They eventually went back down the spiraling staircase and left the cathedral. Since they were close, they walked to the old wine shop, now closed and boarded up. Levi stepped into the bookstore across the street, and the old man recognized him despite the female attire. Although Eren had not caught his name, only that he was Yelena's grandfather, Levi apparently knew him well, calling him Alexeï, and to Eren's shock, addressing the old man with respect rather than his usual rough manner.
Alexeï spoke to Levi in French and to Eren in German, equally fluent in both languages. Levi went around the store, checking out the shelves, until finally choosing a book. Eren offered to pay for it.
"I'm glad to see that you two were reunited," Alexeï said with a playful wink. "This gives me hope that I will be reunited with my little Yelena someday."
They went out for lunch, and then they took a walk along the Esplanade. Eren felt so delighted, getting to stroll along the garden with Levi. However, he realized there was hardly anyone out, except for a squad of soldiers goose-stepping around the park.
As the sun began to set, they returned to the brothel. There were a few men there, but the usual evening crowd had not yet arrived. Eren and Levi went up the stairs, but the door to the room was locked. Eren had to go back down, find Carly, and she arrived with the key.
"It's best to keep it locked at all times," she explained in French to Levi.
"I'm glad you did."
"A compliment? I'm honored."
He rolled his eyes and walked into the room.
As they entered, Eren was surprised to see that the bed was made, fresh flowers were in a vase, and there was a tiny electric kettle on the table along with a tea set. Apparently, Carly heard about Levi wanting hot water for tea, so she prepared that for them. There was also now a gramophone that had been playing music downstairs earlier.
Eren declared, "With a room like this, I don't think I ever want to go back to the officer's hotel."
Levi silently headed to the bathroom to get out of his clothes. He removed his wig and coat, but then he realized he left his normal clothes down in the cellar with the French Resistance.
"I'll be back."
"Where are you going?"
He waved down at the tea dress. "I don't want to wear this all night."
"You could be naked all night," Eren said with a lascivious smirk.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you!"
Levi opened the hidden door, trotted down the stairs, and came to what appeared to be a dead end with bedrock blocking the way. However, by going over to a light switch bolted into the wall and flipping the switch, there was a heavy clunk. The stone wall swung outward, and Levi saw Oruo standing with a rifle pointed at him.
Seeing Levi, Oruo immediately pulled his gun upright. "You're back!"
Levi walked swiftly past him. "I'm glad to see you're being vigilant for once."
Oruo looked stunned. "A compliment, from you?"
"Not you too," Levi grumbled. "I should stop giving out compliments altogether."
"It's not in your nature. Maybe the Gestapo sent a lookalike Levi Ackerman."
"Go to hell."
"That's more like it!"
"Is Eld here?"
"He's out with Flagon doing surveillance on that munitions depot."
Levi walked to a bunk bed. Over a dozen of these lined the basement. It was far better than the tiny military cot he had been sleeping on in the wine cellar. There were also couches set out, and men were sitting around reading, whittling, or writing letters to their families.
As Levi pulled off the dress, Oruo stood nearby. "So, are you back for the night?"
"No," Levi mumbled, tugging on his underwear.
Oruo chuckled. "Are you heading back up to your lover-boy?"
Levi paused as he pulled on his shirt and slid a glare over at him.
"Hey, I think it's fine. We all need someone to love to get through this war."
Off to the side on another bunk bed, using a knife to whittle a piece of wood, Duran let out a scoff. "It's sick."
Levi yanked on the rest of his clothes and stomped over to the slouched man. "Do you have a problem with me, Duran?"
"Many problems!" he snapped. "You and Yelena. It was bad enough taking orders from that Mi-homme, a woman who wants to be a man—or maybe a man who the Devil cursed to become a woman, I don't even know what Yelena was besides being best friends with that Whore of Babylon—"
Levi cut in, "Watch what you say about prostitutes."
"Oh right, I forgot: your mother was a whore."
"Yes, she was," Levi said, not showing the slightest shame. "It kept food on the table in a world where women aren't allowed to work in many places. Especially Jewish women."
"I don't like the idea of taking orders from a cocksucking son-of-a-whore."
"Hey!" Oruo shouted. "Levi is a good leader."
"I don't care if he's Marshal Ferdinand Foch himself!" Duran set his knife to the side and stood up, towering above Levi. "It's an abomination, a sin against God. I thought you were Jewish; you should know this."
