The only sound was the rumbling of the wagon wheels as they rumbled over the roughly hewn wheel grooves in the road. Silver moonlight made things appear silver around them as they bumped roughly. Exhausted soldiers huddled in the back of the wagon, bracing themselves against the sides of the wagon in the hopes to lessen the jolting.
Levi looked down at the boy asleep in his lap. Eren's head rested in his lap, lips slightly parted, eyes closed.
Levi smiled slightly, remembering how glad he had been to see the boy after they'd finally finished clearing the other side of the walls. How he'd ruffled the chestnut hair, giving that small face an exhausted smile before ordering everyone to break camp, as they were leaving TONIGHT- he wanted to reach the castle as soon as possible.
The least tired troops were driving the wagons- it was a mindless task, really, as the horses simply followed the ruts of wagon wheels in the road.
The journey was silent- everyone was exhausted, blinking owlishly and struggling to stay upright, and the only sound was the wagon wheels bucking along the road.
The silence was disrupted by a whimper- Levi frowned, looking down at Eren, concerned, from where he'd been absently carding his hands through the boy's hair. Eren's face was scrunched, eyes screwed shut….
Eren made no sounds for a brief moment, before his fist clenched the green fabric of Levi's cloak and he was screaming….
"Mikasa! Mikasa, help me, we have to get her…. Hannes… Hannes you BASTARD, we can't just leave her! D-don't leave her…. MOM!"
Everyone's head's snapped up, staring in their direction.
Levi stared, horrified, before he was shaking the boy. "Eren- Eren, wake up…."
"MOM! Put me down you bastard!" Eren struck out, fist hiting Levi with surprising force before he was thrashing, fighting like he was possessed….
All at once, Eren was still. His breath came in rough, harsh pants, as though he were running a marathon, before an animalistic cry of grief split the night air.
Squad members exchanged horrified glances, before the wagon his a particularly rough hole in the road- Eren's head snapped back, making harsh contact with the wooden bed of the wagon, and green eyes flew open.
"M-mom?" a tearful voice asked, as he looked around the bed of the wagon frantically, confused.
Mikasa dove forward before Eren could say anything, pulling Eren into her arms and holding him close as silent tears leaked down her cheeks.
Eren gasped, panting roughly, eyes wide, before he was struggling, pushing himself away. "Y-you're not Mom!"
He grunted as the wagon jolted again and he hit the wagon bed rather roughly, before he was crawling, confused….
"L-levi?" Eren's voice was barely above a whisper as he stared at the man he'd come to know as his caretaker for these past few days. His peridot eyes swam with tears, begging for an answer….
"I'm sorry." Was all Levi said, staring at the floor.
Eren burst into tears, before he was flinging himself into Levi's lap, clinging to the heartbroken Captain. He buried his face in the man's chest, small body shaking with sobs, as he maintained a white-knuckle grip on Levi's cloak. Levi simply held the boy, one hand cupping the back of his head, the other on the boy's back, holding the shaking body close to him.
He didn't really care as the squad watched them, horrified at the pain in Eren's voice and the whole ordeal, really.
Eren finally cried himself into exhaustion, slumping forward, limp, in Levi's arms, his green cloak still wrinkled into the small fists.
Levi looked down at the boy, exhausted, silver eyes looking down sadly at the sleeping boy, sticky tears still clinging to his cheeks, shining in the moonlight.
I'm sorry I couldn't protect you before, Eren. But I will never leave you. Was all he though hazily, before he, too, gave into the exhaustion and let sleep pull him under.
He was woken by a rather rude jolt of the wagon, and saw the sky was igniting in pink. It was nearly morning.
"Sir… is Eren okay?" Christa asked tentatively, blue eyes wide and concerned.
Levi blinked once, looking down at the boy still slumped in his arms. He looked down- Eren was still pale and sleeping, but his face was blank, showing no indication of pain or sadness.
He nodded wordlessly, and Christa seemed somewhat relieved.
"How dare you?"
Levi looked up, surprised, to see Mikasa practically growling at him.
"How dare you say he's fine when he's just been traumatized!?"
