Paper Airplanes (Ereri - SNK)

Sunrise.

He leans forward again and twists the knobs to stop the flow of water, leaving the room quiet again save for the occasional dripping of the faucet. When I don't make a move to get into the tub, he turns, a brow hiked up.

"What?" he asks.

My fingers tighten around the edge of the sink; I stare him directly in the eye.

"Are you really Levi?"

Exactly the opposite of what I expect, he relents, his face softening into something akin to uncertainty meshed with sadness. Even his wings droop a bit, and my gut clenches.

"I'm not so sure myself." The words are hushed and unsure as his demeanor. He's just opening his mouth to elaborate more when I realize I don't want to hear any more, so I reach for his wrist and pull him toward me, smashing my mouth against his so recklessly I almost miss his chapped lips altogether. A surprised grunt sounds from his throat before he kisses back.

"Let's just take our bath," I say.

Levi nods once with a small hum. He leads the way to the tub with my pathetic self limping along behind him, and I detest that he has to lift me up and lower me carefully into the hot, sweet smelling water. Still, the liquid feels good on my skin where his hands were rough enough to leave marks; it soothes my aching muscles and the sigh of relief eliciting from my lips is almost instantaneous.

"Feel better?" Levi asks.

"Mhmm," I hum, moving over a bit. "Come here." When he hesitates, I wrap my wet fingers around his and tug. "Please?"

A minute later, I'm leaning against his side and feeling his arms sliding around my waist beneath the water. His wings hang out over the edge of the tub and I feel his chin rest on the top of my head.

I let him wash my hair and he allows me to wash his before we lather up more to scrub off our skin, soft kisses and affectionate gestures here and there in between.

"How you feel?" he asks, hands gentle on my hips, thumbs rubbing circles into my skin.

"Better," I say, looking down. "It hurts to sit, though," I admit sheepishly.

"Sorry."

"Don't be. It was...amazing. More than that. I'm glad I got to have that experience with you...before..."

His fingers push hair from away from my face. "You don't have to think about that right now."

But I do. Once my mind has gone in that direction, it's too late to change its course no matter how hard I try. I suck in the deepest breath I can hold before immediately submerging my head under the water. It's been cooling off. It fills my ears, but I can still hear Levi's voice - muffled - saying my name. I stay like that as long as I can, focusing on the growing pull in my chest for new oxygen until it starts to burn and I'm forced to release the air I'm holding and bubbles dance toward the surface. When my chest begins to burn is when Levi pulls me up, gasping, coughing and sputtering for air.

"What are you trying to do, kid?" he asks, clearly appalled. The sounds are still muffled by water in my ears; I shake it out. "Huh?"

"Distracting myself," I gasp out.

"Dammit, Eren..." He pulls me to his chest as I catch my breath. The inside of my nose feels strangely cool, surely from the peppermint oil.

"S-sorry," I stutter.

"C'mon, idiot. Let's get out of this filthy water."

After having been lifted out and wrapped in a towel, I catch myself staring out the window, seeing as the edge of the sky is ever so slowly fading into a lighter shade of blue that swallows up the stars.