First things first, thank you all so much for the reviews! :) Especially in the last chapter!
So, this is the first chapter that I've written where I didn't have the whole thing planned out in my head. Most of the plot was just written as I went along so I hope it's not too bad. It's also kind of short. Sorry :(
Also, again, with medical terms and stuff, please don't be nitpicky. I'm not a doctor so I will most likely get a term or two wrong XD. Anyways, as always, profitez de ce chapitre!
Once he had entered the small office, Eren took a seat on the leather couch across from where Marco was sitting. The first thing that the young doctor noticed was Eren's anxiousness. The boy was acting as if he needed to be somewhere else, and that somewhere seemed to be very very important.
"Eren are you feeling alright?" he asked, giving him a look of concern.
Eren glanced up at Marco from where he had been previously glaring at the floor, his knee shaking impatiently.
"Hm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. It's nothing." He lied, bringing his hand up as he began nervously biting at his nails again.
Marco studied Eren's stance closely, using what he had studied about human activity to figure out what exactly was bothering the young man.
"Let me guess. By the slight blush on your cheeks and your anxiousness, I'm going to say this has something to do with Mr. Ackerman. Am I right?" Marco asked, receiving a stunned stare from the boy in response. He chuckled and tapped his pen against his clipboard, leaning back in his chair. "I'll take that as a yes."
"How did you even know that?" the young man asked in amazement.
"Eren, I'm a psychiatrist. I've been trained specifically for reading people and their emotions." The doctor sighed. "You really underestimate my abilities."
Eren just laughed softly and shook his head, taking a deep breath and finally beginning to relax a bit.
Mikasa had called Armin and asked him if she could be the one to pick Eren up from the hospital. Of course she wanted to go and see her brother again, but she also had other motives.
When she entered the building, she paused in her steps, cursing under her breath when she couldn't recall the number of the hospital room she was planning on visiting. Mikasa looked around the lobby for a moment as she approached the woman behind the front desk.
"Excuse me miss, can you tell me which room Levi Ackerman is currently in?"
The woman glanced up from her computer and gave the girl a suspicious look. Mikasa quickly remembered that if she wasn't family, and if she wasn't on the visitation list, then she wouldn't be able to see the man she was looking for.
"I'm his… niece," Mikasa lied, fidgeting with the red scarf around her neck.
The woman nodded understandingly and opened a file on her computer. Mikasa stood there anxiously, hearing the mouse clicking a few times.
"Room two twenty-four dear. Second floor to the right."
Mikasa smiled briefly at the woman and took a step back. "Thank you miss," she said hastily before fast-walking over to the elevator.
Once she has made it up to the second floor, Mikasa followed the woman's directions and took a right, quickly finding the room she was looking for. She took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
Levi was sitting up in his bed, reading a rather long novel. He glanced up from his book, eyeing Mikasa with a puzzled expression.
"Can I help you?"
Mikasa took a step into the room and shut the door behind her. "Yes. You can help me by staying the hell away from my brother," she said coldly, glaring at Levi.
Levi sighed and sat up straighter, looking at the girl in front of him. "Tell me Mikasa, why do you dislike me so much? Is it because you think I'm going to hurt Eren?"
She clenched her teeth and fists firmly, frustration and anger pulsing through her. "I just, I just don't trust you. Eren has been hurt too many times and I'm not going to sit back and watch you break his heart. You've already hurt him once," she said harshly in an accusatory tone.
Levi hardened his glare and shut his book, leaning over to set it back onto his bedside table. "First of all, that accident was an accident, and second of all, what makes you think that I'm going to break his heart? Is it so crazy for you to believe that I might actually like Eren? Hell, that I might actually be falling for the brat."
He said it. Levi actually said it. The man couldn't believe what he had just said to Mikasa. But none the less, he said it, and the part that scared him the most is how true his words actually were.
Mikasa's eyes widened and she looked at Levi like he was absolutely insane. "You what?"
He took a moment and then sighed. "You heard what I said, and I don't like repeating myself. You're just going to have to trust me when I tell you that I would never hurt Eren, and if you care about him, and I can obviously see that you do, you will let him make his own decisions."
The girl took a deep breath and unclenched her fists. She cared for Eren more than anything else. He was her entire world. Mikasa knew that she could be a bit overprotective at times and that she would have to let go eventually.
Levi spoke up again. "Eren is twenty-three years old Mikasa. He's a big boy. You need to have more faith in your brother."
Levi was right, and Mikasa knew it.
