LLL- Yo, I'm in school right now. I'll proabably start here and finish at home.
Eren-I've never been to school.
LLL- Lucky
Eren- Titans destroyed it
LLL- Oh... Well... hmm. I don't own Attack on Titan
Warning! SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE MANGA OR JUST DIDN'T KNOW. CONTAINS CONTENT THAT IS NOT YET INTRODUCED IN THE ANIME!
Levi straightens is posture and calms himself but Eren stays defensive. "Erwin," Levi says, clear relief showing in his voice, "what are you doing out?"
"You know I have my ways Lance." Erwin walks up to Levi and places his hand on his head. "I see you have yours as well." The blonde man looks at Eren with a hunch in his eyebrow. Eren says nothing, somewhat uncomfortable and not liking the look of Erwin's hand on Levi's head.
The shorter male brushes his hand off. "Shut up."
"This explains your behavior the other day. It's a relief, I thought you were mad at me."
"I was," he mumbles, looking at his old friend with those expressionless eyes.
"But you aren't now. Right?"
Just as Erwin says this the three hear footsteps. He grabs Levi's wrist and Levi snatches Eren just before he is yanked into the darkened alley. All three stay silent as two watch soldier walk past them.
"So Erwin escaped his cell."
"That Scouting Regiment Cheif?" One of them asks.
"Yep."
"Please, you expect me to believe he escaped on his own. One of his scouting buddies helped him get out. There's no doubt about it. Those guys don't have anything under control, all they do is waste time and lives. I'm surpr.."
The conversation between the two grows fainter and to the point where it can't be heard. It is too dark for anything to be seen but Eren hears Levi release a sigh filled with disappointment.
"Don't worry about them," Erwin comforts. "They are simply the kings dogs who sit around waiting for their lives to be handed to them." Levi grunts without words and walks out of the shadows. Erwin follows close behind him and there is Eren, feeling uneasy by the cheif's presence. As they walk Eren looks into the sky at the peaceful night stars. "Nice, huh?" Eren looks at Erwin who is smiling. "Everything is beautiful. It sucks that in the titan's mercy we live in fear. We can't even take the time to appreciate the world we live in."
"Yeah," Eren agrees to his willful words. Eventually in a thoughtful silence they make their way to the house and into Levi's room.
"Ah," Erwin comments, "so this is where they are keeping you guys."
"It's a step up where they were keeping you," Levi adds. This causes Erwin to laugh. The room is only slightly lit by the moon light outside. Eren sits on the bed and Erwin leans against the wall next to the window.
"I really am curious about the relationship you to have put together but that is not why I'm here and I don't particularly have any ti-aghh..." He lets out a weak cough in the middle of his sentence and Levi steps up, some what concerned.
"Are you alright?" He asks, taking a few more steps forward.
"Yeah.." Erwin uncomfortably clears his throat.
"I'll get you some tea..."
"Hey, Levi. It's not that serious. it's just a cough."
He looks at his boss with narrow eyes and an expressionless face before leaving the room. Eren is slightly uncomfortable about Levi's behavior after being caught by Erwin. Slowly, not trying to be too obvious he looks up at Erwin. He looks out of the window in deep thought. He is a tall man, at least 6'1" maybe 2. His blue eyes nearly glow in the night light and compliment his neat blond hair perfectly. His figure is quite built and there isn't a flaw in any of his features. The man is completely perfect. There is no way that Eren can beat that. He sighs from the defeated thought of losing Levi.
"Eren," Erwin says, not turning his head from out of the window.
"Yes sir."
"You can drop the formalities. We're friends."
"Right."
"Oh... Sorry about your hand, of course. I wasn't in my right mind."
"It's Ok. I'm a titan. I heal quickly."
"That's exactly why I shouldn't have done it."
"Really," Eren mumbles, turning his head when Erwin finally turns to make eye contact, "It's ok. It's no big deal."
"Eren..."
"Yes?"
