I headed up the stairs to the second floor carefully, the water in the pot settled firmly in my hands sloshing around with each and every step, no matter how measured and even. It was to be expected, I only hoped I'd make it up these stairs with at least most of the water I'd warmed the water to use for Eren.

The poor boy was still asleep after the series of failed experiments yesterday, but perhaps it was for the best. Though worrying, his body needed the rest. What made it worrisome was that he was cold, unbelievably so, which was odd considering how warm he usually ran. As a Titan, his body constantly put out heat, and he'd been unbelievably hot when we pulled him out yesterday. Or, well, tore him out, rather. But right now... he was cold. Terribly so. Feverishly so.

I reached the second-floor landing and stepped quietly into the bedroom. Upon stepping in I couldn't help but smile, because the boy was finally sitting up, rubbing his head. Though clearly disoriented, he was awake - and for now, that was all we could ask of him.

"Eren," I called quietly, getting his attention. "How are you feeling, darling?"

"If I'm honest," he said, emerald eyes meeting my own after blinking some of the bleary, sleepy film away, "then not great."

"You've been out cold for about a day now," I explained to him, setting the bowl down on the nightstand next to his bed.

"What happened?"

"That last experiment yesterday didn't go so well," I said. I perched lightly on the edge of the bed and reached out with one hand, pressing the back of it to his forehead. "Goodness," I murmured. "You're still cold. Go ahead and relax, Eren."

I reached for one of the hand-towels I'd brought up earlier. I dipped it into the water, letting it soak, then lifted it out and wrung it out. After, I lifted it to make to press the towel to his head but instead of allowing me to assist him, he reached for the towel.

"I got it," he said, taking the towel from me.

"Ah," I said, leaning away and letting him do it. "I'm sorry. I seem to have a habit of fussing."

"It's not a bad thing," he said. "So... Thanks."

"Of course," I said. "Do you need anything else? I'll tell them you haven't gotten up yet."

"Them?"

"Who else? Hange is eager to talk to you, and everyone else is worried about you."

"Oh," he said before shrugging. "I'm fine, really. You can send them up."

"Are you sure? I can certainly tell a little lie, Eren. I'm more than capable of it."

"Yeah," he confirmed with a nod. "I mean, yeah. I'm sure. I don't really doubt your ability to tell a lie for me, but-" He cut himself off as I stood up. I looked back down at him, suddenly very confused at the sudden change. "What's that?"

Before I could ask what he was referring to, he gestured to my hand, and I found my answer. My smile returned, and it returned with a warmth that flooded my chest as I too gazed down at my left hand, at the special piece of jewelry that was at the same time as foreign on my finger as it was a comforting, familiar weight upon my hand.

So contradictory, and yet... so unique, so special. I wasn't used to wearing it, not yet, Levi had only just gifted it to me of course, but I was determined to keep it pristine and maybe one day when I'm old, it would look just as beautiful as it did the very first moment I had gaze upon it in Levi's hand.

"It's a ring, Eren."

"I can see that," he laughed. "Captain Levi finally proposed, then?"

"He did," I confirmed. "Last night, while you were out cold."

"Romantic," Eren noted dryly, though not humorlessly. "Did he get down on one knee and everything?"

I laughed quietly, shaking my head. "No, he didn't. Is that tradition up here?"

"It is," Eren said before scoffing. "He didn't even kneel... You should've said no, then."

"Oh?" I reached out and ruffled his hair playfully, leaving him to fix it. "I'll go tell everyone you're awake. Are you sure you aren't hungry?"

"Always so concerned with how I'm doing," he sighed out, and at my stern look, his true smile reignited on his face. "I'm alright, really. Thanks, captain."

I headed downstairs, finding a group gathered in the kitchen. Some of the kids were outside doing chores, others on watch duty, so it was just Hange, Levi, Mikasa, and Christa - er, Historia -  left inside. They were seated at the table and looked up expectantly when I made it down the stairs.

"How is he?" Hange asked.

Levi was already pushing his chair out and standing by the time she finished her question. "Think about it, shitty-glasses. She brought up that water to warm him up. If she's not doing it herself, what does that mean?"

"Oh," she chirped as she leapt to her feet, catching on quickly. She dashed around him to run up the stairs. Levi sighed as Mikasa rushed up after Hange, Historia going slower. As they rushed by me, I watched them go, a smile on my face.

Levi approached the stairs then, stopping on the first step when he realized I was still standing still. I waited expectantly, and he met my eyes sidelong. He glanced up towards the top of the stairwell, but I didn't wait for him to make up his mind.

I stepped closer, reaching up towards him. Since he was on the first step, he was taller than me, and he noticed this immediately. I rose on my toes but still couldn't reach his lips. He smirked, the damn tease, enjoying this newfound height he had on me. One of my brows quirked up, daring him to keep testing me. He did.

He wasn't wearing his cravat, so I had nothing to grab. Oh, never mind. I did. I grabbed a fistful of his shirt and tugged him down to me. He chuckled as he lowered his head to meet my lips. I craned my neck to kiss him, letting him enjoy the moment while it lasted. He hummed against my lips when he pulled away, enjoying the chance to look down at me. Then he stepped to one side, reaching a hand for me. I took it and we headed upstairs together.

By then everyone had settled around the bed, Hange sitting on the edge of the one next to Eren's, Mikasa and Historia standing by the foot of the bed. Levi perched on the foot of Eren's bed, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, and I sat on the bed on Eren's other side.

"I can't believe it," Eren said, pressing his face into the towel I'd given him. "I slept for a whole day...?"

"I'm glad you're back to normal," Hange said.

"Hm?"

