Chapter 13

Levi and Eren arrive at Jean and Marco's just before 7pm, as planned.

Eren has settled on a thin, grey sweater and a pair of light blue jeans for the evening, his long hair tied in his signature bun, while Levi has chosen a pair of grey slacks with a matching grey waistcoat over his crisp, white button up shirt. Eren had teased Levi mercilessly in the car for the duration of the journey over their unplanned colour co-ordination, causing the latter to scowl and threaten to throw him out on to the sidewalk.

As they approach the front door, Levi clutches on to the bottle of wine and small bunch of flowers he'd purchased earlier a little tighter than necessarily. Somehow, the prospect of apologising to Maria over his behaviour makes him far more nervous than it should, considering his vast experience of literally putting his life on the line without so much the blink of an eye. There's just something about the memory of Maria's face falling in hurt when he'd ranted and raved at her that makes him want to hang his own head in shame.

Eren rings the doorbell, and less than a minute later they're faced with a tan young man with short, dark hair that on first look, Levi doesn't recognise. However, when the man gives them a wide grin and pulls Eren into a bearhug, he notices the myriad of freckles that dust his handsome face. This person is unmistakeably Maria… or Marco, Levi reminds himself.

As Marco lets go of Eren and pulls away, he gives Levi a friendly smile and a shy wave,

"Hi Levi, nice to see you again…or well, for the first time properly, I guess! You've never seen me outta drag before have you?" He asks with a nervous giggle. Levi looks him up and down, Marco is wearing a loose pink shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, old, faded blue jeans and black socks. He looks comfortable, but Levi can tell he's unsure on how to act around him.

"I have not, but there is a first time for everything I suppose." Levi says and hands the gifts to Marco, who takes them in slight confusion.

"Oh, these are for you, I wasn't sure what you would prefer. I wanted to give you something to say thanks for the invite and I would also like to profusely apologise for how I acted last week. I was having a bad day and it wasn't right to take that out on you or Eren. It was unprofessional and I hope you can find a way to forgive me." Levi bows slightly in apology and sneaks a look at Eren, who is fighting to hide his amused smirk.

Marco sags in relief and hugs Levi also, which proves to be a little difficult with his hands full and being so much taller, but he puts his full effort in and holds on for at least 10 seconds. Levi isn't quite sure what to do with his arms, so he just leaves them awkwardly hanging at his sides. Eren is full on laughing now and not even attempting to hide it, Levi gives him his best death glare, which just makes him laugh even harder.

"There's nothing to forgive Levi, I can assure you I've heard far worse in my time, even from Eren! Let's just put it behind us completely and have a lovely evening all together. Now, we should probably go inside, it might be summer but it's starting to get a little chilly. Plus, I left Jean in the kitchen with Sasha, we'll be lucky if we get any dinner tonight!" Marco insists as he ushers them both into the house.

The house itself is a large four-bedroom detached property with a garage and located in the heart of the suburbs, in a much fancier and more expensive area than Eren's home. And his home now, he supposes.

There is good sized, modern kitchen with fitted chrome appliances and a separate dining room with a giant dining table and chairs, made for dinner parties. Across the hall from the dining room, is a homely living room with comfortable cream couches and scattered with children's toys and a pink crib in the middle of the room. Before Levi has a chance to ask, he's pulled into the dining room by Eren who directs him to the empty chair next to his.

Eren tells him that Marco sits at the head of the table, with Jean in the chair on the right and Reiner to the left. Annie sits next to Reiner and across from Mikasa, who will be seated beside Connie and Sasha, and Eren and Levi will be sitting opposite the pair. For the moment, the house is in chaos and Levi is in two minds on whether he should just tell everyone to sit down and he'll sort everything for them. It's giving him anxiety.

