Chapter Text
It happens not in any way he's heard it happen to others. Not that Levi is particularly interested in how it happens to others, but it's hard to tune out Petra's voice cracking with giggles as she blossoms into something precious when she tells him and Gunther how Oluo had given her a single flower and told her he had loved her from the first time he laid eyes on her.
Nor is it easy to ignore Mike sighing after Nanaba, quiet and wistful, making Levi think of lovesick fools half their age. Later Mike comes bounding into the mess hall, light on his feet, with a modest parcel wrapped in linen. He unwraps it in front of Levi and they both feast their eyes on a tin full of bread, golden and dotted with dried fruit. Mike inhales, lungs full of the warm aroma, and whispers like Sina, Rose, and Maria descended from the skies and granted him eternal life, "They're from Nanaba."
No. For Levi, it doesn't happen like that.
It happens in the forest in the middle of a torrential storm that has the expedition sacrifing half their carts, a third of their horses, and all of their safety. The rain comes down in walls and they can hardly see anything as they zip through the dense forests. The Titans behind them are unperturbed by the weather, running after them like mindless, hungry children.
Somewhere beside Levi, he hears the loud smack of flesh against a tree, followed by an agonized scream, then the crunch of bones.
Hange is yelling for their squad. Someone barks orders to the new recruits and flies past them. Levi catches a glimpse of green cloaks somewhere in his peripherals. A red scarf. Armin. Green eyes. For a second or two, he's flanked by Mike and Nanaba when he lands on a branch, then they're gone flying again.
He stills on the branch and shields his eyes from the rain with his hand, tired and trembling around his blade. It had been a relentless attack from all side and from above. What was supposed to be a scouting mission quickly turned into a massacre. An ambush. A forest full of blood.
Petra lands beside him with blood on her face. Levi can't tell if it's evaporating or simply washed away by the rain.
"Captain, the Commander ordered a full retreat. The horses are in a clearing ahead, we're going to cle--"
"Where is Erwin?"
"He is in the rear of the formation, he ordered us to leave him--"
Levi sends his grapple flying to the nearest tree, keeping his transitions short and quick between the branches, unable to see further than a meter or so away. The forest makes it hard to move with its density. And yet the rain beats down on them. So many trees without any shelter.
Below he feels more than hears or sees the Titans, running and shaking the earth and flesh of soldiers beneath their feet. An unfortunate fall in the mud renders their gears useless. And there is too much mud. He moves quicker to the rear, keeping an ear out for Erwin's voice. Instead he hears orders bellowed above the relentless beating of the storm. Cries. Scream. Bones crushed and crushing.
"Levi!"
He immediately follows the voice and finds Erwin on a horse, soaked in mud so thick it doesn’t wash off. Around him were soldiers trying to shake the mud and muck off their gear. Some manage to leave the ground, the others clamber on to any horse they find. All that rain and none of it could wash the mud off them fast enough.
"Levi head to the front!"
Levi lands beside Erwin despite the closing tremble of the ground. It’s a dangerous move but the moment feels somewhat final and he needs to see Erwin. Close.
"Go! I can handle it back here, your gear is fucked."
Erwin hesitates. The others have managed to start their way forward and it's only him and Levi left in the rear. He knows his horse is injured, or exhausted from galloping in mud, making the creature slow and perilous.
"Go, Erwin!" Levi yells at him and it startles his horse. Just in time. Levi can see a Titan approaching, arms flailing wildly. An Abnormal. And he can see its mouth with teeth lined up to the cheeks. It's close enough. Too close.
So Levi flies on instinct, his body and gear carrying him without thought. But he does look back, just for a moment, to find Erwin riding away. He's safe.
But instinct only carries Levi so far. He flies in blindness around the Abnormal and few other Titans that arrive. The smaller monster fall easily and Levi no longer feels the dangerous rush of blood in his veins. This is easy. This is manageable. This could be certain death but it's also certain safety for Erwin.
He lets his thoughts wander too long and doesn't see the Abnormal's hand coming down at him in time to avoid it. He veers sharply to the right with a loud grunt and a giant finger catches on to his left just after he slashes the Titans arm useless. Even in the rain, he could smell the rancid vapor of quickly healing flesh.
"Fuck," he whispers from a high branch, looking down to the steaming Titan. If it reached its hands fully upwards, it can reach Levi easily. He scans his gear and finds the left one warped. He tries to propel the other and it catches at the mechanism. The monster seems to know he's trapped up there. It waits with too many teeth below him and the rain lets up enough so that he can clearly see the flesh of its shoulders stitching together.
In a moment of clarity, Levi laughs. Loud. His voice doesn't travel far. There is no one left around to hear his sad, humorless laughter bounce against the trees. He's going to be left behind here. He is valuable, no, his strength is valuable. But if they lose him, they will find someone else to fight. Mikasa will take his place. Eren. Maybe even Jean. Someone else will keep Erwin safe. And in that moment, Levi accepts his fate and sits on the high branch. He counts the beats before the Titan's shoulder heals.
Then he hears it. Unmistakably close. The sounds of hooves slapping against the mud. He looks behind him, below. It's Erwin.
"Levi, jump!" The voice cuts through the rain and mutes it to a dull white noise. The Titan takes no notice of Erwin and reaches up to Levi, hand wide and menacing. And Levi obeys Erwin without question. He only answers with Relief. Gratitude. Something fierce and deep in his bones--the absolute conviction that, no, he cannot die. No one else can protect Erwin. No one else must.
That's his alone to fulfill.
He falls, and Erwin catches him.
Erwin survives with a broken collar bone and a swollen eye from where Levi lands on him; Levi has a bruised rib and a shitty story of how he falls in love.