A/N: Here comes the last chapter! It took me so long to get this done because life was keeping me quite busy, but I had lots of fun writing this and trying to make sure it was good enough, as this is a dear story to me and I'd like to wrap it up nicely.

Thank you to anyone who read this and supported me all the way through. You've been lovely and I'm happy I get to share this piece of work with all of you.

I hope you enjoy this last chapter!

Pairs: Mikasa/Levi | One-sided Petra/Levi | Minor Historia/Eren | Platonic Mikasa/Historia.

Warnings: Miscarriage, cheating, manipulation.

PART OF ME | Chapter V: Resolution

Petra could see Mikasa's angry face all the while she talked to Levi, though she wasn't quite sure what it was all about. She saw Mikasa leave, eventually, and Levi simply stood there, looking at something in his hand.

She approached him slowly with curious eyes, and rested a hand on his shoulder, "What did she say?"

Levi remained quiet, and Petra noticed the look on his face; that of shock and surprise—disbelief. Only when her eyes fell on the picture he held in his hand did her jaw drop.

"W-what is this?" she gasped, took the picture from his hand to look at it closely, inspecting it thoroughly. "When was this taken?" she looked at him, a thousand more questions under her tongue, "Levi, did you know her before?"

He let silence devour him as he lost his mind in a senseless world of emptiness, voices and images from unknown memories blurring his sight and filling his head by the moment.

"Last Christmas…" he murmured in a low voice.

"Huh?" her brows rose, eyes shifting off the picture to look at him instead.

He remembered that time in the car, when Petra had asked him where he'd spent last Christmas, and he couldn't remember. At the time he thought it was because he'd been wasted, too drunk to recall anything. Now the answer was writing itself as he stood there, and somehow it all made sense even when it didn't.

A sudden rush of flashbacks overflew his mind, of a time when he was driving a car; his car, and a small box sat in his hand. Of a time when he held Mikasa's hand as he knelt before her, and the words they exchanged rang in his ears louder and louder.

"Will you marry me?"

"Yes."

"Smile!"

There was a flash, presumably coming from a camera—the moment that picture was taken, the picture that Mikasa had given him before leaving, the picture that no longer sat in his hand, but flashed before his eyes as vividly as ever.

It was slowly coming back to him, and he could see himself in the car again, driving. This time the setting was different from before, however.

He was leaving the hotel to go after her. He remembered Petra, deep in her sleep on the bed of the room they stayed in. He grabbed the keys off the nightstand, ran to his car as quickly as his legs could move, and drove off fast.

It was still early in the morning, but the roads were slowly getting crowded, and all his eyes could see at the time was her face; the grim look she wore as she stared up at him, the senseless way she took off her ring and dropped it, then left immediately without looking back once.

He tugged out his phone from his pocket, and dialed her number. It rang, but she didn't answer. The call was cancelled soon after, but he kept trying regardless, over and over again, hoping she'd answer him, hoping she'd listen to him.

He clicked his tongue, cursed when a car showed up in front of him, and he punched the horn multiple times, signaling for the driver to get out of his way, but the latter didn't seem to care much. Levi wasn't going to wait, didn't have the time for that, and he tried to skip, picking up the speed of his car more.

It all happened too quickly; he couldn't even perceive it. He heard some screeching, screaming, and the horn of the truck that crossed paths with him and crashed into his car.

It all came back to him now. Everything made much more sense, and he could finally fill in that huge blank space that he tried to fill for the longest time.

That time in the elevator ride, when she mumbled in her sleep that she hated him. That time in her suite, when she invited him for breakfast, and he could see how how hesitant she was to share her story with him, and tell him about herself. That time at the toy store when he saw tears in her eyes as he held Alex in his arms. That time at the gym when she punched the pads in his hands with force he never imagined could come out of her. That time in the ice rink, when she didn't want him to see her friends, her hesitance to let him back into her life, and… did she mention something about getting an abortion—was she pregnant… with his child?

He understood now. Everything she said and didn't say. Everything she did and didn't do. He understood, but couldn't even begin to wrap his mind around any of it. There was an ill feeling settling in his stomach, that of discomfort and disgust, with himself more than anything.

To think that all those times she talked about her ex-fiancé she referred to no one other than him. To think that all those times he was the reason her eyes turned dark and her voice sounded dull, the source of all the pain and hatred he saw in her. To think he couldn't recall any of it at the time.

How could he even ask for her forgiveness, when he couldn't even forgive himself?

He placed a hand on his head, feeling intense and continuous throbbing that got louder and louder with every passing second, as though something was threatening to explode at any given chance, and he couldn't stop it.

"Levi!" he could hear Petra call him, and everything around him turned into a big blur.

Mikasa sat in the plane, her head resting against the window as she stared outside with the dullest of gazes, and a faint frown seemed about her face.

She did what she wanted. She had her revenge on him, and yet there was a strange, heavy feeling bugging her chest, an uncomfortable and burdensome one she couldn't shake off. She'd thought she'd find happiness after achieving her goal and getting justice, thought she'd feel fulfilled and strong, ready to move on with her life. So why was she feeling guilty, gross... regretful?

She'd thought about it for a long time, of a way she could make him pay, so he'd know what he'd put her through, so she'd show him just how strong she was without him.

He deserved it, she told herself countless times, and whenever she had doubts, she'd remind herself of that day; when she stood outside that hotel, and saw him in that balcony. When he lied to her and her world came crumbling, falling apart like that ring fell to the hard ground.

"Wait, Mikasa!" he'd called, but she'd hung up on him and gotten back in her car, driving back to her apartment.

She'd lost everything because of him, everything, gone in one single day.

She'd stood in the bathroom, watching the papers in the sink burn; her pregnancy test results, which she received the day before. She'd walked out of the bathroom, drowning in anger and sorrow. Her eyes had landed on a picture sitting on the table in the living room, a picture of the two of them together, holding onto each other and exchanging a kiss, and it was enough to set raging fire into her blood.

She'd stomped her way to the living room, threw her arms out and flipped the coffee table up-side down, breaking almost everything that was on it, but that still wasn't enough. She still wasn't satisfied, and she went and grabbed every object she could find, anything she could grab, tossing it across the room, against a wall, crushing it in her own hands, stepping on it with her heels.

It wasn't until a sharp pain pierced through her belly so suddenly that she stopped, and she'd clutched her fist tight around the fabric of her shirt, looked down to spot the red stains tainting her bottoms.

"No…" she shook her head, "No… please…"

"Mikasa, are you there?" there was a voice calling her from behind her apartment door, "Mikasa?" the voice called again, and when the door opened, her neighbor Rico walked in quickly.

She'd heard the noises of shattering glass and objects breaking, smelled something burning too, and she soon spotted Mikasa in the living room.

"Oh my god!" she shouted, finding her on the floor, sitting with bloodied clothes and red stains on her hands and on the floor too. "Mikasa, look at me." She held her closely, "We need to take you to the hospital…"

"No…" she shook her head, "No… I don't want to go…"

"You're bleeding…" her neighbor pressed. "I'm calling an ambulance, okay?"

"No, please…" she sobbed, "I don't want to lose it… I don't want to lose my baby, please…"

She'd been half-conscious when arriving to the hospital, nurses rushing her through a long, bright hallway on a stretcher while she cried and wept.

"What's her condition?" she heard the doctor ask.

"It seems she's having a miscarriage!" one of the nurses answered, and that was the last thing she heard before falling unconscious.

The next morning Rico came visiting along with her friend, Hitch. She had brought some red roses with her, and she carefully placed them inside the glass vase that sat on the small table by Mikasa's bed, all the while the latter watched her in complete silence.

"How're you feeling now?" Rico asked once taking a seat next to her, but all she received in turn was a pointed look, and she let out a sigh, "Right. That's a stupid question."

Hitch crossed her arms against her chest and sighed, "However you feel, that bastard doesn't deserve a single tear from you…"

"That bastard…" Mikasa spoke, her voice somewhere between a cry and a hiss, "I loved him… I was going to marry him… and I was going to have his child…" she bit her lower lip hard, almost tearing the skin off.

"Oh, well, Karma's already got him, darling." Hitch shrugged her shoulders, "The asshole's on the brink of death at this very moment…"

"Hitch!" Rico snapped at her, aiming a glare in her direction.

"Whatever, she has the right to know." Hitch claimed defensively. "She'll find out sooner or later."

"Find out what?" Mikasa raised a confused brow, eyeing the two of them suspiciously.

