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Chapter Text

Levi was just raising a cup to tea to his lips to sip at when he heard footsteps down the hall and sensed Petra a second before she burst into his office. It gave him just enough time to mourn the loss of the warmth of his tea and set it carefully back in its saucer.

Not a moment later, she burst into the room. Levi could practically smell the nauseating scent of panic and fear that trailed after her, even with scent-blocker applied under his nose – it was radiating from her that strongly. She had a few splatters of blood on her pants and white shirt as well, and Levi swallowed as the smell hit him just a second later.

Petra gave a shaky salute. “Captain!” she blurted out. Her eyes were wide and round with fear, and her pretty face was unnaturally white. “We need you in the infirmary.”

Levi rose to his feet, brows furrowing. It was late and only the most extreme of circumstances would send one of his squad bursting into his office or quarters unannounced at this hour.

He gave a short nod and snatched his jacket from the back of his chair, tugging it on as he rounded the desk and gestured for Petra to go ahead of him.

“Explain,” he ordered, closing the door behind him and starting down the hall in swift, sure steps.

Petra hurried to keep up with him, swallowing slightly as she rushed behind Levi. “It’s Eren,” she started, and Levi had to suppress a roll of his eyes. Of course it had been. That boy practically had a target on his back that trouble seemed to zero in on.

“He went for a walk after dinner but didn’t return, so we went to look for him. We found him in the woods,” Petra explained quickly. “He had a large wound on his thigh-”

“So have Hanji patch the kid up, what do you need me for?” Levi groused, cutting her off, but his mind was already churning through the possibilities. If was any normal wound, the kid would have shrugged it off, but if Petra had come to get him, then something was off. “Eren’s a Titan shifter, he’ll heal quickly.”

“Sir, the problem is that it’s not healing,” Petra said, but her voice was a bit softer this time.

Levi descended the steps down to the mess hall, heels of his boots tapping sharply against the stone. There were a few veterans who were just staggering in, rubbing the sleep from their eyes. The night watch shift was about to change and Levi nodded at a few of them who were clutching mugs of coffee while blinking blearily around the room.  

As they went through the kitchens, Levi saw Gunther in the middle of boiling some water in a teakettle. Gunther, like Levi, was one of the few who hated the new drink called “coffee” that Hanji had come up. She’d found a new a new plant a year ago on a routine expedition outside the walls and after figuring out how to process and dry the bean, she’d discovered it made a drink with stimulating effects. Levi couldn’t help but agree with Gunther, though – the dark brew was bitter and displeasing. If Levi wanted something hot and made from beans, he’d just make soup.

Apparently, Gunther was one of the ones who was just starting watch and he looked confused when he saw Petra and Levi striding through the kitchens. He stopped briefly to inform the man, “Petra will tell you later,” and Gunther nodded. He trusted Levi.

“What’s the wound?” he asked sharply, once they were moving through the halls alone once more. Levi tossed her a quick look and when she refused to meet his eyes, he bit back a curse.

“A bite, sir,” she replied quietly. Fuck.

“The moon?”

“Full,” she whispered.

No wonder they needed him. Damn it, they had no idea how Eren’s body, as a Titan shifter, would react to any sort of taint.

“Hanji’s probably having a fucking field day with this,” Levi muttered, rounding the corner to the infirmary. Petra didn’t confirm nor deny it, but the little snort she gave behind him confirmed that yes, Hanji was very much enjoying this.

The smell of blood permeated his senses, making his throat burn. He paused for a second while he wrested control back, taking deep breaths through his mouth. Fuck, he was thirsty. His squad had been wiped out from the rigorous training he’d put them through yesterday and he hadn’t wanted to give them any more reason to be tired. He felt Petra touch his shoulder and the familiar touch grounded him, brought him back to reality.

“Thanks,” he grunted, and then they continued on.

“Just over there, Captain,” Petra said, pointing at a bed in the corner. He could see Eren lying, chocolate-brown hair pulled up into a bun and his long body stretched out on the thin mattress. Oluo was there, leaning against a wall while Hanji dabbed at Eren’s forehead. The kid’s eyes were tightly shut, sun-bronzed skin damp and shining with sweat.

“Where’s Eld?” Levi asked as he drew closer.

Oluo was the one to answer this time. “He’s tracking down whatever did this.”

“Alone?” Levi questioned sharply. He levelled his flat grey eyes on Oluo and the other man flinched at his unimpressed stare. He felt a flash of annoyance both Eld and Oluo. They knew how dangerous the supernatural could be, and Eld was just as dumb for going off alone as Oluo was for letting him. He expected better of his second-in-command – and his squad, in general.

“Unacceptable,” he bit out. “Go find him and provide backup.”

Oluo give a hasty salute and trotted off, checking his gear as he went. Besides the standard pairing blades for killing Titans, (not that they were needed as much anymore) Survey Corps soldiers were also issued a small hunting knife of a steel-silver alloy and a small revolver with 5 pure silver bullets.

There were no other supernatural beings in the Survey Corps besides Levi, but where one was, more tended to follow. They tended to be drawn to one another and once Levi had joined, he couldn’t shake the worry that more would come. Not all of them cared about humans as Levi did – he knew that from personal experience. Based on that, it hadn’t taken Levi much to convince Erwin to issue an order to equip their soldiers with measures that would allow them to defend themselves if something with fangs did come after them.

Levi knew the small knife and bullets wouldn’t do much in the long run. It would definitely take more than that to kill Levi himself, for example, but it would slow down a supernatural creature long enough for help to arrive or for the soldier to get away. They were probably being overly cautious, but Levi believed in being prepared for the worst while hoping for the best. That ideology had saved his skin on more than one occasion.

Once Oluo had left and Levi was satisfied that Eld was getting sufficient backup, Levi turned his attention to Eren, giving him a quick once-over. The shifter wasn’t resting easy – there was a drawn expression on his face and an ashy hue to his skin, as if he were in pain. He glanced over to Hanji. “How’s it look?” he asked quietly.

The scientist’s face was serious as she glanced up at Levi. “Not great,” she said, wincing a bit. “I’m no expert on all that’s big, growly, and furry, so I need you to take a look and tell me what you think. It’s why I sent Petra to find you.”

Of course, he was the only one up and about at this time of night, so it made sense. Well, that and he was the only one who really knew about these sorts of things. He figured it was more a case of the latter than the former.

Levi rubbed his nose, staring contemplatively down at the shifter on the bed. He couldn’t smell anything like this, which was usually a blessing, but right now, he needed the keen sense of smell that came with being a vampire.

“Get a damp washcloth,” he ordered Petra and she hurried to find one.

“Can you really not smell anything?” Hanji asked, raising a brow.

When Hanji had first been told about what, exactly, Levi was, she had been over the moon with excitement. Everyone had heard rumors that there were creatures such as him in the Underground City and confirming that to Hanji had made her ecstatic, especially when Levi had agreed to tell her more about his kind. Levi hadn’t enjoyed being poked and prodded, but she had been eager to help with some of the vampiric traits he struggled with. Levi still told himself that her help was the only reason he had indulged her - not for the sake of any sort of damned friendship.

Recently, his enhanced sense of smell had been one thing she had proven useful to assist with. The new influx of recruits meant more people and too many smells assaulting his nose. It hadn’t taken her long to come up with a thick balm that dampened the scents his over-keen nose picked up. All Levi had to do was rub it around his nose and he was no longer suffering from the smells of sweaty, unwashed recruits.

He’d only been using it a short while, testing it, and he knew Hanji was eager to see how it had worked. Levi shook his head in answer to her question. “My sense of smell is about as good as yours right now,” he admitted, holding out a hand as Petra came running back. He used the washcloth to swipe under his nose, rubbing Hanji’s balm off, then set the cloth on the stand.

“Fascinating,” Hanji breathed, mahogany eye alight. Levi smirked – he knew she had to be restraining herself from bombarding him with questions.

For all of her craziness and scientific mind, Hanji was still a deeply empathetic person, and so her own curiosity was set aside for the sake of Eren's well-being. He could tell she was worried about the kid.

Free of the scent-dampener, Levi took a small inhale, testing out his renewed sense of smell and gauging his own reaction. A variety of scents filtered in, the most notable being Petra’s fresh, clean laundry scent, the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg coming from Hanji, and the calming smell of the fresh ocean breeze that was purely Eren.

There was also the smell of blood that made his fangs ache and threaten to descend. His throat burned in response. However, Levi was no newly-born vampire and with effort, he pushed it away. He focused on the familiar scents of his comrades, letting them ground him and he quickly regained his composure.

He shot a quick glance to Hanji in a silent question. The scientist shook her head slightly. “Your eyes only went silver for a second there. You’re good,” she said, waving it off.

“Right,” he sighed. “Remove that sheet,” he gestured at Eren’s prone form, “and I’ll take a look.”

Hanji did so, Petra hovering right by his shoulder, soft honey-colored eyes tight with worry. She had a soft spot for Eren that had only grown larger after the encounter with the Female Titan in the forest years ago. He couldn’t blame her – trust was hard to earn, harder still to give. When Eren had chosen to trust Levi and the rest of the special operations squad, it had earned him a permanent place in their squad and secured their friendship. Even Levi had been surprised and touched when Eren had lowered his hand and chosen to obey his orders instead of biting down.

Eren’s right pant leg had been almost completely cut off and his thigh was heavily bandaged. The wrappings had just started to show through with a hint of red and Levi held his breath, finding it easier than dealing with the sudden smell.

Hanji peeled away the bandages carefully, exposing Eren's injured thigh. To Levi’s consternation, he saw that there was no open wound anymore – just fresh, shiny, pink scar tissue in the shape of a bite. It looked like an animal had dug its teeth into him, then been ripped out. Levi wondered how Eren had escaped – there was no way that he could have killed the beast.

“I don’t think you need me to tell you what that means,” Levi pointed out with the last bit of air in his lungs.

Eren's shifter abilities let his wounds heal without leaving any scars or blemishes, but those had been from what could be considered “normal” means. Bites from a supernatural seemed to be an exception to the rule – there was no other explanation for the jagged scar there. Levi’s own bites healed extremely fast due to the properties of his saliva and the fact that, well, he wasn’t a messy eater.  

“We still need you to confirm,” Hanji insisted. “There was no steam that I saw, but we can’t rule out that this was from his Titan healing abilities.”

“Every other time that Eren’s been injured, he healed without leaving a scar,” Petra pointed out. Hanji gave her a certain look, and Petra quickly added on, “But, considering we don’t know everything about his abilities, I agree with Commander Hanji, sir.”

He threw a dirty look at Hanji. The scientist only shrugged, a sly little smile on her face. She just wanted to see how much he could smell now that he had wiped the balm off, the freak.

Not having any other choice, Levi nodded reluctantly and shifted over to stand closer to Eren's leg. He took a careful, testing inhale, finding the variety of smells much more manageable now that he was used to them. Tentatively, he leaned in, eyes slipping closed as he focused on Eren’s unique scent. His nose just lightly skimmed the tanned skin of Eren’s leg, over the bite and – there.

It was hidden under Eren’s fresh ocean scent, but unmistakably, there was something new. It was faint, but Levi’s overly sensitive nose caught a familiar trace of a woodsy, almost musky aroma coming from Eren.

Fuck.

Levi swallowed around the burn in his throat. Eren had always had a nice scent, but something about this… it was appealing and despite the fact that his question had been answered, he caught himself taking another deep sniff of it.

But because he didn’t want to make things weird, he reluctantly drew away, giving his head a small shake to clear it and returning to breathing only through his mouth. Levi opened his eyes and let his gaze settle on Hanji. “It was a moonkin bite,” he said quietly. “He’s tainted with it.”

Hanji met his gaze levelly, but Petra looked confused. “What’s a moonkin?” she asked.

“It’s an outdated term among the supernatural,” Hanji explained, and Levi tossed her a glare that she returned with a smirk. That certainly was a roundabout way of calling him out about his age, Levi thought. Fucking rude. He never should have told her his real age. “Moonkin are what humans know as werewolves.”

Petra blinked, looking down to Eren, then back to Levi. Her hand drifted down to the small, silver-tinged knife attached to the wrap at her waist. “So there’s a… a wolf running around headquarters?” she asked, and Levi almost, almost puffed up with pride. It was a testament to how much Eren had grown on her – rather than being concerned about Eren changing and going berserk, she was more concerned about the soldiers of the Corps. And Eld and Oluo, who had gone to look for it.

“That’s right,” Levi confirmed and right then, Eren began to stir. It was subtle, but Levi’s keen ears caught the way his breathing changed and the way his body made small, twitching movements. The trio looked down at him. There was a lingering, unspoken question in the air.

What now?

What now indeed, Levi thought bemusedly. He had always been prepared for more supernatural creatures to show up, but he couldn’t deny the fact that he had always expected it to be another vampire or two. A moonkin on Survey Corps territory and now one of his soldiers being turned – it was not what he had expected at all.

Levi looked outside through the small window over Eren's bed – his unnaturally accurate inner clock told him that dawn was going to break in about an hour.

As an Ackerman vampire, he was blessed with a heavy resistance to sunlight, unlike others of his kind. While the sun didn’t bother him too much, it still tended to hurt his sensitive eyes and made his skin prickle uncomfortably, especially the pale skin at the back of his neck. He was also very prone to extremely bad sunburns. Hanji had yet to come up with anything that would help him with that little problem. The cravat helped protect his nape, along with their Corps uniforms that covered them almost head to toe, but he found his nose and cheeks tinged pink with sunburn far too often for comfort.

Hanji and Petra were looking at him expectantly now, and Levi blew out a breath. There was really only one option.

“He’s my responsibility,” Levi said at last, directing his words to Petra. “That much hasn’t changed. I’ll bring him to either my office or Eren's room, I’m not sure yet. Go find Oluo and Eld – let them know what’s happened. I’ll update you all when I can. Let Gunther know, too, if you see him on watch rotation.”

“Yes, Captain,” Petra said, saluting and rushing off in the same direction Oluo had went. Before she passed through the doorway, she threw a last glance back at Eren. “He’ll be okay, right?” she asked, worry making her voice tremble.

“I’ll make sure of it,” Levi promised. “I know how to handle it. He’ll be shocked, maybe angry and upset at first, but he’ll be alright.”

A small smile turned up Petra’s lips at the reassurance and she left to go find Eld.

Alone now, Levi turned back to Hanji. “So,” Hanji started, her tone casual and almost conversational, as if they were simply talking about the weather, “a werewolf, huh?”

“Fuck off,” Levi scowled, scrubbing a hand roughly over his face. God, this situation was complicated and he thought almost mournfully to his abandoned and now definitely cold tea in his office.

He hadn’t even gotten a sip. Goddamn wolves.

“How is this going to affect him?” Levi asked eventually. “He’s a goddamn shifter already, Hanji.”

Levi would decapitate himself before he’d admit to being worried, but Hanji had known him for years at this point. She knew all of Levi’s tells and could tell what he was really asking.

But even she had no idea what Eren's body would do. After Levi had revealed himself as a vampire, Hanji had felt thrilled with the thought of new discoveries, practically salivating at another new topic to throw herself into. She had gone down a rabbithole of learning about supernatural creatures. She soaked up what Levi could tell her about his kind and the other species he knew of from the Underground.

Then, when his knowledge ran dry, she switched to books and reports, scouring libraries and the archives in Mitras for any information she could get her hands on. Erwin had used his influence to get her access to more guarded texts as well as reports from the Military Police and Garrison Regiment reaching back years ago about strange occurrences and suspicious deaths. It had been a struggle to split her attention between her studies on the supernatural and Titans at the time, but now that the monsters were eradicated, she had been able to throw herself fully into her research on Levi and others like him.

In short, not only was she the only living Titan expert, she was probably the closest to a supernatural expert as someone could be with what she had to work with. Given that Eren fit into both of those categories now, it was only natural Levi seek her input.

However, even her knowledge had limits. She hated to admit it, but she was stumped.

“I’m not sure,” Hanji admitted ruefully. She took off her glasses to give them a quick rub. “This is… strange,” she said with a wry twist of her lips. They both looked to Eren, whose waking movements were now more pronounced, and Levi knew he was going to wake up soon.

“All I can suggest is explaining things to him when he wakes up. Make sure he’s okay and if anything strange happens with his body, get me immediately. We’ll monitor him carefully for awhile,” Hanji suggested, because it was the only thing they really could do at the moment.

“Alright,” Levi sighed. The fact that even Hanji was uncertain about Eren's future didn’t sit well with him, but there was nothing else they could really do. “I’ll explain what I can. I might end up sending him back to you eventually, though. Your knowledge might surpass even mine nowadays, you damn freak.”

Hanji only laughed at that; they both knew it was more than likely true and Levi’s lips twitched up as she chuckled. Despite how it sometimes looked on the outside, Hanji was Levi’s closest friend, and vice versa. Years of living, fighting, eating, and surviving in close quarters had solidified their bond of friendship until it was almost tangible in strength.

“Go open the door,” Levi told her.

Hanji trotted off and Levi knelt down. He slid his arms underneath Eren, careful not to jostle his injured leg. It looked fully healed, but Levi wasn’t entirely sure and so he decided to side with caution. Securing his grip around the shifter’s shoulder and knees, he stood up. His supernatural strength made Eren feel light in his arms, and it was no effort to shift Eren a bit and start walking to the door.

They probably looked a bit ridiculous – Eren was much taller than Levi, wider as well, and the shifter’s legs just barely avoided scraping the floor. Ah, well. Not that anyone would be around at this time of morning, anyway. The halls would be empty and though it was a longer trip to avoid the mess hall and kitchens, there would be no chance of running into anyone.

Hanji stopped him briefly before went through the doorway, laying a hand on his shoulder. He grunted, looking up at her with an eyebrow quirked.

“It might be a good idea to tell him about yourself, too.” Her tone was careful, tactful. She knew it was a risk for him to reveal what he was to humans. However, they both knew by now that Eren could be trusted and so she forged on, “He’s part of your squad, and you’ve kept it hidden long enough. It’ll make him feel better, knowing he’s not alone in this. He respects you, looks up to you. It’ll be okay.”

Levi’s eyes narrowed as she first spoke, but then they relaxed as she continued. He thought it over, then let out a breath through his nose. “I’ll do as you suggest,” he said quietly. “It’s… a good idea.”

Hanji beamed and he rolled his eyes. She knew it was as close to saying “thank you” as she would ever get from the stubborn little man, but that was just the way he was. Hanji knew he was grateful for her help and that was enough. Plus, she wanted Eren to be okay – he was one of them, one of their veterans that had been there during the worst of it with the Titans. She didn’t want to lose him for any reason.

She stuck her head out the door and looked both ways to make sure it was clear before pulling it back in. “Alright, take good care of him!” Hanji ushered him out the door and Levi stepped into the hallway. The door slammed shut behind him and Levi snorted. She was probably eager to get rid of him so she could return to her lab and look into Eren's situation more.

That woman had a one-track mind.

Levi secured his grip and traveled through the halls with Eren in his arms. He debated returning Eren to his own room, then thought better of it. He didn’t know how long Eren would be asleep for yet and if he didn’t fully wake up for a while, he could get some work done. Besides, he didn’t want to risk one of Eren’s friends coming and knocking on the door and barging in. No one would disturb him in his office without announcing themselves first.

Destination secure in mind, it wasn’t long before Levi found himself at the door to his office. He shifted the boy in his arms so he could reach out and turn the handle, suddenly grateful that he hadn’t locked the door when Petra came to retrieve him.

He went inside and closed the door behind him with a foot. He walked over to the couch and laid Eren down on it gently, careful not to disturb him too much. Levi didn’t know if sleep was necessary after someone had been turned into a moonkin. He knew the basics of their biology and some of their more… unique… traits, but a freshly turned one? No idea.

Levi returned to the door and locked it then looked to his desk. He gazed mournfully at his abandoned cup of tea – it was cold and stale by now. He hated the thought of wasted tea. Sighing, he fetched his teakettle from his private bedroom and filled it with water from the basin in his bathroom.

He had just set the kettle over the fire burning in his office hearth when he heard a low groan. Levi was a bit surprised at the sound – Eren was waking up more quickly than he thought. Wiping his hands on a cloth hanging near the fireplace, he returned to the sofa, standing in front of Eren with his arms crossed right as the boy opened his eyes.

The bright turquoise eyes blinked a few times and then thick brows furrowed as they darted around in confusion. Poor kid – Levi wondered how much he remembered. Still, Levi cleared his throat and Eren's eyes flew up to him and then widened.

“Welcome back to the world of the living, Jaeger,” Levi said, some amusement threading through his voice.

“Captain Levi?” Eren shifted and used his arms to push himself up. His leg moved and he winced – Levi had been right, apparently. It was still tender. Brows still furrowed in confusion, Eren reached down to poke at his exposed thigh, staring at the large, ragged bite mark there. Eren swallowed and then looked back up to Levi. “What happened? Was – did something bite me?”

The almost horrified way he said it almost made Levi snort in amusement. At least his bites were neater than the beast that had torn into Eren's leg. People liked it when he bit them.

And fuck, Levi was thirsty again. He willed away the burn in his throat, the tingle as his fangs threatened to descend. At his silence, Eren started to move again, trying to get up.

Levi snapped himself out of it and reached out, stopping Eren with a hand to his chest. “Sit still,” he ordered and Eren immediately halted, looking down at the hand in confusion. Levi blinked – he never touched people if he could help it, what the hell? He removed his hand, doing his best not to jerk it away as if he had been burnt. Drawing Eren's attention away from his action, Levi immediately said, “You’ve been hurt and we’re not sure if the wound is healed all the way.”

Then, more to himself than to Eren, he added almost as an afterthought, “I’m not too sure how long the adjustment period is or how it works. Shouldn’t even be possible for someone like you, but I guess there’s a first for everything.”

Eren's brows raised. “Adjustment period for what?”

Levi winced. Fuck, he’d forgotten for a split second that the kid didn’t know what had happened. He had to tread carefully. The shifter didn’t know that he wasn’t even partially human anymore. Despite himself, Levi frowned. Part human, part Titan, and now part wolf… what the hell was this kid anymore?

Sighing, Levi went to the other side of the couch and gestured for Eren to move his legs. The boy did so with a slight wince but it didn’t seem as pained as before. Levi supposed the bite was almost healed. It would most likely be just a faint scar by the time they were done here.

Levi sat next to him and folded his hands in his lap, staring down at them. He thought carefully for a second on how to approach the upcoming conversation. Perhaps the best way was to start at the beginning, ease into it and see how it went. “What do you remember from last night, Eren?”

Eren frowned over at him, lips turning down as he summoned up the memories from earlier. “It was late when we got dinner. Afterwards, I wasn’t tired so I went for a walk by myself.” He glanced over at Levi and in a more reassuring voice, added, “I let Petra and Gunther know before I left.”

Despite himself, Levi gave a small snort, so quiet that he was sure Eren missed it. Eren was a trusted member of the Scouts now, had been for years. He didn’t have to check in with his squad anymore if he wanted to do something. Then, he remembered that Eren had said he went alone – he’d kind of been assuming Mikasa was with him. Then again, she hadn’t been anywhere in sight tonight. That was strange.

“I’m surprised your shadow didn’t tag along,” he said, voice dry. That damn girl followed Eren everywhere.

Yet, it didn’t irritate Levi as much as it used to. Hadn’t he been the same with Erwin, all those years ago? He’d always been by the former Commander’s side, a constant presence.

The shifter shook his head though, annoyance in his eyes at the memory. Maybe Eren found it just as irritating as Levi sometimes did. “I asked her not to come. I just wanted a few minutes alone.”

Levi himself was quite a solitary person. He valued time alone, the quiet he got when others weren’t around. He understood how being unable to get even a bit of time alone could drive someone insane. Levi had been Erwin’s shadow but even back then, they weren’t glued at the hip like Eren and Mikasa seemed to be. However, they were both also more mature, able to see the value in moments apart. That most likely contributed as well.

“I see,” Levi said, inclining his head. “Continue.”

“I remember being in the woods. I thought I heard a branch snap so I went further in, in case there were other people. But after awhile, I thought I heard a howl so I decided to head back. I remember turning around and then…” Eren trailed off, grimacing. He looked up. “That’s all I remember, sir. I’m sorry.”

“Short-term amnesia is common in these occurrences,” Levi muttered. “No reason to apologize.” So, Eren remembered everything up to the bite. The howl he had heard confirmed it without a doubt – there was a moonkin in beast form running around the forests near headquarters. Levi would have to scour the woods today with his squad and see if he could track the person down. He was rather looking forward to kicking the person’s ass, maybe stomp on them a bit. Unless this moonkin was newly turned, they should have more control than going around fucking biting and turning people.

“Occurrences? I’m confused, sir.”

Eren looked a bit pale now, watching him carefully. Despite himself, Levi felt a stab of pity. This had to be confusing, maybe even scaring the kid a bit.

Eren had gone from believing he was human, to learning he was part Titan, and now Levi was going to have to break this news to the kid. He remembered the reports from when Eren had first shifted into a Titan all those years ago. Eren had been terrified, unsure and the Garrison soldiers pointing cannons at him hadn’t been much help either. Eren had been just a kid then, even though he was 18.

Looking over at the tall, long-haired shifter now, Levi had to admit that this was no longer the kid that had trembled and cried in the well during experiments years ago. Eren had definitely grown up - and into an admittedly attractive man.

Down, boy, Levi thought with a wince when he realized his body was reacting to his thoughts. It obviously approved of the way Eren had grown up. Focus.

“Eren. What do you know of…” Levi paused, trying to figure out how to explain all of… this, before he shook his head and scrubbed a hand roughly over his face. “Ah fuck, this is harder than I thought. Hanji could explain better.”

Or Erwin. Erwin had been much better at words than he was.

“You’re starting to scare me, Captain,” Eren said quietly. His large teal eyes were even wider than normal at seeing his normally unshakable captain so obviously ruffled.

Knowing that it would do neither of them good to start panicking, Levi inhaled a long, slow breath in an attempt to ground himself. He winced as he also got a good whiff of Eren’s scent. Eren smelled… good.

It was calming in a way, however. He’d gotten used to the scents of those he was close to over the years, memorized them. Eren, Hanji, and the rest of his squad’s scents were categorized into the instinctive part of his brain that knew them as safe, familiar. The smell of a fresh ocean breeze was comforting to him now and it helped clear his head.

Forcing thoughts of anything other than an explanation from his mind, Levi decided to switch tactics and just start at the beginning. “Eren, there’s… have you heard of the Underground City?” Levi asked. “The one underneath Mitras?”

Eren was still eyeing him cautiously but nodded, so Levi continued on. “You’ve heard the rumors about the Underground, right? That all kinds of monsters live there, hiding in the shadows?”

Eren nodded again, more slowly this time. Cautious. “Yeah, but they’re just rumors.”

If only.

Levi gave the smallest hint of a tiny, wry little smile. “Not… entirely. They’re not monsters, they’re just a different species. They try to keep to themselves. They’re not common knowledge, but some humans do know about our existence.”

Eren's eyes narrowed as he caught Levi’s sudden change. “Our existence?”

Levi nodded. “How old do you think I am, Eren?”

“If I had to guess, I’d say in your mid-20’s, sir.”

Physically, Eren was close. He’d stopped aging when he was around 28. Biologically, however…

“Try closer to 70 years, Eren,” Levi said, voice carefully neutral. “I was born in the Underground in 784.”

Eren’s eyes narrowed flatly. “You’re joking.” There was a hint of a question in the words, making them less of a statement. Levi knew that deep down, Eren was starting to catch on a bit.

“I’m really not, though.”

Eren stared at him for a second longer before he dropped his gaze and sighed. “Alright, sir, I’ll play along. Considering that you mentioned monsters a second ago and that you’re obviously way younger than you look, I suppose you’re about to tell me you’re some kind of demon or something?”

Fuck. Levi was genuinely at a loss. He’d never had this conversation before, at least in this context. Only a select few knew of his condition. His squad had stumbled upon him when Hanji had been testing out a few of his abilities. There hadn’t been any choice but to tell them the truth. He hadn’t needed to convince them of anything. Once Levi had explained everything and his squad had confirmed he was still their captain – albeit with a penchant for blood instead of actual food – they hadn’t hesitated in offering up their collective necks to him.

As for Erwin and Hanji - Erwin was the one that had caught him feeding on some random thug and decided Levi would make an excellent addition to the Corps. He’d dragged Levi out of the shadows and into the daylight, kicking and screaming the entire way. When Levi had expressed certain difficulties at being a vampire on the surface world, Erwin was the one who decided that their resident brilliant scientist could help them out. Hanji had immediately believed them when Levi’s nature was revealed – Erwin had had no reason to joke about such things.

A little, rueful smile passed over Levi’s face at the thought of Erwin. He could have handled this so much better. Enough time had passed that the wound Erwin’s death left in his heart was slowly stitching itself up, but it was still tender and sore when prodded.

Erwin, you idiot, I could have saved you.

But Levi was always so much better at physical actions than words, unlike their old Commander. He knew there was only really one way he was going to convince Eren to believe him. He grimaced. Showing his true nature was not something he did lightly or eagerly.

“Fuck,” he muttered, his voice whisper-quiet as he glanced over at Eren. “I didn’t want to do this.”

“Do what?”

Apparently, Eren’s senses were heightening as the moonkin taint raced through his blood. There was no way a human would have heard him.

Levi stood and ran a hand through his hair before he turned back to Eren. He walked a few steps closer and dropped to his knees in front of the couch. He really hated doing this when he knew the person didn’t want it or wasn’t aware it was being used on them, but he had to get his point across. Levi reached deep inside of himself and let his Compulsion well to the surface, focusing on the shifter.  

“Look at me, Eren,” he said softly, a hint of power running through his voice. He could feel it, invisible threads reaching from him out to Eren. They wrapped around the shifter and sunk into his mind, compelling him to obey. Supernatural creatures were usually able to resist it somewhat, but the taint hadn’t fully taken hold in Eren. There was enough of his humanity left for the threads to snag hold and work without any resistance. Eren frowned, most likely being able to sense the pull, but wasn’t able to do anything but comply and lift his head to look.

Then, Levi reluctantly relaxed his steely hold on his true nature. He could feel it as his canines lengthened and sharpened, could sense as his normally flat grey eyes took on an unnatural silvery, glowing sheen.

In some ways, it was a relief, but not right now. Not at Eren’s sudden horrified, shocked look.  

--

“Look at me, Eren.”

Before Eren realized it, he could feel something tugging at him, some invisible force washing over him. It fogged his mind the tiniest bit and he wanted to obey, could think of nothing else in the world other than to do what Levi said. Without resistance, he lifted his head. As he complied, his body went warm, the force soothing him and it felt so good when he did what his captain wanted.

It only increased as his eyes flicked up to Levi obediently and -

Eren wondered if he was dreaming. He had to be dreaming.

Because there was no way his captain, the Levi Ackerman, was kneeling in front of him with glowing eyes and… and…

“Fucking fangs,” Eren whispered in shock.

Yet despite the fear that flashed through him and the panic that tingled through every nerve, Eren couldn’t bring himself to look away. Couldn’t look away. There was something so compelling about Levi’s eyes. They were like two glowing pools of liquid silver and Eren felt a call to lean forwards, to fall into them and never look away.

But then, Levi blinked and a hint of something – regret? – flashed across his pale features and he leaned backwards and away. Eren felt the compulsion to look at his captain cease. The glow of his silvery eyes dimmed slightly but still lingered. And so did the fangs.

Levi’s pale pink lips twitched. “Yeah,” he said, sounding somewhat amused. “That was just about my reaction when they first came in.”

“So you’re…”

“A vampire, yeah,” Levi helpfully supplied. “You believe me now?”

“I don’t think it’s possible for me to not believe you anymore,” Eren admitted. For some reason he felt preternaturally calm, as if this were a common occurrence and not bizarre in the least. Yet, despite the utter absurdity of finding out Levi Ackerman, Humanity’s Strongest, was a fucking vampire of all things…

Well, Eren didn’t feel quite as weirded out or taken aback as he probably should be.

After all, Titans existed. Naked, giant monsters that ate people were real. Shifters like him, people who could turn into Titans, existed. He’d regrown more limbs than he could count. He’d controlled pure Titans at one point. He’d sealed a hole in Wall Maria by hardening his Titan’s skin.

To put it quite bluntly, weird shit happened regularly in Eren's world. And when he put it into perspective like that, Eren supposed his captain being a vampire wasn’t the weirdest thing that could happen.

Wait, if Levi was a vampire, and he and Mikasa were both Ackermans…

“Is that why you and Mikasa are… like you are?” Eren asked, gesturing vaguely at Levi.

The corner of his captain’s mouth twitched. Even Eren himself didn’t know if he was talking about the vampirism or the fact that they were both some of the strongest people in what was left of humanity. Eren was pretty sure he’d know if Mikasa was a vampire, but Levi had hidden it for this long – his sister probably could as well.

But Levi decided to choose for him and the captain shook his head. “No, this affliction doesn’t span across the Ackerman clan entirely, from what I’ve been told. Just my direct line, the main branch. Mikasa is from a family that is a human offshoot of that branch, as far as I can tell.”

“So you’re still…” Eren trailed off, unable to find the right words.

Are you still you?

Levi’s eyes narrowed – he must have understood what Eren was trying to ask.

“I’m still your damn Captain, Eren. I’m still the same person I’ve always been,” Levi said, voice steely. Eren winced – he hadn’t meant to doubt or offend him, but he’d had to ask. “Just because you know the truth of my nature doesn’t mean I’m suddenly going to do a 180 now that I don’t have to hide it from you.”

