Chapter Nine: Date - Part 2
"Eren!?"
Levi shouted, narrow eyes widening in surprise and terror when he was able to clearly see her. He rushed over to her side, placing one of his cool hands on the back of her neck and using the other to check for her pulse right under the junction between her chin and throat. He let out the breath he'd kept in when he felt her pulse, but narrowed his eyes in concern when he felt how strong it was, too strong, too high. Her pressure seemed too high for someone so young. He quickly surveyed the room for signs of what could have happened.
'Did she slip and hit her head?' he moved his cool hands to check over her head and face. Seeing no lesions and feeling no bumps, he concluded that she hadn't hit her head. He caught sight of a bathrobe and stood from his crouching position to grab it and gently covered Eren's bare form in the fluffy white material. He'd managed to work one of her arms into the sleeve and loosely wrapped the rest of it around her as he picked her up, carried her out of the bathroom, and laid her onto the sofa he'd previously occupied. He slipped her other arm into the sleeve and tied the robe at the waist to cover her body.
"Eren?" He tried again, hoping he'd get a response. He placed his cold hands on her cheeks, 'she's burning up,' and then removed them as he hurried to the fridge so he could pull a cold bottle of water out, in hopes that the cool liquid would help to lower her body temperature.
Levi swiftly made his way back to her side and placed the cold water bottle right under her jaw.
"Eren?" He said softly, gently brushing the hair that had fallen in her face away, tucking the loose strands behind her ear. He noticed the feverish flush that had spread across her cheeks was dissipating, and he removed the cold bottle. A few seconds past and he noticed movement under her lids, after a few more, her lids slowly lifted to reveal her cerulean irises. She blinked a few times, unfocused eyes sluggishly surveying the area before they stopped and focused on him. That's when Levi realized how close he was to her, mere inches from their noses touching.
He pulled back, albeit not too quickly, and directed Eren's focus from his face, to the water bottle, silently instructing her to take it. She reached out her hand to grab a hold of the bottle and missed, brushing against his hand instead.
Levi chuckled and set the bottle on her cheap coffee table. He then placed one hand under her shoulder, and cradled her with his other as he helped to lift her up into a sitting position the sofa. When she was settled, he opened the bottle and handed it to her.
After she had a few sips he took the bottle back and replaced its lid before setting it back on the coffee table. He then helped her lay back down and brushed the stray hairs away from her face again.
"Are you okay?" He asked as he covered up her exposed legs with a blanket that was thrown across the other arm of the couch.
"Mhm." Was Eren's weak response. "I guess my shower was too hot."
"You think." Levi stated sarcastically. Eren motioned for the water bottle and he picked it up to hand it to her as she propped herself up on an elbow. Since she'd already drunk some of it, it sloshed around when he put it in her shaky hands. That's when he remembered why he'd gone to the bathroom in the first place. His eyes widened as the feeling of the earlier abdominal pressure returned and he quickly shot up.
"I'll be right back, make sure you finish that." He said as he raced towards the restroom, mentally cursing his bladder and himself for draining the bottle she'd offered him before she showered.
Eren allowed a somewhat confused look to occupy her face when she saw the uncomfortable look Levi had on his face when he handed her the water bottle and was even more confused when he abruptly stood and hurried away. She wasn't raised high enough to see where he went, but her best guess was either the kitchen or the bathroom, and from the panicked and desperate look in his eyes, she guessed it was the bathroom. She let a light laugh escape her lips and drained the rest of the water before she twisted to lay flat on her back.
That's when realization set in.
She was on the sofa. In a bathrobe that she never remembered putting on… at least not by herself. She also new from the way the plush white material tickled her more sensitive areas, that she was not wearing any kind of underwear.
'O…oh…OH MY GOD.' She mentally screamed. Her hands slammed on either side of her temple as she balled them into fists, pulling at the hair right on her hairline. 'H-he… I-… oh my God oh my God oh my God he saw me… I-I know he did, he had to I-I was laying on the floor… in a towel,' she started to squirm and kick in place, inadvertently kicking off the cover Levi had thrown across her lower half, freeing her bare legs to flail wildly in frustration and embarrassment, 'Eren you are such an idiot… thank God I just waxed... but ugh.' She heard the toilet flush and then a steady stream of water from the sink follow afterwards.
