"Opposite of warm."

"Cool."

"Fourth planet from the sun."

"Uhm... Mars."

"Scowl angrily."

"That one's easy. Glare."

"Why are you so good at crosswords?"

I chuckled and put the crossword magazine away. It was around two in the morning, and we'd lazed in bed ever since we got out of the bath earlier. Levi was lying on his back with me lying on top of him, my torso between his legs and cheek resting on his warm stomach. His hands were buried in my hair, wrapping the strands around his fingers and giving them gentle tugs every now and then. He'd insisted we wear our boxers, which had probably been a good idea considering I was hopelessly insatiable when it came to him.

"I used to do them a lot when I was bored," he said, continuing to play with my hair until I purred.

"What else do you do when you're bored?"

"Hm, I don't know. Drawing mostly," he replied.

I lifted my head to gaze at him in awe. I could definitely picture him as an artsy guy.

"That's so cool. I suck at drawing," I admitted. "Hey, will you show me a few of your drawings sometime?"

His eyebrows shot up as he studied my face closely.

"I guess I could. If you're really interested in that sort of thing?"

"Of course I am!" I exclaimed. "I want to know more about you."

His grey gaze continued to bore into mine, obvious disbelief marking it.

"Why?"

"What do you mean? Because I like you, that's why."

Levi blushed, and pushed my face back into the lemon-scented skin of his stomach, effectively breaking our eye contact.

"H-Hey," I mumbled in his belly, but my protest was short-lived when I realized just how warm and smooth his skin felt against my cheek, so I decided to just stay down with a content sigh. My arms found their way around his middle, and I hugged him tight to me, nuzzling his belly before letting my tongue dip into his navel. He shuddered beneath me, just the slightest tremble that brought a fresh set of goose bumps along with it.

"You have such beautiful skin," I whispered absentmindedly. My breath trailing over his sensitive skin elicited a sweet little groan from him which had me impossibly turned on in a matter of seconds.

His legs wrapped lightly around my neck when I showered his stomach with feather-light kisses, my nails mapping out every slanted curve of his delicate ribs.

"Well, you sure marked it a fucking lot," he breathed, lithe body arching into my touch.

I laughed and bit him just above the waistband of his boxers, earning a small whine from him.

"My marks make it even more beautiful. At least to my eyes," I replied with a wink.

He mumbled something that sounded suspiciously similar to "spoiled brat", which only served to make me break out in laughter. It was not exactly a nice pet name, but it was just what I expected of him, which made it perfect. I got up on my knees and took a hold of his leg, lifting it up to kiss a slow trail from his thigh down to his ankle. I was just about to suck on his dainty ankle bone, when I noticed black lettering on his instep. Curious, I pulled his foot closer to my face to inspect my discovery. Then I rubbed over it, but it stayed the same. My eyes popped open when I realized what I was looking at.

"Oh fuck, you have a tattoo?! An actual tattoo?!"

I kept brushing over the single gracile black letter. It was a K. God, Levi had a tattoo? He'd just grown a million times hotter in my book. He laughed at my open-mouthed expression, and even more when I kept staring at the tattoo as if it might vanish any minute.

"Yeah idiot, it's real," he laughed. "You can stop staring now. It's not gonna disappear."

I smiled and leaned in to give the small tattoo a long lick just for good measure. It didn't smudge either. It was really real.

"Woah okay, okay," I said, calming myself with a deep breath. I laid his foot in my lap and began to massage it mindlessly, "Spill it. Everything. What does it mean, where did you get it, did it hurt?"

He laughed again and stretched his arms before he tucked them beneath his head. Then he moved his foot out of my hands, my eyes glued to it as it traveled up my chest, only to stop and flick my nipple with his toe. I gasped, the sound quickly morphing into a low growl before throwing him a heated look. If he didn't want to steer this where it was currently going, he'd better stop before I jumped at him and took him again. He licked his lips playfully and blew me a kiss that made my heart jump into overdrive. My cheeks flushed with warmth and I averted my gaze, clearing my throat to get rid of the rapidly unfurling warmth in my lower body that demanded attention.

"Well?" I asked.

"Well," he began, a smile still dancing across his lips. "It's a K for Kuchel, my mom. The pain was bearable and I did it myself."

