When Eren saw the body (and stopped screaming) he remembered. He remembered how he got there. He remembered his father missing for years, only coming up the stairs for food. He remembered no conversation with anyone other than Mikasa and occasionally Armin, when he had the time.
He laid his eyes on his own corpse, laying there on the table. Well, almost corpse. It looked dead. It's skin was ashy, it's breathing slow. The machines went on, the only things keeping his body alive.
Eren wondered briefly what would have happened if his body had died. Would he live if his body was dead? According to that notebook, he didn't have much time until some part of him died. What would happen if he touched the body? He came closer to it, closer to the nearly rotting flesh. The body was definitely malnourished. If he returned, he would feel like absolute shit. He would have to go through rehab or something. His body had been inactive for a while, after all.
But if he didn't, he would die. If he didn't return soon, he would never have a chance to feel again. To see Levi again.
"Fuck!" he screamed kicking the nearest wall. Or, he tried to kick it. His foot went right through it. The horrible reality of his situation came crashing down on him all at once. He felt tears threaten to spill. Slowly, he turned back to his body. He stumbled toward it, tripping over nothing, then regaining his balance.
If he touched his body, would he come back? Would he remember how to work a body? How to breathe? What if he forgot?
Or, what if he stopped thinking about the "what if" and just fucking tried it.
And so he did. He reached out, his hand instinctively going to the back of his neck. He made contact with the cold skin. He felt a strong force pulling him in, like a tornado was pulling him toward the skin at the base of his neck. And then, there was nothing.
"So when I woke up I went up the stairs, which didn't have an opening at the top so I had to get a hammer and smash through the top. Sorry about that, by the way. The hammer was hard to hold. And when I got up here, you were talking with that priest guy." Eren finished, tired from having spoken so much. Levi nodded, trying to process what Eren was telling him.
Without thinking, he reached out and took Eren's hand in his, holding it tightly.
"You're really alive, huh," Levi smiled. It was the first genuine smile Eren had seen from him. If it surprised Eren, he didn't show it. He just smiled back and closed his eyes.
"Do you want to try to eat something?" asked Levi after a while. Eren nodded.
"I'll go get something," said Levi awkwardly, standing up and heading to the kitchen. Levi decided that solid food wasn't the best idea, so he got a big jar of applesauce out of the fridge and hurried back to Eren's side.
Eren sat up again and ate the applesauce quietly, thanking Levi and eating slowly in order to savor the taste and the cold feeling of the applesauce on his tongue. Then, he looked up at Levi, his eyes wide.
"Levi!" Eren said excitedly, "Can you call Mikasa and Armin over?"
"Sure, but I don't have their numbers," said Levi. It was important that Armin and Mikasa knew, sure, but for some selfish reason, Levi wanted Eren all to himself right then.
"I'll tell them to you," said Eren excitedly, completely missing Levi's tone.
"Fine," Levi huffed and brought out his phone, punching in the numbers Eren told him and waiting.
"Hello?" a female voice said on the other end. Briefly, Levi wondered if he should put the phone on speaker.
"Hello," he said. He heard silence on the other end. It was angry silence. Eren was nearly bouncing with joy beside him.
"What's wrong?" Mikasa asked, sounding concerned, "Did something happen to Eren? Is he all right?"
Levi glanced at Eren, who was gazing at the wall and snuggling into his blanket, savoring the warmth.
"Maybe you should just come over," Levi said vaguely, "And bring Armin, too."
He hung up before Mikasa could say anything else and plopped back down on the bed. Eren turned his head to look at Levi with hopeful eyes. Damn those eyes.
"Are they coming?" he asked. He looked worn out and tired, but excited all the same, and Levi couldn't help but think it was endearing.
"I assume so," said Levi. He pulled the blanket over himself and up to his chin, awaiting Eren's response. None came. A quick look beside him revealed that Eren had fallen asleep again.
Levi sighed and rolled over so he was facing Eren. His face was more childlike than usual. The ashy tone of his skin had changed to a normal skin tone, slightly flushed. He didn't look all that dead anymore. His breathing was even, and he was very much alive. He was there.
Levi reached out a hand to tuck a strand of hair behind Eren's ear, knowing it was stupid and it was something you would normally do to a girl. He was caught up in the moment, with Eren alive, and he could feel Eren's warmth, his hair, his skin...