"Are you going to look at a commanding officer when he is talking to you?"
Eren glares at Erwin with a fire in his eyes. "What the hell was the 'drop the formalities' about?"
"I don't have anything with Levi." Erwin mumbles with a slight smile.
"You sure d... Wait what?"
"After seeing you two I can tell that you guys have something special. Something I want details about later, but that's beside the point. I could tell the entire time that you were quite, how should I put this? uneasy, while we walking."
"I don't see what point you are making."
"I'm saying I approve."
"What?" Eren is exceptionally confused now.
"I brought Levi into the Scouting Regiment. I've always watched over him. I'm practically his guardian."
"And you're telling me that you approve of me... being with him." Eren takes consideration in his word choice.
"Yes."
"Thank you?" The next minute is very awkward for Eren but somehow he is more comfortable then he previously was. Erwin had taught him a lot as well in the past. He is a good person to look up to and suddenly Eren feels like quite an idiot. "Sorry my assumptions were rash... I shouldn't have..."
"He really is taking a long time," Erwin says. "He was getting water right?"
"Tea.."
"Still shouldn't take this long."
Eren realizes that he is right. It has been well past 5 minutes. Both of them make a dash out of the room and down stairs. In the kitchen they see a cup of water on the table and the front door wide open. Eren is close behind Erwin as he runs outside. "We need to split up." Erwin puts out a red flare. "Let it off when you find him and I'll do the same." At that he takes off running.
The first place Eren can think to go is the underground prison where Annie is being kept. He is met with the scene of Hange sitting happily next to an unconscious female. There is only a little bit of crystal left on Annie. "Hange! What happened?"
"I left," she says happily.
"On purpose?"
"No! I had to pee!"
"Where is Levi?" Eren asks frantically, brushing off her carelessness.
"Levi? I don't know. Is something wrong?" Before he is able to even hear the rest of the question he is up the stairs again. When outside he looks around in circles but sees nothing but tall buildings blocking his way. He walks and leans against a wall, breathing hard. He can't seem to steady his thoughts. That's when he remembers Erwin telling him something in the past about not using his titan to get everything done. An idea pops into his head. 'Maybe I can use my titan senses without turning into a titan.' He slightly slits his thumb and sends himself into deep thought. 'The only reason titans can pinpoint humans so well his because of our sense of smell. C'mon. Levi. Levi. Where are you?' That's when he smells it. Blood. He can't be too sure if it is Levi but it's all he's got and the strongest scent he can catch.
Without further hesitation he heads to the wall. When he gets to the wall and sees nothing, he knows that Levi is on the other side. He does all he can to focus on the smartest choice to make without panicking. Being that he doesn't know how much time he has, he runs to equip himself with a 3DMG. At the gates are two soldiers from the survey corps.
"It's past curfew. Where do you think you are going with that 3DMG on?"
"I need to get out! The captain of the Scouting Regiment is outside of those gates and injured."
"There's nothing we can do about that. When the gates are closed for the day, they are closed. There are hundreds of titans out there that still have not been cleared out after the fixing of Wall Rose."
Eren huffs, still trying to keep his titan under control. Without speaking another word to these men he walks out of their eye shot and uses his 3DMG to scale the wall. Eventually he is on top. In a near nose dive he runs down the wall and uses his gear to land safely.
On the ground he flares his own senses while at the same time trying to look out for titans a few meters away from him. Finally he gets a clear path and follows it. He finds himself at a tall building with an ancient clock on it. Right in the center, on the ground, Levi is tied up and covered in cuts. Kneeling down in front of him is Reiner.
"...I'm going to do the same thing to you." Eren catches him in mid sentence. Reiner stands and kicks Levi across the face. Blood runs out his mouth and Eren covers his own mouth, holding himself from shouting aloud.
Levi looks up at him with that usual, haunting, blank glare. "Why does being a Titan make people suck dicks?"
