Title: Hurricane
Rating: M+
Pairing: Levi x Mikasa
Summary: Commander Erwin asks Mikasa and Levi to handle a team mission on their own, leaving humanity's strongest to work as a duo. The mission itself brings back an overwhelming emotion for Mikasa, causing severe trouble amid the pair.

TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of Sexual Harassment. (I'm re-uploading my old stories, sorry if you read this before)

I don't even know where Central City would be okay, sometimes I write and my brain won't stop. I just felt like I wanted to write a Mikasa where she is just really fucked up by what happened in her past and isn't repressing it or anything like that. Basically, she's fucked up. This will be a two parter, I have to write some smut in the other chapter, of course. Let me know if I should actually continue or what you guys think?

"Ackerman…Ackerman?…ACKERMAN!"

The sound of Mikasa's knees hitting her desk echoed through the tiny classroom as she jumped up from shock. Her neck snapped up and she wiped the small amount of drool that had been gathering around her mouth. She had fallen into a deep, weightless sleep during one of the millionth lectures on the 'Scientific Exploration of a Titan's Digestive System.' There were only so many times that the same thing could be pitched over and over again with no real evidence to support any claims.

So, naturally, her mind wandered elsewhere, to things like Eren or a peaceful world or her Mom and Dad. She had eventually consumed her own thoughts with so many different scenarios playing out that sleep overcame her soon after.

It was a real pity. She was having such a nice dream too.

Her black hair stuck to her face and she quickly swiped it off, dragging any sweat along with it. She coughed once, clearing her throat with any sleep mucus that had gathered. She felt gross. There was nothing worse than being woken up during a nap. She normally wouldn't have done it, she was good at fighting sleep and she usually paid attention and participated in lessons, but Heichou Levi was teaching tonight and she damn well hated that midget.

If anything, she did it to piss him off alone.

She never got much sleep nowadays anyways. It was always fighting, eating, classes, training, looking out for Eren and training again. Sleep was a desire and to her and it was almost unobtainable.

"Was I boring you, Ackerman?" Levi's voice finally rang out as he watched the girl resort back into reality. She blinked multiple times and licked her lips, her eyes dazed and confused but nonetheless, she was conscious. There was a bright red mark on her right cheek that had been left by her desk and Levi almost chuckled at the sight of the perfect polished Ackerman in a frazzled state.

She eventually narrowed her eyes, having them finally adjusted to light once more. She glared at the little man, burning her eyes into his black soul, not really knowing what she was going to accomplish but feeling the need to do so anyway.

"Yes, you were, Heichou." She snapped, feeling bold enough to growl at her superior.

Levi clicked his tongue, thoroughly annoyed with the younger brat. "I'm sorry, do you have somewhere else to be? Maybe protecting Yeager from his own shadow, ne?"

"Funny, Heichou."

"I'm not the joke here, Ackerman. Look around, you're the last one in the classroom."

Mikasa's head spun to the left and right, her brain gathering all the empty seats that were left scattered around. Her mouth gaped open, not really believing that they didn't wake her up before they all went to dinner. They left me? Even Eren and Armin?

"Don't fall asleep while I'm teaching. Understood?"

She stood to her feet, grabbing at any books she had to stuff into her hands while she could thoroughly ignore Levi. The fact that she was alone with him made her work twice as fast. She was rarely ever alone with him. It was like two forces that were ready to blow, neither wanting to explode first but both eager to fight the other any chance there was. There was no mistaking the competitive spirits between the two…surrounded by the hate and loathing of course.

"That attitude doesn't look good on you, Ackerman."

She ignored him, gathering the last of her belongings and scooting out of the desks, desperate to get out of the classroom before she tore off his head. She walked down the last step and headed for the classroom door, ready to rip Eren and Armin a new one.

"Stop." Levi's commanding voice rang out. She halted in her tracks, spinning slightly so she could stare at him.

"You haven't been dismissed."

Mikasa fought the urge to roll her eyes. Levi was a great fighter, a skilled warrior and a phenomenal leader. But as a teacher, he held very little commanding authority over her.

"I would like to eat dinner, sir."

Levi's eyebrows rose, clearly annoyed at her tone of voice. In all his years at the Legion, he had never once been so damn infuriated by a single person before. She was loyal, agreeable and polite to everybody but him. Just because that one teeny time he beat the shit absolute shit out of Yeager. If anyone can hold a grudge, it was sure as hell her. She practically graveled at the Erwin's feet, doing anything and everything he asked of her. But gods forbid Levi asked her to clean the kitchen or mop the floors or wake up in the middle of a lesson. That was just outrageous.

"Tch, you are something. You should treat me with respect, Ackerman. I am superior commander."

"I only give respect to those who deserve it."

Hmm.

"So, you're still angry at me for punching your boyfriend's teeth out eh?"

