CHAPTER 26

Author's Note

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Jack just wants to write a gay love story instead of being up to their ASS in work.

Poor lil Jack.

~Gum

Levi rushed through the front door and hurriedly made his way to the couch, pinning the map he had in hand onto the table in front of him. He scanned the diagram from top to bottom. Levi had found that preparing for a mission was similar to chess. You had to look into the future to see the possibilities; the ways something could go great or wrong. The key difference, however, was that losing a game of chess would only mean a bruised ego while the game Levi was playing was gambling with actual human lives, his included.

"Watcha doin' there?"

The bodyguard was startled. He found Eren staring down at the map with curious eyes. Despite the fact that the brunet had spent a couple of days in his apartment by then, Levi still wasn't used to having him around. In fact, he had went out of his way to spend as little time in the apartment for the same reason. The place meant little to Levi anyway. It was not a home of any kind, simply a safe place to sleep in. He had a couple of those scattered around anyway – though that apartment was the most comfortable. Instead, he had spent his time getting things done for the first attack on Grisha.

As a result, the raven had found himself time and time again in that little cell with Hanji Zoe. Most of the times, they would discuss the doctor's habits, how he liked operating his businesses and such; but sometimes they would discuss other things, topics that were more of Hanji's interests. They had kept Levi to his word of paying with information and, though he would never care to admit it, the conversations he would have with the mad scientist would offer enticing back and forths. Levi had found that as crazy as Hanji was, there was a certain method to their madness. One that the bodyguard found interesting.

Levi turned back towards his diagram, "Preparing for Erwin's mission."

"Oh really?"

The bodyguard said nothing in response in the hopes that if he ignored Eren long enough, the boy would leave him alone. His hopes soon withered when the raven felt the couch dip as the brunet settled into the sofa next to him.

"Do you guys have a plan already? You sure got that info quick. Hanji decided to help us just like that? Cool. Did they ask for anything freaky in exchange? That Hanji is a fucking weirdo, don't you think? What is that place on the map? Is it nearby? What are we gonna do?"

As if Eren bombarding the raven with questions wasn't enough, he inched his face closer to the diagram to get a better look. Levi's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. He went to push Eren away, hard enough to not give the teen a chance to fight back but soft enough to not hurt him.

"We are not doing anything. I will take care of it with some workers. You don't worry about it."

Even though he had kept his silver eyes glued on the map, he just knew Eren was pouting. Levi glanced at the brunet to see if he was right and sure enough there Eren was with a bottom lip sticking out and brows low on his face. Levi sighed.

'Here we go.'

"Uh! Excuse me! I totally AM going! Why don't you wanna let me go? I have to be there!"

The bodyguard snorted, "For what? So you can fuck things up? You've got no training, you're brash and you're loud. You're a liability, Eren."

"Hey! If you recall, before everything went down with Annie, we had practiced a bit!"

"Yeah, like for 5 minutes. I barely taught you how to throw a fist. If you think your skills are comparable with even the worst of my workers, you're sorely mistaken."

Eren crossed his arms, "If it weren't for me, none of you wouldn't even be doing this! If I'm here causing wars I should at least be there. I'm going."

"No." Levi mimicked Eren's tone of voice, "You're. Not."

When the tough act didn't work, the brunet resorted to a new, whinier approach, "Come ooooonnnn. I really want to help people. I've been feeling so guilty about me sleeping in these comfy beds and taking these hot showers when I know there are people kept in CAGES by HIM, Levi. CAGES! I've seen it myself. And when I was a kid I didn't know what to do! I just felt bad but I'm an adult now and I can actually do something about it! I can help them be free! Won't you help me help them?"

Levi massaged his temples. Kid was damn good with his speeches, he couldn't deny that. Eren said nothing while Levi contemplated blowing his own brains out to make the headache go away. His emerald eyes shimmered with anticipation.

"You're a real pain in my ass, you know that?"

Eren didn't deny it, instead nodding vigorously to encourage the bodyguard to keep talking.

All Levi had to do was say no. That was all! But for some FUCKING reason, he found it hard to say no to the brunet.

The shorter man sighed, "If I don't let you go, I'm gonna have to tie you up or something, aren't I?"

"Not even! I'll gnaw through the rope!" Eren said with devilish enthusiasm.

Levi took a moment before he continued, "We're retaking the training from two times a week to three. We only got a week before the mission so in those three sessions you're gonna have to work your ass off."

"So does that mean-?"

"IF you work hard -I'm talking TO THE BONE- in ALL, and I mean ALL the sessions-"

"Uh-huh! Uh-huh!" The teen vigorously encouraged.

"Then I guess that-"

"Yeah! Yeah!"

"Fuck you. Yes. You can come."

Eren cheered and howled and threw a whole goddamn party for himself next to an increasingly aging Levi. By the time he stopped jumping about, the bodyguard felt three times his age.

"I won't let you down! I promise!"

