The sky was gray with a hint of green. On the Moselle, a simple fishing boat cast off. Nothing was odd about this. Many fishermen made their living on this river.

Far off to the west, just as the river began to bend on its snaking path, a concrete tower rose by the riverside. Perhaps the Germans built it. Perhaps the French did before the war, perhaps the Germans before the Great War when this area belonged to the German Empire. Whatever the case, it stood as a threatening sentinel on the river, although now a French flag flew above, with an American flag fluttering beside it.

In the boat, a tarp covered supplies from the drizzling rain, but if the American soldiers stationed in that lookout tower had inspected the humble fishing boat, they would not find bait and a cooler for the fish the man caught. No, they would find two men lying flat on the bottom of the boat with supplies on top of them.

Eren and Levi barely even breathed as they hid under the tarp. It should be a simple journey, ferrying them from the south bank to the north. However, just two weeks ago, hundreds of soldiers had died or were wounded trying to cross here as the Americans battled to liberate Fort Kœnigsmacker.

The sloshing of the river against the boat, the trickling of rain on the tarp, and the song of morning birds would have been peaceful in any other situation, yet each row of the oar filled them with anticipation. Levi glanced over at Eren in the darkness. He wanted to reach out to him, to reassure him all would be fine, but he knew how badly Eren panicked with anything even remotely affectionate in public. Despite the heated action of last night, it was best to leave him alone now.

They both felt a sharp bump and heard the sound of the boat hitting the silt of the shoreline.

"C'est le plus loin que je puisse vous emmener." This is as far as I can take you.

"Sommes-nous en sécurité?" Are we safe?

"Oui."

Levi flung the tarp off. He looked around sharply, but the tower was not even visible through the trees anymore. He and Eren grabbed their bags, splashed out into the river, and hurried onto shore. With some parting words of thanks, they rushed inland before anyone saw and got suspicious.

Once they were behind a few trees, they hurriedly dried off their feet. Levi made sure the shoes were as dry as possible and handed Eren a fresh pair of socks. He had seen the horrors of trench foot, and that was the last thing they needed.

"We'll walk to the nearest town and see if we can get some breakfast there."

They headed north along a dirt road, not really sure what they might find. Levi scanned for any signs to a main highway. They needed to get back on track soon.

The road went on and on, with other dirt roads crossing it. Levi began to worry if they were heading nowhere. He pulled out his compass, but sure enough, they were still heading north.

They just so happened to be in the middle of a bunch of farms.

(Setzich, Google Maps)

Finally, they saw a steeple stabbing up into the gray sky. A church! They headed toward it like a beacon in the dark until they saw a road sign: Setzich.

They roamed through the streets with people just starting to wake up. They could smell the aroma of breakfasts being cooked, and their stomachs grumbled. However, try as they might, they could find no place to eat. The one restaurant they found was closed and boarded up with paint on the boards that read "On emmerde les nazis!" — Fuck the Nazis! — a sign that even a simple rural town like this could be affected by the war.

They decided to eat the last of the bread they got from the abbey and some pieces of jerky, and finally they found a main road. They decided to head west, any direction but east!

Not far down the road, they came to the town of Cattenom, a bit larger and more lively. After buying a newspaper, they found a café to have some breakfast.

While Levi read the paper, absorbing all the news in hopes of keeping their travel safe, Eren silently nibbled on pastries and looked around. He understood none of the language, and it intimidated him. Even the headline in massive print on the newspaper, he had no clue what it was talking about.

He looked down at the tiny cup of tea in front of him and thought about last night. It hardly felt real. When he first woke up, he thought he had dreamed the whole thing, until he saw the dried, white mess on the floor. It shocked, humiliated, and horrified him.

Yet Levi looked more happy. It was sometimes hard to tell with that man, but he smiled from time to time. Even now, Levi's face peeked up from the top of the newspaper, and that one remaining eye gleamed flirtatiously.

Eren looked aside. The eye patch was painful to look at, but if he could push past the nightmares, he had to admit ... the eye patch made Levi look even hotter. There had always been an unseen aura of danger around Levi, but now it was visible, even more intense ... more thrilling!

Eren felt ashamed that he had been staring at Levi so much through their meal. He had to watch himself in public.

