Ivan Vonbarth was a simple, practical man who enjoyed caring for his inn. It was his pride and joy, right next to his three sons. That isn't to say that he didn't come across a few strange people in his day. He and his wife Karen had seen their fair share of odd folk that would come and stay for the night. But Ivan prided himself for being practical and giving his customers the space they needed when they came to his inn. The Shoe n' Shine was known for its amazing rum that rivaled the one next door. The scenery at his inn also helped add to the pleasant visit that his customers came for.

So it was on this particular late night that Ivan felt his curiosity become aroused at the hushed voices outside his inn door. It had been a rather slow night for them, businesswise, as everyone had yet to arrive for the art festival. So at the sound of a carriage pulling up, Ivan had perked up almost immediately and struggled out of his seat. His seats were certainly tighter then they had been two weeks ago, but his wife's cooking was worth it. On the other side of the bar table, his wife also straightened up and fixed up her black, curly hair. At least she had hair, unlike her husband.

However, his small smile disappeared at the sound of the harsh whispers just outside the door. Whoever was behind there was not exactly being inconspicuous in keeping their voices down. It was not that hard to hear the argument going on between the two individuals outside.

"I am not carrying you over the threshold!"

"And why not?" another, female, voice demanded. "It's a tradition for newlyweds! Now, be a proper husband and carry me!"

"Carry yourself," the first voice grumbled.

"Are you willing to throw away the beautiful tradition of holy matrimony because you are too weak to carry your own wife over a tiny crack?"

"I am willing to save my dignity and avoid the embarrassment of attracting further attention."

"At least pretend like you care!"

"..."

Ivan leaned forward as he heard the male on the other side of the door sigh. "Fine. But I'm not carrying you bridal style."

"Then how are you going to...Oh no! Put me down! That's how you carry a corpse or a wounded soldier! It's not right!"

"It's how I am carrying you. Now no pinching."

"It's indecent! Never mind, I don't want to be carried by you."

"Good. Now can we please go inside-"

Ivan frowned when the man's sentence was cut off. His befuddlement only grew when he heard muffled swearing and thrashing. Someone was obviously struggling, and Ivan was almost too afraid to see what was going on.

The door to his inn suddenly slammed open, and Ivan blinked as he beheld a woman standing on the threshold with an incensed looking man in her arms. "Wow Levi," the woman grunted as she strode in. "What have you been eating?"

"Put me down," the man, Levi, growled, squirming in the woman's grasp. However, his arms were wound tightly around her neck, as if he didn't want to be dropped unceremoniously. It almost looked like he was strangling her.

The woman shrugged, setting the man down on his feet. She smirked at him, her eyes mischievous behind her glasses. "There, tradition done with, hubby dear."

Levi glared at her. "I'll express my gratitude to you tonight, my wife."

Ivan's face flared up, and he glanced at his own wife hurriedly. Well, they were two new customers, and he would treat them as such. He cleared his throat and stroked his thick, black mustache, catching their attention. "Good evening, and welcome to the-"

"Hello there my good innkeeper sir!" the woman beamed, literally bouncing over to his desk. "A reservation for our room has already been established, neh?"

Ivan blinked at the woman's sudden close proximity as she leaned over the registration desk. "Uh, yes, it should be. Name?"

The woman blinked, glancing at her male partner who just shrugged. "Um, I think it would be under….Hanji Button?"

The man she had arrived with smacked his forehead. "Idiot," he mumbled. "It's Buckswith." He glanced at Ivan's confused face. "Not your maiden name," he further clarified, his eyes shifting a bit.

Hanji blinked. "Oh, silly me. I'm new to this whole 'marriage' thing. It'll take me a while to get used to it, you know what I mean?" Here, she winked and nudged Ivan knownigly.

No, Ivan did not know what she meant. When he and Karen had first married, they had adjusted pretty well. But instead of expressing his inner thoughts, he just nodded along as he flipped through the documents. Be polite, he told himself. Don't offend the odd customer.

"Are you two here on your honeymoon?" Karen asked as he looked the papers in his hands.

Hanji propped her elbow on the table, smirking. "Sure we are." She shot Levi a smirk. "Right, dear?"

Ivan chanced a look at Levi and was surprised to see a look of indifference come across the other man's face.

Levi shrugged. "I guess. I just want to get this over with."

