Levi follows Commander Erwin out of the room, leaving me behind in his closet. I've been holding my breath this whole time—I realize—and as soon as I take that first shaky breath the worry rushes into my guts with lighting intensity.

What the hell was that all about? The tone Erwin used with Levi was unlike anything I've heard from him before. Something serious is happening. My mind leaps all over the place: Could it be that the Armored or Colossal have reappeared? Could there be trouble with the Military Police again? Maybe they're after me for some reason. What could I have possibly done?

Or maybe it's something worse. Maybe it's about us.

No, Eren, don't be ridiculous. There's no way that anyone knows about us, I try to assure myself, slipping out from my hiding spot among Levi's clothes and stepping back into the light of his bedroom—now eerily empty and strange. I hover at the door, pressing my ear to the wood for a few moments until I'm sure that no one is in the hallway nearby before slipping out.

By the time I make it to the mess hall for breakfast, everyone has already been notified about the cancellation of our morning maneuvers. My friends are scattered around the room—Armin bent over a notepad with Connie, trying to explain one of the maneuver strategies to him through what looks to be a hand drawn diagram, Sasha devouring her plate with her usual intensity, Reiner, Bertolt, and Annie talking quietly amongst themselves—everyone going about their lives as usual. That makes the nervous ball of energy that twitches in my stomach feel even more uncalled for, so I heave out an anxious exhale and try to relax, walking further into the room.

Mikasa looks up when I walk through the threshold. She smiles at me very slightly and waves me over.

"How did you sleep, Eren?" she asks the exact second that my butt touches the hard wooden bench beside her. There is something unusual in her voice and the nerves start moving in me once again. I give her a sidelong glance and see that she is watching me intently, her deep brown eyes sparkling with something not quite friendly.

Swallowing hard, "Fine. You?"

"Fine," is her immediate reply, and she goes back to eating.

We pass the rest of the meal in silence. I try not to let the nerves in my stomach keep me from eating, but the fact that something serious is going on and no one seems to know about it is a strange and alienating experience. For a second, I almost wish that I hadn't been with Levi this morning when Erwin had come—then I wouldn't have to worry about this—whatever it is. But then again, if no one had been alerted to any danger, then the problem must be some sort of internal affair…

Between that realization and the fact that Levi and Erwin never make it to breakfast despite Hange being here, I start to fear the worst. The fluttering ball in my guts turns into a lead weight, cold as ice.

As the others are cleaning up and leaving the mess hall, I am sitting at my bench trying not picture Levi standing before Erwin in his office right now. What must he be saying? What is he thinking? I can see it almost vividly in my mind's eye, like a nightmarish daydream—Levi's cold and metered exterior having to fight with its entirety not to react to Erwin's accusations. The words he said to me over and over, his fears all coming to life: "I'm fucking ruined, Eren. This is the worst possible scenario…"

"Eren?"

What? My head pops up from where it had fallen, buried in my arms on the table. When did it get there? It's Hange-san standing above me, just across the table, her expression openly consumed with worry and pity. "Oi, Eren~" she comes again, leaning in and quieting her tinny voice in some attempt at privacy. "What's going on?! You should tell me, maybe I can help." She shakes her head to herself and goes on, not giving me any chance to reply although I probably wouldn't have. "Erwin looked really mean this morning—really intense! He wants to see you now."

It must be pathetically obvious in my face when my heart drops to my feet, because Hange has rounded the table and her arm is around me in a second, helping me up from the bench and coaxing me down the hall toward the commander's office. "Don't worry, don't worry," she's chanting in a voice so hushed that I can hardly believe she manages it. "Erwin's not a bad man, Eren. Everything will be fine! Although…he did look really miffed this morning. I'm dying to know what's going on. What did you do?"

What did I do? What did I do wrong? How could anyone have known about us? Where did I fuck up? I have no idea and it makes me angry all at once. I can feel my shoulders roll up as tension takes me over, even under Hange's hands, and she goes straight back to saying, "Don't worry, don't worry."

And then there's Erwin's door in front of me. I just stand there quivering a bit, my fists miserable and tight, knuckles white. Vaguely, muffled, I hear Levi's voice low and tense from inside. I don't reach up to knock—I want to know for sure what I'm walking into—but after a moment or two Hange's arm reaches around my neck to knock for me, and instantly the conversation from inside ceases.

"Good luck!" Hange whispers to me, the quietest yet, and then she scampers away, glancing back over her shoulder as she goes.

