A/N: So I have found that the speak function on microsoft word does wonders for the days where I'm being extra lazy and don't even want to edit my beta's corrections that she puts so much effort into. :3 But seriously, a big thanks to her, another big thanks to you awesome people who're sticking with me. Have some massive tooth rotting fluffles these next few chapters. If I did my job right, you should be sending me your dental bills within the PM box. ;)

-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 Thirty Four: Something Unsettling

The news was hard to comprehend at first.

Mikasa and Armin spoke so frantically that even Levi stopped trying to follow their conversation, such as Eren had done hours before. They seemed ready to throw a party, but Levi could see how Eren didn't seem quite as happy.

So when Eren quietly slipped away, excusing himself to use the bathroom, Levi followed close behind without a word. He followed him to his room, where Eren tried to lock himself away in, but Levi jammed his foot between the door and frame and groaned, because apparently the teen had a stronger grip on it then either of them realized.

"Levy..." Eren mumbled and opened the door wider. Levi brushed passed him, ignoring his questioning stare and making himself at home in his room. It wasn't too often when he was in here, and each and every time, there was something different. Most of the time it seemed to be the number of notebooks sitting on Eren's desk, multiplying as he continued writing his stories. It wasn't just the one Levi had read that the teen wrote, but that had been his main one.

"Eren..." Levi began and sat down on the edge of his bed. He motioned towards the brunette, waiting until his boyfriend sat down beside him before he decided to bring up the inner turmoil. "So, you don't seem too happy by this news..."

"I am happy..." Eren remarked, but his argument seemed weak at best, and even he could tell by the way his hand had a subtle tremor to it.

"Well then why aren't you showing it?" The older man inquired and slowly lifted a hand to hold Eren's. "Hmm...? You know you can talk to me."

"... I'm scared, Levy..." Eren eventually admitted, his hand squeezing Levi's and his voice trembling.

"Why...?" Levi scooted closer. "I thought this was what you wanted...?"

"It is, but... I'm so afraid it won't happen..."

The words seemed to make sense to him now, but Levi felt the need to divulge in it just a bit more, hoping maybe they'd both reach the conclusion together.

"What do you mean? It's going to happen, Eren. We just have to wait for Armin's insurance."

"That's what I mean." His boyfriend signed and shook his head, the beginnings of tears burning his vision. "Everything good that happens to us always seems to blow up in our faces. It never goes right or just never happens. What if something happens and Armin doesn't get insurance? What it they won't let me use it, because I don't work for the company?"

So these were the thoughts Eren kept hidden deep inside himself. Given their previous experience, it was an obvious worry, one justified by previous actions.

"And I did some reading on the implants. They have high success rates, but it can go wrong. Sometimes it just destroys any chance of having hearing ever again, or maybe the hearing will be so badly distorted that it's not use having them. What if I just can't use them? Some people don't qualify for them, because of certain injuries or developments. What if I'm just that person...? What if-...? I don't want to get my hopes up again..."

Eren shuddered at the idea before leaning into Levi's side. The man hadn't said or signed anything to him, which definitely meant he was listening.

However, it was nice. It made him feel like Levi was willing to let him get everything off of his chest before trying to talk to him again.

"Things blow up in my face, Levi. I'm just waiting for something to go wrong..."

"Eren..." Levi finally sighed and sank off of the bed. He kneeled down on the floor in front of him, taking up his hands, but when he realized he needed something to speak with, he had to let go. "Let's say the insurance thing doesn't work out. It's not over; it just means we're back to working up the money. I'll put my blood, sweat, and tears into my paintings if it means affording your Cochlear implants."

"Your paintings?"

Oh, that's right. He hadn't told him that yet.

"... I've been trying hard to sell my paintings so we could afford your medical expenses..." Levi admitted with a frown. No use in hiding it anymore. "It's not moving fast for my liking, but I'm still trying."

Eren's lips parted in silent surprise, looking into the dark eyes of Levi's with a mixture of admiration and morbid pain.

Levi would do that for him? He was doing that for him? The reason for him painting was not only because he wanted to, but because he was trying to earn his implants. He was trying to raise the thousands of dollars it would take to have even one implant. Putting himself under that kind of pressure had his mind reeling.

He was doing that for him?

"We'll get your implants, Eren. Maybe not as fast as Armin's method, but it'll happen..." Levi let himself smile softly, his hand lifting to rub at Eren's cheek. "I want you to be able to hear my voice too..."

"Levy..." Eren sputtered out a sigh, leaning his head into that warm and inviting hold. He held onto that hand like a life line, a promise. They would get them, no matter what it took. "I love you, Levy..."

"I love you too..." Levi leaned forward and pressed a kiss into the brunette's forehead, his cheeks that were damp with tears, and then one last, chaste kiss on his lips. "Get your hopes as high as you can get them, Eren. We'll get them soon."

"Okay..." He reluctantly agreed. He didn't want to do that again and risk another failure, another heartbreak, but he didn't seem to have a choice. Levi wasn't going to let him think difficultly about this. "Okay..."

"Alright..." Levi said and sat back up on the bed. His leg gave an unpleasant lurch at the sudden movement, and momentarily he had forgotten that the accident had happened no more than half a year ago, and it was still a painful reminder. "So now that that's out of the way, let's talk about that book of yours."

"I told you I'm not letting you read it." Eren grumbled something unintelligible under his breath as he signed, golden eyes looking away from the man as a flush spread across his cheeks.

"That's okay. I didn't really need to read it, just put it into my computer."