"Mikasa probably won't slice me to shreds now," Hange joked.

"...Huh?"

What she said and his reaction got a laugh from me as I pulled my legs up to sit cross-legged on the bed. Realizing I was in a skirt, I realized that wasn't the best idea, so I swung my legs to one side, sitting like a lady, like El had taught me when I was a young girl.

"Anyway," Hange said, "do you remember the experiment we ran?"

"No," Eren said honestly. "I... don't remember a single thing from the experiment. How did the hardening go?"

"Unfortunately," Hange sighed, "we observed nothing like that phenomenon when you were a titan."

"Nothing at all? Really?" The disappointment in his voice was clear. I looked down and resettled my skirt around me, still not quite used to wearing one so often.

"No," Hange confirmed. "We checked to see if anything was left of your Titan body after the experiment, but there was nothing. This is how the experiment went: you transformed into a Titan in order to harden your body and fill a giant cave that stood for Wall Maria. But since nothing happened, we proceeded with our backup plan and ran endurance and intelligence tests."

"I remember how the plan went," Eren said, pressing his hand to his head, looking as if he was really straining to remember. "But nothing about the results."

"Well," Hange continued. "The first Titan was a 15-meter class, the same size as the ones you've made appear in the past." I felt the weight of someone's gaze on me as I smoothed out my skirt and looked up to see Levi looking intently at me.

My eyes widened slightly, surprised at the sudden scrutiny. There was no silent question in his eyes, no quiet order, so I figured he was just looking at me. I sat up straighter and smiled at him. As if he'd been caught in a trance, he perked up, his eyes coming back into focus. I let my laugh out through my nose and returned to smoothing out the skirt.

"We gave you simple orders at first, like to raise one foot or wave your arms. You seemed fully conscious, and followed any orders, no matter who gave them to you."

I smiled at the reminder. I'd tried my hand at giving him orders from the ground. His eyes, glowing green behind locks of dark hair, had focused on me, but for the first time, I hadn't been intimidated by the gaze of a titan locking onto me. There was no threat.

I'd grinned so widely as he mimed me, mirroring my movements. I led him through some basic stretches, even getting him to reach back with one hand to grab his foot, his leg bent. I then crossed my arms, and Eren had done it. Hange and I had found it terribly funny because we'd turned to look up at Levi at the same time, who looked rather unamused at our attempts to make fun of him. He'd uncrossed his arms grumpily at the sight.

"We tried to have you speak, but it didn't work. It seems your mouth is not structured for speech." To remedy that problem, Hange had offered to get tied up and slide down his throat to study the inside, to see if there really was no way for him to speak as a titan. He could scream, after all. But we'd all denied that request, much to Hange's dismay.

"Next, we had you perform tasks using logs and ropes. You were able to do fairly detailed jobs. You could probably build a castle as a titan quite easily. But after an hour or so passed, we saw a change. It was when you were writing in the ground in order to communicate to us. You had been writing, "I don't know how to harden myself." Then, all of a sudden, you inexplicably wrote 'what my father did to me.'"

"What?"

"After that, your writing became so jumbled that we couldn't read what it said." She paused and looked up from her notes at him. "You looked like you were in pain. Do you remember anything about it at all?"

"I don't," Eren said dejectedly.

"After that," Hange sighed, "you writhed around for about thirty minutes. Then you exited your Titan, probably of your own choice. We could tell then that your memory was cloudy, and that you were only half-conscious. After you rested for half an hour, you tried turning into a Titan once more. You weren't able to harden yourself the second time, either, and you appeared as a 13-meter class Titan."

Levi sighed and stood, coming to sit next to me on the otherwise-unoccupied bed.

"We tried to run the earlier intelligence tests again but couldn't," Hange continued. "None of our orders reached you, and you seemed to be incredibly hungry. You ate the house you built earlier. You ran wild for a little longer, then seemed to run out of energy, as you turned back into a human. We had to help you get out of your Titan."

"Your face," I spoke up, "was fused to the fibers of your Titan. We had to cut through thicker tissue than normal to get you out, and there were still pieces clinging to you. It was as if it was reluctant to give you up."

I frowned as Eren's eyes met mine. It'd been scary, having to force him out of his Titan. We weren't sure if he'd felt pain from it, if it'd refuse to evaporate away, or worse, but we had to do it. Levi reached out and grabbed my hand, tugging it into his lap, as if able to sense my uneasiness. It was still off-putting to think about it.

"You rested for another thirty minutes, then tried to turn into a Titan for a third time. That time, your Titan was less than ten meters tall. It was so incomplete that you couldn't stand on your own. It was even more fused with your body, and tearing you out was a lot of work."

Eren scowled, but it seemed like it was mostly out of disappointment in himself. "So at the very least," he muttered, "this means we won't be able to start immediately on the operation to retake Wall Maria... all because I couldn't harden my Titan body."

"That's exactly right," Levi said, looking up from my hand. He let go of my hand as he leaned forward, looking at Eren. "It was a real disappointment to us. And everyone's been miserable today because of it. We can't let any more time go to waste." His eyes were narrow as he regarded Eren, clearly frustrated.

"Levi," I said quietly, setting a hand on his arm.

"What's next? Titans might rise up out of the ground," Levi continued. "Maybe they'll come raining down from the sky... and humanity's still a pack of toothless prey animals. In any case, we're in a shitty situation."

"Eren did everything he could," Mikasa protested.

"I know that," Levi said, turning to look at her. He set one hand on his thigh. "But so what? Why does it matter that he tried his best? Right now, he can't close that hole."

"But... blaming Eren for that..."

