Day 11

December 23rd

My eyes flutter open and I realize I'm in my room, I don't remember going to my room... I check the time and freeze, did I really sleep all afternoon and most of the night? Why didn't Armin... my eyes widen as I remember Kenny's threat, I get up and rush to the living-room, sighing in relief when I see Armin there.

"Oh my God, you're okay" I smile, he looks at me and smiles lightly, nodding "did something happen to you yesterday?" I ask.

"Yeah, a creepy guy tried to take me with him, but suddenly the cops showed up and shot him down" he explains "I think shit went down, but  I'm not sure" I frown "and the guy seemed to have some kind of fixation on your prince Charming and you" I tilt my head "he kept telling him that he'd find you and that he'd make him feel miserable or something like that"

"Did they kill that guy?" Armin nods and I smile lightly.

"Well, I think so, I was taken away and Levi asked to be left alone with him when he was almost dead" I nod "well, we should get ready to go to school" I nod again and we go to our rooms.

I check my phone and see a missed call from Levi, I smile lightly and call him.

"Hey" he says, I frown, he sounds serious... too serious, I sit on the bed "are you okay?" He asks, making me worry even more.

"Yeah... I'm okay" I trail off "are you?" I ask unsure, if Kenny did die, maybe he's not... Kenny was an awful person, but he was his uncle. They knew each other.

Levi sighs "uh... yeah, I am" he doesn't sound truthful... but I decide not to push him, I don't know what he's feeling, so I just let him be. "Eren... I won't be able to pick you up after school today... I'm busy" that is so not true.

"It's okay, I'll walk home with Armin and Mikasa..." I say. In all honesty, I don't think I'll go straight home after school "I'll see you tomorrow?" I am hoping he'll say yes. I need to see him on Christmas Eve, it's something I need to do in my life.

"Sure..." he responds "you finish school today, right?" How-?

"Yeah, I do, but I might go tomorrow morning to finish setting everything up"

"Okay, see you tomorrow" he says before hanging up.

I sigh and get ready for school, walking to the front door when I'm done, meeting Armin there, we walk to school and get there surprisingly early, we still have 15 minutes left until the first class starts, so we sit on a bench in front of the school gates to wait for someone to arrive, since we are the only people here.

"By the way, Eren" Armin suddenly says, adjusting his beanie, I look at him "you didn't tell me where you went yesterday after school" I bite my lip "was the car that picked you up Levi's?" I blush lighty "so... what's the deal between you two?"

"Well, to be honest, I'm not sure myself... we went on a date yesterday and... we, uh... met up on my birthday... but I still haven't figured out how he feels, I really like him, but I don't know about him..." I trail off.

Armin smiles "he likes you too, and I dare to say, a lot" he says "he almost killed that guy when he mentioned you yesterday" I blush and look at him "and he has taken you home a few times since you met"

"Still, I am not sure how he feels, he refuses to tell me anything, the only things I know about him is his birthday and that he's the captain of the police department" he pouts "I mean... I'm not saying he doesn't like me, it's kinda obvious after- shit"

Armin tilts his head "after what?"

I bite my lip, mentally facepalming for slipping like that "promise me you won't tell anyone, especially Mikasa" he nods "a few days before my birthday... he kissed me" his eyes widen "and on my birthday we..."

"Oh my God, you did it!" Armin exclaims excitedly "I thought it would take months"

I frown "how did you..." I sigh "was I that obvious?"

"Not about that, but it was pretty obvious that you like him, like... a lot" I pout "so... how was it? Spill the details"

"Armin!" I exclaim "I'm not going to tell you anything about it, I'm not gonna give you any details" he pouts and I get up "come on, everyone's at the door, let's go" we head to the entrance and meet the others before going to class.

I get to my science class and sit at the back of the classroom with Armin and Jean. I take out my phone and stop paying attention to the class.

To Levi: are you okay?

From Levi: I told you I am.

To Levi: can I go see you later?

From Levi: Didn't I tell you I'm busy today?

I frown, that would normally be a typical Levi response, but I'm worried about him. He was different yesterday and on my birthday... why is he like this if he's really okay? I lean over to Armin "I'm going to do something after school, don't wait for me" he nods and I go back to texting him.

To Levi: are you sure you're okay?

From Levi: You're pushing...

To Levi: sorry... I'm just worried

From Levi: Don't worrry about me, I'm fine.

