Rain.

That had been the weather for the past few weeks since the Rumbling had been stopped, and it seemed that the world would be starting to return to normal again in the next coming months.

But as the droplets hammered against the panes, racing each other down the glass in rivulets. The sky was dark, bringing the promise of a storm later on in the evening.

Levi sighed deeply as he stared at the inky darkness of the vast sky, his hands loosely grasping the cup of tea which sat untouched upon his knee. He was far too deep in thought to even remember that the beverage was there, tears threatening to spill. He had lost so much in his life – family, friends, comrades. To him, it felt that everything which he had ever loved or ever would love was destined to be torn away from him in the cruelest way possible. Isabel, Furlan, Petra, Oluo, Gunter, Ian, Erwin…Hange…

Hange Zoë.

His Hange.

He felt sick with grief whenever he thought of their selfless, heroic sacrifice in desperate attempt to hold back the onslaught of Wall Titans at the port of Odiha. Everyone had seen the burning streak that the brave Commander had left in their wake as they made their assault; considering the inferno of heat that the titans gave off combined with the fact that Hange had not miraculously returned to Marley, Levi knew that she had gave her life to ensure the continued survival of the remaining Scouts.

And the fact that he knew that he had to accept their death? It hurt. It hurt him so deeply that at times, he willed for his body to finally give up on him and relinquish him to his eternal rest so that he might be with them once again. But he knew that would never happen because throughout everything, he had always lived, and it was the one thing that he wished he could change. Well, there was something else, too.

He wished that he had been brave enough to face Hange that day; to join them and take down the impending doom marching toward them. But he knew that if he had, he wouldn't have been strong enough to let them go.

Levi groaned as he pulled the blanket up, trying to ignore the scars covering his battered, tired body. Maybe, just maybe sleep might come easy for him that night…?

"Dedicate your heart…"

Levi looked around desperately, seeing nothing but smoke and flames around him as far as the eyes could see, and it was suffocating. He could just hear the sound of someone's voice, but he couldn't quite make out just who it was or what was being said.

Holding his hands up in front of his face, he began to tentatively move through the flames, over the scorched earth. All he could smell was smoke and it was almost choking. However, almost as if by magic, the dense clouds of smoke began to clear and he could see someone stood in front of him.

"I didn't think I'd ever hear you say that…"

The russet hair messily pulled back into something resembling a ponytail. The gleam of glasses caught in the sunlight. The hooked nose.

"Hange! Wait!"

They kept walking, seemingly unaware of Levi as he began to run toward them. Or rather, attempt to run as to him, it currently felt like he was trying to wade through a vat of molasses. All the while, Hange was getting further and further away.

"HANGE! Please don't go!"

He suddenly found the strength to launch forward, closing the gap between them exceedingly quickly and before he knew it, his hand had closed around their wrist and the older of the two veterans had fallen to the ground on his knees.

"I have to do this, Levi."

"No…"

"You have to let me go."

Levi choked on the hot tears that were now freely streaming down his cheeks as Hange knelt down before him, when he felt a gentle hand settle on his chin. Before he knew it, he was looking up into her eyes as she gave him a weak smile. Wait, was it just him or was she younger?

"I-I can't Hange…"

"You can."

With that, they got to their feet and turned away, holding the thunderspears in their hands as the ground began to shake. The cape on their back seemed to be tattered, with the Wings of Freedom seemingly untouched. Levi forced himself to his feet, the sorrow giving way to a deep anger within him, tears of desperate rage tracing their way down his cheeks.

"Damn it Four-Eyes, I don't know how the hell I can live without you!"

Hange stopped in their tracks, not even once turning around to face him, but he knew from her body language that she was struggling to keep her emotions from overpowering them.

"You will learn, and it will get easier. I promise you that, no matter how long it takes you…"

And with that, they were gone into the air, the cables of their ODM gear whistling as she effortlessly soared through the air.

"To hell with this!"

Levi reached for the trigger, launching himself after her in valiant attempt to catch up with them.

"Hey, Four-Eyes! I'm not letting you die alone today!"

Again, no comment could be heard from Hange. Hell, he felt again as though he was trying to fight against something holding him back from them. Up ahead, he could see that Hange's cloak was beginning to fall victim to tongues of fire which licked at the material. But still, they carried on and Levi could do nothing but watch as the crimson glow rapidly became a blinding inferno.

"HANGE!"

