Riding On The Wings Of Freedom

Chapter 4

"Freedom is not something that anybody can be given. Freedom is something people take, and people are as free as they want to be"

― James Baldwin

Levi stayed with Eren every night, even though most nights he didn't sleep. They would stay up and talk to until Levi wanted to sleep, then Eren would stay silent, staring at the ceiling and imagining little pictures in the stone, like he often used to see in the stars at night. Oh, how he longed to look upon those stars again. He would give anything to go outside, or upstairs, anywhere that wasn't the dungeon. It was cold and damp, but at least it wasn't lonely anymore.

"Hey, Eren," Levi said one night. "Want to go outside with me tonight? It's a clear night, and I don't feel like being cooped up in here."

"Really, sir?! You'll let me out?!" Eren smiled happily for the first time in a long time, the first time Levi had seen him smile without faking it. It was a true smile, and Levi found himself blushing slightly, thinking Eren looked truly beautiful when he smiled like that. He wanted to see more of it. Levi unlocked the shackles on Erens wrists and ankles, not missing the deep marks left on his porcelain skin. He glared at the last shackle he unlocked momentarily before looking up at Eren.

"Yeah, let's go."

"Yes, sir!" Eren said excitedly, jumping up and putting on his boots. "I'm ready!"

"Good. Come." Levi already had his boots on and he turned away from Eren, walking out of the cell with Eren following close behind him. He noted that Eren looked like a little puppy when he smiled happily at Levi like he was and following excitedly behind him. A puppy, hm? Levi smirked to himself, liking the way it sounded, him having a little "Eren-Puppy" to follow him around, obeying his every command. He shook his head slightly to clear the thoughts from his head. No use in getting…Excited right now.

Eren could hardly contain himself as soon as Levi opened the castle doors to the outside. He ran out into the field, spinning around in the long grass and the over-grown flowers that danced with the breeze of the night, and giggling happily to himself. Levi allowed a fraction of a smile to cross his features, remembering how that was what he wanted to do himself the first time he saw the light that wasn't from The Underground, but was way too proud to do so. Eren made himself appear to be happy and care-free, but Levi knew that deep inside him he was anything but happy and care-free. Levi knew it all too well.

"Help me! Big Brother!"

"See you later."

Levi shook his head, trying to rid Isabelle and Farlan's voices from his thoughts. That was the last thing he wanted to remember while he was trying to cheer up this Titan-shifting child.

"Oi, Eren, come here a minute," Levi called out to him.

"Coming, sir!" Eren said before rushing to Levi's side. Levi pointed up to the sky.

"Doesn't the sky look beautiful tonight?"

"Yes?" Eren questioned. He didn't exactly understand where Levi was going with this.

"On nights like this, I used to watch the stars and look for the pictures with my friends when I first joined the Scouting Regiment. Did you ever look at the stars, Eren?"

"Yes, with my Mother," Eren said sadly. Levi instantly regretted asking that question, looking over and seeing Eren looking at the ground with sad eyes. He looked up slightly, looking over Eren's shoulder and narrowing his eyes slightly at something in the distance.

"Eren, I have a little assignment for you," Levi said. "Are you up to it?"

"Sure, Captain, what is it?"

"I want you to look for a specific picture in the sky for me, and point it out to me when I get back. I'm just going that way a bit," Levi pointed in a direction on his right hand side. "Okay? It's a picture of a flower, a rose to be exact. You know what they look like, so don't let me down."

"I will do my best, sir." Levi walked away in the direction he pointed, his cape flowing in the wind, and Eren watched him walk away, awe-struck by the wings protruding from his back. They were so beautiful. Eren wished he could have wings and fly away from this nightmare of a world, but he knew it was impossible.

"Do you see them too, Eren Jaeger?" A voice spoke from behind Eren. Eren jumped in the air and spun around quickly. He looked up to see the familiar face of Commander Erwin Smith.

"Oh, Commander, it's you."

