A tiny warning...there's a small dash of eremin here.

After showering and dressing, Levi prowled about in search of Mikasa.

He rounded the corner—and stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted Eren and Armin huddled together beneath a cluster of trees. Armin had the front of Eren's jacket gripped tightly, worriedly, his blonde head bent beseechingly. Eren smiled gently, touching Armin's hair intimately, murmuring something indistinguishable.

They leaned towards one another, their mouths only inches apart—and Levi was irritated enough to interrupt them.

"Oi, brats."

Eren jerked back, spinning on his heel—and accidentally smacking Armin's face with his shoulder. Armin stumbled back and Eren grabbed a hold of him quickly, apologizing profusely.

"Ah, Heichou, we're ready. We were just discussing the best way to go about—"

"I know what you were discussing, but I'm not interested in hearing it." He scanned their surroundings with narrowed eyes. "Where's Mikasa?"

Eren blinked rapidly. "Ah, I saw her eating with Sasha, Connie and Jean, Heichou."

Levi scowled. "Continue with your discussion but be aware that we're about to leave."

Eren nodded instantly, a vivid blush on his cheeks as Armin gripped his hand. "Yes, Heichou."

It took him much longer to find her than usual, and by the time he spotted her his mood was as black as death.

She was sitting at the table, straddling the bench and facing Sasha. Sasha's eyes were closed in pleasure as Mikasa fed her a torn half of bread, Mikasa watching her with an almost dark fascination.

Jean and Connie watched the two girls with a little too much interest to be innocent.

He walked over to them grimly. "Mikasa."

Jean and Connie stiffened in surprise. "H-heichou."

Levi nodded at them curtly, his gaze on Mikasa. "I need to speak with you."

She kept feeding Sasha. "We aren't done eating, Heichou."

He pressed his lips together in displeasure. "Mikasa," He bit out, dangerously soft, his last warning. "Come."

She ignored him, pushing the bread against Sasha's mouth insistently. "In a while."

He snapped. "You can feed your pet when we get back." He grabbed the back of her jacket and yanked her up. He ripped the bread out of her hands and shoved it into Connie's hands. "You feed her."

Connie looked at Sasha a little blankly.

Sasha grinned at him dreamily.

"Yes, Heichou." Connie scooted forward.

He pulled Mikasa into an empty room none too gently—when she suddenly ripped her hand out of his grip. She walked across the room and placed her hands on the window sill, her fingertips clenched white about the dark wood. Her shoulders were hunched, her voice tight. "We weren't done eating, Heichou."

"I already told you, you can feed your pet when you—"

"Sasha is my comrade." She interrupted, facing him, her quiet fury momentarily surprising him. "Not my pet—and neither am I yours to be pulling around against my will, Heichou."

He grasped her elbows. "Levi," He bit out, sitting her in a chair roughly. "I've made you say my name enough times for you to have it branded on your tongue and you will call me by it now or I will not let you have a moments rest in our bed until you surrender to me." He flatted his hands on the arms of the chair, effectively caging her in, his face inches from hers. "Now look at me, Mikasa."

When she refused he cupped her jaw, lifting her face. Her scarlet scarf came into view with the motion, the softness of it brushing against his knuckles. It made him pause. The sight of it always did—it always reminded him of their first time. He recalled gathering her in his arms and asking her to let him have her. At her acceptance it had been the first piece of clothing he'd tugged away from her body. He could remember the softness of it in his hard grasp, slipping it away from her pale neck, exposing her throat for his perusing gaze and mouth. Whenever he'd taken her to bed it was always the first thing to go. It had almost been a test to see if she'd let him take that from her and she always had. He clutched at the scarf now, gripping the ruby red softness tightly as he struggled with his words. "You aren't Petra." He pulled it away from her throat, saw the thrashing of her pulse, clenched his jaw. "I've never wanted—"

The door swung open and Levi cursed beneath his breath viciously.

Hanji grinned a little, eyeing them speculatively. "We're leaving, Levi, Mikasa. You two can continue when we get back. Come on."

Levi shut his eyes and inhaled deeply.

He needed to calm himself.

He pulled away, dropping her scarf in her lap. He looked at Mikasa darkly. "We'll continue this when we get back."

If they did.

Shit.

He gripped the handles tightly, his blood making them slippery as he spun, his blades biting into the nape of a titan neatly.

"Armin!"

Levi landed high up on a branch and looked down at the sound of Mikasa's cry of alarm. Armin was unconscious on the ground with Mikasa fluttering over him, trying to stem the flowing blood from his head wound—and a titan was running towards them rapidly. There was a smaller one trailing in its shadow however, a six meter titan, and he knew from their angle they wouldn't see it until it was too late.

Levi moved—but Mikasa was closer, angrier, and she cut the large titan down quickly, easily. She landed on the ground with her usual, cat-like grace, running back towards Armin.

And she didn't see the smaller titan lunging at her.

"Mikasa!" Levi shouted, shooting forward as rapidly as he could as the smaller titan swung its grubby hand towards her. She turned around a second too late, its fingers curling around her—Levi used his momentum and struck Mikasa hard, sending her rolling across the field and out of harm's way, her back striking a tree trunk harshly.

