.˜"*°• L I T T L E M O N S T E R •°*"˜.

          Fortunately for them both, the couple had scattered within the hour, meaning Levi and Missy were able to finally escape their hiding spot on the balcony. Missy was surprised to find that her eyes were heavy as she lay her head on her pillow that night, hardly being able to reflect on the events of that evening before sleep grasped her. She was grateful, however, because she woke up the following morning feeling a lot more refreshed than she had felt in a while. No images of mutilated bodies had plagues her sleep, and no nightmares of her time back in Turk.

Missy swallowed the feeling of unease as she pulled her ODM gear on over the black, long-sleeve t-shirt that she wore. Today was the day they departed for the mission, and although the full night of sleep had left her body feeling better, it didn't do anything to help the dwindling nerves swimming around in her stomach. She sat down on the bench in the girls changing room and let out a shaky sigh, glad that only a couple of Scouts still lingered in the room.

"I'm surprised this mission is even going ahead," She heard one of the girls tell her friend from the other side of the room. "The likelihood that another attack happens whilst we're away has to be pretty high, right?".

"I agree," The friend sighed as she stretched her arms above her head. "They're probably waiting for us to leave. Having us out of the way would ensure they succeed in whatever they plan to do".

Missy bit her lip, her mind now reeling from the conversation she had overheard as the two girls left the room. What they said had made sense. It would be the perfect time for this organization to hit another attack, especially with half of the Rhydduchs and Ackermans far away beyond the walls.

"You're taking your sweet time".

Missy's head snapped up to see Levi closing the door behind him and making his way toward her. "You do know this is the women's changing room, right?".

"I'm aware," He muttered, stopping less than a meter away from her as she continued to assemble her gear. "You're the only one here, however, so I don't see the problem".

"Whatever," Missy mumbled. "It's too early in the morning to argue with you".

Levi crossed his arms over his chest, watching with a narrow stare as she continued to put her gear on. Missy paused her movements, straightening her back to glare at him. "Can I help you?".

"Yes, actually," He replied, pointing towards her legs with one hand. "You can start by tightening your leg straps".

"Why have you been so weird about my gear lately?" She asked, scrunching her nose up at him. "You're treating me like a baby".

"I wouldn't need to treat you like a baby if you didn't act like one," He shot back. "Every day this week I've had to fix something about your ODM gear. You never struggled with this as a trainee cadet, so why are you having so much trouble now with such a simple task?".

"I'm not doing it on purpose," She mumbled, looking down at herself to study the straps secured around her limbs. "Something just doesn't feel right".

He let out an irritated sigh, pushing his grey sleeves up to his elbows before kneeling in front of her. Her eyes widened as he wove two of his fingers between her leg and the leather strap right on the inside of her thigh. She could feel his touch through the fabric of her black pants, causing her cheeks to grow warm.

"I shouldn't be able to get two fingers between here," He muttered, grabbing the strap with his other hand and pulling it tighter.

She grabbed onto his shoulders with both hands to steady herself as he pulled her off balance. "It leaves bruises when it's that tight".

"It shouldn't be leaving bruises at all." He replied, doing the same with the strap on her opposite leg. "And it's not like you've put on any weight. What the hell are you doing differently?".

"Nothing!" She defended herself, squeezing his shoulders as she winced from the sudden pinch. "I've done it the same way since I was a trainee, I don't understand why it doesn't feel right".

Their conversation was interrupted by one of the Scouts outside calling for everyone to start getting into formation. Levi scanned her body over quickly, checking that the rest of her gear was fine before standing up and dusting off his legs. "We'll take a proper look later, we haven't got the time right now".

Missy nodded, securing her gas tanks and blades at her waist. "Okay".

"Hair up," He ordered, motioning towards her brown hair which currently sat comfortably at her waist. "And no ponytails".

"Yes, sir," She replied, reaching up to secure her hair in a messy bun. "Happy?".

"Thrilled," He answered sarcastically with a roll of his eyes before turning on his heel.

She had to fight back the urge to throw a smart-ass comment at him as she followed him out to the courtyard where the rest of the Scouts were preparing their horses and grouping up with their Squads.

Missy sat on top of her horse, chewing her bottom lip as she fiddled with the leather material of her horse's reins. Levi was equally as silent as he mounted his own horse and led the group to their position within the formation.

After Commander Erwin had given the order to depart, the Scouts left the safety of the walls, ready to embark on their most dangerous mission yet. Missy held her breath as she rode through the outer gate, doing all she could to keep her eyes focused on where they were riding. She felt a mixture of things as she kept her pace with the rest of her Squad. She found herself in complete awe of everything around her, even though so far it all looked pretty much the same as it did inside the walls. However, the feeling of freedom was overwhelming. The further she rode, the further away she was from all of the things that had caused her pain her entire life. The thought of being miles and miles away from her father lit a fire in her that could only be described as pure relief. On the other hand, she was battling a fear within her at the thought of returning to the walls in a couple of weeks to find out that any of her friends had not made it home.

