TW: minor medical procedure

Year 850

Katrine stepped inside the pharmacy, took one breath of the stale, dusty air, and promptly sneezed. Even in the dim light, she could see Levi whirl to glare at her.

"Sorry!" she mouthed, hands up in apology. He shook his head like he didn't believe her and crouched down behind the countertop.

As expected, the pharmacy was a wreck. Shelves laid in broken heaps on shattered glass jars and their spilled contents. Papers advertising elixirs for pain relief and boundless energy littered the ground. And there were tiny white pills everywhere, scattered across the floor like snowflakes. Katrine stood before one and after contemplating it for a moment, crushed it with the tip of her boot.

"Psst!" Levi stood up and motioned to her. She crept toward him, picking over shards of glass, and bent to see what he was pointing at. At first, she only saw the splintered floor, but then spotted the chain snaking out of a hole in the wood.

"Sure made this easy," he whispered.

"No need to brag, this is only the beginning," she whispered back.

Levi didn't respond; he crouched down and tugged at the chain. The trapdoor swung open effortlessly, causing Katrine to wonder how often it was used. However, it revealed nothing but darkness. She bit her lip and peered inside, trying to discern something, anything, while Levi dropped a rock inside and listened to it hit the ground. She heard the noise too and had no idea what it meant, but Levi swung his legs into the entrance and dropped right in.

"Are you insane?" she hissed.

"It's two meters at most," he said from the darkness.

"You want me to break a leg?"

"Didn't think you'd need someone to catch you."

Sudden heat flared in her cheeks and for a moment Katrine was thankful that the cavern below was pitch black so Levi couldn't see it. She sat at the edge of the trapdoor and dangled her legs into the darkness, and then twisted herself inside so she could hang from the edge with both hands. But there was nothing solid beneath her and she had no idea how far she was from the ground, her fingers clenching into the wood at the thought of fracturing an ankle or severing a toe and then what would she do—

Warmth enveloped her waist, the pressure of fingers, and she couldn't feel the grain of the wood anymore because she was weightless. She didn't even think to gasp or flinch or even breathe because she could only notice the way his thumbs dug into her sides, brushing her ribs, and that her mind was utterly empty.

"Let go," Levi said.

She let go.

He set her down quickly and then his hands were gone, leaving the place they'd been buzzing and raw like her skin had been torn off. Katrine was alone again, swallowed by cold darkness. She concentrated on her feet, now flat on solid ground, and held her breath to make her heart slow down.

Levi struck a match and the hiss made her flinch. He lit a candle, and Katrine realized grudgingly she wouldn't have thought to bring one. The flame threw shadows onto his face and the dim light made his features softer, less harsh. Had he changed at all in those six months? She didn't know what she wanted him to be, though. The thought was more uncomfortable than too-tight ODM straps cutting off her circulation.

"Find the walls," he said to the flame. "There's probably a door leading out." His eyes turned hard again, emotionless, and inexplicable sadness bloomed in her throat. He lit another candle with the flame and she took it.

Katrine turned away from him and held the candle in front of her, but it illuminated nothing. Gritting her teeth and ignoring the fear still torrenting through her, she stretched out her other hand and took a step forward. Nothing. She took another, and then another, and still encountered nothing. Maybe they were in a room with no walls at all, just some vast expanse of empty air, and then she and Levi would keep walking away from each other until she could never find him again.

Then her toe hit something solid and her hand slammed into a flat vertical surface, and she wasn't even angry that her fingers stung because she'd found something tangible, something that proved she wasn't in some inescapable abyss.

"Found it," she said, her relief audible.

"What's it feel like?" Levi's voice came from somewhere behind her.

Smooth, with slight ridges. "Wood?" Katrine hoped that was a useful answer because she had no idea if it was good or bad.

"Try to find a handle."

Katrine ran her hand over the wall but it was smooth and cold. She slid to the right, holding the candle in front of her, and prayed she wouldn't trip over anything. But then she noticed a glint of light in the darkness, too close to be Levi's candle. Possibly she'd stared too hard into the flame and her eyes were playing tricks on her, but the object didn't waver as she moved closer. With realization she gasped and darted forward, forgetting about any unseen obstacle in her way. She threw her hand at it and felt hard metal. A handle! She jiggled it a bit to make sure the door wasn't locked, and it gave no resistance.

"Here you are," she whispered, lowering her candle to the handle. Levi's footsteps stopped and then moved toward her. That was all me, huh? she mouthed in his direction, proud of her accomplishment.

The light of his candle grew brighter and Levi emerged from the shadows. He inspected the latch and then put an ear to the door. For a few seconds, he was motionless, and then he grabbed the handle and slowly pushed the door open.