Rico exchanged a look with Hitch, and Mikasa could tell they were uncertain about whatever it was they wanted to tell her.

Hitch inhaled deeply, and then sighed, "He got into a car accident yesterday, apparently." she stated, "He's in a coma… and the doctors aren't sure he'll wake up."

Mikasa's eyes widened at the news, couldn't tell whether she was shocked out of concern for his well-being or over how fast her prayers to see him hurt came true, but her blank expression came back on soon after, when the shock wore away, and all she could feel was loathing. How could she feel anything else for the man who supposedly wanted to devote his life to her but ended up betraying her in the worst way she could imagine?

She hadn't visited him once, nor had she tried to find out anything about him during that time. She was too busy trying to forget about him, about what he did to her, about what her life had come to because of him. Her friends were there to help out with that, and Historia specifically took charge of getting rid of all his belongings, threw away what could be thrown, burned what could be burned; whatever had to be done to erase his existence from her life.

Four months passed ever since.

Mikasa was coming back from work one day. She stood at her apartment door, tugging out the keys from her purse, when she heard the door to Rico's open, and saw her walk out.

"Hey, Mikasa!" Rico called, "Can you come in for a minute?"

Mikasa eyed the woman questioningly, but simply nodded and accepted her invite. They sat in the living room, where Hitch was apparently waiting for them, with some interesting news to share.

"He woke up?" Mikasa's brow rose after hearing what Hitch had to say.

"He did." Hitch nodded, "But the thing is that… they're saying he doesn't remember anything from before the accident, at all. I don't remember what they called it… some kind of amnesia."

Mikasa remained quiet, as though trying to process what she heard, and an only question was all she could form, "Who told you this?"

"That whore he was with at the hotel…" Hitch answered bitterly, "Like, she didn't leave him the whole time he was at the hospital. I have no idea when their relationship got so serious."

"Hitch!" Rico pressed, a grim expression wearing her face.

"I'm sorry…" Hitch sighed and crossed her arms before her, "You know… maybe not telling her the truth was a mistake. She's only grown closer to him ever since and she acts like she's been dating him for years. Don't you think I should just tell her about it all, assuming she didn't know—"

"Don't." Mikasa shot, threat clear in her voice, "There's nothing she needs to know anymore. He's no longer engaged."

Hitch arched her brow at that, "Yes, but… He cheated on you…"

"And he got what he deserved for it…" Rico interrupted urgently, "No need to start more drama. Mikasa has moved on."

"Oh well…" Hitch merely gave a shrug of her shoulders, rolling her eyes, "As you like."

Two weeks prior to Mikasa's departure on her vacation, she sat with Hitch and Rico again for a cup of tea. Rico had invited her over after Hitch had come back with more news.

"She came up to me with her snobby walk and was all like, 'You won't believe what happened last night! Levi proposed to me!' and I was like, 'Bitch, I don't give a shit' but I didn't actually say that to her face, obviously… I just… smiled and congratulated her…" Hitch clicked her tongue, "But like, how the fuck doesn't he remember anything about you? It's almost like you never even existed in his life. I wonder if he's doing it on purpose… Bastard probably is. He's a fucking coward and doesn't want to own up to his mistakes."

Hitch rambled on and on about more things that Mikasa didn't hear because she was too lost, staring at her empty hand where a ring once wrapped around her finger, and her grip around the tea cup tightened as she thought about the fact that that ring now belonged to another woman, a woman who hadn't been in his life for nearly as long as she'd been, a woman who didn't know about him more than she once did. But did she ever know him for real? She believed he wasn't the kind of person who would hurt her in such way, but she was clearly mistaken.

"Oh my god! I almost forgot to tell you this!" Hitch gasped all of a sudden, finally gaining Mikasa's attention again.

"Tell me what?" Mikasa wasn't even sure she wanted to hear more. The taste of her tea became so bitter in her mouth, and she placed the cup down in distaste, her grim eyes fixing on Hitch.

"So we've got this whole like business deal coming, meeting with some big companies and stuff. Two weeks from now, she'll be leaving the city to meet up with some of these people… and like she totally convinced our boss to send her because she'll be staying at this fancy hotel." Hitch huffed, "She came to me and was like, 'Finally I get a chance to spend some alone time with my fiancé for a whole month!' and once again I was like, 'Bitch, I don't give a shit' but of course, I didn't say that to her and I just smiled and told her how great that was…"

Mikasa couldn't help but snicker at all of that. Hitch paused, eyeing her suspiciously.

"What's funny about that?" Rico asked, a hint of concern in her eyes as she watched her.

Mikasa shook her head, "Nothing…" she heaved a breath, "Where's this fancy hotel you mentioned?"

"Oh!" Hitch exclaimed, "I actually didn't ask her… but I can do that if you like."

Mikasa nodded, "Yeah, you do that…"

"What are you thinking?" Rico questioned warily, not sure she liked the grim look on Mikasa's face, "Why do you care where they're going to stay?"

"Well, no big deal, really." She shrugged, "It's just that I'm taking my vacation soon, and I'm trying to find somewhere fancy to spend it. Maybe that hotel's a good spot."

"Mikasa!" Rico said in a serious tone, "Listen: don't think about doing something stupid. You've moved on with your life and you're doing so great without him. You don't need anything to do with him."

"I didn't move on with my life…" Mikasa's lips pressed together tightly, her teeth gritting as she eyed Rico with a fierce glare, "I didn't just wake up one morning and thought that my life doesn't suck anymore. I can't move on with it when he's living his so happily with his new fiancée, having no idea how much I had to suffer because of him."

Rico let out a frustrated breath, "I understand that. Trust me I do, but you also need to understand that life isn't fair…"

"Well, then I'll make it fair." She snapped resentfully; grudge burning within her eyes, "If life isn't going to give me justice, I'll give it to myself… I lost everything because of him…" and her voice cracked when she said the last bit, "I lost my baby… and I'll never forgive him…"

And she never did. She couldn't find it in her heart to look past what he did to her, and she swore to never back down until she made him drink from the same cup he served her.

All she had to do was make him fall in love with her all over again—it happened once before, after all.

She hadn't planned on leaving early, truthfully speaking, not until she received a call from her mother a day before her flight.

"Mom, hey." She sat on her bed, her bathrobe wrapped loosely around her body.

"Mikasa…" her mother's voice was raspy, "Honey…"

"Mom, what's wrong?" Mikasa's brows furrowed.

"Your father… he's really sick." The mother cried, "I was told that I need to move him to a hospital in Germany, so we're taking a flight today."

"Dad…" Mikasa's lips parted, letting out a silent gasp, and no more words came out.

"If you can make it there, honey, I'm sure your dad will be very happy to see you again." The mother pleaded, "He's… getting weaker, and he keeps talking about you, bringing up memories from when you were a child… and I don't know what to do…"

"I'll be there." Mikasa reassured, "Give me the address to the hospital, and I'll be there tomorrow as soon as I can."

"Thank you, honey." The mother wept, "We'll be waiting for you."

"I love you." Mikasa murmured, listened to her mother return those words before the call ended, and she sat on the bed absentmindedly, staring into nothing in particular, until Levi walked into the bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, and another sitting around his shoulder, his hair wet.

"Everything okay?" he asked, eyeing her suspiciously, "You look like you just shat a brick"

Mikasa tilted her head to the side and looked at him before standing up, putting her phone on the nightstand in the process, "You shouldn't have taken that shower."

"Why's that?" he raised a brow, and saw her approach him slowly as she undid her robe with one pull on the tie, shaking it off her shoulders to let it drop to the floor. Levi's eyes fall away from her body, a red shade coloring his cheeks.

"I'm not done with you yet." She stood before him, pulled on the towel he'd wrapped around his waist and threw it on the floor.

She saw him gulp, could tell he was excited just from hearing her words, and she removed the towel off his shoulders swiftly, wrapped her arms around him, threading her fingers in his wet hair as she kissed him intently.

He held her by the waist, returned her kiss and walked back to the bed, where their bodies soon fell.

He was inside her in a heartbeat, moving slowly, his mouth on her neck, teasing her skin with wet kisses. Her lips parted to let out uncontrollable sighs, the dark of her eyes buried under closed lids and her body fully surrendered to his touch.

She loved this; loved the way he felt inside her, the way he kissed her, loved how he knew exactly where to touch her, how to touch her, loved how he knew just how to get all the sounds she didn't know she could make out of her, and soon she'd lose this—soon she wouldn't be able to feel this again, not ever.

