Hello!

So I decided to celebrate the new year with a new story! Only that I'm about two weeks too late but oh well.

Pairing: Levi/Eren Jäger

Warning: Major character death, abuse and violence. This has a sad end (and my sad english because there is no Beta.)

A/N: This has only two chapters! Chapter two is halfway done so the next update wont take so long! And I do not (unfortunately) own Shingeki no kyojin!

Enjoy!

Run.

He had to run. Away from him, away from her, away from all of them, from all of this. He had to get away.

But his lungs were burning, he was wheezing and his feet couldn't carry him anymore.

He was cold, barely feeling his fingers anymore and his head felt like it would split any moment.

He hasn't eaten in days, afraid to stop, afraid that he might catch up, so he ignored the stabbing pain in his stomach, and ran and ran and ran.

Because he had to get away.

Somewhere where his father couldn't find him, because that monster was most certainly looking for him.
Somewhere where Petra couldn't look at him, a never-ending sadness evident in her eyes as she looked at him.
Somewhere where people didn't know him as the son of a famous merchant, being engaged with the most beautiful woman in the whole town, expecting him to smile. Always to fucking smile.
A place where he was safe, where he could be himself.
A place where he wouldn't burn if they found out that he...
But before he could finish that gruesome thought, something caught his ankle, probably a root sticking out of the ground, dragging him to the ground, smearing mud on his already torn clothes. His ears were ringing and his vision started to blur, his body aching all over.

He had to get up and run. Run far, far away.

But he couldn't. He tried to get up, but each time he would fall back to the ground, the rain soaking his clothes, making him shiver more than he has the last few days, the mud dirtying him. He had no strength left, could barely keep his eyes open, his exhaustion was finally catching up with him.
So the raven haired man lay on the ground, not moving a muscle, letting the rain wash over him, listening to the rustling sounds of the trees and bushes around him. The ringing in his ears lessened, leaving him in a peaceful silence.

Just a moment of peace, just a few minutes to rest, then I will continue.

But minutes turned into an hour, and the light slumber turned into a deep sleep.
And for the first time in years, the young man called Levi slept peacefully.

No nightmares haunting him, no father beating him awake.

It was indeed peaceful.

Big paws were touching his cold skin, a cold nose nestled in the crook oh his neck, then hair, sniffing him. And Golden eyes. Big, golden eyes shining in the dark. Strong hands picking him up, pressing him to a body way too hot, but the warmth felt good to his ice-cold body.

What a nice dream.

It were hours later when the young man finally woke up. His head still hurt and his stomach was empty, but he was warm, for the first time in days he wasn't scared of losing a limb from the biting cold. The man's mind was hazy, a thick fog clouding his thoughts, so he nestled back into his warm bed. Only then he remembered that he wasn't home, wasn't in his bed. He never had felt this comfortable in his home. Nor did his bed breathe.

Slowly, so he wouldn't wake whatever was behind him, he turned around.

He didn't scream, didn't jump away, he was too terrified for that.

'Werewolf,' it escaped his pale lips.

The creature perked its ears but rested them against its giant head not long after. His head was huge and Levi had no problem seeing the big, sharp teeth that were right next to where his head had been resting.

This couldn't be! No! They only live in the Maria region so what was it doing here in Sina!?, the tired man thought desperately.
Fate was truly cruel to him.
But he wouldn't let that happen, he had made it too far.
Slowly, ever so slowly, he started to get out of the werewolf's grasp, which should have been impossible from what he had heard from the stories, and made an attempt to stand up. Of course it was still muddy and his body was still exhausted, barely keeping him up, which it soon proved as his legs gave out under his own weight and he crashed to the ground.
With a bolt the horrid creature sprung up, wide awake, its golden glowing eyes immediately finding Levi's.
It was futile outrunning a werewolf, that much he knew, but his body refused to die that easily. A sudden surge of energy had him up on his feet and running towards the opposite direction faster than he could comprehend. The ground was still wet and muddy but this newly found energy apparently also boosted his attention because not even once did he slip. He has never in his life been so grateful for being as small as he was, maneuvering through the trees easily and fast, while the huge creature had to find its way around the many trees.
He didn't know how long he has been running, minutes, maybe hours, but he hasn't heard anything behind him ever since he started running. Maybe he was not being chased after all?
Daring to stop for a short moment, he tried listening to the silence of the forest, trying to make out the sounds of huge paws hitting the ground, trying to make out the sound of growling. His racing heart hindered him from hearing anything besides his heartbeat and the blood rushing through his veins.
Even if he was safe for now... he had to get out of here before that horrible creature found him again. He was sure that he would never possibly outrun it a second time, the first time being a miracle in itself. But as his cloudy mind registered that he was currently out of danger, he collapsed. His body had used the very last energy he had to save itself but over-exhausted itself. And now he had to pay the price.
The last thing his fading mind could handle was asking himself why the werewolf, who looked like a giant wolf, hadn't killed him. Why he had woken up curled up next to the beast with not even a scratch on him. But that thought was lost as his eyes closed, turning his world black.