Levi didn't miss the slight blush creeping up on her poise cheek. "He's not my boyfriend. He's my family. And yes, what you did wasn't professional at all."

Levi let out a big sigh. This girl could be blind to things she definitely didn't want to see. Eren clouded her judgment too often.

"Ackerman, after all this time, you still don't see that what I did was to save his life?"

Mikasa said nothing, anger creeping up into her stomach. Of course she knew. She wasn't an idiot. But she had never done anything but hate this man for years, it was her fallback, something she was just supposed to do. How idiotic would she look if she suddenly idolized him or cared about him in any way that wasn't in a hateful manner? She had grown so used to despising him. That's all it was. She didn't even know if she truly hated him anymore.

"Am I free to go now, Heichou?" She muttered, avoiding his eye contact and searching for the door, wishing she was beyond it.

"No, there's something else. Commander Erwin asked to see both of us after dinner."

Her grey eyes snapped back up to his, widening at the new information. Her stomach twisted with confusion and concern. Commander Erwin rarely asked to see her unless it was important. And both of them together? This was new.

"What for?"

Levi shrugged, running a hand along the back of his neck, squeezing out any muscle spasm he was having. His neck was stiff from training the new recruits. "I don't know. Unlike you, I don't question my superiors. Be there at 8pm. Sharp. Dismissed."

Mikasa was too stunned at the escalation of his words that she just shut her mouth, abruptly walking away from Levi and finally escaping the situation. She heard the door shut behind her softly and she took a deep breath. She needed to eat some dinner and snap herself out of her sleep state. Her head was pounding and with each step she took towards the dining hall, the headache grew more and more discomforting. She walked through the cold castle walls, her books and papers all bundled in her hands and racked her brain out what Erwin could possibly want.

The last time Erwin asked to see her, he had asked her to make a three-day trip by herself towards the central districts as he wanted to test her 'stealth' levels. It was a training exercise, but a frightening one at that. She hadn't known that she would be in the most dangerous part of the city, fighting a battle with not only robbers, thieves and rapists, but with herself. She was tested as a human to see how far she would go to save herself when she wasn't pitted against a Titan. Erwin knew very little about her past in any case, not knowing she had killed before. She made it back alive and untouched; much like Erwin had assumed she would. In her mind, the only thing that was more painful than fighting off savage men was being kept away from Eren for the three days.

And something she had never told anyone was how fearful for her life she actually was. When the monster is someone just like you, someone as human as you, it was hard to fight. Men after men after men, all tried different things, vile things. She cried the whole way home, something she had not done something like that since she was a child, but did not break face as soon as she got back. She never told anyone the full details of her trip. Not Eren or Erwin knew.

That was why she was so incredibly nervous about what Erwin could want with her this time.

When she eventually came around to the large doors separating her from her friends, she was hesitant to open them for fear that her friends wouldn't have even noticed she was missing. They had forgotten her after all. But Mikasa being Mikasa, she put the thoughts out of her mind, throwing on her stone-face appearance and pushed open the doors. She saw the group sitting on a nearby bench and stomped up to them, glaring at each of them behind their backs. She coughed once, to get them to become aware of her presence.

"MIKASA!" Sasha's doll-like voice squealed out, jumping on the raven haired girl, causing all her books to drop to the floor.

"Oops, sorry!" Her ponytail swung as she bent down to pick up the pile. "I'm just happy you're awake!"

"No thanks to you guys!" Mikasa murmured, lightly punching Eren on the shoulder as she took a seat next to him with Armin on the other side of Eren. Sasha nestled into her seat in between Connie and Jean's faces, both who were covered in beef stew, looking happy to see her. Sasha placed Mikasa's pile of books on the table between them. Eren cried out from her punch, knowing she was probably using no strength at all but it still damn well hurt. He rubbed the sore spot and gave her a pouty look. She rolled her eyes and threatened to hit him again but he put his arms up to block himself.

"Okay, okay! Sorry Mik! We tried to wake you up but you were out like a light. Heichou said not to disturb you, that he had something to tell you anyway."

Mikasa glared at all five of them. So it was short's fault! "You left me with that shrimp?"

"But you just looked so cute sleeping, like a little baby." Sasha said, reaching over to pinch Mikasa's cheeks. Mikasa slapped Sasha's hand away with a laugh.

"Oh shut up. I'm starving though."

"I got you a plate!" Armin said, pushing a bowl towards her. Mikasa smiled at him, thankful to have a friend like Armin. He was always thinking about others, it made her heart warm up.

"Thanks. You're a true friend Armin."

Armin chuckled. "Thanks Mikasa, but it's only a bowl of soup."

