3 months later

There are certain things in life that are worth waiting for, and then there are certain things that you just want to get done and over with already. Birthdays and holidays are prime examples of which we find the most pleasure in patience, whereas exam season and essay writing makes us want to rip our hair out and roll around on the floor. And who knew that removing a tattoo could pose many of those same methods of annoyance? Never would I ever have thought such a thing until I'd met Eren, but I suppose that with confusion there is always a sliver of sense; after all, everyone wishes to erase their mistakes promptly and permanently.

The low hum of the laser gun served as a soother to the silence, as the periodic zap of corrective lighting flickered against Eren's fragile skin. To the untrained eye, one might not understand the lengths to which this courageous - and rather cocky - kid had gone to remove what looked like nothing more than a barely there, inky blemish. Oh, but he and I knew the tale behind it all, and it was as I was repeatedly running my latex-laden fingers along the natural curve of his hip that we reminisced over the memories, the good and the bad.

With a final flicker and one last swipe of the dampened cloth, I set my tools to the side and pushed the cart containing all of my equipment away from where Eren and I sat. Looking over my handiwork for one last time, I gave his leg a reassuring pat and told him to pull up his pants. "You're all done, Eren."

"Done?" Eren repeated. There was a hint of anticipation in his voice when he'd lifted his head, causing his amber eyes to meet with mine. "Like, done done? This was my last appointment, right? And you're...done?"

"All done," I said, speaking with utmost certainty. Sooner or later, I felt the need to add, "If you don't believe me, just take a look for yourself."

As I took off my gloves and flexed my fingers, Eren followed my instructions and began to lean forward. I could see him fussing and pulling at the hem of his shirt, most likely making sure that it would stay up as he surveyed his tattooed skin - or rather, the lack thereof. Awestruck and stunned speechless, there were no words that seemed to do him justice for the time being, and so, he simply continued to stare.

Hanji, on the other hand, had been mindlessly playing with the pens that were placed on the front counter. One by one, she plucked each pen out of the cup-like container that they were kept in, only to pop them back in every so often, slowly and steadily, before starting over again. However, when she'd heard that I had just finished up working on Eren, her interest had piqued and she made her way around the corner of the counter to see how I had done.

"Would you look at that!" she gasped, eyeing Eren closely. Maybe even a bit too closely, but hey, when had Hanji ever had any respect for personal space or boundaries? Never that I could remember. "It's gone! It really is all gone!"

"Of course it's gone," I said, sighing but a moment later. "Did you have any doubts?"

At that, Hanji hummed in thought and folded her arms over her chest. "Hmm, maybe a few. I mean, you were completely against the idea of doing something like this, what? Only a handful of months ago? I guess I'm just...intrigued. And definitely impressed. Good job, Levi!"

Not knowing whether to take the entirety of Hanji's statement as a compliment or as an insult, I merely shrugged her off and turned my attention back toward Eren. He'd been awfully silent ever since he'd gotten a glimpse of his bare skin, and it was starting to become bothersome. Don't tell me he was starting to have second thoughts...

"Hey," I spoke up, keeping my voice low and conversational. "You haven't said anything yet. Is everything alright?"

When I'd addressed him, Eren's eyes had lifted toward mine for only a second, before they'd dropped right back down to his abdomen. It took him a while, but when Eren had finally opened his mouth again to speak, an almost strangled sort of sound was the only thing that came out of his lips. Okay, then. Maybe it would have been better if he didn't speak at all.

As Hanji tried - and failed - to suppress a sudden onslaught of giggles, she chose to excuse herself from the room and headed for the back. Amazing. It made me wonder just how many times she'd done that in the wake of Eren's presence.

However, after clearing his throat and shaking his head, Eren apologized for sounding so stupid just then, and made amends by saying, "Everything's...more than alright, Levi. Everything right now is...it's perfect."

After hearing something like that, I couldn't help but scoff. Typically, people called tattoos perfect; not the removal of one. Then again, this was Eren, and Eren had proved himself to be an oddity on more than one occasion.

"Glad to hear it, kid."

Lifting myself from the stool I'd been sitting on for no more than ten minutes, I pulled my arms behind my head and gave them a good stretch. I'd probably never know why, but for whatever reason, working on Eren always had a habit of making me feel lethargic. I had my hypotheses that it had something to do with how he'd always fall asleep during his first few sessions with me, but I'd never know for sure. However, just remembering that, had me saying, "You know, I'm surprised you didn't fall asleep on me, Eren. You had a bad habit of doing that in the beginning."

Stretching himself, Eren gave out a light yawn before coming to his own defense. "I couldn't help myself. The clocks were just changing and it was getting darker earlier. Even school was pretty demanding at the time, so everything was just making me super sleepy." Really? That was the best excuse he had? Well, I suppose I could let it slide. After all, college students are notorious for having odd sleeping hours.

As Eren continued stretching out his arms, I'd caught a glimpse of the same tattoo that had captured my fancy from what felt like day one. Right there on his wrist, in a slate-like shade of blue, was the word that I had never known the meaning of, had always meant to inquire about, and completely forgot to research on my own terms. Finding that now was a better time than any to ask him about it, it was as he was still stretching that I said, "Hey, Eren. Can I ask you something?"

Seeming a bit surprised by my questioning tone, Eren plopped his hands into his lap and looked up at me like a puppy waiting to be praised. Damn it. Why'd he have to go an act all cute like that, all of a sudden? "Uh, sure. What is it?"

Pointing to the wrist he had concealed between his legs, I found it a bit awkward asking him something so simple, something that I probably should have known after months of dating the kid. "That tattoo that you have on your wrist. What does it mean?"

At first, Eren looked as if he hadn't the slightest clue as to what I was referring to. Not long after, he pulled his hands out from his lap and looked at the both of his wrists. That's when realization must have hit, because with a childish sense of satisfaction, Eren held his tattooed wrist up for me to see, and asked, "Oh, you mean this?"

Without saying another word, I nodded. Honestly, what else would I have meant? Sometimes, I really questioned Eren's density.

Taking his hand back into his lap and smoothing his thumb over the ink that forever stained his skin, Eren wore a soft smile as he seemed to be recounting a distant, yet pleasant memory. I almost felt inclined to ask him about it, but first thing's first - I needed to know what that tattoo meant.

"The word is 'freiheit'," Eren explained. It's a good thing he had actually pronounced it for me, because truth be told, I'd been saying it wrong in my head this whole time. "It's the German word for 'liberty' or 'freedom'."

Just hearing that caused my expression to soften, as well.

"Freedom, huh?" I repeated thoughtfully. It's funny, but just saying that left me feeling like a weight had been lifted from my chest, a weight that I didn't even know existed in the first place.

Eren was free. Free from his past and free for his future. There was nothing, not a single thing, that was going to get in his way or stop him from shooting for the stars and chasing after his dreams; and he had the tattoo - and the lack of one - to prove it.

End.

Hi there! Chappy here! :D

And with that, it's with both heartache and relief that I mark this "in-progress" fanfic as complete.

Honestly, I know that I spilled my heart out to all of you in the last chapter, but I really cannot thank you enough for all of the support, uplifting words, and motivation that you have given me for more than half of a year - isn't that amazing to think about? You've been reading and I've been working on this fanfic for more than half of a year! I'm just coming to this realization now, and I couldn't feel more bless and more honored to have such dedicated readers. So really, thank you. Thank you to all of you. TMPF wouldn't be what it is today if it weren't for each and every one of you!

And it wouldn't be right if I didn't thank you like this one last time:

Thank you, as always, for taking the time to read. It's been an absolute pleasure, and I mean that with all of my heart. Thank you.

- Chappy