#i am so sorry that you had your dream invaded by my anti of all people. truly a traumatizing event i'd imagine

[doctorcollege]

im so sorry if this doesnt make any sense i just woke up but i had a dream that ur anti and i were in a psychiatric facility together except all of the dream was realistic but him. like everyone looked like a real person meanwhile he was still just ur drawings of him copied and pasted into a real life background

i keep forgetting to answer this because every time i try i am unable to think of how i'm even supposed to Respond as truly absolutely nothing i say here could possibly be funnier than this ask on it's own

[unknowncountrygirl]

The Letter

This is just a little short story featuring my MC Iris Rosewood with Ben Copper. As soon as they had the dialogue in the game where he wrote a letter before entering the Portrait Vault I knew it was to the MC and my gears started spinning. To me the final “reading of the letter” at the end of year six was anti climactic so I wrote my own.

On a side note if anyone watches North Woods Law, even if you don’t, does Officer Kevin Bronson remind anyone else of what Ben would look like in the real world? Or is it just me?

Also if this post oddly, I did it from my phone as my computer is on the rocks.

Ok, please enjoy!

~*~*~

--------------------------------

“Take a break. Spend time with your friends. There will always be more mysteries to solve at Hogwarts.” Mad Eye had told her.

For the first time, Iris did finally feel like she could breathe. She strolled down the halls and made her way towards the greenhouses, a nice walk amongst the flowers felt like a good place to start and the sweet peas were beginning to bloom.

Iris had been admiring some of the flowers, and had taken it upon herself to re-pot a few that looked like they needed a new home when a bird began knocking on the outside of the greenhouse. She walked over and lifted one of the window vents and let the little owl inside and pulled the note off his leg.

Meet me at the Owlery, I found something for you.

Cryptic, typical Talbott.

She cast a simple cleaning spell on her hands and the jeans she was wearing, before rubbing her forehead. She transformed into her animagus, a peregrine falcon, and soared off towards the owlery. She flew into the open window and came to a stop right in front of Talbott before turning back into her usual self. She shook out her hair and smoothed it back into place while asking,

“Your note sounded urgent, Talbot Is something wrong?”

“Not at all. I simply found a letter for you.” He informed her as he handed over the dusty, and slightly stained from owl poop, envelope. “It looks like it's been here for a long time.”

“A letter?” She flipped it over and saw her name written simply on the front. “That's all?”

“Iris. I think you need to read it.” Talbot insisted. Her blue eyes looked up and met his. While Talbot was a serious person, he seemed even more so in this moment. Iris took the letter and leaned up against a small table near here and skipped to the bottom to see who the letter was from.

“It's from... Ben.” She was honestly genuinely surprised. Their friendship had been strained since the portrait vault and what conversations they had anymore was strained and tense. Well, all but for one night when they had went to Jacob's room to search, the night that Rowan was killed. He had told her how he didn't want her to suffer and bear burdens, all such sweet and genuine things... Only to turn his back on her in his grief and deal with it in a hurtful and dangerous way.

“He must have left it here for you.”

Then it hit her like a ton of bricks.

I was writing a letter to an important witch.

“Ben mentioned writing a letter before we entered the Buried Vault.” Iris informed Talbot. “He

said it was for a very important witch.”

“Well, I suppose that important witch was you.” Honestly Iris felt her stomach feel sick a bit. She

wrestled with the idea of not reading the letter in truth but Talbot pulled her from her thoughts. “Iris. I didn't read the whole letter, it seemed to important. You need to read it.”

She took a deep breath and opened the envelope and pulled out the piece of parchment.

Dear Iris.

I have always admired you, from the first day we met. You came into my life and for the first time it felt like my life went from black and white to full bright color.

You were so sure of yourself, so confident and strong. I had never met anyone like that and I wanted to be like that not just for myself but for you, and I have failed miserably.

You have been my truest friend and my confident when I could not let anyone in. Even if I didn't let you in, I feel like you would have pushed back any road block and found your way into my life and my heart all the same.

I am terrified to go into the vault. R has promised to kill one of your friends and I know it will be me, that's why I am writing you this letter, so at least I can say my peace to you even though I'm to cowardly to tell you in person.

You are the brightest light in my life, and I wish I could be that for you. There were times when we would do homework together and you would ask what I was thinking. I would answer with something like 'nothing' or 'Snape' just so I didn't have to face the truth.

Those times I would be thinking of you, even though you were right in front of me. I would think of things far off, like after Hogwarts. Where you may see me not as a terrified kid but as a man who is worthy of your affections.

Somewhere between sandwiches, Gobstones, homework, and butterbeers my feelings for you turned.

All this to say, is that I love you Iris. Not the platonic love that you feel for a friend.

I am in love with you. Even though we are young, I know it deep in my soul.

I'm sorry I never said this to you, you deserved that much even though you don't feel the same. I

hope that you can forgive me for being cowardly even to the end. I never deserved your friendship, and I never deserved to have you in my life as actively as you were. There were so many more deserving people that you could have been spending your time with.

I hope you find this note one day, and that it finds you well and living your life to the absolute fullest. You deserve happiness more then anyone that I know.

Pursue your dream of being a Herbologist, don't listen to anyone telling you otherwise, because you love it and that's what you should do.

Plant your flowers, grow your garden, find that little cottage in the woods and have that little farm you always talked about doing after Hogwarts.

I hope you find love that is worthy of you, and can give you the family you want. You are the most beautiful human being, and I was lucky to have you in my life for the time that I had.

Yours, Ben Copper.

Water droplets splattered on the paper and Iris took in a deep, shaky breath.

“It's strange to see the old Ben again, even if it's on parchment.” She managed to get out to Talbot, who had taken a step towards her and laid a hand on her shoulder. It was his awkward way of trying to lend support to her while she cried over the letter.

“Whatever he said, I don't think he believed he would live to tell you in person.” He told her as she folded the letter up again and slipped it back into the envelope.

“He's never said anything.” She managed to get out as she wiped her tears off her cheeks, seeing her mascara smudged on her fingers. She grumbled and pulled out her wand, casting a simple makeup removing spell that left her face bare. “I have to go.” Iris said suddenly and pulled away from Talbot.

“Right now?”

“Yes! Right now!” Before Talbot could say anything else she was flying out the window in her falcon form. She flew all over the Hogwarts ground looking for any gleam of tawny blonde hair before she landed and transformed, looking for him on her own two legs.

The Great Hall, the Library, the common room, and finally she managed to see him rounding a corner ahead of her.

“Ben!” Iris shouted, all but running up to him. He turned to see her coming up to him, looking a bit ruffed up then normal for her. He noticed she had no makeup on, her hair was out of sorts, and that her eyes were red and puffy.

“Who made you cry?” He asked angrily, ready to hex whoever had made Iris cry when he spotted the letter in her hand. He felt his eyes widen and his stomach fell to his feet. She held it towards him.

“Talbot just found it up in the Owlery.” She explained. “This was the letter you wrote before the portrait vault.” It wasn't a question, it sounded more like an accusation.

Blue eyes met dark brown as they simply stared at one another, both knowing exactly what laid in the letter, but neither wanting to be the first to address it. Ben took a deep breath, and gulped hard, feeling himself beginning to perspire.

“It is.” He simply stated.

“Is it true?” Iris asked him, her voice soft but still stern.

“It was-”

“I'm not asking of it was true then, obviously it was, or else you wouldn't have wrote it.” He

noticed then, as she held up the letter, that her hands were shaking. “I'm asking if it's true now.”

There was two options for him. He could lie, and tell her that he was no longer in love with her

anymore. Or there was option two. He could tell the truth, which honestly was the more scary option. He knew he had treated her wrongly the last year, and she was more then likely farther away from him then she had ever been before.

After Rowan's death. In truth, he had pulled away from everyone. He had thrown himself head first into training, to the point of exhaustion. He had been snappy with Iris, on more then one occasion, and likewise she had been irritable with him. It felt as though what tiny shred of friendship they had was hanging on by a thread, threatening to snap at the smallest gust. So they had generally left one another alone.

But they were here now, at the crossroads that he had put off for more then a year.

She was looking up at him with her large blue eyes and her lips were slightly down turned as she waited for him to say anything. He remembered vividly the day he knew he felt for her, they were in Charms, Iris was between him and Rowan. They were reviewing Riddikulus, one of the boys from Ravenclaw managed to turn a dummy into a dancing frog and it caused the class to burst into laughter. Iris laughed and looked over to Ben with a bright smile, and he had zeroed into her lips. Full, pink, plump lips that he wanted against his own. He had never wondered what Rowan's or Penny's lips would feel like or taste, but Iris's had invaded his brain. The smell of her perfume seemed to get stronger, he wondered what it would be like to run his hands through her her silvery blonde waves.

Iris was his first true friend, the first person he had confided truths, fears, and secrets with. The first person he cared for, the first person he loved besides his family. He adored her.

Every past wrong, every crass word spoken, and hurtful thing seemed to pass through his mind in a split instant, digging their claws deep into his brain, squeezing what life he had left from his heart.

Ben had tried so hard to show Iris that he was strong, resilient, and brave that he had pushed her away in the process. He wanted to fix it, he wanted her back. He missed her laughter, he missed their chats and late night talks on the Gryffindor couch in front of the fire. He missed her.

“I still love you.” He managed to say.

It was like he watched a fire ignite in her eyes, a fire he hadn't realized came very close to burning out. For a split moment, he thought she was going to hit him as her hand came dangerously close to his face. Her hand grabbed his neck, not in an aggressive way, but a gentle way. His entire world came to a freeze as warm lips collided with his own.

He had felt like had been propelled, into ice cold water and that time had stopped. He had dreamed about this moment for years, the part about it happening in a hallway for anyone to see was not part of the dream but it was what it was and he was not about to complain about it.

His hands grasped at her like he was a man drowning and she was a life preserver, one hand lost into her hair, slightly damp from perspiration, and the other in the small of her back pulling him as close as he could to her.

As far as he was concerned, nothing could ruin this moment.

But he would be wrong.

“Mr. Copper!” The shrill voice called out, causing both of them to jump. “Miss Rosewood! I

would expect more from head girl and two members of Gryffindor!” Professor McGonagal reprimanded the two of them. “Twenty points from Gryffindor.” She began to walk past them, both cheeks burning before she turned around to face them one last time, a grin curling at the corner of her lips. “It's about time.” They watched her disappear around the corner and Iris looked up to him, the blush still across her cheeks, but a bright smile from her lips.

“I don't think that was twenty points worthy.” She winked and he knew she was being cheeky, and laced her fingers in his.

“Are you insinuating we find somewhere more private?”

“No, I'm saying it.” She smiled and leaned into his side as they began to walk down the hallway.

*~*~*

After Hogwarts, Iris planted her flowers and wove them into a champagne and blush colored

crown that she wore intertwined with her curls at her wedding.

Ben found a cottage in the woods near to his Muggle parents with a chicken coop and a little

duck pond. In Muggle tradition, he had carried Iris across the threshold, into the home that they would make together.

[dxrksong]

Silver eyes

Yet another au

Warning (there's a lot in this one *sweats*) tw attempted suicide, tw self harm (mention), tw a very depressed person that jokes in depressing ways, also tw depression, tw hospital rooms and doctors and all that good stuff.

Now that's over with onwards to the story

In the fall of the colored leaves, a figure on a bridge stood watching the water

Hair dead and dark as the abyss that haven't seen any hint of mercy from the owner. Eye as pale as the moonlight with bags underneath that could rival a suitcase from the last of sleep. And a form so scratched up, the owner had stopped paying attention to the numbers. 

With a heave they were sent over the railings and sent crashing against the waters

And then the muffled silence of traffic was all you heard as you sunk further and further into the waters. 

You closed your eyes, taking in the cool welcoming depths 

……….

…………

…..

Is that…...crying….?

"N ple….e….."

A tight grip around your body. Now who would be so bold as to cling to you like this?

Certainly not your family

"Y/N…."

Ah…..you see. They've mistaken you for someone else. That makes more sense to be honest. 

More voices rose up

"Hospital…."

"C……….on! They…...help!"

Even louder sobbing invaded your ears as you felt a head lean on yours. 

man….this dude is gonna feel REAL silly when he finds out the truth. 

"Hello"

…...Hello??

"Good, you can hear me"

Who the heck-

"What are you doing?"

…….listening. what, is it a crime to listen now?

"You need to wake up Y/N, he-"

No

"You don't understand-"

No! No YOU don't understand!! I'm not going to repeat myself, So listen closely! They got the WRONG GUY!!!! I'm not Y/N, whoever they are! I'm just…...useless…..

"……..then what is your name?"

………...it's a dumb name

"No it isn't "

Yes it is

"I can assure you it's not"

Oh yes it is-

"Just give me your name, you're running out of time!!"

AND WHY SHOULD I?!

The voice was stunned into silence 

Why should I trust somebody I just met?! HUH?! I mean, sure, I'm DYING right now but that doesn't mean I'm going to give away my name to a voice in my head!!! 

So go on!! Just give me a reason! It's better than this radio silence you've given me! 

".....so they can say your name"

Huh?

"So they can say your name!"

Wha-but…….they got the wrong-

"Y/N-sorry. They're crying over YOU!"

Who they think I am yeah-

"No…...YOU."

You fell quiet, a silent horror bubbling up in your chest as you started to panic 

What-no! But they can't-I don't even!

"Calm down."

NO!! You don't get it!!! I wasn't prepared for someone to cry over me! 

I didn't think anybody WOULD!! 

You started sobbing, tears coming to your eyes as you mentally held your head. 

"What's your name?"

You hiccupped and sobbed

It's Pierce……

--------------

"Pierce"

"H-huh?"

"The host would like to verify that Y/N's name is now Pierce" 

"Pierce…? But…"

The blaring alarms of an ambulance invaded your ears, you being unable to hear the rest of the conversation.

----

You opened your eyes bleary. You were surrounded by what seems to be curtains, a heart monitor and several other instruments hooked up to your body. 

You sighed internally. Seems it really did fail, though you can't help but wonder if all that really happened or if it was all just a dream. 

You closed your eyes again, not really wanting to be awake at the moment. 

Unfortunately it seems the world had other plans for you as one part of the curtian moved, a man in a doctor's uniform appearing. 

You pryed your eyes back open, seeming to startle the doctor

Doctor: "Hey! You're awake! I'm sorry but you're dying."

Pierce: well thank goodness for that then, that was the whole point. 

The Doctor seemed to cough, probably aware the mistake he made of his usage of words. 

Doctor: sorry, force of habit. What I meant to say was, you're making a good recovery so far…….would you like to talk about what happened?

Pierce: no. 

Doctor: a-ah. W-well. I'm Dr.Iplier, my assistant is Dr.Sneeplestein and we'll be the ones caring for you till you've recovered. 

Pierce: …..Pierce.  

There wasn't much conversation after that. It was mostly Dr.Iplier trying to ask questions and Pierce not really wanting to answer them, being stubborn as he could be. 

He just wanted to go back to sleep and forget about this whole mess, even if it was temporary.

Of fucking course, his life isn't that easy. The sound of footsteps outside the room could be heard before a loud bang as the door was more or less thrown open.

??: I heard he's awake! 

Dr.Iplier sighed heavily before going to intercept the newcomer as they yanked back the curtains. 

Dr.Iplier: they just woke up and need time to-

??: out of my way doc

Dr.Iplier: Dark. I know you two have some kind of history but-

Dark apparently: Move. 

The Doctor, probably well aware he couldn't hold him back, sighed once more before moving out of the way, giving you a clearer view of Dark. 

It was weird. Looking at him. 

Grey skin like all the saturation was gone, a kind of static filled aura that actually hurt your head looking and hearing. And then there were red and blue highlights on the man's features, more or less blending into the Static. 

Yeah, uh that's really weird. 

Dark: Y/N…

Oh…..not this again! 

Peirce: sorry buddy but you got the wrong guy-

All of a sudden Pierce started coughing, the doctor rushing over to them and placing a hand on their head

Dr.Iplier: fever….he needs rest. You can bother him later Dark. Until then, keep your distance before you get sick too. 

Dark: just one thing. 

Dark turned to Pierce

Dark: if you aren't Y/N. Then who are you?

Pierce: just a mega depressed guy that doesn't want to be here. Nothing more, nothing less. 

Pierce said nonchalantly with a shrug. Most people wouldn't have noticed but Dark's features softened a little at that. Guess that's just one of Pierce's quirks, being able to read people like an open book. 

Takes one steeled face to know one. 

Dark: that didn't answer my question. My name is Dark. What should I call you?

Pierce: …….Pierce. nice to formally meet you…

Dark nodded, a small smile on his face

Dark: nice to formally meet you too. 

Dark turned and left without much of a fight. Dr.Iplier turned to Pierce with a confused look on his face

Dr.Iplier: h-how did you...n-not even ANTI can get him to just walk away like that, we usually have to call Wil!!!

Pierce: hey doc…..is it just me or…

Definitely something fishy going on here

Pierce: did that guy have your face? 

---------------------

Yep. That's chapter one of this story

Oh I almost forgot

@iam-trash-stuff

[jaylightning]

Chapter 14 - The Boogeyman

The room was quiet for a brief moment with this appearance of the violet-eyed male.  The atmosphere of the room had seemed to change to an eerie calm.  If one was to explain it, it was the calm that came from an acceptance.  Only issue was that no one was willing to accept this feeling.

“Oh, dear.  After business hours, and letting in people?  Y’know, one of ya could at least offer our friend here something to drink?  He’s traveled quite the distance,” Lotus would speak out as he came back down to see the scene before them.  Raven was on his feet, on edge.  One move he saw out of place would see an attack.  Lotus could see this from a mile away.  Meanwhile, Ria and Matthew were keeping back, nervous.  Everyone was simply on edge.  This wasn’t good.

“C’mon, guys ~ Just relax.  It’s only natural to be tense around--”

“That’ll be enough, Lotus.  Plus, I don’t really need a drink right now.” the male spoke, stopping the chef from speaking anymore.

“Okay so this is another secret that Lotus is keeping? if you two know each other, then I’d like to know what exactly is going on... STILL,” A red head was growing more furious by the minute with these new puzzle pieces showing up in the form of Lotus’ background.  Just how much he was hiding was setting off a bomb.

“Don’t worry.  This isn’t much of a secret he chose to keep.  Rather, it is a tale a little too silly to believe.  Much so that I’m sure with this guy’s sense of humor that he’s told you several times, but you shrugged it off as bad humor.”

“Speaking of bad humor, it’s not nice showing up three months early for an audit, Health Inspector, but I assure you everything is fine and dandy here,” Lotus told him.  It wasn’t often that the goofy smile was missing from Lotus.  It was more solemn, almost worrisome.

“Yes, I am more than aware.  As I said, I am only here to help in an issue that you all seem to be having.  I was sent to investigate the matter of your former boss, Lotus.  As you all are staring to learn, there is a bit of a disturbance in your world.  Many species are being invaded and stolen from their homes for a purpose we’ve yet to discover.  We do know a lot of lives have been lost, and we can only assume only more will be taken if this isn’t stopped.  So for starters,” the male approached Lotus with a hand going around the other’s neck, “Let’s take care of one thing--”

“Alright, enough!” Raven had enough and made a charge considering this looked more of a threat than anything.  Within a split second, a flash from Lotus’ neck followed by him collapsing and holding the back of his neck, actually in pain for a change.  The male had spun around to meet Raven and a duck under a fist that was charged with wind.  For a brief second, the violet-eyed male examined the shot and wind before throwing an open-handed palm that would send Raven back with enough force to crash into a booth and break it.

“Raven!” Ria was up and at it to check up on the detective while Matthew was just staring at the male.

“I think ... I get it.  The violet eyes, Lotus’ connection, and this... air.  Along with everything else you just said.  You’re a servant of the death gods, aren’t you?” he asked with Ria looking back over with a little more horror to her features.

“What do you mean--”

“Someone’s read their legends.  Wouldn’t say Servant, but I am of the family of the original Death God, or Shinigami.  Whichever is easier.  My name is Kuraduro Iroth, and I’m here to aid you guys in dealing with Yuuma Samil.”

Standing back up, Lotus would rub his neck as he already had an idea of what had just happened.  Seeing Raven starting to stir and get up, he had to whistle at the damage caused.  “Well ... He did ask for it, but could ya been a little more gentle on the store?” he asked before glancing over to Matthew next, “Also, that’s our little genius.  He reads a lot of things thanks to Mia... Who’d be screaming at us both if she knew I was involved in you guys.  Not that I have a choice.” Lotus commented with the Iroth laughing.

“My apologizes.  On the bright side of things, as of today you are free from your restrictions for this mission.  I believe your friends will need you now more than ever ... but I also think you will need to face your past, eventually.  This goes well enough, I may be able to fully free you-”

“Free him..? You tellin’ me this guy has been confined here in his own store and this city all this time because of you?” Raven asked as he got himself back up, properly, though he had stumbled in doing so.  The question had Kuraduro raising a brow with Lotus giving a small nod. 

“It’s the condition of the power I possess. I told you my dark days were a little chaotic... So what happens when you kill many people and their souls don’t quite make it to the afterlife?  You know that’s a part of my Realm, but... I never quite told you the full truth of my power.  It’s a power that you’re not quite born with.  It’s a power transferred in dreams.” Lotus spoke with Kuraduro patting the shoulder of Lotus.

“Along the course of time, a single entity plagued the nightmares of people it found appetizing.  It preyed on anyone with powerful dreams, and it would consume their very being through those dreams. People would go to sleep, but they’d never wake up.  Lotus had been visited by this demon ... but unlike past victims, Lotus woke up.  The demon’s soul was killed and absorbed into the soul of  Lotus here.  Basically, he is the new dream demon, or Boogeyman as one may call it in this world.”

“Basically, I had a wild imagination the guy couldn’t handle ~” Lotus spoke with a laugh.

The three would just stare at Lotus and Kuraduro that seem to know the full story of Lotus before any of them even knew a thing.  They just knew Lotus had spoken of his power as just his imagination running wild and taking form.  But to go as far as to say he’s a boogeyman?

“Whiiiich is why I have to be restricted and have these visits. This power is very much a mystery considering no one even knew if this thing was real.  It exists only  in its own realm, never seen by a person that lived to tell.  Sorry for not saying anything, but-“

“Look, I’m not going to pretend I fully understand, but I don’t need anymore explanations.  All I need is for this death god to give me a plan.  Boogeyman or not, we got work to do,” Raven spoke before groaning.  Standing still hurts.

“Also, Raven.  Yes?  After we discuss matters, I have something to ask you in private in concern of that power of yours..” Kuraduro would add on with the male looking rather irritated at the comment.  He did not feel the desire to speak to the guy that just launched him like a home-run baseball.

“Wait!  How can we talk if Lotus will die if he speaks anything?” Matthew would ask out with Kuraduro cracking a quick smile.

“The curse has been burned away by my own-ah ... What you might call magic? ability?  Maybe it’s better to call it ‘Anti-magic’.” he explained with Lotus nodding.

“Yeah... Burned.  Could had warned me, by the way..” Lotus muttered the last part, not exactly enjoying that sort of pain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was hustling out to catch up to Naito that should be close by.  Sure enough, she was able to spot him which she was ready to call out to her love.  What stopped her was a look of seriousness to him.  He was hiding which meant there was something or someone close by.  Ducking low, she would approach the other without a sound and simply just wait for a command from the pyro master.

“Heh... Good thing ya went and changed to something more fitting in spy work,” Naito commented with noticing quick of Mia being out of her typical dresses and more into darker, tighter clothing.  Loose articles could prevent movements which Mia would need being on the field like this.  The issue was that she had no idea what was even going on.  Frankly, she was growing upset by the minute.

“Comment on m’ wear all ya want.  Ain’t gonna change that yer not talkin’,” she whispered with a hand being raised to shush her.

“Chill, hun.  Check it out...” he motioned as he moved away from the bush for Mia to take a peak and view out from what was in front.  She could see a couple of people tied up and being held prisoner by a single woman with long-brunette hair.  She also seemed to be dancing to a song that no one could hear.  ... Wait.

“Hey, Idol?  Do you hear violin music...?” Mia asked with Naito not exactly responding, but he was starting to sweat.

[thedyingmoon]

💜 This I Promise 💜

***

LXIV. Reunion

***

(F/N) waited patiently in the living room as Rogers the Head Butler finally let her visitor in.

And it was none other than Kenny Ackerman, himself.

"Kenny?" she asked, confused as to the man's sudden visit. "What are you doing here? I thought you're on the run from Rod's men?"

But, Kenny had no time for idle chit chat.

"You,... IDIOT!" he screamed at her.

"Why did you say that?!" she was definitely taken aback by what the man had just told her.

"Why are you marrying Smith?! I thought you made yourself clear!"

"Of what?"

"And I even made sure that you and him would end up with each other!"

Him?

"I'm sorry, who?"

Kenny just clicked his tongue. A very familiar gesture.

"Forget it." he answered dejectedly. "It seems that I was wrong about you and I have made the wrong choice. No. You made the wrong choice. Guards!"

All of a sudden, several Military Police uniformed men showed up in front of them bearing guns and pointing them at Kenny. (F/N) stood up in fright.

"Whoa! What are you doing here in this household?!" (F/N) blurted out. "I thought you're not allowed here?!"

"I let them in." Kenny simply said. And to the men, he said, "I'm yours now. Take me away."

(F/N) watched in total disbelief as Kenny just let himself be manhandled and taken away forcefully from the room. She screamed and begged for them to let him go, but they would not listen. Kenny would not listen.

Helplessly, (F/N) collapsed to the sofa. She had little time to process what just happened, when, all of a sudden, Rogers announced the next visitors.

Or visitor.

"Captain Levi?" (F/N)'s eyes were wide open as she gazed at the handsome man who stood right in front of her.

And what's more, he was wearing a formal suit, coat, and even a tie.

"(F/N), I just wanted to let you know,..." Levi began as solemnly as he could.

