Who's ready to see them sleep together? Huh? Anyone? :3

Also, this story just got over 100 reviews! :D Thank you all so much! Just for that I'm going to give you this wonderful chapter! Enjoy!


Chapter 12: All We Found Was a Bump in the Road

Eren was panicking.

Sleep? With Levi?!

That man was way too cunning. If he wanted to know something he wouldn't stop until he got it. But he couldn't let Levi know that! He'd already spilled enough down by the docks, and no amount of "I'll be there for you" or group therapy sessions was going to persuade him into telling Levi about his inability to sleep. It was nice talking to Levi and Eren felt a lot better afterwards, but talking about it wouldn't do anything except get Eren yelled at and within the next couple of days it wouldn't even be a problem anymore.

Eren took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. It wouldn't even be a problem tonight. Simply being next to Levi helped him feel better and made it easier to sleep. If yesterday and that day under the tree was anything to go by, not only would Eren be fast asleep but he'd also end up attached to Levi at some point too. That part he was not looking forward to.

Not only that, but the entire time he was at the cottage there hadn't been a single wisp of darkness in the corners, not one breathe was difficult to breath in. The feelings he always felt at the mansion were nothing but a myth here. That was saying something too, considering that not even being with Levi could get rid of it completely. And that was the reason why Eren had trouble sleeping! He didn't know why he got those feelings, but regardless, he couldn't get them here and Eren was planning on using that to his advantage.

Finally… sleep!

Levi, on the other hand, was confident that he was going to learn something about Eren's strange sleeping patters. He had to. Eren may refuse to tell Levi but whatever was going on was obviously hurting him. So, either he was a masochist or just plain stupid… maybe both. Whatever it was, Levi was going to find out something…

Anything…

He was…

He was going to find out…

THUMP

He was going to find out that Eren was a horrendous sleeper.

Turns out, if Eren wasn't holding on to something, like a pillow or say… Levi, he didn't just toss and turn, oh no, he flailed… At least in the beginning.

Eren was fast asleep minutes after hitting the pillow, as close to the edge and as far away from Levi as possible. Then, about half an hour later, he damn near simultaneously stole most of the covers, leaving Levi completely exposed and freezing, then kicked them off. What was the point of stealing the damn covers if he wasn't going to use them?! Of course, once the covers had been properly taken care of by Eren, he splayed himself out like a starfish. What was wrong with this kid?! Was the bed just not comfortable?

Oh, and that thud from before? That was Eren rolling off the bed.

And it didn't wake him up.

At least Eren's pillow had gone with him, so now that he had something to hold on to he was much quieter.

Levi was sorely tempted just to leave him there. He was hell in bed, and not in the good way. And now that he was hugging his pillow like a horny teenager, Eren had stilled in his movements and the only noise was the sound of his soft breathing. Plus, with Eren out, Levi might actually get a decent night's sleep.

But… the floor wasn't really that comfortable. Not to mention that if Eren did spent the rest of the night on the floor, while Levi would have a good, quiet night's sleep he would then have to deal with a very loudly complaining and sore Eren all day tomorrow.

Levi's humanity and his less than thrilled attitude on the idea of a complaining Eren forced himself out of bed and over to the soundly sleeping Eren. He let out a sigh once he laid eyes on the curled up boy who was probably going to have a bruise somewhere on his body from falling onto the floor.

When Levi said he needed to know anything… this wasn't what he meant. Now had Eren woken up from the fall, Levi might have chalked it all up to Eren always getting a bad night's sleep because he would flail so much that it would wake him up. But Eren hadn't woken up… So obviously that wasn't the problem.

Before Levi could haul Eren's clumsy ass back on the bed, he pulled a spare pillow from the closet. He wasn't about to take away the one thing keeping Eren quiet and still, but he wasn't going to leave Eren without a pillow either.

After placing the pillow on the bed, where Eren's head should have been, Levi then turned his attention to the problem of actually getting Eren back on the bed.

Levi didn't really like the idea of waking Eren up, so he would somehow have to pick Eren up without disturbing him at the same time.

