I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

A/N: I didn't want the plot of this story to fully ensue until after episode 14 was released so that non-manga readers would understand. This story does branch off after Eren's trial, it'll be AU from here on out so spoilers from the actual manga will be made here.

UPDATE: I have decided to rewrite the plot!

She was left running for her life. Things would be different with the man she befriended.

Hanji stumbled to the ground, she scrambled to her feet. The rain was heavy that night yet she wore only her dress; she was soaked to the bone. It was like the streets had been empty, leaving her exposed to the elements and the danger she was sprinting from.

The poor girl had no where else to turn to, no one to look for. Sure, he was vulgar from time to time but she knew she could trust him; he was her only customer that spent time outside of work to speak with her. Her throat burned from running for so long, she wanted to fall to her knees until she heard the sound of horses running and men shouting from the street she had tore down.

"I need to keep moving," she wheezed to herself. Eventually she made it. Her legs ached and her body shivered.

The red door.

It was the entrance to a grand home in the noble district of the Karanese; she had been here a couple times to deliver the man's orders.

Her hand knocked on the door once. Twice.

Horses cried from not too far. Her urgency grew tenfold.

"Mr. Rivaille!" Hanji automatically shrieked as she pounded on the door until it opened to reveal him. That cold glare hazing over her was warmer than any fire she could ever be dreaming of right now. His name slipped from her mouth once again, but only in a breathless gasp,"Mr. Rivaille!"

-...-

He was panting with his body looming over her.

Hanji stared at him, mouth open just the slightest with eyes wide as saucers. His words from that time echoed through her.

'I will never let you die.'

A mere inch away from her throat were the pair of blades that had been embedded into the masonry of the ground.

Rivaille was truly the strongest of all, he could have ended her right then and there but he purposely avoided her. She could see that he clearly had not intent to kill her, not ever; he couldn't bring himself to do it at all. At that moment, it shook her when she leaned that mankind's most powerful fighter had one weakness, it was her.

"Hanji," he quietly rasped out, his expression had changed drastically when he uttered her name. His eyes were full of conflict and uncertainty, even his voice was hesitant when choosing words. "Run away..."

'I am never letting anyone touch you.'

She wanted to reach to him and comfort him, she never imagined that he could suddenly become distraught from a single order. He wasn't showing it much but the shaking in his arms and the look in his eyes was enough to tell her that he couldn't accept failing a mission, especially one that he could barely handle. So she remained in place, unmoving, no words came from her lips.

'As long as you trust me, you'll live.'

"I...can't kill you," he whispered,"I'm sorry..."

That was what she needed to hear. She propped herself on her elbows and scooted back to get out of his hold. When her knees were beneath him, he pressed the latches on both handles to release the blades, leaving them embedded into the bricks side by side. Backing away further, she brought one leg under her and then brought herself up to her feet to stand over him.

Rivaille was not moving from where he knelt but he still held the handles to his Gear. He briskly told her with a soft voice,"I've run out of gas, so you can escape while you still can."

Hanji's eyes had softened. Adrenaline still coursed through her, surely it did for him as well; their hearts were pounding from the initial fear that both encountered, not from the swordplay.

He gave the impression that he could care less of her but she knew him long enough to know that he, in fact, cared for her deeply. He simply had a different way of showing it. At least, this was what she convinced herself over the years. Perhaps he didn't see her the way she pictures him to, he was always distant with her, ever since they met.

They never got to have love bloom between them. They were both aware of that when they joined the Recon Corps. Instead, as long as they had the company of the other, knowing that they were alive, it was good enough for both of them. However, there was always that fear that haunted them when they realized they could no longer control a situation.

It was a fear that both had addressed years ago, back when they were fresh from training and had become full-fledged Scouts. It was after their first mission that the pair from their squad were the only ones who survived to regroup with the others and return to Wall Maria. The day had been trifling and their profound hatred was made towards the giants that had ended the lives of many comrades, not towards those who had pushed them this far in life.

They were on the brink of death when their own Squad Leader was consumed. Hanji lost a grip on her horse took a fall, Rivaille was swift enough to catch her just before a 4 Meter class snatched her. While they escaped unscathed, it left them to rethink of their choice to join the military. After a night of mourning, it was Hanji who decided to continue the fight once more with Rivaille backing her up.

