It was incredible how heavy Levi was despite his height, or perhaps it was because Eren had weak arm strength. He basically half dragged and half carried him to their hiding spot, which took an enormous amount of effort. When they returned, Armin was waiting for them. It appeared that he didn't move one inch since Eren was gone. He was still thinking of something or someone. Knowing him, he was most likely coming up with a plan or trying to figure out how the soldiers had managed to stalk them all the way into the woods.

Armin didn't react when he saw Levi with one missing leg and arm, but he started to speak. "You sensed her, right? She's he one who lead them here."

"Indeed," Levi replied as he was placed against the wall to sit. "I'm sure you know who she must be, Eren."

"I won't know who she is until you tell me her name," he stated.

"Petra," Levi informed him. "She's in the army."

"A vampire in the army?" Armin questioned with disbelief.

"It's an army of humans, so of course they don't suspect she's one. They're stupid after all," Levi went on as if Eren wasn't beside him.

"It's taking longer for you to regenerate than I thought," Armin said when he finally noticed what state he was in.

"I'm just low in energy right now, that's all," he replied.

"You should drink then-"

"No," Levi insisted. "I don't need it. I'm fine."

Eren shook his head but didn't make an attempt to say anything else.

"Do you have a plan?" Armin asked him.

"You take Eren back, and I'll stay here until my limbs return. It's going to take a while and I don't want to slow you two down. We need Eren to spy on Petra and reveal the true side of her. She's dangerous, and we need to get rid of her before she does anything else that may be a threat to Eren's life and blood."

"Why did they leave you alone anyways?" Armin asked. "She wouldn't have left if she knew you were still alive."

"I died for a while just so she can go away, but came back."

Armin's eyes widened and he shook his head. "That's not scientifically impossible."

"That's why I'm so weak now. It took everything I had to come back."

"Wait," Eren cut in. "You're asking me to spy on a vampire? The only times I've encountered her was when the commander had to speak with me, so I don't know how I'm going to find her all by herself. It's like she's glued to Hanji's side, too."

"I did not say you should talk to her, just watch her carefully. I know this sounds like the total opposite of what I want, but you need to get yourself into a little danger," Levi said. He paused for a small moment to cough out blood. It splattered all over his dirtied cloak. "Do anything that might make her snap and lose control. I'm putting Armin in charge of watching you. I'll be there in a few days, but I can't promise. If you're able to show her true colours to the commander, it will be all over for her. She knows you're with me so it's best if I stay away for a while anyways."

"What if this doesn't go as planned?" Armin asked and raised an eyebrow.

"We run, we try to fight them off, and we run even more. That's how it will go on if we don't prove this is all Petra's doing." Levi winced as he tried to adjust his position himself.

"Who is she?" Eren asked quietly.

"She's a vampire. Didn't I already point that out?" Levi said as if Eren was the most biggest idiot.

"No, that's not what I meant. What your relationship with her? Are you two mortal enemies or something?" he asked curiously.

"Lovers. We were lovers," he answered wistfully. He looked lost in the memories already. "She's the one I told you about. I told you that I couldn't remember what she looked like, but once you encounter a past lover, it all just clicks again. She's as beautiful as I thought she would be."

Eren was immediately irritated, and Levi seemed to notice. It wasn't like he cared or anything, but if you love someone in the present, you shouldn't talk about their past affairs with them. He figured it was his fault for asking in the first place, but he couldn't control how he felt.

"Of course she doesn't matter anymore," Levi told him quickly and coughed once more. "I love you and have no remaining feelings for her."

"I don't care whatever she was to you, but why does she want to kill you?"

"I can't remember too clearly, but we had many violent quarrels. I was angered when she left me after she changed me. I had no idea what was happening at the time, so I was incredibly vulnerable. I murdered all of her partners and used her to find any good blood back then. I guess she didn't appreciate that, so now we're on bad terms."

"You're an idiot," Armin mumbled under his breath.