Squatting down, Levi gently slipped one hand under Eren's knees and the other under his shoulder. In small, careful nudges, Levi maneuvered his hands and Eren's body so that when he eventually did pick Eren up, he'd be holding Eren bridal style. Levi didn't actually know how heavy Eren really was, so he braced himself for the worst and…

Almost over did it. How was a brat who was taller than him still lighter than him? … Levi didn't think he was getting fat…

Rolling his eyes at the sudden and out of character self-conscious thought, Levi made to place Eren back on the bed, but faltered when he felt Eren curling into his body. Eren had loosened his hold on the pillow in favor of making himself more comfortable in Levi's arms.

"Don't get used to it, kid," Levi muttered in a whisper, all while trying to pour ice cold water on the warmth growing in his chest. Finally placing Eren back on the bed, Levi watched as Eren resumed his previous hold on his pillow and settle back into the mattress. Levi knelt down and continued to stare at his fiancé.

The last time Levi had seen Eren this peaceful was under the tree in the backyard of the mansion.

He was just as beautiful then too. Much more vibrant in the open sunlight rather than a dark bedroom in the woods, but still just as beautiful.

Levi lightly brushed a couple of strands of Eren's hair back and tracing his fingers down and along the side of his face, wondering just how he was managing to fall for such talkative, energetic, and extreme brat who had just barely begun to trust him.

He really wished that Hanji hadn't been right all along.


In the end, Levi learned nothing.

Eren, though a bit rough in the beginning, fell asleep like any normal person and stayed asleep until morning like any normal person… Except for the part where he fell out of bed again. Levi wasn't sure when it happened, since he'd been asleep the second time, but he ended up putting Eren back in bed before the boy could wake up. Other than that, there was nothing to indicate that Eren had any trouble sleeping at night.

The only thing that could be counted as suspicious was that, despite going to bed kind of early, Eren slept in until noon. As far as Levi knew, Eren had been getting up a lot earlier over the week, so why would he sleep in today?

Levi pondered over the possible reasons in his head while he read one of the dusty books that had been left at the cottage. Meanwhile, a newly awoken Eren was scrounging up something to eat for lunch before they left. All they had was leftover pizza, but it wouldn't hurt to look, right?

"Just eat the rest of the pizza already," Levi called out, not even looking up from his book. "There's nothing else in there, and if there is then it's probably not even recognizable as food anymore let alone edible."

"It doesn't hurt to check!" Eren called back. "Ow!"

"Oh? Did you get hurt?"

"Shut up! I just bumped my head, alright?"

Levi snickered to himself. It would never be boring with Eren around, that much was certain. As if to prove that, Eren came waltzing in with a cold slice of pizza in one hand and the other piece still shoved into his mouth.

"Web-"

"Do not," Levi interrupted sharply, "think that you are going to say anything with pizza hanging out of your mouth."

Eren made a face, but finished off that slice before he tried talking again. "When are we leaving?"

"So eager to return?" Levi almost laughed again at Eren's small glare. "We can leave whenever you're ready."

Eren nodded, but then hesitated. "We're not hiking back right?"

"Definitely not. And not just because my father wants us back soon."

"Are you implying something?" Eren prodded, a slight smile on his face.

Levi turned around on the couch to look straight at Eren and with all of the seriousness he could muster said, "The backwoods savages are more likely to attack us if we hike back."

But Eren just rolled his eyes. "Whatever, you suck."

Levi smirked in victory and went back to his book, leaving Eren to finish packing.

Once Eren was ready to leave, Levi had already been ready hours ago, they set off back towards the mansion. Eren gazed back at the cottage as they drove away, the trees quickly blocking it from sight even though they hadn't made it off the driveway yet.

For some reason, he couldn't help but have this strange feeling of impending doom the farther they drove.

No.

Eren knew exactly why he felt like that. He was terrified that all of those horrible sensations of the mansion would still be there, just waiting to wrap themselves back around his throat. He wasn't sure why they'd disappeared at the cottage, but he was pretty sure that spending one night someplace else wouldn't get rid of them for good. But Eren would just have to endure it for one more night. Just one more night and he could go home.

"You alright?" Levi asked suddenly. Eren's discomfort at going back must have been obvious.

Still he nodded, refusing to let anyone know. "I'm fine."