It led into more darkness.

Seriously? Katrine curled her lip.

Levi took a few tentative steps forward and disappeared. Annoyance overtaking her dread, she followed him and found him again after ten steps forward, illuminated by a dim rectangle of light at the top of the wall. They were in some sort of hallway.

"There's a ladder leading up," Levi said, already climbing. It led a few meters up to what appeared to be a ledge, where the source of the light originated. Katrine grew concerned that they were walking further and further into some labyrinthine trap.

He stopped at the edge of the mezzanine and poked his head over the edge, and then hoisted himself up. Katrine scrambled after him, refusing to be dead weight. Once she reached the top she found that the ledge was actually a continuation of the hallway and the light came from a large window at the end of it. When they walked toward it, Katrine could see the damaged buildings and cracked pavement outside. Since the window and the hallway were undamaged, it was clear they'd reached the inside of the cathedral.

Perpendicular to the window was another door, but this one was carved and ornate, featuring three women aligned in a triangle through clasped hands. Katrine stared at it, feeling a peculiar urge to trace their faces with her fingers, but Levi listened at the door again and pressed down on the handle embossed with leaves.

It opened into a room so cavernous and imposing that Katrine immediately gulped. They were at the back end of the cathedral, where velvet pews were aligned in perfect rows facing a pulpit and a massive stained glass window. There must have been hundreds of pews, enough to fit thousands of people, and it felt strange to see it so lifeless. She didn't know what to look at first: the circular window where swirling triangles of multicolored glass converged to point at a single blue eye, or the marble pillars that could have been as tall as a Titan.

Instead, her gaze darted to Levi. Even he appeared awed.

"Now what?" she whispered.

"If anything, it's over there." He pointed to the other end of the cathedral, past the pulpit and beneath the stained glass. It was a domed enclave with three carved statues and giant candles as tall as she was. He walked toward it and Katrine followed, but right as her hand left the door it swung shut behind them, the click of the latch reverberating so loudly all of Stohess must have heard it.

Levi spun to face her, glowering. "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Katrine turned around and where the door should have been was a huge painting of an old man dressed in full regalia, a heavy golden crown on his head. There was no hint of the passageway behind it.

"Now how are we getting out?" Every word was sharp as a blade.

"I don't know, that's your job!" Katrine struggled to keep her voice even, suddenly claustrophobic.

Levi shot her a look like he thought she was an idiot and stalked away. Katrine trailed behind him again, refusing to be defeated, but her frustration was obvious in her stomping footsteps.

They followed the lush red carpet down to the enclave, where there was an imposing wood altar. Katrine tried not to look at the giant eye in the stained glass window; she felt like a mouse searching for crumbs. But, the altar held silver goblets and little trays studded with gems, so the risk was worth it. She inched one hand forward, measuring the weight of a chalice with her eyes, praying the glass pupil wouldn't follow her.

"Don't even think about it," Levi said. Katrine tried to look offended.

He crept around the enclave, inspecting the walls, fingers dancing across the wood and marble. Katrine took a few steps back so everything was in her field of vision, attempting to find some pattern, some inconsistency. Everything was so symmetrical, so precisely placed, that she began to understand why people could spend their lives starting at an altar. It was mesmerizing.

Katrine blinked and forced her eyes away, looking at the side of the church. Along the walls were oil paintings of bald old men who all looked the same, but something caught her eye. A white marble plaque, something carved into the center. Katrine squinted and made out a flower, one with spiky petals and tiny circles at its center.

Edelweiss! A white flower, of course!

Katrine looked to the opposite wall, where paintings hung in a similar manner, but found no corresponding plaque. A slow smile broke onto her face.

She stepped out of the enclave and tiptoed to the plaque, careful for creaky floorboards. Placing her hand on the cold marble, she ran her fingers over the carving and pressed down gently. The plaque receded and part of the wall swung away into a short hallway that led to what appeared to be an office.

Katrine put her hands on her hips and made a small sound of approval. Levi didn't need to know just yet, she decided, and spied a glittering silver ashtray on a nearby table. She picked it up and admired the exquisite carvings and bright emeralds. It would fetch a high price with the right buyer and then she could get—

"Put that down." Katrine grimaced when she heard Levi's voice at her back. "How'd you find this?" He pressed down on the plaque, testing the mechanism.

"An edelweiss is a white flower," she said, dropping the ashtray. "It's like I don't even need you!"

"No need to brag," he said and disappeared into the passageway.

Katrine screwed her face into the ugliest expression she could manage because he probably thought that was so clever, and she hated having her words thrown back at her. Only she could do that. Katrine snatched the ashtray off the table and shoved it into her waistband, and only then did she follow Levi, making sure to leave the door open.

