"So...I have to go over to the college and finalize my dropping out..." the teen was telling the artist the next morning. Levi stared blankly into his tea cup, saying nothing. "And I have to do it today..." Eren continued cautiously. "I'm not sure how long it'll take, so I don't want to make you wait in the car, but..."

"It's fine." Levi's eyes slid closed so he wouldn't have to see Eren's expression. "I don't have enough for another hit, anyway. You can go."

"A-are you sure?" Admittedly, the teen wasn't too fond of the idea of leaving Levi alone, even for just a few hours and despite the fact that, inevitably, he was running low on his drug.

"Yeah."

Eren pursed his lips in thought. Levi was absolutely in no condition to drive, he was certain, and he decided he trusted the raven enough not to try. If anything, this could be an experiment to see how well Levi really was doing, to find out if he could handle himself on his own at all.

Eren moved to retrieve his keys, jacket and wallet from his bag. Pulling the jacket over his shoulders, he said, "Promise you won't try anything stupid?"

Slowly, Levi's lids peeled open, his tired gray orbs meeting Eren's as he considered his answer. Finally, he said, "Yeah, I promise."

A smile spread across Eren's face as he headed toward the door. Levi's breath caught in his throat at the sight.

"I'll try not to take too long, alright?"

Levi spared merely a nod before Eren exited the apartment, leaving nothing but a waft of cold air in his wake. Shakily, he set his tea cup on the coffee table and curled up in his nest of blankets. The only sound was of the television set to a channel with some crime show and the volume turned low. In the midst of the quiet, his mind went blank and his eyes unfocused.

And then he realized what he was staring at.

His car keys.

They rested in the center of the coffee table, one of them glinting in the sun shining in between the blinds. Next to them was his wallet. They beckoned him to use them. His body plead from the inside, the burning and aching and shaking suddenly amplified. Again, his mind went into overdrive. He imagined himself swiping the items off the table, heading down the stairs and hopping in his car for a quick five to ten minute drive. The brat was gone. The monster was running low. It would be so easy...

Slowly, he shed his blankets and stood up. He crossed the room and peeked down into the parking lot. Eren's car was just turning out of the exit. A left turn. His trip would go the opposite way. So easy...

Before he could argue with himself, his hands were seizing the wallet and keys from the table and his feet were being shoved into a random pair of shoes in the entryway as if his conscience had made the decision for him.

Twenty minutes, no more, and he would be back. Eren would never know he'd left.

That was the last thought before he yanked the door open and stepped out into the cold air, pulling it closed behind him and flying down the stairs without bothering to lock anything.

~*~

The world was a blur to unfocused, intoxicated eyes. They stared straight ahead, sideways at a watery version of the brown cabinet, one side still slightly hanging open. Little dark spots pulsated in front of it from the pumping in the blood vessels of his eyes. The pain was gone, he breathed easier, his muscles were relaxed. But he felt anything but normal - not in the slightest and, try as he might, he couldn't pinpoint what was wrong.

Guilt? No, that hadn't settled in yet, likely because the teenager had yet to return.

A lack of food? Possibly, but he'd never felt this empty from not having eaten in a while. Besides, this emptiness felt deeper, more emotional than physical.

Empty. Yeah, that was it. The monster was present but at the same time it wasn't. Instead of sitting back and observing, making snide comments and finding new flaws to point out, it remained silent.

Weird...

Levi let his eyes fall closed. The pulse pulling the venom through his veins was still visible, now blue instead of gray. His fingers drummed lightly on the tile, his other fingers beginning to tingle as their circulation was cut off by his head using his upper arm as a pillow. He didn't mind. It was nothing.

He was unaware of how much time passed before he heard the click of the doorknob down the hall and his body suddenly went into overdrive. That sound meant one of two things - either Alex had decided to pay a visit or Eren was back. The raven suspected the latter. His heart picked up the pace and he shoved himself into a sitting position. The door audibly swung open and then shut, accompanied by the sound of shoes hitting the tile floor of the entryway as they were kicked off.

"Levi?" called that irresistibly smooth baritone.

Swallowing hard, Levi stood up. His eyes automatically avoided his reflection and he turned to the door, placing one hand on the cool knob and the other on the light switch to push it into the off position. The light disappeared but his heart continued to fly, his stomach continued to flutter. Suddenly the emptiness was gone.

