Chapter Text
He scrubbed futilely at the table top, knowing well that if it didn’t shine Levi would put up a fuss. He certainly wasn’t beneath living with it but Eren would rather he not be in a bad mood his first day back in Levi’s company. It’s been so long since I saw him… He scrubbed a little harder, heart pounding.
“Eren’s really excited to see Captain Levi again, isn’t he?” Sasha hummed happily.
“Hmm…” Mikasa looked out the window and Armin glanced at her curiously. He knew she was still injured but she wasn’t about to listen to a word anyone said to her about relaxing and healing. As long as Eren was around anyway.
Eren pulled the kerchief from around his nose, head lifting as he listened with sharp ears for a noise he swore he’d been hearing all day: the thudding of hoofbeats on the firm earth. His brows softened as they neared and before anyone could stop him he was charging out the door.
“Eren!” Mikasa reached for him as he almost knocked over the bucket of water.
“You don’t know who it is!” Armin tried to back her up, tried to help her as much as he could… anything to keep her from getting upset and hurting herself worse.
“Captain!” He heard his voice as he rode up the path to the house they were all crammed into, and he wasn’t about to admit to the way his heart lifted at the sound. He thought it was fitting that the boy hurried up the path towards him, turquoise eyes shining as he reached up to help his superior down from the horse. “Captain Levi!” There was relief, plain and soft, painted all over his face with touches of concern and exhaustion.
“You little shit,” he couldn’t bring himself to say anything else and slapped Eren’s hand away as he climbed down, watching Eren’s body tense and shift as if he were about to wrap his arms around him. The brunette reached out to touch him, as if he weren’t real, but hesitated. “Eren?”
“I… am sorry…” he drew his hand back and Levi glanced around him. “We’ve gone over the cottage a few times… I don’t know if it’ll be to your liking, but I tried really hard.”
“I know you did,” Levi told him. There was gentility in his voice, a kindness that was often there but never heard. “Go put my horse away,” he couldn’t stand there under Eren’s simpering gaze for long. I missed you too, asshole. He waved him away.
Mikasa watched them, the way Eren’s body shifted in response to Levi’s movement, to the angle of his hands and the turn of his lips into a smile at Levi’s sharp words. Why does he put up with this guy? She wouldn’t forgive him for what he did to Eren. Even if he had saved her, even if it had been her fault that he was hurt… she had never quite recovered from the blood dripping from Eren’s face.
Jean wasn’t really sure what he was expecting when Levi walked into the cabin but it certainly wasn’t the obvious irritation that spilled onto his face and curve his brows down, “What the hell is this?”
“Our… cabin… sir?” Jean answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Not that, jackass, this fucking mess,” Levi frowned. “I thought Eren would have told you all by now that--”
“Captain! Is there anything else I can do for you?” Eren was already back at the door, scrubbing the dirt off his boots and it was all Levi could do not to let amusement flicker in his eyes, not watch the way Eren looked up at him eagerly as he dried the leather.
“I thought you’d teach them how to be tidy at least,” Levi grunted. “Your friends are pigs.”
“Yes sir! I did try to tell them to help me clean up…” he glanced at his friends, almost ashamed to have them see him this way… to see how desperate he was to please Levi. Everything was worth the smile in his eyes and the warmth in his voice.
“We’re sorry Captain Levi,” Historia was the first to speak. “We didn’t listen to Eren the way we should have…”
“Don’t be sorry, just get it done,” his voice was a whip crack and it had all of them scattering except Eren. And Mikasa. Who remained still with the axe in her hand as she stared Levi down. “What is it Ackerman?” Levi felt Eren’s gaze on him, almost sensed when he looked away to his sister. “Aren’t you injured?”
“No. I’m fine,” she deferred to her scarf and Levi’s eye twitched.
“You came back injured and you’re not healed yet. I won’t have a squad member who can’t take care of themselves. Go rest and consider that an order,” Levi held out his hand for the axe. “Eren will take over your duties.”
“But Eren--”
“Is perfectly capable of chopping wood, and if he whacks his hand off it’ll grow back. I’ll make sure someone is there to be sure he doesn’t axe his own stupid head,” Levi could almost hear the indignant huff from the titan shifter.
Mikasa’s silver eyes flickered between them and she relented to her superior officer, handing the axe to him under his stern blue gaze before turning and heading out to find something else to do with herself.
“Can I trust you with this?” Levi offered Eren the axe and his lips twitched. “We’ll need firewood as it’s getting cold.”
“How much, Captain?”
“Chop until I tell you not to anymore,” Levi replied blandly. He delighted in the way Eren’s eyes lit up at his command, happy to be given any sort of order. God damn kid… he rubbed the back of his neck. He wasn’t about to say the Hero Worship wasn’t nice, that at first it hadn’t been obnoxiously endearing, but over time he had seen it become something else… the need to please had become so ingrained in Eren that even now… with all he’d been through… Levi was his top priority. Maybe tonight I’ll talk to him.
