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Winter had crept in over the settlement of Hafen, one of the first established outside the Walls, bringing with it snow and bitter winds blowing from the mainland toward the sea. It was good for Levi’s business, but the cold always made his ankle ache. Still, every night when he closed up the shop, he’d throw on a cloak and slog his way through the slush-filled roads to the town gate.
“Good evening, Captain,” came the greeting from the Garrison soldier stationed there. He was young - probably still been a trainee when the war had ended.
Levi snorted. “Eric, I’ve told you not to call me that. I’m retired, remember?” Levi looked up at the wall surrounding the town. It was small, barely over two meters, but it didn’t really have to be taller since it was mostly there to keep wild animals out and give the residents some semblance of security. “Any sign of them?”
Eric shook his head. “No flares spotted yet. Sorry, sir.”
Levi frowned. Eren’s squad was supposed to be back almost a week ago. Still, it hadn’t been long enough to truly worry; they’d probably just been delayed by the weather, or held up at headquarters for one reason or another. He pulled his cloak tighter around himself and made some small talk with Eric to direct his thoughts elsewhere before turning around and making his way back home.
Levi finally made it home and shook the snow from his cloak before hanging it up by the back door to dry, his boots set neatly side-by-side nearby. He headed for the kitchen hearth to set a pot of water to boil, only to stop abruptly when a cinnamon-colored blur wound around his ankles.
“Oi, Rogue! Are you trying to make me break my neck?”
The cat just sat on the floor and looked up at him with huge green eyes before letting out an expectant meow.
Levi snorted and filled his kettle at the sink. “You’ve already been fed your supper, greedy guts. Just because I’m in the kitchen, it doesn’t mean it’s mealtime.”
Rogue watched him silently for a few minutes before apparently deducing that food was not forthcoming and slinking off to hide somewhere else in the house. She didn’t show up again until Levi had taken his tea upstairs to the sitting room and pulled out a book. He’d just gotten comfortable when she jumped up onto the blanket covering his lap and curled into a ball. Levi absentmindedly sank the fingers of his free hand into the cat’s fur as he read, occasionally glancing up at the snow falling past the window.
The next morning, the air had warmed just enough to turn the snow into rain, and a cold dampness permeated everywhere and made the pain in Levi’s ankle bad enough that he couldn’t hide his limp.
It also kept his customers away in a way the cold and snow had not. Most of the settlers in Hafen were either veterans or the young and adventurous. The veterans had similar problems to Levi - old injuries and scars that acted up in the wet weather. As for the younger townspeople, well, they weren’t the sort to have the time or inclination to waste away their afternoon in a tea shop in the first place.
The last of the few customers Levi had managed to get that day finally left, and he finished washing the cups and teapots. He was just dumping the bucket of dirty water left from mopping into the sink when he heard the back door open and the sound of booted feet crossing the floor.
A pair of arms wrapped around his waist and he felt a chin dig into the top of his head. “Hey.” Eren’s voice rumbled behind him, and Levi could feel it vibrating through the chest pressed against his back.
“I hope you didn’t drip water all over my floor that I just cleaned .”
“Uhh...sorry?”
Levi sighed and craned his head around Eren to survey the damage. Not only was there a trail of water that had streamed off his cloak, but his boots had also left several muddy prints behind. Levi looked pointedly up at Eren without saying anything.
Eren gave him a sheepish smile and pushed back the sodden hair that had managed to escape from his ponytail. “I’ll, uh, clean it up.”
“You’d better, you heathen.” Levi reached out and snapped one of Eren’s gear straps against his hip. “Otherwise no supper for you.”
“Aw, come on, that’s not fair. Mikasa made us skip lunch so we could get back here before dark.”
“Tough shit,” Levi called out as he extracted himself from Eren’s grip and headed for the larder.
By the time Levi was finished cooking, Eren had managed to strip off his gear and clean up both himself and the floor. They ate dinner at the kitchen table, and conversation was minimal. Not that either of them minded; the silence between them was comfortable and familiar.
