After the holidays were over, he and Eren finally caught a break. Emma decided that she wanted to go and stay with her parents for a couple of weeks, as she didn't get to see them during Christmas time, since they spent it with one of her sisters. So, she would spend it with them after the rush had died down and traffic wouldn't be as bad.
That meant Levi would have Eren all to himself again for two glorious weeks. For that amount of time, things could go back to how they used to be. At least, he hoped they could.
The day Emma left, after Eren bid her goodbye with a kiss and lots of well-wishes that she would return safely, Levi could feel the tension rising in the air around them. It was the weekend, which meant Eren didn't have to go to school, and Levi didn't have to work. Grisha was gone, and Mikasa was out making wedding plans with Benjamin, as the two of them had decided that since Eren had tied the knot, it was Mikasa's turn now. That meant they had the place all to themselves.
But Levi was still a bit nervous and on edge. Eren didn't want to look at him after he shut the doors on Emma. He looked so tired, so defeated. Was he realizing that it wasn't worth the effort of having an affair on the side? Was he going to abandon him?
Those thoughts were dashed however when, without a word, he began heading back to his room, and as he did so, he paused, looking over his shoulder at Levi meaningfully. Well, the older man didn't need to be told twice. Making sure that no one was watching them, he glanced around, and then trotted after Eren like an eager child, his stomach tingling with anticipation. What was Eren going to do? What would he say? The suspense was killing him.
He didn't have to wait long to find out. They crossed the threshold of Levi's room, and the second they did, Eren was telling him, "Lock the doors," in that tone, the one that booked no room for argument. His heart pounded and his hands shook as he tried to fit the key in the lock, turning it with great difficulty. Eren was going over and shutting the curtains, plunging the room in darkness.
When he finished with that, he strode over to Levi purposefully, saying, "I told the staff I was going to be in my room until lunchtime and not to disturb me. I also said that you were going to be napping."
Levi opened his mouth to say something, but never got the chance, because before he knew it, Eren had taken his face in his hands and was kissing him hard, desperately, like a man starved and Levi was the first sustenance he had come across in months. Literally. It had been almost four months since Eren had touched him last, innocently or otherwise. And it had been that long since Levi had even touched himself, being too depressed to do so. He too was starved for warm, loving human contact. He grasped at Eren's back, clawing at his shirt, kissing him back just as furiously.
Eren moved down to his neck, kissing and licking. He paused, catching his breath, pressing his nose into the crook of his neck and shoulder and inhaling Levi's scent deeply. "God I missed this," Eren was muttering into his skin. "You smell just as good as I remember, and your skin tastes just as sweet. I missed you so much, Doll. You have no idea how much."
Levi's knees had gone weak at hearing him whisper like that, feeling his breath against his skin. His eyes fluttered shut and his head to the side, exposing more of his neck for him. He melted like butter in his boy's embrace, and his breathing became heavier.
"Tell me," the older man asked breathlessly.
He slid his hands up underneath Levi's shirt, caressing his skin. "I missed the feel of your body against mine, the taste of your lips, and the feeling of your cod inside me. I missed your deep voice whispering all sorts of filthy things in my ear, how you say my name when I'm giving you pleasure and how you want to hold my hand right before you come. I missed everything about my love."
"God Eren, I missed you too," Levi whined, pressing himself as close to Eren as he could manage. "I missed your arms around me and hearing you say that you love me."
"I love you, Levi. I love you so damn much that it terrifies me. I'm so sorry I've been ignoring you"-
"Don't apologize. I know- I understand. I don't fault you at all."
"But I still feel bad. You're my husband and I haven't been treasuring you like I should."
Levi shivered at hearing him call him his husband, and began placing wet little kisses on his neck, unbuttoning Eren's shirt as he went so he could get to more skin. He was telling him without words that that didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore. Eren was with him, kissing him with all the passion Levi had missed so much and speaking words of love to him. Everything was perfect now.
"Levi, my Levi," Eren whimpered, letting his head tilt back. "Please- God, I need you to make a mess out of me. Destroy me, ravish me however you want. I don't care how…just erase her touch from my memory. I want you to fuck me so hard that I can't walk for days. I'm so tired of being the one doing to fucking, so I want you to take me as thoroughly as you can. Make me disappear in you, my prince."
