"Wake up, Eren." The nurse's sweet voice filtered through my nightmares and pulled me back to the pain of reality.

I groaned lowly and cracked my eyes, squinting at the bright white light of my hospital room. I stayed laying down on the bed, knowing better than to try and sit up.

"Wha?" I mumbled blearily. I reached up to run my eyes, remembering at the last second to mind my healing cheek.

"It's almost noon, kiddo. Time to get up and greet the day!" The nurse said enthusiastically. I had learned on my second day that her name was Petra, and on my eighth day that she had a fondness for Levi despite his cold and uncaring demeanour.

It was my fourteenth day in the hospital, my second week, and I was due to get my stitches out today. The wound was completely closed but only slightly less ugly than it was when I first saw it. I was relieved that the stitches were coming out. They were incredibly itchy and I wasn't allowed to scratch them at all.

I was less relieved that Levi had to watch. He had been by my side twenty-four seven, even asking the nurses to bring him food instead of him going and getting it himself. Fortunately, he drew the line at accompanying me to the bathroom and vice versa, instead getting Petra or whomever was available at the time to watch me while he showered and.. stuff.

I fake-sighed at her cheery tone and smiled, slowly easing myself into a sitting position. She placed a tray with a BLT sandwich and a glass of apple juice on it on my lap, and then looked around dramatically as she slowly pulled a can of root beer out of who knows where. My smile turned into a grin as she stage-winked at me before hurrying back out of the room, closing the door most of the way on her way out.

I looked at beside the bed at Levi, who had been silent throughout the entire ordeal. His usual glare of indifference was in place, even as he slowly chewed his own lunch.

I turned my attention back to my sub and took a huge pterodactyl bite out of it. The food at the hospital wasn't half-bad, despite what every movie or book in existence claimed. At least, my food wasn't bad.

I drank the apple juice so that the other nurses wouldn't get suspicious, saving the root beer for last. I decided to leave it under my pillow for after the stitches came out, almost as a comfort drink.

I hadn't really thought about my family or the... incident. I assumed that if I never thought of it again, the pain of losing everything would hurt less. It took a lot of pillow-muffled sobs and even more practice to hide my feelings behind eight walls of steel. I knew that the nurses had been concerned about the dead look in my dull green eyes during the first few days, but after almost a week I had perfected my happy teenager act. They seemed relieved.

The only person that didn't believe my act was Levi. There was something in his steely grey eyes, almost like understanding. He had walls too, but they were certainly much stronger than mine. I idly wondered why he had them, what had happened to him. I didn't dare ask, for Levi was incredibly grumpy and unapproachable all of the time. He hardly ever spoke, only to order me to eat and ask the occasional question in his bored voice.

With nothing else to do, I grabbed my book off of the night side table and flipped to my page. I glanced at the clock above the door, already knowing the time. Petra had said it was almost noon, so it was probably about twelve thirty by now.

I bit my lip, trying to remember when she had said the operation was. One o'clock, I think.

Operation probably wasn't the best word. They just had to cut out the stitches using scissors, easy as pie. It wouldn't even hurt.

The only thing that I was worried about was Levi. His eyes always seemed to bore into me, much like his personality. I just didn't want him to watch.

The clock struck one in no time, and five minutes later Petra hurried in with a tray and another doctor behind her. I recognized him as Erd, the man who usually sat in for Petra if she wasn't around when Levi needed to do something.

My chest tightened a little as I took in the tray. It had two little pairs of plain, silver, hooked scissors, a small bowl, and a bottle of spray-on disinfectant, which is what I expected. I hadn't thought much about it after that, which is why the little shiny scalpel on the tray was a shock. But I brushed it aside and took a deep breath, sitting up straighter and running a hand through my chocolatey brown hair.

Levi was studying me carefully, running his narrow eyes over my paled face. I didn't even notice, too busy watching Petra and Erd as they pulled plastic gloves on and set up their equipment.

"Okay, Eren, you ready?" I nodded my head yes. Petra smiled and continued, "please take off your shirt and lay flat."

I nodded again and started untying my shirt. It was a side-tie, almost like a shoelace, made specially for me so that I wouldn't have to lift my arms over my head and risk ripping my nearly healed scar.

My hands were shaking a little in apprehension, but I slipped the shirt off and put it on the bed beside me before scooting down carefully. Once I was vertical, all three of them closed in like hawks and surrounded me.

Levi looked bored, as usual, but his posture made me think that he was a little curious. Erd sprayed the length of the cut on my torso with the disinfectant and I shivered at the coldness. Petra smiled at me before picking up a pair of the tiny scissors and handing the other ones to the other doctor.

I felt two chilly blades brush my skin, close to the feeling of the less innocent switchblade of that fateful night.

I shook off the memory quickly and turned my head to the ceiling, closing my eyes. The scissors started at each end and worked their way towards the middle, the deepest part of the wound. Every time I heard a small snip and then a clink as the plastic stitch was dropped in the bowl.

I was done fairly quickly, sitting up at Petra's word and examining my scar. It was slightly puckered and a rosy shade of red. The ends, where it had cut shallower, were already pink and nearly nonexistent.

My torso itself was something to be proud of. It was well muscled, a six-pack shadowing my stomach. Although the weeks in the hospital had been boring and lazy, I was still strong.

I saw Levi watching me out of the corner of my eye, his appreciative gaze making me flush red and pull my shirt back on, threading the side back up carefully.

And I swear to god that I tried not to make it a show.


A/N: Hi! Sorry it's not all that long and it's basically a filler chapter, but I was really lazy and excuses excuses. Literally have four moinutes until Wednesday is over *breathes heavily* see you next Wed., love you all!