After eating, Levi talked to some locals, figuring out precisely where they were and calculating the best route forward. Eren stood to the side, smoking as he glared around at the locals going about their business. The cigarette kept him calm as the anxiety of being in public pummeled him.

He finished his cigarette, and hardly thinking about it, he began to pull out another. That was when he realized he had only one left.

Had he really gone through a whole pack in two days? He never smoked that much before.

Eren decided to put the pack away. He really did need to cut back. This wasn't healthy, for his lungs nor for his emotions. He was hiding behind the cigarettes.

He slouched against a wall, hat pulled low, watching each person while avoiding eye contact with everyone. Merely fifteen minutes standing there, he began to tap his fingers. He felt the anxiety creeping in, and he direly felt like he needed another cigarette to create a smoke screen between him and the rest of the world.

Just then, Levi walked back over to Eren. Didn't he know he looked even more suspicious by glaring and fidgeting?

"We have a route. Do we need anything before we go?"

Eren wanted to say no. They were short on money, after all. Still, the obsession to have just one more cigarette was flooding all other thoughts. How long would it be before they were in another town of this size? How could he go cold turkey off cigarettes again, especially as his anxiety seemed to be worse?

"Cigarettes," he whispered in defeat.

"I just bought you some."

"I'm out."

Levi arched an eyebrow. He knew the nicotine was helping Eren to stay calm in stressful situations, like standing around a town. He despised the smell—even now, his nose burned at the gaseous cloud hovering around Eren. Still, if it helped, if it was a poison that could be a temporary medicine...

"Fine. We'll go to the store together."

They found a store and purchased cigarettes. Eren immediately lit one up like he desperately needed it. Levi shook his head and ignored it for now.

* * *

They left the town behind and struck out onto a road that went on and on. Their feet fell into a rhythm, and the kilometers passed in silence.

Icy fog hid the French countryside. Eren could not have asked for better weather. Hidden in a gray misty soup, they were able to walk without meeting many people. However, the dampness caused Eren's cast to itch. He used a reed he found by a stream to try to itch inside the plaster cast on his arm. The broken bone should almost be mended. Just a couple more weeks to go.

The whole time, they were on watch as more American Army vehicles showed up on the road. Sometimes, they just let the trucks go by. Levi would wave to the men and cheer them on in French and broken English, like he was excited to see them. It boosted the moral of the soldiers, so they did not stop to question the two travelers.

Other times, Levi pulled them into a tree line to hide as caravans of trucks rumbled by. They hid, hands on their weapons, until the road was clear again. Then they continued onward.

Most of the traffic was going south, Americans heading toward Metz or other liberated cities to join up with the Third Army. Finally, they saw a rusty truck sputtering up from the south. Levi once again waved the man down and asked if they could hitch a ride. He told them to jump into the back, and they hurried to climb on.

After a while, Levi began to feel drowsy. His head kept drooping. To be honest, he had barely slept the night before, waking up every time Eren rolled or talked in his sleep. He was not used to sleeping with someone else anymore.

"Rest," Eren whispered. "If we get to a large city, I'll let you know."

Levi had not wanted to let his guard down, but he supposed a nap might do him good. He piled their bags up for pillows and rested his head down. To his surprise, he was out almost immediately.

Eren watched him from across the truck bed. Slowly, his eye patch shifted up and popped off his head, leaving Levi with both eyes closed, sleeping peacefully.

Other than the scar running down his face and across his eye, he looked the same as all the times Eren had watched him sleep in the past. A gentle smile played on Eren's lips before he caught himself and looked away. Still, he could not help but keep glancing back at Levi's beautiful, sleeping face.

Time passed, and suddenly the truck hit a pothole that jolted Levi awake. He looked around, wondering where he was and how long he had slept. It seemed to still be morning, although with the thick clouds, it was hard to tell.

"I was just about to wake you," said Eren.

Levi hung his head out the side of the truck bed just as they saw a sign for an approaching city.

"Dudelange?" Levi cried out. He quickly pulled out his map. "That means we've made it into Luxembourg. Just how long was I asleep?"

"About an hour."

He looked down the foggy road. "When did we cross the border?"

"Just a few minutes ago. There were guards, but no one stopped us. They saw you asleep, they saw me, and they waved us on."

He stared at the map silently.

"Is something wrong?" asked Eren.

