Hey guys! I really hoped you guys liked the last chapter. To be honest, I was nervous when I published the chapter. XD Sometimes my chapters are good, sometimes they're not. Thank you sooooo much for the reviews, faves and alerts! :D

I'm surprised no one made a Frozen reference when Eren told Levi to let it go. :P Teehee~!

The next two chapters are split into two parts not because it's too long, but because each chapter has a significant piece of the plot that make up one entire plot. That made no sense. ^^' bear with me.

Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 7 The Storm of Despair Part 1

The next morning, Eren woke up to something pressed up against him.

What is this? Eren reached his left hand out and felt around, eventually touching skin.

"What the-!" Eren quickly covered his mouth before he woke up the raven haired man on top of him.

Wait, what happened? Why are we in this position? We didn't... did we?! Eren panicked as he lifted the blankets to peer down at themselves.

To his relief, they were both fully clothed.

Why is Levi cuddled up next to me? Eren shifted, trying to roll Levi off of him. I put our beds together so he wouldn't be lonely. I figured he would just turn over and feel better about not being all by himself.

Eren trued to remember what happened after they came back to the dorms. His memory was fuzzy, and he couldn't recollect what occurred.

Wow... I think I blanked out...

Eren tried to get out of bed, but that woke Levi. The shorter man tightened his embrace around Eren's torso.

"Where are you going?" Levi purred sleepily.

A shiver ran down Eren's spine. "Er... to the bathroom?"

"You don't sound so sure." Levi smirked. He leaned his face towards Eren's.

What the hell is going on?! Why is he acting so flirtatious? Eren quickly wriggled himself free from Levi's grip.

Levi raised an eyebrow. "Don't get shy now, Eren."

"What are you talking about?" Eren felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Levi rolled his eyes as he sat up in bed. "You really are a brat, huh? You made the first move, y'know. You kissed me."

All of the color left Eren's face. "W-W-What?"

Eren fled the dorm room, not caring that he was still in his pajamas.

"The hell is his problem?" Shaking his head, Levi decided to ignore Eren's strange behavior for the moment. He had more important things to deal with... like the messy room. The Christmas decorations were still up, and the bed was a mess.

"Disgusting..." Levi made quick work of the bed and started taking the decorations down.

Meanwhile, Eren had hurried to Hanji and Mikasa's dorm.

"Hanji!" Eren knocked loudly on the door. "Hey, Hanji!"

A few seconds later, the crazy brunette answered the door, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"For the last time Mr. Officer, I didn't hide the body." She yawned.

"Er..." Eren took a step back. "Hanji, it's me, Eren."

Hanji's eyes lit up. "Oh! What are you doing up so early on a Saturday?"

Eren bit his lip nervously. "Petra lives in this dorm, right?"

Hanji tilted her head. "Yeah. Why?"

"Can you tell me where? I really need to talk to her. It's urgent." Eren told her. There was no way he could tell Hanji about what happened. She and Levi are best friends. She would tell him for sure.

Hanji smirked. "Oh? Do you have a booty call or something?"

"What?! No!" Eren cried. "I really need to-"

"Tell me, what feelings and urges surge through you as you think about Petra?" Hanji asked, whipping out a notepad and pen.

"Hanji, no! Just tell me where she is." Eren's face was flushed in anger and embarrassment.

"Ohhhhhkaaaaay." Hanji grinned. "She's on the fourth floor in room five. Oh, and while you're in there, take into account that there are still people sleeping in."

Before Eren could protest, Hanji shut the door.

"Arrgh!" Eren stormed away, upset that Hanji thought he was sleeping with Petra.

Well, at least she didn't think I was gay.

Eren hurried up the three flights of stairs to the fourth floor. He stopped in front of dorm five. Remembering that she didn't have a roommate, Eren pounded on the door.

"Petra! It's me, Eren!"

To his surprise, Petra opened the door in seconds. She was already dressed.

"What is it? Wait, how did you find my room?" Petra asked.

"Never mind that. Petra, I really need to talk to you... about Levi." Eren said urgently.

Petra's eyes widened. "Of course! Come in."

Petra stepped aside and let Eren inside, shutting the door behind her. She took a seat on her bed and Eren sat in her desk chair.

"Okay, so what is this about?" Petra asked. "I thought you both were on good terms."

"Yeah..." Eren couldn't make eye contact with his friend. "That's the problem. We're on too good of terms."

"What does that mean?"

Eren hesitantly looked up at Petra. "Apparently, yesterday I... I kissed him."

Petra gasped slightly. "I knew it! You do lo-"

"No!" Eren shouted.

Petra snapped her mouth shut. "Eren..."

"I... I am not gay!"

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

"Done." Levi looked around the dorm in satisfaction. He managed to clean the entire room in ten minutes.

"That brat has been gone for quite a while. Where the hell did he run off to?" Levi sighed.

He quickly got dressed and headed out. He spotted Hanji in the hallway, humming happily.

"Levi!" She greeted him. "Good morning! I was just about to head out and grab breakfast. Wanna come?"

