Crack of Sunlight (Ereri/Riren)

•~Chapter Twenty One~•

The things above will make sense as you read the chapter. The fairy was drawn and colored by my fantastic sister. ♥ (Other than that, this chapter is meh, haha.)

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"What the hell are you so deep in thought about?" Levi was asking, peering up at his lover through narrow eyes. Eren was gazing absently off into space, chewing on his lip.

"Huh?" he mumbled stupidly. "Oh. Nothing."

"Hmm, sure."

Eren's smile returned and he bent down to place a chaste kiss on Levi's waiting lips. The raven reached up and held his head down longer, dragging out the kiss as long as he possibly could before Eren broke away with a breathy chuckle.

"So greedy," he teased lightly.

"Shut up," grumbled the raven, kissing him once more, this time quickly. He then slithered out of Eren's grasp and tossed him the television remote. "Pick a movie."

"Where are you going?"

"Nowhere." He moved to the end of the bed to pull something from the dresser and then slip his hoodie over his head, revealing he hadn't worn anything beneath it. With the quick second he had, Eren studied the tattoos on Levi's back, ones he knew about but hadn't really looked at until that moment.

"Levi?"

"Yes?"

"Will you...tell me about your tattoos?"

The raven turned halfway through pulling on a T-shirt. "What about them?"

Eren shrugged. "I wanna know the stories behind them all. I mean, if you're willing to tell me."

Levi seemed to consider it for a second before he pulled the t-shirt back off and crawled back up toward the brunet. "Alright," he said. "Where do you want me to start?"

"Hmm, start with the first one you got."

Levi's eyes descended to his right wrist to the faded, gnarled line stretching across his veins and tendons. Eren's eyes followed.

"I got this when I was fifteen," Levi murmured. "I don't think I have to tell you what it means."

With a feather light touch, Eren traced along the line using the very tip of his finger. He stopped before it flat-lined to press his palm to Levi's.

"Did you do it yourself?"

"No. I hadn't figured out the old tattoo machine yet. I had a...friend-" He used the word tentatively "-whose brother gave tattoos."

"Hmm."

"Besides, I'm not left handed."

"Oh. Right."

"I did do this one myself, though..." He gathered his pant leg all the way up to his thigh, revealing a very intricate pattern of swirls and designs. It stretched from his hip all the way to just a few inches above his knee, and was colorless and lacked any shade. It consisted of only lines, and yet in just those simple markings was a kind of vibe that was undeniably Levi.

"Whoa," Eren breathed in awe, leaning down to study the piece more closely. There were the tiniest of details hidden throughout the work. Some of the swirly lines shaped into different things - leaves, a pair of eyes, a skull. "When did you do this?"

"I was twenty-two, high on something I don't care to name. I started doodling with a pen and decided to finish it with some real ink. When I woke up the next morning, I had almost no memory of doing it, and I didn't remember the pain."