"No, just..." He laughed wryly and folded the map back up. "I spent the last year slowly heading north, trying to leave France to escape the Nazis. This summer, I got a brief taste of freedom, if only for a few hours, and it was right here in Luxembourg. Now, I make it out again, back to this country, and I'm side by side with the same German soldier who stopped my last attempt to escape."

Eren felt a pang of guilt, his face cringed, and he looked away. Then Levi's hand reached over and rested on his boot.

"I know why you did," he whispered. "If I didn't care about your life, I could have fought you off and escaped with Mina, that little horse girl. I didn't, as much as Mina protested, bless her."

Eren mumbled, "Are you saying, you gave up your freedom for me?"

"Yes, willingly."

"But you hated me. You told me that! You said 'Right now, I seriously hate you.' Those words echoed in my head for so long."

Levi felt guilt for having said something so harsh. "I was angry, but if I truly didn't care for you, I could have overpowered you. You know that." He squeezed Eren's ankle. "We've come a long way since then."

Eren nodded thoughtfully, and a small smile lifted his lips. "We certainly have."

(The Luxembourg-French border on the road to Dudelange. No guards, no checkpoints. That tiny blue sign is the only thing marking that you've crossed into another country.)

* * *

Dudelange was one of the largest cities they had been in since Saint-Avold, a sprawling industrial city that looked like it had been through hell and was just beginning to come back. Eren was now glad he had those cigarettes, with so many cars, bicycles, and Army trucks hurried to and fro. Even riding in the back of the truck, Eren's anxiety surged. He grabbed for a cigarette, his hands shaking as he tried to light a match.

"Eren?" Levi asked in concern.

Finally, the cigarette was lit, and he smoked it like a starving man suddenly getting to feast. Yet even that did not seem to be enough this time.

They pulled up near the train station, and the truck driver told them this was as far as he went. Levi thanked him and jumped off the back of the truck, yet Eren felt like he could not move, frozen in terror.

"Eren!" Levi snapped, and his head snapped over to the commanding voice. "Allons-y."

He at least knew that word. His body fought against shackles of fear as he slowly moved, leaving the safety of the truck bed. As soon as his feet were planted, Levi grabbed him by the shoulder in a slightly painful hold, enough to warn him not to bolt away. How did he knew Eren had already been eyeing an alley where he could hide?

"Je m'excuse pour lui. Il a été traumatisé par la guerre." I apologize for him. He was traumatized by the war.

The farmer nodded in understanding. "Comme tant d'autres." Like so many others. He waved one final time before starting the truck back up and pulling away.

Still holding Eren in a tight grip, Levi tiptoed up to his ear. "We will go eat. Keep yourself together. Do you trust me?"

Eren gulped down his cold panic. "Yes. I trust you with my life."

"No one shall hurt us, I swear."

Eren knew Levi would not break that promise. He still felt his heart hammering and his hands shaking, but he kept his pace with Levi, looking down at his feet so he did not see all of the people around them.

They headed through the winding streets until they found a restaurant to eat lunch. After some food, Levi once again asked around, first the waitresses at the restaurant, which led to a suggestion that he should talk to a certain store owner, who told him to go to the church and talk to a priest, who used his telephone to call up someone he knew. This led to them meeting up with a man who was heading to Pontpierre later that day, eight kilometers away.

Any little bit of transportation meant less walking, and less time being out in the open. They decided to rest in the church where it was warm and dry, and where Eren could calm himself down. The priest offered them more food—which Levi took and pocketed away—then both of them were allowed to roam around the church.

They found a room like a little library, although Levi realized it was full of religious books. It was away from everyone else, so Levi shut the door and pulled away to the far side of the room.

"We have to make a choice. One, do we get on a train here, head to any port we can, and risk you being found out? Two, we take the ride to Pontpierre, and once we get there, we again have to decide: do we go north to Luxembourg City to rent a place and hide you away, or do we go west and press onward, taking the walking route to the coast?"

"It'll be a long walk, and it's getting colder."

"Yes, but you're handling this city like a terrified rabbit. How much worse will you be in a capital city?"

"The train then."

"Then we need money. We could sell the guns—"

"I'm not selling my gun!" Eren hissed. He could only imagine how much worse his anxiety would be if he was not armed.

