Nightmares and Thunderstorms

Nightmares and Thunderstorms - Oneshot

Eren hated the dungeon. He hated that he had to sleep there. It was better than being dissected by the Military Police, but that didn't mean it was enjoyable.

It had been worse when they made him wear those chains. Captain Levi would lock him in every night and let him out in the morning. It was demeaning. It made him feel like an animal, let out during the day, but once it turned to night he was shut up in his cage again.

Eventually, though, Captain Levi seemed to trust him more. He stopped chaining his wrists to the bed. A few months later, he stopped locking the door of his cell. Then, Eren noticed there was no longer a guard on duty to keep watch during the night while the Captain slept. Levi just walked him down, made sure he got in bed, then let him be.

This night had been no different. At least, in that aspect. Captain Levi had walked him down and then left the moment Eren was in bed. But Eren noticed something was off about his Captain.

The man was usually quiet, not talking unless necessary, but he had been even quieter tonight. Normally, Levi barely spared Eren a glance, but tonight he had kept staring at him, an unreadable expression in his eyes. Normally, Levi stuck around long enough for Eren to tell him goodnight. Tonight, he left before Eren could even draw a breath.

Eren knew something was off. And when something was off with the Captain, that meant something was wrong. He could feel it. Just as he could feel the storm brewing outside.

Eren had gone to bed around 10:30. At 11:15, the rain started, and Eren had barely closed his eyes long enough to blink. He was too busy worrying about the Captain. At 11:34, when the first peal of thunder shook the castle, Eren could definitely feel that something was wrong, something having to do with Captain Levi.

When he was still awake at 1 in the morning, Eren sighed and sat up in bed. Listening to the sounds of the rain and thunder, he could tell that tonight's storm was worse than normal. They hadn't seen a storm like this in years.

Sighing again, Eren stood up from the bed. He knew he wouldn't get any sleep until he had made sure the Captain was alright. He quietly got dressed and tiptoed from the dungeons, making his way to Levi's room.

When he got there, Eren paused to listen at the door. He heard panting. And whimpering. Eren's first thought was that Levi was having sex. After further listening, however, he recognized the sound of someone thrashing around on a bed, and the whimpers were clearly from fear, not pleasure.

Eren's eyes widened at the realization. Something was wrong, very wrong. Without another thought, he silently eased open the door and crept into the room, shutting the door behind him. Luckily, Levi's OCD was extended to squeaky hinges, so his entry was completely void of noise.

Eren stood there, in Levi's room, watching as the Captain panted and occasionally thrashed in his sleep, obviously suffering from a nightmare. Eren considered waking him up, but he realized Levi probably wouldn't take too kindly to Eren being in his room, while he was asleep, no less.

So the young brunette just stood there, watching, waiting for something to happen, for something to change. Eren noticed that Levi's face looked different while he slept. Younger, somehow. He saw the clear lines of pain and fear etched into the smooth skin of his face, and Eren wanted to do something, anything, to make that go away. Even if all he got in return for his effort was a glare and a good beating, he would take it to help the Captain.

Just as the shifter was moving closer to Levi to wake him up, an especially bright flash of lightning and loud crack of thunder shook the room, and Levi jolted awake. The young Captain jerked up into a sitting position, his eyes desperately raking the room for a sign of intruder, or that his dream had been real.