Eren thought about it. No, Levi was always going to be Levi. He may have had to keep the truth of his vampirism hidden, but even now, his captain was still the same as ever. But then…

Why was Levi suddenly revealing himself? The question burned through him, and he blurted it out. “Wait. Why are you telling me all this?”

Levi couldn’t hide the quick grimace that passed across his face and when the vampire looked away, Eren felt dread begin to grow in the pit of his stomach. Levi was telling him this for a reason. Eren suddenly knew that it wasn’t for any particularly positive one. He glanced down at the scar on his leg – it didn’t hurt at all anymore and he could tell it was fully healed. It looked old already, the pinkness having faded to the silver-whiteness that aged scars turned.

“Because there’s not just my kind out there.” Levi’s voice was whisper-soft. He followed Eren's gaze to Eren's thigh and then rose from his knees and strode over to the window, looking out into the night. Eren didn’t know what time it was. Guessing at the way the sky had lightened to a dark navy-blue from pitch-black, he could guess the sun was going to rise not too long from now.

Levi took a deep breath before he slowly and carefully spoke. “I told you because I thought it was time for you to know. You deserve the truth, considering that tonight, you’ve joined the ranks of those from the Underground. Those like me.”

Eren stopped. Blinked. Looked down at his hands, then up at Levi. Blinked again.

Levi’s pale, delicate face was carefully blank, expression disinterested. But there was a certain look in his pale grey eyes that was undeniable, and Eren knew, knew that if nothing else, Levi was always honest. The man didn’t lie. Omitted things sometimes, was generally quiet and didn’t share or offer information unless he needed to, but he didn’t lie.

The words finally, fully hit him then, and Eren made a sound like he was choking. He might have been, Eren wasn’t sure. This wasn’t happening. Not again.

Levi didn’t flinch or make any move, his eyes fixed upon Eren as the shifter rose to his feet.

“That’s impossible!” Eren choked out, his voice loud in the room. God, why couldn’t he just be human? “I – my healing abilities-”

Levi cut him off. “I’m still not sure how it’s going to affect you. Hanji is no doubt going to look into it,” Levi reassured him. His low, deep voice was somehow soothing to Eren’s nerves, despite the fact that even the vampire had no idea what was going to happen. Oh god, he was fucked if even the one supernatural being in the room didn’t know what the hell was going on. “I’m sure she’s very eager to get started, the freak…”

The last words were said softly, but Eren knew the captain well enough to detect the faint hint of affection at the insult.

Slumping, Eren slid back onto the couch, cradling his head as his mind raced. The thought that Hanji was working on it was calming – she’d come up with something, she always did. But god, first he had discovered he could shift into a fucking Titan and now this? How had it happened? His healing abilities should have…

Suddenly, he remembered earlier in the woods, the howl he had heard, what Levi had said.

“Short-term amnesia is common in these occurrences.”

He knew of the stories his mom had told him when he was young and some of the rumors he had heard about the Underground. He glanced down at his leg – the bite was from an animal, and a big one at that. An inkling of realization dawned. Yet, he had to ask. “So… what am I now?”

Levi’s lip twitched, as if he could hear Eren's thought processes and knew he had started to figure it out. “You were bitten by a moonkin, Eren,” Levi said, voice blunt, getting right to the point. Eren's eyebrows raised – Levi had been so flighty about telling him all night and to have him lay everything out now was a bit of a shock. “A human that can shift into a wolf. During the full moon, the change is inevitable, but you can control it at any other time with practice and control. The taint is transferred via venom from the wolf’s teeth, so when you were bitten-”

“I was infected,” Eren whispered, finishing the sentence for him. “Why didn’t my abilities prevent the… the taint?”

Levi’s lips turned down into a small frown. “That’s a question for Hanji. If I had to guess, I’d say that because it’s not something that can truly healed or regenerated, your powers were unable to stop it. It doesn’t hurt or kill you; it changes you. That’s just a theory, though.”

Eren’s tall frame was hunched over on the couch and he was so deep in thought he barely noticed the teakettle over the fire start whistling. He tuned out the sounds of Levi going over to retrieve it, followed by the rattling and clinking of a tea set as the captain prepared two cups of tea.

He was broken out of the fugue that had overtaken him when a delicate, rather pretty china teacup was placed gently onto the short, low table in front of him. He looked up to see Levi standing before him, pouring tea from the kettle – peppermint, the kind that he knew the captain drank often.

So that was why Levi had traces of peppermint in his scent.

Eren blinked. Scent?

In shock, he stared up at the captain, mind racing and unable to help himself from taking another deep breath in through his nose. He could definitely tell now – his nose was starting to subtly pick up on the smells around them. The peppermint tea smelled stronger than usual, more biting and almost a bit harsh against his nose. From Levi, he got the occasional hints of lavender, of clean soap and maybe a hint of leather, but most of all, the peppermint of the tea.

It was nice. Levi smelled really, really nice.

Levi turned to look at him and must have seen something of the shock flitting across Eren’s face, because his face softened almost imperceptibly. Carefully, the captain poured some tea into his own cup and then placed the kettle down onto a little potholder on the table. He reached out to place a hand on Eren's shoulder in a supportive gesture.

“You’re a strong kid, Eren. You’ll get through this,” he said reassuringly, then pulled his hand away and took up residence in one of the two stuffed chairs sitting placed across from the sofa. He picked up his tea and blew on it. “If you have questions about anything, I’ll do my best to answer.”

Levi’s voice was quiet but gentle as he made the offer and Eren's heart twisted weirdly inside his chest. So many called this man cold and rude - perhaps he was on the exterior, but at his core, Levi was one of the most compassionate, caring men that Eren had ever known.

The thought along with Levi’s words soothed him more than anything else could – Levi was like him. He knew what to do. He’d make sure everything was alright. Levi wouldn’t let anything happen to any of his squad. He remembered how after they had returned from the near-deadly encounter with the Female Titan, Levi had bitched them out for the injuries they had sustained. However, there had been no mistaking the relief and pride hidden away deep in his eyes as he looked them all over, worse for the wear but alive and whole.

Eren took a deep breath, letting that thought ground him. He did have questions. There was one burning in his mind right now. Levi had hidden what he was for years, made him wonder if there were more in the Corps that he didn’t know about. “So, are any of the others like us?”

Levi immediately shook his head. “No, not that I’m aware of. I can sense others that aren’t completely human, so I’m certain of this fact, at least.”

Eren frowned. “But I thought at least your squad…” He knew that the four people in Levi’s special operations squad were nothing less than the best. Now that he thought about it though, there were times when they did seem to be much faster and were able to react more quickly than other people.

“They’re human,” Levi reassured him. “However, they’re aware of what I am, along with Hanji and formerly Erwin. Your four squadmates are the only other ones who know. They act as my donors.”

Eren wasn’t familiar with that word in the context. What did they donate?

“Donors?” he asked and Levi paused, eyes flicking over to him before he set his cup down on his lap tentatively. There was a small grimace on his face, as if he hadn’t meant to let that slip out. Eren didn’t think he’d meant to say anything.

Levi sighed heavily. “That was my slip-up, but you should know. They donate blood to me so I don’t have to go out and hunt it down myself.” At Eren's shocked expression, he shrugged. “I don’t need a lot and I’m very careful. We have a schedule. While I don’t need to eat every day, being fully fed helps me hide my true nature and makes it easier to blend in.”

Eren hadn’t found the thought that Levi drank blood shocking – it was the thought of the four people he was closest to… they were Levi’s source of food? It was a surreal thought. That and despite the fact that Levi had said he was the only vampire and supernatural being in the Survey Corps until now, Eren still didn’t fully believe that his four squadmates were fully human.

“But… donors?” Eren asked, blurting out the question before he could help himself. “Them?”

There was no way the four of them were able to do the things they did without some enhancement. Eren still couldn’t do half of the special maneuvers that they did – and thinking back now, Levi never chastised him when he failed or insisted Eren do it exactly like them.

It was like Levi had known for certain that Eren, with only human speed and strength, would find certain maneuvers to be impossible. Maneuvers that Levi pushed only the four of his original squad to do perfectly, ones that he had Eren sit out and just watch. Eren remembered all the times he had tried to do the spins and flips that Levi demonstrated. The captain had only silently watched as Eren failed again and again during the day. Then he’d call for Eren to take a break when he was panting and worn out, limbs trembling with fatigue.

“Would you prefer me to call them dinner?” Eren glanced over, broken from his reverie by the dry words. Levi raised a thin eyebrow, as if Eren was asking a stupid question.

A flush suffused Eren’s cheeks at the words and the captain’s deadpan delivery. “No, no!” he said hastily, waving his hands. Levi had misunderstood and the thought of... well, people being Levi’s dinner – the thought flustered him now. “Just… I mean, you’re the best, but they’re on your squad and it’s the special operations squad for a reason, so...” he was rambling, but Levi’s lips twitched and Eren knew that his point had gotten across.

“You thought they were vampires, too,” Levi surmised.

Eren shrugged, as if it were an obvious thing. “I guess? Yeah. They’re a lot faster than normal humans and their reflexes are too, now that I think about it, so…”

Levi set his teacup down on his saucer carefully onto the table, having finished the tea while it was still hot. “Rest assured, I’m the only one eyeing necks around here. I do give them my blood every week, though, so that’s something.”

Eren glanced up at him in confusion. “Why do you do that? Is that what makes them…” he gestured with his hands as if to indicate “better.”

Levi nodded. “It makes them stronger, faster, able to recover from wounds rapidly.” It was the only reason they survived the encounter with Annie Leonhardt in her form as the Female Titan, Levi knew. The thought of that day, of how close he’d been to losing the four people he had come to regard as sort of his family - it sent a chill down his spine even now, years later. “Remember the encounter with Leonhardt and the 57^th expedition?”

Eren nodded and Levi closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before he told Eren the truth of what happened that day.

Erwin had told him to stop and replenish his gas, but his senses were tingling. He’d been able to tell something was dangerously off. Levi had realized with a jolt that he couldn’t smell human blood – the pack of Titans hadn’t eaten or torn apart the human shifter piloting the body of the Female Titan. Levi had been able to hear a disturbance in the trees from the direction where his team and Eren were, heard the faint hissing of gas and knew the Titan shifter was going for them.

Ignoring Erwin’s shouting, he had used his ODM gear to get a safe distance away from human eyes and then started flitting away through the treetops. Levi had used his supernatural strength and speed to travel among the trees, hands ready on the triggers of his ODM gear in case he fell. A fall from that height wouldn’t have killed him, but it’d take time he didn’t have to regenerate from his wounds.

When he’d arrived, he saw Annie had slit Gunther’s throat, but Levi’s blood had allowed the wound to close before he did more than faint. Levi had found him hanging from the wires of his ODM gear, pale as death and his pulse weak, but it had been enough. He was alive. Levi had fired a purple flare – indicating an emergency – and then went to find the rest of his squad.

In their debriefing after the mission, Petra and Oluo had gone pale when they described the way Eld had almost been bitten in half. The blonde man had only just avoided the snap of her jaws, his enhanced reflexes letting him twist out of the way at the last second. Oluo’s extra speed had allowed him to take out the tendons of the Titan’s ankles while Petra lured her away from Eld after Annie regenerated her eye.

“You went back after seeing Eld’s near-death experience,” Levi recalled, his pale grey eyes unfocused, lost in the memory. “Petra said you turned into your Titan just as Leonhardt went down from getting her tendons cut. By the time I got there, you were just biting off the top of her Titan’s head.”

Levi remembered being overwhelmed with pride when they told him that Eren had went back as soon as he saw Eld’s near-death experience and together, they had been able to incapacitate her.

The blood he had given them had made them fast enough to strike before she was able to harden her skin. Despite all the Scouts’ lives that had been lost that day, the mission had ultimately ended in victory. His team had been a bit worse for the wear, as Annie had roughed them up a bit, but having to use Hanji as a donor for a few days while they recovered and replenished their blood had been worth it to see them come back alive.  

“Why not just turn them?”

Eren’s voice drew him back out of his reverie and when he processed the words, he glowered. He knew Eren was a newly turned supernatural and didn’t know the intricacies of either of their kind’s etiquette, but even a human should know that that was a question that was out of bounds. “That’s a fucking personal question, shitstain.”

Born vampires were stable, able to control their thirst and unique abilities even from a young age. Vampirism was in their blood, after all. Turned vampires were much less stable, likely to go wild and feral as they attempted to cope with the changes on their bodies and minds.

“Sorry, sorry! I just thought, well, they’d be a lot safer if they were turned, like you.”

Eren wasn’t wrong – Levi had considered offering, once before, before he tabled the thought indefinitely. Turned vampires had a much harder time with vampirism than born ones. The change was hard on their bodies and minds. It took years for them to learn how to deal with the new power and sometimes overwhelming thirst for blood.

Besides, when Levi had revealed his secret to his squad, they had already been serving under him for a few years. They already respected him and had accepted this part of him without so much as blinking. However, he knew that if he hadn’t earned their respect and trust already, it would have been something they struggled with. It might have even turned them against Levi. They valued humanity – valued their humanity, and wouldn’t want to lose it, even though they had accepted that he – and Eren, he supposed – were less than human.

Still, Levi valued his squad. They had been through nearly every hardship that could befall a Corps soldier and had earned a permanent place in his heart – something that was extremely difficult to do. They were, in a way, his family now. So Levi had done what he could to allow them to survive as long as possible.

Shaking his head, Levi sighed. “It’s better for them to be human. That’s why I do what I do. They were already the best before I introduced them to what I was. But it makes them better. Gives them a better chance to survive than the rest.” Eren’s brows furrowed, clearly unsatisfied with the explanation and Levi sighed. He debated telling Eren more but was still unsure how much he wanted to divulge.

Eren was moonkin, a “werewolf,” as humans called it now. He was a supernatural creature and as such, that made Levi think he could handle it. But he was still hesitant and right as he opened his mouth, Eren decided to speak up. 

“So you’re the only one? The only vampire, I mean. Or are there others in the Underground?”

Levi blinked. He didn’t think that Eren would simply let the matter drop. But then he saw the burning curiosity and knew Eren had decided to move on for the sake of learning more. Good. This was a much safer topic.

“There’s more in the Underground, but I’m the only one in the Survey Corps. Can’t say as much for the MPs or Garrison, though.” Levi wasn’t sure, but there had been a few times he’d went to Mitras or was up on the walls and he could have sworn he sensed something supernatural there. However, it hadn’t been his business and as long as they stayed away from the Corps, he didn’t care.

Eren's head tilted – like an inquisitive dog, Levi thought. Given the taint running through his blood now, it seemed wholly fitting. “Wouldn’t it be better for them to come here, though?” Eren asked. “There aren’t as many people so they could be more open about it.”

Levi rolled his eyes. He’d hidden his nature from Eren for 4 years – he’d thought the kid could put two and two together. “Do you see me flaunting what I am? No,” Levi said firmly, and Eren flinched a bit at his tone. Levi didn’t relent, though – it was dangerous to think they could be open about what they were and he had to pound that into Eren's thick skull. “There’s a fucking good reason for that. It’s dangerous for our secret to be exposed. They stay in the cities because there are more people, Eren. More food. If I didn’t have my squad to lean on, I’d be a lot hungrier and much less stable nowadays.”

“I... that makes sense,” Eren conceded.

He remembered how it was in the Underground, back when it had been just him, Farlan, and Isabel. The two had contributed as much as they could, but they couldn’t replenish blood fast enough for him. Even though he had trained his body to survive on as little as possible, he needed a certain amount to keep his eyes dim and fangs at bay because even in the Underground, it was dangerous to show what you were openly. But the more he drank, the more food Isabel and Farlan needed to keep their bodies strong, which wasn’t always easy to come by.

It had been a double-edged sword. Most nights, Levi had chosen to go hungry and it had gifted him an iron will when it came to managing his thirst. Hunger was preferable to finding a person to feed from, as well. Levi had preferred his two friends - at least with them, he knew they were clean, that they washed with what little water and soap they had before he sank his fangs in. Baths just weren’t common in the Underground – they were a luxury and few could afford to take them. Even now, the smell and thought of unwashed skin covered with the muck and filth of the Underground made his stomach roil in disgust.

They sat in contemplative silence as Levi let Eren digest the information he’d been given. Levi himself was deep in his own thoughts, flickering between Eren's situation and his days in the Underground.

A soft shuffle of feet alerted him to someone’s presence outside the door and he caught a hint of the clean laundry-smell in the air. Petra. He chanced a glance out the window and upon seeing that the sky had lightened considerably, he sighed. It was routine for whoever his donor was that day to come before breakfast, early in the morning before everyone reveille sounded to wake those in the barracks. Doing it this way ensured Levi had enough time to feed and then wash and dress for the day. It also saved him time in case he got a bit messy and blood dripped – not that it usually happened.

He’d had Hanji put his squad on double rations so that they would replenish their blood faster and be able to fully participate in training. Hanji also occasionally put herself on double rations when someone on his squad needed a break and he fed from her. Hanji as Commander and aware of Levi’s nature and his arrangement with his squad was definitely useful. Not only was she able to monitor their health and make sure they were getting enough of the nutrients they needed, but securing the extra food had never been a problem. It hadn’t with Erwin, either, and Levi was glad he was in the position to be able to help them.

Giving them his blood meant that they were able to stay in top shape for the most part, but constantly having to make more blood put a strain on their bodies. There were also the rare occasions that Levi took more than usual, typically after being injured or having a particularly strenuous day.

Levi always took the daily donor off of the more arduous training exercises for the day and substituted it with light duty instead, doing basic drills, calisthenics, and conditioning. Levi had implemented this new practice awhile go, immediately after Eld had fainted once during a particularly grueling training session on his day as a donor. His squad had grumbled, insisting they could still perform their normal duties, but Levi had been unmovable. He needed them in top working shape. Even if the Titans were all gone, they still had to conduct expeditions and Levi wanted them prepared in case something went wrong – or they encountered some surprise Titans.

Petra was hesitating outside his door and he could hear her fidgeting. He knew she was unsure if she should just knock and come in as his squad usually did, considering Eren was no doubt in here. Levi rolled his eyes as she stopped fidgeting – Petra was still so tentative about certain things and she seemed unable to come to a decision. The woman was polite to a fault, but it was one of the things he appreciated most about her. The Survey Corps was full of all kinds of people and most soldiers were a bit crude and rough around the edges, but Petra wasn’t. She was raised well, raised kind, and was a cut about the rest.

After living in the Underground and among the worst types of people for years, Petra was like a breath of fresh air and he liked having someone both talented and mannerly in his squad. Still, he knew that she knew he could hear her and was probably going to wait out there until he acknowledged her.

“Come in,” he called. Eren jerked in his seat and his head whipped to the door, then back to Levi, head cocked in confusion.

“I have good hearing,” Levi said by way of explanation. Eren just looked perplexed, but then the door opened. Petra walked in and realization dawned on Eren's face.

Levi gestured her over next to the fireplace, hopefully far enough from Eren that the shifter couldn’t hear them. Petra was dressed in her uniform sans her harness straps and her shirt was unbuttoned a bit more than usual, pushed down on the side he usually fed from. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and glanced at Eren, then back at Levi.

“Do you need a donor today, Captain?” Petra asked quietly, leaning in slightly. She didn’t know how much Levi had told Eren and didn’t want to expose the captain’s secret on the off chance that the shifter didn’t know and overheard. Petra winced at the thought – she hadn’t thought of the fact until she had already been right outside the door and by then, Levi had already called her in.

If Eren didn’t know, her appearance here this early in the morning and dressed down so casually probably looked fairly strange.

Some of her wariness must have shown, because Levi tilted his head in Eren's direction. “He knows,” he reassured her in a soft voice.

He glanced over at Eren, whose bright turquoise eyes were flicking between them, going from Levi, to Petra’s bared neck, then back. His eyes were a bit tight, his body language tense and uncomfortable. So the thought of Levi feeding was disturbing to him, then. He couldn’t blame Eren, though – the kid had a lot of new information to absorb and the thought of his captain drinking someone’s blood was probably pushing him a bit too far out of his comfort zone.

Thirst burned at his throat and made his fangs ache, but he’d gone longer without. He wasn’t used to it anymore, but he could deal with being hungry for one more day if it helped soothe Eren's nerves. He’d have to take more than usual tomorrow, but maybe he’d ask Hanji, so he wouldn’t strain any of his subordinates.

Besides, holding off today would give Petra’s body a much-needed break; she’d been looking a bit pale lately and he made a mental note to have Haji allot more iron-rich foods for his team. They definitely deserved it.

“Not today, I think,” he said softly. Petra tilted her head curiously at him and Levi gave a small, subtle shake of his head. His eyes flicked over to Eren, who was staring into his teacup, resolutely not looking at them. “He’s been through a lot. I think this would make it worse.”

Petra seemed to understand and gave him a reassuring smile. “Alright. Don’t hesitate to get me if you need to, Captain.”

A small smile lifted the corners of his mouth. “Thanks, Petra. Go have breakfast. I’ll be out in the yard in a bit.” He paused, considering, then in an even quieter voice, added, “Let the rest of the squad know we’re going into the woods today to look for the rogue moonkin. Eren's off today so don’t worry about him.”

“Understood, sir.” She gave a sharp salute and left, but not before giving Eren a bright smile, trying to reassure and comfort him in her own way. God, Petra was such a good person. Levi thanked whatever god there was that she had made it through the 57^th expedition alive – the world needed more people like her in it.

As the door closed behind her Levi sighed and rubbed a hand over his forehead, wincing at the now-constant, mild burn in his throat. How pathetic he’d become, getting so hungry after only a little over a day without feeding. In the Underground, this burn would have been considered a relief compared to the wildfire his throat had constantly been when he went weeks in between meals.

“She came to be your donor for today, right?” Eren asked, and Levi paused. There was a new smell in the air now, one that wasn’t anything Levi had ever scented before. It was… Levi didn’t have words for it. Eren had turned around on the sofa and was regarding over the back of it. “Why didn’t you eat?”

The captain paused to rub a hand over his forehead. It was starting to feel warm in here, despite the cool breeze coming from the window. He moved away from the fire, hoping that it would help prevent him from overheating.

“You looked uncomfortable when you realized what she was here for,” Levi pointed out. “You’ve been through enough today – you didn’t need to see or hear that right now.”

“I... have another question,” Eren said, but his voice sounded unsure, hesitant. Levi jerked his chin, urging him to continue. He felt extremely impatient for some odd reason. He felt his fingers twitch slightly, which surprised him. He never fidgeted.

“If everyone on the squad knows and donates to you… why did you never tell me?” Eren asked quietly. “Why hide it? Did you not…”

Why didn’t you trust me?

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Eren,” Levi sighed. “We’ve been through too much at this point for me to not trust you. This… my true nature is something that they found out on pure chance and it was out of respect for me that they stuck their necks out on the line – quite literally,” he smirked, then grew serious once more. “The fewer people know, the safer I am. It’s self-preservation.”

It felt like there was a bit of fog suffusing his brain, compelling him to be honest. Though, he’d never really lied, but he was being a bit more candid and open than normal. It felt almost strange, but in a way, felt good to not be so taciturn for a change. The entire situation felt a bit strange, actually, as if it had an almost dream-like quality. Levi blinked a few times, as if hoping that would help. It didn’t.

“But now?” Eren pressed, voice insistent, pitching a few notes deeper. There was a new smell in the air now, traces of a musky, heady scent. Levi had to resist tilting his head back and trying to locate the source of it.

But god, where was that coming from? What was going on?

Levi frowned, shaking his head slightly in an attempt to clear his head, get rid of the scent invading his nose. It was distracting in the worst – best – way, and Levi decided to do himself a favor and just breathe in through his mouth.

It helped a bit, but did nothing to dispel the slight haziness in his mind. “Do I trust you?” he asked in just a bit of a daze. “Or why didn’t I ask you to be a donor?”

Eren tilted his head to the side, considering his words. “Both, I guess. Well, I know you trust me, and I get why you didn’t ask, but now – why not ask me?” Eren questioned, and something strange glinted in the depths of his clear turquoise eyes.

The smell spiked in the air and Levi froze. Unlike just a few minutes ago, Eren didn’t look disgusted at the thought. In fact, he looked almost… intrigued? Jealous? No, it was nothing like that, but it was close.

“Why would you want to?” he asked carefully, voice full of caution. It was strange, Eren going from being uncomfortable and wary about it to suddenly seeming to be eager for it. Unless Levi had misread Eren's body language when Petra had come in. Had he been interested instead? Why, though? Eren had no idea what happened during a feeding. Should Levi tell him? He didn’t really know anymore.

“Color me curious, I suppose. Or some sort of childish jealousy at feeling left out,” Eren shrugged. Paused to consider, probably, and then he shrugged again. “Mostly curiosity, though.”

Something didn’t sound right in that explanation, and Levi got the sense Eren wasn’t telling the entire truth. But Levi had done the same things more times than he could count, withholding information, and right now, it didn’t seem important.

“Those are some shitty reasons,” Levi dismissed with a small wave of his hand. His mind may be working slower than normal, but even as things were right now, he could tell that those weren’t good motivations. Then without thinking, he tacked on a careless, “You wouldn’t be able to handle it anyway.”

One of Eren’s thick eyebrows quirked in intrigue. “Handle what?”

Levi froze, then cursed. He forgot that his circle of donors were all too familiar with the side-effects of him feeding from them. They were comfortable with the sensation of Compulsion, the feeling of his saliva, of how he became when giving in to his instincts. Most importantly, his squad still respected Levi even after seeing him stripped down to his primal need for blood. They trusted Levi not to hurt them – he’d proved that for years. Levi in turn trusted them to provide a safe environment for him to feed in.

Levi was at his most vulnerable during and after he fed. During it, he was unable to fight the call of his instincts as higher brain function fled, and afterwards it left him sluggish and dazed for some time after until the blood was absorbed into his body. It was why he ate in the mornings – the process of showering and dressing was just enough time for the haziness of feeding to wear off and for him to return to normal.

Eren wasn’t familiar with what being a donor entailed, though. He couldn’t believe that he had let something like that slip. The room was starting to feel uncomfortably warm again – or was it his skin?

He chanced a quick glance over to Eren, but the shifter looked completely fine, obviously not feeling the same heat that Levi was.

Either way, it was warm and the scent wouldn’t go away and the cloudiness of his mind was starting to grate on Levi’s nerves. He just wanted to be able to think, for fuck’s sake, and it made his next words waspish.

“If you’re really all that curious, go ask Hanji,” Levi bit out harshly. He stood, gathering up both his and Eren's teacups. “You have the day off from training,” he said, voice cool. “Rest and recover – if you want, Hanji can also tell you more about what to expect now that you’re moonkin. I’m sure she’s eager to ask you some questions.”

And with that, he swiftly walked to his bedroom, dismissing the young shifter who stared after him with something inscrutable buried in his eyes.

--

Levi’s skin felt hot and prickly. As quickly as possible, he grabbed a new uniform from the day from his wardrobe and then went into his little private bathroom. He closed the bathroom door and slumped against it, inhaling a couple of deep breaths as fast as possible. There was a thin layer of sweat beading on his forehead and Levi made a little “tch” sound in disgust. He didn’t know why he was feeling this way, all warm and lightheaded.

The only thing he could chalk it up to was being hungry and the stress the thirst put on his body.

Sighing, Levi turned the knobs for the shower – a new invention of Hanji’s. He still loved baths, but the thoughts of stewing in his own sweat and the dirt from his body made his skin crawl, and he always ended up having to take two. One to wash and another to rinse himself clean. It was definitely a lot of work to stay as clean as he liked to, so when Hanji had concocted the intricate pipe and showerhead system that let him wash and rinse himself clean all at the same time, he felt like he could have kissed her.

The water turned on with a groan of the pipes and immediately heated, tendrils of steam starting to curl up into the room. Swiftly, Levi undressed, shoving his pants and briefs down his hips and legs, then bent down to pick them up to throw them in the laundry hamper. He tugged his shirt off next, and as he went to throw it in the hamper as well, he paused. There was a trace of a different scent on there that wasn’t his, must have caught on it from his office earlier.

Slowly, almost as if he were in a trance, Levi brought the shirt up to his nose, close to the sleeve that had brushed against Eren when he had reached out to touch the shifter’s shoulder. He inhaled deeply, then gave a long shiver.

Eren’s scent – fresh pine and the salty, fresh smell of an ocean breeze – invaded his nose, but there was something else under that, something dark and alluring. It was something that made his mind slightly hazy, made everything feel just a bit surreal and seemed to get under his skin, like an itch that couldn’t be scratched. Levi blamed it on the realization he’d had earlier and on the fact it had been awhile since he had last gotten himself off.

After one last sniff, Levi tossed the shirt away and stepped under the hot spray of water. The scalding temperature did nothing to soothe the prickling under his skin but instead served only to exacerbate it. He raised his head to the spray, letting it wet his face and hair. It pounded down on his body, hissing a bit when it hit his dick – and realized that he was starting to get hard.

Groaning, Levi let the back of his head thump against the wall of the shower tiles. Fuck, apparently what he’d been feeling was arousal – it hit him in an unavoidable wave. It’d been a few years since he’d really felt it, as busy with training, missions, and slaying Titans as he had been. Levi bit his lip, cracking open his silvered, lightly illuminated eyes to squint through the water as he considered.

It’s not like anyone can read minds, after all.

Sighing, he gave in and finally let his mind go a bit; let the thoughts he had been trying to hold at bay fully manifest.

Fucking Eren Jaeger had grown up, and he’d grown up hot.

He’d shot up like a tree, a bit over six feet. With the Titans gone, humanity was no longer struggling to source enough food and with the Survey Corps being hailed as heroes for liberating them from the Walls, the regiment no longer had to scrape by. The quality of food in their mess hall had drastically improved, along with the amount. The surplus of food had let Eren's body fill out nicely, and Levi had to admit that he’d spared more than a lingering glance at Eren’s rippling muscles when he trained in the yard shirtless.

But until now, Levi had dismissed any sexual musings about the shifter, because in his mind, Eren was still that young, puppylike boy who had been placed in his custody. He’d been too busy taking care of the kid, keeping him alive and mentoring him to really notice him in any other way than his subordinate.

Now though…

Levi shook his head, letting out a harsh breath. The hot water pounded down on his back, and heat tingled through his veins. He felt the blood in his veins alight with thrumming anticipation and start to move faster, spurred on by his quickening heartbeat. What would it hurt? There’s plenty of time.

With a quiet huff, Levi trailed his fingers down his body, enjoying the way his nipples grew stiff under his fingertips. They were extremely sensitive and even just these little brushing touches made them tingle delightfully.

He bit his lip again, worrying it between his teeth as he considered. It was unprofessional, and he was the worst sort of pervert for lusting after someone so much younger than him.

Mentally younger, but not physically, his traitorous mind whispered to him, and it was that thought that did Levi in. Eren would never know, and once he got it out of his system, he’d go back to normal, be able to banish thoughts of the shifter from his mind.

Slowly, he raised the fingers of one hand to his mouth. He could feel that his eyes were starting to truly glow now, his fangs tingling in his mouth as they descended. Fuck, he was getting far too excited already just thinking about Eren – though it had been awhile since he indulged, and that was probably the reason, Levi thought. Not Eren after all.

His other hand traveled down his body and he trailed nails over his skin, unable to hold back a shiver at the sensations it elicited. Levi let his hand keep descending, skimming over the defined ridges of his abs and the muscles there quivered; his fingers reached his pubic bone and finally, Levi wrapped his fingers around his cock. He jerked a bit at the feeling, small pulses of pleasure going through him as he stroked the sensitive flesh. Levi’s head tilted back a bit, eyelids fluttering.

Careful of his fangs, Levi licked and sucked at his fingers, making sure to thoroughly wet them. His tongue was soft and warm against his fingers, and with a small shudder, he wondered if Eren would like the feel of it on his cock.

A low moan escaped from between the fingers in his mouth at the thought, echoing around the little tiled cubicle and he gave his cock a light squeeze - fuck, he was so hard. Thoughts of Eren, of how he looked during training, how he moved with such confidence all the time made his dick throb a bit, a bead of precum gathering at the tip. Levi twisted his wrist experimentally as he stroked, rubbing his thumb over the tip and gasping as pleasure shot through him.

Fuck, it had been far too long. Why hadn’t he been doing this regularly? He’d forgotten how good it felt to let go, to indulge. Excited now, Levi dropped to his knees, slowly pumping his cock as he pulled his fingers out of his mouth. They were fully coated in saliva and he slipped his hand back, trailing his fingers down the crack of his ass until they met the tight ring of muscle hidden there. Still leisurely caressing his dick, he rubbed the pads of his fingers around his entrance, making sure to get it slick with his spit and then roughly pushed two fingers in.

“Shit,” Levi gasped at the stretch, but there was no pain – the unique properties of his saliva took care of that, and vampires didn’t shit or piss, so there was no need to worry about dirtying his hands. There was the slightest burn, but it only excited him more, arousal shooting through him and making his cock twitch against his palm. Shifting to spread his knees further, Levi pushed his fingers in deeper and stroked his length faster, lust making his breath speed up in heavy little pants.

Slipping his eyes closed, he let his head loll back as he twisted his fingers, trying to get the right angle. Finally, his fingers brushed over his prostrate and he cried out, white-hot pleasure shooting through him. He licked his tongue over his fangs and then rolled his hips, thrusting his ass back onto his fingers. It wasn’t sex, but it was a good imitation of it and Levi stroked his cock faster while he rode his fingers. An image of bright, teal-colored eyes and strong, handsome features came unbidden to his mind, and he thought about what Eren’s cock would look like.