They debated for almost an hour. The train was clearly too much of a risk, and it cost too much.

Although Eren assured Levi that he would be fine hiding away, Levi was less sure about staying in a big city. His biggest concern was that a city so huge might become a target for bombing. In his travels over the past four years, he had seen the devastation left on large populations that had been targets of demoralizing the enemy. It was clear that Eren had not witnessed that to the same degree. Levi tried to explain to him what was happening in London, Warsaw, and Antwerp.

He had also seen how poorly Eren reacted around people. A capital city could overwhelm any person not used to crowds and who panicked being around more than ten people.

After a while, Eren had to admit that right now it felt like a terrible idea to go to the capitol. He might have actually preferred hiding away from everyone, living in an attic where he could have peace and quiet, just like the wine cellar. However, he feared what demons might surge up if left alone for too long. If they went to Luxembourg City, Levi would need to find a job to afford renting a room. At least for the moment, Eren feared being left alone even for a few hours.

They finally decided to press on.

They got their ride to Pontpierre, a quick trick by car, and continued west. At the very least, Levi wanted to put as much distance between them and the German border as he could.

They did not get far, walking slowly through the countryside. Eren was still weak from starving for two weeks, and Levi often had to rest as his buttocks hurt.

Nearly four hours passed of mind-numbing walking before they reached the town of Dahlem. They paused to rest, but the way people looked at them made Eren eager to leave. There was still light in the sky, so they pressed on.

The land was flat in this area, the wind roared across the barren farms, and they both felt like they had to fight Mother Nature to continue onward. Then they came to a cluster of trees, and the road began to curve. The trees blocked the wind, and they felt like they could catch their breath. Then, in the midst of the arboreal reprieve, they saw a dirt road veering off to the left.

(you can barely see it in the shadows, but there is a faint footpath veering off, via Google Maps)

Levi paused. He checked the map again, glanced around, and looked once more, before cursing in French.

Eren teased, "You better not be lost."

"Shut up! I was told about a shortcut. I wasn't going to take it, but with the weather turning bad, maybe we should."

Eren looked at the dirt road that seemed to meander off toward the fields beyond the trees. "A shortcut? This?"

"The path leads directly to Arlon, but it goes through a forest. If we continue down this road, we can reach Kahler in an hour and perhaps we can rest there, but we'll need to cover more ground tomorrow as we walk all the way around the forest."

Eren glanced at the map. He did not even see this road marked on the map. It seemed to be nothing more than one of the many paths cut in by farm carts. Then he glanced around at the murky countryside shrouded in fog and drizzle.

"I really don't want to waste a whole hour just so we can maybe sleep in a church. And what if we can't? What if there's no church? What if they aren't friendly? I say, the less walking, the better."

"I don't think we can make it through that forest before sunset," Levi muttered, sensing the change in the day despite the thick clouds. "There's a chance we can find a farm, but it's not a guarantee."

"Neither is the town. I say we take the shortcut."

Levi grumbled, "Don't regret it if you freeze to death."

They took the left road toward Scheckelscheier forest. They trudged onward through the mud, but what was at first a firm dirt road then turned into nothing more than a cart path.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" asked Eren.

"Yes!" Levi snapped, although he was losing confidence.

(Literally, this was as far as Google Maps even went!)

They stomped through muddy puddles toward the forest. The wind picked up, the drizzle turned to sleet, and the freezing cold convinced them to quicken their pace, if only to take shelter in the trees.

Finally, they entered the shadowy forest, where the wind no longer pierced into their bones. The air was marginally warmer with the insulating trees, and Eren felt his muscles relax. Here, the snow fell gently through the trees, a tickle to their faces that made Eren almost want to smile, if it was not so bitterly cold. They walked along the cart trail, yet as the sun began to set, the forest shadows loomed over the road, turning from sheltering to menacing within minutes.

With each step, Levi lost confidence more and more. Had the information he gathered been accurate? Had the person told him the wrong path to take? Where would this road even take them? It was not on the map. They could end up going all the way back to France, all because he wanted to trim off an hour of walking.

The road through the trees went on and on as the sky darken and the temperature plummeted. The darkness of night settled upon the forest, and they heard the hoot of an owl. Levi searched through his bag and pulled out a torch to light the way, but he realized this forest could go on for hours. Meanwhile, Eren's teeth chattered, and he was beginning to make soft, suppressed whimpering sounds. Levi grabbed Eren's arm and felt how hard he was shivering.

