I'm sooo sooo sorry that I haven't updated anything for so long you guys! And no I didn't die! ;D I just had a lot on my mind that I needed to take care of, and I had a midlife crisis even though im only 23! x'D but that's still no excuse of letting you guys wait so long! Again I'm really truly sorry! BUT here it finally is, the next chapter xD i hope you can forgive for the long wait D: and I just wanted to tank you guys so much, for sticking with me and all the comments and favs, they mean a lot to me 3 and thanks for all the messengers, asking if I was okay! They really helped me 3 but I'm gonna shut up now, and let you guys read the new chapter, hope you enjoy it 3 and I love you all! 3

I enjoyed the feeling of the fresh air through my hair as Levi and I flew through the night. I kept my arms wrapped around his neck, having trouble holding on, as he used his maneuver gear to move between the houses. It felt weird to be this close to a man I hadn't seen for over a year, but the sweet smell of his skin felt familiar and comforting.

"We're almost there," the Corporal said, holding a tight grip around my hip while concentrating on maneuvering around the tall buildings. "I understand if you want to see your old comrades when we get back at the HQ, but I suggest that you take a shower first, you smell like old man sweat and you look like something even worse."

Did he just…? How could he say something like that after all I had been through?! I was about to open my mouth and utter my disbelief, but I closed it again when I saw the look on his face; He looked at me with a teasing smirk and a warm look in his grey eyes. This must have been the first time I've seen him utter such an expression and I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks and making them blush.

He brought me back to the headquarters without saying another word and I enjoyed the silence and the freedom. We landed on the roof next to what I faintly remembered as his office and he opened the window to let me in before closing it again behind us.

"Go take a shower now before anyone finds out you're back," Levi ordered and pointed me in the direction of his private shower, "Hurry up, brat, before you make my entire room smell as bad as you do."

"Well, excuse me!" I said unable to hide a small smile and kindly accepted the more like order than offer, hurried inside the bathroom and closed the door behind me. I had never seen Levi's bathroom before, and it felt kind of weird being in here all alone now. It wasn't too big, nor too small, and it smelled really nice and clean. Like flower petals and vanilla, something I wouldn't have expected from the Corporal. But one thing didn't surprise me, and that was that the room was clean as fuck. There wasn't a single dust bunny in there.

The room was a bit dark, only illuminated by a single oil-lamp on a shelf next to the sink. Despite of the flowery smell, there wasn't a single bouquet of flowers, unlike the bathrooms I had gotten used to back at my old master's castle. Actually, there wasn't a single unnecessary thing in Levi's bathroom; a toilet, a sink, a shower, and of course the oil-lamp on the shelf next to a neat little pile of towels. It was simple and neat, just like I remembered Levi. It felt a lot more like home than what I had been used to at the place I had been help captured for the past year, and it made me smile.

I quickly undressed, making sure not to make too much of a mess of my discarded clothes. I went into the shower, and as the warm drops of water hit my back I could feel my entire body relax and my thoughts began to settle in my head. The fact that I had really been found and bought back to the headquarters had felt like a dream up until now. I was free. I didn't have to wear chains or be raped multiple times a day anymore. Now I could sleep at night, actually sleep, without being afraid that I would wake up with a dick pressing against my ass. I could talk and laugh with my friends and I could get back to protect the survival of mankind once again. My life had felt completely pointless, partly because I had been violated against my own free will, forced to have sex with a disgusting pig of a man, but mostly because I had been robbed of the whole purpose of my life; I had vowed to kill titans and protect humankind ever since Wall Maria was lost, and the fact that I had been chained up for a year had made me feel so incredibly useless.

I stood in the warm shower for a couple of minutes, cleaning myself and enjoying the silence and freedom I had been given. When I was done I wrapped a towel around my hips and walked out the door, back into Levi's room.

"I see that you're done. I left some clothes for you on the bed as you don't have any spare ones, and there is no way in hell I'm letting you wear those dirty clothes you had on before," he said while pointing at the bed where he had left me something to wear.

"Thank you, Corporal," I mumbled while walking towards the bed. The cold air felt like knifes against my wet skin since I hadn't dried myself of yet.

Suddenly a hand landed on my shoulder; I almost jumped a meter in the air and accidently let out a startled squeal. My body obviously hadn't gotten used to my new – and safe – surroundings yet.

"Take it easy, brat, I'm not going to jump you or anything," Levi stated as he surprisingly placed a towel on my head and began to dry my hair. "You need to dry yourself of or you're going to catch a cold, you idiot."

"S-sorry, you're right," I stuttered as I was still a bit shaken by his sudden movement. I wanted to dry it myself but the Corporal pushed me down to sit on the bed and continued to dry it for me with soothing movements.

"Uh… Corporal, you don't have to-" I was cut off by a hand, gusting me to stay put and just let him do this for me.

I quickly surrendered and just sat there in silence, enjoying another man's touch that for once didn't feel disgusting but made me relax and sent chills down my spine.

After a few moments of total relaxation, that almost made me fall asleep, the Corporal removed the towel which made me unwillingly make a disappointed sound.

"Get dressed, brat, so we can inform the others of your return. They should be in the dining hall, properly still eating." He handed me the shirt that he had laid out for me earlier. This shirt… it looked awfully familiar? The lightly blue colour, folded as strictly and neatly as only very few people were able to, completely stainless and looking like it had just been made from the highest quality fabric. Where had I seen it so many times before? Then my eyes fell upon the Corporal's chest and at that moment I realized why it seemed so familiar to me: It was one of Levi's that he had lent me. He had actually lent me one of his own personal shirts. He could have easily gone to the laundry room and grabbed some spare ones for me, but he had actually lent me his own. I felt my cheeks blush again and tried to hide my face behind my still moist bangs.

