A/N Hey you guys! I am finally done, I passed my fucking legal state exam! YIPPEY! So, I am back and to celebrate, here's the next chapter after what felt like forever (at least to me).

On a darker note, and please don't hit me, I have to enunciate an ALMOST RAPE WARNING! I don't know if it counts and it's not as bad as you might think now, but I don't want to accidently trigger someone. I wasn't sure if I should put it in, but I think it's important for the characters to evolve. And they will, I promise. It's a romance story, after all.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

The next day, Eren didn't wake up before ten o'clock. After he went to Armin's room, his friend had announced that he was going to visit his grandfather over the weekend, heading off in the morning. Eren was disappointed that he wasn't able to talk to Armin about his latest inner turmoil, but he kept his mouth shut. He didn't want Armin to feel guilty for leaving him when Eren would be in need for his advice. Shortly after he went back to his own room, Maria had come in and told him that his father decided to cancel all classes for at least a week due to Eren coming close to seeing a person die in his own hands. Eren wasn't sure whether he should be grateful about it or not. It took him at least a few more hours of trying to keep his thoughts away from Levi and what their latest conversation brought up in Eren, until he was finally exhausted enough to fall asleep. Now he was still lying in his bed, awake and wondering about what to do first with his recently acquired free time. The meeting with Levi wouldn't take place until noon.

But should he even go? Yesterday still weighed on his mind, but the fact remained that without Armin being around and no classes to attend, there was nothing to keep him from thinking. And he was getting sick of it. The images of his mother in her bed, of Levi taking people's lives. Man, he really needed to talk to Armin. Although his sister might've been more related to his inner trouble, she wasn't a good alternative since Eren knew what she was thinking of Levi. And his father? They didn't had the kind of close relationship to talk about things like that. So with no one to turn to and still trapped, Eren decided to accept Levi's offer. For at least the time of their training, he should be distracted from thinking. He had taken self-defence lessons in the past, but that had been almost two years ago. And he was sure, Levi would show him techniques of a whole other level.

Since Maria hadn't prepare breakfast for him, knowing that he preferred to sleep in on days where he didn't have to attend any activities in the early hours of the day, he decided to grab a bite by himself.

He went down to the kitchen and prepared a sandwich with ham and cheese, a few pieces of lettuce, and took it back up into his studio. He was determined to move on with his song now that he had so much free time at hand. After gulping down his snack, he placed the guitar in his lap and started playing the cords he had already composed. And repeated them. Over and over again. Every now and then, he found a pair that harmonised with each other and wrote them down on one of the sketch papers he had lying around. Without noticing it, he started to hum to what he played.

He spent the next three hours like this, immersed in his music. And after all those weeks coming up with nothing, he finally did make actual process. He managed to construct the framework for the first verse. Satisfied with his work he looked on his phone to see what time it was.

Fuck, 13.45 o'clock! Eren cursed mentally.

He sprung to his feet, put the guitar back in its stand, and rushed into the bathroom. Maybe he could still make it in time. He stripped and stepped into the cabin, turning on the faucet. Five minutes later he was done, and sprinted back into the bedroom in search for some training clothes.

Crap, must've been weeks since I last needed them. Where the fuck did I put 'em?

Eren rummaged through his drawer, but didn't find them anywhere.

Shit! It's impossible that they're still in the laundry. Maria would never take this long.

So he wrapped the towel he was drying his hair with around his hips, and sprinted out of his room.

According to the time, she must be in the kitchen to prepare lunch. Eren ran down the stairway again, and hoped to find Maria where he assumed she would be.

When he halfway slid around the corner of the kitchen's door, he found her and blurted out: "Maria, have you seen my training clothes?"

The maid turned her head and looked bewildered at his appearance. "Sir Eren! You aren't no longer a little boy, please put on some clothes! It is highly inappropriate to run around dressed in nothing but a towel, especially this time of the year. It is freezing outside!"

Dammit, I don't have time for that.

" I absolutely do agree with you, but I couldn't find my training clothes. Have you seen them? Please, Maria, I really am in a hurry." He almost begged the last part.

When he was encountered with a rather horrified look on the maid's face, he didn't know what to expect next. "Oh - oh god, I am so sorry, Sir Eren. Last time I washed them, they ripped. I totally forgot to tell you. Please, forgive me my negligence."

You can't be serious, Eren's inner self said to no one in particular. Okay, what can I do about it?… Mikasa! She has tons of training clothes.

"It's okay, Maria, don't think about it. I'll go ask Mikasa to lend me some!" He shouted, already running back upstairs towards his sister's room.