Time after time he was always there to save her but, as they rose through the ranks, their dependency lessened on one another yet their bond began to thin. Little by little, Hanji began to fight on her own, her mind shifted into the person she had become today, but now, for the first time since she was a child, she felt weak.

I can't do this again. She thought to herself.

Her mind snapped back to him.

"Just go," Rivaille firmly said this time when she hadn't moved. Instead, she got her down to her knees and wrapped her arms around him, bringing him into an embrace. It was sudden but she knew it was what he needed. He stiffened when she did this but after a few, heart pounding moments, his hands went up to hold her as well. They stayed like that, locked in the other's arms, knowing that this whole situation was wrong.

He knew her. She knew him.

He trusted her. She trusted him.

'You need to fight.'

"Not without you on my side," she finally said as she buried her face into his hair to breathe in that musk he always had.

It was like that time all over again. It was coming back to her and, knowing him, he may have been thinking the same thoughts. She depended on him, even in days before the military. Now, when she felt the world was against her, she was calling upon his help just as she did before.

At least he was someone she could count on. Things are different with Rivaille. She wasn't alone.

Resolving that she still could rely on him, she stood up and offered a hand to him. Rivaille looked up at her, he was uncertain about something but he closed his eyes to mentally push it away. His hand reached out and took it, she pulled him up and gave a light smile.

"How can you be fucking happy?" He roughly asked, giving her the usual, unpleasant look. "I tried to kill you."

Despite the matter being grave, they had to speak to one another on normal terms.

"But you didn't." She grinned. "I'm alive so that's something to be happy about."

However...she couldn't uphold her expression like she normally would. Her smile faded away as she brought her fingers to her lips and blew, letting a long, distinct whistle to resound through the alleyway. As she waited for their horses to arrive, she heavily said,"I could never win in a fight with you...and I knew you wouldn't be able to kill me. That's why I didn't run too far too soon, I had to hear your piece after what Mike had said, it's hard to believe on my part."

"You place a lot of trust on me to do that," he scoffed, he turned away and whistled for his horse as well to reiterate the call. There was a tint of relief in his voice.

"Of course I do...despite what just happened now, I still do."

He gave no comment as the familiar clopping of a steed came galumphing towards them. Her sorrel, slick with sweat from running for too long, nickered as she gave a pat on the shoulder. Rivaille's horse arrived moments after she had mounted hers, his own horse was drenched as well. He swung himself into the saddle.

"Were you given a deadline to kill me?" She asked as her horse lazily snorted. He shook his head. "Well, since you can't do the job, I guess you're going to run with me."

"And live as a fugitive?"

She nearly laughed. "Sounds romantic. Unfortunately, no. Without a deadline, Erwin can assume that you're busy trying to catch me-"

"Or I'm busy helping you escape, which is what I'm doing now. The man knows how quick I stamp out traitors, if I don't return by nightfall, he'll send in reinforcements. Even if I come back late, he'll still send out men to go after you. Regardless, I won't be able to do anything about this unless you turn yourself in."

Hanji's brows creased. "I thought you didn't want to kill me."

Rivaille turned his horse in a quick circle, then he began to walk. She followed as well, riding by his side. He began to explain,"Suppose that you are, indeed, a Titan-shifter and have decided to give information about a conspiracy that you know about-"

"You know I'm not a traitor, I'm as human as you are...at least most of what you are," she added under her breath as they merged into the main street. The people of the Karanese had relaxed and milled about their business as though their chase from earlier never happened. They paused their horses to let a herd of sheep pass by. "Unless you have a plan...I'm not getting myself clapped in irons."

The thought of chains on her wrist made her shiver.

Once the animals had cleared the road, they continued on, heading for the headquarters. An idea suddenly hit her. Scheming was one of her fortes, she was crafty when needed to solve a problem. Her impromptu plan was feeble but it was worth a try.

She grabbed her goggles and snapped the straps off. "Here, catch."

He caught the goggles as she reached into her coat pocket and took out her glasses; she placed them on to see. "What're you doing?"

"Faking my death," she concluded,"seems better than getting turned in."