Levi screamed as he woke up, his sleep shirt drenched with sweat and clinging to his clammy body. His heart was pounding, ears filled with nothing but the sound of blood rushing through his veins as he battled to steady his breathing. How many more times would he have that nightmare? How many times would he be forced to watch them die in front of him whilst he remained powerless to help?

The sun was only just beginning to creep in through the curtains which blew on a slight breeze, bringing the sweet scent of flowers and life with it. Levi pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing deeply in defeat. It was very rare that he would even sleep to begin with, and it was almost every time interrupted by some form of nightmare. Would it ever end?

…

Three Weeks Prior

Death is the only certainty that humanity has in life. No matter how much someone has, it's always only a matter of time before it all gets torn away. Or rather, that's just how they saw it. Hange's decision to sacrifice themselves wasn't a decision that she had taken lightly. And even as they were flying through the air and weaving through the throng of Wall Titans, they knew that there could never have been any other option. In her eyes, her life was expendable when compared to the rest of the Scouts and there was no way that they would have let Levi do this instead…

Pangs of agony began to spread up their back, and as they glanced behind them, they saw the rapidly growing flames beginning to consume their cape and clothing. The pain was unbearable and brought tears to her eyes which she refused to let fall, but try as she might, it was impossible to ignore.

"Shit!"

The stench of burning skin and boiling blood was unmistakable, and Hange couldn't help but let out an unbridled, animalistic scream of pure agony as the gas tank strapped to her back exploded. The flaming inferno rapidly consumed her entire body, and it felt like thousands of razor blades were slicing through her skin as the shrapnel shredded the already burned flesh…

But it didn't matter to them anymore. Hange welcomed the idea of death – something that had never been a strange concept to them since they had joined the Military. The only thing that hurt as their world vision went dark was that they knew that they were dying with many regrets gone unvoiced…

"The flying boat!"

Hange's eyes flew wide open as they quickly pushed themselves up into a sitting position, looking up into the sky. The smoke still lingered as did the putrid stench of burning flesh, but what they noticed most was…the quietness.

Not a thing could be heard, and as Hange looked about their surroundings, they realised that they couldn't see any of the Wall Titans at all. What had happened? The last thing that they remembered before…the pain…

"Hange…"

That voice. She knew that voice. Tears stung their eyes as they looked up, seeing Moblit appear out of the smoke before them. He slowly approached them before kneeling down on the ground in front of her.

"Moblit…"

The poor man had to stabilise himself as the scientist tackled him with a hug, nearly knocking him backward into the dirt.

"Moblit, you have no idea just how much I missed you…"

Moblit could only sigh and hug his Section Commander back as he gave a weak smile. Hange's body was shaking slightly, and he could only just make out the slight sound of sniffling. The arms tightly wrapped around his chest loosened off slightly, and as Hange looked up, she could just make out the rest of her fallen comrades on the other side of the dense clouds of smoke.

The pair got to their feet and as Hange went to move past Moblit, a hand stopped her from walking any further as she looked at him in confusion only to see the pain in his eyes.

"Section Commander, it isn't your time to join us here just yet."

"Huh?"

Moblit swallowed, trying his hardest to make his face go deadpan but he couldn't quite do it. Hange noticed the slight tears in his eyes as he looked at them, his expression hurting more than the burns ever had…

"You still have your life ahead of you. Levi will be waiting for you, I expect," Moblit gave a small chuckle then, "Who could have imagined that you would get with Captain Levi…"

"But I-"

Suddenly, it felt as though her chest was burning. Hange dropped to her knees, hand to her throat as she struggled to even breathe. The vision around them was rapidly fading to blackness, with some rays of light showing through…

Hange fought against the urge to breathe as her lungs began to burn, all too aware of the water that had filled their mouth.

SWIM UP!

They began to frantically try to kick their legs, desperate to reach the surface and panicking at their disorientation. To their horror, they rapidly began to remember that they couldn't really swim that well. Their heart began to pound in their ears, unable to tell up from down when, as quickly as it set in, their head breached the water's surface and they greedily sucked in lungfuls of air as if they'd never taken a breath before in their life. She was still alive? But how could that be even remotely possible? She made an attempt to try to swim, only to let out a scream of pain at the biting agony between her shoulders and along her back. And that's when she remembered.

Looking up at the sky, Hange could only just see the flying boat soaring off into the clouds, along with the Azumabito ship in the distance. The Wall Titans were a very long distance from them, and they knew that they would be safe upon reaching land.

