The first thing he heard when he entered his broken down house was the noise of Mikasa coughing and groaning.

The house was cold as the wind blew through the broken windows and small cracks on the walls and had the smell of death wafting through the air. It was dark and only the glow of a few candles were able to help just a little. Eren rushed to where Mikasa was and smiled down at her as he took her hand and stroked it.

"I'm home," he whispered.

"Eren," she murmured back and squeezed his hand back weakly. "Why are you home so early?"

"I was worried about you, so I was allowed to leave sooner than expected," he lied.

"You didn't have to do that," she whispered, but Eren knew she was absolutely delighted to see her dear brother again after a long day.

She went back to sleep shortly after that which gave Eren some time to go out in the forest to find some of those tasty and edible berries. The day was still young and the sunshine stung his eyes but even so, it was a little too cold for comfort. He wore soft and comfortable clothes and a cloak but he couldn't stop shivering. His uniform was much warmer.

His laced up leather boots felt loose and moist as he stepped into the damp dirt of the forest entrance once more. The town was quiet but the streets had some people walking along and chatting to one another about the latest murders that occurred just nights before, and Eren began to worry himself.

He didn't think he walked too far into the thick ocean of trees, but before he knew it, he was lost. He felt vulnerable when he remembered he didn't bring some sort of weapon with him and mentally slapped himself. Little did he know was that someone was with him, watching him and he wasn't alone...

A blur darted across the trees in front of Eren and he gasped.

"Couldn't stay away from me for too long, couldn't you?" the familiar, low voice asked.

Eren rolled his eyes and pretended to keep his cool. He wasn't expecting to see him again for a while, but here he was.

"I'm not here for you, you idiot."

"Watch your mouth. We both know I can kill you at any given moment; it's as easy as snapping a mere twig in half," the vampire snapped as he inched closer.

"Why are you here anyway? I gave you what you wanted, aren't you going to keep your promise?" Eren asked, impatient and irritated.

Levi smirked as he let out a small chuckle. "Why, yes I did. I left a small bottle for her just beside her."

"Good. Are we finished here? I don't really want to see you again."

"You forgot one last detail, Eren," he cooed and laughed without humor. "You're tied with me now. I needed a partner, remember?"

"What do you mean? I gave you my blood and you gave me your stupid healing tears. What's more behind this?" Eren demanded angrily, trying to remember what Levi said a few hours ago about 'partners'.

"You remain with me as long as I want. We vampires are forbidden to drink anyone else' blood, and that's the reason why we need people we call a partner. Usually we threaten them, but I'm feeling pretty merciful, so I'll let you get something out of this situation," Levi explained.

Eren wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"It doesn't have to be romantic, but it could if you wish," he suggested jokingly.

"You wish," Eren growled. "Will my sister be better once she has one dose of whatever you gave her?"

"Unfortunately, no. I have to give it to her continuously, depending how bad her sickness is. There's a chance it might not even work, but we'll have to see for ourselves."

Eren felt flabbergasted, though he shouldn't feel so surprised that it was going to be so simple. Vampires were monsters and monsters were sins and sin is caused by temptation.

"So in other words, I'm just your living blood bag?" he hissed.

"That's a rather harsh way to put it," Levi told him and flinched.

"Well it's the truth and you know it," Eren said with a huff and crossed his arms grumpily. "Look, if Mikasa doesn't get even a tiny bit better, I won't hesitate to report you."

"I'm terrified," he replied sarcastically and raised his arms in mock surrender. "I can guarantee that you won't be disappointed."

"Certainly not completely satisfied, right?" Eren asked.

"Yes, but it's better than nothing, isn't it?"

Eren started to pounder on this question and realized he had a point. If she was dying, it was better to take a chance than do nothing, right?

"I have one more condition."

Eren groaned. Of course he did. There was probably no person who would save his sister with the exchange of just donating blood. That would be way too generous and people like that were rare and almost non existent.

"You have to stay by my side no matter what. Even in times of danger and death, you will be with me."

"But-"

"Did I mention that it's very easy to murder your dear sister in her peaceful slumber?" he joked, knowing that her sleep wasn't so peaceful if she was just coughing for hours.

