Work Text:
Hi! I’m Eren Jaeger and I’m going to be the biggest, strongest dust bunny in the world! I’ve been living in this classroom for months collecting lint and dust, but I’m not that large yet. There was an incident a few weeks ago where someone dropped a textbook on me, and their shoe scraped half of me away.
I don’t like to talk about it.
It makes me feel weak and helpless and reminds me of when someone stepped on Armin. It took him days of hiding in shame before he fluffed back up. Now he refuses to leave the bookshelf.
A brisk gust of air sends me tumbling across the room, losing particles along the way, but the swirling air inflates me. My chest puffs in pride, as I glance slyly at another, less majestic dust bunny located some yards away. Jean’s face sours, but smirks as the stilling air causes me to deflate again.
I huff quietly, sending up a cloud of dust, but I spot Mikasa’s red string peaking from under the radiator and wiggle closer to say hello. I gave her the string months ago because Armin told me that really dangerous spiders wore red. I think he called them black windows. But it doesn’t matter because Mikasa loves any opportunity to look intimidating.
Sometimes I can convince her to roll me across the ground while I flail my strings to collect more dust, but before I can get to her web, a bell clangs.
A stampede of giants runs into the room and I use the breezes to maneuver under a desk to safety. I’m not about to get squished again.
I keep my eye out for a certain giant. Levi’s my favorite cause he’s the closest to the ground and I can see his face the best. He stands at the front of the room every day with a bored expression, but he’s really pretty. A little scary when he gets mad and stomps around, but pretty.
I don’t think he likes me. He always has a feather duster and broom even though I’ve never done anything bad. When he swept away Marco, I don’t think Jean left the cabinet for days.
Even though Mikasa tells me to stay away from Levi, I just like watching him. I know that he drinks his coffee black with two sugars and sometimes he smiles at the birds outside when he thinks no one’s looking. I also know that Levi is sensitive about his height because his face scrunches up whenever Hanji comes in and ruffles his hair. I wish I could tell him that he’s tall to me.
I also wish that he didn’t hate dust.
My favorite place during the day is under Levi’s desk where it’s dark and he can’t see me. I like to snuggle in next to his shoe and listen to the rustle of papers and his soft rumbling voice. Someday I want to introduce myself, but I’m afraid he’d sweep me away like Marco. I really don’t want Mikasa to swing down on her webs and bite his neck.
I’m glad that I live in Levi’s room because even though I have nightmares sometimes about trashcans or choke on his lemon floor cleaner, I want to be as strong and commanding he is.
The final bell rings and Levi leaves with the kids this time. That’s my cue to shimmy my way out from under his desk to a patch of light a few inches away. I soak in the afternoon sun streaming through the windows and spread out on the heated tile.
My fuzzy layers sag in relaxation as I dream that I am big enough for Levi to notice me.