Airports always made Levi semi-nauseous, and it wasn't because he hated flying.

He's reminded of this as he walks into the high-ceilinged airport terminal. On his far left, by the Arrival Hall, a girl dashes into the arms of a boy that his luggage is knocked out of his hand. To his right, a woman shuffles by, sniffling with tears pooling in her eyes. Goodbyes are hard, but reunions are even harder to watch when you're missing someone.

He's been there.

He averts his gaze from the happy couple and glares at his watch, tapping a foot impatiently. Hange's flight was delayed by ten minutes, and while sitting in the car and just waiting for them was feasible theoretically, being stuck in a car with Eren for even a few minutes longer was enough incentive to ditch the warmth of his car for the chill of the winter night.

"They just…. They just lift up and go?"

Mind your blood pressure Levi, remember what the doctor said.

"Yes."

Eren has his cheek pressed against the window, staring intently outside and fogging up the windows with his breath (He'd had to sterilize the window again).

"They have wheels too? So they're flying cars, right? Man, Armin should have come, he would eat this up!"

"Remind me to never let you watch Blade Runner."

Levi had a sneaking suspicion that both Armin and Mikasa had copped out on purpose, picking up on his dread for the airport. Mikasa suddenly had to cover for a conveniently ill co-worker and Armin was overcome with an inexplicable, immitigable urge to read every book in Levi's library from cover to cover.

All within five minutes at the mere mention of an airport trip.

I'm an Award-winning author; Levi groused silently, I haven't had to babysit clueless little brats who play 20 Questions since bellbottoms were in fashion.

Eren finally pulls himself away from the window and turns back toward Levi. "Too bad Armin didn't come. I think he would have been pretty jazzed."

He settles down onto a seat and rests his chin in the palms of his hands as Levi watches wearily. He'd brought some paper to continue writing on in rare moments of peace like this, but couldn't quite bring himself to do it. Airports were too charged for him, for a lack of a better word. The reverberating bellows of giant engines and the electricity fizzing in the air from the people themselves were enough to wear at his concentration, and even if he managed to focus for more than five minutes, he's be running the risk of Eren wandering off on his own.

It was stupid, for someone who had his muses quite literally in front of him, how little writing he'd actually got done.

"Do we get to go onto the plane to meet Hange?" Another question. Eren's voice actually had a hint of hopefulness to it. Too bad.

"No. They'll come here and see us, and then scream from all the way across the airport. It'll be hard to miss." Levi responds, drumming his fingers against a nearby table. Eren nods, like he's starting to catch on to how obnoxious Hange really is. Yeah right. He's compelled to ask the next question before he can stop himself, maybe in his own lame attempt to get Eren to stop asking all the questions. "How did you sleep last night?"

Eren blinks once, twice, confusion written all over his face. "Uh," he starts, "Okay I guess? I mean, it's not like there are a lot of disturbances around here. Why? Did you sleep okay?"

Levi shifts in his chair. "Just wondering if you had nightmares or anything." he ignores the last part of the question, because he's never really slept "okay" and the bags under his eyes are proof.

"Oh, like, of my past?"

If that was even the word for it, considering it never really happened. "Yeah. Soldiers here get that too, PTSD, they call it." Levi says. "Curious if it ever bothers you."

The teen looks contemplative for a moment, eyebrows furrowed and for a moment Levi wondered if he'd touched on a thorny was a rare sight to see the boy searching his thoughts. Sometimes Levi almost doubted the boy was capable of sustained rational thought. Comical as it was, Levi finds himself entranced in watching his expression.

"I don't think I've had any dreams about titans or anything since I've been here, actually."

Levi frowns. That was sort of odd, considering that he hadn't been 'here' for that long, and technically had years of background novel-wise. "Not even any peaceful dreams? Of before the walls-"

"LEEEVI YOU ACTUALLY CAAAAAME!"

The screech from afar was loud enough to make the two of them visibly jump, both concentration and conversation now broken.

