Eren got up from his bed and dragged his feet along the wood floor on the way to the bathroom. The dingy bathroom was small, and had the bare necessities; a toothbrush and tube of toothpaste sat in a cheap plastic cup on the sink, and there was a towel on his old silver plated towel rack. He pulled the string chord for the light, and looked up into the mirror. He leaned on the sink, and stared at the blank eyes in the mirror. He blinked a couple of times, and he took in a deep breath. He stripped off his shirt and trousers and started the shower. Eren ran a hand through his hair as he waited for the shower to warm up, and felt an unsettled feeling in his stomach. His dream had been so weird. He remembered the guy in his dream, but his memory of the dream was fading fast. He could remember that the guy was short. And he also had a weird haircut. Eren frowned. Those weren't exactly brilliant things to remember about someone from his dream.

"Lee? Leon? Lovo? Lovino?" Eren mumbled. "Something like that. L… L something. What was it?"

He stuck his hand into the stream of water from the shower, and decided it was warm enough. He got in the shower, and twenty minutes later got out and towelled himself off. He wandered into his bedroom and started rummaging through his wardrobe for something decent to wear to college. He soon picked some band's shirt and he picked up a pair of jeans from the day before.

"Clean enough." He muttered to himself.

Grunts and curses fell from Eren's mouth as he pulled on his jeans, and tried to do his batman belt up. He gave a sigh of relief when he was done, and nodded. He hunted around his dark room for a jacket, and eventually found one that he could wear. He gave himself a quick spray with deodorant to make sure he didn't smell, and then grabbed his bag and phone. He slung his bag over his shoulder and went into the kitchen to grab something to eat. He made himself some toast and leaned against the counter, and looked around the kitchen. It was okay. It had everything a kitchen should have. He mostly used the hob, the toaster and the microwave, because Eren couldn't be bothered to cook half of the time, so he just ate whatever was there. He had only two plates, after an incident with a previous partner, where they got into an argument with him, and then proceeded to throw plates at the wall, only narrowly missing Eren's head. His kitchen was clean enough, and that was mostly because he didn't use it a lot. Eren took another bite of his toast and glanced down to his watch.

"Shit." He immediately ran out of the kitchen and into the hallway.

Eren fought with his shoes for a moment, and managed to get them on. He quickly tied his laces and fumbled in his pockets for his keys. He grappled with the door, and wrenched it open. Eren shook his head; he needed to get that lock fixed. He spun around and locked the front door. He flew down the stairs and hurried to the bus stop. He just managed to wriggle his way onto the bus, flashed his pass, and grabbed a seat near a window. He grabbed his phone and plugged his earphones in. He leaned his head against the bus window, and waited for his stop.

The bus eventually pulled up to Eren's stop, and he climbed off it, and cast the driver a quick 'thanks' as he did. He hitched his bag up his shoulder, and strode into college. He walked through the spacious entrance that showcased the library, and had a small booth with a sign saying 'Office' hung over it, and climbed up the spiral staircase that stood to the back of the building. He jogged over to his classroom and walked in. He smiled at his teacher and greeted her, and then sat down in his seat at the back of the class. He put his bag on the floor and cast a glance to his friend, Armin.

"Hey."

"Hey. You're late again." Armin stated and scribbled some notes in his notebook.

"Yeah, I know, but at least I wasn't super late." Eren shrugged and got out his notebook and pen.

"I guess there's that. You know you've missed a fair amount of content, right?" Armin glanced to Eren and assessed him with surveying blue eyes.

"That's why I have you; to get that stuff for me."

"Charming."

"I've been told as much." Eren smirked at Armin and winked.

Armin rolled his eyes and kept taking notes from the teacher. Eren leaned back in his chair and occasionally jotted a few things down, as his Law teacher went on and on about the court system. He rolled his eyes. He was sure they'd gone over this a thousand times and more. He glanced to Armin and rested his hand on his cheek. As he watched Armin write, he noticed the way that Armin's face had relaxed, and his light blue eyes kept glancing between his paper and the board. Eren frowned a little. The serene look in Armin's eyes reminded of his dream, and the man who looked at Eren as he fell. Eren chewed on his lip idly. He tried to remember as much as he could about his dream. There was something with islands, a black room, and lots of broken furniture and possessions. The man in his dream seemed familiar, but the thought of him made something pang in his chest. He didn't know why, but there was something about the man that made his chest feel heavy, and he wanted to just rip open his chest to ease it.

