Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"No." I said for the umpteenth time that morning.

"But, Levi! Rico is perfect for you! You're both short and have no hearts! Just give it a chance!"

"I said no, Four eyes. Rico's too bitchy for my tastes." I sighed into the phone while pinching the bridge of my nose. I seem to be doing that a lot lately.

"All the more reason for why she's perfect for you! You've both got permanent bitch face and the attitudes to match!" they shrieked into the phone and I winced at the sound.

"Look, Hanji. I'm not in any rush to date anyone right now, I just got out of a Divorce settlement and I'm not looking to get into another one any time soon."

"Yeah, but Petra was your fault, darling. You practically pushed her into that other man's arms."

I sighed into the phone once more, this was just not my morning. Hanji was showing no signs of dropping the subject of getting me to date one of her friends and I was getting irritated. I hadn't even had my third cup of coffee as was routine before she called me. She knew what a stickler I was for routine.

"Let's not talk about Petra right now. I'm only on my second cup of coffee and I haven't even eaten breakfast yet. I'm nowhere near functional."

I heard her sigh heavily into the phone as well and almost rolled my eyes at the sound. I could practically see the childish pout on her face through the phone and it only proved to further my irritation with this whole conversation.

"Fiiiine! But I'm telling ya, Levi. You need to stop brooding at home all the time and get a life, get laid, have a one night stand, I don't care! Just stop being such a bitter grump!"

"Uh-huh. Bye, four eyes."

I ended the call before she could protest or worse, continue to chide me about my lack of a love and sex life. Like I really gave a shit. I had more important things to focus on, like paying my bills on time like the responsible adult that I was.

I placed my cell phone screen up on the small kitchen island, the white counter top shining brilliantly after having just been cleaned and sanitized as was routine for me as well. In case you haven't noticed, I'm a bit uptight about following my own schedule and I can't even fathom what a terrible mood I get in whenever something doesn't go according to my daily routine.

But just in case you're wondering, my usual routine starts out like this. I wake up every morning at 5:00 AM, not a minute later. I go for a long morning run around my block which allows me the time to think and gather my thoughts about just about anything in life that's bothering me or isn't bothering me, then as soon as my hour long run is over I come home and take a hot hour long shower to in turn do some more thinking. Then, I absolutely have to officially start my morning with three big mugs of black coffee, otherwise I'm just an even shittier person to deal with if I don't have some trace of caffeine in my system. Then after a light breakfast, I go about my daily cleaning ritual. Fast, simple and easy. Just the way I liked things to be at all times.

This morning however, had already proved to be starting off all wrong. For starters, I woke up 20 minutes past the 5 o clock mark. That should have been the first red warning flag but I tried to go about my morning routine as usual. Apparently, life had other plans for me. Aside from starting my morning run 20 minutes later than usual, it started raining not even 30 minutes into my run and I was forced to turn around and run back home in the rain. Well, Fuck you too Life.

Then when I get home, sopping and soaking wet and just over all pissed off at the world, I noticed that the empty apartment next door to me had it's door wide open and some boxes were stacked just outside the door frame. That could only mean one thing; New Neighbors. Oh, Joy. If you also haven't noticed, I'm not very good with people let alone neighbors. I'd been living in this apartment complex for 5 years now, and in that 5 year time frame I'd gone through at least 6 different sets of neighbors. Each one more obnoxious and annoying than the last. If it wasn't some jerk off with baby mama issues blasting music too loud at 3 AM, it was some god damn couple having sex that was too loud to be legal. Why did I always get the screamers?

Long story short, yeah, I was that guy who constantly files complaints about their annoying neighbors over any little thing that irritated me. I had my reasons. The manager of the complex, which was an older man by the name of Pixis had already gotten used to my complaints years ago and while he was a drunken bastard, he was still a decent human being and knew when trash didn't belong in his complex.

The apartment complex I lived in wasn't super fancy, but it sure as well wasn't the projects or the slums. It was located on the upper town of Trost on Rose Avenue, the building itself was older in design taking on a slightly European look from the outside with it's cream colored face and pristine glass windows. It had an old fashioned elevator on the main lobby floor which wasn't very big to begin with but homey and otherwise very welcoming when you first set foot into the complex. The elevator looked like something out of an old Audrey Hepburn movie, actually the entire complex gave off a sort of Breakfast at Tiffany's feel if you asked me. Yeah, I'm a Hepburn fan so sue me.

Beside the old fashioned but well kept elevator with it's black and gold cage design, probably my favorite thing about the complex was the Grand staircase that was carpeted. The wood was painted white along with all the banisters of the complex and it just gave the place a much fancier feel than what it was. Overall, I adored my apartment complex. I had fought tooth and nail to get it back in my late college days saving and scrounging every last penny so I could buy it from the woman who used to own my place.

Point I'm trying to make here, I wasn't about to move out just because of some annoying neighbors so I made it my life goal to chase off anyone that dared move in next door to me. This time, as I stared at the many boxes of various sizes, I was sure that it would be no different than any other time I had a new neighbor. They would move in, within the first few days I'd start finding out all the little things that annoy the fuck out of me and by the end of the month I'll be filing my first complaint.

That was just how my life went these days. I can't lie though, my life isn't completely as bad as I make it out to be. For one, I lived in this amazing apartment that was just big enough for me, myself and I. Second, I worked as a Chef at my best friend's restaurant. Meeting me in person, you probably wouldn't believe that I'm actually a chef or a person who loves to cook and bake in general but yet here I am. Becoming a Chef wasn't my original plan in life, but well, as I explained earlier; Life has never really been a big fan of mine. It loved to fuck me over whenever it had the chance which was almost every other day, at least.

Hanji's call that morning had only been the icing on my shit cake of a morning, as I had already assumed my new neighbor had been causing a loud ruckus since about 7AM when I got out of the shower. I could only assume that it was them trying to move their furniture around, but it didn't mean I liked having to listen to some douche drag the legs of his sofa around on the hardwood for an hour straight. Who even does that? Fucking morons, that's who.

I was already sure that I was going to absolutely hate my new neighbor and I didn't even know if they were male or female yet. By the sounds of it, they weren't even human the way the stopped around in the room next door with as much grace as a fucking elephant. I could already feel the oncoming migraine as I leaned against my kitchen island sipping on my third cup of coffee and nibbling a piece of french toast I lazily made. No powered sugar, no syrup, just egg soaked bread toasted in a pan. Bland, just like my life in general. (Just because I'm a chef, doesn't mean I have to cook gourmet meals for myself.)

I had about two hours left until I had to go into work at Erwin's place. Another little thing to note, the restaurant I worked at was called Ailes de la liberté. Hilarious, I know. Erwin thought it was a nice name for a restaurant, a Bistro to be exact but I couldn't help but feel like it was just to make fun of my distant French roots.

I decided to try and work in some peace and quiet to read the morning newspaper, but I should have guessed that the elephant living next door wouldn't be able to keep quiet for more than a few minutes at a time. As I sat cross legged on the black leather couch of my small but cozy living room doing my damned best to read the Food and Culture section of the paper, I heard a faint meowing coming from the glass door of my balcony

The meowing caught my attention immediately, for one, I don't own any cats and two, I live on the 3rd floor. There should not be any stray cats just wandering around from some random place outside my balcony of all places. Needless to say, I was mildly curious as to if my mind was still sane or not. I warily stood up from my comfy spot on the couch, padding slowly toward my glass balcony door that had the shades closed despite it being well into the morning. I enjoy my privacy, thank you very much.

Pulling the shades back, my eyes searched my empty balcony. There were my herb plants by the banister, those probably won't need to be watered for awhile thanks to the morning rain. I continued to scan my outside balcony, looking for the thing that did not belong. Everything looked normal as usual... except perhaps... the black and white cat sitting in front of my door. Yeah, I probably should have noticed that first. The cat placed it paw against the glass and meowed a little more loudly this time and I groaned because despite my lack of patience for human beings, I kind of had a soft spot for cats and well, just animals in general.

Don't get me wrong, I would never own a cat or any other kind of pet for that matter but that didn't mean I couldn't like looking at them from afar. Sighing, I slid the glass door open just slightly to allow the strange new cat to waltz in. It sat just behind the threshold of the door, peering up at me with sharp, ice blue eyes that reminded me of something but I couldn't place my finger on what exactly. We stared each other down for a few seconds, this cat seemed to be expecting something and I was getting annoyed when it wasn't doing anything except sitting there and glaring at me.

"What? Does your furry ass not want to get out of the Rain because I'll gladly close the door." I said to the peculiar who only continued to glare at me.

Then, as if my words were a personal invitation the cat daintily sat up from it's spot at the door and trotted inside like it owned the place. Damn cat. I shut the door behind it sighing again because was I really so lonely that I invited a strange cat into my apartment without even thinking? It didn't look like your typical stray, and sure as hell didn't act like it so I could only assume that it was a trained house pet that belonged to somebody in the complex.

As I padded back toward the sofa, I eyed the cat suspiciously as it sat in front of the sofa kneading it's paws into the white rug I had placed underneath the glass coffee table in front of the sofa and I sucked my teeth loudly.

"Tch. Your paws better be clean damn it, or I'll throw you in a pot and cook you."

My threats didn't seem to phase the feline as it went back to glaring at me with those cold, ice blue eyes or theirs. I took a minute to admire the cat while it momentarily sat still. It had jet black fur from head to two, shiny and sleek but with a faint strip of white painting it's chest and lower neck. The tip of it's fluffy tail was also dipped white and so where the tips of it's pointed ears. It's fur was semi-short for the most part and it was relatively small with long, shiny whiskers and small pink nose. 'Not bad.' I thought to myself after taking a mental note that the cat was pretty good looking.

Then, out of nowhere, the damn thing leaped softly into my lap curling itself into a tiny ball of black fur and I stiffened not wanting to disturb it while simultaneously cursing myself for being stuck in this uncomfortable position on the couch. I sat there for a minute a two, contemplating throwing the damn cat off my lap and resuming my morning read or just letting it sleep there until it decided to move on it's own. I didn't own any cats but I knew well enough not to move a cat until it's ready to move on it's own.

Giving into the warm ball of fur in my lap, I softly began to stroke it's fur and it started to purr softly at my actions. I let a smile creep onto my face because I had always enjoyed the quiet company of animals as opposed to loud, obnoxious human beings. Cats just brought a certain soothing atmosphere when they were being personable, hell, even when cat's aren't very personable I still like them better than their human owners. I continued to stroke the cat for what seems like hours but I know in reality it's only been a few minutes and then my peaceful tranquility is over when a frantic set of knocks comes rapping at my door and I slightly startle at the sound cutting through the thick blanket of silence hanging over my apartment.

It's only then that I realize the noise my new neighbor had been making had silenced and the only noise that could be heard now was the loud set of firm knocks on my door that was surely ringing through the corridor as it was still early in the morning and not many people were up yet. It was Saturday after all, most people slept in past 10AM if they could help it. I debated pushing the cat off my lap or just carrying it in my arms and eventually settled on the latter when the soft purring never came to a cease. Scooping the warm bundle of fur up into my arms, I padded over toward my front door and silently cursed whoever the hell was bothering me at this hour.

Irritated, I made the mistake of not checking who it was through the hole in my door and opted for just yanking the door open. The sight that greeted me made my heart stop and my breath hitch in my throat as I was immediately thrust into two pools of sparkling Caribbean Blue eyes staring wide eyed at me. Call it cheesy, but I felt like time stopped for a few minutes as I took in the sight of the person standing in my doorway.

I had already noted the big, expressive doe eyes that had me ensnared from the moment I saw them but I took the time to try and dart my eyes over every inch of the face that currently had me frozen in place, unable to move or look at anything else but this persons face. The second thing I noted, was their hair. A deep chocolate brown, unruly and overgrown covering parts of their face. The third thing, was their skin. It was a beautiful golden tan color causing the bright color of their eyes to stand out even more. The straight narrow bridge of their pointed nose, the full set of rosy pink lips that were slightly parted in labored breathing and the slick sheen of sweat that layered their forehead and allowed the chocolate brown locks to stick slightly to their face.

The only word that came to mind as I stared up at this figure in the doorway was 'beautiful' and I suddenly realized my situation. I had just been staring at this person for the last, god knows how long and I probably had a pretty stupid look on my face as I tried to calm my beating heart that suddenly felt like it had been jump started with electric shock cables and my mind was a muddled mess as I tried to piece everything together but the beautiful creature at my door beat me to the punch.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, did he cause you any trouble?" the creature spoke in a worried, slightly husky voice I noted.

The words the stranger spoke didn't set in right away as I knitted my thin brows together in confusion at the question. Did who cause who trouble? What were they talking about?

"Huh?" I asked dumbly letting my mouth hand open in confusion as my slow brain tried to kick start into action.

"My cat, you have him in your arms. Did he cause you any trouble at all? Break anything?" the creature spoke again and it was then I realized, this beautiful person was a guy.

'Holy shit...' I had just been momentarily struck by the beauty of another man and here I was probably looking like the worlds biggest idiot as my confused eyes trailed down to the ball of fluff in my arms that was now regarding it's owner with a bored expression, I felt the cat nuzzle it's head against me and the purring from before started up more loudly and I jerked my attention back up at the beautiful guy standing in my doorway when he spoke up again.

"Captain! You had me so worried, you shouldn't wander off like that!" the stranger chided and I raised a brow at the name he used for the cat.

"Captain?" I asked curiously, feeling the way the cat squirmed in my arms before setting it down on the ground where it proceeded to rub against my legs affectionately purring like a motor.

"Ah, yeah. That's his name. It's kind of an inside joke between some friends of mine, they said it's because he's got this really intimidating look and because he's kind of bossy."

The beautiful stranger stared down with a tender look in his eyes as the cat continued to rub and nuzzle up against my legs and I couldn't help but stare at him instead because this guy was really nice to look at. Wow, what's wrong with me?

"It's so weird, he doesn't like strangers or... anybody really. I've never seen him take to anyone other than me." the stranger crouched down so that he was at eye level with the cat still wrapped around my legs before he smiled up at me and I felt like my heart stopped and I couldn't breath.

"He really seems to like you!" he added with a laugh and wow, I would like to thank not only God but Jesus.

This is it, I thought, this is how it ends. This is how I die. My life was pretty much shit but thank you God, Satan, Buddah for letting me die in such a nice way. Okay, so I was being over dramatic but damn this kid had a nice smile and laugh. I thought he was just nice to look at but his voice is heavenly as well. Boyish and not too deep but husky at the same time, filled with emotion like everything he said was something important to be heard and I found myself hanging off his every word.

"Would you like to come in?" I blurted out without even thinking and then I made it worse by rambling because I was embarrassed. Shit, I never ramble.

"I mean, since your damn cat already got comfortable and all. Shit, that's not what I meant, what I meant was-"

"Sure." came his cheery response cutting through my onslaught of word vomit and I froze.

"What?"

"I said, Sure. I'd love to come in." he tacked on with an adorably cute smile and I felt my stomach flip flop for the tenth time since meeting this kid.

"Okay."

Wait a minute, what was wrong with me? I'm inviting this complete and total stranger into my home without even thinking and to top it all off, I'm acting like a nervous wreck around him. Shit, why did my heart feel it was beating a million miles an hour? I couldn't understand why he was making me so nervous and jittery. Him. Another man. As far as I was aware, I wasn't gay. Or was I? Fuck, now he has me questioning my sexuality! This is not good, this is not good at all.

I decided to push my confusing thoughts away in the meantime and step back into my apartment letting the bright eyed kid follow me in as I did so padding back into my kitchen.

"I'm Eren, by the way. Nice place you've got here." he said as he shut the door behind us, following me into the kitchen shortly after.

Eren. That's a nice name. I made sure to remember it as I nervously fluttered about the kitchen trying to figure out just what the hell I was doing exactly.

"Thanks. I'm Levi. Do you want some coffee, Eren?" I let his name roll off my tongue effortlessly. I liked the way his name felt in my mouth as I said it.

Captain, Eren's cat, trailed after me in the kitchen following my steps closely and rubbing up against the inside of his legs as often as he could. Damn cats.

"Yes, please. That would be great." he said sounding a bit exhausted as he came around the kitchen island and rested his elbows on the counter top.

I gave him a curt nod before I went to work pouring him and myself a fresh cup of hot coffee. He glanced around my apartment for a second and then his eyes trailed back down toward the cat still sticking close to me and I watched as a small smile formed on his face.

"Cream and Sugar?" I asked turning my attention away from him reluctantly to move toward the fridge to get out the creamer and then to a cabinet to get the sugar.

"Yes! Heavy on the cream and sugar, please." he beamed and I felt my heart do that weird thing again. Am I having a heart attack? Do I need life alert?

I prepared his coffee as he requested, cringing internally at the amount of sugar I had to put in there to hopefully satisfy him. Seemed the kid had a sweet tooth, but that was just a guess. Maybe he only drank his coffee like that and wasn't very big on sweets. I know I was certainly like that, I liked my coffee strong, bitter and black but I had an addiction to chocolate.

Handing him his mug of coffee, I took mine in my hand and blew on it gently before taking a long sip. I watched Eren as he did the same over the rim of my cup and decided to check out what he was wearing while he was momentarily distracted with cooling his coffee.

Eren was wearing a loose, long sleeved grey shirt that hung low around his neckline showing off some collar bone and the length of his neck. The sleeves were a bit too long for him as they came over his fingers just a bit while he cradled the mug in both hands still blowing gently at the steam rising. My eyes trailed lower and I noticed that he was pretty lanky and taller than I had originally realized, then again I was shorter than average so most people were taller than me anyway.

Still, despite the loose fabric on his body I could tell that he was pretty thin but not lacking some sort of muscle. I could tell because his shoulders were broad and his chest was wide, he had what I liked to the the swimmer's body. Wider at the shoulders and then more slender and thin toward the waist line forming a V shape. I could tell he probably did some kind of sport but I couldn't be sure which and then I trailed my eyes back up to meet his face to find him already staring back at me.

I swallowed thickly because, shit, had he caught me staring at him? He must have thought I was some creepy trying to check him out, fuck, no I don't want that. So I tried to distract him with a question as I cleared my throat.

"So, did you just move into the complex?" I asked trying to sound and look as bored and impassive as I possibly could. Pat on the back, Levi. Looks like your natural grumpy face as it's perks after all because behind this mask I knew I was mortified I'd been caught staring.

"Yes, I just started moving in this morning. I hope I didn't make too much noise while I was getting my furniture situated." he said with an apologetic smile and I nearly dropped my mug.

He's my new next door neighbor? The fucking elephant in the next room that was making enough noise to cause a mild migraine? Holy shit, life really hated me. This beautiful man that I had just invited into my apartment and was now chit chatting and drinking coffee with like it was nothing is my sworn enemy. I don't do neighbors, no way. Just nope. Never been the type of person to go over to their neighbors place and knock and say 'Hey, Neighbor. Mind sparing me a cup of milk or sugar?' Fuck no. That's just not me. I'm a solitary being, I like being alone and this kid was already fucking everything up.

"Oh, so you're the one who was making all that damn noise earlier. I thought there was a baby dinosaur on the other side of the dry wall for a minute." I drawled and oh my god, shut up, Levi. You're making things worse, now he's going to think you're a creep and an asshole.

To my surprise though, Eren only laughed. Full on threw his head back and barked out a laugh that filled my entire kitchen with his lovely sound. It bounced off the tiled wall and resonated through my ear drums like a soft sonata and I found myself not hating the sound of his laughter at all. It wasn't overly forced or obnoxious in any way, but pure and genuine like it was the funniest thing he'd heard in his entire life.

Eren wiped away tears of mirth as he tried to even his breathing out but he would occasionally break out into a light fit of giggles before finally his laughter subsided enough for him to speak clearly.

"S-Sorry, it's just, you said that with such a serious face and I feel so guilty because I know I probably made way too much noise for it being so early. I hope I didn't wake you up or anything, then I'd really feel awful." he said with a sheepish grin that totally contradicted his earlier outburst of laughter.

"Nah, you didn't wake me up. I had already been awake since five o clock, that's the time I'm usually awake every morning. But you were kind of loud, what kind of furniture do you got kid? It must way a ton if it makes that much noise against the hardwood." I snorted taking another sip of my coffee as he set his almost empty cup down.

"Yeah, I know I'm sorry. My sister insisted that I take some of my mom's old furniture with me when I moved here and it's really bulky and heavy set and everything is hand carved from some special kind of wood from Turkey. The sofa I have is massive and really old but it's comfortable as all hell." he chuckled tilting his head to the side a bit and the chocolate brown bangs fell in his eyes slightly.

I hummed into the rim of my mug not really sure what to say to that since I was basically right in my assumptions about his furniture weighing a ton. At least he apologized for the noise.

Eren and I chit chatted a while longer, he drank another cup of coffee and I prepared a cup of Assam tea in exchange for the caffeine sipping it slowly while we talked about nothing really. He would ask about some of the paintings in my living room and I would explain to him what they were and the artistic bullshit people told you in order to buy their shit. Then we'd talk about his cat some more and the damn bossy thing had the nerve to sit on my counter top.

In the good half hour I spent talking with Eren, I found myself not hating his company at all. He revealed to me that he was 22 years old, fresh out of college but not really sure what he wanted to do with his life so he was working at a friend's bookshop that also doubled as a coffee shop. Could have been worse, I thought. I found myself enjoying his smile and laughter as it was a strange but welcomed change to empty, quietness in my life and I caught myself thinking that I could get used to this. Wow, I really must be lonely if I was getting so worked up over this kid.

Maybe Hanji was right, I should probably get out more. But to hell with that four eyes, right now I was enjoying my time with Eren and this damn cat that I'll never admit is pretty adorable when it's not acting like the Queen of Sheba. Suddenly, Eren glanced at the clock on the wall behind me and he gasped.

"Oh shit! Has it been that long already? My boyfriend said he'd be here to help me finish move the rest of my stuff in, I should probably go." he said sounding hurried as he picked up his cat from the ground and cradled it in his arms.

Wait, did he just say 'boyfriend'? As in 'Boyfriend' boyfriend??? Eren is gay? Hold on, maybe I just misheard him. I'll just ask him straight out. Honestly has always been my policy and I've never been the shy type when it comes to expressing myself.

"Boyfriend? You're gay, Eren?" I repeated my thoughts out loud and realized my question probably came out a little more surprised than I intended it to.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, did I forget to mention I'm also gay? I hope that doesn't bother you, Levi?" he said giving me a sad and worried look that just struck my heart like a knife.

Shit, now he probably thinks I'm a homophobe who hates gays. You gotta handle this with delicate care, Levi. Don't fuck it up.

"What? No, why would that bother me? Jesus, kid. I'm not some close minded asshole, I don't care if you like dick." Smooth like butter, Levi. Way to go, you just said the most offensive thing you could ever say to a gay guy ever. Well, okay maybe not the most offensive thing.

I felt my worries instantly melt away when Eren turned and smiled at me, wide and bright like nothing I've ever seen and I gulped loudly.

"Oh, good! I was worried you'd feel weird being around me or something. I really enjoyed talking to you, Levi." he said it so innocently that I felt like the worlds biggest asshole for some reason even though I know I didn't do anything wrong. Damn him and those big puppy eyes.

As I walked him out of my apartment, he thanked me for the coffee to which I shook my head and told him it was no problem at all. In truth, I really enjoyed his company. Even if I would never admit that out loud. Ever.

As soon as the door to my apartment open, Captain was hissing and leaping from Eren's arms and jumping into a defensive position arching his back high. His inky black fur standing on end as he fiercely hissed at someone standing at Eren's door and I caught a glimpse of the tall, ash blond male while he turned to look at the cat hissing viciously at him.

"Jean! You're here early. I wasn't expecting you for another 10 minutes." Eren said as he approached the taller male and I watched as he greeted the other with a peck to his cheek and it was then I realized that this must have been the boyfriend he mentioned.

I narrowed my eyes when Eren's boyfriend wrapped a possessive arm around his waist pulling him into a kiss and I felt my body go rigid with something. Jealousy? No, why should I be jealous. Why should I care if Eren and his boyfriend kiss? It was natural for couples to do. But still... I felt an unfamiliar heat settling in my chest and stomach as I watched the exchange.

"Che. I really hate that cat. It always looks like it's going to claw my face off whenever I come anywhere near you." Eren's boyfriend spat as the cat continued to hiss before it darted back into my apartment hiding behind my legs.

"Jean, leave Captain alone. Maybe he wouldn't act like that around you if you'd just stop being such a dick." Eren chided his lover and I mentally sneered at the jab.

Eren's boyfriend snorted. "You know you love my di-"

I abruptly cleared my throat, interrupting what I already knew he was going to say as I reached down for Captain who was peeking out from between my legs and taking a few steps to hand him over to Eren.

"Oh, Jean. This is my new neighbor, Levi. Captain seems to really like him. See, he even let's Levi pick him up and hold him and he never lets anyone but me do that." Eren said with a wide grin as he took the cat from my hands.

I crossed my arms over my chest and stood there allowed Eren's boyfriend to scrutinize me from head to toe as I did the same. He looked to be about Eren's age, he was taller than Eren which I found amazing because Eren was already pretty tall to me. He had two toned hair styled in a funky undercut that I thought looked stupid. The top half of his hair was obviously bleached while his undercut was a much darker color than the bleached hair altogether. As if his hairstyle wasn't ridiculous enough, the guy had a weirdly elongated face paired with intense sharp eyes that I thought made him look like a horse.

Still, I'd be lying if I said the guy wasn't good looking. Aside from having that freakishly long face, I could see why Eren probably found him attractive to some extent. Although, to me this guy's good looks paled in comparison to Eren's. Wow, now I'm really starting to worry. Why am I suddenly comparing everyone to Eren?

"No shit, that cat hates just about everyone except Eren. Especially me." Jean reached up to pet Captain and the cat hissed and swatted an unsheathed claw at him swiping air as the taller boy yanked his hand away glaring at the cat.

"See what I mean? Hey man, I'm Jean Kirstein. Eren's boyfriend. Thanks for, you know, looking out for the cat I guess." Jean extended the hand that was just swatted away by the cat and took a step toward me.

I looked down at his extended hand for a short period of time before I begrudgingly took his larger hand in mine and gave it a light shake before quickly releasing it and crossing my arms over my chest again.

"Levi." I said flatly before turning to Eren standing just to the left of Jean.

The boy smiled down at me while he soothingly stroked at Captain's fur still cradling the cat in his folded arms.

"Thanks again for everything, Levi." he beamed and I felt myself slightly relax.

"It's no big deal. Welcome to the neighborhood, Kid. See you around." I said with a nod of my head before I walked the short distance back to my apartment and shut the door behind me.

I sighed while leaning back against the cool wood of my door, I could hear Eren's faint giggling and laughing from the hallway and the sound of his douche bag of a boyfriend complaining about the cat being the spawn of Satan and I snorted. Don't ask me why, but Eren's boyfriend just rubbed me the wrong way. I definitely wasn't jealous. Nope, just annoyed that now I'd have to deal with two brats instead of just one.

Even if one of those brats had the most beautiful eyes and laugh I'd ever seen or heard. I pushed myself off from the door and proceeded to my bedroom where I figured I might as well get dressed and ready for work since I have nothing else to do. As I got dressed to go to the restaurant, my mind frequently drifted back to Caribbean Blue eyes and the thought of being able to see them again soon. I smiled the entire time getting ready for work.

Chapter Text

By the time I was pulling up at Ailes de la liberté parking lot, Hanji was bounding toward me with her usual manic grin on her face as I nearly ran her over with the hood of my car. Right, I should probably mention this now. Hanji Zoe is one of my childhood friends and therefore one of my best friends as well. In other words, one of the very few people who can and will put up with my shit and I can sometimes put up with her shit depending on my mood. She's not so bad, once you get past her loud, obsessive nature.

I had barely even shut the door to the driver's side before Hanji was practically pinning me against the hot metal of my car. A mischievous glint flashing in her big brown eyes and I shuddered trying to push her off of me.

"Get the fuck off me, Shitty Glasses!" I yelled turning my head to side to avoid her coffee breath.

"Good morning to you too, Mr.Grumpy Pants! Did you reconsider my offer about dating Rico or am I gonna have to beg?" she said pulling me into a tight hug and tousling my hair.

I quickly jabbed her in the stomach with an elbow wiggling out of her grasp when she doubled over holding her pained stomach all the while struggling to laugh.

"Fucking Four Eyes, touch my hair again and I'll slice your hand off and tell Mike it was an accident while you were chopping potatoes in the kitchen." I snarled while trying to fix my hair in the reflection of my side mirror.

She laughed weakly finally straightening up again, a hand still holding her stomach as she winced slightly but her grin stayed firm.

"Oh, Levi. You would never injure these lovely hands of mine, then you'd have no one to make you your favorite Crepes! And besides, Mike would murder you." she beamed.

"I think even your husband would understand, Hanji." I said completely disregarding the first part of her sentence.

Damn her, she was right though. She may have been a pain in my ass most of the time but her Pastries were one of a kind, especially her Crepes. I would kill a man for even a taste of Hanji's signature Wild Blueberry Crepes with Vanilla Ice Cream. That's just how good they are.

After a couple more minutes of our usual bantering, Hanji and I finally entered the Restaurant together. I quickly maneuvered through the empty dining room, the chairs were still propped up on the tables and most of the lights were still off which meant I was early, well, earlier than usual anyway. Hanji continued to follow me in toward the back kitchen doors and I made quick work to thoroughly wash my hands and arms before I even set foot near the stoves or kitchenware. I have a thing about sanitation and cleanliness, which is probably why our inspections are always flawless. I usually make everyone clean their work stations, I even get on the bus boy's asses about cleaning despite only being a Chef.

I went into the back staff room where we had some lockers for the full time chef's like myself and I quickly threw off the black crew neck tee shirt I was wearing in favor of the chef's uniform supplied by Erwin. It was one of my favorite things about working here, usually when you think of a Chef's attire you think of plain white jackets and black slacks but the uniforms at Ailes were slightly different compared to others. For starters, our jackets went by color codes. Light green jackets meant you're a newbie chef, fresh out of school and mostly just doing all the dirty work in the kitchen like peeling potatoes and all that boring shit; 'building character' as Erwin would say. Navy Blue jackets meant you're an intermediate, Chef's who wore Navy blue jackets had experience under their belts and were good under pressure also they were in charge of training the green jackets. White jackets with red piping were reserved for our Pastry Chefs like Hanji.

Then of course, there are the Black Jackets with red piping for the Advanced Chef's in our restaurant. Not surprising that one of those Black Jackets belongs to me, huh? Actually, there's only two Black Jacket Chef's in this entire restaurant, the second being me and the first being my best friend and Owner of Ailes, Erwin. Yes, our uniform system might sound somewhat strange and Military like but that's just the kind of guy Erwin was and quite frankly so was I which was why I loved where I worked even more. To top it all off, every Uniform except for the Green Jackets had the restaurants signature logo on the back and sleeves which were of two wings over lapping, one a deep Blue and the other White. Erwin said he was inspired by a ridiculous dream of mine from when we were kids growing up on base with our families. Erwin, Hanji, Petra and I were all Military Brats.

We all attended the same Military school, Erwin and Hanji were older than me so we weren't always in the same classes but we were close regardless. After Military School, Erwin enlisted into the Army naturally but I wanted to be in the Air Force. Call it silly, but I'd always had a strong desire to Fly in the skies and for me being in the Air Force would be the closest to flying and freedom I'd ever get. That was kind of where Erwin drew his inspiration for the Wings of Freedom symbol that has now become his restaurant's eternal Crest. I wore my uniform proudly, the wings presented on my back reminding me of dreams long since forgotten. It was what every new Chef at our restaurant strives for, to earn their wings.

Hanji snapped me out of my reverie as she cleared her throat and I continued to slip on the Black and Red jacket over the black undershirt I wore. Slamming the locker shut, I quickly buttoned the jacket adjusting the sleeves to my preferred length and sauntered out of the back changing room side eyeing her on the way out.

"What?" I asked with a bored expression, bypassing her to get to the back freezers.

"You didn't answer my question, about Rico." she said with a sly grin. I rolled my eyes.

"I already gave you an answer. It started with a capital N and ended with a capital O."

"But why noooot!?" she whined, shoulders slumping dramatically and lower lip jutting out in a pout.

I sighed doing my best to remember not to touch my face with my hands as I always seemed to have the strong urge to pinch the bridge of my nose or rub my temples in frustration whenever Hanji got like this.

"Because I already told you, I'm not interested in dating right now." I snapped back over my shoulder as I stepped into the freezer to pick out the ingredients I needed.

"Oh come on, doll. We both know you haven't gotten laid since your divorce, that's two years too long!" she exclaimed a little too loudly and I threw a roll of Salami at her. Unfortunately, it narrowly missed my target.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Hanji. Could you be any louder? I don't think they heard you all the way in fuckin' CHINA." I hissed and she cackled while tossing the roll of frozen Salami back at me.

"Calm down, Short stack. There's nobody here but you, me and mayyyybe a few of the Waiters."

"Oh, goody." I said rolling my eyes as I turned my attention back to gathering ingredients. I was in charge of making the soup of the day today which was Bouillabaisse.

I searched for the Sea Bass I had cleaned the night before and quickly found the tray with the already halved fish. Next, I grabbed a tray of shrimp that I had also previously peeled and deveined. With my hands full with both trays, I quickly shuffled out of the freezer asking Hanji to grab the Mussels that I'd need to cook with all my herbs and seasonings before getting to work on the sea bass and shrimp.

As I worked, Hanji pulled herself up on a counter top just behind my work station and if it had been anyone else I would have shoved my foot so far up their ass it'd be in their throat. Hanji, unfortunately was immune to my death glare by now and I didn't want to have to throw her ass off the counter and wash my hands again now that I was starting up a low flame with a saucepan and olive oil.

"Oi, you better clean your ass germs off of their before you leave or I'll make you lick it clean." I threatened halfheartedly.

I quickly chopped some onions, leeks, fresh garlic cloves and tomatoes before tossing them into the heated olive oil and stirring them over the low flame I had going. The wonderful smell of garlic and onion rising from the saucepan filled my nostrils and I relished in all the smells coming together.

"Yeah, yeah. I know, but seriously Levi. I think you and Rico just need to get laid, and why not get laid together?! You don't even have to see her again after the first date if you don't like it! Simple, no strings attached kind of one time thing."

"Hanji, do you realized you're basically setting me and your friend up for a one night stand? That's the stupidest fucking thing I've ever heard and besides, even if I did want to start dating again it wouldn't be just because I want to get laid." I said never taking my eyes off of the frying vegetables currently in the saucepan.

"Aww, Levi. If I didn't know any better I'd say that tiny non-existent heart of yours just grew 3 sizes bigger." she cooed in a patronizing tone and I sucked my teeth loudly while rolling my eyes.

"Shut up, four eyes. Can we talk about something other than my love life? Otherwise this topic is going to make the soup taste bad."

"Oh, alright. So what's new with you? Anything exciting happen lately? Have you grown a few more centimeters?" she inquired.

I ignored the light jab on my height in favor of contemplating her question. Had anything exciting happened to me lately? Oh, if only she knew just how exciting my morning had been not more than two hours ago now.

"Actually," I started "I've got a new neighbor." I didn't bother to look up to see Hanji's expression because I could practically feel her beaming from the counter behind me.

"Oh~ Do tell!" she sang urging me to continue and I paused briefly to add in the thyme, fennel and bay leaves in as I lightly shaved the skin to a fresh orange into the pan generously.

Then I quickly added in the shellfish that had already been cleaned before pouring in some boiling water that bad been simmering off to the side for some time now. While my soup also simmered in the saucepan for a few minutes I turned back to face Hanji wiping my hands on a clean dish rag that hung around the black apron covering my pants.

"They have a cat named Captain. The damned thing worked it's way into my apartment earlier and it sat in my lap like it lived there and paid rent. Then the cat's owner came to get him and we had coffee."

Why had I just said all of that? It was like I wasn't in control of my own damn mouth and it just blurted out whatever the hell it wanted whenever the subject of Eren was brought up. Well, at least I hadn't told Hanji everything. Like the fact that my new neighbor was a man, and he was extremely beautiful and good looking and just wow, okay I should stop now. Oh, and he's gay. Can't forget that important little piece of information. Not important to me though, I don't care that he's gay. Nope.

Hanji was silent for a long time as I stared at the wall just over her shoulder like if it held the answers to all my questions like, why did I find my new neighbor so attractive when I'm not gay? Or, why had I just told Hanji that I had coffee with said new neighbor? Please, tell me, Wall.

"Oh my god... oh my god. Did you actually MEET and talk with your new neighbor... on the FIRST DAY that they moved in?! Am I dead right now? Like is this a dream? Who even are you and what have you done with my mean, grumpy old man best friend?!" she practically shrieked and I sighed turning my back to face her as I checked on my simmering soup.

I decided not to indulge her any further and tried to focus on finishing this soup. I added in some freshly ground black pepper and a few generous pinches of sea salt to add a bit of flavor before I spooned some of the thickening broth out onto a tasting dish and tested my dish to see what it lacked or didn't lack and quickly got to work on slicing the Sea Bass into smaller spoon sized pieces cutting at a downward angle so that the pieces were thin to a point.

"His name is Eren. He's 22 and works at a Coffee Shop and Bookstore. He's also gay." I suddenly said after a long minute or two of silence and I didn't need to turn around to see the stunned look on Hanji's face in order to know how surprised she was with me. I could practically feel her surprise coming off her in waves while she stared at me wide eyed or with some other stupid facial expression.

Why couldn't my mouth just shut up and leave me alone for once? I guess I should be used to my mouth getting me into plenty of sticky situations, it's nothing new. But for some reason, I found myself just pouring out all the details (or at least the important ones anyway) about what I had learned about Eren in the half hour I spent with him in my apartment drinking tea and coffee like we were old friends or something.

"Oh, honey. We need to have a loooooong conversation on the phone later on tonight. I am not just going to let this go, you know that right?" she said hopping off the counter and placing a firm hand on my shoulder as I sliced. The action caused me to cut a piece of the bass crookedly and I glared at her from the corners of my eyes.

"No excuses. The cat's outta the bag now, my darling shorty. I'm going to call you tonight, 21 hundred hours Private." and with that she left me to stir in my own self-hate and regret for ever opening my mouth in the first place. This was going to be such a long day, I could already feel it.

---

Hanji hadn't bothered me about this morning's subject anymore, but that didn't stop her from blabbing about it to Erwin as soon as the guy walked through the door. Not only one of my best friends but now both of my best friends were giving me stupid knowing looks from across the kitchen whenever I made the mistake of making eye contact with them but I did my best to bury myself in my work which wasn't too hard.

Today had been one of the busiest as was natural for a Saturday. Luckily, I didn't have to work the dinner shift tonight which was a small but welcomed relief as the time for me to clock out was almost here. I finished cooking up the last of our special for the day, Chicken Cordon Bleu. Hanji's Chocolate Mousse Cake was a hit among the customers tonight, which was no surprise. The four eyes had a way with knowing which desserts to make with which special and it always worked. The end of my shift was nearing and I quickly washed my hands off leaving the rest of the cooking to my capable team knowing they could handle whatever was thrown at them for the rest of the night.

"See you losers later, I'm outta here." I said over my shoulder as I untied my apron from my waist and hung it over an apron rack before dashing in the changing rooms to change out of my uniform.

It had been a long day, my feet were killing me and I was tired physically and mentally. My desire for my bed and darkness was great and I was in such a hurry to just get the hell out of the restaurant that I almost didn't notice the whole chocolate Mousse cake Hanji had left for me in a white cardboard carry out box with Ailes name scrawled out in fancy dark blue font with the signature wings overlapping. There was a sticky note written from Hanji stuck to the top of it and I snatched it up reading the messy chicken scratch on the back.

'Here's a little something to welcome that new neighbor of yours ;P Try not to scare him off, Mr.Grinch!'

I snorted and crumpled the note in my hand before throwing it out. I thought about just leaving and not taking the cake with me, but as I stated sometime before, I'm a chocolate addict and this cake wasn't just any Chocolate Mousse cake it was Hanji's chocolate mousse cake and well... that would just be a damn shame to leave it behind. So, what do you know? I took that baby home and had every intention of eating it all myself. Screw being neighborly.

The parking lot was already starting to crowd as I stepped out through the back door of the kitchen heading toward the employee parking lot where my Ferrari 458 sat beckoning me. Yeah, that's right I drove a Ferrari and it was sleek, black and all kinds of Fuck you. I slipped into the warm leather seats, despite the rain this morning the day had been relatively hot and the heat that had been festering in the interior of my car for the last 8 hours caused the leather to still be warm. Then again, it probably didn't help that everything about my car was black. Black paint job, black rims, black leather seats, everything but the windows was black.

I secured the cake on the floor of the passenger's side of the car because like fuck I was going to get cake on my leather seats or anything else for that matter. After buckling myself in and revving the engine a few times, I pulled out of my respective parking space behind Ailes and sped off toward my apartment where I could shed my clothes and walk around in my favorite pajama bottoms. The thought alone had me sighing with relief as I did my best to beat 6 o clock traffic, which was the worst bumper to bumper headache you've ever seen.

Thoughts of home brought back thoughts of Eren and I occasionally glanced down at the cake Hanji had given me and I wondered if I really should take her note to heart and give the cake to him as a house warming thing of sorts but if I was being honest with myself, I didn't exactly want to give away such a delicacy whole and for another thing I didn't want the kid getting the wrong idea that I actually liked him or something.

Sure, the brat wasn't as annoying as some of my other neighbors in the past and I found him tolerable... so far. But that's about as far as my attitude toward him went, nothing more and nothing less. In a week, I'm sure I'll have an entire list of shit he does that'll piss me off and by the end of the month I'll be filing my complaints to Pixis. It was the fate of anyone who had the misfortune of being my next door neighbor, with the exception of the little old woman who lived on the other side of me. She'd been living there before I moved in and because she was old she never bothered me except to say 'Hello' or 'Good Morning' whenever we would meet by chance. Her name was Mrs. Robinson. I liked Mrs. Robinson.

As I neared the complex, I had almost convinced myself that maybe I would give Eren half of the cake not even caring if that seemed rude or not. Hey, I worked my ass off for the last 7 and a half hours straight. I think I deserve at least half of this cake if not all of it. I briefly started wondering what kind of things Eren liked to eat, if he had a sweet tooth like I originally assumed or if he even liked Chocolate at all. As hard as it was for someone like me to believe, there were actually people who didn't like Chocolate and to me that was just blasphemy. I let my mind wander to other things I would like to know about Eren and found myself wishing I hadn't remembered one certain thing. Eren had a boyfriend.

There was that weird, unfamiliar heat filling my chest slowly spreading to my stomach as I recalled the morning events that included his much taller boyfriend and I frowned when I looked back at the cake again. This wasn't jealousy, it just couldn't be. I barely knew Eren for less than an hour, I only met him this morning I couldn't possibly be attached to him so quickly even if it was just in a friend sort of way. It wasn't like his boyfriend stole him from me or anything, yet this feeling in the pit of my stomach said otherwise. It was so annoying and by the time I had pulled into the parking garage of my complex I was in a worse mood than when I left this morning.

I took the cake out of the car and carried it closely to me as I made my way up the flight of stairs because why not give my already tired legs even more work. Sometimes I think I'm a masochist but I knew I wasn't. By the time I reached the landing on the third floor I had already resolved with myself that I wasn't going to give Eren the cake in the end. I didn't owe him anything, Hanji wouldn't know if I actually gave it to him or not as long as I said I did she'd be none the wiser. Nope, this cake was all mine and Eren would never get to taste it's other worldly deliciousness which really wasn't my fault.

I fumbled around with my key ring in one hand trying to single out the key to my apartment from the keys to my car and Ailes (it was given to me in cases of an emergency) while holding the box with the chocolate mousse carefully in the other hand. I mumbled various curses under my breath before I finally stuck the key into the lock and pushed the door open lingering only a moment or two outside of my apartment door to look over at the now occupied apartment to my right. Apartment 304. Eren was right behind that door.

I stared at the white paint of the door and the gold plated number on the front for probably a full minute before I shook my head and stepped into the cool, darkness of my apartment welcoming the chill that hit my face as I shut the door behind me and let out a heavy sigh of relief. Home sweet home. I kicked off my shoes by the door and dragged my tired body over toward the kitchen where I placed the box holding the cake on the kitchen island reminding myself to put it away after I changed and got comfortable. It was 20 minutes past six now and the sun was low in the sky, I padded over to my bathroom and immediately stripped off my clothes.

I needed a long shower after sweating over hot stoves and just to wash away the overall feeling of chaos the kitchen of Ailes always left on me at the end of the day. It wasn't like I was really dirty from cooking, I was pretty careful not to get any food on me or my uniform for that matter but I still felt like I had a thin layer of dirt on me as soon as I got home.

After a long, hot shower I stepped out into the chill of my apartment once more feeling slightly less tired and refreshed as I padded back into my bedroom and slipped on a loose black tee shirt and my favorite pair of grey plaid pajama bottoms. Needless to say, I was already feeling a whole lot better than when I got home and I had half a mind to just plop down on the bed with a big slice of Hanji's chocolate mousse cake and watch Will and Grace re-runs that always came out on Saturdays because I'm a loser like that, deal with it.

That idea was starting to sound more and more appealing as I walked about my apartment passing by the box of cake sitting on the counter top just begging me to eat it. Oh, did I want to. Believe me. For some strange reason, I felt the need to let whatever was left of the sun into my dark apartment so I walked up to my balcony door and started pulling shades back when I heard it. A voice singing a nameless song and the soft strumming of a guitar, I could recognize the voice as painfully male but it was not a voice I was completely unfamiliar with. I had only listened to the owner of said voice talking about himself for 30 minutes straight over two cups of coffee this morning.

I opened the glass sliding door to my balcony just a crack so that I could hear the voice currently singing more clearly and it was probably my first mistake in many to come. I could clearly make out the words to the song Eren was singing and it was only then I realized that he must have been out on his balcony. I strained my ears to try and catch every word he crooned and I found myself stunned by how crisp and clear his voice sounded but not lacking any of that emotion he always seemed to have whenever he was talking enthusiastically about something. (X)

"One day it's here and then it's gone
How are you still holding on?
How are you still holding on?"

The second mistake I made was I actually opened the door a little wider so that I could take a step out onto the balcony but I didn't seem to disturb my singing neighbor as he continued to croon.

"You've felt this way for far too long
Waiting for a change to come
You know you're not the only one..."

"And life passes you by
Don't be wasting your time
On your own..."

I was captivated by the sound of his voice and I hadn't realized I was now flat out standing in the middle of my wide open balcony taking a step toward the banister that separated Eren's balcony from mine. He had his back turned toward my side of the apartment but I could see him sitting on a small bench that I hadn't seen there before and his hands were moving about up and down which told me he was probably strumming a guitar that I couldn't see with his wide back facing me.

"You always try to see yourself
Through the eyes of someone else
Through the eyes of someone else..."

"Too shy to say that you need help
You and everybody else
You and everybody else"

I found myself leaning against the black iron banister as well, closing my eyes and just taking in every word he sang out like they were meant for someone specifically and the curiosity started eating away at me. I wanted to know who this song was meant for but I wasn't about to interrupt this unexpected but pleasant surprise.

"As your heart gets bigger
And you try to figure out
What's it all about"

"And your skin gets thicker
As you try to figure out
What's it all about"

I could hear the way his fingers strummed against the strings gently and when the fingers of his other hand dragged down the neck of the guitar to reach the notes further down and it was a surprisingly comforting sound. Steel strings being pressed into wood.

"Yeah life passes you by
Don't waste your time
On your own"

"One day it's here and then it's gone
How are you still holding on?
How are you still holding on...?"

I hadn't even noticed the song had come to an end when I opened my eyes and I heard him sigh so softly that it almost wasn't even heard. Fortunately for me, he wasn't turning around yet so I was still safe and could probably sneak away unseen like nothing happened but of course, life loved to mess with me and I made my third mistake. I fucking opened my mouth and spoke.

"Not bad. What's the name of that song?" I heard myself ask nonchalantly like I hadn't just been eavesdropping on something that was probably private.

On the outside I looked indifferent but on the inside I was internally screaming. What the fuck is wrong with me today? This is probably the 5th time just today alone that I opened my mouth and said something before I even realize what I'm doing and I had a feeling it probably wouldn't be the last.

Eren seemed to startle a bit at the sound of my voice coming from just behind him and he quickly turned around to face me. I felt my heart do that weird... 'thing' again when his bright eyes fell on my leaning form. God, they were just as sparkling and beautiful as they were this morning when I first laid eyes on them. He tilted his head to the side and smiled after he realized that it was me and I found myself faintly smiling as well. This kids smile wasn't just nice, it was contagious as all hell.

"It's called One Day. I wasn't aware I had an audience, sorry if the noise bothered you. I figured no one was home since your blinds were closed."

I softly snorted. The kid had the nerve to say 'sorry'. Like if he had to apologize for having the voice of a damn angel. I made a mental note to myself, 'Be Weary of the new neighbor kid.' not only was he weirdly pretty for a man, he could also sing like nobody's business and that kind of combination should always be worrisome.

"I just got home from work a while ago and heard something interesting so naturally I came to investigate. There's nothing to be sorry for, you're not bad kid. If you were a shit singer I would have kicked your ass off this balcony 2 minutes ago but as I'm sure you already know, you're still sitting there right?" Shut up, Levi.

Eren laughed and it sounded no different than the laugh I'd heard earlier this morning, pure and genuine like he was truly amused by whatever it was I had just said but I couldn't find it in myself to be angry or mad about that. At least someone didn't get a stick up their ass at my dry sense of humor. I could appreciate Eren a bit more for that.

"Well, gee thanks. I'll just go ahead and take that as a compliment then." he said with another laugh and I made my fourth mistake here.

"Hey. Do you like Chocolate Mousse?" I heard myself ask randomly and I could see the confusion cross the brat's face when my question finally registered.

"Yeah, I love anything chocolate. Why do you ask?" he asked with that cute head tilt and I couldn't help but smirk as I pushed myself off of the banister to go back inside.

"Hold on, I'll be right back." I said as I stepped back into my cold apartment and went to grab the boxed cake still sitting on top of my counter.

I brought the box back out with me onto the balcony and I held it out for Eren to take from my hands not really thinking about the fact that I was letting a divine piece of cake go to the hands of a near stranger I'd only met today. Eren blinked looking at the box in my hand quizzically and I rolled my eyes getting impatient.

"Are you just going to stare at the box all evening or are you going to take it from my hands and see what's inside it? Come on, Kid. Keep up here." I said sounding not as irritated as I tried to come off but it seemed to get his ass in gear anyway.

Eren finally took the box from my hands and like a child he curiously lifted the corners to peek inside and I saw his eyes light up as he saw the chocolate mousse cake that I'm more than sure probably looked amazing. Damn Hanji and her weird talent for baking cakes.

"Oh my gosh, this looks absolutely amazing and... expensive. Are you giving this to me or are you just showing off?" he asked with a smirk and a questioning brow and I sucked my teeth loudly looking away from him feeling a little hot in the face.

"Funny, brat. Just take it before I change my mind. One of my co-workers from the restaurant I work at gave that to me, it's not like I really paid for it." I said crossing my arms over my chest and shrugging slightly. Okay, so I lied a bit but I wasn't about to tell this kid that it was actually a gift or whatever. As far as I was concerned, up until 5 minutes ago that cake had my name written all over it.

He eyed the sides of the box reading the name scrawled across it and his eyes widened significantly before he looked up at me again, mouth slightly hanging open before he closed it and opened it looking like a fish out of water struggling for air.

"You got something to say, say it." I huffed looking away from him and shaking my head. That seemed to snap him out of it though.

"Y-You work at Ailes de la liberté?" he stammered still staring at me wide eyed like I was the damn Messiah.

"Yeah, is that a problem?" I drawled.

He shook his head so fast I thought it might fall right off his shoulders but then he smiled, a bright grin from ear to ear and he stared down at the box in his hands as if contemplating something.

"No, the opposite of a problem actually. That's like my favorite restaurant ever!" he said happily.

I nodded my head along with what he said and there was a peaceful silence that fell between us like it had earlier that morning over coffee. I found it strange how comforting I found that silent company of his. Just knowing he was there was enough without he or I having to exchange a word and there weren't many people I knew who could act that way around me. Then he broke the silence suddenly as if an idea had just struck him like lightening.

"Hold on, stay there. I'll be right back!" and with that he dashed back into his apartment and out of my line of vision.

I could hear a distant ruckus coming from inside his apartment but I was distracted by Eren's cat as it waltz up to me on the banister glaring at me with those sharp icy blues like I was in it's way or something. Cheeky little shit. I glared right back at it for a few seconds, to someone else it might have looked weird to see a 30 year old man having a stare down with a cat but eventually the bossy thing got bored of our little game and leaped down at my feet weaving between my legs again.

Finally Eren reemerged with two plates in his hands and a slice of chocolate mousse cake on each one. He reached over and handed me a plate and I eyed it suspiciously.

"Well, are you just going to stare at it all evening or are you going to take it from my hand?" he said with a cheeky grin and I felt a warmth in my cheeks that I refused to acknowledge as a blush. I rolled my eyes and took the ceramic plate from his hands.

"You think you're being funny, kid?" I asked trying my best to sound annoyed but the smirk on my face betrayed my intentions.

"No, not really. I have a terrible sense of humor actually." he admitted leaning against the banister of his side of the building in a similar manner as me and he popped a forkful of cake into his mouth.

His eyes lit up and almost seemed to be shining before he shut his eyes and hummed around the fork still in his mouth. I felt a faint smile creep it's way onto my face as I gauged his reaction to Hanji's cake. This kid was so expressive, I could practically see all the unspoken words written all over his face and I found it so amusing to watch him as he licked the form clean and went in for another bite.

I tucked into my own slice of cake and just like I had expected of Hanji, her cake was divine. Moist but not in the gross way where the cake sticks to the roof of your mouth, sweet but not overwhelming to the point where you can't even enjoy it, and light and fluffy. I would never say it to her face, but Hanji really knew how to bake a mean cake.

Eren and I talked while we ate our slices of cake, I learned many more things about my new neighbor and I found myself telling him things about myself in return. I told him I was a Chef at Ailes and that my co-worker who made the cake was also a very good friend of mind. We ended up talking like this for an entire hour this time, even when the sun had almost completely set and our cake had long been eaten we continued to talk.

It was only when Eren's cell phone rang that our conversation was halted and he hurriedly fished the device out of his pant pockets reading the name that flashed across the screen.

"Oh gosh, is it that late already? Jean just finished practice, I should take this." he said looking up at me with an apologetic smile.

"Answer your phone, brat. I'm going inside, thanks for the cake." I said waving him off and pushing off of the banister to start heading inside. I heard him laugh and it made my stomach flip flop.

"That's my line, you know? Thanks for the cake, Levi!" he called after me as I walked back into my apartment and I didn't need to turn around to see the smile I already knew was probably on his face right now.

As I closed my glass sliding door behind me slowly, I could hear the sound of Eren's voice growing smaller as he answered his phone. "Hey, babe. I was just thinking about you."

Right. I almost forgot that Eren has a boyfriend. I shrugged it off as I made my way back into my apartment checking the time on the clock in my kitchen as I passed it by in favor of my bedroom, Hanji would be calling me soon and she would start bombarding me with a million questions about Eren and why I'm acting like this all of a sudden and I could honestly say that I had no clue why I was acting like this either.

I needed a break before that inevitable phone call so I plopped down on the clean sheets of my bed face first enjoying the strong smell of my laundry detergent and the coldness of my room. Suddenly my eyelids felt heavy and I could hear my own faint breathing in the dark stillness of my quiet bedroom. I had half a mind to just let sleep take me and avoid having to partake in a tiring conversation with Hanji about my new neighbor who I just could not for the life of me stop thinking about.

My mind drifted back toward bits and pieces of my conversation with Eren trying to root out anything that I could add to my 'Things about my new neighbor that annoy the fuck out of me' list but for some reason I couldn't root out anything other than the stuff that didn't annoy me. For instance, I found out he's a chocolate addict just like me. His favorite restaurant is Ailes. He can play the guitar and sing, really well. He actually really likes sweet things, just like I had thought.

When I think about it now, I've actually learned quite a lot about Eren in the last 12 hours since he's moved in next door and that had to have been a record for me since I never knew any of my past neighbors names until at least a week or two at the least after they'd moved in. I've never really seen the point in getting to know them if I was trying to get them out in the first place. It was pointless.

Sighing, I rolled over on my back and stared up at the white of my ceiling like if it would answer all my burning questions. Like why am I such a loser? Please tell me, Ceiling.

As if on cue, I felt my phone go off in my pant pocket knowing fully well who was calling and I sighed taking a second or two to prepare myself for the onslaught of questions I was about to get before I fished my phone out of my pocket and slid my thumb across the screen to answer it.

"Let's get this over with, Four eyes."

Chapter Text

I sat at my kitchen table rubbing my temples furiously with a black pen in one hand and a blank note book sitting wide open in front of me. Remember how I has said that by the end of the first week after Eren moved in I'd more than likely have an entire list of 'Things about my new neighbor that annoy the fuck out of me' written down? Yeah, well I had been already been siting here for two hours trying to think of even one single little thing to write down to start my list and I just could not for the life of me find anything that annoyed me.

Okay, sure he was a little noisy in the early mornings with the occasional banging of a wall or slamming of a door but otherwise he was pretty quiet during my morning cleaning ritual. My guess was the banging on the walls was him still setting up furniture or shelves in his apartment, it's only been a week after all. One whole week, 7 whole days. After meeting Eren last Saturday, I'd often bump into him in some way or another. Whether it was when I was leaving for work in the morning at 10:30AM or when I was coming home from work late in the evenings.

My favorite time to 'coincidentally' bump into him was early mornings or late evenings on our Balcony's. Eren always came out around the same time to watch the sun rise or watch it set (I got the impression he probably doesn't sleep much). I hadn't been fortunate enough to catch him singing again like I had last Saturday, but I knew he probably did it while I was out. I felt slightly disappointed knowing this because I wouldn't mind hearing him sing again, he had a nice voice and I wondered if maybe he was embarrassed about the fact that I had heard him sing.

For all I knew he could be extremely shy about his talents, which also kind of saddened me but if that were the case then that only meant I heard something that few others heard and that thought alone made me feel a bit glad. Soft meowing stirred me from my wandering thoughts and I snapped my head up to look outside my balcony door. Eren's damn cat was sitting on the banister staring inside my apartment directly at me like if it was expecting me to have the door wide open for him, the smug little piece of shit.

Oh yeah, that was another thing. Captain, Eren's cat, seems to have a thing for me. The little shit is always sneaking over here whenever Eren leaves his back door open for the cat to roam and I always end up letting it in and napping on my couch or in my lap whenever I'm home. That was also how I often bumped into Eren, he'd always end up having to come knocking at my door to come and pick him up. We'd always end up chatting a bit, our conversation would always end up being about the cat but I didn't mind all that much.

Today, like the last 7 days in a row, I stood up from my seat stretching my stiff limbs and walked over to the balcony door to let the damn thing in. I guess I played a part in all this as well as I could always just ignore the cat and simply not let it in so Eren and I wouldn't have to meet every time and talk but there's was something about that idea that just didn't sit very well with me, and so I opened the door for the 7th time that week and let the midnight cat in without any protest. At least Eren said he was treated for fleas and bathed weekly.

My steel grey eyes followed the cat's form as it casually sauntered about my apartment curiously looking at everything like it always did but the cat somehow always had this strangely bored look on it's face, like it was constantly frowning or just mad even though it's actions usually said otherwise. Then, the little thing jumped up onto the couch on my usual spot and curled up into a tight little ball glaring up at me as I glared back with my arms crossed over my chest tightly.

"Tch. Oi, that's my spot you damn walking flea circus." I grumbled but the cat only yawned in response. I rolled my eyes and decided it was probably a good idea to just make some tea instead of going back to racking my brain over this fucking list I obviously wasn't going to get done now.

I started up a fresh kettle of water on the stove and let it heat as I tapped away at the screen of my phone replying to a group message Erwin and Hanji had started a little over an hour ago. I didn't work today for once so I was blissfully spending my unexpected day off in the comforts of my cozy little apartment, I know I'm such an exciting guy.

Then I was slightly startled when I heard three loud knocks on my door. I raised a questioning brow toward the cat who had also startled at the sound of the strange knocks, I say strange because when Eren knocked on my door it was usually a light set of double knocks. These set of knocks were firm, heavy and obviously not Eren's so I shuffled towards my door quietly slightly craning my neck up so that I could peer through the peephole in my door.

"... the fuck is that guy doing here?" I mumbled to myself quietly.

It was that Jean guy. Eren's boyfriend. At this point I was truly confused as to why he of all people would be knocking at my door and I also wouldn't lie, I was a little annoyed at the fact that it was him and not Eren coming to bother me. Reluctantly, I answered the door and stared up at the bastard who had a scowl almost as bad as mine on his face.

"Hey, Levi right? Uh, is Jaeger's cat here? I can't find the evil thing anywhere."

Jaeger? Did he mean Eren? I raised a questioning brow at him before glancing back over my shoulder at the cat still curled up in a ball on the couch then looking back at Secretariat over here.

"He's asleep on my couch. If Eren was looking for him I could have just taken the cat over myself." I drawled giving Jean a bored look that I hoped expressed how annoyed I was with his presence.

"Jaeger's at work and asked me to come pick up his demonic cat and drop it off at the vet for a check up. I told him the damn thing doesn't like me but he said he couldn't break the appointment since he's been putting it off for over a month already." Secretariat explained to me. (Jean was now Secretariat to me, deal with it.)

I eyed the cat kennel in his hand before glancing back up at the kid who looked like he was irritated by having been asked to deal with this cat who hated his cuts, and well quite frankly I don't blame the cat for not liking him. The guy just oozes jerk off vibes in waves and just standing here looking at him was annoying the fuck out of me. Did he always have such a smug look on his face, even when he's scowling?

"Look, you obviously have somewhere else you'd rather be right now, so I'll do Eren a favor and take the cat to the vet myself. Besides, he obviously likes me more than you." I said curling my fingers and picking out non-existent dirt from under my fingernails.

I heard him practically sigh with relief as he visibly relaxed and smirked down at me, the smug bastard's probably making fun of my height right now. I should kick him in the balls.

"Really? You'd do that? That would seriously help me out man, if I waste the 20 minutes needed to wrangle that cat into this cage I'll be super late for Practice and Coach will chew me out again." I glanced up at Jean again and saw the crooked smirk on his face noting the straight, white teeth that were almost as perfect as Eren's. Almost.

"Here's his Kennel, the clinic Eren uses is the one right down the street from here. Rose Pet Clinic. Just ask for a guy named Marco, he'll help you out. He's tall, kinda tan and has tons of cute freckles all over his face, you can't miss him. He's like way too nice for his own good." he practically shoved the Kennel into my arms and turned on the sole of his boots to start stalking off before I stopped him.

"Oi! Aren't you going to tell me what time the appointment is dip shit?" I was so done with this kid right now. What did Eren see in this fucking moron?

Secretariat stopped as expected and whirled around to face me, he had one eyebrow raised no doubt because he was probably wondering if I actually called him a dip shit in which yes, I actually did call him a dip shit and I do not regret it in the least.

"Whoa there, Short and Furious. I'm sensing some hostility. Chill out, man. The appointment's at 1:30." he said with a smirk before he started retreating once more probably sensing that I was about to fucking kick him in his fucking horse teeth.

"Fuck off!"

I scowled at him as he walked off down the hall and the mother fucker had the nerve to turn around and shoot me another grin and a wave while saying "You're doing me a huge favor by the way!"

I sucked my teeth loudly before retreating back into my apartment slamming the door shut behind me so that it was loud enough for Eren's douche bag of a boyfriend to hear all the way down the hall. Piece of shit. If I thought I didn't like him before, I really fucking hated him now. 'I'm not doing this for you, you horse-faced mother fucker. I'm doing this for Eren.'

Huffing, I glanced up at the clock on my wall and cursed Eren's boyfriend one more time because the dumbass said the appointment for Captain was at 1:30 and it was now 1:15. Fuck. I growled at nothing in particular, just feeling the need to vent out my frustrations as I padded over toward the slumbering ball of black fur on my couch carefully picking him up in my arms and placing him in the padded cage before locking it.

Well... that was surprisingly easy. Captain didn't even stir as I set the kennel down on the ground softly and turned to snatch my keys and wallet off the kitchen island. I was going to have to haul ass to the clinic now thanks to Eren's fucktard of a boyfriend, I mentally prayed that the elevator got stuck while he was still in it and snickered at the thought as I slipped on my boots.

I took Captain's kennel in my hands and rushed out my door power walking like my life depended on it. I made sure to locked my door, like hell I was going to rush and forget to lock up and have all my shit stolen. Crime was pretty low in my area but I wasn't taking any risks. I took the stairs, screw the elevator. I wasn't about to take it and then have karma come bite me in the ass for wishing Eren's idiot boyfriend would get stuck while still in it. Plus, I didn't mind the extra exorcise.

I cradled the kennel in my arms as I stepped out into the parking lot, it was still early noon but the summer heat was already taking it's toll on my car. To save the damn cat and myself the suffering, I opened the doors to my car to let it air out since it was probably hotter than Satan's ass crack in there. I hated Summer.

Once I got Eren's cat nice and situated in the passenger's seat of my car, I buckled the kennel in not wanting to take any chances before I slipped in and started up the engine. I was really going to have to haul ass, it was 1:22 and I wasn't even out of the parking lot yet. Once again, I mentally cursed Eren's stupid ass boyfriend and pulled out onto the open road. Well, at least there wasn't much traffic at this hour.

I sped down Rose Avenue absently tapping my finger against the steering wheel along to the tune of some song that was on the radio station I left it on last. I never cared much for listening to the radio while I drove but I left it on for background noise anyway. I saw the small clinic coming into view and I slowed down to pull into the equally as small parking lot. Silently I was grateful for having a small sports car since if I had anything bigger I'd probably have a hard time fitting into the compact parking spaces available.

The clinic was cozy looking from the outside, it could almost be mistaken for a house at first glance. The outside was painted white while the shutters to the larger windows that exposed the examining rooms were painted a cornflower blue. I could see one of the nurses with a rather large dog on the observation table struggle to hold it still while a man with a white lab coat tried to clip it's nails. Poor suckers.

I unbuckled Captain from the seat and carried his kennel to the double glass doors, they were automatic. Modern, I thought. There were a few people with their pets sitting in the spacious lobby, some with dogs and other with kennels like Captains. There was a rather sweet looking girl with blonde hair and blue eyes sitting at the front desk and she lit up when I approached.

"Good afternoon! My name is Krista, I don't think I've ever seen you come in before. Is this your first time bringing your pet here?" she chirped in an equally as sweet voice as her face. God, someone get me a pair of sunglasses this girl was practically shining. It found it kind of annoying actually but pushed my thoughts aside.

"Actually, I'm bringing in my neighbors cat. I think he's brought him here before." I said lifting the kennel to show the girl the cat and her eyes lit up with recognition.

"Oh! That's Captain isn't it? He's not hard to remember at all. You must know Eren then. Just sign this sheet here with Captain's name, the time and your signature and you can take a seat over there. I'll let Marco know that his 1:30 is here."

I said nothing and gave a curt nod before I signed the sheet as I was asked only briefly glancing down at the watch on my wrist before handing the sign in sheet back to the petite blonde and taking Captain with me as I walked over to a corner of the lobby to wait to be called in. I took the time to observe the inside of the clinic and was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn't bad at all.

Aside from the obvious smell of animals, it looked like they kept the place pretty clean. The tiled floors were shiny enough that I could almost see my own reflection, the walls were painted a warm cream color with several different paintings of dogs, cats and birds among various other animals and some posters about the anatomy of dogs and cats. Stuff you'd expect to see at any doctor's office. There were some scratching posts for visiting cats and treats on top of the receptionist desks. It was a rather warm environment and I could see why Eren brought his cat here.

"Captain?" I heard a man call from the side of me and I looked up to match a face to the voice and god I wish I hadn't.

If I thought the little blonde chick at the front desk was practically shining, this guy was the equivalent to the fucking sun. He was almost glittering when I looked up at him, soft brown eyes crinkled slightly as he smiled warmly. The only thing I could do was blink as I took in the guys face. Tall, tan, freckles. Yep, this has to be Marco.

I stood up from my seat and grabbed Captain's kennel as I made my way over toward Marco who stayed smiling as he lead me toward one of the back examining rooms. I could hear other dogs and cats meowing or barking from various other rooms but surprisingly, Captain was quiet this whole time. I almost felt kinda proud of the cat for that. He lives up to his name.

Mr.Sunshine showed me into one of the larger examining rooms and I set Captain's kennel down on a chair and proceeded to take him out of his cage. He didn't struggle, instead he purred softly as I cradled him in my arms.

"Oh, wow. I don't think I've ever seen him react that way to anyone other than Eren!" the freckled doctor commented loudly but shot me an apologetic smile as he motioned for me to hand him the cat which I did slowly.

As soon as Captain left my arms, he went on the defensive and started hissing and growling in Marco's arms but he seemed to know what he was doing as he cooed at the cat trying to calm it. It worked somewhat and Captain at least let him manhandle him to the point where he could place him on the scale to get an accurate reading. Not bad, I thought taking a seat next to the now empty kennel while crossing one leg over the other.

Marco brought Captain back over to the examining table and set the cat down. I chose to stay silent and let him do his work but the kid apparently had other plans in mind as he glanced back over to me with another bright smile and I cringed knowing that he was probably about to ask me some weird questions.

"So, how do you know Eren? Are you a friend of his? I don't mean to sound rude or intrusive, it's just I've never seen you before and I've known Eren since Middle School." he said with a nervous laugh.

"I'm his next door neighbor." was all I said as I watched his hands roam over Captain's sleek body seemingly checking for something.

"Oh. So you must be Levi then?" he asked and I had to admit that got my attention. Had Eren mentioned me to his friends? I don't know why but the idea made me ridiculously happy.

He must have noticed the questioning look on my usually expressionless face so he elaborated without me needing to ask him the obvious.

"Jean, Eren's boyfriend, mentioned you a couple of times. He's said some very interesting... things about you, aha." I could see him swallow nervously as I narrowed my eyes at his words. So, the horse had some thing to say about me, eh?

"Oh yeah, Eren's boyfriend. The guy who dumped Eren's cat on me in the middle of the day because he was running late to practice or whatever. I can only imagine the flattering things he had to say about me." I sneered rolling my eyes a bit at the end because honestly, I couldn't give two shits about the opinion Eren's jerk off boyfriend had of me or how he perceived me to their friends for that matter.

"Yeah, Jean can be a little... discourteous. He's always been that way since we were kids, he doesn't mean anything by it though. He's really a good guy, deep down." there was a certain distant look in the freckled kids eyes that I couldn't help but notice as he talked so fondly about Jean. I thought it strange so of course I opened my big, fat mouth and speak my mind because I never know when to shut up.

"You seem to know a lot about Jean. Mind telling me what your relation to him is? No offense but you're kind of too nice to be friends with a guy like him." I said honestly. Why lie? It was true.

Marco blinked at me a few times and then he threw his head back and barked out a laugh I wasn't really expecting but well, his laugh wasn't terribly annoying so it didn't bother me. Much, anyway.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh it's just... I wasn't expecting that, honestly. But to answer your question, Jean and I are childhood friends. We've been best friends since as long as I can remember, I practically helped him get together with Eren..." his laughter and smile subsided to something I couldn't quite place my finger on. He was still smiling but it was almost... sad?

Marco seemed to shake whatever he was feeling off and he focused his attention back on Captain as he meowed softly while jumping off the examining table catching my attention as well as he strutted up to me expecting me to pick him up I guess. Damn bossy little furball.

"Okay, well Captain's all done. He seems to be pretty healthy and I didn't feel anything out of place on his body, so he passed his check up. Although, Eren should really make sure he brings him in more often. I think the last time he came in for a check up was over a month ago." he said leaning against the examining table and jotting something down on the clipboard he was holding.

"I'll be sure to remind the dumbass then. Are we free to go now, Doc?" I asked as I eventually gave in and picked Captain up putting him back into his kennel where he curled up almost immediately.

"Just Marco is fine, and yes you can go now. Follow me, I'll show you out." he said with a bright smile that nearly blinded me. Damn kid practically sparkled.

I nodded locking Captain's cage and stood up following after Marco as he led me back out into the main lobby area and instructed me to check out with Krista so she could print out a receipt for me before I left. I ended up having to pay for Captain's check up in the end, obviously. I didn't really mind much, it wasn't like it was expensive. It was just a check up, but I also didn't want to miss the chance in getting Eren to feel like he owes me. Maybe then I could guilt trip him into doing something for me.

Krista handed me my receipt along with some basic print outs for me to give to Eren since he was the owner of the cat and then she gave me a cheery farewell, as did Marco and I left the pet clinic feeling a mixture of relief and annoyance. Relief for having gotten through all that damn, happy-go-lucky atmosphere without going insane and annoyed because I kind of felt like I had been an asshole with Eren's friend Marco.

Whatever. I'd get over it eventually. Actually, I was already starting to feel over it as I got into my car situating Captain in the seat once more and revving the engine pulling out of the small parking lot. I glanced down at the time as I sped back down Rose Avenue and almost frowned. It wasn't even 2:00 yet, if I recalled Eren wasn't going to be home from work until about 5 o clock so that left me with 3 whole hours to kill. Sighing, I absently let my mind wander back to my strange but interesting conversation with Marco.

---

By the time 5:45 rolled around, I heard those soft familiar knocks that signaled Eren was at my door and I rose from my spot on the couch putting the cook book I had been studying down before I went to answer my door.

Eren looked sweaty and kind of out of breath when I yanked the door open and I wrinkled my nose a bit at the sight of his hair sticking to his forehead and the material of his navy blue crew neck tee shirt sticking to his skin grossly.

"Is that your sweat or did you get 3 buckets of water dumped on you on the way up here?" I inquired raising a brow at him. He gave me a sheepish grin flashing those pearly whites at me and for a moment I forgot that he was sweaty and gross.

"It was like a million degrees outside today and I didn't take my bike to work thinking I could probably rough it and walk. Big mistake." he said with a breathless laugh and I only stared at him like he was a moron before I finally shook my head.

"Come inside. You look like you're about to die from thirst any second." I commanded retreating back into my apartment and I heard him utter something that made me stop.

"That's okay, actually, I was wondering if Captain was here. Jean was supposed to pick him up from my apartment and drop him off at the vet's while I was at work but he's not in my apartment and well, I really doubt he's with Jean." he said rubbing the back of his neck with a shy laugh and I almost felt myself smirk.

"Like I said, come in." was all I said as I continued retreating back into my apartment knowing Eren would follow me and my assumptions were confirmed when I heard the door to my apartment shut softly behind me as I walked into the kitchen to get Eren a glass of water.

I waited for him to come around the Kitchen Island, when he finally did I handed him a glass of water and he chugged it down like he'd been walking through a desert for weeks. I found his enthusiasm refreshing though as I watched out of the corner of my eye the way his adam's apple bobbed up and down as he drank. God, stop it Levi. You're starting to sound like such a fucking creep.

I poured myself a cup of tea and leaned against the counter top opposite of my kitchen island and cleared my throat but just as I was about to speak, Captain came trotting into the room stealing the spotlight. The little shit.

Eren took notice of him quickly and bent down picking him up and tickling the cat under it's chin making him purr softly and crane it's neck up so the fingers could stroke the fluffy white fur on it's chest. I thought it was a funny sight to see considering the cat always looked so grumpy and bored with everything, seeing him act like a baby in Eren's arms was kind of, dare I say it, cute.

"Your boyfriend came by my apartment earlier looking for your cat." I said before taking a sip of my tea.

Eren's eyes widened as he turned his attention back toward me. I couldn't tell if he was surprised or horrified at what I just said, maybe both but just as quickly as his eyes had widened they went back their normal size which was still pretty wide but at least now he looked less... surprised? Yeah, surprised.

"So, Captain was here. I kind of figured, he always comes over here in the afternoons." Eren said stroking the cats fur furthering it's purring.

"Yeah, well he told me you sent him to come pick Captain up to take him to the vet. Because I know how much your cat hates your boyfriend, I offered to take him to the vet myself. I didn't actually think your boyfriend would really dump your cat on me." I said crossing my arms across my chest.

If I thought he looked horrified before, I was wrong. Now he just looked downright mortified and shocked like I had just told him that Santa Clause or the Easter Bunny wasn't real. God, did I think he was cute. I really need to re-think my life choices right now.

"He did what!?" Eren asked almost screaming. I was a little surprised by the rise in his voice but I didn't let it show on my face. Kid had a good set of lungs, that's for sure.

"He left me with your cat and I had to take him to his appointment. Rose Pet Clinic, Marco, Freckles, short little blonde named Kirsta that smiles too much. Ring any bells?" I drawled raising an eyebrow at him. He was still staring at me like I was speaking gibberish and I sighed fishing for something in my back pocket.

I pulled out the printed receipt from the vet's with all Captain's information from today's visit, including the total cost of his check up and I placed it on the counter top in front of Eren so he could see it for himself. He took the paper in his hands and squinted a bit as he read, again, I couldn't help but think that was kind of cute. Fuck, this was really getting out of hand. Everything he did I thought was cute but there was no way I could be attracted to him in that way, I mean I'm straight. I've never been attracted to other men before.