"Come, this way." Levi pulled him off the cart road and plunged straight into the forest.

"Where are we going?" Eren whispered, yet even his quiet voice sounded loud in the stillness of the snowy forest. His breath smoked in front of him. Then suddenly, he dropped to his knees.

"Eren!" Levi knelt beside him. The drizzle from earlier had begun to crystallize on Eren's clothes, leaving his skin clammy and numb.

"S-Sorry," he shivered. "I... I can k-k-keep g-going."

"No, it's fine. I just wanted to get off the main path. We'll have to stop somewhere, and this is as good a place as any." He looked around at the dark woods. "We'll need shelter from the snow." He dug into their bags, pulled out both blankets, and wrapped Eren up in them. "Wait here, and don't move. Stay warm."

Levi swung the torch around the forest, looking at the trees. He walked around, careful of the branches underfoot, until he saw something useful. He went up to a tree with a fork in the branches, and collapsed right into that fork was another smaller tree. He pushed on the fallen tree, making sure it was not rotted. Then he tested the direction of the wind.

"Perfect."

He snapped off the branches of the fallen tree and tossed them to the side. As he began to set up the area, he heard a hoarse cough far behind him. Worried, he returned to where he left Eren.

"Can you walk?"

Still shivering, he nodded. Levi took up all of the bags and helped Eren over the wild forest ground, following his footprints in the peaty soil back to the fallen tree.

"These woods are empty, so we can afford a fire. It'll make finding this place easier if I have to go out. I'll search for some wood. If you can help, this will go faster. Clear the ground directly in front of you. It doesn't need to be big, but it should be cleared down to the soil."

Eren nodded in understanding. While Levi left to gather firewood, Eren threw aside fallen branches and brushed away leaves that had been rotting all autumn. He pulled the mossy peat aside, all the way down to the soft soil of the forest floor. He also used a few nearby stones around the clearing and placed them in a circle to make a fire pit.

It reminded him of camping in Napola. He and Reiner had made so many campfires in their youth. They always competed on who could make the best fire and who could pitch the tent the fastest. Now, they had no tent, only blankets against the freezing rain.

Levi returned with a few broken branches and some leaves, moss, and thin sticks for kindling. He placed these into the fire pit, arranging them precisely, then lit one of Eren's matches. Smoke poured out of the damp dead leaves and moss he used as kindling, everything wet from the incessant rain and stubborn to burn.

Levi cursed as he used another match, trying to get the leaves to catch. He knew this was horrible for being inconspicuous, but he hoped that no one would be out at night in this weather, certainly not on some random cart path in the middle of a forest. If someone actually was, then maybe they could get a ride to a nearby town. Even taking the long way around was beginning to sound preferable compared to a snowy night in the forest.

At last, he got some moss to catch, the sticks he gathered fizzled out their waterlogged exterior and also caught, and a tiny fire hissed as it reluctantly burned. Eren held his hands out to the flames.

"Try to get more sticks to light," said Levi.

While Eren worked on building the fire, Levi shone the torch around, collecting thick sticks and breaking apart fallen branches by stomping on them. He set them in a pile near the propped up fallen tree.

"Starting from the shortest, set these in order of height and lean them against the pole, angled upward." Levi set a few along the fallen tree's trunk to demonstrate. "Like this."

Eren followed his instructions while Levi broke off more branches and got started on the other side. Soon they had a tiny A-frame shelter. They threw spindly branches over to make a lattice, and then Levi showed Eren how to pull the mossy peat right up off the forest floor and cover the branches, insulating the shelter from the cold. The moss was damp—that could not be helped—but at least it would provide a little more warmth, and they would not wake up covered in snow.

Levi then began to break off pine and spruce boughs, slapping them against tree trucks to shake off the water. He broke the boughs into pieces and placed them down to create a bedding so they would not be directly on the wet dirt. He filled in the interior of the shelter with any leaves and dead grass he could dry off, creating a soft bedding and more insulation. He crawled inside the little shelter, pressed the inner debris down, and looked above for any holes in the peat covering. Satisfied, he crawled back out.

