Chapter 5 – Treacherous Shallows
"Bracelet? What bracelet?" Levi skeptically questioned, staring down as he did.
Petra bounced over to Levi's side, shoving Eren out of the way in the process. She tightly gripped the older man's wrist and tugged it up, showing off the display of bright colors that made up the beaded bracelet. Levi had long forgotten it was even there, he couldn't see it so it didn't really exist to him, especially since beads can't talk. He honestly didn't care about the old thing anyway, he just wore it to make Petra's father less suspicious of him being homosexual. It was a win-win for both sides, or so he thought.
The younger boy was about tired of being pushed away from Levi, the one person he was supposed to be watching over. He was also getting sick of Petra's annoying, high-pitched, girly voice. That's one reason why he leaned towards men, they were more attractive when it came down to sex appeal and charm. Sure, girls could slather themselves down with oil or wear skimpy bikinis, but nothing could compare to a toned, shirtless guy at the beach who just got out of the water. Absolutely nothing could top that.
I swear...if she keeps bothering Levi, I'm done.
"Oh, Levi-kun~ When are you gonna propose, huh?~"
Ok! That's it, she's out!
Eren swiftly stiffened his posture, aggressively sweeping the air as he moved. The redhead scowled up at him with a death glare. Too bad for her, it didn't work on him this time. He brushed past her and crouched down next to Levi, gently padding his fingers over the man's hand. Levi flinched slightly, then Eren addressed that it was him and he visibly relaxed. Eren smiled warmly, not caring that Levi couldn't see. He just wanted to smile at the other's calmness. Eren wanted that moment to last forever, but Petra had other plans. It wasn't long before her annoying voice could be heard complaining right in Eren's ear.
"I'm getting bored here, are you gonna leave so me and my fiancé can be alone?" She griped.
The older man shifted a little and then laid back down. He pulled Eren closer to his body, faking a glare at Petra. He wasn't even completely sure he was looking at her, he was just guessing. His illusion of eye contact faded when he felt Eren wiggle underneath his touch. The boy sure was a jitterbug, but jeez, he had the attention span of a gnat.
"Levi...? Why're you doing this?" Eren asked, attempting to pull away from Levi.
"Because I want to. That's why."
"...um..."
"Excuse me? Am I gonna get any attention?" It was Petra again. God, she was getting on Levi's last nerve. Any second now and he could snap.
Eren decided to speak up this time, finally wriggling away from Levi to stand in front of Petra.
"No, go get attention elsewhere. Levi clearly isn't interested. So, in other words, fuck off." He figured his size was intimidating since she was now backing away from the two guys. Eren towered over the girl by at least two feet.
"Eren? What's going on?"
The boy turned around, smiled at Levi, then said, "It's nothing, Levi. She'll be gone in a minute. I promise."
"W-what? Why don't you know what's happening? You're literally looking right at us." The girl sarcastically spat. To be honest, she was getting ready to smack the living shit out of Levi. She was pretty sure Eren wouldn't allow that though.
"He's blind."
"What?!"
"I said he's blind, now get out." Eren restated in a terrifyingly unnerving tone, it even made Levi shudder a little.
"I... I, um...Levi..."
"Get out." This time, the words came from Levi. Eren hadn't even heard her voice before the man had spoken up.
Petra stepped out of the room and ran down the hallway and sprinted out the front door, slamming it as she made her exit. Eren peered over the stairs and watched as she left to make sure she didn't try to break anything. Luckily, she didn't and he could go back to Levi.
"Sorry about that. You ok? It looked like you were having a bad dream earlier."
"Oh...yeah, I'm fine. Dreams are the one place I actually enjoy being now...I mean, I can actually see in my dreams." Levi calmly muttered, yawning right after.
"That's true. Anyway, you look tired so I'll leave you alone." The brown-haired boy went to leave, but Levi managed to catch his arm before he could.
Levi gripped his arm tightly, not wanting the boy to go. He didn't want to be alone, he'd already dealt with so much already. He just wanted someone to cuddle with. Someone warm to curl up against and spoon with. Erwin had deprived him of that so much within the past months, and Levi had automatically suspected something. He still wasn't sure about Erwin, but he knew something was going on. Levi's grasp gradually tightened as he thought about Erwin, causing the boy to worry.
"Levi, are you sure you're ok?"
"...yeah...I'm sure."
The two sat there for a while, content with the situation, but eventually, it got rather boring and Eren decided to break the silence.
"So...um...do you want me to leave?"
"No. I don't."
"Why not? You need your rest."
"Are you dumb or something?"
"I don't think I am, but please elaborate."
"Fine." Levi sighed before continuing. "I can't sleep unless someone is with me. It used to not be like that, but Erwin fucked that up bigtime. Now I have to be up against someone or something in order to fall asleep. It doesn't have to be a person, I just...I can't stand it...I get these damn nightmares and they won't end...it's so annoying..."
Eren was somewhat shocked at his outburst. It wasn't normal for Levi to say personal things like that out of nowhere. Although, he did ask him to elaborate.
"So, you need someone there to sleep? Like a cuddle buddy?"
"That sounds weird, but yeah..."
Well, that settles it. Eren had finally found the loophole in the system. He'd found a way to spend even more time with Levi.
"If you want...I could be the one that stays with you."
Levi gazed up at him, he looked somewhat confused at Eren's compliance with the situation. He figured Eren would be running for the hills right now. Then, Eren added to his sentence.
"T-that is, if you want! I don't wanna force anything on you."
Levi chuckled at the boy's frantic words, a smile tugged at his lips and forced him to frown to hide it.
"I don't mind. As long as you aren't an ice block, I'll be ok with it. And you have to take a shower before you get in my bed. I don't tolerate filthy brats."
"But Levi..."
"No. Go take a shower. It's almost noon, right? Sorry for not knowing, I'm bad at time now."
"Yeah, it is. Anyway, I'll be back." Eren trotted off to bathe. Levi just scoffed and snuggled back under the warm blankets, burying his nose into the place where Eren had been setting his elbows. His scent was still lingering and Levi had to say that the kid smelled pretty nice. He used a fruity cologne that wasn't too overwhelming. Levi liked that Eren was generic and simple, just the way his life had been before. A few minutes later, Eren emerged from the bathroom fully dressed, drying his hair. He tossed the towel in the hamper and walked up to Levi.
"Hey, I'm back."
"Yeah, I can smell you."
"What? My shampoo isn't that bad, is it?"
"Huh? Oh, no no, I meant you smell nice."
"Oh..." Eren flushed slightly, still glad that Levi couldn't see.
Levi scooted over and pulled back the covers for Eren. He could feel the weight of the mattress shift to one side as the boy's body slid under the blankets next to him. He immediately clung to Eren's side, pushing his nose into his chest. He wasn't even paying attention to who it was, all he knew was that someone was there, someone cared. He did enjoy Eren's warmth though, he was like a heater, unlike Levi. His body never got past 96.6 degrees, contrary to the average of 98.6. Eren felt like he was higher than 100 degrees, but if that was the case, then he'd be running a fever. Thankfully, he wasn't.
They stayed like that for a while until Levi shifted on his side and Eren unconsciously spooned him from behind. He pulled the smaller man closer to him and buried his face in Levi's hair. It smelled sweet, like flowers. He ended up falling asleep like that. With Levi already asleep, it didn't really matter, but he'd probably get a lecture tomorrow complaining about spooning him or something. It was fine though, as long as Levi was able to sleep through the night, Eren was happy to take all of the consequences.
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This is much fluffier than the previous chapters, I hope you guys like it. ;)