A/N: Hey there and thanks for clicking! This is based off the anime, so there aren't any spoilers if you finished the first season. i haven't read the manga anyway, sadly. I tried to stay as canon as possible.
Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan
"There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm." –Willa Cather
Teal-green eyes squinted up at the sky, messy, chocolate-brown hair almost obscuring their view. They observed the dark clouds in the distance, and their owner briefly wondered if a storm was rolling in. He had to say, that if that happened, he would not want to be out here right now. Normally, he wouldn't mind if it rained a little while he was training outside (after all, Armin said that he read somewhere that rain actually came from the ocean), but for some reason, today felt like a bad day to be caught out in the rain. He briefly wondered why, but decided that maybe he was just being unreasonably paranoid.
"What's the matter, brat?" His Captain asked from a few paces ahead of him, noticing his gaze.
It was a moment before Eren shook his head. "Nothing. I just hope it's not going to rain."
Levi gave a grunt in response, turning to face forward again. "If it does, it's nothing to worry about. Besides, it would be good practice to train in that, it's not like every battlefield has sunshine and unicorns that shit rainbows."
"…I guess." Eren replied, still glancing up at the sky. He wanted to take Levi's word on this and trust him, just like he trusted him on everything else, but something about training in the forest today made the younger feel uneasy. They continued to walk, Levi leading Eren and his comrades to the edge of the forest next to the Survey Corps' current base.
When they finally stopped, Levi turned to his subordinates. "Oi!" He snapped loudly, his voice cutting clearly through the air. "Shut up and pay attention so we can get started, I don't want to be out here any longer than we have to be. Get your asses in gear and split into pairs. Today, we are assessing each other's weak points and so on," Levi ordered, grumbling near the end as if he were losing his patience. "We're going over shit you should already know yet need improvements on." The recruits immediately began dividing amongst themselves, the pairs forming quickly and out of habit.
"Ackerman." Levi called out, noticing a splash of red quickly speeding toward the brunet next to him. "Eren may be the most immature child to have ever existed, but he is not an infant. He does not need you to babysit his ass 24/7. Pair up with someone else."
Fuming, Mikasa glanced at Eren one last time, glared at Levi, and turned on her heel to stalk away.
Eren gave a small sigh, actually feeling kind of grateful. He loved Mikasa and all, she was like his sister, but she spent too much time doting on him, and that really wasn't healthy in his opinion. Besides, it was also extremely annoying, so being able to take a break, even a small one, from her motherly smothering was fine by him.
"Arlelt, you pair with Jaeger today."
"Y-Yes sir." The blond answered, obediently going to his best friend's side.
"And, Jaeger."
"Sir?"
Levi's arms were crossed, his steely gray eyes set on Eren's teal ones. "Try to take this seriously, understand? The extent of your titan powers is still unknown, so you are not going to rely on them in battle all the time. Being able to turn into a big-ass titan does not make up for lame-ass skills."
"Uh. Yes sir." Eren answered, not quite sure why Levi was giving him this lecture when he had already heard it several times before.
The Captain glared at him for a few more seconds. "And tone down the stupidity today. I don't want to have to deal with a rampaging titan just because you got a fucking splinter."
"Yes sir." Eren replied, but the Captain was already speeding away through the trees with his 3DMG. If that had been anyone else (Jean, for example), Eren probably would have started swinging, but that was Captain Levi of the Scout Regiment, one of the few people Eren actually respected, so the urge did not arise. Besides, he had been under the Captain's command for some time now, and was far used to his crass personality. It was just something that Eren had come to accept and expect. Captain Levi wouldn't be Captain Levi if he didn't curse and verbally abuse people.
"Eren." Armin spoke up from beside him, giving him a questioning look. Knowing his best friend, he probably knew that Eren might be feeling the urge to hit something, but the blond didn't really have anything to worry about.
"Yeah, yeah. I know." The brunet sighed knowingly. "He's just doing his job. Let's go." With that, Eren drew his swords and flew into the trees, Armin right behind him. Together, the two of them took turns performing maneuvers that Captain Levi had specified previously. They did as instructed, watching each other and giving critique on their performance, but that didn't keep them from having a conversation in between.
"How was that?" Eren asked, coming to land beside Armin on a branch.
"Better than last time." The blond informed him. "Though I still think that you need to work on your timing more, that way you can use your momentum to your advantage and save gas."
