The Ereri Project (#2)

Tissues (Blind)

"ACHOO!" Eren sneezes again, into a tissue Levi actually managed to hand to him in time.

Eren groans at all the pressure in his head and drops the tissue over the side of his bed, hoping it lands in the trash can Levi brought in for him.

Levi sighs and runs his fingers through Eren's sweaty bangs. "No," Eren mutters, in his incredibly nasal voice. "Don't touch me, what if I have Ebola."

Levi rolls his eyes. "Shut the actual fuck up, you do not have Ebola."

"But what if I do?"

"Then I'll get sick and die with you, deal with it."

Eren frowns, curling up in his blankets. "Thank you for bringing your electric blanket over, by the way," he says.

"Mikasa said you wouldn't stop shivering so I figured you'd need it more than me."

Eren coughs into his pillow, Levi makes a face. "We're getting you new bedding when you're healthy again," he says.

"But I love this pillow."

"Then we'll get you a new one." Levi crosses his legs pretzel-style and picks his book back up. "Now where did I leave off?"

"Marianne and the narrator were at the beach with the dog."

Levi thumbs back through for the right page and starts reading again.

By the time the narrator realizes Marianne isn't coming back out of the ocean, Eren is crying. "What's the matter?" Levi asks, handing him a tissue.

"She left him all by himself," Eren says, wiping his eyes. "And her story from before; he died and she nearly froze to death and her baby died and–"

"Shh," Levi coos, petting his hair. Eren blows his nose. "It's just a story."

"Just a story?" Eren asks. "I'm completely emotionally invested here and you wanna tell me it's just a story? Blasphemy."

Levi smiles softly, shaking his head. "Will you let me finish reading to you?"

Eren sniffles and nods for Levi to continue. He's crying again as Levi reads the last page. "He did love her!" Eren whines, blowing his nose again.

"You knew that," Levi says.

"But he wasn't clear about it until the end."

Levi puts the book down and hugs Eren. "Did you like it, at least?"

Eren nods. "Can you read it to me again?"

"It's kind of long."

"Just the stories Marianne tells then?"

Levi picks the books back up. "Alright. Just the four stories or the nun parts too?"

"The nun parts too."

Levi starts reading again and Eren gets so comfortable he falls asleep leaning on Levi.