"Yeah, but you're probably the only one who thought about getting me food. Riggggght?" She said, examining the faces of each friend, whose eyes just somehow seemed to not want to meet hers. When they didn't answer, Mikasa rolled her eyes, growling at the company she kept.

"Like I said, thanks Arm." She picked up her spoon and took the first gulp of the delicious beef, her stomach thanking her for finally having enough time in her day to eat.

"So what did Heichou want?" Jean asked, after having finally swallowed his last little bit of food.

Mikasa shrugged. "To scold me for not following the rules, as usual…oh and uh Erwin wants to see me after dinner."

Eren's ears perked up and he spun to look at her, a piece of bread hanging from his mouth.

"WH-ATNG?" His question came out muffled, pieces of break spat out and fell onto the table.

Mikasa shrugged, avoiding eye contact with everyone. "I don't know why or what about. I just know I have to go."

"Bu lat time yo nerly-"

"Swallow your food Eren."

He abruptly did, gulping loudly as he tried not to choke on it. "But last time you nearly got murdered! You told us you almost got killed!"

Mikasa sighed. "I almost get killed every day. I don't know what's he's going to do with me this time. It could just be something small, like collecting food or something. Don't worry about it, okay? He's our commanding officer."

"That's funny coming from you!" Eren muttered. "You still treat Heichou like horse shit and he's ourcommanding officer."

"That's different."

"How?"

But she really had no answer. So she just silently poked at her food, no longer hungry for any meal that was presented in front of her. "Just…forget it okay. I'll be fine. I always am. It's nearly 8 though, I should go meet them."

"But you barely ate anything!" Connie said, protesting at the young girl leaving and pointing towards her full bowl.

"I slept too long and got here too late. It's okay, I'm not hungry anyways."

And after a swift goodbye, she got up from the table, leaving her books and papers scattered on the table, not looking back at any of her friends.

Eren twiddled his thumbs nervously, watching his sister exit the room. "I'm worried."

"Me too," said the blue-eyed blonde. "I just hope Erwin doesn't damage her anymore."

—-

"You're late, Ackerman." Levi's sly voice rang out and her eyes had to adjust to the dark before she could fully see his figure in the shadows. He was leaning against the wall outside of Erwin's office, looking annoyed that he had to wait.

"Sorry, sir."

Levi's eyebrow's rose. "An apology? What's this?"

"Nothing. Can we just get this over with? I'm still tired…sir."

Levi's eyes narrowed and he wondered what was wrong with her, but didn't think too much to ask about it. He turned towards the room and gave a curt knock on the door, listening for Erwin's command to enter. When he received it, he propped open the door, ushering inside with Mikasa directly behind him.

"Welcome, Ackerman. Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Sorry I was late, sir." She responded, bowing slightly in a polite manner.

"With both of you present here and with our slow advancement in regards to Yeager's old basement, I figured now would be as good a time as any to go forward with this plan."

"And what plan is that, sir?" She asked quietly. Levi stood beside her, his eyes searching Erwin's for answers.

"As you both are aware, the person standing beside you is equal in both skill and agility. We have never had two people with such impressive statures as the both of you."

"Where are you going with this, Erwin?" Levi's bored voice asked.

"Well, we have a small mission, one needed for our two highest skilled warriors to master."

Mikasa's nose crinkled as she tried to understand what he was saying.

"The two of you are to go to central city and investigate the rumor of a human/titan organization that has been circling around."

Mikasa's heart dropped. Central city. Again.

"In this case, if the rumors are called to be truthful, we will need the two of you to eliminate any threats during this investigation."

He wants us to work together? Is he nuts?

"This is children's work, Erwin. You can't expect me to pair up with Ackerman for something like this."

Erwin's face was stern and unmoving. "That is exactly what I expect you to do, Levi. Is that an issue?"

"Hell yes! A big one!"

Mikasa remained silent.

"And what if, when the two of us are gone, some Titan outburst happens? You'll lose your two strongest assets."

"We can handle our own here, Levi. Right now, this is priority."

Levi racked his brain for some sort of argument, some reasoning against it but fell short, knowing Erwin would have some retort for every excuse made. He had no choice but to give up and agree to this fucking mission.

This was going to be a miserable experience.

"Any objections from yourself, Ackerman?" Erwin asked calmly.

She shook her head silently, eyes cast downwards towards the wooden tiles. Levi's own pair of eyes roamed over his new companion's stance, the slight slump in her posture, the shaking of her hands, the defeated aura. There was something deeper going on with her, something that Levi didn't quite know about.

"Ackerman, don't think too much of it. Central city is a lot calmer than it was back then. You'll be fine." Erwin said, hiding the concern he felt for the young girl in his voice. He knew that sending her out there alone was a brutal thing to do. He had almost broken her years ago, the strong girl she was. He felt guilty for putting her through that mission, but it was very necessary. He needed to see how far she would go, how much she would risk and how human she still was.

