The ride back home to Eren's apartment was less eventful than the boy thought it would be, thankfully. After loading Levi into the passenger's seat and buckling him in, they took off, neither of them looking back at The Dollhouse. Eren kept glancing over the older man over and over, making sure that he wasn't in distress, that he wasn't going to make any moves that would indicate he'd need to pull over. But Levi seemed to fall into a sort of stupor, though he was still mumbling to himself. Occasionally, he'd say something at a slightly higher volume where Eren could make out what he was saying, but none of it held any relevance or made any sense to him, so he ignored it. However, a few sentences he said almost sounded like he was entering the realm of reality again, moments where he asked if they were home yet, but then he'd repeat the question over and over in a flat tone, his eyes empty, and asking the question whether or not Eren answered. He also made grasping motions at the air in front of him, as if he was seeing something tangible in the air, and perhaps that was true. The boy sighed; it was going to be a long night.

First thing was first. He had to get Levi cleaned up and treat his wound. Also, considering it was nearing one in the morning, it would probably be wise to get him into bed. Maybe if he slept, his mental state might improve when he woke up. The two of them arrived at Eren's complex in no time at all, and after they parked, he led him out, guiding him gently into the building, into the elevator and down the hallway, holding him the whole time. The boy murmured into his ear, trying to keep an upbeat tone despite how nervous he felt and how exhausted he was. It wouldn't do any good if he panicked or got frustrated, and he knew he could take anything Levi said personally. He was just thanking every higher power out there that he had gotten the dancer to trust him enough to get him out of there without any further injuries to anyone.

Well, he supposed he was a former dancer now.

"Okay sweet pea," he soothed, rubbing Levi's shoulders as he led him into his apartment. He shut the door behind them and left it unlocked, knowing Petra would be by soon at some point that night. "Let's get you in the bathroom so I can check your hand out."

The older man didn't reply verbally. Rather, he leaned his head against Eren's shoulder, sighing, eyes heavy. Poor thing, the boy thought. He was probably ready to drop, having exhausted himself from his exertions. He was still shaking, probably from a combination of cold and weakness. Carefully, he led him into the bathroom and guided him down onto the closed toilet seat. Levi sat there obediently, eyes still vacant, and he was swaying slightly. When he was sure he wasn't going to move, Eren went over and dug around under his sink for some alcohol, bandages, and anything else he thought he might need. He then brought it all over and sat it down by the toilet, before he crouched down beside the older man, sitting back on his heels so he didn't have to lean all of his weight onto his knees on the hard tiled floor.

"Alright baby, give me your hand," he asked.

Levi didn't obey, choosing instead to stare over Eren's head. The boy sighed; he really should stop expecting responses out of him, but he couldn't help himself. He was so used to Levi responding to him. This was something he was going to have to adjust to.

He took his hand, turning it over so that his palm was facing upwards, and as gently as he possibly could, took off his ruined tie and dropped it to the floor, before he began cleaning his hand with a wet washcloth. His hand was drenched in blood, but luckily, the blood wasn't very dark, and as more blood was washed away, he could see that it was already trying to dry up.

Eren sighed in relief. "Oh good. It's not as deep as I thought, so we won't have to take you to the hospital." He took a closer look, prodding at the wound and turning his hand in so he could see his palm in different light, and finally concluded, "It doesn't look like there's any glass in there either. Good, so all we have to do is clean it. It's still bleeding though…alright, we'll clean it, then stick you in the shower, and then we can bandage it when you come out."

"Clean," Levi repeated in a raspy voice.

Eren nodded, smiling sweetly. "That's right. We're going to clean all those club germs off you. Come on sweetie, up you get."

"Clean," he said again in an apathetic tone, "Clean, clean, blood. Their blood- ashes, blood, clean."

The younger man ignored him, though his gut continued to twist with unease. Once he had Levi standing, he undressed him, heart hurting the entire time. He kissed his cheek, wishing he could take the pain and fear Levi was feeling as his visions tormented him. For now though, while he remained unresponsive, all he could offer was physical comfort and hope that would be enough. When he was all finished being undressed, he turned on the shower and guided him in, prompting him to lift one foot over the rim and then the other. However, when he made no moves to wash himself, Eren sighed again, and kept the shower curtain open enough to grab the shampoo, lather up his hands, and set to washing him himself.

