Chapter Text
Levi stepped out of the club, a hand rubbing at his throbbing temples. He was thirty fucking years old, and why he had let Hanji talk him into going to a dance club practically next door to UDub and guaranteed to be full of drunken college kids was beyond him.
...Okay, he knew why, and it had everything to do with his step-sister looking up at him with her huge green eyes the moment the invitation was out of Hanji's mouth and asking, "Can we go, Big Bro? Please?" And of course, Levi had always had a problem denying Isabel anything.
Not even two lifetimes had been enough to change that, it seemed.
Levi felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and fished it out to see a new text.
Hanji: Hey, Levi, don't wander off too far and forget you're supposed to be our ride home! ~<3
He sighed.
Levi: My head's fucking killing me. Just text me when you're ready to leave.
Levi put his phone back in his pocket. He was planning to just go sit in his car when a bar across the street caught his eye. It was different from the row of neon and glass and chrome lining the rest of the street, all dark woods and polished brass accents, the name, Maria's, elegantly scrawled above the door. But what drew his attention was the logo painted on the sign - two intertwined roses in full bloom.
Even as Levi told himself that it was probably just a coincidence, he found himself crossing the street and pushing through the door. Soft jazz, at a much more reasonable volume than the "music" from earlier, surrounded him when he entered, and Levi sat at one of the stools at the bar. "Club soda on ice, lime twist."
"You know, you've almost got yourself an actual drink there. Just add some vodka and you're set." A coaster and a glass tumbler were set down in front of Levi.
He snorted and picked it up by the rim, taking a small sip before setting it back down. "Cheap booze made from potatoes? No thanks. Even when I did drink I never touched that shit. Reminds me too much of home." Levi looked up to see an older man smiling at him, corners of his eyes crinkling into crow's feet and an impressive mustache seeming to make up for the lack of hair on his bald head.
Pixis’s smile deepened. "That's why I’m partial to it, myself. But then, you always were a whiskey man, weren't you, Levi?" Obviously not expecting an answer, he continued, “So, what are you doing these days? Cop, lawyer, bodyguard, vigilante, MMA instructor, or mafia hitman?” Levi made a face, and Pixis squinted at him, a twinkle in his eye. “Stripper?”
Of course the old pervert would go there. “Accountant,” Levi replied in a bored tone. “I do still work for Shitwin, though.”
“Hah! How is Erwin? Still fomenting rebellion and striking fear into the hearts of old men with power?”
“Only in the boardroom.”
Pixis started to laugh long and loud at that, and Levi reached for his glass again. He froze, fingers touching the rim, when he heard two voices from the booths behind him.
"Don't you think you've had enough?"
"I'm still conscious, so...nope."
"Eren..."
"Fuck off, Sasha."
Levi whipped around in his seat so fast that it was a wonder he didn't slide right off the stool. Time seemed to slow as his eyes slid past the young woman in a server's uniform, brown hair pulled up in a high ponytail, to focus on the young man scowling up at her. Levi's heart gave a painful lurch in his chest as his gaze traced the familiar planes and angles of the young man's face, fingers twitching as if they remembered the feeling of that smooth, tan skin under them and longed to touch it again.
"Ah, I'd wondered when you'd notice."
The sound of Pixis's voice seemed to break whatever spell held Levi still, time speeding up to its proper pace as Sasha shook her head and muttered, "I'm cutting you off," before walking away to take care of other customers.
Levi's body moved as if on autopilot. He stood, taking his drink with one hand, and walked over to the booth. When he got close, his mouth opened all on its own. “Eren.”
Green eyes turned up to meet his, full of blurry suspicion and not a hint of recognition. “Who the hell’re you, and how’d you know my name?”
Levi’s stomach sank with disappointment at the same time as an odd sense of relief went through him. He decided he’d just have to sort through his emotions later, as Eren was still staring up at him, scowl starting to deepen. “Ah, sorry. I overheard you and the waitress talking. It seems like you’re going through some rough shit, kid.”
“So what? ‘M just supposed to spill my guts out to you now? Make you feel good about yourself for keeping some moping idiot company for the night?”
“Actually, I’ve been told I’m pretty fucking terrible company on multiple occasions.” Levi set his glass down on the table and slid into the opposite side of the booth. He had no clue what he was doing, but Eren hadn’t told him to get lost yet, and he couldn’t just walk away from him when he was like this. “But you look like someone just shot your dog, took a shit on it right in front of you, and then lit it on fire.”
Eren glared at him. “Fine, Mr. Can’t Mind His Own Business. Y’wanna know why I’m sitting here getting shit-faced? Because I was just dumped. By my boyfriend .” Eren downed a good quarter of the Long Island in front of him in a single gulp. “And if you have a problem with that, you can go fuck yourself.”
“Be awful damn hypocritical of me if I did, kid.”
Eren deflated, slumping down to rest his chin on his arm where it was lying flat on the table. “Stop callin’ me a kid. ‘M twenty-three and a grad student. And ‘m drunk. In a bar. Not a kid.”
“Obviously,” Levi agreed dryly, earning himself another frown.
Eren heaved out a sigh and levered himself far enough upright to take another long pull of his drink. Then he sat there and stared down into the glass, silent for long enough that Levi was tempted to check to see if he was still conscious. Finally, he spoke softly, almost more to himself than to Levi. “Two years. Two fucking years and he all of a sudden says he’s not in love with me anymore. Says it’s not fair to either of us to keep stringing me along. He still wants to be friends, though.” Eren scoffed and finished off the alcohol in front of him. “Fucking Horseface. Shoulda known something was up when he started avoiding sex.”
