Eren Jaeger had spent the last two weeks tending and nursing a huge fucking crush, and Levi had been the one stupid enough to plant the seed in whatever hormonal abscess passed for a teenaged heart.
author: @mongoose-bite // mongoose_bite
ship: ereri (Eren Jaeger/Levi Ackerman)
rating: explicit
word count: 24.3k
warnings: underage
genre/tags: canon-centric, post season one canon, no manga spoilers, mild angst, humor, firsts (kiss, times), frottage, kissing, explicit consent
excerpt:
Levi attended Lance Pahlke's funeral, as did Eren. Levi hadn't made him, but he did tell him when it was, and Eren saddled his horse and rode out beside him at the appointed time without prompting. For the first time, Levi felt like he wasn't alone at a funeral. Eren stood no closer to him than Erwin did, but somehow it was different; Eren was present in a way that Erwin refused to be out of sheer self-protection.He hadn't been to enough funerals yet for the ritual to start losing its meaning. Levi didn't know any of these people, not like the families of his squad mates, but it made no difference. After a while all grieving families started to look alike. Eren didn't cry, but he did look about three years older when he and Levi walked out of the church and back into the sun. Whatever he was thinking about Levi didn't interrupt, but he was quietly proud of him for facing up to what he'd done.
Levi and Eren walked back to their horses in silence.
“Thank you for coming with me, Sir,” Eren said eventually.
“I always go to the funerals,” Levi said. “So it's more correct to say you accompanied me.”
Eren looked at him sadly. “Of course you would.”
Levi didn't know what to say to that, so he ignored it.
Levi's face lost its red lines. He introduced his new squad, including Eren, to the joys of writing reports, and the data was analysed. Occasionally Eren cupped his left hand close to his chest and smiled secretly, proudly, and Levi's eyes narrowed and his own heart twinged.
why i love it: so fun fact about this fic: this is the first Ereri fic I ever read. back in the days when I was just a fledgling Ereri shipper, and I can trace this fic as the one that kind of... pushed me from casual shipper to, well, where I am now. as it were, I think Crunchy was my gateway to almost all of the wonderful Ereri fic I read after that (through his bookmarks) and the wonderful people, writers, and community that introduced me to, so on top of a lot of other things, this fic has IMMENSE personal meaning to me.
it’s hard to nail down things with this one, because my gut is to say, everything, everything, just read it and you’ll understand. it’s Levi’s reluctance, it’s Eren being stubborn as all hell, it’s that moment I quoted above when Eren mimics holding Levi in his Titan form that always makes me smile way, way too big. it’s Eren reminding Levi that they’re both still alive, and so why not live while that’s still an option? canon-centric fic can rub you raw, and while this one still hurts, it treats you very tenderly, too.
read it: on ao3
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