A/N: Shout out to Ern Estine 13624 for ALL OF YOUR AMAZING SUPPORT AND REVIEWS they mean an incredible amount to me and you have, like, reviewed every single chapter of this story and I wanted to say THANK YOU! :)

Paradox
Chapter 9

It was nothing like Eren had imagined a 'bad guy' hideout to be like. The concrete floors were marred with crevices and ancient oil stains. Rooms were established by PVC frames outfitted with thick plastic shower curtains save a few corner offices but those had been converted into quarters and the infirmary.

There was, however, an exception to the plastic madness. Where even Hanji's prized computer lab only had the shoddy PVC walling, near the center of the maze was a 'room' that had a lawn canopy for a roof to protect it from the harsh industrial lighting of the old warehouse. Stocked bookshelves lined the fabric of the tent, giving the illusion of complete privacy and a collection of bean bag chairs were neatly piled in the corner.

Eren's hand was on the pole that served as a threshold. He could only stare at this sanctuary.

"That's Levi's library." Hanji offered. "He read a lot while sitting with you. He thought, why not keep them? Maybe someone else wants to read them—"

"Can we go?" Eren asked.

"Sure, sure." Hanji said. "But that's pretty much it. There isn't much to our humble little compound, but we get by. Anyway, do you want me to walk you back to your room?"

"No," Eren waved her off. "I'll be fine."

Hanji waved goodbye, tucking her hands in the pocket of her lab coat as she acknowledged and then dismissed the the passing feeling that she had forgotten to tell Eren something important.

With little to but continue to be stuck in this hideout, Eren walked with his nose in the air so he could look at everything on his way back to his room. It was for this reason that he didn't notice another person in the corridor until he ran into them.

"Ah, I'm sorry—" Eren began to apologize until he saw her willow blue eyes.

"Annie!" Immediately Eren threw his arms around her shoulders and puddled her into him for an affable hug. Her failure to reciprocate resulted in Eren awkwardly squeezing her stiff shoulders. Without saying a word, Annie lifted her knee to hit Eren sharply in the crotch.

Gagging, Eren fell to the floor with both hands between his legs. "An-Annie...?"

"It's your fault," Annie sneered before using her foot to push Eren's face into the concrete floor. "Because you exist, my father had to die."

Eren was staring up at her from under the sole of her dirty shoe. His tears were cutting streaks in the blood on his cheeks. She pressed harder and his vision blurred. Then she screamed and the pressure of her foot was gone. It took him a moment, but Eren was able to pull his head up enough to see that Annie was pinned to the wall by Levi who held the tip of a kitchen knife against her small neck.

"What did we talk about?" Levi said.

Annie was said nothing but the hate in her cold eyes was screaming.

"If you can't behave," Levi continued. "Then you'll have to go." He pulled the knife from her throat but didn't release her. "Do you understand?" he asked again.

Annie looked away, then slowly nodded. Levi looked to Eren who was still bleeding on the floor like a wounded dog. He hesitated, but then Levi offered his hand to Eren who scoffed and used the wall instead.

"Why are you down here?" he said. His head pulsed as he stood. "You're room's not on this side of the compound."

"I was bringing you food." Levi explained. "Hanji said you needed to eat bland foods at first so I made you okayu."

Eren was holding his head as he leaned against the wall. Silently he was upset that Levi had to save him from a girl. It only added to his growing reasons of why he should be angry at his savior.

Levi took a step closer to Eren. "Can I at least have a look at your head?"

Eren peeked up through his fingers, then narrowed his eyes.

Levi dropped his arms. "Fine." He walked past Eren and up the hall. He passed close; close enough for Eren to smell his pine cologne and the underlying scent that made the hair on Eren's neck stand up.

It was a feral scent, like the forest after a rain. Eren closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. It felt intimate.

But when he opened his eyes, Levi was gone. Instead, Hanji was literally running to him with a black bag.

"Eren! Oh my, I was worried this would happen." From her bag she pulled wads of cotton which she doused with peroxide solution before wiping at Eren's bleeding ear. "It's a good thing Levi was bringing you the okayu."

