"Stay calm, Levi. It was just a bad dream."

Erwin's hand was holding onto Levi's shoulder tightly. Levi knew, despite his vision being blurry, that it was Erwin's hand; He could vaguely make out his ridiculous haircut and the hand was way too big for it to be anyone else's.

He didn't recognise the place he was in from the little he could see. As far as he knew, he was lying down in a bed with bandages around his ankle, head and chest, staring up at a ceiling. He could tell he wasn't in Trost, so perhaps they were in another district?

"You probably want to know where you are, or what happened, right?" Hange's voice came from the right of him. The truth was, he didn't particularly care. All Levi was thinking about was that 'dream' he'd had of Isabel and Farlan. They said they were disappointed in him. Even if it was just a dream, a mere fabrication, it was enough to make him feel incredibly guilty. All the years he'd spent surviving in that hellhole with those two. All the memories. Each second that Levi remembered was now as painful as being stabbed by a rusty dagger straight through the heart. All thanks to something that was probably all in his head.

"Levi?"

Hange's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and bought him back to reality. They were concerned about Levi. He'd been acting strangely ever since he'd regained consciousness, and that wasn't sitting right with them. That wasn't a very Levi thing to do.

"Do you need us to fill in any gaps?" Hange continued nonetheless. They decided to push the thought to the back of their mind for now. Levi had enough on his plate already.

"Not really. I don't know where we are, and frankly I don't care. However, I remember the Titan, and Erwin, you and Miche coming to save me. Looks like I'm in your debt again." Levi recalled, living back the attack, remembering each agonisingly painful moment.

"It's not us you need to thank." Erwin said out of the blue. He took his hand off of Levi's shoulder and pointed to someone sitting next to Hange. Levi couldn't quite make out who it was. It definitely wasn't Miche, because levi would've recognised his untidy hair. This persons hair was jet black and neatly brushed, from what Levi could make out. They also seemed very tall, even when sitting down. Though, to be honest, everyone was tall to Levi.

"This is cadet Finn Webber, a new recruit who you should be in debt to." Erwin told Levi. The older man could make out a soft salute from the recruit as he stood up and sat back down quickly. His movements told Levi he was nervous, for some reason.

"To be honest to everyone here, I doubted very much that it was you in trouble. I thought, since it was his first time outside of the walls, it was one of Webber's friends, and he just wanted them to survive. After all, it is very rare that you ever lose to a Titan, or cry out in pain from injury due to a Titan. I would've never forgiven myself if I had let you die there, Levi. Humanity needs you." Erwin sighed softly, going off the subject slightly.

What is this feeling?! Levi asked himself as he felt his face burn a little. Erwin has just told him that he'd never forgive himself if he let Levi die...what did that mean? What was Erwin saying? Levi was totally replaceable..it's not like Erwin couldn't find another strong soldier to take his place.

Relax. You're making a mountain out of a molehill. It's nice for him to care, is all. Levi thought, composing himself the best he could.

"I guess...thank you, cadet. I'll repay you in any way I can when I'm able to move again." Levi stuttered after a minute or so of silence. All three others in the room noticed a change in Levi's actions and voice. He was acting nice and offering something in return for saving his life, and his voice was a tiny bit higher than usual. Not much, but still noticeable.

This isn't like Levi at all. What's gotten into him? Hange wondered, watching cadet and captain fight over a stupid reward.

As Levi and Finn argued about the reward (though it was mostly Levi getting annoyed at the fact that Finn wouldn't accept something from him) Erwin sat in silence on the left of Levi. Was what he said a bit too far? It sounded very odd. So odd that they could possibly begin to suspect his secret. His wish, even. Something he wanted, as well as needed. Something agonisingly close, but tantalisingly far.