There was so much blood surrounding the boy's body it was almost impossible to find the wound that was causing it. Red stained his tattered uniform and broken maneuvering gear. Bruises left discolored patches all over his tanned skin and his once bright blue-green eyes were glazed over with tears of pain and sorrow. He used to be so determined and full of life and now he was simply waiting to die.

The mission had been going just as they planned but an unexpected turn of events led to a rampage of hungry titans trapping the Survey Corp in the Forest of Giant Trees. The attack was so abrupt many of the soldiers were slaughtered within the first few minutes, while some of the top fighters were struggling to stay alive.

During this mayhem, Corporal Levi had quickly given the order for Eren to transform. After years of training, the titan shifter had finally managed to gain control over his inner monster and was able to use it without worry.

Eren's hopes had remained high until a sudden onslaught of titans overpowered him. Levi tried to swoop in a save him, but with the number of titans around Eren's titan body growing, he couldn't get anywhere near the boy. He was desperate to get the brunette back, but he knew he couldn't do it anytime soon. Instead, he ordered the others in the squad to help as they tackled the titan's devouring Eren's body. All they could do was hopefully thin out the numbers and save Eren.

Sadly, all their efforts would be in vain, because just as they got closer to center of the chaos, one of the mindless giants slammed their meaty fist against Eren's titan neck. It ripped out Eren's human body and flung it around lifelessly before slamming him to the ground. The bastard wanted to play with him instead of eat him.

This was how Eren ended up lying face down in the grass, bleeding and bruised. He was barely conscious enough to see his comrades fighting and dying around him. His vision was too hazy to make out any details but he could see enough to know they were losing. They were all going to die out here. The only upside about the situation was that the titans were too distracted by his comrades to care about finishing him off. Or they thought he was already dead.

Eren was about to let the numbness of death take over when a figure suddenly swooped down next to him and stumbled to its knees next to his head. Eren's dull eyes moved high enough to catch the figure's face and he wasn't at all surprised to see his Corporal leaning over him. What did surprise him was how severely beaten the invincible man was.

Blood smeared across his alabaster skin and draped his uniform in a layer of scarlet. His usually neat, black hair was disheveled to hell and one of his steely gray eyes was already sealing over with a dark purple hue. One of his hands was clutching at his injured side while the other placed a surprisingly gentle hand on Eren's shoulder.

"Eren? Eren!?" Levi yelled over him, carefully shaking his shoulder. "Dammit, brat, don't you dare die on me!"

Eren stopped focusing on the pain and stared intently at one of the few people he loved deeply. In his few years of knowing the Corporal he had never seen him so panicked and terrified. He'd never been like this, not even when his first squad was taken out. It just wasn't normal for him to lose his cool, yet here he was, practically crying over Eren's slowly dying body.

"I swear to whatever god is out there, if you give up, I'll drag you back from hell and kick your ass!" he snarled, trying to hide his fear and anguish with rage. Ignoring his own wounds, Levi grabbed up Eren's motionless body and awkwardly flew up to one of the thick branches that hung above them, dodging grabby titan hands as they went. Once they had settled in the trees, Levi kneeled down with Eren in his lap, cradling him close and trying to stanch the bleeding.

Eren weakly raised his hand and placed it on Levi's, halting his shaky attempt at saving the boy's life.

"I think…it's a bit late for that…Corporal," he gasped, sucking in short, shallow breaths. "You need to…leave me…save yourself…help the others…"

"Like hell I'm doing that!" Levi snapped. The Corporal quickly ripped off his cravat and tied it around Eren's waist to stop his wound, but the damage was already done. Eren had lost too much blood to be saved.

"You're not leaving me…you're not fucking leaving me," Levi hissed under his breath as he worked. His own injuries were starting to affect him, but he'd be damned if he was going to let Eren die.

