*Levi's POV*

An entire day passed where Levi didn't hear anything from Y/N. He didn't dare go to her room to check up on her and draw attention to her absence, or weaken the credibility of his claim that she was sick and it was infectious so she was staying in her room. If she was infectious, he was the last person who'd walk into her room without being covered up head to toe in his cleaning gear and gloves. He had to trust that she was recovering behind the closed doors of her quarters, and that he'd hear from her soon enough. He spun the lie whenever someone asked about her absence, since by now the other members of his squad were returning and getting back into their usual routine, which by now Y/N was a part of. So of course they noticed when she wasn't there, and were bound to ask him where she was if she wasn't running around acting as an aid and doing training.

Erwin had noticed the absence, as well, which meant that the two of them ended up meeting so Levi could tell him what happened and what was going on with her.

Of course, after they'd seen how strong she was, seeing a vampire stronger than her that almost killed her had been a bit of a reality check. They were lucky that the vampire that had infiltrated their ranks had good intentions--what if an older vampire with malicious intentions, as Levi had thought she might be, found its way into the Scouts? What were they going to do, then? They were taking white sage, but it was just a deterrent from being bitten or compelled--there were plenty of other ways to kill a person if that was the goal. And apparently Y/N was not evenly matched against the other vampires out there. They couldn't depend on their own vampire to fight off another one--not one on one, strength verses strength. They needed to come up with contingencies in case they were ever faced with a vampire threat.

And maybe he should have encouraged her to keep talking when she'd started teaching him how to fight a vampire. All he'd really been told was that it was about leverage and fighting smarter not harder when it came to vampires--he hadn't given her the chance to say much else. That, clearly, had been a mistake.

It looked like they were both going to be teachers. Not that he would tell her. He was still the instructor here, and he wasn't going to lose that stable position in their strange relationship.

Erwin had suggested as much, as well. With his strength and speed, Levi was the best candidate right now for someone to be prepared to handle vampires. So when Y/N got better, they needed to start practicing handling other vampires together. Maybe running into other vampires wasn't going to be a common occurrence, but it would be foolish not to prepare for it all the same.

Now she just needed to recover, wake up, and feed so they could get back on track.

The second day passed with Levi starting to get worried about how long it was taking for him to see her emerge from her quarters. He had to hold Petra back from bringing her herbal tea to help her feel better, spinning some bullshit lie that she already had tea in her room he'd brought her earlier and she didn't need more. It was the best excuse he could think of off the top of his head at the moment, but it worked, and that was what mattered.

That night he went in to check on her after everyone else had fallen asleep, to at least reassure himself that she was in fact healing and he hadn't accidentally left her to die in her room. She was still pale as death, but she was breathing now, and it seemed her wounds had almost entirely healed--there was just a bit of scarring that would probably go away by the time she woke up. It also told him that she was probably going to wake up tomorrow.

Good. He wouldn't have to be worried about her recovery anymore. And he wouldn't have to cover for her absence much longer.

On the third day, he was doing most of what was usually in his daily routine, except for what he usually did with Y/N. Instead of sparring and training with her, he used the time for more of his own training and to exercise his horse--and to take care of her horse in the meantime and made sure Zephyr stayed clean, fed, and watered, with plenty of time out to pasture for exercise. Someone had to take care of the horse while she couldn't.

And, though he wasn't going to let anyone find out, he also took a stop by her little garden regularly as well to make sure it stayed watered, taken care of, and that the white sage didn't grow out of control while she was out of commission.

After his midday training, Levi retreated to his quarters to wash up and have a cup of tea for the middle of the day, door locked so he could walk around shirtless while he cooled down after the hot bath, the towel he'd used for his hair draped around his neck to catch any leftover water clinging to the damp strands. He wandered into the office, pulling the curtains over the windows along the way so no one could peak inside. In his other hand was the remainder of his tea, which he was sipping on as he looked at a few stray papers on his desk. Hange was still asking about catching Titans for research, that was an easy refusal to write, he wasn't going to help her on a suicide mission like that...

Though technically they did have the perfect bait and two of him now.

It was still a no, though. Too many things could go wrong with too many casualties and too high of a probability that it wouldn't yield enough information to make the sacrifice worth it.