She smiled as he raised an eyebrow.

He glared at her. "This plan will only work if he oversees it. If he senses or knows of this being wrong, I can find myself in irons for blatantly lying to him. He's no idiot, you know that. Besides, just glasses?"

A hand went to her chin and she contemplated on how to make it more convincing. Her thoughts coincided with the livestock that had just passed by. "Bloody your blades in the butcher's shop but say you lost my body in the canal. Oh! Since the blades are stained in blood and I'm not running around as a Titan, it'll be proof enough that I'm not a Titan-shifter. Good plan huh?"

"It shockingly makes sense, coming from you," he replied,"but that's just solely relying on trickery."

She nodded and informed him,"I'm going to head to the Flora, it's a tavern near the Church of Rose. Mike said he'll meet me there by nightfall with information on what's happening."

She forced her horse to turn around, Rivaille quickly turned his head to the side to watch her.

"Good luck," she told him over her shoulder.

He didn't reply.

Hanji trusted him but the risk of facing the jaws of a lion upon her return had made her rethink Rivaille's own plan. With her unexplainable death warrant so sudden and so random, she reasoned that the military would be pulling more unforeseen stunts that could truly result in her death. Her trust within the system had been shaken, she only looked to Rivaille now, and Mike, possibly Petra as well.

Those other two...

At first she never had resources to utilize, now was the chance to use them. If anything went awry, she could run once more, she still had a copious amount of gas to use when needed.

Mike supplied her. He gave her a fighting chance to stand up to Rivaille. He warned her. There was reason to rely on him, Petra could have been sucked into this as well considering she was one of the last to see her off.

She had her horse walk away. Rivaille wouldn't be able to run after her; his horse was exhausted and his supply of gas was gone, he couldn't give another chase. Hopefully he saw no need to chase her now that they reached a resolution. After taking a few steps, she brought her horse to a complete halt as she looked over her shoulder to check if had decided to follow her. Instead, she saw him still standing atop his horse, he was watching her.

Rivaille gave her a reassuring nod. He was letting her go.

-...-

The sun had disappeared behind Wall Rose by the time he reached the large field of the arena. It left an orange tint to everything, adding a sense of laziness to fall before the few troops that were changing shifts. As he rode by, they gave a brief salute and returned to their work or conversation, in turn he gave no response. Somewhere along the way, he heard whispers; the guards from Erwin's office may have begun to spread word.

They could have been malicious hisses. They could have been exchanges of worry. They left him conscious about what had just happened.

He found his own plan flawless. He failed to see her logic but his instinct was telling him to follow in whatever she had planned. If she had gone quietly with him, she could have been interrogated, she could have been given a chance, and she could have been averted from execution. Instead, she chose her own path. He would have to rely on her quick wit.

Didn't she say she trusted him? Didn't she say she wouldn't leave without him? Why was he expecting her to rely on him like she in the past?

She fucking expects me to hoodwink Erwin...she's becoming paranoid. A last ditch effort to save her hide...I can't blame her.

He passed by the butcher's place. The old man was out for the hour so it would spare him the trouble of having to sneak around him. Making sure he was out of sight of anyone, he dismounted and left his horse tied near the door so that he could enter. His eyes scanned the messy and bloody workspace, it was such an eye-sore but he had to pull through. He brought out a blade and then brought it to an animal that had recently been killed.

A goat.

Blood was still fresh and flowing, it was dead; the butcher may have been called off midway of skinning it, leaving it unattended. He took his sword and dug it into the flesh, staining it halfway and then retracting it. His lips twitched at the idea of staining something so pristine. He sheathed his blade when the deed was done and left, part of him hoping that Hanji's plan would suffice. He untied his horse and then continued on.

Torches were lit along the side of the walls of the stable when he returned to headquarters. He dismounted and left a stableman to take his horse for care.

Rivaille walked across the courtyard, quickly reaching the double doors that lead to the main building. Once inside, he was met with Erwin standing at the grand hall. Unlike earlier, he was alone. Rivaille felt a tinge of distrust in the Commander as he walked to him.

"Did you do it?" Erwin asked, he had that look again. Rivaille glared at him.

