A/N: Wow. This came out longer than I intended it to be. Anyway, this is just a bunch of fluffiness inspired when I myself got sunburned last weekend. Fun. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own SnK/AoT. Otherwise, Ereri would be canon. Like right now.
"No."
"Aw, come on, Levi, please?!"
The short, raven-haired man just continued to glare at his bespectacled, brunette friend, his eyes cold and arms folded. "I said 'no'. Jesus, Hanji, take a hint."
Hanji was practically on her knees, begging in the small apartment's foyer. "But why not?!"
The raven's thin eyebrow raised slightly. "Why the hell would I want to go to the beach in the middle of September?"
"Because it's fun!"
Leaning against the doorframe, Erwin looked to Levi, his expression showing he was slightly amused by the situation. "She just wants to see if she can find any jellyfish since it's that time of year."
"Because jellyfish are such interesting creatures!" Hanji defended, drooling slightly as her head whipped around to face the blonde. "But that's only part of it! We haven't hung out in such a long time! And going to the beach before it gets too cold seems a perfect way to spend our day off!"
Levi just sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I told you the last time you asked me; I don't—"
"Levi?"
At the familiar voice, all three heads turned to look down the hallway. A youthful-looking young man stood there, blue-green eyes staring at them through messy, chocolate-brown bangs.
Stormy gray met teal as Levi met his boyfriend's gaze. Eren smiled warmly, walking toward them as he said "I think you should go. It sounds fun."
"See? Even Eren agrees!" Hanji exclaimed, but Levi ignored her as Eren came to stand beside him.
"Do I have to?"
Eren laughed lightly at his reluctance, putting his arm around his shoulders. "No, but I think it would be good for you. There's nothing to do here and we're both always cooped up in the apartment anyways. Some fresh air would be nice."
"Hm…" Levi just huffed as he semi-consciously returned Eren's physical affection by putting his arm around his waist. He really didn't want to bother getting ready and then going to the beach, especially without his boyfriend, but if said boyfriend told him to go…
"Come on, Levi. It won't hurt. Besides, Eren has a deadline to meet so there's nothing you can do for him except let him work."
"I know that." The man snapped, glaring at Hanji who was now standing up. When she just grinned at him, he rolled his eyes and looked up at Eren. Eren just gave him that smile, the one that wasn't exactly bright, but was something a little more mellow.
It still sent a warm feeling through his body though.
Finally, Levi sighed. "Alright, fine."
Hanji started cheering and Erwin's smile got a little bigger.
"Yes! Sorry, Eren, but we'll be taking your boy-toy out for the day."
Without warning, Levi kicked Hanji's behind, sending her flying through the door. But that didn't stop her cackling.
The raven sighed again, already sounding like he was regretting his decision as he addressed Erwin. "I'll be out in a few minutes."
Erwin simply nodded and turned to leave, going to make sure Hanji wasn't torturing any of the neighbors with weird, inappropriate questions again.
Once the door shut, Levi looked up at Eren. "Are you sure?"
The brunet nodded. "Yeah, I'm cool with it. Go ahead and have fun. Hanji's right anyway; the deadline for my manuscript is tomorrow and I still have a long way to go."
Levi sighed for a third time, turning so that their bodies faced down the hall again as they started to walk. "If you say so. Just make sure you're actually working while I'm gone, alright, brat?"
"Yes, sir," Eren responded. Then he chuckled as Levi lightly punched him in the ribs.
"Don't call me that. Makes me feel old."
"But you are old. You're my grumpy old man."
"I mean it, Eren. I will make you sleep outside in the parking lot."
"Alright, fine. Sorry."
They reached their bedroom and automatically broke away from each other, Levi going toward the dresser and Eren going to sit at his desk. Sifting through their stuff, Levi grabbed a change of clothes, a towel, and some sunscreen, before putting them into a bag.
"Will you be ok while I'm gone?"
