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Their bedroom was a sight for sore eyes and Levi’s eyes were sore as shit, pricking with tears he was going to blame on the dust for weeks to come and aching from lack of restful sleep. There were boxes everywhere, some half built, most barely packed, and clothes were scattered, folded and flung, on every surface. Just the sight of it sapped Levi’s energy, made his chest feel hollow and like his heart was made of old, battered lead.
One week, Levi thought, like a man on death’s row. One more fucking week. The date was circled on the calendar in the kitchen, the one he’d ripped down in a fit of anger three different times that month. He wanted time to stop. He wanted to take back his decision, to claw his way into the past and strangle himself, to scream and beat the truth into the creature wearing his skin, who thought he could do this and live. But he couldn’t. He could only pack and hate himself with every haphazardly folded shirt Eren handed him, because he was ruining the best thing he’d ever accomplished in one selfish two thousand mile move.
“Eren,” Levi called quietly, leaning against the doorframe. He didn’t have the energy for proper upright standing functions. (Or, apparently, for proper thinking.) “Eren?”
The lump on the bed, nested among the shirts they hadn’t sorted through yet, twitched. Levi’s heart constricted and he swallowed, rough and quick, pushing away from the doorframe with suddenly weak knees. He kicked aside a half built box, not even flinching as it crumpled in on itself, and shoved a pile of pants to the floor as he crawled onto the edge of the bed. Levi balanced on his knees as best he could, reaching with his hand until he could drag his palm up Eren’s leg, throat closed over with misery he knew Eren shared.
“Eren,” he whispered, eyes burning. That fucking dust, he thought halfheartedly, but their apartment hadn’t had dust in it since before Eren had moved in. “Shithead, c’mon. You awake?”
Eren rolled slowly, twisting to peer at Levi around the arm he’d had tucked over his head. His eyes were bright, like the dust had gotten to him too, and his lips were chapped, torn to shreds and rosy raw. He clenched his jaw instead of answering, blinking down at Levi with his bangs pressed in awkward curls against his temples, and Levi felt his heart hit the inside of his ribcage like the blow of a black smith’s hammer, knocking his lungs flat as his throat flushed with heat from the force of his emotions.
“I love you,” Levi whispered quietly. A small part of him that was still terrified of the way his tongue curled around those words whispered that this wasn’t the time, but Levi hushed it. It was always the time to remind Eren he loved him.
(Sometimes he wondered why it had taken him so long to say it. He’d been so scared, he remembered that, but Eren- Eren deserved to be told he was loved. Eren deserved to be showered in as much affection as Levi could scrounge up for him; he deserved sweet kisses and warm laughter and someone there to try to make even the worst days good.
Eren Jaeger deserved the fucking world. Levi would never forgive himself for not being able to give that to him.)
Broad shoulders twitched at his words, jolting like it was still a shock, and Eren’s bright eyes flashed supernova just before he scrunched them closed. He rolled on his back like an awkward turtle, scrunching to try and reach Levi, and Levi crawled up to him, reaching out to cradle the back of his head as Eren fisted his hands in Levi’s shirt and dragged him on top of his taller frame.
“I love you,” Eren whispered, nuzzling his face blindly against Levi’s. Levi had to close his eyes to keep his vision from crossing. It had absolutely nothing to do with the prickling burning sensation in the corners of his eyes, nor was it connected the itch in his nose that made him want to sniff. Not a single. Fucking. Thing.
Levi pressed his hips down into Eren’s, trying to ground him, trying to ground himself, and Eren’s fingers clutched Levi’s shirt all the more tightly. He could feel Eren’s heart beating in his chest, the thump of which was familiar to him, the same way everything about Eren was familiar to him, and he took a deep breath, savoring the way their chests arched against each other as they breathed in sync. Eren always tried to match his breathing pattern to Levi when he was upset and Levi noted it with an ugly twist of his stomach.