Levi's ears picked up on the silent yet loud secret that was passed between the two of them, his eyebrows rising as he watched Erwin's face soften at the girl's expression.

What the…

"I'm fine sir. It was just shock. The mission will be completed without any problems, you can count on us."

Shock?

Erwin smiled, thankful that she was putting on a brave face in front of them, knowing that she would do the best she could.

"Excellent. Dismissed. You both will leave first thing tomorrow morning. I had Hanji pack the small supplies you'll need and you should be off at sun rise. Goodnight, soldiers."

Without another word, Levi and Mikasa both spun around, heading for the door to think what they just heard over. Neither one was too happy about the circumstances but they knew it was for the good of humanity. They were doing their duty.

Erwin watched the two of them leave, running a hand through his blonde locks. He let out a stressful sigh and sat in his office chair, scratching his growing beard.

He hoped he had done the right thing. He really did.

Outside the wooden door, Levi strolled forward with Mikasa directly beside him. She said nothing; just let her eyes move with rhythm of her footsteps.

"What was that back there?" Levi asked her, his eyes roaming over her own, trying not to sound to concerned about the brat.

Because he wasn't. He really wasn't.

"Nothing, shorty. It's going to be an unbearable mission with you there so we better get some damn sleep now." She said curtly, shutting down any invitations Levi left for her to talk to him. He rolled his eyes. Well, she's back to normal then.

"You are the last person on earth I would want to go on a mission with, Ackerman. Believe me."

"Ditto, sir."

They walked in silence, Levi angrily going over different variations of words he could call her to make her just as angry. He hated how he allowed this young brat to get under his skin, yet she seemed very uncaring about his dislike towards her. It drove him nuts.

"Sir?" She said, spinning to face him suddenly, her black hair spinning with her body. He hadn't been expecting her to turn so he jolted back when she was suddenly too close for comfort.

"What Ackerman?" He said with annoyance in his tone.

"Your room is on the other side of the castle. And believe me; I don't need you walking me to mine. Goodnight." She snapped and turned back around, walking a few feet and opening the door to her bedroom and slamming it shut behind her.

Damn that brat.

She was right.

He was so caught up in his thoughts about the mission and what her damn problem was that he forgot his room was on the complete utter end of the castle. Growling with annoyance he glared at her door, as if she would feel it from behind it, and spun quickly, making his way to his own room.

—-

"What a shitty place." Levi muttered, wrinkling his nose as if he couldn't stand the smell of the rough city. Which, he really couldn't. It smelled like rotten food and dirty people. It was getting to be nighttime, the trip taking up half the day just to arrive to the stupid city.

Mikasa grunted in agreement, pulling her horse silently behind her. The horse let out a loud neigh as they passed a dark hallway surrounded by large stone. She clicked her tongue at him, petting his mane to calm him down. She looked around at the familiar city, her hair standing on end as her brain burned through everything she had tried to forget about this damn place.

"Now I know the reason people hate coming here. It's depressing."

"Like our 'happy' town is so different."

Levi shrugged. "We have good people near us; the castle is filled with friends. Not some creep who decided to piss all over himself in an alleyway." He used his statement with an example and pointed to a man doing that exact action all over a stone wall. Mikasa shuddered, moving her eyes away from the disgusting sight.

"My point being that living here is almost as bad as living out there." He said, pointing to the large wall that could be seen in the distance.

Mikasa shrugged, not adding too much to the conversation. It was weird, Levi being the one to talk a lot. He almost never opened his mouth unless he had something sarcastic to say and today he was filled with nothing but comments.

"Erwin has us staying at a cheap inn. We want to be as low key as possible to try and catch these guys."

They were being especially undercover, even going as far as to take off their familiar uniform and putting on normal clothes. They looked just like everyone else, minus the horses.

"And you think people aren't going to recognize us? We are part of the Legion! And how, exactly, sir are we supposed to catch anyone? If I didn't know Eren could turn, I would think he was just a normal boy."

Levi's turn to shrug, hoping that they would be able to figure it out as they went along.

"Plus, we aren't even sure that there is such a group, they were just rumors remember?"

"Ackerman…"

"…I don't need this again, this is so useless. I should be with Eren and fighting Titans and training."

"Ackerman…" Levi stopped his horse too look over at the girl, seeing how frantic she was suddenly becoming. She paused in her steps, her eyes wide with something he had never seen in her. Something that looked like fear. She was rambling on and on and she had no power to shut off her brain.

"I don't even think we are going to find a damn thing and this is a waste of time and –"

"ACKERMAN!"

Her eyes snapped up, as if breaking out of a trance. He slowly saw they grey colour return to their normal look, the fogginess in her eyes breaking apart to reveal her normal self. She blinked a few times, shaking her head lightly.

