Chapter 14: Decision
A footstep could be heard on the hallway of the hospital. It was pretty quiet that night without any urgent patients that needs to be taken care of. Levi had just walked outside his office turned to the elevator. He punched the elevator button that goes up. While waiting for the elevator to come to his floor, his hand pulled out a box of cigarette. He clicked his tongue at the realization that he almost run out of his stock.
"Levi." Erwin called on his way walking downstairs. His eyes caught the box of cigarette and rose an eyebrow.
Levi rolled his eyes. The elevator's door opened and he walked inside. Much to his dismay, Erwin followed him inside. Levi leaned against the wall of the elevator after he punched the top floor that goes to the rooftop.
"Leave it, Erwin. Let me smoke. It's been so stressful lately."
"Eren wouldn't like it when you two kiss."
That statement made Levi choked. "What the hell. Why would you even think that?!" He hissed with full of annoyance.
Erwin smirked at the openly l-displayed reaction. "Just warning you about the side effect." He chuckled at the growl of reply.
"He never complain about it…" Levi mumbled. The elevator stopped. Both guys walked outside and turned to walk upstairs. As soon as Levi opened the door to the rooftop, a cold wind blew past them.
"I see, you two had kissed." Erwin sent Levi a big grin.
Levi tried not to punch his superior. Sometimes the man was too much. "Shut up." He scowled. The shorter of the two leaned against the railing, lightened up his cigarette. He sighed as the nicotine submerged into his immune system.
Levi stared at the light streets. The colours of the lights were pretty at night, Eren would have liked it here if only the brat wasn't that forlorned this evening. The brunette had excused himself to go back earlier, telling him he had delivered the breads safe and sound. Levi wondered what Oluo had talked to him about.
"Damn little brat…" He frowned, not realizing he had talked his mind out loud.
Erwin looked at him. Silence surrounded both of them until Erwin decided to break it. "Have you decided what you'd do once the result came out?"
Levi looked back to the man. His beady eyes drifted back to the street below them. "I have no idea, I just… tried to cherish every moments we have right now." Levi's voice was too soft that Erwin could barely hear him if he hadn't leaned in closer.
"Cherish the moments. Cherish him as well." Erwin smiled.
Levi nodded. His grip on the railing tightened. It'd taken lots of effort to go through this together.
"Yeah… I will." Levi breathed out a smoke.
Erwin stared at him. He pulled out the leftover cigarettes out from Levi's pocket.
"Hey!" Levi tried to reach out for it but Erwin crumpled it.
"You know it's against the rules. This one will be the last one, Levi."
Levi clicked his tongue and let the man do whatever he want.
Erwin turned around and left, leaving him alone to have some time to think. On his way to the door, Hanji came rushing up with a loud shout, almost ran into Erwin on her way to the rooftop.
"ERWIN! LEVI! THE RESULT HAD COME OUT!" She shouted while waving the printed paper.
"Hanji-san! Can't you wait until tomorrow?!" Moblit ran chasing after her.
Levi stared at the paper with a frown.
"That was… quick." Erwin mumbled.
Moblit sighed as he tried to catch his breath. "Well, its Hanji-san you're working with."
"I'll tell Eren. Put that paper in an appropriate envelope or something." As soon as Levi finished talking, he felt droplets of rain started.
"It's raining! The paper!" Hanji shouted and ran back inside.
It was raining hard by the time Eren came home from the hospital. Mikasa gawked at her brother, padding inside the house dripping wet.
"Eren, you better hurry up and change those wet clothes. I'll warm the bath for you."
Eren didn't reply her. He ran inside his room and slammed the door closed. He doesn't even bother to light up his room. Eren threw his bag on the floor and threw himself on the bed, hugging his pillow and rolled to his back. He sighed and ruffled his hair in frustration. Things shouldn't be this heavy. How should he explain to Mikasa what had happened to Rivaille during the bus incident? He recalled every words Oluo had said.
Flashback
Oluo stared at him and frowned. "I understand if you want your brother back, but he was enjoying his life right now. I hope you won't drag him back to the place he doesn't belong." With that, Oluo turned around and walked outside the office.
Eren looked back to the brown envelope. He picked it up and check the inside. Its nothing but a patient's information, much to his disappointment. He threw the envelope back to its place and called out the man. He wouldn't want to let this information slipped away.
"Wait, Oluo-san!"
Oluo halted on his way going outside the office. He looked back to the brat with a frown.
"Tell me every bit of it! Please!" Eren bowed so low that Oluo flinched at the sudden action.
"Calm down, brat. I'll tell you, just… calm down." Oluo checked around to see if there was someone who'd come close to the office before he closed the door behind him.
