Six Months Later


"We're home!" Grisha announces as he pulls into the driveway.

Of course, Eren doesn't hear the announcement as he has headphones on that completely blocks out sounds except for his music. Knowing this, Mikasa taps him on the shoulder, making him snap his eyes open and look around at his surroundings. His eyes finally lock on me and I smile encouragingly.

"You're home," I tell him, my hands saying the same thing in sign language. All of us had taken up talking while signing, making it easier for us and Eren to learn.

Armin would be here with us now, but he had to take his grandfather to a doctor's appointment. Eren seemed a little a disappointed when he found out that his best friend wouldn't be here to witness his homecoming, but brightened up one Armin let him know that he would be over as soon as the appointment was over.

His hair is long now, still refusing to have it cut. He puts it back in a ponytail, like his father does with his hair. I have to say, the long haired Eren is strangely adorable.

He looks outside, seeing his parents exit the car. I open the other side in the backseat and start to get out, but then notic that Eren hasn't moved. Mikasa gives a worried glance over at me before she taps Eren on the arm again.

Not looking and shrugging her off, he huffs and opens the door, stepping outside, leaving the door open for Mikasa.

It's the first time that Eren has been at his house in over a year. We are all on edge on how he is going react. After being in captivity for six months and in the hospital for six more, nobody is sure how he will adjust back to his life, if he even can.

He stands, frozen for a second before he pops his lips, something he has started doing often to relieve tension, and walks around to the trunk of the car, opens it and drags his suitcase out of the back.

I suppress a smirk. I should have known that Eren wouldn't let himself be babied or pitied. He still has his headstrong personality, despite what had happened to him.

He slams the trunk shut and everyone else moves into action. Mikasa and I get out of the car while Grisha fumbles for the keys and Carla smiles at her son, ruffling his hair, even though he is much taller than her now.

Getting into the house was another thing. Eren stops and looks around, seeing that everything is exactly as it had been before. The stairs are still in the foyer, the pictures on the wall leading the way to the second floor, even the fake plant on the hallway table is still here.

He takes in a shaky breath before he sets down his bag.

"Is my room still in the same place?" he asks in the only way he could.

"Yes," Carla answers, smiling, "Mikasa can help you with your stuff."

"I don't need her to carry my stuff," he objects, "I'm not going to fucking break."

Carla obviously hasn't learned the sign for "fucking" quite yet, but Grisha gives his son a disapproving look and Mikasa slaps him on the back of the head.

"Come on, Eren," she says, picking his bag up more easily than he had, making him roll his eyes and follow her up the stairs.

I go to follow, but a hand wraps around my arm, pulling me to a stop. I turn to see Grisha looking at me.

"Actually, Levi, could Carla and I talk to you for a few minutes?" he asks seriously. These past couple months, they both had been nothing but gracious to me and hadn't questioned my presence during Eren's recovery, treating me like family. But I can only imagine that they still have their reservations about some things.

"Sure," I shrug and he releases me, "Kitchen?"

He nods and leads the way. Eren glances at us as he climbs the stairs, giving us a quizzical look, but I dismiss him with a quick wave of the hand.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Carla asks me, going straight for the fridge as I sit down at the counter.

"Ah, no, I'm good, Mrs. Jaeger," I respond. What I honestly want to do was to go upstairs and be with Eren.

She nods but still gets water out and pours two glasses before Grisha starts to speak.

"Carla and I have been a bit concerned about what you want from Eren," he says bluntly. Good. I like people who don't beat around the bush.

"Nothing," I answer honestly, sounding a little bit more defensive than I meant to be.

"We know that you were dating our son before he disappeared," Carla starts, "But I think it would be...foolish to consider that you two will be able to pick up where you left off."

Is she fucking serious?

"What my wife means to say is that we don't know if Eren is emotionally stable to consider any type of relationship," Grisha adds, "He may seem like he is adjusting well, but-"

"Excuse me while I interrupt you," I say, trying my best not to let my anger get a hold of me, "But I don't think I've been doing anything to evensuggest that I want to bang Eren. I loved him before he was kidnapped and I love him now, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid enough to forget the fact that he's been through hell."
"We didn't mean-"

"I'm sorry, Levi," Grisha says, running a hand through his hair. I noticed that Eren picked up this habit from his father a while ago. I used to constantly tease him about it and Eren hated knowing that he resembled his father in any way. "Let us be more clear."

"Please do," I bite out. I have stayed all these fucking months and now they are suggesting that I have only done so to stick my dick in Eren again. Do they think that little of me?

"Carla and I are concerned about you almost as much as we are concerned for Eren," he admits honestly, "Before...you and Eren were good for each other and I knew he genuinely loved you and we both loved having you being a part of all of our lives. We are just concerned that you are not only setting Eren up for heartbreak, but yourself as well."

That...is unexpectedly kind.

"We know that you love him dearly," Carla says, sipping her water, "You've done more than most men would have in a situation like this. You've stuck beside him through it all. Our fear is that you will exhaust yourself trying to stay by his side when your relationship might not ever be the same. If that were to happen, we don't know what either of you would do. If you were to finally decide that you couldn't do this for the long haul, it would break Eren. He depends on you right now, just as much as he depends on the rest of us."