It would probably be just a few shades darker than Eren’s bronze, sun-kissed skin, and if it were proportional to the rest of his body, there would be enough girth to provide a delicious stretch. Levi was short, his hips narrow, and it turned him on to have partners that were so much bigger than him, even if they had no chance of overpowering him - which was something he’d always secretly fantasized about. He’d never met a man or woman that had been able to best him in any capacity.

Still, it didn’t stop the fantasy that was summoned from the dark depths of his mind. Levi pictured Eren's large, strong hands, imagined them holding onto his hips and pulling him down relentlessly onto his cock over and over again until Levi was senseless from pleasure. A low moan escaped his throat at the fantasy, imagining it was Eren’s cock instead of his own fingers that he was riding, and he started to plunge his fingers in and out with each thrust of his hips. Every rough jab of his prostate and stroke of his length brought him closer to the edge and he panted heavily, thighs starting to quiver as heat pooled in his stomach.

He was close now, needing just a bit more to tip over the edge and desperately, he added a third finger on the next roll of his hips, shoving it in without hesitation. The added stretch and slight burn was just enough to send him over and pleasure rippled through him.

“Haah, fuck,” he groaned as he came, spurting over his fingers and covering them in release. Levi just barely bit back a moan of Eren's name as he rode out the orgasm, thrusting languidly into the hand wrapped around his dick, unable to help the breathy noises that escaped as he came down from his high.

When the last waves of pleasure faded, Levi carefully removed his fingers from his hole and slumped back, ass hitting the heated floor of his shower. His face was hot and flushed with both the heat from the water and pleasure. He turned his face up, letting the water beat down on it and sighed. Levi's body was still tingling from the orgasm and his fangs retracted, sliding slowly back up until they looked like normal, human canines, the glow dying out from his eyes as well.

Shakily, Levi raised his hands into the spray, letting the water wash away the cum covering his fingers, then ran trembling fingers through his hair, slicking it away from his face. His entire body was relaxed, sated from the release, but his mind was anything but.

He had just gotten off to the thought of Eren Jaeger fucking him. The boy - no, he was a man now - who had once been placed in his care, the man who he had been his subordinate and member of his team for 4 years now.

“God, this is fucked up,” Levi whispered, shaking his head. Sighing, he stood up on weak legs and stepped fully into the spray of water. He fully wetted his hair and grabbed his shampoo, thoughts racing in his mind. It had been a long time since he had indulged – with the Titans gone, there were still always missions outside the walls to go on, events to go to, training to attend, and it hadn’t crossed his mind. Even his feedings nowadays were non-sexual, unlike they had been with Farlan in the past.

A small smile tugged at his lips at that – Farlan had always been fun to feed from, even if they’d had to make up excuses to go somewhere else or send Izzy away when it was his turn to be Levi’s donor. He’d jerked off since his friends’ deaths, sure, but the moments had been few and far between, because he had thrown himself into trying to make Erwin’s dreams of a free humanity a possibility.

Levi hadn’t had that excuse in a long time, though, but after Erwin died…  

He soaped up his hair, letting the hot water and steam of the spray sink into his muscles. Levi let the tension bleed out of his muscles under the soothing spray, body relaxing, though his mind was anything but. The orgasm had seemed to clear the fog from his mind, and now he couldn’t help but think.

The last time he had done this, it hadn’t been Eren he had thought about, but someone else, and it hadn’t felt nearly as wrong.

Scrubbing his fingers through his hair, he thought of Erwin, of the attraction he’d had to the tall, elegant blonde. When he’d first been captured in the Underground, he’d hated the man, wanted nothing more than to kill him, to rip out his throat and bathe in his blood. But there had been an undeniable magnetism about Erwin that drew Levi in. When he’d looked into bright cerulean eyes, Levi had felt the attraction just as much as Erwin, though he had hated it at first.

But then, after Farlan and Isabel were killed, after he’d chosen to follow Erwin, that initial raw attraction had morphed into something more. It had gradually grown into something softer, stronger. Constant late nights poring over strategies, early breakfasts, expeditions survived and countless fundraisers suffered through together had led to that attraction developing into something more.

There had been countless lingering looks, brushes of fingers, soft words and yet, they had chosen to put duty above all else. Levi had chosen to follow Erwin. The bond that had formed between them had made Erwin’s ideals his own; Levi had been Erwin’s right hand, the hard steel behind his brave words. Acting on their unspoken feelings would have been detrimental and they both knew it at the time. Erwin had given his heart and soul to humanity; he had needed a clear head and heart, needed to be able to send Levi into danger, to his possible death without hesitation.

Maybe if they had both survived… maybe things could have been different, but there was no changing the past now.

Sighing heavily, Levi ducked his head under the spray of water, letting the soap rinse out of his hair, and used the trailing suds to scrub behind and in his ears. There was no reason to think about what could have been, not at this point. He took up his bar of lavender-scented soap and a cloth and started running them over his body, but his mind kept trailing back to Erwin despite his efforts to push the man out of his thoughts.

Erwin was gone. Levi had let him rest, because none of them were sure what they’d find in Grisha Jaeger’s basement, and he hadn’t wanted to bring Erwin back into this hell. Hadn’t been able to, even though he had wanted, in the dark, selfish part of his heart. God, he had wanted, but Erwin had refused and their bond hadn’t allowed Levi to bring him back. He’d been made to choose Armin.

Erwin had told him a long time ago to make the choice he’d least regret, but even now, when Levi lay awake at night hoping for sleep, he wondered how to stop regretting a choice that hadn’t been his to make. The Titans were gone, and humanity was slowly taking their first steps outside the walls, braver with each passing day.

Erwin, Levi thought, melancholy, running the cloth over his stomach to rid himself of the last remaining vestiges of cum, I wish you could have lived to see how far we’ve gotten. You’d be proud.

Erwin could have been here to lead them, to see the world outside the walls, feel the wind directly on his face, see the expanses of field untouched by humans for what could have been centuries and know that he had helped humanity get here.

He could have seen the ocean.

Gritting his teeth at the last thought, he jerked the knobs with a bit more force than necessary to turn the shower off and then threw the wet cloth into the hamper with a bit more force than necessary. Levi yanked his towel off the hook roughly, wiping the water from his body and then toweling his hair dry.

What’s done was done. Erwin was gone and Levi had laid him to rest. Hanji was Commander, his squad was alive, and Eren, Mikasa, and Armin…

Armin had been the one that wanted to see the ocean, though, not Erwin. He thought of the first time they had seen the glimmering expanse of water, of the pure joy and wonderment shining in those large blue eyes. It had been Armin’s dream to see the ocean, his one driving force in life. Erwin had mentioned the ocean in passing once, but ultimately, Erwin’s dream had been to see the basement. His mood softened and he let out a deep breath. He remembered the expression of peace, the relief shining in Erwin’s eyes when Levi had told him to lay down his life that day in Shiganshina.

Feeling strangely light and more at peace with himself than he had in years, Levi dressed in his clean clothes, carefully arranging his cravat and flicking his bangs away so that his appearance was neat and orderly. Maybe it was the orgasm, maybe it was finally coming to a bit of peace with what had happened that horrible day, but he suddenly felt better than he had in a long time, feeling energized and ready to move.

As he exited the bathroom and went for his harness to begin strapping it onto his body, he decided to go sit with his squad for breakfast. Then maybe after they were done with training for the day, Hanji. It’d been awhile since they’d had tea together, and while she didn’t appreciate it as much as he did, Levi knew the gesture would be appreciated.

Chapter Text

Eren had little trouble tracking Hanji down. He knew that when not in the Commander’s offices, she could be found in her labs tinkering around. With the Titans gone, Eren knew her research had shifted to civil technologies that would help what little was left of humanity.

Well, that and supernatural creatures, apparently.

After Levi had carried Eren out of the infirmary, she had ran to her lab and immediately pulled out any and all research she had done on werewolves – moonkin.

The door was slightly ajar and Eren took it as an unspoken invitation for people to enter; Hanji rarely had the door shut tight unless she truly needed to be alone for something. Eren slipped into the room and called her name. There was a shuffling of papers and the thud of something falling to the ground around the corner, then her head popped out from behind a wall. She smiled brightly upon seeing him, raising a hand to enthusiastically wave it. “Hey kiddo!” she crowed. “Levi finally let you go, huh?”

Eren blinked at her enthusiasm. Even though he’d grown accustomed to her mannerisms over the years, her limitless amount of energy never ceased to surprise him. The endless supply of coffee she had access to also probably contributed to that as well. “Uh, yeah,” he mumbled.

She paused at that, remaining eye sizing him up shrewdly. “Don’t be a stranger, come on in,” she said. Her tone was still cheery, but there was an undercurrent to her voice that left no room for argument. Hanji had definitely settled into her role as Commander and wore it well.

Eren nodded and Hanji beamed once more at him before she popped her head back around the corner. He carefully picked his way through the mess of papers, lab equipment, and some older dirty clothes; why she didn’t just put them in a hamper to be collected on laundry day, Eren had no idea. The shifter wondered how Levi didn’t have a bitch fit whenever he came in here; he knew that Hanji and Levi spent a good amount of time together. He supposed they probably just used Levi’s office or the quarters that were solely for the Commander.

Hanji’s personal quarters-slash-lab were a bit larger than most – there was the lab, which Eren was in now, a private sitting room, and a bedroom that Eren suspected went unused most of the time. Similar to Levi, the woman hardly ever seemed to sleep. The lab itself was a mess – it wasn’t quite dirty, but it was clearly disorganized and had gone awhile without a good dusting.

He saw some of Levi’s influence here – things had used to be neat and orderly, but either Levi had finally decided to give up or just hadn’t been by to clean lately. As Eren made his way into the sitting room, he saw that it was even messier than the lab but in a different way. Books, papers, and writing utensils were scattered everywhere as if Hanji had frantically been searching for something.  There was a fireplace directly across from the entrance, a large desk to the right and a sofa facing it where normally a couple of chairs would be.

Eren wondered if it was because Hanji spent so much time at her desk working that it was easier just to get up and walk around to fall into the cushions when she did need sleep.

Hanji was over at the desk flicking through some papers, but she glanced up as he finally made his way in and stood somewhat awkwardly next to the sofa. “So tell me, Eren,” she began without preamble. “How are you feeling? Does your leg hurt? Have you noticed anything different in your body? Any changes?” Her questions were rapid-fire, born from a mixture of unbridled curiosity as well as care.

Eren scratched the back of his head, eyebrows raising. “Uh, I’m okay, a bit tired, I think. My leg is fine, it doesn’t hurt at all. There’s been a few changes, yeah.”

“Ooh, tell me about them,” Hanji said, papers forgotten in lieu of placing her hands on the desk and leaning forwards.

“I’ve started smelling things more than usual,” he admitted. “My hearing has improved as well.”

“That’s amazing!” Hanji exclaimed. She roved around the desk for a paper and snatched it up, bending over to scribble something down. “Your hearing and smell should keep improving as the taint works its way through you – it’s the wolf part of you and from what I’ve read, your strength and speed should increase as well. I don’t know if you’ll ever be quite on par with Levi, but you’ll be close!”

Eren fidgeted slightly at the captain’s name and Hanji stilled, her remaining eye swiveling up to gaze at him cannily. “You’re not here to ask about yourself.” It was a statement, not a question and Eren sighed at being caught out. Hanji was not only insanely intelligent but shrewd as well. Nothing got past her piercing eye.

“I have a question,” he admitted quietly. “About Captain Levi. Well, maybe a few questions.”

Hanji blinked, then a small, sly smile turned her lips upwards. “I knew it.” She crossed around to the side of the desk and rested her hip on it, crossing her arms. “What is it, my dear?”

“I asked the captain why I couldn’t be a donor now that I knew his secret, and he said…” Eren paused and took a breath. “He said I couldn’t handle it?” His voice got higher at the end; what he meant as a statement ended up as a question.

Hanji blinked once. Stared. Then, she threw her head back and laughed loudly. Eren stared at her in bewilderment as giggles streamed out of her until finally, she calmed down and took a deep breath. She removed her glasses to wipe her eyes, which had pricked with tears.

“Oh, Levi,” she chuckled, voice fond, “you seem so tough on the outside, but really, you’re too soft for your own good.”

“Commander?” Eren asked, confused. He felt like he was listening in on an inside joke he knew nothing about.

“Sorry, sorry,” she waved, though there was still a large smile on her face. “Here, come sit down and I’ll explain.”

She gestured towards the (admittedly dirty) couch for Eren to sit down and he did so gingerly. Hanji patted her hands around on the top of the desk, mumbling to herself for a second. It seemed like she was looking for something and a second later, she gave a triumphant, “A-ha!” and held up what looked to be a rather beaten, weathered book.

She placed it down on the corner of the desk and then went back around to drop into her desk chair. She kept speaking as she looked through some loose papers, stuffing a few of them into the book. “So, tell me Eren, did Levi explain anything about his unique physiology?”

“No. I didn’t get the chance to ask. We just talked about um…” Eren cast his mind back to just a little bit ago, trying to recall what they talked about. “Well, he told me happened with the moonkin, then he told me a bit about the Underground. Then there was how the squad survived the Female Titan. Oh, and I asked to be a donor, but like I said, he just told me I couldn’t handle it. Nothing about vampires, though.”

She leaned back into her chair, biting at a finger in contemplation. “Of course he wouldn’t. I can’t really blame him, though. It’s very fascinating, but, well, Levi has always been an incredibly private person.”

“Hanji, can you just,” Eren made a gesture for her to get on with it.

Hanji leaned forwards and placed her elbows on her knees. “So, vampires. I don’t know too much about them, but Levi’s let me study a little bit about him.” She tapped a finger on the book and then somewhat mumbled under her breath, “Either had to ply him with enough liquor to supply the Military Police for a month or, uh, trade taking a bath for the information, but,” then her voice raised, “I’ve wheedled a bit out of him. You’ve seen some of his unique traits, right?”

Eren thought back to Levi’s office. Look at me, Eren.

“Yeah,” he confirmed, shaking off the memory, “the fangs and glowing eyes. I didn’t believe him before that, so he showed me.”

“I can’t blame you. I would have been a bit skeptical too, but Erwin came along with him to explain and well, Erwin didn’t play pranks like that. If there’s anyone I believed about anything, it was Erwin.” Her eye took on a faraway cast and she seemed to droop momentarily. Then she let out a heavy sigh before shaking her head and focused back on Eren, perking up once more.

“So besides what you’ve seen…” Hanji paused to rub her chin contemplatively. “Well,” she drawled, scrunching up her eyes. “I should start off by saying that vampires are apex predators, but we humans have very good danger instincts. So Levi and his kind have developed certain ways to, ah, subdue their prey.”

She cast a knowing look over at Eren, like she was waiting for him somehow. But then he jolted at the memory of Levi ordering him to look. Eren had felt like something was off, but it had felt so good to do what Levi had asked; like at that moment, the only thing he’d wanted was to obey. “Wait, there was a moment when he… it almost seemed like I had to look at him. I couldn’t look away. No, I didn’t want to look away.”

Hanji sat up straight and leaned in, an excited glint in her eye. “Oooh, so he did use his Compulsion on you?”

“His… what?” Eren asked, confused.

“We – well, his kind,” she corrected herself, “call that power the ‘Compulsion.’ We’re not sure how it works, but vampires have a certain influence on humans. Makes them do what the vampire wants- to a certain extent. It’s useful for them.” Hanji seemed to get a bit more excited as she spoke, until her hands were following along with her words. “Levi, as a vampire, can compel humans, make them want to do things, like follow him or trust him if he wants.”

“Yeah… it’s like, I didn’t even want to do anything else other than what he told me to,” Eren said slowly, brows furrowing. He felt a bit of… fear? Panic? Squeeze his chest as Hanji’s words truly sunk in and he thought back to how Levi had made him raise his head. “I couldn’t not listen to him… that’s terrifying, Hanji.”

Hanji nodded sympathetically. “It would be on anyone else but him. Have you ever once felt it used on you before now? Did he ever make you do anything you didn’t want to?” Her voice was insistent, pressing.

Eren didn’t have to think long on that, answered almost immediately, “No, he’s always very insistent on giving me a choice.” He thought back to Levi’s words during the 57^th expedition;

“The choice is yours. You can trust yourself, or you can trust the people willing to put their lives on the line for you.”

And what his captain told him during the debacle underneath Reiss’ church when it was threatening to crumble around them;

“Listen, I really hate that I do this to you all the time, but, you’ve gotta make a choice here.”

The memories were calming to an extent, but there was still something disturbing about someone being able to… to literally order people to their deaths. Eren didn’t remember ever seeing Levi’s eyes light up with Compulsion when he gave orders, but what if they didn’t need to in order for the captain to use his power? “But people listen to him, they follow him into dangerous situations even though they know they’re going to die,” Eren pointed out, still unsure.

But Hanji just shook her head at that. “That’s because they respect him, sweetie. He’s a natural-born leader, even without his vampirism. And Erwin was the same way.” Her eyes narrowed a bit when she saw Eren still fidgeting a bit with unsurety. He debated if he wanted to really accept her reassurances, because holy shit, Levi could make someone his slave if he really wanted to. “Eren, you know Levi would never take advantage of Compulsion to make you do anything you didn’t want to.”

“I guess,” Eren said, face creased in contemplation and then his expression smoothed out as he had another thought. He looked to Hanji, eyes clearing a bit. “He did say something like ‘I didn’t want to have to do this’ and after he stopped, he looked regretful.”

“That’s our shorty for you,” she bobbed her head in a nod. “You don’t ever have to worry about him using it to make you do something you wouldn’t normally do. I’ve known Levi for years – the only time he’s used it outside of a feeding session is when he had permission from me during tests and when he had to show someone what he is and what he’s capable of – like with you.” She paused to shrug and tacked on, “I don’t know if that held true when he was in the Underground, but he was a different person back then.”

The last part didn’t matter, because suddenly Eren realized that he had been worried about all this for nothing – he knew his captain and felt a bit stupid for doubting Levi now. At his core, Levi cared about people, had shown time and time again that he had a deep respect for human life.

Just because he knew Levi was a vampire now didn’t mean that his captain was any different of a person than he had been before. Eren had just grown up with stories that portrayed vampires as sadistic creatures that thrived off of pain and blood. It was hard to change that way of thinking, but Hanji’s words were helping to banish Eren's fear of discovering the man he’d come to respect and admire was like that.

“That… actually makes me feel a lot better, Hanji,” Eren said, raking a hand through his hair and Hanji shot him a small smile.

He hadn’t realized it, but his hands were trembling in what Eren realized was most likely stress and anxiety. Levi’s vampirism and his spiraling doubts had affected his mood more than he realized; more than thoughts of his own new, changed physiology.

And then he recalled the real reason he had come here to see the Commander. “Wait, but the other thing he said,” Eren remembered. “Why he doesn’t want me to be a donor. What did he mean?”

Hanji grinned expectantly. “I was waiting for that. So, besides the Compulsion, vampires have one last little trick up their sleeves.” She leaned forward conspiratorially and Eren did so as well. “Their saliva has a unique effect on humans. When swallowed, it has a certain effect that can be… quite interesting. Even more when introduced into the bloodstream.”

Eren stared at her. “His saliva?”

If anything, Eren would have thought that the fangs carried something (like venom) if anything, much like a snake. Although, Eren’s father had some older books from before the Walls were raised and one of them was about types of animals that used to exist. One of them was some sort of giant lizard – or was it a small dragon? – that had deadly, bacteria-laden saliva. Just one bite could cause a deadly infection to rage through the body of whatever was bitten.

“Yup. It’s nothing bad, though,” Hanji said reassuringly upon seeing the slightly disturbed look on Eren's face. “It acts somewhat like an opiate; it has a strong painkilling effect and makes humans physically relaxed and mentally malleable, more open to suggestion. It’s usually applied during say, a kiss and then after that, well… Sex can easily distract humans enough for a vampire to bite them. The way Levi told me it works, well...” Hanji trailed off, then a slow, salacious smirk spread across her face. “He’s very pretty, isn’t he?”

The sudden change in the direction of the conversation caught Eren off-guard. He stared at Hanji, eyebrows raising. “Wait, what?” Had he heard her correctly?

“Levi,” Hanji clarified. There was an odd gleam in her eye now as she stared unblinkingly at Eren. “You’d say he’s attractive, right?”

Wary now, Eren eyed her before slowly saying, “Um… I guess?”

Hanji chuckled. It was a knowing laugh, like Eren was part of an inside joke he didn’t know existed until right this second. “Aw, you don’t have to be shy. It’s just us.” If Hanji had been sitting right next to him, he was about 100% sure that she’d be nudging him with an elbow.

Eren let out a slow, deep breath. He knew Hanji wouldn’t judge him one way or the other, but he still couldn’t meet her eye. He could hear her fidgeting in her chair impatiently and finally blew out a long, deep breath.

To be honest, Eren had thought about it over the years, yes. As he’d grown up and became sexually active, started looking at others as potential people to fall into bed with, he couldn’t deny that Levi had been on his mind a lot more lately. But usually it was more of a passing glance, a stray thought of Levi looks nice today, because Levi was his superior and his captain. Eren had always been more focused on following his orders in order to stay alive and trying to impress the man as a soldier more than anything else.

But when Levi had ordered Eren to look at him, he’d not only looked; he’d seen, and now he couldn’t unsee it. Eren had stared straight into those gleaming silver eyes and had thought, oh.

Levi is beautiful.

Eren let out a soft exhale. There really was no way he could lie to Hanji – she’d see right through it. “He’s honestly one of the most attractive people I’ve met in my life,” he quietly confessed.

“Yeah, that’s because he’s a vampire,” Hanji grinned immediately, like she was expecting nothing less. “Levi told me that his kind are attractive to seduce humans.”

She jumped up from behind the desk rather abruptly and stalked over to her chalkboard, wiping it off quickly with a sleeve and picking up a piece of chalk. Eren twisted around on the sofa to watch her. As she spoke, she drew a bunch of little pictures going around in a circle. The pictures she drew had Eren's eyebrows raising inch by inch until they and his hairline nearly met and he was practically gaping at her.

“So, going over what we know - and from what little I’ve been able to drag out of Levi on the matter - it’s easy to deduce how they hunt. A vampire kisses you,” Hanji drew a little stick figure of Levi with fangs and a cape, followed by another picture of stick-Levi kissing another stick-person with hair that looked suspiciously like Eren's when it was up in a bun, “you get a taste of their saliva and it relaxes you, makes you suggestible. They convince you into bed,” here she drew a bed with another stick-Levi figure posed in what Eren was positive was supposed to be a seductive pose but was really just a jumble of lines, “and use the Compulsion to make you not feel their bite, then feed.”

Hanji drew a picture showing stick-Levi biting stick-Eren, then continued. “The saliva also acts as a pretty potent painkiller, so that helps too. Then, after sex,” and Eren's eyes widened a near-impossible amount when Hanji actually drew stick-Eren bending stick-Levi over on his hands and knees, “they Compel you to sleep,” here she drew stick-Eren lying on the bed with a little ‘Zzz’ above him, “and slink off before they’re discovered.” Then Hanji drew another picture of stick-Levi sneaking away. “The human then wakes up,” and here one last picture of stick-Eren sitting in bed with a large smile on his face “with nothing but a vague memory of good sex and a sore neck – or wherever they bit you.”

Hanji finished off the drawings by dragging her chalk in a big circle through all of the drawings, adding a few arrows in a clockwise direction to indicate the cycle. She stepped back to look at her work with hands on hips and then turned around. “Neat, huh?”

Eren's eye twitched. “It’s… interesting.”

Levi was going to murder her with his bare hands if he came in here and saw those drawings.

Eren wasn’t going to be the one to remind her to erase it.

Eren kind of wanted to kill her himself.

Tossing the chalk over her shoulder, (it knocked over a vase, but Hanji didn’t even bat an eyelash) she threw her arms out wide. “It’s downright fascinating! Vampires have basically evolved to hunt their prey through copulation! I can’t think of any other species that does that. And it gets even better! Their bodies have evolved, too! You’ve noticed how Captain Levi doesn’t like to be touched, right?”

A thick eyebrow quirked. He was curious, but he was also kind of afraid of what she was going to say. “I thought it was because he just didn’t like getting dirty,” Eren told her.

“Hmm, not quite. I don’t want to overstep toooo many boundaries here,” Eren's eyes couldn’t help but flick over to a certain stick-figure picture and immediately think that was absolutely bullshit, “but after you leave here, remember to look at page 32.”

Eren swallowed heavily, confused at what she was talking about, but still committing it to memory. He could feel Hanji’s eye burning a hole into him, like she knew exactly what he was staring at. Desperate to change the subject, he cast around for the first thing he could think of. “I felt the Compulsion, but I also felt like… like I could have not gone along with it? The control didn’t feel absolute to me.”

Hanji didn’t even bat an eyelash at the change of topic. “Well, I have a theory for that. Levi’s told me that other supernatural creatures are highly resistant, almost immune to it. The older the vamp, the more powerful their Compulsion is and the harder it is to fight it. He’s not very old in vampire years - still just a baby, compared to some. No human can resist a vampire’s Compulsion – not even one that’s young like he is. Likewise for supernatural creatures – such as yourself – the older you are, the more resistant you become to it. You’re not human, but you are a baby moonkin. I think you can absolutely resist it if you want, but you can still go along with it if you like.” Hanji grinned, her manner almost sharklike. “Honestly, Compulsion really isn’t the worst thing in the world.”

“Why is that? You’re being forced to do something against your will! It’s almost like- like being a slave,” Eren spit the last word out as if it physically revolted him. Yeah, Levi wouldn’t use his Compulsion against anyone in a harmful manner, but there were probably other vampires out there and most likely, they didn’t share Levi’s empathy for humankind.

“Yes, there’s the possibility. But the Compulsion also lets vampires manipulate what you feel. It’s part of what makes the process painless. Sure, the saliva makes it painless – to a point, but a vampire can use the Compulsion to make the bite feel good,” she put a heavy emphasis on the last part that made Eren flush the slightest bit, because he knew Hanji was speaking from personal experience. She tapped the side of her head and continued, “They can use it to flip the switch in your mind so that pain feels like pleasure, can activate parts in your brain to make you feel good even if you’re not in pain.”

“So… say I were to let the captain bite me.”

“Mmhm,” Hanji’s glance was knowing, like she knew what Eren was going to ask.

“What would happen if I resisted the Compulsion? Or could I just ask him not to do it?”

“Oh.” She looked disappointed but then turned thoughtful, like she’d honestly never thought about what Eren was asking. “You could ask, but I think it would be hard for him not to. Using it is ingrained in their instincts and when they feed, they’re not really thinking, you know? And honestly, Levi is very careful when he feeds, very gentle, but there’s no changing the fact that his teeth are cutting through skin and muscle and blood vessels and nerves. Saliva only goes so far. It would still hurt without the Compulsion and I doubt Levi is the type to say, spit into puncture wounds.”

Eren grimaced at the thought. He wasn’t nearly as obsessed with cleanliness as Levi, but the thought still disgusted him. “No, you’re right, Hanji.”

Hanji tapped a finger against her chin, then snapped her fingers as an idea struck. “I’ll tell you my own experience with Levi, would that help?”

Eren started to make some sort of excuse – he wasn’t even sure, maybe something like No, I don’t want Levi to bite me, I just want to know out of curiosity, but Hanji reached over to lay a placating hand on his shoulder, shaking her head. “Eren, we both know you’re not going to stroll out of here and let another vampire bite you. It’s okay to want to be a donor – I know you respect Levi and want to lend your support, so let me help you help him. Okay?”

Despite everything, Hanji looked earnest – like she really genuinely wanted to help. It would make him feel better knowing exactly what to expect, after all. He just hated that Hanji had seen through him so easily. Well, she was brilliant, almost insanely so, after all. Plus, she was probably used to seeing through the bullshit of all those rich noblemen in Mitras.

Eren gave a small, capitulating sigh and that was all the permission Hanji needed. “Levi’s fangs aren’t long or thick – they could still kill you very easily, but they don’t make large or wide wounds,” she explained, using her fingers to estimate their length. “So feeding isn’t a short process – you’ll be there for a bit. He’ll numb the area first, check it to make sure you can’t feel anything and then bite down – this is where he’ll use the Compulsion.”

She paused, considering something for a second, then leaned forward. Her voice dropped a bit and was a combination of serious and earnestness as she spoke. “Keep in mind – and I’m saying this from an emotional and personal standpoint to prepare you, so listen and remember well,” she said quietly, voice firm.

Eren leaned forwards, sensing that what she was going say was critically important. “It’s going to be weird at first, because Levi acts very differently during a feeding and you’re definitely not going to be used to seeing him like that. He’s not going to seem like your captain, but it’s not something he can help. It’s going to feel very intimate – almost sensual, but not sexual. He’s going to be as professional as he can about it, but his kind have some pretty powerful instincts. Not even someone like Levi can shut them all down. It’d be very easy to take advantage during or after, so let this serve as a warning.”

Eren felt like he was reeling in shock at her words and then the last sentence and the implication of what she’d said sunk in. Almost indignantly, he started, “Wait, I’m not going to-”

Hanji cut him off, though. “Eren, it was really surprising for me at first,” she said, intense in that rare way she became when she was deathly serious about something extremely important. “The first time I was his donor, it shocked the hell out of me because I’ve never seen him like that before. It’s not going to be like anything you expect and I don’t want you – or him - to get hurt. Levi is very vulnerable while feeding and after, both physically and mentally. He’s in the thrall of his instincts during it and then gets slow and sluggish for awhile right after. Levi was very insistent when he told me that the most important part of being a donor is not only trusting him not to hurt you, but also providing him with a feeling of safety while he feeds.”

Gone was her carefree, almost breezy attitude. The woman before him now was gazing at him with a deadly solemnity in her mahogany eye, lips pressed together in a straight line. Hanji was protective, Eren realized. He knew she cared about Levi very deeply, but he was just now witnessing how deeply the bond of their friendship went.

“Can you be trusted to be a donor, Eren?” she said softly, so much so that Eren, even with his newly enhanced hearing, had to strain forwards a bit to catch it. “The things he could do to you pale in comparison to what I will do to you if he comes out of this less than okay.”

“I honestly don’t really know what you mean, but I promise I won’t let him get hurt – or hurt me,” Eren promised, his voice just as soft. He stared down at his hands for a few moments, eyes tracing over the lines in his palms idly as the weight of Hanji’s words settled over him. “You’ve given me a lot to think about,” Eren admitted quietly, then looked up to meet Hanji’s intense, one-eyed gaze levelly. He didn’t look away or flinch underneath the heavy stare. “I won’t forget what you’ve said, I promise.”

“Good.” Hanji relaxed back, then gave a quick glance at the clock and jumped up. Eren felt like a tangible weight was lifted from the room as her intensity melted away and she was once more her breezy, jovial self. “Oh shoot, I have a class to go teach soon! The new trainees are learning about the scouting formation today, so I gotta run and grab my maps from Erw – my office.” She looked back to Eren. “Hate to kick you out, kiddo, but you should probably go grab some rest anyway.”

“Okay,” Eren nodded amiably, though he was secretly relieved. Honestly, he really did have a lot to think about and some peace and quiet would be nice. He stood and thoughtlessly brushed off the back of his pants, surprised when little crumbs of questionably old food fell off. How did crumbs get on there when he hadn’t eaten any – oh, it was Hanji’s couch, Eren had forgotten the thing was filthy.

“Wait, before you go,” Hanji said, picking up the almost-forgotten book off the desk. She pawed around at the desk, stuffed a few more papers between the weathered pages and then reached over to offer it to him. “Take this.”

Eren dutifully took the book, flipping it open carefully so nothing fell out. He raised his eyebrows when he realized it wasn’t just a book, but a journal filled with handwritten notes.

“You were looking for this earlier,” Eren recalled. “What is it?” he asked. It was filled with sketches and two sets of handwriting – one was, of course, Hanji’s scrawling, surprisingly easy-to-read print, but what Eren found mildly surprising was that the other was in Levi’s neat, elegant cursive.

“Well, the journal is all the notes I’ve taken about Levi’s own unique physiology and traits over the years. Levi’s writing is the stuff he’s remembered about vampires in general that I had him jot down for me,” Hanji grinned, giving him a wink. Eren felt a small smile cross his face – this journal held the answers to the questions that he would never be able to ask Levi for fear of reprimand or embarrassment. The Commander’s smile told him she knew exactly what she was doing. “The loose papers are from my research on moonkin – some of it is information that Levi told me and the rest is what I’ve read about over the years. It should help you understand the new changes to your body and what to expect. It’s very precious information, so be careful with it, mmkay?”

“I will,” Eren reassured her. He’d treat this journal like it was his own child. “Thanks, Hanji.” He tucked the journal securely underneath his arm and slipped out the door, intent on heading back to his room. He planned to spend the day off reading through and digesting the information in the little book. He and Hanji had discussed only Levi and vampires; while it was interesting, they hadn’t gotten around to talking about werew- moonkin, Eren corrected himself, and he wanted to be prepared for what to expect from his body now.

Hanji smiled – Levi’s vampire physiology was definitely very interesting and she hoped Eren would find it as fascinating as she did. While she had enjoyed being his donor, only a part of it was because of the way it had made her feel physically. The rush she got out of it was more due to the uniqueness of the experience, of all the new information she had and what new things she could get out of him.

The sun was getting higher in the sky and Hanji got up to open the window and snuff out a few candles, unneeded now that it was much brighter. As she did so, she glanced out the window. There was a cool breeze that caused a small chill to run over her body and she wondered if she should actually keep the window closed to save warmth. After a moment, Hanji shrugged – she could deal with a bit of cold. It was refreshing anyway, and it was plenty warm in the room.

