Erwin, Mike, Nash and a few other soldiers returned from the Underground District a couple of days later. They brought back three people with them. All of them, soldiers and captors, were wounded, bloody, their clothes ripped and grimy. Commander Sadies sent them straight to the medical ward to be fixed by Aura and the nurses.

Dr. Tubrey walked in as soon as the news got to her. She took one look outside her window, saw a beautiful white horse at the stable and rushed to the hospital. The number of patients was overwhelming, although she knew it wouldn't be that difficult with all the trained nurses. Some of them only needed a wash on their scrapes, but some needed to be looked after.

"What happened?" she asked Erwin as she walked towards his bed. His hands were scathed and bleeding, his sleeves and cape were torn and his forearms were covered with scars.

He showed her his hands, almost like a child, and looked up at her. The marks resembled those of a double-edged sword and she knew it was taken out of an ODM gear.

A number of questions raced through her head in a single moment. A fellow Scout attacked Erwin? The marks on his forearm were those of a knife, how many different weapons were used on him? How many people attacked him? Who were these new people? Why did they go to Underground at all?

"I thought you went to Stohess?" she said, rubbing alcohol on the wounds on his hands to clean them.
"I did," he said, wincing, "did you not get my letter? I stayed there for a day and then left for Underground."

"Why? I thought you were vacationing with Marie?"
"We got intel on civilians using ODM gear. More like thugs, thieves."

"We can hear you, you know," the girl from the new trio spoke up as one of the nurses stitched a wound near her elbow. She did not cry, nor wince even once and looked Erwin straight in the eye from across the room.

"Isabelle," one of the boys spoke to her, "we work for him now. He deserves some respect."
"Wait, what?" Aura looked back at Erwin, "what?"

"We observed them in action," he informed her, "we got news about them from the local MPs and how they were a nuisance they could not control.."
"That's not our fault," Isabelle was quick to remark.

Erwin ignored her and went on to tell Aura everything. "We went in and observed their skills. I decided that such a skillset should not get wasted without seeing the light of the real world, so.."

"Wait," Aura put bandages on his palms and moved to his forearm and biceps, "didn't you just tell me that they're thugs from the fucking Underground?"

"Yeah.." He had never seen her so furious.
"Does Sadies know? Did he approve of this? Or did you just go and randomly come back with three new people?"
"Yeah, he.. wait.. you don't think this is a good idea?"

"No, of course not," she was exasperated by the time her previous question finished, "like you said, they are thugs. Are you really telling me that, from the next Recon Mission onwards, the people who tried to kill you will be your comrades?"

"Doctor," the nurse standing near one of the new boys called to her, "this man.. could you take a look at him please?"

Aura handed Erwin over to her and went to the other bed. "Name?" she asked without even taking a look at his face. "Ma'am, he's not.." the nurse's call finally persuaded her to look up. The man in front of her had his eyes shut tight. She picked up his wrist to check his pulse. Although it was there, it was very feeble. She pulled at his highly chapped lower lip and started asking questions.

"How long were you on the road?" she asked, and without waiting for an answer, made arrangements to elevate his legs. "The whole morning and afternoon," someone said.

"Did he puke on the way here?"
"Yes, but very little."
"Doesn't matter. Did you not give him water afterwards?"

"He wasted the entire pouch on washing his hands and face."
"Perfect! Sarah, set up an electrolyte IV while I stitch the moron's forehead. It's like his brain oozed out."

"He has a name, woman," the other man snapped at her from his berth.
"Yeah, and I asked for it 10 minutes ago," she snapped back.
"It's Levi," he said, looking straight into her with raging eyes.

Aura stayed in the ward with two nurses for the rest of the night. She could not leave a sedated Erwin alone with the Thug Trio from the Underground. As the nurses dozed off in a corner, she kept strolling to and from his bed. His blonde locks fell over his eyes as he wheezed in his sleep. He was like a small vulnerable child who needed her. She smoothed his hair out as he laid unconscious.

She knew she was a little hard on him in the evening. It was not like she did not trust his decision, she knew that he was self-aware. She knew he had plans. And she knew she could not know all his plans all the time. But, staying in the dark had never worked for her, and that was the reason she became miserable when she saw him all wounded.

