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When Levi had first seen his boyfriend eating human remains, he had frozen in place. Had watched Eren as the seemingly innocent man popped a piece of bloody thigh in his mouth. Had seen the sanguine mess all over the white marble counters and tile floor, the precious life substance all over the place, leaving stains. Had found his voice returned when a scream tore from his throat, the lifeless body of the brunet's sister eliciting the noise what with the gaping spot where her leg had been removed, her lifeless eyes, the look of terror still on her features.

Eren had looked at him with something akin to sympathy. Had smiled gently and looked away, finding no shame in eating more of the raw meat straight from the disembodied leg. Had waited patiently as Levi found his words.

"How long?" was the painful rasp he started with.

"Before we started dating," the monster in his boyfriend's skin answered. "Usually, I cook it around people, so as not to scare them. I'm sorry you had to see this." He didn't sound sorry at all, Levi noted.

"Have I - have I ever - ?"

"Of course not," Eren soothed, smiling warmly. It didn't feel very warm with blood covering his chin and dripping down his neck. "I would never. Not without your consent."

With the knowledge that he hadn't unknowingly eaten human flesh, Levi deemed it about time to slide to the floor, landing on his knees. Blood soaked into his pants, but he couldn't bring himself to care over the panic.

"You're a monster," he spat venomously, dark gray orbs boring into ocean green.

"That is the goal, my sweet."

Suddenly, the endearing nickname chilled him to the bone. There was a predator standing before him, referring to him as sweet, and fear coursed through his veins.

"Will you eat me?"

Eren stepped forward, and Levi was glued to the spot. A bloody hand caressed his cheek, the warmth of his skin making it feel as though he had taken it from a living person.

"Not yet."

Not yet. How reassuring.

Well, Levi told himself in an expression of hysteric irony, this explains why he's so good at cleaning.

.-.-.-.-.

He supposed his first question should have been, "Why?"

Perhaps fear stopped him. Fear that once he knew, his death was confirmed. Fear of losing that last tidbit of faith that his lover wasn't insane. Fear of it sounding sensible, because Eren was saying it.

"Levi," he'd responded, eyes wide and curious with childlike innocence as he articulated the name in a way that made Levi melt and hate himself for it, "have you ever heard of a Wendigo?"

It was familiar. A legend, perhaps, a tall tale. But Eren's eyes were shining, as though he was excited to tell. Levi wouldn't admit he was terrified of the tale, so he responded, "I know of it."

"A Wendigo is a creature that eats people," Eren said factually.

"Aren't those just legends?" Levi asked wearily, and recoiled when Eren moved from his side to straddle his lap, cupping his face with an excited smile.

"So you think," he whispered ominously, grinning so wide his canines showed. Were they pointier than he remembered? "The Native Americans believed that if a man went cannibalistic, he would benefit from human flesh. He would become stronger, smarter, faster. A master at imitation, as well. He would essentially be superhuman."

His words tapered off into a whisper against Levi's ear, and it sent a shiver down his spine. Was that fear or natural excitement from the touches and sensory overload? Was that lust for power, sex, or blood in Eren's voice?

"But the body also warps. By becoming superhuman, one gives up humanity, and is therefore cursed with a grotesque form. But that's a small price to pay, don't you think?"

Levi didn't enjoy the thought of Eren changing like that, but supposed it was already too late.

Fingers laced with his, warm and inviting. "The nails become wicked, razor-sharp talons," Eren hummed in his ear.

He raked his hands up the ravenet's arms, nails digging in dangerously hard. Levi imagined what they'd do as talons, and promptly pushed the thought away. Little lines of red welled up in their wake. Then the hands moved to his belt, caressing his hips before sliding up to his firm, muscled stomach. Levi's breath hitched as Eren pressed closer, allowing for as much contact as possible. Levi could feel every twitch of the other's hips now, and hated himself for how helpless he was in noticing it.

"This would go. Wendigos are eternally starved, so they will always feast and never risk losing power." A soft whine left him then, and he nosed his way along Levi's jugular. "I'm so hungry just like this. Can you imagine?"