As she went around to put out the candles, Hanji caught sight of the calendar pinned to the wall in her peripheral vision and suddenly remembered the moon cycle and what today was.

The full moon usually lasted 3 nights and yesterday, (when Eren was bitten) had been the second. Tonight was the last. She was no expert on moonkin, but she knew enough to know what Eren was in store for tonight. Briefly, Hanji wondered if she should warn Levi but then tossed the thought aside. Levi was strong and a big boy. He could take care of himself. Besides, he was a supernatural creature himself – he probably knew what to do and how to prevent an in-season Eren from getting too out of hand.

Chuckling to herself, she shook her head. Levi was the strongest person she knew – he’d have no difficulties. Hanji patted her hands on her knees and when she turned back to the desk, the chalkboard caught her eye. She should probably erase it before Levi saw it. Commander or not, best friend in the world or not, Levi would cheerfully strangle her with a smile on his face if he came in and saw that.

Her artistic ability had never been the best, (dear, deceased Moblit had been the one that had been able to draw with any degree of ability) but her little stick figures were obviously Levi. Eren was a bit questionable, but the bun translated well enough. It had been fun to watch Eren's expression while she had drawn and explained some of Levi’s innate… talents, but she had made him the other stick figure more to poke fun than anything else.

Although, now that she looked back... Eren's expression had been interesting. And it had been even more so when he admitted that Levi was attractive. She stopped as a realization dawned and then a large smile spread across her face. Eren had a crush on Levi. How adorable.

Hanji was suddenly glad that Eren had taken her warning seriously, though when she had given it, she was more worried about Eren saying or doing something to offend Levi more than anything else. But even now, she wasn’t worried. Eren was a good person, someone who was always polite and respectful of others. Besides, Levi could easily kick his ass Eren did anything to piss him off.

A knock came at the door and Hanji paused right before she was about to wipe off the chalkboard. Levi didn’t really ever knock, he usually just barged in. It was probably safe. Eh, she was a risk-taker anyway. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

“Come on in!” she yelled in the direction of the entrance.

She heard heavy footsteps – definitely not Levi, then, the little captain was absolutely silent when he moved. He’d appeared suddenly at her shoulder more times than she could count, given her more near-heart attacks than she could remember. Hanji had thought about sneakily tying a bell to him more than once, but Levi’s bitching sessions were infamous in the Corps. She really didn’t want to be on the receiving end of one again.

“Hey Commander, Captain Levi sent us to come get you; we found the rogue moonkin if you wanna-”

Eld rounded the corner and stopped in his tracks. Oluo ran in to his back with a soft bmf sound and backed up. “Hey, what are you-” the gray-haired man looked up at Eld, who had an expression of mild shock and heavy disbelief on his face. Oluo followed Eld’s eyes over to where they were locked on the chalkboard, taking in each of the pictures one at a time.

Oluo felt his face twist to mirror Eld’s expression.

“Hanji, what the hell?” Eld asked incredulously, eyebrows inching up his forehead. At first glance, the little bun on one of the stick figures looked like him and there was that depiction that had blood rising to his cheeks hotly, but upon looking closer – no, the bun looked more like Eren's.

He realized that Eren must have come to see Hanji, but what in the ever-loving hell had they discussed?

“Ah, hey guys,” Hanji chuckled, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. Eld and Oluo were staring at her like she’d grown a second head. “Uh, you won’t tell Levi about this, right?”

Well, he hadn’t planned to, but now that he thought about it… Oluo and Eld shared a look, then the blonde turned back to Hanji and his eyes narrowed. “Get the squad steak for dinner for the next three days from that butcher down in Mitras, the one that makes those cured hams we have here at Christmas, and our lips are sealed.”

Hanji crossed her arms and nearly pouted. “Even as Commander, that’s gonna be a stretch. No deal – Levi would never believe you anyway,” she scoffed, turning back to the board. Using a little cloth eraser, she quickly wiped it off before Levi actually did appear.

But the board was old and the chalk Hanji had wasn’t the highest of quality. She stepped back, regarding it with a critical eye. Then, she glared over at the chalk, lips pressed into a thin line. She made a mental note to make room in the budget for higher-quality stuff next time they sent out a supply request.

Because she could see the leftover imprint from her drawings, still as clear as day. If she could still make out what had been drawn, Levi’s stupidly keen eyes would definitely be able to.

Well, fuck.

Eld spoke up. “Captain Levi knows how to clean chalkboards really well; if you want I can go get him-” he pointed over his shoulder and started to turn, but Hanji stopped him with a heavy breath blown out from between her lips.

“God damn, you’re relentless. Alright, fine. Three days of steak for Levi Squad in exchange for your silence and helping me clean this damn thing off,” she shot a withering glare at the chalkboard, “so that he won’t be able to see.”

Eld smirked and Oluo folded his arms victoriously.

--

Later that night, Eren found himself walking up to the door to Levi’s office dressed in just a pair of loose pants and a simple, button-down cotton shirt. He’d showered and washed his hair, letting it dry with the breeze coming in through the window before scraping it up into a loose, messy bun and then dressed in freshly-laundered clothes. Eren had made sure to scrub every inch of his body clean using one of the nicer soaps that Mikasa had given him for his birthday last year. It had notes of lemon and sandalwood in it, a smell that even Eren, with his now-heightened sense of smell found appealing.

Over the course of the day, he’d noticed that all of his senses were growing steadily sharper and at one point, all of it had threatened to give him a migraine. Everything sounded louder now and he could smell so much more. The combined scents of the soldiers, the food, and the outside smells had threatened to make him sick to his stomach.

He'd wondered briefly if this was how Mike had felt all the time.

Strangely enough, when he’d passed by Levi’s office earlier, the sickness had abated – all Eren could smell coming from the room was the soft, gentle scent of lavender and soap. It had calmed him somehow, soothing his overworked nose. Eren had taken the opportunity to retreat to his rooms and plan out his talk for tonight in between poring over the journal Hanji had given him. He’d read each page multiple times, committing some of the notes he’d thought were important to memory.

Eren felt reasonably prepared for what was in store for him. The notes in the journal had been very detailed; between Hanji’s own explanations and the writings, he’d come to understand what Levi had meant by, “You wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

Eren also felt a bit not-ready for this, because once he had gotten back to his room after Hanji’s talk, he had immediately flipped to page 32 of the journal she had given him. There were some notes on a vampire’s strength and speed written there and then he had seen a note in Hanji’s writing at the bottom. The script had been small and some of the words had been smeared like the journal had been shut hurriedly before the ink had dried. He’d had to squint to make it out but once he’d read it, the words had been seared into his memory.

1 Aug 845 - Vampires (including subject L. Ack.) have evolved their hunting styles, [ink smeared illegibly followed by] bodies are very, very physically sensitive – tested theory with subject L. Ack. [more smears, then] punched in the face but subject blushed.

Update Note: 10 Aug 845 - explored reaction further today by [another very long smear, and then] get him drunk via ingesting alcoholic blood [an even longer smear here and then the writing became almost frantic] going to murder me but worth it – THEORY CONFIRMED. - H. Zoe

Eren had given the journal an odd look and then realization had dawned. He’d slammed the journal shut, cheeks going pink at the thought.

Because Eren remembered something from months ago, something odd Levi had done that he’d filed away. It had been when they were cleaning out the basement and Levi had knocked some dust off a shelf. Eren had reached out reflexively to brush some of it off of Levi’s shoulder, (something he’d do for anyone but forgot that this was the captain and the man hated being touched) and missed, grazing the backs of his fingers against Levi’s ear and neck by accident. Levi had frozen and made an odd, choked sound right before he jerked away.

Eren had stuttered out an apology, because everyone knew that placing any sort of hands on Captain Levi (outside training or sparring) would get them just about bitten off and the shifter had been sure he was going to die. However, all he’d gotten was the captain waving him off almost desperately with a bit-out, “Watch your fucking hands, Jaeger.”

Looking back now, he remembered the slight tinge of pink along the captain’s high cheekbones and cute little nose. At the time, Eren had thought it was just annoyance, but it was actually…

Oh, fuck.

Eren somehow refrained from muttering anything out loud as he broke himself out of the memory. It was mostly because he remembered how Levi had heard Petra earlier; he knew that Levi was aware he was out there and would hear if anything was said. Instead, Eren settled for taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. It helped to calm him down marginally and he steadied himself. I can do this.

Eren knocked on the door to Levi’s office – not that it was really needed, though. Out of respect, however, he used the gesture to let Levi know he was there; Eren didn’t want to just barge in or hover outside until Levi became irritated at his presence.

Levi’s low voice called out, “Come in, Jaeger.”

Eren took a deep breath, pushed open the door and stepped in, closing it firmly behind him.

The captain was sitting at his desk. Papers were stacked on the surface in neat piles and a white china teacup was placed carefully on the corner, out of danger of being elbowed off. Levi’s light gray eyes looked tired, shadowed by the beginnings of dark circles. His skin was a more unnatural, sicklier shade of white than it had been that morning; most likely a result of not having fed for two days at that point. As a vampire, he lacked that slightly pink undertone that humans possessed naturally unless he fed regularly, Eren recalled from Hanji’s journal.

Eren still found him beautiful.

Eren had always liked Levi’s steely eyes, but found that he also really liked the way they had shimmered like pools of liquid mercury earlier. Maybe some would have found it unnatural, eerie even, but Eren quite liked the sharp, almost feline shape of Levi’s eyes and when they lit up with that unearthly silver sheen, they had a certain fey-like appeal.

Due to the taint now running through his blood, Eren knew that Levi’s Compulsion could be resisted and it put him more at ease. That, and he knew Levi would never use it on him for untoward reasons or force him to do anything. The thought calmed him, bolstered his courage.

Taking a page from Levi’s book, so to speak, Eren decided to be blunt and get right to the point. His feet carried him forward and he walked up to stand before the desk, folding his arms. “Hanji told me about what happens when you feed from your donors, sir.”

Levi’s eyes narrowed and he became unnaturally still but remained silent. Maybe that was a bit too blunt, because Levi’s nose flared a bit and the fingers holding onto the quill seemed to tense a bit. Was he annoyed? Was Eren going about this wrong?

Eren took a deep breath, making a split-second decision. Sometimes, you just had to lay everything on the table and hope for the best. “I know what happens and I’m a… a moonkin, now,” Eren said firmly, putting a measure of confidence in his voice. Levi’s demeanor changed at the determination in the shifter’s voice and he leaned back, appearing to be a bit more at ease.

Of course, it made sense to him now; Levi wouldn’t do this if Eren didn’t seem absolutely sure he wanted to do this. He’d withheld from feeding that morning because Eren appeared uncomfortable with it. Any unsurety, any hesitation and Levi would send him away without a second glance.

Eren squared his shoulders, feeling a bit emboldened now that he knew how to approach this. The captain tilted his head, gaze raking over the shifter’s body, noting the change in stance. Eren thought he saw a flash of approval in his eyes and the shifter gave a small smile, a bit of mischief bleeding into his eyes as he boldly added, “I’m 22 now, sir. I’m not as innocent as you seem to think I am.”

Levi’s thin eyes widened a bit at the unexpected words and he glanced away. “As if I could’ve forgotten about that,” he muttered softly, so much so that even Eren’s enhanced hearing had to strain a bit to hear him. He still wasn’t sure if he’d heard correctly, either. Then more loudly, he asked, “Why are you so insistent upon doing this? I could hurt you.”

Even before Levi finished talking, Eren was shaking his head. He needed to nip that thought in the bud right away, make Levi understand he wasn’t scared in the least.

Nervous? Yes.

Excited? In a way, though he would never admit that out loud.

But apprehensive, scared? Not damn bit.  

“You haven’t hurt anyone on our squad and I know you never will. Besides, I’m not human anymore. Between my Titan abilities and moonkin blood, I can resist the Compulsion.” Eren took a deep breath then forged ahead, voicing the thoughts he’d had earlier and rehearsed while alone in his room. His voice was strong and full of resolve as he stated, “I respect you, Captain. You’ve helped so many others, myself included, more than I can ever express. So if I can do this one simple thing for you… then I want to do it.”

Levi’s thin eyes widened at Eren’s raw honesty and sincerity. Then, softly, he murmured, “Not bad, Jaeger.”

His eyes flicked over Eren’s face as if searching for any inkling of deception. Eren kept his face as open and genuine as he could, hoping that Levi would be able to read the honesty in his expression. Upon finding no deceit, his lids drooped, becoming heavy-lidded as he thought.  It gave his eyes an unintentionally sultry look and Eren shifted a bit as Levi regarded him thoughtfully; the back of his neck prickled and heated under that intense gaze.

He could practically hear the gears in that dark-haired head turning but Eren didn’t want him to think. Levi could come up with far too many reasons to turn Eren down in the next few minutes and he didn’t want them to go back and forth all night over this.

Eren just wanted Levi to take what he needed; what the shifter could provide.

With as much earnestness as he could inject into his voice, Eren firmly said, “Captain, I’m offering this to you freely. Please.”

Eren could almost visibly see the last remaining vestiges of Levi’s iron will crumbling as the vampire swallowed, throat bobbing. There was a small light in his eyes now and his thin eyebrows quivered. After a second, Levi’s eyes dropped slightly to his neck and a pink tongue darted out to wet dry lips.

Levi looked thirsty now, as if he were a parched man that desired a cup of water, one Eren was holding. He had to suppress a smile; Levi was going to say yes. He could feel it, sense it in the air with the way the energy in the room shifted. Finally, Levi’s lips parted and Eren leaned forwards to hear what he was going to say.

“If you’re going to be my donor,” Levi murmured, deep voice smooth and quiet, “then I think we can drop the titles, Eren.”

This time, Eren was unable to stop the bright smile that overtook his face. Levi had said yes. Eren still wasn’t sure what had made Levi give in; maybe it was just because he was thirsty, maybe it was because he knew the shifter would just keep pressing the issue, but a little part of him chose to believe that it was because Levi wanted to have Eren as a donor.

Levi stood in one fluid motion, carefully setting his quill aside into the inkwell and reached up with long, slim fingers to tug at his cravat, loosening the knot there. It came loose after a few tugs and Levi swiftly undid it, slipping it off his neck. With his other hand, he reached up to flick open the first few buttons of his shirt, exposing the hollow of his throat and a hint of defined collarbones.

Eren was no vampire, but he still found his eyes lingering on the elegant expanse of Levi’s neck. The skin there was a creamy white and blemish-free. Eren had a sudden, wild desire to sink his teeth into it, leave his marks in it so everyone would know-

The urge made his smile falter a bit and Eren stopped his mind in its tracks before it could finish the thought.

What the hell were these strange thoughts? He’d kept getting them throughout the day and they were starting to both frustrate and disturb him in equal turns.

Desperate to distract himself from whatever addled thoughts his brain had decided to start thinking up, Eren asked, “How do you normally do this?” Even to himself, his voice sounded a bit husky and he cursed himself a bit. He sounded almost eager and that would definitely give Levi the wrong impression.

Levi must not have heard the breathy quality to it or was ignoring it. Instead, he carefully folded the white fabric of his cravat into a neat square and placed it onto his desk. He paused to straighten up and give Eren an assessing once-over.

“Usually, I can just stand behind them. It gives me a better angle and more control. It’s also less messy,” he said thoughtfully, and the idea of Levi pressed up against him from behind sent a small shiver through his body. Levi stepped closer, gauging their height difference with a quick flick of his eyes from himself up to Eren's neck.

The top of Levi’s head barely reached the top of Eren's shoulders.

“That obviously isn’t going to work with you,” Levi said, voice dry. Eren had to fight back the small twitch his lips gave at the thought of Levi on the tips of his feet, trying in vain to bite at his neck. “You’re too tall, you goddamn tree,” the vampire grumbled, but Eren saw the smallest flicker of something pass across Levi’s face.

It was almost like Levi liked the thought.

Levi jerked his head towards the couch. “We’ll have to do this sitting down, then. Go sit over there and make yourself comfortable,” Levi ordered and though there was no Compulsion in his voice, it was still the voice of his superior officer and Eren hurried to obey. “Unbutton your shirt and fold the collar down as much as you can,” Levi told him as he slipped off his own jacket, placing it neatly over the back of his chair. “I’m not a messy eater by any means, but it will prevent any stains and we both know how much of a bitch those are to get out.”

I’m not a messy eater.

For some reason, the words did weird things to Eren’s brain and body; he had to suppress the sharp inhale of breath at the implications behind it.

Eren had to restrain the eagerness he was feeling as he walked over to the couch, hearing a click behind him as Levi locked the door to ensure they wouldn’t be disturbed. He couldn’t even tangibly explain why he was so eager to do this. Eren thought that maybe, it was partially due to Hanji reassuring him it wouldn’t hurt but would actually feel nice. More likely, his rising excitement was due to the fact that this was Levi and it was the closest he’d ever been to the captain. When he’d first seen and later met Levi, the man had seemed unapproachable, unrufflable. Over the last few years, though, he’d gotten to know the man more. It had been a relief to know that for all his legendary abilities and combat prowess, he was still just a man – granted a crass, somewhat rude one with an obsession for cleanliness and tea that bordered on unhealthy – but just a man, all the same.

But Eren was always held at a distance and there had always seemed to be something unreal about the captain, something that made him untouchable. If anything, learning about Levi’s true nature and having Hanji tell him all these things… it made Levi seem all the more real, all the more human, even if he was anything but.

Eren pushed the coffee table in front of the sofa away just a bit to give them more room. He didn’t know if they’d need it, didn’t know how Levi was going to go about this, but he’d rather take that precaution. Eren settled onto the couch, keeping his legs uncrossed and shifting until he was slouched down enough and was sure he’d be comfortable enough sitting this way for a good amount of time. Undoing the top few buttons of his shirt, the shifter tugged at the collar of it until his neck and a bit of the skin around his shoulders was bared.

Preparations done, Eren leaned back and then Levi was there, standing in front of him. He’d rolled the sleeves of his shirt up, baring strong-looking forearms and discarded the top part of his harness, but left the belts around his legs. Levi had taken his boots off as well; they and the harness were placed neatly on the floor next to his desk.

Seeing Levi dressed down like this was one thing, but then Eren saw that Levi had his cleaning scarves on – one tied around the top of his head and the other secured loosely around his throat, covering his throat and front bit of his shirt.

At Eren's curious look, Levi gave a mild, one-shouldered shrug. “They keep my hair out of my way and prevent any blood from dripping onto my shirt if it does end up getting a bit messy,” Levi explained, tugging at the scarf around his neck a bit. “I like to be prepared.”

Despite himself, Eren found he couldn’t look away. Even before he’d started finding Levi physically appealing, he’d always thought Levi looked practically adorable in his cleaning getup. There was something just so appealing about the way the scarf around his head made Levi’s hair fall into his eyes – not really holding it back, like it was supposed to.

Levi shifted a bit and Eren's eyes dropped down and he noticed something; Levi had such small, almost delicate feet. Despite everything, it was an observation that made a strange feeling well up in his chest, because Eren had never thought about things like Levi’s feet before, but who would have thought that the strongest person in all that was left of humanity had such small ones?

Even though it was autumn and the windows were open, letting a crisp, cool breeze filter into the room, Eren felt so warm. It was like his skin was heating up, a fire lit on the inside and he hoped that he wouldn’t start sweating – he didn’t think biting into salty, clammy skin would be high on the captain’s list of things he liked.

“Which side would you like it on?” Levi’s voice was gentle, but the sound of it still caused Eren to shudder. He’d always liked the sound of Levi’s voice but the soft, almost caring tone he used now was one Eren had never heard. It caused his mind to blank for a second before he remembered the question.

“Um… the left?” Eren suggested, picking the first direction that popped into his mind.

Levi gave a short nod. “Good. That way you’ll have your dominant hand free in case I do anything you don’t want.”

This again? Eren wasn’t pleased that Levi still thought that he could hurt him. If anything, Eren was much better equipped than his squadmates to take a vampire’s bite, being both moonkin and a Titan shifter, but Levi never seemed to hesitate with them.

“You won’t.” Levi gave him a quick, shocked glance and Eren smiled, shaking his head. “Cap- Levi, I trust you. Like I said, you haven’t hurt anyone else when you’ve fed from them. I offered this to you and I want to help.”

Levi seemed almost taken aback at Eren’s fervent words. His lips twitched. “You trust me that much?”

“I do. You’ve saved my life on multiple occasions and you’ve always, always given me a choice when it mattered most. I respect and trust you not only as my captain, but as a person.” Eren made sure to stress the last part, trying to communicate that it was Levi himself he was placing his trust in – not because he was the captain and Eren’s superior.

Levi stared at him. When what Eren was saying really hit him, his eyes widened just the smallest amount and his thin eyebrows rose. It wasn’t much different than his usual bored expression, but it was the most honest expression he had ever seen on Levi’s face. There was something else in the pale grey eyes; Eren could have sworn it was something akin to – relief? Happiness?

Eren wasn’t sure, but it was something and he was pleased to have put that look there.

Levi glanced away. “You never cease to surprise me, Eren.”

That made Eren give a beaming smile and Levi rolled his eyes. “Sit back and get comfortable,” Levi said, gesturing at the couch and Eren shifted once more, getting back to the relaxed position he had been in before and looking straight forwards. When Levi asked, “I’m assuming Hanji told you a bit about this works?” Eren gave a single nod and Levi looked almost relieved. “Good, then you’re aware that this isn’t going to be a fast process.”

He stepped around the table and over to Eren’s left. The cushions dipped a bit as Levi joined him on the couch, shifting underneath his weight. Levi took a small breath and then his quiet voice came, closer to Eren's ear than he had expected. “Eren, look at me.”

This time there was no Compulsion, but Eren still willingly turned his head. Levi was sitting close to him and his breath caught when he looked at Levi; his glowing eyes had melted into that bright, liquid silver again and his fangs were down. They rested on his bottom lip, poking down from his mouth and it would have almost looked cute except for the fact this close, Eren could see exactly how sharp they were. The captain was staring steadily at Eren, obviously waiting for him to scream, to edge away, to do something. The shifter only stared straight back levelly, giving no sign that he was scared or disturbed. A flash of approval sparked within the silver depths.

Eren's heartbeat starting to pick up; not from nervousness, but because the sight of Levi like that was making desire curl hot and heavy in his chest. Levi looked otherworldly, like some fey creature come to life. “Pretty weird, right?” A small, almost-smile made the corner of Levi’s lips curl. It exposed his fangs a bit more and Eren’s breath caught, but even before Levi finished talking, he was shaking his head.

“Not weird,” Eren said swiftly, almost too fast, but god, it was the opposite of weird. “Just different, but not in a bad way. You still look like Captain Levi, just with a few… adjustments.”

Levi blinked, then Eren heard – wait, was Levi laughing? It wasn’t an outright laugh and it was so quiet Eren almost missed it, but the breathy little “heh” sounds were unmistakable as Levi shook his head.

“Alright then, if you’re sure.” There was a thread of amusement lacing his tone before it disappeared and then his voice was all seriousness again. “Look forwards and tilt your head to the right.”

Oh fuck, it was time. Eren took a deep, grounding breath and did as Levi bid, eyes closing as he did so. If he was going to do this, he wanted to be able to focus and pinpoint exactly what the vampire was doing, so he blocked out his vision and allowed his other senses to heighten. He heard Levi shifting next to him and the cushions of the couch dipped as he moved. Then, he felt the brush of fabric over his left arm, and – was that Levi’s nose skimming over his neck?

A low hum came from the vampire and then in a very pleased but mildly surprised voice, Levi remarked, “You’ve washed.”

Eren had to suppress the urge to roll his eyes – but then, remembering his new, heightened senses he stopped. He remembered the whiff he had gotten of the group of trainees earlier today, all of them sweaty and dirty from training and how it had made his nose wrinkle. Suddenly, Levi’s fastidiousness when it came to cleaning made sense and Eren was relieved that he had thought to wash before coming here. “I thought you’d appreciate me being clean, you know, if you’re going to be this close to me,” Eren muttered.

“I do.” Levi’s voice was deep and throaty, sounding distinctly satisfied. “You have no idea how disgusting dirty skin smells when it’s up against your nose.”

“Actually, I do,” Eren mumbled, alluding to his newly enhanced senses. The vampire just hummed again in response. Then, he heard the tiniest, faintest sniff. Eren froze.

Had Levi just… sniffed him?

The thought was extremely appealing to the instincts of his moonkin. Eren felt the ridiculous urge to nuzzle his head into the crook of Levi’s neck and shoulder and scent him in return.

Wait, scent him?

God, being moonkin was going to take some serious getting used to. He knew that he now shared his mind with a wolf’s instincts, knew that some of his urges weren’t his own anymore, but it was still so damn weird.

“Your soap smells nice,” Levi commented and Eren's inner moonkin absolutely preened at the praise because coming from Levi, that was a high compliment.

The vampire’s voice was starting to sound dazed, like he wasn’t truly paying attention and Eren wondered if this what Hanji had meant about not being able to control his instincts. If so, it certainly wasn’t a bad thing; she had made it sound much more dire.

“Mikasa gave it to me,” Eren replied, then heard Levi gave another little sniff. “It’s from that higher-end general store in Stohess, on the corner of 28^th and 6^th.”

“Mmmm,” Levi hummed and Eren shifted had to shift a bit at that, because that sound was almost sexual and it made Eren the opposite of uncomfortable.

Although, if Levi was going to take his time smelling him, then it was only fair play that he get to return the favor. Eren inhaled deeply. This was the closest he’d gotten to Levi since he had been bitten and turned; his senses were keener than they had ever been. This close, he could feel the subtle warmth of Levi’s body like a brand upon his skin, could hear the soft rustling of fabric and clothes moving as the captain shifted even closer.

And smell him, god. Eren could smell Levi, his unique scent, and it was the most alluring thing Eren had ever smelled. Levi smelled of the lavender soap he used to wash, of the peppermint tea he always drank, the homey scent of their leather harnesses, and underneath all that was the sharp tang of metal, of unyielding steel. His mouth threatened to water. Levi was in every one of his senses and Eren felt drunk off of it. He could feel his breath coming faster and he knew Levi had mistaken it for nervousness because he whispered, “Relax,” right into Eren’s ear.

He bit back a groan. Levi’s voice was deep and smooth, running over his senses like fine silk.

Fuck, no wonder his squadmates liked being donors. Being close to Levi when he was like this was intoxicating, even though he knew it was intentional, a vampire’s allure to draw in prey. Even if there was no sexual attraction between the captain and his squadmates, he knew that they had to feel something similar to what Eren experiencing right now. There was something addicting, utterly sensual about seeing someone like Levi Ackerman like this. He had an idle, wondering thought as to how the others responded when Levi fed from them, but considering how casual and calm Levi was being about this, Eren knew that his reaction wasn’t atypical.

A soft touch came at the side of his neck and this time Eren did shiver. The skin of Levi’s hand was pleasantly warm and smooth as he reached out to brush stray strands of hair that had fallen out of his bun away from Eren’s neck, baring his pulse.

“You still alright?” Levi checked and despite himself, Eren couldn’t help but give a small, slightly incredulous laugh at the situation.

Just yesterday morning, he’d had no idea vampires or werewolves or other supernatural creatures existed, and now he was one and was about to let his captain use him as dinner. It was a mildly entertaining thought and he said as much. “Sorry,” Eren excused. “Just… a lot has changed over the past day.”

He heard Levi give a small huff through his nose that let Eren know he found this amusing, too. “Yeah, it is a bit strange,” Levi agreed and there was a mild note of amusement in his voice.

Levi was still patiently waiting for a reply from him, though, so Eren let the last of his chuckling die down and then gave a short nod. “I told you, you can take what you need. Go ahead,” Eren encouraged.

He heard Levi inhale sharply, then lean forwards. “This might feel a bit weird,” Levi warned, “but it’s necessary.”

Eren had a question on the tip of his tongue, but then it died because he suddenly felt a tentative, soft, wet touch on his neck.

Oh, fuck. Levi was licking him.

This was surreal. But so, so good.

Eren inhaled deeply and Levi must have taken that as a positive sign, because the tentative licks turned into long, wide swipes of his tongue. It laved over his neck and Eren had really underestimated how sensitive his neck was, because it felt absolutely amazing. He knew it was for the anesthetic properties, to prevent the bite from hurting, but Eren couldn’t help but bite his lip to stop the groan building in his chest from escaping.

He felt the muscles of his neck relax under the attention and with each long, slow swipe, Eren felt his pulse speed up. He felt the touch less with each lick, no doubt the anesthetic properties of the saliva working. He knew this was routine, was necessary as Levi had said, but it didn’t stop him from imagining that tongue going over other places in a more… erotic manner. Eren could just picture it sliding down, flicking across a nipple, trailing over his stomach, down over his hips and then lower to -

“Can you feel this?”

Eren was jolted away from his imaginings and back to the present when Levi suddenly spoke. He realized that the soft tongue was gone and in its place Eren felt –

Nothing.

His confusion must have shown, because Levi – did he just laugh again? - Eren wondered in amazement. There was no mistaking the way Levi’s body shook just slightly, light puffs of air washing warmly over his skin as his captain made those adorable little “heh” noises.

Glancing over, he saw Levi’s arm raised and if he concentrated, he could feel a light pressure against his neck. He guessed that Levi was pressing a nail against his skin as a test, but Eren felt no pain. Eren cleared his throat. “I feel a bit of pressure, but nothing else,” he confirmed.

“Good. That’s what we want.”

He felt Levi shift a bit and glanced over once more, this time actually turning his head. Levi was kneeling on the couch, knees tucked up under him, palms pressed on his thighs. He was regarding Eren with a critical, evaluating look. Eren knew that this was his last chance to back out with no repercussions. If he backed out now, he could definitely convince Levi to try again at a later date, say it had all been too new and that he needed a bit more time. Levi would accept it gracefully.

If he changed his mind in the middle of it, he knew the vampire would stop immediately without hesitation, but there would be no returning. Levi only took willing donors and he would think that he’d pressured Eren into this and refuse to try again.

“Last chance, Eren. Do you still want to do this?” His voice was soft, understanding. That tongue flicked out to wet his lips again and in the dimly lit room, Levi’s eyes were glowing brightly. The pupils were fully dilated in hunger, but the thin rings of silver outlining them were still illuminated. Levi’s fangs were down, resting against a plump, pale bottom lip and shadows from the fire in the hearth flickered over his pale, delicate features.

Eren’s hands twitched. Hanji had said that born vampires were always attractive, always lovely because it helped to ensnare their human prey, but Eren didn’t care if it was for the sake of luring them in. He’d successfully been drawn in and ensnared, caught happily in the trap that Levi had created. Even if Levi drained him dry, Eren felt that he would go happily to his death at the hands of someone so enchanting.  

Finally, Eren spoke and his voice was gravelly. He hoped Levi thought it was because he was nervous and not because his body was thrumming with desire. “Yeah. Go on.”

A small twitch of Levi’s lips was the only warning he got before the vampire was shifting closer. Levi’s right arm reached behind him, resting on the back of the couch and the hand came up to tangle fingers gently in his hair. There was a light tug, encouraging Eren to tilt his head to the side more and bare his neck, which he did so without hesitation. The back of his head came to rest comfortably in the crook of Levi’s arm and now he could smell that lavender and peppermint so much more; he had to resist taking a deep breath of it.

The other arm crossed over his chest, hand cupping his chin and the side of his face to support it, fingers splaying over his cheek. Eren couldn’t help the mild flush that painted itself across his cheeks. He hoped Levi wouldn’t notice but knew that it was futile – Levi could probably feel the warmth from the blood in his skin.

There was a last little rustle as Levi adjusted once more. Eren was hyperaware of every little bit of Levi’s presence and imagined that even through his numb skin, he could feel the warm, dry lips brushing over his neck right where his racing pulse was the strongest. Eren could feel his heart beating faster – excitement, not fear, because even if this was non-sexual, it was still the most intensely sensual thing Eren had ever experienced. He felt Levi’s lips part, heard a deep, slow inhale as Levi took in his scent once more and then a slight, testing pressure as Levi’s fangs pressed against his skin. Involuntarily, the muscles of his neck tensed and he felt Levi pull back.

Eren’s breath hitched – had he messed up? Was Levi not going to do this because he was nervous?

“Breathe,” was whispered into the skin of his neck instead and Eren felt the pull of Compulsion as Levi said it, along with relief that the vampire hadn’t changed his mind. The call from the Compulsion thrummed against his mind and he felt it tugging at his lungs, compelling him to obey. It raised his hackles slightly, but then he thought briefly to what Hanji had said.

“Eren, you know Levi would never take advantage of Compulsion to make you do anything you didn’t want to.”

He trusted Levi. Levi wouldn’t force him to do anything, had checked over and over to make sure he was okay with this, was still waiting for Eren to relax so it wouldn’t hurt. He wanted Eren to relax and breathe so he wouldn’t get hurt, so that this would be a good experience for them both.

Levi wouldn’t hurt me. I trust him.

That thought fixed firmly in mind, he let go and allowed the Compulsion to take him. It felt like it had before – it washed over him in a wave, wrapping him in soothing warmth as he followed the vampire’s command and felt himself take a long, deep breath. Levi didn’t say anything more, but Eren felt the pull once more washing over him as Levi Compelled him to hold it for just a few seconds, then let it out.

The sharp pressure returned and on the exhale, Levi was sinking his fangs in with one smooth, quick movement.

It didn’t hurt.

It didn’t hurt at all.

In fact, it felt overwhelmingly good. He knew Levi was using his Compulsion to make it so, could feel the pull in his mind as the vampire used it to turn any pain he was feeling into –

It wasn’t sexual pleasure, but it still felt good, as if happy endorphins were being released from his neck and spreading throughout his body in smooth pulses. It was like getting a hug from his mother or being wrapped in a warm blanket on a cold night. Like reading the happy ending to a satisfying book or lifting off and flying with ODM gear.