"Eren," Levi warned.

"Drop it," Eren snapped firmly. Turns out Eren really wasn't a very good liar, especially not around Levi. Of course, that still didn't mean Eren had to tell him anything. "I'm fine," he restated, leaving no room for argument.

It probably took a lot of effort for Levi to keep calm, but after only a moment's pause he said, "Just remember, if you ever feeling like telling me the truth, I'll be listening."

Eren regarded the soft words carefully, feeling a sort of comfort from them and eventually even smiling from them.

Levi, despite the very rocky start to their relationship this week, had been nothing but a sort of rock for Eren. He'd tried to see eye to eye with Eren, tried to be friends with Eren, tried to help Eren, went along with Eren's schemes… and listened to Eren, like he actually cared about what he had to say. And Eren was eternally grateful for that.

Maybe… that's why Eren always felt better around Levi. Levi was that one sliver of hope, the one good thing about being forced into this. While they had both been very against the marriage, they at least could take comfort in each other. Levi really was in the same boat as him so… could he trust Levi enough to tell him everything? About his feelings?

They were getting close to the mansion now, Eren could recognize the nearby neighborhoods. They'd spent the nearly two hour drive back in almost complete silence, a thoughtful yet comfortable silence.

Well, if Levi really would listen like he said he would… then what was the harm in trying? He'd be fine tomorrow so it would be okay right?

Right.

Bzzt bzzt

Eren jumped, not expecting his phone to go off. His friends should still be at the lake house and there was not very good reception there… Who was calling him? His dad?

"Hello?"

"Eren, you picked up." It was his dad.

"Yeah… why wouldn't I?" Eren asked, confused.

"I just… thought you'd be angry with me," Grisha answered cautiously.

"No… at least not now anyway." Eren had, after all, decided to put this whole marriage thing behind him and try to stop focusing on it, per Levi's request. He couldn't stay mad at his dad forever. Besides, this week had turned out better than expected.

"Oh! Okay. I was just calling to find out when would be a good time for you to come over."

Wait, come over? What? "Come over? I'm coming back tomorrow, I thought that's what was agreed on… right? Unless you were going to pick me up today," Eren couldn't contain the tiny bit of excitement that slipped through.

"Oh… They… haven't told you yet?"

"Told me?" Eren glanced back over to Levi curiously. He was sporting a bit of a worried face, which made Eren worried as well. "Told me what?"

"Ah shit…" Grisha breathed on the other side. Eren could almost see him rubbing a hand over his face, just like he always did when he had bad news. "You're not coming back tomorrow."

"What?" It was a small whimper, one that Eren had barely been able to get out in the first place. "What did you say?"

"Francis Voclain, Levi's grandfather, has insisted that you remain at the mansion until he and his wife returns so that he can be sure to meet you."

"And when will he return…?" Eren could vaguely remember asking this question before, but could no longer remember what the answer was supposed to be, even if he tried.

"In a few weeks, but the exact date isn't known. Which is why he wants you to stay-"

Eren ended the call, gripping his phone with white knuckles. The silence was no longer very comfortable.

"Did you know?" Eren whispered.

Levi didn't have to ask. "I received a call this morning from my father while you were still asleep."

"And when exactly were you planning on telling me?"

"Eren-"

"Well?!" Eren shouted, startling Levi a bit. "When exactly was I going to be informed about this?!"

"Eren, just listen-"

"What?! Why was it so impossible to tell me back at the cottage?!" Eren could feel the angry bubble up. He couldn't stop it. How could he? How could Levi? Eren jumped out of the car, not even noticing when they'd gotten back to the mansion.

"Eren!" Levi followed.

"And what about the two fucking hours we spent in the car, huh?! Could you not squeeze it in with all the talking we were doing?!" Levi glared at the sarcastic remark, losing patience.

"I was planning on waiting until we got back to the mansion so we could discuss this calmly with my father who actually knows the details about this change of plans, but clearly that isn't going to happen! I wasn't expecting your dad to call you!"

"You left me in the dark!" Eren accused, pointing a finger at Levi. "You purposefully kept something important from me!"

"What difference would it have made?!"

