Bite Me.

43.

Eren became concerned when it got to Wednesday afternoon and he had seen neither hide nor hair of Levi since the morning before, when he'd dropped him at the school and promptly disappeared. This was why he found himself at his house that evening, knocking on the door. Archer opened it, looking surprised and a little disappointed, and this was when he really knew something was off.
'Have you seen Levi?' Archer asked, and this question sent Eren's heart hammering stupidly fast.
'I could ask you the same thing. Haven't seen him since yesterday,' he felt unnecessarily panicked. 'You don't think he's in trouble, do you?'
'I think you've jumped the gun a little. He's probably away on business and just forgot to tell you. Although it's odd that he didn't tell me...' Archer frowned. 'You know what, I'm sure it's nothing. He'd tell me if it was important.'
There was something strange in the way he said 'me', as if to say that he wouldnt bother telling Eren. There was seriously something really weird going on.

'Where's your boyfriend?' Mikasa nudged him in the side on Thursday morning, having also noticed her friend's sudden availability.
'God knows where and, conveniently, not answering my calls,' Eren grunted and kicked at a stone. They were stood in the junior playground, the lonely pair of them. Mikasa had fallen out with Armin because he had been so rude to Eren, and she didn't agree with that. She had warmed to Levi a little after their little chat, and so neither of them were talking to Armin.
'It's like the first time we've ever been in a good place, he suddenly disappears and I get the feeling I'm the one he's running from,' Eren sighed, picking at his nails and trying not to tear up or anything stupid like that.
'Are you angry?' She gripped his hand in hers, trying to offer him what solace she could.
'No. I can't even be angry... Monday night was perfect and I was so happy, then this. I feel like I don't have the right to be upset about it, because for all I know he's working or something. I shouldn't be so clingy- we're not even exclusive. Or at least, we never said we were.'
'Sounded pretty exclusive to me.'
'You're right, but he just isn't the kind of person I feel like I deserve to miss.'
'Don't be a twat. You can't do anything about it now, so stop worrying.'
But he couldn't, and soon it was Friday and still he'd gotten no word. He was starting to think he'd never hear from Levi again when suddenly, halfway through biology, his phone buzzed. He scrambled to switch it to silent, cursing his forgetful self. But when he saw the name flashing up, he apologised to the teacher and said that he had to take this. They tried to stop him, but he had already answered and was walking out the door.
'Hey, where are you?' He demanded, and when he didn't get a reply he became irate. 'Why have you been completely blanking me?'
'Eren-'
'No, listen for once! I thought you finally started treating me well, and then you go and do something like this.'
'Eren, please-'
'Stop! I don't want to hear your stupid apologies,' he continued his tirade, encouraged by suppressed emotions. 'I tried to reach you so many times, and you just keep shutting me out whenever you let me in. I seriously don't know if I want to-'
'Eren- Eren you have to help me,' Levi was crying.
Eren's stomach dropped and he almost passed out. This couldn't be real, this couldn't be happening- it had to be a joke, or maybe he'd heard him wrong.
'What's happening? Levi? Please tell me you're okay!'
'I- I've done something terrible, you've got to help me!' His voice rose, cracking painfully as he choked it out.
'Oh god, oh god- what's happened? What've you done? Where are you?'
Levi rattled off an address somewhere in the centre of London, and then hung up as soon as he'd said it, leaving Eren no chance to reply or demand further answers. He shoved his phone in his pocket and re-entered the classroom to grab his bag and run back out, the teacher shouting at him to get back in, but he just kept running. He knew where he had to go, but he didn't even know how he'd get there. He didn't have his car with him, and his nerves were too high for him to run all the way home. Whatever was happening, he had to get to Levi as soon as he could. He pulled his phone back and called the one person he could rely on to help.
'What is it?' Archer sounded irritated, and probably with good reason.
'Umm, I- oh god. Levi's in trouble, I don't know what- he said he's done- he was crying, and I-'
'Whoah, calm down. Tell me exactly what he said.'
'I don't know, he said he did something terrible and he wants me to help, and he told me where he is.'
'Stay where you are, I'm coming to you.'
'I'm at school. Please hurry, I think that something really bad has happened...'
