Enjoy!

LEVI POV

At breakfast there were some concerned looks rippling through the cadets, but no one voiced the question. No doubt they had heard his yelling. His reputation wasn't something Levi had ever put much stock into, not something he cared about, in all honesty it had just formed on its own. No pretence. No need to 'maintain' it. But now? It felt shaken, and with it, their trust. Maybe. Or he was being paranoid. After seeing the fear in Robyn's eyes at the idea of him giving in, he held himself a little straighter. He knew deep down wanting to step away wasn't out of a lack of want to continue serving. It was the shame. He had been taken, beaten, reduced to a shadow of himself. And that was how those bastards had fooled him. Used him. Turned his mind and body alike into a weapon of one purpose; to kill Robyn Sanshi and dismantle the Scouts from within. But they had failed.

And he had to respect that victory by completing it.

And it would only be complete, when they had paid.

Levi sat with Robyn having breakfast, his mask firmly in place as he sipped his tea and worked his way through the means of simply… being there again. To work. To serve. To live. Day to day mundanity was a novelty to him at that point, the simple act of getting breakfast and freely sitting with the woman he loved having tea. Robyn was clearly on clean-up duty. She had gone to a couple of the other tables and had quick words, likely informing the cadets and others alike that Levi was doing okay. He hadn't hurt her. Even though he had thought he had. He set his tea down for a moment. His lips pursed tight and his hand clenched on the tabletop. It had been so vivid. So real. Her neck giving way, her eyes blowing out with death's kiss. He counted up to ten and back down before breathing deep and then taking some more tea.

Jaeger was prying the most, but that was to be expected. Those green eyes kept flickering over Robyn, likely searching for some new sign of hurt or injury. A part of Levi wanted to smack the brat, to tell him to focus on his own meal and leave them be. Another part of Levi was grateful. Others might let things slide, or give the benefit of the doubt. Not Jaeger. He had something to prove, perhaps to himself more than anything, but he would protect Robyn. Even if that meant from Levi.

Robyn finished her food and smiled. "You doing okay? You're quiet."

"I'm always quiet." He sipped again. "But yes, I'm fine, Brat. Don't worry, I'm not going to splinter into a thousand pieces."

She winced. "Sorry, not meaning to micro-manage."

"You're not, I'm just teasing." He nodded towards the Commanders table, half covered in paperwork already. "She got something planned?"

"Yes, we're to head to her office after breakfast, she has some ideas about the next mission."

"When is it due?"

"Was meant to be in a couple of days but–"

"Meant to be?" He raised a brow and glanced towards Hanji, her remaining eye focused on the parchment before her, fixedly not looking in Levi's direction. She would be delaying things for him. He felt it in his gut and in those rather pointed 'not' looks in his direction. Damn it. He sighed. "She's delaying it because of me, isn't she?"

Robyn shrugged and sipped her tea, eyes to the side.

He nudged her foot under the table. "Brat…?"

"Maybe?" She swallowed hard. "Look I dunno the specifics, let's just find out what she has to say."

He continued with his tea, mind churning with anger over the idea of him further delaying things for the regiment. The whole point of being there was to aid things, not hinder. He couldn't continue to impede their progress. Reaching the sea, finding out for sure what land they had to use for farming, and to patrol for new titans, it was all vital. And no doubt the Marleans were working hard to come back at them hard. Not only had the Scouts, and therefore the Eldians, retaken the Colossal Titan, they had started to find out the truth. True, the Marleans likely didn't know the full extent of that, but Levi didn't feel like assuming anything.

And all that was separate to their White Cloak foes. Where were they rooted? How deep did their puppet strings go? Queen Historia had already been warned apparently, and she was being vigilant with those around her. But clearly they held power. They had managed to build, or at least hide, that huge arena area somewhere. They had cleared a whole street. They had kidnapped two prominent Scouts in daylight without a trace. And they even kidnapped the likes of Kenny. Robyn had told Levi of her trip to the Underground, of his Uncle's involvement and supposed disregard for everything happening. From the sounds of it, Kenny was scared.

