Child of the Wastelands
Major AU.
Summary: Eren Jaeger is a famous Titan Hunter who happens upon an orphaned child just in time to prevent him from being devoured. He offers to take the child under his wing. With nowhere to go and nothing to lose, the child accepts. Role reversal: adult!Eren and child!Levi.
Warning: Tons of foul language ahead!
Chapter Two – Reunion
Levi clung tightly to Eren as the Hunter swung through the trees as quietly as he could. It was a bit difficult to see with the air rushing past his face, blowing his bangs backwards, but he tried his hardest to keep an eye out for Eren's comrades. The Hunter had told him to look for people wearing the same uniform as him – standard brown military-style jackets, plain white button-up shirts underneath, standard-issue white pants, and knee-high brown boots with a flared knee guard at the top. Against the dark green-and-brown backdrop of the forest, they were easy to pick out, Eren had said.
Levi's eyes widened as a rumbling noise echoed through the trees, signaling the presence of a Titan. His fingers dug tightly into the fabric of Eren's jacket.
"It's okay, Levi. We're going to avoid it," Eren whispered, changing his course. He didn't tell the child to loosen his grip; he knew all too well of the fear that Levi was feeling. It wasn't too different from the anxiety curling in the pit of his belly – were his comrades okay? Mikasa would be, and if Armin and Jean were with her, then they would be, too… but what about Connie? Sasha? Marco?
He sprung off the next branch with more force than necessary, unconsciously gritting his teeth. If the Titans had eaten his friends, he would rain hell upon them. There would be no mercy.
A scream rang out nearby, turning his blood into ice. He knew that voice. Oh god… Armin!
Levi clung even more fiercely to the Hunter as the man suddenly switched directions, heading towards the direction of the scream. Why was he going there? Eren said they were trying to avoid the Titans! He had heard the scream too, of course… was it one of his friends? Levi just hoped that the Hunter knew what he was doing.
They burst out of the trees, Eren letting out a furious yell as he slashed the Titan's nape open. The monster stilled, the thrashing figure in its grip slipping from the slack appendage and falling towards the ground. Eren's anchors shot out and he flew through the air as fast as he could to catch the other person. Still aware of the child on his back, Eren was forced to hold both swords in one hand so he could use his other arm to wrap around the blonde's waist.
Armin grunted as his fall was abruptly halted. His breath was knocked out of him when gravity slammed his stomach into Eren's arm, so as the Hunter swung them back to the safety of the trees, he hung limply from his position, gasping. His brush with death had been too close just now. Another second and he would've been… He slapped a hand over his mouth to stifle the sob that threatened to escape.
Eren landed on a high branch, struggling not to dislodge Levi from his back as he shifted Armin to the branch. The blonde leaned his head against the rough bark, closing his eyes for a moment. He was alive. He was still alive.
"Armin! Snap out of it," Eren said, shaking his friend gently.
The blonde Hunter cracked one hazy blue eye open, his lips parting slightly. "Eren?" he whispered. "My god, you're okay. Mikasa went on a rampage after you disappeared. Everything's a mess; a couple Deviants showed up when we were trying to find you and–"
"Tell me later, we've got to get the fuck out of here before more Titans show up," the brunet hissed, casting a quick glance around.
Armin's gaze landed on the small, black-haired boy clinging to his friend's back. "You have a kid with you? Did you save him from the Titans?" he asked, blinking. Then he gasped and turned a baleful glare on to the other Hunter. "Eren! You swore in front of a child!"
Eren groaned. "Not now, Armin! We need to find everyone else. Can you move?" he asked.
Armin let out a breathy laugh that could've been mistaken for as a gasp. "No. That Titan broke my leg. I'm grounded, Eren. You should just leave me," he murmured.
"Fuck, Armin, don't you dare pull that suicidal bullshit with me," the Hunter growled, uncaring if Levi heard his uncensored words. The kid would pick them up sooner or later, anyway. "I'm not leaving you behind. Ever."
