Dive In

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Levi-

Diving was the most exhilarating thing in my life. It had been something I trained for and excelled in for years. I was a professional—all about testing my limits and exploring the unknown. Which was what brought me to one particular cave in the states. I'd traveled to America just for the rush of new explorations, bring my small but capable team with me.

My diving partner, Hange Zoe was seemingly more excited than I was as we prepared for the cave dive we'd been anticipating for weeks. Only one other diver had ever attempted to explore the cave and he hadn't managed to discover much, which was why I knew that I was the one for the job.

I'd been a professional diver for ten years and in that time I had become well renowned for my skills. These days, I mostly did rescues and had just succeeded in a rescue of ten divers in training who'd been subjected to unseasonal flooding during their dive.

Doing rescue was a passion of mine, as was cave diving. The cave diving though, was something I did only for the fun of it. Because nothing hyped me up more. I was fearless and confident in my abilities, even when my own team tried to discourage me from certain dives—like they were about this one.

Hange agreed with everything I said and everything I wanted to do, so she had no objections. It was the rest of the team members who were adamantly trying to talk us out of the dive. This wasn't something they did often, it was in fact very rare. I did understand, considering what we knew about the cave, which wasn't much.

All we knew for certain was that the water was muddy and space was extremely limited. It would be a first for us, considering the cave was in a pond. Most of our dives were ocean dives and there had been several done in much larger lakes. Still, I had the expertise to do this dive and I was quite confident in Hange's abilities as well.

So we went along with our exploration, diving in through the small opening and going in without thinking twice about it.

Hange and I went in with our guideline, our means of returning out of the small cavern. It got tighter in some places and the water was so murky I couldn't see even a few inches in front of me as I led the way.

Within twenty minutes, we'd already made it further than the first diver, who'd ultimately given up the exploration in fear of the small crevices. I was completely calm, though excited as I kept moving forward—certain we'd find an air pocket eventually. For now, there were only small crawl spaces between rocks covered in mud. It was cold, but not unbearable thanks to our gear.

Eventually we reached an area that was more open, the width of the cave was considerably vast, at least fifty feet but the height was just over a foot. I'd been going for a while, unable to see anything and trying to keep as straight as possible until I finally reached the air pocket and I surfaced with a victorious grin.

However my face soon fell when Hange never came up after me and a quick check of my gear made me realize my guideline had been lost. As bad as the situation was, I didn't panic. I checked my tank, noting I still had plenty of air left. There was no choice but for me to search for Hange and hope that she still had a connection to the guideline.

I went back in, but after searching for well over half an hour, I realized that I would have to give up. I swam around, both looking for my partner and trying to determine the way out, but without a guideline, it was impossible to know. In the end, I made a calculated decision to return to the air pocket to save what air I had left. It was just enough to get out, if I could get out without getting lost.

As an expert, I knew how unlikely those odds were.

Eren-

"Mr. Jaeger! Mr. Jaeger!"

"Whoa, what's the rush?" I chuckled as I turned to one of my trainees who'd come running up to me, but at seeing the look of fear in his eyes, my amusement died. "What's happened?"

"There's a man here to see you! Something about a rescue. I think it's very serious!"

"Alright now, just calm down." I said as I patted the kids shoulder and then went to meet this man.

I was surprised to find a man twice my age, whom I'd recognized as a fellow diver. He looked anxious as he met my eyes and crossed his arms.

"Hello," I greeted him casually and he was quick to drop his arms, pull a rolled paper out of his pocket and unravel it on the table in the room.

"There's a cave in a pond, the Lynch pond cave over in Tennessee. I was the first to explore it, just last year but it was treacherous. I never thought anyone else would attempt to go in such a place, you see here-"

I listened as he explained everything he knew about the cave in less than a minute, he was shaken and noticeably pale. He looked so distraught even I felt a little concerned, and I still didn't know what was going on.

"Are you telling me this because someone actually attempted to do this dive?" I asked, not really wanting to believe it. I was adventurous and all about dangerous expeditions but even I wouldn't have gone for such a cave.

He turned and nodded once, lips mulling together before he said, "I'm sure you've heard of him. Levi Ackerman."

