SECRET AFFAIRS - PART 4

'Wait. That woman…It almost looked like…' Levi Ackerman paused. He could be wrong, but how often was he ever really with these types of things? Hange had stopped walking as well and was looking back at him.

"Levi? Everything okay?"

Ignoring her, he continued looking in the direction which he'd seen her, his eyes acutely scanning the area around him.

"Levi?"

"Not quite."

Not turning Hange's way, he instead turned in the direction he'd seen the woman. "Sorry Hange, I need to check something out. Keep going without me. I'll catch up with you later."

"Wai-Wha-? Catch up with me later!? You do realize where we're on our way to, don't you?"

He finally turned to look at her.

"Yeah. And I'll meet you there as soon as I'm done here."

With that he stepped away at a brisk pace, his head swiveling to try to catch any glimpse again of the woman that had just caught his eye. Hange stood looking after him for a moment shaking her head. Whatever this was, she hoped it was good- AND worth it. She turned and continued her walk to the capital without him.

Levi walked up to a table outside the area near where he'd seen that woman. Two men were sitting at it playing cards and a third was standing up watching the game. If she'd come this way, they'd have been likely to have seen her.

"Hey. Any chance that any of you saw a woman come by here? Tan skin with curly dark brown hair and light brown eyes?" Levi saw instant recognition light up in all three of their eyes, but the one standing looked down at the ground and said nothing. One of the men at the table, looked across at the other man, and that man, who was smoking with one hand and holding his cards in the other, promptly laid them down and threw Levi a greasy grin.

"Woman you say? No, don't suppose we have. Have we fellas?" He looked up at the other two, and the standing man shook his head quickly, not bothering to look up. The man across the table met his eyes and then gave a lackadaisical shrug, casually turning his eyes back to the cards in his hands.

Levi turned his gaze upon each of them in turn, but none made any other comment or movement.

"You're sure about that then?" He asked. "None of you have seen her?"

The smoking man, put down his cig and put his tongue to the corner of his mouth, giving Levi a cruel once-over.

"Nah. Didn't I just say we hadn't? Woman like that, I'm pretty sure we'd remember her if we saw her. Maybe go check around somewhere else. 'Sides we don't take kindly to helpin out scouts around here. Shouldn't you be more worried 'bout that commander of yours or somethin?" He let out a loud guffaw of laughter and looked around at the other two men. The card guy across from him ignored him, and the standing man let out an uncomfortable titter of laughter.

Levi mean-mugged them all, tempted to rough them up and get his answers by force. Of course he knew better than that. The scouts were already in enough trouble as it was, he didn't need to make their situation worse than it already was.

"Right. Got it."

He moved to walk off, turning now into the bar that the table was sitting in front of, in order to go and ask around inside of it.

The bartender looked up as he entered. He assessed Levi's clothing, and then with a grunt turned back to what he was doing. Unfazed, Levi walked brazenly up to the bar. He gave the man the same description of Zelda and initially the keeper ignored him, continuing to shine the counter and move about the bar as though Levi wasn't there. Levi said nothing but made no move to leave. He stood solemnly there, a black cloud of anger looming over him, and a dark aura rapidly emanating from his body. After a few moments the bar keeper came to stand back in front of him. With a begrudging expression on his face, he looked Levi in his eyes.

"Yeah, I've seen her around. Don't know much about her though. No one really does."

The barkeeper turned to walk off again, but then hesitated, maybe because he could sense the fury broiling within Levi, but more likely because he could sense the intensity of his search and he felt for the guy.

"Look, I don't know why you're lookin' for her, but my suggestion is- don't. Word on the street is is she's a dangerous one to get involved with. She's 'high value', if you get my drift. I reckon she keeps company with some individuals not even the likes of you would want to fuck with." Looking at Levi with serious eyes, the bartender tossed his dishrag on the counter and shrugged. "You look like the type that doesn't like to take advice though. So best of luck to ya pal." He walked off and this time he didn't look back- going back to serving customers and pretending as though Levi didn't exist.

Understanding that this was all of the information he was going to get here, Levi headed back outside. The card game had ended and the table now sat empty. Frowning angrily, Levi checked both sides of the street for any sign of the players. He shouldn't have left them there. It was obvious they had information, he'd just been so focused on keeping a low profile that he'd let them slip away.

Now he was stuck here with very little leads and nothing else except a burning surety in his gut that that the woman he'd seen was in fact Zelda. Cutting around the cornier, Levi found himself in a tight and dirty alley. It stank of piss and shit and sewage. Not much different than his recollection of the Underground. The few riffraff loitering in the alley stopped their movements and looked interestedly his way as he approached, but a quick glance their way was enough to instantly stop them in their tracks. Most cowering back into the shadows in fear, and some others turning and quickly hightailing it out of the area.

As Levi made his way through the alley, deep in thought, he was startled to hear a voice calling out to him.
"Hey. Scout."

Aggrieved, Levi shot a dangerous look in the direction of the voice. As he turned he saw a man leaning lazily back against a doorway in the alley. He had his ankles crossed and a hand slung in his pocket. He returned Levi's glare with a look of boredom.

