First of all, I want to sincerely thank everyone who has stuck with this fanfic so far, especially since the last chapter. You guys are amazing, and pretty much the only reason I've come so far with this fanfic. This is officially the longest fanfic I've ever written, and I don't plan on ending it anytime soon (we actually haven't reached the halfway point yet). So thank you, everyone, and keep reading and reviewing! I read every single review! :D
Secondly, I am a winner of NaNoWriMo! It was tough, but I managed to reach 50,000 words. Yippee!
Here is Chapter 10. It's a bit dialogue heavy, but I wanted to write something less...dramatic than the last chapter.
Disclaimer: don't own anything, except my douchebag OC Lukas
Chapter 10
Standstill
"Is he going to be okay?" Jean asked anxiously as Hanji finished her examination of Marco. Whether it was exhaustion, stress, or any combination of the two, Marco had passed out in Jean's arms shortly after he had cried his eyes out, causing Jean to panic and carry him all the way over to the student Medical Center. Hanji had answered the door—she had never met Jean before so there were some rapid-fire questions from her, asking why Jean had showed up with Lukas at the fencing studio, why he was holding an unconscious Marco, and why on Earth hadn't he joined the Fencing Club already?!
"I'll explain later!" Jean had exclaimed angrily, "Zoe—Hanji—whatever your name is, he needs help!"
Hanji had taken one look at Marco and ceased her questions, instructing Jean to lay Marco on one of the beds so she could examine him. After about half an hour of poking, prodding, and doing God-knows-what to Marco, Hanji wiped her forehead and removed her glasses.
"Now, you have to understand I'm a biology major, not a medical student," she explained slowly, "But I know enough to identify a trauma case when I see one. Jean, would you mind telling me why Lukas decided to go after Marco when he arrived?"
And so Jean had been forced to re-tell what Marco had told him, watching as Hanji's expression became stern, her hair falling over her eyes.
"Remind me to skin that boy alive the next time I see him," she muttered once Jean had finished, "I see no reason why he shouldn't be expelled because of something like that."
"Yes, he's an absolute shitbag; but what about Marco!?" Jean almost yelled.
Hanji sighed and closed her eyes.
"He's going to need some time," she said, "From what I can tell, he hasn't been eating or sleeping properly…combined with the stress from his academic workload and what Lukas did to him, it's amazing he hasn't had a complete mental breakdown yet. I can refer you guys to the Karanese School of Medicine; there are some amazing students in there that will know exactly what to do, but it's up to Marco to decide how hard he's willing to work to repair the damage that's been done…both physically and emotionally."
Jean clenched his teeth, reaching forward and taking one of Marco's limp hands in his own as he gazed upon the unconscious face of the person who had used to practically radiate warmth and light from his person.
"You love him, don't you?" Hanji asked quietly.
"I do," Jean admitted, his voice breaking as he bit back tears, "And I'm just sorry I was too stupid to realize it sooner."
Hanji put a hand on his shoulder.
"Not knowing how you feel about someone doesn't make you stupid," she said, "And it's more important than ever for you to be strong now for Marco. I think joining the Fencing Club would be a good step for both of you—forget about what Lukas said; I think joining would give Marco a better sense of security, and help you figure things out for yourself."
Jean nodded and said, "I think you're right…I was only considering joining in the first place because of Marco…but I think this will help me figure out what path I want to pursue from now on."
"That's great," Hanji said, "Now if you'll excuse me for a moment."
Jean watched, puzzled, as Hanji propelled herself on the chair with wheels she was sitting on towards the door, opening it and wheeling outside.
"PETRA!" she suddenly called out into the hallway, causing Jean to jump and Marco to stir in his sleep, "HE SAID HE'LL JOIN! NICE PLANNING!"
"Hanji, quiet down!" a higher-pitched female voice called back, "Levi's trying to relax!"
"GREAT, LET HIM KNOW WE HAVE A NEW MEMBER!" Hanji called back, and Jean smacked his forehead.
These people were crazy.
