Shingeki no Oneshot

IV. Cigarette Smoke (Ereri)

written on — 10.3.14

inspiration — the photo seems to be enough inspiration but i also haven't read past the last anime episode yet (i'm so slow omg) so i just thought of this. also this is actually really stupid and dumb you can skip if you want i'm sorry idek um enjoy??

word count — 1200

artwork — check out the photo on the side. additionally, the artist's pixiv is in the eternal link. 

CIGARETTE SMOKE

It's a few days after Annie's display of freezing herself and Levi is tired.

         It isn't the sleepy sort of tired, either. Levi doesn't know what to call it. All he knows is that he's craving a cigarette, and it's a persistent craving. He pulls a new package out of the top drawer in his desk and tucks it into his recon corps jacket draped over his shoulders. He walks down the stairs to the dungeon, his boots echoing through the spiraling corridor as it hits the cold stone.

         "Lucas, you're relieved from duty," Levi says in a quiet voice.

         "Thank you, sir, but your bandages-"

         "Don't worry about them." He looks into the darkness behind the bars. "Is he asleep."

         "Yessir. For the past hour and a half." Levi nods and Lucas stays sitting. "Are you, uh, are you taking over?"

         "Yes." When Lucas stands up, Levi doesn't sit down immediately. They give each other the salute before he retreats up the stairs. Levi sits down and hisses in pain from accidentally leaning on the back of the chair; the bandages that are around his chest aren't covered by anything except his jacket, and it doesn't cover much.

         For the past few days Levi has been relieving soldiers of their duties so that he can sit and watch the little brat himself. He takes the box of cigarettes out of his jacket, opens it, flips the first cigarette he touches upside down, and is about to take another one out when-

         "Why did you do that?"

         Levi curses as the lone cigarette falls out of his mouth and back into the palm of his hand. He's lucky it doesn't fall on the floor since cigarettes aren't cheap. When he squints, he can make out the outline of the figure and a few vague details, like the difference between hair and face. "I thought you were sleeping."

         "I was," Eren admits from his bed in the cell, "but then I heard your voice and woke up." He scratches his head with one hand, the shackle around his wrist clinking with the chains. "But why did you do that?"

         "Do what?" Levi asks as he pulls his matchbook out of his pants and sticks the pack into his jacket. He sighs when he sees there is only one match left, but he doesn't complain. He makes a mental note to buy a new one when he gets a chance-if he gets a chance.

         "You flipped a cigarette upside down but took another one out. Why?"

         "Oh." He scratches the match against the side of the box and lights his cigarette before putting the match out. "It's a superstition, I guess. For as long as I've known, people have always done it."

         He sees Eren nod in the darkness. "Can I have one?"

         "What, a cigarette?"

         "Yeah."

         Levi scoffs. "It isn't good for your health. You're still young."

         "You aren't that old yourself," Eren says, adding 'sir' as an afterthought. "You don't even need to let me out of the cell. You can just pass one to me."

         Levi isn't to sure what comes over him when he opens the iron-barred and brings the chair with him to sit inside the cell. Despite helping to capture Annie (among other things), Eren was still seen as a threat and, surprisingly, he didn't fight back when he was told he'd be sleeping in the cell again. All Eren does is blink as he watches the older man sit near him. He props the chair against the wall so that when he sits, he's facing the same way as Eren. He pulls out another cigarette and hands it to him. "You have to find your own source to light it, brat. I used my last match."

         Okay, so maybe Levi forgets that Eren's chained shackles aren't all that short. He stands up from the bed and walks a few steps over to where Levi placed the chair and leans over him, and suddenly Levi's insides feel flustered.

         He tries not to look as Eren bends down close to his face, but his eyes get the better of him and he ends up looking at the younger boy's face, his features hard from all the work he was doing. With a lit cigarette between his lips and an unlit one in Eren's, he touches the tip of his to Levi's. They stay in that position for a few long seconds before Eren pulls away and sits on his bed again. Levi doesn't know what to say-other than he enjoys the close proximity of Eren, but he isn't going to voice that thought.

         "How're your wounds, sir?" Eren asks. Levi watches a bit of smoke leave Eren's mouth as he speaks.

         "Could be better, could be worse. Kind of hurts when I move." Levi shrugs and there's a small silence as they both take long drags. He looks at Eren's chest and tries not to focus on how it's bare and only covered in a thick bandage, jutting his chin in the boy's direction. They both suffered the same injury in the same place-the only difference is that Eren's gash is a little longer. "How are yours?"

         "I guess they're healing." Eren chuckles. "I wish I could turn into a titan and just heal them, but I don't think that's an option until I can get out of here and control myself."

         Levi nods in understanding. Before anything else can be said Eren speaks up again. "You said your wounds hurt when you move."

         "What about it?"

         "Why did you come here?" Eren asks. "You could've been sleeping in a warm bed right now, but it's the middle of the night and you came down here and relieved what's-his-face of his duty."

         Levi isn't sure what to say so he takes a long, slow drag of his cigarette to buy himself more time. He wants to tell Eren that he's been worried sick and that he prefers to be down here, talking to Eren in minimal conversation than bothering with killing more titans. He likes his job, but he also likes to get away sometimes. He also isn't sure that he wants Eren to know that he may or may not have a small crush on him. Levi's ego depends on Eren not finding out.

         "I like it down here." Levi was sure that wasn't the answer the younger boy wanted to hear, especially after he had said that he woke up because of his voice. As he watched Eren take a drag of the cigarette with heavy hands, he added in a quieter voice, "I also wanted to check up on you."

         Eren blinked. "Me? But you're hurt worse than I am!"

         "Shut it," Levi said. Eren looked hurt for a split second, but then he saw the corporal's mouth twitch. "That's the most you're getting out of me if you want sappy remarks. I-I was worried."

         "Corporal, did you just almost smile?"

         "I said shut it, brat." He turned his head away and blew smoke in the opposite direction, his only reason being that he was smiling.