The Only One I See

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Eren never realized how uneventful a day without Levi was. No tutoring, no perfect grey eyes to secretly look into while Levi was daydreaming, no comfortable silence that they shared. It was odd how attached you could get to a single person over a short period of time.

"Eren! Where were you last night?!" Mikasa yelled from behind him. He had gotten home from the hospital very late last night. He told his foster parents what happened, then went to bed. He hadn't even thought about Mikasa. "I was worried sick!"

"Oh, sorry, Mikasa. I was at the hospital," Eren said. Her eyes grew wide with concern. "Oh, no no. Not for me. For Levi. He got into a fight yesterday and I had to drive him to the hospital because he passed out."

"Oh, that's terrible! Wait," Mikasa paused, "You were with Levi?"

"Well, yeah. He tutors me."

"Eren, can I ask you a question?" He nodded. "Do you... like... Levi." Eren's face grew red. He didn't know how to tell her. He didn't know what she'd think. What if she didn't support homosexuality. They had never really spoken about it before, so how was he suppose to know?

"Well, yeah. Don't you?" he answered, looping his way around the conversation. But Mikasa was persistent.

"No, Eren. I mean like like him." Eren inwardly laughed and imagined what Levi would have thought of her immature word choice. No matter what judgmental thoughts would run through his head, Eren still imagined him blushing.

"D-don't be ridiculous, Mikasa!" Eren stuttered, "I'm not even-"

"Don't lie to me, Eren!" Mikasa shouted. This surprised him. She usually never raised her voice and it was usually never directed at him. "I know about the party?"

"What party?"

"The party you went to in eighth grade!" Eren heart sunk. "I know that you weren't driven home early that morning, you walked home late that night. Bullies don't just call people "faggot" or "queer" for fun. They have a reason. You kissed Jean at that party. You kissed him and he rejected you. That's why everyone calls you names."

"Mikasa, I'm sorry. I should have-"

"No, it's fine. I wish you would have told me sooner, but at least I know now." The two sat in awkward silence for what seemed like hours before Eren finally broke the silence.

"Do you hate me?"

"What?" Mikasa looked taken aback.

"Because I'm gay. Do you hate me?" Eren waited impatiently for an answer as Mikasa's face grew red.

"Of course I don't hate you, moron! You're my brother! I could never hate my brother. And I don't blame you for being gay. I'm not an idiot. I know it's not a choice." Mikasa said, crossing her arms superficially. Eren didn't have any words. He took Mikasa in his arms and held her tighter than the day he learned that the reason she was a foster kid was because both of her parents were brutally murdered. "So, do you like him?"

"Yeah. A lot."

"Well, I don't know exactly how I feel about that since over half the girls on my volleyball team have dated and hated him," Mikasa looked down at Eren's pleading face, "but I guess you know him better than me. Go for it."