Levi opened his eyes the next morning. He felt quite a bit better and was actually about to get out of bed, when he felt a body next to him. He blushed, shaking his head, how could he have been so weak? Now what was he supposed to do? He could wake her... Or... No, he would do that.

Levi stood shakily and walked to his desk, where he sat and pulled out a piece of parchment. He wrote a short letter and headed off to the mess hall. Damn, he was starving.

Hael blearily opened her eyes. A soft, buttery light flooded the room. She began to stretch and sit up when she remembered where she was. The bed was cold-- abandoned and the sheets messy.

She shook her head but couldn't shake the heat in her cheeks at the memory of her Captain, weak. She rolled her neck and glanced at the desk where a folded bit of parchment lay. She lifted the dry paper and saw scrawled on the back, "Hale (crossed out) Hael"

Hael felt her stomach drop in painful, dreading anticipation. This was another terrible moment she had been pretending wouldn't happen.

Her fears were realized as she read the scrawling note. Tears began to blur her eyes and she sucked in a breath, trying hard to stay tough.

Straightening, she hauled herself out of the room, book in her arms and cot clattering awkwardly behind her.

Hael dodged curios looks as she made her way through the stone hall, her body was numb and her head spinning. Finally, she stumbled into her room in a daze and dropped the cot.

As she slumped onto her bed, she wiped her eyes and re-read the note against her better judgement.

"Cadet,

I will no longer be needing your (rather clingy) assistance. Please pack your stuff and be gone by the time I return.

-Levi"

She sucked on her lip and tore the paper in half with a frusterated shout. Hael curled around herself, crying tears she didn't want into her knees. She should have held her heart harder, not let it run away with her.

She was an idiot.

A damn, pathetic, heartbroken idiot.

She kick her cot and wiped her eyes, dressed and went to eat, hoping against hope Levi wouldn't be there.

Levi was sitting with Erwin and Hange, enduring taunts and teases about the girl. Had he been too hard on her? Had he let his pride get in the way of a decent dismissal? He honestly couldn't tell. He picked halfheartedly at his food despite the hunger clawing his stomach.

As he was leaving, he was surprised to see the cadet walking into the mess hall, her head held high-- even if her eyes were red.

Levi kept his head down and avoided her gaze until he was out of sight.

He found the room empty of her.

It didn't sit well with him.

------------

Oh my god. I'm not sure I've ever been this embarrassed. I am so:

Very

Extremely

Mortifyingly

Horribly

Greatly

Immensely

Cripplingly

Terribly

Sorry.

I had no idea the system had cut half the chapter and promise it was written at some point. The first few "we need more" comments, I checked and my stupid damned account said it was all there. After that I stopped checking and ignorantly thought you were just complaining about the length. I figuratively throw myself at your feet and beg for forgiveness.

I also apologize of there are now plot holes because I have written on this story in almost a year and did my best to link the two complete chapters together. I am so,

so sorry. Forgive me?

~Elizabeth