Chapter 10 - Backwash Waves

"A d-doctor...?" His voice was low, and it almost sounded apologetic.

Levi turned away from the younger boy and circled his arms around his waist. He knew there would be a flurry of questions after what he said, he also knew that Eren would look at him differently now because of it.

"Yeah, what of it? It's not like I'm in some high-class mansion or something. Being a doctor isn't what people crack it up to be. Trust me." He said in his regular, monotone voice.

Eren motioned his body to sit next to Levi on the edge of the bed. The weight of the two strained the mattress, an audible creak echoing through the room. The air shifted once Levi turned to face the other way, his eyes narrowing out after he felt the boy's back near his legs, preventing him from pulling them up to his chest.

"Move your ass, Jaeger, I wanna sleep."

Eren didn't move though, he just kept staring at the wall.

"Eren."

Silence.

"Hey, Brat!"

Finally, he snapped back to reality, his eyes blinking rapidly as they adjusted to the light.

"Hm? Did you say something?" He asked, still in a slight daze.

Levi sighed before turning around again, leaving a confused Eren to ponder his thoughts. The brunet stared at his hands, then gently lifted one to push a strand of silky, black hair out of Levi's face. Levi blinked, confused by what Eren just did.

"There was a piece of hair, I moved it." He softly spoke, smiling as he did.

"Mm..."

"C'mon, Levi...what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

A stilling silence dragged on for minutes until Levi decided to change the subject.

"Look, I'm not mad. I'm just a little frustrated because my boss won't even let me type up a few emails."

"Huh? But...how do you use your computer if you can't see the keyboard?"

Levi let out another sigh and reached over to the nightstand, grabbing his phone. He clicked the power button, opened it to the homescreen, and continued by pressing the button on the bottom part of the screen. It let out a dinging sound, then Levi started talking.

"Hey, Google, go to my emails." The phone lit up and took him to his Gmail account, much to Eren's surprise.

"Woah! That's cool! I completely forgot about the Siri option." He chuckled a little, and Levi could hear the embarrassment in his voice. "I always type stuff out, so I don't use Siri that much."

"Jeez."

"What?"

"It's nothing. I just find it funny that you know very little about phones."

"Hey! I'm busy with school, I don't have time to waste on my phone!" He yelled, blushing red from the humiliation.

"Ok, ok. I get it."

"Hmph!" Eren crossed his arms like a toddler, then turned his body away from the man in a small temper tantrum.

"Stop acting like a kid. It'll just embarrass you more." Levi gave a small smile, set his phone aside, and laid back down, turning away from Eren again.

The brunet scooched closer to his back, then placed a hand on Levi's cheek, gently rubbing circles into the skin. Levi closed his eyes at the touch, relishing the soothing attention. He brought his legs up to his chest and leaned his face into Eren's hand. They sat there, enjoying each other's company, until a knock at the door echoed through the house. Eren grunted before pushing himself off the bed.

"Do you have to go?" Levi asked, lightly tugging on Eren's shirt.

Eren took Levi's hand in his own, gliding his thumb across the top of the man's hand. "I'll be right back."

"But—"

Knock knock.

The hand that held Levi's disappeared, replaced by the feeling of empty air.

A wave of panic washed over him, "Eren?"

"It's alright." His caretaker reassured him as he walked out of the bedroom.

Eren walked down the stairs, eying the door as he went. He reached the front door and looked out the blinds. There was a lady with red hair standing on the porch; her hair was messy as it fell limply in a ponytail, she also had a pair of glasses. The brunet stared at the woman until she looked up. A brief moment was spent in a staring contest, then woman finally blinked before speaking her mind.

"Oh! Hi! I'm Levi's colleague, his manager told me to stop by his house and drop off a few things." Her voice was muffled by the glass, but Eren understood her loud and clear, considering she was halfway shouting.

"Ah!" Eren grabbed the door handle, turning it to allow the lady to enter. "Sorry, we've been getting a lot of company lately, and I didn't know who you were so..."

She cut him off before he could even finish his thought.

"I understand. It's good to be wary of strange people. Now! Where's Levi?" She paused for a moment. "Come on out you little hermit crab! Eld has been worried sick about you, you aren't gonna let him down, are you?"

Eren flinched at her loudness. He then moved to the stairs, stepping up each step until he reached the top.

"Can you tell me where Levi is? I have to see him."

The boy brought his hand over to the railing, "He's in his room."

"Huh?"

"Levi's in his room. I assume you already know about his condition."

"Oh! Yes, I do! That's also something I want to ask him about."

Eren began to walk down the hall and back to Levi's bedroom. The woman quickly bounded up the stairs and sprinted down the hall, meeting up with Eren right as he opened the door.

The door let out a wooded creak, the two wincing at the sound.

"Eren?" The older man clutched the covers as he scooted away from the noise.

"It's OK, I'm here."

"So am I!" The redhead hollered.

Levi narrowed his eyes. "Hanji?"

She beamed from ear to ear, grinning with pearly white teeth.

"Yep! I'm here on behalf of Eld."

Levi visibly cringed and laid back on his side, pulling the blanket over his shoulder.

"Why'd he send you?"