I was snapped from my reverie when Eren sighed, practically growled and buried his face in his hands. I could only assume that he was either seething with anger or burning red with embarrassment. Damn his hands blocking my view, I wanted to see what his reaction was.

"I can't believe him, that fucking moron... I knew he sounded way too calm when I called him and asked him how everything went." he said through muffled hands.

So, the dumbass tried to take credit for taking the cat to the vet anyway. He really was an idiot then if he thought I was so nice of a person not to say anything. Sorry, Sea Biscuit. I'm actually the biggest asshole you'll ever meet.

Finally, Eren looked up at me. Big, blue-green eyes sparkling as he gave me an apologetic look and folded the paper up into neat folds before tucking it in the back pocket of his torn blue jeans. I could already tell he was going to try and offer to pay me back, but I had other plans in mind.

"I am so sorry, Levi. Jean is an idiot and I'll totally make him pay you back for the vet fee, I can't believe he did that." he said with heavy sigh as one of his hands went to thread through his brown hair that was slightly damp with sweat.

"Oh, and he also called me 'short and furious'." I added casually reaching for my tea cup and cradling it in my hand as I took a sip. I was actually surprised Eren had never asked me why I hold my cup by the rim by now but then again maybe I was just being narcissistic in thinking he paid any attention to me the way I paid attention to most things he did.

The face Eren made after I told him about his boyfriends little insult was absolutely fucking priceless. I wish I could have taken a picture and saved it as my phone wallpaper. His eyes went wide again, his mouth hung open in complete disbelief and his cheeks were flushing furiously. His mouth opened and closed several times like a fish flapping around on land in need of air and he struggled to find something, anything to say.

"Oh my god... I'm going to kill him." he mumbled burying his face in his hands again and this time I had to hide my smirk in my cup and resist the urge to laugh because shit this was too much fun. Eren had the best reactions and I could probably watch him make random faces for hours. Suddenly, he looked up from his hands and I almost choked on my tea trying to hide the obvious smirk that was on my face. I hadn't been expecting him to look up and stare at me so suddenly.

"Levi, let me pay you back somehow. My boyfriends an idiot and there's probably nothing that can fix his stupid but I'll do anything you ask me to. I'm just... so fucking sorry oh my god." he said almost in a whine and I found even that annoying sound endearing.

Still, I had him where I wanted him. It was as good a time as any to carry out my whole intention from the beginning. I put my cup of tea down once more and wrapped an arm around my waist as I cleared my throat and straightened myself up a bit. Looking back into those big, doe eyes of Eren's I spoke.

"Well, since you're offering..." I started before I pushed off from the counter and padded toward my living room plopping down on the sofa and getting comfortable. "I want you to sing."

Eren's eyes trailed after me but he never moved from his spot by the kitchen island, he only blinked a few times as if taking the time to see if I had actually just said what I said and then he smiled.

"Is that all?" he asked cheerfully, seemingly relieved about something. What that something was I haven't a fucking clue but damn him and his beautiful smile.

"That's all." I said bringing my knees up to my chest.

"I'll go get my guitar, I'll be right back." he said as he rushed out my apartment door, Captain staying behind as he leaped up to sit next to me on the couch.

Now that Eren wasn't in the room, I finally realized my heart was pounding loudly in my ears and chest. I hadn't noticed before because I was so distracted with Eren but now that I was momentarily alone I felt nervous, jittery almost. There was something that kept nagging at me in the back of my mind but I was doing my best to ignore it. I didn't want to acknowledge these feelings but at the same time I couldn't ignore them. To put it simply, I was a little terrified of what these sudden feelings might mean if I were to let myself think about it for too long.

Thankfully, Eren came back shortly snapping me from my deepening thoughts and I noticed that he had changed his shirt (thank god) and his hair was tied back into a loose ponytail. The new look was doing nothing to calm my racing heart as I couldn't tear my gaze away from him. The slightly disheveled look suited him, I thought. Then again, Eren just pulled messy off so well.

He took a seat on the rug a few feet away from the couch I sat on and he smiled up at me. From this angle, the sunlight pouring in from the small opening in my shades reflected all the colors in his eyes and I was momentarily stunned. I did my best to try and name all the colors in his eyes, deep blues and vivid green stuck out the most but what caught my eyes by surprise really was the faint ring of gold around the center of his pupil. It was faint but it was definitely there.

"Do you have any requests?" he asked suddenly snapping me out of my stunned silence and I blinked at him.

"Not really. Anything is fine by me. You pick something." I said after a moment of thought. I honestly wasn't very knowledgeable when it came to music and really Eren could be singing the ABC's to me and I wouldn't care.

Eren sat there in thought for a moment, stretching his strings absently with his thumb and index finger before plucking them one at a time softly. I found the absent strumming comforting in a way and gave him the time needed to come up with a song. Then, a minute later his face lit up as an idea hit him and he beamed up at me.

"Okay, I have one I've been wanting to try out. I hear it everyday at work, I've never sang it before so you can be my guinea pig." he said with a little laugh and I couldn't help but smirk.

"If it sounds like shit I'm kicking you and your cat out of my apartment." I said teasingly with no real heat behind my words. Eren only laughed in response before he got to work tuning his guitar a bit and testing out each note before he started.

I fell into silence allowing him work as I took the moment to let my eyes wander over his slender fingers moving up and down as they plucked away at the steel strings. It was only then that I noticed how big his hands were, probably bigger than my own but that little fact didn't bother me at all really. I got lost in the sounds of his guitar as he played a soft tune.

"I fell in love with a boy in blue"

"I don't know why but I felt like I could fly when he was near... this will not do...

He carried out the last word with a breath in between and I found myself holding my own breath as he continued to sing. His voice low and soft and tender in a way I couldn't explain.

"I fell in love with hands on you"

"Slender, sincere, I shy, I disappear"

"Oh, he is dear. If he only knew..."

"Will he see what's becoming of me? I'm a paddle."

"Will he please come and tend to me, I'm a willow, weeping willow..."

He was now gently swaying from side to side as he paused briefly glancing up at me with a smile and it was only then that I was felt myself swaying gently along with him. I felt slightly embarrassed at being caught but forgot my embarrassment when he started to sing again.

"Do you think that I am pretty?"

"Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't"

"Look at me, tell me honestly"

Yes. I wanted to answer. I think you're damn beautiful and I hate myself for thinking like this. I felt that nagging something again in the back of mind start to creep up on me and as Eren continued on into the chorus I came to a frightening realization but I was too caught up in watching the way his lips moved with every word to acknowledge my new findings.

""Will he see what's becoming of me? I'm a paddle."

"Will he please come and tend to me, I'm a willow, weeping willow..."

(aah ah ah ah ah)

His voice faded out until it just the soft tune of his guitar playing out in the silence of my apartment and I kept my eyes trained on his ever moving fingers. I was fascinated by the way they seemed to be gliding over each string before plucking it gently while his other hand curled it's fingers into the frets pressing steel string into worn out wood on the neck and I was lost in all the movements. His lips no longer moving but a low hum coming from deep within his chest and throat and it was a soothing sound.

Then it all faded out and there was silence once more. I hadn't realized that I had been staring a hole into the rug where Eren sat until he gently called my name and I looked up at him.

"How was it?" he asked with a nervous smile while one of his hands trailed up to twist as a loose lock of his long brown hair tickling his neck.

I watched him fiddle with the lock of hair before my eyes trailed back over to meet his unsure gaze and I held it for a moment or two leaning back into the back of couch and inhaling sharply through my nose.

"Obviously it wasn't bad if you're still sitting there, do you really need to ask dumbass?" I said with a little sigh like the answer was supposed to be that obvious. I was so terrible with communicating. Why couldn't I just say it was beautiful and I want to hear him sing all the time? Oh right, because I'm a loser and Eren would probably think I'm a creepy old man if I ever said something like that.

"Of course I have to ask. I want to make sure you liked it even if you didn't actually kick me out of your apartment like you said you would." he said with a crooked grin and head tilt causing his messy bangs to fall into his eyes.

I only snorted and tossed one of my couch cushions at him earning me a laugh as he caught it in his free hand. I really liked his laugh. Damn it, I was doing it again. Why did I always notice the dumbest things about him? It annoyed me to no end.

"So, are we even now?" he asked after a beat of comfortable silence between us. He stood up bringing his guitar with him and honestly, I didn't want him to leave just yet. I wanted to sit and talk with him a little more and maybe even hear him sing a little more but I knew I was just being selfish.

"Not really, but I'll consider us even for now." I said standing up from my spot on the couch stretching my legs. They felt slightly numb from sitting in a strange position for too long.

Eren only shook his head but I could still his a wide smile on his face as he made a move toward my apartment door. I didn't need to pick Captain up to carry him out with us as he followed Eren and I out the door quietly. That was new, I thought.

Eren stopped outside my door in the hallway and turned back to look at me. His smile had lessened but only by a little, he still had a pretty goofy looking smile on his face as I stood with my arms crossed in the doorway.

"I'm still going to tell Jean to pay you back for Captain's vet fee. That idiot, I still can't believe he did that." he said with a huff and a shake of his head. "Anyway, thanks for taking care of Captain today. I'll see you later, Levi." he gave a small wave before he started walking back toward his apartment, Captain following slowly behind in no real rush to go anywhere.

I gave a small wave back as Eren's back retreated and I soon did the same shutting the door behind me and leaned against it suddenly being overwhelmed by the silence of my apartment. I mean, it was always like that but today for some reason the silence was almost suffocating. I found myself craving noise for once but not just any noise, I wanted the noise to be Eren's. The sound of his voice, or his guitar or his laughter.

I sighed pushing myself away from the door, dragging my feet as I carried myself into my kitchen to start cooking dinner for myself. It was already late I normally ate dinner earlier than this but today had been a strange day over all. Since Eren moved in, my normally strict routine was thrown off in every way possible. I still woke up at 5AM and went for my usual run but now I found myself trying to make time to see my new neighbor whenever I could. It was almost sickening.

It had probably only come to my realization today as the sun reflected in Eren's eyes when he looked up at me, the ring of gold at the center of those sea green eyes. The way my heart starts to pound whenever he creeps into my thoughts at any given time of the day. I didn't want to acknowledge that little nagging voice in my head because I already knew what it had been telling me all along. I like Eren.

I sighed as I no longer had the desire to cook anymore. I had just been pacing in my kitchen for the last minute as I was lost in thought so I eventually settled on making a phone call instead. I couldn't call Hanji and tell her about this, no way in hell. She'd never let me hear the end of it so I called the only other person I knew I could trust not to judge me for what I needed to get off my chest.

I searched through my contacts and selected a number pressing the phone to my ear and listening to the line ring a couple of times. On the third ring, there was a deep, warm voice that answered and I instantly felt a relief wash over me.

"Levi?" Erwin called from the other end of the line.

"Are you free right now? I could really use a bottle of wine and a bad movie night." I asked.

I heard Erwin hum an approving noise over the phone and I told him I'd be over in 30 minutes before hanging up. I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell Erwin about my newly discovered feelings toward my new neighbor but I did know that I needed to get out for a bit and just get my mind off of things.

I threw on a black leather jacket because the sun would be gone from the sky in about an hour anyway and the nights were normally cooler than the days and I grabbed my keys and wallet off the kitchen island striding toward the door. As I stood in the hallway fumbling with my keys so I could lock my door, I glanced over toward Eren's door and stared at it for a moment. I didn't even have to see him or hear him to have my heart pounding away in my chest again.

Just knowing that he was right behind that door, living right next to me with nothing but a single wall to separate us it got my blood pumping and I felt like an idiot for being happy about knowing Eren was my neighbor. I got to see him everyday, well almost everyday, but that was enough for me. Sure, I hated his boyfriend's cuts and thought he deserved someone better but at that time I let my mind wander to dangerous territory. What if that 'someone better' could be me?

I quickly shook those thoughts away as I focused on locking my door. A night out at Erwin's place getting piss faced was definitely what I needed right now. I was mentally exhausted from all this damn thinking and I didn't want to think about my feelings for my hot neighbor anymore. No, I would force myself to focus on something else for tonight. Wine.

Chapter Text

Captain's POV

Tuna. I love Tuna. My human doesn't always give me tuna, but this Levi human does. Today is no different, I wandered into his home as usual and made myself comfortable on his couch. It wasn't as comfortable as my human's couch but it would do. Ever since we moved to this new neighborhood I've made it a habit to sneak over to the neighbor's whenever I could.

At first it was just to get away from all the noise my human was making moving around furniture all day, I was just trying to take a nap for fuck's sake but my human insisted on moving our things around in this new place. Naturally, I sought refuge in the apartment next door. At first, I didn't think this human was going to let me in. He didn't look very welcoming, compared to my human but well, I guess I shouldn't be one to judge.

After all, my human named me Captain because he said I have a scary face. I didn't mind the name so much as the reason for it, at least he didn't name me something stupid as fuck like 'Fluffy' or 'Mr. Jingles'. Anyway, this Levi human ended up letting me in after a long stare down. He didn't seem so bad, I liked him better than that other human that's always around my human Eren. I never cared to remember his name, he had a long face and liked to pull on my tail. Note to self, claw his fucking long face off next time he stays over.

Levi was fluttering about his apartment, he was carrying around this stick with feathers on the end and it immediately caught my attention. I followed the movements of the feathery thing in his hands carefully, he was using it to brush something off of some nice looking shelves I thought were perfect for napping. Eren should get some of those for me, I thought. But forget that, why was he using that feather thing to brush dust off of those shelves? Humans were so fucking weird. That's why I never bother to try and understand their ways.

I meowed Levi's name to get his attention but he ignored me. Stupid fucking humans, were they so dumb that they couldn't learn their own names? I meowed a little more loudly this time swishing my tail a bit in aggravation and I seemed to get his attention this time. I hopped off the couch and sauntered over to weave myself between his legs, my way of telling him I wanted some more of that delicious Tuna he always give me on a plate. Normally, I wasn't so affectionate with humans. But shit, this guy has Tuna. I'll roll over and play dead or fetch if he wants me to, just give me the tuna.

I pawed at his foot and he glared down at me seemingly annoyed and I glared back at him as well. We glared at each other a lot I noticed but I always won, because I'm fucking awesome like that. I heard him sigh before maneuvering himself out of my body tangled round his legs, he placed the feathery thing down on a chair and I stared it longingly. Levi then crouched down closer to me and stroked my fur. I would allow him to do so this time because I knew I was getting my way.

"Oi, you little shit. Stop that damn meowing, it's distracting me."

Well, I wouldn't have to keep meowing if you knew how to answer your own fucking name you stupid human. But well, not all humans can be trained like my human. Eren always comes when I call for him. I lifted one of my front paws and lifted it up to his knee while meowing again. 'Where's the Tuna you piece of shit human? Give it to me now.'

"What? Are you hungry? Shit, doesn't Eren feed you properly?"

'Enough talk, human. Give me the fucking tuna, now. That's an order.' I meow at him again and that seems to be the last little pushed needed as he groans and walks into the kitchen. Finally. I've only been telling him I want Tuna since the moment I fucking got here. I would have to train this human like I trained mine. Humans are imbeciles who can't even speak cat and yet we cat's can understand them perfectly. Well, almost perfectly. Sometimes there are things I don't understand but I at least understand the most important things like my name for one, Tuna for another, food, milk, you get the idea.

The short human Levi went looking for something in his refrigerator and I followed him closely. I poked my head around his legs to look at the contents of his fridge and was thoroughly impressed. 'Not bad.' His fridge was actually well stocked, unlike Eren's fridge. He pulled out something that looked like it was wrapped in white paper and my eyes followed the packaged thing carefully as he closed the fridge door with his foot and set the large wrapped something on top of the counter. I hopped on the counter top on the opposite side of him and he shot me a glare that I paid no mind to. My focus was completely on the white paper wrapped thing that smelled like heaven.

He slowly and carefully unwrapped the white paper pulling it back to reveal fresh cuts of Salmon and I licked my whiskers unconsciously at the sight. My tail swished from side to side in anticipation, I was completely enamored with the raw pieces of salmon sitting prettily on the counter. I had half a mind to just leap over and snatch a piece up of the raw piece of fish, my old street cat habits bubbling up as the idea seemed more and more tempting but I did my best to restrain myself. I had better fucking control than this, I wasn't a starving alley cat anymore. So I waited, and waited, and waited... fuck this.

Eventually I gave in and meowed loudly watching the human as he took a big knife and started slicing the salmon into thin pieces. I meowed again leaping down from the counter top and rubbed up against Levi's legs relentlessly. 'Human, I command you to drop the fucking fish. Now.' I meowed hoping to will his hand to drop the entire fish to the ground.

"Tch! God damn it, wait a minute. You can't be that fucking hungry you wild beast." the human hissed but he didn't try to kick me away so I gave up my act of trying to will him to drop a piece and opted for standing on my hind legs stretching my body up against the cabinet to sniff at the paper wrapped salmon he was still slicing. I was too short to see over the counter top, being a small cat in size had it's disadvantages I guess.

"Don't even think about it, if you jump up here while I have my back turned I'll skin you alive and use your fur as a scarf." he threatened taking a step back from the counter top and the salmon giving me a warning glare that I returned in full.

Fuck you, I'll jump up and take the fish if I want... but well, I decided not to in the end. He seemed to have something planned for the fish and I was curious to find out how he would prepare it. Personally, I didn't mind eating it raw but well humans were different and by different I mean fucking savages. They ruined most things like raw fish and chicken by frying it or something and I found it gross. Nothing was better than the raw, fresh taste of fish or meat.

Levi bent down and pulled out a large pan like the kind I'd seen my human use before so I more or less had an idea how it worked. You put food in it and it cooked, simple as that. The human put it over a flame on the stove and poured some kind of strange colored liquid in the pan and it slightly popped startling me but my curiosity got the better of me and I took my place back on the counter top where I sat before overlooking what Levi was doing from a safe distance.

I licked my whiskers as I watched his hand reach for the sliced pieces of salmon and transfer it over toward the pan and I heard him chuckle as he glanced up at me every now and then. Does this guy have a death wish? I'll claw his face right off.

"Here. A reward for being patient and for not attacking the fish while I wasn't looking. Don't get used to it, flea bag." Had he not been just about to hand me a piece of raw Salmon right now, I would have bit him for the 'flea bag' comment. I do not have fleas you fucking asshole. Eren gives me a bath every week.

I forgot about his little insult when the piece of salmon was now dangling right in front of me and I snatched it up in my paw scarfing it down all too quickly and slowly for my taste. I heard the short human chuckle again as he watched me eat the piece of salmon happily. It wasn't tuna but just as good if not better. I was getting a little annoyed at having this human staring at me with a smug look on his face so I turned my back to face him once I was done with my piece of salmon. I proceeded to groom myself clean and lick my paws, still able to taste the lingering salmon flavor between my pads. Mmm.

"Hoh? Are you upset because I was laughing?" I heard him say from behind me, I didn't have to turn around to see the smug look on his face, I could practically hear it and I hissed lightly and showed my teeth to express my annoyance with him before leaping off the counter top.

I don't need this shit. I'm taking a nap. I jumped up onto the couch and curled up into a tiny ball in the spot I knew the human didn't like for me to sleep on. Too fucking bad for you, this is now my spot. I drifted off into a light sleep, my ears twitching at the soft noises coming from the kitchen. I wasn't sure how many minutes went by but when I heard the clinking of what sounded like a familiar plate on the tiled floor my head quickly shot up and I searched my immediate surroundings.

Levi had placed a plate of cooked salmon on the ground with the plate he usually gave me tuna in. That was my cue to dig in. I jumped off from the couch, trotting over toward the plate and lowering myself as I sniffed the heavenly smelling fish mixed with some other smells I couldn't really identify but they didn't smell awful and so I dug in. Salmon, salmon, salmon. Ah fuck, I think I have a new obsession.

I hardly noticed that the human Levi was sitting at a table with a plate of his own salmon although his looked slightly different from mine and he was chewing quietly. He didn't bother me while I was trying to eat and I appreciated that. Most humans, like some of Eren's friends, just loved to fuck with me while I was trying to eat in peace. One in particular was a girl named Mikasa. I liked her about as much as I liked the long faced human that was always over at our apartment which was, I didn't like her at all and I could tell she didn't like me. She wasn't as bad as long face who liked to physically annoy me by pulling my tail or my whiskers but she liked to insult me a lot and even though I couldn't speak their native tongue doesn't mean I don't fucking understand it.

"How is it, shitty cat? Bet it's good." I heard the low hum of Levi's voice say from across the room but I ignored him.

'Silence, peasant. Don't bother me when I'm fucking eating.' Ah, yes. Levi would make a fine servant, he could be my personal chef while Eren tends to my every whim. I could see it now. I was so engrossed in my meal that I hadn't noticed it was all gone until my tongue was licking whatever was left of my beloved salmon from the plate and I almost cried because that Salmon was delicious and heavenly.

When I was finished, I trotted over toward Levi who had also finished his meal and was cleaning up after himself and I hopped up into his lap nuzzling up against his chest and allowing my tail to curl around his arm as I arched my back against him. 'You did well, stupid human. Maybe you have potential after all.' I purred. That's about as good of a 'Thank you' as you'll ever get from me.

"What's this? Is this your way of thanking me for feeding you half of my expensive Salmon? Damn cat." he grumbled but he placed a hand on the back of my head and stroked back back softly. "Well... at least your fur will look nice and shiny with the salmon." I heard him say under his breath.

Ah, yes. Tuna always left my fur sleek and oh so shiny so I could only imagine what the salmon will do to it. The other cats in the neighborhood will be fucking jealous of me. Suck it you other bitches. I hopped off of Levi's lap allowing him to pick up our plates so that he could clean them. It seems like he wasn't entirely untrained, he simply lacked respect.

Then a soft knocking at the door alerted me to my human's presence and I ran toward the door. Not because I was eager to see Eren or anything... he's just a little later picking me up today is all but I'll forgive him since I got salmon because of it. I pawed and meowed softly at the door and heard Levi utter a 'Hold on!' from the kitchen before he jogged into the hallway drying his hands on a dish rag.

As soon as the door opened I slipped out and wrapped my body around my human's legs nearly tripping him as he stumbled back catching his footing awkwardly and scolding me gently.

"Jesus, Captain. I could have stepped on you. Silly cat." he bent down and picked me up in his arms stroking my fur in the process and I relished at the contact. Nobody knew how to stroke me like Eren did, he knew all my sweet spots and- oh fuck there it was. Ooooh yeah, right under the chin. I curved my neck up into his touch and his finger immediately found the fluff of my chest and I let out a chain of pleased purrs. Yes, I had trained my human well.

I heard him exchange a few words with Levi, a laugh from my human and I glanced back at the shorter human who was staring at mine like a moonstruck moron. Honestly... could he be anymore fucking obvious about liking my human? 'Just mate with him already you idiot. I'll allow it since you gave me salmon.' I meowed earning his attention.

He reached up and stroked my whiskers softly, hey, I didn't ask to be petted you jerk... it still felt nice though. I wouldn't mind if my human got together with this human, actually. Then I could eat delicious food everyday instead of just fucking cat food all the time. And Levi didn't nearly annoy me as much as the long face human, I would give anything if my human would just get rid of that guy already. My poor fucking tail couldn't take anymore abuse.

"Hold on a second." I heard the shorter human say before he disappeared back into the apartment.

Eren looked down at me curiously and I returned his gaze with my usual glare. 'Don't look at me, you fucking moron. I don't know why he wants you to wait.' I huffed squirming out of his hold and he eventually put me down on the ground. I circled around him a few times before Levi finally returned with that familiar white paper wrapped package in his hands and my ears perked up. That was the fucking salmon, give it me! Right now, damn it!

I licked my whiskers as I settled into a semi-crouching position ready to pounce on the other human if he didn't hand the salmon over nice and slow like. No, not nice and slow like just give it here you damn human. He handed the package to Eren and I wilted at that, if I jumped Eren for the salmon I'd end up hurting him or something so instead I sat quietly by his feet.

"Your cat seems to have a thing for Salmon. I made some for lunch and gave him a bit but I still have a lot of it left over and I don't think I'll use it. It's too much for me anyway."

'Say yes to the salmon, Eren. Or so help me, I'll make your life a living hell.' I threatened with a low meow, my tail swishing from side to side hoping to get my point across.

"Are you sure, Levi? This is a lot of Salmon, I'd feel bad if I just, you know, took it from you." my idiotic human said and I swatted a paw at his shoe lace.

'Oi, you stupid ass human of mine. Take the fish! Don't make me go up there...'

"It's fine, dumbass. Just take it, besides. You can use it for Captain's lunch or something tomorrow. The Salmon will do his fur some justice."

'Listen to the short man, Eren. He knows what he's talking about. Take.The.Fish!'

"Well... if you say so. Thanks, Levi. This will make for a great dinner too. I'll have to look up some recipes online for sure."

'Salmon! Salmon! Salmon!' I cheered from below but my cheering went unnoticed.

"I could give you a few recipes... if you want, that is." I noticed the tension in Levi's shoulders as he shifted from foot to foot. Oi, just kiss him already dumb human. I know he wants to and I won't claw his face off if he tried.

"Really? That would be great! Thanks, Levi! Well, we should go. See you later!" and with that we were on our way.

Once back in the comfort of my own home, I hopped onto the old bulky sofa of Eren's immediately getting comfortable in my usual spot in the corner tucked away between a thick cushion. I yawned feeling sleepy and full from eating all that Salmon, I mean I could still eat more. Definitely eat more salmon, but I would rather save it for tomorrow. I watched with narrowed eyes as Eren put the wrapped fish into our fridge before he turned to look at me with a smile.

"Did you have a nice day at Levi's?" he asked walking over to me and planting himself down on the opposite side of the sofa.

'Eren, you do realize I'm a cat? I can't actually fucking talk and tell you about my day. You know that, right?' I meowed back but of course the idiot only smiles at me because he doesn't actually know what I just said.

"You sure like Levi a lot, huh? He's actually pretty nice isn't he?" he said pulling his old beat up guitar out from it's case that rested just behind the sofa and he began making those soft noises that lulled me to sleep quickly.

I yawned feeling beat and tired and I settled into my place on the sofa more comfortably tucking in my paws underneath me. Humans are so fucking weird, I probably thought that 10 times a day or more since I was a kitten. Yes, the human called Levi was actually pretty nice and yes I could tolerate him much more than the other humans Eren called 'friends'.

As I drifted off slowly, I came to a thought. I would get my human together with that other human because why the fuck not? The guy had access to salmon and my human was the perfect servant. Put two and two together and I have the perfect set up. Yes, this was a good idea and I would fucking do it. Just try and stop me, world. I drifted off into a light cat nap, dreaming of giant pieces of salmon and the sounds of my human playing that strange thing he called a guitar only now my dream included one more new face. A human named Levi.

Chapter Text

The cat was out of the bag. Erwin knew about my crush on my new neighbor and fucking shit I had nobody to blame but myself. I knew I probably shouldn't have gotten shit faced while at his place that weekend but I was so damn frustrated. Half a bottle of wine had me pouring my feelings out to my best friend and now I was wallowing in my own self-pity.

Erwin didn't say anything about it, of course he didn't. Not that I was really expecting him to if I was being honest. I knew that if I did end up confiding these feelings with someone, Erwin would be the ideal choice. The guy had the patience of Jesus fucking Christ, I don't know how he was always so calm and fucking collected. Then again, he's not the one having a god damn identity crisis over here.

I had come to terms with the fact that, yes I did like Eren in that way but I since then I had convinced myself that my attraction toward my new neighbor was purely superficial. I liked him because he was nice to look at, beautiful eyes, nice smile that was it. It was simply a silly crush over the hot new neighbor and I would eventually get over it.

At least, that's what I tried to tell myself as I walked down Rose Avenue preoccupied with my thoughts. Erwin had invited me out this Sunday afternoon for Coffee at this new place he discovered a few weeks ago. Coffee shops also made me think of Eren. I sighed heavily as I rounded a corner and saw the building I was looking for come into view. The Shoreline Cafe and Bookshop.

I thought the name was weird from the moment Erwin mentioned it to me but I thought nothing of it until now. The shop itself looked normal enough, big glass picture window in the front surrounded by brick and a white french door that led inside. It looked small from the outside and I wondered what could have possibly caught Erwin's interest about such a quaint little store. I made my way across the street and entered the cafe, a little bell signaling my arrival and the immediate aroma of fresh coffee beans filled my nostrils.

I was surprised by the interior to say the least. I thought it was small from the outside but the average looking face of the building deceived the interior by a mile. The first thing that immediately caught my eye was the giant mural behind the counter. It was a painting of the Ocean with a setting sun on the horizon, the sky at the top was painted in rich reds and oranges that clashed perfectly against the vivid blues and greens of the ocean water below it. It was breathtaking and I couldn't help but be reminded of a certain pair of Caribbean blue eyes that always seemed to haunt me as I stared at the mural.

The familiar sound of Erwin's deep voice called me back to reality as I felt him place a heavy hand on my shoulder. I whipped my head to the side to look at him and he was smiling down at me, the bastard. I also didn't miss the fact that he wasn't wearing his usual boring military style clothing today meaning he wasn't wearing just a crisp army green button up and perfectly pressed khakis. Today he was wearing a tight white short sleeved polo that showed off his bulging muscles, show off, I had muscles too but you don't see me parading that fact around. Paired with that polo was a pair of black jeans that were probably the tightest I'd ever seen him wear, no scratch that, I don't think I've ever actually seen him wear jeans at all.

I looked up at his face again and only then noticed he was wearing his reading glasses. Okay, now I was really confused. He's wearing his reading glasses, dressed like some rich teenage douche bag on his way to his parents country club and he had invited me out to this cafe/bookstore and I honestly just had no idea what was going on anymore. I felt like I was in some fucked up alternate universe.

"Levi, you made it. What do you think?" he asked me with an even wider grin and I sucked my teeth loudly.

"I think you're starting to creep me out, eyebrows. Why the hell are you dressed like that?" he moved one of his large hands to the small of my back and started guiding me to the counter to place our orders I guessed.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Levi. I always dress like this when I'm out on the town." he said with a childish pout and I crossed my arms over my chest rolling my eyes. 'Sure, you do.' I thought but my mind suddenly went blank when the barista came to take our orders and I was met with familiar blue and green eyes.

"Welcome to The Shoreline Cafe and Bookstore! My name is Eren, what would you like toda-" the barista's voice trailed off as I saw his eyes widen with realization and then he smiled that damn bright smile of his and my heart immediately started thumping wildly in my chest. Eren was here. Eren worked here.

"Oh, it's you Erwin and ...Levi?" he asked excitedly and I swore I gulped so loudly that he could probably hear it across the counter. I also thanked whatever god was out there for my natural sense of fashion as I had decided to dress decently today instead of just a plain t-shirt and jeans. Who would have thought I'd end up running into my crush of all people.

"Eren, do you two know each other?" Erwin asked feigning innocence and I swear if we were not standing right in front of my hot neighbor I would have strangled him because not once did he tell me that he actually knew my next door neighbor.

He shot me a knowing look before smirking and I tried to show how much I hated him right now with my glare alone but I don't think it worked because the dumbass only smiled wider and turned back to start chatting up my crush.

"Oh, well yeah I guess you could say that. Levi and I are neighbors honestly but he's always helping me out with my cat." Eren answered with a shy smile and my heart nearly stopped. God, he was too cute and I hated Erwin because the bastard was probably enjoying seeing me squirm right now.

"Eren. You and Annie should go prepare for your number, I'll handle the counter until you come back." a new voice I didn't recognize said from behind Eren as someone came down the spiral staircase in the back.

It was a short blond boy who looked even younger than Eren and I couldn't help but notice how Erwin seemed to light up as the blond boy approached Eren on the other side of the counter. Erwin was completely fixated on the little blondie and it was only then that I realize... Oh. So that's why he was dressed like this. Oh man, I had to hold back a snicker as I watched him out of the corner of my eyes.

"Oh, hello Erwin. It's nice to see you here again. Are you here to book shop?" the little blond kid asked as he addressed Erwin with a smile that made his already youthful face look even younger and I couldn't help but think he was kind of adorable. Not necessarily my type, but apparently he was Erwin's which I found surprising.

"Good afternoon, Armin. Actually, I'm here for the coffee today. I brought along a good friend of mine as well. I think you'll be seeing him more often as well, right Levi?" Erwin said with a big, goof grin as he gripped my shoulder firmly making me wince slightly at the painful squeeze he gave me.

Once again I glared up at him and proceeded to shake his hand off my shoulder before glancing over at the short blond named Armin who was not actually as short as I thought he was, in fact I think he had a few centimeters on me. How sad, I thought.

"Oh! Well, I sure hope to see you again. So, what can I get you gentlemen? Eren, Annie is upstairs." Armin said as he tied green apron around his waist. I'd only noticed that he was wearing a cream colored button up with a light blue cardigan but my attention from drawn elsewhere as Erwin placed our orders.

Eren leaned over the counter toward me motioning for me to do the same and I complied. I felt his warm breath ghost over the shell of my ear and had to fight back to the shudder that wanted to break out all over my body down to my toes as he whispered.

"Stick around for awhile if you can, I'm about to perform on the small stage over there in a few minutes." he pulled back smiling and nodded his head toward a small stage in the corner that was well lit. I hadn't noticed it until he pointed it out there was a stood situated in the center of it and a mic stand as well.

I gave him a nod as I leaned back into my previous position and with that he hurried off toward the spiral staircase leading to another floor and disappeared from my sight. I was then forced to turn my attention back to Erwin and his blond eye candy as they exchanged friendly chit-chat over the counter. I noticed the faintest of blushes on Armin's cheeks as Erwin spoke to him about some book they both apparently liked, I couldn't help but think the two nerds were perfect for each other.

Erwin was being quite the charmer today and I knew I would have to interrogate him on this Armin kid as soon as we got some privacy. Like hell I was going to let him have all the fun in teasing me, if he was going to be a little shit about my crush on Eren then I was going to get pay back by embarrassing him in front of Armin if I had to.

Once their idle chit chat was over, Armin prepared our drinks; a Caffè Americano for Erwin and a Red eye for me. Armin told us we could take our seats and that he'd bring our drinks to us shortly which I thought was different from usual cafe's but wasn't about to protest. Erwin and I grabbed a table closer to the small stage, courtesy of me, and not even a minute after we had gotten comfortable at our table I cornered my prey.

"So, that Armin kid..." I started slowly catching the way his eyes flashed up at me and then back down at the book he had picked up along the way. When had he gotten that?

"What about Armin?" he asked nonchalantly, the bastard. He really knew how to evade a subject.

"Cut the bullshit, Erwin. You got the hots for that kid, it's so obvious." I snapped as calmly as I could under the circumstances and crossed my arms over my chest as I glared at my best friend who didn't seem at all bothered by it.

"Levi, can we talk about this another time? I brought you here today because of Eren, not for you to bug me about my friendship with Armin." he said with a firm, even tone that thinly veiled the authoritative warning tone hidden underneath his words.

"Friendship, right. I wasn't aware that friendship meant wanting to get into each other's pants." I snorted rolled my eyes at him.

"Levi, please. We'll talk about this another time." he said with an exasperated sigh as he removed his reading glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. Good, I'm glad I was annoying him even just a little. He deserved it.

Just then Armin came with our drinks piping hot on a tray and he carefully set our cups down. He exchanged a few more friendly words with Erwin before getting on his way and I didn't miss the chance to poke some more fun at Erwin about his little crush before suddenly a heard him clear his voice and nod his head toward the stage with a little smirk of his own.

I directed my attention toward the stage and saw Eren taking a seat on the single stool placed there, only now a second mic stand had been placed next to him and a short blonde girl with an aloof expression was bringing another stool onstage. I ignored the girl for the meantime and took in what Eren was wearing today. I hadn't gotten a good look since he was behind the counter and wearing that green apron from before.

He was currently wearing a black beanie over his messy brown hair but I could still see it's unruly locks peaking out from underneath it, a blink 182 shirt that fit him nicely even though I hated that band and faded, worn out blue jeans that weren't too tight but hugged his long legs nicely. I thought the look was so very Eren like but aside from his shitty tastes in bands, I liked his outfit altogether.

I saw him glance over toward Erwin and I and give a little smile and I caught myself smiling back as well. I quickly schooled my expression back into it's usual impassive look but the damage had already been done, Erwin was chuckling quietly into his cup and I came so damn close to just dumping my entire cup of hot coffee onto his dick but that would be wasting a good cup of coffee so I chose to flip him the bird instead. My eyes stayed trained on Eren however as he and the short blonde girl got situated.

I noticed how some younger girls in the cafe also moved closer toward the stage. I could tell they were checking Eren out as they stared before looking away and giggling to their other friends. Probably saying some cliche shit about how cute he is or something. I mentally laughed at their futile attempts at catching Eren's attention with shy waves and batted eyelashes. 'Not sorry to be the bearer of bad news, girls but he's 100% gay and into dicks.' I thought with a sneer, never more relieved that Eren was gay. Then again, even if he wasn't he was still in a relationship. Shit...

My thoughts were instantly halted as I heard Eren start a steady rhythm on his guitar as he softly strummed at the strings. I had only just noticed that this guitar was different than the beat up old one I normally saw him playing. This one was slightly newer looking and shiner, and black. Despite the small space provided by the building, it no doubt gave them the perfect acoustics needed for Eren to sing without needing a speaker system. The song he was currently playing was slightly faster than what I'd heard him play before and more upbeat but I found it just as soothing to listen to as he plucked away at strings. Then his lips parted and he started to sing, the shorter blonde sitting next to him tapping her foot to time the beats.

"In the morning when I wake
And the sun is coming through,
Oh, you fill my lungs with sweetness,
And you fill my head with you.

"Shall I write it in a letter?
Shall I try to get it down?
Oh, you fill my head with pieces
Of a song I can't get out."

"Can I be close to you?
Ooh-oo-oo-ooh, ooh.
Can I be close to you?
Ooh, ooh.

I was stunned into silence because this was the first time I'd ever heard Eren sing in front of anyone else other than me and somehow it was different. His husky voice paired with the girl's surprisingly soft and slightly sultry tone was a perfect combination and I could see why he sang with her, somehow their voices suited one another's.

"Can I take it to a morning
Where the fields are painted gold
And the trees are filled with memories
Of the feelings never told?

"When the evening pulls the sun down,
And the day is almost through,
Oh, the whole world it is sleeping,
But my world is you.

"Can I be close to you?
(Ah) ooh (aah), ooh (aah).
Can I be close to you?
(Ah) ooh (aah), ooh (aah).

There was a strange sort of chemistry between the two of them, they would look at each other every once and awhile and Eren would smile and even the stony expression on the blonde girl's face would slightly change to one less intimidating with a faint smile of her own as she harmonized with Eren and it had me silently wondering how often the two of them sang together in order for them to be so comfortable around each other.

They whistled the rest of the song and this time I found myself smirking intentionally. To hell if anyone saw me or if Erwin made fun of me for it later on, the song was fun and lighthearted and Eren's voice along with the blondes only made it sound even more playful than it already was and I could tell that other people in the shop felt the same way as they smiled while bobbing her heads along to the tune or some of the more quiet patrons tapped their feet underneath the tables and it just filled the whole vicinity with a comfortable, laid back sense.

"Can I be close to you?
(Ah) ooh (aah), ooh (aah).
Can I be close to you?
(Ah) ooh (aah), ooh (aah).

Can I be close to you?
Ooh, ooh.

The song along with their voices faded out and the cafe erupted in soft applause as Eren beamed and the short blonde girl sort of smiled or at least it looked like she smiled before the two of them geared up for another song. They sang two more songs that were just as nice and upbeat as the first and I sat back in my seat sipping on my Luke warm coffee with a sense of contentment I'd never felt in public before. Secretly, I was really glad Erwin showed me this place. The shock and embarrassment was worth hearing Eren sing and discovering such a nice little get away from the chaotic outside world.

Hell, I was really considering coming back here for another reason beside just the fact that Eren works here. I liked the overall atmosphere of the small cafe/bookstore and the variety of people didn't just stop at young college kids but older people as well. In fact it seemed this place catered to a wide variety of people and that alone made me want to come back, of course the coffee wasn't half bad either and the prices were definitely reasonable. Starbucks, take notes.

After Eren's little performance was over, I saw him slip into a back room for a while and I chatted with Erwin for awhile. I was still trying to get him to spill about his little infatuation with the blond coconut but he was adamant about talking about it "another time" which was code for 'Drop the subject, you're not getting shit out of me.' in Erwin's world. This man, sometimes I forgot that he was a high ranking officer in the Military.

Luckily for Erwin, Eren came up to our table with his usual bright smile on his face, his hands shoved into his back jean pockets and he was hunched over slightly. Erwin suddenly excused himself saying that he needed a refill on his coffee and that he also wanted to browse a few more books and I took that as my cue to invite Eren to sit down, which I did.

"Take a load off, kid. Erwin's not gonna be back for awhile, he'll be too busy undressing your blond friend over there." I said taking another sip of my coffee as I crossed my legs underneath the table. Curse my short legs but this position was comfortable.

"So, I'm not the only one who noticed it then?" he asked with a laugh before he took my offer and took Erwin's seat across from me.

"I'm pretty sure it's obvious to anyone who cares enough to pay attention. Erwin's not exactly being 'subtle' in his advances you know."

"Yeah, I noticed it a couple of weeks ago too. I think Armin probably notices it too but he's too shy to do anything about it. No, scratch that. He's waiting for the right moment. That guy's like a human computer, he's always 3 steps ahead of everyone." he said leaning back in the chair causing it to creak under his weight while he adjusted the black beanie over his hair.

"They'd be perfect for each other then. If your friend Armin is always 3 steps ahead of everyone, Erwin is always 5 steps ahead of everyone. He may look all warm, friendly and smiles but he was a Sergeant First Class in the military." Eren's eyes widened at the mew information I had just given.

"Are you serious? I mean, I guess it's not hard to envision Erwin being in the military at all. He's got the strict, neatly groomed, perfect posture thing going on and well to be honest he kind of just commands attention without even really needing to say anything whenever he comes in." He mused out loud and I nodded at his words.

"Erwin and I were both in the military, and before that we attended the same Military school. I've known him since we were kids and I can honestly say that the smug bastard has always been that way." I snorted into my half empty cup before setting it back down on the saucer.

"I didn't know you were in the military, Levi. What rank did you have?" he asked with genuine curiosity as he slightly leaned in across the table top, his arms folded in front of him to pillow his chest.

"Me? I was a Sergeant. I could have been a Staff Sergeant but after I got injured in a training accident I was officially discharged from the military." I said folding my arms over my chest and sighing.

"How did you get injured?" he asked innocently and god, he was too cute but this was a story I wasn't ready to tell just yet and not in the middle of a damn coffee shop either.

"... Maybe I'll tell you another time, Kid. It's not exactly something I like to talk about. Sorry." I had to force myself to look down at the floor so I wouldn't have to see the disappointed or hurt on Eren's face.

"That's okay, I completely understand." I heard him say and my eyes immediately shot up to meet his.

He had a gentle look of understanding on his face and his eyes softened as he reached across the table and placed his larger hand over my own giving it a little squeeze and I felt like that squeeze went straight to my heart, I couldn't breath for a second or two but just as quickly as the contact came, it left and I couldn't help but miss the warm contact of his skin against mine even if it had been only briefly.

"You like Blink 182?" I asked randomly trying to change the subject that had suddenly flipped the relaxed mood into a 180.

Eren blinked in confusion at me at first, he looked like he was about to ask me what the hell I was talking about and I rolled my eyes before pointing at his tee shirt and his eyes followed in the direction I was pointing until he was looking down at his own tee shirt.

"Oh." he started, "I knew I shouldn't have worn this shirt today." he sort of mumbled to himself before looking up at me with a sheepish smile. "This isn't my shirt, actually. It's Jean's, he loves Blink 182 and all those bands. I don't care for them personally, I'm more of an indie kind of guy to be honest." he admitted and I let out a mental sigh of relief ignoring that bit about the boyfriend shirt.

"Good. Blink 182 sucks anyway, your boyfriend's taste in music is shit. But the shirt does look good on you, I won't lie kid. You got some killer shoulders." Oh my fucking god, why did I just say that? Now he's going to think I'm a fucking pervert or a creep or mayb-

"You think so? I like the way this shirt looks on me too, even if I don't like the band. Jean says I just don't know what good music is but I say fuck em." he smirked and this time I let out a literal sigh of relief because he seemed to ignore my creepy comment about his shoulders.

"But thanks anyway, about my shoulders. I used to be in a lot of sports as a teenager and work out when I can." Fuck, so he had heard that bit about his shoulders. Okay, Levi. Just play it cool.

"Your shoulders aren't bad either, actually I've been meaning to ask for awhile now but do you like lift weights or something because your forearms are totally built." he asked with a half smirk as he pointed to my half exposed forearms. I had never been more grateful for rolled up sleeves than I had been now.

"Did you forget? I was in the military. Just because I'm retired doesn't mean I don't keep up my training, dumbass. I run every morning and go to the gym a few times a week if I can help it." I was proud of my own physique, even if I wasn't ripped like Erwin I didn't care because who actually wanted to be that ripped? On someone as short as me that would just look fucking weird. I'll leave the Captain America muscles for big ass trees like Erwin and Hanji's husband Mike.

"Sorry, Serg. But still, that's pretty impressive." he said with a big grin and I rolled my eyes at the typical nickname. Secretly, hearing him call me by my rank did things to me... Jesus I need help.

"Hey, this may sound totally random and kind of weird but do you like Soccer?" I heard him ask suddenly and I raised a brow at his curious question.

"I don't mind it, I guess. Why do you ask?" by now I saw no point in drinking my coffee anymore as it had surely gone cold by now.

"How would you like to go to the big opening game next weekend? It's the first game of the season for Trost and they're going up against Sina." he said enthusiastically and I couldn't deny the way seeing his eyes light up as he gushed about Soccer made my heart swell because wow, his eyes were even more beautiful when he was talking passionately about something he loved it seemed.

"Sure." I said before thinking, and damn it I seem to be doing that a lot lately.

But, I mean how bad could it be? Eren was inviting me to go somewhere with him and like hell if I was going to turn this opportunity down. To hell with trying to fight my feelings for him, I liked this kid and I definitely wanted to spend more time with him.

"Cool! The game is on Saturday at Trost Stadium downtown. We should exchange phone numbers so I can text you the details later." he fished out his cell phone from the back of his jean pockets and handed it to me so that I could punch my number in.

Holy shit, this was actually happening. I was going to have Eren's phone number and we could text each other casually now. Okay, Levi. This is good, it means he sees you at least as a friend and- Whoa, wait why am I getting all worked up for? Eren has a boyfriend for fucks sake.

I decided to stop being such a little girl about exchanging number's with my next door neighbor and punched my number into Eren's contacts before handing the sleek device back to him. He looked down at his phone and began tapping away at the screen and before long I felt my own phone buzz in my pocket. I fished it out and glanced at the screen seeing I had a new message from an unknown number and I glanced up at Eren who had the biggest shit-eating grin on his face.

12:47 PM
From: Unknown
Hi! :)

I shook my head trying to hide the small smirk that was slowly creeping across my face as I saved Eren's number into my phone and quickly tapped out a response.

12:49 PM
To: Bright Eyes
Hey, brat.

He tapped away at the screen for a moment before turning the phone around so that I could see the screen and I read the chat long between us with my name on the top with a cat emoji next to it. Eren was holding in his laughter behind one hand and I snorted.

"A cat, Eren? Really?" I said putting my phone away and crossing my arms over my chest again, a small smirk on my face.

"Well, you like cats don't you? Otherwise you wouldn't be so nice to Captain. Speaking of which, I think you got my cat hooked on Salmon. He doesn't want his cat food anymore." he said with a heavy sigh and this time I was the one who laughed although I tried to play it off as a cough. It didn't work though.

Eren's thick eyebrows shot up and his mouth hung open in shock as he stared at me wide eyed but I could see the corners of his mouth tugging up into a familiar curl and I cleared my throat quickly.

"Did you just-"

"Eren, don't you have a job you should be doing right now?" I interrupted quickly sliding my almost empty cup toward him in attempts to distract him.

"You just laughed! Wow, I feel like I just accomplished something nobody's ever done before. Like, I explored uncharted territory and discovered buried treasure." he said with a goofy grin, his beanie slouching to the side a bit as he ran a hand underneath to hat to thread through his hair and I sighed.

"That was the dumbest thing I've ever heard, Eren. You do realize I'm human right? I laugh too you know." I said eyeing him dubiously. I fucked up and let my guard down for a moment but I wouldn't let it happen again. No way. Discipline, Levi.

"Yeah, but I've never heard you laugh around me before. You're always so serious." he answered honestly but his smile never left his face.

"Yeah, well I'm not very open with people in general." why lie to the kid? At least I didn't say I was an anti-social asshole who hated nearly everyone on the entire planet because my tolerance for stupid people was almost non-existent.

"I've decided then. I'm going to try and make you laugh every chance I get. Don't fight me on this, because I'm stubborn as fuck. I won't take no for an answer." he said leaning back in his chair with his arms locked behind his head and his smile now turned smirk.

"You're on, Brat." I challenged mimicking his posture but keeping my arms crossed over my chest.

Suddenly Armin and Erwin cut into our friendly banter as Armin halfheartedly chided Eren about getting back to work behind the counter unless he wanted to stay later than usual to help clean the top floor which I learned later from Erwin was where the bookshop was located. Yes, I'd most definitely have to come back here and check out the second floor.

Eren soon got back to his job working the counter while Erwin and I stuck around just awhile longer to finish a fresh cup of coffee and then we were on our way. As we left the cozy little shop, Erwin and I had to go our separate ways as he had come in his car and I had walked straight over here. I would have forced him to give me a ride back to my place so I could continue to bug him about his blond haired jail bait but I was no longer in the mood for it and figured I could call him and bug him about it later if I felt like it or if I got really bored.

I settled for walking home in the warm summer heat. August was always one of the hottest months in this city but today was strangely cooler than usual. As I started my short 20 minute walk home I let my mind wander back to Eren and our conversation. I couldn't help but think about how he had commented on my built forearms or the fact that he wanted to make me laugh again. I wondered if he noticed little things about me as well the way I always seemed to be noticing little insignificant things about him.

It was strange how I had tried so hard on the walk over here to convince myself that my attraction toward Eren was purely shallow and superficial but I felt like all of that went out the window when I saw him at his job today. When I watched him singing on that stage and how content he looked just to be up there doing what he enjoyed. I thought I would do anything to see him smiling like that all the time. It was starting to occur to me that this attraction wasn't just superficial anymore and if I ever planned to get over this pointless pining, I'd have to try a little harder.

Still, that didn't stop me from basking in the happy after glow of having spent some decent time talking to Eren and being invited out with him. As I walked home I somehow ended up exchanging various texts with Eren and I didn't really mind if I was smiling the entire way home. This relationship with Eren might have been on a road to nowhere but I was still happy with being able to talk with him like this. My feelings for Eren didn't mean I couldn't at least be his friend and for now that was enough for me.

Chapter Text

"I'm going kill him." I said as I stomped toward Erwin's office.

"Oh, Levi! Don't be like that! I was going to find out anyway even if Erwin hadn't told me!" Hanji cackled as she sprinted after me.

She caught me by both arms and tried to pull me back but I pulled against her restraints and tried to force my way toward Erwin's office. I should probably explain what's going on here exactly.

Basically, Erwin fucking spilled the beans about my crush on my hot neighbor to Hanji and work as been hell from the very moment I stepped into Ailes. So in short, I'm gonna kill the bastard. Hanji kept trying to subdue her laughs and snorts as she continued to try and stop me and I was this close to punching her in the fucking throat if she didn't stop right this second because I've been putting up with her shit for 30 minutes and I still had an entire work day to go.

Normally, I don't come in for the lunch shift on Fridays but since I wanted tomorrow off to go to the Soccer game with Eren I had to make up for missing the hours by coming in early today and had I known I was going to be taunted and teased like this I would have just said 'Fuck you' to Erwin and told Eren I couldn't take the day off. It wasn't worth this shit, nothing was worth going through the hell that is Hanji. Just no.

Hanji somehow managed to deter me from my path straight to Erwin's Office and guided me back into the kitchen where the rest of my team was just starting to pour in to get changed. Gunther and Auruo exchanged looks as they saw Hanji and I coming into the kitchen, me with a murderous look on my face and Hanji still trying to bite back laughter. Thankfully, they said nothing and continued on into the back to get changed into their uniforms. Thank fuck.

"Now, Levi my darling~ Don't get all worked up over nothing! It's not that big of a deal, in fact I think it's great! So tell me more about this 'Eren' everyone but me seems to know." she inquired finally releasing the death grip she had on my arm and I winced after she let go rubbing at my shoulder slightly.

"Fuck you, Hanji. It is a big deal because for one, I'm not gay and secondly... he's got a boyfriend." I snapped turning away from her and rushing to wash my hands so I could get started on today's orders. Customers would be pouring in pretty soon and I hadn't even prepared my kitchen area yet.

I quickly washed my hands and made sure I scrubbed the fuck out of them all the way up to my forearms. My team liked to joke about how I washed my hands as thoroughly as a surgeon. They could laugh all they wanted, the little fuckers, it didn't change the fact that they still had to do the same. You don't wash your hands correctly, you're not getting into my kitchen.

"Oh, like that's any reason to get all down and out. So he's got a boyfriend, so what? He likes you doesn't he? Erwin told me about how chummy the two of you were last Sunday."

I groaned turning to dry my hands after scrubbing them furiously. Hanji had managed to momentarily distract me from my previous thoughts of murder but they were back again at full force. Damn Erwin, if he wasn't my superior officer when we were still enlisted I would have murdered him years ago.

"Just because we can talk casually doesn't mean anything, shitty glasses." I grumbled to myself but clearly Hanji had heard me as she beamed and started prancing around my counter singing a stupid song I'd rather not remember right now.

"Love me, Love me! Just say that you love me! Fool me, Fool me! Go on and fool me! Love me, Love me, pretend that you love me~!" she sang horridly off key and I grabbed a handful of flour and flung her way but it missed and hit the back of Gunther's jacket instead leaving his navy blue jacket slightly spattered with white powder.

"Shut the fuck up, four eyes! You're making a mess in my kitchen, get the fuck out before I kick your ass." I hissed even though I was the one who was flinging flour around. Hanji only cackled in response.

"Poor little Levi. Looks like Mama Hanji will have to help you out!" she chirped bounding up to me as I turned my attention back to the raw chicken at hand.

"Help with what, dumbass? There's nothing to help, it's a pointless idea so just drop it already." I sighed suddenly feeling exasperated and tired and my day had only just begun.

Hanji groaned and whined and showed no signs of dropping the subject of Eren and I did my best to tune her out which wasn't hard considering I'd spent years doing just that since we were kids but she was being especially whiny right now and even with my normal ability to ignore her even I couldn't just tune her out when she got like this. Persistent as fuck is what she was and I was so close to calling Mike to come and get his crazy wife before I committed double homicide in one day. Yeah, I still planned on killing Erwin in fact he was at the top of my list.

Then an idea hit me, and I felt a wicked smirk wanting to creep onto my face as I turned to look at Hanji, hands on both hips as I schooled my expression back into it's usual blank mask.

"Oi, four eyes." I called motioning with my index finger for her to come closer. She skipped closer to me and I yanked her by the collar of her jacket so that I could whisper in her ear.

Her eyes went wide as she doubled back from me and her mouth hung open in shock. This time I really did smirk as I saw her expression go from shock to disbelief to just down right upset.

"What!? Erwin has a crush?! and he didn't tell ME!??" I shrugged at her shrieks of disbelief and went back to my task at hand letting Hanji deal with the information I had just revealed on her own.

Just as I had hoped, she turned around and starting running toward Erwin's office and I couldn't help the dark laugh that escaped as I sliced the chicken for my Chicken a la Creme dish. Erwin thought he could get his shits and giggles from sicking Hanji on me but two could play at that game. I continued to laugh dryly as I cut and sliced the chicken earning me some looks from my team as they wearily glanced over their shoulders.

"Uh, Levi are you alright...?" I heard Erd ask from behind me and I smirked to myself because I was more than alright, I was fucking fantastic.

"It's nothing. Make sure Mike has that French Bread in the ovens, we're opening in 20 minutes and customers will be ordering up the ass today." Gunther gave a nod and a silent 'Yes sir' before he sprinted off toward the back to check on Mike and the status of the bread like I had asked.

While Gunther was gone, the two newbies we had hired came into the kitchen awkwardly and were about to start touching things with their grubby little hands without washing them. Those little shits thought they could get away with that in my fucking kitchen? I dropped what I was doing and made my way toward the two newbies who were just about to grab some potatoes to start peeling and as one of them reached for one I stuck my carving knife into the potato only centimeters away from their hand and they recoiled with a yelp as they looked up to me. I narrowed my eyes at the both of them and I could see them swallow nervously while exchanging terrified looks.

"Oi, you little pieces of shit. Who the fuck said you could start touching shit without washing your hands? Did Auruo not teach you little dumb fucks anything?" I said in a low growl that had them both scrambling for words.

God, I detested having to deal with Green Jackets. I didn't have the patience for this kind of shit which is why Erwin left the training to Erd, Gunther or someone else from my team. Just then Auruo came strolling back in at his own leisurely pace whistling as he did so and I shot him a glare that made him deflate quickly. He assessed the situation as he eyed the knife that was stabbing the potato in my hand and the two sniveling little brats in front of me who looked like they were about to piss themselves.

"Oi! You little brats! Go wash your hands before I slice you into tiny little pieces! Argh, you little idiots never learn!" he attempted to scold them in the same way I had just done but the effect didn't leave quite the impression that I had.

Glancing between Auruo and I, the two green jackets stumbled over themselves bumping into each other as they tried to fight for who would wash their hands in the sink first and in the end just ended up doing so at the same time. I sighed lifted the stabbed potato up from the carving knife and tossing it to an unsuspecting Auruo who fumbled with it before shooting me a questioning look and I rolled my eyes.

"Make sure that shit doesn't happen again, I won't go so easy on them next time." I warned cleaning my carving knife off and walking back to my designated area of the kitchen. Auruo trailed after me juggling the potato from hand to hand eventually dropping it and I frowned down at him.

"I don't know, boss Levi. I think that little scare was exactly what they needed so that they'll never forget to wash their hands again. I don't think I'll need to remind the little shits again after that." he glanced back over at the two newbies who were still vigorously washing their hands in the sinks and my gaze trailed after his momentarily.

"Perhaps you're right, if I recall, that was also how you had to learn in order to remember to wash your damn hands whenever you came in the kitchen." I deadpanned and Auruo grimaced at the memory.

"O-Oi, don't compare me to those unskilled idiots. I wasn't nearly as bad as they were when I first started out here!" I rolled my eyes because actually he was even worse than those idiots, the only difference was he learned very quickly.

"Sure." I said shrugging off the subject of the newbies getting back to my own task at hand, "By the way... how's Petra?" I asked quietly, my gaze trained on the raw chicken in front of me as I continued to slice the tenderloin.

"Ah, that woman. She had a check up with her doctor today, they said she's due any day now so she's been going to get check up's more frequently." he grumbled shyly rubbing the back of his undercut while looking away from me.

"Hoh? Congratulations, hope the kid isn't born with a permanent scowl like their hopeless father." I shot back with a smirk and Auruo sucked his teeth mimicking the habit I normally displayed when I was annoyed at something but the obvious blush on his face gave him away.

"Tell Petra to hurry up and pop that kid out so she can get back in the kitchen. I'd like to have at least more than just one person to rely on to do something right."

"Tsk... damn it. I'm going to go check on the newbies."

"Oi, don't forget to wash your hands dip shit. You were touching your hair." I called after Auruo as he walked away.

He spluttered and I smirked because some things just never changed. Even after so many years of working here I still had to remind the dumbass to wash his hands as if he were still a newbie himself. I turned my attention back to my chicken and tossed the sliced pieces of meat into a skillet that had been melting butter for the past few minutes.

My mind got lost in work as I forgot my troubles and worries momentarily while I prepared dishes but whenever I took a break a certain brunet always crept his way into my mind and I couldn't deny the butterflies I felt in my stomach whenever I thought about tomorrow and the soccer game and just... Eren. Fuck, I was really screwed.

---

Today was the day. I was going to the Soccer game with Eren and I was currently having a crisis because I couldn't decide on what I wanted to fucking wear. What do you even wear to a soccer game? Shorts? A tee shirt? Sneakers? My wardrobe mainly consisted of winter clothes meaning dark colors, long sleeves, long pants and leather jackets. Not to mention almost everything I wore was, well, black or some form of it.

One thing was for sure, I was not wearing shorts or sneakers. The only pairs of sneakers I owned were my running shoes and I was not going to wear those out. I sighed while rummaging through my closet before eventually settling on two different outfits that I figured could pass for casual summer clothes. Now I just have to figure out which one to wear. Fucking shoot me.

I decided to play it safe and go with my usual choice of black instead of trying to be risky and wear anything lighter than light grey or worse, white. White clothes only attracted stains, even if I was a very careful and clean person white always somehow managed to get dirty. So I settled on a black polo shirt, black jeans and surprisingly not my black combat boots. I mean, wasn't it bad enough I was starting to take after Erwin by wearing a fucking polo shirt? Apparently not, and you know who looks surprisingly fucking good in that polo shirt? Me. I look good in that fucking polo shirt. So fuck my life, I'm wearing this polo shirt to a soccer game.

I gave my outfit another once over in my bedroom mirror (Kinky, I know) and sighed as I figured this was as good as it was going to get. I needed to stop stressing over my outfit and get a move on soon even though it was only 3:00PM. The game started at 4:30 which gave me plenty of free time to try and change my outfit again but I forced myself to walk out of my bedroom so I couldn't keep second guessing myself like the little girl that I am.

I paced around my living room for a few minutes having a heated debate with myself that my outfit was probably fine and I was just being fucking paranoid but just as I was about to resolve with myself that it might be a good idea if I just changed into a tee shirt and jeans, I felt my phone buzz violently in my pocket and I quickly fished it out glancing at the screen as I tried to calm my racing heart. Eren was calling me. Holy fuck.

I let it ring a few times, trying not to seem to desperate if I answered his call too quickly. Don't wanna seem like you're actually excited, Levi. In truth I was a nervous wreck but most of my nerves were due to excitement, at least that's what I wanted to believe anyway. I finally picked up just before it went to voice mail and I should pat myself on the fucking back because I managed to keep my tone even and indifferent as I answered. Go fucking me.

"Yeah?"

"Levi! I was worried you wouldn't answer for a second there."

"Tch. Why wouldn't I answer? I was just getting changed so I couldn't answer my phone right away."

"Oh, so are you ready then? I know it's early still but I was thinking we could go and grab a bite to eat before we head to the stadium. If you want to, that is."

"..."

"Levi?"

"Alright. Where do you want to meet up?"

"Hmm, well I just got off work so I'm still not home. Ah! There's a little restaurant right down the street from where I work and I'm coming up on it now! Is that alright?"

"That's fine. What's the name of the place?"

Eren gave me the name of the restaurant and a few directions on how to get there even though I more or less knew the streets of Trost like the back of my hand. Still, I indulged him and told him I'd be there soon. I was out the fucking door like a bolt of lightening. Eren was waiting for me and we were going to have lunch together. As if spending the afternoon with him wasn't enough, I was going to get to spend even more time with him now. I had to bite back the smile that so obviously wanted to make it's way onto my face as I took the stairs down toward the first floor. I had a reputation to keep up after all, couldn't have anyone thinking I was a fucking push over.

I got in my car that was still hot from the afternoon heat of the day but ignored the hot air that greeted me as I started up the engine to my Ferrari and sped off down Rose Avenue. I probably got to the restaurant in a matter of minute to be honest, I was just that eager to see Eren.

I parked on the side of the street across from the restaurant that was named after Rose Avenue, then again almost every establishment was named after the street so it didn't really surprise me. I'd been living in this part of for the better half of 5 years and I'd never really given this small restaurant as much as a passing glance.

The place was small, not surprising, with only a handful of tables here and there. The inside was rather poorly lit with only the sunlight from the windows giving it any proper light source. The air was thick with the smell of fresh baked bread which I appreciated and my eyes quickly scanned over the tiny space inside until I locked on to a messy brown mop of hair and teal colored eyes scanning over a menu with a rather amusing look on their face.

I quietly approached my hot neighbor who looked adorably cute with his thick brows knitted together tightly and the down turn of his lips making him look more angry than focused or concentrated. I bit back a chuckle as I cleared my throat loudly startling him.

"Oi, brat. If you keep scowling at the menu your face is going to get stuck like that." I said pulling a chair out and taking the seat across from him.

"Holy shit, Levi." he said with a heavy sigh of relief as his tense shoulder visibly relaxed and they slumped back into place. I raised a brow at how easily startled he seemed but shrugged it off.

"Expecting someone else?" I drawled picking up the second menu that was set in front of me on the sleek table top and grimaced at the moisture on the cover. Fucking gross.

"Of course not, I just wasn't expecting you to get here so quickly that's all." he beamed and I felt my cheeks go hot because I had practically raced over here and now I regretted being in such a rush.

"It's not like this place is very far from where we live. 20 minutes on foot, take a car and you more than cut that time in half. Simple math, Eren." I said after clearing my throat once more pretending that something on the menu caught my attention.

We ordered shortly after and Eren and I spend our lunch talking about work and the bullshit we had to put up with. I found out that I definitely didn't mind listening to Eren complain about his day at all, but took note that if it had been any other person I probably would have stood up and left by now. It was strange how having feelings for someone changed all of that. I wanted to know all about his days at work and nothing he said ever bored me, he could be talking about how he took a massive shit and I would still find it the most interesting piece of information in the world.

After lunch it was nearly time for the game to start and Eren insisted on splitting the bill. I offered to pay for the both of us but apparently he really was stubborn as fuck, he repeatedly denied my offer until I eventually gave in which I did rather quickly. Well, I guess I admired that about him too. We made our way out of the restaurant side by side still chatting until we were on the sidewalk near my car and I pulled my keys out unlocking it as I approached. Eren's pace slowed considerably and I turned raising a questioning brow at why he had suddenly stopped.

"What is it, Eren?" I asked turning back to face him completely and I noticed that he seemed to be staring at something with his mouth slightly open in disbelief.

"You-... You drive a Ferrari?" he stuttered, eyes wide and shoulders slumping. The sight of his surprised reaction was rather amusing to watch to be honest.

"You like Ferrari's?" I asked with a little smirk as I tossed the keys in my hand up and caught them again.

"Um, Yeah! I've always wanted one since I was a kid!" he exclaimed eyeing my car from top to bottom, his eyes lighting up with something I couldn't quite explain and I couldn't help myself.

"Get in, we can take my car." I rounded the front of my car and opened the door to the driver's side slipping in and starting the engine. My seats were still kind of hot but I ignored the burning on my ass in favor of watching Eren's excited face as he rushed over to the passenger's side and jumped in.

"Holy shit, this is nice! This must have cost you a fortune, Levi." he said while marveling at the interior that as I mentioned before was also as black as my soul.

"Not really a fortune, but yeah I paid a pretty penny for it. A few rules about riding in my car though, Eren. Rule number 1, don't track any mud or dirt in or I'll kick your ass to the curb. Rule number 2, don't touch the fucking windows I can't stand fingerprints on my glass. Rule number 3, don't scratch the leather or I'll murder you. That's it." I shot him a glare that spoke more words than I would ever need to say and I saw him gulp but nod in agreement to my rules.

"Wow, I can't believe I'm going to ride in a Ferrari right now. Jean would be so jealous if he knew you owned one." he commented with a laugh and okay, I wasn't going to lie. Hearing him say that his boyfriend would be jealous of me because I owned a badass car was enough to make me internally gloat because for once I had something that douche bag didn't have so I took this as my silent 'fuck you, you fucking horse faced fucker' as I revved the engine a few times letting it purr before we sped off toward downtown Trost.

The traffic was a little hectic but any extra time I could spend with Eren was enough to bury any road rage I had boiling within me. For once I was glad traffic jams existed because while we patiently waited for the line of cars to move, Eren and I talked and he shared more stories about Captain that I always found amusing.

When we finally got to the stadium, the parking lot was nearly full and we struggled to find parking. When we finally found a space, Eren turned and smiled at me and I felt my heart thump wildly in my chest but tried to ignore it as best as could. I made a move to get out of the car but stopped when Eren turned to ask me something.

"Oh, wait a minute. Is it okay if I change my shirt in here real quick? I totally forgot to change into my jersey before we left and Jean will be pissed if he doesn't see me with it on." he said with a sheepish grin and I thought the question was strange but shook my head in response anyway.

"Just hurry up and change, Kid. It's not like you gotta ask." I said crossing my arms over my chest to show my annoyance with his question.

I heard him chuckle and mumble a sorry before he made a move for the backpack he had brought with him and saw him pull out the red and white soccer jersey with the number 6 on it and I eyed it curiously before my mind suddenly went blank. Eren started pulling off his shirt, he was sitting less than two feet away from me and his shirt was now off and oh fuck this is not good. I should not be in the car right now, what the fuck am I doing? Whatever you do, Levi do not turn and stare at him. Do.Not.Fucking.Turn.

My eyes slowly trailed toward Eren as he struggled to pull his shirt off and over his head and I was so fucking thankful that he couldn't see my face at this very moment because I was now full on gaping at him as my eyes took in smooth, caramel skin and taut, lean muscles that did things to me. Holy fucking shit, no I need to get the fuck out of this car right now before I go fucking crazy.

But I was frozen as my eyes continued to take in more of Eren's bare chest, the way his muscles flexed as he stretched upwards to get his shirt off and I somehow managed to snap myself out of whatever daze I was in before I was caught staring at him like a fucking perverted old man. I got a fucking grip on myself and got out of my car so quickly I nearly tripped over my own feet as I gulped in the hot air that greeted me. Once I was out of the car, I let out a groan before I shakily reached into my pockets and pulled out my brand new pack of lights that I hadn't touched since I bought them.

I wasn't normally a smoker, or rather I hadn't been as bad of a smoker as I once was but I needed something to calm my beating heart and killing myself with nicotine sounded like the right path to take if nothing else. I pulled my lighter out of my pocket and lit up taking a long, satisfying drag before extracting the cancer stick from between my lips and balancing it between my index and middle finger as I blew out. Fuck my life, of all times to get the urge to smoke.

Eren came out from the car about a minute later, shirt on and fully dressed and I mentally sighed with relief because I don't think I could have handled seeing him shirtless again. He adjusted the white and red jersey over his blue jeans and walked around the car to my side where I leaned against the hot metal still smoking my cigarette slowly, savoring that familiar burn in the back of my tongue.

"You smoke?" I heard him ask curiously and I only barely risked looking up at him as he stared at me with a curious brow raised.

"Not really. There's this saying in the culinary world that chef's who smoke are scum because it kills your tastes buds and you'll inevitably end up loosing your sense of taste all together, so I only smoke when I really feel the urge to." I said tearing my eyes away from him to absently stare at my lighter still in my hands. I flipped the top open and closed letting it clink loudly as I did so.

"Then why are you still smoking?" suddenly the cigarette I was smoking was plucked from between my lips and my eyes whipped up to meet teal orbs staring down at me defiantly as Eren placed my half finished cigarette between his own lips that were curved into a cheeky smirk.

I felt my cheeks heat up slightly at the sight of him smoking the cigarette that had been in my mouth only nanoseconds ago, because fuck did I think that was hot. I didn't take him as a smoker either but my eyes stayed trained on the way he took a long drag blew out from his nostrils making me wrinkle my nose at the sight. That shit burned if you didn't know how to do it right, but Eren didn't seemed bothered by it.

"Tch, fucking brat. Stealing people's cigarettes..." I trailed off not wanting to finish my sentence as I heard him chuckle before flicking the still burning cigarette to the ground before stomping it out with the sole of his worn out sneakers.

He blew out what was left of the cigarette smoke with a laugh before he turned to start walking toward the stadium. My eyes fell on the name on the back of the jersey he was wearing and narrowed my eyes at the familiar name. Kirstein? Why did that name sound so-... wait a minute. Wasn't that Eren's douche bag of a boyfriend's last name?

I struggled to catch up to Eren as I was caught up in my thoughts (it had nothing to do with my short legs, shut the fuck up) and when I finally did he smiled down at me before we were eventually walking side by side in silence. I didn't want to ask him if the name on his jersey meant that his boyfriend was a part of Trost's soccer team, I didn't want to know to be honest. If that was the case then that meant I came all the way here just to see Eren's horse kick a ball around and as funny as it may have sounded, the actual reality that his boyfriend might be a soccer star irked me a bit.

The stadium was filling up quickly but Eren managed to get us in without a hitch. Apparently he had a lot of friends who worked there and I didn't question or complain about the perks Eren seemed to have as we made our way toward our seats which weren't bad at all. They weren't ground level seats, but then again when it came to soccer the best seats were always higher up so that you could easily see everything. We had the perfect view of the stadium and the seats weren't as packed as I'd thought they'd be which I was thankful for.

I wouldn't have to deal with some loud, sweaty fat guy practically sitting in my lap or getting beer spilled on me. As we approached our seats, I noticed two familiar heads of blond occupying the seats next to ours and narrowed my eyes suspiciously as we got closer. Suddenly it hit me as Eren called out 'Armin!' and the shorter blond of the pair turned to the us with big blue eyes lit up with excitement.

"Eren! You made it, I was starting to worry that you'd be late. Mikasa and Annie went to get us some drinks and Marco and Krista were going to get something from the snack bar." Armin said as he stood up to greet Eren and my eyes immediately shot toward the tall, burly blond sitting next to him.

"The fuck are you doing here, Eyebrows?" I practically hissed as pale blue eyes turned up to look at me and I scowled back at him.

"Oh, Levi. What a pleasant surprise meeting you here." Erwin greeted with his usual poised expression and I sucked my teeth loudly at him. The fucker.

"I asked what the fuck you're doing here, Erwin? I thought you would be at the restaurant today?" I asked closing the gap between us while Armin and Eren chatted off to the side.

"I was invited by Armin. What are you doing here, Levi? I see you and Eren came together." of course, he couldn't pass up teasing me at any little chance he got and I huffed crossing my arms over my chest.

"Eren invited me, you moron." I grumbled earning a chuckle from Erwin and I got him a glare telling him to watch it or else I'll kick his ass.

After Eren and Armin finished chatting, Armin greeted me shyly and I nodded acknowledging him before I took my seat. Eren hadn't sat down just yet but Armin took his seat back next to Erwin and the two blonds got lost in their own conversation. Probably talking about some book they read or something nerdy like that, I wouldn't put it past them. Eren was standing up still, stretching his neck as he seemed to be searching the field and then I saw his eyes light up a bit as he seemed to find what he was looking for.

I followed the direction he was staring with my own gaze and saw a familiar head of ash-blond and black hair styled in a stupid undercut and I groaned. I probably jinxed myself earlier because down on the field practicing with a ball was Eren's stupid ass boyfriend wearing a similar white and red short sleeved jersey like the one Eren was currently wearing with the number 6 in bold red font on the front and back. Kirstein. I knew it.

While I was fucking upset that Eren invited me to his boyfriend's soccer game in the first place, I tried to think of the perks of this little invite brought and my mind wandered back to the lunch we had and the interesting car ride over here. Not to mention, Eren fucking stripping in my car. Okay, so maybe it wasn't all bad but I definitely felt like my evening was only going to get shittier from here if Erwin being invited as well was anything to go by.

My thoughts were interrupted when Eren loudly greeted a couple of girls who were headed our way with beers in hand and expressionless faces. They both looked like pretty intimidating chicks and I scrutinized them from head to toe. The shorter blonde I recognized as the girl Eren was singing with at The Shoreline Cafe, Annie I think her name was. She still had that stone like expression on her face but she had her hair down and it was surprisingly short.

The girl standing next to her however I didn't recognize and I quickly took in her obviously asian features and the blank look in her black eyes with shoulder length jet black hair that was as sleek as mine. Over all, she was good looking but something about her gave off a sort of presence I couldn't explain if her blank expression wasn't anything to go off of. Eren greeted the two girls with cheerful smiles and the taller, dark haired girl greeted him back with a small but affectionate hug and I raised a brow at that. They seemed... close?

"Mikasa, Annie, this is Levi. He's the one I told you about has been helping me out a lot recently with Captain." he chirped and I felt two sets of eyes burning holes into the side of my face as I slowly turned to face the two girls.

"Levi, I think you've probably seen Annie and I perform before. This is Mikasa, my sister and Annie is her girlfriend."

Ah, so that's what their relationship was. Eren's sister and the blonde was her girlfriend. I couldn't help but think that they kind of suited each other with those overly serious faces of theirs, then again I wasn't really one to speak. I constantly looked like I was pissed off or like I haven't slept in two years.

"Thanks for helping my brother out. He's told me a lot about you." the sister, Mikasa, said as she took a step forward and held a hand out for me to shake and I eyed it dubiously.

I noticed the hard stare she was giving me like I had personally offended her in some way but I ignored in in favor of taking her hand in a loose grip and giving it a halfhearted shake. Better to make a somewhat good first impression, Levi. I didn't want Eren to think bad of me for not shaking his sister's hand or something. For Eren, just for Eren. When that awkward little introduction was over, Annie walked over to take her seat while Eren and Mikasa stood around and chatted for a while longer.

