Run, run , run.
Dozens of titans were chasing him. Eren was in titan form, but for some reason, he couldn't fight back. His only instinct was telling him to keep running, keep looking forward, keep breathing.
He was in a forest, huge trees surrounding him on each side. Broken braches crunched underneath his feet, but it did nothing to hide the sound of thuds of feet hitting the ground behind him. Eren took deep breaths, his heart pounding with oxygen and adrenaline as he willed his legs to go faster.
He came across a circular opening; the sun hit the grass and painted the area a lighter shade of green. It was a false scene of peace, because Eren could smell the blood and decay of human bodies around him. Eren knew he should keep looking forward, but his curiosity overwhelmed him and he looked to the side.
It was a fatal folly. All around him, his comrades, his friends, were limp and bleeding. Everyone from Armin and Mikasa, tangled in their maneuver gear, lying side by side with their heads drooped and body unmoving. Everyone to Erwin Smith; the fearless, strong captain of the Survey Corps, laid with his back to a tree with a missing arm and eyes staring nowhere. Everyone, Jean, Ymir, Krista, Bertholdt, Reiner, Eren's parents, Marco, Thomas, Petra, Erd, Hanji, and many more former comrades lay in bloody heaps with chests unmoving and eyes still as death.
Everyone, including Levi, humanity's stronger soldier, was dead.
Levi was dead, and he never even told him what he felt about him. Levi, Eren's hero, the man who never lost, lost his life to shitty, stupid titans.
And Eren knew it, he knew from the bottom of his heart, that they were dead because of him. It was his goddamn fault.
He woke up matted with sweat, still breathing hard like he ran a few miles.
"Whoa brat, calm down, did you run a marathon in your dream?" A familiar voice came from Eren's side. He turned his head, it was Levi, breathing, staring – with what was that, worry? – at him and alive, so very much alive.
"Sorry, i-I had a dream," Eren mumbled, but he couldn't make out words. He was too happy that Levi was alive, which meant that almost everybody else was alive, too. He looked around, and found that he wasn't in his cell, "Where am i..?"
"You passed out in titan form because you exerted too much energy, so you're in the infirmary. You were unconscious for the last five hours, gave us all a heart attack, actually. That'll teach Hanji to stop pushing you to the limit…" His words faded out when he saw Eren's eyes well up.
Levi leaned closer, "Are you okay? Does your head hurt? You might have banged it pretty hard but then again I don't know what you do in that body-"
Eren shook his head, "No, it's not the pain." He rubbed his eyes with his sleeve.
So damn cute, Levi thought, but didn't show it.
"No I-" Eren shuddered and took a deep breath, "I had a nightmare, that's all."
More tears welled up and overflowed, staining his cheeks with wetness. He bowed his head in an attempt to hide from the lance corporal, but Levi wasn't having any of that.
"Tell me," Levi said softly. Eren shook his head. "Tell me, Jaeger!" He grabbed Eren's wrist.
Eren looked up, sobbing at this point. He blue-green eyes filled with sorrow, and lost of their usual determination, "I had a dream you were dead, Heichou."
Levi sighed, and slowly embraced Eren. He wrapped his arms tightly around the quivering body, and let Eren lean his head against his chest. Eren was surprised, he thought Levi rarely comforted people.
"I'm alive, Eren. That's all it was, a dream, I'm still alive." Levi place one hand on Eren heads, soothing him by brushing his hair with his fingers, "I'm alive."
Eren was still crying, Levi could feel his shirt being soaked with tears; he'll take care of that later. Eren buried his face in Levi's chest, it was warm and strong and felt like safety and comfort, like his mother's arms.
"Promise you won't die before me?" He whispered into Levi's chest.
"Yeah, I promise." Levi reassured, hugging Eren tighter.
"I love you, Heichou." Eren never said those words out loud before, but he always thought it. Might as well tell Levi now while he's alive and comforting him then during a fight. He'll regret his actions later.
"Yeah," Levi said, kissing Eren's forehead softly. Levi didn't know if he loved Eren back, he didn't know what love was at all, so better to accept Eren's feelings then spit out lies. But he knew he did feel something strong for Eren, his interest in him and his need to protect him from danger was all he thought about sometimes. Now that Eren was in his arms, warm and snug, he was content, too.
And they stayed that way. Levi stayed with Eren for hours until he finally calmed down from his sobs and fell asleep. Levi tucked him tightly, and planted a kiss on his forehead, his eyelids, his cheeks, his nose, and his lips.
"I promise I'm going to stay alive with you."