Eren gritted his teeth as his hands clenched into tight, hard fists. He hated this guy so much and wanted to murder him if he ever had the opportunity. What kind of person confessed to you and then threatens you?

"Define 'stay by my side.'" Eren demanded.

"I will stalk you to ensure that this will remain a secret and ours only. Tell anyone and she will stop breathing by the second you check on her. I can promise you that," he threatened.

"Why do you want to keep it a secret so bad? You're powerful, aren't you? They can't really do anything against you because they have no idea you exist, therefore they know none of your weaknesses."

"That's what you believe. Pesky humans keep secrets from you." His lips twitched up into a small and crooked smirk with no humor. He was circling him now, staring him down and tipping his head slightly to the side in a very mocking manner. "You see, if I'm caught they will stop me from taking your blood, and that will be very inconvenient for me."

"And if that happens, you won't heal my sister?" Eren asked quietly, almost horrified. He was scared of the thought of her dying. Her cold and marble body laying peacefully in a cheap, wooden casket and sent to be buried somewhere neglected and mysterious- a place no one would ever remember, and she would be forgotten for an eternity. Of course Eren would remember her, but he didn't want to think about it at the moment.

"Yes, and you wouldn't want that to happen, don't you?" Levi was sneering.

This Levi was a frightful man; making them sound like it was fair, but there was no escape. Eren didn't have a say in any of this anymore, but he didn't mind as long as Mikasa would get better. Even if she was still dying, it was important that she would be immune to the pain even for a while.

"Do you understand what situation you're in now?" Levi demanded.

"Yes," Eren whispered.

"Good. Follow me."

His mother taught him not to follow suspicious strangers, but he didn't have much of a choice. It was like Eren couldn't do anything of his free will anymore; he was the wistful prisoner of his own barbarous reality.

"Where are you taking me?" Eren demanded as he quickly followed after Levi, having to take longer strides to match up with the swift being.

"I smell... something. Your blond friend? What's his name again?" Levi asked as a flash of doubt spread on his face. He looked a little troubled, which looked wrong on his face.

"How do you know him?" Eren asked as he walked faster until he was technically running. "You're not going to do anything to him, too, are you?"

"I smell his blood. I think we're a few miles away from where he might be found. We should hurry quickly before he dies or something."

"D-Dies?" Eren stammered nervously and looked at him frantically.

Eren cared a lot about Armin, but what was he supposed to do if he was in any danger? He couldn't do anything because he was a measly human. He didn't have any superhuman strength or lightning speed. He wouldn't be able to do anything.

"Why are you telling me this?" Eren asked. It wasn't like he didn't care. Levi wasn't human so he probably didn't have any emotions. Why would he bother to tell Eren? Why not let him die and go back to find the body to feed upon it?

"Because he's your friend, right? I've watched you long enough to know that," he answered quietly as he swore under his breath. "I don't think we'll be able to reach him in time at this pace. I'll carry you."

"Carry me? " Eren asked with eyes filled with bewilderment.

"What the hell did you think I said?" Levi stopped suddenly in his tracks and scooped up Eren bridal style. Carried him like he was as light as a feather pillow. Eren yelped . This monster- this thing was touching him. He squirmed uncomfortably. "Tch. Can you please stop that? You're going to fall from the sky if you keep that up, and I doubt that would be any fun at all, really."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to fly. You should keep your eyes closed if you don't want to feel dizzy or sick," Levi suggested.

"Fly? You can do that?" Eren asked, clearly amazed by this new discovery.

"Is there's something I can't do?" Levi intended to say this quietly, but Eren heard him and actually cracked a small grin.

Levi bent his knees a little as if he were about to jump and muttered something under his breath.

"Hold on tight."

He jumped and Eren could already feel his stomach ready to hop out of his body. They were blasting towards the sky rapidly. He felt like his head was going to rip off and in response to the foreign and frightening feeling, he tucked his head into Levi's chest and wrapped his arms around the vampire's neck. He couldn't hear a heart beat and he felt lonely despite his presence. It was odd being so close to someone but not hearing some kind of thump or badump. But he was dead after all and of course the non-living didn't have heartbeats.

"Oh shit," Eren grumbled when he felt his stomach do loops. He knew he was going to throw up if this didn't end soon.

