This was supposed to be a couple hundred-word twitter thread lololol
Hope you enjoy!
Every summer it's the same.
Kuchel packs him and his small suitcase up and they go down to the shore. His uncles lived there and always seemed to enjoy having the company. They always had a picnic in the park beside their house when they arrived, Uncle Kenny always making the same stupid pickup line to Uncle Uri about not wanting sausage on his sandwich. Who the fuck puts sausage on their pb&j? He's convinced Uncle Kenny was dropped as a child. Then they go to the beach for the rest of the day.
Levi hates the beach.
It's dirty, sand gets everywhere, seagulls are constantly screaming and fighting for food. Kids are constantly screaming and fighting over toys and sand castles and it made Levi sick. He just wanted to go somewhere quiet and read a book. So every year without fail when they set up shop, Levi gets his own little umbrella and his own little chair. He sits under the shade the whole time and reads a book, multiple books usually since his mother loves the beach. She insists they stay until the sun starts to set. It was annoying, but Levi couldn't hold it against her, especially when he never saw her smile quite as sincerely anywhere else.
So he put up with the sand, the seagull shit, and the stupid annoying kids constantly screaming about the waves.
Then he met Eren.
It was the Monday they got in, he was minding his business as usual, simply reading his romance novel and wishing he was anywhere but there. He decided to be spicy that year and was letting his legs out in the sun when a shadow fell across them. He ignored it, assuming it was Kenny or Uri coming out of the piss water to grab a beer or some chips.
"What are you doing?" He looked up at the question, thin brows raising at the stranger in front of him. He was a kid, probably a couple of years younger with tan skin, brown hair, and sparkly green eyes. He was only wearing wet swim trunks.
"… reading." He replied, holding the book up a bit before plopping it back in his lap. The boy looks around before sitting down on the sand right before Levi's towel.
"Why?"
Levi feels his lip twitch in annoyance.
"Because I like reading. What do you want?"
"Aren't you lonely?"
He was. He would never admit it out loud, would rather choke on Uncle Kenny's metaphorical sausage pb&j than say it, but he sometimes felt envious of all the kids running around with their friends. Laughing, playing. Unlike Levi.
"What do you want?" He asked again. The boy's head tilted, a small smile playing on his lips.
"Want to play with me? We can go swimming, or get ice cream! My mom gave me enough I can get you one too!" The kid was excitable, bouncing in place where he sat.
"I hate the water. I just want to read." Levi replied. The look on the boy's face was comical, the way his eyes and mouth widened in horror had Levi holding back a grin.
"Hate the water?! But that's the best part! Swimming in it, being in it, tasting it-"
"Gross."
The boy sighed and then stilled, seemingly realizing something before standing.
"I'll be right back!" He shouted, turning tail and running from wherever he came from. Weird. Levi just tried to shrug it off, thinking that was the last he'd see of the brat.
20 minutes later as the main love interest was about to profess her undying love for the protagonist, he came back. He carried a colorful toy bucket with him and with a grunt he dropped it beside him. He didn't say a word as he sat beside the towel once more and began to look through the bucket, carefully pulling out shells and laying them on his towel.
"Oi, they're dirty. Don't put them there." The boy stilled for a second and nodded, wiping the sand off his towel. He stood once more and took off, leaving Levi with a dirty towel and a bucket. He sighed and quickly managed to get the sand the boy missed off and got back to his book.
He came back quicker this time, 2 buckets in hand that he carefully put down. Levi ignored him, getting sucked into the world the author made when he heard a small clacking noise. He looked over and saw that he must've been ignoring him for a while as there was a long line of seashells on the right and a pile of seashells on the left. He was about to yell at the brat that he just told not to put them there when he noticed what he was doing. From the first bucket, he pulled out a shell, caked in sand and dirty shit. He then put it in the first bucket, pulling it out where Levi could see most of the sand was gone. Then he dipped it in the 3rd bucket, taking the newly cleaned shell and inspecting it before carefully putting it in line with the others. Levi watched him repeat this a few times before he decided to intervene.
"What are you doing?" His voice seemed to startle him, causing the boy to drop the shell he just cleaned right into the sand. Rather than be upset, he merely picked it up and began again.
"I'm finding the perfect shell." He said nothing further, simply throwing the shell into the pile that Levi was starting to realize was the reject pile.
"Why?"
"So I can give it to you!" He said happily, throwing another shell into the pile.
"Me? Why me?"
"You said you don't like the ocean."
"So?"
"If you see how pretty seashells are, you'll realize how pretty the ocean is!"
"… that makes no sense."
"Yes, it does! Armin says that the ocean makes seashells! Why would it make them if not for us to find?"
