Chapter Seven: The Dark
It was bright, the sun already high in the morning sky, when Levi decided to get out of bed. There was only a little over a week remaining of break before he had to return to his semester routine of waking up barely before the sun rose in order to get his morning workout done before heading off to the campus to make himself available to any curious or confused students. He decided that, at least for the last few days remaining, he would get as much sleep in as he could; he'd more than earned a few lazy days and would work hard enough during the next semester to earn even more of them.
He made his way to the bathroom to freshen up and begin his day, deciding to take a quick shower and have a nice breakfast instead of his usual morning run. 'I'll just go to the gym later, I have to change it up a bit sometimes.'
He walked out of his shower, towel hanging loosely around his waist, hair still damp, but not dripping, and made his way to the kitchen, slipping on a pair of slippers to prevent his feet from touching the cold slate-tile floor.
He strolled over to the coffee machine, pulled out the pot and filled it with water; he then poured the clear and cool liquid into the reservoir on the side of the machine. He put in a filter and a few scoops of ground coffee beans. He closed the opening and switched the machine on, replacing the empty pot on the burner. He then moved over to his pantry and pulled out a neatly wrapped almond croissant, one of the last remaining from a batch he'd made earlier in the week.
He walked back across the kitchen, croissant still in hand and pulled out a plate to set it on. He then proceeded to clean and cut up some fruit to finish his breakfast. After the coffee was finished, he poured himself a nice steaming cupful and sat down at his dining table to enjoy his small but satisfying breakfast.
After cleaning the dishes he made his way back to his bedroom to change into something other than a towel and pick out a book to occupy his time for a spell.
He sat comfortably in his living room; feet kicked out on the dark gray velvet chaise and back propped up by the cushioned back with a few extra throw pillows for added comfort. He had a large white fluffy blanket thrown across his legs and feet as he settled into a comfortable reading position, which he would remain in for the better part of the day and into the early evening.
The clock on the wall to his right showed the time to be approximately 2:45 PM. It was then that Levi decided to put away his book and begin preparations for dinner. 'I should do something that can cook for a while so I can head to the gym for a bit.'
He decided on a making an oven roast, preparing it with carrots and onions and leaving it to cook in the oven on a low temperature while he got ready and left for a quick workout at the complex's gym.
Eren and Mikasa had been cleaning the apartment all morning, having finally finished unpacking, they were faced with an abundance of tape, packing popcorn and paper, as well as bits and pieces of cardboard boxes littered all over the floors. It was well past noon by the time the duo deemed their task satisfactory and complete.
Armin had called while the girls were having breakfast, before their cleaning process had begun. "Mikasa, would you and Eren like to join the guys and I for lunch and a movie?"
"We would, but Eren and I already decided to clean today, if we keep putting it off it will never get done, and then the semester will start and we really won't do it."
"Oh… I could come over and help if you want?"
"It's alright Armin, we'll manage just fine."
"Haha, alright, I believe you. What if we do dinner instead?"
"Hmm…" Mikasa pondered and pulled the phone from her face, addressing Eren, "Eren do you want to go to dinner later with Armin and the guys?"
Eren was about to reply with a yes, before she heard the part about the guys. "Who all is going?" was her simply response.
"Armin, who else would be going?"
"Ahh, well Marco, myself obviously," He let out a small chuckle and continued, "and Jean..."
She pulled the phone away from her cheek again and told Eren, who responded that she wasn't interested and told Mikasa to go ahead and have fun.
"Well, I'm in, but Eren's not interested, maybe another time with just us three?"
"Hmm… alright, I'll let them know!" He paused before continuing, "Is Eren alright?"
"She's fine, just tired." Mikasa covered for her, knowing full well why Eren didn't want to go but deciding to keep it to herself, lest it cause problems later on for their group of friends. "I'll see you later, we need to get started soon," Mikasa stated, "bye Armin." She then turned the phone over to Eren who replied the same goodbye before both friends ended the call.
"Are you gonna be okay being alone for dinner tonight?" Mikasa questioned Eren, who was setting the phone on the table and gathering their empty dishes.
"Yea, I need to run a few errands anyway, so it works out just fine." She walked the dirtied dishes over to sink and began to wash them, 'I can finally take him that jacket and be done with this,' she thought as she scrubbed the remains of their breakfast off the cheap porcelain plates.
"Well, Armin's going to come pick me up, so let's ask him to drop you off at least?"
