When Faced With Adversity

Rest for the Wicked

Waking up was like being dragged through a sea of darkness and down a tunnel that opens up into a white abyss of blinding light. Levi's eyes snapped open, his body launching itself up and into a defensive stance before he even allowed himself time to breathe.
His breath heaved, his hands twitching. He'd never, in all his years, felt so on-edge.
His smoky eyes scanned his surroundings, all of it unfamiliar and daunting.
"Where am I?" He spoke out, addressing whoever it was that he could feel behind him. He sensed someone's presence, the way one would walking down a dark alley or home alone- he wasn't sure someone was there, but he had a pretty good gut feeling.
Silence greeted him, encasing him with pressing fear. He swallowed it down, determined to remain as strong and unwavering as possible. "I said, where am I?" He grit his teeth, forcing out his best commanding tone. His head pounded, but he pushed his discomfort away, focussing all his attention on the slightest sound.
A soft whine, warm breath on his back. Levi nearly jumped out of his skin, turning his head slowly to glance over his shoulder.
His eyes were met with a row of fully visible, jagged teeth; long, messy hair and the brightest, most intense green eyes Levi had ever encountered. It was the eyes that caught his attention; such a vivid green, sparkling, shimmering.
Levi did jump then, his whole body shooting skyward before he landed nimbly on the balls of his feet, his hands whipping out to grab whatever his could wrap his fingers around.
A titan. A goddam titan.
Levi let out an exasperated cry when his hands met nothing. His 3DM gear was missing, his blades were missing, he was practically naked without any weapons or form of defence.
The titan raised its head, staring at Levi. It didn't move, or show any emotion. It just stared at him.
Levi's brow furrowed, his eyebrows drawn together more than usual. "What are you doing?" He questioned, his voice still commanding, but considerably quieter.
The titan blinked- a slow, delayed movement.
Levi felt himself drifting again, the pounding in his head deafening. It must have been the adrenaline before that masked his pain, but as the effect of fear wore away, so did its ability to hide his hurt. Everything ached, and he was suddenly aware of the stabbing pain in his abdomen. He also became aware of how short of breath he was, his chest heaving, but hardly any air filling his lungs.
Levi gasped, stumbling forward. His head felt like it was splitting open, his whole world spinning around him.
He couldn't remember how his got there, what happened? He couldn't even think straight about the current situation. There was a titan there, eying him like a meal, and Levi was leaving himself vulnerable enough to become one.
Where the hell was his squad when he needed them? Where the hell was Yeager? That kid was never supposed to leave his si- Eren!
"Eren?" Levi groaned, dropping to his knees. The titan shifted, as if it was both surprised by the name and recognised it. Levi felt everything go limp, dark, tipping forward to collapse onto something solid, but warm. "Eren..." He groaned.
The lights went out.