The shower went as smoothly as could be expected, though Levi still remained eerily apathetic and quiet, still not reacting to his surroundings except when Eren asked him to do so, and that was only doing over half the work of the activity for him. The boy was at least happy that the other man was humming appreciatively as he washed his hair, scrubbing at his scalp. His eyes closed at the action, and he started to sway, obviously being relaxed to the point where he was beginning to fall asleep.

When they finished, Levi was more asleep than awake, and Eren supposed he was very grateful for that. It must have meant that things in his head were calming down enough for him to rest. He shut off the water and helped him step out of the tub, saying, "Alright my poor tired baby, let's get you dressed, your teeth brushed and put you to bed."

He dried Levi off and bandaged his hand, before sitting him on the toilet again. He then went and grabbed him some pajamas were just some old, worn clothes of Eren's. He came back and dressed the older man tenderly, kissing his forehead after slipping the shirt over his head.

"There, is that comfortable?" he asked. "You're dressed in my clothes, just like you wanted. They should be nice and soft."

Levi made a few soft guttural sounds in response, but they didn't sound distressed. More like he wanted to express himself but had no idea how at the moment. Instead, he leaned forward and placed his forehead against the boy's shoulder, sighing and pushing his nose against his neck. Eren cupped his neck and gave him a soft squeeze.

"I know. My poor tired kitten," he said. "Come on, teeth next."

Eren helped him with his teeth, Levi leaning heavily against him the entire time, barely conscious at this point. Once that was finished, he led him to his bed, pulling back the blankets and helping him sit down onto the soft mattress. Luckily after that, he needed no further encouraging from his boyfriend to lay down and get comfortable. He curled up on his side as Eren pulled the blankets over him up to his shoulders, the boy noting with aching eyes that it was close to two in the morning now. He glanced over at the other pillow and saw that Alastair was already curled up on it, his eyes cracking open as the bed was jostled.

"Lucky," Eren grumbled. "I'd like to be able to sleep whenever I want too, you spoiled thing."

Alastair answered him with a yawn, and then a stretch, back arching into what Eren called his Halloween cat pose. His cat then picked his way over towards the occupant in the bed, leaning down to sniff at Levi's face. The boy held his breath; he had no idea what the other man would do in his current state, and while he didn't think he'd hurt Alastair, he was still tense. But of course, he had nothing to worry about. When Levi felt the damp nose against his own, he smiled and pulled a hand out from underneath the blankets, before beginning to stroke the cat from his head all the way down his back, Alastair's butt rising into the air to meet his hand.

"Kitty kitty kitty," he sighed sleepily, and it made Eren smile to hear it. At least he was connecting to reality a little bit.

Alastair then walked up to Levi's pillow and laid down, curling up around his head. Then, to Eren's amusement, after purring happily for a moment or two, he began licking his wet hair, his purring not ceasing, as if trying to dry the wet fur of an adventurous, unruly kitten. The entire time Eren got himself ready for bed as well, Alastair didn't leave his boyfriend, as if he could sense that there was something very wrong, that there was fear crackling all over Levi that shouldn't be there. So he pulled out all the tricks that a cat could to calm him down, and it seemed to work. Between Alastair's warmth, his purring, and the familiar smell of Eren in the bed, Levi was asleep long before the boy actually finished getting ready for bed.

It was actually just as he was about to crawl into bed that Petra ended up texting him saying that she was waiting outside to come in. Eren sighed heavily, but knew he would like her input before he passed a night alone with this "new" Levi, and replied to come right up, what his apartment number was, and that the door was unlocked. And truthfully he almost fell asleep in the short amount of time it took her to make her way up to his apartment, but the sound of his door opening jolted him to full awareness because he in no way wanted to disturb Levi now that he was asleep. Lord knew if Levi was startled in his current state that it would not end well for any of them. So, he quickly left the bedroom clad in his pajamas and met Petra in his kitchen before she could make it in any further.

"Thanks for coming," Eren whispered, "especially at this hour. I really appreciate it."

He happened to look down and see that she was carrying a duffle bag, and before he could ask as to why she had brought that along, she said, "No problem. Well, you know I'm worried about him. I brought some things so that I could stay the night, and I stopped to his apartment too to grab some of his clothes too. I hope that's alright."

She didn't phrase it like a question, like she didn't care one way or the other if he was okay with her staying the night. The corner of his mouth quirked up in an amused half smile. "No, I don't mind at all, and I really appreciate you grabbing some of his things too, for some reason I hadn't even thought of that."

Her tone softened when she said, "Well, to be fair you had more important things to worry about."

Petra moved past him, dropped the bag on the living room floor and asking him, "Where is he? How is he?"