Because as much as she loved this, she hated him. As much as he made her feel whole, she wanted to break him. As much as she wanted this to last, she knew she had to end it.

And she did, with no word, no explanation, no goodbye.

She just left.

Rico sat in Mikasa's living room, surrounded by her friends, who were listening intently to every detail Rico had to share with them about Mikasa and what she'd been up to this whole time. The only faces they wore were those of shock and disbelief and for a while there they were quiet for they found no words to say in turn.

"Mikasa… really did that?" Historia finally mumbled in a low voice, her eyes narrow under furrowed brows.

Rico nodded slowly, her eyes looking anywhere but their direction, "I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen to me. She was blinded by her grudges and… was completely heartbroken…"

"I see…" Historia lowered her head, bit down on her bottom lip as she murmured, "I had a bad feeling about that whole trip from the beginning… I should've stopped her…"

"It wasn't your fault." Eren interrupted, his hand sneakily resting on hers for comfort, and she looked at him with teary eyes, and soon a frown stole his face away.

Rico watched them for a moment and then sighed, "There was nothing any of us could've done to stop her. In fact, I barely even had any contact with her if I didn't call her that one time… I was way too worried about her, not having heard from her at all…"

It was the day Mikasa was meeting Levi at the gym. Rico had called her while she was driving her way there.

"Good morning, Rico."

"Mikasa…" Rico started, "How're you doing? You haven't called at all and I'm really worried."

"Right… I'm sorry I didn't call, but I am doing fine. No need to worry about me."

"Is that so?" Rico raised her brow, doubt written in her voice, "I'm surprised, honestly. I don't know where you find the strength to deal with this sort of stuff on your own."

"I'm fine, I promise. I'll drop by your place when I'm back and you'll see for yourself."

"Well… if you're so sure." Rico frowned, let out a long exhale as she added, already knowing what kind of response she'd get from her, but she had to try at least, "Mikasa… you know it's not too late to change your mind and… stop, go back to your life and forget about the past. I know it's hard to do, but—"

"Yes. I know…" she cut her off in an instant, "Thank you for everything… Take care of yourself."

Rico looked at Mikasa's friends with guilty eyes, and mumbled most apologetically, "I should've tried harder… but she was stubborn and had already made up her mind."

"Ah…" Historia shook her head, "That's Mikasa, alright. Always so stubborn, always thinking she knows what she's doing…"

"She never told me anything about traveling, though." Rico admitted, "She just called and told me I should go and tell you everything because she wouldn't be able to do it herself."

Eren looked up, his brow rising, "What does that mean?"

"Is she…" Historia stuttered, her tears finally breaking free as they traced her cheeks, "Is she not going to come back?"

Rico blinked at the way they looked at her so expectantly, but all she did was lower her gaze and sigh, "I don't know… I truly don't."

Eren growled, "That's bullshit. Mikasa wouldn't just leave like that without saying a word to us."

"Maybe she didn't say anything because she knew how we'd react…" Sasha murmured hesitantly.

Eren eyed her with fierce eyes, then looked over at Rico as he yelled, "That's your fucking fault. Why the fuck did you go and bring him back into her life like that? She was over him. She was living her life and recovering from it all, but you had to go and ruin everything…"

"Eren…" Armin spoke for the first time since hearing Rico's story, interrupting him, "I don't want to sound like a downer but… I don't think Mikasa was over it, at all."

"Huh?" Eren glared at him.

Armin met his eyes with furrowing brows, "She tried to. She made sure she was busy enough doing all kinds of things, so she wouldn't have time to think about it." A small smile appeared across his face, but held nothing more than a sad wish for things to have been different, "But in reality she never did forget or get over it."

Eren parted his lips to argue against that, though he fell silent, his dark gaze slowly fading as a knowing expression settled in. Yeah, Armin was right, and he knew it.

"I'm sure that whenever she got back from work and went to eat or sleep, it'd be all she thought about. " Armin heaved a breath, "You might hate to admit it, but Levi was a big part of Mikasa's life. What he did to her isn't something she'd forget about after hanging out with us a couple times a week, or overworking herself to the brink of a breakdown. It takes time and strength…"

"Levi… made Mikasa happier than she ever was." Sasha added in complete agreement, her frown darkening, "I don't know what went down between the two of them, why Levi did such a thing to her… but she loved him a lot, and because of that she hates him even more now."

Armin gave a nod and sighed, "Even if Rico and her friend hadn't told Mikasa anything about it, how long do you think it would've taken her to finally reach a point where she gives up? She couldn't have kept the act forever."

Eren listened to his friends talk, and the more they made sense, the more it set rage into him, and he gritted his teeth, clutched his fists as he muttered darkly, "That bastard's going to fucking pay for it."

Mikasa's mother sat in a hospital room next to her husband, who lay on a bed, looking pale and sick, and the only motion his body made was the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed slow. She gazed at him with tired eyes, clearly lacking rest, until the door suddenly opened and her attention turned to it. Her eyes showed more life when seeing the person who stood at the door; none other than her daughter.

"Mikasa!" The woman got up on her feet immediately and ran to her daughter, hugging her tightly, "You're here…"

Mikasa stood still, her eyes lingering on her sick father before her arms wrapped around her mother, returning the hug, "I took the first plane I could catch."

The mother tightened her hold around her daughter, burying her face into her chest as she sobbed, "Thank you, honey. Thank you…"

"How's he?" Mikasa asked in a faint voice, and the mother pulled away slowly as they both looked back at the man.

"Waiting for you…" the mother mumbled and took Mikasa's purse from her hold to put it away.

Mikasa walked over to the bed, and sat down on the chair next to it, observing the state that her poor father was in. Her hand slowly lifted to touch his, before she properly took it in her hold and leaned down to press a soft kiss on it, "Dad…" she whispered, lifting her head to look at him, "I'm here to see you…"

The old man opened his eyes weakly and looked up at his daughter's face. He couldn't say a word to her, but his lips parted to let out a tired yet happy breath.

There was so much to say, but no time to say everything. His eyes spoke on behalf of his mouth, of all the love that filled them upon seeing his daughter by his side, on behalf of all the precious memories that flashed before him now as he lay in this bed, and his hand held onto hers as tightly as he could, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. The mother stood beside her daughter, and placed her hand on top of theirs, joining them in a tight hold.

His eyes slowly began to close, and his fingers loosened from around Mikasa's hand, letting go of her as he fell into a deep sleep.

Mikasa bent down with a bouquet of flowers in her hands, placed it down on the grave of her father where he now lay, then straightened back up and gazed at it, her eyes dull and lips pressed together into a thin line.

A gentle breeze blew through the air, brushed her long locks on the way, made them move a little in harmony before resting back in place.

She heard footsteps behind her, and her eyes opened slightly as she turned around to see who it was.

The look of grief on her face vanished immediately as Levi's figure reflected in her irises, standing a few feet away from her.

She sucked in a sharp breath, and started walking almost immediately, going past him, but he held her, wrapped a tight hold around her wrist and stopped her. She tried to free her hand using the other, but it only resulted in having both her hands trapped tightly in his grasps, and he held her in front of him.

"Let me go or I'll punch you." She threatened, her eyes burning.

"I'm sorry." The words left his mouth in a low yet sincere voice.

"I said: let go." She persisted, her voice sharp and clear.

"Mikasa… listen to me—" he couldn't finish, and a gasp escaped his lips upon feeling a hard kick to his leg, soon followed by a strong punch across the face.

"You…" she started, taking in a breath before raising her finger at him, "Have no right to touch me, ever. Stay away from me. I don't want to see your face or hear your voice ever again."

Levi touched his face with the tips of his fingers, pressed on where she punched him as he moved his jaw slightly, recovering from the pain before looking at her and meeting her eyes.

"Whether you want to hear it or not, I'm sorry." He stood still, maintaining the distance between them, "I'm sorry… for your loss and…"

"Oh give me a break." She bit down on her lip, aimed a dark glare at him before walking to him and pushing him, "You don't get to say that to me. That's the last thing you ought to apologize for. You have no idea what loss is, not mine, and you never will. You know why? Because you weren't even there, because you…" she pushed him again, "You're the reason behind it all… and I hate you…" she hissed, tears burning her eyes, "I hate you so much."

He listened, his lips sealed and eyes fixed on hers. All the rage and hatred in them, all the pain in her voice—it was all his doing.

