A/N: A super late re-entry for ererievents on tumblr Ereri fluff weekend 2018. Day 1: Playful. Also kind of fits with ereri-writing-propts' prompt 6: Incalescent so I'm going with that, too.
A huge shout out to DatWriterWannaBe (on tumblr and AO3) for being an amazing beta and for dealing with all my shit. I seriously don't deserve you ㅠ0ㅠ
And another huge shout out to Sulkingmoon (on tumblr) for making an incredibly sweet and absolutely perfect art to go along with this fic! (Link on my profile because this site still hates links.)
Love you both, I'm stll crying over all you two have done for me ;_;
It's been five years since he first met Eren and Levi still couldn't quite believe how lucky he was to be standing next to him on a beach half-way across Europe, just the two of them and no one else. There was no Armin to ask awkward questions that left both of them flustered, and no Erwin to make subtle jabs at Levi's hopeless crush. No Mikasa o glare daggers at Levi and no Hanji to talk both their ears off, unintentionally covering up for Levi's fumbling,. Back then, Levi would never have imagined himself not fumbling around Eren. When they first met all those years ago, the boy seemed unreachable; a pretty face, cute laugh, determination and self confidence making his eyes shine. Flower crowns ever present, clad in pastel head to toe, and with heavy metal blasting through his earphones. He was an enigma back then; mysterious and captivating and so out of Levi's league.
Looking at him now, Levi thought he still was kind of an enigma; a walking contradiction, drawing attention and disbelieving looks everywhere he went. He didn't even have to wear one of those fancy flower crowns he loved so much to turn heads – it was enough only standing there in his black, metal band shirt and mint green swim trunks with nail polish to match. His long hair, save for a few strands that were left framing his face, was pulled into a messy bun which was held together by a giant, frilly hair tie the same shade of green as his trunks and nails. Levi wondered if the choice of colour was deliberate, as he often told Eren green suited him. It brought out his eyes beautifully and Levi could never get enough of it.
Speaking of Eren's eyes, Levi studied Eren's expression for a moment and the wide grin he saw on his face as he stared out at the wide expanse of the ocean – or well, sea, technically – for the first time, his eyes sparkling with wonder and amazement, and Levi... Levi couldn't say he regretted the unholy amounts of money he was spending on this trip. It was obvious how much Eren longed for this, longed to finally see the never ending body of salt water and a warm, happy feeling settled in the deepest parts of Levi's chest at the sight of him. He was the one who made that look on his face possible after all, and that alone made him feel so damn lucky.
Levi had known since before he even started dating Eren how badly the boy wanted to make a trip like this. The young man had never gotten to see the ocean before, not even when he was a kid plastering cheesy, obviously photoshopped pictures of it all over the walls of his room. No matter how much they wished they could, it was just not possible for his parents to take him. It was not for a lack of funds, the Jaeger family was more than well off, however, his father, being one of the best surgeons in Germany, had always been far too busy and tired to go on a vacation as far as the Mediterranean. And so, all the Jaeger family vacations were spent at their vacation house by a lake not far from their city, but still far enough for them to be cut off from society and reach of telecommunications.
Despite everything, Eren did love it there. He did love spending time with his whole family – even though his half-brother pissed him off beyond belief sometimes – and he was always happy to go back there. But it still wasn't enough for him. Every year, Eren complained how the lake wasn't big enough, how it was surrounded by stones and conifers instead of sand and palm trees.
And that was why Levi was more than happy to pay for this trip, a dream vacation to celebrate their third anniversary together since he was finally being able to afford it. He had graduated successfully a year ago – thank fuck – and managed to find a decent paying work soon after. He had been saving up ever since and Levi could say it was definitely worth it just to see Eren's reaction when he presented him with the plane tickets.
Returning back to the present, Levi smirked slightly, shoving Eren gently away and towards the water. "Go on, stop eyeing it like that. It's not going to evaporate as soon as you fucking touch it."
Eren yelped slightly at Levi's not-so-gentle urging, blinking over his shoulder at his boyfriend in confusion, a cute pout forming on his lips. "You're not coming?"