"Eren?"

Eren's eyes snapped up to Armin.

"Eren, you okay?" Armin frowned at Eren as he packed away his stuff.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine." Eren shoved his stuff into his bag.

"You seemed a little spaced out for most of that. Are you sure you're okay?" Armin put his bag on his back and waited for Eren to get his things together.

"I just had a dream last night that I can't get out of my head." Eren ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

Armin stared at Eren for a moment, and then nodded. He gently nudged Eren's shoulder and pushed both of their chairs in. Armin offered Eren a smile and sighed. He guided Eren out of the classroom and took him to their next lesson. They walked into the class and took their seats. It appeared that only three other people had bothered to show up to their Psychology class. Armin kept glancing to Eren and noting the dull look in his eyes. He wasn't quite sure what he could have dreamt about that would put Eren in such a strange mood, but he hoped it wasn't something that he couldn't help with.

"Have you spoken to Mikasa today?" Armin got his things out on his desk and eyed Eren from the corner of his eyes.

"Nope."

"Oh. Did you, um, have a nightmare last night?"

"What?" Eren turned his head to Armin.

"Did you have a nightmare?"

"What am I, six? No, I didn't have a nightmare." Eren frowned. He sighed. "Sorry."

"It's okay. There's obviously something troubling you. What is it?" Armin flicked open to a clean page in his notebook and waited for the teacher to turn up.

"It was just a weird dream last night. It doesn't matter, it's fine."

"How was it weird?"

"There was someone in my dream, and it just. I don't know, I'm being kinda stupid I guess, but there was just something that made me feel… I don't know, not upset but-"

"Down?" Armin offered.

"Yeah, kind of." Eren shrugged.

"Was it something they said? Or was someone being killed?" Armin jotted down what Eren was saying, so he could tell Mikasa later.

"No, it was just." Eren sighed. "It's nothing. It was just some dream." He shook his head. "I should forget about it."

"Yeah, maybe that's for the best." Armin nodded.

They both turned their eyes to the portly woman that walked in and greeted the class with a smile. She commented on the low turnout and shook her head, and carried on with her lesson. An hour later, Eren and Armin packed up their things again, and Armin shot Mikasa a quick text to speak to him on his free period. Armin shoved his phone back in his pocket and smiled at Eren. They left the college to go out to the nearby Tesco and grab some sandwiches. As Eren stood at the fridge, and eyed up the few choices and tried to make a decision, Armin snapped a quick picture of the uncomfortable look on Eren's face, and sent it to Mikasa. He quickly hid his phone and picked up a tuna sandwich. He watched Eren shake his head to snap himself out of his daze, and he grabbed the first sandwich he came to, and nodded to Armin to go and pay. Armin shot Eren a glance and they paid for their lunch.

They sat down on a bench and ate their lunch, and occasionally swapped bits of conversation, and asked about what the other did the past night. Eren barely took three bites of his sandwich by the time Armin had finished, and Armin shot him a worried look.

"You not hungry?"

"Oh." Eren nodded. "Yeah, I just got distracted. Do you have a drink?"

"Yeah." Armin nodded and handed Eren his bottle of water.

"Thanks." Eren took a swig of Armin's drink and handed it back.

"No problem." Armin put his drink away and took out his phone to answer Mikasa's previous text.

"Who you texting?" Eren ate his sandwich and peered over Armin's shoulder.

"Mikasa. She's asking if you're up to no good. I said yes, as expected." Armin smiled.

"Hey! I'm only eating a sandwich. Is that a crime?"

"No, but please chew with your mouth closed, it sounds horrible in my ear." Armin tapped his fingers on his phone screen.

"Sorry." Eren sat back in his seat and finished his sandwich.

