Crack of Sunlight (Ereri/Riren)

•~Chapter Twenty~•

*gulp*

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102.2° peaked Eren's fever that day, leaving his body a mess of shivers from the cold contrast of the surrounding air to his skin. Levi never left his side and in fact had prepared to haul him to the hospital if his fever got any worse. It didn't, though, and eventually his temperature decreased back down to a safer range.

Levi himself, on the other hand, only ended up with slight sinus congestion and a mild headache despite having lost count of how many times he'd kissed Eren or how long he spent around the sick male.

Presently, Levi was leaving the shop after a three hour session of tattooing the outline of a fairy on a man's back. He was still mildly buzzed from his tattoo reverie, something he'd found to be stronger and more enjoyable since getting sober. He only spared the others inside - Petra, Reiner, and Alex - an absent wave over the shoulder as he stepped out into the almost searing weather to cross the parking lot and hop into his car. He reached Eren's house in no time, where his bright-eyed lover was just stepping out of his house as if he knew the raven was coming. He hugged his mother goodbye, ruffled his sister's hair, and bounded down the walk to meet Levi at the curb.

"Hey," he breathed, slipping into the passenger's seat as Levi was waving at the females on the porch before pulling away from the curb.

"Hey," he said back in a calm baritone.

"How was work?"

"Same old." He glanced over at the brunet. "I see you're not covered in dust this time."

Eren chuckled. "I made sure to wash up before you arrived."

"Good call. So how'd it go?"

"Fine," said Eren simply.

"Find any more photo albums?" Levi joked with a small smirk.

"Hmph, no. Thankfully."

The raven snickered in response.

On his day off while Levi had the one session to do, Eren went back to his mother's to help her finish clean their attic. There hadn't been much left to do, so he'd been able to finish before Levi had arrived.

"Mom sent some left over food for us," Eren said once they were back in the apartment, fishing in his bag for a large Tupperware container full of Chicken Alfredo. "Hungry?"

"Not really." Levi took the bowl and stashed it neatly in the fridge among other leftovers they had yet to consume. With that, he took Eren's hand and pulled him to his feet from the couch. "Come with me," he said. "I have something I want to show you."

Eagerly, Eren followed his companion down the hall and into the bedroom where Levi sat on the bed, crossing his legs and pulling Eren down along with him. The two assumed their usual, natural position - facing each other with legs crossed, knees touching. With that, Levi's nimble fingers began unbuttoning his shirt. Mildly confused, Eren's brows raised as he watched, admittedly a little excited.

The raven found himself involuntarily holding his breath as he bared his torso to the younger man in front of him, whose eyes roamed over it, filled with curiosity and some form of analysis. He knew his bare body wasn't a pretty sight; he was still much too skinny and although had been gaining the weight he needed in both muscle and meat, wasn't nearly pleased with the way he looked. Though Eren had seen him half naked many times prior, even when he was much worse than this, it still made him nervous, especially as he was inviting Eren to look, wanting him to see the addition to his chest.

The brunet's eyes filled with fascination and even more curiosity as he took in the sight before him. His gaze automatically landed on the ink in the dead center of Levi's chest, right above where his heart beat strong. A long minute passed as Eren studied it. It was a fairly intricate yet simple tattoo of a Japanese character. It made no sense to him but didn't fail to fascinate him. Slowly, he lifted a hand to extend toward it. His eyes flickered up to the raven's in question; when he nodded in confirmation, Eren gently traced a few of the lines, unaware of the very edges of his lips twitching into the subtlest of grins. Gently, he spread his palm out over the tattoo. It was just slightly smaller than his entire hand; beneath it, he could feel the familiar thumping of Levi's heart.