You may recognize this story, and you would be correct - we have posted it before! You can, in fact, still find the first version of it on my author page! It will, however, be taken down fairly soon. The reason for this rewrite is ... well, there's too much we would need to correct in the other version. I could repost over it, yes, but no one would ever see it. With the changes we are making, you need to see it.

This will be much, much longer than the previous version. And, our biggest announcement? No more Eruri. For those of you who loved the old story, but hated the Eruri, you're in luck. It's gone :) It might be mentioned in passing as a past relationship, but will never, ever be a main part of the story. That alone changes everything.

We hope you will like what we are doing this time around, and we hope you stick with us again. These chapters should come out at a fairly regular pace. Jennifer has already completed chapter one of the 1800's, and I'm already working on the second chapter to this time period. We are goaling for one to two updates a month.

If you like this, please *please* leave us a review. It really is amazing to hear your thoughts and keeps us motivated for more :)

1791 - London, England

Eren could tell he was being watched. At first, he thought perhaps it was only a trick of the light, or a figment of his imagination - a dark figure that his brain conjured up in those moments when he had a little too much to drink. It was always there, just out of the corner of his eye and disappeared the moment Eren turned to see the figure a little clearer. It was only when he began to see the figure in times when he was completely sober that Eren realized this was not something from his imagination, and as the figure appeared more and more often, he realized this entity, whatever it was, appeared to be stalking him.

Tonight was no different than any other and most certainly no different than any other Wednesday evening. Eren had left his home quietly, although he still was unsure why he felt the need to sneak out of his house as though he were a child. There was no one home to catch him, with his wife at yet another 'dinner party' she went to weekly and never invited him to. She claimed it would bore him - just a group of women who liked to share stories of their husbands and tales of their exciting weeks doing whatever - and Eren had no place among them. It wasn't hard to see through the lie, especially when she returned home from these parties with faint bruising on her collarbones, her lips red and swollen as though they had been kissed hard and frequently. Eren did not allow it to bother him anymore, not when he had company of his own.

Wednesday was when he sought out Zoë.

Eren pulled on the his second boot, finishing his redress. He turned to smile at the girl who was stretched out across the bed like a contented cat. Their eyes met momentarily before she stretched once more, sitting up and moving toward the edge of the bed. It was the closest she could get to Eren without standing. "Will you be back next week?" she asked, her voice quiet and soothing.

Eren nodded once and bent down to press a kiss gently to the spot right next to her mouth. They never kissed on the lips - Zoë's one rule in their small, strange affair. She smiled and accepted the kiss as a confirmation. "I will be back." Eren confirmed audibly, shrugging on his coat as he spoke. "As I am every week."

"You certainly are consistent."

"It has become the one thing I look forward to in the week."

Zoë raised an eyebrow ever so slightly at his comment and let out a small chuckle. "You must leave a sad life if your only joy in a week's time is one night with a whore."

"You are not a whore." Eren mumbled and dug in his coat pocket for the spare change he knew he kept there. The word was a small jab to him, and he absolutely loathed it. Yes, Zoë was a prostitute and Eren was well aware she sold herself to many men in exchange for what was probably a ridiculously small amount of money but, to him, she wasn't a whore. A whore was a nasty, dirty world and not one that fit the sweet, beautiful girl that had taken him under her wing and did not tease him for being relatively inexperienced. He wasn't in love with the girl, but he held a decent amount of affection for her.

Eren fished the coins from his pocket and held them to Zoë, who took them with a smile. He had always given her extra as he was leaving. It was a small secret between the two of them that had started the first night they were together. Zoë always gave more than she should have and never asked for anything extra. Eren knew she had herself to take care of, plus the money she sent to her young son. He did not trust the Madame to give Zoë her fair share, so he gave it to her directly.

With a final wave, Eren left the room. He nodded at the Madame as he passed, and made his way through the crowd of gentlemen at the entrance, all hoping to have even a few hours worth of what these girls could offer them. He couldn't help but feel a sense of shame each and every time he left. Eren had been raised better than this, and despite his knowledge of Antoinette's affairs (and the sneaking suspicion she was aware of his own), he still couldn't help the shame. Shaking the feeling off, Eren stepped outside into the cool night's air and wrapped his coat around him tighter.