"That's really creepy," a voice she never heard before startled her. Her hands swiftly moved from Erwin's face to her own, as she turned to look at the speaker. The previously unconscious captor was sitting straight up on the bed, his legs still held in the awkward elevated position.

"The name's Levi," he said as she continued to look at him awkwardly, without moving.
"I know," she replied, walking towards him, "lie back down." He complied. He was too weak not to. She checked his pulse, his mouth and eyelids, before getting her instruments to check his breathing and blood pressure too. "You're better now," she said, "you'll have to stay in here tomorrow anyway. I wanna keep an eye on you."

"Tell me, missy," he continued conversing, "is it ethical for the Section Commander to sleep with the doctor?" Aura was already disappointed with the Thug Trio, and now this question completely threw her overboard.

"First of all," she tried hard to stay calm, "Levi, none of your business. Second of all, when you're offered water after you puked, drink it. Third of all, I don't want to be lectured by a thief about ethics. Do you know how to write?"

"Yes," he said, sounding like an errant child.
"Fill up your details in this form," she dropped a board with a paper and a pen clipped to it on his lap and prepared to get his legs down from their elevated position. As soon as she was done, she left for her cup of tea.

"When can they start training?" Keith Sadies had come into the ward early in the morning. He took a look at his sleeping soldiers and politely greeted Aura. "Erwin, Mike and Nash can go today, Commander," she informed him, "two of the new recruits can go too. They have stitches at places that won't interfere with training. But, I'd like to keep an eye on this Levi dude for today. He was extremely dehydrated."

"As you say, Aura," he nodded and was about to leave. He turned at the door to look at the thugs. They all seemed to be sleeping too. He looked at Aura once again and asked, "do you think they would be worth it?"

Aura's eyebrows shot up at the question. Although she had a good rapport with the Commander, she never expected him to ask her the tough questions. "Umm.. sir.." she stammered, "I.. I'm not sure I'm the right person to answer this."

"What do you think?" he asked again.
"I think we should trust Erwin. He definitely has some motive," she said, suddenly sweating at the beginning of winter.

"Hmm.. when he wakes up, could you tell him I need him for a meeting? Tell him the other leaders would be there." he nodded at her and walked away.

"That was so romantic," she heard that voice again behind her. "Oh my God, Levi," she turned to him with an angry look on her face, "you need to stop doing that. And, again, none of your business!"

"Can I have some tea?" he asked after a while. He sat staring at the IV channel going into his arm and cringed at it. He looked up at the bottle the liquid was contained in and frowned at it. He expected the tube, the bottle, the bed, the floor or something to be unclean or unkempt, so he could complain about it. But everything was in order.

So, he asked for a cup of tea and hoped it wouldn't be clean enough. But he was wrong again. The cup was as clean as he would have preferred and the tea was delicious to drink.

"Anything else, master?" Aura tried poking fun at him, leaning against his bed and smirking at him.

"Aura?" It was now Erwin's voice that startled her. He twisted on the bed allotted to him and sat up. His hair was ruffled from being in bed for so long and for a while, Aura found herself slipping into a fantasy of being alone with him. She quickly brought herself back and rushed to him to check his pulse.

Only after a few repetitions of the same routine, she was convinced that he was okay and ready to go. "Are you still mad at me?" he asked, brushing his fingers through his hair to get it to settle.

"Oh right," she said, looking up to meet his eyes, "I was mad at you. I completely forgot about that." He started to say something but she continued, "maybe it's because I never was. I was concerned. I still am. But, if you think this is a good idea, maybe it is. Sadies came in earlier. He wanted you to attend some meeting with the other leaders and himself. You should get ready."

As she walked away, he let out a heavy sigh. As a soldier who did not stop at taking orders from seniors, and functioned independently on many occasions, he often came across information that he was better unaware of.

As he buttoned the new shirt that was neatly folded at the end of the bed, he looked up to meet the eyes of the man who had been paid to murder him. He nodded at him, as if he had no knowledge, and walked out of the chamber. He could not begin to convince himself that he was completely unfazed by being in such close proximity to Levi and his gang, but he knew he had to.