Marco can be heard yelling instructions to Jean and Sasha, who Levi got a small glimpse of as he'd passed the kitchen earlier, while they seem to be more interested in eating the food than helping prepare it. Reiner and Mikasa are in the corner of the dining room discussing cars and beginning to lay out wine and water glasses. Levi doesn't miss the glares directed his way from Eren's sister but chooses to ignore them. Connie and Annie enter and exit the room intermittently as they lay dish after dish on the table, casually conversing about the music to be played at Annie's wedding reception. From what he can tell, Connie is set to be the DJ.

Eren plonks down on his own chair, apparently oblivious to the goings on around him, and pats Levi's next to him. Levi is hesitant and remains standing, gripping on to back of his seat and looking around in uncertainty.

"Is there something I can be doing right now? I don't want to just sit when everyone else is doing something useful." Levi says, still scanning the room.

"Nah it's fine, they have a system. This is what it's like every week. They don't let me do anything, as apparently I'm a 'liability.'" Eren holds his fingers up in a quotation sign.

"You ARE a liability, and it's fine Levi, we got it. Marco is just bringing in the beef." Jean remarks, carrying a deep pan dish of baked potatoes into the room, Sasha hot on his heels and practically drooling over them. It's quite disgusting in Levi's opinion. She reluctantly takes her seat next to Connie who has also sat down at this point and looks longingly at all the food on the table. Connie shakes his head and grins at Levi.

"Hey man, I'm Connie by the way. I'm the DJ at the club, and this insatiable creature is my wife Sasha. It's good to meet you!" Connie says nudging the woman, who finally tears her eyes away from the food and flashes a nervous smile at Levi.

"Likewise, I saw you at the club last week and I've already had the pleasure of tasting your wife's cooking. I'll need to pick our brain for some of your recipes Sasha." Levi states as he pours water from a jug into his glass. Sasha flushes and says nothing before Connie nudges her with his elbow.

"Oh, umm, of course. Glad you enjoyed the food." She says bashfully before scooping some vegetables on to her plate. Eren chuckles and leans over so that only Levi can hear him.

"You make her nervous. She said that she saw you storming around the club last week and that you looked intimidating. She'll get used to you." Eren waves dismissively.

Marco enters the room, carrying a massive roast beef on a serving dish and lays it in the middle of the table. He takes his seat at the head of the table and starts passing round the wine bottles.

"Dig in everyone! Jean and Sasha have worked so hard all day to make this amazing meal for us all, so let's not let it go to waste!" Marco beams.

"Wait, where are Ymir and Historia?" Annie asks as she pours herself some water, Levi deduces she's also a designated driver for the night.

"They called earlier, Historia got swamped with work and didn't get an awful lot of sleep last night, so she and Ymir decided to have a quiet night at home instead." Jean clarifies, and Eren is left with an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach.

As he passes his plate on to Eren to fill for him, Levi locks eyes with Mikasa, who hasn't moved a muscle since she sat down and is still glaring daggers at him. Levi can't ignore it any longer.

"Anything I can help you with Mikasa? Need some bread?" Levi asks scathingly, gesturing to the bread basket next to him. She ignores him, simply scowls at him some more.

"Everything alright there Mika?" Marco asks gently, "You haven't touched any of the food."

"This was supposed to be drag dinner. I don't understand why you have to feel restricted in your own home and make sacrifices for this homophobic…"

"Mikasa, we talked about this." Jean cuts in firmly, "Stop making assumptions now."

"But it's not fair! If he wasn't here this wouldn't be happening. I know exactly what happened last week, I'm not stupid you know. I saw you pull up outside, Eren was crying and Maria was upset. You're so lucky I haven't come to your room and broken both of your legs by now, shorty!" She says accusingly, pointing a finger in Levi's direction.

Levi scoffs, "Tch, don't be making threats you aren't able to act upon, idiot. It doesn't make you look tough, just stupid."

"How dare you!" Mikasa shouts as she stands up swiftly, making her seat fall backwards on to the floor.

