The children are asleep in their rooms and Petra's hand is in his as they stay up just a little longer, savoring the peace and quiet. Petra gets up to make some tea, and Levi marvels at how his life can be so perfect.
The knock at the door is unusual so late at night, and Levi can't shake the disquiet that comes over him like an all-encompassing fog. The feeling only grows when he sees the two figures at the door.
The visitors step inside and Levi backs back onto the couch. He feels dizzy, the world shakes and the walls around him fade for a moment as he sits back down. He can't hear Petra in the kitchen; when is she coming back?
His unwelcome guests share a look between them. Levi doesn't like what he sees there. They begin to speak in gentle voices that echo in his head, resonating and jarring. What they're saying is absurd and wrong and Levi's shaking his head. Their tones become more insistent and Levi is aghast at how rude their questions are.
No, he doesn't feel like he's too old for his wife and Petra isn't too young for their children and they're going to wake them and where is Petra?
But now Hanji and Erwin—wheredidthosenamescomefrom—are asking where Petra is and the weight of his anxiety is so oppressive, Levi can't move to find or call her and the world has shrunk to this small space. Now they're telling him—no, no, they can't, how dare they, he's clutching his head because it hurts so much—
Levi doesn't know how they wrestled his arms away but they've pulled them down by his sides as they kneel in front of him. There's, there's something wrong with his jacket. Hanji's face is right in front of his own and he can't escape her eyes and her quiet, firm words.
"Come back to reality, Levi. Please"
Erwin brings out a blade.
Levi bows his head.
He wakes up crying. He's lost his dreams. He's an old man filled with regret, waiting to die alone.
A/N: References to Inception (2010) and "Call Your Name" by MPI and CASG, from the Shingeki no Kyojin Original Soundtrack composed and arranged by Hiroyuki Sawano.