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They've been living by the seaside for nearly three years now. It's hard to keep track of time when you're not counting. They watch the seasons come and go together; the hot, humid summers, the chilly springs, the gorgeous autumns, the icy, frigid winters. The weather is much harsher by the sea than it was within the shelter of the walls, but they wouldn't have it any other way.
Levi has let his hair grow long. Eren loves the feel of the straight, silky strands, and every day he ties it back for Levi to keep it neat. One particularly hot and humid summer, he asked Eren to cut it for him and Eren did, trimming it into the style he used to wear back before they were free. Levi had Eren relentlessly running his hands over the short hair on the back of his head until it grew out again.
Eren keeps his hair short, using a remnant of one of their last remaining blades, sharpening it against a stone when it becomes dull. At one point Eren decided to grow a beard and only made it a month before Levi made him shave it off, complaining about how scratchy it was when they kissed. Certainly not out of jealousy that he's never been able to grow his own facial hair. Of course not. Don't be ridiculous.
Even with the limited tools available to them, they've managed to build themselves a small, comfortable shelter. A home. Their home. It wasn't so hard to get lumber when you can just bite your hand and knock over a tree, but securing it all together required a little more ingenuity. Despite their lack of carpentry skills, they created a home that filled them with more pride and joy than even the royal castle in Mitras could have ever brought them.
Their supplies ran out long ago, gas tanks now being used as containers to carry fresh water from nearby lakes, flints and matches exhausted leaving them to rely on primitive methods of fire-starting, rifles hanging on the wall as decorations. Their few clothes were starting to fall apart from the harsh salt air. Levi taught Eren to become a proficient hunter, and they've been able amass a nearly endless supply of animal skins and bones because of Eren's impressive skill. They have never eaten so well in their lives, the land providing them with more than enough, and for that they are grateful. Levi never tells Eren that he himself first learned by hunting rats for food as a child.
Levi can't help but laugh when Eren transforms into a titan, running out into the sea to cup whole schools of fish in his massive hands. He's still not sure that titans can smile, but the way Eren's titan's expression changes when he stomps back to shore with fish flopping out between his fingers is probably the closest he's ever seen.
They wake up each day to the rising of the sun, nestled together in a warm, comfortable bed of soft furs. Levi wonders if he's died and gone to heaven. He'd never thought he'd enjoy shitting in a hole and never seeing soap again, but he barely considers it a sacrifice now. Especially when he's lying under Eren as they kiss on the soft, sandy shore, the cold waves that wash over them unable to diminish the warmth between them. Yes, everything they've given up by leaving humanity behind has been completely worth it.
Eren still misses Mikasa and Armin, and he cherishes the memories he's made with them. At night he tells Levi stories about all their childhood adventures. The time Eren charged in to save Armin from a beating, getting in way over his head trying to fight the older children, Mikasa finally having to save both of them and take care of the bullies. The time Mikasa blurted out at the dinner table that he wanted to join the Survey Corps, which earned him the ear-pulling of a lifetime from his mother. He even shared less happy memories, like the day the Colossal Titan raised its head over the wall. He constantly asks Levi if he thinks his friends are okay, and Levi only reminds him of how strong they are.
After the fateful mission that day, the Corps returned to Trost without their Corporal, and without Humanity's Hope. No one wanted to declare them dead yet, unbelieving that the legendarily strong, battle-hardened soldiers could have died during such a short expedition. Search parties were sent out for months. Eren and Levi were never found alive and no bodies were ever recovered.
Mikasa Ackerman was immediately promoted to Lance Corporal of the Survey Corps and sometimes people had difficulty telling the difference between the old and new. Commander Erwin resigned from his post, appointing Armin Arlert as the 14th Commander of the Survey Corps. The legendary duo of strength and strategic genius fought together in Eren's memory, completely dedicating themselves to his dream of eliminating every last titan before the tides of war turned and the fighting ended.
