Chapter Text
The boy stood atop Wall Rose, feeling the slight breeze graze his skin. His usually bright teal eyes were dark today, full of thought, as they had been the past few weeks. He looked to his left, watching the beautiful green plains move swiftly with the wind, only to be stomped on by those large disgusting creatures he despised so much. Turning his head to look behind him, he noticed the lieutenant staring at the same plains he was moments ago, with a distasteful face.
"Tell me Levi, what are you really thinking about this operation?" The brown-haired boy asked while returning his gaze to the open fields below their feet. "Surely there has to be an explanation..a misunderstanding..."
"Trust me," the Captain spoke up "I wish we were wrong about this too. But taking all the proof into consideration, there's no way it's not cadet Leonhardt." Levi spoke with anger and a hint of remorse, as he remembered the events that unfolded weeks prior. Those woods, outside of the walls where the 57th expedition occurred, now haunted by the memory of the brutal slaughter of countless scouts.
Eren realized what Levi was thinking about, still feeling guilty. If only I had trusted my instincts. This thought played through his mind constantly, along with his mixed emotions about Annie possibly being the one who inflicted such pain.
"I'm sorry Captain. They put their trust in me and I let them down. I let you down-"
"I'm gonna stop you right there. Don't apologize to me, there's nothing that can be done about it now." He retorted, still not making eye contact with the boy. "Best thing you can do now is focus on what's ahead of us."
The last thing Levi wanted to do right now was talk to this brat about his emotions, especially his emotions about his deceased squad.
He remained quiet, stepping closer to the edge of the wall. He decided to focus his attention on the horizon ahead, as the sky turned a beautiful shade of orange with the lowering sun. Clouds were covering the sky, but they weren't low enough to mask the shining beauty. Levi took in the scenery, almost forgetting about the titans wandering aimlessly miles to his left, claiming the land that once belonged to humanity.
"Stop! There's someone down there near the gate!" A Garrison soldier exclaimed while pointing downwards outside the wall.
Other soldiers in the vicinity left their stations and ran over to look at what he was staring at. A few yelled "Who are you? How did you get outside of the walls?!" While others talked amongst themselves about who this person could possibly be.
The captain obviously heard this commotion but decided to ignore it at first, thinking it wasn't his to worry about. That was until he heard another soldier shout "Look! They're wearing the Wings of Freedom! They must belong to the scout regiment!"
With this, the raven-haired man turned his head towards the group of soldiers, narrowing his grey eyes. Could it be a soldier left from the previous expedition? He remembered many soldiers being unaccounted for after they fled from the woods, only he believed them to all be long gone.
"Open the gates. I'll take a look," he ordered the Garrison, as they scurried to do as he said, frightened of what would happen to them if they didn't. Eren watched Levi turn around and leave the wall to approach the gate. Curiosity got the better of him, as he soon followed the man to see who could've survived alone on the outside.
Soon enough the gate to Wall Rose opened, with both Levi and Eren standing and waiting for the person's figure to be revealed. The gate lifted from the ground, causing a cloud of dust to rise from underneath. As it started to clear, the person standing on the outside lowered their hood from their green cape, still looking down at their feet.
Even though they were clearly wounded, with cuts and bruises on their exposed legs and arms, and they looked as if they haven't eaten in weeks, Levi stared in complete shock, as he immediately recognized who it was.
It was you.