Crack of Sunlight (Ereri/Riren)

*~Chapter Eight~*

Trigger warning. (This chapter kills me...heh.)

Levi had his hands shoved in his pockets as the door in front of him swung open to reveal Eren, standing just beyond the threshold in all of his bright-eyed glory. The artist's tainted heart skipped a beat and went into overdrive at the mere sight of him.

"Hey," the brunet greeted cheerfully. "Come on in."

Levi couldn't help thinking how pathetic his nervousness was as he mumbled his thank you to the brat and stepped through the threshold. The warm interior of the house was a significant contrast to the nippy winter air outside. It was a normal house - comfortable looking furniture, plush tan carpet, family pictures hanging on the walls. Levi was met with the heavenly scent of food drifting from a lit up doorway he could only imagine was the kitchen. There were several Christmas decorations, the boldest being the tree standing cheerfully in the corner, lit up with soft white lights glinting against a variation of ornaments. The abode was inviting and homey, almost like a personification of Eren himself. Levi couldn't help but feel awkward and out of place.

He only had a second or two to take all of this in before a woman appeared from the kitchen doorway, wiping her hands on a tattered dish towel. Levi found his heart jumping in anticipation again; he wanted to shoot himself right in the forehead.

Eren motioned the woman over and said, "Mom, this is Levi."

The woman approached at a moderate pace, a smile spreading across her face as she did so. The first thing Levi noticed about her was how ridiculously much she resembled the tall teen standing next to him. They had the same bone structure, the same soft smile and even the same calm demeanor.

As she held her hand out for him to shake, which he did gingerly, he noted her soft amber eyes. Something in those eyes struck a chord in him. Upon first glance, they looked like normal eyes...but Levi, having been through more shit than a person should have to go through, could see deeper than that. She'd been through a lot, as well; there was something inside of her broken beyond repair. He knew because he'd seen that look in his own eyes in the mirror, and he suddenly realized Eren saw it, too...

"Nice to meet you," she said in a soft, motherly voice.

"You, too," he mumbled, feeling suffocatingly awkward.

"I'm sorry, but dinner is a little late. Feel free to make yourself at home, though."

"Thank you."

He didn't miss the sly glance she sent Eren's way as she turned to disappear back into the kitchen.

"Come on," invited Eren, waving him toward the living room. He followed him in, already having shoved his hands back into his pockets.

Lounging casually on the couch was a black-haired girl, eyes glued to the TV with two guys Levi thought he vaguely recognized having an argument.

"Mikasa," Eren said, tone a bit hard.

"What?" asked the girl without moving her eyes from the screen.

Eren reached down and pressed a button on a controller resting on the coffee table, pausing the show. The girl's head snapped up, mouth open to chew him out, but she stopped short as soon as she saw the shorter man hovering a foot or so behind him.

"Mikasa, this is Levi," Eren said, voice implying that she be nice. Levi knew; he'd heard Alex use that tone with him countless times.

She sat up and studied the man, face unreadable. "So this is him," she said flatly.