When she stepped into the office, Katrine was awed by the sheer amount of books. They sat aligned in neat rows on shelves, most of them thick, but none had titles on their spines. There was a window that looked out into an alleyway, and the moonlight illuminated a clean but sturdy desk. Nothing seemed peculiar.

"This desk has a secret compartment," Levi said, crouching to inspect it.

Katrine turned away from the books. "How'd you know?"

"Hidden but easily accessible if needed. People aren't that creative." Out of sight, he tapped at the drawers, and then came a hollow knock.

"Here," Levi said, moving a slat of wood out from under the desk. Katrine moved to it and bent down next to him, and saw that there was a folded sheet of paper shoved into the back crevice of the desk. Levi took the paper and unfolded it; Katrine forgot herself for a moment and leaned in to read it too, but then the scent of pine hit her and she froze, hoping her sudden distress wasn't obvious.

"What is this?" he asked, snapping her out of her trance, and she scanned the writing. It was made of unfamiliar symbols, blocky and angular, but in seemingly normal straight lines.

"It has to be a code." Katrine took the letter from Levi. It was five sheets, all densely filled with lines of the code, and she held them up to the window to get a better look.

"If this is what Erwin wanted, it's pretty useless," Levi said, voice laced with irritation.

"Not if I can crack it," she said in a light tone, taunting. Ego swelled in her chest. The Cult wanted to play a game with her, and Katrine could never resist a game. She hated losing even more than she loved winning.

"You'll be lost without some kind of clue."

He doubts me. More determination flared. He should know better. "Then go look for one. I need to memorize this, that's the only reason I'm here."

Without argument, he stood and walked away to inspect the bookshelves. Katrine turned to the pages and scanned the text; it was filled with rows of sticklike figures, stiff and regular, like little soldiers at attention. They were angular, simplistic, and only made up of lines and triangles, but she knew the real challenge was figuring out what letters they disguised. She stared at the page and imprinted the figures into her memory, symbol by symbol, line by line. Her eyes refused to blink and began to sting. This would be harder than the books she read and unconsciously memorized because these symbols were unfamiliar, but once she was halfway down the second page their differences became clear and her eyes swept across the lines.

The pages fell away and Katrine reached the last one, unaware of time passing and the pressure on her toes and even where Levi was because the only thing occupying her mind was the letters. She was fully involved now and wouldn't stop until she broke the code and revealed its secret, whatever it was.

"Katrine!"

She jumped, angered at the interruption. "What?"

"Someone's coming, we need to go." Levi looked toward the hallway. Katrine didn't think he felt fear, but something that looked like it flashed across his face.

"But I have one more page—" She cut herself off when she heard two faint voices and a faraway thud.

"There's no time," he said while striding to the window. He peered outside and after determining there was no sudden danger, he unlatched it and pushed it open.

"I need to—"

Levi's arm shot out faster than she could blink and his fingers dug into her forearm. Katrine inhaled sharply, shocked at the sudden touch, and the pages fluttered from her hand to the floor. Just as quickly he snatched up the pages and shoved them into the back of the desk, fitting the false back into place.

"Go," he said, pointing to the window.

Remembering herself again, she sprang to her feet and bounded to the window. She looked out, searching for someone watching that she couldn't see in the shadows, and gripped the windowsill until she heard heavy footsteps again, louder this time.

"Go!"

With a sharp exhale she brought one foot to the windowsill and leaped out. She hit the ground and sprang out of the way; Levi landed behind her a second later. He rose to his feet and shut the window behind him. Katrine remained crouched, steadying her shaky breath, thankful they hadn't been caught but angry at herself both for not finishing and for not putting up more of a fight.

Levi dropped back to his knees and stared up at the window with a concentrated look. When he seemed satisfied that the voices inside were not panicked ones that had realized the break-in, he turned back to her. "We need to leave," he whispered.

"I had one more page, I need to read it," she whispered back.

"Too risky." He crept out of the vantage of the window and rose to his feet, then looked around and strode toward a dark alleyway.

"Hey! That's the only reason we're here!" Katrine jumped up and ran after him.

"Doesn't matter if we get caught," he said, not breaking his pace.

She caught up to him and they entered the alleyway. "We can just wait for them to leave," she said, stepping over something mushy.

"Too risky," he repeated.

It was increasingly difficult to keep her voice from rising. "How the hell am I supposed to understand this if I don't have the entire thing?"

"Erwin doesn't need the whole thing, he just needs a lead," Levi said, annoyance creeping into his tone.

"Sure, because Erwin is such a genius that he'll know all the Cult's secrets from four pages of gibberish." Katrine rolled her eyes. They turned onto the street. "Next you'll say he can crack the code with no key—"

Her words died in her throat as they ran straight into two MPs.

