A/N: I got to go see TAO perform last night, which is why this is late. I'm also about to leave to see EXO in concert, which is why this is early today. :3 In other news. Look at that. This story is progressing~ The end is in sight! Well... I mean, not for a while, but still! It's there. I can taste it! Come to me progress! Hit me with the inspiration!
-Misty
The Change You Wish to See
(Original summary, but screw the stupid character limits) Levi's never put much care into things. He doesn't put much care into things at all. Nothing ever peaks his interest. Well, that's until he meets Eren Jaeger. Levi isn't sure what it is that's so interesting about him, and it irritates him to feel these feelings he's never felt before. Regardless, he goes to talk to the boy. When he doesn't receive an answer, he just thinks that the boy is rude; however, he understands why when Eren doesn't answer him. Eren is deaf.
Rated M for sexual content, adult language, some violence, mild character death
Main pairing: Riren with some side pairs
Anime: Shingeki No Kyojin (Attack on Titan)
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Use it Wisely
Draft
Written at 7:34 p.m.
"Hey, where are you guy's right now?"
-Sent
When Eren didn't respond right away, Levi dialed Armin's number. It was a Tuesday. Tuesday's Armin was home early. At least that was always the case before he started working for Erwin. Now his hours were different, and the older man fidgeted in his seat, waiting for an answer.
"Hello...?" The line finally picked up, the sound of Armin's voice almost heaven to the older man. Levi breathed a sigh of relief at the idea that the teen would answer him.
"Armin...?"
"Yeah, Levi?"
"Yeah, it's me." The light finally turned green, allowing the man to finally pull out of the street.
"Hey, Levi... W-What's up?" Armin already sounded skeptical of him. After all, how often was it Levi called him? Never.
"Where's Eren?"
"He's in the shower. Why? Did you need to talk to him?"
"No, not yet. Where are you and Mikasa?"
"Uhm... Home? I just got back from class and Mikasa is about to go to work..." The teen explained.
"No...!" Levi suddenly blurted out, partially out of his answer and partially because another red light waited for him up ahead.
"Huh...?"
"Armin, you guy's need to stay home. I'm coming over."
"W-Wait, why?"
"I need to talk to you."
And with that, Levi hung up the phone to focus on driving.
"Your boyfriend is crazy..." Mikasa uttered in annoyance. "You said he was coming over?"
"Yes, and he said he needed to talk to us." Armin explained while shrugging his shoulders.
"It better be worth it. I'm already ten minutes late for work." The girl hissed, continuously glancing down at the watch around her wrist. It was either to that, or to Eren who sat nearby in the recliner, a towel over his head while picking at his nails. He looked bored out of his mind, but by the tapping of his foot, they could tell he was still eager to find out what Levi needed to talk to them about.
What was so important that he couldn't tell them over the phone? What was so important that Mikasa had to be late for work to hear? Levi never did this. He never did it, so what was so incredibly important that he needed to stop their whole day?
"Mikasa, relax. They believe the car is having problems, so it's okay." Armin assured her before there was a bang at the front door. The three of them jumped before the blonde ran to it and opened it, letting in a very flustered looking older man.
"Levy...?" Eren asked out loud with a frown. He had never seen the man look so out of sorts before.
"Are you okay?" Armin asked while shutting the door behind him. "You look like you ran here."
"No, no..." Levi shook his head while taking a deep breath. "Just... Trying to get myself together."
"What happened?" Mikasa asked, and with some mild surprise, continued. "Are you okay?"
"Fine," Levi said before walking over to her. He reached into his back pocket where he had stuffed the check from Erwin and pulled it out. He unfolded it, looking it over once more to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, that what he was seeing was actually a check written out for two thousand dollars. It was real, tangible, and in his hands right now.
Two thousand dollars.
The older man nodded his head in affirmative response to his mental questions before handing it to Mikasa. She took it gingerly, as if she didn't trust the tiny, little paper he was handing her, but Levi gave her a firm stare. The frown on her lips said something, but the moment she glanced at the words written down on the small piece of paper, her mouth all but dropped. Levi didn't think he had seen that much emotion on her face ever.
"Put it away in a savings account for Eren's Cochlear Implants." He told her.
"What is that?" Armin asked before looking over the teen's shoulder. A very similar expression suddenly took over his confused features.
