A/N: Hello everyone! Well, as you can tell as soon as you read this story of mine, this is my very first AOT/SNK fic, so please excuse any OOCness coming from Levi or any other character mentioned in this short one shot! Any tips on improving them are highly appreciated! :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin, all I own is the plot!
Without further ado, I present you a very tragic scene...
My Last Thoughts
Coughing out harshly, he fell on his back, his legs finally giving in to his protesting muscles as he let himself hit the cold, hard earth harshly. It didn't matter, he already had several broken ribs and maybe a punctured lung, any additional pain seemed meaningless now.
And when he lifted his hand to wipe away at the warm liquid on his mouth, he wasn't surprised to see it was his own blood.
He was never a dreamer, he had always been a harsh realist, taking things as they come and trying to make the best out of it, even if life had been shit.
He coughed again, wincing at the waves of pain assaulting his torso, feeling blood slowly trickle down the corner of his mouth and soaking into his uniform.
Beaten and bruised, lying in a pool of his own blood, he knew he didn't have long. So, with the short time he still had, he allowed himself, this once to think back.
Back to the start.
Back to his early life with his mother, before she was taken away from him, back to living with Kenny, meeting Farlan and then Isabell...
He had regretted not asking who Kenny was sooner, had he just known his surname, he would have somehow figured it out. Instead, Kenny Ackerman, his uncle, had taken him in after finding him half starved in their tiny home, his mother's corpse lying in bed, looking oddly peaceful in her state of death.
He hadn't been the best parent, by far not, but he had been there and that was all Levi ever wanted. He may have been harsh, but he fed him and bathed him when he had been just a small boy.
He remembered the time Kenny had commented with disgust on how he should cut his hair, he remembered the wonderful feeling of warm water soaking into it, a soft enough towel drying his medium length tresses before Kenny got the straight razor and started to cut it.
Levi smiled slightly with difficulty, more blood escaping his closed lips. He remembered how Kenny got frustrated that the shorter haircut didn't suit Levi, so he had opted to shave more off. Kenny had shaved the lower part of his head, starting from the neck and moving up, until he reached a length that pleased him and when he showed it to the young Levi, he was proud to see a look of joy on the child's face.
Kenny had been many things, he may not have been the best parent, for leaving Levi as he did. But he taught him how to fight, how to survive on his own, how to find small escape routes within the city and break free of a strangle hold of a much bigger man than himself. He taught him, to a lesser extent, how to cook and provide for himself, how to bargain with merchants for a lower price and how to fight better than the common rats on the streets.
"I...was...unfit to be a parent..."
Another memory. Kenny was at the bar, one of his favorite places and one man had come up to him to clap him on the shoulder, staring at a scrawny Levi. Levi had been drawn back, too traumatized by the death of his mother to communicate much. And the man had laughed and told Kenny it was pathetic seeing a man such as him raising a stupid brat like he was and that he should have just left him to die from whatever hole he had dug him from, that he wouldn't survive in this world.
Levi had ignored this, did his best to, and when he had heard the smashing of glasses and wood breaking, did he dare to lift his head and witness the scene.
Kenny had stood up, his fist clenched and a angry sneer on his face.
Levi remembered well what he told the pig too.
Tch, leave the brat outta this or next time I'll cut your throat. He can't survive this world now, but I'll make him survive it by the time he's grown.
And that's what he had done.
The midget is my pride and joy.
Levi did regret, this time he allowed himself to think about it. It were his final moments, he was allowed at least that privilege. He allowed himself to think that, if things had been a little different, maybe Kenny wouldn't have abandoned him. But then, would Levi have been the same man he was today?
He didn't know any answers to these questions and he was happy he didn't. Too many things happened to regret them all, too many lives lost to mourn all of them and too many memories to reminisce about them...
Meeting Farlan and then Isabell had been the, admittedly, happiest times in Levi's young adult life.
Sure, they had annoyed the living shit out of him at times, but they were good people and through them, he had learned what camaraderie meant, what friendship meant in a cold, merciless world where the law is "survival of the fittest".
He learned to trust in someone other than himself, learned to trust in somebody else's skills aside of his own, but when it came down to it, he would have to rely on himself, on himself to keep himself and them alive, no matter the cost.