Levi was done eating before Eren was, and he washed his plate quickly before rejoining him at the table, cup of tea in hand. Outside, the sound of the rain on the window had changed. It was starting to freeze, a thin layer of ice coating the glass wherever the water hit it.
Eren followed suit by washing his own plate when he was done, but he stopped on his way back to his chair to rummage through his pack which was propped up next to the door. When he sat back down, he placed a bowl, a spoon, and a round object in front of them. Levi picked it up curiously. It was a dark, purplish-red color and somewhat shiny with a small, spiked protrusion on one side. “What is it?”
Eren plucked it from him and pulled out his belt knife to cut it in half. “It’s food - fruit. Armin’s books call it a pomegranate.”
Levi watched as Eren scored the skin of one half of the fruit with his knife and then held it upside down over the bowl. A sharp rap against it with the spoon and a pile of small, bright red seeds fell out. Levi wrinkled his nose. “This isn’t going to be like that octocat thing, is it?”
“Octopus , Levi. And it was really good; you should have tried some.”
“It had tentacles . I am not putting some slimy tentacles into my mouth.”
Eren shrugged and emptied out the seeds from the other half of the fruit. “Suit yourself.” He used two fingers to scoop a small bit of the fruit from the bowl and proffered it to Levi. “Here, taste it.”
Levi hesitated, gaze flicking back and forth between the red pile of seeds on Eren’s fingers and the gentle smile on Eren’s face as he waited patiently. Finally, Levi cautiously opened his mouth. Eren moved his hand forward until Levi’s lips could close over his fingers, and then he slowly withdrew them, something dark and heated flashing in his eyes as Levi’s lips dragged over his skin.
Levi felt an answering heat low in his stomach, but he was distracted as he bit into the pomegranate and his tongue was flooded with sweet juice that held just an underlying hint of tartness.
Eren must have noticed the slight widening of Levi’s eyes because he grinned. “Good, right?”
“It’s not bad.”
Eren laughed, and as the golden sound filled the corners of the kitchen, Levi suddenly realized how quiet their home had been for the last five months while Eren had been on the expedition. Each one seemed to stretch on longer and longer as the explored territory outside the walls expanded and the Survey Corps had to travel even farther afield. A wave of loneliness washed over him, and Levi found himself blindly groping on the table until he found Eren’s right hand and laced their fingers tightly together.
“...Levi?” Eren seemed to sense the change in mood, and he tossed a cloth over the bowl of fruit before moving his chair closer to Levi. “Hey, you okay?”
Levi leaned over into Eren’s shoulder and sighed, breathing in Eren’s scent. He smelled mostly like the soap he’d used earlier, but underlying it was the smell of the wind and the snow, of sunlight and freedom. Levi sighed again and shut his eyes, reaching out to take Eren’s other hand as well, and his thumb brushed against the gold band that Eren wore on the ring finger there. “I missed you,” Levi murmured into the fabric of Eren’s shirt.
Eren squeezed Levi’s hands, and he lifted Levi’s left palm to his mouth, pressing his lips first to it and then to the matching ring Levi wore. “I missed you, too.” Eren stood up and tugged Levi to his feet. Levi stumbled a little as his bad leg took his weight, and he wasn’t quick enough to hide his grimace of pain. Eren frowned. “It’s acting up again?”
Levi looked off to the side and nodded. Then a moment later he yelped and wrapped his arms around Eren’s neck as Eren swept one arm beneath his knees and hoisted him into the air. “Put me down! I’m too heavy for you to fucking carry around like a new bride!” Even though he wasn’t in the military anymore and despite his bad ankle, Levi took pride in keeping himself in shape. He might have dropped a couple kilos since retiring, but he hadn’t lost that much muscle mass.
Eren just grinned and headed for the stairs. “Oh, come on. You know I’m strong enough. Besides, you never complain when I’m manhandling you in bed.”
“That’s different. I-oof.” Levi’s breath left him in a whoosh as Eren dropped him onto said bed. Levi glared up at Eren, who was grinning down at him and practically radiating smugness.
“Is this really different?” Eren asked. He leaned down onto the bed and crawled up toward Levi, eyes gone half-lidded and dark.