Ivan shot a glance at his wife, but Karen did not look at all surprised. Instead, she merely smiled. "Oh, then might I suggest a few landmarks to visit during your stay?"

"Is one of them the art festival?" Levi asked, glancing at Karen with mild interest.

Karen beamed. "Oh! The art festival is always my favorite! If I may say," here, Karen walked from behind the bar and propped her right leg up. She tapped on her leg, emanating a hollow sound. "I go there to get a paint job on my prostatic every year."

Levi actually looked interested as he eyed Ivan's wife's fake leg. "Impressive," he noted. He glanced at her. "Is it ivory?" he asked.

She smirked, tapping her leg. "Of course."

"I can see that you polish it while taking great care to not damage the details," Levi noted, gesturing toward the many rose designs that Karen had painted all over her white prosthetic. A look of what could only be described as admiration came across Levi's face.

Ivan cleared his throat, desperate to get the younger man to stop ogling his wife's leg. "You are in a room numbered 13." He pushed the paper towards Levi, ignoring Hanji's outstretched hand.

To his relief, Levi looked at him and away from Karen. "Room thirteen with two beds, right?" Levi asked as he signed the paper.

Ivan blinked in confusion. "Two...beds?" he echoed. He glanced between Hanji and Levi. "But...isn't it your honeymoon?"

Levi's eyes were still focused on the paper in front of him, so Ivan did not witness the flash of annoyance that crossed his face. "Oh...yes," Levi answered slowly. He looked at Ivan with a smile that seemed somewhat forced. It almost looked as if a smile ever rarely crossed his face. "Our honeymoon," Levi repeated. He cleared his throat. "With a king size bed?"

Ivan shook his head. "No, we only have queen sizes."

"Though there's plenty of room for your honeymoon," Karen said with a wink at the couple.

Hanji beamed. "Perfect! We could use the extra space."

"And extra pillows," Levi added.

Ivan nodded. "I'll have them sent up to your rooms." He held out the keys to Hanji who gladly took them. "I'll also send someone to bring up your luggage."

Hanji nodded, still smiling. "Thank you!" She hooked arms with Levi, dragging him towards the simple, dark stairs. "Come along darling. Let's go get settled in."

"I'm not carrying you up the stairs," Levi grumbled.

Ivan could hear Hanji's teasing cackle as they went upstairs. "Then I'll carry you!"

Their voices faded, and Ivan could not hear Levi's snappy response. Marking off that Mr. and Mrs. Buckswith had arrived for their reservation, Ivan placed the papers back in a secure drawer. Turning, he smirked at his wife. "Do you have to show everyone your prosthetic leg?"

Karen shrugged. "Come on dear, do give me a bit of fun. Life is slow as it is." She frowned. "Room 13, right?" she asked.

Iven looked up, confused. "Pardon?"

"The newlyweds are staying in room 13, right?" she clarified.

Ivan nodded slowly. "Yes."

She hummed, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Well, isn't room 13 directly above our own room with very thin floors?"

"This window will offer us the perfect spot to spy on the other inn that Emilie might be staying at: the Storks Flight," Hanji noted, pulling the curtains back as she gazed at the area outside. "What is it with this girl and her birds?" she muttered. But she shrugged. "The location is perfect though," she said.

Levi nodded as he inspected the bedroom with great care. The room was a comfortable size with a large closet for storage. The bed was tucked away in a corner with another window overlooking the plaza below. Levi noted with pleasure that the sheets on the bed were clean. The rug beneath his feet was void of offending dirt, and the bedside table did not have a speck of dust on its cherry wood.

He had to give Erwin credit for picking a clean room. However…

"He couldn't get us two beds?" he muttered.

"If we had two beds," Hanji started. "It would arouse suspicion." She closed the curtains before turning to face him. "We are supposed to be newlyweds, and besides," she smirked. "It's not like you and I haven't slept together before."

Levi rolled his eyes. "With a sleeping blanket between us and with other scouts around us on the ground." He snorted. "I did the same with Erwin once. Mike to." He glanced at her. "And it's not like I haven't slept with someone for body heat before."

Hanji leaned in coyly. "Oh? What was her name?"

Levi thunked her head. "Get your head out of the gutter. Sometimes, the only thing you can do to stay warm was to seek out someone else." An image of Isabel snuggled up to his side flashed to mind. They had all nearly froze to death that one night, even with three people sharing the bed and blankets.

