I don't even know about this chapter. I think I made this story more depressing than it should be. /where did all the fluff go?/ I guess I just wanted to bring out the character backgrounds a little more before proceeding. It has always been one of my pet-peeves when character backgrounds are unknown. This was an awkward chapter with me, mostly because even I didn't know how Levi and Eren would react after their little 'fight' due to Levi's rage quit (LOL). So here's a filler chapter...hopefully it doesn't sound too half-butted. TT^TT

-Shiragami

"…beep…beep…beep…"

The sound of a faint beeping could be heard in the background. With a spinning mind and heavy body, Levi attempted to open his eyes. They were having a hard time to focus, so the first thing he registered was 'white'. White ceiling, white lights. Then he turned his head a little. White walls. White bed. He then shifted his attention, now his mind a little clearer than before, to the objects around him. He saw tubes coming out of his left arm, climbing their way up to a bag filled with clear liquid.

Ah, I'm in a hospital…

Trying to sit up, despite feeling pain in his muscles, he pushed himself straight and massaged his head with his free hand. He then searched for his cell phone in his pocket, only to realize that he was wearing a hospital gown.

He looked around for some kind of service device, and saw the red button conveniently right beside his bed. Calling for a nurse, a lady with black hair, tied down in two pigtails, arrived right away. Scribbling something down on her notepad, she smiled at Levi when she gave him her attention.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Ackerman? My name is Mina, feel free to tell me anything that concerns you."

Levi stared at her, he wanted to ask many questions. What's the date today? What was he doing here? What about work? Mina noticed Levi's struggles, she has been working in this position for so long that she knew what the patients needed when they acted a certain way. Putting Levi's mind to rest, she explained.

"Mr. Ackerman, do not worry, you are taking a day off today. Mr. Zoe, your secretary I believe, have taken your place so you can rest worry free." Levi's eyes stopped focusing on Mina, instead, they wandered nowhere in particular.

"You were brought in early this morning under emergency, a young boy called the ambulance to pick you up at approximately two in the morning. You passed out from excess stress on your mind and body. We also received test results that you have been smoking in high doses within the past few days. And to top it off, you worked your body for too long, along with being malnourished for the past few week." She listed on as she flipped through her papers.

The raven didn't know what to say, yesterday was a blur and although he remembers what happened, he'd rather not think about it.

"Also, here is a note for you from your secretary Hanji Zoe, as well as a letter from a man named Erwin Smith." She slipped two envelopes in Levi's hands. Then she pulled over a small mobile cart with Levi's belonging on top of it.

"We did a check on your clothes just for safety measures, but rest assured that nothing got taken away."

Levi nodded.

"Now that you've woken up, I will come back in thirty minutes to bring you some food and refreshments. Take it easy, Mr. Ackerman." Mina bid her respects before quickly closing the door behind her.

Levi was still in a daze, he looked at the papers in his hand, and decided to read Hanji's note first.

"Yo, idiot Levi! I can call you that now, right? You certainly earned that title thanks to yesterday, and I will certainly be calling you that for at least a week from now on. I get the privilege to do so, okay? I am even doing all your work for you, on top of my own work! You better treat me like a king when you come back!"

Although the younger was being as rude as usual, Levi didn't feel a single flame of annoyance in his heart. He felt weak and full of regret, he just couldn't get fired up.

"Now, don't get all sappy on me, I am filling in for you for the next three days, okay? I know, I know, it's like a suicide mission, but since it's the great Hanji doing it, it's gonna be a piece of cake! Oh, speaking of cake, I demand you buy me one the first thing you come back to your gloomy office! So for now, take it easy my old buddy, capiche?"

Underneath the messy writings was Hanji's signature. Beside it, he doodled something that looked a lot like Levi's usual unimpressed face. The president laughed a little before feeling another guilt wave wash over him.

Next was Erwin's letter. He was more nervous for this than anything. Erwin apparently knew about the whole situation yesterday concerning Eren's arrival. Not that he was afraid of reading a complaint from his subordinate, he was more afraid of what he might say about Eren. Carefully tearing the envelop from the side, he took out the neatly folded white sheet of paper. Unfolding it, he started reading.

"How are you feeling? I know you must be worried right now so I will just get straight to the point. You collapsed on Eren earlier this morning. I arrived to the hospital right away upon getting a quick call from a doctor there, and he told me that you were under extreme stress and malnutrition. I think Eren heard this too, he was by your side the entire time before daybreak. It took a lot of convincing and pulling the boy to get him to go home. Don't worry, I gave him the permission to stay home for today, he was in no condition to work anyways."