She shook her head lightly, ridding the thoughts from her mind as she gripped her reins tighter and rode on. The goal was to ride to where their current maps ended, before breaking off into Squads of two and mapping out further into unknown territory. Missy was nervous, but she was also confident in her own skills. She had been made for moments like this, after all. She was also relieved at the fact Levi was with her, as well as the rest of the Special Operations Squad. Zero's Squad was only second to her own, meaning they collectively made a very solid, skillful team.

They spent the entire day traveling to where the maps led them, with just a few pit stops in between to give their horses a break. Missy praised Comanche as she hopped from his saddle, scratching his nose as he whinnied happily. The final point on the maps was just before a clear, fast-running river which the Scout's horses crowded around in order to hydrate their tired bodies.

Missy scanned the grassy riverbank, watching as people sat to rest, listening to instructions being barked at them by their stressed and tired Squad leaders. She spotted the familiar-shaven head of Connie from a distance and called out his name. He turned and waved before jogging over and wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug.

"Do not die," He whispered into her hair. "Or I'll be really mad".

She laughed, patting his back comfortingly. "I wouldn't dream of it. Same goes for you".

He pulled back and held her at arm's length, looking into her eyes with a small grin, before pinching her cheek and jogging back to his own Squad. Missy felt her heart ache as she watched him leave. She was going to miss her friends terribly, and no doubt she would worry for their well being the entire time.

Levi watched the encounter from afar out of the corner of his eye, only half listening to what Zero was saying beside him.

"Captain?" Zero asked, bumping his shoulder into Levi's gently once he realized he didn't have the man's full attention.

Levi turned his head lazily to face Zero. "Yeah, I heard you".

"Really? Looked like you were too busy watching Rhydduch and Springer," Zero replied with a raised eyebrow. "They dating or something?".

"How the hell should I know?" Levi snapped, scowling at the man. "I wasn't watching them, I was scanning the area".

"Okay, okay," Zero answered, holding his hands up in surrender. "It's not like it matters even if they were dating, she's as good as yours, right?".

Levi felt himself tense as he shot the man a glare. "Don't be saying thing's like that in front of her".

Zero gave a subtle roll of his eyes. "You got it".

He had been more himself the past week or so. Traces of his usual, teasing demeanor had returned, and of course his bluntness. Missy had been nervous to be spending the entire mission alongside him when everything he said and did reminded him of his little brother.

"Sir! Three Titan's coming in from the west!" A Scout yelled out, causing the two Squad leaders to spring into action.

To Levi's surprise, Missy was already on her horse and galloping towards the three 8ft Titans. He cursed under his breath before barking at the rest of his squad to get their asses over there and help as he followed behind her.

Missy took a breath before letting go of Comanche's reins and beginning to stand up on his saddle, her hands grabbing the handles of her ODM gear. She heard her name being called from behind her but didn't have time to look as she took off into the sky, shooting her wires into the body of the first Titan. She stayed as close to the ground as she could, swinging herself around to slice both of it's ankles and then using the flexibility of the cord to fling herself upwards and slice its nape cleanly. She didn't even pause to take a breath before moving on to the next beast, taking it down in a similar way. She whipped her head around to find the third Titan already on the floor, body decaying in a bellow of thick smoke.

"Are you crazy?".

As soon as her feet touched the floor she was grabbed by the shoulders, watching as Connie, Sasha and Jean surrounded her. "You're fucking crazy, Artemis!".

"What the hell are you three talking about?".

"You need to wait for backup!" Sasha scolded, rubbing her hands over her face. "There was three of them!".

Missy stayed silent as she watched her friends panic, almost sighing in relief when Levi landed on the floor beside her and pulled them all apart.

"Alright, alright," Levi said. "I'm her Squad leader, let me put the little brat in her place. Return to your Squads, the lot of you".

She watched as they turned around and headed back towards the riverbank, mumbling under their breath. Levi turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "You realize that was incredibly risky".

"I would have been fine," Missy shrugged, feeling quite offended at the fact they clearly didn't think she was capable of handling it.

"I know you probably would have," Levi sighed, pushing her by the small of her back to start walking. "But you still should have waited for backup".

Once they were back at the river, Missy took a seat on the grass as Zero held a bottle of water out towards Apollo. "Give this to your sister".

Apollo scowled. "Why me?".

"Uh, because I fucking told you too, dipshit," Zero spat, thrusting the bottle into his chest. "Stop complaining and do as you're told, it's the least you can do for just standing there and watching".

Apollo opened his mouth to bite back but was cut off as Levi walked past and snatched the bottle from his grasp. He watched with a frown as the Captain approached his sister, handing her the water.

"Thanks," Missy mumbled, taking a swig from the bottle as Levi stood above her with his arms crossed.

"From now on, you don't advance without my permission," He stated. "Is that clear?".