"All of the difference in the world!" Eren took shaky breaths, sniffling a bit while trying to keep back tears. "And you have no idea how…" His lip was trembling. He needed to get away. He needed to be alone.

"Eren, I-"

"Leave me alone."

"Eren-"

"I said leave me alone!" That last fleeting look Eren gave Levi felt like a punch to the face. Betrayed.

In one simple mistake, Levi knew that he'd just inadvertently crushed what little trust Eren might have had with him.

Eren ran back inside, past Carlton who'd been on the porch waiting for them to return. Levi let him go, knowing that there was nothing he could say to Eren at this point. He just had to wait until Eren had calmed down enough to talk to.

"Damn it!" Levi swore, bringing his fist down hard on the roof of his car. Why did Eren have to take it so far out of proportion? He knew that their relationship was shaky at best, but not telling Eren about the change of plans as soon as he found out? That's what he was angry about? And he was still angry even though Levi had clearly stated that they were going to talk about? What the hell?!

… Or was it more than that? Did Eren have some other reason to be mad? Damn it…

Carlton shook his head, pretending to be a father figure again. "This wouldn't have happened if you'd just-"

"Don't. Even. Start."


Eren was panting and gasping for breath by the time he'd reached his room, his prison, and it wasn't because he'd been running up stairs. No, this came from that suffocation, that fucking horrible feeling that refused to leave him. The feeling that attacked him the moment he stepped foot on this property.

He quickly slammed the door shut, locking it for good measure. Unshed tears blurred his vision, but nothing else had changed. It was still the same dark suffocating room. So Eren wobbled over to his pillow throne. He collapsed into it, face buried into one of the makeshift armrests. Anything to try and forget the closing walls, the darkening corners.

He hated it here.

He hated this marriage!

He hated Lev-

No.

He didn't hate Levi… But he couldn't trust him either. How could he…? How could he?! Eren had every right to know what was going on just as much as Levi. Why would he keep something like that from Eren? Especially after spewing all that bullshit about Eren being able to tell him anything.

How was Eren expected to tell Levi everything while Levi didn't have to tell him shit?

And now Eren was stuck here… for another three weeks, at best. All because some old fart wanted him here. What was the big problem with the idea of Eren not being at the mansion the moment Levi's grandpa got back? It's not like it would kill him. Although, who could ever tell when an old person was going to die…

Regardless, it wasn't fair.

Eren couldn't spend another three weeks here! Hell, he could hardly spend one here!

And of course Eren's dad couldn't say no. He'd probably sell his own soul to appease the Voclain house. No, that wasn't right. He'd sell Eren's soul first. He pretty much already did, what with the whole marriage plan.

It felt like his first night here again.

No one to talk to, no one to help him. He was an outcast again, someone who was only there for a means to an end. He couldn't call Armin or Mikasa until tomorrow at the earliest, his parents wouldn't be any help, and he couldn't even bring himself to confide in Chef Hannes. Chef Hannes, who'd always had the best of intentions for Eren, was still a harsh reminder of his situation. And Levi…

Levi was the worst reminder of all.

No matter what he'd done over the past couple of days, no matter what he said, Levi couldn't stop this anymore. Of that, Eren was sure.

Eren choked holding back his sobs.

Even with everything that had happened this past week, the confidant he'd made in Chef Hannes, the friend he'd found in Levi, the oblivious father he'd found in Carlton, Eren couldn't help but feel even more alone than that first night here. Because the only thing worse than having no one to talk to is having someone you can't talk to.

What had Eren done that first night to help him feel better? Oh right, he'd pulled out his notebook and started writing.

Eren shot up to reaching a hand out for his backpack, where he'd put his notebook so he could write at the cottage if need be, but that hand instead found itself pulling at Eren's hair in frustration.

In his fit of rage, Eren had left his backpack in Levi's fancy ass car. There was no way Eren would be able to withstand leaving his room let alone going to find Levi and asking for his backpack.

Eren truly felt like crying now.

What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to deal with this?

He was stuck at this godforsaken mansion for another three weeks, had no more methods to help him sleep or even nap, had no one to talk to or confide in, had no one who could help him at this point, and his one distraction was in the hands of the one person he couldn't talk to.