He did what he had to do to ensure a number of things. He had to make sure he lived and on top of that, he had to make sure his new Long-distance Enemy Scouting Expeditions got funded. For some time, his life had seemed secondary to the expedition, but he knew his death would mean the end of them before they even began.

He could not tell anyone about this, except for Commander-in-chief Darius Zackley. Not even Commander Keith Sadies, he'd have interfered in his own way and Erwin did not prefer it. And, definitely not Aura, she'd have been miserable and more concerned and would have probably killed Levi the moment she saw him.

She was a kind and polite person when she wanted to be, and could be equally fierce when it was needed of her. He had fallen in love with her long ago. She had captured his heart and soul the night he opened up to her about his father and his one dream without being drunk.

He had found an excuse to come down to her room to ask for something to help him sleep. When he did not find her in her room or at the chamber, he heard her singing voice coming from near the stables.

When he saw her petting his own white horse while smoking a cigarette, he found himself desiring to be with her. In the moonlight, her plump figure bent over the stable door had aroused him beyond expectation.

For a while, he even considered asking her to come upstairs with him and making love to her all night. He could only imagine how beautiful his name would sound coming out of her trembling lips. He tried distracting himself with different thoughts when she had finally looked back at him.

As they walked the campus grounds talking, Aura asked him questions he always had the answers to, but never asked himself. He knew that she had heard about his affair with Marie. And he was not a man who would make advances towards someone while he had someone else waiting for him some miles away.

But when she asked him what he liked most about Marie, he could not think of one thing. He had not seen her for half of a year and the letters they sent to each other had lost passion a long time ago.

Aura, on the other hand, could stir his soul with her curiosity. Erwin was a self-assessing man, and he wondered if he was to be with her, what were the odds that they wouldn't end up the same way.

When she spoke about how she wanted to look at the other side of Wall Maria, even it was for just a moment before she died was when he fell in love with her. He wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her under the moonlit sky and promise to take her outside the walls, but he could not.

In the same moment, he finally decided to go to Stohess and end things with Marie as soon as he could. However, he could not make that happen for another six months because of his duties.

Aura was mesmerized when she saw Levi, Isabelle and Furlan during training a few days later. Just like everyone else. She had come to the yard to tell Hange about the new microorganism they isolated from a captured Titan's wounds and how it had got nothing to do with the regenerative power.

She stopped, dumbfounded, as the Thug Trio practised slashing the necks of Titans. "It's almost like they're dancing midair," she said to Hange and Moblit. "I know," she said, "this is so exciting! Everyone has new contributions to the army. Erwin! Thanks for bringing them."

Erwin, Flagon and the other leaders had been observing the new recruits from the ground. When he saw Aura, he left their company and came towards her. She had not even noticed him until Hange mentioned his name.

"Hey," he touched her elbow after giving his comrades a warm smile. Now that he had separated himself from Marie, he was ready to make his admiration for her clear. She had not spoken to him at all for almost a week and had locked herself up in Hange's lab with the excuse of research.

The only people who saw her were Hange and the new guy, Levi. Erwin even considered faking sickness to get her to come see him, but later decided against it. If she wanted space, she would get it. He loved her too much to overbear her with himself.

"I missed you," he spoke to her softly, trying to get her attention. Even though her heart skipped a beat at his words, she kept looking away. He traced her line of sight and realized that she was staring at the people who had joined the Survey Corps with the sole purpose of murdering him. It wasn't time yet to tell her, but it was killing him to keep it from her.

"Okay," he sighed, "if this is what you want." He sounded so hurt, it broke her heart. She finally looked up to meet his eyes. Unable to hold his icy blue gaze for too long, she fixated her eyes on his bolo tie.

The strings were asymmetrical and she fixed it for him. She wanted to say "I missed you too", but the sudden appearance of Keith Sadies interrupted their romantic endeavors.

"Soldiers, on the ground!" he commanded. His voice was dominant and demanding and got everyone's attention quickly. All recruits quickly got into formation and saluted the Commander, as Aura awkwardly stood at a side holding a microbial culture plate. Even the Thug Trio got behind their Section Commander, Flagon.

