Dangerous Territory

Apples and Honey

Eren's face drew up, hating even the memory of that day.

Levi saw the pain on his face. Slowly, his hand crept forward, and his fingers slid on top of Eren's hand, giving it a squeeze. "I'm sorry. I still feel that leaving was the right decision, but I should have told you. I shouldn't have left without any warning. For that, I'm sorry."

Eren's eyes began to burn as he looked at the kettle. "Don't do that again."

"You know I can't promise. If an opportunity comes and you're not around, if I have to leave right away, if I have one shot to get out of here and there's no time to tell you, I'm going to leave. I will do what I must to survive. You know that's the right choice."

"But if you can tell me ... don't run off on me." He began to choke on tears he struggled to hold back. "Don't leave just because you're ... you're angry at me." A tear slipped down, and Eren slapped it away in shame.

"Eren..."

He took a breath, but it shivered as more tears fell. Levi yanked his chair over and hugged Eren, pulling him down into his shoulder to smother his tears. "Chut, chut," he hushed, gently petting Eren's head. "I'm sorry I did that to you. I wasn't angry."

"I forced my way into the bathtub, and I got you stuck in the wardrobe, and then I was drunk, and then I really wanted to kiss you and you didn't want it and I pushed you into letting me and..."

"Eren," he whispered, grabbing him possessively. "Don't think that. I wasn't angry at you."

"I went too far."

"No, it's okay. If anything, I'm the one who lost control, and I'm sorry for that. I didn't leave because I was angry." He let out a sigh and confessed, "I left because I was scared. I was scared for you and for my own safety. It all swelled up on me and ... I had to get out." It was hard for Levi to admit that, but he knew Eren needed the truth. "I was never angry."

"But you left everything."

"I didn't want you to get into trouble. If I'm caught, I'll likely just be deported, barely any work for the Gestapo. However, if I have German equipment on me, then there could be an investigation. The Gestapo will start to ask around, who is missing a stove, who is missing a torch? It could be traced back to you, and that's the last thing I want. I had to sever all connection to you, because no matter what happens to me, I don't want you to get into trouble." He grabbed both of Eren's cheeks and pulled his face up. "I care for you too much, and I am not going to let that happen."

Those words made Eren's face heat up. Levi's thumb wiped away the tears, and his hand rested on Eren's cheek.

"If I have to leave, I will let you know that I'm safe. Remember what we said before. I'll send a telegram with the word Brooklyn."

"That's too suspicious," whispered Eren. "If my telegrams are inspected and it's an American city, there will be questions. You said you can memorize anything written down, even in a language you don't speak."

"To a degree."

"Just one sentence. Something between us." Eren grabbed a notebook and his fountain pen. He wrote down a single sentence and shoved the paper over to Levi. "Memorize it. Send that to me wherever you are, as often as you can, to let me know you're still safe."

Levi looked at the phrase. Der Tee ist heiß. "What does it mean?"

Eren smiled and gave Levi a kiss on the cheek. "The tea is hot."

Levi had to laugh at that. Just then they heard the kettle starting to bubble. Levi pulled back, breaking the moment. Eren sniffled back the last of his tears and wiped his cheeks dry.