Which probably meant they should all be scared.

A pain bubbled behind Levi's eye and he set his tea down with a bit more force than intended. Robyn watched closely, but let him work through whatever the problem was. He set his jaw tight. It was like something was trying to claw its way through his skull. The pain continued. He excused himself. The last thing anyone needed was witnessing another episode from 'Humanity's Strongest'. His stride wavered. A supply cupboard came within reach and he stepped inside. The dark helped, but the pressure continued to build. He set his forehead to the cold stone wall and breathed carefully. The pressure built. He laid his hands flat to the stone and breathed hard. What was happening? He groaned and ended up sunk to his knees.

"He's out of it, leave him there, we'll get the stretcher."

"We can just drag hi–"

"You want to fuck his arms up? He'll need them to kill her you moron."

The voices swam around the room, bouncing off the damp stone, curdling in his ears. Levi could barely breathe, the air was like soup. How much had they dosed him with? All to remember. Keep remembering. His heart thundered, his brow slick with sweat. How much longer could he hold on? He had to though. Because… For some reason… someone had told him to hold on…

"Go on, get the stretcher, I'll keep an eye on the pathetic weasel, make sure he doesn't choke on his own tongue."

A door closed, but another set of steps had appeared. "Heard anything from Kenny?"

"No, the shithead has likely scurried off somewhere. I told you not to–"

Slap. Levi stayed still, and silent, concentrating on his breathing.

"You do not speak to me like that. Know your place. We couldn't keep Kenny caged much longer, the mutt had to think he had some sway, some power. Without that he would just diminish and sulk. Now? He thinks he's in charge again, he thinks he's the big boss. I'll send agents to remind him that that status is based upon our agreement. We can strike at anytime…"

"Fine. Still don't see why we have to recruit from those snivelling rats though. Why not aim for the pedigree of–"

Another slap.

"Thank the Scouts for that. Before we could take from wherever, from both up top and below, but now? We stick to the Underground. The Queen is sniffing about to help those rats, but she's only made it so far. We capitalise on that slow progress while we can. Hear me?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Good. Ah, here's the stretcher."

Levi vomited against the door and slumped to the side, skin slick in sweat just like in the memory, only now it was panic. The fear, the darkness, the complete vulnerability. Lying there like an exposed nerve, catching on every shift of air, every whisper of movement. And all the while that underlying thought – hold on, keep going, keep breathing. At the time he hadn't known why, in fact at many times alone in his cell he had hated that feeling, wishing it would leave him be. But without it, he knew he wouldn't have survived. They used too much, drugged too hard, too often.

He laid his head against the stonework, the sharp stink of the vomit wrinkling his nose, but his body not able to move yet. The Underground. Something about the Underground. They said recruit. He scraped his hair back. Hanji had to know, they had to act. If the White Cloaks were actively recruiting still, and from the Underground, it had to be stopped.

That or he was going mad.

"Levi?" Robyn's voice filtered along the corridor.

The knee-jerk instinct to stay quiet, to remain hidden, caught in his throat. He didn't want her to see him like that, especially after everything else. But that was just his pride talking. And his fear. As if she wouldn't want anything to do with him unless he was the powerful Captain. But she would. She did. She had seen him at his weakest points and still held his hand tight. To hide this from her would be a dis-service to her and her own strength.

He cleared his throat. "Cupboard."

Her steps stalled outside, blocking two points of light as she likely stared at the door and wondered what to do next. She wouldn't want to crowd him. He had seen her forcing herself to lean back at certain moments, trying to give him the space to process rather than always dive in to help. He appreciated it, but in that moment he needed her close. Needed that strong hand to guide him back to his feet.

"Be careful opening the door." He spoke evenly, but knew she would pick up on the roughness.