"When she heard that I moved on to someone else, she completely lost it. Chances are she thought I would come crawling back to her despite all the horrible things I've done," Levi continued. "She joined The Survey Corps just to find and kill you. She's aware how valuable you are to me."

"Did she know I'm here?"

"Fortunately no. Armin's scent was too overpowering, which is a good thing. I need you two to leave soon. By tonight would be ideal," Levi explained.

Eren glanced at him with distrust. They just reached their location and he was told they had to leave already.

"You need to go back because the soldiers don't know you're with me," Levi said as if reading Eren's mind. "You still have the chance to pretend you're on their side."

"What do you mean? I was never on your side in the first place," Eren scoffed.

"I'm not saying you were, but it looks like your're not on their's either," he finished. "Once everything is settled, I'll take you away and hide you somewhere safe."

Armin coughed awkwardly as Levi shot him a dirty look. "And that's my cue to leave. I'm going to find some food for Eren. Human needs and all," the blond boy said and got up in less than a second, finally giving the two of them to be alone.

Eren cringed. It was like Levi was having things go his way for the past couple of days; dragging Eren wherever he pleased and following him everywhere, and now Armin was doing him a favour by exiting the tree.

"I'm surprised," Eren said. "This may be the only time when you will leave me alone. I should take the chance to indulge."

"I'm going to miss you," Levi said in a serious tone of voice as he raised his stub of an arm as if pointing at him.

"You don't need to do anything about that, right? You're not going to bleed to death or anything?" Eren asked, changing the subject.

"No. I'll be fine."

He wasn't sure if he should trust his words.

---

Eren couldn't go to sleep that night.

He was still freezing even though Levi had given him his bloody cloak, along with Armin's. His legs and arms were shaking and the only sound he could hear besides the crickets was his teeth clattering against each other. He had his hands rubbing his arms and positioned himself into a fetal position, but nothing was working. Eren missed his tattered and ruined bed back at his house; sure it was still cold, but at least he had something to sleep on. The smooth edges of pebbles and twigs poked at his torso and the cool air nipped at his nose.

He got up. He didn't want to even try to fall asleep if it meant slowly freezing to death. He decided he was going to take a walk to clear everything off his mind, and hopefully recover some body heat. He stepped out in the open, the grass crunching beneath his feet, and the night air whispering into his ears. Eren peered up at the sky and admired it for a few moments. It was a deep azure and pitch black with tiny sparkling diamonds dazzling up above. It was that kind of beautiful that would make people stop and sigh in admiration. It was art.

He hugged himself as he ventured into the plains and stepped carefully to avoid any rotting bodies. He was glad he was going to go back soon, he wouldn't need to stay here where all these dead people were resting. He knew that Armin was still food hunting, but he had no idea where Levi could be. Eren felt a little worried. How could a vampire with one missing leg and arm manage to get anywhere? It was a mystery, but he was told several times not to underestimate him. He could have dragged himself for all he knew.

Eren didn't have anywhere in particular, but he wanted to stay away from the chaos Levi had left. He felt incredibly delicate walking out alone in the crisp night, like a glass figurine balanced on tiny needles. Perhaps the cause for that was because Levi wasn't there with him. Of course, it wasn't long until he found him.

It was too dark to see properly, but he made out a wave of black fabric falling from a large willow tree planted beside him.

"Why are you awake?" he could hear Levi ask him quietly. Eren could see the outline of his figure. He was shocked to see that his leg had already grown back, but his arm was nowhere in sight.

"It's too cold," Eren complained. "And besides, I'm going back anyways."

"You shouldn't do that. If you return to the military, you won't have the energy to salute. Eren, you're only humans; have you forgotten about your needs already?" Levi said in a hushed tone.

Eren shrugged. "I'll be okay."

"Well, if you can't sleep, do want to see something cool?" Levi said, excitement sparking in his eyes. The same excitement that brightened his eyes when he watched the sunset that day.