"Asleep, doing better now, though he grew more out of it and catatonic as the night wore on."

"Sounds about right. He's done that with me too."

They were both quiet for a minute as they wrestled with their inner thoughts. Eren very much wanted to know more, and Petra wanted to see Levi for herself. Luckily, the boy could practically read her mind, and said, "My room is straight back that way if you want to check on him."

He saw her shoulders droop with relief and he could practically hear her let out a breath. She gave him a grateful look, before she headed in the direction he had pointed. Once she stood in front of the closed door, she very carefully opened it, letting the light spill into the room, and to her relief, there was Levi, sound asleep in a very comfortable looking bed bountiful in fluffy quilts. There was also a pair of green eyes seemingly floating near his head that regarded her for a moment, but then went back to licking Levi's hair a moment later, loud purr reaching even her ears. Satisfied that he was breathing, clean and seemed content, she closed the door carefully.

"Thank you," Petra told Eren as she stepped away from the door, "I know you're a good person, knew you were before too. Levi always talked about you at work and from the way he talked he was always over the moon about you, never said a bad word. I just…he always told me how scared he was of you finding out, scared you'd reject him. Though I kept telling him over and over that if you were a good person like he kept saying then he wouldn't and I'm so happy I was proved right."

The boy sighed heavily, sitting down on his couch. She sat next to him, turning herself towards him. He looked terribly guilty, but also like he was bursting with questions, and she prepared herself to answer what she knew.

"It kills me that he thought that," he said thickly. "I would have never- not in a million years…I care about him too much to even think of turning him away over something like that. I mean, did he even stop to think about what I want to do for a living? Levi, my God…"

"I know, that's what I told him," she insisted.

"I...I mean, it doesn't bother me that he didn't tell me. I can understand. Lots of people with mental illnesses are ashamed of the fact that they have them. What bothers me is that I wasn't more observant, because if I was, I could have been helping him, but at the same time I know he probably wouldn't want my help because I know he was so independent. But it's so hard to be independent with disorder as severe as this. I just…how long has he been like this?"

"As long as I've known him. He told me he started hearing voices when he was around twenty."

Eren found himself nodding along, looking very pensive. "Okay, and what are his symptoms?"

Petra paused, thinking how best she could describe things. Here at last was a person in a position to help Levi, and she wasn't going to squander the chance, nor ruin it because she was inadequate in her description or missed out on vital details.

"Well," she finally began, "like I said, he hears voices. Sometimes he sees scary things too. He talks about demons a lot and how he's a demon and deserves to die. Sometimes he talks about wanting to die when he's fine, but it gets really bad when he flares up. His hallucinations get worse when he gets anxious, or really angry, or becomes terrified. Oh, he also goes through these cycles where he'll get…I have no idea how to explain it, he'll just get so energized. Like, he'll go without sleeping for three days, clean his apartment from top to bottom, and act like he's invincible. Like he's convinced nothing can hurt him. I've had to pull him back off of his balcony a couple times because he thought he could fly. I know that's also the time where he'd hit up this club that hosts these huge group orgies, and he'd just hang out there until security would throw him out. He'd be covered in bodily fluids and sometimes bruises when he came home and I'd have to clean him up. Never acted like he was in any pain though and I'd have to prevent him from going back.

"Then a few days later this crazy high would wear off and he'd just fall into these insane depressions. Like, crushing, black depressions. I've heard that phrase before but I've never seen it in person before, and it's awful. He'd go from running around a mile a minute and accomplishing all of these things to not even getting out of bed for days on end. Some days he wouldn't even get up to use the bathroom, and if I wasn't there to remind him to use it, he'd just make a mess in his bed. He wouldn't even have the energy to do that and it would break my heart. He would be unable to function at any level and I'd have to do everything for him, or he wouldn't wash or eat. This is when his desire to die would really go up too, and I'd have to stay with him all the time because I was so scared he would try and hurt himself, or worse. It was…"

She sighed, shaking her head. Petra then placed her head in her hands and sat her elbows on her knees. "I feel so guilty because I'd get so sick of his mood swings and the fact that nothing I did seemed to help. I couldn't get through to him, and I almost resented him for being like this, and then I'd resent myself for resenting him because he couldn't help it and I knew that. I just- I didn't sign up for this when I became his friend you know? And I wanted to help him, but he needed more care than I could give him, and I had so little time for him. It became overwhelming."

