THE WEEK BEFORE THE CAPTURE
"If squad Levi doesn't defeat it, who will?"
"Choose. Believe in yourself or believe in the Survey Corps and me."
Levi opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. His heart was racing.
"A nightmare... was it?" he closed his eyes again and sighed heavily. He blamed himself for the failure of their mission. He wondered when it was that he fed his squad with false hope, or when did he stop calculating what would be the outcome when provoking the enemy. He swallowed bitterly, resting an arm over his eyes.
He hated useless deaths as much as he hated being responsible for causing them.
Running a sweaty hand through his hair, he decided he needed no more sleep and sat up, intending to get on his feet and leave the room, but as he attempted, a sharp pain on his ankle pushed him back onto his bed. He cursed under his breath, his eyes tightly shut. He knew that wound was a small price to pay for what he managed to achieve with it. He saved the girl and still managed to bring Eren back in one piece.
"Eren…" he sighed with relief. With a new resolve, he stood up carefully, limping slightly in order to spare his injured foot from strain, and headed silently to the doorway.
That building felt so dark and lonely at night, he thought. Or maybe it was just his mood that made everything so depressing. Every corner he looked at reminded him of how empty the headquarters would become. But he still had hope in their cause. They still had Eren. He still had Eren.
Levi made his way to the basement, and after excusing the guard from duty, he took a deep breath as he faced the door that lead to the dungeon. He hesitated for a minute or two before slowly pushing the door and going inside.
He stared quietly at Eren's sleeping form inside the cell and let himself sink into a worn out chair in front of it. The boy didn't have a peaceful sleeping face. The thought that maybe he was having nightmares too didn't escape his mind. He wondered if Eren's dreams were monstrous like his titan form or if he dreamed of human things. He thought that the boy was a monster, but at the same time he knew that Eren could be much less of a monster than the so called humans. His heart was of a passionate young human, just like Levi's used to be. And because of it, despite the rough treatment, he thought of Eren with affection.
He watched as sweat trailed down Eren's complexion, and so he rose from the chair and stepped inside the cell, approaching the bed hesitantly and finally sitting carefully on the edge. He placed a hand on each side of Eren's torso, and helped himself forwards with a knee, hovering over the sleeping form. He wasn't afraid, despite the youth's ability. If anything, he wanted to protect Eren.
Brushing Eren's fringe away from his forehead with his fingers, Levi slowly leaned down and kissed softly between his thick brows.
"Heichou...?" The voice was gentle and close, but it wasn't enough to make him open his eyes. He suddenly felt warmth over his shoulder and got softly shaken away from his dreamless sleep. "Heichou... are you okay?" Levi opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was a blurry vision of Eren's curious eyes staring at him. The next thing he took notice was how he let himself fall asleep on his bed and then how now Eren was squeezing his shoulder, yet the corporal made no move to pull away from it.
"Eren." was all that he managed to utter.
"Why did you sleep here, Levi heichou?" he asked, as sleepy as confused.
The older man just stared sleepily at Eren and occasionally glanced at the ceiling, making a mental note on how it needed to be cleaned often if they wanted to prevent spiders from making webs. He slowly propped himself on his elbow and sat up, scratching his undercut, not bothering to answer Eren's question. He didn't know himself why he had come there in the first place, but he did know that he had pushed into the depths of his mind the wish of being comforted.
He peered at Eren over his shoulder, who just sat there without moving, waiting for an answer he wouldn't get. As if realising that, Eren quickly averted his eyes, but soon pierced into Levi's again. "How is your leg, heichou?" He quietly asked.
Levi stared at his own leg and tried to move it casually, grimacing when it hurt. "It's going to take a while to heal" he replied. Swinging his legs off the bed, Levi stretched carefully and then walked towards the desk outside the cell, getting a hold of the keys to release Eren from the shackles. He knew at this rate that they weren't necessary, because if Eren could possibly turn into a titan during sleep, he would have done so years ago, yet these were orders he had to follow in order to keep Eren alive and under his care.