He finally decided he wanted to see what was around them because after all, it wasn't everyday that a human would get to soar through the clear skies. It was a mistake to open his eyes.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no," Eren groaned in panic when he accidentally looked down.

"I won't drop you," Levi reassured him. "Just enjoy the view while you can."

It was a think layer of flourishing towers of trees which left a fresh and earthy smell wafting through the wind. The azure sky was too bright for human eyes but was dazzling and luminous and reminded Eren of those days when he and Mikasa would go out and get lost in the field of flowers in the summertime. It was a magnificent sight, and Eren figured it probably made up for the sick feeling in his body. The wind howled at the two of them as they zoomed through the air and admired the view. The soles of Eren's worn out boots grazed the tips of the pine trees as Levi glided lower and lower as a tease. He's never seen anything like it in his entire life- something so breathtaking and gorgeous. It was so magical to him and he was sure his child self would have thought that it was the view his parents saw everyday from the heavens above. It made him feel a little nonchalant yet sad all at once. The horizon had a thin sheet of fog drifting over the tops of the trees as they continued to fly by, as if flying high in the sky with an immortal being was just an everyday kind of thing.

He didn't even know why he agreed to this in the first place; maybe it was just the fact that his friend was in trouble that made him want to do anything no matter how risky it was. Eren still didn't understand many of his horrible and stupid decisions. He still had no idea why Levi seemed to like him so much (excluding the scary and threatening part of him, though). He could just drop him right then if he wanted and find someone else to bother. Eren never thought himself as special. Rather, he thought of himself as miserable and unfortunate.

"We're going down," Levi whispered in his cold ear.

They dove down briskly towards the forest floor once more and halted to a stop. Eren's head was still tucked into Levi's chest, but he quickly pulled away with embarrassment and glared at him as he hopped down from his arms and casually brushed himself off. He felt a little dizzy and he lumbered around for what seemed like five minutes until he was used to bing on the ground again.

"You didn't drop me," Eren said. He intended it to sound like a question, but it came out as a statement.

"Of course I didn't," Levi said gruffly.

He looked a little taller which was surprising. A pair of black leathery wings were sprouting from his back and they looked very heavy but strong in Eren's point of view. They looked terrifying and intimidated Eren. They were slightly moving now, a small gust of wind being pushed at Eren's direction.

"I thought you said you were a vampire."

"I am. This is just a perk. Not everyone has it." He paused for a second before saying more. "The whole myth about us turning into bats is only partially true I guess."

"So where are we heading now?" Eren changed the subject.

"Not too far from here. Maybe in a clearing somewhere near," he answered quietly as his wings folded away and Eren had to stop himself from asking a million questions.

Eren followed him closely behind, the tip of his boots almost grazing Levi's heels as they walked with a fast pace. His heart was banging loudly against his ribcage as they got deeper and deeper into the thick woods. There was barely any light seeping through the leaves, and it was cold- too cold for comfort. He was freezing despite all the layers of clothing he was wearing.

"I can't believe you're following me," Levi snickered after a long period of silence and cocked his head to the side to shoot a glance at Eren.

"Why wouldn't I follow? My friend is in danger."

"I never met a human who had so much trust. You're interesting, but as much as I hate to say it, I'm going to wait for the day when you'll be running off screaming in horror when you finally come to your senses. Humans like you who give in so easily aren't very amusing. I'm looking forward to the day when I get to chase you down."

Eren thought about it for a while.

"Then alas, you have no idea about the sins I've committed in the past. So innocent, so young you are," he finished.

"Why are you telling me this?" Eren snapped.

"Just a little warning," Levi sneered.

Eren was taken aback. Sins he committed in the past? Maybe that was something he ought to find out later on when he had the chance.

They marched on until they reached a plain, the sunlight covering the ground making the rain droplets on the grass shine and sparkle like a million little glass shards. It was wide and bright as Eren looked around for anything morbid or unexpected.Then, in the corner of his eyes, he spotted something. It was small, but it was definitely noticeable. There was a small splotch of blood splattered on an oak tree.

"Oh," Eren murmured. "There..."