There was a dull thump on his door, followed by a low knock. Levi turned towards the door with a slight furrow in his brows, setting down the teacup as the knocks continued. With how weak they were, there was only one person it could be.

Levi crossed the room in a few steps, unlocking the door and opening it to see Y/N leaning in the doorway, clothes thrown on and hair brushed back, looking pale and a little clammy, eyelids droopy. She looked like she was about to topple over, which prompted the instinctive reach for her shoulder to steady her. However, she pulled away before he could make contact, putting a hand out as if to tell him to keep his distance.

"The gesture is appreciated...but not smart right now," she murmured, and Levi instinctively took a step back at the reminder she was probably ravenous right now, and he was a feast teasing her hardly a step away. "I just came to say I'm going out. So you don't find me missing from my room and freak out."

Levi scoffed. "I wouldn't've noticed."

She shot him a 'please,' look of skepticism that still had the attitude despite the state she was in. "Your scent is all over my room," she said simply, before turning away. She let out a long breath, which made Levi realize she'd been holding her breath standing so close to him. And as she sucked in a fresh breath of air, it was shuddering, and she froze up for a second before she glanced at him over her shoulder. "Captain," she said simply in parting, and Levi didn't stop her from leaving, since at the moment she was clearly struggling not to sink her fangs into him. Frankly it was an amazing courtesy she'd stopped by to tell him she was going hunting in the first place.

Someone started to round the corner, and Levi stepped back into his office and locked the door before he could be seen. He pulled the towel from around his neck and did another pass over his damp hair, heading back to his bedroom to get dressed so he would be clothed and ready for discussion when she got back.

And there would be a discussion. Not here, of course, there was far too much activity at Headquarters right now, since it was the middle of the day. He trusted her to be discreet getting to and from the Underground, but he wasn't going to have the discussion about blood and vampires midday in say the mess hall, or even his office, just in case someone came by to talk to him and caught them in the middle of their serious discussion. And he was going to be generous and let her rest for the last half of the day, considering she was just now waking up and he didn't know if getting blood in her system was going to be a magical cure-all or if she would still be drained when she got back.

He had a few ideas of how they could get some privacy for their discussion if the usual spots weren't an option because it was the middle of the day and not the middle of the night like it usually was.

For now, though...he was just glad to see her up and moving around again. Seeing her dead to the world had...well, it had scared him for a bit there. Especially with how long it took her to wake up and be responsive again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Reader's POV*

Waking up after a 'death' was never a pleasant thing. You were groggy, drained of all energy, confused and off kilter longer than you would have liked. It was even more confusing to have gone from passing out in the filthy underground in Levi's arms to waking up clean and bandaged in your own room, Levi's scent lingering strong enough in the room to tell you he'd been in your room fairly recently, though there was faded scents around the room as well that told you he'd been here another time, a little longer before. And it appeared he had been everywhere that day.

Maybe that had been when he brought you back to your room and taken care of you. It had to have been Levi to clean you up and take care of you, based on his scent all over your room and the fact he'd been the one with you when you passed out from blood loss.

But that, that didn't matter. Your injuries were healed--not so much as a thin scar left to show what happened. By now you'd also had three Underground thugs to satiate what was had turned into a ravenous hunger. You'd been hungry from the start after the exhausting expedition, but then you'd gotten into the fight with the other vampire, lost all that blood, temporarily died, your body had to do all that work to heal itself and bring you back...

You were going to stop at two, but that hadn't been enough. So you were gone longer than normal once again because of the amount of people you had to hunt down for your thirst. Your thirst had been bad enough when you woke up, you almost left without telling Levi where you were going--it probably would have been the smarter decision. You could smell him three halls away--not just his usual scent, you meant his blood. You had to start holding your breath as long as you could as much as you could while you drew closer, and then he'd been right in front of you, bare chested, freshly washed, except while any other being attracted to men would have been staring at his freshly washed, glistening abs, you'd been fighting not to stare or weave towards his exposed jugular. He'd been so close, you could hear his blood rushing through his veins, the steady thrum of his heart, that unique cocktail that was the scent of his blood completely overpowering the scent you associated with him that had covered your room. You really thought you were going to bite him when he stepped closer, you could feel the fangs protruding, but thankfully he'd been able to tell from the hand keeping him back what was wrong and that he needed to back up and not come closer.