Eren rubbed his hands together and put their rubbish in the bin. He stood up and Armin followed him. They went back into college and they parted for their next class. Eren had Art, whereas Armin had Maths, which had bored the ever living fuck out of Eren in high school. He just couldn't remember all the rules and formulae that was needed, and it just made him want to jump off a cliff onto jagged rocks covered in shit.

He dragged his ass up to Art and waved to someone he vaguely remembered speaking to last week. He managed to somehow make his way through the rest of the day, spending most of it in Art, sketching some bones and figures, and then not having anything from two. He sighed his way through, and eventually dragged his behind to the bus stop. He climbed onto the bus, and sent a text to Armin, that he was tuckered out, and going home already. He sat down in a vacant seat and, once again, shoved earphones in his ears. He spent the bus ride home trying to focus on the beats of his music, and blocking everything out. He wanted to just be taken away to live with the lively beats in his music, that were easier to understand and remember than any dream, or fact about the legal system, and more pleasant than the most beautiful art work he could ever lay eyes on. With music, he could block out the world, and forget everything around him. When he was listening to his music, he didn't worry about exams, or friends, or family. He could just sit back, close his eyes, and simply exist. He opened his eyes to look out the window and noticed that he wasn't far from his stop. He picked up his bag and stood up near the doors.

"Thanks." He nodded to the driver as he got off.

The front door slammed shut as he hit it with his foot, and shrugged off his bag. He wandered into the kitchen and made a sandwich for dinner, and grabbed some fruit, and sat down on his sofa. He switched on the TV, but it ended up being background noise as he just sat silently with his plate on the arm of the sofa. He rubbed his hand over his face and came to the decision that he'd pick a film, and maybe that would help. He glanced at his films and picked the first one that stood out to him. He put it on, and walked into the hallway to grab his bag. As his hand grabbed the shoulder strap of his bag, he froze. He felt a tingle go down his spine and his heart picked up. He whipped his head around, as he swore he heard something screeching, but then shook his head.

"Must be my imagination." He murmured.

Eren shrugged it off and brought his bag into his living room. He opened it up and checked his planner for the homework he had to do, and grimaced. He had an Art assignment to do, but he didn't feel like doing it. The mere thought of sitting on his floor and trying to draw was a big no-no. He then noticed the sheet he'd been given to finish for Psychology and got it out. He sat back on the sofa with his notebook, sheet and pen and started to try to finish it as the film of his TV ran. He occasionally glanced up to the film and huffed. He didn't mind the film, and he hadn't seen it in a while, but he wasn't all that far from finishing the sheet.

An hour later, Eren had finished the sheet and watched the film. He hadn't touched his dinner, if you could even call it that, and he wriggled his nose. He glanced at his watch. It was only seven. He sighed and put his notebook away and went into his room. He threw off his clothes, and rummaged around for his baggy jumper and favourite pyjama bottoms, which were decorated with swords.

"I'm a grown-ass man, and grown-ass men wear sword pyjamas." Eren mumbled as he swayed his hips from side to side and pulled his bottoms on.

He pulled on his jumper too, and gathered up the dirty clothes from the floor. He shoved them all in the laundry basket, and picked up the scattered books on his floor. He put them all on the bookshelves, and checked that his bathroom floor was clear too. Eren nodded at his handiwork and padded through to his living room. He changed the film on his TV, and then sat down with his sandwich, and slowly munched his way through the film. He glanced at his watch. It was gone ten when the film had finished.

"Lord of the Rings, the longest films known to man." Eren turned off the TV and grabbed his stuff.

Eren put his plate in the kitchen sink and then went into his bedroom. He left his bag by the side of his bed, and put his phone on charge, and put it on the little table beside his bed. He rolled into bed and curled up in the duvet. He pulled the duvet up to his nose and closed his eyes. He was exhausted. He felt comfortable and safe in his bed. Eren soon drifted off to sleep.

The bed was familiar. The little table with his phone on it was there, and his wardrobe and chest of drawers were there too. He was stood in his doorway, and everything seemed normal, except for one thing; the man from his last dream was sat on his bed.

"Um. Hi?" Eren tilted his head.

"Ah, there you are. I've been waiting around for a while."

"What was your name again?"

"Levi. Did you forget already?" Levi raised his eyebrow.

