Roads Untraveled

Chapter 3: Family Ties

At Trost...

Saying that Captain Levi's premature return had caused quite the ruckus was, perhaps, an understatement.

When the mysterious man, drenched in blood, came through the gates of Trost with the absence of his cloak, most had expected the worst. Rumours spread like wild fire and much speculation was made, the people of Trost only knowing that, for the first time ever, Humanity's Strongest Soldier returned from a mission appearing to be injured, only emphised by the fact that he requested a doctor to meet him at the old Scouting Legion's headquarters - a doctor whom was sworn to secrecy by Levi.

So when the Scouting Legion and Commander Erwin finally returned, the latter had no problem finding out from the nearest soldier about Captain Levi's current situation. At first, he was relieved, but then he was worried and then he was just plain mad. He couldn't have been that injured if he was able to ride back... And why did he not just send a smoke signal?!

By the time he had reached the castle, he simply couldn't wait to get an answer straight away from the smaller man. And by the blood on his blade, he was going to get one. Erwin stormed through the castle halls and burst through the door of the Captain's quarters, ignoring the doctor's protests.

"LEVI YOU SON OF A- Where the heck have you been!?"

The raven-haired man before him merely sat calmly on a chair next to his bed, his narrow eyes never leaving it despite the other man's outburst, seemingly devoid of all emotion.

"I apologise for concerning you."

"Concerning me?! I thought you were dead!"

"I'm fine."

Sure enough, the man seemed to be of perfect health even though his clothing was stained with a rather large amount of dried blood. The Commander calmed himself for a moment - everyone knew the younger man had a serious problem with OCD and normally, wherever he went, things were always squeaky clean, yet he still haven't moved to clean himself up. This made the Commander stop his coming anger-fuelled rant and think for a moment.

Suddenly, he became aware of the uneasy feeling in the room. One he hadn't felt for a very long time. It could only mean one thing; one look at Captain Levi's eyes confirmed his suspicions. Something was very wrong with Levi- he was worried about something. Badly.

"Levi... What happened out there?"

The man made no hesitation to answer him. "An unexpected situation arose and I made a judgement call."

It was a valid reason albeit not a clear one- Levi's never attention left the bed in front of him. Erwin sighed and moved over to him. Suddenly, a movement underneath the blankets caught his eye, startling him. Were they not alone?

A mop of messy dark brown hair stuck out from under the blanket. The figure shuffled around a bit before settling back in its place again; back in its peaceful slumber. Perplexed, the blond man moved closer. Now, he was able to see that it was a small boy- he had little chubby cheeks made up of baby fat which he would grow out of one day, tiny freckles barely noticeably dotting his cheeks and a slight blush on his otherwise extremely pale skin.

"He's lost a lot of blood." Levi spoke up. "Doc says he will probably be out for another week or so. Still, I have my doubts."

"Where did you find him?"

His voice sounded hoarse when he asked. So this is why he left? He crouched down to the bed's level, eyeing the sleeping child.

"He was in a building the titan I was fighting fell on. He broke his arm, sustained a minor concussion, a few broken ribs and his leg was severed when the building came down on him.