Flapping Of Wings
Summary: Random bonus scenes from It Takes Two Wings To Fly, mostly from the moment Eren and Levi reunited onward. Fluff, fun, slight non graphic smut, occasional angst, short. Not in chronological order.
14. Resting Easy
Eren could not rest easy on Paradis until he made sure his severed head hadn't become a hiding place for the shining centipede that had almost led to the destruction of the world. Historia and the others kept him and Levi occupied the first two days, wanting to show them everything the people of Paradis had been up to in the past few years. Reiner and Annie had even invited Eren to spar with them, for old time's sake, but Eren had no desire to fight against his once-again friends, even in spars or mock-fights. Fighting these days was reserved for life or death situations only, now that he could sense no other shining centipedes in the forest he had been staying in for far too many years. He still doesn't know if there will be more once he and Levi start their travels, but those, he figures, he can take one step at a time.
Right now, all he wants to do is see if his friends and their families here on Paradis were in danger or not.
Mikasa and Armin are reluctant to let him see 'his' grave and he really doesn't understand why. He didn't care for what service they could or couldn't give him. He didn't care what was written on his tombstone. Hell, he didn't even care that he'd see his own skull. He'd seen and experienced far more traumatizing things for something like that to bother him.
Though even Levi was a bit uncomfortable with going to his grave, which just made no sense. Levi, if no one else, got to experience time and again that Eren was alive and well.
Eren made a note to cuddle the fuck out of his lover after they're done at the grave to reinforce all that. Levi didn't need to have any more unpleasant days than he already does.
"So?" Levi, in full gear, asked when they made their way up to the hill where Eren used to take naps as a child. It was on this hill that he first caught a glimpse of his own (future) memories but had written them off as a dream, or rather Mikasa had, because back then no one could believe that such powers existed. They had all been so ignorant and naive in those days ... Still, the view from the hill was weird, as Eren could see Shiganshina now, instead of the white Wall Maria that used to stand between them and the Titans that used to hunt them. How things have changed ... "You sense anything?"
Eren crouched down to the ground and placed a hand over the grave. It was small, only his skull was resting there because Eren had his body this whole time, and it wasn't too deep, so if something was there, he would have sensed it right away even without touching the ground with his bare skin, but he wanted to be sure. This thing still potentially possessed the power to control Eldians if it was alive. They had to make sure it was really gone for good or else Eren would be endangering his honorary nieces and nephews because he wasn't throughout.
When he was finally sure, he shook his head and felt a weight fall off his shoulders that he hadn't even been aware was there this whole time. "No, not even a trace. At least on this part of the continent, we've exterminated them all."
His former Captain also relaxed the minute amount of tension he'd been holding since they'd set foot on Paradis and Eren smiled at the older man.
Until they confirmed it that only the forests around the old Eldian Empire's territory were inhabited by the shining centipedes, for a short while, they can rest easy.
He still wanted cuddles, though.