"Section Leader Flagon, good job on training the new recruits," the Commander continued, "one more week and then we embark on the 25th Recon Mission. We follow the formation pattern designed by Section Leader Erwin and focus more on defense than offense. This week is very crucial. Corporal Mike, I assign you the duty of making sure everyone, including yourself, gets a physical checkup conducted by Dr. Tubrey before the mission commences. Corporal Hange, you have the responsibility of preventing any gear dysfunctionality. You and the engineers look through everyone's gear and fix the faulty ones. I want everyone training day and night, and not just for themselves but also their comrades. Sasageyo!"

"Hey, you want to get some tea?" Levi asked Aura, as his trio walked past her and Erwin. "Sure," she said, and walked away from Erwin with them, leaving him stunned.

The following week was hectic for everyone. Mike and Nanaba had given Aura a list of everyone in the Survey Corps in the order that they would come to her. The soldiers trained on horseback and ODM gear and Erwin found himself spending most of his time in meetings with the leaders and tweaking his formation plan.

He was glad he got the funding he had requested for, in order to start the expeditions. Darius Zackley had done his part and Nicholas Lobov was most likely arrested and rotting in a cell for his crimes. The only thing left for Erwin to save now was his own life from the hands of Levi and his gang. And, for some reason, he felt like his potential relationship with Aura needed saving from Levi too.

He spoke to Nanaba, as if casually, about what was going on between Aura and the 'new guy'. She had replied bluntly, embarrassing him, "jeez, Erwin! You don't have to pretend. We know you like her. And we heard what happened in Stohess. And, seriously, I don't know what's up with the dude and her. If you want, I can casually ask."

"That'd be great," he replied, his cheeks flustered and walked away from her.

"What are you doing to my list?" Aura almost screamed at Levi for fidgeting with the order of patients she got. "Nothing," he replied bluntly, putting it down, "just honing my reading skills. Am I good to go?"
"Yes, please," she said, feigning relief, "send Isabelle in on your way out."

The veterans were to come in the next day and it was again after almost a week that Aura would get to see Erwin. She checked the list. Erwin was the last person on the list, just after Nanaba and Hange. The other section leaders were to arrive at the infirmary in the morning, and Mike was weirdly put together with them instead of with the Corporals.

She sighed, wondering if it was something Nanaba did intentionally. She and Hange had always known about her feelings after all.

At the end of the day, when Nash walked out, she asked him to inform Erwin about his slot. As she expected Nanaba to appear in a few minutes, both her girlfriends walked in.

"Okay, light of my life," Hange greeted her loudly, as usual, "it's intervention time." "What?" Aura laughed out as she let both of them sit down.

She had sent all her nurses home for the night, except for one. When she saw her friends, she let him go too.

"What do you mean by intervention?" she asked, getting her instruments ready.
"I'm just gonna cut to the main point," Nanaba shushed Hange, "do you like this Levi guy?"

"What?" Aura laughed out again, hoping they were only fooling around. When they didn't speak back, she looked at them with concerned eyes.

"Are you serious? You're not kidding?" Hange shook her head, making her sit down on a chair nearby.

"He's shorter than I am," she raised one of her eyebrows at them, "you guys know my type, right?" "We thought we did," Hange said, looking sad, "we thought you really liked Erwin. What happened? Did this shorty steal your heart or something? With his ODM skills?"

"Guys!" She sounded hurt. "God! No.. I'm not into Levi or Furlan or Isabelle. Or anybody other than Erwin Smith. I sometimes have tea with them, at the mess. And, cigarettes sometimes. But that's all. I like Erwin. I still like Erwin. Hell, you know what! I'll tell you guys about the real deal."
"What real deal?"

"I'm in love with him. I have been in love with Erwin Smith for the last, what, 8.. 9 months. And I haven't been able to tell him about it because he's with someone. I don't want him to think I'm some clichéd love-wrecked, completely-smitten person suffering in solitude. I'm not! I don't want to put another thing on his plate, when he already has too much. I love him, and that's how it is. It hasn't advanced, or deviated. It's just as simple as that."