"Of course I will," Eren responded, a small smile on his face as he rolled his eyes. He shook the mouse of his computer so the screen would turn on. "I've stayed home alone before.
"Well who do you call if the house catches fire?"
Eren's eyebrows rose and he swiveled around in his chair to look at his lover. "Are you serious?"
Levi just looked at him dead on. "Humor me."
The younger sighed. "The fire department."
"And what's their number?"
"911."
"Who do you call if someone breaks in?"
"You."
"Or?"
"Mikasa."
Levi nodded his approval. "Now what if—"
"Levi!"
The man smirked at the younger's exasperation. He had already changed into swimming trunks and a t-shirt, so he was just standing there, duffel bag in hand. "Calm down, Eren. I was kidding."
Said brunet just puffed out his cheeks and moodily looked to his computer screen. Still smirking, Levi set his bag down by the door and went to stand next to Eren. He turned and leaned on the edge of the desk, casually looking over his shoulder at the young author.
Eren had just gotten his first book published last year, after a lot of time and effort, and was now showing great promise at being a really big hit (so many people had begged for a sequel). Levi was actually quite proud of him. As a business man, he knew how hard it was to get your work to be recognized.
Eren could only type about five words before he noticed Levi's stare. Still a bit grumpy, he turned to look up at the older man, who was leaning with his hand on the desk, facing down at him. They barely stared at each other for three seconds before Levi's pale, elegantly slender fingers captured Eren's chin and tilted it up for a kiss.
Several seconds later, Levi pulled away and was satisfied by the rosy dust covering Eren's cheeks.
"What was that for?"
Silver eyes rolled. "It's called 'manners,' Eren. I was saying goodbye."
"…Oh," Eren muttered as Levi walked away, picking up his bag to stand in the doorway.
"I'll see you later, brat. Hopefully Hanji doesn't drag us anywhere unsightly after the beach."
There was a short pause before Eren started snickering. "You mean like that strip club."
A pained, slightly disgusted expression came upon Levi's face. "Yes. Like that strip club."
The brunet laughed for a few more seconds before he waved Levi off. "Well good luck with that. I'll see you later."
"Yeah, see you. And for the love of God, Eren, don't try to cook anything while I'm gone. Knowing you, you'd burn the fucking building down. Just eat the leftovers in the—"
"Ok, bye, Levi!"
An amused smirk graced Levi's lips as he turned and waved one last time. "Goodbye, Eren."
"Don't forget to take pictures!" Eren yelled since Levi was already down the hall.
"Of course you would want pictures," Levi grumbled as he sat down to put on his sandals.
As if Eren heard him, he shouted "I love you!"
Standing up and rolling his eyes, Levi reached to open the door. "Whatever."
As Eren heard the front door shut, he couldn't help chuckling to himself before going back to his work.
His boyfriend really was fun to banter with.
With a great yawn, Eren stretched in his chair, his arms going up high above his head and toward the ceiling. He kept doing that until he felt a few satisfying pops in his spine, then relaxed again.
Another fine day of work.
The young writer looked proudly at his computer screen for a few seconds, taking in the glory of his finished chapter. Now, all he had to do was get his editor to look at it and it would be ready for publishing. He was pretty proud of himself considering that most of the time he hardly ever got his work done before his deadlines. Now that he thought about, Levi would be proud of him too and that usually meant that he would be in a good mood, maybe even in a good enough mood for… things.
Smiling happily, Eren had just closed his laptop and was going to get up for a snack when he heard the front door open and slam shut. Already at the door of the bedroom anyway, Eren peaked into the hallway, that content grin still on his face.
"Hey, Levi—"
He stopped, the rest of his sentence suddenly lost somewhere at the back of his mind. In the foyer, Levi had paused in what he was doing, leaning against the wall with one hand as he took his sandals off with the other. The two stared at each other for a long time, neither knowing what to say.
Suddenly, Eren burst out laughing, his arms hugging his sides and his torso bending over. Levi straightened up, glaring at him. He possibly might have turned red, but that was kind of impossible to tell because of his skin color.
Now usually, Levi's skin was a pale white, not a sickly white, but more like smooth, elegant porcelain. Eren would always tease him, saying he was like a doll. Now, however, that image was ruined.
Because Levi was about as red as a tomato.
Still laughing, Eren didn't realize Levi was walking passed until their bedroom door slammed shut.
"N-no wait, Levi!" Eren tried to beg through the door, but the fact that he wasn't able to control his giggling didn't help him sound very apologetic. "I'm s-sorry, let me in! Please? I'll-stop! Please?!"
Despite his intentions, it took Eren a few minutes to calm down. Every time he came close to getting it under control, the image of Levi with bright red, sun-kissed skin appeared in his mind and he doubled over in a fit of laughter. When he finally did stop, however, it was because Levi's glowering face appeared in the doorway.
Seeing his beloved, Eren straightened up, trying for Levi's sake to pull it together. For the most part, he did, the only trace of his laughing fit remaining was the smile on his face.
"What happened?" Eren asked, his fingers going up to stroke Levi's raven-black hair.
The older man sucked at his teeth irritably, glaring to the side. "Hanji replaced my sunscreen with tanning oil."
The brunet quirked an eyebrow. "When did you let her do that?"
"How the hell am I supposed to know? Shitty Glasses is a fucking freak of nature; she can be in two places at once."
Eren couldn't help but chuckle a little bit. "I guess that's true, seeing as how she can do these things to you of all people."
"Yeah. And it's a pain in the ass," Levi complained, hands on his hips as he unconsciously leaned into Eren's touch. "Now I have to deal with it. Not the mention I can't go anywhere for at least a few days."
The taller man blinked. "Why not?"
Levi looked up at Eren sharply, as if he were crazy. "You really think I wanna go out in public looking like this? You must be out of your damn mind, brat."
Eren laughed again. "Ok, I get it! Take a joke, Levi."
"How about I shove my foot up your ass?"
"Hm. I don't know about your foot, but—Ow!"
Levi watched as Eren hopped around a bit, rubbing his shin.
"Why would you do that?" Eren whined, still on one foot as he spoke.
"Your inappropriate innuendos," the raven deadpanned.
"But, Levi, we're dating! We have been for the past three years!"
"I'm going to take a shower now," the man said, ignoring his younger lover as he turned back into their room.
Eren followed, glad that Levi hadn't shut the door on him. "But won't that hurt?"
"Yeah, like hell, but I'm filthy as fuck."
"Can I come with?"
Levi looked back at Eren briefly, his eyes slightly narrowed.
Eren just shrugged. "I've been working all day. I could use a hot shower."
They were both standing in the bathroom connecting to their bedroom by now, and Levi had just turned around to take his shirt off when Eren continued.
"Besides, why would I miss a chance to take a shower with a hot guy like you?"
Levi turned, halfway through having his shirt off and just stared.
Eren was trying not to smile. "Get it? Because you have a sunburn?" Suddenly, Levi reached his hand up and flicked Eren on the forehead. "Ow," he mumbled, rubbing the hurt spot.
"Yeah. I think I got it, Eren."
Eren pouted as the bathroom became silent. He had just turned the showerhead on and tugged his shirt off when Levi spoke again.
"I'm hot as fuck by the way."
The comment made Eren smile. "I know." Suddenly, Eren noticed something and looked down. He couldn't help but laugh now that Levi was just in his boxers. "I can see where your trunks were!"
Levi rolled his eyes. "No shit. You thought I went to the beach naked?"
"I would love that."
The corner of the raven's mouth twitched. "You know that's illegal right? I could get arrested."
"Yeah. For being too sexy and making other people feel bad about themselves."
Levi rolled his eyes, but played along. "You know, there's a beach in Europe where people are allowed to swim naked."
"…We should somove there."
"Why the hell would we do that? I don't want to see a bunch of naked ass people I don't know."
"Then we buy our own beach."
The man just rolled his eyes as he stepped into the shower. "Maybe. If you actually sell some successful books first."
"Hey, that wasn't nice," Eren complained, following after.
Levi didn't apologize. Instead, he just started throwing out a few complaints of his own. "Christ, Eren, the water's hot as fuck. Turn it down, before it burns my skin off."
"Well maybe that's what I want."
Levi just looked at Eren who was wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. "Perverted brat."
That was when Eren noticed something else. He almost died at the sight. Now that he could properly see Levi's back, he got to see the genius that was Hanji. There, in pale letters on Levi's skin, were the words: Laugh at me, I'm short.
Eren tried really hard… but he just couldn't help it. He cracked up, a strangled sound coming from his throat.
Levi raised an eyebrow at him. "What's so funny, brat?"
The brunet just shook his head, turning to face the tiled wall.
A vein pulsed in the other man's temple. "What?"
Finally, Eren's laughter burst out of his mouth and he banged his fist against the wall.
"Eren, I swear—"
"Y-your back!"
Levi furrowed his eyebrows as if to ask 'what the fuck is wrong with you?' before trying to look behind him. His neck couldn't go that far, so he just slid the glass door open, revealing the mirror against the far wall.
"What the? Fuck! Dammit, Hanji!"
"Wh-when did she do that?"
Levi growled and slammed the door shut again. "I don't know but I swear, the next time I see her, I'll kick her ass so hard she won't be able to take a shit for a month."
The sound of Eren's continual laughter just made Levi even more irritated and he couldn't help but feel tempted to kick Eren in the shin again.
"Dammit, Eren, stop laughing."
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it," the brunet said, finally being successful at holding his laughter in.
Levi simply huffed, taking the shampoo and gingerly rubbing into his scalp because somehow he got burned where his hair parted on his head as well. Still smiling slightly, Eren took his own shampoo and began to lather his own hair. Suddenly, he felt a sharp slap on those cheeks. Startled, Eren whipped his head around to see a smirking Levi, innocently rinsing his hair.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it."
The comment made Eren's face burn and he turned his back, but was careful to stay a safe distance away. He could have sworn he heard Levi's low chuckle over the sound of the water running.
About fifteen minutes later, they were in their bedroom again, both of them dressed (except Levi didn't have a shirt on). Levi sat on the bed, examining his skin as Eren looked for something in the bathroom.
"This sucks," was all Levi could think to say to sum up what he thought. His skin burned like a bitch, and to be perfectly honest, he hated burns the most when it came to injuries. They were just annoying as hell and… well burned really badly.
"I would be surprised if you actually loved it, Levi." Eren's voiced sounded echo-y since he was still in the bathroom.
"Tch. I'll have to religiously apply lotion for the next few days just so I can go out into public without embarrassing myself. Damn you, Hanji."
"Well we might as well get started," Eren said, coming into the room with a bottle of the stuff.
"We?" Levi asked as Eren sat next to him.
"Yeah. You'll need help getting your back."
"…You better not comment on it."
"Of course not," Eren smiled, scooting so that he sat behind Levi. "Not try not to move too much."
Levi sighed through his nose as he grabbed the lotion, squirting some into his palm before handing it back to Eren. He was about to rub it onto his forearm when the smell hit his nose. Brow furrowing, Levi lifted his palm so he could smell it. "Is… this the girly lotion Mikasa gave us?"
"Yep!" Eren replied, sounding way too happy about it.
"You know she gave this to us just to spite me, right?" Levi could still remember the day they got it. They had just moved in together, and Mikasa had given this particular lotion as a 'house-warming gift', but it was obviously a stab at Levi's masculinity. He and Eren both knew she didn't quite approve of them dating.