"It'll work for one night."

"How did you learn how to make this?" Eren asked in surprise.

"I had to hide out in Białowieża Forest for a few days. The agent with me was pretty good at survivalist stuff."

"You never told me this story."

Levi shrugged. "Not much to tell."

"What were you doing in Poland?"

Levi looked over at him with a bitterness in his face. "Business."

Eren fell silent, realizing he should not ask too much about that phase of Levi's life. Although the idea of being a spy was fascinating to Eren, he knew that certain jobs left scars on Levi's soul.

Levi dug through the bag and pulled out the last of their bread and jerky. He gave Eren a piece of the meat. He still had not fully recovered from the half-starvation he suffered after spending weeks in a wine cellar, and Levi guessed that was why he was suffering from the cold so much. Eren had almost no fat on him now.

They drank water from their canteens and kept the tiny fire fed until their rough little campsite was warm enough for Eren to stop shivering. Levi checked the inside of the shelter and felt around at the bedding of spruce boughs. Everything had dried out, and he reasoned that they would be warm enough to survive the night.

Gradually, the fire died down. Levi crushed out the last of the embers and urged Eren to crawl into the shelter. Then he gathered more fallen leaves and piled them up around the entrance until the whole thing was buried.

Inside was pitch black, almost like being buried alive. Still, the fire that had burned right in front of it helped to warm the interior, and their bodily heat made the branches and dead leaves around them warmer. It was still cold, but they were out of the snow and wind.

Eren curled around Levi's smaller frame. Their two blankets were barely enough, and his pack made a horrible pillow. Still, when he was in Anzio, he had slept through worse.

So had Levi, because he was breathing hard with sleep in no time. Eren realized that Levi must really be pushing himself. Every time the man let himself relax, he fell asleep so fast, it was almost like he was passing out.

Eren briefly wondered about setting a watch, but he knew he could not stay awake. The forest was silent, not even birds or insects out, only a single owl hooting somewhere far away. If anyone came, they would hear footsteps over the crunching sleet, and in the dark their peat-covered shelter would look like nothing more than a tiny hill in the woods, inconspicuous, camouflaged by nature.

Eren gradually drifted off into troubled dreams.

* * *

Levi woke up to what he thought was someone shaking him. Then he realized the shaking was widespread. He rolled around and saw Eren shivering hard. It was still a while before dawn, the temperature had plummeted in those few hours, and the snow piling on top of the shelter had begun to melt through the peat, dripping down onto them.

Levi pulled out the torch so he could see in the pitch darkness. Eren's blanket was drenched, especially near his feet, since he was taller than Levi and got all the drippings near the base of their shelter.

"Dammit. Oy, Eren," he whispered. Only a pain-filled whimper replied. Levi shook his shoulder. "Eren, can you wake up?" Still nothing but trembling. "Eren!"

Eren's eyes opened at the shout. He looked stunned to see a light shining in his face. Levi cursed under his breath as he saw just how sickly Eren looked, his eyes sunken, lips blue, and skin pale.

"Oh God!"

Levi yanked off Eren's blanket, which made him whine in pain, but he quickly threw his own blanket over him, getting the wetness off his feet. He began to rapidly rub Eren's legs, hoping the friction would warm him up.

"Stay awake, Eren. Stay with me."

"Le-... -vi... c-c-cold."

"I know, but if I dig open the entrance, any warmth in here will escape. Dammit, you better not have frostbitten toes ... or trench foot."

He dug into Eren's pack, pulled out the German uniform, and draped it around the young man. At least the well-designed uniform had some level of protection against the rain. Still, Eren trembled. As Levi saw him losing color and looking dazed, he knew that this was serious.

"I'll warm you."

He removed his clothes, and then removed Eren's, all the way to his underwear. Eren's clothes were still damp from the rain earlier and the dripping melt of snow. No wonder he was this bad.

"Wh-What...?"

"Did you not learn this much in your elite German military school? Naked bodies stay warmer together."

He laid himself on top of Eren, then wrapped the two blankets around them, as closely as he could get. He finally placed the clothes and jackets on top, with the uniform around Eren's feet and legs to make sure they stayed dried.

Damn his long legs!

Levi's hands began to rub him, not erotically this time, but desperately trying to spread the warmth around.

"Is this better?"

