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There wasn't a single member of the Survey Corps who didn't have a wager on what the nature of Erwin Smith and Levi's relationship was. Plenty of soldiers could see the closeness they carried between each other; the devotion to each other. It was hard to miss how the Captain followed Erwin's every order, even when he didn’t seem to agree with them. The rumors had been circulating for years by now of what they might be- lovers, boyfriends, husbands, secret brothers- too many possibilities to count.
“So… You two have noticed it too, right? How close Captain Levi and Commander Erwin are?” Eren's bored, tired of the cold nipping at his nose while they rode in formation. The Commander was leading the group in front of them, completely out of their field of sight by now. There'd been no titans spotted for the entire hour they'd been riding. Sure, that was a good thing, but Eren's thighs were hurting from the saddle and his brain was numb from the lack of stimulation. “I mean… You've heard the rumors, right? That they're, like, together ?”
“Is this really the time to be talking about that?” Mikasa looks disappointed in him. “We're in the middle of an expedition, and he's literally right there.” Mikasa's eyes flick up to the small figure riding a horse several meters ahead of them, leading this section of Scouts. “If he hears you talking about rumors like that, he'll skin you alive.”
“I'm just asking. Besides, we've got nothing better to do right now, why can't we talk about something?” Eren huffs. He'd always been scolded for talking while riding, but it wasn't like he spewed words like Oluo did. He'd be fine. “What do you think, Armin? You typically notice stuff like that between people.”
“Well…” Armin's expression turns into the one he wears while he's trying to puzzle something out. If he hadn't been holding the reins of his horse, Eren wouldn't have been surprised if he'd held his chin or rubbed his temple. “... I definitely have my suspicions. There's a saying that every rumor has an ounce of truth in it, after all. If you look at how they act with each other and think about what others have said, it's hard not to think that there's something going on between them. Even so, it's not really our business to debate that, is it?”
“You two are so boring! ” Eren lets out a frustrated groan. “Who cares if it's our business or not? That's, like, the entire point of gossip . You pick something juicy or controversial and you talk about it.”
“You're so whiny today.” Mikasa huffs, riding a little closer to Eren. “Fine. I think there's something going on between them, too. The Captain and the Commander… their relationship almost reminds me of ours.” Mikasa flushes the slightest bit. “Don't you think?”
“Well…” Eren doesn't get to finish his thought. To their left, a red signal flare goes up, signaling the sighting of a titan. A moment later, and a green signal flare from in front of them directs everyone to start going to the right. Commander Erwin… “At least it's some regular titans. Should be easy to avoid and keep going, so long as we don't run into any abnormals-”
The sentence is barely finished before a black flare fires behind and to the right. A green flare fires up again in front of them to turn back to the left, closer than before- but Eren can already tell that things were getting dicey. They might be able to fight off the normal titans to the left, but the abnormals behind them were bad news. They could easily take chase behind them, and the horses could tire.
“Captain!” Eren catches up to Levi, riding by his side. Levi's poker face is immaculate, betraying none of what he might be thinking. “What are we doing? We're the only ones fit to take on those abnormals. If they get behind us-”
“We wait for word from the Commander.” Levi’s voice is firm, but he grimaces as another black flare fires off to their right, further behind them now. “Fall back, Eren.”
“ Dammit …” Eren curses and falls back with the other two again. “I'd break rank right now if I didn't want to spend ten days locked up in a jail cell. What the hell are they thinking?! ”
Up ahead, Levi himself was growing nervous. Even though he'd told Eren off, it didn't mean that he didn't want to go take care of the abnormals. Regardless, he had to wait for a command from Erwin, whether he wanted to or not. He was antsy, especially when he realizes that they're catching up to Erwin’s group. “You all stay back, I'm going to speak with the Commander!”