My eyes widened, the name washing over me like a tidal wave. Of course I'd heard of him, he was known worldwide and is famous for his many successful rescues and his second to none diving knowledge. I'd followed his successes over the years and he was an inspiration to me. If anyone attempted such a dive, it would be him… but…

"He went in several hours ago and his dive partner returned after the first hour, with the guideline. He's stuck in there and they came to me… but I know I can't do this rescue. I don't have the skills or the mentality for it. You were the only person I could think of even having a chance of completing this rescue."

Several hours. It was quite possible that Levi had ran out of air and drowned by now or even suffered from hypothermia. This was a horrendous situation.

"Do you think you can do this, Eren? Nobody else is even willing to try…" He told me quietly. "They're prepared to fly you out immediately if you do decide to give it a try."

"Of course I'll do it." I scoffed. Nobody else was even going to try. I was a rescuer for a reason.

As soon as I was packed and had everything I needed, I was flown by helicopter from my hometown in Florida, to Tennessee, only landing once we reached the very pond Levi was trapped in. Dozens of rescuers were scattered around, staring at the opening of the cave. The actual pond itself was the size of an average pool and the water even there was so muddy, I couldn't believe I was going in there. If it wasn't for the rescue, I wouldn't have. I preferred clear water—and the ocean.

I spoke with the woman who had gone in with Levi, she was shaken and begging me to find Levi instead of answering any of my questions. It had been twenty four hours now, since Levi had gone in. I didn't even let myself consider the possibility of him having died in there. I wasn't willing to believe that, or waste any time.

There was zero visibility inside the cave, which was why the guideline was more a lifeline. Since Levi's had been broken, he didn't stand a chance. If he'd tried to search for a way out, he would have definitely run out of air. I didn't want to believe that he would make such a mistake. I had too much faith in him.

The space was so tight in spots that I had to shimmy through more than swim. I concentrated solely on moving forward and finding Levi, alive. But the longer I was searching, the more I feared finding him dead instead. I had yet to find an air pocket and without one, he would have long since run out of oxygen.

My heart soared with hope when, after about half an hour, I reached an opening. But I was disappointed to find that there was no air pocket, and no Levi. So, I went ahead. The water became colder and colder and even with the light on my head, I couldn't see a single thing.

It was another twenty minutes before I reached a larger opening, and I swam up, feeling relief as I surfaced. Air. There was air. I looked around the opening with my light until I spotted a muddy figure perched on a rock, staring back at me. I couldn't help but laugh, the joy of finding him alive sweeping over me.

"Thanks for coming for me." He told me calmly and I studied him for a moment, trying to see if he really was alright. "Who are you… must be a reckless brat to have even attempted to come after me."

"Eren Jaeger." I laughed and his eyes widened before he smiled.

"I should have known. If anybody could rescue me, it would be you."

I almost fainted from being praised so highly by the man who was my inspiration. "How do you feel?" I asked to ground myself and because I needed to know everything before we could even attempt to leave.

"I'm fine. Cold as shit, but fine."

It was amazing that he was so calm and cool after being in this cave for so long—with no way of knowing if he'd be rescued. I was impressed. But, this was a man who I respected greatly.

"You made a wise decision to take off your gear and wait here." I said thoughtfully.

"It was the only decision to make… even if I didn't believe anyone would be brave enough to try and come for me, considering the time I've been here… without knowing this air pocket existed."

"You're so alert. I admire you even more now. How much air do you have?" I asked as I swam closer to the rock he was on.

"Thirty bar. Should be just enough to get out."

I checked my own and realized he must have searched for his partner a bit before giving up. "Alright. You're definitely mentally stable, so let's get you out of here."

Levi nodded and slowly put his gear back on. I could see that he was shaking slightly but I knew it was because he was cold, not because he was afraid. It was freezing after all and I was glad I'd managed to come as soon as I could. He was alive and he was going to be just fine.

Once he was geared up, Levi jumped into the water next to me and I secured the guideline onto him. "I don't know if it was any better when you came in, but there's zero visibility through here. Stay close and if you feel as if you can't go any further, signal me with this flare."

I tucked the flair into the pouch at his hip and then stared into his eyes. "Are you following me?"

"Yes." He nodded and I knew he was ready.

It was almost exactly an hour later that we exited the cave, a round of cheers and applause surrounding us. Levi was hoisted out of the water, a team of medics going in but he was quick to wave everyone off. I shook my head at this, smiling to myself as I got out of the pond on my own.

"I said back off!" Levi was snapping, refusing any treatment. "If you want to do something, get me a damn blanket."