Eren would point out his horse on the field and Mikasa would nod and hum in response but it was mostly Eren who was talking through out the conversation I noticed, but his sister had a small smile on her face as she listened to his every word intently as he rambled. I thought that was rather cute, considering she didn't seem to be so openly expressive with anyone else but around Eren she kind of lit up. Maybe she wasn't as much of a bitch face as I was making her out to be, but whatever.

Eren finally took his seat next to me and our elbows nudged slightly. He beamed at me with his pearly whites and I had to look away in order to keep face but I could feel Erwin's stare on my as I tried to avoid making a fool out of myself in front of Eren's friends. Two more people joined our group and I immediately recognized the two faces as Marco the veterinarian and Krista his overly-polite little receptionist/nurse/assistant whatever.

They greeted us and I exchanged a few words with them as well not wanting to seem rude, again if it weren't for the fact that they were Eren's friends I wouldn't have gave a fuck but they were Eren's friends so I was at least trying. Marco was also wearing the exact same jersey as Eren's and I thought it strange but he had said he was best friends or whatever with Eren's boyfriend since they were kids so I guess it made sense. The jersey Krista was wearing had the number 12 on it but I didn't bother to see the name on the back.

Marco and Krista sat neat Armin and Erwin and the four of them chatted and god those four people together was like watching a group of nuns gather to discuss their love for the father. They were all so damn nice and polite and... nice... it was almost annoying to be anywhere near them but I let my attention drift back to Eren who was shooting out of his seat to greet more people and I internally groaned. Jesus fucking Christ, just how many 'friends' of his were going to come to this game?

"Bert! Sasha! Over here!" he called with a big grin and an overly enthusiastic wave and the two people he called to started making their way over toward us.

The first thing that came to mind when I looked up at the three new faces was 'Holy fucking shit, tall.' and yeah, Eren had some interesting friends I'll say that much. The huge ass fucking tree that was probably even taller than Erwin smiled nervously as he approached us and I couldn't help but notice the beads of sweat rolling down the sides of his face. Fucking gross. He was also wearing a jersey with the number 2 on it and the name 'Braun' across the front and back.

The girl trailing behind him was carrying a mountain a food and her cheeks were stuffed with god knows what making her look like a chipmunk while crumbs littered the front of her jersey with the number 8 on it and 'Springer' on the front and back. My guess was they all had someone they knew on the team but as to how they were all related I had not idea. The newest addition to the group took their respective seats behind us near Mikasa and Annie and that was when Eren took his seat next to me and leaned in to whisper something near my ear.

"The tall guy, Bertholdt, is here for his boyfriend Reiner. He's the number 2 jersey and also the Captain of the team." Eren pointed out a burly blond that was standing on the field practicing with the others from the team and I nodded to show that I had understood him and he moved on to the next.

"Sasha's Fiance is Connie, he's the number 8 jersey and also the shortest guy on the team but man can he whip a ball." My eyes searched the field for said short guy and I immediately found him. Fuck, he really was short. He might have even been shorter than me. He had a buzz cut and wasn't really practicing so much as goofing around with some of the other players.

"Krista's girlfriend Ymir is also on the team and also the only female soccer player for Trost. She's number 12, the tall girl with dark skin and freckles. She may be a girl but she can play just as hard as any of the guys." I found said girl quickly as well as she wasn't too far off from the Connie kid. I wasn't really sure what to make of her but if Eren said she was as good as he said she was then I wouldn't try to deny it.

Still, as the crowd grew louder, I sank back into my seat and only half paid attention to the opening of the game as each star player from both teams were introduced. Naturally, Eren and his friends went wild when their respective partners were introduced with plenty of spotlights and dramatic entrances one by one and I rolled my eyes slightly but smirked at their enthusiasm. When the opposing team introduced their star players, half the crowd boo'd while the other half cheered and I wondered which was worse.

I didn't actually pay much attention to the game, only ever focusing on a play whenever Eren got overly upset or overly excited; there was never really an in between but I also found that amusing. Their friends all cheered for and hollered whenever one of their players would score a goal and curse and deflate whenever they got a penalty or a foul or just missed a goal. Eren was probably the most absorbed in the game though, and I watched his reactions carefully noting how he just seemed to be vibrating with excitement and anticipation and anguish for each play.

By the time half time came around, Eren was slightly sweaty and out of breath from all his cheering. His voice had even cracked as he plopped back down in his seat and smiled at me.

"So, how's the game so far?" he asked, voice hoarse and slightly raspy.

"Not bad. Although, that score could probably be better." I said nodding toward the score board that currently read 1-2 with the visiting team in the lead.

"Yeah, I swear these reffs are just so freakin' ridiculous. If they'd just let them play for crying out loud, all these penalties and fouls are a bunch of bullshit." he spot taking a sip of the watered beer in his cup but he didn't seem to mind.

"You seem to know a lot about Soccer. You ever play?" I was honestly curious to find out, after seeing Eren shirtless I had officially concluded that he must have been in some sort of sport but I just couldn't figure out which.

"Well, I never really like to talk about it but... I used to be the star player for my high school Soccer team. I used to love it with a passion, I guess I still do but I gave that up years ago." he said with a sad smile and I immediately regretted asking him that question. Shit.

"What about you? I know you said you were in the military but were you involved in any sports?" his question caught me by surprise and I guess he was just trying to come up with a way to lift the mood that had suddenly taken a turn but I didn't mind a subject change.

"Before I enlisted in the military, I was involved in boxing. It was more of a pass time really, I never seriously pursued it but I enjoyed doing it regardless. After I enlisted, I still boxed whenever I could but after my injury... I just never really bothered with it anymore." I heard Eren hum and shit, I think I just brought the mood down again.

"Uh, Levi. I hope you don't take this the wrong way or anything but... Erwin's been staring at you a lot since we got here and well, I was just wondering if... you guys were, you know... a thing or something..." he trailed off, voice getting smaller until it was just a low whisper and my eyes narrowed.

I glanced back up to look and see what he was talking about and caught Erwin staring at me just like Eren had said and I scowled at him earning one of his signature 'Captain America' smiles and I sucked my teeth with huff. The bastard was really testing my patience now.

"It's not like that, Eren. Erwin's just being a fucking dick about something that happened at work yesterday. Besides, he's got eyes for you little friend with the cute nose and I'm straight anyway." that last bit was such a fucking lie but what else could I say to disprove such a disgusting suggestion that Erwin and I might be a 'thing' as Eren put it. He was best friend, practically like an older brother to me. That would just be fucking gross.

"Oh..., okay. I see, sorry I seriously thought there was something going on between you two the way he keeps staring at us and smiling. But, wow Levi I didn't know you were straight." he said sounding rather amazed and I raised a brow as I turned to face him.

"You thought I was gay?" I asked blandly showing as much disinterest as I could when in the back of my mind I was screaming because was I that obvious? Even I didn't know I was possibly gay until just recently. Like, 'a week ago' just recently.

"Well, I mean, it's hard to tell considering I've never really seen you with anyone male or female and you never talk about having a girlfriend or a boyfriend so I kind of just assumed... aheh. Sorry, did I offend you?" he asked with a sheepish smile as he nervously threaded his fingers through his long brown hair.

"You didn't offend me, Eren. I don't care if you thought I was gay, it's not like there's anything wrong with that," I explained first and foremost to clear up any misunderstanding he might have had before continuing, "The reason I don't have and girlfriend is because I'm not seeing anyone right now. I'm divorced, my ex wife left me for another man and now they're married and expecting a baby together."

"Oh," Eren said quietly as he slumped into his seat looking like a child who was about to get scolded, "Sorry, I didn't- I mean I shouldn't have-"

"It's fine, Eren. It was two years ago, I'm not mad about it in fact I'm actually happy for them." I said staring out into the crowd as some people piled out toward the snack bars to refill on junk food and beer or to take a piss while half time was still going, "It was my fault for the divorce anyway. I just couldn't make her happy and I was more in love with work than I was with her and she found comfort in another man who did make her happy so I let her go. I still care about her as a good friend, so of course I'm happy that she's finally getting everything she wanted."

I don't know why I told Eren all of that. It was something I never talked about, not even with Hanji or Erwin who actually knew Petra on a personal level. It was one of those things that just came out without me realizing and I didn't really regret telling him such a personal story about myself but more like I was worried what he would think of me now. There was silence on Eren's part and I turned to gauge his reaction to my sob story about my train wreck of a marriage to find him staring at me with intense blue-green eyes that seemed to be burning into me like flames, swallowing me. His lips parted and my eyes immediately flicked down to look at them as he spoke to me.

"Remember how I said I was going to make you laugh as often as I could?" he asked and my brows knitted together, "I think I'm doing a pretty crap job, don't you think?" he smiled, big and wide with a laugh at his own jab and I didn't bother to bite back the smile that tugged at the corners of my lips. This kid, honestly.

"You fucking suck at trying to make me laugh." Eren threw his head back at that and full on started laughing and I thought I wouldn't mind being the one to make him laugh as often as I could, not the other way around.

His laugh was beautiful, genuine and full of childlike happiness. I felt comfortable around Eren because of his innocent behavior and while I admit he can be a little shit sometimes when it came to talking about himself, I didn't mind any of it.

"You want a beer?" he asked me after his laughter subsided and he made a move to get up and leave before I stopped him.

"It's probably not a good idea, I have to drive." I mumbled quietly and he shot me a dubious look that I just knew meant he didn't believe me for some reason.

"You get buzzed off one beer?" I could hear the laugh in his question and I scowled up at him.

"Fuck off, Eren. I'm trying to be responsible here, we can't all be hormonal teenagers who inhale alcohol like fucking fish to water."

He laughed again and I felt my face heat up with slight embarrassed and I sucked my teeth and turned to face away from him sulking like a child. It was a pretty bratty move, but whatever. He wanted to be a little shit and make fun of my lack of alcohol tolerance, then he could walk home for all I cared... but of course, I would never actually make him walk home... fuck my life.

Eren left and bought his friends a round of beers and came back just in time for the last half of the game to start. Once more I didn't really pay attention to the details of the game, I didn't mind Soccer but it never motivated any kind of reaction from me other than mild interest and even that might have been an overstatement. I continued to watch Eren and his friends get all hyped up on bad calls or whenever their team nearly made a goal and I admit, it was fun to see the way he interacted with all the other brats. Never mind the fact that the whole reason I was here was because of Eren's shitty boyfriend.

In the end though, Trost lost to Sina by one point and everyone was pretty disappointed to say the least. It was a home game after all, embarrassing might not have been the right word to use right now but the loss was definitely going to leave their team bitter and sore for awhile I imagine. Not that I really cared, honestly it was more of a worry that Eren's boyfriend would probably be the angsty type who took our his frustrations on others. At least that's what I'd guess.

We hung around with Eren's group of friends for a little while after the game ended, some of the others like Krista and Sasha went down to the lockers to be with their partners while the rest like Eren and Bert stayed behind which made me a bit curious as to why they weren't running off to comfort their boyfriend's like the others had. I nudged Eren in the side catching his attention.

"Oi, aren't you going to go down and meet up with your boyfriend?"

He shook his head with a sad smile and I cocked my brow at him, he looked down and seemed to be searching for the right words to explain why he wasn't rushing off to be at his boyfriend's side.

"How should I put it..." he mumbled quietly at first, "whenever Jean loses a game, especially one as important as this one, it's better if I just let him cool off for awhile before meeting up with him. I should know first hand what it feels like to lose such an important game and with Jean being as competitive as he is, we'd only end up getting into a fight if I try and comfort him. His ego and pride are too big for that." he said with shaking his head to himself, his chocolate brown locks falling into his face.

I pursed my lips and nodded at his explanation, confirming my worries in the end. So I was right in assuming that this loss was embarrassing for not only the team but Eren's boyfriend as well, but I can't really say I'm surprised. Eren's boyfriend seemed like the hot-headed type if this game was anything to go off of. He almost got into three fights on the field with some big guy from the opposing team. Needless to say, Eren was pretty heated up during those confrontations too but at least the refs managed to control that situation whenever it boiled up again.

So we sat there, listening to the crowds of disappointed fans make their way out of the stadium. I didn't mind waiting until the crowd's thinned out, it just meant I wouldn't have to put up with as much bullshit or hassle with getting out to the parking lot. When most of the crowd had gone and more than half of the seats in the stadium were empty, Sasha and Krista returned with their partners who were looking glum but approached us anyway.

The short guy with the buzz cut, number 8, Connie I think his name was tried to act like he wasn't upset about the loss and I commended him for that. At least the kid wasn't a sore loser and knew what Sportsmanship was. You win some, you lose some. The tall girl with tanned skin, number 12 Ymir, wasn't shy about her feelings of anger and disappointment as she bitched and complained about all the unfair calls made by the officials and I mentally rolled my eyes. I liked the Connie kid better already.

Then a burly blond came in with a lopsided grin, number 2 Braun, and he quickly sauntered up to the big ass tree that was Bert giving the taller boy a peck on his lips as he they met each other halfway. Adorable, I thought. Unlike his taller partner, Reiner was more outgoing as he greeted his other friends with bear hugs and headlocks reminding me of a big brother teasing his younger siblings and somehow I liked him already and I hadn't even met him. He seemed to strike up a conversation with Erwin which I found strange and told myself to remember to ask Eren about that later.

Speaking of which, Eren suddenly shot up from his seat walking past me in a rush and my eyes quickly followed his retreating form as he approached a very crest-fallen horse-face. Right. The boyfriend, Jean. I almost forgot about him, almost being the keyword. Eren didn't greet him in the loving manner that I had seen him do a few times before which was a peck on the lips or the cheek but instead he had a big grin on his face as went in to hug his taller boyfriend and I promptly looked away.

I drummed my fingers against my seat trying to distract myself as Eren comforted his boyfriend I guess. I looked down at the time and realized it was nearly going to be eight o clock and I hadn't realized it had gotten this late. I'd been here for four hours almost and somehow I survived without killing Erwin or myself for that matter. Overall, I guess my evening wasn't all that bad aside from the fact that I had to come and watch Eren's boyfriend play an opening game and fucking lose.

"Levi?" Eren suddenly snapped me out of my thoughts as he jogged back up to me, face slightly flushed and breathing a bit labored.

"What?" I asked monotonously.

"I hope it's alright that I'm riding back with Jean, I know I'm the one who asked you to come and all and I feel bad for leaving you like this but..." he trailed with a shy smile and I quickly stood up waving him off pretending to check my watch like I had somewhere to be.

"Why wouldn't it be fine? Jesus, Eren stop acting like a little kid who needs permission from me to take a shit. Just go already." Smooth as ever, Levi. I wasn't mad, just slightly annoyed. (Okay, annoyed and mad but shut up I'm not jealous)

He beamed down at me and I ignored him as I dusted off my pants and started to walk around him sending him a lazy wave as I did so. Jean had been watching our exchange and eyed my curiously as I got closer to him, the fucker just had to be standing right by the only exit so I had no other choice but to address him as I closed the distance.

"Good game." was said simply not really stopping for anything else and I heard him mumble a 'Whatever' before I reached the exit.

Fucking hell, I was so glad to be walking out of that damn stuffy stadium finally. I felt like I would suffocate if I stayed a minute longer. I couldn't deny the bitter feelings I had about being left to drive back home alone when I had originally come with Eren but it was whatever. I shouldn't have expected much, in fact I should have expected him to want to come back with his boyfriend and not me in the first place. I guess I was just trying to fool myself really, but like I said. Whatever.

As I reached my place, I felt my phone go off in my pocket before. Parking the car in my usual spot, I fished it out not bothering to make a move to get out of the car just yet and I read the message I had just received. It was from Eren.

8:19PM
From: Bright Eyes
I promise I'll make it up to you next time :P

Next time... I know it was stupid of me to get my hopes up at those words but I still sincerely hoped there would be a next time. I still wanted to spend time with Eren if I could help it, even if it was just as friends or neighbors or whatever the hell he saw me as. I quickly tapped out a reply before pocketing my phone and getting out of my car to make my up to my apartment. It was too early to sleep so maybe I'd indulge in some wine. I fucking deserved it.

8:23PM
To: Bright Eyes
Yeah, Yeah, Kid. Next time.

Chapter Text

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck! Why was this happening? What had I done to deserve this? I thought I had already been put through enough shit for one day but no, life had to come and take a big ass shit all over my already shitty fucking day and mother fucker I was so fucking done with everything right now.

Why am I cursing like a sailor you ask? Well, let me explain. Currently, I'm sitting in my living room waking up from an alcohol induced nap that I didn't know I was taking until I heard banging on the wall and I nearly face planted off the sofa. Now that wasn't the only reason for why I was so pissed and utterly embarrassed, more like that was just the tip of the ice burg. No, if that sudden banging on the wall wasn't enough, the loud moaning and grunting was probably the icing on my cake. But you wanna know what was just the cherry on top of that shitty, fucking cake?

It was the fact that the source of the loud moaning and groaning was Eren and his fucking boyfriend. How did I know this you ask? Well let me elaborate, dear readers. The fact that a.) I highly doubted Mrs. Robinson got any action if her age was anything to go off of. She's 76, I highly doubt she's the one getting pounded into a wall at this hour of the night. b.) the voices I was hearing were clearly male and c.) my favorite, was the fact that the moaning was mixed with strangled forms of Eren's stupid boyfriend's name and the grunting and groaning also sounded like weird chants of Eren's name.

So, to put it simply. I was currently hanging off of the sofa, maybe a little drunk or buzzed while listening to my hot neighbor having really loud sex with his boyfriend. The same hot neighbor, mind you, that I had a major fucking crush on and had just seen half naked only hours ago in my fucking car and no, as suggestive as it sounds he was not half naked because of me. He was simply changing into another shirt and now that I was listening to him moan into the wall, my mind was assaulted with images of Eren's half naked body and how his muscles stretched and flexed as he took his shirt off and fuck me this is the worst possible situation ever!

I knew I should probably get my ass off the floor and walk to my bedroom where I could hopefully get some sleep and ignore the lewd noises my neighbor was currently making but I just could not bring myself to move even an inch as I sat helplessly on the floor, flushed and disgustingly turned on as I listened to the lustful sound of Eren's moans coming through the wall. I tried to force the thoughts of his smooth, tan skin and how it would probably feel under my touch out of my mind but who was I even kidding anymore? Not me, that's for sure.

I decided I would just accept it, accept the fact that I wasn't just attracted to Eren in an innocent sort of way anymore but attracted to him in a very physical way and shit, I wanted to fuck him. I'd never dared to let myself get to that point, always firmly trying to deny these feelings I had for Eren but now that I was hearing him make such whorish noises, noises I never could have imagined could come from that mouth I let myself dare to enter that forbidden corner of my mind that I always tried to ignore on late night for my own sake of not wanting to feel like a fucking loser but at this point it just couldn't be helped.

I closed my eyes and tried to tune out the grunts and groans of Eren's stupid fucking boyfriend and focused on the sound of Eren's moans instead. God, those moans were so fucking hot. How could a guy make such lewd noises and sound so fucking sexy while doing it? My mind quickly got to work imagining what it would be like if it were me fucking Eren into the wall and not pony boy. I could see it so clearly, his muscles convulsing under me as I sucked him off. His head thrown back with his mouth hanging open, those slutty noises directed at the ceiling, loud enough for the entire fucking floor to hear. Jesus fucking Christ, I wanted them to hear the way I made him moan for me.

Those pretty, rosy lips screaming my name as I made him a trembling mess underneath me. Normally, I would be annoyed with having a partner who's a screamer but if it was Eren screaming my name I wouldn't mind making him scream every night. Especially if it was my fucking name he was screaming, telling me to fuck him harder, faster and god I could almost hear him telling me, begging me to fuck him.

I hadn't even noticed when I started palming at the painfully hard erection I was now sporting and my head fell back against the sofa cushions, a soft gasp escaping as the soft material of my grey pajama pants rubbed against the head of my leaking cock. The tips of my fingers played with the hem of my pants for a bit, testing the waters to see if I was really going to do this or not. I was going to fucking do this.

My thumbs hooked under the elastic and I rolled my pants down until my throbbing cock was freed of it's confines, and I had never been more grateful for the fact that I didn't wear boxers when I slept than now. My right hand immediately went to work, teasing my hypersensitive head as I thumbed over the slit smearing the pre-cum that was pearling out spreading it up and down my shaft as I stroked myself lazily. My head lolling back as I finally gripped my cock more firmly and started to slowly pump myself while my head was filled with fantasies of fucking Eren on every piece of furniture I owned.

"Nnh... ahh, E-Eren..." I moaned out quietly.

Not like it really mattered if I restrained myself or not, I highly doubted even Eren would hear me over all the noise he was making but that only spurred me on. I wanted him to hear me but at the same time I didn't. The thought of masturbating to the sound of my next door neighbor having sex was disgustingly thrilling and I felt a rush run through my body, like a bolt of adrenaline hitting me as I quickened my pace bucking my hips up into my hand. My hands were cold but my body was on fire and I could feel that fire slowly building in pit of my stomach and I was so fucking close, just a little bit more and I could-

"F-fuck...! Eren... Er-en!" I was now shamelessly moaning, throwing any caution to the wind as I fucked my hand with gusto, my head filled with beautiful, lewd images of Eren with his big, beautiful eyes heavy and clouded with lust and desire for me and it gave me that little push I needed.

"Nghh! Ahh-Yes...! E-Eren!" I grunted loudly, the sound of my heart beating deafening loud in my ears as that slow burn started to turn into a raging wild fire and my muscles twitched with my orgasm right at the edge, I was riding so fucking close to it.

I could feel the sweat beading on my forehead and the collar of my shirt was starting to stick uncomfortably to my skin but I needed my release so badly I couldn't bring myself to give a fuck how gross I felt being covered with sweat. I jerked my hand and with a quick twist of my wrist, combined with another chain of lewd moans from Eren, I was sent into euphoria. The muscles in my stomach clenched tightly and convulsed as I came hard and heavy in my hand, feeling my own warm seed spilling into my fisted hand as I jerked myself through my orgasm. My mouth hanging open in a silent moan and I slowly started coming down from my brief high.

My body went limp against the couch, my breathing was so painfully labored as I struggled to even it out and calm my racing heart. The fire that I felt spreading through out my entire body was gone almost as quickly as it came, leaving me cold and sweaty and feeling gross as I released my softening cock from my hand. I threaded the hand that wasn't covered with jizz through my slightly damp hair and basked in the after glow orgasms normally brought but my need to shower and feel clean had me standing up on buckling knees and walking awkwardly toward the bathroom.

All the while, the banging and moaning had come to a cease and I was left to the silence once more. Sweet, sweet silence. I showered, wallowed in my own self-hate while scrubbing myself and then slipped into a fresh pair of pants before slinking off to bed for some much needed rest. My orgasm had left me feeling extremely drained and sleep quickly took me as I drifted off into the black nothingness. My memory of tonight's deed buried in the far back of my mind.

---

That morning, I woke up to the sound of my phone buzzing violently on the end table near my bed and I groaned burying my face into my pillow doing my damnedest to ignore it. If the vibrating phone wasn't enough to bug the hell out of me, the pounding at my door sure as fuck did the trick. I didn't want to get up, didn't want to deal with anything or anyone for that matter. I just wanted to sleep my Sunday away and just not have to think about anything for once, I'd done too much of that the past three weeks and I was fucking sick of it.

I ignored the pounding on my door in favor of drifting off into sleep once more but that didn't last long when I heard a shrill, all too familiar voice calling out my name at the top of their lungs practically shrieking as they did so. I shot up from my bed, hair still a mess and clothes all wrinkled as my feet touched the cold floor and I hissed already regretting my decision to get out of bed. The shrieking continued as I shuffled out of my bedroom muttering curses under my breath as I took my time maneuvering through my apartment, not in any real rush to answer the fucking headache that waited for me at my door.

Then the banging and the shrieking suddenly stopped and I narrowed my eyes suspiciously as wearily stepped toward the door peeking out of the peep hole and seeing nothing. No Hanji. No anybody, there wasn't anyone at my door and my brows furrowed together in confusion. I know I didn't fucking imagine that shrieking voice of hers and I know she isn't the fucking type to just give up so easily just because I didn't answer right away so...

My thoughts immediately halted as I heard a familiar yelp coming from the hall and my eyes shot open in horror. Then just as quickly as the horror has set in, I let my anger take over as I unlocked the deadbolt on my door and yanked it open shooting my head out the door as I searched for my psychotic best friend. I immediately found what I was looking for when I turned my head to left where Eren's apartment was and I bolted out the door.

"Fucking Hanji..." I hissed through clenched teeth as I approached the two bodies practically glued together.

Hanji had trapped Eren in a bear hug and was clinging to him like a fucking koala as I stomped over to my neighbor who had a look of pure terror on his face. Big, emerald orbs wide with fear and confusion while his hands hung awkwardly in the air not sure what he should do with them as Hanji continued to crush his rib cage.

"Get the fuck off of him, Shitty glasses." I snapped jabbing the sharpest part of my elbow into her side making her squeak and immediately release Eren from her death grip in favor of cradling her side.

Eren seemed to relax considerably when she finally released him and I grabbed Hanji by the collar of her shirt before attempting to drag her back to my apartment so that I could murder her slowly. My mind already working up ways to do so as she struggled against my tight grip on her shirt.

"U-Um, Levi...?" I heard the unsure tone of Eren's voice as I tried to haul Hanji away from him.

My eyes snapped up to meet his and god, I regretted it because the sight I was met with was heavenly. His chocolate brown locks were a complete mess, more so than usual, the thin cotton shirt he was wearing was hanging off his shoulder due to it's huge size revealing some of his perfectly tanned skin and right collar bone. I didn't dare let my eyes trail further down in fear of seeing a tanned pair of legs that would probably drive me insane so I opted for staring at a spot just behind his head.

"What?" I said still holding onto to Hanji as she whined in my grasp.

"O-Oh! Um, n-nothing I guess... um... is everything okay?" he asked still sounding very hesitant and unsure of himself but still trying to force a smile.

"Everything's fine, why?"

"Uh... well?"

I saw him point a shy finger toward Hanji who was staring at Eren like he was a raw piece of meat and she was getting ready to pounce on him. I rolled my eyes and proceeded to shove her in the direction of my apartment roughly earning me a surprise squawk from Hanji as she bumped into a wall.

"Just ignore her, she's fucking crazy." I said quickly before turning to walk back to my apartment but something zipped right past me before I could even register what it was.

"Soooo, Eren... did you like the Chocolate Mousse Cake Levi gave you?" I heard Hanji ask from behind me and I whirled around on the ball of my foot staring at her wide eyed because when the fuck had she managed to slip past me?

"O-Oh! Um, yes I liked it a lot actually."

"Great! I knew nobody could resist my cake! I was worried Levi ended up not giving it to you and that he kept it for himself. He's addicted to chocolate you know and-"

"Hanji." I called from where I stood, arms crossed over my chest with a hip out as I tapped my foot impatiently.

"Wait a minute... you make that cake? Does that mean you also work at Ailes de la liberté?" Eren asked her curiously and I face palmed because, fucking hell now he encouraged her and I'd never get her to shut up now.

"YES! I'm the head Pastry chef, Hanji Zoe Zacharias in charge of all things sweet and delicious! Enchantée, Eren!" Hanji beamed and I sighed holding my head in my hands because, why?

"Oh um, Nice to meet you Miss Zacharius?" he said nervously and Hanji threw her head back with laughter.

"You're so adorable, Eren. Just call me Hanji!"

"O-Okay, Hanji. It's very nice to meet you."

Just then Captain came bolting out of Eren's apartment and straight into my arms nearly knocking me back as I caught the startled feline who was hissing in my arms. I cocked a brow at the cat as it relaxed in my embrace but it's ears stayed pinned back to it's head. Two sets of eyes were immediately on me as I stroked the cat's ears back trying to calm in and the hissing settled into a low purr that I took as a sign I was doing something right.

"Oh, Eren is this your cat? He's adorable!" Hanji bounded over toward me and attempted to pet the purring cat in my hands but it immediately went back on the defensive and swatted a paw at her hand hissing and showing it's teeth at her.

I smirked at the crestfallen look on Hanji's face as she attempted repeatedly to pet the hissing cat in my arms but each time she did she was met with an angry paw and another hiss and I had never felt more proud of this cat until just now. I'd have to buy Captain some salmon for sure this week as a reward for keeping Hanji at bay.

"Oh, I'm sorry Hanji. Captain doesn't take very well to strangers at all." Eren said with an apologetic smile as he came closer taking the cat from my arms and cradling it to his chest.

Hanji only smiled. "That's okay, Eren! He kinda reminds me of Levi if he were a cat. All grumpy and frowns and bad attitude. I like him!"

"Ugh. Rude." I said rolling my eyes and attempting to stock off in the hopes that Hanji would have the sense to follow me but she didn't.

"Hey, Jaeger. Your damn cat tried to claw my face off again!" I heard another male voice whine from behind me and I smirked because it was Eren's stupid ass boyfriend. Make that two extra servings of Salmon for Captain this week. God, if that cat kept it up he was going to be obese.

"That's your own fault, Kirstein. You stepped on his tail last night and didn't even apologize, you jerk."

"Whatever, it's a cat. Get your ass back to bed, it's too early for this shit." I heard him say and I quickly started back for my apartment not wanting to be apart of this conversation anymore as my cheeks flushed with recollections from last night filling my head.

There was no way I'd be able to look at either of them in the face if I was going to be thinking about the fact that I got off while listening to them have sex last night. Well, I didn't necessarily get off while listening to them having sex together but rather the thoughts of me fucking Eren instead of that horse.

"Oooh~ Who do we have here?" I heard Hanji chime and I froze in my steps. Shit, this was bad.

"Jean, do you remember that Chocolate Mousse cake? This is Hanji, she's the one who made it. Hanji, this is my boyfriend Jean."

"No shit? Sorry for the lack of clothes, I wasn't expecting to get clawed to death this morning. Jean Kirstein." I didn't have to turn around to know that pony boy was probably holding his hand out for Hanji to shake but what I heard next almost made me choke.

Hanji was silent for a long while, little did I know that she was scrutinizing Eren's boyfriend thoroughly from head to toe. Okay, maybe I did know that already but I wasn't willing to turn around and see for myself.

"Non! Je n'approuve pas votre décision." and I heard her stock off after me (probably leaving behind a very confused Eren and Rainbow Dash) as I held in laughter on my way into my apartment.

Jesus fucking Christ, now I remembered why I was friends with her sometimes. We liked to talk shit about people in French and if that wasn't true friendship then I don't know what is and you can go fuck yourself, because that right there is Grade A friendship.

I'm sure Eren would probably come up to me later and ask me what the hell Hanji had said and maybe I'd tell him or maybe I wouldn't but the fact was that Hanji had probably made my morning despite the rude awakening and as she entered my apartment shutting the door behind her as she pranced in, I had already composed myself and was now pouring her a cup of coffee.

"Have I ever told you how much I fucking love you?" I said sliding the cup of coffee over to her on the kitchen island as she hoisted herself up to shit on top of it while swinging her legs back and forth excitedly.

"No, but I know deep in my heart you always did." she said in a sing song tone of voice before taking a sip of her coffee and I chuckled into the rim of my cup.

"You're fucking crazy but... I love you, shitty glasses." I mumbled more to myself than anyone but I knew she heard me.

I may never understand why I'm still friends with Hanji, she drives me up the wall in more ways than one and there's never a time that she's not just annoying the hell out of me but if I was being honest with myself I was still friends with her because she understood me better than most people. I fucking sucked at communicating but somehow she always manages to understand what I say and what I really mean without me needing to actually explain myself.

We spent the next hour drinking coffee and eating crepes she made from scratch while talking shit about Eren's boyfriend and basically me spilling about what happened at the soccer game yesterday. Did I mention we talked shit? Yeah, Grade A friendship for sure.

Chapter Text

"Welcome to The Shoreline Cafe and Bookstore!"

That was my usual greeting for new customer's at Armin's shop. I had rehearsed and repeated that line so many times that it was practically burned into my DNA, as soon as I heard that little chime of the bell from the door signaling a customer I would throw out that little line with a smile and as much enthusiasm as I could muster which wasn't very hard for me.

I'd been working here since Armin first took over the place about four years ago, we were just fresh out of high school and while that might have seemed too early for anyone to own a business at such a young age, Armin had always been more mature mentally so it was easy for him. The place had been his grandpa's bookshop at first, Mr.Arlert was a sweet guy and we'd spent plenty of time helping him out with the place when we were kids so I guess you could say I'd worked here forever. I'd only recently started getting paid for it though.

How can a 22 year old manage to survive off of a Cafe and Bookstore wage you ask? Well, I've been lucky enough to earn extra money whenever I perform at the shop. It hadn't started out that way, at first I had pulled out my guitar and started singing because it had been a pretty rough day at the shop and customer's were scarce lately so I had to use desperate measures.

It had worked and eventually my one time performance had turned into an every other day occurrence here at The Shoreline. I'm not really sure how Annie got roped into it though, but together we brought it plenty of regulars and curious listeners and life's been pretty good ever since. Today wasn't going to be much different, actually. Except for the fact that my new neighbor Levi had just come in.

It busier today than usual at the cafe level of the shop but when I saw a glimpse of Raven hair enter the shop and get in line behind the other patrons to order I immediately knew who it was and lit up. I hadn't seen Levi in the shop since the first time he had come in with Erwin who I learned later on was a childhood friend of his, sort of like Mikasa, Armin and I. That was probably two weeks ago now and if I was being honest with myself, I thought he would have come in a little sooner.

There were three other patrons in front of Levi and I quickly worked to get their orders so I could talk to the man. Two Caffe Latte's and one iced coffee later, Levi approached the counter with his usual unreadable expression and a bored look in his eyes. I beamed at him with genuine excitement but remembered that I still had a job to do, but that didn't mean I still couldn't have some fun with the guy. He was always so serious.

"Hey there, Serg. What can I get ya?" I asked leaning over the counter top slightly.

He rolled his eyes at me and I couldn't help the laugh that erupted out of me because he seemed to do that a lot whenever I was around. I didn't think much of it though, he didn't actually seem to be genuinely annoyed with me, at least that's what I assumed.

"Being a little shit so early in the day I see." his low voice drawled and gave him a cheeky smirk.

"I'm always being a little shit according to you. Either that or I'm a 'brat' or a 'kid'."

"All of the above." he answered with a slight smirk and had I not been staring at him I probably wouldn't have caught it.

"Yeah, Yeah," I said with a roll of my eyes as well, "What do you want to drink?" I questioned suddenly remembering I was still on the clock and their were still other customers waiting to be served.

"Just an Assam Tea, in the largest cup you have." he made a move for his wallet and I quickly nodded ringing him up at the register.

"That'll be 2.75."

He handed me a five dollar bill and told me to keep the change, I raised a quizzical brow at him and he only briefly explained that he didn't like carrying around loose change in his pockets so I shrugged and put the five in the register.

Levi left the counter and took a seat in the corner by the shop's large picture window, he sat with his arms crossed over his chest and he legs crossed under the table. It would have been a funny thing to see considering he was on the short side and seeing him sit so comfortably like that made me want to laugh but I couldn't as I was now serving the rest of the customers.

I had Sasha take Levi his tea as I still had my hands busy with the last three customer's. My eyes briefly shot up to the glass, digital clock on the far left wall and it was almost time for Annie and I to go on which explained the onslaught of customer's that suddenly came pouring in. It seemed like our regulars had picked up on the fact that we normally performed at a certain time of the afternoon but hey, more customer's meant more tips.

Sure enough, Armin came down the spiral staircase from the bookshop on the second level and took over in my place so that I could go get Annie and set up on stage. I lingered on the ground floor a few moments longer as my eyes trailed over to the corner where Levi was sitting. He was sipping on the large cup of Assam while on his cell phone, his facial expression was as blank as usual and I couldn't read his mood from this distance.

Then again, could I ever read his mood? I could never tell if he was actually annoyed by my presence or comfortable with it whenever it came to talking to him. I assumed he was just neutral with me but for all I knew that was just his way of putting up with me if I was annoying him.

I sauntered off to get Annie from upstairs and before going back down I pulled out my phone and sent a text to Jean who was probably still at practice. The dumb lovable horse. Don't ask me why I love the idiot, we fight more than we talk but somehow it works for us. I've been with Jean since senior year of High school and our relationship hasn't really changed from when we were rivals on the field.

Maybe that's when I fell for him, or maybe I'd always liked him and was too damn stubborn to realize it earlier. Yeah, that could be it. Stubborn was my middle name. Eren 'Stubborn' Jaeger. Sounds legit. I got a reply surprisingly quick, well quicker than usual for Jean while he was practice and I snorted at his reply to my text about going on with Annie soon.

12: 24PM
From: Kirstein
Have fun singing your hipster shit, Jaeger.

Yeah, don't ask me why I'm with him. He knows exactly how to push my buttons at exactly the right time. I quickly punched in a reply and laughed quietly as the brilliant text I was about to send before I sent it and pocket my phone. I jogged for the spiral staircase and quickly made my way down, Annie was probably already waiting for me downstairs.

12:26PM
To: Kirstein
Eat some hay, Kirstein. You're not you when you're hungry, babe <3

As I had assumed, Annie was already setting up on stage and I quickly sprinted to the break room in the back to get my guitar and my amp. Annie and I always went over songs we would sing the night before and last night we'd settled on an indie band we both liked. If there was one thing I was grateful for, it was the fact that despite how a lot of people perceived her, Annie was actually pretty cool.

We shared a lot of common interest so I found it easy to get a long with her, she was probably my closest female friend behind Mikasa so it only made it better and more convenient that she was also my adopted sister's girlfriend.

I carefully took my guitar out of it's case, the mother of pearl rimming around the edges of the black acoustic/electric guitar reflected silver and purple under the lighting of the stage and the face of the guitar shined after just having been cleaned this morning. I loved my guitar more than life, it was the apple of my eye. It had been a gift from Armin and Mikasa, something about my old guitar barely hanging by a thread anymore but being my first guitar, I still kept it.

I turned the tuning heads plucking at each note starting with the bass strings first and working my way down to the thinnest strings until I was happy with the way it sounded. Once I had my guitar all tuned up and strings stretched, I turned my attention to Annie who had her tambourine ready. I cast a quick glance out into the crowd of people who were starting to gather at tables closer to the stage but my eyes trailed back to that dark corner.

All I could make out was the color silver as my eyes met Levi's. It was a strange feeling that crept up on me as I noticed he had his eyes trained on the stage, an elbow propped up on the table top and his cheek resting in the palm of his hand as his head was tilted slightly. He was watching as well and somehow that fact made me buzz with excitement. Levi was a mystery to me and not knowing what kind of reaction he'll have was somewhat thrilling.

I cleared my throat softly and turned my attention back to my fingers that were currently ghosting over the strings and frets of my guitar, my body instinctively ready to start playing the note's I'd memorized over the past few days and I let my finger tips press into steel string as I picked at the strings. Annie also started gently tapping her tambourine against her jean covered thigh. We built up a steady beat together and the cafe grew quiet as all eyes were on the small stage we sat upon.

"The complex ray shifting light,
They skim cross my eyes and into the night.
I'm swept away and my heart ensnared.
You were alone when I found you there.
Your troubling soul was too much to bear,
Slipping in and out of time." (Ooh)

"It's hard to find, peace of mind."

"You were a storm and I a sail,
Caught in the middle of you.
I was a fool and my heart it fell,
In and around you.
Trembling there in the midst of truth,
I would have lost myself in your waves."

"Slipped from my hands not a warning made,
Like steps in the sand they were taken away,
With the tide of the ocean's rise.
You ran away to another land,
And I chose to stay and wait for your return,
The time has come to pass us by." (Ooh)

"It's hard to find, my peace of mind."

"You were a storm and I a sail,
Caught in the middle of you.
I was a fool and my heart it fell,
In and around you.
Trembling there in the midst of truth,
I would have lost myself in your waves."

(Ooh)

"Where'd the time go?"
"Where'd the light go?"

(Ooh Ooh)

I played us out the rest of the way and turned to look at Annie as the final note played. A small smile on her face and I beamed at her as the cafe erupted in applause and whistling cheers. We played one more song and then our weekly performance was finished. I was really satisfied with this weeks performance, probably because I really liked the band we covered today so there was that.

After putting my stuff away, I jumped off the stage and scurried off to put my guitar in the break room along with my amp before coming back out to the front. I was officially on break now but checked in on Sasha and Armin as they worked the counter, Annie had already gone back upstairs to man the bookstore with Bertholdt.

Armin proceeded to run me out from behind the counter and he swatted me playfully with the dish rag hanging over his shoulder and I laughed backing off. Sasha handed me a Pumpkin Spice latte, my favorite, and a fresh blueberry muffin. Thank god for Sasha, she made the best muffins. I carried my piping hot cup of love carefully in my hand as I searched for somewhere to sit, the place was still pretty packed but there were a few seats open.

I looked over to that dark corner by the shop window again and contemplated pushing my boundaries. It wasn't like there were any boundaries to cross, neither in a literal or figurative way but would it annoy Levi if I bothered him? I decided I'd find out as I made my way toward the small table with only two chairs. I approached but Levi didn't notice me right away as he was currently absorbed in something on the screen of his phone.

I cleared my throat and he glanced up at me, piercing silver that reminded me of knives scanned over the contents in my hands and he put his phone down motioning for me to sit, which I did. I placed my cup down first not wanting to spill even a single drop of it and took a bite of my muffin as I sat down, I noticed Levi staring at me with his hands threaded in front of him and I swallowed my muffin down thickly before speaking.

"Is there a reason why you're sitting all alone in a corner like you're in time out?" I asked with a smile and I heard him snort behind his hands wishing they weren't there so I could see if he was smirking or not. My guess is he probably was.

"Did you ever think that maybe some people just like sitting all alone in a corner?"

"No. I just thought everyone was as outgoing and as friendly as me." I said sarcastically but I smiled at him regardless.

"You're such a little shit, Eren." I heard him chuckle quietly but it wasn't even close to a laugh.

"Tell me something I don't know. But seriously, why are you sitting in this corner?" I asked between a sip of my pumpkin spice latte.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Eren. I like to people watch. There, I said it. Are you satisfied now?"

"Yep." I said popping the 'P' sound with my lips as I smiled and Levi stared at me for awhile.

Then he made a sound between a snort and a laugh and he tossed a napkin at me. I took it and looked at him with a questioning stare and he rolled his eyes again.

"You have whipped cream on your nose, dumbass. But if you want to walk around looking like a loser, be my guest."

I felt my cheeks go hot as I quickly wiped my nose clean and was horrified to see that it wasn't just a dab of whipped cream on my nose but a fucking glob of it. How had I not seen that? God, Levi must think I'm such a nerd. I laughed feeling embarrassed as I scrunched the napkin up in my hand and took another bite of my muffin avoiding Levi's gaze as I glanced out the window.

It was hot outside but the sky was slowly turning grey and cloudy and I knew Rain was a high possibility. Still, the smokey colorless sky and darkening clouds that were rolling in reminded me of a pair of eyes that were currently still glaring at me and I suddenly felt nervous all over again.

"What are you drinking? It smells like Cinnamon and Hanji's house during Christmas."

I felt my nervousness melt away as Levi stared at the drink in my hand and I hadn't been prepared for the sudden subject change so I glanced between my glass and Levi for a moment before remembering, oh yeah he asked me a question. I have to answer him.

"Oh, It's a Pumpkin Spice latte. They're obviously not in season yet but Sasha always makes me one regardless. It's my favorite thing on the menu." I beamed and Levi nodded.

"Wait a minute, you're telling me your drink this all the time? Don't you get fucking sick of it after awhile?" he inquired and I laughed.

"No, it's like Christmas in my mouth. Who could hate Christmas?" Levi leaned back in his seat at that, his arms crossed over his chest again and an almost smug look on his face.

"Well, you're looking at someone who does hate Christmas."

My jaw hung open and I looked at Levi like he had just murdered my cat. He actually Christmas? I couldn't believe what I was hearing, I mean yeah there were holidays that I hated too but Christmas?

"Seriously? How could you hate Christmas, Levi? It's the most wonderful time of the year!" I motioned with my hands wildly and I heard him sigh. He sounded so done with everything.

"Now you're just starting to sound like my crazy co-worker, Hanji. Is it that surprising that there are people out there who don't think Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year? It's just one big commercial holiday that retail stores use to make you spend your hard earned cash on shit that nobody actually wants."

"Oh my god, Levi. Could you possibly be any more of a scrooge? Come on, there's gotta be at least one thing about Christmas that you don't hate?"

"I hate everything about Christmas, Eren. Everything."

"But why? You haven't given me a good answer and I refuse to drop the subject until you give me one solid, good reason."

"Oh my fucking god, you really are just as bad as Hanji..." he mumbled quietly at first before heaving a sigh that was probably the most exasperated I'd heard yet. "Maybe I'll tell you another time, Eren. Ask me again when we're not in a coffee shop."

He pushed his seat back from the table and stood up gathering his things and I started to worry that maybe I had offended him or made him mad by asking him about something he didn't seem to want to talk about. I tried to open my mouth and say something but nothing came out. Of all the times for my impulsive nature to leave me.

He tossed his empty cup into a trash bin near by and walked back to the table where I still sat sipping at my latte but keeping quite while staring at wall across from me. Levi picket up his phone, checked the time on his wrist and then slipped the phone into his black slacks. I hadn't even noticed but he had been wearing a light blue button up with the sleeves rolled up past his elbows.

"I've gotta go. I'll see you around, Kid." he said looking down at me.

I looked up at him and nodded with a forced smile and a hum letting him know that had heard him and he started for the door, my eyes followed after his retreating back and when he was out the door I turned my head toward the window and continued to watch him as he crossed the street toward his parked Ferrari. I stayed watching him as he slid into the driver's seat, started the engine and sped off down the street.

Once he was out of sight, I sat at the table sipping my cooled latte and nibbling on my muffin as I got lost in my thoughts. The buzz of the cafe faded into the background and the only sounds I heard were my own questions echoing in my head. Had I upset him? I really hoped I didn't. Levi was my neighbor and it would be awkward if he was mad at me considering we see each other everyday and Captain is always at his apartment when I'm away.

I sighed finishing the last of my muffin and chugging down what was left of my already cold latte before I fished out my phone and started tapping out a new message on the screen. I hesitated to send it at first, ghosting my thumb over the send button over and over again until I eventually said 'Fuck it' and sent the message. The worst that could happen was my message was ignored and I wouldn't get a reply.

I drummed my fingers on the table top as the minutes went by and eventually my nerves got the best of me. I stood up from the table Levi and I had been sitting at and threw my trash away deciding that getting back to work would distract me from my worrying thoughts. I got behind the counter relieving Armin of that duty and tied the green apron around my waist before getting losing myself in orders and idle chit chat with regulars.

About half an hour later while I was leaning against the counter having a heated text conversation with Jean (What's new?), I saw a notification that Levi had replied to my message and I gulped swiping my thumb across the screen to read his reply. I immediately let out a sigh of relief and smiled at the message he had sent me, tapping out a reply quickly.

1:12PM
To: Levi
I'm sorry if I upset you. Are you mad?

1:49PM
From: Levi
I'm not mad. That's just how my face always looks, idiot.

1:50PM
To: Levi
Good :P I'm glad you're not mad at me. Talk to you later, Mr. Grinch.

I giggled pocketing my phone in my pocket once I had sent it and filled someone's order in the meantime. I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulder's now that I knew Levi wasn't mad at me. When I got another short break, I pulled out my phone and read my replies from Jean replying to those first and then tapping on the reply from Levi and I had to stifle a laugh as I read it.

1:53PM
From: Levi
Fuck off, Eren. I hope you get six lumps of coal and dog shit in your stocking this year.

I shook my head and while smiling and Sasha shot me a curious look that simply waved off because she wouldn't understand even if I told her. None of my friends would probably get Levi's strange sense of humor anyway, but that was okay. The rest of my work day was pretty boring and slow but despite that I was in a better mood than usual because Levi wasn't mad. We could still be friends and for some reason that made me ridiculously happy.

Chapter Text

I walked into Ailes that morning tired. I had a rough night, if the darker than usual circles under my eyes weren't sign enough. Ever since that night I "overheard" Eren and his boyfriend having sex, I'd been plagued by wet dreams of the like and my already fucked up sleeping schedule got even more fucked up.

I had been trying to distract myself from my nightly sexual frustrations by going to the gym whenever I popped a boner, which was almost every night and I was starting to pack on more muscle than I had intended. I might have been taking hitting the weights a little too hard as of late, so next time I'd work on Cardio. The last thing I needed was to become a ripped little midget and walk around like the 5 foot 3 version of Arnold fucking Schwarzenegger.

Last night I had gone for a run at 3AM and then hit the gym until about 5AM. When I came home I was just so fucking tired but damn it if I was going to sleep, my body was so hyped up on adrenaline that there was no way in hell I was going to be able to work in even a couple of hours of sleep until my shift at 11:00. So what the fuck did I end up doing from the time I got home at five to the time I had to leave for work? I cleaned the ever living fuck out of my apartment.

So, yes I was tired as shit and kind of sore because I might have strained something while running this morning but I wasn't about to miss going to work. Ailes was my get away from the lonely, quietness of my apartment and sometimes I needed the Chaos that the kitchen brought.

I sauntered into the kitchen where my team was huddled around Erwin, Even Mike and Hanji were there. They all turned around and gave me a look that I ignored because I already knew that I was a few minutes late, and I was never fucking late.

"Levi, you're just in time." I heard Erwin say through a smile.

"Just in time for what?" I drawled slipping my leather jacket off and hanging it on a coat rack near his office door.

"For our monthly team bonding draw, duh!" Hanji piped up and I rolled my eyes at her.

"Is it that time of the month already?" I walked up to the rest of them joining the small circle of chefs as Erd and Gunther made room for me.

"You bet your grumpy little ass it is, and it's time to draw straws to see who's place we're gonna mess up this time!"

God, I hoped it wasn't me. Normally it was Erwin or Hanji who got stuck with the shortest straw but I felt like that was always kind of set up. Erwin had a handful of exactly 8 straws and held it out for everyone to take one. Now, had I not been dead tired this morning I probably would have paid attention to the way Hanji and Erwin smirked at one another as I drew my straw.

After everyone had a straw of their own we all compared the lengths to see who was the poor sucker who would be the one to host our next Team bonding party. I felt 7 pairs of eyes on me as I reluctantly presented my straw already knowing I was going to be the poor mother fucker who drew the shortest straw. Hanji suddenly threw her head back cackling like a mad woman while Erd and Gunther gave me sympathetic looks.

"Fucking Eyebrows and Shitty glasses, you set me up didn't you?" I hissed through clenched teeth as I threw the straw at Hanji's face nearly missing her eye if her goggles weren't in the fucking way.

"Now, Now, Levi. Don't be a sore loser, accept your fate with a smile. It's not nice to falsely accuse people~" Hanji sang as she skipped off toward the back, I shot Mike a glare and he held his hands up in a form of surrender as he back away and followed after his demented wife.

The rest of my team did the same and went about their daily duties of getting out ingredients and preparing dishes for the afternoon lunch rush to come. Erwin hung back and followed me into the back changing rooms as I threw my bag violently into my locker pulling my shirt off and throwing it in as well.

"You're making this out to be worse than it really is, Levi. You know our Team Bonding parties always end up being really fun."

"Yeah, when they're NOT at my fucking apartment. What's the fucking deal with that anyway? My place isn't suitable for shit like that." I stood there crossing my arms over my chest not caring that I was talking to Erwin shirtless or not. It's not like we haven't seen each other half naked before.

"It's not like we're inviting the entire staff, Levi. It's team bonding, you only have four people on your team one of whom is off on maternity leave. I think your apartment will survive one night with more than three people inside it." he ended with a chuckle as he leaned against the door frame. "By the way, have you been hitting the gym again? Your shoulder to shoulder ratio looks like it's widened and your neck is looking thicker than it was a year ago."

Damn Erwin and his overly observant eyes. I keep forgetting this is Commander Handsome I'm dealing with here, not just any old guy from my childhood. Erwin could tell what your body ratio was just by glancing at you, even with clothes on. It was fucking scary.

"Yeah... I've had trouble sleeping lately so I've been going down to that old 24 hour gym we used to hit during our training days. I might have been over doing it on the weights lately."

I reached into my locker and pulled out the black and red uniform jacket with my name stitched in red on the left front pocket slipping it on over my bare chest not bothering to slip on the black undershirt I normally wore with it. I was so fucking out of it this morning, it was so annoying but I couldn't bring myself to care.

"Just be careful, Levi." I heard him warn me quietly and my eyes flashed up to meet his sharp stare.

He just had to fucking go there with me right now. I wasn't in the mood to talk about old scars and yet here Erwin was on the verge of bringing it up in the middle of work hours to be exact. I didn't need to be in an even shittier mood than I already was, my food never came out good when I was in a shitty mood. So to save myself from having to have this conversation at all, I quickly finished dressing into my uniform and slipped past Erwin's big frame blocking the door.

"Does Nile still run that Boxing Club on the outskirts of Trost?" I asked before walking away and if Erwin's silence was the answer I thought it was then it meant 'Yes, Nile still owns that boxing club but why are you asking?'

I shot Erwin a glare as I looked at him over my shoulder but eventually sighed when he didn't turn around to follow after me, he stayed standing stiffly by the frame of the door, back to me and arms crossed tightly over his broad chest.

"I'm not going to involved with Nile again, Erwin. Jesus fucking Christ, I'm not stupid. I was just curious. I'm thinking about picking it up again... boxing I mean. Just as a hobby to keep myself busy. My life's gotten to... quiet lately."

He finally turned around to face me, his lips pulled into a tight line that didn't give away his true feelings on the subject. I knew he wanted to give me a long lecture about picking up a sport that almost potentially got me killed during our Army days and I knew I probably shouldn't have brought up Nile Dok in the first place but it has honestly been on my mind for awhile now and if I was being completely honest with myself, I needed something to keep my mind off my going-nowhere-fast crush on Eren.

My feelings for him were taking a toll on me lately and I felt like I was going to go insane if I didn't do something, anything to take my focus off some damn kid with gorgeous eyes that just couldn't leave me alone no matter where I was or what I was doing. I felt Erwin place one of his big, meaty hands on my shoulder and give it a light squeeze before he let it go and took a few steps past me.

"I trust you, Levi. If that's what you really want to do, then I say go for it. I see no harm in picking up a hobby so long as it's a healthy one."

And there was the hidden jab. I knew it was coming but couldn't care as I had gotten the approval I was seeking. I may not have acted like it but Erwin's opinion on the things I did really did matter to me, as did Hanji's opinion. Probably Hanji's opinion effected me more because if even she found something I was doing wrong, coming from the woman who was crazy enough to actually like dissecting rats and frogs and baby piglets in science class, then whatever I was doing wrong must be really wrong for someone like her to shake her head in shame.

Still, I wouldn't tell Hanji about me picking up Boxing again. At least not yet, I didn't need her screeching in my ear about why it was a bad idea. Like I hadn't thought about that every night for the past two weeks. Nope, definitely didn't need that right now. So with Erwin's blessing, I decided I would investigate some of the local fight clubs in my local area. I was definitely sure that there were some nearby where I lived and why not find one that also happened to be conveniently close to my apartment.

I had decided, I would look into the fight clubs near my place and I would pick up boxing again. For now though, I had to deal with reality and get through my work day. I tried not to think about the fact that I was going to have to host this next 'Team Bonding Party' at my fucking apartment of all places for the sake of not getting angry and burning all the food. Luckily, Karma was on my side and Hanji got what she deserved when she ruined an entire batch of Crème brûlée. Ah, sweet Karma.

---

That Sunday, I had to fight with an elderly lady at the supermarket after I got off work for the last fresh batch of Beef filets that the butcher had just put out. This woman could not have been any younger than 70 and here she was literally willing to fight me for these pieces of meat.

Well too fucking bad for her, I'd known this butcher for years since working at Ailes and let's just say I was his favorite customer since I always brought him plenty of business. I got those fucking beef filets in the end and I walked out of that supermarket fucking smiling, fuck whoever saw it.

Once my shopping for tonight's 'Team Bonding Party' was done, I promptly made my way home to shower and change because I'd been out on the road most of the afternoon and it was hot as Satan's balls outside. God, when was fall going to get here? I couldn't take anymore of this fucking heat.

I hauled my bags up the stairs, needing to make at least three trips to get all the groceries into my place quickly. I felt like all those late night trips to the gym never happened because fuck if I ever felt so out of shape, then again I think anyone would carrying heavy bags of groceries up three flights of stairs multiple times.

On the third trip up, I was fucking exhausted. It probably wasn't the smartest idea to save all the heavy shit for last because by the time I made it to my door I was slumping forward trying to catch my breath while trying not to put the bags down on the floor because, ew gross. I didn't want my future food touching anything on the ground, even if they were in brown paper bags.

I had made the stupid ass mistake of closing my door when I left and it automatically locked from the inside, so here I was trying to dig for my keys keys in my jean pockets while both of my arms felt like they were going numb from carrying this heavy as shit bags and I might or might not have been cursing up a storm. In french... because that's what short, angry french men do.

"Merde! C'est des conneries..."

"Uhm... do you need help?" I heard an all to familiar voice cut into my not so internal cursing and I whipped my head up to see Eren poking his head out of his doorway smirking.

The little shit, does it look like I need help? Okay, the answer to that was 'Yes, I do need fucking help. Do you not see me struggling over here? Are you a moron?' but maybe not necessarily in that exact form.

I huffed letting my cheeks puff out as I did so, my bangs were hanging in my eyes and I tried to flick them out of my face because I was just so annoyed right now and my bangs were not helping any. That also reminded me that I needed a trim very soon if my bangs were starting to get in the way.

"No, I don't need help. I actually like carrying 100 pound bangs on my arms while looking for my keys. Yes, I need fucking help." I didn't mean to snap at him, really, but I was not in the mood for cheerful neighbors today. Even if that cheerful neighbor was the source of all my girlish fantasies.

"Whoa, okay chill out there." he said with a laugh, thank god Eren wasn't an overly sensitive pussy otherwise this probably would be going a lot differently.

"Sorry..." I mumbled quietly as he trotted over to me, Captain following closely behind him before he started sniffing at the bags.

"Where are your keys?" he asked and I suddenly felt my cheeks go warm with embarrassment because, fuck my keys were in my front pocket.

"... They're in my right front pocket..." I said trying to keep my voice even and flat because holy shit, this is bad. What if I suddenly popped a boner while he's looking for my keys in my pants? I'll fucking die of embarrassment.

I felt his hand slowly slip into the pocket of my jeans and immediately regretted wearing the tight ones today. Why did I have to wear the tight ones? It's like the gods were laughing at me. I stiffened considerably as Eren struggled to wiggled his large hand into the pocket that was practically glued to my hipbone and I knew I was probably blushing like a little bitch right now so I did my best to avoid his gaze and focus on the numbing pain in my arms instead.

"Jesus, Levi how far down are your keys?" I heard him mumble close to the shell of my ear, I could feel his hot breath ghosting past my hair and I bit the inside of my cheek.

'God damn it, his breath smells like mint and he smells so nice too. Shit, hurry up and get the keys Eren before I do something I'll regret.'

"Shut up and keep looking, fucking brat. It can't be that fucking hard to find keys." I bit back feeling the embarrassment coming back at full force.

Shitshitshit! Think about something else, Levi. Think about... think about... MRS. ROBINSON NAKED IN THE SHOWER. I felt his fingers brush dangerously close to my crotch as he dug around for my keys and fucking hell how was he not aware that he was practically groping my dick at this point? I was almost seething with embarrassment and anger at myself for not being able to control these urges when he was right fucking there, not even two inches away from me.

"Ah! Found them!" he practically yelled in my ear and I cringed at the sound only momentarily annoyed. I was actually more relieved than anything else because shit, that was too close.

He yanked the keys out of my pocket and proceeded to open the door, once it was open I rushed in setting the bags down on the kitchen island along with all the others and Eren followed me in.

"Ah, fuck..." I grumbled flexing my arms to get some feeling and circulation back into them.

"That's... a lot of groceries. Did you bring all those up yourself?"

"No, the butler did. Of course I brought all these up myself, Eren." I said sounding exasperated which I was. You try carrying a shit ton of groceries bags up and down some stairs after being out in the heat all day.

"Is that anyway to thank someone who helped you?" the cheeky little shit had the nerve to smirk.

"Oh, well pardon me, that so rude of me," I drawled rolling my eyes, "Merci, gosse de merde." I walked over and pinched his cheek stretching the skin as I smirked at my own little jab.

"Somehow, I fheel as ifh I'hve bheen insulted."

I gave his cheek a light slap as I released and walked back over to the counter to start putting away the groceries before anything spoiled. The last thing I needed was spoiled ingredients and another trip to the supermarket.

"Do you need help with anything else?" I heard him ask innocently and I looked at him from over my shoulder as I started putting the meat away. He was rubbing at his cheek.

"No, these bags were the last of my groceries."

"Okay, well I guess we'll be going then. See you later, Levi. Come on, Captain." he cooed to the cat and it reluctantly followed him out the door. Eren shot me a smile and a small wave and the door shut behind him not long after.

Finally, I was left alone to my own devices. First things first, as soon as I was finished putting away these damn groceries I was hopping in the shower and taking care of this embarrassing half hard-on I still had from earlier's close encounter. Yeah, I know I'm fucking shameless I still managed to get turned on from the subtle brushes on Eren's hand near my dick. Fuck off.

I counted down the hours I had until my noisy and mostly unwanted guest arrived tracking in all their dirt and shit. Someone shoot me.

---

Six o clock on the dot and I heard familiar knocks on my door. Erwin. Figures he'd be the first one to show up and exactly on time no less. I sauntered over to my door, yanking it open and staring up at a smiling Erwin with two bottles of red wine in his hands. The good stuff too. Eyeing the bottles and smirking, I moved aside and let the tall bastard in.

He respectively removed his Stacey Adams by the door (because regular dress shoes aren't good enough for Erwin apparently) walked into the kitchen putting the wine bottles in the fridge to chill. He took a seat on the sofa instead of the stools in at the kitchen island but I didn't mind, it was only the two us for right now anyway. About 20 minutes later, Erd and Gunther arrived at nearly the same exact time making me wonder if they had actually come together. Most likely they did.

Erd had brought more booze, which I eyed dubiously because he had basically just brought whiskey and Tequila much to my dismay. Tequila had never been a very good friend of mine. Gunther had actually brought shit to cook which I was thankful for because at least someone from my team was reliable. I put the things Gunther brought on the kitchen counter since I'd probably need to use the soon and Erd popped open the Whiskey bottle handing me the bottle of unopened Tequila.

I tried to hide that shit from Hanji because if she knew there was Tequila somewhere in this apartment she'd definitely try and reenact our old college days in Paris. I wasn't going to be having any of that tonight. It was bad enough we had imported wine and Whiskey. I started up the stove to start cooking the beef filets I had bought earlier at the market, tonight's menu was going to be Filet Mignon with Pepper cream sauce.

Probably one of the things I enjoyed about this crappy 'Team Bonding' shit was the food we always made. We could make anything we wanted, shit we couldn't make at Ailes and it exposed us as chef's to other culinary styles that we each brought to the table. It was sort of like a Pot Luck except, we cooked while we drank and basically got shit faced until one of us does something embarrassing. That might have been another thing I enjoyed about this get together.

Erd answered the door when Auruo and Petra arrived as I had my hands full in the kitchen. I heard him greet them happily, teasing Petra about her size and then the three of them entered the apartment. Before I could even glance up, Petra ran up to me and pulled me into a tight hug. Her belly pressed against my stomach and she kind of had to stand awkwardly on her tip toes to wrap her arms around my neck and I spluttered as I felt her stomach kick. That was the weirdest fucking sensation you will ever feel while hugging a pregnant woman.

"Levi! It's been too long!" she chirped excitedly before letting me go and looking up at me with a wide grin.

"You look... knocked up." I croaked out as I took in her bulging form. She looked about ready to pop and dear god, I hope she didn't in the middle of this kitchen. Ex wife or not, I would not stand for gross baby fluids on my floor.

Petra giggled and wrapped an arm around her belly blushing furiously and I couldn't help but think she kind of glowed. Okay, now I know I was getting soft. I just thought that she was glowing and that just wasn't me. But still... she looked happy.

"The doctor said the baby could come any day now. He wanted me to check into the hospital so that I wouldn't have to rush when it finally happens but I insisted on staying at home until it happens!"

Auruo came up from behind Petra and gave me a respectful nod which I returned. He wrapped an around Petra's and tried to lead her out of the kitchen but she was stubborn as usual. She had said she wanted to help since Auruo didn't let her anywhere near the kitchen at home but I put a stop to her insistent arguing real quick.

"Oh no, you're not setting foot in this kitchen. I'm not going to be responsible for anything happening if that kid decides to pop out for a visit. Go sit your ass down in the living room and have a glass of cranberry juice or something."

She pouted at me with her big, wide eyes staring holes into me but I ignored her attempt at the puppy eyes turning my attention back to the sizzling steaks in the skillet. Somewhere along the way Gunther had made his way into the kitchen and was preparing stuff to make a fresh garden salad. Eventually, Petra gave in after she realized I wasn't about to change my mind and her pout turned into a smile as she skipped into the living greeting Erwin in a similar way to how she had greeted me.

"PETRA! MY DARLING!" I screeching voice rang from the foyer and I almost had a heart attack as Hanji raced into the living room nearly hugging the life out of Petra.

"Hanji! Did you make a copy of my apartment key again?!" I yelled over the counter top and she cackled.

"Oh, Levi. One time, it was one time. But no I didn't make another copy of your apartment key, Auruo let me in."

Sure enough, Auruo came walking into the living room with Mike by his side. I quickly took notice of the two suspiciously familiar cases he was carrying with him and I glared at Hanji as she bounded up to her husband.

"Honey bunches, you remembered to bring my stash didn't you?" she cooed standing up her tip toes to peck her ridiculously tall husband on his chin earning her a smile.

"Yes, dear. How could I forget, you only kept reminding me every 5 minutes before we left."

"Ooooh! You're so good to me, mon chérie~"

I rolled my eyes at Hanji and Mike's tooth decaying displays of affection. I highly doubted it was possible to meet a more disgustingly cute couple than Hanji and Mike. I turned my attention back to the fully cooked filets transferring them over to the plates Gunther had set up with the fresh garden salad. It garnished the plate nicely and I poured the pepper cream sauce delicately over the filets handing each plate to Erd who had stopped sipping on his glass of Whiskey to carry the plates to the table.

Petra, Auruo, Hanji and Mike took the four chairs at my small dining table while Erd and Gunther took the bar stools at the kitchen island. Erwin and I stood up to eat our meal, he had poured me a full glass of the chilled red wine and paired with the perfectly seasoned and cooked beef it was heaven. We ate in mostly silence, the 8 of us being chef's were too absorbed in savoring the flavor of our meal to speak. Hanji was the only one to make a comment here or there between bites and sips of wine.

When we had finished our meal, Erd and Gunther offered to wash the dishes since I had cooked dinner and I gladly accepted that offer. I was still tired from having to run around all over town today and I took a seat next to Erwin on the couch after pouring myself another glass of wine.

With bellies full and alcohol slowly loosening us up, Hanji sprang up from her spot on the carpet and she dashed toward the speakers placed on my kitchen island docking her iphone there and putting on some music. I rolled my eyes while taking a long sip of my wine because the first song that came on was some old Nickleback song. God, who even listened to Nickleback? Hanji apparently.

"Heeey..." I heard her call from somewhere behind my kitchen counter top.

I looked up and almost spit my wine out because fuck she had found the Tequila I had tried to hide. I should have known trying to hide Tequila from Hanji was like trying to smuggle cocaine past those certified police canines that sniffed out drugs for a living. This was bad. This was very, very bad.

"How come there's a bottle of Tequila and nobody told ME about it?!" she squawked, pouting at the rest of his childishly.

Mike shot me a look that I knew meant trouble and I glared right back at him because if he was trying to suggest that I was the one who brought that shit in here, he was wrong as fuck. Hanji quickly popped the bottle open and I ran a hand down my face because it was too late, she'd already opened the damn bottle and there was no going back from here.

"Well since somebody tried to hide this little baby from me, we're all going to have to do a round of shots! NO EXCUSES!"

"Um, Hanji. I'm pregnant, I can't do shots." Petra said sheepishly and the others nodded in agreement.

"Then Levi will just take your shot for you. Double punishment for trying to hide Tequila from me!"

"Tsk. Oi, who the fuck said I'm even participating in this?"

"I said so! You've been a very naughty little leprechaun, Levi~"

Oh my fucking god, I was going to murder Hanji by the end of the night. She just called me a fucking Leprechaun, where's my Swiss knife? I'll scalp her.

"-And! If you don't do it... I'll go next door to Eren's and tell him about-"

"Hanji! Shut the fuck UP... I'll do it..." I hissed through clenched teeth and she smiled so wide it hurt my face just looking at her.

Fuck having friends. I don't need this shit. Hanji came with two shots in her hand, where the fuck she had gotten jiggers from I don't really know because I sure as hell didn't have any. She handed me my first shot of the slightly yellow but mostly transparent liquid and I cringed at the mere sight of it. Tequila and I definitely didn't get along at all.

I threw the first jigger back and wrinkled my nose as the bitter liquid burned my throat as I felt it slowly run down into my stomach and I slammed the glass jigger down on the coffee table groaning. Jesus, I really hated Tequila. Hanji snorted and handed me my second one and I opened on eye to look at Petra who was giving me an apologetic smile but I could see her shoulder's shaking with stifled laughter.

I sighed and hesitantly took the second jigger from Hanji's hand glaring at it like it had offended me in some way which is basically how could sum up my feelings toward tequila in general. With a deep breath, I threw the second jigger back and growled as it burned just as badly as the first but it went down a little more smoothly.

My living room erupted in cheers and whistles as Hanji handed me a slice of lime I hadn't noticed she cut and I immediately took it from her hand sucking on it like my life depended on it. Fuck tequila and the guy who invented it.

Hanji then handed Erd, and Auruo a jigger and they threw theirs back with ease making me curl my lip back in disgust because who couldn't actually enjoy drinking this liquid battery acid? It was fucking gross. I noticed she didn't give Erwin, Mike or Gunther a shot and I frowned.

"Oi, I thought you said we were all doing a round of shots. How come Shitty Eyebrows or Mike aren't drinking a shot?"

"We're the designated drivers." the two blonde's said in unison and I scoffed.

"Fuck you all, I hate you." I hissed crossing my arms over my chest and pouting. Shit the tequila was already starting to take it's toll on me. I never pout, stop that Levi you have a reputation to uphold here.

Two more bottles of wine and another shot of tequila later and I was fucking done. My mind felt fuzzy as I tried to process coherent thoughts but no matter how hard I tried nothing came out clearly. Hanji was just as bad as me, if not worse and Erd was obviously a little more than tipsy. And then it happened. That fucking song came on and Hanji shot up from her spot on the floor almost falling over as Mike shot a hand out to support her up and she laughed wobbling over to me on the couch.

"Leeeeviiiiii~! D-Do you remember this song!?" she slurred and I heard myself giggle at her dumb fucking face.

"Get the fuck off me, four eyes. 'm not doin' that shit." I mumbled back slurring horribly as well but couldn't bring myself to care.

Then she started fucking singing the words to that song, that stupid fucking song that I couldn't remember the stupid fucking name to but I knew it had something to do with an Alley or a street... the alley boys? No, that's not fucking it. The street kids? No, but I'm getting closer... what the fuck was it-

"EVERYBODY!!" Hanji sang loudly and very off key and I cringed at the sound of her voice.

"ROCK YO BODY" I heard Erd, Petra and Gunther chime in all of sudden and my eyes shot wide with surprise.

"BACKSTREET'S BACK ALRIGHT!!" The four of them chimed in unison and I fell over in my seat knocking into Erwin as I stifled a laugh.

No fucking way, these losers were singing the fucking Backstreet Boys louder than shit and even though I knew that if I had been sober I would have kicked their asses for doing something so embarrassingly stupid, I doubled over barely catching myself from falling off the couch as the four of them continued to sing the lyrics to that stupid ass song.

"AM I ORIGINAL?" Hanji pointed to Erwin on the couch and I couldn't believe it but the big dumbass actually joined in the song.

"YEEEAH!" Erwin, Erd and Petra sang dancing awkwardly in their seats and I covered my face because it was all too much. I could feel myself shaking with laughter again.

"AM I THE ONLY ONE?" Erd sang out next and I peaked through the slits of my fingers to see the blond stumble over himself slightly.

"YEEEAH!" this time everyone but me had chimed in, even Mike which was just fucking weird.

"AM I SEXUAL??"

"YEEEAH!"

"AM I EVERYTHING YOU NEED? YOU BETTER ROCK YO BODY NOW! Come on Levi!" Hanji screamed over the music that had progressively gotten louder over the past minute and I flipped her the bird.

My co-workers were now all standing up from their seats doing an awkward body wave of sorts and I buried my face in my hands again actually laughing for real this time. I couldn't fucking breath but it was all too much. I was so fucking drunk that I didn't even care if I looked like an escaped mental patient sitting on the couch shaking with uncontrollable laughter as I tried to breath.

"NOW THROW YOUR HANDS UP IN THE AIR!" Petra and the other's sang and god, someone call 911 I couldn't stop laughing.

"Wave em around like you just don't care! Erwin, I'm talking to you handsome!" I barely had time to look up to catch Erwin doing as the song lyrics suggested before Hanji was grabbing me off the sofa and dragging me to my feet causing me to stumble into her a little.

"Come on, short stuff! SO EVERYBODY EVERYWHERE DON'T BE AFRAID, DON'T HAVE NO FEAR!" I wiggled out of her tight grip and fought my way past a drunk Erd who was dancing and gyrating awkwardly making me erupt in laughter once more as I stumbled toward Hanji's iphone.

I had to change this fucking song because I wasn't sure how much more of this I could take before these idiots had be singing too. I was too drunk to actually be in control of myself so even though I thought this song was stupid as fuck I didn't trust drunk self to listen any further and I fought with Hanji's phone before I figured out how to change the song.

A unison of 'boo's and 'aww's came from the drunken group of chef's but I couldn't give a shit. It didn't last long though because the next song that came on had Hanji bouncing on the balls of her bare feet and grabbing me by the wrists twirling around the room. Now this song I knew all too well. It was Good Charlotte's I Don't Wanna Be In Love and it was painfully familiar to me. Now I was sure I wouldn't be able to stop myself from singing along to the lyrics this time so I simply said 'Fuck it' and started singing at the top of lungs.

Hanji and I sang the opening together, her more off key than me but it didn't matter because we were both jumbling up the words so much that you could barely notice her awful singing and my terribly obvious slur. Erwin had joined in somewhere along the way and soon everyone followed and when the chorus came, all hell broke loose and shit I felt bad for the poor fuckers who lived below because we were now all bouncing around while shouting the lyrics to the song save for Mike, Erwin and Petra who stayed sitting down but they joined the choir of drunken words.

"EVERYBODY! PUT UP YOUR HANDS! SAY I DON'T WANNA BE IN LOVE, I DON'T WANNA BE IN LOVE!"

"FEEL THE BEAT NOW! IF YOU'VE GOT NOTHING LEFT, SAY I DON'T WANNA BE IN LOVE, I DON'T WANNA BE LOVE!"

I think our little singing session had turned into a minor mosh pit at one point because now we were just bouncing up and down and fucking hitting each other. It was so ridiculous but in my drunken high I was laughing breathlessly and still shouting the words to the Chorus aggressively like my life depended on it.

"DON'T GIVE UP NOW! YOU'VE GOT A REASON TO LIVE, SAY I DON'T WANNA BE IN LOVE, I DON'T WANNA BE IN LOVE!"

"FEELIN' GOOD NOW! DON'T BE AFRAID TO GET DOWN! SAY I DON'T WANNA BE IN LOVE, I DON'T WANNA BE IN LOVE!"

I don't remember how long we stupidly pranced around my apartment screaming our lungs out but somewhere along the way I had fallen back on the couch next to Erwin, I probably had a stupid ass grin on my face because I was literally just that intoxicated to just let my usual mask drop and fade away but then again it was probably because it was this group of people I was with. I'd known them all for so long, some longer than others but regardless they were probably all my closest friends in some way or form.

I felt drowsy as I slumped back against the couch slightly leaning into Erwin as my eyelids drooped heavily, I laughed quietly to myself as I heard Hanji and the other's still singing the words to some sappy love song I couldn't remember the name of right now but soon I was slipping into that comfortable black nothingness that had been evading me as of late. I wasn't plagued by my troubling thoughts that normally kept me up at night and before long I was out. Dead to the world but in the distance of the black abyss, I could still make out the words to the song that was playing as I drifted.

"I knew I loved you before I met you, I think I dreamed you into life...

I Knew I loved you before I met you, I have been waiting all my life...(I am complete now that I've found you)"

Chapter Text

"The Backstreet Boy's, really?"

Eren was standing outside my door with a crooked smirk, his hair tied back into a short pony tail. I groaned as I squinted up at him. I didn't know what time it was but it felt late... like past noon late. I was still wearing my clothes from last night and I could see all the wrinkles in my disheveled shirt and I was sure that my hair was probably a mess. Overall, I was 99.9999% sure that I looked like absolute shit.

"Ugh, just fucking stop. I don't want to talk about it... why are you even here? What time is it?" I croaked out, my throat felt raw and scratchy.

