The surface was already death on top of death and Levi wasn't about to drag you into a battlefield when you'd already spent your whole lives fighting to survive in a place like the underground. He'd rather know that you're living without him rather than dying with him, hence why he didn't tell you he was going off to Scout training.

He didn't want to bring you into a new part of the world that was even crueler than the one you already knew. He threw himself into it all, because he thought that if he did it all himself, you wouldn't have to. His one scrap of piece, and he wouldn't take that with him to hell.

Since then, he's faced the worst the universe had to offer. People he had grown close with. Gone, right in front of his eyes first-hand. So much blood from his body it's basically a miracle he survived. A constant ache in his joints that no medicine could touch. He died, but his heart is still beating.

The war had ended and the people had the bright idea to parade them around and praise them in thanks for saving them. But really, who would want to be showcased in a city when you can hardly crane your neck up? Still, he does, because you're there.

Levi's glad that he's seeing you the way he is. Healthy and full of life, such contrast to the dullness he remembers from how you lived in the underground city. Eyes so soft even though they've seen so much. Alive and beautiful, all he's ever prayed for since he was away.

He picks your face out of the crowd like muscle memory. Across the sea of people. This is the farthest he remembers seeing you, other than when he left. You were always close together. He doesn't know whether to fall to his knees and cry or say nothing at all.

But how could he do that when you're right there? His peace, his only place of comfort, the most human person he's ever known? You two scraped by with the help of each other as kids. His lifeline. "Can't believe you managed to get by." He sounds cold, but his words are filled with complete gladness.