It is quiet for a moment and both of them look as if they were trying to find a better way to state their thoughts, but I understand. If I were in their spot, I would have the same reservations. Mikasa is family to Eren, Armin is a childhood friend that is as unwaveringly loyal as Mikasa, and these two are his parents. To them, I am just some kid that doesn't know what he is getting himself into.

"Mr. and Mrs. Jaeger," I say quietly, looking down at the counter, "This whole thing is really shitty. You two don't deserve to go through this. Mikasa and Armin don't deserve it either. Eren is the last person in the world that should have gone through...whatever shit he went through. That being said, I know what you are saying, but I'm not going to abandon Eren, no matter what. I love him. And even if he never wants me to ever touch him again, I'm still going to be here for him. This whole damn thing hurts, but it would hurt more for me to leave him. So I'm sticking with him, if you don't mind."

"What if he told you to leave?" Grisha asks and I look up at him, seeing that he is giving me a level look, "If he told you to leave, that your presence was too painful, would you leave."

"No," I say without any hesitation, "Would you?"

Carla seems taken aback with my answer while Grisha thinks over my answer carefully. As he continues to look at me through his glasses with narrowed eyes, I focus on not fidgeting and keeping my face its usual blank slate. After a moment, he smiles slightly.

"No. Family doesn't abandon family," he says quietly.

"Exactly," I agree, daring him to say that Eren isn't my family, but he doesn't. He just nods and drinks some of his water.

"I'm impressed, Levi," Grisha tells me and Carla chuckles. I remember Eren saying that his father is 'too damn hard to please' and despite myself, I feel some pride blossom in my chest.

The peaceful moment is interrupted by a sharp cry.

"Carla! Grisha!"

It's Mikasa and she sounds a bit panicky.

Both parents leave their glasses of water and rush upstairs with me following close behind.

The upstairs is a strange layout, only having two rooms upstairs separated by a sort of living room in between them. There is a TV and a couch with a huge, plush chair right next to the window. It's a nice set up and there had been multiple times when Eren had invited me to hang out with him and his friends and all they did was just chill in this living room space.

Eren's room is the room on the left, having remained exactly the same since Eren's disappearance. The walls are navy blue with a gray carpet. Eren has a few poster's up of his favorite bands; Metallica, Fall Out Boy, and for some fucking reason, The Dixie Chicks.

However, that isn't what we are focused on when we come into the bedroom.

Eren is in the corner of his room, eyes shut tight, hands over the headphones, and mouth open and moving, which we knew by now was him trying to scream something at us.

"What happened?" Grisha asks calmly, kneeling in front of Eren.

"I don't know," Mikasa says, wringing her hands, "I just was unpacking his stuff and he started doing this. He was fine. He was looking around his room so I knew he would be okay while I got his clothes out."

I immediately start looking around the room. I look out both windows, but there is nothing there that could have made him freak out.

"Do you see any triggers, Levi?" Grisha says, glancing over at me. Carla is trying to comfort her son, but he is still not calming down.

"No sir," I respond, looking over his entire room. Besides a few baseball trophies on his dresser, I can't think of anything...

Wait. On his dresser, is a picture of the entire team at their last tournament. Right next to Eren, with his arm around Eren's shoulders, is the bastard coach. Trigger found.

I grab the frame and manage to take the photo out. I then pull the first drawer open, his sock drawer, and dig out a lighter.

He will be horrified once he finds out that I have somewhat shown his parents where his secret stash of weed is, but this is more important.

I shove the drawer shut and grab the empty wastebasket before going over to sit in front of Eren.

"Levi...?" Mikasa says, but I ignored her.

I put my hand on Eren's arm, trying to get his attention. He opens his eyes but didn't stop 'screaming'. He notices the picture I had, and even though it was flipped so he can't see what it was of, he starts shaking his head angrily and covers his throat.

Without saying a word, I flick the lighter and put it to the photograph. He stops trembling and panicking to watch as the flames engulfed the picture. I flip it over so he can see his coach's face being burned off and erased from existence. Everyone else is holding their breath, waiting to see what Eren's reaction would be. We all seem to be doing that a lot lately.

When the fire gets to close to my fingers, I drop the burning photo into the garbage can and we all watch the rest of it burn. Eren is the first to look at me.

"He's dead, Eren," I tell him, "That fucker isn't going to hurt you ever again."

Eren nods determinedly, but his single tear doesn't go unnoticed.

"I want to lay down for a little bit," he signs eventually, popping his lips, and we all stand, Mikasa helping him up.

"Do you want to be alone?" I ask him, and despite the conversation I had downstairs with his parents, I hope that he will want me to stay.

He looks over at us before he asks, "Can you stay, Mom? Please?"

She looks a little shocked, but nods. Grisha gives his son a kiss on the forehead and Mikasa gives him a reassuring squeeze on the hand. I am about to walk out of the room with the others, but Eren grabs my hand and I turn back to face him.

"Thank you," he says before releasing my hand, leaving a warm feeling where he had been touching.

"Anything for you, Bright Eyes," I say, making use of my old nickname for him and for the first time in months, I see a light blush on his face before he turns away.