A/N: This was originally written for Day 7 (Theme: The Moon) of RivaMikaWeek Cycle 6 in December 2015! I've always wanted to write a legitimate No Name/Attackers AU, considering Levi and Mikasa are the respective singers, and the right idea finally came! I've also created a couple of fanedits in the past for the same concept - one serves as prequel and one serves as companion to this fic - and if you would like to see them, feel free to send a review or private message my way (Since I can't share links in-fic)! Happy New Year's Even 2015 :)

Éphémère
Rating: M (For smutty goodness)

Summary: A late night rendezvous between presumed rivals. No Name/Attackers AU.

"Your hair."

Though her words come as no surprise, Levi had not anticipated the presence of the young woman currently facing him across the hotel room doorway. Almost immediately, a bit of chagrin rises within, for he wishes that her first commentary had been focused on other matters, such as the fact that he was unusually – and a bit carelessly - shirtless before opening the door.

Then again, while he has always been the less predictable performer between them, Mikasa Ackerman has never been predictable in real life.

"Does it look shitty?" He ruffles the bleached tresses that he had almost forgotten about, all the while stepping aside to permit her entrance. "Erwin told me to change it up…said that I'll be even more convincing as a rockstar this way."

His counterpart – rival in profession, lover in secret – enters with nonchalance, the hem of her black trenchcoat brushing against his jeans of the same hue. At the same time, Levi extends his neck out to the corridor, examining both ends to ensure that she had not been followed.

"I think you and Mike might look too similar now." Behind him, Mikasa's voice maintains mostly indifference despite the amusing observation. But when he turns around, Levi sees that she has seized a few wisps of her own hair, as if actually in doubt. "What's wrong with black, anyway?"

"Hell if I know." He locks the door behind him before moving closer to her. "Just don't be too surprised if Hannes makes you go electric purple for the next tour."

"I wouldn't mind green." The young woman shrugs, wasting no time to lift both hands upward and run fingers through the yellowed strands. "Mm…still feels pretty nice, at least."

Her approval relieves Levi to a degree, and he mentally crosses off the idea of putting laxatives in Erwin's morning coffee. Meanwhile, her hands begin to massage his scalp, giving him much-needed additional relief from the ongoing aftereffects of a deafening set. As his eyes close in indulgence, Mikasa begins to speak again.

"How was your concert?"

"Sold out." He mumbles. "How was yours?"

"Same, of course." She echoes the success both of their bands have experienced in the recent months. "But I was told that a few people came straight from your venue."

He scoffs. "Guess the fans still like me better if they prioritized No Name."

"No, I heard that they left yours early." The pressure from Mikasa's hands strengthens alongside her emphasis. "For ours."

With victory instantly turned into defeat, Levi can only frown. "Tch. Traitorous pigs."

"Are you jealous?" Even with closed eyes, he can practically see her smirk as she makes the accusation.

"Not of you, of them." Almost instinctually, his resting arms rise to wrap themselves around her waist, eliminating the miniscule distance between them. "You know I also want to watch you perform live one of these days."

"Same here…but it probably won't happen until the paparazzi stop stalking us." Mikasa releases a frustrated sigh. "They were already staking out my hotel earlier, hoping to catch me sneaking your way and prove the rumors...thankfully, Sasha told me a secret exit."

He opens one eye then. "Tell your keyboardist that I owe her one."

"You know what to do." She leans forward, knocking their foreheads gently together. "Just send her some extra backstage snacks tomorrow night."

"Done."

Releasing her from his clutch, Levi winds around to retrieve his phone near the window, resting next to the hot cup of tea he had just made himself prior to her arrival. Leaning against the glass, his one hand grips the cup rim and lifts it for a sip, while his other five fingers compose a text to Erwin with expertise.

Hey. Send five extra large French Fries to Sasha Braus at the Attackers' venue tomorrow, 7pm. Thanks.

As always, the reply comes almost immediately after.