Their eyes met and Oluo gestured Eren to take a sit while Oluo himself leaned against the desk. Eren pulled Levi's chair and sat in front of the man, waiting.
"First of all, you need to be careful with this information, kiddo. Can you promise me not to leak the information away?"
Eren curled his hands and nodded. "I promise." He couldn't believe he'd get an information over Levi's childhood from a person he'd just met.
"On that trip, the bus was... hijacked." Oluo paused for a moment, gulping at the flash of memory taking place inside his mind.
Eren's eyes widened.
Oluo remembered every bit of it.
It happened on the steep hills. It was a havoc. The children were so scared. The teachers were trying to keep the children safe. They broke the window so that they could jump outside. Some of the teachers were wounded by trying to save the children. The hijackers had shot the windows, earning sharp cries.
Some boys were grouping to protect a girl who's hiding behind the shortest of the four boys.
"Historia, quick, you have to jump off the bus!" Oluo shouted, helping her climbing the head of the seat.
"Ymir!"
"Come on Historia!" A girl with freckles and dark hair helped pulling Historia up. "It's okay, we'll be alright!" Ymir said and hugged her best friend tightly. Historia shielded her head and they jumped off the bus. The police caught Historia and Ymir safely before they hit the ground.
Inside the bus, the man with dark hair clicked his tongue. He shouted and aimed his shot upward. The children cried over hearing the gun being fired.
"How can you let the princess get away?! We're so fucked up!" He shouted angrily.
"Sorry, boss! I guess we have to punish those boys over there! They dare to interfere!"
The boy called Gunther push his best friend up. "Rivaille, go that way! Get up and jump! Jump over me to go outside the window!"
"But Gunther, you also want to-"
"You have to live!" Eld shout while pushing him to the window.
"Captain! We'll back you up!" Oluo added.
"Oluo-"
"Nice try, kids! Look what had you done, we've lost the princess for good!" The old man's voice could be heard, sneering at them as he came close. Rivaille's eyes widened, seeing the figure with dark long hair approaching them in the middle of ruckus.
"Rivaille! NOW!"
"Boss! More bodyguards and police coming!"
The kidnapper gritted his teeth. "Shit! Then we have no choice but to destroy everything!"
As soon as Rivaille jumped out, the bus swerved and collided to the gasoline truck. He got thrown away and hit the barrier of the cliff.
"Apparently, the kidnappers were driving the gasoline truck before they asked for help from the driver which was driving our bus. There's the princess in our school. It's scary that they knew Historia was inside the bus. After Historia jumped out, we told Rivaille to jump outside the windows and then there's fire. Lots of fire. Everything burned and it happened so fast. I managed to jump through the window and lost consciousness after the big explosion." Oluo paused, looking down to his feet. "I think they did it on purpose, by colliding the bus with the gasoline truck. Some said that they planned on taking advantages on the children's. Most of us jumped outside by the instruction of our homeroom teacher."
"Princess? By Historia… You mean Historia Reiss" Eren frowned.
Oluo nodded. "Yes. She's the one they wanted to kidnap. There were lots of speculations. The classmates said the driver were one of those kidnappers, but it's how it works. If things didn't work out, they better destroy and burn things to ashes."
"Historia Reiss..."
Oluo could tell by his expression that Eren immensely receiving the information.
"In the end, she's safe. They told the media it was an accident, but I know it was an incident. Historia was a very humble child, she only wanted to blend in with every child her age and went to school by bus, not some fancy cars that keep her safe and isolated her from her friends. I don't know how the information leaked about her in the bus, but that's how those bad guys got the information. Her parent move her to a more private school for her safety."
"I see…" Eren nodded, absorbing the information.
"Rivaille now had a better life. He got what he wished for. It's more than enough. Don't go destroying his life, Eren."
Eren's eyes widened.
"That's more than enough information for you." Oluo nodded to him and walked toward the door. Once he opened, he saw Levi heading towards his office.
"Captain, is it done?" Oluo greeted him.
Levi glared at the name calling. "Stop with that captain thing. I'm done. Where's Eren?" As soon as he finished asking, Eren walked out from his office. Their eyes met and Eren looked down.
"Aah, I'm done delivering the breads, so I'll be going home now. Sorry for disturbing you, Levi-san." Eren bowed to him and ran outside the hospital, leaving Levi confused.
End of Flashback
Eren jumped when the door to his room opened, catching him off guard and breaking his train of thoughts. He hissed at his sister in full of annoyance.
"Eren, why are you lying on the bed?! What did I say about those wet clothes?" Mikasa scowled and forced Eren off the bed.
