Hymn For The Missing [EreRi Songfic]

Hymn For The Missing

(This is for RazorCats! Hope you cry your eyes out, friend.)

Tried to walk together
But the night was growing dark...

Eren tiredly looked out the living room widow, down to the sidewalk where a couple children ran around playing tag and a couple high school students sat on a bench, not talking, just enjoying each others' company and leaning against each other. His lips pulled back into a thin, tight smile. Just like Levi used to do.

Thought you were beside me
But I reached and you were gone...

He thought back to months ago, sitting on the very couch he was sitting on now, his warm hand tightly clasped in Levi's unnaturally cold one; they'd both been trembling. Eren was doing so from crying, and Levi...Levi just couldn't process what was on the paper in his hand; he was trembling from the fear and realization that he was leaving the most precious thing in his life in only a few months.

Sometimes I hear you calling
From some lost and distant shore...

Eren could remember all of the sleepless nights, the nights where he'd just sit on the couch and stare blankly at the medical papers in his hand, seemingly mentally willing the letters to change and tell him that everything would be alright. But they'd always stay the same. Positive. He'd sit there until Levi would come out and pry the papers from his hands and just sit with him until he would eventually cry himself to sleep.

I hear you crying softly
For the way it was before...

Eren wasn't the only one who shed tears, of course. Levi had his own slips. But he would always do it behind closed doors and he would never allow his voice to go above a quiet sob. Eren, used to it, would wait outside of the room Levi had decided to lock himself in and he'd lean against the door and quietly hum some of their favorite tunes until Levi would come out with his usual tight, but genuine, smile on his face.

Where are you now?
Are you lost?
Will I find you again?

Everyone eventually found out. Armin and Mikasa, as soon as the news got to them, drove over to Levi and Eren's apartment while Levi was out and they sat and let Eren cry on their shoulders until he could barely breathe.
Hanji...Hanji was a different story. They were the one who sat with Eren and sobbed. They were the only one that stayed until Levi got him and when he did, Hanji had nearly crushed him with a hug.

Are you alone?
Are you afraid?
Are you searching for me?

It got worse as the months progressed. Soon, Levi had to be admitted to the hospital for constant observation. Hanji, Erwin, and Jean would always come to visit the two in the hospital. Jean would sit and talk with Eren while Hanji looked around and commented about how bland the room was while Erwin growled at them to shut up and deal with it. It had made both Eren and Levi chuckle, and it let them forget about the inevitable for just a minute. But of course, as soon as Levi started coughing and hacking up blood, every bit out air seemed to flow right out of the room. Erwin ran to get a doctor while Hanji tried to help Levi calm his breathing and Jean handled a hyperventilating Eren.

Why did you go?
I had to stay
Now I'm reaching for you...

The cancer never stopped spreading and working it's horrible magic on Levi's body; Eren was horrified when he saw how many tubes Levi had been attached to when he came in one day after just getting off of work. Mikasa and Marco had been waiting for him, solemn looks on their faces. They said that Levi hadn't opened his eyes since the night before and Eren nearly broke down right there.

Will you wait?
Will you wait?
Will I see you again?

Eren eventually stopped going home. He always came to the hospital before work and then after work. Pretty soon, he was on a first name basis with most of the doctors and nurses. He'd also developed a friendship with the woman at the front desk, Annie. She was a bit of a strange woman, but she would always invite Eren into the break room after a particularly rough day and she'd let him cry on her shoulder when his other friends weren't able to make it.