A/N: This chapter is really long and has smut. Don't say I didn't warn you!

It had been a long time since Eren had someone he could call a friend.

And while he wasn't sure that was exactly the word for the short police officer who always seemed to show up, he didn't think it was appropriate to call him a stranger either. In a way, it was like no one in this town was a stranger. It was an atmosphere that made him comfortable and anxious, all at the same time. If he didn't keep his stories straight, he was in trouble, but the laid-back nature of the town was something else.

That police officer was something else too.

The second day he had been here, he made a trip to the gas station, only to find the short officer struggling to reach something on the very top shelf of the drinks section. Repressing a smirk, Eren went over to offer a hand.

"Need some help, sir?" he asked, already reaching up to grab whatever it was Rivaille was reaching for. He froze when he received the dirtiest glare he had ever gotten in his life. "U-Uh..."

"Yeah. Down on all fours, brat."the officer spat. At the bewildered look Eren gave him, Rivaille promptly stomped on his foot.

"Don't question police officers that do nice things for you." he barked. Eren slowly sunk to the ground, shooting a glance to the cashier on the other side of the store. She gave him a bored stare back.

Was this the norm!?

The other man climbed onto his back, effectively using him as a boost to grab the soda. When he climbed off, Eren collapsed. He heard a snort from above.

"That floor is disgusting. Get up."

With a groan, he realized the officer was probably right. Eren picked himself up off the ground, only to find that Rivaille had already paid for his stuff and was out the door.

x

The fourth day he was in the town, Rivaille wasn't anywhere in sight.

Which was fine by him, really. Eren just thought it was a little odd. As he skirted the forest, camera in hand, he realized he hadn't seen any other police officers around here.

But almost as if he had said his thoughts aloud, suddenly a hand came and pressed down on his shoulder.

"Oh, you must be the kid that Rivaille's been talking about!"

That voice definitely didn't belong to the male cop. Eren twisted his head around, staring at the the girl who had her hand on his shoulder. Messy brown hair tied up in a ponytail, he froze when he noticed the police uniform. So apparently Rivaille wasn't the only cop around.

The girl didn't wait for him to answer as she beamed at him.. "I'm surprised, normally he doesn't care anything about people passing through." she continued. "You must really be special."

Eren shrugged. This cop seemed even less of a threat than Rivaille. "I just seem him around a lot." he said, not looking at her in the eye. "Are you-?"

"His work partner, Hanji. He takes two days off every week to clean his house, and I take over patrols." she replied before he could completely ask the question, cutting him off. "Oh, don't worry, he's single."

Eren almost choked.

Hanji seemed to find his reaction funny, the corners of her mouth turning upward into a smirk. "I was teasing you, but that was a lot better of a reaction than I thought I'd get..."

"So he takes days off just to clean his house?" Eren asked, trying to change the topic as fast as possible. Dealing in romance wasn't his forte.

"You probably wouldn't guess it, but he's a grade-A neat freak. OCD, probably."

Eren nodded. Somehow, that did seem fitting.

"Anyway, that's not what I've been trying to hunt you down for." Hanji continued. "I'm throwing a party - well, a little get together, and I figured it'd be a good idea to invite you." she read the look on his face and frowned.

"Don't worry, it won't be like you won't know anyone there. I'm making Rivaille go, too. I'm not sure how long you're gonna be here, but you haven't left yet so might as well get to know people, right?" she slapped him on the back with a wink, and Eren almost dropped his camera.

"S...ure." he said, hesitation evident in his voice. Hanji's face lit up.

"Great! I knew you wouldn't let me down. Okay, so, here's how you get to my place..."

Eren watched numbly as she pulled out a piece of paper, scribbling down words he'd be lucky if he could even read with that handwriting. Why had he agreed to go? You don't get close to people when you're a nomad thief. It's common sense, when you were just going to pick up and leave eventually. These people didn't even know his real name.

"Well, see ya later tonight, Er!" Hanji said, thrusting the paper into his hands and taking off. He had to avoid laughing at the nickname. Well, at least it was better than Eremin.