"I am Jewish, and I don't give a fuck about the horrible translations you've read in French or Latin. Go learn Hebrew, and then you can tell me what God commanded of the Israelites."
"Oh, that's rich! A Jewish faggot is trying to tell me what the Bible says!"
Levi went back to his bunk, grabbed his Tanakh, opened it, and slammed the pages into Duran's face. "Read it!"
Duran looked at the Hebrew text. "I don't read your Jewish gibberish."
"Exactly. Which means you have never read the real Bible, only some ancient king's bad interpretation of it." He slammed the book, almost catching Duran's nose. "I don't want to fight with you—it's bad for morale—so consider this a warning. If you have a problem with me, you can leave. No one is forcing you to stay here. Go join the Red Cross. Stay off the front lines. A soldier who is unwilling to fight with the rest of his squad is just garbage with a mouth to feed."
"I'm not giving up on France."
"Good. Neither am I."
"I just don't like the idea of taking orders from a man who gets his dick sucked by a German."
"You're just jealous that I'm man enough to handle him, whereas you couldn't fuck a fly." With the Tanakh still in his hand, he stormed back to the false wall. "I'll be back tomorrow morning. I'm off to get the best blowjob of my life."
Oruo grinned and waved farewell. "Have fun."
"Oh, I will. Blow off some steam, Duran. Hire one of the prostitutes to jerk your dick. Maybe she'll even be able to hold it with two fingers."
"Fuck your mother!"
"You couldn't afford her," Levi quipped back.
He stormed away and left through the false wall. Levi returned to the room, making sure each safeguard was back in place as he went. Finally, he closed the wall of the brothel room until he heard it lock into place. He briefly leaned his head against the wall and let out a sigh.
Immediately, Eren asked, "What's wrong?"
Levi straightened up and turned around. Eren had already gotten out of his uniform, wearing only his cotton undershirt and long underwear. Levi blithely shrugged it off. "One of my men doesn't like that I'm spending so much time with a German."
"How much do they know about us?"
"Not enough to be a threat, but just enough for him to be a right knob." He set the Tanakh on the nightstand. "Don't worry. None of them know your name. The only one down there who has seen your face is Eld, and he's loyal to me."
Eren stepped up to him. Levi might be dismissing it, but Eren could see that this was upsetting to him. "It must be hard, leading a resistance when you never wanted to join them."
"I didn't want others telling me what to do. Being in charge, at least I can choose what I do and what I avoid."
"What sorts of things do you choose to do?"
"Eren..." he warned.
"I won't stop you. I just want to make sure my men are safe." Eren's brow tightened. "I don't want you to end up killing them."
Levi wanted to hold back about their plans. He desperately wanted to trust Eren, but there was still the smallest lingering doubt.
Softly, he asked, "Do your men go to the Armory? Waffenkammer? I don't know the word the Germans use for the place."
Eren slowly shook his head. "I don't think they've ever been over there." He paused, then hesitantly asked, "Are you going to attack it?"
"Near it. That's all I can say."
Eren grimaced and kept his eyes downcast. "I don't like having secrets between us."
Levi reached over and caressed his cheek. "If I told you everything, that would make you part of the French Resistance. I know you don't want that. Even this much, just knowing we exist, where we are, and what we plan to do: you shouldn't know these things. It makes you culpable."
"What does that mean?"
"It means you could get in trouble if the Gestapo found out. That worries me."
"I would never report you."
"I know, but if anything happened to you, I would never forgive myself. So let me keep my secrets."
Eren still looked upset as he nodded in agreement.
Levi grabbed hold of both of his pouting cheeks. "Eren." He turned his head over to him and forced it to look at him. "I would do anything to protect you."
Eren struggled up a smile. "I know. Let's not talk about this anymore."
"Agreed!"
"How about we—what is the word?—cuddle."
Levi glanced at the bed. The scarlet covers and shimmering satin sheets seemed to entice them. Eren ran his hand up Levi's arm with a seductive glint in his eyes.
Eren offered, "Or we could get dinner first."
"I'm not hungry yet."
Eren pulled him in. "This is our time together, and I will be jealous of that precious time."
Levi felt his heart speed up with the depths of those teal eyes. He motioned toward the bed with his eyes, a silent agreement.
