Love Bites Ch 24
This is the twenty-fourth chapter of a modern/vampire AU riren fanfic. You can also read it on Ao3. 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Special | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24
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The next time Eren spars with Shitty Brows (yes, Eren has decided he wants to use the insulting nickname now too, especially because the stupid vampire has decided he likes teasing Eren by wiggling those big dumb brows at him whenever Eren and Levi so much as stand close to each other or show any sign of affection) Levi stands behind Eren the whole time. At first, it's the same as last time—Levi’s hands on Eren's upper arms, close enough that Levi could lean forward and have his head rest against Eren's back. They practice that way a few more times to make sure it's not just a fluke. But sure enough, Eren panics and his powers activate against his will. Then, the moment he slams against Levi, Eren's Mark burns like someone's pressing white hot metal against his scars, and he snaps out of it.
Next, they try it without Levi holding Eren’s arms, and then with Levi standing a few steps back. It’s partially to test the limits of Levi’s effect on Eren and partially to spare the poor man from getting slammed into the ground every time. But that's a bust; the Mark doesn't get hot just from Levi being in harm's way; it's only when Eren's about to make contact—or already making contact—that he's able to stop.
"We've made no progress," Erwin says. "There's no point to it if Eren can't keep his eyes open."
Eren clenches his hands into fists, digging his fingernails into his palms. This is useless. He thought they had improved, but really all they’ve done is make it so that Levi takes a beating from Eren's back instead of the walls and doors of the house getting hit.
Levi stares at Eren for a long moment, deep in thought, before opening his mouth to say—
"I left my water bottle upstairs. In my room. Do you think you could grab it for me?"
Eren frowns at Levi, glancing at the stairs.
"I mean," Eren says, looking back at Levi. "Yeah, I can? But..."
He hesitates to ask why Levi can't get it himself, not trusting his poor mood to allow the words to come out as anything other than an annoyed snap. And it's just a bottle. Eren can do that much.
…But so can Levi, no?
"Erwin and I will stay here and brainstorm a little more," Levi says, and Eren thinks it's really just his own grumpy, tired brain that wants to start a fight over a water bottle, so Eren tells that part of his brain to shut up and goes to grab his boyfriend his drink.
The water bottle is half-empty, and Eren decides that since he already has it, he'll fill it in the kitchen once he gets downstairs. He descends back to the first floor, thinking that the two men are being very quiet for people who are supposed to be brainstorming, and—
Eren sees a blur rushing at Levi in the living room and his mind goes blank. He forgets everything for a moment, forgets where he is, what they're doing, who they're with. He sees the blur of movement, he sees Levi not even attempting to block or dodge the violent mass launching itself at him, and he forgets everything.
And as he forgets everything, the world slows down. The blur becomes Erwin, moving at a jog, turning his head to look at Eren with a confused frown. But Eren is not focused on Erwin. He's focused on Levi, standing so still it looks like he's not even breathing. Eren takes off at a dead sprint towards the man, tackling him onto the couch and out of harm's way—
"Holy shit—"
Eren hears Levi's voice and the world speeds up again. He's on the couch, on his hands and knees, Levi below him, gray eyes wide as he looks at Eren. Eren is practically vibrating all over. He feels shaky and his head is pounding and the blood is buzzing through his veins like thousands of little bees racing past each other, and he can't breathe .
"Eren," Levi says, blinking up at him, "what the fuck was that?"
Eren can't form words yet. His mind is struggling to catch up. Erwin was so fast and then he was so slow and now Eren and Levi are over here and how much time has passed? His blood is still roaring in his veins, like his body and his insides are operating at two different speeds. He can’t breathe. How does he breathe? His lungs are like rocks in his chest, stiff, unmoving.
"Eren," Erwin says, and Erwin is behind him— when did Erwin get behind him? "Calm down. Breathe. I think you've just consciously used your increased speed for the first time, and that's quite different than doing it purely by instinct."
Eren manages to take a ragged breath, rolling off of Levi, off the couch, and landing on his back on the floor with a thud. He feels nauseous. His blood is so fast, so loud he can hear it rushing by, assaulting his ears, fighting against his veins as if the blood wants to burst out of him.
"Eren, listen to me," Erwin says and God, his words sound so slow , "you need to focus. Listen for the sound of Levi's heartbeat, alright?"
Levi's heartbeat? Eren closes his eyes, trying to hear over the sound of his own veins, over the rushing sound like the current of a river in his eardrums. He can hear his own staggered breathing, can hear clothes rustling as Levi shifts on the couch. Everything is so loud— fuck where is Levi’s heartbeat in this absolute mess of sound? Eren needs to focus. Focus.
After a moment, he finds what he's looking for. The steady thumping in Levi's chest, like a metronome—no, like the beating of a drum, heavy and firm.