"Wow.." Nanaba heaved out a small sigh, looking at her. Hange was at the verge of telling Aura about Erwin's miserable breakup, but she stopped her.

"You shouldn't have done this now, you know," Aura continued, "he's gonna walk in for his checkup the moment you guys are out, and.."

"Wait.." Nanaba interrupted, "you didn't see him in the morning with the other Squad Leaders? That's where I put him. Mike is supposed to come in after us."
"Mike's slot was in the morning, but he never came. I was gonna ask you about him."

"Of course he didn't. He put himself at the end, because he was training all day. What? Show me the list."

Aura handed her the list and Nanaba was baffled. "This isn't even your handwriting," Hange concluded after her mandatory thorough inspection, "their names had been interchanged by someone."
"Who?" Nanaba was surprised, but Aura knew exactly who it was. She wondered why.

Nanaba and Hange were still baffled when they walked out of the infirmary and into Aura's chamber. There he sat, opposite to Aura's chair, with a slight smile and a faint, masculine blush on his face. "God, you girls are so loud," he told them. They stood there for a while, surprised by the genuineness of his smile. They saw him walking in as they realized that he had heard it all.

"You're all good," she said to him, pulling her stethoscope away. They could barely look at each other without smiling. Aura did not know about his recent discovery and Erwin was too elated about it.

Listening to her speak about being in love with him, he knew that his entire expedition would be affected by this knowledge. Maybe, for the better. He'd now have no mercy on Levi, no reason to even consider keeping him alive when he would be attacked.

He had been on guard for the last two weeks. His motive of capturing Levi's gang was ulterior. Even after he got the news of the arrest of Lobov, he didn't turn them in only for their ODM gear skills.

His decision of taking them outside the walls was to only filter them out. If they died fighting Titans, the threat would be removed completely. If they survived, they should be kept within the Survey Corps after being informed of what happened to their ally. He only had to watch his own back in the field to keep them from killing him.

"Show me your hands," Aura demanded of him. His scars were still there. "Do they hurt?" she asked, running her fingers over them. "Not really," he answered, "I used your ointment."

She was so close to him, he could just take her in his arms and kiss her. Only touching her skin would treat his scars, he was sure of it. Now that he knew his feelings were reciprocated, he had no reason not to. Only, he did.

Going beyond the walls, if the Titans were the only threat he had, he would not have cared much. But with two threats on his way, he had a little bit of worry of not making it back. And he was not one to put expectations in her head if he was not to return from an expedition.

"Good," she said, walking away to put her instruments back in their designated places. When she turned, he was still there. Looking at her. Her cheeks heated up immediately and she looked away.

"I'll see you in the morning then," she said, hoping he would just go away. Her feelings were overwhelming and had already brimmed, flowing out of the little container of her heart.

"Probably not," she heard his voice just behind her and turned abruptly. He was there, right before her. She stood about a foot shorter than him, her face near the expanse of his chest. "We'll be leaving very early in the morning, probably before you wake up," he continued, "we're going through Shiganshina this time. I'll see you day after tomorrow."

His heart ached as he was about to leave. There were so many "what if"s rushing through his head. He turned towards her once again and bent to have his face at the height of her face. "I'll miss you," he said, trying too hard not to stare at her lips. Then he put a slight kiss on her cheek before leaving.

The next morning, he was gone as he told her he would. So was the entire Survey Corps army. But, on the table at her chamber, she found a letter addressed to her in his handwriting.

"Aura,

There are so many things I have to say to you. I couldn't wait till I'm back. I just rushed to my room after kissing you and sat down to write this to you. I'm sorry if it was uncalled for. But, I do wish in my heart of hearts that you didn't mind. It has been over 6 months that I wanted to do that. In fact, I've often found myself wanting to do more than that, but I had my weird principles getting in my way of holding you to myself. I apologize beforehand if this letter is hard and too long to read, but I hope you read it whole.