"Sorry about that," Petra said sheepishly as Levi glared daggers at the door. Levi had still been in a state of shock when Petra had gently led him to the Medical Center so he could calm down, but now he was showing signs of returning to his usual self, even going as far as mumbling that the floors of the room he was in were filthy when Petra handed him a glass of water.
However, he had gone quite pale when Petra had taken a wet cloth to clean the blood from his knuckles. Petra chose not to comment on how badly his hands were shaking.
"Hey, Petra," he finally rasped after Petra had apologized about Hanji, his voice frighteningly leveled, "How badly did I hurt him?"
Petra dared to look at his face, and recognized the haunted expression that she had seen so many years ago when she had first met Levi. His eyes were wide and unblinking, gazing not at the present but a past that was hidden deep within the recesses of his mind, a past that was threatening to bubble to the surface.
She hadn't seen that expression in a long time.
"Levi, listen to me," she said sternly, abandoning the cloth and grasping his hands in hers, "Lukas is fine. Just a few bruises and a tooth missing—" she winced when Levi twitched, "But nothing major. You lost control, but you did not kill him, Levi. You did not kill him."
Levi blinked, eyes wide and seeing a past that had long since left him, his breath hitching as he fought back the beginnings of tears.
"We're all here for you, Levi," Petra said gently, running a hand up and down his back as Levi fought to keep his emotions under control, "Me, Hanji, Erwin, Gunther, Eld…even Oluo, wherever he his anyway. Nobody's going to abandon you."
"Erwin abandoned me," the captain said weakly and Petra lowered her gaze to the floor.
"He was someone important to you, wasn't he?" she asked softly.
Levi clenched his fist.
"He was."
For a moment the of them remained in that position, Petra running her thumb over Levi's hand as Levi's breathing grew calm once more. The ticking of the clock provided the only indicator that time was still moving forward, that the moment the two shared was still trapped within the strict confines of reality.
"What are you going to do about him?" he finally asked, looking straight into her eyes. Petra's gaze faltered, her thumb stilled.
"I don't know," she admitted, "From what Eren told me…he had no right to treat you like he did, Levi. Frankly, I think his reason for breaking up with you was quite stupid. " She hesitated.
"I think I'm stupid too, for not noticing how Erwin has been changing," she finished softly.
"You're not stupid," Levi said heatedly, "Don't degrade yourself like that."
"…Sorry," the other said meekly. Levi sighed, rising to his feet and removing his hand from Petra's
"Petra, right now you're the only person in the team I can trust," he said with his back facing her, his voice stronger, "And whatever you decide to do about Erwin, I will not question."
"I'm going to talk to him," Petra said, standing up as well and crossing her arms, "I'm going to talk to him, and straighten things out…"
"PETRA! Marco's awake, he's awake!" Hanji yelled from the other room, causing both of them to jump.
"Levi, why don't you just stay in here and rest for a while; I'm going to make sure Marco is alright," Petra said, fumbling to grab her coat while Levi hesitantly sat back down in his chair, "I'll see you later, okay?"
"Whatever," Levi mumbled as Petra halted, halfway out the door. She turned around slowly.
"Levi, I just wanted to thank you…to thank you for still trusting me," she said in a small voice, "And I'll always be there for you if you need anything."
When Levi didn't respond Petra sighed and reluctantly left, closing the door shut behind her. Levi waited until the sound of her footsteps disappeared before saying quietly, "Thank you, Petra."
Armin awoke that evening when he heard someone knocking on his door. Curious, he slowly padded over to look through the peephole, wondering who would be knocking at this hour.
To his surprise, Mikasa was the one standing outside of his room! Wait…was she crying?
Armin opened the door, alarmed, and his suspicions were confirmed. Tears dripped down her face as she hesitantly took a step into the room, Armin closing the door behind her.
"Mikasa, what's wrong?" he asked, taking her hand and guiding her so she could take a seat by his desk, "Y-you never cry…"
Mikasa simply shook her head, giving Armin a signal to wait for a moment. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down, and used the back of her hand to wipe the tears from her face.
"I'm sorry for bothering you, Armin," she said, "But Eren…"
"Eren?"Armin asked, taking a seat on his bed across from Mikasa, "What about Eren?"
