Bleeding Ink 04 - The Promise

#BleedingInk

#TeamEldia

Alias: Danchou

Writing by Aya

Levi sat upon a crate, the very one Erwin sat upon before uttering the last words he would ever say to him. "𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶." Those words bore into the male's very soul as he clutched the late Commander's bolo tie tighter than he had ever gripped his swords.

What was Erwin thanking him for, exactly? Killing him? Because that's all the raven's plan had achieved, really. Death upon death. He may have been flying high, above the true chaos, but he heard the soldiers scream, he had heard Erwin ordering them to do so. It was all because of him, so he could get a way in and put an end to Zeke. That's what those soldiers died hoping for, hoping their sacrifices were worth it, hoping their efforts would result in the death of their enemy.

He still lived. Their enemy still lived. Roughly 200 lives lost and the beast still lived.

What had this all been for? They didn't even know for sure if anything worthwhile was in that damn basement that Erwin wouldn't shut up about. If there was nothing, then it would be official that there was absolutely no purpose behind the suicide charge that took away the person he cared for most.

Ah, but that was a selfish perspective, how he felt was hardly important, not compared to the responsibility that would now burden his friend's shoulders, the same friend who had lost both Moblit and her left eye. Armin, he was burdened too, burdened with the responsibility of such a destructive titan, the previous owner of which used to be someone he thought was a friend. Eren, who found out that the enemy somehow knew him, who almost lost his childhood friend and who had just as much hope in his father's basement as Erwin had. The brat had his fair share of burden too. Levi could see him, along with the rest, as tiny figures upon the wall as they tried to keep it together.

Yet, there Levi was, thoughts continuously returning to his own loss no matter how much he reprimanded himself for such selfishness. He could hardly ignore how he felt when the cause was just a wall away from him. Despite his outward personality, the male was one for symbolism, so he had chosen the house which that crate stood in front of, as the Commander's final resting place.

Erwin's lifeless corpse was behind him, amongst the many within houses or littered across the blood-covered ground that would be long since decayed once they're finally buried. Would he be able to recognise the blond's face when he was laid to rest six feet under? Would he be able to look at his face and feel the same contentment he always felt? Knowing he was the only one allowed to caress and press tender kisses to the person whose face it was? Or would he just see rotten flesh, repulsive bugs that he was all too familiar with, having their way and those damn eyebrows Levi often threatened to pluck behind closed doors, long gone?

Would he be able to look at him and think to himself, proudly, that that was the man who loved him and who he loved in return? That was the true question, the one which was most likely to have a negative answer because he was dead, and he wouldn't have died if Levi hadn't literally told him to do so. Erwin may have thanked him for such a command, but it had been from one soldier to another, there was simply no way Erwin thought of him as his love in that moment.

That's what hurt the most. Did Erwin love him when he saw that life-ending boulder rushing towards him? Or did he have an epiphany and realise the stupidity in loving someone who told you to die, moments before the rock shredded his flesh and his organs?

He would never know. Levi had gotten up, bolo tie in hand as he entered the house, uncovered Erwin's face and pressed a final kiss to his disturbingly cold and pale lips. He would, simply, never know, all he had now was the pitiful remainders of his promise, his promise to end the beast titan's life.

Levi refused to break that promise.