Levi reawakened to the feeling on warm air on his face, like a sticky summer afternoon where the rays of the sun's warm light are caught in the heavy gusts of wind that blow across the ocean. Humid and choking. His eyes flickered open into the onslaught of heat, blurry at first. As is vision cleared, so did his head.
He was in quite the predicament.
Levi's mouth opened as he attempted to let out a cry that came out more like a startled squawk, his throat raw and uncooperative.
A titan stared down at him, it's warm breathe washing over him as it held his tiny body in it's massive hand.
"Put me down!" Levi commanded. His brain really must've been rattled around, because now he was trying to reason with a titan. A titan! Levi mentally scolded himself. This beast couldn't be commanded, bossed around like those brats he puts up with 24/7. This creature had one goal, one purpose...
And it wasn't fulfilling it.
Levi frowned, sitting himself up a little more to take stock of his situation. He was sat in the palm of the monster, it's face mere metres from him, bent down to gaze at his tiny frame. But it hadn't eaten him.
They appeared to be in the middle of nowhere. Mountains rose behind them, a vast expanse of snowy wasteland before them. Snow? Levi hadn't recalled there being any snow- or mountains- when they were camping...
"Wait." His heart skipped a beat, memories flooding back to him, an onslaught of vivid visions and non-existent screaming. "Wait!" Levi leapt up, standing unsteadily in the titan's palm. He gazed up at the giant, staring it in the eyes. "Eren?"
The titan growled; low, but not threatening. Almost sad. It's head drooped, almost in shame, breaking eye contact with Levi.
"Yeager?" Levi continued. "What... Where are we? What's going on?"
Eren- yes, Levi was sure now that it was the boy- shook his gigantic head, still not meeting Levi's eye.
"Eren, where's my equipment?"
The titan boy's mouth opened, a low rumble vibrating through the air.
Of course, Levi thought. He can't talk. Of course.
"Can you get out?"
Another head shake.
"Alright, put me down and I'll find something to cut you out with." Levi sighed, biting his lip in thought.
Eren stooped down, hesitantly, and gently rested his hand on the ground, careful not to drop or harm Levi in the process. Levi stepped off of his hand and brushed himself off, thinking. He'd been attached to Eren by his 3DMG, so where was it? And where were his blades?
His head pounded painfully as he craned his neck, taking in his surroundings. Nothing was familiar. Nothing.
There were a few trees, with pointed branches he could try to pry Eren from his flesh prison with, but he somehow doubted it would work. Other than that, the frozen wasteland offered nothing.
"Eren," Levi glanced up, squinting to see the boy as he towered above him. Just when he thought the height difference couldn't get any worse... "Do you know where my gear is or not?"
The titan tilted his head, face scrunching up in concentration. His arm dropped low, his hand touching the ground as he crouched, glancing nervously at Levi.
Levi eyed his movements, raising an eyebrow. "No way."
Eren's fingers twitched impatiently, beckoning him.
"No, I'm not climbing back into your palm, Yeager."
Eren growled, glaring down at Levi.
They stared at each other for a moment, both of them too stubborn to look away, or to move. Levi knew they were fighting a lost battle. Eren needed his help to escape his imprisonment, but Levi need Eren's help in order to help him. It was stupid, and he knew he was being immature.
There was just something about willingly stepping into the hands of the enemy that made him queasy, no matter who's hands they were. It's not that he didn't trust Eren, he just didn't trust titans.
But he needed to. If they were going to get back, fix this, then he had to let go of his hatred.
Uncertainly, Levi placed one foot in Eren's palm, then the other, dropping to his knees and crawling to the centre, shaking despite himself. Eren's hand curled around him, not fully encasing him, but creating a safe net of hand from which Levi could not easily tumble. Levi gripped onto the nearest finger as Eren rose, his hand swaying despite his best efforts to keep it still. He began to move, his giant steps clearing impossible distance as he strode cautiously through the snow.
Levi's eyes remained squeezed shut, not remembering when exactly he'd closed them. The cold began to seep into him, his cloak doing nothing to keep out the icy bite, despite the shelter of Eren's hand. Time seemed to pass slow, each second trickling by, drawn out into an hour, an eternity. Levi's trembles intensified as anticipation and cold mixed about within him. He buried his head into his clothing, not daring to release his grip on Eren's index finger, despite feeling his hands turn to ice blocks.
Suddenly, Eren stopped, Levi being thrown against his hand, the air forced from his chest. The giant lowered himself, delicately dropping Levi to the ground and pointing at something not far off to his right. Levi turned, blinking into the wind. A piece of metal poked from beneath a fresh layer of snow, another jagged grey block jutting out just before that. Levi felt his heart rise, his shaky legs approaching the semi-buried gear. Now he could cut that brat from his neck and get the two of them back to safety. His hands gripped his blades, feet kicking the snow off his 3DM gear.
"Thank-you, Eren." He mumbled, not really caring if the kid could hear him or not.
A few minutes later, his gear carefully checked and reattached to his side, Levi turned to face the titan hybrid. "Alright, let's get you out."
Eren nodded, kneeling down.
"I'm going to use this," Levi tapped his 3DMG. "To get to your neck, then cut you out. Try not to lose it this time, brat."
Eren didn't say or do anything, just sat patiently still. Levi took that as an indication to go ahead and fired his lines, the grapples hooking into Eren's flesh at the shoulder. The boy winced slightly, but nothing more. Applying the gas, Levi shot upwards, landing daintily on Eren's curved neck, blades at the ready. He calculated his mark and counted to three, tapping each count onto Eren's neck as if preparing him, before stabbing down. His blades pierced through Eren's flesh easily, sliding down the small opening to reveal the human body within. Levi reached down, grabbing onto Eren's shirt and yanking with all his might. The boy pulled free, his eyes closed lazily and mouth slack.
