// "Let's be together again in our next life..!" //
CHAPTER 23: I Love You
~*~
"NOW...!!!!"
C R A S H! B A N G!
Wails and screams broke through the pregnant silence as the entire dome-shaped ceiling shattered and broke into a thousand tiny pieces. The sound was deafening as the shards fell to the ground; crashing in ear-splitting shrieks from the glass.
It was from then that everything went into chaos.
People started screaming and running out of the hall, and Nile had loosened his grip on Eren for just a moment in utter shock, but before either could react, an amazingly fast figure swooped down from the ceiling and landed a swift kick on the man, smacking him across the room and effectively freeing Eren. Said man landed on the ground face-first with a loud thud which must have resulted in a broken nose. The figure didn't stop there, but rather rushed over and pinned the man down on the ground, using her full force to keep him in place until there were loud cracking sounds heard, presumably from his bones.
It was only then when they could see the figure properly.
"MIKASA?!"
That red scarf was unmistakable, and she shot a small smile at Eren from behind her shoulder but continued to hold the struggling man down.
"YOU IDIOTS! KILL LEVI NOW!" Nile tried to yell, but was choked by Mikasa a moment later.
Seemingly too stunned to do anything at the beginning, Nile's voice shook them out of their shocked state and they quickly fumbled with their triggers and tried to shoot Levi-
CLICK!
CLICK! CLICK!
But no bullets came out.
Just a moment later, their electronically controlled bullets fell from their rifles and out came a cheeky-looking Armin with his laptop in hand. He had managed to tap into the Military Police's weaponry several days ago when Erwin was letting him in on this Plan B...and it was quite a good thing to find out that their bullets and reloads were electronically controlled. It was originally going to be all on Mikasa's shoulders since she had great skills in martial arts...but with that, it came with a chance of failure. They couldn't risk that so Armin's idea came in great help. Advanced times calls for advanced measures.
The few officers stood in shock, not knowing what to do and directly giving Levi the opportunity to take them all down. All he needed was to get one of the rifles and knock them out cold.
Levi looked up, and so did Eren....
When their eyes met, Eren smiled warmly, a fresh stream of tears rolling down his cheeks-this time he was relieved, so very relieved that Levi was okay. And then, for the first time since he was in the hospital, Eren saw Levi's lips pull up into a gentle smile.
The smile Levi gave him made him feel loved... so very loved...
And without hesitation, he ran over.
He ran over to Levi and just threw himself onto the man, wrapping his arms around his neck in a tight embrace. He felt Levi's arms snake around his waist... at it was at that moment that he finally felt at peace after such a long time... Here, in Levi's arms, he knew everything would be okay. His heartbeat mirrored Levi's...occasionally skipping a beat or two...but that just shows how elated they were. They were together... and this time it would be for forever... It was all over.... They prevailed through it all, and now they could finally be together...
He opened his mouth.
So did Levi...
And with joy on their faces, they were finally allowed to finish the confession they couldn't all those years ago.
Eren finally remembered...
And they were finally, fully reunited.
"I love you."
~*~
S e v e r a l D a y s L a t e r . . .
Scouting Legion Headquarters.... After a period of mishaps going around, everything was finally over and it was opened again. Workers bustled back to work and the doors were opened wide. But, up in the executive floor, a lot more bustling was going on....
D I N G!
"WELCOME BACK, MR. LEVI!!!"
Yes, everyone was celebrating Levi's return and they threw a small party just for that.
The moment Levi and Eren stepped out of the elevators, hand-in-hand, confetti popped before their faces and everyone rushed over in glee. Each of them seemed to carry some kind of celebration item in their hands and they greeted Levi with the warmest of smiles. For Eren, it felt so much like the time when he first came back to work, but now... it was better with Levi by his side and celebrating together with him.
"Thank you," they heard Levi reply smoothly with a small smile. But after a while, he just had to add, "I hope you all will clean all this up after the celebrations are over."
That caused a round of laughter.
Yes, Levi was back. He was really back.
"Hey, Leviiiiiiiii!" and of course, wherever Levi was, that woman would be there in a jiffy.
Hanji jumped out from her office and just literally dashed over to give him and bone-crushing hug, effectively cutting off his oxygen supply. Sometimes he felt that she really intended to murder him... but everyone else were laughing even louder at that.
