Stars - Levi Ackerman Modern AU (COMPLETE) [#Wattys2018]

This Means War

Levi pulled at the my sweater, "A turtleneck, eh? I see you're trying to cover up what happened last night."

He hooked his index finger on the neck and started to pull down, exposing the hickeys and bite marks from the night before.

"S-Stop that," I stuttered, slapping away his hand and pulling the neck back up, "Shouldn't you be doing something, Levi?"

"Levi!" Eren ran in covered with blood, "I-I-I... They're, they're d-d-d-d-d-d-dead."

Levi dropped his cup of tea, shards getting everywhere. One of them cut his cheek, but he didn't even realize. He grabbed Eren on the way out.

"Show me," Levi demanded, "Show me who died."

Eren nodded and started to run, Levi and I not far behind. We stopped at the town square. Eren pointed up. I looked up and quickly covered my mouth, trying to withhold the urge to puke.

Levi pulled me into his side, trying to keep me from looking. It was a sweet gesture, but it didn't do much. Every time I closed my eyes, I could see it vividly.

All of the members that were with Levi before Eren, the others, and I showed up were on display for the whole town to see. Some of them were hanging from barbed wire, but the most gruesome death had to be that of Petra's.

Petra was covered in blood and cuts. Pieces of her flesh were missing from where the TITANs decided to snack on her. There was a dull, rusted pole impaling her and coming out of her mouth, causing her jaw to be deformed. There was a large puddle of blood under her and all of it was still red. Meaning their deaths were still rather fresh.

I heard Eren crying softly. I broke free of Levi and hugged him. He fell to the ground and cried into my shoulder. I buried my face in his hair and massaged his neck, trying to calm him.

I looked over to see Levi walk up to each individual corpse and stare at them for a bit. He wasn't crying, wasn't frowning or anything. He seemed devoid of emotion. His silver-blue eyes were cloudy and impossible to read.

"Eren, Kenzie, come," Levi ordered, starting to leave the crime scene.

Eren and I were a few steps behind. His legs were wobbly. Tears were still streaming down his face. I wiped them away with my thumb.

We finally got back to the hideout where Levi picked up Eren and pushed him into the wall, "Oi, Eren, why are you crying? Do you think that's gonna fix anything? They're dead, get over it. Use your emotions in a more productive manner, will ya?"

Eren slid down the wall and onto the ground when Levi let him go. Levi turned away and started to walk into his office when Eren stood up, his legs just barely shaking.

"Levi, I WILL ERADICATE ALL OF THE TITANS!" Eren screamed, wiping away his tears, "I'll avenge them, Levi. I SWEAR TO IT!

"Not bad," was all he said before closing his door.

----

I poured Levi a fresh cup of tea and myself one as well, placing them on saucers and setting them gingerly on a metal tray. I picked it up and walked cautiously to Levi's office, knocking twice before coming in.

"I don't remember telling you that you could come in, Er- I mean hello, Kenzie," Levi's tone changed from irritated to dead in a split second.

I smiled weakly as I set down the tray on his desk. I looked at the ground to see that there were still shards from the previous tea still littering the floor. I grabbed a broom and a dust pan from Levi's closet.

I felt Levi's arms wrap around me as he took the broom from me, "I don't want you getting cut. I'm sorry I left the room such a mess. I forgot."

I nodded. I watched Levi as he cleaned up. I couldn't fathom it. Levi forgot about a mess? Forgot about cleaning?

I sat across from Levi and picked up my tea. Levi picked up his, staring at it for a while before taking a sip. I set down my drink and grabbed a wipe from the container on Levi's desk, wiping off the dried blood from the cut on his cheek. I kissed him just before I threw away the wipe.

"Kenzie," Levi said as he motioned to his lap.

I grabbed my tea and sat down in his lap, feeling his strong arms wrap around me.

"Are you okay, Kenzie?" Levi asked, kissing me behind the ear.

I nodded, "What about you?"

Levi was about to answer when his expression changed, "Kenzie, get under the desk."

I complied. Levi handed me my tea and sat with his legs crossed as the door opened. I looked through the crack to see boots. I stayed quiet.

"Levi," Erwin's voice was commanding, "I heard what happened earlier. You know what this means, right?" 

Levi's posture stiffened slightly, "Isn't it too early? Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Kenzie and the others still aren't ready. Maybe in a couple months, but most certainly not now."

"What'd you call her?" Erwin asked.

"Call who?" was all the Levi could ask.

"The Jaeger girl," Erwin's tone was mad, "What did you call her?"

"McKenzie?" Levi replied, noticing what he had done.

I felt the desk move slightly as Erwin leaned on the desk, "Are you getting soft, Levi? What happened to you calling all of them brats? Now you're on a first name basis, even giving the girls cute little nicknames? That's all fine, Levi, as long as it doesn't get in the way. This is the Survey Corps, not the goddamn Girl Scouts, Levi. The TITANs just declared war and I know that you know that more than anyone here. It's happening, Levi, whether the newbies are prepared or not. War waits for no one."

I pulled my knees into my chest as the room was dead silent. All I could hear were Erwin's and Levi's breathing. I pulled my face in too. I wanted to disappear.

Levi started to laugh and I almost fell over, "Erwin, I'm just asking for a little while with the brats to whip them up into shape. I want to win the war, not suffer complete and utter defeat. I want to crush them, not just win."

Erwin exhaled sharply in agreement, "Good. I'll get the others organized as well. The training is going to be even stricter from now on. Help Hange get more TITANs to run tests on."

"Sure thing," Levi replied as Erwin shut the door.

After what felt like forever, Levi finally spoke, "You can come out now, Kenzie."

I did and sat back in his lap, "Levi, do you honestly think we'll win?"

Levi thought about it, "Not as we are now, but maybe in a few years."

I thought about how long that was, "Do you think Erwin will wait that long?"

Levi started to braid my hair, "It's not a matter of whether or not Erwin is willing to wait, it's whether the TITANs will."