It was five past two when Eren got down to the basement. Of course, Mikasa insisted on an explanation to why in the world he needed her clothes as if his life depended on them. After he had left her in the dark about almost everything that went on between Levi and him since their little excursion into London's nightlife, she wasn't letting it slide this time. So he tried to cut it as short as possible, and just told her that Levi had accepted to train him in self-defence, and that Maria had wrecked his training clothes. But even after that, it took her years to find anything that didn't consist of a bra and some bottoms that would've been way too short for Eren.

So he was late. Maybe five minutes wouldn't get him a lecture about punctuality. His eyes met the older man's.

Aaaand he looks pissed again. Oh, but who've I been thinking about? Of course a clean freak would also have a thing for being on time.

"Hey, sorry I'm a little late," he said as he approached Levi, smiling sheepishly and rubbing the back of his head.

Levi placed his eyes on him, looking as stern as ever. "Never let me wait again, got that?"

Eren stood straight, raising his flat hand against his temple, saluting-style.

"Yes, Sir!" he joked.

"Cut the bullshit, and tell me what you want to start with? Offence or defence?"

Since it was supposed to be a self-defence lessons, Eren wasn't prepared for this question. "I don't know, I thought we'd focus on defence?"

Levi looked like he had already grown annoyed by this. "Sometimes, offence is the best defence. Never heard of it? Let me ask again, so that you can understand: do you want to be the one who attacks or should I play this part?"

Ah, that's where he's coming from. "I think I'll try offence first."

Levi stood laterally to Eren. "Very well. Come at me."

"What, we start with actually combat? No instructions first?"

Levi pinched the bridge of his nose. "First, no, in an actual combat I would fight back. This time I will simply block your attacks. And second, I want to see what you're capable of now, so I know where we have to start."

Eren still hesitated.

"What, you wanna quit?"

"No, of course not. Alright, let's start."

The problem was that Eren didn't know how. Should he just throw punches at him? He started to circle Levi, never breaking eye contact with him. He was so quiet that Eren started to wonder if he was even breathing. Unable to find any openings in Levi's posture, he just tried his luck and launched his first punch, aiming straight for Levi's face. But instead of blocking it, Levi made a step aside, letting Eren swing his fist into empty air what made him lose his balance and stumble forward. He straightened up and tried again, this time with less strength so he wouldn't run out of stamina too fast, and to combine a few punches in a row. But every one of them ended in either hitting at anything at all or being blocked by hands that were too fast for Eren's eyes to follow. While he had been careful at the beginning, because he had actually feared to land a strike on Levi, he was beginning to get serious. His height must give him some kind of advantage, right? He just had to find a way to put it to use.

But he didn't had a chance. Every time he felt something touching his fist, wrist or forearm, there was only the feeling of it. He never saw Levi actually touching him. Before he even realized that there had been some kind of contact, Levi was already in front of him again, standing perfectly still.

How is he doing it, for god's sake?

Eren continued trying, but after a few more minutes of nothing but failure his mood shifted into frustration. Without thinking, he aimed for Levi's mid-section, trying to tackle him down to the mats. When his arms actually wrapped around his opponent's waist against all expectations, he was lost for a moment, and so he didn't realized what was happening next until it was too late. He felt weight upon his back, and a pair of arms snug around his own belly. Next thing he knew was that he was lifted up into the air, further and further until he was upside down. But Levi didn't stop there. Eren felt his gravity's centre shifting backwards and a sheer endless moment later, his vision went black, and all air was knocked out of his lungs. Strangling pain settled throughout his entire body as he tried to get air back into his body. But he felt like there was water in his lungs that stopped the air from coming in. Slowly, the awareness of his situation set it. He was lying on his back. On the ground. There was a shadow towering over him, and one by one, the little white dots that entered his vision united to a silhouette of Levi against the white light of the lithium tubes above him.

"Sit up or the air won't get back into your lungs," he heard Levi say.

But fuck! , Eren's whole body was in agony.

Still, no air was worse than pain, so he sat up despite every one of his cells screamed at him to stop.

Once he was up, his surviving instincts took over and made him gasp for air. He left his lungs fill with air, and promptly he started to cough.

"That's better. I'll give you a minute before we continue."

What?! Has he lost his fucking mind? I almost died, you prick!

Eren's mind was back on track, but his body wasn't. So instead of screaming at the man next to him, he still struggled with breathing the pain away.

"The pain will go away quickly, believe me."

Eren took another couple of deep breaths before he finally was able to speak again, although with a croaking voice: "Easy to… say for… someone… who treats a… punctuated lung… like it's a splinter…"

But the more seconds vanished, the better his body felt.

"I might be tough, but I know about basic physical functions. Right now your body gave you every signal of being in mortal danger. That way, your instincts are trying to get you to move away from your situation. I haven't dealt any real damage, so the pain will vanish fast."

And fuck him , but he was right.

It felt like an eternity to Eren, but after a few more minutes, the pain was going away. "Shit, didn't you say, you weren't going to attack?" Finally, Eren was able to move again, and looked up at Levi.