Eren looked up in astonishment. Of course he knew about skin-to-skin warming, but he was still shocked. Yet Levi felt so warm, almost burning hot compared to his frigid skin. Eren wrapped him into his arms, hugging Levi like he was the last thing warm and gentle in this world.

Levi continued to rub over his skin, spreading warmth around. "You're shivering less already," he noted with relief.

Eren felt soothed and safe. With Levi on top, lying on his chest, he felt heat burning in his chest.

"Better?"

"A bit," Eren whispered. "Warmer. Thank you."

"Try to sleep," Levi whispered.

Eren did not want to sleep. He wanted to stay like this, naked with Levi. His skin felt so soft, so fiery. He could hold him all night, feel every curve and sinew muscle, and still not get enough.

His brain said differently, and in a few minutes Eren passed out in exhaustion.

Levi stayed awake a little longer, seriously scared for the young man. He rubbed his hands over Eren's unconscious body, but there was no reaction at all. This might have been sensual in any other setting, but right now, it had Levi terrified.

"Idiot takhshet. Without me, you'd freeze to death." He placed his hands on Eren's cheeks. They were ice cold, so Levi gently cradled them. Then he leaned over and pressed his lips against Eren's.

"Just warming them up, mon amor."

He placed another kiss, but there was no reaction at all. Eren's lips were still a bluish tinge and ice cold.

"Dammit, Eren. You scare me." His head turned up, and he prayed, "Please don't take him from me, not like this. Please." His head fell as Levi felt a burning in his eyes. "God, Petra, anyone out there. Watch over him. Don't take him from me. I ... I can't live without him. I can't go through it again."

A sob of old pain overwhelmed him for a moment before he swallowed it back. He looked into Eren's pale, limp face, and a tear slipped down Levi's cheek.

"I'm not letting you die. I would slit the throat of the Grim Reaper himself." He leaned over again and gave Eren's cold lips a kiss. "Live, my love. Live!"

# # #

# #

#

(The Kœnigsmacker bridge crossing the Moselle today)

Finally, they reached Kœnigsmacker, a location I picked YEARS ago to be their first destination on this long journey, back when I also planned that they would only stay in Metz for maybe 6-7 chapters!

Kœnigsmacker had a bridge crossing the Moselle, and in World War II, the Allies needed to take this bridge to stop supplies coming into Metz, and to further protect troops during the Battle of Metz.

The following is taken directly from Warfare History Network:

"Fort Kœnigsmacker was a major obstacle in Patton's pincer maneuver to take Metz. U.S. Army Historian Hugh M. Cole noted in his volume of the Army's official history, The Lorraine Campaign: "The tactical effectiveness of its location forbade that Fort Kœnigsmacker be bypassed; it had to be taken and quickly." Fort Kœnigsmacker contained a battery of four powerful 100mm guns mounted in revolving ground-level armored steel turrets which, if properly manned and maintained, had the range to interdict military activity several miles in any direction. Although the gun line was oriented primarily to the north, the cannons could effectively bring fire to bear along a significant stretch of the Moselle River."

(http://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/conquering-the-koenigsmacker)

One thing I found funny is that the Germans placed mismatched road signs to confuse Americans. A sign might say Kœnigsmacker was to the north, when it was to the south, or a city limits sign might say they were entering some minor town so the Americans would be unprepared for a battalion protecting a major city. I'm uncertain just how effective such a lame tactic really was, but it was straight out of a Looney Tunes cartoon.

As the Americans rolled onward, they had to scratch out and correct these signs.

(Kœnigsmacker city limit with sign corrected by Americans)

During the battle of Fort Kœnigsmacker, Americans used smoke screens and small boats to cross the river under cover.

(A smoke screen obscures the 90th Division's crossing of the Moselle River prior to their attack on Fort Kœnigsmacker)

After a brutal battle, the German defenses sputtered out. By November 12, 1944, Fort Kœnigsmacker and the surrounding territory were firmly in American hands.

The cost of the fight to the 358th's 1st Battalion was high; 111 American soldiers had been killed, wounded, or had gone missing, not counting the many casualties at the crossing sites of the Moselle among soldiers trying to reinforce and resupply the men. They captured 372 German soldiers, and as many as 128 were killed.

