I think we can all agree that this took me too long to write and it's also depressingly short. Well, you can thank Angelmv1999 for insulting me into submission.

Levi bolted up in bed. The breath he had taken was stuck in his throat and the air burned his lungs as they expanded past their normal limits. Levi forced himself to hold it, concentrating on the mild pain rather than the panic his nightmares instilled. Slowly, almost carefully, he exhaled through his nose, his shoulders slumping as he deflated. The barracks may have been dark but Levi would recognize Erwin's soft snores anywhere, even if they were on the other side of the room by the door. What little moonlight that managed to seep through the window illuminated the dark shapes of the bunk beds and the cadets within them.

It was such a small thing but even that small amount of light helped ground Levi to the waking world. However, that didn't stop his heart from beating so hard that Levi was surprised it was still in his chest. With a resigned sigh, he pushed the blanket off and stood from his bunk. The cold wooden floor didn't bother him but it did make him frown in mild annoyance. On silent feet, Levi crossed the room, taking care to step over Mike's boots and out the door. He took a brief moment to be thankful that the door's hinges had been oiled the day before and didn't squeak as he shut it behind him.

The hallway was colder than the barracks, lacking the combined body heat of so many people, and pitch black, not one torch burned, though Levi knew there was one bolted to the wall every three meters. Nothing disturbed the suddenly oppressive silence, the only sound to be heard was Levi's own slow breathing. It wasn't often that the young cadet felt small but standing there in darkness so deep it felt like he stood at the edge of the world, Levi felt every centimeter of his height. He felt small and alone even though his squad, and all the others, were sleeping behind the door pressed against his back.

Levi took a deep breath and let it out before he shook his head at his own silliness, his nightmares always managed to put him in a self-pitying mood. Pushing himself off the door, Levi walked in whatever random direction his feet decided to take him in. It wasn't long before found himself at the bottom of the staircase that led to his favorite spot in all of the small, walled-off world Humanity lived in. The pitch blackness that the stairs led up to was even darker than the one Levi currently stood in.

There was no light, not even the mind's imagination of it, it was an all consuming darkness; an abyss. If Levi was going to be poetic about it, he'd say it was a staircase to nowhere, but that wasn't quite right. It didn't lead to 'nowhere' it often led to his own version of 'peace and quiet'. It was where he went to sit by himself and think when he needed to get away from everyone. Levi took the stairs slowly, being careful not to trip or stub a toe. He didn't imagine either would feel good. It got colder the farther up he went, Levi's feet were growing numb with it.

The wooden door at the top was, as usual, unlocked and opened silently on well oiled hinges when Levi pushed on it. Light from the moon and stars illuminated the rooftop and made the trees look like they were glowing silver. It was late enough that only the crickets were awake. It was the kind of peacefulness that made him wonder at the vastness of the world, for if it could exist at this depth inside a world that was ugly and cruel, then where else could it exist?

The wind ruffled his hair and tugged at his clothes. Already, the last tendrils of Levi's nightmare were dissolving and being carried away, leaving nothing but a deep seated sense of calm behind. Levi stepped away from the door and up to the edge of the roof, leaning his forearms atop the wall that ran along the perimeter as he gazed up at the stars.

Levi wasn't sure how long he stood there for before he felt another presence, warm and taller, come up beside him. When Levi looked, he was surprised to see Captain Eren leaning on the wall beside him. Eren's long shaggy hair was even more of a bird's nest, it looked like he had ran his fingers through it one too many times. The moonlight caught his vibrant green eyes and made them look like dancing constellations, the shadows on his face and neck made him look darkly handsome with a hint of mystery.

Levi looked away and crossed his arms tightly around himself, his heart picking up speed again but for an entirely different reason. Eren was so warm, Levi could feel his body heat seeping through his shirt, into his skin, and chasing the cold night air away even though Eren was at a polite distance.

"Couldn't sleep?" Eren asked. Levi made a noise that was neither a comment nor a denial. "I noticed your team work with Petra has gotten better. Did she forgive you, then?"

Yes.

"I don't really care if she did or didn't, so long as she can put it aside and work when it's needed." Levi said. The cadet didn't know what he was expecting from his captain, maybe a disappointed look or a small scolding, but it wasn't for Eren to give him a small, understanding, smile and shrugged.

"Fair enough." He said. Levi stood in stunned silence and let it stretch until he was sure he could trust his voice again.

"If you don't mind me asking, sir, why are you awake at this hour?" Levi asked, turning his head to actually fully face his captain. Eren was already watching him. Having those vibrant eyes looking at him that intently made Levi wish they would look at him like that in a completely different situation. Levi swallowed thickly.

"That's easy, I'm still awake because when I go to sleep I have to be chained to the bed. It's one of the conditions that Armin, as Commander, had to agree too if I was to stay with the Corps." Eren said.

Levi's hands clenched into fists until his knuckles turned white, "Why do you let them treat you like a monster?" the young raven could still remember the look in Eren's eyes when he was a titan. There had been bloodlust, but for the titans instead of humans, and every time Eren had looked behind himself to check if his squad was keeping pace, they would become gentle and then turn into hot coals of determination. "You never looked like one to me."

"And what does a monster look like?" Eren asked in a near whisper. Levi shrugged helplessly and then gestured to himself.

"Did you know that I've killed people before?" It was a bitter, rhetorical, question. Levi looked away before he had a chance to see Eren's inevitable look of disgust. In the world they lived in, human life was precious, and to take one was the very definition of a monstrous deed. Levi didn't think he could bare seeing it on Eren but he needed his captain to understand that Levi had never considered him a monster. Even if it meant risking Eren's hatred.

It never came.

"I killed two men when I was nine," Eren said, voice still a whisper. Levi's head snapped up to stare at Eren with wide eyes. "I don't regret it, either."

Levi could see that. Those forest green eyes remained resolute.

"Everyone has a monster inside of them," Eren's voice turned hard, like he was stating simple fact that Levi couldn't argue against. "Armin's is sly, clever, and doesn't like to come out very often, your's is on a leash, Erwin's is still asleep, Mikasa's is extremely protective and violent, and mine is in a cage. Although, it's still nice to unleash the beast every once in awhile."

"Your monster doesn't frighten me." Levi insisted, his eyes narrowing into a silent challenge for Eren to try and either tell him why it should or that he was being stupid and naive.

Eren smiled gently and brushed his fingertips along the ends of Levi's bangs, the rough slide of callused skin along his brow caused Levi's eyes to flutter, "I know."

Constructive feed back is always welcome. I want to get better as a writer so don't hold back.