STRONGEST HOPE (ERERI❤RIREN)

CHAPTER 15 - RAISED BY WOLVES?

Eren woke to a midday sun. The windows were open and a nice breeze wafted through, billowing the curtains and painting relief across his face. It felt good. The pain was gone from his head and it felt easier to breathe. He gingerly touched his skin, wincing at the bruises on his cheekbones and forehead. Shouldn't these be healed by now, he wondered?

Snuggled under the blankets, he let his eyes move over Levi's bedroom. He was familiar with it, having been here the night he took care of Levi, but it was still wonderful to gaze at everything leisurely and without the threat of a nastily drunk Heichou.

As he looked to his right and over his shoulder, he jumped at the sight of that man, sleeping in a chair. His legs were crossed, and his arms were folded. His chin hovered just above his chest, gently rising and falling with a soft snore, light and comforting.

Eren turned to his side and stuffed his hands under the pillow. He cherished the opportunity to drink him in, uninterrupted and with no threat of embarrassing discovery.

Aside from his own mother, he had never seen a face more stunning. His heart sped up just looking at him this way. His being was a marriage between terrifying menace and delicate beauty. How could something so savage be encased in that porcelain perfection of peony lips, stormy eyes and silken ebony hair?

Eren's eyes trailed down to Levi's chin, then across to his jawline. He imagined the taste of his salty sweetness. His neck and across to his collarbone. He closed his eyes to steady his breathing and to calm the pull of desire deep in his stomach.

He let out a trembling breath and smiled. He could let himself get seriously carried away with this line of thinking, but that was better done in his own bed...not here.

When he felt that he was finally without evidence of his desire, he slowly opened his eyes to get one last hungry glance, only to be met with his dream's eyes, wide open and studying him.

Levi's eyes widened when Eren's eyes opened to look directly at him. The boy looked flustered and pink, as usual, but something in his eyes made him feel that he was not looking at the innocent boy he knew. They seemed dark with desire.

Their gaze held and Levi felt like he was losing his footing. Eren's eyes pulled at him, and he found himself holding his breath, waiting for the boy to draw the truth out of him.

He shifted in his chair and popped the bubble between them.

Clearing his throat, Levi leaned forward. "How are you feeling?" His voice was low and husky.

Eren's eyes flared at the sound. He bit his lip and slid his gaze away. "I think I'm better."

When his eyes came back to the Captain's, they looked disappointed somehow. All of a sudden both felt awkward and scrambled back to safety. Luckily, Eren's stomach announced its discomfort aloud to the room and they both chuckled.

"I think I need to feed the titan boy, eh?" Levi disappeared through a door.

Eren smiled. "Yeah, I'm pretty hungry."

"Shitty Goggles would say that means you're definitely getting better."

Eren stared at the open doorway. "What's wrong with me, by the way? I mean besides the...you know, beating."

"You have some kind of virus too," Levi called from the kitchen.

"Why isn't my body healing right?"

Levi stepped back to the door, whisking eggs in a bowl. "Not really sure. They said that your injuries and the virus hit at the exact same time...like they almost cancelled out each other's ability to heal." His eyes narrowed at Eren. "What are you noticing?"