It had taken them many painful, gruelling hours but the relief when they eventually reached the shore was overwhelming. Hange was only just able to stumble from the sea, whatever remaining of her clothes thoroughly saturated with water as she collapsed to her hands and knees. Eventually the exhaustion caught up and they ended up fully collapsing into the sand below. Finally, I can just breathe, they thought, until they noticed the blood which was rapidly beginning to mingle with the salt water, soaking into the sand below with an alarming red hue.

"Shit. If I don't get this treated, I'm gonna be toast!"

But her exhausted body refused to accept her efforts to get to her feet. Hange groaned, hating the feeling of weakness but the pain was overwhelming. They had no way of knowing how severe the damage to their body had been, remembering the sensation of hundreds of pieces of white-hot shrapnel slicing into their skin.

She gave a strangled sob as she forced her wounded body to move, dragging themselves up the sand. The pain was intense, and they very nearly passed out multiple times, but they managed to eventually drag themselves away from the water which had been lapping at their ankles. Only then did Hange let herself collapse down into the sand, and allow herself to start sobbing as reality began to set in.

Their comrades – their friends. They would all think that she was dead. Her thoughts immediately shifted to Levi and it felt like a dagger to the chest as she imagined him mourning. There had to be a way to make their way to him. To show all their friends that she had survived the assault upon the Wall Titans, but they knew that they would be long gone by now. The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, painting the clouds with the most beautiful hues of orange and gold. It truly was incredible, and even more tears came unbidden to her eyes.

Trying their hardest to push up to their feet, Hange only managed to get so far before collapsing back into the sand, her world going dark with a sickening thud as her head collided with a rock…

…

The first thing that they became aware of was the sound of what was presumably a crackling fire not too far away from where they currently lay. Consciousness slowly returned to them, and Hange tried to move only to wince in pain at multiple pinching sensations along their shoulders and back. Their eyes slowly began to open, and through severely blurred vision, they could see that they were now inside a cabin of sorts, a fire burning in the grate on the opposite side of the room. They were wrapped in a blanket which cling to them, and as she sat up, her face rapidly flushed crimson upon noticing that she had not a single shred of clothing covering their body – not even the tight bandages that they used to bind their chest was anywhere to be seen, and she quickly used the blanket to cover that part of their body.

Panic began to overwhelm them at the unfamiliar surroundings, not knowing how they had gotten there or who had taken them.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. You're safe now, I promise…"

Hange became all too aware of a pair of hands settling upon her; before they knew it, they had flipped their unsuspecting host over and onto his back as he gave a shriek of surprise – which was promptly followed by a pained cry upon hitting the ground.

"Where am I? What am I doing here?" Hange demanded, searching desperately for her ODM gear and the blades held within. Alas, the box was nowhere to be seen, and the sudden movement made her almost scream in pain.

"I found you…collapsed on the beach…Take it easy, I'm not going to hurt you. Trust me, you're banged up and burned enough as it is."

Hange looked down at their…saviour?… as she rubbed her eyes. Without their glasses, they would be unable to see practically anything due to how bad their eyesight had gotten in the past few months.

"Why did you save me?"

"Well, I wasn't about to sit by and let you die what likely would have been a slow and painful death. Those wounds on your body, they need treatment as soon as possible to avoid any serious damage, but the nearby train tracks were demolished during the Rumbling. We'll get you to the city for treatment, but it may take a few days. My wife is a nurse, and she dressed your wounds, but the bandages won't be enough forever…"

The man's voice seemed to drift away into the background as Hange fell into deep thought. She could still feel the sting of the burns, and she knew that not all of the shrapnel had been removed from the nagging pains in random spots across her back. The burns didn't hurt as much as what they had been expecting, and they suspected that they had the man's wife to thank for that.

"…And anyway, how did you survive wounds like that? And just where are you from? Are you one of those Scouts from Paradis?"

Hange froze, their body tense as they felt their face beginning to flush, only for a soft, feminine voice to interrupt the…interrogation?

"Don't overwhelm the poor lass, Edward. She's probably been through so much already and now she's woken up in unfamiliar surroundings with a pair of strangers."

Hange could only just make out a figure approaching them. It was incredibly blurry but as the person got closer, they could eventually somewhat make out the form of a woman in front of them holding something.

"You'll be okay, dear. We'll take care of you very well until we can get you the medical help that you need. Here, you must be hungry; it's been two days since my husband found you on the beach and you've only just woke up."

Hange reached out with shaking hands and took the offered bowl of food, squinting hard to try to make out its contents – some kind of meat stew served with a healthy amount of rice.