I stared at him, waiting for him to laugh and declare what he'd just said as a joke. But he didn't. All he did was stare back at me, his lips curving in a smirk. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"You did it yourself?"

"Yep."

"Are you trying to pull my leg right now? Because I'll have you know, it's not working."

He laughed and gave me a frisky shove with his foot before he said, "I'm not kidding you. I swear I did it myself. I can do you too, if you want."

A slow, lascivious smirk spread over my lips, and from the adorable blush grazing his cheeks, he knew exactly why. This opportunity to tease him was too perfect to ignore. I brushed my palms along his tone legs and spread them, just wide enough for me to crawl in between and tower over him.

"You wanna do me, Levi?"

"What, no! I-I didn't mean it like that, moron!" He squeaked, his blush creeping all the way up to the lovely tips of his small ears.

His legs wrapped tightly around my waist, squeezing me until a soft moan left my lips to whisper over his. If this was an attempt to stop me from continuing by squeezing me to unconsciousness, it was failing. I began to move on top of him, biting my lip as I purposely rubbed our nipples together while I kept whispering in his ear.

"You want to insert your needle in me?"

"Ah, Eren... No, just... S-Shut up, that's not what I meant—"

He was embarrassed and aroused in equal measure, a killer combination to look at. Stopping now didn't even cross my mind.

"You want to fill me up with your ink?"

"If you don't shut up, I swear to god—"

Before he could finish his threat, I leaned down and took his lips with mine, greedily licking into his mouth until his words turned to breathless moans. One of my hands slipped beneath his behind to touch his perfect cheeks all over, feeling them up with my palm. I'd never get enough of him.

"Okay, I'm out of tattoo slash sex jokes," I laughed against his mouth.

"Oh, thank god," he sighed and tugged on my hair. And then he sputtered and started to laugh, really laugh, and I was lost to the sound of it. His eyes squeezed shut, his cheeks growing warm with humor. He was so beautiful, it made my heart ache in the best ways.

I gazed down at him, kissing the small tears his laughing fit had conjured away with a few gentle strokes of my lips.

"I want it," I said.

"What, again?" Levi blushed and bit his lip, his eyes wide and shimmering in the soft silvery shade I loved so much.

"Oh uhm," I stammered. "Not that. I mean I want that all the time, but I meant a tattoo. Would you do one for me?"

"Uh Eren," he said while his hand searched for mine. "I don't know. My body is one thing, but yours... I'm not a trained tattoo artist or anything. I just googled and gave it a go, more or less. You should really get it done professionally."

He was talking himself into a nervous babble, so I caught his face between my palms and began to stroke his cheeks with my thumbs. I knew by now that the touch had a soothing effect on him.

"Hey," I cooed softly, and his attention fixed right on me. "I know the risk. But I want you to be the one who does it. Please."

I kissed the tip of his nose and he turned his head away.

"I don't want to fuck you up," he said uncertainly.

I bit my tongue to not blurt out how much I actually wanted him to fuck me up, like super hard, but he was conflicted and worried and this was not the right time to crack any stupid jokes. If I wanted Levi to ink me, I'd better do this right. So I bent down until his lips were just an inch away from mine, my green eyes staring into his grays. He swallowed, but didn't shy away or avert his gaze again. He seemed strangely caught up in the moment, just like I was.

"You won't. You did the one you have so perfectly, and we'll only make it a small one, okay? I trust you. Please, do this for me. I really, really want you to."

He stared up at me, and a few moments passed with us just holding each other's gaze. Then he waved his hand and tried to swat me away (as if I'd let him, come on).

"Would you fucking stop that?"

"Stop what?" I asked, sucking his neck until a gorgeous red kiss mark appeared. I probably really should stop marking him like this, but I had yet to succeed at letting up on him for more than ten minutes at a time.

"This," he gestured to my face. "Stop with those fucking gorgeous eyes and this stupidly beautiful smile and this damn perfect body of yours. Just stop."

I chuckled and caged him in between my arms to better look down at him.

"We're gonna have a problem with that, you know. Because there's no other way I'm able to look when you're with me. This is all your fault, Levi."

The playful mood was gone in an instant, and I felt the sincerity of the situation settle around me, around us. It was true, and saying it out loud made me realize just how much.

"Pfft," he huffed. "You sound like a lovesick idiot."

"Maybe I am one."