'He's all you've got. No surprise he's what makes you feel alive.' An amused chuckle followed the hollow voice of the monster.

Teeth gritting, Levi placed his hands in his pocket and stepped out into the dim hallway. Eren was at the other end. He stopped midstep upon seeing the shorter man emerge. The following minute of silence seemed to last a heavy eternity. The brunet was the one to break it.

"You left..." he murmured, eyes - still bright despite little light in the apartment - fixated on Levi.

"I understand if you're upset," he replied in his rasp, such a contrast from Eren's smooth articulation that had him never wanting to speak again. He continued anyway. "I broke my p-promise."

"I'm more upset that you drove than anything. That was reckless."

"Hn, that's what you're worried about? Nice. I'm surprised you aren't angry because you just went and did that for nothing."

"It wasn't for nothing," countered the teen. "It's my fault for leaving you alone. I know this is hard for you."

'That's an understatement,' thought Levi bitterly. The guilt started to emerge. "Stop blaming yourself for everything. We wouldn't even be in this situation if I-" The raven stopped mid-sentence, his teeth clamping together with an audible snap and his fists clenching in his hoodie pocket. Another small, quiet eternity passed, and again Eren broke it.

"I've seen it, Levi...what's under the sink." Immediately, Levi's brows furrowed; anger began to bubble up. "The wax and all the blood." This time Eren's voice wasn't so steady, and he had trouble meeting the raven's gaze, which he narrowed to a glare. "I know it wasn't my place nor my business, so we both have something to be angry with each other about." And just like that, the anger disintegrated, turned to dust and blew away. "I'm not angry at you, but you have every right to be angry at me."

At that point, Levi had no idea how the guilt wasn't swallowing him whole. He could see the desperation simply in Eren's stature that uncannily mirrored his own - hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket and his shoulders curled forward in insecurity, though his eyes were on the floor rather than staring back into Levi's.

"No," the raven murmured, moving around him to take a seat on the couch, as his legs were ready to give out at any second. "I'm not mad at you," he said honestly. "I just can't understand how you aren't."

Eren joined him on the sofa, his expression much easier to read in the light of the living room. He truly wasn't angry. If he was, it would've shown in those endless pools of green, just as most of his emotions did. "I'm not going to be mad about a decision you made for yourself. It's not my place. Upset, yes. Angry...no."

"Upset...yeah, you should be. This is yet another wound I've inflicted upon you...that seems to be something I'm making a terrible habit of."

Eren's Adams apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. "You shouldn't blame yourself for everything, either."

Levi pulled his knees to his chest and hugged them securely. "I'm detrimental, Eren. I know that. How can I not?"

Eren reached out and took both of Levi's hands, placed his palms together, and sandwiched them between his own, partially for comfort and partially for warmth. The raven stared down at them. The warmth felt nice and Eren's hands were impossibly soft. "No, Levi, you're-"

Levi withdrawing his hands from between Eren's was what cut the sentence off.

"Don't...don't do that," he mumbled, swallowing hard himself. For some reason the contact made him feel sick, but not because of Eren. Because of himself. Because he knew every touch would further spread his wickedness into Eren's soul. He hated that more than anything. An expression of emotional agony plastered onto his face, Levi began to stand up with the intention of getting some tea. A familiar warm hand wrapped around his own again, however, stopping him and even pulling his fragile body back onto the cushions. Eren stared into his eyes very seriously. Under that gaze, he felt completely exposed.

"Would you just listen to me for a second?" he asked, voice raising a little. Levi stared at him in shock. "Not everything you touch becomes tainted, Levi, and that includes me. Getting angry about any kind of setback isn't going to get us anywhere. I know things are rough and that we aren't the strongest people in the world. I won't even try to imagine the kind of agony you've been going through. And maybe I'm an idiot for it in your eyes at least, but I'm here. I'm not gonna let you drown. You have a chance to beat this. I know you do. You have that fight in your heart. I've seen it in your eyes. You just have to find it, but you don't have to be alone while you do. I'm just...trying to understand as best I can. All I want is to see you smile. Genuinely."