"Yeah," the brunet behind him said, just as he rubbed his palms together and rubbed Levi's skin soothingly. He smiled as he heard Levi sigh in satisfaction as the cool substance made contact with his fevered skin. "But I like the smell. Especially on you."
Levi rolled his eyes. "You're the sappiest little shit I've ever met."
"But you love me~!" Eren practically sang as he continued his task. He didn't hear Levi deny it.
Once they were done with that, Levi suggested they eat dinner since Eren's stomach growled loudly. The brunet agreed, rubbing the back of his neck abashedly as they made their way to the kitchen. Neither of them felt like cooking, so they just warmed up leftovers and sat at the table.
Despite how hungry he was, Eren couldn't help glancing over at Levi every few minutes. Said man was sitting with impeccable posture, his back straight and away from his chair. This was because he didn't want his skin to stick to the chair and painfully rip away when he sat up. So, yeah, he was shirtless. He wanted the lotion to soak into his skin before he put one on, that way his clothes wouldn't uncomfortably cling to his sensitive skin.
Noticing Eren over his cup of tea, Levi smirked, hiding his mouth behind his cup. "Like what you see, Eren?"
Eren shrugged, casually hiding a smirk of his own behind his hand. "Hm. Maybe."
"Maybe? Well that certainly contradicts all the other times you've seen me without a shirt on. Or pants."
The comment made Eren he choke on a bit of his food, and that made Levi chuckle.
When they were done, they did the dishes (because Levi refused to leave them overnight) and then went back to the bedroom. Levi went to the drawers and selected a white, cotton t-shirt to slip on. It was Eren's, and it was a bit big on him, but it was perfect.
Brushing his teeth in the bathroom, Eren caught sight of Levi through the doorway. He was satisfied to see Levi wearing one of his shirts (even though it was probably just because the looser material wouldn't stick to his skin), and it made him look, if a bit uncharacteristically, cute because of how oversized it was. It was even more adorable when Levi yawned, rubbing his eye with the heel of his palm.
"Are you tired?"
"Don't talk with toothpaste in your mouth. You look like a rabid animal. And yes I am so hurry up," Levi deadpanned, going to the sink to brush his teeth as well.
Eren happily complied, spitting into the sink and rinsing his mouth before going to bed to wait for Levi. A few minutes later, once Levi was done, he looked at the sink and gave an agitated sigh.
I swear, every time Eren uses the sink, it looks like someone flooded the damn place.
After wiping the sink, Levi turned the light off and left the bathroom. In the dim lighting, he could see Eren laying there in bed with the blanket pulled up snugly to his chin. He had that bright smile on his face again as he pat the empty space next to him invitingly. Levi sighed, the corner of his mouth tugging up in a half-smile as he crawled in.
Settling in on his side and feeling Eren huddle toward him, he muttered "Just be gentle with me."
"Huh," Eren began thoughtfully. "That's the first time you've said that to me."
Levi lightly hit him upside the head. "Enough with the innuendos!" Eren just started cackling and Levi felt compelled to push him out of the bed. "Ok. You're sleeping on the couch tonight."
"No, no, please! I'm sorry, Levi," Eren begged, still snickering from the ground. "I won't do it again."
The raven just sighed. "Fine, whatever. Just get in and shut up already."
Eren happily complied, getting under the covers and gently draping his arm over Levi's waist, snuggling into the back of his neck.
"And to think I finished my manuscript today. We both would have been in a pretty good mood if this hadn't happened."
After a second, Levi turned his head to face his brat in the dark. They looked at each other for a full minute before Levi finally groaned, turning back over onto his side.
"I hate my life."
A/N: And just so you guys know, the title isn't just literal. Eren is the sun :) If you didn't get that, reread it with that in mind. Or not, if you hated this the first time you read it.
Please review! You can tell me what you loved, what you hated, I don't care. Anything would be great.
