Soul Tattoo (Ereri)

Mini-Fill Bonus

Three common plots about soulmates (Or, three things Levi learned about soulmates from pilfered romance novels)

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1. Mistaken identity (Soulmates are two-way, always, but it's possible to get it wrong and approach someone who is simply very similar to your soulmate)

"But don't you see what this means?" she pleaded, looking up from the two birth certificates in her hands. "The thing I've always felt was missing, the person you've been dreaming of, the one you mistook me for -- it's been my lost twin sister all along!"

His breath caught, and he reached out to take one of the papers from her hands. Reverently, he ran his fingertips over the name. His soulmate's--

"What're you reading?"

A lesser man would have screamed in surprise, but Levi simply shoved the book he had become engrossed in behind him and glared at Hange with all the malevolence he could muster.

She didn't appear at all concerned. "Oh, the twin one? It's pretty good," she went on, blithely ignoring Levi's obvious desire for her to ignore his reading choices. "I always wondered whether twins really had that kind of telepathy thing going. There's a pair of twins in Mike's unit, but he wouldn't let me experiment on them at all!"

As she sighed, shaking her head at Mike's uncooperativeness, Levi took the opportunity to shove the book into her hands and flee. It figured, he thought, that these magic soul bonds weren't even reliable.

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2. Gave up too soon (Not many people find their soulmates, and most relationships are between those who had already given up waiting for their one; naturally, if the soulmate shows up after the wedding, things get rough)

"So what if you saw her in a dream?!" she screamed. Tears were welling up in her eyes, and he felt his heart shudder at her pain. She was dear to him, even if she was not the one. Her tearful eyes turned to him pleadingly. "Don't we share so much more than that? All those years together? All our memories? Our lives?"

"It's true," he admitted. "We have shared much, but to me, she is the most important thing in the world, the one I would throw away everything for..."

Levi slammed the book shut. "What a bunch of drivel," he muttered to himself.

"Oh, I didn't think it was that bad," Erwin commented, making Levi tense in surprise. He had been so absorbed in his anger that he hadn't noticed the commander return.

Scowling, Levi quickly returned the book back onto the shelf where he had found it. "Why do you even keep something like that in your office?" he wondered waspishly.

Erwin smiled mysteriously, his expression melancholy and reminiscing. "It has a sentimental value," he said. "I first read it when I was much younger, and it resonated with me on a certain level."

The cover of the book had been almost entirely worn away, so much that Levi had not been able to figure out the title or the author, the corners had become rounded down, and several pages were falling out. Judging by its state, Erwin had not read the book just once, but over and over again. Had he carried this same copy through the years?

Levi's dubious, almost disgusted expression made Erwin chuckle. "It's melodramatic and contrived," he admitted. "But I think it holds a certain truth. Every human has one thing that is paramount to them, for which they sacrifice anything."

"I didn't expect that from you, Erwin," Levi said, looking at commander with a piercing gaze. "Don't you already have something you would sacrifice anything for, even without indulging in fairytales? Or is your resolve to wipe out the Titans too weak after all?"

"That's a good question," Erwin mused. He didn't seem to know the answer himself.

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3. Drawn together, as if by fate (Coordinates are not simply songs, or marks, or dreams, and soulmates seek each other out instinctively, even if they do not make the connection between their coordinate's form and the other person)

"We have to stop running into each other like this," he said, laughing.

"Literally," she agreed. "Get off, you're squishing me."

"Sorry. I'm really not usually this clumsy, just around you for some reason. How many times does this make?" he wondered.

"Forty nine," she replied. "...Approximately."

"Oh," he said, sounding almost disappointed, "I thought it was fifty. But, I don't think I can wait until the next time we run into each other."

Their eyes met, and he smiled nervously.

"Will you go out with me?"

She laughed. "Isn't it forty nine dates too late to ask that?"

"Captain?"

Biting back a curse, Levi tried to hide the book he had been reading before Eren could see the cover. How had the shitty brat found him? This time, Levi had made absolutely sure to hide well before settling down to read. How was Eren able to track him down, in this one forgotten corner of the castle?

"What do you want?" Levi snapped.

Eren hesitated, glancing at him uncertainly and fidgeting.

"I just wanted to tell you I finished cleaning the courtyard," he said, "sir." He looked like he barely stopped himself from saluting again.

"Fine," Levi sighed. "Let's go see how badly you messed it up."

"Sir!" This time Eren did salute, simultaneously trying to scramble out of Levi's way.

Distracted and nervous, he tripped over his own feet and began to fall, his arms pinwheeling desperately. Without thinking, Levi caught his arm and easily pulled him back onto his feet.

"S-sorry, Captain," Eren stammered, flushing. "I'm not usually this clumsy."

Levi snorted quietly, striding briskly away as Eren scrambled to follow. Still, something about those words nagged at the back of his mind. Why did that sound so familiar?