"Pastor David said he heard something weird. Maybe it's these two rats," one said. He was tall, too tall, with hands that could crush her skull.

"Don't you little rats know it's past curfew?" the other replied, a malicious grin creeping across his face. But it faltered at the sight of Levi and his eyes narrowed. "This guy looks familiar. Like Captain Levi from the Scouts."

Katrine's gaze darted to Levi to gauge his reaction and silently thanked whatever higher power prevented her from meeting these two MPs as targets for pickpocketing.

"Sure short enough to be," the other said, cocking his head.

"You need to run," Levi said under his breath without looking at her. He stared straight back at the MPs, his expression neutral. She could tell he was sizing them up.

If she doubled back to the cathedral, she could take the familiar path back and know the lit places to avoid and dark places to hide. Katrine took a step back.

"Hey! Don't move!" The taller MP thrust out his hand, close enough for his fingers to brush her throat, and Levi seized the man's wrist. Without waiting to see what happened next, Katrine turned and sprinted away, back into the shadows.

Panting, Katrine burst into the tiny Scout outpost hidden away on a side street far removed from the main squares of Stohess. She'd learned on this trip that Erwin had a similar setup in each district, for some suspicious reason, and she'd made a mental note to learn why when she returned. For now, she tore through boxes, desk drawers, and cabinets in search of a pen and paper.

Get it together. Snatching a pen and clamping down on it with her teeth, she continued her manic search, throwing everything to the floor. He should know not to touch me. But why can't I act like a normal person for once? And why is there no paper?

Katrine slammed the drawer shut and bit down harder on the pen, groaning. He wasn't supposed to make her nervous, much less know that he did, and both happened. She strode to the tiny kitchen and ripped through the cupboards there too, just in case someone decided that paper was the best addition to soup. Nothing.

So close, too. One more page and I could've finished it but Humanity's Shortest had to freak out over a priest. Ridiculous!

Katrine moved back to the main room and inspected the mess she'd made. She sighed, pen still clenched in her teeth. The tiny storm she'd caused did little to relieve her stress. Maybe that was why the Titan had destroyed Stohess; it needed to create some semblance of control.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. I'm fine, everything is fine, what I really need to do is write down this code. The letters floated back in her mind, the pattern of the angular markings, and her heartbeat slowed. Then once it's written down I'll figure out where I can get the key. I'll find that myself, I don't need him—

The front door opened and Levi slipped inside. A light sheen of sweat glistened on his forehead and he held a bloodstained cloth to his neck. He quietly shut the door and peered out the window for anyone following him.

Katrine ripped the pen out of her mouth, suddenly aware of it again. His blood on the white cloth was a stark crimson. "What happened?"

"They were nothing, but I can't say for certain no one saw," he said, still looking out the window. "We need to leave..." His voice faltered as he turned to the mess, lip curling as if an outhouse had exploded right in front of him. "What the fuck is this?"

"What?" she asked innocently.

"This was not here before." The angry undercurrent to his voice made Katrine struggle to keep her expression neutral. He still had the power to make her squirm, but he wasn't unflappable either.

"I need paper," she said with a shrug.

"Could've found it without tearing the place apart."

"What do you want me to do, write it on my arms?" Katrine considered throwing the pen at him but thought better of it.

"Clean it up, we need to leave." He stalked to the bathroom.

Curiosity gnawed at her and instead of arguing further, she followed him. "Are you okay?"

Levi grasped the edge of the sink, knuckles white, and inspected the cut on his neck in the mirror. It was long as a finger and though she couldn't tell how deep it was, it didn't look like it was going to stop bleeding soon. He looked down at the bloody rag in his hand and grimaced.

Katrine swallowed, unsure. A cut of that length would require stitches. "You, uh, need help?"

"No." He bent down to rummage in the cabinet under the sink.

As expected, but why'd she even bother to ask? She wasn't supposed to be nice to him.

Katrine trudged back to the main room to pick up the things she'd scattered, dumping it all into an empty chest near the door. Someone else could clean it up later, she had a code to crack.

Tapping the pen against her nose, Katrine considered the facts. The key had to be somewhere in the cathedral, and if they'd found the message, then the key couldn't be that difficult to find. She imagined a gaggle of priests stooped over their holy texts, painstakingly drawing out symbols to hide secrets, probably the sins of parishioners they could later use to their advantage. But even if they weren't hiding something nefarious, something that had nothing to do with what Josephine had said, Katrine wanted to know anyway. The knowledge of secrets kept from her felt like nails scraping on a chalkboard.

"Katrine."

