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THE SNOW FELL FROM THE SKY LIKE GLITTER, decorating and sprinkling on the roofs of tall and short buildings alike. The market people chattered lively as if the cold could not be felt by any of them, focusing instead on the happiness they felt for the first few times in more than a decade.

Being within the walls could not feel happier.

Deeper within the walls, however, sat a frowning empress, watching the fall of the snow as she sighed deeply. She tore her eyes away from the scenery from the window of the fourth floor of the enormous castle and focused instead on the book in her hands.

She was in the second to the last chapter, having to already be more fluent in speaking, reading and writing after a whole year of diligently studying. Of course, she was grateful that her father was by her side but she felt as though there was a missing piece in her heart, a piece that had already been too far from her reach.

F/n let out a deep breath before placing the book on the table next to her. Surely, the Empire could last a few days without their empress, right?

𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁

Feeling the striking hit of the wind, F/n rode through the large empty space. The hood above her head protected her from the snow as Ares furiously ran through the night.

The giants were asleep, unaware of the fresh treat swerving past them. The moon was as bright as ever and it would have been better without the winter atmosphere. The empress gripped the reins of her beloved horse, tightening her hold for every minute that passed by.

Despite the cold and the night, despite the dangers of lurking outside the walls accompanied by titans, despite everything and every risk that she had to take, everything felt right. It just felt right to roam around alone at night in the dark with no one but Ares and herself and a satchel of apples for sustenance.

It was not a small trip to travel from her home. In fact, it took her three days and three nights and when she got there, the lights within the walls were illuminating the darkness, allowing her to see what was there to see.

Her breath appeared visible in the cold ambience as Ares galloped more slowly as they got closer to the wall. She dismounted her horse and approached the wall, placing a hand on the ground before releasing her powers.

The slashing sounds were audible as the crystals formed a slope from the ground to the top of the wall. F/n mounted Ares and guided him up the slope. She then placed a hand on the crystal and activated her ability once again, the wind blowing past her as the crystal shattered into millions of pieces.

Then, she jumped off the wall into the inner area, planting her crystals midair to ease her landing, leaving Ares with the leftover apples in her satchel.

F/n exhaled a deep breath, eyes never once shut even for the slightest second. The tallest wall was at the far centre of the area but all she needed to do was to go through the second layer, where the survey corps headquarters is located on the South of the map.

Horses were seen in the stables, sleeping soundly without letting out a single sound. The silent night was filled with crickets chirping and owls hooting. The gentle breeze blew by, leaves rustling as it did.

F/n stood in front of the tall building with all its windows covered with curtains, making the building look almost abandoned if not for the cleanliness. She approached the large door, one guarded by two survey corps members who were surprised to see her.

The grand door opened and she was soon greeted with the warm atmosphere of the survey corps headquarters. She had never been inside the headquarters before, only ever imagined from the letters sent by her friends.

She scanned the first floor, walking through the halls whilst trying to find the man she needed. She then made her way up the second floor, searching from room to room before stopping at one.

She tilted her head as she felt an instinct in her mind, her heart telling her to enter. Her eyes trailed down to the golden handle, feeling the coldness in her hands as she grasped onto it, opening the door that was surprisingly unlocked.

The door creaked loudly in the silence of the headquarters within Wall Rose. She peeked into the room, immediately spotting the man who had his head leant back on the top of the chair and his arms crossed against his chest. His eyebrows furrowed in his sleep as though he was having a nightmare.

A teapot and a used tea cup were present amongst the neat pile of papers. It looked like he had fallen asleep in the midst of doing his paperwork. Although with such reasoning, everything felt tidy and neat as if he had cleaned it before falling asleep.

F/n quietly shut the door, not wanting to wake the man up. The moon shone through the window behind him, the light illuminating the dark room. Every single corner of his room was spotless.

The girl crept up to him, close enough to be within arm's length. She could touch him and yet she couldn't. All she could do was stare at his peaceful face, listening to his soft breaths as his chest rose up and down ever so slightly.

