Yay, second chapter and this one has no warnings! I think, urg, I really think so. Correct me if I'm wrong!
Again, I apologize for any mistakes and enjoy!
Eren stared down at the cup in front of him, the pink liquid looking out of place inside the dark cup. He allowed his eyes to look pass the cup in front of him and his vision was filled with food, all kinds of food. The brunette could see stew, steak, roast chicken, even a turkey and all types of different salads and pastas. Elegant pastries were resting on silver platters, cakes, pies and chocolate desserts that smelled wonderfully. The smell itself acted like a drug would and Eren found himself licking his lips and his fingernails dug onto the arm rest of his seat. The corners of his mouth were lightly salivating and he felt his tongue lightly peeking out to lick his dry lips. He was aching to reach for the food, to have a taste, to feel the different textures and more importantly, he wanted to feel full. He was starving.
The long black table had no other guests, the food in front of him was being offered to him and him alone. He wasn't being rushed, he wasn't being told what was good and what wasn't. This was all for him, no one else mattered, if Eren wanted to take two days to even taste some of the soup, then it was fine, this was his banquet. Levi was sitting across the table, his blue eyes staring at Eren with a hint of happiness that the brunette couldn't understand. An amused smile spread over his lips as he waited and waited and waited for Eren to give in.
The brunette stared down at his cup and swallowed heavily, his dry throat reminding him of how thirsty he was.
"What is this?" Eren picked up the cup, staring at the pink liquid.
"Strawberry milk..." Levi answered, looking at his long nails before blinking and frowning. He quickly turned his attention back towards Eren, and the young male could see a hint of worry in his eyes. "You like strawberries right?"
"Y-yeah, I do." He answered with a weak smile, half wondering how the other knew that he loved strawberries, but Eren kept himself from asking when the of worry was gone from Levi's eyes and instead he looked pleased.
"Good. I remembered right." The death God went quiet after that, his attention back on his nails or Eren's bright eyes.
The brunette made no attempt to start a conversation. He kept his eyes on the cup in front of him, if he was to glance at the food once again, he was sure his will was going to break. Eren took in a shaky breath and picked up the cup again. He was so thirsty, he needed something to drink but he knew better, he couldn't be tempted.
"Strawberries, r-right? From where?" Eren's eyes looked up to meet Levi's and he saw the ghost of a smirk before a dark smoke covered his vision. In the blink of an eye Levi was sitting on the table right next to him, his expression was monotone but his eyes showed a hint of glee that the young male couldn't quite pin point. Was this a game?
The death God crossed one of his legs over the other, his foot almost brushing on Eren's shoulder. He leaned in, his hand reaching to hold onto Eren's chin, his hold being gentle and soft. Levi gently pulled on Eren, forcing him to lift his body and lean forward against the table. He stared at the wide turquoise eyes, his thumb gently brushing against Eren's bottom lip with care.
"You are not stupid, are you?" Levi's voice dropped and his whisper was dark. The brunette felt a shiver running down his back and the hold on his chin left him. He fell back down on his chair and Levi moved to stand next to him, one of his arms sneaking around Eren's shoulders, making it go around his neck so his hand was able to hold onto his chin once again. He kept Eren's face in place, his lips gently brushing against his ear.
Levi snapped his fingers right in front of Eren and the food turned into nothing but ashes. The table that was once full of food was now covered with ashes. Even the cup that had been in front of Eren was now gone and a small pile of dust was all that was left. It shouldn't affect him, at least not much but with the food gone Eren was painfully aware of how hungry he was, how much his stomach was hurting and how dry his throat was. He fought back the feeling, ignoring the twitching headache that was forming on the back of his head.
"I hope you enjoy starvation, it is quite a painful thing, although you cannot die while you are here that doesn't change the fact that you can feel pain..." The soft lips were brushing against his ear with every word. "I would suggest you start to settle in, it's not like you are going anywhere."
As if to make his point clear, Levi's hand reached for Eren's. He lifted his hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss the ring there. He leaned his head against the brunette's, his eyes staring at the ring on Eren's hand. His pale hand gently toyed with it, rubbing his thumb against the gem that changed hues from green to yellow. Levi let a small smile tug from the corner of his lips, his fingers moving to touch Eren's hand. He traced the long digits and moved to massage the palm before wrapping his own hand around it. The raven kissed it once again and moved Eren's hand so it was right in front of the brunette's face, showing the engagement ring that Eren was unable to take off. He had tried.