Unfortunately, he failed to keep that promise.
Blood gathered in his mouth and with great effort, he lifted his head slightly off the ground and spat it to the side, blood messily landing on the side of his neck and cheek. Fighting down a grunt of disgust, he had to stop himself from reaching into his pocket to wipe himself clean.
He heard the sounds around him, felt the vibrations of Titans fighting beneath his half dead body and he smelled the smoke of burnt flesh and trees.
He didn't know what was happening, all he knew was that he had slaid another titan, a fifteen meter that had wanted to smash in Eren's skull. Erwin was leading the troops on the other side. Erwin...well, he hoped after everything that happened, that at least he would make it out alive and see his dream come true.
Well, at least he did his last good deed for the day before dying pathetically as he did.
With four crushed ribs, a most likely punctured lung, internal bleeding, a broken ankle and what felt was a concussion, he was at his end. He had been fighting all day, taking down titan after titan, helping keep Mikasa and Armin and everyone else alive.
He didn't know if they were fighting a losing battle, but he gave his best for humanity to survive.
He wasn't humanity's strongest soldier. He never was. Physical strength meant nothing if the person's emotions weren't strong too, his were far off from strong. He had lost so many of his men, friends and family alike, he was surprised he managed to feel anything in his heart at all after all this time.
But the Jaeger kid gave him hope, as funny as that sounded.
He was a damn hothead, a bratty piece of shit really, but he was determined, determined to stop the titans and fight for humanity's survival and that was all Levi could ask for.
He was humanity's last hope. A hope Levi had been protecting with everything he had to ensure humanity had even a sliver a chance of survival.
And maybe today, his death day, it just may happen.
He could hear Mikasa crying out and he heard a heavy thud and a violent vibration traveling through his whole body that made him arch his back uncomfortably and nearly retch over himself from pain. She defeated another one of the titans. That was good.
Mikasa Ackerman...for the longest of time, Levi had wondered about her surname and the possibility of shared blood between them. He had no living relative to ask, he had a hunch Kenny might have known something, but it was too late to ask. Mikasa herself questioned her possible connection to him, given her inhuman strength, her awakened power, an Ackerman trait no doubt.
But that didn't matter now anymore. Whether he was her cousin, distant relative or maybe even some long lost sibling, that didn't matter now. He would never admit it, but he was proud of the soldier she had become under his watchful eye in the Corps. Using her abilities to the maximum, she had excelled in anything he threw at her time and time again, had even saved his ass a few times and had developed from the rash, overprotective girl into a mature, independent woman who knew how to deliver as good as she got.
Arlert was another thing. The boy was smart, cunning and had dreams outside of freeing humanity of the titan's reign.
He had visions of a vast ocean, told to be endless in its entirety, the color of a deep blue, even bluer than the sky they looked up to. He had told them of the soothing waves, of the hidden beauty and the wondrous scent of freedom that came with it.
And for once, Levi wanted to dream of such a future too. Of seeing the ocean, maybe even more than that.
Of living a life outside of the Walls, surrounded by forests and greenery without thinking of titans luring around, of opening his tea shop and meeting other tea and maybe even cleaning enthusiasts such as himself and swap stories of all the latest cleaning products and the best tea leaves. He hadn't thought of settling down truly, hadn't had any time to, but right now, maybe the thought wasn't as unappealing as it sounded.
Maybe death would be considered a type of "settling down", having a break from all the fighting, the dying, the losing.
He closed his eyes slowly, feeling the uncomfortable, nearly unbearable pain in his leg and back, his chest was burning, he was losing so much blood already, he might as well end it here now...
Yeah...maybe death wasn't so bad after all.
"Levi!" dark eyes shot open, trying to focus and blink away the haze permeated his vision, darkness slowly surrounding him but he tried to blink it back.
Who had called him?
"Damnit! Levi! Captain Levi! Hang on!" he was sure someone was calling him...more people were calling him, just what-?
"Captain!" it was Mikasa that rushed to his side, her eyes widening at the mess Levi was, dying in a pool of his own blood.