The titan grappled at Levi's thigh, and he cursed as it began to tighten brutally—he rammed his blade down, neatly cutting the titans thumb off and slicing his thigh open in the process. The titan dropped him and Levi's breath ripped out of his lungs as he hit the ground.

The titan eyes widened maniacally as he reached for him again—but Mikasa flew over them, nimbly slicing at its nape.

He rolled away as it fell forward, gritting against the pain in his cut thigh.

"Levi!" Mikasa stood over him, lifting him to his feet. "You're bleeding." She cut off a large shred of her cloak, haphazardly tying the cloth over the gushing wound on his thigh. She looked calm, he thought, but her hands shook and fumbled as she tried to knot the soaked, grimy cloth.

He leaned his back against the trunk of a tree, tried to ignore the dizzy swaying of his head. "Go check on Armin."

She pressed her lips together grimly.

"This is just a scratch. His head is bleeding. Go get him—it's an order."

She gave him an inscrutable look before nodding and walking away. She lifted Armin easily and walked back over to him, tying another shred of her cloak around Armin's head. Levi adjusted the cloth about his thigh and gathered his composure for a few moments, watching her darkly.

The split second he'd seen the titans hand reaching for Mikasa had made his mind go blank with rage and terror—he hadn't thought clearly, hadn't kept a level head and now instead of helping out the situation he'd worsened it. Now Mikasa had to deal with both of them being injured instead of just Armin.

But he knew that there wasn't a bone in her body that wasn't protective, knew she'd die protecting them both. And he didn't want her to die trying to carry that burden.

"Mikasa…" He murmured, catching her gaze. He could feel the hard vibrations wracking the ground beneath their feet, indicating oncoming titans. "Take Armin." He pushed away from the tree. "I'll hold them off for as long as I can."

She looked up in surprise for just a moment—but then she gathered her composure, her gaze darkening. She looked away, still kneeling, her hands gentle as she pushed a bloody lock of hair away from Armin's forehead. "No."

He grasped the front of her jacket. "Get up and leave. That was not a request."

"It's my fault you're hurt." She wrapped her fingers around his wrist tightly as she spoke quietly, stiffly. "This isn't the only time you've gotten hurt for my sake. I have been enough of a burden to you. I will take responsibility for my actions. You can carry Armin and run but you cannot fight in your state. I am at my full strength and I am far from my limits. I will stay."

He felt his vision go red. He felt like strangling her. "Do you think I can lose you here?" He clenched his hand into the back of her hair viciously, angling her face up for him. "Do you think I'm so heartless I can go through this again?"

She looked up at him for a few quiet moments, an odd, horrible dullness seeping into her gaze. Her words were hollow. "I am not Petra."

He felt something precious within him crack. "I've never confused you for her." This was the worst time to tell her this but he wasn't so sure he'd be able to get out of this alive, needed her to know what she'd meant to him, how she'd redeemed him when he'd been wretched and forsaken. "I've only ever seen you, Mikasa. I've only wanted you for what you were. You're a bloody moron if you've ever thought otherwise. I wanted you and then I grew to need you and I kept telling myself I'd let you go because you deserve better than what I can offer you but…" He looked away, shutting his eyes as his breath shuddered out of him. "But I was selfish." He pressed his forehead against hers gently. "I wanted you to belong to me for as long as I could have you. For as long as you'd let me. I couldn't let you go. I want you still."

She reached up slowly, almost unsurely, bringing his mouth down on hers.

"Mikasa!"

Sasha, Connie and Jean swung in overhead, landing beside them lightly. Mikasa got to her feet, lifting Armin.

Jean ran towards them first. "Are you guys okay? We need to move—there's a stampede of titans heading this way. Eren and Hanji are ahead of us with the rest of the group."

Mikasa handed Armin over to Connie. "Carry him. Sasha, Jean, cover him." She faced Levi. "Help them get to Hanji and Erwin. I'll stay here for a while and cut down as many as I can. I'll catch up to you after I'm sure you've made it out of the forest."

The pain bit into his leg as he lunged forward and grabbed her jacket, shaking her. "As usual defying orders, aren't you? What part of I can't lose you here don't you understand, Mikasa?" He shoved her hard enough to make her fall backwards—and Jean caught her.

Jean helped Mikasa to her feet—and she gave Levi the blackest glare he'd ever seen.

"I'm not going, Mikasa. You can try to force me but you know you can't win me. I've lived long enough—you brats just started. I don't want to carry any more bodies on my back."

"Heichou…" She walked towards him slowly and there was something in her gaze, in the way she moved that made him pause. "Levi." She murmured beneath her breath, like she had whenever he'd kissed her breathless. "I'm sorry." It sounded like surrender.

He shut his eyes as she pressed herself against him. If he was going to die a vicious death, he could have a moment of bliss, couldn't he?

Her pale hands slid up his chest—and her mouth brushed over his, softly, tenderly. "Forgive me." She whispered.

