Lovers (Killers) Ereri/Riren AU

Chapter One

You know what, screw it, I'm updating every day from now on. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: SNK and its characters still aren't mine... :(

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Levi groaned in pain as he slowly returned to consciousness. His head ached in pain, and he felt like he had the world's worst hangover, only he hadn't had any alcohol. He tried opening his eyes, and then immediately closed them again as a painfully dazzling light hit his eyes.

"Hi!" An overly-bright voice said from right next to him. "Sorry about the light, I didn't expect you to wake up so early!"

"Whaa?" Levi mumbled unintelligibly, risking opening his eyes again. Thankfully, the light had dimmed, and he blinked a couple of times to adjust to the dimness. He turned to look at the person next to him. It was a brown-haired girl wearing glasses and blue nurse scrubs, adjusting some sort of complicated-looking machine. She had a crazy smile on her face and Levi was a little disturbed by it.

"I'm Hanji Zoe, but you can call me Hanji of course. I'm one of the nurses who will be monitoring you!" She said brightly.

"Monitoring me? What the hell?" Levi asked, trying to sit up and gasping in pain as suddenly his vision tripled and then went back to normal.

A expression of concern crossed Hanji's face, and she quickly asked, "You remember, right? The car crash? The doctors couldn't tell what parts of your brain might be damaged without taking an MRI, and in your state that was too difficult and dangerous, so they decided to wait until you woke up—"

"Okay, okay," Levi held his hands up for silence and contemplated her words for a second. Car crash… Then it all came back to him in a rush. The other car careening around the corner, Isabel's scream, that horrible sound of metal crunching metal…

"Where are my friends? Are they okay?" He demanded, watching Hanji's face carefully. In a split second the emotions of confusion, horror, sadness, and empathy crossed her face, and a dreaded feeling stirred in the pit of Levi's stomach.

"Alright, well…I won't sugarcoat this for you, okay? I'm sorry, though. I'm really sorry." She took a deep breath. "Your friend Farlan died a week ago, and Isabel and you have been in comas ever since…only, Isabel's chance of waking up isn't that great." She took another breath, this one a little more broken. "I'm so sorry."

Levi didn't respond. All he knew that his friends were what grounded him, and now that he didn't have that, he was falling. It was like the floor had been taken out from under his feet and he was free-falling into the depths of despair and darkness because oh God, how could he survive without them, he couldn't…

"Are you alright?" Hanji asked him. Suddenly, holding back tears, he snapped up to face her, gray eyes simmering with anger. "Do I look alright? My best friends are dead!" He yelled angrily. She didn't shrink back like most people did when Levi got angry, but she still didn't look happy. "I'm going to go get a doctor, tell them you're awake," she said, happiness now subdued.

She left quietly, letting Levi drown himself in his thoughts. It was all his fault. It had been his idea to go to the party. They'd never have been in that car if it wasn't for him…

A blond man with thick caterpillar eyebrows entered the room, watching Levi for a moment.

"What are you looking at?" Levi snapped at him, irritation simmering to the surface.

The man shook his head. "Nothing. I just wanted to tell you a few things."

"Okay, so?" Levi couldn't help the pure disdain in his voice.

"You'll be staying here for a few weeks so we can monitor your brain to make sure the severe swelling you suffered because of the crash doesn't cause any permanent damage, but we'll start the testing tomorrow to give you some time to adjust. And there's one more thing." The man paused, like he was reluctant to give up the information. "You'll be sharing this room with another boy. His name is Eren Jaeger."

Levi snapped up to stare at the man in shock, then looked around the room for the first time, only now noticing the other bed pushed up against the far wall, surrounded by a messy pile of belongings. Drawings were tacked up on the wall at random, clothes were scattered on the floor, and books were piled on the bed. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Levi couldn't help but sneer a little at the mess. Still, they were going to make him stay here and share the room with someone else? Unfair.

"Fine," he mumbled sourly. "But can I see Isabel?"

The man hesitated, then nodded. "But I'm warning you, it won't be pretty," he said reluctantly. "My name is Erwin Smith, by the way. I'm the doctor in charge of your case."

Levi nodded, then swung his legs over the side of the bed, careful with the chunk of plaster attached to his left leg that he was only just noticing now. Erwin handed him a pair of crutches, and Levi awkwardly swung them around until they were positioned correctly under his arms, then followed the taller man down the hallway. Isabel's room wasn't far from his, and Erwin opened the door for him, but didn't follow him inside. "I'll give you two some privacy," he said in that annoyingly knowing adult voice, but Levi just nodded at him and swung inside. He made his way over to the chair positioned next to Isabel's bed and looked down at his friend. She was a mess; there were bruises and cuts all over her exposed skin, and her chest was wrapped in bandages but it just looked so…wrong, like there was something weird about the way she looked. He couldn't stop a tear from falling from his eye, and it was then followed by another, and another. He sat down heavily on the chair, dropping his crutches and putting his head in his hands as he thought about his friends and cried.

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A/N: BTW, I changed the ages around in this fic, so Levi's age is much closer to Eren's. Levi is a sophomore in college and Eren is a sophomore in high school. Just wanted to make sure that wasn't too confusing.