It was the man from before. The one from the card table who'd sat across from the cigarette guy. Suspiciously, Levi turned into the dimly lit doorway and stood across from the man.

"Yeah. You. You've decided to actually speak some truth about the woman I'm looking for?"

The guy looked him up and down, his eyes still exhibiting a lack of interest and emotion.

"Well, you were never going to get anywhere with Syd anyways." The man turned and spit loudly to the side. "She's a real looker that one and he's had iit out for her for a while. Guy like you shows up looking for her and asking questions? If you weren't you, he never would have let you walk away breathing."

Levi stared at him unmoving, his face expressionless, but his eyes cold and unnerving.

"That so? Yet, here you are now, speaking up when you didn't have shit to say sitting in front of him before…."

The man shrugged nonchalantly. "Not worth it to me. Syd's mildly psychotic. Why would I rile him up for some scout asking round about a girl that's not even his?"

Levi ground his teeth. Whatever. "Enough with the bullshit already. It's clear you know something about her. Tell me. Where can I find her?"

The man looked solemnly at him, his eyes peering deeply into Levi's. "You really want to know, eh?"

Levi didn't respond, he just narrowed his eyes and remained silent.

The man nodded. "Yeah, okay. I don't know too terribly much about her, no one really does, but I know she works down at the Orvud District Brothel. "

Levi blinked. 'Wha- I must be losing my hearing. Did I hear that right?'

"Brothel?"

The man looked at Levi's face and a small grin broke out on his. "Yeah, brothel. Don't get too mad though, Orvud's got a pretty high-class establishment. And the ways she looks, I'm betting she's their top dollar girl. It's hard to even get an 'in' to that place, and then once you do, you have to shell out an awful lot for a night with a lady like her. Syd's got connections up the ass and even he hasn't managed it yet. Wants her right bad though. Lucky if he'll be able to manage to afford to even get her to suck his di-"

Levi was on the man before he could finish. He'd hemmed him up against the entry way, his dagger unsheathed and pressed against the man's scruffy neck. Levi's blue eyes flashed mercilessly. "You've given me some information tonight and I'm grateful for it, so I'm going to cut you a break. But you better watch your mouth if you want to keep your tongue in it, got it?"

The man raised an eyebrow and then slowly raised his hands towards his head, nodding slowly.

"Got it. I didn't mean no foul. I knew she meant somethin' to ya, but I guess I've got an idea now, just how much."

Levi stepped back and put the dagger away, eyeing the man angrily. "So why bother telling me? I'm sure there must be something in it for you. What are you looking for?"

The guy grinned again, and this time it was large and calculating. "Can't a guy just do a good turn for another?"

"No."

The man laughed from his belly. "Yeah, you're right. Not in this world. Well, tell you what- I saw your face when you asked about her earlier, and let's just say I recognize a man in love." He paused noting the change in Levi's breathing and stance as he said the words. "While I'd love to say I'm just helping out my fellow man, the truth is that guy Syd is a dangerous one. And I, and a number of other like-minded people similar to myself, would be in a much better place if he wasn't… in this place."

The grin faded from the man's face and he looked at Levi seriously. "I wasn't kidding even a little when I said that he's into her. Obsessed might even be stating it way too lightly. If you want her, or you plan on taking her away, there's no way you'll be able to do it without going through him. I know that, right as rain. I happen to be a good judge of character AND I'm a betting man. I know a dangerous man when I see one, and as bad as Syd is- my gut says you're much, much worse. So… I'm more than willing to put my money on you and bet that if you care for her like I read that you do, me helping you is going to end up being me helping me when the smoke all clears."

The man leaned over and spat again. "I've got nothing against a happy ending when it's all said and done. And a happy ending for both of us is well worth the tiny scraps of info I can give you." He shrugged. "There you have it, it's simple as that."

Levi scowled. It was simple. And straight to the point. His judgment also said that this man was probably putting it all out there too. And if he wasn't? It really didn't matter too much to Levi. It didn't change anything about what he planned to do. A brothel though…

"You're right. The info you've given me is just scraps. I'd think the least you could do is cough up a location…"

The man smirked and let out a little snort. "Yeah, that'd be a given wouldn't it? What kind of betting man would I be if I didn't turn the odds in my favor when and where I can?"

He gave Levi the directions and details and then bid him good luck.

Taking the address, Levi walked off in search of the brothel. He knew it would probably be smartest to take some time to research the place and find out what he could before he headed there, but damn it, he didn't have time.

