Just for Yeager

Once Upon a Dream

This relaxation was much deserved, beneath a blanket of summer clouds in lush afternoon. I was mesmerized, lounging on a bed of wet grass with my arms tucked under my head, caught in the soulful melody of birds singing in the meadow. It drew me in. The breeze, the sunset, the calm of it all. My eyes slipped shut as I breathed in the aura of dewy petrichor, drifting into a soft slumber amid total paradise.

Complete paradise...

"Ah, Levi, you promised you'd watch the sunset with me."

"I never said such a thing. I only recall accepting your invitation out for a walk."

"Some walk that was. You barely said anything at all on our way here!"

I drew an eye open, my periphery merely glancing at his childish frustration. Ignoring him, I went back to sinking into sleep, only to have him pounce on me in an unexpected grappling. I playfully wrestled with him, not to entertain him, but to actually get him off me. Amid his laughing and sneering, he managed to melt that irritated expression off my face. And the longer I tried to suppress a smile, the harder it got to keep from joining his merry.

At last, I pinned him to the ground, our exhausted breaths mixed between each other. A moment of stillness wafted along with the breeze, my eyes locked on his pools of emerald grey. I began to muse; how lucky I was, to have someone like him. How, fortunate. At times I couldn't believe our union, how our paths crossed and webbed so perfectly. I called it fate, others would call it sin. But right now, Eren was all I ever wanted. I leaned into him, our lips interlocking in a warm kiss that caught my stomach swimming in butterflies. My hands tightened around his wrists, and a yearning drew me deeper into his mouth. Too short it lasted, and I quickly realized he was still in a playful mood as he bit my lip.

I pulled away, my finger grazing the corner of my mouth. He looked up to me with a mischievous grin, promising, "Don't worry, I won't eat you."

I scoffed. "Cute." Taking a seat before the setting sun, he soon joined me, reclining his head perpendicular to my shoulders. We both gazed at the hot ball of fire, and he'd soon break the brief silence,

"Do you think we will ever get rid of them all?"

"A world without titans. Seems fairytale, truthfully."

"Hmm?"

"You're a titan. Noticeably, others as well. To say that would mean to eradicate its existence entirely." I dropped my head on his, and followed, "And we can't have that, now can we?"

He chuckled lightly, strumming his fingers through my black locks. "You'd go on without me. I know you would."

"Why would you say something so stupid?"

"Because I believe it. You have Hange."

Persistent this one, with his never ending guilt and jealousy. I had told him countless times to never bring up her name. And every time he did, we would end up arguing over why I still haven't brought myself to choosing one life or the other. But this time I held my tongue, and his concern would eat at the awkwardness between us. He sighed, continuing, "I know you have to uphold an image, and I know it's not that you're embarrassed of me, but the fact that you're still with her feels wrong. Like I'm the third wheel or something. And this secret, Hange doesn't... deserve this."

He paused, dropping himself on the grass, shutting his eyes and letting out a heavy bothered breath. He crossed his fingers over his forehead, addressing me with an anxious tone, "I know you told me to wait, Levi, but I'm tired of feeling like I'm just a fling."

"That is one thing you're not. But you already knew that. You're just being impatient."

"I guess I can't help it. Call me selfish." He smiled. "I guess us being together is kinda' fairytale too, isn't it? You, me, a cozy cottage escape overlooking a vineyard, maybe two dogs. Beagles. Some farmland in a gated commune, living happily ever after."

I couldn't help but to burst out laughing.

"I'm being serious, Levi. It would be nice. Simple living. As boring and mundane as it may sound to you, it's heaven to me. After all of the fighting, and the war is over, I want to retire and spend the rest of my days with you."

I veered away from him and perched my chin on my elevated palm. He was a daydreamer. Couldn't blame him for that. It was another side of Eren I haven't seen. But I was more of a realist. And that fantasy of his couldn't permeate my mind. I answered him kindly though, giving the lad some false hope. But his lack of a response turned my head back to him, and I noticed he was asleep...

My eyes suddenly snapped open, and I contorted my person over his bluing lips. The color of his face fell paled. I jerked him, calling out his name to no answer.

"Eren? Eren?!"

No, not again... I've already lost you once...

"EREN?!" --

"Eren... " My body sunk, so deep that it felt like I momentarily transposed myself. As the blur from my vision faded, I heard a familiar voice calling out my name in concern. Again and again. She proceeded to stir my shoulders, and I finally looked up to her with an irked eye. Hange.

I wanted answers, scanning my surroundings to discover I was back in my house, in bed. Wincing, I summoned enough strength to sit up, scratching my head to the beaming sunrays teeming through my window panel. Morning? It was close to supper time when I paid Mikasa... Mikasa!

I nearly sprung out of bed in realizing she must have dropped me off, but Hange was sure to stop me dead in my tracks. She noticed my startled anxious demeanor, and knowing Hange, she'd tie me down and bolt the door in her overzealous attempt in protecting me before I made it to Mikasa.

"Levi, relax! You're in no position to exhaust yourself right now!"

"Where is she?!"

"Mikasa dropped you off last night. You were out cold since then. She said you might have suffered a concussion when you collapsed after a drinking binge out in Danufall."

"Now why would she even bother making up such stories? She could have just told you she knocked me out in the ring."

"What?!" Hange's face went red, and she proceeded to bark at me. "Don't kid around like that, Levi! We both know you have a drinking problem, a problem we left in the dust months ago. But it seems it reared its ugly head again. Look, I know you're dealing with a lot right now, but at this time, more than any, you need to keep focused. We are all counting on you on the battlefield."

I brushed her off, sliding myself on the edge of the bed where she continued to pour herself on me. So overbearing, ughh. This woman really wasn't a genius when it came to picking up obvious hints.

"Levi, don't forget I'm here for you. If there's anything you need," she cupped my face, her soft eyes locked on mine, "someone to talk to, someone to lean on, someone to steer you in the right direction, I'm never too far away."

I answered her

as flatly and sternly as humanly possible, "Hange, stop this..."