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Eren just had to take two more steps and he'd be at the gate that was the entrance to school. Just two more steps and he could press the small buzzer and ask whoever was at reception to open the gate and let him in. He just needed to move his feet forward and lift his hand.

But he didn't.

He just stood there, watching as some kids from a younger year group ran about on the field for their PE lesson. He thought about the lessons he had and realised that he had all of his favourite ones today, he also had most of his friends in those classes, and he'd be able to see them at lunch and break, he could talk to them after school for a little while too.

The boy still couldn't find it in himself to just step forward and enter the school.

With a sigh of, "I'm sorry, mum...", he turned and hurried away from the school gate.

After refusing to go to school every day the previous week, he had promised his mother repeatedly that he'd go today, and the next day, and the next, and the next, right up until the very last day of school, but he'd failed her. It's not that he just couldn't be bothered or was too lazy, he wanted to go to school, but he just... couldn't bring himself to go.

He turned up the music on his MP3 and let his feet carry him to a small cafe that a lot of his free time was spent in.

When Eren arrived, he chose a seat that was tucked away in a corner and hoped that the owner wouldn't notice him when he walked in. He knew that hoping that was useless though, the staff would notice him soon enough, and though they loved Eren like family, they would definitely tell the owner when he arrived.

Eren knew that the owner would be mad too when he found out Eren was at the cafe and not at school, he'd promised the man that he'd go in every day until he left, just like he promised his mother.

There was a quiet cough from behind him and he turned, expecting to see the owner, but found himself facing Petra, one of the few employees at the cafe. She had a somewhat upset look on her face, but she still offered him a small smile and lifted her notebook up, "What would you like to order? It's on the house."

Eren smiled back, "Maybe a hot chocolate and a blueberry muffin, please?"

"Coming right up!" The woman jotted down the order, even though she didn't need to and hurried off. She came back a few moments later with the muffin and hot chocolate and set them down in front of Eren, "Anything else?"

"Um, when is Levi coming in?" Eren asked quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.

"You know what time he comes in, Eren." Petra sighed, glancing at the clock, "You have half an hour to finish that off and leave, if you plan on going before Levi comes in that is."

"No," He said, "I'll just let him find me."

"Eren," Petra started, almost pleading, "He's going to be so mad, if you go now I won't say a word to him. I'll make sure the others stay quiet too."

"It's fine, Petra, I'll be fine. I can handle Levi, he can never stay mad at me anyway, don't worry." Eren smiled reassuringly as he wrapped his hands around the mug of hot chocolate and brought it to his lips, taking a small sip.

"This is suicide, but you've always been a suicidal blockhead, as your friend Jean would say."

Eren growled at that and Petra giggled, before giving him a little wave and returning to her work.

The boy turned in his seat and glanced at the clock on the opposite wall.

25 minutes.

He ate his muffin and drank his hot chocolate, glancing at the clock more often than he would've liked, but he couldn't help it. The minutes ticked by until there was only five left.

Then four minutes.

Three minutes.

Two.

One.

A door labelled 'Employees only' was pushed open and out stepped a short man with pale skin, black hair and piercing silver eyes. He was wearing a white dress shirt, black slacks, black dress shoes and a dark green apron with a pair of overlapping wings on it. Eren looked away quickly, not wanting to see Levi's face when the man's eyes eventually settled on him.

Despite the other people chattering away in the cafe, it seemed silent to Eren, until he heard the sound of footsteps gradually getting closer. His hands gripped the mug tightly and he braced himself for whatever Levi had to say.

The footsteps stopped behind him and the cafe was silent again, but only for a second before a deep voice was asking, "Why aren't you at school?"

The boy didn't say a word.

"Eren, why aren't you at school?" The man asked more firmly.

"I'm sorry." Eren whispered, still refusing to look at Levi, "I'm sorry."

There was a long, drawn out sigh from the other.

"Get your ass upstairs. I'll be up there shortly and I expect you to have an explanation ready."

Eren nodded and picked up his school bag from where he had placed it on the floor, then made his way to the door that Levi had just came out of. He pulled it open and entered the break room, it was cozy looking with a small kitchen, a sofa that faced a TV mounted on the wall and a round table with three chairs placed around it.