Levi adjusted his gear and jumped down, swinging them both to the ground, Eren cradled in his arms. The boy was heavy, lax and warm. Levi set him down gently, ignoring the tell-tale sizzle of dissipating titan flesh behind him as he brushed Eren's sweaty hair from his face. The young scout appeared to be breathing, though Levi double checked, placing his forefinger beneath his nose and feeling for the warm rush of air. He breathed an involuntary sigh of relief when his frozen finger was greeted with the heat of life. He then inspected the rest of Eren's body, feeling for injuries. He appeared to be intact, a little too hot, perhaps, but he always was. Levi figured that any injury would simply heal, anyway- it's the mental scarring that's the problem.
That, and keeping the two of them warm in the wintery wasteland.
"Hei-chou ..." Eren croaked, his face scrunching up a little.
"Hey, brat." Levi lent over, inspecting him as his eyes fluttered open.
"We're okay."
"Yes." Levi wasn't entirely sure what he meant, but he nodded, anyway.
"Where're the others?" Eren looked confused. That's when Levi remembered: Eren often suffered some form of amnesia when he shifted. He often forgot his times as a titan.
He didn't remember.
"We... Got separated." Not really a lie.
"Are," Eren coughed, sounding weak and distant. "They okay?"
"I'm sure they are." Lie.
"Okay." Eren's eyes fell shut, as if he'd only woken to hear those words. Levi wanted to wake him, but he knew better. The young scout needed rest, and Levi wasn't going to deny it to him.
Standing, Levi slung one of Eren's limp arms around his shoulders, half-carrying, half-dragging him through the snow. It was harder than it looked, but the Corporal eventually got them both to the shelter of a small clutter of trees.
Setting Eren down gently, Levi set about making a fire. Every now and then he'd stop collecting branches and kindle and glance over at the boy, just to make sure he was still there, still safe.
A short while later, there was a small blaze roaring beside Eren's limp body, the light of the flickering flames licking over the contours of his face, illuminating each curve.
Levi sat and waited, rubbing his hands together to create some kind of friction-induced warmth in the hopes of restoring feeling to his numb fingers. Eren's chest rose and fell steadily in a mesmerisingly unchanging pattern, the subtle movement eventually becoming the fix point for Levi's intense stare. His eyes eventually stopped seeing, his vision and mind turning fuzzy, the world drowned out for what felt like forever.
However, his trance was broken when a timid hand waved before his eyes, sight snapping back into focus. Levi blinked and jumped slightly, turning to gaze into the concerned, and very awake face of young Mister Yeager.
"Eren?" He blinked again. "I hadn't noticed you were awake."
"Yeah, I figured." Eren's lips curled into a coy smile. "You looked like you were away with the fairies."
"I don't know what you mean."
Eren laughed softly, shaking his head. Levi had a way of speaking so emotionlessly it made every word so hard to decipher. Yet, he didn't need emotive speech to convey his thoughts. Levi could, with some difficulty, be somewhat read, if you knew where to look. Eren tended to go for his eyes, those shining eyes. Levi looked and sounded bored most of the time, but if you really tried, subtle changes in- for example- his eyes could open up the sheltered man within.
Levi was relieved, though he had a funny way of showing it.
"Where are we?" Eren tilted his head, sitting back in the snow beside Levi.
"I don't know."
Eren shot a sideways glance at his superior. Is he joking?
No.
"Oh." The young soldier frowned, holding his hands to the fire. "Where are the others?"
"I don't know."
"Oh."
"Eren," Levi's tone had changed. Eren glanced up to meet his gaze. "Are you okay?"
Eren frowned and gave a slight shrug. "Yeah."
Levi fixed him with a still, harsh look. "Really?"
"Yeah." Eren curled his lips into a small smile, raising his eyebrows at his superior. Why the worry? He was fine.
Levi stared at him a little longer before turning his gaze to the fire. He looked worn down, worried. "You should rest."
"I don't think I need it."
"Rest, Eren." Levi's tone was stern.
"Really, Heichou," Eren waved his hands a little, exaggerating his words. "I'm fine. I've rested plenty." He paused. "You look like you could use some shut-eye, though."
Levi's gaze snapped up at him. He couldn't deny it, he looked exhausted. Bags hung around his eyes, deeper shadows than usual, and they drooped nearly shut. He was pale and constantly blinking, tilting to the side and snapping back in an effort to stay conscious.
"Don't tell me what I need, brat." Levi hissed. "I'm fine."
Eren cowered a little, drawing away from his cranky captain. "Of course, sir. Sorry, sir."
Levi huffed and looked back at the flames, his eyes transfixed, but still weary-looking.

A little while later, Eren shifts. Rolling in the snow and digging a small patch in it.
"What are you doing?" Levi mumbled from across the fire.
"Making a bed." Eren filled the boy-sized indent with as much dirt and timber as he could find, laying his cloak down on top of it.
He could feel Levi watching him as he worked, his gaze boring holes into the back of Eren's head.
"Looks uncomfortable." Levi comments, still watching him.
"Yes, but it's better than a bed of wet, hard snow.
"Why not build it closer to the fire?" Eren glanced over his shoulder to see Levi adding more sticks to the blaze, trying to keep it alive. "Its warmer."
"I'm not really cold." Eren shrugged. "I always have a fever after shifting. I guess I can use it to my advantage here." Levi watched him as he lay down on his makeshift bed, removing his jacket and laying it over him.
"So you're going to sleep now?"
"I guess." Eren let his eyes drift shut. "Not much else to do."
Levi didn't say another word, and Eren soon drifted off into a pleasant sleep.

Sorry for the crappy chapter! And the late update! I'll try to update more frequently. I'm on holiday at the moment, so we'll see how that goes...
Anyway, THANKS FOR READING!