Reiner kicks his face again and he falls to the side. The titan is debating the best course of action to take without killing them both. Slowly Levi raises his head, catching sight of Eren around the corner and their eyes connect. The captain shakes his head slightly so Eren can see but not Reiner. Eren can read the intensity in his eyes, but the blood covering Levi's face blocks his judgement. Eren finally decides his course and dips back around the corner, out of Levi's sight.
The first thing he does is shoot off the red flare given to him by Erwin. The red mist flies well above the height of the wall and he knows that this will attract the attention of more than just Erwin but surely the chief already knew this himself upon departure. Assuming Reiner also saw this, Eren flies around the other side of the building in a speed astonishing to even himself. There Levi is alone and badly injured. Eren uses the blades on his 3DMG to cut the ropes on Levi.
With a lot of strength he lifts his leader off of the ground and hits a blind sprint. "I told you to leave," Levi grunts.
"Who would I be to leave my partner behind?"
"Partner?"
"Don't like it? Fine, boyfriend."
"Partner is fine."
"That's what I thought," Eren smiles, happy to feel Levi in his arms and alive. They duck inside of a building with a gaping whole in the wall. In a rush Eren removes his 3DMG. "Here, take this." He hands it over to the bloodied male.
"What? Why are you giving me this?"
"What do you mean why? We are on the wrong side of the wall in the middle of the night with titans everywhere. Now take the damn thing. You need it more than I do."
Levi listens to this, snatching the gear. He silently admires the way Eren takes charge and keeps on a straight head in such a dire situation. Just as he is finishing the latches a large crash is heard and they see feet next to them. Without a seconds hesitation Eren tears the skin on his thumb with his teeth and rips into his titan form. Levi looks up at the large titan masses. The titan they know as The Armored Titan stands across from Eren. For the first time in a very lengthy period of time, Levi is surprised. He had expected Reiner to be a titan but never the one that destroyed Wall Maria. The Armored Titan, one of the main ones that started all of this shit. In a rush to get The Armored Titan as far away from Levi as possible, Eren goes for the kill, tackling Reiner yards away into a building. They both tumble. Suddenly, Levi sees titans approaching that hadn't been around the entire time since he'd been tied up. In a rush to make Eren's job easier, Levi starts taking out the titans. He takes out one that about 10 meters tall.
Looking back he sees two Abnormals and a 5 meter class titan. Making haste he goes towards them, hearing another crash behind him from the battle of the shifters. It takes all of his control not to turn and check to see if Eren is alright, but he knows already how tricky Deviants are. Taking your eyes off of them for a split second can mean your life. "Personal feelings come last on the battle field," he reminds himself. Unexpectedly, when the Abnormal reaches him, it runs straight past him. The wind from his speed simply brushes Levi's hair. Rearranging his moves, he takes out the 5 meter class titan. As soon as he turns around one of the abnormals have caught Eren off guard and rammed him into more buildings.
Levi jets towards them and Reiner catches sight of him. The Armored Titan smiles and readies himself to strike when the time is right. Before that action can even be carried out, Eren is upon him, the deviant already taken care of with a smashed in head. The second deviant is now taking aim for Eren but Levi sweeps in and takes out a chunk of his neck. The leader nearly floats past Eren and yells, "I got your back! Don't worry about me! Just watch your neck and take that guy out-ughhhh!" As he lets out that last word he is hit by Reiner, who has stood up with surprising speed. Levi collides with a building and falls to the ground.
For a brief second that feels like days, Eren looks at the still body. 'Levi..' A new fire kindles in those glowing green eyes and he tackles Reiner. They crash through 5 buildings and into a few titans. Reiner rolls him over and he takes a brutal blow to the face. While looking into the sky he sees 3 red flares and one green flare fire into the sky. His worries lift slightly as he realizes that finally, they aren't alone. He kicks Reiner off. It didn't take him long to realize that they are similar when it comes to healing, therefore, the fight isn't moving very fast. Either way, all Eren wants to do is get Levi to safety.