With nothing to distract him from his harmful thinking and horrid emotions, Eren could feel the walls shrink smaller, smaller, smaller. The air was thick, unbreathable, choking him. It was becoming darker, darker, darker…

There were footsteps. Outside his door.

Eren gasped, his gaze immediately falling to his door, fearful.

Was it Levi?

Another set of footsteps.

He could only hope that no one would try to talk to him now. It was the last thing he needed.

Stifling whatever noises he'd been making, Eren could vaguely hear a conversation outside his room. One that was obviously meant to be quiet.

"Don't even think about it." That was Levi. Definitely Levi.

"I just need to make sure he's alright." And Carlton? Trying to check up on Eren? He never could read the mood of a room right…

"Obviously he's not, and trying to force him into conversation right now isn't going to help."

"I have to do something."

"No, actually you don't. Doing something now will only make it worse."

"But he needs to know what's going to happen from now on."

"And he will," Eren heard Levi snap sharply. "But right now he just needs space to calm down. He'll come out when he's ready." Silence fell, and then finally Eren could hear fading footsteps and a door shut. Carlton had left and so had Levi.

Eren stood, ripping the soft towels from his pillow throne.

Why did Levi have to know him so well?

The blankets came off, leaving the carefully arranged pillows to fall apart.

Why did Levi have to be such a great person?

Eren grabbed the closest pillows and threw them anywhere he could as hard as he could. He didn't care where they ended up.

Why did Levi have to go and ruin it all…?

Eren's fists were shaking. He couldn't see the pillows anymore through his tears. Falling face first in what was left of the demolished pillow throne, he clutched one of the pillows to his face and screamed his throat raw. The pillow soaked up every tear he shed. Even when the moisture became uncomfortable, he continued.

Why couldn't everything just be okay?


It took Eren two hours before he could come out of his room. He'd cried his eyes until they were dry and cracked with tears that had been left to dry there. Then, upon realizing he'd have to face his problems sooner or later, Eren washed his face, trying to dispose of any evidence that he'd been crying that hard.

He could only take a few steps at a time though, so first thing was first. Carefully unlocking and opening his door, Eren treaded across the hall. Two new suitcases stood outside his room, meaning his dad had given up on trying to get Eren to come over and just dropped some more clothes off for him. Kicking them inside his room, he turned back around and knocked on Levi's door. He hoped Levi would be there so Eren wouldn't have to go looking for him.

Thankfully, Levi opened the door, a fairly well concealed look of shock (but not well enough for Eren not to notice) dawned his face. "Eren."

"Do you… have my backpack?" Eren's voice sounded painful to his own ears. It was scratchy and void of most emotion, and even so… it was the best Eren could do at the moment.

Levi nodded, disappearing from view for a moment. During that short time, Eren gained a quick glance inside Levi's room. It lasted for only a couple seconds so Eren hadn't really seen much, though. Levi popped back up, Eren's bag in hand. "Here you go."

Eren peered over Levi's head for a bit longer before tentatively grasped one of the straps, taking it off Levi's hands. "… Thanks." He turned to leave, but Levi wasn't going to let him go that easily.

"What were you looking at?" Levi asked curiously. His voice had an undertone of caution to it, as if one wrong word would shatter Eren.

And in all honesty, that was entirely possible.

"Excuse me?" Eren asked back, turning around.

"You were looking over my shoulder. Why?"

He shrugged. "I just… have never seen your room before. That's all."

Levi saw his chance, possibly his only chance to attempt to rebuild even the tiniest bit of trust between them again.

"Did you want to?"

"No." Oh… damn. Levi had hoped that with all the noise Eren had made that first day, he might've jumped at the thought of seeing Levi's room. Now he just looked like a self-centered asshole.

Eren turned to leave again, but Levi called him back. "Eren."

"What?"

"You… you know that I had never intended to keep that information from you, right? I have no reason to."

In retrospect, Eren knew that he could have said anything. There were a number of replies he could have used. Instead, all he could manage was, "Okay."

"Eren." He turned back around for the third time, obviously becoming very confused. Levi looked as if he'd been frozen mid-sentence, mouth hanging open and hand outstretched towards Eren. He was struggling with something, that much was obvious to Eren. After a while, Levi closed his useless mouth, hand dropping to his side in a frustrated fist. "What do I say to you?"

