"I'm a master of speaking silently-.."

The cold, restless wind tugged at Sloane’s cloak as it swept through the desolate ruins of Shiganshina. Above, dark clouds churned in slow and menacing. The air itself seemed to hum with tension, a foreboding whisper carried on the breeze, as if the sky was bracing for the bloodshed about to unfold.

Erwin’s voice echoed in the stillness, the finality of his command hanging in the space between her and Levi. She stood frozen, feeling her pulse throb loudly in her ears as she looked at him. For years, they had fought side by side as one, instinctively moving in sync, always guarding each other's backs. But now they were to be separated, sent to fight on opposite sides of the Wall and thrown into the fray without the other’s presence. 

Sloane’s fingers curled into fists, nails digging into her palms as if the physical pain could smother the sinking dread brewing within. What was Erwin thinking? How could he demand this of them? Was he really willing to gamble so recklessly again, when the fate of humanity’s survival hung by a thread?

The questions swirled through her mind, each one louder than the last, but she shoved them down, forcing herself to stay silent. There was no room for doubts. Not now. Not when so much was at stake. She had always followed the commander without question, placing her faith in his vision even when it seemed impossible to understand. After all, he had led them this far, hadn’t he? She had to trust that he knew what he was doing, even if his decision threatened to tear her apart from the inside.

A tightness coiled in her chest as her gaze found Levi amidst the chaos. For a fleeting moment, everything around them seemed to dissolve. The shouts of soldiers, the clamor of preparations, the distant rumbling of Titans—She heard none of it. All she saw was him: calm, steady, and firm. As always. His eyes, those familiar steel blue eyes, so sharp and intense… How many times had she drawn strength from them? How often had she relied on it to anchor her when everything else felt uncertain?

But she still felt unsettled. After spending two agonizing months of barely speaking to each other, only able to steal glimpses and exchange a quick word, they had just found their footing around each other once again. The idea of leaving his side shouldn't unnerve her like this. She was a soldier, a captain. She'd fought for her strength, her resilience, her independence. And yet, here she was, hesitating turning away. Is it a weakness to lean on someone like this, Sloane thought.

Levi’s expression remained impassive, the mask of indifference that rarely cracked. Yet, beneath that hardened exterior, Sloane caught a fleeting shift. So quick and subtle that anyone else might have missed it, brushed it off as a trick of the light. But not her. She caught it in the faint tautness of his jaw, the almost imperceptible shift in his fingers, flexing once before settling stiffly at his sides. It wasn’t much, but enough to make her wonder: Was it tension? Uncertainty? Was he struggling, just like her, beneath the calm he wore so effortlessly?

The silence stretched between them. She almost spoke, her lips parting. But what could she possibly say? What wouldn’t unravel her completely? What wouldn’t strip away the composure she clung to? She swallowed hard, pushing down the plea that hung in the back of her throat. Please come back. Come back to— No. Now wasn’t the time for that. She was a soldier, and soldiers didn’t let their hearts speak when duty called. 

Still, she needed to say something. Even if the worst came, it couldn’t end without a word between them. Finally, her voice emerged, barely a murmur, softer than she intended.

“I’ll see you on the other side.”

She’d spoken those words more times than she could count. But today, they carried a weight she hadn’t expected. Yet, they were all she could offer in a moment like this.

All he did was nod, the barest tilt of his head, but it was enough to let her know he understood. He always did.