Mikasa took another deep breath and recounted to Armin what had happened just a few hours ago:
Eren and Mikasa were huddled in the back of the library, still in their fencing uniforms. Mikasa had practically dragged the brunette there, ignoring the strange looks they were getting from the other students.
"Are you okay?" Mikasa asked after the two of them had taken the time to catch their breath and recover from what had happened in the fencing studio.
"I think so," Eren said, looking at the ground, "I just can't believe…do you think what Dot Pixis said was true? About what Lukas did to Marco in the locker rooms?"
Neither had to voice what Dox Pixis had implied earlier.
"Unfortunately, I think so," Mikasa responded sadly, "I just can't believe there are still people like Lukas who bully others simply because of who they love."
Beside her Eren had stiffened, his eyebrows tightly knitted together as he remembered Levi's words about labeling and love.
Mikasa turned to face him.
"Eren, you're hiding something," she guessed accurately. Eren sighed, hiding his face in his arms which were wrapped around his knees.
"What is it?"
Eren shook his head.
"What is it?" Mikasa asked a little more forcefully, causing a chorus of "Shh!"s to be directed at the two freshmen.
"Mikasa, can I trust you to keep a secret?" Eren said, his voice muffled from still being buried in his arms. Mikasa frowned as she put a hand on Eren's shoulder, genuinely concerned.
"Of course you can trust me," she said slowly, "Now what's wrong, Eren?"
Eren lifted his face from his arms, and to Mikasa's surprise his cheeks were tinged red. He leaned forward, whispering into Mikasa's ear:
"I think…I think I might like Levi."
Shock.
Confusion.
Anger.
And…sadness.
Mikasa felt these all at once, almost to the point where they overwhelmed her senses as Eren leaned back to hide his face once more. Mikasa took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down and suppress the emotions threatening to bubble to the surface. She couldn't lose it here; she had to stay focused on making sure Eren was reassured that he could trust her.
"When did you realize this?" she forced herself to ask.
"I don't know," Eren responded, "but seeing what Lukas did to Marco…I'm scared, Mikasa." Mikasa suddenly grabbed his shoulders, forcing him to face her as she looked deep into his eyes.
"You should never be afraid to love," she said sternly, her grasp tightening, "And if anyone even attempts to hurt you because of who you choose, they will have to answer to me."
Eren slumped, relief clouding his features as he leaned forward to hug Mikasa.
"Thank you, Mikasa," he said, "I can always count on you!"
"That's what I'm here for," Mikasa responded gently, ignoring the pain in her heart.
"You wanted to be closer to him than a sister, didn't you?" Armin murmured softly as Mikasa finished. Mikasa nodded, eyes downcast.
"Everything I do is for him," she said, "Everything. And now I have to let him go as if nothing ever counted. How am I supposed to protect him when his heart wants to go somewhere I can't follow?"
When Armin saw Mikasa start to blink away tears again, he moved forward, and wrapped his arms around her. To his relief Mikasa didn't pull away or try to push him…she simply relaxed in his hold, allowing the blonde to fully embrace her.
"Sometimes we can't follow him no matter how hard we try," Armin said, "But what we can do is be there for him. No matter what happens, being there can make all the difference." He felt Mikasa nod against his neck, smaller hands gently resting on his back as she returned his embrace. She was still shaking.
"Mikasa?" Armin whispered.
"What?"
"It's okay to cry, you know. Bottling up your pain only makes things worse. I won't judge or make fun of you…you're my best friend."
The hands clutching the back of his shirt tightened and Armin felt warm tears dripping onto his shoulder as Mikasa silently wept.
"Lukas showed up at fencing club today," Bertholdt said, his head in Reiner's lap as the blonde ran his fingers through dark tresses. Across from him he heard a slight intake of breath from Annie.
"Now why would that boy show up at fencing club?" Reiner asked nonchalantly.
"Hmm, I don't really feel like telling," Bertholdt teased, closing his eyes.
"Really now?" The fingers in his hair stirred. Bertholdt sighed and sat up, placing his hands on Reiner's shoulders.