"If you hurt him, you're dead." She threatened, pointing at him.
Before Levi could even respond to the girl's threat, she tightened her scarf and left the room, pausing when she was reached the doorframe.
"I have some errands to run, I'll be back to pick him up at noon." She looked back at the man and softened her expression. "Take care of him while I'm gone."
As Mikasa walked off, Levi couldn't help but smile.
After his appointment was over, Eren didn't waste anytime as he stood and left the office, hastily making his way to Levi's hospital room. Before he could reach the room, someone grabbed his arm and pulled him off to the side. Eren composed himself and looked up to see his sister standing in front of him with her arms crossed over her chest.
"What the- Mikasa? Why are you here?"
The girl muttered something inaudibly and glanced off to the side.
"What did you say?"
She scoffed as she planted her arms firmly against her side and stared up at her brother. "I said I came here to say I'm sorry!" she said a bit loudly.
Eren didn't expect- no, he didn't want Mikasa to apologize to him. He's the one who freaked out on her and blamed her for something that wasn't even her fault.
"No. Please Mikasa." Eren sighed and looked down at the floor shamefully. "If anyone should be apologizing, it's me."
"Eren you don't-"
"Just stop. Listen, you did nothing wrong. You were just looking out for me and I overreacted. Can we please just move on from this?"
The worry in Mikasa's expression faded and she stepped forward, wrapping her arms around her brother as a silent way of saying, 'I forgive you.'
She pulled away from Eren and crossed her arms again. "You're right. You were being a total asshole. But if you actually let me finish, I was going to apologize for what I said about Levi. Don't get me wrong, I still don't really trust the guy, but I know now that I shouldn't be so hasty to judge."
Eren stared at his sister, amazed by her words. This time, he was the one who wrapped his arms around her. He hugged Mikasa tightly, a huge grin plastered on his face.
"Thank you Mikasa. That really means a lot coming from you."
The girl smiled briefly as Eren pulled away. She hadn't seen Eren look so happy in a while, and all because she gave him her half-approval of Levi. Mikasa thought to herself that if Levi made Eren that happy, then maybe he wasn't as bad as she had originally thought. Maybe she could let go.
Mikasa told Eren that she would pick him up at noon, then the two siblings said their brief goodbyes.
Once she was gone, Eren quickly laced his way through the people blocking his path in the hallway and stopped in front of the door he was looking for. The door to Levi's room. Eren entered the room and took his usual seat next to the bed.
"So how'd your appointment go?" Levi asked, sitting up a bit straighter.
Eren shrugged and looked over at him. "It was fine. Oh, and Mikasa stopped by. We made up and-"
Before Eren could say anything else, Hanji entered the room, the two young interns from a few days ago following behind her. She approached Levi and took a quick glance at her clipboard, reading over a couple of things.
"Hello Levi. I don't know if you remembered or not, but your spinal tap is scheduled for today."
Levi looked to the doctor and nodded. "Yeah, are we doing that right now?" He asked.
"Yep. But it will be over super quick, I promise."
Eren gave both Hanji and Levi a confused look and leaned forward in his chair a bit. "A spinal what now?"
Hanji turned to face the young man and walked over to where he was sitting. "A spinal tap, or a lumbar puncture, is when we measure the pressure of and collect your cerebrospinal fluid for laboratory analysis."
Eren just stared at her, not understanding any of the big science words she was throwing at him.
She chuckled a bit at Eren's confusion. "Okay, so basically, we're going to insert a needle between two of Levi's vertebrae in his back to remove a sample that we need. We're doing this because of the seizure he had recently. The information we gather from this test can help diagnose any brain bleeds undetected by the CT scans," she explained, rather amused by Eren's horrified expression.
"Eren if you can't handle needles then you might want to step out of the room," Levi suggested after pulling off his shirt, turning onto his side and drawing his knees up to his chest so that the two young doctors could begin prepping him for the procedure.
It took Eren a moment to respond, but that totally wasn't because he was distracted by Levi's shirtless state, or at least he would never admit that it was. Eren shook his head and scooted his chair so that it was right beside the bed. "No, I'll be fine. I wanna stay. You know…" he took Levi's hand, "for moral support or whatever."
The older man just rolled his eyes, gripping Eren's hand as Hanji made her way to the other side of the bed. She walked over to the sink and snapped on a pair of latex gloves before coming back to where Levi was.
"Okay. First we are going to inject a basic anesthetic. Springer hand me the lidocaine."
