A/N: The document upload is finally workin! Yay! I think I lost a week of my life yesterday trying to bypass the error OTL So have this fluffy little fill for ereri-writing-prompts . tumblr . com Prompt 2: Dancing! (Not much dancing in the end though, sorry.)
Technically, this takes place during chapter 90 of the manga, but it doesn't really matter and there are no spoilers, no not to worry.
Levi got off his horse a bit away from the others where they've set camp for the night on a small forest clearing. Since reclaiming Wall Maria months ago and killing all the titans in the vicinity of Wall Rose, the scouts have been venturing further and further away from safety, having to stay in between the two walls overnight. Sometimes for more nights than one.
As was this case. They've been searching the inside of Wall Maria as thoroughly as possible for three days now, looking for any stray titans that might be hiding there somewhere.
Levi let out a sigh, watching as his breath became visible for a brief moment before disappearing again. He wondered when exactly it became so cold. By the time they've started venturing outside, snow started falling, and it only went downhill from there. The timing couldn't have been worse, in Levi's opinion. Not only did they have to camp outside in freezing temperatures, the frost was also making it impossible to wield the 3DMG without thick gloves – unless you wanted to get frostbite from the metal. And even if you didn't mind the pain, you'd lose feeling in your hands fast, making it difficult to even move them, much less do the delicate work of switching gears and pushing the tiny buttons. Not like that was easy with the gloves anyway. They just were lucky there weren't many titans, and that even those who were there were sluggish with the cold and lack of sunlight. Thanks to that, they didn't have many causalities at all despite the unfavorable conditions.
But still.
"Fuck, it's cold," Levi said to himself, throwing his head back to glare at the starless sky. The whole day it looked like it would start snowing again and Levi was honestly not looking forward to waking up to his tent buried under a pile of snow. Again.
The captain tensed as the telling crunch of somebody stepping on fresh snow carried over to him from the direction of the camp. He didn't want to deal with anyone right now. That was why he hid- retreated here. He wasn't in the mood for admiring stares of soldiers who knew nothing of the true horrors of the titans. And definitely not in the mood for any stuttering kids who were too scared to relay a simple message.
But when after a few seconds of silence, instead of a trembling voice telling him to go there or do that, the crunching resumed, Levi allowed himself to breathe. There were only two people who'd approach him like this without saying anything. And when his horse moved to greet the newcomer, most likely nudging her nose into their hands in a demand of pats like she did in greeting of people she was closely familiar with, he relaxed completely.
He wasn't surprised when Eren appeared next to him, looking up at the sky curiously, probably trying to see what up there was so interesting. Finding nothing after a few minutes, however, he looked back down at Levi, breaking the serene silence hanging in between them.
"Are you okay?" he asked in a quiet voice just above whisper.
Levi frowned. Was he okay? "What the hell makes you ask that?" Levi shot back in deadpan, hiding his anxiety behind sarcasm. He didn't want to think about anything.
"Well for one, you're not looking at me, sir," Eren noted.
He was right, Levi knew. He knew he was avoiding those green eyes but he also knew those eyes could sometimes see more than Levi was willing to share. And right then, he was too tired. Too tired of the snow, of titans, and politics, too tired of people.
So he said nothing. Clicked his tongue in annoyance and made a move to leave Eren and his caring for him behind. He didn't get far as Eren's hand clasped around his wrist to stop him. Levi froze in place, just as he could hear Eren take a sharp intake of breath. In that moment, he wasn't too sure which one of them was more surprised by the action.
Neither of them moved a muscle for a long moment, as if waiting for something to happen, but the seconds stretched and still the sky didn't fall, nor did a titan swoop down to eat them both.
"What are you doing, Eren?" The question that was supposed to sound icy and dangerous only managed to come out strangled.
"I..." Eren stopped, gulping loudly, swallowing around his uncertainty. "Don't go," he finally managed to get out.
Slowly, Levi's looked up and their eyes finally met for the first time. Eren was biting his lip, looking so scared and small even as his grip around Levi's wrist only became stronger and surer. The two of them stared at each other, one more lost and broken than the other, neither knowing what to do next.
Eren's eyes flickered away momentarily then, before they came back to Levi's and a gentle smile settled on his face, his whole body relaxing visibly, and Levi frowned in confusion.
"It's snowing," Eren explained softly, wonder in his voice as his eyes veered off again to stare somewhere slightly below Levi's eyes.
Levi blinked looking up at the sky only for a giant snowflake to land on his cheek, melting immediately on his warm skin. And suddenly, Levi felt like laughing. He didn't know why. He just felt a bubble of irrational amusement rise up in his throat, the corners of his mouth twitching.
His eyes fell back on Eren and just as the amusement came, it was gone, only to be replaced by something else, something that Levi couldn't name. But it was there, powerful, hot, rising from his stomach and spreading all the way to his fingertips.
