for the @ererievents ereriweek 27/10 prompt: special occasionĀ
āCome over here and let me wash your hair,ā Levi tells him, more of an order than a request.Ā
āWhat, you donāt think I canāt wash it well enough myself?ā Eren quips, clutching on to his towel. The damn thing keeps slipping lower with every movement which is why heās stayed on the benches for so long in the first place.Ā
Itās always a special occasion when their squad gets the chance to relax a little, and while the others have gone off to enjoy the ample dinner laid out for them, him and Levi are still here in the sauna. Thankfully theyāve been seated a respectable distance from one another so far. Things are still new and unfamiliar between them, and now theyāre here, naked, just the two of them.Ā
āItās getting longer,ā Levi states as he reaches for the bottles of shampoo. āScoot over, please.ā
He does, clumsily, all the while holding on to his towel as if his life depends on it. Settling by Leviās feet, he tries to relax as he feels skilled fingers combing through his hair. Itās hard, but thankfully nothing else is at the moment.Ā
āYouāre tense.ā Levi presses his thumbs to the back of his neck and Eren all but moans out loud. āRelax a little.ā
Through gritted teeth, he replies, āIām trying.ā Leviās touched him before, of course, has braided his hair a couple of times and woven daisies into it. Theyāve shared countless kisses, heās even snuck out to sleep with Levi in his bed once on a particularly cold night, but this is different from any of that.Ā
From where heās seated, heās very aware that Leviās crotch is right behind him. Itās right there. He could just turn and plant his face into it.
Eren draws in a long breath, willing the tightness in his shoulders to unfurl. It does feel nice, having Levi lather up his hair and gently work through the knots along his lengths. āDo you think I should cut it?ā he asks when the silence becomes too much to bear.Ā
After considering it for a moment, Levi replies, āDonāt. It looks good on you.ā He leans over to place a featherlight kiss against the skin of Erenās shoulder, ticklish and tender and tempting all at the same time.Ā
Thatās another thing, too - whenever Levi pays him a compliment, whether itās something light and casual or whispered into his ear in a reverent voice, he canāt help but to squirm in delight. Itās especially bad now, the heat of the sauna and Leviās solid presence behind him making it even harder to keep his composure. He digs his nails into his thigh, only inches below from where the towel is covering him and tries to think of clean thoughts.Ā
"Youāre still tense,ā Levi says as he moves to rinse off the suds. āStop it."Ā
The warm water cascading down on him relaxes Eren only a little. "Yeah, well. Itās kind of awkward,ā he blurts out.Ā
āHow so?ā His hands return to carding through Erenās hair just for the sake of it.Ā
āWeāre naked,ā he states, heat blooming across his face.Ā
āWeāve been naked before, though,ā Levi points out. They have, but itās always been in the communal showers and often surrounded by other people, which is nowhere near as stressful as this.Ā
Eren shrugs. āIt feels different now.ā
Leviās hands come to rest on his shoulders, warm and steadying. āIt doesnāt have to. I donāt expect anything from you that youāre not comfortable with.ā
He canāt quite bring himself to give a name to the dizzying sensation that blooms in his chest at that. Maybe this is what love feels like, relaxed and warm and easy. Some of the tension coiled in his shoulders melts away as he lets himself lean further into Leviās touch.Ā
āIām not uncomfortable,ā he says. āJust a little nervous, I guess.ā
āThatās fine.ā With one last kiss placed on the top of Erenās head, Levi shuffles over and moves to get up. āLetās go and see if thereās any dinner left for us.ā
Thankfully enough, there is, and as Eren grabs himself a second slice of bread, he casually tangles his legs with Leviās under the table. No-one notices, not even when Levi raises a brow at him from across the table. Thereās the barest hint of a smile on his lips, lingering there whenever Eren glances his way.
Itās a good look on Levi. He should smile more, Eren decides just then. Silently he vows to himself to make Levi smile as often as possible.Ā
This is love, he realizes later that night when theyāre laying tangled in Leviās bed together and heās tracing idle patterns across Leviās back. Selfless, kind and ardent, countless shared little moments amongst an otherwise harsh existence. Though he canāt bring himself to say those three fateful words out loud, he mumbles them into the miniscule space between their bodies, hoping that one day he will get to shout them from the rooftops for all of humanity to hear.Ā