Eren woke suddenly, gasping and panting as he assured himself that it'd just been a dream. He glanced at the clock on the bedside table and groaned, seeing that it was only half past eleven, and realising that he would have to go back to sleep and recommence that terrible, gut-wrenching nightmare. He looked over to the other side of the double bed he slept in, and his heart skipped a beat as he discovered that Levi had disappeared.
What if it hadn't been a dream at all? What if he had truly been carried off and eaten by a titan that night? What if he really had lost the love of his life?
Breaking into a cold, panicked sweat; Eren sat up, barely able to breathe or hear anything other than his rapidly pounding heart.
"L-Levi?!" he called, not expecting to receive an answer.
Several minutes past, and no answer became apparent to him. So Eren shouted again.
"Levi!" he yelled, making no attempt to hide the fear in his voice. "Answer me! Levi!"
"Tch, what is it now?" came an annoyed reply from the other side of their apartment.
"Why didn't you answer me the first time?" Eren called, confused but relieved. "You made me terrified!"
"The first time?!" Levi shouted back, sounding irritated. "You've been yelling my name for ages! I answered about twenty minutes ago and after that I just gave up! What the hell's wrong with you anyway?!"
Eren didn't reply, instead he sank back under the duet, shaking and sobbing.
"You're alright," he said, so quietly only he could hear. "You're ok, thank god, you're not dead."
"Oi! What're you muttering about?" Levi asked, stepping into sight around the doorframe.
He held a toothbrush in his right hand and had a small towel draped around his neck. He was barefoot and topless, wearing only jeans and a thick leather belt. The sight would normally have been arousing for Eren, but in his current state it was all he could do not to fling his arms around Levi and never let go. He choked back his tears, averting his gaze from his boyfriend and hugging his knees to his chest.
Levi discarded the toothbrush and walked forward, stopping a few paces away from the bed and looking down upon the younger boy.
"Eren? What's up?" Levi asked again, lowering his voice as he began to be a little concerned.
Eren merely gasped for breath, a tear finally escaping his eyes and trickling down his cheek. Just seeing Levi's face had made him relive the dream, and all the horrible feelings and visions came flooding back, making him so afraid that he could barely control himself.
Levi frowned, sitting down on the bed opposite Eren and laying a hand on his shoulder. This touch was too much, Eren flung himself around Levi's shoulders, taking him slightly by surprise. But he soon returned his lover's embrace, holding him tightly as he cried into his bare chest. Levi could feel a steady stream of salty water trickling down his toned muscles and eventually soaking into the waistband of his jeans.
"Pull yourself together, you're making me all wet," Levi whispered, rubbing the back of Eren's neck gently in an attempt to calm him. "Hey, it's alright. I'm here, we're safe."
Eren let out one final, shaky cry before raising his tear-stained face to look up at Levi, gulping. The older boy laughed, and ruffled his hair affectionately, laying down on his side of the bed and pulling Eren to lie beside him. He rolled over so they were facing each other, and Levi pulled the towel from around his neck and gently wiped the tear tracks from Eren's cheeks. He closed his eyes at this, the feeling the soft material and the Levi's fingertips brushing against his skin starting to send him back to sleep.
"Please, stay beside me now," Eren asked, snuggling into the pillow and laying a hand on top of Levi's. "I don't want to have that nightmare again."
"Ehh, alright then," Levi replied, seeming to be resigning himself when in fact, he was perfectly willing to oblige. "But only if you'll lay in my arms, it's kind of cold without a top on."
Eren laughed weakly, shuffling into his lover's arms and pressing his face into his chest, just enough to allow Levi's softly beating heart to sing him to sleep.
"Goodnight Levi," Eren mumbled.
"Night Eren," Levi replied, wrapping an arm protectively around the other boy's shoulders, shielding him completely.
You'll never be afraid like that again, he thought sternly to himself. Not on my watch.