"Well, um-." He paused momentarily to try and find a different direction to take this conversation. "Not exactly." He said before clenching his teeth in frustration unable to think of anything else to say.

"Hey, it's okay. You don't have to say anything if you're not comfortable doing so," She said bringing his face into her shoulder hugging him tighter to aid his frustration.

"Thanks, Hanji." He whispered taking a deep breath to try and rid the rest of the stress from his body. He lifted his head up giving Hanji a sweet smile, "your hugs are always so nice."

Hanji just smiled in response before mumbling out a "So I've been told." She said remembering all of the times Eren had told her how her hugs help him or how they are warm and inviting.

They sat there with the dogs sound asleep on their laps adding a few more last minute points to the list before changing the topic to something more light hearted.

They finished up talking about some new sports anime that had just come out, it was about ice skating. Eren looked at the time and sighed not really wanting to leave, but it had gotten so late. "Sorry Hanji, but it's getting kinda late. I should head home." He said with a pout.

Hanji made the same face she had always made when he said he was leaving. It's almost as if she wanted to say something, but she held back with a sad look, but she always tried to play it off with a playful pout and a cheery voice. Her eyes, however, had betrayed her telling Eren what she was really feeling. Hanji never really had anyone so she relied on the presence of her friends. 

"Hey, if it's not too much trouble, maybe we can do it again tomorrow," Eren said trying to clear the sadness from her eyes, and giving him a place to stay instead of staying with Levi all day.

Her eyes immediately perked up. "I'd like that, and so would these guys." She said petting Sonny and Been riling them up.

Eren laughed, "Alright then I'll come back tomorrow, and maybe we can even watch an anime while I'm here." He said thinking of an activity that they could do that didn't involve much talking.

"Yeah, sounds great, now we just have to decide which one." She said laughing as they stood up.

She walked him out to his car as he unlocked the door she gave him a hug, "If any of the monster's bug you, you have my phone number, and my door is always open to you." She said in a more serious tone.

"Thank you," Eren said with a nod and a small smile. He got in his car and waited for her to get back to her porch before driving away.

He was driving in silence heading back to his house at a rather slow pace. He was mostly in his head planning on how he would play dumb. He knew it would be a tedious task, it hurt him just to think about it. He hoped that if he played dumb long enough that soon he wouldn't be pretending to play dumb, maybe he would actually convince himself that he really didn't know anything and that what he thought was going on wasn't happening.

Before long he had arrived home and he pulled in the driveway behind the familiar car. "He's home." He mumbled to himself. He felt his heart drop and his stomach felt like it was getting ripped open.

He shut off his car and headed for the front door. He was sure to throw on a fake smile before unlocking it. He poked his head in to see that Levi was nowhere to be found. "Hm strange." He whispered. Usually, Levi had waited for him on the couch or at the dining room table just to make sure he got home safely.

He walked in and put his stuff down on the table and decided to head upstairs to the bedroom, probably where Levi was. Maybe his head hurt and he decided to lay down. He walked up the stairs and realized the door was cracked and the light was on. He walked up and opened the door slowly in case Levi had fallen asleep without turning off the light. When he looked in he saw that the room was empty.

"Maybe the bathroom?" He asked himself poking his head in the bathroom to see if Levi was wrapped around the toilet from drinking too much. "Nope." He said not really expecting him to be there, Levi had always been good at handling his liquor.

He shrugged before going to search a different room. He thought about calling out for him but decided against it. He made his way to the only other place he thought Levi would be. He opened the door to Levi's Levi's office and realized the light was off.

He scratched his head for a moment before having a last-minute thought of where he might be.

He walked into the room and sure enough there he was standing in Eren's art studio. "Levi?" Eren said as he opened the door all the way. "What are you doing in here?" Eren asked with a light voice.

"Oh sorry, I was just looking at all the progress you made on the walls, they look amazing. Also, this new painting that you've made is gorgeous." Levi knew what that painting was saying, he recognized the agony behind it. Eren was hurting, and his depression had surely returned.

Eren sensed a bit of sadness in his voice when referencing the painting but he let it slide when Levi turned around with a bright smiling face. "How was Hanji's?" He asked walking up and giving his lover a welcome home hug.

"It was fun," Eren said before mentally sighing. "How were drinks with Erwin." The question rang in Eren's head like a church bell getting louder with every ring. The question almost physically painful to ask as his stomach twisted inside him.

"It was alright, the alcohol was kind of cheap," Levi said shrugging off the lie as if it were a truth. Eren had thought part of it may have been a truth by how easily it had rolled off his tongue, also his breath had the hint of alcohol still attached.

Eren held back his anger and replaced it with a kiss to the forehead, "I hope you didn't drink too much." He said before leading him to the bedroom. All he wanted to do was forget, forget the lies, the pain, the depression.

"You tired?" Levi asked as they made it to the bedroom.

"Not at all," Eren said with a devious smirk. He didn't care at this point what Levi was doing he just wanted him. He wanted him to stay with him, to care about him, to love him. If Eren had to pretend until his false reality became the only one he knew, he would.