A/N: Would you be mad at me if I said that this was supposed be be out last week? ^^' I was going to upload it sooner... But then the new chapter of AOT came out... And I shouldn't have read it while I was at work... I didn't even wait for an English translation either. I was reading that Korean like my life depended on it. XD

-Misty

Song of the day: Run

By: BTS

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 Seven: Take Care of Them

Levi could say for sure that he had never seen Eren more frantic than he was right now.

Running down the halls of the hospital, being told to go one way and then another. He was quickly losing his patience, and at one point they had to stop so Eren could take a deep breath.

It had been a long time since Levi saw this side of him. This panicked, overprotective side of him. It only came out when it had something to do with Armin, and it was nearly impossible to relax once it was around, but he had to try.

It wasn't until they finally saw Erwin that Eren calmed, but only some. It was replaced with panic as he ran over to the man, quickly grabbing at his jacket.

"Where's Armin?" He demanded on the blonde. "What happened? Is he okay?"

"Eren, let him go," Levi told him and grabbed at his arms. The brunette hadn't realized how strong of a grip he had until he had noticed his knuckles were white, and by then Erwin was trying to talk him down.

Like that would do any good.

"Levi, translate for me. I can't do anything when he can't hear me." Erwin told him, feeling terribly guilty that he couldn't speak to Eren. There was nothing he could do about it though.

"What happened to Armin?" Levi questioned, pulling the teen back.

"I-I don't know. He seemed a little sluggish today, and while I was checking a report with him, he just dropped to the floor." The taller man explained, and Eren's eyes followed carefully as Levi translated everything.

"Sluggish how? Like tired?" Eren asked him.

"I don't-" Erwin began, but stopped when Mikasa suddenly appeared from within the room the man had been standing in front of.

"Mikasa," Eren suddenly ignored the blonde man he'd been questioning and ran to Mikasa, ignoring Levi's pulling protests. "Is he okay?"

"Fine now," She answered. "The doctor said he has a high fever. I knew he wasn't right this morning."

"That explains why he was so flushed." Erwin mentioned. "Why didn't he say anything to me though? He could have gone home."

"Because he's overworking himself." Levi spoke up, pulling attention to him. "Well think about it. Mikasa was the one with a full time job and classes. Now he's bearing the brunt of bills and finishing finals while maintaining a full time job. He's never done that before, and he's too afraid to ask for a day off with Eren's cochlear implants so close to becoming a reality."

"He's doing it on purpose..." Mikasa mumbled to herself, realization quickly dawning on her and making her shoulders feel heavy with guilt.

"And he's putting on a brave face so no one notices it." Levi finished for her.

"Someone tell me something!" Eren yelled at them. No one had bothered signing anything, and trying to keep up with three different conversations was downright impossible when he had to read lips. "What's going on?"

"Calm down, Eren..." Mikasa said softly before beginning to sign everything they had just discussed.

"I don't get it..." Erwin said softly and turned to Levi. "I know he's in a bit of a pinch right now, but he can have a day off. He shouldn't put some much pressure over his head like that."

"You don't know Armin very well." Levi admitted with a half assed chuckle. "He tends to keep to himself about things that bother him, especially if he feels it'll bring someone else down."

"But-"

"Can we go see him?" Eren suddenly asked out loud, too impatient to sign. He felt like that took too much time in moments like this.

"Let him rest, Eren." Levi signed, his attention turning away from Erwin.

"He's actually awake." Mikasa admitted and motioned to the door. "He's been awake for a while now."

Eren didn't need to be told twice. He bolted into the room without further notice, golden eyes falling to the blonde in the hospital bed, sitting upright and writing in a notebook. His sudden outburst had startled him into jumping in place, looking up shocked and confused before he saw the brunette. That's when his expression turned to that of morbid awareness.

"You told him?" Armin's eyes instantly searched out Mikasa in the hallway, and when he spotted her, he felt angry guilt bubbling in his chest.

"Of course I did. He has a right to know," She proclaimed as the rest of them followed suit. "Not to mention it'd be hard to hide."

"Armin, are you okay?" Eren asked and sat down on the bed beside him.

"I'm fine, Eren." The teen told him with a tired smile, fingers slow and shaking.

"You don't look fine."

"I promise I am. See?" Armin said and held up his arms, pencil in hand. "Perfectly fine."

