A/N: Eyy~ Updates during the week are fun. I feel like I have more power! You think I can finish this before summer is over? XD

-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 Six: Publish

"It's big for a publisher's office..." Eren signed, head ducked down in obvious discomfort. This was an environment he clearly wasn't comfortable with, but he trudged forward, looking for this man's, Gunther's, office.

Apparently it was a lot farther into floor eleven then either of them anticipated, and Levi could see that the more they walked, the more nervous he became. It hadn't looked like much at first glance, but oh, how wrong they were.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we saw traffic lights in this place." Levi remarked, trying to help lightened the obvious tension Eren was feeling.

It seemed to work to some degree, if the smile that graced his lips was anything to go by. However, after a few more seconds of walking and thinking deeper into it, it once again disappeared. The older man would have tried to make him smile again, but he was stopped when his name was suddenly called from across the room.

"Levi!" A man with oddly shaped hair exclaimed and waved at him. Levi offered up the best "good to see you again" face he could muster up and a small wave, but he didn't miss the way Eren suddenly scooted closer to him, quickly figuring out who it was that was waving at him.

This was Gunther Schultz.

"Come on, Eren..." Levi spoke softly and placed a hand on his back to lead him towards the man.

The closer they got, the more details he could make out of him. He definitely had some oddly shaped hair. If Eren were to try to place it, it looked like a cone, slicked back to a point that looked slightly intimidating. If it weren't hair, the brunette would have assumed it was some deadly weapon.

The man had small, brown eyes, but strong features. His cheek bones and jaw were prominent, leading him to believe he was most likely older than him. However, was he older than Levi? Who was he to judge based off of looks anyway? No one would put Levi at thirty-five, so maybe this man was very similar in his situation.

"Gunther," Levi greeted as they got closer, extending his hand out for a hand shake. "It's good to see you again."

"You too! Man, I haven't see you in years it feels like."

"It probably has been." The older man remarked with an odd smile. The man, Gunther, looked over to Eren, his smile widening.

"You must be Eren?" He assumed and held out his hand. Eren shook it nervously, but after reading his lips, he nodded his head as confidently as he could. "Oh, so you can hear me?"

"He read your lips." Levi explained and patted Eren's back proudly. Always proving people wrong. Or not so. Eren had that effect on everyone.

"Oh, I see. Well Levi, I can't speak any sign language. Would you do me the favor of being my translator today?" Gunther asked of the man.

"That's why I'm here." The man assured him.

"Well then let's get into my office and discuss the book." The man said and motioned towards a door to the left, not far from them. Levi and Eren followed quietly, looking around in the room and admiring the surroundings.

"You've done well for yourself, Gunther. The office is nice."

"Thanks, but you should see my boss's office. It makes this look like a playroom." Gunther assured as he sat down on one of the couches. Eren and Levi followed suit, sitting on the opposite couch across from him, but after a few moments of silence, it seemed that the man was waiting for Eren to start up the conversation. It seemed as well that Eren was too busy fidgeting in place to do it. All he could do was hold his laptop close, as if it were a security blanket. Maybe it was.

"Well then..." Gunther began. Levi tapped at Eren's thigh to get his attention, and once he had it, he held his hands up to sign. "I guess we have a lot to talk about, don't we?"

"I guess so..." The brunette mumbled. The older man's eyes widened; maybe his presumptions of Eren had been completely off, because everything he did seemed to surprise him. Levi couldn't say he was shocked.

He had no idea what Eren was capable of when they had met, but then again, he didn't know much about people who lacked hearing to begin with. He made assumptions, and the teen broke them all.

"I have to say that I only got the first chapter of the story from you, but I was completely captivated by it." Gunther began, Levi's fingers moving deftly to translate what he spoke. "Your plot development was on point immediately. It's extremely difficult to start off a story with interesting and innovative detail without being too wordy, yet not rushing through it. The main character's pain was reveled in an instant, which gives readers a slight warning as to what's to come. You hold nothing back, and it's obvious right out of the gate by how you wrote it."

"Is that a bad thing?" Eren asked him with a frown.

"No, no," Gunther assured and shook his hands. "Like I said, it's extremely difficult to claim a reader's attention within the first chapter without rushing it. Readers won't go past chapter one if it doesn't capture their attention, and you had me right within the first few words. You wrote it like a master."

Levi's hands struggled to follow, not used to the constant string of words he had to translate, let alone words he wasn't used to. Words such as innovative and captivated weren't part of his every day vocabulary, so anything he didn't know how to sign, he had to insert another word for.

"I also love the build of the other characters. Within one chapter, we get an idea of his sister and friend, who they are as people and their personalities. I'm enthralled by the sudden development they all face within a few short pages, having to lose everything within seconds when that giant titan came in. Even the titans themselves are intriguing."

"I don't remember you having such a big ass vocabulary, Gunther." Levi remarked dryly. Had it been anyone else, they'd think it an insult, but thankfully Gunther new of his dry sense of humor and took it as a compliment.

"Reading has given me many new qualities." The man proclaimed proudly before turning his attention back to Eren. The sudden act seemed to make the brunette relax, mind wandering from the original reason for being here, but knowing it wasn't over quickly brought his guard back up. "Eren, I'd love if you'd give me a few more chapters to read. I'm dying to know what happens next."

