A/N: So yeah, I have no motivation to write right now. Why, you ask? Well, if you read the new chapter of SNK... You know why. I'm in feels city.

Psh. Nothing happened. What are you talking about? Everyone is just sipping tea with the titans and dancing in a field of flowers.

I'm not in denial. You are.

- (A very mortified) Misty

The Change You Wish to See

(Original summary, but screw the stupid character limits) Levi's never put much care into things. He doesn't put much care into things

at all. Nothing ever peaks his interest. Well, that's until he meets Eren Jaeger. Levi isn't sure what it is that's so interesting about him, and it irritates him to feel these feelings he's never felt before. Regardless, he goes to talk to the boy. When he doesn't receive an answer, he just thinks that the boy is rude; however, he understands why when Eren doesn't answer him. Eren is deaf.

Rated M for sexual content, adult language, some violence, mild character death
Main pairing: Riren with some side pairs
Anime: Shingeki No Kyojin (Attack on Titan)

Chapter Thirty Five: Decisions, Decisions

It was too early to be awake, and yet there was a warm presence beside him that called for his attention. It wasn't even intentional, and yet he found himself curling around the body in his arms, hugging it close, keeping it safe.

It didn't take much for Levi to know that this was Eren in his arms. Who else would it be? What Levi didn't know, that he couldn't seem to wrap his mind around, was how the brunette was even with him to begin with.

Reality was cruel, and despite wanting his much needed sleep, his dreary eyes opened to a barely lit room, focusing in and out on the desk, the notebooks stacked on top one another, the very sparse amount of posters on his walls.

They were in Eren's room.

The older man lifted his head up, eyes blinking and taking in his surroundings. It was barely light out, the sun ever so slightly peaking in through the blackout curtains and giving depth and dimension to the room. The clock read six-twenty, leading him to realize that he'd slept here last night instead of heading home.

Last night had been one of those rare nights he had off, so he had come to visit Eren and drop off his gift, but he must have crashed from exhaustion. He didn't remember it being in Eren's room though, let alone cuddled close to the teen who slept on despite his awareness of the situation.

He couldn't remember how he ended up in his bed, when it had been when he had passed out. Hell, he didn't even remember if he ate dinner yesterday. There were only two things taking major priority in his mind right now, one being that he was indeed cuddling with his boyfriend, and the other being that, if Mikasa found them in this compromising position (That is if she didn't already know about this), she would most likely kill them both. Him first, and then Eren.

He sighed. While it was nice while it lasted, he needed to be up and out of here before anyone caught him.

"Eren..." He whispered quietly and leaned down to press a kiss into the brunette's cheek. "Wake up..."

The last time he had done this, it hadn't ended well. That had been months ago when Eren had his seizure, so there was mild panic when at first he didn't stir. However, after placing another soft kiss to his jawline, Levi watched his muscles tense, his body shift in his sleep, mind trying to remain in its dreams for as long as possible. All he could do was breathe a sigh of relief against his warm, tan skin.

"Wake up..." Levi pressed his lips to the shell of his ear, and finally the faintest of whines came from the teen. "There you go..."

"Mhh... Five more minutes..." Eren slurred in his half awakened sleep.

"No, no more five minutes. I've gotta go before your sister catches me in bed with you..." He'd long since lost his interest when it came to speaking. If Eren's didn't hear him, that was fine, because he was still feeling lips against his skin and the hand at his waist, slowly rubbing little circles on his skin under his sweater.

"Levy..." Eren sighed and rolled onto his back, golden eyes wincing at him as he looked up at the man with a mixture of forlorn and annoyance.

"Morning..." Levi replied casually, as if he hadn't just been sucking small bruises onto Eren's neck. "Does your sister know I'm here?" He signed to him, figuring the less talking he did, the better.

The brunette replied by shaking his head.

"No, I told her you left last night." Levi tilted his head as he lowered his hand, figuring Eren would explain the situation to him accordingly, which he did. "You gave me my gift, but you passed out on my bed. I didn't have the heart to wake you up, and I didn't think it was safe for you to be driving if you were so tired."

"I could have made it," Levi told him, but the words barely flew over Eren's head. "Thank you." He lifted his hand to sign.

"Of course..."

"It was nice waking up next to you and knowing you'll actually wake up this time." Levi remarked with a smirk.

