Pairing: Levi/Eren
Rating: General Audience
Word count: 2.7k
Sometimes, you’ve been reunited without realizing it.
(Written for Ereri Fluff Day)
***This is in the same universe as Eyes Brighter Than Shoes and Trick or Sweet, but this can be read as a standalone fic.
The amazing @imasmi did comics for this:
Part 1
Part 2
It was another bright and sunny weekday as children crowded the front entrance of Shiganshina’s Museum of Freedom. There were hushed whispers of excitement as the children looked at the huge statues of the human-looking monsters scattered outside the museum.
Levi didn’t particularly feel as much excitement compared to his other classmates (why do they want to look at giant naked monsters all day?), but he couldn’t help but stare at Eren’s eager face; the brunet’s eyes positively sparkled in a way Levi has never seen them before and he wouldn’t stay still, jumping on the spot and grinning all the while.
Ms. Ral clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “Okay class, remember the rules and always stay with your group. And always stay with your buddy so you won’t get lost. Am I clear?”
“Yes Ms. Ral!” the children said together.
“Good. Now, everyone go to your group and make sure to hold hands!”
The children scrambled to their groups, going to the adults that had the corresponding numbers they were assigned on the bus. Thankfully, Eren and Levi were in the same group and the adult that was supposed to watch over them was Armin’s grandfather. Of course, that meant that Armin was in the group as well. Mikasa trotted towards them and Eren happily clapped with who was in his group and stuck his tongue at Jean who was in a different group. “Bleh!”
Jean blew a raspberry back at him but yelped when he felt a tug on his ear. “Ow! Ma!”
“Don’t start picking fights again, Jean-bo.”
Jean flushed from the nickname as everyone around laughed. Happy with his minor victory, Eren latched onto Levi and rubbed his face against his. “Are you excited to see the titans, Lee?”
“Mm. I guess. They look weird, though.”
Eren giggled at the answer as he turned his attention to Mr. Arlert.
“Okay kids, you already know the rules. Hold hands with your buddy and follow me so you don’t get lost.”
Eren immediately laced his fingers with Levi’s. “Levi is my buddy and my love so we will always hold hands!”
Levi flushed at the proclamation and blushed even harder when he heard chuckles and giggles around them. He didn’t complain about it, though. Instead, he gave Eren a small smile and squeezed his hand.
Mikasa and Armin giggled at Eren’s antics as they held hands, following Mr. Arlert into the museum.
“So kids, how much do you know about the Titan War? And Armin, you can’t answer since you know so much about it already.” Armin pouted at his grandfather as Mikasa raised her hand to answer. “Yes, Mikasa?”
“Many years ago, Shiganshina was attacked by the titans and the people went to another kingdom. Five years later, the kingdom was under attack by titans again, but there was a person that could change into a titan and he was a hero. He saved the people from that attack and went with the Scouting Legion to destroy the other titans. He and the Scouting Legion won the war in 850 with all the titans gone. The people of Shiganshina were able to go back home but the hero was not found after the battle.”
Mr. Arlert let out an appreciative hum as nodded. “Very good, Mikasa. The titan shifter was called ‘Humanity’s Last Hope.’ He saved countless lives when he was in the Scouting Legion along with his other fearless comrades. And within the Scouting Legion, there was a corporal called ‘Humanity’s Strongest.’ He and the titan shifter created an unbreakable bond and lead humanity to victory over the titans; however, as you said, they were not found after their victory. Some say they died in battle and others say that they fled because the titan shifter was the last titan to be killed and needed to be executed.”
“But that’s not fair! He saved everyone!” Eren exclaimed.
“I agree with you, Eren, but this happened so long ago and we can’t do anything about their decisions. And to this day, no one knows what happened to the shifter and the corporal. At least we have this museum as a reminder of all the events that took place and the soldiers who fought for our freedom, right?”
Eren didn’t say anything but he pouted all the same. Levi rubbed soothing circles onto the boy’s hand with his thumb to calm him down. “It’s okay, Eren. I’m sure the hero and the corporal ran away together and lived happily ever after.”
Mr. Arlert chuckled. “There were rumors that they were lovers so you might be onto something there, Levi.”
“Ohhhhh! Levi, Levi! They could be us!” Eren laughed as he latched closer to Levi. The paler boy flushed and he pecked Eren’s cheek in appreciation.
“Ho ho…” was the last thing Mr. Arlert said as they reached the entrance of the village area of the museum. He watched in amusement as the kids cheered and rushed in to check out the little replica houses. His eyes lingered to Eren and Levi as he watched the little brunet with the big smile dragging his partner to see inside a carriage that was parked off to the side with a smile on his face. He whistled as he followed the kids further into the area.