I don’t want this to be what he remembers, Levi thought slowly. His move was inevitable at this point; the school was expecting him, the grad housing department was expecting him; he had classes lined up, a work study job waiting in the wing, and Eren was due to move into a different complex here in town with Jean the week after Levi left. They couldn’t have renewed their lease here, in this tiny poorly insolated apartment, even if they caved and tried. But despite all of that, despite the crater already etching its way across Levi’s sternum, he didn’t want Eren to remember how miserable he was right now.
He wanted to hear him laugh instead.
(He wanted to make Eren laugh instead. He always itched to make Eren laugh, to hear the siren sound of his love’s mirth verbalized as much as utterly possible. He’d do anything to make Eren laugh; he’d stand on his head, he’d dance a jig, he’d fucking get a red rubber nose and act like a clown if that would make Eren laugh. But he didn’t think he could coax that sound out of him now, not here.)
“Hey,” Levi whispered, tipping his head up. Their noses knocked, not hard enough to hurt, and Eren’s heart thumped a steady beat against Levi’s chest. Levi peaked open an eye and found glints of green shining out between thick, dark lashes. He lifted himself up over Eren with his elbow pressing against their comforter (the one he was going to take with when he left) and then shifted to drag his fingers from behind Eren’s head until they were pressed against Eren’s jaw.
“C’mon,” Levi muttered, “get up. I’ve got an errand to run and I want some company.”
Eren swallowed, the motion slow and thick, like it hurt. Then he nodded, fingers restlessly clenching Levi’s shirt between them as Levi shifted back, hand falling from Eren’s face as he sat up. Eren followed suit, quiet and contained, eyelashes hiding his irises from view as Levi crawled backwards off the bed and watched his boyfriend follow him in little lurching movements.
Levi half waited for Eren to ask what errand he wanted company for, even though deep down he knew Eren wouldn’t. The closer they got to the date where they needed to pack the car and drive out to Levi’s grad school, the quieter and more subdued Eren became. He stopped asking what was for dinner, stopped shouting and dragging Levi in to wrestle on the couch, stopped singing as they drove around town, until Levi found himself clearing his throat and trying to step in, to fill the silence in his life Eren had banished the day he met him. But Eren didn’t ask, didn’t lift his head much higher than necessary as he climbed in the passenger seat, slouched low with his shoes barely tied, and closed his eyes.
Levi didn’t think he’d even noticed the text Levi sent as he put on his shoes, which was fine. Surprises went smoother like this, he supposed.
(Driving with Eren had always been a gift. Eren fidgeted and he sang and he talked, arm hanging out the window if the weather permitted, and half the time Levi spent driving he found himself sneaking glances over at his boyfriend, soaking in the sight as quickly as he could. Eren driving was just as enjoyable too; the idiot shaking his hair out of his eyes, singing at the top of his lungs, driving too fast with one hand curled around the steering wheel and the other fiddling with AC or stereo system. Levi hadn’t found the appeal of driving just to kill time before he started dating Eren, but sometimes, when Eren couldn’t sleep, they’d crawl in the car and just drive, around town, on the highway, and everywhere in between, sometimes all the way until dawn.
It was one of the things Levi was going to miss, actually. Weird, the idea that he would miss his car constantly being on empty because of his utterly strange boyfriend, but he’d pay for all the gas in the world if he could keep Eren happy.)
“Hey,” Levi said, pulling the car into park in the parking lot and killing the engine with a twist of his wrist. “Wake up, we’re here.”
“I’m awake,” Eren said, voice flat. He made no move to open his eyes for a second, before sighing, head hanging as he shook himself. Levi knew the feeling.
“Sorry,” Eren muttered after a second, glancing up at him with his wild, gorgeous eyebrows furrowed apologetically. Levi sighed, leaning over to kiss him, elbow propped on the edge of the driver’s seat. Eren’s lips were rough, from being torn to shreds by nervous teeth, but Levi loved them, pressing a chaste reassuring kiss against the corner of Eren’s mouth before he leaned back in his seat. Eren gave him a wry little smile, shaking his head one more time before he twisted, unbuckling as he shoved his door open and climbed out. But it wasn’t until he was half out of the car did the ridiculous love of Levi’s life look up to see where they were.