"Shut up."

"Why? Would that be so bad?"

"Can we just... Talk about something else?" He stirred against me, and one look at his face told me how uncomfortable he was with the current direction our conversation was taking.

I didn't mean to push him to do or say something he wasn't ready for, so even if I wanted to talk about our relationship more than anything, I didn't force it. Instead, I sighed and rolled off of him, staring up at the ceiling. Once again, a tweak of cold fear struck me straight through my chest when I thought about the possibility that our time together might come with a time limit after all. Was one summer really all I would get with him? Thinking about this hurt more than I thought possible. Maybe I shouldn't allow myself to have expectations, but how could I not? He was the best thing that had ever happened to me, and being with him felt like plain paradise. Was I really to blame for not wanting to let that go?

"Hey," Levi said, nudging my side. "Do you still want that tattoo?"

I turned and looked at him, only to feel his hand sliding into my hair to ruffle it. I leaned into the touch as if it was something vital that kept me up and running. Was it normal to crave the smallest of his touches like this?

"Yes," I replied without hesitating. I flipped on my stomach and rested my head in my palm. "Are you willing to do it, or do I have to launch my convincing strategy?"

He chuckled and slipped on top of me, sitting down on my ass and running his nails down my bare back. I shuddered with delight and arched my back to indicate that I wanted more.

"I wonder what your convincing strategy includes?"

I reached back and gave his thigh a sly pinch. He shrieked and groaned my name in annoyance, which only made me laugh more. With one fluid movement, I turned on my back while holding onto his hips to make him stay on top of me, straddling my lap. One finger slipped beneath the elastic band of his boxers to tug it back and make it snap against his skin. I bit my lip, wanting to do it again.

"Ouch," he drawled playfully and began moving his delicious ass back and forth on my groin, drawing a loud moan from me. "So? Your strategy?"

"Well, my strategy consists of you... Riding me!" I squealed and strengthened my grip on his hips in case he planned to bolt after what I'd said. But he only laughed and gave me a little punch to my chest, rolling his eyes.

"That's the worst strategy I've ever heard!"

"That's possible, considering I just came up with it," I laughed and leaned up with the speed of lightning to return that little nipple flick he'd dealt earlier. "Is it still effective, though?" I wiggled my eyebrows and gave his ass a sneaky squeeze.

"Not one fucking bit," he huffed, crossing his arms. "You got this a little wrong, Jeager. Why would I ride you, when you're the one supposed to convince me?"

"Mmh, Levi," I purred. "Don't talk about riding me so casually. I'm getting hard."

"You're always hard," he snapped, trying to move off of me. Tried being the operative word.

"True," I sighed dreamily, unfazed by his continuous struggles to get free of my grasp. "And who's responsible for that, I wonder?"

He turned away, but his blush was obvious still. I loved when I made him blush.

"What do I have to do to tone down your libido? At this rate, I won't be able to walk to school in the fall. Maybe gain some weight?"

I snorted and pulled him down on me, ignoring his cute little punches of protests on my chest.

"So you've discovered my chubby kink?"

"Another one? How many kinks do you have, anyway?" He asked, his eyebrows narrowed.

"Only one."

"Which is?"

"A Levi kink."

He buried his face in the crook of my neck, but I still felt his lips curving against my skin. He was smiling, and I knew it. I placed a soft kiss to the top of his head and pulled the thin blanket over us. Tangling my legs with his, I listened to his soft breathing, which was dancing softly over my neck.

"You're such a sap," he whispered.

"You love it, baby," I whispered back, holding him tight. He trembled slightly, and I wasn't sure if it was because of our vicinity or the endearment I'd just used.

"Don't call me that," he said, his voice quiet and a little shaky.

"Aw, I want to give you a pet name, too. How about sailor? Sailor Levi?"

"Ugh, no way. I'm more than a sailor."

"Well, maybe a captain then? Captain Levi?"

He snickered softly into my neck, making me tremble.

"Not bad at all, brat."

I hugged him even tighter and moved the ball of my foot up and down his svelte leg, feeling his creamy skin with my own.

Utterly content, I yawned and closed my eyes. It was late, and being with Levi like this made me drift off into a blissful state of sleep inertia. I was already on the brink of dozing off when he made a move to extricate himself from my firm full-body grip, causing my eyes to snap open.