The words chilled Levi to the bone. His senses were a confusing mess, tugging his mind in different directions. The brutal and confusing tug-of-war ended in a second of blank bliss when those gentle fingers caressed his chest and slid around to his back, nails digging in.

"They grow a pelt similar to a starved wolf or coyote. It's matted and patchy, because they don't have much skin left for it to grow on."

With his hands on Levi's back, they'd been pressed chest to chest. When Eren leaned back to cup Levi's face, his hips ground sensually against the ravenet's, the confusing and unrelenting friction making Levi's mind blank for an instant. A thumb traced his lower lip, and desire-filled eyes pierced into Levi.

"The teeth sharpen . . . perfect for the feast. The eating is made easier." Hands covered his eyes, and he was hypersensitive to Eren's every breath on his face, every twitch of his body, every touch on his skin. "The eyes glow. They can see in the dark. It's amazing."

Teeth tugged at his lower lip. Levi arched instinctively against Eren, and any sane protests from his conscious were shut up when the brunet's hands pulled Levi flush against him and tilted his chin up. Eren clamped down harder, eliciting a weak cry as he drew blood. Levi's limbs were trembling as Eren lapped up the precious substance, and the soft whine into his mouth had him melting completely.

"You taste divine," the brunet moaned, the wave of euphoria from the pure taste making him writhe against his lover. He ground harshly against Levi's bulge, loving how the ravenet threw his head back with a throaty moan. "I just can't wait to devour you."

Levi supposed he should have been terrified when those teeth continued to make bloody marks along his neck. He knew Eren didn't desire him in the same way; the brunet's mind was confused as to how to portray the need he felt, and the closest thing it could be deciphered as was lust. Yet Levi was drowning already in the bliss. It was far too late to turn back. He couldn't run, anyways. Even if he ran, Eren would hunt him down eventually.

Besides, Eren had said he wouldn't eat him yet. He may as well revel in the desire bringing them both to cloud nine until then, even if Eren was more intent on eating him alive.

.-.-.-.-.

Levi knew that one day Eren would be caught. He'd hoped that would be the end of it.

Hope was a fickle thing.

When Eren came home with blood dripping from his mouth, Levi knew he had been in a hurry to get there. When blood was revealed to be pouring from another source on his body, Levi knew in an instant something had gone wrong.

"What happened?" Levi asked, raising an eyebrow like a scolding parent.

Eren scowled, clutching the gunshot wound in his stomach. Levi knew Eren should, by all rights, have died on the way home. He supposed it meant Eren was closing in on his goal.

"Pigs caught me. Killed them, but there were more coming."

The rasp in his voice was a fairly recent development. Levi couldn't lie to himself any longer; Eren was no longer the man he'd loved so dearly. But the creature still wore his boyfriend's skin, and he could never say no to that face.

"Will you survive that without attention?"

"Who knows?" Eren smiled grimly, showing sharp teeth. He collapsed against the kitchen doorway, breathing labored, but his smile didn't falter. "I don't know what I can take. But I have to lay low. I can't hunt again."

Levi knew what that meant. Feasting had an empowering effect on Eren, and they were thinking the same thing - it could save him. But if he couldn't go find a meal . . .

Levi swallowed hard. "Will you die?"

"I might," Eren answered casually. "But you'd like that, wouldn't you? You'd be saved from being my last meal."

"You wouldn't just eat me to save yourself?" Levi asked in shock. Eren's voice was getting feeble when he responded, the deathly rasp heavier than ever.

"It would be a waste." His eyelids were drooping dangerously low. "I want to build you up into a perfect meal . . . "

The monster collapsed suddenly to the ground then, blood splattering over the carpet and tile of the doorway.

The blood of Levi's first victim was just as messy. All over his hands, all over the alleyway. All over everything. Good thing he wore gloves and was taking the body, so there was a lack of evidence. With a plastic body bag, rather than a fabric one, so that blood wouldn't trail behind him. And that they didn't scream. Also that he had evidence to plant.

Preparation was also messy. Chopping up that body, dicing the flesh, cooking it thoroughly. Cutting into his own skin and watching the blood run like some sort of sick marinate. Levi may have been lucky for the murder, but not anymore. His stomach churned and twisted, emptying its contents into the trashcan he'd managed to reach. It took longer than Levi had hoped, but eventually the meal was prepared, the meat innocent and charred as though it was any old pork chop.

