OUR SHALLOW GRAVES

Recovery

Eren woke to a slight tug of his hair and a soft melody being hummed. His hand grasped the soft fabric underneath him as he opened his eyes. He came face to face with Levi whom of which, he was laying on top of. Levi had his eyes closed so thankfully he didn't see Eren's face turn a bright red. Eren felt another tug at his hair and nearly purred. He laid his head back down and closed his eyes allowing himself this quiet moment.

"Morning brat.," a hoarse voice said. Eren lifted his head again and was met with Levi smirking slightly at him. He felt his face flush again.

"M-Morning.," he said sheepishly. Eren sat up and immediately started shivering. Levi sprung to his side, placing his hand on Eren's forehead. Eren started to tremble even worse, feeling the cold skin.

"Shit, you're burning up.," Levi cursed to himself. As he left the bed, Eren noticed some strange markings but blamed it on his fevered mind. He felt better when some more blankets wrapped against his body. When he felt a damp cloth dab at his forehead, he opened his eyes to see Levi doing exactly that. He hummed in content as he felt the cloth dab at other parts of his body. When he heard the bowl clink onto the bedside table, he smiled warmly at the being above him. Levi couldn't help but smile back.

"Lay back down, Eren. Your fever seems to be spiking again.," he murmured. Eren sank into the sheets, humming at the newfound warmth. He felt the sheets shift and another body entered the bed. As arms wrapped around his waist, he turned to see Levi's head leaning on his shoulder. His face reddened as he shifted himself to face the smaller man and wrapped his own arms around Levi's shoulders. Eren let his eyes trace Levi's skin and noticed the odd markings he saw earlier. He let his fingers trace it and felt himself gasp softly. He heard a low chuckle from underneath him and looked down.

"Like what you see, brat?" Levi asked, chuckling some more. Eren bit at his lip before hearing him speak again.

"It's your fault.," He mumbled. Eren's eyes widened, suddenly remembering the events from last night. He felt self-conscious at that moment but in Levi's arms, he felt safe.

"What did we do?" He asked nervously. Levi only smirked at him. Eren's face heated up as he thought of all the possibilities. When he saw the smaller man chuckle, he relaxed.

"Don't worry. We didn't do anything too bad.," Levi said, chuckling. Eren felt himself laugh as well. He knew Levi wouldn't take things too far, but for some odd reason, the thought made him upset. Like he wanted something to happen. As he fiddled with the wrappings on his arms, his mind began to worry about why he was in the infirmary in the first place.

"What's gonna happen now? Now that everyone knows.," Eren asked nervously. Levi looked up at him, soft eyes trailing his expression.

"Actually, later today we're going to have to stop by Erwin's office. He's still the commander and this has to be filed.," Levi replied regretfully. Eren nodded, understanding that this is a serious matter.

"I won't have to talk too much, will I?" He asked. Levi shook his head.

"Not if you don't want to. If you want something voiced, you can tell me and I'll say it for you.," he said. Eren shook his head.

"No, I'll have to do this myself.," he stated. Levi nodded, tightening his grip. His fingers returned to their place in Eren's muddled hair and began playing with the strands. Eren hummed in content as he closed his eyes, falling into a blissful sleep.

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"Eren. Eren wake up, it's time to go.," Levi nudged the boy waking him up slowly. With everything that happened over these past couples of days, it was good that Eren was able to sleep for a long while.

"Hmm? Time for the meeting?" Eren asked, voice raspy. Levi nodded sitting upright to help Eren. Eren's eyes fluttered open and closed as he sat himself up. Levi helped him stand and aided him to reach the bathroom. Eren swayed a little when he stood on his own and Levi perched him on the bathroom counter.

"Sorry for troubling you.," Eren mumbled. Levi shook his head dismissively.

"No need. You've had it rough for a while. Time to take it easy for a bit.," he cooed. Eren nodded his head as Levi brushed his teeth and combed through his hair, making him slightly presentable.

"I have clean clothes for you. Do you want to put them on yourself or do you need help with that too?" Levi asked teasingly. Eren shoved him lightly, laughing at his joke.

"No thanks, I can change myself.," he scoffed. Levi shrugged as he left the clothes on the toilet lid and left the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

"Knock when you're ready.," Levi called through the door. Eren slipped off his shirt and began to thread his arms through the clean one. When he had the shirt on his arms he noticed he had a ton of markings on his own body. The hickies trailed from his neck to his hips and he couldn't imagine where else Levi had marked him. As he wiggled into his boxers and pants, he found, even more, lining his legs. His face reddened at how many there actually were. That bastard only had like one or two. He gave me about fifty! Eren exclaimed in his mind. When he traced them with his fingers he actually liked the idea of someone leaving their mark on him, he just didn't imagine it would be Levi marking him. He knocked on the door twice, signaling he was done. Eren glared at him while he smirked in response.

"Liked what you saw?" He asked smugly. Eren scoffed as he pushed himself from the counter.

"Was it necessary to leave so many hickies? Someone could see.," he argued causing Levi to chuckle.

"Like anyone's going to ask. If you're marked you're considered lucky. We don't really fuck around a lot out here.," Levi said as he swung Eren's arm over his shoulders. The boy may be taller than him, but in his state, any help was appreciated. They walked slowly through the winding halls, stopping every once in a while for Eren to catch his breath until they reached Erwin's office. Eren gulped and Levi felt his heart rate accelerate.

"If you don't want to do this now, we can do it at a later date.," Levi offered. As much as Eren wanted to back out he knew that the sooner they do this, the sooner he could get better.

"Let's go.," he mumbled. Levi nodded as he opened the door, making sure Eren wouldn't fall. Erwin sat behind his large mahogany desk with Hanji on his right. As they sat down, Eren felt all eyes on him. He trained his eyes on the desk or the floor, anywhere from the eyes boring holes into his skull. He took a shaky breath as he readied himself for the worst to come.