Eren thought about it for a moment, considering that it would be easier for her to be dropped off at his doorstep than it would be to ride the train all the way there, all the while trying not to crinkle the jacket. "Yea, that'd be great actually."
The duo divided, Eren cleaning the kitchen and the bathroom while Mikasa worked on the laundry and the floors, each making a pile of boxes and trash to be thrown out before either left the apartment. Once they finished, they each took turns showering and then getting dressed to go their respective places. Armin arrived at 4:00 PM on the dot, stalling his truck right outside the apartment building, waiting for Mikasa, and not expecting to see Eren, but delighted when he did.
Eren explained the situation, and Armin happily agreed to drive her to the address she'd entered into the GPS. The ride to Levi's place was filled with the low murmur of the radio and the occasional interruption of turn by turn directions in the mechanical voice of the GPS. The trio joked and decided on meeting up later in the week for a pizza, junk food, and bad game night. Soon, the computer generated voice announced the arrival of their destination and Eren was out of the car and on her way to Levi's building. She'd waved her friends off as she headed towards the building, plastic-wrapped jacket hanging from one hand while her phone was in the other.
She walked around the entire building twice before finally entering the, somewhat hidden stairwell up to the second floor, she wandered down the hallway and realized that the numbers on the door were all 1000 less than the number she was given. She walked back to the end of the hallway and the stairwell, climbing up one more flight before repeating the process, only this time with success.
Eren paused in front of the door, '…I really should have called him…what was I thinking?' She then took a deep breath, to rid herself of her nerves and building anxiety before lifting the hand that had previously held her phone, and lightly rapping it against the door.
She waited a few moments for a response, and decided to turn her hands, so the knuckle now faced the door, knocking a little harder.
Still no response. With one more deep breath and a slow exhale, she tried again, knocking even harder. Nothing.
"Ugh." Eren let out an audible and displeased sigh. 'I really should have called, of course he's not home. Way to go Eren.' She turned, facing away from the stairwell as she searched through her phone, locating the contact 'Levi' and pressing down to call it. After a few rings, it went to voicemail and Eren hung up, turning back one last time to knock before giving up and heading home.
"Try knocking a little harder; maybe my neighbor will let you in." The sudden and familiar sound of Levi's voice echoed down the hallway and right into Eren's ears.
Her eyes widened and she turned, taking in a sharp breath as the words she was about to speak stopped at the end of her tongue. Mouth agape, she took in the sight before her.
His hair was wet, small beads of sweat gathered along his hair line while a few drops were dripping down the sides of his slightly flushed cheeks. There was a small white towel draped over his shoulders, hiding the majority of his neck from view, and what a view it was. His shirt, clung even closer to the curves and contours of his muscles due to his perspiration, every bit of his hardened muscle shown down to the barely visible 'v' shape made by his well formed oblique muscles.
As her eyes traveled lower, a familiar blush brushed across her cheeks stopping after gently caressing her ears. 'W-wow… he's really…wow.'
Levi let her observe his form for a moment longer before letting out an annoyed grunt and pulling out his keys, making sure to make a little more noise than necessary to break the silence that'd fallen over them. As much as he wanted to enjoy her red-faced and honest admiration of his body, he would really like to shower and change into clothes that didn't smell sour and weren't dank from sweat.
The high-pitched jostling noise of the keys was almost enough to bring Eren out of her trance like state, almost. She was completely brought out of it by Levi's next words. "I'm sure the view is nice, but I'd like to get into my apartment now," he paused and walked closer, reaching around Eren and putting the key into the lock, turning it and opening the door, "if that's okay with you." He added as he pushed the door open wider, gently nudging Eren to step forward and into his loft.
Before Eren could protest being gently pushed into the man's home, Levi had already turned around and locked the door.
"U-um-" Eren started.
"Take off your shoes and leave them here." The quick order cut off Eren's speech.
Levi walked further into his loft, leaving a hesitant and somewhat confused Eren in the entryway near his kitchen. He turned to address her, "Come on in, make yourself comfortable… but don't touch anything."
"O-okay." Was Eren's quiet and shy reply.
"I wasn't expecting you; otherwise I would be more presentable than I am now. You'll just have to wait for whatever you wanted." With that, he turned and headed towards his bathroom, leaving Eren to wander around and look at his loft, or at least the living and dining areas.
The first thing she noticed was the delicious smell that filled the air in his apartment. It made her mouth water and stomach rumble lightly.
