The screams of both humans and titans urge Levi further into the fog, slashing his blades at an inhumane speed. His body twists and turns in ways that a human body isn't supposed to, and it leaves him breathless and weak.

But he keeps going. He's Humanity's Strongest. His Squad needs him to lead. The base needs to be protected.

And yet the adrenaline coursing through his body is nowhere near enough to stop the fear of what lies ahead. Everything is so unpredictable. It's impossible to know if his next second will be his last.

His wire is cut and he plummets to the ground, landing on his arm with a loud crack. He lets out a sharp groan, before forcing himself to his feet.

Broken 3DMG.

It's impossible to fight anymore.

He has to retreat.

Ignoring the grotesque screams from his Squad, he turns around and runs.

And runs.

Levi wakes with a start, shaking violently from the force of the nightmare.

Instinctively, he reaches for the knife he always keeps under his pillow, ready to attack anybody or anything that would threaten him-

But it's not there.

He's not in his own bed; he's in Erwin's.

And suddenly, the events of the previous day come flooding back. Erwin looking after him, breaking down on the floor, his arm, the blood, the fog….

"It wasn't a nightmare," Levi mutters. "It was real."

He turns to his head to the side and notices a note pinned to the bedside table titled "Levi" in fancy, perfect handwriting that could only belong to Erwin.

Levi,

I'm sorry I had to leave before you woke up. I have post-expedition business to attend to, and I know you don't want to see me right now.

I've given you the day off on official sick leave, so you don't have to bother reporting in to me. Just rest.

I'm so sorry,

Erwin.

Levi reads the letter several times just to make sure that the words on the paper are even real. The letter is so… defeatist in a way that Levi has never actually seen from Erwin.

There's a pang of regret deep in his chest.

I know you don't want to see me right now.

What does that even mean? Erwin's not a mind reader. He can't tell what Levi is thinking. So why the hell is he trying to put words into his mouth? And what's up with the multiple apologies? All Erwin did was look after him, so why does he keep saying sorry?

Levi twists his limbs into a foetal position, wrapping himself further into Erwin's sheets. He slowly drift back to sleep, the confusion of the letter and the anxiety from the nightmare weighing heavily on his mind.

He knows, one way or another, he has to fix this.

Levi smells Erwin long before Erwin smells Levi.

Levi has helped himself to one of Erwin's many white, long-sleeved shirts. Even though it's clean, it still smells faintly of Erwin, and Levi catches himself sniffing the collar every now and then when unsettling thoughts concerning yesterday come creeping into his mind.

Knowing that the shirt masks his scent, Levi can't help but smirk when Erwin enters his room and his jaw drops.

"Levi," Erwin breathes, "What are you doing here?"

"You gave me the day off and told me to rest. So I did. In your bed." Levi states, shrugging. "Did I catch you off guard?"

Erwin nods. "You're wearing my shirt."

"Well yeah," Levi mutters, "I woke up naked, so…"

Erwin nods again, and Levi can easily tell that he's repressing his emotions. It's much more than his usual mask of void emotion. The muscles of his face are so contorted and strained that Levi has an indefinite urge to run over to him and soothe them out with delicate touches.

"You're obviously hurting, Erwin," Levi says bluntly. "Talk to me."

"I'm not hurting," Erwin replies.

"Then you're hating yourself," Levi says. "But for once, I don't know why. The guilt, I understand, but this? These endless apologies you keep giving me? It goes deeper than your usual post-expedition guilt."

Erwin stays silent and refuses to meet Levi's eyes, but Levi knows everything he says resonates within him. Their connection as an Alpha and Omega and as friends and partners is too strong to let Levi's intuition down. "Sit down and talk to me."

Erwin tentatively sits down on his bed. "I'm really sorry about what happened yesterday," he says. "I… left you there to die. Mike wanted to go in after you, but I told him not to. Everything happened under my orders, so it's ultimately my fault."

"It's fine," Levi mutters bitterly, "We can't predict the outcomes of our choices. Nobody saw that fog coming."

But Erwin continues talking like Levi had said nothing. "I'm sorry for all the shit I've flung into your life, Levi," he says, voice breaking. "I never wanted to hurt you, but I have, so many times, and I hate myself for it."

"Erwin-,"

"I understand if you hate me too-,"

"Erwin!" Levi hisses. "Shut up."

Erwin finally looks to Levi, dumfounded at the turn of the conversation. "Please stop with that self-depreciating crap," Levi says. "And stop acting like you're the worst thing that's ever happened to me. You're without a doubt the best fucking thing that's ever happened to me. I have no idea how you could think otherwise."

"But the other day-,"

"The other day you did something stupid, and it hurt our relationship, but it didn't hurt me, and I know that wasn't you're intention. You were only trying to protect me. It was a stupid thing to do, but you're only human, Alpha or not."