“Uh,” Eren called, voice arching in an unsure wobbling pitch that made Levi bite his tongue. “Babe? Light of my life? Star of my night sky? Song in my heart? Darling? Sugar-“
“Yes,” Levi interjected, because Eren had a habit of continuing with the most ridiculous and embarrassing pet names when he wanted to. Plus Levi could feel heat flush down his throat and he knew if he didn’t stop Eren now he would really get rolling soon. Eren just looked at him, straightening up from his baffled hunch into a baffled tower as he leaned against the top of the car, his door still open.
“This is a bowling alley, dear,” Eren informed him. Levi raised both of his eyebrows as high as he could, feeling his chest tighten with affection because Eren responded to the expression with a roll of his eyes so dramatic Levi could almost feel the world spin.
“Really,” Levi cried, as dryly as he could manage. He leant against the top of the car as well, even though the metal was burning from the summer sun, his car door bumping his hip as he rested his chin on his arm. “Gosh, sweetheart; how did we get here?”
Eren’s face crinkled, confusion a tint of red on his cheeks or maybe that was the sweetheart, Levi didn’t know. Levi laughed lowly in his throat, ducking out of the way of his car door and kicking it shut before he wandered around the front of the car. Eren met him there, movements wide, exaggerated things, and there was life in him again, his eyes bright as the green eyed bane of Levi’s existence peered down at him.
“This is the weirdest errand you’ve ever taken me on,” Eren told him as Levi reached for his hand. Levi snorted, rolling his eyes and muttering that Eren had taken him on weirder errands for sure as Eren tangled their fingers together and fell into step as Levi started for the front door. They were automatic doors, so they opened as Levi lead Eren up, and Eren bumped his hip against Levi’s as they walked through, obviously waiting for the punchline of this joke errand, but Levi just knocked their shoulders together and kept his lips shut. He could feel Eren start to get it, however, as they wound their way past the bowling alley and into arcade zone, which was two stories of pinball machines, air hockey, ski-ball, and-
“Laser tag,” Eren whispered, voice catching in his throat a little as Levi brought them to a stop in front of the little front desk for the laser tag arena. “You… Levi?”
There was a bored looking employee behind the desk, bent down over an old computer screen, aware of them but not paying too much attention. Levi stepped closer to Eren, tipping his head back until they were toe to toe and almost nose to nose, their hands clasped at their sides. He squeezed Eren’s limp fingers in his hand and felt Eren squeeze back, the feeling echoing through his chest as well.
“Laser tag,” Levi echoed quietly. “You and me. What do you say, darling? You up for the challenge?”
It wasn’t the explanation Eren had been hoping for, but he glanced between the desk and Levi, eyebrows furrowing for the first time in what felt like an age in something other than misery. “I’m going to kick your fucking ass, babe,” Eren promised, ducking to press a cheeky taunt of a kiss against the tip of Levi’s nose. Levi wrinkled his nose, heart lurching at the feeling, and didn’t even try to stop the way his lips tugged into a grin.
But then, with a shout, the moment was ruined.
“Jesus Christ,” Jean yelled, coming up from the other entrance on the far side of the arcade. Eren jolted back, cheeks pink, which left Levi clutching his hand and missing the warmth of his body hovering so close. Fucking piece of shit horseface, Levi thought sourly.
“If you try to suck him off in the laser tag arena, I’m going to find a new roommate,” Jean informed Eren, pointed and crass. Levi shot Jean a Look, trying to convey that he wasn’t fucking helping and that if he didn’t shut up Eren would have one less living friend in the world, but Eren beat him to the punch.
(Not literally. Eren hadn’t punched Jean since meeting him, which had been an honest accident, or so Eren claimed. Levi was inclined to believe him, since Eren was one to brag about punches he’d meant with his heart.
But sometimes Levi felt like punching Jean, which he figured was the difference between having asshole friends and your boyfriend having asshole friends.)
“You couldn’t find anyone else to room with you if you paid them,” Eren snapped, fire in his eyes as he shrugged Jean’s words off with a flick of his hair. “And don’t be such a little bitch just because no one wants to blow you, it’s almost as unattractive quality as your face.”