Well, Levi was more than happy to do as he asked, especially when he asked him like that. He was amazed at just how quickly he forgot about all of his suffering the minute Eren took him into his arms. Must have been more of his magic. So, he got to work, pulling his boy's shirt off of him and kissing all of that glorious skin that was revealed to him.
Their lovemaking was feverish and frantic as they made up for all the time they had lost. Once more they reacquainted themselves with each other's bodies, Levi delighted to find that Eren's sweet spots were all just where he remembered them. His boy praised him every time he felt those flushes of pleasure because of him.
"You're so good," Eren gasped, arching his back while Levi sucked him off. "My perfect, precious Levi. You're the only one for me, will always be the only one for me. No one else- ah! A-Ah! N-No one else makes me feel this good."
He chanted his name like a prayer, digging his fingers in the pillow under his head, pulling on it as the pleasure overwhelmed him. Levi couldn't help but notice with glee that there was absolutely no evidence of Eren's apparent trouble getting erections now. His cock was so full in his mouth, oozing precome. His boy was so wet, so needy, spreading his legs so far that his knees were touching the mattress. His face was scrunched in pleasure, eyelashes fanning over his cheeks, long hair splayed out on the pillow under his head in a halo. He was completely gone, lost in the ecstasy Levi was gifting him with. The older man hadn't even been blowing him for that long before he was coming, and coming hard.
As he panted and shivered, Levi wiped his mouth, laughing to himself at just what a sweaty wreck Eren was already. His poor baby. He crawled up on his hands and knees towards the head of the bed, laying down next to him.
"Your semen was thick," Levi observed, propping his head up with his hand. "Been a while since you've come?"
Still breathing hard, Eren gave a slightly hysterical laugh. "Yeah. I've had to fake so many orgasms with Emma. It gets exhausting after a while."
The older man clucked sympathetically and leaned over to peck his lips, saying, "You poor thing. Well, you won't have to fake with me."
"No I do not. You take good care of me."
Once Eren recovered a bit, the boy lavished some attention on Levi, slicking up his fingers. Levi got on his hands and knees in preparation, backing up so that his rear was right in front of Eren's face. His boy then proceeded to massage his insides while jerking him off, every once in a while replacing his fingers with his tongue. In no time, he had begging and crying out for more. He had gone without being touched for so long that he felt like a teenager all over again, coming within a minute or two because he was so overwhelmed.
It took them a while to work each other back up again, more kissing and touching and teasing before they were both hard again, but they were so desperate for each other than they found the strength to go for another round, this time Levi holding Eren's legs apart while he pounded into his willing body. Once again, Eren sang his praises, the older man watching mesmerized as Eren's body was jostled with each one of his movements. He was so gorgeous underneath him like this, so willing, so open, his body accepting him so easily. Levi had forgotten how warm his body was, how sweet Eren's voice was when he called out his name like this. Just hearing him praise him was enough to push Levi over the edge while Eren followed after him.
The two of them collapsed next to each other on the bed for several minutes, catching their breath. Levi placed his head on Eren's chest, listening to his heart franticly beating in his chest, and for some reason he got the feeling that his heart hadn't raced like this in a long time due to feelings of pleasure.
He snuggled closer, throwing a leg over both of Eren's, clinging to him tightly. He felt a bead of sweat roll down the back of his boy's neck, and Eren had an arm wrapped around his shoulders, stroking them while he held him.
"I really got you going, didn't I?" Levi said.
Eren laughed, his voice a bit hoarse from all the screaming he had been doing. "Yeah you did. I don't think I'll be walking anywhere without a limp for quite a while. I'll have to tell everyone I took a fall off my horse and landed on my tailbone or something."
Levi kissed what he could reach of his chest. His skin was clean of any marks, thankfully. It made him sad that he couldn't suck marks into his skin anymore, but he didn't want there to be any signs of their activities, now that Eren had a wife.