'Wait he's still in the bathroom so if I hurry to my room and change quickly maybe we can just forget this ever happened, and you know, I do remember wrapping myself a little in the towel so maybe he really didn't see anything or if he did he'll just forget it… yea that's it, I'll just hurry to bedroom and change and then pretend that this never happened or that he was just dreaming…' her thoughts became more erratic and more ridiculous as different scenarios and schemes played on in her head.
Eren became so lost in her head that she didn't register Levi coming back into the living space, pausing to watch the flailing female before letting out a robust and hearty laugh because of how ridiculous she looked. Her hands were balled into fists and it looked like she was trying to pull out her hair, her face was scrunched up, comically depicting a look of frustration. The fluffy white material of the robe was pooled at her hips, as her legs kicked out wildly, showing off her toned and lightly tan colored skin. Levi's eyes worked up her tone legs until he reached the junction between the end of her thigh and the curve of her butt. He stopped, looking away so he didn't further invade the privacy of the young woman laying before him.
Eren's eyes shot open when she heard the laugh and immediately stopped kicking her legs and dropped her hands to her sides. She realized how exposed she was and lifted herself up into a sitting position to cover up her body.
She wrapped her arms around her body, still feeling exposed despite being covered by the thick plush robe. Eren kept her eyes locked on the carpet, trembling from embarrassment as Levi continued to laugh. 'Oh no, I bet he's laughing cause my body is so unappealing, I bet he thinks I'm disgusting… my figure isn't that feminine, I wasn't blessed with curves like Mikasa…' her thoughts continued on, spiraling downward and becoming more and more negative.
"Oh man. I haven't laughed like that in ages." Levi ceased his laughter and peeked at Eren through one eye while wiping the tears that formed under the other with his finger.
His eyes both opened and immediately widened when he realized she was crying. He looked at her, confused a moment before realizing that his laughter must have had an adverse effect on her.
He made his way around the coffee table and kneeled in front of her, gently placing on hand on her shoulder while the other remained at his side. "Eren, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"
Her sniffling and tear falling continued for a few moments before she spoke a soft and broken, "N-no, I'm o-okay." Despite her words, her crying didn't stop, nor did it slow.
Levi sighed and stood up from his position; he sat next to her on the couch and reached his arm behind her trembling form. He paused for moment, debating whether or not to continue and decided to go ahead and do it. He let his arm wrap around her back and shoulders while the other moved around her arms to cradle her to his chest. He felt her stiffen and then slowly relax, her crying slowing down to a few stray tears and then to nothing but sniffles.
Levi felt more of Eren's weight leaning against him as she finally stopped her waterworks; he wasn't able to see her face because she was hiding it with the sleeves of her robe and her head was still pressed against his chest. He let a sigh escape his mouth and slowly started to stroke through her slightly dampened hair, running his fingers from her scalp to the ends and repeating the process to further soothe her.
After a few more moments of stroking her hair and gently rocking her back and forth, he softly spoke, "Eren," he started. She stiffened in his embrace and he took that as a confirmation that she was listening, so he continued on, "feeling better?" He slackened his embrace and allowed her to pull away from him; he was a little disappointed at the loss, but was more concerned with making sure Eren wasn't uncomfortable around him.
Eren pulled herself back into a sitting position after leaving Levi's warm and comforting embrace. She slowly lowered her hands, allowing the sleeves to wipe her face a few times before letting her hands rest in her lap. Her eyes remained focused on the carpet as she spoke, "I-I'm fine now, thank you… and sorry about that."
The slight slump in shoulders was subtle, but Levi noticed it. He took a quick breath and then started again, "don't worry about it, it's okay Eren." He stopped, he didn't want to press any further and risk upsetting her again but he had to know, so he tried to approach the subject as delicately but also as straightforward as possible, "Eren… why were you crying? Did I hurt you?"
