Chapter 8 – Batten Down the Hatches

Eren rushed over to Levi and shoved Erwin off of him. His hands were clenched and his nails were digging into his palm. It hurt, but he didn't care. He just cared about Levi's well-being.

"What the hell?!" Erwin yelled. He scooted away from Eren and climbed off the opposite side of the bed.

"Stay away from him." Eren yelled, trying to restrain himself.

"Oh, why? Are you two screwing or something?" Erwin was trying to get the boy riled up, he wanted Eren to throw the first punch, but that wasn't going to happen. Eren was used to bullies and being teased into fighting, he'd eventually learned to walk away. So, he stayed quiet and waited for Erwin to reach his breaking point.

"Come on, you guys are dating, right?"

No response.

"Are you happy with a whore like him? You do know he's a slut, don't you?"

Eren's nails dug deeper into his skin, causing blood to pool in his palm and ooze between his fingers.

It's not true. It's not true. It's not true. Levi isn't like that.

"Stop it, Erwin! He doesn't want to fight you!"

"I wish you hadn't fought back. We could've been having fun right now, yet we're dealing with this instead."

Shut up, shut up, shut up!

"Hey, kid. You wanna have sex with Levi, right?"

Levi reached out for Eren, although he couldn't tell where he was. He was blindly searching for a flicker of light within an abyss of darkness. Even with the amount of anger that was flaming inside Eren, he still managed to notice Levi's hand reaching for him. He gently grabbed the man's hand and laced their fingers together. Levi felt a sudden warmth amidst the cold air of the room, he knew it was Eren, yet something felt off about him. His hands were hot to the touch, not the average 98.6 body temperature. Levi thought this was strange, but he quickly forgot about it when Erwin spoke again.

"Levi, are you gonna tell this poor boy what kind of person you are?"

"W-what...I...I don't know what you mean..."

Eren's hand squeezed Levi's before letting go. The older man reached out again in search of his warmth, but he found nothing, just cold air.

Eren...where are you? I need you...please...

"You have no room to talk, Erwin. You were in here trying to seduce him, so that makes you a slut as well."

"Wait, Eren, don't make him mad. He'll hurt you."

Levi's voice didn't get through to the boy, but his touch did. He'd finally managed to locate Eren's hand again within the darkness of the room. He gripped onto the boy like his life depended on it.

I'm sorry, Levi.

He harshly ripped his hand away from the man's grip and walked towards Erwin in a dreadfully hostile way. His eyes were clouded with anger and what little control he had earlier was gone. Not to mention that his hands were still dripping with blood.

"Eren, where are you?" The older man desperately asked.

"I'll be there in a minute."

"Please stop, I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'm fine, don't worry."

Through clenched teeth, Levi screamed, "Eren!"

Levi's eyes widened at his own voice. He wasn't aware he could yell like that, considering he was always introverted and never spoke to anyone.

Eren froze, virtually glued to the floor. "L-Levi...?"

"I...I'm sorry..."

"Pfft, this is hilarious! Who knew the great and mighty Levi Ackerman had feelings!?" Erwin yelled.

Suddenly, Eren's feet ripped away from their place and he violently punched Erwin across his jawbone. The other man was caught off guard as he stumbled backwards and fell to the floor. There was no doubt he was knocked unconscious. Eren took a step back and admired his work before slowly walking over to Levi, taking his hands in his own.

"Eren..."

"I'm here."

Levi faltered for a moment, then laid his forehead against Eren's warm hands. The boy's calming scent enveloped his senses and he found himself drifting off to sleep. His body sluggishly fell onto the bed, wishing to be asleep.

"Levi?"

"Hm...huh...?" He weakly asked.

"Are you sleepy?"

"Mhm."

"Ok, then sleep. I'll take care of Erwin." Eren leaned down and placed a light kiss on Levi's forehead. He then stood up, rolled the blankets up to Levi's shoulders, and walked back over to Erwin.

Erwin was definitely out cold, so he wasn't worried about having to restrain him. He reached down and picked the man up. Eren had to say, he was pretty damn heavy. He struggled to not fall over from the extra weight added to his stance. He awkwardly stumbled out of the bedroom, down the stairs, and through the front door. All while trying not to drop the man in his arms. In a way, he wanted to just let go of the guy, but doing so would most likely wake Erwin up. That wouldn't be good news for either of them.

Damn...I just want to get away from this guy...I hate him, he's so revolting. To think he'd try to rape Levi like that...how dare he. I hope he rots in Hell!

He eventually set Erwin down in the grass faraway from Levi's house, very far. He didn't want the man to come back, that would be unacceptable to him.

This man doesn't deserve Levi's love. He doesn't deserve love at all. I wish he'd just die; this world is bad enough without having to deal with guys like him.

Eren hadn't meant for his wish to become reality. He was just stating a fact that his mind had come up with. Although, may it be divine intervention or God, nothing could change that Erwin died a few months later from a sudden car crash. He lost his right arm in the accident and it had to be amputated, but he didn't survive the internal bleeding that had been caused by metal shrapnel from the collision. In a way, Eren was happy that he was dead. Yet, another part of him kept saying it was wrong to find joy in someone's passing.

However, Levi had been affected in a completely different way. He stopped eating, he stayed up until morning, then slept all day, and he even refused to let Eren calm him down from his frequent nightmares.

-November 5th-

"Let me help you. You're sick, you need help." Eren said, gently placing his hand on Levi's arm. His offer was immediately rejected with one simple word.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I said so. Now leave me alone."

"God damnit, Levi! I'm trying my hardest, but you're too damn stubborn. I can't stand it! I feel so fucking helpless!"

"If you feel helpless, then leave! Then you won't have to deal with my shit!" Levi buried his face in his hands, the feeling of tears beginning to arise.

"I could never do that, Levi...You need me."

"No! I...I can't do this anymore...I wanna die...please..."

"W-what?"

"Please, Eren! Please kill me! I'm begging you!"

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Hi guys! I'm back! Tell me what you think of this chapter, please and thank you! Yes, I just had to kill off Erwin. Mainly because of his status in the manga and anime, I just wanted it to follow that sort of dynamic. I'm also in the mood to kill someone after watching and finishing Death Note.