She flinched, jolted from her thoughts, and turned armed with a tart reply but faltered when she saw even more blood. Levi didn't say anything else, but the resigned look on his face asked the question for him. Katrine pursed her lips, partly to look annoyed but also in a vain attempt to tamper the energy buzzing through her.

Why should she help him? There was no reason for it. All the better if he bled out right there. Really, served him right to die bleeding from a scrape on the neck than showered in the guts of twenty Titans after saving a troop of Scouts. But as much as she wanted to think that way she couldn't, and there was something almost pathetic in his expression that looked all wrong. Where she should have felt indifference, even triumph, there was instead a nearly magnetic force drawing her toward him, puppet strings tied to her fingers dragging them up to his neck, his skin, his pulse.

Though, helping him would give her more leverage in convincing him to go look for a key. Levi hated owing anyone. That was why she should help.

"Would've been easier if you'd asked before," she said, shoving the pen in her waistband and walking toward the bathroom.

Levi's steps echoed behind her. "It's at a weird angle," he muttered.

Katrine entered the bathroom, surprisingly clean given the blood that continued to seep out his wound. There was a needle and thread, scissors, bandages, and clean towels on the countertop. She washed her hands and stared at her reflection in the mirror, purposely hardening her expression and willing away the tiny quiver that threatened her lower lip.

Her eyes drifted to Levi's reflection. He leaned against the doorframe staring out into the hallway with an agitated expression on his face. It could have been because he was in pain, or because he had to ask her for help.

This bathroom is criminally tiny.

"Sorry there's no gloves," she said, watching his head turn back to her. "But I'm sure you can handle it."

He rolled his eyes and Katrine twisted the towel against her hands, concentrating on the rough texture. She cut off a length of thread and motioned to him with her head, moving away to make room for him at the sink. Levi stepped forward and folded his arms, tilting his jaw toward her almost aggressively. Threading the needle, she demanded her fingers not to shake, like she did every time before gliding on stage to thousands of eyes upon her. But this was just one person, and his eyes were firmly set on the cold porcelain sink.

She moved closer and every hair on her body prickled in fear, in anticipation, and she thought she could feel her blood rushing out of her limbs and into her chest, leaving them cold and empty. Her heart pounded like it could crack through her ribs and her breathing sounded so deafening it was a miracle that Levi couldn't hear it. The last time she'd been so close was six months ago, before Utopia, and Katrine promised herself she'd never get so close to anyone ever again unless it was to threaten them.

But here she was, inches away, and if she moved her knee even slightly she risked knocking into his and she was terrified of what would happen then, even more so than if they'd been caught in the cathedral.

Katrine took one steadying breath laced with the scent of his sweat and rested the tips of her fingers on his neck. His skin was searing, enough to make her lips part, and she thought if she removed her fingertips she would find them raw and burned. He gave no reaction.

Pressing her lips together, she squeezed the wound closed, ignoring the sensation of blood running down her fingers, and inserted the needle.

Something audible caught in Levi's throat and she froze, her eyes darting up to his face. He was biting down on the inside of his lower lip, something that looked unnatural and vulnerable. It felt cruel to push the needle in further and draw the thread through his skin, but the marks from his previous failures pushed her onwards. A bead of sweat inched down her spine. She tried not to shudder.

It couldn't have been more than a minute since she'd last spoken, but they'd been standing in silence for ages. Compared to the tiny bathroom and the amount of space between them the silence was cavernous.

"You didn't kill them, did you?" She didn't care if he did, she couldn't stand the silence any longer.

"Knocked them out." His voice was low and she felt the reverberations in his neck. The skin over his jaw looked smooth, even soft, despite the faint line of a scar trailing his chin. It was unlike other men who had scratchy and unruly beards, or scaly and rough skin dry from shaving.

Why did I notice that?

"How kind of you," she said, adding another stitch.

"Two dead MPs and this city'll rip itself apart. We'll be out of here by morning, though."

"I need that last page. And to see if there's any key." She pulled the thread taut, hoping it hurt, but he didn't react.

"Like I said, Erwin only needs a lead."

"Without a key, it's not a lead. It's just some fancy symbols."

"And risk getting caught again?"

She raised her eyebrows but didn't take her eyes off the needle. "I thought you were supposed to be good at that, not getting caught. Guess everyone embellished the stories."

Levi clenched his jaw, slight enough that if she were further away she wouldn't have noticed, but it was obvious from her angle. "Don't try that with me," he said, a warning in his tone, but he couldn't do much with a needle stuck in his neck.

"Fine, then, you can leave. I'll just do it myself."

"You'd get caught in fifteen minutes."

"Watching you, it looked simple enough. And what can a bunch of priests do?"