"Oh!" Eren exclaimed suddenly. He turned over to face him a bit more. "I almost forgot. I submitted the plans for our beach house to a contractor. They said they'll start building it within a couple of weeks. It could take a few years to finish, but it'll be worth it. They're the only ones who will know where it'll be located. I haven't told anyone else; not Mikasa, not Emma, not anyone. Once it's done, we're leaving this place, and we're not telling anyone where we're going. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be found."
It took Levi a minute to process what he had said. He had actually started construction on the house. It was becoming a reality. And once it was done, they would be able to leave and start a new life. Just a few more years. All they would have to worry about was each other. Even the thought of leaving everyone they knew and loved behind didn't bother him. They would get over it. This was going to be just what the two of them needed.
It was a fairytale come to life.
"That's amazing…" he breathed. "Oh Eren, I can't wait. Just a place for the two of us, where no one can judge us again. Where we can be ourselves. You're such a blessing. I'll wait as long as I need to, don't worry."
He tilted his head back and kissed him fervently, and Eren pulled him even closer, rolling them over so that he was laying on top of Levi.
From then, with this to look forward to, things were different between them. During those couple of weeks, he and Eren were intimate as many times as they were able. They slept together whenever they had the chance in as many dark corners of the mansion as they could find. It was a chance to bond all over again.
However, even when Emma came back from visiting her family, Eren didn't slow down. He was not going to be a slave to his father's wishes any longer, and would behave as he pleased. He still tried to keep up the good husband façade, and did so pretty well in Levi's opinion. Emma never said she felt neglected, and they believed her. No, Eren still couldn't give her children, but he did his best to take care of her in every other way a husband should take care of his wife.
One night, after they had finished another tryst in a guest room, they laid there together in the moonlight, caressing each other's faces and just gazing into the other person's eyes. It was as if their time spent apart made them realize how precious and dangerous their relationship was. It just made them treasure the other person more, pulled them closer together.
Running a hand down Eren's bare side, Levi got to thinking. "So we'll live in this beach house for the rest of our lives, right?"
Eren chuckled, tapping him on the nose. "If that's what you want. We can fall asleep to the sound of the waves rolling up on the shore every night and wake up to the sound of the seagulls flying in the sky. We'll have a porch where we can watch the sunsets. Maybe we'll even see some whales or dolphins swimming off the shore."
"Can we build up a library in the house too?"
"Yes my little librarian. Anything you want, I'll give it to you. Like always."
Eren was covering his skin in little kisses, hovering over him slightly. Levi leaned into all of them, soaking them up they were rain and he was a parched flower. The idea of spending the rest of his life with Eren on a beach sounded too good to be true, but it wasn't. Not anymore.
He sighed, leaning his head against his boy's ribs. "What do you think we'll be like? When we're older? Do you think we'll realize how foolish we're being right now? Will we wish we hadn't done this?"
"Not if it means we can't be with the one we love, I don't think so," Eren refuted. "I'll never regret any action I take to be with you."
Levi sighed heavily, the breath tickling his boy's skin. For some reason, he couldn't let the idea of what things would be like for them when they were older. Maybe the world would be more accepting and they wouldn't have to hide anymore. But more importantly…
"Eren?" he found himself asked in a small, vulnerable voice. "Will you still love me when I'm not young and beautiful anymore?"
Eren kissed his forehead, and then nuzzled his own against his. "Of course, silly. Why wouldn't I? Won't you still love me when all I have is my madness?"
"Definitely. I'll take care of you no matter what."
"Then there you have it. We have nothing to worry about."
Levi made a contented noise somewhere in the back of his throat and settled against him. It was a special power Eren had, to make him feel like everything was perfect even when it clearly wasn't. He made him feel so safe, and it still amazed him that he had the ability to do the same for his partner. He didn't want to think that they were special, but it was hard not to believe maybe this was the case. Maybe they could make it. Maybe their love was different from everyone else's.
Maybe when the day came for them to meet their maker, God would let him take Eren to heaven with him. Maybe…they didn't have to die as sinners.
It was a narcissistic thought, but he couldn't help it. It was Eren's magic working again; it made him dare to hope. They were both good people, so why shouldn't they be able to do so?
He pulled Eren in for another kiss, and let the sweet light that Eren always seemed to have in his soul poured into his own body, where it blotted out the darkness inside.