He was already letting Hange down by not showing up at the Capitol with her. Not to mention his long hunt for Zelda might be coming to an end. As soon as they'd finished their scouting mission outside of the walls, he'd rushed back to the town within Wall Maria that Zelda had been set to go to. He'd been devastated but not surprised to find that she'd never made it. After searching that city and the surrounding ones, he'd finally had to come to the realization that she either hadn't traveled to the area or she just intentionally didn't want to be found. Even still, he'd continued his search and had spent the better part of nearly a year looking for her. He'd been searching both inside and outside of the walls over the last 10 months as time between his scouting missions would allow. Every search had consistently yielded zero results, but he hadn't been able to force himself to give up on finding her. Seeing such a similar figure in town today had sent him into a tailspin. It was completely possible that he'd spent his whole day chasing after a ghost – a figment of his imagination that had absolutely no connection whatsoever to the real thing- but even if that were to be the case, part of him refused to throw in the towel until that fact had been proven irrefutably. If perchance, by some bizarre twist of fate he'd actually finally found her, his patience wasn't going to allow him to wait even a minute longer than necessary to get to her. No. He was going now.

He walked up to the brothel and stared up at it. Vastly different from the brothel he'd been born in or any he'd seen before in the Underground, he felt a complex mix of emotions as he stood there. The idea that she'd been working in the brothel all this time was torturing him. Ever since that scruffy card player had told him where to find her… 'The thought of her-' He couldn't finish the thought. It made him sick and depressed. But at the same time, if this was what she'd had to do, at least it wasn't in the slums, right? But then again, why? WHY would she have felt that this was something she had to do? Had he somehow pushed her to this? Was he responsible? The thoughts wouldn't stop racing through his head, each one branching out to the next and becoming heavier and more loaded than the one before.

His head was a mess of anger, fear, and guilt. He paused for a moment, taking a second to try and breathe. His chest felt like it was caught in a vice and he didn't know how to escape from the pressure of it all. Would seeing her release it or would it cause him to be crushed under the weight of it all?

'Doesn't matter. There's nothing to dwell on. I'm getting to her and I'm getting her out of here. That's all there is to it and It doesn't matter if she has to go kicking and screaming. Whether its my fault or not, whether she hates me or not - There's no way I'll let her continue this shit.'

Content with his feelings and the next course of action, Levi walked right up to the door. A large and angry looking man answered, sliding open an eye slit in the door.

"Yeah?"

"I'm here for Zelda."

"What?"

"Zelda."

The man laughed.

"Dude, I don't know who you are or who the fuck you're looking for, but I suggest you get the fuck out of here before you end up in real trouble."

The man slammed the slit shut.

Levi banged on the door. No one answered. He kicked on it, using the heel of his boot. It was only half strength, but the boom of the impact could be heard resonating through the street.

The slit in the door was shoved open again.

"Little man, you're really fuckin asking for it. You have a death wish or somethin? Do you know where you are?"

"No, and I couldn't care less. I said I came here for someone and I'm not leaving till I have her."

Levi could hear the locks on the door being unshuttered and unlocked. 'Wow. Really stupid move. Is this their security? That's incredibly dumb and lax for a supposedly upscale place.'

The large door creaked open and Levi found himself face to face with a man almost twice his height and about 5 times his width.

"Do you know how many men we get here daily asking to see some woman?" The man asked, stepping threateningly out the door. "I told you once to leave. Turn around and go now if you know what's good for you pipsqueak. Otherwise, be prepared to join them and it will be your turn for your loved ones to be searching for you."

Levi sneered at the man.

"How about, I tell you one more time instead? I want to see her NOW and if you don't take me to her or bring her to me, maybe I'll dismantle you first, and then every floor of this shit show brothel piece by piece."

"All right fuc-"

The man didn't finish his sentence as Levi rushed forward and threw a hand to his windpipe, knocking him down and nearly crushing it in the same blow. The large man fell back just inside the entrance and laid strewn on the floor, grasping his neck and wheezing for breath. Straddling him, Levi leaned over him, his face stretched out in fury.

"Now, I'll say it again, bring me to-"

"Adan naawhr…". The man wheezed.

"What's that now?"

"Dun..nohr"

"Huh?" Levi leaned forward and grabbed the man's fat cheeks in his hand, squeezing them roughly together. "Say it again and enunciate"

"Ah.. Dunt.. Noh… Er". The man said, still struggling for air.

"Oh. You don't know her? Hmm, that doesn't sound right. I've got some good intel that she's here. Let's try this- Short woman, very curly dark hair, brown almond eyes, honeyed skin…."

The man's eyes widened and he began to nod.

"Eh, es, es!"

"Yes? Yeah, you know her now?"

Suddenly they were interrupted by the sound of footsteps and two other men came running around the corner both with handguns pointed his way. Jumping up, Levi pulled the large man up in front of him.

"Look I'm not looking for trouble, I'm just here to collect someone and then I'll be on my way. Your security here was just about to help me out. So if you want to keep all of your teeth in your mouth and your bones intact, maybe the two of you just look the other way…"

He was interrupted as one of the men tried to dart around them and point the gun at Levi. Levi easily avoided the man, reaching out with one hand to grab him and pull his face down against his knee, then letting go of the guard, Levi grabbed the gun and disarmed him, dropping him down bloody to the floor.

Once again pulling the guard back up in front of him, Levi now pointed the gun at the other man.