"W-what is it?"

"I'm getting married."

"Getting married?!" as if earlier's events didn't shake her hard enough, here was the man she loved, announcing he was getting hitched. "With who - ?"

Her voice dropped to a depressing degree as a very beautiful ginger - haired woman paraded the room and joined Levi on his side. It was none other than Petra Ral, herself. And she was wearing the most beautiful white gown she had ever seen in her entire life. She linked her arm together with Levi's and smiled sweetly at her.

"I'm so happy I'm gonna marry the man of my dreams. Me!" Petra announced happily, still smiling gorgeously at her. Then, she faced Levi and kissed him on the lips. "I love you, Levi."

And to (F/N)'s horror, jealousy, and dismay, he answered, "I love you very much, Petra."

"Let's get going!" Petra sang as she dragged Levi away from the room.

And away from (F/N)'s life.

She felt her heart sink to the ground as strange, painful sensations invade her broken heart. It was not even a minute when another visitor showed itself in front of her.

It was that same dark - haired child from before.

And she looked really sad.

"Don't you love me anymore, mom?" the beautiful child said to her, with eyes beginning to glisten with tears. "Don't you want to see me anymore?"

***

(F/N) sat up in bed, bewildered by what she just dreamed of. It just,... felt so real.

The dream was still in her head when she went down to join her grandmother for breakfast. Almost a week had passed since she met her true family, and since then, the Dowager Duchess would only allow her to go out at night when nobody would see her come out of her mansion. The poor old woman just didn't want to lose her grandchild again, and she was afraid that the enemies would take her away from her. The woman even went to extreme lengths to ban each and every visitor who would call on her, save for her closest friends, to prevent anyone from seeing her.

And as she sat down and read the news regarding her grandmother's eccentric and anti - social behavior, she looked at her with sad eyes. The Duchess noticed this but remained composed as she spread butter on her fresh bread.

"Is anything wrong, dear?" she asked.

"It's,... this." (F/N) said, pointing at the newspaper. "Why do they treat you like this? It's like,... they don't even consider you as a member of the society."

The Duchess just smiled and answered, "Oh, it's nothing new. They can call me whatever they want, and I would never care. You're here and I' am more than glad for that."

"I see,..." (F/N) said and was about to pick up her bread when Rogers the Head Butler came in.

"Lady (F/N)'s friends wanted to see her, Your Grace." he announced with his throaty, solemn voice.

"By Walls, who are those friends?" The Dowager inquired.

In a space of a second, Rogers eyes went from composed to alarmed as he slightly turned his head towards the living room, where a strange sound and an "oof!" and a "watch it!" could suddenly be heard.

And (F/N) knew who they were before Rogers could even announce them.

"They said they're from the Scouting - " Rogers began but was interrupted when (F/N) sped past him towards the living room like an excited child. " - Legion,..."

Surely enough, when she arrived there on the spacious living room, she saw them there.

"Guys?" (F/N) said, afraid that they would vanish at slightest sound she would make.

"(F/N)!" Nifa screamed excitedly as she threw herself at her long lost friend in a huge hug. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you, too, Nifa, everyone!"

"Hi, there, (F/N)!" Jean suavely said as he waved at her from the sofa.

"(F/N)?" Eren went closer to her, as if to inspect her. "Are you sure you no longer have amnesia?"

"Amnesia? I heard that word before." (F/N) answered back, trying to recall where she heard the word.

"It's a disorder wherein a person suffers memory loss due to severe head trauma." Eren answered expertly. "But, you're not Carlstead anymore, right?"

"Wait, how did you even know that?"

"It's uncle Grisha." Mikasa provided the answer. "Eren's father was Shiganshina District's only Doctor. "He was the one who taught Eren those things."

"Oh, I see. Then," (F/N) said when the memory of that evening finally returned from her. "that woman from before. The one from the Winter Season Ball who was being chased by an old, bald man,..."

"That's Eren." Hange stood up from the sofa and went towards (F/N). "And, it seems that Commander Pyxis could tell him even under disguise and heavy makeup."

(F/N)'s mind made different flips as she remembered that night and how Eren looked like. And she became wide - eyed, both in confusion and amusement.

"Wait! So, you were that lady!"

"Not only him." Jean told her. "We, I mean Mikasa and I, were there, as well."

For almost an hour, Hange and her friends told her everything that happened when she had amnesia, things that occured in the Legion and their reasons for going undercover that evening during the Winter Season Ball.

"Erwin told me that." (F/N) told them. "But, he said he never even got the answers he was looking for. Turns out they were only using him for another purpose - to lure him away from the Legion even further for the enemies to purge the witnesses of that day."

"And they almost succeeded." Hange said. "They even injured some of the recruits that night. But, thankfully, we managed to apprehend them. If we didn't return in time for them to tell all the things that were happening and prepare for what's to come, all of the Scouts, and not only the witnesses, would surely end up dead."

"We didn't go down without a fight!" Eren added.

"But, the news only mentioned that the reason behind the violence was due to a robbery. Those scoundrels!" Jean exclaimed, his teeth gritting in anger.

"They really don't want anyone knowing about these events. They're clearly hiding the truth from the people." Nifa mentioned. "Remember all the fake news Berg spread last year about that incident where Captain Levi was involved? And the fact that there were - "

But, Nifa immediately stopped talking upon seeing the glum look on (F/N)'s face at the mention of the Captain's name. Hange noticed this and took matters to her own hands.

"Nifa, Jean, could you inform Your Grace about the news we just brought? You know, that?" Hange asked the two.

The two just nodded, stood, and went directly towards Rogers, who was standing attentively on a corner waiting for orders, to inquire him of the Duchess whereabouts in the huge mansion to deliver their news.

"And while we're at it, Eren, Mikasa, I think you left the parcel outside in the garden. You dropped it there, remember?" Hange told the two.

"Oh, you're right!" Eren's eyes widened as he recalled about it. "We'll get it now. Let's go, Mikasa."

The two went out, leaving (F/N) and Hange behind. (F/N) was oblivious as to what will happen, and only waited for some answers.

"News? What news is that, Miss Hange?" (F/N) innocently asked, fairly avoiding the dreaded topic.

To this, Hange just smiled. She just took (F/N)'s hands and saw the ring on her finger.

"Are you happy with this?" Hange carefully asked.

"With what?" (F/N) replied, certainly knowing the answer deep within her aching heart.

"With your decision to marry Erwin?"

At the mention of her stupid decision, (F/N) felt her heartbeat slow down for a while as cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

"I made the decision, Miss Hange. There's no turning back."

"Alright, then." Hange let go of her hands. "Did Levi tell you why we even pursued you in disguise?"

(F/N) thought hard about this, when she realized that she never really gave him a chance to explain in the first place.

Hange saw the answer in her melancholic eyes and spoke,

"You see, that one time when we saw you on Stohess District, we, Levi and I, were already searching for you when we found out that you're still alive and being hidden from us by Erwin. Levi was going to take you away, but you refused him, because you don't remember him. And you were scared of him, so you told him to get away from you. Do you remember that?"

Slowly, all those memories from Stohess went back to her, of Levi's sad face, him begging her to go home with him,...

... and her refusing him just because she doesn't remember him.

"Y-yes, I remember."

The smile on Hange's face disappeared and was replaced with a distinct frown.

"Levi doesn't want to hurt you anymore. In fact, he dreaded it. He changed his ways and decided to make it up to you for all the things he has done to you in the past because of his blindness and ignorance. But, simply taking you home with him proved to be painful to him, seeing you confused and scared like that. So, I suggested we look after you in disguise. That's how you met - "

"Lord Elvis Shunerman and Lady Jacqueline Baxter." (F/N) said, recalling that day they were intorduced in the Dawk residence.

"Yes, that's it. Levi was afraid to show you his face, but at the same time, he really wanted to see you, to hear your voice again and to get closer to you. And he put up with my silly idea just to do all that."

"He,... really wanted to see me." (F/N) quietly said.

"And, not only that. I think he believes that if you fall for him once more, despite your condition, that is, he would have a chance to take you away and make it up to you. He seriously believes that you would no longer be afraid of him by that time should you regain your memories. But, that didn't work out, am I right?"

(F/N) absorbed all of this and just nodded.

"Will you tell me what happened? That night you found out about everything?"

As much as (F/N) dreaded the day this would happen, she told Hange everything, from the moment she recalled everything to that day Levi took her by force. And, as she recounted all of this, she couldn't help but break down in front of the older and wiser woman.

Hange, on the other hand, couldn't do anything but comfort the younger woman upon hearing the story from her side. Of course, as one of Levi's closest, well, friends, she had already heard of this story from him. And Levi was not any better. That day she bugged him about (F/N)'s rejection, he was drowning himself in misery and a lot of liquor ( of course, he could not get drunk ) and refused to go outside the apartment in Trost District he was renting.

"I hurt her." he cried to her that night. "Oh, God! I hurt her!"

And she listened to him mumble all night about how he loved her and that he could not live without her. The poor guy even told her that (F/N) must've thought that he was only longing for Petra, that's why he wooed her in the first place. And that would start his poor ramblings all over again and his cries of how he hurt her so dreadfully.

"(F/N), listen to me." Hange put her hands on (F/N)'s shoulders, just like that time she told her to wear that dress that started all of this. "I want you to consider this very carefully. Levi loves you. And no, he does not feel that way with you just because he missed Petra. He really loves you. I suggest you give him the chance to explain."

"What if he doesn't go back?"

"He will. But, it's all up to you now. It's not too late."

(F/N) wiped her tears and nodded, her body still trembling.

"That's my girl." Hange smiled.

(F/N) was beginning to smile, herself, being given the clarity she most definitely needed, when Eren and Mikasa returned.

"Section Commander Hange, we retrieved the parcel." Mikasa told them.

"Oh, that reminds me. (F/N), these are for you." Hange took the box from Mikasa and handed it to (F/N). "It seems that your father has been giving you letters this past few months. I believe there even was a box of cake and another one with a dress. But, the cake, well, Sasha already ate it. The dress is there, if you would open it."

"From father?" (F/N) asked. That meant that the package was from Mr. Ral, whom she was guilty she quite forgot due to the turn of events. She opened the box, and sure enough, there was a dress. And some letters, including one that was written by someone else ( who she believed was a Doctor due to the letter's nature, and not to mention, awful handwriting ), and not her father. With boiling curiosity, she picked it up first. She opened it, read the contents,...

.... and dropped it the floor,...

"(F/N), what's wrong?" Mikasa asked, concerned of the sudden change in her demeanor.

(F/N)'s tears came rolling down her face once more as she faced her friends.

"M-my father,..." she cried. "H-he's,..."

***

~ @levi4mikasa , @yepps , @chocolate-mmilk , @nerdyphantomlady , @unhappysap , @shewolfofficial , @super-peace-fangirl , @fangurl-ontgeside , and @emilyackerman78 . 💜

***

💜💜💜

***

[taesunglifer]

Game

Hoseok x Reader

(Decided to post it in it’s entirity off of AO3 for those that don’t go on that site and read. 

ENJOY....Feel free to leave comments.)

You've dreamt about Jung Hoseok ever since you found BTS.

Now is your chance of meeting him at a fan meet.

And things turn out FAR different than you ever DREAMED.

Your palms began to sweat as you neared the fan meet table.

It nearly broke you, the cost of the fan meet and concert tickets but for the chance to get to see the man you had pined over for an eternity in the real deal flesh, to talk to him…you’d eat grass if that’s what you had to do.

“If one more person bumps into me, I swear I’m going to lose my shit up in here” your friend said through gritted teeth in your ear.

You’re surprised you heard her over the sound of the blood rushing through your ears. Three more people and you’d be standing in front of Kim Namjoon.

Two more.

You fidgeted from foot to foot, anxiously eyeing the opposite end of the table where Jung Hoseok sat.

One more.

Oh, come on bitch, Namjoon doesn’t care that you collect the same figures he does! You only collect them because of him! And what’s the girl doing lingering in front of Jungkook! Now no one is in front of Taehyung OR Hoseok. KEEP IT MOVING SHIT NIPPLE!

You rubbed your hands nervously on your pants as you stepped up in front of Namjoon.

How awesome is it that you get to see Hoseok’s dick anytime you want to Is what you wanted to say…But you know that’s probably not appropriate for a fan meet…or in general…or at least while you’re sober. So you opt for “You’re an amazing leader, Namjoon. An inspiration to us all.”

Well like he hasn’t heard that 427 times…today…

He smiled signing your book, thanking you and you moved on to Kim Seokjin.

The next several minutes were a blur of trying to come up with something interesting to say to the other 6 members of BTS….

‘So glad you could visit our city…I hope you’re able to get out and see some sights…

‘Make sure you visit the aquarium, they have a whole area where you can touch various animals’

LAME. LAME. SO LAME.

And now here you were. You licked your lips nervously as you turned to stare into the warm chocolate eyes of a face you had memorized from the tip of his perfect nose to the tossled dark hair to the freckle on his lip. How you would give anything to leap across the table, crashing your lips with his and ripping off every layer of clothing he was wearing.

But he was looking down and signing your book. You stepped in front of him, tripping over your feet, sending your hand across the table and colliding with his. It knocked his pen askew and he drew one long line across his signature and off the page.

“OH!” he exclaimed and glanced up at you. Your eyes locked and the heat that radiated in that look could have cooked a Thanksgiving meal.

“I-I-I-I’m…s-s-sorry about that…’ he stammered.

“No!” you said rather loudly, startling Taehyung.

“AYE! What’s wrong?” he said, clutching his heart. He looked from you, to Hoseok, then back at you.

‘What’s going on here?”

You blinked, bringing yourself out of the trance you feel Hoseok put you in and turned to Taehyung.

“Oh…Uhm…He said he was sorry for messing up my book but it was all me. My fault. Completely.”

You looked back at Hoseok who continued to stare at you. Now it was making you nervous. Did you have something on your face? Were you that unattractive that he had no words?

You strained to remember what it was you had planned to say to him when you were in front of him. And you couldn’t remember a fucking thing.

“Miss? We have to ask you to exit now.” A voice to your right said to you.

Your heart sank.

No…No…No I have so much more to say to him! Much more than yelling NO at him…

You felt the tears prick the insides of your eyes as they lead you away from your hope. You shoot one last glance over your shoulder to find him still staring at you in that way…

This is definitely not how this was supposed to go.

++++++++

The knock on your hotel door startled you, bringing you out of a steamy sex dream you were having about Yoongi.

Yoongi?! What the fuck? How’d YOU wind up in my dream?

You sat up, rubbing your eyes, trying to decide if you really DID hear a knock on your door or if it was the sound of the headboard hitting the wall as Yoongi was pounding into you  from behind.

Well he is my bias wrecker….

The knock came again. You stumbled through the dark room, stubbing your toe on your suitcase in the process. You passed by your friend’s bedroom and could hear her soft snores even through the closed door.

Looking through the peephole, seeing a headful of dark hair.

Who in the hell..? Someone must be drunk and trying to find their room.

Opening the door, you felt like someone had put a roundhouse kick to your midsection.

There stood Jung Hoseok…He wore sunglasses but you knew that nose, those lips, that jawline…that lip freckle.

“I seriously must be dreaming.” You said aloud.

A smile crept across his face.

“Nope. It’s me.” He removed his sunglasses and stuck them in the pocket of the white hooded jacket he wore. You tore your eyes away from his face long enough to take in his lean dancer body. From the jacket to the Puma track pants to the slippers he wore.

“I know this is probably really weird for you. You’re probably wondering how in the hell I even knew where you were staying.”

You finally stopped staring at his thighs long enough to move your eyes back up to his face.

“I honestly don’t give a shit how you found me or the fact that if it was anyone else, I would be slamming the door and calling 911. You’re Jung Hoseok. You get a pass.” You said.

He laughed and ducked his head.

“Well that’s…comforting? I don’t feel like such a sleaze then.”

You tilted your head to the side, eyeing him.

“Your name should never be in the same sentence with sleaze. Ever.”

He smirked and eyed you carefuly. Licking his lips he said “Would it be too much to ask if I could come in?”

Your stomach turned 17 flips as you stepped aside to let him in.

No seriously…this has to be a dream.

You pinched yourself as you walked after him back into your room.

Good lord, his ass is even more perfect in person…

He glanced around the room and nodded.

“Nice..”

You scoffed. “I’m sure it’s Motel 6 compared to where you are staying.”

He grinned and shrugged.

“We do alright.”

You stared at each other as you felt the temperature rise in the room.

Hoseok. In your hotel room. Alone.

Why in the hell are we still wearing clothes…?

“So what do I owe this pleasure?’ you finally asked, curiosity winning out.

Hoseok cleared his throat and now it was his turn to fidget.

“Tell me if I’m way off base here but I felt this…connection. This…spark…this…SOMETHING…when I saw you at the fan meet. Something I had never experienced and I just had to find you again and see what it was. To see if I could find out why I felt that way. Does that sound weird?”

You struggled to find words.

Hoseok just told you that he felt a spark…with you…NO SERIOUSLY, AM I DREAMING??

“I felt something too but I thought it was just because I’ve been staring at you 29 hours a day for the last eternity.” You said, noticing your voice shake.

He laughed and nodded.

“Well considering I had never seen you before, I can’t claim the same thing.”

You smiled and felt your eyes move to the floor.

Shit he’s so beautiful.

“So….what does it all mean?” you asked, feeling your breath hitch in your chest.

Hoseok unzipped his jacket, shrugging it off, revealing a sleeveless black shirt underneath. His muscles rippled as he then tossed the jacket on top of your table.

“It means…I want to make you come like you’ve never come before.” He said stepping forward, invading your personal space.

You felt your eyes widen at the words that came out of his mouth.

“Uhm…I’m…I…I’m sorry…Can you repeat that because I don’t think my ears are working.” You stuttered, thinking your brain was really being a bitch right now…making you think this delicious man wanted to get you in bed.

“I SAID,” he replied more matter of factly, pushing a lock of hair off your face that had escaped your messy bun, “I want to make you come so hard that it physically hurts.”

You licked your lips, suddenly salivating.

“Well, that’s actually not what you said the first time…But both phrases sound amazing coming out of your mouth.”

A smile played across his lips as he cocked his head to the side. His eyes traced every inch of your face longingly.

“So this is something you’d be interested in?” he asked quietly.

WHO THE FUCK WOULDN’T??? A dead person, that’s who…someone with no brain…someone who hates BTS…no, even an anti would screw his brains out. They aren’t that crazy.

“If I say no?” you asked, suddenly hating yourself for letting those words even enter the room

He stared at the ceiling pondering.

“I’d be severely disappointed. I’d feel rejected. I’d go back to my room and jack off to the thought of you.”

His eyes met yours, waiting.

GEEEEEZUS THIS IS HAPPENING.

“Well, I’d hate to think of us pleasuring ourselves alone after I rejected you so let’s just go with your suggestion.”

He grinned, sliding his hands around your waist and pulling you in close to his chest. Suddenly his lips found yours. Soft, warm, tasting faintly of…what was that…lemon lime?

SPRITE!

You giggled when the realization hit.

“Whats so funny?” he asked against your lips.

“The fact that we are still standing here fully clothed.” You lied.

He raised an eyebrow, backing the two of you up until his legs hit the bed. He sat down, kicking his slippers off.

You straddled him, feeling the muscles in his thighs contract under you as you settled down.

Hoseok’s stuck his right index and middle finger in his mouth while pulling your shirt up with his left hand. His hands traveled under your shirt, cupping your right braless breast. His wet fingers rubbed across your nipple gently, sending the nerves between your breast and clit into a frenzy.

You moaned slightly under his touch as he worked your nipple back and forth between his fingers. You didn’t realize that your eyes were closed until you gasped at his touch on your left breast. You moaned again louder.

“God you sound hot.” Hoseok said lightly into your right ear. More sensations flowed down between your legs as he sucked on your earlobe.

You tugged at the hem of his shirt, wanting it off. You wanted your hands on his body. You NEEDED your hands on his body. He let you remove his shirt and you flung it over your shoulder. Your hands traced down his defined chest and across his impressive abs.

“So this is what you’ve been hiding under all these clothes…” you murmured.

He laughed hanging his head.

“We decided to let Jungkook have all the attention this comeback. I’ve had my time.”

“Getting a peek at your abs during the Boy Meets Evil trailer is NOT a time…that was a bite, it wasn’t even a snack.” You said, eyebrows furrowed.

He threw back his head and laughed. His body vibrated under yours and you wondered if that was an erection you were feeling underneath you. Only one way to find out.

As he continued to laugh, you daringly snaked your hand in between your bodies under the waistband of his pants, cupping his clothed erection.

He gasped so loud you were worried your friend would wake up.

You immediately silenced him with a forceful kiss. You lightly traced your hand across his clothes length and felt him twitching. He groaned into your mouth, egging you on.

“Why are you still wearing pants?” you asked him, nipping at his bottom lip.

You pulled back to stare into his dark eyes and saw nothing but carnal desire. So everything you had thought about Jung Hoseok seemed to be true – the man was one big hormone.

You felt yourself being flung into the air and your back hit the mattress. Shaking your head, startled, you realized that he had flipped you over and was yanking his pants and boxers off in one motion.

You felt your mouth pull into an ‘O’ as you caught sight of the glorious naked Bangtan dance leader. He was slim but very muscular. You watched the muscles contract across his thick thighs, his abdomen, his pecs….your eyes dropped to his throbbing cock and you sucked in a breath. Much bigger than you had dreamed but you had room for it. It might be a tight squeeze but isn’t that what made it even better?

You licked your lips as you eyed him hungrily.

“See something you like?” he asked, grinning like the sunshine he is.

“Oh I don’t just like. I love. I want.”

You shot forward, dropping to your knees in front of him and licked the underside of his reddened member. His hands quickly yanked your hair from the confines of the rubber hand and he dug his nails into your scalp. You hissed at the pain but dismissed it even quicker.

You tongued your way up his shaft and dipped into his slit. While your left hand massaged his balls, your right began to pump the bottom and your mouth found his head, tongue swirling.

“MmmHmmmm…O-O-Ohhhh my g-g-godddd…” Hobi moaned loudly, not bothering to keep his voice down. He probably had no idea you had a room mate but at that moment, you didn’t care if she woke up. You had your mouth right where you wanted it to be.

You slowly bobbed your head up and down his leaking cock, sucking your cheeks in to give him the tightness you knew he’d probably like. And he responded with an even louder moan.

“F-F-F-FUCK. YES. PLEASE. Like that. Keep going. Go go go go go….” His voice trailed off as his breath hitched. His hips bucked forward, pushing his cock deeper into your mouth.

Good thing I have no gag reflex.

You glanced up, taking in his toned chest to see him watching you balefully.

Holy shit, I didn’t think this man could get any more beautiful and yet…his blowjob faces are amazing.

He placed his hands on your shoulders and gently pulled you up off your knees. With one rough shove, he pushed you onto your back and quickly spread your legs, yanking your Mang pajama pants off in the process.

“Nice pants by the way. I have the exact same ones.” He grinned as you felt your insides turn to mush.

You giggled as he tossed them to the floor. He ran his hands up your calves, across your knees and stilled at your thighs.

Your breathing picked up as you watched him closely, dying with anticipation.

He leaned down, painfully  slow as his tongue poked through his lips, his eyes watching you intently.

You felt your heart race faster and faster, fully expecting it to leap out of your chest.

The moment his tongue touched your clit, your head fell back against the pillow and you let out a long groan.

“FUCKKKKKKK.”

His tongue lapped at your clit slowly and moved gently down your folds, sucking and kissing.

“I love a wet woman.” He replied.

You felt a grin in his voice but you were too weak to lift your head to look at him.

Your hands pushed through his hair, pulling at the ends.

Sexy and Hoseok went hand in hand.

You gasped as you felt his fingers push inside you and scissor quickly.

You felt your stomach tighten with each pass over your clit and OHHHHHHHH….he found your g-spot.

“FUCK YOU HOBI!” You screamed, not bothering to keep your voice at any low decibel.

He laughed against your clit, sending further vibrations through the nerves that ran down your thighs and into your feet.

This man sure knew his way around your body.

It was then that you felt the heat of his mouth leave you and you bolted upright.

He had sat up, still in between your legs with that sexy smirk only Hobi could have.

He slowly ran his hand up and down his still pulsing cock, eyeing you.

“Are you ready for me?” he asked, winking.

Did he just…fucking WINK at me? GODDAMMIT that’s hot.

“Weren’t you just traveling around my wet vagina? You tell me if I’m ready.”

He threw his head back and laughed deeply as you smiled at your boldness.

“True…my face is covered in…well…you..”

He ran a single finger across his lips and then dipped it into his mouth, licking it cleaned.

Your eyes widened, watching him.

He then used that finger to beckon you closer to him. You inched closer, bringing your lips within inches of his.

“Ride me.” He whispered against your lips, sending shockwaves down your back.

You don’t have to ask me twice.

You wrapped your legs around his waist and slowly lowered yourself onto his waiting cock. You closed your eyes and let out the breath you didn’t know you were holding, feeling him fill you up.

You opened your eyes to find him watching you again…he was reveling in your reactions.

He crushed his lips against yours as he tightened his grip on your waist, raising you up before slamming up into you.

You cried out at the intense force against your g spot.

Hobi licked a single track up the left side of your neck, capturing your earlobe in between his teeth.

You bucked your hips down, grinding into his cock as you felt it throb through your body.

“Yes, baby…Come on…” he whispered into your ear as moans fell out of your mouth at every thrust.

“You feel so good…so good…” he groaned, biting the tender spot between your shoulder and neck.

“Fuck, Hobi….i’m getting so close..”

You felt the familiar heat rise deep in the pit of your stomach.

“Don’t you dare come yet…Don’t even think about it…” he growled into your ear, his hands finding your nipples and pinching fiercely.

You cried out as the sensation shot through your body and straight to your sopping core.

