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Instead of dismounting properly, Eren let himself nearly fall off of his horse as their little group returned to Survey Corps HQ. He tossed the reins to a cadet, patted the animal's nose, and drug himself into the building. A familiar sigh sounded from behind him and he moved to the side so Levi could walk next to him.
Somehow, miraculously, both of them had only suffered cuts and bruises after the disaster. Out of the over one hundred scouts that had left the castle, thirty-six had returned. Sure, other missions outside the walls had failed, but the only one with a similar percentage of death was when they had tried and failed to capture the female titan so many years ago.
Eleven years and four months, to be exact. It felt like a thousand lifetimes.
At the ripe old age of 27, Eren Jaeger was the last surviving member of the 104th class. People had been picked off one by one as the years passed. Hell, almost everyone he knew had died. When he was younger he could never understand why the officers and commanders always seemed so closed off. Now he knew all too well. If they didn't shut down, they would go insane with grief.
Armin had died seven years ago. He was put in charge of the science of Annie's self-contained crystal prison. One day as he performed some tests she broke out and transformed underground, bringing the building down and killing everyone inside, including herself.
Mikasa, the one person Eren had been positive would make it to the end and see all the titans dead, had died four and a half years ago. For nearly two years she slowly wasted away with an unending sickness, becoming nothing more than skin and bones at the end. She had begged him for one last mercy. He kissed her forehead, said he loved her, and left her with a razor-sharp blade.
Over those eleven years the rest of the class was taken one by one by the titans until Eren was the last. The past decade had been incredibly hard for the Survey Corps and, of every person he had come to know in the beginning, only Hanji and Levi were left. Hanji, as commander, was ensconced in the capitol, doing everything she could to keep humanity fighting.
And so Eren and Levi were the longest lasting members still in the field. With intense training, Eren had honed his titan powers so that he had complete control at all times. When that control was firmly established and he had zero fear of losing himself to the titan, Levi joined his exercises. Soon enough they became a whirling, ripping, tearing storm of death to any titans that crossed their path. Over the years they had learned to work together seamlessly and even began to anticipate the others moves. As Humanity's Strongest and Humanity's Hope they were formidable on their own, but together they were unstoppable.
They even anticipated each others needs and wants in their day-to-day life. Levi would always help when Eren got overwhelmed with paperwork, and Eren would make sure Levi ate and slept. When one made a cup of tea, they always made two and delivered the other. Over the years Eren could honestly say that Levi had become his best friend and his rock. He knew Levi would never admit it, but he had a feeling the shorter man felt the same.
It was a shame things had never progressed further than that. Eren had lusted over Levi since almost the first time he had seen the man. He was absolutely head-over-heels in love with his captain and had been for years. And yes, although they were the same rank now, Levi would forever be his captain.
Sometimes he got the impression that Levi liked him back, but that was ridiculous. To him, Eren knew he would forever be the gawky teen that couldn't control his temper and transformed when picking up spoons. Once in a while, though, he would catch the man looking at him strangely. On a few occasions when Eren had pulled off exceptional maneuvers he would get an awkward compliment and a pat on the back. His favorite was when he had decimated wave after wave of titans, giving the rest of the corps time to retreat. He was rewarded with an uncomfortable smile and “You fought good.”
Levi looked up at Eren when he huffed a tiny laugh at the memory. Waving it off, Eren turned left at an intersection of hallways while Levi went right. They had a routine after every mission. He couldn't remember when it started, but it was comforting. He would go to the kitchen and get enough food and drink for the two of them to gorge themselves while Levi prepared the shower, getting towels and clothes and everything else ready for them.
By the time Eren made it to Levi's quarters, the long-agreed meeting place, he was starting to itch from the dried mud and filth covering him. After dropping the food on Levi's desk, he went to the end of the hall and into the bathing room.
As usual, Levi had made sure it was empty of everyone else. Two stools sat next to each other with sets of clothing and towels folded neatly on top. The room was already warm and a slight mist filled the air. Stripping off his ruined uniform, Eren tossed it in the bin and strode up next to Levi.
The older man stood under a spray of water, hands braced against the wall, head hanging. Eren couldn't help but let his eyes wander over the pale skin. Thick scars outlined where the harness rubbed and thin lines showed where he had sustained various other injuries. A large purple bruise covered the right half of his upper back, another extending down from hip to knee on the same side. A titan had flung him from his horse and he had struck the ground hard. Hard. Levi had only survived because Eren had had a bad feeling and kept an eye on him. He had scooped him up and placed him out of harm's way high in a tree before literally ripping the attacking titan to shreds.
On the flip side, Eren had been so intent on punishing the titan that had hurt Levi that several had attacked him at once. He managed to fight off five of them, but they did enough damage that he couldn't defend himself from the sixth. Just as he sensed the teeth about to clamp down on his nape, the familiar whirr-hiss of the 3DMG reached him and a dead weight knocked him flat to the ground.
When he ejected out of the damaged titan, Eren looked around to see Levi leaning against the base of the tree Eren had put him in. The relief he had felt at seeing Levi in one piece, even if he was hurt, was like the weight of the world was lifted off his shoulders.
Still, as he looked at the injuries...
Eren lifted a hand, wanting to touch Levi, to make sure he was really alive and well. He paused an inch away from making contact, then clenched his fist and let it fall back to his side. Gritting his teeth, Eren stepped under the scalding spray and scrubbed viciously at his hair. Brown water circled the drain as he scrubbed off the mud and blood and tried to relax his mind.
