Levi stood at the window of his room, looking out into the rain as the scout regiment came back to the base. They had gone outside of the wall and Levi was positive that there had been casualties. Erwin had made him stay behind because of his injury. His ankle was slowly healing from an unfortunate misstep, but he had been adamant that he could do the mission. But because of the respect he had for Erwin, he had stayed behind, yet again. And the group was always smaller when it came back. They couldn't keep doing this.
Levi watched carefully for one particular person to come into view and his heart sank when he didn't spot his brown hair in the group below. Maybe he had missed him and Eren had already returned his horse to the stables. Levi's hand clutched to the key around his neck and desperately hoped that wasn't the case.
Soon the group separated and went their ways and all that was left to watch was the rain that continued from the dark clouds above. At a knock on his door, Levi quickly shoved the key under his shirt and turned around. The door slowly opened and a worn looking Erwin entered. He didn't say a word as he stepped closer to Levi and stood straight and tall.
Levi gave him a curious look at the silence that still held the room. It wasn't like him to be so quiet. Erwin held out a hand to Levi and Levi hesitated looking down. He knew what it was. He knew what it meant. But he didn't want to believe it. When his eyes finally did dip to his commander's hand, he saw a blood stained patch with wings that was cut from a uniform.
"I thought you would want this. I know you loved him," Erwin said softly, still standing stiffly.
Levi's hand trembled as he reached out and took the fabric into his own fingers. He had seen many of the emblems from fallen soldiers, but this one hurt more than any of the others. His chest felt somehow tight and empty at the same time.
"It was him?" Levi asked in an incredibly steady voice.
"We couldn't find the body. His jacket was ripped and with half of his maneuvering gear," Erwin explained, his eyes out the window and avoiding Levi's as best they could. "We couldn't find the rest. We searched for a long while as well. We didn't find anything."
Levi simply turned his back to Erwin and stared back out of the window. Erwin bowed slightly, though Levi didn't see, and left the room. He was relieved that Erwin hadn't mentioned how much of a loss this would be for humanity and for the ranking officers. All Eren was to them was a science experiment and a weapon.
Levi's hand gripped back at the key under his shirt. Eren had given it to him before heading out that morning. Levi knew what it was for, but now it held a different meaning. He didn't care if it would hold all of the secrets to the titans. He just cared that it was one of the only things that he had left of Eren. And he wasn't going to give it up. And asked if he knew the whereabouts of the key, he had decided that he would lie. One bloodied patch wasn't enough.
Once the first tear hit the carpet, the rest followed in a steady, but quiet stream. Levi crumbled to the floor, his head in his hand as he tried to hold back the tears that kept falling. And all that was running through Levi's head were the what if's. He had been collecting days and the one that he regretted the most was not taking that chance to tell Eren everything that he felt. And now he didn't have the chance.
Eren limped through the smothering forest, doing his best to stay out of sight. He clutched his arm to his chest, a hot pain in his shoulder whenever he moved it. The rain was cold as it poured over him, and night was falling. It was only going to grow colder. But that was the least of his worries at the moment. He was in the middle of the titan forest, injured, and without a horse or his maneuvering gear. He was hoping that his small size would hide him, but it was growing dark and it was becoming harder to see and make out shapes.
Titans did become less active during the night, but he still didn't want to be trapped out here for that long. And once he got out of the dense trees, there was going to be no cover to help him get back to the base that was a good three or four hours by horse. It would take him days to get back to the base. And if he could even get that far, would the scouts still be there? Or would they have returned further within the walls. The base was behind the first wall, but if they had gone further in... there would be nobody for miles upon miles.
His odds weren't very high, but he wasn't about to give up. There was so much he still had to offer the world and he had come this far already. He couldn't give up. Mikasa was probably devastated and wanting to set out search groups to find him, and Armin would do his best to talk sense into Mikasa. That's how it always worked. And Eren still needed to know what was in that basement and what had happened to his father. And Levi had the key.
Levi... What had he given it to Levi of all people? He could have given it to anyone. Hange was the one who was in charge, and Erwin was more than capable of handling the task. But Eren had picked Levi. The more he thought about it the more he realized how much trust he had for Levi. And it went deeper than a commanding officer and his subordinate. Even though Levi was cold and rarely showed emotion, Eren knew he cared for everyone in his charge. He respected Levi for that and had put all of his faith in the captain.
Eren stopped, leaning against a tree to catch his breath. He closed his eyes and opened his mouth, hoping to catch even the smallest bit of rain water to soothe his dry throat. There was a deep rumble and a cry that caused Eren to cover his mouth with his hand to stifle the sounds of his labored breathing. The ground shook and Eren pushed himself as close as he could against the trunk of the large tree, wishing he could disappear into the bark.
He almost tumbled over as a large foot came down beside him, shaking the ground. He closed his eyes and tightened the grip over his mouth. His heart pounded angrily in his chest and he did his best not to tremble. Holding his breathe, be begged for the titan to go away. Once the rumbling had stopped and the feet were out of view, Eren exhaled deeply, sliding to the forest floor.
His lungs burned as he gulped at the night air and slowly his racing heart returned to it's normal speed and no longer threatened to burst. It was going to be a long night.
