Chapter Text
Eren roared. He was losing control. He was trying, he was. His Titan form became out of control when he saw a Titan eat another one of his Elite friends. He roared, going blind. He smashed three, four, seven Titans before he rushed to the humans. His squad. His friends. What was he doing?
“Eren what are you doing?! Remember who we are!” he heard a voice call out desperately. He was getting away. Eren swiped with his hand, trying to grab the blonde in front of him, but he was quick. The blonde’s eyes filled with fear and terror. And sadness.
“Eren please!” he yelled, he shrieked over Eren’s roar. Eren heard it clearly. Armin?
“Eren listen to us! Don’t forget your purpose, you shitty brat!” Heichou. Captain. Levi. For sure.
“Oi Eren! Do you hear me in there brat? Get your shit together. You’re fighting the Titans!” Eren heard it again, and finally, he could see. He tried to regain control and focused on the Titans ahead of him. Come on. Let’s go. Titans. Kill them. Kill them all. Eren roared again, charging at the Titans. He snarled, swiping them left and right, smashing their heads, their necks, and their weak spots. He growled and punched the Titan in front of him, who fell backwards, letting out a pained howl. Eren leaped onto it, punching his face into the ground. He stopped, looking around. A mistake. Big mistake. A seven foot and with a heard behind him, jumped onto him. Eren let out a startled and enraged roar. He was finished. These were all the Titans he was informed of. Where did these come from? And how did they come so quickly? The seven foot Titan bit into his neck. Eren let out a pained roar as another Titan came and bit his arm, ripping his Titan flesh. The elites… Where were they? Armin? Mikasa? Heichou? Then Eren remembered.
~
“Here’s the plan, so listen carefully. Eren, we’re going to be using your Titan powers. We have been informed of Titans seemingly having a stay at the forest we pass through, so you must clear them on our way back. 32. I will have some from both Erwin and my squad go ahead up front, so we distract them and spread them about. Then we’ll fall back and leave the rest to you. They will see us when we enter, but mostly when we leave the forest. It is your job to see that we get out without too many Titans coming onto our asses. Got that Eren?” Levi said, pointing to the whiteboard that showed the route they were taking, and where the Titans would be. Eren gulped and nodded.
“Will there be more? How do you know there are 32 Titans exactly?” Armin asked. Jean and Mikasa nodded. Eren looked at them. Transferring them to Levi’s squad was certainly a surprise, but Eren happily welcomed his friends, plus Jean, into the squad. Hanji came in on this one.
“Weeeell, on my last expedition with this guy,” Hanji replied gleefully, patting Erwin’s chest hard, “I found what I like to call a Titan nest.”
“Titan nest?” Eren echoed Hanji’s words. Hanji nodded.
“Yup! When I found it, I decided to count them. Went to the highest branch of the highest tree I could find, and counted about 35, but we killed one and captured two, thus, Polo and Loco outside,” Hanji said, gesturing to the two Titans outside, all chained up.
“And that leaves 32!” she concluded, smiling. Levi nodded and glared at all of them.
“There may be more, but not too many, as that was just two days ago. Got it?” Everyone nodded. Levi looked at Eren.
“And if you screw up, I’m going to be the one to kill you, got that brat?” Levi said. Eren nodded his understanding.
“Got it.”
~
“Ne, Levi. You don’t mean that do you?” Hanji stopped, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, as Levi walked out. Everyone else was gone. Levi glared up at her.
“Oi, shitty glasses. What are you talking about?” he asked coldly. Hanji looked at him, a brow raised.
“Would you really kill Eren if it came down to it?” she asked. Levi was about to retaliate back with a stinging retort, telling her she was an idiot, but when he saw that she was completely serious, Levi looked away and softened a bit. He look out the window, not saying anything.
“Levi… Everyone can tell, no matter how much you seem to mistreat him with your words, that you’re are infatuated with him. And Eren, most likely, but unknowingly, returns those feelings,” Hanji sighed, uncrossing her arms and standing up straight. She walked over to the smaller man and placed a hand on his shoulder. Hanji knew she was right when he didn’t shove her hand off.
“Could you really? Could, and would you do it if it came down to that Levi?” Hanji walked out, leaving Levi looking out the window alone. He looked down, finally showing an emotion. Frustration, confusion, hesitation. Deep, deep down inside, he knew he couldn’t. But he knew for sure that he would. If it came down to it. If. And only if.
“Tsk…” he clicked his tongue before looking out again. He sighed and walked out of the room.
~
“Eren!!” Eren clearly heard Mikasa’s shriek, even through his pained roars and threw the Titan’s bodies in which surrounded him. Eren let out another loud, pained roar. In what human senses he had left, he silently willed Mikasa not to turn back. She had to keep going, while all these Titans were distracted. He saw her wide eyes, full of terror as Armin blocked her, and Erwin pulled her back. Her eyes turned cold and she hit Erwin, shouting at him to let go. Erwin only clenched his teeth, and with pain in his own eyes, pulled Mikasa away, with Armin hesitantly following behind. It wasn’t safe with Eren right now. Maybe ever, Eren thought, with yet again, the human he had left in him. A Titan bit down, hard on his quad, causing him to roar louder than before.
Levi’s POV
He stopped in midair when he heard it. That roar. Was it…? It couldn’t be. It can’t be. No way it was. Levi easily sliced the neck of the Titan that was charging at him, and glared at it, before maneuvering away again. Then, there it was again. Louder than ever, full of pain. Levi caught up with the squads and looked around. As expected, soldiers missing. But… Where was?
