A/N: I DO NOT OWN THE LAST OF US OR ANY PART OF THE NAUGHTY DOG FRANCHISE OR ATTACK ON TITAN. THIS IS SIMPLY FAN WORK.
"That is definitely the 3DM gear that Reiner kept locked up," Eren blurted. "You stole it?!"
"Maybe I did, but you know what?" Levi spoke calmly; he then walked towards Eren and grabbed him by the collar.
"Levi?" Petra stood, concerned.
He forcefully pulled Eren down, causing the boy to stumble out of balance. They were eye to eye now, Eren practically limp in Levi's hold. He then glared ruthlessly at the boy, his gaze piercing through Eren's skull. "If you let one word slip about it, I'll rip your teeth out. Got it?"
Eren's bright green eyes gleamed with fear. He felt a cold aura emanating from Levi's grasp and nodded at him to reply. Levi then released him and let him shuffle back towards the door.
"Go back to sleep, brat," Levi demanded, a bit more irritable than usual. "You'll need it when we get going."
Levi unstrapped the numerous strips of leather wrapped around his body, setting down the two sets of maneuver gear he had smuggled from the Shift. He had amazing strength for a man of his short stature, carrying two sets of gear on his person when it was already difficult enough to handle one; but even with the strength he had, he had to give his body a rest. He was human after all – certainly no super-soldier. Or any soldier for that matter.
He made his way over to the couch, restless. He had been traveling for hours without taking a seat, and he was contentious as ever. Speaking to him about anything would surely force out a witty but extremely sardonic response; but Eren dared to speak up to him. "And when are we going exactly?"
Levi stopped to look at him.
The boy continued, "We've been waiting here for hours… shouldn't we be leaving now? I thought this thing was supposed to happen as soon as possible."
"That's funny," Levi scoffed and took a seat on the couch. "A kid like you wouldn't even make a quarter of the distance without good rest beforehand. Sleep."
"I'm not a kid," Eren stated. "If we're not leaving now then when are we leaving?"
Levi yawned and kicked his feet onto the couch, lying back against the cushions. He groaned as his tired joints slowly began to relax. "I'll wake you up when it's time to go."
"But–"
Levi lashed an icy stare towards him. "Go to sleep, or I'll put you to sleep."
Eren tightened his lips, unable to come up with a jocular comeback. He then gestured with his hands mockingly and lied back onto the floor. He turned his back away from the couch, resting on his side. He angrily closed his eyes, hoping he could get some more sleep on such a stiff wood floor.
Petra turned to Levi and noticed the increased amount of dirt he had on his clothes. He certainly trekked through some difficult landscapes if he had gotten himself so disheveled. His skin was glossy with sweat and tainted with specks of filth.
"I feel so disgusting right now," Levi grumbled as he sat up and made way for the dresser across from the couch's armrest. Petra watched him rush by, hurriedly rummaging through the dresser for a clean shirt and pants.
"Well, while you do that, I'll make you some tea – maybe you'll calm down afterwards," Petra teased. "You need some rest too you know. You've been awfully cranky all day."
"Please don't tell me he's usually like that," Eren mumbled from the floor.
Levi immediately turned to him. "Go to sleep, you little shit."
The boy's shoulders jerked at the iciness in the last word. He then sighed and tried to relax as much as he could, praying that the journey would not be too treacherous for an inexperienced rebel like himself.
Petra walked into the cramped kitchen and opened a loose cupboard. She snatched a box of tea packets from one of the shelves along with a small white cup. "We're running out of tea packets, Levi," she called out to him. "I think we'll need to make another trip east after we're done with this whole smuggling-Eren-deal." She then filled a kettle with water and set a fire for the stove. "Come to think of it, we'll need more than just tea. There's the whole ammo business too."
"Reiner said he'll reimburse us with ammo, so we're fine there."
Petra stepped out of the kitchen with her hands on her hips. "But what if it isn't–"
She then held her breath, stunned at what she was seeing. Her hands fell to her sides, frozen from such a magnificent sight before her; but after thinking it over again and again…
She certainly came in at the wrong time.
Levi had his hands at the rim of his shirt and pulled the crinkled, dirty thing off. He tossed it to the side, beginning to unbutton a clean white shirt that he had placed on top of the dresser.
Petra inspected his shirtless body, up and down, face heating up at a glorious image. Oh… wow…
His skin was still shiny from sweating, but the gloss just made everything look better. Even though it was just his side that she was looking at, boy, did he have quite a lovely body. She was flushed yet again, seeing his half naked body for the first time ever since they started living together. They were always good about maintaining privacy for one another, always stepping behind a corner in the room or turning their backs at the very least, never sneaking a peek at each other; but supposedly, Eren's sudden appearance in their life and home hampered their daily routine.
