Erwin opened the door. Levi was holed up in a dingy apartment (still kept clean, but hardly to his normal standards). All of Eren's drawings occupied the refrigerator. His hair was a little longer than it should be. Dark circles stained the skin beneath his eyes.

Levi was barely held together.

Erwin sat down across from him and looked at the drawings on the refrigerator. Erwin started talking calmly, and Levi stared. His jaw dropped a little. There was a long and hard silence before he finally shoved himself away from the table. He snatched his coat, stuffed the drawings in a shoe box, and followed Erwin out the door.

...

Five months later, he was an agent again. Levi did what he knew best. His hair was in order again. His living space was meticulously clean. All around, he looked put together. But anyone who knew him saw a coldness in his eyes that hadn't been there before.

He didn't do recon much anymore. So far, he'd killed four other scientists from Titan Industries. He wasn't going to stop.

...

A year passed. Then another. Levi got out of his car, coat hanging over one arm, and stared at the deteriorating façade of the lab. Titan Labs.

This was not the facility Eren came from. It was farther south, and didn't go as far underground.

Levi entered the building. The front waiting area was in ruins. Every room he went by was starting to rot away. He reached an elevator and went down. When the doors opened, a long ways beneath the earth's surface, all indication of corrosion was gone. Everything was white and pristine. He walked calmly through the halls, various people in lab coats greeting him along the way.

Finally, he came to a sizable, circular room with a pod in the center and scientists buzzing around it. Hanji spotted him and her huge grin spread even farther.

"Levi! Oh, I'm so excited! Today is the day! Can you believe it? We're lucky we figured out how to detach that formula from the chromosomes. Otherwise, this would have taken another two years! We even managed to age him a little more, which makes him a bit more stable." He nodded along with her prattling, keeping his eyes trained on the pod the whole time.

It wasn't like the one at the other facility. He couldn't see into it, but he knew what was inside.

In truth, Eren was never really stable. If he hadn't died in the hospital after the attack, it would have been four or five years later when the formula started eating away at his genes. The stress of transforming twice in such rapid succession only accelerated the process.

Everyone stood around the pod. Hanji licked her lips anxiously and typed in the release code.

Levi stood up front. When the glass opened and the mist seeped out, Levi's breath hitched.

Eyes opened slowly. They didn't glow.

The electrodes were removed and Eren slumped forward. Levi caught him, his chest tightening with disbelief.

Eren's eyes were still half opened. He groaned, trying to keep awake.

He groaned.

Levi pulled him closer. "Eren? Eren, can you hear me?"

He nodded. "Yes," he whispered.

He could speak.

They wheeled him off for a medical examination. Hanji came to rest a hand on Levi's shoulder. "There's no formula. No titan shifting, no healing factor. He's basically the original. No damage to the vocal chords. He's got a clean slate."

"Even though it's not really him." Levi said it bitterly.

Hanji hummed. "That depends on how you look at it. Every inch of him is Eren Jaeger, biologically speaking. But he's not the Eren you knew. We could program his brain and teach him how to speak and everything else while he was incubating, but we can't falsify memories. It's just not possible."

Levi crossed his arms. "This is a fresh start. And if I get involved with him again, I drag him into everything that he shouldn't be a part of. I steal that second chance."

"That might be true..." Levi turned around. Erwin leaned against the door frame, gauging Levi from afar. "You'd pull him deeper, probably. But, no matter how you look at it, he's a clone. He was born in a lab, Titan Labs, all over again. He's already involved, Levi. Adding yourself into the mixture might actually give him some extra support. No one here cares as much as you."

Levi looked at Hanji and she nodded. He sighed and shook his head. He headed for the infirmary. Hanji looked at Erwin and he frowned.

"That's not really what's wrong here."

...

Eren was awake. It was surreal. The last time Levi saw him in a hospital bed, he was gone. Now he looked around the room, felt the sheets beneath his fingers, took in everything. He stared at Levi when he entered.

Levi tried to control his voice. It took a lot of restraint not to grab his hand or touch him in any way. "Hello, Eren."

