Bite Me.

16.

Levi heard the door go at 10:26pm, and this immediately was cause for paranoia. Nobody ever called this late uninvited. Not on a Monday night, especially. He took a pistol from its hiding place, creeping slowly towards the door. He clicked off the safety and, clenching it tight in one hand, cautiously opened the door. The sight that met him filled him with more shock than an assassin ever could.
'Eren?' He was so surprised, in fact, that he dropped the gun. It went off, firing a bullet into the distance. Eren was stood in the doorway, clutching the hand of a little girl and looking very much the worse for wear. He had dried blood on his forehead and cheek, and the little girl was moaning softly in pain, her small hands gripping at her stomach as if trying to hold it together.
'I- I know that this is loads to ask, and that you're going to say no anyway, but it was worth a try. Look, I can't stay at home anymore. It's not safe for her. I have nowhere else to go, and it would only be for a night or two until I can find the money to...' He trailed off when he saw Levi's disgusted expression. Yeah, he'd thought as much. So that was that; it was go home, or spend the next few weeks or so living in a car. He put his sister down gently, and she stared wide-eyed up at the black-haired boy in front of her.
'I'm scared,' she hid behind her brother's legs, finding refuge in his reassuring scent.
'Who the hell hit you?' Levi brushed his fingers against Eren's cheek, flicking away some of the blood.
'My daddy,' the little girl spoke up, peering round at him. 'Hell is a bad word. You shouldn't say that.'
He frowned at her, confused as to why an infant was admonishing his use of language. Eren waited for him to reach forwards and hit his sister or something, but instead he chuckled drily.
'So you assumed you could stay at mine, simply because I let you live one time?' He looked back to Eren, his expression unreadable.
'I'm... Sorry. I don't have anywhere else to go.'
'What's going on?' Archer appeared through a doorway, rubbing his eyes and yawning sleepily. 'Hi, Eren. Hi, small child. I'm not sure what either of these people are doing here.'
'Eren's asking for a place to crash. I think his dad hit him or something.'
'Not his daddy,' the little girl stepped out into full view. 'My daddy. Eren, is he stupid?'
A muscle jumped in Levi's jaw, and Archer snorted with laughter.
'I like this kid,' he approved. 'Sure, stay as long as you like. Anybody who can call my brother stupid and keep their neck intact is always welcome.'
'Thank you so much,' Eren gushed. 'It'll only be for a few days while I scrape up the money for a hotel-'
'I won't hear of it,' Archer cut him off. 'I find this place much nicer than a hotel. Besides, if her dad decides to pay you a visit, we can protect you.'
'I think I should get some say in this too,' Levi protested. 'It is my house you're renting out.'
'Oh, shut up you miserable old man... This will be good for you.'

