[ If Eren had spoken the word reality then, it's possible something irrevocable might have happened. ]
[ Instead, Eren finds the one last thing that capable of fraying that last little thread; the fine, thin line holding two halves together. Eren grasps onto him tightly and it feels as much of a threat as it does the desperate, pleading hands of a small child, lost. He could easily break free, and it would be a lie to deny the part of him that wants to - cold, clear rage, revenge for all his pain that's yet to come.
But it's drowned in despair. Disbelief and relief and grief at once. What is he supposed to do with this? With Eren's love, or his own? More than anyone else, Eren is a double edged sword. There have been so many people in his life by now who've depended on him, on his strength and his willingness to do what's necessary, on his experience and guidance. Farlan and Isabel; Erwin and Hange; subordinates in his care. Perhaps no small number of Survey Corps soldiers felt a spike of hope when they saw him fighting alongside them.
In the end, there's never anything he can do. Bad choices, bad circumstances. Things out of his control. No matter how hard he tries, and that's even with things Levi can fight, against Titans or humans or whatever else he can cut with a blade or tear apart with his bare hands.
But this?
I love you...please believe me.
A sharp, hissing inhale is the last breath before his throat closes, choking tight. Levi feels as though he mourns Eren while holding him, the realization that perhaps they couldn't save Eren because he simply isn't meant to be saved slowly comping upon him like frost covering over glass. Yet all his anger and despair and hope and love are spun and plied together, binding them now in a different way.
He feels the tears, hot and wet, trickle over the bridge of his nose to dampen Eren's hair. He holds Eren tightly, anger and sorrow broken loose at once, but there are no sobs. No desperate gasps for air, just tears and gritted teeth and lungs that burn with every breath.
What happens, with both strength and love fail?
Love anyway. ]
...
[ Levi manages strength, and words come in a harsh breath: ]
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[ Instead, Eren finds the one last thing that capable of fraying that last little thread; the fine, thin line holding two halves together. Eren grasps onto him tightly and it feels as much of a threat as it does the desperate, pleading hands of a small child, lost. He could easily break free, and it would be a lie to deny the part of him that wants to - cold, clear rage, revenge for all his pain that's yet to come.
But it's drowned in despair. Disbelief and relief and grief at once. What is he supposed to do with this? With Eren's love, or his own? More than anyone else, Eren is a double edged sword. There have been so many people in his life by now who've depended on him, on his strength and his willingness to do what's necessary, on his experience and guidance. Farlan and Isabel; Erwin and Hange; subordinates in his care. Perhaps no small number of Survey Corps soldiers felt a spike of hope when they saw him fighting alongside them.
In the end, there's never anything he can do. Bad choices, bad circumstances. Things out of his control. No matter how hard he tries, and that's even with things Levi can fight, against Titans or humans or whatever else he can cut with a blade or tear apart with his bare hands.
But this?
I love you...please believe me.
A sharp, hissing inhale is the last breath before his throat closes, choking tight. Levi feels as though he mourns Eren while holding him, the realization that perhaps they couldn't save Eren because he simply isn't meant to be saved slowly comping upon him like frost covering over glass. Yet all his anger and despair and hope and love are spun and plied together, binding them now in a different way.
He feels the tears, hot and wet, trickle over the bridge of his nose to dampen Eren's hair. He holds Eren tightly, anger and sorrow broken loose at once, but there are no sobs. No desperate gasps for air, just tears and gritted teeth and lungs that burn with every breath.
What happens, with both strength and love fail?
Love anyway. ]
...
[ Levi manages strength, and words come in a harsh breath: ]
I believe you.