Good evening my faithful reviewers! We're coming down to the last of Eren's time as a kid- the next chapter will be the last time Eren's under fifteen.
As for this chapter, I decided to make it a bit angsty, before it gets light hearted. We start with a bit of an angsty making up, and then the antics of our two favorite soldiers. I decided not to go with the "rebellious eren" route, because one of my readers said, it would be a 'bucket of angst'.
Enjoy, and please review! :)
Levi woke in the middle of the night to a whimper. He wasn't sure what exactly the noise was, so he laid in the darkness for a few moments, half-asleep, straining to hear. There was silence for several moments, and Levi was just about to dismiss the sound as his imagination when a muffled cry sounded, sending Levi sitting bolt upright, fumbling to light the candle at his bedside and careering over to the cot at the other side of his room.
"Eren?"
A small keening noise was his only reply, and Levi staring in the golden candle light, unsure what to make of the situation. Eren hasd his face buried in the pillow, sheets clenched in balled fists as he twitched...
"Eren- are you alright?" Levi forced the boy to roll over, anxiously scanning the boy for injuries, finding nothing. Still, tears rolled down the boy's face, leaving shining trails in their wake as they marred the his face.
"L-Levi?" Eren asked tentatively, blinking in surprise at the brightness of the candle.
"Yes, it's me- now what's wrong?" he reached forward to brush the teen's messy bangs from his face. Watery eyes blinked, and Levi noted with some alarm that the boy was shaking slightly.
"Eren- what hurts?" his voice took on a tone of urgency when he realized this, staring at the boy intently.
"I-it's n-nothing!" Eren choked out, voice cracking in pain at the end. "J-just... hurts..."
"What hurts, Eren?"
"Everything." Eren's green eyes fell closed at the admission, a few tears leaking from his eyes as he winced, before he was yipping in pain, curling in on himself desperately and trying not to shake...
Levi looked down at the boy's feet and realized he was several inches taller than he'd been yesterday. He blinked, surprised, before looking back down at Eren, brow creasing with concern.
Growing pains. It made sense when he considered it- Eren was about 5' 7" at fifteen, and yesterday he had only been around five foot- he was experiencing rapid growth as he aged, and this time, it was happening fast enough to be noticeable, painful, even.
Eren jolted upright as another stab of pain tore through him, promptly doubling over and whimpering. His eyes were glassy with exhaustion and pain- he was shaking, looking afraid and absolutely miserable...
"Easy, Eren." Levi reached over, pulling the boy to his chest. Eren curled into his chest, desperate for warmth, comfort. Levi carded his hands through the boy's sweaty hair, feeling the boy shaking beneath him. He was breathing heavily, chest heaving...
"It'll pass, Eren." was all he could promise. Eren looked up at him with such trust in his eyes it clawed at Levi's heart. He was a shaking, sweaty mess, and Levi wracked his brain for anything he could do to help the boy...
He quietly set Eren down, moving to leave but stopping when a clammy hand tugged at his sleeve.
"P-please- don't leave." Eren pleaded, looking afraid.
"I'm going to get something to help you." Levi reassured the boy quietly, gently peeling the fingers off his sleeve.
Eren blinked, struggling to process it all in his current state. His tongue darted out, wetting his chapped lips. "Come back soon?"
"Very soon. I promise."
Eren nodded dully, accepting the answer, and Levi jogged over to his desk, pulling a silver key from his pocket and unlocking the drawer. He pulled out the decanter carefully, yanking out the stopper and hurrying to get some of the liquid into a glass before he was rushing back towards his room, towards the pathetic looking teen on the bed.
He slung Eren's arm around his shoulder, bringing the boy up to a sitting position and placing the glass in his hands.
"Drink." he ordered.
Eren didn't hesitate, fumbling with the glass in shaky hands. Levi had to steady him slightly, before Eren took a large swallow, and promptly double over coughing.
Levi quickly took the glass from his hands so as not to spill it, and amber liquid dribbled down the boy's chin as he wheezed, staring at the glass in disbelief, as though Levi had just persuaded him to drink liquid fire.
"I'm sorry, but it's either this or the pain." Levi said simply.
Eren hunched over, teeth grit as another tumult of hurt cascaded over him, frantically reaching for the glass.
Levi gave it to him, and, eyes screwed shut, Eren threw it back , eyes widening at the acrid burn of it as he coughed while still drinking, send amber bubbles to the surface of the liquid, pitching forward violently as his body rejected the harsh liquid he was forcing down. He came up gasping a moment later, shaking just as badly as before. He took one breath, two, before throwing back what was left of the glass, hacking pitifully all the while.
The glass empty, it fell from his hands onto the bed sheets, and Levi ignored it, simply struggling to keep the kid upright as he gagged and writhed.
Still, within two minutes the fit was over, and Eren slumped heavily against him, a sweaty mess, smelling like scotch.
"Does it still hurt, Eren?"
"Nuh-no..." Eren panted quietly, blinking harshly. His body was beginning to grow slack, and Levi watched the tension seem to seep from the boy's bones and melt away.
He pulled Eren, now barely coherent, to his chest again, carding his fingers through the boy's mess of sweaty hair. "Sleep, Eren- it'll be better in the morning."
Eren obeyed without question, the alcohol in his veins quickly pulling him under. He still shook beneath Levi's hands, his body was still tearing itself apart in an attempt to grow- but at least now, he was oblivious to the pain.
