Dangerous Territory

Auf Wiedersehen

Eren listened to the distant bombing. More than hearing it, he could feel it, like a pounding drum that struck to the marrow of his bones. The fort was far away, so those must have been massive bombs to feel the percussion all the way in his room.

Or was that just his own memory of those sorts of bombs?

Chills went down his arms. His eyes met Levi's.

This was it. Time's up.

Levi lifted Eren's hand, kissed the gold ring, and whispered, "It'll be okay."

Eren doubted that, but if Levi had hope, that was enough. He decided to pretend he was all right, just so Levi would not worry as much. He managed to lift up a false smile.

"We should ... We should go." He wanted to curse that his voice sounded so frail. So much for acting brave!

"Take your time."

"We're out of time." He took a deep breath, shoving all the pain down.

Levi had seen Eren do this before, separating his emotions from his duty. Normally, he could do that in a matter of seconds, switching into his officer persona like it was second nature. A lifetime of pretending to be heterosexual made him an expert at this type of acting.

This time, it took him a few moments, many breaths to clear his mind from the grief, and a few gulps to hold back the sadness. Levi could see when he finally reached that colder level. It was sad to see that he even needed to suppress his emotions like this.

"I think I'm ready now." He paused and laughed to himself. "No, I'm not," he admitted, "but I have to be."

Levi squeezed his hand. "You're a good officer."

Eren smiled with grief in his face. "That means a lot coming from a captain."

He turned to the door. Out there was freedom for Levi, but also losing him. He needed yet another moment to fully push all the emotions deep down and put up his shell.

Sharply, he pulled away from Levi, went to the door, and threw it open. Eren marched up to Jean's door and pounded. "Kirschtein! Get that prostitute of yours."

Jean opened his door carefully, slipping out so no one would see the other woman still in his room. "Done already?"

Eren saw that a few doors down, Daz, Oliver, and Greiz were standing around talking. He made sure to speak loud enough for them to overhear. "My platoon moves out this afternoon, so I had to be quick. I guess I got a bit rough. She's limping, and I don't have time to carry her back to Madame Carly."

Sure enough, Daz overheard and barked out a laugh. "Pounded into her so rough she can't even walk? That's a real German!"

Oliver asked, "Are you one of the units being deployed?"

"Yes," Eren answered. "That's why I wanted a last bit of fun."

Greiz asked in concern, "What happened to your wife?"

"She's safe," he answered. "She's just not around to send me off. She'd understand."

"True," said Daz. "She was a prostitute, after all. She knows men need a strong libido to be victorious in battle. Hail victory!"

Eren was glad that no one asked more about Louise. He would have to come up with some reasonable explanation for her absence, something that would not get him in trouble. Luckily, once he was far away from Metz, it was doubtful that he had to come up with a lie that had to fool anyone but his own platoon.

Jean watched this exchange with a mix of impressiveness and disgust. Eren could lie so easily, and it really made him doubt anything he had ever said. Then again, Eren was smart to come up with his prostitute being too sore to walk. Now they could get Levi out despite limping on a broken ankle, and people would merely think Eren had roughed her up.