Rain was tapping against the windows in a constant and soft rhythm, the morning light outside dimmed by heavy, grey clouds and a hazy mist. Levi was standing in the living room with crossed arms, his shoulder leaning against a wall, while he watched the raindrops splashing against the glass, accumulating in lines that trickled down, only to be joined by even more splashes of rain. He usually preferred some calm music in the mornings, but when it was raining he didn't need it.
How he liked this weather. It gave the world a tranquil atmosphere, like a bewitching veil that quietened everything down a bit. Almost as if someone had hit a pause button on reality. It made him feel more alive than the usual daily rush that tended to unsettle him.
It was Sunday, and he had just gotten up to make tea. Steam rose up out of his small, vitreous tea pot on the table, the Earl Grey leaves silently dancing their lives into the hot water and adding their effect to the pleasant stillness.
He didn't move when he heard the distant sound of rusting bedsheets, followed by naked feet stepping up to him on the timber flooring. He still didn't move when a pair of arms fondly wrapped around his waist from behind to press his back against a warm chest.
Levi didn't have to turn around to know exactly how Eren looked like: Big, sleepy eyes, still a little dreamy. A few marks from the blanket's creases on his left cheek where he liked to sleep on with a little bit of the blanket stuffed under it, as if it was a pillow. Morning stubbles scattered over his chin and jaw. Grey flannel pyjamas that, after hours of sleeping in it, smelled like the pure essence of Eren. And a ruffled crown of brown bed hair that stuck out even more than usual in an adorable mess. Gorgeous.
Levi relaxed and leaned back, enjoying the familiar, slumberous body heat of Eren, who pecked the top of his head in a morning kiss.
"Hey."
"Mm," Levi responded.
"Looks like we can look forward to another cosy day, huh? It's nice." The smooth voice vibrated against Levi's back and he closed his eyes as he turned around after all to embrace Eren as well.
"Mm." He blew a raspberry into the hollow of Eren's neck before he nuzzled his head into it and hugged him tighter. "Missed you," Levi mumbled.
Eren chuckled softly. "You could have stayed in bed, you know?"
"Didn't want to wake you up."
"You always wake me up anyway, Button. It's cold and lonely without you."
"Mm." He hugged Eren again and let go to step over to the table and press down the plunger of the tea pot, while Eren went into the kitchen to fetch their cups. Levi filled them up and they fell back into a pleasant, mutual silence, watching the ever-changing pattern of the rain on the windows.
Slender fingers dove into his hair and gently pulled him into Eren's arms again as they stood there side by side. Levi hummed gratefully.
He loved quiet Sunday mornings. Hours filled with nothing else than having Eren close and listening to each other's unspoken thoughts whilst sipping tea and slowly slipping into full awareness without any hastiness or obligations. Levi loved how Eren would have his hand in his undercut, a thumb running soothingly over Levi's stubbled nape and the other four fingers massaging his scalp just like Levi liked it. He closed his eyes and simply listened.
Rain.
The fridge.
More rain.
Occasionally a car passing by on the street below.
Their breathing.
Even more rain.
Eren.
Peace.
They finished their tea and Eren went into the kitchen again to rumble around. Levi smiled inwardly, his face still relaxed, and turned to the windows, watching again with open eyes, now that Eren's presence was gone. Days like these always awoke a craving for hot chocolate in Eren and even if Levi never admitted that he liked it, he always was handed a cup as well.
The sound of Eren chopping chocolate and whisking around in their dented copper pan mingled with the natural morning soundtrack and soon the comforting scent of warm milk and cream clung to the air, sticky and sweet like honey. After a while, it was completed by the unmistakable flavour of soothing cocoa and Levi could almost taste it already.
He could die for Eren's hot chocolate. Maybe the faint grin and gleam in Levi's own eyes when he was given his portion in a warm clay pot betrayed him, but Levi didn't care.
Eren wrung his arm around Levi's shoulders again, his hand back in Levi's hair, and they drank unhurriedly. Nearly viscous, smooth liquid filled Levi's mouth, bitter-sweet and lifting. Elating. He sighed in delight. These were the days that were worth living for.
He let his hand wander under Eren's pyjama shirt in a silent thank you and let it draw its circles on the warm, muscular back.
How long they stood there like this, Levi never knew. It always felt like a lifetime and yet only like a brief moment, too fleeting to catch. As imaginary as a castle in the air and still so solid. Something precious and beautiful.
Eventually the hot chocolate was empty, and Levi knew when he turned his head he would see two tiny dark spots of its remains on Eren's upper lip, like some adorable, reverse kind of vampire bites.
Yes, there they were. Cute as fuck. And Eren beamed at him with now fully awake eyes, as if Levi was the sun that was hidden by the clouds outside. He still was not used to this look, even after all these years. It never failed to make him feel warm and fuzzy.
Levi set his cup aside on the table next to them, leaned over to smudge the chocolate spots on Eren's smiling lips and kissed them away. He looked up into these bright-turquoise, sparkling eyes and Eren understood. Eren's cup joined Levi's on the table, and Eren reached for Levi's hand to lace their fingers as he lead them back into the bedroom.
They crawled under the sheets, simply holding each other and breathing in each other's scent, while their hands slipped daringly under flannel cloth to curiously explore and caress. There wasn't anything to say, so they remained silent. After a while they freed each other from their shirts and snuggled even closer, their legs intertwined, unable to tell which belonged to whom anymore.
Eren tasted like chocolate and a faint trace of Earl Grey when Levi kissed him, his tongue slowly wrapping around Eren's as his hands mapped Eren's back, his stomach, and his shoulders. He noticed the slight blush on Eren's cheeks as he looked up under his eyelashes, and Levi knew he must look similar, his hair probably as messed up as Eren's, tousled by gentle hands, and a pink shade glowing on his ears as well that only intensified under the returned gaze of Eren's affectionate eyes.
Levi's fingertips tenderly brushed over Eren's collarbones, over the scratch marks and love bites on his ribs and chest that Levi had left there yesterday, and he smiled proudly as he felt Eren's fingers graze over his own. They would be all over each other later again, tearing off each other's pants and struggling playfully about who would pin who into the mattress this time, and he would lose himself in Eren's aroused screams that always set him on fire.
But for now this was enough—more than enough. Laying right here in each other's arms and forgetting the world. With the faint trace of tea and hot chocolate in the air, the lullaby of the raindrops in their ears, whilst dozing off from time to time, only to wake up again and start their caresses from anew. Nothing else.
Rain was tapping against the windows.
How he liked this weather.
Hot chocolate:
150 g roughly chopped chocolate with at least 50% cocoa
100 ml milk
50 ml cream
Put all the ingredients into a pan. Gently heat them up and whisk from time to time until the chocolate has completely melted. Fill into two cups. Enjoy.