"I don't need your apology, I don't need your pity, and I don't need your love. Just go and never show me your face again."

"Mikasa!" a third voice suddenly called, and the two of them looked over to the source, spotting Eren approaching with a furious face, while the rest of her friends stood behind him.

"Eren, hold on!" Armin called, running after his friend. He grabbed him by the shoulder, but the latter pushed him off.

"Stay away." Eren shouted, and turned to face Levi again, and he walked to him with confident steps, his hands clutched into tight fists, "You fucking bastard!"

Eren threw a punch at him, but Levi dodged it quickly, wrapping his fingers around the other's fist. Eren used his free hand to aim another punch at him, but Levi dodged that one too with his elbow, and he kicked Eren in the leg, breaking his balance and dropping him to the ground.

"You jerk, I'll fucking kill you." Eren gritted his teeth, standing up immediately, but Mikasa walked over to him and held him in place.

"Eren, stop." She pressed.

Eren looked at the slightly shorter girl, clearly taking offense to her words. "What the fuck do you mean 'stop'? This bastard doesn't even deserve to have a face anymore"

"Stop it." Mikasa said with a serious voice, her sharp gaze piercing through his, "If there's anyone here who has the right to be angry, it's me, so stop."

Eren's lips parted, about to argue back, but no words came out of his mouth when realizing that she had a point, and soon his angry expression faded away as he looked down.

She let go of him at last, and then turned to look at Levi, a furious look on her face, "You want to show me you're sorry?" her brows drew together, and she said the next words with the harshest tone, "Then disappear from my life. I don't want to know that you even exist in the same universe as me."

Levi stood there simply, silence eating him up as he watched the hateful look on her face, the angry one on Eren's, the disappointment in the rest of her friends, and he looked down to his feet, biting his inner cheek.

What exactly did he hope to fix by doing this?

Mikasa soon walked away, going past him, and her friends followed her eventually, Historia running faster than the rest to catch up to her, while Levi merely watched all of them leave.

It had been a week since the funeral, since Mikasa had returned to the states with her mother. She'd been staying with her ever since, at her old childhood home in the countryside. They sat together in the kitchen, around a small, round dining table, drinking hot tea and observing the white coat of snow covering the land outside.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Mikasa's mother asked, holding her cup of tea in her hands, her half lidded eyes on her daughter.

Mikasa met her gaze briefly, and then fixed her eyes back on the window, looking into the distance. "No more dwelling on the past…"

"Honey…" the mother placed down her cup, tugging at the blanket over her shoulders, "Your father and I had a long life together." There was a faint smile on her face, "But now I can't help but think it was too short of a life. All those years of marriage… gone in a heartbeat. There were so many things I thought we'd have all the time for, so many things we said we'd do together… but…"

"Dad didn't cheat on you." She cut her off, the tea in her mouth tasting bitter, "He didn't leave you for someone else."

"No." the mother shook her head admittedly, "But we've had our fair share of problems as a couple. We've had bad experiences together, but we worked them through, we made our relationship work. It didn't just happen on its own."

Mikasa pressed her lips together tightly, inhaled a sharp breath through her nose and set her cup of tea down, "I've already worked out my problems; I got rid of them."

The mother's brows furrowed, a soft exhale escaping her, "Life is too short to hold onto grudges, darling. You're trying to be someone you aren't, trying to become someone you can't, and that's never the answer."

Mikasa blinked a couple times, watched her mother rise from her seat and lean closer to her over the table, then press a pointed finger to her chest.

"The answer is always there." The mother smiled, "The heart always tells you what you want with a clear voice, but we choose to ignore that voice because we think it's wrong, because we're too scared to listen to it, because we've lost so much…"

Mikasa shook her head, "I trusted my heart before, and that's the exact reason why I am where I am."

"And was it all bad from the start?" the mother sat back down, brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear, "Or does one mistake erase all the good deeds prior to it?"

Mikasa's eyes escaped her mother's once more, stared at nothing in particular, and she held the cup of tea with both her hands, letting her fingers toy with it as a means for distraction.

"The choice is yours no matter what, my dear, and I'm with you to the end." the mother reached a hand across the table to hold Mikasa's, wrapping her fingers around it lovingly, "All I want is to see you smile again like you did before, to see you happy with or without the person you love."

Mikasa looked down at the table where her hands joined with her mother's, and she held onto it tightly. "I'll make sure to live with the choices that I make…" her voice was dry, eyes dull as she pondered a thought in her mind; a lesson that she learned from the very person that made her the way she was now. "I can't pretend that the past never happened, and I can't change it either. All I can do is try to live my life without regrets."

With the start of a new year, Mikasa was back in the city a month later. She sat in a café, at a table outside, where her hot cup of coffee sat, the white steam stemming from it coloring the cool air and fading away eventually.

Mikasa's eyes moved to the side, spotting a figure approach her table, and her head turned slightly to identify the person before gazing away into the distance once again.

She was quiet as Petra took a seat across from her, placed her purse on the table and observed the view with her.

Petra let the air blow through her hair gently, and her hand lifted to tuck a few strands behind her ear. "I heard your father passed away… I'm really sorry for your loss." Her voice was calm and sincere.

"Thanks…" Mikasa muttered, her eyes still refusing to acknowledge the other's existence.

There was silence then, and Petra allowed it to last a few moments so she'd enjoy the view of the city around them; cars driving by, busy stores, big commercial screens displaying all different types of ads, people walking around the crowded streets.

A frown made its way onto her face eventually, and her lips parted with a sigh, "I didn't know… I swear." Her eyes were back on Mikasa now, "I had no idea that you and Levi were engaged… I didn't even know he was engaged… He never told me…"

Mikasa shrugged, "And you never asked…"

Petra tilted her head down, averting her gaze from Mikasa to stare blankly at the surface of the table, "Levi… isn't really the social type. He doesn't talk a lot, especially not about his personal life. I'm sure you already knew that, though."

Mikasa's head turned at last, her dark eyes falling upon Petra's figure, her lips remaining sealed shut as she simply listened to the woman.

"No one in the office knew more than I did about him. Despite that, he never strikes you as a bad person." Petra's lips curled up slightly, "I was new in the company, lonely in a strange place, and I felt like such a black sheep." She wrapped an arm around herself and shivered slightly, maybe over the cold weather, or maybe over the cold memory, "One day I was leaving work, and this random guy on the street tried to steal my purse." Her eyes brightened up slightly when she said the next words, "I was scared, didn't know what to do, but Levi stepped in. He kicked the living hell out of that man, and returned my purse to me."

Mikasa's eyes widened ever so slightly, but only for a brief moment as she assumed her cool gaze almost instantly.

Petra looked up again, meeting her eyes once more, "That was the first time I felt welcome in that place, and the first time I didn't feel so lonely. Levi didn't do it because he wanted me to be indebted to him. He did it because it was the right thing, and expected nothing of me in return. I was still thankful to him, though. I wanted to somehow return that favor."

Mikasa sucked in a breath through her nose, swallowed hard and evaded Petra's gaze, her hold around her cup of coffee tightening.

"I just wanted a friend." Petra couldn't help a chuckle, "Most of our conversations were about work and nothing more… and then one day I noticed that he's been really stressed all week long, and I wanted to cheer him up."

"Hey, Levi!" she approached his desk slowly with a wide smile filling her cheeks.

He looked up at her from over his laptop, his eyes narrow and lips curled down.

"Um…" she paused, let out a nervous chuckle before proceeding, "Well, I was just wondering if you'd like to maybe go grab some dinner together after work."

Levi's brow arched, "Thanks, but I'll pass."

Petra drew her brows together and let out a soft sight, "It doesn't have to take long. There's just this really nice restaurant that I found, and I thought that maybe—"

"I appreciate it." He cut her off, "But I'm busy with other things tonight."

"Oh." Petra crossed her arms in front of her, "Are they the same things that have been making you look constipated all week long?"

Levi looked at her, surprise written in his face, mostly at the joke she made.

She giggled, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to steal your joke."

For the first time that week, his expression softened a little bit, and there was a hint of a smile on his face, "It's fine. I still can't go though."

"You can't, or you don't want to?" Petra's head tilted to the side, "Look, whatever it is that's keeping you busy doesn't look like it's making you happy. Why don't you take a break from it, just for one night? Maybe that's all you need. Stop worrying about it for a bit and focus on something else."