He felt a hard crack splinter across the back of his skull, a flash of red slashing across his vision—and then he saw nothing.

Mikasa eyed the blades in her hands dully as she stood in the middle of the woods, Levi's words still ringing through her skull.

I don't want to carry any more bodies on my back.

The titans were almost here now.

She'd knocked him unconscious of course, had helped tie him to Jean. They hadn't wanted to leave her but she'd assured them she'd only toy with them then bolt as soon as she could.

But she knew better.

Armin was injured. So was Levi. There were most likely many others that were injured. They needed time. And it was her fault again that their strongest soldier was wounded. This was her responsibility. This was the burden she and Levi bore as the strongest soldiers and now that Levi had been hurt for her sake the responsibility fell onto her shoulders.

And she was strong enough to carry it through.

He'd shown her that.

She hadn't wanted to strike him. Everything in her had been repulsed by the idea. How gentle had he always been with her body? How tenderly had he touched her, looked at her in those brief hours enclosed in his bedroom?

But he'd been determined to protect them. And she'd refused to be a burden anymore, both emotionally and physically. Why had she said that to him earlier? It hadn't been her place. She'd known what they'd had going on between them was only physical. It was only temporary. So why had she said it? Had she wanted to make him feel guilty? He must have seen the flash of pain that had cut through her, must have heard the shake of her voice.

He must have understood that she'd become emotionally involved with him.

And she knew she'd ruined what they'd had instantly.

Even if they'd both survived and gotten back…he'd pull away from her. She knew that instinctively. And she had no one to blame but her own selfish needs and words.

How could she have misconstrued his sexual affection for an emotional one? But it was like her, she thought humorously and bitterly. She'd once thought Eren had loved her—romantically. She'd fallen for him and then she'd seen him with Armin and it had felt like ice in her blood.

Of course. Of course. It made sense.

She'd been a fool.

And then Levi had wrecked into her life with his nonchalance, his aloofness, his flaws and vulnerable bitterness. She'd found more and more in common with him as the hot days had passed into cold ones, had found that his iciness hid a fierce passion, that his caress could bring out her own.

His touches had become more frequent, his cutting looks into smirks, then tender, knowing glances. He often asked her to train with him, their kicks and chokeholds turning into lingering fingertips, a soft brush of lips over exposed skin, voices deepening and pulses fluttering.

She didn't regret giving herself to him. She smiled at the memory, allowing herself to recall it freely now. He'd shaken more than she had—she felt the force of his restraint like it was tangible, been both grateful and bewildered by how hard he'd tried to be gentle. How long he'd taken discovering her body, his long elegant fingers and soft mouth strumming her body effortlessly, his eyes carefully watching every nuance of pleasure that had flickered over her features.

Perhaps he had never loved her.

But he had made love to her.

And perhaps she'd never been loved the way she'd wanted to be. Perhaps she'd never have anyone love her the way she loved them.

But Levi hadn't used her as Petra's replacement—his eyes had said that much—and he had been willing to put his life before hers. She knew of course he did this as the leader of their squad and not as a lover but perhaps she'd maybe meant a little more to him. Perhaps she could allow herself a bit of fantasy in these last few moments.

The titans finally came into view, spotting her and lunging towards her hungrily. She inhaled deeply and gripped her blades tightly, thankful she'd wrapped her red scarf around Levi's neck.

Though it was scarlet, she didn't like the thought of staining it with anymore blood.

She opened her eyes and swung her body up as her blades cleaved down.

A/N-I actually updated on time. Everyone clap for Stormy.

I'm sorry if it doesn't make sense. If you didn't review on the first one you may want to stop reading here because I'll bore you to death.

Since I didn't get that many reviews I feel like I can maybe address all of you that did actually review. This is going to be long.

To all of you that told me it was okay to take my time with Subtle Unraveling (Ami90, Noey, the guest reviewer, featherelly) you're unbelievably sweet. I actually felt a knot of pressure in my stomach. Maybe that's my problem. You guys made me feel so much better. Thank you. I've kind of hammered out 9 pages so far but I need to just wrap it up then go through it and fix all my mistakes. I feel so happy you guys aren't irritated with me because I'm irritated with myself.

Rivaille-I am continuing it. I hope you like where I took it? I was a little unsure but decided to let my fingertips do the story telling.

Shadows55-Did you just call my writing beautiful? Because I might have just fell in love with you a little.

Black Tofu-Thank you, thank you. Did I satisfy thy need? Feel free to tell me if I didn't. I'll whip myself into shape.

FairHeartStrife-I do not think my writing has ever been described as painfully beautiful but I absolutely adore that compliment. 'Intricate' & 'layered' & 'human complexity' all of these things made me smile like a fool. Are you a writer yourself? I get that feeling from the way you wrote.

Queen-of-heroes-Those are happy tears, I hope? I kid. You're lovely. You made me laugh.

Warum-Thank you for complimenting my writing style. I rather thought I didn't even have one. I'm so...capricious that I think I lack a strong writing voice completely. I hope you enjoyed the update however rushed it was.

You guys are adorable.