Again, for the second time, he had a peaceful dream. All he dreamed of were a pair of brilliant green eyes, looking at him like he was the most precious thing in the world.

It was almost three days later when he woke up.
With a gasp he shot up, silver eyes looking around frantically. His drowsy mind didn't recognize his surroundings, which was not a good sign. What happened!?

He had been running from his abusive father and his fiancee when he slipped...a ...werewolf!
A painful gasp escaped the black haired man as he tried to stand up, gripping his head. His head was killing him and he was so dizzy...
He didn't even notice the door open and close and a young boy entering the little house.

"You are finally awake! Wait, don't get up!" an excited voice called. Before he knew what was happening, he got pressed back into the mattress, by two way too warm hands, with the boys face right above his.
The pressure on his shoulders was strong and he couldn't help but shake. Too many times had he been held down...

"Get. off. me," he growled. The boy looked hurt but did as he was told.

"Okay...but please, don't get up now. You are running a fever. You should rest."

Green eyes looked at him worriedly, full of concern. Those eyes...so green...
With a sigh he fell back onto the mattress, every will to fight disappeared. What else could he do, he knew that he could go nowhere like this, except to die.
Closing his eyes, he rubbed his temples. His headache seemed to get worse but he noticed how the stabbing pain in his stomach was gone. Had the kid fed him while he was out? How? But Levi got pulled out of his thoughts as he felt a warm hand touching his cheek, prodding something cold against his lips. Without thinking he opened his mouth, finally taking in the cold liquid that was going down his throat. It was water.
He had not known how thirsty he had been but he soon grabbed the metallic cup and drowned all of the refreshing drink.

"What's your name, Stranger?" The bright eyes had asked, he couldn't see much else in the dark room.

Levi did not know how to answer, he couldn't be cautious enough, his father would have reported him "missing" by now, his name would be known all over the kingdom and he would be sent back to him. But not if he managed to leave before that...

"Rivaille," he answered in an even voice.

That was close enough.

"Well Rivaille, my name's Eren! Nice to meet you!," the boy declared happily.

Eren, so the bright eyes was called Eren. Not bad.
But Levi didn't tell him that. In fact, all he did was stare at the boy, something was off about him. But he couldn't exactly say what since it was so damn dark in this room.

"You should get back to sleep and rest some more, I'm sure you will feel better afterwards!" The kid was slowly starting to get on his nerves.
But Levi wasn't going to tell him that, he had saved his life after all...just muttered a quiet "brat" before settling down back on the bed.
So he let sleep overtake him, this time, he dreamed of nothing.

The next time Levi woke up, it was bright day, light rays were coming in through the window, illuminating his surroundings.
It was disgusting.

This was a fucking shack. A fucking small one.
Having the bed, a table with one chair and a bookshelf in it, and it was already cramped. And he could practically see the dust particles flying around in the light!
"Disgusting!," he hissed.
Yes, he felt much better. The fact that he hadn't noticed this mess before was proof of how sick he must have been. It seemed that the brat hasn't heard of cleaning, ever. Speaking of brat...he was nowhere to be seen...a startling thought crept into his mind.
Maybe he went out to tell the guards that he had found the missing son of the merchant...no, he didn't even know his real name...but he could never be too cautious.
He let out a shaky breath. He probably deemed him healthy enough to be left alone and went home, surely a kid his age wouldn't live in such a shitty place, especially not on his own.
But he wasn't staying to find out. He felt much better so he could continue his way out of this hellhole. His clothes were nowhere to be seen, but there was a bale of clothes, neatly put onto the table. They were warm, and clean he hoped. But as he was dressed and about to leave he stopped. What if the boy really was living here alone? He hadn't seen anyone besides him. And he had saved his life and didn't even thank him yet. Before he could really think about what to do, a happy voice snatched him out of his thoughts.

"You are awake! Again! And you look much better now!," the boy said, smiling, showing off his white teeth. His sharp white teeth.

Levi did not know what to say. In the darkness he had not been able to take in anything of his savior besides his eyes and the voice. Now, in the bright daylight, he could see that the boy was taller than him, several inches, had tan skin and brown, ruffled hair and the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. Suddenly leaving felt a lot more difficult.
Those eyes, shining so brightly, looking at him as if he was the most precious thing in the world.

Turning his head to the side, so he didn't have to see those eyes burning into him, he said "I was about to leave. Thanks for helping me, brat."

The boy's smile vanished and got replaced by a frown, a sad look taking over his eyes.

"B-but Rivaille...can't you stay a little bit more? You still need to rest and I was about to make dinner! You haven't eaten in two days!"

Levi was about to decline when his stomach decided to make the probably loudest growl he had ever heard. Eren started to grin again, why he was so happy about him staying, if only for dinner, he didn't know. But some part of Levi wanted to stay and find out...