The door slowly inched open, and there was a small gasp as she saw the remains of his breakfast slopped against the stonework. Not a sound of disgust, but one of concern. She stepped over the puddle and edged round the door before closing it, but leaving enough of a gap open to allow some light. She knelt down, face impassive as she took him in detail by detail, and then laid a hand to his chilled cheek.

Her brows lifted in the middle. "Hey, you feeling ill or…?"

"Utterly and completely human." He sighed, closing his eyes for a moment as her thumb ran along his cheekbone. "I'm alright though, just… A headache was bothering me, so I came in here for darkness and… Well…"

"Can you make it back to your room? I'll get this cleaned up."

"No chance." He smirked. "You're cleaning up enough metaphorical messes for me, without you literally grabbing a mop. Just give me a second."

"Okay, can I at least go get the supplies? Somehow there's no bloody mop in here." She tilted her head and he conceded that much. It only took a few moments, but as soon as she had stepped outside the small space, his heart had clenched. Fear. It prickled the back of his neck. How long until she thought the word 'pathetic'? He shook the dark thought away. It was Robyn, she would never look down on someone for struggling. But she would object to him doing it alone. He had reached out, that would no doubt have soothed any worries she had been gnawing on, watching him leave the table so suddenly.

A bucket was set down in the corridor. "Those knees feeling up to it, yet?"

"You make me sound so old." He snorted, trying to stand and finding his legs wobbly but stable enough to hold. He stepped out and took the mop, the water already soapy, with a spare bucket for the mess. He started cleaning. "Turns out I was remembering something."

"Oh?"

"You're allowed to ask, brat. I appreciate you not wanting me to feel studied, but you don't have to withhold every time." He started rinsing the mop.

She blushed. "Alright. What did you remember?"

"Something useful, at long last." He slapped the mop down and put some strength into it. Like he could scrub the embarrassment away too. "Seems our White Cloak friends are recruiting from the Underground. And Kenny is helping them. Or he's meant to be."

She nodded, eyes to the side, mind churning. He let the thoughts rumble through while he worked, if it was worth telling him, she would do so. A few moments later she started pacing as well. Mumbling under her breath, shaking her head, theorising herself into the ground no doubt.

He refreshed his mop. "So? Does this mean anything to you, Brat?"

"Might do. When we went looking for Kenny, in all honesty I didn't expect to find him down there. I thought we'd get an associate at best, an old associate at mediocre and at worst a previous victim."

"But he was there, and you got a good chat, right?"

"Mm, something like that." She rolled her eyes. "So he's still there, still doing their bidding presumably. No wonder he wasn't all that keen to be open. He's probably being watched."

"Which would mean any of our own snooping would also be watched."

"Mm," she smirked. "Which could also mean we have a prime opportunity to use some bait."

Levi set the dirty cleaning things aside and closed the cupboard door, leaning on it when he turned to her properly. Usually he would have scolded her lack of concern for herself. But that wasn't the tone she was using. This wasn't some 'use me!' moment from Robyn. She had a plan, it simmered in her hazel gaze, making him warm all over. After everything, she was still determined to push forward, to take the attack to the enemy. He sincerely hoped he never saw that fade. Never saw that flame dim.

"Seems we have our own option to discuss at the Commander's meeting then." He picked up the buckets and headed for the nearest sinks. "Maybe a small delay on the sea isn't so bad…"

"Maybe." She walked by his side, briefly touching his arm. "Aside from that, you feeling okay?"

"Very." He nodded, pouring the waste down the drain and rinsing out the bucket next. "I dunno how much more I'll remember, or if any of it will be as of much benefit, but I know I can reach out to you all the same."

She was quiet. He set the cleaning things to dry and turned to her, worried he had said something wrong. But he found her looking touched, amazed even. Her eyes were wide and shining, her smile small and wobbling.

"I'm so glad." She breathed, hand to her chest as a half-sob, half-laugh escaped. "I know it's silly but I guess I'd been worried– that maybe you wouldn't– or maybe you couldn't…"

"Deep breath." He held her shoulders.