"Armin," Erwin began and walked over to the other side of his bed.

"I'm sorry about earlier, sir..." Armin quickly apologized. Maybe he hadn't thought that Erwin would be here, but the horrified surprise on his face was a dead giveaway for his internal thoughts. "I promise, it won't happen again."

"I don't know why you think this is something you can apologize for." Erwin quickly reprimanded him. "Why didn't you tell me you were sick?"

"Because it's nothing serious." He excused all too quickly.

"Nothing serious? Armin, you passed out from your fever."

"It's just a child's fever."

"Armin," Mikasa said disapprovingly.

"I'm fine!" He exclaimed.

"Armin...!" Erwin's voice suddenly boomed over him. The blonde visibly flinched in fear, leaning back towards Eren unconsciously, who reached for his hand.

Once again, he couldn't keep up with the conversation, so everything was going right past him. However, he could feel the tension in the room, see the expression on Erwin's face that was a mixture of anger and worry. He felt and saw Armin flinch back, so he didn't need to be a rocket scientist to know that he was being yelled at.

For what though? Armin did nothing wrong. He didn't do anything to deserve being yelled at. He should be resting and working off his fever, not suffering repercussions from his boss of all people.

"I understand you're trying to handle your family. I promise you I do, because I've been in your place; we all have. Working yourself to the point of exhaustion and being in a hospital isn't going to help them though. You have to worry about your health or all you're doing is causing more grief for them. Do you know how scared he was not knowing what happened to you?" Erwin questioned while motioning to the brunette.

"I-I-" Armin began, but his boss cut him off before he could excuse himself.

"Do you know how worried everyone was? You have to take care of yourself, Armin, and if I have to ask the doctor to write you up a note to get you out of work for a week, I'll do it."

"We can't afford that!" He cried out.

"Money comes last out of everything you have important to you!"

"Stop yelling!" Eren suddenly blurted out over them, arms wrapping around his friend and pulling him away from the man. "Leave him alone!"

"Eren..." Levi called out to him, but knowing it was pointless, felt it best to pull at his arm. "Calm down..."

"We all need to calm down." Mikasa announced and stepped between Erwin and the bed, thinking it smart if she put some distance between them. "No more yelling. We're in a hospital after all."

"Of course..." Erwin sighed, his anger towards the teen dissipating as he stepped back. "Sorry..."

He hadn't meant to lose himself like that, but he was quick to understand what Levi had meant. He had never met that stubborn side to the blonde before, but it was a force to be reckoned with. If they were going to change his mind, they needed to go about it about a more constructive, less yelling sort of way. They needed to have a proper discussion about this, and not while he was in a hospital bed.

"I'm sorry..." Came a sudden, distraught whimper from the teen still closely nestled against Eren's chest. "I-... I didn't mean to cause any trouble. I just... Wanted to help..."

"Armin, you aren't Super Man." Levi told him, watching as Eren's hands rubbed at the teen's shoulders. "You can't do everything on your own."

"Mikasa seems to handle it just fine..." He seemed to pout against Eren's shirt, voice muffled by the fabric.

"Me...?" The girl suddenly questioned skeptically. "Armin, I'm used to it. I've been doing it a lot longer then you have, not to mention I didn't just throw myself into it."

"But you still handled it."

"And you don't think I didn't have my days? I did, I just hid it better."

Armin breathed in a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh, eyes closing, giving off a sort of sign to say he was done with this conversation. He was done arguing about it, and who could blame him? His fever had spiked at one hundred and two. He'd managed a nasty cold, and after the sudden rush of adrenaline, he was finally feeling the effects of it. He was tired, sick, and done talking about it.

"Armin..." Eren mumbled, rubbing at his shoulder.

"I'm sorry I caused such trouble." Armin suddenly spoke up, fingers barely moving so Eren could understand him. He knew the teen felt very left out without his hearing, and their arguments had only added to such a feeling. "Now on top of Eren's hospital bills we have mine, plus the ambulance..." This, he felt, didn't need to be shared.

"Don't worry about it." Mikasa said and slowly sat down at the edge of his bed. "We'll figure out a way to pay them off. If need be we'll try to get a loan from the bank, so don't worry about it."

"How can I not worry about it?"

"Don't worry about it now then." She retorted and patted his leg through the sheets.