It was snowing outside, making it difficult to see. Eren grumbled to himself, almost wishing he'd paid a little more to stay a couple more hours with Zoë and let the storm pass through before making his way home. As it was, Antoinette was probably already wondering where he was, if she was even home. He wasn't looking forward to returning home. Whether it was to an empty house or a cold wife, it was all the same - no one really payed any attention to him. He was alone. It was a terrible feeling.

Something moved out of the corner of his eye, and Eren stopped to look around. Nothing. That feeling of being watched was back, and Eren's heart beat a little faster in his chest. He sucked in a breath and put his head down, moving a little faster through the snow. He just wanted to get home.

He was so caught up in his thoughts, he did not even see the muggers until they were straight in front of him.

They stood there, three of them, grinning. Eren tensed, assessing the situation and realizing very quickly he was outnumbered and there was no way he was going to escape from this without at least a fight. Slowly, Eren reached into his coat pocket and toyed with his money, wishing he had brought his pistol with him.

"There is no need to attack." Eren said carefully, looking at them and careful not to make any sudden movements. His entire body was tight, ready to move into action at any second. He had been in his fair share of scuffles as a child and as a young man, but it had been years since. Eren knew there was no way he would survive a fight with the three of them. He held his hand out, money clearly visible. "Take it. This is all I have, along with a pocket watch. You can have that as well."

"We doubt that." The voice came from behind him, and Eren jumped. He hadn't heard that one move. "If you can afford a whore, you have more money than you're letting on."

"I don't usually carry all of my money on my person. I assure you, this is everything."

It was then Eren felt it - that dark, overwhelming feeling he'd had moments earlier, that something was watching him. He knew, somewhere close, that dark figure that had been stalking him was in the background assessing the situation very closely. A branch cracked to Eren's left.

One of the men in front of Eren jumped and looked to his right, furrowing his brow. "What the hell was that? You got someone else with you?"

"No, sir. I'm alone." As soon as the words left his mouth, Eren closed his eyes and sighed internally. He might as well have just asked the men to murder him outright.

"Boss …" The jumpy man was still surveying the darkness to his right, worry and confusion etched across his face. "If someone notices us …"

The man in the middle rolled his eyes. "I swear to God, Geoff. Go check it out if you're so worried about it and take care of whoever it is. If there's any possible witnesses, we don't need them." Jumpy - Geoff - did as his boss said and the middle man turned back to Eren. "As for you … I'd say we did not want to hurt ya, but that wouldn't be the truth now, would it? My boys have not had a bit of fun in a while …"

Eren barely registered the nod of confirmation before he felt the fist that connected with his jaw. He threw a punch as well, hitting one of the men directly in the nose, and he let out a cry of pain. "You little fuck!" he cried, and raged toward Eren as the other two followed him. They took Eren down easily, their rage evident in their punches and kicks. There was a sudden, stabbing pain in his side and Eren cried out loudly, his hands moving to his side in a weak defense. His fingers were wet.

There was a short, terrified scream to his left and a noise that could only be described as a growl. The men on top of Eren looked up quickly before they were violently shoved off of his body by a blur.

Eren's vision became fuzzy, his mind swimming and dizzy. The sound of screaming filled his ears before stopping suddenly, and silence once again filled the night.

He was going to die. Eren knew that much, remembered that much from his own medical training - he'd once heard his father say that stomach wounds were the worst thing a man could receive, with so many vital organs around the abdomen. Unless he were to find a doctor immediately, this was it.

He wondered how Antoinette would feel, or if she'd even care.

Arms lifted him from the ground and a small choking noise floated through the air. His savior, Eren assumed. "Don't die." A voice spoke very close to his ear and Eren felt something press against his lips - a strange, bitter taste filling his mouth. "You can't die on me, not yet. Please."

It was the last thing Eren heard before he drifted into unconsciousness.

He felt as though he were floating.

It was a strange feeling, one Eren had only had on only one other occasion in the past and it was a situation he had certainly never wanted to repeat. He remembered the feeling of floating above his bed, hearing what was around him and yet not understanding what was going on.

