Crack of Sunlight (Ereri/Riren)

*~Chapter Twenty Seven~*

Levi pulled his knees up and crossed them at the ankles, saying, "Y'know, one day I might have the right mind to start paying you back."

"You don't owe me a thing, Levi. Just sitting here with me is enough."

"Then I think it's fair I tell you that the night you texted me and said we needed to talk, I hadn't planned on making it to sunrise." Eren stiffened, his back straightening and his eyes widening in shock. "If you had been...maybe fifteen minutes later...I wouldn't be sitting here with you right now." His grip on the blanket tightened. "Even if I don't make it through this, I owe you my life at the very least."

As the words sunk in, Eren couldn't help but reach out and cover one of Levi's hands with his. "You still could've done it," he said quietly. "You didn't have to meet me. But you
did."

"Still. If you hadn't..."

"That's what I'm saying. It's what I mean about the fight in you. You have it. If given a reason, you can fight. And you can win. Maybe that night I just happened to give you a reason, but that-"

"You were the reason," Levi cut in. "And hell, do I hate all that cheesy, sentimental bullshit, but you still are."

"What about Alex?"

"Tch, she doesn't need me."

Eren's fingers tightened. "That's where you're wrong. She does."

"Hn, for what? And how would you know?"

"You're her brother, Levi. Her family. She needs her family."

"She has Reiner's family."

"You grew up with her, though. You knew who she was before she met him. You have memories with her, right? And she has memories with you...and things that no one else would understand. If you were gone, she would lose all of that. It may not seem like it, but she loves you."

Levi's jaw stiffened. He stared out across the field, the swaying grass lit only by the overhanging moon. "Again, how would you know?"

"For one, I have a sibling of my own. And Alex was over the other night while you were asleep. She told me. You...you should've seen the look on her face when she saw you. I don't think I've ever seen anyone look so devastated and guilty before."

Levi shut his eyes tightly. A memory resurfaced: Alex at her bubbly age of seventeen, feminine features twisted into a mask of anger directed at their pregnant mother. He still remembered the tremor of her voice as she lashed out at her and the way the anger in her eyes ignited like fire.

"You're going to brush this off, just like that?! What kind of mother are you?!"

"There's nothing I can do about it, Alex. The little brat was probably asking for it, anyway. We'll just keep him away from there from now on."

Alex's palm came down on the wall, causing the house to shake. "There's plenty you can do about this! Take it to the police! Take him to the doctor and make sure she didn't do any permanent damage! Ask him if he's okay!"

"Dammit Alexandria, you are testing my nerves right now! You know damn well that we can't get the authorities involved and that we don't have insurance to pay for a doctor. Besides, he needs to man the fuck up anyway."

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" she spat. From his spot of observation on the couch, curled up, Levi half expected his sister to strike his mother, or vice versa. Alex's aura was absolutely ruthless and she wasn't about to give in. "Your goddamned boyfriend's safety from the damn law is more important to you than your own damn son?! It's that asshole's fault he's a fucking criminal, anyway!"