“Ah, young love.”
*****
It was around lunchtime that Mr. Arlert suggested that they should take a break. They found a nice clearing outside the museum under a large tree to have their lunch. Mr. Arlert leaned against the tree as he watched the kids sit in a circle on the picnic blanket. Eren and Levi sat next to each other, but on Eren’s other side, he had Mikasa, and next to her was Armin. The group chatted happily amongst themselves, talking about what they’ve seen and creating theories of what they thought happened in the years past. They had finished their lunches quickly and started to eat their packed desserts.
“Levi, say ‘ahh’!”
Levi scrunched his nose as Eren pushed the chocolate chip cookie closer to his mouth. “Ere- mph!”
Eren giggled as he watched Levi chewed on the cookie with a glare. “Now me, now me!”
Levi swallowed the delicious chocolaty treat as he took one of the strawberries his maman packed and placed it in Eren’s mouth. He grimaced as Eren closed his lips over his fingers and quickly grabbed his handkerchief to wipe his hand. As much as he loved Eren, he didn’t appreciate having saliva on his hands.
Even so, he repeated the process and placed more strawberries into the brunet’s mouth with some of the juice dripping off the side of his mouth.
“Eren, you’re such a messy eater,” Mikasa chided as she wiped Eren’s face with a napkin.
Levi ‘hmph’-ed at his cousin and directed Eren’s attention back to him as he placed another strawberry into his mouth. Despite his need to be clean, he wiped the juice away with his thumb when it dribbled out again. He glared at Mikasa and raised his eyebrow, challenging her to do something about it.
The girl rolled her eyes and muttered “stupid” under her breath as Armin giggled and patted her back. “It’s okay, Mikasa. This is what people in love do.”
She stuck out her tongue at that but said nothing and went back to the cake she was eating.
After feeding Eren all the strawberries, Levi ate the remaining cookies in slow bites, savoring the flavor. “Levi, you have crumbs on your face.” And before Levi could wipe them off, Eren was in his field of vision and he felt something wet on his cheek.
“Did you just lick me?”
The other boy backed away and gave him a sheepish grin. Using the handkerchief to wipe his face, Levi placed it down before leaning forward to place a peck on Eren’s cheek. “Thank you.”
Eren’s heart fluttered. Usually, it was him initiating any form of contact, but it always made him extremely happy whenever Levi kissed him or wanted to hold hands. Levi doesn’t say much or show his emotions a lot, but Eren loved it whenever he could make the raven smile or laugh. It made his heart feel warm whenever it happens.
Once they finished their food and cleaned up, Mr. Arlert directed them to another section of the museum that displayed the different titans recorded in history and facts about them. Levi was in the middle of looking at the picture about the Female Titan when he felt a tug on his sleeve. “Mm? What is it Eren?”
“Hey, let’s sneak away,” Eren whispered.
“What?”
“Shh!” Eren made shushing motions at him. “I said, let’s sneak away. I saw this really cool fountain outside and I wanted to go see it but Mr. Arlert said that we’re not allowed there.”
“Then we shouldn’t see it Eren.”
“Please, Levi? Pretty please?” The boy jutted his bottom lip out into a pout.
Levi groaned. He could never say no when Eren did that and the boy knew it. Huffing, he took out his hand in defeat. “Okay, show me.”
Eren beamed and grabbed the offered hand before dragging him away from the group. They dodged around the other groups from their class as they headed towards the exit of the area. Smiling in victory, Eren dragged Levi towards the staircase to go downstairs, and Levi, he didn’t want the smile to go away from Eren’s face so he silently followed to wherever the brunet was taking him. Eren's shoes squeaked and lit up as they went down the wax stairs (the first pair of light up shoes finally gave in but Eren immediately got another pair that happened to light up green and blue) and out the way to the exit.
Levi raised an eyebrow, impressed that Eren seemed to manage to find their way out of the museum to a secluded area outside. There were tall bushes and shrubbery left and right, roses and trees were everywhere, and in the middle of it all, was a large fountain.
The boys stared at it in awe. It spewed out a ton of water like any fountain, but the sunlight hit it just right so it looked like there was a rainbow within the rushing waters. And on top of the fountain, was a pair of overlapping wings, the symbol of the Scouting Legion that was showcased throughout the whole museum.
They were about to take a closer look at it but jumped at the sound of a new voice.
“Oh ho! What do we have here? Do I see a pair of trouble makers?”
Eren and Levi turned around to see a tall person with brown hair tied in a ponytail, peering at them behind a pair of glasses. They seemed to be a gardener based on the dirt marks and grass stains all over their clothes.
