A/N: I actually had this finished for about 2 years, but then I wasn't happy with the title so I kind of forgot about it, but here we are today.
It is peaceful and quiet when Levi walks through the twin iron gates of Shiganshina Cemetery. The only sounds that reach his ears are the gentle rustling of the leaves in the nearby bushes and trees and the chirping of birds that Levi could not put a name to.
The weather is pleasant today; there is not a single cloud in the blue sky. Sunlight filters through the overhead leaves, decorating the ground with hues of emerald and gold as Levi begins wandering at a leisurely pace, following a concrete path with no real destination in mind. He thoughtfully observes and takes in the letters etched in each individual stone that he passes; respecting and acknowledging each name.
To Levi, a cemetery was not a place to be feared, but a sanctuary to speak to loved ones, to visit families and to occasionally let out a few tears and mourn a little. His mind temporarily returns to the nostalgic memory of his own mother's funeral. It was certainly something unforgettable, and though he had learnt to mask the pain and loneliness, the feelings of sadness had never truly disappeared.
Levi suddenly blinks just in time to narrowly avoid tripping over somebody's boots.
"Sorry, sir." A deep, honey-laced voice says at the same time the boots retract. Levi looks up to link eyes with a young stranger sitting on a rock. His hair is a messy nest of chocolate brown, framing his eyes which are a deep ocean of turquoise. His mouth is soft pink and currently curled up in an apologetic smile, and his skin is tanned with obvious signs of being in the sun. The stranger has a peculiar uniform: a brown jacket ending just under the ribs, a complicated set of straps crossing over his chest, hips and legs, and white pants complete with a pair of brown knee-length military boots currently swinging above the ground.
"I didn't see you there."
Levi bows his head slightly as an apology and is about to walk away, but then he notices that the rock is, in fact, a gravestone.
"Sitting on a resting person's stone is quite rude." He points out, gesturing with his head. The stranger looks down at his seat and strokes it with a gentle hand.
"Oh, this? My mother is buried here so I am just sitting with her."
"Ah." Levi says quietly. "Pardon me. I'm sorry about your mother."
With nothing else to do and nowhere else to go, he decides to accompany the boy for a little longer and steps beside him to lean against the trunk of a tree beside the resting place of the boy's mother. A comfortable silence falls between them and the boy begins to swing his legs again, quietly humming a soft tune to himself. When he realises that Levi has no intention of leaving soon he speaks again.
"Sir, are you here to visit anybody?"
"No. I am just here to get some clean air away from the city. It's too loud there, just like my friend Hange who will probably find me here soon."
"I see." Eren offers a small smile. The expression on his face is unreadable, almost… melancholic?
"Um… Kid."
"Eren." The name rings in the air for a moment.
"Eren." Levi repeats. It's a beautiful name, "…Do you come here often?"
Silence follows, and a breeze wafts gently through the air between them.
Eren's eyes suddenly grow distant and glassy. His smile fades, as if remembering something unpleasant from a long time ago.
"… More often than I'd like to."
"You don't have to tell me about it if you don't want to." Levi quickly cuts in when he sees the uncomfortable expression on the boy's face.
"… Okay. Thank you." The tense atmosphere disperses and they return to bathing in each other's company even though they had not known each other for more than five minutes. Eren takes out a necklace of some sort and begins fiddling with it, running his fingers over the grooves of what seems to resemble a golden key. Levi watches him, and then notices an approaching figure in the distance.
"Oh. Eren, I think that is my friend over there." The figure raises their arms and begins waving wildly. "Yeah, that's definitely her. I'll be going now. It was… nice talking to you."
"Alright."
Levi pushes himself off the tree and begins walking towards her, passing Eren one last time on the way.
"Captain Levi." Ice suddenly flows through his veins and Levi's heart stutters, then suddenly begins pounding. His footsteps falter at the sound of the boy softly calling his name – Something that he never told him.
"Hey, how do you know my-"
"I'm sorry." His voice trails off into a whisper no louder than the wind. Levi twists his head around to confront him –
But there is nobody there.
A soft breeze gently caresses Levi's hair.
"…Eren?"
He stares at the empty space above the stone where the boy had been, and barely notices when Hange reaches him and stands next to him with her hands deep in her pockets. Levi is about to call out again to the boy who had mysteriously disappeared, but when his eyes trail sideways to the next stone, his whole body locks down again and his mind goes blank.
Then a gentle smile touches his lips at what he sees.
EREN JAEGER
OUR HOPE AND OUR STRENGTH. REST IN PEACE.
"Are you okay, Levi? Erwin and I have been searching for you!" A sharp jab to his elbow brings him back to the present.
"…Yeah. I'm fine." A moment of silence passes as Hange turns to admire the stone that Levi had been staring at.
"Eren… Jaeger, huh…?"
"Hange." Levi says suddenly, nearly startling the woman. "Can you… help me pick some flowers?"
In the end Levi never quite found out the connection between the mysterious graveyard boy and himself.
Why he disappeared, or apologised? Perhaps Levi will never find out.