Levi felt better once he was showered, washed down and free of sweat for the first time in what felt like years. He’d spent most of his shower thinking about Eren and just what exactly he could say to him to get him to open up. All he’d ever seen from him was anger and sadness… but he knew he had more depth. He’d seen it in his eyes and heard it in his voice. He knew the boy had deeper thoughts and darker dreams than the ones he spoke of… the trick was to drag it out of him. To make him open up around his concerns. Because Levi had seen the haunted look in his eyes, the way it flickered and hid behind the happiness for Levi’s return.
Then his mind turned to his trials during the expedition as he dressed. He couldn’t help the heavy sigh that left his body physically exhausted. That whole experience had been nothing short of temper-inducing but being back in the place he belonged, with his squad, had set his nerves at ease for the most part… even if these idiots were the most incompetent bunch of assholes he’d ever had the displeasure of dealing with.
“What the hell is this?” Levi frowned as Historia set plates out on the dinner table.
“Dinner?” Sasha replied, mouth practically dripping.
”No you’re all filthy and I’m not about to sit at the dinner table with a bunch of anima-- where the hell is Eren?”
“Eren?” Armin echoed his name. “I… don’t know.”
“Sit down Ackerman,” Levi said with something near impatience. “I will go look for him while all of you little monsters clean your hands because this is bullshit. Don’t even think about touching my food or my plate or… for that matter just don’t touch anything until you’re clean.”
“But…” Sasha looked heartbroken and Connie pat her shoulder.
“Clean up,” Levi’s last words were punctuated by the slamming of the cottage door.
“He’s such a sourpuss…” Jean muttered.
“But it’s still kind of an honor that we were selected for his squad right?” Connie offered.
Armin wasn’t about to butt in, to tell them that he had a feeling something about this was meant to do something to Eren… he hadn’t completely understood what yet. What could separating him from humanity do?
Eren grunted under the swing of his axe, slicing clean through a log with one sweep. He’d been at it all day, sweat glistening on his cooling skin beneath the sunset as he pushed the pieces over and set a new one down.
How long had he been working? He really couldn’t tell. This menial physical task had his body aching desperately but it was mind numbing work. The muscles of his back and shoulders were aching beneath the strain of his neck swing and the axe missed, sending the log skittering across the dry ground. He panted, sweat dripping down his face, dirt clinging to his skin.
Mind numbing work. That was exactly what he’d needed. Something to hit and chop and slice until all the pent of feelings of anger and aggression had ebbed away to wait for another tide. He bit his bottom lip, closing his tired eyes against the quiet of the woods and swallowed against his dry mouth.
All of it was too much to handle sometimes: losing his mother, losing his friends, causing the deaths of his squad, being caught by people he’d thought were his friends… the burn of betrayal that made the ache in his shoulders soften. He grunted again as he set up another log, swinging the axe down with all his might in a blind rage.
Levi heard him before he saw him: caught between sobs of anger and fear. When he did see him his first thought was: filthy. But then he wondered if Eren even knew that he was crying, if he even knew that tears were cutting deep lines in the grime on his face, if he’d noticed that he’d been working all day long. He must be exhausted. Something settled in Levi’s chest and he brushed his fingers against the ends of his undercut, something affectionate and warm that purred when he thought of Eren’s smile.
Eren’s muscles were swollen from abuse, latissimus dorsi sliding fluidly and trapezius muscles folding with the flex of his deltoids. He wondered what it would be like to run his finger down the edges of his spine and feel him arch to his touch, what kind of sounds he’d make. I told him to chop until I told him to stop. The sudden realization hurt. It hit him hard in the gut and left him breathless.
“Oi, Eren,” his voice broke the twilight air and Levi was terrified that Eren’s sweaty grip was about to slip off the axe.
“Captain!” He stiffened, panting as he smeared the dirt on his face with his wrist.
“You’ve been at it for hours, come inside,” Levi told him gently.
“I just… have a few more to--” Eren turned to see the massive pile of wood he’d spent the afternoon chopping. When had it gotten that big? He shuddered when he slammed the axe into a block to keep it from rusting as Levi began picking up a piece pieces from his collection. “W-Wait sir you--”
“Eren I’m fine, pick up your shirt and wash up before dinner,” Levi straightened up to look at him. In this light his eyes were almost black but Eren knew they were blue, deep and dark like the night sky during the moon’s descent. He knew a lot of things about his captain, but when he really thought about it he really didn’t know him at all, did he? He knew things of him and things about him but he didn’t know him in the way he knew Armin or Mikasa or even Jean… those were people he could predict and understand. Levi was something else entirely.
“I’ll have to wash up in the shower out back then… I don’t want to track all this in…” Eren muttered as he snatched up his clothing. I’m going to hurt in the morning, aren’t I? He could already feel it, the way his arms shook when he moved them. It hadn’t been like this since he was in training; pushing himself to his limits with all his strength and determination.
“You’re learning, good boy,” Levi glanced over at him to see the way Eren’s tired eyes lit up at his compliment. “I’d like to speak with you in private after dinner.”