After a chorus of “yes, sir!”s, Levi speeds up and works to catch up to Erwin. The group ahead moves out of his way to let him through, easily spotting Erwin's white horse. He rides up beside him, earning a nod of acknowledgement from the Commander. “Captain Levi. Here for orders, or to tell me what you're going to do?”
“I'm requesting to dispatch myself and my squad to take care of the abnormals, to ensure we can safely turn around and head back. We've cleared more land today than we have in months. I'd call that successful, counting we can even get back. ” Levi can almost feel their legs brush as they ride next to each other, their horses matching strides naturally, as if it was meant to be. “I'd prefer you tell me I'm allowed to go. I'm not usually one to disobey your orders, but I feel I can make some exceptions.”
“Yes, I do know that.” Erwin smiles, despite it being grim. “Go, Levi. I know you and your squad can handle it. If I knew you weren't going to ride up to talk to me, I would have sent someone back to tell you. I've already sent a Scout to our left to inform them of our plan. Send up a yellow flare once you've killed the abnormals, and I'll turn us around. If you fail, send blue. Good luck.”
“Yes, sir.” Levi falls back again, watching Erwin for a moment longer than necessary before he turns to the rest of his squad. “The Commander has given us permission to engage with the abnormals. Arlert, I want you to keep your distance and fire off the signal flare. Yellow if we succeed, blue if we fail. Everyone else, stick close!”
Levi turns and his squad follows, galloping out towards where the black signal flare was slowly fading away. Eren and Mikasa flank him on either side, and he has half a mind to tell Eren to hang back with Armin- but he can see the determination set in his expression, and Levi holds his tongue. Within a few minutes, they're within sight of the group running from the abnormals. Levi can see the dust they've kicked up, but he doesn't have eyes on the actual titans yet. Shit. They make a quick circle, joining up with the group. Levi can see the relief in their expressions when they realize it's him. “How many are there?”
“Five, sir, and two normals a little further behind them, following. They were on our right, but they're just chasing behind us now.” The Scout looks over his shoulder at the dust cloud slowly getting closer. “We've been pushing to keep ahead of them, but our horses won't be able to keep this pace… and we won't be able to turn around.”
“I figured as much.” Levi wraps his horse's reins around the horn of his saddle. Despite the disbelief in his comrade's faces, Levi braces his hands on his horse and hops to his feet, balancing on his saddle with a practiced ease. She remains running steady even as he turns around, finally getting just enough height to see the titans clearer. “Looks like… a 12-meter, two 7-meters, and 8-meter… and whatever the crawling one is. A five? It's going to be tough.” He takes a moment to survey their surroundings, pursing his lips. “Not much around for our ODM gear…”
“What should we do, Captain..?” Levi looks at the soldiers around him and takes a deep breath before he drops back down onto his horse, taking the reins again. “Captain?”
“I'm going to have my squad ride towards that patch of trees to our right. We'll have to hope that's enough of an anchor. Your squad is going to split off once I catch the attention of the abnormals and head further in on the formation. I'll lead the titans to my squad. Understood?” Levi's met with blank stares. “I said … Understood?! ”
“Yes, sir!” Levi falls back again as the others run ahead of him, and now his job was to play bait. He'd leave this part out of his report… he knew Erwin would disapprove of putting himself in danger like this. It's better me than someone else. The thunderous footsteps of the titan's grow louder and louder the closer they get, and Levi can't help but scoff as they immediately beeline for him.
“C'mon, uglies! I bet I just smell so delicious! Why don't you come get a taste?!” Levi knows they don't understand his taunts, but it helps keep their attention. When he's sure they aren't going to leave him, he makes a signal for the outer squad to split- and they do, quickly heading left and further into the formation. The abnormals completely disregard them, now focused on Levi. Exactly what I wanted. This'll be just fine. “Get prepared to fight!”