"What... What is this?" Mikasa asked while motioning between him and the check. Eren leaned over in the recliner, trying to see what it was she was holding, but he was at a loss. What was going on?
"I... I got paid for a painting." Levi explained, almost ashamed by the truth. "It's a start, right? It's not enough, but it gets us somewhere."
"Levi... Are you serious?" Armin asked while taking up the check, once again foiling Eren's attempt to see what they were looking at.
"Of course I am. Do you think I would have made you late for work if this was a joke?" Levi asked them while pointing to Eren's sister.
"Hey, let me in here." Eren signed while waving a free hand. "What's going on?"
"Eren..." Armin began before showing him the check. The teen looked over it carefully, at first confused. He didn't understand, not without hearing their conversation, but the blonde quickly signed to him.
Eren's golden eyes widened to almost comical proportions before looking over to the older man. His eyes quickly drifted back down to the check, but then back to him. It was as if he was in a mental battle he couldn't win, both sides pinning for the right reasons. He couldn't decide what to do right now. He was lost between running up to the older man to hug the life out of him, kiss him, or just stand there looking utterly dumb at this point. He just didn't know.
"Levy..." He mumbled, his hand shaking with his weak grip.
"You aren't kidding, right?" Armin asked him. "I mean that-... That's a lot of money, Levi."
"Yeah, it is..." The man replied lamely.
"I mean... Levi, that could pay your bills. That could pay for the hospital visit. That's a lot of money that could be used for that."
"Never even thought about it." He told him, noticing there very subtle shift in Mikasa's expression. She had been quiet for a while, and while she was normally a quiet girl, this wasn't her usually brand of apathetic silence. It was a weird expression that looked like a sense of relief flooded with surprise, almost like something had hit her in the face.
What did that even mean for a girl like her?
"Levy..." Eren mumbled and tugged at his jacket. Levi looked over to him after inspecting Mikasa's face a moment longer, only to feel the check sliding back into his cold fingertips.
"Eren..?" He questioned with a frown, looking between him and the slip of paper.
"Keep it..." The brunette told him, a look of guilty regret filling those golden eyes of his.
"What...?" The older man was no more than dumbfounded to actually sign to him, but the teen seemed to understand him regardless.
"Eren," Armin stopped him and grabbed at his arm to get his attention. "What are you doing?"
"I don't need it..." Eren admitted, but the same guilt ridden look was deep within his eyes. Levi couldn't shake the feeling that Eren didn't mean what he was speaking.
"Eren, I thought you wanted the hearing implants..." The blonde assumed of him.
"I do, but..." He wavered, fingers shaking. "Money will always be there, and the longer we wait, the better the technology will be, right? I'll get a better implant if I wait, so... Take it and worry about those bills."
So he had been reading their lips after all.
"Eren..."
Never before had he ever felt such a sense of astonishment in his life. Not even Isabel had done much to bring him to this level of amazement from such a small action, but that wasn't true. This wasn't small by any means.
Eren was giving up the chance to hear just so he could have heat in his apartment for another day. Sure, two thousand was a minuscule number compared to what it would cost for his implants. Without any insurance, they'd have to get the money by other means. Other means that would surely take a long time, but it was still a lot of money. It was still a solace to start, and he was willing to give it up just for him.
"Eren, I can't..." Levi shook his head. How could Eren think so highly of him? How could he waste such a chance on him?
"If you don't want it, I'll just tear it up then." Eren told him before grabbing both ends of the check.
"No!"
Levi and Armin, even Mikasa (Who was still being oddly quiet) Jumped up in fear and yelled at him. Eren stopped in surprise before Levi swiftly pulled the paper from his hands, making sure he hadn't damaged it.
"Are you crazy?" Armin yipped in surprise.
"Don't even joke about wasting money like that, Eren!" Mikasa reprimanded him with a sharp slap to his arm.
"It can always be written up again, can't it?"
"That's not the point, brat!" Levi jumped in. "If you're going to pull that shit again then I'll keep it, alright? Just don't do that again!"
Before Eren could make a comment on how irrational they were being, Levi yanked him forward by his sweater and pulled him into a tight hug. The brunette could barely react with the way his arms were wrapped around his shoulders, how Levi's breath was hot against his neck and how the man strained to be at a proper level with him. He would usually think it was cute if the strong grip around him didn't border painful.