And he still felt in control. Besides the Compulsion’s switch from pain to pleasure, Levi wasn’t using it to make him do anything. The captain had immediately relinquished the Compulsion’s hold on Eren’s movements as soon as his fangs had sunk through the skin. Eren's breaths were his own now and Levi was gently sucking at his neck in long, deep, rhythmic pulls. He could hear the captain’s throat bobbing in small swallows, could almost feel Levi’s tongue dart out occasionally to catch some blood before it could drip, felt the way his warm lips brushed whenever Levi shifted his head to get a better angle. A few stray, ink-black locks of hair not contained by the scarf brushed against his jaw and Eren found he liked the feel. Levi had such soft, silky hair, he marveled, wishing he could touch it somehow.

At some point, the fingers splayed on his cheek had started stroking his skin and the tight, instinctual grip on his hair had released just a bit now that he was sure Eren wasn’t going to run away. Levi was starting to relax as he gave into his instincts and fed, Eren could sense. A happy, doped-up smile spread across his face and he rolled his head away to the side more to give Levi better access. The smile only spread wider when Levi made a low, pleased noise deep in his throat and the fingers tangled in his hair began moving, petting at his scalp as if he were a puppy. The feeling had Eren practically melting into a puddle of pure happiness and he didn’t spare a thought as to how his bun was getting mussed.

Fuck, this felt good. He could see why his squad didn’t mind being donors. He’d do this every single day if he could, he thought, happiness thrumming through his veins. At that moment, if the vampire that was latched onto his neck asked to drain him dry, Eren knew he’d give Levi every drop of blood in his body and try to find a way to squeeze out more.

They’d find his body with a blissful smile on his face.

Sighing, Eren let his head drop to the side and Levi, ever attentive, let him rest the weight of his head in his palm, supporting it so Eren didn’t need to hold it up. The captain was rubbing a thumb softly over his cheek in soothing circles now and Eren could have purred at that moment. Levi’s fingers were soft and it was all he could do not to nuzzle into the touch.

Hanji hadn’t been lying when she said it was an intimate, sensual experience. Perhaps it was his animalistic moonkin instincts, or just the fact that he cared about Levi so much, but there was something deeply, primally satisfying about being able to provide something that Levi needed. The captain was always taking care of him and the squad, nurturing and guiding them during training, protecting them on missions and encouraging them to do their best.

He couldn’t believe Levi had been scared of hurting him. This was the gentlest he’d ever seen Levi. Even in the middle of slaking his thirst, he was still very careful, mindful of every one of Eren’s breaths, every movement carefully monitored. The dichotomy of the situation – Levi biting him in what would call a display of savagery and yet being so careful while doing so – didn’t escape Eren, and he had to resist the urge to shake his head at the thought in bemusement.

Levi shifted slightly next to him and Eren felt his lips press harder against the skin of his neck, latching on a bit more firmly. Eren’s eyelashes fluttered at the feel – some of the feeling in his neck was starting to come back, but he wasn’t worried because Levi wouldn’t let it hurt. He could feel Levi’s lips now, though, and they were smooth and soft. It was nice. Eren had the most intriguing stray thought – he wondered what people would think if they knew Humanity’s Strongest had the softest lips anyone would ever experience?

A low noise came from Levi, throaty and almost primal, and he dimly remembered an excerpt from Hanji’s journal, a personal note she had made to herself rather than a clinical observation.

17 Oct. 844 – Levi told me today that sometimes his instincts take over when he feeds – he stops thinking and gets a bit lost, like his body just acts. He won’t hurt the person being fed from.

Note to self for future feedings : make him feel like it’s okay. He’s vulnerable at this time. And ask about mentioned “vulnerabilities”

Levi’s grip in his hair tightened again, his fingers pressing more firmly into the skin of Eren’s cheek. Enough feeling had returned in his neck that he felt Levi’s sooty lashes fluttering over his skin. The captain’s lips started suckling on his neck with a bit more firmness now and Eren sighed. He still trusted Levi and it was still feeling good. He wanted Levi to take whatever he needed. Something deep within Eren, that awakening animalistic part, kind of wanted the captain to get lost in his baser instincts. 

There was another low, guttural sound that came from Levi and at the same time, his legs spread a bit and the vampire pressed closer. The soft fabric of Levi’s shirt slid over his arm, raising goosebumps. The cloth was cool against his overheated skin and he inhaled deeply, unable to help himself. Levi’s scent had changed – it still was the soothing, lovely scent it had been before, lavender and peppermint, but there was something more now. It smelled fantastic, like something sweet and rich and heady. Eren found himself wanting more of it.

Eren took another deep breath, trying to identify what the smell was and Levi inhaled sharply as well in response. The vampire shifted again, getting even closer. At the angle they were in, Levi’s stomach pressed against his arm and then –

Eren’s eyes flew open as he felt something hard and warm press against where his hand was resting on his thigh. He couldn’t risk moving his head and dislodging Levi’s fangs or the man himself – didn’t want him to stop drinking – but…

Fuck, Levi was hard. Neither Hanji nor her journal had mentioned anything about vampires enjoying this process in the same way that their donors did. And yet, the unmistakable evidence was right there. Suddenly, Eren’s skin felt hot all over again, a flush rising to his cheekbones. Levi was aroused by this – was that what the scent was?

He swallowed once, felt the way Levi tensed and a low rumble started in his chest at the movement – a warning to stay still? – that vibrated through Levi’s body. Eren licked his lips, still breathing in the mouthwatering scent that sent heat skittering across his skin and blazing through him - because fuck, Levi, beautiful, gorgeous Levi was at his neck and pressed firmly against him. The desire that had been burning lowly through him all night started to flare, turning into something tangible and real and he wanted.

Before he could even really think it through, Eren was slowly raising his left hand, careful not to move his body or head and alert Levi. Tentatively, he pressed the back of his hand against the hardness next to this thigh, just enough pressure to test it, get a feel for the heated, solid length there.

A small shudder rippled through Levi’s body and the vampire made a low, erotic noise in his throat. Levi pushed closer, hips giving a single, fluid roll against his hand and Eren’s eyes narrowed as his nostrils flared. Instinctively, he scented the air and he got a good whiff of Levi’s own unique scent, but under that, he could smell…

That rich, sweet scent was getting stronger, the smell that he now knew was arousal and desire and as it invaded his senses, everything seemed to suddenly tilt.  

There was a tingle at his fingertips, a hot, desperate feeling that spread throughout his body and pure need surged through him.

Fuck, he wanted Levi. He knew neither of them were in their right minds at the moment, but there was something itching under his skin, something primal and hungry that had been clawing to be let out ever since he had first entered the office and his skin had started heated up.

Less careful now, Eren moved his right hand across his body to curl around Levi’s thigh, digging his now- clawed fingers into the skin there. He tugged, pulling at the vampire’s leg. Another shudder rippled through Levi and a muffled moan escaped the mouth that was latched onto his neck. A displeased growl built in Eren’s chest because Levi wasn’t moving, was just staying still and he wanted more than that, wanted the vampire on top of him, under him – everywhere.

Rough and demanding this time, Eren jerked at Levi’s leg and this time, the vampire seemed to get the hint and clue in to what Eren intended him to do. Levi threw his leg over Eren as the shifter pulled, eagerly helping him so that the vampire moved to straddle his thighs in one single, graceful motion.   

A sort of croon built deep in Eren’s throat and he grabbed onto Levi’s hips, jerking the vampire flush against his body. He had to bite back a moan at the feeling, because Levi may have been short, but he was by no means weak and Eren could feel every ridge and dip of muscle of Levi’s defined, hard body.

Desire dried his mouth and Eren slid his hands from Levi’s narrow hips up, underneath his shirt and then he was finally smoothing his palms over all the soft, pale skin of Levi’s body. The vampire moaned lowly into his neck and gave a particularly hard suck that Eren gasped at. God, Eren would sacrifice anything, give his left leg or right eye, give everything he had to be able to touch Levi like this always. Would give his soul to be able to run his hands over the hard muscles, rub the small, perky nipples in the way that made Levi groan like it was the only thing the vampire wanted in this world.

His own length was hard, throbbing eagerly within his pants and Eren shifted so that Levi’s own erection was pressed against his own. A spike of pleasure lanced through him at the contact and Levi must have felt it too, because the smaller man practically melted against him. The vampire’s strong hands moved, his right tangling deeper into Eren’s hair, tugging at his messy bun and the other slid from his face to his shoulder, gripping it in his own clawed fingers. They sunk in deep, leaving little pinpricks of blood and Eren groaned, because Levi’s Compulsion was crossing his wires and it just felt so good.

He shifted underneath Levi, sitting up a bit straighter and then rolled his hips, pressing their clothed erections together. Levi was making lovely little breathy noises that were muffled against his neck and Eren could feel him drinking thirstily now in long, deep pulls that he could feel all the way down in his veins. The thought that Levi found his blood so delicious that he was losing it, that Eren was providing something Levi craved, sent spike of euphoria through his inner wolf; he moaned Levi’s name, went to roll his hips and call his name again because fuck, he was so turned on –

But then Levi was pulling his mouth away from his neck, dislodging his fangs with a groan that reverberated through his body as he took deep, gasping breaths. The vampire pushed away, drawing back and Eren stopped breathing, forgot how to at that moment.

Levi looked wild, ethereal, his wide eyes glowing like pretty silver torchlights. A delectable flush was painted across his cheekbones, pearly fangs dripping with blood and more smeared across his mouth.

Eren wanted, and yet he couldn’t move, mesmerized by the sight in front of him. Levi was breathing hard and his tongue, fuck, that tongue swiped over his fangs and plump, bloodstained lips, collecting the red liquid while smearing some more of it at the same time.

Eren wanted to lick it off, lave his tongue over that delectable mouth and devour him.

The thought had Eren’s fingers clenching, claws digging into Levi’s waist. The low, needy rumbling started up in his chest again and reverberated through their bodies and the office. The room was starting to take on a red, hazy tint and Eren’s thought processes gradually ground to a halt until his entire world narrowed down to the vampire straddling his lap, looking at him with those captivating silver eyes.

Levi blinked slowly and the glow of his eyes dimmed somewhat, but his chest didn’t stop heaving. It looked like he was coming back to himself and confusion started to cross his face, wrinkling his nose a bit as he panted.

“Eren,” he started, and his voice was low and raspy, raking over Eren’s senses like fine silk. “What are you-”

But he didn’t give Levi time to finish, because just the sound of his voice was enough to make the last threads of his control snap. The last vestiges of reason fled from his mind and raw instinct took over, tunneling his vision until all he could think, feel, and see was Levi, Levi, Levi.

In a lightning-flash movement too fast for Levi’s hazy mind, Eren raised a foot to kick over the short coffee table in front of him and then surged forward, tumbling them to the ground.

Chapter Text

Levi hit the floor on his back, staring up at Eren with shock in his eyes. The shifter was poised above him, one large hand pressing firmly on his chest to keep him down; the other had snatched ahold of his wrists and dragged them up above his head, claws raking across the stone. Eren’s eyes were bright in the dim light of the fireplace and few candles in his office. The normally clear, turquoise depths were tinged with feral yellow.

The moonkin’s lips were curled over his teeth and Levi saw that while he had been feeding, Eren’s body had changed. The shifter’s fingernails were now sharp, long claws, his canines elongated and sharper as well – though not as much as Levi’s own fangs, and his ears had lengthened and were pointed at the tips. The way he was looking at Levi, the way he moved – it was raw and animalistic, as if Eren had been cored down to nothing more than his base instincts.

Levi didn’t know much about supernatural creatures besides his own species, maybe even less about moonkin, but he knew and remembered enough. Now, he cursed himself for forgetting. It’d been a long time since Levi had met another moonkin and maybe he’d been hoping it was too early in Eren's turning for the full moon to have triggered this.

Freshly turned moonkin went into season, heat, rut - whatever one wanted to call it – during the full moons, where they could turn into their animal form if they chose to. All they wanted to do was fight, kill, fuck, run, whatever their inner beast wanted. Maybe it was too early for Eren to attain his wolf form, but he was obviously still very much feeling the effects of the moon-induced rut.

And the first heat was always the strongest, the most difficult to control. How could Levi have fucking forgotten? Had Hanji known? Eren had gone to see her; had she not told Eren about what could happen? Or, if the moonkin had been showing signs of his impending rut, she, at least, should have seen it and recognized the signs. If Hanji did, why didn’t she come to warn Levi or send someone to do so? Unless she had forgotten as well? It was entirely possible, knowing their Commander.

Levi swallowed heavily, throat bobbing, and Eren’s feral eyes watched the movement hungrily. Levi’s mind was hazy, foggy from the sated bloodlust and the pheromones that were radiating from Eren and had soaked into his blood, blood Levi had drank. Never before had Levi experienced such a visceral reaction to feeding from a donor; he should have realized something was off the moment he tasted Eren’s skin. It had been slightly salty from a fine sheen of sweat and something electric had tingled on his tongue when he laved over it, clouding his mind and pushing any reason or misgivings away. Levi hadn’t been able to resist. 

God and the smell, the taste of Eren’s blood… even now, Levi could taste the remnants of it, thick and hot and full of life on his tongue. It had soothed the burn in his throat as he swallowed it down, slaked his thirst in a way no other blood had before. The memory of Eren’s body pressed against his own while he drank made his eyelids droop in remembrance. His gaze became heavy-lidded in desire, a spike of arousal shooting through his stomach and straight to his dick. 

He remembered how even this morning Eren had smelled so fucking tantalizing, how Levi had taken a second to look at the boy – now a man – and realized how much he had grown up. The lines of his handsome face were sharper, more defined and he towered about Levi now, muscles flexing and straining underneath the thin, soft fabric of his shirt.

Levi recalled fantasizing about Eren this morning, how he’d suddenly been hit with a wave of pure arousal and locked himself in the bathroom to get off. His own hands had been smaller than those in his fantasy, weren’t nearly large or rough enough, but he was still able to jerk his cock and fuck his fingers until he came, Eren’s name almost tumbling from his lips.

And then tonight, Eren had come and offered to be his donor, looking so earnest and confident, carrying with him that smell that had gotten even stronger since the morning. His lovely teal eyes had been shining with hope and Levi had been so fucking weak, had agreed before he realized what he was doing, and by then it was too late because Eren had looked so genuinely pleased that Levi couldn’t take it back. Levi’s thoughts had been a bit hazy from the moment the shifter had walked into his office and the vampire cursed now, because he should have realized this morning that there had been signs Eren was going to go into season but he hadn’t realized what they were.

The goddamn pheromones Eren's body had been starting to produce were responsible for his foggy mind and heated skin, the reason that he’d been so horny that he’d had to retreat to the shower and get himself off like a pubescent teen.

Eren was breathing heavily above him, eyes locked onto his blood-smeared mouth. His body was tense, practically humming with tension but to Levi’s surprise, he stayed still. Eren made no move to attack and kill or to rip off Levi’s clothes and fuck him there on the floor. It left him confused and they sat there watching each other warily for countless moments.

Until Levi made to shift slightly and then that large hand pressed down firmly, forcing the air out of his lungs in a choked huff and making Levi freeze completely. Eren’s skin was radiating heat, almost scorching to the touch, but Levi knew it was the rut warming his skin and not his Titan abilities. That combined with the sheer, raw strength contained in the hand had Levi biting back a moan, because no one had actually been able to hold him down before now if he didn’t want it.

Levi knew of no one that could match his strength – the combined Titan strength of the Ackerman blood and his vampire abilities were what made him Humanity’s Strongest, a title he lived up to day after day. Even if he hadn’t been feeling sluggish and dazed from the feeding, Levi could sense that Eren would easily be a match for him and right now, the shifter could most definitely overpower him physically.

The realization made Levi let out a breathy, needy sound and an answering rumble started in Eren’s chest again. It wasn’t a growl anymore, but a pleased croon. When Eren finally moved, it was to lean down and bury his nose into the crook of Levi’s neck and inhale deeply. Unthinkingly, Levi tilted his head to the side to allow Eren better access, mirroring the shifter’s own movement during feeding earlier. Eren's contented croon grew louder as the shifter nosed almost affectionately under his ear.

Levi swallowed again; his mouth gone dry. Eren seemed distracted and not aggressive right at the moment, so Levi decided to try and get the shifter’s attention and detangle them from this mess.

The thought that Levi in fact wanted to get tangled further instead was forefront in his mind - with some difficulty, he pushed it aside.

“Eren,” Levi called softly. The moonkin did nothing but take another deep breath in through his nose, a small shudder running through his large body. The rumble in his chest changed, pitching up to something similar to a whine. Still, it was progress and Levi tried again, keeping his voice gentle and quiet, hoping it was enough to soothe Eren’s animalistic side.

“Eren, you’re in season right now,” he said quietly, pitching his voice lower in what he hoped was a soothing cadence. “I need to get Hanji so she can explain this to you. We can figure out what to do for you, okay?” Levi held his breath when he finished talking, keeping completely still. Eren was running on pure instinct – he seemed to be somewhat in control, but that control was like a fraying thread on the verge of snapping. Levi knew he had to be very, very careful, or this could end extremely badly.

Eren’s inner moonkin didn’t seem to want to run wild, but Levi knew the shifter did have anger issues, so there was a chance that Eren would want to fight and attack him. As it were right now, Levi didn’t know if he’d be in shape to fight a rutting moonkin in his prime. The whole situation had a distinctly hazy quality to it, and he realized that the pheromones Eren was putting off were strong enough to affect him as if Levi were a moonkin, making him horny and foggy-headed. It was astonishing in a way; he should have been nearly immune to them, being a different species and so much older than Eren.

Despite the precariousness of the situation, Levi couldn’t deny they felt good, like he had been injected with a shot of pure endorphins and low-burning arousal. He wondered if this is what his Compulsion felt like to those he used it on.

Still, he needed Hanji, needed to get this situation under control. But Eren was still tense above him, entire body coiled tightly like a wire about to snap. Levi needed to get the shifter’s attention somehow, appeal to the animal side of Eren and calm it down so that his humanity would resurface. He felt like using his Compulsion on Eren would only serve to anger him – supernatural creatures could sense it when it was being used and any outside influence would most likely drive Eren berserk.

Instead, Levi decided to appeal to Eren's baser instincts. Taking a deep breath, he forced his body to go limp. One by one, he relaxed his muscles until he lay boneless underneath Eren. Then, taking a risk, Levi slowly and carefully tilted his head back so that his neck was stretched taut, bared to Eren’s sharp teeth. When he first moved, Eren’s claws dug into his chest in sharp points of pain and he pulled back to snarl warningly, but when he saw Levi’s display of total submission – body completely limp and neck bared – Eren went still.

“Levi,” Eren rasped, blinking slowly and some of the yellow tint bled out of his eyes. A spark of hope flared within Levi’s chest. Words were good. They were human. “I’m… sorry, I can’t…” Eren seemed to be struggling for words, but Levi didn’t need him to talk. He just needed Eren to listen.

“Eren,” he murmured softly, “I need to get Hanji. Please.” Levi didn’t ask for things often, but something in his gut told him that ordering Eren to let him go would only devolve the situation. Eren’s posture radiated dominance and aggression, and Levi knew just enough about moonkin physiology to be about 97% sure Eren was displaying prime alpha traits. Eren would take any perceived order as a challenge, a threat to him.

Eren blinked again, slowly, but seemed to be coming back to himself. “Levi,” he repeated, sounding like a dying man praying for absolution. He seemed to be struggling with words, struggling with something inside himself. “I’m going to let you up. Move slowly or,” a loud growl ripped from Eren’s throat and he had to shake his head to clear it before continuing, “or I won’t be able to stop.”

Levi didn’t look into Eren’s eyes as he nodded slowly, careful beyond measure not to do anything to provoke the other man. Just as slowly as Levi, Eren lifted his hand off the vampire’s chest and then leaned back to rest on his haunches, releasing Levi’s wrists as he did so. Levi noticed his own claws were out, though he didn’t remember when it had happened.

The retractable, sharp black nails sheathed over his normal ones and only came out when he was stressed, afraid or upset. Levi supposed he was a mixture of all three and didn’t bother to try retracting them; it would be impossible to coax them back in right now - every single one of his nerves were tingling, on high alert.

Eren paused to take a deep breath, appearing to center himself before he stood carefully and backed away, his movements fluid and animalistic. Once he was far enough from Levi so that the vampire could get up, he crouched down, body still tense as a drawn bowstring. His eyes were locked on Levi and the vampire couldn’t help but wonder if this was how mice felt when being stalked by a much larger cat.

The way Eren was staring at him made him feel uncomfortably like he was the mouse; Eren looked like he wanted nothing more than devour Levi.

Once Eren had finished moving, Levi stood up slowly, keenly aware of Eren’s hungry eyes locked onto his body. His knees felt shaky and his body sluggish, still under the influence of the heady pheromones Eren’s body was radiating. Fuck, they were strong. If Levi had been a moonkin, he’d be quailing right now, unable to move under their influence.

Levi took a deep breath and then took a step back. He couldn’t dare show his back to Eren – that was just asking to be attacked as if he were fleeing prey.

He took another step back and was about to take another when a sound from outside the window startled him. Growing up in the Underground had forced him to live a life where he was never truly relaxed, where he was constantly on edge and looking over his shoulder for a threat. Levi’s nerves were on high alert and reflexes still keen from the Underground, and that was what caused him to make the foolish error of turning on his heel, claws primed and ready for any threat.

A growl ripped through the room and Levi’s thin eyes widened as he tensed, realizing his mistake.

“Oh shi-”

And then once again, he was crashing to the floor, only this time he was on his front, belly pressed tight against the ground, head turned to the side so his nose wouldn’t get crushed. There was a sudden spike of pheromones that hit Levi, heady and dominating, making his head spin. They didn’t have the same effect as they would on another moonkin, but they still affected him to a lesser extent and his body went slack on the floor.

Distantly, he could hear clothes ripping, could hear Eren growling above him. Levi realized that it was his clothes being shredded underneath Eren's sharp claws. Cool autumn air hit his body and it felt good against his hot, overheated skin. Levi saw a few scraps of fabric land near his head in his peripheral vision, felt pressure loosening around his legs as the belts of his ODM harness were sliced through effortlessly and fell to the ground next to him. In shock and mind reeling at how inhumanly fast Eren had moved, he made no move to fight back as he was laid bare and then clawed fingers were at his waist and Levi was flipped over roughly.

The back of his head hit the stone floor hard and a jolt of pain went through him. The hit only served to daze Levi further and he blinked lazily before his eyes wandered up a second before Eren straddled him. Strong, tanned forearms hit the floor on either side of his head, caging him in and then lips pressed insistently against his.

Levi’s eyes widened once more and he swallowed heavily. Shit.

He knew which route Eren was going down.

The contact was brief and then Eren’s tongue was laving across his lips and his face. On any other day, Levi would have found it disgusting, but the tongue was warm and wet and long, and something weird went off in his brain because Eren was cleaning him, and that was… was…

“Shit,” Levi whispered, out loud this time, arousal making his head spin even more than it  already was. Eren gave him one last long, slow lick, tongue running over his lips almost lazily and then pulled back, large teal eyes skimming over his now mostly-clean face.

“Wanted to do that the second I saw the blood,” Eren rumbled, giving a fierce smile.

Levi swallowed and licked his lips in return, tasting a bit of Eren on himself. Eren’s eyes shot to his tongue and locked on, nostrils flaring as he scented the air. His head dropped down to rest against Levi’s bare shoulder and he shuddered. “Fuck, your - you smell delicious,” Eren groaned. He raised his head and now there was more yellow in his eyes than green. The base, instinctual part of Levi loved seeing Eren losing control as much as it sent a prickle of something close to fear down his spine.

Eren's eyes seemed to clear and for a moment it seemed like Eren registered their situation, realized that something was off. “Levi, I’m sorry,” he gasped, eyes squeezing shut as he came back to himself a bit, “I don’t know what’s wrong. What’s happening?”

Levi took a deep breath. Eren sounded like a mixture of horny, scared, angry, and apologetic. Levi tried to clear his head, to think of the words that would help Eren calm down and get himself out of this mess.

“You’re in season,” he said quietly. “It’s the full moon. You’re rutting. Like an animal.” Levi tried to keep his voice neutral and soothing, but there was a tremble of excitement that betrayed him at the thought. His inner vampire liked the thought of Eren losing control, that he’d been the one to drive him to the brink.

Eren must have sensed something too, because his head tilted curiously to the side. The movement made a thin dribble of blood run down his neck from the still-leaking bite and Levi’s eyes darted to it, watching the trail of crimson slide down Eren's long, elegant neck. The scent of thick, heady blood permeated the air and unbidden, Levi’s thirst came back with a vengeance, fangs priming and eyes lighting once more.

A gleam came into Eren’s eyes when he saw where Levi’s stare was locked, yellow encroaching further into teal. He licked his lips and a slow, salacious smile overtook his face. “Levi,” Eren practically purred, “did I taste good?”

Feeling almost hypnotized, Levi helplessly gave a slow nod and Eren lowered his head down so that his mouth was at the captain’s neck. He reached out his tongue and gave a long, slow lick to the sensitive skin there and Levi had to bite back an embarrassing sound. Fuck, this was bad. Eren's hot lips came up to rest near his ear and then in a deep voice that was pure sin, whispered, “You do, too.”

This was really, really bad.

Or…  was it really, though?

Levi felt frozen, trapped under Eren’s spell – and realized with an almost hysterical thought that this was not how it usually went. He was the one usually doing the ensnaring, the seducing and yet the role reversal and the sheer sensuality Eren was moving with sent a flash of raw lust through him.

Levi could blame it on the pheromones, but he knew himself better than that. Now that the shock from Eren’s actions was wearing off and he took a moment of clear-headedness to assess the situation, Levi actually found the sheer strength Eren was using to overpower him and the pure hunger burning solely for him in those yellowish teal eyes insanely exciting. Desire had been simmering lowly under his skin all day and Levi couldn’t lie to himself anymore.

Levi had known from the moment that he reached down to grasp his cock in the shower and imagined they were Eren’s large, warm hands instead of his own that he wanted Eren. Wanted Eren inside him, over him, holding him down like Eren was so easily doing right now and Levi… Levi wanted this, he realized.

Levi needed Eren, wanted everything the shifter could give him with every fibre of his being. And right now, caught in the middle of his rut, Levi knew that Eren needed him, too.

At the realization, Levi took a deep, ragged breath. His choice was made, course set now, and it felt so, so good to finally give in and let his body have what it desired.

Levi allowed his body to go loose and pliant under Eren’s. He knew the moment the shifter had felt it when Eren drew back just enough to regard Levi with a curious, yet heated look in his eyes. Submission pleased Eren’s inner wolf and right now, Levi was the picture of it; body relaxed and head languidly tilted to the side, gazing up at Eren through long black lashes with glowing, silvery eyes.

This was familiar territory; Levi was no innocent. Admittedly, it had been a long time since he’d played this game, but as a vampire, it came naturally to him. With no more than a passing farewell to his sanity, Levi gave in fully to his desires and let his instincts drive him.

“Your blood was the best I’ve ever had,” Levi said huskily, staring straight into Eren’s eyes, meeting his gaze openly. He let the memories of the taste light his eyes even up more, knew that they would be a shimmering, liquid silver at this point that was designed to ensnare and enchant prey. “I can’t stop thinking about how good it tasted on my tongue.”

Eren took a deep breath at that, his breathing turning ragged and harsh. Levi took the opportunity to shift slightly under him, spreading his legs willingly in a silent invitation. Eren immediately, unconsciously slotted himself into the space between his thighs, settling there as if he belonged. Levi was naked under him and the fabric of Eren's clothes were rough against his sensitive skin, but he liked the contrast, found it only spurred his arousal further. His cock was hard between them and he knew precum was leaking onto Eren's shirt, but the mess was the last thing on his mind.

Eren's face was a mixture between dumbstruck and horny at the sudden change in Levi’s behavior, at the willingness and submission he was displaying. It was an expression that Levi found utterly enchanting. Eren’s wide eyes couldn’t seem to stay still; they roved over Levi’s face, down his body, to his cock, and then to his neck. Wiggling a bit to get Eren to lay more heavily over him, Levi parted his lips and licked his tongue over his fangs slowly, keenly aware of the way Eren seemed to lose his ability to breathe at the sight.

“Fuck, Levi,” Eren whispered, voice raw. “That’s so – I fucking can’t,” he keened, and he drew back enough to run a clawed hand down Levi’s body, nails digging in lightly enough to let the vampire feel their razor-sharp points. It drew a squirm from him and when the claws pricked at his skin, Eren's nostrils flared at the blood.

“It’s okay,” Levi murmured. A small smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing the length of a delicate, pearly fang. “You can take what you need,” Levi repeated the same words back to Eren that the shifter had said to him, hoping his meaning would get across. He would trust Eren the same way Eren had trusted him – it might be rough, but Eren was restraining himself right now, still remaining in control of himself. There was nothing he could dish out that Levi couldn’t take; he’d probably ask for more, too, because shit, he liked this. He couldn’t remember ever being as turned on as he was right now, at this moment.

A small shudder went through Eren at the words and his body tensed in readiness, but he held himself still. A furrow was between his brows and his teeth were clenched with the effort of holding himself back. “I wont…” Eren rasped, shaking his head, “Not gonna take advantage.”

Despite how horny he was, Levi felt mixed respect and frustration run through him at Eren's words. Older moonkin lost to a strong of a rut as Eren was in would have given in and ravished Levi already and yet the shifter was holding back, despite the vampire desperately wanting him to just let go. Eren didn’t want to take anything that wasn’t truly given and was forcibly holding himself in check through sheer iron will.

Fuck if that didn’t turn Levi on even more. Now if only Eren would get on with it.

Levi craned his head up, placing his nose directly underneath Eren's jaw. From what he remembered of moonkin biology, that was where one of their scent glands were located, the direct source of the potent pheromones Eren was producing. He waited until Eren stilled, made sure the shifter could hear what he was doing and then took in a deep breath, intentionally and deliberately inhaling a heady dose.

They made his limbs weak, made his head spin in that delightful manner and he dropped back down to the floor, eyes going heavy-lidded as the pheromones surged through him. Damn, they felt good.

Eren was staring at him in shock and Levi blinked back up slowly at him. God, the shifter’s eyes were gorgeous. Levi never wanted to look away.

“Eren,” Levi murmured. Between the way his mind was delightfully hazy and the aching fangs in his mouth getting in the way, words were hard to do but he had to try. “I’ve wanted you for awhile. You were a subordinate so I couldn’t. But I need, so please.” Levi was a captain in the Survey Corps. He gave orders, didn’t ask for things and Levi hoped that maybe this time, him asking would get his point across.

Apparently, it did. 

“God, Levi,” Eren moaned and surged forwards to sink his teeth into Levi’s neck, right where it met his shoulder. His teeth, unlike Levi’s, were not meant to pierce smoothly and Eren had no Compulsion to make it not hurt. Which it did. A lot, actually, because they tore through his flesh until he bled.

“Fuck!” Levi shouted, eyes flying wide open. His hands flew up to Eren's shoulders and his nails dug into the firm muscles there. They felt good under his palms, practically thrumming with withheld strength and that, combined with the jolt of pain from Eren's bite, made his cock twitch and hips jerk upwards in an aborted thrust.

Eren drew back, mouth and chin stained red, panting as he stared at the bite. Dimly, Levi wondered – wasn’t this the way moonkin marked each other? He forgot the term for it, but it was unimportant at the moment. Thick blood leaked from his neck and while a vampire’s blood didn’t smell appealing to him, apparently it did to Eren, because more yellow bled into his eyes and he bared his teeth in a vicious grin.

Eren jerked his body back, rising off of Levi and he had to bite back the whine building in his throat. He’d been waiting for what felt like forever and now that Eren was giving into his instincts, he just wanted something, anything.

He wasn’t left waiting for long, however, because even as Eren drew back, rough, callused hands flew to his waist and flipped him in a movement so fast Levi’s hazy mind wasn’t able to process it. He found himself on his front again and then his hips were being jerked back, pulling him to his knees. Levi’s arms gave out underneath him and he pressed his forehead to the cold stone floor. The chill grounded him and it felt good to let the coolness sink into his overheated skin.

“Can’t – not gonna hold back, not gonna be able, fuck,” Eren spit out, his words rough and ragged, almost unintelligible as they came out in fragmented bits. He grabbed Levi’s shoulder and jerked him back, pulling the vampire up to rest on his forearms and then let go, moving back.

Levi just nodded, thighs trembling in excitement and exertion. God, finally. He could feel his hole twitch in anticipation as he arched his back and eagerly panted, “I know, it’s okay, just please-”

He was cut off when Eren's other hand came up to shove fingers – now sans claws – roughly into his mouth. Shivering in excitement, Levi eagerly sucked on them, getting as much saliva on them as possible while being careful of his fangs.

Eren's hand roamed over his back, feeling the tight, defined muscles of Levi’s shoulders, then traced down and gripped a globe of his firm, pert ass roughly. “You’re so fucking sexy,” Eren rasped out, voice gravelly with arousal and the sound made Levi shudder. Like this, Eren's voice was pure sin and Levi quickly worked to get more saliva into his mouth, to wet the shifter’s fingers as quickly as he could. He wanted them in him, desperate for them to stretch and fill him, curve against his prostate and give him that delicious pleasure he was craving.

The thought made him moan and apparently it was enough for Eren, because he ripped his fingers away. The hand that had been groping his ass slid over to grasp his hip to hold him still in a bruising grip. God, Eren was so fucking strong and Levi loved it.

