A/N: So! Who saw A Choice With no Regrets pt 2? I SURE AS HELL DID AND NOW I'M IN SO MUCH PAIN! OMG JuST NOtT OKAY IN ANTY WAY POSSIBLE FudcCK
Anyway…I'm a bit emotionally compromised so…yeah…
Just thought I'd share that very important piece of information with you guys. OH! AND WHILE I'M AT IT!
To the Guest that said "Cool...but what happened to Mikasa and their dad? Are they alive at this point? Will Reiner come back? I'm just confused..."
This chapter will have what you wish for!
PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE, MY FRIEND!
However, shit may or may not be going down in this chapter as well…A PLOT TWIST, PERHAPS!? MAYBE!? FUCK KNOWS! But anyway thanks for reading again and I hope you all enjoy!
Chapter Ten: Pieces and Parts
Eren was standing in a completely different room from Levi, still hovering in the kitchen, poking the now chilled, lukewarm food with a fork, eyeing Levi every few moments.
Levi sat in the living room, his face blank, lost in deep thought.
As the silence grew even more painfully uncomfortable, Eren decided to leave. Levi made no movements to stop him or to talk him out of walking away. He was gone within a few minutes, closing the door quietly behind him and shaking off the awkward energy that the apartment was filled with.
He walked briskly, strutting down the busy sidewalk and moving at such a pace until he was out of breath and panting like an overworked dog. At first, he enjoyed walking to Levi's place after being beaten by Reiner, it cleared his head despite all the strange glares and curios glances he earned, but now, he regretted it.
Eren wanted nothing more than to get back to his house.
His father was in the hospital, comatose and completely void of brain activity. The doctors said he may never wake up, which forced Eren to take initiative and worry about Mikasa's future, not about Levi.
No matter how badly he wanted to fix them.
He climbed the metal staircase, skipping steps until he reached their door. When he entered, he almost forgot what had happened a few nights previously. Everything was in order and the apartment smelled clean, like lemons and freshly planted flowers.
Armin and Mikasa poked their heads from behind the wall in the kitchen. Armin held a pot of daisies and he gestured for Eren to take them.
"I got them from my grandma, down in Florida." he said softly, admiring the arrangement of flowers and plants placed on the kitchen windowsill. "She said that it would look nice in my dreary apartment, but I think you guys need the pick-me-up more than I do."
Eren passed the pot back and slid over to Mikasa, who was scrubbing down the counters with a lemon-based smelling soap.
He felt hesitant on what to say. With one quick glance at Armin for advice, and earning a shrug in response, he cleared his throat and placed a hand on her shoulder. She ducked out of the way and moved past him.
"Mikasa? How are you?" he asked nervously. She sighed sarcastically.
"Well," she began, tossing the rag and soap bottle into the sink. "Dad's dying, I have disgusting bruises all over my face, as do you, by the way, and I was raped and beaten by a guy that I'm terrified of." She paused, poking her finger in the air for one last argument. "Oh! And I forgot to mention! The cops won't help because "people like you ask for trouble" or something like that." She imitated the police officer with seething anger.
As soon as she stomped away, Armin chased after her. Eren heard the front door slam shut, opened once again and close quietly, hearing the echo of their voices spiraling down the staircase.
Eren groaned with frustration and sank to the tile floor. When he looked more closely, he noticed how destroyed the house really was. Walls were chipped with paint and cracks, whether from weathering or weight of foreign objects, it still looked disgusting. The carpet, in places, was stained with something. Furniture was out of place and uneven, not to mention cheap and seemed like one sit down would shatter them like antiques.
The apartment was in shambles.
Just like everything in his life was right now.
His first immediate thought was "how will I fix my family", followed by "how will I fix me and Levi". But his thoughts went fuzzy and disappeared, leaving him with an empty head and a tired, overstressed body that didn't want to move from the scummy floor.
Armin slipped through the door and instantly saw Eren. He crouched down beside him and too, dropped to the floor, sitting criss cross and more hopeful than Eren's limp limbs and foggy head.
"Mikasa's gone to a friend's house." Armin announced. Eren's eyes flickered over to his. "She doesn't want to deal with everything that's happened. She needed to get away, apparently."
Eren nodded. "That's fine."
The two sat in silence until Armin popped up to his feet. He outstretched his hand for Eren to take. "Come on, get up." He smiled. "You can't just sit on that dirty floor all day."
Eren nodded once again and took his offering hand. However, as soon as he stood, he felt the push of everything bad happening in his life. He couldn't suppress the pain and a soft cry caught in his chest.
Armin spun around at the sound and his puppy dog eyes widened. "Are you alright?"
Eren sniffled and regained his composure. "Yeah, not sure what that was about…" He looked anywhere but Armin. "I'm fine. Just tired. Things aren't working out anywhere at all."
