Hello! :) I got really bored sitting in my dorm all weekend because my roomie is never here and I'm antisocial and never go anywhere so here I sit with my tea and music and an update. Also thanks so much for all of the kind reviews. They make me happy:)
Levi's POV
Levi could barely see a foot in front of him as rain pounded down on him as he ran through the night chasing after his target. The target this time was what Erwin had called a titan. It looked almost exactly like a male human without the reproductive organs. It's physique was extremely muscular and it had long ears and piercing green eyes. And, oh yeah, it was fucking 15 meters tall. How the hell this thing had remained hidden for so long was beyond Levi. Maybe it had remained hidden among the big ass trees of the mountains that laid to the east. They had been after it all day. This fucker was fast and brutal. They had to regroup four times today to come up with a new strategy. Hopefully this one will still work even in this rain.
Levi heard and felt a roar that ripped through the storm. It was a roar of pain. Had the beast finally hit the trap? Levi pushed through the downpour towards the roars of pain until he finally came upon the beast. Due to the night and rain, Levi hadn't seen the titan's leg coming for him. The titan had flailed out with his free leg and smacked into Levi. He got sent flying high into the air and he landed hard and rolled a few feet in the mud until he hit a tree. He tried to push himself up out of the mud but the pain his ribs on his right side and his right leg that he had landed on kept him down. With a grunt he rolled onto his back, letting the rain hit his face. His head was pounding with pain. Levi cursed loudly. He was pissed. He had never gotten beat down on a job. When did he get so careless? He laid their for a few minutes listening the roars of the monster die down. Erwin and the rest of the squad must have finally sedated it for the time being. There would be no telling how long the tranquilizers would last. They had to transport it back to the lab quickly before the damn monster woke up. He had to get back to the custom made truck before they left him.
Levi pushed himself up with his left arm, hissing through the pain of his broken ribs. He grimaced at the sight of his leg. It was bent completely the wrong direction. He grit his teeth and began the crawl through the mud with his good arm. With every move, Levi had to bite down a cry of pain. Finally, he could here the rumbling of the truck. Petra must have been able to convince everyone to wait for him. He could here his man being called faintly through the rain. It sounded like Gunther. The pain began to overwhelm Levi and his vision began to blur. Levi gave a shout to Gunther as his vision darkened and he fell back into the mud losing consciousness.
Eren's POV
Eren startled awake, hitting his head on the coffee table. He hissed in pain and grabbed his head. Eren was sweating and his heart was racing. Rain was pounding on the roof of the small house like it had been when he fell asleep. He glanced at the clock. 3a.m. They had waited for Levi to get home as long as their bodies would let them so he'd only been asleep for around three hours. He laid back down on his makeshift pallet. What a horrifying dream. He had dreamed about Levi in the rain and being knocked into the mud by a terrifying beast. Eren had watched him crawl through mud, which Eren knew had to really disgust Levi, before passing out. It was so vivid and Eren couldn't stop thinking about it. He laid in the darkness, listening to Armin's quiet breathing for half an hour before he couldn't take it anymore. He had to go check. Levi had specifically told them not to disturb him during the night, but Eren had to see him.
Eren crept down the hall quietly, careful not to wake Armin who was a light sleeper. He pushed the bedroom door open slowly and peeked inside. Levi wasn't there. Eren flung the door open the rest of the way. The bed was definitely still made with no lump of Levi underneath. Eren ran to the bathroom that was connected to the room. No Levi. He ran to the closet. Still no Levi. Eren worked himself into a panic. Levi always made sure to tell them when he would have an abnormal schedule. The most he had been gone was three days. That was the reason for Levi teaching them how to use the stove two weeks ago. He didn't say anything about being this late. All he had said to them was that today he had a dangerous mission. Eren's blood ran cold. What if his dream hadn't really been a dream? He shot down the hall to wake up Armin.
"Armin! Wake up!" Eren shook the slumbering Armin's shoulder with unnecessary roughness.
"I'm up! I'm up!" Armin shot up, alert by the panic in Eren's voice. "What's going on?" Armin slurred, rubbing sleep from is eyes.
"Levi's missing," Eren told him.
"He's probably still out on his mission. He said it was a dangerous one, so he's probably just really late," Armin tried to reason. Eren shook his head and relayed his vivid dream to Armin.
"And I'm just really worried about him..." Eren ended.