Eren was looking at him with such warm and tender eyes, Levi didn't know what to do. He only stood there without moving as Eren raised his hand and reached slowly up, up and towards Levi's face while the other only looked on helplessly, frozen in time and space, forgetting to breathe. Eren wasn't wearing gloves, Levi noted blankly just before his hand touched Levi's hair that hung right above his cheekbone, where the snowflakes presumably gathered.
He still didn't let go of Levi's wrist.
Levi shivered involuntarily as Eren's hand came into contact with his skin, lighting him on fire, and Eren drew back immediately, alarm in both his eyes and his voice. "Are you cold?"
The spell broken, Levi blinked, feeling a little lost in that moment. Not knowing what to say, not even really sure what the question was, he only managed a small shrug. Before he could realize what was happening, Eren tugged him forward, their bodies colliding almost painfully just before the shifter engulfed him in his arms and the warmth his body was emitting.
Levi stiffened, trying half-heartedly to push Eren away. "Let me go, brat," he threatened when the other didn't let go.
"No. Not until you're warm again, sir."
Levi clicked his tongue, rolling his eyes even though the other couldn't see it from where he had his head resting on Levi's shoulder. "That won't happen until spring, Eren," he muttered lowly, more to himself than to Eren.
To his surprise Eren laughed, squeezing him lightly. "Then I guess we'll be here a while, huh?" he said cheekily.
"Brat," Levi retorted, and though he wanted to sound annoyed, even he could admit the simple word sounded way too fond.
"But I'm your brat, sir," Eren replied easily, probably not even realizing how that might sound, with laughter still in his voice, and Levi could only shake his head.
This brat really was something else. Absently, he noted his horse snorted before walking off leisurely, probably bored and unhappy with the lack of attention she was getting from the two men.
Levi didn't even realize when his hands traveled up to wind themselves up loosely around Eren's waist, nor did he have any idea how long they've been standing there like that, Eren letting Levi – or forcing him to – leech off his heat, before Eren started humming to himself quietly and rocking them both from side to side.
Levi let him for all of ten seconds before he interjected, more bemused than anything. "What the hell are you doing?"
Both Eren's movements and the sounds stopped abruptly. "I'm sorry, I didn't even realize I was doing it, I'll stop."
"I didn't tell you to stop, I was just asking what you were doing," Levi noted, unwittingly missing the soft, calming vibrations of Eren's chest already.
"Uhm..." Eren started, burying his head in Levi's neck and Levi could almost feel the heat of the blush that was undoubtedly spreading across Eren's cheeks.
"Well?" Levi prompted when no more sound came from the other.
Eren shook his head slightly, his growing hair finding it's way around Levi's scarf to tickle Levi on the back of his neck with the movement.
"Don't make me order you to talk." Levi knew that was a low blow. He would never force Eren to tell him something like that and Eren knew it, but Levi also knew the shifter and how to push him just right.
Eren moved his head abruptly to rest his chin on Levi's shoulder instead of hiding in his neck, and Levi could picture the defiant pout on his lips perfectly.
"Fine, if you have to know, sir, I was dancing," he muttered, his voice a little sulky as he blew at the snowflakes falling lazily around them.
Levi made a face. "That was not dancing, Eren," the captain said, inadvertently recalling the complicated steps and rules of dancing Hanji and Erwin had a been drilling into him since he started raising through the military ranks, forcing him to attend the odd social gathering in Mitras.
"Well, where I come from, it is dancing," Eren insisted, now sounding a bit offended.
Levi didn't fight the smile, only hid it in Eren's shoulder. "Teach me then."
Eren froze, letting out a choked noise of surprise, and Levi chuckled quietly. Only when Eren started rocking them both gently in place again, hesitant at first, but slowly relaxing and setting a slow rhythm to the sound of a quietly hummed song Levi didn't recognize, did Levi look up towards the sky once again. It was still snowing but now Levi wasn't annoyed at the prospect of the next morning, nor did he feel the urge to laugh for no reason. He actually thought snowflakes gently settling on the ground – and on the both of them – were quite beautiful, like stardust.
And in that moment he felt... warm.
"Has anyone seen Levi? Or Eren, for that matter?" Hanji asked Levi's squad as they sat huddled next to the fire.
They all shook their heads, only Mikasa nodding over towards the horses. "Captain Levi's horse came back a while ago, alone. From north-east from here," she said quietly, tugging at her scarf.
The rest of them looked towards the trees in said direction before they exchanged glances. "Well, either a titan jumped them or one of them finally snapped," Connie laughed weakly.
Hanji scoffed, "Oh please, they're both so dense, there's no way either of them makes a move without someone giving them a push."
"I agree," Armin nodded solemnly, "We'll sooner reach the ocean than they kiss."
"So..." Jean drew out, looking around expectantly. "Who volunteers to do the pushing?"
A/N: It wouldn't be me if I didn't add something stupid at the end, would it... ^^;; But man, this was so hard? I had this exact image of the scene in my head but found I had no words to describe it... I hope I managed somehow OTL
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