"But–" Armin protested. "You can't possibly carry me, that kid, and your gear and fight Titans all at the same time! That's even more suicidal!"
"I know that!" Eren half-yelled, frustrated. He ground his teeth together, trying to think of a plausible solution that didn't involve all of them becoming Titan food. Think, Eren, think!
A sharp, insistent tug on his jacket and Levi's quiet whimper drew his attention. He swore mentally when he realized that there were Titans nearby. They had wasted too much time. There was only one thing left to do: fight them. He dumped Levi into Armin's lap, told them to stay where they were because they were high enough that the Titans wouldn't be able to reach them without climbing or jumping, and swung away.
"Eren, come back! You're being too reckless!" Armin shouted, holding the child's small body to him. "Eren!"
The dark-haired Hunter vanished into the maze of trees. It wasn't long before the sounds of fortified steel meeting flesh began to sound. Armin exhaled noisily and slumped against the trunk of the tree. He should have expected this; Eren's old nickname of "suicidal bastard" still held true even to this day. He looked down as the child forced into his lap shifted.
"Is he always like this?" the boy asked, twisting his neck so he could look at the Hunter behind him.
"Unfortunately," Armin sighed. He regarded the child with a serious expression. The child was fairly small. He sported a crop of straight black hair that was long enough to brush against the top of his eyelashes. His irises were a stormy gray color (Armin speculated that the adult version of this child would be able to glare quite impressively), but their wide size took away any intimidation that the child could possibly muster. He wore a dirty green cloak that was covered in dirt and dark red splatters that Armin assumed was dried blood. Where had Eren picked him up from?
"What's your name?" Armin asked. "I'm Armin, one of Eren's childhood friends."
"…Levi," the child mumbled, fiddling with his cloak absently. "I'm an orphan."
Armin's heart went towards the child; because of the Titans, many children were left as orphans (or eaten themselves). Armin himself was the last living member of his family after the death of both his parents and his grandparents. In this bleak, harsh world, survival meant everything. You were either the hunter or the hunted.
"How did you meet Eren?" the blonde questioned, curious.
"He saved me from a Titan."
That, of course, was an obvious answer. Armin was quite patient though – dealing with Eren for years and years had given him a lifetime's supply of it.
"Would you like to tell me how? We have some time before Eren comes back. And–" Armin surveyed the immediate area with a sharp glance "–there are no Titans nearby. Eren must be taking care not to send them over here."
Levi absently chewed on his lower lip as he squirmed around in Armin's lap, attempting to make himself more comfortable. "My parents were eaten, but they gave me enough time to hide. I'm… small, so the Titans couldn't find me when I crawled into a space under a big tree. I took what was left of my parents after they left, but then one cornered me near a rock wall. I went into the closest cave, all the way to the end, hid myself, and hoped someone would find me. Then he killed the Titan, killed four other Titans, and took me with him. That's all," he said quietly.
"Sounds like Eren alright," Armin agreed. He strained his ears, trying to listen for any signs of the battle occurring between Eren and the Titans. It was eerily quiet, which made the blonde's gut clench in worry.
Levi seemed to notice that Armin had stiffened, for he twisted to look at the blonde man curiously. "What's wrong?" he asked.
Eren…you're still alive, right? You suicidal idiot, you better not have gone and killed yourself out there. You can't do this to me. You can't leave me and Mikasa. What about Levi? Show yourself! Eren! Where are you?! Armin's thoughts began to get more frantic as his friend failed to show up. Oi, Eren…
"Boo."
Armin would forever deny that the shriek he involuntarily let out sounded high-pitched and girly. Eren swung up from the nearby branch, grinning from ear to ear.
"Eren! Don't scare me like that," Armin sighed. "You almost gave me a heart attack."
"I saw him before you did," Levi said. "Aren't you a Hunter, too? You zone out a lot."
"Don't mind him, Levi," Eren chuckled, plucking the small boy from his friend's lap. His face turned serious. "Armin, I'm going to have to carry you on my back. Levi can ride on your back, since I'll need both my hands to fight off any Titans we come across."