... One party couldn't hurt, right?

x

"Sho you're the guy eff'ryone's been talkin' about."

Eren watched awkwardly as a girl with brown hair pulled up into a ponytail shoves sweets into her mouth while he stood by the snack table. He had arrived early, and so Hanji shoved him towards the only other person there, who happened to be... This girl, who seemed more interested in food than him. He scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, I guess." he said with a shrug. She swallowed, giving him a large grin.

"I'm Sasha." she told him, before grabbing a handful of chips and shoving them in her mouth.

Well, at least she was friendly.

"I'm... Eremin." he was really regretting that name. She nodded.

"Yeah, I know- Oh, Connie, come over here! The new guy's here!" Eren followed her gaze to the door, where a short kid with a buzzcut stood. He grinned and waved, and Eren waved weakly back.

"These cookies are so good!" Sasha said, shoving one into the other boy's mouth as he walked over to the two. He choked for a second, before swallowing and gasping for air.

"Ugh, Sasha, really?" he wheezed, frowning at her once he finally got his voice back. She gave him a pleased look before turning back to Eren.

"Eremin, Connie, Connie, Eremin."

Connie reached out his hand to offer a handshake to Eren, which he accepted. "So what're you doing in a poor excuse for a town like this?"

He wished he knew. Normally, with this many people trying to get close to him, he would have been long gone by now.

"Traveling around, seeing the world. I'm a photographer." he answered smoothly. He always had been good at lying. Connie whistled, looking impressed.

"You look younger than me! How old are you, 18?"

"21."

Connie laughed, but stopped when he saw Eren's face. "Whoa, seriously? You don't look it!"

Eren's eye twitched. Maybe he should start picking a different age if no one was going to believe him.

"Anyway," Connie continued. "Looks like more people are here, so I'm gonna go catch up. You seem like a cool guy, Eremin. Catch you later!"

And sure enough, when Eren turned around there were several more people loitering around. Eren searched faces, but didn't see Rivaille. Was that... Disappointment he felt? Shaking his head, Eren brushed it off.

More time passed, and almost everyone stopped by to talk to him. He'd met more people than he had since he left home. Most of the time he kept to himself when he was out, which worked well for him.

But there was something charming about this little place, about the people in it, and Eren felt himself almost blending in. Everyone was so close and transparent, like the way that Connie hung around Sasha and his crush was so obvious it was almost painful. Ymir and Christa, Reiner and Bertholdt, even people who were almost always together seemed at ease with everyone else.

Eren couldn't even remember when he had felt so natural himself. He found himself laughing at Connie's stupid stories, and even Jean (who he found mildly annoying) seemed to be a good person.

He missed feeling like this.

Eren sipped at the beer Hanji had given him, mildly surprised she handed him a drink so casually when no one else seemed to believe he was legal. He never had been much of a drinker, but it seemed to fit the atmosphere - unfortunately this was only his second and he was already feeling the effects.

Before he could take another drink, the bottle was swiped out of his hands. Confused, Eren turned around only to find that his drink was pressed to Rivaille's lips. He frowned.

"I don't let underage lightweights drink." The officer stated, looking as cold as always. Eren gave him a dirty look.

"I'm not underweight. I mean, shit, underage. Or a lightweight."

Rivaille lifted an eyebrow. "That's why you're swaying."

"I'm not doing that either." he said defensively. "Wait- How long have you been here?"

"Twenty minutes. Probably." Rivaille answered, taking a seat on the couch behind him. Eren followed, staring the man down.

"How many drinks have you had?" he hadn't noticed it before, but the man's breath reeked of alcohol. The officer smirked at him.

"Twice as many as you, and I can stand still." Eren frowned.

"Yeah right. You're more buzzed than I am."

Rivaille clicked his tongue. Setting Eren's bottle of beer to the side of the couch, he stood up and walked over the the cooler. Eren watched curiously as he grabbed as many bottles of beer as he could hold, before walking back over and setting them on the coffee table in front of them.

