A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating - just real life stuff. Also if tehre are any typos, errors etc I apologise, I may have overlooked a few.
Chapter 9
When the lights came on, Eren made his bed and moved to stand at the foot of it, he eventually looked up and realised that it was not Levi who was overseeing the wake-up call.
Instantly, his mind began to race - he wondered where Levi was. What could have prevented him from returning back to boot camp? Maybe, the apartment he shared with Erwin and Hanji, was some distance away and because he returned home last night, he did not have time to return by this morning? Or, he left in Hanji's car and had to wait on a lift in order to get back? Who knew? Either way, it frustrated Eren to not have Levi here.
The replacement drill sergeant did not look as formidable as Levi, he praised them all for completing a decent wake-up call, then dismissed them without inspecting their areas. Oddly this pissed Eren off.
Eren was in a huff - talk about starting the day off on the wrong foot.
He may have been brushing his teeth a little too harshly, because Connie pushed on Eren's wrist to lower his hand away from his mouth, "Calm down - you'll do some damage," he said laughing.
Spitting out a mouthful of toothpaste into the sink, "Sorry", he grumbled, "must have gotten out of bed on the wrong side." He joked humorlessly.
After breakfast, they were once again doing physical training - and once again it was the stand in for Levi.
The new guy was a pushover, he never yelled at them, letting them go at their own pace. Knowing that they were not going to be ripped a new one, or even punished for slacking, most of the men gave a half-arsed effort in their morning training session.
Eren sulked over their lunch break, ignoring Jean's constant questions as to why he was so sullen.
Thier temporary sergeant was so relaxed he even gave them some time off after lunch. Most of the group decided to spend their free time in the relaxation room. A place set aside for recruits to socialise in, it had a foosball table and a few other things including a TV. Eren returned to their quarters - relishing the solitude.
Leaning back against his pillows that were propped up on his bed, his thoughts as they often did, turned to thoughts of Levi. Why was he not back yet? Where was he?
It also bothered him that he was so dependent on seeing Levi. The last time he had seen him occurred when they were practising the recovery position, that was almost 24 hours ago now! He was getting Levi withdrawals - which in itself was ridiculous considering Levi spent most of their time insulting him and ordering him around.
Deciding he did not want to waste any more time worrying about where Levi was, he switched to thinking of his parents, Armin and Mikasa. He hoped they were missing him too. He rolled over onto his side, so he could stretch to reach his bedside table - he found the photo of his parents, but, not the one of himself with Armin and Mikasa.
Frowning, he climbed off the bed and bent down on all fours, he looked under his bed, down beside and behind the bedside table - yet no picture. He opened all the drawers to search - still no picture. He started to feel panicky now - that was his only picture of his friends, he needed to find it.
He could not shake the feeling that something was wrong. He felt cold dread wash over him at the thought that he had lost it. He was beginning to get worked up- his breathing had sped up as he frantically searched under his covers for it.
Some may say he was overreacting - it was just a photo. But, it was more than that. It was his two best friends, one of them his sister - this photo he looked at every night. It helped ground him and was key to ensuring he could make it through boot camp. That photo captured a moment in his life, an important memory for him. Yes, he could order a re-print when he returned home, but that did not do anything to ease him right now.
It was odd that the photo of his parents was still on the bedside table. It did not sit well with him that it was just that particular photo that had gone missing.
The others returned and saw that Eren was quite worked up. Connie asked him what was the matter, and he explained about the missing photo. They sympathised and informed him they had not seen it, but would keep an eye out for it.
Eren did not have time right now to think about it, they had been ordered to do their afternoon chores and training.
After dinner, Eren headed back to the quarters quickly, whilst the others were still eating, to try and search the place before lights out. He had asked everyone at dinner if they had seen it and they all replied they had not.
Nevertheless, Eren was certain that the photo had to be in the quarters somewhere, it could not have just vanished. Again he moved to be on all fours, searching under every bed. He had searched his side - nothing.
He was searching the opposite five beds when something under one of the pillows caught his eye. The very small corner of something was poking out. He pulled on it - removing it, and sure enough, it was his picture. He stared at it for a long time - whoever slept in this bed had lied. They said they had not seen it. But, they had it stashed under their pillow. Anger began to rise inside of him.
Eren heard the door bang open, someone had returned, (someone Eren had not bothered to get to know) they walked over to the bed Eren was stood next to. He stopped when he saw Eren, frowning at him for being in his personal section of the quarters.