Levi nearly choked on his soda. Jean?! Levi bit his lip to stop the incredulous question from slipping out, and quickly stomped down the irrational feeling of anger at the thought of someone, anyone else being intimate with Eren. After all, even if Eren had remembered their past lives, it wasn’t like Levi had any sort of claim on him in this one. Finally, when he was sure his voice would be steady, he asked, “Are you going to stay friends?”
“I dunno.” Eren was silent for a minute, and then his tan face went pale. “I think I’m gonna be sick.” He pushed himself out of the booth and hurried back to the bathroom on unsteady feet.
Levi swore and stood up to follow him.
One awkward bout of hair-holding later followed by a quick rinse-off in the sink, and Levi was helping - or trying to help - a swaying Eren stand up straight. "Come on, Eren. Let's go back out, and you can call someone to pick you up, okay?"
Instead of answering, Eren blinked owlishly at him for a few moments. "You're really nice." Eren started to lean toward him. At first, Levi thought it was just more of his drunken inability to balance, but when Eren's face kept getting closer to his and he realized what he was going to do, Levi put up a hand, blocking him.
"Hold it. Even if you hadn't just finished puking your guts out into a public toilet - gross, by the way - I don't make it a habit of taking advantage of someone when they're drunk."
Eren pulled back, eyes blinking a little more rapidly and misting up. "See? You really are nice." His head ducked down again, but this time against Levi's shoulder. His voice was garbled with tears when he spoke next. "Wish I'd met you before..."
Levi sighed and reached up to pat Eren's back. "You always did get weepy when you drank," he murmured. "Right before you'd-"
Just then, Eren became dead weight in his arms, and Levi staggered a little and gripped Eren tighter so he wouldn't slide down to the floor.
"...pass out." Levi patted at Eren's face, rousing him back to consciousness enough to steer him out of the bathroom. As he half-carried Eren through the bar to the door, Pixis looked up from wiping down the counter and shot Levi a knowing smile and a wink. Levi just rolled his eyes at him.
"Where the hell do you think you're going with Eren?!"
Sasha had stepped in front of them, clutching her empty serving tray tightly and looking for all the world like she was fully prepared to beat him over the head with it, despite the fact that Levi could clearly see that her arms and hands were trembling. Levi felt an odd sense of pride and opened his mouth to reply but Pixis beat him to it.
"It's okay, Sasha. Levi is an old friend of mine; I asked him to give Eren a ride home."
Sasha's grip relaxed slightly, and her gaze flickered between Levi and Pixis. "...Are you sure, Boss?"
Pixis nodded. "I'd trust Levi with my life. And have, on numerous occasions." He grinned. "He'll get Eren home safe."
She chewed on her lip for a moment before stepping aside. Levi could still feel her suspicious gaze on his back until the entrance door closed behind him. Somehow, he managed to get Eren over to his parked car and buckled into the passenger seat before walking around the vehicle and getting in himself. Levi hesitated a moment before pulling his phone out to text Hanji.
Levi: Can you guys take a taxi home tonight? Something's come up.
He knew there was no point in bothering to call. They'd never hear him speaking over the noise of the club.
Hanji: No prob, but what happened? Get a hot Titan date?
Levi: In a manner of speaking.
Hanji: ???
Instead of answering, Levi took a quick photo of Eren and sent it to Hanji before promptly putting his phone in his pocket and ignoring the near-constant buzzing as a barrage of texts started hitting it. He reached over and shook Eren's shoulder. "Eren. Hey, come on, wake up. I need your address."
Eren didn't rouse, only mumbled something unintelligible before turning his head away. Levi was just contemplating digging through Eren's pockets to find his driver's license when he heard a ringing coming from Eren's jacket. He quickly pulled out a cell phone from the pocket, relief sweeping over him when he saw the caller ID displaying the name Mikasa. He swiped his thumb across the screen to answer. "Hello."
"Oh, Eren, thank God. Are you okay? Sasha said some creepy-looking old guy left with you."
"...Is that seriously how Braus described me? The shitty brat; I'm not even that old this time around."
There was a long pause before Mikasa spoke again. "Captain."
Levi felt his lips twitch up into a smile. "Just Levi now, unless you want me to start calling you Squad Leader."
"No thanks." The reply was quick. "Um, Levi, Eren... He doesn't..." Mikasa trailed off, and Levi heard her let out a frustrated huff of air as she struggled with what she wanted to say.
"He doesn't remember? Yeah, I kind of figured that out. Braus, too." He glanced over at Eren's sleeping face. "Listen, let me give you my cell phone so you can text over your address. I'll drop him off there for you."
A couple minutes later and Levi had said goodbye to Mikasa and programmed his GPS, all while still ignoring the messages Hanji had sent. He started his car, but before he put it into gear to drive out of the parking lot, he looked back over at Eren. His mouth was slightly open in his sleep, a thin line of drool trailing from the corner of his lips. Levi huffed in amusement. "Gross." He reached over and brushed a few strands of soft, chestnut-colored hair from his forehead, watching as the shadows cast by long eyelashes fluttered against Eren's cheeks.
Levi's breath caught in his throat as a fierce wave of fondness and protectiveness and longing and loneliness washed through him. He pulled his hand away and shut his eyes, gripping the steering wheel tightly until his breathing steadied. "Come on, let's get you home," he muttered as he drove out onto the street. He would drop Eren off, and then when he got back to his own apartment, he'd delete Mikasa's number and address from his phone. Act like tonight had never happened. Eren had a new life now, and the last thing he needed was a ghost from a past he couldn't even remember hanging around, expecting things from him that he might not be able to give.
It was for the best.
Maybe if Levi told himself that enough times, he might even start to believe it.