Marzia fixed Eren up with a mug of hot chocolate, and fed May several biscuits. She wasn't allowed the hot chocolate on account of it being far past her bedtime, so a sugar rush would not be welcome. Instead she nibbled delicately at a hobnob, curled up on the sofa into Archer's chest, already quite taken with the white-haired boy. She thought little of his brother, though, and kept shooting glares at him whenever he tried to complain about his house being taken over.
'I don't like the girl,' he sulked. 'She keeps looking at me.'
'My name is May.'
'I don't care. Hey, why am I even still here? I'm exhausted.'
'Because we're keeping our guests company. Don't be so impolite.'
'I'm not overly fussed by that. Eren, you can sleep in the same room you did last time. The girl can stay in the room right at the end of that hall.'
'Does it have pink walls?' May bounced up and down in excitement; she'd never had her own room. She'd always shared with Carla, even the same sofa bed.
'No.' Levi stated bluntly with disregard. 'Pink is a repulsive colour.'
'It can have pink walls,' Archer reconciled as her face crumpled. 'I'll paint them myself.'
'I think it's bedtime,' Eren held his hand out for his sister, and she pulled a face, crawling onto Archer's lap and refusing to move. This seemed to amuse Levi because he smirked, trying and failing to conceal it behind his hand. Archer, clearly flattered, resigned himself to taking her up. She clapped with glee and forced him to give her a piggyback up the stairs because she was 'too tired to walk', despite being perfectly able to kick him in the sides with great gusto like he was a real horse. Five minutes later she could be heard to be screaming 'yeehah!' at the top of her lungs. Levi and Eren were left alone together in the room, neither of them feeling much like sleeping.
'Does she go to school yet?' Levi eventually made a pass at a conversation, really not used to this whole socialising malarkey. He never did it by choice, and he almost always had the choice.
'Yeah. She goes to Park Hill primary.'
'We'll have to get her there tomorrow. I'll get Marzia to take her and I'll give you a lift to school.'
'Uh, thanks.'
'Look, Eren...' He wasn't sure how to say this without coming off as too caring. 'I know I haven't exactly been cordial towards you. So I'm...' He took a deep breath. This was not coming easily to him. 'I'm sorry.'
'For what?'
'For... You know. For everything. For not letting you go home when I should have just sent you home the moment I noticed something was wrong. Sorry for strangling you, and for that whole thing with your wrist too... And for what I said on Wednesday.'
'It's okay, Levi. I don't care about any of that.'
'You don't?'
'Of course not. If I did, I wouldn't have come, would I?'
Levi's eyebrows shot up. He was so taken aback by the idea that Eren didn't hate him. How could he not hate him? He had almost tried to kill him twice, and he'd done some pretty messed up shit in his presence. Not to mention he had essentially broken up all of his friendships too.
'Okay,' he literally had no idea how to react. This was a new concept to him; he never apologised to his brother, so being forgiven by him was never vocalised. 'Well, I'm going to go to bed now.'
He stood up to leave, but was overcome by dizziness. Crap. He still hadn't fed since he'd drunk from Eren the last time. He collapsed back onto the chair, his head reeling and the room spinning. He screwed his eyes tightly shut and pinched the bridge of his nose.
'Woah,' Eren darted over to him, putting a supporting hand on his back and helping him to his feet. 'When did you last feed?'
'Last night,' he lied, swatting his hand away. 'I'm fine.'
He tried to stand again, but this time he lurched forwards and almost took Eren out completely, but was grabbed around the waist.
'I'll take you up,' Eren told him firmly. 'And you are going to feed because otherwise you might die or something.'
He half supported and half carried Levi up the stairs, surprised by how light he was. He found the correct room after a bit of trial and error, and sat the boy down on the bed.
Levi, practically delirious with hunger and exhaustion, immediately started stripping and picked up a folded shirt twice his size from the end of the bed. He pulled the remainders of his clothes off and Eren wheeled around, covering his eyes and going bright red.
'Don't be such a prude,' Levi grunted, yanking the shirt over his head and pulling the brunet round to face him. 'I believe you owe me a drink.'
Eren squeaked as he was pushed down onto the bed, Levi crouching over him with fangs bared. He lowered his teeth towards Eren's throat, his heart racing wildly. He had been subconsciously craving this blood for this entire time. His tongue ran down a vein, just teasing a little. He wanted to draw this out for as long as possible; after all, how did he know this wasn't his last chance? Their last time had been awful and completely unsatisfactory. So this time, he resolved to make it interesting for both of them. He kissed the base of Eren's throat, sucking gently and rolling his tongue over the skin, pulling a whimper from between Eren's eager lips. He moved up to kiss them, their mouths working together and tongues swirling. He smiled against the boy's lips and slipped his hands under his shirt, running his fingers along the planes of his stomach and listening to him moan appreciatively.
'Ah-' Eren choked out as Levi ran a finger round the inside of his waistband.
'Sshh...' Levi placed a finger against his lips, turning his attention to Eren's increasing excitement. He sat up, feeling it pressed into him.
'Somebody's enjoying themselves,' he remarked smugly, strangely proud that he was the cause of this. Of course he was; he'd become a master in the art of the tease. Then he leaned down and bit him, his teeth slicing through flesh like water. Eren winced, then his eyes glazed over and he felt the warmth ripple out. Once Levi started, he just couldn't stop. It had been so long since this tantalising flavour had crossed his lips. It had been 3 minutes of steady draining already, and still his hunger was insatiable. If he wasn't careful, he'd end up exsanguinating the boy. Then he'd really be in trouble. Wait, what did he care? It wasn't as if he felt anything for Eren. He could drink all of it right now, and it would be inconsequential. He made people go 'missing' all the time. Why should it make a difference if he knew the boy? He knew all the right ways to make evidence point in the wrong directions. But then what? These past few days he'd lost his appetite entirely. Was it just that he missed Eren's blood or did he miss Eren himself? Oh good god... Was he pining? Was that it? No. He couldn't be. Ugh, when did his life get so overly complicated? It had been complex enough when he didn't have irrational feelings. He forced himself to pull away, and noticed with irritation that Eren looked sad.
'What?' He scowled.
'I don't like it when you stop,' the by confessed.
How the hell was he that stupid? Levi had been considering killing him and weighing up the pros and cons, and this boy was upset because he hadn't. What a fucking moron.
'Oh, just go to bed,' he waved him away. That was quite enough excitement for one day.