I’m sorry that took so long to get to you, but here is your Back-up Secret Santa Gift @dallyingdivergent! I have never been great at canon-verse stories, but I tried really hard to make it fluffy and fun for you! I really hope you enjoy it!
“Wheeeee! Levi, I’m flying!” Eren giggled infectiously as he swung his arms in excitement.
Rolling his eyes lovingly, Levi continued making his way down the castle hallways with his husband cradled in his arms. Eren was always out of it like this when he left his titan form, but after so many years of practice he was getting better and better at staying awake afterwards.
Unfortunately, Eren hadn’t quite mastered Ymir’s calm and collected exit from a titan yet and still struggled to staying awake fully. Instead he was at an in-between stage where he could stay awake after having shifted, but he still needed time to be back to one hundred percent.
Until that point, Eren was pretty out of it, almost as if he were high. Peeking at Eren as they rounded a corner, Levi couldn’t help agreeing with that conclusion. Eren was too busy staring at his fingerprints to notice him watching, confused about when ‘the little mazes got there.’
Hanji theorized that it was Eren’s body placing him in a kind of ‘low power’ mental state to focus on recovering his energy in other places.
Levi didn’t have any complaints though, getting to take care of Eren was always preferable to paperwork and it didn’t hurt that Eren was extra affectionate when he was out of it like this.
Eventually coming up to to their bedroom, Levi managed to open the door and slide in with his increasingly squirmy husband in his arms. Laying Eren down gently on their nicely made bed, Levi quickly closed the bedroom door behind them and worked on getting them out of their gear and shoes.
There was no need for them to stay in the knee high boots and scouting capes when they were going to be resting for at least the next half an hour as Eren regained his energy and control.
Finally getting Eren and himself out of their straps and their boots and folding them on the dresser, Levi plopped onto the bed, rolling next to Eren’s splayed out form and closing his eyes as he let himself relax.
Watching Eren shift was always nerve-wracking and Levi was already tired enough to want to go to sleep. He never knew if a shift would end well or not, always ready for the worst, but praying it didn’t come down to it. Thankfully, Eren had much better control nowadays over his form and Levi was able to relax knowing that Eren was in a better place..
Someone would bring them tea later with Eren’s special blend from Hanji to help cut down his recovery time, but their relationship was no secret and Levi didn’t bother himself with worrying about someone seeing them curled around one another like this in the meantime.
Eren was quick to draw Levi’s attention though, happy to be alone and able to be as affectionate as he wanted. Everybody knew about their relationship, but neither of them were extremely touchy in public so when they got into the privacy of their bedroom, Eren tended to be pretty clingy to his husband. He pressed a sweet kiss to Levi’s cheek, giggling to himself like he had heard a funny joke, before adding one after the other all over his cheeks and face.
Eren was always so sweet to Levi, always taking care of him, but the extra affection that he seemed to just ooze in this state was too good for Levi to resist and he didn’t even try to stop himself from reciprocating the soft touches.
Opening his eyes slightly, Levi reached out and caressed Eren’s fluffy locks, lightly scratching his head as he ran his fingers along Eren’s head.
Eren practically started purring, cuddling closer to Levi and smiling like he was in Heaven. It was too cute and Levi just watched, wrapped up in the warmth of the moment. Levi was so distracted that he didn’t notice that he had stopped playing with Eren's hair as he watched until an insistent hand started forcing him to move again.
Levi smirked at Eren’s neediness and began playing with Eren’s soft hair again, waiting until Eren’s eyes slid closed again before moving in quickly and pressing a little kiss to Eren’s nose.
Eren’s eyes suddenly shot open and he looked startled as he peered around their empty room, trying to figure out who could have done it. Levi could almost laugh at the thought that Eren didn’t seem to notice that he was the only possible person who could have done it. A sweet blush covered Eren’s cheeks as he looked around the room.
Levi only barely managed to hide his smile at Eren’s confusion, playing along with the trick. “What are you looking for, sweetheart? Close your eyes and just relax, I got you.”
Eren slowly nodded along to what Levi was saying, laying back down fully and letting his eyes slip shut. The room regained its quietness as they relaxed against one another, Eren practically laying on Levi’s chest.
Levi counted to ten in his head to let Eren get distracted before he kissed Eren again, this time on the cheek.
Eren made a little rumbly noise and rubbed his cheek, but he didn’t react more than that. He was just too cute and Levi couldn’t stop himself from teasing him a little more.
Levi waited a few seconds again and moved in to copy his two other little pecks when Eren’s eyes flew open suddenly. Levi paused awkwardly, still leaning in halfway as he was caught in the act.
“Ahh ha!” Eren fake-shouted in victory, smiling at Levi. The light pink blush from before had quickly morphed into a dark red flush as Eren giggled at Levi’s affectionate touches. “I caught you in the act! I knew it was you!”
Levi pulled back slowly, flopping back on the mattress and closed his eyes, fully aware that Eren was watching his every move. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I just watched you try to kiss me!”
“No. I’m sleeping. I’m asleep right now.”
“No, you aren’t!”
“Yes, I am. Hush. I'm sleeping.”
“Levi-!” Eren started to grumble, frowning at Levi. He wasn’t getting tricked by Levi about this, he knew what he had seen!