"Calm down." He said, pulling his horse behind him so he was facing her now.

"Sorry. I'm sorry sir."

"You have to keep whatever shit you have going on together right now, alright?" He said, hiding any concern he had and sticking to his cold voice.

"You're right sir. Sorry." She whispered, burying her face in her scarf. She grabbed her horse's reins, pulling the beast behind her gently so they could keep going.

Levi followed suit, letting her lead the way as she looked like she was familiar with where she was going.

"This city smells like…" Levi muttered, not being able to put the smell into exact words, shaking his head to try and rid the odor.

"Like death." Mikasa whispered, barely audible for Levi to hear. He just caught the words and walked a bit faster, wanting to be side by side with her again, feeling suddenly uneasy about the situation.

"Ackerman, have you been here before?"

She didn't answer, just looked towards the ground.

"What have you gone through that has fucked you up this badly, huh?"

She almost laughed. Almost. "I could ask you the same question."

"We are more alike than you think ne?"

"I'm nothing like you."

Levi shook his head in disbelief. "No? Erwin said it himself. We are alike in our fighting styles, our personalities, our emotions, our teachings-"

"I don't beat up innocent people."

Levi sighed. "You're right. We aren't alike then. I don't hold grudges based on a damn brother complex."

Mikasa had enough of his bullshit and she dropped her horse's reins angrily. She swung her fist in a rage, all of her emotions boiling up towards this man and she had finally let it all go.

But Levi, of course, was ready.

He knew he had pushed her buttons and expected her to get angry. She wasn't as good at hiding her emotions as she thought. He caught her hand midway, stopping it before it could punch him in the jaw. She glared daggers at him, struggling around his closed fist. She wriggled her hand, hating his grip on her and she thought quickly about how to get out of this situation. She kicked her foot out and pushed him back quickly with the other hand, causing him to trip over her shoe. He toppled backwards and Mikasa saw success, for about two seconds before he dragged her down with him.

They landed with a loud thump and Mikasa was sprawled on top of Levi while he lay underneath all of her body weight. Her head lay on his chest and her hands were on either side of his body. It took them both a few minutes to figure out what happened. Mikasa shook her head slightly, as if confused, looking upwards into his dark eyes. She swallowed, never having been this close to him before. She saw a freckle underneath his left eye, how his eye was slightly lighter then she had though, how his teeth were perfectly even. She was flustered and awkward and everything that a teenage girl should be. Her body folded nicely on top of his, his hand lying gently on back.

One heartbeat.

Two heartbeats.

Three heartbeats.

Four heartb-

"Are you going to get off of me, Ackerman?" He said (although Mikasa noted the crack in his voice as he said it.) He had removed his hand, who knows how long ago, and was looking at her like she was an idiot. She tried to fight back the major blush that was creeping up her cheeks, so she rolled off him, landing on her back and then quickly scrambling to her feet. He cleared his throat and did the same, brushing off any mud and dirt that he had landed in upon falling.

"You better have calmed down, Ackerman. Although, you already got me dirty, there isn't much else you could do to me."

"You're so infuriating."

"And you're an angel? Brat."

She rolled her eyes and began walking past him, clicking her tongue at her horse to follow. He did, trotting after the now furious girl. For extra dramatic effect, she stomped with each step she made, pretending it was his dumb face underneath her boot.

She could hear he wasn't following her just yet, his horse was making no noise and his footsteps were not heard of. She could only imagine what he was waiting for. She turned back around to get a sneak glance at what he was doing and he was out of her sight.

"Hey there, pretty lady." A slurred voice announced and she stopped in her steps, spinning back around to face the new person.

6 ft. Large beard. Smelling of alcohol. Mikasa already knew that this was going to be bad.

"Can I help you?" She said, her voice going quiet.

"Why yes, you can. In multiple ways, gorgeous. You're an oriental, right? Not much of your kind left." He said with a gross wink that made Mikasa's bones tingle uncomfortably.

Oriental. She remembered. That's what the men had said. She was special because of the way she looked. Her parents died because of the way she looked. It was always like this.

He suddenly stepped forward, his hand reaching towards her smooth face. She heard her horse whiney behind her but didn't dare turn around. She didn't do anything. She felt like she was 8 years old again and she just froze up. His rough, scabbed hand brushed against her cheek, his grin apparent on his face. He swiped black her raven colored hair roughly, grabbing a handful of it as he reached back further. He pulled back and she hissed, hating that she had no mobility in any part of her body. Her face lifted towards his and she almost threw up from his smell. She heard a rustling from behind him and a few more footsteps. And then, it dawned on her, that he had friends.

"Oi, what have you caught there?" One of them asked.

"A fresh piece of meat. Don't worry none, you'll all get your turn."