I look back to the door at the same moment that Erwin opens it. Thick saliva doesn't go down my throat properly when I swallow and I feel myself nearly choke. The commander is huge—his wide frame taking up the entire doorframe so that I can't see into the room behind him. "Eren," he says, not as vicious toward me as I remember his tone with Levi had been earlier, "Please come in." He steps backward to let me through. My eyes search for Levi and nothing else as I tentatively enter the office. Where is he? My breath sits stagnant in my chest—I need to see him more than I need to breathe right now. He is not near Erwin's desk, not sitting in the chairs in front of it…

At last, I find him leaning stiffly against the back wall near the corner—having been completely invisible to me from the door. His lean arms are folded tightly over his chest and when our eyes meet, just for a split second, I know all at once that this is exactly what I feared.

"Please sit down, Eren," Commander Erwin says from directly behind me as he closes the door. He means the chairs in front of his desk. The ones Levi isn't sitting in. I want to go stand next to him! He's been alone in here for an hour now. How am I supposed to come in here and float half a room away from him?

"Sit down, brat," Levi grits out. I don't think he even opened his mouth.

My legs move to sit in the chair on autopilot. I stare at Erwin's desk—still empty as he slowly paces across the office toward it. Papers, files, neat stacks of books and diagrams and letters: Order. Erwin finally sits.

A tight sigh. "Eren, I want you to tell me what's going on between you and Lance Corporal Levi."

No…What am I supposed to say? A flaming panic lights up in my chest, making breath impossible let alone speech. I look back over my shoulder at Levi, standing behind me and to the left. What does he know already? I implore him telepathically. What did you say? What should I say?! But if Levi gives me any hint in his expression I am blind to it.

"Eren? Answer the question."

Swallowing hard and turning back to face the commander, I attempt to keep my voice as normal as I can, "I don't think I understand the question, sir. Levi Heichou is my commanding officer…what?...what are you referring to?"

Thick blonde eyebrows dip down to cover Erwin's eyelids. "So you wouldn't say that the two of you have been engaging in any sort of relationship outside of your professional, military roles?"

"…No?"

I realize that my pause is too long after it's already too late. Erwin's sigh is heavy and he looks past me to Levi. Shit.

Levi is shifting his stance behind me, trying to hide his discomfort as well as he can—which, as always, is nearly flawless—but I know him and I can see it in the wrinkle that forms in his top lip, in the way he looks off to the side for a moment before meeting Erwin's eyes, in the way he specifically avoids my gaze, in the way his right heel hovers by the wall instead of planting itself firmly on the ground: There's nowhere left to hide.

"I can run a full fucking internal investigation if that's what you want, Levi," Erwin snaps and I almost jump in my chair.

A definite, "No," from Levi and I can't move. I'm stuck in this stupid half-turned position in my chair, my body frozen in fear and fuck, how does he know?! It has to be my fault, somehow, because Levi would never fuck up badly enough to get caught.

What did I do wrong?!

"No," Levi says again, and it's so small.

"Is it sexual?"

"No," from Levi, louder. But when Erwin looks at me and finds me redder than a tomato he hangs his head, disgust positively radiating off of him.

"My god, Levi, you're a goddamn officer!" he hisses down at his desk.

"I said, no, Erwin."

"He spent the night in your room! He's sitting here blushing like a fucking school girl—trying not to get her pedophiliac teacher in trouble!"

I'm seeing sparks—Levi? A pedophile?! I'm sure that just hearing those words has Heichou's insides churning in disgust—after his childhood, after everything he's endured. Sure enough, he's hanging his head a bit, glaring down at the floor. "It's not like that at all, sir!" I cry in his defense. But then the fact that Erwin knew I spent the night in Levi's room finally makes its way into my head.

How…?

"That's enough, Eren," Erwin commands. Against everything in me that wants to fight, I think of what Heichou would want and force myself into silence. "Regardless of how far things have gone, any sort of relationship between the two of you outside of complete professionalism is completely unethical. Which you fucking well know, Levi. I should have you Court Martialed for this."

There is silence, long and terrible, during which the only thing I hear is my own breathing, heavy and aching against the urge to scream—or cry. Everyone in the room must be thinking the same thing—me in my chair, quivering, Levi frozen against the wall, half looking at Erwin and half looking at the floor, Erwin at his desk, forehead crinkled in thought under his hand—sending Levi to the MP might as well be a death sentence. Not a soul in that section of the military would have an ounce of mercy for the snarky captain who they considered to be Underground filth.