Hence why you'd kept the conversation very brief and left as soon as possible. You were afraid staying too long would cause you to attack him, which you were not going to be able to deal with if it happened. Especially after he'd taken care of you after the fight underground.

Maybe the third body you'd dropped Underground had been insurance to make sure Levi didn't get hurt the next time you saw him. You didn't want to risk any thirst of need strengthening the possibility that you might lose control around Levi.

You'd been a bit messier than normal with how badly you needed blood, which meant you kept your head down on the way back and you went straight to your room to clean up. That was where you were when there was a knock on your door, which turned out to be Levi, unsurprisingly.

It wasn't a long conversation he had. Mostly he gave you a place, a few directions, and then said forty minutes before he continued down the hall like he'd just told you that you were late for training.

Frankly, you were just glad that your bloodthirst didn't rear its ugly head when he was in front of you this time.

You gave yourself enough time to make sure you were presentable, that you didn't still look like you'd just woken from death and that there wasn't any blood on your skin or clothes. By now you were well aware that Levi wasn't comfortable with your lifestyle, and it would be easier for him if you kept it out of sight out of mind. Once you were certain you looked like a normal human being and you were dressed in civilian clothes, you left headquarters and headed towards where Levi told you to meet him.

You took a deep breath as you walked through the busy streets, the cacophony of scents from the city washing over you and adding variety to the fresh air. The sun was a little bright after so long unconscious after being Underground, so you had to squint against the light for a little while, your necklace out in the open for once as the black gemstone caught the sun and caused a rainbow of light to flicker inside the fire opal like little flames.

The place Levi wanted you to meet him was both easy yet difficult to find. It was difficult in the sense that you wouldn't have known it was there if you hadn't been directed there by Levi ahead of time, easy thanks to Levi's clear directions. The scent of fresh pine was strong here thanks to the carpentry next door, though the place he wanted her to be was...a tea shop. Not the kind where you sat down and had tea, though. This looked like a store that sold tea blends to take home, tea sets, tea making supplies, plants to grow at home, additives, things like that.

You didn't see Levi here yet--which made sense, with that vampire speed of yours kicking in whenever you were alone, on instinct. It was more natural for you to walk around at vampire speed than it was to walk at a normal human pace, which was more a part of the front that you put up around other people. So, since you had some time to kill, you went ahead and went inside to take a look around and see if there was anything you liked.

There was a sweet older man behind the counter that was all too happy to help you with any questions or inquiries you made, giving a surprising amount of detail about any tea blend on display that you asked him about. He was even willing to talk tea brewing techniques, what kind of tea set was the best to brew tea in, good additive combinations for different blends...

Maybe this wasn't a good idea, if you weren't careful, you were going to leave this place with bags of stuff in hand, and you doubted Levi invited you here simply for a shopping spree.

You did commit to buying a few tea blends he eagerly suggested to you after the two of you discussed your specific tastes in tea. After that you told him you were waiting for someone and would simply browse while you waited, so the man left you alone and went into the back room.

With the tea blends safely packed away in a parcel under your arm, you walked around the other part of the store, the one full of tea sets, tea balls, tea bag making supplies, tea strainers, teacups, and just some simple decorations for, say, a tea room. Or tea themed décor. Some of the wood burnings looked like they were made of pine, which suggested there was a partnership between this store and the carpentry next door.

There was a tea set that caught your eye, though. Fine white porcelain with gold trim, with teal blades of grass in a watercolor like style, and pearly white flowers within the grass blades. It was gorgeous, amazing artwork, and your hand brushed gently against the smooth surface.

Too bad it was out of your price range. You'd have to save up for a couple months to be able to afford the set, and you just couldn't justify it when your money went somewhere else for an important reason.

But it really was nice...

"That's a nice set."

Damn it, you really hadn't been paying attention, had you? How the hell had he actually managed to sneak up on you for once? Maybe you were still off, still recovering.

That was a good excuse that you were going to stick with for now.

Your hands dropped away from the tea set, and you took a step away from it as you turned to look at him. "It is."

Levi's gaze flickered to the parcel under your arm, and then he stepped around you to head towards the tea blends. It seemed he knew exactly what he wanted and where it was, with the old man returning at the sound of voices from the front.

"Ah, Captain Levi. I have your usual ready for you, prepared this morning," the old man said pleasantly, reaching below the counter to pull out a parcel similar to the one you had, which Levi took and paid for with a slight nod in show of thanks before turning to you.