"In a bit," Levi said, gesturing behind them, at the still-vacant spot on the beach they had managed to snag for themselves, to show he was going to set up their little camp first. "I'll try to make sure the sand doesn't get everywhere first," he added with a slightly disgusted frown. Levi hated sand, the shitty thing had the uncanny ability to get exactly where you didn't want it to get and the zip-lock bags Levi insisted on using for their things for this very reason weren't nearly enough of a reassurance. Just the idea of having to shake sand out of his book annoyed him. He didn't even want to think about what would happen if it got into his clothes.
Eren nodded in understanding then, before he quickly pulled of his shirt and threw it carelessly aside, leaning in to give Levi a small kiss. Then he was gone, off towards the water, and Levi could only watch as he jumped in, laughing at the way the waves splashed and sprayed him. He looked so damn happy and a sort of calm and content feeling settled in Levi's stomach, warming him from the inside. Eren's joy was so pure, so innocent, so contagious that Levi couldn't help but feel giddy as well.
He could only shake his head with amusement when Eren took a sip of the water, only to spit it back out a split second later with the most disgusted expression that he was probably capable of. Then Levi turned away from the sight of his boyfriend playing like a kid so he could finally focus on his task of arranging their little spot. It took him a few minutes, the sand working hard against his need to have the towels perfectly aligned. Satisfied at last, Levi took a step back, causing the sand – and the towels right along with it – to move again, making him give up with a frustrated sigh. Shooting one last glare at their towels, he reminded himself that Eren was going to just flop on his towel and mess up all his efforts anyway, before he threw the rest of their things on top of his own towel without any more fucks to give.
With finality, he turned back around to face the water and join Eren, who was apparently having the time of his life in the water. He wasn't even swimming, just jumping around with the waves, giggling like a little kid when the salt water splashed his face. It was obvious to anyone who saw him how delighted he was. How much joy he found in letting the water wash over him and ruin his hair style, as sloppy as his bun may have been to begin with.
Levi was immensely glad in that moment that he had succeeded in talking Eren out of keeping his beloved flower crown on before going to the beach. Even if he had somehow managed to have it stay on his head, there was no way it would survive this abuse.
Speaking of which, Levi kind of doubted even his ridiculous hair tie would survive.
A fond chuckle escaped Levi as he walked across the sand, navigating between the many towels spread out everywhere. He had to admit he hated it; hated the amount of people vacationing out there, hated the sand, and he was pretty sure he would hate the sea as well once he was actually touching it. But looking at Eren, seeing how delighted he was... he didn't even care how the sand would get inside his swim trunks or how many people there were, watching them, or how dirty the water was. Eren was happy, beyond happy, and that was all that that really mattered to him in the end.
Or that was what Levi thought at least, until his feet came into contact with the water. It was cold as shit and Levi cursed Eren's naturally high body temperature for not caring and giving him a warning. Watching the brat, it was as if the water was a comfortable, almost-boiling temperature, which was just how Levi liked it. It definitely didn't seem like it was in fact fucking freezing. Levi shuddered and retreated, opting to stay on the hot sand, under the scorching heat of the sun.
"Are you planning on just standing there?" came a familiar voice a second later, Levi's sudden backtracking probably catching Eren's eyes.
Looking at Eren paddling in the water a little bit away and staring at him with the biggest puppy eyes, Levi couldn't help but sigh. "Give me a moment, I'm coming."
Levi snickered to himself at the pout Eren gave him, obviously dissatisfied with Levi's slowness at adjusting to the water temperature. But then he took a step closer, letting the incoming waves wash over his feet, and an involuntarily shudder ran up his spine.
Now it was Eren's turn to snicker and Levi tried to shoot his boyfriend a glare, only to see he was now way closer than he was a moment ago. The brat was kneeling in the shallows now, probably to get a better view of the show that was Levi's progress – or lack there off. Levi wanted to tell him to go eat shit but even he knew he was being ridiculous, the water wasn't that cold by normal standards, however, it was not like he could help it. Unless you were able to cook an egg in it, it just wasn't warm enough for Levi. Eying the water that now reached as high as his knees, and that was sending shivers all the way through his body, he wished he could just jump in like Eren did. But the water was just so cold-
A shout escaped Levi's lips, shock overcoming him as something cold and wet covered him from the waist down.