It's been a month or two, he didn't know, and Levi was still at the small hut with Eren.
He didn't know what it was about the boy, but the black haired man had found that he liked the company of the younger, even if he could be an annoying brat.
After the dinner Eren had prepared for them, he had just been too full and relaxed to face the dark woods again, to risk to face that monster again. He also didn't know about the boy's parents' whereabouts, and felt bad leaving Eren alone in the woods while that thing was lurking around somewhere...
Not to mention that he felt an odd feeling of peace and safety when he was with the boy.
The stoic man had also noticed how affectionate Eren had become. This wasn't the first time that Eren was snuggling up to him, hugging him from the sides when he was reading one of Eren's books, or how he held his hand when they were in the woods to gather firewood, cuddling next to him when they shared the only bed in the small living space. Levi had not said a word, nor did he stop it. It felt nice, really nice if he was being honest with himself. But it was wrong, Eren was young, and lonely, he didn't know what else to do and it was just convenient that Levi had crossed his path. So one day Levi decided to fuck it, and ask him some questions.

"Eren," the pale man started, looking down at Eren's tan arm that was hooked around his own one.

"Hmm?" the boy said dreamily, he was falling asleep. He had obtained this habit in the short amount they had been here together. A sign that he felt absolutely comfortable with how things were between the two.
"Eren, how old are you?"

Silence. Looking down Levi saw that Eren had a confused expression on his face. Cute.

"Fifteen...why do you ask?"

Releasing himself from Eren's grip he continued.

"Eren, where are your parents?"

The confused look changed to a sad one, and it took him all his power to keep his hands to himself, to not rub away those tears, to kiss the wet skin, to whisper sweet nothings just to make him forget.

"Hey, don't cry..." he didn't know how to deal with tears, having forbid himself to cry years ago.

"Th-they are dead..." Well, fuck.

"Oh."

He wanted to ask what had happened, how long it has been, how he had managed to survive on his own the whole time.
A warm hand was sneaking it's way to Levi's, trying to sneak its warm fingers around the always cold ones. With a sigh Levi retreated his hand. Eren looked hurt and he couldn't stand it, after only a few months the boy had grown to him like no one ever had, so he avoided looking at his face. He knew exactly what he felt for the younger boy but he couldn't help but feel ashamed.

A young boy, a male nonetheless, who was obviously deprived of any human contact. This wasn't love on Eren's side, this was desperation. To do whatever he could to make him stay, anything to not be lonely again, and Levi knew that if he didn't stop this now, he would fall for it. But he wouldn't leave the kid, no, he was in too deep now.

"Eren," said boy just watched him with sad eyes, nothing like the enthusiastic Eren he knew "You don't have to do this. I know you are lonely and are afraid that I will leave, but I will stay if you want me to. We are friends after all."

It hurt but Levi would do this. He ran away because he had been forced to marry a woman he could not even pretend to want, but if it meant to never touch the only thing he ever desired besides his freedom, to keep Eren happy, that would be okay.
But the boy didn't look happy at all. His face was a strange mixture of sadness and anger. The two emotions kept fighting one another until there was just pure anger.
For a moment Levi swore that he saw a flash of gold in those eyes, reminding him of the night he almost died, but it was gone as fast as it had come, so he thought it as his imagination running wild.

"Why," the boy gritted out, trying his best not to lose control of his emotions " I thought you liked me."

A sigh left the older male. "I do, but-"

"Then why can't we have this?" The boy grabbed his arm, pulling himself closer to Levi. "I like you. I really like you, not because I'm lonely, not because I want to trick you into staying with me. I like you because you are the first one that treated me normally. You don't act around me. And I-...I love Rivaille." With every word he got closer to Levi, inching their faces together slowly, his voice getting quieter the closer they got until their foreheads were touching.

Looking into the big green eyes he had fallen for, he could see every emotion displayed
Anger, sadness, confusion, hurt, love.
Biting his lip Levi decided there was only one thing left.

"Levi."

"Huh?" A confused Eren was the cutest Eren.

"My name's Levi, not Rivaille."

A small smile spread across the brunettes' lips.

"Levi." He whispered as he slowly closed the distance between their lips.

For the first time in years, Levi smiled. Not the fake ones he'd show on public events, when he had to accompany his father and people stopped by to talk with the oh so honorable man.
A real smile, and he was sure that he couldn't be any happier.

He had finally found it.

A safe place, somewhere where he could be himself, live free from fear, far away from them and not burning on a stake for kissing Eren, his beloved Eren.

He was almost thankful for that creature to have driven him to that point of exhaustion, chasing him to the place Eren had found him.

But a small, dark voice reminded him that there was something off about Eren. Something he couldn't put a finger on it yet.

He would find out only a few days later.

Yeah...my writing has become quite rusty...

Anyways, I hope you still enjoyed it!

Reviews would be appreciated~

Until next time!