Impeccable timing as always, Levi thinks bitterly, standing up and braces for impact as Hange charges at them full-speed.

x

The knock at the door comes unexpected, breaking Armin out of his trance. He sets down his tablet after flicking away the article he was reading. It was another dead end anyway.

He's frittered away the better part of the afternoon reading up on useless accounts of writers with their characters "coming to life". Most of them were purely metaphorical, of course, Armin realized woefully after he had the misfortune of chancing upon an orgy of masturbatory, self-insert fiction following a misguided Google search. They were almost hedonic in their depictions of unrealistically epic (and quite possibly illegal) fornications, and he was sure that even the entirety of Commander Pixis' alcohol cabinet wouldn't be enough to forget that anytime soon.

He shuffles to the door, pulling it open somewhat cautiously- and almost slamming it back shut on reflex.

He forces himself to meet the visitor's eyes as the door pulls open. He'd never seen the ocean himself, but if they froze over, crystallized, they'd look exactly like the uniformed officer's eyes before him. If he wasn't so caught off guard, he might have laughed at the irony.

If she recognizes him at all, her face doesn't give it away.

"Hi, I'm from the local police department. We're checking in on everybody in the neighborhood on account of a spotted suspicious person lurking around." her voice is monotone, as if this is the 20th time she's recited this just today. She moves a hand up to brush her blonde bangs out of her eyes. "You wouldn't happen to have heard anything, would you?"

"... Sorry, I haven't." he keeps his voice level, willing himself to put on a fake concerned face.

"Can I have a description of what they look like so I can keep an eye out?"

She nods, pulling out a piece of folded-up paper from her pocket. "Let's see…" her eyes follow the words on the page as she reads them aloud. "Suspect was last seen loitering around the pizzeria down Gourmet Avenue on Thursday, 1800 hours. Male, average height, light brown short shaggy hair and eyes. Here's the sketch..."

The blonde officer turns the paper around and miraculously, Armin manages not to gasp. That was, without a doubt, Jean - with the wrong nose. Ah, well. They were close.

"Oh, thank you. I'll be sure to keep a look out." He makes sure not to give away his surprise and she seems to buy it, folding the paper back up and slipping it into her pocket. Internally, he breathes a sigh of relief.

"Thank you. Please contact us if you find out any more information or spot him." as she steps off the porch, he frowns.

"I certainly will. Thank you so much for your service, Officer ..."

She pauses, turning back around to face him.

"Officer Leonhardt is fine."

x

When Levi and Eren return, Hange among them, Armin is practically in a tizzy. He's speaking so fast that Levi and Eren can hardly keep up, only catching certain words strung together - "Annie here", "Jean", "police officer".

Hange, on the other hand, hears every word and gasps at the end of it all.

"But- Levi, you didn't write them into existence yet, did you!?"

He blinks, dumbfounded. "What- Who?"

"Annie and Jean, of course! Weren't you listening? Anyway, I thought that you had to make the character sheet of them, first, unless you did and didn't tell me? But you should have known-"

"What, stop!"

They turn their attention onto Levi, "Jean and Annie can't exist; I haven't created them. Armin, you're sure you saw them?"

Armin nods. "I saw Annie, in the flesh. She didn't act like she knew who I was. She had a sketch of Jean with her, and I know it was him. It looked just like him, well... Except for the nose." he pauses. "And… Before she left she said she was 'Officer Leonhardt'."

Levi doesn't even pretend not to look skeptical. "That's impossible."

"You think I'd lie about something like that?" Armin shoots back.

Tension hangs in the air, heavy and stifling, before Hange rolls her shoulder and remarks nonchalantly, "Well, this isn't the weirdest thing that's happened to us, is it? It can wait till after dinner."

Their tone begs no argument and Hange none-too-gently pulls Eren out the apartment by his shoulder. "Grab your jacket and let's go, Armin!" They call as they make their way down the hall.

Levi hangs behind, weary and perhaps just a little nervous, "Armin. You're…You're positive you weren't - dreaming or something? That this actually happened?"

"Absolutely."

Levi pinches the bridge of his nose, already feeling a headache coming on.

