Darkness…then blood, so much blood. Eren saw himself standing in it. Around him were the heads of his comrades, floating on the filthy ocean of crimson. He spotted Mikasa and Armin and…his mother. "Mom! Mom what are you doing here?! I'll get you out! I'll get everyone out!" He struggled to walk towards her but the blood was unnaturally thick. The harder he tried, the deeper he sank, until his head was the only thing above the line. "Mom!" Tears streamed down his face and Eren awoke with a start.

"A nightmare?" Levi asked. One hand was hovering over Eren's, as if he were just about to grab it, but was too restrained to.

He did not question Levi's presence. Without thinking, Eren closed the distance between them and clenched the corporal's hand in his own. He didn't even care if it was embarrassing. He needed something, someone… "The nightmares are never going to end…are they?"

"Not unless you make them, Eren," Levi surprisingly didn't look disgusted about touching another human being. If anything, Eren thought he looked sympathetic.

"How?" he begged.

"Isn't it obvious?" Levi's face hardened, becoming more like himself. "Annihilate the titans."

"R-right, of course…" Eren couldn't believe he had let Corporal see him so vulnerable. He wasn't a child anymore. His hand was still quivering in Corporal's. This was probably the only time Corporal would comfort or encourage him so he clung to it. He didn't know why touching his superior was so exhilarating or embarrassing. It made his heart pulse louder and his palms sweat. What was this feeling?

"I'll get you some water," Levi pulled his hand away, leaving Eren empty.

"W-where are Armin and Mikasa?"

"They've been called back to the walls with most everyone else. For now, it's just you, me, and glasses freak."

"Don't you have better things to do than babysit me?" Eren asked, annoyed. He could handle himself. Was Levi going to be the next Mikasa? Hadn't Eren proven himself strong enough on his own? He swung his legs out from under the covers and over the bed's edge. "There's still a war going on…"

"It's not my choice," Levi replied so bluntly stung. "Erwin still isn't comfortable with you returning to the chaos back in the district before you've completely recovered. And experiment-happy is obviously crazy. He couldn't let you two be alone together. You'd never survive. And the only one who can control you and Hanji is me."

"Right…Well since I'm awake again, I'm probably ready to go," Eren insisted, getting ready to get dressed.

"You first woke up this morning, then everyone greeted you, and then you went back to sleep. The fact that you could only stay up for a few hours proves you're not ready. And to be honest, I'd rather not go back into the district right now. Erwin says it's a mess."

"A mess? How? Why?"

"Apparently having a war against Titans isn't enough and people decided to war against each other or something," Levi waved his hand as if it were a light matter that didn't involve him.

"But why would people—"

"Don't ask me why people do stupid things, Jaeger. Maybe you'll know since you're stupid too," he stood up and walked out of the bedroom, probably to get water.

"I don't get it…" Eren said to himself in frustration. Were people fighting over food? He supposed that made sense because there was such a shortage of resources while refugees from other districts would flood in. Then there was the ongoing fear of the walls being breached again and the Titans eating everyone. Yeah, if he looked at it that way then maybe killing each other made sense. Well…no, not really. If anything, it was making him annoyed. There are soldiers risking their lives every day to save your asses and all you do in return is turn around and kill each other off. It's like you're doing the Titans a favor.

It was then that Hanji peeked around the door frame. "You're awake again. Good!" she beamed.

"Yeah. Thanks for taking care of me. I know I've been a lot of trouble—"

"You have. And you'll be making up for it one way or another," Levi interrupted as he returned with a glass of water. He gave it to Eren, who thanked him quickly.

"Oh shut up, Levi," Hanji snorted. "You've been babying Eren this whole time, watching over him like a mother hen. Maybe that's what I should call you now, Hen."

"Shut up. As you can see, Eren, the amount of trouble you've caused has made four-eyes extra delusional," Levi pushed Hanji's laughing face away with a forceful palm.

"Corporal Hen…" Eren thought aloud with a sly smile. "Yes, it does suit you…"

"Brats better shut their mouths before they get a boot in the face."

"Haha Corporal Hen!" Hanji was nearly slapping her knee.

"Anyways," Eren smiled as he gazed at an annoyed Levi. "Thanks for taking care of me. You do really care about your soldiers. I'd be dead without you and everyone else. I think a lot of us look up to you so please keep doing what you're doing."

The Corporal sneered and turned his head away as if to stare out the window. "I don't need any thanks. You just need to get your ass out of bed so we can leave this filthy dump."

"Aaawww, you're making him blush!" Hanji made a move to pinch Levi's cheek but he slapped her hand away and briskly walked out of the room.

"Ah, this much grinning hurts," she chuckled and sat down beside the bed.