'He can look after himself, remember that. I think he's only in danger from himself.'
And with that, Archer ended the call and Eren was left floundering on the pavement wishing he could keep active. This waiting was killing him, each second dragging by like a thousand years. He tried to call Levi, but received no answer. Well, that figured. What would they talk about in that moment? Hey, so I was wondering- have you murdered somebody? Again? I mean, that wouldn't be out of the question for you, so... He was so tense and distracted that he didn't even register Archer pulling up in front of him until he slammed the horn repeatedly at him.
'Get in, débile,' he barked, his face uncharacteristically angry.
'In your honest opinion, what do you thinks he's done that's so bad he was crying?'
'I've never once seen him cry- I didn't even think he knew how. Fuck... I'm scared, actually. Nobody else can touch him, he's not the kind of person who is made like this by torture. That's why I think it's just him.'
'What do you mean?'
'Levi is... always has been... I don't know, unstable. You've seen that. I just don't know his capabilities...'
'So basically, it's probably really bad.'
'Yeah.'
The destination was not too far away, and Archer floored it the whole time, honking the horn at everything and everyone he deemed as slowing him down. It was a large, obviously uninhabited and basically derelict house in some dodgy back alley, tall and narrow with cracked browning windows watching over the street, cardboard filling in the parts of the door that stupid kids had smashed in. As they thumped their fists against the door for no apparent reason, Eren wondered what the hell Levi could be doing in a place such as this. When they didn't get any sign of anyone being around, Archer- after looking shiftily up and down the street for potential witnesses- battered the door down. The rotten wood caved in with such ease it could have been entirely made of cardboard, rather than just half of it. A layer of grime coated the narrow hallway and graffiti was scrawled all over the walls. A few needles and bits of broken glass were scattered across the rotting bare wood floor.
'Levi?' Eren called, checking each of the repulsive rooms in turn but finding nothing other than the rancid stench of piss to suggest that anybody had been here in the last century and a half. Definitely no sign of Levi. He started up the stairs, still repeating his name, a little louder and a bit more questioning each time. The banister had completely moulded away and each precarious step he took up the rickety steps creaked louder than the last. The floor itself was in an even worse state, and he didn't trust it not to cave in, but he had no choice. There was nothing to be found up there, either, and he started to wonder if it had all just been a wild goose chase. He was about to go back down when he heard a small voice calling his name from somewhere. He couldn't pinpoint precisely where it was coming from, but it sounded like it was coming from outside. Why hadn't he thought of that? He dashed to the nearest window and wrenched it open, a huge cracking noise piercing the eerily silent house as he broke the already halfway rusted lock. Fear can make you do superhuman things. He leaned out as far as he dared and peered down into the overgrown jungle of a garden. The thicket was too tightly woven to see anybody in, so he turned round and ran down the stairs three at a time.
'I think he's outside,' he called to Archer, who was staring idly at scribbles on the wall.
'Wait here,' Archer sighed. 'I have no idea what mood he's in, and if he hurts you he'll probably regret it later.'
'No offence or anything, but it was me he called so I assume it's me he wants.'
'Fine,' he shot daggers at Eren. 'We'll go together.'
The garden was a maze of hawthorn and brambles, and Eren must have tripped up at least five times, whereas Archer picked his way through expertly and pointed to a dilapidated shed crumbling away at the end of the garden, previously hidden by the tangled overgrowth. He opened the door cautiously, standing back and bowing deeply, allowing Eren to pass through first. Eren was racked with too much anxiety to care for his jealous games. He looked round the shed, and saw a small shape sitting against the shelves, surrounded by a dark liquid: blood. Levi's face was bruised and his skin so sallow and deathly pale he was almost luminous. His hair was stuck to the thin sheen of sweat on his forehead and he had huge bags under his eyes, like brewing storm clouds.
'You look like shit,' He crouched down next to him, his eyes still adjusting to the dark.
'Your flirting skills are questionable,' Levi tried to smile, but he was suddenly overtaken by a bout of coughing, followed by heavy panting for a few seconds.
'What did you do?' Eren again noticed the sticky substance he was kneeling in, and wiped his hands off hastily on his shirt.
'The blood? Oh, that's mine. I haven't hurt anybody.'
