I had a thought, could Eren have tipped Zeke off about Levi's relationship with Erwin? Nothing explicit, just that the now deceased commander was Levi's raison d'etre. I can imagine Zeke being very cruel and exploitative with such information, if he had it. I'd love to see a fic of that going down, if you know of any!
Oh yes, Anon, I’m pretty sure Zeke knew all about Levi’s relationship with Erwin and didn’t hesitate to twist the knife. The bastard.
“Interesting man your commander.” Zeke looks up from the mug of tea he’s holding and gazes at Levi across the campfire. A night bird hoots softly somewhere through the trees.
Levi snorts dismissively.
“Hanji’s not a man.”
“Oh!” Zeke’s eyes widen innocently. “I don’t mean Hanji.”
“Hanji is the commander dumbass.”
Levi’s bored with this conversation already.
“Sorry, I meant your commander.”
Zeke gestures towards Levi with his tin mug. Levi freezes.
“What was his name again? Ah, that’s right. Smith wasn’t it? Erwin Smith.”
He smiles, with far too many teeth, and Levi wants to knock every last one of them down his fucking throat for daring to speak that name.
“Remarkable man I’m led to believe.” Zeke says, unperturbed by the palpable air of threat curling off Levi. “I heard all about him from our Warriors of course. Seemed to inspire real loyalty in his soldiers. I can admire a man like that. Sometimes I wondered who they were more loyal to, their Commander or their War Chief.”
Levi says nothing, just sips his tea and stares into the flames.
“All sorts of stories reached me you know.” Zeke continues conversationally, scuffing at the dry ground with the toe of his boot. “I almost felt as though I knew him. Shame we never got to meet, I think we’d have got on well. We were alike in many ways really, both chasing after a dream that others believed impossible.”
Levi’s knuckles are white where he grips his tin mug and he can feel the metal buckling under his fingers.
“Of course other people said he was cold, manipulative, ruthless even. But I suppose that goes with the territory. It takes a special kind of man to send so many of his fellow men to their death.”
“You should fucking know.” Levi grits out.
“Yes, yes I do.” Zeke nods solemnly and sighs. “Sadly that’s the cost of war. I’m sure he understood that sacrifices have to be made. You can’t dwell on the cost if you want to make progress. My brother understands that, I’m sure your commander did too.”
And Levi sees him, he sees him, sitting in the ruins of Shiganshina as the ghosts crowded around him, each and every death, every single fucking one, dragging him down to the depths of despair.
Don’t you dare, don’t you fucking dare…
“I’ve heard some people call him a monster, but I suppose that’s inevitable isn’t it? He wasn’t though, was he?” Zeke’s voice is low, soft now. “Your Erwin Smith was just a man, and he died like all the other men he sent to their deaths. Brave though, I’ll give him that.” He pauses. “Well, all that’s in the past now, isn’t it Levi?”
Levi looks out into the darkness and tries to remember how to breathe. The night presses in around them, black as velvet, lit only by the flickering orange glow of the campfire.
“I like you Levi. I know we’ve had our differences,” Zeke rubs his jaw ruefully and Levi feels a sharp twist of satisfaction, “but I can’t help admiring you. Humanity’s Strongest; that’s quite a title to live up to, and I’m not afraid to admit that that I underestimated you. Such strength, such loyalty, and all devoted to just one man.” He pauses, blinking owlishly behind his spectacles. “That’s an Ackerman thing isn’t it? That girl’s the same. Kiyomi’s little lost princess, the one who trails around after my brother like a faithful guard dog. It’s touching really, if a little sad. But what happens to the faithful dog when they loose their master? What indeed.”
Zeke picks up a stick and pokes at the dying embers of the fire, which flares briefly into life, sending up a fountain of sparks that die in the darkness.
“Every man needs a cause, something to look up to, to aspire to. For me it’s simple, the restoration of our glorious Eldian empire. What is it for you Levi? Another man’s dream? Or maybe just another man?”
Levi’s says nothing, his teeth are clenched so tightly, he’s sure his jaw will break.
“Anyway,” Zeke stands and stretches, tipping the remains of his tea onto the ground and knocking his mug against the log he was sitting on. “It’s getting late, I should sleep. Maybe tomorrow I’ll get to meet my brother.”
He stops at the flap of his tent and looks back into the circle of dwindling firelight.
“It’s good to talk, Levi, I think you and I are finally getting to know one another.”
“Fuck you.” Levi spits.
Zeke laughs softly and disappears into his tent.
Levi sits long into the night, long after the campfire has burned out and settled into grey ashes. He doesn’t feel the chill that seeps into his bones, the rage that courses through his veins is more than enough keep the cold at bay. Levi sits, adrift in the darkness, holding onto the only tangible thing left to him in this fucked up world.
I swore to him.