She removed her shoes and slowly walked towards his living area, admiring his taste and style. The first pieces of furniture she noticed were the love seat, chaise lounge, and the chair. All three were a deep gray color, made out of, what appeared to be velvet. Eren hesitated before sitting on the edge of the love seat, not entirely comfortable with being in Levi's home. 'I was just going to hand him his jacket… and leave… how did it end up like this?'
She admired the sharp edges and clean chic design of the furniture and few pieces of décor that filled the room. The walls were painted such a dark gray that they almost looked black. A sleek 42" flat screen hung, mounted on the wall right across from Eren's chosen seat, next to it on either side were round, starburst mirrors that were silver and contrasted well with walls. The coffee table was short, black, and rectangular. There were several crystal candle holders set across the center of the table, each holding a thick black candle.
There was one end table in between the love seat and the chair that was square and made of the same material and style as the coffee table, there was a silver, vase like lamp with a cylindrical wide shade that sat atop it. The other end table was more like a small sculpture, it was somewhat intricate. Upon further inspection however, Eren realized it was a simple design, two pieces of wood with one piece on the top to hold the two below it together, and there were three of these structures, varying in size, that were tucked one right under the other as the size gradually increased. They were painted with a silvery metal-like finish. On top of the tallest structure, there were a few dark spined books, neatly stacked.
Eren's curious gaze next fell on the dining area. The table was simple, rectangular and black with sleek chrome legs jutting out from underneath it. There were four white chairs, of a similar design with the chrome legs, set in pairs on either side of the table. There was a small sculpture of pair of overlapping wings in the center of the table. The wings looked like they were blowing in the wind, the effect made by expertly crafted bends of the edges. One wing was white with a silvery edge to it, while the other was a deep cobalt blue with the same silver edge.
To either side of the table, there were two tall potted plants. The pots were white, just like the branches and leaves of the artificial trees emerging from them. Eren got off the love seat, laid the jacket on the chaise and wandered closer to the plants. As she got nearer, she noticed the slightly iridescent shimmer that each leaf held, and she reached out to gently caress one between her fingertips.
After removing her curious fingers from the fake but beautiful foliage, Eren walked back towards the living room, but stopped when she heard the shrill beeping of a timer going off. Alarmed, she looked around for the source of the noise and realized that it was coming from the kitchen. She walked around the island and realized that whatever Levi had in the oven was done. That's when she finally noticed that the pleasant and delicious smell was coming from his oven.
She quickly surveyed the machine, pressing a few buttons experimentally and successfully turning off the beeping. She then searched for an oven mitt, locating two right next to the stove top. She slipped them on and gingerly opened the oven door, relishing in the familiar scent of roast filling the air, she carefully grabbed the sides of the pan and pulled it out and set it on a ceramic pot holder. She then closed the oven and began to remove the mitts.
Levi chose this moment to walk out, freshly bathed and clothed in a pair of comfortably loose fitting jeans and a burgundy polo.
"I'm sure I said not to touch anything."
"A-ah…sorry, it's just that the oven was beeping and I-"Eren's startled reply was cut off by Levi's next statement.
"But I did say to make yourself comfortable." He paused and smirked as he got closed the distance between himself and Eren, "though if you wanted to cook for me, you could have just asked."
He walked over and bumped Eren to the side with a gentle push of his hip against hers. He lifted, the cool foil to look at the dish, and then waltz over to the sink to wash his hands get a fork. He returned to Eren's side and poked at the roast to see if it was completely cooked through, satisfied with the results he replaced the foil and put the fork in the sink.
Levi walked over to his fridge and collected a several items and laid them out on the counter space opposite Eren. He then grabbed a cutting board, knife, and bowl, setting those next to the small pile of veggies he'd collected.
Eren watched curiously as he did this, until finally he turned and spoke, "Wash up and make a salad. I don't care how you make it and you can use anything up here." He gestured to the spread of leaves and other vegetables as well as a few fruits occupying the counter space. "I'm going to start plating the roast."
He then moved from his spot, back over to where Eren was and began to do just as he'd said.
It took Eren a few more seconds to process what was happening before she walked over to the sink and began to blindly follow his order to prepare salad. 'I can't believe I'm making him a salad right now. Couldn't he have made it himself… unless, well I guess he did really like how I made it at work so it's understandable. But still, he hasn't even asked what I was here for and to just put me to work as soon as I come in… well I wasn't really supposed to come in….'
She hadn't yet fully grasped that she was silently invited and had accepted to have dinner with Levi. A few moments of quiet settled between the two, the only sounds were of the blade hitting the cutting board and the serving spoon breaking apart and serving the main dish.