"Right," Eren groaned, his arms going slack so that his swords barely scraped the bark at his feet. Why couldn't he get this right? He needed to get this right because he needed to be the best if he wanted to wipe out all the titans. Also, if he didn't figure this out, Levi would have his head for being a poor excuse of a soldier. And then what? Then he wouldn't even be able to find out what was in his basement and the human race would cease to exist, the world would end, and the titans would officially take over…
Ok, he knew that he was exaggerating (Probably. Levi may or may not cut off his head. Instead he might just personally castrate him or something), but still, Levi would be pretty pissed if he couldn't even get this stuff right.
"Hey, Eren?"
"Hm?"
Armin fidgeted with his shirt a bit. "What do you think of all this? Of the Scout Regiment?"
"Uh, it's great, I guess." Eren said in answer, his eyebrows furrowing at his friend's weird question. "Not exactly how I imagined it would be like when we were kids, but I like it. We're fighting back and that's all that really matters."
Armin nodded, accepting his answer, though looking not quite satisfied with it.
"…Why do you ask?"
"Well, I've been thinking. It's just, with all that's going on and everyone worrying about you and Annie and your basement… I just wanted to know how you feel about it."
All Eren could do was stare at his friend for a few seconds. "Did Mikasa put you up to this or something?"
"N-No."
Eren raised an eyebrow.
"Ok, it was partly her idea."
Armin received an annoyed groan in response.
"But just hear me out, Eren!" The blond insisted. "Mikasa and I, we're your friends, and even with all that's going on, we worry about you."
Eren sighed as he lifted his swords up in preparation to jump. "Armin, you guys don't need to worry about me at all. I'm fine."
"Are you really?"
That tone made Eren stop and he turned to look at his friend quizzically. "What do you mean?"
Armin avoided his friend's gaze, seemingly a bit nervous, but continued on with a determined edge to his tone. "Not that the rest of us haven't, but you've seen people die. On top of that, you can turn into a titan and everyone in the world is against you. Not to mention that you're under a lot of pressure because there are a bunch of dark secrets inside of you that even you don't know about. You're pretty messed up."
"Gee, thanks, Armin."
"But if it were me, I'd be showing it more."
That comment made Eren blink. "What do you mean?" He asked again.
Armin sighed. He loved his best friend, he really did, but sometimes, Eren was just difficult. "After Shiganshina, you were distant, you put up a front with your anger, but you've matured a lot since then, especially after meeting Captain Levi."
"Captain Levi?" Eren asked. He got the feeling that Armin was getting specific to purposefully lead the conversation in a certain direction but also wanted Eren to get there on his own. "What does the Captain suddenly have to do with this? I know that Mikasa hates him, but—"
Armin shook his head. "Mikasa didn't say anything about him. That's all me."
The titan-shifter looked at his friend confusedly, not really sure what he was getting at.
"You're… different around him, Eren, and I'm not saying that's a bad thing. I'm actually glad, because he's protected you from so much."
"Armin… where are you going with this?"
The blond just sighed, his friend being as clueless as expected. "Just know that Mikasa and I want you to be happy. She may not like how it happens, but she will just have to deal with it. Now come on, we should get practicing again before the Captain yells at us for slacking off."
"…Right. Sure." Eren muttered as Armin leapt from their tree, flying off and through the air on his own.
What exactly had Armin been getting at just now? Eren was perfectly aware of his situation, he didn't really need a reminder that his dad was probably dead, he had watched helplessly as his mother died and Annie killed Petra and everyone else in Levi's previous squad, and that pretty much everyone hated his very existence and wanted him dead. And it wasn't as if he was the only one that had 'matured' during the time they had spent in the Survey Corps. Armin himself was a testament to that. The timid, little boy who had always been bullied as a child now showed more confidence and bravery around others, especially in that little speech he had just made. And what was all that with Captain Levi and happiness? How did those two things even go together?
Throughout the rest of their little training session, these things swirled around Eren's head as he attempted to make sense of it all. This resulted in him flailing and getting ridiculed by a certain raven-haired man when he came by, and that only made it worse.
The trainees ended up practicing late into the day and, to Eren's dismay, it rained. Despite what Levi said, Eren knew that the Captain wouldn't let them train for too long in this kind of weather, though it probably wasn't in concern for their health. Knowing Levi, he just didn't want to have to clean up after everybody after they went inside. God forbid they track mud in there or even develop colds and spread germs all over the place. Levi would have a conniption.
But when the wind picked up and the lightning started to flash, Eren started to really worry. He had just landed next to Armin on their tree when Levi appeared out of the gloom, landing right next to Eren.