"That's...that's my name, right?" Levi had to pause at the sound of his voice. It was young and boyish and a little scratchy from having never been used before, but it was beautiful.

Levi nodded. "What do you know so far?"

He thought about this, biting his lip the way he always did. "I know that my name is Eren. I know how to read and write, and basic math. I know that I'm not really as old as I look."

"You look like you're nineteen. Maybe twenty."

"But I'm not." Eren furrowed his brows and looked away. "I'm not the real Eren, am I?"

Levi frowned. He pulled a chair next to the bed. "You're not the original, no. But you are real. You're the real Eren, just not the first."

"You say that like you know me. Or him, I guess."

"I do know you." Levi took a gamble and reached for his hand. Eren didn't pull away.

He tilted his head. "Who are you?"

The agent swallowed. "My name is Levi."

"Levi," Eren repeated, and he wanted to hear him say that again. "Okay. Um, I think you know more than I do."

So Levi told him. About the labs, about the formula, about Grisha and Annie and the experiments. He told him about the death. He didn't say anything about their relationship. He didn't say anything about the video, or the kissing, or the sex, or anything.

Eren, for his part, took all of this in stride. "So, I'm a clone. Huh." He stared at his hands for a moment. "But... I don't get it." He looked at Levi, confusion and a little pain spread across his face. "Why rebuild me? Why take away the formula if that was the only thing that made me important?"

"That's not what made you important," Levi said harshly.

"Then what? I don't understand." Levi released his hand and stood up. "Where are you going?"

His voice was coarse when he replied. "I think that's enough for now."

Eren grabbed his wrist. He wasn't as strong as he used to be, but it was a firm hold. "No! Who are you? You're not telling me everything, Levi!"

He jerked his hand away and tried not to see the hurt in Eren's eyes. "You don't need to know. You're better off not knowing. This is a clean slate for you. Don't ruin it." With that, he left Eren staring after him in shock long after the door closed.

...

Armin slipped into the room quietly. Eren perked up immediately from his book and greeted the blonde with a small smile. "Hi, Armin."

Erwin's genius assistant quickly became Eren's closest friend. He tutored him, lent him books, and talked about nearly everything. Well, with the exception of one thing so far. "Did you like this batch?"

"Yeah," Eren answered, holding up the cover of his most recent read. "They're great."

Armin smiled. He kept having to give himself the uncomfortable reminder that this was a different Eren. He hadn't woken up from a coma, he didn't have amnesia, he didn't hit his head. This was a completely different person from the mutilated boy he remembered from two years prior.

True, he didn't speak with that Eren all that much. Once or twice in person, and a few video calls. That was it. And while the two were, in essence, the same, it was the little things that threw him off. This Eren was louder, and not just because he could talk. Everything he did was more passionate, less restrained, and more expressive than the previous Eren. The previous Eren was almost docile; this one was anything but. He didn't just smile. He grinned too. When he was angry (a more frequent occurrence), everybody knew. He didn't draw as much - it wasn't necessary. At most, he doodled in the margins of notes.

Yes, he took notes. He intended to enroll at a community college as soon as he got his GED. Faking his I.D. and other documents was a cinch for the agency.

But all of these thoughts could wait. "Hey, Eren," he called softly, voice serious. "There's something you need to see."

"What? Is it about the lab?" Armin nodded. Eren crossed his arms in a huff. "Well good. At least somebody's willing to share some information. I still can't believe that guy."

Armin was caught between wanting to chuckle and wince. Levi's introduction had been rather... tactless. But, given the situation, Armin couldn't really blame him. He pulled up his laptop. "Okay, Eren... this is going to take some time, but you need to watch all of it. I'm going to leave you alone. I'll be back at seven. We can talk then."

Eren looked like he was about to protest or ask about the sudden shift in tone, but bit the urge down.

As Armin walked down the stairs and rejoined Erwin at his car, he thought about doing this. It wasn't really fair to expose Levi like he was about to. It wasn't his right. But none of it was about fairness, and Erwin reminded him of that with a pointed nod. If he was ever going to get as good as his boss, if he was ever going to take over the agency, he needed to make tough decisions. He just hoped he made the right ones.