"One time and I'm branded for life..." Eren retorted and rolled his eyes. In his still fuzzy state, Levi couldn't help but think of how cute he was, of how the morning light was hitting his skin just right, and how his shirt was angled awkwardly on his shoulder, exposing the better part of his neck and collar bone. If it weren't for his family sleeping just a room away, Levi would definitely take this somewhere, but not now.

Eren could feel the man chuckle beside him, making him give a questioning look. He hoped the man would explain it to him, but he guessed by the smile on his lips that maybe that wasn't the case. That wouldn't stop him from trying, however.

"What...?"

"Nothing..." Levi replied and leaned off to his side. "You're really cute in the morning, that's all." He explained, relishing in the dark flush that spread across the brunette's cheeks, dusting the tips of his ears.

"I'm not cute..." Eren mumbled, practically pouting.

"Yes you are, and there's nothing wrong with that." The man told him before leaning forward and pressing a chaste kiss to his lips.

He would have liked to deepen the kiss, to make it go further while his family was still asleep, and judging by the way Eren's arms wrapped around his shoulders and the small sigh that left him as their lips stayed together, he wanted the same. However, there was a sudden sound from downstairs. A sudden sound that sounded like someone making coffee, because Levi had made coffee plenty of times to know what that sounded like. Eren noticed it too by the vibrations, despite how minimal it seemed. The two of them exchanged quick, worried glances at one another before the older man quickly sat up, eyes looking around for his shoes and phone.

"Shit, what are they doing up so early?" Levi growled under his breath, but then remembered the reason. Armin now worked full time hours, which meant he was up just as early as Erwin would be to get ready for work. It was either him, or one of those rare occasions where Mikasa had an early class. She was so used to being up at the crack of dawn that they had seen it as a force of habit now, and that would cause major problems for them if it was her. Given their sense of luck, it was probably Mikasa who, at any moment now, would come up to check on Eren.

"You gotta leave!" Eren whispered in a hushed panic.

"Eren, where's my phone?" Levi asked him as he hurried to shove his shoes on. The teen grabbed at his cell from his desk and quickly stuffed it in his boyfriend's pocket, leaving no time to spare.

Levi quickly headed for the door, but Eren grabbed at his shirt and pulled him back.

"You can't go out that way. They'll see you," Eren explained and started tugging him away from the door.

"Well then how the hell do I get out of here?" He asked of him, but his answer quickly came when he saw where Eren the taking him. "Eren, no."

The brunette quickly cleared his desk before opening up his window, looking back at the man expectantly.

"This'll work," Eren told him and motioned for him to get on the roof.

"I'm not sixteen, Eren! I don't do shit like this-"

"You don't have a choice, old man." Eren grumbled before grabbing him and pulling him forward. Levi staggered before leaning against the desk, trying to regain his composure. "Just drop down. The porch is right beneath it."

"Yeah, like they wouldn't hear that." Levi uttered to himself before carefully stepping over his desk and through the window.

For March, it was already unbearably hot, and given how early it was, Levi was instantly wishing he was back inside Eren's cool, air conditioned room. Seeing as how that wasn't a possibility, however, he figured he'd settled for his apartment when he got back.

If he got back.

Looking down over the edge of the gutter, despite how short of a drop it was, it seemed to be a very long way down. He wasn't ready, or at a proper age to be doing things like this anymore.

"Eren," Levi said and looked back, noticing the way the teen leaned against the window sill. "One of these days she's going to have to figure out that we do a lot worse than sleep in the same bed together."

"And when that day comes, you won't have to leave out the window." Eren remarked with a goofy grin.

"You're incorrigible," Levi told him before leaning forward.

The teen got the hint and followed, leaning in for a gentle kiss. Levi would have loved to run his fingers through that soft, brown hair, but he had such a death grip on the window sill that he didn't want to let go. It was bad enough he had to let go to sign to him. The teen understood, but not without a soft chuckle against his lips that felt like a gentle vibration.

"Yeah, but you love me anyway..." He replied with, feeling Levi's breath ghost against his lips.

"I do," Levi said and placed once last kiss on his forehead. "Happy birthday, Eren."