Eren swallowed heavily, his fear filled eyes couldn't look away from the ring. He felt his hands twitching and with each twitch he could feel the ring, the heavy reminder of what was happening to him. Levi's hand intertwined with his, spreading the same cold feeling all through Eren's body, and he flinched and closed his eyes, his breathing becoming difficult. He wanted to cry again but he was fighting back the tears that were struggling to form. The dark ring felt heavier on his hand the longer Levi held into it. He was trying, he was trying so hard but he finally snapped and pulled his hand away, holding it close to his chest and curling up against his chair with a soft noise.
It wasn't real, this couldn't be real. It was not possible. The same words echoed in his head, trying to ease the mental torment that he was going through. He felt tears on his eyes again and the death God was quickly wiping them again, kissing the corner of his lips with those poisonous cold lips. Eren jerked away this time, pushing onto Levi's chest with a hand to keep him back. He covered his mouth with one of his hands as a loud sob escaped his lips. The big dinning room was suddenly closing in and he couldn't stop the tears from rolling down his eyes.
He was wed. The brunette was linked to someone else now, and the worst part of all was that he couldn't remember most of it. Sometimes he could get small glimpses of what happened, but it mostly happened in his dreams and the whole time he could hardly remember being conscious, he had been more like a puppet that had been pulled by strings that he himself couldn't see. He could remember standing at a dark altar with blue rose petals falling from the ceiling. He could remember wearing a pretty robe that resembled mostly a gown and was adorned with dark jewelry and gems. He had worn a chest plate like Levi's but this one had a complicated pattern on it and was light, obviously made mostly for special occasions. One of the pieces of jewelry was a choker that went down to his collar bone, covering the skin that was still exposed from the chest plate. Both of his arms had cuffs that reached up to his elbows and soft pieces of it extended to what was left of his arms.
Eren could see himself walking and he had no control over his movements. He was walking and walking and his dull eyes were staring into nothing. The dreams skipped through then, with Eren staring at Levi's face as he slipped the ring on his hand, just to skip to Levi kissing him and carrying him away. The scenes became blurrier and then he was in a boat, and he was sitting next to Levi with his head resting against his shoulder and Levi's own head on top of his own. He was gently caressing his shoulder and his other hand was playing with the ring on Eren's finger, much like he had done just a couple of minutes ago. But there was something that Eren could clearly see, and that was the look of complete devotion Levi held the whole time. He looked overjoyed, even if he wasn't smiling and even if he wasn't laughing with happiness, he could clearly see it in his eyes.
Levi chuckled against Eren's ear, causing the brunette to snap out of his day dreaming. He turned his head and opened his eyes to look at him. He rubbed his lips together, gently pushing on Levi's chest just to have the hand holding on his chin turn his head to stare back at the cold blue eyes. Levi leaned in and kissed Eren's lips softly, his hands moving to hold onto his cheeks and gently cup his face as his lips moved over the brunette's. He didn't push to make the kiss any deeper and he didn't pull Eren back when the young male turned his head and moved back. He simply stroked Eren's cheek with the back of his hand.
It was frightening how tender the God in front of him could be, how his touches were soft and kind. How he looked at Eren like he was the only person worth looking at in the whole wide world. It twisted something inside the brunette, something he couldn't explain, because that devotion was as clear as water, but it also felt poisonous. Levi had taken him by force, he kidnapped him and was keeping him locked inside the underworld, and no matter how much Eren tried to hide or run, he was always found. Yet, the death God was never upset, nor was he angry that he had to chase him around, if anything he looked somewhat amused. He would reach for Eren's hand, and hold on to it while he guided the way back 'home' as he would like to put it. If anything it made Eren felt like a child again, and like it was his actions that were immature and the ones that were odd.
Levi talked to him a lot, about random things too. He also looked troubled when talking to Eren, like he was having a hard time explaining something because he was hiding something else, he looked upset then. The anger made his eyes colder and his hair look darker but the anger was never directed towards Eren at all, he wasn't angry at him but someone else and the brunette often wondered who he was angry at. The anger however, seem to melt away when he would look at Eren,then he would move closer and run his fingers through Eren's hair and everything was back to normal.
The little episodes never stopped him from continuing to talk to Eren. Unfortunately the brunette wasn't even sure of what to do when the other was talking to him. Eren, who was used to being alone, and hardly got any visitors or company was now being talked to every single day. Eren, whose only company through the years had been nothing but vegetation. Eren, who could hardly recognize the sound of his own voice when he finally spoke, was expected to carry on a conversation with the God of Death himself? It was too intimidating, but Levi never pressured him into talk to him, not once. He just kept talking and Eren would sit there and listen, because even though he was scared, Levi would talk about things that Eren had never seen, things that he wanted to see and learn more about.
