Que the angst… and maybe fluff…
Why? Just, why?
sigh

"Hey,"

I croak, my voice sounding hoarse and husky at the same time like some American folk singer. Images of Gunther's crumpled form and Erwin's bleeding head snap me out of my weary state and I try to sit up. The heart rate monitor beeps annoyingly fast and my chest burns.

Levi's on me in an instant, trying to force me back down. "Stay down, brat,"

His hiss sends shivers down my spine.

"B-but Gunther and Erwin- we… were attacked. Some crazy bitch was pounding on me and she- she- she took out my heart,"

I move my hand to my chest, feeling a racing beat beneath all the bandages. I remember her hand, reaching into my chest and breaking ribs-

"Eren,"

My head snaps up and I look Levi in the eye, I keep rubbing my chest even though it aches. Levi reaches out and takes my hand in his. I blink at him, my ears filled with the sound of a racing heart. I look over at the monitor and see that my own heart beat is evening out. But that doesn't explain the rapid pounding I'm hearing.

"Erwin and Gunther are fine. Erwin has a pretty bad concussion but there was no damage done, yes, he was bleeding and needed a few stitches but Hanji is taking care of him. Gunther has five fractured ribs and he struggles to breath, but he is fine. If anything, he's pissed that he was knocked out so early,"

Levi doesn't meet my gaze; he looks everywhere but at me. His bottom lip quivers ever so slightly and he blinks more than he should.

"Levi, are- are you crying?" I manage to croak out.

He releases my hand, grabs a glass of water and shoves a straw in my mouth. "Drink," he orders. I gulp down half the glass before I remember that I have to breathe, so I swallow and gently push the glass away. My fingers brush against his and I hear the erratic heart beat again. I look at Levi, reach out and take hold of his wrist. I press my forefinger and middle finger to his pulse and realise almost instantly that it is Levi's heart beat that I'm hearing.

"What the fuck are you doing, brat?"

I clear my throat. "I'm checking your pulse, Levi,"

He raises a questioning brow and opens his mouth to say something but closes it again.

"By the way, your heart is beating way too loud,"

It speeds up again.

"And way too fast,"

"What are you talking about, brat?"

I smile at him sweetly. "I'm talking about your heart beating faster every time we touch. Don't tell me that you actually like me," I tease.

The hurt in his eyes tells me I went too far. Way too far.

His jaw clenches and he yanks his hand away as if I burned him, he turns around and walks away. His wings puff out but it is not cute at all, his feathers bristling. I remember my dream from before, where I was left alone in the darkness and before I even think it through I call out his name.

But it's not my dream, because Levi looks at me over his shoulder and spots my hand reaching out for him. He's a little further away than before, but I can still hear his heart beat as if I were resting my head against his chest. He watches me, eyes my hand and then looks me in the eye again.

I drop my head, my hand falls limp to the bed and my whole being aches. I try not to cry, I mean, how embarrassing it is to cry around your crush all the time. Especially when he might feel the same way about you.

So instead, I hide my face in my elbow and try not to move too much. My heart physically aches and I want to move my left arm from where it's resting over my eyes but I can't. I moan softly.

"I'm sorry Eren," a voice whispers close to my head.

I didn't hear Levi come back. I shift my head to look at him, cocking my head to one side. I blink at him, not quite understanding what he is trying to say.

"I'm so selfish, and I'm so sorry... By the time I reached you, you verging on clinically dead. There was just so much blood. Erwin had snapped Annie's neck, she was suffocating. I had to beg Hanji not to let you die. I couldn't lose you, not again,"

"Again? Levi, what are you talking about?" my whisper startles him and he hangs his head. Seeing Levi look so dejected frightens me. My left arm falls to my side as realisation strikes. "You- you didn't make me eat her heart, did you?"

"What? No! Hanji would never agree to that and you digesting it would take way too fucking long. No, Hanji performed a heart transplant-"

"What? You can't just go around sticking random hearts into people! If our blood types don't match up I could die anyway because my body would fight the foreign protein-"

"But that's the thing, Eren. Hanji was able to do the operation because all angels have an O negative blood type. That means that we can give organs or blood freely to anyone who needs it. We just don't know whether our blood will have any impact on a human being-"

"So you put that bitch's heart inside of me and then pumped me full of her blood? What am I now?Some sort of Guinea pig?What if I turn into a psychopath because of that?"

"You studied biology, you know very well that something like that is impossible," Levi deadpans. "And Hanji didn't pump you full of her blood; she pumped you full of mine," Levi pulls up the sleeve of his shirt and I see the cotton ball pressed against the crook of his elbow.

"Yip, and lover boy here has been giving a quarter pint of blood every second day for the past two weeks," Hanji says as she moves over to check my monitors.

"I've been out for two weeks? …Wait, a quarter pint? Levi, you-"

"Don't worry about me, shitty brat. I'm fine, healthy as a fucking horse. No pun intended,"

"Stop bullshitting the kid, Levi. You have barely slept or eaten anything since Eren came out of surgery,"

"Levi-"

"Go back to sleep, brat,"

"I won't go to sleep unless you do,"

"So fucking mature, brat," Levi rolls his eyes.

"Fine then, I will stay awake,"

"You need to rest, brat"

"So do you,"

"No, I don't,"

"Levi, please. You're going to make yourself sick and this time I won't be able to take care of you,"

"You don't need to take care of anyone, okay brat? We are going to take care of you-"

"All right, enough! Both of you, this is too cute, even for me! How about you sleep on the hospital bed behind you, Levi? I can easily push the two beds together so that you can hold hands and stare into each other's eyes as you fall asleep,"

"Shut up, shitty four eyes,"

"Could you do that please, Hanji?"

"Don't encourage her, brat!"

"But I want to hold your hand as I fall asleep," I pout.

"Why are you so fucking infuriating?"

"Why am I in love with a stubborn shit head like you?"

"I don't know, brat. Maybe you hit your head too hard- agh, wait, what did you just say?"

"You heard me, Levi,"

That incessant heart beat was speeding up again.

"Say it again,"

"Stubborn shit head,"

"Not that, brat,"

"Why am I?"

"You little shit; you know what I'm talking about,"

"In love with you?" I duck my head, a blush creeping over my cheeks and the heart rate monitor going crazy.

There is a screeching noise that catches my attention and I look up to find Levi shoving a bed next to mine. Hanji gives a bark of laughter before scurrying away from Levi's furious gaze. He climbs on to the bed, lies down on his side and gives a huff. I reach my hand out for his, which he takes, and he spreads his wing so that it folds over us.

He gently squeezes my injured hand. "I might love you too, brat,"