He didn't set the boy down again, simply holding him, trying to keep his body still. In the silence, he could hear the slight cracking of what he realized were bones- Eren's bones- breaking and re-breaking, binding back together to compensate for his longer limbs, his broader chest-
Growing, for Levi, at least, had been hell enough. Growth spurts and pain throughout his teenage years had been a great annoyance in the underground city, but he couldn't imagine how much it hurt Eren to grow so much during one night. He absently grazed his knuckles over the boy's soft cheek. Eren's jawline had been growing sharper as he aged- gone were the days of baby fat on the bright cheeks. Levi was looking down at him sadly. While Eren wasn't exactly the bundle of love five year old he had been, he was hurting, and Levi couldn't find it in his heart to leave him.
He looked down at the boy shaking in his arms slightly and pressed a small kiss to his sweaty brow, vowing to enjoy all the time he had left with him.
In the morning Eren was fourteen, and Levi awoke nearly sprawled across the boy's bed, the teen's hand still grasped in his own.
Eren was nearly 5' 5", about five inches taller than he'd been last night, and he'd stopped shaking, a relaxed look on his face, lips parted slightly as he slept.
Levi had a horrible crick in his neck from sleeping in such an awkward position, but he smiled despite himself, remembering the moments he'd shared with the boy last night. He stretched, moving to dress quietly and smoothing the wrinkles from his clothing. His smile dulled a few watts, and he quietly hoped that he and Eren would have a good day. It was his last day with the boy, after all, before Eren turned fifteen and regained his memory. He just wanted it to be a good one.
"Mmm... Levi?"
Levi looked over from where he;d been tugging on his shirt, surprised, to see sleepy green eyes looking over him.
Levi hadn't expected him to wake up for another hour or so at least, and he'd been planning to let the boy sleep late, considering the night he'd had.
He crossed the room in a few brisk strides, dropping into the chair beside Eren's bed.
"Good morning, Eren."
Eren pulled his lips back and gave Levi that signature grin he had. It was so similar to the one that the damn fifteen year old had that it shocked Levi far a moment, before Eren scrubbed sleepy eyes with the back of his hand, giving Levi that lopsided grin. "Morning. I feel... funny."
Levi instantly frowned, concerned. "What hurts?"
"Nothing hurts... i dunno... I just feel like something's different, I guess." Eren admitted, looking thoroughly confused. He shook his head rapidly, as though to clear it, before he was blinking. He shrugged. "It's nothing." and he was on his feet, pulling on a shirt and pants He stumbled slightly on his way out the door. He stumbled slightly and frowned, unused to the extra inches on his limbs, before looking over his shoulder and giving Levi that grin.
"You coming? Breakfast is gonna get cold..." he turned, bounding down the hallway, and Levi rolled his eyes before he was trotting down the hall after the boy.
Eren still sat with his friends at the morning meal, but the animosity that'd been present between him and Levi these past few days was no longer present.
Levi watched the brat absolutely destroy three bowls of oatmeal with reckless abandon, tearing a biscuit to shreds and downing a glass of milk to finish off. Levi smirked slightly amused- he supposed Eren's body was trying to compensate for the growth spurt he'd had last night.
Either way, it was amusing, and as breakfast ended and soldiers went about their duties, Levi was surprised to have Eren fall into step with him, heading back towards his office.
Levi raised his eyebrows slightly, and noticed with some degree of annoyance Eren had only just surpassed him in height.
Eren shrugged at his look, flushing slightly. "What? I just thought I'd help you out in the office..."
Levi nodded and said nothing at the recent change in the boy's disposition, finding it, for once, beneficial.
Eren swung his legs and fidgeted as he sat in the chair beside's Levi's desk, alphabetizing papers and opening stacks of letters. He had absolutely atrocious penmanship, so he was little better than a human letter opener, but Levi enjoyed the company. It was nice not being alone.
It was so like having the fifteen year old Eren back that at one point, Levi absent mindedly asked Eren to go make him some tea. Eren did, and Levi took a sip of it, before promptly spitting it out, looking horrified, whirling to stare at a wide-eyed Eren, before remembering that Eren was fourteen, not fifteen, and that he didn't remember the hour Levi had spent teaching him how to prepare fucking tea.
So instead of giving the brat a tongue lashing of a lifetime, Levi took a deep breath and closed his eyes. it wasn't fair for him to be mad at something Eren couldn't control.
"Levi? You okay?"
Levi opened his eyes to see a very concerned fourteen year old looking at him like he was crazy.
Levi simply bobbed his head in a nod.
"You sure? 'Cause you just spit your tea everywhere..."
"You haven't bought me tea, Eren, you've bought me leaf water." Levi said brusquely. He was doing a damn good job at not blowing up at the kid.
"Oh... sorry about that." Eren said simply, looking horribly uncertain for a brief moment.
Levi continued shuffling papers, trying to forget all about tea.
"...Levi?"
"What?" Levi snapped his gaze over to the brat. He was being very patient today, he realized- he'd had to become that way, though, raising Eren Jager for the last week.
"You.. you want me to get you a towel? ...Cause, there's tea everywhere..." Eren pointed feebly at the mess, and Levi blinked before he nodded.
"Yes, that would be a good idea."