"Ouch" Eren winced at the burn of the dressing. "W-What's okayu?"

"Well," she said. "It's like a rice porridge thing, kind of like oatmeal. Levi said his mom would make it for him when he had the stomach flu. He doesn't make it often, but when he does it's really good!"

Eren looked through the ajar door of the infirmary to his bed. Sitting on the folded sheets was a tray with a large bowl and several smaller ones neatly arranged. The vegetables and fruits in the condiment cups had been boiled until they were falling apart, making them easy to eat and digest. The porridge in the middle had a light garnish of fresh scallions on the top and a cup of ginger tea for Eren's stomach was sitting on the bedside table. All of it was cold now.

"Why is he kind to me?" Eren asked.

"That's... an interesting question. Here," She stood and then offered her hand to Eren to help him do the same. "Maybe go eat, then you can ask Levi that question."

Eren crossed his arms and looked away. "I don't want to ask him anything."

Hanji shrugged. "Then don't." And then she turned and left.

Eren looked back at his crisp sheets and chilled breakfast. He wondered when Levi had time to sleep.

Eren was a ghost in the door. The questions he told Hanji he didn't have were burning in his chest as clutched the tray of dirty dishes like a precious offering. Albeit a touch pathetic, given that Eren was exhausted from the walk down the hall and had to lean against the door frame. He had truly wanted to pretend someone else just might be here doing dishes so that Levi could relax, but then Eren recalled the last time Levi had been stagnant.

That awful movie. On the sofa. With tea. Eren had been safe.

He swallowed, trying to abate the nausea in his stomach.

"Just put them there."

Eren felt cold.

With a sudsy finger Levi pointed to the haphazard pile of pots and plates to the right of the sink. "I said put it there."

"Y-Yes..." Eren ducked his head, forgetting how to hide a sudden blush. He quietly set the tray down with the other dirty dishes.

"Just how hard did she hit you, anyway?"

Eren winced, gripping the counter for support. "Are you... mad at me, Levi?"

"Why would you think that?"

"You're so sarcastic. I just..."

"Ugh," Levi tossed aside the sponge for a scrub wand and began at the scum on a pan. "It's not you. This is how I treat everyone. I thought you might like it better."

"Wouldn't anyone say that to avoid this conversation?"

"Hey," Levi set down the pan and turned his head to look at Eren.. "Look me in the eye for a minute."

Despite the warmth in his cheeks, Eren lifted his head to meet Levi's eyes. Beyond the pink apron and daisy scrub wand was a deeply apathetic glare that made Eren quite uncomfortable to continue looking.

"I call the closest thing I have to a best friend four eyes to her face. Half the time no one knows if I came back alive because I just want to be alone. Do I seem like the kind of person who asks about your waste of a day?" Levi shook his head as he plunged his hands back into the sink. "Eren, you were different from the start."

Quietly Eren watched. His face was blank with concentration as scrubbed at stale cheese on a plate. On some strange level this was cathartic for Levi.

"Why did you think it would be better?" Eren asked.

"Because," Levi spoke without looking up from his work. "You were asleep for so long. And I was awake." He set the clean plate on the drying rack to the left. "What was the last thing you remember anyway?"

Eren felt the urge to smile. Levi's fingers at his neck, gently knotting his purple tie. "The bedroom." he said. "With the, uh, neck tie, and stuff." Eren scratched the back of his neck and looked away.

"Mm." Levi said. "That makes sense." Then fell quiet. Eren waited several minutes for him to say something else but Levi was still scouring dishes, somewhat more fervently than before. Eren was about to quietly slip away when Levi finally spoke again.

"Do you remember the police chief that died a few years back?"

"Erwin Smith?" Thinking back Eren could recall hearing about it one the news. There was a huge memorial for him given that he'd died in an undercover drug bust, but Eren had been young so it wasn't something on his mind at the time. The only memory he had were the hushed whispers of adult conversations, pretty news anchors, and his father's absence.