From Levi: Shouldn't you be paying attention in class?

Well, two texts in a row, that's something...

To Levi: but I don't wanna... science is boring and I don't get it...

From Levi: Why can I hear you whining all the way from here?

From Levi: But I get it, just pretend to pay attention and don't get in trouble.

To Levi: whyyyyyy?

From Levi: Because it's your last day and I want you as soon as possible.

I feel my breath hitch and I bite my lip as the bell rings, I get up and walk out of the class, heading to ethics class, sitting at the back again.

To Levi: you can't text me those things while I'm in class omg

From Levi: Get it now?

From Levi: I'm going to work now, we'll talk later

"Eren" Connie nudges me, I look up and notice something isn't right on the board, so I pay attention for a second.

"As you have probably heard, there was a brutal police attack a few days ago here, and as the people begged for mercy, the captain of the department told the officers to keep on going" the teacher says, I frown and try to keep it together and tell him in a polite way, but I guess he is just someone against the police and Levi.

"Um... that is bullshit" I say, the entire class turns to me, the teacher walks to me.

"Is that so?" He asks challengingly, thinking I won't argue, and I normally wouldn't, but he's attacking my boyfriend... or whatever and I am not going to put up with that.

"Yes, that is not what happened, the captain was in the questioning room when that happened and when he saw what was going on, he fired everyone who was attacking the people" I say, he takes a step closer "the captain was on the people's side, he defended them"

"And how would you know that?"

"Because I was there" I am seriously trying to be kind and polite but it's hard when I can't stand whoever I'm talking to "I was there when it happened, so I know what happened, way better than you do, so I would appreciate it if you fucking stopped attacking the people who are protecting your useless ass everyday of your life" I snap, leaving everyone shocked, the teacher looks very very very pissed. Oops, I guess.

After a whole minute of silence, the teacher speaks "get out" I take my backpack "don't come into this class until you've learnt respect"

I scoff "gladly, but I could say the same thing to you" I get up and walk out... well, that was my last class of the year... it went well, I suppose.

I walk out of the school and head to the commissary.

To Levi: I may or may not have just gotten in trouble...

From Levi: What? Didn't I specifically tell you not to get in trouble?

To Levi: sorry... but it was for a good reason, I swear!

From Levi: A good reason?

To Levi: yeah, they were making up stuff about the police and their captain

To Levi: aka you

From Levi: I didn't know I was the captain, thanks for the information.

I roll my eyes and reach my destination, I walk in and frown when I don't see Levi around. I walk to one of the officers "excuse me... is captain Ackerman here?" I ask.

"No, he didn't come to work today for personal reasons" the officer tells me.

"Oh... okay, thank you" I say as I walk out. He didn't go to work? That's weird...

I sigh and think for a second. He's probably home... but if I go, will he be pissed at me? I push those thoughts away and head to his home. Once I get there, I try to block out any reminders of what happened on my birthday.

I knock on the door and wait for a few seconds for him to open, when he does, he looks at me slightly shocked "what are you-" I get closer and hug him tightly "Eren?" He quickly pulls away "why are you here?" I tilt my head "I told you I'm busy"

"I went to see you at the commissary and you weren't there, so-"

"I told you not to come for a reason, Eren, don't you fucking get it?" I frown as I notice his eyes slightly red and a bandage on his left hand and going up his arm "I want to be alone now" he sounds angry, but he doesn't look angry. He looks... devastated.

"I'm not leaving you alone, Levi, I don't care what you say, I'm staying with you" he frowns "I can't say that I know what you're going through, but I can assure you that you won't go through this alone"

A small chuckle escapes his lips "you are aware that this is my house, and that I can close the door right now if I feel like it, right?" I smile and he sighs "fine... come in" he lets me in and closes the door "seriously though, why are you here?"

I put my backpack down and look at him, tilting my head as if it's obvious "I could tell from that call this morrning that you weren't okay, so I wanted to see you after school... I just got out about an hour and a half earlier..." he rolls his eyes "so... how are you doing?"

"Honestly?" I nod "better than most people when they kill their uncle..." my eyes widen "even though... I thought I wouldn't mind, I thought I'd be better off with him dead..." I walk to him "turns out I'm not... he killed many people, he threatened you... but I felt like I couldn't do it... it took me too long to pull the trigger..." he bites his lip, and shakily takes my hand, pulling me to the sofa with him and I sit next to him, "I... I don't know if I made the right decision..." he trails off, "maybe..."

