Chapter 12 – All Hands on Deck

-November 25th-

"Eren, cut the peaches for me." Levi instructed.

Eren smiled, "Ok!"

"And calm down a little. Geez, this isn't Disney World."

"I know. I'm just happy to be helping you." He beamed as he leaned behind Levi to get a knife from the holder.

Eren also grabbed the peeler from the silverware drawer and began peeling the peaches one by one, then laying them on the cutting board. He then took the knife and sliced them into individual halves, carefully working his way around the pits. After the first peach had been cut and pitted, he moved onto the rest. Eventually, all of the peaches were done and Eren's hands were covered in sticky peach juice. He payed it no mind though, he was too enveloped in helping Levi to care.

"Did you pit them too?" Levi asked in his regular, dull voice.

Eren nodded his head with a smile, "Mhm! They're all sliced like the recipe said. Now I'm putting them in the pot to boil." He said while he lifted the cutting board and slid the peaches into the pot, setting it on the stove eye afterwards.

He then poured in the lemon juice that Levi had prepared earlier, adding the sugar as he poured the juice. He grabbed a wooden spoon and repetitively stirred the mixture. Afterwards, he clicked the stove eye to 210° and ran a little water over his hands to rinse off the lemon juice.

"Hey, can you help me with cutting the butter?" The man behind him asked.

"Of course!" Eren stepped over to Levi's side and laid his hand over Levi's trembling one.

"Here, let me do that." He hummed.

The older man was taken aback by Eren's position and how close they were. He turned his head, but found nothing but darkness. He frowned slightly, then Eren pressed into his back and he couldn't help but smile.

"I'm not asking for you to do everything for me." The raven said calmly, trying to hide his obvious happiness.

"I know." Eren said with a smile. "I'm just giving you a nudge in the right direction."

The brunet took Levi's hand in his own and coaxed him to press the knife down on the butter in front of him. Levi was staring directly at his hands, but Eren knew he couldn't see a thing, he was just blankly looking.

"...Thank you..."

"Um...you're welcome."

Did he just thank me!? No way! No way! No way! Oh god...

Eren shifted his body away from Levi, finally realizing how close they were.

"What's wrong?" Levi questioned as he set the knife down.

Eren could only stutter at this point. "N-nothing. I just...figured you wanted your—you know—personal space."

"Really? This is the first time you've cared about my personal space since you got here." Levi said while he rose an eyebrow and set a hand on his hip.

Eren nervously chuckled, "Well, I just...we were a little close. Anyway, let's keep cooking!"

The younger stepped over to the oven and turned down the heat to 180°, allowing the pot of fruit to simmer. After he stirred it a few more times, he walked back to Levi and continued helping him cut the butter. After that was done, he melted the butter in the oven and set it back on the counter. Levi was able to navigate his way around and, eventually, he found the flour. He handed Eren the bag of flour and stood idly by as he waited for instructions.

"Ok! The batter is complete!" He heard Eren cheer. "Now, onto the peaches."

The brunet took the pot away from the back stove eye and moved it to a front one that wasn't on. He turned the oven off and briefly clapped his hands together to rid them of any stray flour. He grabbed an oven mitt from the counter and slipped it onto his right hand, then took the pot over to the batter and poured the glazed fruit over it.

"Aaaaand don't stir." He said as he read off the recipe again. "Levi, do you want cinnamon on it?"

"Mhm."

"Okie dokie!" He said as he sprinkled a small amount of cinnamon onto the peaches.

"Do you want me to do anything?" Levi asked.

"Oh, yeah. Can you clean off the counter for me, please?"

Levi smiled, "Sure."

Eren took the baking dish, placed it in the oven, and turned the stove to 375° just like the recipe ordered. Then, he set a timer on his phone for 45 minutes. Once he was finished with the oven, he moved to Levi's side and helped him clean. A few minutes later, the two went over to the couch and sat down.

"So, do you think we did good?" Eren asked with a wide smile.

"Yeah."

"Really?!"

"Yep."

Hmph...more like 'do you think I did good'. I didn't even do much.

Eren tilted his head, "Are you ok? You look sad."

"I'm fine."

"Are yo—"

"I said I'm fine."

A short pause was brought out between the two.

"Ok...sorry. "

A small frown forms on Levi's face, and, without warning, the raven begins crying. His hands reached up to his head and held his face in his hands, trying to suppress his tears, and all but failing to do so. Eren didn't know what to do, he'd never seen Levi cry before, so he wasn't sure about anything. Did he want a hug? Maybe a few kind words? He just wasn't sure, all he could do was stare and hope that the other man would ask for comfort. He wanted with all his heart to embrace Levi, but he didn't know if he was having a panic attack or not because, if he was, it may not be the best idea to touch him.