"What exactly are you doing?" I asked, watching him as he struggled against my arms, which I had no intention of moving away anytime soon.

"What does it look like? I'm leaving. Eren, come on... Get off of me."

He pushed against my arm with his pale little palms while huffing his bangs cutely out of his face, and I just had to bite back a giggle. He was too damn adorable, even if he didn't want to be. Actually, especially then.

"You're joking, right?" My eyes widened when the meaning of his words sank in at last. Leaving? No way. He'd have to knock me out cold to get away without my interference. "Levi, no... Please stay. I can't... Don't make me sleep alone. Please? It's 3.30 in the morning. It's dangerous to walk home now."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "These are the nice outskirts of Trost, Eren. The most dangerous thing happening around here is people falling over their unnecessary-as-fuck robotic lawn mowers."

Shit. He was right. My brain jumped into full-on working mode to come up with a credible excuse to make him stay the night. Even after a few moments, I came up empty-handed, which meant the only thing left was to be up front and tell the truth.

"Okay, okay!" I cried, taking a deep breath, "I don't have a valid reason. Just that I am clingy and needy and that I can't fall asleep if you're not here."

For a few moments, the only audible thing in the quietness around us was my heavy heartbeat. I was one hundred percent sure Levi could hear it too, especially with how close we were nestled together. I hadn't paid much thought to my words, but now that they were out they sounded so... Intimate. Considering his earlier reaction to anything feelings-related, I might have just made a colossal mistake.

Levi took a deep breath and then I felt his arms sneak back around my neck, pulling me close. I wanted to rejoice with relief, and then move on to cry happy tears. He settled back under the covers and placed a soft kiss on my collarbone. Apparently, he was as reluctant to go as I was to let him.

"Okay," he whispered.

"Thank you," I said earnestly, before I tilted his face up to mine. His eyes were slightly glossy, and shimmering so beautifully in the dim light. I leaned in and kissed him—slowly, languidly, lovingly. My hands slipped back into his hair, and I brushed through the soft strands until I heard his breathing even out. Only then did I close my eyes to follow him into peaceful sleep.

"Eren."

Levi's smooth voice whispered into my ear, before he kissed my earlobe very softly, just a fleeting touch. I smiled into the pillow, choosing to stall him for another few moments in favor of (hopefully) sponging a few more of his kisses. He dived beneath my arm and brought his face close to mine, mouthing against my lips. "I know you're awake, idiot. You're smiling."

My smile grew even wider at that, but I stayed unmoving still. He pinched my cheek way harder than necessary, and it took everything I had to keep from whining out.

"Eren, stop it. Open your eyes. Right now."

He huffed adorably, and I felt the stream of warm air pass from his lips to my jaw. Goose bumps began to form on my skin, and my brain shot me a mental note to finally stop my antics and touch him. Everywhere I could reach, preferably.

Apparently, Levi had enough of my pretenses. He bit my shoulder hard enough to draw a miserably suppressed mewl from me, and I quickly bit down on my lip to keep the sound from slipping into a full-on groan. That would be a dead giveaway, and I wasn't ready to admit defeat just yet.

I felt Levi's gaze on me, observing my every movement, even if I didn't see it with my own eyes. It was there, I knew it, and that tiny little fact alone made my heart speed up by at least fifty-five miles per hour.

"Fine. Be like that," he said, obviously annoyed now. He untangled himself from my body and made a move to leave the bed, but I was quick to wrap him back up in my arms and hold him close to me, nuzzling the soft shaved hair at his nape.

"Where are you going?" I whispered, my voice scratchy from a night of fabulous sleep.

He sighed and succumbed to my hug. I smiled fondly into his neck. He really was indulging me, and I loved every second of it.

"Up. Considering you," he jabbed me in the ribs, "Are having way too much fun playing dead."

I laughed and began nibbling on his neck. The touch made him shiver against me, and my lips curved against his skin in satisfaction.

"Have a shower with me?" I asked innocently.

He turned around in my arms and watched me closely, his eyes narrowed before he finally sighed and nodded. "I think we could both use one. We spent all night glued together and I'm fucking sticky all over because of you."

I made a quiet noise of happy approval, but when he slipped out of my arms again, I held him back once more. He turned, his brow furrowed and and his lips pressed in a tight line, so I spoke quickly to soothe the gathering storm. "Morning kiss first?"