"Mikasa, that's enough!" Eren yells back at her, "Sit down!"

"He just called me an idiot!"

"He calls everybody an idiot, you're just making a scene." Eren argues.

"Maybe I'd better go…" Levi says, making a move to stand, but Eren grabs his arm in an attempt to hold him in place.

"You're not going anywhere, you have every right to be here." Annie says, speaking up for the first time, "Mika, you always do this, Eren is a grown man, not a child. If something happened between him and Levi, then it's very clearly sorted. You don't have to get involved."

Mikasa huffs, picks up her seat and sits back down, "I just don't understand why we have to give up our tradition for HIM." She comments pointedly.

"Because like it or not Mikasa, Levi is here to look out for Eren, which means that whether HE likes it or not, he's part of our little family now. And we make allowances for family. Levi is not totally comfortable with the drag scene yet, he's been completely honest about that, and that's okay. So, if us making this sacrifice is what Levi needs for now, then that's what we're gonna do." Marco promises, glancing at Levi and giving him a small smile.

Levi has to be honest and admit he's a little lost for words and feeling a little sheepish. When was the last time someone did something so selfless with Levi's interests in mind? In fact, he remembers exactly when….

"Besides, we've been neglecting Reiner's feelings for some time now also, and that needs to change." Jean pipes up, after taking a few bites of his beef.

"What do you mean?" Mikasa asks confused, looking straight at the blond man adjacent to her.

Reiner takes a deep breath before speaking, "It's nothing bad guys, honest. It's just that since Bert died, I've been feeling all out of sorts. I've kind of lost my love for drag, and I don't know if I'll ever get it back if I'm honest. But I love and support you all 100% and it won't be forever, I'm just not ready to make new memories at drag dinner without him here. Does that make sense?"

"Of course, it makes sense!" Marco assures him, "Until you feel comfortable, we'll just have weekly dinner. Without the drag." Reiner smiles appreciatively at this.

"Reiner, I'm so sorry, I had no idea you were feeling this way." Mikasa apologises guiltily and gives Levi a small look that lasts half a second, but without any malice this time.

"Well, now that's out of the way, lets eat and enjoy!" Connie demands, and they do.

As they eat and make amiable chit-chat with each other, the conversation soon turns to Levi, who is still a relatively new figure in their little group.

"So, Levi, I don't mean to pry, but I hear you spent some time in the military?" Connie asks, "What was is it like? Where were you based?"

"Yeah, I was infantry for around 4 years based in the middle east. I became a Lance Corporal of my own team after that, and we were posted pretty much anywhere from then on. We weren't exactly foot soldiers, we were a…more specialised branch. My team specialised in survival and reconnaissance, we were completely involved in the field, but our job was more centred around hostage negotiation, counter-terrorism and the like. But we were very much…. off the radar, you could say." Levi clarifies.

"Shit Levi, you were Black Ops?" Jean asks, astonished and Connie's eyes widen like saucers, even Mikasa looks slightly impressed.

"No way! You never told me that." Eren says just as shocked as the others.

"It's not exactly something you go shouting about, it was a dangerous job and you make a lot of enemies, you never know." Levi shrugs.

"I wanted to join the Army myself, I come from a military background, my whole family were in the forces." Connie says proudly.

"Really kid? Why didn't you?" Levi asks curiously.

"I've got a medical condition. I was born with my heart on the right side of my body, which isn't a problem in itself, but I went for the medical exam and it revealed an undiagnosed heart murmur. It's not detrimental to my everyday life but I have to keep it monitored closely, so I couldn't join up. But I met Sash not too long after my exam, so I guess everything happens for a reason." Connie states happily, as he wraps an unoccupied arm around his wife.

"It's very admirable that you even attempted to join, not many men even get that far, you should feel accomplished regardless." Levi reassures him.

"Thank you very much, Sir." Connie nods in appreciation at his kind words.

