Chapter Text
It takes less than a week to get to the sea from Trost by horse. The days-long journey never stops Levi from taking it every other month, though. Despite the long travel, it helps him relax, to settle his mind and to get away from the bustling city he now calls home.
That’s not to say that Levi’s current life is hectic. Compared to his last career, owning a small teahouse is actually quite peaceful, if not a little stagnant. He likes it, valuing the calmness and steadiness of his new, current life, but sometimes he needs to get away from it all.
At last, Levi sees the grassy cliff overlooking the sea in the distance. Whistling, he pulls his horse aside from the road and ties it to a tree near the hill’s base. Hauling his backpack on, Levi begins to climb the steep incline.
By the time he gets to where he needs to be, Levi is, admittedly, a little breathless. ‘I’m getting too old for this shit,’ he thinks to himself, absently massaging his twinging leg before casting his pack aside. He closes his eyes, basking in the midday’s warmth. He hears seagulls caw, the crash of the waves below him, the wind whistling its tuneless song. The sounds center him, and soon, his breath and heart rate even out back to normal. Opening his eyes, he looks to the side.
There, at the top of the cliff he stands on, a monument faces the cerulean sea, standing proud and tall like a monolith of opaque, pearlescent ice refracting the sun’s bright rays. Carved into the monument, the blue-and-white Wings of Freedom glints beautifully in the sun.
A small, almost bittersweet smile flickers like a ghost on Levi’s face.
Bending down, he reaches into his backpack and pulls out a bouquet of bright, colorful wildflowers he’d picked along the way. Luckily, they haven’t wilted on the journey here. Levi gently places them at the monument's base, where the wind won’t pick them up and scatter them across the land and out the sea. Staying quiet for a few moments, his eyes take in the memorial he’d founded in memory of his friends and comrades, just like he does every time he visits.
After the war ended six years ago, Paradis, led by Queen Historia Reiss, quickly emerged from their isolation and advanced economically and technologically. Admittedly, the war had severely weakened foreign nations’ opinion on the island-nation, but Queen Historia’s story and tenacious sincerity slowly won them over as the years passed. With Historia's intelligence, drive, and sincerity, the nation found itself part of several multilateral and bilateral agreements and peace treaties, thus truly ending the war. Paradis was well on its way in becoming a significant world power with the help of Historia and Paradis’s small, but growing number of allies.
As Paradis advanced and changed, so did the remnants of society. Among these numerous changes, the Scout Regiment was dissolved, and a new branch dedicated to international military defence diplomacy took its place.
Tired, Levi was one of the few remaining Scouts who chose to retire and return to civilian life.
Being a lauded veteran such as himself and having carried the burden of humanity on his shoulders for nearly a decade, it was no secret that along with his reputation, Levi was entitled to several riches and commendations. But, in the meeting between the nobles and him and other senior officers from the dissolved Regiment months after the end, he looked at the nobles in the eye, every last one of them. All were unable to hold his stare.
“It’s fucking useless,” he told them, referring to the gold and money and riches they offered him like a bandage to cure his deep festering wounds they’d inflicted. “I don’t fucking need it. Build a memorial to the ones who actually fought and lost their lives for you repulsive recreants instead.”
‘No amount of money you throw in my face will ever bring them back to me.’
Indignation rose up quickly amongst the cowards—he could see it in the way they pulled themselves up, in the displeasure in their eyes. But Captain Levi Ackerman of the Scout Regiment faced worse than fat, glowering nobles who only knew how to consolidate power cultivating humanity’s fear and hiding behind a cage of walls.
Like the times he’d conquered the Titans, like the times he’d conquered Death, Levi imposed his will one last time, and his will was swiftly followed without question.
And so, following his demands, the Scout Regiment Memorial was built facing the fathomless sea. He and the rest of the surviving Scouts pitched in, but it was Levi himself who painstakingly carved every single name into the beautiful stone, Levi himself who’d told their stories to those willing to listen. It took him a year, maybe more, to finish.
‘This is for you, for those who fought to free themselves from their cage, to see the beauty of nature outside the walls. Stand here today and every day ‘til the end of time, and see the beauty of the sea. Stand here, and see the beauty of your fighting freedom.’
His hand brushes across the names he’s most familiar with, the names of the friends and comrades who live only in his memories and for whom he now lives for.
Furlan Church.
Isabel Magnolia.
Eld Jinn.
Oluo Bozado.
Petra Ral.