"Ugh, no way in hell. I don't want to kiss you. I'm sure you have awful morning breath."

I pouted and tightened my grip on him. "Kiss or no shower."

He rolled his eyes at me, and then huffed. "Seriously, how spoiled can you even get?"

I shrugged before I tried my sweetest smile and fluttered my eyelashes at him. He scowled back at me, but I was still brave (or suicidal) enough to jut out my lips in anticipation. I'd insist on that kiss no matter what.

Levi tapped his finger to my bottom lip with a long sigh, and my eyes fell closed of their own accord. Then he leaned in, and I felt him coming closer, inch by inch. This wasn't my first kiss with him, not by a long shot, but I couldn't help feeling as if it was. He made every little touch exciting; every kiss feel as if it was my first.

When I finally sensed his lips on mine, my heart stuttered and then stopped altogether. I grew utterly still, enjoying the incomparable feeling to the fullest without allowing anything else to snag my attention away. It was just this kiss, his lips on mine, and in this moment, it was perfect. It was enough, more than that even. When he broke away after a few blissful moments, I met his warm gaze and smiled at him, like I'd never smiled at anyone before. He deserved a smile entirely for himself, and so much more than that.

"Shower," he stated.

"Shower."

As soon as both of us were on our feet, I swept him up in my arms, ignoring his angry protests and annoyed eye rolls. I carried him into the bathroom, my mind only just coming out of its dreamy state, and set him down on the edge of the tub while I turned on the water to let it heat up. When soft steam began to billow around us, I turned only to find him standing right behind me. His hands came up to brush lightly over my chest, and I squeezed my eyes tightly shut as I reveled in the the feeling of his palms on me. Every little contact made sparks burst inside my chest, only to mingle with my blood and shoot through my entire system. Once again, I wondered if all of those giddy sensations would ever fade, but when I looked at him—at those impossibly gorgeous gray eyes filled with emotion—I was sure they wouldn't. This was heaven. My own hands came up to travel over his arms, up to his neck, where I began to massage the smooth skin with my fingertips. I failed at suppressing a moan when his fingers dipped beneath the waistband of my boxers and tugged them off until I was utterly bare in front of him. Opening my eyes just the tiniest bit, I gazed at his expression—his bottom lip caught in between his teeth, his eyes adopting a glossy sparkle, his cheeks coloring the faintest blush—as his eyes ate me up from top to bottom. God, he made me feel so wanted. So desirable, just with this subtle look on his face; it was incredible. And so very addicting.

"Turn around?" I asked, feeling my own cheeks growing hot as he continued to rake his gaze over me almost hungrily. He broke out of his stare with a small jolt, and then turned like I asked him to.

My hands came to rest on his shoulders, squeezing the hard muscles, before I let them wander down his back, grazing his spine—slowly, tenderly. An involuntary smile found its way on my lips when my thumbs brushed over the sweet little dimples just above the full swell of his behind. I took a few seconds to play with the cotton of his boxers, before I hooked my fingers into the waistband and pulled them down along the perfect curve of his ivory legs until I was on my knees behind him. He lifted his feet so I could get rid of his underwear for good. Having his gorgeous rear right in front of my face made me lick my lips with vigor. What would he taste like here? I was dying to find out, but I knew he'd never let me suck any of his private parts before he'd gotten his shower. So I settled for two open-mouthed kisses to each of his bottom cheeks, and then came back up to my full height. Levi didn't turn around to face me right away, which gave me another moment to check out his ass—damn, was having an ass like that even physically possible—along with the glistening traces of saliva my kisses had left on it. I licked my lips again at the inviting sight, and gave the supple mound an appreciative pat before following up with a playful smack that made his sinful little ass bounce animatedly.

Goddammit. I was a goner.

Before I could give myself the chance to play with one of my favorite parts his body had to offer some more (and get even harder in the process), I opened the glass sliding door of the shower cabin and pulled Levi with me into the moist clouds of warm steam. He slipped a bit, but I was there to catch him before he could fall. Puffing adorably, his palms came up to my chest, and just the sight of them on my tawny skin drove the biggest smile to my face. I could get used to this.

"Warm enough?" I whispered into the humid air between us.

"Yes..." he answered languidly, his eyes fixed on where our skin met.

