It's Just a Little Crush

Eren was staring the steam drifting up towards the ceiling. It reminded him a little too much of his regenerative abilities. Suddenly, his vision was red. Images of lost comrades, titans and blood flooded his mind. It wasn't until he caught the scent of burning bread that he snapped out of it.

Meat had been scarce ever since the Colossal Titan broke the wall. Eren didn't mind so much, unlike some. He had always been okay with simple sandwiches of bread and cheese, much like the ones his Mom used to make. But to many, the lack of protein stood as a constant reminder of the dire situation. Eren's anger manifested in other ways. He was constantly filled to the brim with anger. Anger towards the titans, anger towards those who betrayed him, anger towards his father, and anger towards at the moment, he was mostly grateful that he had something to nibble on. He found solace in being alone. It was the only time he was able to collect his thoughts.

The sandwich was black, but the goat cheese inside was soft and fragrant, filling Eren's nostrils with a pungent scent. He limped to the table, trying to recollect Hange's most recent experiment. The more he used his shifting ability, he found that the more he remembered about what happened in his titan form. Eren didn't know what to make of that, but he had a feeling the others, especially Armin and Hange, had several hypotheses. He took a bite of the flakey black sandwich.

Eren hadn't had much of an appetite lately, for obvious reasons. He felt guilty. Guilty because he was alive when his comrades had fallen. Guilty that he had caused so much pain. Guilty that he was the reason so many good soldiers had to part from this hellish world. His eyes watered. Eren had always been an easy crier. As he took his second bite, he heard the door open.

From the doorway entered a spotless Levi. Well, mostly spotless. He was a bit sweaty and his hands and about three-quarters the way up his sleeves were covered in tiny sprays of what looked like mud. But maybe it was blood.. Eren immediately took a deep breath, avoided eye contact, and tried to look utterly fascinated by the blackened sandwich in his hands. The last thing he wanted was for Levi to think he was weak.

Before meeting Levi, Eren had become familiar with humanity's most valuable soldier through word of mouth. Levi was strong, calm and collected, and commanded the respect of his subordinates. Eren idolized him. However upon meeting Levi, Eren found himself surprised perhaps a bit disappointed.

Levi was so much shorter than Eren had expected. And so cold, maybe even cruel. His introverted qualities and lack of teamwork skills left Eren aghast. But Levi held up to his reputation in battle, which around here was all that really mattered. So despite his 5'3 stature, Levi was all that Eren had ever hoped to be. Had.

Eren had lost his hopes when he discovered his titan shifting abilities.

Levi made a beeline for the sink. He calmly washed his hands, reminiscent of how surgeons washed their hands before cutting into someone. Taking a cloth and some oil, Levi dabbed the blood off his leather jacket. He looked around to the table spying an intrigued Eren with blushing ears, staring at a blackened object.

"Is that supposed to be a sandwich?" Levi stated coldly.

Always so callous, Eren thought. "Yeah, I might've gotten lost in my thoughts while making it." Eren became fiercely aware of the tips of his ears turning red. "But, I mean, it's still good and everything. Just a bit blackened."

"You got lost in your thoughts? Huh." Levi mumbled with what seemed like disinterest as he finished polishing the blood off his jacket. He began to toast four pieces of stale bread in a butter covered frying pan. He flipped the four pieces carefully. "Listen, if Hange is ever going overboard with her antics, you should just…"

"No! I mean no, it's fine. I'm stronger than I look." Eryn flashed a determined smile as Levi crumbled goat cheese onto two pieces of the bread. "I might get the occasional nose bleed after shifting out of titan mode, but I can even walk and talk and everything right afterwards now! I used to not be able to do that. I'm getting better. Hange is helping me. Really. I mean it." Silence. The cheese on the toast was starting to melt.

"No what she's doing is helping herself." Muttered Levi. Levi laid the a slightly browned piece of bread on top of one covered in cheese. He repeated the step. The bread sizzled quietly. On his tip toes, he reached up to grab two metal plates and placed the two perfectly golden brown sandwiches on them. He walked over to where Eren sat, plates in hand.

Did I really just hear that? Till now, Eren assumed that Levi didn't give a rats ass about him. Levi sat the plates down and pushed one towards Eren. It was a kind gesture. Looking down at his reflection on the scratched metal plate, Eren saw just how pitiful he looked. Dark circles, bruises, those weird marks he got around his eyes after he tore away from his titan. He lifted the perfect looking sandwich to his mouth.

"It wouldn't be good if you just burned out. Save a bit of your strength, sleep more, just get a little more rest. Humanity needs you strong. We need you strong." Levi's sandwich remained untouched.

Oh so he's worried about my titan. That makes since.

"I need you strong." Levi echoed.

Okay that one I DEFINITELY imagined.

"You know, I could say the same thing to you. Do you even sleep? Like, what, maybe two hours a night? Are you really the one who should be lecturing me on health?" Levi deftly popped Eren upside the head, causing Eren to bite down on his own tongue. "Okay, I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry Levi." he admitted as his ears turned a shade of crimson.

"That's Captain Levi to you." His voice cut the air like a blade made of ice. Eren's ears intensified to a bright scarlet. Levi took a neat bite of his sandwich. He didn't want the cheese to be scalding, but he also didn't want it to be too cold. Unlike Eren, he wasn't a crude barbarian, so he had waited an accurate amount of time before taking his first bite. His grey eyes narrowed as he said, "You know I believe that pain is the most effective means of discipline." Levi cracked his knuckles after setting the sandwich down. The hairs on the back of Eren's neck stood up.

Eren tried to finish the sandwich Levi had so carefully made for him. But as he brought it to his mouth a gentle but steady drip of blood started to flow out of his nose. Levi quickly approached him, reaching his arm around the boy's shoulder and pulling him close. He placed his right palm on Eren's forehead.

"Your sizzling." He stated in such a way that made Eren feel self conscious. Eren pushed Levi off of him the best he could. Levi resisted at first, perhaps thinking Eren was losing consciousness. But as soon as he saw Eren's blushing face sitting up as straight as possible, Levi let go.

Ha, Levi thought. Straight.

"I'm fine! I mean I'm not great, but I'm okay. I think I am just gonna head back to our quarters and.. Yeah I'll be fine. I'll Just sleep it off." Eren couldn't help but think that maybe it wasn't all the hard training that was making him fatigued. Maybe it was something else. Someone else…

Eren tried to stand up, a fumbling attempt. As he was slipping backwards, two calloused sweeped him up. Levi, who was three inches shorter than him, had picked him up. In a moment of realization, Eren's face had turned the same shade of scarlet as his ears. Levi's expression remained emotionless. "Um, Levi I'm really okay. I can walks to the room. I mean walk not walks. Ooops I mean it's okay, I just tripped a little bit."

"No." Levi stated.

And he was right. Eren was 100% not okay.