Humanity finally manages to push back the titans and venture beyond their walls. Everyone is overjoyed, except for one stoic man.
A/N: This was written before any of the later seasons came out so it may be incorrect in places, I just really liked Levi even after only seeing the first season.
Pairings: None. Just Levi.
Warnings: sad, angsty, i made myself pretty emotional by writing this lmao, references to no regrets OVA
Finally. They had finally done it. After years and years of fighting, humanity had finally been able to venture past the three walls. After years and years of fighting, the titans had learned to be scared of humans. It was a victorious day for everyone, despite several soldiers having lost their lives fighting off the last of the titans.
Levi stood behind everyone else, lingering beside his horse. As soon as a glimpse of a golden substance had come into view, both Eren and Armin had sprinted away, screaming and yelling to each other. Mikasa had followed shortly after, calling out to the two of them.
“Sand!” Armin cried aloud, flinging himself off of his horse. He knelt down upon the foreign substance, gathering it in his hands. Eren dropped down beside him, a large, childish grin permanently etched into his features. He, too, scooped up some of the substance.
“Armin, look!” Eren immediately dropped the grains, pushing his body up. Levi watched as the younger boy took off once again, heading towards a large body of water. “The ocean!”
Eren threw himself at the liquid, his body completely submerged beneath the aqua water. He then emerged from the surface, choking and spluttering. Armin laughed loudly, though Mikasa was immediately asking if he was okay.
“It’s salty!” Eren remarked, his face scrunching up in a scowl. Armin quickly stood up, rushing over to where Eren now stood, his dark hair plastered upon his head. Mikasa hesitantly climbed off of her horse, before following her two friends.
Levi leaned back against a nearby tree, his eyes narrowed as he watched his comrades. Erwin sighed, heading over to where the raven-haired man stood. He placed a hand gently on Levi’s shoulder, causing Levi’s head to whip round. He stared back at the blonde-haired man.
“We did it.” Erwin whispered, turning his head to watch the others. By that point, most of the soldiers had launched towards the water. Sasha and Connie were splashing each other, shrieking loudly. Hanji was attempting to creep up on Eren, though her plans were quickly squandered by Mike, who had jumped upon her back.
Levi watched on as laughter rang through the air. But he couldn’t bring himself to laugh with them. He couldn’t even bring himself to smile. Levi didn’t feel he had the right to smile. If his closest friends couldn’t enjoy this beautiful moment with him, he didn’t want to smile.
“You deserve to be happy, Levi.” With that, Erwin left the male. He abandoned his horse, instead heading towards the vast expanse of glittering water. Even Erwin, a man that had always been so serious, was whooping and cheering as he splashed water towards the younger soldiers.
Levi sighed, turning his gaze upwards. It had been a long day. The sky had been a bright, cornflower blue when they had made their way through the wall that morning. Now it was fading from a pastel blue, to a violet. The violet then seeped into a cornflower pink, which soon became a crimson red. It was the perfect background to a perfect moment.
Yet Levi wasn’t smiling.
He sighed, placing a hand upon his forehead. His fingers were greeted by beads of sweat, which he quickly wiped away. After fighting and killing dozens of titans, Levi was glad to finally be able to relax.
“Oi, aniki!”
Levi froze where he was. The voice was painfully familiar, but he knew it couldn’t be true. It couldn’t be her voice. His hands slowly began to shake before him. Levi’s eyes instinctively widened as he lifted his head.
“What are you doing over there?” A deeper voice addressed him this time. Once again, Levi couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It couldn’t possibly be who he thought it was.
“Captain, you should join everyone!” Another female voice rang through the crisp air. Levi’s entire body was shaking as he stared ahead. Six, faint figures stood beside the shimmering ocean, their gazes all fixated on him.
Isabel. Farlan. Petra. Gunther. Eld. Oluo.
They weren’t supposed to be there. They couldn’t be there. But they were. All six of them were stood before Levi, their eyes shining and their mouths stretched into wide grins.