At the same moment, Eren burst into laughter and Levi could do nothing but glare down at his so-called boyfriend, who obviously thought it was a brilliant idea to splash Levi while he was struggling to even make a single step forward. "What the actual fuck, Eren," Levi growled lowly but Eren only continued to chortle. Seriously, Eren could be so ridiculous sometimes and despite his better judgement, Levi had to fight down his own laughter to keep up his appearances.
"You need to simply jump in, it's easier if you don't stop to think about it," Eren managed to get out in between gasps for air. "So I thought I'd help you with that." He blinked up at Levi prettily from his still kneeling position as he offered him a brilliant smile, one that he knew would always make Levi feel weak. Only he was completely ruining it with the bursts of laughter he couldn't contain. Not to mention Eren's messy bun was completely falling apart by that point, a few strands falling out of it here and there, and his frilly hair tie barely holding on. It was still stuck in his hair for the time being, but to Levi it seemed it's only purpose now was to make Eren's long hair stick out every which way, creating an absolutely ridiculous halo around his head.
With the effect of his smile completely ruined, Levi narrowed his eyes dangerously at Eren's continued giggling. Taking advantage of him not paying attention, Levi leaned down to scoop up a handful of water in retaliation.
Eren shrieked loudly, jumping up and away from the water Levi threw at his face. However, kneeling in the sand as he was until then, he easily lost balance and fell backwards, promptly submerging into the sea, hands flailing around in a fruitless search of something to hold onto, but merely smacking at the waves with loud splashing. Levi didn't have it in him to feel sorry for his actions. Not when Eren emerged back up a few seconds later, standing up fully just a bit away from Levi, spitting water and rubbing at his face to get the water out of his eyes without much result, a disgruntled, twisted expression adorning his face. And not even when a wave larger than the ones before came just as Eren was getting his bearings back, throwing him off balance again, and nearly sending him back underwater, face first this time.
Obviously, Eren didn't appreciate Levi's amusement. He lunged forward to grab his hand, successfully taking Levi off guard and pulling him towards himself. Before Levi could brace himself, he was falling into the water right next to the vindictive brat. At that point, the only thing he could do was to tightly close his eyes and mouth, holding his breath and await his untimely death in the cold, unforgiving arms of the Mediterranean sea.
Above the water, his view obscured by the foam created by Levi's fall and sand that rose up after, Eren frowned when Levi still didn't come up moments later, the brunet getting slightly worried. But then another shriek escaped him as something latched onto his middle, forcing him to fall backwards once more. In his surprise, he expected to gulp down some of the disgustingly salty water, but before that could happen, something else firmly pressed down on his mouth. Smiling wide into the kiss, his arms automatically going around Levi's neck, pulling him closer.
The two of them emerged gasping for breath only seconds later, Eren's hands clutching at Levi's shoulders while Levi's were wrapped tightly around Eren's waist.
As soon as they were breathing normally again, they both burst out laughing. It was ridiculous. They were ridiculous and Levi loved every second of it. At some point, Eren slowly moved closer, resting his forehead against Levi's gently, the two of them staring into each other's eyes intently and both smiling like the love-sick idiots they were.
"Thank you," Eren mumbled after a while, his voice barely audible against the sounds of the sea and the other people talking and laughing all around them. He didn't have to say anything more, didn't have to explain for Levi to understand.
The other man only huffed out a small chuckle, smiling softly up at his lover. "You're welcome, brat."
Eren smiled back at the pet name, his expression melting into something so grateful, so loving, and Levi couldn't resist any longer. He leaned in, making their lips connect once again just as the next wave crashed over them. Not that either of them noticed, sharing a kiss that was chaste and slow, and yet somehow so much more meaningful than the most passionate ones they have shared.
At that moment, as they both shivered from being drenched in cold, salty water, Eren's hair sticking to both their faces and as his frilly, pastel green hair tie was already irrevocably lost, somewhere on it's way to become one with the sea garbage... neither of them could be happier.
A/N: Chapter 2 & 3 still pending, please stand by.