But he saw no need to explain that to Hanji.

Hanji seemed to understand that he didn't want to elaborate, so she merely ruffled through the files Erwin had given them. "Well," she started. "That inn right across from us has a jackdaw sign right on its door," she started.

Levi nodded. "I saw that too. Kind of obvious though. Do you really think Emilie would be hiding out there?"

Hanji shrugged. "It's the only building with a fresh jackdaw sign on it, unless we want to check out the entire town first and foremost."

Levi pulled out his bag and placed it on the table. "Then I suppose we will have to do that tonight." He smirked at Hanji. "The honeymoon will have to wait."

Hanji waved a dismissive hand. "Eh, sneaking out to find a thug is much more romantic." She frowned when she noticed Levi pulling out various assortments of gadgets. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"The festival is tomorrow," Levi started. "And we need to look our best." Here, he shot Hanji a look. "Or presentable." He pulled out a small packet, opening it to reveal two pairs of cutting shears. "You look like you just crawled out of a hole."

Hanji scowled. "So what? I'll just take a bath and wash the grim off. You don't look any better!"

Levi pulled out the scissors. "You can take a bath after I am done with you."

Hanji eyed the scissors in his hand, taking a slow and wary step back. "Come any closer with those," she warned. "And I'll bury them in your spleen."

Levi took a casual step towards her, twirling the scissors in his hands. "I'd like to see you try." With that, he lunged towards Hanji. Hanji scrambled back, trying to duck out of the way, but Levi was faster, and his entire body weight slammed into her and forcing her against the wall. Hanji grunted as she struggled, pushing at Levi. She scrambled away, only for Levi to grab her shoulders, forcing her back to press up against his. Hanji lashed out, kicking at his feet, but Levi pressed her up against the wall once more.

"You have split ends on your hair!" Levi grunted as he brought the scissors closer.

Hanji adjusted her face so that it was no longer pressed up against the wall. "I don't care! This is spousal abuse!"

"Let me get rid of that rats nest you call hair!" Levi growled, struggling once more.

"Never!" With that, Hanji threw her head back and smacking right into Levi. The captain let out a pained yelp, but he did not loosen his grip. Hanji kicked back with her feet, feeling his grip loosen then. However, when she surged forward, Levi grabbed onto her once more. In that moment, both officers lost their balance. Hanji yelped as she felt her feet lose contact with the floor. Her entire body crashed into Levi, causing the captain to grunt in pain as they both crashed to the floor.

"Four-Eyes!" Levi shouted as he lost his grip on the scissors.

"You are not touching my hair!" Hanji promised. However, despite the fact that he was on the floor with Hanji on top of him did not deter Levi from pinning Hanji against him. With swift movements, his legs were wrapped around her waist. "You're not going anywhere until you concede," he growled.

"Then we'll be here for a while," Hanji gasped as Levi held her in a choke hold. "Really Levi, don't you think this is overkill?"

"For me, never," Levi said. He would have said more, but a knock on their door caused them both to look up as the door opened to reveal a Shoe n' Shine employee. The young man gasped as he took in the scene in front of him.

"What?" Levi snapped. He moved his head to glare at the man, blinking as strands of Hanji's hair fell in his face.

"I'm...I'm so sorry!" the man stuttered. "B-but I'm here to deliver your luggage."

Levi nodded towards the bed. "Set them there at the foot of the bed." He tightened his hold as Hanji once more tried to escape. "And do you mind? We're kind of in the middle of something."

The poor man nearly tripped over himself as he scurried around them to try and set the large brown box down. "Of course! I'm so sorry! I'll be going now!" With that, he all but fled from the room.

"And send up some pillows!" Levi hollered after him, right as the door slammed shut.

Hanji hummed. "You know," she started. "I'm starting to feel comfortable."

Levi raised an eyebrow. "Comfortable enough for me to cut your hair?"

She snorted. "Not yet. First you forcefully bath me, now you want to cut my hair."

Levi groaned. "It's only a trim, Four-Eyes. If you haven's noticed, you're not really good at maintaining your appearance. It's not like I'm going to leave you bald!"

"Oh, yeah, very convincing Levi!" Hanji scoffed. "What, do you have a degree in hairdressing?"