“Hoseok…FUCK…I can’t….” you felt tears prick your eyes at the over stimulation. You knew there was no waiting.

He picked up the pace, leaning backwards to give you more traction against the bed. You rocked your hips quickly, feeling his cock rub your swollen spot over and over.

You licked at the sweat that started dripping down his chest and ran your tongue over his left nipple.

He gasped, his hands roughly grabbing your ass, fucking into you with an animal ferociousness.

You felt the heat spread through your body and burst out of you, no doubt soaking his stomach and thighs.

“I’m…I’m…OH MY GOD…HOSEOK! I’m COMMMMMMMING…” you screeched, not bothering to care who heard you.

“FUCK!” he screamed along with you, his body shuddering under the intensity of his, and your, orgasm.

Your legs shook as you rode the orgasm out, not wanting it to end.

Hobi rubbed circles into your sweaty back as you both panted, trying to bring your heart beat down to a normal level.

You realized you had buried yourself into his chest when the orgasm hit and sweat was now pouring down your face, mixing with his.

“Wow…i….” he stammered.

You grinned, knowing exactly how he was feeling. You sat up, cringing at the pain that radiated through the lower half of your body.

You stared into the eyes of the man you had dreamed about for eternity. He winked at you, still panting softly.

“Well…you made me come like I’ve never come before…so there’s that…” you said through swollen lips with a raspy post sex voice.

He grinned widely and chuckled.

You both stared at each other, the events still hazy in the quickie.

KNOCK KNOCK.

Your eyes blinked open.

A DREAM? A GODDAMN DREAM?

KNOCK KNOCK.

Shit.

You stumbled through the dark room, stubbing your toe on your suitcase.. You passed by your friend’s bedroom and could hear…

Wait…

You could hear her soft snores even through the closed door.

Your heart raced as you looked through the peephole, getting an eyeful of dark hair.

No….it can’t be….

You fumbled with the latch and opened the door…and felt like someone had put a roundhouse kick to your midsection.

There he stood…no sunglasses, but still…there he stood. Jung Hoseok, tossled and delicious.

This still has to be a dream.

He opened his mouth to speak but you interrupted him.

“Let me guess…You’re here to make me come like I’ve never come before?”

A smile crept across his face.

“I came back to get my sunglasses that I left here earlier but if you’re ready for round two, I’m game.”

[bubblepunk99s]

Amara

Dust motes danced in the airy light of Anis’ study as he shifted through a storm of essences.

He had called his desk an ‘aromatic apothecary’. Amara had dubbed it a ‘scent bench’. Racks of essence bottles curved around him as he furiously scribbled formulas on to wafers of paper. Occasionally he would un-cork one, releasing a burst of scent that filled the room before dissipating just as quickly- rose oil, hyacinth, slowly burning sandalwood, even that metal stench Amara had always associated with the Void gates back home. Anis would take stock of it then return to his scribbling.

Another uncorking. A fierce note of burning pepper-bush flooded Amara’s nostrils. Then it was gone. More scribbling.

“That was a good one.”  

“Hmm.” Anis sounded unconvinced. “Bit too overpowering, might need a modifier, maybe a citrus ester or a floral one. But that’s in my rayiha so I’ve been told and I don’t think it’s very becoming of me to aim for a signature just yet...”

He continued on in this manner. Amara really didn’t mind. She’d learned a lot over the past week thanks to Anis’ ramblings- his role as a student in the school of extracting (itself part of the house of sciences) the nature of his craft, the Soljin’s nature as part of a greater whole- one of four peoples that had split apart from days spent as Void-wandering nomads, different in many ways but bound by the faith that had united them so long ago- the faith of midãd, the pursuit of the divine substance. Anis considered his work to be the greatest expression of that history, crafting multi-layered scents from countless differing essences.

“So, how’s your work coming along?”

“Oh.” Rising herself from her stupor, Amara glanced back at her sketches. Though Anis had provided a desk to study at right next to a disused alembic, her mind had been elsewhere. It was with Tia and the others now searching for ingredients in the shops and markets. Ingredients for Met’s...treatment.

“Something is in you.” She had said to her, sitting her down in the lovers’ small home. “Call it a baran, call it kaba, call it whatever you like. Just know it isn’t getting out unless we force it out.”

“A...” Amara remembered. “The bolt.”

“Yes, the bolt. The one you were struck by. It came from the god-grounds.”

“You knew about that?!” Tia had been aghast

“I sensed something in her when we shook hands. You telling me about the storm destroying your district confirmed my suspicions. Why do you think I chose to let you stay after your friend’s treatment?”

“So, you were keeping things from us.” Udana said. “Why should we trust you now?”

“It’s not about trust. It’s about necessity. You think the wights you met in the desert were bad? Whatever’s in you now is far older, far darker. I don’t know how it got into you but I know I’m the only one in this city that can get it out. You need more than a doctor, you need someone who understands the dead.”

Silence. Then Khedes had spoken up.

“We can help you.”

“Amara?”

Amara blinked. “Sorry... just thinking about-”

“About your condition?”

She nodded. Setting his work aside, Anis came up and laid a hand on her shoulder. Thankfully he wasn’t shocked back 10 meters.

“I’m sorry I can’t help you more. That way you wouldn’t have to rely on that frightful pair.” He rubbed his neck. “If only I could be more like En-Kindi.”

“Who?”

“En-Kindi, the founder of the school of extracting, part of the house of sciences first master’s council. He could do everything: perfume, metallurgy, astronomy, cryptography. A true polymath! He once said that “time exists only with motion.  Body with motion, motion with body. If there is motion there is necessarily body, if there is body there is necessarily motion.”

“How does that relate to all my problems?”

“It means if you keep moving forward then things will definitely work out in the end!”

They both chuckled at that. Then awkward silence resumed.

“You know” Anis continued. “He also said we should devote ourselves to the truth. Always keep looking for it, even if it came from peoples distant and nations different from us. I think he approve of you coming all the way out here...and that he would want me to help you.”

Amara gave a gentle, tired smile. “Thank you. That means a lot.”

Anis smiled back. He was about to say something more when suddenly there was a wrapping at the door. Perplexed, he went and opened it. He returned with a small wooden box. Lifting its lid revealed 4 small perfume bottles and a note with 4 words in the Soljinn script written on it. Amara recognised them as street names.

Anis’ smile faded.

“Come on. Time I showed you the other part of my job.”

Kuru’s house of sciences was an alternating mix of interior and exterior spaces. Shadowed hallways would lead to fragrant courtyards bordered by rounded pillars of Aban-Sad stone. Its student body a mix of promising young scholars swelled by the patronage of established academics and those who had been sent by less established families to rise through scholarship and intellectual endeavour. Anis was one such student.

“Wish you could have seen things when everyone was here. Boys would wear off-world jeans under their work robes. We dared each other to flip them up when to get a glimpse of what style they were trying out.”

“Did you really?”

Anis blinked. “Please don’t assume every strapping young Soljinn man is as socially awkward as me.”

That of course had changed with the Corvus’ arrival. The school was backed by public funding, along with that of the social elite- bankers, merchants and military officers. When the Corvus assumed command that wellspring quickly dried up. Students and teachers alike dropped out, some seeking to get jobs as translators and scientists, others hurling themselves against the walls of the Nest in protest.

So now the school Amara walked through was a ghost of its former self. A time when the sound of scratching pens on paper and all manner of scientific, philosophical and theological discourse that fell under the banner of falsafa- Natural studies- filled the air. A time when so many Rayihas joined together it was hard to tell when one person’s soul ended and another’s began.

“That’s one sad story.” Amara said sympathetically, as they head out through the school’s main embossed arch.

“Not half as sad as where we’re going, I’m afraid.”

Where they were headed was a street in the city’s old quarter. En-Yaqut it was called, the birthplace of some of the city’s finest biographers and renowned for its scroll-stores, literary cafes and abundant collections of ornate manuscripts. After all, was it not said that the ink of the quill was holier than the blood of the martyr?

Amara couldn’t see that beauty now. As they followed the street downhill, the air began to smell of smoke. Shutters covered the front of shops, emblazoned with graffiti of a bird spreading its wings between two trees. A young boy flicked rocks at these shutters, which quickly burst into flames, alighted by security lasers.

“Oh no...”

Amara turned to see what Anis was looking at. Standing at a bend in the road was a charred husk of a building. It looked like it had come from Amara’s ruined district, though it stood alone instead of being surrounded by others like it. A crowd had gathered, some dousing the charred walls with water jets.

“Not Shaba...”

“You!” An old woman cried, in black robes with embroiled cuffs. “You from the house?”

“I am... I am.” Anis confirmed. “Please Shaba...the owner of this place...he isn’t...”

The lady shook her head. “Some of his clients were translators for the Corvus. A fight broke out over it and then the fire started. He didn’t survive.”

Anis fell to his knees, his breathing ragged. Amara knelt with him.

“A friend?”

He nodded shakily.

Amara didn’t need to know any more. But she needed to snap Anis out of this.

“Anis, we came here to do something. Do you remember?

Another nod. With trembling hands, he took out one of the vials and poured its contents on to the ground, murmuring what sounded like a prayer under his breath.

Slowly a rayiha surrounded them. It smelled like drying paint and fresh parchment. Amara almost thought she saw it, as a hazy silhouette of a man standing before them.

Anis seemed to glimpse it to.

“You always were so accepting, Shaba.” He turned to the woman. “Make sure the Clerics find his body and give it the rites. We have others to see to.”

He then swerved back up the way they had come. Amara nearly had to run to keep up with him.

“Perfumes are an accompaniment to someone’s soul. Naturally they can be used to guide and heal lost ones. When a body is prepared for the rites, we provide perfumes to guide the rayiha back to it.”

He gave Amara a gentle, tired smile.

“The house of sciences may be fading, but that line of work keeps me occupied a lot nowadays.”

Why had they come?

To dethrone tyrants of course! The rulers of Kuru had become depraved and needed removing. Had they not rounded up dissident scholars, removed them from public office? Had they not charged exorbitant fees for the stone of Kuru, exploiting them over the years? Had they not acted to the detriment of every non-Soljinn in the city and punished those who practiced tolerance? Men like Shaba?

“Well that was a fucking lie.” Anis growled.

The Corvus’ defeat of these men- the feared mihna lawgivers- had been like something of out of a legend. The air had suddenly filled with white light. Spears of it leapt down to strike the lawgivers palace. Then ship after ship had floated down to continue the assault.

Such talk there had been! Anti-regime cells had gathered in the coffee shops whispering of plans that would never see fulfillment. Some wrote and translated advisory letters to the Corvus, others hoped that translation schools would be built to speed negotiations between the people and the invaders.

Such dreams- of translation, of communication- had died swiftly when the Corvus demonstrated how they translated with their first routine survey.

So, the days went on. Anti-Corvus groups making a scene, the Corvus themselves appearing out of nowhere to make a bigger mess of it. Men like Shaba- known for his tolerance of all peoples and the generosity of his spirit- killed in the crossfire, while others like Anis trailed after the violence, hoping to help in whatever way they could.

“So, you still don’t know why they are here?” Amara asked. By the time they reached the House of Science’s entrance the sun was setting. A day spent attending similar sites to the one on En-Yaqut street had left her drained. She would need to talk to Tia tonight.

“Don’t know don’t care.” Anis’ voice had seemed to age over the day, becoming as rough as Met’s at times “I’m just trying to survive.”

Just trying to survive. Made her little treasure hunt seem silly by comparison. Then Amara reminded herself she was doing it to help her own people survive as well.

Turning to the path to Met’s house, Amara thought about the violence she had seen here- how it could spread so easily to her own home, how many homes it had already taken. She thought about the artefacts lying discarded in the God-grounds and the wreckage of Shaba’s slowly burning shop.

As she did, the taste of electricity filled her mouth and goosebumps spread across her skin.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