Levi didn't know who Armin was, but that sounded like a crock of horse shit. Eventually, he ran out of shells in his bucket and started sorting through the shells in line. He seemed to be rather picky, tossing anything that didn't meet his unknown standard straight into the pile. Levi simply watched, not really understanding what to do in this situation. Finally, it came down to two shells. A large brown scallop shell and a smaller grey tulip shell. He held up the tulip shell to his face for a few moments and a large smile took over.
"This one!" He held it out, green eyes glowing with pride. Levi took it, looking at the small shell. Truth be told he never held a seashell. He didn't ever go in the ocean nor did he ever explore the beach, so he never got to look for them. It was… pretty. The grey and white pattern was nice, and the opening was large enough for him to fit a pinky inside.
"What's your name?" He finally asked, grey eyes leaving the shell in hand to meet the boys.
"I'm Eren! What's yours?"
"Levi."
The boy, Eren, was about to respond when a shout of his name was suddenly called. They looked over to see a giant blonde dude with glasses walking along the beach. Eren groaned but looked back at Levi with a smile.
"I have to go. Will you be here tomorrow?" Eren asked, eyes hopeful. Levi nodded, knowing all too well that he would be dragged to the beach every day.
"Cool! I'll see you tomorrow!" Eren called, scrambling to his feet and running over to the man.
As the sun was beginning to set and the Ackermans were packing up, Kenny noticed the pile of shells.
"Oi brat, what's with the seashells?" Levi stared at them for a moment, gently pushing them off his towel and making a neat pile.
"Some kid. I don't know."
They left, the little grey shell securely in his pocket.
The next day they were back at the beach, his mom and uncles in the water while Levi sat on his little chair under his little umbrella.
"Levi!" Eren called out, excited to see his friend. Levi didn't truly think Eren would come back, or that he would remember what he said, but he couldn't deny the warmth in his gut at being remembered.
"Brat." He greeted, smirking at the pout he got.
"Mean! Do you want to go swimming now?" Eren asked.
"No, the ocean is filthy."
"No way! The ocean is so pretty and big!"
"Tch, I didn't say it wasn't pretty. Just gross." He rectified.
"Then… what do you want to do?" Eren asked head tilted like a puppy.
"I want to read. Like yesterday." Levi expected the kid to run off, to realize Levi was boring and not one of the kids he could just hang with. But Eren simply nodded, looking out at the ocean like he wanted to bolt right in.
"… ok. What are we reading?" Levi was confused by the question.
"We?" Eren nodded, looking at him like he was the weird one.
"Yeah, aren't you gonna read to me?"
"No!"
"Levi! I'll be so bored though!"
"Then go do something else!"
"But you don't want to do anything else! You said you wanted to read."
This brat.
Levi sighed, hiding the romance book he was reading behind his lunch bag.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why are you so insistent on doing stuff with me? Why do you care?"
Eren took a moment to think, leaning back so that the late morning sun could dance around his hair.
"Because I like you. I want to be your friend." He answered honestly, staring straight into Levi's soul. The genuine nature of Eren left him a little awestruck. He slowly unhid the book, still on edge and ready to yell when Eren would undoubtedly make fun of his choice of novel. He didn't.
"What kind of book is that?"
"… a young adult romance novel." Eren hummed, slowly climbing onto his towel. It warmed Levi's heart to see that Eren was very carefully making sure he didn't drag any sand onto it. This brat isn't half bad.
"Alright catch me up to speed. What have I missed?" Levi explained the basic plot thus far, getting a little too excited as he also added his theories on who the love interest will be.
"Wait, so the love interest hasn't even shown up yet?" "No, Kelsey's been busy trying to wrangle a tiger."
"Hm… maybe it's the tiger?"
"That's dumb, why the hell would she date a tiger?" Levi complained, liking his theory that it was the older gentleman who bought the tiger in the first place. "You said it was a fantasy novel, right? Maybe it's like the princess and the frog, just gotta give him a little kiss on the nose… boop! and BAM hot tiger prince." Eren explained, his finger booping Levi straight on the nose. Levi wanted to be mad, but that usual feeling of disgust he felt when people touched him simply wasn't there.
"Tch, that's ridiculous."
"More ridiculous than a tiger who just happens to listen to her?"
"Anyway, right now Ren just ran into the forest in India and Kelsey chased after him, so now she's following him around." Levi surmised, opening his bookmark and beginning to read aloud. He expected Eren to leave eventually, to realize he was bored and wanted to go play. But he stayed, voicing his thoughts on what was going on, showing Levi he was actively listening.
"… the mysterious man held Ren's collar and leash, slowly stepping closer. As if I was a startled deer. 'Kelsey, it's me. Ren.'… No fucking way." Levi read, eyes wide as Eren pumped a fist.
"Ha! See?! Magic tiger prince! Although I wonder why now? She didn't kiss him?" Eren asked. Levi was about to respond when they heard someone calling Eren's name. A little blonde boy was running towards them, holding a bucket and a shovel.