When Eren was satisfied with her salad, she gave it a quick toss and then rinsed off her hands and her cutting aids. She then gathered up what remained of the ingredients and put them back, where she thought they went, into the fridge.
Levi observed Eren throughout most of her preparation, he let a pleased smile settle on his lips when he watched her clean up the space and then proceed to put away the ingredients. 'I guess she is making herself at home. Huh.'
He walked their plates over to the table and set them, one across from the other on the end closest to the kitchen. Eren noticed this, and followed him over to the table with the bowl of prepared salad in her hands.
"I finished it." She looked down at the table, confused for a moment, "Um… wait… why are there two plates?"
The look Levi gave her made her wish she'd never opened her mouth. His sarcastic and somewhat didactic reply was, "Well, that would be because we, you and myself," he gestured between the both of them, "are about to sit down," he paused and pointed at the table and chairs, "and eat dinner."
Eren deadpanned, lips drawing into a thin line as his sarcastic and somewhat dramatic display set in. Her lips began to quiver, trying to hold in the laugh that was soon to erupt.
Levi's face remained its straight and stoic mask as he spoke. He noticed the slight quiver in her lips and let a smirk settle on his face.
The smirk was too much for Eren to handle. She burst, arm clutching her side and hand over her mouth as a few waves of laughter washed over her frame. She looked up at Levi, eyes watering from being scrunched together so tightly. He was smiling, not widely, but enough to let the top row of his perfectly straight and pearly white teeth show, his eyes were narrowed, allowing smooth creases to form around them as he directed his gentle gaze down to Eren, who'd bent over during her fit.
Eren's small laughing fit was stopped there, letting her hand fall from her mouth as it fell slightly agape while she stared at beautiful and gentle smile being shown to her. She quickly straightened up, closing her mouth and letting her hand wander up to her fringe, nervously playing with it with her fingers. She felt her cheeks heat and cast her eyes downward.
Levi hadn't expected Eren's laugh to be… well anything really. It wasn't sexy, sultry, or anything like that, yet he found himself attracted to it, and wanting to hear more of it, it was… cute. Purely and completely cute. Just like Eren was.
He was almost disappointed when her laughing fit ended, almost. The glow that colored her cheeks and the nervous twirling of her hair, more than made up for the sudden lack of her laughter. He really liked seeing her flustered face, her regular face, her laughing face… he just liked her. Amidst his thoughts, somewhere in the back of his mind he thought, 'I wonder what other faces I could get her to make for me.' A thought not totally innocent, but not completely full of baser desires either. It was simply a statement, made to his subconscious, one that would guide his actions and interactions with Eren from then on.
The two sat and had a quiet dinner. Neither speaking much after their little display earlier. The first few minutes of their dinner were tense, mostly due to Eren's uncertainty of her and Levi's relationship. They'd only really talked three times, well, four including her current situation, yet here she was, in his home, sitting down at this kitchen table, eating a meal they had both prepared.
'I guess… what should I say, this is turning awkward. I guess I can compliment his cooking, because this roast is amazing… but no, that's too boring.' She paused her inner monologue to look up from her plate; she quickly looked back down and then busied herself with the glass of water, nearly draining the entire glass in one drink. 'Oh no he's staring at me.'
Well, it could be called staring, but Levi would have called it admiring. Yes, that's exactly what he'd been doing, and mainly the reason why he hadn't spoken for the first quarter of the meal. He was admiring Eren. The way her hair split perfectly down the middle of her face, framing her tanned and softly formed features. The way her plump mauve lips would form little 'O's' as she parted them to put the next bite in, and the way her tongue would dart out to lick up any sauce or dressing that soiled them. And her eyes. Those eyes. They were large, bright, and full of life. It was like she'd embedded jewels into her irises, they almost sparkled like she had. When Eren turned, sometimes hints of blue and aqua would show through, and then other times they would appear to be a brilliant turquoise or jade or emerald. There were even little flints of gold adorning them, like they were one of the most beautiful treasures in the world. At this point, Levi certainly thought so.
It was then that he chose to break the silence, "Your eyes are beautiful Eren." He was satisfied to see them widen further, her plump little lips parted more and her fork freezing midair as the lovely flush he'd grown to crave crept and settled on the apples of her cheeks.
"O-oh, thank you." Came her shy reply. She lifted the water glass and brought it up to her lips, pausing right before she took a sip, "Yours too… I've never seen gray eyes like yours before." She drowned her embarrassment with the last of her water, and in her nervous haste, let some of it spill past her lips and down the side of her chin, slowly trickling down her neckline and disappearing under her sweater at the collar bone.
