(Y/N) sat silently at the base of the tree, keeping her gaze fixed on the starry night sky so she would not have to meet his eyes.

Although she did not look, she knew Klaus was watching her. She always loved the way he looked at her. She could see how much she mattered to him as remnants of awe and adoration pooled in his azure eyes. But she could never bear to admire his gaze for long. It made her want to stay beside him forever, safe but captive behind the walls.

"You leave tomorrow morning, don't you?" Klaus asked.

She nodded.

"You should probably go to bed, then. You need to be rested before the expedition."

"No," She reached for his hand and held it safely in her own. His skin was soft and smooth, nothing like her calloused hands, scarred from battle. "I've still got a while."

The next morning's mission was thought to be a death march. (Y/N) knew she would not die, for she was far too stubborn and strong to let a titan get the best of her. Yet, she was too anxious to be alone. When the Scouts were packing that morning, Sadies requested they leave two carts empty to bring back the bodies. He had no hope for his soldiers. It made (Y/N) wonder how many friends would die just out of her reach.

(Y/N) rested her head on Klaus' shoulder. He smelled of lilacs from his garden, the ones he planted with her one Spring afternoon years ago. They were his favorite flowers, and since that day, they were her favorite, too.

He pressed a chaste kiss to the top of her head and whispered, "You'll be fine tomorrow."

He didn't say it for her, but merely to ease his own anxieties. They were always palpable, heavy in the atmosphere like thick smoke from the fires. Nothing she said ever eased him, but he found some type of solace in her presence. She couldn't ever understand, but she loved the way he would relax against her.

The moonlight painted him wonderfully. Freckles dusted his cheeks like the scattered stars. His lips always looked like they were smiling. (Y/N) liked to run her thumb over them before she kissed him. He liked it, too; he would get a gleam in his eye and press a gentle kiss to her finger that made her feel delicate.

He didn't see everything (Y/N) saw in him. He never liked the way he looked because it reminded his father of his mother. He gave Klaus a scar under his lip the same afternoon they planted the flowers. His mother always loved lilacs.

Klaus did not like the way he sounded when he sang, and he did not like the way he would bite the inside of his cheek when he was deep in thought. (Y/N) loved all those things, but loved most the way he romanticized the things she despised about herself.

"Can I ask you something?" He said. "You don't have to answer right away."

"Go for it,"

"Do you think you'll ever stop? Fighting, I mean."

He'd given her ample time to think, but her answer came straight away. "I can't," she said. "You know I can't."

He nodded solemnly; dejectedly if she exaggerated. (Y/N) wanted to take it back if it meant he would be content but she'd be lying. She didn't want to promise him something when she knew it wasn't true.

Klaus tensed against her and pulled away just as fast. He faced her head-on, bravely, but she still saw apprehension on his features as he grasped both of her small hands in his own. He never looked at her that way until then.

"Marry me,"

"What?" She choked.

He smiled. "Marry me," he said again. "If you're going to spend the rest of your life fighting for a future, I want to spend the rest of mine with you."

Her heart leapt. She tried to find the words to say but she could only bring herself to blink dumbly at him. She had enough sense about her to realize if she didn't answer his quickly, he would begin to panic, so slowly, tentatively, she nodded.

"Yeah?" Klaus's laugh was quick but filled with so much joy, a hint of disbelief. "Really? (Y/N)—"

"Yes," She finally managed. She placed her hands on his flushed cheeks and kissed him, but not for long. Their wide grins broke the kiss. Klaus' gleeful laugh sounded like a gentle bell's chime.

"There's– I've been carrying this around," He breathlessly fumbled for his pockets, hands trembling like a flame in the wind. He fetched a small brass ring, riddled with beautiful intricate designs she could barely make out in the pale moonlight. "It was my mom's. She knew I would give it to you."

(Y/N) only briefly knew Klaus' mother, but she was the kindest, most tender woman she'd ever known. She was every ounce a part of her son.

"I'm sorry it isn't the right size," he whispered. (Y/N) could see the resigned sadness in his eyes, the remorse of not being able to provide the best. His fingers traced idle shapes along her hand as he hesitated to put it on her. "It's all I have,"

"It's perfect," She promised.

As he gingerly slipped the band on her finger, (Y/N) admired the way his lashes brushed his cheeks. She relished the feeling of his hands around her own, their warmth and dignity. No sooner than he finished his work did she lurch forward to hug him. He fell back in the lush green grass, the most content laugh filling the night air, and he pulled her in for a kiss.