Levi swallowed, his throat dry and the heat from earlier returning. Eren kept crawling toward him until he was looming over him, arms and legs caging him in place, and Levi almost automatically tilted his head up, eyes slipping shut as Eren met him in a deep, slow kiss. Levi was pushed down into the mattress, and Eren licked his way into Levi’s mouth. Levi readily received him, letting Eren’s tongue probe into him and playfully sucking at it when he moved to withdraw.
Eren broke the kiss and started trailing lips and teeth down Levi’s neck. He turned his head to the side to give him better access. Eren lightly sank his teeth into his skin, and Levi parted his lips around a moan.
“Mrow.”
Levi’s eyes flew open to see a pair of green, feline eyes staring back at him. “Eren…” He nudged Eren’s shoulder, but he didn’t respond as his mouth trailed lower on Levi’s throat and his hand started to undo the buttons of his shirt. Levi nudged him harder. “Eren, the cat…”
“Just ignore her.”
“I can’t . It’s like she’s judging me.”
Eren sighed, sat up, and ruffled his hair. He reached over the bed and grabbed Rogue before standing up and walking to the door to put her out in the hall. “Go on, Rogue. You can’t be in here right now; Levi has performance anxiety.”
When Eren shut the door and turned around, the pillow Levi threw hit him right in the face with pinpoint accuracy.
“Oof.” Eren caught the pillow before it fell to the floor. He arched an eyebrow at Levi and launched it back at him with a grin. Levi put up his arms to block it, and Eren used the distraction to leap onto the bed. He straddled Levi and reached down, rucking up Levi’s shirt and digging his fingers into Levi’s sides.
Levi gasped and tried to squirm away, but he was effectively trapped. Eren just laughed at the ineffective glare Levi shot up at him, and when Levi reached down to grab his wrists to stop him, Eren twisted his grip around and pinned Levi’s hands to the mattress above his head.
“Oh, now this was a view I missed.” Eren’s voice had gone sultry and low, and Levi shivered as Eren leaned down to nibble along the edge of his jaw. Then Eren stopped and released Levi’s hands so he could brush back the hair at Levi’s temple. “Hm? I think you’ve gotten more grey hairs since I left.
“Every single one of those is your fault, you know. And I wouldn’t be so smug if I were you. You’re thirty; any day now, you’re going to start sprouting your own.”
Eren laughed and ran his fingers along the shaved part of Levi’s undercut. Which really wasn’t fair; he knew that doing so always turned Levi into a boneless puddle. “I wasn’t complaining.” Eren dropped his head to brush his lips against the shell of Levi’s ear as he whispered, “It’s really fucking sexy.” Eren’s hands were busy undoing the rest of the buttons of Levi’s shirt while he bit and sucked on Levi’s neck, leaving behind what would surely be a dark mass of bruises come morning. As he got Levi’s shirt open and pushed down his shoulders, Eren continued to trail his mouth down Levi’s body, across his collarbones, down his chest and stomach, and ending with a bite mark on his right hipbone, just above the waistband of his pants. Eren paused, his hands on the fly, and looked up at Levi with eyes gone dark and dilated.
Levi rested a hand on the top of Eren’s head and nodded, and that was all Eren needed to quickly pop open the buttons and slide Levi’s pants and underwear off in one motion.
Eren folded the trousers and set them aside, and then he was kneeling between Levi’s legs with his hands on his thighs, spreading them slightly further apart. Eren leaned over and nuzzled against the inside of Levi’s legs. “I really did miss you.”
“Are you talking to me or my dick?”
Eren smiled up at him, eyes twinkling mischievously. “Can’t it be both?”
Levi snorted, but the sound turned into a gasp when Eren swept his tongue up Levi’s cock. He took the head into his mouth and slid up and down Levi’s length a few times and then plunged down to the base and swallowed around him, making Levi’s back arch away from the bed. “Shit, Eren.” Levi ground his teeth together. “Not gonna last long if you keep that up, love.”
Eren released him with a wet pop and pressed a kiss against the front of Levi’s hip, murmuring, “Wouldn’t want that.” He sighed, warm breath ghosting over Levi’s skin. “Want to eat you out.”
