March 16, 2013

A month had passed since Levi had gotten drunk with Eren, and they had admitted their feelings for each other. A lot had changed for them. They spent a lot more time together, had sexual encounters more often, went out together, made dinner together, stayed the night more, and became much closer. One day Eren had come over to eat lunch with Levi on a Sunday, and had been watching television in the living room while Levi was in the kitchen making lunch. Levi's living room was full of bookshelves, lined with book after book, after book. But as he was looking at the television, he glanced over at the adjacent bookshelf and on that shelf one of the books caught his eye. It was rather large and said "Memories." He couldn't help himself. He got up, grabbed the book, and sat back down on the couch. Upon opening it, he realized it was a photo album. He smiled seeing the pictures of Levi at different stages of his life. Then towards the end of the book, was Levi at what looked like, 20 or 21, he guessed. Suddenly a girl started to appear in a lot of the photos. She was a small girl, shorter than Levi, with light brown hair down to her shoulders, and brown eyes. Picture after picture of them together, holding hands, smiling, laughing, and then he saw it... And his heart just sunk. It was a picture of Levi happily holding up the girl's hand with a shiny ring sparkling on her ring finger. He took the picture out and stared in disbelief. He felt the tears welling up in his eyes, and slammed the book closed. Meanwhile, Levi was in the kitchen, finishing up the grilled chicken and rice, and making their plates. He took a fork, and cut off a piece of chicken, blowing on it to cool it off.

Then he felt Eren standing next to him, "Oh, hey Eren, your plate is right he-"

He dropped the fork. When he had turned he saw Eren, face filled with emotion, holding a picture in his hand. Levi didn't have to ask, he already knew what it was. He felt his lungs tighten, his head dropped down, and he was unable to move.

"Levi... Who is she...?"

He looked at Levi, tears welling up in the corner of his eyes, his voice shaky.

"How could you not tell me you were almost married?! Do I mean nothing to you?! Am I a joke to you?! Are you just messing with me because you think I'm some stupid kid?! I thought you liked me, what the he-"

"Shut up!"

"No! I am no-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

He lifted up his head, and stared at Eren, tears rolling down his face.

"Oh my god, Levi..."

He ran up to him and wrapped his arms around him, holding him close, while running a hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry, Levi. I was just upset, and wasn't thinking..."

He felt Levi crying into his chest, and had to fight to not begin to cry himself. He planted kisses all over Levi's head. He had never seen Levi look so vulnerable before. He never wanted to let him go. He wanted to comfort and hold him forever. He rested his chin on Levi's head and just held him close. Levi then said something against his chest, but Eren couldn't quite understand.

"Levi, I'm sorry. I couldn't hear you... Speak up..."

He slightly lifted his head off of his chest.

"Her name was Petra..."

He sighed, his voice shaky and unsure.

"She… She was my fiancé..."

Eren ran his hand down Levi's back, "It's alright you don't have to tell me if it hurts to talk about it."

Levi pulled his head back completely, looking up into Eren's eyes, his eyes still watering.

"No. You deserve to know..."

Eren kissed his forehead, and then wiped away Levi's tears with his hand.

"I lost my parents when I was fairly young and I didn't have a good childhood at all. I got into some bad stuff... I joined the Yakuza… Got all of my tattoos, got heavily into drugs and alcohol, and became a well-known member... I was really intimidating and knew how to fight. I still have many scars that remind me of all the fights I endured... People feared my name. If anyone ever underestimated me because of my size, I'd prove them wrong... I did lots of terrible things... Things I regret... I was truly scum..."

Eren was shocked, but touched that Levi was being so open with him. He kissed Levi's nose, before he continued.

