Author's Note: Hey all! So, I was tumbling around tumblr and this idea popped into my head, and I had to write it. For all those that watch me and are waiting for me to update my Malec story, sorry. It's on hiatus. I've kind of started re-thinking about where I want to take this story, and lately I've been rather uninspired by the TMI fandom. Also college apps have been destroying me. So, I'll definitely keep writing it, but progress is suspended at least until I get done with applying to schools.
Warnings: Will be a BOYxBOY Riren/Levere/Levi x Eren rated-M-for-a-reason-there-will-be-lemons story. Yush.
I'm not putting in a summary as that will be spoooiiiilllerrss. So, just read on.
*In this, Levi is a thief. Not a good guy. He won't be bad, but he's certainly not good. More like chaotic neutral? Yes. Chaotic neutral Levi. Eren is, well…Eren.
Prologue
"What do you mean? This is ridiculous!"
The sharp sound of a chair screeching against wooden floorboards echoed across the room. A young man stood where the chair had been, breathing heavily with fists clenched.
"Eren, sweetie, we can't say no to the crown. We simply—" A woman tried to reason with the boy.
"We simply what, Mother? What on earth could possibly be a good excuse for giving her up like this?!"
Another chair slammed back.
"Eren, I like this as little as you do! But we have nothing left. To defy the king is treason, and we have nothing to fight him with anyway. Your father is gone, we are running out of money, and soon we'll be out on the streets. This proposal is a godsend!"
"You're so selfish! What about what she wants?!" Eren gestured violently to a young woman sitting calmly by his side. Her ebony hair seemed warmer in the soft candlelight, and a deep maroon scarf hid most of her face. When Eren turned to look at her, his eyes searching for defiance, she looked away quickly.
"Mikasa knows this is our only choice! Sometimes you must make sacrifices for the ones you love! Her marriage to the king's son is what will save us, and she knows that!" Eren's mother was in hysterics, her hair, normally so neatly tied back, frizzing and sticking to her sweat-dampened face.
"Don't put FUCKING WORDS IN HER MOUTH!" Eren spat the words at his mother and ran out of the house, into the night.
"Eren!"
He heard his mother calling him, which pushed him further. He ran, with tears stinging his eyes and blurring his vision.
'What the hell. It's not fucking fair! Why Mikasa…why?! He could have any other damn woman in the entire country, stupid bas—'
Eren, in the process of trying to wipe his burning eyes, tripped on the uneven ground and fell onto the ground. The stayed there for a while, face plastered against the rocks and dirt, trying to regain his breath. He then pushed himself off the ground, wincing as he brushed his hands off. Upon further inspection, he found they were completely torn up.
"Stupid…" he said, angrily shoving them in his pockets.
He looked around, seeing he was still on the path that led to the town, Maria. He scoffed at the lights, turning his back to the far off buildings.
'They're all so freaking content…' He began walking toward the forest of conifers that surrounded them on all sides.
After walking through the forest for a short while, Eren came to a stop at the base of a particularly substantial tree. Eren reached out with his battered hands, tracing the too-familiar letters.
'E…A…N…D…M…'
"Tch." Eren, looking up, began to reach for the first branch.
X
Levi was pissed. Or rather, he was more pissed than usual, as the stoic man was rarely in a cheery mood. The latest cause for his annoyance had come from the fact that he had, once again, lost money shelling out bail for his numerous incompetent followers who ended up being caught.
'Idiots...'
But there was a deeper cause. A hidden nagging at Levi's core. He was restless. He needed something, anything, to make him feel alive again. Levi missed the days of being the most dangerous man in the land, the metaphorical Robin Hood of his era. He desperately wanted that title back, the title that was stolen from him, and small burglaries would certainly never get him there.
"H-Heichou!" Levi raised his head lazily, smirking lightly at the nickname. A perilous and highly-thrilling adventure that involved him infiltrating the Japanese Emperor's guard and stealing the princess had forced him to adopt the title, and he had liked the sound of Corporal Levi so much that the name had stuck even after returning to Europe.
He quirked an eyebrow at the man standing before him, in obvious question.
"News, sir."
"Well, spit it out," Levi droned, looking mildly uninterested.
"Uh, the rumor regarding that marriage sir? To the Prince? It has been confirmed, Heichou."
Levi's eyes widened for a split-second, and then the surprise was gone. "Where did you hear that?"
"Our source in Maria, sir."
"Hmm. Alright. Then it's reliable. I'll be out in a bit."
The man bowed, quickly leaving Levi's room. As soon as the door closed, Levi allowed a smile to stretch across his face.
"Finally…the world will finally know that I'm back. With this, everything will go back to the way it was…I'm coming for you, Ms. Ackerman."