Eren latches onto it, that steady rhythm, the only sound in the house firmly anchoring Eren to a sense of time, real time, and the blood starts to slow, starts to flow in a way that doesn't make his internal organs feel at risk of exploding. Soon, he can breathe normally again, though his body aches with every rise and fall of his chest.
"What..." is what Eren manages to croak out when he no longer feels like he's on the verge of a second death. "Why...."
"Well," Erwin says, "it's like breathing. Once you become conscious of doing it; it becomes an effort to maintain. Except in your case, you had no idea how to maintain what speed your body was operating on. It's like if you never learned how to swallow and suddenly someone shoved food in your mouth; of course, you'd choke."
"I..." Eren takes another steadying breath, body aching with the movement. "I hate that."
"You'll get used to it, I assure you."
Eren sincerely doubts that. Completely avoiding his powers is becoming more and more favorable the more he uses them. Fuck, is it going to hurt like this every time?
"Eren," Levi says, pushing himself up into a sitting position on the couch. "Why the hell did you do that anyway?"
"I..." Eren rubs his eyes. "I don't know... I should've known it was Erwin.... but I just... I saw a vampire attacking you and freaked."
"Hmm..." Erwin places his hand beneath his chin. "I really thought you were being overprotective when you sent him away, Levi, but clearly you were correct."
Eren rubs his eyes again. He's way too exhausted for this no-context conversation. He can’t even bring himself to sit up.
"What're you talking about?"
"I wanted to have Erwin run at me like he did to you as a way to get more ideas,” Levi says. “I figured it might make you nervous, so I sent you up for a second."
"That fucking backfired," Eren grumbles, and Levi sighs.
"Next time, I'll be more direct."
"Please."
Eren feels a hand on his head and reluctantly pulls his hands away from his eyes. Levi is kneeling over him, his gray eyes darker than usual.
"What am I going to do with you, brat?" he asks softly, running his fingers through Eren's hair. "If you're going to be like this just from watching me spar..."
Eren's lips twist into a frown, and he averts his gaze.
"Sorry, Levi..."
"No," Levi says. "Don't apologize. I get that you worry, but..."
Erwin clears his throat, and Levi's fingers pause their motions through Eren's hair.
"If I may pose a suggestion," Erwin says, "I have an idea that might get Eren used to seeing you in danger and get him to keep his eyes open."
"What's that?" Levi asks.
"Levi, instead of standing behind Eren, why don't you stand in front, as if you're blocking Eren from the path of danger? Making sure that Eren doesn’t move, of course."
Levi brightens up at this suggestion, but Eren just gets a sinking feeling at the pit of his stomach.
"Something tells me you just want to see me suffer, Shitty Brows,” Eren grumbles.
"Nothing of the sort, Eren. If it seems so, it's purely Hanji's influence."
"Not even Hanji would do this to me."
"Trust me, my friend," Erwin says with a grin, "I can only imagine that Hanji would conjure up an idea much, much worse."
Eren heaves a sigh, slowly pushing himself off the ground and onto his feet. He feels Levi's hand on the small of his back, easing him up.
“Don’t be a brat,” Levi says, though his touch is gentle at Eren’s waist. “You’ve got to be able to see me in danger, or this isn’t going to work.”
“I know, but—”
“No buts,” Levi says, pushing Eren into the center of the room before stepping in front of him. Erwin moves to his own spot across the room, stretching his arms in front of himself with a small smile. “I can’t have you trying to knock me out of the fight when I’m the one who’s supposed to be on the front lines.”
Eren sighs. Levi looks up at him over his shoulder, but the vampire doesn’t respond. What is Eren supposed to say? What can he say?
Levi looks forward again.
“Okay. Ten.”
Erwin crouches slightly, getting ready to move. Eren keeps his eyes wide, trying to be as alert as possible. He needs to keep his eyes open. He has to.
“Nine.”
Eren hates the idea of not being able to go to this fight after everything. But he knows that Levi is right. Eren can’t be dead weight, and he definitely can’t be holding back the best fighter they have. He’s just going to get Levi hurt.
“Eight.”
But being forced to watch Levi get attacked—Being forced not to move, not to attempt to help him—
“Seven.”
It feels cruel even though it’s just practice. Even though Eren knows Erwin isn’t actually going to hurt Levi.
“Six.”
If knowing there was no danger was all that it took for Eren not to worry, he’d have been able to move on to the next part of their training already. But it’s not enough. That’s why he can never keep his fucking eyes open.
“Five.”
Eren takes a deep breath.
“Four.”
He just needs to keep his eyes open. Keep his eyes on Erwin, who’s smiling at him over Levi’s head.
“Three.”