"Sorry, Eren," Armin apologized, grimacing as his leg throbbed in response.
"Don't worry about it. We'll be safer once we find Mikasa and the rest of our group," Eren said, turning around carefully and crouching low enough for Armin to climb on. The blond man wrapped his long arms around Eren's neck, taking care not to cling too tightly or else Eren might choke. The dark-haired Hunter stood up slowly, utilizing his natural balance to keep himself steady on the branch. Then he turned around and crouched again, waiting for Levi to climb on Armin's back.
It was one thing to carry a child, but carrying both a child and a grown man at the same was going to tax his muscles. His balance was going to be skewed as hell. Eren could only hope that his wires would hold up under the extra weight.
"Ready?" he grunted, struggling to stand back up. "God, Armin, you're heavier than you look, you know."
Armin slightly smacked the top of his friend's head. "Well, excuse me," he huffed. "Are you sure you'll be okay, Eren?"
"I'll be fine, Armin," Eren said, eyeballing a thick branch not too far away. "You alright, Levi?"
"Yeah," the child whispered, resting his cheek on Armin's shoulder.
"Hold on tight, then. If things go FUBAR, then we'll die together," Eren said. "But like hell I'm going to let that happen as long as I'm still alive." He braced his legs, shot out his anchors, and jumped.
Because of the extra weight, he wasn't able to swing up as high as he would have liked. Fuck this, he growled in his head. I'm Eren fucking Jaeger. This is nothing!
He landed on a lower branch, shot his anchors off again, and swung. The wires strained to hold up his, Armin's, and Levi's combined weight. For a moment, Eren was afraid that they would break and the three of them would plummet to the ground mid-swing. But thankfully the wires held. For how long, he didn't know.
Eren took off from another branch, his leg muscles straining with the additional weight. So far, neither Armin nor Levi had made a peep. It wasn't comfortable having Armin's arms dig into his chest and neck, but there was no way he was going to leave his childhood friend behind. He would rather die.
As he readied himself to jump again, a chill ran down his spine, and he turned – a colossal hand was all he saw before the three of them were slammed into the tree. Alarm bells began to ring in Eren's head, because oh god, Levi was back there, what if he and Armin had crushed the small boy? But now wasn't the time to check, he had more pressing issues to worry about at the moment. Armin's arms had released him upon impact, so Eren stood up unsteadily to face the new menace. The sword's grip felt unusually warm and slick – blood, his mind supplied.
The ten-meter class Titan leered down at him, its wide, grinning mouth displaying its teeth in all their bloodstained glory. Eren grimaced at the sight. Armin was in no shape to fight, but if he left him, would the Titan go after him instead? He would have to draw the Titan's attention away, then, and if he needed to use himself as bait, then he would. Eren bared his teeth in a vicious snarl. Bring it on, you ugly piece of shit!
But the battle never happened; instead, right before his very eyes, the Titan stilled, and slowly fell to the ground with a thud. Two figures clad in familiar brown jackets landed in a nearby tree. One of them cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Hey, jackass! Where the fuck have you been, huh?! Mikasa's been going crazy running around looking for your sorry ass!"
Despite the insults, Eren couldn't have been gladder for the help. "Shut up, Jean! Why don't you try fighting Titans carrying a grown man and a child on your back!" he shouted back.
"I could totally do it, asswipe! Just watch me!" came Jean's snarky reply.
"Whatever, dickface," Eren snorted.
"What did you say, Jaeger?!"
"I called you an incompetent bitch, got a problem with that?!"
"I'll smash your face in when I get over there!" Jean hollered, waving his sword.
The second figure lightly hit the other man over the head. "Calm down, Jean. We know they're okay, now. Eren! Is Armin with you?"
"Yeah, but his leg's broken. Where's everyone else?" Eren called back.
"Fighting off the Titans behind us, duh," Jean snarked.