"...We'll discuss this over dinner. But we're running out of time. We have to find our little fugitive before Officer Leonhardt does." he couldn't imagine trying to bail out a character from his book. It'd be a logistical nightmare, to say the least.

"Eren, No!" Hange's shriek cuts through the night. Levi rushes to the hallway just in time to see the familiar dull green of Eren's coat disappear around the corner. Armin takes one look over the parapet and groans, pushing a hand into his frazzled blonde hair.

"Oh, no."

x

They pick Mikasa up, attempting to explain the situation to her as quickly as possible. To her credit, she remains calm until they finish.

"He's at the police station." she says, without missing a beat. Armin nods.

"I thought so too."

Hange frowns, turning around in the front seat to look at the two in the back as they pile into the car. "What do you think he's gonna do? Confront her?"

Mikasa looks pensive, shaking her head. "I doubt it. That's reckless even by Eren's standards. Maybe that's what he had in mind when he ran off, but I bet he just wants to see her and confirm for himself."

"But running up to a police station like that is still suspicious." Armin chews on his lower lip as Levi tries to drive as fast as he can, avoiding being pulled over. "Even if he bursts in there and loses all nerve, there's going to be questions asked-"

"We'll worry about that when we get there." Levi growls. The station isn't far, but to avoid traffic means taking backroads. He narrowly avoids hitting a squirrel that jumps in front of the car, swerving harshly. Hange lets out a wheeze.

"If we make it there in one piece…"

x

They pull into the police station parking lot in five minutes, tense and worried before they find Eren standing there. He's frozen, and Levi is a little more than relieved that Mikasa and Armin were right about him not running in full-steam ahead.

"Eren." Mikasa is the first one out, and he turns to look at her. The normally expressive boy remains silent, his face completely blank, unreadable even to Levi, who takes pride in reading other's expressions. She steps forward and Eren flinches slightly. Mikasa looks uncertain, hands stretched out and open in a universal gesture of 'I won't hurt you' as she approaches him slowly. Mikasa steadies herself and calls out to him again.

"Eren, leave it be. At least until we figure out what's going on."

Eren blinks, and then scowls. "I just want to see. If it's really her."

Armin slowly exits the car, stepping onto the pavement and walking to Mikasa with measured steps. A life fraught with explosive situations tells Levi that they're going to be causing a scene soon - the parking lot is practically deserted, save for a few cars scattered around, and it was starting to get dark.

"Eren, think about it, if you go in there without a reason it'll be really suspicious," Armin tries. When Eren stubbornly refuses to make eye contact and continues staring at the police station sign, Armin continues. "We'll come back, Eren, I promise, but now we need to find Jean before the sun sets. He might not have anywhere to stay."

Eren scoffs. "If he's been out there anyway, one more night won't hurt him. And anyway-"

"I'm sorry, what's going on out here?"

There's a figure standing at the entrance to the station now, and as Levi recognizes it he sharply inhales. He shouldn't be surprised anymore, but he can't help but be amazed by how accurate she is to the one in his own mind.

Mikasa purses her lips, as Armin flounders for an excuse. At a loss, for once, Eren stays completely silent. Annie scans them once more, eyes lighting up with recognition. She focuses on Armin first.

"You're the person I talked to earlier, correct? About the suspicious person?" she moved her gaze, only briefly glancing at Eren before moving on. "Mikasa? What are you all doing here?"

The only person who looks unsurprised by the other knowing her name is Mikasa herself, who simply straightens up. "Officer. Sorry for bothering you. This is Eren, my brother," she gave a slightly pause, "and Armin, our friend. We were just taking a walk around when we got lost and decided to wait here."

"Oh, I see. Yeah, the town can be a bit tricky to navigate when you're new. Nice to meet you two." her eyes soften as she smiles, but she doesn't offer her hand to shake. "And those two in the car there are…?"

"The people we called to pick us up." Mikasa smiles genuinely. "We figured the police station would be a good, safe spot to wait. Sorry for making a racket, I hope we didn't disturb anyone."

"Think nothing of it. Since your ride is here, I won't keep you. Nice seeing you again, Mikasa."

