Hello everyone! I am almost done with this story now; I think this will be the penultimate chapter. Just a heads up, there is a spoiler warning on this chapter for those who have not seen AoT: No Regrets. If you haven't seen it yet you should watch it because it is SO GOOD!

Disclaimer: I do not own SNK

Ch.4

Mikasa ran straight into the bathrooms; she really didn't like the smell that was emanating off of her. As she let the hot water wipe away the grime from training, Mikasa thought of Levi. She had gotten the better of him several times that session, and she was hoping that he would be impressed enough to share his backstory that he hinted at the night before. She couldn't picture the doom and gloom Captain as a young boy. It made her giggle thinking of him running around playing tag.

As she finished her shower, Mikasa's stomach growled menacingly. She hurried to her room in a towel and threw on her uniform pants and a white t-shirt. She left the room to find her comrades for breakfast. However, as she entered the kitchen, everyone was filing out.

"Armin, are you already done eating?" Mikasa asked her blonde friend as he walked past.

"Mikasa where have you been? Sasha went to get you this morning but you weren't there." Armin replied, curiosity bright in his eyes.

"I had training early this morning with Levi." Mikasa said, wincing internally that she had not called him Captain. Armin clearly noticed, but decided to keep his mouth shut.

"I guess I had better grab some food quickly before it's put away." Mikasa said as she slipped past Armin and into the dining room. She felt his gaze pierce her back as she walked away. She wasn't sure why she felt so shy about Levi-no CAPTAIN Levi- all of a sudden. When she walked into the kitchen, Jean was gathering rolls of bread into a wicker basket while Connie was busy cleaning out a large pot that had remnants of oatmeal stuck to the sides.

"Can I take one of those rolls Jean?" Mikasa asked as she walked up to the pair.

"Sure, but the Captain just came and got you some." Connie said while Jean's face turned light pink. Mikasa was visibly surprised, and Connie couldn't help but wonder if he had said something wrong.

"I'll go find him then. Thanks." Mikasa walked away, slightly confused but also with a small bounce in her step. She would get to eat breakfast with him! Then her stomach dropped like a stone. The thought, while exciting, also made her nervous. What would then talk about? She guessed fighting moves or maybe new training exercises. She found herself standing in front of his office door far too soon. She gave a light knock.

"Come in." Came Levi's cold voice. Mikasa entered and had a feeling that she had lived this scene before. Levi was sitting in a leather chair with his feet on a pile of papers on top of the desk. The difference now was that he had a partially eaten roll of bread with some butter in his hand. A plate with another roll and two bowls of oatmeal sat next to the papers. Mikasa walked in all the way and closed the door behind her.

"Sit." Levi ordered her, taking his feet off the desk and crossing them instead. Mikasa sat in the leather armchair that faced him from the opposite side of the desk. She looked at Levi expectantly.

"Eat. I didn't know if you would take long getting cleaned up so I took the liberty of grabbing you something. The oatmeal is cold but it still tastes fine." Levi handed her a bowl and the plate with bread. Mikasa said thank you and spread some butter on her roll before tucking in. She was starving from their intense training that morning. Mikasa chewed in silence, unsure of what to say. She thought about asking about his past, but decided that he would share that when he wanted to.

"What's on the schedule today sir?" Mikasa finally decided on just asking a rather bland question that would hopefully start a better discussion.

"Everyone is to clean their quarters today." Replied Levi, clearly underwhelmed with her topic choice. Mikasa decided to opt for something more personal, hoping to feel that bond they had forged when she told him about her parents.

"Eating these rolls always reminds me of the ones that Mrs. Jaeger would make. I would help her every few days make a fresh dozen. They should have lasts more than a couple days, but Eren would eat four for a meal. I always yelled at him for eating so many because they took so long to make. Now I wish I could spend all day making those rolls with Mrs. Jaeger again." Mikasa had stared at her roll throughout her confession. The memories that it stirred up were pleasant and made her smile.

Levi stared at Mikasa. He had always noticed how beautiful the girl was, but now she seemed to radiate beauty. Mikasa was looking at the roll with such love and joy that Levi wished he were made of yeast and flour if that meant she would look at him that way. She was absolutely mesmerizing. His mind sputtered to a halt as her eyes met his and it felt like the air had been sucked out of the room. Earth stood still for a moment that seemed to last forever. Silence engulfed them both, but they didn't seem to notice. Then Levi's mind found its footing again and he broke eye contact with her by looking down at his hands. He didn't remember clenching them.

Levi felt like his chest was about to explode. His heart was hammering against his ribcage and he found it hard to catch his breath for a few moments. He had no idea what had just happened. Not long ago this girl was just a soldier, a soldier worth a thousand soldier, but still a soldier. Now, she was something new. Levi looked up at Mikasa again. She was staring at her feet, the roll lay abandoned on her plate. Her face was flushed red, which Levi couldn't help but love. He was beginning to think that this was someone he could tell his whole story to. Erwin knew part, but only because he was such a pivotal part of it. However, the only one who knew anything before he moved to the underground was dead.