Again? Okay. I'll have Nanaba order it…

Though still weary of some of her other bandmates, Levi has never been opposed to the gluttonous ways of the brunette girl, for she has become an unusual part of their routine ever since seven months ago. On that particular day, No Name and Attackers had participated in a joint magazine photoshoot, and the creative director had insisted on a specific duo session with only the lead singers after all the group shots were complete. The remarkable tension between them throughout the extra shoot had culminated into reality, taking the form of a clandestine make-out session in Mikasa's dressing room afterwards that also marked the beginning of their relationship. Somewhere between him giving her a third hickey and her requesting his local address for "future purposes," Sasha had walked in without knocking, apparently in search for some food. For some reason, however, the awkward scene had not daunted her in the least, and thus the Attackers keyboardist became the first keeper of their secret, kept mum by ongoing, extra sustenance courtesy of them both – and the tradition had continued to this day, despite more of their respective band members becoming fully aware of the liaisons.

"Who told you my room number, anyway?" Setting the memory aside, Levi tosses a beer from the minibar in Mikasa's direction as he questions. "We only checked in twenty minutes ago."

The young woman catches the glistening bottle and uncaps it without effort, utilizing the strength that still occasionally unsettles him. "Hanji texted me." She takes a gulp while pitching him a stare. "Why didn't you?"

"You're usually the one who asks me for it." He notes, using a finger to mindlessly play with the paper label of his tea bag. "But you didn't, so I thought you might have plans already after your gig."

"When you and I are actually touring in the same city for once?" Sounding faintly incredulous, Mikasa drinks again, this time consuming almost twice as much. "Whenever that happens, Levi, you are the plan."

"I'll remember next time." Sensing her displeasure, he lowers his cup to the windowsill before gesturing her over, aiming to achieve prompt forgiveness by way of more kisses. "Come here, brat."

When she approaches, placing her beer on the table along the way, Levi quickly realizes that his plans would soon be diverted – or perhaps enhanced. Halfway to him, her right hand unhooks the belt holding her trenchcoat in place, allowing it to come apart with each additional step. Little by little, the dark fabric tumbles to the floor, exposing creamy skin and a trio of darker areas barely concealed beneath a translucent, beige negligee.

Levi's eyes widen at the unexpected sight, drinking in everything from the beading patterns embroidered on the sinful getup to her long, unclothed legs, currently taking agonizingly slow strides towards him.

"You came here already dressed like this?" He says with more objection than he had intended.

"I was too damn tired and lazy after the show to put on another complicated outfit outside of this." Mikasa traps him against the glass with both arms, eyebrows raised in stoic skepticism. "Are you complaining?"

"No, just…" The scent that envelopes him proves intoxicating, and his brain conjures up the worst excuse possible, knowing the inevitable fate of the flimsy piece of lingerie. "What the hell are you going to change into tomorrow morning?"

"You always have tons of ridiculously clean clothes with you, no?" She frowns at his abysmal justification. "Just lend me a shirt or something."

The imagined visual of such a situation only makes the rising bulge in his jeans twitch unbearably, and Levi slips beneath her arms to disengage himself from any risk of early release. "You can borrow one if you shower beforehand." He says with half sarcasm as he dives onto the bed facing downward, hoping to regain some semblance of composure before their inevitable tryst.

"Hmph." She scoffs behind him.

A pregnant silence follows, and though still flat upon the mattress, Levi glances over his shoulder momentarily to see Mikasa fixated by either her reflection in the window or an unknown object outside, apparently ignoring him for his recent rebuff. Even so, the brilliance of the full moon in the night sky embraces her form in a breathtaking manner, and his heart clenches longer than he would ever admit.

"Mikasa." He mumbles half into the coverlet, an uncomfortable notion now plaguing his thoughts.

"Hm?"

"How much longer will we keep doing this?"

"Until the tabloids catch us and our record labels skewer us, of course." She answers into the glass, using the same half sarcasm he has mastered. "You can see the headlines, can't you? 'Rival Lead Singers in Sordid Affair: Rock Industry Turned Upside Down.' Our fans would dub us both traitors, our careers would go down the shithole, and-"

"-and after that?"