"Again. We can skip all of this if you can just point me in the direction of-"

The other man started laughing.

"You idiot. You have no clue where you are or what you're doing!"

Levi rolled his eyes. 'This again…'

The man continued. "Security, you said? He's not our security, he's just the doorman. Our actual security is the reason that people like you typically know better than to come around here." The man started to back away, his gun still trained on Levi. As he reached the corner he called out.

"There's no reason for me to die here. I'll let the real security come and deal with your ass. See you in hell." And with that he turned and took off down the hall.

Levi dragged the large man with him and ran to the corner, but the other man was already gone.

"Shit!"

Dropping the doorman, Levi looked down at him. He was unconscious.

"Hey!"

He slapped him heartily across the face. "Hey shithead, wake up! You said you knew her. Tell me where to find her!" He slapped him again. And again, and again. But the man didn't wake, his head just lolled from side to side.

"Damn it!"

Levi stood up and looked down the hall. Now what? He wasn't at all concerned about the "real" security, but he did want to hurry and find Zelda before he could cause any more commotion that could later be traced back to the scouts. He'd covered himself in a nondescript cloak before coming here so that he could hide his scout uniform, but at this point that could only do so much good. His best guess was that as things currently stood, Hange was already going to have his head for this. He started to take off down the hallway, when he felt a sharp tug on his cloak and a piece of cold steel slid violently against his throat.

'Wait, what? What the actual hell just happened here?' Stunned out of his mind for the first time in an extremely long time, Levi tried to turn, but a hand grabbed his hair and held it hard, not letting him move.

"So…" Levi started, plotting his next move. "I take it you're the real security, then?"

The hand in his hair tensed up. He could feel it as it pulled tightly at his roots, then the fingers relaxed, sliding tentatively down his scalp, the fingertips resting at his neck. 'Huh?' Before he could stop to fully wonder what it was about or to reflexively move away…

"Levi?"

He froze. No way. His wheels were turning and everything was quickly clicking into place almost instantaneously as it played out in front of him.

He spun around, and as he did, he automatically reached a hand out for her, his heart lagging behind, but struggling to catch up with his brain as it put the pieces together.

Zelda looked astonished. He watched as the color continued to drain from her face, but he was on autopilot and reached out grabbing her shoulders in his hands.

"Finally." he breathed.

"Wha-Wait. What are you-How… What are you doing here?" The disbelief in her voice was understandable, as even he found it almost unimaginable and he was the one who'd specifically come here to find her.

He didn't know what it was but seeing her now calmed everything down. He didn't know what had happened since they'd parted ways. Didn't know if she did actually belong to someone else like the bartender had alluded, or how many others she'd given her body to in the interim, but as he looked at her she looked more beautiful to him now then she had even then and he found that he really didn't give a shit about any of it.

Pulling her by her shoulders, he grabbed her to him and pressed his lips to hers. He felt her stiffen in his arms, and good etiquette told him he should probably pull back, but his heartbeat wouldn't slow and he couldn't stop himself even as she stiffened and turned away. He moved his hands from her shoulders to her back, and wrapping them around her waist, he twisted and following her turning face with his own he opened her mouth with his, sliding a hand up to hold her head steady as he force-fed her his kisses and molded her body to his. It only took a moment. Just one until her body softened and folded into his hands. He opened his eyes to meet hers as a small moan escaped her mouth and after a small almost imperceptible hesitation, her hands too moved to his head, one slipping around his neck, the other raking up his head to tangle her fingers in his hair.

He could feel the blood rushing and the arousal stirring in his pants. As much as he never wanted to let her go, Levi groaned and pulled himself away from her. They were already in a brothel. Too much more and he'd be dragging her to the nearest bedroom.

Her face was once again flushed as she breathed heavily and looked at him in confusion.

"Levi?"

"You," He panted. "I came for you."

Her brow furrowed further. "I-I don't understand. I mean you…". She looked away, perplexity painted clearly on her face.

"You don't understand what? I've been looking all over for you. You didn't go to the location you were supposed to within Wall Maria. I sent Connie after you and he found no trace." He looked at her angrily. "I had no idea what happened to you. Didn't you know that? Didn't you think I'd be worried?"

Zelda turned back to him, a dark look upon her own face. "No. Not really. Honestly, when I left I thought we'd said everything that needed to be said. There was no reason for you to find me…. Or for me to ever see you again."

Levi looked at her and an ache shot through him. Was he really that unclear? How could she have gotten that message so incredibly wrong?

"Zelda- that's not-"

"It's whatever. It's in the past now Levi. What I don't get its why you're here now?"

He looked at her, the surprise showing on his face.

"I just told you, I'm here looking for you."

She frowned at him but didn't say anything else.

Levi stepped towards her. "But you…" He looked around them. "Why are you here?" He paused. He didn't know what she'd been through, and he didn't want to shame her, but he had to know.

"Of all the places you could go. If you didn't want the place set up for you in Wall Maria, why would you come to work in a brothel?"