"Eren! I'm gonna go look for some starfish at the breakwaters, you coming? Oh, hello!" He greeted, earning a nod from Levi. Who the fuck?
"Oh, Levi this is Armin. Armin, this is Levi."
"Oh! This is Levi! Great to meet you!" Armin said happily, holding up his shovel.
"Grandpa took me to an aquarium yesterday and the trainers gave me some techniques I could do to find starfish without hurting the ecosystem!" Eren looked ready to flop over, eyes wide and mouth agape.
"Really!? We've been looking for one forever!" "Yeah! They also told me how far into the breakwaters to look! I think today is the day!" Armin shouted excitedly, clearly ready to bolt. Levi felt that hole in his chest clearly now, realizing his time with Eren was about to end.
"Levi, come with us! We're finally gonna find a starfish! Have you ever seen one? They are so cool! Armin has a book on sea animals with really cool facts. Like uh, starfish have no brains!"
"Or blood! They can also regenerate missing limbs!" Armin added, the two feeding off each other's excitement. It made Levi a little hesitant to say no, but his awkwardness won out. He looked at the book in his hands and then back at Eren. Eren deflated for a moment before looking at Armin.
"Go ahead without me, we just got to a good part in the book we're reading." Armin nodded in understanding, smiling at the two.
"Ok, If you change your minds I'll be at the 3rd breakwater!" Armin said and quickly left. Eren watched him leave for a moment before laying back down on the towel.
"Alright, where were we? Oh! I think that Kelsey is-" Eren started to babble his thoughts and predictions, but Levi barely heard him. He stayed… why? He was clearly excited, he… he'd rather sit with me than go find a starfish? Levi felt a new appreciation for his new… friend. Friend. The word made his cheeks warm as he stewed silently with this revelation. Eventually Eren snapped his fingers in his face, apparently realizing Levi was zoned out.
"Hey! I wanna know what happens! Keep going!" Eren demanded, but rather than feel mad Levi only felt amusement.
"Alright alright. 'Kelsey, it's me. Ren.'" Levi started again, the two boys sitting under the umbrella until his mom called Eren home.
"See ya tomorrow, Levi!"
Levi, believed him.
"Can… can you show me how to find seashells?" Levi asked the next day. He had thought about it all night. It wasn't fair that Eren had to give up doing all the stuff he liked, so maybe Levi can compromise. The excited smile on Eren's face was worth the ache in his back and the sand stuck under his nails.
Unbeknownst to them, his uncles and mom were watching in awe from their spot on the beach.
"Is that our brat? Hands in the sand with some other kid?" Kenny asked, drawing their attention to the scene before them. Levi, Eren, and Armin were digging around in the muck, the water pushing new sand in every time they dug around to find shells. Levi was further from the water but still picking out shells with the same focus he had when reading. Kuchel was stunned, eyes wide as she watched her beloved son dig around the sand.
"No way… did he make a friend?!" She asked, looking to the other two for answers. Kenny shrugged and Uri smiled.
"That brunet kid was hanging out with Levi on his towel yesterday… I think he made a friend, Kuchel." He said, watching with a small smile as a tear went down her cheek.
"Mon Dieu… his first friend."
The next day Levi found himself staring into the waves, toes sinking into the wet sand below him.
"C'mon Levi! It's not so bad! Plus there are better shells out here." Eren encouraged, already ankle-deep with Armin with a sifter Armin's grandpa gave him. Levi stared for a few moments but eventually caved. One foot in front of the other. He took a small step, cringing at the cold water touching him. He almost jumped back out, content to go hide on his towel under his umbrella, when a hand grabbed his.
"Hey, don't be scared! It'll warm up if you give it time." Eren reassured with a bright smile on his face.
"'m not scared." Levi muttered, even though he didn't let go of Eren's hand. He took another step, looking at Eren and completely forgetting about the cold. He was smiling like a kid on Christmas, green eyes alight and skin glowing.
He wasn't scared anymore.
It was Sunday and the sun was high in the sky. Tomorrow morning Kuchel and Levi would be leaving to go home. She wasn't sure who was more upset, her or Levi. She watched throughout the week as Levi slowly came out of his shell. The boy, Eren, was the best thing to happen to her son. She watched with a proud smile as Levi playfully splashed at Eren, dunking him as a rebuttal to his own splashing. He laughed and smiled freely, his entire demeanor changing when around Eren. Every night Levi came home looking so happy, talking to his uncles about something new Eren taught him. When she reminded him they had to pack tonight this morning, she thought he was gonna cry.
"We can't stay longer?"
"I'm sorry baby, I have to get back to work." He understood, he always understood, but she felt horrible taking him away from his only friend. She couldn't it was inhumane to take away her beloved son's only friend.