Had he not already vomited, the thought would have sent Levi to the bathroom.

The door to Eren's execution room - Levi had dubbed it thus when Eren started bringing his victims home - creaked ominously when he pushed it open, carefully balancing the heaping tray of steaming human flesh. The candles had burned dangerously low, and Levi automatically made a mental note to buy more before turning his attention to the bloody mess on the floor. The terrifyingly slow rise and fall of the creature's chest verified he still lived, and Levi hated himself for the relief that came with the news.

"Eren?"

One eye opened blearily. The turquoise was nearly overtaken by gold, something Levi had failed to notice happening. It spiked some primal fear in his heart and his lungs constricted, but he forced himself to move anyways. His hands trembled as he offered the the platter to Eren. The wounded creature took one faint sniff of the meal placed before him before his focus shifted to Levi.

"You didn't - did you?"

At first, Levi assumed Eren was referring to the murder, and he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Why would the monster care if he killed for him? But then it hit him.

"No. I didn't have any." His stomach churned at the thought of tearing into the flesh like he'd seen Eren do so many times. "It's all yours."

Eren seemed satisfied with that answer. He abandoned the knife and fork, biting down on the meat and tearing off a sizable piece. It was swallowed almost immediately without any chewing. Levi had to force his gaze away as the monster continued to eat, and his eyes landed on the bandage tightly wrapped around his forearm.

Eren seemed to notice it at the same time, sniffing the air carefully like a hunter. His eyes were already regaining clarity when they locked with Levi's. "I wondered why this was so much better than usual."

Levi shrugged. He wanted to look away coolly and idly pick at his nails like it was nothing, but he was entranced by those eyes. "In ancient Chinese dynasties, children would cut off and prepare pieces of their flesh to heal their elders."

Silence. Then, "Why didn't you leave me to die?"

Levi did look away this time. "Who knows?"

Surely not him. He didn't understand his actions anymore. Perhaps Eren had bewitched him; perhaps Levi had bewitched himself. Maybe the turquoise still peeking through those golden irises gave him hope. Hope that he could be fixed. That there was still some humanity left. That Eren could come to his senses. That everything could go back to normal.

Was it ever normal?

Levi didn't know.

.-.-.-.-.

One . . . two . . . three? Four and five.

Five little specks of green that Levi could spot in a sea of shining gold. It was breathtaking, really, but unnatural. He missed the green. He missed the cool, beautiful color, the one he could sink in. Sure, gold was pretty, but it was also harsh and overpowering.

The green was all he could look at now, the only thing calming him in the moment. Bodies lay at their feet, bloody, mangled, hardly recognizable as human anymore, each with haphazard chunks torn out by vicious, jagged teeth. Talons dug into his hips, preventing escape. Hot breath fanned his face, breath that reeked of blood. Levi couldn't move if he wanted to. He risked slicing his skin apart. Even if he could run, he wouldn't get far. Eren - no, not Eren, Levi reprimanded himself, Eren is gone - would have him on the ground in seconds. There was no escape. No reason to try. Eren would kill him eventually, no matter what.

"It's time, my sweet," the raspy voice whispered, coming from chapped lips that were once soft and plump. Levi's mouth was suddenly dry as well, albeit for different reasons.

"Don't call me that."

For months - years? - this had been going on, and now, it was Levi's turn. He should have escaped back then. He shouldn't have hoped. He shouldn't have fooled himself. Or had Eren truly held some sort of power over him? Whatever it was, it filled the ravenet with intense spite. He should have left that thing to die back then. He should have packed his bags and left. Now, he had doomed who knew how many people to death - including himself.

The talons eased their grip, and a gentle forearm supported his back. The rage disappeared just as quickly as it had come. A horrible emptiness was left behind, a cavity opening up in his chest, aching for something more. It was hopeless.

Dry lips moved against his neck. "Thank you for everything, Levi," the monster in Eren's skin murmured.

A single tear cascaded down a pale cheek before razor-sharp teeth tore into his throat.