The hand that was not holding the photo curled into a fist at Eren's side. He had been on edge all day because Levi was not around, and now some arsehole thought it was okay to take his picture, and then deny any knowledge of it.
"Why the fuck did you have my photo?" he demanded angrily.
The other guy just shrugged. This response was not sufficient enough of an answer for Eren. He was furious, he wanted to lash out and hurt him.
Eren shoved him hard in the shoulders, "Well!" He spat violently.
"Can you blame me?" he remarked nonchalantly, "you have a photo, with an extremely hot girl in - and we're here without any females..."
Eren grabbed hold of the front of his t-shirt, yanking him forwards, "Are you telling me that you stole my private picture because you found my sister to be attractive?" He demanded, absolutely riled up.
"Sister?" was all the other said in response perplexed.
Eren's face was the picture of pure anger, his eyebrows were pulled down together, his eyes narrowed at the other man as he sent him a deadly glare. "Why take it, though? You could have looked at it and put it back." He seethed, irritated.
Then the idiot provoked him by stupidly saying, "Needed something to wank to. Like I said she's hot..."
He did not finish that sentence. Eren punched him hard in the face - causing the other to cry out in agony as blood spurted from his nose.
Eren hit him again, the other man decided he would try to fight back - things got heated. Fists flying everywhere
Eren had managed to get a good swing in and knocked out a tooth. He himself was sure to have a black eye and maybe a split lip.
Eren was charged at, he put his arms up defensively, but he barreled into his shoulder sending Eren backwards. They ended up on the floor fighting. They struggled against one another, both trying to get the upper hand.
Eren smashed his elbow into the side of his skull, the soft spot high on the temple. Causing him to roll over, clutching at his head in pain. Taking advantage of his pause in hits, Eren straddled the other guy, laying punch after punch into him. His muscles had gone tense and coiled up until he sprang free and just directed it all at the current object of his wrath.
He had snapped, lost it - and this guy was a convenient punching bag. When he loses his temper to this extreme there is no logic or reasoning, it was pure rage and nothing could stop him.
That was, except, a firm kick to his ribs by someone else, and then there was a death-like grip on his upper arms from behind, dragging him up to his feet and preventing him from hurling himself forward.
He heard someone in his ear next to him, "Kristein, take Fredericks to the medic."
Eren was still worked up, it took a moment to register that it was Levi that had spoken, and it must have been Levi who kicked him off of the other guy, and who was holding him from behind. He was back.
"Let fucking go of me!" He snarled, demanding to be released, struggling against the hold.
"No," he calmly replied.
"Fuck you," Eren spat furiously, he was not sure if it was aimed at, Fredericks or Levi, at that moment in time.
"I will let go once you've calmed down," Levi explained evenly.
Eren tried again to pull out of Levi's hold to no avail. He sagged, his shoulders drooping as he gave a heavy sigh, "You can let go," He said dejectedly.
Levi released his arms and Eren brought his right hand up to examine his cheek, he winced at the touch.
"Idiot," Levi scolded, stepping in front of him as he batted Eren's hand away. Carefully holding Eren's head in place by his chin, he examined his features for injury. His other hand inspected his face by touch, wiping some blood away to discern if it was Eren's or Fredericks blood smeared on Eren.
"Come with me, I have a first aid kit in my office." He ordered and Eren followed him out. He did not need to ask why he was not being sent to the doctor. Fredericks was there and Levi clearly did not trust them to be in the same room.
Once in the relative safety of Levi's office, Eren was instructed to sit on his desk after he cleared a space.
Now that Eren was away from the situation, and not reacting from the emotions he felt in the moment, it started to sink in what he had done. He rubbed his hands over his face and then swore loudly due to the pain it caused.
Levi was sorting through a first aid kit, he looked over at Eren when he had sworn, "Stop touching your face," he moved to stand between Eren's legs, "Imbecile."
Feeling the after effects of the fight, Eren did not have the energy to argue with Levi, he was, in fact, an idiot. His ears were ringing, and the ache of his injuries was starting to become uncomfortable.
He was somewhat ashamed by his behaviour, despite the fact that the reason behind his actions was honourable. Eren cast his eyes downwards and not at Levi, who was once again searching his face closely.
Although he was not looking at Levi directly, he could sense his gaze on him. Making him fidget on the desk.
Levi tutted, "Keep still," he chastised.
Eren sighed but made a conscious effort to stay still as Levi looked him over. It was difficult. Levi was stood between his legs - so close, he was once again touching Eren's face and moving it to look at the extent of his injuries, it was too much for Eren.
"No broken bones," Levi's calm voice announced, "more than Fredericks can claim I'm sure."
