Eren unlocked and opened the door to him home quietly. The sun was still low in the horizon- it must have still been a bit early in the morning. He wasn't sure how Mikasa or Armin would react once Eren got home. He walked in to see Mikasa strewn across the couch and Armin lazing in the chair. They were both fast asleep. Had they waited up all night for him? He felt bad, just then. He realized he hadn't even told them when he'd be back. They were obviously expecting him to be back within an hour, and here he was, coming back the next morning, and he had... He'd had sex with Levi. He blushed just thinking about it. The way Levi was so soft and gentle, but just at the right moment he'd-
"Eren?" A voice called out sleepily. Eren saw Armin rubbing his eyes, his blonde mat of hair messy from sleeping in a strange position. "Where have you been?"
"Uh..." Eren stuttered as Mikasa slowly rose, her own hair messy as well. Her scarf was still around her neck. What was he suppose to tell them? He imagined if he explained what had actually happened:
"Levi and I... we confessed our love to each other and-" No way. No way would he be able to say that. He knew it was too soon- they didn't really know their relationship to the full extent that it actually was. If he told them, there was any number of reactions they could have. He couldn't imagine all of them- it scared him just to think of the worst case scenario.
"Eren?" Mikasa asked, looking at him. They were both expecting an answer, and he'd been standing there quietly for too long- they could tell he was nervous. "Are you alright?"
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," Eren replied finally. "Sorry for making you guys stay up all night."
"Did you spend the night at Commander's house?" Armin wondered.
"Um... yeah, I kind of-"
"What in the world did you two talk about all night?" Mikasa looked at Eren, trying to figure out what he was thinking.
"We just... we discussed things." Eren said slowly, picking each word very carefully.
"Were you discussing tactics?" Armin guessed.
"No," Eren said, finally finding an answer that was both vague and honest. "He just wanted to talk to me. He was worried, I guess, for some reason."
"Really?" They both responded. Eren closed the door and walked over to them, standing awkwardly.
"Yeah," he answered. "He thought that I've been acting weird. He wanted to know what was going on."
"That's odd," Mikasa muttered to herself. Eren, fidgeting nervously, hoped they would believe his lie. He didn't want to lie, but he wasn't sure they'd be very accepting of the situation. It wasn't very common for homosexuality to happen within the walls- not only were they closed off from the world, but the people were closed-in, as well. They didn't always have an open mind.
"You spent the whole night talking?" Armin asked in relative disbelief. "You didn't even sleep?"
"I guess," Eren said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I mean, we had a couple pots of tea... We just had a quiet night in, I guess." Armin and Mikasa relented, ceasing with their queries. They seemed content with Eren's answers, and went about to getting themselves out of their old clothes and ready for the new day. But even though he wanted them to know, Eren knew Mikasa and Armin could react any number of ways, and he wasn't ready to find out which reaction they would have. Especially with Mikasa; she was always so protective of Eren, and while he was happy to have his sister care so much about him, she sometimes went a bit overboard.
Maybe someday he would tell them the truth. He and Levi agreed to be serious, and they were committed to each other. But until he was ready, Eren would wait to tell them. For now, it was just going to be a quiet night.
It was just a night in.