"Thank you…"

The couple sat and watched Hange as she did nothing but push the food around the bowl between taking small mouthfuls. The pair couldn't help but notice the way in which Hange had their eyes scrunched with the bowl held up close to their face – they knew then that she needed glasses, but when Edward had found her washed up and bleeding, there had been no glasses in sight.

"Are you okay, dear? You look like you're struggling."

Hange placed the spoon down with a sigh, having only eaten half of their meal. Tears were brimming in her russet-hued eye, and she could feel the lump forming in her throat which she tried desperately to swallow down but to no avail. They couldn't stop the tears as they started to sob, leaving hot salty trails down their cheek.

"Hey, it's okay…"

She felt a square of material gently dabbing against their cheek, drying the tears as she glanced up into the face of the kind woman stood in front of them. Such tenderness in just a simple expression of compassion Hange thought, immediately being reminded of their mother. Their mother, who had married their ultra-religious stepfather, only to become extremely religious herself. Hange remembered the man all too well – her biological father had been in the scouts and had been their inspiration to join from all the stories. Even when the news came that he had been killed by an abnormal Titan on an expedition outside of the walls, it didn't sway them from wanting to join. After his death when Hange had been seven years old, it had ink been them and their mother until her stepfather entered the picture.

The man had hated everything about Hange's personality, dead set on the belief that all women should serve their husbands, being meek and submissive. Hange had always been the complete opposite, throwing screaming tantrums whenever the man had forced them to wear frilly dresses and to stay inside. They vividly remembered how he would constantly call them Zoë when they had preferred to use their last name. It had been after the man had caught them kissing their childhood best friend at the age of thirteen when they had ran away to join the Cadet Corps. Hange shuddered at the memory; even after all this time, she could still remember the feeling of his fist against their chin and in their stomach.

"We will be leaving for the city in the morning. We've done as much as we can for you, but you need a level of care that we can't provide for you. Those burns…I've put an ointment on them and bandaged them but they're going to end up getting infected if you don't get some antibiotics soon."

Hange blinked weakly, not really sure what to make of their situation. Had it have been a mere few months earlier, and their generous saviours would have either left them on the beach to die or taken the opportunity to end her life themselves. Trying to push themselves up from where they lay, they gave a pained gasp at the sensation of agony that spread across their chest.

"Woah, careful hun. Don't move too fast, you'll tear your stitches."

"It didn't hurt that bad when I landed your husband on his ass…"

"Yes, well it's likely that the pain relief that I gave you has worn off…I can't give you any more so soon."

Hange nodded, sighing deeply as the man and his wife turned away before entering the kitchen.

Edward looked behind him to make sure that the strange woman wouldn't be able to listen to the conversation, but still closed the door to before conversing with his wife in a hushed tone.

"Mary, I really don't know why you say that we should trust this woman. I mean, you saw that symbol on her cloak - she's an Eldian. If the Government got wind of us helping her, they would call us traitors and lock us up."

"Edward, I was not about to let an innocent person drown, Eldian or not. We are taking her to the hospital so that she can get the best care available to her, and I hope to whatever power there is that she survives her wounds."

Edward drummed his nails on the heavy surface of the oak table, looking down at the strange clothing and artefacts that were spread over the honey-hued surface. Perhaps the most striking item sat in front of him was what he had only seen – what seemed to be a box of blades with some kind of primitive metalwork surrounding it, some of which were in pieces.

"I know that damn war is over, but I don't know when we'll be able to start to trust Eldians."

He searched through the pile of tattered, burned fabric with curiosity, taking mental notes on the name messily embroidered into a tag just beneath the collar of the cape – Zoë Hange. His breath caught in his throat.

"Shit. Mary, we have the Commander of the Survey Corps under our roof. We have to keep her safe until we reach the hospital in the city – there are too many people out there who wouldn't hesitate given the slightest opportunity to take her out."

Mary glanced through the door at the woman who lay upon the spare bed in the living room, feeling immense pity for what she must have endured to have such burns. The Commander of the Survey Corps, here in her living room? And such a valuable person to those who still despise the Eldians of Paradis despite the Rumbling having been stopped. She remembered the press conference mere days after the Rumbling had ended – how the captain of the small band of survivors had taken a moment to honour the fallen heroes who had given their lives to save the world – Zoë had been one of the names mentioned.

"Eddie, her folks won't know that she's still alive. Her name was among those Captain Levi listed as deceased."