Levi was about to climb into bed fully dressed, but seeing Eren, he realized that true cuddling should be comfortable. He pulled off his trousers and shirt, wearing only his underwear and socks. Then he climbed onto the bed and yanked the covers up to his chin.
Eren chuckled at Levi's modesty and slid into the bed. He wiggled up close and wrapped Levi in his arms. They pulled one another into more comfortable positions until Eren ended up with his head on Levi's chest, listening to his heart, and Levi's hand softly stroked along Eren's muscular shoulder.
"Get out of the shirt," he whispered.
Eren smiled to himself. He had left that on, not sure what Levi wanted, but he happily sat up to yank his shirt off with a careless toss aside.
Levi scoffed at the messiness, but Eren snuggled down onto his chest again. Now, able to feel Eren's skin and down his firm back, Levi sank a little more with inner comfort.
There was something that felt so reassuring with skin-on-skin contact.
They did nothing erotic. Eren sometimes lifted his head to give Levi a peck on the lips, but then he rested back on his chest. It was satisfying just holding each other, the simple bliss of being together.
Levi closed his eyes, and slowly he drifted off to sleep.
* * *
Petra was there, a winter night, frost on the windows, the fireplace cheerily crackling in the next room, the two of them in bed, naked, legs entangled, as he held his wife and caressed her pale shoulders. Then she lifted up, and he could see her eyes.
Only, they weren't brown. They were teal, and gradually the face melted into Eren.
They kissed, and Levi grabbed Eren closer. He felt touches to his cock, stroking it up, Petra's hesitant hand, Eren's bold hand, the two experiences blending, one body melding into the other.
Eren climbed on top, and then Levi felt a tightness enveloping his cock, the distinct feeling of penetrating ... something. It felt wet, hot, and smooth like Petra, yet as he looked up, it was definitely Eren. He even glanced down and saw Eren's erect cock gleaming in the firelight.
He watched as Eren rode on top, moaning erotically, rocking up and down on him. Levi held onto his hips to speed him up and thrust in deeper.
He was so beautiful, so tender.
His lover! All his!
* * *
He must have moaned, because the sound of his own voice woke him up. Levi jolted out of the dream. He saw Eren looking down at him, exactly the same as in his fantasy.
"You were dreaming something good," Eren whispered. His hand drifted down to where the dream had made Levi stiffly aroused, but he only ghosted across the tenting underwear. "Do you want to tell me?"
How could he say that memories of the happiest moments of his life were being re-envisioned as moments with Eren? It sounded almost like he was betraying his memories of Petra, yet Levi knew it was more than that. Those were his last experiences with security and bliss, so it was the scenario his brain could use to recreate the same idea with Eren.
Rather than say anything, Levi wrapped his hand around the back of Eren's neck, pulled him down, and gave him a deep, powerful kiss. His hand reached down, took Eren's hand, and pressed it against where the dream had left him aroused.
Eren moaned in the middle of the kiss at getting to touch him. He stroked through the underwear, then shifted them out of the way to pull out Levi's cock. He could feel that Levi was already dripping.
Eren taunted, "It must have been a very good dream."
"It was. You were with me."
He grinned. "Were we doing anything?"
Levi pulled him down into another kiss and whispered, "I was making love to you."
Eren moaned, and Levi felt him flex his groin up against his thigh, rutting against him.
"Do you want to hear more?" he goaded.
"Ja! Yes."
Levi reached down and yanked his underwear off, and Eren hurried did the same. Both of them collided back together, naked and craving one another.
"You were on top, and you were riding my dick hard."
As if he wanted to reenact it, Eren climbed on top, kissing along Levi's throat. "What else?" he asked, wanting to hear more.
Levi really wanted to tease him now. "I was balls deep inside you. You were riding it wildly, so greedy for my dick."
Eren cursed in German and began to stroke their cocks together.
"Except ... Except you had a vagina ... and a dick," Levi added awkwardly.
Eren chuckled with an amused expression. "Both?"
"Well, I only know what it's like to enter a woman, so obviously my brain defaults to pussy."
"I guess that makes sense."
"It doesn't! It's stupid. I know what you've got down there."
"Still, if you don't know how it feels, of course you'll imagine what you already know from experience." He rubbed his ass along Levi's cock and nibbled along his jaw. "Maybe, one day, I'll show you. Then you'll know how it feels."