"Yes, sir," She replied, taking another sip and sighing as the cool liquid slipped down her throat.

Missy didn't speak another word as they packed up and got back on their horses, ready to part ways into Squads of two. The ride east was a lot more hectic than Artemis thought it would be. The steep, rolling hills made it difficult to maintain a smooth ride, and it seemed to be the perfect environment for Titans to hide as they continuously sprung up out of nowhere. Now that they had parted from the rest of the Scouts, it was up to the ten of them to handle the beasts alone. Missy had never been happier to hear Levi say they were stopping for the night. Her body ached, her head throbbed, and she wanted nothing more than to take off her ODM gear and soothe her tender, irritated skin.

"Tie your horses up and then grab a tent from the supply cart," Zero called out to the group as he dismounted his horse. "You'll be sharing in pairs, I don't wanna see no fighting about it".

Missy pursed her lips, looking around her at the group. She was the only girl. As the others tied up their horses and got started on putting up their tents, Missy made her way over to the two Squad leaders, who seemed to be in a tense conversation with her twin brother.

"Uh, I have a question," Missy declared, lifting her hand awkwardly.

"Wait your fucking turn," Apollo snapped before turning back to Zero. "It's not happening, Zero, I'd rather sleep with the Titans".

Zero clenched his jaw before looking to Levi for help, making it very clear he was about to punch Apollo if he carried on. "Levi?".

"She's the only girl, Apollo," Levi pointed out, and it was suddenly very clear to Missy that they were talking about her. "And you're related".

"I don't care," Apollo replied, irritation evident in his blue eyes. "She'll suffocate me in my sleep! Or the other way round!".

"You shared a womb for 9 months, I'm sure you can handle sharing a tent for one night," Levi replied, causing Missy to throw him a disapproving look.

"You want us to share a tent?" Missy scowled, looking between the two squad leaders. "You surely can't think that's a good idea".

"We shared during cadet training once," Apollo started to explain, desperate to get his point across and escape this situation. "I won't go into much further detail but lets just say that there was fire involved at some point".

Levi closed his eyes and sighed, shaking his head as Zero gaped at the twins. "You two really are cursed".

"See, now you're getting it," Apollo nodded, before motioning between Missy and Levi. "Surely he should be sharing with her".

Missy scoffed as Levi froze. "Are you being for real right now?".

Apollo ignored her, his attention still solely on his Squad leader. "Zero, please".

Zero ran his hand through his black hair, turning to Levi. "I can't make you do anything, Cap, but I really don't wanna listen to these two screaming at each other all night".

Levi cleared his throat as the attention of the three Scouts shifted to him. "I- uh, yeah that's fine".

"Thank fuck for that," Apollo whispered, a dramatic sigh of relief leaving his lips as he turned to make his way towards the supply cart.

"Is that okay with you?" Levi asked Missy, who's face had paled slightly.

"Uh, sure," She replied. "Anything's better than sharing with Apollo, I guess".

Truthfully, Missy didn't know how she felt about sharing a tent with Levi. The tents weren't exactly large, which meant her's and Levi's sleeping bags would practically be touching. She eyed the now fully assembled tent from her place by the campfire, spooning some rice into her mouth as she tried to ignore the fact that whenever she thought about it, her body erupted with flutters. She didn't like that feeling, whatever it was. She sat between Gunther and Oluo as the two Squads ate, engaging in quiet chatter as they settled down for the night.

"It's quite exhilarating, being so far from the wall," Eld said, scraping the bottom of his bowl with his spoon. "I've never seen hills like these".

"Exhilarating?" Oluo scowled. "You're insane. As for the hills, these poor horses haven't been trained to climb terrain like this".

Missy drowned them out as the two men continued back and forth, her focus on the star-filled sky above them. There were so many differences that she was noticing already from being away from the walls. The grass was greener, the air was lighter, and the stars sparkled brighter than she'd ever seen them before. She leaned her chin on her knees which were pulled up to her chest, her eyes darting over to where Levi was stood feeding his horse a red apple that had fallen from one of the apple trees nearby.

Deciding she'd had enough of listening to Oluo and Gunther's conversation, she lifted herself from the floor and made her way over to the Captain. His face was relaxed and soft as he petted Freya's mane, and Missy realized that this was a rare expression for the Captain. His face usually held the same neutral, bored expression that she had become accustomed too. At first it made him come across as unapproachable, and kind-of mean, but Missy had realized by now that this was just how Levi was.

Levi looked up from his horse at the sound of footsteps approaching, but his eyes blew wide with horror as he saw not only Missy, but a Titan stood directly behind her with it's hand outstretched towards her unsuspecting form. His heart thumped in his chest as he sprinted forward, yelling out to the girl.

They were too far from the campfire for anyone to have spotted the beast, and it seemed even Missy had missed the sounds of its footsteps approaching as she turned her head, terror slipping its way onto her features as the gigantic hand neared her.