The sun lighting up his night sky…just like always.
000
Levi was overjoyed that just a couple months later, Eren seemed to regain his confidence in himself and his relationship with his partner enough that he felt comfortable in going back to the Laughing Fox to see their friends again. And of course, all of their friends were over the moon at seeing him again, everyone clapping him on the back and pulling him into embraces, some even kissing him on the cheek. Even Jean seemed excited to see him again, though he tried to cover it up with several coughs and a gruff attitude.
"There's our boys!" Marco cried happily, throwing himself at them. Eren caught him, but just barely.
Jean stood behind him, his eyes lighting up, but when they looked in his direction, he just shrugged and averted his eyes, saying, "Yeah, I guess we missed you or something. But uh, hey more importantly, look who came to visit."
He turned away a bit, facing someone behind him. They followed his gaze, and when they did, Eren all but squealed with excitement, "Erwin! Armin!"
Erwin offered him a charming, bright smile, while Armin nearly bowled him over, throwing his arms around him and squeezing him tight. Eren said over his shoulder, "I can't believe you guys are here! Ugh, I missed you."
"We missed you guys too," Armin replied. "So much that we had to come see you. Can't be away from our friends for too long."
Levi watched them with amusement, beyond excited that Eren had been reunited with one of his longtime friends. As they hugged, he looked around a bit, noticing that while those two were here, there were a couple faces missing.
"Where's Hanji and Petra?" he asked to no one in particular.
Sasha happened to hear him and piped up from her place on the floor, "Hanji's just feeling a little under the weather, so she stayed home. The irony right? The doctor is feeling sick. But it's no big deal, they told us. Petra's taking care of her, so she'll be back for our next meeting I'm sure."
Huh, well that was a shame. Too bad she couldn't be here to see Erwin and Armin again, but no matter. He would have to remember to stop over to see her soon, maybe bring her something to eat. She liked his food as much as Eren did, at least that's what she told him. He didn't know what was so good about his food, but according to Eren he must have laced it with opium and that's what made it so tasty.
"Well come, sit down," Erwin said, already plopping down in the huge leather arm chair he usually sat in. "We have a lot to catch up on. Tell us what's going on in your life. You said in your last letter that you got married."
Eren sat down on the couch that was next to them, and Levi purposefully placed himself in his lap, wrapping his arms around his neck. Armin also did the same thing to Erwin, becoming a mirror image of them.
"We did. We wear our rings around necks." Eren said. "I never take mine off. Levi's also done writing his book! He's going to turn in the final manuscript next week! I'm so proud of him I could explode."
Levi waved him off. "That's nothing compared to you having a beach house built for us. I can't wait for it to be finished so we can move into it."
The boy laughed, holding him a bit tighter. "I'm having little hearts cut on some of the doorways and the windows, so no matter where he goes in the house he knows how much he's loved."
Armin went, "Awww, that's so sweet."
Levi's face flamed red. Why did Eren have to be so sappy, and why did he love him so much for it? He shook himself out of his embarrassment, and moved on quickly with, "Well, Mikasa got married last month. She moved out to live with her new husband. It's good…she seems really happy with him."
"And now my father will stop badgering her," Eren said with an approving nod.
They then started asking about what was going on with Erwin and Armin. It seemed that for now at least, everything seemed to be working out for them. They were pulling off their illusion well. No one suspected a thing about Armin's true gender, though now he was dressed as a man. His hair was a lot longer than it was the last time they had seen him, but whether he was dressed as a man or a woman, it looked good.
"We've settled in nicely," Erwin said, swirling around the whiskey in his glass. "I manage my father's company now and Armin works at one of the libraries. We've made a few friends there, some inverts, some not. There's not a gentleman's club for people like us there as of yet, but we have a mind to start one. It looks like you guys are still managing this one here alright. Is that gramophone new?"
He looked off in the corner, seeing the shiny player sitting on a stand. It was currently playing a bit of opera music, making the room feel even livelier and somehow a bit smokier. Eren nodded, and added, "Oh yeah, and so's that. Painted it myself."