"You sent me a text last night telling me to come check on you in the morning to make sure you weren't dead. Don't you remember? and it's Eleven o clock." he said with a laugh and then he started digging around his pockets for his phone I guessed.

"What the fuck... no, I don't remember fucking texting you shit last night. Ugh, shit my head..." I cradled my forehead in my hands and turned around to walk back into my dark apartment. It was too fucking bright out in the hallway for me.

I could hear the sound of Eren's heavy footsteps following after me after he shut the door, it sounded like he bumped into something and had I not been suffering from a severe hangover I probably would have turned around to see if he was alright but I just kept on walking.

I ended up plopping back down onto the sofa where I had passed out last night, strangely enough even though I remembered falling asleep on the couch, I had woken up in my bed with my sheets pulled back and everything. Erwin probably carried me there, the idiot was just too nice for his own good.

Eren found my light switch and flipped it on making me growl out loud as I shielded my eyes from the bright lights that assaulted my vision and made my throbbing head feel worse.

"Wow, for someone who threw a party your place is surprisingly... clean. I don't even see any empty bottles or anything."

Now that I thought about it... shit, Eren was right. I forced my eyes open as I took in my apartment and holy shit, it was actually clean. If you weren't me, you probably wouldn't able to tell that anything was out of place to begin with but of course, me being who I am I did notice the small things that Hanji and the rest of my team didn't remember to fix properly. Like the sofa cushions for one, they were all just thrown haphazardly everywhere and my coffee table wasn't centered the way it was supposed to be.

Still, the idiots had cleaned the place up pretty well and Eren was right. There wasn't a single bottle of empty wine to be found near the trash bin and I wondered if Hanji had taken home the rest of the cases of Wine she'd brought.

"Did you even drink last night or did you just fall asleep because you're old?"

"Wow, Eren. Just wow, Rude. I'm fucking 30, not 60."

"How much did you drink last night?"

My attempts as trying to avoid answering his questions were in vein, Eren was sharper than he let on. The little shit. I sighed rubbing at my temples furiously as if that would stop the throbbing ache I was currently suffering from.

"Four bottles of wine... I think, and 3 shots of Cuervo."

"Huh... So you did drink. I'm surprised."

"Just because I declined your offer of beer at a soccer game doesn't mean I don't drink, Eren. I'm just too classy for beer, that's all."

"Uh-huh. Sure."

"Shut up."

"So... The Backstreet Boys."

"Oh my fucking god, Eren. If you do not stop talking right now I'm going to kick your ass and make you regret ever moving in next door."

He laughed. The little shit laughed. Full on doubled over, shoulders shaking, tears streaming, stomach holding, laughed. And suddenly, I couldn't remember why I was threatening him anymore. Well, fuck.

"I-It's just," he wheezed, struggling to catch his breath, "I'm just wondering what kind of drunk you are because you're always so... serious."

He made a frowny face, scrunching up his nose and furrowing his eyebrows making him look more angry than anything and I swear to the dark lord Satan, the alcohol must still be effecting my brain because I fucking started laughing at the faces he was making.

Eren had stopped laughing entirely and was now staring at me with a look I couldn't decipher on his face. He wasn't just staring at me, it was like he was looking beyond something I couldn't see myself. There was a wide grin on his face and my laughter trailed off eventually, the quietness of my apartment swallowing the sounds until it seemed like they had never been made in the first place.

"What?" I asked after a beat of silence dragged on too long.

"You didn't answer my question. What kind of drunk are you then?"

I rolled my eyes at him, he was still on about that? Like I was actually going to tell him what kind of drunk I was. I could always lie and tell him I was a violent drunk or an angery drunk, just to scare him off a bit but did I really want to do that?

"I can tell you that! He's a happy drunk!" a horribly familiar voice chimed in from the Foyer and I froze.

"Good Morning, Levi mon petit chou!"

Hanji came waltzing in with a plastic bag in her hand as she almost ran Eren over in attempts to throw him into one of her bear hugs. Luckily, she didn't attack him like she did the first time but she still hugged the life out of him.

"Hiya, Eren! What a surprise seeing you here! Oh, you're such a cutie!"

"H-Hi, Hanji," he squeaked out as he gave her a sort of awkward hug back.

"Are you done trying to squeeze my neighbor to death, Four Eyes?"

"Oh! Yes! Levi, darling, my love, my sweetness~ I brought you something for your hangover!"

Hanji scurried off into the kitchen and Eren shot me a worried look. I shrugged at him, because I honestly had no idea what Hanji was up to and really I should be angry at her for having broken into my apartment... again.

She took out whatever was in the plastic bag she brought and poured some suspicious looking liquid in one of the extra coffee mugs I used for guests. (Because I'm just a popular and well liked guy) She waddled awkwardly out of the kitchen and into the living room nearly bumping into Eren and spilling the overflowing cup of mystery gunk all over my white rug, which I would have fucking murdered her if she did, but somehow managed to make it to me over to my spot on the couch safely.

"A few sips of this and you'll be right back to your old mean, grumpy self!" She beamed handing me the cup carefully.

I took it hesitantly, eyeing the slightly green gunk in a cup before realization hit me. This fucking woman...

"Wait a minute... isn't this...?" I didn't finish my question as I trailed off and looked up at the still smiling woman but she nodded vigorously confirming my question.

Holy shit, if this was really what I thought it was then Hanji was a life saver. I took a big, long gulp of the warm thick, liquid and it felt soothing down my throat. The effects were practically immediate as I continued to gulp down the stuff like my life depended on it. As gross as it looked, it was actually quite tasty. I finished the entire cup and handed it back to Hanji who was still smiling like a mad woman.

Eren was quiet but he was watching the two of us with curious eyes. I took a deep breath in and let out a content sigh before looking up at Hanji again.

"How'd you manage to get the recipe for this shit?" I inquired raising an accusing brow at Hanji as he hopped away to wash the cup.

"It's a seeeeecret~! Now where's my 'thank you for curing my horrible hangover, mama Hanji' kiss?"

She bounded back over to me and plopped herself down on the sofa next to me causing it to slide back against the wall slightly and I glared at her. She was totally unaffected by it though and Eren was starting to look awkward just standing in the middle of the room.

"Whatever. Thanks." I mumbled out.

I made a move to get up from the sofa but Hanji immediately yanked me back down by the sleeve of my grey v-neck and I fell back onto the couch with a sickening popping of my bones.

"No, no my little sweet bun~ You need to take it easy and get some food in your stomach! Eren-," she turned her crazed gaze toward the lanky kid who was still standing awkwardly in the middle of my living room, he kind of jumped at hearing his name, "- do you cook?"

My eyes widened at the same time as Eren's and we both looked at Hanji like she had just said the world was going to end today. I turned my body to face her and scowled.

"Oi, shitty glasses, what are you trying to pull? Eren shouldn't have to cook, get your lazy ass up and cook yourse-"

"I can cook." Eren interrupted. "I'm no Chef but, I can at least make omelettes and toast." he had a shy smile on his face as he rubbed at the back of his neck.

"Great! So it's settled! Levi should have everything you need in the fridge, go crazy!"

"Eren, just ignore her. You don't actually have to cook, I can cook for myself."

"It's okay. I don't mind." he smiled before turning and walking into the kitchen.

I melted at the smile and leaned back against the couch cushion with a quiet sigh that might not have been as quiet as I thought it was. Hanji was humming happily beside me and I could feel her stare still on me. She was grinning manically and I felt my cheeks flush because, shit I had actually sighed out loud. Eren probably heard the from the kitchen too.

"Shut up, glasses." I hissed at Hanji under my breath and she practically tackled me into the sofa.

"Oh come on, you can't still be mad about last night? Look! We even cleaned up after ourselves before we left!" she whined pointing at the furniture that had haphazardly been put back and the rug that didn't have any visible alcohol spilled on it anywhere.

"I'm not mad about THAT, Hanji." I spat back trying to push her heavy body off of me but it was no use. She was like a boulder.

"Oh, I know what's got your panties in a twist! It starts with E and ends with an-" I slapped a hand over her mouth immediately and my eyes frantically looked up to Eren still in pacing around in the kitchen seemingly busy.

I let out a sigh of relief because he didn't seem to be paying any mind to anything Hanji and I were saying, at least that's what I hoped. I felt something warm and wet against my hand still over Hanji's mouth and my eyes widened at the gross sensation of her tongue licking the palm of my hand.

I immediately shoved her off of me letting her fall unceremoniously to the rug at our feet and despite the loud 'OW!' she squawked out, she busted out into loud, obnoxious laughter and Eren leaned over the Kitchen island with a worried look on his face.

"Hanji, are you okay?" he asked softly. His big, wide eyes full of concern.

"Oh, I'm fine! Don't you worry your little head about me, Eren! Levi just displays his affection for people differently!" she chirped and I grabbed her by the collar of her shirt.

"I am going to kill you..." I said in a low, murderous tone of voice and Hanji only laughed.

"See what I mean, Eren?"

"Uh, Hanji. I think he's serious..."

"Oh, I'm very serious. You crossed a fine line, four eyes."

Hanji smirked at me, a wicked sort of smirk that made my skin crawl but before I could shove her away again she let her mouth hang open and she fucking drooled on me. I was done. I was so fucking done with Hanji and all her fucking shit.

"Mother fuck- HANJI!"

I released her shirt collar and sprang up from the couch practically sprinting toward the bathroom to sanitize her germs off of me as quickly as I could. I could hear Hanji cackling and snorting as I left the room and the muffled sounds of Eren's voice asking her something that sounded strangely like 'I think he's going to murder both of us.' and 'I'm too young to die.'

I scrubbed at my hands furiously under the scorching hot water of my bathroom sink, well as scorching hot as a bathroom sink could get. My skin was red and raw from the vicious scrubbing and the heat from the water but I finally felt clean, or as clean as I could feel with antibacterial soap. I decided it would probably be a good idea for me to change out of these gross clothes that still smelled like yesterday's dinner and day old cologne. Yes, I wear cologne. Why? Because I like to smell like a rich mother fucker.

I sauntered into my bedroom and immediately threw off my shirt, shivering slightly at the cold chill of my room as I walked toward my closet shirtless. I pulled out a random black t-shirt and threw it on before shimming out of my jeans that were also from last night. I settled for a loose pair of jeans this time since I still planned on going out later and checking out those fight clubs I'd been thinking of joining.

In a fresh set of clothes and feeling a little less miffed and murderous toward Hanji, I made my way back out into my open living room where something was starting to smell really good. The sound of my stomach rumbling caught the attention of the other two occupants in my apartment, Hanji was now sitting on the kitchen counter top near were Eren was chopping something up and both of their eyes looked up to stare at me.

"There he is! I was starting to worry that you drowned in the sink or something."

I rolled my eyes and decided to ignore Hanji's stupid comment that would probably led to another jab about my height if I bothered to respond to it. I rounded the kitchen island and crossed my arms over my chest as I leaned over the stove at the pot that was currently boiling something that looked like soup of some kind and I raised a questioning brow. That sure as hell wasn't an omelette and he sure as hell wasn't making toast right now.

"What are you making?" I eventually asked letting my curiosity get the better of me.

Eren turned around from the counter where he was chopping up some carrots and an onion on my cutting board (Hanji must have told him where it was) transferring the vegetables over into the boiling pot of, now that I could smell it up close, chicken broth and potatoes. My mouth kind of watered at the smell of freshly cut onion and diced red bell pepper I hadn't noticed he had diced off to the side of the cutting board.

"I'm sorry, I know it's not omelettes or toast but I noticed you had everything needed to make German Potato Cheese soup and I couldn't resist. It's a recipe I learned from my mom, she used to make it for me all the time as a kid whenever I got sick." He beamed and I nodded my head in response.

"Smells good. You know German recipes?" I leaned against the counter top opposite of the stove crossing my arms over my chest.

"Yes, I'm German actually on my father's side. My mom was Turkish and German." he elaborated.

This new information about my hot neighbor had me intrigued. I never expected him to be German of all things, he didn't quite look German and yet he kind of did. Hanji butted in before I could ask my next question.

"Ooooh~! I love German cuisine! It's been awhile since I've dabbled in some German sweets! Eren, what would you say to some Black Forest cake?" she asked excitedly bouncing up and down on the counter top.

Eren's eyes lit up at the mention of Black Forest Cake and he whirled around on the ball of his foot looking at Hanji like she was god or something. I had to bite back the smile that wanted to make it's way onto my face because he just looked so damn adorable.

"Black Forest Cake would be amazing, oh my god I can't even remember the last time I had it!" he seemed absolutely giddy as he and Hanji indulged one another on some other German sweets Eren knew.

I listened quietly, admiring the sound of Eren's voice echoing in the usual quietness of my apartment. His voice seemed foreign and kind of out of place as it filled the voids between my four walls but it definitely wasn't a unwelcome sound.

"I hate to interrupt you little girls and your dessert porn talk, but I'm getting hungry over here. Eren, is your soup almost ready?" I cut into the onslaught of words being exchanged between the two and Eren blinked at me, seeming to remember that, oh yes, I was indeed still here and hadn't left. Dumbass.

"Oh! Sorry, I got caught up in the conversation. Yes, it's almost ready. The potatoes and carrots just need to soften up a bit more and it'll be done."

I nodded my head before pushing off the counter and headed toward my small dining table that only sat four. I took my seat and folded my crossed my legs underneath me, the position might have earned me some funny looks or snickers from my friends whenever they saw me sit at my table like this but I couldn't give a fuck.

Hanji hopped off the counter leaving Eren to finish up on his own and she took the seat to my right leaning across the table top and grinning.

"What?" I asked with a roll of my eyes.

"Cheer up grumpy butt! I know what'll turn that frown upside down!"

I gave her an incredulous look that probably looked more questioning than it did unbelieving but she soon sat back in her seat and started humming an all too familiar tune. She started to sway from side to side in her seat while she hummed through tightly pressed lips.

"Good tiiiimes for a change! See the luck I've haaaad could make a good man turn baaaad! So please, please, pleeease let me, let me, let meeeeee get what I want this tiiime~!"

Her singing was terribly off key, then again when wasn't it terribly off key? But I caught myself smirking as Hanji quoted one of my favorite songs from the movie 500 Days of Summer. As she geared up for the next verse, her jaw went slack as we both heard a soft, slightly husky voice pick up where she was about to start and my eyes immediately shot up to look at the beautiful creature that was crooning the words to said favorite song.

"Haven't had a dream in a long time. See the life I've had can make a good man turn bad. So for once in my life, let me get what I want. Lord knows it would be the first time.

Hanji was in a state of total shock and awe and I was smiling because even though I'd already heard Eren sing many times before, hearing him sing one of my all time favorite song from a movie I probably watched one too many times a year was somehow new and all kinds of exciting. It was like I was hearing him sing for the first time all over again.

"Omigosh, Eren! You sound beautiful when you sing!" Hanji took the thoughts right out of my head but thank god they were coming from her and not me.

Eren shyly ducked his head but smiled nonetheless at the compliments Hanji was now showering him in. I stayed silent but watched his expression carefully. Shy, embarrassed, slightly proud. Those were all the emotions I could read from his face alone. He was like an open book left wide and bare for anyone to read.

"I really like the original by the Smiths but something about the way She & Him cover the song is nice as well. I like both versions." was his honest reply and I could relate to what he was saying.

"I don't actually like the original by The Smiths, I prefer the cover." I had blurted out. I did that a lot around Eren.

I saw him smile at me and my heart did that thing where it feels like it's doing a million back flips and front flips making me feel like I'm going to have a heart attack at any second, this time though, my heart palpitations weren't showing any signs of stopping. Normally, they were short and brief like the quick fluttering of butterflies in my stomach before they went away.

The butterflies in my stomachs didn't feel just like butterflies anymore, they felt like pterodactyls ripping my stomach apart and my heart felt was beating so loudly that I was almost sure Hanji and Eren could hear it but they didn't seem to notice at all. Maybe it was just me that could hear it practically pounding in my ear like a jackhammer, but either way, I didn't like this new sensation.

I already knew I had a pretty major crush on Eren, but I had assured myself that he was nothing more than a passing fancy and I would eventually get over him like yesterday's Kim Kardashian news. So then why did I feel like my heart was racing at the speed of light whenever I so much as glanced at Eren now. A minute ago I was leaning against the counter talking to him like a normal human being and now I couldn't even look at him without my heart going into a frenzy.

I felt excited and nervous all at the same time, the kind of feeling you get when you're a kid on your first day of school caught between being excited because you're finally growing up and utterly nauseated like you could throw up you're entire breakfast any minute now. I was scared, terrified even, by the idea of Eren becoming more than just a 'crush' and I forced myself to stop my current train of thought because I was not going to fucking go there right now.

So he happened to sing a few lines of your favorite song, Levi. Get the fuck over it and grow up. There are millions of people who love that song and that movie, just because Eren so happens to also like that song and that movie and sound like the most heavenly angel while singing that song doesn't mean shit.

It's just your little overactive old man mind getting the better of you because you're finally connecting with another living, human being that's not Erwin or Hanji for once. You're neighbors. Neighbors and nothing more. Stop this before you dig yourself into an even deeper shit hole than you're already in.

I'm only snapped out of my darkening thoughts when Hanji starts squealing about something and I looked up to see Eren carrying two bowls of the soup he had just made in both hands setting them down on the table top for Hanji and I. I stared down into the contents of the bowl, the soup looked heavenly and smelled simply divine. My mouth watered and I swallowed because I was not about to make a fool of myself if I literally drooled over Eren's food.

Hanji started digging into her bowl, squealing and making all kinds of incoherent noises while I just stared at mine because I wanted to eat it because I was fucking starving, but I also didn't want to eat it because Eren had made it and this would probably be the only time I'd ever eat something he's cooked. I was torn.

"Well, what are you waiting for? My father to give you his blessing? Eat!" Eren said with a laugh and I tore my gaze away from the bowl to look up at him.

I couldn't actually look directly at him, my heart was still doing that weird thing and I was afraid that if I did look him straight in the face I'd probably really have a heart attack or something along those lines. Either way, I knew I'd end up doing or saying something embarrassing so I opted for staring at something just over his shoulder... which was a wall.

"What are you doing just standing there, dip shit? Sit down and eat with us before I change my mind." I bit out before sticking my spoon into the piping hot soup and shoveling a big ass piece of potato into my mouth.

There was an explosion of flavors inside my mouth as I tucked into my first mouthful of Eren's soup. I'd been a chef for 7 years, studied overseas in Paris, France, eaten a variety of foods that most people only dreamed they could ever taste and yet this very simple dish that Eren had prepared blew any other fancy dish of food I'd experienced out of the water. Hands down, no competition.

It was savory, not overly done on the spices or seasonings, all the different flavors blending together just right in a creamy chicken broth. To put it simply, it tasted like home to me. It brought me a sense of warm comfort that only family could provide like visiting your grandma and eating her homemade cookies or some cliche shit like that.

I was so engrossed in my meal that I hadn't even registered that Eren had served himself a bowl and was sitting in the seat to my right devouring his own serving with a small grin on his face. In a matter of minutes I had finished everything in my bowl, down to the last drop of broth. I shamelessly asked for seconds and Hanji did the same and shit, the second helping was just as good as the first if not better and Eren seemed pleased with himself.

Once my stomach was full of warm potato cheese soup, fully sated and happy to have something in my stomach, I leaned back into my chair sighing because that was the best meal I'd had in years. Ignoring the still lingering heart flutters and killer dinosaur birds in my gut, I turned to Eren who was just finishing up his second helping. Our eyes locked but like the pussy I had become in the last few weeks, I dropped my eyes to stare at his hands instead; his big, tan, slightly calloused hands.

"You did good, Brat."

"Good!? He did AMAZING! I could eat Eren's cooking forever!"

I sucked my teeth and finally looked away from Eren completely in favor of glaring at Hanji who kept saying what I was thinking but actually had the balls to say them out loud. Shitty glasses.

"It's no big deal, really. I can give you the recipe if you-"

"Nope! You have to promise to cook for us again, even if you gave us the recipe written exactly the way you make it, it'll never actually taste the same way. It's all about the person who cooks the food! Haven't you ever noticed that about Levi's cooking?"

"I wouldn't know. I've never actually tasted Levi's cooking." Eren admitted honestly with an innocent look.

"That can't be true, Eren. You said you've eaten at Ailes on several occasions, even if you didn't know it was me cooking the food, I'm pretty sure you've tasted my cooking."

"Hmmm, that's not entirely true Levi. Yeah, you prepare a lot of the main dishes at Ailes but so do Erd, Gunther and Auruo. Just because Eren's eaten at Ailes before, doesn't necessarily mean he's had your cooking. For all we know, he could have had his dishes prepared by one of the others on your team. We'll never actually know."

Fuck, Hanji had a point and suddenly I was feeling like the words biggest asshole. I glanced at Eren who was listening to Hanji and I intently before sighing and nodding at something Hanji had said.

"So what are you suggesting?" I asked, knowing she had to have some kind of idea in mind already.

"Weeeell, I was thinking that the three of us should have our own kind of Team bonding party where we exchange recipes and drink while we eat! It'll be fun! Eren can teach us more German recipes and we can taste more of his cooking while Eren can taste your cooking finally!"

Hanji was practically bouncing up and down in her seat as she clapped her hands together like a seal in a circus and I seriously took a moment to contemplate her idea. Was it really a good idea to keep inviting Eren over to my place like this? We were neighbors after all, but in a way I guess it wasn't all that strange to invite your neighbor over for a 'cooking party' or some shit. A lot of people did that today didn't they?

Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that I should probably be saying 'No, that's a horrible idea.' for my own sake but as I glanced over at Eren again to gauge his reaction to Hanji's suggestion, the kid was practically vibrating with excitement. I couldn't possibly say no after seeing how happy he looked at Hanji's suggestion. So eventually I resolved with myself that I was just going to have to stop being a little school girl about my feelings towards Eren and just suck it up like the man I was.

"I guess we could do that. I'm assuming we'll be using my place for this 'Cooking party?'" I said making air quotes with my hands.

"You betcha, short stuff! Eren! Levi said yes! Woohoo! We're going to have so much fun!"

"Yeah, I know Hanji. I'm really looking forward to tasting Levi's cooking and eating that Black Forest cake."

Hanji gasped dramatically as if only just remembering that fact and she shot up from seat nearly bumping into the table as she did so.

"I almost forgot! You're a doll, Eren darling! I say we do it next saturday! Levi will provide the main dish, Eren you provide the cute and I, Hanji shall provide the alcoho-I mean the dessert!"

Eren roared with laughter at Hanji's little slip up and I sighed running a hand down my face because I should have known Hanji was just trying to use this as another excuse to get me drunk. It was like that was her life goal, she was always either trying to get me drunk or get me laid. I wasn't sure which was worse. I settled on the latter.

---

That same afternoon, after Eren and Hanji had left my apartment and I had slightly recovered from my awful hangover, I drove around upper town Trost checking out the various Boxing Clubs and Fight clubs. By late afternoon, I had come across a rather interesting Boxing Club called The Keith Shadis Boxing Club.

I stepped into the slightly stuffy building, the musk of sweat and aggressive tension hung thickly in the air and while the stench of sweat kind of bothered me it also brought back fond memories of being in the middle of all of that sweat and aggressive tension. I could feel my adrenaline rising slightly as I walked around the large ring that was roped off, two teenagers were currently locked in a heated sparring session and I stood off to one side observing the fight.

There was a man standing not too far from me who was also watching the fight intensely, he was tall, bald and had dark, deep sunken eyes that made him look rather menacing. We took notice of one another, his stare lingering on me far longer than I deemed necessary before he finally spoke.

"You looking to join this club, Private?" his voice was loud, stern in a way that reminded me of my early days in the Army.

I narrowed my eyes before turning and facing him completely. It found it strange that he was using military terms to address me and something told me he definitely didn't call everyone he just met 'Private'.

"I can tell by the way you stand, your posture, your demeanor alone. You're an Army brat, aren't you?" he was now facing me as well, his hands locked behind his back as he took a step forward.

"So what if I am? I'm just looking around." I said turning my attention back to the ring and I heard him snort.

"Your body language says otherwise. You look like you're ready to jump in there with gloves off any second. What's your name and rank, Private?"

My body stiffened at his question. I hadn't been expecting him to ask me that and if I was being honest, I was bit pissed that he did. I clenched my jaw and spoke through tightly shut teeth.

"Ex Sergeant, Levi Ackerman." I could tell he was trying to get at something but as to what I wasn't sure.

"Well, Sergeant Ackerman. Allow me to introduce myself, I am retired Sergeant First Class Keith Shadis. I sincerely hope you consider joining this club."

Shit. He was the same rank as Erwin and the owner of this place? I was so fucked. Still, if it hadn't been for this little encounter I would have considered joining anyway. The place was by far the best one I'd come across today, it seemed to have high standards and expectations which I didn't mind at all considering I had my own standards that were pretty hard to meet as well.

I turned my body to face him complete and I saluted him as was routine even though I wasn't in the Army anymore. Old habits died hard I guess, but he returned my salute with a nod.

"Sir, I would definitely like to join this Club but I'm not looking to compete seriously. I'm only looking to pick up this sport as a hobby."

"Hm, well that is a shame. You look as though you're experienced, I can tell a hardened boxer from a complete green horn but... I understand, Sergeant Ackerman. You'll certainly receive what you're looking for here."

I nodded my head and he motioned for me to follow him into an office with his name plaque on the outside of the door. Of course, I had to fill out forms and paper work and have them approved which basically was no problem because I was approved on the spot. My guess was it was either my ex army status or my experience and skill in boxing. Probably both if I was being honest here.

It was official. I had joined the Keith Shadis Boxing Club and from tomorrow onward I would make it my go-to source to vent my worries and anger. The thought of punching some poor fuckers around was already starting to better my mood and I was thoroughly looking forward to my not-so-new hobby. Any lingering anxiety over my feelings for Eren were quickly replaced with an old friend called Adrenaline Rush.

Chapter Text

It's officially been a week since I started going to the Keith Shadis Boxing Club and in that time I was starting to feel like my old, anti-social self again. The way I was before I met Eren anyway.

Getting back into an old sport was exactly what I needed. I would stop by the club almost immediately after my shift at the restaurant was over and train for a good three hours or so. It was so easy to get caught up in the sport that was boxing losing track of time, which I didn't entirely mind.

By the time I got home it was dark outside and I was so damn tired from overexerting myself at the Club that after a light meal, I would head straight to bed. My insomnia be damned. I had slept better this past week than I had in the last couple of years.

My mind was so completely blank, no worries about my feelings for a certain 22 year old anywhere to be found. Only the sore, tiredness of my body and ache in old wounds could be felt but it wasn't exactly a unwelcome feeling. Call me a sadist, but I believe pain is the best form of discipline and with the way I've been acting like some little 12 year old with a crush lately, discipline and order is exactly what I needed to get my life back in my control.

I had a few days off from the restaurant this week meaning more free time to spend training and boxing at the Club. Today was Friday, being the early riser that I was I still went for my usual morning run at 5AM and performed my morning cleaning ritual, but today I settled on going to the club during the day for a change instead of late evening. I had the time, so I figured why the fuck not?

I grabbed a gym bag with my work out clothes inside, which was really just a pair of long jogging pants and a quarter sleeve t-shirt, and threw it over my shoulder as I exited my apartment. As I stood in the hallway locking up my apartment and fumbling with my keys, I heard a familiar voice greet me.

"Going out, Levi?"

I turned toward the voice and was greeted with a cheerful face and bright Viridian eyes. Eren was standing in the hallway with his boyfriend who I only just noticed when the horse came up behind him and wrapped both arms possessively around Eren's waist. My eyes lingered on the long, pale arms linked around the slender waist that I had only thought about one too many times through out the last couple of weeks and then my eyes trailed back up to look at the smiling idiot that was my next door neighbor.

I said nothing and only grunted in response as I turned my attention back to looking for the right key to my apartment so that I could lock up and get the fuck out of here. The sooner I left, the sooner I wouldn't have to look at that horse touching the object of all my affections. I heard Eren giggle and try to tell Sea biscuit to stop and I didn't need to look up to see that they were probably doing all that cute, annoying couple shit that you see most couples do when they're out in public.

At this point, I took it as my cue to fucking bolt out of there and I did as soon as my front door was locked. I swung the gym bag over my shoulder again as it had slipped off somewhere during the process of me trying to lock up and I quite literally power walked toward the stairs.

"Um, See you later then!"

I heard the sound of Eren's unsure voice calling after me as I retreated toward the stairs and I only shot him a halfhearted wave back as I kept my back facing to him. I was not about to turn around. Nope. Just not gonna do it. If I did I don't think I'd be able to handle the grossly, cute (and quite frankly annoying) couple vibe that was just pouring out of the two idiots. Whatever, I have people to go beat the shit out of.

I made it to the Club in a matter of minutes, it was probably a new record. I parked my car and grabbed my shit out of the back seat, tromped into the building like the angry little short ass I was and quickly got changed into my work out clothes before wrapping my hands up tightly and gearing up to start pounding some sorry ass shits.

I took the time to warm up first, stretching my limbs accordingly and making sure I wouldn't fucking pull or strain a muscle because that was the last thing I needed while trying to vent out my anger or whatever the hell this was. Jealousy? Perhaps.

I waited my turn to enter the ring for a warm up fight that never actually stayed a warm up fight. Most of the times one party ended up pissing the other party off to the point where the warm up fights ended up turning into real fights, but the officials keeping watch on the matches to ensure nobody got out of hand never bothered to intervene unless of course somebody got a broken nose or worse. It was one thing I liked about this place.

After warming my body up by practicing with one of the many punching bags the club provided, the owner of the place Keith Shadis approached me with a subtle salute which I returned reluctantly. He had a rather amused smirk on his wrinkled face that had me more than just a little worried and curious.

"I see you've adjusted to the place very quickly. Not to mention it looks like you've already built up a reputation among some of the other members."

I snorted lowering my raised fists and turned to face him.

"No offense, Sir, but that was kind of my whole intention when I joined. Strike fear into the little shits who think it's okay to take me lightly because of my height."

Shadis barked out a laugh that caught me a bit by surprise as it was not something I was sure the man was capable of since he only ever worse a deathly serious expression on his face.

"That's what I like to hear, Sergeant. Actually, as I'm sure you're aware I'm here to speak with you about a different subject."

I gave a curt nod signaling for him to continue as I crossed my arms over my chest and waited to see what this was all about. He wouldn't have approached me to talk if it wasn't something that I could gain from.

"I'm very aware that you're not looking to do this sport to compete in any way, but over the last few days I've seen some of your warm up matches and can't help but feel like you're much too high up on the food chain to be dealing with amateurs. You need a challenge, am I right Sergeant?"

Now he had my full attention. I raised a questioning brow at him but kept my expression mostly impassive as it always is. He could tell I was interested though and I saw the smirk on his face turn into a full blown grin that was even more disturbing than the smirk from before.

"Of course I'm right! That's why I think it'll be good for you if for today's warm up fights you go up against some of our more serious fighters. You don't have to commit yourself to anything, just think of it as training some new recruits and showing them just how weak they are and that they still need to improve."

"So are you saying you want me, an experienced ex-boxer, to whip your team into shape by beating their sorry asses?" I asked with a bored tone.

"Like I said, think of it as training. My fighters have gotten much too cocky lately, not taking their training seriously anymore and slacking more than necessary. Say, if someone with as much raw power and experience as you comes along and gets their motivation going again by roughing them up a bit, showing them that just because they're considered good they're still not the best they can be, I think it'll serve as a valuable lesson. Wouldn't you agree?"

I sighed slipping my gloves off and pushed back some of my slightly damp hair. Gross.

"What am I getting out of this?" I asked, but what was the use really? He knew I was interested already.

"You'll be fighting other experienced boxers and getting the actual challenge you want. That is why you're here, isn't is Sergeant Ackerman?"

Well, shit. He was right, there was no denying that. I also couldn't deny the fact that pushing around some cocky little brats would be satisfying in it's own way, and with the shitty mood I had left my apartment in, I was more than ready to beat some ass.

"Alright. I'll do it, but shouldn't we go over some guidelines first? Like, am I or am I not allowed to beat the ever living shit out of these brats?"

"You can do whatever you feel necessary, Sergeant. I only ask that you not break anything vital like their arms or legs. Otherwise, they're completely at your mercy."

I was starting to like this set up already. Shadis went on to explain that some members of his team weren't here yet, so he had me keep warming myself up until they all did arrive. As I should have known though, fate and well, just life in general, liked to fuck with me for some reason and one of the members of Shadis' team that came in just had to be Eren's fucking sister of all people.

Mikasa, the stone faced asian girl with intense black eyes came strolling into the doors already wearing the club's official uniform and her hands were already wrapped and ready to go. She had a blank look on her face, unreadable as the first time I had met her and I wondered if that was just how she looked all the time or if she only reserved that look for when she wasn't around Eren or her just as expressionless girlfriend. Then again, who was I to talk?

I prayed I wouldn't have to go up against her first. Not that I was scared or intimidated, please, far from it. I was fucking fearless when it came to boxing. Put me in front of a 7 fucking foot giant and I'd still kick his ass without any hesitation. No, that was just the problem. I didn't want to have to end up beating Eren's sister up because I didn't know how to hold back when it came to my fighting style. I had always been told that I'd end up killing someone one day but thankfully no such day ever came, well it almost did but that's another story for another day.

Still, I couldn't doubt the fact that Eren's sister was still part of Shadis' team and from what I'd gathered since I'd been here (also a little research online, thanks internet) the people on his team were indeed considered good. They'd had their share of wins and even fewer losses but losses still the same. So, no I couldn't doubt Mikasa's skill just yet. Not until I saw her fight for myself. Which I did not even 20 minutes later and holy mother fucking shit, wow.

I wasn't very easy to impress, in fact, it's almost impossible to impress me. But what this girl was showing after she stepped into that ring and not even a second after that first bell signaled off was almost, keyword almost, frightening. She was nearly as merciless as I was in the ring and the way she delivered her blows relentlessly reminded me of my younger days. Her stance was flawless, her blows accurate in every sense of the word. A true machine, although as to killing machine we'd have to see about that.

Shadis shot me a look from across the room after Mikasa had finished beating the ever living fuck out of her opponent leaving them plenty battered and bruised but definitely not bloodied, I took that as my sign to enter the ring and I did after slipping my gloves on and popping in my mouth piece. As I stepped through the ropes and into that familiar square ring that actually seemed a lot smaller when you were standing right in the middle of it, I felt my blood start pumping and that very familiar sense of adrenaline coursing through every inch of my body. I was practically shaking with excitement and anticipation, Mikasa or not, bring it the fuck on. I was more than ready to start.

Shadis stepped into the ring after me and he stood at my side, hands locked behind his back and frown deeply set into his features making him truly look menacing and intimidating. I slightly admired the way he seemed to present himself in the same commanding and authoritative manner as Erwin, I guess the presence came with the position. He cleared his throat catching the attention of almost all of his team, save a couple of cheeky little shits who thought his words weren't worth their time. I'd show them the meaning of respect very soon.

"Good afternoon, Team. I'm sure you're all wondering why I'm standing here in the ring but let me first introduce you to this man standing next to me, remember his face and name well because he'll be teaching you a lesson today."

He took a step to the side and gestured to me and I hardened my stance, lifted my chin up slightly to show authority and superiority and let my steel grey eyes scan the expression of the team haphazardly lined up, minus Eren's sister who was standing stiffly.

"This is retired Army Sergeant Ackerman. He's recently joined this club but as many of you may not know, he's a very experienced boxer, a champion even. He's going to be your test, your training for today. Some of you haven't been showing the drive needed to make this team while some of you have just stopped trying altogether. I'll just let Sergeant Ackerman here begin without further delay. Sergeant, chose your first opponent."

Ah, so he was going to let me choose the little shits. Great. He seemed to know I already had my eyes set on the two little cheeky brats that hadn't been paying attention up until just a few moments ago and my eyes narrowed on the taller one who seemed to have a smug grin on his annoyingly good looking face. Shadis stepped out of the ring and I walked over to the edge of the ropes where his team stood still lined up waiting to be chosen.

Some of them looked intimidated, good, they should be, while others like Mikasa or the smug bastard seemed unaffected. I pointed my glove at the smug kid smiling and his face dropped just slightly, not wanting to make a fool of myself by trying to speak with the mouth piece still lodged between my teeth I simply nodded toward the ring and strode back to my corner waiting for the little shit to gear up.

That smug look of his returned though by the time he entered the ring, gloves hanging around his shoulders, mouth piece in his hand and it was only then I noticed just how much taller than me he was. He was blond and kind of tan, all lean muscle slightly reminding me of Eren's physique only more defined. The kid obviously thought himself too great for me as he took all his sweet time wrapping his hands up. Then the little shit spoke and it was his very first mistake.

"You seriously telling me this little shrimp is supposed to be our 'training' for today? I could probably take you in my sleep, little man."

Instead of getting pissed and breaking his nose first chance, I smirked back showing off the blue mouth piece before I reached for the hem of my black t-shirt yanking it off and over my head. I tossed it to the side not caring where it landed, which was so unlike me, but I saw the blond's face drop again as he saw my ripped physique. I wasn't one to brag, nor was I one to show off like this but the little shit wasn't taking me seriously at all.

I wasn't Erwin ripped but I was built nonetheless. The years of training in the army and my rigorous work out sessions gave me the hardened body I have today and while I had definitely bulked up in recent weeks, I was still lean keeping me flexible and agile.

I tapped my gloves together showing the bastard I was ready for him and he scowled at me. Once he finally geared up, we approached each other at the center of the ring, he was bouncing slightly from foot to foot and he waited to pop his mouth piece in. Bad idea. I bent my knees slightly, hunching myself forward a bit raising my arms until my fists were at eye level, coiled and ready to strike at any moment. It was a stance I'd perfected over several years.

"I'm gonna destroy you, midget." he hissed with a smirk and a dark laugh.

The bell chimed twice and he was about to put his mouth piece in when I lunged forward and landed a gloved blow square in his jaw sending him stumbling back until he was on his ass. Shadis did say I didn't have to hold back and I didn't, mouth piece in or not. That was the kid's own fault for forgetting a basic rule of common fucking sense.

The dumbass cradled his jaw in both hands and stared up at me in disbelief, his brown eyes blown wide like I had just stabbed him or something. He tried to pick himself up from the matted ground, he stumbled several times until he eventually caught himself on the ropes and leaned against them for support, one hand still cradling his jaw.

"C-Coash! Did you shee dat!? He punshed me widout a mouth piece!" the blond whined, his speech slightly slurred from either his injured jaw or the shock of being hit in the first place. I kept my stance at the ready, eyes trained on my target like a hunter tracking it's prey. I turned into a different person when I was in that ring, once that bell rung there was no hiding from me.

Unfortunately, the bell signaling the end of a round did ring and I straightened myself up from my stance lowering my fists until the were back at my sides and I turned to walk back into my corner, thoroughly disappointed with how my first warm up fight with. To say it was pathetic was an understatement. Shadis approached the side of the ring where the blond still hung trying to get his barrings and I heard him sigh loudly.

"Get your ass out of there and go ice that jaw, Milo. You're done for today."

"B-but Coach!"

"I said you're done. Ice that jaw, sit your ass down and watch the rest of the match. Maybe you'll finally learn something for a change instead of just flaunting about. Now hurry up."

Shadis threw the kid a towel and he fumbled with it, still holding his jaw the kid named Milo shot me a glare that I easily ignored because 1.) it was weak as hell compared to mine and 2.) I didn't give a fuck. Milo clumsily left the ring, some of his teammates snickered as he trudged toward the locker room to probably go ice his jaw and in the meantime I checked my hands and gloves to make sure everything was still in tip top shape.

Shadis picked my next opponent which was the other kid that had been chatting away with Milo, I was going to pick him next anyway so I didn't care. This kid did seem a little more weary of me as he stepped into the ring next, gloves already on and mouth piece in before he even did anything else. Good, at least this one wasn't a total moron like the Milo kid was.

I got into my stance again, the kid going into a similar one but his form wasn't nearly as good as Mikasa's nor mine. He wasn't as tall as Milo, but he was definitely more built. Probably double my size even. The bell rang twice and he came at me first. Normally, that would have been a mistake in itself but this kid wasn't as stupid or as bad as my previous opponent and I hate to say it, but he got a shot in when he thrust a fist toward my side and I blocked it with an arm.

Okay, so this kid wasn't bad but I still wasn't convinced he was anywhere near as good as me. I took a step back, sliding my foot against the blue matted floor and I lowered myself ducking my head so that it was just out of his immediate reach if he tried to throw another hit and I got a shot into his side knocking the air out of him for a moment or two. He shuffled back on his feet quickly to get as far away from me without outright running but I followed and went in for another shot.

I was quick but this kid wasn't bad at blocking it seemed, he blocked some of my punches with his forearms but it wasn't enough to cover the rest of his open body, in fact it left him wide open. I started up a flurry of jabs and punches efficiently cornering him to one side of the ring until I was just all over him. Punches raining down like nobodies business and for a while I lost track of just how many times I had punched him by now. Luckily, for the kid, the bell rang signaling the end of the first round and I backed off immediately.

The kid stayed crouched in the corner even after I had already moved away several feet, when he peeked out from behind his forearms that were still guarding his face and head he lowered his arms and blinked a few times like he couldn't believe it had stopped when I was going so hard on him. It probably would have stayed that way had the bell not rang, but since it did I reserved myself in my own corner taking the seat that was there and wiping off the beads of sweat that were running down the sides of my face.

While the kid recovered in his corner, my eyes trailed over to Mikasa who had been watching the fight intensely. Her eyes were on me and our gazes locked onto one another, she looked as if she was studying something but as to what I wasn't sure. Then I realized that I had taken my shirt off earlier without much thought and it hit me. My tattoo.

The thing about tattoos, especially really old ones, You tend to forget they're even there because they've been apart of your body for so long that you're not even conscious of it anymore. My tattoo was no different and it definitely wasn't small and subtle. I had mentioned before that Erwin had gotten the inspiration to name his Restaurant the 'Wings of Freedom' in french because of me and my silly little dream of wanting to fly when I was a kid, it seemed the logo was also inspired by me, or my tattoo to be more precise.

I had been a rebellious little shit during my teen years, my old man was a big wig in the Army and wanted me to follow the same path but I had been adamant about joining the Air Force to fly fighter jets. It was always my dream to fly because birds always looked so free when they flew, and I had always craved that freedom. When I was 17, I snuck out of my room one night and got a fucking tattoo. Just to spite my old man, I got a pair of wings that Hanji and Erwin had helped me design myself.

Instead of just getting them on my back like every other typical douche bag who got wing tattoos, Hanji thought it would be more realistic if I got them on my shoulder blades spreading out toward my shoulders and biceps. On my left was a dark, blue wing and on my right a white one. It represented my deep set Military roots that I was proud of while also representing my dream of freedom. That was the tattoo I had gotten to piss off my old man, and the tattoo that no doubt Eren's sister was looking at right now.

I didn't give a fuck if people stared, really. It was my body and I did what I wanted with it. While my tattoo was big and covered the upper half of my biceps, it wasn't something I couldn't cover with a quarter sleeve t shirt. I liked the idea of nobody knowing I had these tattoos except for when I showed them to someone myself, so maybe it wasn't the smartest idea to just rip my fucking shirt off because I was pumped up but it was too late for that now. I noticed a few other stares on me but I ignored them.

The bell for the second round rang and I bounced from foot to foot waiting for my opponent to approach me, which he did, hesitantly. I must have scared him off a little and I could see the weary look in his eye as he drew closer to me, treading his feet carefully around me like I was a wild animal that he was expecting to attack him at any moment. Not a bad comparison really, probably closer to the truth than anything else.

When he took another hesitant step forward, I ducked myself lower like I had the first time hoping the kid would notice the repeated move and learn to avoid it but he didn't and I landed another blow to his side replaying the first round all over again. Either he was too distracted to figure out it was the same move or he was just that slow to react. Either way, I got him cornered again and that flurry of jabs started up once more. The kid was on his knees before I knew it, head ducked behind his forearms as he tried to block my blows.

I got lost in that trance again, the one where I lost track of how many times I punched and hit and just went into a frenzy of endless blows. Even with padded gloves on, the blows themselves were powerful enough to bruise and break bone to a certain extent. I eventually let up a bit, slowing my pace down so that the kid could at least get back up on his feet but to my surprise when I took a step back to give him his chance, he caught me off guard and lunged up from his crouching position on the mat nearly landing a hit on my face as my instinct to dodge barely kicked in.

His gloved fist only grazed the side of my cheek bone, but it was enough to get me fired up and recoiling my arm to return the blow. He didn't have time to register that I had in fact only just barely dodged his punch before I was launching my fist straight for his nose. When it connected to his face, it was like watching myself in slow motion for a brief second, I could see the way the leather material of my glove touched his skin first before my fist eventually smashed into the bridge of his already crooked nose.

There was a sickening crunch when my glove met his nose and the kid stumbled back against the ropes as he tried to recover from my hit that clearly jarred him. The blood that started to trickle down the gash that opened from the blow began to flow effortlessly but the kid didn't seem to notice at first as he blinked a few times and tried to go at me again. Obviously I had motivated him to do something and I was almost pleased when he got back onto his own two feet leaving the support of the ropes in favor of going at me again. I saw Shadis go around the perimeter of the ring toward the table where the two officials that were monitoring the fight sat waiting for the three minute mark to be up so they could end the round.

I didn't have a doubt in my mind that Shadis was going to try and end the round early since I'd probably just broken this kids nose but hey, he did say I could do as I pleased and that was his mistake probably, although he didn't really looked pissed that I had just injured someone.

The kid was about to land a blow to my cheekbone again and I ducked my head just in time to dodge it and then the bell rang. It was the end of the second round and I backed off trying to retreat to my corner but the kid obviously wanted to get me back for smashing his face in. He tried to lunge at me even after I had already retreated a few steps but Shadis had at some point entered the ring and was holding a hand up to the kid's face signaling for him to stop.

The kid frowned, half of his face was running with the blood still gushing out from his nose and it was dripping onto the matted floor along with his intense sweating. Disgusting. I missed the physical action of boxing for sure but not the fucking gross mess it left. The kid was cursing as Shadis led him back to his corner and a few medics came to check his nose out. I rolled my eyes and sat in my own corner spitting my mouth piece out and working my jaw around as I had been clenching my teeth into the mouth piece for awhile now.

I should have expected it really, but Shadis marked the end of that 'training' for the day which a part of me didn't mind but a part of me also scoffed at as well. Maybe next time he'd know better than to ask me of all people to whip his little brats into shape. They led the kid with the broken nose to the back locker rooms, probably to position his nose back into place. Shadis approached me with a rather pleased look on his face and I eyed him suspiciously as I removed my gloves and started tearing off the wrapping.

"I thought that went rather well, Sergeant Ackerman. Way less damage than what I was expecting if I'm being honest with myself. It seems you do have some restraint in the end."

I sucked my teeth at him loudly, superior officer or not, this wasn't the Army. I would disrespect him if I wanted to, unlike his bratty team I didn't have to put up with him like they did.

"If it had been a serious fight, I would have knocked the kids teeth out and done more than just break his nose. Don't be so sure that I have as much restraint as you're assuming, I'm sure you've probably already looked into my record."

I heard him snort and chuckle at that which only proved I was right. He'd done some snooping in my background as a boxer, no doubt about it, and that meant he knew more than just my reputation as a mean little fucker with a nasty attitude in the ring.

"I'd like if we could do this again, Sergeant. This little lesson with my team will no doubt help them see that they're still weak and need improvements. What would you say to that?"

I gave him a look that probably said more than I'd ever need to say. 'Are you fucking serious right now?' or 'Please tell me you're joking?' would probably be the impression my look gave off.

"I have an actual job you know. I don't have the time or the patience to train your brats. Besides, I have no interest in trying to help your team better themselves. I'm not that generous of a person to care if they lack drive or not."

"You're just in it for the amusement of knocking around some cocky amateurs, am I right?"

I was silent at that but I glanced up at him confirming his answer wordlessly. That was all that was needed though as he threw his head back in another hardy laugh and jesus, I'll never fucking get used to that.

"Think about it, Sergeant. If you ever want to rough up my team again, you're more than welcome to." and with that, Shadis saluted me as he left and I was left to my thoughts.

It wasn't like I wanted to take up his offer, but I did want to just beat the shit out of people. That was the whole reason for me coming here right? Ha, wrong. Who was I fucking kidding? I came here because I'm trying to forget about my school girl crush on my so-obviously-not-single-but-really-hot neighbor. Right. I left the club that afternoon with Shadis' offer echoing in my head and the pros and cons of what his offer might bring. For one thing, if I was really going to beat the shit out of his team, I definitely didn't want to face Eren's sister anytime soon.

Chapter Text

The next day was Saturday and I had completely forgotten that Hanji and Eren were supposed to come over to my place that night for her stupid ass 'Cooking Party' or whatever. I'd been so caught up in my affairs at the Club that it slipped my mind completely and I ended up making a last minute run to the supermarket like a crazy person.

It wasn't like I needed to, really. My fridge was always pretty much stocked because I liked to keep it that way. Being a chef, I always liked to have access to a lot of ingredients and even had my own mini herb garden on my balcony. I ended up buying only a few things, basic ingredients like fresh onions, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes and the like.

I wasn't sure what Eren would be bringing since he hadn't really discussed what we'd be cooking, I only knew that whatever would be the main dish tonight would almost surely be a German dish. Because Eren was German... and that suddenly brought back recollections of an embarrassing conversation I had with Hanji only this morning.

Hanji had sent me a picture of a condom on my phone with various countries across the globe marked down on the sides indicating the average size of the male penis for that country's average. It said the global average was 5 inches which I could believe, most of the countries that fell below that average were mostly countries like China, Indonesia and Korea. Whatever. But the country that had the second largest average with nearly 6 inches was strangely Germany and Hanji just had to tact on the fact that Eren was German and that he was more than likely to be very gifted in the large dick department because of that fact.

Damn Hanji and her sick jokes. Since then though, I can't think of Eren without thinking of him possibly having a big dick... not that I was complaining of course but I mean, I was a little freaked out by the fact that the idea of my crush having a huge dong didn't bother me as much as it probably would have when I still considered myself straight. Now all of a sudden I was blushing like a school girl over thinking about another guy's dick. This whole 'accept that you're gay' thing was really starting to take it's toll on me.

I forced myself to forget about anything having to do with dicks in the meantime and hurried back to my apartment after having gotten everything I needed from the supermarket (bottle of wine included.). It was still early in the afternoon when I got home, so after putting away all my groceries I called Erwin and we talked for about an hour. He had been bugging the fuck out of me about how my boxing thing was going and I had promised I'd tell him about it when I wasn't beating the shit out of people.

He sounded happy with me overall, even though I left out the little detail that I might have broken a kids nose yesterday. It wasn't like I intended to break someones nose. It just sort of... happened. I think the big bastard was just happy that I wasn't pushing myself to go overboard like I normally would have if I was ten years younger. But of course, Erwin being the mom friend that he is had to warn me about taking care of my hands since a Chef's hands were a Chef's life, blah blah blah, I had heard this lecture before.

By the time I had hung up with Erwin, it was almost six and either Hanji or Eren would be getting here soon. I didn't bother trying to guess which, it didn't really matter. I decided I would get started on my portion of dinner since Eren was providing the Main Dish no doubt. I settled on making Chicken Gruyere, which was kind of like a casserole in a way. I pulled out some raw chicken breasts, I liked to buy the already boneless, skinless kind. Less work and it's faster to cook. Placing them on the counter top, I pulled out some flour and poured it a large bowl. I seasoned the flour with some salt and pepper and was about to start chopping some Parsley to throw in as well when I heard a familiar set of knocks at my door.

I wiped my hands clean and rushed to open the door, my heart pounding in my chest as I yanked it open to see Eren's smiling face, Captain at his side and what seemed like thousands of grocery bags in his hands. Now, if I had been a more expressive person in general I probably would have smiled at the sight because it was fucking hilarious to see him struggling with all those bags.

What wasn't hilarious, however, was what the little shit was wearing today. I couldn't make out the design on his raglan t-shirt because of the bags he was carrying but I did notice that he was wearing quite possibly the tightest dark denim blue jeans I'd ever seen him wear and damn did he have a nice pair of legs. Oh, but if the tight jeans weren't enough, no, the little shit was also wearing his hair tied back and adding to the sexy pair of legs was his adorable face with fucking glasses.

"You're early." I said before helping him out with some of the bags which he let me take off his hands gratefully.

"Thanks and yeah I know, but I figured I might as well just come and drop off my things here since there would be no point in storing them at my place for a little while and then bringing them all back over here." He replied as he slipped off his shoes by the door, the kid learned fast.

He trailed after me shutting the door behind him, Captain had already made himself comfortable on the couch while Eren and I were bringing in his groceries. The little shit. After putting the groceries down, I left Eren to unpack everything himself as I went to wash my hands thoroughly in the sink and return to my previous task at hand.

As I worked coating the chicken evenly in the flour mixture I put together, Eren made several trips to and from my fridge putting away his groceries that I paid little to no mind to. I figured it was better left as a surprise anyway. After I finished coating the chicken, I washed my hands in the sink again and moved to grab a large skillet from my pantry. I started up the stove heating a couple of tablespoons of butter in the pan until it was fully melted, then I placed the pieces of chicken into the pan and left them to fry until they were golden.

"So what are you making? It smells amazing." Eren asked as I was washing my hands for the third time in the past 10 minutes.

I glanced up toward him, he was leaning over the kitchen island counter top with both elbows propped up and his chin settled in the palms of his hands, I hadn't noticed that he had his bangs pinned to the side with bobby pins until now. Fucking. Adorable. The top three buttons of his Raglan shirt were also open and with his leaning position, I got a nice view of his tanned chest.

"I'm making Chicken Gruyere. Don't ask me what it is, you're just gonna have to wait and see."

He beamed at me from across the counter and nodded his head a bit. Fuck, this kid needed to stop being so attractive because it was starting to hurt my eyes. And those fucking tanned collar bones, practically in my face, Jesus take the wheel.

"That's fine, because I'm not telling you what I'm making either." he waggled a finger in the air and I snorted at the action.

"Whatever you say, kid."

I heard Eren chuckle softly before I turned my back to him again, I preheated my oven to the temperature I'd need for when the chicken was done and I brought a large glass dish to place the almost cooked chicken in. I hurried to check the breasts that were still browning in the butter and they were nearly golden to perfection on both sides. I felt myself smile a bit because there was nothing quite like the satisfaction I got from cooking a perfect dish.

"Can I help with anything?" came Eren's unexpected question and I froze transferring the chicken breasts into the glass dish.

Eren wants to help me cook? Calm down, Levi. It's not like he asked you to marry him, shit. Although... I wouldn't mind that either. Ugh, somebody shoot me. I transferred the last piece of chicken breasts into the glass dish and slightly turned back to glance at Eren who had a hopeful look on his face. I stared at him a second or two before I eventually relented and accepted his offer to help.

"Do whatever you like." I turned back to the glass dish and covered it so the chicken wouldn't get cold while I cooked the rest of my dish.

Eren sauntered around the kitchen counter and stood next to me grinning wide, the height difference painfully evident as we stood practically shoulder to shoulder. Damn it, did he have to stand so fucking close? I tried to ignore my thundering heartbeat as I got out the mushrooms and an onion and set them on the cutting board.

"Make yourself useful, Brat and get me the bottle of white wine that's in that top cupboard in front of you. Pop it open too while you're at it."

Eren shot me a smirk at my request and I scowled at him, the little shit was probably about to make a joke about me asking him to reach for the wine because I was too short to reach the cupboard myself. Well, fuck you too Eren. You and your ridiculous just above average height and your stupidly beautiful face and your probably bigger than mine dic- aaaaand I'm gonna stop right there. It's bad enough we're standing shoulder to shoulder in my rather small kitchen, I didn't need any awkward boners popping up now.

Still, Eren did as he was told and reached up opening the cupboard grabbing the bottle of wine I had bought earlier that afternoon. He asked me where I had my cork screws and I directed him to the drawer by his left thigh. He struggled with the bottle at first but the dumbass eventually got it open without breaking the bottle or the cork screw. Thank fuck.

"Here, slice the onion into rings while I chop the mushrooms and try not to fucking cut yourself, I don't want blood or a finger in my food."

I handed him one of my chopping knives, the good kind that were always fucking sharp no matter how many times you used it, and prayed to whatever god was up there that Eren was at least capable of cutting an onion, which I'm sure he was but his potato cutting skills could probably use some work if his Potato cheese soup from last week was anything to go by.

"I think I know how to slice an onion without cutting myself, Levi. Geez, give me some credit here." I heard him snort and I only rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, well I'll believe it after you prove yourself. So get to slicing."

We fell silent as Eren focused on slicing the onion as I instructed and I focused on chopping up the mushrooms. I had successfully managed to calm my still beating heart, at least now it didn't sound like a fucking Nascar driver was behind the wheel of my heart.

"Ah—shit!" I heard Eren hiss from beside me and my head immediately whipped to the side to see him cradling his finger and wincing.

"Fucking shit, Eren are you serious right now?! Fuck! Hold on let me go get—"

My words trailed off as I heard Eren start laughing quietly, I looked over to him again to see his shoulder's shaking up and down until eventually he was just full on laughing. He released his supposedly cut finger and held it up for me to see that it was indeed not actually cut and or bleeding before he tried to speak through his fit of laughter.

"Holy shit, Levi—," he tried to catch his breath but his giggles only intensified, "I didn't actually think you would fall for that, oh my god it was so worth it though. You should have seen your face!"

I felt my entire face go hot with embarrassment, no doubt I was probably blushing like the fucking little bitch that I was and I wrung my hands into the hem of my shirt trying not to lose my cool as I was both extremely embarrassed and seething with rage.

"Eren... you fucking little piece of..." I growled glaring daggers at him as I reached for my dish rag and snapped it at him. It was better than punching him... which I still really wanted to do right now.

He took a step back, head thrown back and mouth hanging open with unrestrained laughter as I continued to hit him with my dish rag in hopes that he would just fucking disappear and I would never have to deal with his immature shit ever again.

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry! I won't do it again." he said once his laughter had subsided but I could still see that shit-eating grin plastered on his handsome face.

"You're damn right you're not gonna do it again, get the fuck out of my kitchen if you're gonna be doing shit like that. Fuck... I'm too old for this." I said that last part more to myself than anyone else but Eren caught it anyway and grinned even wider.

"So you admit you're old?"

"Shut up, Eren. God, I'm living next door to a fucking 5 year old." Eren shrugged at that and went back to standing next to me so that he could finish slicing the onion.

"At least you're not living next door to a 3 year old." he shot back with a crooked smile and I rolled my eyes.

"So you're admitting to being a 5 year old in a 22 year old's body? How sad. And for your information, I already have to deal with a 3 year old. Her name is Hanji and she's a constant pain in my ass." He chuckled at that but kept his eyes trained on the knife slicing rings off the onion.

"I see nothing wrong with being a little young at heart. It means you never really have to grow up."

I contemplated his words seriously for a minute as I went back to cutting the mushrooms. I had never really thought about it that way, but well what did I know? For as long as I can remember I've always been too mature for my own good so maybe that was why I was such a grumpy ass mother fucker now that I'm older. I eventually shrugged off Eren's words and threw back an insult as was my forte.

"Whatever you say, Peter Pan. I bet you probably prance around your apartment wearing green tights imagining you can fly by sprinkling glitter all over yourself."

Eren erupted with laughter at that and I allowed myself a little smirk if anything else because truly, Eren's laughter was something I could listen to for a lifetime. Eventually, we fell into a comfortable silence once more. Both of us focused on our task of slicing and chopping, Eren would occasionally look over to me and smile and my heart was back to that thundering pace again as I quietly basked in the presence that was Eren.

It was strange how comfortable I was around him, even to the point where I was letting him help me cook in my kitchen which most people knew was a no-no. I was too uptight to let anyone help me with a job I took so seriously, so why had I let my neighbor do so I would probably never understand. Still, I couldn't help but feel like I could see myself doing this kind of thing with Eren everyday if I could. Cooking together in the kitchen, playfully joking with one another, not needing to actually talk in order to just enjoy each other's company.

It was a dangerous train of thought because Eren wasn't mine, he belonged to someone else and yet that didn't stop me from wondering what it would be like if he were mine. Would it be any different from how we act around each other now? Would he lean over and kiss me or wrap his arms around my waist as I cooked for him? I wondered what it would be like if he were to whisper sweet nothings into my ear, as I imagined that was the kind of Lover Eren was.

Perhaps I was romanticizing him too much, blinded by my feelings for him mixed with my desires but it was an enchanting thought. One I should definitely not be encouraging in the least but I couldn't help it and I was so fucking screwed. Two months, I've had two months to put a stop to these silly little feelings of whatever I had for him and I'd only done just the fucking opposite. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I should blame myself or Eren for these feelings but more than likely if I was being honest with myself it was my fault because no one forced me to develop feelings for him so wasn't like I could point a finger at Hanji and accuse her of ruining my life, although it probably wouldn't stop me from doing so anyway.

"Am I interrupting something!" Speak of the devil and he shall appear, dear god help us all.

Eren and I both whipped our heads around awkwardly to stare wide eyed at Hanji who had been sitting comfortably at one of the stools of my kitchen island for god know's how long and I gaped at her because she had once again managed to break into my apartment without my knowing it.

"How long have you fucking been there, Hanji?" I hissed through clenched teeth as I whirled around and grabbed my carving knife.

Hanji cackled and twirled around in the swivel seat paying my threatening stance no mind as I seethed at her. Eren only swallowed as he glanced between Hanji and I, looking unsure if he should try and protect Hanji if I did decided to commit murder tonight, or if he should try and take the knife away from me. The latter was probably more ideal, if not stupidly brave.

"I've been here long enough and that's all you need to know! But gosh, you guys," she pointed a finger between Eren and I and grinned manically, "You guys are just adorable together, you know? I almost feel bad for ruining the moment."

I eventually put the carving knife down, much to Eren's relief, and instead I grabbed the dirty dish rag I was previously towel whipping Eren with and threw it directly into Hanji's mug earning a surprised squawk from the woman as he had a mouthful of dish rag in her mouth.

"There was no 'Moment' you four eyed freak and stop fucking breaking into my apartment. I won't hesitate to report you to the police again."

I turned back to the skillet that was still on the stove and I put another few tablespoons of butter to melt while I tossed in the chopped mushrooms and sliced onion rings. The smells that rose from the spices I mixed in was heavenly and it quickly filled the apartment as I lightly browned the onions and mushrooms.

"ONE TIME! You'll never let me live that down, now will you?" Hanji whined as threw her hands up in the air in defeat.

"Nope. Now make yourself useful and put some music on, and none of that shitty music you listen to at work. I swear to god if I hear that song Talk Dirty one more fucking time, I'm going to fucking throw something out a window."

"You're no fun, that song is catchy!"

Hanji trotted over to my room to retrieve my laptop I assumed, though I'm not sure why she couldn't just dock her iPhone on the ihome speakers she knew I had but I shrugged it off as she came back into the living room with my laptop already opened and logged in. Don't ask me how she knew my fucking password, Hanji would be the best Private investigator ever if she ever opened her own business.

As I poured in the wine and let my sauce mixture simmer a bit in the skillet, Hanji searched for music on youtube and every suggestion she threw out I immediately turned down and eventually she gave up which was saying something because Hanji was hard-headed and naturally stubborn and never knew when to quit almost to the point of obsession. Finally, Eren spoke up and walked over toward Hanji and the laptop in her lap.

"Here, I know what we could listen to."

Hanji shrugged and handed him the small 13 inch laptop which he immediately started typing something into the url bar and pretty soon my apartment was filled with the sound of soothing acoustic guitars and pianos and hauntingly beautiful voices that caused a shiver to run up my spine but in a good sense.

I didn't object to the genre of choice so Eren and Hanji took that as a good sign and he raised the volume a bit setting the laptop down on my coffee table and returning to his seat. Hanji beamed as she immediately recognized the song that was currently playing.

"Hey! Isn't this indie? I didn't think Levi even liked indie music." Hanji beamed up at Eren from her spot on the rug and he smiled back at her.

"I'm not actually sure if he does like indie music, I just figured it was worth a shot and I think it worked."

This time they both turned to look at me as I straightened myself up from my bent position in front of the oven, I had just popped the glass dish in and set the timer for 20 minutes before I turned to look at both of them and I sighed.

"It's not bad, I'll say that much. At least it's better to listen to than that annoying pop shit."

That earned me big smiles from both Hanji and Eren and I rolled my eyes turning back toward the fridge and looking for the bottle of red wine I always kept for whenever I had an excruciatingly long day at work and needed to relax.

"Hey, if you're grabbing the wine pour me a glass too. I'm just itching to get this party started." I heard Hanji say from the living room and I sucked my teeth.

"Tch, get your own wine shitty glasses. This is my bottle."

Hanji whined and the sound utterly grated on my nerves so I eventually relented and poured her a glass of wine if only to shut her up and save myself from thinking about committing murder for the second time in the last half hour.

I stomped into the living room with two glasses of wine in hand and gave Hanji her glass with a curl of my lip sending her threats with my eyes that said 'If you spill even one single drop of that on my white rug I'll kill everything you love.' It was only now that I could appreciate what Hanji was wearing, and by appreciate I really meant it. Her fashion sense has always been a bit on the weird side and for once she dressed decently today. Dare I say it, she looked cute with her light blue denim shirt and white pants and crocheted oxfords to finish it off.

Hanji accepted my offer with a goofy grin and happily sipped on her glass of red, I shook my head suddenly feeling more exasperated than anything before I took a long sip of my own wine. I noticed Eren watching me drink from my glass curiously and I narrowed my eyes at him from over the rim of the glass. He eventually smirked and I swallowed another large gulp of wine feeling like I would need another glass before long if this shit kept up.

"What is it now, Jaeger? If you got something to say, better spit it out now." I bit out taking a seat on usual spot by the sofa.

I had almost completely forgotten that Captain was here the entire time. The cat was sleeping peacefully and surprisingly not in my usual spot, which I found interesting but didn't linger too long on the thought as I reached over and stroked his sleek fur softly. He cracked one icy blue eye open tiredly before shutting it again and returning to his slumber as if he hadn't been disturbed in the first place. Cats had it so fucking easy.

"Nothing. I was just thinking about how hungover you were last weekend and now I regret not bringing anything stronger than Vodka and beer with me."

I snorted into the rim of my glass and smirked knowing the kid must have been stupid if he thought I would have let my guard down tonight just because I was drinking a little wine. Please, if I got drunk off only a couple of glasses of wine then I'd be one sad little french man because that's just weak. I know my alcohol tolerance wasn't amazing, nor was it high by any means, but I could at least drink a full bottle of wine and still be ridiculously functional albeit more relaxed.

"Even if you had brought something stronger, what makes you think I would even drink it? I'm not in any fucking rush to drink myself into another hangover."

It was at this point, Hanji jumped back into the conversation after she had been momentarily lulled into silence by the acoustics of the current song that was playing.

"Because I would have totally gotten you to drink it somehow. Don't lie, Levi. I have a way to get you to drink shit you'd never normally drink on your own. I'm just a good influence that way!"

Shit, she had a point there. I didn't know how she always managed to get me to drink shit I knew was going to fuck me up in the end but somehow it always ended with me either passed out somewhere or doing something I never would do in a million years if I was fucking sober.

"It's because you're so fucking persistent all the damn time and I'll do anything to shut your annoying mouth up."

Hanji feigned hurt and dramatically placed her heart over he heart with an overly exaggerated pout face and I flipped her the bird to which she giggled and told me she loved me too.

Thankfully, the timer on the oven went off and I immediately shot up from the sofa. I bolted toward the oven grabbing the dish rag to pull the hot glass dish out from the heated rack as I opened the oven door. The chicken and mushroom sauce I had created was slightly bubbling from the heat as I placed it on the counter and darted to the fridge to get the shredded Gruyere cheese I had bought earlier in the day.

As I sprinkled the cheese over the top, I could hear Hanji and Eren still talking about things I couldn't care about like how she met Mike and fell in love with the big ass bear man. I nearly dropped the glass dish as I was popping it back into the oven for an additional ten minutes when Hanji screeched something startling the whole god damn floor probably.

"Oh my god! I LOVE this song! Turn it up, Eren!"

I shook my head as I closed the oven door and set the timer for ten minutes, I could hear the sound of Eren padding across the living room to turn the music up and when he did I could make out a familiar song but I couldn't for the life of me remember who sang it or what the song was even called. I wasn't very well known of indie bands, hell I barely kept up with the popular mainstream shit that was always on the radio these days.

Eren smiled as Hanji began to sing the lyrics to the song, and surprisingly she wasn't yelling them at the top of her lungs but actually trying to sing to in perfect harmony.

"One night to be confused, one night to speed up truth, we had a promise made, four hands and then away. Both under influence, We had a divine sense to know what to say. Mind is a razor blade."

Eren was drumming his hands against his thigh as he joined Hanji on the rug swaying from side to side slightly, his head bobbing to the beat of the song. I watched the two of them stupidly get into the song together and couldn't help but smile to myself.

The timer on the oven went off again in no time to my surprise and I was quickly snapped out of my daze of watching my best friend make an idiot of herself, although I hated to admit it, she was an adorable idiot sometimes. I turned the oven and timer off and pulled out my finished dish, the smell of the baked Gruyere cheese sprinkled generously over the top and onions and mushrooms filled the apartment and I was proud of my dish.

"Gosh, that smells amazing, Levi."

I turned around to face Eren as he leaned half his body over the kitchen counter top once more to get a glimpse of my finished masterpiece and I smirked at him before moving aside and presenting the piping hot dish to him. He practically drooled as he licked his lips unconsciously.

"If you want to eat this already, then hurry up and make the main dish dumbass. You're not the only one who's starving over here."

"Right!" Hanji piped up from the living room.

"No worries, I'll have dinner served in under an hour." he said with a cocky sort of smirk and that was a new side to Eren I'd never seen before.

Sure, I'd seen the polite side to him, the shy side, the cheeky side even but never a cocky side. I knew he had confidence but as to how much I wasn't exactly sure. Still, as much as cockiness was a trait I'd much rather do without in most people, Eren pulled it off without seeming like a complete douche bag. It was almost sexy. I need to stop.

Eren rounded the counter and made his way for the fridge opening the doors and taking out all the shit he had brought. I could make out what looked like packaged pork but I couldn't be sure as Eren started shooing me out of my kitchen. My fucking kitchen and he was shooing me away, the little snot nosed brat. Did he not realize I could easily kick his cute little ass, that cute, tight little- son of a bitch I'm doing it again.

I eventually gave up and simply let Eren take over my kitchen as I poured myself another glass of wine and practically chugged it down as I grumpily sat on the sofa with my arm crossed over chest, one hand nursing the glass of wine. Hanji on the other hand was guzzling the wine straight from the bottle... my fucking bottle of wine that I paid for with my fucking money.

"Oi! Who the fuck said you could drink all of my fuckin' wine shitty glasses?" I snapped at her venomously and she tried to smile at me through wine filled cheeks, her lips puckering outwards in a comical manner.

"Oh, calm down short and angry," she rasped out after she swallowed, "I brought a case from home, there's plenty more where this came from." she chimed and I sucked my teeth.

"Tch, it's probably just that cheap shit that tastes like ass that you like so much. Unlike you, I have very sensitive taste buds."

"It is NOT just cheap shit! I went out of my way to get your favorite brand, the really expensive one, ya know the one Erwin always brings! Hmph! I'm offended, Levi."

"Whatever, four eyes. You better not be lying or I swear to Lucifer I'll spit in your food."

Hanji scrambled up onto her feet and bolted toward the foyer just out of my sight. I heard a jumbled mess of noise coming from the entrance of my apartment and I grimaced hoping she wasn't making a mess, I'll kick her the fuck out now if she is. She came back shortly after with two bottles of the same red wine we were drinking in her hands and a smug look on her slightly red face.

"See! Told ya I wasn't lyin'!"

It was now that I was starting to question just exactly how much wine Hanji had already drank and I confirmed my question when I reached for bottle she was drinking from before and it was indeed empty. Well, shit. Now I had a slightly buzzed Hanji on my hands and it hasn't even been two hours since she and Eren got here.

"Fine. I won't spit in your food, now go put those in the fridge and come sit your ass down before you hurt yourself or fucking break something."

She opened her mouth and then closed it, repeating the action a few times before eventually just giving up and doing as I had instructed her to do. Funny how at one point she was actually my superior officer and she still allowed me to boss her around. Hanji lingered a bit in the kitchen, striking up conversation with Eren as he cooked or at least I assumed he was cooking.

Every time I tried to see what he was doing in the kitchen, he would catch me and shoo me away while saying 'No peaking!' and fuck, if he wasn't so god damn cute I would have punched his teeth out. Fuck this shit, I grabbed the second bottle of wine from the fridge and popped it open pouring myself a third glass and chugging that one down as well because I was just so frustrated right now.

Eren was in my apartment, cooking in my kitchen, and I couldn't help but feel that this is where that damn kid fucking belonged. In my fucking apartment, by my fucking side, not that horse-faced kid. By now, I knew the wine was probably affecting me a little too much but I couldn't bring myself to care that I had probably drank more wine than I intended to this entire evening and dinner wasn't even ready yet.

Half an hour later and my apartment just smelled like fucking food porn heaven. I didn't have the slightest idea what Eren was making but apparently he had no intention of letting me know either, and Hanji was being a little shit and helping him in the kitchen while I sat on the couch stroking Eren's cat that had somehow made it's way into my lap now as I sipped on my fourth glass of wine.

Captain was purring in my lap, the cat had done nothing but sleep the entire time it was here but I figured it was probably better that way. He would stir occasionally and I would stroke his small white tipped ears back against his head lulling him back to sleep. The damn cat, it wasn't just his owner I was getting attached to.

Finally, Eren had finished cooking the main dish and I was starving by now. I felt like my stomach was about to eat itself if it waited any longer. I stood up from my comfortable place on the couch, wincing slightly when my bad leg threatened to cramp up from sitting with it curled underneath me for so long. I set my glass of wine down and washed my hands again in the kitchen sink rolling my long sleeved shirt up to my elbows.

Hanji was bouncing around the kitchen table whining about wanting to eat already and I barked at her to come wash her nasty hands before she even thought about sitting her ass down at my kitchen table. She pouted but did as she was told regardless. Eren added the finishing touches to his dish which I concluded was some kind of pork dish although I couldn't be sure, I was only assuming by the way the meat had smelled while it was being fried.

After I made sure Hanji had washed her hands thoroughly enough, we both sauntered into the kitchen and Eren beamed as he presented the finished product to us. My stomach growled as my eyes fell over the dish of breaded pork steaks that had been fried to golden perfection and my mouth was almost watering at the sight of the creamy mushroom sauce that had been poured on top.

"Oooh! Is that Wienerschnitzel!?" Hanji squeaked and Eren shook his head. Some of his bangs that had been pinned to the side fell into his face as he did so.

"Jaegerschnitzel, actually." and was it weird that I was getting kinda turned on by the slight accent he had as he said 'Schnitzel'? Because I felt a tingling in my pants and I sure as hell knew what that meant. My wiener wanted more than just Eren's Schnitzel and I wasn't talking about the food.

I quickly cleared my throat and went to grab some plates from one of my top cabinets, anything to distract myself from my half-hard boner I was getting. Who knew food could turn me on as well? I hope that wasn't going to be some kind of kink of mine because then I'd be really fucked. Not fucked in the sense I would hope for but fucked in the sense of humiliated.

I handed Hanji and Eren their plates and without so much as a word from me, we all began to serve ourselves. I hit the Schnitzel first wanting to taste Eren's cooking and Eren eagerly scooped out some of my Chicken Gruyere onto his plate. Hanji got the best of both worlds and we all sat at the dinner table quietly tucking into our meal. Well, Hanji was never quiet, even when she ate so it was mostly Eren and I that were too busy savoring our food to talk.

Then, After nearly licking his plate clean Eren looked up at me and I was looking down at my empty plate as well. Our eyes met for we stared at each other for a moment almost sizing each other up from a distance to see who would be the first to break the silence and compliment the other. Eventually, I gave in because I suddenly started feeling like a 70 year old man with a heart condition as I stared into those big doe eyes of Eren's.

"It was really good." I said looking away with a bit of a sigh because I knew Eren was probably grinning like an idiot.

I was horribly wrong as when I mustered the courage to look up at him again, Eren wasn't smiling but... blushing? He was actually blushing. Now I was really fucking confused because it's not like I had said anything that would cause that kind of reaction, I sucked at compliments and never praised anyone unless I knew they deserved it. In which case, my confusion clearly must have been showing on my face as Eren nervously put his fork down and shyly ducked his head a bit as if ashamed of something.

"You don't have to lie, Levi. My dish wasn't nearly as good as yours..." he sort of mumbled quietly and I had to strain my ears to catch every word.

I sighed heavily, now fully understanding why he was suddenly acting as if he were embarrassed about something. I sat back in my seat folding my arms over my chest as I gave Eren a hard stare, his gaze nervously shifted between the hands in his lap and my face every now and then.

"Eren, do not fucking start a pity party. Do you think I'm the kind of guy who would fucking lie to someone just because I didn't want to hurt their feelings? Honestly, you've known me for two months now and have I ever not voiced my opinion about something I didn't like? I'm not that good of a guy, Eren. I don't fucking care if I hurt someones feelings, so if I'm telling you it was good then shut your trap and take the compliment."

