'You have been gone a long time.' The cold voice greeted her as she entered the room, though, now, she was used to the voice and it didn't give her such a chill when she heard it. Rather than it being distant, Ella could detect the hint of caring that came with the words.

'Sorry Levi, I...'

'I know what you were doing, remember, there are eyes all over this city. I would have thought you would know that by now.'

'Yes, I...'

'How long have you wanted to join the scouting legion?'

'I...I don't, I just watch them go and then...see them when they come back...and then think life within the walls can't be as bad as some might think it is.'

'You don't have to lie to me Ella, I've known you for five years now, I know when you are lying, so, I'll ask you again, how long have you wanted to join the scouting legion?'

Ella sighed softly and moved over to the window, lowering the hood of her cloak and looking out of the window and down at the streets below. Here in Wall Sina, things were always quiet, with the only bit of excitement coming if someone happened to step on another person's foot. The fact that she had been working with Levi for five years now, acting against the rich and the spoilt, using what she made to make life a little better for the abandoned children back in the Trost district, made her feel as though she was doing some good in the world, but still, it wasn't enough. People were still selfish, the young, the sick, the poor still suffered, whilst the rich wrapped themselves in silk and cotton and ate the best food, eating until they were close to exploding and then wasting whatever food was left over. She sometimes wondered why she wanted to go out and risk her life with the other members of the Scouting Legion, especially when most of humanity didn't deserve the risk. But it was the thought of all the children she had helped, some of whom had now grown and were getting stronger. Some were nearly grown now, a couple were working for Levi in different areas and the rest, whilst growing, still relied on her and it was something that she enjoyed, because it gave her life a meaning.

Whilst she was thinking, she jumped a little as she felt hands wrap around her waist and pull her close. Her eyes closed for a moment as his lips found her neck, kissing it with an incredible amount of affection for someone who pretended to be so cold and distant.

'Talk to me, idiot.'

'Did you just call me an idiot?' Ella looked back at him, holding his gaze, a slight frown on her forehead.

'Well, you are acting like an idiot. Just talk to me and stop frowning, otherwise you'll get wrinkles.'

'Oh, because, you follow that advice so well.'

'Shut up, idiot.' Levi tilted his head down, a rather unique thing for him to have to do, because, his height was something that gave most people a lot to tease him about and he was rather sensitive about it. Luckily for Ella, she was shorter than he was, so it wasn't anything she could tease him about. But when he tilted his head down to kiss her, whether it was a mutual kiss, or he was stealing one from her, everything felt right, as though this was how it was meant to be. Ella relaxed against him as she returned his kiss, before she broke away and rested her head against his.

'So, are you going to talk to me now?'

She nodded slowly and felt him brush a strand of hair from her face. His gaze was always so intense with everything that he did. Even something as simple as that, looked as though it was being carried out with absolute precision, but, Ella didn't care, because whenever he did that with her, he made her feel like she was the only person who existed in his world.

'I have wanted to join the Scouting Legion, well, since I was a little girl, running around the streets of Trost. I remember watching a party go out. I didn't know much then, all I was interested in was trying to find something to eat, but, I listened to the parents talking to their children, telling stories about the Scouting Legion and how they went to the world outside to fight titans and keep the titans from the walls. It sounded, amazing. A world that didn't have walls, a world where people didn't have to live on top of each other, where you could escape the selfishness of others. At first, I wanted to join the Legion to escape...'

Ella took a breath and shivered softly as Levi's lips found her neck once more, kissing up and down the sensitive skin, his hands dancing up and down her back slowly.

'But, then, that dream became forgotten, I had to survive, that was more important and then, I began picking up other children who were hungry, who were unloved and, I had them to look after. At the same time, they made the dream come back...I wanted to give them a good life, be able to provide for them, to show them a little courage and bravery still existed in the world. It made me think of all the other people out there, the good people, who may have forgotten what that was like, or what it felt like to have that around them. I thought, if I could join the Scouting Legion, I could look after the children and, I could inspire them and prove to them that humanity wasn't doomed...'

'Then why haven't you joined them yet?' Levi pulled back from her neck and looked into her eyes.

'Because, then I met you and you gave me something that I wanted for myself...to be mine and mine alone...'

'You're an idiot...but...I love you...' He cupped the back of her head and pulled her into a deep kiss, one that she responded willingly, with a need that only he could match. He had spent so much time on his own, so much time keeping a distance from everyone, but when he had come across Ella, he was taken immediately. Everything that she did, was for someone else, whether it was for the children, or for him and it hadn't taken long for him to fall for her completely. Her strength and her courage, her fight, the attitude she had in her approach to life, despite not starting out in the best way, it was captivating, in a way he didn't think was possible.

Pulling from the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers, their panting breath dancing over each other's faces as he looked into her eyes.

'I had a visit from Commander Erwin from the Survey Corps.'

Ella pulled her head back a little to look at him, her fingers digging into his chest, though he ignored the pain.

'And?'

'He asked me to join the Survey Corps. Said they needed someone with my skills...' He studied her face carefully as he spoke, watching as she bit her lip to fight back the tears that were building in her eyes. Ella very rarely cried and when she did, he always knew it was when she was hurting the most. He placed a hand on her cheek and brushed the tear away, again, a move so tender that anyone else would probably have wondered if he had been possessed by something.

'What was your answer?'

'I told him I would join...' Levi flinched a little as her nails sank deeper into his chest, despite the fact he was wearing a shirt. He was pretty sure she would have drawn blood, which, at times, he didn't protest against, but right now, it stung more than anything else. He felt a shiver run through her body as she tried to do her best to keep herself together.

'I see...'

'You're an idiot. There was a condition to me joining, and that condition was that you would join alongside me. I've seen the way you've watched the Survey Corps, seen that glint in your eyes...the only time I have seen that look in your eyes is when you are with those kids, or, when you're here...like you are right now...'

Ella gasped as she let his words sink in, her nails released their hold on his chest, much to his relief. He watched her carefully as the words sank in and the realisation came to her. Without warning, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into an embrace so tight, he thought she might succeed in squeezing all the air out of him, where she had failed to draw all the blood out of him.

'I love you...'

'Tch, when did you get so soft? Idiot...' A smile came briefly to his lips as he saw her reaction, catching her as she pounced on him and quite willingly fell to the floor, without a care in the world as to where they were or who might catch them. She had given him a purpose and, in following it, he had helped her follow her purpose in life.