A/N: If you read my last one shot, Chances, you'll recognize that this is heavily based on one of the sections there. This isn't what I was supposed to be working on, but it was the first thing that I've had motivation for in a while. Additional tags will be added as things progress, and this is my first try at a multi-chap in quiet a while, so I hope you like it!
Eren Jaeger was dead.
At least, as far as the state of New York was concerned. According to city records, Eren Jaeger died on an operating table two years ago during an emergency surgery at the local hospital, under his own dad's scalpel.
As far as anyone was concerned, he was dead. His father had even organized a vigil, even bought a plot next to Eren's mom, had gone the whole nine yards to convince their old town of Eren's death. He'd played the role of a grief-stricken husband and father well, had boarded up their old house and moved out of the suburbs, all without alerting any of the neighbors of his potential involvement in Eren's disappearance.
In reality, he'd been held for five years in an old hospital in down south, where he'd been forced to undergo countless experimentations. In reality, Eren Jaeger was currently living less than six hours away from his old house, in Manhattan, with strangers he'd only just become accustomed to.
But if Eren were asked, he wouldn't call it living at all.
Shortly after the retrieval, Eren had been moved to Erwin Smith's penthouse. Only Erwin's closest associates and Eren's dad knew he was there, knew he was alive. At first, there had been an incredible bounty hanging over Eren's head, and it had been decided very quickly that he would live anonymously with Erwin. Eren had been unconscious during the trip to the city, but he hadn't protested the news. Erwin had the money, the connections, to keep one young boy hidden. Eren couldn't go back with his dad- there was too much uncertainty in his father's hospital.
After all, it was how Eren's kidnappers had found him in the first place.
The retrieval had been six months ago.
At the very beginning, Eren was told to never leave the building. A part of him had wanted to disobey- he was strong enough to hurt anyone who tried to get close to him, but what exactly had been done to him was still uncertain, as he'd been too weak to undergo any tests at the hands of Erwin's most trusted doctor and scientist, Hanji Zoe.
So he wasn't allowed to leave. The room Erwin had given him was nice enough though, but there was only so much entertainment to be found in one room, and by month five, Eren had found himself looking forward to his daily walks with Hanji. His dad visited occasionally, but since their reunion, there wasn't much to say.
His dad still had to keep up appearances.
By month six, Eren's nightmares had begun to calm, and though there was still no telling what had been done to his blood, he was keeping down two meals a day, and was declared healthy enough to begin using the indoor gym and return to his studies.
One affect of the experimentation had been made abruptly clear the first day Eren had woken in the city, when he'd crushed the doorknob of his room within his grip, and then broken Erwin's hand when he'd tried to help Eren stand.
At seventeen, Eren was strong enough to punch clean through the floor- something Erwin had not been pleased to find out about- and there was still so much left to learn.
Eren wakes up in a sweat- a cold, sticky sweat that suffocates the scream from his throat. He jerks up in bed, immediately kicking away his blankets and rolling himself onto the floor. He rests his clammy forehead on the wooden floor, breathing in slowly to control the erratic gasps he'd woken to. It wasn't a nightmare, in fact he hadn't dreamt of the hospital for almost a week now, this time it was simply a dream.
He'd been dreaming about his old life, about his old house and friends, about his childish dreams and annoyances at the adults in his life. Looking back on it now, it had all been so idyllic. The nice house, the perfect friends, the good grades in school and perfect doctor for a dad, his life had been everyone's dream.
Or maybe it hadn't been.
His memories leading up to and after his mom's death were all still fuzzy.
Eren reaches to his bed, fumbling around until he touches one of his pillows, and pulling it over his head, Eren sighs against the floor. He didn't feel the sun bleeding through the curtains, nor had his phone gone off, so it was still early. That wasn't unusual; usually Eren's night terrors woke him up long before the sun. The only unusual part about this morning was the dream, and the cold sweat. Eren's body ran hotter than the normal human's now, and normally he woke up soaked in warm sweat..
He laughs bitterly to the floor. Most teenagers took their dreams for granted, Eren had to record them all and repeat them to doctors.
Finally, after his sweat has cooled completely and made his entire body feel disgusting, Eren sits up to dig through his night table. He jots down what he can remember from the dream- a lot more than he'd expected, before he ducks into his bathroom for a shower.