There was silence as Hanji swallowed the last of her food, Eren sat there looking at me wide eyed like I had just told him the sky was falling and I rolled my eyes for what felt like the millionth time that evening. Great, now I was going to have to explain myself because obviously the kid didn't get what I meant.

"What Levi is trying to say Eren," I heard Hanji start and thank fucking god for this woman, "is that he's not usually the type of person who gives praise or compliments so you should take his word as bible. This guy is harder to please than your toughest food critic, so if Levi says it's good, then it's good! And I give it two thumbs up!"

Hanji stuck out her thumbs to show Eren as she grinned widely and he seemed to relax slightly now that she had explained what I meant. Honestly, I was terrible when it came to complimenting and praising people. I hardly ever did it with my team and when I did it was usually nothing more than a 'Good job.' or 'You didn't fuck it up today.' That just goes to show my lack of social skills, but well it wasn't like I was going to change that. It was just who I was.

"Sorry, Levi. It's just, when I tasted your dish I felt like there was no way mine could compare. I mean everything about it was carefully put together while mine was just kind of thrown together messily."

He chuckled nervously, I could tell he was trying to take Hanji's words in stride but it didn't seem like he was all that convinced. I heaved another sigh before taking a sip from my wine glass, gearing up to comfort this kid since he was obviously still sulking over the quality of our dishes. I tried not to glare at him, as I had a habit of doing when I talked to people, but I did make sure that we made eye contact.

"Of course you're going to feel that way, idiot. I'm a professional Chef, I went to college for this shit and studied abroad. I've been perfecting my skills for years, yes I'm meticulous about when I cook so my dishes always have to be perfect and nothing less. But you're not a chef Eren, you're a normal guy cooking recipes his mother used to make him as a kid and I'd be a fucking asshole if I expected perfection from someone who's never had to cook for a living."

I paused looking down into my glass as I swirled the deep crimson liquid around with a flick of my wrist, not sure if I should say the rest of what I had just on the tip of my tongue or not.

"But for what it's worth, I'd rather eat your cooking than some of the best chef's in France." I tacked on at the end before hastily putting my glass down on the table and collecting my dish to be washed.

I needed to get away from the table so Eren and Hanji couldn't see the way my face was probably flushed. I can't believe I actually fucking said it but, well it was the truth damn it. Honesty is the best policy and he wanted me to be fucking honest and I was. Jesus, If there were ever a time I wanted to get drunk now would be the time.

"Awww, did you hear that Eren? Levi just shared his feelings~! It's a Christmas Miracle!"

I dumped my dish in the sink and quickly shuffled over to gather Hanji and Eren's, making sure to avoid making any eye contact with my neighbor as I hurriedly took his dish and bolted back into the kitchen to start up a furious scrubbing session.

"Shut the fuck up, Hanji. No more talking." I snapped, still feeling the heat in my cheeks as I heard Eren chuckle and mumble a shy 'Thank you, Levi.'

"Okay! No more talking, now we get drunk! But first... CAKE!"

Hanji spirited into the kitchen and start pulling out a new set of clean plates and I glared at her, I had just washed the plates we used and now she was going to dirty even more plates.

"You're fucking washing those by yourself, four eyes." I grumbled and Hanji only grinned while nodding at me.

"Yes, yes, my little gremlin I know."

I sighed because there would be no point in arguing with Hanji about her calling me a fucking hairy ass gremlin. I knew she meant it as a jab at my height, but it was probably her worst one yet. I could have thought of a million other jokes and Gremlin would have been the last of them.

Hanji pulled out a giant glass cake tray with the Black Forest Cake she had promised Eren earlier in the week. It looked amazing, as did all of her cakes but I wondered if there was something off about it. There always was with Hanji's cakes. Either she tweaked the recipe by adding her own weird twist or she would just put something weird in it all together.

She brought her own cake cutting knife and started slicing that perfect fucker up, which was kind of sad because the presentation was nice but well, food was meant for eating. Eren looked absolutely ecstatic as Hanji took the cake out and placed it at the center of my table. I dried my hands after washing the dishes and poured myself a fresh glass of wine before walking back to the couch where Captain was now sprawled out across, be he was small so it's not like he took up that much space.

I plopped down in the corner hugging one of the plush white cushions to my chest as I crossed my legs in front of me. The cat startled a bit and even hissed at me, the little shit. He must have realized it was only me and he quickly curled up next to me like he'd done before. This cat was as bipolar as Hanji sometimes.

"Levi, what are you doing sitting over there? Don't you want cake?" Hanji asked with a pout as she served Eren and herself a slice.

I took a swig of my wine and gave her a pointed look that said 'Are you serious right now?' as much as Hanji's cake looked inviting, I didn't trust her when it came to cakes that had booze in it. For all I know she probably put way more alcohol than was necessary like she always did, I wasn't going to fall for that.

"I'll pass, four eyes but thanks anyway. The cake looks decent at least."

"Rude. My cakes always look decent!"

"Uh-huh."

Eren popped a forkful of Hanji's cake in his mouth and he moaned. He fucking moaned and wow, that boner from earlier came right back like an uninvited house guest. I felt my ears turning hot as I took another gulp of my wine, suddenly feeling light headed from the previous glasses. Well, shit I was actually feeling a little buzzed now. Thank you shitty low alcohol tolerance that I inherited from my mother.

"Oh my god, Hanji this is amazing." he said sounding muffled through his hand that he was using to cover his mouth.

Hanji smiled widely and started attacking her own slice like she was a cake murderer and I cringed as I watched her eat, there was chocolate on her face and probably on my clean kitchen table mats.

"Levi doesn't know what he's missing. I thought I could get him to eat it since it's chocolate cake and Levi is like a moth to light when it comes to chocolate." Hanji said chewing loudly and god, somebody please close her mouth before I do it for her.

Eren swallowed his first bite and looked from his plate to me still sitting on the couch, out of the corner of my eye I saw him get up from his seat, plate in hand and walk over toward me. When he was eventually standing right in front of me, I glanced up at my hot neighbor wishing his crotch wasn't right in front of my face and glared at him.

"What?" I drawled sounding slightly annoyed.

He then moved, thank god, and sat on the edge of the sofa next to me, our thighs brushing up against one another slightly and I stiffened up a bit at the contact. He stabbed at a piece of his cake until there was a nice chuck stuck on the fork and he held it out to me. I had a bad feeling about this.

"Taste it." he said with a cheerful smile.

I glared at the fork being held out in front of me and then up at Eren and then back at the fork and I sighed. I was not about to do this. Nope. Just no, it was a bad idea. One I should not be encouraging.

"Fucking gross, Eren. That fork's got all your germs on it, I'm not putting that anywhere near my mouth."

I could see Eren frown at that and his hand slightly lowered as he rolled his eyes at me. Cheeky little shit that he was. Then I heard him sigh and I geared myself up for some kind of snappy little comeback he might have had.

"It's not like I have a disease, Levi. I put the fork in my mouth once, I think you'll live to see another day."

I was ready to fire back another sassy comment when an idea struck me, a stupid idea but an idea nonetheless. Eren had been unknowingly teasing me all evening since he got here, and I had been over here suffering although he didn't need to know that. Now would be a good time to get back at him. I wasn't entirely sure if Eren was even the tiniest bit attracted to me in a sexual way, it's not like I'd ever given him a reason to.

But that didn't mean that I wasn't good looking myself. Sure, I had a scowl on my face most of the time and the dark circles under my eyes made it look like I was part of some underground emo grunge band but regardless, I knew I wasn't ugly. I also knew how to use my best features to my advantage, like my glare for starters. I had a way of making people submit to me with just one dirty look, I was confident in that. Never once had I thought about using it to seduce someone though. It's not like I ever tried.

"Fine." I said leaning forward and putting my wine glass down on the coffee table.

Eren immediately perked up after I agreed to taste Hanji's weird concoction and he lifted the fork toward me again. I turned around slightly to face him, the fork was only an inch or two from my mouth and I could smell the cocoa and the liqueur.

I leaned in opening my mouth ever so slowly. My eyes were half-lidded as I inched the cake into my mouth and as my lips closed around the cold silverware, I let my gaze trail up to Eren's, dark lashes still hanging heavy over my silvery eyes. He looked completely stiff as he watched me, lips parted slightly before they pressed together into a tight line and I saw him visibly swallow. His adam's apple bobbing up and down and then he licked his lips, probably without even noticing that he did.

I felt a sense of victory as I finally let the fork slide out from my mouth just as slowly as it had entered and licked my lips shortly afterwards leaning back into the couch as I did so. I swiped a thumb across my bottom lip to get rid of any leftover chocolate and could still feel Eren's wide stare on me. Taking possession of my wine glass again, I smirked and looked back at Eren who was still sitting stiffly in his spot next to me.

"Not bad." I said in a slightly lower tone of voice than was necessary and I almost felt bad for doing it. Almost.

Eren seemed to have snapped out of whatever daze he was in and he smiled awkwardly before setting the fork back down on his plate while he looked at anything but me.

"Y-Yeah? I told you didn't I?" he sort of stuttered before he awkwardly stood up from the couch and started back for the kitchen table where Hanji sat still devouring her slice of cake.

I snorted into the rim of my glass as I took another sip, letting the slightly tart taste of the alcohol mix with the lingering chocolate and cherry flavors in my mouth. It was an interesting combination.

Chapter Text

"Okay, okay! Next question! Who's more likely to have Piercings in weird places?"

"I say Levi. He always looks like he's hiding something."

"Hanji, you've known me almost all my life. I think I would have told you if I had any piercings in weird places like my dick."

"I call bullshit! Take a shot!"

"No."

"Then would you rather get naked and prove it, mister?"

"Shitty glasses, I'm not doing that and you're fucking drunk."

I don't know how we ended up playing this stupid drinking game that's not even really a drinking game but Hanji turned it into one. It's basically 20 questions, only whoever you think is telling a lie has to take a shot of the magical Tequila Hanji managed to sneak into my apartment.

So far I was in the green, I had been pretty truthful about most of the dumb things Hanji or Eren asked me. Eren and Hanji on the other hand... Eren was on his second shot while Hanji was on her fourth. I had a feeling she was purposely lying so she could have an excuse to drink.

"Next question. At what age did you lose your virginity?" Eren asked taking a sip of his beer.

We were all sitting around my coffee table at the center of the living room, well I was kinda half on, half off the couch but my ass was touching the floor regardless.

"I was 16!" Hanji chirped, as if that was her greatest life achievement.

I snorted into my glass at her answer, "With who, four eyes?"

Eren and I looked at her quizzically even though I was more than sure Eren probably wouldn't even know who it was Hanji lost her virginity to even if she told us. I didn't really have any doubts that she wouldn't.

"Remember that guy Moblit?" she inquired with a big grin and I gaped at her.

"Moblit? As in Moblit, that guy who always followed you around like a love sick puppy in Military School? Fucking hell, that's who you lost your V card to?"

Hanji was cackling like a mad woman holding her stomach and nodding her head. "Yeah that's the one! Gosh, that brings back memories. But enough about me, Eren! When did you lose your virginity?"

Hanji and I waited expectantly for his answer, I wasn't about to lie to myself, I was curious as fuck to find out if he lost his virginity to his horse or not. Eren ducked his head while smiling coyly at the carpet. His cheeks were slightly blushing, although whether it was from the alcohol of the memories of his first time I wasn't sure.

"Well, Hanji I don't think you know who it is, but Levi has to promise not to laugh." he said finally glancing up at me and I raised a questioning brow at him.

"I'm not promising anything, kid." I said with a smirk and another sip of my wine, Eren whined and I found it adorable.

"Levi! Come on, don't be like that!" he playfully nudged me in the shoulder but I wasn't about to relent.

"Nope. Might as well just get the embarrassment over with now."

Eren heaved a heavy sigh and pushed back his long bangs that had fallen loose from the bobby pins he had in his hair. Actually, his hair was mostly hanging loose from the pony tail he had it in earlier but I thought the slightly messy look was rather charming on him.

"Fine," he mumbled quietly. "I lost my virginity to Reiner when I was 15."

I stared at Eren for a long time after his confession. Reiner? The name rang a bell, but I couldn't for the life of me remember where I'd heard it. Reiner. Reiner... Rein-

"That guy from your boy toy's soccer team? Blond, buff, pointy eyebrows and fucked up nose?"

Eren's face turned bright red and he buried it in his hands nodding his head at everything I said and oh fucking shit, was he serious? I chuckled a bit because even though I didn't know Reiner all that well, that image of Eren with that big, blond wrestler was kind of hard to see. If I thought he and horse were the oddest couple to imagine together, I was apparently wrong.

"Levi, don't laugh." I heard him whine from behind his hands still covering his face.

"I said I wasn't going to promise I wouldn't, Eren. God damn, do I even want to know why you let the fucking Terminator take your v card?" I asked through a snort and a chuckle and Eren's embarrassed face finally looked up at me. I decided that red looked surprisingly good on Eren.

"Levi!!" He squeaked and I broke out into laughter eventually toppling over to the side but putting my wine glass down on the coffee table before I did so. Didn't want fucking red wine spilled on my white fucking carpet.

"Eren, how about I tell you who Levi lost his virginity to?" I heard Hanji sing from my right my laughter immediately ceased as I shot her a dirty look.

"Tell me!" Eren commanded but there was a huge grin on his face and I sat up straight glaring at both of them now. Hanji was getting the worst of my glare though.

"He hasn't lost his virginity! He's a 30 year old virgin!" she practically yelled and I rolled my eyes so hard I felt like I could see my own brain.

Eren erupted in giggles as he eventually fell onto his back, holding his stomach as he struggled to breath and laugh at the same time and I stared down at him dubiously. Was he serious right now?

"Are you- Are you serious right now?" he struggled to say as he pushed himself up from the ground on his elbows to look at me.

I cocked a brow at him and gave him the most incredulous look I could manage because was this kid really serious right now? He was taking Hanji's word as bible when he knew she was trashed right now and anything she said couldn't be trusted.

"Eren, please tell me you're fucking kidding right now? You actually believe this shit face?" I pointed to Hanji who pouted. "Whatever, it's not like it matters. I lost my Virginity earlier than both of you anyway."

It was then that Eren sat up from the floor finally and raised his brow smirking at me from the across the glass coffee table. The little shit wanted details, I knew that. But I wasn't drunk enough or stupid enough to fall for that.

"Then you were 14 when you lost your Virginity?"

I only gave him a look that said all I'd never need to say and his smile kind of dropped at that. Sensing that he was going to start asking me who was unfortunate soul who claimed my v card, I moved on from the topic by asking a question of my own.

"Next question, brat. Who was your first Kiss?"

Eren looked a bit saddened that I had changed the subject but I shrugged it off because it wasn't a topic I was comfortable talking about with my crush anymore. Besides, the question was what age you lost your v card, not with who, so technically I didn't have to do a punishment shot.

The night went on like this, each one of us taking turns asking a question and each one taking a turn to answer that question. They were your typical immature teenage questions that you'd expect to be asked at a fucking high school party, but I didn't mind answering some personal questions every now and then. The virginity question had only been the tip of the ice burg.

"Oh! I have a good question, Tattoos! Who has them?" Eren asked excitedly, he was on his fifth beer and his third shot.

I should have guessed that question was going to pop up sooner or later. I should have been more surprised that it hadn't come up sooner. Hanji beamed and I internally groaned because I knew Eren was going to want to see my tattoos if I said I had some. Maybe I should just lie and risk taking the punishment shot.

"I do!" Hanji chimed as she clumsily stood up from her seated position on the ground and started pulling her blue denim shirt that was tucked into her jeans out.

She turned around and showed Eren a tramp stamp she had on her lower back with her husband Mike's name in cursive with hearts and flower designs all around it. I always thought Hanji's choice in tattoos was shabby at best because who even gets tramp stamps anymore? Not even tramps get tramp stamps.

"My honey bunches has my name tattooed on his chest near his heart with a similar design!" she swooned and I curled my lips back in disgust.

"That's so romantic, Hanji." Eren said with a little sigh. The kid was so obviously buzzed.

"More like moronic. She and Mike literally got those tattoos only after dating each other for two weeks. I tried to talk her out of it, but she was convinced Mike was 'the one'. The poor bastard."

"Hey! It worked out didn't it? Mike and I got married a year after we started dating and we've been happily in love ever since!" Hanji protested.

"Yeah, because you practically fucking dragged him to the alter."

Hanji took her seat back down on the rug and crossed her arms over her chest pouting and huffing like a child, in a lot of ways she was a fucking child but I put up with her shit anyway.

"What about you, Levi? Have any weird or embarrassing tattoos?" Eren wiggled his thick brows at me and I smirked because the kid thought he was smooth.

"Kid, even if I had pink fucking unicorns tattooed on my ass cheeks I would have no shame in showing people. Embarrassing or not." Eren slightly blushed at that and I looked away from him suddenly feeling a little embarrassed myself. Why had I just said that?

"Levi, stop leading Eren on and answer the question or I'll do it for you!" Hanji warned and I had not doubt in my mind she would.

I scowled at her but she did have a point. All I needed to do was answer the question, it wasn't like I was trying to hide the fact that I did have tattoos from Eren. My tattoos were part of me and I was proud of them.

I decided to lie instead. Don't ask me why, I just did.

"No, I don't have any tattoos."

Eren looked somewhat disappointed at my answer, Hanji was practically gaping at me and I could already see the little hamsters running around on wheels in her head. She was getting ready to expose my lie but I was already preparing to stuff my fist in her mouth if she even tried.

The next thing I knew, the room was spinning and I was being tackled to the ground by Hanji. I felt the air in my lungs escape in a rush and I wheezed slightly as my stomach hit the floor and my face buried in the rug. Hanji was sitting on top of my back and I was still struggling to fill my lungs with the precious oxygen I was currently being deprived of as Hanji sat on top of me.

"Get the punishment shot ready Eren, because Levi's been a vewy naughty wittle boy~" she sang bouncing around on top of me and each time she bounced up and landed back down I felt a little more air escape me and I was fucking seething by now.

"Get your fat ass off me, shit face! I swear to god I'll stab you!" I tried to growl out but it came out as more of a whisper as I clawed at the rug.

"Levi! You lied?" Eren cried from his spot by the coffee table but I could hear him shuffling against the carpet to get closer to me.

I tried to answer him but I ended up growling instead because, FUCK Hanji is heavy and I feel like my chest is about to collapse under her weight. Hanji started up her annoying cackle and suddenly I felt a cold hand run up my shirt and I shuddered, my eyed widening at realization that Hanji was trying to lift my shirt so Eren could see my wing tattoos.

At this point I might have desperately started thrashing about a bit trying to get the stupid ass off me but all my flailing wasn't doing much of anything. I heard her call Eren over and the dumbass actually shot up from his seat and stumbled his way over to us on the opposite side of the coffee table.

"Hanji!" I snapped as I felt the material of my grey v neck being lifted slowly, the cold chill of my apartment reaching the newly exposed skin and I was sure that I had goosebumps by now.

"His tattoo is on his back?" I heard Eren inquire curiously from behind me and I might have panicked a little... just a little.

"Yup! It's a real beauty too! Erwin and I helped him design it an-"

Just then, out of sheer desperation and flustered panic, I bucked Hanji flush off my back and she yelped as she flew back onto the floor and I scrambled to stand up and get away from Hanji. My shirt was still half up exposing my lower back and my stomach as I stood up and out of the corner of my eye I could have sworn I saw Eren staring at me with his mouth open and blushing but when I finally managed to pull my shirt down and turn to glare at Hanji, his eyes were downcast.

Still miffed at Hanji for practically sexually harassing me, I stomped over and kicked her ass quite literally. She squeaked out in surprise before rolling onto her back so I couldn't kick her anymore and I gave her the deadliest death glare I could possibly muster.

"I hope you already wrote out your last will and testament because I'm going to kill you." I bit out venomously.

Hanji gave me a sheepish grin and Eren mirrored her. I felt my eyes roll back because I was dealing with a couple of idiots. One of whom, just so happened to be the object of all my affections. I needed to sort out my priorities.

"Levi, did you really lie about not having tattoos?" Eren eventually asked breaking the tense silence.

My eyes flicked up to meet bright green viridian orbs already staring back at me and my heart felt like it got stuck in my throat as I took in his slightly disheveled form and pouting expression.

"No. Hanji's just an idiot. We're not all exciting people who live exciting, daring lives."

I took my seat once more and kept my focus trained on anything other than Eren. Hanji finally sat up from the floor, slightly wincing at the light ass beating she received from yours truly but her grin was still slapped on her face.

"Okay! Since Levi is being a little grumpy pants, Eren! Let's sing a song!"

Hanji reached for my laptop that had been forgotten during the process of us drinking, she pulled up Pandora and set it on some station I didn't care to pay attention to and when the first song started playing, she and Eren looked up at each other with a little gasp and an exchange of a smile.

I shot them a questioning look but they both ignored me as they settled in closer to one another as Hanji raised the volume to the max. I shrugged off their weird behaviors and strained my ears to listen to the song that started playing. The intro was soft, slow and overall just fucking sad. I could tell this was going to be one of those songs.

'I don't know you, but I want you all the more for that.'

and oh my god, Hanji and Eren were actually singing. But like... Hanji didn't sound like a fucking dying animal for once. It was the weirdest shit I'd heard all night and strangely it was kind of nice to hear her slightly off pitch voice trying to harmonize with Eren's smooth, slightly husky tone that he always took on when he was crooning a slow song.

'Words fall through me and always fool me, and I can't react.'

I leaned forward onto the coffee table, my elbows propped up on the glass and my chin resting in one of my hands as I fell completely silent and just listened to Hanji and Eren sing. It wasn't perfect, Eren's voice would crack every now and again between verses and it was obvious that he would fumble over a word every now and again and when he did he would give a goofy smile or a chuckle and I was completely en-captured by him when he did.

'Falling slowly, eyes that know me and I can't go back.'

At this line, Eren looked toward me and our eyes met. I didn't look away this time, I held his gaze firmly, intensely almost and I was drowning in the oceans that had been poured into his eyes. He was slightly buzzed, maybe even just a little bit drunk, but his eyes were more clear than I had ever seen before. His dark pupils were slightly blown as he stared at me and I wish I knew what he was thinking. He sang the next verse solo.

'Well, you have suffered enough and warred with yourself. It's time that you won.'

He broke his gaze away first and I blinked suddenly remembering that, oh yeah, Eren and I weren't alone and Hanji was still here singing a little more loudly than before now. Great.

'Take this sinking boat and point it home, we've still got time.'

'Raise your hopeful voice, you have a choice, you've made it now.'

Hanji eventually stopped singing in favor of nursing her glass of wine as she took long gulps from it. Eren on the other hand soldiered on and finished the song on his own, and I was fine with that. I glanced back at Eren who now had his eyes closed as he slightly swayed from side to side, the smallest of smiles on his flawless face as his voice crooned out that last few lines of the song.

"Falling slowly sing your melody, I'll sing along..."

Besides the sweet sound of Eren's voice filling my ear drums, the sound of my thundering heart was the only other noise I could coherently make out as I watched this beautiful creature singing in the middle of my living room. His guard completely down, shoulders slightly slumped and relaxed and just utterly comfortable with his surroundings. It was like seeing an elusive animal on display and I was captivated by Eren in more ways than one.

His eyes opened again slowly and I watched carefully as his long, brown lashes fluttered open revealing those deep pools of sea green to me once more and I felt slightly breathless at the sight. Eren was here, sitting right in front of me. I could reach out and touch him if I wanted to, but I dared not lift a finger nor move in fear that he would disappear and this would all be a dream.

Hanji had piped up after awhile snapping me out of my lingering thoughts of wanting to touch Eren. We'd only ever brushed skin briefly, the contact so slight that it was almost nonexistent. I wanted to touch Eren, to feel his skin under the pads of my fingertips or under my palm. To thread a hand through his hair that despite it's unruliness always looked so incredibly soft, to trail my thumb across his plump lower lip to feel if it was really just a soft as I imagined his lips to be.

To lay my head against his chest and hear what his heart beat sounds like and if it maybe matched mine. I wanted Eren. I had never before in my life been so enamored with someone to the point where the desire to be with them in any way or form would actually cloud my judgement. What was it about Eren that was different?

Hanji and Eren sang a few more songs, we shot off a few more rounds of questions and then Hanji was out like a light. She had passed out completely on my floor and the sound of her loud snoring was the only thing keeping me from falling asleep myself. I wasn't drunk, maybe just buzzing a little, but my eyelids felt heavy and tired. Glancing over to where Eren was slumped over the coffee table, I noticed his eyes were closed as well and his cheek was pressed up against the cold table top of the glass coffee table. He had fallen asleep.

I took the advantage to look at him all I wanted while he slept peacefully, I inched myself around the coffee table until I was just a couple of feet away from him. I tilted my head to the side slightly, taking in all of Eren's features as he slept. I had to stifle a chuckle because even in his sleep, his eyebrows were still furrowed together like he was deep in thought about something. The tip of his nose was slightly red and his cheeks were flushed from the alcohol, it was at this close proximity that I could feel the heat radiating off him in waves.

I felt like I was sitting next to a big oven. Eren was hot, and I don't mean his looks, he was literally burning up and I wondered if it was due to the alcohol or if he was always just naturally hot like that. I bent one of my knees and rested an arm over it as I continued to study my neighbor. He looked so damn young when he's sleeping, even younger than he already looks when he's awake.

My heart was racing in my chest and I unconsciously moved closer toward him, his heat drawing me in. I could hear his soft breathing and in turn held my own breath just so I could listen to the noise. I felt like I was looking at a sight very few got to see, something rare. I also felt envious that this was what that fucking horse Jean got to see whenever he wanted, and wondered if he took the time to appreciate Eren's sleeping figure the way I did. His chest was rising and falling slowly with each breath he took and his bangs were falling in his face once again.

I lifted a hand to reach up and brush some aside and I stopped, do I dare touch him and risk this all just being a dream? After a brief pause in my action, I continued on reaching out with cautious fingertips. My desire to touch Eren was eating away at me and I would be damned if I didn't take this chance to do just that. Just as my fingertips touched the fine strands of his hair, Eren stirred slightly and I retracted my hand back in fear that he would wake up.

When he didn't my hand returned to it's previous spot and I finally let my fingers touch that unruly mane of his brushing the bangs aside as softly as I could without bothering him. His face was so complex, I found myself admiring it with my fingertips as well but very subtly. I dragged my index finger down the side of his face feeling the very fine, soft hairs there as I did so. His skin was warm to the touch, smooth and completely void of any imperfections or scars. The opposite of myself. When my finger met his jawline, I decided to be a little risky and trace it lightly.

His features were so delicate and yet, he had such a strong, masculine jawline that I was briefly reminded that Eren was a man. Not a woman, not even a young boy but a full grown man with a strong set jaw, big broad shoulders and a long slender neck. By the time I knew it, I had traced my finger from his jawline to his shoulders to the nape of his neck and I felt him slightly shudder under my touch but never once did he open his eyes or stir otherwise.

I was in complete bliss touching him and feeling him softly. My heart was in a frenzy and those butterflies in my stomach were starting to feel more likes giant fucking bats out of hell. I swallowed thickly as I continued to study Eren and as I did, I started to realize something, something I had hoped would never happen because I already knew it was pointless.

I was in love with Eren. Utterly and completely over the moon for this kid, and I couldn't deny it anymore. The way I always long to see his beautiful fucking face, or how his voice alone always manages to get my heart going crazy, I only have to hear his name and I turn into a fucking spluttering mess. He makes me anxious and relaxed all at the same time, he frustrates me beyond believe and yet I never tire of his cheeky little comments or his witty comebacks to my insults.

It's stupid of me to have let myself fall for someone who's so far out of my reach, but if Hanji were conscious right now and knew what the hell was going through my mind at this very moment she would probably spout some bullshit like 'The heart wants what it wants.' and right now, my heart was fucking screaming for Eren. I wanted him to be with me, to be by my side but I know he won't ever return my feelings.

The sound of Eren mumbling some incoherent words snapped me from my thoughts and I wearily watched his expression for any signs that he was waking up. He didn't, and I brought my hand back up to his face brushing more of his loose hair away as gently as I could. I must have been really drunk because I heard myself talking but it didn't feel like my lips were even moving in the first place.

"Is it okay for me to fall in love with you, Eren?"

I had said it so quietly, almost mumbled it but I knew that if someone had been conscious they would have surely caught it to some extent, and while in normal circumstances I would have been utterly shitting my pants for having said something like that out loud, I was much too buzzed to care that I just did say those words out loud almost like a confession.

I slowly retracted my hand with a soft sigh, this was as good was it was going to get for me. Always looking at Eren from afar but never able to get close enough to touch him the way that I wanted. I suddenly felt stupidly depressed and it was my own fault, really. I reluctantly inched my way back to my original spot, leaving Eren to sleep awhile longer while I fished for my phone. I shot Mike a text message to come and pick up his lost Hanji, luckily it was only just after midnight, I knew Mike wouldn't sleep until he heard from either Hanji or I.

He replied in no time, as expected of the big ass bastard and said he'd be over to pick her up soon. I sighed thanking whatever gods were out there for Hanji's husband. I wouldn't have to deal with her horrible snoring now, otherwise I would have dragged her out into the hallway and left her there all night.

Mike was knocking at my apartment door in little to no time and it honestly surprised me just how fast he'd gotten there. I quietly padded over to my front door letting the big giant in before I directed him to his lump of a wife sleeping on the carpet. Mike sighed and carefully walked over lifting Hanji up from the floor and slinging her over his big shoulder effortlessly, show off.

"I would apologize, Levi but I don't really see the point in it anymore." Mike said just above a whisper.

"Yeah, well I should be used to it by now. Just be glad I didn't leave her ass out on the curb instead."

Mike smirked and shook his head before his eyes fell on Eren's sleeping figure. The dumbass has shifted around in the time I was waiting for Mike and he was now laying on his side on the floor, the hem of his shirt slightly rising up revealing a very tempting hip bone. Mike raised an eyebrow before looking at me and his smirk grew into a full blown grin.

"Go home, Mike. If you so much as breath a word to Hanji about this, I swear to god I'll shave that sorry excuse for a mustache and make Hanji eat it." I had to refrain from hissing.

Mike shrugged and then he was on his way. Thank fucking jesus. Now, as tempting as it would be to let Eren sleep in my apartment, my newly realized feelings for him were not about to let that happen. I wouldn't be able to get a wink of sleep if I knew that Eren was in my apartment, plus I didn't trust myself since I did have two bottles of wine and one tequila shot. Just no.

I sauntered over to Eren's sleeping form slumped onto the rug, my eyes lingered on that exposed hip bone much longer than I deemed necessary and I sucked my teeth quietly. The gods must be laughing at me right now, tempting me with this damn kid knowing that I couldn't have him.

I nudged his in the side with my foot trying to get my still racing heart under control in the process. Eren grumbled and groaned before he finally flopped onto his back, his eyes fluttering open and closed tiredly as he seemed to be trying to adjust his vision. I glared down at him and when his eyes finally fully opened, I put on my fake act of annoyance and went to work.

"Levi...?" he slurred out.

"Get up, brat. You need to get your ass back to your own apartment, you're not sleeping here."

Eren gave me a confused look like I had just said something incredibly stupid before he looked around taking in his surroundings. He probably thought he was in his own apartment all this time, the big idiot. Then his eyes hot wide and he scrambled up from the floor slightly stumbling as he did so.

"Oh shit... did I fall asleep?" he mumbled quietly to himself unaware that I could probably hear every word.

I gave him my best annoyed stare before I turned on the ball of my foot and started walking toward my front door. I could hear Eren stalking around my apartment behind me probably gathering his things and then the familiar sound of his footsteps behind me were finally heard. I stopped and held the door open for him and he grabbed his shoes still by the door before walking out into the hallway.

I stayed by the door as Eren stopped and turned back to look at me. God, I wish he hadn't done that because now I was kicking myself in the ass for not letting him stay because I wanted him to stay. I wanted him to stay so badly.

"Um, thanks for inviting me over tonight. I had a lot of fun." he said with a shy smile, and had I not been trying to seem like I was the cold mother fucker I wished I could be around him, I would have smiled right back at him.

"Hanji seemed like she had a lot of fun too, so there's that." I kept my tone flat and indifferent, but my heart still felt like it was practicing for the fucking Olympics.

"Uh, yeah. She's really nice, when she's not acting kind of crazy."

I could tell that Eren was trying to drag out this conversation for whatever reason, but I wasn't going to be having any of it. My heart needed to fucking calm down before I went into cardiac arrest or something, I needed space from Eren to think about these feelings or whatever the fuck this shit is.

"Eren, I'm tired as shit. Get your ass inside your apartment so I can go to bed, I have to be up at five remember?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry. Um, Goodnight then Levi. Talk to you tomorrow?"

"Yeah." was all I said as I retreated back into my apartment and closed the door without a second thought.

Chapter Text

My hands trailed down Eren's smooth stomach, I could feel the way his muscles shifted and stretched underneath the palm of my hand. I looked up to see such a beautiful sight, his naked form sprawled out across my bed for me, legs slightly spread open, face flushed and his hair an unruly mess.

His rosy lips were swollen and slightly shining with saliva, his breathing was heavy and labored, hot and sticky as it hit my skin. I hovered over him, his head between my arms as I leaned down and caught his lips in a hungry kiss. He was mine, these lips belonged to me. I left him bruising kisses and each time I did, he moaned into my mouth letting me swallow the lewd sounds.

I craved Eren's taste, his body was the only one I wanted to touch, to lick, to feel. When I pulled away to look down into his beautiful eyes, I could see the clear desire in them. A hungry, feral sort of lust that one would only ever see in the eyes of a wild beast. He looked absolutely fucking amazing with that dangerous, defiant look in his eyes.

"Levi..." he moaned out, a small smile playing on his lips, "I want your cock. Please let me have it..." he was practically begging, a whiny sort of tone in his voice that made me want to crack and give in but I wouldn't, not just yet. I wanted him to plead for it.

"So fucking greedy... you just had my cock and now you want more? Eren, do you love my cock?" I purred into his ear and he let out a whorish moan that sent heat straight to my groin.

"Yes, god, fuck yes I love your cock, Levi! Please let me suck it..." Eren started grinding our erections together and he threw his head back with a gasp at the slick feeling.

Our cocks were rubbing together smearing precum in the process, I rolled my hips down sliding my cock over Eren's and he whined digging his nails into the tender flesh of my back. I knew there would be some lovely scarlet marks there later but I didn't mind, I wanted Eren to mark me everywhere.

"Ahh! L-Levi! Please, I need i-t... nnh! Please, fuck me... ahh!"

The sound of Eren moaning like a little slut was driving me absolutely fucking insane, I wanted to keep teasing him and yet I didn't think I had any patience left to spare. Spreading his thighs wide for me, he wrapped his legs around my waist tightly and I took that as my initiative to fuck him to my hearts content.

"Eren... Moan for me, I want everyone to know that you're mon salop." I teased his earlobe with the pointed tip of my tongue and he shuddered out a breath.

"Ahh...Levi! Yes, I'm your little slut, fuck me and make me cum with your cock!"

Eren had his head thrown back, back arched and moans directed at the ceiling for the entire world to hear and I kept telling him sweet nothings in french as I fucked him good and hard. The sound of his sweet voice saying my name like a prayer, the bed creaking loudly under our weight, our sweat covered bodies pressed together with his legs wrapped tightly around my waist allowing me to be swallowed even deeper.

"Levi... L-Levi! So good... so fucking good... Mnn~! Gonna -nnh!- cum...!"

The pleasure was so intoxicating, so sinfully good, I felt like I was going to lose my mind. I was fucking Eren, he was moaning and screaming my name, I could see the way his taut muscles tightened and convulsed as he got ready to blow his load for me and then... I fucking woke up after falling out of bed.

Groaning, I curled myself up into a fetal position and held my throbbing head and I was almost positive I hit it against something when I landed. Fuck you, Life. The pain in my head was almost enough to make me completely forget about the massive boner I still had... almost. After making sure I hadn't cracked my fucking skull open when I fell, I slowly and awkwardly stood up from the floor and waddled over toward my wardrobe.

I had fucking jizzed myself during my wet dream about Eren but I mean, fucking shit that was most intense wet dream I'd had of him yet. Sure, I'd had wet dreams where I heard him moaning and touching himself or something along those lines but this was the first time I'd actually dreamed myself fucking Eren. It felt so real, like I was really touching Eren and feeling all his hot warmth under my fingertips.

I grabbed a clean pair of clothes and hurried off into the bathroom, I didn't even bother to check the time to see if it was day or night outside, I didn't give a fuck. I just wanted to take a shower so I could either wank off or not and get on with my miserable, solitary life.

Stepping into the shower, I momentarily debated just taking a cold shower and leaving the embarrassing task of wanking off to thoughts of my neighbor for another time but my still throbbing dick said otherwise. I left the temperature of the shower between mildly hot and just above warm, the water felt great running down my body and I immediately felt my shoulders relax.

My cock twitched in anticipation, as if telling me to hurry up because it knew I wanted to jerk off more than anything. Talk about fucking peer pressure. I slowly snaked a hand down toward my aching erection, the head was swollen and red and there were smeared beads of precum pearling out already. I swiped my thumb across the slit of my head a few times experimentally and hissed when the pleasure was almost too much at once.

The back of my shoulder leaned against the cold white tiled wall of my shower and used my other hand to futilely grip against the wall in means of support so I wouldn't fucking fall over and injure myself further. I was pretty sure I had a small bump somewhere on my head. I spread my own precum up and down my dick slowly, working myself up to a certain point until I couldn't take it anymore and I started jerking myself off with fervor.

Beautiful images from my wet dream with Eren filled my mind, his perfectly sun kissed skin against my white sheets, that messy, unruly mane of hair tangled and sticking to the sides of his face from his own sweat. The lewd sounds that fell from his plump, rosy lips and the way he screamed my name begging me to fuck him until he cums.

"Nnh! Eren... moan for me... ah..."

I imagined Eren's big, warm hand pumping me, harder and faster. With each jerk of his hand my breathing became more shallow and labored, I could feel my pulse racing and my body felt like it was on fire. A familiar heat building up in the pit of my stomach as Eren jerked my cock, then he would drop down to his knees and start dipping his tongue into the slit and fuck, I was so close now.

I was now slumped against the shower wall, grunting and moaning out in desperate need to cum, Eren's name on my lips as I fucked my hand relentlessly. The wet squelching and slurping of my hand jerking my cock just barely drowned out by the sound of my shower drumming against the porcelain bathtub. My breath hitched in my throat as I felt my release coming and with a stuttered breath, I quickly squeezed the base of my cock delaying my orgasm.

My heart was thundering in my chest and the denial of my own orgasm wasn't helping it at all. I waited a few seconds before I started up a slow pace again, I wanted to keep imagining Eren underneath me as I fucked him. My shower lasted almost two hours and in that time I stopped myself from cumming three times.

---

It's been three fucking days in a row now. Eren and his boyfriend have been arguing nonstop for three.fucking.days. I probably wouldn't have minded if these apartment walls weren't so damn thin, but since they were I had to deal with two angry brats yelling at each other (with the occasional door slam mind you).

At one point, Eren had come over to my place after an argument and I ended up stuffing his face with chocolate truffles (the kind with liquor in them) and getting him wasted. That was an awkward night to say the least. Since that weekend with Hanji, I had tried to put some distance between Eren and I. I needed space, time to think about my unrequited love for my fucking next door neighbor.

It had worked the first couple of days, but then Eren's horse decided to start World War fucking 3 with him and it's like I'm back at square one. No matter what I did to try and forget about my feelings for Eren, they'd always end up coming back by having this kid show up at my freakin' door any time he felt like it, and I was starting to wonder if it wasn't coincidental anymore.

Today is the forth day, and I have not heard a single peep from Eren's side of the wall. I assumed maybe he wasn't home, that he made up with his boyfriend and he spent the night at his place where they had hot, amazing make up sex and I was over here getting ready to go to my boxing club like the single loser that I am.

I was off from working today, so naturally I'd taken a liking to showing up at my club early. Shadis hadn't bugged me about 'training' his brats anymore, which I was grateful, but since I was stressed out and emotionally exhausted thanks to my hot neighbor I decided that I could use a challenge today.

As soon as I entered the club, Shadis spotted me right away, I had already arrived in my usual work out clothes. Shadis immediately crossed the room and approached me, an excited look on his face. I could tell he could see the pissed off look on my face.

"Sergeant! Have you thought about my offer?" was the immediate question.

I stared at him for a long while, my gym bag still slung over my shoulder. It wasn't like I really needed time to think of my answer, I already knew I just wanted to beat the fuck out of someone.

"Yeah. I'll train your little brats, but only when I have the time."

I adjusted the gym bag slung over my shoulder before I pushed past Shadis who was grinning like a mad man as he took a hard turn toward the ring where two heavy weights were going at it. I ignored him and went toward the lockers where I put my gym bag away before walking back out and getting started on wrapping my hands. Shadis waited until I was all geared up before calling me up into the ring.

I joined him at the center of the ring and noticed that he had already gotten his team assembled. It looked like there were a few faces that weren't there before, either they were new recruits or they had been absent the last time I beat two of their teammates up. Shadis went over the same speech as he did the first time, introduced me and then left me to pick out my victim.

My eyes scanned over the team lined up at the edge of the ring but there was one particular face I didn't see among the rest. Mikasa. I gave a quick scan of the rest of the surrounding club members and spotted her off by the entrance, it looked like she had just gotten there but she wasn't wearing her uniform like usual. I shrugged her off, it's not like I wanted to fight her anyway.

I stepped to the edge of the ring, addressing the line of brats who looked half shit pissed scared of me half unimpressed. You can guess which team members were the unimpressed ones.

"I don't give a shit who it is, send your best fighter in." was all I said as I turned and walked toward my corner to put my mouth piece in.

I popped the dark blue protective mouth piece in before checking my gloves to make sure they were secure and tied correctly. I could hear someone shuffling into the ring, but before I could turn around and assess my opponent I felt a gloved blow to the side of my head and the room was spinning for a minute as I stumbled to the matted floor.

I heard a deep rumble of a laugh come from behind me as I shook off the surprise and immediately jumped into defensive stance, the mother fucker who punched me while I was unguarded was standing right behind me laughing in my face. He was a large, heavily built guy with platinum blond hair and blue eyes, he looked like an uglier version of Owen Wilson with his nose all fucked up and shit. I would have to fix that.

"What's the matter "Sergeant"? Can't handle a little punch?" the big ass tree asked with a thick Australian accent.

He had a smug look on his face and I slowly lowered my defensive stance. I stole a brief glance at Shadis who had a rather serious look on his face before he shot me a look that I knew all too well what it meant. He wanted me to teach this fucking kid a lesson, and I would. Oh, I fucking would.

A sinister smirk made it's way onto my face which I'm sure would unsettle anyone who'd ever seen me smirk like that before, I wasn't the type to express myself ever, but with my adrenaline now running on high and my blood boiling I couldn't help but let my mask slip just a little.

"So, Crocodile Dundee likes to talk big shit? Save it for the ring, Kangaroo Jack."

I tapped his glove a little more aggressively than was probably necessary but I didn't give a shit, this kid was asking for it and I was going to fucking give it to him. Just then, another dark blond haired kid shouted from the ringside.

"Kick his short midget ass, Logan!"

It was that Milo kid I had punched in the jaw the first time, he was cheering on this big mother fucker. I shot him a glare that had him backing away from the ringside so quick, you would have though he was wearing those gay ass heelys.

Logan, the big ass tree, smirked and retreated to his corner of the ring. I was getting all fired up and Round 1 hadn't even started yet. This mother fucker, I would get him back for pulling a chicken shit move and hitting me from behind. Fuck the rules of Boxing, I was going to tear this kid's ass up.

I shifted from foot to foot, bouncing lightly as I did. The official stood at the center of the ring, he gave a halfhearted wave of his hand and that kid came fucking at me. He reminded me of a charging bull with it's horns ready to pierce me at any second, not only was he big but he was also apparently stupid as shit. I easily side stepped his advance and got him with an elbow. Completely against the rules of boxing but I figured I could break a few and get away with it since the kid practically assaulted me before the round even started.

Logan jumped away from my immediate reach turning around to face me as we both got into our stances. I hunched myself forward, gloves raised to eye level but kept my bent elbows close to my sides. Logan's stance wasn't bad but it was fucking sloppy as hell. He had his fists raised too high, leaving his entire rib cage wide open for me to get in several good shots if I wanted to, his elbows were too far out from his sides and he kept his gloves below his chin. It was an awkward stance and it was riddled with openings.

I decided to test his dodging abilities first, taking an experimental step forward I faked a punch to his side swinging at the air and missing just nearly on purpose and like I had expected, he didn't try to shuffle back or block. Either this kid was really that dumb, or he was that good to know that I was going to fake. I highly doubted the latter.

I had intended this round to be purely a warm up, an experiment to get to know all of this kid's weaknesses, I was going to give this kid a break and not go so hard on him, but what the little shit did next made me forget all about any consideration for him. Fuck. that. shit.

Logan decided to take a full on swing at my face, and his glove connected slicing my brow open as it did, but the blow didn't land because I wasn't quick enough to block or side step. This big ass fucker had the longest arm reach I'd ever fucking seen, even if I had blocked or ducked in time he would have only pretended to fake as well and then take his chance to corner me. Fuck that.

I stumbled back a step, and only a step, feeling the cold gush of fresh blood run down the side of my face dangerously close to my eye. Funny how blood is warm yet after a hit like that it just feels ice cold. I knew I had been hit, I knew I was bleeding, my mind was registering this and I was getting ready to go off on this fucking kid when the bell chimed signaling the first round was up. Logan spit his mouth piece out with a gross, wet sound and smirked at me as he retreated to his corner.

I silently seethed with rage as I eventually retreated to mine. This mother fucker. I was going to murder him. Fuck the rules, I was going to go back to my old ways and just start pounding his ass as soon as that bell for round 2 sounded. I was so fired up, I hadn't felt this kind of rush in literally years. The fire welling up inside of me was boiling over the brim and I took deep, sharp breaths through my nose as I bounced from foot to foot waiting for the next bell to sound. It felt like an eternity.

Logan and I stared each other down from our respective corners, that smug look never left his face. Eventually Shadis sent someone to come and wipe up the blood from my bleeding brow and apply some first aid but I only stood still long enough for them to wipe the gushing blood away from my eye before I was pulling my shirt off. I was serious now, and this piece of shit was going to get it. I tossed my shirt aside, feeling the warm, humidity of the gym itself as my skin immediately felt sticky and gross.

Logan only looked mildly surprised when I took my shirt off, no doubt shocked that this 'short ass midget' was packing muscle. The bell for the second round sounded and this time I was the one who charged at the bastard. No more kiddie shit. This was serious. I got the kid with a right hook and he just barely made it out of my range of reach, I grazed his chin enough to startle him and he stumbled back a few steps. I took my chance.

I rushed forward and faked a pretty convincing blow to his torso making him curl in on himself so that he could block but as he curled in, I went for another blow and clocked him right in the face. The beauty of faking punches was if you could make them believable enough for your opponent to react how you want, it has devastating results. Logan shook off the blow a little too quickly for my tastes, I could tell he was probably still a little disoriented and tried to use that to my advantage.

The kid tried to clock me again, blindly striking toward my head but I was quicker than him. I ducked myself down and felt the air from his blow against my back signaling he missed me entirely, knowing the he wasn't fast enough to bounce back as quickly as me I popped back up and got in a good shot to the side of his face and then the other side. Two punches at once and he was reeling.

He ducked his head behind his forearms to try and block any of my next punches but I went for the upper cut and purposely faked in order to get him to lower his arms. I was going to fuck up this kid's already ugly ass nose beyond repair. I could feel the blood running down the side of my face and dripping down my chin but I paid it no mind. The official tried to interrupt our heated match to let me wipe the blood away but I ignored his warnings.

I hadn't exactly been timing this round as I was too fired up to even care, but I was sure we didn't have much time left until the end of the second round. Logan finally stopped being such a pussy and hiding behind his forearms in favor of swinging at me, I mimicked his move and our fists nearly missed each other as he swung at the same time. His hit landed, mine didn't reach. I felt leather connect with my upper jawline and before I could recover and attack his ass the bell signaling the end of this round sounded and I was forced to retreat to my corner and Logan to his.

Fuck, this kid was really grading on my nerves. I've fought worse guys than him, but his long as shit arms were proving to be a fucking problem. Our classes were just too far apart, I ranked in the lightweights with heavy punches while the big ass tree was surely a heavyweight. Our difference in body mass was just too great so this match was proving slightly difficult but I was not about to admit defeat. The kid wanted to play dirty, I could play dirty.

I was too hyped up on my energy to pay any mind to the eyes I felt all over me. It's not the same sensation of being watched that you get when you know a crowd of people are watching, it's more select, more specific. Like every single one of my moves was being watched precisely. It was probably just Eren's freaky sister though. Since I'd been coming to this club, I only ran into her that one time last week and never again since.

The bell for the third round sounded and I was determined to end this now. As soon as the bell chimed, Logan was on me like a fly on horse shit. He was quite literally trying to pummel me with his fists as his punches rained down on me. I used my height to my advantage and curled in on myself protecting my face with my forearms until I could break away. Just as I was about to side step out of his range, he changed the direction of his punches and started going for my exposed sides.

He got me good twice in the ribs and I lost my breath once or twice trying to regain my stance. Then the little shit hit me with a Rabbit Punch on the back of my neck with everything he had and I went tumbling to the matted floor. My cheek hit the ground and I snapped. I didn't even know when I had gotten back up on my feet but when I was, I started up the flurry of jabs that I was known for and just started kicking this kid's ass.

I got in another good shot to his left cheek before the bell chimed and Logan tried to keep coming at me. I stood my ground, panting and breathing hard as I tried to catch my breath but I could feel the smirk plastered on my face as we danced around each other to get to our respective corners.

"Mange de la merde." I said with a chuckle as I retreated to my corner feeling more than a little victorious and the match wasn't even over yet.

Whether he understood my insult or not, I couldn't give a fuck. I was high on my adrenaline rush and eager to get back out there. I gulped down my water with a thirst only dying men in the desert should have and let one of the officials clean my wound. As hyped up as I was, I didn't want that shit to get infected at least. There was still blood running down the side of my face but Logan wasn't much better off.

I glanced over at my opponent in his corner who was also receiving some first aid and noticed that he was spitting blood out. Poor bastard, I must have sliced the inside of his cheek with my last punch. He scowled at me from across the ring and I knew I still had my smirk on my face, it almost hurt my cheeks to be doing such a foreign action. After I had caught my breath, I rolled my head and shoulders shifting from foot to foot ready to go at it again.

Logan seemed a little more hesitant this time when the bell signaling the forth round finally came and I went at him with all the energy I could muster. Rules or not, I was going to elbow, headbutt, groin punch, kick, and trip all I could. He asked for it, and now he was getting it in full. I was too high on my own excitement to bother with Shadis anymore, if he had any complaints he wasn't acting on them in the least. Shit, he was practically letting me beat this kid raw.

The kid tried to get me in a headlock and punch at my face but I slipped out of his grip, never more thankful for sweat than I was now because if he had kept his grip I would have been in real trouble. He tried to match me blow for blow now, but I could tell that all the energy he'd used in the first couple of rounds was running out on him and he was considerably slower now and his punches much weaker. His breathing was ragged and extremely labored and I knew I had this round in the bag.

Despite this, I didn't let up on him, not even once. I would go hard on him until he either 1.) Got knocked out or 2.) was fucking floored. My punches were starting to take their toll on him now, I had gotten him a few times in face and his lip was now cut and bleeding along with a small gash on the bridge of his crooked ass nose. I could see a purple bruise blossoming on his right eye and swelling but the sight only fueled me to keep going.

He swung at me hard, probably using up the last of his energy on that one last blow but I ducked myself low, fists tightly at my sides and ready to counter as soon as I saw the perfect opening. He was looking ridiculously tired by now, his shoulders visibly slumping and trembling like he was using all of his willpower to keep up his stance but I was still pumped up and going strong. My stance never once faltering.

I took a step in, knowing that now that he was getting tired out it would be the perfect chance to teach him a lesson he'd never forget. At this point I was so engrossed in my beating the shit out of this kid that I only now noticed the cheers and encouraging calls coming from the other members of the club who were all now surrounding the ringside like nobodies business.

It was only supposed to be a training match, to whip Shadis' little shits into shape and to help them get their shit together but it somehow turned into this big deal and the sounds of whistles and cheers coming from other members only added fuel to my fire. I coiled my fist in tightly to my side as I bent my knees ready to launch myself and end this. Logan blinked away droplets of sweat and I could see him swallowing his own blood as his adam's apple bobbed. He knew he was finished.

I took the plunge and started letting my fists rain down on him but the kid tried to resist against me as much as he could in one final desperate attempt to stay on his feet. I got him once dangerously close to his throat and he recoiled, stumbling back clumsily. He wasn't even trying to block or dodge anymore at this point, he was barely keeping his arms up anymore. He kept trying to swing at my face despite missing each and every single time, swinging at nothing but air as I easily side stepped his attempts.

I noticed the way his left knee bent as if wanting to give out and I knew he was done. I just needed to seal the deal. He went at my torso and I faked a punch to his face grazing him dangerously close to his nose and that was it. His knee gave way and he tumbled to the matted floor panting and struggling for air, he sure as hell wasn't going to get back up though. The official counted before marking it as the end of our match, I was claimed the victor and I stomped back to my corner.

It brought back old memories of my Champion days in the ring, even if this little practice match was nothing compared to the death fights I used to get into. The Logan kid was still lying on the floor trying to catch his breath but I could see the way his muscles trembled. I approached him, kneeling forward and resting the palms of my now bare hands on my knees and smirked down at the poor little sorry ass piece of shit.

"Oi, Australia. Va te faire foutre! Now you know the difference between you and me."

With that, I stalked out of the ring not sparing anyone a glance as I stomped off toward the lockers. I could have taken on another match if I wanted to, but if I was being honest with myself the cut on my brow was starting to make my skin crawl if I didn't treat it and clean it properly soon.

I had forgotten to pick up my shirt from wherever the hell I threw it on my way to the locker rooms but I saw no point in it now that I was already jumping into the showers the club provided. Another reason why I liked the place, plus they're pretty clean, at least clean enough to live up to my standards which are abnormally high.

Scrubbing off the gross layer of blood and sweat mixture off my face, hair and body, I stepped out of the showers with a towel hanging loosely to my hips wanting to get dressed quickly and just go home. I had already beaten one of their top dogs, I had no interest in staying here any longer than I needed to.

As I sauntered out of the steamy showers, I didn't notice the other presence in the room with me as I walked over to my gym bag sitting on a bench and starting pulling out a fresh pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt to put on. Then I heard it, that all too familiar voice that held so much fucking power over me and made me all weak in the knees as soon as I heard it.

"Levi...?"

Shit. It was Eren. Eren was standing in the lockers rooms and I was a little more than half naked and wet and kind of still bleeding from my eyebrow and... shit...

Chapter Text

"Mikasa, I don't think a visit to your boxing club will help me deal with my 'anger'. I'd much rather be punching something than watch other people get punched by someone who's not me."

Mikasa sighed heavily, the red scarf I had given her as a gift for her birthday the first year we adopted her wrapped tightly around her neck even though it was the end of summer and still hot as hell outside.

"Eren, I know you're pissed off with Jean. Just come with me to the club, please? You can watch me kick some sorry ass and maybe I can get my coach Shadis to let you vent on one of his punching bags."

I leaned against the frame of my apartment door frowning down at my bare feet. Was there really any harm in me going to her club for one day? I didn't see what could possibly go wrong. With a small sigh and a smile, I gave in and I saw Mikasa smile from underneath her scarf as well.

"Alright. Let me change real quick, I'm still in my 'boyfriend' shirt." I said putting plenty of sarcastic emphasis on the word 'boyfriend'... because I was mad at my boyfriend.

Mikasa rolled her eyes but nodded and let herself into my apartment. She automatically settled on my big, old couch and Captain hissed and jumped off from his spot in the corner. She curled her lip back at him and I shook my head at her before darting off into my bedroom.

I ripped off Jean's old, 'I woke up like this' black t-shirt and tossed it haphazardly into my hamper. Whatever, Jean could go fuck himself. Which he probably has for the past three nights since we started arguing.

I didn't want to think about Jean, so I pushed him back to the furthest part of my mind as I settled on dressing as casual as possible. Meaning, I was going to half ass my outfit today because I just didn't care. I grabbed one of my black tank tops only briefly snorting to myself as I read the saying on the front, threw on a pair of black skinny jeans, a plain black beanie because I didn't feel like dealing with my hair today and my black on black converse. Fuck everything, that was my motto for this week.

I didn't bother to take my glasses off either and slipped my beanie on over my hair that was still tied back in a ponytail, my bangs always hung in my face no matter what I did so I also didn't bother with that either. Just to be dumb, I put on a white belt with silver studs. Yep. This was as good as it was going to get for me. I grabbed my wallet, cell phone and keys to my apartment on my way out of my room and looked to Mikasa who was surprisingly dozing off on my couch.

I smirked and poked my index finger into her cheek letting it sink into the pale skin before she frowned and stirred from her nap. Her dark eyes trailed up to meet mine and then she did a once over of my outfit, scrutinizing me as she stood up from the couch.

"I fell asleep waiting for you all this time just so you can wear that?" she asked incredulously and I only rolled my eyes at her.

"Whatever, you're the one who wanted me to go with you to your club thing so take me as I am or leave me." I said crossing my arms over my chest and Mikasa shrugged.

"Fine. But don't come crying to me if you run into someone you know and you look like an emo piece of shit."

"Hey!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I meant a cute emo piece of shit."

I groaned but said nothing else in protest as I followed Mikasa out my door. Captain stayed situation on a high shelf I had put up a couple of weeks ago by suggestion of Levi. He said he was tired of Captain always sleeping on top of his shelves at his place and aggressively suggested I get some of my own. I did, and Captain has been more docile lately because of the new addition.

As I locked up, Mikasa went ahead of me and said she'd meet me downstairs. When she was gone, I glanced over toward Levi's door and stared at it for awhile. He'd been acting kind of weird with me lately, I guess since that weekend I hung out with him and Hanji. I sighed to myself and finished locking up, passing by Levi's door as I walked down the hall.

I hesitated for just a moment and debated knocking on his door just to see if he'd answer. Yeah, I know I'm a pain in the ass but that's just how I am. I liked to get to bottom of things and Levi's change in attitude toward me had been bothering me for awhile. I resolved with myself finally and inhaled deeply as I stepped up to his door and knocked loudly. Three times, as was usual for me.

Nothing. Silence. I knocked again, a little more loudly than was necessary but the silence never broke. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and turned to walk away from his door feeling a little more crestfallen than I already was. Either he wasn't home or he was ignoring me. I hoped for the former and not the latter.

I eventually made my way downstairs to the parking lot where Mikasa's big red jeep was parked. Unlike me, Mikasa actually had a good income to afford a car that wasn't in the least bit shitty. As I walked out into the heat of the mid afternoon sun, I immediately regretted wearing all black today as the sun felt like it was burning straight through my clothes. I sighed because it was too late to go and change now.

As I hopped into her jeep, Mikasa let the inside of the car cool off first and I let my eyes wander through the parking lot searching for a familiar sleek, black Ferrari. When I saw none, I wasn't sure if I should have felt relieved that Levi hadn't answered his door because he wasn't home or sad because he wasn't there at all. I know Levi had his own life and all, but I guess I just got used to talking to him all the time that it was foreign to not have him just there by the balcony watering his herb plants or knocking on my door to return Captain to me.

Mikasa and I got into deep conversation as we drove the short 15 minute drive to her club which was surprisingly right down the street from my complex. She once again brought up the fact that she didn't want to hear me complain if I ran into someone I knew and at this point I was just starting to get suspicious now. Why as she so adamant about pushing that little piece of information on me so much?

As far as I knew, there wasn't anyone I know who went to a boxing club besides Mikasa so who the hell could I possibly bump into at this place? I rolled my eyes and simply shrugged off her comment as we drew closer to our destination.

---

Okay. So I was wrong. So, so horribly wrong. I did in fact end up running into someone that I knew at her boxing club, although I'm not really sure if 'running into' would be the right term for this situation. More like 'walked in on' to be honest. As Mikasa and I entered the building, my eyes immediately drew to the head of sleek, raven hair and deeply set scowl on said persons face.

Levi had just hopped up into the center of the ring and looked like he was being introduced to a small group of people. Mikasa nudged me in the side and I reluctantly tore my vision away from Levi to look at her as she explained to me that the small group of uniformed people were apart of her boxing team as well. They competed in national fights and were even sponsored sometimes.

Mikasa left me to my own devices as she went off to the locker rooms to go change and my gaze immediately went back to Levi who was addressing the small group of boxers briefly at the edge of the ropes. I couldn't hear what he was saying so I tried to inch closer without being seen because that would be kind of awkward.

I also could not help but notice how incredibly tight his black t-shirt was in contrast to the slightly loose dark grey sweat pants he was wearing. He was also barefoot, but like his hands, his feet were also wrapped tightly with the same white bandages.

I stayed to the side of the ring mostly where there were some empty benches not being used, it gave me the perfect view and I was close enough to make out what the officials were saying. A huge guy with platinum blond hair jumped into the ring with Levi who had his back turned toward him as he adjusted his gloves. My eyes went wide however when the big blond bastard punched Levi while he was unguarded and with his back turned.

I was about to shoot out of my seat and do something when I felt a strong hand on my shoulder. I whipped my head around to see Mikasa standing right behind me, her uniform on and her fists tightly wrapped. She looked at me and then shook her head in a disapproving manner before she nodded back toward the ring and my eyes followed her gaze.

Levi had already recovered from the blow and was now in a defensive stance, one that I noticed was pretty damn perfect. I wasn't a boxing expert or anything, but Mikasa had been in the sport for so long that I've been able to pick up on certain things like stance forms, even if I didn't really intend to.

Levi smirked and holy shit, I'd never seen him smirk like that before. It was kind of disturbing to see, actually. Levi and the big blond guy exchanged some words that I couldn't make out due to how low their voices were but eventually they both went into their respective corners and the match started shortly after. While Levi and the blond guy danced around each other, Mikasa explained to me what exactly this training was for so that I would understand better.

I was momentarily distracted by Mikasa giving her my full attention, that is until I heard a series of 'ooh's and 'ouch's coming from the group of boxers standing ringside watching the match carefully. My eyes shot back up toward the center of the ring where Levi had stumbled back and he was now bleeding from somewhere on his face. My eyes frantically searched for the source of the blood and quickly found the small gash over the corner of his thin brow.

The right side of his face was streaked with blood but I couldn't help but notice the subtle change in his demeanor as the fight raged on. Then the first round came to an end and my eyes followed a restless Levi as he bounced around from foot to foot rolling his neck and shoulder blades and not really allowing the medic to treat his open wound. Then before I knew it; muscles. Everywhere, muscles.

Levi had peeled off that little tight black t-shirt he was wearing and my eyes immediately scanned over the newly exposed skin that was just as pale as the rest of his body. Still, his cut muscles only caught my attention for a minute or two. Then my eyes were tracing over the black and blue ink that stained that marble like skin. Tattoos. Levi had fucking tattoos on his arms and shoulders and it wasn't until he started shuffling around in the center of the ring with the big blond that I noticed his tattoos weren't just on his shoulders and biceps, they stretched all the way to his back and shoulder blades.

Two big wings on either side spreading out with each move of his muscles. One a deep navy blue color, the other just white. The design was unlike anything I'd ever seen before and I was reminded of the very familiar logo of Ailes de la liberté. The white and blue wings overlapping one another, Levi's blue and white wings spreading out with each move of his arms. I watched his back completely mesmerized by the sight.

The way his back muscles contorted and stretched as he struck out at his opponent. The fine cut of his bicep muscles and Deltoids that the ink covered completely, it was like he really had wings. My eyes stayed glued to the fight as it raged on. Levi and the big blond exchanging blow after blow, Levi was floored but only once before he bounced back quicker than I could count to 2 in my head.

By the 4th Round, Levi had taken full control of the fight. The big blond guy was bruised and nicked all over his face and spitting out blood. Mikasa had said these were only supposed to be practice matches but somehow it had turned into a real fight. I felt a strange sense of pride coursing through me as Levi kicked that sorry guys ass, I wanted nothing more than to stand up and cheer for him but I knew that would probably be weird if I did.

Then, just before the three minute round was up, the big blond guy collapsed on the floor and he was out for the count. The officials counted it down and Levi was claimed as the victor. I had been so caught up in watching Levi's fight that I hardly noticed that some other bystanders who had been watching the fight as well had gathered around the ring and were cheering for him. Mikasa had explained to me that they were cheering because Levi had just beat the shit out of the biggest asshole in the club.

I smiled widely as I watched him tap his gloves together in victory, he went up to the big blond guy still laying on the matted floor and I heard him say something in French before he stalked off. My eyes never leaving his retreating back, his tattoos still so clearly visible as he got further and further away.

Then I remembered how Levi had denied having Tattoos that one weekend, how Hanji had tried to show me something on his back and now I knew that Levi had lied. I didn't understand why, though. It wasn't like his tattoos were embarrassing or weird even, they were beautiful and I found that they suited him somehow.

Mikasa's coach called her up to do a practice match next and she nudged me in my side rather painfully and I winced looking over at her wide eyed. She looked at me with her dark, expressionless eyes and parted her lips to say something.

"I left my cell phone in my locker, get it and hold onto it for me in case Annie texts or calls."

I couldn't believe that she was actually asking me to do this for her, but relented eventually and agreed to get her phone from her locker. She told me which one was hers before she hopped up into the ring. I sighed, shaking my head as I made my way to the otherside of the building where the lockers were located. I could smell the scent of soap and feel the steam coming from the showers located across from the lockers but paid it no mind as I searched for Mikasa's locker number and fiddled with her combination lock.

Then all of a sudden the showers turned off and out walked a soaking wet Levi in nothing but a towel around his waist and yeah... that towel didn't look like it was going to last long the way it practically clung for dear life to his hip bones. I could tell he hadn't noticed me yet and nervously swallowed as I shamelessly took in the naked form of my surprisingly hot neighbor.

I knew Levi had some muscle or that he was at least fit, but 'fit' or 'in shape' wasn't even the right terms for it anymore. He was fucking cut and chiseled and wow, I don't think I'd ever seen a body so well defined in my life. Not even Jean's abs were that nice, or mine for that matter. My eyes followed a trail of water that was dripping down his pectorals down to his chiseled abs, it trickled down further to his naval and when my eyes spotted the dark trail of neatly trimmed hair that was peaking out from just above where the towel rested I bit my lower lip and forced myself to look away because, wow. Congratulations on your hotness.

His skin was also so pale, I'd never seen a guy with a skin complexion quite like it. His jet black hair looked slightly wavy in the front as his fringe was still dripping with water, while his freshly trimmed undercut looked as clean and neat as usual. He was truly very nice to look at, so why my brain thought it was a good idea to ruin my little show and give myself away? I'll never fucking know.

"Levi...?" I heard myself call quietly, almost in a whisper as if I was afraid of scaring him away.

I immediately regretted doing so as a pair of sharp, silver eyes shot up in my direction and spotted me, holding me in my place against the wall of lockers like a pair of daggers at my throat. My breath hitched when I saw those cold, steel eyes widen at the sight of me and I suddenly started worrying that maybe Levi would think I'm a stalker or something. I really hoped he wouldn't think anything weird like that.

"Eren?" his low voice said my name in a way that I couldn't quite explain.

Maybe it was just my overactive mind playing tricks on me because Levi was still almost stark naked in front of me looking like a model who just stepped out of some commercial for fancy colognes, but his tone almost sounded sensual as he spoke. I almost shuddered at the sound of my name rolling off his tongue and wanted to hear more of it.

"What are you doing here?" my wish was granted when he asked me that question, but I couldn't take the time to enjoy the sound of his voice as my mind suddenly went blank.

Levi wanted to know what I was doing here. I needed to answer him back. Right. Where to start... 'Oh, hey Levi I didn't know you came to my sister's boxing club? Wow, great match out there, you really gave em hell. Nice body by the way, can I touch your abs?' fucking gold, Jaeger. You're about as smooth as fucking sandpaper, get your shit together, Eren! It's just Levi, no big deal, it's just your neighbor... you're incredibly hot, totally badass, surprisingly sexy neighbor... Jesus take the PRNDL.

"Oi, Eren. Are you deaf or just stupid? I asked you a fuckin' question, brat."

Shit, I forgot that I was supposed to be acting normal and like nothing is weird but ugh, this whole situation is weird. What am I supposed to say!? Okay, first of all, stop fucking staring at his abs Eren. He's a guy, you're a guy, you've seen abs before stop acting like such a girl.

"Uh... my sister forgot her phone and asked me to come get it..." Could I have possibly answered in a more awkward way? God, help me.

I went back to trying to fiddle with my sister's combination lock but I found it hard to focus with a half naked Levi in the same room with me. I grumbled as I struggled to get Mikasa's combination to open, it was frustrating enough having to pretend like I wasn't just checking my neighbor out without having to worry about this stupid lock not wanting to cooperate with me.

Then all of a sudden a pale set of hands reached for the lock, Levi was now standing next to me in all his half naked glory, I could practically feel the warm steam from his shower coming off his body with how close we were standing next to each other. I couldn't help but stare at the droplets of water that were slowly sliding down his body and dripping from the ends of his soaked hair. I swear, this was like a scene straight out of one of my Gay porno films.

Like any second now Levi was just going to pin me against the lockers and start telling me things like 'you're a dirty boy, Eren. You need to be punished.' and then that shitty, slow, saxophone music that's in every porn video will start up and oh my fucking god what am I even thinking about!? This is Levi we're talking about, my totally straight and unfortunately hot neighbor!

Levi must have felt me staring at him for too long because I heard him suck his teeth sounding kind of irritated and I immediately tore my eyes away from his dripping wet form in favor of staring at my sneakers. Please don't let me get an awkward boner, please don't let me get an awkward boner.

"Tch, if I don't help you you'll never get this shit open. What's your sister's combination?"

I stuttered a bit trying to tell Levi Mikasa's combination for her locker and I felt so embarrassed. Why couldn't I just act completely normal around Levi even though he's half naked? I mean, I know the tattoos kind of threw me off, and I was still kind of staring at them every chance I got because 1.) they were cool as shit and 2.) Levi's deltoids and biceps did things to me. I needed to stop.

He got Mikasa's locker open without any problems I gaped at him because it literally took me four tries to get her damn combination lock open and it only took him one try. Was there anything Levi wasn't good at? He rolled his eyes before walking away grabbing his clothes to go change I guessed. I rummaged through Mikasa's neat locker looking for her phone only to see that her phone wasn't even in her locker in the first place.

I probably turned her locker topsy turvy looking for her phone and each time I looked it wasn't there. I growled slamming the metal locker shut and huffing in frustration, had Mikasa forgotten that her phone wasn't in her locker? That wasn't like her at all. She was always on top of her game and sharp as a nail when it came to the location of her shit, I just couldn't understand why she would tell me to get her phone if it wasn't even there in the first place. Unless...

Just then Levi came back out into the locker room, fully clothed and his hair semi-dried. I was a little disappointed to see those beautiful tattoos covered up by the tight black crew neck t-shirt he was wearing (how many of those did he have exactly?) but I guess I couldn't really complain considering the t-shirt still gave me a nice view of his abs and biceps. Thin eyes stared at me for a moment before Levi zipped up his gym bag and slung it over his shoulder.

"You wanna get lunch?" he suddenly asked.

I blinked at his question, my slow brain needed to register what he had just said before I snapped and realized, holy shit. Levi wanted to go get lunch with me? It's like 2 in the afternoon, I guess Lunch wouldn't be so bad. I nodded with a little bit of a smile because Levi was acting like his usual surly self again.

"Good. Get your shit and let's go so we can talk." He ordered before he strode past me.

"How did you know I wanted to-"

"You've got this constipated look on your face like you're going to shit your pants if you don't ask me whatever the hell it is that's obviously bothering you."

Oh. I guess I was just that obvious. Then again, it wasn't like I was hiding my stares very well either. I'm sure Levi knew I wanted to ask about his tattoos and why he had lied about them in the first place. I said nothing as I locked Mikasa's locker and followed after my short hot neighbor who was nearing the entrance by now. I sprinted after him but stopped short of the entrance as I saw Mikasa climbing down from the ring sweaty and tired.

She glanced up and saw me and I saw the faintest of smiles on her face, I frowned at her and shook my head before waving at her and jogging out the door. I would send her a text later on and have a good long talk with her tonight. She had some explaining to do.

I caught up with Levi who was leaning against the hood of his black Ferrari lighting a cigarette between his lips. The pose in itself was suggestive enough, but now he looked even hotter with a cigarette in his mouth. Why is he still single? Then I remembered what he had told me at Jean's soccer game last month, how he didn't like to smoke because as a chef it'd ruin his taste buds.

I noticed he was taking long drags like he was enjoying the taste of the nicotine on his tongue but being the pain in the ass that I am, I plucked the cigarette from his hand as he raised it to his lips, it was practically half finished by now. He glared at me from the corners of his thin eyes, silver iris's cutting into me. He blew out the last of the smoke that was still in his lungs with a sigh and I couldn't help but smile.

"I thought you said you didn't like to smoke?" I asked putting the half finished tobacco stick between my lips and inhaling. I could slightly taste Levi mixed in with the smoke. He tasted like black tea and something else I couldn't quite make out.

"I said I didn't usually smoke unless I felt the urge to. There's a difference."

Levi pushed himself off the hood of the car and rounded the Driver's side. I finished up what I could of his cigarette before flicking it to the pavement and stomping it out with the sole of my worn out converse. I blew the rest of the smoke out regretting smoking the rest of Levi's cigarette because while I did smoke socially, I never did like the way the smell lingered.

I got into the passenger's side of Levi's car, careful of what I touched as I got in because Levi's car was always immaculately clean and shiny. I had learned the rules of his car the first time he gave me a ride and I hadn't forgotten them in the least. I buckled myself in and to my surprise when Levi turned the car on, his radio started blaring AC/DC full blast.

His hand quickly shot to lower the volume and I smiled as he did because I never took Levi as the classic rock kind of guy. The song that was currently playing was If You Want Blood (You've got it) and I turned to look at him, my smile still plastered on my face. He only glanced at me quickly before revving the engine and telling me quietly to 'shut up' before we pulled out of the parking lot. Once we were on the road, I spoke up about his music choice.

"So, I didn't think you liked classic rock."

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me, Eren."

Well, he had a point. That was basically the whole reason I found Levi so damn interesting. He was a mystery to me, everything about him seemed so secretive and yet it didn't. If I asked him a question, he would answer me directly. Most of the time anyway, unless it was something about his past. Then he was hesitant to tell me usually. I nodded my head at his answer and drummed my finger to the beat of the song against my thigh.

"Have anything you want to eat in mind? I don't care what it is, I'm fucking starving." he asked me after a beat of comfortable silence.

I thought about it for a second or two before I looked down at my own shirt and smirked. I didn't know if Levi would like my suggestion or not but he did say he didn't care what I wanted to eat, I'd find out eventually though.

"How about Pizza?" I asked beaming at him.

I saw the gears working in his head as he pursed his lips and drummed his fingers against the steering wheel to 'Touch Too Much' that was now playing on his stereo, he was even bobbing his head slightly. I guessed he had the Highway To Hell album playing which would explain the song choices.

"Alright. I know a place not too far from here and their food isn't complete shit."

I saw him take the next left onto a street I wasn't all the familiar with and we fell into casual conversation as we drove. It felt totally and completely normal for a change and any worries I had about Levi trying to avoid me went out the window along with any not-so-innocent thoughts I may have still had about him in that tight t-shirt.

We drove for a good 20 minutes before Levi finally pulled into a small parking lot, my eyes immediately scanned over the pizzeria we had just pulled into and I didn't recognize it at all so I could conclude that I'd never been here before. After we had parked, we got out of his car while still playfully bantering over which lead singer of AC/DC was better.

"Eren, listen to yourself. How is Brian Johnson better than Bon Scott when Bon Scott was the original front man?"

"I didn't say Brian Johnson was better, I said he's just as good as Bon Scott. Sure they're singing styles are different but at least he does AC/DC's earlier songs with Bon Scott some justice instead of just butchering them. Nobody could be better than Bon Scott, but Brian Johnson is good in his own way."

That little statement earned me a breathy laugh from Levi as we walked side by side and entered the establishment. My nostrils were immediately filled with the delicious smell of cheese and baked bread as we entered and despite not really being hungry at first, my stomach was rumbling now. Levi and I approached the long counter top where a pretty woman was on register and she immediately started tending to Levi's order.

"What do you want on the Pizza, Brat?" I heard Levi ask, he was clearly ignoring the woman's horrible attempt at flirting as she batted her fake lashes at him.

"Oh, um, anything is fine. I'm not really picky." I said suddenly feeling very aware of myself. It must have looked weird, Levi and I together like this. Not that I was worried about myself, but I was worried that Levi might be mistaken as gay if he's seen acting so casual with another guy.

"Whatever then, we'll have a large thin crust pizza with everything on it."

"Sure thing, handsome." the woman said with a wink and a smile and I felt second hand embarrassment for her because that was just lame.