Levi's pupils dilated, as he watched the thin trail of liquid seep from her lips and go downward. He felt his throat become dry, and had to take a good drink of his own water before clearing his throat and handing Eren a napkin.
"Here, use this."
"Haha…thank you." Eren offered him a sheepish grin and wiped up her little spill. She set the napkin in her lap, just in case she spilled again.
Levi stood up and walked towards the kitchen, "I'm getting some more water, do you want some?"
"S-sure!" was Eren's timid reply, followed quickly by a "thank you."
Just as Levi was closing the fridge, all the power in the space went off. The blinds were shut and the curtains were drawn over them, leaving the pair plunged in almost complete darkness. The only light was coming from the small peep hole from Levi's front door.
"L-Levi?" Eren's shaky voice broke the silence.
"Yea," he felt his way around the kitchen and made his way back over to the table, gently setting his hand on Eren's shoulder. He felt her jump and stiffen at the contact, "It's alright, just stay here, I need to find my flashlight."
"Okay." Her voice was steadier now, feeling a bit better with human contact. "You can use my phone if you can't find it." She offered, digging her phone from the pocket sewn into her sweater.
She placed her hand atop of his and pulled it off of her shoulder, turning it so that his palm faced upward, and set the device inside of his opened hand. She cradled his hand a few seconds longer than necessary, and then released the gentle hold she'd had on him.
"Thanks, this will work just fine." He pressed the button at the top of the phone to wake it and light up the screen, using this light, he found his way to his bedroom and then to the circuit breaker installed into his bedroom wall.
An old friend of his from high school and into college was a designer, and she'd practically begged him to let her decorate his home for him. He trusted her and her taste was excellent, he enjoyed the look of his place and he really appreciated Petra's talent. However, at that moment, he was really annoyed with the fact that the circuit breaker had been hidden by a piece of artwork. He let out an annoyed huff and set the phone on his dresser, then he tried to remove the painting pretty much blindly. He managed to do so and was annoyed again when he to grope around for the phone, since the screen timed out and locked again.
He finally found it and woke it back up. He set to work on resetting the circuits that had been switched. After a few more switches had been flipped, the lights and the power came back on. With a relieved sigh, Levi walked out of his bedroom, leaving the painting to lean against his dresser, in case it happened again like it has before, and made his way back to Eren.
"Thanks, and sorry about that," he handed her back her phone and resumed refilling their water glasses.
"You're welcome… and what was that?" she paused and then added a quick, "thank you" before taking a sip of the water.
"This building is only a few months old. They just finished construction on it about 5 months ago." Levi began his explanation. "I've been with these people for a while, so when they offered to upgrade me for around the same price I've been paying, I happily accepted. It's brand new, so it's clean which is nice, but they built it too fast. It's a great place, don't get me wrong, but whoever did the electrical work here did a shitty ass job."
He waved his hand around in the air before continuing, "that has happened a few times before, twice in one night too."
"Oh… that's really odd. What causes it?" Eren asked, curiosity peaked.
"When the electrician came in, he said it was because the wires were loose. It's not an immediate hazard or a danger, and it doesn't happen often enough to disrupt my life, so they are taking their sweet time to come in and fix the damn thing."
Eren noticed the more Levi spoke, the gruffer his language became. 'He must be really comfortable right now' she thought to herself, letting a small giggle escape.
"And what exactly do you find funny?" Levi asked, eyebrow quirked as he began to clear their emptied plates.
"Huh? Oh. Haha." Eren realized she'd giggled out loud. "Sorry, it's nothing."
"Hmm." Came the unconvinced response.
"Well, it's just that… well I couldn't help but notice that your word choice is… well… more casual. I was thinking that maybe you'd grown more comfortable around me or something… like that…heh." She followed him to the sink, and grabbed a dish towel. "Can I help?"
Levi smiled at her words as he turned on the water, letting the warm liquid fill the sink a little less than halfway before adding in the dish washing liquid. He then got to work on scrubbing the dishes clean. "Sure, just rinse and dry them." He gestured with his head for Eren to stand next to him and turned the faucet with bubble covered fingers towards the empty sink basin for her to rinse the dishes with.
