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If there is one thing Levi has learned over the years it is that evil is an inconsistent term; a label that has no one true definition for it varies based on morals and opinion. To a mouse, a cat was evil. To a cat, dogs were evil—and that was without even considering the ones whom deviated from the norm of thought and instinct. It was rather easy to guess what category Levi fell into.
The strange and unordinary were shunned more often than not, though humans were the best at this practice. No other species could turn on their own as violently as a group of humans too ignorant to try to understand something they were not. It was disgusting. Levi had not been alive when the first supernatural had emerged from their ranks, but he didn’t need stories to know what had happened.
The great wars were long since over by the time that he was born, but the animosity remained. Both sides licked their wounds, bitter over the blood that had been shed and the lives that had been lost. Both blaming the other.
If Levi was a better man he might try harder to mend to the rift. As it was he just wanted some fucking rest.
“Eren, if you don’t stop trailin’ water into the house next time I’m goin’ to lock the door and refuse to let you in until you’re dry.” Levi shot the witch a pointed glare, watching as an offending drop of water hit the hardwood floor.
Eren smiled sheepishly. “Sorry I was practicing the width of my control. The more skies I can control the more I can help when we’re attacked.”
Levi tossed a towel at him. “I thought I told you that it’s my job to worry about attacks. Not yours. Your job is to stay safe.”
“Come now, Levi, don’t be so hard on him.”
The human huffed, arms crossing as he turned to glare at the owner of the voice. He was looking suitably mused for someone who had just woken up. A glance at the clock hanging on the wall told Levi that it was about the usual time for his waking. “Finally awake, I see. This was what?” He glanced over at Eren. “Three days asleep? Your old age is catchin’ up with you, old man.”
The vampire shot him an exasperated look, though it was dimmed somewhat by the yawn that stretched his mouth wide. “I am over nine hundred years old, Levi, I think I deserve some extra rest.”
Eren bounced over to him, clearly forgetting the fact that he’d just been scolded for being dripping wet. It was the fourth time this week and Levi reached for the mop he’d long since moved by the front door. “Good morning,” the witch beamed, stretching up on his toes to press a kiss to Erwin’s mouth. He was undeterred as always by the vampire’s ever present fangs. “Did you sleep well?”
“Like the dead apparently,” Levi muttered, wiping up the water marring the floor.
“Yes,” Erwin said, ignoring the jab. He touched a hand to Eren’s cheek. “You should shower, love, you look cold. Before Levi uses that mop on you.”
Eren glanced back at their mop wielding human who looked to be considering doing just that. “I’m going, I’m going.” He sighed, though his eyes gleamed with humor. Or perhaps it was magic, Levi could never quite tell. Eren dropped a kiss to Levi’s mouth before he could further puzzle over the witch’s bright eyes. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
Levi stared after him, mouth tingling with the after effects of magic. He’d never been intimate with a witch before Eren so he didn’t know if what he felt when the man touched him was normal. Eren had looked confused the first time he’d demanded to know if the witch was placing some spell on him. Levi assumed it had something to do with his tattoos.
“Dinner?” Erwin asked hopefully.
He sighed. “Get over here.”
Their home was a secluded one. Far off from regular human civilization and covered in a thick coating of both Eren’s wards and Levi’s traps. It was extremely rare for anyone they didn’t want around to stumble across it nowadays but there was always an exception. They’d had years to perfect their drills and strategies. They all knew what had to be done when the house lit up with Levi’s warning symbols.
“Get the portal ready,” Levi hissed at a droopy eyed Eren. His hands didn’t stop strapping weapon upon weapon to his body, donning the old gear he’d kept for moments like these. At the sight of Levi’s normally covered tattoos Eren scrambled back to his room to begin putting the spells he’d already had ready to good use.
“Erwin—“ Levi started to shout, aware that the vampire sometimes slept through the alarms. The first time it had happened had given the both of them a heart attack. Erwin had apologized profusely while carrying a bleeding Levi to safety, the human having taken a dagger to the arm to protect him.
“I’m here,” Erwin said, stopping the rest of his sentence in its tracks. “How far off?”
“Getting close.” Levi let the familiar weight of his pistols ease some of the tension in his body. The house’s warning flashes died down when he touched a hand to the walls. “Go join Eren. I need that portal ready to go in less than five minutes.”
Erwin was gone in a flash, enhanced speed aiding in their urgency. Truthfully, Eren and Erwin were both extremely capable of holding their own but hunters were a completely different sort of enemy and they never played fair.
Levi slipped through the halls on silent feet, enhanced eyes peering through the darkness that had descended over the house. It’d been a long time since he’d ran into any hunters. Two years of peace and here they were, on the run again for no other reason than existing. Levi felt his chest twist at having to make a new home. Eren always grew so downcast at having to leave everything behind while Erwin just showed a bone deep exhaustion. They were all tired of running but fighting wasn’t an option. Even if they defeated this group more would only follow. Hunters were nasty like that.