I laughed and was bombarded by a hoard of reporters and as soon as I gave a statement, I excused myself to find Levi. He was wrapped in a blanket, rolling his eyes as he listened to his team members go on and on about how frightened they'd been. He shoved them aside when he spotted me and walked over.

"Eren… I'd like to thank you again." He told me softly and I waved him off.

"Don't mention it. Actually, I'm really happy that I was able to meet you… even though I wish the circumstances had been better."

"Well, I'm starving. Why don't we go eat together?" Levi suggested and my eyes went as wide as my grin.

"Really? I'd love that!"

One year later-

Levi-

Currently swimming through a cave that was ten meters below the ocean's surface, I looked around in awe at the crystalline overhang—the cathedral-like gallery and enjoyed the feel of the prestige water. It was a deep azure blue, the passageway fairly open and many different colorful fish swam around. It was nice, calming. I was giddy to be exploring another unknown cave, with my right hand.

I looked to my side at Eren who I caught grinning at me as we swam through slowly. Since we'd met, we'd paired together and if one of us dove, both of us dove. We'd become basically inseparable—and even more than that… we'd fallen in love.

He'd saved my life, and he was a magnificent diver—skilled way beyond his years and he'd been crazy about me from the beginning. It was amusing to know that he was a follower of mine, finding inspiration from me. It made me happy though and he inspired me more than I could ever do so for him. I trusted him more than I'd ever trusted anyone and there was never a dull moment in my life since I'd met him. We were always going on new adventures, making endless memories and documenting it all along the way.

We reached a larger expanse, coral everywhere. It was beautiful. Just past the coral archway, I stopped and looked up, able to tell by the change in the water that there way air ahead of us. I glanced back to Eren who was looking up too, knowing he'd figured it out as well. He met my gaze and then we swam up together.

There was a crack in the rocks above, letting the sunlight beam down on the water—illuminating a glow-like look across the opening. It was bigger than I expected, a small sandbar on one side in front of the rocky wall.

"Whoa, Levi, I've never seen sand inside a cave before."

"It's also a first for me." I hummed and swam over to it, getting out of the water to sit on the sand.

Eren followed suit and we both took off our gear to save the air, wanting to take a while to enjoy our finding. It was beautiful. There was nothing better than finding things like this… with him.

"Hey." He called to me as I turned to my left to set my things aside and when I looked back at him, his face was just an inch away from mine. He grinned. "Kiss me."

I smiled as I closed the small distance between us and kissed him softly, hearing the snap of the camera as soon as I did. It had become a tradition of ours. The photo album we'd started packed full of us kissing in different caves all around the world. We had other albums for different pictures. But this one was the most special. Eren took several photos while we kissed just there and I knew the pictures would be as wonderful as all the rest. I was excited to add them to the collection we'd accumulated over the last year.

"Whoa, What?" Eren pulled away and looked down at his crotch before shrieking and scrambling into my lap. "F-f-fuck, it's a turtle."

"A turtle?" I cocked a brow, surprised a turtle would be in such a place but sure enough, there was. And Eren's only fear, ridiculously, was turtles.

"Little bastard was on my dick." He said as he looked at me, cheeks flushing. "For a second, I thought it was you."

I chuckled as I wrapped my arms around him. "I should be offended that you would make that mistake."

"Hey!" He pouted. "It's not like I expected it to be a turtle of all things. Is it gone?"

"Yes, it's gone. You can relax." I sighed with a smile but Eren didn't move.

"I think I'll just stay here." He muttered, resting his forehead against mine and I kissed him chastely.

"Well I won't argue with that. Besides… we've got about an hour to kill."

"Yeah…" He breathed as he reached up and started unzipping my suit slowly. "That's a lot of time."

"What are you doing?" I grinned as he moved his lips to my neck.

He returned my grin, though didn't move his mouth from my skin. "I'm gonna tease the hell out of you and leave you hanging so you'll be ready to fuck me crazy by the time we make it back to the hotel."

Damn.

"That's… fucked up." I said quietly, but had no urge to stop him as he kissed my wet skin, lips hot and knowing.

"You like it though." He stated confidently and he was right. Actually, I loved it.

When we returned to the hotel that night, I did indeed fuck him thoroughly and we crashed, smiling even in our sleep because we were just that happy. And I knew with certainty that we always would be.

A/N:

Thanks for reading! This was a really interesting AU idea for me. If you guys have any good prompts, please send them my way!