It took Eren more than a few days before he finally said anything, and it was a question.
"What's a play?" Levi had been talking to him about different plays and would recite the lines by memory but Eren had no idea what it was, he knew it had something to do with talking and saying important things but he had no idea what it actually was.
Levi had turned his head to stare at him, his eyebrows furrowing and Eren felt worried then. Maybe he shouldn't have asked, maybe it had been a bad idea. What if it was a bad question? Maybe he just looked extremely stupid now. Levi had been talking about plays like it was the most normal thing ever and here he was, questioning the topic at hand.
The brunette panicked a little bit and he wasn't even sure why, but then he felt something soft on his head and it was Levi leaning in to kiss the top of his head. He had his arm around Eren's shoulders now and was resting his cheek on top of his head.
"A play is..."
He explained everything there was to know about plays to Eren, down to every single detail. He even told him about all the actors and the make up artist and the people that made the sets. It was overwhelming at first but Eren really liked the idea. When he was little he could remember acting out as the characters in his books, it was something similar to that but people did this as a profession. It was very interesting.
What surprised Eren the most though was how patient Levi was. He had known he was patient, that was for sure, Eren knew he was being a hand full because of his emotional distress and hate. The first couple of days had been hell itself, he wouldn't allow Levi to get near him, he didn't want to even see him, he kept trying to run just to be brought back by the same chains but he kept struggling and fighting until he was dead tired and crying himself to sleep where he fell. He always woke up on a soft bed with a thick blanket over him. But Eren's anger was bigger than the small gestures the Death God would do. He screamed at him, he shoved him and pushed him and said horrible things, he fought and found himself pulling on the chains until his ankles and wrists were bleeding. He had cried so much his face had felt wet for hours, but no matter how much he insulted Levi, no matter how much he hurt him physically, the God never did anything in return but pick him up and carry him back to his room once Eren was worn out.
Even though Eren knew that Levi was never going to hurt him, it didn't stop the feeling of dread that was still filling up his body. It didn't change his situation any less, and although it gave him some kind of peace, it also reminded him that even if Eren was horrible, even if he was acting in the most disrespectful way towards Levi, the God was not thinking of letting him go. Eren couldn't worm himself out of this by making the God hate him, because Levi's acting already told Eren that he was incapable of even being upset at him.
It was also sadly enough the reason why Eren felt the most hopeless. He was never going to leave this place, was he? The two were married and Levi even wore a ring that matched his own. He was trapped here, and he was never going to find a way of escaping, even less now that Levi was trying to feed him something. Eren was not that naive, he could be but not when it came to the Gods, his mother had educated him well in that aspect. He knew what would happen when you ate food from the underworld, you couldn't leave. And Levi was trying to make him eat as much as he could.
Levi had even went as far as to change how his room looked, it was the only bright side of the massive mansion, well brighter, because even if his room now had different colors in it that reminded him of home, they were still very dull. It couldn't be helped though, after all this was the underworld, the brunette was just a bit touched over the fact that Levi had gone to that extent. Even his clothes were not dark anymore, and the robes in his closet were different colors that went well with his eyes and skin tone.
Levi was just too confusing for Eren to understand. He was patient, nice, kind, just and warm, even though his body temperature was always cold. Yet, he was vicious, greedy, lustful and cold. Even if Levi was nice, even if Levi was kind to him, what Eren couldn't forgive was the fact that he had been taken without his permission and he wasn't thinking about the kidnapping, no. He could had possibly been even fine with that because Levi was a kind host. Eren was thinking about how those gentle but cold hands had ripped at his clothes and touched him, how he had been filled by the other and how he had been kissed and bitten without his consent. Eren was thinking about how he was wed when he wasn't even himself, how he had been manipulated and dragged around, how Levi had touched him and done whatever he wished with him, those were the things that reminded Eren of who he was dealing it. Even if Levi stared at him with those eyes filled with devotion, the brunette knew very well what the death God was willing to do to get what he wanted. Eren was living proof of that.
Eren was just glad that Levi hadn't done anything like that again, even if he could be quite physical and was constantly holding him or kissing him, it never went beyond that. It was something that was slowly easing the fear in Eren's chest, even if he would still flinch or pull away from those touches out of fear.
Everything was too complicated, far too complicated. It gave Eren a headache to just try to wrap his mind about what had become of his life. A cold hand turning his face forced his attention back to reality and the young male found himself staring at Levi once again. The raven tilted his head, noticing the confusion in Eren's eyes. He leaned in and kissed his forehead, the cold lips sending chills down Eren's spine, yet a small warmth spread through his body.