The tattoos on Levi’s skin burned, feeling his kin move closer. It used to be a warm, comforting feeling. Now it blazed as if he was being licked by flames. The hunters weren’t his family anymore they were the enemy. Levi didn’t plan on ever changing that.
The portal is ready.
Levi didn’t so much as flinch when Eren’s thoughts brushed up against his own. He touched a hand to the front door, murmuring the words needed to bring up the defenses he’d set into the house. The symbols flashed red for a moment, answering his call. Levi retreated back down the hallway.
The glow of the portal shone through the cracks in the door and when he stepped inside half of Eren’s wall was eaten up by magic. It was a violent array of colors, some of which hurt Levi’s eyes just to look at it but it was a welcome sight all the same. Eren stared at him with wide eyes as he closed the door, clutching a bag of things to his chest. Erwin had one as well, having collected what was necessary.
Levi let out a soft breath. “Let’s go,” he said, holding a hand out to Eren. The witch took it, trembling faintly. Rain was hitting the roof of the house in harsh waves, giving away just how shaken Eren was. Erwin took the witch’s other hand, steadying him.
“One,” Levi said, stepping closer to the ward.
“Two,” Erwin murmured as the sound of something hitting glass rang through the house.
Eren closed his eyes, hearing the house groan with the magic imbedded into the walls. It knew what to do in the case of their escape. “Three,” he whispered, leading them both into the vortex of his magic. The minute the portal closed behind them the house burst into flames.
"Safe house number 24,” Levi muttered, stalking through the house to look for any signs of intruders. The words were bitter on his tongue. Eren and Erwin didn’t deserve this. Didn’t deserve to be hunted down like animals. But what could he do other than keep them safe? They were only three people. They couldn’t take on an entire organization of killers.
"I’ll set up the wards,” Eren whispered, heading to the windows to start on the inside while Levi scanned the outside. Meanwhile, Erwin got to work in putting away their things and cleaning up the house. By the time Levi returned everything was dust free and clean. There were many advantages to advanced speed he guessed.
“Clear?” Erwin assumed, looking over at Levi.
He nodded. “For now.” The ex-hunter’s eyes scanned what he could see of the house, weary of having to make a new home only to have to abandon it when they were found again. “Is that—“
Erwin followed his gaze, noting the elegant teapot sitting on the stove. “Eren grabbed it for you,” he explained. “he said it would make you feel better if we didn’t have to leave it behind.”
Levi touched a hand to the curved handle, feeling a faint flicker of Eren’s magic. “Romantic fool,” he muttered, giving a soft sigh. He pulled it off the stove, filling it with water to boil.
Erwin stood, moving closer to touch a hand to Levi’s shoulder. “It would have been worse if you weren’t there,” he reminded, reading the regret in the human’s eyes. “Eren doesn’t blame you.”
Levi looked away, feeling dirty in the armor and weapons he’d once felt safe in. “I need to change,” he said, instead of an apology. “make sure the water doesn’t boil too much.”
Eren was staring out at the woods when he found him, glowing hands pressed flat against the wood of the porch as he felt out the house’s foundation. He looked up at Levi when he approached, eyes lit up like a nebula.
"I brought tea,” he said, holding up two cups. “Figured you could use it. It has some of that fancy magic replenishin’ vitamin Erwin keeps buyin’.”
Eren smiled slightly, letting the magic fade from his hands. He took one of the cups into his hands, staring down into the liquid. “Those taste vile,” he said, though he didn’t complain as he took a sip. Levi sat beside him, pressing their sides together.
“Tried to mask it with some other stuff,” he explained, elbows resting on bent knees. “How you holdin’ up?”
Eren shrugged. “Same as usual. What about you?”
A small smile tugged at Levi’s mouth. “Same as usual,” he copied. “the wards okay?”
He sighed, leaning his head against the human’s shoulder. “Yeah, I’m just tired from the portal.” Eren finished his drink, setting it aside. “How long do you think we have?”
“Until?”
Eren sighed. “Until they find us again. Whenever I get hope that we’re finally safe… they come back.”
Levi wrapped an arm around his shoulders, holding him close. “We’ll keep runnin’ for as long as it takes. One day they’ll get tired. Then you won’t have to live in the shadows anymore.”
“You believe that?”
Levi didn’t say that he thought it would be past his lifetime. Eren and Erwin both had far more years than him. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “I do.”
The door shut quietly behind them as Erwin sat down on Levi’s other side. “You’ll be there,” he said, as if reading the ex-hunter’s thoughts. “we all will. Together.”
Levi stared up at the stars. They paled in comparison to Eren’s eyes. “Yeah,” he said again, wanting to believe it. “Together.”