"I promised that if you did well in training today I would tell you my story." Levi started. He couldn't believe it, but he actually wanted her to know. He wanted there to be a secret between them, something that would bind them together more than training. Mikasa looked up in surprise, she had not thought he would actually tell her.

"My mother was a whore and I never knew my father. I don't remember her much at all really, I was very young when she got sick and died. She was dead for a full day before someone came and got me. I was practically dead from malnutrition myself. The man who died here the other day was that man. He took me in and fed me. For a few years he raised me. I learned how to fight with a knife and how to take care of myself. Then he just walked away. I haven't seen him since until a few days ago. After he abandoned me I took care of myself alone. I lived wherever it was dry and fought and stole my way in the world. After a few years of that I- WHAT?"

Levi's mood changed from somber to angry in under a second. A loud knock on his office door had interrupted his story. Mikasa, while still in shock at how heart wrenching his story was, leapt in her seat at the knock and then Levi's angry voice. Her heart went out to whoever was about to walk through that door.

"Well someone is touchy today! Levi you need to relax or you'll give yourself a heart attack." Hange laughed loudly as she walked in the door followed closely by Eren. They both looked surprised to see Mikasa casually eating breakfast with the Captain. It was clear they had interrupted something by the look Levi was giving them; it could've burned a hole through a Titan.

"Did we interrupt something?" Hange asked, knowing that Levi was past the point of possible joking.

"Tell me what you want Hange or get out." Levi snapped, lowering his voice to show how short his fuse was at that moment.

"Eren and I are going to do some more experiments with his Titan body today. I wanted to see if you want to see the progress we've been making. But if you're busy…"

"I'll see your experiments later. If that's all then leave." Levi stood up with his palms pressed into the top of the desk. Hange could tell that she was not welcome anymore and retreated with Eren hot on her heels. Levi sat back down slowly.

"You didn't have to yell at her." Mikasa said. Levi's anger was slipping away.

"I don't like being interrupted." Levi growled.

"Clearly." Mikasa chirped. Levi looked at her in annoyance. But when he looked into her eyes, he saw nothing but thinly veiled amusement. Is she laughing at me? Levi thought. No one laughed at him, but he didn't seem to mind if it was from Mikasa. Levi sighed through his nose and crossed his legs comfortably again.

"Back to my story. I was tired of not having a home and having no money. I decided to move into the Underground District to make a living. While I was there I came to be the owner of two sets of 3DM gear. I taught myself how to use it."

"You taught yourself? So you mean that when you use your 3DM gear now you taught yourself all of your moves?" Mikasa was shocked to learn that that Levi had lived on the streets, but even more so that he had figured out how to use the 3DM gear all by himself. "And how did you get the 3DM gear? I thought only the military had access to them."

"I stole them. I had moved from stealing bread to survive to stealing goods to earn money. I had a partner. His name was Farlan, and together we became notorious. We would use the 3DM gear to steal money from or goods. We would always give our friends a cut of our earnings so that they could survive in that hell of a District. Then we met Isabel." Levi paused and a small smile graced his lips. Mikasa felt a hot flare burning in her chest as she realized that this woman meant a lot to Levi. She knew she shouldn't be, but she was jealous.

"She knocked on our door one night being chased by a couple of guards. She had tried to make a break up one of the stair cases. They required a heavy toll that only the rich merchants could afford. She had risked prison to set a bird that had gotten lost down there free. She joined Farlan and me, and we got hold of another 3DM gear for her. The three of us were unstoppable. Then one day, a man came to us with an assignment. We wouldn't have even given him the time of day, but he was holding a friend of ours captive.

"The man who hired us had some incriminating documents that had fallen into the hands of a younger Erwin. Our mission was to get the documents and kill Erwin" Mikasa gave a squeak, disrupting Levi's thoughts. He looked at her to see that her face had gone slightly pale and there was confusion in her gaze. He could understand that. Erwin was the only one who knew that Levi had meant to kill him, and now after all that time that was changing. Levi wasn't sure yet if he would regret telling her this story, but he needed to finish it to find out.

"The man who hired us knew that the Scouts were going to arrest Farlan, Isabel, and me. All we had to do was get caught and then try and join the Scout Regiment. The surprise that made that so easy was that when Erwin caught us, he asked us to join. A few days later and we were wearing green cloaks. I do not like taking orders now, but I was worse back then. I listened only enough to not be kicked out, because I knew that if I did my friend would suffer. We joined them on an expedition outside of the walls. It was raining. Visibility was piss poor, so I took the opportunity to kill Erwin. My pride made me leave Farlan and Isabel behind. While I was searching for Erwin, I found part of our group slaughtered by a variant, whose tracks led back the way I came. I went back to save my friends, but it was too late. They had been ripped apart.