The young singer turns around slowly then, lips half parted but articulating no response.

"Forget about the press or the fans." He continues to pry. "What will happen to us?"

A few further seconds ensue before Mikasa steps away from the window, and Levi's eyes pursue her lithe figure while she walks to the lighting controls near the door. Bit by bit, the room's artificial yellow and orange glows dim, becoming completely extinguished before she returns in the bed's direction. And as she descends upon the mattress at his left side, her weight rocks him closer to her ever so slightly.

"What would you like to see happen, Levi?" She leans down, fingers again applying familiar caresses through his hair.

And then supple lips capture his.

Though caught by surprise, Levi's mouth open in a natural response, and he curls his tongue against her invading one, following its velvety movements like an obedient disciple.

"This would be…a good start…" Murmured words somehow escape him between entanglements.

As he indulges in her sweetness, Mikasa's hand moves to capture his neck and deepen the kiss, while her other fingers begin a ritualistic journey throughout the expanse of his bare torso. Having memorized every detail from past experiences, she blindly traces the masterpiece that is his upper body - from the strained tendons in his neck to the firm flesh of his arm muscles; from the artificial outlines of his chest tattoo to the natural dip of his hip bone.

When she makes the valiant attempt to continue down the valley beneath the waistbands of his jeans and boxer briefs, Levi finally halts the ministrations to some degree. A stout forearm reaches around her midriff, pushing her stomach flush against his so she cannot progress further. His free palm then directs full attention to her breasts, massaging each languidly through the negligee.

Guttural moans escape Mikasa's throat as he teases the dark buds barely hidden underneath lacey fabric. With their mouths still connected, he consumes the sounds fully, allowing each little, carnal vibration to feed the desire already overwhelming his senses. As always, she gives a unique performance in a language only the two of them understand, and though there are slight differences each time, Levi knows that mutual satisfaction always awaits at its conclusion.

When he breaks the kiss temporarily to place a frisky bite along the pulse of her neck, the dam embodying all of their resistances finally breaks apart. Driven by the merciless flood of lust, two pairs of hands begin even wilder explorations, removing all hints of lace, denim, and cotton upon their skin at an implausible pace. The previously spotless carpet along the bedframe quickly becomes littered by the few pieces of clothing, but just before she tosses his jeans into the mix, Levi smoothly retrieves the foil packet tucked within the right pocket.

By the time his attention returns to Mikasa again, she is straddling him at the waist, her hooded eyes almost more alluring than the rest of her gloriously naked figure.

He marvels at the vision above, radiant in the moonlight and stimulating almost a painful hardness for him below. Though distracted, his mind recalls every prior instance of their coupling – the elegant neck that has been marked countless times by his teeth, the pert breasts that he has worshiped time and again, the heated core that has received him openly and is now teasingly rubbing against his abdomen – every occasion delivering sinfully pleasurable results that he has relived himself in times of her absence.

Feigning control, Levi stretches both arms outward, eventually bending them and bringing linked hands behind his head. "Interesting." He states sardonically, though his voice almost trembles at the increasing sensation of wetness from exactly where her weight rests.

"Be patient." Stare trained intently on him, Mikasa delivers an unusual command.

He barely has time to question the words before she shifts backward and elevates her body slightly, leaving a glistening trail devastating the light dusting of hairs along the way. But as she pauses right above her intended target, Levi finally recalls the packet still being held within his hand.

"Wait, I'm not-"

"No need for now." She murmurs before lowering herself with precision. "This is…rehearsal."

Though alarmed at first, he is blissfully confused when only the bottom side of his throbbing erection feels the petal-like muscles that layer her center. As Mikasa traps his length between herself and his belly, she leans her upper body slightly forward, linking their fingers and pressing his surrendering arms and wrists into the coverlet, as if fully entrapping him in a cage he never intended to escape in the first place.

When her lower half slides forward with the briefest distance, shifting vertically alongside his length rather than engulfing it, Levi's neck jerks backward on ecstatic reflex, shoving his head even deeper into the bed than the loads upon his hands. The last thing he sees before his eyelids slam shut are hers doing the same, accompanying slightly opened lips to form that erotic expression that creeps into far too many of his daydreams.