"Not today. I'm looking for Eren. Have you seen him?" Levi asked her.

Hanji's goofy smile from before came back. "Oh, Eren? Yes, I did see him this morning."

"Well, where is he?" Levi tapped his foot impatiently. "And what's with that stupid look on your face?"

"Well, he came to my room asking where Petra's is." Hanji told him. "He has a booty call."

"What." Levi's eye twitched.

"Yeah! He was all flustered and everything! He claimed he just wanted to speak to her, but his behavior said otherwise!" Hanji said dreamily. She was oblivious of Levi's cloudy expression.

"...thanks." Levi walked past Eren and headed for the fourth floor.

There's no way Eren is like that. And Petra is too classy to go for such a brat. Then again, I went for the brat... but no! Petra is a responsible adult. Even if the brat had made advances, she would have ignored them. I'm certain they went to talk... but what about? Why was that damn brat so weird this morning?

Levi reached Petra's room and lifted his fist to knock, but a shout stopped him.

"I...I am not gay! I am not in love with Levi! I wasn't thinking yesterday, that's all. Why would I kiss him?! I am not attracted to men, for God's sake!"

Levi froze, his fist still in place to knock. He felt a sharp pain in his head. He lost all feeling in his body, and he felt... cold. He couldn't hear anything else anymore. All he heard was Eren's words. They pierced his heart, tearing it apart.

Meanwhile, Petra was shocked. "Eren! What are you saying? You kissed him! How could you say you weren't aware?"

"Because I had no reason to kiss him." Eren felt tears form. "I don't remember kissing him at all. But this morning, Levi and I were snuggled up together, and he tried to kiss me."

Petra felt her anger rise. "How could you be so cruel?! Levi is in love with you, and you went and kissed him, only to say that you don't fucking remember?"

Eren's heart stopped. "He... he's in love with me?"

"Yes!" Petra cried, exasperated. "He loves you! You have given him a reason to start living his life again. Eren, you have to stop listening to your mind and listen to your heart. You kissed him for a reason. That was no mistake. Your body moved on its own. Your body took your mind out of it. That's probably why you don't remember."

Eren started shaking. "But... I'm not..."

"Gay. Yeah, yeah." Petra spat sarcastically. "How about we stop putting a label on this, yes? Love does not see gender, race, age, anything. It's all about the heart, Eren. I don't know what happened to you to make you so afraid of gays, but don't just look at it as a gender thing! You don't know it, but Levi has given his heart to you. Levi had a lover before you! Five years ago. And they are no more. Levi swore never to love again, it hurt him so much. But now, he's given love a second chance, with you. You need to get your head out of your ass and reflect on your own feelings. You better not hurt Levi!"

Petra stood up. "Leave my room and don't come back until your head is screwed on straight!"

Eren stood up as well and walked to the door, dejected. Petra's doesn't know anything about my past, so I don't blame her for getting upset with me. Just what are my feelings for Levi? If I take gender out of it... do I really love him?!

Eren opened the door and almost choked at what he saw. Levi was standing there, looking absolutely devastated. He was trembling.

"Levi..." Eren said, his eyes widening.

Levi snapped out of his trance. He looked up at the freshman, his eyes clouding over in rage.

"Levi..." Petra said warningly, slowly stepping in front on Eren before he seriously injured him. "Now Levi, calm down. Please-"

Levi turned on his heels and stormed away, his teeth clenched and his fists balled.

"Wait!" Eren took off after Levi.

"Eren, don't!" Petra called to him, but Eren was already out of earshot.

Oh no... She thought worriedly. Levi... please don't give up. Eren just needs a little push to wake him up from his denial. Don't sever your relationship with him!

Levi quickly went in the dorm and slammed it shut, locking Eren out.

"Levi!" Eren pounded on the door. He forgot his key.

He did not receive a response.

"Please, Levi! Let me explain! I... just need to think things through! Levi!"

It was no use. Levi was not coming out. Eren slid against the door until he was sitting down. He could hear Levi's breathing. He was sitting in front of the door as well.

"Levi... I know you can hear me." Eren said softly. "So, I'm going to talk to you."

Eren twiddled his thumbs nervously. "When I was kid, I liked to fight. A lot. Because of that, I was bullied. I won most of the fights, but I ended up getting expelled. When I got into high school, I thought I was through with the bullying. But... it happened. Rumors started spreading that I was sleeping around with Armin. Someone saw us in my room when they drove down the street. I forgot to close my drapes. We were just playing around, pretending to fight because I lost a round of cards. I ended up pushing Armin onto my bed and jumped on top of him. I knew his weak point was tickling, so I did that until Armin said that I was the real winner."

Eren covered his mouth as tears formed again.

"To the outside world, it looked like he and I were fondling each other. We weren't! We were just fourteen year olds playing around! The very next day, people were jeering, calling us faggots and asking how much we would suck dick for. It got so bad for Armin that he transferred schools. I couldn't. I had been expelled from middle school. This was the only high school that would take me. And if I got into another fight, there was no way I could graduate and go to college."

