*Author Note*

Hey guys! I want to thank you so much for coming back for more! It means a ton!

Starting now there will be flash backs. I just wanted to give you a heads up that when one starts/ends it will have ~~~~~~~~~~ and it will also be italicized. At the top of it it will give you information such as how many years before 845, what year precisely, and how old Claire is. I would've added Levi's age, but no one knows his true age, and I wanted to respect that and keep it unknown. However, just like in the previous chapter, it states that Claire is only two to three years younger. That's an estimate.

Thanks for your attention! Go ahead and read!

Fifteen years prior...Year 828...12 year old Claire

Claire pounded her small, delicate fist on the large wood door. The underground had always scared her, but she knew that if she was going to try to find him, this would be the place to look. Levi had told her of his roommates years back, but now, the small house seemed empty and unoccupied. How long had it been since someone was here last?

Claire sighed, accepting that no one was home, and she'd have to find another way in. The first window checked was open, allowing her to crawl inside the house. It was small and shabby to put it blunt, but quite homey and very tidy if you thought about it. She had only been there twice before and each time struck her with the fears and wonders of the dark underground.

She immediately started her search, looking for anything that would give her a clue as to where he had gone. Nothing. It was clear that a bag had been packed, but they hadn't even bothered to lock all the doors. Where had he gone?

Claire searched as long as she could, looking through old boxes and cupboards, cabinets and under beds before finally coming across a crumpled paper. It had been tossed carelessly between the bed and night stand after being crushed into a ball. Claire carefully unfolded the paper, as if the one wrong move could destroy it completely, before reading the words line to line.

"Claire,

I know I'm not good with words and I know I tend to put up a cold demeanor, but I like you. Every time I see you I feel the urge to protect you. But I know I can't. The only way to keep you safe is to distance myself from you. I'm not good. I never have been. There are people in my life that would hurt you if they knew about you. I don't want to see you hurt. I couldn't live with myself. I don't know how, but one day, I wanna move to the interior with you. We can be a real family and live real lives. I'm going to do my best to give you that life. I promise. But until then, I'm gonna have to stay away. I'm sorry. It's for the best.

I love you...Levi"

Several parts had been scribbled out and large X's covered the page. It was obvious he had mixed feelings about giving it to her.

Claire stuffed the paper in her pocket before continuing her search. As she opened up one of the drawers in the main room, a long, quiet screech sounded out behind her. She turned her head to see who it was and saw none other than Levi himself. He had been looking behind him with a bag slung over his shoulder. He was covered in an inch of dust, which he would most likely clean off immediately, and had several scratches and cuts that ran along his dirt covered skin. As he turned back forward to walk inside, he saw her, sitting on the ground inside the small home.

"Claire?" he asked, stopping in his tracks, "Why are you here?" he finally finished before walking closer to her and dropping his bag on the floor.

"I came to look for you" she explained, tears welling up in her eyes as she stood to her feet, "Four weeks" she began, "four whole weeks I didn't see you once. I was so worried about you" she finished before running to him and hugging him. "I was so worried" she stated again, the tears beginning to fall down her cheeks.

"Brat! Don't hug me! I'm covered in filth, you'll get yourself dirty too!" he shouted trying to pull her off.

She eventually let go, falling to her knees as she sobbed in her hands.

"Kid, don't cry. I'm sorry. It took longer than I had expected, I thought I would've been home a week ago"

"Three weeks is still a long time to not hear from someone"

"Better than four, right?"

She froze, thinking about it a moment before nodding her head slowly, her hands sliding down to the ground. Levi squatted down next to her and ruffled her long brunette hair, giving her a small, barely noticeable, smile. She looked up at him, wiping her tears with her palms before giving him a large, cheeky grin.

"Come on, I'll take you home" he said before helping her stand to her feet.

Levi walked her all the way up to the surface and back to the orphanage before bidding her adieu and walking back to his own home.

"I hope this room satisfies you" the tall woman, whom she had learned was named Hanji, told her with a faint smile.

