Play my Clarity | eren x levi

| ♬Bar 27 |

"I should have stayed with you. If I were there by your side, this wouldn't have happened-"

"Hey," he cut him off as he finally pulled out his stiff hand and tried to cup the man's cheek with it. "You didn't do anything wrong, you old fart. Who knows, maybe it could have happened to you too if you were with me. They would beat the both of us up, and you would get hurt, too. I can't imagine that happening to you."

"Beat me up? Is that a joke?" Levi said as an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Well, it would be inevitable if they were capable to injure you at least."

"I don't care. If I was there, maybe you wouldn't have ended up like this. Maybe we would have had a few punches to the face, but we would return home tired as the anger settled in our hearts and eventually cool down. We would strip and look at all the bruises littering our back and the mood would grow tense as I stare at your faint V line and we would kiss. It wouldn't have happened. Your hands would be limp but they were the same. This could have ended differently," Levi muttered quickly under his breath as he took Eren's hand in his and showed him a wistful smile. "I fucked up a lot. I can't do anything right, can't I?"

Eren shook his head and exhaled loudly with a roll of his eyes. He tipped his head to the side and watched as strands of brown hair got in the way of his vision.

"You're so dramatic, you idiot. Nothing's your fault."

"But-"

"You know what? I'm sure I would feel a lot better if you stopped blaming yourself," Eren told him with a joking scowl.

Levi didn't smile. He looked down at their hands and took a deep breath. His eyebrows furrowed and he was serious again.

"I'm angry myself, trust me," Eren said. "I'm just too tired to actually get angry."

The man's face relaxed and reached out to stroke the boy's face tenderly. "It's a little late to say this but, congratulations on winning."

Eren winced. "Thanks."

"I'm really proud of you and it it makes you feel any better, I reported those two morons to the police for assault. Apparently you were kicked not just on your arms and hands, but your torso too. Maybe you just didn't notice."

"What's going to happen to me?"

Levi looked resentful as he spoke. "It will take a while for the bones in your hands to heal. A lot of fractures, at least one in each finger. They say it could take months for it to heal, and you need surgery for it. It's nothing too major," Levi said. "You will be able to play piano again. You just need to wait."

"Does my mom know about this?"

Levi flinched and stopped all movement. His eyes were focused on Eren and his breathing was cut short. It was like pausing a movie. Eren inhaled sharply as he watched Levi begin to move again and his eyes were shifting to different areas of the boy's face. He was hesitating and his face grew nervous, which meant he was about to tell really bad and intriguing news.

"About that...your mom..." he trailed off, leaning in closer and murmuring quietly so only the two of them could hear. Like it was their little secret. A horrible one. "Never mind. I'll tell you later."

"Come on. Tell me. I'm used to hearing bad news. Did she get even more sick?" Eren asked, bracing himself mentally as he watched the man's face closely and studied it.

"She's not sick," Levi muttered and shook his head.

"What do you mean? Cancer can't go away so easily," Eren said, dumbfounded.