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For as long as Levi could remember, Eren had a tendency to withdraw from people whenever he fell into a bad mood.
He first noticed it when Eren had pulled away from his computer suddenly, face morphed into a frown as he shut off the monitor without another word. Levi immediately jumped from the couch to walk up to him, knowing that Eren would never get off his desktop after spending so little time on it.
"Eren," he said, allowing some of his concern to slip into his voice. "Are you alright?"
"Hm?" Eren responded, faking a smile as he answered Levi's question. "Yeah, I'm alright. Just decided to get off my computer early."
Levi, thoroughly unconvinced by his response, continued his prying as he walked closer to Eren. "Are you sure? You seem upset."
"Yes Levi, I'm fine," he snapped harshly, instantly regretting the tone in his voice. "I'm sorry. I'm just going to go to bed early, alright? I'll see you tomorrow." He stormed off immediately afterwards, not giving Levi a chance to reply as Levi watched him go.
Levi sat back on the couch, unaware of what was bothering Eren and afraid of annoying him by going into their room soon.
---
The second time Levi noticed, they had been walking from the grocery store, bags filling up both of Levi's hands as Eren stared off into the distance. Their walk had been mostly silent, giving Levi plenty of time to wonder about what had happened the previous night. Eren seemed fine today, so he didn't have a real reason to worry, but he wondered about what could have possibly bothered Eren enough to send him straight to bed yesterday.
As if on cue, Eren's incessant humming came to a stop, the slight bounce in his step disappearing as a glum look took over his face. Levi could hear Eren's steps dragging as he looked down at the ground.
"Eren, what's wrong?" He questioned, turning his head to look at Eren.
"Huh? Oh, nothing Levi," Eren lied, looking in the opposite direction to avoid direct eye contact with Levi.
"Eren, if something's bothering you, you can tell me. What's the matter?"
"Nothing!" Eren yelled, whipping his head around to glare at Levi. "Mind your own business!"
Levi stayed silent for the rest of the walk in fear of Eren snapping at him again.
---
By the third time Levi notices, he realizes what is going on, and doesn't hesitate in tackling the problem head on.
A few days after the previous incident, Levi and Eren had been lounging around their apartment, Levi checking something on his phone as Eren sat next to him. The comfortable silence was broken when Eren finally decided to say something.
"Levi?" He asked. "I feel weird."
"What?" Levi locked his phone screen and tossed it on his lap. "What do you mean?"
"Like... do you ever get that feeling when something's bothering you, but you can't pinpoint what it is?" Eren continued, fiddling with his thumbs nervously as he looked down at his hands.
"Yeah, sometimes. It's typically a feeling of anticipation towards something bad. It's usually nothing though, so don't worry too much."
"Alright, but I'm going to take a nap. I'll see you later," Eren finished, standing up from the couch abruptly. Levi grabbed his wrist and gripped it tightly, preventing Eren from going anywhere.
"What is it, Levi?"
"Come here." He pulled Eren into his lap, gripping him tightly with one arm as his fingers threaded through Eren's hair. "I haven't really been affectionate with you lately, have I? I'm sorry." Levi placed his lips on the back of Eren's neck, trailing soft kisses up his nape.
"Thank you, Levi," Eren smiled, closing his eyes and relaxing into Levi's tight embrace, falling asleep while feeling content for the first time in weeks.