"I wasn't. I simply used your own force against you. But that aside, you're relying too much on your upper body. You ain't no boxer. You should learn how to use your legs as well. They have much more power as their muscle groups are larger. Additionally, your attacks will be less predictable, and you'll have a larger range of motion. I don't know whether the guy who taught you was a retard or just incompetent, but we'll start pretty much from scratch."

Great, can't wait for it.

"I told you, he taught me self-defence. Nothing more." Eren got up to his feet again, his back still aching, but it wasn't as bad anymore.

"Okay, then let's see if you're any better at defending. You ready?" Levi positioned himself frontally.

Eren tried to remember what he had learned in the past. Dodge the first blow, attack while your opponent is still unbalanced. He moved into the position he had been taught. Fists up, left shoulder front, right one back, the right fist behind the left one, and feet in a diagonal position that allows one to move back and front as well as sideways without losing balance.

"Ready."

He was back on his ass before he could've counted to 'one'.

One second, Levi was standing in front of him, the next he vanished, and something kicked his feet out from under him, causing Eren to land hard on the mats. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Levi crouching on the floor next to him.

"Your defending posture isn't bad, but far from perfect, too. I've seen enough. Let's start with actually training, now."

Somehow, he made it sound as if so far it had all been to his amusement. And considering the outcome, it most likely was. Both of them got up, and Levi showed him different punches and kicking movements. Most of the time his instructions were verbal, but from time to time he had to correct Eren's position himself. And now that Eren wasn't distracted by an actual fight, he found it hard to concentrate when Levi did touch him. His hands and fingertips just felt good on his skin wherever he put them. And Eren truly became annoyed by himself. Obviously, his inner turmoil about the man who taught him, hadn't reached his physical feelings yet. But, thank the lord, their contact was mostly limited to mere fractions of seconds. They went on for a good two hours and Eren, although he admittedly had good stamina, was getting tired and sore. He used to work out down here at least twice a week, but he had let this training slip the past few months, and now muscles he didn't even know he had were hurting.

"Good, let's spar again and see what you've learned."

Oh no, is he serious? If Eren wasn't able to take him on when he was well rested, then he would be even less capable with his current state of exhaustion.

But he did agree to this, didn't he? So Eren switched into his newly taught stance, and waited for Levi to attack.

When he finally did, Eren was amazed at the feeling of actually having gotten better. Although Levi was still fast as hell, Eren was able to follow his movements and block a few of his punches. His kicks still hit him, but not so hard that they made him fly across the room. Eren tried to attack as well, but he found switching between offence and defence rather difficult. He lost his focus on Levi for a second, but it was enough for the other man to bring him down again. He felt his right arm being grabbed, and all of a sudden Levi jumped into the air, using his arm as a pivot point, circled around him, and landed straight on his back, Eren's hips tightly clenched between Levi's knees. The impact of Levi landing on his back caused Eren to fall down face first, but he managed to absorb some of his fall with his free arm.

Next thing he knew, he was lying on his stomach, one arm firmly held behind his back in a rather unpleasant angle. He tried to push himself up with the other one, but Levi was still on top of him, pinning him down.

What happened next was out of Eren's control.

The only remaining feeling were Levi's legs on either side of his hips, his loins pressing against Eren's butt, and the heat that accumulated in the pit of his stomach, spreading through his entire body.

Oh shit, no! Please god, NO !

Eren's muscles clenched as warmth gathered in his guts, his member becoming hard as a rock and faster than he could have said sweetbabyjesus . That he just had spent two hours of hard training and been tackled down to the ground, what hurt like hell by the way, didn't seem of interest to his body in the slightest. His face was on fire as he begged to a god he didn't believe in anymore that Levi wouldn't notice. But when had he ever, EVER not noticed something!?

"Good, now let's spar again and see what you've learned."

Levi had to restrain himself from laughing at the desperate look on the boy's face. But he didn't complain. Instead he moved into the posture, Levi had shown him.

He had to admit, he was surprised by boy. He was learning fast and his endurance was worth mentioning. He had implemented most of what Levi had shown him today at a pretty decent pace. However, he was still no match for Levi, of course. Hell, he would never be.

But it wasn't his first time teaching rookies in combat. Over the years Erwin had dragged along dozens of new candidates for him to train. And he found that a combat after each lesson lifted their spirits and encouraged them to endure his training. But that wasn't everything Levi came up with. It was even more effective when he adapted this own abilities to his student's in the ending combats, so that they got the illusion of making even greater progress. Of course, he never went so far to deliberately let himself be defeated. But nevertheless it was rather effective.