X
Eren had lost track of time in his tree. The sky had been dark when he had left, but there was no indication that morning was any closer than it had been when he had run off. It was the sound of rustling that brought him back from himself to the real world. He looked down.
"Mikasa!"
The body climbing the tree responded instantly, head turning up to face Eren.
"I knew I'd find you here," said a gentle, crystal-like voice.
"Keh. There's nowhere else to go in this stupid town."
Mikasa, having reached the branch on which Eren was perched, smiled lightly and sat by Eren's side.
"Eren, why are you acting like this?"
Eren head shot around. "What do you mean?! I'm getting angry because you won't, Mikasa!"
"…"
"How can you just take this silently?! How can you just blindly accept what Mother says?"
"Because it's survival. Because I must."
"But it—"
Mikasa glared at Eren, silencing him.
"You were the one that taught me that, Eren. The world is cruel. You must fight, or you will die. Fight, and you'll survive. We have nothing left Eren. With your father lost, our family cannot survive. So, I will fight in any way I can. If this is the only way, so be it." She turned to look at Eren, who was glaring at the ground beneath them angrily.
"It's my choice, Eren. You and your parents took me in when they didn't have to. Now I have to care for you, too."
"Mikasa, you'll be miserable there. These are the people that tax the working to death, all the while growing richer and fatter themselves. They're everything we despise!"
"Even so, I must do this. We must do this. Now, come back to the house."
"…No."
Mikasa sighed. "Eren, you can either come back with me, and we can spend my last night here together as a family. Or, you can stay here, and it may be the last time you see me." She then began to climb down the tree.
Eren bit his lip angrily, then, reluctantly, began to follow Mikasa.
'Mikasa, I swear, I won't let this happen to you. I won't'
X
"Alright, is everyone clear on the plan? Of not, ask someone else. I'm not here to babysit you all. You'd better not all screw up either." Levi looked at his small band, and sighed.
'Fucking idiots…'
"Alright, this is happening tomorrow. Those staying here, get to sleep. Those going, get your horses ready. And I'd better not hear a fucking sound once I'm in my room."
Levi turned to leave, but his shoulder was grabbed by a warm hand which spun him around.
"Are we really going to kidnap an Asian girl, Levi?" A woman with brown hair and glasses stood close to Levi—far too close for his comfort.
Levi rolled his eyes. "Yes Hanji. That is the plan."
"Ooooh, I'm so excited. They're so rare around here, you know? I wonder how much melanin she'll have in her skin! Di you know, that—"
'God this woman never shuts up.' "Hanji. You're not going. Shut up and go to bed."
"Ah, so rude. This is probably why that princess never followed you…if she even exists." Hanji smirked at the final words she had spoken under her breath, baiting Levi.
Levi just glared and walked away, too exasperated to even bother dealing with the bespecled maniac.
An hour later, a small team of thieves, with Levi at their head, were galloping toward Maria and their target.
X
"You look beautiful, Mikasa!" Eren's mother cooed at her adopted daughter, now donned in white from head to toe. The morning had come too quickly for Eren's taste, but he had to admit Mikasa looked beautiful.
'Too bad she's getting married to some good-for-nothing noble and not to someone she really loves…'
"Oh, Eren, isn't she lovely?"
Eren nodded dumbly. It had been quite the discussion, deciding what dress Mikasa was to leave them in. The wedding dress, his mother said, was the best dress they owned, and therefore it would have to do.
Eren continued to sulk. Suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder.
"Eren, I know this was hard for you, but thank you for not making this any more difficult." Eren cast his eyes away, and walked out of the room.
'Shit. SHIT. I only have an hour. Only an hour before they come to take her away. Then she's gone. FUCK!' Eren had been racking his brain for a way to ensure Mikasa wouldn't have to be married while still allowing his family to live well. For that, he needed the dowry that came with the proposal.
"Which means there has to be a marriage…" Eren muttered bitterly.
"What was that?" his mother asked cheerily, having come out of the room to check on him.
Eren shook his head, and headed down the stairs.
He sat at the table, listening to his mother bustling about upstairs. '45 minutes...'
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. "What?!"
"Oh, that must be them," said his mother, rushing down the stairs.
Eren was frantically looking for something, anything. He caught sight of a white scrap of fabric.
'That's it…'
Eren bolted, taking the stairs two at a time. He rushed into the room that held Mikasa, closing the door behind him.
"Mikasa…"
"Eren? What are you doing?"
He held out the thin fabric. "Here."
"Oh, my veil. Thank you. Put it on for me?"
Eren nodded, and moved behind Mikasa.
"Mikasa…I—"
"Hmm?"
"…I'm sorry."