Armin seemed to scoff under his breath, but he knew that if he tried to keep up with the arguments, he'd have to deal with her wrath. He was too exhausted to do that right now though; too tired and suffering from a serious headache. He hadn't felt this horrible in a long time, and now, though he'd never admit it, he was wishing he hadn't done that to himself.

Tension seemed to finally dissipate into thin air. The blonde within Eren's arms was beginning to doze off, eyes barely open and fighting hard to stay as such, even after both Mikasa and Eren told him otherwise. Why he fought it, no one was sure, but it didn't take long for his fever to finally get the best of him and put him to sleep. When asked how long he'd be in the hospital, Mikasa's quick reply was only a few more hours. He'd go home once the paperwork was filled out, and by then he'd probably be feeling better.

Eren was glad to hear this information, glad to know it was nothing serious and that there was nothing of permanent damage done. Knowing so was like a breath of fresh air, at least for him. Mikasa was fine, and Levi seemed okay with the news, but Erwin still seemed troubled.

He excused himself quietly, making sure not to disrupt the sleeping teen as he left the room. Levi placed a soft kiss on his boyfriend's head before following, carefully closing the door behind him so their conversation wouldn't be heard.

"What's wrong?" He asked of him, watching the man silently brood against the wall. The taller man seemed startled, as if he hadn't noticed Levi follow him, but then again, the man always had quiet feet. He wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.

"Sorry, I just... I knew they were in a bad place, because Armin's told me a bit about it. He didn't ever mentioned how bad it was though. I mean... They're still just kids, Levi, working full time jobs while trying to keep a house and stay in school. Trying their hardest to get Eren's implants... That's not fair to them."

"This has been my argument since day one." Levi explained and leaned against the wall beside him. "It's completely unfair that they've been given a bad hand in life, and they have to go through it themselves."

"I shouldn't have put so much work on him. I should have eased up, but he kept saying he was fine. He kept saying he could handle it." Erwin contemplated regretfully.

"Erwin, don't worry about that. Armin is just that type of person to do this sort of thing. He'd do it regardless if it's this job or somewhere else... He should be so lucky to have a boss so willing to understand his situation."

"Yes, well... There isn't much I can do when I look at it. Armin is the only one working until Mikasa gets a job. He can't stop because they need a roof over their heads, but he can't slack in school. Like he said, a week is too much for them to handle losing from work..."

"I'm sure he'd be happy about working." The older man said.

"Yes, but not while he's sick. I'm going to have to be the bad guy and force him away until he's better."

"You're starting to sound like their parent now."

"They'd be so lucky to get one." Erwin muttered. "I just don't understand... I mean I do, but I never would have pegged Armin to be that way in a million years, let alone get defensive about it. What is he apologizing for, fainting? Is he really that guilt-ridden?"

"You really have no idea..."

Securely tucked away against Eren's chest, with his arms wrapped around his seemingly fragile body, Armin slept soundly in the quiet room, the only distractions being the heart monitor beeping every second to his heart. So exhausted from his cold and lack of sleep, however, Armin didn't even notice it.

The brunette mindlessly rubbed his head, carding his fingers through his hair and pulling out some small tangles. His other hand sat comfortably on his waist, rubbing tiny circles to keep him asleep, but he wasn't sure if that was why he slept on. All he knew was that the teen looked so tired, so small and fragile, even when he wasn't, and he was mad at himself for not noticing it sooner.

His eyes seemed to drift away from the blonde and to the notebook he'd been writing in previously, pencil by its side. It took a moment to really see what was written in it, but when his eyes adjusted to the small, neat handwriting, he finally placed it as math.

Of course he was working on his homework while he was in the hospital. The teen didn't know how to just sit and relax.

"Mikasa..." Eren whispered, or at least he hoped he did.

The girl turned to look at them, ignoring the poster she had been reading to pass the time.

"Yes...?" She signed.

"What were you guys talking about...?" He moved his hands and arms slowly, fearing any jerking motions would wake him up. "He seemed so upset."

"You know he feels bad about not being able to do enough for us. He feels very guilty for it."

"He shouldn't though..." Armin sighed in his sleep, barely moving to nestle further into Eren's chest, but enough to make Eren think that he had woken up.