He doesn't even need to say it, really. His squad was already prepped, horses herded together away from the action with Armin, and ODM gear anchored in the trees. I've trained them well. Levi stands in his saddle again, this time unsheathing his blades and joining his squad in preparation. His horse runs off with the others, and Levi grits his teeth as he hangs down against the trunk. “This is going to get dicey. Keep in constant communication with each other, and be mindful not to cross wires! We don't have a lot to work with here, so be smart in your decisions!”
“Yes, sir!”
Levi propels off the trunk as the first abnormal reaches them, its giant hand crushing against the tree where he'd just been. Levi trusts in his squad and focuses on what he needs to do, firing his anchors into its nape and gripping his blades. His movements come as natural as breathing, and even as the titan swings at him, Levi slices along its arm all the way to its face, cutting across its eyes. He doesn't get a clean shot at the nape, cursing as he retreats- nearly crashing into one of his squadmates. “ Shit, watch where you're-”
Levi gets no time to complain. It's hard to maneuver with so many people flying around, even if most of them were skilled with the ODM gear by now. One of the titans had been dispatched, another missing an arm- Jean was struggling with the tallest one, but he could see Connie was quickly going to help him. Levi's own titan was one of the smaller ones, and it wailed as it held its face. It'll be immobile for long enough. He quickly scans the field, noticing the two normal titans finally catching up- but missing one of the abnormals. Shit. Where did it-?
He barely has time to think before said abnormal jumps from behind him, ignoring Eren, who had already been on the way to fight it. Instinct kicks in faster than Levi's thoughts, barely getting out of the way as the titan goes crashing down beside him. It nearly crushes the smaller one Levi had injured earlier, but it's quick to turn around and lunge again. Levi grits his teeth and quickly anchors back against the tree, bracing against the trunk. As soon as it leaps at him, Levi pushes off the tree with all the strength he can muster, flipping mid air- he shoots his anchor into the titan's nape, and within seconds of it locking in, he's spinning and sliding deep into the titan’s neck, sending it and himself careening towards the ground. The impact jostles him, but he quickly recovers.
“Captain, watch out!” Eren's voice calls out to him, but he's a little too late this time. Levi doesn't react quick enough, the hand of a titan reaching through the steam and grabbing him tight. Fuck. If it squeezes any harder, my ribs - Levi lets out a pained, wheezing cry as he feels the strain against his body. It was the titan from earlier, its eyes apparently healed enough to see. He kicks and pushes and does everything in his power to get away while lifted towards its mouth, physically feeling his ribs crack - “ Captain! ”
Eren slices through the titan's neck, and its hand goes slack, letting Levi go. He barely has the strength to get out of the way of the titan's body, and a second later, Eren lands beside him, immediately trying to support him. “Captain- Are you okay? We can't stay right here-”
“ Go. I'll- I'll be fine.” Every one of Levi's gasps for breath hurts. “Help dispatch the last of the titans. I'll be right behind you.”
Eren seems unsure, but he must believe Levi’s commanding tone. He nods and hurries off, joining the rest of his squad airborne. Levi staggers for a few more moments, trying to survey the situation without risking the use of his ODM gear worsening his injury. “Shit…” Another abnormal was blatantly ignoring the people trying to kill it, swatting at them like bugs. It was beelining straight for Armin and the horses, who were in a completely open field. They could probably escape, but it wouldn't leave much room, especially when Levi sees a titan coming from the other way- no doubt drawn in by the commotion. “I have to…”
Levi musters up enough breath to whistle, and his horse comes running to him immediately. He fights through the pain to saddle and ride her towards the two titans, narrowly avoiding a soldier flying overhead. Push it. Get there. Don't let a single soldier die on your watch. She rides faster. Levi makes it to the abnormal as Armin realizes the situation, letting the horses free to go and trying to get away himself. Instead of attacking the abnormal, Levi uses it as his anchor to get to the other titan, narrowly missing a swing from the abnormal as he flies by. It lets out a cry of rage, but Levi ignores it- swiftly dispatching the regular titan. His body screams at him to stop, it hurts, you're broken- but he grits his teeth and fights through it. He jumps off the falling titan, giving himself enough time to attach to the last abnormal. He circles it, waiting for an opening.