It took Eren an equally long time as Levi for him to respond. "You haven't said anything to me." And now, Eren was done talking. No matter how many times Levi called out, Eren wouldn't come back. And with the small click of a lock, Levi knew Eren wasn't going to come out any time soon either.

Levi had to stop himself from slamming the door shut. Eren was so fucking frustrating! How could he go from happy-go-lucky and a general pleasure to be around to acting like a fucking brat in the worst possible way?

Not to mention confusing as fuck too. He hadn't said anything to Eren? What the hell did that mean?

Levi had set out on a journey to understand Eren, and all he's gotten from it so far is that Eren hates the marriage and he's fucking impossible to talk to.

Off on the side, Levi could hear his phone vibrating on his desk. Picking it up, he found that Hanji was calling him. Her obnoxious face filling up the screen. Levi was basically 100% sure that she was only calling to learn more about his "boy toy" Eren.

And that's when one treacherous thought flashed through his mind: Hanji would know what to do.

And Levi knew it too. Hanji had a knack for knowing how to fix Levi's problems, and she was much better at handling other people that Levi… But did he really want to swallow his pride, prove Hanji right, and get teased relentlessly for who knows how long? Would he really do that for Eren?

… Shit.

"Levi! You answered! You never answer on the first call!"

"I need your help."

Levi waited, but there was no response. After about thirty seconds, he finally realized that Hanji had hung up on him! Levi angrily redialed, prepared to yell as soon as Hanji picked up.

"Le-"

"What the hell, you piece of shit?!"

"-vi! Oh my god, does that mean I had the right number?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?!"

"I thought I had the wrong number! You never ask me for help!"

"You have me on speed dial… You've memorized my number… You call it at least a thousand times every month! How the hell could you end up with a wrong number?!" Levi took deep, angry breaths. "And I've asked for your help before!" It wasn't very often, but it did happen.

"You just shocked me is all! You never ask for my help enough," Hanji whined into the phone. "So what can I do for ya?"

"Well now I'm reconsidering," Levi grumbled. He wasn't even joking. This was why he rarely asked Hanji for anything.

"No! No! Tell me! Please!" she begged.

"I… I need help with…" Oh god, here it came… "With my fiancé…" Hanji sputtered a gasp that suddenly had Levi regretting ever considering asking her for help.

"Oh, happy day…" She breathed out. "So what did you do? Piss him off? Freak him out? Clean him too hard?" Hanji snickered at the last one.

"What the hell makes you think that I did something? Maybe he did something!" The silence from the other end was his only answer. Levi took a deep breath, preparing himself for a long chat. "It… it was a little more complicated than that…"

"What happened? Tell me everything."

One of the few good things about Hanji was that she was a great listener. Because her father had been a scientist, Hanji had grown up believing that the only way to truly understand something was learning all of the details about it. So she became very good at hanging off of every word spoken in a conversation, hoping to milk out as much information as she could and rarely forgetting anything. And that's exactly what she did here.

"Well," Hanji started. Levi had told her everything that was relevant to the current problem: Levi had been trying to find out more about Eren (though he was careful not to actually say his name) and he'd had some success and they were almost friends, but then Eren found out about the change of plan prematurely and got angry so now he won't talk to Levi. "Looks like you've got quite the temperamental little bride there."

"No kidding…" Levi threaded his fingers through his hear, resting his head on his hand. "I have no idea why he could be mad, though, other than he just didn't like that I didn't tell him right when I found out."

"No one likes being kept in the dark, Levi."

"I wasn't intentionally trying to keep him in the dark! I just thought it would be best to discuss it with my father who actually knew the details!"

"You didn't take his feelings into account, though." Levi said nothing, urging her silently to continue. "From what I heard last time you talking about him, he wasn't too happy about marrying you. So it would be safe to assume that he wasn't exactly thrilled about being forced to spend a week with you. Now imagine this from his point of view: you finally get to go back home and away from this horrible situation, when out of the blue the information that you have to stay there for another three weeks is dumped on your head like a bucket of cold water. Then, you realize that not only were you the last to know, but someone could have explained it to you in a calm manner beforehand."