"Well now he's worried about the addition of his hospital bills onto your own. The ambulance alone was a couple thousand..."

"A couple thousand?" Eren hadn't remembered his being that much, but he couldn't be so sure. They may have lied to him to keep him happy. "How are we going to afford that?"

"Please don't worry about it, Eren." Mikasa pleaded with her brother before rubbing his head. "It'll be fine."

"But that's a lot of money, Mikasa."

"I know. We always manage to handle it though, through credit cards or loans. It's nothing we haven't done before."

"But we always do that..." Eren sighed under his breath while resting his head down on top of Armin's. "Isn't there anything I can do?"

"I told you, Eren, don't worry about it." His sister sat on the edge of the bed, her hand falling to rub at Armin's shoulder.

Clearly she was trying to take care of her family, but why on her own? Why did either of them feel the need to take care of everything on their own? He wasn't helpless. He had managed a job before, no matter how meek it was. It didn't pay a lot of money and it wasn't glamorous enough to be envious of, but it paid a few bills, and it gave him a reason to feel like he was finally contributing. They were finally working together, so why now did they feel like he couldn't help? Why did it have to go back to how it used to be?

He wasn't going to let that happen. Not again. He wasn't going to let either of them shoulder the burden on their own, even if he had to scrub toilets for a living. Whatever he would find definitely wouldn't be as comfortable as the book store, but it was something. Anything to ease up the tension.

That wouldn't bode so well for his school work. He had long since decided to finish out this year, and then switch his majors. It was too late within the year now to switch, so why waste the education?

What about when he started up again? What about when he started pursuing writing in a more serious form? He was already seriously considering getting his book published. When would he have time to work on his book and school when he'd soon begin possible shifts consisting of forty hour weeks, and that was if he was lucky? Sure, there was summer, but three months out of the twelve meant nothing in the long run. Unless, by some slim miracle his book actually gained popularity and earned him something, but he didn't think that was possible.

'...You have a possible best seller. I really think you should go for this, Eren...'

Gunther words sat in the recesses of his mind, slowly coming to the forefront. He and Levi had both said something similar, assuring him that his story was good enough for publishing. Hell, Gunther even wanted to give it to a publisher. It wasn't that easy to get published as an author, but luck seemed to shine on him. It had been too easy with Levi knowing someone in the world of publishing, but insisted he did it.

What if it really became that popular? What if it sold a lot? Would that be enough money to cover their expenses? What he was looking at had gone from a couple hundred to well over a few thousand dollars in expenses, and was quickly pilling up. If he were able to sell enough, he'd be able to cover everything, and then neither he nor Mikasa would ever have to worry. Mikasa wouldn't be so pressured into getting a terrible job, and Armin wouldn't be putting himself in the hospital to get his implants.

Maybe, just maybe, he had the chance to do this for them for once.

With that set in mind, carefully so as not to wake him up, Eren moved his arm to grab his phone from his pocket. There was no way he could call the man and expect a proper conversation, but he still had his number saved. Even if it wasn't very professional of him to send a text, it was all he could do. He was going to keep it quiet for now, at least until his book was in its final stages of being published. That was the least he could do for his family.

Draft

Written at 4:15 p.m.

"Hello. Is this Gunther?"

-Sent

He waited for a response, impatient at best. It didn't take long for Gunther to respond, but in his anxious mood, it felt like years.

Sender: Unknown

Received: 4:16 p.m.

"Yes. Who's this?"

Draft

Written at 4:16 p.m.

"It's Eren Jaeger, sir."

-Sent

Sender: Unknown

Received: 4:17 p.m.

"Oh, Eren! Didn't we just see each other?"

Draft

Written at 4:17 p.m.

"Well, yes. I wanted to ask you something though."

-Sent

His next came in a little while later, after leaving him mindlessly rubbing his thumbs against the blonde's cheek.

Sender: Unknown

Received: 4:22 p.m.

"What can I help you with?"

Draft

Written at 4:23 p.m.

"I thought about it, and I made a decision."

-Sent

Sender: Unknown

Received: 4:23 p.m.

"About the publisher?"

Draft

Written at 4:25 p.m.

"Yes sir. You can send her the files. All of them. I'll email you more once I manage to get to my computer, but I'd like to get my book published."

-Sent

A/N: Yeah, like I could ever hurt my precious Armin.