"Hold on," Levi huffed. "I'm just being an asshole. I'm not blaming him. Going over our shortcomings and bitching about our situation is an important ritual."

"Don't take it personally, Eren," I said to him. "He picks someone different to bitch about every time." Eren didn't seem too sure, but I caught Levi's gaze sidelong. He sat up straight.

"Take a whiff," he said. "Inside these Walls, the air's always stunk like trash. It's been that way for over a hundred years. We've always lived in shit. That's our situation. I didn't notice it until just a few years ago. After all, I've sucked in this stink since the day I was born. I saw it as normal."

"We all do," I said. "We thought it was cleaner up here, but it was just... more concentrated in the Underground City. It's the same up here."

"The air we breathed outside the walls was different," Levi continued. "Yes, life out there is hell, but it's got something the Walls don't. Freedom. Out there, I finally saw what I'd... what we'd been missing." I smiled and leaned into him, set my chin on his shoulder, and wrapped my arms around his waist.

"In other words," Hange said with a smile, "what Levi's trying to say is we learned that you can't harden your titan body. And that's a success. That's not all, either! We also learned how long you can stay a titan after multiple transformations, and we got a rough idea of your versatility and limitations. Everything that happened during this experiment gave us useful information."

"He's got a weird way with words," I said with a laugh, "but we knew that already. But as far as the science goes, the experiments were a success, Eren."

"We'll probably have to pay the price for letting off that smoke signal, but our job now is to make the most of these results. In other words, let's keep fighting." She looked at Levi. "...is what you meant. Right, Levi?"

"Yeah," he sighed. "Thanks for that."

Eren made a fist and seemed to be thinking hard for a moment. I took the chance to squeeze Levi and rock back and forth for a moment, an over-indulgent bout of affection. He clicked his tongue and pressed a hand to my head to pry me off him. I obliged, sitting back straight again. Eren unclenched his fist then, but brought a hand to his head, letting out a pained grunt.

"Eren?"

"You're still weak," Mikasa said, coming to his side. "Don't push yourself."

"Ah," Eren sighed, "yeah."

"As to where we go from here," Hange mused, "now that we know you can't harden your titan, our next step is clear. We'll go after the Wallists and everyone around them. They seem to know something about the origin of the Walls made out of hardened titans. They might know how they were made... or in other words, something about titan hardening. Also..." She trailed off with a sigh. "Now that Erwin's in the Royal Capital, he should know something about why the Reiss Family and not the ruler of humanity, the King, are the ones allowed to learn those secrets."

"What if they don't?" Eren asked, eyes trained on Hange. "What if they don't know anything about Titan hardening?"

"Then the experiments continue," Hange said. "The more you work your titan powers, you might be able to uncover something yourself."

"And if even that doesn't work," I smiled at the boy, "then I suppose we'll have to find a big ass rock."

—

Sitting on the couch as I was, it didn't take me long to get to the door to open it.

I peeked out of the window at the sound of a knock, slightly wary because I wasn't expecting company, and Levi was out shopping right now. Emiko was napping in the nursery, and I was reading, taking advantage of the peace and quiet - at least, what's what I had been doing.

Now, I stood and grabbed my knife from the table, the blade that same familiar weight against my wrist as I curled my fingers around the handle. I set it in my dominant hand, keeping it behind my back as I opened the door.

But what I saw wasn't dangerous at all - not at all! I grinned at the sight, and nearly sighed in relief, too.

"Hello, Armin," I said happily, relaxing all at once.

"Good afternoon, captain," he said.

"What brings you here?" I asked, opening the door all the way and gesturing for him to come in. He did, and I set the knife back on the table.

"We're still on break for a few days," he explained with a smile. I closed the door once he was inside and sat down on the couch. He sat down on the loveseat across from me. "I guess I just wanted to talk to you."

"What about?" I asked. "Is something the matter?"

"Oh, no, nothing like that," he said. "I just wanted to catch up!"

I smiled. "Well, then by all means, let us catch up. How are things on the coast?"

"Going better than expected, all things considered," he said. "To be honest, when we intercepted the first ship, I wasn't quite confident in my ability to do it, so I'm happy you guys just decided to send Eren. I'm still not used to using the Colossal Titan yet."

"I can only imagine," I said. "Still, you seem to have a good handle on it now."

"Hange and Eren are good teachers," he said. "But it's tiring. I appreciate the time off."

"I appreciate you coming to visit," I said.

"I just figured it'd been a while since we were able to chat," he said sheepishly. "We used to be able to talk every day."

I laughed quietly. "Don't tell me you miss our days of being on the run and non-stop fighting," I teased.

"To be honest, sometimes I do," he said. "Everything was more linear then. We knew what to do. Things didn't make sense, we were in the dark about a lot, but..."

"Everything is a bit muddier now," I sighed. "I get what you mean."

Armin looked away. "And... I wasn't expected to make such big decisions back then."

"What do you mean?"

"It sounds selfish," he said. "I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but back then, I could speak my ideas, but I wasn't in charge of anything. The big decisions were left up to you, Captain Levi, and Commander Erwin. There was... less pressure on me. Now, as the holder of the Colossal, and the one who got picked to live instead of the Commander... I'm sorry. I don't mean to complain."

"Don't apologize," I said gently. "I can't say I know exactly how you feel, but the expectations on us are heavy, too. I don't have a titan, and I wasn't at that battle, but... Well. Don't feel bad about complaining to me. I don't mind. There's a lot on your shoulders, Armin. If it means anything, I think you're doing a great job."

"Thank you, captain," he replied, bowing his head.

"Armin," I tutted quietly. He lifted his head, confused. "You're visiting me in my home. You don't need to call me by my title. You do know my name, don't you?"

