Return to sender

Domestic reality

Movement. Bangs and muffled thumps. Someone was in your house and they shouldn't be. Lifting a weary lid, you tried to sit up, arms useless so all that you managed was to roll slightly to one side, sheets next to you obviously slept in and pillow dented. What the fuck? You couldn't understand - had you been tied down? Is that why you were unable to move? And who the hell had been in your bed? Fear crept in as movement evaded you, limbs heavy and good for nothing, dangerous memories freezing your brain. Darkness, a struggle, pain. All these things made you convinced that you'd had some kind of drug injected inside, one which incapacitated you and turned your bones to a pile of jelly. Scared and anxious, you reached out, stretching into space and unsure why, only convinced that something needed to be touched, an anchor to bring you back into reality and provide salvation.

Levi stirred, awakened by your faint mumbles and clutching hand, fully coherent in seconds as he watched you in the throes of a struggle. It was like before, slices of (e/c) and clenched fists, nonsensical garbled words which he was all too familiar with and he suppressed panic, reminding himself that you were not comatose anymore, just processing internally, categorizing reality from make-believe so your brain could be freed of it's shackles. Speaking in soothing tones, the man stroked at your skin, explaining how he was here and nothing bad would befall you, protection in motion which he only hoped you could hear.

The silky voice cut through, violent colours turning to pastels, lilac and powder pink cuddling into you like a sea of fluffy kittens who had been specially dyed for this occasion. Paws of contentment padded at you, making all evil disappear and you smiled, happy to allow the tiny balls of fur to curl up and settle in for the rest of the night. Satisfied that you had stilled, Levi looked upon your serene face and placed a kiss on your cheek before snuggling in to sleep again. A barely discernable mutter came from your lips, gentle words causing the male to suppress a laugh.

"We need cat food..."

~~~~~

Come morning, you arose to the sound of rain drumming against the windows, a noise which spoke of comfort and security. No cloudy mind met you, fully aware of your surroundings and in possession of all the facts - you were home, with Levi, having been released from hospital. Sighing at the unexpected clarity, you looked to one side, slumbering individual free from their usual stony expression, a view you'd been lucky enough to witness virtually now transported into the real world.

Turning your head, the time shone out to inform that it was nearly half eight in the morning and you realised the mail would have arrived, mild urgency in your now tense frame. What about work? Had anyone spoken to the managers?

"Shit..." Suddenly needing to make contact, you used throbbing muscles to locate your phone, device placed on the sheets so you could tap on it without holding the thing up. With effort, you sent a message to Eren, weak finger dabs made and the relevant button was pressed, text delivered as you lay worrying about such a simple thing. Surely some kind of process had been started?

The brunette looked at his screen with a frown, machinery buzzing as envelopes were sliced, daily offerings now a two-man job as it had been in recent weeks and would be for some time. The words on his display were jumbled, like someone had run another language through a translation programme and come up with this odd combination.

"Jean? What does this mean?"

The other worker joined him, leaning over from behind as palms gripped his waist, any excuse to have physical contact nowadays. Your accident had hit them hard, stark reminder given that at any point, life could be cruelly wrenched away. Brown eyes looked down, strange message taken in and rearranged.

"She wants to know if anyone told work about what happened."

"How did you get that from her text?"