"Damn four-eyes..." Levi said with no real venom behind it, in fact... he might actually be sounding amused, "Get off me. You just saw me yesterday!"
"Nawwwww I still missed my little French breadstick." She cooed jokingly before she was pulled off by the blonde CEO who strode over with a chuckle.
"Good to have you back, Levi."
"Glad to be back."
~*~
"Erwin, I don't see why we had to do this when you guys were literally there the day I was...released."
Levi had said when the six of them, Hanji, Erwin, Eren, Mikasa, Armin and him, were seated in a luxurious five-star restaurant. It was Erwin's treat and Hanji's idea to have a small celebration of their own, whether it was to celebrate for their victory or for the fact that Levi was back....maybe both?
"I insist." Erwin replied smoothly and picked his glass up, signaling a toast.
"Here's to finally solving the case and bringing T.I.T.A.N's reign to an end," he started.
"And to putting the military police back where they belong..." Hanji joined and raised her glass.
Mikasa was beside her, so assuming she was next, she raised her glass too and added: "Here's to Eren and Levi being okay and back in one piece." Then Armin, "and back together again."
This caused a small blush to rise on the brunette's cheek. Even Levi had averted his gaze for a short moment.
It was Eren's turn now, so he raised his glass, and after a moment of looking at all the amazing people around him-those he was with since childhood, and those he just met-he smiled, "Here's to all of us...together as a family."
And finally, Levi followed their lead, "Here's to a brighter future...."
"...together." He finished.
"TOGETHER!" and, they toasted, their glasses all clinked in cheerful unison and everyone's faces literally radiated with elation.
The timing couldn't be better too, because the food arrived a moment later and everyone ate with a sense of satisfaction in their hearts.
Through dinner, Mikasa suddenly paused, and she shared a glance with Armin before both nodding in sync and turned to everyone else, "Guys... we have some good news." Armin said, drawing everyone's attention.
At first Eren had thought that they would say something like "we're together now" or something along the lines...but their faces didn't seem like it. And when they finally spoke, he nearly choked.
"We both got a scholarship to Maria University." Armin beamed and Mikasa continued, "We'll be starting our first semester next month."
The other four sat in awe for a moment, before everyone burst out in surprise and congratulated them.
"OH MY GOD!! Maria University?! That's like....the best University around isn't it?! And isn't it in another country?" Eren cried, hugging the both of them best he could in that angle.
"Yes, but it's just the neighboring country. It'll be a 5 hour drive." Mikasa confirmed.
"I...I'm so proud of you both!" Eren was starting to sound like a mother now; "Congratulations!!!" he tackled them again.
"Congratulations!" Hanji and Erwin both said with proud smiles. Mikasa and Armin were like their own family now...after all that they've gone through together.
A small laughter crossed the table of six... but it was after a while when Hanji and Erwin noticed that Levi was quite silent. He had congratulated them, and he seemed proud of them too... But now, he was too immersed with thought, and the two friends shared a look of concern.
Taking the chance while Eren was busy chatting away with Mikasa and Armin, Hanji whispered, "What's wrong, Levi...?"
Said man looked up, and they could see that he looked quite sad.
Levi sighed.
"I still have something to tell Eren." He replied, "As you both know, Eren stopped going to school to work to repay his parents debt..." Slowly, a look of recognition crossed their faces and Hanji smiled sadly at her friend, "You're sending him to Maria University aren't you?"
"Maria High actually; he has to re-take a year of his high school. But after that, he'll directly move up to Maria University."
"Why did it have to be Maria? You could choose somewhere nearby." Erwin pointed out softly, but Levi shook his head.
"I want him to enjoy his youth with no worries. After everything that has happened, a short time away would do him some good. Moreover, Mikasa already told me about their scholarship earlier. This was also part of her plan. With the two of them there, he can be with his friends." Levi explained.
Hanji and Erwin shared a look again and the woman smiled with soft sigh, "You've made up your mind, haven't you?"
A nod from him.
"You're making a good choice for him Levi.... Eren will accept it. He knows how much you love him." She tried to comfort him.
"It's not just him. I'm more concerned about whether...can I...cope with it myself."
"Levi? What's wrong?" Eren's voice suddenly snapped them out of their small conversation and Levi looked into his lover's eyes... Those beautiful, bright, teal oceans.... He would definitely miss seeing them in the morning.
"Eren, listen... I have something to tell you."