The Commander didn't even need to ask his soldiers to know the Survey Corps would be leaving the Military police headquarters immediately. There was no way either of the others would agree to letting Eren spend another night there – he himself wasn't too keen on the idea anyway. He heard enough from Hanji about the effects the separation had on the two expecting mates and he wasn't about to let his friend and precious subordinate go through it again if he could help it. The only problem was currently at his feet.

Erwin gave the unconscious soldier one last disgusted look before turning around to face the room. "We're leaving as soon as we can. Levi, Hanji, and I will go pack our things and prepare our horses." He waited until the two nodded before addressing Eren's friends, "In the meantime, I'd like to ask the two of you to take care of this soldier. Would be better if he were conscious on the way back."

"We can prepare your horses as well, Sir," noted Mikasa offhandedly as she leaned down and picked the much bigger male up with little effort.

Armin grinned shyly as he elaborated, "Actually..."

"I still can't believe you guys," Levi said flatly with arms folded on his chest as he stared his squad down. They were grinning back at him proudly, standing in the yard with all horses fully prepared for the ride back.

Eren was dutifully standing two steps behind his alpha while suppressing a smile over how self-satisfied his friends looked. When Armin told them they were all there as well, the four couldn't really believe it but after Erwin's dismissal, as they were leaving the basement, they quite literally ran into the others. They were obviously trying to eavesdrop at the door, even with how fast they jumped to attention at the opposite wall. The guilty looks on Sasha, Connie and Bertholdt's faces spoke for themselves. Before any of the officers could scold them, however, Sasha and Krista squealed and ran over to hug Eren, Krista even with relieved tears in her eyes. No one had it in them to tell them off for being worried for the pregnant omega. Erwin only shook his head and left them to go speak with Nile before they left, as Hanji beamed and Levi scowled before sending them off to get the horses.

Now they were all ready to leave, only waiting for Erwin to come out. Eren was getting anxious to leave but it didn't look like a pleasant ride was ahead of them. The longer the Commander took, the darker was the sky getting as the sun was starting to set for the night. It looked like they would be riding in the dark and no one was exactly eager for that experience. The omega caught his Captains eyes as the latter looked back towards the bright orange ball of fire with a frown. Obviously, not even Levi was happy about this development but they silently agreed it was better to ride on horseback in complete dark than to spend another night here.

Finally, about twenty minutes after everyone else gathered, the Commander arrived with a distracted look in his eyes. He shot a quick, almost concerned glance towards Eren before quickly turning his eyes elsewhere. Hanji's eyebrows shot up at the momentary gesture, nonetheless deciding to question the blond alpha later.

Erwin was headed straight for his horse, apparently as ready to leave as everyone else. The soldiers followed his lead and mounted their own horses after giving quick salutes. Only the beaten up beta didn't even react where he was already sitting rigidly in his assigned saddle. His eyes looked a little glazed and it was a question left unanswered whether he was even fully conscious.

The group headed out of the Military police headquarters without any policeman seeing them off, save for Nile Dawk's unreadable gaze following them from the window of his office. They soon left Mitras behind and long before arriving at the gates of Stohess, darkness had completely enveloped them. The sleepy and slightly drunk Garrison soldiers manning the town's gate grumbled at the interruption, only reluctantly letting them through. They wouldn't have any qualms about leaving them outside until morning just because, but in the end, upon the realization they were dealing with Commander Smith and Captain Ackerman, they didn't dare see the tempting idea through.

Everyone was confused when the Commander, instead of continuing straight ahead, took a turn towards the center of the town, leading his soldiers in a leisure pace towards the unknown. Their confusion only continued to rise when a few minutes later Erwin stopped in front of an inn, getting off his horse.

"Erwin? What's going on?" Hanji asked curiously, hopping down as well.

Erwin smiled wryly. "We are going to spend the night here in Stohess. Or do you want to ride back right now, in the dark, without stopping?"

Everyone shook their heads, some of them even sighing in relief. Eren, in particular, felt exhausted. More than he remembered being in years and he was on the verge of tears just hearing the words. He slid down, intending to get off smoothly, but he stumbled as soon as his feet hit the ground and he felt his back hitting his horse. The animal didn't budge at the impact but it did look back at him, nudging its master gently with its nose. Eren smiled fondly, patting it back in assurance.