Eren had been ten when he'd picked a fight with a local merchant and his friend, both of whom had been making discouraging remarks about His Majesty's military. It had always been a dream of Eren's to join the military and many a night had been spent wishing he were away fighting for glory on the battlefield rather than trapped in his small village on the outskirts of London.

Witnesses told Doctor Jaeger later that Eren had instigated the initial argument, throwing a stick at the merchant and yelling at him for his disrespect. While many might have simply drug the boy to his father for punishment, the merchant decided to take matters into his own hands, ruthlessly beating the child. Despite the fact there had been several onlookers, almost no one rushed to the child's aid. Only one finally stepped in - a small, black haired girl who recognized Eren from the times he had tagged along on her yearly check-ups with the doctor.

She ran the merchant away, and carried Eren's barely conscious form back to his parents.

Eren remembered almost nothing of the event.

He did, however, remember the feeling of floating.

It was a feeling as though he were several feet above his bed, looking down at not only his own motionless body on the bed, but also his parents. His mother, who had barely left her son's bed since the moment he was carried to it beaten and bloody, clasping his hand tightly in her own, her forehead pressed down against their joined fingers. Behind her stood his father, his young face furrowed with pre-mature wrinkles of worry. Both looked grave. Both looked as though they had been crying.

"Is he going to make it, Grisha?" his mother had said, her voice heartbroken.

Eren watched his father swallow. "It's too early to tell, Carla. I did everything I could, I promise. Everything else is up to Eren, now." Grisha Jaeger gave a small smile then. "You know our son, love. He is strong. He is a fighter. Eren will not let this beat him."

Carla let out a small, broken noise. "Do you believe he'll be well after?"

Grisha did not reply verbally. Instead, he let out a small sigh and his grip on Carla's shoulder became tighter.

Eren remembered other small clips, memories that were just barely there. Memories of his mother pressing kisses to his forehead, begging him to wake up and to be okay. Memories of his father apologizing to him for not being there to help him.

Eventually, Eren woke up.

For all the injuries he had sustained, he was essentially whole and well. Only one lasting injury could not be fixed - the hearing in his left ear. A sharp kick to the left side of his head had burst his eardrum, and damaged the inside. Although eventually hearing did return ever so slightly, Eren was still considered partially deaf.

It lost him any chance of ever joining the military.

The feeling of floating faded, and soon, all Eren could feel around him was warmth.

His head throbbed and there was a sharp pain shooting behind Eren's eyes. As he slowly came to, Eren became very aware of his limbs and how much each one ached with pain. His eyes opened slowly, and he heard himself groan with the effort. "God," he grumbled, squinting against the light of the lamp.

Grabbing ahold of the sheets for extra leverage, Eren slowly attempted to push himself up. "God." He groaned again, feeling his muscles protest in agony. "Damn, this hurts."

"Please move slowly. There is still much damage done to your body."

A voice - that voice - spoke and Eren felt a small involuntary shudder run through his wracked body. He turned his head to the right and saw nothing other than a lounging sorta and a table with a lamp, which glowed softly in the darkness of the room. Turning his head to the right, his eyes fell upon the source of the voice, and who Eren assumed was his savior.

A man, a young man from what Eren could make out in the dim light of the room, lounged in a chair near the corner of the room, the furthest distance he could be from Eren's bed. One leg was firmly planted on the floor, while the other was propped up against the leg of the chair. Even from his distance, Eren could tell he was a man shorter in stature, but his height had no effect on his intimidation factor. Although Eren could not make out the gentleman's features, he could almost feel the intensity of the stare between them.

" Are you okay?" He spoke again, his gaze never wavering from Eren's. The voice he used was soft with a thick accent (was it French?), yet it demanded attention at the same time.

It took a few moments before Eren found his own voice.

"I feel … okay. Sore, as though I have been trampled by a dozen horses, but I am alive. That is more than I could have asked for." Eren paused. "Who are you?"

There was a huff of breath from the man, so slight Eren almost did not hear it. "Comment vous-" he paused briefly, "How do you feel. Are you dizzy or lightheaded? You lost a lot of blood before I could stop your wound."

