✘ "You have a new match!" [Riren] [R-18] ✘

19: Behind the clouds hides the sun

The sun rose slowly behind gray, solemn clouds. The otherwise summery world had a taste of colder northern winds and the people walking on the street draped their arms around themselves. Small puffs of smoke dispersed quickly in the winds at a balcony at the eighth level of a central hotel.

Eren's POV

It had been such a pleasant dream that was suddenly interrupted by the buzz of the phone that woke Eren up. He groaned and turned around in the bed, shut his eyes close and tried to go back into the pleasant world he'd been in. But soon he was disappointed to realize that he no longer could remember what the dream had been about. Like smoke in the wind it had dispersed in his mind when it had been pulled back to reality... A sudden, horrible thought due to not knowing what was real and not suddenly made something close to fear swell in his stomach and he quickly opened his eyes to look for Levi. Apart from him, the bed was empty, but he really was at the hotel room he had shared with Levi. So at least he knew that the man hadn't been just his mind creating him his dream man. Damn, one can get some crazy thoughts while being half awake, Eren thought and rubbed his eyes. His mind was finally starting to clear up and he almost shook his head at himself for being silly. He looked around the room and soon found the familiar back of someone sitting behind the glass doors of the balcony. Eren drew a content sigh of relief and hurried up.

Right before he reached the doors he noticed a cigarette in the man's hand and momentarily stopped in his tracks and raised a frowning eyebrow. He didn't know that Levi smoked. In a way it looked completely natural because it kind of fit his image and one must admit that it slightly made him look even hotter, but Eren still didn't quite like it since he wanted the man to live healthily.

He was wearing nothing but boxers and when he opened the glass door he was taken aback from being hit with surprisingly cold air.

"Oh shit, where did the summer go? Brrr!" he said and shivered. Levi turned around to look at him.

"I never thought I'd willingly say it, but put some damn clothes on Eren" the man said, frowning. Eren could smell hints of the bitter smoke in the air around him.

"Tsk, fine" Eren said smiling and went back in to get dressed. When he came back out he noticed that Levi was putting out the cigarette despite that it was only half used. The consideration kind of touched him and he was thankful because after all he knew that secondhand smoke could be really bad.

"I didn't know you smoked" he said after sitting down beside him. He tried to sound casual because he certainly didn't want Levi to feel as if he judged or wanted to control him.

"I'm not a regular smoker... but sometimes when I'm alone and feel old and nostalgic I get the urge."

"Hmm... interesting" Eren said and was weirdly reminded of himself and the mood that might fall over him when he's at certain places, like the spot on the shore the visited the day before. Levi took a deep breath of air and leaned back in the chair. He spoke again while looking up into the sky with a blank expression.

"I'll quit when I find enough reason to try to live healthily." Perhaps he doesn't particularly feel the need to grow really old. Eren pondered this for a moment and finally decided that he could become that reason. He didn't dare to say anything about it yet, but when Levi after a moment looked back at him Eren thought that there was something on his face that witnessed of that he might've had a similar thought. But for now he looked content with where he was, without for that matter, fearing the future. The man's relaxed state was kind of contagious so the pair soon fell into a comfortable chat.

When they after a moment went back inside Eren noticed his phone laying untouched on the bedside table. He suddenly remembered that he had been woken up by a text that he never had checked.