Dangerous Territory

Revenge for the Dead

Eren smiled with a pained expression and said, "You're still handsome."

"Bullshit," he grumbled, looking flustered. He ignored that by looking down at the makeshift splint. "What happened to your arm?"

"Slipped and fell," Eren said dismissively.

"Idiot. What did they do to you?"

Eren had wanted to keep up a brave front, he hated the idea of upsetting Levi after all he had been through, but his brain felt too foggy to keep up a facade. "Woermann broke it," he confessed. "Armin fixed the bone. Don't worry about me."

"Of course I'm worried! You're just a kid."

"I'm hardly a child!"

"You're a brat. A damn stubborn brat. What else did they do to you?"

"Hit in the stomach a few times. That's all," Eren said, trying to assure him. "I was thrown into a prison cell and left there." His forehead creased as he muttered, "They knew they couldn't hurt me too much."

"Good," Levi mumbled, relieved to know Eren was not subjected to the same torture.

Guilt flooded Eren's face and burned his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It was my choice. All of this—falling for you, staying with you, wanting one last time with you—it was my choice, and I'm not going to regret it. Ever! Pas de regrets. No regrets. When I die, I want to say that and mean it. No regrets!"

Eren smiled sadly. "But I regret it. If I had known that loving you would lead to this—"

"Stop it! Pas de regrets. I don't regret falling for you, and I'm the one half-blind and bleeding out my arse, so don't you dare say you regret falling for me. You have no right to think that after what I've been through, so don't you dare say it."

Eren closed his mouth. "If those are your orders, Captain Levi."

"Oh, shut up," Levi muttered, blushing slightly.

Carly cut in, speaking in both French and German so they would both understand, "Vous êtes adorables, Ihr seid bezaubernd, mais taisez-vous, aber haltet den Mund." You guys are adorable, but shut up.

Both Levi and Eren clamped down their lips and looked away. Outside, the sound of gunfire was slowly shifting, and shouts from soldiers called for them to go north and follow the unseen enemy. In some other part of the internment camp, they heard the earth-shaken explosion of a bomb hitting part of the fort. Out of instinct, Eren brushed his fingers over the Enfield gun at his side. With only one bullet, he could not do much with that weapon, but it was a comfort just having it.

Then Eren saw Carly putting pressure on her bleeding hip. "Are you okay?" he whispered in German.

Carly laughed and shook her head. "I've had cramps worse than this."

"You don't have to be brave in front of me. I've been shot; I know it hurts like hell."

Her face stiffened with determination. "I can handle the pain. Rescuing them is more important than anything else."

Eren glanced down at Levi again. "Yeah..." Then he looked forward. "I think we're clear. Stay here. Wait for my signal."

Eren stepped out first. Wearing his uniform, he would look like any other soldier. He glanced around, seeing the soldiers around the perimeter shifting northward, thinking the Americans were making a run toward the main city.

He waved to the others, and they hurried across the open courtyard, hearing fighting nearby, machine guns, rifles, and shells exploding. Then there was the whistling sound of something big incoming.