commander and corporal, ready for duty.

when the two who shoulder the world come together, they collide, fall apart and find themselves in one another

i.

From the very day he met Levi on the streets - with that icy, fearless glare on his face - he knew that Levi was going to be the one to change his life. Out of all things and people in the world, little Levi, with all his scars and hateful distrust, was everything that he had ever needed.

Erwin had picked up him from the dump he had been lying in, barely conscious and mortally wounded, and brought him back to raise as his own. And Levi had woken up furious, hands clutching a lamp to use as a weapon, fiery eyes staring at Erwin with so, so much more hate than any twelve year-old should've had. But somehow, Erwin had known. He had known that underneath all that anger and hurt and loss, most of all, Levi was afraid. Afraid to trust anyone around him, afraid that that will lead to more crippling pain. And he had walked towards this little boy and embraced him, lamp and all, letting him cry out all the tears he had been holding back. Cradling the boy in his arms, Erwin had cleaned him up and given him his uniform (custom-made and petite-sized) - "You're a soldier now. Your heart, soul and body will be devoted to me and me alone." And since then, little Levi had wordlessly committed himself to the life of a soldier in the army. Levi had threatened him that he would "cleanly slice his head off" if Erwin ever spoke of this incident again - and since then, Levi has never shed a single tear.

ii.

The rest of the Scouting Legion couldn't fathom why Erwin had taken such a fascination to this seemingly bratty little kid. Erwin had just been promoted to Commander at the ripe age of twenty-three, and there were still those who had doubted his ability as a leader. And when word of this caught Levi's ears - some bullshit about "Commander Erwin only getting his position for the the money associated with his rank", Levi had shoved the fucking bastard who started it up against the wall and beat his sorry ass up. There was not another word about Commander Erwin's eligibility.

And as the years passed, this fear had turned into respect, amongst the Scouting Legion members at least, and the two had gained their reputation as the 'invincible duo' - humanity's smartest and strongest, Commander and Corporal. These 'high ranks' were thankless jobs, having only gleaned mockery and insults from the public who couldn't understand why anyone would willingly go beyond the walls. They were used to the common people's angry glares and disgusted looks, and had steel-hearts and icy facades.

Some people would perhaps question if they even had any humanly feelings remaining in those bodies of theirs, but no one truly understood. They were both never the kind to openly show affection, but they cared about humankind, about the people they loved more than anyone. But if they weren't there with their steel hearts and ice-cold faces, then who would be the ones to shoulder all the pain and loss that the people have faced? And so they march on amongst the jeering, not even a hint of emotion in their eyes and only one thing on their minds - "Live."

iii.

Both of them were not known for being openly affectionate people. And yet it was difficult to explain the way Erwin glances at Levi sometimes, that look of unparalleled love - how, sometimes, his expression would soften and his gaze would linger around him. And how Levi would check on the Commander once in awhile, always quietly staying by his side after a particularly disastrous venture out of the wall.

All this, of course, done when they thought no one was looking - oh, but little had they known. It was an unspoken word amongst those closest to the two of them - the Elite Squad, mostly - that the two of them had something way deeper than their surface working relationship. Perhaps it was easy to miss the little details that the two sometimes let pass - the subtle brushes of fingers against one another, or hands that stay just a tad too long on a shoulder. The Elite Squad knew better than to reveal their relationship though, lest face the wrath of Levi, but they did, of course, take delight in their occasional teasing - a "slept well last night, Corporal? I realized you weren't in your room though, so I do hope you found somewhere else comfortable enough to have a good rest" briskly met with a "so do you want your hands or feet chopped off today, trash?" shuts them up pretty quickly, but Levi really means it when he says he would hurt you, so there are always consequences. (They haven't learned, and maybe they never will.)

iv.

Erwin doesn't question him when Levi silently slips into his room, almost naturally sliding into bed, taking his place right beside him. He doesn't comment about the nightmares that he knows have been haunting Levi, and simply takes him into his arms and cradles him to sleep. The words he would never allow himself to utter slip out of his mouth in his sleep - the six hundred "don't leave me"s and the single "i love you" - and Erwin thinks he might love this boy so much that his heart might actually shatter. To him, Levi was a fragile little bird. Underneath the cold, stone-hard exterior, lay a beating heart that needed loving just that once in awhile, and even the most perfectly-forged of masks crumble sometimes.

Erwin had brought Levi into his life thinking that he would eventually become humanity's hope. But he couldn't have possibly imagined that even more than that, Levi has become his glowing hope. And that is what they are to one another - the both of them, the ones who carry the whole world on their shoulders, one another's saving grace. So they meet in the light of the moon, walls crashing down and hearts falling apart, only to find themselves in one another all over again, gathering up the strength to continue facing tomorrow.

And when they wake the next morning, the sun is just rising. They dress and put together their masks once again, all the while basking in the last few moments of the day where they can find true solace. The scarf and bolo tie, once belonging to the one another, exchanged as amulets to keep one another safe - all the while praying, the time they spent together wouldn't be their last. And once all is ready and set and done, the doors are opened and they part their ways.

Commander and corporal, ready for duty.

a/n. Hi guys! It's been awhile since I last wrote again, but this time I'm back with a Shingeki fic. I have so many feelings about this show and this ship in particular, because how can these two people be so heartbreakingly broken and yet have such faith in each other? I started off the fic thinking of just writing about a few random, cute EruRi moments but it ended up being darker and more serious than I thought it would've been, but I love how it turned out in the end – I hope you do too c: Part iv was particularly lovely to write, and it may just be my favorite piece of my own writing that I've done, ever. Thank you for taking your time to read this, and if you would, please drop a review! Well then, see you soon (possibly with cuter EruRi fics that don't involve them being sad and broken).