Chapter Text
This is not how the day was supposed to go. It was Friday. They had a date. Dinner. Movie. Maybe a visit back to Erwin’s. Levi had looked forward to it all week, since the last one.
Now, he was not sure what was going to happen.
It was quick. One student came in sick. Bit a student during math. Then his teacher. When he was sent to the nurse, she was bit too. Responding officers? Same thing. All of the victims got sick as well – then they started to bite too.
By lunch, the school was in a panic. The victims were shoved into he same room to quarantine them away. The ones that had not fully turned yet, screaming and banging on the glass to be let out. The teachers and fellow students were in tears as their peers slowly turned.
Pulses slowed to nothing, skin turned ashen, eyes milky and they laid down to take their last breaths. After a moment, the student would stand, wobble like the new born calf and charge at anything with a pulse. To bite and infect the next.
Levi watched from afar alone until someone joined him. “H…Hange is in there,” the voice was watery. Levi listened as Erwin sniffed and moved his body closer. “H…have you seen M…Mike?” Levi nodded. He paused before nodding towards the quarantine room.
Erwin lets out a shuddering exhale, his hands hiding his face. “Oh…oh God.” Levi reaches out and pulls at Erwin’s beltloop to bring him closer. It didn’t matter anymore if they were in a secret relationship. Not when most of their peers and students are a decaying mess. Erwin folds over and embraces him. He is shaking.
Levi doesn’t fault Erwin’s reaction. The man has never been in this type of situation before. Erwin invested everything into the development of his students. To see them like this…must have broken his heart.
Levi buries his face into Erwin’s shirt and breathes deep. As much as it hurts, at least he has Erwin. If anything happened to him, Levi doesn’t know what he would do.
A loud sound catches there attention. The door of the Quarantine room slams open, snarling corpses start to lurch out of their prison. The observing crowd scatter, but the ones in the front are not fast enough. Their screams echoes down the tiled hallways.
Neither man hesitates before running towards the panicked mob. Levi uses his broom to hold the zombies at bay as one tries to charge at Mikasa Ackerman. She is quick to get out of the way, dragging Armin Arlet behind her. Levi wacks the zombie that used to be Jean away and darts towards Erwin.
Erwin is holding Hange back from a retreating group of kids. Mike is barreling towards the duo just has Levi yells a warning. It does little good before Mike tackles them both down to the ground.
Levi grits his teeth and wills himself to move faster. Erwin is using his long legs to hold Mike’s snapping jaw away from his neck, but Hange is starting to recover. Levi snaps the broom handle in half with his knee for taking broken end and thrusting it into Hange's neck. He had hoped to hit the spine and seemed successful when their body falls limb around the stake. He does not hesitate to swing the other half towards Mike’s head, but finds that he misses.
Levi starts to turn, but his arm is snatched and dragged away from the carnage. Levi raises his stake to strike, but instead finds Erwin. Levi’s eyes dart back to find Mike slumped on the floor, neck twisted at a very awkward angle.
Levi turns back and matches Erwin pace, running up the stairs and towards the back corner of the school. Their eyes dart back and forth for threats until they reach the refuge of the janitor’s closest. Levi shoves the larger man in and slams the door shut, locking the deadbolt.
“Fuck!” Levi screams. He kicks the mop bucket, sending the mops tumbling. “Shit!” His hands grips his hair, threatening to tear it out by the roots.
“Levi…”
“We have to go back out there, Erwin! The kids! We have to get out of here!”
Erwin is backed into the corner, away from the single light that hangs from the ceiling. Levi can see his outline, his hair almost glowing in the dim light. His back is pressed against the cinder block wall, his arm cradled to this chest.
“Fuck!” Levi stoops over to rest his hands on his knees, his head down. “I don’t know…I don’t…”
“Levi…” Erwin’s voice is quiet.
“If I can get them back to the cafeteria. There’s food. Water. Big doors. We can start there and make a plan. Depends on how many there are…”
“Levi…please.” Erwin starts to slide down the wall, his long legs unfolding in front of him.
Levi’s eyes narrows. “This is not the time! The kids are out there! They don’t know what to do! We have to get the survivors and take them with us.”
He stalks over to Erwin and bends over to grab his lapels.
Blood.
Lots of it. Coming from Erwin’s arm, spreading across his shirt. Levi lands hard on his knees and grips Erwin’s arm in a vice grip, ignoring the man’s protest. “When…did”
“Hange,” Erwin supplies. “She was going for Sasha. It was just reflex.”
Levi blinks for a moment before he lurches up toward his shelves. He scrambles through the inventory, tossing bottles of cleaners, wipes, and sponges towards Erwin. Then he lands back in front of the man, he tears into the supplies. He pours disinfectants onto the wound and starts to scrub.
Erwin hisses and snatches his arm away. Levi dives back in, but Erwin holds him at bay. “It’s no use, Levi! It’s too late…it’s…too late.”
“No! No, Erwin, no! I can clean it! I can…” He lunges again for the wounded arm. Erwin grabs him and traps his arms between their chest.
“Stop, Levi!”
Levi wrestles his arm away and starts to hit Erwin in the chest. “You stupid, slow fuck! You fuckin’ moron!”
Erwin takes all of the punishment. He only winces when Levi slaps him across the face. He takes the opportunity to grab is hand and restrain it away. But Levi is having none of it. He wiggles and arches against the hard body against him.