She nods at the blonde as they climb in the car. "Always a pleasure, Annie."

Once the doors were firmly shut, Levi starts the engine again and pulls out of the parking lot. Taking the other way home, no one speaks for the first few minutes. Levi was the first to break the silence.

"Mikasa, what the fuck?"

They drive in silence for a good fifteen minutes, Levi at the wheel and Armin calling shotgun. The car is still cold from the winter air, and the heater seems uncooperative tonight. Hange shivers between Mikasa and Eren in the backseat, but both don't seem to mind, too caught up in their thoughts.

Levi takes his eyes off the road and observes Mikasa for a moment through the rearview mirror. Contrite like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar, she continues to keep her eyes on her hands.

"You two seemed pretty friendly," he begins, and Mikasa remains stiffly silent. Hange huffs, displeased at Levi for pursuing the matter before dinner. "When did you meet her and why the hell didn't you tell us?"

Mikasa opens her mouth as if to speak, then pauses, before starting, halting and hesitant. Armin, Hange and Eren keep their eyes down; the air in the car seems too thick to breathe.

"She comes into the cafe a lot on her breaks - almost every day, in fact. I end up waiting on her a lot."

Mikasa pauses and looks at Levi's face, as though checking if she's given up enough information to placate him.

Levi doesn't have to shoot her a glare through the mirror before she continues.

"I never said anything because I kept a close eye on her. There was no need to create unnecessary panic."

She sees Levi shake his head in almost paternal disappointment. Eren doesn't look any better, almost like he's about to throw up, eyes fixed in front of him. She frowns, and continues before anyone interjects.

"She's not a threat. I have no idea how or why, but she doesn't know anything about where we came from. She says she was born here, went to school here,-"

"So she says" Armin says, and Hange places a hand on his shoulder, as if to restrain him from joining the fray.

"She went to police training school in Haddock City, the one near the quay, and now she's an officer here. She showed me her ID, alright? Everything adds up!"

Mikasa feels herself bristling, but no one in the car responds, or even moves.

"She's not lying."

And when no one replies, she leans forward, right by Levi's ear, and says through clenched teeth, "I know! I've been talking to her and I can tell! I've never been wrong about these things! Ask Eren! Ask Armin!"

Levi continues driving with his eyes fixed on the road, suddenly the model of road safety. Mikasa stares at him with wide eyes, but Levi's squared shoulders and frowning lips give away nothing. The car is silent.

"Well?"

It sounds more like a plea than she had wished it to.

Hange decides that enough is enough, and gently pulls Mikasa back into her seat.

"We're all hungry and tired, let's get som—"

"You're protecting her" Eren pipes up from the other end of the backseat, lifting his head to face her. It doesn't come out like an accusation, surprisingly, coming from Eren. It sounds more like a genuine question. But Mikasa doesn't let down her guard.

"I'm not protecting her; If anything, I was protecting you! Stopping you from doing something stupid like running toward the police station."

"I wasn't going to do anything stupid!" Eren protests and reddens when everyone in the car scoffs (in varying degrees of volume). "I wasn't. I just… Wanted to see it for myself! Anyway, I've seen enough movies now to know where this is going – and you're making a mistake!"

"Oh, mighty all-knowing guru of 80s chick flicks, please impart your wisdom!"

"I'll have you know I have a healthy selection of romantic documentaries from the black and white era to present day!" Eren screeches in a pitch reminiscent of his prepubescent days. "I practically watched Mila Kunis grow up!"

Levi makes an irritated noise, like a strangled sigh. "Both of you stop!" after a few beats of silence, he continues, "Eren, I'm confiscating the television. Mikasa. You're positive she has no idea about anything?"

"Yes." there is no doubt in her voice. He sighs again.

"Fine. Keep an eye on her when she comes into your work but it sounds like she's fine on her own. Now, this is the plan after dinner. Eren and I will take the car and search the perimeter of the city. I'm not trusting roadrunner here to go anywhere without strict adult supervision"

Eren rolls his eyes and Levi ignores the childish display of petulance.