"Buying anything else?"

"No, I'm good," you said simply, knowing he was giving you the chance to get that tea set, even though you weren't going to buy it.

Levi gazed at you for a few moments, and then started for the door. You fell into step just behind him, giving a small wave to the old man behind the counter before both of you left the shop.

"You don't really buy things for yourself, do you?" Levi asked abruptly as the two of you started down the street. Your eyebrows rose slightly at the question, but you answered, directing your words towards his back since you were following him.

"No. My salary goes elsewhere."

There were a few moments of silence where Levi seemed to be considering something. "I thought so," he said simply. You looked at him curiously, about to ask what he meant. "Do you ever go visit them?"

Your parents. He knew about your parents. It seemed he had his suspicions that you were paying for their care with your salary, which you'd just inadvertently confirmed.

You looked away at his question, a sad frown appearing on your face. "No...I don't. I'm dead, remember. And I don't age. I can't."

Their murdered daughter showing up in their rooms after forty years was not going to go over well for two people in their eighties, nineties. You'd probably send them to an early grave--not that early, but still.

A silence fell between the two of you, Levi showing no signs that you could pick up on from behind. He actually led you towards the edge of town, the noise quieting as houses spread out and nature started to overtake buildings. Before they actually left town, though, Levi took a detour from the road the two of you had been following and guided you towards what looked like a small, out of the way park on the edge of town. It wasn't anything fancy--a bench probably made by a local carpenter, a few trees, bushes, plants, a dirt path, a small pond with a wooden arched bridge complete with railings going over it. You could tell by the swish and plop of water that there was also probably fish in that pond, as well. Most likely something pretty and fancy to make the pond more aesthetically pleasing.

You could have asked him why the park, but you left your question unasked. It was quiet, no one around, a change of scenery but still privacy for the most part. And maybe he just wanted some fresh air instead of being cooped up inside. You certainly appreciated being outside instead of inside.

"What's the story you gave everyone for my absence?" you asked him conversationally as the two of you wandered along the dirt path towards the little bridge.

"Sick. Infectious. So you stayed in your room," Levi said simply. He stopped halfway to the bridge next to the bench, putting his parcel down on the seat and holding his hand out for yours, which you handed over so he could put it besides his. Once the parcels were set down, the two of you finished walking over to the bridge, which the bench was in perfect view of, so neither of you had to worry about your purchases from the tea shop getting stolen.

"Now I know. I'll be sure to ham it up so it's convincing I was out for a few days," you mused, coming to a stop halfway up the bridge and leaning on the railing with folded arms. "Thank you, by the way. For helping me home."

Levi snorted softly. "Don't thank me. You helped me first. It was the least I could do."

"Well, still. Thank you."

Levi came to a stop on the other side of you, a little further across the bridge with his arms crossed over his chest. "How did you find me? It wasn't my...scent. You said you block everything out when you're Underground."

"Your blood. Even blocking things out, that scent would cut through any nearby vampire's concentration. It sounds strange, but you're lucky he drew blood. Otherwise I wouldn't have known," you said honestly, a chill going down your spine at the thought of just how close to death Levi came the other night. And since for him it had only been a scratch, you wondered if he realized that before now.

Well, maybe not. He'd still had the white sage in his system. After a few drinks, the vampire would have been out like a light and Levi could have gotten away, and his bleeding from the attack would have caught your attention.

Maybe he'd been a little further from death, but it was still a scary thought.

"He got a taste before you showed up," Levi said, voice tense. "I thought you said white sage prevented that?"

"Well, not like that, not with blood," you said uneasily, leaning forward on the railing and turning your head to meet his stormy eyes without fear. "Think about it--blood is the sustaining substance, especially your special brand that's like an extra boost of energy and vitality. You could argue the possibility that because it's our sustaining substance, it means it dilutes the white sage. A vampire has to take a few gulps before the white sage hits their system and starts to burn, like when you take medicine--a delayed reaction as it works to get into your system and take effect. Except faster than medicine in a vampire's case, since it's a poison. Not all poison kills immediately. And it won't burn with physical touch because, again, the blood is diluting it, and it's our sole sustenance, it gives us life. Tea on the other hand, yeah, it will burn on contact, cause as much as someone may like tea, vampire's don't need it to survive. There's nothing diluting it, then."