Levi was quiet, his eyes fixed on his laptop screen as he seemed to ponder her offer.

"I promise you, it's a really good restaurant." Petra insisted, "Besides, when was the last time you went somewhere that wasn't home or work? Your brain is probably going to explode from that routine."

"The routine doesn't bother me." He shrugged.

"You only say that because you haven't tried something different yet." She scoffed, "Trust me, try spending one night outside of your home, and you'll see how big of a difference that'll make. It'll feel like you're starting your life anew. It's not like we don't have great hotels around the place. There are plenty you can go to."

Levi leaned back against his chair, crossed his arms against his chest and raised a brow.

"You won't regret this, I promise!" Petra murmured sweetly, and Levi finally let out a heavy sigh of defeat.

"Fine." He breathed, "I'm in."

Excitement filled Petra's voice upon hearing that, "Awesome! We'll go after work then!"

Levi gave her a simple nod, watched her walk away from his desk and back to hers, and a curious Hitch met his eyes once Petra was out of his sight.

"What?" he muttered.

Hitch merely shrugged at him, "Nothing."

When it was time for them to leave work and call it a day, Levi stayed in the office a bit longer, his phone in his hand, Mikasa's name reflecting on his eyes as he stared into the screen.

With a heavy breath, he dialed her number and pressed the phone to his ear, and shortly after she answered. "Hey."

"Hey…" Mikasa sounded groggy.

"You okay?" his eyes narrowed slightly in concern, "You sound tired."

"Yes…" she yawned, "I was asleep… I'm okay. Are you leaving work now?"

Levi gulped, "Yeah… not really. I'm…"

"Is everything okay?"

Levi pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "All's good. I just… won't be coming home tonight. I have some stuff to take care of… with work, and I'll need to be in the office really early too."

"Oh." He could already hear the disappointment in her voice, "So I can't see you tonight?"

Levi frowned, "Did something happen?"

"Well…" she heaved a breath and looked over at the nightstand, where her pregnancy test results sat, and she eyed them for a moment in silence before sighing, "I wanted to show you something, but it's fine. It can wait a while."

He was quiet for a moment, "You know, I can probably get out of it. I'll talk with the boss and—"

"No, it's okay, really." She said urgently, "Your work is important too. I know you've been working really hard to get that raise, and I'm sure you will soon enough. Trust me on that one, we'll need the extra money." She had a faint smile on her face as she rested her hand over her belly, rubbing it gently.

"Yeah…" he breathed out, his chest heavy with slight guilt.

"It's really nothing that can't wait." She reassured him, "I mean, as long as you're not going to be away for months at least. You do what you have to do, and we'll talk again when you're home."

"You sure?"

"Yes." She sounded sure, "Plus I'm really tired anyways. I haven't even cooked dinner yet. I'll just eat some leftovers and go to bed."

"Okay."

"Take care of yourself. I love you."

"I love you too."

The intention was simple; take a break from work and enjoy a harmless outing with a coworker for a bit of a change, some food here, a couple glasses of alcohol there, some banter, and that was the plan.

Petra was drunk, because apparently she couldn't handle her drink and Levi only found that out after her second glass of alcohol, when she started rambling some nonsense, and he couldn't understand anything she said beyond that.

He had her arm wrapped around his shoulder as he helped her walk with him to his car. He'd have to drive her home, and then go find himself somewhere to stay. That was assuming he could even get her home address from her, which at this point was seeming more and more unlikely to him.

"Can you stand still?" he asked as he helped her lean against the car so he could open the door for her.

Petra watched him quietly, a soft gaze on her face, and when he turned again, she grabbed him by the tie and pulled him in, "You know… I always wanted to tell you… You're actually really handsome up close."

Levi furrowed his brows slightly at her, and held her hand to pull it away from him, but she stood tall on her toes and reached in for a sneaky kiss.

A kiss he didn't pull away from, for in that moment of surprise it took him a while to realize what was happening, to remember that he was an engaged man and that she had no idea.

He pulled away, held her by the shoulders and kept her at a distance, "Just… get in the car."

"I'm serious." Petra leaned forward and rested her head against his chest, "You're really warm."

Hitch was watching everything from the window of her car with a wide open jaw, and she saw Levi pick up Petra in his arms, and lay her inside the backseat of his car as he drove away soon after.

She followed him, trying to keep a safe distant from him when he parked by a hotel, and helped Petra out as they walked into the building.

"Holy shit." Hitch gasped. She reached for her purse on the passenger seat to tug out her car quickly. She dialed Rico's number fast and pressed the phone to her ear as it rang, "Rico, you won't believe what I just saw!"

"Oh, boy!" Rico breathed, "What, is it some kind of cheap fifty percent-off type of deal at your favorite mall? I don't have time to go out. I'm cooking."

"No, no!" Hitch cut her off, "It's about your neighbor; that scary looking woman, she's engaged to my coworker right? Levi?"

"Uh!" Rico paused for a moment, "Not that I care to know. Why?"

"I think he's cheating on her."

"What?"

"I just saw him…" Hitch said, "He went out with one of our coworkers. They had dinner together and I don't know what…"

"You know you can have dinner with people without it being romantic, right?" Rico let out a heavy breath, "Or did you think all those times we went out together for food were actually dates?"

Hitch scoffed, "Okay, what about kissing then? Is that romantic enough for you to count?"

"They were kissing?"

"Yeah, and then he picked her up bridal style and put her in his car, and now they're at a hotel."

"You've got to be kidding me." Rico blurted, "Did you seriously stalk your coworkers?"

"Does it matter if I did?" Hitch huffed, "You should be thankful to me. I'm saving your neighbor from committing the biggest mistake in her life."

"I don't even like that girl." Rico claimed, but she considered her friend's words for a couple moments before sighing, "But alright, come over. We'll talk about this and then see what to do."

Mikasa still remembered that night, when her neighbor randomly knocked on her door, and she found her outside her apartment with her friend. She wasn't sure what brought them there. Mikasa and Rico weren't close by any means. In fact, they argued more than they got along, and yet for some reason she wanted to go inside her apartment now, and even brought a friend along.

She let them in anyways, walked them to the living room where they sat, and she stood in front of them with her arms crossed before her.

Rico eyed her awkwardly, and then started, "Look, I know you're probably wondering why the hell are these two, random women visiting you at this hour—"

"Yes." Mikasa nodded, cutting her off, "Why are you visiting me at this hour?"

"Well, see, thing is…" Hitch sighed, "If you remember, I'm your fiancé's coworker, Hitch."

Mikasa rolled her eyes in disinterest, "Levi isn't here, you should know that, so why did you come to see me?"

"Because I know where Levi is." Hitch claimed, and could see suspicion in Mikasa's eyes, "He's… with one of our coworkers…"

"I would assume so." Mikasa shrugged, "He told me he's got work to do."

"Oh?" Hitch raised her brow and scoffed, "Did he also tell you that he went out on a date with her and is now at a hotel with her?"

Mikasa's gaze sharpened, "What are you talking about?"

Rico interrupted briefly to explain, "Hitch saw him leave with a woman, to a hotel…"

Mikasa paused at that, watched the two women in front of her with a dull gaze before she muttered, "Right, and I see the two of you getting the hell out of my apartment."

"No, it's true!" Hitch exclaimed, almost jumping out of her seat, "I saw him. He was with Petra; the new girl." She explained even though she knew Mikasa would have no idea who she meant by that, "They went out for a drink, made out, and then they went to a hotel. I followed them, and I can even give you the address if you want to go see for yourself."

"Hitch, calm down." Rico nudged her shoulder, "Maybe let's talk about this calmly first."

"Discuss this calmly?" Hitch snickered, "Those two are probably going to be fucking all night long and you want to discuss this calmly?"

"You don't have to say it like that." Rico let out a frustrated huff.

"Well, that's probably what they're doing anyways." Hitch crossed her arms tightly in front of her, "And by the time we're done discussing this calmly, they'll have had their fun and been done with it."

Mikasa couldn't comprehend what was happening, what Hitch was saying, what Rico was telling her. She could only focus on the sour taste that burned her throat, and she covered her mouth with her hand as she rushed to the bathroom, dropping to the floor before the toilet as she ducked her head into it to throw up.

Rico and Hitch followed her soon, and Rico approached her from behind to hold her hair back for her, wiping gently on her head as Hitch stood by the door.

