Dangerous Territory

Bashert

Eren did not realize he had fallen asleep until Levi jolted up. He blinked out his eyes, but all was dark.

"Shit. What time is it?"

Eren lifted his wrist, but he could not see the watch.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Levi turned around, and in the darkness he saw Eren yawn. "You fell asleep too?"

"You were comfortable," Eren muttered.

"Wait, are you drunk?"

Eren rolled out his shoulders. "I was. Not anymore."

Levi shook his head. Seriously, they were getting sloppy, complacent, and letting their guard down was dangerous. Sure, he had slept well on Eren's lap, but like hell would he admit it aloud.

Eren climbed down from the attic first. As Levi slipped through the hatch, Eren grabbed his waist to help him slide down. Eren's hands remained where they were, clutching slightly. Levi slowly turned around and saw a strange expression of longing mixed with sadness, as if Eren already missed him.

"Is everything okay?" Levi asked, worried if maybe Eren got bad news about the war.

"I wonder, how many more days like this will we have?"

Levi knew the feeling. The past few weeks had been like a dream, but eventually they would need to wake up to reality.

"Don't let the fear of waking up ruin the dream," he muttered.

Eren chuckled. "That's surprisingly wise."

"Jews are filled with ancient wisdom."

"Oh? So what's a neshomeleh?"

His eyes widened. "How the bloody hell do you know that word?"

"You said it in your sleep."

Levi's face went instantly red, and he ripped away from Eren's embrace.

"Ooh, now I really want to know! What does it mean?" Eren said, eagerly following as Levi tried to walk away.

"Shut up! I'm not telling you."

"It's something good, right?" He chuckled slyly. "Or is it naughty?"

"Gai tren zich."

Eren grabbed Levi into a hug. "It's embarrassing, so it must be good."

Levi struggled against the arms. "Farmach dos moyl!"

"A lot of Yiddish today. You said a lot of Yiddish in your sleep too."

"It just happens to be in my head lately."

"Do you dream in Yiddish?"

"I dream in many languages."

"So why Yiddish now?"

Levi stopped fighting and stared ahead. "Because I was reading."

"That Jewish Bible?"

"It's called the Tanakh, and it's the exact same Bible Christians read," he snapped. Then Levi grumbled, "It's High Holy Days, from now and for a week."

"The whole week is a holiday?"

"Sort of," he muttered. "I was never into these things, so I don't even know what I'm supposed to do, but I figured I'd read the Tanakh every day. That ... makes me remember my mother."

Eren's playfulness turned to concern. He recalled seeing the name Kuchel written in the book. "She died when you were young, right?"

"Just before I turned eight. The war ended, soldiers came home, and she was ... more busy than usual."