His body was toned – from the shoulders, to the biceps, to the pecks and to the abdomen. She saw ridges at his stomach, portraying sculpted abs that she had never seen before… but was lucky to see for herself. She marveled at the sight. But at the same time, she felt guilty, watching him change his clothes. What's gotten into you?! She asked herself. Slowly, she crept back into the small kitchen, catching one last, long look at his body as he began to slide one arm into a sleeve. Her eyes wandered lower towards the lip of his pants and trailed over a toned indent in his skin.
But he's just so… Petra swallowed, feeling a dryness in her throat.
"Petra." She suddenly snapped herself into the kitchen completely, avoiding any gaze he might have given.
"Y-Yes, Levi?"
"The kettle's been whistling. Don't you hear it?"
Kettle?
"The water's gonna evaporate, you know."
Gasping, she leaped to the stove and set the noisy kettle aside.
How long had she been staring?
As long as he didn't see… I'm fine. She patted her cheeks and exhaled, pouring hot water into a cup.
She placed a full cup of tea onto the table in front of the couch. Levi acknowledged the cup as he sat up from the addicting comfort of the couch cushion. She sat down next to him and saw Eren's back turned towards the two of them. His side rose and sank slowly with every breath he took. He was sound asleep. Surprisingly, it did not take him long to fall asleep on such a hard surface as the old, creaky wood floor of the apartment. She grinned at his peacefulness and leaned back into the couch.
"So," Petra began, "how'd you pull it off? Stealing two sets of maneuver gear right from underneath their noses?"
Levi took a sip of his tea. "You'd be surprised at how many members the Shift doesn't have. Practically empty at their camp."
Petra tilted her head. "Really? Well then how do we expect to see just a couple of them to meet us at Wall Rose?"
"Very good question."
She raised a brow, perplexed by this deal that they had made with the leader of the Shift. "If we don't know for sure that a group will meet us over there, then why even go? We already have our gear… Let's just call a quits now and send him back to Reiner? And turn down their offer completely."
"Reiner's at the camp now; and they're too smart for that," Levi said as he swallowed some tea. "They'll realize even sooner than we stole our gear back, and they'll come looking for us."
"So then why did you even think of stealing our gear from them if you knew all that?" Petra asked with a hint of frustration in her voice.
"Because if we want to make it to Wall Rose, we're gonna need maneuver gear. Reiner and I barely dodged all of the Titans we saw on our way to their base, and it would be ridiculous for us to accept this deal without our gear. The three of us traveling together would just attract even more Titans. I'd rather steal our gear and go through with this smuggling thing than do it with just ammunition."
"But now that you stole it all back, we have no choice but to do this."
"That's right."
Petra sighed, rubbing her temples while contemplating this new ordeal they were presented with. Stealing their gear back was one thing, but doing so just to properly execute their mission was just so… unorthodox.
"At least they'll be happy that we brought the brat to them. In the end, we'll have our gear, and they'll have the kid. We'll all be happy and can continue on with our shitty lives."
"Yeah…"
Petra looked down at her lap, wondering what life would be like after they go through with the fast-approaching expedition. They had their maneuver gear, and they knew the quarantine zones like the backs of their hands. They knew where to go and how to get there; but because they had their gear, it also meant more independence for the both of them – they would not need to be dependent on each other like when they were only armed with simple firepower and survival knives. She hated the thought of leaving him or him leaving her using the maneuver gear. They both wanted to escape to a better place than the filthy zone they dwelled in.
But who's to say that they would escape together?
She had spent so many years with him and knew him better than anyone else – she refused to give that up after finishing the mission assigned to the two of them.
They were companions to each other – parts of one another in their bleak, Titan-ravaged world.
"We'll… continue on…" Petra spoke hesitantly, twiddling her thumbs at her lap.
He glanced over at Petra, hearing a touch of anxiety in her soft voice as he took one more sip of tea. He swallowed with an audible gulp and heard her speak even quieter:
"…Together…?"
He paused momentarily, staring at the table in front of him. Petra remained silent. He then set the empty teacup onto the table and leaned back. He reached over to her, turning her head to face his. She looked at him apprehensively, into his calm eyes; and he pulled her closer into his gaze. Her heart began to beat harder against her chest, having been intentionally pulled closer to the man she had just seen shirtless not too long ago. Never had he been so gentle with her before – it was completely unexpected. Half of her was confused while the other half did not mind at all. Her mind raced with so many intimate thoughts about him, wondering what he would do next.
She felt a strange warmth from his gesture. She was finally beginning to feel a connection between them – one that had begun to exceed their long-term companionship.
"Levi…?" she whispered breathlessly.