He returns not twenty minutes later to find his bed made and two of Erwin's associates in chairs in front of his window.
At first, their random appearances had freaked the fuck out of Eren- some barely unattainable memory of being cornered in the hospital- but as the months wore on, he became familiar with people barging into his room.
"Hey," Eren greets, toweling at his wet hair.
Hanji, one of Erwin's best scientists, crosses their legs and leans forward eagerly, clearly excited to ask why Eren was already awake, but Petra, one of the nurses at Eren's dad's hospital, places her hand on Hanji's bicep with a shake of her head.
Eren frowns, a little affronted at the silence- It reminded him too much of more memories that haunted him. He chucks his towel toward his door, grabbing the first shirt he sees on the floor, and huffs a bit when neither guest speaks.
"Okay." Eren finally says, when he's seated on his bed and the silence has stretched far too long. "What gives?"
"First things first," Hanji says hurriedly, as if they'd been waiting to say it for hours. "Dreams." Eren tosses the journal to them, leaning back on his elbows as they read. Hanji had been curiously absent the last few mornings, so there was a lot to read through. Petra sat quietly, looking between the two of them until Hanji nodded and placed the notebook back on Eren's table. "Good. Now, any physical manifestations since the last time we met?"
Eren shakes his head, water sprinkling onto his comforter and into his eyes. In addition to the superhuman strength, Eren's hair and nails grew ridiculously fast, and Eren knew Hanji was worried this might lead to an enlargement of his limbs at some point. Which sounded ridiculous to Eren, but until he actually did Hanji's tests, anything was possible.
"None that I could see. But," Eren tucks his chin against his chest to glare at Hanji. "You'd know that if you hadn't left me alone."
Hanji's face softens, and they laugh carefully, slapping a hand against Petra's back. They at least look a little guilty, knowing exactly what Eren was referring to, but they were doing a poor job of hiding a smile, and Eren was already tired of whatever secret they were keeping.
"I'm sorry, kid," Hanji says. "But I was busy finalizing a few things with Erwin-"
"Then why's she here?" Eren interrupts, tilting his head in Petra's direction. Petra was the only nurse allowed to perform standard checkups on Eren, the only person Erwin and Eren's dad trusted enough. Eren liked Petra, but she seemed very out of place in Eren's room with Hanji's hand on her shoulder.
"Because-" Hanji suddenly pauses, glancing at Petra. "Why are you here today, Petra?"
Petra rolls her eyes, but she's smiling good-naturedly. "Your father ordered another checkup, Eren. Says he wants to draw blood this time."
Eren feels his blood go cold. They haven't tested his blood, have no idea what the hell those doctors did to him in the hospital. He'd been promised at least another month or two before his blood came into play. Maybe he could convince his dad to wait a bit longer.
"I dunno," Eren mutters, dropping his gaze.
"You can work through that later," Hanji says, voice uncharacteristically quiet. "Eren. Your request has been approved."
Eren's head snaps up, a blistering hope winding its way through his veins. He'd asked about them the day he woke up in this penthouse, begged anyone near him to know if he could see them again. Now… could it really be happening now?
He swallows thickly, forcing himself to breathe normally for fear of this gift being stolen away. "You mean…?"
"Yes," Hanji grins. "It's time."
Eren's out of his room in record time, forgoing the elevator at the end of the hall to sprint down the stairs instead, and tries to remember if Erwin had mentioned any meetings or trips out of town within the last few days. When nothing comes to mind, Eren allows himself to pause on the third floor, allows his first real smile in months to grace his lips as he kicks at the door, shouting in exhilaration.
Luckily, no one sees him in the stairway, and no one's really around as Eren tears across the floor to Erwin's conference room, shoving the door open with mildly restrained strength, but he remembers not to let the door slam into the wall. He's broken a few doors that way already.
Erwin visibly startles, looking away from the rest of the room to the door, but he relaxes again when he notices Eren in the doorway. Erwin folds his hands under his chin, his blue eyes twinkling as he leans back, a stark contrast to Eren's nervous jittering.
"Is it true?" Eren asks, when Erwin makes no move to speak.