"Levi…stop…please…" Eren managed to whisper. His vision was fading and knew his end was closing in quickly, but he had to get his lover away from the dangerous place and back to safety. "We both…can't die here. Humanity needs…at least one of us." Eren coughed roughly as the words left him. "Please, Levi…for me…"

Levi stopped his frantic movements and stared into Eren's gorgeous eyes; even on the brink of death they didn't lose their beauty. His resolve and anger started to crumple at hearing the brunette's pleading words. He couldn't do it though, he wouldn't leave the only person he held any true love for, especially not like this. Levi knew Eren was dying, he could accept that much, but that didn't mean he was dying alone.

Eren tried to talk again, but Levi shushed him and pulled him closer to his chest, while he leaned back against the rough bark. Below them, titans were gathering at the base of the tree, but they were simply ignored by the dying couple.

"You're staying with me, got it, Jaeger? Even if we have to go together," Levi whispered to him.

"No! Levi, you ca—." Eren's sentence was caught off by a violent coughing fit that sent blood spluttering out of his mouth.

"Stop talking, stupid brat. I've already made my decision," Levi said, wiping the blood off Eren's mouth. His face was blank but his cold eyes had softened considerably and hidden behind his emotionless demeanor was warm endearment. "I'm not leaving, and from what I can see, there's nothing you can do to make me."

Eren glared at his love, but couldn't hold the anger. Truthfully he was glad to have Levi there to hold him, as selfish as it was. Dying alone was definitely one of his fears. So instead of arguing with him, Eren snuggled closer to Levi, being careful of his ripped abdomen. The boy closed his eyes.

"Thanks…Levi…" Eren sighed, for once feeling completely safe outside the walls. There wasn't any pain or fear left in his tired body, the only things he could feel were Levi's strong arms around him and his gentle caress on the boy's cheek. His death was long and painful, but he wouldn't have wished for anything else.

"Love you…" the brunette muttered. "Good…bye…"

With those parting words, Eren Jaeger slumped in his lover's arms. Gone. His once warn, golden skin was pale and quickly cooling. With his eyes closed, the only vibrant color on his young body was the red splattered across him. Death was never pretty, but at the moment, Levi could still see the beautiful and driven soldier he'd grown to love.

"I love you too, Eren, but this isn't good bye. I promise I'll find you…I promise," Levi vowed, nuzzling his cheek against Eren's head. The raven gently placed his lips against the cooling lips of the boy in his arms. He's only regret was not giving Eren that kiss before he passed.

He'd been so distracted by his life crumbling apart that he didn't notice how truly terrible his wounds were. They were almost as bad as Eren's. He expected to feel the pain now, with the shock subsiding, but there was nothing. Nothing but a tired, dragging feeling.

"Guess I'll be joining you sooner than expected, brat," Levi chuckled to himself, holding tighter onto the corpse in his arms. He was surprisingly thankful that he didn't have to jam a sword in his chest or worse, jump into a titan's disgusting mouth. At least, this way, he could die with his lover, his Eren. It wasn't a bad way to go.

After all, this wasn't goodbye.

"Leeeviii? Earth to Leeeviii," Hanji complained, waving their hand in front the young man's already irritated face. He swiftly grabbed their hand and tossed it away, almost sending the erratic creature out of her seat.

"Shitty Four Eyes, keep your disgusting hands away from my face," Levi snapped, sending his glare towards them before going back to staring about the crowded lunch room.

"Well, what are you looking for!? You've been staring at the freshmen since we got here," Hanji replied, pouting.

It was Monday morning and first day back to school for Maria High. The cafeteria was packed with excited underclassmen and already-bored upperclassmen, all waiting for the bell to ring and release them into their torturous first classes. Levi and the rest of his senior friends were slouched around their usual table, chattering about their summer vacation like they hadn't just been hanging out last week.

"Hanji, leave him alone. He's doing the same thing he does every year since sixth grade, so I don't know why you keep asking," Erwin interrupted, looking up from his breakfast to scold his over-excited friend.