"Man, I think I'd do great in the Military." Jean states matter of fact, taking a large bite out of a carrot.

"Oh yeah? Well I think you're out of luck. There hasn't been a cavalry unit for quite some time." Eren says smugly and nearly everyone at the table snickers.

"Really? Back with the horse jokes? Because that's mature." Jean scowls at Eren and angrily chews at his remaining food.

"Oh, go eat some hay!" Eren retorts, "In fact, here's a joke, everybody, what do gay horses eat?"

"Hay!" Reiner drawls sassily, clicking his fingers.

"Nope, Marco's ass." Eren cackles, and everyone loses it. Even Levi chuckles quietly.

"I'm gonna fucking kill you!" Jean bellows, and Marco hits him on the shoulder.

"There'll be no murder at the dinner table! Shut up and eat your food, both of you!" Marco instructs them. They settle quickly enough, and everyone falls back into their idle chatter.

"Besides, if anyone would do great in the Military it's me." Eren argues.

Reiner almost chokes on his gulp of wine and Jean laughs loudly, as Levi hides a snort behind his glass.

"What? Why is that funny?" Eren huffs and looks round the table at the smirking faces, "I would be a killing machine!" He insists, which just makes everyone lose their composure.

"Please Eren, you'd run in there all cocky and shit and do something stupid. Probably end up losing a leg on your first day or something!" Jean jokes, failing to keep a straight face for even a second, "I'd climb the ranks in no time with no problem, wouldn't I babe?"

"Don't get me involved in this!" Marco holds his hands up in surrender and picks up his wine glass for a sip.

"As if! You can barely throw people out of your own club, you have to get Ymir to do it for you." Eren laughs.

"Well, you're not any better!" Jean remarks and lays his cutlery flat on his plate. Everyone else (except Sasha) begins to do the same, far too full to eat any more, and there are still plenty left overs. "Anyway, I think Marco would make a kick-ass military man. Plus, you'd look amazing in uniform." Jean wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

"Yeah right, like I'd join the military if either of you two dumbasses joined up, I'd be left running around after the pair of you. And it's not like I can make two halves of myself!" Marco retorts, rolling his eyes and getting up to clear away the empty dishes.

Dessert is served not too long after, a strawberry trifle with whipped cream. Levi is careful not to get any mess on his clothes, and wipes at his hands after every spoonful.

Everyone has branched off into their own little conversations by this point, and Eren is telling him all about the busy schedule he has lined up this week. He has another meeting with Nile Dok to discuss the new packaging for his palette and will go over the final details for distribution. He will also discuss the possibility of making his announcement on his new contract with Sina and confirm his resignation as a regular at Maria's bar. He also has a new video series he wants to start for his channel, and by this point Levi is only half-listening to the enthusiastic brat when he feels a slight pressure on his right foot.

Levi looks down at his feet only to find a child, correction a baby, pressed up against him. A little girl judging by her pretty pink onesie, and definitely no older than 9 months, clutches on to his pant leg with sticky hands and looks up at him with wide, blue eyes and an open mouth.

Eren follows his gaze and gasps, "Kaya! What are you doing out of your crib?!"

Sasha freezes and yelps, "Oh my god! I went to check on her at dinner and must have forgotten to put her back in! Stupid baby brain! I'm so sorry!" She begins rambling and apologising.

"Sasha, she could have been really hurt! What were you thinking?!" Connie says accusingly, as his wife pleads with him for forgiveness.

Levi hasn't moved a muscle, simply watching as the little girl leave messy handprints and drools on him slightly. Eren notices and places a comforting hand on Levi's shoulder.

"Levi, it's alright, we can get you cleaned up, Sasha will take her, and we can get you a change of pants and…." Eren rambles, pausing only when Levi leans down and picks the little girl up, inspecting her at arm's length for a second before smiling softly.