"Look, Mikasa… I'm sorry. You probably didn't want to know from us, or from anyone… but we couldn't just sit and do nothing." Rico explained, watched the girl sit back on the bathroom floor, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand as the other gripped tightly onto her shirt, resting over her belly, "Trust me, it's better this way if—" Rico paused for a second when noticing the way Mikasa was rubbing her belly, staring blankly into the air.

"Hold on…" Rico's eyes widened, "Are you…?" realization started to seep in slowly, "You're not pregnant, are you?"

At that, Mikasa sat on her knees again and hovered over the toilet, coughing her lungs out into it as Hitch and Rico exchanged worried gazes.

They helped her back in bed, and Rico covered her body with the sheets, then sat next to her. She saw the papers on her nightstand and picked them up, reading through them to confirm her suspicions.

She let out the longest breath as she placed them back down in place, looking over at Mikasa now. "You should rest." She murmured softly.

"Rest…" Mikasa mumbled, her voice low and faint, "How?" her eyes averted to Rico's then, "Tell me, how do I rest? Because I really don't know. I feel numb, tired… but I don't think I can sleep tonight. I feel sore but nothing really hurts… and none of this feels real to me…"

"Ah, you're… in shock." Rico sighed, rubbing her shoulder calmly, "I know that feeling too. When I learned that my husband was cheating on me…"

"Levi isn't cheating on me." She snapped, "He would never do that to me, ever."

"Well…" Hitch heaved a breath, "I'm pretty sure I didn't imagine what I saw, darling."

"You don't know him." Mikasa pressed, eyeing her darkly.

"I work with him. I've worked with him for quite a long time now—" she argued.

"You don't know him." Mikasa insisted, her eyes piercing through Hitch's grimly, "Levi is a good guy—he's good to me. He loves me."

Hitch pressed her lips together for a moment before waving her arm about and sighing, "You can never tell what's going on in men's heads—"

"Maybe you can't. But I do." Mikasa stated, "If I didn't know him, I wouldn't be marrying him, or living with him, I wouldn't be having his baby. I know him. He can be upset with me, disappointed in me, but he'd never do anything like that. He would never even think about it."

"You're in denial, darling." Hitch rolled her eyes.

Mikasa sat up, her fists clutching tightly around her bed sheets, "I'm not in denial. I know my fiancé."

Hitch leaned against the door and looked down at her seriously, "Why don't you call him, right now, see what he's up to? Something tells me he's not going to tell you that he's at a hotel fucking another woman, though."

"I already talked to him, and he told me he was busy with work. That's all I need to know." Mikasa said, her voice shaking slightly, "He's been working hard to get a raise, so we can save up money for the wedding and so we can buy a house. That's the kind of man Levi is."

"Yeah." Hitch mocked, "Apparently he's also a cheating asshole on the side."

"No." Mikasa's eyes filled with tears, her teeth gritting hard, "I know that… that I haven't been fair to him lately, that I've pushed him away, neglected him… I didn't know what was going on… but he understands me. He'd never hold it against me. He's happy with me regardless, because he loves me so much."

"Oh boy…" Hitch rubbed the back of her head, "This is going to be a long night."

Rico let out a soft sigh as she patted Mikasa's shoulder gently and laid her back down on the bed, "You need to sleep, Mikasa, and when you wake up you'll—"

"No… I don't need to sleep. I need to wake up… from whatever nightmare this is." She sobbed, "This can't be… happening. It shouldn't be. It's wrong… and doesn't make any sense…"

Mikasa didn't know how she ended up in Rico's arms, but when her tears finally dried and the world stopped spinning around, she found herself resting her head on Rico's lap as the latter stroked her hair slowly and gently.

She pushed off her in an instant, wearing nothing but a dull face, her eyes puffy and rosy, her face pale. "Give me the address." She murmured, and her voice was raspy.

Rico's eyes widened. "Mikasa, maybe you should just wait for him to come back so you can talk it out—."

"Give me the address to that hotel." She ignored Rico and insisted, her eyes meeting Hitch's.

"Uh…" Hitch stuttered, "O-okay…" Hitch tugged out a pen and piece of paper from inside her purse. She scribbled the address on it quickly and gave it to her.

Mikasa took the paper, looked at it intently, and then spoke, "Now leave."

"Mikasa…" Rico started.

"Leave." Mikasa glared at the two of them, "Get out of my home. I don't want to see your faces in front of me right now."

Rico eyed Hitch for a second then nodded at her as she got up from the bed. She looked down at Mikasa one more time and said, "I'm sorry, Mikasa. No one ever deserves to go through this."

"I said: leave." Mikasa shouted angrily at the two, and without another word, they left the room and then the apartment and she sat on her empty bed by herself, eyeing the piece of paper that Hitch gave her with a most dark gaze.

The next morning she drove straight to that hotel.

Petra sucked in a breath before releasing a long sigh, "To be quite honest with you, I don't remember what happened that night. All I remember is waking up in the morning alone in bed, with a terrible hangover."

Mikasa almost scoffed at how convenient that was, but she remained silent, holding back from showing much emotion.

Petra noted her silence, wasn't sure if she were even listening to anything she'd been saying to her, but decided to continue regardless, "I got a call later on that day, was told that Levi got into an accident… and I…"

Mikasa looked at the woman in front of her, saw her bite her lower lip harshly as she gulped, and Mikasa's brows arched when finally noticing tears in the other's eyes.

"He wouldn't have been at that hotel if I hadn't asked him out that night. Levi wouldn't have had to drive after you, wouldn't have gotten into an accident, wouldn't have forgotten about you… He wouldn't have fallen into coma… None of this would've happened... if I had just taken a no for an answer—" she cried, "It's my fault too, you know, not just his." And when she looked up at Mikasa again, there was the guiltiest smile shaping her lips as she added, "I did this to the both of you… and I'm really sorry."

Mikasa could tell she was being genuine. It was all clear from the look on her face, the sound of her voice, yet still her dull expression didn't even shake, not even slightly, nor did she find anything to say in turn at all.

Petra sniffled a little, trying to hold back from crying, "I'm sure he regrets nothing more than having gone out with me that night. I swear to you, had I known that he was in a relationship; I wouldn't even have bothered trying. I would never want that to happen to anyone, just as much as I wouldn't want it to happen to me."

Mikasa finally forced a smile, "Well, you didn't know…"

Petra paused. She could tell Mikasa wasn't all that interested in hearing her apologize, could tell that she wasn't going anywhere with this, so she decided to cut short and get to her point, "I… I don't know… what you and the old Levi had… but I know that he loved you…" she started, "The Levi who woke up from that coma, not remembering anything about what happened… he loved you so much."

Mikasa could only sigh, "I'm sure he no longer does…"

"After you left him, in the airport… He remembered everything, and told me about it from the beginning… so many things I didn't know." Petra breathed, "It was quite the shock."

"Why are you telling me this now?" Mikasa's eyes glistened with a hint of sadness that she tried to hide as best as she could behind furrowing brows, "What's the point?"

"He's gone…" Petra broke the news, and only then did Mikasa look at her, "I don't know where to. He never told me, but I lost contact with him a couple weeks ago. I tried everything that I could to reach him, but none of it worked. He quit his job, told me he was leaving somewhere far away, that he was sorry for everything he'd done to me… to the both of us."

Mikasa's gaze sharpened, remembering when he showed up at the cemetery, how she told him off and left, and she never saw him again since then.

"He was… so lost… so broken. I could tell that ever since he woke up from that coma. Something in him changed." Petra looked down, "But then you came again… He met you in that hotel, and I started noticing the change in him—he was becoming the Levi I used to know from the office, the one who was distant from me; the one who had someone else in his life, more important than me." A silly smile settled across her cheeks, "You can't imagine the many nights he woke up, terrified from all the nightmares he'd have. I've never seen him sleep in peace until he met you again. I've never seen him so happy before. I could see it in his eyes, and all of it makes sense now."

Mikasa's lips parted, as though she had something to say, but nothing came out, and so she pressed her lips back together into a thin line and looked down, avoiding the other's gaze.

"Mikasa, I know that he hurt you…" Petra placed her hand on the table, half wanting to reach for Mikasa's, "The old Levi hurt you so much, and maybe you don't care about him, but you had no right to punish the Levi you met in the hotel for something he didn't do, or at least, didn't remember doing…" her hand retreated back to her lap, squeezing her coat, "If you didn't love him so much, if he didn't mean the world to you, you wouldn't do that. I know you still love him. I know that… behind that heart full of hatred for the Levi who broke you, there's so much affection for the Levi who fell in love with you."