"Oh, now you're just asking for it–"
"Guys! Stop swearing in front of a child!" Armin's loud voice immediately silenced them. Eren whipped around to see Armin gingerly hauling himself upright, careful to put more weight on his good leg. Levi shakily emerged from behind him, practically unscathed except for a nasty black eye on the right side of his face.
"Levi! You're okay," Eren sighed in relief. "Armin didn't crush you, did he?"
"No," the child mumbled. "I was small enough to slide out behind him before we hit the tree. But he hit me in the eye."
Armin sheepishly scratched his cheek. "Sorry about that, Levi. Once we're safe, we'll ice up that bruise, okay?" he said. Levi nodded.
"Alright, enough dillydallying," Jean said. "We've got to get back to Rose pronto, so you better haul some ass, Jaeger!" Eren looked at him, annoyed.
"I don't want to hear that from you, number six," Eren retorted. As Jean's eyes narrowed in rage and his cheeks burned red in humiliation, the dark-haired Hunter turned back to Armin and Levi. "We need to go now. Sorry, Armin, looks like Jean will have to carry you from now on. I don't think I can continue fighting with both of you on my back."
"It's fine," Armin replied, wincing as his leg throbbed angrily. Jean swung over to their tree, his eyes still burning holes into Eren's form. Eren ignored him.
"Levi, hang on a little longer, okay?" Eren said. He turned around and crouched down so the boy could climb on. Compared to carrying Armin, Levi weighed almost nothing. He made sure the child was tightly secured and wouldn't fall off before his anchors shot out and he leaped into the trees, Jean, Armin, and Marco close behind him.
Whether from luck or because of something else, the small group encountered no Titans on their way out of the forest. They stopped at the border, their sharp eyes roving over the landscape in an attempt to spot any Titans, but also to locate the group they had been separated from.
"Over there," Eren said suddenly, fixing his gaze on three Titans in the distance. From where they were, the Titans looked to be in the 10-meter class. And with the way they were behaving, he'd bet his swords that Mikasa and the other Hunters were over there fighting them. "Let's go!"
"Oi, Jaeger, you aren't seriously thinking of taking that kid into battle, are you?" Jean asked. "Marco's the only one here who isn't bogged down by cargo." A sharp tug on his short brown hair caught his attention.
"I'd rather not be referred to as cargo, Jean," Armin said dryly. "Makes me seem like a sack of potatoes you can discard at any time."
"Sorry, man, you know I don't mean that," Jean said. "But in your condition, you'd only slow me down. I can't confront those monsters with you on my back."
Armin sighed. "I know, but you're just going to have to deal with it. Besides, I'm sure Mikasa will be fine. She'll probably take all of them out by herself," he replied.
"True, that," Jean agreed. Out of all of them, Mikasa was the Titan Hunter with the highest number of solo kills. If it wasn't for her refusal to leave Eren behind, she would have been promoted a long time ago.
"Levi isn't that heavy," Eren said. "I can still fight with him on my back."
"Heavy or not, his weight will shift your balance, Eren," Armin pointed out. "You know even a second could cost you your life. We haven't lived this long by being reckless."
"God, Armin, you're such a mother hen," Eren jibed, although his tone was tinged with exasperation. "I get it, avoid the fuckers if I can."
"Eren! Stop swearing in front of Levi!"
"Armin, just shut up about the whole swearing business already," the brunet Hunter grumbled. "It's just a word, who the hell cares about language when we've got Titans to deal with?"
"Fuckers," Levi parroted dutifully, much to Armin's horror and Jean's amusement. Eren almost lost his balance because he was laughing so hard. Marco sighed and shook his head, a small smile on his face.
"Now look at what you've done, you big-headed idiot! You've corrupted him!" the blonde exclaimed.
Eren was too busy laughing to care.
That's all, sorry for the wait. Hope all the foul language didn't throw you off – but then again, anyone who reads/watches SnK should know how much Eren swears anyway.
Leave a review, and see you next time.
MangaFreak15