"That's why once we've taken her to the city hospital, we are going to write a private letter to the Captain. He would be delighted to know of her survival…"

Hange glanced anxiously over at the doorway from which warm amber light spilled. Hushed voices were only just audible from the other side of the heavy oak door, but they were completely inaudible no matter how much they strained to hear. Without their glasses, they had no hope of trying to even see what was going on.

The door opened slightly, and the couple stepped back into the room, startling Hange from their daze. They watched as the woman knelt down before them, her eyes gentle.

"You're a very long way from home aren't you, Commander?"

Hange's blood felt like it turned to ice in their veins.

"How do you know-"

Their question was interrupted by a sharp, stabbing pain in their upper back which forced them to let out a shocked scream. Gentle hands helped them lay back against the soft blankets, their eyesight blurred further by the tears which had begun to well up from the sensation.

"Take it easy, Zoë…"

Hange cringed visibly upon hearing their name mentioned, but Mary seemed to have not noticed their action as she continued, "We're not going to change our treatment of you just because we know who you are. I made you a promise and I intend to keep it…"

…

Present Day

Levi grumbled as he leant into the chair. The sun was shining in through the window, and he could feel the soothing warmth of its rays on his skin. Hange would have loved it here he thought to himself, only for tears to well up in his eyes upon thinking about them. How much longer would it be until just the mere thought of her wouldn't bring him to tears? Whenever he thought of them, all he could remember was how many regrets he would have to live with. How many times had he returned their soft smile with a scowl of irritation? Hange had been a source of joy – and annoyance – on their scouting expeditions together and he had always put them down. They had been like a living sun with their childlike wonder about the world beyond the Walls, and Levi could feel nothing but pain at how he had always treated them.

"Hange…" he mumbled as he stared aimlessly out at the scenery, tears cutting flaming tracks down his cheeks, "If you can hear me…Please, forgive me for how I treated you…"

A bird flying past grabbed his attention, and he couldn't help but notice every little detail about it – it was small and had a colourful plumage that was striking to behold. He had never seen anything like it before on Paradis, and he knew immediately that Hange would be gushing over the avian, window flung open and likely ending up stuck in the tree and begging for help getting out. Levi couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of that, revelling in the knowledge that he had small things like that to keep the memories of one of his best friends alive.

Levi managed to force himself to his feet, steadying himself against the wall as he slowly shuffled toward the window. Undoing the latch, he opened it and was immediately greeted by the soft strains of birdsong mingled with the soft floral scent of the flowers growing on the side of the building. Honeysuckle, he remembered Onyankopon saying upon being asked. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, taking in the-

"Captain!"

Levi only just managed to steady himself from the shock of the door being violently flung open, only for Connie to run into the room. The boy was panting desperately, shirt stained with dark patches of sweat which Levi noticed as his nose wrinkled.

"I would rather you knock first, Springer. I don't appreciate being taken by surprise…" Levi said in a cold tone, carefully making his way back to his chair and sitting down with a slight huff, "Well? What is it?"

Connie managed to get his breath under control before pulling out an envelope that he had concealed in a pouch on his waist. "It's addressed to you, Captain, and it's marked as confidential and important. What do you think it is?"

"If it's confidential information, it's something that I likely won't be sharing with anyone…" Levi took hold of the letter opener from the drawer in his desk, carefully splitting the envelope open along the seal. The paper within was thick, and when he took the letter out of the envelope, his eyes widened.

Connie noticed this immediately, and was taken aback by how quickly Levi got to his feet, stumbling over to his wardrobe and pulling his case from the bottom shelf. He watched as his former Squad Captain began to shove clothes into the brown leather case, feeling conflicted. What could have possibly been on that paper to elicit such a reaction from the man? Had Marley decided that they were coming after them?

"Captain Levi?"

Levi didn't respond, proceeding to tear even more clothing from his chest of drawers and stuffing them into the case. His face was an unreadable mask of different emotions, but the only one that Connie was able to make out was hope.

"Connie, you need to go and tell Jean, Mikasa and Armin to pack up for a trip. If they aren't ready by five tonight, they're getting left behind. Am I clear?"

Connie was extremely confused.

"Captain?"

No response.

"Captain, what is going on?"

He cringed slightly as Levi stopped in his tracks, shoulders heaving as he breathed heavily. Connie could see that the man's hands were shaking, and he didn't know what to do. Levi only turned slightly, his slate-grey eye only just visible through the messy hair which hung limply in front of his face.

"It's Hange. They're alive."