Vogel Im Kafig (End Of Tears) Levi X OC

(Fun)erals

"W-w-what do you mean?!" Eren asked, obviously appalled by the idea of the identity of the female titan.

"C'mon, Eren. The similarities are obvious. Annie even looks like the female titan," Armin said.

"No! She can't be!" Eren pleaded. He absolutely refused to believe otherwise.

"Eren,you fought with her. There's a chance that even you saw some similarities," Mikasa tried to reason.

"No," Eren denied.

"Either way, we have funerals to attend and plan out a way to capture the female titan shifter and keep you in our custody," Levi snapped. "You can keep denying it until you're blue in the face, but you and I both dang well know that you recognize miss Leonhardt as the female titan."

I wasn't really surprised at Levi's behavior. After all, he really did care about his squad, and his unapproachable demeanor made the opposite seem true.

"I have a funeral to attend to. Arlert, you're in charge."

"W-why me!?"

"Because you're the only one with brains around here that the other brats will listen to."

"Yes sir!"

Levi and I took our leave, and he rested his hand on the small of my back as we walked out. Rivielle was in Mikasa's care. I trusted Mikasa with my child better than anyone else except Erwin, who was also planning to attend the funeral.

Rivielle was to stay with someone while we paid our respects. Levi and I had unanimously agreed to that, since we wanted her to remember her father's squad as happy and carefree instead of, well, dismembered and crushed.

Levi wore a black suit and kept on that signature cravat of his, and god, I always thought he looked good in his uniform...I found myself suddenly thinking thoughts that I needed to douse in holy water.

I watched the sway of his stride as he walked in front of me. He was cat like even with his slight limp, where he had dislocated his ankle during his fight with the female titan.

"Damn," I sighed silently, still incredulous that this god like creature actually married me, not to mention admiring that perfectly toned backside of his... Looking at him made me feel like a hormonal teenager.

(A/N: I never thought in my entire life that I would ever write the words "looking at him made me feel like a hormonal teenager" twice before turning 18.)

LEVI'S POINT OF VIEW

I glanced over my shoulder at my wife, who was biting her bottom lip as she walked behind me.

The look on her face told me that she was seriously thinking about something. What, I did not know.

I watched her hair sway about her black dress clad hips as she walked gracefully. Her dress was loose,not baggy and not figure hugging like the dresses that I have seen other women wear, and it flattered her figure even more than a baggy or skintight ensemble would. She wore heels for once, because it was a special occasion. And they complimented her calves quite nicely. I couldn't believe how lucky I was to have such a natural beauty as my wife. Being with Rukia made it feel like we were both still twenty years old.

My wife. I could never loose the feeling of pleasure thinking or saying those words. It was enough to make a man proud.

Erwin and Hanji stood at the graveyard site located outside of HQ, their eyes rimmed red. The sky was grey and angry looking, as if nature itself was frustrated with my squad's deaths. There were several open graves and caskets, and lots of people too. I saw Petra's father resting his hand palm down on the polished oak surface of her empty casket.

"Not knowing is the worst feeling," he whispered.

The guilt kicked me even more as I remembered that we had to dump the bodies and then classify them as MIA. No family deserved to hear that lie. Tears threatened to spill.

I glanced at Rukia, who was embracing our soldiers' family members as she offered her condolences and cried.

I don't know why, but I found it to be beautiful when she cried. She wasn't crying to be emotional. In fact, the woman hardly ever cried. I guess I found it to be beautiful because I hardly ever saw her like that. Although tears were streaming down her face, she smiled and tried to remain optimistic.

Pastor Nick gave the caskets their last rites and then the elaborate containers and survey corps flags were lowered into the ground. Rain started to fall, and I took my jacket off and wrapped it around Rukia's shoulders, then draped my arm around her waist as we threw roses into the graves. Her shoulders shook with silent sobs, and she leaned her head against my chest. I stroked her hair as the funeral proceeded.

It was that night as we lay in bed cuddling that Rukia leaned over me and smiled.

"Levi, wanna know something?"

"What is it?" I asked, interested.

She rubbed my chest, her fingertips tracing small circles across my skin.

"Guess."

"You did a new sketch?"

"No"

She trailed her fingers down to my abs.

"You....got a promotion?" I guessed. It was getting harder to think with her touching me.

"Nope."

"You got Riv to eat her veggies?"

"I wish. I think that I might have come up with a plan to keep Eren. It might sound stupid."

"A stupid sounding plan is better than no plan, and if I didn't know you better, I wouldn't be able to say that you have gotten us out of quite a few situations with your quick thinking."

"Okay, so this will involve almost everyone..."