“Oh god,” Armin muttered, wandering up with an amused looking Mikasa and Annie on his heels. “They’re at it already, I told you they would be.”
“Eren,” Mikasa intoned, a threat without elaboration, but a lazy one. Eren’s sister looked like she had been napping when Levi had texted her to bring everyone she could to the bowling alley/arcade/fun park since her hair was uncommonly mused, tied back in a curling bun. The image was only highlighted by the way she wore a pair of old sweatpants tucked into a pair of old combat boots and a tank top that looked like it might have belonged to Eren back in high school, from the wear and tear of the poor thing. Anne wasn’t much better, in a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt Levi couldn’t read it was so faded. Armin and Jean were dressed normally, however, which was a small relief. Levi didn’t mind Eren’s friends, but if he had to be seen with them all dressed in their pajamas in public he’d have to draw the line and probably go home out of sheer embarrassment.
“What are you assholes doing here anyway,” Eren asked, going to cross his arms over his chest. Levi didn’t release Eren’s hand, so instead he aborted that motion and planted his palm on his hip, in the most defiant way possible. Levi thought it was ridiculous, but he loved it.
(Eren was ridiculous, actually, but Levi loved him all the more for it.
He’d miss him all the more for it too.)
“We came to play laser tag,” Annie explained, mouth crooking like she wanted to yawn. She sent a pointed glance in Levi’s direction when Eren made a small noise of confusion at her answer and Levi bit his lip on a scowl as Eren turned, peering down at him with a dawning expression not unlike the sun coming out from behind a rain shower.
“You called a town meeting for me,” Eren muttered, soft and fond and gross. Levi wrinkled his nose and tried to ignore the thump of his heart.
“I did not invite the entire town for laser tag,” Levi said, purposefully obtuse. Eren laughed, the sound angels made, and it rung, loud and free, up into the black painted rafters above them.
Levi registered Hanji arriving, in a flurry of flailing limbs, messy hair, and loud shouts, but he didn’t really Notice. He was too busy being dragged into the undertow current of Eren’s laughter, his throat closing up like he was drowning, lost in the warm feeling that tingled through his limbs as Eren fucking glowed, brighter even than the motorcycle racing game at their side. Eren glanced at him as the others began to argue teams, slivers of brilliant green eyes peeking at him through dark beautiful lashes, and Levi found himself breathless when Eren squeezed his hand tightly and mouthed I love you.
(If people could have centers of gravity, Levi’s would be Eren, looking the way he did in that moment, mouth curled around those three words.
No star in the night sky could shine like him, no ball of burning gas big enough could have the same orbital effect on Levi as Eren Jaeger could. He didn’t know how he was going to be able to leave his orbit, even for a few weeks. Co-dependency had strengthened him, in many ways; since Eren moved in he found that he spent less time sulking and more time laughing, that dishes weren’t as tedious, that he slept better and ate better, that he wanted to be better and was, strangely, able to achieve it. Life with Eren at his side was easier and more enjoyable than Levi had thought life could be and in a lot of ways it was that strength that had made him consider the grad school he would be attending, despite the distance.
Eren’s support made him look for a program that interested him, in a school that would challenge him, and now that he had been accepted it was frightening and stomach turning and horrifying, but he was actually excited to try this. Try doing something other than just going through the motions academically.
God, Levi loved Eren so fucking much. He couldn’t imagine his life without him.
But in a week he wouldn’t need to imagine, would he?)
“Alright,” Hanji said, crashing into Levi and jarring him into looking away from Eren. Everyone around them rolled their eyes and pretended they hadn’t had an entire conversation over their heads while Levi had been too distracted by Eren’s face. He figured they must be used to it, but the thought still made heat flush his face. “It’s settled then,” Hanji continued, “we’ve got our teams!”
“What- no, what teams,” Levi snapped, reluctantly letting Eren take his hand back with one last squeeze. He then used both hands to pry his stupid friend off, shoving them back a step and glowering up into their shit-eating grin with a knot of unease growing in his chest.
