A/N: And now, finally, this fic draws to a close. Although I have the second epilogue/sequel prologue thought out in my mind, I was wondering if people would rather see the 'spoof' scenes that I wrote during the moments when things got too depressing and my twisted sense of humour reared its ugly head. If you've got any thoughts on what I should post first, please feel free to drop a PM or a review- but otherwise, thank you for reading, and I hope this is a fitting end to this story.

Beta'd by Stately Demented
secondary edits are unbeta'd

~ Chapter Ten [End] ~

The apartment was dark when Levi returned to it, but he didn't notice it at all.

All he could think about was that moment, hours earlier, when he'd taken Eren's life.

He had thought that he could shoot over the brat's shoulder and give him a fair warning, but his hand had jerked at the last possible moment when Eren's shitty friends had come along and caused him to lose what little focus he had. Levi had always prided himself on his steady aim but, as his bullet had sliced through Eren's shoulder and shot it to kingdom come, he had cursed at how steadily it had pointed at his body. If he'd tilted the gun upwards just a little bit more, he would've been able to avoid hitting Eren at all. If his hand had been shaking, he might've been able to shoot wildly, like he'd intended to.

But at that moment, as his arm had jerked downwards, that blasted shoulder had been in the crossfires. Even he, an experienced marksman, could do nothing to stop the bullet from lurching out of his gun and into that shoulder. Heck, even the government, with all its power and authority, wouldn't have been able to command that fucking bullet to stop or reverse the damage it'd caused in its wake.

If he'd been alone and there had been no interference from the damn government, he would've probably done something to ease his pain and that of Eren's in those final moments. He would've rushed to his side and cradled his head for the first and last time as those brilliant green eyes faded and his dirt-smeared face paled in its deathly repose.

Yet all he'd done was crouch above his dying body, like a fucking heartless dick, and pretend that the water running off his face was sweat, not tears. Then, when they'd rushed up to Eren's prostate form, he'd stood up and turned away, walking stiffly towards the cruiser which'd brought him here.

They'd congratulated him hours later, when he'd somehow managed to drag his body out of that car and into his agency's main building, but the words had sounded dull and hollow to his ears. What was the victory that everyone spoke about against the Ackerman family? Was he supposed to celebrate like they did, as if the life he'd taken was like that of an inconsequential being?

…Did they really expect him to pretend that the world had been set right as a result of his duty?

Because they had truly believed that Eren Jaeger was a threat to society. He had too, when he'd first met the odd boy and found himself sipping second-rate tea in a decrepit apartment block just minutes later. In fact, he had continued to hold onto his steadfast belief in the righteous order that he'd served for the better part of his life for the majority of his dealings with Jaeger, from watching those explosive temper tantrums to the incidents he'd heard from Hange. He'd honestly believed that the boy was hiding something in a piss-poor manner, just itching to explode in a way that would confirm all the rumours documented in his report.

But something had changed in the month he'd spent with the kid.

He still didn't know what had changed within him– no, not even when he'd sucked the kid off and then shot him down hours later. All he did know was that the boy had not been the threat that the higher-ups had perceived him to be, and he had been too spineless to rebel against them.

Sure, he could've tried to overturn Eren's impeding execution, but who was he to do anything about it? Just like the deceased brat had hinted at, he was just another piece that the government used and a person that was, for all intents and purposes, someone that was worth nothing at the end of the day. As shitty as the thought was, the only reason he hadn't been eliminated straight after the brat was because nobody had caught onto his little infatuation– except for Hange, who enjoyed watching him squirm much more than they enjoyed looking upon his corpse.

Something dislodged itself from where his elbow had been seconds ago and plunged to the floor, where it promptly shattered into several pieces. Levi cursed and instinctively withdrew from the fallen ornament, but the white corner of something peeking out from its ruins caused him to lean back in again. Even though his hands had been overly abused by all the scrubbing he'd subjected them to, he still stretched forward to take the curious object before him.

And what he found, when he'd taken it out, was a picture that he'd never seen before.

From what he could see by the dim moonlight filtering through his blinds, it seemed as if he was asleep on his bed, though when he slept was a mystery to the chronic insomniac. By his bed, there was a familiar brown-haired kid gazing fondly at his sleeping face…

…and, as Levi stared into those pensive yet vibrant green eyes, he felt something shatter inside of him.

Levi had prided himself on his stoic nature and professional standards. He had truly believed that his attempts to charm and then execute Eren would've ended with a clean break, where he'd sneer at the traitor for being foolish enough to trust him and promptly erase him from his memory. This had been why he'd gone and seduced the kid, knowing full well that he was putting his heart on the line too. This had been why, as he'd sucked him off, he'd forced the kid to do him too– to get some sort of gratification from a thankless task, and to cement his supposed 'feelings' in the brat's naïve mind. He had thought that he was impervious to pain, which was why he had ignored Hange's warning.

But now, as the photograph dropped from his numb hands and its scrawled message stared up at him from the remains of his forgotten ornament…

…Levi found himself staring blankly at his hands as emotions raged within his burst chest.

Agony burned at its helm, bringing tears that seeped out of his eyes and carved a searing path down his cheeks. As a small whimper forced its way through his trembling lips and more tears splattered on his trembling hands, the name that he wished he could forget slipped out as well.

"Eren…" he whispered, broken and raspy, "why?"

Yet nobody answered him in his dark apartment, because he'd killed the only person who could.

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I love you, Levi. If only you could see that and love me too.

Forever yours,

Eren Jaeger

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