He suddenly snapped, "I know how it feels! My arse hurt like hell for a week and made me shit blood."
Eren sat up sharply. "Levi!"
He sneered and looked away. "Merde. Sorry, I didn't mean—" He growled, angry at himself for ruining the moment. "I try! I try to tell myself that it'll be a good experience with the right person, but every experience I've had with getting something up my arse was horrible. I can't even imagine that it could possibly feel anything but agonizing. Maybe that's why my brain imagines you with a pussy. Some part of me thinks that's the only way I'd make love to you, because anything else would be torture, and I'd never want that for you."
Eren caressed his face, so sad that Levi only knew pain. "Let me try something, and maybe I can prove you wrong."
"Don't touch my arse!" he snapped, feeling that darkness swelling up from where he had tried to cram it deep down and bury the pain.
"Not yours. Mine. I'll show you it's okay."
Levi's face drew up with a sneer as he realized what Eren meant. "Do you mean ... touch it how?"
"My fingers."
"Doesn't that hurt?" he asked, almost panicking.
"Not if you do it right."
"How would you know?" he snapped, rage surging up as memories of being forcefully penetrated screamed in his ears.
Eren's face inflamed to a bright scarlet like the decor of the room. "I've ... I've done it ... to myself."
Levi froze, astounded by the revelation. "You've ... touched there? Inside?"
"Yes. It feels nice," he confessed sheepishly. "I poke and ... and think about ... y-you ... inside me."
"Me? You imagine me in there?"
Eren coyly nodded.
Levi struggled to process this. "You think about me ... you want me ... to ... to..."
"Make love to me," he whispered, a statement but also a plea.
That inflamed a new passion in Levi. Eren had been pleasuring himself with thoughts of him. He had always feared that if they made love, it would be horrible, full of agony and blood.
What if it could be as gentle as the best sex he had ever known?
Slowly, weighing this idea with caution, Levi whispered, "I want to see what you do." He caressed Eren's face. "Show me it's okay."
Eren realized what a great responsibility this was. Due to his past trauma, the idea of intimacy with a man scared Levi. It was his duty to show him that this was safe, and what more, it could be erotic and pleasurable.
Eren crawled over to the side of the bed, opened the dresser drawer full of condoms and lube, and brought over the bottle.
"Carly said das Gleitgel should help. I mean, it made you quite slippery yesterday. It should help my finger to go in."
He squirted some on his fingers, slicking them up. Then he rested his head down on the pillow and reached down.
"Do ... Do you really not mind?"
Levi looked hesitant. "I don't know," he admitted. "Do whatever you want."
Eren smiled reassuringly. He reached down and spread the lube around his hole.
"Wait!" Levi felt a spike of panic just seeing Eren about to touch himself there. He swallowed down a blast of acid and forcefully calmed himself. "If it hurts at all, even a little, stop right away."
"I told you, it doesn't hurt if you do it right."
"Just promise!" he said, his teeth clenched.
Eren sighed in sympathy. "I promise. Any pain, I will stop."
He slowly brought his finger back over and rubbed the lube around. He saw Levi flinch as he watched, transfixed and stubbornly fighting the fear.
"You start like this, with a finger. It's tight, so you have to go slowly." Looking up at Levi he warned. "Tell me if you need me to stop."
Levi's voice quavered as he said gruffly. "I said, do whatever you want."
Eren pressed his finger in. "Oh!" he exclaimed in surprise. "Much easier than normal." He had only ever used his finger dry or with a little spit. The lube allowed his finger to slip in effortlessly. A moan escaped his lips as he pressed in all the way to the top knuckle. "That is sooooo much nicer!"
Levi stared, barely able to comprehend it. Where were the screams? Where was the pain? Eren's cheeks were flushed, and his finger slid in and out of his ass so smoothly as his cock twitched with pleasure.
"See? You do it like this at first, with your fingers, it gets loose, and ... ah! ... and then it fits. Or at least, that's what my friends told me back in school."
Levi looked down at the pucker swallowing up his finger. "Loosen you up first. Yes, that would have helped."
Eren looked at Levi with pity. He wished all of this was not reminding Levi about when he had been raped. He wished it could simply be a tender moment between them.
"Levi?"
