34,000 Feet Above The Ground (Ereri)

Chapter Seven

They spent the winter months getting to know each other. When both in Tokyo, they would meet up for lunch, dinner, or sometimes Eren would hang out at Levi's place. Levi took their relationship slow, agonizingly so. But he didn't want to scare off the inexperienced male. So they mainly talked, sometimes kissed. On flights, he'd let Eren talk about all the places he'd been, a smile on his face as he listened to the kid speak. Hanji teased them often, but Levi was growing used to the female's meddling. He was finding he almost considered her a friend.

One of the craziest things he did during getting to know Eren was book his own flight. He'd secretly found out what flight Eren was going to be on; the destination didn't really matter to him. Wearing normal street clothes and sunglasses, he'd boarded the plane, sitting in coach class. The person next to him drooled in his sleep, which made Levi's skin crawl to no end, but he decided Eren's reaction when he saw him would be worth it. And it was. The teen had made his way down the aisle, backwards! Oh, the things Levi wanted to do. He'd settled for brushing his hand against the teen's ass. When Eren gave him a startled look, Levi removed his sunglasses, thoroughly enjoying the attendant's look of surprise. He'd beckoned Eren closer, on the pretense of looking at the menu. When the male was close enough, Levi quickly kissed him, after making sure no one was looking. The fierce blush had been all the reward Levi needed for being on the plane.

All too soon it was December. They'd had some pretty crazy weather that winter, enough to make Levi worry over the flight attendant. But he always showed up hale, healthy, and happy. Still, Levi worried, wondering if the next flight would be one too many.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. Eren all but bounced inside when Levi opened the door.

"Levi!" The teen exclaimed, hugging him. "Guess what, guess what, guess what???!"

Levi straightened his clothes, eyeing the teen suspiciously. He was never this excited. Over anything. "I'll probably guess wrong, so why don't you just tell me?"

"Hanji and I were asked to be attendants on a flight to Paris!"

"P... Paris?" Levi repeated. Ice seemed to flow through his veins at the thought. "Eren... the weather is always unpredictable around France this time of year. And the weather here has been crazy enough. Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Planes are safe." Eren assured him. As he always assured him when Levi's fears got the better of him. "I'll be okay, really." He hugged the older male again, gently this time. "Armin and I flew to Paris earlier this year, remember? Nothing bad happened."

"Yeah, but-" Levi sighed. The kid would be fine. There was no way what happened to Levi as a child would be repeated. "You're right; I'm worrying over nothing. When do you leave?"

"Friday."

"In that case, I think we should go celebrate. Come on; I'll treat you to dinner."
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"Hey, Hanji?" Eren's voice was subdued, nervous even. "Are clouds supposed to look like that?" The attendant pointed out the window as Hanji came closer.

A giant angry mass of clouds was rising up to meet the descending plane. It looked far scarier than anything they'd seen in the years flying together.

A voice spoke over the intercom. "Folks, it appears we're going to fly through some nasty weather. Please remain calm and strap in. We should be on the ground in just a few minutes."

Those few minutes never came. Lightning forked around the plane. One bolt struck the plane's wing at just the wrong angle for it to simply glance off. That combined with the high winds tore the wing from the plane.

Eren wasn't strapped in; he couldn't be. He'd run to his carry on, pulling free the paper with Levi's name on it. Holding it firmly in his hand, ignoring the screams around him, he began to pray to whatever God was listening as the ground loomed closer. Levi!
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Levi looked at the clock; Eren's flight should be reaching the Paris runway any minute. Not too much longer and he'd be able to talk on the phone with the youth.

"Another good job this time." Erwin's voice broke through Levi's thoughts. "Ever since Osaka, you have been doing an amazing job."

"You should give me a raise." Levi murmured absently.

"Actually, I should." His eyes held affection and longing for the other male. "Let's go get a drink; you look tense."

"I'm not... tense... exactly. Just worried." Levi sighed. "A drink actually sounds nice. As long as you don't touch me."

His boss smirked, thinking he'd finally won Levi over somewhat. "I'll grab my coat."

The bar was loud and filthy, much to Levi's distaste. But the brandy he ordered tasted pleasant enough. It wasn't the drink Eren made him, but it was still good. He barely listened to Erwin talking to him, instead looking around. It wasn't until he actually looked at the televisions the bar had set up that he fully realized what he was hearing. "Wait, what?! Bartender, turn that up!!!"

Both the bartender and Erwin looked baffled at the male's tone, but she complied. Levi's eyes widened in horror as he listened, not wanting to believe what his eyes were seeing on the tv. A torn and battered plane, burning, three miles from the runway in Paris. The exact airline that Eren flew for. The number of people assumed dead. He didn't feel the glass fall from his hand. He didn't hear it shatter on the floor. All he heard was someone desperately screaming Eren's name. As the bar shrank from sight and darkness closed around him, he realized the one screaming for Eren... was himself.