Eren harrumphed refusing to speak or even look at Levi. He wondered if the inevitable telling off would be issued after he had been patched up. Levi was eerily calm he showed no hint of irritation at Eren's actions.
A hand was placed under his chin, his head lifted upwards, "You're developing quite a remarkable black eye."
Eren looked up and directly at Levi for the first time, "Does it make me look cool?" He asked seriously, but clearly joking.
"Not even a little," Levi replied just as serious.
They held eye contact for a short period, the emotion behind their eyes was more than trivial. Remembering the kiss they had shared, the desire to have a repeat performance was strong.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Levi asked softly almost tenderly.
Eren glanced away from Levi's eyes because they were pinning him to the spot, "I was not thinking," he started to say as he shifted on the table, "Fredericks...he..." Eren stopped and looked back at Levi, who was still watching him closely, "Does it matter?"
Levi used an antibacterial wipe to clear the blood off of Eren's cheek, "Yeah, it matters."
Eren flinched away at the coldness of the wipe and the slight sting it caused, "Fredericks, he took my personal photo of my sister. He admitted he took it because he wanted something..." he took a calming breath, "...something to masturbate to." His hands had curled into fists once again.
Levi made no comment, yet his eyes had darkened, becoming more fierce, but the gentle wiping of Eren's face continued. Levi carried out various check-ups, and then he took Eren by surprise by saying, "Take your top off."
Eren sat up straighter, "What?!"
Levi reached out and tugged at the hem of Eren's t-shirt, "Off," he repeated.
"Why?" Eren squeaked out. Considering it was not that long ago that Eren was purposely removing his top in front of Levi, he was suddenly reluctant to do so. It was the suddenness of the request - caught him off guard.
"Because," he snarled, "I kicked you pretty damn hard in the ribs, I want to see if there is any damage."
Oh, well that was a legitimate reason he supposed. He carefully removed his top, the stretching causing him to hiss.
Eren gripped the edge of the desk as Levi inspected his ribs, his hands lightly running over the area. Breathing in had been causing mild discomfort a dull pain constantly in the background.
"Not broken, but bruised I think." Levi summarised, his eyes scanning the rest of Eren's torso momentarily lingering on each bruise he spotted.
He moved away and returned moments later with some pain relief and a glass of water, "You need to take these," he handed them over, "to take the edge off. The bruising around the ribs will take awhile to heal, and as you breathe in, or cough, it will be painful,"
Eren took the tablets and a gulp of the water, "Thanks,"
"You'll have to come to my office or go to the medic, to get pain relief. Unfortunately, the recruits are not allowed to keep them." He informed Eren as he stepped away from the desk.
Eren gingerly climbed off, "Sure, will do." He replied, unsure if he was free to leave, or if he was to now wait for his lecture and punishment.
Standing there still topless, Eren felt a bit awkward, he reached for his t-shirt and pulled it on. He wanted to ask why it had taken Levi so long to return. Ask why he was not there to do his job all day, but Eren knew that would sound petulant and whiny. He recognised that it would sound ludicrous if he admitted he was upset by the fact Levi was not around for a day. He kept those thoughts to himself, but asked, "What is my punishment?"
Levi was re-organising his desk back to its previous state, before Eren had sat on it, "Hmmm," he caught Eren's eye, "I think the bruising kick to your ribs was punishment enough."
Eren blinked at him, "Right," he did not expect that at all. He wanted to spend more time with him, but he knew Levi probably had lost time to make up for and catch up on his work.
Levi sensed his hesitation, he placed the paperwork he was sorting on the desk, "You're free to go. No more fighting, though. Erwin will need to know about this and he'll likely be monitoring you closely."
Eren inclined his head to show he understood, leaving before he appeared desperate. The whole thing felt rather anticlimactic. He had Levi alone, he had no top on and Levi was stood between his legs - yet he was too disoriented from the fight to take advantage of the situation.
It was a good job he left when he did, as he passed Erwin in the hall, clearly on his way to Levi's office.
Eren worked on autopilot, polishing his boots and sorting his area before lights out. Jean told him that Fredericks was transferred to a different boot camp. Having been ordered by the legal system to complete a full course at a boot camp he had no choice but to remain in one, but Erwin had decided he would be better off at another facility.
At lights out, Eren attempted to sleep but his aches and pains were causing him too much pain. After a few hours of just gritting his teeth and trying to endure the pain, he gave up. He decided to go in search of Levi, he could not only get some pain relief but also spend some time with him.
