The Rat and the Falcon

by JustAnotherCricket

Levi is a street rat from the underground. Erwin is a hero destined to save humanity. Nothing could ever bring them together—or so they think. After all, what could a falcon possibly need from a rat? From the end of A Choice With No Regrets to the end of the series, this is the story of Levi Ackerman and Erwin Smith. Basically slow burn enemies to platonic soulmates.

5. The Man You Are in a Crowd

"From the beginning."

Leaning against the carriage wall with crossed arms, Levi began to recite mechanically, his forehead furrowed in concentration.

"My name is Levi, and I'm…"

"You forgot 'good morning,'" Erwin interrupted. Levi hit his forehead with his palm.

"Shit, you're right." He started again. "Good morning, my name is Levi, and I want to start by…"

"You have to tell them you're a squad leader." Erwin crossed one leg over the other, hands folded in front of him. Levi sighed with just a hint of exasperation.

"Yeah, but they already know that, don't they? You said they know who I am."

"Yes, but you can't act like you know that," Erwin replied matter-of-factly. "You don't want to come across as egotistical."

"Okay, okay," Levi said, waving off the rest of Erwin's lecture. "Good morning, I'm a squad leader in the Survey Corps, and my name is Levi, and—shit, I mixed it up—"

"Maybe we should take a break for the night," Erwin interrupted. The sun had set long ago, and he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. "You might remember everything better after you sleep, anyway."

Without waiting for Levi to respond, Erwin stood up, rummaged through the clothes he had packed, and started getting ready for bed. Levi, on the other hand, plopped back down on the sofa and sat on the edge, legs crossed beneath him.

"It's late," Erwin said. "Aren't you going to sleep?"

"At some point, yeah," Levi said. He didn't offer to explain further, and Erwin didn't push his luck.

Erwin pulled his cot down from the wall, adjusted the blankets, then extinguished the lantern. He climbed into bed, suddenly painfully aware that he hadn't gotten a normal night's sleep since Hange had shaken him awake the day after the expedition.

In the dark, he could barely make out the shape of Levi sitting across from him. A few silent seconds passed, and it occurred to Erwin that he was about to fall asleep in an enclosed space with the assassin who had planned to kill him half a year ago.

"Good night," Erwin said.

There was a long silence. Erwin rolled over to face the wall. Tired as he was, he was already beginning to drift off.

"Good night," Levi said. The words came out a little clumsily, as if he were unused to the feel of the phrase on his tongue.

"Good morning my name is Levi and I'm one of the squad leaders in the Survey Corps I want to start by thanking you Premier Zachary for your service as commander-in-chief of the three regiments…" Levi stopped pacing and stared up at the ceiling. "Shit, is it 'I'd also like to thank' next?"

"No," Erwin replied without looking up. "It's 'without your support'…"

"Oh, right." Resuming his pacing, Levi set off at a breakneck pace. "Without your support it would be impossible for me and my comrades to do the work that the Royal Government founded the Survey Corps to do thank you I'd also like to thank my comrades in the Military Police and Garrison regiments—"

Erwin sighed. "You do know you can't just rattle it off, right? You aren't firing bullets at him."

"You want me to go slower? Good—morning—my—name—is—Levi—and—I'm—"

He punctuated each word with a single step, slowing his walk to a painful crawl.

"No, I want you to sound sincere. You're thanking people for a reason."

"Okay," Levi said, "but I actually think they're assholes and I'm just saying thank you because that's what you're telling me to say."

"Right," Erwin said, rubbing his temples, "but we need them to think that you're really thankful, which means that even if you don't appreciate them, you have to pretend you do."

"Stupid MPs," Levi grumbled to himself.

"Levi," Erwin interrupted, feeling—not for the first time that day—like he was arguing with a child, "here's the issue. The person they think you are—"

Erwin held up his right index finger.

"And the person you actually are—"

He held up his left index finger, then spread his arms out wide until his fingers were as far apart as humanly possible.

"…are not even close to being the same person."

"Yeah," Levi muttered. "They think I'm a hero."

Too late, Erwin realized his mistake. "No, that's not what I—"

"No, it's fine," Levi interrupted, and he really did look completely unconcerned. "It's true."

After eyeing Levi for another moment, Erwin turned back to the statement. "Are you ready for the next line?"

And they went back to work. Line by line, Erwin fed Levi the exact words he would deliver before the court. As it turned out, Levi had a pretty good memory, and it didn't take him long to pick up each new sentence. Every now and then, Erwin had to correct Levi's wording when he tried to shorten phrases or cut out words. It made sense, though—Levi's natural speaking pattern was far blunter and more informal than the statement he was memorizing. Anyone who actually knew Levi would know immediately that they weren't really his words.

But none of them actually knew Levi, and with any luck, nobody would be able to tell.

By the early afternoon, Levi had memorized the whole thing almost perfectly. Even then, Erwin made him deliver the statement over and over again, until Levi could say the entire speech in almost a single breath. When Levi got so bored that he started trying to recite the statement backwards, Erwin finally decided he was satisfied.

"Let's talk about the rules," Erwin said.