"It's fine," he said, shoving the trauma away for now and focusing on Eren. This brat was healing his soul, even if he brought the worst of his scars to the surface. "Do you really want that one day?"
"Only if you want it."
He looked back down to Eren's ass. There was still a bitter taste in the back of his throat and a churn in his stomach. Dark memories were still there, but all he had to do was look at Eren's flushed face and the nightmares melted.
"You're winning me over to the idea." He began to reach down, but his hand yanked back. There was still that darkness that would not fully go away.
"Touch here instead." Eren took Levi's trembling hand and pulled it over to his cock. "Please, touch me."
Levi loosened his fingers. They were still shaking, but he forced himself to caress Eren. He heard a moan, froze, but saw Eren squirming in pleasure as he slowly sank his finger in and out.
"Levi ... please ... touch more."
Levi smirked at the sound of that begging cry. His fingers tightened around Eren's cock and gave it a solid thrust down.
Eren moaned loudly and arch up into the touch. He watched the battle on Levi's face, the lustful curiosity, the flinches of bad memories, awkwardness, disgust, desire, nervousness ... it was like every emotion took its turn, keeping him mesmerized.
"Sometimes, if you can find it, there's a spot that feels even better."
His finger searched around inside. He admittedly had not fingered himself often enough to know his own body fully. He had to be careful—so very, very careful that no one saw him toying with his ass and accuse him of homosexual lust. Even on his own, he had the threat of anti-homosexual laws hanging over his head, keeping him too scared to really indulge with his own body.
He wanted to explore now. It was safe here, and Levi was watching with keen interest. He wanted to show Levi how good it could be.
He finally felt it, and he gasped as his whole body arched up.
"Ahh! Ich habe es gefunden. I found it. Das fühlt sich so gut an!" That feels so good.
Levi looked fascinated and confused. A spot inside his butt that felt good? Was there really such a thing?
"C'est comme avoir un clito, mais dans ton derrière." It's like having a clit, but in your butt.
Eren shivered and looked up to him. "What?"
Levi's fears were being replaced by curiosity, but more than that: desire. He wanted to know more. He wanted to learn everything he never knew about this way of pleasuring oneself.
He leaned on top of Eren, stroking him between their bodies, and whispered heatedly, "Tell me how good it feels."
Eren whimpered at the weight of that body on him and the sinful lust that filled Levi's deep voice. He struggled with remembering English words as he felt his whole body tingling. "It's like ... like little explosions. Like plugging in a machine and a ... Schläge ... it tingles. Stromschläge. Dammit, I don't know the word. Lightning?"
Levi tugged Eren's twitching cock up and gave the head a squeeze. "An electric shock? Does it feel good?" He suddenly thrust his hand down.
Eren wailed out. "Oh Gott! So gut, ja! Das tut so gut."
He could not hold back. It really did feel amazing, and in this place he could explore that sort of sexuality without holding back. He needed more!
"Das Gleitgel, I need more."
Levi grabbed the bottle and dribbled a little more down. He watched as Eren pulled his finger out and then plunged two in.
"My God," he whispered in awe.
Eren shouted as the wider spread filled him even more. He imagined it again: Levi thrusting in, their bodies merging, soulmates finally reunited.
"Levi!" He grabbed his own cock now, jerking off wildly to the pace he needed.
Levi laughed at how sensually lost Eren looked. It was just like in his dream. "Look at you! Acting this way from a finger in your arse!" he taunted. "You really are just a little boy. A naughty little boy who can't keep his fingers from poking around. I wonder how many times you've fingered yourself. Did you poke around in the bath as a child?"
Eren tensed up and let out a cry.
"You did, huh? Que mauvais garçon es toi." What a bad boy you are.
The luscious French words made Eren shiver. "M-More."
"What?"
"Talk more ... in French."
Levi sneered as the demon animal within him surged. "Je veux te faire trembler. Laisse-moi te voir te tortiller et gémir." I want to make you tremble. Let me see you squirm and moan.
Eren let out grunts as he thrust his fingers in while stroking himself. It was humiliating to be on display like this, to have Levi watch him, and that made it so much more enjoyable.
"Tu es si bruyant, si en manque d'affection, comme un chiot." You're so loud, so needy, like a puppy. "How did you keep quiet with your teammates around? Or maybe you couldn't. Maybe you held back. Did you ever fully pleasure yourself with your finger?"