"Hello there sweetheart, have you come to say hello?" Levi coos and pulls her close to his chest. Kaya garbles delightedly at the attention and paws at Levi's shirt. He chuckles lightly and cuddles the little baby as she lays happily against her new friend.

Eren laughs in disbelief at the sight, the scary, scowling, ex-military man in awe of a tiny child. Sasha, unsure if she should be completely terrified or relieved at the man's reaction to her daughter, clears her throat and speaks up.

"That's our daughter Kaya, she's 8 months old and started to enjoy exploring. She's too adventurous for her own good, that kid, she'll get me killed one day I swear! I've been a little forgetful recently…I kind of forgot to put her back in her crib, but she seems to like you a lot." She titters breathlessly.

"It's amazing really, she doesn't take to just anyone." Eren says in astonishment, "She loves her Auntie Rogue, but not so sure on Uncle Eren? Isn't that right Kaya sweetie?" Eren presses his face close to the little girl, as she cowers and snuggles further into Levi, who smirks at the sight.

"Children are fantastic judges of character, this little one knows exactly who she wants to be close to, and she can probably tell you feel uneasy around her." Levi says, stroking Kaya's back softly.

"I'm not uneasy around her!" Eren argues, folding his arms crossly.

"Really? Well then why don't you take her?" Levi suggests.

"I'm…. fine. She seems quite happy where she is." Eren mutters quietly, watching as the baby stares up at Levi.

"You know, you shouldn't feel intimidated Eren. I can understand why, but aside from animals, children are the most innocent creatures on the planet. They're brought into a world full of conflict and darkness, and we should do everything we can to preserve that innocence for as long as possible. Make them happy, show them the world can be a loving place, that no matter what happens they'll be okay. They bring us so much happiness, they deserve that." Levi states, smiling at the little girl as she babbles nonsense to him sincerely.

"Wow Levi, in the short time I've known you, I would never have taken you for a lover of children." Connie says in surprise.

"I love kids, always have. My ma, my foster mother that is, always had babies and children come and go at her house. She looked after them real good until they found their forever home with a new family. I was taken in at 15 and too old for anyone to want to adopt, plus I was a bit of a nightmare, but she took me on without a second thought. I ended up staying until I was 18 and helped look after the young ones whenever I was home on leave." Levi confirms.

"You were in the system too?" Mikasa asks in surprise, and Levi looks up at her.

"Yeah, after my birth mother died when I was 7, I was in and out of foster homes. Alice Magnolia took me in when I was 15 and sort of unofficially adopted me, I called her Ma and she thought of me like her own son. Her own kid became my sister, Isabel, she was a few years younger than me and they became my real family."

Mikasa nods, face softening slightly in understanding and she goes back to eating her dessert without another word.

Levi takes a little cream from his dessert and coats the tip his finger with it, "Here princess, want to try a bit of this?"

Kaya looks at the cream in confusion and begins to suckle on Levi's finger, lapping away at all of the cream until it's all gone. Levi is so taken with the little child that he fails the notice the numerous pairs of eyes, watching the scene with a mixture of awe and amazement. And if he looked a little closer, he'd notice a mismatched pair smiling at the scene with a warmth that could possibly be likened to that of a content longing.

As the evening comes to an end, Connie has to practically wrestle his daughter out of Levi's arms, her grip on his shirt tight and determined in her sleep. He manages, but with great difficulty, and offers Levi the chance to babysit whenever he wants. Whilst Connie had been half-joking, Levi assures him if will make the time to do so if he can manage.

He has a short conversation with Annie before she leaves, she asks how he's been keeping for the past week and offers help with his move into Eren's apartment. To his slight bewilderment, she also lets him know that her fiancé had to go away again on business but had been sorry to miss him and he had asked after his well-being. He's never met Annie's fiancé, doesn't even know his name, but he lets her know that she should tell him he's been well since the move.

Annie asks Mikasa if she wants a lift home, but Mikasa confirms she'll be staying at the house with Jean, Marco and Reiner for some more drinks, work in the morning be damned.