"Well it's... Not entirely finished yet." The teen uttered, his arms tightening around his laptop and fingers tapping at the edges. Regardless, he slowly let it go to open it up.

"That's alright. It takes time to write a story, so I'm not rushing you. No need to be frantic about it. We all write at our own pace after all." Gunther assured. Eren hadn't been paying much attention to Levi signing for him, only managing to open up an email document.

After he'd first emailing Gunther a week ago, he'd put a few more chapters in his computer. After grooming it to what he deemed fit for other eyes, he kept it hidden away, just in the small chance that yes, Gunther wanted to read more.

"Okay..." He mumbled to himself as he wrote out the email.

"You know, Eren, with your permission, I'd like to send this to my friend over in publishing. I really think she'd enjoy it herself."

Levi stopped for a moment, suddenly surprised by Gunther's words. He hadn't expected that to come from him, but it had, and it rendered Levi slightly dumbfounded.

"You really think so?" Levi asked of him.

"Of course! I know a good story when I read it, and I really think Eren can make a best seller out of it."

"Levy..." Eren whined and shook his arm, having a hard time following their conversation on his own.

"He calls you Levy?" The man's face contorted to that of confusion, but noticing that Levi didn't react to it told him that this was a casual thing between them.

He didn't know much about their relationship, just that they were together, and that Eren was far younger then Levi had bothered to mention. He was thinking the teen would be... Well, an adult. Older at least. He barely looked sixteen, but Levi wouldn't do something as crazy as date someone so young. All that meant to him, however, was that Eren was of legal age of consent, but still, that was pretty young.

"Sorry, Eren..." Levi apologized before translating everything Gunther had said.

The man sitting before them watched as Eren concentrated hard on his fingers, but he assumed by the slowly growing amazement that arose on Eren's face that he was getting the news. When the older man stopped, Eren looked at Gunther, to his boyfriend, and then back to Gunther, who offered up a smile.

"R-Really...?" He asked.

"Like I just told Levi, I know a good story when I read it, and you have a possible best seller. I really think you should go for this, Eren." The man assured him.

"... But... What if people don't like it?"

"Do you like it?" Gunther questioned.

"Huh...?"

"Do you like your story? Do you like the direction it's going, the characters, and plot development? Do you like your own story?"

"Of course I do."

"Then that's all that matters." The older man assured. "While I'm sure people are going to love it, it doesn't matter what they think, so long as you're happy with the outcome."

Levi finally set his hands down in his lap, giving them a break. He felt like there would be a pause for now, a chance for Eren to think about his words. He'd only come in here with the idea that one person, and editor, would be reading his story and giving him feedback. Maybe the idea of publishing it had come about, but it was like his cochlear implants. It had only been an idea until it was finally represented as something more. Now the brunette had a very dazed look on his face, looking lost between his decisions.

"I'll... I'll think about it." Eren finally spoke up. "For now, though, only you can read it."

Gunther seemed to understand his thought process and slowly nodded his head.

"Alright then."

Walking out of the building seemed to be an immediate release for Eren.

"You okay?" Levi asked him and moved to pat his back.

"I couldn't breathe, and my heart was pounding so hard. It felt like an anxiety attack."

"It's over for now, Eren, and I'm really proud of you. You did very well in there."

"There wasn't much I did. Hell, I won't even let a publisher see it."

"You told him you'd think about it, so give it time. That's a huge step, Eren, so think long and hard about it." Levi told him with a small smile. "But for now, let's head home. Maybe get some food on the way there. You can relax for now."

"That's sounds like a great plan." Eren agreed with a heavy sigh. Levi chuckled at his reaction before they began heading back for his car down the street. He was glad they hadn't taken too long, because he hadn't necessarily parked in a legal parking spot. His car was still there though, ticket free, and that was all that mattered.

Just as they got to it though, Levi's phone began going off. The older man stopped for a moment to pull it out, looking to see Mikasa's name flash on his screen.

"Oh great..." He muttered. She was probably wondering what was taking him so long to be out with her brother. Without work, she was an utter mess of worrying about him and being bored while waiting to hear about possible employment, and it showed.

Golden eyes looked down at the caller ID, and Eren groaned out loud.

"What does she want?" He questioned in annoyance. Levi shrugged his shoulders before answering, figuring it best not to stall too long. Lord only knows she'd come looking for him.

"Hello...?" He greeted. Eren rolled his eyes before leaning against the car, watching the man speak over the phone. However, he watched with slight confusion as Levi's features turned worried. "Wait, Mikasa, slow down. I can't understand you." He started and held up a hand.

"What's wrong?" Eren asked, but Levi held up a finger, indicating to him a moment of silence.

"Which one...?" Levi uttered and looked to Eren. He could already see the worry building into those golden irises. "Alright, we'll be there soon." He said and hung up.

"What's wrong?" Eren repeated himself.

"Come on, Eren. Get in the car." Levi signed to him quickly and moved to the driver's side.

"Why? What's going on?"

"Armin's in the hospital."

A/N: I swear I love my baby. I promise I do.