Erwin cuts through the air, followed by Armin, Mikasa, Connie, Jean, Sasha, Ymir and Hange. Mikasa and Armin are given the job to both check on Eren and if necessary, protect him. Hange and Erwin look for Levi while Connie, Jean, Ymir and Sasha guard the surrounding perimeter for them. Finally Levi is spotted on the ground next to a completely destroyed building. Erwin grabs him and shakes him. "Wake up!"
"Don't do that!" Hange yells. "Are you trying to kill him?"
"Of course not but we won't last long if he is unconscious. There aren't many stable buildings around to shelter ourselves."
Hange does a double take before grabbing Levi's shoulders and shaking him. "Wake up!"
He moves a bit. "Maybe some water?" Erwin suggests. "But where would we get it?"
"I can spit on him."
"If you spit on me, you will not live to see another titan," the captain groans weakly.
"Levi, oh thank the gods." Erwin sighs. Levi tries to sit up. "Stop, you're injured."
"And we'll be dead if I don't get up." With the help of both of his friend he gets to his feet. "Who else is here?"
"The whole lot," Hange says happily.
"No," he whispers. His heart jumps from worry at the thought of losing any of them. After a few steps he notices that the only physical pain he really feels is in his ankle again. He's done it before. Erwin takes out a green flare and shoots it off. Within a matter of minutes the entire group is swinging towards him with a purpose in each push of air. Levi takes note of everyone. "Where is Mikasa and Armin?"
"Where we are going. Watching Eren."
"Good." Levi starts walking.
"Good, nothing. You're heading back inside the wall with Sasha," Erwin demands
The petite captain huffs a laugh. "Over my dead body." With that he takes off, swinging onto whatever building that is still standing to the location where the last crash occurred. The others are close behind. When Eren is in his sights Levi takes out two Deviants that are on top of him while dodging the swinging arm of Reiner. At the same time the others take Attack On The Armored Titan. He cautiously covers his neck, unable to actually pinpoint where each hit is coming from. Eren crashes into Reiner, who is badly beaten up again. While he is on the ground everyone heads in for another strike.
Eren's movements are brought to a standstill. Seeing everyone there and fighting gives him higher hopes. Then he sees Levi and all of his mind is completely distracted. His guard is down and Reiner notices the concentration laps. There he goes in for the kill, slicing Eren's neck with all of his mite.
Mikasa sees the attack and lands. "Errrennnnn!"
Levi, taking out two other titans, hears the scream and turns, only to see his Titan collapse. Levi's heart stops and he takes off towards him, seeing Petra flash before his eyes. Just after Reiner's hand makes contact Hange is baring down on Reiner's neck with her swords. Right off the bat she knows that they didn't go deep enough to kill. There is a strong burst of steam that blocks everyone's view and knocks Hange through the air.
Quick thinking, as usual, Jean catches her. "I gotcha." The two land on the ground in a tumble. When the threat of Reiner suddenly disappears, all eyes go to Eren. He has a deep gash in the back of his neck. Levi is on his shoulder, kneeling weakly onto one knee.
"Eren," he whispers. "Wake up." There is no rise and fall of the Titan's chest. Levi looks back at the group. "Go look for Reiner."
Erwin steps up. "Levi, he's gone. Looking for him when it's this dark, in this kind of environment is a suicide mission. We need to leave."
"You guys can go but I'm staying here until Eren comes to."
"And if he doesn't?"
"I'm staying," Levi states with a shaky voice.
"You need to leave him!"
"I can't! I'm... I'm not strong enough." Levi looks down at Eren. He contemplates cutting him out like he did last time, but that was a hunch and extremely risky. Doing so again might be more damaging. Jean and Connie swing off, taking out two titans that are getting closer, returning only seconds later. They are killing like real scout regiment soldiers. "Eren, you've got to come through." Levi's deep voice rings out over everyone. Still no response. Everyone else watches as their sliced up leader falls to his knees, tears forming in his hard and narrow eyes. "Eren. Don't let it consume you. Don't let it take you.. Don't leave me." Levi bends over, punching the down. The first reaction from the others is surprise and then Erwin puts his fist to his chest in salute. Everyone follows, showing their utmost respect. "No... I... I love you," he grunts silently. He then sits up, no longer caring. "Wake up! I love you."
