Coming for your heart

Chapter 73

Erwin didn't answer.

"How is that brat of yours?"

Eren leaned forward a bit, mustering the courage to glance around the corner of the shelf. Erwin grabbed some random book and threw it open with brows drawn together and his lips a thin line.

"I don't know who you're talking about, Levi."

"Sure you don't.", Levi said slowly. Black strands of hair decorated his pale skin, as beautiful as a raven's feathers. The General's cold stare was directed at his Commander and for once Eren managed to catch a glimpse of worry in those otherwise sharp and unmoving features.

Erwin sighed and put the book away. With his hands crossed behind his back he turned around so he was facing Eren and Armin with his back.

"It doesn't matter.", he answered with a raspy voice. "He is a servant. I am..."

"So this is only about positions? About your worth in that fucking man's eyes?", Levi growled and tilted his head. "I don't remember you being this thoughtful when you proposed to Marie back in our days."

Armin flinched and Eren did his best to keep him from making any sound.

Levi sighed when Erwin kept silent again.

"Whatever, Eyebrows." Levi propped one of his legs up against the wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest, hidden under a tight uniform that left only a little to the imagination. "We have more important matters to discuss than your shitty love-life."

Erwin straightened his back.

"Right. Have your spies contacted you yet regarding the attack of Shiganshina?"

"I haven't heard from them in a while." Levi bit his lower lip and furrowed his brow. "It might be to dangerous for them to send us a message of any kind. Who knows what the Queen is up to?"

"She might ready her army for yet another attack.", Erwin stated with clenched fists. "We don't have forever, Levi. Winter is coming and the conditions will make it hard for our soldiers to fight. We are losing enough of them as it is."

"Seems like Zeke's solution back then isn't your approach after all.", Levi chuckled and Eren listened up at the mention of his older brother. He knew that Levi and Zeke had known each other but the way he pronounced the man's name...like he wished he would come back again only so he could kill with his own hands.

Eren smiled darkly.

I wonder what you did to make him hate you so much, dear brother.

"Anyways, we need a way to inform them that they might be in danger. I can't risk sending out those birds again. They could easily get spotted and shot down. Any message with them might fall into the wrong hands."

"Let's give them a few more days.", Levi proposed with a stern note in his voice. "If they don't answer until then, we'll ask your bloody king for advice. Or even some of the servants."

Erwin opened his mouth, surely to fight Levi on this matter, but the smaller man raised his hand and said: "This isn't about your connection to the little coconut. But I've found that servants have different accesses to information and knowledge about things we haven't even considered yet." Levi shrugged; such an innocent gesture for a dangerous man like him. "It's worth a try."

"So what do you want me to do?"

Eren felt a pang of sympathy when he heard the honest helplessness in the man's speech.

"Give me some time to talk with Faris and your little coconut.", Levi answered and moved forward a bit until they were standing right in front of each other and the smaller man raised his chin to be able to look the taller man right in the eye.

Eren felt his heart beat a tad faster when he caught the wild expression in those silver orbs.

He swallowed down any noises that wanted to escape his mouth and clawed his fingers in the thin material of Armin's clothing, accidently reaching his friend's skin.

"Why Faris?"

Levi narrowed his eyes at his superior.

"What do you mean?"

"You spend some time with a simple servant and think he's going to tell you anything and everything about some random topic they probably don't even know about?", Erwin scoffed and made to turn around and leave the library but Levi stepped in his way.

Armin gasped for air.

"They aren't simple servants and you know it." Levi poked his chest with a low snarl. "You can't insult them just because you're hurting yourself day after day with this shitshow you're playing."

"I am not-"

"Just admit that this blonde brat means more to you than Marie and you'll finally be able to move on and concentrate on the war that's going on outside.", Levi snarled. No one dared to move. To breathe.

Levi exhaled sharply, not moving his gaze from the frozen Commander.

Eren found that he couldn't move his eyes from the man.

Levi inhaled some air and closed his eyes for a moment before stepping back and crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"People are dying out there, Eyebrows. Not only soldiers. Not only those who freely wanted to join this chaos of death and destruction.", the man breathed lowly. "Children. Parents. Families are getting ripped apart on battlefields that were once their homes. Yes, most of those servants probably can't imagine what it's like to be there. To watch them die in agony and follow paths of red blood along dark roads."

Erwin didn't say anything. He kept listening to Levi, still as stone.

"But do you really want all of them to know what it's like? To know how it feels to be there and witness a war they didn't choose in the first place?"

Levi hissed angrily and turned around. Just as he was about to leave, Eren heard him say: "Don't ever wish for someone else to feel your pain, no matter how much you want it to end for yourself."

And for a second Eren didn't know if the guilt in his chest was the only reason for his racing heartbeat when Levi closed the doors behind him with a bang and left Erwin standing alone in the library, still unaware of the servants hiding behind him.

And if tears left Armin's eyes, he would be the last person to tell anyone.

(Finally a chapter and a longer one at that! Really can't stop saying sorry, pals. We are coming closer to the start of the real action and as always I hope you enjoyed reading this, I put it together in between days so if there are any mistakes, just tell me.

Levi defends the servants, Erwin is apparently heartbroken and Eren and Armin are looking for information but at what cost? And what about Kou? Will Mikasa talk to her about that night?)