Let this be our prayer
Chapter 15
There are some situations you're prepared for; and some that you're not.
But, maybe you weren't as ready as you think.
It felt like his heart would burst out of his chest.
The young man before him was only ever seen in his dreams. He thought that's also where he would always stay.
But to finally see this person in the flesh and to actually know they're alive.
Well, maybe all the trials before this were worth it.
Silence dragged on between the two individuals, only the steady beat of Mikasa's heart monitor being the only sound in the room.
Finally, it seemed like his voice agreed to come back, "Eren...I-I never thought I would see you." And by never, Levi really means it.
"Y-Yeah, same."
Silence once again engulfed the room.
Eren seemed to find his necklace interesting as he fiddled with it for some minutes, looking everywhere but at him.
"D-Do you mind if we...chat for a while?"
Green eyes looked up and a tentative smile eased his nerves a bit.
"N-No. We, uh, probably should."
Levi nodded as he got up and put the chair back in it's original spot, stroking Mikasa's hair before leaving.
You know how they say that when you meet an ex, things feel awkward between the two of you.
Levi is pretty fucking sure they haven't said the same about a former lover, who died, got reincarnated, and has spent the same time, if not more, also looking for you, wondering if you were also born again.
He sure as hell knows the second teen magazine picks it up, it'll be a shit show.
The two men found an area near the hospital where they could sit down, and hopefully talk about what's between them.
Levi sighed, there was no way to properly do this. So, he might as well go with his gut feeling. "I never thought you would be a real person. I had these dreams throughout my entire childhood and I was labled the odd one out because of them. But that didn't change my desire to find out if you were alive. I was about to give up hope when Erwin comes in one day and lets me know you are alive, and attending the same college as my sister. Perhaps this is my reward for going through all those shitty dreams."
Eren hummed beside him, "Same here. I might not have had them for as long as you have, but I also felt left out somehow. I had these dreams I couldn't freely speak about without getting looked at weird or having my imagination too active again. When I started having these dreams, I wasn't sure what to do. But, I'm really glad I decided to look for you. I felt like if I ignored the information I gained, it would be like I was ignoring you."
The raven felt a wave of relief run through his body. He wasn't sure how Eren would react to learning about him; but he was glad he could use this time, a more peaceful time to connect with each other.
"So...how has your life been this time Eren?" He could vaguely recall from his dreams that the brunet's past life wasn't so pleasant.
Eren ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it even more, "A lot more peaceful. Mom and dad are married and happy this time around. There hasn't been a lot of hurt. I also have some friends from the past life with me too. I dunno, it just feels really nice and kinda weird to not have to fight for a living anymore." His green eyes glanced towards the older male, "How about you?"
"Things have been really great as well. My mother is alive within this timeline, my father is actually around. As you know, Mikasa is my sister this time around, and I also have a younger brother. Shitty eyebrows and shitty glasses are still my closest friends. I currently own my own business and live in Trost. As you said so yourself, it does feel odd to not fight titans to stay alive. Although, I wouldn't change this for the world."
For some moments, everything was quiet between them.
"Levi, I know this might sound rushed or whatever, but I would like to be friends. Maybe we could exchange numbers and meet up everyone once and a while."
The older male nodded smiling. Such a sight made Eren pause and stare.
His captain never openly smiled unless the two were well within their own private room.
Levi then touched his face, "Something wrong?" Despite what he looked like, the man was prone to small moments of self consciousness.
Eren frantically waved his hands, "No, no! Just you look really nice smiling! Not to say you didn't, you look handsome! Really handsome it's almost a crime! You look so aesthetically pleasing! Ugh, I'm gonna stop now before I make it worse." The young man buried his face in his hands.
Seeing the brunet embarrass himself made Levi laugh at him, the man holding his sides as Eren whined in protest.
He passed his phone to the young man while his laughter died down to small chuckles.
"Asshole."
"We all have one."
"Good to see your humor hasn't changed."
Levi huffed out a small laugh, "Yeah, good to see that's still strong as ever."
Eren handed him back his phone, and they sat side by side for some minutes.
As the brunet sat there, he felt an immense wave of calm run through him.
These past few weeks that he had known all about Levi, he felt like there was something missing in his life.
But now that he had the older man beside him, things just seemed to fall into place.
He didn't have to look for Levi anymore, the man was now beside him, he had his number, and he actively wanted to get to know the other again.
Perhaps those dreams were simply a way of telling him that he needed this in his life.
There really wasn't any other explanation.