She closed her eyes. "I was so scared you wouldn't be able to rely on me anymore."

"Ah, guilt still going strong is it?"

"Mm, to say the least." She sniffed and he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her before jolting and pushing her back. "Levi?"

He stormed off. "Dear shitting hells I need to brush my teeth."

And as he ascended the stairs to his quarters, he couldn't help but smirk as her laughter echoed after him.

ROBYN POV

We headed into the Commander's office, Levi wearing fresh uniform and looking a lot more like himself after some time alone. I hope I did the right thing by going looking. No doubt he wouldn't have liked me seeing him like that, but it wasn't about shame, or strength, or anything like that. It was about being there for each other. No doubt something would creep up on me. In fact, I fully expected it to. I sat down beside him, hands clenched in my lap as my mind wandered in that direction. That dangerous direction that set my heart into my throat. Keza's warning rang in my ears. Tell him. Warn him. Or else it would only make his guilt worse.

How the hell do I bring that up though? Hey Levi, you may or may not remember but while we were in captivity, a bunch of guys–

"Thank you all for coming." Hanji tapped her paperwork together and sat at the head of the table, getting fresh parchment ready for her notes, while Jean looked like he was on duty for taking notes throughout the meeting. Good, my hands were shaking like mad. I wouldn't have been up to it.

Hanji carried on into her new plan for the next mission, and all the various reasons we would be delaying it. Hanji clearly didn't want to overload Levi, that was clear, but as much as she was as good at dancing round the point as Erwin had been, it was clearly because of Levi. The entire time she outlined the changes to the plan, Levi's patience slipped more and more. I saw it in the tensing of his jaw, the clenching of his hands, the way his back was rigid against the back of the chair.

I was sat next to Hanji, with Levi on the other side. It had been automatic for me to take that seat, but I had noticed him do a small double take. It was usually his chair. But since he had been taken, it had been me taking point on the missions. Perhaps I should have–

Stop it. He won't be annoyed about something like that.

Levi sighed. "This is a load of shit."

Hanji sat back, defeated.

He glared. "You fucking know it is Glasses, so don't give me that look." He gathered the papers for the original mission, disregarding the fresh ones. "Just say it, would you? Every single one of these Scouts know the only reason you're delaying this mission is me."

"Regardless, I have other reasons too."

He rolled his eyes. "My absence and recovery has cost enough time for the regiment. Enough is enough."

"Good to know I'm still in charge…" murmured the Commander with a raised brow as she sipped her tea. They were old friends; a deep set respect and comradery was between them. But that didn't mean he didn't fancy dunking her in a water trough. I could see it so clearly.

Levi leaned on the table. "The longer we wait, the more we allow those fuckers to win. And I'm not willing to do that." He glanced my way with that determination in his eyes and it was like my heart tripled in size. There was my Captain.

"Fair." Hanji sat forward and clasped her hands under her chin, just like Erwin would. "But I do have a counter offer."

"Such as?"

"It's still going to give us progress. Still all gun-ho and go-get-em'." She waggled a fist in the air, but Levi just ignored the jibes. She stood and brought out another set of plans. For the Underground. It would seem my Captain and Commander had been thinking along the same lines, only she hadn't done so with his memories… "It's actually more directly focused on our White Cloak buddies."

My body tensed. All over. I knew it was coming, I knew that was what me and Levi were going to present to the group anyway, but still I felt cold all over. We would be tangling with those bastards again.

Levi nudged her knee with his, but kept his focus on the Commander. "So what's this plan?"

"During your extensive questioning, Levi, you mentioned some connections to the Underground and the White Cloaks. It's also a good link to Kenny. They have to be recruiting from somewhere, and it seemed like a prime location from what you said." Hanji spread the lists and graphs out, most of it looking like a different language, but from what I could recall, it was a good layout of the Underground. Hanji had really pieced this altogether from the small snippets Levi had mentioned? Her mind was amazing. Advantage being that we had a few more snippets to add as confirmation to her theories.