When Erwin’s legs trap his own in a hold that Levi had taught him, he lets out a frustrated yell. Erwin silences him with a kiss, mouth open wide to swallow Levi’s fear and frustration.
Levi doesn’t push him away, he wrings his hand away from Erwin’s grip and hold onto the blonde’s face in case he tried to get away. Erwin pushes forward instead and Levi has no choice but to surrender.
Levi pulls away to press his forehead against Erwin’s, tears mixing with the other’s on Erwin’s cheek. “No…Erwin….No, please.”
Erwin kisses him again, inhaling a shaky breath against Levi lips. “I’m sorry, Levi.” He kisses Levi’s tears on both cheeks. “I’m so sorry.”
Levi’s arms wrap around the wounded man and squeezes hard. Erwin pulls him close, buries his face into his shoulder.
“It’s not fair,” Levi whispers against the golden hair.
Erwin buries his face into Levi’s neck, moist with tears.
“It’s not fair.” He says again.
…..
It takes an hour for Erwin to start to show symptoms. His condition deteriorates quickly until he is curled in between Levi’s legs, his head resting on Levi’s shoulder. Levi towels his forehead and wipes his face. Despite his labored breath, he insists on talking the whole time.
“Levi…don’t let me bite anyone.”
Levi shakes his head. He already knows where this is going.
“Levi…please…don’t let me be one of them.” He inhales deep and winces.
“I won’t.”
Erwin looks up at Levi from his position on his shoulder. “You will kill me, right?” You won’t…let me become…a monster?”
Levi shakes his head and rolls his lips between his teeth. He stopped trying to stop the tears awhile back.
“Levi?” Erwin’s hand is already cold when he presses it against Levi’s chest. “Levi…please?”
Levi nods. His words aren’t working anymore.
Erwin gives him a soft, fond smile. “Thank you, Levi.” His inhale sounds like whoop and he has another coughing fit.
Levi’s handkerchief, given to him a while back, was stained black as Erwin coughed up more…blood? Organs? Tissue? They weren’t sure. After he calmed, Erwin curled in tighter. “Hurts…”
Levi can only press his hand to Erwin’s head and kiss his scalp softly.
“Levi…I’m sorry…I wanted…more.” Erwin’s breaths are heavier and takes longer.
“Me too.” Levi mouths, but no sounds comes out. It’s trapped somewhere in his throat. Levi can’t stop the tears from dropping into Erwin’s hair.
“I don’t want…” he inhales deep. “…to go.” It rushed out. “I…wanted to…mar….marry you.” A large wheezing breath. His hands claws at Levi’s shirt. “I really…did.”
Levi rubs his cheek against Erwin’s hair.
Erwin's next exhale is pained and shaking. “I…love you. I love…you. I love…” Erwin shudders against him.
Levi waits for him to finish. Waits for the final word, but it never comes. All he hears is a low groan and a long exhale. Then stillness until Erwin’s hand falls away from his chest.
Levi breaks.
…..
Re-animation occurs 30 minutes after death.
Levi timed it.
He had promised to kill Erwin before he became a monster, but each time he lifted the stake to plunge it into Erwin’s neck, he couldn’t. Not like this, when he just looked like he was sleeping. Like when Levi would wake up next to him and he couldn’t help but admire the long eyelashes, golden hair or soft lips. It was too tempting to keep from kissing him awake. Now, Erwin’s face is slack, pale, and stained with tears. Levi never wanted to see Erwin like that.
He had hoped he would go first, but Levi is never that lucky.
Erwin’s eyes twitch. Then, he groans without taking a breath. His hands shake as the dead nerves are re-awakened. Then his eyes open, revealing milky white irises.
Then, Levi knew.
He had hoped for something different. But now he knows…Erwin is gone.
Erwin lurches when he moves, his hand reaching for Levi. Not out of love. But rage and hunger.
Levi readies his weapon and strikes.
…..
Levi finds the kids in Erwin’s classroom of all places, barricaded by his desk and others.
Levi has to jump to look in the window, but Armin notices him. The desks are moved away and the door is opened just enough for Eren to peer out.
“If you want to live, you have to come with me. Now,” Levi left no room for argument.
Armin, Eren, Mikasa, Sasha, and Historia slips out of the room only to slam themselves against the lockers once they saw that Levi had company.
Mr. Smith was silently gnawing on Levi’s head. Levi only looked slightly irritated and gently pushed the chewing beast away.
That is when they noticed that he was missing his teeth.
“Mr. Levi! We can’t…”Eren started.
“He keeps the others away. They don’t chase you if you have one of theirs with you.” Levi stated dead panned like Erwin was not currently gumming at his arm. He flinches away when it reaches a ticklish spot close to his armpit.
Eren opens his mouth until Armin cuts him off. “Let’s go…if we can use Mr. Smith to get to a safe place then we should.” He nods to Levi. “That is what he would want, right?”
Levi nods to a duffle resting next to the wall. “Grab your weapon and let’s go." If we can make it to the cafeteria, we can stock up on food before trying to see if we can make it to the next town.”
“Next town? Do you think its that widespread?” Sasha asks.
Levi shrugs and starts to walk away. He tugs on a rope attached to Mr. Smith’s waist, who follows unreluctantly. “Who knows? I’m not staying here. I suggest you follow.”
The students take a look around at each other and follow Levi’s retreating back.
Armin is the first to grab a weapon: a bat, and runs after the janitor and his history teacher.
The rest follow quickly.
They spent their journey to the camp with their janitor and his new pet zombie trying to devour him by gumming him to death.