He just wishes this didn't have to happen because Mikasa was admitted to the hospital.
Seeing as he was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice a bigger hand come over and take his own within their's, fingers intertwining comfortably.
Levi smiled as he saw the dopey, thinking look on Eren's face.
Just like he remembered.
"Alright Miss Ackerman, be sure to take your medicine whenever you feel an anxiety attack coming or any feelings of anxiety. But, be sure that it's no more than two a day. It's also good to set up an appointment with your doctor and tell him you take this medication."
Mikasa nodded as she took her prescription and signed papers to allow her to check out of the hospital along with her parents.
It had been two days since Eren and Levi's talk, and the two had established a bond of sorts.
They would come and visit Mikasa together, which confused her at first because she had no idea her best friend and brother were already so close. But, she didn't say anything that deterred them; if anything, she encouraged it.
Apparently, her reasoning was that her brother needed more friends and because of that, he wouldn't bother her so much.
It seemed she didn't take into account that Levi could simply ask Eren how his baby sister was doing, but he's sure she'll figure it out sooner or later.
Levi helped his sister into her jacket, ignoring her protests that she was fine, while Farlan pointed out that their brother was in mama bear mode and nothing would stop him. The blonde laughing at the glare that was thrown his way.
Kuchel wrapped an arm around her daughter as they all left the room, Levi holding his sister's hand, Farlan ruffling her hair and Mikasa pouting that she was being treated like a child by her mother, younger brother and older brother.
Kenny lagged behind a bit with Eren.
"I wanted to thank you one more time about telling me my daughter was in the hospital."
"O-Of course, sir. Mikasa is a really good friend of mine, well, more like a sister already."
The oldest Ackerman chuckled, "Still, thanks kid. It's good to know someone is looking out for her while the rest of us are away."
Eren rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, a bit embarrassed, "Course, I'll always look after Mikasa."
"In that case, you better look after my oldest kid too. You two aren't subtle there kid."
Kenny laughed out loud as he left the brunet sputtering behind him.
After spending some time with Mikasa and making sure to fill Annie in on everything that happened with the doctor, the Ackerman family was getting their things back into their car and make their long trip back.
Farlan, Levi and Kenny were thanking Annie and Eren for all they have done for their family member, making the brunet flush and Annie smile a bit.
Kuchel currently had Mikasa in a tight hug, not wanting to let go of her only daughter.
"Mom, I promise I'll call and let you know how I'm doing. You also have Annie and Eren's number now, things will be fine."
"Can you honestly blame me for worrying so much, love? You're my only princess and I want to protect you as much as I can."
Mikasa's grey eyes softened seeing her mother's worried face, getting even closer to her mother, as close as she could, she buried her face into her mother's neck, taking in the comforting scent and feeling like a child once more. "I promise to stay safe mom."
Pressing a kiss into her child's hair, Kuchel let her go only for Farlan to come over and hug his sister, swinging her around with their mother lightly scolding them.
Kenny shook hands with Eren and Annie one final time and went over to hug his daughter.
Levi and Annie exchanged numbers. promising to chat more. The blonde went over and joined the others, leaving the two men alone.
Eren smiled at the raven, "We should definitely set up a day for a video chat. Until then, let's continue texting and call each other."
The man nodded, "Agreed."
A moment passed by before Levi pulled the other by the hand and embraced the brunet.
Eren felt himself practically melt into the others arms, a happy smile on his face.
"See you soon, okay?"
"Yeah. See you soon." He mumbled into the raven's shoulder.
The two broke apart and immediately tensed when they heard Kenny wolf whistle and Kuchel giggle into her hand.
They saw Mikasa gag into her scarf, Annie shake her head thoroughly amused, and Farlan smiling.
"Sorry to break up the goodbye lovebirds, but it's time to head back!" The oldest Ackerman still had a large grin on.
Levi clicked his tongue, "Damn old man."
After some last farewells, the family got into their car and started to make their way home.
Later that night after Annie and Eren made dinner, refusing to let Mikasa help, the brunet and raven sat down on the couch.
Annie had long gone to sleep, having a class early in the morning. She went as far as inviting Eren to spend the night so he didn't have to walk all the way back home.
Taking the invitation, he and Mikasa decided to spend some time talking before they went to sleep.
"So, you and my brother huh..."
Eren sighed as he placed his soda on the floor. "Mika, it's not what you think."
Mikasa rolled her eyes, "Oh yeah, cause two people hug that long and look like they wanna bone each other every time they make eye contact."