The complete dismissal of his question did not escape Eren's notice. "There was a slight bit of dizziness when I sat up, but it has passed. Other than the fact that I'm sore, I feel relatively normal." Eren's hands moved to his side, where he expected to feel bandages wrapped around his stomach. There were none. "Where -"

"You did not need bandages after I healed you." The man spoke again, answering Eren's question without it having been asked aloud. "You might have a small scar, from the blessure, er, wound itself, but you will find your body has been returned to working order. It is good to hear you are feeling fine, n'est-ce pas?. You have spent the last two days unconscious and healing. I did what I could for you - I stopped the bleeding and healed your wound, but your body had to do the rest on it's own. It needed to, ah what's the word, recover."

Eren's head was swimming. "What did you do to me? What happened?"

"You were stabbed." The man said simply, and he finally stood from his couched position in the chair. As he stood, Eren noted he was not entirely incorrect about his height. The gentleman moved toward the bed, narrowed eyes scanning over his body as he took two, three steps to stand at the side of the bed. It was then Eren caught his first decent look at his stalker and savior. His hair was dark black, pulled tightly at the nape of his neck and tied with a strong and his eyes, although light in color, were intimidating from Eren's perspective.

It was a strange feeling, Eren noted to himself. He wasn't entirely certain if he should be comfortable around this man or not.

"You needn't worry about the muggers now. They will not hurt anyone again, I made sure of that."

There was a sort of darkness around his words, something Eren could not quite pick up on, but it scared him nonetheless.

"Thank you."

It was only then Eren was met with a small smile. "De rien. I could not have you dying on me, not so suddenly after we had finally met. I never had a chance to introduce myself to you properly, and I do apologize - this was not exactly how I expected our first meeting to go. I imagined it to be a little less … frightening on your part."

"Who are you?" Eren asked again.

"My name is Levi." The man, Levi, said. He let out a huff of breath and sat on the side of the bed before reaching out a hand to let a finger graze Eren's cheek. "I wasn't ready to lose you. Not yet."

The finger against his cheek was cold, like ice. Eren stared at Levi intensely, his eyes wide. He could not miss that even in the dim lamplight, Levi was pale, paler than any human Eren had ever seen. It was a color Eren had only witnessed in corpses, after the blood had been drained from their bodies. He swallowed again. "What did you do to me?"

The finger moved away from Eren's cheek almost instantly. There was a small flinch from Levi, something Eren would have missed had be not been scrutinizing the other man so closely. "I told you, Eren, I did what I had to make certain you stayed alive."

"You do not look old enough to be a doctor," Eren commented, once again reaching down to the place where he had been stabbed. "My wounds are healed. There are not even any bandages, and the scar feels as though it has been healed for ears. What did you do to me."

"I saved your life."

Eren resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Yes, you have mentioned that. What exactly did you to do save my life?"

There was a small, amused laugh from Levi. "You could start by thanking me, first of all."

"I did thank you," Eren snapped, reaching the limit of his patience. Levi was speaking in circles, and Eren found it to be more than highly annoying. "The first thing I did was thank you, and all you have done thus far is answer my questions with either more questions of your own, or nonsense statements that mean nothing. Just answer the damn question! How did you save my life?"

"I gave you my blood."

Out of any answer Eren had been expecting to receive, that was certainly not on the list. He drew back from Levi's figure and stared at him suspiciously. "You're doing that again."

"Non, I assure you that I'm not speaking any riddles or nonsense at you. You asked me une question and I gave you a truthful answer. You should be honored, actually. You are the first person outside of my family I have ever answered honestly regarding this entire matter." Levi's eyes bored into his, as if asking him to accept the truth. "I gave you what I needed to save you - my blood."

The room fell silent as Eren stared hard at the sheets surrounding his legs, his hands idly playing with the threads of the fraying blanket. Beside him, he could hear slow, steady breathing and the seconds passed into minutes as they said nothing to one another or in general. It was Levi who broke the silence. He reached down beside the bed and pulled forth a brown bag, gently laying it on Eren's lap. "Here. Vous devez manger. As I said before, you have been unconscious for two days and I know your body needs the nourishment."