"What rules?" Levi was sprawled out on the couch, tossing a small rubber ball at the wall, catching it, then throwing it again. Erwin had no idea where he had found the ball, and he didn't ask.

"Before and after the statement. You aren't allowed to talk to anyone."

Levi frowned. "What do you mean, I can't talk?"

"People will want to talk to you and thank you. They'll be curious about what you're like. You can smile and nod, but don't stop, and don't talk."

"I won't smile."

"You can just nod then. But you can't talk to them."

"Fine. I don't want to talk anyway."

"Let's practice." Erwin stood up. "Squad Leader Levi, wait! I just wanted to introduce myself—I'm Officer Bryn Morse of the Military Police. I've heard incredible things about you. Would you like to join me for a drink after the hearing?"

Levi looked Erwin up and down, scowling. "I don't drink with MPs."

"No," Erwin said. "You don't talk. You nod and you leave."

"But you invited me—"

"Pretend you didn't hear. Let's try again." Erwin lightened his voice slightly, imitating the friendly cadence of Eli's voice. "Levi, isn't? Humanity's strongest!"

Before Erwin could continue, Levi let out a snort of surprise. "Humanity's what?"

"Levi!"

He clamped his lips together, turning his mouth into one straight line.

"So good to meet you!" Erwin exclaimed, extending his hand. "How are you holding up after what happened?"

Levi stared at Erwin's hand. After a short pause, he gave a curt nod.

"You can shake my hand."

Levi shook Erwin's hand twice, then dropped it.

"Can you please do something with your face that isn't scowling?"

"I'm not scowling," Levi said. "This is just my face."

"And you're absolutely certain that you can't smile?"

Levi only blinked in response.

"Fine. What would you do next?" Erwin asked.

"I'd leave," Levi said, his tone suggesting that he thought this little practice session was a waste of time, "before he could say anything else."

"Exactly." Once again, Erwin recognized the flicker of hope rising inside him. He decided to permit it.

Maybe they could pull this off after all.

For the second night in a row, Levi was still sitting on the sofa, wide awake, when Erwin went to bed. And for the second morning in a row, Levi was already awake and staring out the window when Erwin woke up.

"Are you sleeping at all?" Erwin asked as he climbed out of his cot.

"Yes," Levi said. He hadn't looked over, but he must have felt the suspicion in Erwin's gaze, because he added, "I never sleep for very long."

"How long?"

"I don't know. Two or three hours."

"That's not a lot," Erwin pointed out.

Levi shrugged. "I sleep when I'm tired. I keep sleeping until I wake up. Seems fine to me."

Erwin decided not to press the issue. He got dressed and brushed his teeth before opening the curtains and setting his briefcase on the sofa in front of him. Levi watched as Erwin unlatched the briefcase and pulled out a stack of documents.

"You're not going to make me recite the statement a hundred more times?" Levi asked, genuine surprise in his voice.

"No," Erwin said. "Your statement is fine. I have other work to do now."

Levi let him read in silence for a minute.

"What work?" he asked eventually.

"Trying to find more arguments for the hearing," Erwin replied without looking up. "Better arguments."

"What are those papers?"

"Don't you have anything else to do?" Erwin asked.

"No."

It had been a stupid question, and Erwin knew it. "Expedition reports," he said. "And other documentation maintained by the Survey Corps. Do you want to help?"

He motioned for Levi to come sit next to him. After a moment of hesitation, Levi crossed over to Erwin's side of the carriage and perched on the armrest of the sofa.

"What am I supposed to do?" he asked.

"I'm looking for any kind of upward trajectory in positive results or downward trajectory in negative consequences. But Commander Shadis gave me a lot of piles of papers, and none of them are organized." Erwin gestured at one of the stacks of papers. "They have color-coded symbols in the right-hand corner. Just sort all papers with the same symbol together into the same stack."

Levi picked up the first document off the stack, and for a few minutes, they both worked in silence.

"What's this diagram?" Levi asked suddenly.

"What?" Erwin asked absentmindedly.

"This diagram," Levi repeated, holding out a hand-drawn image of numbered boxes forming a series of semi-circles.

"Oh." Erwin looked up from his reading. "The Long-Range Scouting Formation."

"What's that?"

"It's a formation that would theoretically allow Scouts to travel farther outside the walls—long-range, hence the name. We've tested it, but only once." He paused. "Now that I think about it, you've actually seen it. We tested it on your first expedition."

"Who came up with it?"

"I did."

"I remember this system now," Levi said. "Five semicircles, with a rear guard behind. The spotters on the outside fire flares when they see Titans, the relay teams fire the same flares to alert everyone on the inside. Command rides near the front to issue orders or change trajectory if needed."

"That's right," Erwin said. "I'm surprised you remember. We only used it once, and it was your first time outside."

"It's a good system. It works." Levi paused, then added quietly, "Unless it rains."

"Unless it rains," Erwin acknowledged.

They both fell silent for a few more minutes. Erwin pored through reports, enjoying the quiet broken only by the faint noise of rattling carriage wheels and papers rustling in Levi's hands.

"Where would you put me?" Levi asked abruptly.

"Hmm?"

"If you were commander—if you could implement the long-range formation—where would you put me?"