"Oh fuck…" He hears himself mutter into empty space, expelling the last bit of air he feels that he will ever breathe. The self-invoked blindness amplifies every touch to a staggering degree, transforming the gentle friction of her bud sliding along his most sensitive veins to into miniature explosions traveling throughout his neurons. And as if referencing his nightly acts, each detonation somehow bears the raucous sound of a hi-hat cymbal, colliding at rhythms of a tune that she has written for him.

The crashes pause when Mikasa reaches the engorged head held in place between them, at full attention even in its confined state. The second that follows is almost painful, for she lingers her heat against the tip only briefly before retreating just the way she arrived, abstaining from satisfying its – and his - utmost wants.

This is absolute torture. Levi groans at the dreadful tease but keeps the selfish thought to himself, choosing to enjoy her performance the way she intends to execute it.

Her own moans become audible on the sixth sequence, when his hips do an inadvertent roll, changing the angle just as her entrance drifts dangerously close again. From that moment onward, Mikasa's movements become faster and more frenzied, but each trek is still gentle enough to not cause him discomfort. The ongoing contact, however, forces him to the edge of his self-control, nudging him towards the foaming waves of ecstasy miles below.

Right as Levi feels himself wandering at the treacherous cliffside, the figure above him manages to plummet first, gasping with fulfillment as she succumbs to temptation. Jerking his hands away from hers at last, he grips Mikasa's quivering waist, serving as usher to her uncontrolled fall. Moments later, even more of her essence begins to coat his somehow enduring length, as if signifying the eventual splash of her plunge.

A few more seconds pass before his lover leans down, placing all weight on her elbows as she continues to recover with raspy breaths. When her eyes finally open over his, they're immediately filled with amusement, and Levi knows that she has perceived the burning desire that has yet to be extinguished within him. Wordlessly, he hands her the packet that has somehow remained intact all this time, and in a series of skilled movements, she grants the promise of imminent relief as she adds yet another layer over the already slick surface of his patient – though tormented - organ.

When he feels the rubber material snap in place, Levi immediately uses his strength to roll her underneath him, exchanging their positions with little effort.

As they lay together in near silence, her palms travel precariously up his torso, savoring all the softness and hardness before sliding over his shoulders. They eventually find refuge against his burning cheeks, and she guides his lips downward for a fleeting, tender kiss before making a final request.

"Look at me this time."

Even with his shadow enveloping most of her skin, Levi relishes the sight of her faultless face, illuminated by the moonlight still looming over them both.

"Even if I close my eyes, brat, or if I have bandages over them - you're still all that I see."

With those words, his hips push forward in that familiar angle, achieving the connection that had escaped his grasp so often just moments ago. With one arm beneath the arch of her back, he guides her to accept his gradual intrusion, drawing closer little by little until it becomes impossible to decipher where she begins and he ends. The striking warmth that welcomes him is an indescribable notion, etched as deeply into his memories as the most sung of songs, yet still matchless by anything aside from her actual presence.

"Ah…" She croons with pleasure as he begins to move.

As promised, he does not break their stare, though the ankles that lock against his back and the softness squeezed against his chest both threaten to distract him. Defying all interference, he continues to drink in the features that have rendered him breathless since a past life, feeling gratitude that the mysterious workings of the universe have granted them yet another chance. Here with her under only the watchful moon - with no screaming audience and shielded from all the literal cacophony surrounding their current world – Levi discovers contentment yet again.

His hips rise and fall vigorously, not missing any opportunity to supplement this revelation with delightful sensations that gratify his every cell. Eventually, the rapture speeding through his body take full control of his mind, and his throat can only utter sporadic thoughts that fail to complete.

"Fuck, you feel so…ah…"

At his struggle, Mikasa expresses nothing in response outside of a small smile. But as he increases momentum, her blinks become longer, more labored, and when Levi hits a particular spot multiple times in a row, she releases an almost passionate cry that rivals the most intense of her performances.