"Er, of course, Cap- I mean, Amaya," he smiled. "Where's Captain Levi and Emiko?"

"Emi's taking a nap," I said, "and Levi went into Trost for groceries. He wanted to try something for dinner tonight, I think, and went to get ingredients."

"I didn't know he cooks," Armin said. "But I'll be out of the way by then."

"Out of the way? You can stay for dinner, you know."

"N-No, I wouldn't want to impose and-"

"It's not imposing if I invite you," I smiled. "So, here's your formal invitation. Would you like to stay for dinner?"

He couldn't help but laugh quietly at my offer. "I'd like that, thank you."

I glanced out the window. It was about time for Emiko to wake up, so she could play and get hungry before dinner. I stood up, gesturing for Armin to follow. "Now's a good time to see Emi," I said, "before Levi gets home and steals her away."

Armin followed as I headed down the hall towards the nursery. "He steals her?"

"Well," I mused, pausing with my hand on the doorknob, "I suppose it's not stealing if it's his kid, too. But she's got him wrapped around her finger."

I opened the door and stepped into the nursery. Emiko was still sleeping, snuggled into her blanket, the one from Erwin, the lopsided Wings of Freedom tucked up into her chest.

"Rise and shine, little one," I said, setting my forearms on the top of the crib. Her eyes opened slowly, blinking a few times before looking up at me. I smiled down at her, and she sat up.

"Mama," she said, reaching for me. I lifted her up, blanket and all. She yawned and rubbed her eyes with her fists. She plopped her cheek on my shoulder, and I chuckled.

"No, no," I said, "no going back to sleep. Do you wanna play?"

"No," she said, pouting.

"Don't be fussy, now," I said. "We have a guest. Can you say hello to Armin?"

She lifted her head, waving at him. When he smiled at her, she beamed, but hid it as she pressed her face to my chest bashfully. "Hello, Emi," Armin said, leaning close. She turned away from him.

"Emi," I laughed, "be nice. Say hello."

"Hi," she said, finally turning to look at him.

"Did you make a mess during your nap?" I asked, lifting her to smell. "Ooh. Yep."

I carried her to the changing table and set her down on her back. She began to whine but rolled my eyes and dropped her blankie on her head. She was too distracted lifting it above her head and enacting revenge on it to care about what I was doing.

"Avert your eyes, Armin," I said.

"What's it like," he asked slowly, "taking care of a baby?"

"A lot of hard work," I answered honestly as I cleaned her up, "but so much fun. But you're too young, Armin. No children for you - not yet."

He laughed at my words, standing by Emi's head to help distract her. "I know, I know," he said to appease me. "I was only wondering. You and Levi seem to be really good at it."

"Well," I shrugged, "we both have some experience with what shouldn't happen. Levi... Never knew his father, and his mother passed away early on. Kenny wasn't exactly a great father figure, so he was left to raise himself for a long time. I had a wonderful grandma, and dad in El, but after El and Caden died, the man who stepped in to raise me didn't do a good job. We use those experiences to guide us, I suppose. Levi had it worse than I did with regards to that, so he's a lot less sure of himself."

"I think he's doing a good job," Armin said, his tone letting me know that he was honest. I smiled at him as I changed her diaper.

"I think so, too," I said. "When she was first born, he questioned everything he did. Whenever he held her, set her down for a nap, even tucking her in. He never thought he was doing anything right. It took time, but he's finally confident in his abilities as her father. I'm proud of him. We didn't grow up in an environment that valued families. If you had a kid, they became a burden. It wasn't safe. But we have the chance to raise a kid to be better than ourselves."

"Better than you two?" Armin joked. "Impossible."

"Oh, hush," I laughed, picking Emi up. "All clean, girlie. Wanna go play in the living room?" I set her down and she ran to her little box of toys, grabbing all the stuffed animals she could before jogging her way to the living room. Armin and I followed, and I made sure to grab her blankie, knowing she never went too far without it.

"Does she sleep through the night yet?"

"Oh, god no," I said. "She wakes us up every few hours, still. She's lucky we fit naps into our daily schedule as it is. But we're getting to the point where we have to teach her to sleep through the night, so we don't run to her every time."

"So does Levi make you get up, when you have to?"

"No, actually," I said. The surprise he felt was evident in his face. "When she cries at night, he gets up before I can, usually. He's usually awake anyway. He's not good at sleeping through the whole night, unfortunately. He says it's the least he can do to thank me for carrying her in my belly for nine months." I smiled. "He's very sweet about it. But you didn't hear that from me."

"My lips are sealed," he smiled. We made it to the living room, and I sat on the couch, Armin lowering himself gently onto the loveseat again. Emi plopped herself right in the middle of the room on the rug, her toys strewn carelessly around her. She began to play with her stuffed toys but looked around suddenly. I smiled and knew exactly what she was looking for.

"Mama," she said, working to bring herself to a standing position. She wobbled slightly but looked around, one thumb in her mouth. She let out a little whimper.

"Come here, sweetie," I said. She looked at me, then saw the green blanket on my lap. She grinned and ran over, going too quickly and nearly faceplanting into my knees. She grabbed the blanket and tugged, but I kept a firm grip on it. "What do you say?"

"Mama," she said again.

"Say please, Emi," I said.

"Ple!"

I sighed indulgently and let her take the blanket. She ran over to Armin, showing him the Wings of Freedom. They were off-center in the blanket, lop-sided too, but she didn't mind. Armin smiled down at her.

"Very nice blanket, Emi," he said. Satisfied by his answer, she walked back to the center of the living room, sitting down. She dropped the blanket to her side as she began to play again, making cute little noises as she did. "Did you knit the blanket?"

