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"I-I like you, Captain!"

Levi narrowed his eyes at his charge, and Eren felt his face heat up even more. The brunet didn't even know he could blush that much. He lowered his gaze, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth.

I can't believe I thought this was a good idea, was the grim, defeated thought reiterating itself every few seconds in the silence that followed. Eren picked at his nails nervously as he waited for something, some response. A rejection. A rebuke. A confession, maybe? But no, that last one was much too hopeful.

"I like you too, Eren."

Or maybe not.

"What?"

"Are you deaf or stupid? I reciprocate the feelings, Jaeger."

"I-I – I understand you, s-sir!" Eren said quickly, head jerking back up so he could meet Levi's grey eyes, which were alight with something unfamiliar. "I just..."

"Spit it out."

"I just... didn't expect you to feel the same?" Eren responded hesitantly. "I figured best-case scenario was you just calling me a brat and sending me off, and I'd get it off my chest..."

"Well, lucky you." Levi rested his chin on his fist. He may have been sitting down but he still managed to make Eren feel shorter with just a look. "Might I ask how this came about?"

"E-Eh?"

"When did this start? Or rather, when did you come to realize?"

"Well..." Eren thought back on it, cringing inwardly at some of the memories included. "Well, you know I practically hero-worship you –"

"You're sure this isn't hero-worship?"

"Sir, you asked me a question, may I finish?"

Levi quirked an eyebrow at the cheeky retaliation, but relented. "Continue."

"Thank you. Anyways, well, when I got put in your care, while not under the best conditions, it was a dream come true. If it didn't disgust you I would have kissed the ground you walked on. I still would," Eren added as an afterthought.

"Gross."

"My point exactly. Moving on," Eren continued hurriedly. "I realized then though that you were a lot different than I expected, but it made you seem even cooler. Calm, collected, strong, quiet, and the crudest sense of humor out of anyone I've ever known. And the way you were with others was so strange! You never spoke differently to anyone, but it was obvious if they were more important to you through... I don't know... you're just different to them. I grew to love all your weird little quirks and habits and how nice you really are. People don't understand just how good a person you are.

"Then after the incident with the Female Titan... well, when the Special Ops squad..." Eren struggled then, faltering for the first time, but Levi wasn't having it.

"Died, Eren. Just say it."

"W-When they died," Eren reluctantly repeated, then continued on, "my stupid little crush grew. Because I saw then... I learned just how human you are. I learned that even you get hurt from those sorts of things and I realized how hard it must have been for you any other time. You've always been so alone, you're always isolating yourself, but I want to be there for you."

A pause, then a soft chuckle. "Damn it, you little brat, you're just too cute."

"Ah – what about you, Captain? Why do you like me?"

Levi rested his chin in his hand, eyes roving up and down Eren's form, making him feel like a piece of prey. "First, all I could really think when it came to you was that you were a stupid suicidal kid. That turned into the cute hardworking brat with pretty eyes." He gestured for Eren to come closer, taking pride in the brunet's flushed cheeks. "Then it moved on to that fine ass," he purred, earning a squeak and flinch when Levi's hand crept up to firmly squeeze a cheek. He continued by grabbing Eren's collar and yanking him down to his level.

"Then I was captivated by these beautiful, untouched lips, and I decided I wanted – needed – to make something dirty for once. I can't explain it."

Eren shivered at Levi's intense gaze, dry lips parting slightly so he could wet them with his tongue. He wasn't sure what he'd expected from this exchange, but this wasn't it. Not that he was complaining. The raven's next words came in a low whisper that left no speculation about what he was planning.

"I'll give you one chance to back down."

"Not for the world, sir."

.-.-.-.-.

"Morning, Eren."

Eren blinked sluggishly. He finally managed to crack an eye open properly after a few moments, seeing a tender look on Levi's face.

"Ah... good morning, captain..."

"Levi."