"It's just a dream, Eren. Probably just from stressing about how Levi said it was a dangerous mission. Levi is top notch in what he does. He's fine." Armin tried reasoning with Eren, but Eren only grew angry.
"EXACTLY! When had he ever been this late? He always does his missions quickly and efficiently. Something had to have happened."
Armin sighed rolling his eyes at Eren's dramatic behavior. "Just call his cell phone if you're so worried." Eren huffed and stomped over to the phone and picked it up along with the the pad of paper next to it that had Levi's elegant handwriting scrawled on it. There were only two numbers listed on it. Levi's and Hanji's. Eren punched in Levi's number and held the phone to his ear.
Ring
Eren's stomach began churning.
Ring
Something wasn't right. He could feel it in his gut.
Ring
Eren bounced from foot to foot anxiously
Rin-
"Hello?"
Eren stood up straight and rigid. A woman's voice. Not Levi's. Eren's stomach burned. What was this feeling? Anger? No. It was something deeper. Jealousy? Why would he be jealous over a woman answering Levi's phone? Eren shook his head. Maybe he typed the number wrong.
"Hello?" The woman asked once more. Now that Eren thought about it, she sounded slightly upset.
"Oh! Uh h-hello! I was trying to get ahold of Levi. Did I get the wrong number?"
"No. This is his cell phone. My name is Petra. Levi is...unable to talk right now. May I ask who this is? All the I.D. said was 'home.'"
"This is Eren. One of the people who's living with Levi at the moment."
"Oh. Yes, Hanji mentioned people living with him. I didn't think it was true... You two might want to get to the hospital. Levi's been hurt on the job," Petra said quietly. Eren froze. He knew that dream had meant something more. "Do you have a way to get here?" She asked.
Eren shook his head until he realized she couldn't see him. "No, we don't. How did he get hurt?" Eren inquired
"I'm afraid I can't tell you that, Eren." Petra guarded. Of course. Levi wasn't technically supposed to be telling them about his job, so Petra wouldn't be giving them any information. "Someone will be there to pick you up in ten." Petra hung up quickly after she said this. Probably to prevent Eren from asking more questions. Eren stared at the phone for a moment before returning it to the receiver.
"Armin, get dressed. We're going to the hospital." He looked over to his friend. Armin looked a tad guilty for not believing Eren.
"I'm sorry I doubted you, Eren," Armin spoke up.
"It's fine. Just get dressed." Eren drug Armin to Levi's room. Levi had let Eren and Armin share half his closet to keep their clothes. Armin looked at Eren thoughtfully as they changed clothes. Armin noticed his friend's frantic movements to get dressed and the fierce worry on his face.
"You care about him, don't you?" Armin asked softly as he pulled on a loose shirt.
"Of course I do. He's done a lot for us. Are you saying you don't?" Eren looked at Armin bewildered.
Armin shook his head. "I do care. But not in the same way you do. You like him a lot."
Eren turned away to hide the pink rising in his cheeks when he realized what Armin was getting at. "I don't know what you're talking about, Armin. Just hurry up."
"You do, Eren. I see the way you two look at each other and the way you two move. It's like you automatically sync up when the other enters the room. It's quite obvious."
"You don't know what you're talking about, Armin. Someone will be here soon. For the last time, hurry up." Eren slipped on his shoes and walked out of the bedroom. What the hell was that all about. Sure he cared for Levi. They were friends and they lived together. Armin was just imagining things. Eren began to think about what Armin said and thought back to moments where Levi and Eren had been caught in staring wars. Those didn't mean anything. They were just awkward moments anyone could have... The more Eren thought about it, the less he was able to convince himself that Armin was wrong.
A loud knock at the door pulled him out of his thoughts. Eren rushed to pull it open without looking through the peep hole. He stumbled back. Why did it have to be him? Why not Hanji?
Erwin stood in the door way holding a black umbrella to keep off the pouring rain. The two looked at each other. They were sizing each other up. Erwin's eyes flicked briefly to the markings, but didn't say anything about them. He hadn't figured anything out yet had he? Eren shift uncomfortably.
"Are you two ready?" Erwin asked. Armin appeared behind Eren and squeaked a little when he saw who it was. Erwin looked them up and down, his blue piercing eyes seemingly glowed in the night. "Good you're both dressed. Come." Erwin gestured for the two to get under the large umbrella with him. Eren hesitated, but pulled Armin by the wrist to stand uncomfortably close to the imposing man. The walk to the car was silent. Erwin opened the back door to the large SUV. Armin got in first and slid to the other seat and Eren got in and closed the door. The drive was silent. The only noise was the pattering of rain the roof of the vehicle. Eren looked over at Armin to make sure he was alright. Armin had adjusted well to life as a human, but the one thing he couldn't handle well were cars. He already looked slightly green in the face. Eren was sure that the fact that Erwin being in the car only added to Armin's sickness.