Heading back to the bed, he plopped beside Eren, who brought his arms forwards to get released. Whenever he performed this task, he couldn't help his heart getting filled with admiration for the boy's acquiescence. He never once complained, despite having the will of a hungry beast. The thought of Eren forcing himself to be completely vulnerable like that made something stir in his heart.
The corporal took the shackles, the thick iron now warm from the contact with Eren's skin for so long, and silently put them away neatly, on each side of the bed. He watched with the corner of his eye as the brown-haired young man examined his wrists and seemed relieved to finally have them free.
"Levi heichou," he called, with a very quiet voice. Once Levi stared down at him, he continued "what will happen to us?"
It was no secret that the authorities wanted Eren handed over, and that Erwin's competence had been put in check. He could not tell Eren not to worry, because even world's strongest soldier had no politic power.
"I don't know, Eren. But I won't let them kill you – even if I have to beat you again", even if I have to beat them up, he wanted to add, but he didn't want to set a bad example. If Eren followed passively all the rules, he would have more chances of staying alive. They both knew it well.
He watched as Eren swallowed hard and fiddled with the sheets, then quickly got on his knees and bent forwards, his forehead angrily pressed against the mattress. He was thanking him.
Reaching out to touch Eren's hair, Levi ruffled it absent-mindedly for several minutes.
In a week from now, we have been ordered to go to the capital to explain our actions during the last expedition and also to hand Eren over. What they plan to do with him, I do not know, but I am sure you are thinking the same as I am.
I plan on doing everything within my power to support the survey corps, and as I was organising my thoughts, a soldier from the 104º trainee squad, named Armin Arlert, came to me with a pretty good observations regarding who we are up against in that female titan's body. His theory is backed up with interesting facts that he experienced during the expedition, and coupled with my own assumptions, it looks like a one-time chance to prove our worth to the capital. I see a hope for the maintenance of this squad if we manage to capture her, and if we also get her to talk everything she knows, we will probably be able to save more lives and push away the risk of extinction. We would also be able to keep Eren.
I will think of a plan and come to you before the time comes. I'm sure we will make it this time.
I hope you recover soon from your injury.
Best regards,
Erwin
Levi sighed as he finished reading the letter. His heart, before full of dread, became lighter and he allowed his head to fall backwards against the chair, closing his eyes. "These are excellent news".
He glanced at the garden and watched Eren attempt to sweep the dry leaves. He was so clumsy. Maybe Levi should go there and teach him how it's done.
Holding onto this thought, he strode outside the building and circled Eren, crossing his arms and watching him silently.
"Sir?" he asked, stopping whatever he was doing, as Levi kept on walking around him. In a quick motion, the man took the garden broom from Eren's grip with a bored look on his face.
"You're using too much force. It's killing the grass", he explained. The boy yelped when he realised he had torn away quite a lot grass. "You were just supposed to sweep the dry leaves, not to sweep the grass along the way…"
"I'm sorry sir! I'll fix it, I promise!" cried the brown-haired boy, stretching his hand to receive the broom again, But Levi didn't hand it back.
"Just forget it," he sighed, walking over a nearby tree and slumping against the trunk, laying the broom aside. "Come here" he ordered. As the boy walked towards him, he patted a spot beside him and watched as Eren sat by his side. He opened his mouth to talk, but when he looked into the green eyes, nothing came out. He took a deep breath.
"There is a possibility we can keep you," he finally said. Eren looked at him with wide eyes and a smile of relief ghosted over his lips. "I don't know the details yet," he continued, "but I'm sure your power will probably be needed again."
"I'll do my best sir!" he promised; hope finally sparking in his eyes for the first time since they came back from Wall Maria. The gleam in those eyes was keen on softening Levi's heart. He could feel it. Shaking his head off these thoughts, he closed his eyes.
"Let's hope you can do better than what you did with the grass." He teased in his usual dead pan voice.
"I-I'm sorry Levi Heichou!" the boy spluttered.
"Stop apologising already. If you want to please me, then give me results, not promises." His lips twitched into a smile as he eyed Eren with the corner of his eyes. He didn't look sad, he looked renewed.