This time she looked up to meet his careful gaze, eyes red and puffy, cheeks lightly flushed and lips drying from the dehydration caused from her crying fit. "Wha-? N-no! You didn't hurt me… um I uh… I stubbed my toe when I was kick the sofa and-"
He stopped her with a sharp glare. "Eren. Don't lie to me."
She quickly looked away and started to busy herself by playing with the hem of her robe, "I'm not… no you didn't do anything, honest." She paused and then looked back up at Levi, meeting his steely gaze, "I just ...I have a tendency to overthink things and I was scared that you saw me… well you know…" she averted her eyes as her cheeks reddened at the thought.
"You were scared that I saw you naked." Levi finished bluntly. His lips twitched into a small smirk when he saw her eyes widen and her body stiffen again. "Well, to be honest I did. Partially though, I made sure you were covered up before I touched you. It's not like I've never seen a woman before Eren, don't be so abashed." He stopped, realizing that he could have easily left the last part out and felt a twinge of irritation at himself building when he saw her expression fall.
"O-oh, right of course… haha. I guess it was silly of me to over react like that." She said too quickly.
Levi realized his words hurt her more than they'd helped and he tried to rectify it, "Eren, that's not what I meant. I apologize." He sat there for a moment longer, feeling ashamed at himself when he saw her hurt expression, her eyebrows trembling and furrowed over her scrunched eyes and her dried lips being pulled at by her teeth. He stood and walked towards the kitchen to get more water. When he returned, he thrust the bottle in her face with a simple order, "Drink."
She looked at him and nodded, accepting the bottle and downing almost half of it in one gulp. 'She's dehydrated alright,' he told himself, 'and that crying fit you sent her into did not help you moron.'
After making sure she finished off the rest of the bottle, Levi pulled out his phone to look at the time, 'Shit, it's almost 5PM' he shouted in his head. He then thought back to the events that lead them to missing the lunch reservation he'd made for 3:30PM at a nice little Italian place the next city over. While he pondered them, he realized that she must have overheated not only from dehydration, but from something else too, but what else? He ran through a possible causes in his head, 'she was passed out on the floor so is she anemic? Maybe acute anemia? That's possible, from what he saw, she was pretty thin…actually really thin, especially this late in the day… the abdomen expands throughout the day as food is processed through it…' He looked back over to Eren and asked, "Eren, have you eaten anything today?"
The question caught her off guard and she looked up at him, "No… I haven't…"
His eyes narrowed and he raised his voice a bit more than he intended, "Why the hell not? Are you doing one of those stupid fad diets that girls pass out from everyday? What made you think it was okay to go so long without eating?" He stopped himself when he saw her shrink back. 'Too far Levi…too far.' He thought to himself, biting back the rest of his tirade and keeping his mouth sealed tightly between pursed lips.
"I-I just…" she paused and then turned to face him, her brows furrowed and eyes full of many emotions, mostly irritation and annoyance at the fact that he was questioning her lifestyle, it was none of his business what she did or didn't do with her body, so why the hell was he acting like it was all of a sudden. She snapped back at him, "I just forgot okay." She paused when she realized how acidic her tone was.
"I was just really excited about lunch with you today…so I just forgot to eat…" the attitude fell from her voice and it returned to its timid and quiet tone.
Her last words actually took Levi a little by surprise. He knew that they both felt somewhat attracted to each other, for Levi it was definitely the childish innocence and honesty Eren seemed to posses, and it helped that she was, perhaps, one of the most beautiful young women he'd ever laid his eyes on, speaking of eyes… her eyes. Yes, that was definitely another plus, beautiful, large, and wonder filled eyes, he had to say they were her best feature, and they were also what first attracted him to her. Shallow as it may be, she was beautiful, there was no denying that.