"No, I was just testing you. I knew you were Levi."

"Sure." Levi rolled his eyes and lounged on Eren's bed.

"Um. Levi? Why are you on my bed?"

"There's not exactly anywhere else to sit is there? I am not sitting on your dirty floor. I've seen how you leave your shit everywhere; it's like a fucking bomb-site."

"Hey, it's not that bad. I cleaned up." Eren frowned and pointed to the empty floor.

"This is what you call cleaned up?" Levi raised his eyebrow.

"Well, I mean… Yeah?" Eren ducked his head sheepishly.

"No. It's not." Levi crossed his legs. "At least your bedsheets are clean."

"Changed 'em like yesterday, I think." Eren leaned against his doorframe.

Levi paused. "Are you just gonna stand there? I don't bite. Sit down." He motioned to the space on Eren's bed.

"I just wasn't sure if- okay." Eren sat on the edge of the bed.

Levi stared at Eren. He shook his head and grabbed Eren's arm. He pulled Eren to sit next to him, but left space between them. He laced his fingers together and looked at Eren. He frowned and nudged Eren with his foot. Eren tilted his head at Levi.

"What?"

"Something's up." Levi nudged Eren's foot again. "Tell me."

"Nothing." Eren shrugged.

"Don't lie to me, Eren. Don't you dare."

"Sorry. It's just bugging me that," Eren frowned and fiddled with his pyjama bottoms, "well, this is a dream, right?"

"I guess, yeah." Levi nodded.

"So, I didn't actually see Titan yesterday."

"Well, you dreamt of her, but she wasn't physically there beside you, no."

"I didn't see her then." Eren looked down at his lap.

"Hey." Levi tipped Eren's chin up. "You can see her as much as you want here." He shrugged. "Nothing's stopping you getting her again."

"Yeah but, it's not the same, is it?"

Levi went silent. He swallowed and he bit his lip. His eyes wouldn't look at Eren, and Eren got confused. He didn't understand why Levi suddenly didn't say anything. He was expecting Levi to reassure him and say that he should go ahead and get Titan, but when he ended up with no response, he thought over his words. Had he just upset Levi? Did he remind Levi of something that happened in the past, or maybe someone he lost? Eren chewed his lip.

"Did I upset you?"

"Hm? No, I just got distracted." Levi shook his head and looked at Eren. "So, how are you doing?"

"I'm… alright." Eren shrugged.

"What was with Titan yesterday?" Levi leaned against the headboard of the bed.

"I just got upset because I haven't seen her since, uh." Eren frowned. "Since," he paused, "Um, since I was younger."

"How young?" Levi watched Eren carefully.

"Around seven or eight? I think?" Eren frowned. "And I remember she got a-"

"A what?" Levi noticed the way that Eren struggled to get out his words.

"I don't remember. I just remember that Dad took her away after he'd had an argument with my Mum, and I never saw her again. Dad said that Titan ran away, but I know he did something to her." Eren clenched his fists. "He had to have done something to her, right?" He looked to Levi for confirmation.

"I don't know. I don't want to say that he did when he didn't." Levi sighed. "Look, kid, Titan might have run away, or they may have given her away, or something. But, here, you can have her again, even if she's not there when you wake up, she'll be here for a little while."

"I guess so, yeah." Eren nodded.

"So." Levi nudged Eren and gave Eren the fur ball in his hands.

"Titan." Eren smiled softly.

Levi's lips twitched briefly. He hesitantly reached out a hand and petted Titan's head. Eren looked at Levi's hand, and then looked up to meet Levi's curious grey eyes. Eren smiled. When he looked at Levi, he felt a lingering sadness, but he wasn't sure why, because Levi was being fairly happy, or at least Eren hoped he was, and there wasn't anything clearly wrong. Eren nodded and petted Titan's neck. His fingers accidentally brushed Levi's and he jerked his fingers back. He glanced up to Levi, and saw the surprised look on his face.

"Sorry."

"What for?" Levi raised an eyebrow.

"For uh, upsetting you and uh, touching you?" Eren glanced to Levi briefly and twisted his mouth.

"You haven't and it's fine, I didn't really mind." Levi shrugged. "It wasn't like you groped my ass out of nowhere, or something."

