It was a beautiful scene, so perfect that it could've been transported right out of a movie. Eren lied in the meadow, along the flowers and grass. He had closed his eyes to protect himself from the sun and he had folded his arms underneath his head as a pillow. He was dreaming away, thinking about the horrible things that had happened not too long ago. All the friends he'd lost.. He needed a break. And this was the only place he could be alone inpeace. Softly, he started humming a song. Eventually he opened his mouth and started singing the words. He'd never sing with others nearby; that'd be too embarrassing. He enjoyed it though, and he began to sing a bit louder and more confident. The words filled the air, and the birds seemed to stay quiet to listen to the beautiful melody that came from Eren. Tears appeared in the corners of the boy's eyes as he remembered the people who taught him the song, his friends, who had all died. He wasn't paying attention anymore, he just sang and remembered his friends. That's why he didn't hear the soft footsteps behind him.

"There you are, Jaeger. I was looking for you."

Eren abruptly shut his mouth and open his eyes wide, cheeks turning red. Next to him stood Levi, but his expression was somehow.. Different from normal.

"Heichou.. I-I wanted to be alone for a while, so I came here.."

"Good choice. Just, next time, let us know you're going out. We were worried."

"I'm sorry.." Eren blushed. Levi sat down and crossed his legs.

"Is it okay if I stay here for a bit as well? You can just say Levi, by the way." He asked Eren.

"O-Of course.." Levi smiled with one side of his mouth and then closed his eyes. He leanes his head back, enjoying the sun for a moment. Then he looked at Eren again, who was staring at the man.

"You have a beautiful voice, you know that?" Levi complimented the boy. Eren blushed. Of course, Levi had hear him sing.

"Thank you.. Levi.." Levi smiled. Eren looked at Levi again and frowned. Levi seemed almost in pain.. Eren didn't understand why Levi was here in the first place. He understood that they were looking for him, but not that the man sat down and was being so nice to him. Especially not when he wasn't feeling great (if that was the case, he sure didn't seem okay). He thought Levi hated him..

"Uhm.. Sir.. Is something wrong? If-if you don't mind me asking?" Eren stuttered. Levi looked at the boy and suddenly seemed ten times worse than before.

"Eren.." Levi sighed. Eren frowned again, waiting for him to continue.

"I.. I'm sorry.. We couldn't help him.. He was already gone..."

"You're not making any sense, what happened?" Eren asked, alarmed by the words. Levi gulped, tears in his eyes. He knew this was going to break Eren, and he wouldn't be able to handle that. Eren meant more to him than he would ever openly admitt to someone, and to see that boy in agony crushed his heart.

"We.. We lost Armin.." Levi said, looking up at Eren. Eren froze.

"You mean.. He left, like me.. Right? He went on a walk and hasn't come back yet?" Eren laughed, but deep inside, he knew he had lost his best friend and person he saw as his own bloodbrother.

"I'm so sorry, Eren.. Armin has passed away.."

Eren stopped laughing. His gaze was fixed on Levi in disbelieve.

"Are you joking? You are joking, right? Armin is waiting for me. When we get back, he'll greet me with his stupid smile and we'll laugh and-"

"Eren, Armin is dead."

"NO!" Eren screamed, and Levi cringed.

"ARMIN. ISN'T DEAD." It stayed silent for a while, and Levi watched to boy break down. Tears started streaming down Eren's face as he covered it with his hands and sobbed loudly.

"Armin can't be dead.." He cried.

Levi started crying as well. His heart hurt just looking at Eren like this. First of all, he had lost another member of the squad. And now this kid.. He shuffled closer to the boy and embraced him, softly pushing Eren's head against his chest. The kid put his arms around Levi as well, grabbing the fabric on his back.

"Shhh.. It's okay.." Levi comforted him, running his fingers through Eren's hair.

"It-It's NOT okay.. A..Armin.." Eren sobbed.

They sat like that, holding onto each other in silence, both calming down. Eren sniffed and wiped his face, not able to produce any more tears. He was exhausted. Levi saw and scooted over a bit, lying down. He opened his arms, inviting Eren to lie down next to him. The boy looked at him with watery eyes, still not understanding Levi's behaviour. But he rested his head on Levi's arm gratefully, shivering, with his back towards the man.

Levi put his other arm over Eren and moved a bit closer, hugging the kid tightly.

"You can sleep, it's okay. I'll stay here."

"Th..Thank you.." Was all Eren could stutter before falling into a dreamless sleep. Levi looked at the back of his head and softly kissed it. He buried his face in Eren's back and closed his eyes as well. There was a hard time to come, and he had to protect the kid. He needed to.