Mikasa's eyes burned, red seeping into them as she fought the tears that started forming within them, but she held them back with all she got, prevented them from falling, for she knew very well what that would mean. She wasn't ready to welcome weakness back into her heart, to admit what she'd been trying to deny for the longest time. She wasn't about to make the past few weeks of her life another one of her big mistakes and regrets.

Petra hissed, her grip around her coat tightening, "I loved him too, you know? I still do, even after learning the truth. You spent more time with him than I did, and I'm sure that you know him better than me." she cried, "Please don't hurt him more. You know what it's like, how bad it is to go through, so please don't do the same thing to him. Find him; I'm sure that you can. Forgive him, because I know you'll find it in you if you search well enough. Help him fix his mistakes, because you know he'd do the same for you." she pleaded, "I wasn't the one supposed to be with him when he woke up from that coma, when he was so lost. Now he's lost again, and it's your chance, your choice to make things right again."

But Mikasa gave no response, said nothing to her, and merely drowned in silence, her gaze averting back to the city. Petra stared at her, her breath hitching as she picked herself up, and walked away, leaving her to her thoughts.

When Mikasa returned home that evening, she took a shower, wrapped her body up in a towel once done and walked to her bedroom.

She opened the first drawer of her dresser to get out her hairbrush, when her eyes landed on something familiar that stole her attention away; the necklace that she got during her trip to that hotel, the one that reminded her of nothing but the family she was supposed to have.

She'd wanted to throw it away multiple times, had even done it a few times, but she always dug it out of the trash again, kept it inside her drawer because looking at it occasionally was more comforting than she liked to admit.

She picked it up carefully, and looked at her reflection in the mirror as she put the necklace on, letting it rest around her neck.

She touched the wings with the tips of her fingers lightly, and closed her eyes, letting out a soft breath, voices from different flashbacks filling her head, and she placed a hand on her head, holding it tightly.

"You're still wearing the necklace…"

"It's a lovely necklace."

"Remember… we're a family anyway…"

"Tell me about your family…"

She remembered those words she'd said to him, that night he visited her suite, and her eyes opened again, wide with sudden realization.

"Do you remember what happened last time you decided to go alone on a short trip?" Historia crossed her arms against her chest, "I don't think this is a good idea, honey. I had a bad feeling about it then, and I have a terrible feeling about it now too."

She stood in Mikasa's bedroom, watching her pack a bag, getting some clothes from the closet and walking back to the bed where the open bag was.

"You're overreacting." Mikasa shrugged.

"I'm—" Historia scoffed, "I'm overreacting? Which one of us went on a trip to get revenge on her cheating ex-fiancé who was suffering from amnesia?"

"Yeah, well…" Mikasa huffed, "That's not why I'm leaving this time."

"I don't believe you." Historia shook her head, "I'm coming with you, like it or not."

"You're not coming with me. I started this and I'm finishing it." Mikasa said confidently, "Plus, I thought you and Eren had a date tonight."

Historia's cheeks flushed red, "Don't change the subject! My date with Eren has nothing to do with what you're doing."

"Are you sure it doesn't? It kind of sounds like you're looking for an excuse not to go out with him because you're too nervous about it." Mikasa teased.

"Sh-shut up. That's not true." Historia claimed, her arms crossing in front of her.

Mikasa rolled her eyes, "That doesn't sound very convincing."

"Mikasa, I'm serious!" Historia argued, "Don't go."

"I'm sorry." Mikasa smiled, "I have to. Otherwise I'll never be able to live with myself again…"

Historia frowned, but said nothing in turn.

"I promise…" Mikasa closed her bag and approached her friend, placed her hands on her shoulders and looked at her reassuringly, "I'll be fine this time."

"That's what you said last time." Historia huffed, "I don't trust you anymore."

Mikasa smiled, then hugged her friend tightly, "Thank you for everything, Historia, really. I couldn't ask for a better friend."

"You're just saying that to convince me to leave you be." Historia pouted, but eventually gave in and returned the hug, tightly, "I worry about you a lot, you know? You're my best friend."

"I know."

Historia pulled back slightly to look into Mikasa's eyes, "Are you sure about this?"

Mikasa was quiet, and she eyed the bag on her bed for a long moment before finally nodding her head and meeting her friend's eyes again, "I am."

Mikasa still remembered a time when she asked Levi about his family and past. He told her about the humble life he had with his mother. They had a tiny house in an old, forgotten neighborhood, far away from the city. He told her that the only pretty thing there was in his neighborhood was winter, when it would snow and all the houses and streets would be covered in a pure, white coat, hiding away all its flaws and leaving nothing but a beautiful sight to admire.

He told her how much he enjoyed playing in their small front yard with his mother, building snowmen and having snowball fights.

He told her that he loved the place, despite the terrible state it was in, all run-down and old. He told her about how his mother fell ill, and he was the only one there to take care of her, cook for her, clean around the place and do what he could.

Mikasa remembered when he took her to that house once, because she'd insisted on it, and he'd argued that the neighborhood wasn't so much of a safe place anymore, that all kinds of criminals and perverts lived in it, that his childhood home was no longer the place it used to be, that it had fallen apart after his mother passed away and he moved out.

She insisted, however, and eventually he gave in to her pleas.

The place looked the same still, she thought as she entered that small yard, looking about her, at the old garden tools lying around on a small table that sat near the garage, the neatly trimmed bushes, and clean porch. The place definitely looked old still, but she noticed a bucket of paint lying around with a few paint brushes, and that some of the walls were recently painted over with a fresh, beige color. Despite this place being so old and supposedly run-down, it was still clean and well-organized; definitely had a Levi touch on it.

She observed the place carefully and walked to the staircase, sitting there as she waited.

It took him a while but he came. He was walking with a bunch of grocery bags in his hands, and paused at the front of his house when spotting her there, his eyes widening.

He almost dropped the groceries when he saw her get up and step down from the staircase, and he thought maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him, making him see things, but she stood before him and she was as real as she could ever be.

Mikasa held her hands together, trying to form something coherent to say, "Hi." She murmured.

Levi released a breath he didn't know he was holding, as if hearing her voice was the pinch on the cheek he needed to wake up from whatever daydream he was having. "You're… what—how did you…"

"Do you need help with the groceries?" she eyed the bags in his hands, the way he was holding them and how they could fall at any given moment.

"No…" he shook his head and fixed his hold around the bags. He needed help with other things though, like figuring out why the hell she was here and how she got here.

Mikasa stood there in front of him, looking into his eyes for a long moment and then asked casually, "Can we go inside?"

Levi stared at her dumbfounded, but nodded and proceeded to walk. He held the groceries in one hand and got out his keys with the other, opening the door to his humble abode and stepping to the side to let her in.

Mikasa walked into the house, closing the door behind her before she stood in her place and looked around her, observing her surroundings. Most of the furniture was timeworn and shabby, clearly hadn't been used in a while, but she could see a few things that looked relatively new, like the kitchen sink that looked like it had just been mounted, and she guessed that maybe he had to replace it because the old one was broken or something like that.

Her eyes fell on him again as she said, "This place suits you… It's old and rusty, just like you…"

He placed the groceries down on the kitchen counter and turned to look at her, confused, a billion questions in his mind but none of them forming properly enough to fit into words.

"You seem to be holding up just fine…" Mikasa trailed a finger over the old couch in the living space, then looked over at him, "Do you miss the city?"

That question itself felt like a trick, and his eye twitched slightly at it. He didn't quite miss the city itself, but mostly things that were in it; like her for example, and he wondered if she expected him to say that. Regardless Levi gave a shrug, "It's not so bad living small."

"That's not what I asked." She said and leaned against the couch.

Levi heaved a sigh, "No." a lie, but he didn't think she'd appreciate his honesty. "Why are you here?" he finally asked.

"You're not happy to see me?" she tilted her head to the side and eyed him questioningly, though her voice held a hint of tease in it and he could almost taste it in his mouth.

"Seeing you is not the problem." He explained, "Are you happy to see me?"

"I guess that'll depend on a few things." She crossed her arms against her chest and held his gaze, "Are you still a cheating asshole?"

His chest tightened, his gaze falling apart from hers, "I'm…"

"Petra talked to me…" she began, knowing he probably had nothing to say, "She told me everything… about you two."

