The Royal Decree (Erwin x Levi)

Chapter 25

A:n That's it, my lovelies. Well, this has been a long road with quite a few bumps, but I have genuinely enjoyed writing this fic for all of your reading pleasure. Thank you for sticking with me until the end like this. I love you all to bits!

"What's your name?"

"I don't have one."

"What did they call you... wherever you're from?"

"Does it matter? I'm not going to stick around."

"I would like to call you something."

"Why?"

"To remember you."

Gray eyes met blue. It was at that moment that Squad Leader Erwin Smith realized that there was something inherently different about this dirty, blood stained whore from the Underground. It was at that moment that Erwin realized that his life would be inextricably tied to this young man.

"They called me Levi."

"Levi," the blond man repeated softly. "It's a lovely name."

"Lovely? What kind of jerk are you? There's no such thing as a lovely name," the dark-haired man scoffed. The harrumph turned into a bout of coughing, and Erwin leaned in, placing his hand on the younger man's back, running it back and forth in soothing circles. He knew that it wouldn't help, not really, but he could not bear just to watch Levi suffer. That was his biggest problem, or so he had been told: he couldn't just stand by and watch.

"I don't care what you say. I like your name. And I will call you by that name when you come and join the Survey Corps."

"Fuck off."

"Erwin?"

The blond looked up from his paperwork to see Hanji Zoë standing in the doorway, eyes wide.

"What is it?" He asked although he felt in his bones that he already knew the answer to that question.

"He's gone. Levi's gone."

"It's been a while," Erwin told the crouching figure. Mike had his hands tangled in the dark, matted hair, ready to slam Levi's face back into the mud. The blond gestured for him to stop and instead sank to his knees to level his gaze with Levi's. The gray eyes met his once more, just like they had that first time. Erwin could see that the younger man was healthier now, better fed, at least. Judging from the fact that he now had sidekicks, and actual clothing that looked nothing like the rags Erwin had found him in the first time, Levi was making a name for himself. But what a name it was.

"You're a criminal now."

"I was always a criminal." Levi spat mud, his face twisted into a grimace of disgust. "You thought I was something else. I never dissuaded you."

"You can dissuade me now. It's time to make use of that promise you gave me back then."

"I promised you nothing."

"I gave you a roof over your head on one condition. That you would join the Survey Corps."

"I never agreed to that."

"I could hand you over to the Military Police right now."

"You wouldn't," Levi said venomously. He heard Isabel protest loudly behind him as she struggled against her restraints. He sighed. "You're too fucking noble."

"Perhaps. But this is a second chance for you."

"You offer too many second chances."

"Will you take this one?"

Levi regarded him for a moment, his wrists aching from having been bound for such a long time. The old scars felt new again, and he disliked the feeling as much as he had hated it the first time, with Kenny and his constant stream of customers. Of course, Isabel and Farlan knew nothing of that. They were too naïve to be burdened with his story. Only Erwin ever knew.