Eren could feel Levi's hand tightening over his own as Hanji inserted the needle. He looked down at him sympathetically as the doctor prepared the larger needle for the procedure. Levi squeezed down on Eren's hand with a bone-crushing grip when Hanji began. The young man bit down on his tongue to hold back a hiss caused by the pain Levi was inflicting on him with his surprisingly strong clutch.
"Does it hurt?" Eren asked.
Levi glared up at him. "No it feels like a relaxing Swedish massage," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Oh, sorry," the young man muttered, wincing when Levi gave his hand a particularly hard squeeze.
"Thanks."
Eren glanced over at Levi. "For what?"
"Just, you know, for being here," he murmured as his eyelids grew heavy.
After the procedure was over, Hanji had given Levi some prescription pain meds to help with the soreness. He may have taken one too many... or four too many. Who knows. Anyways, the meds Levi had taken were beginning to make him feel rather loopy.
"Does it still hurt?" Eren asked, placing a hand on Levi's shoulder comfortingly.
"Huh? Oh, nope. Doesn't hurt, not at all," Levi mumbled, lolling his head to the side so that he was looking at Eren. He reached out and rested his hand against the young man's cheek, smiling, something that looked rather uncharacteristic on the man's usually serious face. Eren quirked an eyebrow when Levi suddenly began laughing for no reason.
"What's so funny?" Eren asked, unable to hold back a smile at the man's silly behavior.
"Nothing." Levi brushed the hair away from Eren's face and looked at him hazily. "You're pretty."
Eren chuckled and shook his head. "And you're on a lot of meds right now."
Levi rolled his eyes and ran his fingers through the younger man's hair briefly. "Yeah yeah yeah whatever. You're still pretty," he said, pulling his hand back and sighing.
Eren looked at the man for moment then stood up, getting ready to leave. He figured that Levi might want some time to rest, but right as he was about to walk away, Levi grabbed his wrist.
"No. Stay," the man slurred, tugging on the sleeve of Eren's sweatshirt.
Eren smiled and sat back down. "Okay okay. But are you sure you don't want to get some rest?"
Levi just shook his head and continued pulling at the young man's sleeve. "I wanna rest. I just don't want you to leave."
"Alright but just give me a second." Eren stood back up and went to go shut the door and turn the lights off. He walked back over to Levi, but didn't even get to sit down before the man grabbed his arm again.
"Lay with me."
The young man hesitated for moment, but eventually he climbed into the bed next to Levi, who immediately latched onto him, wrapping both arms around his torso and resting his head against his chest.
Eren grunted and shifted his cast, "Careful with the arm."
"Sorry," the man murmured, burying his face into the crook of Eren's neck. He hummed contently and tightened his arm around Eren.
"So am I just going to be your pillow for the next few hours?" Eren chuckled, resting his other hand against Levi's upper back.
"Mmhm," he mumbled softly.
"Man, you sure are clingy when you're all loopy on drugs."
Levi lifted his head and brought a finger up to Eren's lips, his vision focusing on the young man through the darkness of the room as leaned a bit closer to him. "Pillows don't talk," he whispered.
Eren's heart began to beat much faster. The actual closeness of the other man was beginning to sink in, and he was growing extremely anxious. His breath hitched in his throat when Levi slowly moved his finger down his lips, his eyes half-lidded.
"Really?" Eren swallowed nervously. "Well then maybe you should shut me up," he murmured lowly against Levi's finger.
Levi used his other arm to push himself up so that he was hovering over the young man. He leaned in so that their faces were merely inches apart, the tension between the two of them growing thicker with each passing second.
Eren shuddered when he felt Levi's breath hitting his parted lips. He had been waiting for what felt like forever. Eren wanted this. No, he needed it. No more waiting.
Eren's eyes fell onto Levi's lips, and he let out a shaky sigh. "Damn it Levi just kiss me already," he demanded breathlessly, his entire face turning red with embarrassment at his own words.
Levi didn't hesitate to grab Eren's chin and cover the boy's mouth with his own. After the initial surprise wore off, Eren responded, pressing and moving his lips against Levi's. He brought his hand up and tangled his fingers in the man's hair, lightly tugging on the soft black locks.
Levi's tongue brushed along the seam of Eren's mouth, to which he gladly parted his lips, granting him access. An intense wave of heat pulsed through Eren's body when he felt Levi's tongue tangle with his own and explore nearly everywhere inside of his mouth.