"You better not. I'm giving you one shot at this. You fuck this up and I'm not dragging you around anywhere else, got it?"

"Yep, yep!" Eren impatiently replied, "Now tell me everything! What's the plan boss?"

The bodyguard took in a deep breath, knowing damn well it was going to be a long day.

Despite Eren's fair share of, ahem, challenging qualities, if there was one thing even Levi couldn't deny it was that the boy was determined. He soaked up every piece of information the bodyguard would throw at him, and he would go around repeating the plan like a parrot. Even in the training sessions, the brunet displayed an exceptional effort. However, his skills were so unrefined that most of the times his attempts to do more than his body could handle would end up with the brunet square on his ass. Eren's downfall was his own irritation when he couldn't do the things his bodyguard asked of him.

During the measly three sessions they had before the mission, Eren had desperately tried to impress Levi. He wanted to show the man how serious he was about helping those hurt by Grisha Jaegar. Yet no matter how far the teen pushed himself or how hard he tried, the raven would end up with that neutral expression on his face.

One that to Eren said,

'Good. But not good enough.'

In fact, though Levi was naturally a stoic man, the brunet had felt coldness in every interaction they had that week. Eren had thought that they had begun to reach a certain level of comfort around each other. Yet when they retook the training sessions, the bodyguard would not respond to Eren's smartass comments or quips like he used to, instead quietly moving forward with the lesson. Their conversations had been strictly business until the very day before the mission.

They had just been finishing up their session for the day when Levi said, "Oh, by the way, your sister's been asking about you. You should fix up her situation before we leave for tomorrow. It's not guaranteed we'll be coming back from it."

So there he was, standing in front of a white door.

They had stored Mikasa away in a part of the hospital than Eren wasn't familiar with. There, the rooms weren't separated by measly curtains, rather by actual walls. Passing through the hallway there were a couple of nurses checking on the rooms. From some, moans of pain could be heard, from others the faint sound of chatter and from the rest a deadly silence.

The click-clancking of shoes added to the soft sounds of that building's wing. Hurried whispers from the workers and squeaking from their dragged equipment combined into a cloud of noises.

Itching to get inside, Eren carefully turned the doorknob and made his way inside. When he turned around and closed the door, he found a total silence inside the room.

"Eren? Is that actually you?"

The tall boy whipped his head around. There Mikasa was, laying on a bed with a light blue medical gown. Her eyes were puffy, one of them having shades of yellow and green as remains of a healing black eye. The way her obsidian eyes stared back at Eren with amazement made Eren's heart shrink. Without even realizing it, he went to her side to hold her hand. The girl gripped his hand with force, it would've almost been painful if it weren't because the explosion of relief washing over Eren's body engulfed anything else he felt.

"I can't believe it..." she muttered, "you're real, right? Not a dream or a hallucination."

The green-eyed boy fixed Mikasa's hair with his free hand. It was more tangled than usual.

"No, you're not that lucky. It's actually me." The boy teased.

Mikasa laid her other hand on top of the one she was holding. She tightened her lips into a straight line. Eren said nothing but he knew that expression well. It meant she was trying her best to hold back her tears. Seeing her in that state, so fragile and small in that medical bed, it made the guilt burn in his chest.

Mikasa had always been the strongest of the two. While Eren would get lost in his own emotions, she would always be there to make sure he wouldn't stray too far. She protected him; making sure he wouldn't do something idiotic that would get himself hurt. She was also the smart one. Luckily, Mikasa had enough brains for the both of them. Without fail, she was there to guard him from himself and yet Eren hadn't been capable of returning the favor of protecting her. She was there because of him, because of Grisha and because of Eren's relationship with his father.

"I'm... so... sorry, Mikasa." He caressed her hand with a thumb.

Her eyes widened, "What?"

"I'm sorry." He repeated, thinking that maybe she hadn't heard him properly.

When he met her gaze, he found the girl staring back at him like a lost puppy, "Sorry? For what? They told me no one could visit me this week. I know you would've been here with me since day one if they had let you-"

"No." Eren shook his head, "Sorry for doing this to you. You're here. You're here because of me. I'm sorry."

Much to the brunet's surprise, Mikasa smiled, "Shut up. It was your fault we got in trouble with Mr. Barrymore in 4th grade. It was your fault when I fell into the pool at Mercedes' birthday party and it was 100% your fault my dress got ruined at the middle school prom- I still haven't gotten over that by the way- but it's not your fault I got here. It was mine."

The boy chuckled sadly, "Don't say that."

Mikasa shrugged, "It's true. I got nosy. When you left I knew something was wrong. Grisha told me you had gone to some bullshit sports camp but I knew he was lying through his teeth. You would've told me about it, at least mentioned it in passing or something, anything, but you didn't. From one day to the next you disappeared. So when Grisha was out of the house I would break in and snoop through the house. I started with your room and then branched out. By the time I got to Grisha's office I had already broken in twice and I'm pretty sure he was already suspicious by then. Just when I was starting to piece things together, he found me out."