Levi mentally groaned. He hated when Hanji made sense. "… Are you sure that's why he's angry?" If so then that brat was extremely melodramatic and overemotional. He could be mad, yes, but to that extent?

"It's a logical reason. I know I'd be pretty upset about that if I was in his shoes. But… there's something else that's bothering me."

And this is why Levi asked for Hanji's help here. Her powers of perception could rival Sherlock Holmes. "What?"

"Well… You basically told your fiancé that he could tell you anything, right? Hoping that he would trust you enough to tell you what you wanted to know? And he actually did to an extent, right?"

"Right, right, and right," Levi answered, nodding his head to each one.

"Then… you didn't tell him something important, right?"

"I believe we've already established that."

"And what did he say to you?"

"That I… hadn't said anything to him… fuck… I'm such an idiot!" Levi smacked his forehead, knowing it was a pathetic punishment for his stupidity.

"The road you're waking is a two way street, Levi. If you want anything from him, then you're going to have to give something in return."

Levi could see that now. And it was so painfully obvious too. Of course he knew he'd have to give something to get something, especially with Eren. He'd already had to do it yesterday. He gave his backstory to get Eren's.

"The fact that you can understand the situation that well with so few facts is pretty terrifying."

"Yeah, yeah, you're welcome. Also, I'm going to need that last part in writing. It's not every day our young Levi admits that's he's an idiot~!"

Levi hung up on her. He'd already shown his gratitude in his own way (that Hanji thankfully understood) so he didn't need to be pestered by Hanji's teasing anymore.


Dinner time rolled around, and that's when Eren finally left his room for more than a couple minutes to grab a bag in an awkward, almost one-sided conversation. However, he kept to himself for most of the time, barely even looking in anyone's general direction. Levi couldn't tell if he was lost in thought or still upset.

Over dinner, Carlton explained the new "rules". Since the old rules had been conditional to the trial week, new ones had to be made for the long term stay. Although, they were less rules and more like guidelines.

Eren would be living in the mansion as if already part of the family. Really, though, the only difference that would make would mean that there would be no scheduling of lunch and dinner and Eren and Levi would have complete control over their free time. Meaning that they could spend time together, but it wasn't necessary anymore. As for school, since none of his friends were close enough to pick him up easily, Eren could either be driven directly to and from school in as inconspicuous a car as possible by a chauffeur, or the chauffeur could drive him to his house so Eren could be picked up by his friends.

Needless to say that Eren chose the last option without hesitation. It would mean waking up earlier, but Eren wasn't about to give up spending as much time with his friends as possible.

Carlton was surprisingly the first one to finish. And as if he knew that Eren and Levi needed to talk alone, Carlton was also the first to leave. As soon as he was out of earshot, Levi was going to-

"Levi?" Or not. He paused in picking at what was left of his food (just like Eren was doing) giving Eren his full attention. "I'm sorry. I… overreacted earlier today…" Turns out the one good thing about Eren acting like a little shit is that he's apparently always the first to apologize when he was.

But Levi shook his head. "You had every right to be upset. I should have told you when I found out so you wouldn't feel… in the dark about everything. You have the right to know."

"But you were going to tell me when we got back-"

"And in hesitating, you ended up finding out when you weren't prepared."

"But-"

"Will you stop? I'm trying to apologize here." Eren shut up. "I didn't have the right to keep that kind of information from you… especially after insisting that you could tell me anything. It wasn't fair and… I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"

Eren couldn't stop the small smile that slipped out. "I think I can do that." Levi smiled back, unbelievably relieved.

Eren wasn't going to trust Levi just yet, but he could definitely forgive him.


Was that a suitable enough chapter to quench your demand for happiness? No? Good. My plan is working then. MWAHAHAHAHAHA!

No, but seriously, Eren's a dumb fuck. JUST KISS ALREADY!

Maybe if you guys review, they'll kiss sooner… ;) Hahaha just kidding, Eren's too much of a dumb fuck…

Thanks to all who have reviewed so far too! Your comments inspire me…

Hope you enjoyed that chapter!

:)Puppy-Chan(: