Keys jingled in the lock, and the front door swung open, and thumped against the cream wall.

"Eren?"

There was a dull thud off shoes being dropped on the laminate floor. Eren took off his jacket and hung it up with the other coats. He sighed.

"You okay, Eren?"

Eren grunted in reply and padded into the living room. Levi was sat on the settee, with his arm outstretched over the back of it, and a book in his hand. Levi glanced back to where Eren was stood in the doorway. He frowned and lowered his book into his lap.

"Hey." Levi tried again.
Again, Levi only got a grunt in reply. Levi put his book aside and patted the settee. Eren slowly made his way over and sat in Levi's lap. Levi raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't comment on it. As Eren loosely draped his arms around Levi's shoulders, Levi reached up and brushed Eren's hair from his face. Levi gently brushed his thumb over Eren's soft cheek and tilted his head. He noticed the slight tilt of Eren's head, and the way that his usual enthusiasm seemed to have been sucked out of him. The dark circles under Eren's normally vibrant green eyes were more obvious, and his irises were dull.

"Did someone upset you?" Levi asked quietly, as he gently brushed Eren's cheek.

Eren shook his head.

"Did Armin and Mikasa meet you?"

Eren nodded. He stayed very still, and his eyelids started to droop.

"Are you tired?"

Another nod.
"Ah." Levi sighed. "Do you want me to put you in bed?" He looped his arms around Eren's waist.

"No." Eren said softly.

"Was it all a bit much?" After Eren nodded again, Levi continued. "What do you want to do?"

"To be here and be quiet for a little bit." Eren mumbled.

"Okay." Levi nodded and lightly stroked Eren's back.

A soft sigh left Eren and he buried his face in Levi's neck and yawned. He shifted on Levi's lap and pressed closely to him. He had spent the day with Armin, Mikasa, Jean, Connie and Sasha. They'd been roaming around and chasing each other. As it had gotten later in the day, they'd calmed down, and eventually gone to hang around in a nearby skate park. They sat on one of the ramps, and talked about weird stuff their families did, or referenced inside jokes, or generally mocked each other, like Sasha's obsession with food, Jean's face, Eren's intensity with sport, Armin's nerdiness, and Mikasa's overprotective attitude. Eren now found himself absolutely shattered. He was grateful for the warmth Levi provided, and the soothing circles being rubbed into the bottom of his back. He pressed his face against Levi's neck, and heard Levi grumble about how cold he was. Eren ignored Levi's harmless grumbling, and held onto Levi tightly. They stayed like this for a while, with Levi massaging his back, and Eren softly calming down.

A little while later, Eren gently lifted his head, and instantly met Levi's inquisitive eyes. He smiled briefly and brought his hands to Levi's neck. He let his hands drift to Levi's collar bone, and he smoothed his fingers along Levi's collar bone. Levi watched curiously, as Eren brought his hands down Levi's chest, and then brought them back up to rest over his heart. Eren looked up to Levi's eyes and smiled shyly. He leaned in slowly, and gave Levi a chaste kiss, and then pulled back with a small smile.

Levi ran his hands up Eren's back and slid them into Eren's hair. He felt Eren sag into his arms, as he carefully pressed his fingers into Eren's scalp, and ran the brown locks through his fingers. Levi smiled and watched as Eren's eyes slowly closed.

"You okay?" Levi asked.

"I'm a bit better now." Eren looked at Levi through heavy eyes.

"Yeah?" Levi smiled. "Do you want to sleep?"

Eren shook his head and pressed his lips to Levi's softly. He hummed and gripped onto Levi's shirt. Levi smiled and pulled away from Eren. He played with the hair at the back of Eren's neck. Eren kissed the corner of Levi's mouth. He felt Levi lazily lean forward, and hold his jaw as his lips met Eren's and he gently nipped Eren. Eren smiled and pulled away slightly. Levi huffed and tried to chase Eren's mouth with his own, and he felt Eren's laugh puff against his lips. He growled. He pulled Levi to him by Eren's chin, and he bit Eren's lip roughly. Eren gasped and winced, and Levi smirked. He slipped his tongue in Eren's mouth, and Eren quickly responded with teasing touches. He brushed his tongue against Levi's and then pulled away with a smug glint in his eyes.

"Hey," Levi pouted, "Not fair."

"It is. You bit me." Eren stuck out his tongue.

Levi grimaced and pushed Eren's tongue back in his mouth with one finger, and rested his finger on Eren's lips.

"Either keep it in your mouth, or mine, but don't just wave it around." Levi raised an eyebrow at Eren.

"Are you talking about my tongue, or my dick?" Eren waggled his eyebrows.

"You ass." Levi rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, but you like it."

"I know, and it's my burden to bear." Levi smirked.

"Burden! Burden?" Eren exclaimed. "Is my ass," Eren wiggled in Levi's lap, "or /my/ ass a burden?" he pointed to himself.

"Both." Levi tried to contain his smirk.

"B... both…" Eren whispered.

"Hey," Levi cupped Eren's face in his hands, "hey, it's not bad."

As Eren continued to pout, Levi shook his head. He grabbed Eren's hips and jerked Eren towards him, and got his attention. Eren frowned at Levi. Silver eyes roamed over Eren, leaving him feeling hot under the collar and naked before Levi's gaze. Eren shivered. Pale hands glided over tanned arms, and gently massaged caramel fingers like they were something to be worshiped. Green eyes flicked down to follow Levi's path, as it created a warm feeling on his skin, and left him calm and wanting more. Eren's pout changed to a soft smile. Levi broke the calm silence that settled between them.

"I like your face and stuff, you know." Levi focused on what his hands were doing, to distract himself from struggling to bluntly say those three little words.

Eren laughed. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Levi nodded.

"Levi?" Eren waited for Levi to look up. "I love you, too."

Silver eyes crinkled and a smile came to Levi's lips. His cheeks were warmer, and he paused, and just held Eren's hand. Eren gave Levi's hand a squeeze, and he gently tapped Levi's chin up. He kissed Levi's forehead and grinned at him.

"Thank you." Eren murmured.

Levi tilted his head. "For what?"

"For," Eren shrugged, "just sitting with me. And being with me. And being born. And liking my face and stuff." Levi looked away and bit his lip to try to stop the smile already forming.

What Levi wanted to say, was that there wasn't enough time in the world to possibly even list everything that Levi would like to thank Eren for. If he were to describe everything he loved about Eren in as much detail as he liked, they'd have lived a billion lives, and there'd still be some things he forgot to mention. He wanted to explain how Eren lit up a room, and inspired him to keep going, and that Eren was the best thing he could have wished for. He wanted to whisper everything into Eren's ear, because Eren meant the world to him. It wasn't necessary for Levi to tell everyone how much he loved Eren, as long as Eren knew. But Levi's friends could tell that Eren really was something special, from the way that Levi would gently lean in more whenever Eren spoke, or how if Eren even passed by, Levi's mood picked up. They noticed how, even if company was over, if Eren was in Levi's lap, Levi would latch on and not let Eren go anywhere, because he didn't ever want to let go. Feeling Eren's weight on his lap reassured Levi that this wasn't some dream. It meant that he wasn't still under the stairs as a tiny child, as strange men ran by, and he heard his father scream. It meant that Levi was safe, and he was warm. Eren meant that Levi was comfortable, and he didn't ever have to go back to living with death hovering over him, like some looming dark monster from the closet. Eren was like coming home to a bright fire, and a hot cup of tea; Eren was home. They could be miles away, in some back alley behind Tesco in the bad side of London, but as long as Levi had Eren, he knew they'd be okay. And sometimes Eren would get on Levi's nerves, but Levi would soon forgive those puppy dog eyes. Levi would always forgive Eren, because Eren was a stubborn pain in the ass, but he was Levi's stubborn pain in the ass. But Levi's bad with communicating his love with words.

"Yeah, you too, kid."