...

"I'll be dead. Either way I die tomorrow."

"A journal, I suppose. From here on out, it's a history lesson."

"I want them wiped off the face of the planet."

"They're ramping up the tests on Eren."

"It's starting to get to me."

"Fuck it! Erwin, I want to get out of here! This place is psychotic!"

"I wasn't collecting data anymore. I was plotting our escape."

"I don't know how to handle him giving up."

"I have to get him out."

"Trust me and do as I say."

"I'd honestly rather you see me killing people in that than think I was one of those fucking scientists."

"Fuck...I love you. And it's messy and untidy and inefficient and it's going to cost me my life, but I don't care."

...

Armin backed away. He'd heard stories. He'd never predicted that it would be this awful.

Levi was livid.

Armin wasn't sure how to handle an angry Levi. Erwin gave him tips before he strolled out of the car, but they weren't helpful in the moment. An angry Eren he could handle. He could handle eruptions. Lord knows he'd done it half a dozen times over already while getting him adjusted into his new life.

Levi didn't explode. Levi was quiet, almost tranquil, and completely terrifying.

"You didn't," he seethed.

Nonetheless, a voice in the back of his head that sounded suspiciously like Erwin barked at him to straighten up. "I-I did." He swallowed. "And it's for the best."

The older man's eyes narrowed. "If I'm anywhere near him, he'll think that all I see is the..." He stopped himself. Couldn't say it.

"The other one?" Armin supplied. "I know."

"And that's probably very true."

"Which is why you need to start over. You know he's distinct from his counterpart. But, you won't really know unless you talk to him. Unless you see those distinctions first hand and make a completely new introduction. Get to know him all over again. That sort of thing."

Levi's glare softened a bit and he sighed. "Are you Erwin's assistant or a matchmaker?" Armin wisely chose not to respond. It wasn't funny. They stood in heavy silence. All the while, Levi's thoughts churned and rolled in his head. They held conference calls with his emotions. They drew up charts and graphs and profiles of Eren.

He knew Armin was right. But part of him didn't to lose pride over admitting that. Part of him honestly didn't want to deal with Eren Jaeger anymore. Part of him didn't want a fresh round of heartache.

But a much bigger part of him was sick to death of being alone.

...

Eren just stared. He wondered if the other Eren stared too. After a while, he closed the laptop. He touched his fingers to his lips and imagined everything. Imagined the man he met in the infirmary kissing him and holding him and all of a sudden it was like Levi's hands were everywhere on him. And somehow he knew those hands would be cool to the touch.

He didn't know Levi. Not like the other Eren did. He wasn't really Eren. He was just a half-rate imitation of the boy everyone around him missed and missed and missed. He saw it. He knew. When Armin talked to him, he was talking to the other Eren. Hanji laughed with the other Eren.

And then he understood very much why Levi wanted nothing to do with him. Every inch of him was a reminder of what the man lost. It must have been a slap in the face to look at him. Levi hadn't made an appearance in over a month because he wasn't the same Eren. It wasn't a matter of just not being first. It was a matter of not being at all, even if Levi said otherwise. That's why he was so pained. Levi knew that he wasn't really Eren and that being around him would only amplify that fact.

Eren understood. Eren understood what a sham his entire existence really was. He stood in the shadow of all the guilt and pain and regret the Eren before him caused and he hated him for it.

He was sobbing by that point. He hung his head between his knees and sobbed and screamed and made as much fucking noise as he could because at least his voice was his own. At least the other one didn't have that.

By the time Armin returned, he was curled up on one corner of the sofa, cheeks tear-stained and eyes red. The blonde reached to comfort him and Eren slapped his hand away - hard.

"Don't. Touch. Me."

"Okay." Armin sat on the coffee table. "That's okay. You just needed to know."

Eren squeezed his eyes shut and stole a quivering breath. It felt like he stole everything. "Why? Why did I need to know? I would have been perfectly fine not knowing." His eyes widened. "Levi was right. This is why he didn't tell me. He was right. I'm a fraud."