First row, Erwin almost replied automatically, but then stopped himself. The purpose of the forward Scouts in the first row was to spot Titans, alert the relay teams, and only to engage Titans if absolutely necessary. The whole point of the long-range formation was to proceed cautiously, change trajectory if necessary, and avoid Titan encounters.

But Levi didn't take orders well, especially when he didn't understand them. He didn't like participating blindly in large, intricate formations, and he hated leaving others to fight battles when he could reduce casualties by helping. Even besides all that, Levi's real skill was killing Titans—and although the first row was most likely to encounter Titans, their primary goal was merely to spot them, not to seek them out or kill them unless attacked.

Levi was a scalpel, and the formation didn't have a position for a scalpel.

"I don't know yet," Erwin said truthfully.

"I guess you have time to figure it out," Levi muttered, turning back to his papers.

Erwin eyed Levi, a little amused. "If I were commander, and if I implemented the long-range formation, would you even follow my orders? Take whatever position I assigned you?"

Levi glanced back up. "If you didn't waste me."

"Even if you thought I was wasting you, what if I didn't think I was? What would you do?"

Breaking eye contact, Levi stared back down at the report in his hands. Erwin started to think Levi was ignoring the question.

"I don't know," Levi finally said.

Erwin was galloping through a forest. The sun had set long ago, and the trees were now nothing but dark, leafless silhouettes. The moonlight pierced through the branches, casting twisted shadows onto the forest floor.

What was Erwin doing here alone? Where was the rest of the formation?

Dimly, he became aware of Titans nearby—Titans everywhere, crashing silently through the trees, running beside him but somehow without noticing him—

"No! No, please!"

Erwin reined in his horse, whirled around, searched for whoever had cried out.

"Furlan! Please, no! No no no—"

But the voice hadn't come from the forest. It was far away—no—no, it was near, so near that Erwin could practically reach out and—

"Isabel!"

Erwin jolted upright, blinking in the dark. Waking reality came back to him in waves: moonlight trickling through the crack in the curtains, the sound of wheels creaking beneath the carriage, the quick breaths rushing in and out of his lungs.

"No, no, no…"

Erwin jumped, startled by the muffled outburst. The sound of the voice was so unfamiliar that for a moment, Erwin didn't recognize it—but then he remembered his traveling companion, remembered why they were here in this carriage, and he knew with a start that it was Levi he had heard.

Through the dark, he could just make out the shadowed shape of Levi stirring in his sleep. His breaths came in uneven, broken gasps.

"Please…don't…please…" he mumbled, his hoarse voice cracking.

A moment later, Erwin was bending over Levi, gently shaking his shoulders.

"Hey," Erwin said. "Levi. Hey."

Levi's eyes flew open. In almost the same moment, he grabbed both Erwin's arms and landed a kick that sent Erwin staggering back. Before he had time to react, Erwin was on the floor, Levi's elbow digging into his shoulder, Levi's knee forcing the air out of his chest, Levi's knife pressed to his throat.

"Levi," Erwin said slowly, keeping his words level and calm even though it hurt to breathe. "It's me—you're safe. We're in a carriage. We're going to the Capitol. I woke you up. You're not in danger."

For a second or two, Levi's eyes were still narrow, stone cold—then they widened in recognition.

He let go of Erwin and scrambled backward. Erwin pushed himself up onto his elbows. It was so dark that he could barely see Levi sitting inches away from him in the dark. He couldn't make out any expression—only the bloodshot whites of Levi's eyes, the glint of the knife he still held loosely in his hands.

"Erwin," Levi began, his voice still trembling. "I—"

"What do you think you're doing?" Erwin barked, sitting up straight and shifting to the same tone he used to issue commands outside the walls. "We have to work on your statement."

"We have…to…?" Levi repeated, his words coming between quick, shaky breaths.

"Work on your statement. No time to rest—we can sleep after you save the Survey Corps."

"You woke me up to—"

"To work on your statement," Erwin finished. "The Scouts need us. The time is now or never. You have to give that speech for humanity. What, why did you think I woke you up?"

For the second time in the last few minutes, Levi's eyes widened in recognition.

"Let's go," Erwin said. "Focus. How does it start?"

"Good morning," Levi said slowly, then stopped.

"Good, keep going. Good morning, my name is…"

"My name is Levi, and I'm one of the squad leaders in the Survey Corps."

"Exactly right. Don't stop."

"I want to start by thanking you, Premier Zachary," Levi continued, his breaths becoming more controlled as he went, "for your service as commander-in-chief of the three regiments."

"Slow it down," Erwin said.

"Without your support, it would be impossible for me and my comrades to do the work that the Royal Government founded the Survey Corps to do. Thank you."

"That's perfect. Keep going."

Levi did as Erwin asked. He recited the speech once, then again, then again, and as he recited, his shaking voice stabilized, his uneven breaths slowed down, and by the time he reached the final words of his third time through, he sounded once again like the Levi that Erwin knew.

"Good work," Erwin said. "That's good enough. Do you want to go back to sleep?"

He still couldn't read Levi's face through the dark.

"No," Levi answered.

"Okay." Erwin pushed himself up off the floor, rummaged in the dark for a few minutes looking for a match, then lit the lantern, flooding the small room with golden light. He set his briefcase on the sofa, pulled out a stack of papers, and tossed them to Levi.