A new, dirty face came into her view and he pushed his mug close to hers, sniffing her white cheek. "She smells rich. Let's fuck her and steal her coins."

"No shit, what else would we do, buy her dinner?"

The group chuckled simultaneously. Mikasa's stomach clenched and her worries began illuminating.

"Fuck …" she whispered, to nobody in particular. Mostly to herself. She didn't know how to get herself out of this situation and she was ripe with fear. Her mind was flashing back and forth, between her past and her present. The parallels between both were frightening to her. And she knew Eren wasn't here. Eren couldn't save her. Eren wouldn't help her.

"Don't use that mouth for such words, princess. Use that mouth to wrap around my cock ins-"

"I suggest you take your hands off of her, if you want to keep those two stubs at the end of your arms working anyway."

Levi.

Levi.

She let out a large breath, tears filling her eyes with relief and she was going to hug this stupid short man.

"You are threatening me, you fucking shrimp?"

Levi's left eyebrow rose, wanting to slice up this disgusting rotten thing. He took a step forward, careful not to make sudden movement as they still had Mikasa by her hair. He also took into account that there were five other men behind this monstrous one.

"You put your hands on someone close to me. How about I put my hands on something close to you?" He said with each step, eventually ending up so he was face to face (well face to like waist) with the ogre man.

"What?" The man asked, a quizzical emotion passed over his face.

Levi smiled, silently thanking him for setting him up to do this. Levi took this beautiful opportunity to swing out his large sword, quick like the wind, and aim directly at the man's genitals. The man hissed, not expecting the situation to be at hand and quickly tried to move back. His hands were still in Mikasa's hair and the surprise of Levi's sword caused him to grab tighter. Mikasa cried out and Levi glanced at her, making sure to hold his sword steady but worried about her wellbeing. He put a hand against her back; rubbing gentle circles to sooth her as best he could in this damn situation. His fingers danced along the small of her back and she felt comfort in those little touches.

"You make one more move against her and your balls aren't the only thing you're going have to worry about. Let her go."

"No." The man said through clenched teeth. That pissed Levi off more, so he pressed his blade harder.

"You might want to reconsider. I won't ask again."

"Do what you want, this bitch is mine." He said, clenching Mikasa's hair and sharply giving it a pull. He stuck his disgusting tongue out and ran it along her cheek, tasting her. She closed her eyes, revolted at what was happening. He trailed down to her jawline, his saliva leaving marks on her skin. He trailed down now to her lips, ready to force his way into her mouth so he coul-

His actions were stopped dead.

The silence surrounded the group; the only sound was the whistling echo of a blade that had moved quickly through the crisp air. The man's face stayed forward, his eyes losing any fraction of life they had in them.

Levi's face was stern, retracting his blade from the man's chest. The red river of blood dripped slowly off the sword, falling like pin drops onto the floor. No more than a second later, the man curled over, his hand limp in Mikasa's hair and he dropped to the ground in a slump. And there, he lay unmoving, along with his heart. He had pulled Mikasa down to her knees when he fell and she just knelt, not doing anything.

"You-You bastard!" One of the men called. "We'll have your head for that!"

Levi rolled his eyes and bent down to Mikasa, fitting his hand into hers and pulling her up to her feet.

"Are you alright?"

She nodded, removing her hand from his quickly and wiping her drool filled cheek. Levi's eyes checked her from head to toe, making sure he hadn't been too late. He, angrily, turned back towards the rest of the group, his eyes piercing them.

"Get the fuck out of here, you pigs. You're lucky I don't wave your heads on a stick."

That's was all the convincing they need and in a blink, they had disappeared, running for their lives.

"Ackerman, what the fuck was that?" Levi asked after a few moments of silence. She had no answer, nothing at all, just quiet.

"Why didn't you fight? You're not some weak little shit. If I hadn't been here-"

"Well you weren't here last time! Nobody was!" She snapped at him, her face rushing with anger.

Last time?

And suddenly, it was like the world beneath her had fallen from right under her feet, like she couldn't grasp anything around her to hold her body up. She was swallowed whole by the guilt and fear and helplessness. She felt so alone and small and she took one deep breath, trying to calm her body and mind down.

Levi noticed how pale she got, how she was swaying even when standing still, how her eyes were glossy and red.

"Mikasa, what happened?" He said, his voice emphasizing every word.

She fanned herself with her right hand, swallowing the ball that had gathered in her throat.

"Nothing, we…we need to call somebody to pick up the body."

"No we don't. We aren't responsible for vermin. What we need is to get you to the inn."

She nodded, not knowing what else to say and feeling too weak to bother. He helped her climb onto her horse, getting up on his soon after and they both jolted into a gallop, no longer having any time to waste.

—-

"Commander Erwin Smith sent us. 2 bedrooms?"