Unbeknownst to Eren and Levi, humanity has experienced great victories since they left it years ago. After Reiner repaired the holes in Wall Rose and Wall Maria, the new king, or queen, rather, since Historia Reiss had accepted her place on the throne, initiated a complete revitalization of the infrastructure and economy inside the walls and ensured a new dawn of prosperity for its citizens. The knowledge gained on the nature of titans, with research spearheaded by the prestigious Dr. Hanji Zoe, has allowed humanity to do something they never dreamed possible: not to eliminate the titans, no, but to live in peace with them.
Erwin left the military with an honorable discharge, but he still kept in close contact with the 104th, acting as an adviser to the new officers. He carried unbearable guilt from all he'd done in the name of humanity and eventually made the decision to exile himself outside the walls, unable to look in the eyes of the people he once saw fit to use as pawns for the greater good. Shortly before he left, he invited the new Commander and Corporal to dinner at his home and their lives were forever changed that night.
The topic of Eren and Levi came up, as it always did since they were greatly missed by all, even by the civilians who once saw them as traitors and monsters. Erwin finally decided that he needed to confess his secret to the titan shifter's friends before could face his own death.
That day he returned to the safehouse alone, he actually did find Eren and Levi alive. He found them alive as traitors, deserters. More significantly, as lovers. He'd never seen Levi so happy and it touched him so deeply that he cast aside his duty as Commander and chose instead to act as nothing more than a man, a human, a... friend. As an act of penance for his sins and gratitude for their service to humanity, he showed the pair mercy and allowed them to escape with his blessing. Erwin kept this secret faithfully.
He knew that if he confessed this secret, he could be tried for his act of treason and most likely executed, but he was actually looking forward to that end. He did confess, though, knowing how the two young soldiers would react. And they reacted exactly how he predicted.
Armin and Mikasa immediately set out on a duo expedition outside the walls, heading back toward that titan village that was the target of their mission years ago. No longer in danger of being instantly devoured by titans, this time they were able to travel far beyond that point. Far enough for them to notice the unusual white birds laughing over their heads, far enough to sense the unfamiliar smell in the air. Far enough to see a tiny cabin looking out over a stretch of sand that ended in an incredible expanse of turquoise water.
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Eren is inside cooking the day's catch over a small wood fire, pleasant-smelling smoke drifting out from the uncovered window of their tiny one-room home.
Levi is outside tending their flower garden, filled with the vibrant blue of the Forget-Me-Nots that Eren loves so much. Humanity's Strongest Former Soldier, Levi Ackerman, tending flowers. Ackerman? They knew they couldn't get officially married with no one to marry them out here in the free world, but still Levi thinks to himself that he really wouldn't mind being Levi Yeager now. He chuckles to himself at what his life has become.
His private laughter is interrupted when he suddenly picks up on a sound in the distance. A sound he hasn't heard in years. The sound of approaching horses.
Levi stills, wary. They haven't had any human contact since they left the warrior village. It could be wild horses; they've discovered countless new plants and animals out here, wild horses being one of the least strange things it could be. But it's not a pair wild horses he sees.
It's a glint of golden hair shining in the sun. And glossy black above red. He drops what he's doing in disbelief.
"Eren? Eren! Shit! Eren, get out here!" Levi is shouting in what sounds like panic.
Eren rushes out in a hurry, fear and adrenaline prickling his senses at the tone of Levi's voice, stopping when he sees Levi standing frozen in their garden of fragrant blue and purple flowers.
The riders of the two enormous Survey Corps horses also stop short the instant they spot the two humans outside the diminutive cabin, similarly frozen in shock.
"Holy fuck," Eren whispers, barely audible, before charging toward their first human visitors in years, screaming, jumping up and down, pulling at his own hair.
Levi walks more slowly to greet the overjoyed pair, tears falling freely as Mikasa and Armin throw their arms around him, pulling him against Eren to join them all together once again.
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END