"Levi, right..." Eren burrowed closer to Levi's bare chest, closing his eyes again. Captain is really warm. He seems like he would be a cold person, but really, he's like a personal heater. "What time is it?"

"Sunrise was several hours ago," Levi informed him.

"Several hours?!" Eren shot up, immediately crying out as pain laced through his lower back. Levi was immediately on him, a firm hand pushing him back down onto the bed.

"And that's why. You're excused from duties. It is my fault, after all."

Eren reluctantly allowed himself to fall back into bed - Levi's bed, he realized. He wanted to argue, wanted to insist he shouldn't be given special treatment, but with the ache he was feeling doubled with the warmth of the bed compared to his cold one in the cellar, he couldn't bring himself to complain. He would just enjoy this while it lasted...

Which just so happened to be most of the day. Levi kept in his room most of the day, working quietly at his desk, seemingly lost in all the paperwork. He'd only left three times so far; once for breakfast for them both, the second time to fetch Eren's clean uniform, and the third to retrieve their lunch. Eren stayed quiet for the most part, though he avoided keeping in bed all day. He'd made the bed upon getting dressed, then found himself curled up in a chair. Half of him wanted to go join his fellow cadets even if they were doing more chores, but the other half just wanted to stay and relax. Besides, he kept napping on and off, and before he knew it the sun was going down.

A gentle hand on his shoulder awoke him, and Eren looked up to see Levi's stoic expression.

"Come on, brat. I think you can make it down to the mess hall for dinner, hm?"

Eren nodded sluggishly, unfolding himself from the stiff underused chair and stretching. The ache returned, but it was much more manageable than before. Levi ruffled his hair and Eren automatically smiled at the action, feeling almost like a pet with how happy the simple gesture made him. But as they started the trek downstairs, a question sprung up in his mind that shattered his peaceful mood, and he couldn't stop himself from blurting it out.

"Sir, are we going to make this - us - public?"

Levi glanced back at him, one eyebrow cocked questioningly. "Do you want it to be public?"

"I-I don't know. I guess I don't mind, but don't you want it to be secret?"

"That settles it, then, we aren't going to hide it." Levi sounded so matter-of-fact compared to Eren's stammering. "I don't give a fuck, and if you don't mind, I'd rather not tiptoe around people. It gets ridiculous."

"Oh. Well. Okay, then."Eren was surprised, but he supposed it made sense. Relationships were encouraged among same-sex soldiers in the Corps. It allowed for comfort in such a dreary environment, for several ways of stress relief, and it prevented pregnancies among the soldiers. The Survey Corps didn't have the option to kick soldiers out over relationships, anyways. They needed all the soldiers they could get.

After a moment of hesitation, Eren reached forward and grabbed Levi's hand. To his shock and pleasure, the corporal didn't even flinch, but instead laced their fingers together and gave a reassuring squeeze.

They walked into the dining hall like that, and many soldiers quieted, greenhorns and veterans alike, but they knew better than to stare in silence for fear of Levi's wrath. Though many were obviously curious, the conversations started back up again as though they'd never stopped. The duo took it as their cue to retrieve their dinner, and they parted ways, as Levi took his usual seat with the superiors and Eren sat among his friends.

He supposed he should have expected the barrage of questions from his friends and death threats from his sister, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He looked across the room to Levi, who was being harassed in the same manner by Hanji. Their eyes met briefly, and Eren quickly looked down at his plate, grinning like an idiot. He couldn't even let Mikasa's anger ruin his mood.

Right now, he felt like the luckiest man alive, and he was sure nothing would change that.

.-.-.-.-.

I can't believe my luck. I can't believe any of this. I can't believe Captain likes me!

Captain is surprisingly affectionate. Mind-blowing in bed, but very nice, almost cuddly afterwards. It's cute.

This is so strange though. It's weird to see him let his guard down around me. But I like it.

I'm glad he likes me. I won't let him go for anything.