When he’s given it- Levi takes the opportunity with a savage grace. He grips his blades and hits the gas, spinning towards his target-
But he doesn't make it. Really, his target meets him.
The abnormal strikes with a speed he wasn't expecting, even after watching how it slapped around at his comrades. He doesn't have the time to bail on his attack, watching in what felt like slow motion as the titan's hand swung at him.
All Levi feels is pain as he collides with the ground. His head spins, his ears ring- and he feels like he can't breathe. The last things he hears before his vision fades to black are cries of his name and the roars of the last few titans remaining, echoing across the fields.
Erwin was growing nervous.
They should have dispatched those titans by now. Has something happened? Erwin had been watching his right side like a hawk, waiting for the smoke signal which told him the fate of his comrades and Levi. Levi, who he knew would have charged off to do this even if Erwin had told him not to. Levi, who Erwin worried about even if he was the strongest soldier of humanity. Levi, his partner. Please be safe, Levi.
It feels like an eternity later when he finally sees the smoke signal- yellow. Good. That means they- His thoughts are interrupted when a purple flare quickly follows. Purple? Was someone lost? Injured? Erwin doesn't have much time to consider the possibilities. He sets his jaw and quickly sends up a blue signal flare straight up into the air- followed by a blue, signalling what way to face to start going back. As soon as they're safely on course, Erwin turns to his second-in-command. “I'm going to personally check on the status of our soldiers. Proceed with the formation, getting us back to the walls. If a soldier is injured, we might be late getting back. Do not wait for us.”
With his orders given, Erwin heads for the direction of the signal flare. He's not sure how far away they are, but soon enough he can see the steam rising from defeated titans. Good. That means they were successful. What went wrong? He approached the scene with caution, but it seemed like everyone had reconvened, and things were okay. He dismounts as he makes it to the group, leaving his horse with the others- eyes lingering on Levi's all black horse. “What’s happened? Did we lose a soldier?”
“C-Commander Erwin, it's…” Sasha's wide eyes meet his, looking… Scared . Worried. Erwin doesn't know what to make of it. “... it's the Captain. He's hurt really bad.”
“... Levi?” Erwin swallows thickly and immediately pushes through the crowd to where Armin was kneeled next to someone lying in the grass, drenched in what seemed to be a mix of titan and human blood. Erwin almost can't believe whose face he sees. Levi's, marred only by the blood splattered across it. His clothes were soaked through with the dark red blood, even as Armin pressed down on his wounds. He drops down to his knee beside him, cupping his cheek. “What happened?”
“He- An abnormal was attacking me and the horses, as another titan was coming up behind us… He dispatched the titan, but when he went to get the abnormal, it hit him out of the air…” Armin swallows thickly, flicking his scared gaze up at Erwin. “Earlier, he got grabbed. I'm rather sure he's broken or cracked some ribs. I can't tell what damage he sustained from being hit, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's concussed or has other broken bones. We need to get him back as soon as possible, but we don't have a cart- ”
“I'll take him. One of you needs to head into the formation and find our supply team. I'll ride with Levi until we can meet up again to transport him more safely.” Erwin gently slips an arm underneath Levi's back and another underneath his legs, gingerly lifting him up into his arms. Levi's breathing is shallow, letting out a pained noise as he shifts against Erwin's body. Without thinking, Erwin presses a kiss to Levi's temple, pressing their foreheads together for a few seconds. “... You're okay, Levi. I'm here now. I'll get you home.”