"You did it to protect everyone, of course you made the right decision, Levi" I say "don't think otherwise, not even for a second, okay?" He looks at me, tears slowly running down his face.

He bites his lip and looks down "I didn't do it to protect everyone..." I tilt my head "I did it to protect you... on the second he said your name I... I pulled the trigger" I don't say anything, I just listen, he looks at me "I couldn't stand the thought of him ever hurting you... it was selfish of me but... I didn't think... I guess I'm a killer too..."

I smile lightly "no, you're not selfish, you're not a killer, okay? You're sensational" I slowly lean in and kiss him softly "don't ever think that you are"

"That's easy for you to say... you didn't kill him, Eren" I guess he's right... "I'm just glad that now that he's dead... you'll be safe" I smile "you said you have plans tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, I have to go finish setting up some stuff for the ball... you're still not coming?" I pout, he smiles lightly.

"I don't think so" I look at him "but... are you doing something on Christmas day?" I blink, confused "well, I thought it would be a perfect time to tell you a bit about myself" I can feel my entire face light up "but if you have plans-"

I cut him with a kiss and pull back smiling "I love Christmas too much to not spend the day with you, besides, it's your birthday" he shakes his head lightly and I get up "so, what are we doing?"

"Oi, don't get too excited, Eren, I just thought of it, I don't have any ideas yet" he looks up at me and I pout, sitting next to him "you know... for a second I thought you were going to leave already..." I lay my head on his shoulder "don't leave just yet"

"I'm not going anywhere, Levi" he pulls me closer "I'm not leaving until you don't need me anymore"

"I don't think that'll ever happen..."

I bite my lip and blush, closing my eyes for a second before he speaks again.

"I want you to know what Kenny did..." my eyes widen and I pull back, looking at him shocked.

"Are you sure? I mean, you don't have to if-"

"I am" he smiles lightly. I don't say anything, I just wait "well, I told you yesterday that I don't like Christmas because of my birthday and because of Kenny... but it's mostly because of Kenny" I tilt my head to the side "on the day I turned 9, Kenny showed up in our house, I had never seen him before, but I didn't worry too much..."

"Kenny! Welcome!" Levi looked up at his mother from the hallway, trying to hide from the person at the door, he didn't know why his mother greeted that stranger as if she had known him her entire life "it's been over 9 years!" She turned to Levi, "Levi, sweetie, come here for a second" Levi looked at them and walked slowly "this is uncle Kenny, my brother"

Levi tilted his head "I didn't know you had a brother" he said, he looked up at Kenny, who walked in as if he owned the place "why is he here?" He felt powerless, inferior to that 'Kenny'.

"Well, it's Christmas day, and people spend Christmas day with their family" his mother said, kneeling down in front of him "why don't you show him around and meet him? I'm sure you'll like him" she smiled.

Levi shook his head "I don't like him, and it's my birthday, I don't want him here" Kenny walked to him and he stepped back.

"So it's your birthday?" Levi avoided eye contact and nodded "how about we go out tonight and I get you something tomorrow" Levi looked at his mother, who nodded and smiled.

"... Okay..." he trailed off before leaving to his room.

"What happened next?" I ask, shocked by the fact that he didn't know of the existence of Kenny for the first few years of his life.

"You want the details?" I nod, not really knowing if I should.

When it was time to go, Levi walked downstairs to meet Kenny and leave. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he noticed a bloodstain on the carpet, he frowned lightly and saw another a few meters away, and another... he followed the bloodstains and stopped in his tracks as he saw where the blood had come from.

"Mommy?" He asked shakily, seeing his mother on the floor, her stomach was slit open, and Kenny was on the other side of the room, sitting on the couch, looking at him, expressionless.

I look at him in shock "wh- what did you do then?"

Levi looks at me "I ran away" he says "I could've killed him right there, I could've called the police, I could've done literally anything... but I just ran away" he gets up and I take his hand before he can leave.

"Levi... you were a kid, you couldn't do anything, who knows what would've happened to you if you had stayed there? Everything would be different, but it's not... and I'm glad things are the way they are" he turns to me and I smile lightly "I get why you're not fond of Christmas... but you're gonna love it this year, I promise"

"And how are you going to do that?" He pulls me up and I smirk "you're going to need a lot more than to be here to make me enjoy Christmas" I bite my lip. Two can play at this game, captain Ackerman.