Levi cleared his throat. "Seems like you've got it all anyway, but I remembered something earlier…"

And he laid it all out. The conversation he had overhead, the implications of it, though he did his best to skim past the pain and torment. I could see it though, in his eyes. My Captain. I hope one day I can free you from those shadows.

We would return to the Underground and get a proper lead on the Whitecloaks. It wasn't enough to have escaped them, there was no telling how extensive their hold on the land within the walls was. They weren't associated with the government, that was clear. But they might be pulling strings further back than that. They had to be stopped. Otherwise they would seek to undo all the good us Scouts had done.

"So it would seem we are set." The Commander sat back and nodded. "We'll send down a proper team. It's not ideal, but we will need both you and Robyn down there with us in order to identify any—"

"But, Commander!" Eren stood, leaning on the table, wide-eyed.

Silence entered the room. Hanji's good eye landed on him, slowly raising a brow.

Eren looked between me and Levi. "Surely that's asking for problems. You can't have them on the same Squad, what if he… Sorry, what if the Captain has another episode. He'd be armed and everything."

I don't speak, but I think the whole room knows there's nowhere else I'm going to be. Same team as Levi or nothing. Like hell I can risk him being taken again without me being there to at least help. If we weren't together, we'd be too distracted. If the Scouts were going after the Whitecloaks, we had to be a united front, and we had to watch each other's backs. It was obvious. To us at least, but evidently not to Eren. He was becoming obsessive about all this. Then again, my own head wasn't doing much better. I'm terrified of losing sight of Levi, of him being taken again, of those bastards continuing their torment. Beyond that, I knew my Captain was terrified of himself. I saw it in his small glances towards me, to my neck. The echoes of that terrible dream were still scraping along the insides of his skull. He didn't want to give up. But neither did he want to risk hurting me.

The Commander gave a thin smile, her Erwin side getting more prominent by the day. "Are you, or are you not on that squad, Eren?" She rested her chin on her clasped hands. Eren looked down and nodded, blushing. Hanji's lens flashed. "Then you have nothing to worry about. You will be there, first hand to keep an eye on the situation. I can't imagine that the captors were able to convince Levi of anything during battle, as that would be almost impossible to accurately simulate."

"However." Levi added, looking fixedly at the rolls of parchment before looking to Eren. The glint to his eyes made me cold. "We can't be sure that they don't have some kind of back up."

"Meaning?" I leaned forward but Levi kept staring across to Eren.

"Between their ongoing serum experiments and everything else, Jaeger is to take me down immediately if something goes awry. And with deadly force."

Silence hung heavy.

I stared. Had he just said that? Eren was to kill Levi if he acted out? One slip up and that was it, gone, kaput. Bye bye future. Bye bye possibilities. My eyes were warm but I refused the tears, my rage was bubbling up too fast for them to fall. Eren slumped in his chair, staring at Levi in disbelief, before moving his bright gaze onto me. Guilt lingered.

Levi leaned forward. "Did you hear me, Jaeger?"

"Y-Yes sir."

"That was a damn order."

Eren nodded, dodging his eye from that point, and gave a salute.

I gripped the arms of my chair and breathed slow, but there was no helping it, my nerves were worn too thin these days. I kept my voice calm, or as calm as possible. "Take it back."

Levi finally met my eye. "No."

"Is this some kind of fucking joke?"

He looked back to the papers.

I swallowed hard. "Captain Levi, I shall repeat in case you failed to hear me. Is this some kind of fucking joke?"

"I don't believe I'm known for my jokes."

He had known it as soon as he woke from that dream, hadn't he? That he had to start making plans. For on the field as well as off. And Eren would realistically be the only one likely to actually do the deed. Hanji would hesitate out of comradery. Mikasa wouldn't want to risk the fallout of Eren's minder being butchered landing on Eren. Armin wouldn't. Jean could barely stomach killing an enemy, let alone a fellow scout. It had to be Eren – he had that killer instinct, and that passion. A demented loyalty to people he cared about, and I suppose I counted in that circle those days. Levi had been counting on that.