She knew what to do. She waited until she saw Eren, running up to Levi with the cutest smile and giving him a big hug. Levi had accepted it easily, something that made her want to squeal in delight. So cute! My precious baby. She looked to where he came from and spotted a man and woman, the man had the same hair and eyes, and the woman had Eren's face.
Bingo.
Kuchel wasted no time walking over, an easy smile plastered on her face.
"Excuse me? Are you Eren's parents?" She called out. The two quickly looked over from where they were setting up the umbrellas and chairs.
"Yes? Oh, please tell me he isn't in trouble!" His mother immediately answered.
"No no, nothing bad I promise! Me and my son are vacationing up here for the week and I noticed Eren has been playing with him every day." She quickly explained. The mother lit up.
"Are you Levi's mother? Eren absolutely adores Levi! It's all he talks about! I'm Carla and this is my husband Grisha."
Grisha and Carla held out their hands for her to shake, which she did happily.
"Yes, he's my little angel. I'm Kuchel, it's nice to meet you! I wanted to come over because today is our last day. My Levi is very shy and, well… Eren is his first friend. I was wondering if maybe we could exchange numbers so that maybe they can meet up after we're gone?" She ventured, hopeful with the sad look on Carla's face.
"Absolutely! Eren will be devastated when he hears this. Levi is such a sweet boy, I'm so happy they met! I don't know how far you are from us, but we live in Shiganshina." Carla agreed, pulling out her phone and handing it to Kuchel.
"Oh that's wonderful! We live in Trost so you're only 30 minutes away! Levi will be so happy!" Kuchel gushed, quickly typing her number and texting it. "Would you like to sit with us? We have an extra chair since Eren's older brother Zeke should be bringing our daughter soon."
"I would love to!"
Eren was distraught at first when Levi told him that was his last day. They were in the water, Levi's shorter legs struggling to find purchase in the sand below.
"You can't leave! Who's gonna read to me?!"
"You can read to yourself."
"Nooooo," Eren whined.
"I'm sure we'll meet again."
"That's not good enough! I'm gonna get my mom to adopt you!"
"… I already have a mom."
"Then she'll adopt your mom as well!"
"That's not how this works."
"Then we'll make it work!"
Levi sighed, not pushing Eren away when he swam towards him, hand easily finding his. It became second nature for their hands to be like this.
"I'll talk to my mom, she probably still has the papers from when she adopted my sister." Eren said, determined to 'adopt' Levi. Levi felt that dull ache lessen, willing to pretend for a moment it would work.
"Ok."
Eren and Levi walked up to Eren's parents later that day. Eren and Levi choreographed an entire dance while in the water. Eren was convinced that if they showed them how talented Levi was, they would adopt him. Levi called bullshit the entire time, but begrudgingly went along with it just to appease his brat.
Much to their surprise, his mom and uncles were there as well.
"We got good news guys!"
It was fantastic news.
Eren cried, too happy for his little body to hold. Carla tried to comfort him as the other adults laughed, but he simply held onto Levi as if his life depended on it. Levi looked at his mother, eyes wide. She smiled and mimicked a hug, so he slowly brought his arms around Eren. He ignored the camera Uncle Uri held as he smelled the sea on Eren.
They visited that beach every year, both families getting closer and deciding to plan their trips at the same time.
Levi grew to love the beach, the freedom to just be as he walked hand in hand with Eren.
He loved Eren, and Eren loved him.
They walked hand in hand now along the beach, the setting sun casting a warm glow on Eren's handsome features. Levi was content, watching the love of his life in his element. Eren turned to him then, a beautiful smile stretched across his face.
"Levi."
"Yes?"
"I have something I need to ask you," Eren murmured, warm green eyes seemingly staring straight through his soul. Levi was smitten, butterflies swarming his stomach even after all this time. Eren straightened, reaching into his pocket. He slowly got to one knee, causing Levi's heart to stop.
"Eren…"
"Levi, 11 years ago we met on this beach. 11 years ago, I met my soulmate. Will you make me the happiest man on earth," He opened the little black box, and Levi's eyes watered when he saw the ring. A simple silver band, a wave engraved into it. Besides it sat a seashell, a small, grey tulip shell, worn with age. "and marry me?" He finished, green eyes hopeful. As if Levi could say anything other than,
"Yes. Yes. Yes!" Levi agreed, letting Eren put the ring on his finger before he pounced, arms around his fiancée's neck and lips meeting his. He heard his mother and uncles cheering, alongside Mikasa and Zeke letting out loud whoops. They could wait, because when Levi pulled back and looked into Eren's eyes, he saw the sea staring back at him.
"I love you, Eren."
This was a cute one to write, I hope you all enjoyed!
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daemonic_nomad