It was a picture of a scene from the circus they had attended, almost a perfect snapshot. Levi was so proud of him for feeling inspired enough to pick up his paintbrushes again. The painting was full of bright colors, perfectly blurred movement, and shining highlights that mimicked the sparkling of the performer's outfits, as well as the spotlights that shone down on them from the ceiling. It certainly brightened up the room, capturing all the movement they had seen in the ring, taking him right back to that amazing day.
"We'll have to go back when it comes back into town," Levi told his boy, patting his shoulder.
Armin just snickered a bit when he saw it. "Of course that's what you'd paint, Eren. It's beautiful though. Maybe if we commissioned you, you'd paint a scene of the circus for us too?"
At that, Eren brightened right up, his green eyes practically like springtime. "Yes! Absolutely, I'd love to do that for you guys!"
Just then, they heard a clunk of wood being set down on wood. They looked over in the sound's direction, and saw that Reiner had set up his camera. They hadn't even seen it before, but it must have been sitting in the corner near him when they walked in. They hadn't seen the camera in here since Armin and Erwin got married.
"Alright!" Reiner's voice boomed from the front of the room, causing everyone to stop their chattering and turn their heads towards him. "Got a treat for everyone today. I brought the camera back, so I figured what we could do is see how many pictures of our couples here we could take so we can hang them around the room, or so you can have them for yourselves. So whoever wants their picture taken, line up. I'll have you sit on the couch here."
Well, without hesitation, Sasha, Connie and Annie hopped up from their places on the floor, Sasha dragging them both over. A few more of the other couples looked up at each other, and Levi could see that they were agreeing that it was a good idea. So, he looked down at Eren, raising his eyebrows at him. Eren met his gaze, leaning his head back and fixing him with that silly, besotted look he always seemed to have for him.
"What?" he wanted to know. "You want to get our picture taken too?"
Levi shrugged. "Yeah, why not? I mean, I know you have those sketches of-of me." He looked away from him, a pink blush rising on his cheeks. "But those are just of me. I'd love to have a picture of both of us. So when we're old and grey we can look back on this and go 'remember when we looked good?' Like, that's what we looked like when we first met. That's when we were just starting out."
"Hmm…" Eren scratched his chin, pretending to think about it, before he broke into a grin. "Oh sure, of course we can. Haven't had my picture taken since I was a kid. This will be fun."
They watched their friends go one after the other, each sitting there, waiting for the flash, and then remaining still so that the picture could settle. After the threesome came the next threesome of Eld, Gunter and Auruo. Then Christa and Ymir, Armin and Erwin, and Jean and Marco.
"Well, I guess since everyone else has gone, it's our turn," Eren finally said, jiggling his leg in order to nudge him off his lap.
"Alright you, let's go then," Levi replied, getting up and taking his hand. Eren followed him, willingly as always, trotting behind him.
When they sat down on the couch, Reiner smirked at them. "There's Mr. Jaeger and Mr. Ackerman. I was wondering when you'd show up. I'd have thought you two would have been first in line, since we never see you without Levi in your lap anymore, Eren. You two are the soppiest couple I've ever seen in my life."
Eren stuck out his tongue at him and Levi snorted. The boy said, "Well, I think someone is jealous. At least I married my love. When are you going to ask Bertolt? You've been together for years, time to hike yourself up by your whirlygigs and do the same."
Reiner flushed a bright red, and looked up briefly over his camera to make sure that Bertolt hadn't heard that. Luckily he was too deep in a conversation with Jean and Marco to take any notice. Quickly Reiner put his head under the cloth, mumbling something like, "Shut your fool mouth Jaeger or I'll pull your lower lip up over your head."
They snickered conspiratorially for a moment, before Reiner told them to get ahold of themselves so they could get this over with. So, they got into their familiar positions, Eren sitting down while once more Levi sat down in his lap.
Then, Levi got an idea. "Wait, let's pull our rings out of our jackets, so we can see them."
The boy winked at him. "Good idea."
So, that's what they did, Eren working the chain up until the ring sat on his tie, while Levi placed his ring on top of his cravat. Two pretty glints of gold shining in the gas lamps, and would hopefully show up well in the picture. They schooled their faces into something neutral, sitting perfectly still, trying very hard not to blink as the flash went off and the smoke exploded and billowed outward.