Eren slowly processed everything she said. While he sat there motionless, Mikasa leaned forward to add one more thing, "Don't blame yourself for anything, okay? I'm here because of me. I was about to cry right now because I'm so damn happy you're here with me."

"I'm so damn happy you're here with me too." Eren immediately went in for a hug, the warmth of Mikasa's body comforting his poor, tormented soul.

Just as the tall boy was about to lean back, Mikasa was the one to dig her fingers into his back so he wouldn't escape, "There were some documents in Grisha's office, you know. They weren't too detailed and they confused me a lot but I knew Grisha was up to shady stuff. I never thought... he was always so... I dunno I'm having a hard time processing it... and you... what he did is so unforgivable." She fell silent.

"I know." He stroked her back, eyes watering, "I know."

"Is that why he suddenly decided to 'home school' you after middle school? Or why you missed so many days before that..."

Eren had a bitter taste at the back of his throat, "Yeah."

"I should've noticed... I should've noticed..." She whispered more to herself than to Eren.

The boy gently pushed her away. He put on a serious face, "Hey, just like you say I shouldn't feel guilty, you shouldn't either. How were you supposed to know? Grisha had everyone fooled, even me. What's important is that I'm not there anymore and we're ending it soon. My bodyguard got in contact with special people from the police, we're taking Grisha's fucked up businesses down."

Her eyes widened with exploding curiosity, "What, seriously? How? Who? When? Where?"

Eren settled back into his seat, "Well, it's kinda complicated but tomorrow we attack one of his sites-"

"Tomorrow?! You should've told me earlier! I'll help! I'll help with anything I can!" She sped through her words.

"What? No! How are you planning on doing that? You're in a hospital!"

"The doctors already told me I'm ready to be discharged-"

"Yeah, you're ready to leave the hospital but you're not healed up yet. You still gotta take it easy." Eren crossed his arms.

Mikasa arched her eyebrows with irritation. Ultimately, she looked down at her medical gown and sighed forcefully. He was right and she hated when he was. Mikasa glared at her own body, angry at its current state, "Fine. You're right. But be careful. I barely got you back I don't wanna lose you again."

Eren smirked, "Don't worry. I'll be fine. I got a bodyguard I'll stick to."

"Oh, the same one from last time? Yeah, stick with him like glue. I like that guy. Honestly you shouldn't even be going. It's dangerous."

The boy shrugged, "I kinda forced my bodyguard to take me."

Mikasa was unsurprised, "Of course you did. You're as stubborn as a mule. 'Yeah! I'll just waltz into one of these super dangerous places my dad has been keeping for freaky experiments and drug selling! What could go wrong?' "

"You're one to talk," he teased, "but that's not it. I've been training for a while with him. It hasn't been long but I think I'm starting to pick up on a thing or two."

"They train people? For self-protection and stuff?"

"Uhhhh..."

How would the conversation go down if he confessed the training was aimed at assassins?

"Yeah, something like that. He's mentioned other students and stuff but my training is kinda being kept on the down-low..." Just as Mikasa was going to ask something else, Eren thought it better to change the subject before confessions rolled off the tongue and things would get nasty, "But let's not talk about that right now. I could use taking my mind off of things."

Mikasa sighed, "Of course. Of course. Well... what do you wanna talk about?"

There was a moment of silence.

Eren rubbed his hands together awkwardly, "Well... nah, whatever I shouldn't even say anything..." He mumbled.

"What? What is it? Say it."

Eren looked up at the ceiling and scrunched up his face, wondering if to say it or not.

"Spit it out already." Mikasa insisted.

"I don't wanna get in a fight, okay? All I'm saying is that it's been like, what? Four years, five? And that time you ruined your dress at prom was NOT my fault-"

"Oh by the GODS! Are we really having this fight again?" Mikasa threw her arms in the air with exasperation.

"You were the one that told me to say it!" Eren defended himself.

"It was SO your fault. SO your fault."

"HOW? I demand evidence."

"You want evidence! Oh, OH! Okay, let's start this from the beginning, then! It was a sunny day in June when you came up to me and said 'hey Mikasa'," she said in a derisive tone meant to resemble his voice, " 'you know what would be fun? If we went to prom!' "

The two went on and on over a discussion they had had millions of times before and, just like that, it was like the two had never been separated.

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So there was actually supposed to be a double chapter upload this week so I guess I'll be uploading the next one soon lol. This is because next chapter is a little different in that it has very little to do with the actual story which is ironic because its actually one of my favorite chapters 3 I got super inspired out of nowhere and wrote something akin to a short story lmao. Anyway, I'll leave it optional to the viewers. If you want to read it all then I'll be super happy! But if not, its okay to skim through most of it but read the last part to have some context for Chapter 28 lmao. My schedule is so messed up rn so be patient with me! .