Eren felt like giggling like a school girl, having long since forgotten that today was his birthday. Levi had stopped by yesterday to give him his present, because his day would be dedicated to sleeping and trying to prepare himself for another terrible night shift. He hadn't meant to pass out on him like that, but it wasn't all that bad for the teen. Eren got to lay with him for once in peace, take his time to take in certain characteristics of him he didn't get to enjoy too often.

The feeling of his heart beating in his chest. The warmth of his skin. The soft puffs of air that fanned across his face every time Levi would sigh in his sleep.

Maybe one day he would admit to Levi that he liked watching him in his sleep, but not today. Not right now. Not while he was dangling over the edge of his roof.

"Be careful!" Eren called out to him. He could see the man roll his eyes before dropping down, and for a moment he panicked. He couldn't see him, couldn't hear anything, and there was no way for him to know what was going on. Had he made it down okay? Had he broken his leg on the fall? Maybe he was on the ground screaming in agony, and he wouldn't even know.

Eren was just about ready to jump up and run downstairs to check on him when he saw Levi running to his car in the street. The older man turned around to wave at him, and that was enough reassurance to let him know he was okay. With that, he breathed a sigh of relief before waving back to him. He closed the window once he saw the man get in his car, and turned to leave his room. He might as well go greet his family before they come looking for him.

Eren shucked on a cleaner T-shirt before scurrying downstairs and to the kitchen, where he knew someone had to be. Sure enough, it was indeed Armin, which he had figured long ago. Sipping on a cup of coffee with a face that just spoke how tired he was, Eren meandered in and to the fridge to get breakfast for himself.

"Morning, Armin..." He greeted and faked a yawn. He was too awake to really yawn, but he had to act like he was tired, especially so early in the morning. He didn't need him becoming suspicious.

"Good morning, Eren," Armin returned the greeting with a tired smile and slow fingers. "Did you sleep well?"

"Eh, sort of."

"How did Levi sleep?"

Eren very nearly missed his head whacking into the freezer door when Armin asked him that.

"You knew he was here?"

"Eren, his car has been parked outside all night."

He hadn't really thought that one through, had he?

"Does Mikasa know?"

"No, I don't think she does. She went to bed early last night." Armin answered and looked out the window. "He's driving off now, so at least you're safe."

"Don't tell her, okay?"

"Tell her what? Hey, you managed to cover up your moans last night so it's not like she'd know."

"We didn't have sex last night!" Eren groaned and dropped down into the chair at the table. "He fell asleep the minute he gave me my gift."

"Uh huh..." Armin uttered. "Which reminds me, I need to get yours before I head to work."

"My what?"

"Your brain, and your gift." Armin set his now empty mug in the sink to later wash, but his blue eyes looked to see he had very little time left for chit chat.

"You got me something?" Eren asked with beaming eyes and a wide smile.

"Yes, but you can't have it until later when I'm back from work."

"Aww, you're no fun!" Eren whined, and just to prove his point, when Armin walked by to grab his bag on the table, he poked a finger into his side.

He couldn't really hear the yip that left his friend, but he found the physical reaction still just as funny.

"Eren-!" Armin began, but the brunette stopped him with a wave of his hand.

"You're gonna be late for work, and my present, so you better hurry up!" He warned him. The blonde looked like he had something more to say, but another glance at the clock had him closing his mouth and turning away. He really didn't have time to play with today, not with his classes, work, and then having to get his gift.

"See you later, birthday boy," Armin could have been more enthusiastic, but Eren didn't take the roll of his eyes seriously. Instead, he waved goodbye to him and watched him leave.

He curiously wondered if Mikasa was awake yet, but today she had her later classes, and she had been studying for recent tests. What she referred to as the "major" ones, but finals. Not yet, but they were coming. Oh were they coming. He was really going to have to pick up the slack around the house if he wanted to help his family out.

He figured he knew a way to start, and that was with finding a way to make money.

The teen stood from the table and went back to his room, ignoring the idea of breakfast altogether, quietly as could be so he didn't wake up his sister. In his room where he was safe, he went over to his desk and opened his laptop up to start it. To the side on his dart board, where he stuck up little reminders or notices, was a small paper with an email attached to it.

It had been a few weeks since Levi gave him that number, and even longer since he tried contacting the person. He asked his boyfriend for an email instead, figuring it a little more professional then a text. Sure, the man he spoke of knew he couldn't hear, therefore a phone call would be completely ineffective. He had said so himself apparently that texting was fine, but if Eren was looking to take his story places, he wasn't going to start off with awkward texts. That just didn't seem right to him.