"Oh, no! It's perfect, I really do like it! Thank you so much for all you have done for me. I very much appreciate it" she uttered, bowing slightly to show her sincerity.

"Okay, I'll come and get you before dinner, you can put your stuff away or wander or whatever you want to do" she said, giving her a wink before leaving.

Claire nodded as she watched the door close before walking over to her bags. She began to skillfully fold all of her under garments, putting those into a drawer, and hanging all of her dresses, putting them in the closet. Her shoes stacked neatly at the bottom of the closet and the accessories her mother had begged her to take were laid orderly on top of the dresser.

A small knock on the door pulled her out of her unpacking. She quickly paced to the door, opening it to see who was there. Levi stood, back to her, just outside the doorway.

"Levi?" she asked, getting excited again.

He turned around to see her bubbly face, "Hey"

"And why do I receive the pleasure of having you visit me?" she asked, opening the door more and allowing him inside.

"I came to talk to you, but if you're busy, I can come back later"

"No, no! Come in, stay awhile. I did come here to see you after all" she replied, lifting her hands, palms out, to tell him stop, wait, come back.

Levi nodded before finally taking the offer, that had been sent by the open door, and walked inside the room.

"What did you wish to speak about?"

"Brat, why did you keep looking for me after all these years?"

"I honestly don't know" she replied after a moments hesitation, taking a seat on the bed and staring down at her hands that lay peacefully in her lap, "For the first few years, I did stop. I had given up on ever finding you. I suppose it was at my twenty-fifth birthday when my mother began to scold me for not being married yet, that I decided I wanted to find you. She had always liked you, you know, despite knowing what you did. At one point after you had left, she told me that she wished she had invited you to stay with us. Maybe then you wouldn't have departed"

"I still would have. Even now, as you're here, you're in danger. You should leave, I-"

"No!" she said quickly interrupting his sentence, "I won't leave, not until I'm sure I'm not going to loose you again" she said, looking up at him, the sorrow she had over the past years, showing blatantly on her face.

"Kid, I'm sorry. I wish I had treated this life better, then maybe I could stay with you, but I can't. There's too much that lurks in the past, it threatens to return every second I spend alive"

"If this is your attempt at a suicide note, you've got much to learn" she teased, standing up and walking over to him.

"Tch, please, if I killed myself, I know at least five people who would personally go to the after life to kill me a second time" He replied sarcastically with a faint smile playing across his lips as his arms went up to fold across his chest.

"Am I one of those people?" she asked with a curious eye.

"Well, not to kill me, but I'm sure you'd scold me" he replied, dropping his arms. He remembered their childhood days when she would act like a mother to him. That was before their teen years and things got deeper.

"I'm glad to know that you don't think I'd kill you" she replied honestly with a small sigh relief.

No noise came from the elder, other than a small grunt which told her he found her amusing. After a moment, Claire stood up, moving closer until she was right in front of him. He didn't back away which meant he didn't mind her presence.

"Levi, kiss me" were the quiet words that slipped through her lips.

Levi hesitated a moment before bringing his lips down gently on hers. His hands moved to her waist and laid gently on her hips; her hands went different directions, one going to his face to feel the small stubble the had built up, the other to his chest to feel his toned muscle.

The passionate kiss ended when Levi pulled back. "I'm sorry" were his words before he pulled back completely.

"What is it? What is wrong?" she asked, following him as he backed up, desperate for his touch once again.

"Kid, I told you before. Multiple times. I'm not good. I can't be around you. I'm sorry" he replied before pushing her away entirely and leaving the room.

Twelve years prior...Year 834...Sixteen year old Claire

"We have to stop" Levi grunted, trying to fight the urges that raced within him. He knew that if things went to far, they'd both regret it.

"I know" Claire replied through breaths before crashing her lips back onto his. They tasted wonderful to her. They both sat on the couch in the sitting area inside her bedroom. It was late and the sun had already set making it dark for the candles had been burnt out. Claire lay atop of Levi, her legs straddling his waist as they kissed passionately in the moon light.

