Street Lights [ERERI/RIREN]

Cold Hands

1st night

The cold wind was messing even more his already untamed dark brown hair, but it didn't bother him. No, what bothered him was the freezing cold, making the fluffy cat ears on the top of his head twitch. Well, at least there was no one around to give him odd looks due to his appearance.

... Damn. The ironies of faith.

Just as he thought about how good it felt to be alone in that moment, a dark figure turned around the corner at his right. Sighing, he stared straight ahead into nothing, already expecting the curiosity, perhaps some questions. If he was lucky. Perhaps this time he'd be recieving another glare filled with disgust or fear. These could become troublesome, but he'd find a way to deal with it. As he always had to.

"Oi, brat..."

There it was. Turning his head slightly to face the stranger, he mentally prepared himself for all the possible reactions to the fact that he had cat ears and a tail.

"It's freezing. Aren't you a bit poorly dressed for such an weather?"

Eren's ears perked up and he stood up straight. He never saw that coming. Looking down at his clothes, he had to agree with the stranger. He was wearing nothing but a green short sleeved shirt, dark jeans and sneakers. The jeans had a low waist in order to avoid hurting his tail, but it was still uncomfortable. He tried to wear high waisted skirts once, but the comfort wasn't worth the weird stares and the random jerks trying to lift it.

The cat boy turned back to the stranger, tilting his head slightly.

"I-I... I don't have a coat"

Damn it! He stuttered. Why the fuck did he stutter? It probably was just because the question caught him off guard. Yes, it had nothing to do with the fact that the stranger was quite handsome. Wait, why was he even noticing stuff like that?

Completely immersed in his thoughts, Eren didn't notice when the stranger took off his own coat.

"Here. You can keep it."

The deep voice brought him back to reality. His eyes light up at the offer, but he instinctively opened his mouth to refuse it.

"Thanks, but I can't..."

"Yes, you can. Now take this shit with you, or I swear I'll strangle you with it."

Scowling a little at the other's rude attittude, he took the coat.

"Fine. Thanks."

"... Mind if I ask what a brat as yourself is doing standing alone in the middle of the sidewalk in a night like this?"

"I'm not a brat!", replied Eren in an annoyed tone, "And I live here... Well, sort of."

The stranger raised one of his thin black eyebrows.

"So is it safe to assume you'll be here tomorrow as well?"

"... Guess so."

Without saying another word, the stranger walked away, leaving behind a very confused cat boy.

3rd night

The stranger's name was Levi.

He showed up the previous night with a new coat and a cup of coffe on each hand, offering the younger one and sitting down next to him. After the proper introductions were made, they small talked for a while, but they spent most of the time in a comfortable silence. It was a weird experience for both of them, but Eren enjoyed it a lot. Levi not even once asked about his peculiar traits or treated him differently because of that. Next to Levi, he felt almost... normal.

So he craved for the shorter man's arrival. Everytime he heard someone approaching, instead of trying his best to look invisible, he turned his head towards the noise, ears perking up and gleaming eyes.

Levi didn't show up that night.

5th night

He should have known better.

He should have lowered his expectatives as soon as he noticed their presence.

But every night, he stood in the same sidewalk. Waiting.

8th night

He heard the strangely familiar footsteps. He recognized the clean scent coming from the person walking in his direction. But he only raised his head when the person stopped right in front of him.

"Oi, brat."

Eren eyed him suspiciously.

"There's a nice restaurant two blocks from here, heading that way.", he pointed over his shoulder, looking bored as fuck, "Wanna come with me?"

Eren blinked at him, twice. His left ear twitched in annoyance. But he nodded.

Levi offered his hand, and the younger took it, shivering a bit. It was cold as ice.