Levi pauses before saying the next words. He tilts his head to the side and buries his head in the collar of Erwin's shirt, breathing in the comforting scent that lingers there. "I forgive you, Erwin," he says with conviction. "I'm not sure I trust you fully yet, but I can't hold a grudge when you haven't hurt me directly. With yesterday not counting."

There's a silence, and Levi watches as the tension in Erwin's eyebrows, mouth and jaw release, relaxing into a state of relief. "Thank you for forgiving me," he says.

Levi snorts, shaking his head. "As long as we can put this behind us and move forward," Levi says, to which Erwin nods his head, fully agreeing. "Now come up here and give me a hug. I want to smell you."

To anybody else, the request would be strangely out of character for someone like Levi, but Erwin easily complies, moving to encircle his arms around Levi's tired and sore body, head fitting snuggly in his neck. Levi rests his head on Erwin's, breathing in the fresh scent that lingers there.

For the first time in weeks, Levi sighs happily.

"I still feel really terrible," Erwin whispers, so softly that Levi almost doesn't catch it.

"I know," Levi replies, fingers delicately carding through Erwin's blonde hair, "But there are some things we can't control. This is part of our job. I'm going to be in life or death situations and you're going to put me there. This isn't a fairytale; it's a war. We can't have our relationship interfere with that, no matter what."

He can hear a soft whine emit itself from Erwin's body as he breathes shakily against Levi's neck. His arms wrap tightly around Levi's body, and fingers dig deep into Levi's clothes. Erwin's scent is one of vulnerability, but it's also one of possession.

Levi knows it must be hard for the man, or any Alpha, to hear those words. To hear that one day, he might have to send his Omega to his death. So he lets Erwin claim his body, with both his scent and his hands, because he knows that Erwin needs the comfort.

"Promise me, that if the need arises, you'll send me to my death. Don't put my life above anybody else's, okay?" Levi asks after Erwin's breathing calms down.

"Okay," Erwin agrees with a heavy heart, "I promise."

"Alright, enough of that crap talk," Levi announces abruptly, breaking the air of depression. "I'm hungry and I want food."

"For someone so small, you sure do eat a lot."

"Shut it," Levi snaps, before pausing to think. "Damn, I don't have any clothes… I could keep wearing yours, but you can see how ridiculous that looks."

"What if I told you that I might have some of your clothes?" Erwin asks sheepishly.

Levi's brows furrow. "Why do you have some of my clothes?"

"You left them here," Erwin mutters, "And I might have taken to smelling them when I missed you."

Levi snorts, removing himself from Erwin and standing up to stretch out his limbs. "You're fucking weird, you know that?"

"As long as you're not angry at me..."

"With the way you treat me, Erwin, it's really hard to be angry at you."

Erwin captures Levi's body in a tender hug from behind. "I'm glad you think I treat you well," he murmurs into Levi's neck. "I want to treat you well."

"And you do," Levi replies, running his hands down Erwin's arm.

Levi turns around and leans into Erwin's body while catching his gaze. He analyses the vulnerability in Erwin's blue eyes and reaches up to tug his head down.

"You do," Levi whispers, determined to make sure Erwin listens to what he says. Erwin's eyes close as he leans down further to rest his forehead against Levi's.

Levi bites the inside of mouth. The fuzzy feeling of lust that always plagues him around Erwin is stronger than ever. After weeks apart, he's missed having even the smallest of intimate encounters.

His gaze flitters to Erwin's lips. It's been so long and his lips are so tempting…

Levi takes the plunge, leaning up to brush his lips lightly against Erwin's for a fleeting few seconds.

Erwin tenses, before sighing softly, "Levi…"

Levi hums and pulls away from Erwin's hold. "I'm still hungry."

"Of course," Erwin says, reaching into a drawer to pull out Levi's clothes. Levi dutifully puts them on, but deep down he's sad to see Erwin's oversized shirt leave his body.

Just as they're about to leave the room, Erwin stops.

"Wait," he says, rifling through his closet before pulling out a black blazer jacket, "It's cold tonight."

Erwin holds the jacket out for Levi to thread his arms into, but it doesn't quite turn out as expected. With an annoyed expression, Levi lifts his arms up to show just how much of the jacket sleeve isn't actually occupied by his arms. Erwin tries desperately to muffle his laughs, but fails.

God damn it.

"I hate you so much," Levi mutters with a piercing death glare. He pulls his arms out of the jacket and simply shrugs it onto his shoulders. He catches a whiff of Erwin's scent on the jacket and his lips curve into a small smile.

"Let's go get you some food," Erwin says, guiding Levi towards the door and through the hall with a careful touch.

Later, Levi wonders if their outing to get food was more of a date than anything else. He soon decides that, yes, it was a date, and no, he's not going to push Erwin away because of it.