"Be good." Levi's words echoed in Eren's ear and then the death God was gone. He disappeared into nothingness.
Eren let out a loud sigh and leaned back against his chair, half sulking against it as he stretched out his legs. He was alone again,with that in mind he looked around the big dining room and stood up. It was time for his daily exploration. Levi leaving wasn't anything new, the young male just figured the other had business to attend, he was a God after all.
If there was something that Eren found out about Levi right away was the fact that he really liked corny, fancy looking stuff. He could recall his mother making fun of big houses like these and big chandeliers and stairways that were bigger than a house itself. She had showed Eren books that had drawings of houses like these and she always went on and on about how pointless they were, calling them tacky and other words like that. But Eren actually liked them, he honestly just liked everything that was different from the little cottage and garden, simply because he was just so bored with it. It was no surprise when he found himself imagining living in a big house like this, except in his imagination the house was bright and filled with different colors. Levi's home was far from that, the hallways were dark and the carpet was a rick, dark blue color with dark walls that looked almost like glass but were not see through. The ceilings went on and on, making the whole place look even bigger. The chandeliers were big and with dark crystals hanging from them that shone against the eerie green lights that filled the castle.
The furniture was dark, the tables were dark, everything was dark! It was extremely gloomy and at first it had been scary for Eren. He wouldn't even step out of his room from fear that he would get lost and die somewhere, but he was somewhat familiar with it now. The hallways were not just dark now, but different shades of darkness. He could see some gray, blue, green and even gold. The colors reflected against the walls and kept the darkness at bay. Yeah, Eren had gotten used to it and he felt a small smile tugging on the corner of his lips.
Eren was honestly not exploring the castle just because of his vast curiosity, no, he had been feeling odd for the past couple of days. He wasn't sure what it was either, he just had the urge to do something but he wasn't sure of what. At first he figured it was just an after feeling of his inability to escape, his mind was still urging him to do something about his situation, but as time went on he realized it wasn't that. The need he was feeling was abnormal, something was calling him, something was begging him to return. Maybe it was his mother, maybe it was her cries that he could hear even here in the underworld but for some reason he really doubted that. All of the ideas he had were easily shut down by himself and himself alone, the justifications and reasoning he was coming to just didn't make sense, even if they made perfect sense. The poor brunette just couldn't catch a break, if confusion could be described as a person, it would surely be him.
But whatever was calling him was getting louder and louder, and Eren found himself waking up in the middle of the night. He would look around his room and find nothing but he could hear the beckoning, he could feel it spreading through his bones and sending shivers down his spine, and Eren was sure it wasn't just Levi sleeping next to him. The feeling on his body was quite different than when the death God would touch him. Only one thing was for sure, the more he explored the castle, the more his anxiety grew. Whatever he was trying to find, he was close to finding it and it was leaving his body shaking with anticipation.
Levi quickened his pace, he wanted to be out of here, do his business and then go back as soon as he could. He hated being away from home now, and for a very good reason. He chuckled quietly to himself and kept walking through the dark hallway, except it wasn't that dark anymore and the rocky cave walls were being replaced by a nice wallpaper with paintings on them. Ceiling lights were now illuminating the normal hallway, and the darkness was left behind.
The death God sighed quietly to himself and kept moving, turning a sharp corner and as he did so his clothing started to change, the long robes and dark armor turned into nothing but fog that quickly reshaped itself around his body to turn into a nice black suit. The raven only had to button up the vest and then the suit jacket, fixing his sleeves last with a nod of approval. The suit fit him like a glove, but of course it would. Everything he owned and liked was molded to fit his taste.
A pair of elevator doors soon came into view and they opened up when Levi stood in front of them. He stepped inside and the elevator began to move. Not even needing for him to push any of the buttons, not that they where on a floor that was even part of the console. The raven stood there, waiting for the elevator to reach his floor, all the while ignoring the elevator music that was echoing against the walls. He really hated this song, why did he say yes to elevator music five years ago. He needed to talk to his secretary about destroying those damn speakers.
The elevator doors opened up once or twice but the moment people noticed who was inside they simply turned around or went on and on about how they forgot something in their office, and so Levi was allowed to have a peaceful ride all the way to the top floor. The doors opened up once again and Levi got out this time, and a blond male was already waiting for him and handing him a couple of folders and his smartphone.
Levi walked into his big spacious office and snapped his fingers, the curtains closing right away to envelop the room in darkness. He sighed and turned on the dim lights of his office, locking his door behind him. Even after years of living up above ground, he still hated how bright the sun could get. The death God shook his head and sat behind his desk, opening the folders his assistant had given him.