On the opposite wall there was another door, which he stepped up to as he pulled out a pair of keys. He unlocked the door, opened it and stepped through, then climbed the stairs on the other side. There was another door which he also unlocked with the other key and when he opened it, it revealed the apartment where Levi lived.

Eren placed his bag by the coffee table in the living room and curled up on the sofa, waiting for what felt like hours for Levi, when in reality it couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes or so.

When he felt the other side of the sofa sink with Levi's weight, he sat up slowly and placed his hands in his lap, "I-I'm sorry," He whispered shakily, "I d-didn't come straight here, I did go to the school gates, b-but... I just couldn't go in, I-I wanted to... but I couldn't... I tried Levi, please don't be mad."

Eren curled his hands into fists, angry at himself for sounding so weak and pathetic, and why was he acting so scared? He had no reason to be scared of Levi, of course he was mad and he'd probably shout, but it's not like he'd hurt Eren or anything, he wouldn't dare.

"I'm not mad Eren, not anymore at least, I just wanted to know why." Levi said softly. He took Eren's left hand into his own and brought it to his mouth, placing tender kisses to each of his knuckles. "There's still a lot of the school day left, I'll walk you there if you go."

Eren shook his head, a light blushing dusting his cheeks, "Just one more day, please. I'll go tomorrow, I promise."

"That's the same thing you said yesterday, Eren, you can't keep doing this." Levi sighed, anger seeping into his voice as he tightened his grip on Eren's hand, "Who's to say you won't do the same thing tomorrow?"

"Please, Levi, I'm sorry, I really don't want to go today." Eren said, tears forming in the corners of his eyes, "Please, I know it's not really up to you, but I'll talk to my mum."

Eren's mother knew about the relationship between the two. She wasn't too happy when she first found out, but she grew to accept it when she saw just how much they cared for each other, and she allowed the relationship to go on. Though she threatened to castrate Levi if he even thought about hurting her precious baby boy.

"I'll talk to your mother Eren, we'll figure something out, but you have to do something for me."

"What is it?"

"I'm going to end my shift a little early today, that means I'll be leaving you here for three hours. You better spend at least one of those hours studying for your upcoming exams or I'll ban you from the cafe until they're over." Levi explained.

Eren's eyes widened and he grinned, tackling Levi in a hug, "Thank you!"

The shorter man wrapped his arms around the other and fell back against the sofa with a laugh, Eren lying on top of him. "Anything for you, Eren." He whispered.

Eren hummed and pressed his lips to Levi's, shifting a little so he could cup Levi's cheeks. Levi smiled into the kiss, moving his hands to Eren's hips so he could pull the boy closer as he deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue into the others' mouth.

Eren gasped and bucked his hips against Levi, making the man groan and push at his chest slightly, "Alright, I'm stopping this before it gets too far," Levi said, sitting up with Eren in his lap, "We both have to work to do, so come on." He tapped Eren's butt lightly and waited for him to move.

The boy whined and wrapped his arms around the man's neck, "Stay a little longer please?" He asked, kissing Levi's nose.

"No, Eren, I know what you're trying to do and it's not going to work." Levi said, grabbing Eren's hips and lifting him off of his lap and onto the sofa. He stood and placed a quick kiss to Eren's forehead, then moved to pick up Eren's bag. He took out Eren's text book and notebook and set them down on the coffee table. "Work now, and I better not come back to find you watching TV or doing something other than work."

"But what if I do an hour of work and then watch TV?" Eren asked.

"Then I'll need proof that you actually did work. Now get on with it, I'll see you later." Levi leaned down to give Eren one final kiss before returning to his cafe.

Eren pouted to himself, dropping one of the sofa's cushions on the floor so he could kneel on it. He opened his Science text book and pulled a highlighter out of his bag, then he got to work highlighting key words and facts. He wrote out notes and explained things out loud to himself, he practiced answering different types of questions and wrote out flash cards, which Levi would undoubtedly want to use later on.

When he became bored of Science, he moved onto Maths and then English, and when he was tired of studying he checked the time to find that two hours had passed. He left his things where they were and switched on the TV, grabbing the remote on his way back to the sofa. He flicked through the channels until he found something interesting, then he curled up and patiently waited for Levi to return from work.

~~~KMD~~~

Levi entered the living room to find Eren fast asleep and stretched out on the sofa. The remote was upside down on the floor, the TV was playing some documentary about a serial killer, and Eren's books were scattered across the coffee table and floor.

He knelt on the floor in front of Eren and gently brushed a few strands of hair out of his face. The boy looked so calm and relaxed when he was sleeping, a nice contrast to the stressed out and worried expression that he usually wore when awake. Levi placed a soft kiss to Eren's forehead as he stood and scooped him into his arms.

Levi carried Eren to his bedroom where he'd let him sleep just a little longer, since it would've been cruel to wake him now and cut his nap short.