He brushed his hands along my chest, before trailing down to my waist and holding gently onto my hips. I closed my eyes and relished the moment; only him and me and the warm water raining down on us. We stayed like that for a few moments before I reached behind him and picked up the shower gel bottle.

"Hands or loofah?" I asked, holding both up for him to see.

He mustered me intently, before he finally asked, "Are your hands clean?"

I looked at my palms and quickly brought them under the water stream, rubbing them together a little too roughly, but hey, I had to satisfy a clean freak after all.

"They are now!" I grinned and held up my pink palms, wiggling my fingers.

He smirked and nudged me playfully in the side, before turning to let me get to cleaning him, which I'd been dying to do. Before I could get started properly, my gaze caught on his beautifully pale back. God, he really was a sight, and I couldn't help staring shamelessly whenever the chance arose. Before I could totally space out again, I squirted some shower gel on my palm and spread it over my hands. A fresh, creamy scent of oranges, lemons and grapefruits rose up and mingled with the humid air, creating warm clouds of citrus water.

"Mh, this smells fantastic," Levi mumbled happily and swayed back into my touch.

"You like it?" I asked quietly. "It's from Lush as well."

He chuckled softly and took another step back, coming to stand so close to me that washing his back was getting a little difficult. Not that I'd complain, though. When it came to me, proximity outweighed cleanliness, always.

Running my soapy hands over the exquisite curve of his shoulders, I dipped down his back, massaging the citrus foam into his skin. The soft ivory of his skin was left pink and irresistibly soft to the touch, making me wonder how long I'd manage to keep my hands off of him this time. After I'd taken care of his back, I sunk to my knees and got to work on his legs. I tried not to linger on the way the pearly drops whispered in soft trails down his thighs and calves, the creamy expanse showered with love marks in various colors. Biting my lip, I closed my eyes briefly to force down another wave of persistent arousal at the sight of how thoroughly I'd marked him up. If anyone was to see him like this, they'd know he was taken in an instant. That he was mine. The thought bloomed like a full peony inside my heart, spreading its sweet scent into every nook and cranny of my being. How much did I want to call him mine? Much more than I'd ever wanted anything else up to this point, that much was sure.

"Hey," came Levi's voice, a slight touch of worry swinging in the low timbre, "You've been washing away at the same spot for half of eternity now. You okay?"

The question pulled me out of my thoughts and back to the present. I kissed the spot which had grown a hot pink from my rubbing apologetically, lingering another moment to smell the perfect combination of his skin and the fresh citrus bouquet.

"I-I don't know..." I answered truthfully.

"Huh?" Levi asked, turning around to catch a peek of my face. "Eren, what's wrong?"

His voice was filled with tension, and I knew he cared about me then. Why couldn't we just talk about how we felt for each other? I wasn't the type of person to hold back on anything, be it actions or words. The same apparently held true for feelings, too. Tiptoeing around them, biting my tongue when all I wanted to tell him everything he was making me feel with a mere touch or look, was only serving to make me grow restless and dissatisfied with myself.

When I felt Levi's hands in my wet hair, combing it through with agonizingly silken strokes of his fingers, I felt a dam breaking within me. With that barrier gone, I suddenly felt like I needed to tell him, everything. How much he'd come to mean to me, how I missed him the second he left my side, how I couldn't imagine being without him anymore. But the thought of his previous reaction halted me just a second before doing that. Opening my heart to him would leave me exposed. Vulnerable. Everything we had could and would change in a heartbeat, and I was not ready for the negative outcome this could entail. Losing him now would break me. I had no doubt that it would. So instead, I let Levi pull me to my feet, his slate-colored eyes searching mine. I didn't dare to look up and meet them, because I knew then I'd truly be lost. I was teetering on the edge as it was, and seeing those perfect charcoal storms in his eyes would melt my resolve in a split second. His hands cupped my face, so soft and careful.

"Eren, look at me," he said. "Come on."

I tilted my face up to his, choosing to focus on his lips rather than the silver irises waiting for me. "What is it you're so anxious about? Did I... Do something?"

Yes. You did, Levi. You've done something to me I can't even begin putting into words. All I know is that it feels incredible and that I want more. That I want you.

"No... You didn't do anything wrong. It's just that I... Levi, I... I lo—"