A shudder ran through Levi’s body, which Eren had to have noticed. Levi looked away and swallowed. “Fine, as long as you don’t plan on kissing me after.”
Eren smiled and sat up to pull off his shirt and shimmy out of his own trousers. “Hm, better wait then. Can you pass me the oil?”
Eren didn’t waste any time after Levi dug the vial out of their nightstand, and in a matter of moments he had worked two slick fingers into Levi, stretching him open, clever fingers rubbing over the sensitive spot inside until Levi’s cock was twitching and leaking precome all over his stomach. His mouth was hanging open, no words coming out, just panting breaths and quiet mewls and whimpers.
Eren withdrew his fingers, and Levi watched with his lower lip caught between his teeth as Eren spread more oil over himself with a few quick strokes and then positioned himself at Levi’s entrance. He slowly slid in, and once he was fully seated, he bent down to capture Levi’s lips in a bruising kiss.
They quickly found their rhythm, and Eren released Levi’s mouth to leave more love-bites blossoming across Levi’s throat and shoulder. Levi keened and wrapped his legs around Eren’s hips, trying to pull him closer.
Eren lifted his head to look down at Levi, a hand brushing away the hair that had become plastered to his forehead with sweat. “You look so pretty like that, Levi. I love having you inside me, but - fuck - nothing is as good as watching you fall apart under me.” Eren leaned down to whisper into Levi’s ear. “I want to show you. Do you want to see how beautiful you are?”
Levi’s hands tightened where they were gripping Eren’s shoulders, and he found himself answering, “Yes, Eren, p-please.”
Eren abruptly pulled out, and before Levi could do more than whine at the loss, he was being lifted up and repositioned. Eren was kneeling on the bed, and he brought Levi to straddle him, his legs falling to either side of Eren’s and his back flush against Eren’s chest. Eren reentered him in one smooth stroke, one arm going around Levi’s waist to support him. The other wrapped around his chest, pulling him back further, and Eren’s next stroke hit Levi’s prostate dead-on, making Levi’s eyes screw shut as his mouth fell open around a scream.
He felt Eren’s hand reach up to gently grasp his chin, his arm still pressed against Levi’s chest. “C’mon, love, open your eyes.”
Levi did, and he blinked a few times in surprise as he saw that Eren had positioned them in front of the tall mirror next to the wardrobe. Levi could see every inch of himself in the reflection, his hair mussed and sticking out in every direction, a pink flush spreading down his face and neck to his chest, the darker red of the hickeys, some already starting to purple, standing out against it. His eyes were wide and glassy, and his mouth hung open, a thin line of drool leaking out unheeded.
Levi’s gaze moved down, to where he could see Eren plunging in and out of him, his own cock bobbing obscenely in time with the movement. The angle Eren had him at forced his back to bow slightly, and it seemed like with every thrust, Eren was hitting him directly on his sweet spot. The combination of the sharp spikes of pleasure and the visual of Eren’s cock disappearing into him was almost overwhelming, and Levi wanted to close his eyes and lose himself in the physical sensations, but he kept them open because Eren had asked. Eren wanted him to watch.
“That’s it.” Eren gasped out, inbetween pressing open-mouthed kisses along Levi’s shoulders. “Look how pretty you are, taking my cock so good for me.”
Levi’s only response was a sobbing, broken moan as he scrabbled at Eren’s forearm with one hand, his other reaching behind him to bury his fingers in Eren’s hair, desperately seeking something to ground him.
Eren grunted and snapped his hips up into Levi harder, and he let go of Levi’s chin to grab his hand instead. His strokes started to grow irregular, and his brows drew tight together. “F-fuck, Levi. I love you. I love you so much.”
The heat coiling in Levi’s gut suddenly tightened and then snapped, his vision wavering as he fought to keep them open. Levi called out Eren’s name as he watched himself come in the mirror, thick spurts of white splattering across his and Eren’s thighs, some of it splashing up onto his stomach and chest.
