Zombie Apocalypse Story

Chapter 13

Eren
Eren stared up at the ceiling, waiting for it to collapse and crush him. It never happened to his disappointment. His mind echoed and he remembered Peter finally. He sat up, looking over at the sleeping boy. What would he think of Peter? Eren frowned, his brow knitting together as he began thinking. What if he didn't like Peter? What if he didn't want another parent? What if he hated Peter? Eren's mind went to the other two children, who were buried together. It seemed whoever Peter knew went insane. Eren shook his head, curling his legs to his chest and grabbing handfuls of his hair and tugging on it as that all too familiar feeling crept up his spine and into his brain.
His hands became clammy and his breathing shallow. His eyes were wide as the panic attack flooded his body. It hit him in waves that only became stronger as time progressed. He felt a harsh and knife-like pain in his chest as he could barely breathe. He closed his eyes tightly, held his breath slightly and breathed out. He breathed in and held it, then let it out. He repeated this until his body no longer shook or hurt. His hands still shook slightly, but the sensation of fear was slowly leaving his body.
He looked back over the sleeping boy, of course he would like Peter. Peter was nice, albeit annoying, but he was a nice person. That wasn't what scared him however. It was the thought that everyone Peter made contact with became or slowly started to become insane. There was that Amiya woman, and Eren figured there would have been others. Eren's eyes went blank, all emotion leaving him. He had thoughts going through his head that he had fought so hard to get rid of. Then again, you can never get rid of the pain of wishing you never lived or that you could be dead. He shook his head, "no." He told himself shortly. This wasn't the time to let it win.
He moved to the edge of the bed, then again it wasn't a bad time to break out the wine again. He stopped at the door, looking at his son. The peaceful and sleeping face brought tears to the male's eyes. The memory of him bleeding out in the city three, maybe even four now, months ago and almost dying felt like a gunshot to his heart. He leaned against the doorframe and slid down it. He hugged his knees tighty as sobs escaped from his lips. He closed his eyes tightly as he shook his head quickly. It was almost inaudible sobs, but at the very least they were sounds. He wiped at the liquid pouring down his face, but it just continued to fall.
Eventually he gave up, letting them fall and soak his shirt. His eyes were puffy and his mind was dark. It was void of anything. He wasn't thinking about anything, because there was nothing in his head to be thought about. His expression was blank, the sun had come up and he was still sitting in the doorway. He finally let his legs fall flat, eyes looking over everything around him dully. He wished Peter was here, no. He wished Blaze was here. The brunette male made Eren happy, made him feel loved, safe, cared for, happy. Could Peter live up to that? Could he do that for Eren? The brunette's lips pursed together as the tears slowed to a stop, did he want Peter to be able to live up to that? Would he let him?
Eren said it was up to his son, which it was. But if Alexander did like Peter, would Eren want to be with him? He had small feelings for him, yes, but did he truly love him? The word sounded odd flowing through his mind. Did he even love Peter? Could he ever? He shook his head, and shakily stood up, there was no point in wasting time and thinking over the pain that everything was causing him. If he ended it now, he'd be no better than the people in the beginning of this. Those people. The ones that killed themselves to avoid the horrors of the apocalypse.
He sighed, walking to the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of wine, opening it, and began drinking straight from the bottle. He felt like he was weak, but at the same time nothing bothered him. He thought about Blaze for a moment, he'd say something like, "baby, calm down. Everything will be just fine, I'm here now." Eren frowned again.
"But you aren't here..." he muttered, turning his head to see the small boy looking up at his doe eyed father. Eren wiped his eyes again and gave his son a small, still sad, smile, "hey baby, are you hungry?"
"Why are you crying, Daddy?" He asked, walking over and tugging on the sweatpants attached to the older male. Eren sighed, crouching down and setting the bottle next to him. He hugged his son tightly, but made sure not to hurt him, and pulled away.
"Daddy's just been thinking about things, it's okay baby. Nothing to worry about, okay?" Eren asked softly and his son frowned at him. It was one of the first times the small boy displayed sadness.
"Is papa not coming home?" Alexander asked and Eren shook his head, hugging his son to him. The small boy clutched onto his father as the two cried.
(Timeskip!)
An hour had gone by, and the small boy looked back up at his father, "who's Peter?" He asked, his voice cracking from how hard he'd been crying previously.
"He's a man I want you to meet, maybe he can be your other father...?" Eren trailed off, looking at the doorway, finding Cassandra standing there. She sent him a small and sympathetic smile. She entered the kitchen and sat next to the brunette.
"I brought food and woke everyone else up, I'm here if you need anything Captain. All you have to do is ask." She spoke and Eren nodded, looking at his son.
He smiled suddenly, the feeling of wanting nothing more than to die vanishing as if it was never there to begin with. "Thank you, but I have everything I need right here. My sons, my sister, and.... Peter..." Eren hesitated in saying the male's name. He sighed and stood up, "speaking of him, I should go get him."
"After you eat with me!" His son spoke, dragging the male with him. Cassandra grabbed Eren's opened bottle of wine and handed it to him after he sat down and began eating.
"In case you need it." She spoke and left the house. Eren set it down on the table and began eating quickly.
(Timeskip!)
Once he finished eating he kissed his son on the forehead and left the house, having put on boots and made his way over to the medical center. Peter would still be in the holding cells. Eren past by Peter's old room, having long since been cleaned up and fixed. He shrugged, bringing the bottle of wine to his lips and drinking from it. He dragged it along with him, to help keep his thoughts at bay. He entered the room, eyes landing on Peter, and slowly walked over. His eyes were red and puffy still, but he didn't seem to care. The red eyes were the only indication the male felt any emotion at all, "I'm taking you to meet my son, but first you're bathing. I don't want a filthy, disease ridden male in my house unless they are clean." Eren spoke coldly, drinking from the bottle. He looked at Peter, then sent Emily a glance, "find Christy a home to live in."
"Right away Captain." She spoke, running from the room. The dog walked over to the bed. Peter looked at Eren concerned.
"What happened? Are you okay?" Peter asked, concern filling his features.
"I'm fine," Eren replied bluntly, and dully. He blinked then continued, "grab clean clothes, you're going to the bath house to bathe and then to meet my son." Eren's voice was quiet now. His eyes averted and he turned to face the door. He looked back at Peter, then unlocked the door and Peter followed him out with Roland following tow.
"What about Alistar?" Peter asked and Eren sent him a glance, "And why didn't you tell me you were risking your hide over running zombies?!"
Eren twirled on his heels and snapped at Peter, "Shut up!" He snarled, Peter looking at him, shrinking back into himself. Eren sighed, taking a long drink of the wine and looking away, "I'm sorry.... I don't mean to be snappy.... I just..... My mind is not pieced together right now, just leave me alone for a little bit." Eren spoke, turning around and began leading the way to the bath house. Once outside the building he pointed to the male side, "bathe." He ordered and Peter nodded, walking inside. Roland looked between the two, but chose to stay outside with Eren as the male sat on the ground to pet the dog. It was true, his mind wasn't pieced together, it was broken and fragmented. He looked around as the sun drew higher in the sky. "Blaze, what do I do?" He asked quietly, and continued to pet the beagle.