Something moves across the room. Eren just needs to—wait, what?
Levi hasn’t finished counting down yet, but there is a blur moving towards them, hurtling towards them, and immediately the breath floods out of Eren’s lungs, every muscle in his body tensing. His arms move to grab Levi before he can even think about it—
“Eren, don’t .”
Eren freezes, mouth open, arms half outstretched, hands hovering by Levi’s arms but not touching. Levi’s words ring clear through Eren’s ears even as he can’t tear his eyes from the blond blur that’s so close but not stopping—why isn’t Erwin stopping? Levi’s not ready—fuck, Levi didn’t even grab his practice blade before they started, he can’t defend—
There’s a slam, the sound of something hard hitting flesh, and Erwin becomes a solid being rather than a blur of movement. He’s looming over Levi, a stupid smile on his lips like always, one of his hands held in front of his chest, just over his heart.
Right where the flat end of a stake is pressed against Erwin’s palm.
Everything’s fine. Levi blocked. Levi’s fine.
Eren sags all the way to the ground, letting loose a heavy sigh of relief he didn’t realize he was holding in. His hands are shaky. He really thought—Well, Eren doesn’t know what he thought because he should’ve known that Erwin wouldn’t actually attack Levi and that Levi would be prepared—
Eren buries his face into his hands, shoulders hunching as he kneels on the ground. Fuck . If he’s this stressed over something this small—over fucking nothing —how is he going to survive the battle against Zeke?
“Kind of you to use to blunt edge instead of killing me, Levi,” says Erwin.
“Yeah, and real shitty of you to not wait for the end of the countdown, Shitty Brows.”
Erwin laughs.
“I simply thought you needed a bit of training too.”
Levi scoffs.
“You’re a dick, Erwin,” Eren grumbles from his spot on the ground, earning him an unwanted laugh from the big blond vampire.
“Apologies, but I thought if I didn’t properly put Levi in danger, you might not keep your eyes open.”
“You’re a dick , Erwin,” Eren says again, pulling his hands away from his face to glare up at Erwin, but instead he sees Levi kneeling in front of him, his expression soft.
Eren’s frown deepens, adrenaline fading. His eyes feel heavy. His body feels heavy.
“What?” he grumbles, and the corners of Levi’s lips twitch.
“Erwin,” Levi says, even though he’s looking at Eren. “Did Eren keep his eyes open?”
Eren’s mouth falls open, wide eyes shifting to the blond vampire standing nearby. Erwin smiles, thick eyebrows rising slightly.
“He did indeed.”
Eren blinks slowly, jaw still dropped.
Did he really? Eren didn’t even think about it. He was so focused on Erwin moving before he was supposed to—so worried about Levi not being able to block or get out of the way…
But Eren didn’t see blackness or red eyes lingering behind his closed eyelids. He saw Erwin and he saw Levi. He saw them.
“Holy shit,” Eren says, the corners of his lips slowly curving upwards. “Holy shit. ”
He shuffles closer to Levi across the carpet, eyes bright as a grin continues to spread across his face.
“Levi!” he exclaims. “Holy shit!”
Levi snorts at his excitement, reaching out and pulling one of Eren’s hands into his own.
“Holy shit,” Levi echoes with a tiny fraction of Eren’s energy, but for Eren that’s more than enough.
A giddy mix of pride and relief spill out of Eren’s lips in the form of a laugh, and he squeezes Levi’s hand with his own.
“Holy shit,” Eren says again, grinning, and Levi rolls his eyes.
“Shall we end today’s sparring session on a high note?” Erwin says, already heading towards the door. “Seems to me like we’ve cracked the code.”
“Not quite,” Levi says. “We’ve still got to make sure this brat will be able to fight without me in his sight.”
“ Levi ,” Erwin says, and the blond vampire’s smile drops, voice lowering. “We’ve made progress. Celebrate.”
Eren frowns at the change in mood. Erwin’s words are positive, encouraging, but… something doesn’t feel right. Why are Erwin and Levi exchanging somber glances? Eren kept his eyes open! That’s good, right? That’s progress, right?
Right?
“I’ll see myself out,” Erwin says, sending one last small smile in Eren’s direction before slipping out of the house, not waiting for goodbyes.
The door closes quietly, but the click sounds loud to Eren’s sensitive ears. Levi’s thumb sweeps over the back of Eren’s hand, his gaze shifting to the ground.
“We need to make sure you can fight even when you can’t see me, Eren,” Levi says, and Eren’s shoulders sag a bit. “But…”
Eren shifts a bit closer.
“But?”
Levi’s gaze rises, gray eyes gentle. His other hand moves to rest against Eren’s cheek, pulling him closer until their foreheads touch.
