Swing Life Away [Ereri/Riren]

Relapse - Part 3

Just so you guys know, medical stuff in this chapter isn't exactly accurate and for that reason I may just take this whole chapter down bc I hate being inaccurate. The reason I decided to post it was bc I promised at least 5 chapters...but yeah. Sorry.

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Cold. It was the first thing Eren noticed upon waking, as well as the absence of another warm body right beside him. That was all it took to get him sitting up quickly and glancing at the clock.

2:38.

Last he remembered, he'd been protectively curled up around Levi, gently scratching his scalp and giving him soft kisses as he rested, shaking lightly, and absently talking about nothing in particular to keep Levi's mind off his withdrawals.

Now the room had been plunged in total darkness and the space Levi had occupied was void of him; the only evidence he'd even been there were the wrinkles in the sheets.

Eren shook himself, trying to wake up as he slid out of bed. He felt his way to the door and pulled it open to peer down the dark hallway. Light leaked through the cracks around the bathroom door. Forcing down the sickly feeling rising from his stomach, he gave its wood a soft knock. The scene felt sickeningly familiar in more ways than one; he knew no matter what he found behind that door, his life was about to change, even if just a little.

"Levi," he murmured, placing a gentle hand on the knob. He didn't really expect an answer and when he didn't get one, he tried the knob. It turned easily. Light flooded into the hall; he held his breath, peering around the door's edge, heart pounding.

Levi laid on the floor in front of the bathtub, halfway curled up with a towel between his arm and his head. His legs were tucked in close, his right arm curled around his stomach. His face was mostly shielded by his hair, pressed into the towel. His whole frame shook, his skin sickly, and an odd sound elicited from between his parted lips in time with his breathing. His eyes were closed, but Eren couldn't tell if he was asleep or--

The thought was stopped short. Eren sucked in a shallow breath as he moved into the room, making sure to shut and lock the door behind him in case Charlotte wandered out of bed. She didn't need to see this.

"Levi," the brunet called softly again. Levi's hand twitched, his fingers curling a bit. Eren knelt down, his hand extending out but stopping halfway.

Why am I afraid to touch him...?

But he had to. With uneasy fingers, he softly skimmed the tips up Levi's arm and shook him a bit. His eyes peeled open fractionally. Eren brushed the hair away from his face, leaning down to better see him.

"Hey," he said. "What happened?"

Levi pulled his lips shut and licked them, his brows furrowing. "Threw up," he managed in a weak whisper.

"Can you sit up?"

It took more effort than should be necessary, as well as help from Eren, but he managed to push himself into a sitting position. Marks were indented into the side of his face where it'd been pressed into the towel, and his skin was almost...yellowish. A round of coughing shook his shoulders; it was wet and deeper than Eren remembered. Worse. And it had Levi clutching the fabric over his chest so tightly his knuckles were white.

"Something's wrong," the raven sputtered. "It...it hurts to breathe..."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Bury your panic, Eren commanded himself. It was already plain to see he was having trouble breathing, as it came in fast and shallow little pants, an odd wheezing Eren hadn't heard from him before sounding in time with it.