Eren shook his head. Levi was right: although he discovered poking his butt felt good as a child, he feared doing it too much. Especially after he got older and his Napola friends were arrested for homosexual acts, Eren had completely stopped exploring there. It was not until meeting Levi that his imagination turned back to that first experience of sensual tingles in the bathtub.
And now, he was fully probing that pleasure.
"Je parie que tu préférerais avoir mon doigt dans ton cul, espèce de sale petit pervers. Tu dois la mériter. Peux-tu jouir pour moi?" I bet you'd rather have my finger up your ass, you dirty little pervert. You have to deserve it. Can you come for me?
"Levi!" he yelled. "Oh jaa!"
"Sois un bon garçon et jouis pour moi." Then Levi reached down and held Eren's cock. Eren's hand moved out of the way, eagerly thrusting into Levi's fingers. He stroked him and leaned down into his ear to whisper so he could understand, "Be a good boy and come for me."
Eren let out a husky moan and spasmed as it all burst out. He could feel the tightness in his own ass right as he felt Levi's hand stroking out the pulses of pleasure.
"Oh Gott. Oh mein Gott. So gut. Oh Gott!"
Levi watched, a smile on his lips, his eyes glistening. There was no fear here, only amusement as he watched and listened to Eren's erotic cries.
"Tu es un si beau jeune homme."
Eren panted and wearily looked up into Levi's narrow eyes. "What does that mean?"
Levi leaned in close and rubbed his nose against him. "You are such a handsome man."
Eren blushed and looked away bashfully. Did Levi seriously think he was handsome? Somehow, that made his heart flutter even more than all the erotic touches. Then he looked down and realized Levi was only half hard.
"Sorry, I should have been touching you as well."
Levi leaned over and gave Eren a sweet, lingering kiss. "Watching you was more than enough."
"But ... you didn't..."
"I don't need to come to enjoy myself. Maybe a little brat like you hasn't figured that out yet." His hand caressed across Eren's chest. "Pleasure is not just your dick spewing out. Sometimes it's watching the one you love experience la petite mort and taste heaven."
"La petite mort?"
"What you just did," he said, pointing to the mess on Eren's abdomen.
"But ... But mort means death. I didn't learn much French, but I know petite means little and mort means death. How can that mean coming?"
Levi boasted, "Because we French are so good at making love, you die a little, your soul gets a brief taste of the wonders of Heaven, and then you fly back into your body, tingling from your divine encounter."
Eren laughed in amazement and admitted, "That definitely describes being with you."
Levi gave him a kiss. Sure, he would have liked to touch himself while watching Eren, but this experience was far too important to focus on his own body. He watched as Eren eased his fingers out and briefly flinched.
So, maybe it did hurt a little, but only after the passion was over.
His mind briefly slipped back.
What if his first experience had been a moment of deep love, and not brutal, sadistic rape?
Eren had just showed him that having something in your ass could feel good, yet his mind kept snapping back to pain and humiliation: that mob of young Germans with the mop handle, Moses being forced at gunpoint to thrust into him, and worse, that rapist who tied him up, molesting him over and over. The first two times were bad enough, but getting raped in front of all of his companions ... that was a million times worse!
Eren would never allow that!
With Eren, it would be gentle, sweet, and slow. Levi looked again and saw that there was no blood on Eren's ass.
That had only been because it was brutal.
His fingers caressed along Eren as the flush on his body slowly faded.
Eren would make it a holy experience, a petite mort that would show him how blissful love with a man could be.
"Someday..." His muttered word faded.
Someday, perhaps he could make love to this man properly.
At least for now, though, Eren was like a disinfectant cleansing the wound in his heart. It hurt sometimes, while his shattered soul was still healing, and the stinging fear of losing him was always a poison in the back of his mind, but he knew that with Eren there, he was healing from that past trauma.
"Someday?" asked Eren.
Like hell could he admit what he was really thinking.
"Someday, I want to watch you do that again, only this time while you suck my dick."
Eren burst into a smile. "After dinner."
"Are you really so eager to stick your finger in your arse again?"
Eren sidled up close to him. "I'm eager to taste your cock."
"Takhshet!" Levi felt heat rush to his cheeks. "Go wash up. Scrub under your fingernails. Make sure it's thoroughly clean."