I love you. I've loved you for a very long time, and it has been really hard to see you every day and to not be able to tell you how much I yearn for you. My body, my heart, my soul - you've captured it all. If you think of me as a traitor to my relationship with Marie, let me recount the events that happened when I went to Stohess. I went there primarily to end things with her on a good term. I was in love with you, you see. And it felt like I was cheating on her, you and myself by being with her. My carriage took me to her place directly. On my way, I bought a bunch of Dahlias, to give to her as a parting gift. When I knocked on her door, she did not seem happy to see me. It was almost as if I was stepping on her boundaries. I only realized why when I walked in and saw a half-dressed Nile Dok coming out of her bedroom. You remember Nile Dok? My friend from Training Corps who joined the Internal MPs and was stationed at Stohess. I told you about him. She apologized and I realized there was no need for it. I gave her the Dahlias, and she told me how staying away from me and closer to Nile helped her find her soulmate. I told her about you briefly and congratulated them before I left.

I was staying at an inn when I got the intel about Levi and his gang from my friends at the Capital. Have you heard of Nicholas Lobov? He's a Noble who wanted me killed so he could use the Expedition funds for his own businesses. He was one of the people who restricted the movement of the people from Underground to Mitras and charged taxes at the Stairwells. He employed Levi, Isabelle and Furlan to kill me by joining the Scouts and promised them money and citizenship at the Capital. He has been arrested now. But, Levi and his gang do not know that.

When I heard of his plans from an informant, I decided to walk into his act myself. I informed Darius Zackley about my plans and went Underground to invite the trio to join our army. As expected, they did put up a little bit of resistance, but finally caved.

I brought them here and you were furious. Even though you didn't know the magnitude of the imminent danger, you were concerned about me. When you went into solitude, I started doubting myself. Maybe it was wrong for me to bring the enemy home. But, you have seen them in action, right? How could I let that kind of potential go to waste? Levi has the capability of making something of himself in the Survey Corps. Why should he let his talent go to waste in the capital when he can save humanity? If they don't survive the expedition, the threat will be eliminated. If they do, I'm hoping they'd be motivated to serve the army. Unless, obviously, they kill me first.

But, do not worry about me. I have watched my back for two weeks and I can do that for another day. Only thing concerning me is being able to be away from you. I know it sounds cheesy, but that's how I feel. I was in your chamber when you told Hange and Nanaba about your feelings for me and I overheard. You had no idea how much I wanted to hold you and kiss you and tell you that I love you too, when you stood less than a foot away from me. Aura, you make me happy and, if nothing else, being with you will be my motivation to come back in full shape from every expedition henceforth.

It has been over an hour and I'm still writing. You don't leave my mind much, you know. This kind of love has never happened to me before. You surprise me in your own way, every day and leave me wondering what loss I would have incurred if I hadn't met you. You give me and everyone little tips and tricks to manage time and space more efficiently, and I wouldn't have known how to fold my socks properly if I hadn't met you. I wouldn't have rediscovered tea if I had never had one sip of the leaves you brew. You gave me books I have never read before and made me fall in love with fiction. You've made me rediscover myself, be okay with myself the way I am.

When you first came here, do you remember how Mike and I brought alcohol to the medical ward? It was so out of character for me, I was surprised. I did that just to make conversation with you. Later when we started talking about my expeditions and the possibilities beyond the walls, and slipped into conversations about topics we're both passionate about, I realized I didn't have to go out of character to impress you.

You do all this so easily and effortlessly, without overbearing anyone. It's so admirable. You make me think about you all the time. And, it aches when I don't get to see you and all I have are the thoughts of you. I wish nobody has to think about anyone or anything as much as I think about you. I wish nobody has to fall in love this hard.

It's going to hurt when I leave in the morning without seeing your face. But, you know that I must. I would apologize sincerely when I get back, for keeping you in the dark for so long. Again, you know I had to.

I'll see you soon then.

- Erwin"

Aura had not known anxiety of such magnitude until this day. She finished reading the letter with trembling hands, wondering how Erwin finished writing in such a casual note.

He had gone on an expedition, with enemies, to surround himself with more enemies. She was moved by this man's courage, and not in a good way. She had seen Levi in action, and it concerned her even more. He had given Erwin enough scars in the Underground when it wasn't in his motive to kill him.

But, now that it was, she could only imagine how much more damage he would do. She smoked one entire pack of cigarettes by the end of the day, and could not stop worrying about what was going on beyond Wall Maria. When it started to rain in the afternoon, her fears knew no boundaries.

