The German Boy (Ereri/Riren) {DISCONTINUED]

Chapter 10

 Eren laid on his back, holding his phone above his head. He was rereading the texts he and Levi had ever sent. He remembered the picture of the lightning he had taken, and pulled his sketchbook from his messenger bag. There was no desk, so he sat on the floor, doubled over his sketchpad. His phone was leaning against the bottom of the dresser, and he would look up to refer to it. He always carried a flashlight for drawing-in-the-dark purposes, so that was aimed at his paper.

The outlines of the clouds were done, as well as the faint outline of the bolt. He put away his normal pencil and dug through his bag for his small pouch of B1-9 pencils. He began working on the darkest part, which was the uncovered bits of sky. Eren noticed there seemed to be a reflection in the glass.

Squinting, he saw it was Levi, with his legs cross, reading a book. It was extremely faint, but would be a cool addition to the picture. He switched back to his original pencil and added it in. It was difficult; he seemed to blend in with everything and didn't really have edges.

He drew it once. Terrible. He erased. He drew it twice. Awful. He erased. The third time looked a little better. He edited bits of it and was finally satisfied. Eren yawned and closed the notebook, messily stowing it inside his bag. As he crawled into bed, his mind wandered to Levi. Was he asleep? He picked up his phone and typed: "u awk?" Hesitantly, he pressed send.

The blazing screen cut into his eyes as he stared at it for five minutes. Sighing, he put it face down and rolled onto his stomach. Clutching his pillow in his arms, he closed his eyes.

<><>Timeskip 20 Minutes<><>

Read, 12:07 a.m. Levi sat up in bed. He hadn't replied to Eren's text, and instead laid on his back to think. 'He's probably asleep by now.' Were his thoughts on the subject. 'It wouldn't hurt to check...' He got up and walked down his hall in bare feet.

Eren's door was cracked open. He opened it further, revealing the boy laying on his stomach, pillow in his arms. His back was slowly rising and falling. Entering, Levi shut the door behind him. His favorite thing about this room was the view from its window. Placing his palms on the corners of the dresser in front of it, he leaned forwards and gazed out.

The moon was high in the sky, nearly hidden by thick grey clouds. Rain was still steadily beating on the glass. He listened to it for a minute, closing his eyes and taking in the sound.

"Levi?" Came a yawning whisper from the bed. Eren was on his side now, arms holding the pillow to his chest. Levi jumped. "I thought you were asleep." He said quietly, after recovering.

"Good faking." Was his sleepy response. Eren patted the other side of the bed. Levi came over and sat down on the edge, his body facing the brunette. "Do vants talk?" He asked him. Levi didn't respond, and instead looked at the boy's turquoise eyes. They shone, even in a dark room.

"This used to be my brother, Farlan's, room." Levi said quietly. Eren wanted to ask, but remained quiet. "He and I, the moment I turned eighteen, left for America to join the military. My mother... she committed suicide when I was ten and he was twelve. I-I saw..." He furrowed his brow and focused on the pattern of the bed sheets.

"Our father was abusive. I haven't seen him since I was sixteen; he disowned me when he found out I was bisexual and smoked. Farlan worked and got us an apartment. We lived on the streets for a month or so, though..." Levi looked up and stared out the window. "Once I came of age, we got the hell out of there. After joining the military, we got this house..." He looked at the empty walls and clear surfaces. "He gave me the master suite and slept in here. A date was set for December 15, when we would go to North Korea for war. I outranked him in every aspect, except for teamwork." Levi changed his gaze to the fan on the ceiling, swirling around.

"He died on December 22, from a grenade. One of the bastards had managed to throw it over our protective wall. Not only did it kill him, it destroyed the wall. Many people died that day." There was a final-sounding note in his voice. He sat back and looked at the floor.

A pair of arms seized him and held him close. Eren. They were quiet, Eren putting his head on top of Levi's and pulling him into his lap. Levi's chin was resting on Eren's shoulder, his arms hanging by his sides. He usually hated being touched, let alone hugged. But something felt... right.

Burying his face in Eren's neck, Levi wrapped his arms around the boy. Neither of them said anything. Together, their hearts beat and their breaths synced as they listened to the rain pound against the window.

<><>Timeskip 9 Hours<><>

Levi awoke to feel comfort and warmth. He opened his eyes and saw the wall opposite him. He lifted his head and looked behind him, seeing Eren curled up against him with his arms around his waist.

He laid his head down once more, but felt him come closer and move his head on top of Levi's. "Morning." Came his sleepy whisper. "Mmm..." Levi responded. Okay, the feeling was nice while it lasted. Now he needed his personal space.

Crawling out of bed, he stood and stretched. Eren had fallen asleep again and pulled the pillow to his chest. Levi watched this before picking up his phone. He glanced out the window and noticed it was still drizzling, but noticeably lighter. The sun was still hidden, though.

He walked down the stairs and took out food for breakfast. Normally, he would have a piece of fruit or granola bar before going out. 'I've got... guests. I'll cook.' Levi thought as he made pancakes and bacon. He made a fruit salad for good measure.

Hearing soft footsteps, Levi turned to see Eren rubbing his eyes at the foot of the stairs. "Good morning." Levi said, focusing on making sure the pancakes didn't burn. It was like they had made a silent pact to not talk about the night's events.

When the food was done, they sat down and ate in comfortable silence. "When does Mikasa want you home?" Levi asked. "Soon. She must finking I hurt, even I call ten minute." He guessed Mikasa was being protective and worrying even though Eren called her ten minutes ago.

"So I should drive you home after this?" Eren nodded and quickly finished. "I change?" "Yeah. You can keep the clothes." Eren smiled; a beautiful, genuine smile that went well with the happiness in his eyes. The boy went upstairs and came down a minute later, in yesterday's clothes. His bag was a little fuller.

"Levi?" Eren was shy now. "Hmm?" The raven stood up and began cleaning. "I-I um... drew..." He looked up at this, pausing halfway through washing a dish. Putting it in the sink, he dried his hands with a small towel and neatly put it away before walking over to him. Eren flipped pages in the sketchbook he had taken out, stopping on a picture.

It was the library, the big front window centering. The coloring had been done on the inner part of the room so it looked dim and calm. The window was a beautiful smear of pink, orange, indigo, blue, violet, gold, and many more colors. Sunset. Levi noticed he was in the corner, looking through the window, with his head turned so it was his profile.

"Fis vas drawing Mikasa saw... vhen jou vere fere..." Eren was blushing and rubbing the back of his neck, looking at his shoes. "It looks great." Levi said. Eren looked up and smiled so brightly you could have mistaken him for the sun.

Levi went back to cleaning as Eren put it away. When he was done, the two got into the car and Levi drove Eren home. On the way there, Eren turned on the radio and humored Levi by trying to sing along. In the end, Levi sang a single line of a song for Eren. This made him light up once more.

Too soon did they get to Eren's house. The two sat in silence, looking at the house. "I ve seeing..." Eren whispered. He tentatively took Levi's hand for a moment, entwining their fingers. The front door banged open and they saw Mikasa running towards them. Levi leapt back and Eren quickly got out, immediately engulfed in Mikasa's arms. "Errg... Mikasa... Let go..."

"Thanks, Levi!" Mikasa said before dragging Eren away. Levi watched Eren glance back at him with a secretive smile before he was forced inside. Then he started his car and drove home.

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A/N: Sorry it was shorter than usual. Have a nice day!