“But you did well today.” Levi leans closer, his lips landing at the corner of Eren’s mouth before pulling back again. Eren’s cheeks warm, and the half-faded Mark on his neck tingles.
“Do you think I’ll be ready in time?”
Levi frowns, his mouth opening and closing a few times before he lets out a deep sigh, his hand falling from Eren’s cheek.
“I don’t know, brat.”
Eren winces and ducks his face into the crook of Levi’s neck. If Eren can’t go… If he just has to sit at home, hoping that Levi and everyone else will be okay without him there…
It’s going to be torture.
“Sorry,” Levi says, his fingers finding their place in Eren’s hair again, combing through. “But I’m not going to lie about your odds just to make you feel better.”
“I wouldn’t want you to,” Eren mumbles, his fingers curling into Levi’s shirt. “It’s just hard to hear it.”
Eren takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. He has to work harder. Twice as hard. He has to improve before the month is over. He needs to be there for Levi. He promised. He’s not going to back out now.
Because if something were to happen to Levi without Eren there—if the ferals who killed Eren’s mom got to Levi—If Zeke ever hurt Levi because Eren was not there to protect him—
Eren would never be able to live with himself.
“Eren.”
Eren’s fingers curl tighter into the fabric of Levi’s clothes.
“Yeah?”
“You did make good progress today. Keeping your eyes open was a big step for you.”
One of Levi’s hands moves away from the soothing motions in Eren’s hair to brush against Eren’s neck. Eren shivers when Levi’s thumb slides across his Mark.
“Thanks, Levi.”
Levi’s fingertips brush over Eren’s neck again.
“...Want a reward?”
Eren’s eyes fly open, his head lifting away from Levi’s shoulder to look the man in the eye.
“A reward? Like what?”
“Hmm…”
Levi leans down, and Eren stiffens when he feels Levi’s breath on his collarbone, Eren’s lungs stuttering.
“Looks like this needs to be redone,” Levi says, his voice low, rough.
“Oh?” Eren asks, trying to keep his voice smooth and teasing, even as the blood in his veins starts to buzz in anticipation. “What does?”
“Don’t make me say it’s cheesy ass name,” Levi grumbles. His lips land on Eren’s skin, and Eren’s shoulders jolt. “Your… Love Bite.”
Eren laughs briefly in spite of himself, his head dropping onto Levi’s shoulder.
“It is cheesy when you say it.”
Levi’s heavy sigh is nearly like a growl, and it simultaneously makes Eren laugh and shudder.
“Shut the fuck up, Eren,” Levi snaps.
“You’re so s—”
Eren’s teasing words die on their way out the second Levi sinks his teeth into Eren’s throat, the sudden pain and burst of heat making his upper body jerk. Eren has to hold onto Levi’s waist to keep himself upright as he gasps, trembling as the tingling heat rushes out from the bite on his neck down his back, across his arms—everywhere, everywhere, he feels it so much , everywhere, all at once.
And just like that, it’s over. Levi pulls back, the press of his short, human canines and his flat front teeth removed from Eren’s skin. Levi’s arms curl around Eren’s waist as the vampire sags against him, trembling. Still hot all over, so damn hot, fuck.
“I’m so what?” Levi asks, his lips against Eren’s ear, and even that small gesture makes Eren jolt again, breaths stuttering.
“Huh…?”
“You were saying something,” Levi says, his voice still low, lips still lingering on Eren’s skin. “‘You’re so…’”
“Oh… I…”
Eren swallows, trying to reorient himself, even as the now fresh Mark on his neck throbs.
“I was…” Eren clears his throat. “I was going to say… You’re so sensitive…”
Levi chuckles, and Eren shivers again, his fingers digging into Levi’s waist.
“Something tells me you’re the sensitive one between the two of us.”
Eren works up just enough energy to raise his head and glare at Levi, though this just makes the pale man laugh again. Levi catches Eren’s chin before his head can loll forward onto Levi’s shoulder again, leaning in to press their lips together.
“Don’t even think about disagreeing with me, brat,” Levi says, a small smirk forming on his lips as he leans back, his hand still beneath Eren’s chin. “I have no problem proving you wrong.”
Eren groans, shaking his head free of Levi’s grasp to drop his head into the crook of Levi’s neck again, tiredness overcoming him as the heat fades and his Mark settles down. Eren closes his eyes.
“Levi…”
“What?”
“You’re the worst.”
Levi laughs again. It’s almost a little strange, how freely he’s able to do so these days.
God, Eren loves the sound so, so much. If only he could keep Levi laughing like this over and over again, for the rest of time.
“You’re right, Eren,” Levi whispers, and Eren feels Levi’s fingers cradling his own, moving them up. He feels the press of the man’s lips against his knuckles, gentle yet firm. “I’m the worst.”
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