"So it would have worked...eventually."

He didn't look too pleased this distinction had not been made beforehand.

"Better than not at all. But yes, he would have gotten a good taste before the white sage hit, maybe a bit more considering how strong your blood is. But it still would have poisoned him and dropped him to the ground," you said honestly. "If you're worried about it, you could try higher doses of white sage. Maybe start having a cup of white sage tea a day, or put a bit more in every cup of tea. It'll stay in your system longer, too, if you do that."

A silence settled over the two of you again, and you looked down into the pond, watching colorful fish swim idly around below you, a faint shadow of you and Levi standing on the bridge reflected in the water. He shifted uncomfortably next to you, the fact he held his breath a second too long in hesitation giving away the discomfort, though he inadvertently ended up a bit closer to you in the process.

"You're always talking about my scent and how my blood smells," he muttered unhappily, and you quickly turned to face him.

"It's nothing bad, I promise. It's not a bad scent, like when Squad Leader Hange forgets to bathe for a few days. It's just your natural smell--everyone has them. It's actually...pretty good," you finished in an embarrassed rush, turning your face away. It was the truth, but it was still embarrassing to say. At least he didn't smell like acrid smoke, liquor, cigar smoke, urine, and shit, like some people.

There was a reason you blocked out smells in the Underground.

You pulled hair back behind your shoulder, rubbing your neck before you realized it was a nervous tick and you stopped yourself.

"Good, how?" Levi asked awkwardly after a few moments. This had to be so weird for him. At least you'd had forty years to get used to these oddities--he was still adjusting to the concept itself, but he still asked these strange questions, at least. "Good as in tasty?" He added in a flat attempt at a dark joke.

"No, not as in tasty. Well...not your actual scent anyway. Blood is its own separate thing, though it does contribute, when it's strong like yours," you were quick to clarify as emotions flickered in his eyes too fast for you to catch them all, though you did catch a bit of disturbance, incredulousness, and discomfort. But you still answered his question. "It might be slightly different to other vampires, but for me, it's...Soap or cleaning supplies...mint...tea leaves. I don't know if the mint comes from the tea leaves or some of the cleaning supplies infused with mint, but it's there--not strong though. Fresh air, or maybe it's the forest...maybe both. That clean outdoors smell. And then the overall sense of...richness, I think that comes from your blood."

His eyebrows seemed to be rising with every description, which was now making you feel embarrassed by proxy for saying such things. So you looked away again, pretending that you were enjoying watching the fish make endless circles in the pond below you in the name of sanity.

You didn't say anything further for a few moments, which prompted Levi to press for the rest of the question you hadn't realized he still wanted answered. "And...my blood?" he pushed with a note of disgust at the end with the topic.

"That's...a little hard to answer without things getting more awkward than they already are," you said with a slightly wry smile. "Lots of descriptors that could be used in another context."

Levi gave you a look that clearly screamed 'really' at you. "What, are we children?"

"Okay, well...there's not really a...descriptor for what blood smells like to a vampire. Humans sometimes smell that metallic scent, but that's not really there for vampires. It's more like a...an aroma that invokes feelings and instincts more than anything," you struggled to explain. It wasn't like you could tell him, 'hey, you smell like a glazed roast at Christmas time perfectly seasoned' because that wasn't how this worked, he didn't smell like food. "For you, it's like, ah...overpowering. Heavy--no, heady. Rich, and thick. It's alluring, hooks you in and just...draws you in deeper and deeper. And there's a...a surprisingly...delicate edge to it, like the rarity factor given form."

"I get the picture," Levi said abruptly, getting you to stop talking about what his blood smelled like. Maybe he was tired of watching you struggle for descriptors. Or maybe he was getting more embarrassed about this than he was letting on. He sighed, stepping forward and mirroring your position leaning against the railing beside you, except instead of folded arms, his elbows rested on the railing with his clasped hands dangling over the edge. "Erwin and I talked--on top of our regular training, we're going to start working on dealing with vampires. Just in case."

You inclined your head, easily overlooking the natural instinct of preservation that said don't teach someone how to kill you now that Levi had taken care of you while you'd been defenseless. "Smart idea, in my opinion. You never know when you'll need it...I guess I'll need to start thinking of lessons."