"T-thank you," I murmured, trying not to let my embarrassment show, but apparently without luck as the Corporal quickly replied.

"Pff , don't give me that school girl look, brat. It's all I had at hand. But I'll fucking kick your sorry little ass if you soil it!" his voice was far from as hard as his words and that made me smile slightly despite my still pink cheeks.

"I'll do my best sir, and thank you again." I said, still feeling a bit embarrassed but happy.

"Yeah yeah, now get your ass out of my office and go greet your friends," he said as he walked back towards his desk, probably to finish some documents.

"Yes sir!" I walked toward the door, ready to finally see my friends again. As I opened the door I turned around, facing the Corporal who had already buried himself in his work.

"Uhm .. sir?" I asked hesitantly.

"Hm?" The Corporal faintly replied, without lifting his eyes from the documents.

"I just .. thank you."

The Corporal looked at me this time with an annoyed look on his face. "You already thanked me a million times, brat. It's fine."

No, I'm serious... it was really a living hell back there. I'm really grateful that you saved me. Thank you, Levi."

I quickly walked out the door and closed it behind me before he got even more annoyed with me. It was weird; I got this odd feeling in my stomach when I was near the Corporal. What was this feeling? Well, whatever it was, it would have to wait to another time. I buried it in the back of my mind and walked down the long corridor, only illuminated by the small oil lamps that hung at the side of the walls. As I went to the dining hall, where the Corporal had told me the others were gathered. I started to realize that I was actually going to see them all again. It felt so surreal. My head had been filled with so many things that it was as if I just now realized that I would really see them again and talk to them. My thoughts wandered, I had started to run without realizing and suddenly I stood before the big door that led to the dining hall.

I rested my hand on the handle, closed my eyes and took a deep breath. This was it. It was finally time to see them again. I quietly opened the door and walked into the room.

"I'm home!"

The hall was filled with silence for a couple of seconds before the crowd of people sitting in their chairs, drinking and eating, realized who the figure at the doorway was.

"Er..EREN!" a crying Mikasa came rushing towards me in an inhuman speed, followed by my other precious friends, who were also crying at the sight before them.

The night was filled with tears of joy, drinks and never ending embraces. In the year I had been held captured, I had longed for my friends so much it hurt but I hadn't realized just how much they had missed me too and how much they had actually worried about me. They had been looking for me all this time, never giving up, never giving up hope that they would find me some day. They never choose to abandon me and that meant more to me than they would probably ever realize. If they had lost hope and stopped looking for me, I would never have been rescued. I had tried – I had tried so hard to escape but deep down I always knew that I would never succeed, so had it not been for them – for Corporal Levi – I would still be at my rapist's mercy.

I could feel their concern for me about all that had happened in that past year. I could feel that somehow they wanted to know what had happened, but at the same time they didn't want to cause me any pain by forcing me to relive it all, and I was grateful for that. It wasn't that I couldn't get myself to talk about it even though it was a sensitive subject, I was just happy to be back, and I wanted to lay it all behind me. Finding out how it was possible for me to be kidnapped in the Headquarter of the Survey Corps in the first place, figuring out who was behind it and why – but all that could wait. I just wanted to enjoy this moment, this night, only me and my friends, everything else didn't matter right now. I just wished the Corporal was here too.

Much later, I was lying in my old bed. It had been a long night and my lack of sleep had finally caught up to me. I looked out of the small window in my room and watched the leaves from the trees in the dark, roaming in the wind. The sounds from outside was mixed with the soft snoring and mumbling from around my room. Mikasa, Armin, and Hanji had decided to sleep in my room tonight, all for different reasons; Armin wanted to keep me company while Mikasa simply refused to let me go when it was time for bed, and Hanji to make sure she was right there in case I woke up with a panic attack or needed medical treatment. Apparently I didn't have any saying in that, but it wasn't like I minded. Actually I was grateful. I hadn't realized until now but I was terrified of the thought of being alone. I had always thought of myself as being strong, independent, almost immortal even though that was stupid. Maybe I wasn't the best soldier in my training squad but I had been in the top five and I had the power to fight for my own life. The fact that that hadn't been enough to protect myself – the fact that my skills with my swords and even my ability to transform to a deathly life form hadn't been enough to protect myself… it scared me more than anything else. I had tried to push the incident to the back of my head, wanting to enjoy my reunion with my friends and comrades, but now that I laid in a dark silent room – even though my friends were still there – it all caught up to me. When I closed my eyes, I saw the fancy room where I had been held captured. I saw his face, the awful man that had been my only company for a whole year. I saw his sweaty, red face, almost felt his violating hands on me and the cold chains around my angels and wrists.

I sat up, my eyes wide and staring into the darkness as my heart pounded in my chest. Mikasa and the others were already asleep, none of them noticing my sudden movement. I looked at them as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, trying to find comfort in the fact that they were able to sleep peacefully and so I should feel safe enough to do so too, but my mind and memory kept playing tricks on me. I finally climbed to the foot of the bed where I had tried to fold Levi's shirt neatly without much luck. I put it back on and curled up under my blanket once again. The feeling I had had earlier when Corporal Levi transported me back to the Headquarter came back to me again; I realized that the comforting scent I had recognized as Levi's skin partly came from the way he washed his clothes. While the shirt probably smelled like me too by now, which I of course was unable to detect, the scent from Levi's soap still lingered on some parts of the shirt. I closed my eyes again, my face buried in a sleeve from Levi's shirt and tried to empty my mind. I listened and finally, the reassuring sounds from them all made me relax, and in the end I surrendered to my sleep.