Levi was speechless, staring wide-eyed at the teenager in front of him. A hurricane of emotions twisted through him. Disbelief. Uncertainty. Fear. Hope. Trust. Love. In the midst of his intoxication, it was troubling to attempt to make sense of them. All he knew for certain was the pure sincerity of Eren's words and how they touched his very soul. Again this brat had gotten to him, opened him up and crawled inside, twisting up his mentality and changing the way he looked at the world, though only just slightly. By opening him up, he let the light in as well. With light came hope, and scary and foreign as it may have been to the raven, he began to believe that maybe there really was a way out.

His breath caught in his throat, thick with emotions, and his hand rose to his face to cover it. He didn't want to cry again. He was already weak enough, so he forced the tears back. His fingers curled around Eren's, holding as tightly as he possibly could.

"You're a brat," he mumbled, the thickness of his throat evident in his voice. "Opening that shitty mouth of yours and changing the way I think. Who do you think you are?" He felt Eren's hand tense. Slowly, his own lowered, revealing his face to the brunet once more. "No matter how strong the monster is you always find a way to kick its ass..." He shook his head.

Eren's face softened into something of a smile. He took the raven's hands between his once more and rubbed them gently, sharing his warmth.

"I told you it wasn't for nothing," he pointed out. "Now you should eat while you can."

Levi was prepared to argue. The last thing he wanted was food, but looking into Eren's oceanic eyes he found he couldn't reject the offer.

'Jesus hell, I can't even say no to the littlest things...'

Eren's dopey smile widened when he heard Levi's stomach rumble and he stood to head toward the kitchen.

Not long after the sun disappeared behind the western horizon, the monster departed and Levi's body almost immediately reacted. He'd been sitting on the couch sketching at random while Eren showered when the shaking hit, followed closely by incessant chills over the entirety of his body. Goosebumps rose across his flesh and his teeth knocked together over and over. In an attempt to be rid of it, he placed his sketchbook on the table and reached for the nearest blanket - one Eren had been using - to wrap around himself. Despite cocooning himself inside of it, he couldn't shake the chills. They reached the very tips of his fingers and toes and soon he couldn't tell if his constant tremors were due to the normal shaking or shivering as his body attempted to regenerate its heat.

Eren came down the hall not long after and immediately noticed the excess shaking of the man. He was on the couch near the door wrapped up so only his eyes could be seen, and they were squeezed tightly shut. Frowning, Eren quickly crossed the room.

"What's the matter?" he inquired softly.

The raven's eyes opened. "I'm f-fucking f-freezing," he stammered past the chattering of his teeth.

The teen sunk down onto the cushions next to him. He retrieved another blanket and worked on wrapping Levi in it as well before turning the heat up on the thermostat.

"Want some tea?" he offered, figuring the heat of the liquid would help as well. Levi merely shook his head, attempting to bury himself deeper into the blankets.

Eren chewed his lip in worry and thought, brainstorming ways to perhaps warm the man up. Instead his brain brought up a memory of a time he'd been sick with the flu back when he was nine or so. His body temperature had nearly sky rocketed to at least 101°, though he remembered almost freezing his toes off. His mother had wrapped him in several blankets to attempt to break the fever, though he didn't remember if it had worked.

A fever was a definite possibility for Levi, though he knew from rummaging through the medicine cabinets in the bathroom that he didn't own a thermometer. He knew of only one other way to find out for sure.

"Do you mind if I check something?" he asked.

"Will it w-warm me up?"

"Well...maybe..."

"I'll t-try anyth-thing..."

"You're gonna have to come out of there a little."

Levi sat up a bit and the blankets covering his head slipped off, messing up his hair in the process. Eren leaned forward a bit, inspecting the raven's face.

"Don't freak out, okay? I'm just checking to see if you have a fever."

Levi did nothing more than frown in mild confusion. He had no time to respond further before Eren's impossibly soft lips were pressed tenderly to the center of his forehead. A small gasp drew in through his own lips simultaneous with an electric thrill shooting throughout his body, seemingly radiating from that contact. It only lasted a second and Eren was leaning back, a thoughtful look in his features. Levi's heart was fluttering like the wings of a butterfly, his stomach doing strange acrobatic flips and twists.

"I don't think you have a fever," said Eren. "But you don't feel cold, either."