"Start heading back!" He shouted over the wind. "Spread the word to anyone you come across. There is no way we are training in this."
Eren and Armin nodded in response before taking off, Levi going in a different direction. Not long after, Mikasa drew up beside Eren. It was like she had some weird internal homing device specifically for him. The three of them sped along, only finding Sasha and Connie along the way.
The lightning was striking faster and the thunder sounded louder, even the wind was picking up more strongly, and that was very worrisome to Eren. He hoped that there wasn't going to be a tornado or anything. He had never seen one before, but had read about them with Armin in books a few times and knew enough about them to not want to see one in person, as cool as that would be.
Suddenly, Eren felt a sickening feeling weigh down his chest and his hair stood on end under his hood. Something didn't feel right. Something was going to happen, something very bad was going to happen right now, and it would just cause everything else to go to hell.
On a gut feeling, Eren turned his head to look behind him. At first, he was relieved, because just behind him he could see the familiar form of Captain Levi. It was dark and stormy, but Eren just knew that it was the Captain somehow, maybe by the way he carried himself even with his 3DMG or simply it was the shape of him. Then, as quickly as his relief appeared, it vanished leaving a gaping hole in his chest to be replaced by a stab of fear and adrenaline.
Suddenly, loud cracking sounds pierced the air, and Eren watched as a tree to his right fell. It just missed him and his friends, but it seemed to be after bigger prey. With the dark and the rain, Levi didn't see it in time. He barely adjusted himself enough to avoid a direct hit, but the tree slammed to the ground, catching one of Levi's cables in the process.
The Captain was sent tumbling into the dark.
"CAPTAIN!" Eren didn't even register what he was doing, he wasn't even sure if that had been him that had screamed or if that was Mikasa calling him back. All he knew was that he was now speeding back the way they had come, his mind occupied by only one thing: Levi.
Trying to remember the exact spot Levi had fallen, Eren landed on the forest floor, his heart beating wildly in his chest.
"Captain!" He yelled frantically, desperately, wanting to hear some kind of response, but all he got was the howling wind, the pouring rain, and loud claps of thunder.
No. There was no way that this could be happening. Levi, Captain Levi, Humanity's Strongest, could not be dead. That was absolutely impossible. If anyone could survive this damned world that they lived in, it was him. It was too soon, far too soon for him to be dead now. He deserved something better, something more honorable than 'death by tree.' He deserved the chance to relax after the war, to settle and die as an old man whose only concerns involved keeping his house clean and keeping annoying children off his property.
Eren spun around in place, searching desperately for anything that would quiet the roaring in his head.
Levi can't be dead.
Suddenly, something slammed into Eren's body, sending them tumbling through the mud, and in the next moment he found his back on the ground, something on top of him pinning him down. He thought that maybe a tree had gotten the best of him too, but then—
"What the fuck are you doing, Jaeger? Do you want to die today?"
In complete shock, Eren stared up with wide eyes into the face of none other than Levi. The appearance of said Captain certainly added to that shock, seeing him soaked through, his hair plastered to his face and the sides of his head, his clothes completely drenched, was something Eren had never witnessed before. Even the look in Levi's face scared him. The normally stoic, intimidating man now looked completely disheveled, his gray eyes wide with alarm and fury as they stared down at his subordinate.
"Are you just dying to get yourself killed in a fucking hurricane or something? Do you have some sick death wish? Because that is pretty damn stupid and selfish if you ask me, you good-for-nothing piece of shit! It wouldn't be poetic or some dumb shit like that, it would be completely idiotic if you fucking died because you got hit by a tree! You're fighting in a titan war, as Humanity's Last Hope and you fucking die in a thunderstorm? That's fucking brilliant! Hilarious even! Jaeger, are you even processing any of the shit I'm spewing right now or have you just lost so many brain cells that that is now impossible?"
Eren couldn't find it within himself to answer, he was still too stunned to do anything except marvel at what he was seeing.
Captain Levi was alive.
The younger boy didn't notice the heat stinging his eyes or the warmth that had been spilling down his cheeks since he landed, the storm made it impossible to notice.
Levi didn't seem notice either, he was too infuriated and on edge for that. He quickly looked around, assessing the situation, and that was when Eren noticed the large tree that had fallen in the place he had landed earlier and the fact that Levi was missing his 3DMG.