"No," I answered, watching Emi play. "It was a gift from Erwin." I glanced up into Armin's eyes, noting the crestfallen look in his eyes at the mention of the fallen Commander. "He knit it when he was a kid."

"It was nice of him to give it to you," Armin smiled. But it wasn't a true smile. It didn't quite reach his eyes.

"He called it a late wedding gift," I said reverently, thinking back on the memory fondly - but then I noticed Armin's crestfallen face. "Armin, are you alright?"

"Ah," he said, flustered that I'd caught him looking upset. "I'm sorry. I'm fine."

"Don't lie to me, Armin," I said. "Listen, I don't pretend to know what you're feeling, but I'm sure Levi gave you a lecture, right?"

"He did," Armin sighed.

"Then I'm sure you don't want one from me." Armin blinked, confused, but shook his head. "I have one prepared if you change your mind. Just know that everyone is happy that you're still here with us."

"Even... with the sacrifice of the commander...?"

"Even so," I confirmed with a nod. "We're all looking forward to seeing what you do with that brain of yours."

"I overheard one of the conversations you'd had with him," he admitted. "When you were walking with him in the courtyard one day. He was telling you about that dream he had, that humans were beyond the walls."

"He'd always had that hunch," I said. "It'd been a lifetime dream of his to find out what was really beyond our walls. Even if he couldn't see it for himself, I'm sure he knew in his heart that he was right. He had to, otherwise he wouldn't have fought so hard to get where he did. If there was any doubt in his heart, well, he'd have had a harder time leading a regiment like this one."

"Are you sure?" Armin asked after a quiet moment.

"As sure as I've ever been about anything," I said.

Emi stood suddenly, walking over to Armin. She held a stuffed horse towards him with a smile. He took it from her, and she picked up another, slamming it against his. Armin laughed, picking up on the game. I crossed one leg over the other and leaned forward to set an elbow on my leg, that hand supporting my chin. I watched them play, and after a few minutes Armin settled on the floor to play.

I was distracted by the sound of the front door opening. Levi stepped into the living room, a bag of groceries in one arm, a small bouquet of flowers in that same hand. He shut the door behind him, looking curiously at Armin.

"Hello, my handsome man," I said in greeting.

"Hello, wife," he replied, stepping out of his shoes, leaving them by the door. He directed his focus to our guest. "Armin."

"Good afternoon, captain," Armin said.

"I didn't realize we were having guests today," Levi said, heading into the kitchen with the groceries.

"I invited him to come for dinner," I called after him.

I stood, following him into the kitchen. As I passed by Armin and Emi, I patted Armin on the head. I stepped into the kitchen and stood by his side at the counter as he unloaded the groceries. I set my hands on the counter and leaned forward to try to make sense of the many ingredients he'd gotten.

"How was the market?" I asked as I picked up a vegetable I'd never seen before. He took it from me and put it into a bowl with the others to be washed.

"Busy," he answered. "I'm going to try a stew for tonight. It's going to storm tonight, so a heavy meal will be good."

"It is?" I asked, leaning forward further to peek out the window. Sure enough, there were stormy clouds forming. "I suppose so. A stew sounds lovely, love."

He sent me a look at my words, telling me he wasn't amused, before continuing what he was doing. When everything was unloaded, Levi turned his attention to the flowers he'd set on the counter.

There were a few, all forget-me-nots of a beautifully rich blue. I smiled at the sight of them. He picked one up and grabbed a knife from one of the drawers, cutting the stem from one to a short length. Without missing a beat he slid the small flower behind my ear, gathering the rest and setting them in a vase on the counter.

I couldn't help the smile that blossomed on my face from the sweetness of the gesture, but I knew that there was only one garden around here that grew forget-me-nots. They'd been picked clean from the wild meadows in the vicinity of our home, and the closest place to get them now was in the garden of one of our neighbors heading towards Trost district.

"Forget-me-nots," I cooed sweetly, taking the vase from him to place on the center of the table after he'd filled it with water. "I knew you loved me truly, but you believe in true love?" I teased him with a look over my shoulder, inviting him closer with my eyes.

He didn't take my invitation, no; he did no such thing, instead choosing to cross his arms. But he did flush lightly, clearing his throat. "They're just flowers, idiot. They don't mean anything."

"Oh, I see," I said slowly, and immediately he knew that I saw through his nonsense. "So instead of picking those cute little flowers that grow naturally along the road that I absolutely adore, you chose to sneak into our neighbor's garden to pick these special because you just felt like it?"

"I didn't-" He cut himself off, knowing there was no way to lie out of that one. "I only grabbed them because I hadn't brought them to you before."

I laughed quietly and stepped close to him, setting my hands on his hips and guiding him to stand against the counter, grateful that from here, there was no way for Armin to see us. I pressed my body to his. Still, he refused to uncross his arms.

"Did the neighbors see you?" He didn't answer. "They're hunters, you know. They would have shot you for trespassing and burglary."

"I didn't realize you knew them," he muttered.

"I went to introduce myself and Emi to them," I said. "I invited you to come too, but you chose to brood in the office by yourself. Don't you remember?"

"I was doing paperwork," he argued.

"Still," I said with a smile, "if they send a letter about your behavior, I'm bringing you over to apologize to them, and you can explain yourself then."

"They won't say a damn thing," he said.

One of my eyebrows quirked up. "Oh? So you either were very sneaky about it so they didn't see, or you threatened them. Which one was it?" His silence didn't quite answer the question for me, but both options were equally funny to me. I shook my head and sighed.