"Let's get some work done then."

They worked in silence for hours. They worked until a tiny strip of light began to radiate through the crack in the curtains, and Erwin pulled the curtains open so they could watch the sky lightening in the distance. They worked as the sun rose, climbed into the sky, and hung in the morning mist.

Late that morning, Levi finally sat up from where he had sprawled out on the floor, organizing papers into piles.

"Everything's sorted," he said. "Is there something else I can do?"

Erwin shook his head. "I don't think so. Thanks for your help. I can take it from here."

Levi let out a long sigh of vague irritation. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Erwin said, flipping through his papers. "Do you really not have anything else to do?"

"It's fine." Levi pushed himself up off the floor.

Lost in his reading, Erwin barely noticed as an hour passed by, then another, then another. For the first hour or so, Levi paced back and forth from one wall to the other, muttering under his breath (good morning my name is Levi and I'm one of the squad leaders in the Survey Corps I want to start by thanking you Premier Zachary). After hearing the statement for what felt like the thousandth time, Erwin finally asked Levi to stop. A few minutes later, Erwin looked up and realized that Levi, now wearing a mask and headscarf, was scrubbing the windows.

"Where did you get—did you pack the cleaning supplies?"

Levi's only response was a noncommittal grunt. Erwin returned to his papers, only dimly aware as Levi moved to cleaning the floors, then the walls, then the ceiling. He hung outside the carriage door to beat all the dust out of the curtains, then scraped dirt out of all the molding, then disinfected the door handle and window latches.

By the time they stopped in Goess in the midafternoon to change their driver and horses, the inside of the carriage smelled like a janitor's closet, and Erwin's sleep-deprived concentration had finally begun to crack. He left the carriage, and when he returned fifteen minutes later, he was carrying a paper bag.

Erwin leaned out the window, signaled the driver, and the carriage moved forward with a lurch. He tossed Levi an apple before reaching inside the bag and pulling out a bottle of vodka. Levi eyed it suspiciously.

"Aren't you working?"

"I have a lot of data, but nothing that I think will be very persuasive," Erwin said, rummaging in a drawer beneath his sofa, pulling out two small glasses, and setting them on the little carriage dining table.

"So you're going to drown your sorrows in booze?" Levi asked dryly. Erwin dragged the table over so that it fit snugly between the two sofas.

"Something like that," Erwin said with a small smile, "but maybe not quite that cynical." He poured a drink and pushed it over to Levi, who stared at the glass but didn't pick it up.

"Let's play a game," Erwin said, pouring a second drink for himself.

"A game?"

"I ask you a question. You either answer or you drink."

Levi frowned at the bottle, arms crossed. "I don't want to answer questions."

"Then you'll drink a lot." Erwin shrugged. "Doesn't sound like a problem to me."

"Fine," Levi said after a short pause. Erwin settled back into his seat.

"Were you born in the Underground?"

Levi reached for the glass, then stopped halfway.

"Yes," he said.

"Did you—"

"Nope," Levi interrupted. "This isn't an interrogation. It's my turn."

"Go ahead," Erwin said, amused.

"How did you know that Lovof had hired us?"

"We got a tip about thugs in the Underground who had stolen ODM gear. Something seemed off, so I dug around and found out that the MP who gave us the tip had connections to Lovof."

Apparently satisfied, Levi nodded. Erwin drained his own glass, then laughed at the look on Levi's face.

"I'm not as tight-lipped as you are—I'll drink when I want. Do you have family in the Underground?"

"No. How'd you know where we were?"

"I had people following you."

"For how long?"

"No, it's my turn. Where are your parents?"

Levi drank, then reached for the bottle to refill his glass. "How long were you following us?"

"I had Scouts tailing you for a couple weeks," Erwin replied, then downed another shot. The alcohol burned on the way down, and the Capitol—along with Premier Zachary and the hearing and all the uncertainty that went along with it—were all starting to feel just a little bit farther away.

"The informant called you and your friends 'thugs,'" he continued. "But what did you actually do in the Underground? Besides stealing food—we saw you do that," he added.

Levi hesitated, then shrugged. "You just said we were thugs. We did what thugs do."

"That's not an answer," Erwin pointed out. "What do thugs do?"

Levi drank. "Why'd you recruit us if you knew we were working for Lovof?"

"At first? Because it was a lot safer to have you nearby where I could keep an eye on you. But when I saw what you could do, I decided you could be useful to the Survey Corps for other reasons." Erwin paused briefly, then asked, "How long did you know your friends?"

Levi drank, glaring at Erwin, who threw up his hands in surrender.

"Okay, I get it. I won't ask about them."

"Good," Levi said. "How did you know we were supposed to steal the evidence and kill you?"

"I guess I didn't actually know," Erwin replied, taking another sip. "But there was nothing else I could imagine Lovof hiring you to do. How did you become…what you were? In the Underground, I mean?"

Levi drank.

"What the hell, Levi? You have to answer sometimes." Erwin was laughing, and to his immense surprise, Levi had almost—almost—cracked a tiny smile.

"Don't act surprised," Levi said. "I warned you. What's the first thing you're going to do when you're commander?"

"Reorganize the administrative positions," Erwin answered almost immediately. "Promote some people. Maybe demote some others. If you could only drink one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?"

Levi reached for his glass automatically, then appeared to reconsider. "Black tea," he said. His cheeks were definitely a shade pinker than they had been a few minutes ago. "This last fall, when you kept making me clean everything—why didn't you ever give me any worse punishments?"

Erwin found himself laughing again. "You were good at it. Believe me, HQ has never been as clean as it was last fall. What is it with you and cleaning things, anyway?"

"I don't know. I guess when I was a kid, I—" But then Levi seemed to catch himself. He stopped mid-sentence, his complexion darkening one more shade, and drained his glass.

"How do people…" Levi looked up, tapping a finger on the table as if searching for words. "What do normal people want?"

"Normal people?"

The color of Levi's cheeks deepened a little more. "I don't mean normal. I mean people who grew up…here. Up top. What do they want?"

"I don't think I know what you mean."

He expected Levi to shut down, to abandon the question and drink again, but to his mild astonishment, Levi kept talking. "When I lived in the Underground—I just wanted to live up here. Eat what everyone else did. Have enough money for a house, maybe. Be clean, and live in clean places, for once. Live like a normal…like someone who grew up here. I thought that when I finally got here, I'd know what else I wanted."

He trailed off, staring at the floor, looking a little shocked at his own talkativeness.

"I think lots of people just want to survive," Erwin said. "And I can't imagine the Underground is so different."

"You want to do more than survive," Levi said.

"Yes," Erwin replied. "I guess I do."

For a moment, neither of them said anything. Then Erwin cleared his throat, took another shot, and refilled his glass. "Who's your least favorite section commander?"

"You."

For half a second, Erwin was taken aback—until Levi's hint of a smile betrayed the joke. Erwin grinned.

"Holy shit, call up the papers—Squad Leader Levi of the Survey Corps has a sense of humor!"

"They'll never believe you," Levi deadpanned.

"You lied, now you have to drink," Erwin insisted, pushing Levi's glass toward him.

"No, no, I'll tell you—it's Bradley Zion."

"Isn't Bradley the one you—"

"—fought, yeah. My jaw's been making weird clicking sounds ever since, so I can't forgive him."

Erwin burst out laughing, and Levi actually broke out into a real smile, and somehow that made Erwin laugh even harder, and he was probably a little drunk by now, but the entire future of the Survey Corps hung on a two-minute speech by the least diplomatic person he had ever met, and what did he have left to do but hope?

"It's your turn," he said.

"Oh, right." Levi thought for a minute. "If you were pretty sure you were going to die, who would you want to be commander after you?"

"For God's sake, Levi, read the room. I'm asking you about your drink preferences."

"Fine," Levi said. "What's your favorite color?"

"I can't imagine anyone being worse at this game."

Finally, Levi laughed—just a little, but Erwin felt a warm glow of accomplishment anyway.

"Back to you." Levi gestured toward Erwin, who took another swig and lazily searched his brain for a question. Scattered memories of the previous autumn floated by. Then he remembered the expedition in the snowstorm, and the dead Abnormal, and Levi unconscious in the supply cache, mumbling in his sleep…

"Who's Kenny?" Erwin blurted out.

Instantly, all the color drained out of Levi's face. Any hint of expression vacated his eyes. His impassive features might as well have been carved from stone.

"How did you…?" he whispered.

With a slowly sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, Erwin knew he had made a mistake.

"When you were unconscious in the bunker," he began, already wishing he could take back the question. "When I picked you up…you said…"

The end of Erwin's sentence died in his throat. Eyes narrowed and stone cold, Levi leaned forward. All of his former good humor was gone without a trace.

"What question did you ask your father?"

Erwin froze, and all at once, he was back outside the walls, trudging through the blinding white of a raging blizzard, rambling to a half-dead Scout who couldn't hear him…

"What?"

"What question," Levi repeated slowly, "did you ask your father?"

Erwin stood abruptly, nearly knocking the bottle off the table in the process. "I'm going back to work," he said.

"You do that," Levi said coldly.

Thirty-six hours later, they arrived in the Capitol. The sun was just rising as their carriage rattled through the gates and into the cobblestone streets. The smell of baking bread mixed with the soft noise of early morning chatter came drifting in through the open windows. As they opened their doors for the day, several shopkeepers stopped to glare suspiciously at the conspicuous military design of the carriage.

The driver dropped Erwin and Levi off outside the courthouse. As they climbed the massive steps, a knot of anxiety began to twist Erwin's insides.

"Do you need to clean up at all?" he asked, glancing over at Levi. "If you do, you can—"

"Yeah, obviously I have to clean up, I've been in a carriage for five days," Levi grumbled.

Erwin nodded. "There's a bathroom with running water on the main floor, I think. We can head there first."

As he and Levi stood over the sinks, cleaning up as best they could, the twisted knot inside Erwin's stomach continued to tighten. He had spent their last day of travel intermittently scanning reports for anything helpful he might have missed, and drilling Levi on the statement, trying to get him to speak more slowly, more sincerely, more anything that would make him palatable. But their interactions had been clipped, their conversations curt and short, a lingering tension hanging in the air from the day before. Although they hadn't talked about it, that moment had somehow poisoned every moment since then.

Erwin glanced up at the clock on the wall. They had fifteen minutes. He cleared his throat.

"You should probably make an appearance now," he said. "Word will spread that you're here."

"You said Premier Zachary's the only one who matters."

"He's not immune to pressure."

As they made their way to the courtroom, Erwin glanced over at Levi. His lips were moving, and although his muttering was almost totally silent, Erwin could hear just enough to recognize the words, all too familiar by now.

"Good morning my name is Levi and I'm one of the squad leaders in the Survey Corps…"

As if by unspoken agreement, they halted for a moment in front of the courtroom doors.

"You okay?" Erwin asked.

"I'm fine," Levi said. "It's just a speech."

Erwin nodded and pushed open the double doors.

Not many people were there yet—some scattered MPs, mostly—but as few heads as there were in the room, all of them turned when Erwin and Levi walked in. The whispers spread like fire.

"Ignore them," Erwin murmured to Levi, leading them to a couple of seats on the left near where he and Eli had sat at the last hearing. "Just talk to me."

"About what?"

"It doesn't matter." It really didn't. All Erwin needed was for them to look like they were comfortable together, like they trusted one another.

Like they were friends.

"Good morning," Levi said quietly. "My name is Levi, and I'm one of the squad leaders in the Survey Corps…"

"That's perfect." Erwin nodded, deliberately smiling just a little, but not too much. "Keep it up."

Levi shook his head. "You're a completely different person in a crowd, you know that?"

"What do you mean?" Looking down at Levi, Erwin rearranged his face into a sober but attentive expression, intently aware that Nile Dok and the other high-ranking MPs had just walked in. "Is there any way for you to look a little less angry?" Erwin added.

"That's what I mean." Levi crossed his arms. "I want to start by thanking you, Premier Zachary, for your service…"

"You'll be fine," Erwin said. "It's a two-minute statement."

"I know."

"You'll be fine."

"I know."

And the doors in the back flew open, and Premier Zachary walked in, and an expectant silence fell over the courtroom.

"Welcome back," Zachary said after taking his seat and arranging his papers. "Is the reporter ready?"

The nearby scribe nodded, and Zachary turned his attention to the waiting spectators.

"We've reconvened to hear additional evidence for and against the motion to dissolve the Scout Regiment. Please note for the record," he said, turning to the reporter, "that the extension was requested by Section Commander Erwin Smith of the Survey Corps, and that there will be no further extensions."

Scanning the room, Erwin happened to catch sight of Eli, sitting a few rows back. Apparently lost in his own thoughts, Eli took a second or two to notice Erwin. He broke into a smile, which Erwin returned, glad that they had at least one supporter here.

Looking back up at the spectators, Zachary picked up his pen. "Let me remind everyone attending that the court will only hear new evidence. New witnesses, points of data, and arguments are permitted. Prior witnesses repeating the same arguments are not. We'll begin with arguments for the motion. Are there any new witnesses?"

After a moment of hesitation, Nile Dok stood and cleared his throat. "Yes, sir, there are. Permission for Major Gisa Bergmann of the Garrison Regiment to speak?"

Bergmann's statement was thoroughly unremarkable. She took all the arguments from the first hearing, dressed them up, and dutifully passed them along, wrapped in different-colored packaging. Listening to the reworked testimony, Erwin wondered whether Zachary would be put off by the repetitiveness of the arguments. Unfortunately, the Premier's face was unreadable.

After Bergmann, two or three more witnesses spoke on behalf of the motion. Even though he knew the testimony was nothing more than an attempt to remind Premier Zachary just how much the Military Police and Garrison regiments supported the motion, Erwin still felt the invisible burden on his shoulders growing heavier and heavier with every word the witnesses spoke. He didn't have the time or resources to play the political field like this. He didn't have this kind of organized opposition.

He just had Levi.

Only once Zachary's call for more witnesses in favor of the motion had been met with silence did the Premier turn toward Erwin.

"All right, Section Commander. You asked for an extension so that you could provide more evidence. Do you have further witnesses?"

Erwin stood. "Yes, sir. Permission for Squad Leader Levi of the Survey Corps to speak?"

An excited commotion rushed through the room like wind through a field of grass. If there had been any doubts about who the stranger was, they had now been dispelled. Even Premier Zachary raised an eyebrow.

"Silence," he ordered. The crowd fell silent. "You have permission."

Levi rose and crossed over to the dais. Seeing him standing in the middle of the courtroom, surrounded by the tall, imposing figures of MPs and Garrison soldiers, Erwin was suddenly acutely aware of just how tiny Levi was. He was barely taller than the railing that separated him from the audience around him.

"Good morning," Levi said. "My name is Levi, and I'm one of the squad leaders in the Survey Corps. I want to start by thanking you, Premier Zachary, for your service as commander-in-chief of the three regiments. Without your support, it would be impossible for me and my comrades to do the work that the Royal Government founded the Survey Corps to do. Thank you."

Mechanically, he turned to face the MPs and Garrison soldiers who filled the right-hand wing of the courtroom.

"I'd also like to thank my comrades in the Military Police and Garrison regiments," he continued. "Your devotion to protecting the world within the walls is what enables the Scouts to explore the world outside the walls."

Turning back to face Premier Zachary, he continued.

"Today, I want to take a moment to state that the Survey Corps has my unqualified support, and that it would be a serious mistake to dissolve it. The Scouts develop the skills necessary to destroy Titans, explore the world outside the walls, and chart a path through the unknown. Without the Survey Corps, there is no chance of a future where humanity is truly free.

"As a Scout, I recognize that I am part of a long tradition of brave soldiers who died in the service of a vision they believed in. These heroic martyrs truly gave their hearts. I volunteered to join the Scouts, to give my own heart, because I believe that the cause my fallen comrades died for is worth the support and resources of the Royal Government. When my friends gave their lives, they did so because they believed that one day, humanity might expand its horizons. One day, humans might live not only within the walls of Maria, Rose, and Sina, but also within new territories, lands that we have not yet explored. The Scouts have always believed that there is hope beyond the walls, and I stand with them in that hope—the hope for which countless soldiers in the Survey Corps have given their lives.

"That hope is what brings me here today. I would urge you to consider whether the Royal Government is willing to continue paying the tiniest fraction of the price that my comrades and I pay every time we risk our lives by stepping out into the unknown. Thank you."

He nodded curtly, then started to walk back toward his seat. The MPs looked bemused, Zachary's face remained inscrutable, and Erwin's heart began to sink. The statement had been stilted, overwrought, over rehearsed, and of course it had been. It wasn't Levi's fault that the words weren't his. It wasn't his fault that everyone in the room could tell Levi hadn't written the speech.

Panic began to rise in Erwin's chest as he ran through his options. He had to do something. He had to add something. But what else could he say?

Then, just before stepping off the dais, Levi stopped.

"Actually," he said, "I have something else to say."

Erwin could hear his own heartbeat.

No. Come back. Right now.

"I don't know who suggested this motion," Levi said, glaring back up at Premier Zachary. "And I don't really care, because honestly, all of you look and sound the same to me. But it's the stupidest shit I've ever heard."

The hushed air buzzed with energy like a plucked string, but if Levi felt it, he didn't seem to care.

"All of you wake up every day, and the worst thing that might happen to you is your tea is lukewarm or your toast is burnt, and everyone would be better off if you actually had anything important to worry about because then you wouldn't have time to think up shitty ideas about things you don't know about."

Levi broke eye contact with Premier Zachary and whirled to face the MPs.

"Have any of you even seen a Titan?" he asked. "Have you smelled their breath? Seen what their dead eyes look like when they're reaching out to grab you? Do you have any idea just how much blood can gush out of a human body?

"Don't answer that. Honestly, I don't care what you know. But the thing that gets me, the really stupid thing, is that you stand around and make pretty speeches and act like you know even one damn thing when you don't. None of you do.

"You think the walls are going to stand forever? You think no Titan is ever going to come along and make a big enough hole to crawl through? You're crazy. You're absolutely batshit nuts. Just one Titan breaks through the walls, and what are you going to do? Kill it? You haven't even seen a Titan, so how are you supposed to know whether you can kill one?

"I haven't been a Scout for very long. To be honest, I'm not even sure what I think about all that 'give your hearts for humanity' shit. If you decide to get rid of the Survey Corps, then fine, whatever, that's your decision, not mine. All I'm saying is that if you do disband the only military regiment that actually knows how to kill Titans, then you fucking deserve to get eaten."

He spun around to leave, stopped, then turned back toward Premier Zachary.

"Also, if you were worth even half your shit, Erwin Smith would be commander already."

And Levi stalked off the dais.

The courtroom exploded. It was like someone had stuck a pin into a blown-up paper bag, and the pressurized shock of every MP, every Garrison soldier, every member of the Regiment Council, every employee and administrator of the Royal Government had come bursting out.

"Silence," Zachary shouted, pounding his gavel. "Order!"

But even under the direct orders of the Premier, the spectators took almost a full minute to quiet down. Levi made his way back to his seat, his face set in stone—but, whether intentionally or on accident, he managed to avoid making eye contact with his superior officer.

Erwin folded his hands in his lap. He didn't look over at Levi.

Erwin managed to keep his composure as he and Levi exited the courthouse and stepped out into the afternoon light. He kept his composure as they made their way in silence down the winding cobblestone streets to the house the Survey Corps kept in the Capitol for visiting Scouts. He kept his composure as they trudged through the front door, as they walked up the stairs, as they stepped into the hallway.

Then something inside him broke, and Erwin abruptly spun around. Levi, walking behind, nearly ran into him.

"Why," Erwin asked through gritted teeth, "couldn't you just behave for once in your life?"

"I didn't mean—" Levi began, but Erwin cut him off.

"Everything depended on you. Everything."

"They deserved it," Levi insisted, folding his arms tightly across his chest.

"Of course they did!" Erwin exploded. "Of course they deserved it! But you can't always tell the truth—sometimes you have to let them think you respect them. Sometimes you have to pretend, Levi."

"Oh, like you do all the time?" Levi asked, his tone tinted with mockery.

Erwin took a deep breath, testing the temperature of his anger. He found that it was too hot, and waited until it was cool again before he responded.

"You're the best fighter the Survey Corps has ever had," he said. "It isn't even close. But you're a fucking awful soldier."

"I saved your life!"Levi erupted, dropping his arms and taking a step toward Erwin.

"The heroics don't matter," Erwin said calmly, "the kill count doesn't matter, none of it matters until you can learn to swallow your arrogance and do what you're told. That'swhat a soldier does—and it's what we both know you can't do."

Levi paused. He was perfectly still.

"I shouldn't have shouted at Premier Zachary," he finally said. "I should have tried to smile more."

Do you actually think that would have changed anything? Erwin nearly snapped back at him—but caught himself just in time. Levi's expression was no longer murderous. He wasn't trying to argue. For once, he actually sounded sincere. Knowing Levi, he might as well have fallen to his knees and begged for Erwin's forgiveness.

Slowly, Erwin let out a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I spoke out of turn. It was my responsibility. It was my job to find an argument that would persuade Premier Zachary, and I didn't. That's not your fault."

Levi opened his mouth as if to say something else, then closed it again. For a few seconds, neither one of them said anything.

"Well," Erwin said. "Good night."

He stepped inside his room, dropped his bag on the floor, and started to pace—back and forth, back and forth, from the writing desk to the window and back to the writing desk again. It was half an hour later that he remembered that it was the middle of the afternoon, not the evening.

He paced for hours.

He had to keep reminding himself that they had already lost the motion before Levi decided to disregard all his orders, piss off everyone in the room, and tell the Premier that he "wasn't worth even half his shit." His anger would return, rise to a peak, and then fall again—but in the moments when his anger had fully subsided, Erwin even found himself laughing a little. At least the last act of the Scout Regiment had been to give the Royal Government an unforgettable middle finger.

At any rate, even if Levi had pushed Premier Zachary's opinion in the wrong direction, there was no point in being angry at him. Erwin was the one who had chosen to bring Levi along, knowing exactly how much of a gamble it was. In the end, Erwin was the fool for thinking he could make Levi into someone he wasn't. He had taken the risk, and as usual, he had to accept the responsibility for the consequences.

But what in the world was Erwin going to do if he wasn't a Scout?

He could join the Military Police—or, even better, the Garrison regiment, since Commander Pyxis would likely be more sympathetic to Erwin's goals than Nile would be. He could at least implement some of his ideas in a defensive context. They wouldn't be nearly as effective, and after this fiasco, he would probably never be commander, but at least he could pass on his knowledge, bide his time, plan his next move…

Erwin was startled out of his thoughts by a quick, decisive rap on the door. He crossed the room, undid the latch, and found Levi standing in the hall.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

"Levi," Erwin said, looking down at Levi's stricken expression. "Is something wrong? What's—"

Then he saw the folded piece of paper in Levi's hands.

"I ran into a messenger downstairs," Levi said. "Someone from the Premier's office—he left it with me…he asked me to give it to you." He held it out to Erwin. "I can't read it."

Slowly, Erwin took the paper. He motioned for Levi to follow him, then closed the door and walked over to the writing desk.

"Do you want to sit down?" Erwin asked, gesturing at the only chair in the room.

Levi eyed the chair, then shook his head. "You probably should though," he added.

Erwin nodded, but remained standing as he broke the seal on the document, unfolded it, and quickly scanned the two lines of script.

He sank down into the chair.

"Thank God," he said.

"What? Did they—"

"Thank God."

"Damn it, Erwin, what does it say?" Levi interrupted, his eyes fixed on the paper.

"'Premier Zachary," Erwin read out loud, "'has denied the motion to dissolve the regiment of the Royal Military known as the Survey Corps. No further arguments will be heard on this matter.'" Erwin let out a shaky breath. "That's all it says."

For a second or two, Levi didn't respond.

"So we won?" he finally asked.

Erwin let the document fall to the floor, dropped his head into his hands, felt the blood pound inside his skull, listened to his own quick, incredulous breaths as if watching himself from the outside. He was dimly aware that he was showing too much emotion to a subordinate, knew that he was letting his calm shell crack too much, but an unimaginable weight had just been lifted from his shoulders, and this time he didn't care.

"Yeah," Erwin said. "We won."

"But," Levi began, his forehead furrowed, "how…? I thought I—"

"I have no idea." Erwin shook his head, dazed. Was it a joke? No, it was definitely the Premier's seal. What in the world had happened?

Another rapid knock on the door. When Erwin opened it, he saw a well-dressed young man standing in the hallway.

"Section Commander Erwin Smith?" he asked. Erwin nodded, and the visitor held out a folded note. "From Elijah William of the Regiment Council, sir."

After the messenger had left and Erwin had shut the door again, he walked over toward the window, unfolding the note as he went. Silently, he began to read.

Erwin—

I assume you've heard the news about the motion by now. Congratulations! Obviously the speech made quite the impression on Premier Zachary. It's not every day you change the commander-in-chief's mind in less than five minutes.

Seems like that squad leader of yours is good luck. I'd keep him around if I were you.

-Eli