Behind The Curtain (EREN X LEVI FANFICTION)

Chapter 22: It Begins

"You're the only one who can make me feel whole again."

Levi has just said those words to Eren and the boy is in disbelief. Within the last minute, he only had the brain capacity to listen to those words, his response getting stuck in his throat the more his mind lingers on the weight of Levi's confession. He's hot. He can feel his entire face blooming with heat. Levi came through. It's nothing short of a surreal lucid dream from believing the raven would never show up to seeing him now. That's what it feels like to Eren at least, but Lev's sincerity is as plain as day, his arm that holds the flowers never once lowering.

"I..." Eren slowly reaches for the flowers, accepting them with awe. He's never been given flowers before. His mother would receive flowers from his father and he's seen other couples exchange bouquets on special occasions. Truthfully, he never expected in a million years he would have someone present him with a bunch of his own. "They're beautiful, Levi."

Despite dull lighting, the striking red of the rose petals is a splash of colour against his costume. Wrapped in white paper with a silver ribbon clinging to the stems keeping them contained. Roses, the flower of love. A flower that is used as an expression of one's deepest feelings. A fragile emotion that is just as delicate as the flower itself. Eren sniffs the roses. They smell wonderful. One whiff and Eren is feeling alarmingly giddy. The entire time since Levi confessed to him Eren's poor heart has been soaring uncontrollably inside his chest. He gives Levi a nervous glance trying to gauge what the raven is thinking. Eren smiles.

The raven's usual poker face is missing its blank slate. Eren doesn't believe he has ever seen Levi's face so red. It's a drastic change to the paleness he had grown used to.

"I was waiting for you," Eren tells Levi, watching how the other hangs onto his every word.

"I know," Levi responds. "I didn't want to distract you from getting ready for the show."

'Your absence distracted me more...' Eren laughs under his breath. "So instead you had me worry you were dead or something?"

"That wasn't my intention. If you were worried about me, that's your own fault for being a brat."

"Hey!" Eren pouts. "Excuse me for caring about you. And here I thought we could finally play nice."

"Nice isn't exactly what I'm known for."

Levi had a point. It was his demeaning scowl and thug-like attitude that caused the initial rumours to spread like wildfire across the school. Eren has heard them all. Violent crimes, drug addiction, murderous intent, all things that Levi has been labelled over the years, all of which are untrue. He always had limited friends, never exceeding double digits and the few friends he managed to secure have been M.I.A lately. A conversation with Levi usually ended in two ways: the newcomer being ignored or the raven acknowledging the conversation and ending it as soon as it started, further labelling him as a rude asshole with a heart as cold as ice.

All these misconceptions have never deterred Eren, because despite all these things being spread and cultivated into something more, not once has the raven shown Eren hostility. Every outing was peaceful. An atmosphere Levi created that made Eren comfortable to be in his company. It's the only reason why Eren has to disagree with Levi's argument.

"You've always been nice to me. I might even go as far as to say you've been a real gentleman."

"That's a stretch," Levi snorts. His eyes trail over the roses that rest in Eren's arm and the boy swears he sees the beginnings of a smile. A slight twitch of the lips goes almost unnoticed in the faded light, but Eren sees it.

"You look good holding roses I gave you," Levi remarks. Eren chuckles nervously. "I might have to get you more so that I can see how cute you are blushing like that."