"Always making messes for me to clean up," I lamented playfully.

He gave in and lowered his arms, snaking them around my waist to set them in my back pockets to hold me close. I leaned close to him but kept my lips just tantalizingly close, never letting them meet. Eyes narrowed, he leaned forward, but I leaned back, staying just out of his reach. "The hell are you playing at?"

"I thought I lost my kissing privileges today," I teased. "Isn't that what you told me this morning?"

He closed his eyes and brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. He let out an exasperated breath through his nose. "You annoying little shit, get out of my way so I can start on dinner."

I tried stepping away from him, but his hand in my back pocket pulled me back in. He pressed a kiss to my lips but with how surprised I was, I couldn't kiss back in time. He gave me no chance to redeem myself as he removed his hand from my pocket and instead placed that hand on my forehead to push me away from him.

"Hey," I muttered as he stepped away from me.

I set my hands on my hips and frowned. He looked back and smirked at me as he walked not towards the ingredients waiting for him on the counter, but into the living room. I followed as he did, smiling as he stood in front of Emi. He crossed his arms as he looked down at her, and I sat back down on the couch.

She continued to play, and it was almost as if she was ignoring him. In reality, I knew she was just far too engrossed in what she was doing as she played. Levi cleared his throat, but that still didn't get her attention. She lifted her toy horse, letting out a cute little noise before dropping it. I couldn't help but laugh as he was continually ignored. Even Armin laughed, earning him a stern look from Levi. He tapped her knee with his foot, and finally, she looked up.

"Daddy!" She got to her feet and reached for him, and he picked her up, holding her at arm's-length.

"Oh, so you're done ignoring me now, are you?" She giggled and continued to reach for him. Unable to resist, he brought her to his chest and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Are you going to come help me in the kitchen?"

"Levi," I said. "Armin was playing with her."

"N-No, it's okay," Armin sputtered.

With a sigh Levi set Emi back down, and she got back to business, plopping herself down on her butt to play with Armin again. I got up and followed Levi into the kitchen again, and helped him prepare dinner, our only interruption being when Emi began to cry, and Armin couldn't get her to stop.

Levi was quick to grab her, but she still refused to stop crying. I took her then, bringing her into the nursery to feed her. That had effectively quieted her, and when she was full, she was back to running around again, running circles around Armin in the living room until our dinner was ready.

I readied the table, made tea for everyone, and set out the dishes. Levi distributed the stew he'd made into our bowls, and when Armin took his to the table, I did my best to hold my laugh in when Levi muttered to himself that he hoped it was edible. When my bowl was full, I brought it to the table, setting it down and calling for Emi.

She was trying to climb up into my chair and I grabbed her, letting her sit in my lap. Levi came to the table then, setting his bowl at his usual spot and grabbing a knife to cut the bread. When the bread had been cut, slices given out, one given to Emi to nibble on, we dug in.

Levi looked hesitant to try his stew, and Armin began with his bread, so I took the initiative and tried it. Levi watched as I did, looking closely for any sign of disgust. Instead, I grinned, taking him by surprise. "Mm!" I had some more, and I was surprised at just how good it was.

"How is it?" Levi asked slowly.

"Really good," I said honestly. "You did a good job." With a little war cry Emi ripped her bread in half. I took one of the halves and dipped it into the stew, blowing on it to cool it off. "Do you wanna try daddy's stew, Emi?"

She opened her mouth and took a bite of the bread. To my surprise she took the piece from my hand, continuing to chew on it happily.

For the rest of dinner, conversation flowed easily between me and Armin, Levi piping up only when he had something snarky to say. When we were done eating, I excused myself from the table to collect the dishes and start on the washing, leaving the boys to talk.

Really, it was just Armin talking, as he explained how he thought the radio technology of the Marleyans might work and how we might be able to use it. He was still talking about the possibilities of such technology as I began to dry the dishes but turned my head concernedly as I heard Emi begin to get fussy in Levi's lap.

He hushed her but she was getting tired, that was all. Armin offered to leave then, and Levi walked him out after I thanked him for spending the evening with us. I was starting a list of things Levi and I would need to do before setting Emi down for the night, including bathing her and reading to her if she wasn't already asleep by that point. Then came the list for what we would need to do after.

I sighed at the thought that since Armin had been here, though I loved his company, it meant that our other chores had been pushed back. It was clear: we had our work cut out for the night.

Levi stepped into the kitchen, Emi on his hip comfortably, as I was busy finishing drying the dishes and putting them away as I did. He'd been so quiet it'd surprised me when he suddenly spoke up, and I nearly dropped a dish.

"As soon as the brat is asleep and we're done cleaning up," he said, "we're taking a bath."

He headed into the nursery then to start getting her things ready for her bath, and I smiled as I lifted the stack of bowls and set them in the cupboard.

Well, at least I had that to look forward to.

—

When I was a little girl, I was the unfortunate victim of my family's sins.

I was only a child, a baby, and yet the consequences of the actions of my grandparents were left in my lap. My grandmother had survived years of facing those consequences, but eventually those burdens were left to her children. They were banished to the underground city - the price for their crimes, whatever they were.

And finally... I was born. Whether on accident or not, I was brought into this world, and the weight of their sins was placed upon my shoulders. My grandmother did what she could to shield me from it, to lift the weight away from me and hold it herself - but it was all for naught.

Debt collectors, for whatever form of debt had been accumulated and for what purpose, were what came after my family.

I hadn't known for a long, long time. My grandmother certainly hadn't told me of it, but it had been El. He was able to read the reports my grandmother had written out, and had access to the documents surrounding the circumstances, strange though they were. When I was old enough to understand, he had told me at my request. Finally, I learned why I had to be taken from my grandmother, why she wanted my identity hidden and for my life to be distinct from her family line.

