Chapter 22

There was no room surprise for anger had stepped in- boiling Eren's blood to a frightening degree. The brunet stormed forward, shoving Levi out of the way with his fist raised to take a swing at the man he had called father once upon a time. However, surprise quickly shot through every crevice of his body when his fist made contact with a small, rough palm. His eyes fell onto the person who had the audacity to stop him from delivering what he believed to be a well-deserved punch, and his breath caught in his throat.

"M-Mikasa?!"

The ravenette gripped Eren's arm, pulling the dazed boy into a strong embrace.

"What the hell?" Eren muttered against Mikasa's red scarf- a scarf that belonged to him in what felt like another life.

"What the hell indeed," Levi growled, taking in the scene with his arms crossed and a pit growing in his stomach. "I'm reluctant, but maybe we could take whatever the fuck this is inside?" He added, gesturing at the group.

"That sounds like a good idea." The gray-haired man stated, earning a piercing glare from Levi, who did not believe he was fucking asking him.

With the door closed and everyone in the apartment, Eren had time to try and mentally assess the situation; however, his mind was just a jumbled mess of 'what the fuck.' He bit down on his lower lip, locking eyes with Levi's worried ones before finding his voice. "Why are you here?" He asked- voice painted with confusion and a tint of hostility.

"Eren, are you not happy to see your father?" The gray-haired man asked, resulting in a loud scoff from Levi.

"You're joking right?" Eren asked through a biting laugh. He crossed his arms and fell back against the wall he was standing in front of. "What did you expect? Did you want me to burst into tears and tell you how much I missed you?"

"I'm your father, Eren."

"Not sure if you can classify as that now," Levi growled out. He mentally told himself to stay out of this the second he saw Eren swinging at the older man. He figured the brunet could handle it, but he couldn't help it; he was pissed- the seeing red and borderline trembling pissed. But there was also this tight, nagging feeling of fear swirling around in his stomach. Why the fuck did Eren's father have to show up when everything was going so well? He couldn't help but feel that this is the climax of his story with Eren, and he was growing more and more afraid of how the falling actions would play out.

"I should apologize," Eren's father started. "I deserve this treatment."

"No, you deserve Eren's fist to your face, but you got your bodyguard to protect you," Levi bit out, earning a warning look from Eren. Okay, he gets it. He should probably shut up now. It was just too much. He just fought muggers off for Eren, and now this goddamn man comes prancing in. How the hell did they find Eren anyway?

"Eren, who is this man?" Eren's father asked, gesturing towards Levi.

"I'm-"

"He's my boyfriend," Eren answered, cutting Levi off. Levi's eyes widened. He was going to tell this bastard that he was his worst nightmare, but he liked Eren's answer a lot better. He liked the way that "boyfriend" had sounded coming from Eren's lips. He could not help the small smile pulling at the corner of his lips.

"Well now, that is surprising." Eren's father stated, crossing the room until he stopped directly in front of Levi. "Do you enjoy dating minors?"

"Do you enjoy having your throat ripped out because that's what's going to happen if you don't step back," Levi growled- eyes narrowing into a piercing glare as Eren's father took a few steps back.

Eren's father laughed before turning his attention back to Eren. "You have a feisty one on your hands."

"What do you want?" Eren asked- suddenly feeling very tired and very concerned.

"I want you to come live with us," his father answered, gesturing towards Mikasa, who had practically glued herself to Eren's side.

"You're a bastard," Eren hissed, stepping away from the wall to place himself directly in front of his father. "You abandoned me." He jabbed his index finger into his father's chest. "You left me with an abusive prick who wanted me dead." He could feel his body trembling with each word. He often imagined what would happen if he ever saw his father again, and he's starting to think he should have prepared better.

"Please, let me explain."

"Explain what?!" Eren stepped back. "How could you ever explain why you did what you did?!" His fingers curled in on both hands until he had two, tight fists itching to punch everything in sight.

"I had to leave. Your mother's death was too much."

Eren laughed a full blown, side-clutching laugh that rang throughout Levi's apartment. Levi could feel his feet moving towards the brunet before his mind had time to process what he was doing. He placed a hand on Eren's shoulder, but the younger boy shrugged it off.

"You're too much." Eren whispered to his father before dropping his head in the hopes that his bangs would mask his welling eyes.

"I am so, so, so sorry Eren." His father started. "But, I'm back now, and I promise to make up for everything I've put you through by my leaving."

"Unbelievable," Eren muttered- his voice cracking as the tears poured out of his eyes. He blindly reached out for Levi's hand and allowed a sigh of relief to slip passed his trembling lips when he felt the older man's warm palm press against his shaking one.

"We need you, Eren."

Eren squeezed Levi's hand as the first words Mikasa had spoken in a while hit him like a bag full of bricks. He cared for Mikasa deeply; the two were inseparable as children, and he couldn't help but wonder what she meant by "need". He wanted to know why she was with his father.

"Mikasa's family was murdered, Eren. I happened to be in the area, and I took her in. We need you to come with us. We need to be a family together. Mikasa needs you."