"Mikasa!" Eren complained once Miksa pulled his shirt up, forcing him to go nude.
"Come on, don't be such a child! The bath is ready." She pulled the wet shirt off of him and threw it on the floor. Mikasa paused, she stared at Eren's face properly. Through the dark and the entrance's illumination light, Mikasa could see a glistened track of tears.
"Have you been… crying?" She rubbed Eren's tears away.
Eren gasped and touched his wet cheek. He sighed and looked away.
Mikasa lowered her hand and tenderly pulled his hand into hers. "If there's something I can help, do tell me about it." She said and ruffled Eren's wet locks. "But for now, take a bath. You'll catch a cold."
"Sorry." Eren mumbled and stood up, pulling his wet shirt off the floor and walked to the bathroom.
Mikasa had stared at Eren's back. Her brother had grown up. He might need some time for himself to think and she fully knows that by now. Not every secret can be revealed. She'd forgotten when was the last time Eren used to tell him every single thing that happened. Mikasa sighed. She needed to get used to this.
The time Eren finished bathing and walked into the dining room, Mikasa had warmed up the dinner for him to fill his stomach.
"Mom and Dad had went to sleep." Mikasa said and took the spoon and forks from the drawer.
Eren pulled the chair and took a seat. He didn't feel hungry, yet he'd feel bad if he ignored Mikasa's effort. Mikasa gave him the spoon and fork and grab the teapot she had previously boiled.
"Thanks." Eren said shortly and started to dig in.
Mikasa stared at him, not sure where to start.
"Eren-"
"Mikasa, don't tell our parents about me crying." Eren quickly cut her off.
Mikasa smiled under Eren's glare.
"Sure, Eren. I was curious though, what happened?"
Eren didn't answer immediately. "I need Ian to do something."
Mikasa halted her motion of pouring hot tea for Eren. "What do you need him for?"
Eren didn't reply immediately.
Mikasa searched in his eyes. "Is it about Levi?" Their eyes met and Mikasa got her answer by the silent nod.
"I did a DNA test."
A loud crash made both of them gasped. The hot tea had spilled all over the table. Eren stood up as soon as Mikasa squeezed her burned hand.
"Shit, Mikasa! Be more careful!" He pulled her toward the sink and ran a cold water over her hand.
"How come you didn't tell me about this?!" Mikasa retracted her hand from the cold water, glaring at her brother.
"I just did! Calm down, okay?! Mom and Dad are still asleep, remember?!" Eren hissed. He turned the tap water off and walked to the kitchen cupboard to take some dry towels. He threw the towels right on top of the splashed tea to let it soaked into the towel. He left them there without wiping them off.
Mikasa bit her lower lip, she looked down at her wet hand. "What are you going to do about the result? If Levi is really our brother, you'll have to brea-"
"We don't have to." Eren cut her off before she could finish the word.
MIkasa threw him a disbelieve look. "What?"
"I'm dating him, still. I want to make sure who he was. Brother or not, it won't change the fact that he'll still be my boyfriend."
"Eren, are you crazy?"
"I've decided that, Mikasa. If it turns out that Levi really is our brother, I want Ian to make a statement that he doesn't have anything to do with Yeager's family."
"You want Ian to lie?!"
"Mikasa, the reason I ask you about this is because I thought you can help me!"
"I can't do that, Eren!"
"Why cannot you understand my position?!"
They weren't even talking in silence anymore. The argument had reached Carla's room that she'd need to get out and checked if everything was alright. Grisha had started to complain.
"What are you two arguing about?" Carla's voice made Eren jumped.
"Mom, since when you're there?!"
"I just arrived in here because I heard both of you arguing. I heard it all the way to my room." Carla's eyes found the mess on the table. "What's the mess on the table about?"
Eren glared at his sister, daring him to spoil their secret. Mikasa opened her mouth, gapping like a fish before she decided that she'd better keep the secret for a while. Its night time and their Mom was supposed to be resting.
"Nothing to worry about, Mom. I'm just surprised, that's all. The spilled was caused by an accident, my hands slipped." Mikasa said and quickly walked to her mother. She gave Carla a pat on her back, pushing her gently outside the dining room.
"I'm sorry we wake you up. Let's go back to your room." Mikasa said. She looked back to Eren who had sat on his chair, glaring at the food. Mikasa took a deep breath and sighed.
"If you think you can't handle it alone, do let me know. Eren can be so hard-headed sometimes."
Mikasa smiled and nodded. "It's okay, Mom. I can still handle it on my own. You don't have to worry about it."
"Alright. Goodnight, Mikasa." Carla said and kissed her daughter's cheek.
"Goodnight, Mom."