Eren clenched his fists as his tears finally spilled over.

"Every day was hell. And I couldn't fight back. I did get beat up once, but I couldn't do anything. From that point on, I swore to never consider having feelings for another man. How could I? My mom wants grandchildren anyway. So... if someone calls me gay, even now, I get so angry, so defensive, that I yell that I'm not. I know I should let it go, but the expectations of my mother and the constant bullying have made a nice cozy home in my head. Levi... I'm sorry. I don't know if I can ever return your feelings."

"...it's fine. Forget about it." Eren heard Levi's muffled voice. "I'll pretend we never kissed if you'll do the same. We'll never speak of this again. If you don't mind, I would like to be alone for a while."

"Sure... but could you hand me some of my clothes first?" Eren asked.

There was shuffling in the room. Levi opened the door, tossed some clothes at him, and slammed the door again.

Eren stood up and slowly walked downstairs to a bathroom, feeling his heart wrench.

Levi put his hands up to his face, sighing. He felt his heart shatter... but why? It was made out of stone.

It's about time I give up. Nothing is going to change.

~.~.~

A young man walked up to the open gates of Kibou University. His face was dirty, and he was wearing an army uniform. The man was tall, had blond hair and sad blue eyes.

"This is it... this is the place." The man muttered. "It's time to end this once and for all."

Eren walked around outside aimlessly. The weather outside was getting pretty bad. The nice sunshine from yesterday was replaced with a cloudy sky, a raging wind, and violent waves from the ocean.

I told Levi everything... I told him. I never thought I would tell anybody. I thought I could suppress my pain forever... like Levi. Only now, I don't feel free. I feel confused. Why has Levi affected me this much? Do I... love him?

"Eren! Watch out!"

Eren's head snapped up and was face to face with a pole. "Wah!"

Hanji rushed over to Eren. "Eren, what are you doing? You could have knocked yourself out."

"Yeah..." Eren muttered. "But maybe hitting my head could shock me into deciding."

"Deciding what?" Hanji asked curiously.

"Nothing, nothing." Eren waved it away.

"Well, you better decide on what you're doing today." Hanji advised him. "I heard on the news that there's a hurricane heading this way. It might be a category five. We'll have to go to the evacuation site if this storm gets that bad. I'm going to go stock up on food. I can give you a ride if you want to stock up as well."

"Sure." Eren told her. "Give me one sec, okay?"

"Alright. I'll be in the parking lot." Hanji said, heading in that direction.

Eren walked to a bench and sat down, trying his best to clear his thoughts so he could go with Hanji. A tall blond man came into Eren's line of vision. He looked completely lost. Wait... was that a military uniform?

"Hey!" Eren called out to the man. "Are you lost?"

The man looked in Eren's direction, a surprised look on his face. It was as if he was shocked that Eren was talking to him. "Um... yes, I am."

Eren jogged over to him. "What are you looking for? Are you here to visit somebody?"

"Yes." The man replied, still a bit freaked out. "Can you tell me where the Pearl Dorms are? I'm here to see someone."

"Sure." Eren pointed north. "Just go by the cafeteria and turn right. You'll see the sign for it. Do you want me to take you there?"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you." The man smiled softly. He ruffled Eren's hair. "You're a good kid. I hope you realize soon."

"Hey!" Eren yelped, fixing his messed up hair.

The man walked away. Eren stared at his back.

Just who was that guy? What did he mean by "I hope you realize soon?" It's like this guy was in my head or something.

Scratching his head, Eren hurried to the parking lot so he and Hanji could buy food.

~.~.~

Levi was beyond pissed when a knock to his door brought him out of his moping.

That brat... I fucking told him I wanted to be alone. I doubt it's Petra.

Levi stalked over to the door and flung it open. "What the hell do you want-...!"

Levi's breath was caught in his throat. His steel eyes widened, and he took a step back in horror.

The man... the man from my dreams. The man I never wanted to remember. Why? Why is he standing in front of me?

"Levi Ackerman..." The blond man said gently.

At that moment, all of Levi's forgotten memories of the man came flooding back. He remembered. He remembered everything. This man was his lover. This was the man he fought with before his squad was killed. This was the man that went missing after the mission. This was the man Levi worked so hard to forget. This man is...

"...Erwin Smith." His name rolled off Levi's tongue gravely.

Ooh! Plot twist! What's Erwin doing here? Didn't he go missing? And what about Eren? Will he ever figure out his feelings, despite his vow to never fall in love with another man? Uh oh, there's a hurricane coming. I know hurricanes don't form in December, but whatever. The laws of meteorology don't apply to me! XD

MANGA SPOILER ALERT !

Apparently Levi does indeed have a last name. I found out yesterday. Who else was shocked that Levi's last name is Ackerman? I was like "WHAT THE FUCK?!" So yeah. Look it up.

If you've liked the story so far, add this to your favorites and alerts. And remember...

REVIEWS ARE LIKE PORN TO WRITERS, SO SATISFY OUR URGES!

I really appreciate feedback. See you in the next one!

PRK