She then lifted her head, slowly, her eyes rimmed in red, and whether that was from exhaustion or the threat of tears, Eren couldn't tell, but either way, it broke his heart, because the weight of what she had had to endure second hand as Levi's only caregiver was finally laid out plainly for him to see. He placed a hand on her back, rubbing between her shoulder blades as he said, "It's alright. You don't need to blame yourself. I can tell you cared for him a lot, and it's normal to once in a while get frustrated with or even mad at the people we care about, especially when they put us under that amount of stress. It's hard for an entire family to deal with one person that has a mental illness, and you've been doing it for years all by yourself. You never once gave up and left him though Petra, and you have my respect for that."

Petra wiped at her eyes and shrugged. "If I didn't help him no one would have. That's what I kept telling myself so that I didn't up and leave him. I don't deserve respect."

"It doesn't matter why you stayed, the fact is you did. Don't sell yourself short, alright?"

She let out a huge sigh, still appearing as if she didn't want to take the praise, but she also didn't want to argue any further. So, she changed the subject. "So, um, what kind of mental illness do you think he has?"

Eren scrubbed a hand over his face. "Well, I mean, I can't properly diagnose him because I don't have my license yet, and even if I did I'd have to properly evaluate him. But off the top of my head, in my as professional-as-it-can-get opinion, I'd say he either has schizophrenia or schizoaffective. You said his hallucinations get worse as his mood shifts and he goes through manic and depressive episodes though, so I'm leaning more towards schizoaffective."

He patted her back reassuringly. "Listen, I'll take him to work on Monday with me. One of my coworkers has become a good friend of mine. He's a psychiatrist, and I can see if he can squeeze him in. I'll tell him it's a special case. Besides, everyone there knows about Levi since I can't seem to talk about anything but him at work."

Petra couldn't help but snort a little at that. "Just like Levi. You two are ridiculous in how over the moon you are for each other. It's…" she shook her head fondly, smiling at him, "I'm so glad you found each other. Levi's going to get better now."

The boy sat up straighter, and despite his exhaustion, the look in his eyes was completely lucid, fiery, and left no room for argument. He nodded seriously and declared, "Absolutely. I won't allow for any other option. We're going to make him happy and help him live a normal life, Petra. You and me both. I promise."

000

Petra ended up staying over the following two nights and the following days, helping Eren take care of Levi from the minute he woke up to the moment he went back to bed. She was a blessing in that she knew exactly what to expect, whereas Eren was out of his depth. She knew what would soothe Levi and what would trigger him. She had been Eren's guardian, both of them making sure that their boy ate, made it to the bathroom, and they supported each other through his sickening rants over how much he wanted to die, that they should both just kill him. That if they really cared about him so much they would end his suffering right there and then and that would be it.

Eren had been around plenty of mentally ill people during his career, but even he knew that cases as severe as Levi's were rare, and he had yet to encounter one like this. He had read many books on it and heard many anecdotes, but see it in person was an entirely different animal, especially when that person was his beloved. It was taxing on his mind and heart, and when Petra finally left for work after helping him get Levi to sleep again, he knew he wouldn't be able to stand the silence for long or he was afraid he'd break down. So, that Sunday night, he called his mother, and nearly cried in relief when she picked up.

In fact, the moment he heard her voice, he really did start tearing up, and had to leave his bedroom and sit on the couch.

"Baby what's the matter?" she gasped. "Are you alright?"

He quickly wiped his eyes. "I'm sorry mom, it's been a tough couple of days. I haven't had time to call." He had texted them a brief summary of what had happened that Friday night so they at least knew why he hadn't been talking to them.

"I understand," she told him. "You sure you don't need me and your dad to come over?"

He sniffed a bit, and hastily told her, "No, we'll be fine. If I need you I'll tell you, I promise. I just…mom, what is wrong with me? Why didn't I see the signs? This is my profession, and I blew it so badly. I should have seen from day one or two that there was something going on and yet I didn't. I was so infatuated with him that it left me blind, or just not wanting to see it. I'd always explain away his behavior and…how could I have been so stupid, I'm the worst psychologist and boyfriend in history."

"No, now stop that right now," Carla said firmly. "Don't you dare start blaming yourself. I understand the temptation, but it's not practical. Listen to me young man. You know as a future psychiatrist that if someone has a mental illness and they don't want others to find out, they're going to do everything in their power to hide it, and they usually do a very good job. You didn't blow it, because you were able to put your emotions aside in a crisis situation and stop Levi from hurting other people and himself. You also got him to safety, and you were able to think logically and put together a good solid game plan as to how you're going to help him recover. You're not abandoning him, and thanks to you, he has a chance at a better future. Now tell me again how that's failing him?"