"You are looking as gloomy as ever."
Levi didn't even bother to look up, already knowing who it was.
"What are you doing here? Last time I told you I didn't want you to step foot in my office." The raven flipped through his paperwork, his cheek resting against his left hand. There was some movement in the background and soon enough there was someone sitting in front of his desk, folding a newspaper and placing it on Levi's desk.
"Well, I wanted to visit but for some reason the underworld is in lock down I can't go in. This was the only place I could meet you."
Levi looked up from his paper work for the first time and stared at the man in front of him. Erwin was smiling at him, looking as pleasant as ever. He wore more casual clothing than Levi but still looked presentable with his dress shirt and slacks.
"What do you want? You never pay me a visit just because you feel like chatting." Levi leaned back against his chair, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
Erwin chuckled quietly and lifted his hands in defeat, shaking his head. "Who said I wanted anything? I just wanted to visit. After all, I still can't believe you now own one of the biggest software companies out there. Who would have guessed you would aim for that, don't you drive an old car?"
"It's a 1965 mustang, not an old car. It's considered a classic and it is the shape my horse feels the most comfortable taking." Levi tsked, clearly offended that the other would insult his ride like this.
Erwin laughed quietly and leaned one of his arms on the desk, moving his chair closer as he did so. "As fancy as ever, huh? Well I guess it makes sense that you would aim for a new company, you do get bored fairly easy now days. Still, I mostly came to ask about something else, and pardon my intrusion, but where's Eren?"
The silence that followed suit was thick and heavy. The dim lights in the office suddenly grew even darker as Levi's glare seemed like it could freeze anything in its pathway, or destroy it. But Erwin didn't look affected at all, he just sat there, his own sky blue eyes looking as cold, if not colder than the god of death himself.
"I'm not stupid Levi, you talked to me about this before but I told you to wait. You had my permission but you took it upon yourself to act recklessly. Why?" Erwin leaned back against his chair again, one of his legs crossing over the other as his hands rest on his knee.
"It was time." The raven said quietly and stood up, running one of his hands through his hair. He was frustrated, no. He was annoyed that Erwin had come all the way over here to talk about this. It had been a few weeks since he had Eren living in the underworld, why come now? Why not when Eren first disappeared?
"Was it? How is that child doing? I'm sure he's scared senseless of you. He had little to no interaction with the outside world and his mother kept him isolated. Is he even doing well? Was it smart to take him away that quick-"
Erwin was interrupted when Levi suddenly threw the lamp on his desk across his surface. The room looked foggy now, darker than before and the lights were flickering. The God of death was not known for being very patient after all, or having the best temper out there. He was gritting his teeth, glaring at Erwin with eyes that were glowing blue and his dark hair looked even darker with a soft smoke attached to it. The skin was paler and sickening but Levi couldn't bring himself to care about his appearance at all right now. He was upset, he was mad. Who was Erwin to tell him this now? Who was he to question his actions.
"When was I going to be able to take him at all then? WHEN? Carla had no plans to let him crawl out of that hole, I didn't even know he existed, neither did you. She kept him hidden from everyone and everything. I was the one that told you about him, I've been the one that has been watching him ever since! After he begged for me, after he prayed for me I answered."
"Was I supposed to wait until he begged again? Until he cried and prayed and prayed just to receive no answer? You know very well how I found him Erwin, you know that kid was miserable there and you know he was willing to rot in the underworld in the deepest side of it if it meant his freedom. He begged for death and I answered!"
Another thick silence filled the room but little by little the room went back to normal and Levi was sitting back on his chair, again, his appearance back to normal. He picked up the lamp and put it back where it belonged, the shattered light bulb fixing itself after the God touched it.
"And you have done so much better? How? You took him from his home and dragged him to another prison, you took what you wanted from him when you couldn't hold back and you even finished the ceremony with only half of his consent. You did no different from Carla, Levi. You claim that you love that boy, that you have watched him from afar for hundreds of years but you have done no better."
Levi's hands went stiff around the lamp, his body tensing up as he looked away with a soft hiss. It was the truth, and he knew that it was. He had been too forceful, too possessive but in the end, he truly did not regret it. As cruel as it was, as terrible as he sounded, he did not regret his actions at all. He was not going to regret what he had done. This is not what he had planned for Eren, he was not going to be like Carla, this was only temporary, once he was sure the other wasn't going to leave him, that he wasn't going to run away. He was going to give him the freedom Eren so much desired, but only then. Once when he was bound to Levi, only when he couldn't run away.