Levi felt disgusted in his own body, couldn't look up at her anymore, but had to listen to her regardless, because she had every right to be angry with him, every right to blame him and hate him—he felt the same way about himself.

"You're a mess…" she let out a soft breath, "But then again so am I… I hated you so much. I couldn't bear the sight of you. Everything you said, or did, made me feel sick to the stomach." She paused, biting her inner cheek before continuing, "You… ruined me. I wanted to ruin you just as bad. I wanted to see pain in your eyes, to make you understand what it's like…"

Levi heaved a breath and pressed his lips together as he finally gathered the courage to meet her eyes again, but he had nothing to say to her. He deserved it, all of it. He didn't deserve someone as good as her, or Petra, no. Perhaps he spent hours a day trying to keep his living space as clean as possible, but there was no way for him to clean the mess he'd made in their lives, or his for that matter. What he did disgusted him, made him sick too, and he couldn't take it back or fix it.

"Now I see pain in your eyes." She mumbled, "But I don't feel the satisfaction I sought… It doesn't make me happy… doesn't make me feel proud… it only makes me feel empty."

Levi sucked in a sharp breath, his heart skipping a beat when seeing her push away from the couch and make a few steps closer to him.

"I thought I'd move on after I got what I wanted, but…" she slowly undid the buttons of her coat and took it off, throwing it over to the couch, "I was wrong. I still think about it all, every time I go to sleep, every time I wake up, every time I eat, every time I breathe. And I hate the fact that I can't hate you, more than anything."

"I'm not worth hating…" Levi mumbled pitifully.

"No, you're not." She shook her head, "But you're worth more; a second chance that I wasn't ready to give."

"I don't deserve a second chance—"

"If I don't forgive you for what you did to me… I wouldn't be able to move on." She interrupted him before he'd say more, "I'd live the rest of my life despising you for it, remembering every small detail of it, and I'll be stuck there for the rest of my life."

Levi looked into her eyes for a long moment, and murmured in a deep voice, "I don't deserve a second chance, Mikasa."

"I do, though." She cut him off again and held his gaze, "Petra is a really good person… She bore no hatred towards you, even though she knew what was happening. She was ready to forgive you and try again because she loved you that much… Maybe my love for you wasn't selfless after all."

"Mikasa, don't." he shook his head at her, "Don't try to make it sound like any of it was your fault, like you were responsible for anything that happened. You don't need to share the blame—"

Mikasa's lips pressed into a thin line as her eyes filled with burning tears, "You… ruined me." She hissed, "But I don't know how to stop thinking that I ruined things just as much… If I had, at least, given you a chance, listened to you…"

"Stop it." He snapped, "I don't blame you for anything you did, so don't."

"You know I'm too proud to admit it." She sniffled and stepped closer, "Why didn't you stay? Why didn't you try again, and again? Prove me wrong, show me that you really loved me—remind me that I loved you just as much… more than I'd ever be able to hate you?"

"You're right." He admitted, his hands falling to his sides helplessly, "You're entirely right. I messed up, and didn't even try hard enough to own up to it. I ran away like a coward, didn't fight for you… and you have every right to—"

"I forgive you." She mumbled, and stood before him, a foot keeping them apart, "I forgive you, Levi…"

There was nothing he could answer with to that but complete silence, his eyes wide as he looked into hers.

"I thought that… trying to move on and forget was the hardest thing but… In reality, finding the strength to forgive is much harder. I was angry with you, hated your guts…" she cried, "But I love you."

She hesitantly touched his chest, let her hand move up slowly, and she rolled down his collar, exposing his neck, and the item that wrapped around it; the necklace that matched the one she had. She tugged it out swiftly and let it rest over his shirt, and they stared into each other's eyes for a moment before she threw her arms around his neck and held onto him tightly.

"I love you." She whispered softly, and felt his arms slowly wrap around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder. "Tell me that you love me…"

"I…" he took a breath, then slowly shut his eyes and sighed, "I love you…" he held her to him tightly, inhaled her scent as he buried his face into her neck. "I love you."

Mikasa's body relaxed against him, his warmth wrapping her up before she pulled slightly back to catch his gaze. "Show me…" she whispered against his mouth, and could see his eyes widen when she tugged at his jacket and took it off him, "I want to see—feel it."

Levi's head tilted to the side when feeling her finger stroke his cheek and he leaned forward, stealing her lips in a rough kiss, and his arms wrapped tightly around her, lifting her off the floor as her legs wrapped around his waist.

Longing for her had become his constant companion over the time he'd been gone. He'd only had her memories and his regrets to live with, and though it was an acknowledged fact that he missed her, he only just now realized how much he missed her, when her lips were on his, as soft and sweet as ever, and her body was pressed to his, just as warm and perfect as he remembered it, when they fell on his bed naked, their clothes scattered around the floor, and he kissed her all over, every bit of skin his lips could find, everything his hands could touch, and he loved all the sounds she made as he did that.

They were breathless when they finished, both lying on their backs underneath a blanket that he pulled over them, and Mikasa scooted closer to him, rested her head on his chest and wrapped her arm around him, relishing in the warmth his body provided her with, the only warmth that could make her feel cozy on the inside, make her feel at home.

He held her to him, stroked her back with his hand slowly and gently and he planted a kiss to the crown of her head.

There was a faint hint of a smile that rested across his face, savoring the moment with all its beauty and perfection, before a frown stole him away, for as much as he wanted to make love to her, as much as he enjoyed it, it only made him remember the one question that haunted him for so long, the one question he desperately needed an answer for, because he never got the chance to ask.

"You were pregnant." He started, and felt her body tense up at that, "You… didn't get an abortion, did you?"

Mikasa was silent, a grim expression settling on her face, and her body slowly shifted off of his as she sat up, looking down at him with her dark eyes.

Levi frowned, "You… lost the baby..."

She didn't let him finish, and pressed a finger to his mouth, shutting him up as her head shook. She pulled her finger away soon, trailed her hand down his body before finding his hand and holding it tightly, reassuringly, "It's never late to start over, right?"

Levi blinked, unsure why she was repeating what he'd said to her back at the hotel, wondering how that was supposed to make him feel better about the fact that he ruined everything they were going to have between a moment and the other, but he felt her take his hand and bring it to her body, resting it on her belly before rubbing over it gently.

He met her eyes, stared into them for a good moment, and it took him another to understand. He sat up immediately, his eyes wide with shock and a hint of disbelief, "Wait… You don't mean…"

Her gaze fell away from his shyly, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done this without your knowledge. I lied to you about being on birth control at the time… I just…" she sucked in a sharp breath, "I really wanted to have this…" she rubbed her belly over his hand, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips, "But I don't want to have it alone, not anymore… because we're a family."

Family. The word rang in his head repeatedly, and his eyes fell on the necklace she wore around her neck, the same as the one he still wore around his, the one thing that reminded them both of the future they dreamed of and couldn't have.

His hand shook a little as it moved over her still flat belly, trying to sense the life that would soon be part of them—the life that was already a part of them, because they were a family. His arms were around her waist in a heartbeat, holding her firmly as he surrounded her in a tight embrace, his face buried into her neck.

She cupped his face with both her hands and nuzzled his hair, breathing in his scent with closing eyes and a wide smile shaping the curl of her lips.

She'd searched long enough for what she'd wanted, had felt lost and broken, unfixable, and she'd denied what her heart had been constantly screaming at her because she was afraid of being heartbroken again, afraid of losing the one thing she'd never want to lose over and over.

But in the end, family was the one and only answer her heart ever gave her when she thought about the two of them, about the things they'd done, the things they'd had, the things they'd lost, and it had made them who they'd become.

In a perfect world, they'd have been married, with a little child, living in their own home, and they would have been happy. Or not. Because a perfect world didn't exist, and it was between all those flaws and imperfections that beauty hid, the kind that was born out of love and not selfishness, the one that was born out of sacrifice and not grudge, the one that was born out of patience and not expectations. There was always bad in the good, and there was always good in the bad.

And family made all of that worthwhile.

Family erased all doubts and questions, for nothing else rang stronger.

The End.

A/N: And they lived happily ever after :ppp

No but real talk though, I had hard time trying to settle on an ending because I had more than just one in mind, quite a few weren't supposed to be happy but I figured since we're all suffering enough thanks to canon, giving this a happy ending should do.

Please let me know your thoughts of the story if you haven't already (or even if you had and just wanna say some more) I'd really love to know them.

Thanks again for reading!