A little more Eren/Levi friendship interaction here. Eren questions whether Levi should let him sleep in his room, since people have begun to gossip. Levi is an awesome friend and reassures Eren. This is just edgy enough it can satisfy all you Ereri shippers, but can also be seen as two close friends joking, so as not to annoy or disgust those who don't like Ereri.
Read it as whatever you want it to be- I, as an author, made it that way for a reason! :)
"I could go back to the dungeons, you know. Really- I don't want to burden you." Eren spoke up one evening as he perched hesitantly on his cot, at the foot of Levi's bed.
Levi frowned. What was this? Eren had just been cleared to sleep outside the infirmary, they'd only returned to the castle two days ago…. He'd thought Eren would be happy to be back in his cot at the foot of Levi's bed, glad to be back to normalcy….
Levi said nothing, frowning for a brief second and running through the events of the past week in his mind. There had to be something making Eren say this….
Levi blinked, surprised, when the answer came to him. In the courtroom- the accusations of them finding Eren asleep in Levi's bedroom, accommodated in a small cot at the foot of the bed.
Levi felt his cheeks grow warm, and had to consciously fight not to blush.
Eren sighed, staring at the ground, his hands in his lap. He blushed slightly, "I mean, your reputation and everything…."
Levi shrugged. "So? What about my reputation?" he wasn't going to feed into Eren's insecurities by acknowledging them.
Eren sighed, looking sufficiently embarrassed, now. "The MP's, Levi- in court. They brought up how we share the same room. They implied that we were… well… scandalous. Aren't you afraid about how it's going to affect your career?"
Levi sat up, tugging the sheets into a slightly more comfortable position. He started to twist the bedsheet in his hands deviously. He grinned, leaning forward. "Are you implying you want me to be scandalous with you, Eren?"
"N-no!" Eren stuttered, flushing even redder. "T-that's not what I'm saying, Levi, and you know it!"
Levi smirked slightly- it was fun to mess with Eren. Eren was probably the only one he trusted in confidence, the one he'd choose to spend time with outside of what his duty required.
Levi sighed, looking thoroughly amused. "Calm down, Eren. I'm fully aware you aren't propositioning me." He smirked slightly at the idea, and Eren squirmed, looking uncomfortable.
"So… should I go back to the dungeons?" Eren asked quietly, peering up at him. "I mean- I'm not going to hurt myself or anything. I've been doing really good, so you aren't really obligated to let me stay here, and it looks… bad. People are starting rumors, and I don't want to make your life any harder."
Levi shrugged, lying back. "That depends. Do you want to go back to the dungeons?" he didn't want to keep Eren quartered in his room if the boy didn't want it.
Eren hesitated for a moment, choosing his words carefully before he spoke. "N-not really." He admitted. "But I will. I don't want your reputation to suffer because of me."
Levi nodded for a moment, taking everything Eren had said into account before he spoke. "Stay."
"Huh?" Eren looked surprised.
"Stay. I value your company- and I won't allow a friend to sleep in the dungeon. My reputation doesn't matter, anyways- the brass can whisper all they want about us, but the fact of the matter is, they need me for the war effort. Who I may or may not be sleeping with is irrelevant, considering my skill in battle. I don't really care what they think of our little sleeping arrangement here, and you aren't causing me any difficulty, career-wise or other. Understand?"
Eren nodded, though he still looked doubtful.
Levi smirked slightly. "Besides, if you didn't stay here, who would I have to vent to? I'd just be up here, ranting to no one in particular. They'd think I'd finally lost it."
Eren chuckled slightly, amused at Levi's deduction.
Levi smiled slightly, sliver eyes scrutinizing the boy at the foot of his bed. "You're a better conversationalist than you think, Jager."
It was true. Jager knew when to be particularly quiet and simply nod, when Levi was particularly irritated, or to laugh at the blunders of the rookies when they offended one of Levi's pet peeves, or even ask questions when he didn't understand the stupid mistakes his peers or other officers were making.
Jager might not have been the most educated, but he picked up on things quickly, and worked hard to learn when he struggled with a topic. Levi admired that.
"Yeah, well, you're not as boring as most of the other officers." Eren admitted.
"Huh?" Levi looked up, surprised, and Eren laughed.
"No, really. Hanji-san is always trying to make me turn into a titan, and Erwin is always asking me questions I don't understand, and Mike is always just… sniffing me. If I had to rank you all as a people I like to converse with, it'd be you.
Levi hid his surprised expression, instead electing to be silent.
"So, yeah. Compared to Hanji's shouting about titans and Erwin's deep philosophical questions, I find your shit jokes and rants about the rookies quite amusing. Especially considering I used to be the rookie around here." Eren smirked, wagging his eyebrows at him.
Levi rolled his eyes to hide his smirk. Though his expression betrayed nothing, the affirmation from Eren that he was considered more than a friend than an officer made his heart sore. He hadn't had a friend like that since… since his first expedition. He'd forgotten how much he missed being thought of as a treasured companion, rather than a pain-in-the-ass officer.
Still, none of it showed on his face, and he simply rolled his eyes, reaching over for the candle.
"Tch. Whatever you say, kid." He gave Eren a twinkling look, which the mossy-eyed brat eagerly returned, before blowing out the flame.
"Goodnight, Levi."
"Tch. Goodnight, brat."
Well? Did ya like it? Things are getting back to normal in the castle. Did you guys enjoy my writing, or was it too Ereri like or too platonic for some of you?