"Eren, wha—" As Mikasa began to turn, Eren whacked her on her pressure point, knocking her out. He caught her limp body, laying it on the bed, and began undressing her and himself. He could hear voices below.
"I think they're saying goodbye to each other, please give them time. My son, he's very upset about this."
"I can give him twenty minutes, but then we must leave. The journey to Sina is long, and the king wants her there by tomorrow, if possible. Oh! I almost forgot. The dowry payment, ma'am. It's outside in the wagons. You can keep the horses as well."
Eren breathed a sigh of relief.
He quickly dressed Mikasa in his own clothes, and then struggled into the dress. He caught sight of himself in the mirror, and winced.
'I need longer hair…'
He rushed to the dresser, where his mother kept all her beauty supplies, hoping to find…
"Ah ha!"
A wig with curls for Sunday outings. He tried fastening to his hair, and after multiple trials, ended up getting it well-aligned with his head. He then hastily put on the veil, making sure to cover his face with it.
'Now, the finishing touch.'
"Fine!" He shouted. "Just go! Get married!"
"Eren, please…" a poor imitation of Mikasa followed.
"No! Just…just get out. Go. Out with you." His own voice.
He then turned to leave the room, nearly tripping in the foreign, too-tight shoes.
He walked out of the room, and closed the door, talking as he hastily locked it from the outside. "Eren, please, forgive me some day, okay?" he continued in Mikasa's thin voice.
He then turned and went down the stairs, not looking at either the coachman or his mother as he walked past them. Finally, he opened the door to the outside and got in the coach, ready to be driven away.
He heard his house's door creak open and closed again, and knew the coachman had come out. There was a knocking on his door.
"Miss?" Came a muffled voice from the other side. "If you need anything, let me know. We shall set off now."
A whip cracked, and the wagon wheels began to move.
X
"Hey, what are we waiting for anyway?"
"Gunter, shut up! Heichou will hear you!" hissed a voice back.
"Oh screw off, Auruo! What do you know?!" said Gunter.
"Both of you are going to get all of us in trouble…" came a woman's voice.
"Man, Petra, you're such a kiss up…"
"Shut up, Erd!" Levi's team had become anxious ever since Levi had told them to dismount and hide their steeds and find a tree to climb up. Where were they? Weren't they here for a kidnapping? What was Levi thinking?
"Quiet, all of you." Everyone's chatter ceased. "It's coming…"
Levi, in a tree ahead of his team, could clearly see a coach in the soft twilight. It was quickly approaching.
"Get ready." Levi began to tense in his perch, and as the coach passed underneath him, he jumped, nearly soundlessly, onto its roof. The horses were startled and broke off into a frenzied gallop. With practiced ease, Levi tossed the man driving the carriage into the arms of his awaiting team. There was a sound of a brief struggle, and then silence.
Levi occupied himself with trying to calm the startled horses, grabbing hold of the reins that were now loosely dangling about. He nickered softly to the horses, trying to stop them calmly, gradually pulling back on the reins until the horses slowed to a trot, then a walk. Then, finally, they were still. Levi sighed.
"Well, that went well."
He hopped off the front seat and went back to the coach door, knocking lightly. It was ripped open before he could grab the handle.
"What the hell was—who are you?"
Levi smirked. "Sorry my dear, but your journey to Sina is at an end. I'm afraid you'll be coming with us." With that, Levi reached into the coach and dragged the struggling victim out.
"Wait! You don't understa—"
"Shut up. And stop struggling or I'll knock you out."
Eren's wrist was locked in a vice-like grip.
Levi headed toward his horse, which his team had brought from their hiding place, and threw Eren onto the back of the saddle. He then gracefully lifted himself into the saddle.
"Now, if you don't want to fall off, hold the fuck on."
"But I'm—"
"Ms. Ackerman, kindly shut up, or I'll force you to." Levi clicked to his horse, sending it galloping into the night, with his team close behind him.
'But I'm not Mikasa Ackerman!' Eren thought as he wrapped his arms around his kidnapper in an effort to stay on the horse. 'I'm Eren Jaeger!'
A/N: In case all of you are confused by the characters, the people on Levi's team ARE the same as Levi's team. I don't really like OCs, and SnK has so many expendable characters that they introduced that they practically are OCs, so you'll probably be seeing lots of names you recognize. And oh geez, what have I done. Eren is cross-dressing and its only chapter one (that's actually one of my creepy fetishes though…Eren in a wedding dress for Levi. Hurr hurr.). And Mikasa…kinda got beaten up. Eesh. Don't worry, she'll kick ass the rest of the story.
Hope you all enjoyed the prologue! I suspect next chapter will be Mikasa and Armin centric, so look forward to that. We'll see though. Please Review! I love reviews!
