Chapter 6 – Shipwreck

Levi hated mornings. He'd never been a morning person; he despised the sun coming up at dawn because of how bright it was. It's impossible to drive at specific times of the morning, especially 8 o'clock, and Levi's had his fair share of wrecks due to the sun. But now there was no blinding light impairing his vision, he had no vision, so there was no point in worrying. He loved it, almost.

When he woke up the next day, he had no idea if it was morning or not. It could've been the middle of the day for all he knew. The only thing that lead him to believe it was morning was Eren. The boy was softly snoring next to him and he had his arm wrapped around Levi's torso, with his hand resting on the man's lower stomach. His legs were tangled with Levi's as well. The older man felt so wanted, but he knew Eren didn't feel that way about him, he couldn't. After all, Levi was just an old blind man. There was nothing he could do for Eren. He'd be better off with a pretty girl that could actually make him dinner without burning something, a girl who made him happy.

He just knew Eren already disowned him for being gay. He could tell that from his voice after he met Erwin. He started acting strange, anxious even, like he was unsure if he should be around Levi. But, nevertheless, he was here cuddling with him. He was calming him, keeping him from having nightmares, and letting him sleep. It really did make Levi feel wanted and loved, but he knew it was wrong. Eren was just a kid. Well, not exactly, he was at least 22, but that's still a kid in Levi's mind. It was too much of an age gap for his liking, Levi was 36, not to mention that Eren wasn't interested in him.

The boy began to stir, Levi could feel how Eren's body tensed up as he stretched. His face scrunched up in a yawn before tightly gripping Levi's waist again. The man stiffened and looked behind him. He couldn't tell if Eren was awake or not, one downside to being blind is that you can't see facial expressions. Even more so in Levi's case, seeing as he couldn't see anything, just pitch-black color. He really wanted to know if the boy was asleep though. He could just ask him, if he got no response then that would mean he was asleep. So, that's what Levi decided to do. He rolled over to face Eren and gently spoke in an almost whisper.

"Hey, Eren? Are you there?" He sat and waited for a few moments before concluding that Eren was, in fact, asleep. Then, he added to his sentence. "I'm glad you're asleep...because I want to say so many things. I just never have the chance to say them since you're always awake and busy..."

He paused to catch his breath before continuing.

"I know you think I'm weird now, but I don't care. I...I think I might like you...or maybe I love you. I'm not sure what to call my feelings, I just know I don't want to lose you. Your personality is amazing...you're just so sweet to me even though I'm a stick in the mud. Thank you for that..." He trailed off looking for the right words.

His mouth opened to speak again, but his voice never came out. It couldn't because he was interrupted by Eren's voice.

"You're welcome." The brunet said as he tightened his grip on Levi's waist. The man pulled away, but quickly relaxed into his grasp. Then it hit him.

Was that brat really awake the entire time?! Damn it!

"Eren!"

"What?"

"How much did you hear?"

"All of it."

"What?! Why didn't you say anything?" Levi was about to beat the crap out of him, but he restrained himself.

Eren was currently laughing his face off at Levi's reaction. His face was hilarious, it was something in between disgusted and confused. Eren was humored at how he looked, but he finally calmed down and let go of Levi's waist.

"Jeez...you could've at least said something, I don't appreciate being toyed with." Levi was beyond angry at this point, yet all he wanted to do was keep cuddling against Eren.

"Sorry, I thought it would be funny. I'll go away since you seem angry at me." The boy slipped out of the bed and walked out of the room. Levi wanted to follow him, he also wanted to stay in bed though.

In the end, he decided to just lay there and stare at the ceiling that wasn't there. The darkness was getting boring, he just wished he could see what Eren looked like. He wanted to know what color his eyes were, what his smile looked like, how tall he actually was. He wanted to know everything. Then, a lightbulb moment happened. He could've just asked Eren all of those questions when they first met.

However, with Eren downstairs, he couldn't move from the bed anytime soon. Sure, he could try to walk down the stairs like he did yesterday, but that would just end with him getting bruised. His legs still hurt from the bruises he got from doing that the other day, he wasn't about to be stupid and do it again. So, he decided to wait until Eren came back into the room, which took way longer than he originally thought.