Eren yawns loudly and informs Levi that he'd like to go home if that's okay with him, as they'll have to get the move started early in the morning so Levi can get settled in as soon as possible.

They say their goodbyes to the remaining groups, Levi receiving bearhugs from Marco, Reiner and a slightly intoxicated Jean. Even Eren gets his own hug from Jean, who returns it with a slap on the back and a teasing "horseface." Mikasa simply nods in his direction, but he's surprised she even acknowledges his presence.

Marco sends them off in the car with a bundle of Tupperware dishes containing leftovers and a note of his cell number in case Levi needs anything, and with a simple "Thanks", they drive off into the night.

Feeling a tad generous after receiving some lovely cuddles from little Kaya, Levi lets Eren play around with the radio as they make the drive back to the house. A smooth, R&B song is playing quietly and Eren has the window half way down, letting in the cool breeze of the night into the car. Eren hums to the tune quietly and Levi alternates between watching the road and the boy looking out the window in contentment.

"You really surprised me today, Levi." Eren says out of nowhere.

"Really? How so?" Levi asks curiously.

"Just the way you were. How you acted around my friends, how you got really involved with the conversations and how you didn't freak out when Kaya got you all dirty with her grubby hands. I was surprised, pleasantly so."

"It might shock you to know, but I do in fact have some decent bones in my body, brat." Levi teases.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Eren laughs, "I just meant…. you're so full of surprises, I never know what I'm gonna get with you. You really made a great impression today. I'm pretty sure Sasha and Connie would much rather you move in with them as a full-time nanny!"

"And I'd honestly consider it. Except, I'm already full-time nanny to you."

"Jerk." Eren, hits him playfully.

"Tell me something I don't know, kid." Levi says with a smirk, and Eren simply grins at him.

"Do you think you'll ever have some of your own then?" Eren asks.

"What do you mean?"

"Your own children, do you think you'll ever have any?" Eren supplies.

"I doubt it, kid. Don't get me wrong, I would love to have my own little brats running around one day, but with me being…. how I am…. I don't think it's likely to happen for me." Levi answers.

Eren looks at him slightly confused, "I'm not sure what you mean, Levi. What do you mean 'how you are'?"

Levi glances at him a little uncomfortably for a second before he says, "I…. I've never had sex before." Eren whips his head to look at him in shock.

"Seriously? Never?!"

"That's right."

"Why? You're hot!" Eren blurts, and Levi raises an eyebrow at him, "I mean, come on, you're very clearly attractive. I don't understand." He flushes.

"It's not from lack of opportunity, or lack I've trying I can assure you. I've been in a couple relationships before yeah, but I discovered in my younger years that I need to have a very strong emotional bond with someone before I can even think about something like sex. And that, doesn't happen to me very often, it's only happened once in fact, and that person had no interest in a sexual relationship whatsoever. So, it's just never been something I've experienced." Levi clarifies.

"Wow, I'm sorry. I didn't think to even ask what your situation was. I just sort of assumed you were a red-blooded, straight, alpha male who picks up women when he feels like it. I shouldn't have assumed, and I apologise for that." Eren confesses apologetically.

"Don't worry about it, you wouldn't be the first to assume that. But no, it's not something I even think about all that often. I used to think when I was growing up that my sex drive was 'broken', that there was something wrong with me. I couldn't do what all the other guys my age were doing, I couldn't look at girls in the street and find it in me to want to seek them out for sex. I couldn't do it with guys either, so I knew it was nothing like that. I just felt…. nothing, I guess.