Eren took the bag and opened it slightly and took a hesitant sniff. The smell of bread - fresh bread - invaded his nostrils and Eren couldn't keep his stomach from growling at the thought. He took a bite and it was as though the hunger hit him all at once. He took another large bite of the bread, reaching to the bedside table to take the wine Levi had placed there just moments ago. As he took a sip and exhaled. "This is good. This is very good."

"Merci," Levi said, smiling and obviously pleased with himself. "My mother made it this morning, actually. It would be a great offense to me and to her if you hadn't liked it." His eyes followed Eren's movements as he devoured the bread and continued digging in the bag. "There is also cheese in there. Please, Mangez. You need the protein."

Eren scrunched his nose without thinking. "I am not a lover of cheese, to be honest. Nothing against … well, whoever made this. Just 'tisn't something I care for."

"At least take a few bites. This is French cheese and it is much better than your English ones." Levi poured himself a glass of wine and sniffed it, swirling the red liquid around in the goblet. "If you have never had French cheese before, this will be a treat for you."

"I think I may have," Eren answered honestly, taking a small bite of the cheese and finding it was actually delicious. He chewed slowly before he spoke again. "At my wedding, we had a variety of cheeses from both England and France at the afterparty. I would not be surprised if there were some in there from Italy. It was an obscenely extravagant affair, but I suppose that is the French for you. My wife is French and it seems as though she is not happy unless it is either very expensive or very extravagant. It has made for an interesting budget."

Eren turned to Levi, smiling and expected to see a smile in return. His died though when he saw Levi had gone still - very still. He stared at Eren hard, as if staring would change the words he had just heard from Eren. Finally, he gave a small shrug as though it did not bother him. Eren had his doubts. "I was not aware you were married. This complicates things." He took a sip of his wine. "And do not complain to me about the French, lest I kick you out of this room." The comment was added as almost an afterthought, as if Levi were trying to lighten the mood.

"I have not been married very long, and we aren't exactly close." Eren said quietly. It was true - his marriage to Antoinette had been an arrangement that benefited both the Jaeger and Leonheart families. Having no other prospects and nothing against the pretty blonde girl who was to be his wife, Eren had agreed without much hesitation. Her family was wealthy, she was young and quite beautiful, and they would be a fantastic match. Antoinette had been lively during their courting, smiling and laughing as they grew to know one another, and Eren had actually found himself looking forward to spending his life with her. She had looked absolutely beautiful at their wedding and seemed to enjoy that no one, Eren especially, could take their eyes off of her.

Everything changed that night, however. They had returned to the small home that had been purchased for them as a wedding present, and Eren was almost beside himself from nerves. He'd barely kissed a girl before, and now he was expected to make love to her? What if she disliked it? What if he was terrible at it? What if he disliked it? Eren remembered his stomach had been in knots when she finally emerged from their washroom, her nightclothes on and her hair taken down from it's elaborate style and braided for the evening. She'd complained to Eren about being tired, and asked him if he would be terribly hurt if they just went to sleep. It was almost a relief and Eren had agreed instantly, settling in to the bed next to her, happy and content to start his life with the woman lying beside him.

As Eren soon found out, this celibacy was not limited to just their wedding night. For the first week after the marriage, Antoinette had not allowed Eren to touch her. Once the lights were off, she turned her back toward him, curled in a small ball with her body, and went to sleep.

It had been confusing for Eren, who hadn't understood what was going on. She acted fine with him in public, but behind the closed doors of their home was a completely different story. She was quiet and she was distant, only speaking or interacting with Eren when she absolutely had to. For the most part, she kept to herself in one of the extra bedrooms, choosing to spend her time reading. Over time, she slowly allowed Eren to finally touch her, to consummate their marriage in every way, but Eren did not believe for one moment that she enjoyed it. He had spoken with his friends about her behavior in their marriage bed and had returned with the same opinion each time. The way she laid there, letting him move above her and do all the work, was not normal. Most of his friends' wives had enjoyed love making - Eren did not understand at all why his wife did not.

He tried to not take it personally, but it was difficult when she would barely look at him. Eren understood that for her, this was a duty. They were expected to bear children together, to continue on the Jaeger family line and preferably soon. In a way, Eren had almost hoped a child would happen. The sooner one did, the sooner they could end anything unpleasant.