"I went blind with rage, and when I returned to my senses the variant was chopped into tiny pieces and Erwin was right in front of me. He revealed to me that he knew my plans all along from the beginning. The documents were long gone at the capital. I almost killed him there, but he made me realize that I was more than a criminal. It was my fault that Farlan and Isabel died. Erwin raised me out of the garbage and into the light."

Levi concluded his story and leaned back in his chair. Mikasa was on the edge of hers, still processing what she had just learned. This was more than she could have ever imagined from her Captain. She could see it now though, if she looked hard enough. She could see the pain in his eyes as he remembered his lost friends and the trials he endured to be where he was today.

"Sir, it wasn't your fault that they died." Mikasa murmured softly. "I know it may seem like it, but you trusted that they could take care of themselves. Even the best of us cannot escape death. You are Humanities Strongest, but you could still getting eaten at any time." She couldn't bear to see those grey eyes in pain any longer. She walked around to where he sat. She looked down at him as he gazed at her with pain, trust, and something else that she couldn't place. She now felt vulnerable next to this man, but something deep inside her gave her courage.

"I believed that Eren would die as soon as he left my sights. That happened during the battle in Trost. I blamed myself for him getting eaten, and I gave up. I was reckless and ran out of gas. There was a Titan coming at me, and I just knelt there. But then Eren came and saved my life for the second time. Now he is saving so many more by refining his shifting abilities. I am still going to protect him, but I will never again give up on living. There are people than Eren who need me alive."

Levi was so close to saying that he needed her alive, but he felt like he had shared enough that day. He was grateful for her encouraging words. They didn't left the guilt that still weighed heavily on him, but she helped lighten it. It was good to have someone else know everything, but it was also dangerous. He was putting a lot of trust in her.

"Thank you. You are not to tell anyone what we have talked about in here. You are the only one who knows everything now, and I'd rather not be hearing my past being discussed among Cadets, Mikasa." Levi froze as he realized he had called her by her first name and not Ackerman. Mikasa was surprised too.

"It was an honor. Thank you for sharing so much with me, Levi" She gave him a bright smile that hinted at mischief. Levi decided that he liked the sound of his name. All of the Cadets called him "sir" or "Captain", and he missed his name. He smiled back at her and gave a soft sigh of laughter. This girl was something else. She was so serious all of the time, but when she smiled the sun looked dim.

Mikasa was pleased that Levi hadn't corrected her. She had meant it as a joke, but since he hadn't said anything she would keep it up. Of course in front of her comrades she would call him Captain, but when it was just them he would be Levi. A warmth was spreading from deep inside of her and spreading throughout her body at the thought of them alone. She realized that she very much liked the idea of them alone.

Mikasa moved back to her seat and immediately regretted it. She missed standing right next to him, but it was too late, she couldn't move back. When she looked back at Levi, it looked like he thought the same thing she did as well. His face had fallen only a fraction, but Mikasa caught it.

A knock on the door defused the tension in the room in an instant.

"Come in." Levi called, in a much more patient mood now. Armin entered looking sheepish. His eyes found Mikasa and his eyebrows raised noticeably. Mikasa gave him a gentle glare that told him to stop looking so surprised.

"What do you want Arlert?" Levi demanded, back to his commanding self.

"Sir, we, the Cadets and I, were wondering if we had any assignments today."

"I told you sorry lot to disinfect your quarters. Did you all forget?" Levi's expression was stormy. Armin swallowed loudly.

"N-no sir! Just checking." With that he gave a deep bow and retreated swiftly. Mikasa looked curiously at Levi.

"I don't remember you telling anyone that sir, other than me not long ago." Mikasa wondering out loud.

"No I didn't, but I would rather my subordinates think they made a mistake rather than me. I don't want them to think I have forgotten about them just because I am talking to you, someone might get jealous." Mikasa blushed at what he had insinuated. "Now, you have lazed about in here long enough, you had better get your quarters looking flawless."

Mikasa stood and gave a short bow.

"I will see you at lunch then sir" Mikasa said as she neared the door.

"Mikasa," Levi said, sending a shiver down her spine when he said her name again, "When it is the two of us, you will not call me 'sir', understood?"

"Yes, Levi." Mikasa said, giving him a shy smile as she left the room.

When Armin walked by Levi's office door a few minutes later to gather more cleaning supplies from the closet, he thought he heard Levi whistling. No way, it must be a draft in the house, Armin thought. He crept closer to the door to hear better, the whistling suddenly stopped. The door was wrenched open and Armin was facing a clearly annoyed Levi.

"What are you doing just standing there, get back to work." Levi snapped briskly. He walked past, leaving Armin mystified.