Eren sucked in a shuddering breath at his father's words. He could feel Levi tensing beside him, and he could only assume that Levi was glaring daggers at his father. He needed to look up; he needed to look his father in the eye to see if he was being genuine.

After a few more moments, Eren raised his head- eyes widening at the sight of the tears sliding down his father's cheeks. He squeezed Levi's hand once more.

"Please come with us, son. I understand that you appear to care for this man, but this relationship is entirely inappropriate, and I would hate to get the police involved."

"You son of a bitch," Levi spit out, starting towards Eren's father before being pulled back by the brunet.

"Okay…"

All eyes turned to the brunet. "What?" Levi asked with a trembling voice.

"I'll go with you," Eren whispered. "Can you two leave us alone while I pack my things?"

"Of course," Eren's father answered quietly while lifting his glasses to wipe away a few, stray tears. He and Mikasa exited the apartment.

"Eren, what the fuck!?" Levi questioned quickly as he followed the brunet into the guest bedroom. He watched with panicked eyes as Eren began to gather his clothes and the like into the bag Erwin had given him the night of their first meeting. Levi reached out, curling his fingers around Eren's wrist tightly. "You can't," he whispered- not even caring at how weak his voice sounded. He was about to lose the one thing in his life that made him feel warm and complete. Fuck putting up a strong exterior.

"I have to," Eren answered numbly. "If not, you will go to jail."

"No I won't," Levi responded immediately. "We can fight this. I mean, he abandoned you for fuck's sake!"

"Levi, please-"

"No! I hope you see how completely unfair this is. You tipped my life upside down when I met you, and now everything is starting to straighten out and feel right again, and you are just going to leave and ruin that?" Levi could feel his heart hammering in his chest. He could feel his breath coming out in short gasps, and he had to briefly wonder if this is what a panic attack felt like.

"I have to go, Levi. It would be for the best for both of us. I don't want to risk something happening to you." Eren zipped up the duffle bag, swinging it over his shoulder before turning to face Levi. "I love you too much to let something happen to you."

"Why can't you love me enough to stay?" That was it- that was Levi's breaking point. He could feel the tears streaming down his face in buckets. His whole body was a shivering mess, and he was pretty sure he hadn't been able to get in a solid breath since Eren's father knocked on his door. A loud sob slipped passed his quivering lips, and he could feel his knees buckling as he looked into Eren's wide, welling eyes- eyes that would normally make his heart skip a beat if he weren't in the middle of a full-blown breakdown.

"I'm doing this because I love you." Eren whispered, reaching a shaking hand out towards Levi's cheek. He softly swiped away some of the older man's tears with his thumb. He hated this; he hated seeing Levi like this. Levi was the strong one, and yet the man was about to fall apart right in front of him, and it was all Eren's fault. Leaving was the best option for everyone at this point. He had never really thought about their age difference that much until his father had brought it to light, and now he was deathly afraid of Levi rotting away in a cold jail cell. He couldn't let that happen, so he had to leave. He would appease his father, for now.

Eren started towards the door with Levi close on his heels. He reached for the doorknob, pulling the door open before turning back to the older man. "I'll write," he said, swallowing down a sob. He was pretty sure he could see the exact moment Levi's heart cracked by the pain painted across the older man's normally stoic features. "I love you," he whispered, pressing his lips against Levi's for one last time before walking out of the apartment, refusing to look back for he feared he would crumple to the floor if he did.

Levi watched as Eren walked out of his sight for forever-his mind a jumbled mess unable to process what was really happening. This was not like him; normally, he was the one who had everything under control, yet here he was, watching as the love of his life walked away.

He closed his apartment door, pressing his back against it and falling to the floor in a trembling heap. His chest heaved as the sobs shot up his throat. He clutched at his chest as his heart struggled to beat. After a few moments, he stood on shaky legs and stumbled his way into his bedroom, reaching for his phone. He dialed Erwin's number with quivering fingers before giving in to his buckling knees and falling to the floor once more.

"Hello?"

Levi could only gasp in response when Erwin finally picked up.

"Levi, are you alright? What's wrong?"

"He's g-gone…" Levi managed between gasps.

"What?"

"E-Eren," Levi started again. He had to force his voice to say that name. "He's gone."

"Levi, what happened?"

"Please," Levi started as the constricting feeling flared across his chest. "Help me."

"I'm on my way. Stay on the phone. Levi?"

Levi let the phone slip from his fingers as he dropped his head against the carpet, closing his eyes to the frantic shouts of Erwin's voice emitting from the phone.

A/N- So, I feel like I owe you guys an explanation. Long story short, my dad died suddenly at the end of 2014, and it has kind of been hell since then. I've lost a lot of motivation, but last night I got a review that inspired me to type this. The review was pretty angry, but I can't blame the reviewer. I hate unfinished things just as much as the next kid.

This is the last chapter. Now, before you go and think this is a copout to just get the story finished, I've had this ending planned since roughly around the middle of the story. So, no. I didn't just make this the last chapter because I want to get the story finished. I've had this planned for a while. I just couldn't get myself to type it.

Fear not! An epilogue will follow!

And as always, I'm sorry for any grammar errors I may have missed, and

I hope you all enjoy!