So he did the same with Eren. He throttled his speed and didn't strike as hard as at the beginning. He let a few of Eren's punches past his defence, but then he noticed that the brat suddenly wanted too much at once. While effort might be praiseworthy, losing your focus surely wasn't. So there was an opportunity to teach him another lesson. Levi launched one of his favourite moves to bring his opponent to the ground. He sprung on Eren's back and used his force to push him down. Eren was helpless against such an attack and Levi knew it. But now sitting on the boy's back, he once more noticed that Eren had a very beneficial built. He was tall with long legs, lean hips, and a broad chest. His body was quite well proportioned overall. He would have to put on some more muscles to be more stabilized, but that would come naturally when he'd continue to train with Levi.

Levi was pulled out of his evaluation when a strong smell exploded within the room. An ambivalent scent of arousal and embarrassment flooded his nose, and since he had gotten quite used to it, it wasn't hard to guess where it came from. The little shit underneath him had some nerve to get aroused in a situation like this.

But this time it didn't leave Levi completely unaffected either. Admittingly, Eren's scent was getting to him. The boy normally smelt good already, but in this state, he was simply delicious. If only his embarrassment wouldn't stain it.

Without thinking, Levi leaned down, his nose barely touching Eren's neck, and he breathed in deeply. He wanted to take in the pleasant part of his scent apart from all the rest, so he tried to filter it. He smelled a spicy-balsamic prelude of absinth and red basil at the top exuded a delightful freshness, but was quickly replaced by tarter notes. Patchouli and pimento met in a sensual liaison and were enhanced by the sweet chords of peppers, giving his fragrance a warm touch.

His urge was coming back full force, and before Levi got a chance to get out of there, it took control of him, devoured him, leaving him empty except for this one basic instinct. Levi stayed in his position and placed his lips next to Eren's ears.

"You're such a horny brat," he purred and felt the brat's body heat rise even higher. "Is that what you're after, you kinky shit? A fast way to lose your goddamn virginity? I assure you, you're on the right track. I could take you right here on these sweat dripping mats. You just have to tell me what is it that you want."

Shit, what was he doing? Somehow, deflowering his client's teenage son didn't occur Levi as a good way to let off steam. It hadn't been long since the last time anyway, so why was he so loaded?

It must be the boy's scent.

Bullshit, it's because of the blood loss from the fucking gunshot! It must've shortened my time span.

Levi tried to get a grip when suddenly the brat found the guts to answer, throwing a big can of fuel into his fire.

"I want you," he said between a halfly stifled moan.

A warm shiver rolled over Levi's skin. "What do you want me to do?" he growled, inhaling that sinful scent once more.

There was a long pause and mentally Levi had already pulled down the brunette's shorts, and buried himself deep inside of him.

"I want-," Eren stammered, and just as Levi was about to turn him around on his back to attack his throat, he heard a dull but ear-splitting sound coming from somewhere across the room.

His head snapped up and he searched for the sound's origin, senses back on alert. At the other end of the room he saw one of the staff's members coming through the door that lead down to the basement, pulling up a bucket on wheels behind him, mop in hand.

Fuck! What was he doing here? Nausea crawled its way from his stomach up to his throat.

Levi got off Eren, trying to keep his legs steady.

He looked up and his eyes fixed on the guy on the ground who slowly turned to face him. And the sight that greeted him scattered a bit of Levi's worldview. There he was, lying on his back, nothing but lust and desire shining in those glassy bottomless eyes, his breath ragged while his shirt was pushed halfway up his stomach, revealing nicely defined abs that tensed with every time he exhaled through his glistening lips. And to top it all, Levi saw his erection being big enough to almost sneak out of his waistband.

He was fucking unbearable in his innocence. He obviously and absolutely didn't had a clue what Levi could do to him. That he could tear him apart in over sixty different ways in a blink of any eye. What he wanted to do to him. He just laid there, with those honest and desiring eyes directed at him. Only because he's so goddamn naive. He shouldn't look at someone like him that way. It was wrong. Just wrong!

"Leave," Levi whispered, lowering his eyes again.

But his voice was too low for the boy to hear.

Fuck . "Leave," he said again, louder and more stern this time.

"What did-," Eren stood up, confusion written all over his beautiful face.

Just as the boy was about take a step in Levi's direction, Levi couldn't find another way to help himself.

"Get the fuck out of here!" he suddenly screamed, louder than he intended, and making not only Eren stare at him in shock, but also the employee who had been starting to wipe the floors.

He didn't dare to take another look in Eren's direction, fearing that his eyes would betray him, exposing what he really was.

After what seemed like forever, he heard silent footsteps moving away from him, and only then did Levi notice that he had held his breath. When the rushing between his ears slowly faded, he listened to the sound of bare feet walking across the basement's linoleum floor, of a hand that gripped a metal handle. A door closing. Nothing was left despite the consistent wiping and water-dropping caused by an obviously well-trained housekeeper who wasn't sticking his nose where it didn't belong, and it screamed lonesome at him like nothing else had for a long time.

I have to do something.