Crack of Sunlight (Ereri/Riren)

*~Chapter Twenty Six~*

Above is sorta what I imagined, plus the moon. :3

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A few days passed and inevitably with them, another relapse with the building up of cabin fever in both the occupants of the apartment, particularly the teenager. On a positive note, Eren deemed Levi's cuts healed enough to remove the bandages for good, but that was the only thing to speak for.

Presently, Eren wandered aimlessly and restlessly around, looking for things to keep his hands occupied, but to no avail. Levi resided on the couch, the only noise being the scratching of his pencil across the paper of his sketchbook. Eventually, his fist closed around the utensil and his eyes darted up to the teen who was, once again, rounding the corner from the kitchen.

"Would you sit the hell down, Jaeger? You're making me dizzy."

Eren huffed as he plopped down onto the opposite couch, mumbling an apology. He glanced almost longingly toward the window where the sun was sinking lower in the sky.

"You don't have to be here, you know," Levi murmured in a much softer tone. He kept his gray eyes fixed on whatever he was drawing and continued to sketch as he spoke.

Eren remained quiet. Of course he knew that, but there was still no way he was about to abandon Levi. He had the feeling the raven was close to his breaking point, close to deciding he needed and wanted more help than what Eren could offer.

"Such a stubborn brat," he said under his breath.

Eren merely sent him a semi smug half grin, which he softly tch-ed at and transferred his focus back to the page in front of him.

Eren fidgeted with his shirt as he stared absently out the window and let his thoughts wander.

"I have an idea," he said a while after Levi had set his sketchbook down and curled up into a ball, staring at nothing while his body shook. He raised a questioning brow. "I think it would do us both some good to get out of here for a while," Eren continued. "I know where we can go. It's nowhere public or anything, if you're up for it."

"Where?"

"I'll leave it a surprise."

Levi shoved himself into a sitting position. "Let's go, then."

Eren blinked in mild surprise. "Seriously?"

"I'm just as tired of sitting around here as you are."

Not ten minutes later, they were descending the stairs toward the parking lot. The weather had warmed up considerably from the winter storms and the last of the snow had melted. The air was still slightly chilly, but really nothing they couldn't handle.

Stepping away from that building almost immediately gave Eren the sense of freedom. He pointed his nose upward and inhaled the fresh air, enjoying the way it expanded his lungs and eased his cabin fever.

By the time they made it to the car and got in, Levi's trembling had kicked up vigorously and he fumbled to shut the door. Observing this, Eren said, "Maybe this isn't such a good idea..."

"I'm fine," insisted the raven. "I can handle it."

"Okay, but if it gets to be too much..."

"Just drive, Eren."

Swiftly, Eren complied, shoving his keys into the ignition and twisting. The car sparked to life and he revved it a few times to help warm it up.

In truth, Levi wasn't sure he could handle this. Merely walking down the stairs had him winded and his muscles twitching uncomfortably. But he hadn't missed the blissful look on Eren's face as soon as he took a breath of the fresh air. He had no intention of ruining the little bit of happiness Eren had found, whether he could handle it or not. He would force himself to endure it no matter what.