usual, Mikasa's excuses were fucking horrible, Levi thought, but that's a quirk he came to love.

"Ha. You two aren't known to be humanity's smartest, after all. What a match made in heaven," he puffed wistfully on his cigar, snickering to himself.

For the first time in a while, Levi agreed wholeheartedly with Kenny, not that he'd ever admit it.

Now that everyone was accounted for, and the confused arguments had settled down, Mikasa let her mind—that had been worrying endlessly about Kenny's escape—turn to lazy mush. "My feet are killing me," Mikasa moaned and limped over to the couch to lounge.

Levi sauntered soon after, using the last of his strength to kick Kenny off the couch so he could sit near his bride-to-be.

"Didn't I raise you to have some manners?" Kenny shouted from the floor, rubbing his soar hip.

"No."

Kenny averted his eyes, raising his shoulders meekly. "Okay, you have a point, but you don't have to act like a little shit."

"Well, a big shit raised me, what do you expect?" Levi countered.

"See, this is why I'm the bad guy! I'm treated badly when I do something good!" he whined on the floor like an over-sized baby. "I'm never do a good deed again."

"Yes you are," Levi sharped his words and thrusted a finger down at him. "You're making dinner tonight—you made your dear niece run around the woods all day looking for you. She even fell through ice in the process, don't make her cook on top of all that."

It's not as if Mikasa did anything too strenuous today. Walking around in knee high snow was mild in comparison to her daily duties as a soldier, but sometimes having some R&R time could do more hard than good in the long run; like going on a leisure vacation and bouncing back to the grinding struggle of daily work. Now that her body was soothed (special thanks to Levi and the hot spring) she felt more drained than a day after boot camp.

The post-vacation blues wasn't hitting Levi just yet because he knew they still had time to themselves before they ventured back into the vicious world where they played the role of Humanity's Strongest. They were spoiled these past few days, that's for sure, and returning to what they consider the daily norm after this will surely be tough; but he decided to greedily gobble up all the leisure time with Mikasa while he still could.

"You can't make me cook," Kenny grumbled, and with his childish words, Levi and Mikasa both came to the conclusion that they really were babysitting an over sized baby.

"It's no big deal. I don't mind cooking," Mikasa had blocked the flickering light of the fire by draping her forearm over her eyes. "Just give me a few minutes to recuperate and I'll be back to full charge."

"No. This is his punishment." Levi insisted and shooed the man, who remained still, folding his arms defiantly for a second, but as Levi stare cut him slice by slice, he soon found his feet and slumped into the kitchen, bickering to himself.

"This is going to be a disaster," Mikasa commented, catching a glimpse of her uncle before he disappeared to carry out his kitchen duties.

"Probably," Levi agreed and scooped up her feet, placing them in his lap.

"What're doing?" she asked, straining down her gaze.

"Didn't you say your feet hurt?"

A restrained smirk curled across her face as Levi started to massage her feet, his fingers kneading into her worn tissue with just enough strength to untie the knots beneath the flesh.

"We can't admit we actually had fun today. Keep the guilt trip going," she schemed as he worked his thumbs into her heel.

Amusement played across his features momentary, but snapped back to concentration as he focused on loosening up her muscles.

"Doesn't touching my feet gross you out?" she wondered. Levi held the title as the most cleanliest man. For that reason, Mikasa assumed he'd be repulsed by even the idea of touching another person's foot.

"No way," he bowed down to plant a kiss on the knuckle of her big toe. "Your feet are adorable."

"And my adorable feet thank you for your selfless charity," she took one last fond look at him, then relaxed her head back and closed her eyes.

The moment would've been absolutely serene if it weren't for the clamor of pots banging together and hoarse curses emitting from the kitchen. Still, that didn't dampen Mikasa's peace of mind and contentment. Being in close range of the toasty fire, having her uncle within sight again, and being here with Levi pampering her made the night as perfect as could be.


A/N: Psst. Kenny's getting some back story in the next chapter. It's my way of trying to redeem his character by attaching reason behind some of his questionable (okay, evil) actions. Warning, it's pretty sad. But there will be a very adorable Ackerman trio scene that will make up for it. :3