"I guess." Eren laughed.

"That's better." Levi's lip twitched into a tiny smile.

"Hm?" Eren faced Levi.

"You're smiling." Levi shrugged. "It's really nice."

"Oh." Eren blushed. "Right. Thanks?" He laughed a little.

Titan twisted around to lick at Levi's fingers, and wiggled her tail around, and whipped Eren's chest. Eren leaned his head back to avoid Titan's whip, and accidentally let her go. She leapt from Eren to Levi, and tried to lick Levi's face. Levi grimaced and held her at arm's length. He shook his head. Eren smiled and scratched behind her ears. Titan's head lolled to the side and her tongue stuck out. Her leg started twitching and she leaned towards Eren's hand. Levi placed her down in the small space between him and Eren, and stiffly patted her head. He took note of the way that Eren gently stroked her fur, and softly scratched her, and he tried to follow Eren's example. He looked to Eren to check he was doing it right, and got an approving nod from Eren.

"She likes that." Eren murmured.

"Okay." Levi nodded.

"Don't you have a dog?"

"Eren." Levi frowned.

"What?"

"You know I…"

"You what?" Eren frowned.

"I- never mind." Levi shook his head. "No, I don't, and I didn't."

"Shame. You would be good with dogs, with some practice." Eren smiled.

"Thanks." Levi huffed what may have been a laugh.

They sat in silence for a while and gave Titan a fuss. Occasionally, Levi and Eren's fingers brushed, and Eren got shy, and pulled his hand away. Levi rolled his eyes and shook his head. Eren was being pretty shy with Levi. It wasn't quite the same as the more brazen version of the boy he'd seen yesterday. Maybe he'd accidentally said or done something that had irked him? Levi inspected Eren. He lavished the dog in attention, and treated her with soft, caring touches. Eren's lips were curved into a soft smile, and everything about him screamed 'massive softie'. Eren was wearing kid's sword pyjamas, for god's sake. Eren's green eyes seemed mellower today, whereas he'd noticed his eyes were vibrant and full of fear and excitement yesterday. Levi wondered if something had happened during the day, but then Eren had said it was the dream yesterday that left him feeling funny. Maybe it was him that was upsetting Eren.

"Hey, Eren?"

"Yeah?" Eren looked up.

"Do you hate me?"

"What?" Eren exclaimed. "What on earth do you mean? Why would I hate you?"

"You haven't answered my question. Do you hate me?"

"No!" Eren shook his head. "Why would I?"

"You said about feeling off about yesterday's dream, and I wondered if I was the problem."

"No, you're not. Or, at least, I don't think so."

Levi doubted that he wasn't the problem. How could he not be? Titan, Eren's probably dead dog didn't really seem to be bothering Eren majorly, and the only main other thing Levi could imagine being a problem was him.

"Do I make you uncomfortable?" Levi frowned.

"Not really. Don't think so?" Eren frowned too. He flicked his eyes to Levi. "I just get this feeling of…"

"Of what?" Levi lifted his head a little.

A familiar, loud beeping echoed around the room. Levi ignored it and asked Eren again.

"Eren, please. A feeling of what?"

"I, uh, a, um." Eren looked around. "I feel sort of," he swallowed around the lump in his throat, "a bit down."

"Because of me?" A flicker of hurt flashed through Levi's eyes, but it was gone in a flash and replaced by boredom.

"I don't know."

"I can leave you alone."

"Don't." Eren whispered desperately. He felt the familiar fuzzy feeling. "Can I see you again? Please?"

"Sure, kid."

As everything started to fizzle away into nothingness, the last thing that stuck with Eren was the way that Levi's eyes bored into him. He felt stuck, and like he was moving too fast all at once. That look in Levi's eyes was burned into his brain. It felt familiar and completely foreign at the same time, like he'd seen that haunting ghost before. He gritted his teeth and blinked his wary eyes open. His eyes scanned the room, and half expected Levi to be sat next to him. Instead of Levi, there was cold, empty space beside him, and glaring red lights from his alarm winking at him, as the alarm screamed. Eren felt his heart sink.

"Fuck."