Although the Battle of Fort Kœnigsmacker was a minor victory for the Third Army as a whole, for the soldiers and officers of the 358th Infantry Regiment, especially the regiment's 1st Battalion, it was a major episode in their distinguished World War II battle history. The French Moselle River 1944 Society makes an effort every five years to ensure that the American sacrifices at the fortress are not forgotten, even as the World War II veterans slowly go to their final resting place.

(https://www.moselleriver1944.org/fr/accueil.html)

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"what was happening in London, Warsaw, and Antwerp" — A common tactic in World War II was "strategic bombing," air strikes targeting civilian populations, supposedly to stop factory production or destroy ports, but mostly to demoralize the population with terror. The Hague Conventions banned targeting cities, but the wording only applied to land and sea attacks. In 1907, AIR attacks were not a thing. Despite humanitarian calls to update the laws of war, both sides used this tactic.

England faced the Blitz, a non-stop barrage of night bombings (mostly focused on London) that killed over 40,000 civilians and destroyed two million houses.

(The Destruction of Warsaw)

At the time this chapter happens, the Destruction of Warsaw was still underway and would eventually see 200,000 killed and 700,000 expelled, many to concentration camps (especially the Jewish community).

Also, the Battle of the Scheldt in Antwerp was just finishing up, as Germany targeted the city to destroy the entire port in order to stop Allied supply shipments. 3,000 civilian and 20,000 military casualties (mostly Canadian) were reported.

(aftermath of the Dresden Firebombing)

Other examples that either Levi was not aware of (since they happened on other war fronts) or would happen later in the war include the bombings of Wieluń, Frampol, Helsinki, Rotterdam, Mannheim, Cologne, Dresden, Hamburg, Stalingrad, Leningrad, Budapest, Unalaska, Honolulu, Tokyo, and Kobe (as depicted in Grave of the Fireflies).

The immense loss of civilian life from these "strategic bombings" was so staggering, after the war attacks on civilian targets were deemed to be a war crime. Sadly, they are still being used, and despite international condemnation, often little is done to protect innocent civilians.

(M-36 tank destroyer crosses a field in Dudelange, 3 Jan 1945)

Dudelange — Levi and Eren make only a brief stay in Dudelange. This town near the French-Luxembourg border suffered during World War II. Young men all across Luxembourg were forced at gunpoint to join the German Army or else their entire family would be sent to concentration camps or brutal forced labor camps. Some wanted to protect their wives, children, parents, siblings, and grandparents—for them, family came above all else—and they paid for that fealty with their lives, ironically being forced to fight the men trying to liberate them. Others refused to put on the uniform and lost their lives and their family died in the camps. There is now the Regional Museum of Forced Conscription in Dudelange to commemorate those forced to join to protect their loved ones, and those who resisted and were slaughtered.

(https://www.visitluxembourg.com/place/regional-museum-of-forced-conscription-dudelange)

I just want to note that, when it comes to things like forced conscription, it's easy to judge others when you're sitting in the comfort of your warm home, within a safe environment with a full belly. It's quite another to see your mother or wife with a gun against her head, or a soldier pressing a knife to the throat of your terrified little sister or even your young daughter, threatening to rape her and then kill her if you say no. Worse, you'll have to refuse over and over again as each member of your family gets shot in the head or brutally raped, knowing that after all is said and done, you'll be killed last.

(photo and info from All-Trails.com)

Waldlehrpfad Rommebesch-Scheckelscheier is a 6.9 km hiking loop near the border between Belgium and Luxembourg. It is a dense forest crisscrossed with wetlands. Although it only takes 1 hour and 42 minutes to walk the full loop, it is categorized as moderately challenging.

Forest Shelter With No Tools — I had actually written up a concise explanation of how to build a quick shelter with no tools. It's super handy information if you're ever lost in the woods. I live near some massive Pacific Northwest forests, people get lost in there all the time (and claim they see Bigfoot) so making a crude but effective shelter from the elements is crucial to survival.

There are many styles, and depending on if you have tools or not, as well as how much time you've got before dark, you can either put together something crude that will at least get you out of the wind and rain, or something pretty dark nice to camp out for a week.

However, I don't want to rewrite all of that, so I found this handy video for anyone interested in roughing it in the wild.

https://youtu.be/vCT9K72ByUE