Levi clenched the paper, crumbling the ends. He grabbed his hair and pulled on it, his face distorted in pain as his heart ached. He couldn't believe that he drove away someone he was being so careful with. They didn't even had the chance to properly get to know each other, yet he could already feel their end coming. He wasn't even sure why he felt anger when he saw the boy in front of his doors last night.

It was so late, what was he thinking, travelling all by himself? There could've been people who would target him! He didn't how many society scums lived in luxury, yet he just walked around the building like a deer in a lion's den!

He was really worried about the boy's safety. He thought that he could predict Eren's actions, but apparently the brunette was wilder than he expected. Never did he expect Eren to come find him, he really didn't want Eren to know about his true self. Yes, Levi was afraid of rejection once Eren comes to know about his past. He was hiding things in his home, things he wasn't ready to show yet.

Letting loose of his grip, he smoothed out the rest of the paper he crumbled.

"I think you should check on the boy once you are ready. I don't know when you will wake up, but when you do, make up with him, ok? The kid's restless, give him a call whenever you can."

At the bottom, the last line, was a number. Assuming it was Eren's, Levi brushed his thumb over the ink. Thinking what he should say when the other picks up the phone. Should he apologize? Should he pretend nothing happened? What should he say?

Whatever he planned to say, he would say it to the boy. He couldn't feel any anger inside, guilt and depression might've been there, but no matter how angry the boy would be, he no longer had any intention to lose control anymore.

Picking up the old phone, he pressed in the numbers slowly with shaking fingers. His heart beat faster with every tone. Suddenly hearing the other side picking up, Levi felt nervous and uncertain for the first time in years.

"Hello? Who is this?" Eren's voice was hoarse and lifeless. Was he sleeping just now, was he crying? Levi didn't know what to say, he just wanted to the younger's peaceful voice, after all.

"…Hello? Anyone there…?" The younger asked again, tone as gentle and worn out as a fallen leaf.

Levi felt a tear roll down. He has never felt this weak before. He wanted to let out a cry. He wanted to fly over to Eren and apologize. He wanted to beg for his forgiveness. He didn't want to be hated by him. Anyone but him.

Eren, on the other side, heard a small sniff and quiet uneven breathing. He lowered his eyes, and kept on listening in. He knew who was on the phone now, but he just kept quiet. He was tired and he still felt hurt from yesterday's events, but the fact that Levi was breathing and conscious was enough for him to feel better.

The call went on for over fifteen minutes, not one words exchanged. When Levi calmed down, he heard a quiet chain of breaths on the other side. Did Eren fall asleep? Smiling a little himself, he whispered a few last words before ending their call.

"Thank you, Eren."

…

It was 7 pm now, Levi still sat on his bed looking out the window. He knew he should start thinking about his work by now, but his mind was blank. Light beeping from the machines was the only sound in his private hospital room, accompanied by some light IV dripping sounds. It was a Tuesday evening, a few of his loyal employees came to visit him throughout the day and gave their president their blessings and prayers. He was going to be discharged the following morning, and was asked to rest at home for at least two more days before going back to work. He didn't complain, although he was a very organized man, he appreciated the break. He only now realized how much abuse his body took for the past two week. From his first meeting with Eren until now, he was restless.

He reflected on his attitude and anger, he remembered doing the same thing with her. It ended everything, and he lost his happiness. He didn't want the past to repeat itself, yet he still succumbed to his own weakness. He had no right to face Eren, like the older and more experienced adult he was supposed to be. His behavior was just like a child throwing a tantrum because nothing went the way he wanted.

He sighed for the nth time and brought his free hand over his eyes.

As he was resting, he heard the door quietly slid open. Assuming it was the nurse again, he just ignored the intruding presence. Something was off though, the footsteps weren't the usual small heels clicking on the floor. They were light footsteps, he also heard items rustling within fabric. Feeling suspicious, he moved his hand away from his eyes to look at the stranger. What he saw was the ever so soft and beautiful green eyes, looking at him.

Shit!

Panicking, his eyes averted quickly as he didn't expect Eren to visit him. He was certain that the younger probably hated his guts by now, so the last thing on his mind was expecting a visit from the boy himself.

Eren dragged a chair and sat by Levi. The older man had his head turned towards the window instead, he couldn't look at the boy. Eren revealed the item he brought with him, it was a clothed bag. From the inside, he took out a thermos, a few containers and some silverware. He moved the tray that was attached to the hospital bed and set it up on top of Levi's body.

Knowing that the younger was doing something, he looked back just to sneak a peak when he realized that Eren was setting up his table with food. He didn't want the younger to go through the trouble of doing all this, especially when he didn't deserve this special treatment. He wanted to tell the boy to not worry about him, but his let out the wrong choices of words.