DOTW 19 - Full

Hanji wanted to throw a Welcome Home party for him, while Eren didn't want a party. They'd compromised, and now Eren was hiding out in his room, avoiding said party. Marco had already found him, his friend's stomach swollen into a small adorable bump, which his ear was against. Downstairs Levi was with Hanji and Moblit, after clinging to the presence of the alpha while copped up in hospital, his anxieties were now getting the better of him. He didn't know what to say, or do. It didn't matter that he'd missed Levi while he was with Zeke, nor did it matter that he'd ached for him during his heat. Even if it'd been 8 weeks, it felt like a lifetime had passed between them "Eren, you still awake?" Scratching his scalp lightly, Eren hummed up at Marco "Yeah. Barely though. I'm a terrible host. You're the one who's pregnant, yet I'm the one laying with my head in your lap" Marco laughed lightly. His friend didn't seem to care he'd disappeared completely, only that he was finally back. He'd spent the first hour or so, not knowing what to say. Then Marco had followed him up to his room, and made the first move. He'd assured him he didn't have to talk if he wasn't ready, for that he was grateful. Marco was so soft and sweet. He didn't want him to know "You've got a boot thing on your leg, and a cast on your arm. All I've got is a baby and indigestion" "You're going to be such a good mum. Do you know what it is?" "We decided to wait until they're born" "Awww. Either way, it's going to be adorable if it looks like you" "I just hope it doesn't have Jean's big head" Giggling, Eren had to agree with that. Something that big, just wasn't supposed to come out an opening that small. Babies in general were weird, but pregnancy was even weirder "It's still cool though. A tiny person is growing inside you" "One day, you'll have your own tiny person inside you" "I don't know about that. That means finding an alpha, and having sex and all that seems like effort" "What do you mean, finding an alpha? What about Levi?" Groaning, Eren rolled onto his side so he was facing away from Marco's stomach "That's complicated" "What's so complicated about it?" "I'm not in the headspace for anything. We got close... but I can't... I can barely stand being touched. I mean like, you're ok because you're an omega, but alphas... it's iffy" "You know, I don't think Jean would mind if you stayed with us" "No. This place is as good as any. It just feels weird being back" "Um... I know I said I wasn't going to push you to talk, but if you want to. I'll listen" "It's ok. It's nicer than the hospital" "Other than the stairs" "Yeah. I'm over them already. When we came home yesterday, Hanji sent me up to have a nap, then she called me down for dinner, then she sent me back to up to my room, then called me down again to see if I wanted to watch a movie with her and Moblit. 5 times up and down those stairs... it was definitely some kind of torture" "Jean's all paranoid about the baby. He won't let me do steps. I'm like 5 months. Steps are not the end of the world" "He just loves you" "He does. He's working a crazy amount of overtime so he can buy everything. I told him I didn't have to quit work, but he wants to take care of us" "You're lucky you have a good alpha" "I know I am. Do you know if Hanji's had any luck conceiving yet?" "I have no idea. Probably. I get the feeling that if she was, she wouldn't want to tell me" "Why not?" "She'd say she doesn't want me worrying or something" "I hope she does. Fall pregnant I mean" "Mmm. She'd be another good mum. The kid would be crazy, and Moblit would probably have a mental breakdown, but he'd love every second of it" Without really realising, Eren's right hand had moved to his stomach. His last heat had been rough. The need to breed, with Levi, and to be thoroughly bred into pregnancy physically hurt. He'd sobbed for the alpha, while Zeke was away for work. He'd nearly broken down the apartment door in his haze of need "I think you'd made a good mum too. Your kids would have such pretty eyes" "I don't know. I think I'd be scared for them to be an omega" "Things are changing for omegas" "Yeah, but that doesn't mean everyone is going to change. Sorry. I don't want to be a downer, not when this little ones growing so fast" Yawning, he closed his eyes "I think we could both use a nap. I don't even do things, and I'm still tired" "It should be ok, I mean, I should be ok if you want to nap up here" "You just want me in your bed and under the covers" "Can you blame me? You're nice and warm" And omega. And omega who wasn't going to hold him down, or try and bond with him. His omega was loving the contact of another person, something none of the alphas in his life could give. Moblit didn't even have to touch him for him to want to vomit, while Hanji left his stomach rolling because she kept forgetting about the "no touching" thing. He honestly didn't know how to make this situation work, when his nerves and anxieties, coupled with his retraining made the house feel so unwelcome. Even when it came to his room, he felt like he was invading and that he shouldn't be there "I need to pee again. Get comfy while I'm gone?" "I don't think I'd have the patience to pee every five minutes" "You should have seen the morning sickness then. It got so bad that Jean made a bed in the guest bathroom for me" "That's kind of..." "Gross and sweet at the same time?" "Yeah" "It was" Wriggling off Marco's lap, Eren waited until his friend was standing before crawling under the covers of his bed. He hadn't asked Hanji to invite Levi and Marco over, so as far as he was concerned, Hanji could deal with Levi. He and Marco both wanted to nap, so they would. He just hoped he wouldn't have a nightmare or wake up screaming, or even worse, hit Marco. He truly treasured his friendship with the omega, and even if it meant forcing himself not to think about everything he'd missed in his absence, he wanted to salvage it. He wanted to be there for Marco and his baby. Rubbing his swell as he walked across to Eren's bed, Marco smiled shyly as he climbed under the covers to join him "The baby was kicking again" "And I missed it?" "Sorry. They're super active, but seem to get all shy when someone's around" "So they're already taking after you" Teasing Marco gently, his friend took his hand and slipped it up under his shirt "Wait... there, can you feel it?" There was the faintest of movements beneath his fingertips, yet his heart swelled at the sensation. His omega piping up about how much it wanted a child. Part of him was still jealous it wasn't him who was pregnant, but the feeling of Marco's baby was amazing "Yeah... wow" "It's a little strange" "It's awesome" "Jean says he never feels it" "It's really faint. He was probably expecting a solid kick" "It's a solid kick inside me" "Mmm. I can't even imagine" Sliding his cast hand free, he rest it on Marco's hip. His friend starting to purr as he wrapped in one arm loosely around him "I really missed this. I missed hanging out with you" "I missed you too. I still haven't gone through all your texts, but I saw your ultrasounds" "It's ok. They're just mostly me talking at you. I haven't got that many friends, and being home alone gets lonely" "I promise I'll message back. I'm still trying to get through all the ones Levi sent" "Didn't Levi know you didn't have your phone?" "He did... he, um, he said he was looking for me, and he'd message me about his day" "You say you don't have an alpha, but I'm pretty sure if you told Levi you wanted to bond, he'd give you his mark in a heartbeat" He probably would... but the idea of being marked was scary as fuck. Having a permanent connection to one person for the rest of your life seemed an impossible dream "He's a good alpha. Hanji used to apologise for his bluntness and his crankiness, but he wasn't really like that with me. I don't know why" "Because you're cute?" "No, I'm all tall and thin" "And totally cute. Even with your moonboot and cast" Groaning, Eren buried his face in his pillow "I'm so over casts and boots and splints. Hanji said it has to stay on during the day until I've recovered completely" He had to take all sorts of pills too. Painkillers, mood stabilisers, antidepressants, anti nausea, vitamins. He was well and truly over taking tablets "How do you even shower?" "In a stupid chair. I wanted to have a bath last night, but that meant not getting the splint wet, or the cast and then that seemed like too much effort" "Doesn't it get wet in the shower?" "I take the splint and that off. And it doesn't get soaked like in a bath. Anyway. Tell more about the baby" "I've learnt that pregnancy makes you like super horny. Jean can't keep his hands off me" Wrinkling his nose, the omega shook his head "I said that baby. Not your sex life" "I'm just saying. All it takes is a whiff of Jean..." "Lalalala" Pinching him, Eren poked his tongue out "Fine. The baby is going great. Right on the track. Good vitals... good heartbeat. Tiny and perfect. We've been trying to decide on the nursery. I was thinking scandi-chic, but Jean was thinking more fun" "Scandi-chic has been done to death" "That's because it works" "It worked so well that everything looks the same. There's nothing really special about it. This little bean of yours is special" "They are. I don't know... there's just so many options" "Just avoid Jean's opinions and you'll be safe" "I can picture it now. A bright red wall for a newborn. It's not exactly calming" His voice shook slightly "Red isn't a great colour" Red was the colour of blood... red blood that didn't stop... "Eren?" His scent had shifted, betraying his miniblip of fear "Sorry. It's ok. Just, yeah. What about green? Or blue?" "Yeah, but do you know how many shades there are?" "We could, um, look at them together?" He didn't want to boss Marco into his ideas or ruin his dreams... "That would be so much help. I've been looking at everything on my own, well, when Jean isn't home to stop me and it feels like someone's split by head open, and everything is just melting out" "I don't think it works that way" "There's just so much! People used to raise babies in tents, and now they're like, each baby has to have its own room..." "Ok. Ok. I don't get it, but we'll take a look after our nap?" "Mmm. I have photos on my phone. I've like screen-shotted everything so I can show Jean" Resuming his purr, Eren's own omega began to purr back, feeding off of Marco's happiness and pheromones. Apparently it was common for omegas to feel maternal when around pregnant omegas, leaving him to hope he didn't just blurt out how jealous he was and ruin it all. Neither of them actually fell asleep. After a few minutes, Marco started giggling before he started tickling him. Unable to retaliate without the fear of smacking Marco's stomach, he pled for mercy until his friend finally stopped "Isn't it funny. I was so tired before, but now we're lying down, I can't get to sleep" Sighing softly, he patted Marco's hip "Grab your phone then, we'll start looking at baby things" "I thought you were sleepy" "I'm not promising I'll stay awake..." "Hey, my tastes aren't so boring that they'll put you to sleep" "I don't know, I haven't seen them yet" "You know, if they do put you to sleep, it's a good sign it's going to put the baby to sleep" "I give you permission to baby me if I fall asleep" Marco groaned, shaking his head as he fished out his phone "Don't even go there. Since my breasts started to develop, Jean won't leave them alone" "They're so tiny and cute" "I'll give you tiny.... and cute..." Tapping on his phone, Marco pulled up his latest ultrasound. Eren awwed over the small image "See" "Very tiny and very cute. I yield. Now, I want to see everything" Marco had what seemed to be thousands of screenshots, leaving Eren's head muddled. He could see why Marco was struggling, and understand why Jean couldn't catch up. His friend had so many ideas, and couldn't just settle on one. It was completely adorable. Marco's scent was so happy, his eyes bright as he talked a million miles a minute. Time slipped away from them completely, until a light knock interrupted Marco "Hey boys, sorry but Jean is out the front. He said he messaged?" Marco rolled over, beginning to climb from his bed "Thanks Hanji. We got caught up talking all things baby" "Did you two have a good time?" "Yeah. I'll see you soon, right Eren?" "Yep. If you get any more ideas, message me" "I might just message you anyway" "Sounds good. Hanji, make sure he gets down the stairs ok?" "You're not coming down? Moblit made cake" "He doesn't like the stairs" Turning back to look at him, Eren poked his tongue out at Marco "Dobber" "You started it" "I'm legitimately worried about you... and you're the one who said Jean won't let you do stairs alone" "I didn't think you'd use it against me" "It's all part of my evil plan" Marco rolled his eyes "I think that means he's staying in bed" "Yep. Thanks for coming over... I needed this. There hasn't been much to laugh about lately" His friend gave softened before brightening again "I know. Call me if you need me. Anytime" "I will" He wouldn't. He really wouldn't, but Marco looked so hopeful about it. * Levi'd expected Eren to be a little distant now that he was back at Hanji's, but he hadn't expected Eren to be in bed with his best friend. More than once he'd caught the sound of the pair of omegas giggling or laughing about something. Something that Eren had sorely needed after his recent stay in Shinganshima Memorial. Hanji had gushed over how cute the pair of them where, laying in bed together. He hadn't meant for his alpha to raise its jealous head. He was happy Eren had a friend he could trust... it just sucked it wasn't him. He'd thought with how close they're gotten, and with how Eren didn't want to be touched, that maybe he was special. The omega had let him hold him. Had let him comfort him and be there. Now Eren had Marco, he felt discarded. Eren didn't even want to come down for cake, despite the amount of effort Moblit had gone exerted to make the beast of a creation, and he didn't have an actual reason for wanting to go check on the brat, other than fact he was curious and jealous. Passing him two plates of cake, Levi frowned deeply at them "You've been glaring at it since I came back down. Just go talk to Eren already" "He's..." "Probably not sure what to say. He's in a good mood, so go see him already" Standing next to her husband, Hanji elbowed Moblit's side "Uh. What? Yeah" "You have no idea what just happened, do you?" Moblit snorted lightly "I never do. Why don't you take that up to Eren? You can use it as excuse to talk to him" Laughing, Hanji shoved a kiss to Moblit's cheek "That's what I was saying. You should really listen to what I say more often" "Yes, dear" The pair of them were so in love that it was disgusting. Placing his plate down, he looked at the slice for Eren. It was way too big. The omega wouldn't even be able to finish a third of it, then he'd probably feel guilty over not eating it all. They all knew Eren had bad eating habits, he didn't need a guilt trip over them on his second night back "Go on. Go talk to him already" "I'm going. God. You two are as bad as each other" Eren's door was open, Levi heart momentarily stopping in panic as the unwanted memories of their argument came back. He could see the omega laying in his bed, yet his alpha was still panicked. Eren had run once... what if he left them again? "Are you coming in, or staying out there?" Snorting at the brat's cheek, Levi walked into Eren's room "I have cake" "I can see..." Placing the plate down on the bedside table, he didn't know what to do with himself. Eren's room smelt more of Marco than Eren. The man's scent irritating his nose, and upsetting his alpha. His alpha wanted to protect Eren more than anything in the world, but with the scent of pregnant omega, it wanted to protect Marco too. Conflicted over it own confusion, Levi sighed to himself. He'd swapped suppressants again now that was back at work, so he was still waiting for them to stabilise everything "You can, um, sit. I don't mind" "You don't have to force yourself" "It's ok... having Marco helped my omega settle" Sitting on the edge of Eren's bed, he waited for Eren to pull himself into a sitting position before retrieving the piece of cake and passing it over "Holy shit..." "Yeah. Moblit got a bit carried away, but you don't have to finish it all" "I don't think I can stomach it..." Compared to everything Eren had been eating, the cake was probably was too rich for him to keep it down "Just try a small bit. It's better than hospital food" "Are you going to have some?" "This bit is all yours" "I don't want to eat on my own" "Just eat a little and I'll finish the rest" "Was he mad?" "Mad?" "Because I didn't go down" "Nah. He knows it's going to take some time getting used to be being back here" "Here isn't so bad... it's better than the hospital" "Then why were you hiding up here all night? Did I do something?" "You? No... Marco and I were talking about the baby. He and Jean decided not to find out if it's a boy or girl" If that was all, that didn't explain why they were laying in bed together, and not talking in the living room. If it wasn't him, then it must be Moblit "He looked happy" "He is. He's got so many plans for the nursery that he can't make his mind up" "As long as he doesn't listen to Jean, things should be alright" "I said the same thing... Jean made him quit his job, and Marco's always been so social..." "He's got you to talk to" "Mmm... I don't know how helpful I am though" "I'm sure you two can figure it out" Eren sounded excited about the baby, leaving Levi wondering if the omega wanted a child of his own. Eren would make a good mother. He'd been through so much shit, that he'd be a fierce protector of his pup "Do you want kids?" "I... uh, I don't know. When you have a baby, you're stuck with the father in their lives. If you leave your alpha, they're the one who gets custody... if I had a baby, I don't think I could give them up" He would never make Eren give up their child... no. They weren't a couple. He shouldn't be thinking of nice a well bred Eren would look, or how badly he wanted to be the one to sire his pups. Picking at the top of the cake, Eren sighed softly "Are you sure Moblit isn't mad at me?" "He's not mad. He just got a little carried away while baking" "It's not him. Can you let him know? I don't want to be scared of him, but the house is so big, and I don't feel like I belong here... and the stairs. I fucking hate stairs" "I'm glad it's not personal" "It's not. My nerves are just a bit messed up. Hanji makes me take all these pills. I don't like taking pills" "It won't be forever" "It just feels like it" Finally breaking off a small piece of cake, Eren popped the piece in his mouth, before pulling a face "That good?" "It's too sweet" Taking the plate back, his hand brushed Eren's. Eren letting go of the plate as he cringed from the contact "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you" "No. It took me by surprise. I was ok with Marco, so I should have been ok with you" "Eren" "No. It's stupid... I should be over this" Placing the plate down, Levi held his hands up as if surrendering "You're healing. You don't need to force yourself. We're happy you're here, even though it's not under the best circumstances" "You mean because I'm back only because Zeke died" "Yeah" Fuck. Just. Fuck "I think I want to go bed now" He'd stepped on the Zeke mine, now Eren was throwing up his walls, practically ruining all the work Marco had done to make Eren feel relaxed and happy to be back "Do you want me to stay?" "No. Can you take the cake too?" "Sure. If you need anything, message me" "Yeah. Sure" Taking Eren's slice of cake back downstairs with him, Levi dragged his feet. He'd heard the start of Eren's purring before he'd even reached the doorway. The omega becoming distressed all over again, thanks to him. Joining Hanji and Moblit in the kitchen, Hanji sagged at the sight of the mostly intact piece of cake "He didn't want it?" "No, it wasn't that. After hospital food, it was a bit too much" Moblit sighed softly. He knew this was an attempt at making sure Eren felt welcome "Oh..." "We talked. You haven't done anything wrong. He's just readjusting to being here, and not loving the stairs, or the boot. Marco was a good idea. He was pretty happy to see him again" "I didn't even think. I should have made something lighter..." "Moblit. It's not you, and it's never been you or Hanji or even me. It's whatever was done to him in the past, and his brother was murdered in front of him by seems of it. It's shit. He's been sent back to step one and he's scared and lonely all over again" "Has he said anything about Zeke?" Levi shook his head "I accidentally went there, and he kicked me out" "I've booked him an appointment with his counsellor... do you think he'll be ok with that?" "As long as you ask him, and you're there waiting for him. Last time he was there he had a pretty big panic attack when he came out" "Do you want to take him?" "When is it?" "Friday afternoon" "I've got work. I'm still on probation" Hanji nodded "Then I'll take him, I thought maybe if you did, it wouldn't be so bad for him. I've sent through a fax to Thomas, outlining what we think happened, and Zeke's death. Also the needle thing. I don't want to believe he used, and his blood results didn't show any illicit drugs in his system, but his prints were the only one on the needle" Hanji had been "harassing" the police since they'd visited Eren. She was trying to get Zeke's body released, but as the case was "active", it may be some time before that happened. Even though he hated Zeke, he knew Eren would want to see him again, or at least know what happened to him "That sounds like a fun conversation. You spent a week next to your murdered brother, oh, and why was there a needle in your arm? Was it part of your psychopathic brother's training?" His tone dripped with annoyance. It should be up to Eren what he chose to disclose and when, and more importantly to who "You don't need to word it like that" "It doesn't make it any less true. Eren's gone to bed, so I'm going to go. If something goes wrong, let me know" "Oh... ok... now he's home, I suppose you'll be around more often" "That's up to Eren. Just go easy on him over the boot and the stairs. He already thinks he's still in trouble over returning to Zeke" "The boot's for his own good, and it's not like we change the stairs" "I'm just saying, give him space. Don't make a fuss over anything, even if it's complete shit" "It's easy for you to say that. He seems to trust you more than he trusts us" "That's not true. He can't control his phobias or fears" "I saw how you were with him at the hospital" "And now that he's home, he won't let me near him. He was fine with Marco, because Marco is an omega. If you're so worried about upsetting him by, you're only going to push him away further" Since when was he the one who seemed to understand this relationship shit. He didn't get people. He didn't get day after day in a happy relationship. He had no idea where any of this was coming from, but when it came to Eren, it just seemed to come semi-naturally. * Living at Hanji's felt completely off. Zeke had taken special care to show him everything he'd done wrong. His brother had told him what was wrong with him, and now... he felt like he had no right to be moving around her and Moblit's house when they weren't there. It was strange. He'd... he'd missed them all so much. He missed seeing everyone... well, talking with Levi mostly. He'd struggled so hard to accept that he'd never see Levi again. That whatever they'd had, was now over. Zeke had gotten so mad when he'd mentioned Levi, his brother had thrown him in his room before he could even realise what he'd done wrong. He should have been happy to be back with Zeke, but he just... he wasn't. His brother had changed while they'd been apart. His words hurt just as much as when he'd hit him. He always apologised for losing his temper, but Zeke had started to scare him. Some days he'd be in such a bad mood, Eren would hide under his bed from him... until Zeke would drag him out and force him to talk. All he wanted was to be good, so his brother would love him. He didn't understand how he'd changed so much. How he'd become such a bad omega who needed to be retrained so thoroughly. He'd had two heats while back with his brother. His first heat was more or less normal for him. He could still function, but he'd slipped up. He'd thought of when he'd had sex with Levi, and how Hanji said that it was natural for omegas to touch themselves. He'd tried... he'd barely wrapped his hand around his aching erection when Zeke walked in. His brother livid at the action... slapping him so hard he tasted blood, before telling him it was dirty and wrong, before making him shower under the painfully cold water. He hadn't meant to be wrong. Zeke had taken care of him after that. He'd got him fresh pyjamas and underwear, before tucking him up in bed and apologising. Zeke always apologised. He only hit him because he cared. He loved Zeke. Zeke was the only family he had... but now Zeke was gone and he didn't know what to do anymore. Hanji and Moblit were both at work, and if things were how they'd used to be, he would have cleaned through the house by now. But that was wrong. That was invading their privacy. He didn't pay rent. He didn't pay for food, so he didn't deserve to eat any of it. He couldn't even pay them back for his latest stint in hospital. Or for all the medication he had to take. Levi had said they were happy he was back... but... he wasn't getting better. He still didn't want to be touched. He couldn't stay in the same room as Moblit for very long, and Hanji kept giving him looks of pity. So he spent his days in his room. Sometimes he'd talk to Marco, or Levi. But only if they messaged him first. He didn't want to disturb them. He didn't want to be a burden. Both of them were busy with their own lives, while he was simple just wasting oxygen. He'd thought about doing something about it... he really thought about it... but he was too scared it would hurt. He didn't want to hurt anymore. Everyday hurt. He missed Zeke, and he hated him for leaving him behind again. He was so fucking angry with his brother for dying. For making him someone else's problem and for the fact that no one would even talk about Zeke. He knew that was his fault. He always got so worked up when things some how turned towards him. Everyone wanted him to tell them what happened, even Thomas had tried asking... but he wasn't ready. He didn't want to see the blood anymore. He couldn't even remember Zeke's smile or scent... just the blood and the gurgling sound as it bubbled from his mouth. He felt like he was drowning and he didn't know how to pull himself out. It was surprising how much time had passed like that. He'd already been out of hospital for three weeks. He'd seen Marco twice in that time, and only seen Levi that once. He knew Levi would be there for him, if he reached out his hand, Levi would take it. But everyone he'd reached out to was dead. His mother... she'd protected him... so had Zeke and because he was so stupid and useless they were both gone. If Levi died... he couldn't live with it. The man might be short and cranky, and have really weird taste when it came to music... but so many people loved him. Hell, he saved people's lives. All Eren had ever done was let them die. He wanted to be strong. He wanted to be better so his brother would love and rely on him more... then he'd gone and failed him. It left him physically sick. Hanji didn't know it, but when he was alone, he threw up. His fears would get so bad. His stomach knotting and rolling as he wondered if she or Moblit would really come home. Sometimes the nausea lasted for hours, and some times he felt ok after he puked. The medication was supposed to help with it, but he supposed it didn't really work when you were as useless as he was. Medication never worked properly for him anyway. Thomas had asked him why he wasn't on suppressants, then looked at him like he was a freak when he explained they sent him into heat. It wasn't that he didn't like Thomas... he just felt sure that the man didn't like him. He didn't even know if Moblit liked him anymore. He hadn't been able to eat the cake he'd made... or much of his cooking. Moblit always looked so stressed and tired, and if he was putting a strain on him, wasn't it better they just got rid of him? There weren't enough hours in the day to fix his kind of fucked up... so why was he even around? Why did they bother to save him? * Parking in front of Hanji's, Levi climbed from his car. Both Hanji and Moblit were working, which meant Eren was home alone and after weeks of shitty split shifts, he'd finally got a rare day off, which he hoped to spend with Eren. He'd talked a little with Eren, and knew the omega wasn't handling things well. Hanji and Moblit had both said he spent most of his time in his room, so Levi hoped today's outing would perk the kid up. Normally he'd never set foot in a shitty filthy zoo. All the animals and people and shit. That was a nope. But Marco had messaged him, reaching out on Facebook to ask if he'd be up for joining him and Jean at the zoo. He wanted to invite Eren, but was scared his friend might have a panic attack from the crowds, or from Jean opening his mouth without thinking. They were going to meet up at 10, so he had just over an hour to get Eren up and dressed, before the drive. Shinganshima zoo wasn't a very big place, but like the aquarium on the opposite side of town, it conducted a lot of research, with a specialisation in breeding and trying to bring back species from the brink of extinction. Locking his Range Rover, he jogged up the path and to the front door, pressing he doorbell, before straightening out his clothes. He might have put some effort into looking good for Eren. The light grey shirt he wore hugged his chest nicely, while he'd coupled it with black jeans. Attempting causal without being a slob. When Eren didn't answer, he pressed the doorbell again, remembering how much the omega hated stairs. Giving Eren a few more minutes, he sighed to himself as he fished his keys back out, letting himself into Hanji's house "Hello? Eren?!" Closing the door behind him, he already knew Eren wouldn't be downstairs. Which meant heading up to his room. Taking the stairs two at a time, his heart dropped at the sight of Eren's open door. With how quite it was, his first thought was that Eren had run "Eren?!" "Coming!" Relief washed over him. Doubly so when the guest bathroom door opened, only for it to be snuffed out all over again when he was how distressed Eren was. Not caring about the fact Eren didn't want to be touched, the strode over to the brat and wrapped his arms around him "Hey... what happened?" Shaking his head sadly, Eren buried his face against his shirt "I don't know what to do" "Alright. Can you walk? Just to your room?" Sniffling Eren let himself be led back to his room, where he sank down onto his bed. Squatting down in front of him, Levi reached up and brushed his fringe from his face "Bad day?" "Y-yeah... s-sorry" "Wanna tell me about it?" "I... don't want to upset her" Her had to be Hanji "If it's got you this upset, I'm sure she won't mind you telling me" "I... they're going to get rid of me" "That's not happening anytime soon. She's crazy about you" "There... there was a positive test in the bathroom..." Positive test... oh... Hanji was pregnant... "I can't stay here now" "Hey, you know pregnancy isn't an instant thing. There's still months, and your room isn't the only room" "I... I don't want to stay here" Hiccuping out his words, Eren wiped at his face "Did something happen?" "I don't feel right being here..." Leaning forward, he swapped to kneeling so he could wrap his arms back around Eren "If they didn't want you here, you wouldn't be here" "It's all my fault" "It's not your fault. You haven't done anything wrong. Unless you're the one who got Hanji pregnant" "N-no... they have really loud sex... I... don't want to hear it... anymore" That's enough to scare anyone. They didn't know if anything like that had been done to Eren. They'd all suppressed the fact the omega had tested positive for syphilis, though he been treated and Levi hadn't even been told until Hanji accidentally let it slip when she'd explained the results from the syringe in Eren's arm had come back as free from prints other than his own "You've got your music right?" "Mmm... but... I can't stay here. I don't belong here. I don't belong anywhere" "Can I ask you a question?" "Y-yeah" "Have you felt like that ever since you came back here?" Eren paused, his voice filled with guilt as he replied "Yes. Hanji and Moblit try so hard... but I'm not getting better fast enough. Zeke showed me how wrong I was. How wrong I was for.. for touching their things and cleaning the house. He... he told me how wrong I was" Of course it came back to Zeke. Even dead, the arsehole still had a firm hold on Eren's mind. If Eren felt unloved and unwanted, and that his presence in the house was wrong, he was never going to make any kind of improvements. He already knew Eren was scared of sex, so hearing Hanji and Moblit boning didn't help either "You're not wrong. I'm..." Shit. He didn't know how else to fucking phrase this "I'm not saying Zeke was wrong, but everyone in the world is different. We all have different thoughts and ideas and different ways we get through life. What Zeke taught you, that was his way. It's different to how Moblit and Hanji live. I'm not saying it's wrong, only that it's different" "I don't know what's right anymore" "Eren, do you remember the offer I made you? I told you if you felt like this wasn't working, you can come live with me, or Erwin, or one of our friends" "I don't want to burden anyone else" "You are not a burden. Besides, I two spare rooms, and a cat that spends most of his time alone" "But you're an alpha" "And your an omega" "I have messed up heats... I don't want to upset you" "Eren, we don't have to spend your heats together..." Even if he really wanted to "... I can stay with Erwin, or you can come back here. The most important thing to all of us is that you're safe. I'm not saying you have to say yes right now, but think about it?" Eren nodded, still wiping at his tears "Why did you come over?" "Shit. Right. I totally forgot. We have a date" "We what?" "You, me, Jean and Marco" "Did I forget something again?" "No. Marco asked if I wanted to join them at the zoo. He wanted to ask you, but you'd need a lift so I'm just the driver. No pressure" "No pressure?" "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable, but I thought the zoo would make a nice change. You really liked the aquarium" "Marco wanted me to come?" "Yeah. He messaged me and asked when my next day off was. He also thought you might like another friend who wasn't Jean to hang out with" "Jean has a big mouth... I'm going to slow everyone down" "Why?" "The stupid boot" "The boot isn't invited" "But Hanji..." "Hanji isn't here and you've been cooped up enough. Besides, Marco is pregnant. We'll probably be taking things pretty easy" "No boot... promise?" "Yeah. Also, you have the best paramedic in the whole city with you" Eren snorted out a small laugh "You did save him before... I've... I don't know what to do. I've never been to the zoo before" "You'd never been to the aquarium either, but you still had fun" "I don't have much money either" "That's fine. Consider this an apology" "Apology for what?" "I don't know yet, but I'm likely to do something in the future I'll need to apologise for" "I don't know... you're really nice" "Not always. Just ask Titan" "I don't know what to wear" Eren seems to "not know" much more than Levi remembered him not knowing. The omega was a wreck of sour scent and insecurities. He'd known something was off, but Eren hadn't asked for his help. He should have found a way to swing by sooner "Have you showered today?" "That's what I was doing" "Ok. So what's wrong with what you've got on?" "They're my pyjamas" "I won't tell, if you don't" "I'm not wearing my pyjamas. I want to look okish" "For who?" "What do you mean "for who"?" "Who do you want to look good for?" "Me?" "I was going to say I don't think Marco would care if you showed in your pyjamas, and I wouldn't either. But this is something you want for yourself and you need to do more of that self care shit. Why don't you choose something, and I'll wait by the stairs" "Ok... I need to find my wallet and phone too... it's somewhere in here. I threw it somewhere last night" "It's probably flat them" Eren's lip trembled, despite the fact he was trying to pull himself back together "It's fine. You can use mine for photos" "But... what if you want to use it?" "It's my day off. No ones going to be stupid enough to try and talk to me" "What if there's an emergency?" "Then you'll pass it back to me, right?" "You won't be mad?" "No Eren, I'm not going to be mad. I know you like learning new things" Eren's small smile fell away "Zeke said I learned all the wrong things" "We just had this conversation brat. There's a difference between different and wrong. And everyone's interpretation of them. Ok. You didn't learn things that we consider wrong. Now go pick out some clothes" Eren emerged from his room wearing jeans and an oversized hoodie. It wasn't really hoodie weather, but Levi could see a shirt peaking out from under the hoodie. With a tiny, shy smile, he had Levi's heart racing for all the right reasons. The kid had pulled himself together, and now he was facing the world that he was so scared of. Taking each step slowly, Eren looked to him as if he was proud to be doing something as simple as walking down the stairs. At least if the kid moved in with him, he wouldn't have to worry about the stairs anymore. He'd never really thought about sharing his personal space with anyone, yet he had the feeling that if it was Eren, everything would work out in the end. The omega wouldn't be left alone for hours on his own, Titan would make sure of that. And being in the city, there was always noise and movement, not like out in the suburbs. It would also be closer to the hospital, and to Eren's therapist... they could work to getting him to the point where he could attend his session alone. As for money, it wasn't like Levi couldn't afford to take Eren in. He'd grown up having nothing after his mother died, and had worked hard to get where he was, saving every cent from the shit jobs that got him through high school, then by some miracle, he'd found himself living with Erwin and getting into medical school. It wasn't until his estranged uncle passed that he finally had proper money to get himself set up. Once his probation passed, it would be like it never happened. His job stable enough that he didn't need to worry about finding another... or it would be, provided he didn't punch anyone else. If Eren came to live with him, then all the omega would have to worry about is cleaning up after himself and working out what he wanted in his own life. Levi could and would support him any way that was possible... though it might be his own arrogance showing, but he would be happy with that kind of life "Uh, Levi? Are you ok?" Blinking back to reality, he realised he'd spaced out while watching Eren. The omega blushing slightly as he stared back "Sorry. I was day dreaming" "Do I want to know what it was about?" "Titan" "You were staring at me, while thinking of your cat" "Yep. Let's go, before he finds out" "He's a cat and he's at your place. How is supposed to find out?" "It's a cat owner thing. They know everything, and they see everything. They don't even need to be near you to be mad at you. In all honesty, you never really own a cat. It owns you. Your house. Your furniture. The soul of your first born child..." "Cats sound funny" "They are. You should have seen Titan as a kitten. Everything was too much effort for him, that and his arse was too heavy. He couldn't even climb onto the sofa because that was too much effort" "Shit. That would have been adorable" "It was. Until he finally got big enough to climb. After that, no toes were safe" "What about now?" "He's mellowed in his old age. He much prefers curling up next to you while you sleep, or stretching out and making it impossible to move" "I've never had a pet before" "Titan would love to have the company" "You said "no pressure"" "I know. I'm just saying. Anyway, in order to leave, we actually have to go" "Like outside the door?" "Yep" "God. The effort..." Walking over to the front door, Levi opened it for Eren. Eren giving him an exaggerated sigh before limping towards it "Does your ankle hurt?" "No, it's just stiff from that stupid boot. It'll loosen up" "If it starts to hurt, let me know" "Yes, Mr Doctor Levi, sir" "Sir? That's a new one, brat" Eren shrugged, heading out the door in front of him. Sir... he wasn't one for pets names, but something ran through him at the sound it it. Sir. Maybe it was Eren's answer to brat? * Sitting in Levi's car, Eren wasn't sure about the zoo thing. He was happy to see Marco, but wasn't thrilled about seeing Jean. Even if Jean didn't mean any harm, he always just spat out whatever he was thinking. When he woke up that morning, he'd never thought he'd be going to the zoo, or having a breakdown in Levi's arms. He was just grateful the he'd showered after vomiting. He was happy and excited for Hanji, she and Moblit had wanted babies for so long. But he didn't know if he could handle being around a hormonal Hanji, or a baby. He didn't know what set off his anxieties, and often he'd snap over nothing, at himself. He didn't want anything happening near the baby. Letting his eyes wander over Levi's dashboard, his attention was caught by the gold chain looping down from around the rearview mirror, a small gold turtle pendant swaying with movement of the car. That hadn't been there the last time he'd been in the car... and it was so pretty, and something Levi wouldn't have bought for himself. His heart dropped a little. If Levi hadn't bought it for himself, then someone had gifted it to him. Someone important enough that Levi had it hanging in his car, where it was a constant reminder of that person "Brat? You ok?" "Yeah. Um... how much further?" "We're nearly there. It's not a huge place, but I think you'll like it" "Have you been before?" "Nope. This one's new to me too" He was right. Zoo's weren't really Levi's thing. Was Levi really ok with going to the zoo? Staring down at his lap, he mumbled at his hands "We don't have to go if you don't want to" "I didn't say I didn't want to go" "But there must be a reason you haven't" "Because I had no one I wanted to go with before" "You have Hanji and Moblit" "Can you imagine trying to go to the zoo with Hanji? It would be a nightmare. She'd probably just get us kicked out, or get herself lost" "Then why go with me? And Jean and Marco?" "Because you're not annoying, like Hanji. And before you say you are, you're not" "But... you don't know Jean and Marco" "No, not really. I know Jean is an enormous arse, and that Marco is your best friend. They're important to you" "That's to me, not to you" Levi sighed, the man drumming his fingers on the steering wheel as they came to a stop at red light "Look. What do you want me to say?" "I want to know why you'd do this. For someone like me. You just don't seem like the kind of person who'd want to go to a zoo willingly" "You really don't know?" What was he supposed to know? He felt like he didn't know much of anything anymore, not that he really had "No?" "You're important, ok. Just like Marco is important to you, you're important to me. Now I sound like a shitty idiot. I'd planned to take you at some point, Marco just got in sooner than I did" "You wanted to take me?" "Yeah. I saw how happy the aquarium made you" "But you don't like zoos" "I thought you would like it" "But you don't" Levi sighed again "Eren, I wanted to bring you out here. I wanted, want to do things with you" "Don't you get mad at me for not knowing anything?" "No, I don't. It's honestly refreshing, spending time with you that is. Now, do you have any more questions?" "No..." "You're not going to ask about the necklace? You keep staring at it" Sprung. He hadn't meant to be so fucking obvious "It's just pretty" "Do you want to know why it's hanging there?" Yes! No. Maybe. He did, but he didn't want to hear Levi had found someone special "You don't have to tell me" "I bought it for you. When we were at the aquarium. You were so excited over the turtles, and the stone reminds me of your eyes. I was going to give it to you at some point, but then you left... and I kept it up there. To remind me of you" "What do I say to that?" "You don't have to say anything" "I didn't think... that I meant that much to you... " That didn't quite sound how he'd wanted it to sound, so rushed to add "That you'd hang a necklace up and all" "Brat. You're really fucking dense sometimes. You know I care about you" "Um... I'm sorry. I... uh, didn't mean it how it sounded" So he was important to Levi! And the alpha actually cared about him. The necklace wasn't something he'd choose for himself, but he felt stupidly happy knowing Levi had chosen it just for him, and it wasn't a gift to the alpha "Give me a minute, you can put it once we reach the zoo" "You still want me to have it?" "I bought it for you, so yes. If you don't like it, you don't have to put it on" "No. No. I like it. Thank you" He'd been so down this morning, now it felt like he was in some kind of dream. Maybe he'd lost his mind? Pulling into the zoos carpark, Levi managed to find a spot near Jean's car. His friends were making out as if they weren't in public. Blushing, he looked away from the sight "I bet they don't even realise we're here" "Probably not... come here" Taking the necklace down from around the mirror, Levi undid the clip and waited for him to lean in. Placing the necklace around his neck, Eren's heart raced at the close and intimate touch across his nape. Whining softly, he wanted to throw himself into Levi's hold, but it was over way too soon. Pulling his hand back, Levi took the small pendant into his hold "It suits you, but it's only plated, so you'll want to take it off when you shower" "Ok, thank you" He sounded out of breath. Snorting lightly, Levi pulled back completely, the moment over between them. Leaving Eren slightly disappointed Levi hadn't kissed him "Oh, Marco's noticed us" "I suppose we should probably get out of the car then" Jean and Marco were still straightening themselves out as Eren climbed from Levi's Range Rover, ending up with him seeing more of Jean than he'd wanted to. Rushing to the back of Levi's car, he shook himself off, feeling like the image of the alpha's spent junk was going to haunt him forever "You ok, you look a little pale" "I just saw Jean's dick... it... was gross" Levi laughed openly, reaching out and pulling him into a hug "Who would have thought shy little Marco had it in him?" "Of course he's had it in him, he's pregnant" "Fuck, brat. I've missed your sarcasm" "I've been traumatised" "They're your friends" Pulling away from Levi, he really wished the alpha hadn't hugged him. Knowing Jean and Marco were sexual deviants was one thing, but he didn't want to see it... now Jean and Marco were going to smell like sex. Couldn't they have got it out there system before they'd gotten to zoo? Or even once they got inside. Somewhere where he didn't have to see it! "Not when they're... can we just go? They can catch up" "Are you ok?" "It's nothing" "Eren" "It's nothing ok. Let's just go" Marco didn't even seem sorry as he and Jean finally joined them. His friend was blushing, and they'd both sprayed down with scent cancellers, but Eren still stayed close to Levi. There were so many people around, that his chest felt tight... and he felt hot. The day was bright and sunny, not really long sleeve weather. He just didn't want Jean saying anything about his cast. Or asking anything about where he'd been "You ok, brat?" "I'm ok... it's just a bit warm" "Why don't you take your hoodie off then?" "No. It's ok" Pulling his phone out, Levi passed it over to him "Take as many photos as you want to" "Are you sure?" "Yeah. Go for it. We can get them printed if you want. Don't worry if you drop it. The case is shock and waterproof" He hadn't been worried about dropping Levi's phone until now. Taking the device gingerly, he now has something else to fear. Armed with his own phone, Marco looped his arm through his, taking Eren's casted hand in his hold "Hey. I was hoping you'd make it... sorry about the carpark, my hormones are out of control. Anywaaaaay. We should get going, there's so much to see here" Levi had said the place wasn't that big... Jean slung his arm over Marco's shoulder, effectively pulling Marco away from him. If that was how it was going to be, why had Marco even invited him? * Levi knew it wasn't Marco's intention to disclude Eren, but the omega was with his alpha and the pair were in a world of their own. He'd call Eren over to show him something, only for Jean to take Marco's attention away from Eren, and for Eren to retreat further into himself. He didn't like it. What was the point of even inviting Eren, Marco was going to spend all his time with Jean. He'd had enough. Eren'd been so happy, and each time he went to share it with Marco, Marco was caught up in Jean. Wrapping his arm around Eren's waist, he placed himself between the two omegas "Eren, can I borrow you for a moment. You guys can go on ahead" Marco frowned, but Jean kissed his mates temple "Just don't take too long, right babe?" "Uh. Yeah... we'll be around here somewhere" Leading Eren in the opposite direction, the omega began to slow, before coming to a stop "Levi, where are we going?" "Just come with me" "But..." "Eren, come with me" "Ok" Pulling the omega back to the start of the mammal area they were in, Levi stopped at the large sign explaining what mammals are "What are doing?" "I can't stand it" "Can't stand what?" "Marco and Jean are off in their own world, and I know he's your best friend, but you look so sad. I know we've been walking around for a while now, and if I could, I would drag you all the way back the entrance of the zoo, so we could do this all over again" Eren's eyes filled with tears, the omega throwing his arms around him "You don't need to cry" "I thought I did something wrong" "No. You've done nothing wrong, and I bet Marco doesn't even know how bad you feel. And really warm..." Moving to place his palm against Eren's forehead, he frowned at the heat he found. A quick glance of the area, showed a shaded bench. Leading him over, he sat Eren down "Here, take your hoodie off" "Why?" "Because you're overheating. You're probably already dehydrating" "I..." "I'm a trained medical professional, listen to me about this, please" "I don't want to make a fuss about the cast" "Eren, I'm not going to make a fuss about the cast" "Jean..." "Don't fucking listen to that horsefaced arse. Seriously, after all the shit he's said to you... he's just not worth it" Unzipping his hoodie, Levi took it from the omega before he decided he still needed it on. The shirt Eren had on beneath was thin enough to see that he'd definitely lost more weight, again "Better?" "Um... yeah, it is" "We need to get some fluids into you too" "You don't need to worry about me" "Then don't do things that make me worry" "I don't mean to" "I know you don't. But I'll still worry for you, even if you tell me not to. Now, I'm going to go find you a bottle of water, you're going to drink it slowly, then we're going to back past all these animals, and you're going to tell me all their names, and if you can't read them, I'll break it down for you" Visibly swallowing, Eren nodded quickly "I'd really like that" Leaning in, Levi kissed his forehead "Stay right here. I promise I'll be back" "Really?" "You have my phone, I might hate the thing, but it's too much bother to activate a new one" Eren gave him a sweet smile as he ducked his head "I'll be back soon" * Feeling like an idiot, Eren sat there holding Levi's phone. The alpha keep seeing right through him, like his walls didn't exist. He'd never thought Levi would pull him away from Marco, but with Jean at Marco's side, he couldn't really as his friend the proper names for things. Staring down at Levi's phone screen, he smiled at the photo of Titan that was his background. The fat cat looked smug as fuck, and completely adorable. Jumping as the device started to call, he eyed Hanji's name on the screen. Levi said calls weren't important, and it was wrong to answer someone else's phone, but it was Hanji... Levi wouldn't be mad if he answered? Looking up, he couldn't see the alpha anywhere, and he realised just how alone he was. Marco and Jean were missing, and Levi was missing. No. They knew where they were. He was the lost one. Drawing his knees up, he answered the call "Levi! Levi, Levi! Please tell me you're not working!" "H-Hanji?" "Eren? Is that you sweetheart?" "Y-Yes" "Oh thank god. I've been trying to call you. Are you with Levi?" "Sorry... my phones at home" "Are you ok? Did something happen?" "I'm ok. Levi will be back soon" "Honey, where are you? Are you alone?" "I'm at the zoo. Marco and Jean are here too" "Is Marco there?" "He and Jean are together somewhere" "And Levi?" "He went to get drinks" "So you're alone" "Levi's coming back" "Stay on the phone with me until he does" Eren bit his lip. Hanji sounded mad at him... she didn't usually call when she was at work, so he didn't think so message her, or Moblit to let them know Levi was taking him out "Eren?" "I'm still here" "Why didn't you tell me you were going out?" "I didn't know... Marco and Levi arranged it. Levi picked me up this morning" Shit. He was fucking crying. Like a fucking idiot. He couldn't stop. He'd made Hanji mad "Eren?" "I'm sorry! My phones flat and you don't call when you're at work! I didn't know... I didn't think.. I'm sorry" "Oh, honey. No. I was worried you'd taken off, when you didn't answer" He knew it. She was still mad that he'd left. She was mad at him. She hadn't forgiven him. He was still a bad omega... it wasn't... it wasn't like he'd thought he'd be gone for so long. "Eren" Rushing to his side, Levi took his phone from him. The alpha sinking down beside him smoothly wrapping his arm around his shaking form "H-Hanji" "Hanji can wait. Here, I need you to sip this for me. Ok?" "She... she's mad at me" "I'm sure she's not. She's probably mad because I didn't think to message her about all this" Opening the bottle of water, Levi pressed it into his hand "Small sips for me, while I talk to Hanji" "I... I'll pay you back for this" "It's fine. Now drink up" It wasn't fine. He'd have to find a way to pay Levi back... because he was really thirsty, but he hadn't paid for the water. Sipping it, Levi smoothly explained everything to Hanji. Eren coming out and back in when Levi said he was taking him out to dinner and that Eren was spending the night at his. It only took Levi a few minutes to sort everything out, hanging up with a sigh "See, nothing to worry about" "Are you sure?" "Yeah. She jumped to panic mode. Then she thought you might be sleeping, so was going to send me around to make sure you got out of bed" "I'm not a little kid" "I know. Now drink your water" Eren pouted, but did as Levi said. Slowly he worked at the bottle until it was half empty "I don't think I can drink anymore right now" "That's fine. Just make sure you keep sipping. Have you cooled down?" "Yeah... will you um, help me with the names now?" "Sure thing, brat" Most animals he knew the basic names for, things like the foxes were pretty cool. The fennec foxes were adorable, and so were the sloths in their own unique way. Meerkats were absolutely adorable, and one he hadn't known... but was able to work out the word on his own. All this things he'd wanted to share with Marco, he could share with Levi. His hand finding Levi's and not letting go as they moved from enclosure to enclosure, until they finally reached where they'd parted with Jean and Marco, saddened to see they were no where close "Hey, Marco really wanted you to be here. He probably didn't think it would end up like this" "I know... I mean, I know he hardly gets to spend time with Jean and their bonded and he's pregnant..." "I'm just sorry they don't get to see how happy and excited you look" "I probably look stupid" "No. You really don't. You, uh..." Levi paused to scratch the back of his head "... look cute" Blaming his burning face on the sunshine. He hated how good Levi made him feel. Wandering into the next area, it was a large grassed picnic area. Marco and Jean were still missing "Do you want me to message them?" "No. They're probably, busy" "Well the left path leads to the birds, while the right leads to the reptiles" "Reptiles" "You don't want to see the birds?" "Birds shouldn't be kept in cages. It's sad" "I thought it would be because you don't like them" "I'm scared of them. We talked about this, I'm sure" "We did. So reptiles?" "If that's ok?" "Reptiles it is. Just don't think I'm going to be touching anything in there" "Wait. You don't like snakes?" "I have a healthy respect for them, when they're behind glass and no where near me" "You don't like things slithering into your bed?" "The only snake I don't mind handling is the one in my pants" Snorting, Eren shook his head "One eyed trouser snakes don't count" Levi raised an eyebrow, an almost smirk on his lips "You know that one?" "Mhmm. Zeke liked reptiles. Did you know legless lizards have tiny legs?" "I did. Although I don't know if I'm impressed or scared that you do?" "I didn't have any books. Zeke had a couple on snakes and reptiles... but they went missing" He'd only got to flick through them a few times before they disappeared from Zeke's room. He didn't ask what happened. If they were gone, then Zeke didn't want them anymore "Lets go see what they have" Would Zeke have liked the zoo? His brother didn't... hadn't seemed really into animals. They never had pets... * Fucking Zeke. For a moment Levi thought Eren had his own interests in reptiles, but it came back to fucking Zeke. He was done with the man. They could cremate him and throw him out the window for all he cared. Holding Eren's hand tight, he walked into the reptile house with the omega. Eren had no way of knowing he'd once witnessed a death from snake bite. It hadn't been pretty. Not after being bitten a dozen times to the face. The tongue swollen so large the owners mouth was blocked completely. His tongues and lips purple and black, and the stink of the rotten body... nope. That was a big nope. Eren didn't need to know this. Leaning him over to the first enclosure, Eren's eyes widened at the green snake. It was tiny, barely noticeable "Imagine having a snake that small" "Really brat?" "It's tiny" "Still probably bigger than Jean's" Eren giggled, before covering his mouth with his hand "We need to find someone else we don't like" "I don't know many of your friends" "You'll meet them. Especially around Christmas. Hanji insists on starting her celebrations in November and going right through until January. Last year was a bit of an exception, due to her marrying Moblit" "Oh! Hey, do you know what 12 25 means?" "Christmas?" Eren frowned at him "What is it?" "Hanji told me to make it my PIN number, but I don't know why" Shitty Glasses. Eren had no idea it was his birthday, and no doubt she would have laughed to herself about it "Probably because it's Christmas Day, and it's kind of hard to forget it" "Wouldn't my birthday be easier?" "And more predictable. Let's continue through here?" He was done looking at snakes already. Even lizards were creepy fuckers, marginally better, but only by a tiny margin. They had scales. They were wankers. And then it happened. It was his fucking bad luck that they were giving a talk by the time they'd rounded the interior of the reptile house, Eren's eyes huge as they settled on the boa laying across the handlers shoulders. Taking a half step behind Eren, he was not ashamed to admit that he was fucking hiding. Snakes shouldn't be that fucking big, but at the same time, all fucking snakes should be that big so you can see those fuckers... but a big snake meant big fangs. Fuck it. Burn them all with fire "It's sooooo pretty. Levi, look at it" Nope. One of the advantages of being vertically challenged was that he didn't have to. Eren was tall enough to hide behind and brush it off as comforting gesture for the omega. A hug with his face buried against Eren's shoulder salvaged his alpha image "Mhmm. Pretty. Yeah" "Do you think they'll let us touch it?" "Probably not" The woman giving the talk continued on for a few more minutes, before offering "pats" to the crowd. He didn't even get to protest, before Eren was slipping out his hold and over to the snake... which seemed to take an immediate liking to him, it's vile form slithering up Eren's arm "You can take photos, but please, no flash" "Levi, can you please take a photo?" No. He didn't want a permanent reminder of this moment... but the bright look Eren gave him as turned back to ask was impossible to say no to. Talked through things by the handler, the demon spawn was laid over Eren's shoulders. Levi mentally glaring at the thing for making his ome... for making his friend so happy. Snapping a few photos, he nodded and the handler lifted the snake from Eren's shoulders. Thanking the woman, Eren returned to his side "Did you see that?" "I did" "It was so heavy!" Taking Eren's hand, the omega was too happy to notice they were making a beeline for the exit. Eren could basically as him for any other pet in the world and he'd agree, provided it wasn't one of those scaly abominations "That was so cool... I wonder if Marco would have held the snake" "He doesn't seem as brave as you are" Eren blushed slightly "I'm not brave" "I think you're very brave" "I'm not... I'm just doing the best I can, and it hasn't been very good lately" "Want to talk about it?" "Not really..." Emerging near the nocturnal animal house, Eren swayed beside him. Levi barely catching him as the omega dropped, a hand coming to touch his forehead "Eren!" "Sorry. I just got a bit dizzy" "Just dizzy? Do you feel light headed dizzy, or sick dizzy?" "There's a difference?" "Shit" People were starting to whisper and stare. Eren was already recovering, but the attention would freak him. Pulling him up and close, the omega leaned heavily against him as his stomach let out a strange gurgle. He was such a fucking idiot. He'd had Eren walking around for hours without thinking about the fact he probably hadn't had breakfast "Let's find somewhere to get lunch" "What..." "When's the last time you ate?" "Last night..." "You need food. I'm an idiot" "What? No, you're not. I'm not hungry" "Your stomach says otherwise. Come over here" On the side of hell in a house, there was a map of the zoo. The nocturnal house came out near the cafe area "Ok. We're going to get food, then we'll double back so you can look at the nocturnal animals" "We don't have to" "Your hungry, and now I'm thinking about food, I'm hungry" He wasn't hungry. His stomach was knotted with worry for Eren. If he voiced his thoughts, Eren would only protest that he was ok. With how light he felt, Levi was sure Eren wasn't eating properly. Eren tried to drag his feet as they walked through the nocturnal enclosure, but Levi wasn't having it. Making it through, the cafe area was actually really pretty. It had an Asian vibe, walled on two sides by thick bamboo stalks, the lush greenery swaying softly in the breeze "Wow" "Yeah" The cafe was set in an older turn of the century styles building, with a wide veranda area, the long central step lead down another decked eating area, after that was grass which circle around a flowing pond "This is so pretty" "Food first, then we can admire the view" "Oh. Hold on..." Sliding his wallet out with his left hand, Eren fumbled it into Levi's "Brat?" "Let me pay. Please?" "You want to pay for lunch?" "Yeah. You paid at the aquarium, so it's like fair, right" "I don't mind paying" "Levi, please let me pay for this. I want to do this" Letting go of Eren's hand, he took the kid's visa from his wallet "Alright. But only because you asked so nicely" "Thank you... it's really hard. Hanji and Moblit won't let me pay for anything. I don't like it" They didn't let him pay because they loved him "Let's find somewhere to sit. You look like you could use a break, in the shade" "I'm fine now" "Are you ignoring directions from a paramedic?" "I would never" "Cheeky shit" Settling Eren so he had back and right side blind spots covered by the wall, Levi dropped a kiss on the top of his head "I'll be right back" "Can you bring back a receipt?" "You want a receipt?" "Yeah" He had no idea why, maybe the omega's anxieties were getting the better of him, or his lack of independence. Choosing two ham and salad rolls, along with two flavoured milks, Levi went to pay for it all with Eren's card, only for it to be declined. Even with their meal costing nearly $30, well it was $26 but that was close enough, it was still declined. He knew Eren should have money from dancing in his account, along with the money Hanji had insisted on putting in there to pay for the cleaning Eren did around the house. It shouldn't have been declined. Paying with his own card, he binned the two receipts that said declined, before heading back out to Eren. Settling down beside him, he handed him the receipt and his card, thankfully it didn't say that it was Levi's card he'd used "Thanks" "Do I want to know about the receipt?" "It's.. stupid. It's got the zoo details and stuff, and I don't want to forget today" Eren wasn't lying, but he also wasn't saying everything. Letting it slide, he pulled his phone back out, sending Hanji a quick text to tell her to check into Eren's finances. He didn't want to believe Zeke would sink low enough to take Eren's money, but he couldn't think of another reason why it would be declined. "They're you guys are! Where were you?" Still mulling over the declined thing, he'd failed to notice Marco and Jean returning. Even more small red marks were on Marco's neck. Great. The pair were off fucking while Eren was hurting over thinking he'd done something wrong. Sitting down across from Eren, Marco smiled at him while Jean mumbled something about getting lunch "We waited for you guys" "Sorry, Hanji called and I got stuck talking to her. She didn't know anything about today" Marco groaned "The baby isn't even here and I have total baby brain. I'm so sorry. What do you think of it all?" "It's really pretty" "Isn't it? Where have you been?" "Just in the mammal section, then the reptile house" "Jean and I, went and saw the birds. You have to go. They have so many, and some of them are huge" Nice to know they'd "waited". Returning to the table, Jean placed a number down before sitting next to Marco, wrapping his arm around him "Where did you two go?" "They went to the reptile house" Eren nodded at Marco's explanation "I got to hold a snake" "You didn't!" "Mhmm. Levi got photos for me" "Why would you want to hold a snake? They're not that interesting" Eren slumped. The effect of Jean's words immediate "I don't know. The thing was bigger than him" "Snakes are gross" "He's pretty good at handling them, especially the big ones" Eren coughed as he choked. The connotations flying right over Jean's head "They're the worst. Nah. Smaller ones are better" Continuing to choke, Levi patted Eren's back until he regained his breath, still coughing slightly as he shook his head "The handler was explaining how the smaller ones, like newborn snakes are even more dangerous than the big ones. The don't know how to hold back the amount of venom they deliver, not like the big ones. You're more likely to die from a small snake" God. The brat was killing him. Placing his hand on Eren's thigh, he squeezed firmly. Jean just sat there and looked dumb, while Marco wrinkled his nose "I saw plenty of snakes growing up. I am in no rush to ever see one again" "Let's stop talking about them, yeah?" "Mmm. Sound good, babe" Kissing Jean, it felt like they were once again being pushed to the outside. Eren hadn't even touched his food after pulling off the tiny bit of bun he'd choked on "Oh! I didn't notice before, is that necklace new? It looks good" Eren's hand went to turtle "Yeah. It was gift" "It reminds me of the watch Jean got me for our anniversary, it was 9 carat with a blue face. That's what reminded me it" He wanted to shake Marco. If he was like this every time he was Jean, he'd have to seriously rethink letting Eren see him with the alpha around. No. Shit. Eren wasn't his fucking property. He had no right to say who Eren could and couldn't see. If he did say something, he'd be no better than Zeke "Levi got it for me, when we went to the aquarium" The aquarium was definitely always going to be a special place for them. He could see the fondness on Eren's face when he mentioned it "I like this place better" And once again Eren slumped at Marco's words. God. The kid didn't get it all. He was just trying to keep the conversation going, and really didn't realise how upset Eren was. He loved Marco, and Marco was hurting him without intending to "I'm not so sure. This place has its charms, but it doesn't have sharks and cat fish" "That's true. I haven't found another grump Levi" Breaking his roll up further, Eren picked the smallest piece to eat. His own roll had half disappeared between his words. He needed to talk to Hanji about Eren's eating habits. This was ridiculous... though if the omega did come live with him, he'd make him whatever he could, when he wanted. Maybe Eren didn't like things and didn't want to upset Hanji and Moblit? "So, what's going on with you two? You seem pretty close" "Levi's my friend" Jean snorted "Alpha's aren't just friends with omega's" Slapping his mates arm gently, Marco shook his head "Eren could be friends with anyone. He's so nice that he just seems to draw people to him" "You're the nice one" Leaning in, Jean nuzzled into Marco's neck, while Eren squirmed beside Levi. The omega wasn't ok with watching this. The omega hadn't been ok with sex before he'd left, this was probably an overload for him. He prayed to whatever powers were out there, that the food would arrive soon. This time, whatever or whoever was up there, actually listened. Eren barely ate half his roll, until Jean teased him about how long he was taking. The omega finishing it in three more bites as if to piss Jean off. It wasn't the best reason to finish a meal, but Eren needed all the calories he could get. The omega may have had Zeke controlling his meals for years, and "teaching" him all the wrong things when it came to eating, but Levi didn't give two shits. What he'd like was for Eren to put on more weight. When he'd met the brat, he'd had some curves, toned curves that had fallen away. Dancing was a hard enough activity, Eren didn't need to be punishing himself over something like eating and trying to look beautiful. Yes the omega was gorgeous, and as erotic as fuck, but Levi cared for the spirit inside the body. For all he cared the brat could put on 500kilos and still be beautiful. He knew it wasn't Hanji's nor Moblit's faults that Eren's bad habits had slipped through their combined radars again. All of them lead busy jobs, their minds never really stopping to rest. He just cursed the fact the Eren felt he needed to starve himself because of Zeke. Marco brushed Jean off after lunch, taking Eren by the hand and leading him from the deck while Levi and Jean were left to awkwardly follow while not wanting to talk to each other or even breathe the same air. He could smell sex on both of them, only serving to piss him off further. He knew pregnant omegas did tend to get ridiculously fucking horny, but most of them took care of it much more discreetly, and not while on what was a "date" with their best friends. Still. He pushed down his annoyance and followed back to the nocturnal animals, getting a few photos of Eren with Marco for Eren's sake. The pair had started whispering about something, and though Levi was sure it wasn't, he hoped there was some kind of apology in Marco's words. From the nocturnal house, the headed back out and towards the exit, Marco saying he was getting tired, while Eren's face had paled. They made a quick stop at the petting zoo, Eren's face lighting up at petting two small deer fawns, while Marco got head butted lightly in the stomach by a third. Was it bad to feel smug over that? It wasn't like the tiny tap hurt the baby, it just felt like karma had taken its revenge in the way Eren would best approve... if the brat believed in taking revenge and all that. From there was the gift shop, where Marco practically dragged Eren straight through telling him how everything was over priced. That didn't mean the kid shouldn't get to at least look. He didn't know the money he'd worked for was gone. Following them out, Marco continued to cling to Eren until they reach their cars. It was there that Eren finally lost his stomach, throwing up at the back of Levi's Range Rover, while Marco backed away and shot him a worried look "It's fine guys. He got a little dehydrated before, I've got it from here" "Are you sure?" "Yeah. Thanks for today" "Eren, message me later, ok? It was good to see you again" Eren nodded, but didn't reply. He was leaning heavily against the back of the car. With Jean needing to get into his own car, Levi moved to place his hand against the small of Eren's back so the omega wouldn't be hurt while Jean reversed. Vomiting again, Eren whimpered as his knees started to fold. Fresh tears ran down Eren's face and his smell was rancid. The poor kid was embarrassed as fuck over all of this "It's ok. Here, hold onto me" "'s on my hand" Normally he'd flinch, even at work it was hard to deal with sticky hands "It's ok. Right now, I would rather keep you standing for the few more seconds" Leaning against him, Eren buried his face into Levi's shoulder, his words mumbled "I'm sorry" "No, you've got nothing to be sorry about" "I got sick" "So?" "I ruined everything" "Nope" "I did... I do" "You don't ruin everything. You've had a long tiring day, emotionally and physically" As Jean pulled away, Marco waved. Ignoring him, Levi lifted Eren off his feet and carried him to the passenger side door. Keeping Eren balanced with his knee, he fumbled his car open and got the omega inside "I'm sorry" "No more sorries. You're staying at my place tonight, and it's much closer than Hanji's" "I don't want to be a burden" "You're not a burden. I never would have offered if I thought you were" Clipping Eren in, he kissed the omega's forehead "We've got a half hour drive, so go ahead and nap if you feel like it" Nodding, Eren wriggled and tried to get comfortable. The zoo might not have gone over as well as the aquarium, but he still fucking happy he'd got to see it with Eren.

