Wow! It's really been a while. (That's probably an understatement.)

I've gotten into the SnK fandom now, and so I've tried to start writing again. This story is partly my theory on the SnK timeline and partly my desire to write Rivaille/Eren slash in a more relatable AU.

*I actually prefer Rivaille to Levi, but I understand that the latter corresponds more accurately to his name written in Japanese. So I've compromised, as you'll see below.

Please go ahead!

"Hey, Levi?"

"Hm?"

"What do you think will happen in the future?"

The fingers in Eren's hair continued to stroke lazily. He shifted so that his cheek lay in the junction between Levi's neck and shoulder, then splayed one hand against the pale chest.

"You ask this frequently nowadays."

"Yeah, well…" He laughed sheepishly. "It's always on the news. And sometimes the coworkers talk about these things…"

"Strange. They all seem to shut up when I'm making my rounds."

"That's because you're always scowling." Although he chuckled as he said it, he also pressed an apologetic kiss onto the side of Levi's neck. The hand on his head slid down to rest on his shoulder, the entire arm pulling him in close. "You're avoiding the question."

"Because I say the same thing every time: I don't know."

"But I want a real answer today." Eren cupped a white cheek and tilted Levi's face towards him. His dark gray eyes were black as they stared back at him.

"I'm not prescient, damned brat. What do you think will happen?"

Eren's eyes glassed over as he let his hand drop back onto Levi's chest. Slivers of red light from the window played over his lips as he pursed and un-pursed them.

"I think…that the nuclear weapons will end up being used, since all the countries are making so many of them. And that these new pathogens will never be completely destroyed."

Levi grunted.

"How optimistic."

"But," Eren interjected. "We'll fix things, somehow. Humans have already lasted this long, you know? We won't be so easily wiped out. Anyway, the pathogens aren't a problem; you've stocked up on enough sanitizers to decontaminate the whole block."

The other man nodded and closed his eyes.

"And," Eren's voice dropped into a gruff murmur. "I'll always stay beside you. We'll be together for a long time."

At this, Levi's eyes snapped open. He watched Eren fidget and sniff. Then he raised his torso off the pillows, dislodging the person that had been reclining on it, and pressed his mouth to his before any complaints manifested. As usual, the kiss tasted like toothpaste and antibacterial mouthwash; Levi dove further and further into the hot core behind Eren's lips. When he finally leaned away, they were both out of breath, him heaving slightly and Eren panting.

"Let's go to sleep," Levi muttered, lying down on his side. There was a rustling next to him, and his back was soon met by a warm chest as an arm draped over his waist.

"Did you set the alarm?"

"Of course I did."

"I washed the filter masks today. They should be dry by now."

"Great."

"Good night; I love you."

"Shut up and sleep."

As Levi's fingers intertwined with his, Eren closed his eyes. They drifted off amidst the acidic tang of sheet disinfectant and the comforting scent of each other's bodies, the whine of sirens still lingering in their ears.

"And a long time ago, humans had these things called cars! They could go really fast and could carry a lot of stuff. Imagine what we could do with them if they still existed… I wonder how they were powered, though—"

"Come on, Armin, hurry up! The Scouting Legion is coming!" Eren dragged his friend onto the stack of boxes as Mikasa climbed up after them. He stared over the heads of the crowd, wide-eyed. "All right, here are the other squads. But where's…?"

"They're here! The Scouting Legion's main force!" The cry prompted a sea of heads to whip around, Eren's included. He breathed a sigh of wonder.

"Wow…"

"There's Commander Smith!" Armin hissed, clutching at Mikasa's sleeve so that he could stand on his toes. Eren didn't comment; he seemed to be concentrating hard.

"There he is!" he suddenly exclaimed, a grin breaking out on his face. "Humanity's strongest: Captain Rivaille! Look now, guys, he's passing by!" As he said this, an unexplainable wave of déjà vu sidled through him. His smile faltered for a second. How strange; this was his first time seeing the captain in person. So why did it feel like they had met each other before?

"Eren?" Mikasa shook him slightly. "Are you okay?"

Blinking rapidly a few times, Eren turned to her.

"I'm fine." The feeling was gone now, anyway. Maybe it was just a fluke; hormones, perhaps, like his father had been talking about… "But he's amazing, isn't he? You can tell that everyone respects him."

"Yeah…" Mikasa still looked unconvinced, but by now Armin had caught onto the tense atmosphere between them.

"They've all got impressive records too," he added lightly, eyes flickering from face to face to gauge their emotions. "But Rivaille has the most kills!"

Eren looked out onto the procession once more, his eyes following the black head crowning the proud, rigid line of the back and neck.

"I'm going to fight by his side one day," he said quietly, infusing each word with confidence. "We'll take down the titans together." And perhaps he would come to understand why someone he'd only ever admired from afar had such an effect on him…

At that instant, the captain's gaze suddenly met his. Faint recognition shockwaved through Eren's body again, and he fancied that he saw the other man's eyes widen.

"You okay?" Hanji's question grounded Rivaille from the airy nostalgia that had suddenly overtaken him. He quickly ripped his line of sight away from the kid's.

"Yeah. But someone needs to shut these damned brats up." What was that? He'd never seen that child before; he probably would have remembered him if he did, given those green eyes he had… And yet, the sensation that they had met already, perhaps even on intimate terms, couldn't escape him.

"Good thing they don't know about this side of you," Hanji laughed, and Rivaille decided to focus on her annoying but comfortingly familiar voice. "Otherwise those kids would be severely disillusioned."

He huffed. Someone was still staring at him intensely; the hairs on his nape rose.

As they passed out of the gate, he wondered if that kid had felt the same thing as well, and if they would meet again.

Thanks so much for reading! I'll work harder to write better fics.