“Don’t just stand there, Captain.” Gunther spoke aloud, though his voice was soft as it reached Levi’s ears. His hair was being blown by the gentle wind. Levi felt tears rising in his throat. They stung him, but he had to hold them back. He couldn’t break now. Not when they had finally reached the end.
Levi felt his breathing becoming more rapid as he pushed himself away from the tree. He had to be closer to them. He had to be able to talk with them one last time. He wanted to hug Isabel and Farlan, to tell them how much they really meant to him. Levi wanted to tell them all how sorry he was for letting them down.
Without realising, Levi was stumbling across the gritty flooring. Sand flew up behind him and tumbled down around him, landing upon his clean boots. For once, he really didn’t care. His knees shook beneath him, but he didn’t care. He didn’t care that there was sand in his eyes, or that his hands were violently quivering at his sides.
He halted in front of them, his lips parted. There was so much that he wanted to say, but, now that he had been presented with the opportunity, he wasn’t sure how to phrase it all.
“Don’t cry, aniki.” Isabel whispered, outstretching a translucent hand. Her skin brushed against Levi’s cheek. It was only in that moment that he realised he truly was crying. Levi automatically placed his fingers to his cheek, only to find that they came away damp.
“You did a great job, Captain.” Petra told him, closing her eyes as she grinned widely at him. Levi was inhaling rapid, shaky breaths. His lungs were closing in on themselves. His throat had closed up, making it impossible for him to keep calm.
“We’re all proud of you.” Oluo said, gently clapping Levi’s back. Had it not been under such circumstances, Levi would have immediately snapped at him for ever thinking he was allowed to touch him. But he couldn’t bring himself to do anything other than whimper quietly.
Sobs began to rise in Levi’s throat. His knees suddenly gave out beneath him and he fell down, his knees contacting with the ground painfully. A sharp pain shot through his entire body. Then he began to wail aloud, suddenly feeling like a small child.
“Levi, you don’t need to cry.” Farlan’s soothing voice danced across Levi. The pale figure stepped forward, kneeling down so that he was the same height as the trembling, older man. “You succeeded. You did it. So go and be happy.”
Levi raised his head, though his vision was clouded by years and years of unshed tears. It was finally coming to the surface. Tears from every time he had felt pain were pouring out of him and dampening the ground below him.
Oluo smiled at the man, before turning on his heel. Eld grinned down at his captain, before doing the same. Gunther followed. The three men slowly walked away from him, their bodies growing fainter and fainter. By the time they had reached the water, they had disappeared once more.
“Thank you, Captain.” Petra’s soft voice echoed in his head before she, too, turned away from him. A choked sob escaped Levi’s lips as he clapped his hand over his mouth. It was too painful, even for him. Her small figure grew fainted, until she was no longer visible.
“No matter what, aniki, we love you!” Isabel grinned, her eyes glimmering with the hope that Levi had always admired. Her eyes were still so vibrant, even if she was a mere spirit. She glanced over at Farlan, who also beamed down at Levi.
“Don’t forget us.” Farlan breathed, before he slung an arm around Isabel’s shoulders. They turned on their heels, striding towards the ocean, in which Levi’s comrades had stopped. Everyone stared at the older man as he broke down, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Just as their bodies faded into nothingness, they turned. They flashed Levi another reassuring smile. And then, they were gone. Levi screamed aloud, no longer caring who was watching, or who heard him.
He felt as though his entire body was crumbling. It hurt him to see them disappear for a second time, but he was happy. Hidden beneath his endless flow of tears, he was smiling. Levi placed his hands upon the grainy surface, pushing his body upwards. He swayed dangerously, feeling light-headed.
“Heichou…” Eren was the first to speak up, his voice hesitant. He wasn’t the only one who was being weighed down by unwavering concern. Hanji, who usually managed to make a brighter situation out of everything, was smiling sadly.
Levi, the man who was so great at concealing his emotions, had finally broken down before them. But he wasn’t ashamed of it. With tears on his face, soaking through his clothes, and rolling down his neck, he turned his face upwards. A setting sun smiled down upon him.
And, for what felt like the first time, he smiled back.