After her followed Armin, who was covered in spots of blood himself, but didn't seem too injured save for a flesh wound on his arm and leg.
"Captain!" ah, the loudest of the bunch. Eren fell heavily at his side, forest green eyes impossibly wide with horror at Levi's state, "Damn it! Quickly, we have to stop the bleeding, Mikasa get-"
"No," Levi's voice was weak, quiet, a sound that surprised himself. He had never sounded so weak and defeated in his life before, and it had never hurt to breathe or speak as much as it did at this moment.
A look of anger crossed Eren's features, an expression Levi had come to know well, it said he was angry at himself for this situation, as if the brat could have prevented his inevitable demise.
"Wha do you mean 'no'?! You'll bleed to death if we don't do something! I'll transform and I'll try to bring you back to Trost District and have Hanji treat you-"
"Shut... the hell up... brat," Eren froze, fear and disbelief shining in his eyes, before they clouded in sadness, tears brimming at the corners already.
Levi would have punched him if he could, but he opted to glare steadily at him, sweat gathering at his forehead and skull.
"B-but...but we...you'll..." Eren stuttered, unable to collect his thoughts while watching his superior and friend die before his eyes.
"Eren..." Mikasa's face spelled sadness and remorse, looking at Eren before watching the pool of blood beneath Levi's body grow bigger, "There's...nothing we can do...he...he's lost too much blood,"
Good, he needed at least someone to understand that it was futile to save him and who better than an Ackerman...
"No!" Eren shook his head furiously, hands quickly pressing over the profusely bleeding wounds and causing pain to shoot up Levi's spine and nausea to settle in the pit of his stomach, "I'll not just let you die! There's too much at stake to just let it end here! You hear me?! Don't die!" Eren's actions only grew more desperate the more blood spilled from between his fingers, "No! Damn it! Hang on, just-!" he shut his eyes closed, seeing the life fading from Levi's eyes, "Just..."
Armin settled a shaky hand on Eren's shoulder, his expression sad as he shook his head. Eren's body shook, staring back down at Levi.
"Tch...still a...stupid brat..." feeling his body rapidly failing him, he made sure his next words damn well counted, "Listen...you little brats...I'm not dying...without making sure...everyone will be saved..." he shakily inhaled for breath and that action nearly made him cough out blood again, "...That's why...I saved you...so don't...you dare...fail me...Jaeger," this time, he coughed out blood.
The wretched liquid soaking into his ascot and Levi would have cursed his own blood for soiling his clothes if he had the strength to.
Eren's eyes rapidly filled with tears, Mikasa bit her lip and looked away, shaking. Levi's eyes turned to her, "...Mikasa," the young woman looked at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, "...I don't know...how...or if...we are related...but don't lose sight...of your objective..." blurry as his vision was, he could still see her nod at him and he felt a sense of peace fill him at that.
"Armin," the blond perked up, looking as sad as the rest of his comrades, "...lead us into...victory...make us...see...that ocean you've been talking about..." incapable of forming words without breaking down in tears, the boy shakily nodded, blond bangs moving to cover his eyes, tears spilling from them slowly.
"And you...brat..." Levi focused on Eren, his vision darkening rapidly, "...don't fail me...Eren," he felt blood building up in his throat, spilling from his mouth and with a hiss, he thought, while death wasn't all that enjoyable, he thought it may be worth it, this time.
He just managed to focus his sight once more before losing himself into painless darkness, to catch a glimpse of the three figures kneeling by his side, all of them crying and saluting him proudly and with his last ounces of strength he could muster, he shakily lifted his bloody fist to his torn and equally bloody chest, in what would be his final salute.
Hours passed and when a barely walking Eren finally limped up to the corpse of what was Levi Ackerman, the tears in his eyes returned and standing tall now, with blood splattered all over him, he saluted him proudly, "We did it, captain Levi...we beat them,"
He closed his eyes and smiled, the tears silently sliding down his cheeks, "I didn't fail you..."
And for a moment, Eren could have sworn he heard Levi say to him, "You better not have, brat,"
He smiled.
My first AOT/SNK fic! Thank you all for reading! I would gladly hear your opinions on this! Hope Levi wasn't too OOC! :)