“You, Armin, and Mikasa versus Eren, Jean, and Annie,” Hanji crowed, hands shaking like Levi was supposed to be excited. He scrunched his nose, crossing his arms and glanced around the group as a whole with a sour taste in his mouth.
“Those are shit teams,” Levi complained. Eren hummed in agreement, muttering that he didn’t want to be on Jean’s team, and Mikasa rolled her eyes, crossing her arms across her chest to match him.
“C’mon Eren,” Hanji wheedled, twisting to throw their arm up around Eren’s broad shoulders. Eren was taller than Hanji, which made it awkward, but Hanji didn’t seem to notice. Eren rolled his eyes, but didn’t shake the other off. “It’ll be fun! And we can reconfigure the teams once Petra shows up, so that I can play without everything being uneven.”
Hanji over rode every argument about team changes and ushered them with clumsy touchy hands towards the front desk of the laser tag area. They took over from there, their loud voice assaulting the poor kid slouched behind the computer. Levi attempted to protest when they were waved back, to snag a vest the same color as Eren’s, but Mikasa appeared as if out of thin air and slipped it from his grip, smirking at him crookedly as Annie held a red one out to him instead of green. He put it on, but grudgingly, glancing sourly at Armin when the blonde slipped up beside him already in a red vest.
“Lighten up,” Armin muttered, smirking faintly at Levi from the inch of height the blonde had over him. “You wanted him to laugh again, right? It’s working.”
Levi rolled his eyes at Armin, but he couldn’t argue that it was, in fact, working. Eren was elbowing Jean to be first in line out of their door, his green light up vest the same brilliant gleam as his eyes, almost neon with life. The attendant went through the safety spiel, though Levi knew they’d all be breaking certain rules within a few minutes (“No running,” the attendant said and Annie visibly mouthed fuck that at Eren, who laughed, nose scrunched up and shoulders shaking, already clutching his gun) and once that was done and all their guns were activated the poor employee sighed, eying them all like he knew they were itching to get started.
“Green team,” the guy said, gesturing at Eren, Jean, and Annie. “You go first; get to your base, shoot your home target, and once you do that your guns will be fully activated.”
Eren and Jean elbowed their way out of the door almost before the guy was finished speaking, their footsteps pounding on the black painted floor loud and echoing as Annie slipped in behind them with a sly glance at Mikasa. The attendant seemed used to the disrespect and turned to the last three (minus Hanji) with stance that said he expected the same sort of behavior out of them as well, only to find Armin and Mikasa standing, easy and still, on either side of Levi like it didn’t even matter.
“Same thing for us then,” Armin asked politely. Levi didn’t think for a minute he was going to be a weak link in their team (not that Levi cared or anything, he wasn’t competitive like Eren after all) but he could admit he definitely looked the part, cargo shorts and an old mathlete t-shirt from high school stretched across his shoulders. The attendant just barely kept from making a face, nodding and gesturing at the door for them to go on. Mikasa held it open for Armin as they left and Levi shut it carefully behind them, listening to the faint shuffle and echo of distant footsteps.
“Lead the way, Levi,” Armin muttered, gesturing for Levi to slip in front of them in the corridor. “Hanji said you practically lived in this place freshman year to deal with the stress of having some asshole as a roommate or something.”
Levi swallowed and blinked, jerkily moving past the blonde and Eren’s sister to take the lead. He walked as quickly and quietly as possible, marveling that in three years not much had changed in the place.
(He also marveled that Hanji had claimed it was an asshole roommate that drove him to lasers, loud music, and physical exertion. They had more tact than Levi gave them credit for, but then again explaining that they had introduced Levi to laser tag as a way to deal with his grief and find solace would have probably been too lengthy and awkward a conversation even for them.
Mostly he was just glad he could play laser tag again without feeling like he was running from two neat tombstones in a graveyard somewhere back south. It felt easy and normal, to be here now, and Levi was grateful, for that and for Hanji’s tact. He’d had to remember to thank them later.)