~~~KMD~~~

Eren awoke to find himself in a bed that wasn't his own, but familiar all the same. He allowed a smile to tug at the corners of his lips as he buried his face in the pillow and inhaled the scent of his lover. He led there for a little while longer before finally left the bed.

He looked down at himself and found that he was only wearing a pair of shorts, Levi must've changed him before putting him to bed. Eren hummed as he looked through a few drawers, trying to find a shirt to wear. He'd left clothes here before, but he was in the mood to wear something of Levi's.

Eventually he settled on Levi's favourite black hoodie. It was a little baggy on the shorter man, but it fit Eren perfectly.

He wandered into the kitchen to find his mother and Levi sitting across from each other at the island, engaged in a hushed conversation with each other.

Eren stood there awkwardly for moment, but neither noticed him so he let out a small cough.

"Oh, you're up." His mother commented with a smile, she didn't look happy though.

"Um, what time is it...?" Eren asked nervously.

"It's four o'clock." Levi answered, turning to the boy in the doorway. He didn't look happy either, just tired.

"Oh, OK..." Eren whispered, shuffling his feet as he tugged at the hem of the hoodie.

"The school phoned earlier and said you weren't there." Carla started, "I waited for an hour or so and when you didn't come home, I decided to come here. Levi and I have been talking."

Oh God, Eren really didn't like how that sounded. They'd probably decided that it was best that Eren stay away from Levi, or something else that'd absolutely crush Eren.

"Don't cry Eren, it's nothing bad," Levi said softly, holding out a hand, "Come here."

"I'm not-!" Eren cut himself off when he felt something warm and wet sliding down his cheek. He clenched his teeth and scrubbed at his cheeks, then slowly made his way over to Levi and stood beside him.

The shorter man wrapped one arm around Eren's waist to pull him closer and reached the other up to wipe away the tears that continued to fall, "Hey, it's alright." He smiled reassuringly at him as he looked up, "Calm down, there's nothing to worry about, OK?"

Eren nodded and leaned into Levi, turning to his mother, "If it's not bad then what is it...?" He questioned in a whisper, still afraid of the answer despite the reassurance.

"We were just discussing what you would do after you left school." Carla explained, "Levi was kind enough to offer to let you work at the cafe as soon as you get out of school, but I'd rather you actually try and find a job somewhere else first. Of course, that won't be possible if you keep missing school."

"I already know that, you don't have to keep telling me!" Eren cried, clenching his fists.

"Hey, hey, calm down, listen to the rest." Levi said, giving Eren a slight squeeze.

"Stop all this messing around, Eren, go to school every single day, for the whole day, study hard and pass your exams, please." Eren's mother continued, "Look for a job, and if you try and you can't then work at Levi's cafe. Promise me you'll work hard and won't half-ass anything."