“H-heichou!” Armin maneuvered right up next to him, his eyes full of distress.
“What is it?” Levi asked. Armin breathed a few times before looking at him with wide eyes, full of pain and sadness. Levi glared at him.
“Well? Spit it out Arlert,” he said cooly.
“It’s… It’s Eren! You need to hurry!” he yelled, voice full of desperation, “You have to save him!” Levi’s eyes widened. He knew it. It was as he feared. He immediately shifted his gear, so suddenly that he startled Armin.
“Keep going! Don’t look back unless you want to die!” Levi yelled over his shoulder at Armin before he quickly maneuvered out of sight, straight to Eren.
Eren’s POV
Eren finally managed to punch three of their heads off with his one good hand. The other one was too deep to regenerate fast enough. He roared, biting at the Titan’s face that came close to his. It roared and stepped back, falling onto its back. Eren began to regain his human composure. He wanted to get out. Needed to. He in his Titan form limply sat there, head down. He had to get out… He needed… To live… Not here… Eren, human Eren, exhausted and in pain, tried to his best to get out. The Titan’s bit so far into the flesh that they got him… And for some reason, he just wasn’t healing. So much pain… Has this ever happened? A flaw in the system? Eren did not usually get the wounds his Titan body did, so why…?
“Come on… Come on!” he willed himself. With the last bit of strength he had, he ripped his way out, his head surfacing, He gasped for air, which hurt all too much. More than it should. He winced, and his whole body gave out. He was so high up on the Titan’s neck… He was going to fall… Eren’s body fell limp, he didn’t have a choice… He was fading… The pain… As Eren began falling, he was something out of the corner of his eye. A flash, an angered shout, slicing the Titans. Mikasa? No…
“Oi! Eren!”
….
Heichou… Eren came back. He had to… He had to stay alive… Until heichou came to him, until he was done fighting those Titans, until he was in heichou’s arms… He tried his best to stay in the light.
“H-heichou…” he whispered, giving a rather pathetic attempt to call out to his captain, who, at this moment right now, seemed to be the only thing that mattered to Eren. Levi sliced all the Titans away, and alas, reached Eren. Eren smiled weakly, before he let his body go limp again, expecting to fall. He saw heichou… The last thing he saw… It was all he needed…
He fell into arms. They picked him up, strong and steady, and in bridal position, he was carried down to the floor. Levi felt like panicking. He wanted to cry, shout for help, lie down and just go to sleep, hoping this was all just a dream. But of course, he didn’t. Not even a sign of his feelings were shown. He had to stay calm. Eren opened his eyes and smiled again. Levi took out his flare and fired it, hoping someone would come.
“H…Hei…” Eren didn’t finish, too weak. Saying that felt like every ounce of life was sapped right out of him. Levi clenched his jaws and opened Eren’s shirt. He wanted to puke at what he saw. A deep, deep gash right in the middle of his stomach.
“Why aren’t you healing?” Levi thought. Eren looked at him. Levi ripped part of his own uniform off and wrapped it around another gash on his arm, making Eren wince.
“H-heichou… It’s no use…” he tried to say. Levi’s eyes hardened and he didn’t stop wrapping him.
“Shut up and heal yourself already,” he growled. Eren smiled at his captain. Finally, an elite came.
“L-Levi heichou! We saw your flare and…” the soldier trailed off and his eyes widened at Eren. Levi glared at the soldier.
“Get help. Now. Go!” Levi shouted, glaring at the soldier, who was standing there, shocked and confused.
“U-uh, but-“
“Now!!” Levi snarled. The soldier’s eyes filled with fear as he quickly nodded before maneuvering off. Levi knelt beside Eren and looked at him. His eyes were closed. Levi’s eyes widened and he put his ear to his chest. Faint. There, but faint. He wasn’t going to let this happen, he wasn’t.
“Oi, brat, don’t you dare die on me. I’m supposed to kill you. No one else.” Eren opened his eyes slowly.
“Heichou… Did you know? Did you-“Eren couldn’t finish, as he coughed up a bit of blood.
“That I…” he tried to finish, but Levi told him to shut up. Eren let out what sounded like an attempt at a chuckle.
“I always enjoyed…Cleaning with… You… And I-“
Cough cough
“Always… Admired you…. Always watched…”
Cough cough
“And never… Regretted joining you... Fighting along you…”
Levi clenched his teeth and squeezed Eren’s arm. Eren winced.
“Heichou… Hurts…”
“Then shut it!” he said rather loudly. Was that… Desperation Eren heard?
“I’ll always stay by you heichou… And... I-“
Cough cough
“Oi, you brat, I told you to shut it,” Levi growled, glaring at Eren. Eren looked at him, and smiled. Levi’s eyed widened slightly as he met his gaze. It was so full of love, admiration, and the knowing look of death. Levi quickly looked away. Eren took Levi’s hand. Levi stiffened slightly at the touch, but nevertheless, let him hold it. Where the hell was the help?
“Did you know…?” Eren’s voice became faint, as he desperately tried to finish. He had to... He had to, no matter what… Levi only let out a tsk, looked away, his face now contorted in pain and anguish. He squeezed Eren’s hand harder.
“That I...”
Cough
“I don’t want to hear it!”
“That…” His voice was faint. He had to tell him.
“Shut up Eren! I told you to shut it!” Levi’s voice almost cracked. Although his face was turned away from Eren, his eyes were filled with terror and anguish for what was to become of his young soldier. His Eren.
“That I love you?”