Eren had been paying attention to what he was signing despite trying to ignore him. The words alone were enough to make him look back.

"Huh...?"

"Well after fixing some grammar and stuff like that."

"Wait, what did you do?"

"I figured since you stuck my artwork online for sale, I'd get my revenge. I sent the first chapter of your story to an old friend of mine who happens to be an editor." Levi paused for a moment. "Well, friend isn't the term I'd use for him, but we'll say that here."

Eren stared at him for a good, long while.

"... You what?" Eren suddenly stood up from the bed, jerking out of his grip as he tried to comprehend the words he'd said.

"I sent the first cha-"

"I know what you said!" Eren retorted, and yet he couldn't wrap his mind around it. "How could you-...? When did you-...? I don't even...!"

"Do any of those have a finishing statement?"

"How could you do that, Levy?"

Levi knew he was in trouble by the way Eren spoke, no longer signing. Yet he couldn't find it in himself to feel terribly threatened. The red dust on Eren's cheeks and sporadic behavior was obnoxiously adorable.

"Simple. I grabbed your notebook and I put it in my computer."

"Levy, Counterattack is important to me! It isn't even done yet and you're sending it off to some editor!" The older man wasn't sure if that was a statement or a question. "It's private for a reason! I don't need people critiquing my work!"

Levi really had to restrain himself. The way Eren's voice squeaked at the sudden strain, all of which he wasn't aware of, was adorable to say the least.

"So you finally gave it a name?" He questioned before tilting his head. "Don't you even want to know what he thought of it?" He asked him.

"No!"

"Well he thought it was fantastic." He spoke before Eren could continue his ranting.

"Asshat!" The teen remarked coldly, but the words suddenly sank in. His angered expression lightened, his lips pulling into a softer version of his current frown as he thought about what he had just said and signed. Levi, carefully considering his next choice of words so Eren wouldn't do something stupid in return, sat and waited for him to fully take it in. The realization of it slowly coming across his face was interesting to watch. "... Huh?"

"He thought it was fantastic." Levi repeated and casually leaned back. "He thought the plot was extremely interesting. He loved the instant development of the main character after his mother's death, and he wanted to keep reading, but I told him I needed to check with you."

"... They liked it?" Eren asked, confusion evident on his face.

"Loved it, and was hoping for more." The man stood for a moment and walked over to Eren's desk, where he kept everything for his school work. He grabbed a pen and motioned towards Eren and his hand. When he held it up, he began writing on his palm, writing out a number that golden eyes followed with interest. "So I'll let you make that decision yourself. He said text him if you're interested in having an editor."

"... I hate you, Levy." Eren mumbled, his eyes staring at the numbers with a mixture of astonishment and curiosity.

"You went from loving me to hating me? I must have really fucked up." Of course he knew otherwise. He didn't take the comment to heart much less think it serious. Eren would be a lot more pissed if that were the case. "So have you told them yet?"

Eren shook his head.

"Not yet..." He replied, his fingers slow and precise.

"What are you waiting for now?"

"The right moment? I don't know."

"The longer you wait the more you're paying for what you don't want."

"I know that..." Eren attempted to shove at Levi's shoulders as he whined, but he didn't have it in him. He didn't have the heart to push him away, instead leaning further into the man's open and welcoming embrace. The height difference was awkward, but the warmth of his body was welcoming. He'd think of where this could lead to if it weren't for the fact that his family was downstairs, probably wondering where they went by now. "So... What should I do?"

"That's up to you to decide." The older man shrugged and sat back on his bed. "Do what you want, and what you think you'll regret the least."

Eren dropped back beside him, still looking at the number written on his hand. He'd never had anyone other than Armin read his work before, and Levi kind of did it on his own, with his permission of course. Armin had stopped once things within the story started heating up, because he knew that some of that was now based on experience.

He didn't need that mental image.

However, this person thought his story was good? Levi had used the word fantastic, but how truthful was that? He could have been over exaggerating. Then again, when had Levi ever been that type of person? He wasn't, so if he said fantastic, then this editor person must have meant fantastic.

Was he really going to hand the rest of his story over to them? Or rather, what was written out so far? That meant someone else was going to read it, maybe suggest getting it published. He'd never considered having it published before, but now the idea was settling in his head.

Then hundreds, thousands, dare he think, millions of people would read it. The idea alone was enough to have his legs shake in place with anxiety.

"So what do you think?"

"I think I don't want to think about it right now. I want to think about it later." He replied. "This is all… Just too much for my head to handle today…"

First the idea of his Cochlear Implants becoming a reality, and then his book getting a possible editor. Sure, the whole idea of his book was miniscule compared to the idea he could hear, but all of it was suddenly piling up and overwhelming him. He couldn't even think through all of it, and something told him now was not the time.

"That's fine." Levi said, but just as he began questioning that response, Eren sat up and pulled his sweater over his head. "What are you doing?"

"Wanna do something we might regret?" The brunette asked with a smirk over his lips, his eyes gleaming with mischief as he reached for the button of his pants.

Yeah, now was not the time for thinking about that. Now was the time for something else with the older man who'd done so much for him.

"Eren, your sister is downstairs!"

"So?"

"So I'm still too young to die."

A/N: Okidoki, real quick before we all get toothbrushes. I have a feeling someone is going to bring it up, so I'll say it here. Yes, I'm fully aware insurance doesn't transfer to friends; it only works with family. However, I am blatantly ignoring that fact, because that's how I want my story to go. :) Well... Where I am in my country that's how it is anyway. XD