"L-Levy..." He breathed and reached up to touch the older man's arms. Levi carefully turned their bodies so Eren's back was facing away from his siblings, his hand tugging on his neck and feeling soft hair stand on end as their foreheads pressed together. He gave him the lightest kiss on the nose before bringing his hands down between them where the other teens wouldn't be able to see what it was he was signing.
"You're coming over to my place later, and I can promise you that you won't be walking right tomorrow."
The vivid hue of red that dusted his tan cheeks was a gorgeous shade to the older man, one he couldn't wait to see again, but he'd have to. Mikasa had to get to work and Armin would be leaving soon anyway, but that was fine. They sooner they were gone, the sooner he could bring Eren back to his apartment and show his appreciation. The sooner he could show just how much he truly loved this idiot, because what person would give up the chance to hear this selfish man?
He was still beyond baffled by that.
"Sorry for making you late for work." Levi apologized as Mikasa locked the door behind her. "Had I known he would have rejected it, I wouldn't have held you back."
"It's alright," Mikasa told him while turning to face him. "I told my boss it was a problem with my car. Somehow he believes it, so I have a few minutes now."
"That's good. At least they aren't such assholes to you over there that they wouldn't understand car troubles." Levi uttered as they walked off the porch. "Hell, they're still assholes for making you work the hours you do."
He spoke vehemently about her work, even though he knew most of it was her decision. Still, this girl, soon to be twenty, shouldn't work the hours she did. Her job should have said something against it, but of course they wouldn't. Money was money, and it was a dangerous thing.
Speaking of which, Levi pulled the check out from his pocket to give it another glance over.
Two thousand dollars at his disposal. First and foremost bills needed to be paid. His electric would be turned off if he didn't get that taken care of, and he'd rather get a nice jumpstart on his hospital payments if he could. There probably wouldn't be anything leftover by the time he was done, but that was fine. That meant he could breathe for a while, while looking for another job.
"Hey, Levi..." Mikasa spoke up. Levi hummed in response before tucking the folded paper back into his pocket for safe keeping. "Thank you..."
Mildly surprised by her words, Levi lifted his head to see something he couldn't recall ever seeing on Mikasa before.
A smile.
This wasn't something small, or a mixed smirk of humor. This was a real, genuine smile. It spread from ear to ear, relived and happy, her cheeks tinted pink from the cold. Her eyes held a small spark, a light to them he hadn't seen from her before either. He thought for a while that she was inept of smiling, and yet there it was, staring right at him.
This day was just full of surprises.
"... For what?" He asked, his brain not processing the previous events that could possibly be linked to this.
"You know, people gave up on him..." Mikasa told him as she slowly walked to her car. Naturally Levi followed after her to hear what she had to say. "There were people who called themselves friends, but they didn't know how to handle Eren. They treated him like a child like I do, never bothering to see what upset him, what made him happy. They never learned that he was human just like them with the exception of his hearing, and like a lot of selfish people, he was something not worth their precious and petty time to take the time and learn. Eventually those so called "friends" disappeared, never to be heard from again."
"And...?"
"He's been abused by the world, and he has a hard time trying to trust someone new..." Mikasa stopped at the driver's door of her car, finger fiddling with her keys. "Well, there's very few who try hard for Eren. Those few are important to Eren, but sometimes even they don't know how to treat him human. I try to protect him to the best of my abilities so he can feel safe, so forgive me for not seeing it sooner."
Levi tilted his head at her explanation. He thought he understood it, but he still didn't understand what brought on this sort of attitude change from her.
"And thank you for treating him the way he wants to be treated..." With that, Mikasa unlocked the car door and waved to him, a smile still settled on her thin lips. "See you later, Levi."
Levi stood in the snow for a moment, eyebrows furrowed in confusion and toes frozen as she pulled out of the driveway. He waited just a little longer, just long enough to lose sight of her car in the distance. Long enough to let the words sink and settle into his head. It made sense to him now in the midst of him trying to put things together, such as the fact she used his name for once. He understood it, but there was still one question plaguing his mind, one question that lead to a lot more questions.
Why did she ever think he would ever treat Eren any less just because he couldn't hear? What did the two of them have to go through not to trust someone so much?
A/N: And all is right with the world. And now. Some smut. Anyone have any fun recommendations~? *wink wink, nudge nudge*