The drive only last about seven minutes. As soon as the car was parked, Armin had jumped out and ran over to the bushes to empty his stomach. Eren walked over and patted his back. They were already drenched from the raging storm. Armin finished and they quickly made their way to the entrance where Erwin awaited them. Lightening struck overhead and a thunderous boom rattled the night sky. The flash across Erwin's face and the accompanying thunder made him seem like an ominous omen. Eren shook the thought from his head. He could only focus on one thing right now. Levi. Levi was here somewhere and he was injured.
They entered the waiting room. The cool air conditioning made Eren shiver in his wet clothes. There were only a few people in here this late at night/early in the morning. A married couple were sitting together in the back corner hugging each other, a woman with reddish blond hair and amber colored eyes, and a man sitting by himself with his head in his hands. Eren didn't like this place. There was so much sadness and anxiety. It did nothing to calm his nerves. The woman with the red/blond hair stood up upon their arrival and approached them.
"Sir! You just missed the doctor. Levi is stable but still unconscious. They think he will wake up within a few hours. He has six broken ribs, his leg was completely broken, a fractured clavicle, internal bruising, and a skull fracture. There was no sign of any damage to the brain." She said this all in almost one breath. "They said we should be able to go see him once visiting hours begin."
A lot of injuries, but not dead. Relief flooded through Eren. Levi was okay. Sort of. It could be worse.
"What time are visiting hours?" Eren asked, eager to see him.
"8 o'clock. You must be Eren. I'm Petra. We talked on the phone earlier." Eren took a closer look at the woman. She was short and pretty. Very feminine, but obviously strong. Her clothes had mud all over them. She must have been on the mission with Levi. Eren chanced a glance at Erwin. He was muddy as well. How many people went on this mission? Eren looked at the digital clock on the wall. 4:45a.m. Just over three hours until he could see Levi.
"It's nice to meet you. I'm Armin. I also live with Levi." Armin stuck his hand out for Petra to take. They shook hands and Petra nodded. "Hello, Armin. I'd hate to ask you this, but could you two stick around here while we go home to refresh." She gestured to her muddy clothes. "Just in case something else happens?"
Eren nodded. "Yes, of course we'll stay."
Petra nodded as well. "Thank you. We'll be back around 11." She smiled kindly. It was a warm smile that reminded Eren of how his mother used to smile before his dad had started becoming distant. Petra walked out with Erwin silently following her. Armin curled up in an empty chair and snagged a magazine. Eren sat down beside him. He was nervous. What would Levi look like? He didn't know if he could stand to look at his close friend's beaten body.
Time ticked by slowly. His clothes could not dry fast enough. They were both shivering in their wet clothing. Eren had tried taking a nap, but he was too worried and cold to sleep. He pace the room for half an hour until Armin made him sit when he had begun to make the married couple nervous. So here he sat. His knee bouncing as watching the clock count down the minutes. The slow passing of time was driving Eren insane. Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, 8 o'clock hit. A nurse walked in and looked at Eren and Armin in their somewhat damp clothing. "Are you two here for Mr. Ackerman?" Eren shot up out of his seat.
"Yes!" Eren answered. His stomach began tying into knots for what felt like the hundredth time that night.
"He in room 217. The elevator is over to the right. He's still unconscious, but you may visit him when you want until 10p.m." She walked away to tend to her duties. Eren hurried over to the elevators with Armin struggling to keep up with his long strides. He pushed the button and the elevator opened immediately. They stepped into the odd box. Armin surveyed the buttons on the side.
"She said 217, right? Maybe the second button?" Armin pressed the button next to the two. The doors closed and Eren got a weird feeling in his stomach as the ascended one floor. The doors opened and he hurried out of the weird box.
"217...217..." Eren muttered the room number to himself as he passed the doors with numbers on them. He halted in front of the door with the proper number on it. This was it. This was the room. The wooden door was closed and the curtain was drawn across the window next to it on the inside. Eren glanced down at Armin who gave him an encouraging smile. He took a deep breath and pushed open the door.