Levi might want something better for the cute brunette, but he never claimed his actions or means were going to be justified. That's what Erwin was missing.
"You are wrong Erwin. I'm not going to keep him locked up for his whole life like Carla did. I'm going to keep him locked up until he loves me."
And the cold stare Levi gave Erwin left no room for arguing. The two stared at each other for what felt forever but it was Erwin that finally broke the silence. He started to laugh, and his laugh was cold and it would echo against the walls. He looked pleased, amused and was now hiding his laugh behind his hand, but he wasn't alone. Levi was smirking, tilting his had and laughing quietly himself, he chuckled and snickered, his cold eyes looking like winter itself. Erwin looked no better and soon his laugh was quieting down and he was chuckling.
"Are you done acting up like a caring parent?" Levi smirked, resting his chin on top of his hands, looking at the other with an amused look in his eyes.
"It's always fun to pretend to care Levi, it reminds me that sometimes I need to care about someone other than myself..." Erwin sighed quietly, the small glee in his eyes still there. "If Carla starts asking I'm just going to pretend I know nothing, but I doubt I'll be able to do much when she finds out. You know how she is."
"I can handle her fine, she has no power over me or my realm."
"I frankly don't care what you do Levi, nor do I care what you do with the boy. You want to skin him alive, that's fine with me. But he has got a place in this world and the world is feeling his absence, as long as you keep things in balance, you are free to keep him." As if to make his point, the God of the skies tapped the newspaper in front of him, and Levi looked at it for the first time. It was a big article about how the sudden change of vegetation was affecting the world dramatically and it could be the end of thousands of species if it isn't fixed.
"I know you will deal with this. I am not worried but please do it with haste, I am getting quite sick of listening to all of those prayers, it's giving me a big headache." Erwin smiled once more and gently tapped his fingers against his desk, already looking interested in something else.
"How did you get him? I'm sure it wasn't hard for you but since he was isolated he knows nothing of the modern world. Did you scare him with technology?" The blonde God chuckled to himself.
Levi smiled lazily, his eyes still scanning the newspaper in front of him. "No, I actually did it old school. I haven't used my carriage in so long, or my second horse. It feels nice though, to pretend things are the way they used to be."
"I would have liked to see that, you have always been quite extravagant in your entrances..." Erwin stood up then, fixing the sleeves of his shirt. "Well, I better get going. Don't forget to fix the issue." He motioned at the newspaper and was gone a second later, the office empty and leaving no trace of anyone ever being inside.
Levi put the newspaper down and leaned back against his chair, his head tilting back before his desk suddenly flew off, turning into nothing but ashes before it even hit a wall. The same happened with the couch, bookshelves, coffee tables, computers and any kind of furniture the death God owned. Levi's eyes were nothing but a chilly white, with a hint of blue. He looked deadlier than before, even hazardous to the touch. The skin now looked like marble that had blue cracks across it and his dark hair had the same smoke like texture as before. He was standing up now, his fists shaking as he tried to control his anger after the little conversation he had with Erwin.
The raven wasn't just upset, oh no, he was livid. He could hardly control himself and he was sure that a few people had died just by his little outburst, but he couldn't keep it in. He hated caring this much, he had never cared before, he had only cared about his souls but the idea of Erwin even suggesting that Levi was even free to hurt Eren in such horrendous ways had truly made him crack. If Eren was to be gone, if Eren was to die, no one would care. Carla was an obsessive bitch that in the end would probably kill Eren herself it she couldn't have him under her thumb. No one else knew about Eren, only the three of them, and no one else was there to care, no one else was there as back up and Levi was on his own on this one.
"Like if I would ever think about doing that to him..." The poisonous love that was slipping through his veins wouldn't allow him to hurt Eren like that. It wouldn't allow him to make him scream or crawl like he had done with many. He couldn't, no matter how much he wanted to claim that body again, no matter how much he wanted to force Eren to hug him back and to do as he wished. He couldn't do it, not again. The idea was driving him crazy and he growled in his own frustration. He wanted to be completely selfish once more, again. Just once more, he needed it...but the little flower living in his sad little underworld, with his sad pretty eyes, wouldn't let him.
Eren looked around the dead garden, his surprised eyes following the dark soil and moving to the empty water fountain. The garden was big, it had different stone steps and pathways that lead to the different layers of footing. The young male stared down at the ground underneath him and easily slipped off his shoes, his toes dipping against the soft soil and he shivered. He had missed this feeling, and with a soft noise he chuckled and wiggle his toes before walking around the garden. It was a shame that there weren't any flowers or trees, he was sure the garden would had looked beautiful with them in it, but as of now it was nothing but a collection of dirt. Nice dirt too, it was a bit chilly, but moist and it smelled like after rain. If he tried he could probably start a garden here, but he frowned at the idea. Could anything even be alive in this place? He highly doubted that. But he wanted to make it happen, he needed it. The mere idea of bringing this to life was filling him with joy that he hadn't felt in quite a long time.