"Answer the question, Eren. Do you see them? Do you see the wings?" Eren was momentarily confused before he realized that Erwin must have been talking about Levi's wings. He nodded his head slightly.

"Yes, sir. I see them." Erwin seemed to relax at that statement, smiling down at Eren.

"That's good then. I don't have to worry about you hurting him. You're the one he's been waiting for, he just doesn't realize it yet, and neither do you. You need each other, you and Levi. Don't let him down, Eren," Erwin said gently. Eren was shocked.

"What are you talking about? The Captain has been waiting for me? I think you have me confused with someone else, Commander. I am a monster, I'm nothing special. Captain Levi said so himself."

"Oh, Eren, he didn't mean it. He's just…Had a rough life and doesn't know how to display affection properly. He truly likes you, and you're all he talks about to me now, even if he doesn't notice it. You see, his two best friends perished a long time ago, and to try and get rid of the grief, he turned to getting lovers and sleeping with a lot of people, both men and women. They all hurt him, and I grew weary of trying to nurse his broken soul every time he cried. So I vowed that the only one who could be with him would be the person who could see his wings. You're the only other person that can see his wings, Eren, so please, keep him happy. That's an order."

Eren was about to say something, but the tears just kept coming from hearing that small bit of Levi's past and how it was up to him to put Levi together again. Erwin just smiled at him, wiped his tears away, and walked back into the castle. Eren dropped to his knees, confused about what the Commander had said. He decided that since he didn't have any other choice, he would try to comply with the Commanders wishes and try to help Levi as best as he could. He stood up just as Levi was returning.

"Are you alright?" Levi asked, raising an eyebrow at Eren.

"Oh, yes, sir. I'm fine." Eren smiled at him.

"Good, come with me."

Eren followed Levi to another field not far off, only this field was different. Erens eyes went wide at the sight of the field glowing blue and purple with little golden lights everywhere.

"Where are we?" He asked in amazement.

"These are a special kind of flower. They only bloom at night, extracting the sun's rays during the day so they have enough energy to last all night. The golden floating lights are called fireflies, Eren."

"They're beautiful! But I don't understand why you're showing them to me, Captain."

"I wanted to show them to you because I know you've been feeling sad, hurt, lonely, because everyone in town looks at you as though you're a monster, and they whisper horrible things about you when you're still in earshot, but I don't want you to feel like you're worthless. These flowers are considered a bad omen, since people believe the night to be evil and don't appreciate its necessity and worth in the world. But these flowers, I think, are the most beautiful flowers to ever bloom, and the most unique. In a sense, it's the same as how I think about you. I just wanted you to know that."

Levi bent down to the field and picked one of the flowers and put it behind Erens ear. Eren blushed and smiled.

"Thank you, sir, for the flower and the kind words. I'm happy you feel that way."

"Remember, Eren, you are not alone. I will always be here for you, to protect you and be your shoulder to cry on. Just don't go spreading that around the castle, got it? If you do, I'll kill you."

"I know you will, sir." Levi stared at him for a moment longer before sighing to himself.

"Eren, I'm taking you out of the dungeon cell. Permanently. From now on, you will be staying in my room. Is that clear?" He looked at Eren with the scary eyes, giving him the stare that could make a grown man weep where he stood.

"Yes, sir!" Eren said, swallowing hard, fearing for his life.

"Good," Levi turned to go back into the castle. "Let's go to our room, then. Come along, Puppy."

"Yes, sir!" Eren didn't even notice that Levi had called him "Puppy," and he certainly didn't know that that night would lead to events that would change both of their lives forever. Eren just followed Levi inside, wanting to curl up and try to get some sleep to prepare for whatever Levi would throw at him in the morning.

A/N: Chapter 4, yay :3 Levi and Eren will be together soon, and Eren finally gets a taste of freedom~ Also, Eren gets a small preview of what Levi's past was like, so stay tuned to find out what he does with that information as it will pop up later in the story~

~Kayla~