"MPs are everywhere. You'd get mauled."

The fact that Levi still underestimated her stung a bit, but most people did, and she'd learned a long time ago to use it to her advantage. "Well, then, if you read about my horrendous death in the newspaper, please tell Erwin not to shed a tear for me. It wouldn't suit him."

"Stop being dramatic," he said. "You haven't gotten any less annoying."

"And you're still an asshole." She picked up the scissors and cut the thread to tie it closed. She'd given him twelve stitches when he only needed ten. "You can clean this up yourself, I have to plan."

"You can't just barge into the same place. We don't know for certain the priests didn't see us." Levi wiped the blood away from his wound with a towel. "Or that those MPs will remember."

"Guess I'll have to, I need that key." Katrine bent to wash her hands. The cold water was shocking, chasing away the lingering warmth from his skin.

"If the Cult is smart they'd keep the key somewhere else," he said. "In a different office or even outside the cathedral entirely."

"I thought you weren't interested?" She kept her voice light. "Erwin give you a more important job?"

Levi pressed a bandage onto the cut. The pained expression was gone and replaced with his usual stoicism. "What we want to do is observe the cathedral, see where the priests are, and make a judgment based on that. Inns work well for that purpose, I've done it before."

"Oh, it's 'we' now?"

"I'm not letting you get caught. That'd be too much trouble." Sighing, he squeezed his eyes shut, a deep line forming between his eyebrows. "I forgot how stubborn you are."

She gave him a cloying smile. "I prefer 'ambitious.'"

Despite the deep scratches on its facade and a few shattered windows, the Bramwell Inn was open for business. The tall, skinny building stood in the shadow of the cathedral and was just seedy enough that it wouldn't get much attention from MPs.

The innkeeper, a stooped old man with sparse white hair, eyed the Scout emblem on Katrine's jacket as they negotiated the price. Levi wandered off to inspect the stately grandfather clock that looked out of place in the threadbare lobby, the morning sun gleaming off its brass pendulum.

"I'd love a room with a balcony, the cathedral is so beautiful," Katrine said, unhappy to part with the money that could have bought her a bracelet. "Also, do you have any paper I could use?"

The man handed her a few sheets, but his eyes kept darting away. "Excuse me, ma'am, I have to ask...is that the Captain Levi?"

Her eyes narrowed, not enough for the innkeeper to notice, but this happened so many times she was certain it was some kind of cosmic punishment. Everyone went starry-eyed over him, everyone, over this runty man who couldn't fake a convincing smile even if his life depended on it.

An idea flickered in her head and Katrine suppressed the mischievous smile threatening to spread across her face. She rested her forearms on the counter and gave a sympathetic grimace to the man. "I'm so sorry, he's not. But did you know Captain Levi has a brother?"

The innkeeper leaned forward. "Is that so?"

"Yeah." Katrine tilted her head toward Levi, still inspecting the clock. Hopefully, it was caked in dust. "Not as talented, though, so no one talks about him."

"Oh," he said, crestfallen. "My wife wouldn't have believed it."

"Sorry to disappoint. Lance is used to it, though. His brother's taller," she said, leaning in to whisper, "and better looking!"

"Really!" The innkeeper's eyes shined. "This brother, is he older or younger?"

"Older. Isn't it sad when your little siblings overshadow you?"

The innkeeper tutted in agreement and turned to Levi. "Your brother is a hero, please thank him on behalf of Bramwell Inn!"

Levi looked up from the clock, perplexed, but gave Katrine a thunderous glare when he realized her trick. She let herself smile because she'd forgotten how hilarious that expression was.

"Thank you for the paper. Come on, Lance!" She bounded up the stairs.

The room was cramped and smelled stale, but the balcony provided an unobstructed view of the cathedral. There was a tiny table and one chair on the balcony she noted to claim before Levi did. Stepping outside into the crisp morning air, Katrine could see the cathedral's entrance, the square surrounding it, and the tall spire at the front. Satisfied, she turned back to see Levi grab the key and open the door.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Getting food."

Suddenly conscious of her empty stomach, having eaten nothing but the peach the day before, the taste of bacon flooded her mouth. "Oh, get me a—"

The door slammed shut behind him.

She scowled, but remembered her purpose and sprawled on the floor with the blank paper. Propping one leg on the small side table to stretch it, she pulled the pen out of her waistband and dragged the foreign characters to the front of her mind. They rearranged themselves into straight lines, just as clear as if the letter sat before her. Katrine began writing, pen flying down the page, and finished the first just as her wrist began to hurt. Ignoring the pain, she kept going, spinning to stretch her other leg after she turned the second page. Noises from outside drifted into the room, but they seemed distant and muffled. Instead, all she could hear was the scratching of her pen. Only the letters occupied her otherwise blissfully empty mind.