Zelda shrugged. "It's fine. I get free room and board, It pays me incredibly well, and if I'm honest I really like what I do. It might seem strange, but I think it's actually a good place for me. "

Levi gaped at her, struggling to keep the shock off of his face, but unable to fully succeed.

Zelda cut her eyes at him. "Look, I told you what I thought my true purpose was, and you decided for me that I wasn't good enough for it. Now I've found something else that I'm at least 'good enough' at, and that gives me at least some tiny semblance of purpose, and here you show up to tell me you have a problem with that too?"

She scowled. "Levi, I want so badly to just tell you to use that ODM gear and zip right back to wherever it is you came from, but…" She dropped her shoulders and looked sadly down. "I can't. I wouldn't do that. Even if you are standing here with absolutely no right to criticize or judge me."

Levi was mildly confused.

"You want me to go, but I already promised myself I wasn't leaving here without you."

Zelda turned angry eyes at him. "Just stop. You've already made enough decisions for my life don't you think? Your last one was also the decision to remove yourself from my life, if you recall. So now you don't get to intervene in it at all anymore. You don't have a say in any of it Levi."

He opened his mouth to argue, but she quieted him with a look.

"Just come on. I need you to come with me to my room."

They had just started down the hall, when the man with the handgun from earlier came barreling towards them.

"Hey! That's him! This guy!"

Zelda nodded at him, "Yeah, it's fine, I know him. He's good."

The guy's jaw dropped. "You know him? But he uh- I mean… After what he did… Chise isn't going to be good with this."

Zelda shrugged. "Chise can come talk to me if he has a problem. For now, he's coming with me to my room and we're to be uninterrupted- got it?"

The guy looked scared and nervous. He flushed red but nodded and then turned and ran off.

'Huh. I wonder how much of what that bartender and scruffy card guy said about her was true. Does she actually belong to one of the major guys here? I know how brothel's work. Only the top women would be afforded that kind of behavior.' Feeling more depressed than before, Levi followed solemnly behind Zelda and walked into the room behind her.

Entering into her room behind her, Levi was surprised with what he found. It wasn't at all like the typical brothel room, not for a low- or high-end lady. In fact it didn't seem like any brothel room he'd seen before.

He looked around the room taking everything in while Zelda watched him cautiously. After a moment his eyes settled on what stood the most out of place for him in here. Tucked slightly out of the way, in the corner of the room was a small wooden crib.

Quickly Levi shifted his eyes over to Zelda who met his gaze with her lips tucked tightly in her mouth. Looking back to the crib, he made quick strides over to it and looked inside. Sleeping peacefully was a small but plump baby. It's dark brown hair lay plastered to its head as it lay there under a thick cotton blanket.

Levi didn't take his eyes from the sleeping child as he spoke to Zelda.

"What the hell? Tell me you're just babysitting?"

When she didn't respond he turned, panicked, to look at her. She eyed him quietly, as his eyes searched hers, trying to find meaning in this.

"Zelda…Seriously. What the hell!?"

She dropped her head and shook it slowly. Levi could see a tear drop trail its way to her chin and then fall to the floor. As it did, he heard a stirring sound behind him. Turning back, he looked to see the baby squirming in the crib. As he watched, it raised a fat fist in the air ad yawned, squeezing its eyes together right before blinking and then gazing up at him with cool blue eyes.

As he stared, his breath caught in his throat. The baby giggled, small dimples showing in its cheeks as it laughed and raised its hands towards him. Still not breathing, Levi turned to Zelda, horrified and trying desperately to internalize and process what it all meant.

Zelda was walking slowly towards him. She swallowed thickly and he watched her wipe her face with the back of her hand. Standing in front of him and next to the crib, she reached a hand down and placed a finger into the baby's outstretched hand.

"It's a boy"

She looked up at him and met his eyes. "Do you really want me to say it too? To confirm it for you?"

Levi's mouth hung open and he looked back from the baby to her. No, of course he didn't. His gut and his instincts told him he didn't. But even still…

Levi walked across the room. He spoke from between clenched teeth, trying to keep a level head and calm demeanor.

"I don't. And truthfully even if I did, it wouldn't change anything for me. But… I have to ask… How would you know… I mean with your… customers and everything. You couldn't really be sure…." He looked at the ground. He felt like shit for having to say it, but he felt like it should at least be addressed.

Zelda wasn't saying anything, but he could hear the drastic change in her breathing. Levi, pulled his eyes up to look at her, and then took an unexpected step back as he saw her face. He couldn't read the look in her eyes, but it became immediately and blatantly obvious to him that he should have kept his mouth shut.

"My…customers…?" Zelda took a threatening step towards him. "I'm sorry, but Levi… what the hell are you talking about?"

He swallowed. "I'm not wrong am I? You work here. You already confirmed it."

The look in her eyes was cold and hard. "You dummy. Yeah I work here, but not as a lady. I'm their security. I mean, didn't you even say it yourself? When I had the knife to your neck?"

"Wha-huh?"

"You heard me."

"Wait- so that Chise guy you were talking about earlier…."

Zelda took another angry step forward. "What about him?"

"So, then he's not your…?"

"Not my WHAT? He owns the brothel, if that's what you mean."

His chest was spasming now and Levi had to fight himself to keep from grabbing at it. This was definitely good, right? He'd gotten it wrong and she hadn't been here selling her body. But… he'd gotten it wrong and he'd accused her of being here selling her body. ' .Shit.' Better to bite the bullet and just fall on his sword.

"Shit. I just thought… Zelda, I'm sorry. I really fucked this one up." Sighing, he ran a hand through his dark hair and resigned himself to whatever she had in store for him.

She stopped moving and stood there. The look of anger on her face dissipated and only hurt remained. He guessed that look was probably punishment enough.

"So that's really what you thought, huh? After everything I shared with you, you figured I had my feelings hurt and came here to just give myself away? That's the person you see me as…"

"No. No, not at all"

"-It makes sense if I think about it though. Although I don't know how I came to give you that impression. I'm too weak to make it as a scout, too weak to survive on my own without living as a whore. It's been the way you've seen me this entire time…"

He'd had enough. There'd been so many misunderstandings, and he realized that his brash behavior had been the cause of much of them. Could it really be so hard to say what he felt and to share those feelings with another person? Especially if not doing so meant it left her feeling like this?

"You've got it all wrong, but I guess I'm to blame for that also. I should have told you before. It's tough for me, but even still, I should have been upfront and honest and not withheld my praise. Zelda, I think you're amazing. You've got a different type of skill than any I've seen before with the ODM gear. And honestly the scouts would have been more than lucky to have had you."

He watched as wariness clouded her expression, but still she stared intently at him as he spoke. "I never once thought that you weren't worthy. And it was never that I thought that you couldn't hack it or that you were weak." He swallowed and channeled his resolve. "It's that I couldn't handle it. Even the talented ones die. And just the thought of you dying was terrifying for me. No matter how you felt about it and no matter how amazing I think you are, compared to the thought of having to bury you, or worse yet, having to leave your dead body on the battlefield or in a titan's mouth, it could never be worth it to me. There's just no way."

He reached out and grabbed her arms. "But I should have been clearer. I thought I was saying it well enough, but I should have just said 'that' and I should have never given you any type of reason to think that it was ever anything less than that."

He looked over to the baby, now gurgling quietly in the crib. "And no, I don't think you're the type of woman, that would sell her body, but I did fear that maybe I'd destroyed some of your self worth by the way that I'd handled things. I should have known better and that's just my own arrogance. You're much, much better than me." He swallowed and pushed forward. If he was going this far, he might as well put it all out there. "It's just part of what I love about you. You're talented, but still so kind and compassionate. I actually wish I could be more like you."

Her eyes widened and then filled with tears. Before he could say more, she closed the gap between them, and laying her forehead on his shoulder, she began to cry in his arms. Letting go of his discomfort, Levi raised his hands and embraced her. Nuzzling against her head and stroking her back.

Across from her head he looked over at the baby, still wriggling in its crib, and finally allowed the gravity of that to settle over him. 'I'm a father.' A cold chill hit him. It was unexpected. He'd never had a father of his own and Kenny had been the closet thing he'd had to a father figure. Children had never been a part of his agenda. He'd never planned for them and never wanted them. They were dirty little creatures that cried and shit everywhere. They took up time and resources, asked and begged, wanted and needed, but never gave anything back in return. Not to mention they… they required love and affection in order to grow and thrive. They needed attention and presence. He… didn't have that to give. It wasn't just that being in the scouts made him a walking corpse, but also that he, himself, was fairly devoid of those parenting instincts.

In a rare moment, Levi had a flashback to Kenny sitting under that tree and dying.

Levi asking him why he'd left, and Kenny's response: "I just wasn't cut out to be nobody's father"

Levi had been angry, but he'd understood the sentiment. He too wasn't cut out to be someone's father. Except… now he was. Like it or not

Grunting, he shook his head away from thoughts of Kenny. He didn't want his newfound fatherhood marred with associations of parenting and that asshole. 'Kenny…Nothing but a con man till the end. I wonder where that fucker is now?' Levi had sat and watched what he'd assumed was Kenny dying, only to later find that the corpse had disappeared. Subsequent digging had found that there was no corpse to have up and walked away, just another example of the lengths his uncle would go to to prolong his own life, and to lie and bullshit to his nephew.

Kenny's burns had been real, yeah, but he'd been far from his deathbed. He'd just had to play it long enough to gain Levi's sympathy and then walk away from the encounter unscathed. After learning that, Levi hadn't bothered to try to track his uncle down. Karma would do it for him someday- he was sure of it.

As he was working to push thoughts of bad parenting out his head and wrap his mind around the idea of being an actual father, the baby let out a little whimper. Levi felt Zelda begin to pull away, but he put a hand gently on her and turned in her stead. Going to the crib, he placed his hands on the rail and stared over it and into the eyes of the squirming baby boy. He was still so small and so defenseless.

Somebody would have to stand up for him. To protect him. Levi swallowed hard and reached a shaky hand towards him. Sighing, he drew his hand back, pulling it into a fist at his chest. Nervously he turned to Zelda.

"I've actually never held a baby before."

She gave a sad smile and nod and then walked to stand by him. She bent with him, placing her hands on his as he went to lift the child from the crib. As he brought it to his chest, Levi felt a swelling within him. No, he hadn't ever wanted children, but this one was his, and now that he had him, he knew without a doubt that there was nothing in this world that would stop him from protecting him. 'So this is it. That feeling. That bond that links a parent to their child. It feels nice, but it's also terrifying.' He turned to look at Zelda and saw that her eyes were glazed with tears.

"What's his name?" He choked out

She shook her head. "I haven't. I don't know why, I've just had such a hard time finding the one for him." She sucked her lip in. "Not to mention, I kind of think the father should have some sort of say in naming his son."

He looked from the boy's steady blue eyes, back to Zelda's pretty brown ones. "Were you planning to ever tell me? I mean that's 9 months for you to carry him, right? "

Zelda looked at him curiously. "Well, I mean I did try to reach out to you… at first." She reached out and patted the baby's head softly.

"I was nearly 5 months before I found out and I was so shocked I went for second and then third opinions. When it became obvious that there was no denying it, I was forced to go and seek you out. The first time I went you were out on a scouting mission. I waited for a week near the Survey Corps headquarters, but it must have been a long one because you didn't return." She paused and bit her lip. "I'll be honest, that visit was tough and it made me re-think reaching out to you. Being there and seeing the scouts academy and barracks…. I grew really resentful of you all over again. When I left there, I wanted nothing more than to never come back and never lay eyes on you again." Zelda took a deep breath and looked up to meet his eyes. "I truly considered it too. I had worked here up until I realized I was pregnant, but Chise said that I could stay even if I couldn't work in my condition. Ultimately though before he was born, I wanted to try again to at least let you know. Luckily, I heard the scouts were staying at the capital. I went there to try to talk with you but was turned away so many times. I left messages for you with the MPs, but you never called me. The last time I went, they told me they'd alerted you and if you hadn't contacted me back, it was because you didn't want to speak with me." She blinked rapidly. "So after that, I never went back again. I came back here, had the baby, and here we are."

'Those damn MPs'. It made a bit of sense. Of course they would'n't have told her what was going on. Their goal was to isolate him and destroy any alliances. He guessed, they'd done that better than even they had known. And he supposed he'd helped them along, by pushing her away…

Still more than all of that was the issue of how this had even happened…

Holding the child gingerly in his arms, Levi turned to her, the question on his lips. Zelda was watching him and he had the uncanny feeling that she was just waiting for him to broach the topic, He could sense the tension in her body.

But before he could utter a word, the door to her room slammed open, partially flying off of it's hinges. Immediately Levi shifted to shield his son, one hand reaching for his ODM gear. Just as swiftly, Zelda had moved in front of the two of them. A blade seemingly appearing from nowhere and in her hands.

"Chise!"

Seeing the man in front of her, Zelda lowered the weapon- though Levi noticed that her grip on it didn't loosen in the slightest. He looked up at the man, studying him and the two fellows that had followed in the room behind him. He already had a good feel for the layout of the room. If something broke out here- and his gut was telling him that things were preparing to escalate- then he could handle it.

The man was short and stubby. He had small, slanted eyes that were scrutinizing Levi with a level of malice that Levi instantly recognized as indicative that Chise's feelings for Zelda went well beyond that of an employer-employee relationship.

The man walked in on stiff legs, throwing a quick look at the baby in Levi's arms, understanding dawning briefly across his face, before he could wipe the expression away. Calmly turning back to Zelda, he walked uncomfortably close to her.

"What's going on here Kuchel? What's he doing here? I thought we had an understanding?"

Levi, looked at her confused. Kuchel? My mom's name? No wonder they didn't recognize her a 'Zelda'… Zelda's face was flushing and she avoided his eyes, instead looking squarely at the angry man in front of her.

"Yeah, Chise, I know we did. However this is different."

"The fuck it is!" The squat man's face had turned purple-red and spittle flew from his mouth as he yelled. "We had an agreement!" Storming over, he grabbed Zelda's wrist and yanked it towards him. Before he could do more, Levi's blade was rested atop his arm.

The man looked up, fear marring his bloated, round face.

"Unless you're looking to lose that hand, you should let go now." He cradled the child in one arm, holding it securely to him, and the hand that held his ODM blade was firm and unwavering. Blood was currently running down it from the light gash that had been created just from laying it on the man's skin.

Chise was looking up at Levi and trembling in fright as Levi stared levelly at him, dark shadows painted across his face.

"Stop shaking. You're just going to bleed more." Levi shot him an irritated look. "What kind of agreement do you think you have?"

The man opened and closed his mouth, but no words came out. Sighing, Levi, raised the blade off of his arm. "Speak up!"