Leaning over, Levi pecked Eren’s cheek again before laying down again.
“You just did it again! I watched you!”
“I don’t know what you are talking about.”
Eren grumbled and flopped down next to Levi with an angry hiss as his husband let out a few quiet laughs.
The pair laid in happy silence, enjoying the moment as Eren rested up from his earlier shifting. As the two of them curled up together on the fluffy mattress, Levi smiled gently at his husband’s peaceful face, watching Eren recover safe and sound next to him, .
Eren opened his eyes and looked back at Levi, smiling softly back at his husband.
Pressing his nose to Eren’s neck with a light kiss, Levi whispered, “You’re just a little cutie, aren't you?”
Eren’s nose scrunched up and he looked like he was in deep thought for a second. “I’m not, I’m brave. I’m a big brave soldier.”
Levi tapped his chin like he was deep in thought before he responded teasingly, “Are you sure about that? Because I’m one hundred percent sure that you are my sweet little angel.”
Eren’s face flushed, but he kept arguing, unwilling to agree that he was absolutely adorable. “I’m not little or cute, I’m a titan-shifter!” Eren practically shouted as he perked up, his face lighting up like he had just won the argument.
Playing along, Levi nodded thoughtfully for a second. “But, hear me out here, what if you’re a cute little titan-shifter?”
Eren’s face looked so lost as he whispered to himself, “But...Levi, titans are big…”
Levi had to hold himself back from laughing as he took in his confused husband’s reaction to his teasing, too out of it to hold the conversation properly.
Levi wasn’t a complete sadist though, lazily wrapping his arms around Eren and rolling them on the bed in a messy pile. Levi cocooned them under a messy pile of blankets and let himself relax. Just relax.
Eren quickly forgot about what they had been playfully arguing about, curling into Levi’s muscled arms with a contented smile. There was no stress or pressure between them to be or do anything specific with their free time. Just warmth and comfort. And the four fluffy blankets they were hiding under.
With Eren, there was no need for Levi to pretend to always be the serious respectable captain that he was with the cadets. Eren was just happy with be with him, neither of them needing anything other than one another to be happy.
Eren giggled as they goofed around together, loving the light heartness of the moment they shared, sprawled out together on the soft fluffiness of the bed.
A soft knock at the door told Levi that their tea had arrived, before a cadet quickly opened the door, placed the tray down on the nightstand near them, and left just as fast as he had arrived.
Sitting up slowly and pulling Eren with him, Levi positioned them against the headboard of their bed next to the tea set. Eren pulled one of their blankets with them to stay warm and cozy as Levi passed him his special brew of tea.
They both sipped at their tea in a happy quietness, cuddling with one another as the warm sunlight filtered into their bedroom through the window.
Eren could feel his healing pick up, moving quicker than before to restore his energy and repair his body from the shift, but he didn’t get up and start getting ready.
There would be time for that later, time to train and clean and learn new 3DMG tricks. The time he had right now was for Levi and there was no way in hell he was going to waste it.
///-///-///-///-///-///-///-///-///-///
“Come on, Eren” Levi joked light-heartedly, “You’ve gotta be better than that if you don’t want to be titan chow.”
Jumping back to his feet, Eren smirked and put his fists back up. “I’m not the one who needs to worry about being titan chow. Which one of us can turn into a massive ass-kicking titan and which of us is a fragile human with no super healing?”
Moving forward, Levi quickly began a small round of quick punches, testing for an opening and trying to wear Eren down. Drawing back for a second to catch his breath and watch Eren’s form, Levi teased, “Which one of us has to be naked every time that we go into battle?”
Eren grumbled and went in for a hit, striking at any point of Levi that he saw a chance. “My point still remains, titan or not, I still have advanced healing. I could take on all of those assholes with my bare hands.”
Spotting his chance, Eren moved in and executed a quick tossing move, making Levi fall onto the ground beneath him. Racing forward, Eren straddled Levi and pinned his hands, winning the round.
Both of them laid on the ground panting as they caught their breaths, tired from having practiced for a couple of hours. Eren breathlessly gloating about his victory as they baked under the sun shining on them.
“See? I can take down Humanity’s Strongest and I can take down the titans. Bring it on!” Eren huffed, rolling off Levi and flopping down next to him to rest.
“But titans are big.” Levi whined, mimicking Eren’s voice from earlier when he was still recovering from his shift. There was one other advantage to seeing Eren out of it after a transformation: all the bad jokes he could ask for were at the tips of his fingers when he regularly got to see Eren without any of his inhibitions.
Eren huffed as his face heated up, trying to come up with a good comeback to Levi’s jab. “Oh, fuck off!” Eren shot back, still fumbling for something to help him get back at Levi.
Levi simply smiled, knowing that meant he had won their playful little argument.
“Well as fun as this is, being literally soaked in sweat and laying in some dirt, I think I'm gonna go take a shower now.” Levi grumbled, rolling over and getting onto his feet lazily.
Eren peeked at him and mumbled back, “Got room for one more?”
Levi smirked and reached down to grab his hand and pull him to his feet. “I’d never say no to your company.”
“Well, aren’t you sweet, Levi.”
“Whatever.”
“I know you love me.”
“...Of course, I do.”