It was nearly an hour later when Eren came sauntering into the bedroom, humming as he did. Levi was almost half asleep already, but he swiftly sat up when he smelled food. He could hear Eren's footsteps gradually stepping closer to the bed and straightened his back once the boy set the tray on his lap.

"Careful, the coffee is hot." He said as he guided Levi's hand to the steaming cup.

"I can tell."

"Hey! I knew if I came up here and it was cold, or even lukewarm, you'd kill me." The brunet protested.

Taking a sip of the hot coffee, Levi calmly said, "That's true, but I wouldn't hurt you too badly. I still need you to be my eyes."

"Well, yeah, but still..."

"Still?"

Eren sat on the edge of the bed and snuck a piece of bacon past Levi's plate. He munched on the piece until it was gone and then broke the silence.

"Nevermind, it wasn't important."

"Mhm."

"Anyway, did you really mean what you said earlier...about loving me?"

Levi froze, dropping his fork onto the plate. Eren flinched at the high-pitched clinking sound it made in contact with the glass. The man blindly stared at his hands, they were shaking, he could feel it. He could feel the worry seeping into his body, all of the hatred he'd gotten over the years began overwhelming his mind.

'You're disgusting! What guy screws men!?'

'Ew, you're a freak.'

'Being gay is a sin.'

'You should just die already!'

'That's nasty!'

'You're a crime to nature!'

'No one will ever love you!'

'You'll never find love.'

'Faggot!'

"Levi!" It was Eren's voice.

Eren was shaking Levi's shoulders, trying to snap him out of his daze. The man shoved him away in one fluid motion.

"No! Stay away from me! I-I'll only cause you pain." He was half yelling at himself.

"Pain? What're you talking about?"

"I...I'm bad luck. You'll be miserable if you stay here." Levi's head dropped and he clenched at the sheets.

"What? Levi, I-"

"Just go. Please."

"No."

"God damnit, Eren! I'm trying to help you!"

"Well, I don't want help! I want to stay with you!"

Eren's face was swiftly met with Levi's hand in a sharp smack. The brunet stared at Levi like he'd just broken up with him, he looked hurt, like his entire world had ended. In reality, it had. The skin that Levi had hit stung with a dull, lingering pain. Eren couldn't believe it...Levi just hit him. The man's steel-gray eyes widened in shock as he realized what he'd done. His hand instinctively moved up to caress Eren's cheek, but it was slapped away. The boy stood up and bolted out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

"Eren, wait!" Levi shouted, but it was no use.

Damn it!

Levi pushed the tray aside and stood up, fumbling around for a minute to find his shoes. He finally got dressed and found his way to the door. Once he walked out, he had to make his way down the stairs in order to leave the house. Levi's feet slowly moved forward, his hand running along the wall beside him. He felt for the beginning of the stairwell, then cautiously located every step as he went down, well...almost every step. He miscalculated and when his foot slipped off of one of the steps, his body fell down with a hard thud. Levi had just fallen down 7 steps, tumbling as he did. His head hit the 4th step and he was knocked unconscious by the force. He laid there, lifeless, for 3 hours until Erwin decided to show up.

The man was passing by and saw that the door was cracked open, so he chose to investigate. When he came in, all he saw was Levi's body laying still at the bottom of the staircase. He quickly picked the smaller man up and took him back to bed. That's who Levi was met with when he woke up: Erwin Smith.

His eyes slowly cracked open and his hand motioned over to the right side of the bed, the side where Eren had been, but there was no one there. He heard breathing next to him and glanced over.

"Eren?"

"No."

Levi immediately recognized the man's husky voice.

"E-Erwin...?"

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Oh my God! Guys! I cried my eyes out for at least an hour straight because I learned that Jeopardy! Host Alex Trebek passed away today. I was heartbroken. He was one constant person in my crazy life and, pretty soon, his voice was something I grew accustomed to. So, in honor of him, I'm dedicating this chapter to his memory. Rest in Peace Alex.