Eren knelt down and leaned in to get a better smell of the soil. It might had been weird for anyone but him and his mother but this was something natural for him to do. He closed his eyes sighing quietly, his fingers dipping into the dirt much like his toes. It felt and smelled fresh and nice, just like the one above ground.
"Are you going to start a garden?"
Eren almost jumped out of his skin when Levi spoke right behind him. He turned his head around, staring at the other with wide eyes, his heart almost jumping out of his chest. He hated when Levi did this! He always showed up out of nowhere and scared the living crap out of him, and Eren was damn sure that the other enjoyed scaring him because he always had this amused look on his face whenever Eren ended up squeaking, jumping, jerking and flat out screaming.
"Is it possible? There is no sun, no water. Can anything be alive in here?" Eren frowned a little bit, his hands rubbing together to get rid of the dirt there.
"You are alive."
But for how long, Eren mentally asked himself, but then turned his attention back towards the garden. He heard Levi kneeling down behind him, his cold hands moving to hold onto Eren's. The death God leaned his chin on top of Eren's shoulder, a small smile tugging on the corner of his lips as he pushed the brunette's hands into the soil once more. Levi was quietly humming on his ear, his body pressing against his back as his fingers slipped in between Eren's. He kept the brunette's fingers deep in the soil and Eren could feel Levi's fingernails pressing against the palm of his hand. The death God felt different, but Eren couldn't quite pin point what it was.
"You can do it, you can have an even bigger garden than the one you had before. You can create it, you can make it." Levi nodded slowly, his head leaning to rest against Eren's head. The voice was as chilly as ever but reassuring.
"You can feel it,you always could. You can feel the earth, you can taste it, you can possess it. It is part of you, it belongs to you. The flowers, the trees, all the natural beauty in this world, you own it. You are it." The raven pushed Eren's hands further into the soil along with his own, and turned his head to kiss Eren's ear.
"You are what's most beautiful in this world, you are perfect, what you do is perfect. What you create is perfect."
Eren tried to make sense of Levi's words, he truly did but he just couldn't. He was just Eren, no one else. He was the boy the lived in the middle of the forest with a mother that would hardly visit him anymore, he was easily forgotten. He wasn't special, he wasn't anything great but here was the God of Death himself, telling Eren all of this and the young male wanted to shake his head and scream in anger and denial. Why did Levi believe all of this, how could he believe all of this. And he said it with such security in his voice, with out a doubt, everything he said about Eren was what Levi believed. Levi believed in him, he truly did and each word, each praise made Eren's heart twitch and his feelings were even more confused.
The brunette wanted to cry in frustration, his shoulders sinking as he curled his fingers against the dirt, his body trembling. How could he believe all of this, just how? Why would Levi tell him all of this, did he even know how much that hurt him? If he was special then why was he abandoned? Before Eren could continue with his line of thought Levi was squeezing his hands, reassurance filling those hands until Eren felt a soft warmth spreading through his body.
"You can do it, this is who you are. You are not just what your mother expected from you, you are not who you were raised to be. You are Eren, and you are perfect." The voice was bitter.
The brunette took in a shaky breath, his eyes tearing up and he wasn't even sure why. He had just been waiting, waiting for so long to hear words like that. He felt tears rolling down from the corner of his eyes and he quietly laughed at how much crying he did now days. It was almost like it was the only thing he could do now. He laughed a bit louder and the laugh then turned into loud sobs and cries. He curled against the ground and Levi followed along, his hands never leaving his own.
Eren screamed, he screamed all of his anger, depression and sadness into the soil. He screamed until his throat felt raw and only then did he felt like a weight was off of his shoulders. He laughed quietly again, his eyes closing. Everything was insane, everything was crazy. The life he lived had been miserable yet he craved it. He wished to go back to it still. The life he had now was not better, but it felt better. He felt alive, he felt more emotions he ever did before. He interacted with someone else every day. He could feel everything around him, he could taste it against his skin, feel how alive it was, heard the people above ground. Levi was right, he could feel it. He could feel how ready the earth was around his fingers, he could feel the life it was willing to give, how eager it was. The young male smiled quietly, his eyes still tearing up but he could feel something else in his chest, something bigger and warmer.
