It's Always Been Alright - It'll be Alright Sequel

The Corporal never acted any different when he was around other people. He still cursed and made poop jokes, he was still obsessed with cleanliness and still ordered his squad to clean their rooms and the rest of the castle every week, he still treated Eren like an annoying brat and forced him to train just a little harder and longer than everyone else.

But at night, when Eren was back in his cell and the two were alone, Levi would whisper the same soothing words as he had the first night, place the same gentle kisses along Eren's cheeks, jaw, neck and shoulders, and run his fingers through the dark brown locks of hair in the same caring way. Most nights, Levi would take Eren in that painful way, but he would always clean the boy up, wrap him tightly in a blanket and resume the words, touches and kisses while holding him and slowly rocking him back and forth until he fell asleep.

Then there were the nights when Levi would quietly crawl into bed next to Eren, he would pull the boy against him and place kisses in his hair, then bury his face into Eren's chest. Levi would never say anything, but sometimes Eren could hear his stuttering breath, see his shoulders shaking and feel warm droplets splash onto his chest. On those nights Eren would hesitantly place a kiss on Levi's forehead, whisper goodnight, and wrap his arms around the man to pull him close. The Corporal would always be gone in the morning.

Those nights were the ones that made Eren forget everything that had happened previously and they were the ones he looked forward to after a rough day, but the nights he loved most were few and far between.

But Eren, unlike the Corporal, found it difficult to act as if nothing was happening. He was a lot more jumpy around his friends, he started spacing out a lot, he rarely smiled or laughed and didn't pick fights with Jean anymore. People were starting to worry, Mikasa and Armin mostly, but also Petra and the rest of Levi's squad, even Auruo, and the rest of Eren's friends.

Levi had noticed and told Eren not to say a single word about his nightly visits, and the boy had learned not to disobey the man and so he made up excuses. Refusal to do what he was told always resulted in more pain and extra bruises in the places people wouldn't see. Eren had also learned not to ask questions, when they were alone or in public, since they usually angered the Corporal, especially when Eren asked why he was doing this, but sometimes Eren would get the simple answer 'comfort' and nothing more.

Eren was allowed to call Levi by his name at night, not Corporal, not captain, not sir, just Levi, and in turn, Levi always called him Eren, not Jaeger, not cadet, not brat. Though Levi's behaviour continued to confuse Eren and even scare him a little, but now he just accepted the visits as part of his nightly routine.

Sometimes Eren thought that Levi was just as confused and scared as he was, especially on those rare nights when Levi cried into his chest and didn't speak a single word.

Everything changed the day Levi's squad was killed by the female titan.

Levi didn't come to visit Eren in his cell at night and Eren didn't see the Corporal during the day, but he didn't think much of it, thinking the man was just busy with reports and paperwork and didn't have time to see Eren, or even leave his office. Then another night passed, and another, and another and he still hadn't seen the Corporal, until eventually an entire week passed and Eren was actually starting to get worried, though he hated to admit it. The Corporal wouldn't have... done anything, would he? He couldn't have, Levi wasn't that kind of person.

Another week passed, and Eren actually start to miss seeing the older man every night, he even missed the man's voice and touch when he was trying to comfort him, even if Eren knew that it was just fake, an act. And if the Corporal had done something, wouldn't some one tell Eren? Wouldn't they put him in another squad and find some one else to watch him? Hanji maybe? or Mike?

Finally, on the 17th night, Levi came to see him, but he wasn't happy. Levi was angry, aggressive, borderline murderous, and Eren would be telling a huge lie if he said he wasn't completely terrified of the man.

On that night there were no comforting words and soft touches, there was shouting and swearing, punches were thrown, a bone or two might have been broken. Eren had tried to ask what was wrong, but when that didn't work he just yelled and cried for him to stop, tried to fight back, but he was in pain and he was weak, and the Corporal was just so much stronger.

The titan-shifter ended up pinned to the bed, the older man's hands around his neck. His own hands were weakly grasping at the others' shirt and tugging his cravat, tears were falling from his eyes and landing on the pillow beneath his head. Eren's vision was starting to get blurry and he used what little strength he had to push at the man on top of him, but it was useless, his hands dropped to his sides and he could feel himself starting to lose consciousness.

Then the hands were gone from his neck and on his shoulders instead, and Eren took the change to gasp for breath and get some much needed oxygen, but he still felt weak, he was still so tired. He could hear the Corporal shouting at him.

"Eren! Eren, wake up! Shit! Fuck, Fuck, Fuck! Damn it, Eren, wake up! I can't lose you too! I'm sorry! Please! Wake up! Just fucking wake up!"

Eren could feel the others' tears dropping onto his face, but he was too tired to open his eyes and look at the Corporal, and he could only let out a quiet grunt went he felt the man pick him up and start running.

~~~KMD~~~

Eren woke up to find himself in the infirmary. He could hear people talking some where in the room, but he ignored them as he tried to remember how he got here.

He was in his room waiting for the Corporal, then... that's right, the Corporal actually came, but he was angry and he was shouting and... Levi almost killed him, but he stopped, and Eren couldn't remember anything after that, but he must have passed out at some point in the night.

The boy groaned and tried to sit up, but some one was at his side immediately and pushing him gently to lie back down. He turned to the side and saw the Corporal sitting on a stool next to the bed.

"Can you hear me?" Levi asked quietly. His voice was raspy and he looked absolutely horrible. His eyes were red and puffy, dark circles underneath them, he was thin, and his skin looked paler than usual, his hair wasn't as shiny and looked like it hadn't been combed in a while. The death of his squad must have really taken a toll on Levi's health.

Eren nodded slowly, and then he barely had to time to even think before Levi was hugging him tightly and sobbing into his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Eren! I didn't mean to... I- fuck... I'm sorry. I almost lost you, I can't lose you...! You're the only one left...!"

The boy gasped at the sudden pain, and Levi loosed his grip slightly, but didn't let him go. Eren furrowed his brows in confusion, but he lifted his bandaged arms to wrap them around the Corporal and hold him as tightly as possible, "I'm... not going anywhere... Levi..." Eren whispered next to the man's ear as he continued to sob.

The nights after that were actually quite pleasant.

Eren had to stay in the infirmary until his injuries healed, which took a few weeks, but Levi stayed with him every night and apologised repeatedly for hurting Eren, not just on that night, but all the nights previous, and every time Eren heard the apologies, he just smiled, kissed Levi's forehead and told him that he was forgiven. As soon as Eren was back in the dungeon cell, Levi continued to come every night, but instead of what usually happened, Levi just slipped under the covers and they both talked until they fell asleep, and that quickly became their new nightly routine.

Eren would be locked up by Levi, then the older man would leave and change into a shirt and pair of shorts. When he returned, Eren would be in the same clothes and already under the new blanket Levi had gotten, it was thicker, larger and a lot comfier than the previous one. Levi would slip under the blanket and he and Eren would hold each other and talk about anything and everything, they smiled and Eren even heard Levi laugh a few times.

Eren decided that he loved and enjoyed these nights more than the others, and hoped that nothing would happen that could change them.