To be honest, I didn't really finish this fic (you can probably tell wher I gave up) but I know if I don't post it tonight I never will. Might as well, right?
"I didn't want ANY of this, Eren! Why the hell would you do this?!" Lance Corporal Levi all but screamed to the much younger, but taller, boy Eren.
Normally, Levi could and would never emotion in front of anyone; showing weakness was never something he could openly do.
But right then, the Corporal was shouting from the top of his lungs, downright furious with that brat-of-a-soldier, Eren Jaeger.
And when he called the soldier by his first name, it was obvious that Levi was furious as to what had been done.
"I don't understand! I just wanted to make you smile! What in Maria's name offended you so much?!"
Levi scoffed as he turned away, "Tch. You wouldn't understand."
Eren grabbed the corporal's arm before he got too far up the stairs.
"Then tell me so I can."
Deep blue eyes met eyes green- more fierce and more full of emotion than ever before.
But Levi was Humanity's Strongest Soldier, and this brat had no right to tell him what to do- regardless whether he's Humanity's Hope or not.
So the older man jerked his arm away and turned his head away angrily.
"Jaeger, you STUPID. IDIOTIC. BRAT. Don't touch me, clean up this DISGUSTING mess, and go the hell away! You filthy MONSTER."
The door slammed. Levi didn't bother to do anything other than lay face down on his bed.
The corporal just stared at his clean blankets and let his mind go completely blank.
Seconds seemed like hours, and the silence in his room irritated him to no end, even though he usually enjoyed quiet time all to himself.
No matter how much Levi tried, he couldn't stop the regret seeping into his stream of thoughts.
That face. Eren's face when Levi said those things. His eyes were wide with shock and his mouth was slack. He just looked so rejected- sad- hurt that such things had been said to him by the person he admired most in the world. He almost looked like he was going to burst into tears. After everything they had been through with each other, it was Levi's sudden outburst that could ruin their friendship (if you could call it that) forever.
All because I couldn't appreciate the nice things Eren had done for me.
With a low moan, I pushed my face against his bed with more force than before so I could muffle the almost weak-sounding grumbles escaping my mouth. My fists clenched painfully together as my frustration toward myself grew.
All Eren wanted was to see me smile.
Levi just wanted to curl up a die. Hell, maybe it would've been better for him to have died a long time ago. Back with his squad- no- back with Farlan and Isabel- even farther- back when he was a starving kid on the streets of the underground. Why hadn't he just died then and spared the lives (and deaths) of those close to him?
Dear Sina, why did it have to be him to survive?
"Boy, he sure has grown on you huh, Heichou?"
While Humanity's Strongest was quite surprised that there was someone speaking to him in his room that had surely been empty when he entered, he was even more surprised by the familiar, kind tone of a young woman present.
"Eren's really amazing when you look at it, though. You are too, Heichou."
The rest of my body going absolutely rigid, I slowly raised my head. Very slowly.
And as soon as he saw those eyes, his widened ever so slightly.
As he finally gazed upon the woman, she offered her gentle smile that Levi used to see all the time.
"Petra." He breathed, in total disbelief.
She didn't say anything in response; instead, the amber-eyed woman looked at him with a bittersweet expression.
Closing his eyes and shaking his head, he clutched a patch a my hair and whispered, "I'm insane. I'm so insane."
"Maybe so, but not in the way you think, Heichou." Petra gracefully stepped closer to the man before seating herself on the bed.
This isn't real. This is so not real. I'm just dreaming. Just dreaming. Was my outburst toward Eren just a nightmare?
Levi looked his old teammate in the eye before swallowing a lump in his throat.
If it is a dream, I might as well go with it.
"Levi, Petra. Just call me Levi," he breathed.
"What a situation you've got yourself into, Levi," she sighed, "I'm here to help in any way I can, but your effort will be the most important."
"Tch. It's that brat's fault. And what is all this crap anyway? I must be drunk or dreaming." I concluded.
Petra bit her lip, "Levi, I'm going to show you something from the past," her amber-colored eyes darted to the ground, "Please, keep an open mind."
Levi didn't believe this was real. Why would he? It's not every day a dead woman comes to visit you and give you a therapy session.
"Are you ready, Levi?" She continued though I had yet to respond, "Close your eyes."
And I did. I didn't close them on purpose- it just happened suddenly.
And when I opened them, I wished I hadn't.
When I opened them, I relieved that horrible day years ago when I lost my squad members.
Gunter- hanging upside-down and eyes almost fallen out of his head.
Eld- bit in half, covered in blood and titan saliva.
Oluo- half of his body collapsed inwards due to impact with a tree.
Petra- slammed up against a tree, dry blood along her face, eyes lifeless, body limp.
I shook my head to clear my mind.
"Why... did I have to see that? Of all things, Petra, why that day?"
I opened my eyes to look at her. This girl that I couldn't and didn't save, I told myself.
She answered my question with confidence, "Because like it or not, this is your past and you can't change it," the girl gently picked up my hands and said, "but you can embrace the present to change the future."