"You two sure are informal with each other. But Hanji, about um…Now that we've mended Wall Maria, what happens now?" Eren looked down at his feet, swinging them back and forth. "Corporal said there's trouble inside the walls now."

"Oh that," Hanji sighed and crossed her arms. "Levi told you that you're to stay here for now, right?"

Eren nodded. The very mention of Levi's name made his skin prickle.

"Captain Erwin is in the hospital right now. He got an arm bitten off after he took you out of your Titan form. Levi's really antsy because he can't visit him, but he'd never admit it. As for the rest of the squad, they were called back earlier today so hopefully they'll survive the journey home. Home base is messed up. The military police are trying to keep the citizens and thieving under control but it's tough when everyone's so panicked."

"But don't they know the wall is fixed now?"

"It's not just fear of the Titans that drives people to violence, Eren," Hanji explained.

Eren understood. Years ago, he and Mikasa had killed a few kidnappers who had murdered Mikasa's parents. He remembered the rage he felt at them, of how he drove a knife into a man's body over and over again. Blood had spilled all over the floor. It was about survival. If you died you lost but if you survived, you were the winner. It was a world where the weak were oppressed by the strong.

"Yeah…I get it."

"Hey cheer up," Hanji patted him on the knee. Had he looked sad? "Why don't you put on some shoes and we go take a breather outside?"

"I guess it wouldn't hurt…."

"Jaeger, you aren't taking one step outside until you get the basement room cleaned," Levi interrupted from the hall.

"Yes sir!" Eren stood up and winced. His legs were surprisingly weak from being bed ridden for three days. It was a wonder he could even stand without collapsing. He tested his footing on the floor boards, pressing his weight down on each. Then he stretched his arms for good measure before joining Levi in the main room.

"I already prepared a bucket of hot water and soap," the Corporal indicated the wooden bucket on the floor. "The rag is in the bucket too. I've already done the initial sweeping and dusting so you don't have to worry about that."

"Um…Corporal, can I ask you something?"

"What?" Eren thought he saw the corporal's eyebrow twitch.

"Did you really…sit there beside me all day? I know I had a nightmare but I didn't say anything weird while sleeping did I?" Mikasa and Armin had confirmed that once in a while, he talked in his sleep. He felt bad about keeping them up at night but he couldn't help it. Sometimes his nightmares were so strong. He'd wake up, panicking, and in a cold sweat. He was worried that he'd spilled something he hadn't wanted Corporal to know.

"I didn't stick by you all day but you did say something about you and girlfriend going at it…Making weird moaning noises… It was really grossing me out." Levi looked sideways.

"NO WAY! I DIDN'T DO THAT!" Eren's face flushed. He was sure he was as red as a tomato. How could Corporal spout that nonsense? Obviously, Mikasa was just his foster sister. The only one Eren was mildly interested in would be—Ugh, I gotta stop being such a girl!

"Don't worry about it Jaeger. I gave you an order, so go do what you're told," Levi jabbed his finger at the stairwell that led to the basement.

"Got it!" Eren frowned and stomped down the stairs, ears feeling hot.

Halfway through cleaning, Corporal came down to check on progress. He pointed out what was imperfect and made Eren re-clean some spots. Once he had even been forced down by Corporal's boot. As if knocking my nose against the ground will make it cleaner! This guy's logic, seriously!

"How is it? I swear I scrubbed it all down. Look, my fingers are prunes," Eren complained and dropped the worn rag back into a half-empty bucket.

Levi's scary, neurotic glare looked up and down the floor boards in heavy silence before saying, "It'll do."

It'll do? I worked on that floor for an hour, you ungrateful prick! Eren screamed in his head.

As if Levi had heard the boy's thoughts, he grabbed his soldier by the collar and drove him to the wall. It was so fast and unexpected that Eren had no time to defend himself. The slam's force bounded through his bones. "What the—"

"Don't look at me like that," Levi hissed.

Look at you like what? Was my annoyance too obvious? "I'm sorry…" Eren wasn't even angry anymore. He just didn't want Levi to murder him on the spot. "Corporal, I'm sorry. Maybe I should change my face…How about this?" Eren relaxed his facial muscles and widened his eyes. His lips moved up a touch for an apologetic smile. Something deadly boiled in the Corporal's eyes.

"That's worse!" Levi gave up begrudgingly and released Eren's shirt before swiftly turning away. "Wipe that shitty smile off your face. It gives me the creeps. Never do it again…Let's go back upstairs."

Eren followed him blankly. What had gotten the man so riled up? It wasn't his fault his face looked like this! Corporal would just have to deal with it. Still, what about Eren made Levi so agressive? The curiosity tugged at his mind. There was no way he was going to be that self-conscious of his own expressions. How did Levi hide himself so well? Not everybody has a robot face like you, y'know.

Levi weirdly didn't look straight at Eren the remainder of the day.