He'll be stripped of everything. He'll be dealt the cruelest of sentences for spite. They'll be thrilled at the chance to destroy him, I think. All because of me.

Perhaps reconsidering his earlier thought, Erwin goes on thinking aloud, "The two of you have to be separated. Eren," He addresses me again, catching me off guard. I know there must be angry tears in my eyes, but I won't let them fall. "Who do you think is more instrumental to the fate of Humanity? You or Levi?"

My eyes fall shut, completely sick at his question. Through a trembling jaw I answer without even stopping to think, "Levi Heichou." There is no comparison, not in my mind.

But Levi makes a sharp noise of disagreement behind me. "You can't send him back to the MP. Not after we just fought so hard to get him here. All of your plans hinge on Eren Jaeger and I'm not letting you throw everything away…took you weeks to get everything set for fucks sake." Levi growls. He isn't looking at the floor anymore. He meets Erwin's gaze steadily, "If you have to get rid of someone over the kid's crush, then it's going to be me. That's fucking obvious."

"What the hell are we supposed to do without him, sir?" I pick up talking as soon as Levi stops, suddenly feeling frantic. Levi can't go! He can't let himself get swept back under—not for me. "He's Humanity's Strongest Soldier!" I exclaim valiantly. "My friends and I…we won't survive without him!"

Erwin is still sitting, leaning his head on his hand. He opens his mouth but says nothing for a long time.

You can't send Heichou away. You can't. If he does, I'll—I'll fight the decision! I'll leave the Corp. I'll—

"Ok," the commander begins at last, and I could swear that Levi and I both lean in a hair in anticipation. "Here's what we'll do. For now, the two of you are to cease contact. Completely cease contact with each other unless absolutely necessary. Levi, you can have your squad take over a significant part of Eren's monitoring and training. That way we can minimize the contact that you have with him. And when you do interact with one another," he pauses to look between the two of us before going on, "as I'm sure you'll frequently have to do in order to maintain normal appearances-you're to act how you should have been acting all along. Nothing but complete professionalism. This way…" a deep sigh, heavy and long, "no one else has to know about this mess and no internal investigation will be held."

A shaky exhale of relief comes hissing out of me, full of words I hadn't really meant to blurt out, "So you won't have Levi Heichou Court Martialed?"

Erwin's frown deepens but he concedes anyway, "No. No Court Martial so long as the behavior is finished. And you're not going to be sent back to the MP right now either. That will all depend on how this upcoming maneuver goes, Eren." I dare a little smile in his pause. "But," he goes on, "after these upcoming maneuvers, the two of you will be assigned to separate missions for the foreseeable future. Am I clear?"

My heart sinks a bit but Levi answers from behind me, "Yes, sir."

"Now," Erwin is saying, rising from his desk. His hands press down on the heavy wood as he stands—like this whole big mess has taken some strength out of him. Maybe he's lost trust in Levi. Maybe he's lost hope in me…and all because of what? Because two people fell in love? "I want us all to get back to our day and pretend that none of this ever happened. And if—god forbid—I hear any rumors about this around camp, or if I find out that it's still going on, I will have you sent to court, Levi. You should have known better—you of all people," Erwin shakes his head at him, bottom lip thrust up a tad. It's barely noticeable but I catch it—and it makes me start to seethe.

He needs to stop talking down to Levi like that—stop making references to his past like he understands shit about it! Stop threatening him with ruin, stop looking at him like he's a revolting, unpredictable animal instead of a great soldier and a help to human kind!

I can't just keep sitting here letting him take this abuse when I'm the one responsible. I'm the one who went back in time and started this whole mess in the first place! I have to say something in Levi's defense. "Commander Erwin," I grit out, nearly growling as my anger overwhelms my rational voice.

Levi interrupts me before I can get anything else out. "Erwin, I need to talk to Eren alone for a moment." His steely grey gaze is on me. A warning look. I bite back my comment but my angry shivering only gets worse as I hold it in.

"I thought I made myself clear. You're to cease any unnecessary contact with each other—"

"It's necessary."

This doesn't make Erwin happy—his expression transforming deeper into anger—and for a moment I fear that he'll change his mind and go back to the idea of the Court Martial.

"I'm still responsible for him, aren't I?" Levi coaxes him, his tone only just managing to remain flat and emotionless. "He needs to be debriefed or this whole thing is going to blow up into a massive shit storm. Which is the last thing we need right now, considering the upcoming maneuvers."