"But mom"-

"Eren, listen to me. Do you think your dad and I constantly make the correct calls at work? Do you think our diagnoses are always the right ones the first time? The answer is no, absolutely not. Sometimes we miss something, sometimes our patients hide things from us. With you, I think it just goes back to that old saying that the closer you are to something, the harder it is to see it. You thought you knew Levi so you tried to explain away his odd behavior. That's perfectly normal. There's a big difference between having a patient in front of you knowing that you're looking for a disorder to treat and having someone in front of you that presents themselves as normal and gives you no indication otherwise that there's something wrong. Because then you don't know to look for a disorder. So please sweetie, stop blaming yourself."

Eren heaved a big sigh, still hunched over, shoulders rising and falling with the motion. He paused for a minute, still battling with himself, still wanting to deny what his mom said, but he knew if he did they'd be there all night, and he very much wanted to go to bed. Besides, his mom's voice always calmed him down, and her affirmations that he was doing the right thing helped a little. So he finally replied, "Alright. I'll try. Thanks, mom."

"You're doing your best, pumpkin. That's all you can do."

They bid each other goodbye after that, and once Eren hung up his phone, he put it on the couch beside him and gathered his wits. He only had to pass through one more evening, and then they could start helping Levi. Everything was going to be okay from here on out. The past was in the past, and he couldn't keep blaming himself for not knowing. Though, of course he knew he would. He'd certainly feel better once they got him on the road to recovery though.

He was thinking too much and he knew it. So, he got up, put his phone on the charger, before making his way into bed. Thankfully Levi, though turned away from him, was still in a dead sleep, sides rising and falling evenly, and as carefully as he could manage, he crawled into bed beside him.

"It's going to be okay," he whispered. "From here on out, everything is going to be alright. It has to be. I came so close to losing you and I"- he paused, swallowing hard. He found himself scooting closer to the other man, before he whispered into the thick blackness, his breath tickling the back of Levi's neck, "I love you. Love you so much that it's getting to the point where I can't imagine a future without you. So we're going to make sure we have a future together. You, me and Alastair, yeah? Both of you are my babies, and I'll take care of you. So don't worry. We'll have to go back to those woods sometime when things settle down. Our woods, where I kissed you that first time. We'll go back…"

He trailed off, mumbling nonsense until his breathing eventually evened out, more declarations of love still on his lips.

000

Levi didn't sleep the entire night, his mind racing and racing as he turned option after option over in his head. Something was building in him, something that was now poised on the brink. For unknown to Eren, Levi had been awake and heard everything, from his conversation with his mother in the dead silence of the apartment, to Eren's sweet words whispered against his neck, and the instant he finished processing them, he could feel tears welling up in his eyes.

This wasn't supposed to happen. None of it. And now he was faced with a horrible choice.

He knew he had to make it before Eren woke, and truthfully, he had thought about this sort of thing before. But that was usually when he was at his most depressed, alone in his apartment, not here where he felt the safest. To make things worse, Eren had snuggled up behind him during the night to press himself along his back and drape an arm over his waist, holding him securely against his body, before laying nose against the back of Levi's neck. His breaths were moist and even, comforting, an indicator that he wasn't alone. Yet, if he did went through with his plan, he would be every night for the rest of his life. There would be no more Eren to comfort him through the worst of his pain, no soft hands to soothe him and no arms to shield him from all the evil in the world. It was a gift he hadn't expected to fall into his life and now had come to depend on utterly to the point where he found it impossible to function without Eren anymore. His boy was his life, and without him, he knew he wouldn't want to live anymore.

But that was exactly why he had to let him go.

He was poisoning him with his very presence, the black vapors that constantly oozed from beneath his skin killing him more and more every day. He witnessed it all weekend, his beloved Eren more dead than alive now, practically a corpse at this point. The hand that held him was warm, but Levi could see the flesh falling away from it, could swear he smelled the stench of decay, and it made him nauseous. The only way Eren would recover was if he left him. After all, one had to get away from the source of the disease if they stood any chance of getting better.