"Wha—I'm awesome! I don't know what you're talking about!"

The man sighed heavily, groaning as he sat back up.

"Jeez, Levi! You sound like an old man!" Hanji raised an eyebrow, then set her hand on her hip.

Levi sighed once more as he crossed his legs, resting his hands in his lap and knitting his fingers together.

"I am old, Shitty Glasses."

Eren walked over to the bed and sat down. He flung his body back, being mindful of Levi's legs, and brought his hands up to support his head.

"You're not old! Who told you that!?" She continued to ask.

He sighed again, "Me. I told myself that because I am old."

Hanji gasped as she clutched her face with her hands. She ran over to Levi and grasped his shoulders.

"Don't you ever say that!"

Levi shrugged, "Why not? It's true."

"Well because yo—"

Eren cut in briefly, stating his mind while he had the chance to talk. "Excuse me?" He smiled sheepishly. "Exactly how old are you, Levi?"

Hanji turned to Eren, grinning as she did.

"He's th—"

A hand on Hanji's face shut her up for a second or two, so Levi could answer.

"I'm thirty-four. I turn thirty-five in about a month."

Hanji finally freed herself from his grip and shouted another sentence, "I forgot it was December! It feels like spring!"

Levi scoffed, "Yeah, it's called Global Warming, dumbass."

"Pfft! That's not real!"

"Oh yeah? Well, come back again when you're in the middle of the ocean, standing on what used to be New York, but now it's just a little island on the ocean floor." The sarcasm in his voice grew with every word.

"Yea—"

"And the state of Hawaii will be gone by 2050. Not to mention all of the fires, flooding, and other 'natural disasters' that we give that label to, even though they're all a result of greenhouse gases."

"Lev—" She tried again.

"Have you even stopped to think about everything that could happen before 2100? Sea levels rising way past their limit, fires spreading across the Western Region, continuously worsening droughts, thousands of species going extinct, I could go all day with this." He was panting from not stopping to breathe during the whole minute he was talking.

"Levi! That's just the Earth doing its normal thing. Scientists have proven that there's nothing to worry about."

That earned another scoff from the skeptical man.

"Mhm. Tell me that when you're dead." He laid back down and curled up in his blankets, hugging them close to his chest.

"Fine then, I will! Anyway, I came to tell you that Eld is letting you off until further notice, and I also wanted to bring your stuff from the office." She set the box she'd brought with her down on the bed.

Eren hadn't even noticed it, but upon further examination, he figured the box was so small he wouldn't have seen it anyway. It was about the size of a music box, with a silver plate on the side that read 'Ackerman'.

"Thanks, leave it on the nightstand and get out of my room."

She puffed out her cheeks, then turned to leave, but snapped her fingers mid-walk.

"Ah! That's right!"

Levi sighed, "What now?"

"The boss said it was taken care of, you don't need to worry about it anymore. His words, not mine."

The man's eyes widened and he sat up in a hurry, slapping his hands to the side of his legs as he did.

With his mouth ajar and eyes wide, he spoke softly, "I told you to keep him away from that."

Hanji smiled a devilish grin before skipping out of the bedroom, walking downstairs, and leaving the way she came. Eren walked out of the room, watching as the strange lady left. She waved a quick goodbye to Eren, then shut the door.

"Eren! Come here!"

The brunet jumped at the man's voice, not really being used to Levi's harsh tone since he spoke so kindly to him. He did as he was told, strolling back to the bed and sitting down.

"What is it?"

"Open that box and throw the pictures away."

"Why?"

"I'm not stuttering here; do as I say!" Levi gripped at the blanket tighter than before, thinking about the items in that box made his stomach twist, and the nauseating feeling to throw up began to bubble in his throat.

"But...why?"

"Damn it, Eren! Do it! I'm sick and tired of people questioning me! That's why we're here in the first place!"

He knew he was screaming, he knew he was angry, he didn't want to be, but he was.

Why is this happening...? That damned Hanji. She just had to come, didn't she...why...why me? Why here? Why now?! Everything was fine until he ruined it! I was happy until he came along! Damn! Damn! Damn! DAMN!

"DAMN IT!" His voice cracked mid-sentence, but his tone was clearly evident.

Eren's eyes flew open at Levi's voice. He fell off the bed, landing harshly on his back and knocking the air from his lungs. His skin went hot from the fright, his stomach even had butterflies; they weren't the good kind either. To say the least, the boy was frightened by the state of his friend. When he looked back up, Levi was a panting, sweaty, trembling mess.

His eyebrows furrowed, he stood upright, then sat back down next to Levi, who was now sitting up in the bed with the blankets strewn across the mattress. He spoke softly as he wrapped an arm around the smaller man.

"Shh...It's alright. Everything's gonna be fine." He glanced over to Levi before continuing. "If you want me to leave, then I will."

"No...don't..." A small sob escaped as his breathing became more erratic.

A smile tugged on the boy's lips, "Ok."

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Oh boy! This chapter was a fun ride of emotions... drop a review if you liked this chapter. I know JayRatliff58 enjoys this story. Lol. I thought I'd do a little shoutout for you since you review so much. Thank you, it really helps. Also, I'm open to suggestions from anyone who has them.;)