"Ahhh, yes deary. Quite right. We are very happy to have a couple Legion soldiers like you two to keep us safe! I'll go ready your rooms!"

Levi cleared his throat, looking over at Mikasa who was practically slumped over in the chair he had sat her in.

"Actually, do you mind if I ask whether you have a one bedroom? I don't think it's a good idea to leave her."

The innkeeper looked over at Mikasa's figure and smiled. "Ahh, I get it. No worries deary, you'll have plenty of time alone with your…subordinate."

Levi said nothing, just shook his head at the implication.

"Right this way, I'll show you to your new bedroom."

The wooden floor creaked as Levi helped Mikasa walk into the room, the echoing of each step got louder and louder the farther in they went. A gust of wind and dust burst into Levi's face as the innkeeper opened the door and he coughed, his lungs having a spasm at all the dirt. Oh what he wouldn't give for a mop.

"Enjoy deary. Don't worry, the walls are sound proof."

Levi looked at the wood panels called 'walls.' He doubted it.

"Thank you for your service." He said, dismissing the elder lady. She nodded and shut the door swiftly behind her.

"Mikasa, can you stand?"

"Yeah." She said with a groggy voice.

"Okay, walk over to the bed and I need you to sit there while I find some water."

She obliged, gently walking over there and plopping herself on the bed, taking another huge deep breath. Levi went into the bathroom and filled up one of his bowl's that Hanji had packed and filled it with water, bringing it back to Mikasa to drink. He could see her hands shaking and knew she wouldn't be able to do it herself.

"Open up." He said, motioning with his mouth.

"You don't have to-"

"You'd just make a mess. At least I have aim. Open."

She did and he poured it like a waterfall. As soon as it hit her mouth, she felt like all the air had been sucked back into her lungs and she could breathe freely now. She gulped down every last drop, feeling ten times better already.

The mattress sunk down as Levi sat on the other side of her, his eyes focusing in and out on her face.

"Stop looking at me like that, Heichou." She muttered, rubbing her eyes.

"Not until you explain what the fuck just happened out there. And I killed a man for you, Ackerman. You better make it good."

She snorted. "Don't pretend you feel guilty about that. You even said he was a vermin and I know that killing vermin isn't that hard."

"And what would you know about killing anybody that isn't a 10 feet tall monster?"

"I've killed quite a few human monsters myself." She whispered and Levi was absolutely shocked. Someone as young as her…to kill a person was not a small feat, no matter how monstrous. His eyes widened and he tried to form his next question.

"When?"

"First time? I was 9."

"Why?" 9. Innocence lost.

"…I don't really want to talk about it."

"Tough. Why?"

Mikasa sighed and shook her head, regretting every word that was coming out of her mouth.

"I…I was being sold."

"Sold? What the fuck does that mean? What kind of sold?"

She covered her face with her hands. "Sex slave. Human trafficking. I don't know. All I did know is that they killed my parents and if it wasn't for Eren…" She trailed off.

Levi always knew there was some weird bond between them; he had just never known the story behind it. But he didn't probe anymore. He could see that thinking about it was causing her more pain.

"Okay, but what about the last time you were here? What happened then?"

Mikasa shook her head, clamping her lips shut.

"Mikasa, you cannot keep this shit in. Tell me."

She shook her head again and he could see tears brimming at the surface of her eyes. "You know, throw me in front of a titan, I can kill it in a second. Throw me in front of a group of savage men and I'm done. I lose all my control. I go back to being that little 9 year old, pathetic thing that couldn't fight to save her life."

Levi took a deep breath in, soaking in all the information she was pouring out. He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck, moving his head back and forth to stretch the tight muscles.

"I don't want to ask this, but I have to, okay? Did they touch you?"

She gave one short nod and Levi's blood boiled, he started seeing red.

"Did they…?" He looked down, letting out a breath at what he was even implying.

She shook her head. "I never let them get that far. I remember that if I didn't fight, I would lose. Eren says that to me all the time. I need to fight. Just sometimes, I forget to. When it's a human being I just forget…but I killed them. All of them. Every single one who thought they could do something like that to me."

"Thank god. Because if you hadn't, I would've gone out there, searched for every single one of those fuckers and made them eat their own dicks." Levi said, spitting as he talked through anger. Mikasa smiled, brushing a tear off her cheek.

"I don't know what happened today. It just reminded me so much of my home. My mom. My dad…"

"I'm sorry that all this shit happened to you. I'm sorry I wasn't there sooner. I'm sorry-"

"You don't have to be sorry, Heichou. I'm a better person because of all the shit I went through. It's just, today, it brought back so many memories and I was numb. Eren wasn't around, I had no reason to go on, I felt done. If you hadn't come arou-"

"Don't say it. Death is the easy way out."