Will the Right and Left Wing Spotters be able to see the nearby Titans and inform the others in time? What if they get ambushed by a herd? What if the Thug Trio used this as a means to get closer to Erwin?

She found herself tired with all the questions in her head. She was so worried about the bad things written in the letter, she could not get herself to concentrate on the better parts.

He loved her too? Great. What would she do with the information if the man was dead?

She found herself getting impatient with every passing minute. And it wasn't before long that she decided to ride to Shiganshina herself. On horseback, she knew it would take her around 2 hours of continuous riding to get there and, if she wasn't wrong, she knew exactly where the Survey Corps base was in that district.

She packed a large pouch of water, wore a Survey Corps cape on her back and left on a beautiful black mare. It was well into the night when she reached Shiganshina. A young boy greeted her, thinking she was a lost veteran and she confirmed from him the route to the base.

As her mare, Elixir, stood in front of the gates, she found it rather difficult to ride her inside. What if Erwin was really not there? No, she told herself, she was not to doubt his capabilities. He was a soldier even the Commander relied on during decision-making. He must have been right. He was there, she convinced herself. She rode all this way to just see him and tell him she loved him, that was all!

She walked in, the reins of her mare in her hand. The base was huge and she did not know where to look. She walked to the central building, her boots covered in mud, assuming it to be an assembly point and left the animal in front of the building.

She was only a few feet from entering the establishment when she heard her name being called. And she knew exactly who it was. She turned, her eyes rimmed with rage and faced Levi.

"You bastard," she stomped towards him, her fists on her sides, ready to beat the shit out of the man. "What did you do to him? Who the fuck do you think you are? You heinous full-of-shit asshole!"

She resorted her fists to grab him by the collar instead and he did not even resist. As she shook him for answers, he only looked at her bluntly. "Will you answer me or what?" she asked once again, "what did you do?"

"I followed him back," he said, his voice mellow and filled with grief, "I lost everything on the field, Aura. I watched Furlan and Isabelle being devoured, and lost my will to fight. Then, Erwin gave me purpose. So, I followed him back."

Aura backed up, leaving his collar, her entire palette of emotions changing from rage to apologetic. "He's inside," he told her, "at the Commander's chamber, I believe."

Erwin Smith always had a period of stark melancholy after coming back from an expedition. Although he looked quite tough on the outside, innately, he cared for his comrades. He, just like the Commander, could barely look into the eyes of the family members of the deceased soldiers. It was at this moment when he missed Aura the most. Sitting in the Commander's chamber, finishing up paperwork with a cup of bland coffee, he ached to see her.

As he checked out the list of the deceased, he noticed the names of Furlan Church and Isabelle Magnolia. He had found Levi beside a Titan corpse on the field, weary and unwilling to fight anymore.

Filled with self-pity and rage, he had attacked Erwin the moment he saw him, giving away his reason of being there in the first place. The self-doubt was so prominent in his entire appearance, he felt sorry for him.

Holding the charged blade at a distance, he had finally disclosed his entire plan. His hand bled at the same spot as he continued to tell Levi how Lobov had been arrested already and that Survey Corps was his only chance at proving something of himself.

He sighed, and was about to get back to work when the door behind him opened up wide. He was startled off his work and looked back to see the woman from his thoughts in person. The light from the candles reflected from her face and he concluded that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen or will see.

"Aura?" he stood up and faced her, verifying the reality of her presence. "What are you doing here? How did you.."

She had walked up to him - no, run towards him - as he spoke and thrown herself into his arms. Without letting him finish his questions, she crashed her lips onto his and let the tears roll out of her eyes.

He replied to her passion with all his vigor and picked her up from the floor to hold her even closer. Her feet dangling in the air, she laughed out in his mouth and they broke for breath. He put her down and pulled her into an embrace.

"I was so scared," she said softly, encircling his body with her two arms. He had taken a bath recently. She could tell from the smell of soap from his chest, the coiffed blonde hair brushed back, the smooth stubble-less cheeks, the coolness of the skin on his arms and neck. She could melt in his warm embrace, be like this forever.