[bixshits]

Lost Odyssey - A Thousand Years of Dreams - Story Fourteen Transcript

Elegy Island

This happened a long, long time ago.

On a small island - which has since perished - they had an odd custom.

They mourned their dead with song: with elegies.

The songs would play without ceasing from the last moments before death, through the funeral, to the burial.

Elegies would be sung for many purposes: to ease the grief of the family, to recall the legacy of the deceased, to appease the soul of the one who died under stressful cicumstances, to celebrate one person's having lived to a ripe, old age, or to evoke anger at another's pointless death.

There were no fixed melodies or lyrics. Apparently the songs were sung without lyrics at all.

"No documents have survived, so all we can do is assemble oral histories," sighs the achaeologist as she views the island from the deck of the ship.

The people of that island country had no writing system, which means they had no way to leave behind signs or evidence of their lives.

"I wish we could at least interview a few survivors. but there weren't any. Every single person was killed."

The research team's archaeologist is a young woman in her twenties. Her country is the one that destroyed the island. It happened while her ancestors, seven generations back, were still young people.

"I hate to bad mouth my own country," she says with a shrug, "but they really didn't have to go that far."

"That far" is no exaggeration.

Her country prided itself on it's overwhelming military force. For it to gain mastery over the tiny island would have been as simple as twisting an infant's arm.

But her country believed in oppressing its neighbours with force. The leaders were thinking more of those neighbours then of the lands itself when it launched its all-out attack.

It was scorched from end to end.

Every human being on the island - from newborn babies to elders on the verge of death - was killed without mercy.

"It's odd, though," says the young woman with a grim smile, "there are hardly any records left from that time, even in our country."

"I suppose what they did was so terrible, they didn't want their descendants to know about it."

Her remark prompts some older scholars on board to clear their throats, at the sound of which she snaps her mouth shut.