"Eren, are you okay?" came Mikasa's concerned voice immediately after, in tandem with a worried glance from Levi.

Eren shook his head, failing to flash them a smile in his exhaustion. "Just tired."

He received several more concerned looks but no further questions came for which he was grateful. He really just wanted to curl up in bed and pass out for an hour or thirty.

Erwin ordered them to stay outside while he went to ask about accommodation. As they waited, looking around the street they were on, they realized it probably wasn't as late as they were led to believe on the way. There was still light coming from the windows of more than half the houses on their street, even the entrance to the inn Erwin disappeared into was still brightly shining with the laps hanging around.

They waited only for a short while in silence before Erwin came out with a fake, business smile still on his lips, followed by a young man who didn't look too happy to be there.

"Soldiers, the owner of this inn was gracious enough to let us stay here and even prepare a light dinner for us. There are rooms for two people at a time. Obviously, Levi has to stay with Eren to keep an eye on him," there were several giggles suppressed and glances exchanged, "and I will be staying with Squad leader Hanji, but otherwise you are free to pair up however you want." Immediately, meaningful nudges were had and Levi had to roll his eyes. Teenagers. "However," Erwin interrupted loudly, with authority, "I need someone responsible and not likely to kill during sleep to share a room with Marzell here."

Silence followed, no one probably trusted themselves enough not to cause any... damage. Except Ymir. She was just unwilling to leave Krista. Erwin raised an expectant eyebrow when the quiet stretched on.

"I will do it." Everyone looked at Jean in surprise. Even Jean himself looked surprised at what came out of his mouth, but he stared at Erwin with determination anyway. He could do it. He would do it. He would show people he was useful, too.

Erwin nodded curtly in thanks. "Good. Now, you can leave your horses for this young man here to take care of," he gestured towards the grumpy looking man behind him. Everyone looked at him, then their horses uncertainly, but still left them in the care of the inn worker with pats and nodded thanks. Erwin then ushered them inside to get some food and sleep. Everyone was more than happy to oblige their Commander, gulping down the quickly thrown together dinner and, after profoundly thanking the owner, shuffled off to their rooms to sleep. It was an eventful day after all, even for the squad who only had to go to the capital and right back.

The squad had long disappeared before Erwin got up. On his way he leaned down to whisper something into Levi's ear to which the smaller alpha only nodded as he returned to watching his mate eat slowly and carefully. Erwin looked down at them with a complicated expression on his face as he squeezed Levi's shoulder and followed Hanji to their room.

The two mates were the last one's left in the inn's dining room, largely because Eren was eating much slower than usual. Levi supposed it was because he was so tired but then, the weird feeling he was getting from the bond was telling him that was not the only reason. He continued to watch the omega intently, noticing the tiniest things. How tightly he was holding the cutlery. How jerky his movements were, how deeply he was breathing, or how his gaze was firmly fixed at one single point. It was glaringly obvious now that Levi had the time to really pay attention to him. Eren was trying hard not to blow up. Now that everything finally slowed down the excitement that gathered over the past two days finally got to settle in for him, chasing away the exhaustion and leaving just a tangled mess of emotions manifesting in white hot rage.

Levi only hoped they would be alone and in private when he finally snapped.

But now that Eren was done and getting up, there was one thing he needed to get over and done with before retiring to their room. Eren stood there silently next to him, looking at him expectantly when Levi didn't get up as well. Levi just eyed him back silently for a minute before he shook his head and stood up, leading the omega towards the rooms.

As soon as the alpha was sure they were alone in the corridor, he grabbed Eren's hand to stop him. "Erwin asked me stop by his room on the way back."

Something flashed in Eren's eyes at his words, but it was gone too fast for Levi to be able to tell what it was. The force of anger that hit him spoke for itself though and Levi had to suppress a sigh as he prayed to stay calm. "I promise it will be quick. Just a minute, okay?"

Eren nodded, his face blank as he turned around and strode off without a word. But even without the bond Levi would know that wasn't going to turn out good.