The rest of Levi's squad stand in a somber silence, watching as Erwin turns and returns to his horse. It's difficult to mount, but he manages, making sure Levi's in a position to jostle as little as possible in front of him. He's got Levi facing him, cradling him against his chest. He holds the reins around him, not waiting for the rest of the squad to assemble before he starts off. He doesn’t go quickly, not until he's sure he can hurt Levi as little as possible- but soon, they're going at a decent gallop. The rest of Levi's squad minus Sasha follow with, and Armin has Levi's horse in tow. You'll be okay. I've got you now.
“Er… win?” Erwin almost doesn't hear the quiet croak of his name, looking down in surprise. Levi has one eye open, the other having swollen shut, but he's looking up at Erwin with a devastating clarity. Erwin's heart squeezes. It doesn't matter how strong Levi is, or that he'll heal from this quickly. It hurts to see the man he loves in such pain. “... you came.”
“Of course I came, love. As soon as I saw the signals, I came. I didn't expect it to be you who was hurt…” Erwin's lips twist into a grimace. “... but I'm glad you're alive. I'm sorry that you're in pain right now, but this is the only option we have to transport you at the moment. Sasha's fetching a cart to get you on instead.”
“S’alright. Had worse.” Levi grunts. He's got his mask on, like always, but Erwin can see through it. Everything was hurting him, and Levi was still struggling to breathe, even while conscious. It had a pit of worry sinking deep in Erwin's stomach. “Stop… frowning.”
“... sorry. I'm just worried about you. You may be humanity's strongest, but… You know I'll never stop worrying about you.” Erwin gives him the best smile he can muster. It must be ugly, because Levi lets his eye close again, and he feels the man slump against him once more. The worry sits heavy with him, but Erwin has faith in Levi's strength.
They safely transfer Levi onto the cart, and within a few hours, they're back behind the walls with Levi receiving medical care. He fights through a heavy fever while in and out of consciousness for several days, and Erwin's there by his side every moment that he can. He only leaves his side when absolutely necessary, what with debriefing and such. He keeps Levi's clammy hand in his, listening to his fitful breathing and pitiful coughs when he can muster the energy.
The relief Erwin feels could flood a building when, at the end of the third day, Levi’s fever breaks. He rests better, seems better, and the next morning, Erwin wakes up to Levi awake. He looks grumpy, and that alone reassures Erwin that he'll be okay.
“Good morning, love. How are you feeling?” Erwin immediately fetches Levi a glass of water, helping lift it to Levi's lips. “It's been three days since you got injured. You've been sick.”
“... I feel like shit.” Erwin can't help a snort. At least his sharp tongue wasn't affected. “Everything hurts. Whatever medicine this is, it's shitty.”
“Well, you did suffer several broken and fractured bones. You're going to be hurting for a while, Levi.” Erwin's hand finds Levi's again, and Levi squeezes it first, weakly. Erwin leans in to give Levi a kiss, and-
“So you two really are together!” Eren's shocked voice rings out, followed quickly by an “ ough! ” as Mikasa elbows him in the ribs. “I- It's true… !”
“What do you brats want?” Levi's the one to easily slide by the accusation, unable to really look at them. The trio slides into the room, with Armin holding flowers. “Are those… for me? Seriously?”
“It's partially our fault that you got hurt, Captain. We're really glad that you're okay. Even Eren.” Armin gives Levi a bright smile as he sets the flowers down on the bedside, his cheeks turning a little red when he notices the two holding hands. “Um… That's all from us! I hope you feel better, Captain Levi.”
Levi manages to lift his hand in a little wave as the three swiftly exit again, and Levi knows that the next time he was leading again, he'd never hear the end of the teasing from his squad.
“Well, that was sweet of them… even if they should learn to knock.” Erwin chuckles, smiling before finally giving Levi his proper kiss. “There. I hope that's the proper motivation to help you get better.”
“Well… I could use a few more.” Levi pouts, and how can Erwin say no to a pouty, injured Levi? He laughs, leaning back in to litter Levi's skin with soft, loving kisses. “Erwin…”
“What is it, Levi?”
“... I love you.”
Erwin smiles. “I love you, too.”