He was running now. Running as fast as he could to see what it was and he hoped it wasn't actually his friend. Hoped it wasn't his friend who was slowly bleeding to death in the middle of nowhere. Hoped it wasn't his friend who was really close to closing his eyes and never opening them again. Hope was horrible, really; getting your expectations up and then disappointing you. That's what happened to Eren when he spotted the small mop of messy, blond hair next to the base of the tree. He stopped running and fell to the ground, his hands trembling as they reached out. Armin was on his side with his hands clutching something on his abdomen. He was screaming to himself. Blood curling yelps of pain erupted through the woods and entered Eren's ears. His blond friend looked like he was just beat up brutally, but that wasn't the case. Eren tuned him over carefully and almost threw up when his eyes found an arrow buried deep in his stomach.

"Shit," Eren mumbled. "Armin? Armin, can you still hear me?"

Armin was a mess. He was in fetal position before Eren coaxed him to move his hands out of the way so he could see what he was hiding. His hair was dirtied with his own blood and dirt and his face seemed to carry a permanent expression of pain and fear.

"Hey...uhm..." he trailed off with a small smile on his face. "Hi, Eren."

"You're like this and you're telling me hi right now? Hi my ass, Armin, look at you!" Eren sputtered.

"I know. I don't think... I can do anything about it. Listen, can...can you tell the bakery I won't be working there anymore? I think I'm going to die."

His voice was quiet, too quiet. Eren had to lean in to be able to listen to him.

"You won't die, you stupid boy."

"Really? Well, this arrow in my stomach says otherwise."

Eren grit his teeth and had to tell himself not to cry as he looked over his shoulder. "Levi! Get over here!"

He was by his side before he could even finish half his sentence. He kept his distance and he eyes the blood with wide eyes and plugged his nose as he hissed loudly.

"Can you heal him?"

"I don't think so," he replied quickly.

"What do you mean you don't think so? My best friend is dying!"

"I can see that, but my healing properties won't be able to do much, especially to that kind of wound," Levi told him firmly.

"There must be something you can do. Please tell me there's something you can do!" Eren was screaming at Levi and was back on his feet again. He pulled Levi's collar and shook him violently with pleading eyes. Levi stared back with bored and cold looking eyes. He didn't care. Of course he didn't care. What did a mere human mean to a strong immortal? Eren quickly went down by Armin's side when the vampire said nothing.

"Who did this to you?" he asked in a trembling voice as he took his hand and squeezed it.

"A hunter. He mistook me for game. I c-can't really blame him, though. I was just wandering in this damned forest after all," Armin coughed out weakly. "You should go. I don't want you to watch while I'm...while I'm like this, dying."

Eren was crying now. Why the hell was he losing so many people? Did his life suck this badly to the point that it was being sucked of its happiness? Eren was friends with Armin for as long as he could remember. They were so close, almost like brothers and used to do everything together. If he died, it would be like losing a limp or maybe even a part of his heart.

"There's one thing," Levi whispered as he bent down next to Eren.

"What one thing?"

"I could bite him, Eren. The venom, remember? It might take while to spread since his heartbeat is slow and faint."

"Bite him and make him into what the hell you are? That's a joke, right?" Eren hissed under his breath so Armin couldn't hear him. His friend was slowly losing consciousness and his head lolled to the side.

"So you want your friend to die? Okay, if that's what you want then I'm fine with that. See you around. Have fun watching his breathing stop." He started to get up, but Eren grabbed his pale wrist.

"He would still be the same, right?" he asked desperately.

"Yes. Excluding his new diet and some new physical features," he told him.

Eren looked down at Armin and sighed as he sniffled and wiped away his tears angrily.

"Okay. Fine. Do it," he instructed him and moved away and le go of his hand.

Armin's eyes went wide suddenly and he was coughing. "What? What is he going to do to me?"

"He's going to help you," Eren told him painfully.

"Bloody hell, Eren, just let me die!" he pleaded. "Why must you be so selfi-"

Levi leaned in and bit him hard.

---

AN:

this is 1k+ more words than expected. i hoped you enjoyed!

thank you for reading and drop a vote and tell me what you think!

i'm planning to start a kagehina fanfic after i finish PMC :^)

i love you my beautiful readers!

~your best friend takeshi