"Oooooh, I forgot it was the first day of school! Ha, sorry Levi, I'll let you get back to Eren-hunting," Hanji snickered, chewing loudly on their granola bar and earning a very hateful glare from the clean-freak.

"How about you keep your mouth shut when you're eating, Four Eyes," Levi growled, still keeping his eyes trained on the incoming high-schoolers.

"Levi, you've been looking for Eren since you got your memories back, but don't you think you've looked long enough?" Petra urged, as she slide closer to Levi. "I mean the chances of finding him among billions of people is slim to none, and who knows? Maybe he hasn't even been born yet?! The age gap could still be there."

Levi ignored her; he usually did when she started her speech. Yes, he had been actively searching since the memories of his old life came back to him, but as Petra was quick and happy to point out, his efforts so far had turned up nothing. Still he didn't let that get to him.

In his old life, the boy had been his guiding light, his small amount of fiery hope in a world of depressing darkness. He had dreams about the young man he loved, memories of their time together and the bond that seemed to grow stronger every day. It pained him to go so long without seeing those big, crystalline eyes that never failed to soften his tough exterior. He'd search through every inch of this huge planet to see those beautiful eyes again.

"Aw, don't listen to her, Big Bro! You'll find Eren!" Isabel cheered, snapping him out of his thoughts. She suddenly leaned in and mock whispered. "She's just jealous."

"Jealous?! How can I be jealous of someone I haven't met in this lifetime?" the redhead huffed, ignoring Isabel's snickering.

"You're jealous because Big Bro doesn't want to go out with you," she replied, sticking her tongue out at the smaller girl.

Petra's face turned bright red and her teeth ground together. To keep from lunging at the girl across from her, she stood up stiffly and left the table. Auruo was the only one to chase after her as she left the cafeteria. The rest didn't mind the confrontation. They'd all gotten much too use to Petra's obvious crush on Levi, and his very clear rejection of explaining to her that even if he didn't find Eren, he still preferred men over women, and therefore they wouldn't be together. This, of course, didn't stop Petra from trying.

"Hey! When you find him again, me and Farlan get to meet him first! You know, since we didn't get to last time," exclaimed Isabel, clearing up the tension with her bubbly personality.

Levi rolled his eyes and replied, "If I find him, that is."

"Oh, don't let Petra get you down, Levi. Of course you'll find him!" Hanji said, joining on the encouragement. "I mean, you ran into all of us, right? You just gotta be patient."

"For once, I agree with Hanji," Eld added. "You're still young, you know, just have some faith and patience."

"Two things we know the Corporal doesn't have," Gunther muttered teasingly. Everyone at the table snorted in laughter, all expect the shortest man, who was unimpressed.

"What have I said about calling me that? It's not 850, Gunther," Levi retorted.

"Sorry, force of habit," Gunther said, shrugging. They all slipped up sometimes, much to the confusion of anyone else not in the loop.

"We're just trying to cheer you up, Levi," Farlan said, finally adding into the conversation.

Levi was about to snap that he doesn't need any cheering up when his eyes focused on a table a few feet away. Two freshmen had sat down with their inedible school breakfast and Levi recognized them almost immediately, even if they weren't the one he was looking for.

Sitting only a couple tables away from Levi and his friends was a girl with short jet black hair and an expressionless face along with a smaller blond-haired boy with wide, innocent blue eyes. Levi instantly knew them to be Eren's adopted sister and best friend. He gaze left them for a moment to scan the room for the loud brunette but was disappointed when his search came up empty. Surely, if those two were here, then Eren couldn't be far. They had all be practically inseparable in their past lives.

Levi frowned and turned back to the other two. From where he sat and from the volume of chatter in the lunch room it was impossible to make out what they were saying, but their faces both expressed concern and suspicion. Levi's gun-metal gray eyes narrowed as he tried to read their lips but of course he couldn't make anything out.

"Yeesh, and I thought Levi was scary before…" Eld remarked, shuddering at Levi's expression, even though it was directed at someone else.