"Levi-"

The climax of their duet hits also him then, and he howls her name as he finally stumbles over that precipice of no return. Any remaining control completely disintegrates as every tension within Levi releases at once, flooding both him and her with the blissful emotions comprising what remains of his consciousness. And before his mind enters that temporary void, he grins with a last, uplifting thought.

In her world, he will never be one who possesses No Name.

Strokes of ink in the form of his handwriting tint her skin, forming a string of words running along the delicate curve of her shoulder all the way down the graceful length of her spine. Only when Levi reaches her tailbone area does Mikasa awake, though she does not make any attempt to shift aside.

"Mm…what are you doing?" She moans in fatigue.

Pausing his composition, he places a soft kiss at the side of her neck before whispering the answer into the adjacent ear.

"Writing lyrics for No Name's next single."

"And why are you writing them on me?" She questions, somehow aware of his strange antics. "Like you said, I still need to shower later…"

"Will be easier for me to remember the words written on here than on shitty pieces of paper that will inevitably get lost." Levi can only deliver another bout of unusual logic before salvaging things. "The lyrics are about you, anyway."

"Really?" Mikasa twists her neck to regard him, surprise evident in her tired gaze. "What is the song about?"

His eyes drift momentarily to the setting sphere outside, close to disappearing due to the late hour, before they return to look at her. "Chasing after the full moon and desperately searching for its light, only to realize that one can simply look up." He describes fluently. "Or in my case right now, look down."

"Am I a damn moon, then?" She chuckles at the unsolicited metaphor.

"No, Mikasa." Brushing a piece of stray hair away from her forehead, Levi makes a choice to infuse his tone with unprecedented honesty. "You are actually the light."

His lover stares at him then, seemingly struck by the confession, and an elongated moment passes before she finally turns away. Uncertain of what the reaction entails, Levi can only sit with unease for the next minute, attempting to distract himself by mentally singing through the tune of her song.

When she finally speaks again, it is an invitation he does not expect.

"Will you come tomorrow? After your concert is over?" Mikasa requests with faint reluctance. "You've always wanted to attend one of ours, anyway."

"And who's sneaking me in?" Though bubbling with interest, Levi still finds himself prioritizing the logistics above all.

"Just come through backstage." She instructs. "Reiner knows who you are – he won't stop you."

He doesn't voice his agreement yet, for his head still races with inquiries as to her exact reasoning for such a development. But as if reading his thoughts – as she often does so successfully these days - Mikasa proceeds to rid his mind of all skepticism.

"I want to…go public tomorrow. Announce our relationship onstage at the end of the gig..." Her voice seems to decrease in volume with each additional word. "…if you're fine with that."

Levi stiffens physically, though his mental state dwells in a controlled level of exhilaration at Mikasa's suggestion – one as unpredictable as she has always been. As his eyes again peruse the words arranged across the perfect canvas that is her, all the worst consequences in the world become trivial. In fact, he almost smirks at the imagined reactions of their managers at such an audacious decision – Erwin with a grudging understanding and Hannes a rather frantic one – but he is also confident that both would still support them to the end.

"If I agree, what happens to us afterwards, Mikasa?" Though already aware of his own answer to her idea, Levi still repeats the unanswered question from earlier on.

She elevates herself then, turning to face him and caring little for the falling duvet exposing her nudity. "We come back here, celebrate the secret finally being out, finish writing this song together, and…" With no further ado, she places a brief, sensual kiss upon his mouth, wordlessly conveying the desire to repeat the events of tonight.

Though the solution proves temporary after all, Levi finds that he is more than satisfied by the promise of Mikasa's lips, for they convey permanence that verses cannot guarantee. Ultimately, even in their lives in that alternate universe, they have always existed in the thrill of the ephemeral, living day-to-day – and now, in their new existence, song-to-song.

"Sounds like a damn good plan."

[Fin]

A/N: Thank you for reading! Again, if you would like to see links to the couple of fanedits that accompany this fic, feel free to leave a review and/or send me a message :)