I gritted my teeth. "When you thought you were going to take a pill to turn Titan, or to force me, whatever, you shoved me away. You stopped yourself. We don't need to have Eren on the kill switch from the get go."

"No, you think I did."

"Excuse me?" I stood. "Am I supposed to have imagined this?"

"No, but you have no way of knowing for sure. We don't know how they trained me or conditioned me. It could all be a ploy for the long-game."

"So you would rather be killed, than even give yourself a chance of coming back?" I cast my arms around. The Commander sat back and rubbed her temples.

Levi sighed, meeting my challenge head on. "I'd rather Jeager took me out before I hurt any of the regiment, yes."

"We could knock you out, or—"

"That comes with a higher risk of casualties."

"Just because you're a talented soldier, doesn't make you impossible to subdue. They managed it with three of them, dragging you off when you first returned." She clicked her tongue.

"I was disorientated and weak from captivity. That's no longer the case. Are you now suggesting I'm not Humanity's Strongest?"

I rolled my eyes. "Never said anything of the sort. However, the actual issue, beyond your juvenile attempts to derail the conversation, is that you're being an overly dramatic ass."

He glared. "Dramatic or not, it's not worth the risk. Therefore the safest option is for Jeager to simply take me out."

I faltered. So determined, so fierce, so driven to his own death. All that fire from that morning, when he woke so panicked about my death, my murder at his hands. And then that talk of giving in. That was the truth. Not the rallying afterwards, not the relying on me. This. His plan had been this all along? To throw himself on some pious pyre for my sake? I didn't want it. It was the last thing I'd ever want. And yet… He didn't care. He had decided how it would be. My whole body shook with rage.

He nodded at the Commander. "Feel like taking this meeting back from a subordinate?"

"Am I allowed?" She watched the ceiling. Levi returned to studying the papers.

I scoffed round the lump in my throat. "Are we seriously going with that kill option for a 'plan'?"

The Commander groaned. "Frankly Robyn, I don't know. It's hardly an outcome I want, is it? The idea of Levi trying to kill you is madness to me, but we all saw it, and I won't have that plan of the Whitecloaks come to fruition. If it does come to pass… The safest option may well be Eren's… intervention."

"But–"

Hanji raised a hand for quiet. "However, I would suggest to Eren that he attempt a non-lethal take down first."

"Waste of time." Levi muttered.

"Shut it." I sniffed.

"Still your Captain, Sanshi." The Commander pointed out, and I just kept my eyes low. "Is everyone agreed on what's happening? Or would anyone else like to have a domestic in my office?" She tilted her head, almost daring the room to try it.

The meeting was adjourned for the time being.

I left without a word. I needed to breathe.

LEVI POV

Robyn got up and left. Marching away. Shoulders tensed, head low. She would be seeking somewhere with a lack of people to cool off. So the training grounds were out, at this time of day. Perhaps the roof. He followed, though not at such a marching pace. Jaeger watched him go, but Levi ignored those prying eyes. The kid didn't understand. He had a crush on Robyn, he hadn't been in love with her, he hadn't actually been in a relationship. All he knew was the idea of Robyn. Not the tumultuous everything else – that Levi adored.

He climbed the stairs and paused outside the door to the roof. It seemed like an entire lifetime ago that she had been under the influence of that fever, stumbling around in the rain out there, mourning the loss of her team. One of the first times he realised how deeply she felt. And how much he wanted to search those depths. They had both been through a lot since then. They had grown. Together. It had been cowardly to blindside her with his plan, to not give her any time to rally. But that was just it. He couldn't let her, because then he would falter, then he wouldn't have been able to ask Jaeger to do what was needed.

