The Bookshop - Levi x Eren

Fifteen

I sat down next to Levi's bed, dropping my backpack on the floor. I grabbed his hand and looked at his face, trying to ignore all the tubes and machines around him.

"Hey, Levi, I'm back."

No reaction, not that I was expecting any.

"I had a math test today, I'm pretty sure I blew it. I did study of course, maybe not as hard as I usually do. I just couldn't really concentrate."

I stared at Levi, hoping that maybe he would give me a sign. Any sign at all, so I would know that he heard me, but I got nothing. I had been talking to him every day for almost two weeks. I talked about everything I could think of, sometimes I would even ask him questions, hoping that maybe he would answer. But he didn't.

The day after the accident, a nurse had walked in when I was sitting next to Levi.

"You can talk to him," she had told me. "There is a chance that he can hear you, sometimes people who have been in a coma remember everything people have told them while they were in the coma."

So I had started talking to him.

"I stole your hoodie, the red one I was wearing on the day of the accident. I'm not sure if you're okay with that, but it smelled like you, so I decided to keep it. I'll give it back if you want, but for now, it's mine." I sighed. "It's weird. I've only known you for such a short time, and yet it feels like I've known you my whole life. You can't leave me, Levi. I don't think I can be without you anymore."

I felt tears welling up in my eyes. I wiped them away and put my head down on Levi's bed and closed my eyes. I listened to Levi's slow breathing. I stayed like that for a while, simply listening to hum breathing. It was rather peaceful, as if he was just asleep.

A knock on the door made me open my eyes again. It slowly opened and Erwin's head appeared.

"Hey, Eren."

"Hey," I said. "Come in."

Erwin walked into the room. He grabbed a stool and sat down on the other side of Levi's bed.

"How is your-" I stopped halfway into my sentence and awkwardly gestured to the right side of Erwin's body.

"My now non-existent arm?" Erwin chuckled. "It's better, I'm starting to get used to it more and more."

After the accident, Erwin's arm had to be amputated. There was no blood flow and amputating it had been the best option. It had been very hard on him and Hanji. Every time I was in the bookshop, I did most of the tasks, as Erwin learned to do simple tasks all over again. I hadn't seen hanji much, but Erwin had told me she was exhausted. She did as much as she could for Erwin, who now needed a lot more help with daily things than before.

"That's good." I said, not knowing what else to say.

"I guess it is."

I looked back at Levi.

"How is he?" Erwin asked.

"The same. Not better, but also not worse, so I guess that's a good thing."

"Hanji told me that there is a chance he can hear us."

"Yeah. I don't know if it's true, but I like to think that it is."

Erwin nodded. "Can I maybe be alone with him for a while?"

I looked up at Erwin. His eyes were a bit red and it looked like he was about to cry.

"Sure, I wanted to go grab something to eat anyways. You want me to bring you something back?"

"No, thank you."

I stood up and walked out of the room, closing the door behind me.