Levi didn't seem to pay any mind to the comment about his good looks as he reached into the pocket of his black sweats to pull out his wallet. I wondered if it was because he probably got comments like that everywhere he went or if it was because he really just didn't care. While the former wasn't entirely impossible, the latter seemed more Levi-like.

Don't get me wrong, Levi is attractive. Maybe not conventionally attractive to some people, he was short and had a bad attitude and the dark circles under his eyes made him look either tired or intimidating most of the time but he was still considered ridiculously attractive and the fact that this woman was trying to hit on him was proof I wasn't the only one who thought so. Then again, maybe it was because of his super tight t-shirt that gave everyone who looked at him a good view of his toned abs and showed off the defined muscle of his biceps with the very tips of his wing tattoos just slightly peeking out.

Levi slid a 20 dollar bill onto the counter top, told the woman to keep the change (because he didn't like loose change, like I said) and he turned to look for a table to sit at without sparing a second glance at the girl at the counter who was left looking rather confused as Levi walked away. I followed after him, trailing back only slightly so nobody got the wrong idea and assumed we were a couple or something. Levi probably wouldn't like that.

I noticed that he was leading us to a small deck outside that had festive lights adorned all around and a few wooden picnic tables. There were a few other people eating their pizzas outside as it was well shaded and even had ceiling fans so I followed Levi without any protests. I was still trailing back a bit and Levi glanced back at me before sucking his teeth, he picked out a corner table and we took our seats.

"Why are you sitting so far away, idiot?" I heard him ask as I sat down on the furthest edge of the picnic bench opposite of Levi.

"Because, I don't want people to think you're my boyfriend or something. That girl at the counter was totally flirting with you, if she thinks we're a couple it's going to ruin your chances at getting a date."

I wiggled my eyebrows forcing a smirk as I looked at him but Levi looked completely unimpressed with what I had just said. He sighed and rolled his eyes looking away from me and out toward the busy road that was buzzing with cars. There was a slight breeze passing and the warm air rustled Levi's sleek, onyx hair a bit. He was doing that thing again where he unintentionally models. Damn good looking people.

"You really are a fucking moron, Eren. I don't give a fuck what anyone thinks of me, especially that chick at the counter. Four words: Shes not my fucking type."

He finally looked back over to me from across the table, a jaded look on his face as he propped his elbow up on the table top and rested the side of his face in his hand. From here, you could see the faint blossoming bruise on the underside of his sharp jawline that he'd received from his fight earlier. I had completely forgotten about the slice on the corner of his brow but noticed that he'd already treated it and taped it up. It was hardly even noticeable despite how much blood was gushing from it earlier.

"Wait... that's five words. And how come she's not your type? She's pretty enough, although the fake lashes are bit too much if you asked me."

"Dumbass. First of all, she's wearing to much fucking make up along with those fake ass eyelashes. She could probably blow a house down with one blink of those giant fans she has glued to her eyelids. Second of all, her hair is obviously bleached blond and her tits are so incredibly fake that if you poked one with a needle they'd probably bust. Thirdly, the perfume she was wearing made me want to fucking barf all over the fucking counter, she smells like a prostitute on a really bad night. Fourthly, her eyes aren't even really green, she's wearing contact lenses."

I stared at Levi wide eyed because he'd gotten all of that from the super brief glances he was giving her in the five minutes we were standing at the counter? That was a ridiculously good observation in such a short amount of time and had he not brought up those points about her I never would have guess any of that. I glanced back inside at the same girl who was serving another customer at the counter, she looked pissed about something but Levi was right. From here, I could see the faint dark brown roots showing from her scalp and the lipstick she was wearing was a bit too... pink for her skin complexion. Her boobs were indeed a little too perky and round and from here it almost looked like her lashes were going to fall off.

"Wow. Now that I take a look at her the second time around, she's a hot mess." I glanced back over to Levi who suddenly found something on his phone very interesting.

I inched my way toward the center of the bench so that I was now sitting directly in front of him and I nudged him in the foot playfully to get his attention. He glared up at me from the screen of his phone and I gave him a cheeky smile as I slightly leaned forward to ask him a question.

"So if she's not your type, then what is?" I was honestly curious.

Levi looked away from me immediately and kept tapping away at the screen of his phone. I assumed he was probably talking to someone through chat and for a while I thought he wasn't going to answer me at all. Then he surprised me.

"I like big eyes with long eyelashes, long legs, kind of tanned, brown or dark colored hair and... green or blue eyes."

I didn't actually think he would tell me what I wanted to know, for some reason Levi always avoided subjects like that but today was different. I leaned back into my seat and hummed at his answer mulling his words over in my mind slowly. I didn't take him as the type of person who paid attention to details like that, long eyelashes and tanned skin was so specific. I tried to picture a girl with all those features with Levi but found that I couldn't imagine Levi with a woman at all. It was strange.

"Long legs, huh? So you like them tall?" I asked with a giggle and Levi 'tch'd at me loudly flipping me the bird which only caused me to laugh louder throwing my head back.

My beanie almost fell off and I caught it before it could reveal my messy, uncombed rats nest that I was hiding underneath. I truly did regret not putting a little more effort into my appearance today, especially when you find out how attractive and hot your neighbor who you're currently going to have lunch with is. Just then, the girl from the counter approached our table with our piping hot pizza in her gloved hands and a smile on her face.

She dipped down to place the pizza on the table top and I swallowed because not only did our pizza smell heavenly, it looked amazing as well. All gooey cheese and crispy crust all around, not to mention all the shit ton of toppings we got. I almost forgot about the girl standing there until she directly addressed Levi who was still busy with his phone. I glanced up at the girl kind of surprised that she was brave enough to actually try and hit on Levi directly but I had a feeling this would probably end badly on her part.

"Is there anything else you'd like, honey? Like my number perhaps, since you've already got your phone out." she said with a giggle and I grimaced. God, was she trying too hard. I almost felt bad for her. Almost.

Levi finally looked up from his phone and I had never seen such a sharp look in his eyes before, except maybe when he was kicking ass in the ring today. On second thought, his glare that he was giving now was nothing compared to the one I saw earlier. That was slightly terrifying... and kind of sexy.

"Funny, I don't remember ordering for someone to kiss my ass. Eren, did you hear me order an ass kisser?"

He looked over at me and I stared at him wide eyed because I wasn't expecting him to put me on the spot like that. The girl gaped at Levi clearly appalled that he had just insulted her like that, although it was kind of her own fault. She was being way too pushy about getting Levi's attention when he clearly didn't want anything to do with her. I'd decided I'd play along though, because I didn't really appreciate her hitting on Levi the way she did.

"No, I didn't. Should we report it to the manager of the place? Maybe they need to train their employees better."

I risked a glance at the girl who was giving me quite the dirty look and in this lighting, I could see what Levi meant by her wearing too much make up. Her foundation was practically caked onto her face by the pounds and in the sunlight you could see her roots even worse than inside.

"Get lost, I'm not interested." Levi said as he directed his attention back to the screen of his phone.

The girl huffed loudly glaring at Levi as she crossed her arms over her chest and I noticed her overly painted and decorated nails. Jesus christ, she was worse than those japanese girls who wear all that crazy nail deco on their hands. What were they called again? Lolita or something like that? I don't know, Mikasa had shown me a long time ago.

"Oh I get it, I didn't realize you swung the other way. What a waste of a man." the blonde girl spat out as she turned on her heel and stomped back into the building.

I quickly turned to Levi after her accusation that he was gay, I knew we probably gave people the wrong impression and now I was feeling bad but when my eyes finally landed on Levi's figure, he looked completely unaffected by that girl's words and was still tapping away on his phone like nothing had ever happened. He was completely calm, collected and not seething with rage or embarrassment like any normal straight man would have been if they had been called out for being gay in public like this.

"Aren't you mad?" I asked after a beat of silence, Levi had now put his phone down and was reaching for a slice of pizza.

"No. Why should I be?"

"Because she accused you of being gay. How come that doesn't bother you?" I reached for my own slice of pizza now and immediately took a huge bite of the melted cheese that was dangling from it.

"I already told you. I don't give a fuck what anyone thinks about me, their opinions don't matter. If I let the opinion of every single stranger I met for the first time affect me, I would be this paranoid piece of shit who's afraid to live because I don't want to do or say the wrong things. People are flawed, Eren. Being gay shouldn't be considered a flaw. I'd be more offended if she accused me of being a dirty slob when we all know how meticulous I am about cleanliness."

Levi took a small bite of his pizza and I stared at him wide eyed because, how the fuck could a straight man be so god damn open minded about being called gay when he's not? Levi truly was a mystery to me but I liked him even more for showing me this side of himself. I was more determined than ever to get to know Levi even better now. I wanted to know how his mind worked and the kinds of things he thinks about.

"Alright, I'm fine with that answer. Let's talk about something else though, like Tattoos. Why did you lie?" I asked bringing up the impending topic casually. I took a sip of my Dr.Pepper the girl had brought and Levi looked up at me mid-bite.

"Finally, I was wondering when you were going to bring up that shitty question. Now I can get this explanation over with. Alright, kid prepare yourself because you asked for it." he warned and I nodded eagerly leaning over the table slightly so that I was closer to him.

"My tattoos aren't exactly something I like to show off to the whole damn world. Not because I'm ashamed or embarrassed of them, quite the opposite actually. I'm damn fucking proud of these tattoos on my body, that's why I don't like for just anyone to see them and I don't talk about having them either. They have special meaning for me, I got them when I was 17 and angry at the world and Hanji and Erwin helped me design them. It's something I hold sacred and don't like for just anyone and everyone to feel free to look at."

My eyes caught the way Levi trailed a hand up to his left shoulder and he traced the ink through the fabric almost absently. The only indication that he was aware of what he was doing was when he tugged the sleeve of his crew neck t-shirt down to cover the tips of the wings that were slightly showing when the material raised up with his movements.

"So, you see kid, it's not like I don't mind showing you my tattoos or anything. It's just that I'd rather show them to people of my own free will instead of having fucking Hanji pin me down to the ground and force my shirt up. By the way, I'm still going to kick her ass for that." He took another bite of his first slice of pizza and I smiled through closed lips because I had food in my mouth and I knew Levi had a thing about seeing food still in people's mouths.

"Okay, then if you don't mind showing me your tattoos then you have to wear more sleeveless shirts when I'm around to prove it. It doesn't have to be in public, just like when we're hanging out at your place or something." I said after I swallowed and Levi cocked a brow at me as he took a sip from his vitamin water.

"Cheeky brat, since when did you become the ruler of my life? I'll wear what I want, shit face."

I frowned a bit as his reply to my request but quickly bounced back knowing that Levi didn't ever really mean anything by his insults. He was just grumpy like that. Suddenly, I remembered something and I beamed at him while taking another bite of my pizza.

"So, did you hear about Erwin and Armin?" I asked trying my best to sound as casual and nonchalant as possible.

Levi stopped chewing and swallowed as he looked over to me, I could tell that I had peaked his curiosity but he was waiting on me to tell him what I knew. I never would have taken Levi for the type who liked gossip and I almost giggled because he looked so impatient now that I had brought up the subject of Armin and Erwin. I decided I'd spare him from any further suspense and blurted out what I had been wanting to tell him since yesterday.

"He spent the entire night at Erwin's place last night. When I called him this morning to ask him about my schedule for work this week, Erwin answered his phone and told me Armin was in the shower. I think this means that they're officially a couple now."

Levi slammed his vitamin water bottle down on the table top and shot me a look that said 'Are you fucking serious right now?' before he reached for his phone that was laying neglected on the table top. I chuckled as I watched him furiously tap out a message while I continued to stuff my face and sip on my drink. When he finally put his phone down, he calmly looked over to me and smirked.

"I guess that makes us in-laws then." he said and I barked out a laugh because it wasn't too far from the truth.

Our two best friends were now dating each other and we'd probably be seeing more of one another in the future if things with Erwin and Armin worked out. I didn't have a doubt in my mind it would though, Erwin had been coming into the shop to talk to Armin for months on end now and it was obvious he was head over heels and the same could be said for Armin.

Just then Levi's phone started buzzing and he glanced at me before he smirked again and reached to answer it. He cradled the device between his shoulder and his ear as he reached for another slice of pizza and answered his phone with a line that would have made me spit out my soda from my nose if I hadn't swallowed it in time.

"Did you have enough Viagra to last you the night, old man?"

I tried not to laugh, I really did because Erwin was such a nice guy and hearing him being called old man was kind of sad but I couldn't deny the joke was funny judging by the smirk plastered on Levi's face he thought his own joke was funny as hell.

There was a brief silence before Levi threw his head back and laughed darkly, and I decided that I liked all forms of Levi's laugh. Even the creepy, dark laughs that sounded more sinister than happy. I listened to him exchange playful banter over the phone with Erwin and smiled to myself the whole phone call because it was nice to hear Levi act so childishly with his best friend over the phone. He was always so damn serious and his smile was so rare that it was practically nonexistent.

"I'm out with Eren right now, I'll talk to you later Eyebrows." he ended his call with Erwin and pocketed his phone in his sweats before returning to his abandoned pizza.

"Did he confirm it?" I asked curiously and Levi snorted as he bit into the crust of his pizza.

"If him saying all the disgustingly cute crap about your little friend wasn't confirmation enough, then I don't know what is. Those two are so grossly in love with each other."

I giggled because it was so true. I was happy for Armin and Erwin though, they were perfect for each other. I felt my phone buzz in my pocket just then and I cleaned my hands before fishing it out and reading the recent text I had just gotten from Mikasa.

2:48PM
From: Mika
Are you back at your apartment yet?

I quickly tapped out a reply to her before I did anything else and sent it placing my phone on the table top once I did because I knew she'd be texting me back right away and I didn't want to have to deal with fishing it out of my jean pocket again. That's what I get for wearing skinny jeans today. Just like I had thought, Mikasa texted me back right away.

2:49PM
To: Mika
No, I'm still with Levi. I'll text u when I'm home?

2:50PM
From: Mika
Remember to use Protection, Eren. No glove, no love. Don't be silly, cover your willy.

I blushed furiously as I read Mikasa's most recent text and even felt the tips of my ears turning read as I fumbled nervously with my phone to type out a reply. From the corner of my eye I could see Levi giving me a strange look and I was sure that I probably looked like a freak blushing and furiously tapping at my phone screen. I didn't even bother to check my message to see if it even made any sense at all before I sent it.

2:50PM
To: Mika
UIt"S NOT LIKE THAT MIJASA OGMYGID SJAKDJKGDH

I shoved my phone back in my pocket feeling embarrassed that my sister was suggesting that I was actually sleeping with my neighbor. I know I was pissed at my boyfriend but I wasn't low enough to cheat on Jean and besides, Levi was straight. I really needed to have a talk with Mikasa later on tonight

"What's up? You look like you just shit yourself." Levi said between a bite of his pizza and a sip of his water and I forced myself to forget about Mikasa's stupid text.

"It's nothing. My sister's just weird."

Levi and I fell into comfortable silence as we ate and eventually after I got over my embarrassment, we started up another casual conversation and sat at the table talking and eating Pizza for another hour.

Chapter Text

It'd been a whole week since that awkward encounter with Eren in the locker room of the boxing Club, I had stopped trying to avoid him after our unplanned lunch and decided that fate apparently had other plans for me if avoiding Eren wasn't going to work in the least.

I didn't see the point in making my life harder to live by going the extra mile to avoid running or bumping into him just because I didn't want to acknowledge the fact that I did indeed harbor deep feelings for Eren. No matter what I did, Life always managed to set up some kind of situation where I was forced to interact with Eren whether I wanted to or not.

Today was apparently no different either, Eren had come knocking on my door surprisingly early and I let him in because again, why bother trying to avoid it? Besides, it's not like him showing up at my door randomly was completely unwelcome. I opened the door for Eren not even bothering to greet him as it had become routine for him to just make himself at home whenever he came over. Strange, considering I had never visited his apartment once since he moved in two and half months ago.

"Guess who just came back from a check up at the vet's?" Eren sang after he had entered my apartment and shut the door behind him.

I entered the kitchen and started pouring myself a fresh cup of tea as I heard Eren shuffle toward my living room. I finally turned around to face him and had to bite back the smile that threatened to break across my face when my eyes took onto the very adorable sight of Eren wearing a jumper that was much, much too large on him. One of his shoulder's was completely exposed but he was wearing a black tank top underneath, the only thing more eye catching than his half exposed shoulder was the graphic on the jumper he was wearing.

It was funny, because he was also cradling Captain his cat in his arms. I didn't bother to hold back the chuckle that slipped past my lips as I snorted into the rim of my cup, Eren was grinning like an idiot while holding Captain up in the air by his armpits. It was a comical scene seeing the grouchy cat dangling from Eren's grip quite literally, the same glare the damn bossy thing always had on it's face as he meowed halfheartedly.

"Oh? How did it go then?"

I joined Eren in the living room handing him a cup of tea as I cradled mine and took a seat on the couch. Eren gave me a cheerful 'thanks' and set the cup down on the glass table before placing Captain back down on the ground and settling in on my white shag carpet with both legs tucked underneath him. The weather had begun to change, so sweaters and hot cups of tea were probably going to become a regular thing.

"Marco said Captain's gained 3 whole pounds since his last check up. He's boarder line obese for a cat his size." Eren said with a pout as he took a long sip of tea letting out a content sigh afterwards. "I'm going to have to put him on a strict diet from now on."

I smirked down at the cat who was sitting daintily in front of the couch grooming his inky black fur quietly and like he felt my stare on him, returned it in full with that usual glare of his own. This cat was so god damn arrogant and pushy, but that's why I liked him.

"Hear that, flea bag? That's what happens when you're too fucking greedy." I reached a hand out to scratch the cat under his chin and he allowed me to despite me having just insulted him.

I've noticed that he tends to get a little pissy if you call him names, like flea bag, shitty cat, damn cat, freeloader, etc. etc. I could hear the soft purr rumbling from deep inside the small felines chest as he leaned into my touch. His fur felt soft and silky, no doubt the salmon's doing but now Eren was going to have to cut the cat off from his latest obsession. I almost felt bad for him, honestly but it was partially my fault. I got him hooked on the shit in the first place.

"I'd really appreciate it if you'd help me out, no sneaking any snacks to him if he comes crying to you during the day. He likes to use his crocodile tears on me whenever he wants something and it almost always works." Eren said with a giggle as he scratched Captain behind his ears, added to my index finger tickling his chin the cat slowly closed his eyes and relished in all the attention he was getting.

"Fucking spoiled..." I murmured quietly and Eren beamed up at me with his flawless pearly whites. Did I ever mention how much I loved this kid's smile? Probably one too many times.

"So, besides your overweight cat, what else is new?" I inquired with genuine curiosity. Although I probably sounded more monotone than I intended.

I heard Eren sigh heavily and I tore my gaze away from the purring feline in favor of staring at my obviously distressed neighbor. There were slight bags starting to form under Eren's beautiful, bright eyes and I noticed that said bright eyes weren't as bright or sparkly as they normally were. They were somewhat dull and lacking the usual mischievous glint that was always there.

"Jean and I got into another argument but that's not really anything new, is it?" he said with a halfhearted laugh and I furrowed my brows at him. As much as I hated to talk about Eren's boyfriend problems, I could tell the kid needed somebody to vent his shit to and I just so happened to be sitting right here.

I was never any good with things like this, feelings and emotions and all that shit. I grew up in an environment where things like that weren't needed, I was trained to be a soldier from birth practically and my old man always made it a point to school me on how to bury any emotions so that they wouldn't hinder me as I got older. As awful as it sounds, I didn't hate my dad for taking away something so basically human from me because it's all I've ever known.

"Spit it out, kid. What happened?" I had about as much sentimental consideration as a judge in a court room. Which meant, not much at all.

"I don't know, Levi. I feel like Jean's just being over dramatic about all this shit," he threaded a hand through his long locks of hair, tousling it around into an even messier state than it already was sticking out every which way. "He says I don't spend enough time with him anymore, that I haven't been going to all of his games the way I used to or that I'm spending too much time with you or Captain."

That last bit caught my full attention. The horse thought Eren spent too much time with me? What a pathetic excuse to argue with your boyfriend. Eren obviously saw me as nothing more than his neighbor and yet his boyfriend was over there getting his panties in a twist because Eren happens to have other male friends besides the ones on his soccer team or from his workplace. Still, I couldn't help but feel a little sense of victory from hearing that.

"I guess I have been kind of neglecting him lately by not attending all of his games, but it's not like I'm doing it on purpose. Ugh, I don't know. This is so frustrating, I've never had to go through this kind of struggle in a relationship before and Jean is just so... stubborn. You can't just sit down and talk to him about these things because he starts flying off the handle right away and that in turn makes me starting losing what little patience I do have for him and..." he paused.

I could see the way his bottom lip quivered as he clenched his jaw shut tightly flexing the muscle there, I could only hope that the kid wasn't about to start crying his eyes out or something because like I said, I fucking sucked when it came to shit like this and I wouldn't know the first thing about comforting someone while they're crying. Luckily for me though, Eren blinked away the moisture in his eyes with ease and he only sighed before bringing his knees up to his chest and hugging them close to his body.

"Sorry, I'm rambling aren't I?" he said with a sheepish smile that I could tell was painfully forced and shit, this kid needed a therapist if he was going to keep this up because I knew I wouldn't be able to last with me being my socially awkward self.

Still, I felt a pang of guilt hit me as I saw that embarrassed smile of his, like he felt like he was troubling me or that maybe he was annoying me. I mean, whenever he talked about his boyfriend problems it annoyed me but I could see that he was really having trouble this time around so I racked my brain in hopes that I could think of some way to help him ease the stress and frustration a bit. Then an idea hit me like a kick to the dick.

"Wanna come train with me at the club tomorrow?" It was a simple 'Yes' or 'No' question but Eren being the cute moron that he was gave me a look of confusion that told me he didn't understand what I was trying to get at.

"Look, I'm going to be brutally honest with you, kid. I suck ass at this 'comforting' thing, being considerate of other's feelings has never been one of my strong points. So this is how I'm going to offer my help to you. While I can't give you some sugar coated words and a shoulder to cry on because that's just not my thing, I can help you vent out your frustrations in a more physical way." Okay that came out wrong, but I didn't let it deter me from getting to my point. "What I'm saying is, if you're really feeling that upset and stressed out about all this shit then you can come with me to the gym, we'll beat out all your problems on a few punching bags or hell maybe even get you in the ring if you're up for it. You can beat the shit out of a random stranger and I can guarantee you'll feel like a million fucking bucks afterwards."

I ended my little speech hoping that I somehow managed to explain myself well enough for Eren to understand what I was trying to say. Another one of my weak points was expressing myself in words. I was a man of action, not words and I could tell that Eren was the same way. The only difference between he and I was that he was 10x's more emotional than I could ever hope to be in one lifetime and he had so much emotion that all of it just can't be let out all at once so what better way to vent out your feelings than to kick some ass and break some faces?

Eren stared at me wide eyed for a few moments and I was starting to worry that maybe I hadn't gotten through to him at all. Then I saw the faintest crack of smile on his face before he started nodding eagerly, his head bobbing up and down causing his hair to bounce around wildly and I thought it was adorable the way his eyes lit up and if he were a dog I had no doubt in my mind that he would probably be wagging his tail right now.

"Yes! Let's do it!" he answered just as eagerly as he unhooked his knees from his chest and sort of crawled over to my side of the sofa on all fours. Fucking hell, he was too cute.

I wondered what exactly about my offer he was so eager about. Was it the idea of beating the shit out of random strangers or just getting out and punching out his frustrations on something? I would probably never know. (Little did Levi know that Eren was actually more eager to see him shirtless baring all his tattoos)

"Alright then, we'll go tomorrow afternoon. Since it's sunday, I only have a half day at the restaurant so I'll be off by 3PM. I'll come back to my place after work and get my shit and then I'll swing by your place and pick you up, so be ready got it?"

Eren nodded his head again eagerly and I shook my head flicking him in the forehead leaving a nice little scarlet dot in the center. Eren recoiled and held his forehead in his hand but he was smiling up at me regardless. What an idiot. How did I ever end up falling for such a dumbass?

As Eren and I got into another casual conversation, I heard a firm knock on my door. Eren and I exchanged a look that said 'who the fuck could that be?' because Eren was usually the only one who came by my place at this hour of the day and he was already here. I should have recognized the familiar knock immediately but for some reason or another I just didn't and I walked over to open my door to see Erwin standing there all dressed up in his weekend clothes and practically beaming from ear to ear.

"Hello, Levi. I hope I'm not bothering you."

Erwin didn't need to be invited in, he already knew the protocol as he stepped through the door and slipped his expensive shoes off. I swear, you'd never catch Erwin wearing just a plain t-shirt and blue jeans or sneakers. That was just Erwin for you, I'd gotten used to his perfectly pressed, perfectly put together appearance years ago. He removed his sunglasses as he made his way through my foyer and slipped them into his shirt pocket. I could smell his mild cologne as he passed by, he was wearing Giorgio Armani the bastard. Just as I was about to turn around and mock my best friend for looking (and smelling) like he just walked out of a damn photo shoot, I heard a small timid voice from my doorway. I whipped my head around to see Eren's cute little blond friend Armin with his head ducked down shyly and a coy smile on his face.

"Oh, h-hello Levi. Um, Eren wouldn't happen to be here would he? I knocked on his door but there was no answer."

How convenient, Armin just so happens to be visiting Eren while Erwin decides to drop by for a visit. These two idiots couldn't possibly be anymore transparent. Just get married already, you morons. It was so painfully obvious that they were out and about together considering Armin looked like he was dressed up to go extreme book shopping if his outfit was anything to go by. Suddenly, Eren poked his head into the foyer from the living room and made a noise resembling an excited squeak.

"Armin! Erwin!"

"Eren!" Armin and Erwin said in unison.

Suddenly, I felt like I was having my in-laws over. How the hell had everyone ended up in my apartment? I sighed shutting the door after Armin had entered and removed his shoes and placed them neatly next to Erwin's. So disgustingly cute. My two new uninvited house guests all got comfortable in the living room and surprisingly Captain didn't seem bothered by the two new presences. He even went up to Erwin and rubbed up against his black slacks causing Eren and Armin to exchange looks of shock. I offered Erwin and Armin some tea and they gladly accepted. (wonderful, more dishes to wash) After I brought them their tea, I reclaimed my own spot on the couch and proceeded to sip my cooled tea.

I looked over at Armin and Erwin who were sharing the love seat I had across from the black leather couch Eren and I were sitting on on opposite sides. It was a strange set up we had, the two newly official couple sitting across from Eren and I who were not in a relationship of any kind. I couldn't help but feel a bit out of place despite Erwin being my best friend and practically like family to me.

"Levi, you haven't told me about how your boxing thing has been going lately." Erwin suddenly asked, he an arm draped around a very red faced Armin who struggled to keep up a conversation with Eren who had a knowing smirk on his face.

I set my now empty tea cup down on the glass coffee table, suddenly Eren and Armin's attention was on me as well and I felt a bit pressured answering Erwin's question now. I coughed clearing my throat softly before speaking.

"It's going as well as it can. I haven't hospitalized anyone, if that's what you're wondering." Erwin let out a genuine laugh at that and I smirked because I could tell Eren and Armin were probably exchanging confused look with one another.

"Well that's a relief then. I thought you had mentioned something about the club being owned by a retired Army SFC, tell me more about that."

Eren and Armin had fallen into complete silence by now and were now focusing all their attention on Erwin and I and our conversation. Armin was slightly smiling as he leaned into Erwin's touch, their shoulders brushing.

"Yeah, Keith Shadis. He knew I was an Army Brat immediately, asked me if I wanted to train some of his brats. I turned him down at first, I had no desire to return to my old days as a Sergeant who trains wet-behind-the-ears newbies but he made me a pretty convincing offer. He's one persistent bastard."

Erwin slightly stiffened at my words and Armin seemed to notice this as well as he turned to look at him with concern in his big blue eyes. I noticed the way Armin gently nudged Erwin in the side and the bigger blond seemed to snap back to reality finally giving all of us a halfhearted chuckle and I cocked my brow at him accusingly. He knew something I didn't.

"Keith Shadis, I know that name very well. He was my superior officer during my training days when I first enlisted into the Army, He retired just a little before you enlisted I think, Levi. I'm just surprised to hear that he actually owns a boxing club. How is he treating you?" Erwin eventually asked with a smile and a twinkle in his pale blue eyes.

"I told you, he's a persistent bastard. He somehow convinced me to train his snot nosed little brats and I broke one kid's nose and nearly knocked another one out for thinking he could beat me because I'm short. He didn't seem to mind that I was beating his little shits, in fact he gave me full permission to do so. I don't know what goes through that old geezer's mind, sometimes I think he's crazy."

Erwin laughed again and this time I only shook my head because apparently I was right. Shadis was a character, that was for sure. I wondered how tomorrow's training with Eren would go, if it went well Shadis would probably try and recruit the kid. I only hoped Eren's sister Mikasa wouldn't be there as well, it's awkward enough going with my neighbor who I have feelings for. I didn't need his sister there giving me death glares.

"Only two weeks at the place and you've already broken someone's nose and nearly knocked someone unconscious? Should I be worried about losing my best Assistant Head Chef?" Erwin inquired playfully, I noted the way his thumb traced circles into Armin's shoulder.

"Tch, as if you could ever find someone better than me. I already told you I'm only picking up boxing again as a hobby, there's no way in hell I'd compete professionally ever again."

It was at that bit that I saw Eren perk up and he turned to look at me wide eyed, a certain admiration in his eyes that I didn't like for some reason. He had a half grin on his face and looked about ready to fire off a shit load of questions I didn't think I'd be willing to answer.

"You competed professionally? I thought you said you never pursued it seriously?" He asked innocently, and I almost felt bad for standing up from my seat and walking out of the living room silently.

I didn't go far, I just went into the kitchen to wash my cup but I could feel the tension as I left the room. The kid probably thought the question upset, which in a sense it kind of did but not because of anything Eren did. I was just bad at communicating like that. Then I heard Erwin answer for me, and again, thank fucking jesus for my friends because otherwise this conversation probably would have ended badly.

"Levi competed professionally for only a couple of years after he was discharged from the Army. He was the all-time Champion of the Lightweight Category for that time but then he gave it up and went to Culinary school in France with Hanji and I after I retired from the Army."

I heard an understanding hum from Eren and I thought that would be the end of his curious questionings but of course, I was wrong as usual. He piped up again after a short while.

"Why did Levi give up boxing? He's obviously still super good at it, I got the chance to see him in action myself and the fight had me at the edge of my seat the entire time." he asked like if I wasn't standing just a few god damn feet away from them. I thought about shooting Erwin a glare that dared him to say anything but to my surprise, I didn't even have to turn around.

"I'm afraid that's not really my story to tell, Eren. That's something only Levi can tell you himself."

Another understanding sound from Eren, and had I not had my back facing toward the living room and my house guests I would have seen the way Armin placed a comforting hand on Erwin's thigh and smiled sadly at him. I pretended like I hadn't just overheard their entire conversation and decided to change the topic from my past as a boxer to something else.

"Oi, Captain Eyebrows. How dare you come over to my place uninvited and unannounced and not bring me some sort of offering. Did you forget because you were too busy banging Armin in the back of your car?"

I smirked as I saw Armin's face turn a million different shades of red and he sort of shrunk in on himself tugging on a lock of his blond hair to cover his flushing face but it was no use at all. Eren roared with laughter as he fell back into the couch clutching his stomach while Erwin only sighed and shot me a look that said I went to far with that joke. I ignored it though.

"I'm hurt you know. Now that you and Armin are together, I feel forgotten already." I said trying to sound wistful.

"Spare me the melodramatics, Levi. I didn't forget your wine, it's in the trunk of my car." Erwin still had a protective grip around Armin's shoulders and the smaller blond looked like he was about to die from embarrassment.

Eren finally stopped laughing and he wiped away tears of mirth from his eyes as he struggled to even out his breathing and sit up straight from his slouched position on the couch. Captain leaped up into Armin's lap effectively distracting the blond from his embarrassment and Erwin stood up from his seat.

"Let's take a walk down to my car, Levi. I'd like to talk to you, I think Eren and Armin would like a minute alone to talk as well." he said quietly to me.

I glanced over at the two younger men still teasing one another while Eren fought back his laughter on the couch. Sighing a bit, I didn't really want to leave my apartment and walk down three flights of stairs, but Erwin didn't look like he was about to take no for an answer. I relented and nodded my head before mumbling a 'whatever' and turned my attention to the two brats in my living room.

"Oi. Can I trust the two of you not to burn down my fucking apartment for a few minutes while we're gone? If not, then get the fuck out right now." I said with a sharp glare.

Armin looked slightly taken aback by my language (and possibly my glare) but Eren only rolled his eyes and I heard Erwin chuckling from behind me. If Armin was going to be Erwin's new boy toy, he was going to need to toughen up a little more if he was going to be around me more often.

"We're 22, not 12. Hurry up and go get your booze old man."

Instead of retorting to that little remark with a kick to the kid's teeth, I only turned around huffing and walked with Erwin to the foyer where we slipped our shoes on and he fished his car keys out of his pocket. I should have seen it coming, the very moment we walked out of my apartment door and saw the smug look on Erwin's face that he was about to bring up that subject.

"So, you and Eren seem to be getting along rather well."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean, Eyebrows?"

"I'm saying, you seem to have a rather good relationship with Eren. You even let him talk back to you and call you an old man without telling him anything or worse, beating the shit out of him."

"What's your point, Erwin? Quit beating around the fucking bush and spit it out already."

Erwin stopped to turn around and look at me, we were standing in the middle of the second flight of stairs, Erwin a few steps below me and me near the second floor landing. We could have taken the elevator honestly, but I didn't trust the thing if I was being honest with myself.

"My point is, you and Eren seem to be getting rather close lately. Are you absolutely positive he doesn't have some sort of interest in you? I find it strange that he spends so much time with you, yet you say the attraction is purely one-sided. Even Armin says Eren spends quite a good deal of time talking about you lately."

We had started walking again at some point but I stopped when Erwin mention what Armin had said about Eren talking about me. That seemed to be happening a lot lately it seemed. Was I really impacting Eren's life as much as everyone said I was? First it was Jean telling Eren he spends too much time with me and now it's Armin telling Erwin that Eren talks about me a lot. I couldn't possibly be that important to him.

"I'm positive that it's only one-sided on my part, Erwin. Eren has his boyfriend, though they've been fighting a lot recently and he sometimes just ends up at my place after an argument or something. It's not like I'm purposely spending all this time with him, fuck, I even tried to put some space between us by avoiding him as much as I could last week but no matter what I do I always end up meeting him somehow."

We had finally reached the complex's front lobby and Pixis was sitting behind the glass window with a bottle of whiskey next to him and a newspaper open. Erwin and I both gave him a nod which he cheerfully returned with a smile from underneath his massive steel-grey mustache. His laughter lines crinkled as he smiled back and then we were out the front doors.

I was immediately hit with a chilly breeze but it wasn't cold enough to have to run back in and grab a coat or a jacket. It was one of those inbetween days that's only hot if you stand directly in the sun but it's otherwise pleasantly cool with an occasional breeze. These were my favorite kinds of days because the breeze made me feel like if I spread my arms, I could take off in flight just the like the birds I admired from below.

Erwin and I made our way to the parking lot and over toward his sleek, black BMW M6. It was exactly the type of car you'd imagine a man like Erwin to drive, luxurious yet sporty. Unlike me, I liked my fast sports cars over luxury. Erwin popped the truck of his car as we approached and I thought the conversation had come to close since he was silent. I was wrong.

"Are you trying to put distance between yourself and Eren because you think it's the right thing to do or are you hoping that by doing so your feelings for him might magically disappear?" He asked me with a soft look in his pale blue eyes, "Be honest with me, Levi. You know you can't lie to me." he tacked on.

I knew Erwin was probably right, and damn him for playing his fucking mind games on me because I honestly didn't know which was the right answer. Maybe it was both, I wanted to put some distance between Eren and I for both of our sake's but if I was being honest with him, the latter seemed like the more likely answer. I inhaled deeply and let out the heaviest sigh I could manage before looking up at my best friend and frowning.

"I don't know, Erwin. I just don't know what the answer to that question is anymore. I'm a selfish bastard, you know that, everyone who knows me knows that. If I'm being honest, yeah I want to put distance between Eren and I in hopes that my feelings for him might still be some kind of fluke and they'll eventually go away on their own if I'm not around him all the time but... I'm such a fucking idiot, I invited him to come with me to the gym tomorrow."

Erwin reached into the bed of his trunk and pulled out a brown paper bag with what I assumed was two bottles of my absolute favorite wine. He smiled at me as he straightened up and handed me the bag before slamming the trunk of his car shut. We started making our way back across the parking lot and Erwin finally spoke again.

"You're always making things harder than they actually are, Levi. Sometimes I think you like complicating things for yourself just to see if you're able to stand up to the challenge. Do you really feel like you need to avoid Eren and push him away in order to deal with your feelings for him?"

"I'm in love with him, Erwin." I blurted out as we reached the main lobby again. Luckily, Pixis wasn't around anymore and Erwin stopped dead in his tracks at my confession.

He whipped his head back to look at me, his eyes slightly widened as his mouth hanging open just a bit. I was frowning down at the tiled floor because I didn't want to have to look at Erwin's obvious reaction to my confession about Eren. I might have forgotten to tell him that little detail as I had only just realized it myself about a week ago, I seemed to be having a lot of realizations lately. I wondered if this would be a regular thing from now on.

"Well... I guess that explains why you're so tolerant of him." Erwin finally said with a soft laugh and I glared up at him.

"Yeah, yeah. I know, I'm a fucking sap for the kid. Let's hurry up and get back, I'm getting tired of carrying these damn bottles."

"Alright, we're going calm down. But really, Levi. I think you're going about this thing with Eren the wrong way, if you keep trying to go through with your plan of avoiding him you're going to end up pushing him away completely and you'll be losing whatever you have with him. I don't think you want to lose Eren's friendship, just the feelings you have for him."

I didn't say anything else on the matter as we made our way back up the stairs. I did, however, think very long and hard about Erwin's words the entire way back to my apartment. He was right of course, the bastard was always right about these things. I knew that pushing Eren away would only end up hurting one or the other in the end but it was the only thing I could think of to help me sort out these damn feelings of mine.

---

"Oi, Eren. You better be ready to go or I'm leaving your ass here, damn it." I called as I pounded on Eren's door.

It was sunday, I had just gotten home from work and taken a quick shower before changing and rushing over to pick Eren up so we could go to the gym together. I was now standing in front of his apartment door with my arms crossed over my chest as I waited for my neighbor to appear before me and hopefully ready to go.

It felt like an eternity before Eren finally yanked his door open looking quite out of breath and sweaty himself, he was wearing a deep green sleeveless hooded tank top with front pockets and light grey pair of sweat pants with running shoes. His hair was it's usual mess but he wasn't wearing his glasses like he normally did when he was at home giving me the perfect view of his big, viridian eyes as he smiled down at me.

"Sorry, I had to fight with Captain to take him his weekly bath and it took way too long." he huffed out grabbing a gym bag and digging around in his pockets for his keys I guessed.

I said nothing as I silently took in his figure, the clothes he was wearing weren't tight on him or anything but shit something about him wearing sweat pants and a sleeveless tank top was just really nice to look at. He had long, slender but toned arms and his long legs were equally as appealing. I decided, I liked Eren wearing no sleeves. No sleeves were good.

Once he had locked up, he turned back to me with a grin and I took off ahead of him without so much as another word. I still had Erwin's words echoing in the back of my mind despite having spent most of yesterday and last night thinking about them. I readjusted my gym bag as Eren caught up with me and we walked side by side down the stairs. He didn't question why I preferred to take the stairs instead of the elevator and I was glad for that because I didn't feel like explaining why I didn't trust the damn thing.

We were silent the entire way down the stairs but Eren didn't seem to mind, he was currently tapping away at his phone anyway, or least it sounded like that was what he was doing. He lingered behind me a bit so I couldn't actually see what he currently doing. We made it out to my parked car in no time and I threw my shit in the back and Eren did the same before we both got into my still hot car. Eren was still on his phone as I started the engine and he buckled himself in. What caught my eye though was very fucking weird phone case.

"Is that a cat iPhone case?" I asked with a raised brow as I hesitated to buckled myself in.

Eren finally looked up from the screen and blinked at me like if I had just spoken another language before he seemed to snap and he looked embarrassed for a second or two.

"O-oh, yeah. I got it because it reminded me of Captain, don't you think it looks like him?" he asked showing me the back of his phone case with a sheepish grin.

I did a once over of the pointy eared black phone case and concluded that the pink nose and white whiskers did indeed look like Eren's grumpy cat but I wasn't about to admit that so easily. I wanted to tease Eren about it a little while longer as his flustered face amused me to no end.

"Couldn't you have picked a less cute looking case? Or are you into that kinda thing, Jaeger?"

Eren must have turned ten shades of red as he frowned at me and I smirked at him. He folded his arms over his chest and sunk into my leather seats almost pouting as he turned away from me in favor of staring out the window.

"You're such an ass, Levi." he muttered quietly but I clearly heard him. I laughed darkly in response and that got his attention quickly.

"Tell me something I don't know, kid."

---

"Alright, Kid. Here's how it's gonna go down," Eren and I stood across from each other on a matted area that was used for training in the gym.

I had already changed into my work out clothes, with the exception of a sleeveless tank similar to Eren's since the kid wouldn't stop bugging me about wearing more sleeveless shirts when I was around him. He has a thing for tattoos apparently, not that I minded, because I definitely didn't mind.

Eren was already wearing a set of spare gloves the club provided and I had helped him wrap his hands up nice and tight. We were occupying one of the many punching bags supplied also by the club and I got Eren into position in front of the giant bag of sand. I even got him a mouth piece just to be on the safe side, didn't want him knocking out any of those pretty teeth of his.

"Even though you're not actually fighting an actual person, the stance you use is still important. As well as the way you punch the bag, if you just punch it without knowing the correct way to hit it you'll end up hurting yourself and that would just be pathetic so listen up."

I stood next to Eren and his eyes trailed over to me as I got into my usual stance when I was in the ring. I hunched my back slightly, spread my legs at shoulder length and bent them a little while bringing my fists up to eye level. Then I let my coiled fist fly toward the bag of sand with a loud smack to the leather and the bag swung from side to side from the impact. Eren had watched my moves carefully but I knew I would have to elaborate for him anyway.

"Try and mimic the stance I was just in as best you can, it doesn't matter if it's exactly like mine, I'll correct your position afterwards."

Eren nodded and started getting into position now. He raised his fists to his face first before slouching his back forward, his feet were placed awkwardly and his knees weren't bent enough and I immediately went to correct his stance. I could feel him stiffen up when I placed my hand on his hips but tried to ignore that and the sound of my thundering heart beat.

"Your legs need to be spread apart a little more, shoulder length at least. There that's good, now bend your knees a little. Perfect. Make sure your arms are tightly against your sides, you don't want to give your opponent any openings or chances to hit you in the ribs. Good. Now lower your fists a bit, they need to be level with your eyes so you can see the direction of where you're going to land your punch while keeping an eye on your opponent at the same time."

I back away from him as I took in his new improved stance and nodded my head in approval. It wasn't perfect, shaky at best but it was better than that shit excuse of a stance he took on at first. Now to teach the kid how to punch.

"Alright, you got your stance ready. Show me how you hit, I'll correct that the same way I corrected your stance."

At this, I saw Eren sort of swallow, his adam's apple bobbing up and down as he did. He tried to keep the position I had put him in as best he could before he let his fist fly at the bag, and I sighed at the action. His punch was utterly sloppy, lacking any sort of restraint and it hit the bag in an awkward sort of thud that made it look almost pathetic. I had no doubt that his way of punching probably managed to work for him in some street scraps with thugs or something, but in a boxing ring that style of fighting would get your ass handed to you quick.

"Your punches aren't bad, but they need work."

Eren abandoned the stance he had been holding stiffly since I corrected him and sighed as he spit out his mouth piece. I shot him a questioning look and he turned to look at me with a slight frown.

"I don't understand how you can keep that position while fighting, Levi. How do you even do it? It's so hard to keep up." he asked curiously.

"Practice, discipline, and determination. But mostly, discipline. I know it's hard to keep that stance in mind when you're first starting out, I slipped up plenty of times when I was first learning and got my ass kicked more times than I'd like to remember because I got sloppy. It took me years to perfect that stance, so don't feel bad about not getting it right or whatever. Remember, you're just doing this to vent anyway."

Eren seemed satisfied with that answer and he quickly popped his mouth piece back in while I got into my own stance to show him how to punch the bag correctly this time. I stood in front of the massive bag of sand and coiled my fist tightly into my side getting ready to let it fly.

"Always remember that when you're about to let your fist go to hit your opponent, twist your wrist in mid punch so that your knuckles are horizontal when they met their target. This way they receive the knuckles at full force."

I let my fist fly at the bag and just like I had just told him to do, I twisted my wrist and let what would have been my bare knuckles hit the bag with a fierce punch causing it to jerk back violently before swinging back at me. I stepped out of the way and let Eren give it try for himself. Eren shook off his stunned expression and tried to retake the form I had showed him earlier. Again, it wasn't perfect but it was better than I expected. He learned fast it seemed.

Eren tightly recoiled his fists against his side and let his gloved fist go at the bag twisting it like I had instructed of him to do and it connected with the leather with a loud slap and a slight gust of air that even I felt and the bag swung back just as violently as when I had hit it myself. I quickly schooled my expression back to it's usual blank, impassiveness and Eren turned to look at me with a fire in his eyes like none I had ever seen before. If he didn't have his mouth piece in, I had no doubt in my mind he'd probably be grinning from ear to ear blinding everyone with his bright smile.

"Not bad, brat." was all I said as I walked to get behind the punching bag and hold it in place.

"Now I want you to just let loose while I hold the bag, don't worry about holding back at all. Just punch until you don't think you can punch anymore. That's the whole reason you're here anyway."

Eren looked hesitant as he took his form once more, coiling his fist and letting it fly halfheartedly. I could tell that he was holding back, though I'm not really sure why. After the fourth half-assed punch from him, I growled out loud and glared at him from around the bag.

"I said not to fucking hold back you little shit. I brought you here to punch out your frustrations, and you're giving me this lazy ass shit? Get mad, Eren. Get fucking angry and punch the shit out of this bag. Or are you scared of hurting me?" I taunted.

I could tell I had hit the nail on the head as his eyes trailed up to meet mine. He was afraid of letting loose because I was holding the bag and he might hurt me if he hits too hard. While the sentiment was nice to know, I snorted because I wasn't as weak as he was apparently making me out to be. Short or not, I could handle a lot of shit.

"I'm not some fragile piece of glass that's going to break if you punch the bag too hard, Eren. If anyone is more suited to help you do this, it's me. So stop being a little pansy ass shit and punch this bag like you mean it. Shit, I don't give a fuck if you imagine it's your boyfriend you're hitting. It would probably help if you did. Think of all the shit he's put your through this last week with all his jealousy and needy, whiny crap about not spending enough time with him."

By now I was purposely taunting him and I could tell that it was working. His breathing became heavier as he took his form once more and let his fists fly hitting the bag with much more force than before, but this is exactly what I wanted to see. His eyes were narrowed on the center of the punching bag while his thick brows were knitted tightly together, his turquoise eyes almost seemed to glow with something I couldn't quite make out as he let his fists connect with the leather repeatedly.

Each punch was more powerful with the last and I slightly slid back an inch or two while holding the bag firm and steady, he was truly giving it everything he had and after a few good minutes he was sweating like crazy and his chest was rising up and down rapidly but he showed no signs of letting up. It was a miraculous sight and if I had been any less of a man, I might have even thought it was a bit frightening just how strong he was when he was angry. But because it was Eren I found myself fascinated by even his anger.

Finally, after a good ten minutes of nonstop punching, Eren started to slow down a bit until his fists eventually hung at his sides and he tiredly stepped away from the beat up punching bag. He struggled to even out his breathing and he spit out his mouth piece before sinking to his knees panting and fighting for air. I could see the way his toned arms trembled from exhaustion and I left my post at the punching bag to get him a bottle of water.

My arms felt a little stiff from holding the bag so tightly so that it would stay in place, that's just how much force Eren was using but I found the slight soreness welcoming. I grabbed a couple of cold bottle waters before sauntering back over to Eren who was now laying flat on his back with an arm slung over his eyes, he was still slightly struggling for breath but he was considerably more calm now that he had gotten everything out of his system.

I crouched down and pressed the cold bottle against his cheek startling him as I did. When he realized it was me next to him with the bottle in my hand he gratefully took it from my hand and cracked the top open chugging it down like his life depended on it. He poured some of it in the palm of his hand and splashed it on his face making me cringe because some of it splashed on my arm in the process. He ignored my look of disgust as he sat up on his elbows and smiled up at me.

"We should do this again, it was interesting." he said cheerfully, a complete 180 from his attitude just a few minutes ago.

"You mean you actually plan on making this a regular thing?" I asked blandly as I took a seat next to him and crossed my legs underneath me taking a sip of my own water.

"Maybe not a regular thing but like a thing you and I could do whenever I'm upset about something. It beats me going over to your apartment whenever something's bothering me and eating all your expensive chocolates with liquor in them." he giggled at the memory and I only rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, something tells me that's not going to stop it from happening anyway."

We both fell silent after that but I could tell that Eren was waiting for me to answer him about making this a regular thing. As much as I wanted to say okay, I knew it was probably a bad idea. He was already giving his boyfriend the wrong impression that we were spending a lot of time together when in reality it just always ended up that way, it's not like we planned on being neighbors and hitting it off pretty well, or like I intended to develop feelings for the damn kid but it just happened.

"I'll think about it." I muttered after awhile and I didn't need to look at Eren to know that he was probably grinning from ear to ear.

He hummed to himself quietly and we fell back into that silence as Eren rested his tired body for a few more minutes. I let my thoughts wander back to Erwin's words from yesterday for probably the hundredth time that day. Did I really think that pushing Eren away would solve my feelings for him? It was a stupid idea, because obviously I was already in too deep for anything to be salvaged from this. I was love sick and I didn't know what I was going to do about it, or rather what I could do about it.

I could sit around my apartment every day for the next five years hoping that one day Eren would magically return my feelings and we'd end up together and live happily ever after and all that bullshit, or I could try and get over these feelings by just ignoring them and him altogether. Eren probably wouldn't even notice the difference if I did start to distance myself just a little. Not enough for him to suspect I'm avoiding him, but enough to where I didn't have to see his face every single day.

I didn't have to see him every afternoon, I didn't have to let his cat into my apartment, I didn't have to answer my door whenever he knocked, I didn't have to invite him over for tea or coffee whenever we bumped into each other in the mornings. I didn't have to do anything. I just chose to do all those things because I had this fool's hope that just being around Eren was enough, but it's not anymore. We were coming up on three fucking months of him living next door to me and in three fucking months I had fallen in love with him which is the exact opposite of what I had been trying to do in the first place which was get rid of him.

Maybe I should have just stuck to my original plan of making an entire list of things that annoyed me about my new neighbor and then after the first couple of weeks started filing complaint after complain until eventually Pixis kicked him out. Then I wouldn't have to be dealing with all this shit right now, but the past is the past and I can't change jack shit now. I was in too deep.

Eren stirred me from my ever darkening thoughts with a playful shove to my shoulder and I fell over slightly. I glared at him as I sat back up in my original position and he only gave me a cheeky grin as he motioned to stand up. He tossed his empty water bottle out and made a B line for the showers which I took the hint and realized he was telling me that we should shower and go now that he was done punching away all his problems. But wait a second, I was not about to shower at the same time as him. Hell no.

Those showers were completely wide open with no dividers and that would mean Eren and I would be ass naked standing next to each other with nothing to cover ourselves with. Nope. No fucking way was I falling for that shit. I may be the occasional pervert who thinks about his neighbor naked way too much for my liking during the lonely nights but I was not that big of a pervert to actually take the opportunity which has been granted to me right now. I wasn't stupid. I knew how this shit would play out and it would not end well for me. So I did what was right and didn't follow Eren into the showers.

Instead I stayed behind and got in some training of my own since the only thing I'd done since I got here was teach Eren a few basics, warm up a bit and hold the punching bag while he destroyed it. I refastened my gloves and popped in my mouth piece before I started going at the very same punching bag Eren had just used, but this time I let my frustration out instead of him doing so. I once again got lost in my thoughts as I punched and even kicked at the bag of sand and after awhile I was truly starting to feel exhausted. I was giving that bag everything I had and I had gotten completely lost in the familiar burning sensation of my muscles being overworked and the sound of my thundering heartbeat and ragged breathing.

I almost socked Eren in the jaw when he came and put a hand on my shoulder to get my attention since he had apparently been calling out to me for awhile now but I was so absorbed in my session that I didn't even hear him at all. I spat my mouth piece out and slipped off my gloves as I panted and threaded my hands through my now sweat drenched hair. Eren was looking at me with concern in his eyes but I shrugged him off as I made my way toward the showers. Eren's hair was damp so I assumed he showered already, I didn't bother to worry as I stripped out of my sweat soaked clothes and walked into the steamy showers. There was one another guy that was already showering when I walked in but he was just about finished.

I turned on the hot water to an unoccupied shower head and let the scalding hot liquid burn my skin as I let the steam rise and I closed my eyes inhaling the moisture. The hot water did wonders for my aching muscles and I felt my body instantly relax as I grabbed the small travel sized shampoo and body wash I always brought with me to the gym. It always left my hair really soft and silky and my skin never got dry with it. I lathered some in my hand and started working my sore muscles as the suds built up, then I threaded my soapy hands through my wet hair and worked the shampoo into a thick lather. All the while, I was completely unaware of the other presence in the shower with me.

I was sure that the other guy who was here had already finished, he was rinsing off as I came in so he couldn't possibly still be here. I carefully rinsed the soap away from my eyes before I opened them and glanced around the showers. My eyes widened with shock when they fell on an all too familiar tanned form showering right behind me. My eyes traced the broad shoulders connected to a long slender neck that was draped with long, soaking wet chocolate brown hair. I dared not let my eyes travel further down than the small of his back because fucking shit, Eren was in the showers with me!

I couldn't wrap my mind around why the little shit was here when I thought her had already showers while I was beating the shit out of the punching bag! I tried to calm my racing heart because I was nervous and excited all at once and it was not doing anything for my slightly hardening cock right now and son of a bitch this was not a good time for me to be getting excited in that sort of way! This is exactly what I was trying to avoid the entire time so why the fuck was I showering only a few feet away from my neighbor who I'm in love with and who also happens to be butt ass naked!?

For my sake and the sake of my hardening dick, I quickly started rinsing myself off. I was nowhere near as clean as I felt like I should have been since I had only just started scrubbing away all the filth and sweat from my body but I didn't think I could trust myself to stay in these showers with Eren without either embarrassing myself or doing something I'd regret. Once I had rinsed off enough, I quickly shut the water off and bolted as fast as I could out of the showers not even sparing a glance back because if I dared I don't think I would be able to stop myself from popping a boner that I certainly didn't need right now.

I grabbed a towel on my way out of the showers and wrapped it around my waist as I hurriedly got my clean clothes from my gym bag and scurried off to change. All the while I could still hear the showers running so I assumed Eren was still in there. Good. This would give me time to recollect myself and think about my life choices. Fuck.

I changed all too quickly and didn't bother with drying my hair much before I grabbed my shit and practically power walked out of the club toward my car. I wasn't about to leave Eren, of fucking course not, but I needed to get my mind off the image of his beautiful naked form out of my mind. After I had thrown my bag in the back of my car I leaned against the driver's side door and buried my face in my hands. This was not fucking happening. I don't understand why Eren was in the showers with me when I was almost positive that he had already showered before me. His hair was fucking wet when he came to get me on the main floor and yet he was in the fucking showers, with me, naked, obviously showering. Fuck my life, why did the Universe think this was funny?

Without even really thinking about it, I had already pulled out a cigarette and was now lighting it and taking a long, satisfying drag as I did so. I hadn't even noticed that the sky was starting to darken a little, the clouds were stained a rich orange and pink color and the sun was gone behind the horizon by now leaving a streak of deep purple. If my mind was not still a muddled mess, I probably would have appreciated the beautiful sight a little more but I was in no mood to stare in awe at the pretty colors in the sky. I just wanted to go home and think about my life and why it sucks so fucking much.

By the time I knew it, I was on my second fucking cigarette which was so unlike me. I didn't normally smoke, which meant I wasn't normally a chain smoker yet here I was half way done with my second cigarette. I hate the fucking smell of cigarettes, I really did. You'd think after spending four whole years studying in Paris where everyone including the babies smoked like it was nobody's business I'd be accustomed to the smell by now but I didn't like it then and I didn't like it now. I knew I was only using the cigarettes as a crutch to calm myself because while I hated smoking cigarettes for several reasons, it also ironically soothed me whenever I had too much shit going on.

Eren was taking for fucking ever coming back out and I had lost track of how many minutes I'd been out here smoking and waiting on him. With the change in time brought a change in weather, the cold front that had moved in was no very obvious as the temperature had dropped rather drastically since the time Eren and I arrived at the club. It was chilly but still not cold enough to worry about needing a jacket just yet. The air that wasn't contaminated with my smoke was crisp and clean and there was a very light breeze blowing through that probably wasn't going to be very healthy for me considering my hair was still very much wet and slightly dripping due to my haste in getting the fuck out of the showers.

Finally, I heard a stuttered clearing of someone's throat and I glanced behind me to see Eren standing by the curb where I was parked with an awkward sort of smile on his face. If the lighting had been better, I probably would have noticed the faint blush on his cheeks as he rounded the car and got in the passenger's seat tossing his bag in the back with mine. I took my time and finished the last of my cigarette (which wasn't much) before I flicked it to the tarmac and opened the driver's side door to get in.

I kept my eyes on anything and everything other than Eren as I stuck the key in the ignition and revved the engine before pulling out of the parking space. I absentmindedly flicked on the radio but the sound of Eren's unsure voice caught my attention.

"Um, I forgot to give it to you earlier but here." he said reaching in his gym bag and pulling out a blank CD with some writing on it for me to take.

I eyed it dubiously before glancing up at Eren and then back on the road trying to tell the kid that I couldn't take the disc and look at it because I was driving and trying not to get us both killed. He seemed to realize his mistake and fumbled around with the disc before slipping it into my CD player and hitting the play button. My sound system was immediately filled with the sound of soft guitar notes and those hauntingly beautiful voices that reminded me so much of the songs Eren loved to sing.

"I made you a mix CD of some of the indie bands we listened to that weekend with Hanji. I wasn't sure which songs to use so I just picked some of the ones I liked more and burned them on here. I think there's like 20 songs, but um, yeah I hope you like it." he said awkwardly and I chanced a glance over at him.

He was staring at his hands in his lap and fiddling with his thumbs nervously like he was worried that I might tell him something about the CD being shit or whatever. It was quite the opposite however, and the first song that played out had been relatively calming. I felt slightly less tense and awkward when the second song came on and we stopped at a stop light finally. I sat back in my seat and listened to the lyrics carefully before turning to Eren who was also looking at me now.

"Not bad. Thanks."

His tensed shoulders immediately relaxed and the slightly slumped down as if he had been worried about my reaction to his CD and he even smiled a bit after hearing my sort-of-not-really-praise. He slouched back into his seat as well, seemingly more comfortable now that the awkward tension that was hanging over us before was gone and it wasn't long before the light was green again. I hit the gas pedal and got lost in the sounds of soft guitar notes and even softer lyrics as I drove us back to our apartment complex. It was getting darker by the minute and we were quickly losing light.

As we reached the second stop light, the only sounds I heard were the sounds of my car quietly purring underneath me and the unfamiliar sound of Eren lightly snoring next to me. I whipped my head around to look at him and he was indeed sleeping, his head was resting against the side of the door and his hair was slightly pressed up against the window which if in any other situation I would have kicked his ass for getting my windows dirty but in this very moment, any thoughts about anything escaped my mind as I watched Eren's sleeping face for the second time this month. A soft song had started playing in the background and I took in Eren's delicate features as I listened absently to the lyrics echoing softly through my speakers.

'It's just the strangest thing, I've seen your face somewhere'

'An early evening dream, a past life love affair'

'Do you know me, at all?'

'Do you know me, at all?'

My attention didn't stay on Eren for long as the light suddenly turned green and I was forced to pay all my attention back to the fairly empty road in front of me. I would occasionally steal glances of him as we drove, not worrying about hitting another car since there were hardly any on the road at this hour on a sunday.

'In all my reverie, I thought I felt us there'

'A feather in my hand, a flower in your hair'

'Do you know me, at all?'

'Do you know me, at all?'

I might have taken a slightly longer route home than was necessary as Eren continued to sleep peacefully in my car, never once stirring as I stopped at red lights occasionally to watch him sleeping quietly. The only other sound beside the soft, sultry voice of John Mayer was the sound of my racing heart beat as I studied every part of Eren's form like I had done the night he fell asleep at my apartment.

'Do you know me, at all?'

'Do you know me, at all?'

'Do you know me, at all?'

'Do you know me, at all?'

Eventually, I pulled into the parking lot of our complex and I turned the purring engine off and the music turned off along with it. It was now dead silent in my car and even Eren's light snoring had come to a halt. I debated, briefly if I should wake him up and tell him to get the hell out of my car but I couldn't bring myself to do so as I stared at the beautiful boy sleeping so comfortably next to me.

My heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest if I stared at him any longer and yet I felt like I would lose something precious if I turned to look away. It was a conflicting feeling and sat in my seat with my hands still tightly clutching the steering wheel until my knuckles were bone white and trembling. I had to do something about this. These feelings for Eren were going nowhere fast, I knew that for a long time now I just chose to stupidly ignore it until I was in too deep.

I had to forget about my feelings for Eren if I was ever going to move on with my life. He has his boyfriend, now I need to stop being such a love sick moron and realize enough is enough. Tonight's little bizzare event was the final straw, I couldn't love Eren. There were just too many things stopping me from doing so, and while I've never been one to quit, I had to convince myself that this simply was not worth it. I'd get over it, eventually. It was going to suck so much fucking shit having to ignore him from now on, but it was for the best of both of us.

His boyfriend could stop hounding him about spending so much time with me and I could start getting on with my fucking miserable single life. Well, I didn't have to be single, I just chose to be because I wanted Eren. 'Well you can't fucking have him and that's life, Levi ol' boy. Now get the fuck over it and move on.' I sighed heavily finally resolving with myself that this was for the best but before I made a move to wake Eren up I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called Hanji first.

She picked up on the second ring and greeted me with her usual annoying nicknames that were always a jab at my height. I didn't have the energy to banter with her, however and got straight to my point as I spoke.

"Is that offer with Rico still on the table?"

"Huh? Rico? I thought you said you didn't want-"

"I know what I said, Hanji. I changed my mind is all. Is the offer still there or not?"

"Well, yeah I mean I can ask her. I'm pretty sure she's still single, but why are you asking all of a sudden? I thought things with you and Eren were working out pretty well?"

"Later. Just tell Rico if she's still interested to set up a time and place and I'll meet her there."

"... Alright, Levi. But you owe me one Eren filled conversation later, no excuses."

"Yeah, whatever. Bye."

I hung up with Hanji and to my surprise I didn't need to wake Eren up in the end. He started stirring a bit after my phone call ended and his eyes fluttered open slowly. I promptly looked away before reaching for the door handle and stepping out of my car grabbing my things out of the backseat on the way. Eren was slow to move as he tried to shake himself from sleep and get his things. He ended up trailing even more slowly behind me as we made our way up to our floor.

When we both reached our apartment doors, I got my keys out and swiftly unlocked my door pushing it open. Before I could take a step inside, however, Eren's small voice stopped me and I glanced over at him still standing in front of his door with his keys out in front of him but making no move to unlock his door just yet.

"Um, Thanks for this afternoon. Goodnight, Levi." he said ducking his head slightly and avoiding my gaze.

"Night." was all I said as I finally entered my dark apartment and shut the door behind me.

Chapter Text

"Brzenska."

"Ackerman."

I took my seat across from Rico at the table she had reserved for us. She had asked if I could meet her at a small Cafe on the outer parts of Trost, which much to my dismay I did. Rico sat across from me with her stone cold expression as always, now I remembered why I had said not to this date in the first place.

"You're a puzzling man, Levi. I was almost positive you wouldn't agree to meeting me of all people after Hanji set us up in the first place."

"Cut the familiarity, Brzenska. We both know that I don't like you and you don't like me. It's been that way since Military School."

"Then why are you here, Ackerman?"

Rico smirked as she took a sip of her coffee and I glared at her. God, I couldn't stand this woman. I was starting to rethink this whole 'use Rico to avoid Eren and your feelings for him' plan.

"I could ask you the same thing. Obviously it's not to just sit around and glare at each other while we drink coffee and then hope this leads to a one night stand."

"Please, I wouldn't sleep with you even if you begged me to."

"Don't count on it, Brzenska. I wouldn't even sleep with you if you were the last human being on this planet."

"Glad to know you return the sentiment."

We fell into a tense silence after that and I took a sip of the black tea I had ordered. I had already had six cups of coffee this morning before I left, I didn't need the jitters later on with a seventh cup. I took the time to take in my surroundings, I hadn't really bothered with taking a good look at the small cafe since I walked through the doors. It was decorated very minimally but had a modern feel to it. The walls were painted a dark grey, almost a charcoal color in contracts to the white trim and equally as white table clothes. It had large windows in the front of the cafe letting in plenty of sunshine to light the interior and it gave it a very comfortable feeling, but too bad I couldn't say the same for the tea. It tasted like the cheap store bought shit that came in tea bags. I guess I'm paying for the ambiance more than anything.

"Look, Ackerman. I know we don't like each other, but I'm going to be up front with you. I'm on this date with you because I need to get my mind off my feelings for a married man who will never love me back. I'm not asking you to be my boyfriend or even my friend, I'm just asking you to spare me a bit of your time since you're obviously the only other single person in our graduating class."

I was a bit surprised that Rico had suddenly said all of this without so much as a prompt from me. It wasn't like I really cared about what was going on in her person life, but the fact that she seemed to be using me for the very same reason I was using her caught my attention and I leaned back in my seat smirking.

"Funny you should mention that, Brzenska. Guess we're in the same boat, I'm also trying to forget about a certain person by coming on this date. So why don't we make it easier on ourselves and agree that we're obviously not going to be anything other than acquaintances?"

"Agreed. So then tell me about your situation, Ackerman. I never took you as the type to pine over someone else, it's always been someone else pining over you like that cute Junior of ours, Petra Ral."

"I married Petra, actually," I cut in and the look on Rico's face was priceless. "Five years ago. We ended up getting a divorce after three years and she's already remarried and having her first kid. And while I appreciate your nosy inquiry about my situation, you're the one who brought your situation up in the first place so I think it's only fair you spill to me first before I do the same, don't you think?"

Rico sat back in her seat mimicking my position with her arms crossed over her chest but minus the smug smirk. She adjusted her glasses with her index finger and cleared her throat loudly before speaking again.

"Fair enough. I've been in love with a married man for two years now, he's my superior officer in the National Guard and he's a bit... older but still a very powerful and persuasive man. He's been married to his wife for 15 years and they have three children together, all ranging from the ages of 13 to 5. I work with him in very close proximity on a daily basis so it's hard not to be rather... attached to him. Do you see my problem now?"

Well, shit. It looked like Rico had it worse than I did, and I thought my situation was shitty. Well, it's still shitty but at least Eren wasn't married to Sea Biscuit or had any kids. For once, I actually felt bad for Rico but I wasn't about to let her know that. I could feel bad for her without her teasing me about it, after all I still had my reputation as a hardass to keep up.

"Sounds like you're pretty much screwed. Signed, sealed, delivered. So you're going to try and use me to get over this how? As I recall, we agreed that I wasn't about to pretend to play the part of your 'friend' let alone your boyfriend."

"All you have to do is act like you're interested. We can meet up and go on these so called 'dates' and pretend like we're actually hitting it off. We can just sit and complain about our love lives if that's what it takes. Sometimes it's more comfortable telling a near complete stranger your problems than it is to tell your own friends and family."

She had a point though, I could just use Rico as an outlet to vent my frustrations to. We both knew we weren't actually going to get anywhere in this relationship, again we're acquaintances and barely even that. I could relate to Rico's problem and Rico could probably relate to mine, this could work out for the both of us I guessed.

"Fine. But next time pick a place that has better tea, this shit tastes like cat piss." I pushed the tea cup away from me in disgust and surprisingly Rico smiled.

"Good, I'm not to only one who thought this place had bad coffee. Fine, I know a place we can go to next time. Have you ever heard of The Shoreline Cafe and Bookstore?"

Of fucking course Rico would bring that place up. Life just loved to fuck with me. I felt myself stiffen at the name and I had no doubt that Rico could see the change in my body language, damn her for being so observant. She was worse than Hanji, if that was even possible.

"I know it all too fucking well."

"Oh? Is there something you're not telling me, Ackerman?" she asked in a slightly teasing tone that was uncharacteristic of Rico.

I hesitated telling her for a moment or two, but knew that my silence was probably only confirming her question. I knew I was doomed to tell Rico about my unrequited feelings for another man and my inevitable coming out to her about being gay but it didn't mean that I liked the situation. Finally, I decided to stop being such a coward about it and sighed.

"The guy who I'm kind of obsessed with works there." I muttered quietly but sure that Rico had heard me.

"Guy? You're gay?" she kept her expression as blank as mine but I could tell that there was plenty of curiously in her ice blue eyes.

"Apparently."

"Well, I guess I can't say I'm not surprised. So what's the story then?"

"He's... my next door neighbor. He has this fucking cat that just won't leave me alone and somehow he always ends up coming over to my place to pick up his fucking cat and he always ends up staying a lot longer than he intends to. If that's not enough, I always end up running into him no matter where the fuck I go. It's irritating and it's doing nothing for my feelings for him."

Rico propped her elbows up on the table top and threaded her pale hands together as she listened intently to my story, much to my surprise. I never thought I'd be sitting across from Rico Brzenska the bitch queen of all people and pouring my guts out to her.

"So then what's the problem? Why don't you just tell him how you feel about him? Is he straight?"

"No, that's just the problem. He's exclusively gay and he has a boyfriend who he's been with for years now. The fucking problem is, he doesn't know that I'm gay but even if he did it's not like it matters."

"Well. That does sound complicated then. So basically, you're head over heels for him but he has you in the friendzone because he's already in a long term relationship?"

"Basically."

We both fell silent after that and Rico went back to sipping her shitty cup of coffee. Then after the silence went on for too long, Rico piped up with a certain look in her eyes that reminded me a scheming villain from a disney movie.

"How good is your acting?" she suddenly asked out of nowhere and I furrowed my brows at her.

"... why?"

"Just answer the question, Ackerman."

"It's shitty."

Rico seemed satisfied with that answer and she silently went back to sipping her coffee. I waited patiently for her to elaborate on why she needed to know how good my acting was but when she showed no signs of giving anything away, I sucked my teeth made a move to get up from my seat.

"I have an idea that I think will help you."

---

I ended up standing outside of The Shoreline Cafe waiting for Rico show up. She had told me to wear my best casual/formal wear but she wouldn't tell me why, I didn't understand why I needed to wear something casual/formal to a fucking coffee shop but decided to trust in Rico and whatever this fucking idea of hers was. I wore a casual black blazer with the sleeves rolled up to my elbows and a plain white v neck t-shirt underneath with some black slacks I usually wore to one of Erwin's parent's parties or something and a pair of my favorite black Chelsea boots.

Fall was nearing closer everyday, the temperature dropped a little more everyday and today was no different. It was chilly enough just to wear a light jacket, my blazer kept me warm enough as I waited by my car for Rico to arrive. She certainly was taking her sweet ass time for someone who specifically told me to be here at a certain time. I had forgotten to put my watch on today and had to constantly check my phone in order to keep track of the time. It was almost 1PM and Rico had told me to be here by 12:30PM.

"You clean up nice, Ackerman." I heard the familiar flat, monotone voice of Rico come from behind me.

She rounded my black Ferrari and I took in her outfit as she stood before me. She was wearing a light pink blazer similar to mine on top of a blue and and cream colored tea dress with floral printing all over it. She finished the outfit with a pair of white and gold leather pumps and a pearl necklace. Well, at least she looked like she was actually going on date instead of like she was attending a business meeting which was her usual attire.

I had been smoking a brand new pack of cigarettes before she arrived and I had one hanging from my mouth as I glared at her for being late and making me wait. Rico didn't say anything about me smoking and simply stood in front of my car as if she were waiting for something.

"You're late, Brzenska. Let's hurry up and get this plan of yours over with. I still don't see how this is going to help me."

Rico started for the cafe first and I put out my cigarette on the curb before following after her. Okay, so I would never admit it out loud but she looked rather cute in her outfit. It seemed like it was possible for her to look like something other than just cold and pissed off all the time.

"Don't worry about it. Like I said, just follow my lead. If your guy is at the counter filling orders, then I'll let you order alone. Get whatever you usually get and then get me a white chocolate latte. If he asks you questions about me, don't really answer any of them with a direct answer. I'm sure you're pretty good at doing that anyway. This way it'll have him guessing who I am what the two of us are doing together." she elaborated before he got to the front door of the cafe.

I shot her an incredulous look because was that what she had planned all along? To see if we could make Eren jealous or some juvenile shit like that? This wasn't some chick flick movie, things don't work out that way in the real world. I felt like a total fool for believing Rico and dressing up like she asked.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now, Brzenska? Didn't I tell you he has a fucking boyfriend? This shit isn't going to work." I hissed through clenched teeth but Rico ignored me as she opened the singe white French door to the cafe and entered.

I silently seethed behind her as I entered after her but my mind immediately blanked as I saw Eren working the counter. Fucking fantastic. Not only did he work today, but not I was actually going to have to go through with Rico's plan since turning around and running away hopefully unnoticed seemed out of the question. The little bell signaling our entrance chimed and Eren and Armin and another girl (Sasha I think) looked up at both Rico and I as we entered. Shit.

"Welcome to The Shoreline Cafe!" Sasha was the one who greeted after a beat of silence from the three of them.

Rico immediately turned back to me with a click of her heels and leaned in closer to me as she whispered. To others, the act might have seemed intimate but it was far from it in reality.

"Stick to my plan, just order our drinks and if he asks any questions keep your answers vague and brief. It'll drive him insane with curiosity if nothing else." I noticed that Rico smelled of mint as she leaned away from me and started walking toward a table I was very familiar with.

I internally sighed but kept my face straight and blank as I approached the counter casually. Armin looked like he was about to take my order but then suddenly Eren cut in which surprised me a bit. He was smiling but there was something really off about it, I couldn't tell what though. Both he and Armin had their hair tied back in short pony tails.

"What can I get you, Levi?" I noted Eren used my name instead of the usual 'Serg' or sarcastic 'Sir'.

"One White chocolate latte and a small Assam tea."

I noticed Armin and Eren exchange a look which I found strange but I made a move to grab my wallet out of my back pocket and felt Eren's hand shoot out and grab my wrist tightly. My eyes slowly trailed up the tan limb holding onto to me until I met Eren's bright green viridian's, he looked horrified at his actions at first before he croaked out an awkward chuckle of sorts and quickly released his grip on my wrist.

"U-Um, it's on the house. Don't worry about it."

I stared at Eren a moment longer, trying to decipher just what the hell was going through the kid's head right now. I couldn't figure him out anymore. He was acting so... weird. Well, weirder than usual because Eren was always kind of weird. In the end I shrugged it off, I was probably just imagining things. There was no way Eren could actually be jealous or upset that I was seen with Rico.

"Thanks then."

I turned and took my leave walking back to the table that Rico was sitting at. She had picked the corner table that I normally liked to sit at, which I guess was because she wanted to be able to people watch the same way I did. That or to spy on my hot neighbor and I as we talked at the counter. Could that even be counted as talking? All I did was give him my order and he told me it was on the house. Yeah, great conversation Levi.

I took my seat next to Rico who apparently insisted that she next next to me instead of across from me. Something about making it more believable or whatever. I didn't know how much more of this act I could take before I eventually cracked under the pressure. Not that I easily cracked under pressure, it's just the idea of anyone thinking that Rico Brzenska and I would be dating was a bit sickening to say the least. I didn't doubt if Rico felt the same way toward me.

"So which one was he? The short blond or the tall brunet?" she asked curiously once I had sat down.

"The tall one. Blondie over there is Erwin's property."

"Wait, Erwin as in Erwin Smith? Top Graduate of our class, Tall, blond and handsome?"

I sighed and internally rolled my eyes. Had to keep up this act and make it good according to Rico, don't ask me why I was actually still going through with this plan. I still thought it was stupid as shit.

"Yeah, that Erwin Smith. Surprised that yet another one of us is gay?"

"Well, yeah. Everyone always thought Erwin was going to marry Miss America or something and live the high life."

"Yeah, well. Things change, life hates us all. I'm the perfect example of that."

Rico let out a small chuckle at that but quickly fell silent as Eren approached our table with both of our drinks in hand. He had a small smile on his face as he closed the gap between himself and our table and made sure not to make eye contact with him as he reached us.

"Here are your drinks. One white chocolate latte for you, miss. and one small Assam tea for you, Le-Sir."

