Eren yawned and stepped out of his room, peering down the corridor for any intruders or simply Sasha and Connie sneaking out for another midnight snack. He wanted to see Levi, even if it would break his heart even more. He couldn't take being away from him when he was in this state. He wasn't safe. He was delirious to everything around him. He had lost all independence and Eren had promised to keep him safe and, somehow, he had already managed to fail.

There was no doubt that Hanji had found him and cared for him but something about that made Eren even more mad at himself. He didn't want to burden anyone else, even if they had vowed the same thing as him. Eren wanted to be Levi's trustee but how could he do that when he kept running away?

The hallways held an eerie silent, only interrupted by the odd snore by a recruit. It seemed that they were the only ones to snore. Eren laughed quietly as he passed Jean's room, a roar of a snore coming from within but kept walking without teasing the older boy.

He only had one thing on his mind and that was Levi.

After another five minutes of walking, he found himself at the abandoned hospital wing. Levi was laying on the single bed, Hanji nowhere in sight- she would probably be asleep by now. Eren smiled at how peaceful Levi looked and brought up a stool next to the bed. He rested his arms on the bed and his head on his hands and watched the man, looking for any signs of injury.

Luckily, there were none. Hanji must have got him quickly or, at least, he hoped so. The thought of Levi waiting outside for hours with no one by his side struck fear into the young recruit more so than a titan did.

'Levi, when you wake up, please remember me. I don't think I can do this anymore.' Eren smiled weakly, not letting his sadness seep through. This was Eren's wish, just to be remembered. Not as the boy who was a titan. Not as humanity's saviour. But, simply for Levi to remember him until his last day on this earth, no matter how soon that would be.

'I miss you, Levi.' He whispered, his eyes closing as sleep took over him. His arms dropped, folded on the bed, creating a pillow-like structure for him to sleep on. 'Goodnight, Heichou. I'll see you when you wake up.'

-

Levi peeled open his eyes, wincing at the sudden burst of light that hit him. The curtains were open, no one had closed them before nightfall and the rays of sun stung his eyes as they reflected off the mirror on the opposite wall and into his blurry eyes. The bed creaked underneath him as he pulled himself up, leaning back on his frail arms, trying to wake himself up with something other than the painful light. It must be late morning, he thought as he stared at the sun which was now high in the sky. It was almost midday. He glanced over cautiously as he felt the bed lean to one side. A boy was here. Eren was here. Eren. That name was so clear. Eren was back. That was Eren. But, hadn't Eren been back for a while? Why did he feel as if Eren had come back only now?

Maybe, it was him who had just come back.

One of Eren's eyes opened gently as he peered up at the raven-haired man in front of him. 'Ugh, where am I?' Eren groaned, cracking his bones as he stretched, trying to wake himself up. He was still groggy and his vision was blurred to the point where he could have been blind, not revealing who it was he was next to.

'Why am I in the hospital room?' Eren sighed, blinking, rubbing his eyes to focus his vision. 'Oh right, Levi.' He mumbled to himself before he finally looked back to the man he had seen as he woke up. He jolted up, his body rigid and prepares to run as he saw Levi staring at him. Was that curiosity he saw? The emptiness was gone, filled with that diminished light. But, it was light nonetheless.

'What's wrong, Eren?' Levi asked, cautiously as if it was Eren who had the disability and not him. Eren snapped his eyes to watch Levi's as they warily watched him, scanning him from top to bottom- just like every soldier was trained to do.

'What did you say just now?' Eren pleaded, bringing himself onto his arms, his eyes wide with hope. Eren looked like himself. He looked like the hope-ridden child who wished to 'kill them all!'.

'Huh?' Levi shook his head as if he had misunderstood. He knew he hadn't but what had he just said that was so important? He had simply asked a question. What was so important about that?

'Do you know who I am? Do you?!' Eren begged, leaning even further forward, so close that Levi could feel his breath. Levi wanted to back away, seeing Eren in this state was intimidating yet so much more intriguing. This was what Levi had always found in Eren. Levi had always been intrigued by the young soldier. Something everyone else he had met failed to do- maybe apart from his close friends Erwin and Hanji.

'What are you saying? Of course, I do.' He laughed under his breath and smiled that soft smile he had reserved for Eren and only Eren. 'You're Eren, right?' Eren's eyes widened and he smiles one of his manic smiles and smashed his lips against Levi's in a hungry kiss.

'You remember. You remember...' He repeated the phrase until he was too out of breath to continue. He bustled his head into the crook of Levi's neck and began to cry. He didn't sob, he was too happy, he just let the tears flow. He had held it in for so long, it was time to just let it out.

'What are you...?' Levi seemed at a loss for words.

'Don't ask. I'm just glad your back.' Eren breathed, smiling. 'I can't believe you're back.'

word count: 1026

published: 06.04.17