[ It's not like Levi scoots away if they end up sitting too close on the couch during Annika times or anything, and it's not like he's ever been particularly generous with touch toward the brats, but his recent contact with Eren was indeed mostly limited to kicks. It's not really intentional; somehow it just ended up that way, just like Levi mostly skipping sleep for the first month or two. ]
[ Maybe his subconscious is just too aware of the rift Eren has -- will have -- torn between them when he decided to kill the rest of humanity. It's not exactly the sort of gap that can be bridged. Too much is destroyed, burned down, betrayed. ]
[ And yet, not doing so risks calling forward the same feelings that created it in the first place. Part of the responsibility is always theirs -- his especially, for unknowingly allowing Eren to believe he had to fix everything by himself. ]
[ He was never meant to bear the fate of the world alone. ]
[ It's not quite distrust, but the way he stares back like he's naturally expecting some kind of punishment or reprimand stings a little in that context. Levi considers whether it implies that he has in fact done something deserving of his scrutiny lately. ]
[ Other than -- ]
[ Okay, no, that's not fair. He's like twenty now. Whatever he wants to do with Reiner is their business alone. (In fact, it's probably part of what really drove in the realization that Eren is, like, Actually Not A Kid Anymore. Good job, Reiner!) Most that anybody else should do in such a situation is assure they'll be there if something goes to shit and leave it at that. ]
[ Which means he should... probably reassure him somehow, huh. ]
[ He hesitates for a moment, then gives Eren a brief, awkward clap on the shoulder as he walks past him to take a seat across the table. ]
That's right. You're an adult now, you're just such a brat it's easy to forget sometimes. [ Fuck, now he sounds like Kenny. And after all that effort to make sure nobody could accuse them of being alike. (Not to mention he much prefers the recently resurfacing brattiness to whatever the fuck was going on with Eren before that.) Course-correct! ]
I know you haven't expected to make it this far, but now we're here. [ And they're here to stay, as all three of them agreed. Right? He's still sort of skirting around the matter, though. Surely he has a point he's getting to with all of this talk --] And there are things that all grown-ups should own.
[ OH BOY HE'S CERTAINLY NOT MAKING IT ANY CLEARER WHAT KIND OF A STORE EXACTLY THEY'RE GOING TO IS HE... ]
:>
[ Maybe his subconscious is just too aware of the rift Eren has -- will have -- torn between them when he decided to kill the rest of humanity. It's not exactly the sort of gap that can be bridged. Too much is destroyed, burned down, betrayed. ]
[ And yet, not doing so risks calling forward the same feelings that created it in the first place. Part of the responsibility is always theirs -- his especially, for unknowingly allowing Eren to believe he had to fix everything by himself. ]
[ He was never meant to bear the fate of the world alone. ]
[ It's not quite distrust, but the way he stares back like he's naturally expecting some kind of punishment or reprimand stings a little in that context. Levi considers whether it implies that he has in fact done something deserving of his scrutiny lately. ]
[ Other than -- ]
[ Okay, no, that's not fair. He's like twenty now. Whatever he wants to do with Reiner is their business alone. (In fact, it's probably part of what really drove in the realization that Eren is, like, Actually Not A Kid Anymore. Good job, Reiner!) Most that anybody else should do in such a situation is assure they'll be there if something goes to shit and leave it at that. ]
[ Which means he should... probably reassure him somehow, huh. ]
[ He hesitates for a moment, then gives Eren a brief, awkward clap on the shoulder as he walks past him to take a seat across the table. ]
That's right. You're an adult now, you're just such a brat it's easy to forget sometimes. [ Fuck, now he sounds like Kenny. And after all that effort to make sure nobody could accuse them of being alike. (Not to mention he much prefers the recently resurfacing brattiness to whatever the fuck was going on with Eren before that.) Course-correct! ]
I know you haven't expected to make it this far, but now we're here. [ And they're here to stay, as all three of them agreed. Right? He's still sort of skirting around the matter, though. Surely he has a point he's getting to with all of this talk --] And there are things that all grown-ups should own.
[ OH BOY HE'S CERTAINLY NOT MAKING IT ANY CLEARER WHAT KIND OF A STORE EXACTLY THEY'RE GOING TO IS HE... ]