Three months into their marriage, Eren finally received his answer to his wife's strange behavior. A letter, written in German, had been left behind by Antoinette on the nightstand in her library gave him all the answers he needed. There was another man ('Of course there is another man.' Eren had thought to himself), who had courted Antoinette briefly and only a short time before she had met Eren. He was a foreigner, and as Eren later learned, had been betrothed to another woman in his hometown. Although they were never allowed to be together, they took matters into their own hands and arranged to meet anytime he was in town.

It explained the strange behaviors, and it explained why she didn't want Eren to touch her. Why would she, when she had another lover she preferred over him? Eren was simply a duty, as he had suspected - a means to an end.

In the end, Eren couldn't take it anymore and finally decided to take another woman himself - Zoë. He had purchased her for the first time, expecting the sex to be what he usually experienced at home - loveless and quick, but Eren didn't care. He hoped that, even if it was only an act on the prostitute's part, for her to actually feel something, to not feel as though he was subjecting yet another lover to some kind of erotic torture. He wanted to feel something, anything other than a meaningless orgasm and not to feel as though his partner was only a means to an end. Eren had been unusually lucky and Zoë had understood completely. In their short time together, she had taught him more than any moment combined with his wife, and showed him sex was something other than climax. She showed him intimacy and in her own way, love.

Antoinette hadn't been a fool, of course, and had figured it out all too quickly Eren was having an affair of his own, especially when he had all but stopped initiating moments between them. Eren remembered standing red-faced in the middle of the sitting room, embarrassed beyond belief, but also angry. How dare she be upset about this when she too was sleeping with another person?! It did not take long for Eren to inform Antoinette he was aware of her own affairs. She had acted offended at first, shouting insults and crying with the accusations until Eren produced the letter.

"I am not an idiot," He had told her. "I speak German fluently, Antoinette. My father is from Prussia … did you not think at all to keep his hidden from me, or did you just assume I would not be able to read it?"

It ended her theatrics quite quickly.

As odd as it sounded, and Eren would never be able to explain it to anyone else as long as he lived, it actually eased things between the two of them. Because Antoinette was no longer the only outlet of his passions and urges and she no longer felt as though she had to give him what she never could, they formed a small relationship. It would never be love, and they might never become the best of friends, it was better than the way they had previously ignored one another. She bantered with him now, and asked questions about his lover, and Eren returned in kind. Nights were no longer spent back to back without facing one another (or worse yet, in separate rooms), but actually face to face. The biggest surprise came when she actually allowed Eren to make love with her and kiss her as they were doing it. It was a nice change, even if they knew they could never love one another they way they should.

They were as close as they ever would be, and for now, Eren could accept that.

Eren was taken from his thoughts as he heard Levi speak again.

"Close or not, your wife has to be worried for you." He said quietly, taking a sip of his wine. "I can take you home."

"No!" Eren said, a little louder than he had expected. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, shaking his head. "No, there is no need. Antoinette, my wife, was away at a dinner party the evening I was attacked, and probably did not return home at all. It is not unusual for us to be apart for a few days time. She was supposed to be out of town this weekend, in another town visiting family." At least, that is what she said she was doing. Eren had to wonder if she wasn't going to be making a side trip to see her lover. "I'm home alone, I have nothing to go home to, no children or animals, and I am comfortable where I am." Eren hesitated just slightly, feeling like a small child. "I don't want to be alone. I hate being alone."

"You are not alone." Levi said automatically, leaning closer than he ever had and Eren could finally see the color of his eyes, a bluish grey, and they drilled into his body. He took a shuddering breath as Levi stared at him hard, one long fingered hand reaching out to rest against Eren's leg. "You are not alone now, and you won't be alone. Ever."

Eren didn't understand what that meant, and quite frankly, he was too tired to care. He leaned weakly against the pillows, his eyes fluttering slightly. He felt a hand against his cheek and Eren unconsciously leaned into it, feeling the pull of unconsciousness once more.

"Sleep." Levi said, his voice only but a whisper. "Sleep now. We will talk more later."

n'est-ce pas - Isn't that so?/Isn't that right?
De rien - You're welcome
Vous devez manger - You need to eat
Mangez - Eat