Carla smiled and walked inside the room. Mikasa groaned softly after Carla closed the door behind her.
"Dammit Eren!" She hissed. She walked back to the dining room hastily. Eren was nowhere to be found. The table had been cleaned, much to her surprise. She frowned to herself and eyed the leftover rice wrapped neatly in the middle of the table. He must have gone back to his room.
It's up to her decision to choose wisely, yet it seemed so hard to walk through this.
'I couldn't tell lies to Ian nor that he had to lie over the truth.'
Eren sighed as he landed on the bed. A small vibrate on his phone made him flinch. He pulled out his phone from his pocket, checking the sender's name. He frowned when he saw Levi's message.
"Are you free tomorrow evening?"
Eren quickly typed the reply. "Yes, why?"
"The result came out." His reply was pretty fast.
Eren stared of the wods. He wasn't ready for it. No. Never.
"Fuck." He cursed as he swung his arms covering his eyes.
Marco coughed several times. Jean looked up from the counter, eyeing his boyfriend worriedly.
"If you're sick, you can rest at home, you know?"
Marco smile. "I'm alright. I haven't got so much sleep lately."
Jean who was in the middle of cleaning the glass, frowned at Marco. "If you have a problem talk to me." He said. "Or Armin." Jean added.
Marco chuckled. "Sure, Jean. I'll consider Armin. Talking to you in the middle of the night will make it turn into a dirty talk."
Jean rolled his eyes and put the glass he'd wiped back into the cupboard.
The bell rang from the entrance of the cafe made both of them stood straight, greeting the customer. A girl with blonde hair walked inside, followed by a taller girl with dark hair.
"Good morning, ladies. What would you like to order?" Jean asked while he walked back to the register.
The girl's blue eyes scrutinized the menu, forefinger pointing at the drink similar to what she'd usually order from the shop near her home. "Two frappuccinos, please. Is there any… secluded area in here?" She said while she looked around the still empty coffee shop.
"Alright, two Frappuccinos. You can choose the back of the bushes near the corner. It's near the restroom if you must." Jean pointed to the spot she'd probably choose. The blonde haired girl handed him the right amount of money. Jean nodded.
"Thanks for your order."
"Come on, Christa." The black hair girl dragged the blonde hair named Christa to the place Jean recommended for them.
"W-wait, Ymir! It's beside a window!." She eyed the curtain once they stood beside the table, wondering if she could nonchalantly close the curtain as if its her own home.
Marco smiled at them for wanting privacy. Cute couple. "You can close the curtain if you want." He permitted them to do as they like. He nodded at them when both girls looked at them.
Christa smiled. "Thanks." She quickly pulled the curtain to close it. As she settled, Marco walked to them with their orders.
"You look oddly familiar." Marco said after he put the drinks on the table. Christa only smiled tersely. The black haired girl glared at him rather dangerously.
"You can go now." the black haired girl scoffed.
"Ymir…" Christa gave her a look. Ymir looked at her before averting her eyes down, finding her drink much more interesting that ever.
Marco seemed to catch the hint and bowed apologetically. He left them to have some time alone. Jean who was behind the register noticed his puzzled expression.
"What's wrong?" The question only receive a shook of head.
"They seems… odd." Marco whispered while rubbing the back of his neck. His eyes still locked on both girls who were starting to enjoy their drinks.
Jean raised an eyebrow. Marco shrugged to him. A walked in customer broke their chat.
"Mikasa? Its rare of you to wander off the shop in this hour. Did you finished your lesson early?" Jean pointed while a big smile.
"Jean. I have a meeting with my friends." Mikasa looked around and found the girls sitting near the bushes. "Ah, there they are." She waved at Christa just as she cheerfully waved at her.
"What would you like to order?" Jean called out.
"I'll have a lemon tea. Thanks, Jean." Mikasa said and gave a little wave to him.
"So, they're her friends…" Marco mumbled to himself.
"Marco, you gotta move your ass." Jean shot him a look.
"Oops." He immediately walked inside to make the lemon tea.
Armin watched his best friend walked inside the classroom looking pretty depressed. He had heard from Eren that Levi texted him last night about the test result. The mood was pretty heavy. Eren had been moping for almost the whole day.
"Eren, please..." Armin sighed and put his hand on his shoulder. He retracted his hand when Eren shot him a look. He put his hands in the air. "Alright, no touching."
"I don't even know how to feel right now." Eren groaned and slumped down to his seat.
Armin checked the clock hanging on the wall.
"We still have one more lesson before the day is over." Armin said. "After this you can go straight to the hospital."
"I don't even want to, Armin." He hissed and cupped his face. He thought he was ready for whatever the outcome, but no, Eren was never felt like he want to run away and disappear.