The two go to work, Levi washing and Eren rinsing. Once they finished that, Eren switched to drying while Levi put away the dishes. He appreciated the brunette's help and was more than pleased with her willingness to clean. Eren then made her way back to the living room, having remembered what she came there in the first place for. She picked up his jacket and walked back over to Levi, who'd just finishing putting his broom away.
"U-um here. I'm sorry it took so long, but thank you very much for lending it to me." Eren offered the jacket to him, which he took and lifted the plastic to inspect it.
"How much was it?" He asked tersely.
"Hmm?" Eren gave him a confused look. 'How much was what…?'
"How much did it cost you to have this cleaned," he lifted the jacket and shook it a little for added emphasis on 'this'.
"Oh, I don't remember," Eren said honestly, "it wasn't more than ten dollars though."
"Okay." Levi said, he left the area and took the jacket back with him, towards where Eren presumed was his bedroom. He returned a moment later with a twenty dollar bill.
"Here," he offered it to her, raising a brow when she declined it, "to cover the cost and for the trouble of brining it all the way over here."
Eren refused again, shaking her head and putting her hands behind her back. "No it's really okay! Like I said, it wasn't more than ten bucks and you even treated me to dinner so really, I owe you."
Levi smiled at this, retracted the cash, and folded his arms across his chest. "Hmm, you do owe me huh?"
"Um, yes…?" Eren's looked at him with confusion, wondering what exactly he was getting at.
"So you agree, good." He set the bill on the table and then motioned for Eren to follow him to living room. He invited her to sit, and she sat in the same the love seat she'd been in before, this time her arms were crossed over the front of her body, her frame slumping slightly, feeling a bit nervous for what was to come.
Levi sat on the same small sofa, on the opposite end of Eren, throwing his arm across the top allowing his fingertips to just barely brush then ends of Eren's hair. He crossed his legs and directed his gaze to her. "So then, how about you make it up to me?"
Eren's eyes widened as she thought, 'oh my God I'm such an idiot of course this would happen to me, he lends me his coat, gives me nice tips, lets me stay for dinner… ahh, breathe Eren, breathe. He hasn't even said what he wants yet, just play along.' Her anxiety was building, unnecessarily so.
"How?" was Eren's dumb response, she wanted to bolt for the door and hide for how stupid she sounded.
He paused, like he was thinking through his options, the smile of the demon Eren had seen the night before returned to his face and she felt herself holding in her breath."How about lunch and movie?" He stated, letting his amused demonic smirk stay, enjoying the look on Eren's face far too much to stop himself. "My treat." He added quietly.
Eren obviously didn't hear the last addition because her tension dissipated at his request. "Okay, that sounds nice. Um… when did you want to do this because I have work at the café and I'm starting another job at the bookstore this week?"
Levi turned to face the flat screen, letting his head rest against the sofa while he thought. "When are you not working…? Or do you get off early any day this week?"
"I'm off from the café on the weekend I only work until 2 at the bookstore Saturday."
"Alright, I'll pick you up from your place at 3 then?"
"Okay, that sounds… good." Eren smiled and looked over to Levi, who was still facing the wall. "Well, it's getting kinda late and I want to get home before the weirdos come out." She stood from the sofa, taking note of the soft plush rug beneath her feet, 'I didn't notice this before, it's pretty.'
Levi got up and followed her to the door, grabbing his keys and a light jacket from his coat closet. "Alright then, let's go."
"Huh?" Eren looked down at the short man like he'd suddenly grown 4 feet taller.
"I believe I told you that I wasn't going to you, especially someone as clueless as you, wander around this late. Put your shoes on brat I'm taking you home."
With a dramatically indignant huff, and a small pout her face, Eren put her boots on and followed Levi out of his loft and into his car. After she'd sat down and buckled herself in, she recalled the night before and quickly reached out to grasp Levi's hand before he put the keys in the ignition. "Please… please don't drive like that again," she said, eyes watering as she tried to force her best puppy eyed pout, she even let her lip quiver a bit, "it was really scary and I don't think my body can handle that again… not so soon at least."
'And it was hard walking, my legs were so wobbly.' Eren thought… well, at least she thought she'd thought to herself.
"Oh? Sorry I scared you." He paused and gently squeezed her fingers, which she realized were still wrapped around his hand and quickly retracted them back to her lap. He turned the key in the ignition and started the car, letting the seats warm up for a few moments before adding, "next time I make your legs wobble, I'm sure you'll enjoy it."
Before Eren could process his suggestion, or realize she spoke her thoughts, he backed up and ripped out of the parking lot, on his way to a soon to be familiar route between his home and Eren's.