The music started just as they reached the corner where the red base was, Levi taking a quick shot at it to activate his gun before ducking behind a half wall, crouched low to the ground. Mikasa did the same, crouching low at the other end of the opening, and Armin paused, head tipped to the side as he eyed the two of them before absently shooting the box that was their “base” and then, with a grin, darting off towards the ramp to the second floor.
Bass, heavy enough it kicked Levi in the heart when it started, was the theme of the music that played. Dubstep was every laser tag’s arena soundtrack and their three story wonder of a death trap was no different. Neon paint splattered everywhere, fog machine rolling sweet smelling grey clouds everywhere so that their lasers could be seen; Levi knew exactly where green base was and he knew which route he wanted to take to get there too.
“Doubles or-“
Levi didn’t even get to finish the question before Mikasa darted around the wall with a smirk, hiking her gun up and jumping over the next waist high wall with only one hand planted on the wall to lift her over. Two rules in one fell swipe, Levi mused, the adrenaline starting to hit him. He shifted to follow, aiming for the last remaining route toward green base, when a shadow darted through the fog, pale and blonde and lithe, arrow straight after Mikasa’s back.
He shot without processing it, old muscle memory he guessed. Annie’s vest flashed and then went head, his gun chiming points faintly under the thump-throb of the music. She twisted, scowling as he darted safely past her, and then disappeared into the maze as well, still on the hunt for her target. Levi was running before he even rounded the corner, gun tucked against his chest, head ducked to keep out of sight. Everything was loud and a mixture of hazy bright-dark, the way most of his early college memories were, and he adapted back into it fast. But green base was empty when he got there, the music drowning out everything but the faintest sound of thundering footsteps from above, and Levi cursed under his breath before boosting over a waist high wall and flinging himself toward the ramp leading to the second floor. He glanced down across the maze of walls and paths on the first floor, but the only one he spotted was Jean, hooking around the opposite ramp across the room, a mirror to Levi’s movements. He gritted his teeth, pushing his legs faster, and when he barreled around the corner and spotted Armin he thanked God he had his jeans on and threw himself into a slide, slamming into the same niche as the unsurprised but amused blonde just as Jean popped up on the other side.
“Jean’s behind the barrels,” Levi muttered, knowing he was going to pay for that tomorrow. He could already feel the bruise in his ass from that, high school baseball or not; sliding on this floor was not a clever plan. Armin snorted, rolling his eyes and muttering something probably unflattering under his breath.
“I’ve got Jean; Eren’s on the third floor with Annie, trying to corner Mikasa.”
“Got it,” Levi wheezed. Armin popped up around the edge of the wall they were tucked behind, shouting hey Jean with enough of a tilt behind it to be heard even over the thunder bass buzzing through the floor and into Levi’s spine. Levi sat up, rocked to his knees, and ducked around the wall for the next ramp just in time to see Jean get played like a violin. Poor sucker didn’t stand a chance against Armin’s smaller body advantage and ruthless strategy, it seemed, even though Armin’s strategy appeared to cat call lewd things at Jean until his brain short circuited and Armin could get a clear shot.
Weak, Levi thought, legs burning faintly as he scrambled up the ramp onto the third floor. He flung himself against the wall as a shout came from above, a female’s voice ringing high against the dip of the bass, and as he cautiously stuck his head over the edge he caught a glimpse of Annie, preening in victory as Mikasa bolted toward the opposite ramp. Annie lingered only long enough to glance once in Levi’s direction, eyes flickering across him and then away, before she turned and followed.
In hindsight three on three wasn’t much of a game, especially with the coupling across teams, but Levi didn’t mind. He snorted, scanning for Eren again as he crept along the last leg of the ramp and onto the third floor. He didn’t seem him, which was odd; Armin had said he was up here and from the vantage point of the ramp he would have been able to see if Eren had gone down the other one to the second floor.
“C’mon,” Levi muttered to himself, easing out of his crouch to crane over the railing of the balcony, squinting through the fog and lights. He couldn’t see Eren downstairs. “Where are you, love?”
He felt more than heard the shift behind him, like a shiver down his spine, and he knew he’d fucked up before he even turned. Eren was there, hair curling with the first traces of sweat from the humid room, grinning wide and vicious like some kind of predator as he bore down on Levi. With a choked noise of a swear Levi shoved away from the railing, trying to scramble behind cover before Eren could shoot him, but Eren didn’t go for the kill.