"Let's put it to the test. Outdrink me and I'll give you 50 bucks."

Eren furrowed his eyebrows. Was he serious? Shouldn't cops have... Morals or something about things like this?

"What's in it for you?"

"The satisfaction of putting a shitty brat in his place."

Shouldn't he have morals about situations like this?

"... Deal."

Rivaille smirked at him and twisted the cap off the first beer. Eren gave him a determined look, before opening his own and pressing it to his lips. There was no way the shorter man could out-drink him. Even if he wasn't much of a drinker, he still had the advantage of size, right?

x

One down. The two of them had caught some attention, with a person or two gathered around. Eren was too focused to bother to see who all was watching. He was more focused on the way that Rivaille was downing the alcohol like he did it everyday. This might be more of a challenge than he had originally thought, he realized as he opened his second beer. Oh well. He certainly wasn't backing down now.

x

Two down. Three down. Eren wasn't about to admit the way that his head had started fogging up, not already. Rivaille seemed unphased - both by the alcohol and the now-large group of people who had come to watch. Some were even taking bets now - most were for Rivaille, but he wasn't discouraged. Even the strongest walls had to show weakness eventually.

x

Four down. Eren was so preoccupied with watching Rivaille's lips that he temporarily forgot what he was doing until someone smacked him on the back of the head.

"Come on, kid, I just want to see someone beat this old man's ass."

He thanked Ymir and went back to downing the bottle.

x

Five down. The world was kind of swirly, so it could have just been him, but Eren was pretty sure he saw Rivaille falter when he opened up the fifth bottle. He had mostly been focused on Rivaille this entire time - the way that his dark eyes seemed to have a fire in them was pretty hot.

Kind of like his body right now.

Kind of like what he bet the inside of Rivaille's mouth felt if he put his tongue in there.

Eren choked at his own line of thought, and the shorter man sitting next to him raised an eyebrow. He waved it off.

"Wr-Wrong pipe." he coughed, before grabbing the next bottle.

x

Six down. He went to reach for number seven and stopped, head spinning. He was kind of surprised he could even think. Eren glanced at Rivaille, and he smirked back at the younger boy.

"Done already?"

Eren wanted to smash his lips against the other man's to shut him up.

"I was done two beers ago." About the time that I started wondering what you were like in bed.

Cheers burst out around the couch, and Eren grinned sheepishly. Even if he had lost, this was the most fun he had had in a long time.

After a couple pats on the back for Rivaille and some "Nice tries" for Eren, the crowd around them dispersed and the older man grabbed the front of Eren's shirt, pulling his face closer to Rivaille's.

"Let's get out of here." he breathed. Eren's eyes widened.

"Wha-"

"I saw the way you were looking at me earlier, you horny little shit. I'm drunk, not blind." he snapped, lips far too close to Eren's for comfort. Eren's jaw slacked.

"O-Okay."

x

Eren numbly wondered if he'd even remember this night tomorrow morning, as he was dragged into Rivaille's house. He was so unaware of his location that he didn't even know they were already there until the older man's truck came to an abrupt stop. It was a wonder enough that Rivaille was even sober enough to drive without killing them both.

Some cop he is Eren thought with just a touch of irony as he was pushed against the wall when they were barely inside, Rivaille's mouth covering his own. The kiss was desperate and sloppy, and left Eren gasping for air when they broke apart.

"Shouldn't we take this... To the bed?" he asked between heavy breaths as the police officer moved to his neck, finding the skin there more entertaining. Rivaille grunted.

"I'm not carrying you there, princess." he said sarcastically.

"Fuck it. Couch?"

Instead of a reply, the older man stopped leaning onto Eren and moved toward the living room. Eren followed him, mind in a haze until he was shoved down on the couch, Rivaille straddling him.

He bent down to suck on Eren's neck again and Eren lifted his knee up, grinding it against the other man's crotch. Rivaille paused, sucking in a hot breath against Eren's neck.

"Ngh, Eremin-"

"Eren."

