Key to a Caged Heart

Such Great Heights

The apartment was unusually silent when Levi returned from work. He slipped his dress shoes off and set them in the shoe rack. The door to Eren's bedroom was shut. Figuring the teen was napping, it didn't cross Levi's mind to knock on the closed bathroom door before opening it.

"Oh, I'm...Sorry, I thought you were in your room. I'll just..." Levi stopped his backwards retreat. "Were you crying?"

"Can we please not talk about it now?"

Levi assessed Eren, legs drawn up beneath his chin in the bathtub. There was no steam obscuring the bathroom mirrors so either Eren drew himself a cold bath or he had been in here for a while. "Of course. If you don't want to talk I won't force you. Do you...want me to go?"

"Please stay."

Levi approached Eren's side, kneeling beside the tub. Eren unwrapped his arms from around his legs and crossed them on the edge of the tub, using them as a pillow to rest his head upon.

"How was your day?"

Levi rearranged himself to mimic Eren, his head resting on his crossed arms. Their faces were inches apart, so Levi spoke softly.

"It was fine. Boring. I was counting down the hours until I returned home to you." Eren lightly splashed at him, smiling at the cheesy line, loving that he knew it was genuine. Levi watched as the smile he adored became tinged with sadness, eventually disappearing.

"What should we do tonight? Order pizza and watch a movie?" To his surprise, Eren turned down the offer.

"Can I help you cook?"

Eren hummed, enjoyed the feeling of Levi's hand ruffling his hair. "Yeah, let's do that. Are you almost done with your bath?"

Eren nodded and slowly rose to his feet, the combination of his earlier tears, the once warm bath, and Levi's gentle presence making him relaxed and consequently sleepy. Levi retrieved a towel from the bathroom closet and wrapped it around Eren's shoulders, tugging it lightly to bring Eren closer so he could peck him on the lips.

"Is pasta gorgonzola alright for dinner?"

Eren stepped out of the tub. "Yeah. Let me get dressed and I'll meet you in the kitchen."

"Or you could stay like—"

Eren used the corner of his towel to whack Levi, making a show of wrapping the towel securely around his body as his wet feet slap-slapped out of the bathroom and down the hall to his bedroom. Levi chuckled, watching his lover leave. He too stopped at his bedroom to change out of his suit, shuffling into an old t-shirt and black sweatpants. Though the heat was on, the chilly winter air seeped through the living room windows. Levi slipped his arms into a blue hoodie before entering the kitchen.

He pulled a box of cellentani pasta off the turn-around cabinet and moved to boil water. Eren joined him shortly after, silently reading the instructions for the gorgonzola sauce pulled up on a website on Levi's BlackBerry. Following the instructions, Eren grabbed a container of heavy whipping cream from the fridge and poured it into a skillet, twisting the dial on the stove to bring the liquid to a simmer. Levi and Eren stood in companionable silence, Eren watching the cream heat as Levi occasionally stirred the pasta in the boiling water, lifting a piece to touch and check its softness. Gorgonzola cheese was mixed into the cream and the pasta was tossed in along with sage, salt, and pepper. Within half an hour, their dinner was ready.

Eren carried his bowl to the living room and sat on the couch, holding his food in his left hand while his right grabbed the remote on the coffee table. Levi set his bowl on the table then returned to the kitchen to fill two glasses with water. When he returned, Eren had settled on a show he didn't recognize. Levi surmised that Eren didn't watch the show either judging by the lack of attention he gave it.