"Sorry," she whispers, "you're not much older than I am, you porbably don't want to hear about all this old stuff anyway..."

"I do, though."

"What interest can a sailor like you have in these boring academic matters?"

Kaim only shakes his head in silence.

Suddenly things become very busy on deck. The boat is approaching the island and has entered a stretch of intricate channels where the skills of the crew will be tested.

The boatswain calls Kaim.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the woman says, "I shouldn't be monopolising your time. You've got work to do..."

Even as she apologizes, the talkative young archaeologist asks Kaim.

"Do you mind if I ask you one last question?"

"Please, ask away," he replies, stopping in his tracks.

She looks around to make sure no one is listening and whispers, "I'm sure this is your first time taking a research team over...."

"Uh-huh."

"And your first time going to the island?"

"Well, yes..."

"So you probably don't know about some of the bad stories they tell about this place - that some scholars who go there fall under a curse. Like, they get sick while doing their research on the island, or they become mentally unstable after they get home. I've heard some even killed themselves."

"You mean a long time ago, right?"

"Right. This is the first research trip in fifty years. Up to them, every time they sent out a team, one or two of the members would suffer the curse. This is why they put a stop to them all these years. So I'm a little scared myself..."

She sends a mock shudder through her body. "I just thought I'd ask if you could teach me some magic spell for getting back safely..."

Kaim looks straight at her - not merely taking in her appearance but searching for the person deep inside.

"You'll be fine," he says.

"You think so?"

"I'm pretty sure you'll be okay"

She looks at him questioningly.

"If you hear singing, though," he adds "hum along with it"

"What do you mean?" she asks, her expression increasingly uneasy, but Kaim says nothing more.

"Get over here now, Mister!" the boatswain shouts at Kaim, who heads for his station.

He did tell the woman one white lie, though.

This is not his first time coming to the island.

He has been here many times before.

Hes first trip happened a long, long time ago.

As the archaeologist said, that islands elegies had no fixed melody or lyrics. They were all sung extemporaneously and never repeated.

A hundred deaths required a hundred elegies.

Nor did mourners agree in advance on the nature of their elegy before they started singing. At frist, each would sing his or her own song expressing his or her own feelings about the deceased. Eventually, the jumble of songs would come together into a single melody without any one singer taking the lead.

In the culture of this island that had no writing, there was, of course, no musical notation. There were no instruments for accompaniment either. Each mourner, in grieving for the loved one, would give voice to hopes for a peaceful journey, and a song would emerge.

Kaim's travels first brought him here when the island was at peace, which is to say, centuries ago.

He happened to arrive just after the death of a village elder. For three days and nights, an elegy was sung around the clock. The island people's song, which shook the darkness and reverberated all across the clear, blue daytime sky, left its mark with a certain ennobling comfort in the breast of Kaim, a man for whom fate had decreed that no one would ever sing an elegy.

To think that such an island had been burned to the ground!

The people fled in all directions at once, and were murdered one at a time.

It was an absolute bloodbath.

Kaim knows about the atrocities that accompanied the butchery - things that were not handed down to the generation of the young archaeologist.

Had it wished to, the woman's country could have taken control of the island in a single night, but instead it used its military power to chase down each of the islands inhabitants over a period of several days as if carefully filling in the blank spaces in a coloring book.

The island became enveloped in elegies.

At first, while the living still outnumbered the dead, voices in elegiac song all but shook the island with their volume.

As the days went by, however, and the dead came to outnumber the living, the sobbing voices in song grew ever fainter.

When the battle reaches its final phase, the few remaining islanders, who had been cornered in the islands northern tip, fled into a large cave.

They resigned themselves to death.

All that was left for them to do was pray that they might be allowed to die with some degree of peace.

But even this small measure of hope they were unable to wring from their attackers.

The army of the archaeologist's country wert for maximum brutality. The entered the cave with every weapon at their command, and they dragged out and killed one islander per day.

Today is was an old man.

The next day it was a young man.

The day after that they tortured to death a young mother with an infant at her breast, and the following day the infant they force from her arms was put to death.

The elegies resounded without interruption.

The singing voices that escaped from the cave invaded the ears of the soldiers who were carrying on the masacre. Those soldiers with kind hears collapsed one after another, or they went mad and left the front line.

Song was the final weapon of the islanders, who had no other means to fight.

They went on singing as they struggled against starvation, thirst, and their own fears.

The commanding officer of the anti-insurgency force ordered his men to fill in the mouth of the cave. If they buried the people alive, he thought, the singing would no longer be audible.

Nevertheless, their singing continued.

It went on, day after day.

Rainy days, clear days, daytime, nighttime it continued, but no longer without breaks, which gradually increased in length.

The singing went beyond being an elegy for a single person and became a song suffused with the sorrow of all the living things on the island.

About the time the season ended, the last thing thread of singing died out.

The army left the island.

Not a single record of these military operations was left.

Never again did anyone come to live on the island.

The first research team in fifty years is plagued by difficulties.

One scholar after another collapses.

Almost every day, someone is sent out to the vessel anchored offshore, sick.

All of the scholars moan with pain, blocking their ears.

The situation is exactly what it was before the island was sealed from research.

Kaim knows exactly what is happening.

The ocean breeze sweeping across the island sounds like a song.

The brances swaying in the forrest sound like a song.

The birds in the trees sound like a song.

The babbling of a brook sounds like a song.

The treading of boots on piled-up fallen leaves sounds like a song.

The crashing and receding of waves on the shore sounds like a song.

The elegy for the island that people sang with every last bit of life they could dredge up from inside themselves, now is being sung by the island itself.

"Please stop, I beg you, please stop..."

The scholars cry out in their delirium, covering their ears.

"I dont know what we did. It was our ancestors, not us."

The scholars who maon this hear anger and sorrow in the constanty recunding elegy.

What they say is true: it is not their fault.

But they have been given no knowledge of what happened on this island so long ago.

Sometimes, not knowing can be a profound sin.

They should prick up their ears and listen all the more.

That is what Kaim has always done.

The elegy being sung by the island is not merely hurling hatred and anger at them.

The island is not trying to torture members of the younger generation like them who are without sin.

Rather than blocking their ears, they should listen.

If they do so, the message will reach them.

For the island is telling them.

"You must know the truth. You must know what actually happened on this island so long ago."

The investigation ends much earlier than originally planned.

Most of the research team have returned to the ship, their health broken, and some of the more seriosly ill members have been sent home. It is no longer possible to continue the work.

The young archaeologist who spoke to Kaim on the way in is one of the few who have persevered to the end.

"Thanks to you," she says to Kaim.

As soon as she climbed from the launch into the ship she saw Kaim standing on deck and hurried over to him.

She looks haggard, but her fatigue is clearly less phyical than mental.

Still, her eyes harbor a strong-willed gleam.

"Did you hear the singing?" he asks.

"I did," she says with a nod, looking back at the receding island.

"It was so sad!"

Just as he had thought: she was able to open herself to the sadness.

"Did you sing along with it?"

"Yes, I did that, too - partly because of what you said to me, but I also found myself humming the same tune quite naturally."

Kaim nods and smiles at her.

This is the first time he has encountered anyone with the heart to hear the island's elergy.

"This time when i get home," she says, "I want to do some more serious research on the war. It's something I have to do, I almost feel I don't have any choice in the matter."

"I'm glad to hear that," he says.

"I might turn up some facts that my country finds inconvenient, but I feel its absolutely necessary to learn the truth - to know what actually happened."

The ship emerges into the open sea.

A single white bird flies out from the island is if seeing the ship off on its journey.

Tracing a great arc against the blue sky, it releases one high, ringing cry.

No longer an elegy, this is a song of joy and forgiveness signaling the dawn of a new age.

[imterriblypleased-blog]

Platonic David Dobrik - Depression (Requested)

Request: can you do a platonic David Dobrik imagine where the reader has become increasingly more isolated from everyone and he confronts her about it, and she admits that she's trying really hard not to kill herself but everything has just been really hard lately? thank you 

A/N: Okay - II went a little off track from the request and gave it a lot more of my own detail rather than sticking to what i was supposed to. Sorry to the anon and anyone waiting on this imagine. Feel 100% free to request again but more generalized because i am more than happy to re-write. Im still new and learning to stay on topic and not to put so much backstory in. Im also still learning and working on the actual writing itself along with punctuation and grammar so bare with me, I’ll get there! (im also still working on my continuous struggle with changing POVS accidentally. Im trying very hard to correct that)  I just really wanted to say this hear because im not 100% happy how this turned out. In saying that, FEEDBACK IS APPRECIATED! i will NEVER be offended by constructive criticism and i appreciate honestly. Anyway, Stay safe kids xox

Triggers: Mentions of depression and suicide. 

Word Count: 1199

//

(Your POV)

You’ve been best friends with David and Gabbie since the first day of high school. We were drawn to each other because we were all the funny/ nerdy type. Each one of us had braces, we were not at all popular, nor the target of bullying. We kind of just existed. But we existed together, with our matching senses of humor and strikingly similar interests.

The only difference between us then and now – is puberty. We’d all gotten our braces off, Gabbie and I grew all the right parts in all the right places and David, well David just got taller.

Oh. and Gabbie and David were internet famous.  

Gabbie was the first to move to LA, and we all supported her. It only made sense considering her YouTube channel and Vine account had blown up to such large extents. David and I were both incredibly proud. When David finally made the choice, he asked If you wanted to come along to live with him. You weren’t a YouTuber, or a Vine star, or anything. You chose not to jump on the vine train because sure you were confident and funny, you just didn’t enjoy the spotlight; One of the very few differences between you and your best friends. You decided instead to attend university in hopes of becoming a teacher one day. But that didn’t really work out…You had been working with some mental issues in the last few months. Nothing you’d ever told David or Gabbie about. They were living the dream, you wouldn’t dare to anything to compromise their happiness at this point in their lives.  

3 years later and you’re living in LA with your best friend and his roommates, Alex and Dom. Our apartment is a ten-minute drive to Gabbie’s and yeah, life is pretty good. I work at hooters with David’s friend Corina, - I know. Okay, I know. I’m not exceling in terms of my career but I’m getting there. I’m in TAFE studying my CERT 3 in WWC. First step to a future working with children. And David (being the amazing – and rich – best friend he is) pays most of my bills, for now.

//

Alex, Dom, Jason, Nik, Corina and David were currently all squashed together on the couch watching ‘The Terminator’ on the TV in the lounge. And you were in your room.  In bed.  Asleep.  At 7pm. David had walked in to offer you Chinese take-out about an hour ago, but you refused, you weren’t hungry.  Just like last night, and the night before. He frowned a little as he left your room and shut the door gently behind him.

A week goes by and it’s the same routine. You’ve had 5 ‘sick’ days off work in a row. You rarely eat dinner, or even get of bed to shower. You’re miserable. You feel as though you don’t even have a valid reason to be sad, you just are. You’re working in a dead-beat job watching your best friends become crazy successful, not to mention you owe thousands of dollars to the government for student loans. Life is just draining.

You continue to suffocate in this deep dark hole of despair for 2 more months before it completely consumes you. You quit your job, dropped out of school, stopped brushing your hair, eating, drinking, brushing your teeth. You stopped everything because you were ready to die.

Its taken a ridiculous amount of effort up to this point in time not to just step out in front of a moving car while you’re crossing the street, or take a few extra anti-depressants that you were prescribed 4 years ago, back home when you first began battling with this illness. These feelings of uselessness and hopelessness merely heightened your sickness, and made it stronger. Watching your closest friends glide through life while you’re constantly tripping and falling and tumbling just fueled the fire.

It was a Saturday afternoon. David, Gabbie and David’s girlfriend Liza were all Over at David’s other friend Heath and Zane’s apartment filming. While you had still to wake. It came to 4 o’clock in the afternoon and you had finally woken up from your 18-hour slumber, but you had yet to get out of bed. You just lay there, not even thinking, Just still.

Of course, until David knocks on your door. “Y/N” he called. “Can we talk?” You hesitated.

“yea” you mumbled, you didn’t bother to act happy anymore. That shipped had sailed months ago.

David walked over to you and sat down next to you on your bed as you slowly pull yourself up into a sitting position.

“I can’t keep ignoring this y/n” “I won’t”

At this point you can’t even feel ashamed. In this situation, a couple of months ago you would have been embarrassed, ashamed, sad, angry - anything. But the emotions just, weren’t there. In the absence of any sort of filter, you began to speak.

“Nothing means anything to me anymore. Not my job. Not my education.” “Not my life”

You’re staring at the empty space in front of you.

“I can’t tell you how hard it has been for me, in the past few months to keep living.” “It’s so hard. Living in your shadow. Watching you guys succeed and leave me behind. I feel worthless. I am worthless”

Your voice lacks emotion. Your face is blank. David’s is not.

“y/n, do you really feel that way?” You hear his voice shake. In the absence of his camera, his voice is a lot deeper. Deep and hearty enough to reach somebodies soul. But not mine. Mine is untouchable.

I didn’t respond.

“Why didn’t you tell me any of this?” “I’ve been worried about you sore awhile now but I didn’t know it was this serious. I could have helped, I – I still can” David was becoming restless his eyes darting around the room, contemplating, deciding, taking in the situation.

Your head dropped and you stare at your hands. Your heart is suddenly invaded with pure sadness, so much that it physically hurts. “I don’t think you can” you said quietly, your voice trembling and breaking as you spoke. Your eyes begin to well up with tears, almost as if all the pain and numbness has all projected itself into your eye sockets and you’re finally expressing all the depression built up over the years. It’s almost satisfying.

David immediately takes you in his arms and allows you to cry aggressively into his shoulder. Your crying becomes so intense and that you’re barely breathing and your throat becomes congested with hiccups and weasing, but this eventually dyes down to a silent sob.

Once you’ve let everything out, you just rest calmly with your head on David’s shoulder.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t come to you sooner. I’m sorry that iv been so distracted that I didn’t even realize my best friend was hurting” David says, barely above a whisper. “Look at me, Y/N” He gently cups my face and stares into my eyes. “We are going to get through this. We will seek help, and get you better. You understand?” “You’re my best friend, I can’t live without you”

[theygotmewhipped]

Skin - 8. Tattoo

Word Count: 4 765

“Do we really have to do this?” Kyungsoo came out of Chanyeol’s room in shorts, crop top and wig, wearing make-up.

“Yope.” I grinned. Jongin, Yixing, Junmyeon and Minseok entered the living room dressed in sexy and revealing clothing, and stood next to Kyungsoo in front of the rest of us. We started laughing out loud at them, enjoying the sight.

“Really funny, guys.” Minseok rolled his eyes annoyed.

“Thank god we won.” Sehun was laughing so much, his eyes were barely visible.

“Are you done?” Kyungsoo waited for us to stop laughing.

“Okay, okay.” I giggled. “But I gotta say, I’m actually kinda mad right now. Why does Junmyeon’s legs look better than mine in those dress? That’s unfair! And Jongin, how the hell do I get a waist like that?! Seriously, I’m never wearing a crop top again because of you.” How can boys look better wearing skirts and shit than most of the girls?! I’m offended.

“We do look quite good, don’t we?” Yixing posed for us with a smile.

“What are you talking about, Yumi? I haven’t seen anyone look better than you in a dress or a crop top.” Chanyeol said completely serious, receiving a shocked silence and stares from all of us.

“E-?” I stared at him with wide eyes and opened mouth. When Chanyeol noticed our surprise, he panicked and his face flushed red.

“Uh-ah-what I meant to say…um…was…eh…that-that you look better…cause, you know, they are guys and…you are not…and…” He stumbled on his words.

“Stop trying, dude. We all know what you really wanted to say.” Baekhyun tried to end his suffering with a bit of mocking, putting an arm around his back. Chanyeol just hung down his head in defeat.

“Let’s go celebrate!” Jongdae yelled and jumped up of the couch. Sweet god, please help me.

“I kinda feel sorry for you, guys.” I said as we sat in a bar. Our “spice girls” were receiving a lot of lustful and horny looks since we arrived and they sat hunched, trying to cover themselves as much as possible.

“No, you don’t.” Minseok replied, not believing me for a single second.

“Ah, you’re right. The taste of victory is was too sweet and you get to taste what it feels like to be a woman at least for one night so that’s another win for me.” I smugly shrugged with and stood up.

“Where are you going?” Chanyeol immediately turned at me, cutting of his conversation with Sehun.

“To get a drink.” I picked up my empty glass as a proof, knitting my eyebrows at his intrusiveness.

“I’ll go with you.” He immediately started to stand up like someone poked him in the butt.

“No need.” I frowned feeling like he was invading more than usual. “Moreover, the princesses here need someone to protect them from big bad wolves that are lurking around these woods, so you should totally stay and be their hero.” I suggested to him to let me go alone in an obscure way.

“But…” Even then, he tried to protest.

“I said stay!” I put it bluntly this time. He closed his mouth and sat back down. Thank God, I really need at least few minutes without them. For fucks sake, I’ve spent an entire day with these crazy mofos from another planet. Feels like an eternity. My life force has literally been drained from me. I don’t even know how I am still standing.

“Um, hi. Could you please give me vodka with orange juice? Oh, and make it double, please.” I addressed the bartender. I just need to drown the stress so I can survive.

“Coming up right.” The bartender turned to the bottles behind him.

“Must have been a tough day if such a pretty young lady is drinking alone at the bar.”  Some weird dude approached me. I ignored him and kept looking over the bar. I’m not in a mood for some douchy dumbass who thinks he’s charming. “Playing hard to get, huh?” He kept speaking. Yep, total asshole. “Hey, I’m talking to you!” He said angrily after I ignored him again. Can’t he take a hint? Seriously, dude, you ain’t getting none, fuck off. Why do men like this try to cure their inferiority complexes and blue balls by hitting on some girl at a bar and then getting angry if she’s not interested? Isn’t it more embarrassing then just letting go after the first sentence without response?

“Here’s your drink, miss.” The bartender handed me a glass and I gave him money.

“Thanks.” I took the glass and left.

“Bitch, are you just going to ignore me?!” He strolled after me. This guy seems to be especially persistent. Better get to the table before he tries anything. I picked up the pace a little. Who would have thought that those nine fools would become a safe space?

“What do you think you’re doing?” A deep cold voice was audible behind me. Chanyeol? I turned around with wide eyes. Chanyeol was tightly grabbing onto that asshole’s arm that was reaching in my direction, glaring daggers into him. I hadn’t even noticed he was about to touch me.  My breath became erratic.

“No-nothing, man.” The guy looked kinda baffled. “I didn’t know she was here with someone.” He tried to explain himself.

“Even if she wasn’t, that doesn’t give you a right to harass her.” Chanyeol was even more pissed off than the time I belittled and slandered his charity days at hospital. “Get lost! Now!” He let go of his arm and glared at him until he left. I stood there in astonishment not knowing what to do. “Seems like one princess needed saving after all.” Chanyeol smirked at me, his anger disappearing without a trace.

“I…Thank you.” I was still getting over what just happened.

All of sudden, all the others boys hurriedly approached us. This time even Chanyeol looked perplexed, not just me.

“Uhm, I think we should leave.” Junmyeon was in distress. Well, not just him, they all looked like someone was after them.

“Like, now!” Sehun said in urgency.

“Wha-why?” I asked.

“Long story short. Jongin punched someone near the restrooms so we better leave before anyone finds out.” Jongdae quickly explained. We looked at Jongin who just apologetically smiled and shrugged.

“Oh God.” I sighed and drank the whole glass at once.

“Damn, girl!” Baekhyun commented as everyone stared at me with wide eyes.

“Kay, let’s go!” Chanyeol ushered us out. We got out and ran down the street and around the corner.

“Ever loving Michelle Obama.” I was hyperventilating. “There is not a single minute of peace and quiet when you lunatics are around.” I can’t feel my lungs. Or maybe I feel them too much? Oh how I hate running.

“You’ll have all the peace and quiet you need when you’re dead.” Kyungsoo countered. “At least that’s what they told me.” He shrugged seemingly unaffected by the run.

“Heh?” I squinted at him through my heavy breaths.

“Let’s just go home. I think we’ve had enough for one day.” Jongin suggested.

“You think?” All of us said in unison staring at him in disbelief.

After we got home Kyungsoo and Minseok went to change.

“Aren’t you going to change as well?” Chanyeol asked Yixing, Junmyeon and Jongin.

“You know, it’s actually quite comfortable.” Junmyeon wiggled in the dress.

“Yeah, the amount of space down there is…liberating.” Yixing plopped down on the couch.

“Eww, at least close your legs, man. I don’t wanna look at your junk.” Baekhyun scrunched his nose on the other side of the sitting space.

“We all know you’re enjoying it so why the hell you lying?” I teased him.

“I sure would enjoy it if it was you sitting there.” He replied with a smug face. Junmyeon who was about to sit down next to him just smacked him across his head making me giggle.

“Sorry, but my shop has strict anti-losers policy, loser.” I smirked at him.

“At least we know why Chanyeol didn’t get in.” Sehun said not looking up from his phone. We all started chuckling like an idiots.

“What’s so funny?” Minseok entered the room now wearing sweatpants and a tank top.

“Well I’m done with you all today. Good night, losers.” I took my stuff and made an escape to my room.

I was about to get comfortable and finally relax when there was a knock on my door. “What?!” I opened the door, revealing Chanyeol carrying pillow and blanket in baggy shorts and white shirt with holes, giving me a sad puppy eyes. I let out a heavy sigh. “I’m not gonna like this, am I?”

“Can I please sleep in your room?”

“No.” I answered sternly.

“But…”

“No.”

“Yumi, let me explain…” He pleaded with me.

“No.”

“I kinda miscalculated.” He proceeded anyway.

“No.”

“And now there is only eight…”

“No.” I kept repeating myself while he was trying to explain the situation.

“…and I forgot to…”

“No.”

“…include myself.”

“No.”

“That’s why I need…”

“No.”

“…a place to sleep.”

“Ugh, fine.” I gave up. “But you sleep on the floor.”

“Thanks, Yumi. You’re a real life savior.” He brightly smiled at me and entered the room.

“Tell me something I don’t know. I should’ve just let you sleep on those cold kitchen floor tiles or something.” I closed the door behind him and climbed into my bed while he made his on the floor.

After watching few episodes of Punisher I checked up on Chanyeol. “Hey, Yeol.” I called out to him. No answer. “Are you asleep?” Still no response. Cool, I’m taking my leave then. I took my wallet and keys, then checked up on Chanyeol once again.

He looks like a cute giant baby when he’s sleeping and that peaceful silence. It’s an unbelievable sight to see him not spitting out words one after another longer than ten seconds for once. I kneeled down in front of his face.

Looks squishy. Must touch. My brain completely shut down letting my instincts take over. My hand moved with a mind of its own and poked his cheek. After receiving no reaction I reached out again and carefully put my fingers on his face softly caressing his cheek. I don’t know if it’s because he’s asleep or because I’m the one initiating the touch but I don’t feel the usual anxiety. It’s still burning a little but it’s not that bad. He’s so soft. I am barely touching him but still…

Suddenly he exhaled sharply through his nose. “Shit.” I pulled my arm back. Maybe he’s just dreaming since he doesn’t seem to be waking up. Nevertheless, what the heck was I just doing?! That was unbelievably stupid! Aaand the brain power is back on. Time to leave.

I left the apartment and entered the first opened pub I found.

“The strongest drink you’ve got, please.” I ordered. After today, it’s not gonna be enough anyway. I’m not sure if light drugs would be enough at this point.

“Are you sure, miss?” The bartender raised an eyebrow at me.

“Yep.” Dude, if you had to survive a day with nine guys with minds of ten years old, you would want some too. I know what I’m talking about.

“Can I see your ID, please?” You gotta be kidding me. I’m not twelve. I took out my ID and handed it over to him. He suspiciously checked it out for almost a whole minute then returned it like he never asked.

“I’ll have Bacardi, please.” Familiar voice next to me ordered.

“Did you follow me, you skank?” I turned to look at Chanyeol. Wasn’t he sleeping?

“Yeah, kinda. I heard you leave so I got worried since it’s middle of the night and I…” He admitted.

“Geez, okay, just shut up.” There goes my alone time. I already miss his sleeping self. Wait…Fuck. I hope he wasn’t up, when I touched him!! Shit, what am I gonna do if he knows?! I looked at him trying to hide my panic. Well, he’s not saying anything about it and doesn’t look flustered or confused. And he doesn’t seem to be deep in thoughts, although he never does. Geez, I’m so stupid. But he’s quiet so I guess my dignity remains without a harm.

After the bartender handed us our orders, we sat at the bar looking at our glasses like two losers.

“I have an idea.” Chanyeol lifted his head up looking like he just solved how to end the global warming.

“No.” I dismissed him immediately.

“You don’t even know what it is.” He complained.

“Knowing you, it’s definitely something that’s gonna make me regret ever leaving my bed. So no.” That’s the most probable outcome to anything that comes out of Chanyeol’s head.

“No, it’s not.” He was persuading me.

“Gosh, fine. What is it?” I rolled my eyes. He would go on and on until I would let him speak and I’m too tired for that right now.

“Why don’t we play ‘two truths one lie’ while we drink?” Chanyeol laid out his grand idea.

“No.” I replied as usual knowing all too well it would be bite me in the ass in the end if I went along with it.

“Why ‘no’?”

“Why yes? Why do you want to play?” I didn’t understand why he was so adamant about it.

“Cos I want to get to know you better.” He had an amiable smile plastered on his face.

“Why would you want that? There’s nothing interesting to know about me.” I didn’t want to accept his motives.

“Because we are friends. I want to know even the boring stuff although I doubt there is some.” He chuckled to himself.

“Even if you say so, you are still mistaken at one thing. You may consider me your friend but you are not mine.” I reminded him and coldly looked at him. He furrowed his brows and frowned for a second then smiled.