The only way Levi could think to respond was to push his hand beyond the blankets and touch his icy fingertips to Eren's bare arm. He jumped in surprise.

"Shit, you are cold."

"Told you," Levi muttered, withdrawing his hand.

Eren chewed on his lip some more; Levi found himself watching and longing to do that himself. He quickly buried the desire.

"I...I have an idea," Eren admitted. "But whether you're up for it or not..."

"I said I'd d-do anything."

There was no mistaking the slight flush of Eren's cheeks as he reached back to scratch his neck. His eyes remained averted as he said, "I can share my body heat...if you want..."

"You d-don't have t-to do that..."

"I want to. I mean, if you're okay with it. It might be ideal...if you're that cold..."

In the slight pause that followed, the awkwardness was so thick in the air that they both felt like they were breathing it in.

"Wh-whatever w-works," stuttered the raven, another shiver taking over. He practically looked like he was vibrating and Eren knew those blankets were doing him no good, seeing as he had very little body heat to warm them up himself with.

"Then come here," said Eren, opening his arms.

Levi couldn't help but practically dive into those arms, the heat being irresistible to his below temperature body. They worked with the blankets to wrap both their bodies in them and the smaller of the two curled himself against the larger's side, pressing his frozen fingers to his thigh. His head rested in the crook of Eren's neck while his legs were pulled up, pressing himself closer to the warmth. At that point he could think of nothing but ridding his fatigued, undernourished body of the cold that he didn't think about being so close, almost affectionate with this teenager. Eren, on the other hand, felt like his blood had been electrified and every place his body was in contact with Levi's radiated heat. Inside his ribs his heart pounded; there was no way Levi couldn't hear it, or at least feel it.

"Better?" he asked, forcing himself to remain outwardly cool.

"A little. Sorry about this."

"Don't worry about it. It's what I'm here for."

"Tch..."

Beneath the blankets, Eren's fingers searched for Levi's. He took them and began to gently rub his clammy hands, willing the warmth into them.

"Wanna watch a movie or something?" asked the teen after a while. Levi merely shrugged. Eren grabbed the remote off the table and switched the TV on.

"What's that one movie about the kids who kill each other?" asked Levi.

"Uh...what?"

"You know...something about being hungry..."

Eren snorted. "You mean The Hunger Games?"

"Yeah, that one. Let's watch that."

Chuckling under his breath, Eren went in search of the movie, still absently rubbing Levi's fingers with the opposite hand. Once found, he clicked play and set the remote aside. The opening credits began and they settled in to watch.

"That's pleasant," muttered the raven sarcastically at the part where the little sister was screaming her lungs out.

"Only goes downhill from here," Eren responded, smirking.

"Jesus, does she ever not scream?" he commented when she was calling for her older sister, being carried away.

He continued to make snide comments as the movie progressed.

"He looks like an asshole." About Gale.

"A pink dog? Really? That's animal cruelty if you ask me."

"Wow, what the fuck is up with that lady's hair?" About Effie.

"That's creepy as hell..." About Caesar's smile.

"This is gonna be one of those shitty love triangle things, I can tell."

"I think she's about to shit herself." Effie again.

"Him, too." Haymitch.

His comments were ironically amusing to the chocolate haired teen who found himself grinning idiotically. Ironic because The Hunger Games was actually one of Eren's favorites; it was one his mother and he had gone to see as well as the following movies in the series. They'd spent long amounts of time discussing it even though they knew what happened from reading the books and irritated Mikasa to no end because she was behind. Levi managed to turn it into a screwed up comedy rather than a dystopia in a few simple sentences.

They'd gotten to the part where the tributes were just being released into the arena when Eren noticed Levi had gotten real quiet. Looking down, he found his eyes remained open and fixed on the screen, but his lips were pressed together in a hard line and he'd removed one hand from Eren's to grip his stomach.

"What's wrong?" asked Eren, worry automatically rising up, his mind already working for reactions for any of the number of things it could've been.

"Bucket," Levi managed to choke out before his other hand flew to his mouth, taking the blankets with. Eren dove for the bucket beneath the table and had it under Levi's chin in two seconds flat, just in time for the raven's body to heave harshly and vomit the contents of his stomach into it. Somehow, the teen had the mind to reach over and jab his finger into the pause button. As normal, Levi's body heaved until there was nothing left inside him. Eren rubbed his bony back gently, murmuring reassurances.