No longer was I Amaya, Amaya with her family's proud name, sullied by blood and sin. I had become Amaya Ikeda - and that name I bore proudly. Very proudly.

I don't know why, but I anticipated never having to think about such things again, once I reached the surface. Was it naive? Sure, but it made sense to me. Why would I think that I would be at risk of being found by the debt collectors that plagued my family now that I was no longer in the city they were confined to, and especially considering I was in the Survey Corps?

Maybe it was naive, but it's what I thought.

Still, just as life so enjoyed doing, it brought such thoughts back to the forefront of my brain and the whole situation - the one I hadn't thought of in years - came back full force, and at a time I was least expecting it to.

On a rare night out for the commanding officers, we all found ourselves at a group in a pub in a nearby village in Wall Rose. It was a farming village, one that took advantage of the area's relatively flat terrain which made it valuable for growing crops.

With lieutenants, aides, and other minor officers taking charge for the evening if anything should happen, Erwin had let us all take an evening off and pardoned us of our duties for a while. Even if just for the night, it was a wonderful chance for a break, and we all took it in stride - well, everyone but Levi. He was, at the very least, sitting with us.

With all of us squished into a booth, the seat of leather and the wooden table before us sticky with what was sure to be the drinks from hundreds of other men and women, I was assuredly disgusted, just as Levi was, but of course, what he felt was well past what I was.

Still, for now, he was tolerating it, if only because Erwin had downright ordered him to try to have a fun time out tonight, and since I had enticed him with the promise of a calm night in as soon as we returned.

The conversation ebbed and flowed, and as the night progressed, it grew in volume and in strangeness, which was obviously attributed to the alcohol that flowed steadily. Levi and myself didn't drink, not at all. We sipped occasionally on water, but nothing more.

Someone had to take care of the others when they all were too drunk to function or find their way home. Of course, Mike wasn't drinking either, but there were still plenty of other officers, captains, and troublesome squad leaders to keep track of - not least of all one named Hange Zoe.

As the night wore on, I eventually grew tired, and after my third yawn, expertly hidden behind my hand, Levi nudged my leg with his own beneath the table. At the silent prompt, I glanced at him sidelong. In his eyes, I could see what he wanted to say: Do you want to head out?

I did. I didn't want to leave my comrades behind, no; rather, I just needed some fresh air for now, just something to wake me up. A few minutes was all I needed. He wordlessly understood what I was trying to say, and because he was at the end of the booth, he stood, letting me slide out after him. Once standing, he asked quietly if I wanted him to accompany me, to which I refused - and from there, I left the pub.

I was sure that after only a few minutes, Levi would join me anyway, but for now, I left him to rejoin the conversation spurred on by Mike about something or other while Hange babbled along to the others about her research or something along those lines. Honestly, Hange talked too damn quickly even when sober, so it was a challenge to understand her with her words slurred and her thoughts jumbled.

What I didn't anticipate was that for the few minutes I was alone outside, leaning against the brick wall of the pub on that cool fall evening, that I would nearly be accosted by those who wanted my head.

"What a night," I murmured aloud, tilting my head back to look up at the sky between the buildings.

The street we were on was tucked away into a neighborhood in the village's dense center. The village wasn't large, its population not great, but it had a lot of farmers who liked to unwind, and here they usually gathered. The same could be said about this night in particular.

The pub was busy, incredibly so, and all the hitching posts outside were occupied by charges of all breed, color, size and training. There were large workhorses, beautifully bred horses for show, horses meant for riding and horses meant for trailwork, and finally, the lean horses of our herd.

Horses were not all that were found out here. Plenty of people roamed the streets, everything from couples hand in hand enjoying a romantic stroll to buddies going out for a drink, hopping from bar to bar and singing songs in a drunken stumble.

And... a pair of men, not distinct from the others, aside from the fact that they were not drunk. They walked quickly, with purpose... and walked right by me. And yet somehow, despite the fact that they hadn't so much as looked at me, something about them had the hairs on the back of my neck standing on edge and my entire body now at attention.

They walked by.

I stayed where I was, completely still except for my eyes which followed them closely. When they turned a nearby corner, I tried to force myself to relax with more than one deep breath, but it didn't work.

Just as I felt I should go back inside, for the strange stirring in my stomach refused to go away, I acted upon it. I pushed away from the wall and turned to head back towards the door which I'd walked a few paces away from, only to watch as those same two men rounded the building and hugged its side, meaning they were headed right towards me and it was clear they had no intention of going around or offering me up some room.

Right. Ok. So they were strange, or perhaps looking for trouble.

Only, it seemed the trouble they were looking for... was me.

Just as I made to brush past them, for that was all I had the room to do, my upper arm was grabbed. Instinct kicked in before anything else, and I had the man's wrist in my other hand, only for that arm to be grabbed by the other man.

"Excuse me," I said, forcing my breathing to remain even and my tone stern. "That is no way to get a lady's attention."

"Right now," one of the men said, "you're no woman, you're just a target."

"A target," I repeated incredulously. "Right. What the hell are you talking about?"

"The boss sent us for your head," the second man spoke, his voice dripping with confidence. "And it's your head that he's going to get."

"The boss," I echoed once more. "You're going to have to start talking sensibly; I'm not understanding a single word you're saying."

"He mentioned you might resist," that same man lamented. "You're Amaya, ain'tcha?"

"I might be," I answered. "But there can be any number of women with that name in these walls. How do you know I'm the person you're looking for?"