Gunther Schultz.
Mike Zacharias.
Erwin Smith.
Hange Zoe.
Then, his hand pauses. His heart clenches. Levi shuts his eyes, fingers tracing the letters of the name he knows is written there.
… Mikasa Ackerman.
***
“Sing me a song, Levi.”
“Tch. Stop bossing me around, brat. I’m the commanding officer here, not you.”
“Please?”
“… fine.”
.
.
“Promise me something Levi. After everything… regardless of who lives or who dies, we continue to fight. No. Not fight. Not survive. We’ll continue to live. We won’t wait on anyone. Not humanity. Not the dead. Not even our loved ones. We’ll move forward and live for ourselves.”
“What the hell are you talking about, brat—”
“Levi. Captain. Please. Promise me.”
A long, heavy pause. Skin against skin. “Alright. I promise, Mikasa.”
***
Pressing his forehead against the cool stone, Levi brushes his lips over her name in a gentle caress as her words float in his mind. Then, he turns his face to the clear, deep blue skies, allowing the warmth of the sun to wash against his skin.
“It’s been six years, brat,” he says to the smiling image in his mind’s eye. “And I’m still here, waiting for you.”
855; Six Years Ago
It’s late in the night, and Levi and Mikasa are still up, unable to sleep and unwilling to admit it’s due to their nerves over the impending final battle. Mikasa has prepared two cups of tea for the both of them— hers "slightly" sweet, his bitter— and they sit at a table, talking about anything but the topic of the final battle.
There’s been a lull in conversation for the last few moments, Levi quietly basking in their shared, comfortable silence and his hot tea, when suddenly, Mikasa pipes up,
“Can you sing for me, Levi?”
Taken aback at the abrupt request, Levi blinks at her, stupefied. “What?”
“Sing me a song,” Mikasa says, hiding a small grin behind her cup of tea. “One last song, before the end.”
Levi’s hand twitches around his teacup, and he sends her an unimpressed look. “Not the end,” he corrects her imperiously. “End of the war.”
Mikasa rolls her eyes. Insubordinate brat. “End of the war,” she acquiesces and proceeds to raise a single eyebrow in his direction, as if to say, ‘I’m waiting.’
Levi discreetly glances around. “We’re in public, brat.” ‘What if someone hears me?’
A mischievous, indulgent look overtakes Mikasa’s face, and suddenly, his remaining tea isn’t enough to quell the dryness in Levi’s throat. Leaning forward until their noses nearly kiss, she whispers, cool breath fanning his face, “Then let’s go somewhere more private, shall we, Captain?” ‘Let’s have some fun, old man.’
Much, much later, in the safety of his own room and the comfort of their bed, Levi brushes a strand of midnight hair from Mikasa’s forehead, tucking it behind her ear. Here, she repeats her earlier request.
“Sing me a song, Levi.”
“Tch. Stop bossing me around, brat. I’m the commanding officer here, not you.”
“Oh? Pulling rank on me again, sir?” she purrs, leaning to bite his ear, and scoffing, Levi moves and pokes her side.
Mikasa shifts away from his attack, snickering softly, before glancing up at him with wide, pleading eyes. Levi’s breath catches at the way the moonbeams reflect in her eyes. “Please?” she asks, not letting her request go. ‘Sing for me?’
Oh fucking hell. That manipulative, stubborn brat. He’s getting sentimental. A symptom of old age, Levi laments.
“... fine.” Tugging her closer to wrap his arms around her slender body, he opens his mouth and sings.
We bore the weight of humanity
Their hopes and dreams our heavy burdens
All we’ve done for them is fight
Fight, together, in the shackles of duty
Blood and carnage, that never ending sight
Our lives an ever constant fighting flurry
But, what is it we fight for? What is it we survive for?
Is it peace we protect? Our liberty we desire?
Or is it freedom, freedom, our fighting freedom?
Yet, for me, I know my answer, my simple answer
And my simple answer is you
You who I’d fight for, for whom I would wait for
You, who made this burden lighter
Like the moon that hangs above the deep blue sea
You’ve controlled another part of me
Carry on, carry on, they say
We will fight ‘til the end
I shall fight ‘til the end to see you once again
And once when it stops, when our battles are over
When we’ve gained a peace we never got to know
I will be here waiting for you
Always, by your side, an everlasting fixture
When he stops, all is quiet and gentle in the world. Mikasa’s breaths are steady and even against his chest, and he assumes she’s sleeping until she speaks,
“Promise me something, Levi.” She pauses, and Levi patiently waits for her to gather her thoughts. “After everything, regardless of who lives or who dies, we continue to fight. No. Not fight. Not survive. We continue to live. We won’t wait on anyone. Not humanity. Not the dead. Not our loved ones. We’ll move forward and live for ourselves.”