I glanced up at Eren when he almost said my name but he was avoiding my eyes as well as he set the drinks down on the table. He stood there awkwardly for a second or two before asking if we needed anything else, I figured he was probably nervous because Rico was currently studying him with her usual intense glare. I cleared my throat and took a sip of my tea which was heaven in my mouth, Eren working here totally wasn't the only reason I came to this cafe frequently. That's what I tried to tell myself anyway.

When Eren finally retreated back behind the counter, Rico nudged me in the side as she took a sip of her Latte and I almost spilled my tea on my crotch. I gave her dirty look which she ignored, and instead opted to bring up Eren instead. Yay.

"Hey. He's really good looking and those eyes. I can see why you can't get him off your mind, but he's a little young looking isn't he? He can't be older than 19."

"He's 22." I corrected.

"Hm. Still kind of young, but hey I'm not judging."

"Funny, because that's exactly what you're doing right now Brzenska. Need I remind you that you're also in no position to talk being in love with a much older man?"

"Touché, Ackerman."

Rico and I returned to our usual silence as we both sipped on our drinks. I now regretted ordering a small tea instead of my usual large because I was finished with it in no time, I wasn't sure how long Rico intended on staying here and keeping up this little charade but she showed no signs of wanting to leave. Not that I was waiting for her to say we could go, I would leave whenever I damn well pleased.

"Oh, looks like your future husband is about to take the stage."

I stilled at her words and slowly glanced over to the small stage where Eren and the blonde girl Annie were about to go on and damn it, I knew there had to be some kind of reason Rico invited me at this specific time. Eren always went on between noon and 1PM but the days he performed were usually random. But yay fucking me, I had just come in on the one day Eren performed. I looked down at my empty tea cup, I didn't really have any reason to stay here so why wasn't I just standing up and walking the fuck out of here?

I heard the sound of Eren's guitar start softly and the bustling cafe quickly quieted down as the girl named Annie started singing solo surprisingly. Her soft, slightly sultry voice that I had grown accustomed to sounding much more tender.

"I watched you sleeping quietly in my bed,"

"You don't know this now but there's some things that need to be said."

"and it's all that I can hear, it's more than I can bare..."

"What if I fall and hurt myself? Would you know how to fix me?"

"What if I went and lost myself? Would you know where to find me?"

"If I forgot who I am? Would you please remind me? Oh,"

"Cause' without you things go Hazy."

(Aah Aah)

The song was soft and calming and I found myself getting a little too comfortable with the sound of the girl Annie's voice. I straightened myself up in my seat and chanced a glance over toward the stage to see Eren gearing up to start singing his part I assumed. I looked away quickly not wanting to get sucked into the beauty that was Eren and I debated just getting up from my seat and walking out of the cafe altogether before Eren could start singing but I didn't have enough time to make my great escape when I heard his soft, husky voice practically whispering the lyrics lovingly into the mic.

"I watched you sleeping quietly in my bed,"

"You don't know this now but there's some things that need to be said."

"and it's all that I can hear, it's more than I can bare..."

"What if I fall and hurt myself? Would you know how to fix me?"

"What if I went and lost myself? Would you know where to find me?"

"If I forgot who I am? Would you please remind me? Oh,"

"Cause' without you things go Hazy."

(Aah Aah Aah)

I was drowning in the sound of Eren's sweet voice as it filled my ears. Everything around me had come to a halt and I found myself standing at square one all over again, falling for him all over again, deeper and deeper each and every time. I sat there completely still staring absently into my empty tea cup, even forgetting about Rico's presence next to me altogether as the sound of Eren and Annie's voice started up again in unison but the only thing I could hear was the sound of Eren's voice dancing through my ears.

"What if I fall and hurt myself? Would you know how to fix me?"

"What if I went and lost myself? Would you know where to find me?"

"If I forgot who I am? Would you please remind me? Oh,"

"Cause' without you things go Hazy..."

When Eren and Annie's song came to an end, I finally looked over at Rico was in turn was already staring back at me with something in her eyes resembling mischief. I could tell she was planning something. Then she abruptly stood up from her seat and walked around me and my eyes followed after her as she rounded the table.

"There's a book I want to check out before we go. I'll be back in a few minutes." she said casually before turning back and walking toward the spiral staircase that led to the bookstore upstairs.

I was left alone to my thoughts as I debated buying another cup of tea or not. I really did enjoy the tea they made here, they didn't use the cheap shit and obviously Armin had good tastes. I decided, one more cup of tea wouldn't hurt me so I stood up from my seat and made my way toward the counter where Armin was standing alone wiping it down.

"Hello, Levi. Did you want another cup of Assam?" Armin greeted me with a warm smile as I approached the counter top.

I gave a curt nod and reached for my wallet, this time there was no awkward Eren to stop me from paying but it's not like I really minded. I could afford a cup of $1.50 black tea that was certainly worth more. I pulled out a five dollar bill and told Armin to keep the change because as you probably already know, I fucking hate loose change. Once Armin was finished ringing me up, I turned to go back to my table but a soft sound from the blond stopped me.

"Um, Levi. I hope you don't mind but could we talk for a moment?" he asked with an awkward, unsure smile as he shifted from foot to foot.

I wasn't sure if I actually wanted to talk about whatever it was Armin wanted to talk about and he seemed to sense it when my eyes cautiously scanned our surroundings. He called the Sasha girl over and told her he'd be gone for a few minutes and for her to man the counter while he was absent before he slipped the green apron off over his head and folded it up neatly underneath the counter. He stepped out after grabbing my freshly made cup of Assam and he handed it to me as we walked back to the table Rico and I were previously occupying. Armin took the seat across from me.

"This is going to sound terribly nosy, but are you on a date with the woman you came in with?" he asked cautiously giving me another unsure smile. The kid was adorable, really but I couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed at him beating around the bush.

"Something like that. Why do you ask, kid?" I asked before taking a sip of my hot tea, it calmed me down slightly.

"Oh, well it's just that... I'm just going to say it, Levi. Erwin's told me everything about... your feelings for Eren." he trailed off toward the end and I narrowed my eyes at him.

I wasn't really upset about the kid knowing about something I confided in Erwin privately, I expected it to be honest because according to Eren and Erwin Armin wasn't stupid and was extremely aware of many things that went on around him. He just chose to stay quiet about most things. Even without Erwin telling me, I'm sure Armin would have figured it out eventually.

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but I think your feelings for Eren are great. I just want to understand why you're on a date with someone else."

Ah, so it's come down to this. I had been found out by Eren's best fucking friend of all people and there was definitely no lying my way out of this one. Armin had that look in his eyes, the same one Erwin used whenever he wanted information out of me, the one that you knew you couldn't say no to. Damn this kid, he was good. I sighed setting my tea cup down and staring at nothing in particular.

"Armin, as you probably already know Eren has a fucking boyfriend. It doesn't matter if I have feeling for him or not, it's never gonna happen. I'm on this date with Rico because it's the right thing to do. Save your lectures, I've already heard plenty from Erwin and all his fucking little mind games he tries to play on me. It's just better this way."

"Do you really have to avoid him though?"

that caught me off guard. How did Armin know that I was trying to avoid Eren? Oh, right I almost forgot; Erwin. I took another long sip of my cooling tea, it was now just hot enough for me to drink it comfortably without burning myself but the hot liquid running down the back of my throat was very welcome.

"He notices you know? I know Erwin's probably already told you but, don't push him away Levi. He really likes you and I think you would be a good change for him."

"Yeah, he just doesn't like me in the same way I like him, right?" I bit back a little more harshly than I intended to. Armin looked slightly taken aback and was about to say something when I cut him off.

"Thanks for the sentiment, Kid. But I'm a realist, I'm not going to be that guy who broke up a relationship because Eren's boyfriend is jealous that Eren spends too much time with me. I know I may be a lot of things, I'm an asshole and a jerk among many others, but I'm no home wrecker. So now can you understand why I'm avoiding him? I'm doing this for him, not me." I partially lied on that last part. I had selfish reasons for avoiding Eren and they all involved forgetting about my feelings for him in the first place.

Armin sighed but smiled at me regardless, "Oh, Levi. You're just as oblivious as Eren is. I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but I think you should know, Jean and Eren might be calling it quits soon. There's been rumors going around among Jean's teammates like Reiner that Jean's been offered a contract to play for an opposing team for quite a good sum of money. Do you really think that if it's true, Eren's going to want to follow Jean to live in another city? Think about it."

Armin gave me one of those knowing smirks that Erwin always gave me before he pushed out of his seat and returned to the counter to help the Sasha girl out. I sat in my seat stunned into silence at the information he had just given me. Eren's boyfriend was probably going to be moving to another city? I should have been overjoyed to hear the news, shit I should have been jumping the air and screaming for joy because Armin basically hinted that Eren's relationship was on the verge of ending but I could only feel the exact opposite.

What if Eren didn't turn down the offer to move away with his boyfriend? What if Armin was wrong about all of this and Eren actually went with Jean to a whole other city leaving me behind with all these unresolved feelings and desires. I couldn't completely put that thought out of my mind because it was a huge possibility, I've only known Eren for a few months so who was I to assume that Armin might actually be right. I didn't know what Eren's plans for the future were, I didn't know if he had any dreams he was aspiring towards that kept him here in Trost specifically. I hardly knew anything about Eren at all, and I only just now realized it.

Rico finally came back down the spiral staircase with several books in hand that she had just purchased and I quickly stood up from my seat to make my way over toward her. She looked at me curiously as I approached but I only spoke quietly to her once I was in close enough proximity.

"I'm leaving ahead, I'll talk to you soon."

Rico didn't seem to have any protests which I was thankful for before I just wanted to get the hell out of there and out of these damn clothes. I needed to be alone, I needed to think about Armin and Erwin's words. There wasn't actually anything for me to think about, the answer was clearly right in front of me but it's like Erwin told me last week. I always had to make things out to be harder than they actually are for myself.

I walked out of the warm cafe and into the slightly chilled mid-September air. As I walked across the street to my Ferrari I took in several deep breaths and let the cold air sting my lungs, I hoped this winter would be even colder than the last. With the change in temperature came the dull ache of old wounds in my leg as I got into my car and started up the engine. I sped off after a minute or two of letting my car warm up a little but I blanked on the drive home. My mind was racing with thoughts and yet at the same time I was thinking about nothing at all. I only had one single thought in the back of my mind. Home.

I just wanted to be home, not have to deal with all of these fucking shitty ass feelings I was suffering from like an incurable disease. I had the afternoon off, I could have stopped by the gym if I wanted to but I didn't want to. I just wanted to go fucking home and my wish was granted when I somehow made it to my complex without causing any accidents because my mind was currently a muddled mess as I trudged up the stairs to my floor.

I shoved the key into the lock and forced it open violently before slamming the door behind me as I entered the dark living room and kitchen. I really needed to learn to leave at least one light on when I left home because one of these days I was going to end up killing myself stumbling around in the dark. But who was I kidding? I knew my apartment layout like the back of my hand. I threw off the blazer I was wearing and hung it up on the coat rack behind the door before kicking my Chelsea boots off and unbuckling my belt.

As I made my way through my apartment, I stripped off my clothes one piece at a time as I walked toward my bedroom until I was in nothing but my black Calvin Klein boxer briefs. I plopped myself face first on my oversized bed, I say oversized because I'm a single divorced man who stands at a firm 5 foot 3 inches and I sleep in a mother fucking King sized bed alone. If that's not the saddest thing you've ever heard, you're right. I have this entire fucking bed to me, myself and I and it's been that way for the last two and half years. I'm used to being alone, I'm comfortable that way.

But now Eren was threatening to fuck all that up. The thought of possibly losing Eren, of him leaving me behind while I stay in this overcrowded city with a full heart and empty hands. I knew I was probably being overly dramatic right now about the whole situation, but for the first time in my life I was actually scared of losing someone. In the back of my mind, I hoped Armin was right. That Eren would turn Jean's offer down and he would stay here in Trost with me, as my neighbor, as my friend. Had I pushed him too far away after my stunt with Rico today? Would Eren think that I hate him because I've been ignoring him recently?

All these thoughts raced through my mind as I lay in my cold, dark room alone with nothing but the sound of my own soft, even breathing to keep me company. It was the middle of the day and yet it felt like the dead of night with all my shades drawn shut and all the lights off. I drifted in and out of sleep as I let my mind be swallowed by my ever darkening thoughts. I could only hope that tomorrow would be different, that Eren would forget about seeing me with Rico because that was just a stupid move on my part. Tomorrow would be different. I could feel it.

Chapter Text

Humans truly are strange creatures. Eren, my human, has been moping around our house for days now. Not like I particularly care if he's sad or not but, Eren does this thing when he's sad or upset where he either forgets about my existence completely or he bugs me way too much. Today he's forgotten all about me, again.

The Levi human as been acting strange as well. Whenever I go over to his apartment, he doesn't even try to give me tuna or salmon which annoys the ever living fuck out of me. That's the only reason I go over there; free food and a quiet place to nap. It's not because I like the Levi human, not at all. He calls me flea bag or shitty cat all the time. I keep having to correct him because he's a much more stubborn human to train than Eren was. He's probably the defiant kind.

Even now as I wait for him to open the back door for me like he always does, his house is dark, darker than usual but I know he's inside. I paw at the door and meow a little more loudly, 'Open this door this instant you stupid human. I came for my salmon and my afternoon tummy rubs.' I wasn't dumb, I knew what the vet told Eren about me being fat. Next time I visited that damn clinic I'll claw the vet's damn face off. Nobody interferes with me and my salmon. No one.

Finally, after a god damn eternity, Levi opens the door for me but doesn't so much as says a word to me as he retreats back to his spot on the couch. I notice that he leaves the door open to let in the breeze. I also notice that Levi's home isn't quiet like it normally is, there's a soft sound coming from somewhere over on his counter where I like to sit and watch him cook.

I'd heard this sound before, it was something the humans called a Piano. While I normally hated noisy things of any kind, this sound wasn't bad and my ears found it surprisingly pleasant as I took my place on the couch. I carefully trotted over to the Levi human who was sitting quietly with some kind of book in his hands, like Eren he was also paying me little attention. 'Oi you shitty human, pay attention to me damn it or I'll claw your face to shreds.' I meowed halfheartedly as I pressed myself up against his thigh.

Levi looked down at me from his book still open in his hands and I heard him suck his teeth before he threaded a hand through my silky black fur. Fucking finally! Do humans not realize that we cats need constant attention? I immediately relaxed into his lap as the soft sound of that piano thing played in the background gently. I decided, I liked this piano whatever-you-call-it. Then Levi spoke, breaking the comfortable atmosphere. Of fucking course.

"Why are you being so needy today you shitty cat? Is Eren ignoring you or something?" I didn't feel the need to answer because a.)I'm a fucking cat and b.)I'm a fucking cat, so of course I can't answer even if I did feel like it.

I stretched out on his lap a bit more and yawned as I suddenly felt sleepy thanks to the comfortable breeze coming in from the open door and the soft piano sound drifting through my ears. I would bug him about tuna later, for right now I was basking in the much appreciated stroking of my fur and the warmth Levi's lap provided as I curled into a small little ball. I eventually let sleep take me slowly as I drifted in and out of consciousness, Levi's hand never stopped threading through my fur and I could hear him mumbling something quietly.

"Oi, don't get too comfortable with me flea bag. Things might be changing soon."

I didn't get what he meant by that but I didn't let it bother me as I yawned again and snuggled closer to his warmth. This was better than laying outside on the dirty floor and sunbathing. I could definitely get used to this, actually I have kind of gotten used to this. I looked forward to the cold weather if it meant warm heated blankets and even warmer bowls of milk. Now if only Eren would snap out of his sad shit, everything would be perfect.

I had only fallen asleep maybe thirty minutes or so before I heard familiar knocking telling me that Eren was here to pick me up. Well damn, I didn't get to bug the shit out of Levi for some salmon. I noticed that the soft piano sound from earlier had already come to and end and it was silent in Levi's apartment once more aside from Eren's insistent knocking at the door.

Levi sighed heavily and I could tell that he was reluctant to get up and answer the door. Good, stay seated like the good pillow that you are and let me sleep. But of course, he has to be an ass and throw me off him as he stands up from the couch. I thought about hissing at him for rudely pushing me off my comfortable spot but opted for simply following behind him as he made his way to answer the door.

Eren looked like shit if I was being honest. His hair was lazily pulled back into a messy, sad excuse of a pony tail and he literally looked like he just rolled out of bed. Ah, my human truly needed to groom himself better. How was he ever going to impress the Levi human looking like this? While my human's appearance was less than pleasing to me, I noticed Levi staring at him like a moon struck idiot again. Honestly, he did this every time he saw my human and he has yet to do anything about it.

I decided to take things into my own paws since these two obviously weren't going to get anywhere without my help. Humans are so helpless. Levi made a move to retreat back into his apartment which I had already anticipated he'd do since he'd been pulling this little stunt lately whenever Eren came over. When he took a step back, I hissed and growled loudly pretending that he had stepped on me and I darted between his legs tangling myself up between them in the process.

All I needed to hear was one word; "Shit!" and I knew my plan was on it's way to success. Levi stumbled back as I had expected and his arms flailed around fruitlessly as he tried to grab onto to something to stop him from falling, but like the bighearted human Eren was he shot an arm out toward Levi grabbing him by the wrist essentially stopping his fall.

"Oh my god, Levi are you okay!?" Eren had managed to stop the fall, shit. I had intended for Levi to pull Eren down with him but it looks like I underestimated my human's strength. Time to pull out the big guns.

"I'm fine." Levi huffed out but before he or Eren could gain their footing properly, I lightly scratched at Eren's Achilles heel earning me a sharp yelp from him as he went tumbling forward. Check and fucking mate. I'm so fucking smart, I deserve a damn medel... or maybe just some Salmon.

Eren and Levi landed on the hardwood a little less than gracefully, I almost felt bad for the Levi human having to be crushed underneath my human who was clearly much bigger than him in height. I knew how it felt to be crushed my Eren, the little shit always accidentally slept on top of me in the middle of the nights.

The both groaned from the landing, Levi's hands were curled up underneath Eren's chest while Eren had somehow managed to cradle Levi's head from hitting the hardwood directly. I know I probably could have gone about this in different, less difficult way but I honestly couldn't find it in myself to feel bad for the idiots. They've been dancing around each other for days now and it was affecting me. I felt like I was the unfortunate kid in the middle of his parents divorce. Mom, Dad, don't you care about your only child?

Eren started stuttering as he scrambled to get up and off of Levi but he winced at the light scratches I had left him on his heel. Sometimes extreme measures need to be taken, Salmon was something I would kill for. "If you're done humping each other, I'd like my Salmon now humans. I just did you a favor, I deserve a fucking reward."

"Ugh, I'm so sorry Levi. I thought I had you but then Captain scratched me and―"

"Eren, stop talking."

I watched as Levi stared into my human's eyes and Eren stared back into his looking rather red. You would be stupid not to hear fucking wedding bells whenever you looked at these two idiots. My human was so obviously attracted to this Levi human and yet I couldn't fathom why they weren't mated to one another yet. It would sure as hell make it a lot easier on me for that matter if they were. But, again humans are stupid and helpless without us animals there to guide them in the right direction.

Then they slowly started getting up from the floor, Eren helping Levi and Levi helping Eren in the process. When they were upright and on their feet again, I meowed at them irritatingly so that they could get their fucking asses moving and get me my damn salmon. I did them a favor, now they have to do me one. Just call me the Cat-Father. I'll make them an offer they can't refuse.

"Uh, sorry― about all this I mean. I'll just get Captain and go, so―"

"Eren. I thought I said to stop talking? Did I ask you to leave, dip shit?"

"Well no, but I thought―"

"Well, you thought wrong. Just get your ass in here and let's get that scratch taken care of. You want coffee or something?"

Levi finally made his way into the kitchen and I hopped up onto the counter swishing my tail from side to side in anticipation. 'Salmon, salmon, salmon~' I sang to myself as I eagerly waited for my reward... only to get fucking nothing, what the actually hell? Levi glared at me and I glared right back at him because was he seriously not going to give me Salmon after I had basically just fixed shit for him and Eren?

Eren came hobbling toward the kitchen wincing every now and again and he also gave me a stern look. Were they fucking serious!? I helped you idiots out and your giving me the stink eye. Fine. Whatever, see if I ever help you two dumbass ever again. I bared my teeth and lowered my ears against my head as I growled at them and hopped off the counter to go back to napping on my spot on the couch. I didn't need this shit. I could hear Levi and Eren talking from the kitchen as I sulked.

"Do you think he did it on purpose?"

"I highly doubt it, Eren. The only thing that goes through that cat's mind is food. Particularly, Salmon."

My ears perked up at the word Salmon and I heard Eren laugh.

"Oh my gosh, you're probably right. He totally just jumped up when you said the 'S' word."

"Told you. He's probably having Salmon withdrawals like a junkie or something."

"Yeah, well you're the one who got him hooked on the stuff in the first place."

"Low blow, Eren. Are you blaming me for your cat being fat now?"

"Yes."

"Rude."

Oh, yes. Let's all make fun of the cat with a salmon addiction after he just helped you two morons patch things up. Perfect. Great. Wonderful. Fan-fucking-tastic! I am never helping them out ever again.

"Well, the good news for Captain is he's almost back down to his normal weight. He's been refusing to eat so he's been shedding the weight pretty quickly. Who knows, maybe he'll be back to eating salmon again pretty soon."

I perked up at my human's words. Damn right I'll be back to eating salmon again soon. I gave another lazy meow as I yawned and stretched out of the sofa, at least I had the entire thing to myself now. Not that I really took up all that much space, I was small after all.

"Does that mean catnip is out of the question?"

Fucking catnip! Yes! Please tell me there was catnip somewhere around here or I might just cry. I knew Levi was teasing me by now, I lazily glared at him from my spot on the couch and I could see him smirking at me from behind the kitchen counter top. Eren had a look of amusement on his face as he tried to bite back another fit of laughter. Whatever, if they were lying about the catnip I was going to shit on Levi's carpet for revenge.

Don't ever lie about catnip.

Chapter Text

Oh my god, I still can't believe I jerked one out to thoughts of my naked neighbor in the showers. I was so utterly embarrassed and ashamed of myself. I literally jerked off in a public place because I couldn't control my dick. I mean, it was probably one of the best orgasms I'd ever had but, Dear god I jerked off to Levi!

I just couldn't help myself and if I could redo that moment all over again I didn't have a doubt in my mind that I'd probably choose to wank off to him again if I could. Levi seemed kind of off when I had left first for the showers and only after I was standing alone near the lockers did I realize that Levi hadn't followed me. I thought that maybe he was just slow to follow me and that he would catch up eventually so I got into the showers first.

I stood underneath the water for about a full 5 minutes before I realized; Levi wasn't going to come. I got out of the showers and dried myself off before throwing on my sweat drenched clothes again and heading out of the locker rooms to go find him. He was still by the punching bag I had been destroying earlier but now instead of me kicking the shit out of it, it was Levi going hard on the bag of sand like nobody's business.

He looked so focused and determined and... sexy. Those piercing silvery eyes of his were filled with a dangerous fury I admired as I cautiously approached him. He was drenched with sweat and even his sleek black hair was dripping with beads of it as he constantly punched and even kicked the heavy sand bag. There was a thundering slap of leather on leather whenever his fist or shin connected with the bag and it was glorious seeing the way his biceps and deltoids flexed and stretched along with the ink on his pale skin.

I was once again mesmerized by the mere sight of him, my senses were completely overpowered by his strong presence of confidence and raw power. I called out his names a few times but he was so engrossed with his punches that he didn't even react to my voice at all. Eventually I made a move to reach out and grab him, probably not the smartest thing to do considering Levi is ex-military and has the reflexes of a cat but I didn't even get a chance to touch his skin when he finally noticed me. I retracted my hand and gave him a worried look because he was breathing extremely hard and he looked as though he could pass out from exhaustion any minute.

He surprised me when he said nothing and brushed past me in favor of going for the showers. I wasn't sure if I should follow him or stay behind or what, so I stood at the center of the main floor a bit awkwardly for a minute or two until eventually I decided that showering with Levi was a chance I didn't actually want to miss because it meant that I would be able to see those beautiful tattoos of his on full display. Little did I know about the glorious sight that met me as I entered the showers again.

Smooth, pale skin like Alabaster and cut, taut muscle on every inch of Levi's body. He looked like a fucking model with his eyes closed as the water hit his face soaking his jet black hair. I hope he didn't do the thing, the thing that all hot guys do when their hair is wet and they push it back with one hand all suave and shit. Fuck, He did the thing. I tore my gaze away from Levi's dangerously attractive face and let my eyes wander to other places.

My eyes followed the curve of his muscular back as he was lathering soap in his hair, and they lingered on the back dimples I hadn't been expecting. Shit, he had the nicest set of back dimples I'd ever seen and I wanted to reach out and just touch him, feel those muscles underneath the tips of my fingers as I moved them across his slick, wet body. I dared to let my eyes travel further down to the dip of his finely sculpted ass and that was when I felt all the blood in my body rush to my cock like it was a race and Levi was the goal.

I didn't have time to admire the rest of his body, and while I definitely wanted to see if Levi's front view was as nice as his back, I didn't want to be caught standing in the middle of the showers with a raging hard on looking like a fucking pervert and a creep. I tried to focus on getting myself clean and hopefully distracted enough so my surprise boner would go away on it's own. Something told me that was highly unlikely to happen.

As I turned on my own shower head, I let the temperature teeter between mildly warm and Antarctic fucking cold. I lathered some soap on my body and just tried to relax as I forced myself to think of not Levi's butt. But of course, I'm Eren Jaeger. If you tell me not to jump off that super high cliff, guess what? I'm gonna fucking jump off that super high cliff. So telling myself to not think about Levi's ass was basically like telling myself 'Think about his fine, nicely rounded ass and how nice those cheeks would feel in your hands.' and whoops, my boner was back at full mast.

I had lost count to how many minutes I had been standing under the water drowning in my own thoughts and after a few minutes more, I mustered up every ounce of courage that I had and I glanced back to where Levi was over my shoulders. To my surprise and disappointment, he was gone. The shower head he was using was off and unoccupied and I glanced around the room but saw no sign of my sexy neighbor. I didn't even hear him turn off the water or walk out. I was now completely alone in the showers.

Unconsciously, I started to touch myself. At first it was just my hand absently scrubbing at my skin, snaking lower and lower between my thighs. It was when my hand ghosted over my painfully hard erection that I inhaled sharply at the sensation of my wet hand brushing ever so slightly over my hypersensitive head. My other hand trailed up to tease one of my nipples and with a firm grip on my cock, I let out a shameless moan. I had never really been quiet when it came to sex and the same goes for when I masturbated. Let's just say I was gifted with a very good set of lungs that weren't only good for singing and playing sports.

"Ngh! Haah... ah!"

I let my mind fill up with recollections of Levi's perfectly toned Greek Adonis-like body dripping with water and soap, I imagined myself touching his marble like skin that looked smooth to the touch and dipping my fingers into the nooks and crevices of his finely sculpted abdominal. To feel the way his muscles shifted under my touch as he squirmed from my touch. I let out a weak whimper as I twisted my palm over the swollen head of my cock allowing the pre-cum that was pearling out to smear on my hand using it as a makeshift lubricant.

I could feel the way my asshole twitched with anticipation and need to be teased and stretched but it was bad enough that I was getting off in a public shower to thoughts of my next door neighbor naked in the shower. I didn't need the higher risk of getting caught finger fucking myself on the floors of the shower just so I could get off. No, I restrained my desires to be filled with my fingers as I continued to jerk myself closer to my impending orgasm.

"fu-fuck... nnh!"

My thighs trembled and I struggled to keep myself up as I continually pumped myself with long and slow strokes, the slick sounds of my hand working myself into burning pleasure slightly drowned out by the sound of the water drumming against the tiled floor but I could still hear the soft, wet squelching noises further getting me off. I was so close, I let my other free hand that had been teasing my nipples reach behind me and tease my asshole because all I needed was that little push more. I could feel the way I twitched around the tip of my digit as I dipped it into the tight ring of muscle and continued to tease myself relentlessly.

I was moaning wantonly at this point and I knew I had to lower my voice if I wanted to finish without someone coming in to see what all the noise is but it just felt so fucking good. I bit down on my lower lip and I felt that familiar heat setting the rest of my body on fire the faster I jerked myself. The soap I had been using to wash my body with slipped down toward my finger that was still prodding my entrance mercilessly and the slippery substance allowed my single digit to slip in further to the knuckle and I let out a surprised gasp and a moan at the faint burning sensation of being penetrated so suddenly.

"A-Ah! Hnng! L-Levi...!!"

I wasn't aware of the name I was chanting and saying like a prayer as I came undone by my own hands. I had my head thrown back in a strangled cry as I felt my muscles tightening and releasing suddenly along with my violent orgasm that was now displayed on the shower wall quite nicely if I must say so myself. The milky ribbons now decorated the warm beige colored tiles and I continued to milk myself to the very last drop. I leaned forward against the wall supporting myself up on a shaky arm, along with the intense work out I had just done earlier, I was feeling considerably weak and exhausted but there was that peaceful satisfying afterglow that always came after an orgasm and I allowed myself a few more minutes in the shower to regain myself.

Needless to say, I was more than a little shy and embarrassed when I finally joined Levi outside in the parking lot. He was leaning against his door wearing another sinfully tight t-shirt while he smoked another cigarette but this time I didn't have that bold, cheekiness to go over and steal it from him like I normally did whenever I caught him smoking. I was much too ashamed that I had just used Levi to get off to and I quietly and awkwardly got into the car as he finished his cigarette.

Needless to say, I was so exhausted from my earlier ministrations that I ended up falling asleep somewhere during the ride home. I wasn't sure exactly how long I been asleep, it couldn't have been that long considering the gym wasn't that far from our apartment complex but it felt like I had slept for at least an hour when I finally started becoming conscious to the world again. I noticed the car had stopped moving and the engine was turned off but I was distracted by the sound of Levi's voice speaking quietly to someone.

Then I realized he was on a phone call. With the dead quietness of the car being silent and it only being the two of us, I could just slightly make out the sound of the other person's voice on the phone. I didn't need to guess who it was however as Levi said their name not even a minute later. He was asking Hanji about some person named Rico? He went on to ask Hanji about an offer of some sorts? Was this considered eavesdropping? I mean, it's not like I meant to listen in on his conversation but I felt like I should pretend that I was still asleep for some reason. I wasn't going to lie, I was slightly curious about what Levi was talking about.

But Levi kept his conversation short and vague and I didn't get much out of what he said other than he was supposed to meet up somewhere with this Rico person. I started to stir around in my seat before letting my eyes flutter open and I blinked a few times to make it seem more believable, I heard Levi silently open his car door and step out with so much as a word to me and I found it odd. The whole walk up to our floor, Levi was silent and I worried if I had done anything to upset him or if this Rico person was someone he didn't particularly want to deal with. Was he in trouble? Was this Rico the reason he'd been acting so distant lately?

I bid Levi my usual thanks and a goodnight and he once again evaded any attempts I had at making small talk with him with a short, curt answer and he was gone from my sights before I could say anything. I lingered outside my door a moment longer staring at the place where Levi had just been standing before I silently entered my own apartment. I plopped down on my sofa and drifted off to sleep with thoughts of Levi in the back of my mind.

---

Things between Levi and I finally quieted down after a strange week of avoiding one another and misunderstandings. After seeing him on a date with who I assumed was the Rico person I had heard him talking about the sunday before last, I was feeling really down for some reason. I knew Levi was straight and I knew he had his own life but for reason I couldn't comprehend, I thought that Levi would always make time for me.

It was a silly thought, really. Levi was a grown man who had his own problems to deal with and I was a newly graduated college student who was barely starting out. Levi could go out with other people, I knew that. But I couldn't help but feel slightly neglected about it. That didn't last long, however. Thanks to a certain little mishap with Captain the other day, Levi and I were back to our usual routine of hanging out in his apartment and just talking for hours while drinking coffee or tea, sometimes I even stayed for lunch or dinner depending on the day and time. I adored Levi's cooking and told myself that Jean and I would have to visit Ailes soon.

Speaking of Jean, he had called me up early this morning and said he was coming over to talk about his job. Of course, I was still a bit upset with him but I figured nothing would get solved if I continued to be my stubborn self and not talk to him at least. So as of right now, I was waiting for my boyfriend to come over while I texted Levi to kill some time.

Levi: It's early as balls, Eren. Why are you texting me?

I giggled at the response to my cheery 'Good Morning, Sunshine!' text message.

Eren: Like if u aren't already awake old man :P I'm bored

Levi took awhile to respond this time and I lay sprawled out on my sofa in an over sized shirt that fit me a little short and my little black shorts (aka My boxers). I still had bed head and I had my glasses on as I needed to see what Levi was texting me. Yes, believe it or not I actually needed my glasses to read sometimes, they weren't just a fashion statement.

Levi: Well I'm terribly sorry for not being able to entertain you while I'm still on my morning run, your royal highness.

Levi had included an emoji in his text and I laughed loudly because Levi never used emoji's when we texted. I quickly typed out a reply as I sucked on a go-gurt packet.

Eren: You're so sassy in the mornings (; I like it

I could practically imagine Levi snorting as he read the text message I sent. Figuring he would probably take another few minutes to reply back to me I got up from my lazy spot on the couch and started feeding Captain his new diet food. He hated it.

Just as my phone went off on the counter top of my kitchen, I heard a familiar knock on my door. Jean was finally here, it only took him an eternity. I snatched my phone up from the counter and sauntered over to the door to let my boyfriend in. Jean stared at my form in complete silence as his eyes trailed up and down my figure with a familiar glint I recognized all too well.

"Why are you still in your underwear? and is that one of Reiner's t-shirts he left here when he was drunk?"

"Yes to the second question and just because to the first question." I turned around and walked back into my apartment leaving Jean to follow me in as he shut the door behind him.

"You know, I came over here to have a serious talk with you but if you keep walking around looking like that I might have to reconsider what my original goal was for coming here because you know I can't resist you when you where those shorts."

"Don't even think about it, Kirstein. I'm still pissed at you, so no sex and definitely no ass groping."

"Not even just a little feel?"

"Nope."

Jean sighed heavily as he plopped down on my very broken in sofa, Captain had already made an escape so I didn't have to worry about my cat trying to claw Jean to death as I rounded the sofa and plopped down on the opposite end of where Jean sat.

"So, what's this "serious talk" we need to have?" I asked turning in my seat to face Jean properly.

"Remember how we used to talk about what teams we wanted to play for if we ever got drafted into the big leagues in high school? You wanted to play for your old home city of Shiganshina and I wanted to play for Sina because they had the big bucks."

Jean snorted at the memory and I let a little smile form on my lips as I inched closer to him. I reached out a hand and ran it through the longer ash blond hair at the top of his shaved undercut and Jean leaned into my touch.

"Yeah, I remember. You were such a major dick in high school constantly trying to show off for the talent scouts that would come to our games."

Jean turned to face me a little and I stared into his amber colored eyes that reminded me a slow burning fire. So much different from the cold, silvery gaze I'd been thinking about recently.

"I hate to say it, but I miss those days. When you and I would compete against one another on the field, none of us wanting to back down from a challenge. It's why I fell in love with you and your passion for Soccer."

Jean gently caressed one of my cheeks with his large, warm hand and let out a small contented sigh at the contact. He leaned forward and place a soft, chaste kiss against my slightly parted lips and I could taste his mint toothpaste and I was sure that he could taste the lingering yogurt I had been eating prior to his arrival.

"Jean, wha―"

"What if I asked you to move to Sina with me? What would you say?"

I could feel his hot breath ghosting over my lips as he stared intensely into my widening eyes. Jean wanted me to move in with him? No, he wanted me to move to Sina with him? I was thoroughly confused and I knew Jean could see it written all over my face as he sighed and pulled away from me to hang his head between his legs. I stayed silent as I waited for him to explain himself.

"I got offered a three year contract to play for Sina's team as a forward. If I take the contract, it would mean that I would have to leave Trost and move to Stohess for at least the next three months for training camp and then I'd have to move there permanently to play out my three year contract."

My eyes widened at Jean revelation, it was great news. It really was. Trost had a good soccer team but Sina was known for winning World Cups. It had always been Jean's dream to make it to the big leagues one day and now it was finally happening for him.

"That's... great, Jean! You have to take the contract! It's been your dream since middle school and I'll kick your ass if you don't!"

Jean threw his head back and barked out a laugh before he slung an arm around me and pulled me toward him, we fell back together on the couch with me laying fully on top of Jean as he kissed my forehead lovingly.

"I know that, dumbass. I don't plan on giving up my dream, but I'm asking you to come with me, Eren."

I stared down at him, into those smoldering amber eyes again letting me be swallowed me them and I didn't know what to say. I loved Jean, of course I did. We've been through so much shit together and he's been my rock through a lot of hard times. I was happy for him, I really was but I couldn't fight off the feeling of dread as he asked me to come with him to Stohess with such a loving look in his eyes.

"Jean, I-... I don't know what to say. Stohess has always been your goal, your dream but... it's never been mine." I whispered the last part as I buried my face in Jean's shirt, fisting it in my hands.

I felt Jean sigh underneath me as he threaded a hand through my long hair. I knew Jean loved me, despite all our bickering and our fights I knew he cared about me just the same way I cared about him. So I could tell that he was trying to be considerate of my feelings right now.

"So, does that mean you're saying no to coming with me?"

I nodded my head softly, never once lifting my face to look at him because I was afraid of seeing the hurt in his eyes. I could feel my shoulders trembling slightly as Jean held my body closer to his pressing me up against his chest more firmly as he sat up never letting me go. I'm sure he felt the big, fat tears that were staining his shirt as I quietly sobbed into the material. I didn't want this to end, but I couldn't stop Jean from going after his dream. Just like I knew he would never stop me from going after mine.

"Hey, Don't cry Jaeger." he pulled my face away from his chest and looked into my tear filled eyes.

I still couldn't look him in the eye directly as he quite literally kissed my tears away, he cupped my face in his large hands and I wrapped my hands tightly around his wrists leaning into the warmth he provided. He kissed my face until he found my lips again and he kissed me quite feverishly. Like he knew this would be the last time we would be able to hold each other like this, to touch every inch of my skin.

I loved Jean. But I knew that this was for the best, letting him go so he could go off and accomplish his dreams like he'd always talked about. After four years together, I never expected it to end this way. I was sad but I was also happy because Jean was moving on to bigger and better things and I definitely had no intention to stop him from being happier. I knew Jean felt the same way. We parted lips finally, our breathing a little labored as he pressed his forehead to mine and stared into my eyes; this time I was able to stare right back into his.

"So this is it, then? It's over?" I could hear the slightly crack in his voice that he tried to cover up with a crooked smile and I cupped his face in my hands as well nodding my head softly.

I was now straddling Jean's waist as he sat stretched out underneath me, his hands found my waist and they rested there as we kept our forehead pressed together and just stared into each other's eyes basking in our last moments together. This was for the best, I wasn't bitter about it but I sure as hell was going to miss him.

"One last fuck for the road, then?" He asked eventually smiling smugly and I couldn't help but the laugh that erupted out of me despite my tear filled eyes.

"I don't think that would be a very good idea, Jean. Let's not make it any harder on ourselves." I said once my laughter subsided and Jean sighed dramatically.

"Well, it was worth a try. Seriously though, I'm going to miss this ass."

I rolled my eyes and finally pushed Jean away as I crawled off of him. He chuckled as I stood up and went into the bathroom to wipe my tears stained face and splash some cold water on myself.

"So once you sign the contract, how soon do you leave for Stohess?" I asked from my bathroom door as Jean sat up from the sofa and straightened out his clothes.

"As soon as I find a place in Stohess I'm free to go as soon as possible. I'll be there for three whole months going through training camp before I come can come back to Trost and get the rest of my things to move there permanently."

I leaned against the frame of the door and stared at my now ex-boyfriend standing in the center of my living room. I eyed him up and down as if memorizing his frame even though I knew it well by now but it was strange looking at him from a distance and not being able to just walk right up and touch him the way I normally would. I could tell Jean was trying to hold back from coming up and hugging me as well as his hands fidgeted at his sides and he shifted from foot to foot. Still, I managed a soft smile at him as I tilted my head and removed my glasses.

"I'm happy for you, Jean. I really fucking mean it."

"I know you are, Eren. But do me a huge favor and go put some god damn pants on before I go insane."

I threw my head back and laughed because that was so typical Jean. Still, I sauntered into my bedroom and slipped on a pair of worn out jogging pants before I rejoined Jean in the living room. He was getting his things to go and I felt a pang of sadness hit me because this would be the last time I would get to hug Jean, to kiss him, to hold him before he leaves me. Or was it me who was leaving him? I wasn't sure anymore.

I walked him to my door and when he got into the hallway he turned and looked at me with a gentle smile on his face. One I'd seen on many occasions yet it felt like I was seeing it for the first time all over again and I felt my heart ache slightly at the sight.

"Take care, Jaeger." he said softly taking a step forward and making a move to kiss my cheek but I turned my face and caught his lips again.

I didn't regret telling Jean no to moving with him, I didn't regret letting him go. But god damn it, was I really going to fucking miss him even though he was a real pain in my ass in more ways than one. I balled my fists into the front of his shirt again wrinkling it for the second time that morning but Jean didn't protest as he placed a hand to the small of my back and deepened the kiss. It wasn't as feverish as earlier's kiss, but it didn't lack any of the desperate need to taste one another for the final time.

There were no wrestling tongues, or teasing biting of the lips or even any suckling. Just the slow, sweet motion of his lips pressed against mine in one final display of affection before we parted for the final time. This was it, it was the end. Jean gave me another sad smile and I mirrored his expression before I let his shirt go and watched as he took a few steps back.

"Take care, Kirstein." I said just above a whisper and Jean snorted softly before he turned and started walking toward the elevator.

I stood in my doorway watching his figure get smaller and smaller until he was eventually completely out of my sight. I lingered by the hall a few moments longer staring at the spot where Jean had just been standing before I retreated back into my apartment. When I shut the door behind me, I leaned back against it and buried my face into the palms of my hands letting the tears flow freely. I couldn't help but smile as I cried because I was hurting but I was also happy.

---

That night, Armin, Mikasa and practically all of our friends from our graduating class came over to my apartment much to my surprise. After I had told Armin and Mikasa about Jean and I breaking up, they insisted they come over and get me drunk to forget about my sadness for awhile. I was expecting Mikasa and Armin and maybe even Annie only, but I was surprised when I saw Reiner, Bertholdt, Connie and Sasha at my door an hour later.

"Hey! There's our little Eren! How you doing buddy? We heard you got dumped!" Reiner said as he pushed his big burly body toward me capturing me in a bone crushing hug.

Despite Reiner having been my first, I never felt awkward or weird around him. He was just that kind of guy that made you feel comfortable around him, plus if I was being honest with myself, his hug was much appreciated.

"I did not get dumped, Reiner. Jean and I agreed to break up."

"So, you dumped Jean then?" he asked with a crooked grin that was much too attractive on him.

I rolled my eyes but smiled as I turned to walk back into my apartment and rejoin Mikasa, Annie and Armin on the couch while Connie, Sasha, Reiner and Bert made themselves comfortable. My apartment filled up rather quickly with the four new additions and the only people missing now were Marco and Jean. I didn't count on Marco coming though, he was Jean's best friend and probably helping him pack to go to Stohess soon.

"So, who's up for Pizza and chocolate cake?" Sasha asked bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet excitedly. I smiled up at her because Sasha always knew what foods to eat for every occasion.

"Sounds fucking perfect." I said pulling out my laptop and looking up the nearest Pizza places that delivered to our area.

The seven of us bickered and debated over which popular pizza chain we would order from until eventually we all settled on a place but it seemed like it took us an eternity to come to a decision. Meanwhile, before the pizza was even ordered Reiner had already popped open the first beer of the evening and things really started getting noisy after that. I was glad that Levi wasn't home tonight since he had to work late at the restaurant, otherwise I was almost positive he'd be pissed at all the noise we were making.

Ymir and Krista were the last of my friends to arrive but luckily they came right before the pizza arrived. Then the impossible happened; Jean and Marco actually came. It wasn't awkward, there was no real reason for it to be awkward since Jean and I had gone our separate ways mutually, but it was still hard for the both us not to automatically sit next to each other on the sofa or the floor.

Now that I had all my friends here, things really got wild. Ymir broke out the tequila and the vodka and god knows what else and started mixing drinks for everyone. I don't even think even she knew what she was mixing into those drinks but we were the idiots who decided to drink her weird mysterious concoctions anyway. Jean and I ended up sitting together on the couch in the end and we finished a whole box of pizza together. It was comfortable and nice to know that despite having only broken up this morning, Jean and I were still close.

"Eren what the fuck are we listening to?" Connie asked as he stumbled over to my laptop in search for new music.

I didn't say anything as the usual stations I always had on Pandora were starting to get a little too lax for the situation. I did however, immediately regret letting Connie chose the station as he had awful tastes in music and I was proven right when a snort and a laugh later I heard a familiar guitar riff come in and recognized it as Fly by Sugar Ray. Connie was grinning from ear to ear and the rest of us groaned at his music choice.

"Connie, Sugar Ray fucking sucks!" Ymir called from her spot on the floor with Krista in her lap.

"Dude, Ymir. Don't even try to pretend that you don't know the fucking lyrics to this song."

Connie started loudly yelling the words to the Chorus and Sasha joined him shortly after and I was in hysterics leaning into Reiner as he threw half eaten Pizza crusts at the couple for their horrible singing.

"Iiiiii just wanna flyyyyy!"

"Connie shut the fuck up, jesus christ." Ymir snapped but Connie only stumbled over to her and sang even more loudly into her ear.

Thankfully, Reiner went over to my laptop and started changing the song before Ymir eventually killed Connie. The song he put on was Aerosmith's I Don't Want To Miss A Thing and Jean and I turned to look at one another with exasperated looks. Reiner and his fucking sappy love songs. Sure enough, the big muscle head was singing his sappy lyrics to Bertholdt who was quietly dying from embarrassment before Reiner turned to Armin and started forcing him to sing along with him.

"Reiner, turn your sad shit off! Nobody wants to hear you sing sappy love songs to Bert!" Ymir snorted from the carpet and the room erupted into laughter. Even Reiner was laughing.

"Whatever, you guys can't appreciate a good love song if it came and bit you in the dick." Reiner skipped to the next song and thankfully it was a song by Justin Timberlake.

We played a few drinking games as the night went on and I ended up taking a few more shots than I expected but I had a theory that Annie was cheating at most of the games. I was enjoying myself despite the dull ache in my chest whenever Jean and I brushed shoulders but I ignored it in favor of joining in on the karaoke session that had suddenly started when Wanna be by the Spice Girls came on and all hell broke loose in my apartment.

"YOOO I TELL YOU WHAT I WANT WHAT I REALLY, REALLY WANT!" Connie started.

"SO TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT, WHAT YOU REALLY, REALLY WANT!" Sasha continued.

I was in stitches when I saw Reiner jump up from his seat and start joining in the intro of a fucking Spice Girls song.

"I WANNA, WANNA, WANNA, WANNA, I WANNA REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, WANNA ZIGAZAG AH!"

Then we all just started going around the room, everyone taking their own verse when their turn was up.

"IF YOU WANT MY FUTURE, FORGET MY PAST" Sasha started and then pointed at Krista who shyly stood up from her spot on Ymir's lap

"If you wanna get with me, better make it fast!" she started doing a little dance and soon Ymir was joining her, although reluctantly singing next.

"Now don't go wasting my precious time. Get your act together we could be just fine."

Then the chorus started up again and soon we were all standing up from our seats and jumping up and down singing stupidly to one another. Reiner was singing to me, I was singing to Armin, Mikasa was singing to Annie, Krista was singing to Ymir. Sasha and Connie were singing to the ceiling.

"IF YOU WANNA BE MY LOVER YOU GOTTA GET WITH MY FRIENDS"

"MAKE IT LAST FOREVER, FRIENDSHIP NEVER EEEEENDS!" Everyone turned and looked at Reiner who had suddenly gone falsetto on that part and we all broke into hysteric laughter because the big blond was really into the song as he continued to sing the Chorus word for word.

"SLAM YOUR BODY DOWN AND WIND IT ALL AROUND" then we all chimed in at this point, drunk or not.

"SLAM YOUR BODY DOWN AND ZIGAZAG AH!" We all fell back into our seats laughing and struggling for breath but mostly just laughing our asses off.

It had been such a long time since we had all hung out like this that I had almost forgotten how fun it was. My friends were all so great, and I had long since forgotten the dull ache in my chest from this morning's events. Jean was also laughing and smiling and I was glad for that because at least I knew he was okay and I was okay. We were both okay.

Then Connie suddenly shot up from the floor again with Sasha in his arms and they looked over at with with bright, childlike eyes and I knew immediately what they were going to say without them even needing to say it.

"Eren! Sing us a song!" Sasha chimed as she clapped her hands together excitedly.

"Yeah, but none of that sad indie shit you listen to." Connie said with a snort and I shot him a glare. "I'm kidding!" he tried to save himself weakly with a grin.

I looked around my living room and saw the most of my friends were all smiling and nodding at the suggestion of me singing and while I was a bit tipsy, I had full confidence that I should be able to play at least one song without fucking it up. So I reached behind my sofa and pulled out my old beat up acoustic guitar and everyone cheered and clapped.

"Alright! I'll sing, but you guys have to help out too." I said with a big smile as I started turning the tuning heads. Tuning my guitar was always such a pain but I dealt with it for the love of music.

My friends all nodded and shouted out words of agreements and then I started racking my brain for a good song to play. Then it hit me, it was a song I had been listening to on repeat since yesterday and I found that while the lyrics fit my current situation perfectly, the song itself should be upbeat enough to satisfy my friends who were all eagerly waiting for me to start. I cleared my throat and started up a fast strum as I got into the swing of things. My calloused fingers going to work on the worn out strings of my guitar as I whistled a little tune.

Annie immediately started tapping her foot against my floor matching to the beat of my song and I smiled at her as she started clapping along and soon the others were doing the same unifying the sounds into a perfect melody of makeshift instruments.

"Running through the heat heart beat, You shine like silver in the sunlight. You light up my whole heart."

"It feels like in the sun, the sun. We're running around and around like nothing else could matter in our life."

"But wait, but wait, but wait the sun will stop shining soon and you'll be gone from my life."

"Yeah, you'll be gone and it's as simple as a change of heart but I'm not gonna think about the future."

"A love like this won't last forever,"

"I know that a love like this won't last forever but I, I don't really mind, I don't really mind at all."

I smiled and sort of chuckled at the last bit and eyed Jean who was watching me sing intently with a small smirk on his face. He was clapping along with the rest of our group and my eyes went back to Annie who was now harmonizing with me as I continued to strum only missing a few strings here and there but it was hardly noticeable.

"Slipping into the night love, It grows dark but you don't mind"

"Hiding in the back streets, yeah, you'll never notice me. All that I was thinking about was cleaning up my conscience,"

"Lost in the memory as it shakes up the corners of my heart,"

"Was it my mistake?"

"Or maybe it was just as simple as a change in your heart, Just as simple as a change in your heart."

"I know now a love like this won't last forever, I know now a love like this won't last forever."

" But I, I know that a love like this won't last forever but I, I,"

"I don't mind at all."

Now everyone was singing along with me to the Chorus as I sang us out. My friends were all lifting their hands into the air and swaying from side to side in their seated positions and it earned a little laugh out of me as I sang us out.

"A love like this won't last forever"

"A love like this, A love like this"

"A love like this won't last forever..."

I ended my song with an abrupt cease to my strumming and everyone stood up and cheered and whistled. Ymir poked fun at me picking a 'sad indie song' in the end but I pointed out how she didn't seem to mind when she was clapping along with Krista and she left me alone after that. The night went on like this until I'm even sure what time. Jean had been sitting next to Marco during my little performance but somehow through out the night we ended up sitting next to each other again and we talked, hugged and kissed and even cried a little because we were both a little drunk by the end of the night and fuck I was really going to miss him.

We all raised our glasses in celebration of Jean's promotion to bigger and better things and then everyone started passing out left and right falling asleep wherever they fell. Connie and Sasha were the first to knock out surprisingly and they both curled up to one another on my carpet, then it was Reiner who fell asleep on Bert's lap with the tall brunet stroking his boyfriend's hair before he fell asleep leaning against one of the armrests of my sofa. Ymir and Krista occupied the loveseat I had near a back wall with Ymir sprawled across it awkwardly and Krista curled up in her arms on top of her.

The only ones left not drunk out of their minds was Mikasa, Annie, Armin and Marco. Marco offered to take Jean home which I gladly thanked him for since Jean had fallen asleep on the couch as well some time ago. Marco carried a sleepy Jean to the elevators and I sighed as I watched them go. Then it was Mikasa and Annie gathered their things to go and Mikasa gave me a hug and kiss to the forehead. Annie was clearly a bit buzzed though as she even reached up on the tips of her toes and ruffled my hair with a small smile before she and Mikasa left. I smiled and waved as they left my apartment and turned back to see Armin covering all of my passed out friends with blankets and pillowing some of their heads; like Bertholdt's and Connie.

"You okay, Eren?" Armin asked me softly as he placed a hand on my shoulder.

I smiled at him, feeling just a bit tipsy myself as I nodded and stumbled toward my bedroom. Armin followed me shortly afterwards and I crawled into my big empty bed suddenly realizing that this would be all mine from now on. No more sharing it with Jean whenever he stayed over or fighting for the covers in the middle of the night. I felt a warm tear leave a fresh, wet streak down my cheek and Armin noticed as he smiled tenderly at me and wiped it away before hugging me.

"Get some sleep, Eren. I'll tell Levi to check on you in the morning, okay?" I absently nodded my head as I buried my face into my pillows and let sleep take me.

I didn't remember when Armin had left but I assumed that he probably asked Erwin to come and pick him up since Armin didn't drive. The last thing I remembered before falling asleep was the sounds of Connie and Sasha talking in their sleep and Reiner and Ymir snoring loudly from my living room. I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

Chapter Text

I had gotten a text from Armin early this morning surprisingly. I didn't know the kid even had my number but I guess it's not unlikely since he probably asked Erwin for my number in the first place. To my strange surprise, he asked if I could check on Eren since apparently they had a party last night while I was working the late shift at Ailes and Eren would probably have a nasty hangover.

I was making my way over to Eren's apartment now. Armin had said it was fine to just walk in since he didn't bother to lock the door when he left last night. He also said just to ignore the sleeping bodies that were probably laying around Eren's living room and I prayed that they were all at least half clothed because I did not what to fucking walk in on some butt ass naked brats.

I knocked once, just to let anyone that might be awake know that 'there is someone fucking coming in so you better have fucking clothes on or I swear'. I carefully opened the door to Eren's apartment and was both glad and horrified at the sight. Glad because thank fucking jesus the people asleep on his floor where fully clothed and horrified because of the fucking mess there was everywhere.

There were empty beer bottles and beer cans all over the wooden coffee table by Eren's big couch and even more cluttered on top of the kitchen island along with some half empty bottles of Peach Vodka and Tequila. But the worst of it all, were the half eaten pizza crusts thrown around the room and the half empty boxes of Pizza laying open on the coffee table. Fucking mother of hell, If I didn't already tell Armin I would check on Eren for him I would have turned right back around and walked out the fucking door because fuck this shit. It was a disaster in here and it was my first time in Eren's apartment so I couldn't even appreciate that fact because of the mess.

As reluctantly maneuvered myself around the young adults asleep on the middle of Eren's rug, I think it was that Connie kid with the Sasha girl asleep together as I stepped over their bodies. I did a weird sort of dance as I jumped over the stray empty bottles in the middle of the walkway and tried to avoid stepping on any pizza crusts in the process. Eren's apartment layout was only just slightly different from mine, so I easily found his bedroom.

The door was slightly open and I peeked inside cautiously hoping to find a fully clothed Eren but to my surprise when I entered the room, it was empty. Aside from the bed sheets being a crumpled mess, I was glad to see that his room was thankfully clean. He had a few stray shirts here or there but it wasn't nearly as bad as you would expect of a young 22 year old man who lives by himself.

I walked out of Eren's bedroom and glanced around the apartment trying to find my lost neighbor. Armin has assured me that Eren would probably still be asleep when I came in, it was 8AM for Christ's sake but yet there was no signs of Eren anywhere. Then I noticed his balcony door slightly ajar, and I started making my way over toward it to check and see if he was out there when I heard the familiar sound of his guitar strumming softly.

I stopped by the crack in his door and peeked out the glass to see him sitting on that little bench by the banister with his vintage guitar set on his lap and his long hair was a wild mess as he plucked at the worn strings gently. I debated interrupting his little guitar session but quickly decided against it as I heard him start crooning softly. His voice sounded raw and a bit cracked like he had been yelling but it sounded beautiful nonetheless as I stood quietly by the cracked open door and listened to him crooning a sad melody.

"It was a grey sky on a Monday, there was nothing more I could say,"

"So I called you from Ohio in a parking lot of a motel."

"I remember how you greeted me, like you knew we were not meant to be on this phone call after two years of the fighting, of the mad tears"

"Remember how I broke you heart?"

There was something heartbreakingly beautiful yet sad about the way Eren sang this particular song, his voice was so soft, almost a whisper like he was singing it for himself more than anyone.

"After all that we've been through, all the damages I bestowed on you, all the jealousies you engraved in me, the end as near it had to be,"

"So I called you from Ohio in a parking lot of a motel, to say nothing and yet everything, I remember I was trembling..."

"Remember how I broke your heart?"

"Remember how I broke your heart...?"

As Eren sang, I felt my heart aching. He was obviously holding back tears, I could hear it in the slight trembling in his voice now and it sounded as though he missed a string but he quickly recovered from his little slip up.

"Now I'm drinking to forget you, spending money, got a tattoo, stayed a weekend up in Oregon, bought a plane ride to an island."

"But I stopped first in Toronto, met a man who almost let me go, four years later he married me, I am happier than I dreamed I'd be..."

He paused, and I could hear him taking a stuttered breath of air as he looked out over the ironically grey skyline from where he sat and he just stared at it for a moment almost longingly.

"So you see I had to let you go in a phone call from Ohio filled with silence and apologies, Still I loved you as you loved me..."

"Remember how I broke you heart..."

His voice gradually trailed off before it eventually cracked and I heard him him choke out a quiet sob. Before I knew what I was doing I was standing in front of him holding back the urge to just take him in my arms and hold him there forever or even just to wipe away his tears.

"Eren..." I called quietly and he startled looking up at me frantically with his big, doe eyes that were red with tears.

"L-Levi! What are you-"

I cut him off when I finally just said 'fuck it' and threw my arms around his shoulders pulling him into my chest as I hugged his head there. He gasped in surprise at my actions but I currently couldn't care if he thought this was weird or strange, he was fucking crying and I was a shit person who didn't know how to deal with things like this so I just went with my instinct and hugged him. I'm not a touchy/feely type of person, never have been. But in that moment when I saw him look at me with those tear filled eyes, puffy and red and tired, I new he needed to be comforted somehow so I took the plunge.

"Why are you crying, Brat? It doesn't suit you." I growled halfheartedly into his mop of brown hair discretely inhaling his scent as it tickled my nose.

"... I broke up with Jean yesterday..." he mumbled into my tee shirt and I went stiff at his words.

Did I hear him right or was my age finally getting to me? Eren broke up with his boyfriend? Was this a trick? Am I being pranked right now? Did Hanji and Erwin set me up? Was there a hidden camera somewhere around here? All these questions raced through my mind but I tried to keep my expression as blank as I possibly could as I let Eren go from my embrace.

He looked up at me again, his eyes still glassy but not as tear filled and I promptly looked away from him feeling my cheeks go warm as I rubbed at the back of my undercut. Well sit, this was completely out of character for me I was actually nervous about what I should do.

"Uh... you wanna," I shrugged my shoulders in an attempt to get my point across, obviously it didn't help me look any less awkward. "you wanna talk about it, I guess?"

I could feel Eren's stare on me as I kept my eyes trained on his beat up old guitar that was now resting up against the black iron rod banister. Then I heard Eren giggle before he broke out into a full on laugh and I whipped my eyes up to look at him. It was a huge mistake because it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, despite having seen and heard Eren laugh plenty of times over the last three months. After just having seen him crying, it was a welcome relief to see his eyes crinkling in the corners as he laughed and his smile plastered wide on his face as his pearly whites were on display for me. My heart started going a thousand miles a second but I quickly tried to cover up my embarrassment.

"S-Shut up, Eren. You know I'm bad at this shit..." I grumbled quietly, suddenly it felt too hot to be outside even though fall was in full affect and it was at least 65 degrees outside.

"I-I know but-" Eren struggled to say through his laughter, "I'm sorry, Levi. It's just so weird seeing you look so nervous."

"Tch. Whatever, see if I ever try and comfort you again you little shit." I didn't actually think my words would send Eren into a panic as I turned to walk back into his apartment, but I was surprised when I felt his hand wrap around my wrist and pull me back.

"W-Wait! Levi, I'm sorry I didn't mean to laugh it's just... I'm really happy that you're trying to comfort me even though you said yourself that you're not very good at it."

I stared back at him for a long while, he gave me an apologetic look and one of those beautiful smiles of his and I melted instantly. He must have noticed that I was no longer going to make an attempt to leave as he scooted over an inch or two to allow me to sit next to him on the small hard carved bench. It was probably not a very good idea, to be sitting so close to Eren but I was always sitting on the edge of the bench with our thighs brushing up against each other a little too close for my comfort but I didn't bother to try and move.

"...You know, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." I said quietly, secretly hoping that he would tell me what happened because I was curious as fuck and I know I shouldn't be.

He shook his head with a smile, "No, it's okay. I don't mind talking about with you, Levi."

Does that mean that he's comfortable talking with me? Well I sure as fuck hope that's what it means. Eren turned in his seat to face me a little and his thigh ended up on top of mine but he didn't seemed bothered by it. I, on the other hand, was having a mini heart attack at the slight contact of our skin touching.

"Jean always had this dream of picking up and moving to Stohess one day to play Professionally for Sina's soccer team, and yesterday he came by early in the morning to tell me that he got offered a three year contract. He asked me if I wanted to go with him, but I had to say no. Stohess had always been Jean's dream, not mine. So we agreed that it was better for us to just break it off since neither of us were going to give up our ambitions for the other."

I nodded my head at his words in understanding but on the inside I was fucking happy as all hell. Eren had said no. He was going to stay here in Trost, with me. I would still be able to see him everyday whenever I wanted to. The anxiety that had built up within me since that conversation with Armin at the Coffee Shop instantly melted away and I relaxed a little into my seat. Eren was staring down at his hands in his lap picking absently at his nails.

It was obvious that he was upset about his break up, but I didn't want to be that creep of a guy who tries to make a move on his newly single neighbor after he literally just broke up with him 24 hours ago. Even if I did want to hug Eren again and bury my face into his neck and just hold him close to me. Being on the sidelines sucks so fucking much, but at least now I knew I had a chance with him. A slim one, but a chance nonetheless.

"Feel like going to the Gym with me later and punching one out?" I asked him with a small smirk.

Eren looked up from his hands still in his lap with something similar to surprise and then he smiled at me widely. I wanted more than anything to see him smiling, seeing him crying earlier was like a stab directly to my heart and it was the most painful thing I've ever experienced. Seeing those bright eyes filled to the brim with tears. I wanted to make Eren happy.

"Could we really?" he asked excitedly.

"Sure. But first things first, we need to clean your apartment. It's dirty as shit and I don't think I'll be able to leave knowing what a mess there is inside."

I totally wasn't using Eren's apartment being dirty as an excuse to stay there longer. Nope. That's not it at all. Eren pouted childishly at my order to clean his apartment and if I had been any less of a man, I probably would have buckled under the pressure of his adorable puppy dog eyes. But I wasn't about to relent, my ridiculously attractive neighbor or not, I didn't joke around when it came to cleaning.

"How are we going to clean if my friends are all asleep in my living room? They probably won't wake up till about noon." he mused out loud after realizing that I wasn't going to relent on the cleaning idea.

"Easy. Do what I do, threaten them to either get the fuck out or help clean up. They'll be running for hills in minutes."

Eren laughed and I didn't bother to hide my smile as I heard his lovely sound. I truly wanted to make Eren smile no matter what. I never wanted to hear him sing another song about heart break and I never wanted to see him crying again.

Eren and I stood up from our seats on the small bench and he grabbed his guitar carrying it into his messy apartment. He stopped in his tracks as he entered the room and I nearly bumped into his back. I walked around him and saw his expression as he looked at the mess in his living room with wide eyes and mouth hanging open in shock. I snorted in amusement at his reaction.

"Guess you partied a little too hard last night, you don't even remember drinking this much do you?" I walked around him and kicked a bottle toward his foot catching his attention.

"Shit, I didn't think things got that crazy last night. Why is there Pizza crust all over my carpet?" he asked picking up the bottle and throwing it in the recycle.

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that? There's fucking pizza crumbs everywhere. I hope you have a vacuum because if not, I'm leaving right now."

"Of course I have a vacuum. I'm just wondering if it's going to be enough to get all this pizza out of my carpet... IS THAT PEPPERONI ON MY CEILING!?"

"...Looks like mushrooms too..."

"Fuck!"

"Dude, what's with all the yelling?" a groggy voice caught both of our attention as Eren and I stopped staring at the pizza toppings adorning his ceiling to look at the source of the voice.

The Connie kid was starting to come around as he sat up on his elbows and squinted his eyes at the dim sunlight coming on through Eren's open balcony door. I crouched down in front of the bald kid and glared at him, Connie visibly gulped as he kind of shrunk in on himself and away from me.

"Oi, if you plan on sleeping here then I assume you're also going to help Eren and I clean this mess up, right?" I pointed a finger up to the ceiling and Connie followed it with his eyes until he saw the mess of pizza toppings stuck all over Eren's ceiling and he choked out a laugh before looking back at me with wide horrified eyes.

"Uh, you know I just remembered Sasha and I have a... thing to go do!"

"Connie?" the Sasha girl started rousing from her sleep as well. She flopped onto her back and she stared at the ceiling covered with pepperoni and other pizza toppings and she started grinning widely.

"Hey, Con Bon look! The stuff we threw on Eren's ceiling is still up there!" she giggled turning to look at a nervous Connie and then she stopped laughing when her eyes set on me.

Eren was quietly seething behind me. The smile on Sasha's face dropped quicker than I could say mustard and her mouth formed a small 'o' as she realized she had just admitted to she and Connie committing the heinous crime.

"I can't believe you guys, seriously? This prank is so 9th grade." Eren said sounding exasperated as he returned to clearing away the ocean of empty bottles and beer cans on his counter tops.

"Guess we know who's going to be staying to help with the clean up." I said with a sinister smirk at the two trouble makers in question and they pouted at me in return.

In the end, as Eren and I cleaned up his friends Krista the small blond and Bert, the big ass tree ended up waking up to help us clean while their respective partners stayed crashed out on the sofa complete unaffected by the noise we were all making. When we were finally finished cleaning Eren's apartment from top to bottom, I decided that I liked Krista and Bert.

---

I was waiting for Eren by my Ferrari as he came trotting down the stairs with a big smile on his face, he had his hair tied back into his usual high but short pony tail and he was wearing a green zip up hoodie that matched the color of his eyes, a black worn out t-shirt with the batman logo on the front and a pair of unfairly short shorts. The only word going through my mind when I saw him coming down those stairs? Damn.

"So can we actually get into the ring today or do you think it's too early for me?" he asked as he approached me with a cheeky grin.

I lazily looked over at him from my spot on the hood of my car. I had already changed into my own work out clothes, going with a shirt that was a little tighter on me than I would have normally wore if I were just going to the gym by myself. Because you know, not because I'm trying to impress Eren or anything. Definitely not trying to impress him.

"That depends, do you think you can handle being in the ring, Jaeger?" I asked getting into the driver's seat of my car and starting the engine.

Eren slipped in after me and he had a mischievous grin on his face as he looked at me with determined teal eyes aglow.

"Is that a challenge?"

"What if it is?"

"Then I accept it."

I snorted as I buckled myself in and pulled out of my usual parking space. Eren pulled out his phone as we drove toward the Club and I noticed he had yet another new phone case. Jesus, just how many of those did he have exactly?

"Another cat phone case, Eren?" I asked jadedly.

He turned and looked at me with an expression that said 'I can't believe you just said that'. He looked simply appalled as I glanced back at him every now and then trying to keep my eyes on the road at hand.

"Yes, I have another cat phone case. You know now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen your phone case Levi."

"That's because I don't have one, you dolt."

Again with the over exaggerated expression. This time his mouth was hanging open in disbelief.

"How can you NOT have a phone case!?" he practically screeched.

"Because, unlike you I don't have a need for such ridiculous things. A regular phone case does the same shit instead of paying extra from some cute little graphics or words on the back."

Eren was silent for awhile but I could feel his stare burning into me. This kid, getting all worked up over a damn shitty piece of plastic.

"It's official, I'm getting you a phone case. No! We're gonna go to the mall and get you one!"

Now it was my turn to look at him in disbelief as we slowed to a stop light. I held my foot on the gas and looked at Eren incredulously like he had just said 2 + 2 = fish.

"Like fuck we are. I said I don't have a need for such shitty things."

"Nope. I've already decided. We're going to the mall after the gym."

I sucked my teeth as the light turned green and turned my attention back to the road in front of me. I didn't see why it was such a big deal to Eren if I had a phone case or not. It never bothered me not to have one but... the thought of going to the mall with Eren was kind of exciting.

"Tch. Whatever, shitty brat."

---

Eren bounced from foot to foot like I had showed him as we circled each other in the ring, we were both looking for any openings and I spotted several in his stance but didn't act on them since this was Eren's first time in the ring. I didn't bother wearing my mouth piece since this was just a practice warm up to get Eren used to the feeling of the ring around him and facing off against another opponent.

"Scared, Jaeger?" I taunted with a small smirk as I took a step forward and Eren instinctively took a shuffled step back.

He couldn't retort even if he wanted to because he had his mouth piece in but I didn't need him to utter a single word in order for me to know that I was getting under his skin. His eyes and expression told me everything I would ever need to know.

"Come on, Eren. Try and come at me." I said beckoning him with a raised glove to my chest.

He hesitated again, not because he was worried about hurting me but because he knew what I was capable of in the ring. I was quick, able to dodge most it not all of my opponents attacks and able to counter those attack just as quickly as I dodge them. I could see that he was intimidated but he sucked it up and finally came at me. I knew from the very moment he took that step forward that he made his first mistake and I took the opportunity to trip him up.

Eren went tumbling to the ground and I danced around him bouncing up and down on the balls of my feet circling him like a hawk, a smug smirk on my face as he glared up at me. That growing fire in his eyes that I had seen the first time he beat the shit out of the punching bag, and I felt a rush of adrenaline run through me giving me shivers. His eyes were truly a remarkable feature, ones that I couldn't take my eyes off of and if I had I probably would have seen the smirk he had on his face before he tackled me to the ground.

I landed on my back against the matted floor of the ring and I felt a rush of air fly out of me as I felt Eren's weight on top of me. The dumbass spit his mouth piece out and I cringed trying to fill my lungs with air once more, then he looked down at me smirking.

"You know, I'm pretty sure that was against the rules of boxing." he said smugly as he practically straddled me.

"Get the fuck off me, Jaeger..." I wheezed still feeling a bit winded but Eren didn't move an inch. If I wasn't struggling for air, I probably would have liked the suggestive position we were currently in but I was more concerned with filling my lungs with sweet, precious oxygen.

"Where'd all that confidence go, Mr. I'm-so-cool-and-badass?" he teased with a chuckle as he leaned more of his weight on my chest and I had enough.

I used a military move on him by kneeing him from behind and flipping him over taking the control from him. Eren yelped as he hit the mat and I got behind him twisting his arm behind his back loosely while I got him in a headlock with my other arm. I had one of my knees pressing into his back and Eren winced underneath me as I held him in place breathing hard against his neck.

"It never left, shit face." I huffed out from behind him feeling my breathing start to slowly even out as I inhaled and exhaled heavily.

"Ah, fuck! L-Let go!"

I decided to make him suffer a bit longer and put a little more pressure on his back with my knee until he was flat on his stomach against the mat, me on top of him.

"Where did all that confidence go, Eren?" I mocked his earlier words and Eren tried to turn back and look at me with pure defiance in his eyes.

I twisted his arm a bit more, not enough to hurt him for long but enough to make him feel a bit sore afterwards. He bit his lower lip at the action and dare I say it, he even let out what sounded like a moan as I twisted his arm further back behind him holding it tightly into place with an iron grip. I smirked at the sound Eren tried to keep down because now it was my turn to tease him a little.

"Hoh? You like it rough, Jaeger?" I purred next to the shell of his ear purposely breathing on him.

What I would have paid to see Eren's expression. Damn, I regretted having him pinned face down on his stomach now but there was no helping it. I immediately released him, relieving his twisted arm from my grip and he turned over cradling it against his chest while glaring at me slightly red faced.

"Hit the showers, Private. I think we're done for the day." I said with a little victorious smirk.

"You're such an ass, Levi." he grumbled as he got to his feet.

"So I've been told." I shot back leaning against the ropes while I untied my gloves.

Eren was about to start heading for the showers when he stopped and looked back at me.

"Aren't you going to shower too?" He asked with one thick brow raised in my direction.

"No. I'll shower after you're done."

"Why? Wouldn't it be faster if we both just showered at the same time?" he was now furrowing his brows at me and I sighed because I was hoping to avoid this situation.

"Because, Kid. I have scars on my body that I don't want anyone to see. So just hurry up and go shower and I'll go in after you." It was both a partial lie and a truth.

Eren opened his mouth to say something in response but I shot him a look that made him close his mouth again and sigh before he slumped out of the ring awkwardly and made his way for the showers. One crisis averted, although I had to tell Eren something I hoped he would never have to find out about.

---

We ended up coming to the mall in the end. God, I hated the mall. All the noises and the crowds and the stuck up, snot nosed teenagers with their Abercrombie and Fitch and Hollister shit and their Starbucks. I crinkled my nose in disgust as Eren and I passed through a perfume department where a group of older women who were wearing clothes a little too tight for their age were spritzing various flowery perfumes on themselves and the smell made me was to puke. Being a chef, I had a sensitive nose.

"Why the fuck did I let you talk me into coming here again?" I growled over at Eren as we walked side by side through the heavily crowded floors.

"Because, you need a phone case and we're not leaving until you get one." he said sternly as if he were talking to some small child.

"Tch, I don't see why it's so fucking important for me to have one? It's not like it's going to change my life." I bit back folding my arms over my chest.

"Don't be such a kill joy, Levi. Let's just have fun while we're here!"

I looked back up at Eren and he was beaming brightly. This morning's events played back in my head like a movie and I remembered how different Eren looked compared to now. I didn't want him to go back to his apartment and cry his eyes out just because I didn't like coming to crowded places so decided that I would indulge him if only for the sake of keeping him from going home and feeling miserable. I would also admit, shopping with Eren was a chance I didn't want to miss out on.

"Fine. So where's this phone place?" I asked jadedly taking in my surroundings.

There were several small shops set up here and there on the main floor of the malls, just what you'd expect really. Small jewelry shops and carts that sold random things like sunglasses or electronics. We came up on one cart that was adorned with phone cases of all colors and sizes and Eren bounded up to the cart looking over each and everyone individually. His eyes were as big as saucers and they kind of sparkled in a way that made me smile at the childish expression on his face.

"Levi, look at this one!" Eren chimed as he showed me a black case that said 'I'm not saying I'm batman, I'm just saying nobody has ever seen me and batman in a room together'. I snorted and looked up at Eren who was giggling like an idiot.

"Lame. Only nerds would get a case like that." I poked fun at Eren since he was wearing yet another Batman t-shirt except this one was black and white with the yellow and black logo in the center.

"Hey, don't talk shit about Batman, okay? He's the coolest anti-super hero ever."

I rolled my eyes at him and started halfheartedly looking through the various phone cases myself. None of them interested me, as I thought. They were all either too colorful or glittery for my tastes or they had some stupid mainstream bullshit like "Bae" or #Selfie. I would never be caught dead with something like that on my phone. Then Eren made a noise that had me whipping my head around to make sure he was okay and saw him practically shove a phone case in my face.

"This one is perfect for you. You have to get it." he said with a look so serious I thought he was going to shit his pants.

I furrowed my brows as I took the simple, black case from his hands and read the quote on the back.

" 'Classy, Sassy and a bit Smart Assy'? Really, Eren?" I said looking back at him only to see the biggest shit-eating-grin on his face.

"I've never been more serious in my entire life. If you get it, I swear I'll stop bothering you about it and you'll never have to come phone case shopping with me ever again."

"Fine, whatever. I'm only going to use it because you're forcing me to buy this shit."

We walked over to the guy who was in charge of the stand and he was a young kid, probably younger than Eren, popping his gum while playing some stupid app on his phone. I cleared my throat loudly and the kid looked up at me uninterested before I shoved the case at him.

"We're buying this." was all I said as I reached for my wallet.

"That's gonna be $40."

I stopped mid-action as the kid told me the price for this crappy little phone case and I slowly glared at Eren who only smiled back at me sheepishly.

"I am not paying forty fucking dollars for a shitty piece of plastic, Eren."

"Oh come on, Levi! If you don't buy it, then I'm buying it for you!" He whined before reaching into his wallet.