“If you say so.” Why the heck is he smiling? “Despite that, I still want to play.” I just told him he is basically no one to me and yet here he is smiling acting like nothing happened. What’s going on in his head?

“Fine, whatever, if it makes you happy I don’t care as long as I get to drink. Let’s go sit elsewhere though.” I stood up. Chanyeol took the glasses and followed me to one of the tables.

“Cheers to us!” He handed me a glass.

“Cheers I suppose.” We drank the content. “Bleh, what the…this is not my drink!” I exclaimed.

“Yeah…I know.” Chanyeol said with a twisted face. “Why did you order something so strong?”

“You exchanged them on purpose, didn’t you?” I regarded him with blank expression. Why am I not surprised?

“Yep.” He regretted drinking the stronger shot.

“Why?” I was displeased.

“Cos I didn’t want you to get drunk and then feel sick.” He gave me pleading eyes.

“First of all, I can handle my liquor and second, don’t be so overprotective over everything I do. Seriously, dude, I’m not made of sugar and you are not my mom.” I was serious.

“I can see that now.” He stood up. “If you excuse me, I’m gonna get myself some water.” What a baby.

“You know how to play, right?” He asked when he got back.

“It’s not quantum physics, of course, I do.” I rolled my eyes.

“Okay, okay. So who goes first?” He is way too excited to play this game for kids.

“I don’t really care, you can go first if you want to.” I laid my head on my hand nonchalantly staring at him.

“Alright. So…I have a sister. I can play piano. And I hate romantic movies.” He counted the statements on his fingers.

“The second one is a lie. You play guitar, not piano.” I answered without hesitation.

“Wrong. I actually play piano, guitar and drums. The third was a lie. I kinda like romantic movies.” I wasn’t paying much attention to the game nor was I planning to but he had me intrigued from the beginning. How does one even master so many instruments?

“I should have known that since you’re such a softie and all.” I looked down at the empty glass hiding my amazement. “I have a new rule, if you don’t mind.” I looked up at him.

“Okay?” He raised his eyebrows.

“Every time we get it wrong we drink a shot. What do you say? Something light of course so we won’t be fuck faced after two rounds.” I suggested. Mainly because I wanted to get drunk. But I kinda wanted to see if Chanyeol’s personality would change under the influence. Maybe his innocent act will finely fall off.

“Um, okay, sure, we can do that.” He agreed. I got us the drinks and immediately gulped one down.

“My turn. So, I have a sister as well.” Obvious truth, since he met her. “I work as a waitress. And I want to visit New York.” It’s actually kinda hard to think of a lie for it to sound like it’s the truth.

“The second is definitely a lie. You hate interacting with people way too much to work as a waitress.” He replied confidently and I grinned.

“Well, drink up, boy, cos you got it wrong. The New York one was a lie.” I smiled victoriously.

“Why don’t you want to visit New York?” He turned a glass down.

“Because it’s just an overhyped concrete jungle with too many people and nothing special. Who cares about copper lady and what used to be the tallest building.” I know it’s an unpopular opinion, but it’s what I think. I’d rather explore Amazon Forest than visit New York.

“Uhm, okay.” Chanyeol didn’t comment it further with an unreadable expression. Then he proceeded to play the game instead. “First, I haven’t had a relationship. When I have kids. I want them to be a boy and a girl in that order. And the last, I like broccoli.” He smirked at me, being sure I would get this wrong.

“Oh well, the second is oddly specific, but I think that’s a truth.” I studied Chanyeol’s face for clues. “There’s a lot of people who like broccoli, I wouldn’t be surprised if you did, but I’m pretty sure that you’ve been single your whole life, which leads us back to the small tree. The third is a lie.” I was convinced. Chanyeol just chuckled.

“I like your thinking but no. I really do like broccoli.” He amusedly smiled giving me a chance to correct myself.

“Then you don’t want to have kids in that order or not at all or what?” I just shoot at the possibilities of the second statement.

“No, that was the truth as well. The first was a lie.” He snorted, somewhat upset that I didn’t consider that option at all. I frowned.

“You’ve had a relationship? Like dating somebody? Really?” I couldn’t wrap my mind around it.

“Is it really that surprising?” Chanyeol snorted again.

“Well, yeah.” I emptied another glass.

“Am I so horrible for you to think that I never dated anyone?” He was frowning. Is he hurt by that idea?

“No, actually you’re what most of the girls would call boyfriend material or goals or some shit like that.” His frown disappeared after I said that. Instead a small smile appeared on his face. “I just don’t understand how haven’t you kissed or fucked anyone if you’ve been in a relationship.” I explained what led me to my conclusion.

“Relationships aren’t just about that. And at that time I didn’t feel ready, I didn’t needed it. I was happy just to hold her and have her by my side. Although, she apparently wasn’t since she was sleeping with some other guy behind my back. But that doesn’t change anything about the fact that physical contact isn’t the only thing that makes relationship a relationship.” Says a guy who literally looked for a cuddly buddy. …although it is true that he didn’t requested cuddling for quite some time now. …did he stop asking for them because he had found out about my fear? Or even before that? I have no idea how the timeline goes.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” I hung my head down. I can sympathize with him. One bad partner can mess up your whole life. Some may even never get over what’s been done to them.

“It’s alright. How could you, right?” He tried to brighten up a little.

“I think, we should flush it down with a drink.” I suggested. Let the alcohol wash away all the resurfacing memories.

“Kay, then it’s your turn.” He lifted a glass. We looked at each other smiling over the pain and drank the content of our glasses.

“Fine.” I took a while to think. “I used to have sugar gliders as pets. I hate you. I would sell my soul to meet with Ryan Reynolds.” I felt the alcohol finally kicking in.

“That’s easy.” Chanyeol smirked. “Second one is a lie. You don’t really hate me even though you say you do. A lot, and often.” He snickered.

“How did you know?” I didn’t expect him to get it right. I mean I do say that I hate him pretty often.

“I just know. Your actions speak for you even if you don’t realize it.” He was happily smiling.

“What are you talking about?” I raised an eyebrow at him. What actions? I’m not aware of anything I did that could let him think otherwise.

“Nothing, it’s my turn.” He dismissed it.

 “We really don-now anything about each otha, do we?” Chanyeol jumbled his words. After a few more rounds we were completely trashed, now trying to get home.

“Well, we know each other just a few weeks so it’s not that supr-rprising.” I got stuck on the last word.

“I saw Baekhyun naked after three days.” He said seriously.

“Now that, is not a surprise at all.” We laughed at that. “But! I did see you naked already as well.” I pointed out, trying to implicate that it has nothing to do with actually knowing each other. Chanyeol’s ears turned red, now matching his cheeks red from alcohol.

“Haha, yeah.” He was embarrassed.

Somehow we ended up in a park few blocks away. We sat down on the grass and looked in to the night. Everything seemed so peaceful without people rushing around. It was just us and the dark sky above us.

“Thank you.” I said out of nowhere. My mouth worked quicker than my brain could process.

“Huh? What for?” He looked at me for clarification.

“For being you.” I looked into his lost eyes. I think I’m gonna regret this tomorrow but I’m drunk and feeling weirdly content right now so let this be a new reason for anxiety of my future self instead of present.

“I must say I don’t understand right now.” He said completely serious looking like all the alcohol has drained from him for a moment.

“Thank you for being the way you are. For being so patient and considerate with me. I really appreciate it even though it might not look like it. And thank you for making me feel alive again after what feels like an eternity.” I expressed my feelings honestly. Maybe it’s the alcohol or the fact that I’m exhausted that I let this slip out of my mouth but I couldn’t careless at the moment. I wasn’t feeling on the edge for the first time in a while and everything just seemed so calm. This was where I was supposed to be at the moment and I wanted to savor it.

“My pleasure.” He sincerely smiled at me.

“Geez, I’m making this beautiful night so serious.” I fell back and lied down on the grass not wanting to continue this emotional skydiving.

“Can I ask you something?” He turned around leaning over me.

“Sure.” I shrugged.

“What made you like this? What happened to you that it makes you panic when you’re touched by someone?” He got a bit closer but still kept his distance. And there goes the peace of the night. My face froze in an angry expression.

“None of your business.” I growled. Chanyeol moved away from me with baffled expression and turn his face away from me.

“I shouldn’t have asked. My bad, I’m sorry.” His pained voice forced me to calm down making me realize that I lashed out at him for nothing.

“No, I’m sorry.” I sat back up. “I just really don’t want to think about that right now. They’re not exactly pleasant memories and it’s better to not bring them up.” I explained ashamed by my reaction.

“It’s okay. I understand. You don’t have to push yourself.” He smiled reassuringly.

“Thanks.” I gratefully smiled at him. All of a sudden a chill ran through me making me shiver. Chanyeol must have noticed because he took off his hoodie and handed it to me.

“Here, put this on. It’s quite cold outside.” I accepted his offer and reached for his hoodie.

“Huh?” I halted when I noticed a familiar picture on his arm. “Is that…? How did you…?” I stared at his arm mind blown. Is it real? How long does he have it and why haven’t I noticed till now?

“Oh, the tattoo?” He twisted his arm more so it would be more visible. “I really liked your drawing so I took it and had it tattooed. Looks awesome, doesn’t it?” He brightly smiled.

“Why would you do that?” I asked quietly, completely shocked. It was just a useless sketch inspired by his guitar. It wasn’t even completely finished. Just piece of trash that was supposed to end up in junkyard or be recycled into a toilette paper. Instead he made it into an eternal piece of art. On his body nevertheless.

“Because it spoke to me. When I saw the unique style in which you draw the guitar I just couldn’t help it. I wanted the feeling I had while looking at it to last forever.” He caressed the tattoo with a fond smile.

“I…I don’t know what to say.” It was so unexpected to see my drawing immortalized on someone’s body. I never imagined something like this to happen. I can’t say it didn’t make me happy though. Something I did, I created, was good enough for someone. My work held a meaning in someone else’s mind. I wonder when he took it though. I hadn’t even noticed him taking it home from the hospital.

“Just put on the hoodie before you freeze to death.” He warmly looked at me and changed the subject. I put on the hoodie and looked at the horizon above the buildings, thankful that he didn’t elaborate any further. I had mixed feelings about this whole situation.

“It’s already dawn?! Let’s go home before your friends wake up.” I stood up and brushed off my butt in a stupid attempt to escape this night that turned into an emotional turmoil.

“Minseok is probably already up.” Chanyeol said thinking looking at his watch.

“Wha-? I’m not even asking. He gives me creeps anyway.” I shook my head. Chanyeol just giggled. Who in their right mind wakes up so early in the morning? One day, there’ll be news on the TV about some crazy serial killer with some weird habits and carving initials into their victims and then there’ll be Minseok’s picture shown and I won’t even get shocked because who else than serial killer would wake up at this ungodly hour.

“Oh, and they are your friends as well now. There is no escaping us anymore. With me, you basically signed up for the whole squad.” He grinned. So I’m basically next body in the ditch somewhere, is that it? Either I kill myself because I won’t be able to handle their presence or I’ll be Minseok’s next victim. The end of the month was never this far away.

“You gotta be kidding me, right? Even having you around is too much for my poor soul of eighty year old granny.” I complained. I won’t survive for another week if Chanyeol makes me spend time with them again.

“No.” He happily skipped around me. “And when I win our bet, you’ll never get rid of us.” He laughed.

“Good thing that I’m winning then.” I scoffed.

First Chapter——–Previous Chapter——–Next Chapter

Bonus:

I just love this boy and his tattoos..

xx

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

DOTW 19 - Start...