"For your information," Levi started, indignant. "I cut my own hair."

"Is that supposed to be a good thing?" She paused. "You know, you're not really good at this whole 'partner' thing, eh?"

"Will you shut up and let me do your hair?" Levi grumbled.

Hanji went limp, and just when Levi was wondering how far he could go to reach for those scissors, he heard Hanji sigh. "If you give me an undercut, I swear…" she muttered.

"Relax," Levi huffed. "You know what they say; eventually spouses will start to look like each other."

Ivan mentally kicked himself for forgetting to order those extra pillows for room 13. He must be getting old in his age. At least, that's what his wife was teasing him about. So, to make up for it, Ivan decided to deliver the extra pillows himself.

He raised his fist to knock on the door, but halted at the sound of voices coming from inside. He scolded himself. There were people in there, of course there would be voices!

"You know Levi," he heard the woman, Hanji, if he was remembering correctly, say. "You were right. I'm not really good at this. It just feels weird."

"That's fine," he heard the man, Levi say. "I can lead you through this. I've done it plenty of times. It's just a matter of experience, and I've had plenty."

Hanji's tone was teasing. "I'll promise not to bite."

To Ivan's surprise, he heard Levi chuckle. "You know, now that we are alone, we can finally get down to business."

"I know what you mean," Hanji confessed. "It hasn't been easy. Being alone does have its perks."

"Let's be quick about it. I've waited long enough."

The sound of something moving around caused Ivan's face to flame up, and he hastily dropped the pillows in front of the door before scurrying back down the stairs. He didn't even bother to knock on the apparently very thin door.

Newlyweds, he reminded himself. They were newlyweds. What did he expect?

Levi pushed the trunk away from the bed, ignoring the loud sound it was making against the floor. At the small table on the other side of the bed, Hanji was studying the map with a small frown. She pushed her now neatly trimmed brown hair behind her ear, and Levi felt a feeling of triumph swell inside of him. Just as promised, he had not given her an undercut. He was the only one who could rock those anyway.

"If we want to scout out the inn across from us," Hanji started, sitting back. "We will have to go in through the back to avoid detection."

Levi nodded, walking around the bed to glance once more at the map. He had already familiarized himself with the towns layout, but it never hurt to look at the map once more. "The cover of night would be to our benefit," he said.

Hanji nodded in agreement. "We'll have to cancel the dinner reservation if we want to get ready."

Levi shrugged on his new black coat that Erwin had personally bought for him. The trunk was filled with new clothes for both him and Hanji. Levi smirked, knowing what Hanji's reaction would be to the dresses Erwin had tailored for her. "I'll have them bring up an early dinner. Newlyweds do it all the time."

Hanji glanced up at him with a frown. "And where are you going?" she asked as she watched him.

Levi took a hold of the black cane with a silver crow head, tapping it against the floor. Erwin had, for some reason, insisted that he use the thing to get into character. While Levi had initially balked at the idea of using the cane, he had to admit that it came in handy with the hidden sword built into it.

Here they were on a mission to earn money, and Erwin was wasting it on neat gadgets. But Levi wasn't complaining.

"I'm scouting," Levi answered her simply.

Hanji beamed. "Oh! Let me come!"

"You stink and need a bath," Levi said. He pointed his cane at the small bathroom. "Clean up."

Hanji huffed, already opening the trunk. "I'll bath later," she said. Her voice trailed off as she took in her outfits. "Commander," he heard her growl, her tone of voice promising revenge in the future.

Levi chuckled as he opened the door to their room. "You should see the pink dress he picked out for you. I'll be across the street." With that, he stepped out of the room…

...and nearly tripped over a pile of pillows outside the door.

Stumbling, Levi glared at the offending mass of white pillows, and kicked them inside the room. "The service here is really lacking," he muttered, closing the door and cutting off Hanji's annoyed sputterings as she cursed their commander's sense of style.

Striding down the stairs, he made his way towards the desk. He grimaced as his knee flared up with pain. His thoughts once more went back to the fight between him and the Female Titan. Of all the injuries he had to sustain, it had to be a dislocated knee.

The inn was already crowding up with more guests seeking rooms for the festivals. Levi made his way through the crowd to Ivan's desk. He rang the bell on the desk to catch the stout man's attention.