"What are you staring so hard at? You look like you're trying to make someone burst into flames with your eyes," Isabel asked, trying to follow his gaze. She didn't know the two students her brother was staring at but figured they were important. "Do you know those two?"

"Oh my goodness, is that Mikasa and Armin?! Ha! She's even wearing that red scarf!" Hanji screeched, bouncing in their seat. Teenagers several tables away could hear the notoriously eccentric student's ungodly shrieking but luckily they were all to use to Hanji's personality to care. "Hey, where's Eren? Shouldn't he be with them?"

"Is Eren friends with those two?" Farlan asked, curiously.

"In our past lives, those three were glued to each other's sides most of the time," Erwin remarked. "That being said, it's strange to see only two of them. Maybe they haven't met Eren in this life yet?"

Levi growled at that statement, his mood sinking even lower than before.

"Hey, that girl kinda looks like Levi!" the pig-tailed girl laughed, completely unaffected by the raven's piercing eyes.

"Don't remind me," he replied, glaring at Eren's sister. The two of them had never gotten along, and that hated had only gotten worse when Levi and Eren came out with their relationship.

"Short stack, are you going to keep pouting or do you want to hear what they're saying?" Hanji said, smiling obnoxiously.

"Unless you have bat ears, which wouldn't surprise me in the slightest, how the hell do you plan to hear what their saying?" Levi glowered.

"I can't hear them, I'm not that much of a freak, but I can read their lips," explained Hanji. Without another word, they leaned forward and stared intently at Mikasa and Armin, eyes locked creepily on their lips.

The bell suddenly sounded from the speaker on the wall, causing many of them to jump, so engrossed in their conversations they hardly noticed it was time for class. Levi grabbed his heavy black bag and waited for Hanji to gather their things, which had somehow been scattered over the table. Normally, he would have contently left her in favor of walking in silence but he was desperate to hear any news about Eren, even if it was coming from his least favorite person. When they finally had their bag, the brunette ignored their short friend and followed the crowd.

After they all left the cafeteria and started rummaging through their lockers, Levi stopped Hanji and scowled.

"Oh right! You wanted to know what they said, yeah?" Four Eyes giggled, their creepy smile back in place.

"I'm losing my patience," Levi ground out, teeth mashing angrily. "Just tell me what they said, so I can stop listening to your god-awful voice."

"Aw, so mean! But I'll be a good person and tell you," said Hanji, cheerily. "I'm happy to say that you and Eren will be reunited soon enough! But sadly it might not be today. I couldn't get a lot of information because, damn, Mikasa's like a stone wall! You know how hard it is to read her lips when her face is barely moving! Not to mention her scarf kept getting the way—."

"Shitty Glasses, I could not care less about Mikasa's facial expressions, just tell me what they said about Eren!" Levi snapped, his hand itching to wrap around the brunette's throat.

"Sorry, sorry! Okay, so from what little I could understand, Eren slept in and might be late to school. Or he might decide to skip it and come tomorrow, depending on if his mother wakes him…"

Levi drowned out her rambling. He'd already heard what he wanted and for the first time in years, the raven was hopeful and excited, but he'd never show that on his stone face. He was going to see his old lover soon and just the thought alone gave him a warm feeling in his cold heart. Then his usual irritation came storming back.

"Of course that damn brat slept in, it'd be just like him to miss the first day of school," he grumbled, interrupting Hanji's retelling of whatever nonsense the two brats had been talking about after their Eren talk. "Damn inconsiderate asshole."

"Ha! I think you just described yourself!" Hanji laughed. They gave Levi a pat on the shoulder with their face drawn in mock sympathy. "Don't worry, shorty, worst case scenario, you have to wait 'til tomorrow to see him. This should be a good way for you to practice patience, right?"

"Whatever," Levi said, turning and leaving the mad creature to laugh insanely in the middle of the hall. To be honest, one day wasn't such a big deal to someone who had been waiting for almost seven years, but as said before, Levi was not a patient man. He could already tell it was going to be a long day.