"Mikasa." The brunet hissed out, minding the volume of his voice.
"Come on, Ren. You know," She leaned back into the couch's arm rest, "I don't mind you dating my brother. I think you two would be good for each other."
That made Eren raise his brows, "Really?"
"Yeah. I don't know why, but just seeing you two together just looked so...natural."
Well, if he and Levi ever do date, at least he can rest easy knowing Mikasa approves.
"So, just think about that, okay?" The teasing smile on her face only widened at seeing the red flush come to his face.
"I think we left Mikasa in good hands, don't you Kenny?" Kuchel looked over at her husband, having set down her book for a while.
"Yeah, that boy and girl looked like good people." The man kept his eyes on the road.
Glancing back, Kuchel saw her two sons leaning against each other as they slept.
It warmed her heart to know that Farlan began to open up once more since his older brother returned home.
But there was something that concerned her.
"I know this is sudden, but do you think Farlan liked Eren?"
Kenny shrugged, "Hard to say. They didn't really interact when we were there. Maybe when we go visit, they should hang out more. You can't expect people to get along if they don't interact in some way."
She nodded slowly as she went back and settled into her seat.
Farlan cracked a blue eye open, and when he saw his parents weren't looking, he pressed a kiss to Levi's cheek,
He'd really like to see that brat try and take Levi away.
Come morning, Eren made his way home and laid down in his bed.
He thought about taking a nap because he and Mikasa stayed up rather late, when his door slammed open.
Armin stormed into his room, his normally calm face looking pretty upset.
However, the brunet kept laying down. "Hey Ar, what's up buddy?"
"Why the hell did you break up with Jean?"
Eren frowned as he sat up, "Look, I know you must have heard by now that we're not together, but I don't exactly feel like talking about it." While he and Levi had hit it off, that didn't make him instantly forget he just got out of a long term relationship.
"Cut the crap Eren, you two were perfect for each other. Just go back to Jean and tell him your little temper tantrum is over and you can get back together."
"Whoa, hold on." the brunet was frowning as he looked at his best friend, "Armin, you may be one of my best friends, but you cannot tell me what to do."
"Of course I can. I'm doing this to protect you."
"Look, I appreciate that you have my back, but there's something called being selfish. And Armin, you're only thinking of yourself in this situation and completely ignoring what I think."
"That's not true Eren! I'm making sure you don't get hurt!"
"Armin, I'm an adult. I can make my own decisions by now."
"No, you can't."
"Oh yeah?" Eren crossed his arms over his chest, "And why is that?"
"Because you'll ruin you're life if you decide to go with that man."
"And just how do you know that? You can't judge a person without knowing them first. I think if you speak with Levi and see how he really is, you'll like him."
Armin scoffed, "Like hell I could like that bastard."
Eren was left in disbelief. The blonde usually was more than okay giving people a chance, so why was he dead set on Levi being a bad person? He had never even met him, he didn't spend time with him like Eren did.
"Look Armin, I get that you look out for me, but I will make my own decisions. So please, don't interfere in this."
The blonde clenched his fists, pure irritation running through him.
It looks like he'll have to do that to Eren after all.
He walked up to his best friend, determined to help, and pressed his thumb into the center of the brunet's forehead, making him freeze and his eyes glaze over.
"I'm sorry, but I have to do this Eren."
Before he could begin, the blonde felt someone punch him in the face, causing him to slam into the wall.
Jean panted as his fist throbbed a bit. "Just what the hell are you doing?!"
Armin held his cheek with a grimace, already knowing he would be sporting a bruise in no time, "Why are you here?"
"To stop you from messing with Eren like you've messed with a lot of us."
"What are you talking about Jean?" Maybe if the blonde faked innocence the other wouldn't know and he could get away with it.
"Don't play dumb with me Armin. We all know that you've been doing this for years. You took so much away from us because of you!" Anger was pumping through Jean's veins.
"Just what did I take away from you all? And who is all?" The blonde felt sweat begin to arise.
"Me, Sasha, Connie, Bert, Reiner, Krista, and Annie. You know what you've ripped away from us all you fucking two faced bastard."
"Come on, Jean." Armin held up his hands, "There's no need to get mad about nothing."
"Nothing? Nothing?!"
The blonde began backing up before his back met the wall.
Jean rushed over and grabbed the other blonde by the collar, their faces coming close, his own brown eyes ablaze.
"We fucking know you've been erasing our memories of our past life for years, you son of a bitch. And I won't allow you to do the same to Eren."
End of chapter 15.