Levi moved his hand down to caress Eren's cheek, which was soft and smooth, just like he had imagined. He ran his fingers through Eren's fluffy (but somewhat dry) hair. He let himself drown in the feeling of actually touching Eren for the first time since he met him. When Eren woke up, he would go back to his stoic and cold-hearted self. But, for now...
Levi leaned in closer, and after one quick look to make sure Eren was asleep, gave him a small kiss on the forehead. Then, on the nose. And once, quickly, on the lips, before turning the other way and trying to get some sleep before those noisy kids came over. His face grew hot and he buried it into the blankets, falling asleep a few minutes later.
Eren, after waiting a few minutes to make sure Levi was asleep, opened his eyes. He really hadn't fallen asleep, but he had been too tired to say anything to Levi. When Levi started running his long fingers through his hair, it felt nice, so Eren pretended he was asleep.
When he felt Levi's hand gently caress his face, he tried not to shiver.
Then, Levi kissed his forehead. Eren could feel his face starting to flush and mentally cursed himself. Levi doesn't like you that way, Eren told himself. He'll probably kick you out as soon as you're better.
Levi was just getting caught up in the moment, right? Eren wondered this as Levi moved and kissed his nose. It tickled, and Eren had to try his hardest not to move. He was confused, but he wasn't about to let Levi know he was awake the whole time.
Eren went completely still when Levi kissed him on the lips. Levi couldn't feel the same way about Eren as he felt about Levi, right? He was just a hindrance, nothing Levi would want to keep around. But, Levi just kissed him right on the lips. It wiped away a few of Eren's worries, but left him more confused about his emotions than ever.
Later, Eren heard banging on the door. He sat up and stretched. Levi was still asleep, so Eren crept out of bed and slowly made his way to the door. He didn't want to pass out while Armin and Mikasa were there.
"Eren!" Mikasa exclaimed as Eren opened the door. She inspected every inch of Eren, walking around him in a small circle. Armin followed her in and closed the door behind him.
"What did that evil little midget do?" Mikasa asked in a low, threatening tone.
"Nothing, Mikasa," Eren chuckled. Armin narrowed his eyes.
"There's something different about you," Armin said in a half whisper. He moved in closer to Eren, not quite believing what he was seeing.
"What?" asked Mikasa, giving Eren another once-over, but then she stopped. There was something different. Eren looked more thin, like he had a lot less energy. Was his soul fading? She reached out to him tentatively. Her fingers made contact with a solid body and she gasped.
Immediately, without asking any questions, Armin and Mikasa flung themselves at Eren, knocking him to the ground. He let out an "oof" as they squeezed them, tears falling from both of their eyes.
"Eren!" Mikasa whispered, tears streaming steadily down her face. "
I'm here," he smiled and ruffled her hair, enjoying the silky feeling. She sniffed.
Armin was trying his hardest not to cry, but the tears wouldn't stop. Eren was okay. Eren would be okay. And that was really all that mattered to Armin at that point.
Eren got them tissues and told them what happened when they finally calmed down and let him go. They listened seriously, so seriously that Eren almost laughed.
"So you'll be okay now?" asked Armin. His eyes were puffy and red, as well as his nose. His voice was slightly muffled by the snot in his nose.
"Yeah," Eren nodded, smiling gently, "I think so."
Mikasa let out a strangled laugh, holding a tissue up to her nose. Her eyes were puffy as well. She was just so overwhelmed that she finally had her brother back, for sure this time.
"Do you..." Mikasa wiped her nose, "Do you want to come live with Annie and I?"
Eren stopped. Did he? Mikasa was important to him. She was one of the most important people in his life. But, there was Levi. Could he leave Levi all alone? And he didn't' want to inconvenience Annie.
"Not right now," Eren said, deciding to give a vague answer. Mikasa nodded, not wanting to push any further.
Armin didn't even bother to offer. He could see the chemistry between Eren and Levi a mile away. No way did he want to get in the middle of that.
"Are you sure you'll be okay living with Levi?" Mikasa asked as she headed out the door. They spoke for an hour or two after their little sob fest, enough time that her face had returned to normal.
"I've been with him this long," Eren said with a shrug. Mikasa smiled worriedly and left with a goodbye. Armin followed suit.
When Eren returned to the bedroom, Levi was still asleep. It was a miracle, since he knew Levi had fits of insomnia. He got into bed, trying as hard as he could not to wake up Levi. He snuggled into the warm, warm sheets. He fell asleep soon after, right next to the man he had come to love, and who he would attempt to talk to about his feelings the next day.
Hopefully, he would be able to muster up enough courage to do so.