"I-Uh.. I mean, she- Uh…" Chise stammered, his eyes still wide with fright as he stared into Levi's face.

"Tch." Levi groaned. With one quick swift movement, he stepped forward, and lifting his foot high, he placed it on the man's chest and kicked him backwards sending him flying.

Zelda who had watched the whole scene in a disconnected stupor, finally moved.

"Levi…"

"Here." He said gently, offering their son for her to hold. She hesitated momentarily, then reached out to carefully take the baby from him. Tentatively stepping back, She retreated to the corner, where she cautiously placed the child back into his crib and then pushed the crib further into the outer recess of the room, stepping between it and the chaos unfolding within.

The two men that were with Chise had now moved forward and were looking uncertainly between Levi and the large man, splayed out on the floor.

Completely ignoring them, Levi stepped confidently over to him, and placed a boot on his chest.

"I'll ask again. What agreement?"

Chise's eyes were bulging and he reached out to the other two men, calling out for them in vain as the two of then looked at him and then each other and then slowly backed towards the doorway. Levi turned his eyes towards them, and then realizing they posed absolutely no threat whatsoever, he turned back to Chise, leaning in and pressing down on the man's chest plate.

"Argh!" Chise screamed out in pain. "Wait! No! It's just- just! She works for me!" Tears had begun to roll down the man's face.

Disgusted Levi took his foot off of the man and turned his nose up. "Yeah, so?"

Chise, sat up and scooted back, still looking at Levi with frightened wide eyes. "So, she's mine!" He wailed. "That was the agreement! No one is supposed to come in here! She can't have any men! Why are you here!? Why?"

Incredulous, Levi turned to look from the sobbing man on the floor over to Zelda, who also looked rather disturbed at the scene in front of her. Finally, he turned back to Chise, slowly running his eyes over him.

"So were you expecting…." He dropped his head and shook it hard. "Gross."

He walked quickly over to the man and grabbed him by his shirt, pulling him face to face with him. "Let me be clear. She's not yours. Never will be."

"But, but, but…" Tears still falling down his face, Chise struggled to peer around Levi to look at Zelda, trying to catch her attention. Levi yanked his shirt and forced him back forwards. "Don't make me repeat it." Levi looked over his shoulder at Zelda who had intentionally turned away in embarrassment from the both of them. Chise however was clawing at Levi's hands and still trying to get her eye. With a heavy sigh, Levi called out to her.

"Hey!"

He saw her shoulders rise and then slump in resignation. She turned towards them and Levi noted that she looked positively sick as she faced them.

Talking to Zelda, but keeping his eyes locked on Chise, Levi gave the man a sharp jerk by his shirt. "Did you want him?"

Her eyes widened. "Levi!"

"Look. He's obviously having a hard time here. Just make it a yes or no. Let's wrap this shit up." He turned to glance up at her.

She frowned at him, but turned slightly to the blubbering man, slowly shaking her head.

"No. Chise, no. Sorry but, absolutely not."

Chise, looked at her, tears still falling from his eyes and he hitched loudly, letting out another sob. Levi watched him but saw a subtle change behind those shifty eyes of his.

"Alright, there you have it. Whatever agreement you had isn't going to work the way you wanted it to. But don't worry, I'll be leaving here soon."

Levi stood and pulled his blade in front of the man's face. "Consider this her resignation notice though. I'll be taking her with me."

Chise's eyes narrowed and he tried to sit himself up, attempting to knock the blade out of the way and injuring himself in the process. As he screamed out and then began to nurse his wound, he glared openly at Levi.

"We'll see about that, then. No one just ups and leaves without permission. She has a job to do here. I'm not the only one who has something to gain by keeping her here. Good luck if you actually think you'll be able to get out of town with her in tow."

Levi pulled the blade back and Chise cringed, drawing himself backwards into the wall. Rolling his eyes, Levi sheathed it and turned away as Chise crawled to all fours and then scurried to the side before climbing up on the wall and pressing his back against it to stare at Levi and Zelda as well.

"Get your stuff and go, but you'll regret it, just watch." And then stumbling, he ran off and out of the door.

Levi and Zelda stood looking at each other for awhile.

"Were you actually not aware of that?" Levi looked over at her, his face serious.

"Huh? That whole thing that just happened there? No. I actually had no clue." She shuddered. "That was news to me."

"Huh." Levi said, thinking hard on it. He was sure it wasn't over yet, but they'd just have to cross that road when they came to it.

"So…the baby. I do need to ask…. I mean…"

Zelda looked up at him with conflicted eyes. "Yes, I know. I've been dreading this conversation, but I knew it would come one day. We just can't have it here and now…."

She looked worriedly towards the door where Chise had recently departed.

Levi gave a stiff nod. Right. They had a lot of catching up to do and a lot to discuss and this devil's den was a dangerous place to try and do it.

"Of course. I have a place here in the capital. I never expected to find you here, but still it will be a good, safe place for the both of you. Let's pack up quickly and get out of here. You can explain everything to me once we get there."

END OF PART 4