Levi heaved a huge sigh, staring despondently at the sliver of sky visible through the curtains, dawn beginning to creep up over the horizon. It was still hours before Eren had to get up though, he discovered, glancing over at his bedside clock. The sky was only the slightest shade of violet, but he knew it would be turning pink soon. And then Eren would be getting up for work, and his chance to slip away unnoticed would be gone. He had to do this, he told himself. Had to go now, because he shared Eren's feelings; he loved him so much that it scared him. But he knew he couldn't love him. Things had gone too far now, and this was the tipping point. The fact that they loved each other meant that Eren would die, that the vapors that rose and fell with Levi's emotions would consume him whole.

So, he would leave him to save him. He loved him so much that he would make this sacrifice, because he would rather see Eren alive and without him than dead with Levi by his side.

Slowly, Levi finally got up out of bed, dragging his feet as if he had lead weights attached to them. He very carefully slid out of Eren's arms, holding his hands and placing them close to his chest so that they wouldn't fall harshly against the bed. He then slunk around the apartment, getting dressed as quietly as he could, watched only by the gaze of Alastair, who was curled up at the end of Eren's bed. The cat followed his movements back and forth across the room as he washed up and dressed, grabbed a bit of breakfast before he brushed his teeth, taking his time to savor the simple amenities, not knowing when he'd be able to experience them again. Because if he was going to disappear, it would be best if he left town altogether, if he vanished off the face of the Earth, which meant he would have to go back to the streets again. He knew Eren would search for him, not understanding why Levi had to leave, and he couldn't give Eren a way to find him again, not if he wanted him cured. So this was how things had to be. He would make him better by erasing any semblance of the fact that he had been in the boy's life at all.

He stood there in Eren's room for a moment, savoring the feeling of being clean, warm and well fed, before he turned his attention to the boy who made it all possible for him. He was still asleep, breaths deep and even, and he was so unaware of what Levi was about to do, his face relaxed and calm. Guilt ripped through him like a blade, and the former dancer couldn't help but get a little closer, before he leaned down and pushed some stray hair out of Eren's face, trying to keep his touch as light as possible. His skin was so soft, his hair so warm…and he'd never to get feel it ever again, never get to kiss his lips again or tangle their bodies together in sweet passion. Never hear one of Eren's silly jokes or see his brilliant smile. He'd be so heartbroken when he'd wake up, so frantic, in so much pain wondering where Levi went, and for that the older man wanted to just kill himself right there and then. Maybe it'd be easier that way. But he knew he still have the strength to do so, and instead he took the coward's way out again, just as he usually did. He'd survive, just as he did before. Everything would turn out alright in the end he told himself.

Thought somehow he highly doubted that this time around.

"I love you too," he whispered. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you last night. And I'm so sorry for what I'm going to do. I'd rather stay here with you and get help but- oh Eren. I want to stay with you so badly. I don't want to do this. I love you and I don't want to leave you…"

He bowed his head, not knowing what else to say. It wasn't that he couldn't think of anything. He had too many things he wanted to say, and he knew if he sat here and babbled them all, he'd lose his nerve. So, before he could, he just told Eren one last time that he loved him, and that he was sorry, before he tucked his hair behind his boy's ear and backed up, hand lingering on the other's cheek before his fingers left that warm skin for the last time. He then picked up his bag, and with one last scan to make sure he hadn't left anything behind, he left the room.

Well, he supposed he had left something behind: his heart with Eren in that bed.

Levi made his way into the front hall, and left his key to the apartment on the counter, grief welling up in his chest. It was only made worse when he heard a quiet tinkling of a bell and a series of "mrrow"s following him into the front hall. Alastair was staring up at him curiously, tail swishing, as if he was wondering where Levi was going at such an odd hour. Levi smiled down at him before he knelt down to pet him, scratching between his ears. Alastair stood up into his hand, purring immediately.

"I know, I hate to leave you," he commented. "You're guilt tripping me, aren't you? Aw handsome boy, you'll have to take care of Eren for me, okay? Make sure he gets to bed a decent hour on work nights, make sure he eats. Keep him warm at night, because fall's coming, it's going to get cold. And if I could, I'd tell you to tell him not to worry about me. Everything will be alright; it was before I met him, and it will be now. Be a good boy. I'll see you around."

He stood up and opened the door, closing it before he could look back and see Alastair's sad little face staring up him. He did hear his questioning trills on the other side of the door, and he swore he could hear that cat asking where he was going and to come back. Tears welled up in his eyes and his throat closed as he took off down the hallway. He didn't stop when he got out of the building and powered down the sidewalk away in the early dawn light, going until he broke into a jog, then a run. Running away from Eren, from his cozy safe life, and into the unknown.

And he was determined to never be seen by any of the people he loved again.