Spider Possum

Being a soldier isn't always smelling like roses and daisies. In fact, if a soldier were to smell as such, they would be so far down in the minority percentile that it would be inaccurate for them to even be called a soldier. To be a true savior of humanity means to sweat, to strain, and to struggle, and boy, Eren would be lying if he said he wasn't currently feeling all three.

"Okay, you can come down now," Corporal Levi affirmed, giving Eren a quick nod and a smooth gesture of allowance.

More than grateful to comply, Eren sighed deeply and situated himself upright from his upside down position. Next, he began working with his 3D Maneuver Gear to help lower himself back down onto the ground. Once the heels of his boots were firmly planted in the grassy earth beneath him, Eren ran a tired hand through his sweat-matted head of hair, and asked, "Corporal, why did you have me do that? What kind of situation will I be in where I'll have to hang upside down for such a long period of time?"

"To your first question, it is a part of your continued training," the Corporal answered plainly. "To your second, I'll tell you this. Say you're on a expedition on the outside. Your comrades have fallen and you're all alone." Corporal Levi saw Eren cringe at that, but he pursued his thought. "Your 3D Maneuver Gear has been damaged and you can't properly escape. You shoot an emergency signal, but in order for others to get to you, they'll have to fight off a massive ward of Titans. In this situation, the only way for you to safely protect yourself is to assume the, what I like to call, spider-possum position."

"Sir?"

"Allow me to finish, Eren," Corporal Levi snarled. "As I was saying, by assuming the spider-possum position, you are safe in more ways than one. Being upside down from any given height allows you grand view most of your surroundings. It's a given that Titans can't climb very well, so an unexpected attack from above is highly unlikely, making this method one of the safest ways to protect yourself."

"But why a possum, Corporal Levi?" Eren wondered. Really, a spider and a possum? He would have never pitted those two beings into one, strategic maneuver.

"Essentially, you'd be playing dead. Hanji's been running a few studies as of late with very promising results. Apparently, Titans only like to eat us if our brains are functioning, our hearts are pumping, and our lungs are breathing."

Eren swallowed at the thought of that. "Do you think such a thing would work? You know, the whole playing dead thing?"

"Who knows," the Corporal shrugged. "It's all still very experimental, but seeing as we might just be onto something, it's worth it to practice the technique."

"The spider-possum technique," Eren chuckled.

"Precisely."

Groaning a bit, the young soldier arched his back and stretched out his muscles. After having the hot summer sun constantly beating down his neck, Eren felt the need to take a much deserved break. The training session really had been a lot harder than he had anticipated. Not to mention completely random, as well.

"Eren," Corporal Levi stated, a bit too suddenly.

"Ah! Yes?"

"Lay down."

"Er..." It was clear that Eren was hesitant. "Right here? On the grass, sir?"

"No, in the sky," the Corporal sniped. "Yes, on the grass."

Not wanting to irritate the Corporal any further, Eren quickly followed orders and rested himself down into the grass. The thin blades tickled his skin and masked the musky scent of his sweat. He closed his eyes at the feeling. It was relaxing; soothing even.

Then, there was a different feeling. This feeling was soft, too, but at the same time, it was rough. It felt calloused and skilled. It elicited a sensation within the young soldier that had caused him to slowly open his eyes. "...Corporal?"

Laying on his side, his elbow propped and his head set into the palm of his hand, Corporal Levi withdrew his fingers from the far side of Eren's face, and asked, "What is it?"

Eren sucked on his lower lip. 'Was the Corporal really just touching me like that? So...gently?' Just the thought of it was enough to make his heart race for more reasons than one. For lack of anything better to say, Eren simply muttered, "It's...hot, isn't it?"

"It is," Corporal Levi agreed, his eyes never once leaving Eren's. It was a notion that had caused the young soldier to flush a deep shade of uncomfortable red. "You should take off your uniform jacket."

"...Pardon?"

"Clean out your ears, Eren," the Corporal scoffed, moving to sit up properly. The very same fingers that had been stroking Eren's face just moments ago were now digging their way beneath the folds of Corporal's Levi's cravat, pulling and tugging to loosen the fancy piece of fabric. When it slowly cascaded down humanity's strongest chest into humanity's strongest lap, Eren gulped and averted his eyes elsewhere.

"Take off your jacket."

"Y-yes, sir," Eren stammered, and he, too, moved to sit up. He didn't understand why, but for some reason, being told to take off his jacket, especially since he was being told to do such by the Corporal, it made him feel awkward. Once he had mustered up the courage to slip it off of his shoulders and down the length of his arms, Eren set his jacket off to his left side and plopped himself back into the grass. "Are you going to take your jacket off, t-?"

Eren should have snapped his mouth shut the moment he had opened it. Gazing over at the Corporal provided the young soldier with a lovely view of his superior currently in the process of stripping off his jacket and unbuttoning the very top button of his shirt. "Keep this our little secret, yeah? It's just too damn hot for this."

At first, Eren could only nod, but when he felt a pair of hot and heavy eyes giving him a stare down, he stiffened and whispered, "S-sure. It'll be our secret."

"Good." And with one, swift movement, the Corporal was on his side once again. His quick gesture had made for a gentle puff of air. It caused the tips of Eren's bangs to dance lazily along his forehead, a feeling so nice that he had ended up closing his eyes to enjoy it. Corporal Levi, then, on an impulse, reached forward and fed his hand through his subordinate's sticky locks of hair, murmuring, "This will be our secret, too, okay?"

"What do you me-?" But Eren hadn't had the chance to finish his question. Careful and hesitant lips had found their way to his own, and before Eren could push the Corporal away, he was vehemently warned of not doing such.

The kiss was awkward and a bit sloppy. Eren had stupidly parted his lips to breathe, but it had only resulted in the deepening of his and Corporal Levi's lip lock. Minutes later, when he was finally freed from the Corporal's imprisoning and passionate display of affection, Eren could only mutter the first thought that had come to his mind. "...It's hot."

"Yeah," Corporal Levi agreed, easing down to press one, final kiss to the very top of Eren's sweaty forehead. "Very hot."

Hello there! Chappy here! :D

Ahh, summer. For me, it has sadly come to an end. With this being the last day of my summer vacation, I really wanted to write something summer-esque, and this is what had almost instantly come to mind. I hope you've enjoyed it!

And thank you very much for taking the time to read! (:

- Chappy