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THE PAPER CRUMPLED IN HIS HAND AS HE CLENCHED IT TIGHT, HOPING THAT ONCE HE LETS GO, THE MESSAGE WOULD DISAPPEAR AND SHE WOULD REAPPEAR.
Levi stood beside the door, eyes strained on the wooden table as he held his emotions back. His eyes narrowed as he inhaled a sharp breath, releasing it through his parted lips.
Just as he did that, the door opened and in came the frantic woman in glasses.
"Levi! Did you-" Hange paused as she stared at the tear that slid from his right eye down his pale cheek.
Never in her life had she seen her friend being this emotional. Never in his life had he expressed this much emotion in front of anyone other than Erwin.
And that was the day when his friends died. This was just the same.
It's all repeated in his life, over and over again. Death, tears, mourning and then just nothing. Months of suffering before he moves on with his life and promises to himself that he would never care for anyone else.
No one other than those people he had mourned for so that no one else would break his already broken heart.
And yet, there would always be another person that would come into his life and break that promise of his he made for himself.
He cared.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Hange froze, hand still on the door handle but her grasp was slowly weakening. Tears pricked her eyes as the crumpled paper that was now on the table slowly unravelled itself like a flower blooming in the garden. But what was inside wasn't as beautiful as a bloomed flower.
Levi caught Hange's tearful eyes, communicating through it as if both had the same thought of running away and just finding where she was.
The message wasn't for just anyone who saw it. It wasn't for anyone who she cared for either. It was for him.
It was true that anyone reading the message would end up having the same thought as everyone else but he was the only one who knew the true meaning of this message.
He was the only one who she told everything to. He was the only one who knew everything. He was the one who had been there for her, or at least he thought he had. He thought he had been there for her but apparently, he hadn't.
Hange stood in the same spot, shoulders shaking as cries escaped her mouth and tears from her eyes. Levi walked past the woman and out of the room with another crack in his heart.
The boy leaned his back against the walls as the captain rounded up the corner. A silent agreement. That was what was made when their eyes caught the other's before the man walked away.
Armin's breath hitched at the sight of the dried tears in his Captain's cheeks. He turned his head towards the room where his friend had stayed for weeks. He took slow and quiet steps and stopped just beside the door.
The section commander was kneeling on the ground, face hidden behind her hands and her hair acted like curtains, covering what was behind those brown locks.
Armin narrowed his eyes at the crumpled piece of paper, eyes widening before his legs took him away from the room and towards his friends, breaking the agreement like how the captain broke the promises he made with himself.
There, written on the paper, was a response she silently gave from Levi's statement the previous night.
'It got me.'
𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁
Frozen. They were just frozen. No shouts, no tears and no words uttered. But when one word was uttered, chaos was released.
"What?"
That one word that escaped Mikasa's lips caused the other five people to shower the blonde boy with questions.
"Where did she go?"
"What happened?"
"How did you know?"
"Is she okay?"
"Is she safe?"
"Where is she now?"
So many questions and yet there was not even one that he could answer. Armin stood there, silent as ever with his head bowed down and eyes strained on his shoes.
All of these things happening in one day was too much for him and the two others to handle. Despite him not being the only one who knew, he had seen things.
He had seen the two higher-ups he looked up to be at their lowest. He had been the one who found out about the message himself, not being told by anyone and instead of reading it with his own eyes.
Jean gritted his teeth while Eren furrowed his eyebrows.
"Oi! Armin! Answer me!" Jean shouted.
"Armin! Where is she now?" Eren repeated the question.
"What... What happened? Why did she leave?" Sasha asked.
"How did you know she left?" Connie asked again.
"Armin, snap out of it and answer the question!" Jean demanded.
"Oi, Jean," Connie interjected and the taller boy looked to where he had his eyes on.
Tears streamed down his face as he looked down, almost guiltily. What had he done wrong? Why did she leave? What happened?
Questions formed in his own head and that was another reason why he couldn't respond to his friends'. It was all so sudden, all so confusing.
Eren narrowed his eyes in concentration, stubbornly coming to a conclusion without knowing his friends' thoughts and opinions as he spoke up.
"We need to find her," he announced, looking up at his friends who stared back at him in disbelief before repeating himself, "We need to find her. Whatever we did or happened, we need to get her back."
"You're insane," Connie commented, eyes wide while Historia nodded her head rapidly at his statement.
"I don't think the commander would like that very much..." her voice trailed off but then added, "But I know we must do something about it."
"What?" Sasha blurted out, "She might be outside the walls though. What can we do about that?"
"Whatever we can do, we do it," Mikasa declared, "Even if we can only do one thing, we'll have to try."
Eren nodded before continuing, "F/n is our friend. Who knows she could be in danger?"
"Suicidal maniac," Jean scoffed and crossed his arms but internally agreed.
"Armin?" Connie asked after he and Sasha were already convinced and agreed with the small plan.
They all looked at him as he raised his head. His eyes weren't as tearful as before but still had some tears. They held determination, one that announced itself that he was already determined to find and help her with all his might.
"Let's help F/n."
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