"Mikasa…." Armin lunged forward, trying rapidly to calm her, but the venomous words spewed from Mikasa's mouth like acid.
"You have no idea what Eren has gone through- what he's seen- so how dare you claim to be his guardian!?"
Levi looked over at Mikasa, mouth in a firm line. "Done spewing bullshit yet, Akerman?" he asked calmly, cocking an eyebrow.
"You don't have the right-"
"Ah, but I do. Eren chose me, Akerman- he's the one clinging to me, or did you forget? I've been taking care of him these past few days, and if you're trying to insinuate I've done anything that wasn't in his best interests, then you're wrong."
"You don't know a damn thing about him! Armin and I know everything about him…."
"That's fucking wonderful, Akerman, but Eren is the one who refused to let go of me when he was first five. You had him wrapped in your arms and he came over to me. If he wants to you, he can go to you- but until then, I will care for him."
"He's my brother!" Mikasa protested, still looking enraged. "He should be with his family!"
"Mikasa- stop. If you keep yelling, you'll wake him up." Armin spoke up, placing a hand on her forearm. "Besides- Eren's been well taken care of with the Captain. He's loved being in his company…."
"But he doesn't belong there…." Mikasa protested, looking over at Eren longingly. "We're his family-"
"When we lived on the streets, yeah, we were- when we were thirteen, we had each other's backs. But Eren's still too young to remember that, and he's happy with Captain Levi- so let's leave him be, yeah?"
"He's only going to be this young once, Armin-"
"So let him be happy. He's better off with Levi than with us. Let him be ten this time without us reminding him of all the time we spent on the streets- just let him be a kid, Mikasa."
Mikasa paused, taking the blond's words into consideration, before she glowered at Captain Levi. "If he so much says one word about not liking you, I will take him from you so fast you won't even see it…."
"Of course." Unless I hack you to pieces first.
Their arrival back to the castle at mid-morning was muted, with exhausted soldiers stumbling down from the wagon and heading to tend to their duties and unhitch the horses.
Levi quietly shook the boy resting in his lap, and green eyes fluttered open. Eren's green eyes were subdued and glassy, and Levi nodded to him.
"We're home."
Eren nodded, scrubbing a hand across his eyes quietly and jumping down from the wagon, stumbling.
Levi placed a hand on his shoulder to steady him, and was surprised when Eren actually took his hand. Eren hadn't held his hand since he'd turned seven- but Levi didn't question it, instead allowing the boy to hold onto him.
He quietly led Eren upstairs to his room, running a bath for the boy. There was no splashing, no familiar laughter that'd filled the room days prior- only a dull, worrying silence.
Eren emerged a few moments later, sloppily dressed with wet hair and dull eyes.
Levi ruffled the boy's hair tentatively, and Eren gave him a smile that doubled for a grimace, before Levi ducked into the bathroom to freshen himself up. Two days in the field really did a number on one's hygiene.
When Levi emerged, dressed, he found Eren simply laying on the bed, staring at the ceiling blankly.
Levi perched on the edge of the bed, brushing the wet chestnut bangs from his face.
"Do you want anything to eat, Eren?" the boy hadn't eaten since last night, and it was almost noon.
Eren shook his head, disinterested, and Levi frowned. Eren had been a big eater these last few days. He couldn't exactly expect the boy to get over the death of his mother so quickly, but at the same time, he couldn't let the boy starve himself, either.
"Do you want to do something- go for a ride, maybe?"
Eren pinched the bridge of his nose. "No." he muttered quietly.
Levi sighed, moving to stand and at least grab some bread, in case Eren found it in him to eat something.
He was stopped by a small hand tugging on his sleeve, however, and he turned to see Eren looking at him uncertainly.
"J-just stay with me, please?" he choked out, green eyes swimming with tears.
Levi was surprised for a brief moment, but he nodded, quietly laying down atop the bedding with the boy, resting both hands behind his head.
He cast a glance over at the boy sitting beside him, before deciding to forego doing any paper work today. Instead, he spent a rather quiet day, simply keeping a confused, lonely boy company.