He staggered on his knees.
He couldn't believe this was happening.
He quickly regained his balance and rushed over to the fallen boy, and grabbed his shoulders tightly.
"Eren! Can you hear me? EREN!"
He was getting desperate. It certainly didn't end like this. He'll regenerate his wounds, he reassured himself. But the liquid-covered body remained what it is, only steam rising from wounds, yet never healing.
The man was at the verge of panic. Quickly he leaned his ears against the other's chest. Heartbeats would surely determine it. But the 15-year-old's fluttering, faint heartbeat was drowned out by his own, speeding and frantic.
Or…had it already stopped?
Just then, a faint coughing was heard, followed by hot spurting blood. It was him. He was alive.
"C..cor..poral…"
He managed to squeeze in his words between his breath.
"E,Eren."
Levi's heart sank in relief. Too much relief. He was being pushed to the brink of tears.
"You're…safe…thank goodness…"he forced up a thin smile at the other. His raspy voice was deep in pain, between several coughs which he vomited blood from at the same time. The blood-red evening sky seemed to tell him that the time has come.
But Levi wasn't ready.
"Eren, no. Did you forget our promise? You said that you wanted to see the ocean, the flower patches, the hills…we promised to go back and see it together!" His voice was increasing to a crescendo.
"I'm…sorry…I don't..think..I'll..make..it..the-" the almost lifeless boy was cut off midsentence as his breath got thinner.
"Why? Why aren't your wounds healing? Eren, can you hear me? Don't go! This is an order!" He shouted as red tears trickled down his chin.
"…corporal…"he reached into his shirt pocket with trembling, wet hands and pulled out an object wrapped in white cloth, only now blood-stained.
"Do you..remember? The first time we met…" he continued as his vision started blurring. He stared off into the distance, as if he was dreaming, as if he was drifting off.
"How could I forget?" He whispered between sobs. Surely this wasn't going to end here, he thought. He'll just be sent back to headquarters, and his wounds will be healed, and we'll go outside the walls and spend our time together. No titans, no sadness, no more war.
"Please…I beg you…you have to survive..you have to go back…and tell those people…that we…have succeeded in saving humanity.."
"Yes, I am-no, WE are! We're going back together! We'll go show them! Eren, you said you will kill all the titans and get revenge for your mother! You have to go back and show them that you weren't bluffing!"
"No…that dream…it hasn't been accomplished yet…" Eren choked on his own words, and stabbed a finger at his own chest.
"No." Levi breathed. He surely wouldn't mean that.
"Yes…Bertholdht…Reiner…Ymir…Annie..and all the other titans…they're all gone, and there's only one left.." blood was draining from his face.
"No, that's not correct! You're wrong, Eren! You made this all happen, you can't die!"
"Cor..poral..Levi..?" he panted, almost inaudible.
"I have one..last wish…before I go…"
And he stretched out his hands to grab Levi's shoulders, with almost all strength remaining in his body, he embraced his lover in his chest.
"E…eren…"Now with raspy voice, Levi leaned in closer to his beautiful face, to meet their crimson-stained lips for one last time before they parted.
"-Eren..?"
Levi asked fearfully as he couldn't feel the delicate heat coming from the other's mouth.
His eyelids were closed shut, his brown hair and tanned skin was soaked with red, and on his mouth, he wore a…
Smile.
A barely visible smile.
Tears started to well up in the corporal's eyes again, when he suddenly remembered.
What did Eren give him?
Hurriedly he undid the wrapping until he got to the center.
"…Eren…Eren…EREN!"
His sob was increased to a weeping and, gradually, to a hysterical shout.
The Tooth.
The tooth that fell out when he hicked him.
Corporal Levi's voice echoed in the empty field as all titans' existence have been wiped out from the Earth.