"Okay, just stay like that until I tell you to move," Reiner said in a manner that indicated he had repeated that line many times before. Of course he had. Photography was a hobby for him, though many people paid him to take their pictures too since not too many people had cameras, and his family had more than one.
Normally, sitting there like that for Levi would have been fine. He had no trouble staring off into space for hours on end, though people often told him that his resting face was a bit scary, almost like he was ready to kill whoever it was accidentally directed towards. So he had to be careful where he looked when he caught himself staring. But sitting there next to Eren, for some reason, made him want to burst out laughing. Maybe because the tension was so awkward, but either way, he had to take several deep breaths to steady himself so he didn't screw up their picture. It was just another sign of how much Eren had changed him that he could be so silly so easily now.
When their time was finally up, they each let out twin breaths of relief, and Levi wondered if Eren had been truly holding his breath. He then hugged Levi tightly, kissing him for good measure, and telling him, "Good job. Can't wait to get that back."
"Give me a couple weeks, I'll get it to you, no problem," Reiner assured them. "Now scoot. Gonna have Jean take a picture of me and Bertolt."
They did as they were told, retreating back to the couch they were sitting on before, snuggling close together. They went back to drinking their whiskey, getting pleasantly buzzed, Eren threatening Levi with a good time when they got home, sloppily kissing his neck while the older man cracked up at just how tickly it felt.
God, it didn't get any better than this, did it? At that moment, despite everything, as it always was when Eren was around, everything was perfect. They were lost in their fairytale world, and had no desire to leave it. And from how things looked, they would never have to.
However, all fairytales had to come to an end at some point, didn't they? And unfortunately, the heroes didn't always emerge victorious. Sometimes the witch or dragon was just too powerful, and despite the hero's best efforts, still managed to burn their castle to ashes.
And now, for the Laughing Fox and everyone in it, there was fire in the air.
It started with a slight noise, one that no one noticed at first, until it grew louder and louder, too loud to be ignored. Everyone raised their heads, wondering what it was. It sounded like several horses passing by the building, but they were so close.
Like they were right outside the door.
Before any of them could react, or guess as to what was going on, the door to back room burst open, and in raced what looked like the entire police force. They shouted their presence to everyone in the room, along with the command for everyone to stay where they were.
They threw themselves on many of the people in the room. Erwin, Armin, Jean and Marco, who were closest to the door, were taken down first, pressed onto the floor while their hands were cuffed behind their backs. Reiner was next, though it took two men to hold onto him, as he was very large. Bertolt tried to pull the cop off him, but he was quickly subdued and cuffed. Even the women were pushed to the floor roughly, Sasha and Annie's faces pushed harshly into the floor.
Levi watched all of this in horror, adrenaline filling his body, but he was like a rabbit caught in the gaze of a fox. He couldn't move, no matter how much his mind was screaming at his body to do so.
"Levi, let's go!" he heard being screamed next to him.
That, as well as his wrist being yanked on, pulled him out of his stupor. When he came to, he saw that Eren was leading him out of the room, following Ymir, who was dragging Christa out, as well as Connie, Gunter, Auruo and Eld. They all made it past the door and into the main part of the bar, but no further, before the cops caught up to them and took them to the ground, one by one. Ymir and Eld were screaming curses at the police as they were cuffed, telling them they had no business being here, that they weren't hurting anyone. Levi and Eren were caught last of all, stopping just short of the door to freedom before they were yanked back and thrown to the ground.
Levi couldn't help it; he shrieked, the pain frightening him as the cop pulled on his arms too hard, nearly wrenching his arms out of their sockets. Eren heard it, and snarled, "You motherfucker! Get your hands off him! You're hurting him!"
The officer that was holding him grabbed his hair and pulled his head back, hard, effectively silencing him. Eren kept glaring at him though, baring his teeth.
"You're all under arrest for committing adultery, as well as various perverted sex acts, including sodomy," the police officer informed him. "And you're all coming with us."
Levi shuddered under the man's body, feeling sick with fear. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't. But it was, wasn't it? Their happiness just couldn't last forever. Someone was going to find out about their activities eventually. That was just reality.
And that reality was rapidly turning into a nightmare.