"Yes," he bitterly told him. To prove his point, he pulled out a the bloodstained blade and presented it to him. The Commander's eyes perked up as he took the blade to examine the fresh blood on steel.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Auruo Bossard and Petra wander into the scene, they seemed to have emerged from the East wing. He paid no mind as Erwin gave a doubtful look. Rivaille reached into his pocket and pulled out Hanji's goggles, the Commander took those as well and stood there in silence. He was staring at the bloody steel as though regretting his decision.

Guilt is sinking in to him.

For a long while, Erwin finally spoke,"Well done. And...as of now, I relieve you of your duties of watching for Eren, another order issued just a few hours ago."

Rivaille's shoulders dropped. So this has to do with the fucking brat.

He leered at his superior. "I said I will be taking care of him, I thought I did enough convincing for them to have him in our hands."

"We still have custody over him, but...it's best to not go against the system right now," he told him as though he had rehearsed these lines before,"disband the elite team, there will be no more use for them now."

"Why not?"

"Since one of the people working closely with Eren was a Titan-shifter, it would obviously cause problems and unsettle the order we just established at the Tribunal. They do, in fact, have proof of her capabilities-"

Rivaille reached out to grasp his shoulder. "Show them to me."

"It's classified information," Erwin told him, handing him back the blade and goggles, he gave advise,"I would watch your back nowadays. I wouldn't be surprised if you're charged to kill someone else, or someone would be doing the same to you. The whole idea of Titan-shifters amongst us has put everyone in the capital at unrest-"

"You know this isn't how we root out traitors," he said with spite.

"For now, it's how they're going to do it. No trial, no evidence, nothing to press her against and yet they are wholly convinced to throw an accusation at her, of all people...I'm not in favor of the military's decision to kill Hanji," Erwin added with a tinge of regret.

Rivaille bitterly asked,"Then why are you going along with their plan if you don't agree with it?"

The Commander suddenly walked away. He had never left a question unanswered before.

Erwin was convinced that Hanji was dead but...it struck him odd that the man didn't ask for her body. A bloody blade and pair of snapped goggles were enough to convince him?

Bullshit.

Rivaille understood how Mike felt earlier that afternoon when he was told about news that he could barely comprehend. Unlike Mike (who protested), he stood there and watched Erwin disappear up the set of stairs. Everything was definitely wrong. He could have been left to his thoughts and the two pieces of evidence of Hanji's 'demise' but the two soldiers that had wandered by approached.

"Corporal!" Auruo told him as he approached. Petra stood by but remained quiet, her sights were fixed on the blade in Rivaille's hand. The blond man with the unpleasant look and tongue, however, was able to address him. "Where the hell were you?! We've been looking for you and-" He bit his tongue. "Ugh!"

"I was busy," Rivaille told him assertively, throwing a glance at Petra who began to show a strong look of horror. She looked like she was going to faint, he would rather deal with her first before going attending to Auruo. "You, stop biting your tongue and get out of my sight. Petra, come with me."

Auruo nodded obediently with his hand at his mouth, then he took notice of the blood, when he saw Hanji's goggles in the other hand, he answered for himself what Rivaille had done; rumors were afoot, Auruo was one of the many who caught wind of such a thing. It was a sweeping look as he quickly walked away (he didn't question any further), leaving Petra with Rivaille. She stood there, still staring at the crimson liquid, her mind trying to process a something she could hardly understand.

Almost immediately, the blond woman unbelievably whispered,"You actually did it..."

"Petra, listen, this is just goat blood," he explained with an exasperated voice. He wished that this matter would have been kept a secret but second thoughts made him realize that she could be of use to him. She stared at him as though he were mad. "I didn't kill Hanji, just relax. She's on her way to the Flora, she'll be waiting for you and Mike-"

"Before you got here, Commander just arrested several other people under the same suspicion of Hanji, she's not the only one being persecuted. Mike left," she informed him, she was slightly shaky in her voice despite being reassured,"he went three hours ago because...because there are some who escaped and are hidden throughout the Karanese, now it's a search to find them; he was one of the people sent out but he said he'll break away from the search party to come back here." As she explained recent happenings, he sheathed away the blade. "What do we do now?"

Rivaille sighed, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. "To be frankly honest...I don't really fucking know."