"Eren, get up, we need to go." The Captain growled urgently, taking his fists out of Eren's shirt collar and hoisting himself up. The shock finally fading a bit, Eren took Levi's now outstretched hand and was pulled to his feet.
"Where's your gear?" Eren asked, his voice barely heard over the roar of the storm.
"It broke." Levi answered, his voice a strained calm. "You need to get us out of here now. Can you do that?"
"I… yes." Eren weakly replied, his arms numbly drawing out his blades.
"Good." The raven nodded, going up to Eren and fastening their belts together before securely wrapping his arms around the younger's neck. "The added weight might slow your movements, but I'll be your extra set of eyes, so stay focused and stay alert. You can do this."
Wordlessly, Eren nodded, and with the pull of his fingers, he launched himself and Levi into the air. The next few minutes were one of the longest and most terrifying of Eren's life. Forget titans, racing through this storm was the scariest thing ever. Titans, he was trained to fight. He was a soldier in the Survey Corps, not to mention that he could actually turn into a titan. But this storm? Nothing could have ever prepared him (or anyone else for that matter) to go through it. This storm was an all-powerful force of nature. It was wild, chaotic, and unpredictable. At least with titans, a person had a fighting chance if they knew how to use 3DMG, but in a storm, they could get struck down by lightning without so much as a split-second warning.
Hours seemed to drag by, but in reality, they were only minutes. The group hadn't been very far from the base to begin with, but with the chaos going on around him, Eren's perception of time changed. Every second his eyes were darting around him, squinting through the dark and the rain to find safe places to anchor his hooks. Simultaneously, he also had to worry about staying close enough to the ground to keep his chances of being struck by lightning and fried to a crisp down to a minimum without running himself into the ground. The wind wasn't helping either as it messed with the trajectory at which he fired his hooks and whipped the trees into a frenzy. The titan-shifter ended up having to perform multiple radical maneuvers just to avoid being crushed to death. And then there was the constant concern of the amount of gas he had left in relation to his speed and distance.
It could be easily said that he was under a lot of stress.
The only comfort he seemed to have, was the small body pressed against him. Levi was quiet most of the time, concentrating on their surroundings and keeping his body balled up so as not to hinder Eren any more than he already did. The Captain mostly kept his head down, his chin resting on Eren's shoulder so he could keep watch from behind them and to the sides. Every so often, he would shout over the roaring storm instructions and warnings to his subordinate, staying true to his word and acting as Eren's second pair of eyes. A few times, he tightened his hold on Eren reassuringly and muttered words of encouragement to him. The younger was grateful for that. It seemed that, with Levi there giving him support, he felt even the tiniest bit more confident that they could make it out of this alive.
Eventually, Eren safely delivered them to the castle. He was relieved by the sight of it, with its familiar, stone walls and the warm lights shining through the windows, but he was even more relieved when he saw the familiar faces of his friends.
With barely any pause at all, Eren landed outside the door and sprinted inside, almost toppling into a heap once he made it across the threshold. He was breathing hard, adrenaline pumping through his veins and his blood roaring in his ears, but he was glad that he got them there in one piece. Levi was breathing pretty heavily too, as he clung to Eren, the adrenaline rendering him unable to move.
"Not bad, brat," he panted, Eren just barely catching the words.
Just as everyone started surrounding them, Eren fell to his knees, his arms limp at his sides. He hadn't noticed that he was so tense and rigid until that very moment.
"Levi, what happened?" A familiar voice asked. Eren was pretty sure it was Commander Erwin, but he was having trouble focusing.
"I crashed." Levi stated bluntly, finally able to remove his arms from around his subordinate so he could unclip their belts. "Eren saw and he went back to get me."
"Eren!" That was Mikasa's voice. As soon as Levi had moved away, she tackled her adoptive brother with a hug, relieved that he was alright. For once, Eren didn't pull away from her, he just wordlessly accepted, his arms circling her waist.
Armin was right behind her, trying to get a good look at his best friend. "You're ok." He breathed, his hand going up to grasp Eren's. "Thank god."
Eren could only smile weakly. He was exhausted, the adrenaline was beginning to fade.
"Levi! What happened?! How's Eren?! Are you—OH MY GOD, YOU'RE INJURED!"
Everyone looked in the direction of Hanji's usual hyperactive voice to see Levi, who was being supported by a worry-stricken Erwin. Eren felt his heart drop when he noticed the red staining Levi's pant leg and dripping to the floor.
"Shut up, shitty glasses. My head already hurts enough without your incessant rambling. It happened in the fall and I'm fine. Just a superficial wound."