"That is, not unless you ask nicely," he smirked. Reiner sighed and pulled Bertholdt's head toward his own, kissing him deeply on the lips. Annie tsk'ed and crossed her arms, blowing a stray hair from her face.
"Hey Bertholdt, I'd really appreciate it if you could kindly let me know why Lukas decided to come to fencing," Reiner breathed hotly into Bertholdt's mouth, "Please."
Annie rolled her eyes, muttering, "Too easy."
Bertholdt detached his mouth from his boyfriend's with a slight smack, before he wiped his mouth and said, "That Jean kid who's always causing trouble was considering joining fencing. Lukas took it the wrong way. And apparently he spooked one of the other members pretty badly."
"Is that so?" Reiner murmured, leaning in to pepper butterfly kisses on the other's neck.
"But that—that's not all!" he gasped as Reiner latched onto one spot, sucking hard while Annie made a gagging sound, "Levi—Levi went crazy and attacked him! Dot Pixis even showed up and had to stop him!"
Reiner pulled back sharply, making Bertholdt whine at the loss of warm contact.
"Levi lost control, huh?" Annie asked, her eyes widening as she stared at the ground, "Now that's something new…" She looked up and caught Reiner's gaze, which had turned quite sullen.
"What more, even Dot Pixis had to come," Reiner continued, "which is very rare indeed…"
Annie shrugged. "They must be already preparing for competitions," she commented before Reiner cleared his throat.
"Bertholdt, have you been keeping tabs on Professor Erwin like I asked you too?" he asked seriously, his eyebrows furrowing.
"I've been trying to, but he hasn't showed up to lecture my class in a while, or to fencing club," Bertholdt said, frowning, "But that reminds me, something peculiar did happen at that Halloween party…"
He trailed off, looking at Reiner expectantly. Reiner sighed and kissed Bertholdt once more, this time coaxing the other's mouth open with his tongue and delving inside, both tongues wrestling until Reiner's became the victor.
"You really need to think of other methods of persuasion, idiot," Annie scoffed, "Cut it out! I sleep in this room, goodness."
"S-Sorry," Bertholdt stammered once the two had separated, "But I hardly get to see Reiner! You two are always busy with your R.A. work and stuff…"
"We can talk about that later, now what was so interesting about Halloween?" Reiner asked, growing impatient.
"Oh, yeah, that. Well, I had asked you so nicely to accompany me to the party," Bertholdt began, "But imagine my surprise when I discovered Erwin inside of that Totoro costume instead of you!"
"Look, I said I was sorry for not showing up," Reiner said sheepishly, "But like I said: Annie and I were busy with Garrison activities. Now what in the world was Erwin doing inside of that costume?" Bertholdt started giggling as he answered, "He asked out Petra! Can you believe it? And she was so surprised that she couldn't even answer him!"
Annie looked at Reiner, completely shocked.
"That can't be possible," Reiner said slowly, his voice echoing the shock on Annie's face, "He's supposed to be with Levi."
"Someone told me they broke up," Bertholdt said nonchalantly, "And I'm pretty sure the whole school found out about it too. I mean, the two of them have been fighting since the beginning of the semester."
"Interesting," said Annie, folding her fingers together and leaning back on her bed, "Very interesting."
"You know, the others think you're a quiet innocent boy, but you can be quite the talkative one when you get excited," Reiner chuckled, unable to stay under control any longer. He rose from Annie's couch, bringing Bertholdt with him as he carried him to the door.
"Where do you think you're going?" Annie shot at his retreating back, "We still have to discuss what to do about—"
"Sorry Annie, Bertholdt and I have some unfinished business to take care of," Reiner said over his shoulder as Bertholdt clung onto his neck.
"And what business would that be?" Annie asked coldly as Reiner opened the door.
"What do you think?" Bertholdt called out, bursting into laughter right before the door shut behind them.
And there was your first taste of ReinerxBertholdt...I had so much writing that last section. Hope you guys enjoyed! Please review! My goal is to get 10 reviews before posting the next chapter. Let's make it happen! :)
Until next time,
-Jay