Levi shrugged and picked up a couple sliced vegetables. He nibbled at the bite, grinning when the flavor hit his tongue. Not eating this would be hard. It was really tasty. He and Eerie made a good cooking pair. "This is good. We should cook again."
Eerie watched him eat with a furrowed brow. “You’re nibbling. Eat it, enjoy the flavor!” He picked up a piece on his fork and took a bite, his eye still on Levi. He wasn’t sure what got into him, but he was going to make sure Levi ate.
Levi shrugged, taking a slightly bigger bite. "I'm just not very hungry." He wasn't really lying. His time in the army had made him all but immune to hunger pangs. Constant food shortages had that effect on you. Despite that, he tried to eat as regularly as possible. Sometimes he just… forgot. It was like the wedding where he had been too nervous over the prospect of marriage to remember to eat.
Eerie sighed. “You didn’t eat anything at all yesterday. Not this morning as far as I know, either. Just eat some more, you’ll hurt yourself if you don’t.” He busied himself again with eating some more food.
Levi took another reluctant bite. And another. And another. Soon any bit of reluctance dripped out of him and he was practically shoveling food into his mouth. He must've needed food more than he thought. Good thing Eerie was here to force food down his throat. "Do you like the stir-fry?"
Eerie chuckled and ate his food happily and at a slower pace. “It’s really good. Glad you’re enjoying it.” He took another happy, slow bite, feeling somewhat happy. Well, as happy as he could be after coming from a struggle of relapse and loneliness. Eerie went through that stuff fairly often, once he emerged from it, he would just brush it off. When his dad was around and Eerie would try and tell him, he’d brush it off and tell him to grow a pair.
Levi nodded. Eerie was eating slowly, so he set his fork down No need to steal all the food when he wasn't even that hungry. Or… didn't feel that hungry. Maybe he should try to eat more. "What do you want to do after this?"
Eerie glanced at Levi’s plate. “We can discuss that later. Eat more.” He pointed his fork, before returning to his food.
(Sorry for the rather short response.)
(All good.)
Okay. Eerie seemed really… overprotective. It was weird. No one had ever taken the time to protect Levi before. Most expected him to protect them. He ate until he felt he'd finished his portion of stir fry, declaring "I'm full now" and setting down his fork.
Eerie nodded. “Good. I’m going to make sure you eat three times a day, as a normal diet calls for.” He smiled a little at Levi. He absolutely knew the other detected his protectiveness. What was wrong with that?
Levi ducked his head a little. "I normally eat three times a day." He didn't know why he was trying to keep Eerie from worrying. The protectiveness was nice, in some kind of way. A very strange, 'why the heck are you doing this', kind of way.
Eerie grunted in disbelief. “I’m going to make sure you do, then. I don’t want you to die or pass out for something as meek as forgetting or not wanting to eat.” He took another bite of his food.
It wasn't like Levi would stop him. It was pretty much set in his mind that he would do whatever Eerie asked of him without complaint. Still, he knew how to be hungry. Food wasn't much of an issue for him because when he didn't have it he didn't need it. "Okay."
Eerie grunted again and finished his food. “What do you wanna do today, Levi?” He finally decided to bring up Levi’s question. Judging by how Levi reacted when he brought up doing nothing, Levi liked to stay busy.
Levi shrugged. He didn't know what there was to do, and he wasn't the best at making decisions for himself. Life was so much easier when others told him where to go and who to fight and everything else he was supposed to do. "Whatever you want to do."
Eerie sighed. “I was thinking we could go swimming.” The shore was just a few moments walk. He’d been teeming to go down, but he wasn’t sure what Levi liked and disliked.
Levi froze, fork in hand and fear in his mind. Fuck. He couldn't. Whatever had happened on the boat would pale in comparison to the panic attack he had when he was tossed into the water. Still, he wasn't about to make Eerie give up something he wanted to do just to cater to Levi's petty fears. A few deep breaths later, he was ready to respond. "Okay."
Eerie caught his frozen movements and long silence.
“We won’t go down. I’ll go by myself later tonight.” Eerie wasn't afriad to go down to a beach by himself in the dark. In fact, he’d probably love it. The low tide with the moonlight shining on the waves…
"Okay." His tone was overly grateful, but he couldn't bring himself to care. No beach. No water. No freakouts. Levi wracked his brain for things to do, coming up empty. Thinking wasn't his strong suit. "Does this manor have a TV? We might be able to watch a movie."
Eerie grinned a little. He was glad he made the right decision. “It might. There’s a lot of movies down in the den, too. It has a theater screen with leather chairs. And a popcorn maker!”
That sounded really fun. Levi enjoyed movies, especially documentaries. Not that anyone had ever asked. Plus, leather chairs and popcorn were amazing. "Lead the way… if it's not too much trouble."
Eerie nodded and set the plates in the sink before walking back over to Levi.
“Did… did you wanna hold hands?” He didn’t want to accept that his hands were still very cold.
Well. That was awful… couple-y. Not that Levi would ever say no to anyone in his life. He grabbed Eerie's hand, hissing when he felt how cold it was. How the fuck did he go around with hands like ice all the time? "What kind of movie do you want to watch?"
Eerie ducked his head when Levi hissed softly. He tugged his hand back with a muttered apology.
“Whatever you want is good. I’m not really picky.”
Levi frowned when Eerie pulled away. What had he done? Did Eerie think his hands were too sweaty? He rubbed them over his pants quietly, just in case. "Do you like documentaries?" Although he liked documentaries, most other forms of film bored him. Fantasy was too unrealistic, realistic movies weren't exciting enough, he couldn't find the humor in most comedies, and romance always made him feel uncomfortable.
“Documentaries are fun. I like the ones with the big cats or savannah animals.” He smiled a little. He liked documentaries but never watched a lot of them. His mom was a stricler with boring movies.
Levi nodded. Nature documentaries were interesting but he'd always had a soft spot for history. Especially the ones that focus on wars. They were interesting in a way nothing else really was. "I like ones about history."
Eerie put his still cold hands in his pockets. “We can watch one, then. I like those a lot, too.” He smiled a little. “Do you wanna go to the den now?”
(I'm heading to bed. Goodnight.)
"If you're ready." Levi rolled his shoulders giving the tiniest of grins when he felt a series of satisfying pops. He wondered what documentaries Eerie had. Specials about historical figures? glimpses into time periods passed? The stories of old wars brought anew by modern narrators.
(Night.)
Eerie led him downstairs and into the den. He looked around the large shelf and picked out a few disks, walking over. “We have overlords, prehistoric times, wars… which one do you want to watch?”
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