For my Chibi Levi
"Down!" The order rang out, loud enough to scatter the chirping birds. Levi paced along the line, watching his squad closely. For this exercise, they'd been paired up. One partner stood to the right, and wore special gloves, while the other, on the left, threw punches at them. Once they heard Levi's order, the scouts on the left hit the ground, executed a single push up, and came back up to do more punching. Levi kept a rhythm; making three circles around them before giving the order again. "Down!"
The sun beat down on all of them – in full uniform, no one was comfortable. The petite captain took note of the burning hatred in Mikasa's eyes as she hit the ground. Beside her, Jean looked as though he might collapse. His eyes lulled in his head and his jaw was slack. Levi could hear him wheezing and wondered if he'd survive the training. He scoffed and set his eyes on Eren. He caught himself staring and the slightest hint of a smile played at the corner of his lips. Levi was told that Eren was the worst soldier in the group, but Eren was the only one not glaring at him. Eren never gave up.
Content with the fact that almost everyone in the squad was secretly planning his murder, Levi gave one final order. "Halt! Line up!" A sigh of relief bubbled from the scouts like the end of a symphony and the captain allowed himself a soft, cruel chuckle. "Go shower. You all stink," he barks, waving one hand and turning away from the others.
Most of his subordinates did as they were told, marching and stumbling off toward the showers; but not Eren. He waited until only he and the captain remained on that field before hugging him form behind. Eren pressed his body to Levi's, as he'd wanted to do all day. "You went easy on us today. Are you hoping that means I'll have energy for something else after everyone else goes to bed?"
Levi pushed away and looked back over his shoulder at the taller boy. "Careful. We're still outside. The last thing I want is for an MP to see that behavior. I don't want to give anyone any excuse to take you away from me." He kept his voice low. To anyone else, Levi's gaze would be hard as stone, but Eren understood. That was one reason Levi loved him so much. They had a connection that went so much deeper than anything either of them had experienced before. Eren held up both hands defensively and shook his head, giving Levi his usual goofy grin.
"I'm sorry, Captain. Sometimes I just can't keep my hands off you~!" he teased. Levi scoffed and walked off, not wanting to listen to anymore of Eren's nonsense. The younger boy followed as if he were a lost puppy. It didn't take long for them to venture back inside their barracks. "Caaappttaaaiinnn…" he whined, knowing it would get Levi's attention one way or another. Levi turned, ready to kick Eren in the shin, but stopped when he noticed something rather odd. He lowered the kick and stared past his lover. His stone expression hadn't changed except for his eyes. The bewilderment in Levi's gaze was enough to make Eren turn around. ". . . Whoa. What the fuck is that?" he asked, finding what it was that had stopped Levi's assault.
A door (Eren had been sure it was a closet) seemed to have an opalescent glow bursting from behind it, leaking underneath and through the cracks. Suddenly feeling protective in the face of such a strange phenomenon, Eren held out an arm to keep Levi from approaching it. He reached his own shaky hand out and took hold of the handle. He'd been expecting it to burn for some reason, but it felt cool and almost soothing. He wanted to know what was behind this door. Looking back at his uke (who was now a bit irritated by his "macho bullshit"), Eren smiled sweetly before turning the knob. The door opened and Eren's jaw -and arm- dropped. Levi stepped forward and peered inside. Neither could believe what they saw.
An entire town stretched out before them just through the doorframe. Eren could see an apartment complex, a hospital, a grocery store and what he thought might have been a school in the distance. Dead center of the town, as if they were the most important buildings, were three bars with bright neon signs. The three buildings were surrounded by a dirt path, connecting all three like an alchemy circle. On the left, a bright yellow feather was placed on the front of the building. Cursive neon read "Chocobo Feather". To the right, a rather odd-looking dragon put its paws on cursive neon that read "Bahamut's wing". The last, in the middle, was the biggest and brandished a wolf with a glowing orb in its maw. The orb changed colors in the sun and caught Eren's eye while Levi read the cursive next to it aloud. "Materia Magic… What the f-"
"Let's go check it out!" Eren grinned mischievously and grabbed Levi's wrist before he could finish his thought. "Unless you're afraid that 'Daddy' will catch you."
"Daddy" referred to Erwin Smith, their commander. Eren found out the nickname that Levi had for his ex and decided to never let him live it down. "Fuck off," Levi's eye twitched, but he followed Eren in anyway.
"There's a good little Levi," Eren chided, pulling him close. Neither of them realized that the door had slowly shut behind them and seemed to vanish into thin air. Eren bent down just enough to steal a kiss from Levi, tangling their hands together before he let go and continued to explore this newfound world. The two walked hand in hand, but their minds were on completely different paths. While Eren marveled at their surroundings, Levi kept his guard up, still trepidatious. He didn't understand how all this could fit in their closet. More to the point, he wondered why they'd never found it before.
Perhaps Levi would have felt more comfortable if they had their ODM gear, but they didn't. He stayed on edge, ready to pull Eren out of harm's way if necessary. It was difficult, however, because this strange place that they'd found themselves in seemed to have a calming effect; one that Eren was powerless against. He bounced as he walked and pointed to buildings like a child, excited to explore each of them. Deciding that bar in the center was the most likely place to get answers, Levi dragged his young lover along, glaring at the wolf – which seemed to smile back.
Levi scoffed and kicked one of the double doors open, not bothering to try either handle. It swung open easy enough, as though it wasn't even latched shut. This bar seemed welcoming, familiar even, though they'd never stepped foot there before. He crept inside, tugging Eren along with him. Both boys looked the place over. They found a well-lit stage, small tables, a bar with a marble countertop, and two hallways that lead off to unknown places; one housed an upward staircase, and the other trailed off in the opposite direction. Finally, they'd found people.
"Hey! What is this place?" Eren asked, regaining himself after seeing this place wasn't completely abandoned. He pulled Levi close to him again, on instinct.
"Eh?" The shortest of the three people sitting at the bar turned to face them. He had neat, feathered, shoulder length silver hair that framed his beautiful, androgynous face, and piercing eyes that faded from green to blue. He wore a skintight, leather cat suit that seemed even darker compared to his porcelain skin. When he saw the two scouts standing in the door of his establishment, a mischievous, cat like grin stretched from one ear to the other. He stood and walked over to greet them, extending a hand to Eren. "Well now~!" he spoke in a sing-song voice, seeming to like what he saw, "This place is called 'The Void', and this bar is Materia Magic." Eren took the outstretched hand and squeezed lightly as the feminine man spoke. "It's nice to meet you… My name is Kadaj Strife."