The Ereri Project!

Dealing

It isn't often Levi has nightmares.

When he does though, they often leave him up for the rest of the night with little to no chance of going back to sleep. Tonight, it seems, is no better.

But as solider all he can do is deal with it until he doesn't have to think about it anymore. Tomorrow he knows he'll be in a bad mood but he'll feel even worse if he just lies here wallowing.

He'd woken up uncharacteristically surprised. Nothing ever really surprised anymore, except for this, it seems.

He prides himself on his levelheadedness and his usually calm demeanor so to be caught off guard by a dream is incredibly off-putting.

Though honestly, he thinks, who wouldn't be surprised if they woke up from nightmare about that shaggy haired brat in the dungeon.

Although, he does strongly suspect that most people have nightmares about the brat when he's a titan and not when he's as tiny and human and vulnerable as they are.

Levi runs a hand over his face and sits up.

In the dream, Eren was being eaten. He was separate from his titan and his titan was eating him. Levi had gone after him but something was wrong.

He couldn't make his gear work and his feet wouldn't move so he had to watch with close and unwavering attention as Eren was ripped apart in front of him.

Levi's stomach is unsettled just thinking about it.

He gets out of bed and decides to get dressed since he isn't planning on going back to sleep.

He realizes quickly there isn't really anywhere he can go outside of the castle without a horse so he just wanders until he finds himself moving toward the dungeon.

As soon as he's down there he's compulsively searching in the nearly pitch dark to see if Eren is still lying there.

He can't explain his relief when he manages to make out the gentle rise if fall of Eren's chest as he breathes.

Levi almost goes back upstairs but he suddenly feels an almost overwhelming urge to touch him, to make sure he wasn't just seeing things.

He unlocks the cell as quietly as possible and tiptoes inside. Eren's cot is small but Levi is small enough to fill in the little leftover space there is beside Eren.

He'll have to leave before daybreak to avoid any embarrassing conversations come morning, but being beside Eren, actually feeling his heat and knowing he's alive, is proving to make Levi much better at dealing with his nightmare.

Eren never mentions he was actually awake the entire time Levi was there.