"Ow," he mumbled once it was over. Eren quickly removed the bucket from his lap, keeping his own eyes away from the contents of it. Thin fingers ran through stringy hair; the sound of labored breathing the only thing filling the silence of the apartment.

"Bathroom," he breathed after a minute.

"Can you stand?"

Levi nodded once. Eren removed the bucket from his hands and stood up himself to help Levi to his feet. He clutched the side of Eren's shirt as they made their way down the hall. Once in the bathroom, he immediately brushed his teeth three times while Eren worked on washing out the bucket.

"Sorry to make you do that," mumbled Levi, head leaning against the mirror as he stared down at his trembling hands at the scarring from the razorblade.

Eren ignored that. "You should probably lay down."

"No," croaked Levi. "Let's finish the movie."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

They made their way back to the living room, positioning themselves in essentially the same way as before. Levi gripped Eren's fingers with his clammy ones as tight as he could while the rest of his muscles spasmed beyond his control.

"I really think you should just lay down..."

"That won't make any d-difference."

"But-"

"Just play the movie, Jaeger," he ordered.

Pressing his lips together, Eren tapped the play button and the movie resumed. Levi ceased commenting; it was apparent to the teen he was working on staying still as possible and gradually, his muscles relaxed.

His next scoff came when Rue died.

"Hn, saw that coming from a mile away."

Eren said nothing. It took the raven a minute to catch on to his tense vibe and he looked up to find the brunet's face streaked with tears.

Blinking in surprise he asked, "Are you seriously crying?"

"No," Eren mumbled, hastily wiping his hand across his face.

"Tch. You're a nerd."

"Shut up. You have to admit it's sad."

Levi transferred his gaze back to the screen, eyes narrow. For some reason watching that little girl die reminded him of his own little sister and his body tensed. He said nothing and forced himself to concentrate on nothing but what was happening in the movie.

Eren hadn't noticed his prolonged silence until the film was nearly over. He glanced down to find the artist had fallen asleep with his head resting comfortably on Eren's collarbone. His raspy breathing had evened out considerably and for once, he looked peaceful. Unaware of the fond smile on his lips, Eren tucked the blankets more securely around him, careful not to wake him, and finished the movie. A while later, he was flipping through the channels, not quite tired enough to sleep, when he heard the jostling of the doorknob to his right. Tensing, he muted the TV and balled his fists. Mind racing, he prepared to grab Levi and run or defend. His strategizing was needless, however, for when the door cracked open he found it to merely be the raven's cotton candy headed sister.

"Jesus Christ, Alex," he breathed, muscles relaxing but heart still pounding. "You scared me half to death."

"Sorry," she said as she shut the door behind her and kicked her shoes off. Eren pressed his finger to his lips, indicating for her to be quiet. That was when she spotted her sleeping brother and her brown eyes widened. She soundlessly padded into the living room, keeping her eyes solely on Levi, and inspected what she could see of him. His condition had only worsened since she'd last seen him.

"Oh god," she whispered, sinking down into the coffee table as if her knees gave out at the mere sight of him.

Even in the dim light of the television, she could see the curves of his skull itself as the skin clung close to it. His eyes were rimmed with gray and he was a much sicklier pale than he'd been a couple weeks ago. She could hear the struggle it took his body just to remain breathing, even as he slept.

"He'll probably wake up if you keep gawking at him like that," murmured the teen. Blinking, she managed to tear her gaze from him and move it to Eren's much healthier features, though he looked exhausted and even sported dark circles beneath his eyes as well. He'd become slightly thinner, too. Still, his eyes held life, hope, and determination.

"Um, no offense or anything, but what are you doing here so late?"

"I work the evening shift...and something told me to pay you two a visit as soon as possible. I'm sorry for not giving you any warning, but it wasn't a feeling easily ignored."

"Oh. Well, I'd wake him up...but he hardly sleeps as it is..."

Alex merely nodded, eyeing her younger sibling again. "He's gotten worse."

Eren's face fell immediately. "I know. I've been watching it happen."

Alex's next words were steady despite holding so much pain. "He's dying, isn't he?"