He brushed the hair from her face, pushing it behind her ear.
But then he pulled away.
Oh…
She was numb in her seat, expecting something much, much more.
Perhaps it was just her imagination, feeling some sort of intimate connection coming from him. Her heart sank, and she looked down at her lap again.
But then, he replied to her, with words that packed heavy meaning behind them, thus filling her with a new form of hope.
"We'll continue on together," he said to her softly.
Together. The last word rang pleasantly in her mind, and she smiled, reassured.
Levi stomped his foot dangerously close to Eren's nose. Alarmed, Eren shot up from the floor, heart slamming against his chest as if he was about to be eaten by something.
"Time to go, brat," Levi said plainly.
Eren rubbed his eyes and followed his two escorts out the front door.
After locking up the building, they began their trek, with hoods raised over their heads and gear clanking softly against their legs. Eren was the quietest one among the three of them, armed only with a simple knife. The sky was pitch black, and the streets were completely silent. No one dared to venture out of their homes and shelters at such a late hour. Surely the military would have been making their rounds for night watch, but there were no soldiers in sight.
They slipped into a dark underground tunnel, dimly lit by torches. Their footsteps echoed in the dead of night, sounding so eerie whenever they took a step forward. Eren raised the scarf to cover his mouth, uncertain about their route through this dark tunnel.
"This tunnel will lead us to the countryside," Levi explained. "It's secluded from the rest of the townsfolk. We won't be running into anyone else here."
"Who uses these tunnels?" Eren asked.
"Merchants and other smugglers. The military doesn't even know about this path."
"Well that's convenient."
Petra walked briskly to Levi's side and inquired, "Levi… why did they choose us in the first place?"
"We were never their first choice," Levi said, "Reiner wanted to do it himself. Then he wanted to turn to that son of a bitch Kenny. And guess what happened."
Petra groaned in disgust, "I still can't believe he wanted him to do this job. I just hope they don't come looking for us right this minute. Especially since we're actually serious about this."
Levi looked over his shoulder at Eren. "Speaking of which, why are you so important."
Eren thought for a moment, looking down at Levi's feet.
"Heir to a throne or something?"
"Um, not exactly…"
"Didn't think so." Levi turned away. "You look like a filthy piece of shit anyway."
Eren wrinkled his brow. Okay then.
"How long is this all gonna take?" he asked irritably.
"If everything goes as planned, we should make it to Castle Utgard by sunrise. It's a couple hours worth of walking since the brat doesn't have any maneuver gear himself; but it'll save us oxygen we don't have."
The maneuver gear served as a means of transportation for soldiers. It was also a key element in the fight against the Titans. Maneuver gear operated using pressurized gas or oxygen tanks. As long as the soldier had oxygen tanks strapped along with their maneuver gear, all should be well. However, without any extra oxygen tanks on hand, the use of maneuver gear could spell disastrous results in the midst of combat.
Levi planned to keep 3DMG usage to a minimum until they found extra oxygen tanks handy. And even if the situation called for it – such as a Titan encounter or a fight against the military – they would still need to keep a close eye on how much oxygen they expelled from their maneuver gear.
As they crept closer to the end of the tunnel, Eren continued to feel uneasy at his stomach. Something was not right about the path they were taking despite being separated from city life There was a human-like presence looming closer to them, but he was unable to name what it was. Soldiers? Titans? The streets were empty; the soldiers were relaxed as far as night-watch rounds went; and Titans would not have been able to stray into the city that easily.
So what was it?
Levi adjusted his cloak and spoke again, "Eren, once we make it out of this tunnel, you stay right on our heels. Understand?"
Eren stuttered, "Y-Yes."
A couple minutes later, they saw the moonlight at the end of the tunnel. The lit torches along the walls were turning into mere decorations that disappeared into the darkness. Levi was the first to step foot outside the tunnel – as soon as his boot stepped onto the countryside land, their expedition had truly begun. It was fair game from then on; but what welcomed him outside the tunnel certainly caught him by surprise.
"Levi!" Petra yelped as the butt of a rifle struck him hard in the head.
He collapsed onto his knees, calloused hands colliding onto the moist ground; but a soldier had approached him from behind and pushed him into the dirt. He nabbed his wrists, folding them together to keep him at bay.
Another soldier bounded into the tunnel, forcing Petra and Eren out into the open then throwing them onto the ground. Levi turned his head, watching the soldier force the two onto their stomachs with a rifle pointed at their heads. He then shot a heartless glare at the armed soldier, feeling helpless for the first time in ages.
Bullshit.
"Let go!" Eren snarled. "I said let go!"
Bull fucking shit.
Levi clenched his teeth and fists in pure rage as a longer strand of curses slipped through his lips.
He miscalculated.