He was afraid of silence.

He hadn't realised it before, how this crippling fear made his bones ripple and his breath shudder every night, keeping him awake for hours on end.

Silence meant stillness. Stillness meant death. The battles Levi fought were gruesome, ear-splitting screams cutting through the quiet as his comrades were massacred right before his eyes, one by one. Like fragile dolls, they were wrenched away from him, thrown away far, into an unknown he dared not step into just yet.

Once again, his eyes snapped open as he turned to glance at you, your shoulders shaking in the darkness. He knew. The voices and faces that haunted you followed him everywhere he went like a second shadow.

His aching body turned to face you fully, calloused hands pulling you to his chest as soft, yet cold lips pressed to your temple.

"...I'm still alive," A whispered promise. He was still here.