He laughed at the irony of everything going rotten all at once. Armin patted his back and led him into the living room. They sat on the same sofa that looked like it wanted to collapse in on itself, but it held them.
"Tell me about it." Armin whispered. He looked more concerned than before, like Eren would shatter upon any touch or talk of his life.
Eren looked up, trying to figure where to start. "Just…I guess it's just that Levi is now insecure about himself, and doesn't think I like him…and you know about what's happening here…and with dad. Plus the fact I don't even know if I can take hold of those therapy sessions any longer now that Levi and I-…"
His voice trailed off. Despite the growing heartache in his chest, it felt more pure, like he could fix it, now that he had told Armin.
Ever since day one of meeting Levi and starting his new life working with those war veterans, he had told Armin everything. And Armin listened. He heard every word, said nothing, and cushioned him with optimism and hopefulness.
Now, he was doing the same.
"I'm sure everything will work out. You just need to give it time." Armin said proudly. He spoke as if he were talking from experience. "Just wait a few days. Call him. And Mikasa, she'll come around. It'll all work itself out of this knot soon."
"I don't think it will." Eren hissed. "I don't want to be around Levi anymore. Not now. He feels toxic right now. Poisonous. Dark. I don't know how to describe it. And it was all so sudden, too. One moment, we're cooking breakfast, and the next, he's in the other room, avoiding me completely." He looked up at Armin, who frowned.
"I can't do this any longer, Armin. I have to move on, accept that it would have never worked out in the first place."
Armin smiled sheepishly. "You can't say that! You've only been dating each other for a few weeks. Not even a month yet! You hardly know if it'll work out or not. Just give it time!" He stood up and began to fiddle with his shirt button while still talking. "You're talking as if you're a married couple. You're brand new in this relationship."
Eren stood up abruptly. "I don't want to be with someone who questions themselves every day and is so hopeless and pessimistic. I can't stand it!"
Armin inched back a bit, shocked.
"I can't be around Levi anymore if he's going to be so low and, and…and so useless! Relationships work both ways, and he's slacking on his part! He doesn't even care, as long as he gets love and food, like a goddamned pet, then he'll be happy! But if I say something that bothers me, or if something needs to be fixed in my life, he gets all moody and upset! I can't even breathe in that kind of relationship!"
He approached Armin and grasped both his shoulders. His forehead pressed against the blonde's and he leaned into him.
"I want to be around someone like you." His head shifted on its own and he gently kissed Armin on the lips, feeling the soft heat blossom between each other. Armin hardly reacted, more surprised than passionate, but he allowed Eren.
His kiss deepened and Eren found himself gripping to Armin's shirt like a needy child. Armin seemed to notice and he slowly pulled away, backing up far enough that Eren was hurt by the distance.
"You don't need me, Eren," Armin said calmly. "You need him. He's just as broken as you are, but in a different way, if not more so, especially physical aspect of life."
Eren was breathless, going red with anger. "But…! How can you say that? He's broken physically, I'm broken emotionally, so how does that make a healthy relationship? It doesn't!" He pointed at Armin. "But you're okay. You're not broken like me. You can help me!"
Armin shook his head, still wearing that soft, almost apologetic smile. "No. If I "helped" you, you wouldn't be able to grow. You'd be so reliant on me that you wouldn't ever be able to do anything on your own. Covering a scar with makeup doesn't get rid of it, it just hides it. The scar still remains." He paused, allowing Eren to process his words.
"But," he continued. "If you heal it, maybe not with the most traditional methods, that scar will disappear. You need Levi, and Levi needs you. You're both shattered, but you both can pick up each others pieces. While Levi will never be able to see again, and may be suffering from some internal turmoil, you are perfectly capable of navigating on your own. You can be his guide. And while you are hurting on the inside, he is strong, I can hear it just by the way you speak of him. Insecure, yes, but strong. He won't break as easily as you think he will. You live to help others, Eren. It's what you do best. It's what you've always done. For me, and Mikasa. For Levi. You help people."
Eren's expression softened. Armin may not make the easiest metaphors to understand, but his words did make sense in a way.
Eren moved for the door, swinging it wide. Before he left, he turned to Armin.
"Thanks…and sorry…we'll talk later."
The door was shut behind him.
Armin nodded and smiled softly. "You're welcome."
A/N: Slight plot twist...kinda not really. More like a plot bend. Or plot wiggle. Not exactly a twist.
The whole explanation may not make sense to you, apologies. But it worked out in my head and I'm too careless to figure out another way to say it. Soooo...
Oh yes, and! Aha! You thought everything was going to work out?
You.
Are.
WRONG!
Reiner will return, NEXT CHAPTER!