False Pretense [EreRi/RiRen AU]

Chapter 15: If Everything's Fine

Sorry about the shitty title. Unedited. I apologize in advance. And also, I would appreciate it if you'll read the author's note at the end.

On with the story.

*****

I didn't know how long I stood there, frozen with my eyes wide because of the shock with just what happened. Despite the lack of reaction in my part, he didn't pull away, keeping his arms tightly wounded around me.

Recovering over my shock, my hands slowly made its way up, my fingers burying themselves into his shirt. I closed my eyes with a shaky breath, my head falling to rest on his shoulder.

"Rein..." My voice sounded hoarse, my throat felt as dry as a desert, making speaking any word out hard. Saying his name isn't something that I'm prepared to do, not after what just happened, but I know that he shouldn't be affected with what happened between his twin and I. He has nothing to do with it.

He lifted his head from the crook of my neck and I did the same, looking straight back at the face that I've grown to know too much. The sight sent a pang of hurt in my chest, because no matter how much I tried to avoid it, he is always able to sneak into my fucking mind. Now I hate it how much they resembled each other.

"I miss you, Levi. God, I can't believe that you're finally here. I finally see you after five long years." He let out a laugh, sounding relieved and happy, like seeing me genuinely made him grateful. I tried to smile, I really fucking did, but I couldn't. Not with my mind telling me how messed up my situation is now. I looked away in shame.

"Yeah, I'm—" I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I'm glad to see you, too." I lifted my gaze from the floor and into his eyes, the pair of amber eyes staring straight at me. Only then I noticed that Eren's eyes that was covered with contacts isn't as vivid as this one, as rich and smooth as the real ones. "...welcome back."

He smiled at that again, pulling me into another hug that I didn't hesitate to return. As I looked over his shoulder, my eye caught something—or someone—in my peripheral vision, and my body automatically went stiff.

Rein noticed my reaction and pulled away, looking at me in worry. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Before I can even reply, someone cuts me into it, speaking before I could utter any word. "Rein."

Rein turned around to look at where the voice came from, immediately lighting up when he saw his twin brother, Eren, standing a few meters away with an expression that I couldn't explain. I can feel his gaze burning holes through me despite his twin being here, and I have to look away once I was met by his turquoise eyes. I couldn't handle looking at those expressive eyes.

I remained standing by the doorway, watching as Rein practically ran towards him and hugged his brother,  telling him how much he missed him for the past months with him being gone. Eren, being at least a couple inches taller than Rein, ruffled his brother's hair, a small smile resting on his lips. Then his eyes lifted from Rein to me, and his smile suddenly vanished. This time, he's the one who looked away.

Saying that his action didn't hurt me is a fucking lie, but I'm the one who did it first in the first damn place. Maybe it'll be better for us to be like this now. Now that Rein is here, it'll be better to just forget about what happened between us. I couldn't risk making any more fucking damage to our relationship.