Somehow, those words made Eren so damn happy and he grinned, nodding his head, "I promise, mum, and I won't half-ass anything."

~~~KMD~~~

"Well, it was wonderful having you on the show Eren, thank you so much for coming tonight!"

"Thank you for having me!" Eren grinned, standing from his seat, "Oh, actually, you don't mind if I say one more thing before I go? Well, it's more like several things, but in story format, you guys don't mind a quick story before I go, right?" He turned to the audience and they cheered loudly.

"Since the audience want's it I don't see why not." Hanji smiled, "Go ahead."

Eren sat back down again and crossed one leg over the other, "OK, how do I start this off?

"Uh, when I was younger, and by younger I mean about four years ago, I used to miss a whole lot of school, almost every other day. I don't really know the reason why, I never knew how to explain it, It wasn't that I was lazy or just couldn't be bothered to go, I always wanted to, I loved it. I just... couldn't bring myself to go, like I just didn't have the willpower or something... Um, anyway...

"My grades became really bad, and I everyone was constantly nagging at me to get my act together, and most of the time, instead of motivate me, they just made me want to give up. On the last day that I skipped school, I went to my favourite cafe, a nice little place not far from the school I went too. The people that worked there were like family and the owner ended up becoming my boyfriend."

There were a few whistles from audience members and Eren grinned, "I'm pretty sure most of you have already heard of him, I would introduce him for those who haven't, but I'm not sure he'd appreciate that, and we're getting off topic now. On that day that I missed school, he and my mother sat down and talked to me, they didn't say much, and what they said wasn't much different from what anyone else had said before, but there was just something about it. Maybe it was something to do with the fact that they were people I was close to and people I loved, or maybe it was some other reason, but it made me want to change.

"So I did. I spent a lot of time studying, much more than before, I went to school every day, and it showed when my grades started getting better and better, and luckily I managed to pass all my exams. After school, I moved in with Levi, the boyfriend I mentioned before, and I tried to find a job, but I couldn't, so he allowed me to work at his cafe, my favourite one. It was boring though, no offense Levi."

"None taken." Levi called from his place in the front row.

Eren pretended to blow the man a kiss and he pretended to catch it and then blew one back, causing Eren to let out a small laugh, "OK, so where was I? Oh yeah, it got boring and one day I just sat down and decided that I was going to write a book, so I spent almost a year writing and re-writing it and finally it was published. I really wasn't expecting it to become so popular so quickly, so that was a real pleasant surprise, and I have you guys to thank for that.

"I have no idea where I'm actually going with this story now, but what I was trying to say was go to school, work hard and do your best and maybe something good will happen, or something along those lines, I don't know. Let's just pretend I said something really inspirational tonight, alright?" Eren chuckled and stood from his seat, waving to the audience, "Bye everyone! I'll see you at the book signing in two weeks time!"

Eren hurried away, not stopping until he was outside, where he took a deep gulp of air and let it out slowly. Why did he keep agreeing to do these things again? Oh yeah, he kept forgetting how bad his stage fright was, and he didn't remember until they were filming live and he couldn't back out.

"You did good out there."

Eren jumped and whipped his head around, finding Levi standing a few feet away from him. "Thanks." He smiled.

Levi smiled back and stepped closer, threading his fingers through the younger man's hair so he could pull him down and press their lips together. "I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too." Eren whispered back, wrapping his arms around Levi's shoulders.

There was a squeal from somewhere to their left and then a girl was shouting, "Hey, that's Eren Jaeger! The author of Attack on Titan!"

"And isn't that Levi with him?"

"Aw, they're so cute together! Let's go say hi to them!"

The three girls came charging towards the couple, they looked young, probably only fifteen or sixteen years old, and they all had grins on their faces.

Eren put on his own grin and waved to them as they got closer, "Hey there! It's always nice to meet fans."

The girls giggled and blushed slightly as they looked up at Eren, and then one of them spoke up, the blonde girl that had noticed Eren first, "Do you think you could sign our copies of Attack on Titan. We have a competition on when you do your book signing so we can't make it."

"I'd be happy to, do you have a pen with you?"

The girl nodded and handed her pen to Eren, along with her book. He signed it and then did the same for the other two girls, after that, Eren and Levi actually spent quite a while talking with the girls, though Levi felt a little out of place, since he was so much older than all of them.

Eventually, Eren's editor, Erwin Smith, came along and pulled them away, telling Eren that he needed to start work on Attack on Titan's sequel. He offered to drive the couple back to their apartment and they accepted.

Once home, Eren sat in Levi's lap and worked on typing up his new book for few hours until he became tired. He moved to stand up, but Levi tightened his arms around Eren's waist, "Stay for a second, I'm comfortable." He hummed.

Eren shifted a little so he could rest his head on Levi's chest, "I'm lucky I have you." He whispered, "I don't think any of this would've happened if I hadn't stumbled into your cafe all those years ago."

"No Eren, I'm definitely the lucky one in this relationship." Levi smiled, cracking an eye open, "You may be a stubborn brat, but you can also be a pretty amazing boyfriend, ugh, I feel old when I say that."

"I like it when you call me your boyfriend." Eren grinned and kissed Levi's throat.

Levi huffed and kissed Eren's hair, then shifted so that he was lying on his back on the sofa, with Eren lying on his chest, "Just go to sleep. I can't be asked to get up now."

Eren fell asleep thanking every God there was that he knew so many awesome people that were willing to help him however they could.