Apparently the voice made it through because steam forms and seconds later Eren pops out like a new born man. Levi catches him and yanks him out, dragging him across the vaporizing body of his titan. They slide down the body to the ground with a thump. The group all run to the two and for minutes, Levi doesn't move. He simply embraces Eren.
"Levi," Erwin says, "we need to get him out of here. He is badly injured." Levi looks up only to see a lengthy slit running down Eren's back. Together, over a span of hours the group dodges and kill titans, heading back to the wall on foot in the darkened night.
Arriving back to the gate, Erwin throws Eren his back and with difficulty lifts him over the wall. Levi is too injured to do so himself but he stays next to the blonde chief the entire time. They land on the other side without being noticed. Despite this, there are multiple soldiers scouring everywhere, the outside battle not going unnoticed.
In an infirmary everyone sits, beat up and tired. Levi holds Eren's hand.
"So," Armin says, being the first in hours to actually speak. "Reiner is the armored titan?" He pauses for a few seconds. "Eren and I talked to him and Berthold when we were still training. He told us how scared he was when the titans came. He helped Eren when we were having trouble with the 3DMG... But he was the one who actually caused the human race so much pain." When they can see the sun rising Connie stands up and stretches his aching body. He is the first to even move since arriving back within the gates.
"It's been a while since I've worked like that. Felt good..." Suddenly he becomes more serious. "Lance Corporal Levi." Their leader looks up at him and he also drags the attention of everyone else. "We all know you to be a strong soldier but yesterday was the best display of strength I have ever witnessed, sir." Connie salutes. "Thank you. Rest well." Levi's eyes are wide with surprise. Everyone else salutes behind him. This is a huge change in attitude from the usual happy and over hyperactive boy that Levi is used to seeing. With that they walk out, one after another.
Soon, only Levi, Eren, and Erwin are left. Erwin smiles and places a hand on Levi's head. "I think that means they accept your relationship." Levi doesn't respond and Erwin grabs his arm to pull him up. Levi doesn't move.
"What." His voice is full of exhaustion and relief.
"You need to rest. The doctor said he'll be fine. Now, it's your turn to heal. You want to be nice and refreshed when he wakes right?" Levi stands up without words and Erwin smiles. "Quite The Reluctant Hero you are." Still no sound comes out of his mouth. Levi washes his body, looking observantly at the bruises and possible internal bleeding. He is glad to see them. These scars are the reason Eren is alive now. Or maybe it isn't that. These are the reason Eren is hurt.
When he has washed, he lays in an infirmary bed and drifts away.
After a peaceful slumber he wakes. Sunlight shines brightly into the room. He looks to his right and then his left. His eyes are greeted with Eren sitting, asleep and holding onto his hand. Levi brings the hand to his lips and kisses it. Eren groans and shifts a little, opening his eyes. When he sees Levi's eyes open his own snap wide and he lunges onto him. Levi wraps his arms around Eren. "I heard you," Eren says, tears in his eyes.
"Heard me do what?"
"You said 'I love you'."
Levi looks off to the side. "No I didn't."
Eren kisses him on the lips. "Sure."He recedes.
"What time is it?" Levi realizes he is extremely weak.
"It's around noon."
"Good, I didn't sleep too long."
"What?" Confusion strikes Eren's face and then uncertainty. "Levi, you've been out for almost 4 days..."
"Four... days?"
LLL- This was by far the longest chapter
Eren- Awesome!
LLL- Thank you sooooo much to everyone who reviews. It means the world to me. Now this chapter I really badly need reviews because it took forever and is my favorite. Let me know what you think!