Once his laptop was finally booted up (His school laptop wasn't going to last him much longer unfortunately), he opened up his email to begin typing to the editor, hoping they'd be somewhat forgiving of him for taking so long to respond.

'Dear Gunther Schultz...'

"Wow..." Eren uttered to himself as he looked up to the edifice in front of him. He didn't think a company that published books would need such a skyscraper, but then again, he didn't know much of the industry. He couldn't say he knew much at all for what they needed.

"Nice, isn't it?" Levi retorted when he saw the wide eyed look Eren had.

"This place is huge..."

"Eh, it's probably smaller inside." The older man remarked before placing a hand on his back. "Come on. Let's get in there."

"L-Levy, wait!" Eren stopped him and pulled his laptop close to his chest. "What if he was lying? What if he doesn't like my book? What if he only wants to make fun of me-?"

"Get in there." Levi interrupted him and pushed at his back, forcing the teen forward.

"Levy-!"

"Gunther isn't a 'haha funny' kind of guy, Eren. What he says he means." Through his resistance, Levi kept pushing. Even when the brunette dug his heels into the ground, and the spectacle of this old man pushing this seemingly child into the building was seen by everyone, he forced him into the building and to the elevators.

He told one of the people in there with them push number eleven. With an odd look towards them, he did as told, and Eren whined deep in his throat.

Maybe he'd get lucky and the elevator would break down. He didn't mind being in here for a few hours.

"Eren, you're behaving like a child." Levi signed to him with a very unattractive glare.

"I am not!"

"Yes you are."

"Are not!"

"Eren," Levi hissed under his breath. A couple of people looked at them funny, because the conversation they were having flew right over everyone else's heads. He didn't necessarily care, but they could stand to mind their own business.

Up they went. It seemed like there was a stop at each and every floor, and each time the elevator stopped, Eren itched to get off. He would have had Levi not been holding onto the back of his jacket where no one would see.

"This was a bad idea." Eren suddenly signed, heart pounding when he saw ten light up across the screen. "Please, let's go home."

"You're the one who wanted him to read more of it. You wanted his opinion."

"I'm on new meds." He excused with a frown. Levi tilted his side, his face falling into a very unbelieving expression. "I was drunk when I said it."

"Eren." Levi pinched into his side.

"Please don't make me do this, Levi."

"I'm not making you do anything. You wanted an editor and you have the chance to have one. This was your decision, but if you're really so scared shitless about meeting him, then we'll head back home right now." Levi remarked with a stern gaze and fast fingers.

The elevator dinged, doors opening to show the open expanse of the office of floor eleven. Eren looked out first, lips pulled into a tight frown and eyebrows furrowed as he looked around. It seemed to be a quiet office, if Eren was going off of anything by sight. Not many separate rooms for higher ups and small cubicles blocked off faces of everyday people. No one seemed to notice him standing there, deliberating and debating, too busy in their own world to really care for is presence.

He looked back with worried eyes at his boyfriend. Levi motioned towards the office with his head, but now, with no one left in the elevator with him, his fingers hovered over the lobby button, ready to push it if he decided otherwise.

Levi wouldn't steer him wrong. He knew Eren was scared, but he also knew his potential. He knew Gunther was a good guy who'd be the step in the right direction for him, but Eren needed the courage to move. He needed to get out of that elevator on his own if he wanted this, and truthfully, he did.

He would love for someone to read his story. The idea that his story would be interesting enough for people all around the world to read it was so incredible to him, but also very frightening. Those were a lot of opinions, and he didn't do well with people. If his first meeting with Levi was anything to go by it.

This was his chance though. If he didn't take it, who knows how long it'll be for another chance like this, if ever? Maybe he'll never get another opportunity, and that alone was even more frightening then the idea of someone else's opinion.

Eren whined, but after a pointed glance from Levi, he slowly made his way out of the elevator.

A/N: On a side note, I'd like to say that, no; Levi didn't really need to jump out of the window. He and Mikasa are on better terms now. I just wanted it to be a thing, and I used their rocky relationship as my trump card. Hopefully it was enough tooth rotting fluff for ya.