"Tailing you has been a hassle," one of the men explained, adjusting his hold on my arm. "But now is not the time for friendly conversations and storytelling."

"I think it is," I threw back right away, resisting as the men started to lead me away.

I dug my heels into the cobbled road, refusing to go further. Both men threw nasty looks my way, their eyes narrow and dangerous. This could spell trouble, but I was not about to be accosted without explanation.

"If you don't tell me who you are, who sent you, how you know who I am, and why you're here," I listed slowly, "I will scream. I may not be dressed as one, but I'm a soldier - and if your intel is as good as you seem to think it is, you should know that."

The man said nothing.

"My strongest comrades are all inside this pub right here, and if they realize I'm in trouble, you'll find yourselves on the receiving end of a very bad ass-whooping," I continued. "Oh, and perhaps it would interest you to know that my dearest comrade of all just so happens to be who some call Humanity's Strongest Soldier."

Still, nothing.

"If those don't interest you, then shall I tell you all the ways I've killed men larger than you before? I've killed more handsome men than you as well - so right now, I've little reason to let you live unless you let me go."

"I don't care about any of that," the first man said. "But so be it - we don't need the attention right now. We'll talk, but not here."

"Across the street," I said firmly. "And no further than that."

"So be it."

And off we went. The men let me go, yet stood on either side of me now that we were across the street. The crowd began to thin out to nothing, but I kept my eyes trained on the door to the pub, hoping that sooner rather than later, someone might come out to seek me out... but then again, I still did want to know why they were here.

"Start talking," I said in warning. "Or I'll cause a scene."

"We cannot give you the name of our employer," the second man began. "We don't know his name."

"Convenient," I muttered.

"We know better than to bite the hand that feeds us," the man replied. "All you need to know is that he's a debt collector."

Ah.

Splendid.

"Trailing you was especially tricky considering your strange past," the first man picked up. "Knowing only a first name is not much to go off of. But considering your upbringing in the Underground City, we had a clear lead."

"And at last, we found you, Amaya Ikeda - though that's not your real last name, is it?"

"It's real to me," I told them. "It's the only name I have, and the only name I care to have."

"I see," he considered. "Still, you were linked to the child of a particularly stubborn debtor who inherited his troubles from his mother - who never paid her debts. Now, it falls to your shoulders."

"How? My grandmother is surely dead by now. Her debt should have died with her."

"Tough," the man spat out. "The boss expects his payment. But right now, the price is much too high for a soldier to pay, isn't it?"

"Whatever crimes I committed were pardoned," I began to argue, only to pause. Why was I entertaining this? I should leave. I should leave. But to finally have a chance to connect with the man who now runs the business that had for so long plagued my family...

I could meet with him. Kill him. End this for good. Ensure that I would never be burdened by this again, and more so, ensure that if one day I had children, that they would not go after them.

"Maybe so," the man affirmed. "But you inherited this one. No matter; your head is all he asks for now, and your family's debts shall be cleared. A life for a life, so the saying goes."

A life for a...?

Just what kind of trouble were my grandparents getting into?

Anger flared up deep within me, sparking somewhere in my belly and granting courage to my heart and fire to my limbs. Within a moment, my knife was in hand and the movement was so smooth that by the time the blade was pressed to the delicate skin of the closer man's neck, his body between my own and the other collector, the skirt of my dress had stilled, as did my hair and seemingly, all of time.

"A life for a life, you say," I said. "I used to be incredibly skilled at killing people. Shall I test if that's still true? Perhaps I should cut your head off and send that to your boss."

I felt the man swallow within my grasp, his throat bobbing up to meet the blade of my knife. His breath hitched, and his hands found my arm, grasping for purchase that I refused to offer.

"Kill us," the free man said, keeping his voice low and his movements slow, recognizing the intent in my eyes as genuine, "and more will be sent. Know this to be true."

It would be so easy.

It would be all too easy to kill this man, and then the other, and be done with it.

Only... my eyes caught the sight of movement of a door opening across the street, at the pub.

Out stepped Levi. Immediately, his eyes found my own, my figure, and the people with me. His eyes were wider than usual as he took in the situation before him. And all at once... I understood what he was telling me. And when I met his eyes surely, he wordlessly understood what I was trying to say.

"Be rational," the man I held pleaded. "You know how it is in that damn city - we needed the money. We need, we need..."

"Shut up," I hissed, releasing him and shoving him away from me. "If you know what's good for you, you won't come after me again. If your boss wants my life so badly, he'll need to try harder."

The men now noticed Levi across the street, and if understanding the sudden increase of danger they were in, they nodded.

They cleared out quickly, and with a conflicted heart, I let them.

Only seconds later, Levi was before me, taking me into his arms. "Amaya," he said almost breathlessly. "Who the hell were they? You were about to kill them, weren't you?"

"I was tempted to," I murmured, melting into his embrace when offered. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I..."

"Who were they, Amaya?"

"Debt collectors," I answered. "They wanted my life to pay for my family's debts. Our crimes were pardoned when we came here, but because they're not official officers and I inherited the debt, they..."

"Erwin can do something about it," Levi said, as though to convince himself more than me. "I'm sure of that." He drew away, keeping his hands on my upper arms and meeting my eyes. "Are you alright?"

"Shaken, I suppose," I answered. "I can't believe I almost..."

"It's alright, sweetheart," he said quietly, pulling me back against him. "We're not coming back here. Let's start heading back."

"But what about the others...?"

"You damn woman," Levi muttered almost indulgently. "Mike said he can handle the others. I only care about getting you home, for now."

I nodded, unable to do anything but agree. "Yeah," I breathed out. "Yeah. Me too."