She knew she would return to him the following afternoon, as she would for years to come.

A few short hours later, (Y/N) stood alongside her squadmates in the morning sun. The air was warm, accompanied by a gentle breeze fluttering through the grass. Erwin's squad checked over their gear one last time before they would mount their horses and set off on the path outside the wall.

"Hey,"

(Y/N) turned towards his staccato voice with furrowed brows. Levi seldom spoke to her, though they were on the same squad for a year. She still liked to consider them friends, for he did speak to her from time to time, and when he did, he was kind – to a point.

"Petra told me about your ring," he reached into his pocket. "She said it was important to you."

(Y/N) nodded. "Yeah," she said. "It was a gift."

She did not tell a single one of her squadmates she promised to marry Klaus. They would tease her in nothing but good spirits, but she wanted to savor the moment for what it was before Petra suggested she'd soon be retiring to be a housewife.

"It's too big for you. You'll lose it."

She glanced down at her hand. He was right, as he usually was. Levi was good at noticing minuscule details others would often overlook. (Y/N) liked that about him. He'd helped her countless times with his sharp silver eyes alone.

"Here," He held out a pale clenched fist and revealed what remained of a necklace she scarcely recognized. It belonged to Isabel, the small, bright-eyed girl who came with him to the scouts. It was nothing but a black string, but (Y/N) knew its value by the way he gently placed it in her hand.

"I can't take this," she blurted.

"Just tie your ring around it. You can still wear it, and you won't lose it."

"Levi–"

"It's yours," He said it with such finality, she didn't dare to argue. He left before she could thank him. Part of her knew he didn't want her to. She did as he told her, and Klaus' ring rested just above her heart.

She never spoke to Levi about it again.

Following their departure of the south edge of Wall Maria that morning, (Y/N) watched as countless soldiers were ravenously devoured by the titans. Just like every expedition before. Just like the ones that would follow after. The road to freedom would be paved by their sacrifices if only those who remained had the courage to see it through.

The commander ordered their retreat. Their plans for establishing a base were abandoned. They returned home hours before they were supposed to, carting nothing but corpses and those who were injured. Citizens of Shiganshina gathered around the gate; fathers, sisters, children, hoping to see their loved one walking among few soldiers that remained. (Y/N) couldn't bring herself to meet their eyes.

"Captain," She muttered.

Erwin Smith turned, just slightly, to look over his shoulder at her. She did not meet his intense stare, but she knew he was listening. Erwin always listened to her; he saw promise in her ideas.

"Permission to stop by my home, sir?" She asked. "I want them to know I made it back."

"Go ahead," He said. "Levi will take care of your horse."

Levi looked irked, but he still grabbed the horse's loose reigns without protest. (Y/N) grinned meekly in thanks, and once far enough from the disapproving citizens, she peeled away from the Scouts and started home.

She found Fynn sitting on the front steps. He had a notebook in his lap that'd seen better days, but he never wanted to let it go. Though the pages were full and falling out, he still found small empty spaces for his beautiful drawings to flourish. He hadn't finished it yet, he always said.

He looked up when she got close enough, and his (e/c) eyes shined like the morning sun. He abandoned his beloved notebook without a thought and raced into her arms, squeezing her torso tighter than any other time.

"What, were you worried?" (Y/N) didn't expect herself to sound so strained, but her voice was nothing more than a sleepy whisper as she held her brother - her world - close to her chest. "I told you I'd be back."

"That doesn't mean you will," he muttered into her clothes.

"Oh, yes it does." She brushed his long, messy hair away from his face. "You think I'd lie to you?"

He wouldn't meet her eyes. "Not on purpose,"

"Not at all," she said. She pulled him off of her and offered the best smile she could. "C'mon, I should go see Mom and Dad."

Her parents wanted to celebrate the same way they always did when (Y/N) returned, but she could not bring herself to do it. When her mother suggested lunch, she felt sick. When her father asked what happened, all she could recount were the screams. She left shortly after she arrived, weaving a reason to go.

"I've still got to visit Klaus," she told them. "I shouldn't keep him for long."

They allowed her to go, so long as she visited soon. She swore she would; their numbers were too low for another expedition anyway. They would wait for new recruits, so that they may go out to die one more time. She hugged her parents goodbye, and she went on her way.

But there would be no more visits home.

Later that same afternoon, the Colossal Titan breached the south edge of Wall Maria. Shiganshina fell within minutes. There was no home left to visit.

And (Y/N), tucked safe behind Wall Rose, settled in for a well deserved nap, none the wiser.