"Sure," Eren replied halfheartedly.

Levi took his hand and lead him away from the plains. He wasn't running, but he was taking his time. It was like all the moments he had with Eren were too precious for him, and he wanted to submerge in all of them before they had to be apart.

It wasn't long before he stopped. Eren couldn't believe that there could be something enchanting and charming hidden in the ugly, twisted woods. If fairies existed, he knew that this wast he place where they live and hide form humanity. There was a small pond on the edge of the area with hallow logs surrounding it like chairs. It was filled with lily pads and their blooming flowers. Small specks of an amber glow flew and whizzed around them. He was embraced by the scent of rose musk and  wet bark.

"Beautiful," Eren said without thinking.

Moss was covering the trees like a thick blanket and tall grasses grazed his scraped and scratched ankles. He could see clearly now that there were thousands of fireflies flying and swooping all over the place. Tall oak trees surrounded the area like walls and rocks of many shapes and colours circled the pond several plants. Eren immediately relaxed. He followed Levi to the tiny body of water and sat beside him on a log. The wood was damp and cold under his hands, but he wouldn't ever mind it. If he had a view like this everyday, he wouldn't be bothered by the conditions at all.

"I don't want to leave you," Levi said the moment they let their bottoms rest of the log. He was staring at the lilies with sadness on his beautiful marble face. "What if you get hurt and I'm not there to save you?"

"Hey," Eren snapped and smacked his shoulder with his fist, which he instantly regretted because it was rock hard. "I'm not as weak as you think. I survived half my life without any parent figures and I hunt. I fought a rogue vampire once and lived. I'm not weak."

Levi didn't say anything for a moment and closed his eyes. "I'm aware of that, but there will come a time when you won't be able to do anything. For example, my totally psychotic ex wife will pounce on you and murder you for all I know. It would be the death of me if you were to get killed."

"You're kidding, right? You're lying," Eren said with a cold laugh.

"Why would I be lying? My life had been so miserable before I met you," Levi said. Eren shook his head in disgust. He was like a lovesick puppy.

"You can shut up now. I get it," Eren said and lowered his gaze. "I'll be fine."

"I hear some doubt in your voice," Levi muttered.

"That's just your imagination," Eren said and rolled his eyes. "I promise I won't get killed. Armin will be there anyway. And if you're so against the fact to be away from me, then why are you staying here?"

"We've went over this. I need time to heal, and I need to lay low for a bit. If Petra senses me near by, there's no doubt she will attack at that moment. You need more time to train and find out secrets about her," he explained.

"How am I supposed to do that without looking too suspicious?"

"Does the commander ever ask you questions? He must know that you were a victim, right?" Levi asked and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, but how is that relevant?"

"Is Petra there with them?"

"Yes."

"Like I said earlier; make her snap. If she's in the presence of higher up's, do it. I know it's risky, but if she gets caught and they end up killing her, you will be safe."

"Uh, you're forgetting about the other hundred vampires that crave my blood," Eren said sarcastically.

"You don't get it. She's one of the most strongest vampire out there. She has an entire army of her own. If she dies, they don't follow orders anymore," Levi said eagerly. "It won't stop all of them, but it will stop many of them. I think it's worth it."

"What if they find you?" Eren asked and shook his head.

"Then they will find me. I can't change what they have decided. You need to worry about your own neck for once, idiot."

"I don't want anyone dying because of me-"

"Why does it matter? If I died, wouldn't that be great for you? You would finally get what you've always wanted," Levi interrupted. He intended to sound calm about it, but his voice came out as rude and harsh instead. He massaged his temple with one hand and let out a loud sigh.

Eren opened his mouth to say something, but shut it abruptly. "I guess you're right."

Was he really?

---

AN:

early updates brought to you by summer break! this was really fun to write, so i hope you enjoyed it!

thank you for reading! drop a vote and comment what you think. <3

~your best friend takeshi