Erwin nods once.
Eren falls to his knees in the doorway, as if someone of his own strength had kicked him down. He's breathless when he asks, "When do we leave?"
"You don't," Erwin says immediately. Eren moves to protest, but Erwin raises a hand to silence him. "I know you're anxious, but we still don't have a proper alias for you, nor do we have eyes on all of the doctors. It's too dangerous to even think about letting you go."
"Fine," Eren crosses his arms childishly. "Then who's going? You?"
"No. I'm sending my head of security." Erwin gestures to the other end of the huge table, a table Eren's never seen full and he's beginning to doubt there's even enough people involved in his life to round it out. At the other end another man sat, much shorter and a lot more terrifying than Erwin, his dark eyes boring into Eren's. "Eren, meet Levi." Levi nods, standing to walk around the table and join Erwin's side.
Eren's never even seen Levi around the penthouse, which either meant Levi was doing his job meticulously, or had been slacking. But Erwin didn't hire slackers. "You're leaving now?"
Erwin nods, but Levi speaks before anyone else. "I'll get them here."
"How?" Eren asks, a little skeptical.
"It's a family reunion," Levi's voice was dull, almost bored. It surprises Eren, considering the gravity of his entire situation. "It won't be difficult at all." He leaves the room, leaving Eren to endure the waiting.
Eren had been told soon after Levi left that the trip shouldn't take more than a day, he was only going to New York, after all, but that day turned into three, and then a week, without word of how much longer it would be. Even Erwin seemed to be on edge, tense and angry during any time spent with Eren, but he had no news to relay, no way to relieve any of the tension the penthouse seemed to have fallen under.
Eren's days continue the same- wake up, tell his dreams to Hanji, walk aimlessly with them, train in the gym on the first floor, and try to keep two meals down properly. It was infuriating, being left in the dark while a stranger contacted ghosts from Eren's past, but there was nothing Eren could do to speed up the process, and no matter how much he complained, no one had any information to pass onto him.
He takes his frustration out on the heavy bag, punching clean through three of them before Mike Zacharius tells him to run on the treadmill until they get more punching bags. Eren doesn't stop running for almost three hours.
It's on the eighth day, in the middle Eren's walk with Hanji, that their phone rings. It's the private phone they use, programmed with only a select few numbers, the ringtone bland and old, but it piques Eren's interest nonetheless.
Hanji speaks quietly to whoever's on the line, ignoring Eren bouncing on his heels in their peripherals to give their full attention to the call. Hanji nods, smiles for only an instant, and then pockets the phone.
"Well?" Eren asks, before Hanji can open their mouth.
"They're in your room."
Luckily, they're on his floor, and it doesn't take long for Eren to reach his room, but he stops abruptly at the door, his chest heaving and his limbs suddenly heavy.
It's been more than five years… things had to have changed. The shock of his death might have just worn off, they could have moved on, found ways to live their lives. Could Eren really take that all away from them? Could he allow himself to be this selfish, to ask them to leave behind any lives they had to join or visit him here regularly? It had to be too much. Eren was dead to the world; he could be dead to them, too.
For a second, Eren considers turning away, considers telling Erwin to get them out, but his heart wins over his head, and his desire to see them again, to have them again, beats out every other thought he has.
Eren takes a deep breath, hyper-aware of the tension coiling through his limbs, of the unknown strength he had, of everything that he no longer knew, and pushes the door open.
It's dim, his curtains pulled closed and only a few of his lights on, but he zeroes in on the two figures standing in front of his bed, of Levi's lithe frame hunched behind one of Eren's chair. Levi excuses himself quietly, slipping past Eren and letting the door fall shut, but Eren hardly notices.
His attention's completely captured on his old friends, both taking hesitant steps toward him.
Armin reaches him first, placing a tentative hand on Eren's forearm, and the fist Eren hadn't known he was making relaxes. For a moment, they only stare at each other in rapt silence, Eren searching for any sign of the twelve year old he'd played with every day, and Armin looking for… well, Eren really had no idea. Armin looked so much older, his hair longer, his face missing most of the roundness Eren remembered, but his eyes, dream blue and wet with tears, were exactly the same.