"L-Levi...? Do you want—"

Before he even had time to comprehend what was happening, Eren could feel Levi's arms encircling his chest, his head hiding inside the crook of his neck. The sudden movement took his breath away for a second before he regained his composure and focused on the man wrapped around his body. He could feel, more than see, Levi's body shaking now. He could hear his sobs and feel the way his shoulders shook as he choked out every sniffle.

"I'm here. Shh...it's alright." Eren whispered gently into his friend's ear, still not raising his hands to return the embrace.

The small, lithe body that was flush in his grasp continued crying, not paying any mind to composure. Levi couldn't even give a thought to composure right now, he just wanted to be hugged, to be loved, to belong. Levi's sobs were muffled by Eren's chest, but the heartache they held could be heard clear as day. Eren knew he was having a breakdown, yet there was nothing he could do about it. He gently rocked him back and forth, in silence, waiting for Levi's shaking to stop.

"E-Eren...pl...please... I...I'm so s-scared..." The raven slowly choked out, hugging Eren tighter.

A surge of love and tenderness overwhelmed the brunet and he finally acted on impulse, wrapping his arms around Levi's shaking figure, a hand slowly petting his hair to comfort him. Levi's grip only grew tighter at Eren's actions, and the brunet took it as a sign to continue, putting all of his feelings inside the tender kisses he left on the crown of his hair and the affectionate caresses on his back.

"Shh...it's ok. I'm not going anywhere."

"...Eren..." A small sob escapes Levi's lips at the same time as his words, and the brunet's heart shatters at the sound.

Never before had he seen Levi so broken, he was always used to the man being stern and serious, so him having a mental breakdown didn't cross his mind.

"I'm here, Levi, I'm not leaving."

Eventually, Levi relaxes in his arms but doesn't come out of his hiding place in Eren's shoulder. His breathing is calmer, slower, but Eren waits for the man to take the first step.

"I didn't want you to see me like this." Levi says weakly, his voice hoarse from crying.

"I understand. I'm the same way." Eren was still stroking the man's hair, worried that he might start crying again at any moment.

"I'm sorry."

"No, don't apologize. It's not your fault."

Levi buried his nose deeper into Eren's neck at the brunet's soft, comforting voice. He could feel the way his neck vibrated whenever he talked, and the sound of his breathing, his quiet breaths moving in a repetitive cycle. He could also feel Eren's breath against his neck, every time the boy exhaled, a puff of warm air brushed his skin. It made him warm, appreciated, loved, and most of all, it showed that Eren was there. Eren was hugging him and giving him support when his walls came crashing down. He couldn't ask for a better person to be by his side.

"Eren...I..." He started, but Eren's phone timer suddenly went off, signaling that the cobbler was done.

The raven sighed deeply, annoyed that his words were no longer acceptable to say anymore.

"Wait," Eren interrupted as Levi began backing away for him to stand up. "What were you saying?"

Levi stared, not really knowing what he was looking at, and not really caring. Eren was asking him to finish his sentence? Didn't he need to check the cobbler? Levi was so confused, he wasn't sure what to do. Emotions he never knew he had began surfacing in his mind, his heart rate sped up, and his skin felt hot. He couldn't process everything at once, so he just sat there, dumbfounded.

He had to do something though, right?

Ok, you can do this. You got this, it'll be fine. He silently chanted in his head.

The man gently touched Eren's leg and slid his hand up the expanse of his jeans. Levi was never good at talking about his feelings, or feelings in general, but he still tried from time to time. Eren noticed and he knew this was one of those moments, since Levi talks more with actions than with words. His eyes widened a little at the raven's actions, but he allowed them nonetheless. He'd be lying if he said his heart wasn't racing too. He knew what was coming, and he wasn't quite sure he was ready to hear what Levi had to say. He wanted to, but his mind was muddled with possible outcomes of every situation, some bad and some good.

"Levi?" He said softly as he laid a hand on Levi's knee, to which the man's eyes closed.

"Eren...I...I think I...I might love you."

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A/N: I bet some of you are curious about the timeline of this story. Hm? Ok! Eren and Levi have known each other for about 4 months. They met in August and it's almost December now. Also, the reason behind Levi making peach cobbler is because it's Thanksgiving in the story right now. Lol. You'll find out why Eren doesn't remember a couple chapters later. But seriously, who can forget it's Thanksgiving?!