The ceiling of his darkened room wasn't as interesting as the sky, but at least it was clean. He stretched his arms and tried to do the same with his legs, but gave up when his foot complained painfully. "Shit" he hissed.
Hearing a faint knock, he glared at the door, but didn't answer. He felt drained.
As there was no reply, the door got opened slowly and silently. He then locked his gaze with a pair of searching green eyes.
"I didn't say you could come in."
"I'm sorry sir, but I'm here on a mission." The man raised a brow at it as Eren walked in, carrying a tray with a large bowl full of steaming water, bandaging and some medicine. He placed it carefully on the night stand and hesitantly sat on the bed, looking down at Levi. "I saw how you wince whenever it hurts and I want heichou to heal quickly, so I looked for medicine and-"
"Brat," he said softly, "Who said I needed nursing?"
"B-but! It's my fault so please let me take care of it!"
He watched as Eren's fists clenched his sheets and the green eyes flashed with despair. Maybe he thought Levi judged him a hassle that couldn't do anything right. But that wasn't it. It would probably not be a bad idea to at least allow Eren to take a mature decision and let him look after his injury.
"Alright" he finally agreed and was rewarded with a warm smile. On this moment, he decided he could get used to these.
"So," Eren started, "I have brought one to be applied on the muscles and one to stop pain," he glanced from the tray to Levi's eyes nervously, colour rising to his cheeks faintly under Levi's attentive gaze. "I've also brought this stick and some bandage to keep your foot still, just so you don't hurt it by accident" he trailed off.
"I don't want the one to stop the pain," Levi said quietly. When Eren was about to protest he explained quickly "If I don't feel the pain, I'll never know when it's healed." The boy nodded, satisfied with his explanation, and proceeded to undo the harness on Levi's right leg.
Gently, he released the buckle that kept the harness tight around the foot and started pulling it to the side, stopping when he reached the next buckle on the thigh, which he skilfully undid and wrapped the harness around his wrist, intending to roll it neatly. After placing it beside Levi's hand on the bed, he moved his eyes back to the injured foot and started to roll that side of the trousers upwards, being extra careful not to move his leg roughly. Levi watched Eren's face quietly, as he didn't bother to move into a sitting position. All that was in his sight was the ceiling and his nurse.
He closed his eyes and sighed softly when he felt the cloth with warm water brush over his exposed leg. It was relaxing. Eren's touch was very soft. For a clumsy guy, he sure knew how to handle this. Maybe he had learned it with his father, which was actually a relieving thought for Levi. At least the boy wasn't a complete amateur – surely he learned one thing or another about his father's job; he wanted to think that way. When he opened his eyes, the boy was drying his skin with a soft towel, which he quickly pulled away once he was done and turned to get the medicine on the tray.
At this time, the sun was already set outside and the bedroom was quite dark. Seeming to notice this as well, Eren lit the oil lamp on the night stand and Levi watched as Eren's shade became big against his ceiling and how the boy's eyes would shine more intensely than before. When their gazes met, Eren curved his lips into a tiny smile before spreading the ointment on his fingertips and slowly massaging the injured muscles with it.
A wave of relief washed over his leg. He didn't know until now how much he had been straining it just by walking around. He let a soft sigh escape his lips and noticed how it helped flushing Eren's cheeks.
Just this time, he allowed himself to think that Eren was beautiful.
A/N: Hello, this is my first attempt at Ereri, my current OTP :D After I watched the first season of aot I couldn't help thinking on what happened right after they came back from the expedition, the only clue of what happened is the meeting with Erwin and the other trainees at night, so I figured that Eren and Levi were pretty much on their own for a few days before it happened.
I also thought they would be grieving and maybe for comfort they would turn at each other. What is started writing at first was something totally different, but I am happy with the result. Levi may be sounding too gentle, but to be honest, I don't think that he is as mean as everyone portrays him. He is just slaps people away with words of wisdom. xD Anyway, he has shown a soft side a couple times, so I thought in this moment he would be gentle with the person he risked his life to save.
I worte it in 4 chapters, I hope you enjoy them :D