There was no use going to the medic as it was late, his office would be locked up, as would Levi's. Eren did think about sitting on the bench and waiting for Levi to appear and then ask for pain relief. That was soon out of the question, the walking had caused the pain to flare up and intensify. Eren knew he would not be able to tolerate the pain waiting on the bench - who knew when Levi would show if he showed up at all.
Instead, he made his way to the staff private quarters. He remembered which one was Levi's from that day he had to get him to help with the knife fight.
He was sure it was against the rules to even step foot in staff quarters, but the pain was starting to become too much - he felt like he might pass out, and he had no other way to gain access to pain relief.
He knocked gently on Levi's door, hoping the knock was quiet enough not to alert anyone else.
By the time Levi answered, Eren was suffering, he had one arm out in front of him supporting himself by leaning on the wall next to the front door, the other hand was clutching the side of his ribs as he took small shallow breaths to try and not cause more pain as he breathed in.
Levi stepped aside and Eren slowly made his way into his bedsit.
Levi closed the door and then went over to the kitchen area, returning with pain relief and a glass of water. Eren took it gratefully, then he carefully sat down.
After a short while, he felt he could talk, "Sorry," he stated as he looked over at Levi, "I was in so much pain and I didn't know where else to go. The medic's office isn't open and your office is locked. I know I shouldn't be here, I'll leave as soon as I feel I can walk again."
"Take all the time you need," Levi replied.
Eren smiled half-heartedly at him, leaning his head back against the sofa and closing his eyes as he waited for the pain relief to kick in.
"I really did a number on you when I kicked you, huh?" Levi stated in a low voice.
Eren did not even bother to open his eyes when he responded, "I guess, but it was not just your kick that did damage, Fredericks got plenty of good blows in too. Don't feel bad." He sincerely informed, Levi.
"Who said I felt bad? I was just stating the obvious, that my kick did some damage." He responded, although his usual bite was missing.
Eren opened his eyes and lifted his head to regard Levi, "You don't feel bad?" he stuck out his bottom lip, "Even though I feel like I can hardly breathe without unbearable pain!" He laid it on thick.
Levi stood and made his way over to the sofa that Eren was on. He sat down next to Eren, sitting sideways on the sofa facing Eren, "I pity you, would that do?" he bartered.
Eren hummed, "I guess. You could, you know...kiss it better?" he bravely stated.
Levi watched him carefully and Eren held his breath, sensing that Levi was going to do it, bracing himself for the moment it happened.
Leaning forwards, Levi reached out and lifted up the side of Eren's t-shirt. With one last charged look at Eren, he ducked his head and kissed up Eren's side - from his hip all the way to just under his armpit.
Eren sucked in a breath, which hurt, but fuck, he could deal with any kind of discomfort if it meant he got Levi's lips laying soft kisses on his body.
Moving away Levi looked at Eren pointedly, "Better?"
Eren smirked, "Not even close, a few more should do it."
Levi removed Eren's top and spent a good ten minutes lavishing kisses all over his torso, not just the bruised areas. Eren had shifted so he was half lying on the sofa, back against the arm rest and one foot resting on the floor, leg hanging off the sofa. Levi between his legs as he kissed away the pain.
He stopped, holding himself over Eren's body so he did not hurt him, he lowered his head and kissed Eren on the lips. Eren wanted to pull Levi down on top of him, but even in his lust filled state he knew that the pain would be too much, he was not even close to being healed yet. However, he wrapped his arms Levi's neck, fingers rubbing the undercut and then trailing down to the nape of his neck. The spot that Eren had fantasised about kissing far too much.
Eren winced as pain shot through him and Levi pulled away, "Don't stop he pleaded,"
"I have to stop, before...before I lose control." He admitted.
Eren frowned at that statement, "And?" he challenged, "So what if you do?"
"Eren..."
Eren sat up, a little too quickly and swore as it inevitably caused him great pain. He did not like the way Levi had spoken his name.
"Just get better," Levi said as he stood and adjusted his clothes, turning and facing away from Eren.
"And when I'm better?" he asked, not letting it go.
Levi turned to face him once more, "I don't know. Just...go." He looked unsettled, uncharacteristically agitated, "Please."
Fuck he said please - he was clearly struggling with having Eren here, within touching, kissing distance.
Eren put his top back on, and stood, the pain relief took the edge off so that it was bearable - he could easily walk back to his quarters now.
Levi had turned to face away once more. Eren approached him from behind, and on a whim placed a kiss the nape of his neck, "Goodnight," he whispered. Leaving and returning to his quarters without encountering anyone else.