"Don't get ahead of yourself."

"What? If we're going to train to handle vampires, we both know I'm going to be the teacher," you said smugly.

"We're working together to prepare for vampires beyond your strength. We're on equal footing."

"I'm still the one with the knowledge about it. Is it the age thing? You do realize that technically I'm twice your age."

"How does that work?" Levi said abruptly, and you didn't fail to notice he was quickly changing the subject. You might have wounded his pride a little. Whoops. "The age thing."

"Be more specific," You said with slightly narrowed eyes as you tried to pin down what exactly he was asking.

"The frozen in time thing--do you consider yourself still 22, or are you counting all the years you've been alive?" Levi asked.

"You know, you're not supposed to ask a woman her age--it's considered rude."

"Just answer the damn question."

You snorted at his irritability despite your attempt to keep the mood lighter, but humored him and attempted what was actually a difficult question for you.

"I don't think about it a lot. I mean, physically, yeah, I'll always be 22--frozen in time. Experience still accumulates, though. I still have sixty, seventy years of experience. Though..." You trailed off for a moment, chewing on your lip for a few seconds. "You could argue...I didn't really grow much while Underground, though. Forty years, and it was mostly spent just surviving and learning how to live all over again because I was something else, and I didn't have a direction to push towards. I was just...stuck. Maybe age doesn't matter, especially if you've got eternity stretched in front of you. Just experience."

"Experience," Levi murmured, leaning heavily on the railing and turning his gaze downwards like you, watching the fish quietly for a few long moments. Wind rustled the trees, birds fluttered from branch to branch, one of the fish got adventurous and jumped out of the water. You tuned out the sounds of the village until it was just the sounds in the park, and Levi's soft breathing beside you, the steady beating of his heart...

"What's it like to die?"

Your head turned to him, but Levi wasn't looking at you. He kept his gaze fixed down at the pond, expression controlled so you couldn't get a good read on him about why he asked the question. He was as unyielding as ever with what was going through his head.

"If you're asking me about life after death, I'm not a good person to ask. I haven't really...died--permanently, I mean. I wouldn't know. If you're asking what it's like overall...I wish I could say it's all peaceful, but it really depends how you go. Sometimes it is peaceful, like falling asleep...sometimes it isn't," you said honestly. You were watching him closely for his reaction, noting every twitch, how one of his fingers rubbed against the nearest one in his clasped hands before he pushed away from the railing, giving you a quick glance.

"Take the rest of the day off. Tomorrow, back to work. And go see Petra--she kept trying to sneak you tea and soup," he said, walking briskly away to grab his package off the park bench and leaving the park entirely.

You, on the other hand, lingered, staring in the direction he left, pondering on his last question. Normally, that question might have made you worried for his well being, but that wasn't the sense or tone of voice you got from him. This had been different. And between the fact you were probably the best source for that information he would probably ever find, the bloody history of the Scouts, and recent events--both the attack Underground and the massacre during the expedition--it made sense for him to have asked the question.

Considering the recent death, the past death, his own recent brush--brushes--with death...

Your mind called up the image of Levi on the last expedition, standing in front of the gathered corpses, a small pouch filled with the patches of soldiers that couldn't be recovered that he could reach. The excess gloom that hung over him on the way back, as they walked through the streets and heard the not-so-quiet whispers about 'a failed mission' and a waste of money and resources. Not a waste of people, not a grief over loss of life--a waste of money and resources.

You didn't dare assume why he'd asked the question, but you knew what you would say if you had to give a theory.

You shook yourself out of your stupor, leaving the bridge behind and heading towards the bench to retrieve your package as well. You needed to get back to Headquarters and get your rest--and get back in touch with the rest of the squad--for your day off before you went back to training with Levi. And with a little extra training from here on out, too, so next time Levi ran into a vampire in a back alley, he'd stand a better chance.

That thought gave you a little peace of mind.

Yeah, even if he was touchy about the whole you being a teacher thing, you were going to put effort into this to make sure he could defend himself against a vampire as seriously as if you were being put into an instructor position.

You definitely were. Even if he wouldn't admit it. And you were going to do a damn good job to make sure he was prepared--that you both were.

Though personally, you were going to make sure Levi was prepared.

His close call had scared you, too. And you weren't going to let it happen again.