He felt Eren stiffen and then shudder behind him, his last few stuttering thrusts sending aftershocks of pleasure through Levi that were almost too much. When they were both done shaking, Eren slipped out of Levi and carefully maneuvered them both until they were laying down on their sides, legs tangled together and fingers still intertwined. They would have to clean up soon, but for now they relaxed together as they waited for their breathing to calm and their heartbeats to slow to normal.
Thirty minutes later, Levi found himself leaning forward against the tiled wall of their shower as hot water beat down on his back, his head pillowed by his arm. Eren had helped him clean out the mess, and now…
“Shit, shit, shit, sh-shit,” Levi panted out, his hips thrusting back on their own. Eren was kneeling on the shower floor behind him, and his hands were on Levi’s ass, his thumbs spreading his cheeks apart. He was making loud slurping sounds as he alternated between kissing and sucking on the sensitive area around his hole, and they echoed in the small space. Levi whimpered as he felt his face heat up at the noise, and then he gasped as he felt the flat of Eren’s tongue swipe over him. “Ffffuuuuuck.”
Eren pulled back and easily slipped a finger inside Levi. “You’re so noisy when I do this. Makes me wonder if I can make you come from just my fingers and tongue back here.” Eren was moving his finger slowly, almost lazily. Levi could feel him pressing down inside, just short of hitting his prostate. Levi bucked his hips back again, trying to take his finger deeper, but Eren moved his hand back with him, and that’s when Levi knew he was teasing him on purpose.
“Fuck, whatever, Eren, just do something .” Levi was practically begging now, hands clawing against the tile wall in frustration.
“So impatient,” Eren purred, but he added a second finger and pushed down further in, stimulating the bundle of nerves inside Levi with short, circular motions. Then Levi felt something warm and wet prodding at the edge of his hole. Eren’s tongue teased along his rim, slipping in with his fingers, licking against his stretched out flesh.
An endless stream of curses and moans and babbling repetitions of Eren’s name were falling out of Levi’s mouth by now as Eren alternated between using that wicked tongue of his and kissing and sucking at his hole and his perineum, all while his fingers kept up and unending assault on his prostate. In an almost embarrassingly short amount of time, Levi’s toes were curling and he was coming, his release briefly painting the tiles before the water of the shower washed it away. Eren kept up the massage against his prostate, milking him through it, until Levi was shaking and trying to squirm away. As Levi sank down the wall, Eren straightened up until Levi was leaning against his legs, one of Eren’s hands stroking lovingly through his hair.
Levi caught his breath and looked up. Eren was smiling down at him, but Levi’s eyes were drawn to Eren’s cock, hanging hard and heavy between his legs. Levi raised himself up onto his knees and wrapped a hand around Eren, giving him a long, slow stroke from base to tip as he looked up at him through half-lidded eyes.
Eren’s throat bobbed as he swallowed, and he nodded, the hand in Levi’s hair tightening its grip. Not needing any further invitation, Levi took Eren into his mouth. Relaxing his throat, Levi slowly moved down until he was nosing the soft brown curls at Eren’s base. He pulled back just as slowly and swirled his tongue around Eren’s head, the tip slipping along the edge of Eren’s foreskin.
Eren let out a short cry at that, and his hips gave an abortive snap forward. Eren tensed, obviously forcing himself to hold still, but Levi just hummed around him and moved back down. When he reached Eren’s base, Levi only pulled back a short distance this time. He stopped there and gripped Eren’s hips, giving them an encouraging squeeze.
Eren seemed to get the idea and carefully thrust forward into Levi’s mouth. He made a few more shallow movements and then paused. He slid his hand down from Levi’s hair to his face, lightly running his thumb along Levi’s cheekbone and giving Levi a chance to pull away and take charge again if he wanted. When Levi didn’t move, only looked up at Eren through his eyelashes, Eren groaned and started fucking Levi’s mouth in earnest, with short, fast thrusts.
“Shit, shit, Levi, you’re perfect,” Eren babbled, his eyes closing as his fingers curled back into Levi’s hair. “Your mouth is perfect, so hot and wet for me. Fuck, Levi, fuck.”