The stranger walked closer to the scared duo, removing their gloves and placing them in their pocket before crouching in front of them so they could be eye-level. “Hiya kiddos! What are your names?”
Eren, seeing the stranger’s friendly demeanor, stepped up. “Hi! I’m Eren, and this is my boyfriend, Levi!”
They raised an eyebrow and looked at them in with amusement. “It’s nice to meet you, Eren and Levi. I’m Hange, the museum’s gardener. Is it safe to assume that you two snuck away from your class to come here?”
Eren shook his head but his ears were tinged red. “Ah-ah, Eren. It’s not good to lie you know,” Hange said in a teasing voice. “But I can understand why you two did it. It’s a beautiful fountain after all. Say, do you want to hear a story about it?”
The kids nodded their heads and Hange smiled. “Do you know about the titan shifter and the corporal?” Eren and Levi nodded once more and Hange took that as a sign to continue, “Well, there were rumors that they were lovers and would often meet up at this very fountain to see each other late at night. On the night before the titan shifter’s execution, they met again once more at the fountain. There were soldiers who were on night guard duty that night claiming to have seen the two throwing something into the fountain before going on their horse and running away. It’s said that they threw a coin in the fountain as a promise to each other and that they’ll come back home together but they never did.”
Hange stood up and stretched. “Or so that’s how the story goes anyway. Who knows, maybe they did eventually come back and no one knew. Or maybe,” they looked at the kids with a twinkle in their eyes. “They will come back after being reborn. But that’s my take on the story,” they said with a wink.
Eren and Levi looked at each other as they held hands. Eren broke into a smile as he dragged Levi closer to the fountain. “Lee? Do you have a coin?”
Levi pulled a coin from his pocket using his free hand and gave it to Eren. “What do you need it for?”
“A wish! I think the titan shifter and the corporal made a wish to always be together so I want to do it too. I want to always be together with you, Levi.”
Levi felt his heart swell as he looked at Eren’s hopeful eyes. He gently put his hand on Eren’s, on the hand that was holding on the coin. “Me too. I want us to be together forever.” He leaned over and placed a kiss on Eren’s lips. He felt the brunet’s lips forming into a smile before he felt his kiss being returned.
Pulling back, Eren threw the coin into the fountain and the two watched the coin sink into the water. They heard clapping behind them, completely forgetting that Hange was still there.
“That is adorable! You two are the cutest couple I’ve ever seen,” they praised.
The boys flushed at the comment as Hange chuckled. “Okay, I think it’s time for you two to head back before you get in trouble. Sound fair?” The two nodded and Hange pointed towards an open area. “Head that way and you’ll see a door that will let you back inside. I have to get back to work but good luck and enjoy the rest of the museum, okay?”
The boys nodded as they started walking towards where they were pointing at. “Bye Hange! Thank you!” Eren said as he frantically waved. Levi waved as well with a smile on his face.
“Bye kiddos! Come back soon, alright?” Hange waved back. They watched as the two hold hands towards the exit. Hange let out a small smile as they put down their hand and placed a fist over their heart in a salute. “It’s nice to see you two again.”
*****
“Ms. Ral, please calm down. I’m sure they’re fine,” Mr. Arlert said, trying to reassure the frantic woman.
“But they weren’t with you and the bus is already here, Mr. Arlert,” Ms. Ral said as she turned the corner. The two adults looked left and right, trying to find where Eren and Levi were.
They turned into an area where the paintings were and Ms. Ral let out a sigh of relief. “Oh thank goodness.”
Eren and Levi were sitting on a bench, side by side holding hands. Eren’s head was on Levi’s shoulder and Levi rested his head on Eren’s. Behind them was a large painting of two figures in the same position. The faces of the figures in the painting weren’t clear, but one figure had unruly brown hair and the other had sleek black hair. The sleeves of the uniforms they were wearing had the Scouting Legion emblem and they were holding hands, much like what the two little ones were doing, portraying a sense of calm from the painting.
Ms. Ral giggled as she saw Eren yawn. He didn’t wake up, but he snuggled closer to Levi and mumbled “I love you” before drifting off again.
Mr. Arlert appeared behind her and chuckled at the scene before him. “At least they’ll be quiet on the bus ride home.”
Special shout out to @thesadisticsiren for the ideas and suggestions! She’s amazing and you should totally check out her work! ^^
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Levi/Eren Yeager
Characters: Eren Yeager, Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, puns puns puns, Bad Puns, innuendos, everywhere, Fish Puns and Jokes, Date Day at the Aquarium, Public Display of Affection
Summary:
Levi and Eren take a day out at the local aquarium and silliness ensues when Eren gets punny.