Hanji wanted to throw a Welcome Home party for him, while Eren didn't want a party. They'd compromised, and now Eren was hiding out in his room, avoiding said party. Marco had already found him, his friend's stomach swollen into a small adorable bump, which his ear was against. Downstairs Levi was with Hanji and Moblit, after clinging to the presence of the alpha while copped up in hospital, his anxieties were now getting the better of him. He didn't know what to say, or do. It didn't matter that he'd missed Levi while he was with Zeke, nor did it matter that he'd ached for him during his heat. Even if it'd been 8 weeks, it felt like a lifetime had passed between them "Eren, you still awake?" Scratching his scalp lightly, Eren hummed up at Marco "Yeah. Barely though. I'm a terrible host. You're the one who's pregnant, yet I'm the one laying with my head in your lap" Marco laughed lightly. His friend didn't seem to care he'd disappeared completely, only that he was finally back. He'd spent the first hour or so, not knowing what to say. Then Marco had followed him up to his room, and made the first move. He'd assured him he didn't have to talk if he wasn't ready, for that he was grateful. Marco was so soft and sweet. He didn't want him to know "You've got a boot thing on your leg, and a cast on your arm. All I've got is a baby and indigestion" "You're going to be such a good mum. Do you know what it is?" "We decided to wait until they're born" "Awww. Either way, it's going to be adorable if it looks like you" "I just hope it doesn't have Jean's big head" Giggling, Eren had to agree with that. Something that big, just wasn't supposed to come out an opening that small. Babies in general were weird, but pregnancy was even weirder "It's still cool though. A tiny person is growing inside you" "One day, you'll have your own tiny person inside you" "I don't know about that. That means finding an alpha, and having sex and all that seems like effort" "What do you mean, finding an alpha? What about Levi?" Groaning, Eren rolled onto his side so he was facing away from Marco's stomach "That's complicated" "What's so complicated about it?" "I'm not in the headspace for anything. We got close... but I can't... I can barely stand being touched. I mean like, you're ok because you're an omega, but alphas... it's iffy" "You know, I don't think Jean would mind if you stayed with us" "No. This place is as good as any. It just feels weird being back" "Um... I know I said I wasn't going to push you to talk, but if you want to. I'll listen" "It's ok. It's nicer than the hospital" "Other than the stairs" "Yeah. I'm over them already. When we came home yesterday, Hanji sent me up to have a nap, then she called me down for dinner, then she sent me back to up to my room, then called me down again to see if I wanted to watch a movie with her and Moblit. 5 times up and down those stairs... it was definitely some kind of torture" "Jean's all paranoid about the baby. He won't let me do steps. I'm like 5 months. Steps are not the end of the world" "He just loves you" "He does. He's working a crazy amount of overtime so he can buy everything. I told him I didn't have to quit work, but he wants to take care of us" "You're lucky you have a good alpha" "I know I am. Do you know if Hanji's had any luck conceiving yet?" "I have no idea. Probably. I get the feeling that if she was, she wouldn't want to tell me" "Why not?" "She'd say she doesn't want me worrying or something" "I hope she does. Fall pregnant I mean" "Mmm. She'd be another good mum. The kid would be crazy, and Moblit would probably have a mental breakdown, but he'd love every second of it" Without really realising, Eren's right hand had moved to his stomach. His last heat had been rough. The need to breed, with Levi, and to be thoroughly bred into pregnancy physically hurt. He'd sobbed for the alpha, while Zeke was away for work. He'd nearly broken down the apartment door in his haze of need "I think you'd made a good mum too. Your kids would have such pretty eyes" "I don't know. I think I'd be scared for them to be an omega" "Things are changing for omegas" "Yeah, but that doesn't mean everyone is going to change. Sorry. I don't want to be a downer, not when this little ones growing so fast" Yawning, he closed his eyes "I think we could both use a nap. I don't even do things, and I'm still tired" "It should be ok, I mean, I should be ok if you want to nap up here" "You just want me in your bed and under the covers" "Can you blame me? You're nice and warm" And omega. And omega who wasn't going to hold him down, or try and bond with him. His omega was loving the contact of another person, something none of the alphas in his life could give. Moblit didn't even have to touch him for him to want to vomit, while Hanji left his stomach rolling because she kept forgetting about the "no touching" thing. He honestly didn't know how to make this situation work, when his nerves and anxieties, coupled with his retraining made the house feel so unwelcome. Even when it came to his room, he felt like he was invading and that he shouldn't be there "I need to pee again. Get comfy while I'm gone?" "I don't think I'd have the patience to pee every five minutes" "You should have seen the morning sickness then. It got so bad that Jean made a bed in the guest bathroom for me" "That's kind of..." "Gross and sweet at the same time?" "Yeah" "It was" Wriggling off Marco's lap, Eren waited until his friend was standing before crawling under the covers of his bed. He hadn't asked Hanji to invite Levi and Marco over, so as far as he was concerned, Hanji could deal with Levi. He and Marco both wanted to nap, so they would. He just hoped he wouldn't have a nightmare or wake up screaming, or even worse, hit Marco. He truly treasured his friendship with the omega, and even if it meant forcing himself not to think about everything he'd missed in his absence, he wanted to salvage it. He wanted to be there for Marco and his baby. Rubbing his swell as he walked across to Eren's bed, Marco smiled shyly as he climbed under the covers to join him "The baby was kicking again" "And I missed it?" "Sorry. They're super active, but seem to get all shy when someone's around" "So they're already taking after you" Teasing Marco gently, his friend took his hand and slipped it up under his shirt "Wait... there, can you feel it?" There was the faintest of movements beneath his fingertips, yet his heart swelled at the sensation. His omega piping up about how much it wanted a child. Part of him was still jealous it wasn't him who was pregnant, but the feeling of Marco's baby was amazing "Yeah... wow" "It's a little strange" "It's awesome" "Jean says he never feels it" "It's really faint. He was probably expecting a solid kick" "It's a solid kick inside me" "Mmm. I can't even imagine" Sliding his cast hand free, he rest it on Marco's hip. His friend starting to purr as he wrapped in one arm loosely around him "I really missed this. I missed hanging out with you" "I missed you too. I still haven't gone through all your texts, but I saw your ultrasounds" "It's ok. They're just mostly me talking at you. I haven't got that many friends, and being home alone gets lonely" "I promise I'll message back. I'm still trying to get through all the ones Levi sent" "Didn't Levi know you didn't have your phone?" "He did... he, um, he said he was looking for me, and he'd message me about his day" "You say you don't have an alpha, but I'm pretty sure if you told Levi you wanted to bond, he'd give you his mark in a heartbeat" He probably would... but the idea of being marked was scary as fuck. Having a permanent connection to one person for the rest of your life seemed an impossible dream "He's a good alpha. Hanji used to apologise for his bluntness and his crankiness, but he wasn't really like that with me. I don't know why" "Because you're cute?" "No, I'm all tall and thin" "And totally cute. Even with your moonboot and cast" Groaning, Eren buried his face in his pillow "I'm so over casts and boots and splints. Hanji said it has to stay on during the day until I've recovered completely" He had to take all sorts of pills too. Painkillers, mood stabilisers, antidepressants, anti nausea, vitamins. He was well and truly over taking tablets "How do you even shower?" "In a stupid chair. I wanted to have a bath last night, but that meant not getting the splint wet, or the cast and then that seemed like too much effort" "Doesn't it get wet in the shower?" "I take the splint and that off. And it doesn't get soaked like in a bath. Anyway. Tell more about the baby" "I've learnt that pregnancy makes you like super horny. Jean can't keep his hands off me" Wrinkling his nose, the omega shook his head "I said that baby. Not your sex life" "I'm just saying. All it takes is a whiff of Jean..." "Lalalala" Pinching him, Eren poked his tongue out "Fine. The baby is going great. Right on the track. Good vitals... good heartbeat. Tiny and perfect. We've been trying to decide on the nursery. I was thinking scandi-chic, but Jean was thinking more fun" "Scandi-chic has been done to death" "That's because it works" "It worked so well that everything looks the same. There's nothing really special about it. This little bean of yours is special" "They are. I don't know... there's just so many options" "Just avoid Jean's opinions and you'll be safe" "I can picture it now. A bright red wall for a newborn. It's not exactly calming" His voice shook slightly "Red isn't a great colour" Red was the colour of blood... red blood that didn't stop... "Eren?" His scent had shifted, betraying his miniblip of fear "Sorry. It's ok. Just, yeah. What about green? Or blue?" "Yeah, but do you know how many shades there are?" "We could, um, look at them together?" He didn't want to boss Marco into his ideas or ruin his dreams... "That would be so much help. I've been looking at everything on my own, well, when Jean isn't home to stop me and it feels like someone's split by head open, and everything is just melting out" "I don't think it works that way" "There's just so much! People used to raise babies in tents, and now they're like, each baby has to have its own room..." "Ok. Ok. I don't get it, but we'll take a look after our nap?" "Mmm. I have photos on my phone. I've like screen-shotted everything so I can show Jean" Resuming his purr, Eren's own omega began to purr back, feeding off of Marco's happiness and pheromones. Apparently it was common for omegas to feel maternal when around pregnant omegas, leaving him to hope he didn't just blurt out how jealous he was and ruin it all. Neither of them actually fell asleep. After a few minutes, Marco started giggling before he started tickling him. Unable to retaliate without the fear of smacking Marco's stomach, he pled for mercy until his friend finally stopped "Isn't it funny. I was so tired before, but now we're lying down, I can't get to sleep" Sighing softly, he patted Marco's hip "Grab your phone then, we'll start looking at baby things" "I thought you were sleepy" "I'm not promising I'll stay awake..." "Hey, my tastes aren't so boring that they'll put you to sleep" "I don't know, I haven't seen them yet" "You know, if they do put you to sleep, it's a good sign it's going to put the baby to sleep" "I give you permission to baby me if I fall asleep" Marco groaned, shaking his head as he fished out his phone "Don't even go there. Since my breasts started to develop, Jean won't leave them alone" "They're so tiny and cute" "I'll give you tiny.... and cute..." Tapping on his phone, Marco pulled up his latest ultrasound. Eren awwed over the small image "See" "Very tiny and very cute. I yield. Now, I want to see everything" Marco had what seemed to be thousands of screenshots, leaving Eren's head muddled. He could see why Marco was struggling, and understand why Jean couldn't catch up. His friend had so many ideas, and couldn't just settle on one. It was completely adorable. Marco's scent was so happy, his eyes bright as he talked a million miles a minute. Time slipped away from them completely, until a light knock interrupted Marco "Hey boys, sorry but Jean is out the front. He said he messaged?" Marco rolled over, beginning to climb from his bed "Thanks Hanji. We got caught up talking all things baby" "Did you two have a good time?" "Yeah. I'll see you soon, right Eren?" "Yep. If you get any more ideas, message me" "I might just message you anyway" "Sounds good. Hanji, make sure he gets down the stairs ok?" "You're not coming down? Moblit made cake" "He doesn't like the stairs" Turning back to look at him, Eren poked his tongue out at Marco "Dobber" "You started it" "I'm legitimately worried about you... and you're the one who said Jean won't let you do stairs alone" "I didn't think you'd use it against me" "It's all part of my evil plan" Marco rolled his eyes "I think that means he's staying in bed" "Yep. Thanks for coming over... I needed this. There hasn't been much to laugh about lately" His friend gave softened before brightening again "I know. Call me if you need me. Anytime" "I will" He wouldn't. He really wouldn't, but Marco looked so hopeful about it. * Levi'd expected Eren to be a little distant now that he was back at Hanji's, but he hadn't expected Eren to be in bed with his best friend. More than once he'd caught the sound of the pair of omegas giggling or laughing about something. Something that Eren had sorely needed after his recent stay in Shinganshima Memorial. Hanji had gushed over how cute the pair of them where, laying in bed together. He hadn't meant for his alpha to raise its jealous head. He was happy Eren had a friend he could trust... it just sucked it wasn't him. He'd thought with how close they're gotten, and with how Eren didn't want to be touched, that maybe he was special. The omega had let him hold him. Had let him comfort him and be there. Now Eren had Marco, he felt discarded. Eren didn't even want to come down for cake, despite the amount of effort Moblit had gone exerted to make the beast of a creation, and he didn't have an actual reason for wanting to go check on the brat, other than fact he was curious and jealous. Passing him two plates of cake, Levi frowned deeply at them "You've been glaring at it since I came back down. Just go talk to Eren already" "He's..." "Probably not sure what to say. He's in a good mood, so go see him already" Standing next to her husband, Hanji elbowed Moblit's side "Uh. What? Yeah" "You have no idea what just happened, do you?" Moblit snorted lightly "I never do. Why don't you take that up to Eren? You can use it as excuse to talk to him" Laughing, Hanji shoved a kiss to Moblit's cheek "That's what I was saying. You should really listen to what I say more often" "Yes, dear" The pair of them were so in love that it was disgusting. Placing his plate down, he looked at the slice for Eren. It was way too big. The omega wouldn't even be able to finish a third of it, then he'd probably feel guilty over not eating it all. They all knew Eren had bad eating habits, he didn't need a guilt trip over them on his second night back "Go on. Go talk to him already" "I'm going. God. You two are as bad as each other" Eren's door was open, Levi heart momentarily stopping in panic as the unwanted memories of their argument came back. He could see the omega laying in his bed, yet his alpha was still panicked. Eren had run once... what if he left them again? "Are you coming in, or staying out there?" Snorting at the brat's cheek, Levi walked into Eren's room "I have cake" "I can see..." Placing the plate down on the bedside table, he didn't know what to do with himself. Eren's room smelt more of Marco than Eren. The man's scent irritating his nose, and upsetting his alpha. His alpha wanted to protect Eren more than anything in the world, but with the scent of pregnant omega, it wanted to protect Marco too. Conflicted over it own confusion, Levi sighed to himself. He'd swapped suppressants again now that was back at work, so he was still waiting for them to stabilise everything "You can, um, sit. I don't mind" "You don't have to force yourself" "It's ok... having Marco helped my omega settle" Sitting on the edge of Eren's bed, he waited for Eren to pull himself into a sitting position before retrieving the piece of cake and passing it over "Holy shit..." "Yeah. Moblit got a bit carried away, but you don't have to finish it all" "I don't think I can stomach it..." Compared to everything Eren had been eating, the cake was probably was too rich for him to keep it down "Just try a small bit. It's better than hospital food" "Are you going to have some?" "This bit is all yours" "I don't want to eat on my own" "Just eat a little and I'll finish the rest" "Was he mad?" "Mad?" "Because I didn't go down" "Nah. He knows it's going to take some time getting used to be being back here" "Here isn't so bad... it's better than the hospital" "Then why were you hiding up here all night? Did I do something?" "You? No... Marco and I were talking about the baby. He and Jean decided not to find out if it's a boy or girl" If that was all, that didn't explain why they were laying in bed together, and not talking in the living room. If it wasn't him, then it must be Moblit "He looked happy" "He is. He's got so many plans for the nursery that he can't make his mind up" "As long as he doesn't listen to Jean, things should be alright" "I said the same thing... Jean made him quit his job, and Marco's always been so social..." "He's got you to talk to" "Mmm... I don't know how helpful I am though" "I'm sure you two can figure it out" Eren sounded excited about the baby, leaving Levi wondering if the omega wanted a child of his own. Eren would make a good mother. He'd been through so much shit, that he'd be a fierce protector of his pup "Do you want kids?" "I... uh, I don't know. When you have a baby, you're stuck with the father in their lives. If you leave your alpha, they're the one who gets custody... if I had a baby, I don't think I could give them up" He would never make Eren give up their child... no. They weren't a couple. He shouldn't be thinking of nice a well bred Eren would look, or how badly he wanted to be the one to sire his pups. Picking at the top of the cake, Eren sighed softly "Are you sure Moblit isn't mad at me?" "He's not mad. He just got a little carried away while baking" "It's not him. Can you let him know? I don't want to be scared of him, but the house is so big, and I don't feel like I belong here... and the stairs. I fucking hate stairs" "I'm glad it's not personal" "It's not. My nerves are just a bit messed up. Hanji makes me take all these pills. I don't like taking pills" "It won't be forever" "It just feels like it" Finally breaking off a small piece of cake, Eren popped the piece in his mouth, before pulling a face "That good?" "It's too sweet" Taking the plate back, his hand brushed Eren's. Eren letting go of the plate as he cringed from the contact "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you" "No. It took me by surprise. I was ok with Marco, so I should have been ok with you" "Eren" "No. It's stupid... I should be over this" Placing the plate down, Levi held his hands up as if surrendering "You're healing. You don't need to force yourself. We're happy you're here, even though it's not under the best circumstances" "You mean because I'm back only because Zeke died" "Yeah" Fuck. Just. Fuck "I think I want to go bed now" He'd stepped on the Zeke mine, now Eren was throwing up his walls, practically ruining all the work Marco had done to make Eren feel relaxed and happy to be back "Do you want me to stay?" "No. Can you take the cake too?" "Sure. If you need anything, message me" "Yeah. Sure" Taking Eren's slice of cake back downstairs with him, Levi dragged his feet. He'd heard the start of Eren's purring before he'd even reached the doorway. The omega becoming distressed all over again, thanks to him. Joining Hanji and Moblit in the kitchen, Hanji sagged at the sight of the mostly intact piece of cake "He didn't want it?" "No, it wasn't that. After hospital food, it was a bit too much" Moblit sighed softly. He knew this was an attempt at making sure Eren felt welcome "Oh..." "We talked. You haven't done anything wrong. He's just readjusting to being here, and not loving the stairs, or the boot. Marco was a good idea. He was pretty happy to see him again" "I didn't even think. I should have made something lighter..." "Moblit. It's not you, and it's never been you or Hanji or even me. It's whatever was done to him in the past, and his brother was murdered in front of him by seems of it. It's shit. He's been sent back to step one and he's scared and lonely all over again" "Has he said anything about Zeke?" Levi shook his head "I accidentally went there, and he kicked me out" "I've booked him an appointment with his counsellor... do you think he'll be ok with that?" "As long as you ask him, and you're there waiting for him. Last time he was there he had a pretty big panic attack when he came out" "Do you want to take him?" "When is it?" "Friday afternoon" "I've got work. I'm still on probation" Hanji nodded "Then I'll take him, I thought maybe if you did, it wouldn't be so bad for him. I've sent through a fax to Thomas, outlining what we think happened, and Zeke's death. Also the needle thing. I don't want to believe he used, and his blood results didn't show any illicit drugs in his system, but his prints were the only one on the needle" Hanji had been "harassing" the police since they'd visited Eren. She was trying to get Zeke's body released, but as the case was "active", it may be some time before that happened. Even though he hated Zeke, he knew Eren would want to see him again, or at least know what happened to him "That sounds like a fun conversation. You spent a week next to your murdered brother, oh, and why was there a needle in your arm? Was it part of your psychopathic brother's training?" His tone dripped with annoyance. It should be up to Eren what he chose to disclose and when, and more importantly to who "You don't need to word it like that" "It doesn't make it any less true. Eren's gone to bed, so I'm going to go. If something goes wrong, let me know" "Oh... ok... now he's home, I suppose you'll be around more often" "That's up to Eren. Just go easy on him over the boot and the stairs. He already thinks he's still in trouble over returning to Zeke" "The boot's for his own good, and it's not like we change the stairs" "I'm just saying, give him space. Don't make a fuss over anything, even if it's complete shit" "It's easy for you to say that. He seems to trust you more than he trusts us" "That's not true. He can't control his phobias or fears" "I saw how you were with him at the hospital" "And now that he's home, he won't let me near him. He was fine with Marco, because Marco is an omega. If you're so worried about upsetting him by, you're only going to push him away further" Since when was he the one who seemed to understand this relationship shit. He didn't get people. He didn't get day after day in a happy relationship. He had no idea where any of this was coming from, but when it came to Eren, it just seemed to come semi-naturally. * Living at Hanji's felt completely off. Zeke had taken special care to show him everything he'd done wrong. His brother had told him what was wrong with him, and now... he felt like he had no right to be moving around her and Moblit's house when they weren't there. It was strange. He'd... he'd missed them all so much. He missed seeing everyone... well, talking with Levi mostly. He'd struggled so hard to accept that he'd never see Levi again. That whatever they'd had, was now over. Zeke had gotten so mad when he'd mentioned Levi, his brother had thrown him in his room before he could even realise what he'd done wrong. He should have been happy to be back with Zeke, but he just... he wasn't. His brother had changed while they'd been apart. His words hurt just as much as when he'd hit him. He always apologised for losing his temper, but Zeke had started to scare him. Some days he'd be in such a bad mood, Eren would hide under his bed from him... until Zeke would drag him out and force him to talk. All he wanted was to be good, so his brother would love him. He didn't understand how he'd changed so much. How he'd become such a bad omega who needed to be retrained so thoroughly. He'd had two heats while back with his brother. His first heat was more or less normal for him. He could still function, but he'd slipped up. He'd thought of when he'd had sex with Levi, and how Hanji said that it was natural for omegas to touch themselves. He'd tried... he'd barely wrapped his hand around his aching erection when Zeke walked in. His brother livid at the action... slapping him so hard he tasted blood, before telling him it was dirty and wrong, before making him shower under the painfully cold water. He hadn't meant to be wrong. Zeke had taken care of him after that. He'd got him fresh pyjamas and underwear, before tucking him up in bed and apologising. Zeke always apologised. He only hit him because he cared. He loved Zeke. Zeke was the only family he had... but now Zeke was gone and he didn't know what to do anymore. Hanji and Moblit were both at work, and if things were how they'd used to be, he would have cleaned through the house by now. But that was wrong. That was invading their privacy. He didn't pay rent. He didn't pay for food, so he didn't deserve to eat any of it. He couldn't even pay them back for his latest stint in hospital. Or for all the medication he had to take. Levi had said they were happy he was back... but... he wasn't getting better. He still didn't want to be touched. He couldn't stay in the same room as Moblit for very long, and Hanji kept giving him looks of pity. So he spent his days in his room. Sometimes he'd talk to Marco, or Levi. But only if they messaged him first. He didn't want to disturb them. He didn't want to be a burden. Both of them were busy with their own lives, while he was simple just wasting oxygen. He'd thought about doing something about it... he really thought about it... but he was too scared it would hurt. He didn't want to hurt anymore. Everyday hurt. He missed Zeke, and he hated him for leaving him behind again. He was so fucking angry with his brother for dying. For making him someone else's problem and for the fact that no one would even talk about Zeke. He knew that was his fault. He always got so worked up when things some how turned towards him. Everyone wanted him to tell them what happened, even Thomas had tried asking... but he wasn't ready. He didn't want to see the blood anymore. He couldn't even remember Zeke's smile or scent... just the blood and the gurgling sound as it bubbled from his mouth. He felt like he was drowning and he didn't know how to pull himself out. It was surprising how much time had passed like that. He'd already been out of hospital for three weeks. He'd seen Marco twice in that time, and only seen Levi that once. He knew Levi would be there for him, if he reached out his hand, Levi would take it. But everyone he'd reached out to was dead. His mother... she'd protected him... so had Zeke and because he was so stupid and useless they were both gone. If Levi died... he couldn't live with it. The man might be short and cranky, and have really weird taste when it came to music... but so many people loved him. Hell, he saved people's lives. All Eren had ever done was let them die. He wanted to be strong. He wanted to be better so his brother would love and rely on him more... then he'd gone and failed him. It left him physically sick. Hanji didn't know it, but when he was alone, he threw up. His fears would get so bad. His stomach knotting and rolling as he wondered if she or Moblit would really come home. Sometimes the nausea lasted for hours, and some times he felt ok after he puked. The medication was supposed to help with it, but he supposed it didn't really work when you were as useless as he was. Medication never worked properly for him anyway. Thomas had asked him why he wasn't on suppressants, then looked at him like he was a freak when he explained they sent him into heat. It wasn't that he didn't like Thomas... he just felt sure that the man didn't like him. He didn't even know if Moblit liked him anymore. He hadn't been able to eat the cake he'd made... or much of his cooking. Moblit always looked so stressed and tired, and if he was putting a strain on him, wasn't it better they just got rid of him? There weren't enough hours in the day to fix his kind of fucked up... so why was he even around? Why did they bother to save him? * Parking in front of Hanji's, Levi climbed from his car. Both Hanji and Moblit were working, which meant Eren was home alone and after weeks of shitty split shifts, he'd finally got a rare day off, which he hoped to spend with Eren. He'd talked a little with Eren, and knew the omega wasn't handling things well. Hanji and Moblit had both said he spent most of his time in his room, so Levi hoped today's outing would perk the kid up. Normally he'd never set foot in a shitty filthy zoo. All the animals and people and shit. That was a nope. But Marco had messaged him, reaching out on Facebook to ask if he'd be up for joining him and Jean at the zoo. He wanted to invite Eren, but was scared his friend might have a panic attack from the crowds, or from Jean opening his mouth without thinking. They were going to meet up at 10, so he had just over an hour to get Eren up and dressed, before the drive. Shinganshima zoo wasn't a very big place, but like the aquarium on the opposite side of town, it conducted a lot of research, with a specialisation in breeding and trying to bring back species from the brink of extinction. Locking his Range Rover, he jogged up the path and to the front door, pressing he doorbell, before straightening out his clothes. He might have put some effort into looking good for Eren. The light grey shirt he wore hugged his chest nicely, while he'd coupled it with black jeans. Attempting causal without being a slob. When Eren didn't answer, he pressed the doorbell again, remembering how much the omega hated stairs. Giving Eren a few more minutes, he sighed to himself as he fished his keys back out, letting himself into Hanji's house "Hello? Eren?!" Closing the door behind him, he already knew Eren wouldn't be downstairs. Which meant heading up to his room. Taking the stairs two at a time, his heart dropped at the sight of Eren's open door. With how quite it was, his first thought was that Eren had run "Eren?!" "Coming!" Relief washed over him. Doubly so when the guest bathroom door opened, only for it to be snuffed out all over again when he was how distressed Eren was. Not caring about the fact Eren didn't want to be touched, the strode over to the brat and wrapped his arms around him "Hey... what happened?" Shaking his head sadly, Eren buried his face against his shirt "I don't know what to do" "Alright. Can you walk? Just to your room?" Sniffling Eren let himself be led back to his room, where he sank down onto his bed. Squatting down in front of him, Levi reached up and brushed his fringe from his face "Bad day?" "Y-yeah... s-sorry" "Wanna tell me about it?" "I... don't want to upset her" Her had to be Hanji "If it's got you this upset, I'm sure she won't mind you telling me" "I... they're going to get rid of me" "That's not happening anytime soon. She's crazy about you" "There... there was a positive test in the bathroom..." Positive test... oh... Hanji was pregnant... "I can't stay here now" "Hey, you know pregnancy isn't an instant thing. There's still months, and your room isn't the only room" "I... I don't want to stay here" Hiccuping out his words, Eren wiped at his face "Did something happen?" "I don't feel right being here..." Leaning forward, he swapped to kneeling so he could wrap his arms back around Eren "If they didn't want you here, you wouldn't be here" "It's all my fault" "It's not your fault. You haven't done anything wrong. Unless you're the one who got Hanji pregnant" "N-no... they have really loud sex... I... don't want to hear it... anymore" That's enough to scare anyone. They didn't know if anything like that had been done to Eren. They'd all suppressed the fact the omega had tested positive for syphilis, though he been treated and Levi hadn't even been told until Hanji accidentally let it slip when she'd explained the results from the syringe in Eren's arm had come back as free from prints other than his own "You've got your music right?" "Mmm... but... I can't stay here. I don't belong here. I don't belong anywhere" "Can I ask you a question?" "Y-yeah" "Have you felt like that ever since you came back here?" Eren paused, his voice filled with guilt as he replied "Yes. Hanji and Moblit try so hard... but I'm not getting better fast enough. Zeke showed me how wrong I was. How wrong I was for.. for touching their things and cleaning the house. He... he told me how wrong I was" Of course it came back to Zeke. Even dead, the arsehole still had a firm hold on Eren's mind. If Eren felt unloved and unwanted, and that his presence in the house was wrong, he was never going to make any kind of improvements. He already knew Eren was scared of sex, so hearing Hanji and Moblit boning didn't help either "You're not wrong. I'm..." Shit. He didn't know how else to fucking phrase this "I'm not saying Zeke was wrong, but everyone in the world is different. We all have different thoughts and ideas and different ways we get through life. What Zeke taught you, that was his way. It's different to how Moblit and Hanji live. I'm not saying it's wrong, only that it's different" "I don't know what's right anymore" "Eren, do you remember the offer I made you? I told you if you felt like this wasn't working, you can come live with me, or Erwin, or one of our friends" "I don't want to burden anyone else" "You are not a burden. Besides, I two spare rooms, and a cat that spends most of his time alone" "But you're an alpha" "And your an omega" "I have messed up heats... I don't want to upset you" "Eren, we don't have to spend your heats together..." Even if he really wanted to "... I can stay with Erwin, or you can come back here. The most important thing to all of us is that you're safe. I'm not saying you have to say yes right now, but think about it?" Eren nodded, still wiping at his tears "Why did you come over?" "Shit. Right. I totally forgot. We have a date" "We what?" "You, me, Jean and Marco" "Did I forget something again?" "No. Marco asked if I wanted to join them at the zoo. He wanted to ask you, but you'd need a lift so I'm just the driver. No pressure" "No pressure?" "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable, but I thought the zoo would make a nice change. You really liked the aquarium" "Marco wanted me to come?" "Yeah. He messaged me and asked when my next day off was. He also thought you might like another friend who wasn't Jean to hang out with" "Jean has a big mouth... I'm going to slow everyone down" "Why?" "The stupid boot" "The boot isn't invited" "But Hanji..." "Hanji isn't here and you've been cooped up enough. Besides, Marco is pregnant. We'll probably be taking things pretty easy" "No boot... promise?" "Yeah. Also, you have the best paramedic in the whole city with you" Eren snorted out a small laugh "You did save him before... I've... I don't know what to do. I've never been to the zoo before" "You'd never been to the aquarium either, but you still had fun" "I don't have much money either" "That's fine. Consider this an apology" "Apology for what?" "I don't know yet, but I'm likely to do something in the future I'll need to apologise for" "I don't know... you're really nice" "Not always. Just ask Titan" "I don't know what to wear" Eren seems to "not know" much more than Levi remembered him not knowing. The omega was a wreck of sour scent and insecurities. He'd known something was off, but Eren hadn't asked for his help. He should have found a way to swing by sooner "Have you showered today?" "That's what I was doing" "Ok. So what's wrong with what you've got on?" "They're my pyjamas" "I won't tell, if you don't" "I'm not wearing my pyjamas. I want to look okish" "For who?" "What do you mean "for who"?" "Who do you want to look good for?" "Me?" "I was going to say I don't think Marco would care if you showed in your pyjamas, and I wouldn't either. But this is something you want for yourself and you need to do more of that self care shit. Why don't you choose something, and I'll wait by the stairs" "Ok... I need to find my wallet and phone too... it's somewhere in here. I threw it somewhere last night" "It's probably flat them" Eren's lip trembled, despite the fact he was trying to pull himself back together "It's fine. You can use mine for photos" "But... what if you want to use it?" "It's my day off. No ones going to be stupid enough to try and talk to me" "What if there's an emergency?" "Then you'll pass it back to me, right?" "You won't be mad?" "No Eren, I'm not going to be mad. I know you like learning new things" Eren's small smile fell away "Zeke said I learned all the wrong things" "We just had this conversation brat. There's a difference between different and wrong. And everyone's interpretation of them. Ok. You didn't learn things that we consider wrong. Now go pick out some clothes" Eren emerged from his room wearing jeans and an oversized hoodie. It wasn't really hoodie weather, but Levi could see a shirt peaking out from under the hoodie. With a tiny, shy smile, he had Levi's heart racing for all the right reasons. The kid had pulled himself together, and now he was facing the world that he was so scared of. Taking each step slowly, Eren looked to him as if he was proud to be doing something as simple as walking down the stairs. At least if the kid moved in with him, he wouldn't have to worry about the stairs anymore. He'd never really thought about sharing his personal space with anyone, yet he had the feeling that if it was Eren, everything would work out in the end. The omega wouldn't be left alone for hours on his own, Titan would make sure of that. And being in the city, there was always noise and movement, not like out in the suburbs. It would also be closer to the hospital, and to Eren's therapist... they could work to getting him to the point where he could attend his session alone. As for money, it wasn't like Levi couldn't afford to take Eren in. He'd grown up having nothing after his mother died, and had worked hard to get where he was, saving every cent from the shit jobs that got him through high school, then by some miracle, he'd found himself living with Erwin and getting into medical school. It wasn't until his estranged uncle passed that he finally had proper money to get himself set up. Once his probation passed, it would be like it never happened. His job stable enough that he didn't need to worry about finding another... or it would be, provided he didn't punch anyone else. If Eren came to live with him, then all the omega would have to worry about is cleaning up after himself and working out what he wanted in his own life. Levi could and would support him any way that was possible... though it might be his own arrogance showing, but he would be happy with that kind of life "Uh, Levi? Are you ok?" Blinking back to reality, he realised he'd spaced out while watching Eren. The omega blushing slightly as he stared back "Sorry. I was day dreaming" "Do I want to know what it was about?" "Titan" "You were staring at me, while thinking of your cat" "Yep. Let's go, before he finds out" "He's a cat and he's at your place. How is supposed to find out?" "It's a cat owner thing. They know everything, and they see everything. They don't even need to be near you to be mad at you. In all honesty, you never really own a cat. It owns you. Your house. Your furniture. The soul of your first born child..." "Cats sound funny" "They are. You should have seen Titan as a kitten. Everything was too much effort for him, that and his arse was too heavy. He couldn't even climb onto the sofa because that was too much effort" "Shit. That would have been adorable" "It was. Until he finally got big enough to climb. After that, no toes were safe" "What about now?" "He's mellowed in his old age. He much prefers curling up next to you while you sleep, or stretching out and making it impossible to move" "I've never had a pet before" "Titan would love to have the company" "You said "no pressure"" "I know. I'm just saying. Anyway, in order to leave, we actually have to go" "Like outside the door?" "Yep" "God. The effort..." Walking over to the front door, Levi opened it for Eren. Eren giving him an exaggerated sigh before limping towards it "Does your ankle hurt?" "No, it's just stiff from that stupid boot. It'll loosen up" "If it starts to hurt, let me know" "Yes, Mr Doctor Levi, sir" "Sir? That's a new one, brat" Eren shrugged, heading out the door in front of him. Sir... he wasn't one for pets names, but something ran through him at the sound it it. Sir. Maybe it was Eren's answer to brat? * Sitting in Levi's car, Eren wasn't sure about the zoo thing. He was happy to see Marco, but wasn't thrilled about seeing Jean. Even if Jean didn't mean any harm, he always just spat out whatever he was thinking. When he woke up that morning, he'd never thought he'd be going to the zoo, or having a breakdown in Levi's arms. He was just grateful the he'd showered after vomiting. He was happy and excited for Hanji, she and Moblit had wanted babies for so long. But he didn't know if he could handle being around a hormonal Hanji, or a baby. He didn't know what set off his anxieties, and often he'd snap over nothing, at himself. He didn't want anything happening near the baby. Letting his eyes wander over Levi's dashboard, his attention was caught by the gold chain looping down from around the rearview mirror, a small gold turtle pendant swaying with movement of the car. That hadn't been there the last time he'd been in the car... and it was so pretty, and something Levi wouldn't have bought for himself. His heart dropped a little. If Levi hadn't bought it for himself, then someone had gifted it to him. Someone important enough that Levi had it hanging in his car, where it was a constant reminder of that person "Brat? You ok?" "Yeah. Um... how much further?" "We're nearly there. It's not a huge place, but I think you'll like it" "Have you been before?" "Nope. This one's new to me too" He was right. Zoo's weren't really Levi's thing. Was Levi really ok with going to the zoo? Staring down at his lap, he mumbled at his hands "We don't have to go if you don't want to" "I didn't say I didn't want to go" "But there must be a reason you haven't" "Because I had no one I wanted to go with before" "You have Hanji and Moblit" "Can you imagine trying to go to the zoo with Hanji? It would be a nightmare. She'd probably just get us kicked out, or get herself lost" "Then why go with me? And Jean and Marco?" "Because you're not annoying, like Hanji. And before you say you are, you're not" "But... you don't know Jean and Marco" "No, not really. I know Jean is an enormous arse, and that Marco is your best friend. They're important to you" "That's to me, not to you" Levi sighed, the man drumming his fingers on the steering wheel as they came to a stop at red light "Look. What do you want me to say?" "I want to know why you'd do this. For someone like me. You just don't seem like the kind of person who'd want to go to a zoo willingly" "You really don't know?" What was he supposed to know? He felt like he didn't know much of anything anymore, not that he really had "No?" "You're important, ok. Just like Marco is important to you, you're important to me. Now I sound like a shitty idiot. I'd planned to take you at some point, Marco just got in sooner than I did" "You wanted to take me?" "Yeah. I saw how happy the aquarium made you" "But you don't like zoos" "I thought you would like it" "But you don't" Levi sighed again "Eren, I wanted to bring you out here. I wanted, want to do things with you" "Don't you get mad at me for not knowing anything?" "No, I don't. It's honestly refreshing, spending time with you that is. Now, do you have any more questions?" "No..." "You're not going to ask about the necklace? You keep staring at it" Sprung. He hadn't meant to be so fucking obvious "It's just pretty" "Do you want to know why it's hanging there?" Yes! No. Maybe. He did, but he didn't want to hear Levi had found someone special "You don't have to tell me" "I bought it for you. When we were at the aquarium. You were so excited over the turtles, and the stone reminds me of your eyes. I was going to give it to you at some point, but then you left... and I kept it up there. To remind me of you" "What do I say to that?" "You don't have to say anything" "I didn't think... that I meant that much to you... " That didn't quite sound how he'd wanted it to sound, so rushed to add "That you'd hang a necklace up and all" "Brat. You're really fucking dense sometimes. You know I care about you" "Um... I'm sorry. I... uh, didn't mean it how it sounded" So he was important to Levi! And the alpha actually cared about him. The necklace wasn't something he'd choose for himself, but he felt stupidly happy knowing Levi had chosen it just for him, and it wasn't a gift to the alpha "Give me a minute, you can put it once we reach the zoo" "You still want me to have it?" "I bought it for you, so yes. If you don't like it, you don't have to put it on" "No. No. I like it. Thank you" He'd been so down this morning, now it felt like he was in some kind of dream. Maybe he'd lost his mind? Pulling into the zoos carpark, Levi managed to find a spot near Jean's car. His friends were making out as if they weren't in public. Blushing, he looked away from the sight "I bet they don't even realise we're here" "Probably not... come here" Taking the necklace down from around the mirror, Levi undid the clip and waited for him to lean in. Placing the necklace around his neck, Eren's heart raced at the close and intimate touch across his nape. Whining softly, he wanted to throw himself into Levi's hold, but it was over way too soon. Pulling his hand back, Levi took the small pendant into his hold "It suits you, but it's only plated, so you'll want to take it off when you shower" "Ok, thank you" He sounded out of breath. Snorting lightly, Levi pulled back completely, the moment over between them. Leaving Eren slightly disappointed Levi hadn't kissed him "Oh, Marco's noticed us" "I suppose we should probably get out of the car then" Jean and Marco were still straightening themselves out as Eren climbed from Levi's Range Rover, ending up with him seeing more of Jean than he'd wanted to. Rushing to the back of Levi's car, he shook himself off, feeling like the image of the alpha's spent junk was going to haunt him forever "You ok, you look a little pale" "I just saw Jean's dick... it... was gross" Levi laughed openly, reaching out and pulling him into a hug "Who would have thought shy little Marco had it in him?" "Of course he's had it in him, he's pregnant" "Fuck, brat. I've missed your sarcasm" "I've been traumatised" "They're your friends" Pulling away from Levi, he really wished the alpha hadn't hugged him. Knowing Jean and Marco were sexual deviants was one thing, but he didn't want to see it... now Jean and Marco were going to smell like sex. Couldn't they have got it out there system before they'd gotten to zoo? Or even once they got inside. Somewhere where he didn't have to see it! "Not when they're... can we just go? They can catch up" "Are you ok?" "It's nothing" "Eren" "It's nothing ok. Let's just go"