"Yeah, I remember when he died."

"I went to his funeral." Levi held up a blue sponge that was dripping with soapy water. Slowly, he began wrapping his fingers around it. Soap and water were foaming from the holes until it was almost dry. When Levi let go it unfurled to it's original shape. "I was afraid I was going to do the same for you."

"...Levi?"

"I have memories of you that you don't. I can't expect you to feel the same about me, Eren. But I know that if I ever want to be a safe person I need to make it safe for you to be angry with me."

Eren could offer nothing but silence and astonishment.

"Therefore, I know you might need time to warm up to me again. So I thought I should treat you like I do everyone else. Give you time to decide how you feel about me."

"Levi... that's..."

"I care about you, Eren. But I've lost people before. So I want to be..." Levi paused. The faucet was running but Levi didn't seem to notice, his hands stiffly holding an unwashed mug as he stared into nothing. "I guess I want to be cautious. Because I think..." Instead of finishing his sentence, Levi shook his head, finished wiping out the cup and set it on the drying rack.

Eren took a step closer, still holding the counter. "Do you... do you like me?"

Now Levi had no trouble looking Eren right in the eye. "I committed seven felonies for you."

"...Seven?"

Levi had gone back to washing up. "Seven."

He took a moment to wonder what those seven felonies were but decided Levi probably wouldn't tell him, so Eren broached another topic. "You really thought I was in danger, didn't you?"

Levi said nothing so Eren tried to bait him with another question. "Well, then what were you going to say a minute ago?" He took a step closer, now at the very edge of Levi's sink. "You think... what?"

"I think," Levi said. "You should call Armin?"

"What? You'd let me!?"

Levi sighed. "Eren, you're not a hostage. You're a... guest, I guess. But not a hostage. You can call Armin, you can call that angry girl, you can even go back to your dad if you really want to. The only thing I will prevent you from doing is telling them where we are." Levi turned his back on Eren so he could put away the dry dishes. "But if you do go, I won't be able to see you again. And I hope you know why."

Eren wanted to see if there was any emotion on Levi's face but with his back to Eren it was impossible.

"Why," Eren asked. "Do you think I should call Armin?"

Levi finally turned around, enabling Eren to see blank demeanor. "Just call him, Eren. I don't have the energy to explain anything else to you right now."

Eren had to call three times. The number was blocked and Eren figured Armin wouldn't pick up because of this. But then he finally heard his friend's voice.

"Hello?"

For a moment he couldn't speak, the memories of Armin colliding with one another as Eren tried to remember when he had last seen his friend. It was like picking paper up from water. Soft and lovely, but pieces were disintegrating into colorless wisps.

"...Hello?"

Eren blinked rapidly, adjusting the receiver so it was close to his lips. "Armin... It's—"

"...Eren? Eren!?" With each iteration of his friend's name Armin's voice got a little bit higher.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm okay."

"It's been so long! You were asleep we didn't think you would wake up, I can't believe you're okay! Where are you? Can I come—"

"Armin," Eren interrupted. "I'm okay. I just woke up. They're taking good care of me."

"They? You mean Levi? There's a they?"

Eren hesitated. "I... can't say much. But I'm okay. I just wanted to call you. Say hi."

"I'm glad you did. I can't wait to see you."

"I know." Eren glanced down the hall he had come from; the hall that lead to the kitchen. "But I had a question for you."

"Of course." Armin said. "What did you want to ask?"

"Did you... did you and Levi have a conversation about me?"

Eren was naked, wet and shivering. He wiped his wet bangs out of his eyes and stared at the gentle slope the floor made towards the drain. Eren's atrophied muscles were sagging from his bones and it was easy to count the nubs of his spine. The temperature gauge was turned all the way up to hot but even from the threshold of the shower Levi could feel the cold mist of the water. Eren sniffled.

"What the fuck?" As he stared at Eren huddled in the corner of the shower stall, it was all Levi could possibly say.