Rivaille lifted his head up, shooting him a weird look. Eren shook his head. "My name's Eren. Not Eremin."

Scowling, the officer lifted his upper body off of Eren, unbuckling the belt on his jeans, too drunk to care enough to press further. Suddenly he paused, staring at the drunken boy below him with suspicion.

"Kid, please tell me you're legal."

"Nineteen." Eren replied, squirming around under Rivaille, desperate to get some friction- any friction. Rivaille let out a relieved sigh.

"21 my ass. At least I won't be charged with statutory rape, though." he murmured, slipping off his jeans and leaving them beside the bed. Working on Eren's pants after, the younger shuddered as the cool air hit his legs.

"Anxious much?" Rivaille asked, eying the bulge in Eren's boxers. Eren gave a half-hearted laugh.

"It's been awhile."

Their shirts promptly followed their pants and undergarments onto the floor before Rivaille bent down to bite Eren's shoulder, hard enough to make him wince and leave red marks where Rivaille's teeth bit into the white flesh. The older man groaned, rocking his hips against the other's and suddenly wishing they were in his bedroom, so at least he'd have some lube to make this easier.

"Lick." he said sharply, pressing two fingers into Eren's mouth. Eren obeyed, hardly aware of anything other than the pressure on his dick and the haze his mind was in. He sucked on the digits until they were more than coated, and Rivaille scoffed at his eagerness.

"If you were that desperate to have something in your mouth, I would have had a better idea." he said, diving down to suck on Eren's lip before the boy could reply. Slipping the first finger inside of Eren, the younger boy made a face at the sudden intrusion, his jaw slacking open. Seeing an opening, Rivaille's mouth covered Eren's as he slipped his tongue in. His other hand reached over to lightly brush against one of Eren's pert nipples, making Eren moan and his hips buck ever-so-slightly.

"U-Ugh, can't you just... Nngh... Put it in already?" Eren choked out between erotic noises. Rivaille gave him an unamused look.

"Not unless you're into serious pain." he breathed, inserting another finger into Eren's ass and stretching. He watched the younger's face carefully, as it looked uncomfortable before twisting again into something more desperate. Leaning down to lick Eren's collarbone, he hissed as two hands moved slowly down his chest, pausing just above his hardened member.

"Who's the desperate one?" Eren asked, voice barely above a whisper. Growling, Rivaille pulled his fingers out and grabbed hold of Eren's wrists, pinning them above his head.

"You're more than ready, brat." he snapped, lining himself up and pushing in slowly despite the roughness in his voice. The younger boy winced as he adjusted to the feeling.

"You.. Are really fucking tight..." Rivaille hissed, gripping Eren's wrists tighter. Eren sucked in a deep breath.

"I... Told you, it's been awhile." he repeated, biting his lower lip when the officer began to move. Eren's hands struggled against Rivaille's grip, and Rivaille released them only to have Eren cling onto his back, nails digging into his flesh.

"Ha... Jesus Christ..." he moaned, and Eren agreed with the unspoken statement. He raked his nails down the man's back, head spinning with alcohol and lust. It wasn't too long after they had found a set pace, rocking back and forth that Eren realized he wasn't going to last much longer.

"R-Rivaille, I'm... Can't, hold on much longer..." he gasped out, nails digging into the other man's back as he hit his prostate at just the right angle. The older man simply nodded, too lost between moans and grunts to be able to give a coherent answer. He smashed his mouth against Eren's as they reached a heated and drunk end together.

A/N: This was the first time I ever wrote smut omg I'm so sorry if it's horrible I really have no idea what I was doing and this chapter wasn't supposed to turn into smut anyway (I think the original plan was just to fade out) but I thought it would make it... better if I actually wrote the scene out...

Probably not considering I proofed it at 6 in the morning with no sleep. (that was horrible by the way because when I wrote the smut for some reason i decided to change tense halfway through and then i had to go back and fix it. if there are any awkward-sounding sentences it's probably left over from that)

I'm really embarrassed and I'm going into hiding now.