'What? I thought you said you did something terrible, but you've just been injured, that's not-'
'I did do something terrible. I've been lying to you, and that lie has finally caught up with me.'
'What do you mean?'
'I'm dying, Eren. I'd reckon I only have about ten minutes, in fact.'
'You're kidding,' Eren laughed, but it was too high-pitched to be natural. 'I know you can't die just from whatever injury you have.'
'No. I wish I was joking, because I'm really terrible at goodbyes and I don't think my brother is very good at being alone.'
All the breath left Eren's body in one fell swoop and he collapsed against the wall in shock. It couldn't be true- there was absolutely no way. Was this like before, when he had been shot and Eren had thought he was dying? He just couldn't think of a single possible way in which Levi could die. He'd always blindly seen him as invincible, unkillable and the most powerful person to exist.
'You can't die...' Was all he could choke out.
'I can, and I'll prove it to you. You remember when I was shot? Les Deuces aren't as stupid as to think a single bullet wound can kill me. There's actually a third way a vampire can die, which a very select few know about. There's this chemical compound, which I always thought was a legend create to scare new vampires into behaving. They laced the bullet with it, and by shooting it directly into my heart it started to kill me very slowly. I knew that from the moment I was shot. I've been away these past few days trying to find out what it was, and I discovered that there's no way to help me, and now I've wasted my last days without you.'
Eren couldn't comprehend it, but he knew it all made sense. It explained the behavioural change since the confrontation Les Deuces- he'd been making the most of his time because he didn't have much left.
Archer was stood outside in respect of his brother's wishes, but he had heard everything. He didn't know what to think, what to say or what to do. He'd already lost his brother once and he damn well wasn't going to a second time. He stepped through the doorway and almost sobbed at the sight of Levi covered in his own blood and looking on death's door.
'La vache,' he breathed and tried to haul him to his feet, but was brushed away. 'Mon frère... Tu-'
'There's nothing you can do now,' Levi's voice was barely audible, even to Archer's hearing. 'I've lived long enough, brother.'
'No, you can't do this to me. You swore you wouldn't abandon me again!'
'I think you of all people should know I don't keep my promises.' He coughed again, this time hacking up blood and his head swaying. He really didn't have long left. It was time to finally be brave and say what he had needed to say for a long time, something he had never thought he'd be able to until he'd realised soon he wouldn't be able to.
'I know what you want to say,' Archer smiled softly. 'T'as pas les couilles.'
'Je peux. Eren, come here,' his voice was fading by the second, as was his remaining life.
Eren, the tears already running down his face, moved closer to him. He was still so completely in shock that when Levi kissed him he didn't register it for a few moments. When he noticed, he kissed him back with a broken-hearted desperation, knowing it was the last time.
'Please don't go,' he whispered, but Levi was silent and pulled him into a hug that felt so horribly final and so much like a goodbye that he just lost it and started sobbing like a child, clutching at his bloodstained shirt and letting his tears mix with the dark red liquid pooling on the floor.
'Eren,' Levi breathed, and this was the loudest he could manage. 'Promise me you'll be happy without me.'
'I could never-'
'Promise!'
'I- I promise,'
'Then if these are my final words, I suppose I should make them good. Archer, you can survive without me. I want you to take over, and I want you to be a better Head than I ever was- don't treat people like objects. You always were the nicer brother...'
Archer crouched down in front of his brother and stroked his teary face tenderly.
'I swear to it, brother.' He kissed his forehead gently. 'But I'm not going to let you die, I swear to that also.'
'There's nothing to be done. Don't ruin my last moments. Eren, I-' Levi's body convulsed and he clutched at his chest, his eyes widening and his fists clenching in pure, unimaginable agony. He had little more than seconds left.
'Eren...' It took the last of the will and strength he could muster to say it. 'Je- je t'aime.'
And with that, his eyes went dull and his body went slack. His head lolled forwards and Archer grabbed his shoulders, shaking them forcefully.
'No!' He growled. 'You're not- you're not fucking dead! You swore! Do you not understand that?'
Eren sat there tearing at his hair and trying not to scream as he watched Archer clutching his brother's body to his chest, screaming and yelling in French with tears flowing down his face. He had to face the one inescapable truth; Levi was dead.