He sighed before hurrying to speak to Erwin so he could go to his mate and try and avert the catastrophe that was brewing inside Eren right then. He knocked on the door, not bothering to wait for a response, instead opening the door immediately after.

"Make it quick Erwin, I need to be with Eren."

Hanji was nowhere to be seen but Erwin blinked in surprise, his shirt half off, as he stared back at Levi, both at his sudden appearance and his demeanor. Luckily, he recovered quickly, getting straight to the point upon hearing Levi's request. Or demand, more like. "Levi, you, Eren and Hanji will be staying here for one more day. Maybe one or two people from your squad as well. The two of you need to relax and I think after this you need a break, especially Eren, after all that stress. Which is also the reason Hanji is staying. She wants to check up on Eren and the... other one as soon as possible."

Levi was surprised but he wasn't about to argue. He understood why Erwin was doing this and was grateful, even if the soldier in him bristled a little at the implications. They were expecting a child. The situation wasn't exactly orthodox and he as an alpha also felt the need to keep Eren in place as long as possible. At least until he was sure his omega was calm and ready to face the world again. So he only nodded stiffly. "Anything else?"

Erwin gave him a measured stare before smiling unsettlingly. "Actually yes, but it seems like now isn't a good time. Go back to your mate, Levi, I'll have Hanji tell you tomorrow."

Levi nodded curtly before leaving without second thought.

As soon as the door closed after him, Hanji peaked from around the corner, where the closet was. "Is he gone?"

Erwin chuckled bitterly. "Yeah. You can stop hiding now."

Hanji huffed, running a hand through her lose hair. "Well excuse me that I'm just a poor, normal beta who can't handle it when an alpha like Levi gets so riled up."

Erwin laughed, giving Hanji an amused look. "The best part is, I don't think he even realized he was doing it. You should have seen him, his eyes were glowing more than when I suggested they abort it."

Hanji shuddered. "No thank you. The pheromones were more than enough."

Erwin's smile disappeared fast as he sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I'm only thankful he started only now and not while we were still at the Police headquarters."

"I think he realized on a primal level he couldn't let his involvement be shown unless he wanted to get Eren executed on the spot," said Hanji in response, intrigue evident in her voice. "Either way, I hope they manage to calm each other down over this day you gave them."

"Well, it was pretty much the only reason I had them to stay so I sure hope they do. Otherwise everyone will know and we will have a dead soldier on our hands on top of that."

Levi took quick steps towards his and Eren's room, absentmindedly noting where the shower was on the way, hoping the omega was okay.

But who was he kidding, he knew Eren was not okay. Levi was not okay. He wanted to kill something, rip it apart and laugh at the blood and guts. But at the same time he wanted to hold Eren, make sure he was safe and warm and alive. And still at the same time he was so exhausted he wondered how he was still conscious. But Levi was quite sure he wouldn't be able to fall asleep anyway, even if he were to get the chance within the next half an hour. There was too much going on in his head, still too much uncertainty over his mate and child's safety.

He was sure it was the same for Eren. Neither of them even slept last night and Eren was pregnant on top of that but somehow, Levi knew the other wouldn't go to sleep anytime soon either. No matter he almost fell on his ass just trying to get off his horse. The two of them would be up for a while still.

Suddenly, Levi was glad Hanji would be there tomorrow to look at Eren. Staying up for more than thirty-two hours at a time couldn't he healthy for a three months pregnant person, not to mention the baby.

When Levi's hand came to rest on the door handle to their room, he closed his eyes briefly, praying silently Eren would be there, just sitting quietly on one of the beds and waiting patiently for him. He took a deep breath, pushing the door open.

A/N: I wrote this chapter over the past week in bursts of 200-400 words at a time so if it seems choppy or weird, that's why... (I also still very much hate the chapter and everything else so feedback/encouragement/kind constructive criticism would be more than appreciated.)

(Does anyone still read this, even...?) Anyway, I'm deeply sorry about the sudden silence. My anxiety's been acting up lately, along with a sever lack of self-confidence, so writing has been very difficult for me these days. And I'm sorry I keep apologizing for being late but if I don't, I will stop trying to keep any semblance of a schedule and this fic will become as good an abandoned so please bear with me... _:(´□`」 ∠):_