Yes, the mission had failed spectacularly. They hadn't achieved their objective and had lost almost 75% of the soldiers they took into the field. Even with all that, he couldn't help but feel a sense of relief that Levi had made it. Even if he was damaged, he would heal. He had been injured more severely before and been fine, so this was nothing. But Eren had snatched him from the jaws of death. Literally, he had grabbed Levi a split-second before the titan would have eaten him. And Levi had returned the favor just as literally.
After soaping and rinsing himself off from top to bottom twice, Eren finally felt human again, rather than a walking mudball. Movement caught his attention and he turned to look at Levi. He had washed just as thoroughly as Eren had but now stood still as a statue, a weird expression on his face as he stared at Eren.
Furrowing his brow, Eren laid a hand on Levi's uninjured shoulder. The smooth, wet, warm skin was a balm to his frazzled nerves. Levi was here. Levi was alive. Levi would be fine. And Levi still stared at him oddly.
“You okay? Need to go lay down?”
Nothing happened for a long second, then Levi jumped. Slim legs wrapped around his waist and a strong hand reached up to tangle in Eren's hair, pulling him down so their lips connected. Careful of the massive bruise, Eren wrapped his arms around Levi and held him close, their chests flush together.
No words were needed as they fell into the sensation. It was like it was natural, like they had been doing this for years even though this was the first time they had touched each other outside of work or friendship. As Levi's tongue slipped into Eren's mouth and both men moaned, it was like it was fated to happen.
Levi rubbed himself against every part of Eren he could reach, squirming in his arms. Mind lost to the feeling of having Levi -the man he had wanted for almost half of his life- pressed against him, he lapped at the man's mouth, nibbling soft lips. The older man let out a sinful moan when Eren closed his mouth around his tongue and suckled, teeth scraping lightly.
Eren moved so his back pressed against the wet tile of the wall and slid down until he sat on the floor, Levi straddling him, their mouths never parting. Levi undulated against him and Eren slid one hand between them to grip their erections together. When he stroked Levi let out a low groan and pressed his forehead against Eren's, breathing harshly. The hand not tangled in Eren's hair moved to circle their cocks, too.
“Fuck, Levi...”
“Eren... you almost died.”
Their eyes met and Eren could see emotion swirling in the steely blue. “But you saved me. And you almost died, too.”
“And you saved me.”
He sounded almost surprised by that and Eren blinked. “Of course. I couldn't stand to lose you.”
Levi let out a shuddering breath and tightened his grip on their cocks. When their lips met again, it was soft, every small noise of pleasure swallowed by the other. Soon, Eren felt a familiar tightness in his groin and his breath hitched. “Levi, I'm gonna...”
“Not yet.”
Eren blinked in confusion as Levi released their cocks to stick three fingers in his own mouth. When they were coated with saliva, he reached behind himself and groaned softly. Understanding where this was going, Eren softly kissed every scrape and bruise and scar he could reach without disturbing Levi's movements. When Eren sucked on a nipple, Levi shuddered and brought his hand around to steady himself against the brunet's chest.
He watched in utter fascination as Levi raised up on his knees and lowered himself slowly. Head falling against the tile, Eren couldn't tear his gaze away from Levi's face. Long black eyelashes fluttered as Levi stretched around the hardness, his eyes nearly rolling back into his head as their hips settled together. Eren bit his tongue to keep from wildly thrusting upwards, giving Levi time to adjust.
After a long minute their eyes met once again. Eren had never seen that particular expression on Levi's face before. The captain looked totally fucked out already, even though he had just begun to circle his hips. With his open mouth, flushed cheeks, and sultry eyes, it was something that Eren wanted to see every day for the rest of his life. He would tear the entire world apart if it meant that he was the only one to ever see Levi like this.
“Eren... touch me... fuck...”
He didn't need to be told twice. Threading one hand through soft, black hair, he pulled Levi's lips to his as his other hand wrapped around the neglected erection. When he stroked firmly, Levi moaned into his mouth and sped up his own motions. Eren lost himself in the wet, warm heat gripping his dick and the tongue dancing with his own. Every breathy sigh and groaned plea for more was filed away for future reference. Even the spicy scent of Levi's preferred soap was imprinted on his mind and Eren knew that even if he lived to be a hundred years old, he would never forget this moment.
Levi sped up until he had to lean back, bracing his hands on Eren's thighs as he slammed up and down. Wet sounds of flesh slapping echoed around the empty room, neither one caring that their moans could probably be heard all the way in the capitol.
“Eren... god, I'm... fuck... more, more, yes, fuck, fuck fuck fuckfuckyeeessssFUUUUUUCK!”
His entire body stiffened as he came, thick stripes of cum painting across Eren's chest. Levi's name echoed around the room as Eren called it out, shooting his own load deep inside the older man.
Levi slumped against Eren's chest, both breathing heavily. Eren held him close, laying soft kisses to his hair. When his head raised, their lips met in a tender kiss. Pressing their foreheads together, Eren bumped their noses softly. “Levi... I...”
“Never die on me, brat.” Levi's voice cracked, emotion filling his words.
Eren smiled softly at the old nickname, kissing the corner of his mouth. “I won't leave you behind, heichou.”
Neither one said the actual phrase, but they both knew it. They would never be alone again.