"You still need to get it checked." Erwin reminded him.
"You too, Eyebrows. Shut the fuck up, I know. Dammit, now I have to clean in here again."
Everyone just stood there, watching as Erwin and Hanji took Levi away. Eren watched too, wanting with all his heart to go after them and make sure that Levi was really ok, but he didn't have the strength with him right now. He could only stay slumped in Mikasa's embrace and hope that Levi would be alright.
"Come in." A voice grunted from the other side of the door.
Letting out a small sigh, Eren pushed his way inside.
"Eren," Levi greeted from behind his desk. "My shining knight in whatever."
Eren's eyebrows furrowed. "Knight in shining armor?"
The raven waved his hand impatiently, looking down at some papers in front of him. "Yeah, that."
An amused smile stretched across the younger's face as he made his way to the desk. "I see you're feeling well, sir."
"Tch. I feel fine. I just hate sitting behind this damn desk all fucking day."
"Well, you need rest." Eren reminded him. "You were injured and you shouldn't push yourself."
"Don't you dare start on me too, brat," Levi snapped, his dark gray eyes flicking up to Eren's face. "I already hear enough from Erwin and Hanji. Now get to work before I'm forced to get up and shove my foot up your ass to get it moving."
"Yes, sir." Eren answered obediently before he set to work on cleaning his Captain's office as usual. Strangely enough, he was ecstatic to hear Levi talking and acting like that. It was partly due to the man finally being released from his room after the incident from a few days ago, but mostly because, in those few days, Eren had been given plenty of time to do some thinking.
In those few days, he had begun to understand the words that Armin had said to him before everything went to hell. He had come to realize that maybe Captain Levi and happiness did go together, at least in Eren's case. Over those few days, with Levi confined to his quarters, Eren had realized that things seemed utterly depressing in the castle. He hadn't noticed at first because he himself had been confined to his little dungeon for a day to recuperate, but when he had finally gotten past Mikasa and to his chores, he noticed that the castle just seemed… empty for some reason.
And then it hit him: Levi wasn't there.
As the titan-shifter moved around the small office, it was silent between him and the Captain, but not awkwardly so. It was more content, natural, just like it was every day. A few times though, as Eren passed the desk, he felt a small pain stab through his chest when he glimpsed the bandages wrapped around Levi's left leg.
When Levi had crashed, he hadn't been severely injured. As he fell he adjusted his body so the impact didn't kill him (if it had been any other person in that scenario, they would most likely be dead), but he did land badly on his leg. Now he had a sprain and some jagged cuts on the outside of his leg (there were a few other injuries, but nothing major). Levi wouldn't be allowed to do anything major for some time, but knowing him, he would start working again early no matter what he was told. It had taken a lot of persuasion just to get him to hold off on desk work for three days.
"Hey, brat."
"Hm?" Eren hummed in acknowledgement, looking up.
The Captain's sharp gaze met him. "You're a titan, right?"
"Um." The younger answered, confusion displayed prominently on his face. "Technically. Yes, sir."
"And you can regenerate even when you get your ass handed to you, right?"
"Yes?" Eren said it as more of a question. He had no idea where this was going.
Levi continued to look at him steadily, never breaking eye contact. "And your Humanity's Last hope, so you won't go dying on me, right?"
Eren blinked, unsure of what to say. Levi was asking him not to die?
The Captain just glared at him. "Because apparently, I'm Humanity's Strongest. What the fuck is Humanity's Strongest going to do if Hope is lost?"
The two of them continued to stare at each other for a while, Eren running Levi's words through his mind.
Finally, a smile broke out on his face. "No, sir. I won't die."
Levi nodded, approving of his answer. "Good."
"But only if you promise me one thing."
The raven raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly would that be, brat?"
Eren continued to grin, his eyes never wavering. "You have to promise that you won't die either, because apparently, I'm Humanity's Last Hope. What's the point of having Hope if there's no one strong enough to keep it alive?"
This time, Levi had had to take a second to register his words before he gave a soft chuckle. "I'll do my best."
"Promise?"
The smallest of smirks tugged at Levi's lips. "I promise."
A/N: This has been an idea for a long time, so i'm glad i finally got around to writing it. I'm having writer's block for my major projects right now, so I think I will be doing a lot of one-shots to try and get over it. And i have a lot or ideas for Ereri :)
Please leave a comment below, that would make my day!
By the way, Happy Father's day! Even though this story had nothing to do with fatherhood...