Eren slammed into him, arm locking around his waist as the world spun, and Levi lost track of the ground as his feet kicked at air and nothing else. His back was against a wall before he could shout, old Converse scrambling at the juncture of the wall and the ground as Eren wedged a leg between his and pressed close, breathing warmth into his body as he ducked to catch Levi’s lips with his. Levi melted into the kiss without a second thought, dropping his gun to wind his arms around Eren’s shoulders, back arching as he pressed his shoulders against the wall trying to angle their kiss deeper. A rumble, like the bass of the music, started in Eren’s chest, spreading to his shoulders where Levi had his fingers curling around the edges of Eren’s collar sticking out from under the vest, and as that rumble grew, vibrating with a hum up Eren’s throat, Levi realized his love was laughing. Levi ducked his head, nose nudging Eren’s, and the sound slipped free; Eren’s laugh, like a siren’s song, ringing in his ears until it drowned out even the music playing over the bass heavy speakers of the arena. Levi felt a laugh bubble up in his throat, unable to quell it as his shoulders slumped with relief.
God, he’d missed Eren’s laughter, missed the way his chest trembled with it until Levi could feel it in his.
With a hand fisted in Eren’s hair he dragged his lover back into a kiss, craning to deepen it as Eren slipped his hands under Levi’s vest and around his hips. Levi moaned at the feeling of fingertips against his skin, shivering like he was cold, which was impossible with the heat from the lights, the mugginess from the fog machine, the burn of having Eren so close, so alive against him. Eren bit his bottom lip gently, licked his way into Levi’s mouth, and Levi let him, welcomed him in, losing himself to kissing Eren with the certainty in his mind that this was what drowning sailors thought of sirens.
Eren mumbled into the kiss, the way he did sometimes when he was getting wound up, and Levi cursed the music, the way his heartbeat was hammering in his ears, because he couldn’t understand what Eren was saying. He could feel Eren’s chest vibrate with little words, but nothing distinct except for Levi’s own name, breathed against his lips like it was something special. That fucked up his chest, had him clutching at Eren’s shoulders and kissing him even harder, pressing up against his boyfriend as Eren shoved him harder against the wall, one of his hands wandering, slipping from under his vest.
Levi was so lost in the kiss he almost didn’t register his vest going off. It was the vibration in the thing that made him jerk back, gasping for air as he wriggled in surprise and barely kept from knocking the back of his skull against the wall. He gaped, chest heaving as the lights on his vest died, and it took his brain a long, reluctant second to put the pieces together on what had happened.
“Eren,” Levi hissed, cheeks flushing hot with outrage. Eren, messy haired from Levi’s wandering hands and lips parted and inviting, grinned.
“It’s a trap,” Eren whispered cheekily. He tapped his gun against Levi’s leg, wild untamed eyebrows waggling in a false sham of sheepishness. He ducked closer, bumping their noses together, lips just barely brushing Levi’s, and Levi tried everything he could to keep from arching into the kiss and couldn’t. Chapped lips brushed, Levi felt his chest squeeze, and Eren whispered, “my bad,” against him mouth before detangling from Levi’s grip with a twist and bolting.
Levi wanted to swear, to chase after his love and get his revenge, but for a moment he found his feet stuck. He watched Eren’s back as his love ran away from him, feeling his chest riot with conflicting emotions. Eren was happy and laughing again, the way he should be; lively and cheeky and an absolute pain in his ass, rushing around with messy hair and flushed cheeks, making his head spin with how much Levi felt for him. It was just-
(Levi wondered if he would always use laser tag as a way to say goodbye to the people he loved.)
“Eren Jaeger, get your fucking ass back here,” Levi howled, shoving off the wall so hard he almost tripped over his own feet. He grabbed at the gun clipped to his fest, curling his fingers around it as he purposefully threw himself into charging down the ramp toward the second floor. Maybe if he tried hard enough, he could outrun his problems and this moment could last forever.