"Then I met Petra... I had been jumped by a large group of men... I fought off as many as I could, but they fought dirty, and I was stabbed multiple times, and badly beaten... Left to die in an alleyway alone... As I was fading out of consciousness and accepting that those would be my final moments of life, I remember opening my eyes and seeing her face for the first time before everything went black. I woke up later to see her face again... I had apparently been taken to the hospital by her, and I owed her my life... I ended up quitting the life I was living, and tried to start over. It was hard... Really fucking hard... But she was there every step of the way... We ended getting along really well, and everything just felt right together. We dated for 3 years, and I ended up proposing to her. But one day, she had been driving to go run an errand, and a car crashed into her because they weren't paying attention... She was killed on impact... I found out she had been killed when the police called me and told me over the phone... My whole world fell apart... After her funeral, I lost sight of who I was, and everything turned to shit again... I turned to alcohol and got drunk nearly every day... Trying so hard to forget... It never worked... But I couldn't stop because it was the only thing that numbed the pain..."

Levi's eyes started to water heavily again, and Eren's heart was shattering into a million pieces.

"I didn't know what to do... I was so lost... I needed help, desperately. Otherwise I would have just ended up drinking myself to death. Fortunately for me, one day, after passing out outside of a bar, I woke up to being carried by this really tall man in a suit. I was too fucked up and out of it to care, so I allowed him to put me in the car and take me with him. He was surprisingly gentle and caring. He didn't seem like a bad guy at all. I had passed out in the car and I woke up the next day in an unfamiliar bed, with an awful hangover. I looked over to see the man sitting by the bed with a glass of water in his hand. He handed me the glass and said 'Good morning…' I didn't know him, but something about him just led me to trust him immediately. I took the water and listened to him talk. He said his name was Erwin. He explained that he had seen me passed out and simply wanted to help me. He asked the bartender if he knew who I was, and he told him I came there a lot because someone close to me had died... I guess he took me home and decided he'd be there to help me out. He slowly helped me stop drinking, and became a really good friend. He helped me get a job where he worked. I became his real estate assistant. I took classes, and eventually became my own realtor... It's been years since she passed... Years since I met Erwin... We still work together, except now I'm the boss of the whole office, surprisingly..."

A small smile graced Levi's face.

"Things turned out okay, I guess... Fate must have pitied me and allowed me to be fortunate enough to meet you... Now, everything feels complete again..."

Eren was speechless. He was still trying to process everything he had just been told but was so incredibly happy that Levi trusted him and had told him all of this.

"I'm sorry that happened to you, Levi. I really am. I'm sorry for getting mad at you earlier... I also know how it feels to lose someone close to you..."

He stared into Levi's smoldering eyes, finding enough comfort to continue on.

"I know that pain... My mom was killed when I was young. People broke into our house and shot her... Me, and my adopted sister Mikasa, saw the whole thing happen... Thankfully my dad had pulled into the driveway and saw the door kicked open, and called the cops. They ran away when they heard the sirens... But I still see that image in my head all the time, of my mom on the floor dead… Crimson liquid pooled around her head…"

Tears started rolling down his own cheeks now.

"I know how you feel, Levi... It's awful... If it weren't for my sister and my best friend Armin, I don't know what I would have done... I probably would have killed myself, honestly…"

Levi wiped the tears from his face, feeling his heart sink as the boy cried.

"Eren... If it means anything, I'm here for you... And I... I love you..."

Eren froze. That was the first time he had said those words to him. It warmed his heart for the first time since his mother had been killed.

"I love you, too..."

They hugged, and enjoyed the warmth of the embrace. Eren used his hand to push up Levi's chin, leaning down to give him a slow, meaningful kiss. After pulling apart for air, Eren whispered onto Levi's lips.

"I think we were meant to meet each other..."

Levi smiled against his lips, "I think we were, too..."

They kissed again, before Levi pulled back suddenly, "Fuck! I'm sorry, I completely forgot about the food! Ugh, we'll have to warm it up in the microwave..."

Eren smiled at him, "That's okay, babe."

Levi raised an eyebrow at him.

"Babe?"

"Yeah? We're dating now, aren't we?"

Levi slowly smiled.

"Yeah, I guess we are."

He grabbed Eren's hand, smiling even wider, "Yes, we are..." and leaned his head onto Eren's arm.

He was so glad he decided to walk into the coffee shop's doors that day, so unbelievably glad.