I could look at people and see them as aesthetically pleasing, pleasant, interesting human beings to be around and spend time with, but it never came down to sexual attraction. Like I say, it only ever happened once. I found myself wanting to try with my girlfriend, she started to make me feel things I never felt before, arousal, and I asked if she wanted to try with me. She was always one for an experiment of sorts, so we tried…. but in the end, she couldn't go through with it, and that was okay. I knew she was asexual when we started dating, and I thought I was too…. but with some fairly awkward research sessions in the local library, we came to the conclusion that I am in fact demisexual." Levi says, looking at Eren, who is smiling encouragingly at him.

"Did you break up because of that? I imagine it would have been pretty difficult for you." Eren asks.

"No actually, we dated for about 3 years, and I started feeling the way I did after about 10 months to a year. Sex was never part of our relationship, so I never missed it, you know? I had my own ways of dealing with my urges. We ended up breaking up because our personalities clashed when we started living together. She's was constantly coming home and bringing a mess into the house and was too lax to care about cleaning it up right away. Whereas I was constantly chasing after her with bleach and throwing out her work by accident, thinking it was trash. We just weren't meant to be. But we ended up working together in special operations until we both retired. She was an experienced strategist and ended up becoming my Commander in the latter years, she's a good friend of mine." Levi confirms.

"Oh? What's her name?"

"Hange Zoe, you'll probably meet her at some point, she's insisting she come out and visit once I'm settled in." Levi rolls his eyes.

"I'm looking forward to it, you've met my friends, it's only fair!" Eren teases.

"She watches your videos, so I can't promise she won't be more than a little starstruck when you do meet. And she's a complete pain in the ass, so don't tell me I didn't warn you, brat."

"Haha, noted!" Eren laughs.

It's not long before they are once again pulling up to Eren's familiar drive. Eren unbuckles his seatbelt.

"Do you want to come in for some coffee? I promise I won't try and get you drunk again!" He jokes.

"No, I'm fine, kid. We need to be up early to get my stuff moved in. Plus, I should probably try and enjoy my last night of freedom."

"Ah of course, you'll be living here from tomorrow anyway. What do you think you'll do with your last night of freedom? Rob a bank? Hire a stripper? Start a band?" Eren questions, smirking the entire time.

Levi's lips twist up at the corners, "Think I'll stick to my book, a cup of tea and an early night. I'm not as young as I used to be, kid."

"Probably for the best anyway. I'll see you tomorrow then, come get me bright and early!"

"You'll still be asleep." Levi deadpans.

"Probably." Eren shrugs. He makes a move to leave before turning back and wrapping Levi in a hug. It's a soft hug as far as hugs go, but he can feel Eren's rock hard chest and surprisingly strong arms enveloping him closer. He's solid, and it's oddly comforting to Levi. Eren rests his chin on Levi's shoulder and Levi can smell the fruity shampoo of the long, silky strands of hair that tickle his cheek.

"Thank you for tonight Levi. It meant a lot that you came with me today, after everything we spoke about last night. I guess I was feeling a little vulnerable. I hope you had fun and would want to do it again." Eren says genuinely and pulls away slowly.

"You're welcome brat. We're friends now, right? And we'll be roommates come tomorrow. I'm not getting rid of you any time soon, suppose we both better get used to it?" Levi teases him with a smirk.

"Definitely." Eren says, smiling, and opening the car door, "Night Levi!"

"Night brat." Levi answers, once Eren has already left the car and gone back inside.

The drive back to the hotel is short and uneventful, but as Levi thinks over the events of the last 48 hours, things have changed so rapidly it feels like he's developed a form of emotional whip-lash. In a short time he's gone from being on bad terms with the brat, Eren ignoring him, confronting Eren, Eren opening up to him, him opening up to Eren in return, sleeping over at Eren's house, striking up a friendship with Eren, agreeing to move in with Eren, meeting all of his friends, opening up a little more to Eren, leaving Eren on his doorstep and already missing him….

It's been a whirlwind, and Levi can't completely convince himself it's a bad thing…. he hasn't felt this light and carefree for years. He feels truly young again.

He's just more concerned on how Erwin and Hange are going to take his news….