In the middle of the fourth page, Levi slipped into her thoughts and disrupted the flow of characters. He was biting his lip, the same way he did last night, and Katrine inhaled sharply at the memory. Go away, her mind screamed, I'm not doing this anymore, but he didn't vanish.

She'd torn through the paper with her pen. Pressing down harder on her leg, pain screamed up her hamstring and she continued, forcing the letters past Levi and onto the paper. They appeared as commanded, albeit slower than before. Once she made it to the end of the final page, where she'd been forced to stop, Katrine sighed and tapped the pen against her forehead. Maybe they put the most important information first. But what if they didn't? There was at least half a page left from what she recalled. She peered deeper into her memory, squinting, trying to make out what those last words could be, but they were blurry and faint. How am I supposed to know the full truth without the whole thing?

Suddenly a dark shadow appeared in her periphery, and she turned to see boots entirely too close to her face. Startled, she glared up at Levi. He towered over her, which was both laughably wrong and fitting for the amount of space he claimed in her mind.

"What?" she snapped.

"That can't possibly be comfortable."

"You'd be surprised. Where's my food?"

Levi nodded toward the kitchenette. On the counter were two apples and a silver tin.

Katrine scoffed. "That's it? What do you think I am, a horse?"

"If you keep snorting like that, then you probably are," he said, bending to pick up the pages she'd written.

Katrine rose to her feet and walked to the kitchenette, giving him a wide berth. Biting into the apple, she inspected the tin. It was tea, with a label of red roses intertwining in a circle.

"Ha! 'The Red Rose of Stohess!' This looks expensive. Name's a little ridiculous, though," she said, shaking the tin.

"Could say the same about 'Everlasting Romance,'" he said, continuing to read.

"What, that it's expensive?"

"No, that it's ridiculous."

She made an ugly face at him, but his eyes didn't leave the paper. Annoyed at his lack of response, she turned over the tin, curious about the price. She nearly choked on the apple when she found it.

"You spent two months' salary on this shit?" It was barely four ounces!

Levi shrugged. "It's rare and I had the money."

"It can't possibly be worth this much."

"Technically a half month's and the funds Erwin gave me for this mission."

Katrine's jaw dropped. "Erwin gave you funds? He never told me! And you're saying you made me pay for this room when you had money this whole time?" She wracked her brain for something horribly offensive to say to Erwin next time.

"You never asked. And besides, it was your idea. Might as well make this worth my while."

Katrine ground her teeth, fuming. "I swear I am going to throw this off the balcony."

Levi finally looked at her, though his expression was no different than normal. Part of her wanted a stronger reaction, while the other questioned why she was even bothering with the argument. "I'd advise against it," he said, tone even. It was clear he knew she wouldn't. The unsated urge to destroy something still coursed through her veins.

Katrine stomped to the balcony and chomped down on the apple. Staring down at the street below, she spotted two men wearing tan jackets; the blurs of green on the back indicated they were MPs. She wrinkled her nose at them, but realized that one was stocky and blonde, just like the man from Edelweiss Cathedral the day earlier. Swallowing her last bite, Katrine hurled the apple at him. Though a few meters off, both men still jumped and shouted in alarm. She turned swiftly and walked back inside, feeling much better.

"What was that noise?" Levi asked, eyes wary.

"Nothing." Katrine walked back to the kitchenette and started on the other apple, refusing to meet his gaze.

What the hell am I going to do for the rest of the day? Watch a church for twelve hours? She leaned on the countertop and tapped her heel on the floor. At least inns always have a deck of cards. I'm not going to sit here all day and think about you.

"Are you sure this is right?" Levi said, holding up the papers.

"Of course it is, you suggesting I go back and check my work?" As insecure as she was about her feelings, Katrine was completely confident in her memory.

He touched the bandage on his neck. "I thought Erwin was kidding when he said you could do this." His voice was so quiet she thought she'd misheard him.

"What?"

Levi looked at her, eyebrows slightly raised, like he'd stumbled upon a tiny green bud sprouting through the snow. It was different than any expression he'd given her since returning from Utopia, something that wasn't annoyance or exhaustion or apathy. She felt as if she was balanced on her toes, completely still, waiting for the music to start, but instead it was his voice.

"...This," he said, gesturing to the papers.

Heat bloomed at the bottom of her stomach and Katrine gripped the apple harder, hoping the warmth hadn't spread to her face, along with the smile threatening to ruin her carefully crafted mask of indifference.

"Thanks," she said, cursing herself for not thinking of something wittier.