Eren giggled and twirled out from under the sheets with graceful ease. "Pour us more wine. I'm thirsty after all that."
Levi scowled, but he glanced at Eren's ass as he walked to the bathroom.
"Someday," he whispered again.
# # #
# #
#
He's seen how good it feels! That is huge progress.
Pussy – I'm picky about etymology, so I looked it up and yes, "pussy" as a term for the female pudenda has been used in English since 1879. Pussy was also used back in the 16th century to refer to "effeminate men" (AKA "gay") so there's a bit of irony that Levi's brain defaults to "pussy."
(This is the image of the Whore of Babylon I grew up with as a Jehovah's Witness, from their book "Revelation: Its Grand Climax at Hand!" Now you can find this image all over the internet, because she is the SLUTTIEST depiction without using a porn site. This, as well as images in the book of her seducing kings, used to make young men blush during Bible Study. Was this book really meant for kids?)
Whore of Babylon – Also known as "Babylon the Great," she is a biblical symbolic figure of a drunk woman riding a seven-headed beast, from the 17th chapter of the Book of Revelation. What she and the beast represent changes from sect to sect, century by century: Rome, Jerusalem, Islamic emirates, European nations, the Catholic Church, the Protestant Church, all Christian churches that are not the "true" church. That's the thing with symbols: they can mean whatever you want them to mean. To Duran and many other French men in 1944, the women who slept with German soldiers—by choice or by force—were Whores of Babylon.
Ferdinand Foch (1851-1929) – French general and Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War. He was promoted to (a military distinction, not a military rank). He later accepted the German cessation of hostilities and read the preamble at the Armistice of November 11, 1918.
(1921 Liberty Memorial groundbreaking ceremony, Marshal Foch is in the middle)
Since I'm American, there's an interesting footnote in U.S. history involving Marshal Ferdinand Foch. In 1921, he traveled to Kansas City, Missouri, along with other Allied military leaders for a groundbreaking ceremony of the Liberty Memorial (now the National World War I Museum and Memorial). One of the main speakers was Calvin Coolidge, who would later be elected as the 30th U.S. President. A local veteran was chosen to present flags to the commanders, a humble haberdasher by the name of Harry S. Truman, who would become the 33rd U.S. President during the final days of World War II.
Another side note: During World War I, Captain Harry Truman's men provided support for a tank brigade led by a young and upcoming officer named George S. Patton. Patton would later have to address Truman as Commander In Chief. Also, Captain Truman's battery fired some of the last shots of the war on November 11, 1918; and 27 years later, President Truman "fired the last shots" in World War II: the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
(President Truman and Lt. General Patton shake hands)
At the time of meeting Marshal Foch, Truman was so deeply in dept, he and his wife were living with his mother-in-law. He is also one of the only Presidents who never went to college; he couldn't afford it, or he was too busy working to attend classes. (Damn, do I know THAT dilemma!)
So he understood the struggle of being poor. During his presidency, Truman pushed for better care for underprivileged citizens. Sadly, these are issues Americans STILL fight for at every election, and often get defeated by politicians who brainwash people into believing that they DON'T need affordable health care, housing, or living wages, claiming such basic care for citizens is communism.
These are quotes you would expect to hear today, but Truman was fighting for these in the 1940s!
"Every man should have the right to a decent home, the right to an education, the right to adequate medical care, the right to a worthwhile job, the right to an equal share in making the public decisions through the ballot, and the right to a fair trial in a fair court. We must ensure that these rights – on equal terms – are enjoyed by every citizen." — President Harry S. Truman, June 29, 1947
"Republicans approve of the American farmer, but they are willing to help him go broke. They stand four-square for the American home—but not for housing. They are strong for labor—but they are stronger for restricting labor's rights. They favor minimum wage—the smaller the minimum wage the better. They endorse educational opportunity for all—but they won't spend money for teachers or for schools. They think modern medical care and hospitals are fine—for people who can afford them ... They think American standard of living is a fine thing—so long as it doesn't spread to all the people. And they admire the Government of the United States so much that they would like to buy it." — President Harry S. Truman, October 13, 1948
The guy had his flaws—ahem, Korea—but Truman is still one of my favorite Presidents from U.S. History, simply because he is so unique. So I really wanted to share that tie-in with Marshal Foch.
(I know it's a huge tangent, but I like to share tidbits of history with you all.)