“Gonna – fuck, I want to, let me,” Eren growled, sheer desperation in his voice as he struggled to speak. Levi just nodded again, gasping when he felt slick fingers prod against his entrance. He moaned and shoved his ass back, desperate to get them in him.

Eren complied and Levi could have sobbed in relief as one slid in easily, his hole already loose and pliant from earlier when he had fingered himself in the shower. There was a small, strange noise from Eren behind him but Levi barely paid attention to it, because there was finally something inside him and it felt so fucking good.

And then a second finger was being shoved in. “God yes, shit,” Levi choked out, the slight burn making his cock twitch and leak.

But then, they were being hastily pulled out and Levi was about to rise up and whirl around to ask the shifter just what the fuck he was doing when a hand tangled in the soft strands of his undercut and the fabric of his scarf – how had that stayed on, Levi distantly wondered - and another was wrapping around his throat. He was wrenched back, mind blanking at the sharp pain at his scalp combined with not being able to breathe.

Eren's body was pressed up against his as Levi was forced to rise up on his knees, back arching. His hands scrabbled backwards for purchase and one landed on Eren's arm, the other on his hip. Eren's long fingers tightened around his neck and Levi squirmed, unable to get enough air in his lungs. The feel of something wrapped around his neck was panic-inducing but also sent a surge of raw lust spiraling through him.

The hand around his neck loosened right as his vision started to tinge black. Able to breathe now, Levi took in great, gasping breaths, lungs burning and fuck but he liked it. Too much, in fact. His mind spun with the lack of oxygen and as soon as it cleared the smallest bit, Eren's mouth was pressing against his ear. “You slut,” he hissed darkly. “Your ass is loose. Fucked someone recently? Who was it? I’ll kill them.”

What? Levi wanted to ask, his thoughts having slowed to a snail’s pace. He hadn’t fucked anyone in years, not since Erwin had dragged him from the Underground and Farlan had been killed. He’d barely even had the time or energy to jerk off, much less fuck anyone. Hadn’t wanted to fuck anyone that wasn’t Erwin, but that hadn’t been possible and so he’d remained celibate.

He was barely able to string two thoughts together at the moment, much less answer Eren's question. So Levi remained silent, panting and squirming on his knees as he tried to figure out what had riled up Eren so much. The shifter’s clothed erection was rubbing against his ass and Levi gasped at the sensation. His cock had gone untouched and at this point, he was desperate for something, anything. It hurt to be hard for so long and he was so turned on that it was nearly physically painful.

The hand around his neck squeezed once more, cutting off his air supply. Levi’s silver eyes widened as he choked, wriggling in place as that breathless fog invaded his mind once again. Eren squeezed for just a few seconds and then let go. Levi moaned, head lolling back to rest on Eren's shoulder. His entire body felt boneless, weightless as arousal thrummed through his veins and he licked his fangs. Levi almost wanted to ask for the hand around his throat back, to have it squeeze again, but then Eren was tugging harshly at his hair and the pain brought him back to reality.

“Who did you fuck?” Eren growled. His voice was guttural and dangerous and Levi almost moaned. It was fucking stupid, because Eren could attack and seriously hurt him at any point, but at the same time, he had never been more aroused in his life. His cock throbbed and a little splurt of precum dribbled from it. Words left him as desire blanked his mind and all Levi could do was kneel there panting, nails leaving deep red lines on Eren's arm as his fingers gripped the skin there.

Eren released the hold on his hair, drew a hand back and slapped him hard on the ass at the same time those fingers around his throat squeezed again. Levi let out a choked keen at the flash of pain that went through him before it melted into pure pleasure at the way his skin heated in the aftermath of the sharp strike. Arousal shot through him, and fuck, it was embarrassing, but no one had ever been able to do this to Levi before, even though he had wanted.

This time, Eren cut off his air long enough for Levi’s body start to go limp, black spots appearing in the corners of his vision. Then, he abruptly took his hand entirely off of the vampire’s throat and Levi sucked in harsh, ragged breaths as the shifter let him recover for just a few moments. Eren's hand came up to grasp his chin between thumb and forefinger. He turned Levi’s head to meet his eyes and Levi could see they were almost completely yellow now, humanity lost to the instincts of the rut.

“Levi,” Eren said again and the vampire froze at the soft, deadly tone in the moonkin’s voice. “I won’t ask again. Who did you fuck?”

Levi felt like he couldn’t breathe even though the hand around his throat was gone, because shit, this was dangerous and he was filthy for even liking it but he did. He tried to think of a response, wanted to explain that no, Eren, I fingered myself earlier to thoughts of you, but he couldn’t get his abused throat to work. Levi could only swallow uselessly, tongue feeling like lead in his mouth.

At his silence, the hand that had been gripping one firm, tight globe of his ass let go and almost calmly raked sharp claws down the right side of Levi’s back. The scratches they left weren’t deep, but blood welled to the surface, air stinging the open wounds.

Levi cried out, pain searing through him and he finally found his voice. “You!” he rasped out as Eren leaned down to press his teeth against the still-open bite wound on Levi’s neck, a silent threat. “Fuck, it was you!”

Eren stilled behind him, dangerously so. “What?” Eren asked, drawing his mouth away from the vampire’s neck. Levi gasped out a shuddering breath, unable to think because fuck, this hurt and he loved it. The scent of blood, even though it was his own, served only to potentiate Eren’s drugging pheromones. “Levi,” he growled again, a demand for an answer.

“After you left earlier,” Levi strained out hoarsely, voice husky from the abuse to his throat. “Shower - I fucked myself on my fingers until I came – wanted- wanted it to be your cock-” He was almost squirming in desperation now, desire sizzling through his veins. He wondered distantly how it hadn’t reduced him to ashes by now, because he had never felt this hungry before.

Another rumble came, but this time it was a different cadence, low and sultry, sounding almost pleased. Levi realized with shock that Eren was purring, the sound vibrating through his entire body.

“Good,” Eren praised, “Levi, you’re so good,” and Levi gasped, eyes widening as the words seemed to go straight to his dick. It leaked a bit more precum and Eren shifted behind him, backing up a bit.  The hands holding him up let go and he fell down to his forearms and knees once more, still panting. Levi had never begged in his life before, but at this moment, he felt like he was a second away from doing it, because he was so fucking desperate.

Hands suddenly smacked against his asscheeks roughly, palming them firmly. The slap echoed through the room and Levi jerked at the stinging sensation. Then they were being spread and a warm breath puffed over his hole. Levi’s clawed fingers scraped across the stone floor at the feel and Levi’s breath hitched. Was Eren seriously going to –

A hot, wet tongue licked right over the twitching entrance and Levi made a short, shocked noise. “Haah, fuck,” he groaned. “Eren.”

Eren gave a breathy chuckle and Levi’s hole twitched again at that. His head dropped onto his forearms, unable find the strength to hold it up any longer.

“No one else gets to use this besides me,” Eren whispered, and his lips brushed lightly against Levi’s hole. The vampire shuddered, unconsciously shifting to spread his legs wider, presenting himself for Eren’s hungry eyes and mouth. “Right, Levi?” He gave another lick and the vampire gasped, then Eren held still, waiting for a response as he breathed over it.

“God, yes, it’s yours, ahh, just-” Levi gasping words were cut off when he felt Eren’s lips curl into a smile and then he buried his face in between Levi’s cheeks and started to eat him out hungrily. His tongue pressed firmly against the sensitive entrance and he alternated between lapping and at it and sucking. “Yes,” Levi hissed as he pressed his forehead against his arms, eyes tightly shut and back arching, pressing back and seeking more.

It was filthy and disgusting – though really, vampires didn’t defecate and Eren didn’t know that but it was the principle of the matter - and Levi knew that he should be protesting, but he couldn’t. Was beyond words when Eren’s tongue was so hot and slick against his sensitive entrance, euphoria singing through every one of his veins. His skin felt hot against the cool stone floor and he panted, squirming as Eren feasted upon him. His dick was throbbing between his thighs, but he didn’t have the energy or willpower to move, could only stay there as Eren pleasured him.

Heat started to coil in his gut, every swipe of Eren’s tongue and suck of his lips pushing him closer to the edge until there were tears pricking in his eyes. He was so, so close, needed just a little bit more to come and in desperation, Levi put his weight onto one arm and started to snake a hand between his legs.

Eren’s tongue pressed inside him, breaching him for the first time and Levi cried out at the stretch. It was so fucking good, he was so close and he tried to warn Eren as he reached for his cock. “Eren fuck fuck I’m-”

“No,” Eren snarled against him, grabbing his wrist before it could reach his length. Levi almost wanted to cry because he was so desperate to be touched, but Eren’s grip around his wrist was unrelenting. “You can do it untouched. You will do it untouched. Come, Levi.”

Eren’s voice was low and thick with desire, and the order was the last thing the vampire needed to push him over the edge. Eren’s tongue pressed against him, never relenting as the tension curling deep in his stomach snapped. With a sharp cry he came, cock twitching and shooting white streaks all over the floor. His vision went white for a second as pleasure seared through him and he gasped, heaving for air.

His knees shook and he was about to collapse when one of Eren’s thick arms wrapped around his waist, hauling him backwards. Levi’s body went boneless as Eren shifted them so that they were both kneeling upright once again and Eren’s clothed cock pressed against his hip. The moonkin rolled his hips – a silent promise for later, but still very, very soon.

Eren buried his nose in the crook of Levi’s neck and took a deep inhale, letting it out in a shuddering breath. “You smell so fucking good,” he slurred, rolling his hips once more. Levi’s head lolled back on his shoulders, body still limp from one of the strongest orgasms he’d possibly ever had and let Eren's arm support him while he recovered.

The other hand went down snaked down between them and gently brushed against Levi’s swollen, well-rimmed hole. It was still extremely sensitive and Levi twitched from the overstimulation, but then he felt something that sent panic racing up his spine.

“Fuck, nails!” Levi bit out, trying to twist his hips away from the probing fingers. He wasn’t against a bit of pain during sex, liked it a little too much probably, but the thought of razor-sharp claws anywhere near his asshole almost made him sick to his stomach. “Ah, Eren - stop, no-”

Eren, the fucker, just gave a dark laugh and withdrew his hand. Despite Levi being much heavier than he looked – even Erwin had struggled to pick him up the few times they were in a bad situation and needed to haul Levi away – Eren lifted him into his arms easily and tossed him over his shoulder. Levi huffed a breath as his stomach met Eren’s tanned, muscular shoulder and he was about to lift his head and chew the bastard out when Eren let out another heavy wave of dominating pheromones.

Levi’s eyes rolled back a bit and he went limp over Eren's shoulder as the shifter strode through his office and the entrance to his private rooms, then over to the bed. How the fuck did he do it? All supernatural creatures could be affected by pheromones – their senses were too keen to not pick up on them, unlike humans – but Eren was newly turned and they affected Levi as if he were a moonkin as well. Was it because he was a Titan shifter as well?

If Levi hadn’t been deliciously wallowing in the rush of endorphins washing through his body, he might have found it more disturbing. Now, though, as Eren shifted them and tossed Levi onto the large bed, he could only lay there and wriggle into the sheets as Eren knelt beside him and reached over to rummage in Levi’s nightstand.

Levi licked his lips, tasting what little remained of the blood smeared on the lower half of his face. The taste of blood invaded his mouth and god, there was just something about Eren’s blood that was so potent, so heady that he just wanted to keep drinking and drinking until he was a satiated, overfull mess. No one had ever tasted this good.

A drawer slammed shut next to him and Levi tilted his head. Mind foggy from the orgasm and the thick scents in the air, he could only watch through heavy-lidded eyes as Eren returned. He had the little container of thick oil in his hand and as his eyes traveled down Levi’s sprawled body and locked onto his hard cock, the hint of feral yellow reappeared in his normally clear turquoise eyes.

“You look so fucking good,” Eren rasped, and Levi shuddered once more at the sound of Eren's voice. He didn’t know it was something he liked, but right now, he wondered if he could come just from the sound of Eren’s voice praising him. The moonkin crawled in between his legs and roughly pushed them apart, settling in between them. Eren’s clothed cock rubbed against his own and Levi couldn’t help but buck his hips at feeling the promising hardness, hands flying down to grip at the sheets as his back arched off the bed.

Eren stilled when he saw a small bead of precum leak from Levi’s erection and despite the haze in his mind, Levi saw something dangerous and predatory settle into Eren’s gaze. It sent a shiver down his spine and he watched hazily as Eren set the jar of oil off to the side. He raised up to loom over the vampire, hands settling on both sides of the Levi’s head, caging him in as Eren leaned down. 

“You know, Levi,” Eren purred, flicking his tongue out to run it over the sharp line of Levi’s jaw, “Hanji gave me a journal that told me a few things about vampires.” Trailing his lips down the side of Levi’s face and to his neck, Eren hovered right over where Levi’s pulse was the strongest. “There was a confirmed theory of hers that vampires are very, very sensitive. How many times do you think I can make you cum tonight?”

Levi’s eyes widened and a shuddering moan fell from his lips. Remembering the predatory look Eren had gotten his eyes, Levi felt a chill run up his spine in mixed fear and arousal. He opened his mouth, about to say something, anything, when Eren suddenly bit down on the unmarked side of his neck and at the same time, wrapped a hand firmly around Levi’s cock and tugged.

Eren’s teeth broke the skin of his neck and he cried out, but the feel of Eren’s hand on his erection turned the cry into a moan and Levi bucked his hips. Enough time had gone by for his oversensitivity to pass and now he was horny again, desperate for some kind of friction. He hadn’t even gone soft – what the fuck kind of pheromones did Eren even have?

“Mm, good.” Eren released the skin of his neck and smiled, his grin sharklike as he ran his fingers over Levi’s length, torturously slow. Levi bucked his hips, trying to get more contact, more speed, anything, but the moonkin only bared his teeth more. “You look so fucking pretty when you’re desperate, Levi,” Eren smirked, and the words did weird things to Levi’s brain.

“Shit,” Levi gasped, “fuck, please, please.” He wasn’t even sure what he was begging for anymore, just that he needed something, whatever Eren wanted to give. Levi raised his head, looking directly into Eren’s yellow-tinted eyes. He couldn’t remember the last time he had felt like this. It was frightening but so, so good to give over control to someone else, to let another person take care of him for a change.

Eren must have seen something in his eyes because he flared his nostrils, inhaling deeply. “God you’re so – you smell so fucking desperate and aroused, fuck,” Eren hissed out. In a swift movement, he pulled away, removing his hand and Levi wanted to sob at the loss of contact. But then, he felt hands on his hips and he was being rolled over, his hips jerked back and he found himself with his face buried in a pillow and his ass up and out on display again.

There must have been something about the position that satisfied Eren's animal instincts, Levi thought, because the shifter’s breathing sped up and hands roved over his ass and thighs like a starving man, groping and pinching greedily. A finger occasionally brushed over his sensitive hole, making him twitch and try to shove back, slip it inside of him.

He could sense Eren looming behind him and the moonkin roughly shoved a knee between his thighs and knocked them apart. It dropped him down lower to the bed and made the sensitive head of his cock rub against the soft sheets. He bit his lip at the feeling, choking back an embarrassing sound.

Hanji’s notes had been right – due to their sexual nature, vampires were extremely sensitive, both sexually and physically. Levi especially liked soft things, fine fabrics and quality materials that, even if they were more expensive than he would have liked, felt good sliding across his skin.  Feeling his silky sheets sliding against his cock let him combine both pleasures and left him dripping and desperate for more.

“Look at this part of you,” Eren said roughly, and then there were fingers trailing over his hole again – this time without claws. Levi choked back a pleasured sound at the feeling, instead fisting his hands in the sheets. “So pink and soft. So pretty, just like the rest of you.”

“Yours,” Levi choked out mindlessly, the word slightly muffled with his head buried in the bedding. He was a bit glad for that – despite enjoying sex immensely, he had never been overly loud or vocal in bed and it soothed his pride to be able to muffle some of the embarrassing sounds he was making. Eren removed his fingers and the vampire let out a whine at the loss, pushing his hips back in a desperate bid for more.

“Hm, what was that, now?” The pads of Eren’s fingers – slick, now – returned and started rubbing slow, lazy circles over the sensitive ring of muscle. “I couldn’t quite hear you.”

Levi knew he should have been embarrassed and a part of him later most likely would be, but at the moment, all he could feel was the burning desire to have Eren’s fingers back, to have something within him, filling him. It was a soul-consuming need, one that left him feeling empty and aching. Levi lifted his head off the bed just enough to choke out, “It’s yours, please - I need - Eren-”

At the sound of his name, Eren let out a deep, possessive growl and then without warning, two slick fingers were pressing against his hole and then sinking into him, cutting of the rest of Levi’s plea. He cried out, eyes flying open, almost sobbing in relief. It felt indescribably good, the feeling of finally being filled after so much teasing. He was given no time to adjust as Eren immediately pressed his fingers down, locating his prostate. White-hot pleasure surged through him, raising the hairs on the back of his neck. Levi could practically feel Eren's sudden, feral grin and then the fingers were thrusting in and out of him roughly.

Levi bit into the pillow, dimly registering the sound of ripping fabric as his fangs tore through the fabric. He tried to keep some of the noises back, but a displeased, dark growl came from behind him. Long fingers threaded underneath his scarf, into the inky-black hair of his undercut and yanked his head back roughly. It forced his back into an arch and changed the angle of his hips just enough that Eren’s fingers pressed more firmly into his prostate.

Levi let out a choked scream, a jolt of heat shooting directly down to his cock and making it spurt out a small dribble of precum. “If you’re going to bite down on anything,” Eren said, voice dark in the way that made Levi freeze in aroused fear, “it’ll be something I give you.”

And then his hair was released and Levi’s front slumped back to the bed. He panted as Eren’s fingers stilled inside of him, giving him a moment of reprieve and then Eren was pressing closer, shuffling to loom over him and a toned, tanned forearm was being pushed in front of his face. Levi’s eyes widened – this close, his keen eyesight could see the jumping of the skin right where the pulse was. Memories of how it had felt to swallow down Eren’s thick, pheromone-rich blood and the taste of its sweetness on his tongue sent a surge of raw need through him.

Levi wanted - wanted to lurch forwards and rip open the vein, bathe Eren’s soft, sweet skin in hot blood and lick it from all over the delicious ridges and dips of the shifter’s muscled body. Wanted it pumping fresh from the source, wanted to gulp it down greedily and savor it like wine in equal measures. As gentle as Levi always was with his donors, as much as he detested the savage, dark part of his vampiric nature, there were still undeniable needs and wants that he could never truly purge from himself.

But Levi couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

“I can’t,” Levi choked out. He wanted, fuck he wanted, but he’d already taken from Eren earlier, and he refused to hurt the moonkin. “Don’t, ahh shit – wanna - wanna hurt you.”

“You can,” Eren promised, and crooked his fingers to jab into Levi’s prostate in a rough thrust. Levi’s mouth fell open on another cry and then Eren was taking advantage of that – the bastard – to press his wrist against Levi’s mouth. His fangs pressed firmly against the tanned, soft skin there and Levi forced himself to tense, his entire body going unnaturally still. Despite Eren's fingers still fucking into him roughly, Levi didn’t move a muscle, refusing to let the force of the thrusts move him at all.

Upon seeing Levi freeze, Eren slowed the pace of his fingers until he was gently, almost lazily pushing them in and out. It was a different feel than before, but still so, so good. Rather than being washed in brutal waves of pleasure that had him seeing stars, Eren’s fingers were rubbing gently over his prostate in a relentless, yet gradual rising of pleasure.

Eren leaned over, his body draped firmly over Levi’s, yet not putting any weight onto the smaller vampire. He dropped his head so that it was right next to Levi’s. Instinctively, Levi turned his own head – carefully, so he didn’t press his fangs into Eren’s wrist – and looked directly into Eren’s eyes.

They were still tinted with that unholy, predatory yellow, but there was a different look on his face now – almost gentle. Levi knew his own eyes were still glowing silver, hungry and predacious in a different way.

“Levi, do it,” he urged, voice going deep and throaty. Gone was the confident, commanding tone – Eren sounded almost like he was pleading, like he was desperate for Levi to bite down and feed.

Still, Levi refused - he couldn’t. He’d already taken from Eren tonight, drank more than he had from a donor in a long time. Levi had taken a lot from Eren, hadn’t stopped drinking when he normally would have with any other donor, too lost in the taste of Eren's blood. To take any more from him tonight would be dangerous, especially right now. Even Levi’s steely grip on his primal, vampiric instincts had limits and right now, between being caught up in the physical pleasure wracking his body and the addictive taste of the shifter’s blood, Levi didn’t trust himself to not lose control.

So he closed his eyes and tried to twist his neck to get Eren’s wrist out from under his fangs, but Eren's forearm followed his movements, unrelenting. He didn’t know why Eren was so insistent – unless it was some sort of fucked-up way to try to feed Levi, some primal call of Eren’s moonkin instincts that wanted to provide for him. It definitely sounded like a moonkin thing to do. If that was the reason behind it, Levi could tell Eren afterwards that he appreciated the gesture, but he’d rather have a living man to fuck and not a dead, drained one.

Yet, Eren was relentless, pressing his wrist harder against Levi’s mouth. It seemed like Eren was going to force him to do it - and that only served to piss him off. For the first time that night, Levi let his inner beast show. His eyes shot back open and he let the glowing silver bleed into furious black. A low, threatening, angry growl built in his chest until it spilled over and rumbled throughout the room.

Eren was a new moonkin – Levi was not so old, but he’d had years to perfect his intimidation game. He’d made ancient vampires shit themselves (metaphorically) when they heard and saw him angry. But Eren - fearless, idiotic Eren - only gave a wry smirk Levi’s deadly black glare, unfazed. “You’re not going to hurt me,” Eren told him calmly. “I’m also a Titan shifter, remember? I replenish blood fast – what you took from me tonight is already back.”

Levi stared at Eren in shock, deadly black receding from his eyes as the normal glowing silver replaced it. Was it true?

Eren gazed back steadily as Levi openly searched his face, looking for any hints of dishonesty or deception. But Levi found only genuine honesty and want. His nose wasn’t as keen as a moonkin’s for sensing emotions in a person’s scent, but when he inhaled through his nose, he couldn’t smell anything that indicated Eren was lying.

Eren sincerely wanted Levi to feed from him, Levi realized, for both his pleasure and for Levi’s.

The thought made Levi shiver, the movement pressing his fangs down a bit until the razor-sharp points pricked the skin. Two small drops of blood welled to the surface and Levi’s eyes shot back up to Eren’s. There was a certain hunger in that gaze, a primal want that broke down the last of the vampire’s resistances.

Still, if Levi was going to do this, he would do it his way. He gave the smallest, aborted nod and then pulled his head away. Knowing that Levi had agreed, Eren pulled his wrist away momentarily so that he could talk.

Levi licked his lips, stroking his tongue over fangs that were aching now, desperate to sink into warm, soft skin. “Let me,” he started hoarsely, but then Eren pressed his fingers into his prostate again and his words were stopped by an involuntary moan, a shiver rippling through his body. He rocked back onto the fingers, distracted momentarily, then looked back up at Eren. The moonkin was watching him intently, like his whole world was narrowed down until all that was left in it was Levi. Somehow, that turned him on more than anything and he let out a shaky breath, forcing his next words out. “Let me do it,” Levi rasped, “but right.”

Eren’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Instead of saying anything else, Levi leaned his weight to the side and then reached out for the previously proffered wrist and gently took hold of it. He turned it so that the pulse was facing his fangs and brought it up to his mouth. Being mindful of his teeth, he started laving the area he was going to bite in long, wet licks. The small droplets of blood left on the skin ignited his desire to bite down even more and he pressed his tongue down more firmly, eager for more of that taste.

Eren groaned at the sight but Levi barely heard it, focused on the sound of the heartbeat thudding tantalizingly there and the flavor of the skin, soaked with pheromones and salty from sweat. Anticipation made his breath catch, want thrumming through his body. It had been so, so long since he’d fed during sex. It was an intoxicating experience, satisfying both his vampiric and carnal needs and arousal shot through him.

Wanting to be as comfortable as possible, he wiggled a bit so that his knees were further apart and then raised up on his elbows for more leverage as he ground back into Eren's fingers. Eren's skin was warm and sweet-smelling. Levi caught the crisp scent of the lemon and mint soap, but when he inhaled deeply, he got lost in the scent of ocean breezes and the pines of deep woods. God, he wanted this and his thirst had never been more present, never burned brighter than for Eren's blood.

And Eren had given him permission. His eyes slipped open and he met Eren's. He sent a silent warning through his eyes, telling him to be careful so Levi wouldn’t hurt him. Eren's fingers stilled to the point where they were only softly petting against his prostate in slow strokes that made pleasure course gently through him. Levi’s body was no longer being moved with each thrust and he felt it was safe enough.

Levi called upon his Compulsion and as the invisible threads reached out for Eren's body, he focused them mostly on Eren's mind, willing any pain into pleasure. The shifter hummed as the Compulsion washed over him and Levi’s eyes closed once more, a warm feeling of contentment rising within him at knowing he was making Eren feel good.

Taking a deep breath, Levi opened his mouth, bared his fangs, and carefully bit down. His teeth slid through the skin and muscle in a single, satisfying movement and he moaned lowly as hot, sweet blood washed over his tongue. It tasted just as good as he remembered and he lost himself in it, eyelids fluttering.

His Compulsion thrummed warmly between them, letting him know that Eren wasn’t resisting it at all. It was hard to focus with Eren's addicting scent invading his senses, with Eren's warm body caging him in and fingers expertly rubbing at his prostate, but Levi had excellent control over his power. As the pheromones carried within the blood washed over him once more, an idea struck him and Levi’s breath hitched around the gentle bobbing of his throat as he drank.

He hadn’t done it this way with his Compulsion in a long time, but it still came naturally to him. Levi shifted the focus of his Compulsion to Eren's cock and pleasure centers of his mind, manipulating his power to send pulses of warm euphoria through the shifter’s body, intent on making Eren feel just as good as Levi was.

He knew Eren had felt it when the shifter let out a low, surprised moan and the pace of the fingers inside of Levi stuttered as the pleasure hit him - but didn’t stop. Levi was barely paying attention, lost in his instincts as he swallowed down Eren's blood greedily. He could barely form a coherent thought but dragged his focus back to the shifter when he heard Eren saying in a low, husky voice, “Levi, are you – god that feels so-”

He slitted one eye open to lazily regard Eren while still taking long, deep pulls from the shifter’s wrist. Eren's head was tilted back, eyes heavy-lidded in pleasure but locked onto his face. They kept threatening to slip closed, but the shifter made them stay open and they flicked down to where Levi’s lips were latched around his wrist.

A thought came to Levi upon seeing the hazy, lusty look in Eren's yellowed eyes and Levi curled his lips, withdrawing his fangs just enough to let Eren see where they were buried in his skin. At that, Eren gave a rough, loud swallow, eyelids drooping as his tongue darted out to wet his lips.

Eren enjoyed watching him do this.

The thought fueled his arousal, Eren's heady, pheromone-rich blood now pumping through his veins. He growled lowly, opening his eyes all the way to stare right at Eren. He let a bit of blood pool in his mouth, just enough so that it leaked from his mouth, dripping down his chin and Eren's wrist, painting his teeth bright red.

Eren groaned again and then suddenly the fingers in his ass were pulled out, more oil applied, and then four were pushing in in one unrelenting thrust, stretching out the rim of his hole deliciously and filling him. Levi jerked, choking on a mouthful of blood for a second before his back arched and he thrust back into them mindlessly. It had been years since he’d been so stretched and Levi moaned out sloppy noises at the burn. God, he had craved this.

“God, fuck,” Eren swore. “You look So. Fucking. Hot,” Eren punctuated each word with a sharp jab of his fingers, “doing that. Fuck, Levi, you’re so – god, you’re gorgeous, I’m gonna take you - make you feel so good, you don’t even fucking know-”

Eren was babbling now, a mixture of praise and promises falling from his lips as watched Levi, warm waves of pleasure washing over him. One of Levi’s hands released Eren’s wrist and flew down to the bed to brace himself against the brutal thrusting of Eren’s fingers. Lust and ecstasy surged through him, sizzling through his veins and setting his body alight. Levi’s eyes threatened to roll back into his head as he let Eren’s words egg him on, let them wash over him and drive his pleasure.

The fogginess had returned, the haziness of Eren’s alpha pheromones making his head swim and he welcomed them, letting them fuel his desire and drive him closer to completion. Neither he nor Eren had a free hand to fist his cock, but Levi knew he could come like this again, he was so close again.

Gasping, he ripped himself away from Eren's wrist, releasing it and reaching out a hand to fist in the shifter’s hair, jerking at it desperately. “Eren!” Levi cried, and the moonkin seemed to know what he wanted because Eren surged forward, pressing his lips against Levi’s. Eren twisted his fingers, no longer thrusting but placing the pads directly against Levi’s prostate and grinding down.

Eren kissed him messily, alternating between sucking on his lips and licking into his mouth, tasting the blood on his fangs and tongue. Levi squirmed under the relentless assault, each grind of Eren’s fingers driving him closer to the edge. He was teetering on the edge of completion when Eren growled against his lips, “Come for me Levi, come on, fuck,” and with a hoarse shout, Levi’s cock jerked, cum spurting from it as euphoria washed over him in blinding waves.

Eren didn’t stop the grinding of his fingers until Levi had stopped coming, little whines and yelps torn from his throat from the overstimulation. “Eren, ah, stop,” Levi groaned. “It’s too sensitive, please,” and finally Eren pulled his fingers out, panting heavily as he stared at Levi.

Levi’s legs gave out and he dropped to the bed with a little “oof,” sprawling onto it and squirming a bit at the feel of fabric rubbing against his oversensitive cock, sending little pleasured shocks through him. He turned his head and regarded the shifter through hazy, pleasure-slitted eyes. Eren's body was practically thrumming with tension, the look in his eyes absolutely feral as his fingers twitched.

God, Eren was gorgeous. He looked a second away from pouncing.

Levi wanted him to do just that.

His body felt sluggish, weak, but Levi mustered enough strength to roll over onto his back and prop himself up on his elbows. His entire body felt good, sated, and it was too soon to go again immediately, but Levi could already feel the faint stirring of arousal again at the wild look on Eren's face.

A lazy little smile spread over Levi’s face, the pleasure and pheromones making him feel a bit drugged in the best way. Eren stared at him, a bit of shock bleeding into his face followed by awe and Levi realized that the shifter hadn’t seen him truly smile before. He was too blissed out to not smile, though.

Levi made a show of licking his fangs, then widened his smile. “You’re delicious,” he murmured, and Eren's breath caught.

“Levi, please,” Eren choked. He shifted a bit and Levi’s eyes flicked down to the bulge in his loose pants. It strained at the cloth and Levi bit his lip – it looked large and thick, and Levi desperately wanted to know what it would feel like inside him. “I can’t-” Eren cut himself off, taking in a deep, ragged breath through his mouth.

Levi tilted his head. “Can’t what?” Eren was looking at him like a man thirsting in a desert and Levi was a pitcher of water a few feet away from him. He liked the feeling – feeling like Eren was going to absolutely devour him.

“I’m not gonna be able to hold back,” Eren rasped. His hands shook and Levi could see the bulge in his pants twitch. Levi wanted to purr at the sight.

But then, Eren's words really hit his hazy mind and Levi blinked. Had to bite back a laugh. God, Eren was so noble, still worried about hurting him when Levi had just gorged himself on his blood and gotten fucked to oblivion with just his tongue and fingers. But Eren had held back long enough, and Levi really, really wanted Eren to lose it.

So he let his eyes trail over Eren's body in a deliberate sweep that had the shifter unconsciously leaning forwards and Eren stopped breathing when Levi opened his mouth to speak, unwilling to miss a single word.

“What makes you think I want you to?” Levi asked, letting his eyelids droop a bit, tilting his head invitingly.

It took a second for Levi’s words to sink in, but when they did, it didn’t take more than a split second for Eren to pounce. He pinned Levi back against the bed and kissed him fiercely, hands roaming over his skin. His thumbs brushed over Levi’s sensitive nipples and had his back arching with a pleasured hiss. At any other time, he would have been happy to kiss Eren like this for longer, let the shifter’s warm, large hands roam over his skin and trail over all the spots that made him shiver; but Levi was impatient and needy, so he turned his head sharply to break the kiss.

Panting, Levi pushed Eren away, his nails raking over Eren’s shoulders as he forced the shifter away onto his knees and himself to a sitting position. Eren looked confused, lost for a second until Levi found his voice, forced his throat to work. “Off,” he rasped, curling his fingers so that his claws were tearing at the fabric of Eren's shirt. “Take this off.”

Eren's confused look bled into one of pure eagerness and frantically, they worked together to get Eren undressed, Levi ripping and pulling at his shirt while Eren fumbled with his pants. Luckily, he hadn’t worn shoes when he’d come to Levi with his offer and normally, the vampire would have scolded him for his sloppy appearance. However, right now, he thanked whatever gods were out there that Eren hadn’t, because he wanted, needed Eren naked and inside of him right now.

Finally, as Levi was flinging the shirt to the side and Eren was pulling his pants and tight briefs off, letting them drop off the side of the bed, the shifter was laid bare and Levi was able to see the defined, smooth lines of Eren's body in all of its glory. He took a moment to trail his eyes along the tanned skin, the ridges of defined muscles – and holy shit, no wonder he’d been able to hold Levi down because Eren was built – and then his eyes locked onto the length between Eren's thick, muscled thighs.

