Chapter Text
By the time Levi made it back to their room, the heavy cloud that weighed over him didn't seem to be going anywhere and he wondered if he'd just been honest with the demon whether or not things might have felt better.
It was a pointless thought. He'd chosen to keep his walls up, to reinforce them against the one person who might have been able to shift some of the darkness that clung to him. Who might have understood.
But regardless of how lonely it felt, he knew he'd been right to do so.
By the time the demon joined him, Levi had begun to wonder if he'd wasted both of their time. Joining the MP, rising through the ranks to find his answers, it had made sense at the time, but now? When where was nothing to show for the thankless work and late nights. While the higher-ups sneered down at him, covered up the truth.
It was infuriating.
"I brought you some tea." Erwin said, setting the teapot down on the desk beside his human.
"Thanks." Levi replied quietly, accepting the mug offered to him once the demon had poured the steaming liquid into it. It did smell good, sweeter than usual.
"I can't lie to you, Master." The blond said after a moment, causing his human to look up at him in confusion at the seemingly random reminder.
"I'm aware..." Levi replied, sipping on his tea as he slunk down comfortably in his chair.
"Then you'll know that I meant it when I said I wasn't trying to upset you earlier." Erwin added gently, drawing a huff from the human, because he really didn't want to talk about it.
"To be entirely honest, I'm concerned about you." Erwin continued, ignoring the deepening frown on his human's face. "Though I didn't imagine that you would respond so well to a direct admission of the fact or anything that might be perceived as coddling. I did intend to provoke you somewhat earlier, I had hoped it would be productive. It was a misguided attempt to care for you."
The demon had been right about one thing, the admission of concern did little to shift the annoyance and frustration that seemed to be Levi's constant companions lately.
"It's your job to protect me, not to care for me." He pointed out flatly. "I'll be fine, I'm just... Impatient and tired, and I need there to be something to show for everything that's happened. I know I've been difficult lately, I'm sorry."
The silence hung uneasily as Erwin considered his words carefully. "I understand." He replied finally, tone almost apologetic.
"I was mistaken to assume that you would simply bounce back from that unfortunate experience Underground. Perhaps I allowed myself to see you are something other than you are."
For all his supposed understanding, the demon's words once again were unsatisfying and Levi drew in a slow breath as he shook his head.
"I'm still human." He said flatly. "Maybe not a very good one, but I still care about things. People."
"Of course." Erwin replied, though whether or not the demon actually understood was beyond Levi. It really didn't matter, he just needed to keep moving forward.
"Demons aren't particularly given to empathy or loneliness, in fact emotions as you humans understand them are quite foreign to us." The blond continued thoughtfully after a moment.
"We don't often seek each other out unless there's a particular benefit to doing so and rarely without the intention of betraying one other. Ultimately it all comes down to what will benefit or amuse us most and that, naturally, depends on the individual demon."
"What's your motivation?" Levi asked after a moment, rather than ask why the other was telling him any of that. "I mean, your dinner obviously, but I imagine there are faster ways to go about it than all of this."
"You're right." Erwin replied, retrieving the teapot to refill the human's mug. "In fact if I wanted to I could break the contract myself and eat you here and now."
Levi's eyes widened as Erwin smiled down at him. While that possibility had occured before- been hinted at even -that the demon ultimately held all the power, it had been something that had remained unspoken. Something that the human hadn't been particularly worried about given all the blond's insistence that he was just a tool to be used as Levi pleased.
Even if it wasn't particularly surprising, the acknowledgment of the truth was jarring.
"I rather quite enjoy humans." The demon continued, seemingly oblivious to his human's unease as he dropped down onto the edge of the bed.
"They make for much better company than demons and are far easier to twist to whatever tune I'd like them to dance. They're also usually easy enough to understand and simply motivated, but on the odd occasion they can be incredibly intriguing too."
"So that's why you haven't broken the contract." Levi replied, looking down at his tea rather than the blond. "Because I intrigue you."
"Perhaps that's one of the reasons." Erwin agreed mildly. "I'm curious to see what you'll become before the end and I don't like the thought of going back on my word needlessly." He continued, before offering his human a slight smile. "Not to mention, when you're not being difficult or hostile, you make for rather pleasant company."
Levi laughed at that, shaking his head slightly as he brought his eyes to meet the demon's. "And you're telling me all of this why?"
"Because perhaps if I do you might not feel so compelled to push me away when things get difficult." Erwin replied simply. "I have never lied to you, Master. I'm almost wounded that you're still unable to trust me."
"I don't think I know how to trust." The human admitted after a moment, stifling a yawn as he sipped at his tea.
"I used to, I trusted that I had a place in the world, it made sense. Not now, that was all taken from me."
"If there's anyone in this world you can trust, it's me." Erwin replied seriously. "Demons are unlike humans in that it isn't necessary for us to claim to be anything less than we are. But more than that, our contract binds us together. That means that there's not a thing in this world that means more to me than you do. Do you understand?"
He didn't, but Levi didn't bother to say that, nodding lightly after a moment instead as he stifled another yawn. "Just give me time." He replied, draining the last of his tea before he got to his feet.
The exhaustion had hit him all of a sudden, tugging him heavily towards the bed. He didn't even complain when the blond's hands found him, fingers helping to carefully peel him out of his uniform and tug the blankets around him securely once he'd settled in against the pillows.
"I've missed having you close." Levi admitted through another yawn, fighting his heavy eyelids to peer up at the demon.
"I don't like how things have changed, I know it's important that we keep climbing but this isn't the life I wanted and it's easier when you're with me."
He didn't entirely know what prompted the admission, maybe there had been some value to the demon's idea of being honest to encourage the human to do the same. Or maybe he was just too tired to care about maintaining a safe distance.
He still didn't entirely believe Erwin- that he particularly mattered to the demon. But it was a comforting thought as he drifted off to sleep.
Black wings wrapped around him, the darkness closing around Levi as he was dragged down. This time it didn't feel suffocating and he made no attempt to fight when he felt something pierce him, the sharp talons tearing through his flesh as they cruelly gripped at him.
For once there was nothing to fight, nothing to be done as he was pulled deeper into the void that had claimed him.
Erwin's voice somehow still managed to find him, even here in the depths of the nothing that had so truly consumed him.
"Rest now, Master. Know that whatever happens, I will always be with you. All you have to do is call for me."