Levi rolled his eyes as Mikasa fought against Erwin for the umpteenth time. She didn't believe Eren to be dead and wanted to go and find him. But Erwin refused. It had been raining non stop for the past three days and had made it too dangerous to try to use the maneuvering gear. And Erwin had little faith that Eren could survive for that long alone, without provisions and on foot.
Levi had foolishly kept the same hope as Mikasa. When he wasn't being forced to eat, he stood at his window for hours, watching and waiting. He wouldn't much longer though. He had done the math and if Eren were injured in anyway, even with his fitness level and it being the optimal conditions for him to return, he would be able to make it back to base within three to four days. And that's how long Levi was going to wait. If Eren wasn't back by tomorrow, he wasn't going to wait any longer.
But he wasn't going to tell anyone where he was going. He would just leave. It would be simple enough. And what was one more scout lost? Levi didn't feel like he was anything special. Mikasa could easily take over his command if he left. She was gifted and a leader.
Levi stood, leaving his meal untouched and wrapped his coat tightly around himself as he headed back for his room. The walk was long and lonely, but he didn't want it any other way. It gave him time to think about everything. When would be the best time to leave?
In the morning, while everyone was busy with breakfast. That's when he would go. He didn't want anyone to stop him. He needed to do this. As Levi entered his room he walked over to the bed that hadn't been touched for a long while. His fingers traced over the wings that rested there. He gave them a fond smile before returning to the window.
He was so tired. His knees collapsed under him and he used his good hand to catch himself in the mud. He hadn't cared much for the rain. It made him cold and he couldn't seem to warm up. It also made the ground slick and hard to walk across. But it made it harder for his scent to travel, or he hoped it did, and he was able to drink from puddles that had been forming.
Eren pushed himself back up ono his knees and weakly got back onto his feet. He did his best to wipe the water from his eyes, but only seemed to make himself more muddy. After using his sleeve the best that he could to clean off his face, he stopped and could feel his heart running away.
He could see the base behind the wall. It was just over the next hill. He could do this. He needed to. He was so close. And then he could rest. Then he could relax his aching muscles. His ankle was on fire and his limp had grown worse. His shoulder still pained him whenever he moved it and he figured that he had dislocated it or something of the sort, but he didn't want to try to fix it. Knowing his luck, he would probably make it worse. And he needed all of his luck to reach the base.
Eren stumbled forward, his breath curling into the early morning air. He shivered and pulled his arms tighter against himself, hoping for more heat. He needed to get there before morning. He didn't have any more cover. There were no more trees anywhere to hide under. And even if the sun was hidden behind the clouds, the titans would still become more active and venture out of the forest. And it wouldn't be hard for them to reach him. They could cover the ground that Eren had in minutes.
He wasn't sure how much further he could continue walking. His legs were shaking below him with each and every step. It was like a bad dream. No matter how far he walked, the wall never seemed to get any closer.
Soon, though, his fingers stretched out and touched cold stone. He breathed a sigh of relief and rested against the wall, security coming over him. He had to keep going through. He had to get behind the wall. He was so close.
He willed his body to continue forward despite the screaming that seemed to come from each of his joints. Gasping for air, Eren finally came into view of the gate. His fingers trailed over the wall and seemed to be the only thing that kept him bound in his head. He was here. The wall wasn't fake.
"Hello?" Eren called out in a scratchy, disused voice. He looked up through the rain and saw a face peer down at him from the watch tower. There was someone there. He breathed another sigh. He hadn't even considered the fact that if the scouts left, there would be no way for him to get the gate open. No one lived within the first wall anymore. There would be no watch.
"Eren?" a voice asked in a disbelief.
Eren didn't hear anything else from the watch, but could hear the loud cracking sound as the gate was pulled up just high enough for him to limp through. He was safe. He was here. A weakness took over his body as he made his way closer to the base. He just wanted to sleep. That was all he wanted. A nice warm bed.
"Levi!" Erwin's voice shouted from high above Eren. There was a scream from someone else and Eren glanced up to see a falling figure and Erwin reaching out through a high window. Eren's eyes widened as he made out the captain and without thinking, he lifted his hand to his mouth and bit down sharply.
Levi took a deep breath and closed his eyes, leaning forward and further out of his window. The door behind him slammed open and at his name, he leaned out, letting gravity take over. This was his leaving. Eren was no longer here. There was no point.
There was an abrupt stop to the fall, but it wasn't the stone court yard that Levi had been expecting. His eyes slowly opened and large steaming teeth and eyes greeted him. A titan. Eren. His eyes widened and he sat up in Eren's palm, his chest constricting painfully.
"Eren," he whispered breathlessly, getting to his knees and stumbling forward with arms out stretched. The titan's skin was hot to the touch and burned Levi, but he continued to hug Eren's nose as more steam filled the rainy morning.
As Eren's form turned to more steam, Levi was lowered gently to the ground. When the rain began to wash out the hot clouds, Levi could see Eren laying on the ground, twisted in a weird way. Levi raced forward, tears in his eyes. This wasn't possible. None of it was.
"Eren," he said, as he pulled the younger's body into his arms. Eren was thin and fragile, as he shivered from cold. Levi's trembling finger ran through Eren's hair and he held the boy close to his chest. "Eren," he whispered again. "You're alive."
"Why'd you jump?' Eren's voice asked. Levi winced. It sounded like Eren had been eating gravel. "Idiot."