Armin eyed him and looked down on his table. "Don't runaway, Eren." He could feel Eren's gaze bore onto him, but he never raise his head.
Christa smiled happily as she slurped her frappuccino. "This is good! I should have come here often!"
Mikasa chuckled. "I told you! By the way, here are the questionnaires that you need." She pulled a map out and handed them to Christa.
"All of this?" Christa gasped.
"It's all done." Mikasa nodded.
"Thank you so much for your help, Mikasa!" Christa smiled happily while hugging the paperworks. "Now we can make the report with these questionnaires you've collected! Thanks to your customers as well!"
"That was quick!" Ymir said, eyeing Mikasa up and down.
"Stop staring at her like that, Ymir!"
"Oh, my Christa is jealous! I'm flattered!" Ymir grinned widely.
Christa pouted. "That's not what I mean. You're being impolite!"
Mikasa chuckled at the two usual antics. She took a deep breath and sighed softly. Christa and Ymir looked at her with concern.
"Is there something wrong?" Those blue eyes were full of concern.
Mikasa shook her head with a terse smile but Christa took her hand into hers, cupping them gently. Her eyes showed how serious she was that Mikasa had no choice. She had no one to talk to, not even her fiancé because of how Eren acted yesterday night. Mikasa looked down, blinking back tears.
"Mikasa…" Ymir eyed her worriedly. She looked at Christa at the same time as Christa looked at her. Both of them looked back to Mikasa. Christa stood up and dragged her seat beside Mikasa, patting her back.
"Who dare to hurt you?" Ymir whispered.
"You can tell us, it's okay." Christa smiled to comfort her.
Mikasa raised her face. She clenched her fists, biting her lips as she frowned deeply.
Eren quickly went to the hospital as soon as his classes over. By the time he arrived, Levi was standing near the cashier. Their eyes met for a second. Levi nodded and made a motion for Eren to follow him.
"Make sure you follow up the bills, Oluo. Thanks." Levi waved at him. He turned around and walked toward his office.
Eren followed him closely without any words. His sweaty hand clenched the handle of his bag. His heart was hammering his chest the closer he got to Levi's office. He walked inside the office after Levi and closed the door. He put his bag on the empty desk, walked over to the wall and stood beside Levi's work desk.
Levi picked up the envelope. Hanji had neatly printed out the results. Levi stared at the envelope for a few seconds before silently gave it to Eren.
"Have you checked it?" Eren asked softly while he took the white envelope and pulled open the thread seal.
"Not yet. I want to check it with you." Levi mumbled. He stared into Eren's eyes, rubbing his cheek with this thumb.
Eren smiled when Levi ruffled his brown locks. "Let's read it together." He stood and leaned closer to Levi to let his boyfriend read along with him. He peeked inside and pulled the paper out of the envelope, eyes scanning the report.
Their eyes landed on the clarification and conclusions. Eren's eyes widened at the words he read through. Breathing suddenly seemed so hard. The brunette stumbled backward, his eyes saw stars. Eren pressed his back against the wall for support, his feet turned jelly. He slid down the wall, cold sweating.
Levi felt like his world turned upside down. The result papers had landed on the floor. Both guys looked down at the papers.
Eren's vision blurred. He crouched down and picked up the paper with trembling hands, read the words over and over again, hoping it would change somehow. Afraid if he mistook it another way. The result stayed the same. He cupped his face with his right hand, holding back tears.
Beside him, Levi clenched his fist. He was breathing hard. For once Levi let his anger clouded his mind. A punch on the wall made Eren flinch in surprise.
"Eren," Levi put his hand on Eren's shoulder, trying to pull him up. "Stand up."
Eren shook his head, tears running down his chin. He choked a sob, his hand trembled as he tried to ignore Levi's pulling on his uniform jacket.
"Eren, stand up and stop crying, brat." Levi's hand clenched on Eren's collar uniform. "STAND UP AND LOOK AT ME!" He commanded. Levi gritted his teeth.
"STOP IT!" Eren cried as he was being pulled up by force.
"Stop crying like a baby and look at me in the eyes." Levi muttered, his own hand trembling by the time Eren clenched his fists. Those green eyes were glaring back at him, full of anger.
"Levi… Please just… stop." The brunette stood up on his own and pushed Levi's hand away, trying to free himself from his clutch.
"Are you going to give up on us now?"
"The result is the answer! What do you want me to do?! We're brothers!"
Levi's hand slowly let him go. Both eyes burned with sadness, anger and pain.
At the other side of the wall, Hanji looked down to her feet with a sad look.
To Be Continued