They stare at each other for a moment. I nearly want to cry at Levi's courage—standing still and strong against the wall, fighting for one last chance to talk to me privately, as if he's still an equal player here and not completely at Erwin's mercy. I love him so much.

"Very well," Erwin gives in at last, looking sick about it but giving in anyway. For old time's sake? "But rest assured that you won't be the one holding responsibility for Eren much longer. You have five minutes."

He turns his back on us and walks out of the office, shutting us in behind himself.

The second he's gone I charge across the room and into Levi's waiting arms. They tremble around me—the façade of strength gone, his hands balled into fists, tugging at the back of my jacket. I can feel his chest constricting through pained breaths, strong but shaking against my own. Oh, Levi…I love him more than anything. I can't let them separate us!

"Let's run," I whisper into the wispy black hairs on the side of his head. "We have to get out of here. They'll never let us be close again—or else you'll be sent back to the capitol and tried—"

"Tch," He pulls back a bit, leaning his full weight against the wall. "And where would we go?"

I lean my head down and he lets me rest my forehead on his. "Outside of the walls. If anyone could make it out there, it's us." We both know it's true.

But to my horror, he doesn't agree. "No, Eren. We can't do that. Think about the others. Think about your friends."

"They…" I know I'm stammering, rambling because I'm too upset to speak clearly and we only have five minutes to plan this! "They only joined the military because of me! They'll be fine, they'll go back to normal life! And all of the training they've had will help them stay safe."

"What about the rest of the Survey Corp, hmm? They're counting on you for these upcoming maneuvers," he says, reaching up thin hands to hold my face. I press my cheek firmly against his palm and try to breathe in the smell of him. I want to hold him forever. Five minutes isn't enough.

"Erwin will think of something else," I say.

He squeezes my face tightly and looks deep into my eyes. There is a sad, silent plea his silver orbs, shining so forcefully that I choke on my own emotions and the tears start to fall. "What about your mother, Eren? When we met—in the jail cell—you swore to me that you would destroy all of the Titans. You swore to avenge her. I can't let you give that up for us. Not when you could actually fucking do it."

My eyes fall shut, squeezing out a few more tears. I slump down against him, letting him take my body weight. I can't leave him. Not when I just, finally found him.

"We have jobs to do, Eren," he tells me, softly, ever so kindly, like speaking to a child. He's rubbing my back in soft, soothing motions—choosing to focus on comforting me even though he's close to crying himself. "For now, we do our jobs and we go about doing them the way Erwin wants us to. And then maybe—when our jobs are done—we can be together again."

I can't help my miserable sob. There is no comfort in his words! None at all! "What jobs?" I gasp into his shoulder, "You being Humanity's Strongest Soldier and me being a goddamn Titan? That's never going to end!"

"I used to think that way—that the Titans could never really be defeated and this war would never end," he whispers. His fingers come up onto the back of my head and make their way through my messy hair. "But with you around, I think anything is possible." Levi takes hold of my face again, more gently this time, and lifts me up to look at him. My face must be blotchy red and streaked with tears that I'm not even trying to control anymore, but he hops up on his tiptoes and kisses my forehead anyway. "I swear I'll fight this war to the end so we can be free to be together."

That's a promise, I realize, blinking several times. I don't think Levi has ever promised me anything before. And I can see it in it eyes: he means it. I let the words repeat in my mind, filling my chest with something other than this aching, hopeless sadness of separation. He's going to fight. I will too.

"I'm going to learn how to control these powers," I say steadying my gaze on his and letting my sadness turn into an unstoppable drive. We don't have to be completely powerless. We can fight!—even if it's within bounds for now. "And I promise," my voice drops to a whisper as I press my lips against the top of his head, "that I won't ever love anyone the way I love you. It'll always be you," I vow.

We both exhale at the same time and I manage to smile a bit, even though I'm broken inside. Levi says, "Alright," and we separate a bit, not knowing how much time we have left. Levi keeps holding onto my hand, though.

"How did Erwin find out about us? Did he say?" I ask, wiping at my tears with my free hand and glancing at the office door. He'll be back any moment now, I'm sure of it.

"Yeah."

The grumpy hesitance in Levi's voice is odd. I flash him a look of surprise. "What?"

"Your friend Ackerman came to your room to talk to you last night, but you weren't there. She went searching for you and saw you going into my room instead," Levi admits with a frown. "Then she came to Erwin about it."

My mouth drops wide open—and just at that moment, Erwin opens the door.