"Hange, go through the central business district, poke around and ask if anyone has seen him. Mikasa and Armin, the area near the woods. With any luck our friend has resorted to scavenging like a squirrel or something"

"STOP THE CAR STOP THE CAR!" Armin screeches a block away from the diner, and Levi slams on the brakes.

And there, in the nipping cold of winter, stood a half-naked Jean attempting to barter trade his shirt for some dinner.

x

"Huh. That does sound weird."

They've opted to go home and order take-out instead. Famished and more than a little exhausted, the night is beginning to seem like a unnecessarily infuriating RPG game titled "Hange's quest for a decent dinner".

They all sit in Levi's living room, lounging around on the furniture. While the rest of them seem somewhat enthralled, Eren lays belly-down on the long couch, only half listening. Mikasa nudges him, but he ignores her and casts a forlorn gaze upon the television.

"Yeah. It sort of feels like I'm living a double life, or something." Jean explains indulgently, preening at the attention they were giving him. "The memories of then feel like… An extremely vivid dream, like the kind you can't tell are a dream or not after you wake up. But I still have memories of my childhood in this city… What a headache." Jean massages his temples in an exaggerated motion of distress. If there were a chaise lounge in the vicinity, Eren was sure Jean would fling himself upon it and bemoan his fate.

Armin frowns and pats Jean's hand in sympathy.

"So you were looking for us when someone called the police on you?"

Jean nods. He's wearing Eren's hoodie and slacks now. Levi wouldn't allow him to touch any of the furniture before a shower after learning that Jean had gone four days without one.

"I understand why, since I was lurking around. I didn't know which house you guys were at."

"How did you know where we were at all?"

He puffs out his chest, a gesture of pride somewhat underwhelmed by the baggy hoodie. "Something like instinct, maybe? Well, I overheard people in my office talking about some video they saw. About some hubbub in a pizzeria, and the description sounded just like you guys".

He turned to Eren's prone form. "The moment I heard about a brown-haired kid that looked like an aggravated Chihuahua, I knew it was you guys. I watched it and that confirmed it, so I drove down to this city as quickly as I could."

Eren snorts. "Sounds like you're full of shit."

"I'm sorry, did the boy who didn't survive for a week in an unknown territory all by himself say something?"

"You were out there for three days, four if we're stretching the truth. And cut the bullshit, Horse Grylls, you weren't exactly doing great if you were trying to get food by selling the clothes off your back"

Levi had to bite his tongue to stifle a snicker at that. Finally speaking up, he takes a sip of his coffee and focuses back on Jean. "Well, at least you have memories of this world so you're not as incompetent as the three stooges here. But I don't have any more rooms, so unless some of you are gonna room together-"

"- Actually, I have my own place." Jean interjects. Levi raises an eyebrow, but it does make sense, if he's been living here all his life like he claims.

"It's far from here, two days drive from here, but I should be able to rent another one soon around here. Once I heard my co-workers say something about you guys, I had to drop everything to come here to find you guys. Didn't count on someone mugging me of my car and possessions on the first day I got here though" Jean concludes with a wry smile.

He pauses and takes a sip from his coffee, "... You know, it's hard to believe that you made me up a few months ago when I've lived my entire life here."

"And it's hard for me to believe you exist at all, so I guess we're fair."

Eren glances between Levi and Jean a few times, frowning, before Levi excuses himself. "I'm going to go take an Advil and sit in my office. You guys can figure this one out amongst yourselves."

Eren watches as he gets up from his seat and heads into the hallway. The others watch Levi leave before turning back to their conversation. He tunes them out, makes a half-hearted excuse about using the washroom and sneaks off to follow Levi.

x

He finds him sitting at his desk, and shuts the door behind him as he enters. Levi turns around to look at him, and if he's surprised Eren followed he doesn't show it on his face.

"You don't seem interested in Jean's story."

Eren shrugs, a short raise-and-drop of his shoulders. "Dunno if I believe him."

Levi turns to his desk and taps a pen against it.

"You don't want to believe him."