"Claire" Levi whined, his hands moving on their own and under her shirt to feel along her back.

"Levi" Claire responded, pressing her body close to his and letting out another ragged breath.

It seemed like all of Levi's visits recently had been some form of this, and while they both still remained virgin, they didn't know how much longer it would last. Each time he came, they'd feel more drawn to each other than before. They were older now, in their own minds, old enough for simple things as this. Claire was approaching her seventeenth birthday. Only another month and she'd be able to call herself under a new judging number.

Levi finally caught hold of his senses, using his hands to push her away. She gave in, falling away from his face and onto his chest. She could feel his strong muscles through his shirt and his heart beat as it tried to lower to a steady pace. This made her want to run her hands along his toned chest, but knowing that would only start them up again, decided against it. She had been swept off her feet by the usually stoic boy who seemed only to lighten up when she was around.

"You know, if this keeps up, I don't know if I'll be a married virgin" Claire stated. She had become quite rebellious in her late teen years, and it showed in everything she said and did.

"I'd hope not, you should not give in to simply whatever, merely because you're in the heat of the moment" Levi told her, "Besides, you're still illegal" he teased, poking her nose when his index finger and thumb.

She stuck her tongue out at him. She knew she was underage and if someone found out the two had made love, that Levi would be arrested. In Sina the expectations were higher, and the tolls for crime were lofty.

"Levi, you should marry me, then we wouldn't have to worry about silly rules" Claire stated in a joking tone, however, she really meant it. If she were to marry Levi, he would get a Sina citizenship and she would get to be with him the rest of her life.

"Nice one, but unfortunately, I'm taken" he replied, pushing her to the side, standing up and grabbing his shoes on.

"By whom?" she asked folding her arms over her chest with a huff.

"My work"

"Your work is dull and pointless" she stated bitterly.

"My work is what gets me money so I can pay the lofty bill to come up here as often as I do"

Claire sighed. She knew his work was the only thing that allowed her to see him as often as she did. The fare to ascend the stairs had risen last week. It was despicable to see how much the fat pigs in Sina could take advantage of the poor folks below. Most never see the surface before they die, yet somehow, Levi was able to see her nearly every other week.

"It will probably be another five weeks until I'm back again" Levi stated calmly.

"What? Why?" Claire whined, eyes widening in sorrow, crawling over to him and leaned on his back.

"Because the toll was raised and I still have to eat"

"You could eat here"

"Yeah, but I can't stay here. You know the longest people from down there are allowed to stay up is only a week. I'd have to go back eventually, and when I do, work will have piled high and Farlan and Isabel will have already had a funeral" Levi explained.

"What if I went down with you?"

"No" he answered bluntly before standing and grabbing his bag.

"Why not, Levi" Claire whined again, wishing he'd come back and stay a while.

"I'm not gonna tell you again, Claire, stay away from the underground. It's not safe. I'm not safe. If it were anyone else, it'd be one thing, but there are people down there who would kill you because of me. We will not have contact other than above ground, or I'll cut it off completely, understand?" Levi said strictly, giving her a serious glare.

Claire nodded her head, disappointingly. She disliked when Levi got mad at her, but she also disliked being confined to the walls of her home. The place she once saw as a castle was now a dungeon, the dragon that locked her there being her parents.

Levi threw his bag over his shoulder before walking over to Claire and ruffling her hair.

"Don't worry, Kid, one day I'll have enough money to buy a citizenship. Then I'll never leave your side" he said before leaving her by herself to head back to his own home.

A/N

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QOTD:

If you lived in the AOT/SNK world, which regiment would you join? The Military Police, the Garrison, or the Scouts (or Survey/Recon Corps if you prefer)?

My Answer?

I'd probably join either the Scouts or the Garrison. I'd want to help humanity, but I'm also a huge wimp when it comes to scary thing and pain. :P Oh well! Sue me!

Your Answer? Reply in the comments!

Thanks again for reading! You guys are absolutely amazing!