Unknowingly, F/n's hand inched closer and closer to the man's pale face. For one second, her fingers touched his skin, soft and warm. But in an instant, his eyes shot open and he instinctively grabbed her wrist and quickly stood up, pushing the chair to the ground which resulted in a loud noise.

It took him a few seconds to realise whose hand he was holding onto. The girl who was constantly in her dreams, disappearing on him every single time. The girl who he left in the empire seemed to be in a better condition than within the walls he lived in.

Levi's grip weakened after a minute of only staring at her face, reminiscing the features of the young empress. F/n released a breath before the man pulled her against his chest, arms tightly wrapped around her figure.

He hid his face in the crook of her neck, fingers gripping her tightly, not enough to hurt her and just enough to let her know that he missed her.

"You're... You're here..." Levi muttered, tightening his hold before releasing her, pulling away far enough to look into her eyes.

"I'm here," F/n said, a small smile grew on her face as she did.

His right hand reached up to cup her face, thumb gently rubbing her smooth skin. In the silence, they leant closer and closer. F/n's heart raced at an abnormal speed, hands gripping the corporal's shirt.

It felt like ages until his soft lips met hers. It was warm and a little odd and F/n did not know what to do. Looking at his eyes closed, F/n did the same and shut her eyes, letting the butterflies in her stomach fly freely throughout her body.

It was only after a few seconds before Levi pulled back, eyes shining from the moonlight. His face was flushed as did hers. Although their lips weren't touching, they could still feel each other's breaths. It was nice and calming. That was until...

"Levi!" Hange burst into the room, a few soldiers standing behind her.

They had rushed up the stairs upon hearing the sudden loud noise coming from the corporal's room and that they overheard the guards saying something about someone coming in. They didn't, however, listen close enough to know who they were actually talking about.

Levi's gentle features all turned south as his eyebrows furrowed and his lips turned into a frown. He glared at Hange, stepping in front of F/n to cover her slightly from the scientist with his hand still grasping onto hers.

"What is it that is so urgent for you to break my door," Levi said in an annoyed manner.

Hange, despite having her mouth hung open, did not respond. Instead, she stayed in the position for a moment before pushing up her glasses and rushing to the girl behind the man.

"F/n?!" the scientist exclaimed, hands holding onto the shorter girl's shoulders. "What? How did you come here? When did you-"

Levi pulled F/n away from the woman with the obsession over titans. With his arms around her waist, he kept his glare on Hange.

"My chair fell. Now return to your quarters," Levi instructed, turning his head to the other cadets. "All of you."

The soldiers rushed out but Hange lingered for a little longer.

"We'll talk later, F/n!" Hange exclaimed, waving her hand at her. "I expect to know every detail!"

The moment the door shut, Levi pulled F/n by her hand, leading her to his bedroom that was connected to his office. The bed was made and everything was clean, so clean that it was almost terrifying to even do anything for fear of dirtying it.

F/n followed Levi as he made his way to the bed. He gestured for her to sit down before kneeling down to take her boots off. The girl watched him with full concentration, shifting her eyes as he moved to remove her left boot.

He settled them onto one corner, removing his own footwear before moving towards the girl. Levi gently pushed her down to lay on his bed, pulling the blanket to cover her from the cold. He then moved to the other side of the bed, tucking in beside her.

"You should sleep," he said, voice gentle and in contrast to that when talking to Hange. "You spent so long getting here. You must be tired."

The man caressed her hair, eyes on her own. F/n had a soft smile on her lips and she shut her eyes, enjoying the soft touches of his warm hand.

After the long year that she had spent, her heart, despite the cold environment, was warm. It felt as though the missing piece that she had been longing for had reached her and finally completed her whole being.

Not anymore did she feel cold or lonely. And this was because of the one and only humanity's strongest soldier who, at that very moment, seemed very harmless and gentle.