Eren’s cock was one of the most mouthwatering things he had seen. It was long and deliciously thick, a couple of shades darker than Eren’s own bronzed skin. There was a bit of loose skin at the base that confused Levi a bit, but it was secondary to the fact that he was still painfully hard and wanted that gorgeous cock inside of him right now.

Something of Levi’s thoughts must have shown on his face, because the predatory glint in Eren’s eyes flared back up and then the shifter was grabbing him by the shoulders and forcing him back onto the bed. He hit it on his back with a soft grunt and before his addled mind could recover, Eren was roughly grabbing both of Levi’s thighs in a bruising grip and hiking them around his waist.

Eagerly, Levi wrapped them around the trim waist, squeezing them tightly in between his strong thighs. He couldn’t help admiring the way Eren’s muscles rippled in the low light and shone with a thin layer of sweat. It dripped down the ridges of Eren’s abs and the sharp cut of his V-line, and Levi had never wanted to lick anything more. His fangs were still descended and his eyes roamed across the expanse of smooth, blemish-free skin. He felt an unshakeable urge to sink his teeth into every part of Eren’s body, taste that heady blood from every vein, every pulse point.

“Fuck, fuck,” Eren said, and his voice sounded barely human, was basically just a low rumble at that point. His movements were rough as he positioned Levi’s body to his liking and the vampire shivered in anticipation, feeling the hard, heavy cock brushing against his thighs like a searing brand. “I don’t – I can’t be gentle, shit I don’t want to-”

Rumbling low in his chest, Eren cut himself off, going still and taking a couple of deep breaths. He looked so close to snapping, to losing control like he had been at the beginning of the night. Levi had loved Eren's gentle ministrations just a bit ago when he’d fingered him and another day he’d want that again, but with Eren's pheromone-rich blood pooling in his stomach and alighting his veins, Levi wanted it rough.

Levi wanted to see him lose control. He wanted to be fucked, to embrace Eren’s beast just as Eren had Levi’s, for them both come out of this equal and purged. Licking his lips, Levi tightened his thighs around Eren until he was sure it was almost painful and when the moonkin looked him right in the eyes and snarled, Levi only bared his fangs back in response.

“Give it to me,” Levi purred, and Eren went predatorily still, save for his breathing, which had started to speed up. He bucked his hips so that the tip of Eren's cock brushed against his slicked hole and Eren tensed, fingers digging into the meat of Levi’s thighs in a silent warning for him to stay still. But Levi was impatient and wasn’t shy about being so. “Let go and fuck me, Eren,” Levi ordered, exasperated. “I can take it.”

Still, Eren hesitated. He looked like he was desperately holding onto the last vestiges of his control and Eren's teeth worried at his lips. “You don’t know-”

Absolutely fed up with Eren's continued uncertainty, Levi shifted, raising his hips so that the thick head of Eren's cock was pressing right against his entrance. Before Eren could react, could stop him in any way, Levi used his supernatural strength and pulled at Eren's hips with his legs. He forced Eren's length to push into him in one swift movement until the shaft was buried fully inside of him. Levi gritted his teeth as it speared through him, spreading his insides, but he didn’t stop until Eren's cock was in down to the root, balls resting against his ass.

Eren threw his head back and practically howled at the sudden, overwhelming feeling of Levi’s tight, slick heat enveloping him. Levi barely registered the sound, because Eren's cock was so much thicker than the four fingers the shifter had used to stretch him and it burned so, so deliciously. The girth stretched the rim of his entrance in the exact way he loved and Levi could feel every inch of Eren’s length pressing inside of him. Levi’s mind blanked, unable to think about anything other than the fact that he felt absolutely stuffed full in the exact way he’d been craving.

Levi felt his head drop back, unable to find the strength to support it and his mouth fell open; helpless, choked little sounds escaping from him. He wanted to say something, anything, but the ability to form words was beyond him and so all he could do was shift restlessly as he adjusted to the feeling. It was a lot, almost too intense and pushed Levi to the brink of his limits. Levi’s thighs tightened and his body tensed, back arching wordlessly as he struggled to remember how to breathe. God, it was so good, and if he could have remembered how to, Levi would have let out an exhilarated laugh.

“Levi-!” Eren snarled, and then the shifter was moving, raising up to his knees and sitting back on his haunches. His clawed fingers pressed bruises into lithe hips as he gripped them to hold the vampire steady and jerked Levi up until only his shoulders and head remained on the bed.

Levi’s eyes widened as his lower half was lifted and caused the cock buried within him to shift, the new angle burying it somehow even deeper inside of him. He let out a strangled sound as it rubbed relentlessly over the spot inside of him that left him seeing stars. With a low, throaty, possessive sound, Eren drew back his hips and snapped them forward, his control having snapped as soon as Levi’s body had sucked him in.

“Ah – Eren!” Levi cried out. It felt like he was being reamed, split apart in the best way possible at the thrust. “Wait – a second, give me-” Levi tried to choke out, tried to get Eren to give him a moment to adjust, but Eren was already pulling out again slowly and Levi’s words died in his throat at the movement. Eren was too big to not brush against Levi’s prostate with every move he made, sending heat sizzling through him and leaving him dazed.

Eren didn’t stop, looming over Levi and pumping his hips in sharp, rolling thrusts. Levi’s hands scrabbled against the bed, desperate for something, anything to hold onto and his fingers finally latched onto the sheets and twisted into the soft material. He was dimly aware of fabric ripping as his claws shredded the sheets, but it was like he heard it from miles away, because all Levi could focus on was the way he felt achingly empty every time Eren pulled out, then so deliciously full each time he pushed back in.

Eren fucked into him roughly and Levi finally understood what Eren meant when he said he wasn’t going to be able to hold back. Eren's teeth were bared in a fierce grimace of pleasure and his claws pierced deeply into Levi’s skin, blood welling to the surface as they sunk in. The pain mixed with the pleasure in an intoxicating mix and all Levi could hazily think was that it was all so fucking good.

Despite the fog in his mind and pleasure roiling through him, Levi could sense something changing – Eren's cock was getting bigger, growing impossibly within him. Confusion flitted through him and he lifted his head, blearily attempting to look down at where they were joined.

“What…” Levi breathed as he felt something start to catch at his rim with each thrust. Eren looked down at him, must have seen the confusion on his face because he slowed the sharp fucking of his hips to deep, almost lazy thrusts. Eren's eyes flicked down to where they were connected, watching the slow in and out motions, the way Levi’s ass seemed to hungrily suck him in before looking back up, eyes blazing as he bit his lip.

“Knot,” Eren rasped. Levi only stared at him in deeper confusion and then suddenly, the word permeated through his pleasure-fogged mind and he remembered.

Years ago, Levi had overheard a couple of moonkin in the Underground talking about what happened to alphas while having sex during a rut. Knotting. The base of their cock swelled, locking them together with the receiving moonkin. It ensured that no cum escaped and increased the chances of procreation, which was the entire reason they went into season in the first place.

Levi’s breath caught in his throat. A predatory grin spread across Eren's handsome face when he saw the way Levi’s eyes widened, realization dawning upon the vampire. Eren’s thrusts sped up and Levi yelped, then it melted into a low moan as Eren fucked into him even faster than before, excitement and lust driving the pace of his hips.

Eren kept growing within him and now that he knew what was happening, panic raced through Levi. How much bigger was Eren going to get? Levi’s body could take a lot, but he was much smaller than Eren, his hips so much narrower and it had been a stretch to accommodate Eren's girth in the first place.

Fear laced his voice as he protested, “Fucking – shit, Eren it’s not gonna fit-”

“It will,” Eren growled. His voice was absolutely gone and the next delicious thrust had a low moan falling from Levi’s lips. “You said you can take it, so fucking take it.” Eren ground his cock down, at an angle that stretched Levi’s rim even more and made him gasp, let Levi feel exactly what was going to fill him up.

This isn’t what I meant when I said that, Levi thought frantically, eyes widening as he felt the promise of the knot against his abused hole. Yet, despite everything, it still felt amazing, making his breath hitch every time the growing knot slid in and out of him.

Levi reached up, scrabbling at Eren's shoulders, his arms, anything in a frantic bid to make Eren listen, because it wasn’t possible, he wasn’t built to take it like moonkin were. There was no way he was going to be able to stretch that much without tearing. His sharp claws ran down Eren's skin, littering him with shallow scratches and a warning growl rumbled from deep in Eren's chest, wordlessly telling him to stop. Levi ignored it, pushing at his arms feverishly until Eren finally let loose a heady wave of pheromones.

Levi’s hands stilled their pawing as they hit him. They were almost soothing to him, meant to be calming, making Levi wonder dazedly what he had been worrying about as he fell limply back onto the bed. The shifter stared down at him, a pleased croon growing in his throat as Levi shuddered against the sheets, no longer panicking.

“Gonna knot you, fill you up, pump you so fucking full-” Eren’s words were dark and promising and they made Levi shiver in mixed anticipation and fear because god, he was going to be fucking stuffed. He loved feeling full, the way his rim stretched around Eren's cock, but he was still afraid and it made him squirm, fighting against the calming pheromones and trying to get away more desperately now. Levi could feel the knot starting to swell more, getting harder to push in and out of his sensitive hole with every thrust, and Levi almost wanted to sob.

It burned, stretching him nearly past his limit and it was mind-fuckingly good, but almost too much. It was starting to hurt a bit, but the pain was mixed with the insane pleasure of the swelling knot rubbing constantly against his prostate with each shallow thrust. It sent jolt after jolt of euphoria through him and Levi could feel that familiar heat pooling in his stomach, getting closer to coming each time Eren's cock slid inside him.

“Take it out, fuck – stop, Eren!” Levi cried out, trying to protest but helpless in the oncoming force of his orgasm.

“No,” Eren murmured. He reached down to wrap his fingers around Levi’s cock, making the vampire toss his head back and give a shout as Eren started stroking it firmly. Eren started thrusting a bit harder, relentless in his goal to drive Levi mad with pleasure as he fisted the leaking dick, knot grinding maddeningly against the vampire’s sweet spot. Levi gave a sharp cry as the pleasure assaulted him, his hole clenching and twitching around Eren's cock helplessly as he was pushed relentlessly towards his peak.

“You’re going to be good and take it. Gonna look so pretty hanging off my knot-” and now Eren was babbling, words pouring out of him as his excitement grew, running on pure instinct. The hand on Levi’s cock stroked him faster, thumbing over the sensitive head and the words combined with a particularly sharp thrust of Eren's hips made Levi’s body go stiff; his back arched and before he knew it, he was coming with a strangled scream. His vision almost whited out as the rush of his orgasm hit and his release spurted over Eren's fingers and his stomach.

Dimly, Levi could feel Eren burying himself deeply into his ass one last time and then the shifter was coming with deep, throaty groan of, “Levi!” Through the waves of mind-numbing pleasure, Levi could feel Eren's knot swelling fully and locking them together. It stretched his rim one last time, made him shudder and choke helplessly as Eren came inside of him. Levi could keenly feel every jerk of Eren's cock as it twitched inside him, filling him in bursts of hot cum. The knot prevented any from leaking out and god, Levi felt so full that it made his eyes roll back a bit. His body went limp as his orgasm faded, exhaustion sapping any remaining strength from his bones.

Eren caught up Levi’s body in one arm, supporting the boneless frame before he could fall and tug painfully on the knot, uncaring of his cum-covered fingers. Eren reached down with the other to carefully unwrap Levi’s stiff, trembling legs from his waist and coaxed them onto the bed. Then, Eren gently lay Levi’s upper body down, following him down so that the front of their bodies were pressed against one another, as much skin touching as possible.

If Levi’s brain hadn’t been thoroughly fucked from his body, he would have found the gesture sweet. Right now though, all he could feel was the way Eren's still-twitching cock remained hard inside of him and the way Levi’s own length, somehow still hard, rubbed between their toned stomachs. The cum from his orgasm and the sweat of their bodies made it slippery in between them and the mass of the knot stretched him so wide that it made it impossible for Levi to form a coherent thought.

Instinctively, Levi tried canting his hips away from Eren's body to get some relief from his oversensitive cock but it only ground Eren's knot deeper into his overstimulated prostate, and when he jerked away from that, the movement rubbed his dick firmly between their bodies. Levi shifted, squirmed, unsure of which feeling he wanted to get away from more. He wanted to tell Eren to give him some distance but his brain wasn’t working and Levi could only make little breathy sounds and pants as tremors racked his frame.

Even though Eren had come, Levi could still feel the shifter grinding into him, his knot preventing him from truly thrusting. A constant, steady rumble emanated from Eren's chest, punctuated by low, aborted snarls and gasps. Eren's breath was hot and heavy against his ear, nose nuzzling the spot just under it.

“You’re still hard, Levi,” Eren whispered, shifting to lean his weight onto the arm placed next to Levi’s head and trailed his fingers in between their bodies, down to Levi’s stomach and the cum cooling there. He scooped some of it up in his fingers and if Levi had been able to think clearly, he would have called Eren disgusting. A small, satisfied smile curled Eren's full lips up. “I think you can come again.”

Eren ground his hips down a little bit harder and with a wrecked sob, Levi grabbed his arm in a futile attempt to stop him, to protest. He was still mostly beyond words and kept trying to talk, but his face would only twitch and he couldn’t get his voice to work. He made a strange little hitching noise in his throat and then Eren was lifting off of him a bit and Levi could have sobbed in relief –

But it was cut short because Eren was wrapping long, hot fingers around his length again and slowly stroking. The cum on his fingers made everything slippery and he kept lazily rolling his hips into Levi’s, working his knot against Levi’s abused prostate.

Levi’s head tossed back and forth on the bed, face contorting into a mask of mixed pleasure and pain; fuck, it still felt so good but it was starting to edge into a weird sort of pain that didn’t really hurt, but everything was starting to be too much.

“No, no,” Levi protested, finally finding his voice. His normally low, deep voice was hitching into almost a whine, rising to a pitch he’d never heard from himself before. He couldn’t stop moving, his body jerking and writhing in protest and heels digging into the mattress as it instinctively tried to get away. “It’s too much, I fucking can’t-”

But despite his words, Levi could feel tension once again coiling in his stomach and Eren's other hand reached up to catch his pointed chin in his fingers. He tilted Levi’s face so that the vampire was facing him, unable to look away. Levi’s eyes were wide and all he could do was stare into Eren’s own, unable to look away. The yellow had receded and they were completely Eren's again, that lovely, clear turquoise that Levi had fallen in love with.

“God, your eyes are beautiful,” Eren whispered, his tone gentle beyond belief, voice warm and fond. “You’re so good, so gorgeous. I know you can come for me this one last time, Levi.” The words and soft voice wrapped around Levi’s shaking body like a physical caress and it was what tipped Levi over the edge.

With a half-scream, half-sob, Levi was coming dry one last time, his cock jerking and his body quaking as his orgasm hit him. His body felt weak, his vision tinging with black around the edges. One last slow, stroke of his cock had him twitching and then, the darkness grew and Levi allowed it to take him.

Chapter Text

Eren watched with a deep sense of satisfaction settling into him as Levi came one last time, back arching and the hot, firm cock in his hand jerking as he gently stroked it. He was careful not to grip too hard because he knew Levi had to be extremely oversensitive by now.

Levi was mindlessly shifting his hips, trying to get away and get some relief from the sensations assaulting his body. Every little movement made Levi’s tight ass twitch around him, massaging his knot as the muscles constantly tightened and then relaxed over and over again. Eren couldn’t stop grinding into the heat, desperately trying to prolong the pleasure and enjoying the little bit of friction he was able to get with his knot engorged like this. He’d already came, but he was still hard and Levi’s tight heat sent constant waves of pleasure through him.

And then as Levi came, his ass clenched around his cock and Eren's breath hitched because fuck, that tight, wet, searing heat was the best thing he had ever felt. Eren almost felt like given a little more time, he could come again.

The sound that was torn from Levi’s lips as his last orgasm of the night hit soothed the primal instincts of the beast within him because god, it looked like he’d just cum his brains out and Eren loved that he’d been able to do that to Levi.

Levi’s glowing silver eyes focused on him hazily for a split second before they slid shut with a last, breathy exhale from the vampire. His body slumped down and stopped twitching as it went completely limp, relaxing bonelessly onto the bed and… had Levi fallen unconscious?

“Levi?” Eren whispered, and there was no response. Reluctantly, Eren stilled his hips because he didn’t want to disturb Levi if he truly was asleep. More than that, though, Levi’s face had looked like the sensations he was feeling were starting to border on painful. He’d put the captain through a lot that night, and a flush pinkened his cheeks as he remembered some of the things he’d said in the heat of the moment – it had been his inner moonkin talking and he’d been so caught up in the pleasure, in his excitement, that Eren hadn’t even understood half of what he’d been saying.

Eren’s mind was clearing fully now; the red, hazy tinge his vision had taken on during his rut was bleeding out of his vision rapidly and a few moments later, everything was clear once more. He could finally think coherently now. It felt good to be able to form solid thoughts once more; thoughts that weren’t just a jumbled mess of instinct and the need to fuck Levi.

A soft sigh came from the captain. The sound drew Eren's attention back to the form underneath him. “Levi?” he said quietly, practically breathing the words. “Are you awake?” There was no response and Eren leaned in a bit closer. His eyes roved over the pale, delicate face and a soft, warm feeling replaced the burning urgency that had been blazing in his chest before.

Levi’s face was relaxed, serene; the furrow that was normally present between those thin eyebrows was smoothed out. The vampire’s ragged breathing gradually evened out into deep, even breaths and Eren knew that the captain was well and truly out for the count. A small, fond smile tugged at Eren's lips – Levi had just came four times, of course he was exhausted.

Hanji had been right in her journal’s observations – Eren had no idea exactly how she had tested that theory, but he made a mental note to ask her about it sometime. He was sure the story was entertaining, especially if she had seemed so sure Levi was going to murder her.

Eren reached out to wipe his dirtied, cum-covered hand on the sheets as far away from them as possible. He eyed the remnants of the bedding; Levi had thoroughly shredded them with his claws. They’d definitely have to be disposed of and replaced. Eren almost felt a bit bad – he could tell the fabric was high-quality, not the standard, rough bedding issued by the Survey Corps. Levi had probably bought them with his own wages and Eren wondered if it had to do with Levi’s aforementioned sensitivity. In fact, Eren was almost positive it was. The material of Levi’s clothes had been soft as well, from what Eren recalled and he figured that the vampire couldn’t stand rough materials against his sensitive skin.

Eren made sure his hands were completely clean of cum and then leaned back to eye Levi’s body – the white substance pooling on his stomach was already congealing and he didn’t think the fastidious man would appreciate waking up sticky with dried cum all over him. The sheets were already beyond recovery, so Eren reached out to rip at them, tearing off a clean piece. Taking care not to wake his slumbering captain, he wiped off Levi’s skin as gently and thoroughly as he could before balling up the rag and tossing it off the bed.

Then, he looked at Levi and started to reach out before he paused and looked at his hand, considering. Eren wiped it off once more just to be sure and then tentatively, he stroked the tips of his fingers over Levi’s cheek, marveling at the softness of the unblemished skin. Levi had such high cheekbones, Eren thought, drinking in the sight of the man looking so unguarded and relaxed. He’d always thought Levi had been attractive, but now that he had the opportunity to really look, could stare unabashedly without worry of being caught, a swell of emotion rose within him. God, Levi was beautiful. Eren cared about him so much.

Eren stroked a thumb over Levi’s smooth skin fondly and he exhaled softly in his sleep. The vampire turned his face so that it pressed more firmly against Eren's fingers, as if unconsciously seeking more of the shifter’s touch. Eren's breath caught, heart swelling, and he was finally able to put a name to the emotion he was feeling rise up within him.

If he hadn’t been sure before, he was now; Eren loved Levi.

It wasn’t just the feeding or the sex that fueled his sudden realization; though both had been fantastic, better than anything in his wildest dreams, Eren thought. It sent a quick little thrum of excitement through him before it died back down. No, Eren had always respected Levi and over all the years of working together, he’d come to care about the man deeply. Levi had such deep empathy for human life, cared so fiercely for his squad and had saved Eren time and time again, done his best to guide Eren through all the trials they had faced together.

At some point, the care he’d felt for Levi had deepened and branched off. Somewhere along the way, he’d fallen in love with Levi, and it was only over the past day that he’d come to realize that.

Humming softly to himself, a smile on his face, Eren slid his hand up from Levi’s cheek and smoothed a few ink-black locks off of his forehead. Somehow, Levi’s cute little headscarf had stayed on through everything. Eren tugged at the fabric, frowning a bit when it didn’t budge. He leaned in to take a closer look and then gave a small, quiet laugh when he saw what was causing it.

Levi had secured the fabric to his hair with a few hidden, strategically placed hairpins to ensure it stayed put and wouldn’t slip while he was moving around. He was that unwilling to get any sort of dust or dirt on his hair.

Careful not to wake or jostle Levi – the vampire was breathing deeply and steadily as he slept – Eren gently removed the hairpins and laid them off to the side of the bed. He made a mental note to pick them up and set them on the nightstand once his knot went down. Getting jabbed by one of them while lying down for bed was not something Eren could imagine being a pleasant experience.

Speaking of his knot…

Eren did a quick internal check – his shaft had softened but his knot was still hard and swollen, locking them together. It remained firm and showed no signs of softening anytime soon. It was still mildly sensitive and though Levi had loosened around him in unconsciousness, the warmth and pressure felt nice and Eren enjoyed it wrapped around him. Honestly, he felt like he could lie here all night locked with Levi.

Still, he really wished that Hanji had written or researched more about this whole knotting thing, though he had no idea how she would have gone about getting the information. At least they were relatively comfortable; there were worse positions they could be stuck in. Eren winced at the thought of being forced to stay in some of the more interesting ones he’d twisted past partners into, remembered the strain on his muscles at a few of the really noteworthy ones. Ouch.

Well, if they were going to be here for a bit, he might as well get them as comfortable as possible. Eren turned his attention back to Levi and fingered the fabric of the scarf on his head; even the material of this was silky and felt nice against his skin. Without the pins holding it in place, it had started to slip back a bit now, following the tilt of Levi’s head. Eren easily tugged the scarf free and set it aside next to the hairpins.

Levi’s soft, ink-black hair splayed across the pillow once free of the scarf and Eren gazed down at him fondly. Shifting to put his weight on one arm, he gently ran his fingers through the dark, thick locks. It was so soft and fine as it slid over his fingers, almost like silk. Even the shorter hairs at the back and sides of his head were sleek, not bristly like Eren would have thought.

Idly, Eren wondered what Levi used or did to get his hair like this – so smooth and with a glossy sheen to it. He’d have to ask, he thought. Eren's own long hair was soft and he took good care of it, but it was nothing like the pure silk that slid across and through his fingers. Fondly, he combed Levi’s black hair away from his pale face, smoothing it back over his head. Without the bangs falling over his forehead and eyes, Eren could see all of his captain’s face. Levi looked so different like this, so young and vulnerable. It would be so easy to take… advantage… while Levi was like… this…

Eren's thoughts ground to a sudden halt and his eyes widened as unbidden, Hanji’s voice invaded his mind.

“It’d be very easy to take advantage during or after, so let this serve as a warning.”

Eren froze, looking down at Levi’s unconscious form. His wide eyes trailed over Levi, taking note of the damage he’d wrought upon that pale body, remembering fully what he’d done while lost in his rut. Eren took in the blood smeared on Levi’s neck from the two open bite marks he’d torn into the vampire’s neck; they were just starting to scab over. He’d been overtaken by an animalistic impulse to sink his teeth into the skin there, to put his mark on Levi so everyone who saw the vampire knew that he was Eren's, that Levi was his.

Then there was the ring of bruises that were starting to form; they wrapped fully around that pale throat and visible underneath the smeared blood. He’d choked Levi roughly, squeezed his fingers around that slim neck, Eren remembered. Had been overtaken by a deadly black rage when he’d thought of Levi fucking someone else, of allowing someone that wasn’t Eren to see him so pliant and crying out in pleasure.

In horror, he shifted to get a look at the deep marks he’d clawed down Levi’s side when the man hadn’t answered his questions – hadn’t been able to because Eren was literally choking him and Levi hadn’t been able to get a breath to reply.

Eren's straightened back up and his gaze trailed in fear down to the slim hips that were littered with darkening bruises. He’d gripped them so hard as he’d fucked into Levi, tightening his grip instinctively at his instincts’ fear that his partner would try to wriggle away. He stared in dread at the punctures and shallow scratches on the skin of Levi’s waist and hips. They were still welling slightly with blood from where his claws had pierced and scratched the soft skin thoughtlessly as he’d held Levi still and forced him to take Eren's knot.

Fuck, the knot. Levi hadn’t wanted Eren to knot him, remembered the sheer panic on Levi’s face and the way he’d tried to squirm away. His heels had dug into the bed and fingers scrabbled against Eren's own skin when he’d felt the swelling mass inside of him. And instead of stopping when Levi had asked, he’d sent out a wave of pheromones to make Levi calm down, make him go loose and pliant and unable to truly get away. Eren's eyes shot down to where they were still knotted together and any arousal at the sight died away. Levi’s hole was swollen, puffy, and red, stretched around his knot in a way that looked like if Eren had been any bigger, it would have torn the tight ring of muscle.

Eren had fucked up. He’d hurt Levi. He’d made Levi come, yes, knew the vampire had gotten pleasure out of what they’d done, but he’d hurt Levi. The vampire had been so gentle with him while he fed, checking constantly to make sure Eren was alright. But then… he’d practically attacked Levi and fuck, he’d had told Eren to take what he needed, basically offered himself up on a silver platter. Eren hadn’t needed to hurt him, though. But he had.

The remaining pleasure of the tight heat squeezing his knot faded out and Hanji’s words from earlier that morning returned to ring through his mind with a vengeance.

“The things he could do to you pale in comparison to what I will do if he comes out of this less than okay.”

Oh, fuck.

Hanji was going to destroy him when she saw what Eren done to Levi. Hanji was going to flay the skin from his body, rip the muscles from his bones and then cut him into little bite-sized pieces and feed him to a Titan. There were no Titans left, but Hanji would definitely find one just so she could drop the little bits of Eren’s body into its gaping maw and relish in every moment as the Titan devoured him.

He knew Hanji.

She’d do it.

She’d do it happily and with a delighted, manic grin on her face because he’d promised and he’d broken that promise oh fuck.

Fuckfuckfuck-

Almost panicking now, Eren started mindlessly shifting his hips, desperate to get them unstuck. He needed to get away before Hanji found out, get out and –

A rough shift of his hips made his knot tug sharply at Levi’s swollen, stretched rim. An almost nauseating lance of pain shot through Eren's dick and up through his body. It immediately made Eren freeze and turned his face pale because holy fuck, that hurt. The man underneath him groaned in pain as well and sent Eren's panic skyrocketing because fuck, he’d hurt Levi again. The captain’s eyes squeezed briefly in an unconscious wince before Eren saw his chest rise in a deep breath and then they slid open.

Levi blinked slowly, pale grey eyes bleary as he shifted into consciousness. Even through the panic Eren felt surging through him, he couldn’t help but appreciate the color of Levi’s eyes – when not that shimmering, liquid silver, they were a lovely shade of stormy grey that were a stark contrast to the inky blackness of his hair.

Levi’s eyes were unfocused, hazy. They stared unseeingly up at Eren while he appeared to be getting his bearings. His mouth opened slightly and a small pink tongue came out to lick at dry, kiss-bruised lips.

Earlier, the sight would have sent a jolt of arousal straight through him, but right now, it only served to enhance his panic because Levi looked wrecked. The captain looked like he’d been thoroughly taken advantage of, just like Hanji had warned Eren away from doing and oh shit, he was a dead man. Dead ten times over, fuck.

He gave an instinctive, flustered whine and Levi’s eyes finally cleared a bit, focusing on him. They were still hazy, somewhat dazed but Eren noticed that as Levi eyed him, the grey depths had an almost sated, satisfied look in them. It made Eren feel a bit confused – shouldn’t Levi be angry, or at least upset that Eren had hurt him?

Instead, Levi’s face looked relaxed, almost content now that the pain from the knot tugging at him had ceased.

“Eren,” he rasped, deep voice hoarse from all the abuse it had been put through. Levi licked his dry lips once more before he continued. “Don’t do that again.”

Eren gave another whine – he’d hurt Levi and his inner moonkin was displeased at the thought. His instincts were screaming at him; he was supposed to keep Levi safe, make him happy and provide for him and instead, Eren had just put him through more pain.

Levi’s eyes were clearing now and the vampire gave a little sigh at Eren's distress, still groggy with the remnants of sleep. “You’re fine, Eren,” he murmured, voice still a bit gravelly. “Just stay still. Here,” he added almost as an afterthought, shifting with a bit of a wince to spread his arms out and gesture Eren closer, “we might be stuck like this for a while, so get comfortable.”

Eren was still wary – wasn’t Levi mad? Or was the vampire just too groggy, to out of it still to realize the extent of what he had done?

Eren did as his captain asked anyway, because there was nothing else he could do. He lowered his body down closer to Levi’s and placed his forearms on either side of him, distributing his weight so he was a bit more relaxed.

Levi let his body melt back down onto the bed, still feeling the exhaustion from the strain put on his body that night, but also satiated and languid in a way he hadn’t felt for a long time. It was a bone-deep satisfaction that made Levi sigh sleepily into the room and they lay like that for a few minutes. The bed was comfortable, Eren's body warm against his and he was just starting to doze off again when the shifter suddenly whispered, “I’m sorry.”

Forcing himself awake enough to respond, Levi’s sluggish thoughts didn’t realize what Eren was truly apologizing for. “ ‘S fine, you didn’t know,” he said lazily, slurring his words a bit in his sleepiness. He turned to bury his head more into the pillow. It had started to smell slightly of Eren and Levi took a deep breath in. It was nice. He had to bite back a yawn while he mumbled, “Just don’t try it again, that shit hurt.” Levi gave a little wince at the memory of the sharp pain that had woken him up.

At the harsh reminder, Eren had to fight another whine from building in his throat. “No, not for that, for,” Eren waved his arm to indicate ‘all this.’

Levi craned his head back up and stared at Eren blankly for a few long seconds before he rolled his eyes and let his face turn back into the pillow with an exasperated sound. “I don’t believe this,” he half-groaned, half-hissed, forcing himself fully awake now. “Of course you’d be beating yourself up afterwards. Should’ve known.” Levi turned his head back and lifted it, then reached up a hand to grab Eren's chin, forcing him to look right into steely grey eyes. “I’m not in the mood to indulge a pity party, so listen up, because I’m going to make this short. You didn’t take advantage. I wanted to do this. I consented and,” a small smirk tugged at the corner of Levi’s lips at the memories that suddenly flooded his mind, “it wasn’t half bad.”

Eren could only stare at Levi in shocked surprise as the vampire released the grip on his chin and let his head thump back onto the pillow, regarding him lazily through hooded eyes. “Levi, I choked you,” Eren hissed, half in disbelief and half in anger directed at himself.

The smirk widened and a certain, strange glint appeared in Levi’s eyes. Eren felt like it was hard to string two coherent thoughts together because that look was throwing him for a loop and Levi looked almost.. playful?

Eren had never seen him like this before and it made him feel off-kilter, unsure of what to make of this new attitude. It was like Levi was teasing him and Eren didn’t know what to do.

“Yeah, and imagine my surprise when I discovered a new kink,” Levi’s tone was light, but at Eren's blank stare, Levi gave a sigh. It was the type one gave when dealing with an especially exasperating five-year-old. “I liked it, Eren,” he said slowly, enunciating the word so that the meaning would actually sink through Eren's apparently thick skull.

“But I… I slapped you,” Eren whispered, still reeling in shock. “I slapped your ass and clawed you-”

“You slapped my ass a bit and scratched me and bit me,” Levi interrupted him, stating exactly what Eren had done. His gaze was level and calm as he stared at the wide-eyed shifter above him. “If you actually use your brain for once and re-examine exactly how I reacted when you did those things, I think you’ll figure out pretty quickly that I actually enjoy that shit.”

Eren's thoughts ground to a halt at Levi’s bluntness. Levi wasn’t angry. He’d…

“So…” Eren said slowly only now starting to comprehend everything, “you… kind of liked it. What we did, I mean.”

Levi stared at him like Eren had said something extremely dumb. “I… Eren…” Levi seemed like he was genuinely at a loss for words, something that Eren rarely saw. Levi’s mouth opened and closed a few times before he seemed to finally figure out what he wanted to say. “You made me come four fucking times,” Levi said, openly exasperated now. “Yes, I ‘kind of liked it.’”

But there was something else bothering Eren. The pheromones he’d been emitting, the ones that had made Levi calm down before they knotted… had they affected what Levi wanted? They seemed to drug Levi to some extent – had he truly consented?

“But.. the pheromones-” Eren tried to start.

“Didn’t make me some mindless, rutting beast. I’m not a moonkin, Eren,” Levi explained patiently, cutting him off. “With normal moonkin, I can sense them, but they don’t affect me. For some reason, yours do – probably something to do with you being a Titan shifter as well. They affected me to some extent, but they didn’t take my will away.”

Eren still couldn’t meet Levi’s eyes and underneath him, he heard a heavy sigh. “I’ll admit, at first it was a shock when you tackled me to the ground- and ripping off my clothes without asking was pretty goddamn rude,” Levi said, scowling for a moment before his face cleared and something in his face changed. Almost absentmindedly, he reached up to catch a stray lock of Eren's long hair in between his fingers, twining it around them as his brows furrowed and he said slowly, “But… I wasn’t lying when I said I got myself off to the thought of you fucking me while I was in the shower. Once I got over the shock of realizing that you were acting like that because you were in season, I realized I wanted it.” Levi’s eyes slid up to meet Eren's and his voice was soft but honest when he admitted, “Truth be told, I think… I’ve wanted you for awhile, Eren.”