"That's right, Freud." and Levi wonders where he even learnt about the crackpot neurologist . "It doesn't seem fair, is what I'm saying. He gets memories of here, and those back home as well. He gets how this world works – and actually, so do Mikasa and Armin – but I'm just left lost."

Levi is silent for a moment, turning the chair back around to face him. He doesn't look angry, or even particularly upset, just tired. Drained.

He sympathized.

"Determination will pull you through. Yeah, maybe you broke the toaster that one time because you thought it was witchcraft, but you got the hang of it after a few tries didn't you? You're willing to do it again and again, no matter how many times it takes."

Eren stares at him, silent, as Levi rests his cheek in his hand, elbow on the armrest.

"Is that what you wrote me as? 'Determined', I mean. Because it doesn't feel like it right now"

"Yeah, well, all dynamic characters have to feel that way at some point." he almost feels smug at the thought, but stops the oncoming smirk at Eren's face.

"If you could get rid of us, right now, you would. Wouldn't you?"

It's not phrased as a question, the tail end tacked on as though Eren had already decided this for himself. Don't look like that, he wants to say. Of course I would; you don't belong here, this isn't your house, this isn't your home.

But even though he opens his mouth, a thought throws him off guard: he wouldn't. If he discovered that he could will them away this instant, he wouldn't bring himself to do so. He thinks of the migraines, the broken appliances, the sky-high bill on rented videos and e-books. He's become fond of them, he realizes. He hasn't woken up to silence in weeks; he hasn't had a lonely dinner since they arrived either.

He's come to enjoy their company. The realization confuses him.

"You don't have to spare my feelings, I get it."

Levi blinks at Eren, remembering he was still waiting for an answer. He knows on some level that if he told the truth, Eren would think him a liar, why wouldn't he? So Levi spins around on his chair waves a hand dismissively. "I haven't thought about it. It doesn't matter anyway, since it doesn't look like any of you are going anywhere anytime soon." Just the opposite, more like. "I have other things to think about."

Eren doesn't push the issue. "I guess."

Levi twirls the pen in his other hand. "Anything else you need to get off your chest?"

"Maybe the part about Mikasa hiding what she knew, but that's not your fault either."

He hums. The revelation had shocked him, but it's worn off. In retrospect, he can't say it was all that surprising.

"You're all getting harder to read. Maybe that's just the way you all adapt."

"Have we? Even me?"

His voice seems to say that he isn't pouting anymore, which Levi counts as an accomplishment.

"You're still an open book, but you have your moments. I only worry about your mood swings"

Eren snorts at that and Levi smiles privately.

"Anything else?"

Eren chews his lip for a second, "No., but, uh…" he squirms, moving his weight from side-to-side. "I don't want to go back out there, so…"

"Sit."

The other does what he's told, sitting in the same chair he always does whenever he's in here. "And don't talk. I don't need any distractions right now. I'm way behind on my writing and while Hange and the others listen to Jean's braying I'm going to get some done, better late than…"

"... Never?" Eren offered helpfully. Levi doesn't respond, shuffling through the desk drawer.

"It's not here."

"What?"

He's panicking now, flipping through papers before slamming his drawer shut. He opens another drawer and ransacks its contents until he's gone through all the drawers in his table. Eren stands up and take cautious steps towards Levi.

"I didn't take them out, Hange gave them back right after they read them so where –"

His breathing has gone erratic and he can't stop the slight tremble in his hands. He's kept them safe, so where?

"Levi?"

"Everything." he tries to keep his voice level, but he can tell it was raising. "The draft I was working on, the character sheets, everything's—everything's gone."

this chapter was just PLOT PLOT PLOT. no filler here dang

oh! if you see any errors please tell me, for some reason formatting this to AO3 was hell (maybe because i havent done it in so long) so if there's anything that looks like a missing word, (or god forbid sentence) tell me so i can fix it

thanks for reading guys! and as always, thanks to my beta.

EDIT: i see my italics are gone because of COURSE they are. im gonna try and add them back where I remember, so bear with me if anything seems off until i can go back in later and really fix it.