"I already ate." was all he could say under the confusion, and he wanted to throw himself out of a window.

Eren twitched his eye a little, but decided to ignore it. He was here to listen to Levi, not running out angry and crying.

"I-Is that so? Even then, could you…at least take a bite from these? I made these for y-you…" Levi's eyes widen up. He looked down at the containers all laid out in front of him.

Eren made all of this…for me?

"…I heard that you were malnourished, so I thought that I could at least cook you some healthy and nutritious food…so that you can get better…"

Unable to resist anymore, Levi's eyes locked on Eren's face. Eren looked tired as expected, but also slightly 'distant'…the brunette seemed to be afraid of him. His eyes kept down and his hands grounded into his own lap. Another sting was felt in his heart. The older male tried to reach out and hold the brunette's hands, but the moment their skin touched, Eren flinched and jerked his hands away, almost on reflex.

"S-Sorry! I'm s-sorry…." Eren apologized as he held the place Levi touched, as if he just got burnt in that area.

Right then and there, Levi broke down again. He held his head roughly between his palms, pulling his hair while doing so. Eren panicked and immediately stood up, patting the other's back. Before he could even ask what was wrong with Levi, the older just attacked Eren's waist instead. Wrapping his arms around him tightly, he burying his face against the younger's stomach apologizing over and over again. Confused at what was happening, Eren could only make a troubled face and attempted at petting Levi's hair, hoping that it would calm the other down.

…

"Are you feeling better...?"

Levi cried two times today. He never once cried before, so all these tears was shocking news to him. He also prayed that this crying thing wouldn't become a habit.

"…Yes."

"Would you like to eat now?"

"Yes…please."

Eren unscrewed the lid of the thermos and steam escaped from the rice porridge inside. Then, he opened all the smaller containers, revealing lightly stir-fried vegetables, some meat dish, and a hard boiled egg. He tried to keep the dishes as simple as possible, nothing heavily spiced and sauced, perfect for those who lacked appetite.

Levi was perfectly fine with feeding himself, but Eren snatched the spoons and forks faster so he could proceed to feed the older. A little embarrassed by the boy's sudden action, he looked at Eren with a questioning look.

"Say 'ahh'~…"

A tint of redness appeared from the elite's cheeks. He looked away quickly, hiding his warm face.

"Aren't you embarrassed at all, kid?"

He felt extremely relived though, the boy seemed to be his casual self again. Levi wouldn't have been able to live it down if the boy viewed him in terror. Eren just gave out a small laugh at Levi and replied.

"It's just what I do when my friends are sick. I take great care of them when they are bedridden!"

The raven was happy, yet upset about it at the same time. He was glad that Eren started to consider him as a friend, but it bothered him a little to know that Eren treated others like this as well.

The younger nudged him a little when he was lost in thoughts again. With the spoon still hanging in midair, Levi dived in and took a bite of the rice porridge that Eren made. Licking his dried lips, he smiled and gave Eren a nod of approval.

"It's very good. Much better than hospital food, or any store bought food."

Smiling brightly, the brunette just kept on feeding him all the dishes he made. Even when Levi was so full it made him uncomfortable, he didn't say a word and just kept on eating with gratitude.

…

"You should go home now." Suddenly remembering the fight yesterday, Levi immediately explained himself. "I mean, it's getting late and it'll get dangerous on the streets…I don't want to see you anywhere but inside your apartment after dark."

Eren nodded, feeling reluctant on leaving. They were having a nice casual chat after the meal, and it felt nice to be able to speak to the older properly again. Packing his bags, Eren bid a goodnight and walked towards the door. Before he could open it, Levi called out suddenly.

"Wait! Eren…I know you probably don't want to remember this anymore, but…" He tried to find the right words. "…Would you like to come to my place again…? This Friday…"

Even though I should use that time to catch up on my work instead, I need to properly patch up our relationship.

His heart jumped a little. Even though the younger accepted and forgave Levi's anger from last night, he wasn't sure if he'd wanted to return so soon. Thinking about it for a while, he gave the anxious man on the bed a reply.

"….okay, I guess I can go after work."

Levi let a breath that he didn't know he was holding.

"I'll call you…" he smiled at Eren.

"Yes, good night Levi, rest well."

Sorry my fellow readers, for not updating this story. I've lost the motivation to continue this after my midterms ended, and I am still lacking that motivation. This story will be on hiatus for a while, until I find the inspiration to continue again. TT_TT /rolls away from this awkward chapter.