"I would like to have our meals sent upstairs to our room early," Levi said, startling the innkeeper. He frowned when Ivan's face turned a light shade of red as he refused to meet Levi's gaze.

"Of course," Ivan said. He finally glanced at Levi. "I was...not expecting you to be down here so quickly," he confessed.

Levi shrugged. "I only really needed five minutes. That's all a man really needs." He huffed, tugging on his new black coat. "Now Hanji, however, likes to take her time. All women do when it comes to that. They like to take it all in." Despite the fact that she didn't put much effort in her appearance, Hanji did like to examine her new toys, even if they were clothes.

Though Ivan's head was down, his ears were a bright red. He made a choked noise, something that Levi ignored. He pulled up a stool, sitting down for a minute to help ease the pressure on his knee. Wincing, he rubbed his leg, feeling some of the tension finally leave.

Ivan looked up. "You alright, sir?"

"A little sore," Levi admitted, rubbing his knee.

"You don't need to tell me," Ivan said hurriedly. "I completely understand."

A flicker of surprise crossed Levi's face. He hadn't expected Ivan to relate to any sort of battle injuries. But he nodded anyway. "Yeah, moments like this can be a true pain," Levi grunted. "But a man has to push past it and take pleasure in what is coming." He snorted, tapping his cane against the floor. "Though there's no true pleasure that I've experienced yet. All I've been met with is disappointment so far."

Ivan sputtered, face red. "But...sir! She's your wife!"

Levi frowned. "My...wife?" he echoed. He was obviously referring to Hanji. But what did Hanji have to do with any of this? He shook his head. He was wasting time with this pointless chatter anyway. He nodded to Ivan, whose face was still red as he rose up from the stool. "Good day," he said, leaving the inn.

He took in a deep breath before as the fresh air wafted over him. Eyeing the coming and going carriages, Levi strode out onto the street to the get to the other side. Women and men were walking around, children skirted about, and filthy animals ducked in between buildings.

Levi strode toward the Storks Flight and casually strolled around the building. He frowned when he caught sight of the small painting of a jackdaw bird. It was not just one, but dozens of carefully crafted paintings.

"Odd that an inn with a stork would have the paintings of a jackdaw," he muttered. He stopped when he caught sight of the back door, the drawing of a jackdaw inscribed in it, along with hastily written words.

His coat pocket tugged slightly, and on instinct, Levi lashed out. His hand shot outward to grab at the small hand that was halfway into his pocket. His grip on the would-be-thief tightened, and his glare intensified as he stared down at the individual.

The failed pickpocket let out a startled gasp, stumbling back and losing her footing. The girl looked at him with wide, green eyes. The look of shock and fear showed clearly on her face, but there was a flicker of defiance in her eyes as she stared at him.

Levi was instantly reminded of another feisty, green eyed girl who once touched his life. But she had been a better thief then this child. With that thought, his grip loosened ever so slightly, and the girl scurried away. Levi watched her go, and instead of the brown hair, he saw a flicker of red. A name that he had tried to bury surfaced, along with the memories that he had tried to forget.

"Sorry it took me so long," a voice said, and Levi turned to see Hanji hurry towards him. There was a skip in her step as she eagerly approached him. "It took me a while to find a decent outfit that I could actually run in."

Levi eyed her up and down, noting that the long sleeved white shirt fit her quite nice. Her yellow skirts swayed at her ankles to expose her new brown boots. She adjusted her glasses as she smirked. "Ready to scope out the place?" Hanji asked.

"Already found something," Levi answered, pointing to the door. What stood out to Levi was the small inscription beneath the painting, not the drawing itself.

"Birds aren't meant to be caged," Hanji read out loud. "They spread their wings and fly free."

Levi frowned. "What the heck does that mean?"

"It's a poem," Hanji explained. "There's more to the original poem, but I think it's a hidden message."

Levi raised an eyebrow. "So Emilie is a poet now?" He huffed. "If she's talking about being a free bird, then she's a free bird flying back to a gilded cage."

"Hey, not our problem," Hanji answered. She frowned, leaning forward as if the door would reveal more secrets. "I wonder why she even bothered with this poem."

"Guess we'll find out when we sneak out tonight," he answered.

She smiled. "Well, this honeymoon just got a whole lot interesting."

A/N: Ah, the little review box that is so empty and waiting for reviews that are much appreciated.