"You don't listen, do you?" he smiled, lovingly reprimanding her, "how did you get here?"
"On horseback."

"I didn't know you can ride."
"I was born in a very privileged family. Of course I know how to ride."

They looked at each other, smiling, unable to believe the magic that surrounded them. Erwin closed the gap between them again, kissing her lips - politely first and then, slowly and deliciously amorously. "It's been so long since I've wanted to do this," he paused to say before he kissed her again. And again. And again.

"I love you," he finally said, kissing her forehead.

Her eyes watered up as she took in his entire vista, heard his precious voice and leaned into his persona. He was so beautiful, it was often hard to look directly at him. Like a solar eclipse.

She had told her friends the previous night about her not being a love-wrecked, completely-smitten person, but, at that moment, standing in his arms, she felt like she was.

"I love you too," she could only muster up a whisper as the tears in her eyes brimmed. She buried her face in the ripples and crevices of muscles on his chest and all her sorrows felt like they left her body. Her heart felt lighter and she knew she had never been this happy in all her life. As her eyes shed some more tears, Erwin held her face up in between his hands and asked, "is it this overwhelming for you too?"

She nodded, her focus shifting from the romance to the new set of bandages on his palms.

She sighed. "Levi?" He nodded, saying, "don't worry, it's not happening again."
"I know," she told him, becoming very apologetic again, "I saw him downstairs. He's shattered. I shouldn't have tried to hit him."

"You tried to hit him?"
"I may have grabbed his collars too."

"I have a lot of faith in your strength, dear," Erwin said jokingly, backing off from her, "but you probably shouldn't try that again. That man's freakishly strong for his stature. He took down two Titans today, on his own. No assist."

"You sound like you really admire him."
"I do. He hasn't had the easiest life and he tried to make something of himself and help others like him. Maybe not with the most honest means. But there are men way more privileged than him, who do more dishonest work just for the sake of their own goddamn selves. I think all he needs is for us to show him the way, to push him towards his best potential."

"You're so gay for him, Erwin."
"What?" Erwin chuckled, "no. It'd be more like mentor-mentee, honey, you've got nothing to worry about. I'm all and only yours."

Aura blushed again, looking away and Erwin kissed her cheek. "Do you wanna get something to eat? I'm kind of starving."

In a few minutes, they walked into the bustling cafeteria area. The veterans section beamed with joy and excitement when they saw the two of them walking up, hand in hand. "Oh my God," Hange asked them, speaking really loudly, "I have so many questions."

Nanaba, Mike, Hange, Nash and Sam were really happy to see their friends together, after all these months of being in love with each other in secret. The two looked happy after a long time, radiant from all the newfound love. Erwin had rarely ever been seen smiling and laughing with his comrades at dinner, and the sight was pleasing and warm.

"This is so good," Hange concluded, looking at them with genuine happiness in her eyes.

Another person, from a few tables away, also looked at them with warmth in his eyes. Levi, the Badass from Underground, had grown to be fond of Aura. They were almost the same person, obsessed with the same things. Only, he was a slasher born in darkness, and she was a healer, trained in one of the most privileged cities of the nation.

Even on the day he lost everything, he found himself happy for her. Seeing her with the love of her life gave his heart warmth. If it was anyone else, he would have concluded it to be gross and scoffed at it.

He had nothing but respect for Erwin Smith. That man, he had concluded on their way back, was gazing at something he could not even see. He seemed to know everything, sense everything, think ahead of everyone and be ready for any situation he may face. Although he wasn't necessarily fond of the Section Commander, Levi was glad Aura chose him. She was everything he wasn't, and he was everything she wasn't.

They complemented each other, and only for Aura's sake, Levi was glad he didn't kill him.

As he stared at the veterans' table blankly, his eyes briefly met Aura's. He mustered up a small smile and mouthed the word 'congratulations' to her. He had seen her suffer in solitude in the absence of the reciprocation of her love.

And, looking at her now, sitting beside the man she desired, finally able to hold his hand, the event seemed congratulatory. She smiled back at him and mouthed the words 'thank you'. And that was just the beginning of a great friendship.