Levi placed his hand on the handle and headed into the sunshine, the sound of pacing immediately apparent. Muttering soon came into earshot as well, and as he turned the corner, there she was, arms folded, head bowed, brow furrowed. And occasionally teeth bared. Yes, she was angry. Yes, that was entirely valid.

She noticed his presence. She stopped. She glared. Her bottom lip wobbled.

The wind whistled by, and a couple birds flew overhead, skirting towards the cloudless horizon. No doubt Farlan would have advised waiting a little longer before approaching her. Treating her like some rabid stray. Whereas Isabel would have been shoving him to follow quicker. Fix it, Big Bro. You broke it, so fix it. He wasn't sure what kind of expression he had been wearing, but Robyn's glare softened and she looked down for a second, as if bashful of something. But then there was a quick shake of her head and there was that glare again. She cared so deeply. He would never stop feeling honoured to have been welcomed into her heart, that endless pool of affection. But he had to protect it as well, to–

"Why're you so dementedly determined to leave me?" She tightened her hold on herself.

He blinked. Of all the openers, he hadn't expected that. 'Leave me alone you arse', or 'what? I'm allowed to be pissed, you were a jerk!'. Something like that. But no. Her voice came out choked, desperate for understanding, and her eyes wavered again before dropping. It was easy to overlook when she was going around the place so strong and put together, but Robyn had her own echoes. He had his nightmares hanging over his head, but her? She had six months of 'maybe' scenarios. Six months of unanswered questions. Six months of trying to persuade herself that he wasn't dead.

"I'm not." He stepped forward, but she retreated and so he stopped. "Robyn… I don't want to leave, I don't want to be killed, but I also can't allow myself to be used to hurt you or this regiment. For one thing, that lets the bastards win. And for another…"

The hot pain of that dream raked along his nerves. Her neck giving way, pupils blowing wide, darkness enveloping the gold and those lips gasping their last. And all because of him. His hands, wrapped around her neck, squeezing more and more. Till they didn't need to. But then afterwards? The stillness of her body, the lack of heartbeat, the fading warmth. And all that it took with it. His heart was hollowed, his mind cut loose like a door flailing from one hinge in a storm.

"And for another?" She encouraged, looking him over.

"And for another, I can't take it."

Her mouth closed and she looked down. "All right. Then consider that I can't take your option. The idea of Eren having taken you down? I… I'd lose you both."

Levi frowned, approaching slowly as she curled in on herself. "What do you mean?"

"If he kills you? You're gone. And that's hard enough to comprehend. But it's not like I could ever look that kid in the eye again, I couldn't quash the idea of him being a monster, he'd just be another shadow to fear." She scraped her hair back. "It makes no sense, I know. It's not like he wouldn't have done it without orders… But that wouldn't change the fact he'd killed the love of my life."

Levi stopped, a step away, his breath catching in his throat. That small ring flashed into his mind again, the small leather pouch, the rain outside and shine to her eyes. So much promise for the future. Now they feared one meeting to plan a mission. He reached and took her hands, unhooking them from her hair, easing them to relax. He kissed the back of them both. She sniffed again and breathed through a breathless sob. They had been so happy in that small apartment, in their bubble of domestic mundane wonder. Could they find that again? Perhaps. But they had to deal with the Whitecloaks first, and of course the enemy Shifters. So much still loomed over them. But that rainy day in their apartment made it seem so possible.

"I'll ask Jaeger to go for the non-lethal option if at all possible. But if it's a choice between me or you, Robyn, I–"

"We go for the third option." She snapped, gripping his hands tight, eyes ablaze with that familiar fire. "No one."

"Robyn–"

"No! I'm sick of it having to be one life or another. How about no lives? How about only their lives, for having started this bloodshed in the first place? How about that?"

He couldn't help the smile that fell across his lips, and while it seemed to confuse her at first, she let him reach to cup her face and pull her into a tender kiss. After everything, she could still be that determined. Still so sure of herself. It wavered, it wearied, but it was still there under it all. His Robyn and her fire.

"All right then, third option it is."

Cya!