Levi hadn't really thought about if Eren was attracted to him or not, at least not romantically. He figured she was just another young, curious girl, excited to be out on her own and free from her family, parents, and responsibilities. But no…she seemed genuinely excited to be near him, just as he began to look forward to being near her. Something stirred, deep within him. He realized he may be interested in the young woman sitting next to him. The young, obviously innocent woman. The young, innocent woman who was clothed in nothing more than a bathrobe.
His thoughts began to wonder to the earlier occurrences, as he remembered how smooth and firm her skin felt… how soft and supple…and perfect she was… He neglected to respond to her little confession, choosing instead to stare her up and down while he played lewd and less than appropriate scenes in his head. He snapped himself out of his fantasies, mentally criticizing himself, 'for fucks sake you're an adult, act like one damn it.' He forced his gaze off of her and twisted himself so he was now fully facing the coffee table that supported three empty water bottles; the one Eren gave him, and the two he'd given her.
"Levi…?" Eren's voice was full of concern and mixed with confusion.
He continued to look away from her as he spoke, "Eren… do you still want to go out to eat?" He turned and met her eyes, with a faintly amused look on his face, trying to hide the nervousness he felt from asking her in the current, undeniably awkward atmosphere.
Eren just stared at him, brows furrowed with confusion before he saw the sides of her mouth twitch. She burst out laughing; gracing Levi with, perhaps the most beautiful sight he'd seen that night. Her smiling and laughing face. The laugh fell to a giggle and from there it slowly morphed into a pleased smile. "I thought you'd never ask," she said, letting a small laugh escape her matte and dry lips, "I'm starving."
The two enjoyed their night out. They spent the night learning more about each other, realizing just how different, and yet oddly compatible they were. When the night came to a close, Levi stalled his Coupe, and walked Eren to the entrance of her building. The two stood there, hands in their coat pockets as their breaths came out in light white puffs, the wintery weather only exaggerated by the absence of the sun that came with the chill of the night and exhibition of the moon.
"This was fun," Eren started, as she broke the small silence that had built up between them as they left the warmth of Levi's vehicle, "Thank you." She offered him a warm, genuine smile.
"It was," he stated, looking up and marveling at how the darkness of the night and the light of the moon and the cheap, faulty illumination coming from Eren's apartment building, made her eyes shine a hazel, almost golden color. "Same time next week?" He asked, not really expecting an answering, but secretly hoping he would get one.
"R-really?" Eren asked, incredulous and excited. "You want to go out with me again?" She quickly bit her lip; a nervous blush dusted her cheeks. She busied herself with searching for her apartment keys, forgetting that she didn't actually need them to get into the building, since it was almost always unlocked.
"Yes, today had more fun and excitement than I've had in a very long time. I quite enjoyed it." He punctuated his last phrase with a sly smirk and a wiggle of his brow, he then turned and started to walk back towards his stalled, and more importantly, warm, car.
"Goodnight Eren, sleep tight." With that, he opened his Coupe and smoothly slid into the warmed seat. He paused and waited for her to open the door and go into the building, but she didn't. He raised an eyebrow at her, silently questioning her stupefied and gaping gaze before he chuckled and closed his door.
Eren got the hint that she was staring and she quickly turned to around, fumbling her keys again before remembering that she didn't need them. She clumsily opened the door and hurried through them. She turned around to wave Levi off from behind the glass barrier that now separated her from chilly nighttime air. He offered his own wave and then shifted into drive, speeding off towards his apartment in hopes to take a warm shower, have a nice cup of tea, and think about how he was going to deal with the situation of his newly discovered, and slowly developing, feelings for Eren.
A/N
Just because I've gotten several people saying how unrealistic the shower scene was, I would like to say that first off, this is a fan fiction. FICTION. As in, not real. I feel silly addressing this in the first place, but I guess it's somehow not obvious?
Outside of that important point, I personally have been overheated several times in the shower and have had either to sit for a while to cool down, or be helped out of the bathroom because of how sick I felt, so that bit was actually based off of something that has happened to me. As such I'd appreciate the comments/messages about how dumb that scenario is to stop, because that shit does happen, and it's not pleasant.
/salty Haru is salty