Levi swung his leg over Eren so that he was straddling his hips, their crotches pressing dangerously close to one another. One of his hands was caressing Eren's jaw, helping to coax the boy's mouth open, his other hand inching its way under Eren's shirt.
Eren pulled away from Levi's lips and started placing sloppy open-mouthed kisses along his jaw, pausing at his ear when he heard the man inhale sharply. When he realized that was probably one of Levi's sensitive spots, Eren grinned and swept his tongue along the shell of his ear, stopping every once and awhile to gently nibble on his earlobe.
Levi squeezed his eyes shut and ran his fingers through Eren's hair, gripping down and pulling the boy off of the sensitive area. "Shitty brat," he panted, smirking as he pressed his lips back down onto Eren's, their tongues swirling against each other.
The sounds of soft gasps and moans and of tongues and lips clashing together were interrupted by the sound of the door opening.
Levi pulled off of Eren and sat up, turning to see who was there. Eren sat up as well, Levi still seated in his lap.
In the doorframe stood a very stunned Mikasa. After a moment of staring at the two men in shock, she cleared her throat and looked away. "When you two are finished, Eren, I'd like to talk to you outside." The girl calmly shut the door and left the room, her entire face bright red.
Eren ran his fingers through his hair, groaning in frustration. Levi put a hand under Eren's chin and tilted his head up so that the boy was looking at him. "Eren I can handle this. Let me talk to her."
"Are you insane? She'll kill you!"
Levi took a deep breath, trying his hardest to keep his head straight. His meds were finally wearing off, but it wasn't the pain pills that were jumbling his thoughts, it was Eren.
Levi tucked a strand of the brunette's hair behind his ear. "Please just trust me with this. Stay here."
Eren gave him a hesitant look before nodding and sighing. "Okay. Fine." He knew he could trust Levi.
Levi shifted off of Eren's lap and planted his feet on the ground taking a few moments to ease himself onto his still stiff legs. Luckily the pain meds hadn't completely worn off so his back wasn't all that sore. He steadily walked out of the room and looked around, spotting Mikasa sitting in a chair across the hall. After reaching the girl, he sat beside her.
"I don't know what you want me to say," he muttered quietly, leaning back against his chair.
Suddenly, Mikasa turned and grabbed Levi's shoulders with her iron grip, looking at him stressfully.
"Please just tell me that it was consensual because I'm trying really, really hard to let go right now. J-Just tell me that Eren is happy. I need to know that he's going to be fine without me always being there! Please Levi! I can't handle this!"
Levi knew that Mikasa was panicking. He could tell that she was trying her hardest to let her brother make his own choices.
He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Mikasa, calm down. Everything that has happened between Eren and I has been one hundred percent consensual. He is happy, and most importantly he is safe. Just breathe."
The girl took a few deep breaths and nodded. Levi watched Mikasa for a moment, really beginning to understand just how much Eren meant to her. The fact that she was so hostile with Levi originally actually made him happy. He was relieved that Eren had grown up with someone who loved him that much.
"Levi," Mikasa began, much more calmly, "I'm going to trust you. But, I swear to God, if you hurt him-"
"You'll kill me. I know."
The two just looked at each other for a moment and then began laughing. Once Mikasa had composed herself, she and Levi stood and walked back over to the room. Eren sat up and gave them both an odd look.
Mikasa helped Levi back over to the bed. "Eren, I'm going to go get lunch with Armin downtown. I'll be back later. Call me if you need anything."
Eren decided not to question his sister's actions as she left the room.
Once he was sure that she was gone, he looked at Levi, amazement on his face. "What did you do with the real Mikasa?" he joked.
Levi simply shrugged. "I guess she just changed her mind about me."
"Alright, say what you want, but that was most definitely not my sister."
Levi chuckled and wrapped his arm around Eren, pulling him closer. The young man sighed and closed his eyes, relaxing against Levi's shoulder.
"So, we probably have about an hour, what should we do?" Levi asked, glancing down when he didn't receive a response. He rolled his eyes.
Of course, he's asleep.
Levi smiled softly and reached over with his other arm to grab his book off of the table. He turned the bedside lamp on and leaned back. Levi gently started running his fingers through the young man's hair and began reading.
Honestly, I actually really like Mikasa. So I didn't want to make her out to be a 'bad guy' in this story. Again, sorry for the short chapter. But I really wanted an entirely separate chapter about Mikasa's development in the story. Next chapter will be longer I promise!
Thanks for reading! Please make sure to leave a review to let me know what you thought about this chapter :)