"I know." She whispered. "I know…it's just sometimes I'm looking for an easy-"

But he was having none of that. He was pissed off that she would even think about something like that. So he silenced her the best possible way he knew how, to submit her into comfort, to show her that she wasn't alone, to not be such a rock. He needed her to know that it was okay to have gone through shit and be okay. He wanted her to rely on someone, not just devote her life to someone, but have someone who was there with her as an equal. And he had an overwhelming urge to merge their lives together and become that person.

Their battle wounds would make the greatest of scars.

So he didn't think, didn't breath, didn't speak. He just gently, oh so gently, pushed his rough lips onto her plush ones, caressing her cheek as he did so. She gasped in surprise, her mouth opening only out of shock. She kept her eyes open, as wide as the world, and automatically grabbed the cuff of his shirt as if she was holding herself up.

He was like a gust of wind and she was unable to stand in the damn hurricane.

She pulled back, frightened of this new sensation, this new feeling that was burning through her from this man. He tasted like chocolate and courage and she was deprived of both. She wanted to pull him back towards her; to kiss him like there was no tomorrow. But the mere fact that he was Levi, fucking Levi, stopped her.

"What" She whispered, holding her fingers to her lips as if she could capture the feeling into her small hand.

"Shut up, Ackerman. Just for a few minutes. Let me take your burden, let me keep you sane, let me kiss you…please let me kiss you…" His eyes roamed to her lips and her breath hitched, clutching his shirt harder.

"Why?" She whispered.

He shrugged. "Because I want to."

And her heart burst, her butterflies released and her brain stopped thinking. She looked at this beautiful creature before, this disaster of a man. In all her years knowing him, she had never realized how much he had been there to protect her in numerous occasions, as she had also done to him. It was okay. Okay to change her mind about him, okay to want him, okay to need him. She had always been so caught up with Eren, keeping her brother safe. But she didn't need to just be a protector; she needed an equal, someone to love her as much as she loved them. She needed to be whole and new and fresh.

So she took the matters into her own hands, silencing any thoughts he had with her gentle mouth, molding her lips, life and heart into his. Her lips filled in between his, moving them so they were in constant attack with the other. Her knuckles had turned white from her power grip on his shirt and her eyes were squeezed so tight, she was worried that she might break if he looked directly at her.

Slowly, Levi pushed her tongue into her mouth, running it along her bottom lip. She gasped at the feeling, moving her hands to press against his back now so she could push him even closer. She opened her mouth wider, letting him in to keep up anything he was doing. She wanted to make him feel like this as well, to make him gasp and groan and moan. She pulled away slightly so he retracted his tongue, just in time for her to attack him again, with her own tongue tasting every inch of him. She ran it along his teeth, her chest beating so frantically. She kissed him normally again, his mouth the oxygen when coming up for air. Their motions continued like this, no momentary breaks or second questions.

She didn't even know if she was doing it right or if he was enjoying it, but right now she didn't really care. Letting this new boldness fill her up, she bit his bottom lip, slowly pulling it with her set of teeth. She let it go, it dropping back into its original position on his mouth. She finally had the confidence to look up at him, her eyelashes flitting upwards and her grey's orbs lost in his black ones. He had a blatant smile on his face, his mouth red around the rim from the kissing. She could only imagine what she looked like.

"Wow." She said, the blush splashed on her face transparent in the light. "That's what I've been missing, huh? A proper kiss."

He was startled. "You've never been kissed before?"

"Not like that."

He smiled, shaking his head at the innocent look she was giving him. He pressed his face forward, so close that she could feel his breath on her cheek without the actual feel of his lips. She moved forward in an attempt to kiss him again but he moved out reach, grabbing her hand and giving it a quick kiss.

"You need rest. And tons of it. Remember when you were practically fainting in my arms."

Mikasa snorted and rolled her eyes, feeling a million times better about this damn situation.

"I was not!"

He chuckled and jumped off the king sized bed, unrolling the covers to invite Mikasa into them.

"Why did you get a single room?"

"I didn't want to leave you. And after everything you told me, I especially don't want to leave you now."

Mikasa crawled into the bed, hiding her smile among the threads of red. He tucked her in as if she was a child. Her cheeks were still flushed from his kisses and she wasn't tired at all. She wanted to kiss his stupid face again and again. It was like a medicine.

"You gonna stay with me?"

"Of course." He muttered, switching off the light and crawling into the bed beside her. It was weird to share a bed with someone, especially someone you just made out madly with.

"Goodnight, Heichou." Mikasa muttered breathlessly, her head folding into the soft pillow. She turned her body so she faced him, wanting to go to sleep with him being the only thing on her mind.

"Goodnight, Ackerman." He whispered, imitating her movements.

The two fell into one of the most peaceful sleep they had ever encountered, the only sound was the steady breathing between the two, a peaceful melody.