"You shouldn't have injured him this much you know.." I sighed while dabbing a saline solution soaked cotton ball onto Eren's bruised face. "You even broke his teeth!"

"Tch. I could care less about that titan brat." He muttered stoically as Mikasa glared daggers at the short man.

I sighed once again, knowing just how Levi is.

"You're a big man, being able to tolerate with those kicks." Farlan ruffled Eren's hair and grinned proudly like a father proud of his son.

"Big sis! The three of you look like a family together!" Isabel laughed teasingly from across the room while pointing at us with a silly grin.

A light blush crawled onto my cheeks, but I dismissed it, aware of the growing guilt blooming beneath my chest. Farlan's face was slightly red, but it was obvious how delighted he was to hear it.

"Yeah, I guess we are a family huh?" He chuckled, resting his arms on both Eren and my shoulders.

I grunted and replied,"I'm too young to have a child this old." I did not mean to be rude, but I felt extremely uneasy when he said that. I pushed his arm off my shoulders and left the room.

"Whoah, did you make her mad, Farlan-bro?"

That was all I heard before I closed the door shut.

♘♘

I raced to Wall Sina with Farlan riding on my horse. The rest of the squad was a distance behind me, careful to not hit the villagers nearby. I caged Farlan in between my arms as he laid his body along my horse's neck. His blood dripped onto the floor and each drop made me worry more.

"Mae..." He tried to say, but his energy was losing.

"Shh.. Save your strength right now, Farlan."

"If I survive this..Mae... Can you..can you promise me...something..?"

"What?"

"For God's sake, I'll do anything if your survive this!" I recklessly yelled. The fear to lose him, my best friend was overbearing.

"Be mine..." He croaked out, a tired smile tugged on the corner of his lips.

"Anything! ANYTHING! Heck, I'll even marry you, just hold on and stop talking!" I cried.

I would never admit it, but a little part of me knew he would die. Not just everyone can withstand those wounds, losing that much blood was another factor for death.

But he survived.

And I kept my promise.

I sighed as I rested my back on my seat, remembering that painful day. Oh, how much I regretted to speak before I let myself think. I knew he has feelings for me, I have always known. Time and time again he proved to me, but I could not love him back. I could not return those feelings. I tried to love him after he woke up from his injured state, but I could never love him the way he did to me.

Someone knocked on my door a couple of times and said,"It's me, Mae. May I come in?"

"Yes, sure."

The door opened just enough for Farlan's lean body to slide through. After he closed the door, he walked to my table but I did not miss the far look in his grey eyes. He stood on the other side of my table and looked down at me. He looked so..distant, so empty, like a doll without a soul. It looks so painful.

"What do you need, Farlan?"

"Mae... Do you..love me..?"

Of all possible questions he could ask me, that question was one of the last ones I would expect to hear from him. I would tell him the truth, but a part of me wants to paint him a white lie. I knew the right thing to do is to– of course –tell him the truth even though it will hurt him, cause him the burden of guilt, but I could not being myself to do that. I would rather be the one to carry all that misery than to witness somebody experiencing it.

"Why do you ask?" I finally said.

"It's just.. I'm aware that you never had feelings for me, Mae. The only reason we are in a relationship now is because of the promise you made when I was on the verge of death. Isn't that right, Mae?"

The way he looked at me, his eyes were unreadable. Those sharp grey eyes of his pierced through my soul like a spear. Who was I kidding? Farlan is a smart man, of course he will figure out the truth behind my act.

He continued when I refused to look at him in the eye. He probably took that as a yes.

"I thought I could make you love me if I showered you with mine, but it seems not." He smiled sadly. "I never failed to notice how you tense up every time I touch you and how you always move away when I tried to kiss you."

I looked down on my table in shame.

'This relationship was a lie. Because I didn't love him.'

"I don't want to make this hard for you anymore. I can't be selfish to keep you to myself when clearly you–"

"No." I interrupted him. "I'm sorry."

I finally gained the strength to look up at him in the eyes; my breathing became shallow and my heartbeat raced beneath my chest.

"I shouldn't have agreed to it when I knew I didn't love you. I cheated on your feelings, I'm sorry."

He shook his head with a smile. "Don't feel guilty about it, I was selfish. Now I'm setting you free, for you to find someone you love and who will love you as much as I do."

The thought that I no longer have to put up an act made me relieved, but my heart felt heavy and it bothers me.

I could do nothing but stare at him with an apologetic look in my eyes. I did not know what to say, how to apologise to him, how to comfort him, how to make him feel better.

A tensed silence fell upon us as we stared at each other with eyes that showed anything but happiness and relief. Unable to take it much longer, he heaved a deep sigh and left the room. My gaze followed him out until he closed the door shut.

Now, it was my turn to sigh and I dropped my head onto the table. I raised it again and sat upright when I heard another knock.

"Come in."

The door opened widely and a short figure entered.

"Levi? What brings you here?" I asked curiously, he almost never visits me in my room when there are no expeditions in the near future.

He comfortably sat himself on the chair across from my table and simply stared at me with his arms crossed.

I knew what he was expecting, he probably suspected something and wants to hear answers.

"You are such a father, Levi." His eyebrows twitched at my comment. "Farlan and I broke up." I simply said.

He stared at me again with those steel grey eyes of his, urging me to say more.

"When we got together.. I didn't love him, I never did. I thought I only needed time to fall for him, he was such a sweet guy." I leaned back into my chair and clasped my hands onto my table. I looked down, my mind has long dismissed my vision; the only thing I could see now was the past Farlan and I shared. "I guess the guilt of not loving him crept up to me that recently, it has become more obvious. Maybe I did want him to notice it. Indirectly show him that I want out."

"You did what you promised." He suddenly said.

I nodded. "But still–"

"You gave him a chance to love you, he knew that you never loved him, but he was thankful that you accepted him despite it being in a situation where it doesn't seem like you had a choice to reject."

It was my turn to stare at him, the man with wise words.

"It was his choice and he doesn't regret it. He loved you like he wanted to and now he knows he has to let go. If there was only one regret, he regretted to ever ask you that request; not because you didn't return his feelings, but because he wasted your time to find someone you would want to spend your time with."

Having known him for years, I understood that this was his way of telling me not to be too hard on myself. I smiled warmly at how he cares and looks out for me.

"Thank you Levi, I feel better. If I ever have a brother, I'm sure it would be you. You always know what to say to bring my spirits back up."

Silently, he stood up and left the room.