Immediately he turned off the water and grabbed a bundle of towels. Now there was nothing to say, only things to do. He draped a clean hand towel over Eren's head and wrapped the rest of him in a large beach towel. Scooping Eren off the wet shower floor, Levi carried him without difficulty back to his cot.

"Levi—" Eren weakly pushed against his chest. "It's okay you don't have to—"

"You're right," Levi placed Eren on the bed and pulled the covers over Eren's bare lap so that his entire body was now covered. "I don't have to." Without disturbing Eren's cover up, Levi sat adjacent and put his hands on the towel that was draped over Eren's head. "So tell me no. And I'll leave."

Eren was staring at his own lap, his cheeks burning almost as hot as the tears behind his eyes. While he was wallowing in his emotions Levi had begun massaging Eren's scalp. Suddenly, all he knew was that Levi's hands knew how to make him feel good. And safe. And tired.

Slowly Eren closed his eyes. Levi put his palms on Eren's temples, using the position as leverage to massage the back of Eren's head.

Then, Eren slowly leaned forward until his forehead rested on Levi's shoulder.

And everyone was quiet. Levi hesitated just long enough to catch his own breath before wrapping the towel around Eren's thin neck, gently wiping at the dewy moisture left on there with the towel. It wasn't until Levi felt Eren's warm tears on his skin that he broke the silence.

"You were gone for two hours." He said. "And then finding you like this. What the hell happened?"

Before he answered Eren sniffed and wiped his nose on the towel. "I—I called Armin."

"And?"

Instead of speaking Eren began to shiver, his mouth open like a baby bird as he searched for words.

Levi groaned. "Fuck that kid." He wrapped one arm Eren's head to keep him close, using his other hand to bolster their weight against the bed. "I'm damn sure he told you too much."

"You... didn't want me to know?"

"No," Levi sighed. "Not like that. Fuck, you've been awake less than a day, I wanted you to rest and—"

"You don't have to explain anymore."

Levi was quiet, his shoulder's tense against Eren's cheek.

"He told me about my..." Eren paused, suddenly as tense as Levi. "F-Father. And how you..." Eren covered his mouth to stifle a sob. "All the things you did."

Eren could feel Levi's shoulders softening. He began softly stroking the back of Eren's head with his thumb.

"I was going to tell you everything, Eren. I just wanted you to recover first, find your feet. And I'm sorry if that was the wrong decision."

Eren wrapped one of his arms around Levi's neck. "You have nothing to apologize for."

"Mm. I'm supposed to be comforting you, I think."

Eren continued with his own thought. "You saved my life, Levi." Then, his voice cracked like fine glass. "But that means," Levi could feel the tears again . "That my dad—All of the things—"

"Hey," Levi took Eren by the shoulders and pulled him up so that he was now looking Levi in the eye. "Is this what you were thinking about?"

With his head hanging, Eren nodded. To his surprise, Levi put a finger gingerly under his chin and lifted until Eren was looking straight into Levi's eyes.

"I need you to listen closely." He whispered. "Do you understand?"

"I... what?"

"I'm going to leave and by the time you come back you're going to be dressed. Understand?"

Eren blushed, pulling his towel a little tighter around his body. "Mmhmm."

"Good." Levi left, closing the door behind him. Eren wasn't quite sure why he felt disappointed. Suddenly feeling cold, Eren threw off the covers and looked in the nightstand for spare clothes. He found a pair of red flannel pajama pants and a simple black tee that was a two sizes large. He put them on before climbing back into bed and tucking his knees into the belly of the shirt.

It wasn't long before Levi opened the door again. In his hands was a laptop that just so happened to be open, the homepage for Netflix displayed on the screen. Eren wasn't sure if this was an invitation, an innuendo, or kindness.

A/N: Netflix and chill, my friends. Thank you everyone for your loving support of this fic, I really appreciate it. I'm trying to get an update out for Blood of the Wolf as well as an Ereri Christmas fic before the fated 25th but we shall see. Life happens. Anyway, thanks for reading! - Kay