“Huh?” Eren blinked stupidly. “Yeah that sounds okay, after bed check?”
“Eren we’re in the middle of east buttfuck nowhere, there’s nobody here to bed check.”
Eren cracked a smile at that, “True. Mikasa, Sasha, and Christa took over a whole room for themselves.”
“Well it’s good thing you’re used to sleeping in close quarters.”
“Yeah, Armin and I took a bunk before we’d be forced to share with Jean or Connie,” Eren chuckled.
“It’s good that you’re smiling again,” Levi told him and watched Eren’s face sink.
“Is it?” Only with you, Captain.
“Sure, you miserable little shit, go wash down and come in for dinner,” Levi chided and Eren smiled in return as he turned to walk inside.
“Captain.”
“What is it, Jaeger?”
“I’m… really happy you’re back.”
A smart ass retort hung on Levi’s lips as he looked over at his subordinate, his ward, his titan shifter… his partner. Yes his partner. That was a better word. Because what would Humanity’s Greatest Soldier be without Humanity’s Last Hope? And Humanity’s Last Hope was a 15 year old boy that looked at him with warmth and affection in his eyes that he was certain no one had ever used upon him before.
“I’m happy to be back as well,” he replied quietly and turned sharply into the house.
Dinner was eventful to say the least. It had been quite a long time since Levi had been at a table with noisy teens arguing about who got the last slice of bread. Eren spent most of his time managing arguments between Connie, Jean, and Sasha with an expert hand. Levi was almost impressed with his dexterity.
“Come on guys don’t fight,” Eren said for the third time as Sasha tried for the bread and earned a slap from Connie’s hand. “Hey! That’s enough,” Eren snatched up the slice and shoved it into his mouth, ending the contest.
“Eren! That’s not fair!” Sasha whimpered and he ‘hffed’ through his bread.
”I was thinking,” Levi’s voice cut the air and everyone turned to look at him. “It would be best to keep your techniques sharp and there’s a bunch of fuckin’ trees around here. Tomorrow morning I want you all running drills for four hours. Don’t get lazy.”
”Do you want us to do hand to hand as well?” Jean asked.
”Sure, embarrass yourselves for me, that sounds entertaining.”
Eren’s eyes were on him again and he looked over, meeting lake blue orbs that flickered beyond the candle light, “If you’re all finished squabbling why don’t you clean up. Do the dishes and dry them and put them back where you found them.”
When they had first arrived Eren attempted to elucidate just how tidy his captain was. He’d spent hours scrubbing the floors until they shone with perfection; partly for Levi’s sake and partly for the sake of taking his mind off things. He’d instructed them on just how to sweep down cobwebs and check for termites and seal the failing support beams. He hadn’t realized just how much he’d learned from Levi until the moment that he was actually showing Armin how to properly scrub shower tiles.
Armin had stared at him with incredulity until Eren was forced to explain that Levi had made him scrub down the bathrooms of Utgard with Eren’s own toothbrush until every last corner sparkled.
Of course none of that stopped them from tracking in mud onto Eren’s perfectly clean floors or leaving crumbs on the table for ants to pick up. He sighed at the mess in the kitchen, the mess that no one else seemed to have noticed before they rushed off to prepare for bed. Oh my god I’m turning into Levi.
”It’s the worst when you work so hard on something and everybody ruins it, right?” Levi’s voice came from near the hearth and Eren turned his head.
”I just want it to be right for you, Captain.”
Well if that didn’t hit him like a knockout punch then he wasn’t sure what would. This boy. This earnest, honest, hardworking idiot boy said the damndest things, “Shut up.”
Eren’s grin nearly broke his face at Levi’s acknowledgement and Levi rolled his eyes, “Are you going to bed?”
”You must be stupid, didn’t I say I wanted to talk to you?” Levi answered and helped him sweep up the crumbs from the tabletop.
”Oh… right…” his aching shoulders slumped and he sank into a chair. He seemed to shrink then, closing his tired eyes. It was the first time in a long time Levi had seen him this way and for a moment all he wanted to do was reach out to him.
”You know… maybe it would be better if we don’t talk tonight, you’re tired and I’m tired and it would be better to do this another time,” Levi wanted to stroke his fingers through his hair and run his thumb over his wrinkle brow and smooth away the worry lines that had built there all his life… but he settled for gripping the back of Eren’s chair. “You wore yourself out today.”
”I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable,” Eren replied softly. “I missed you.”
Levi felt his throat burn, finally giving in and catching his hand on his shoulder and rubbing his thumb against his dens, soothing his spine and curling his fingers around his trapezius, “I’m here now, right? So shut up.”
Eren’s eyes flickered closed and Levi felt him relax under his palm, wishing the tension in this young man’s shoulders away if only for a moment. It was a soothing moment for them both, somehow, it had been so long since they’d been together. Everything in this house was comfortable and warm and familiar for Eren and that was all Levi had wanted. To just give him a chance at normalcy for just a little while.
And saints knew he needed it too.