"You told Eren that no one knows if his decision would be right that day. You know that, yourself, because that's what you've been saying since Farlan and Isabel-"
"Be quiet."
Silence.
Warmth began to fade from her touch and my eyes widened ever so slightly as my deceased comrade's body became transparent.
"I couldn't help you, but I believe Eren can-"
I stumbled as I grasped her hands tighter, "Wait, Petra, what-"
"That's all I can do for now. Goodbye, Corporal. "
Petra disappeared in an instant, and I stared at the place where her feet had been in complete shock.
"Never forget us." The final sound of her voice echoed as a whisper, until the room fell dead silent again.
I didn't realize I had been sleeping until I had been woken up quite rudely and surprisingly by the last person I wanted to see at the moment (and quite honestly, I thought he never wanted to see me again).
"Hey, Levi!" He smiled at me like nothing had ever happened between us.
It must have been a dream then, I told myself.
But then...
"It was 'Corporal' last time I checked, Jaeger," I stated before realizing something, "And why the hell are you in top of me?!"
He was so close, his indescribable eyes just inches from my own, well, until I harshly shoved him off my bed.
Eren jumped back up and immediately began defending himself.
"Woah, hold on Levi! I'm not just Eren!"
"...What?"
He smiled proudly and pointed a thumb to himself, "I'm also the Ghost of Christmas Present!"
"...What?" I repeated.
"Except I'm not dead like..." Eren hesitated, "Petra."
The fight was real, that's for sure, but this had to be a dream.
The boy clapped his hands together before grabbing mine.
I was confused as hell. I just stared into the younger's eyes, wondering how everything looked and felt real.
And when I snapped out of my train of thought, I found those gorgeous eyes staring into his.
I wanted to turn away and break the eye contact, but Eren spoke first.
"Don't look away," he suddenly sounded very serious, "Look at what you have now."
What I have... now? I have...
All of a sudden, images of Hanji and Erwin appeared alongside the image of Eren.
Quiet.
"Now I know I'm dreaming. Four eyes would never be able to stay quiet for more than a second."
I pulled my hands from Eren's grasp, intended to break away from him completely.
I failed. He pulled me closer and held me tighter, hands now behind my back and holding me in his embrace.
He was so warm.
"You deserve the world, Levi. Yes, your life has been so hard, but you still have Eren- you still have me. All you need to do is apologize and-"
I cut him off and scoffed, "I need to apologize? This wasn't my fault. It was the damn brat's."
Then I shoved him away and stormed across my room to stare of my window and avoid eye contact with the ghost's Eren image.
But when I gazed out, I saw the back of Eren himself, walking slowly towards the stables.
"Where is he going?"
I turned back around to stare at the Ghost of Christmas Present when he didn't answer.
He was biting his lip and avoiding eye contact.
"Your future," he began, "Is black."
The next words slipped out of my mouth without my permission. Before that, I honestly believed this was all a dream. But everything turned so real that moment I saw that look in his eyes.
"What happens?"
He avoided eye contact.
"Tell me."
Silence.
"Tell me-"
"He's going to DIE, okay?! That boy is going to DIE if you don't go after him right now! You'll regret it forever of you don't, and end up killing yourself inside- letting yourself rot in a pool of darkness for all eternity and-"
The boy inhaled a shaky breath, "and it's just awful, Levi. It's awful to see that."
One blink.
Two blinks.
Then I ran. I ran faster than ever before.
I could fix this if he could just make it before Eren got on his horse.
With my heart pounding and breath ragged, I saw Eren just about to place his foot in the stirrup of his leather saddle.
WHAM
The titan shifter was startled as to what had just happened.
He was still standing, but someone had their arms wrapped around him from behind. Someone short, he noted, and with enough strength to knock him off his center of balance for a second or two.
One glance down at the small, pale hands wrapped around his waist was all Eren needed to find out who it was.
Levi.
His breath hitched.
Levi.
Oh Wall Rose.
Levi, Humanity's Strongest, was hugging him, Humanity's Hope, purposely.
Eren didn't seem to care about anything else anymore.
Until Levi started talking.
"Eren," he began in a whisper, "I'm sorry for what I said earlier. Please forgive me. I'm not sure what happened, but I saw after you leave and you-" a tight squeeze, "Please don't go. I don't know what I'd do if you were gone too."
I expected Eren to say something rash, or blame me and leave anyway, but he instead responded softly.
"...Will you promise not to get mad at what I say next?"
After a brief moment of surprise, I nodded into his back.
He turned around and an angelic smile broke out across his young face.
"Happy birthday, Levi."
"...Merry Christmas, Eren."
-
I KNOW THEY'RE OOC BUT ERERI IS AMAZING SO WHATEVER
MERRY ERERI CHRISTMAS ANYWAY
(And if anyone actually reads this and is curious, Levi was angry with Eren because the younger had tried to through him a birthday party, even though so many of his comrades would never be able to celebrate a birthday ever again. It may be stupid but idk. XP)