Then, Armin was pulling him into an embrace, and Eren's choking on a broken sob as his arms fall into place around Armin's shoulders. Eren's careful not to apply too much pressure, even as Armin squeezes as if Eren would disappear again if he held too loosely.
"They weren't lying." Armin murmurs as they pull back slightly, his voice thick with tears, his cheeks shining in the dim room. "They weren't lying."
Eren nods, unable to speak while Armin lets him go, (he tries not to let his spike of fear show on his face,) with an encouraging nod.
Mikasa looked almost the same, her hair cut at almost the same length as when they were kids, her eyes still dark and full of life. Her face had rounded a bit in age, and she was as tall as him where he'd been slightly shorter as a kid, but the blinding smile she breaks into is the same as back then. Her tears are much more obvious, trailing down her face and clinging onto her chin as she sniffles loudly, holding up a hand.
He takes it, linking their fingers together as neither of them moves. Until Mikasa breaks the silence with a desperate gasp and yanks on his hand to wrap her arms around his waist. She buries her face in her neck as she hugs him, as he wraps his own around her to pull her close. He's mindful of his strength, of course, but in this moment, with Mikasa's tears soaking his collar and his own dripping into her hair, Eren lets himself be weak, lets himself fall into Mikasa.
She takes his weight, takes his silent request, and they sink to their knees, interlocked still as Armin drops next to them, throws his arms around both of them. It takes only a few seconds to redo the embrace until all of their heads were touching.
"I can't believe it," Mikasa chokes out, muffled against Eren's neck. Eren manages a quiet laugh, nodding against their foreheads. "I really… I really thought it was a lie."
"No," Eren chokes out, removing a hand from Armin's hair to wipe messily at his eyes. "I'm here."
"You're here," Armin repeats, whispering it again and again until it has no sound left to it, until it was well known to all three of them.
"How long?" Mikasa asks after a few more minutes, her voice considerably clearer.
"Six months." Eren says, counting again in his head just to be sure.
"Six months?" Armin repeats, sounding incredulous. "Why are we just learning this now? Who else knows?"
"I'm afraid that's classified," a new voice says, and Eren whips out of his friend's grips to face his door, where Hanji was leaning against the doorframe, and Erwin was standing with his arms held behind his back. Erwin speaks again, "Eren, I need your friends to come with me."
"No." Eren scrambles back, until he sits before Armin and Mikasa, their hands on his shoulders. He just got them back; there was no way in hell he was leaving them again. "No- you can't!"
Hanji raises their hands to placate him. "Relax. We just need to screen them."
Eren shakes his head, tightening his grip on Mikasa's knee. She shifts next to him, and he immediately lets go, thoughts drifting to just how little they knew about him. "I thought you were supposed to do that first."
"They only landed an hour ago," Hanji says, and in the corner of his eye Eren can see Armin nod in agreement. "You've waited long enough for this, Eren. We let it slide, but if we don't screen them now, we'll be forced to kick them out."
"Okay." He feels Mikasa and Armin tense up at his sides, and he nods carefully toward Armin. "But-"
"They'll be back before dinner," Erwin promises.
Hanji bounds into the room, grabbing Eren's hand and hauling him to his feet before he can protest. "In the meantime." Hanji leads him from the room, and he watches, walking backwards next to them, as Erwin takes Armin and Mikasa the opposite way, most likely to the basement. Mikasa glances over her shoulder, nodding once. "We have one thing to do."
"Which is?" Eren asks, his shoulders slumping as they walk.
"Your father was adamant about drawing blood," Hanji says quietly, and Eren resists the urge to roll his eyes. "Just a little bit, and then you'll be back with your friends."
Eren doesn't say anything else on the way to Hanji's small lab. He could still feel the warmth swimming in his chest at seeing Armin and Mikasa again, but he couldn't shake the sharp anxiety that kept him silent at Hanji's side. He was so, so different from before. And there was always the chance that Armin and Mikasa wouldn't want to stay, that they wouldn't pass Erwin's test and not be allowed to see Eren again, and there was the chance that he could hurt them.
Eren couldn't ask them to risk their lives just to stay at his side, but he needed them. He just hoped he could deal with whatever the hell was in his blood long enough to spend enough time at their sides.