titanscience | Seasons inbox

[Hange takes the note, frowning as they read it. The cat thing is a surprise, but the other thing is more important right now.]

I haven't spoken to him since the day we left on our mission.

[Which was.. a while ago...]

Have you seen him since we got back?

[Was this note from today or??]

[ For all his trying to be normal, he's not managing it about this, not after what happened to Jean. Levi isn't Jean, of course. He's like the least likely person to die in this whole city, maybe, but... ]

No. I haven't.

[ He pulls out his phone to show them the last message he sent. ]

My messages aren't sending. I don't know what that means. Did he turn his fucking phone off to get back at us for going on that quest without him?

[ Uh-oh, f words in front of the commander? He's definitely upset; he usually watches his mouth a little better than that. ]

[Okay, so they have no idea how long he's been gone, and apparently the messages aren't sending? That can happen?]

Let me see.

[Hange takes a look at the message Eren had sent, seeing the automatic notification stating that it could not be received, and the frown deepens. The colourful language doesn't even phase them, they have bigger things to deal with after all.]

[Hange returns the phone, pulling their own from a pocket to try sending a message also.]

You have a cat now? How was it acting? Did it still have food?

[Because if it had an empty bowl and was begging for something, that would imply that Levi left earlier than this morning.]

It's not a normal cat. It sort of hangs around sometimes...doesn't get along with my Pokémon...

[ There's way too much going on in his statement, half thinking out loud. He takes the phone back and stares at it like it will give him answers. ]

I know he's probably fine, but after...

[ He doesn't have to spell it out, he's sure. ]

I just thought you might know where he went. But if you don't then no one does.

[After Jean. Eren doesn't need to say it.]

...He didn't say anything to me. I have no messages, but I don't think it was working for a while when we were out..

[Some buzzes on Hange's phone indicate that their messages also instantly rebounded, unable to deliver.]

Seriously, what's this guy playing at... Going on a mission on his own.. it's got to be far if he wants you to feed the cat..

[Sort of like the super long and semi-dangerous one they just returned from.]

You don't think he went as far as we did, do you?

[ Eren frowns at Hange's phone. So it has something to do with being far away? He hadn't really been paying attention. Is that how the phones work? If you get far away they don't get messages anymore? They seem like magic to him, so he just assumed they always work as long as they have a "charge" in them. ]

He might not have gone alone but it's not like he left any other information.

[ Which is the entire problem, really. ]

Shit. Maybe he did. After all that!

He wouldn't do that, right? Levi knows better than anyone how dangerous missions can be.

[But then.. Hange immediately re-reads the fridge note. There is no mention of who he went on a mission with, which seems like the most basic information, something that should have been communicated with them because it would have given them a second line of contact.]

[Okay, lets not jump to the worst conclusion just yet..]

...Eren, ask Jean and Mikasa to see if they went on a mission with him. I can ask Historia and Gabi. He would go with one of them, right?

[Because excluding Hange and Eren, it only leaves those four right? Does he even hang out with anybody else?]

Unless he has other friends that I don't know about? Did he mention anything to you?

He doesn't really…talk to me. We don't really talk about much.

[ He says this like he's a little embarrassed to admit it. It's not even like Eren can't hold a conversation; he's done it plenty of times, even with Levi, at home. But that was before he went off the deep end.

Knowing someone cares about you and knowing how to actually interact with them like you didn't ruin their life aren't the same thing, though. (Not everything that happened that ruined Levi's life is Eren's direct fault, in fact, but still.) Eren still gets caught up in the past/future, in how he thinks people should feel about him, should want to interact with him.

He cannot live in the present, which makes conversations with people difficult. It's not just Levi. How many regular conversations has he had with Hange either? HMMMM. ]

I'll ask Jean and Mikasa.

[ He takes out his phone to text them. ]

Yeah, I heard all about your thrilling conversations forever ago.

[Hange scoffs, clearly sounding unimpressed. Sorry, Eren, if you were expecting further context on that it isn't going to come. There are more important things to focus on here!]

I'm asking Gabi and Historia now.

[The sound of fingers tapping on phones is the only thing to fill for room for several minutes as they both message their other comrades present in the city, Hange's message asking if either of the girls are away on a mission right now.]

[No response comes within the first minute (rude) so Hange drops the phone onto the nearby table, crossing arms with a huff.]

It's possible we just missed him and he only left today or yesterday.. but if not, he'd better not be out there alone! What's he going to do, hug a bear so he doesn't turn into a rock?

[when i get my hands on you, levi ackerman!!]

Edited 2023-07-01 15:51 (UTC)

[ What the fuck…that's a weird thing to hear, but he doesn't actually ask about it. Maybe he doesn't want to know. Why are they talking about him?

Just kidding, he figures they talk about him because Levi is still just babysitting him anyway. He is aware they both care about him, but there's still some nebulous feeling of what is deserved and what is not, and the idea that either of them might actually want to be around him at all is still hard for him to grasp. But that's especially true with Levi.

If that was "forever ago" though, maybe they don't still have to talk about him. It's not like he's done anything questionable that they're aware of. Probably.

Anyways, this isn't about him for once!

He does text Jean and Mikasa (separately) to ask them if they heard anything. Wait, does Mikasa even talk to Levi? Do they even get along? He has no idea. Doesn't matter right now. ]

If he only left today or yesterday it could be ages before he gets back. But could he get far enough away in a day that the messages don't send…?

[ He has no idea how cell phones work or where the range ends or what could cause that to happen.

If only Eren still had a sense of humour and could laugh at that image of Levi hugging a bear. But alas, not today. ]

Going alone would be stupid. He's not stupid.

[ Right, Hange? ]

I didn't know that there are times they would be unable to send, I assumed they worked all of the time. It hadn't been an issue until now...

[Does that mean their own phones had not been working at times when they were on the mission? So they are not quite as reliable as they seemed to be...]

...You're right, he isn't stupid. If anybody was going to survive out there, it's Levi.

[But..]

...But who would he go with? Maybe he did go with a random guildmate after all, but why would he be that desperate to go? You guys are paying the rent with no problems, right? He could have waited until we were back...!

[So why the fuck is he gone with such a shitty little note?]

Dammit, Levi! I'm going to keep messaging him until they go through.

Me either. What does that even mean, it's out of range. Out of range of what?

[ The other phones?? How do these things work? To Eren, they've always been magic. Does magic stop working somewhere? Ughhhh what a pain in the ass. ]

He must have some kind of friend or something.

[ But WHOMST. It's not like Eren is privy to most of Levi's life but it's also not like Levi ever has anyone come over here besides Hange, and he can sometimes be a homebody. The mystery continues. ]

Good luck.

[ How many messages is Levi going to get all in a flood? Too many, sounds like. ]

If he had other friends, he would have told me, right?

[Hange tells Levi when they make friends! Or even if its some random conversation in the department store! Or what they ate for lunch! Surely he would be just as forthcoming with any information like that right!]

[They try texting again but as expected, the messages get bounced back after a minute or so. SIGH.]

I'll let you know if I ever get through to him, or if any of the others end up sending a message to say that they have seen him.

[But for now, unfortunately, it seems all they can do is wait while overthinking all the bad things that could happen.]

I would guess he'd tell you. It's not like he'd tell me.

[ Back to that whole "they don't talk" thing. Not that Eren is forthcoming about who his friends are, either. All, like, three of them. ]

Okay. We'll just wait for him til then.

[ He figures he'll go back home for now and feed the cat like Levi told him, if it's around. What else can he do? Not having feelings was a lot easier than this, ugh. ]

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