Oh.

Eren swallowed heavily, realization dawning and that warm feeling returned to blossom in his chest once more, tinged with something ridiculously close to hope. Levi must have seen something of Eren's thoughts on his face because the vampire gave a little roll of his eyes and mumbled something that might have been, “Took you long enough, moron,” under his breath.

Levi shifted a little bit and winced when he turned his head to settle it more deeply into the pillow. Eren's eyes flew down to the ragged bite marks on the sides of Levi’s neck, the ring of bruises that were purpling on the pale skin.

It made him feel better, knowing that Levi had actually wanted Eren to fuck him, hadn’t minded the roughness, but…

But he had still hurt Levi. Eren's eyes flicked over Levi’s wounds and he felt a sharp stab of regret. He could have been gentler. It would take Levi awhile to heal from what he’d done and he’d no doubt have scars from it. That deeply bothered Eren.

“Eren.” Levi’s voice was firm now, the voice of his superior officer and Eren instinctively straightened up. He but still couldn’t make himself meet Levi’s eyes, though. A strong hand grabbed his chin in a vicelike grip once again and forced Eren's head to turn. “Hey, look at me,” Levi commanded. Eren once more obeyed, unable to defy that voice even though it lacked the pull of Compulsion. It had been ingrained into every part of his being to follow any and all orders that came from that voice. Even while they were like this, he couldn’t stop the near-instinctual response of his body to it.

Eren raised his eyes to meet Levi’s. There was no anger or resentment in them, only a calm placidness, an open curiosity. “I need you to be honest with me. Did you enjoy what we did?”

“Yes,” Eren said without hesitation. But then his lips tugged down, his brows furrowing. “But…” he added on, trailing off.

“But?” Levi asked, and his voice was patient but still insistent.

Eren bared his teeth in a grimace. “I hurt you.”

“So?” Levi looked remarkably unruffled by all of this and it kind of made Eren want to laugh hysterically. Or burst into tears. He wasn’t really sure which.

“So I hurt you, Levi!” Eren burst out, almost shouting the words. At Levi’s sharp glare and upon comprehending how loud his voice had been while so close to ears with remarkably keen hearing, his voice quieted but it was still insistent and bordering on frantic. “You.. when you fed from me, I told you to take what you needed and you were so gentle and careful. And… and you did the same for me and sure, you might have liked the pain, but,” and here Eren's voice broke a bit, “I hurt you badly. The bruises are going to take time to heal and you’re going to have scars. From me, from what I did. And I just…” Eren trailed off, shaking his head.

Eren’s shoulders trembled a bit as he bit his lips. Reluctantly, he returned his gaze to the vampire, fearful that he was going to see disgust or even worse, fear on the face of the man he’d come to care about so much.

But Levi just blinked. Tilted his head a bit. Lifted up to look down at himself. Noted the darkening bruises and bleeding marks on his hips. Raised his arm to look down and around at the gashes sliced into his back. Eyed everything Eren had done silently.

“Oh,” Levi simply said. Then he looked back up at Eren. “Watch.”

And so Eren did. Levi’s eyes closed, brows furrowing just a bit and it was with some astonishment that Eren saw the wounds on Levi’s body healing rapidly. The bruises faded from his neck and hips in mere in seconds. The puncture marks, the scratches on his hips, and the long gashes on the side of his back knitted themselves closed swiftly, skin sealing shut smoothly. When it was done, not a single scar or blemish was left behind.

In a matter of a few moments, the only physical signs remaining that belied what they had done were the ragged wounds on Levi’s neck, the leftover drying blood on his body and the fact that they were still knotted together.

What the fuck.

Gaping now, Eren could only blink in astonishment. “You…”

“Can regenerate, yeah,” Levi confirmed, giving a little one-shouldered shrug. “Kind of like you, but without all the,” and here he waved his hand vaguely, “steam and shit. About the only thing that can kill me is a complete decapitation or blood loss. I’m pretty durable.” Levi said everything so casually, like his regenerative healing abilities were an obvious thing.

And damn, maybe it should have been, because Levi was a vampire and they were kind of known for being hard to kill. Now that he thought about it, Eren had never really seen Levi with any kind of injury after a training accident or expedition. But he had seen the captain get hurt before, had witnessed the incidents with his own eyes and remembered them with clarity. He knew of a few occasions where a branch or stray discarded ODM blade had snagged at him, cutting through skin. It had obviously been Levi’s blood because it stained the fabric of his uniform and hadn’t evaporated. Eren also remembered countless times where Levi had taken a hard hit while sparring or after being caught by a Titan’s flailing limb that Eren knew would have left bruises.

Looking back, it was with a little shock of realization that while he’d always seen the moment when Levi had gotten hurt, saw the physical wounds at the moment they occurred, the vampire had always appeared with unmarred skin the next day or in some cases, just a few hours later.

And then… Levi had injured his leg during the encounter with Annie in the forest all those years ago, Eren recalled. He’d pushed Petra out of the way before Annie’s giant hand could hit her in a killing blow and Eren had seen the sharp grimace of pain on that pale face as Levi’s leg twisted badly. Eren remembered that he’d practically almost heard the tendons in his leg tearing because it had been such a bad landing. They’d flown in the ODM gear on the way back through the forest and been on horseback while riding back to and then through the walls, so he hadn’t seen Levi walk very much afterwards, especially because Erwin had forced him to take a short medical leave. An unnaturally short medical leave, in fact, now that he thought about it. The few times Eren had seen him walking around shortly after the injury, Levi’s limp had seemed odd, almost like it had been forced. By the time the debacle with Reiner and Bertholdt had been over and Levi and his squad had left for the hidden cabin during the encounter with the First Interior Squad and Rod Reiss, Levi had been back to going physically hard during training and missions as if nothing had happened to his leg in the first place.

But if Levi had been able to heal all this…

“Why didn’t you do it before?” Eren asked, brows furrowing. “When I hurt you?”

At Eren's question, Levi’s pink lips curled up a bit into a knowing little smirk and he gave Eren a look. “Because I have to focus in order to do it, and my mind was occupied by other things.”

There was a heavy emphasis on the last part and Eren had to fight back the heated flush that threatened to redden his face. But then, Eren noticed that the bite marks Eren had torn into his neck were still there. Some deep part of Eren liked that, but… why had Levi left them?

He shifted his weight onto one arm and brushed his fingers tentatively over them. They were scabbing over by this point, but Eren's teeth had torn deep and the skin there was red and inflamed. Levi inhaled sharply at the light touch and Eren knew they had to be pretty painful. His teeth weren’t meant to pierce neatly and cleanly like a vampire’s; Eren's were meant to tear and rend through flesh and muscle.  

“What about your neck?” Eren asked softly. “Does it have something to do with me being a moonkin? Can you not heal them?”

At the question, Levi’s hand flew up to his neck, grasping Eren's fingers in his hand to pull them away. Eren drew his hand back, balling it into a fist and placing it back on the bed. He was worried now. Had something in his own bite interfered with Levi’s ability to heal? Eren had been bitten by a moonkin that’s how he was turned; did the taint somehow infect Levi? Was it affecting him?

“Levi?” he asked again, more urgently this time. The small hand, however, remained raised and he covered one of the wounds with a palm. The vampire made a small noise in the back of his throat and was that-?

With a bit of astonishment, Eren saw that there was definitely the faintest hint of a pink flush across Levi’s cheeks and nose now. Levi darted his eyes away and paused for a moment, briefly biting at a lip while considering something. But then he gave a little huff and mumbled, “I didn’t know if you wanted me to get rid of them.”

Confusion flitted across Eren's face. They were painful and he’d just said he hadn’t want to hurt Levi. Of course he wanted them gone.

“What? Why?” Eren asked, genuinely confused.

There was another pause and Levi seemed reluctant to continue, appearing for all the world as if he’d rather be discussing anything else in the world. But they weren’t going to be going anywhere for awhile and the vampire knew Eren wouldn’t relent. Damn.

“It’s a moonkin thing, apparently,” Levi finally muttered. He looked extremely uncomfortable now, unwilling to continue; but Eren just continued to stare intently at him. Levi gave a deep sigh and reached up with his free hand to scrub it roughly over his face, mumbling a curse as he did so, along with something that sounded suspiciously like, “Of all the stupid things,” before he raised his voice and with great reluctance, spoke. “I remembered… when a moonkin chooses their life mate, they mark each other like this,” he brushed his fingers over the inflamed wound at his neck before holding his palm over it gently again. Then, for clarification added, “With bitemarks,” just in case it wasn’t obvious to Eren, because the shifter hadn’t shown himself to be capable of deeper thought ever since Levi had woken up.

Eren only continued to stare down at him, eyes trailing over the slim neck while the words and their meaning sunk in. He hadn’t remembered reading anything like that in Hanji’s notes, but he did recall very, very clearly the unshakable urge he’d had to mark up that white skin.

Levi cleared his throat a bit, brows furrowing. “I wasn’t sure if…” Levi trailed off and his flush deepened. It suddenly struck Eren – because yeah, now he did recall something in the notes, just a brief mention of it. Moonkin, after finding the partner they wanted to spend their life with, marked each other with deep bites. The scars were proof that they were claimed and therefore unavailable to other moonkin and also showed who they were claimed by.

And Levi had known that.

Levi hadn’t healed them because… oh.

Oh, he thought. OH.

The implications of Levi’s words sunk in and a warm, contented feeling welled up within Eren's chest until he thought it would bubble over and burst. A little smile tugged the corners of Eren's lips up. “Are you…” he started, unable to help his smile from widening as Levi stared daggers at him, glaring darkly as if daring him to continue.

And continue Eren did, because he was known for being suicidal. But also because now he knew and if the vampire hadn’t healed them himself, hadn’t been sure, it probably meant that he didn’t want Eren to want Levi to heal them. Holy shit. “Levi, are you asking…?”

“Shut the fuck up,” Levi hissed, baring his teeth a little, canines lengthening a bit in a mild, silent threat that Eren only found enchanting. The pink flush on his face was spreading, becoming more obvious now. Eren watched with some mild amusement as the vampire wriggled a bit, craning his head to look down at where they were joined. He sounded almost flustered as he asked desperately, “When the fuck is this thing going to go down? Shit.”

“Levi,” Eren said with a large smile, watching fondly as the vampire’s pale grey eyes flitted around, looking everywhere but at the shifter’s face. Levi was embarrassed and god, it was adorable. “I love you. I’m in love with you.”

Levi’s wriggling ceased as he went still to blink up at Eren. His eyes searched Eren's face intently for any signs of guile and upon finding none, he audibly swallowed. “Oh,” Levi said quietly. His fingers twitched lightly on the sheets and he kept staring up at Eren but remained silent.

Eren’s heart dropped a bit initially at that, but then he remembered that this was Levi they were talking about. Eren himself had only puzzled it out recently and well, he didn’t really expect Levi to suddenly spout out declarations of love, because openly showing or declaring what he was feeling wasn’t the type of thing the captain did. Eren, however, was the type to wear his heart on his sleeve openly and the warm, fluttering feeling in his chest had been welling up until it felt about to spill over. Even if Levi didn’t reciprocate, he wanted the man to know that he was loved. Wanted Levi to know that Eren loved him and didn’t expect or demand anything back.

Even if Levi didn’t love him in the same way Eren did him, he was content with knowing that the captain cared about him. It was obvious that he did, really – Levi took care of Eren in his own subtle ways; patching up his wounds even though it wasn’t needed because he regenerated easily, making sure he didn’t push himself too hard during training, making sure he got enough sleep, checking in with him during and after missions, making sure he ate enough to stay healthy even when he had no appetite. Eren had keenly felt that care and affection when Levi had fed from him too, in the way he had stroked Eren's hair and rubbed his head, made sure that Eren wasn’t hurt during it and made him feel so warm and safe.

Also, there was the fact that earlier, Levi said that he’d wanted Eren – even if it was only physically. He knew Levi wasn’t the type to be intimate with just anyone, because he’d been celibate all these years. Eren knew that if Levi had consented to having sex with him, the captain must feel something deeper for him, even if it wasn’t quite love.

Levi was still silent under him, his lovely grey eyes inscrutable and a wondering, cautious expression on his face. Feeling suddenly a bit awkward and unsure of what to do with himself, Eren tried to make the situation less uncomfortable for them both. “I don’t expect you to say it back,” Eren hastened to reassure Levi quickly, unwilling to pressure the man into saying anything. “I only just figured it out myself recently, but I just. Just want you to know.”

Levi’s breath hitched a little bit at that and his lips parted. Slowly, his hands reached up and he placed one on the side of Eren's face, the other on his shoulder. Levi’s hands were warm and soft and Eren gave a short, happy hum at the gentle touch.

“I don’t…” Levi cleared his throat, brows furrowing and he almost absentmindedly began stroking the side of the shifter’s face. Eren liked it a lot, the little ways that Levi showed affection when he wasn’t really thinking about it. “I don’t know if I’m in love with you, but…” he paused, appearing as if he were searching for the right words, before he tried again, starting over. “I don’t know if I’m in love with you. Yet,” Levi put a heavy emphasis on the last word, giving him a look that made Eren's heart soar because Levi hadn’t rejected him, actually seemed to be-

“But,” Levi continued eyes softening until they shone with something – affection, Eren realized, “I think given a bit more time, I will be. And… I’d like to try.” Then Levi tilted his head a bit and there was a small, fond smile tugging at his mouth. It took Eren's breath away because that little curl of his lips was just for him and Levi looked so beautiful when he smiled. Eren would treasure each and every one like the rare, precious things that they were.

And Eren, he couldn’t help himself and just beamed down at Levi, delighted beyond reason. So maybe Levi wasn’t in love with him yet, but someday soon he would be and this, all these happy, priceless moments with Levi and the breathtaking man underneath him were all Eren's. Levi was Eren's.

Happiness thrummed through Eren’s veins, practically radiating out of his pores and Levi rolled his eyes.

The shifter was so goddamn over the top. Way too excitable. It made Levi feel incredibly fond of him.

Levi opened his mouth to say something, but it was cut short in a muffled little, “Mmph!” as Eren leaned down to press a kiss against his lips. He’d meant for it to be a lighthearted display of affection, but then Levi was practically melting underneath him, bringing up his legs to squeeze his knees against Eren's hips and wrap his arms around the shifter’s shoulders.

God, Levi tasted divine and felt even better underneath him; all smooth, pale skin and firm muscle and soft lips and an even softer tongue that kept darting out to lick at Eren's mouth, twisting with his own tongue as the kiss deepened. Eren felt addicted, like he could never get enough. He had to resist a laugh; Levi truly was a fantastic example of a vampire, because he had ensnared Eren's heart, mind, and soul thoroughly and completely.

Levi pressed against him, just about to slot his mouth more firmly against Eren's, but their bodies shifted and the forgotten knot tugged against Levi’s sensitive, aching hole. The pull hadn’t been hard enough to hurt nauseatingly like it had before, but it did serve as a reminder of the situation they were in. The sensation and overstimulation made Levi let out a small hiss against Eren's mouth. With much reluctance, Eren pulled away slightly, his breath mingling with Levi’s.

Levi’s lips looked wet and warm and Eren dropped one last, brief kiss onto them, unable to help himself before pushing away a bit to stare down at Levi. There was a dazed look on his face and those pretty grey eyes were misty and unfocused once again. Levi blinked once, twice to clear them as he licked his lips. Eren had to resist the near-mindless urge to lean down and kiss the vampire senseless again. The shifter’s eyes, however, were drawn back down to Levi’s neck and now that he got a really good, close look at the marks there… he didn’t like them.

Eren didn’t like the way they looked, knew they would leave thick, jagged scars that would make people wince every time they saw Levi’s neck. He didn’t want that and knew Levi wouldn’t either.

“I do have a request,” Eren said, voice a bit rough. Levi looked up at him, eyebrow quirked. “I’d like you to heal the bites and… I want to redo it when you feel the same way I do.” Eren reached up to brush his fingers over Levi’s neck, considering the ragged tears in the skin.

Next time Eren would be careful when he bit down, make his imprint look nice. He’d put it lower, too. Maybe on Levi’s shoulder, so it could be hidden. It had felt right in the moment to bite down on the sides of it right underneath his ears, but Levi’s neck was so long and elegant; it had looked much better when it was smooth and unblemished. Nothing in Hanji’s notes said his bitemark had to be on the neck – it had just been instinctual.

“I’d like to do it right, the next time around,” Eren added, trailing his fingers up to cup Levi’s face, reveling in the soft skin there, “so people don’t see the scar and wonder what had attacked you and tried to tear your throat out. I want it to look nicer and do it somewhere lower; maybe on the shoulder, where you can hide it if you want. I want it to be your choice and not force it on you.”

Levi gazed at him, a soft look on his face; one of wonder and awe because...

God, Eren cared about him so much, it was so obvious. It had been true that he wasn’t quite in love with the shifter yet, but Levi had loved him already for a long time as a subordinate, as a comrade, as a friend. He knew he’d definitely already fallen in love with those bright, beautiful eyes that shimmered with open emotion. It was going to be so, so easy to fall in love with all the rest of Eren, too.

It was something Levi hadn’t thought he’d be capable of doing after the mission in Shiganshina.

After Erwin had died… after their bond had been severed on those rooftops on that horrible, gut-wrenching day, it had left Levi feeling listless and empty inside; hollowed, as if some vital part of him had been cored out and tossed away. They’d done some research on the Ackermans afterwards, once peace had been established and they had time for such things. He had learned more about the bond those of his bloodline formed with the person they chose to protect, things he’d known instinctively but hadn’t been able to put into tangible thoughts and reasons.

Levi knew that many fellow Ackermans had not lived long after the person they’d chosen to follow had died. If he’d learned that before Erwin had passed, Levi might have scoffed and called them weak for not choosing to continue to live.

But Levi had experienced that loss firsthand and if Erwin hadn’t had the presence of mind to sever the bond that ran between them before he died, Levi might have been driven insane with grief. It had taken time to recover after that day, but the former Commander had willed Levi to live, to continue on and keep fighting for himself, for his own sake and for humanity’s. So Levi had. He’d mended the hole Erwin’s loss had left in his heart and soul, filled it with other things to give his life purpose. It had taken time, but he’d found peace with what had happened.

But even with that peace, Levi hadn’t thought it would be possible to feel so fiercely again for another person. Now, however, as Eren gazed down at him with a warm, affectionate look on his face solely for him, Levi couldn’t help but think, Yeah, it’s definitely possible. Unavoidable, really.

Levi would replace the mild content he’d found in life with actual happiness. He’d finally fulfill the last wish Erwin had had for him before he severed the bond. Levi wouldn’t just exist; he’d live.

He reached up slowly to brush the tips of his fingers over Eren's cheek and the shifter nuzzled into his palm openly. There was a happy, warm, contented feeling settling comfortably into his chest, one he knew would only grow stronger with time. The shifter looked down at him with bright, shining teal eyes as Levi considered his words. There were so many things he could say at that moment, but Levi had never been one for talking or flowery words and knew just one would suffice.

“Alright,” Levi murmured, and Eren knew Levi wasn’t just saying yes to healing the wounds, but to everything. The feeling bubbling in his chest finally spilled over and beyond words, all he could do was beam.

As with his other wounds, Levi closed his eyes and the ragged wounds upon the sides of his neck sealed shut seamlessly, leaving the skin smooth and unmarred once more. Eren felt a small sense of loss at that, but it was overshadowed by the fact that one day, (most likely very soon if Levi’s words and his soft expression were anything to go by) there would be a replacement one there instead.

And this time, Eren would do it right. It would be a clean, careful bite, a scar that Levi would be proud to wear. 

Eren's knot was softening now and carefully, the shifter pulled his cock out of Levi. He rested back on his knees, relieving Levi of some of the weight Eren had been resting on him. Levi winced a bit as Eren slid out, the movement tugging at his raw, sore hole. Fuck, but it was uncomfortable. He’d forgotten about this undesirable part of sex. He shifted upwards onto the bed, taking some of the pressure off of his aching ass, unwittingly spreading his thighs a bit as he did so.

A thick dribble of thick cum leaked out and Eren's eyes locked onto it. He felt his inner moonkin stir at that, felt the instinctive, primal urge to bring his fingers up to it and push his cum back in to Levi’s body so it wouldn’t go to waste. His fingers twitched before Eren forced them to still; at this point, any further touch would just hurt Levi and it was the last thing he wanted to do.

“Oi. Don’t go getting any ideas,” Levi warned lowly, shooting him a look upon seeing the way Eren was eyeing his ass. There was an intense, focused expression on the shifter’s face. At his warning, Eren seemed to snap out of his heated daze and tore his eyes away from Levi’s hole with some difficulty. “I can heal this but I’m still going to be a bit tender. At least you prepped me well enough,” Levi added, almost muttering the last part to himself more than Eren.

Levi then shot Eren a curious look from under his lashes at the thought, one that heated Eren's skin just a bit. “I’ve never been rimmed quite like that,” his captain said thoughtfully. The candidness of the statement made a hot flush rise to his cheeks. “Was that just instinct, or…?”

Instead of answering, Eren only blushed and shifted away and fully off of Levi. He lay down on his stomach next to the vampire, turning his head away to hide the flustered look on his face. A little breathy sound that Eren now knew to be Levi’s laugh came, and the flush deepened. God, how could Levi just talk about it so casually like that? Levi’s laugh was followed by a momentary pause and then a quiet mumble of, “Fucking finally, that feels better.”

“You know,” Eren said slowly, an idea coming to mind as he remembered back to some of Hanji’s notes, “I read that after mating, moonkin sometimes lick their partner’s, ah, entrance to soothe it if it’s tender?” The pitch of his voice rose until it was almost a question and he flipped his head back over on the pillow to regard Levi through slitted eyes.

The vampire paused and then made a thoughtful little humming noise as he considered Eren's offer. Levi had just healed the abused, stretched ring of muscle, but some part of him deep down enjoyed the reminder of what they’d done, liked the little ache left over from the sex and therefore, Levi had mended himself just enough to feel comfortable walking again. So it was still a bit sore and Eren's offer of his warm, soft tongue might feel nice on it. A little bit of attention there didn’t sound half bad, actually.

What gave Levi pause, though, was that there was a very strong possibility it would result in another round, judging by the way Eren had been eyeing him just a minute ago. He wasn’t quite sure he was ready to go again. Levi mulled it over, unsure of whether to accept or decline the offer.

Another thought came to Eren's mind as Levi deliberated, spurred on by the topic at hand as well as a sudden recollection from earlier that night. Also, well, he was genuinely curious. “I’m actually surprised you’re not immediately saying no and that you let me do it earlier,” Eren said almost conversationally. If Levi could be casual about this, then he could be too, dammit. “I would have thought you’d protest and kick me away when I started licking you.”

The thoughtful little humming noise Levi was making stopped. “Hah? What made you think that?” The vampire tilted his head in confusion as he rose up to his elbows to be able to get a better look at Eren's face. He paused, however, as he instead got a good eyeful of the body of the man lying stretched out beside him. His eyes roamed approvingly over the muscled planes of Eren's back and shoulders, the thick, toned thighs and firm ass.

Nice, Levi noted appreciatively. Very damn nice.

“Are you of all people really asking me that?” Eren asked, disbelief lacing his tone as he lifted his head up from the pillow. This was Levi they were talking about, the man who found even a single speck of dust or smear on a window unacceptable. “People shit from there – I didn’t doubt it’d be clean because it’s you, but I figured you’d find it filthy or disgusting.”

“Oh.” Levi gave a little one-shouldered shrug and because he was still distracted by all of Eren's smooth, bronzed skin, he added on almost absent-mindedly, “Vampires don’t shit, so it’s always clean. Nothing there to make it dirty.”

Eren went silent for a moment, Levi’s words sinking in and then the shifter suddenly pushed himself up to rest on his hands and knees. With a swift, fluid movement, he moved between Levi’s legs. His warm palms rested on the inside of his thighs, fingers palming the flesh there. In a bit of a shock from Eren's sudden movement, he didn’t resist as Eren subtly pushed his legs apart. He leaned forwards, a rapacious smile stealing across his handsome face as he practically purred, “Really.”

Levi’s eyes widened as he realized what he had done, what he had said, and the implications the words carried. He suddenly went very, very still, realizing his mistake; he had to stop saying shit when he wasn’t thinking clearly.

Pale grey eyes flicked down and the vampire could see that Eren’s dick was somehow getting hard again, starting to swell as bright teal eyes locked on to Levi’s hole; it was mostly healed but still a bit red and stretched. When Levi had sat up, it had tensed his stomach muscles and now that the knot had been removed, Eren's cum was lewdly dribbling out of it freely at the change of angle.

His grey eyes swiveled back up to Eren's, who was now looking at him with a predatory glint in his eyes. Eren's smile widened and his hand raised to spread over Levi’s chest in a silent intent to push him back onto the sheets.

Levi swallowed audibly in the room.

For one of them that morning, breakfast came early.

Chapter Text

2 months later:

It wasn’t often that Petra saw their captain dressed down, but one night, she found she couldn’t sleep and had wandered down to the kitchens for some tea; she found Levi sitting at the table in a loose shirt and pants, quietly reading a book and sipping on some tea of his own. Peppermint, she knew, even though she couldn’t smell it like Levi would have been able to from this distance. She just knew Levi and that was the type of tea he most often drank.

He didn’t even look up as he greeted her – didn’t need to, because Levi knew what everyone sounded and smelled like around here, could sense them coming from meters away.

“Petra,” he said quietly, inclining his head in her direction without taking his eyes off the pages.

To someone else who wasn’t as familiar with Levi, it might have sounded cold or rude, but Petra was familiar with the subtle, warm note in his deep voice as he greeted her. Levi wasn’t a person who openly showed emotion; but if one looked deeper or listened a bit more closely, they’d be able to tell that when he greeted her, he spoke her name with deep affection buried there.

Levi cared deeply about everyone on his squad, regarded them almost as a little family. Although he appeared deeply engrossed in his book, Petra knew that she wasn’t a bother to him in the slightest.

“Hello, Captain,” she replied brightly, and comfortable silence fell between them as she went about boiling water for her own tea. Then a thought struck her as she was pulling out the kettle – Eren had been absent during training all of today. Eren wasn’t the type to skip out on training without good reason but over the past couple of months, there had been a few instances where he was absent for two or three days straight.

It had started when the rogue moonkin had bitten and turned him, Petra recalled. She wondered if the two were related. Curious now, she decided to ask. The worst Levi would do was just change the subject, his own little way of declining to answer without outright refusing.

“Where was Eren today?” she asked, filling the kettle, glancing over at the cupboard while deliberating over what sort of tea she wanted. Peppermint, like Levi’s, maybe – it sounded nice. “I rarely see you two apart these days.”

It was true, too. Ever since Eren had been turned into a moonkin, he seemed to never be too far away from Levi and vice versa. She’d been assuming it was because the Titan shifter was now also a supernatural being as well and they had bonded over the fact that they were the only two in the Corps to be so.

Levi didn’t reply and Petra turned to look at him as she placed the kettle full of water onto the stove, turning it on. She leaned against the counter, crossing her arms and tilting her head a bit as she waited for Levi to speak. She was patient and sometimes the man didn’t respond right away.

Levi’s pale eyes flicked up from his book and over to her, then to the window, lingering there for a moment before returning back to his book. “Eren was here,” Levi replied, turning a page. “He’s just been running out and about all day.” There was a subtle shift to his voice that Petra couldn’t put a finger on. It sounded almost like humor? Petra wasn’t sure. Even after being on his squad for so many years, he was still so hard to read sometimes.

But she did know her captain enough to know that this was about all the information she was going to get on the subject of Eren's whereabouts and what he’d been doing all day.

Weird. Maybe he was out doing moonkin things, whatever they were. She didn’t know much about the lore and Hanji had been pretty reluctant to share information about it when pried, strangely enough. All Petra basically knew was that it had something to do with wolves and maybe the full moon, based on Levi’s questions the night she had gone to fetch him from his office. The whole Eren-being-bitten incident had taken place a couple months ago and her memory of the event was a bit clouded with time.

The vampire shifted slightly in his seat, catching her attention.

Petra saw his shirt slip a bit at the movement, baring a bit of his pale shoulder. That was strange - now that she looked more closely, she could see that the shirt looked too big to be the captain’s; the sleeves were rolled up to not drape over his hands and she could tell that even while sitting, the bottom of the shirt reached past his mid-thigh. None of the shirts she saw Levi wearing during the day ever slipped like that. Levi was always neatly put-together.

All of his shirts were tailored to fit his small frame nicely – the ones he wore under his uniform, the dressier ones he wore when he went into town, even his buttonless, casual ones he wore while off-duty. It didn’t look like one of the plain ones he wore, either – this one had a “V” shape cut in the collar with a bit of string lacing it. It looked oddly familiar, especially the color of it but Petra couldn’t put a finger on where she might have seen someone wearing a similar one; she dismissed it as unimportant.

Besides, given the time of night, Petra figured that maybe the captain liked to sleep in looser, more comfortable clothes and she’d just never noticed because she’d only ever seen him at night in the headquarters like this a handful of times.

What really caught her attention, though, was the shoulder that the slipping shirt had bared. It was with much surprise that she saw a faint scar there that had been hidden by the soft material – the slightly raised ridges showed a neat, almost delicate imprint of teeth. The paleness of Levi’s skin had made the scar a silvery color that almost blended into his skin. What was even more strange, though, was that it looked almost like it had been carefully and deliberately done.

She knew it couldn’t have happened too long ago – she had seen Levi shirtless herself not even 3 months ago. He’d gotten cut with a recruit’s carelessly discarded blade across his back during a freak training accident. To keep his true nature a secret, she had taken the captain to the San and had the nurses stitch the cut and patch it up. Petra had then immediately followed Levi to his office and helped cut out the threads so he could heal himself. If he hadn’t, they would have sealed into his skin when it knitted itself back together.

So this had been done within the past couple months and without any of the squad knowing, because they would have definitely talked about it if something had actually been able to leave a scar on their captain. It was extremely weird and curiosity burned within her.

“Captain Levi,” she said almost hesitantly, getting his attention. Levi looked up, delicate black brow quirking in a silent question. She cocked her head, still squinting at the scar on the captain’s shoulder and said, “I thought your healing prevented wounds from scarring?”

It started out as a statement and ended as a question, because as she cast her mind back over all the years that she had been on Levi’s squad, Petra had never, ever seen him with a scratch or bruise on his body for longer than a day – in the aforementioned incident, he’d had her take out the stitches immediately after they were put in. So what had caused the mark that she was seeing now?

Levi paused for a second after she finished talking, before he took a small, deliberate sip of tea. Carefully, he placed the cup back on the saucer. “If I don’t heal them myself, my wounds will scar just like any humans’, yes,” Levi murmured. That was something she hadn’t known, but then she became still in surprise because… Petra thought he sounded almost… amused?

He turned the page of his book nonchalantly, offering no more information.

Petra’s auburn eyebrows furrowed. “Then why-?” she started, but suddenly, Levi looked up, grey eyes sliding past her to stare out through the window in the kitchen. His head tilted, almost as if he had heard something, as if something had gotten his attention that she couldn’t hear. Levi’s lips twitched a little in the beginnings of what Petra swore was a little smile and then Levi closed his book and tucked it under his arm as he stood.

“Moon’s full tonight,” Levi said casually, flicking his gaze up to the moon. Petra just stood there, feeling a bit off-kilter with the sudden change in topic. His head tilted a bit once more, this time towards the direction of his office and private quarters - and again, there yet again was that small twitch of his pink lips. Petra made a small, confused noise and he looked over at her.

Levi’s pale face was set in its usual, almost bored expression but Petra could have sworn there was something more, something different in his face now. Excitement, maybe, or anticipation? It was a look she had never seen on his face before so she still wasn’t sure. Levi was acting weird tonight and she wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.

The captain gave her a single, short nod and then murmured in a somewhat strange, almost hitching voice, “It’s time to go feed the hound.” Then he turned and started walking away in that unnaturally silent manner of his.

Feed the… what? Petra wondered, absolutely at a loss. Levi was making no sense. They didn’t have dogs here at headquarters; pets weren’t allowed. If she didn’t know better, she’d have thought the captain was ill or had a fever of some sort with the way he was talking.  

“Captain, what-?” she tried again, raising her voice to call after him even though she knew Levi would hear her even if she whispered.

Levi didn’t stop, however. Instead, he just kept walking; in fact, he suddenly quickened his pace until he was almost jogging, what? She’d never seen Levi so obviously hurried like this. What was even going on? Was this some sort of weird dream?

Levi didn’t even pause as he called out a simple, “Enjoy your tea, Petra,” in a warm, fond voice over his shoulder before he disappeared quickly up the stairs; he left her staring after him, utterly confounded and at a loss.

A quick glance over to the spot Levi had suddenly vacated made her confusion only deepen until she was staring at the spot in shock, mind reeling.

Levi hadn’t even bothered to wash the teacup and saucer and put them away; something he never, ever failed to do. And there was still tea left. Levi never left his tea unfinished. Even if the captain was in a hurry, he still always took the time to at least finish it, though he’d told her once before that swigging down good tea was all but considered a sin to him.

To leave it there abandoned was…

Petra wasn’t one to curse, but what the hell had just happened?

Behind her, the teakettle whistled. Somewhere from within headquarters, (though it sounded like it came from the same wing that Levi's private quarters were in) Petra could have sworn she heard a low howl.