The ensuing silence was painful, but Levi made no indication he felt the same. Folding the papers, he tucked them into his jacket and walked outside. Katrine sighed and looked up, praying to the stain on the ceiling for help. It gave no guidance.

Deciding to focus the task at hand, she rummaged through the drawers and found a pack of cards amongst the pile of matchboxes. Joining Levi on the balcony, she planted herself in the cold metal chair. She shuffled the cards and slapped them down, beginning a game of solitaire.

Levi stood against the railing and stared at the cathedral while Katrine moved the cards around and occasionally looked up to see if anything suspicious jumped out. But what did that look like? Children falling out the windows? The faint voices below alleviated the heavy silence, but it was still unbearable.

"Heard you're babysitting that Titan," she said, overturning a card.

Levi shook his head. "A lot worse than babysitting."

"Being a father to a teenager must be rough."

He threw her a withering look.

Katrine tapped a card against her lips, smiling. "Do you give him a curfew?"

"Don't take him lightly. He's reckless. Even worse than you."

"That's a terrible compliment."

"Don't go fishing for them. How was Utopia?"

The hand about to place the next card froze momentarily, but she forced it to move. "Lovely, I think I'll ask for a permanent assignment." When she put it down the movement vibrated up her arm so forcefully it felt as if another Titan began rampaging through the city. Why would he bother asking when he was the reason she'd been banished there?

"Good luck with that. Erwin's got some master plan that probably won't allow for it," Levi said.

His words sounded distant, drowned out by the roar of blood rushing in her ears. It was a horrible decision to heed Erwin's orders and leave Utopia. In fact, she should have run north when she had the chance.

"You've got a four you can play," he said.

She blinked. "What?"

He pointed at the card. "Four of hearts."

Katrine looked down and realized he was right. She felt like banging her head on the table. "Thanks," she said flatly and moved the card.

They were quiet again. A group of priests clad in black robes stood outside the cathedral doors, ants compared to the towering building. When one moved away Katrine saw an even smaller shape. A child? She wished she were closer to see the child's expression or overhear what the priests were saying. Peering at them, she stood and leaned over the balcony.

"What are you looking at?" Levi asked.

"Those priests have a kid with them."

"Why does that matter?"

"It's…" She tugged at her hair, unsure of how to explain her hunch. "A friend of mine saw something."

"Just 'something' won't cut it. And I don't trust any friend of yours."

"At least I have friends."

Ignoring the barb, Levi pointed to the spire of the cathedral. "There's something up there. I saw one priest through the window. He went up there a while ago and hasn't come back down."

She spotted the window and was surprised that he could even see through it. "Guess it's your job to find out how we get up there."

"Figure it out yourself, this was your idea."

Katrine pretended she was disappointed in him. "You know, Levi, I didn't want to bring this up, but you do owe me."

"Stitches aren't enough for this."

"I'm talking about that time I saved your life, remember that?"

"No." He pinched the bridge of his nose.

She gasped, offended. "Your memory's terrible. You really are an old man."

He threw up his hands. "Fine. ODM works, as long as you don't try anything flashy."

"Have you met yourself?" She sat back down flipped over the next card. A cold wind blew and she shivered. Levi turned and walked back inside.

The wind seemed weak compared to the cyclone of emotions ripping through her. She'd never asked for them and wanted to go back to the easy and boring life she had back in Utopia. There she'd gotten pretty good at keeping busy so he didn't creep into her head. But then she wouldn't have seen that vulnerable look on his face, one she didn't think was physically possible, now imprinted in her mind. Was it worth the uncertainty that was just as scary as facing a Titan stripped of her blades?

She sat pondering between two kings to move into her open space when a cup of steaming tea was placed in front of her. She straightened, surprised; she never considered Levi to be particularly thoughtful. "Thank you." Wrapping her hands around the mug, she immediately felt warmer. "But I'm shocked you're wasting such expensive tea on someone who can't appreciate it."

"Everyone should taste good tea at least once," Levi said.

She took a sip and realized he was right. It was earthy and deep with a faint herbal scent. "Don't you think it'd taste better with milk?" she asked, already knowing the response.

"Sure, if you're trying to drink steaming, watery shit."

"Vulgarity is no excuse for wit."

Levi leaned into the railing, favoring his right leg. A little part of her wanted him to know that she'd noticed, knew that it was a new aggravation to an old wound, one she'd seen happen. It was a small want, but a loud one.

"How's your ankle?" she finally asked.

"Not great, not terrible."

Another silence, but Katrine was getting used to him again. It was peaceful, in a way.

"So, what did this friend of yours say?" he asked.

I suppose he should know. Katrine curled her hands around the mug, absorbing the warmth, and began Josephine's story.