The brunette stared down at the earth underneath him, not noticing how his body had a glow to it now, a pale, white glow that looked even brighter against the opaque colors of the underworld. He smiled and closed his eyes, pushing his hands against the soil and at that exact second a tree came to life from nothing. The tree grew next to the water fountain, the trunk growing and growing until branches started to crack through and leaves unfurled into life. The violet leafs popped open, some even falling from the sudden growth and showering Eren and Levi.
The soft petals landed on Eren's face, the silk like texture touching his face and reminding him of how wonderful his flora was. He watched with wide eyes as grass quickly began to grow, starting around him and spreading all through the garden. The grass looking even greener than the one above ground. It covered the whole garden and left a light green dust behind as it grew. The brunette slowly stood up and Levi let go of his hands, moving with him and following Eren as he walked through the garden.
Eren looked around, not knowing where to keep his eyes on but he wanted more. He wanted flowers on the soil beds and so he glanced towards the areas. He wanted roses, blue roses and red. The moment those words crossed his mind the roses crawled out from with in the ground, growing until Eren was content. He smiled and moved to the next part of the garden. He wanted carnations next, of all colors and as if the world was pleasing him, the flowers grew as well. He was doing this, Eren was doing this and he kept moving through the garden, his hands touching the different plants before turning towards the soil that was still empty.
Gerbera, iris, orchid, sunflowers, tulips. He wanted all of these flowers and the garden grew around him, moving with him, he didn't even notice the small flowers that grew with every step he took. He grinned instead, and waved one of his hands in front of the ground underneath him and another bed of flowers appeared. He walked towards the tree next, his eyes taking in everything he was creating. The metal arches, the metal work, all of it. It needed to be dressed, it needed to be adorned. The brunette grinned and touched the metal work and then vines crawled out from the ground, quickly slithering around the bars until they were all covered up and large beautiful flowers bloomed out.
He didn't pay attention to the eyes that were staring at him, the eyes full of devotion yet malice. Levi kept watching him, the feeling of guilt slowly sinking into his stomach. He hadn't wanted Eren to find out about this, he figured he could keep him ignorant for his whole life, but the more he thought like this, the more he realized he was no better than Carla. He wanted to keep the boy, he wanted to keep him near him and, hell, if it meant keeping him in a glass cage and locked underneath the underworld itself, then he was going to do it. As sick as he felt when thinking like that, as bitter as his thoughts were, he didn't want anything else. He was manipulating Eren, he was making him know and be as bright or dull as he wished. It had never bothered him before to do something like this, but knowing that he was only one of the few in Eren's life was making his insides twist with the need of possessing the other once more, to own him again, to twist him and mold him into one of his own.
Eren couldn't stop, he didn't stop. He kept going until the garden was brought to life, until it was glowing with beauty and it looked like its own little world. He wasn't even sure how he did it but crystal clear water was even filling up the water fountain and pink water lily's were floating on top. The brunette spun around, looking at everything he had created. He was panting but the smile had never left his face. He didn't know where to look, he wasn't sure when to stop, that was until he caught something from the corner of his eye.
Levi was sitting on one of the wooden benches he had created by twisting and turning tree branches. The God was watching what he was doing, quietly admiring his creations and not saying one word. He looked so out of place with all the bright colors and flowers blooming and lightly moving, almost like if they were alive. He was so monotone, so very black and white and yet...Eren liked how Levi looked sitting right there. He liked how Levi looked so proud of him, seemingly so content with what he had created that Eren found himself blushing and looking away. He let a small smile spread on the corners of his eyes and then sat on the ground near the water fountain, facing the Death God. Neither of them said anything to each other but Eren found himself closing his eyes and enjoying the comfortable silence and he was not surprised when Levi moved to sit next to him and his hand held his. He felt cold lips on his hand and Eren shivered. The whole garden shivered with him, and gently shook, bright dust spread everywhere and Eren looked up, his eyes following the colorful dust.
The brunette smiled from ear to ear and turned his attention to Levi just to hold back a laugh when he noticed the dust had landed on Levi's clothing as well. The robe Levi was wearing now had pink and purple dust all over, some of it was even on his hair and nose, the rest of his clothing not looking any better. Yet, he did nothing but lean his head on top of Eren's, closing his eyes with a soft sigh. It was up to Eren to reach over and gently wipe the dust off of Levi's clothes. The last thing he dusted off was Levi's hair, his fingers gently fluffing up the soft locks until all the dust was gone or most of it at least.
Levi kept quiet, his hold on Eren's hand never weakening and for once Eren didn't mind it so much. What a mistake.
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