Levi moaned, and the vibrations made Eren’s hips stutter slightly. He flattened out his tongue along Eren’s length as it slid over it, his mouth flooding with the salty taste of precome that Levi should have found disgusting but didn’t, because it was Eren . The words Eren was saying had turned into meaningless sounds as he lost himself to filling Levi up, and Levi moved his hand down Eren’s hip. He brushed over Eren’s balls and moved it back further, fingertip slipping between Eren’s cheeks. He pressed lightly against Eren’s entrance, and then Eren was coming down Levi’s throat. Levi eagerly swallowed, getting nearly all of it except for a bit that dribbled down his chin as Eren pulled out.
The water was nearly cold by the time they finished washing up, and Eren seemed to be having a hard time keeping his eyes open as they dried off and brushed their teeth. Levi felt a pang of guilt, remembering that Eren had spent all day on horseback before getting home, but it quickly dissipated when they curled up together underneath the freshly changed blankets on the bed and Eren pulled him close with a contented sigh. Rogue had been let back into the room, and she was sleeping in her usual place at the foot of the bed. Levi’s eyes had started to drift closed when Eren broke the silence.
“So, Commander Erwin had something to talk to us about while we were at headquarters.”
“Oh?” Levi fought to keep his voice light, ignoring the sinking feeling in his stomach. In his experience, the words “Erwin” and “talk” in the same sentence had rarely meant good news.
“Yeah, he wants to set up a secondary headquarters out here, so the exploratory expeditions don’t have to go all the way back to the Walls. There’s, uh, there’s going to be a training facility attached to it, too. Strictly for people wanting to join the Survey Corps, not the Garrison or Military Police.”
“Sounds like a good idea. Most of the exploration teams already live here or in the other colonies.”
Eren hummed in agreement before clearing his throat. “He...he asked me if I wanted to be one of the trainers. I said I’d have to talk to you first. If I did, I wouldn’t be going on expeditions anymore.”
Levi froze. He knew what he would want, given the choice between having Eren there, every night, instead of gone for months at a time, but what he wanted wasn’t the issue here. “What do you want to do, Eren?”
“I...I think I’d like to try it. I don’t know if I’d be any good at training other people, though.”
Levi brushed Eren’s hair away from his face, carefully looking into his eyes. “What about Armin and Mikasa? I know you always wanted to explore the world with them.”
“Well, the important thing was to see the ocean, and we did that.” Eren smiled, soft and happy, and Levi relaxed a little. “Mikasa’s going to stay on as a trainer, too. I think she kind of wants to settle down, maybe start her own family. Armin isn’t done traveling yet, but Jean and Hanji are still with him, so I’m not worried about him. And…” Eren looked down, one of his rare bouts of shyness turning his face pink. “I missed you. It wasn’t so bad when it was just two or three months, but this last one was awful. All I wanted to do at the end was come home, and I’m sure Mikasa and Horseface will tell you how bad my temper was the last few weeks.”
Levi slid closer to Eren and draped his arm around his waist. “I have to admit, I like the idea of you staying here.”
Eren hummed in agreement and ran his hand along Levi’s arm. “Oh, and the Commander wanted to know if you’d be willing to give a few guest lessons, once the training facility is up and running.”
Levi snorted. “Of course he did. Probably figures recruitment will go up that way.” He sighed. “Tell him I’ll consider it if he can come up with a good enough bribe.”
Eren laughed, and then he tilted his head down to capture Levi’s lips in a lazy kiss. When they broke apart, Eren was smiling at him. “I love you.”
Levi felt his face go warm. Nearly ten years together, some of it through the tail end of the war when neither of them were sure they’d live to see another dawn, let alone peace, and Eren could still make his heart stutter in his chest like he was some love-struck teenager. He ducked down to hide his blush, but he knew from the way Eren’s arms tightened around him that he’d already seen it. “I love you, too.”
Tomorrow, Levi would be limping from more than just his bad ankle, his voice would be rough and hoarse, and when Springer came in with the bakery order for the day, he was guaranteed to tease him about the hickeys that were far too high up on his neck to hide.
Levi smiled to himself and relaxed in Eren’s arms.
Everything was perfect.