"Eren," he started.

"I'M NOT EREN!" He was raw. "I'm not! Not the one you want. I can't replace him! I can't be what he was! Everything about me being here is wrong, it's so wrong." He shook his head. "You should have let him die. That should have been the end. What was the point of this if Levi won't even fucking look at me?! Isn't that why I'm here? To get back with him and live happily ever after? Because it's not happening. There isn't even a chance if he can't stand the sight of me."

"That's not it." Eren jerked around to see the entrance to the apartment was occupied. Levi hung his jacket on the coat rack and came into the living area. He looked exhausted. Eren was enraged.

"What are you doing here?" he spat.

Levi didn't rise to the bait, instead sitting on the armchair and doing his best to appear calm. "I didn't plan on this. Armin showed up on my doorstep to tell me he 'took some initiative.' I was fucking pissed. I knew this would happen; I knew you'd react this way. So he tells me to come back with him to explain all this bullshit to you." He rubbed his forehead.

Armin stood. "I think it's best I leave." No one argued.

Eren and Levi stewed in the quiet tension until the door shut behind Armin. Eventually, "I won't be his replacement." Everything about him was defiant. Just like the other one but so unlike him.

Levi met his harsh gaze. "I never expected you to be." He took a deep breath. "Look. Everything about me - ignore it. You're here because Eren Jaeger deserves a chance at a decent life. Doesn't matter if it's the first or second or third attempt. You're Eren. And nobody expects for you to replace anybody or act like anything but yourself. You have to believe that. If you told Erwin you wanted nothing to do with any of us anymore, he'd ship you across the country without a word. You wouldn't have to see any of us ever again." Levi looked away. Eren seemed to calm down a little.

"You miss him," he said simply.

"Yes. But he's gone and you're here now."

The boy curled in on himself slightly. "What...what do you think of me? How do you feel?"

Levi thought for a few moments. "I think you're scared. I think you don't know what to do with yourself and you can't trust that anyone honestly cares about you because you've earned it. Other than that, I really can't say that I know much of anything about you. Yeah, there are similarities, but you haven't spent the first few months of your life getting shot at and jabbed with needles and experimented on. You're a different person. I know that. Seeing and talking to you only makes that more clear.

"Yeah, I miss him. Right after he died, I lost myself. Everything I did and sacrificed for him meant nothing in the end. That's a tough pill to swallow. But... I eventually realized...that that Eren was doomed from the start. As much as I wish it were different, there was nothing I or anyone else could have done.

"I put so much into him, into trying to rescue him. In a way, that's what you are. You're not a replacement. You're his salvation. You can do what you want with that information."

Eren took a deep breath. "...You...said this is a new beginning. A fresh start. But what about you? Do you get to start over?"

Levi hummed. "That depends on you."

"And, if I offered to share? To...share the fresh start? Even if I still wasn't sure about you or what I mean to you?"

Levi moved next to Eren on the sofa, pulling his arms away from his face too inspect him properly. His eyes were the same vibrant green without the abnormal glowing. Same brown tufts of hair, same curve of the jaw, same determined glare.

"Levi?"

But there was so much that wasn't the same. That would never be the same. And Levi...was okay with that. He reached to cup Eren's chin gently, running his thumb over the skin there. "I would say that I want to be a part of whatever happens next for you. That you mean so much more than you think you do."

Eyes still sore from crying and a mountain of doubt looming over him, he decided to trust Levi and the words that made it a little easier to breathe.

Levi must have known that his big monologue couldn't dispel every worry and uncertainty, because it seemed like he poured every ounce of reassurance that he could into that touch.

Eren let his eyes close. Let his head rest on Levi's shoulder. Let himself reach around Levi. It would take a long time, but though the pressing of their skin he began to feel just an inkling of that belief that he was real.

That he wasn't just an imitation.

...

Author's Notes: Ta-da! Kind of a bittersweet and imperfect ending, which I think is fitting. A consistent critique I receive concerning just about all of my writing is that my endings could be stronger, so I made sure to take my time with this one. I hope I did well.

Thank you for reading!

ValorTheory