“What the hell are you talking about, brat—”
“Levi. Captain. Please. Promise me.”
Levi stays quiet. He knows Mikasa is thinking about Eren. Eren, whom she waited for once. Eren, whom she’d loved dearly and fought for, once. Still, this earnest appeal isn’t something he’d ever expected from Mikasa— they never breach the subject of an after, of a future after the war, finding it a territory too unknown and too optimistic to think about, much less talk. It seems so final, this request.
Irrational fear grips his heart, but he pushes it away and instead presses gentle, loving kisses along her face and neck.
“Alright,” he whispers in her ear, indulging just this time. “I promise, Mikasa. We’ll live and move forward.” ‘Together.’
Lacing his fingers with hers, Levi squeezes her hand, and she squeezes back. A silent promise.
“After the end of the war, of course,” Mikasa teases after a beat, burrowing closer into his chest.
“Tch. Obviously, brat,” he says, pressing his face on the crook of her neck and shutting his eyes. Inhaling her scent deeply, Levi tacks on a silent caveat, another silent promise to himself, for her.
‘After the war, we will live for each other.’
.
.
.
Their suspicions of the looming fight are correct. The final battle erupts one week after that night, and the remaining Scout Regiment throw their all to win, fighting nonstop for four more days. After all what's four more days to five-plus years?
As Humanity’s Strongest Soldier and Captain overseeing several squads, Levi doesn’t see Squad Leader Mikasa much in the days leading up to the four-day-long battle.
It’s only until the dust has settled and the fighting stopped that Levi realizes he hasn’t seen Mikasa at all since the start of the last day.
.
.
They find her body buried under a pile of debris. Bruised face, broken ribs, broken arms, broken legs, broken everything. Her gear is crushed, likely from the rubble, and a gasless tank hints at her inability to escape from danger. Her time of death was estimated to be sometime in the final hours of the battle, right before the ceasefire.
He should’ve been there.
But he wasn’t.
Now… now, she’s dead.
“Sing me a song, Levi. One last song, before the end.”
Levi doesn’t know how long he stands there, basking in the warmth of the sun and the memories he has of the people he’d fought with and who’d fallen along the way. He only opens his eyes when the rays of the sun cool and the bite of the wind sharpens. Already, the sky turns a darkening purple, the faintest pink and orange rays of light peeking over the horizon. The moon hangs in the dark canvas of the heavens, casting silver light onto the oceans below.
Without a sound, Levi gathers his things. He straightens the bouquet of flowers at the foot of the memorial and caresses the monument in remembrance. He moves to leave.
A rustling from a nearby bush immediately draws Levi’s attention. His hand instinctively falls to his hips, where he keeps a small dagger for safe-keeping. His muscles coil in preparation, eyes fixated towards the bushes and trees.
Levi hears a woman mutter, lost and confused by the high, sharp pitch of her voice, the rustling growing louder, before she stumbles into his sight. Head down, dark hair falling over her face, the woman grumbles to herself, shaking her head. She stands, once again muttering to herself and angrily wiping away at her clothes. Looking up, she freezes.
The clothes, specifically the top, the woman wears look formal, but otherwise aren’t very familiar to Levi. Black fitted pants hug her shapely legs. A beautiful, dark long-sleeved blouse embroidered with delicate flowers and geometric shapes falls across and accentuate her curves. A white cravat is tucked around the collar of the blouse and sits gently on her chest. It’s an unnecessary and unfitting addition, Levi decides.
The quiet expletive that falls from her mouth amuses Levi for half a second before his mind quickly places the sound of her voice— a voice he hears only in his dreams now. His eyes dart from the worn, white cloth sitting innocently above her collarbone to her hair and facial features.
Hair as dark as the onyx night brushing against a pointed chin. Dark grey eyes reflecting the moon's beams. Full rosy lips. A delicate, pert nose. A scar on her pale, sharp cheek. Fine, sculpted bone structure and slender face.
Levi’s breath stutters in his chest.
They stare at each other for what feels like hours. No one moves. No one talks, not until Levi breaks the silence with one single, tentative name.
“...Mikasa?”