"Is that so?" I ask tauntingly as I move my hand down his chest "I think I can make you enjoy Christmas and have the best Christmas of your life" he pushes me down to the sofa, I look up at him and bite my lip as he kisses my neck, I grip his hair as he kisses up to my ear, making me moan softly.

He pulls back and I pout "are you sure it won't be other way around?" He smirks "however, it's not Christmas yet, it's not even Christmas eve yet, so you'll have to wait" he kisses me quickly and walks away, "do you have plans today?" He asks from his room.

"Okay, first, you can't leave me like this after doing that" I whine "and nope, nothing until tomorrow" I tilt my head "why'd you ask?" I call.

He walks out and my jaw drops. Holy shit. He's wearing a white shirt and a black jacket, matching his black jeans. He looks absulutely flawless... how is it possible that- "You want to take a picture?" I blink and blush, looking away for a second "I thought that... since you got kicked out of school, and we were interrupted yesterday, we could go somewhere and... if you want, you can stay tonight, I'll give you a ride to school so you can set everything up" I smile and nod.

"Okay, sounds perfect, but maybe you can stay  there instead of just taking me..." I look up at him with puppy eyes "please"

He sighs and pulls me up "we'll see..." I smile and kiss him "well, take your backpack, we'll go to your house first... wait, is someone there?" I check the time and shrug.

"I don't know... maybe Armin, but..." I think about it for a split second "actually, I'm not sure if Mikasa is moving in today... maybe she is"

He frowns "you don't know when someone is moving in to your place?" I pout, taking my backpack and walking back to him "seriously?"

"In my defense I'll say that I did until you occupied my mind the whole time" he raises his eyebrows "... was that too cheesy?"

He chuckles lightly and nods "it was extremely cheesy... you're so lucky it's you" I chuckle "anyway, let's go" he takes my hand and we walk out, he locks the door and takes me to his car.

We get to the car and he stops, I tilt my head "I don't think I've ever opened up about this to anyone before you..." I blush lightly "would you have killed him?" He looks at me, I smile and kiss him.

"No, I would've been too scared to do it... actually, I probably would've been killed as a child if I had been in your place, not many people would've done what you did yesterday, I can't thank you enough for it" I open the car door and get in, looking at him "and I'm honored to be the first one to know" Levi smiles and gets in the car, starting the engine and driving away.

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After spending a few hours out, we finally get back to his home, I am exhausted, he looks at me as he closes the door and chuckles "you okay?" I drop on the sofa and sigh "oh, come on, we didn't do anything for you to be like this" he walks to me and pulls me up.

I pout "hey, I woke up at 5:50am today, I have the right to be tired" I whine, looking at him "let me sleep" I say childishly "I have to be up extremely early tomorrow and not sleep until the 27th at night"

Levi looks at me in disbelief and lets go of my arm, making me fall on the sofa again "you slept all afternoon and night yesterday, Eren..." I pout "and you don't have to get up extremely early tomorrow" I sigh "plus, you can and will sleep tomorrow and on Christmas day... I can't promise anything about the 26th, though"

I blush "but I want you to have a great Christmas day" he rolls his eyes and pulls me up, walking me to the room.

"Sleep all you want, but you better not wake me up tomorrow before 6am" I look at him and sit on the bed.

"You're not coming?" I ask sadly, he shakes his head lightly and walks out "Levi~" I call.

"I'm coming in a second, Eren, just get in bed and stop whining" he says coming back, tossing my pyjamas to me, I catch the shirt and pout as the pants hit my face, Levi chuckles "I'll be right back" I get changed and check the time. 10:48pm.

Levi walks in again and gets in bed, I cuddle up next to him and lay my head on his chest, I feel even more tired as Levi puts the blanket over me and pulls me closer.

I wake up to an odd feeling, I open my eyes and look at Levi. He's breathing quickly and his heart rate is faster than usual, I frown and sit up, kissing his forehead softly, his eyes flutter open and he looks up at me.

"Are you okay?" He sits up and nods "do you need anything?" He looks away and bites his lip, "Levi?"

"I'm fine... I just..." he trails off "go back to sleep, Eren, I'll be right back" he kisses me and gets out of bed, leaving the room. I sigh and check the time on my phone. 5:38am. Guess I can sleep for a bit longer...