I immediately pulled the money out of my wallet and practically slammed it on the counter top startling the kid a bit and I guess my scowl was helping much either. I ended up buying the piece of shit myself because I didn't want Eren to have to pay forty god damn dollars for something I was probably only going to use when he was around. With my new phone case in hand, Eren and I walked around the mall aimlessly. He had a smile on his face and I couldn't stay grumpy when he was happy like this.

Suddenly Eren gasped and his eyes were glued to something in a store window. I tried to follow his gaze but before I could even blink he was bolting toward the store. I might have panicked a bit when I saw him basically leaving me behind and I quickly power walked after him. Like fuck I was running after his ass. I entered the store he had entered but saw no signs of him anywhere as my grey eyes shifted from side to side searching for any Eren's.

Then his mop of brown hair popped up and he grinned widely at me, I quietly sighed with relief as I sauntered over to where he was standing behind a rack of random t-shirts. I scanned them suspiciously before Eren turned to me with his radiant smile and I swear in that moment I saw heaven.

"What's your size?"

I blinked, "My size?"

"Yeah, your size in shirts." like if it was the most obvious thing in the entire world.

"...Small." I mumbled quietly.

Eren didn't say anything as he rummaged through the rack of clothes humming to himself cheerfully. God fucking damn it, can I just kiss him already? He's too fucking adorable for words. Finally, Eren found whatever he was looking for a cheery "Ah!" before he bolted off toward the cashier. I followed after him giving him accusing looks as he just kept smiling at me like everything was right with the world and with Eren being such a mother fucking adorable asshole, maybe everything in the world was right. Well, at least he made me feel like it was.

He paid the cashier as she bagged his purchase and once the bag was in his hand he handed it to me with a bit of a smirk now and I took it from him hesitantly.

"You want me to carry your bags for you now, you little shit?" I asked trying my best to sound annoyed. In reality I didn't really mind all that much.

"No," he said with a laugh. "I bought it for you. Look inside."

I stiffened under his gaze. He... bought me something? He made a gesture with his hand for me to go ahead and look at whatever he bought for me and I slowly opened the bag pulling out the neatly folded shirt. I unfolded the dark grey t-shirt and held it up as I read what was on the front of it in big bold, black font.

"I thought it suited you perfectly." he said with a sheepish grin.

"... it's kind of big isn't it?" was all I could say through my flustered emotions. I didn't receive gifts like this often, and even if the shirt was a jab at my surly personality, it was from Eren and that was enough to get my heart racing.

"Yeah, I bought it two sizes bigger so you can use it as a sleeping shirt or something. Do you like it?" he asked rubbing the back of his neck like he always did when he was nervous or unsure about something.

At this point, I did not fucking care if we were in public and in the middle of some fucking store filled with other people. I smiled at Eren, not a half smile or one of those small ones I always use to hide my real happiness, but a real, genuine smile and he stared at me wide eyed.

"J'aime ça." I said quietly so that only the two of us could hear it.

While Eren was stunned into silence, I suddenly got hit with inspiration. I glanced around at the nearby racks until a shirt caught my attention and I rushed over to it checking for the size. It was a black tank top with the same quote as Eren's dumb cat phone case. It was the only one left on the rack and luckily it was a large. I figured Eren was either a Medium or a Large so I lucked out. I took the shirt off the hanger and folded it up so he couldn't see the graphics on the front. I gave it to the girl at the cash register and she rung me up with a smile that I ignored because I didn't need strange questions being asked.

Eren the whole while just watched me curiously but I said nothing as the girl handed me my purchase and I walked briskly out of the store. Eren followed after me trying his best to keep up which was funny considering he had much longer legs than me and should be able to keep up with me just fine. When I saw an empty bench up ahead I quickly sat down and claimed and waited for a flustered Eren to catch up to me. He eventually did and he sat sat down next to me making sure not to sit too closely, he was slightly out of breath as I shoved the bag into his lap.

"Here." I said curtly looking away from him pretending to seem interested in something else.

He took the bag from me dubiously and had I been looking at him, I probably would have noticed the faint blush on his cheeks as he opened up the bag and looked at it's contents. I heard him laugh as he took the shirt out of it's bag and looked at the graphic on the front and my heart nearly stopped when he hugged me.

"I love it, Thank you." he said just as quietly as I had back in the store except I could understand every fucking word of it since it was in plain english.

Needless to say, I was on cloud 9 at the moment as I caught Eren's scent from his clothes under my nose. He smelled fresh and clean yet salty like the ocean. I vaguely wondered what detergent he used to make him smell so nice. I realized that we were getting some stares from passerby's and I reluctantly started pulling away from his embrace. I found yet another reason to hate malls, lack of fucking privacy.

"How about some Ice Cream? My treat." he chirped happily as he put the t-shirt back into the bag.

Ice Cream, after we just finished working out?" I asked raising a questioning brow at him.

Eren only smirked, "Have a little fun, old man. It's okay to splurge every once and awhile. When was the last time you had an ice cream cone or ice cream at all?"

I paused seriously thinking about it for a moment. "Two months ago when Hanji made Vanilla Crepes and served them with Vanilla bean ice cream."

"That's too long! We need ice cream now!" Eren pulled me to my feet and I felt my face go warm at the contact of his hand wrapped around my wrist as he led me to the small ice cream parlor at the end of the mall strip.

Eren got a double scoop of Mint chocolate, my favorite, and I got a single scoop of the same ice cream. He had a waffle cone dipped in chocolate and he got the same for me to my surprise. Apparently he had remembered what I sucker I was for chocolate, so the dipped cone was a welcome treat. We sat on a stone planter that was a high enough off the ground for us to swing our legs, I purposely didn't swing my legs as it would look embarrassingly cute considering my short legs. Eren however, happily lapped at his cone as he swung his long limbs.

"Today was awesome." he suddenly said out of nowhere.

We turned and looked at each other and I couldn't help but reach out and tousle his hair a bit as he smiled. I was glad Eren had a good day, after this morning's events I would have done anything just to see him smiling like he was now.

"A smile suits you a lot better than tears, Brat. Don't go getting all sad on me again or we might having to do this again."

"Can we?" I heard him ask hopefully.

I stared into his big, blue-green eyes that were brightly illuminated by the orange glow from the setting sun light seeping in through the mall's sky light. In the orange light, his eyes almost looked Golden and just as warm as a weak burning fire.

"I don't think it's such a good idea, Eren. I'm not exactly the funnest person to go shopping with since I hate crowds and I hate having to deal with people in general." I admitted quickly licking up the melting Ice Cream that was threatening to dirty my hand. The thought of sticky fingers annoyed me and made me internally cringe.

I noticed that Eren was watching me lap up the melting treat, so once again I decided to tease him for the second time that day and I trailed the tip of my tongue slowly across the melting cream building up a big glob of it on my tongue before I swallowed it and licked my lips slowly. From the corner of my eye, I saw Eren lick his lips unconsciously before he swallowed thickly and returned his gaze to his own melting cone.

"I had fun with you today though." he said quietly and this time it was me who was watching him carefully as he lapped at his sticky fingers sucking on each one individually and if it wasn't the most sinful sight I'd seen since that incident in the showers over a week ago. Damn him, he was toying with me.

"Yeah, well I'll think about it. I only let you drag me around today because you seemed pretty down in the shitter this morning."

Eren giggled and I felt the tips of my ears go hot because I probably could have worded that a little better. Could I go one minute without talking about shit?

"I'm glad you did then. I really had fun and I definitely think we should do this again sometime." I felt my embarrassment rising and I couldn't take anymore of his sweet words.

"Tch, fine. Hurry up and eat your ice cream so I can go and clean my hands. My hands are already all sticky and gross."

I slurped up the last of my ice cream and ate the cone before I hopped off the planter and started wiping my hands off with some Sanitizing wipes I always carried with me. Don't judge me, people are gross pieces of shit and these wipes come in handy more than you think. With my fingers clean and not gross and sticky, Eren finished up the last few bites of his cone before he joined me and I handed him a wipe before started for my car. I was not about to hand sticky hand prints all over my car.

Eren and I threw our shit into the back seat and slipped into the hot interior of my car. It had been sitting in the parking lot for at least two hours now so the cool air that welcomed us as I turned on my car was refreshing. I had forgotten that Eren's CD was in the player still and I changed the radio settings to disc so that I could listen to the rest of the songs Eren had burned for me. He said there were about 20 songs on the disc and I'd only heard the first five so far, mainly because I never had to drive anywhere too far and by the time I reached my destination I had to turn off my car so I never got past the fifth song.

"Oh, hey turn it up. This is one of my favorite songs." Eren said with a big smile as we pulled out of the parking lot.

I reached for the knob to control the volume on my stereo and let the soft sound fill my sound system as we pulled out into the empty road. The was setting fast on the horizon and I listened to Eren quietly sing along to the lyrics of the song currently playing on my stereo.

"In the morning when you wake up I like to believe you are thinking of me,"

"And when the sun comes through your window I like to believe you've been dreaming of me,"

"Dreaming, mmm mmm,"

"I know 'cause I've been spent half this morning thinking about the t-shirt you sleep in."

"I should know cause I'd spent all the whole day listening to your message I'm keeping"

"And never deleting."

I glanced over at Eren as we passed several traffic lights on our way back to our complex, again mesmerized by the way he looked under the soft rich orange glow of the fast setting sun. By the time we made it home, it would undoubtedly be dark and the sun will be completely gone from the sky leaving behind bright neon streaks of pinks and purples. I made sure to commit the beautiful picture of Eren bathing the the sunset to memory.

"When I saw you everyone knew I liked the effect you had on my eyes,"

"but no one else heard the weight of your words or felt the effect that they have on my mind,"

"Falling, mmm mmm"

"I know 'cause I've been spent half this morning thinking about the t-shirt you sleep in."

"I should know cause I'd spent all the whole day listening to your message I'm keeping"

"And never deleting..."

Chapter Text

I was sitting across from Rico at the Shoreline Cafe, she had called me yesterday and asked if we could meet to which I agreed since it had been awhile since that little stunt we pulled together trying to make Eren think we were actually dating. I just hoped Rico wouldn't come up with anymore of her brilliantly dumb ideas.

The platinum blonde woman sat across from me, her usual blank expression on her face as she sipped on a large coffee. While she still looked as impassive as ever, there was something slightly different about her demeanor. Something I couldn't quite place but there was definitely something different. Finally, she looked up at me over the rim of her cup before setting it down on the table.

"So, how are things with Eren working out?" she inquired with about as much interest in her voice as you could imagine Rico having.

"Believe it or not, he broke up with his boyfriend about three weeks ago."

"Oh? So does that mean-"

"It had nothing to do with your shitty idea, Brzenska."

Rico sort of snorted at that and leaned back in her seat folding her arms over her chest. She was wearing a cream colored cable knit cardigan over a white silk top adorned with a black ribbon and a flared black skirt with matching black short boots. She was even wearing a thin layer of gloss and some blush on her pale cheeks and small black bow clip in her hair, overall, she looked nice.

"Well, that's a shame. Have things at least advanced for you, Ackerman? Or are you still sitting on the sidelines with your thumb up your ass?"

I snorted, "Fuck you, too. Actually, Eren and I have been spending a lot of time together. When we're not working, he'll come with me to my boxing club and we'll sometimes go out for lunch or something." I reached for my cooled cup of Assam and took a long sip before returning my glance to Rico who seemed slightly distracted. "What about you?" I asked for the sake of asking.

Rico blinked at me a moment before a rare and definitely unexpected smile formed on her lips. It wasn't just any smile, no, it was tender and almost sweet and two words that I would never associate with Rico Brzenska in the very least.

"Actually, that's why I called you here. Looks like you're going to have to find someone else to pretend date, Ackerman. I'm spoken for."

I cocked a single brow at her in silent inquiry but she only kept smiling at me in return obviously not relenting to give me an answer to my question. The curiosity was eating at me, honestly, so I bit.

"Explain." I said jadedly, taking another sip from my tea.

"One of my fellow officers whom I've worked with for many years asked me out a few weeks ago and I decided to give him a chance. It turns out I've been chasing after the wrong person all along."

"Name. Details." suddenly I felt like we were a pair of teenage girls gushing about our crushes.

"His name is Ian, actually. He confessed that he'd wanted to ask me out since our training days but knew that I had eyes for someone else. He finally got the courage to ask me out and we've been dating for two weeks."

"So, does that mean you're dumping me, Brzenska?" I asked with a hint of a smirk.

Rico smiled back at me, "Guess so, Ackerman. Try not to cry over me when I'm gone."

I smiled at her this time trying to hide it behind the rim of my cup but it was useless. We were merely teasing one another but I couldn't help but feel a slight sense of disappointment. Rico had ended up being not so bad in the end and I regretted not befriending her years ago, it turned out we had a lot more in common than we ever tried to realize but that was life and I was glad for finding an unexpected companion in Rico when I did.

We chatted for only a few minutes more before Rico set her coffee down and stood up from her seat grabbing her tote and leaving a generous tip behind as she smoothed out her skirt.

"I'm meeting Ian soon, so this is where we part ways, Ackerman. Good luck." Was her curt goodbye, but of course I couldn't let her go without getting in one last jab of my own.

"Don't forget to invite me to the wedding, Brzenska. Or should I say future Mrs.Dietrich?"

There was a faint blush on Rico's cheeks as she snorted and shook her head at me before turning on the heel of her boot to walk away. She waved back at me lazily and I only sat back in my seat with a faint smirk on my face as I finished what was left of my black tea. The Cafe was fairly quiet and I considered going up to the second floor to browse around for some books but that was quickly changed when Armin came and occupied the seat Rico had just previously been sitting in.

He had his long blond hair tied back in a half up-do and the sleeves of his baggy baby blue cardigan were rolled up to his elbows as he smiled at me warmly, reminding me so much of a certain tall blond who liked to annoy me so much.

"Alright, Kid. Spit it out." I said with a slight roll of my eyes as I set my empty cup back down on the saucer.

"Was that the same woman you came in here with a few weeks ago?" He asked curiously, leaning his elbows on the table top slightly.

"Yeah, her name is Rico."

"So?"

"So...?"

"So, what was that all about? You two were smiling quite an awful lot. Don't try to deny it because I was watching you two the entire time from the counter." Armin chuckled lightly and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You know, just because you're Erwin's boyfriend doesn't mean I have to tell you everything that's happening in my private life."

"You might as well tell me, I'll hear it from Erwin either way."

Damn, he had a point. This kid was good. Fucking Erwin and his loose lips. Eventually, I sighed and gave in because well, Armin is a sweet kid and it wasn't like I needed to keep Rico a secret since Armin pretty much knew how I felt about Eren for awhile now. I explained briefly to Armin why I had been pretending to see Rico in the first place and he listened to me intently, nodding every once in awhile in understanding before he was eventually just grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh, Levi. Dating a woman you don't actually like just to see if you could get over Eren? That's so shallow. You're just lucky she had the same idea in mind, at least now without Rico coming around anymore you and Eren can start getting somewhere. It's almost been a month since he and Jean broke up, you know?" the blond explained.

"A month isn't anything to get excited over, Armin. Break up's like Eren's don't just magically heal over night, he still gets pretty down about it."

"Yeah, but from what I've heard from him lately, the two of you have been spending quite a lot of time together. In fact, whenever I talk to him you're all he ever ends up talking about. I think you just need to be a little more brave and start showing Eren that you're interested and not just trying to comfort him through his time of need, otherwise he'll never know you like him in a romantic way. Eren is really dense, he doesn't get when you're trying to flirt with him right away. It takes him awhile to notice these things."

"No, shit. I've only been gradually trying to get closer to him for the past four months. At least I know I've gone from just being his neighbor to being someone he considers a friend, although that's not a shit ton better if you ask me." Armin gave me an apologetic smile at this and I sucked my teeth in annoyance.

"Well, if it helps any, you probably already know that Erwin's parents are having a Holiday party at their estate and Erwin says they invite all of his friends. Naturally, I'll be going and meeting his parents for the first time. Erwin's told me that you'll more than likely be going as well, I think it would be a great opportunity for you to invite Eren to go with you. Sort of like an unofficial date sort of thing." the blond suggested cheerfully and I took a moment to mull over his idea.

Erwin's parents were like a second family to me. They were good friends with my parents but I always felt closer to them since they always welcomed me with open arms and never judged me about my life choices. I always spent a great deal of time at Erwin's place, probably more than I did at my own house. Taking Eren to their annual holiday dinner might be interesting, also awkward considering Erwin's parents lived pretty far out of the city. Eren and I would have to stay at their estate, which I had no problems with since like I said before, The Smith home was like my second home but how would Eren feel about spending two days and one night with me of all people in a strange home? Not to mention the four hour car ride to and from Erwin's parent's estate. That was a total of eight hours in a car with Eren, alone.

Armin clearly noticed my concern about the idea and he gave me a reassuring smile with a light squeeze to my hand before he stood up from the seat he was occupying.

"Stop worrying so much, Levi. Just ask him. You might get a surprising answer." with that, Armin gave me a little wink before he turned around and made his way back toward the counter.

Maybe Armin was right. I should stop being such a little pansy ass about this idea and just fucking ask Eren. It's just a party, it's not that big of a deal, right? It wasn't like I was asking him to meet my parents, even though The Smith's were kind of like a second set of parents to me and they would no doubt question me bringing someone new and unknown to their party, let alone another man. But what did I have to lose, really? The worst that could happen was, Eren says no and I go to the party alone like I have for the past two years and that would be the end of that.

I decided. I was going to ask Eren to go to The Smith's annual party later on today and whatever happens, happens.

---

I trudged up the stairs to my floor of the complex and just as I rounded the corner to make my way to my door I saw Eren standing in front of it with a nervous look on his face like he was about to vomit or shit his pants. I stopped and contemplated turning around and walking back down the stairs or startling him, but the decision was made for me when he sighed defeated and saw me standing there as he turned to go back to his apartment.

His eyes sort of widened but from this distance I could clearly make out the obvious blush that was on his face as he stuttered and tried to form coherent words. I snapped myself out of my shit and continued on toward my apartment pulling out my keys from my front pocket in the process. I gave Eren a hint of a smile as I jammed the key into the lock and turned it with a twist of my wrist letting myself in, Eren stayed standing behind me smiling awkwardly before he uttered something.

"Um, I-I was coming by to see if you were home because Hanji stopped by and left me an entire plate of Fudge."

I turned to look at him, slight concern in my eyes for the kid when I heard Hanji came by and I immediately started checking him up and down for any injuries the idiot might have left him during her unexpected visit. Eren tensed under my gaze and I saw his hands fidget nervously in front of him like he suddenly couldn't stand still, my eyes trailed back up until they were on Eren's face and he was staring back at me intensely.

"That crazy glasses didn't do anything to you did she? Hanji tends to forget the meaning of 'personal space' and 'restraint' sometimes." I asked folding my arms over the black long sleeved shirt I was wearing.

"No!" he half shouted and then winced when he realized he said that a little too loudly than he probably intended, "I mean, she was her usual affectionate self so..." he trailed off toward the end and now I was getting a bit annoyed.

"Eren," I sighed. "What did the shitty glasses want?"

"Nothing! I mean- she just wanted to ask me something and then she told me to invite you over to my place whenever you got back and then she practically shoved the fudge in my arms before she ran off and ugh... I don't know, Levi. Can we just go into my apartment and eat fudge and not talk about how weird Hanji is?" he sighed a bit after his ramblings were over but I couldn't help but chuckle at his flustered face.

"Yeah. Come on, Kid."

I shut the door to my apartment again and started making my way over toward Eren's apartment door with him trailing behind me with a grateful smile before he jumped in front of me and started fumbling with his lock. Eventually, Eren got his door open and he allowed me to enter first. I knew I didn't have to take off my shoes because Eren obviously wasn't as up tight about cleanliness as I was, but I still slipped off my shoes by the door anyway. Eren didn't seem to mind but then again he was barefoot already as he entered his own apartment and immediately stroked at a slumbering Captain who was perched on a high shelf, I noted.

"So what did the shitty glasses want to ask you about, anyway?" I asked as I took a seat on Eren's old sofa. Since I had visited his apartment last, I taken note of how plush the big thing actually looked but never got a chance to experience it until now. It was just as comfortable as it looked and I immediately felt my body relax into the worn out cushions.

"Oh, um, she just wanted to know if you were meeting with 'Rico' today and if I knew where you went. I told her no..." Eren said from the kitchen behind me, I was currently too relaxed to turn around and see his expression as he trailed off again.

"I did meet Rico actually, although she could have just texted me if she wanted to know that. She didn't have to come all the damn way over here just to shove fudge in your face and then leave. Sorry about that." I said absently as Captain had roused from his slumber and jumped off the shelf to saunter over to me, I picked him up from the floor and set him in my lap where he meowed sleepily and settled himself in.

"I don't mind, really. But, um, Rico is that woman you came into the cafe with a few weeks ago wasn't it?" I noticed the unsure tone of Eren's voice.

Was he... jealous? I felt myself smirk as I encouraged the thought. Eren jealous of me being with another woman. That would be a lovely thing indeed, a nice change of pace for once. Still, I decided to tease him cautiously since I didn't want to push things too far by assuming.

"Yeah. She called me yesterday and asked if I wanted to meet up at the same place today." I patiently waited for Eren's response as I heard nothing but silence to my answer.

"Oh," I heard him say quietly. Bingo. "H-How did it go? You two seem to really get along from what I could tell the last time I saw you together." he was trying to act casual now but I had heard that slight stutter.

He finally came back into my view with two plates of fudge in his hand before he handed me one and took a seat on the opposite side of the large couch. Captain barely stirred from his sleep as Eren plopped himself down unceremoniously. I could feel him staring at me occasionally as I put off answering his question to take a bite or two of the heavenly fudge Hanji had made. Damn that woman and her talent at making sweets. I darted my tongue out to the corner of my lips before I let it glide across my bottom lip clearing any crumbs the fudge might have left behind. I heard Eren swallow audibly next to me.

"Well," I started, looking over at him slowly and smirking. "Do you want me to be honest or do you want me to lie?" it was a simple question but I purposely added a side of mystery and mischief to my tone as I raised one of my thin brows at him suggestively.

"Y-You don't have to tell me! Really, I was just asking because it's just that I've never really heard you talk about her these last few weeks and I was wondering if you were still seeing her or not but it's not like I'm trying to snoop into your personal life or anything, I-"

I interrupted Eren's flustered rambling with a dark laugh as I set my now empty plate of fudge down on his coffee table. I wiped at the corners of my mouth not wanting to embarrass myself by having chocolate on my face if I was going to execute this perfectly. Teasing Eren these last few weeks has slowly but surely built up my confidence in just how far I could push him before he breaks or I push too far. So far, my teasing hadn't gotten to either of those points but it was enough to have him either blushing or looking away in embarrassment from me.

"Calm down, Eren. I'm just fucking with you. Actually, I got dumped today if you really care to know." so it wasn't exactly the truth but not too far from it, I guess. Rico had basically just told me I'd have to find someone else to 'pretend date' as she put it.

"Oh..." this time Eren sounded much less dejected and more surprised, although whether it was good surprised or bad surprised, I'm not really sure. "That sucks."

I snorted at his sentiment and leaned back into his sofa slinging one of my arms across the back of it casually. Eren seemed to relax a bit after my revelation and he even scooted closer toward me, a bold move, I thought.

Eren beamed before he set his plate down next to mine and he turned to face me on his couch, hair pulled back into a half up-do like Armin's and his glasses perched on the bridge of his nose.

"Let's do something fun to get your mind off getting dumped!" he chirped excitedly.

I looked at him dubiously because did he really think that I was seriously the type of person to get upset over being dumped? I mean, it wasn't as if I even really got dumped. I just said it to get some kind of reaction out of him and apparently it worked but now I was regretting it a bit. Still, I decided to indulge him anyway.

"Like what?" I drawled.

"Let's watch some movies! I have netflix!"

Movies with Eren in his apartment? Just the two of us? Fuck, I'd be crazy not to take this opportunity. I pretended to think on it, like if I really needed to, before I turned to my neighbor who was waiting with pure anticipation in his big, blue-green eyes.

"Alright. So, what are we watching?" I inquired, noting the way Eren's eyes seemed to light up at my agreement.

"Hold on, let me change real quick and then we'll go browse the movies. My laptop and TV are in my room." He scrambled up from his seat on the couch grabbing the dirty dishes and placing them in the sink before he shot into his bedroom.

Wait one fucking god damn minute here. His bedroom... as in Eren's bedroom, where he sleeps? That was where we were going to watch movies? Alright, so maybe I was panicking a little too much. Most people had TV's in their bedrooms, I knew that. God knows, Hanji had a TV in every single room of her house. Me, on the other hand, I only had one TV and that TV was in my living room. I quickly glanced around Eren's living room noticing that he didn't have a fucking tv in here and then hesitantly followed after him when he called out for me to come into his room, the door left wide open as I entered awkwardly taking in the surroundings.

It looked cleaner than the first time I saw it, there weren't any wrinkled or random discarded t-shirts lying around on the floor and his bed was made. Messily, but it was made. Eren was already sitting at the center of his large bed, legs folded underneath him as he stared down at his computer screen. I noted that the laptop was connected to an HDMI cable that was hooked up to his flat screen mounted on the grey wall opposite of his bed and I could see the titles on the screen as he browsed from his laptop.

"What kind of movies do you feel like watching? Romance? Horror? Foreign?" he asked, never looking up from his computer screen.

"Oh yes, a romance movie. Just what I need to watch after I've just had my fucking heart shattered." I said wistfully, milking the 'I-just-got-dumped' act as much as I could.

Eren looked up at me and gave an apologetic smile before he went back to browsing movie genres. I suggested horror movies since I was in the mood for something either gory or creepy and Eren immediately picked out a few titles.

"I've heard several of my friends suggest 'You're Next' is good. Then there's this new one called Abduction, and another one called Contracted. They all have pretty good reviews. What do you think?" He mused out loud.

"Contracted is a load of shit, don't even fucking bother with it. Hanji made me watch it. Worse decision of my life."

"It does sound pretty gross, to be honest. I'm not sure I want to watch a movie about some girl having a one night stand and getting demonic crabs from hell because of it."

"That's not even the fucking worst of it. Just. Don't."

Eren chuckled before he continued down the list of other movies we could watch, We eventually settled on watching some movie called Grave Encounters. It looked and sounded like shit to be honest. As the movie buffered, Eren got comfortable on the bed and I couldn't believe I was actually about to fucking do this.

I scooted onto the large bed awkwardly, because I wasn't sure how close I should get to Eren without it seeming weird or creepy in some way. He was laying flat on his stomach with his head perched up on his bent elbows looking at the screen while his ankles hooked around one another resting against the headboard of his bed. It also was not fucking helping that Eren was wearing a pair of short ass booty shorts with nothing but an oversized jersey that barely covered his ass. That adorably, cute ass. This somehow felt so unfair all of a sudden.

I took the opposite side of Eren's bed and rested my head and back against the headboard so that I was facing the tv sitting upright but with my legs stretched out in front of me crossed over one another. The movie started and luckily Eren's bedroom was already kind of dark so it added to the effect. Eren and I watched the first few minutes of it and he laughed whenever I made some snarky ass comment about the shit writing and bad acting, but then, shit got real.

I was so utterly fucking wrong about this movie. It was actually terrifying and the smart ass comments I had been making in the beginning were no where to be found when shit actually started jumping out from every corner. Eren and I watched in gut wrenching suspense, dreading every time things got a little too quiet in the movie for our liking. It got to the point where Eren and I couldn't even watch the last ten minutes of the movie. We ended up just googling what happens at the end.

"There's a second Grave Encounters..." Eren said as he browsed more titles for another movie to watch.

"Do we really want to go down that road?" I asked eyeing him dubiously.

Eren and I stared at each other for a moment or two before we eventually agreed; We're going down that fucking road. Eren buffered the next movie and while it loaded, he sprinted off into the kitchen to get something. I tried not to stare at his ass as he retreated but it was so fucking hard not to. It was like he was purposely bouncing around in those tiny ass little shorts just to tease me, even though I knew that couldn't be the case... could it? Eren eventually came back before the first 5 minutes of the movie started and he had bags of junk food in his arms.

"What is this, some tween-age sleepover we're having? Why don't we just start painting our nails and doing each other's hair while we're at it?" I said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Eren only giggled as he dropped the shit load of calories and high in fat sugary goodness on the bed before he plopped back down along with them. He reached for a bag of what looked like Sour Punch Straws and I hesitantly took one when it was offered to me because shit, I hadn't eaten these kinds of things since I was in College. I wasn't a health nut or anything, far from it, but my stomach already ached at the sight of all the sour gummy candies and pickled snacks. He even had Chinese candies. Damn him, I had a weakness for those things.

"This movie fucking sucks. Who even carries a camera like that at a fucking party? Nerds, that's who." and I was back with my snarky commentary. Eren didn't seem to mind though, he found it amusing if his roaring laughter was anything to go by.

In the end, Eren and I ended up not being able to watch Grave Encounters 2 either. Not because it was scary, just the exact opposite. It was stupid as shit. Not nearly as good as it's prequel that had even me jumping out of my skin whenever something popped out.

I was sucking on a chinese candy when Eren turned and looked at me with a grimace.

"How can you eat that so casually? I can't even leave it in my mouth long enough to eat the skin off."

I smirked before sticking my tongue out at Eren so he could see the obvious green color that it was thanks to the pickled treat. He cringed away from me and I chuckled darkly before chewing off the skin of the plum until there was nothing but the pit seed left.

"I like bitter things." I said with a shrug as Eren and I browsed through more movies.

I heard his stomach growl loudly and I looked over at him as he ducked his head down a bit shyly. Really? I had a vague idea in my mind that Eren probably hadn't eaten a decent meal today at all and sucked my teeth as I crawled off from the bed and started for his kitchen.

"Where are you going?" I heard him ask me as I walked past him.

"Where do you think, shit head? To the kitchen to make you dinner since you obviously can't feed yourself properly."

"B-But I haven't gone grocery shopping yet! Let's just order take out or something!" he cried trailing after me.

I sucked my teeth again as I noticed my fingers were stained green from eating the Chinese candy, tch. That would be there until probably tomorrow but there wasn't much I could do to fix that. I washed my hands in the sink thoroughly before I opened Eren's fridge and started inspecting it's contents. I turned and looked at Eren like he had just grown a second head and he smiled sheepishly at me from the counter.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now? Your fridge is empty, Eren."

"Yeah, well I told you I haven't gone grocery shopping."

"That's it, I'm going shopping for food." I started for the his door taking my car keys out of my pocket in the process. "I'll be back in 30 minutes."

"W-Wait! I'll go with you!" Eren quickly followed after me and started slipping on a pair of worn out converse.

"Should you change first, dip shit?"

Eren looked at me thoroughly confused and I rolled my eyes pointing at his shorts. He looked down at his own attire but then smirked as he looked back up at me, cheeky brat.

"No, why? It's not like I haven't gone to the supermarket dressed like this before."

Not wanting to give Eren the satisfaction of knowing his attire was getting me worked up, I sighed and rolled my eyes at him before stepping toward his door and pulling it open.

"Whatever, don't come bitching at me if some creeps start hitting on you because your ass is practically hanging out." I saw Eren frown but there was a very visible blush on his cheeks as he brushed past me and made his way for the stairs.

I smirked enjoying the view I had of Eren's ass as he walked away from me, I trailed back a bit watching the way his hips swayed from side to side with purpose.

---

"But what's the difference with buying the generic brands?"

"The difference is, I'm paying, so we're getting brand name, Brat."

Eren and I bantered over which brands of pasta sauce to get, even though I could easily make a pasta sauce from scratch if I wanted to. We went aisle by aisle getting things for Eren's poorly stocked fridge. Of course, I offered to buy since Eren obviously couldn't bother spending his money on proper food.

Once the shopping was done, Eren and I stood in line at check out and we chatted casually. I remembered that I needed to pick up some black tea, the good kind, and told Eren I'd be right back as I left for the 6th aisle. I searched for my brand of black Assam tea and quickly found what I was looking for, getting the biggest tin that they had and making my way back to Eren holding our spot in line.

"Hey, what's a cute little thing like you doing all by yourself? You got a boyfriend?" I heard a sleazy voice say as I neared the check out line Eren and I were standing in.

I quickly looked up and saw a tall, lanky man with greasy black hair slicked back getting a little too close and personal with Eren. I could see the disgust on Eren's face as he leaned away from the guy and scowled at him angrily trying to ignore the way the man's obvious bad breath smelled as he practically breathed down Eren's neck.

"Uhm, no. I'm not alone, actually. Do you mind?" Eren said taking a step away from the guy but the fucker was being persistent.

"Don't be like that, baby. I could show you what a real man is like. Bet you'd like that, huh?" The guy was now purring into Eren's ear and I could see the way he shuddered with disgust at the action.

"Look, mother fucker. If you don't get the fuck away from me right now, I'm-"

"Eren." I said sternly as I took my place back by his side.

I was giving the guy my best death glare and it seemed to work as he took a step back and gulped audibly. I could see a few of the other customers in line giving us curious stares, what a bunch of fucking useless hypocrites. This is why I hated people. Eren looked ridiculously relieved when he saw me standing next to him.

"H-Hey, is this shrimp your boyfriend, sugar lips? I bet I could satisfy you better than his pencil dick." the guy weakly shot back trying his best to stand his ground.

Eren was about to open his mouth and say something but I interrupted him by snaking my hand around his lower waist possessively and pulling him closer to my side as I did so. Eren let out a small squeak of surprise but I ignored that in favor of glaring at the sleaze ball still looking at Eren like he was a raw piece of meat in front of a starved animal.

"Fuck off, shit bag. He's not interested in limp dicked, mama's boys who can't do anything but suck milk from their mom's tits all day."

The guy went red with rage at this, quite literally. He was practically huffing and puffing looking like a child who was about to throw a temper tantrum when his mom didn't give him what he wanted. I rolled my eyes and turned Eren and I back to the front, ignoring the seething scum bag behind us. My arm never left Eren's waist though, and I even got behind him and pressed myself up against his back to make it seem more believable. I would admit, I was milking this a bit but I was also doing it to cover up any view the guy might have still had of Eren's ass in those shorts.

Suddenly the cashier who was ringing up the people in our line called out to the shit bag who had been harassing Eren and told him he had to leave the store. Then a couple of security guards came and escorted the bastard out. He glared at me and sent curses my way the entire time to which I promptly ignored. The weakest dog barks the loudest.

Eren and I, stayed in this position a bit longer and I could feel how stiff his body was in my embrace. I craned my neck up a bit and whispered close to his ear letting my breath ghost over his exposed neck as I did so.

"Relax, Eren." I softly cooed, hoping to calm him down yet I was well aware that he was more flustered over our suggestive position. My dick was practically flat against his ass.

After a moment though, Eren did eventually relax into my arms and chest. His shoulders no longer tense and if I knew any better, I would have thought he was even leaning back into me a bit. We stayed in the position a while longer until it was our turn to check out at the register and the blond who had helped us out smiled apologetically. I read his name tag and noted that, Thomas was on my 'People-I-Liked' list.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Sirs. I would have done something sooner but I was a bit frozen at first." the blond kid admitted honestly with a shy smile.

"It's okay, I'm just glad you helped us out when you did. Otherwise, I'm not so sure it would have ended so peacefully." Eren said with a sheepish grin of his own.

I simply stayed quiet and I pulled out my wallet to pay for all our stuff. Thomas, however, thought it seemed like a good idea to ask the so very obvious question that I'm sure was on everyone's mind.

"So, are you two a couple? I'm sorry, it's probably obvious that you are the way you two were hugging each other and whispering just now. I just think it's nice to see, you two really compliment each other." Thomas said as he continued to ring up the last of our things.

Eren seemed at a loss at what to say and I knew I could either say two things; the truth or a lie but I settled for the former to save myself from an awkward car ride home if I lied and said Eren was my boyfriend and he got upset about it.

"We're not. We're just friends and I did what any friend would do when a horny, scum bag is hitting on their friends." I said matter-of-fact.

Thomas and Eren seemed to both look a bit dejected as I said this, but I ignored it as I swiped my card through the card reader and paid for all of our things. Eren gave Thomas small smile before he walked around me and started putting the bags in our cart and Thomas took the time to ask me some questions that he was apparently just itching to ask.

"So, can I ask, If it you who's not interested or is it him? Because I really thought you guys were together for a minute there." he half-whispered, murmured to me so that Eren wouldn't be able to hear him.

I didn't feel obligated to answer a strangers question about my personal life or my love life, but Thomas reminded me a bit of Armin in the way he seemed to genuinely care about people.

"It's him." I said back just as matter-of-fact as I had before.

Thomas made a small 'o' shape with his mouth before he finished clearing my transaction on his monitor and I pocket my wallet as I waited for my receipt. Eren was waiting patiently by the cart looking at something on his phone while I finished up with our friendly-neighborhood cashier. Thomas handed me my receipt and I folded it up neatly before turning to leave.

"You might want to try looking a little harder from now on." Thomas cheerfully tacked on as a conclusion to his thoughts.

What the hell was that supposed to mean? I let his strange words accompany me as I walked with Eren toward my car and we loaded up the trunk and back seat with bags and bags of food. Eren seemed eager to get home, and quite frankly I was not.

---

After I made us dinner, a simple pasta dish with basil and Roma tomatoes, Eren insisted we continue on with this movie night. It was getting late and the sun was going down, but I couldn't find it in me to say no to spending time with him. Besides, it's not like I had anything better to do if I went home. So, with full bellies and awkward super market trips aside, Eren and I settled on his bed once more with Captain curling up by my feet.

This time, we didn't watch a movie, instead Eren insisted we watch a Korean Drama his sister had suggested called Rooftop Prince. Eren had said he'd seen the first few episodes and that it wasn't that bad so I relented and watched the first couple of episodes with him. By episode one, I was completely hooked on the shit like a crack addict to, well, crack.

"The older sister is such a bitch. Seriously, who even tells their little sister to stay in a truck to 'rest' while they go and buy them milk? Why the fuck am I watching this shit again?"

Eren rolled onto his back laughing hysterically as I continued to be en-captured by the shitty, predictable as fuck, drama that I was sure I'm addicted to now. We had made a bowl of popcorn sometime during the first two episodes and I was absently popping the buttery kernels into my mouth as I tried to keep up with the subtitles.

"I never thought you'd be the type to like Drama's, Levi. You're like so into it, oh my god." Eren was still flat on his back laughing as I threw some popcorn at him, successfully landing a few kernels in his open mouth.

"Fuck you, Eren. You got me hooked on this shit and now I have to know what the fuck happens in the next episode."

"You know you'll never finish watching it at this rate. There's always some kind of dramatic plot twist at the end of every episode so that means you'll probably end up staying up all night until morning watching episode after episode."

"Tch, yeah and who's fault is that, dumbass? You're the one who insisted we watch this shit. Take responsibility, shit head."

Eren and I eventually settled on stopping our little marathon, by the time I knew it was nine o clock at night and I was laying on Eren's bed beside him just talking as we listened to his playlist playing softly in the background. We talked about everything and nothing, that was how our usual conversations went anyway but there something so different about it this time around.

The shades to Eren's bedroom window were wide open and they gave us a perfect view of the night sky. Eren would point out certain stars that made up bigger constellations and I found myself fascinated by his words as he passionately talked about the stars. It was beautiful. He was beautiful. I turned and looked at him to see that he was already staring back with me with his big, doe eyes. Blues and greens swirling together into that indescribable color that made Eren so special in my eyes. He was like a gemstone shining quietly in the moonlight that seeped in through his window.

I wasn't sure how long we stared at each other for, we had stopped talking somewhere along the way and the only sounds I could hear where the soft lyrics coming from a Coldplay song in the background and the sound of Eren's soft breathing next to me as he curled up in his spot. His eyes had closed without my knowing it and he was now fast asleep, I watched as his chest rose and fell with each breath just relishing in Eren's presence quietly.

'Look at the stars, look how they shine for you,'

'And everything you do, yeah, they were all yellow.'

'I came along, I wrote a song for you and all the things you do, and it was called "Yellow",'

'So then I took my turn, Oh what a thing to have done, and it was all yellow.'

I turned on my side slightly and lightly brushed some of Eren's bangs away from his face so that I could take more of the sight of him in. I watched him sleeping quietly as my heart thundered in my chest.

'Your skin, oh yeah your skin and bones turn into something beautiful,'

'You know, you know I love you so... you know I love you so.'

His long, dark brown lashes fell against his cheeks and I studied his features like I had done many times before, each time I'm more mesmerized by him than the last. Committing the sight of his strong, narrow jawline and round childlike face to memory like it would be the last time I would ever get to see them.

I debated getting up and gathering my things to leave, now that Eren was asleep there was really no reason for me to stay. But the sight of him kept me glued to my spot as I rested my cheeks against my folded arm cradling my head. It was getting chilly, so I carefully pulled the duvet out from under me and covered Eren with it without waking him up. I went back into my previous position and my eyes started feeling heavy as well.

'I swam across, I jumped across for you, oh what a thing to do 'cause you were all yellow.'

'I drew a line, I drew a line for you, oh what a thing to do and it was all yellow.'

'Your skin, oh yeah your skin and bones turn into something beautiful,'

'You know, for you I bleed myself dry... for you I bleed myself dry.'

As my eyes drooped heavily, I never took my stare off Eren and his sleeping form, afraid that if I did he would disappear from my sights like a dream. I fought back my heavy lids but it was no use, I felt myself slipping into the comfortable darkness of Eren's bedroom with the faint sound of my heart racing in my ears as I finally let my eyes slide shut.

'It's true, look how they shine for you, look how they shine for you, Look how they shine for...'

'Look how they shine for you, Look how they shine for you, Look how they shine...'

'Look at the stars, look how they shine for you and all the things that you do...'

The last thing I remembered hearing as I slipped in and out of the black nothingness of sleep, was the song echoing the sound of my heart and Eren's soft mumbling.

Chapter Text

My eyes fluttered open when blinding sunlight came pouring in. I squinted and groaned as I turned around to face away from the sun and I was surprised by the face that I met when I did. I wasn't expecting to see Eren's sleeping face literally only inches away from mine, let alone anyone's face at all. I woke up thinking I was in my own apartment, sleeping in my own bed, growling at my own sunlight that was blinding me.

Yesterday's events came flooding back to me as I recalled that Eren and I ended up spending the entire sunday together watching movies, eating junk food, we went to the super market at one point and I cooked dinner for him and then we fell asleep on his bed last night after talking nonstop for what seemed like hours. I let out a small, content sigh as I watched his beautiful face sleeping in the dim lighting of his room. I was blocking the blinding sunlight from hitting his eyes with my back as I faced him.

My heart felt like it was doing an entire acrobatic act, doing front flips and back flips because I had slept with Eren in his bed last night. I wondered what Eren would think if he woke up and saw me here, or if he didn't see me here. Would he be none the wiser? Would he be disappointed? I slowly lifted my hand to brush some of his hair aside but as I did this, my eyes caught the bright green flashing numbers behind Eren's shoulder on his bedside table.

I narrowed my eyes at the time, 11:04AM. Today was Monday. I had work today. My shift started at 11AM. My eyes immediately went wide and I scrambled out of Eren's bed rather haphazardly as I was tangled in the sheets. One 'Shit!' and two 'Fuck!'s later and Eren was stirring from his sleep tiredly rubbing his eyes and squinting when the sun blinded him with my departure from the bed. I would have given anything to have just stayed in bed with Eren and watched him sleep for the next hour but the workaholic in me was screaming for me to get the fuck up and go to work. Eren sat up on the bed and watched me flutter about his room looking for my phone.

"Levi?" he called, voice still heavy with sleep.

If I wasn't in such a rush I would have probably taken the time to appreciate how hot his morning voice sounded and how cute his bed head looked. Life really hated me.

"I'm five fucking minutes late for work, fuck. Where the fuck is my pho-...got it!" I snatched the device up from the pile of blankets on the floor and shoved it into my jean pockets.

Eren all the while rolled out of bed yawning before looking at the time and sighing. About what? I have no fucking idea. I was more concerned about how I had managed to sleep late in someone else's bed. I didn't even get four straight hours of sleep in my own bed and yet I had somehow managed to get over 10 hours of sleep in Eren's? Don't get me wrong, I felt the most rested I've felt in years but it didn't change the fact that it was weird as fuck.

Eren followed me as I sprinted into his living room slipping on my boots, he looked like he wanted to say something but I wasn't giving him the chance to delay me any further before I was yanking his door open while fishing for my car keys at the same time. Then, like a switch, I suddenly remembered I couldn't just leave without saying something to the kid so I shifted awkwardly in his doorway and looked at the lanky, young man staring at me questioningly in the living room with his hair sticking up adorably in all sorts of ways and his oversized jersey wrinkled and disheveled from sleep.

"Uh, thanks for yesterday... I guess..." Shit, I wasn't used to doing this kind of thing.

Eren gave me a warm smile before he shook his head and approached me at the door. He held it open and I stepped out into the empty hall, noting that Captain was meowing at Eren to give him food probably.

"Levi, go. You're gonna be even later for work if you just keep standing there." he said with a little chuckle and my heart melted.

Without much thought I smiled gently at him before I turned on the sole of my boot and sprinted off toward the stairs. I could feel Eren's gaze on me as I retreated and as much as I wanted to stop and take one last look at him, I was more concerned with getting to work before the early lunch shift started. Damn my incredibly bad luck. Although, I don't think I would have had this morning happen any other way.

---

I pulled into the employee parking lot at Ailes and parked my car a bit haphazardly but couldn't bring myself to care as I grabbed my gym bag that I always kept with an extra change of clothes from the back seat and hurried into the restaurant through the back door. I was praying that maybe I could manage to slip by Hanji and Erwin without being questioned about why I'm unusually late today, but that was like wishing for a million dollars to come out my ass.

Not even four steps into the place and Hanji was all over me like white on rice. Shit. I knew I wouldn't be able to lie or fake my way out of this one. Considering I was an uptight bastard who never liked to be even one minute late to anything, me being over 30 minutes late for work was definitely something to be suspicious about. I could even see my team giving me curious looks as I walked through the back kitchen to get to my locker in the break room so I could change into my uniform.

"Soooo, Levi. I heard from a little Birdie that you spent the entire day at a certain someone's apartment yesterday." Hanji sang as she followed me into the changing rooms.

I paid no mind to the fact that she was a female and stripped right in front of her, I was somewhat glad to be out of my clothes that I had been wearing since yesterday as I changed into my uniform. I quickly buttoned up the black and red double breasted jacket with my name embroidered on the left pocket before I slammed my locker shut and glared at the crazy woman who was beaming at me in the doorway completely blocking my path.

"Move, shitty goggles." I hissed but she wouldn't relent. Not until I gave her what she wanted. Details.

"Now, now, Levi. Mon petit chou~ Don't be like that with me! You know I'll find out eventually~!" she said in a sing song tone of voice and I knew she was right.

Eventually, I shoved past her and made my way for the sinks were I started washing my hands thoroughly before I even got anywhere near my kitchen supplies. Hanji insistently followed me wherever I went, annoying me further than I ever thought possible until now.

"Hanji!" I hissed, "Don't you have some cakes you should be baking or something?!" I was doing my absolute best to keep my cool in the kitchen because once I lost my cool, all hell broke loose and I didn't need burned food and angry customers on my hands.

"Oh, you're absolutely right! Well, then. I'll talk to you soon, Levi! À bientôt!" with that, Hanji came and went like the tornado that she was ripping through the kitchen.

I sighed heavily making sure to remember not to pinch the bridge of my nose like I wanted to since it would mean me having to wash my hands all over again, so I settled on just shaking my head and trying to focus on my task at hand. Preparing food for dozens of hungry customers that were going to be pouring in any minute now.

---

My quiet work environment didn't last long when at exactly 3 o' clock on the dot, Hanji busted into the break room where I was currently sitting and eating an apple about to finish my lunch break. She had that same manic grin on her face, only there was a glint of something in her wide eyes that I got a bad feeling about in the pit of my stomach. Shit. Looks like she heard about my night with Eren from Erwin. Damn Armin not being able to keep his mouth shut.

"Leviiiii~ My grumpy little darling~ Why didn't you tell me you finally got lai-"

I stood up and stuffed a piece of french bread in her mouth before she could say anything else and I side stepped her washing my hands in the sink so I could get back into the kitchen while Hanji ate the french bread still in her mouth.

"It's not like that, Four eyes. Get your fucking mind out of the gutter, Eren and I just watched some movies. Get over it."

"That sounds like a date to me." a new but very familiar voice joined into Hanji and I's conversation.

Erwin strode into the break room with purpose in each of his steps, the big ass bastard, he had a wide grin on his clean-cut face and he leaned against the counter by the sinks where I was still washing my hands vigorously.

"Yeah? Well, it wasn't. Fuck off, Captain Eyebrows. And tell Armin he owes me a free coffee."

"Armin's told me that he suggested you invite Eren to my parent's annual Holiday Party. I think that's a great idea, don't you think, Hanji?"

"Oh! We can show him all of Levi's pictures from Military school! Where he's all grumpy, and cute and angry in his uniform!"

I groaned drying my hands on a clean towel before turning to look at my two oldest friends, wide grins on their faces as they waited for my answer.

"Yes, alright. I'll invite Eren to the god damn party, but I swear to God if either of you even think about pulling out any embarrassing pictures of me from Military school, I will murder everything you love."

Erwin and Hanji exchanged knowing looks before they grinned at each other and fuck why was I still friends with them? They made it their life goals to piss me off every chance they got.

"So, tell us about yesterday. Armin said he talked to Eren and that he mentioned a little incident at the supermarket." Erwin said pulling out a chair from the small table in the break room and taking a seat like the smooth mother fucker that he is.

"There was no incident. It was just some jerk off trying to hit on Eren." I said this as I glanced at the clock on the wall noting that I still had twenty minutes until my break was over. Shit.

"And you didn't just stand by and let that happen, right?" Erwin inquired with one of his thick, bushy brows raised high.

"Of course not, dick face. I told the guy off and he was thrown out of the store. That was it."

"Uh-huh." Erwin drawled.

I could tell he was trying to make this out to be more than it actually was. I wasn't about to admit that, no, that was not just it. That I had basically hugged and cuddled with Eren in public and pressed my dick against his ass in the process. Not that I regret it, but still. Suddenly Hanji piped up with,

"So, when are you planning on asking Eren to the party? It's coming up pretty soon you know."

Hanji brought the conversation back to it's original topic and I couldn't be anymore grateful. I didn't feel like squirming under Erwin's all knowing stare for shit he probably already knew thanks to Armin, but felt the need to torture me over a slow burning fire for.

"I was going to ask him today, actually." I admitted.

"Oh, perfect! This way you and Eren can go shopping together! You know the party is going to be a formal event, Erwin's parents never fail to make it a point, you know."

"I know, shitty glasses. I've only ever gone to that damn party every year since I met Erwin."

Still, despite the clear exasperated annoyance in my tone for Hanji's talent of pointing out the obvious, I couldn't deny the fact that her proposal that I take Eren clothes shopping for the event was a good one. Sometimes, Hanji just knew when to say the right things at the right time. Sometimes. But I was getting ahead of myself here, shit, Eren might not even agree to go and I'm over here jumping the gun.

I discussed further plans with Hanji and Erwin before the 20 minutes that was left of my lunch break was over and I got back to work. The subtle nervousness settling in my stomach due to my lingering thoughts about asking Eren to go with me to this party was enough to make me stop counting the minutes until six o clock rolled around when I could end my shift and race home.

---

Evening finally rolled around and I half ran, half jogged up the stairs to get to my floor. My heart was thundering in my chest when I reached the final landing and my breathing was a bit labored but I took the opportunity to compose myself as I walked toward the end of the corridor toward Eren's apartment door. I probably should have called and asked if he was home first before just coming straight here, shit, fuck, but I was already standing right in front of his door. Just knock, Levi. That's all you've gotta do. Knock.

I knocked once, twice, on Eren's door holding my breath until he answered. Luckily, he was home and not a minute later he was yanking his door open with Captain cradled in his arms and a wide grin on his face. God, Eren had the most amazing smile. I could just stand here and look at him all day and not get tired of it.

"Levi, come in."

I nodded my head, don't ask me why the fuck I did that, and stepped over the threshold into his apartment slipping off my shoes. I remembered that I'd only changed the shirt I was wearing from yesterday and this morning but I was basically wearing the same exact pants and boots from yesterday. Would Eren notice?

Eren shut the door and followed me toward his couch where he claimed his spot first on the furthest left end of the sofa and I took the right, Eren crossed his legs under him and sat facing me with wide, expectant eyes. Eyes that held the entire fucking ocean in them, and suddenly that nervousness from before was back in full force and I felt my hands becoming clammy as I wiped them on my thighs. Gross.

"So did you get in trouble for being late?" Eren asked breaking my train of thought.

"No. I barely made it by the skin of my teeth." I leaned back into Eren's sofa trying to calm myself down.

It was just Eren. Just ask him, Levi. You know Eren and Eren knows you. It's not like I'm some total stranger asking him to come with me somewhere, we're friends. Right. Friends. Shit. Why was this so hard to do? Eren doesn't even know that I'm fucking gay and yet I'm jumping ahead of myself again. Whatever. Let's just get it over with.

"Oh, well that's good. I was worried when you got up and left in such a hurry."

"Eren."

"Hm?"

Just say it Levi. You have his full attention. Just fucking say it. Are you free two weekends from now? Simple. While you're at it, why not just fucking ask him to get married and have your babies. Fuck! I haven't said anything yet and I'm already choking!

"Levi?" Eren's tender, concerned voice calls me back to the current situation.

"There's this thing," I start, "Erwin's parents are having this stupid holiday thing that they have every year and every year they invite me and I only go because I've known them since I was a kid and they're friends with my parents so I feel like I have to go every year and Erwin said it would be a good idea and then Armin told me the same thing and then fucking Hanji started bringing up embarrassing shit about military school and-"

"Levi, Levi!" Eren reaches over and places a comforting hand on top of mine on my thigh and I snap my eyes up to meet his worried but slightly amused face.

"Shit, I was rambling wasn't I? Fuck. Sorry."

Eren giggled softly before he set Captain down on the ground but the hand he had placed on top of mine never broke contact and I found myself focusing on that fact entirely as I stared down at his rug, not having the fucking balls to stare into those endless ocean blues right now.

"Levi, Are you asking me to go with you to this 'thing'?" Eren asked with a little laugh at the end of his sentence.

Somehow the little action made me relax and I felt my shoulders I hadn't realized had been tense all this time slump slightly as I exhaled softly feeling all my worries leave me in a rush. I'm pissing my pants over nothing. This is Eren, not some stranger. I finally look up into those big, expressive eyes of his so full of wonder and I kind of smile, though I'm not really sure why.

"Yeah. I am." was my simple reply.

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes! I'll go with you. When is it? What should I wear? What are you going to wear? If it's formal I might have to go shopping, oh my gosh we should go shopping together!" Eren was practically bouncing around excitedly in his spot on the sofa and I watched him ramble on and on like I had done earlier with a real smile on my face this time. 'He said yes. He didn't reject me.' Of course, it wasn't like I had accomplished anything big but at the current time, I felt on top of the world. Completely elated.

"Eren." I called his name softly placing my hand against his chattering lips to silence him.

He stared back at me with those wide eyes again, mouth closed shut and the faintest of blushes on his cheeks as I chuckled and shook my head at him amused.

"Eren, I stopped by that chinese place you love so much and pick up some―oh!"

Eren's sister Mikasa entered the apartment with two bags in her hands, one I could see was obviously take out from some chinese place I couldn't care to remember the name of. She was standing in the foyer staring at the odd position Eren and I were in, no doubt. I realized I still had my hand placed over Eren's mouth from when I tried to quiet him so that I could speak and we were both slightly leaning toward each other in what would probably give off the impression that we were about to kiss. Mikasa stood by the door staring at us with a slight smile underneath the red scarf wrapped around her neck.

"I'm sorry, Am I interrupting something? I can leave if you want."

I quickly moved away from Eren, dropping my hand from his mouth. I thought Eren had made the tiniest of whimpers of protest when I did, but it was probably just my imagination. I cleared my throat and tried to think of something that could explain this odd turn of events, the last thing I needed was Eren's sister thinking I was trying to make a move on her brother while he's vulnerable after a break up.

"No, I was just asking Eren something. You don't need to leave." I said making a move to stand from my seat.

Eren's hand shot out to stop me as he placed it gently against my thigh. I froze at the contact, shit, Eren's hand was too close to my dick right now. Danger. Red fucking alert. This is fucking BAD.

"Stay." he said with a smile. "Mikasa always brings way too much take out."

Mikasa had already made her way into the kitchen and she had shed her parka. She placed the heavy bags of food on the counter and I could see the faintest of smiles on her face, it was strange to see considering I was used to seeing her straight, blank expression in the gym or in the ring. I wondered if she was bothered by my staying here, if she was she wasn't showing it.

"I hope you like stir fry noodles. They're Eren's favorite." her soft voice said from the kitchen.

Eren beamed at me as he nodded, so childish, but I couldn't help but sort of smile back. This was awkward to say the least but Eren wanted me to stay, and I couldn't say no to those fucking puppy dog eyes.

"Stir fry noodles are my favorite too." I said smirking at Eren who slightly blushed. Adorable.

"So," he started, shaking off any shyness from Mikasa walking in on us. "Tell me the details about this party. Armin's told me it's a pretty big deal but even he didn't know all the details."

I barely noticed that Eren had inched a little closer to me on the couch now and I was feeling a little nervous being so close with his hand still on my thigh while his fucking sister is less than 6 feet behind us in the kitchen.

"It's a formal event. About as close to a fucking Gala except it's not held publicly, it's strictly for people the Smith's invite personally and their guests. It's mostly Army and Military big wigs that are there since Erwin's dad is a retired Sergeant Major, but his mother also invites all her Socialite circle. They always have it the first weekend of December, so that's about two weeks from now."

Eren swallowed thickly when I looked up at him to gauge his reaction,

"Sounds like a big deal." he said laughing nervously.

"It is a big deal, but don't shit your pants, Kid. Just because the people attending the party are a bunch of shit bags doesn't mean Erwin's parents are. They're like my second family and they welcome anyone with open arms. They're too nice for their own damn good to be quite honest."

Mikasa came back into the living room carrying two bowls of noodles handing Eren one and I the other. I gave her a curt nod of my head which she returned with a ghost of a smile before she went into the kitchen to get her own bowl. Eren was now happily distracted with his food and immediately started tucking into his meal with a fork Mikasa had brought him, I used the chopsticks that were left on the table.

"So what's this about a party?" Mikasa asked when she finally settled into a large red velvet chair that looked like it could fit two people. She folded her legs underneath her and started slurping up noodles with a pair of chopsticks.

"Levi invited me to a party that Erwin's parents are throwing. Armin's going to meet Erwin's parents, Levi says the party is a big deal though." Eren said after he swallowed a mouth full of noodles.

"Sounds nice. Do you know what you're going to wear, Eren?"

"I mean, I have a couple of button ups and a pair of slacks but," Eren turned to look at me and I set my empty bowl down. "How formal is this thing going to be, Levi?"

"It's a Suit and Tie event. But I don't usually follow that particular dress code."

"Shit." Eren said running a hand through his hair. "I don't own any ties." he sort of mumbled.

"We can go shopping this weekend, Eren. I'll buy you an outfit to wear." Mikasa piped up after she placed her empty bowl down on the coffee table.

"Actually, I don't mind taking Eren shopping for an outfit myself. I'm the one who asked him to go in the first place." I said clearing my throat.

Eren and Mikasa both looked up at me with their eyes wide and mouth agape like I had just grown a fucking dick on my forehead. I only stared back at them with my usual impassive mask, was it that surprising that I'd offer to take Eren shopping?

"I couldn't ask you to take me shopping, Levi. Really, it's fine." Eren said shyly, ducking his head down a bit.

"Tch, would I be offering if I didn't want to do it, brat?" I said trying to sound annoyed at his modesty but my tone was halfhearted.

All the while Mikasa stayed in her seat quietly listening to us banter back and forth, If there was anything I'd learned in the past few months since meeting Eren it was that the kid was stubborn as fuck. But I'd learned how to deal with his stubbornness and eventually, Eren relented.

"...Fine." he said quietly crossing his arms over his chest and pouting.

"I should probably mention that Erwin's parents live quite a bit away from Trost, it's a four hour drive to and from." I added.

"Wait, so does that mean..."

"Yeah, we'll be staying one night at Erwin's parent's estate."

Mikasa was still silent as she stood up from her seat and took our bowls to the kitchen. Eren blinked a few times at me and I wondered if that little bit of information would change his mind. After all, he might not feel comfortable staying in a strange place with me of all peopl-

"Sounds good! I guess I should pack a couple changes of clothes then too. Oh, since it'll be a long car ride I'll bring a few CD's."

My worried thoughts melted away and I sighed with a small smile. I was worrying over nothing again. Eren was spontaneous, adventurous, Unpredictable but those were some of the things I'd come to love about him. He lived for the moment and that was what made him beautiful in my eyes.

"As long as it's none of that pop shit Hanji makes me listen to at work." I snorted relaxing into Eren's sofa a bit. Captain was sauntering toward me, I barely noticed he had left the room and came back until now.

"I haven't heard you complain about the music I play when you're around so far." Eren chuckled and he sort of leaned closer to me again.

Mikasa came back into the room and plopped herself down on the same big, red velvet chair she had been sitting in previously. She was entirely focused on her phone screen and my gaze shifted between her and Eren as he seemed to be leaning closer and closer to me until my heart nearly stopped. His head fell into my lap and he was staring up at me with those big, emerald orbs that always left me slightly breathless.

"So, how was work today?" he asked with a wide smile as he fished his own phone out and started scrolling through his twitter feed.

I was currently trying to calm my racing heart to be concerned with talking because I currently had the object of all my affections laying right in my lap and the position just seemed so intimate to me. Eren rested his head on my thighs while messing with his phone like it was the most natural thing in the entire world to do, like he was meant to be there against me. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not complaining, fuck that. But I was more than a little surprised that he seemed so comfortable with me.

"It was boring as shit. Hanji and Erwin kept bugging me all day." I bit out bitterly.

It was only during my brief pause did I notice that there was music playing from a beat up looking stereo on the kitchen counter top. I glanced over at Mikasa who was staring at the two of us out of the corner of her dark eyes, I caught her gaze and she raised one of her thin brows at me before smiling and turning her attention back to her phone screen. I built up a little bit of courage after that and dared to let one of my hands play with a long strand of Eren's brown hair.

"Hmm." he hummed quietly leaning into my touch. "What else?" he asked with a small smile as he glanced up at me from the glow of his phone screen.

I found this whole situation so odd and foreign and yet comfortable. It was strange, being asked about my day like this while Eren lied in my lap like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I absently listened to the haunting voice coming from the speakers of the stereo as I thought of what to tell Eren next. I definitely wasn't used to talking with anyone about work or how my day was.

'If I'm saying nothing, won't you let me speak?'

'If I'm saying nothing, won't you let me in?'

I went on to tell Eren about how some shitty customer said his steak was too raw and wanted to speak to the chef in charge of making it who happened to be on my team. I bitterly told him how I cooked up a steak that was almost burned black and took it out to the customer who complained before asking if it was 'well done, enough' and Eren erupted into laughter. By now, my hand was completely threading through his long locks of hair but Eren didn't seem to mind at all.

'The truth of what we have is blowing through the trees,'

'The wind needs no explaining, neither do we,'

'Love breathes silence, I love everything about you.'

I eventually got tired of talking about myself and asked Eren how his day was. Since he wasn't scheduled to work today, he ended up just telling me about what Captain did today and how he managed to almost destroy the curtains in his room when Eren didn't feed him breakfast after I left this morning. Mikasa seemed to perk up at the part where Eren mentioned my rushed leaving this morning but she said nothing about it. I ignored the curious looks she gave and continued to listen quietly to the sound of Eren's voice as he spoke cheerily.

'Never would I dare to break this sacred silence,'

'For luminous is our love in the peace and quiet.'

'And I can feel your presence sitting in the same room,'

'For me it is enough to look up and see you.

'Love breathes silence, I love everything about you.'

At some point, Eren's sister Mikasa said she had to leave since it was getting late. I glanced at my watch and realized I had been here almost three hours, I was also kind of itching to get home to take a well deserved shower. Not that I stank, fuck no, I always made sure I smelled clean to a point but I hadn't been home since yesterday afternoon. So after Eren's sister Mikasa left, kissing Eren on the forehead before leaving, I stood up from my spot on the sofa and stretched my tingling limbs.

"I think I should go too, Eren. I'm dying to take a shower." I said running a hand through my undercut and grimacing as I did so to prove my point of how gross I felt.

"Oh, okay." Eren sounded just the tiniest bit crestfallen but I wasn't about to sacrifice a bath to stay another hour.

"I only work half a shift tomorrow, so if you want to go shopping for an outfit we can."

Eren perked up immediately and he was grinning widely now. I softly shook my head at him as I lingered by his door ready to take my leave.

"Okay! I'll text you when my shift at the shop is over. Goodnight, Levi."

He met me at the door and I walked out into the hall giving him a half-assed wave as I started for my apartment. At least I left the kid smiling, that was all that mattered. Eren stayed watching me by his door until I got mine open and entered, I looked up at him one more time before going into my dark apartment and he smiled again, giving me a short little wave before we both entered our apartments at the same time. I kicked off my shoes haphazardly by the door and sighed as I made my way for the bathroom, padding barefoot across the hardwood floor. I normally hated the idea of shopping because it involved social interaction and shitty music as I browsed for clothes but I was actually looking forward to shopping with Eren again.

---

I picked Eren up from work the next day. He got off at two o clock and we made our way toward Trost's largest shopping mall. As much as I hated fucking going to malls, I couldn't deny that this place had the best clothing for such events. It was a little on the pricey side, which was why I liked it, but their clothes were quality.

"Wow." Eren said as we browsed some of the racks of the men's department, he was already looking at price tags the little shit. "This is kind of expensive for a plain white button up shirt isn't it, Levi?"

"Oi, stop looking at the price tags, dumbass. I didn't bring you here so you could cry about everything being too expensive."

I browsed a different rack of shirts as Eren hesitantly walked around like a lost child. He probably felt intimidated with all the expensive shit here. My eyes immediately fell on a deep forest green button up and it looked fucking perfect for Eren. I checked the size glancing at Eren every now and then to confirm his body proportions, I had to make sure the shirt was in his size because buying a button up in the wrong size made the difference between looking sharp and looking like a lazy ass.

"Here. Try this on and tell me if it's too loose." I said as I shoved the shirt into Eren's arms.

He eyed the shirt curiously before shrugging and sauntering off to the dressing rooms. Meanwhile, I went off and started searching for some slacks for the kid. I figured black slacks would be fine, black goes with everything, you can never go wrong with black. I browsed the racks near the dressing room and heard a pleased familiar voice say 'Wow.' from one of the dressing rooms and I couldn't help but smirk to myself. I knew the kid would like that shirt. I quickly snatched up a pair of black slim fit slacks and headed off to find Eren.

"Eren?" I called.

"I'm over here!" he replied back grabbing my attention.

I went over to the stall that I heard his voice coming from and tossed the pants over the top of the locked door.

"Try those on with the shirt and tell me if you need a bigger size."

I heard the sound of clothes rustling and soft grunting and figured he was probably struggling to get his jeans off. I rolled my eyes and sighed before leaning my shoulder against the flimsy door to wait until he was done. It felt like an eternity before the sounds of struggled grunting came to a stop and Eren finally piped up again.

"Wow..."

"'Wow' what? How does it look, dip shit? Are the pants too small?" I was getting a little frustrated and anxious to see if he would look as sharp as I hoped he would.

"N-No! The pants and shirt fit just right, actually." came his flustered response.

"Tch, then hurry up and show me before I turn into an old man waiting for your ass out here."

A mischievous chuckle came from the other side of the door and I felt a small shiver run down my spine at the surprisingly sexy sound. Then the sound of more rustling clothes and Eren was silent for another couple of minutes before I heard the sound of the door unlatching so I quickly leaned away so I wouldn't fall on my face when it opened. Eren came out dressed in his previous clothes and I was disappointed not to see him wearing the shirt I told him to try on.

"What the fuck, Eren? I thought you were going to show me how the shirt looks with the pants." I wasn't about to lie, I wanted to see the kid all dressed up and not wearing torn blue jeans and band t-shirts for a change.

He smirked at me but there was a glint of something in his eyes, something dangerous and almost flirty. He sauntered out of the dressing room with his new clothes in his arms and he circled around me until he was out of my immediate view.

"Ah, Ah, Ah. It's a surprise~" he purred next to the shell of my ear and next came a breathy laugh.

This little piece of shit, he was actually fucking teasing me right now. Either he was brave or just incredibly oblivious, I couldn't tell anymore. Advances like this weren't anything new between Eren and I anymore. I teased him a lot in a slightly suggestive way but only recently had Eren started returning the actions in his own little ways. I swallowed thickly and tried to fight off a pleased shudder as I turned around and glared at my hot neighbor who had a lopsided grin on his face.

"Whatever. Don't come crying to me if you end up looking like shit." I huffed brushing past him. I had no doubt in my mind he would look stunning in the outfit I picked for him. Not to brag, but I had a rather good sense of style.

I heard Eren chuckle again as he trailed after me, he said nothing though as we walked toward shoe department. Something, however, caught my eye and I came to sudden halt. In a display case on top of a rack of crisp shirts were various silk and satin ties of all colors, but one tie in particular caught my attention. I made a hard right and made my way over toward the display case inspecting a pure white satin tie. My thoughts immediately went back to the shirt I had chosen for Eren, it was forest green but with white trim and I knew from that very moment that I had to buy this tie for the kid.

"Levi, what is-"

"We're getting this tie." I said curtly before spinning around and making my way over to a girl behind the register.

"B-But Levi, that's a pure silk tie! It's $175, we can't buy that!" he all but cried as he walked after me.

"You mean you can't buy that. I fucking can and I fucking will. I'm not buying that outfit for you without that tie." I didn't care if I was getting strange looks for cussing in a store. They could all piss off.

I went up to the girl at the register and asked her to get me the white tie that was in the display case over by the rack Eren and I were previously standing at. She smiled and nodded before rushing off to get the tie and I decided to wait for her by the counter. I grabbed the clothes from Eren's hands and he made a few protests that he didn't need a fancy tie but I tuned him out.

"Look, Eren. I'm only going to tell you this once so listen and listen fucking good. I never do anything I don't actually want to do. So if I didn't want to bring you shopping, if I didn't want to buy you an outfit for the party, and if I didn't want to buy that fucking tie, then I wouldn't but I am. Get it, kid?"

Eren looked at a loss for words but at least he stopped bitching about the price of the tie and the clothes in general. The small girl returned with the tie in her hands and she handed it to me for closer inspection. It wasn't needed really but I took the chance to look at the silky tie up close and knew that it was perfect. I gave her a curt nod before handing her the tie and the rest of Eren's thing to be rung up. Eren stayed quiet the rest of the time as I paid and we made our way over to the shoe to department to get him some decent shoes for the party. Finally, he spoke,

"I'm paying you back for this, you know?" he grumbled quietly as he looked down at the ground while he walked.

"Tch, try it and see what happens you little shit."

I heard him laugh softly before he eventually mumbled a quiet 'Thank you, Levi.' and I tried to ignore the way my heart flipped in my chest at the sound of him saying my name so softly.

Chapter Text

$400. Levi spent $400 dollars on my entire outfit for the party this evening. I had offered to pay him back, on several occasions in the last two weeks but each time I did he would refuse me and then threaten me. Not that I actually took his threats seriously, but still, I felt like I needed to repay him somehow. He said that me coming to this party with him was payment enough, which I didn't get really but whatever.

I spent most of my morning getting ready for my two day, one night trip with Levi to Erwin's Parent's estate. Poor Armin had been a nervous wreck on the phone yesterday, I only hoped Levi was right when he said Erwin's parents were nice people. Erwin was a great guy, so I didn't see how Levi could be wrong but the fact that we were going to a party where Military and Army big wigs would also be attending made the whole situation all the more intimidating.

To be in a room surrounded by men and women with presences as strong and thick as Levi and Erwin, the thought alone had me feeling a bit nervous. I quickly hurried into the bathroom to try and tame my wild mess of hair, I had debated getting a hair cut since I'd let my hair grow a little too wild and long in recent months but Levi said it was fine the way it was. I blushed a bit at the memory of him threading his hand through my hair and telling me he liked it long like this. I really needed to get my priorities straight.

I did a once over of myself in my bathroom mirror taking in how the shirt and tie looked together. (Mikasa had to teach me how to tie on the tie properly because I'm shit with these things.) I had to admit, Levi had good tastes when he picked out this particular tie for this shirt. I had been extra careful with the tie too, considering it was a $175 tie. I decided that in the end, I would just try and slick some of my hair back instead of tying it into a pony tail like Armin suggested. I had a feeling Armin just wanted me to wear my hair in a pony tail so he wouldn't feel left out at the party. Sorry, Ar.

I slipped on the watch Mikasa had given me for this specific event, it was silver with a dark blue face but under different lighting it matched the color of my shirt. I left my glasses on figuring it would enhance the look I was trying to give off. Overall, I thought I looked pretty damn sharp for someone who was used to wearing Vans and Beanies more than half the time. I dabbed on some of the cologne Reiner had given me as after I complimented him on the fragrance a few months back, I never used it because I never felt the need but now seemed like a better time than any.

My phone chimed on the bathroom vanity telling me I had a new text message and I picked it up to see the message was from Levi. Shit, he probably wanted to know if I was ready yet. I slid my thumb across the screen and tapped on the new message to read it, I smiled down at the simple text of words because he was so predictable.

Levi: You better be dressed because we're leaving in 15 minutes.

No emoticons as usual, but that's what I liked about Levi. He was always straight and to the point. I tapped out a quick reply before pocketing my phone and rushing out of the bathroom door to start grabbing my bags that I'd need for the long trip over there.

Eren: Chill out, old man ;p I'm ready.

I grabbed my gym bag and slung it over my shoulder before checking the time on my wrist watch. It was 1:05PM, by the time we got to Erwin's parent's place it should be about 5 in the evening. Levi had made it a point that we leave at a certain time in order for us to get there a little before the party started to get our rooms situated. I was nervous and excited all at once because 1.) I was going to a fancy party at a fancy estate and 2.) I was going to be staying the night at said fancy estate. My heart was a pattering mess. I felt my phone buzz again and already knew it was a reply from Levi.

Levi: Then get your ass down here. I'm waiting by my car.

I quickly read the text and rushed to slip my shoes on. Giving myself on last look in the mirror, I gave myself the seal of approval and then I was off turning off all my lights and kissing Captain on the nose before I dashed out the door. I should probably mention that Krista had offered to come and look after Captain while I was away the next couple of days, I left her a note of things she needed to know about the grumpy little guy even though she probably already knew most of his habits.

I practically flew down the stairs to meet Levi in the parking lot. My heart was thundering in my chest but in a good way now, I was excited to see what his reaction to how I looked in my outfit. I had purposely chosen to tease him about it when we went shopping together a couple weeks ago, telling him that it was going to be a surprise. When I finally reached the main lobby of the complex, I saw the Apartment's manager Mr. Pixis sitting in his usual spot by the front office. He caught my gaze and looked a bit surprised at my appearance before he smiled, the wrinkles around his eyes even more evident.

"Well, looking sharp there Mr. Jaeger. Meeting a hot date?" he teased.

I laughed nervously, could this be considered a date? "I... guess you could say that." God, could I have sounded anymore unsure of myself. Ugh, I'm such a loser.

I waved goodbye to Mr. Pixis as I jogged out of the lobby and into the parking lot where my eyes immediately started searching for any signs of Levi's sleek, black Ferrari along with it's owner. I walked around a bit until I saw a familiar black head of hair, but oh no, fuck, no. No, no, no. This is not happening. NO!

As I got closer to my neighbor, he was leaning against the hood of his car like he always did when he was waiting for me, but this was all wrong. This was not supposed to be how it happened at all! I swallowed thickly as I took in Levi's appearance from afar, he had his jet black hair slightly slicked back in a way that made me both envious and attracted to him at the same time. He had obviously used some kind of product but he didn't overdo it to the point where his hair looked greasy at all, no, this looked completely clean and natural and fuck me sideways without his fringe covering his forehead I could clearly make out all the sharp angles of his face.

He was wearing a very form fitting black button up shirt with the top two buttons purposely undone to reveal his thick, muscular neck and the pale, marble like skin that accompanied it. I licked my lips unconsciously as my eyes raked down the rest of his figure leaning suggestively against the shiny hood of his car. He had on a pair of slim fit slacks similar to mine and I was almost too sure that those pants would probably hug his ass nicely if my pants were anything to go by.

The black boots he was wearing did things to me I never though a pair of shoes could. They weren't completely different from the boots I'd seen him wear before, but these were pointed and looked brand spanking new. Once my eyes reached the bottom of his leaning form, they immediately shot back up to his sharp, defined jawline and I traced over it carefully until I saw the cigarette resting between his pale, thin lips and the dark sunglasses perched on the narrow bridge of his nose.

I realized I had probably been standing there gawking at him for more than a couple of minutes and I shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, suddenly no longer all that confident in my own appearance. I always knew that Levi was attractive but I never knew just how extremely attractive he looked from this kind of angle. To call him beautiful would do him no justice even though he was in many ways a very beautiful man, but there was a sense of raw masculinity that obscured that beauty. I cleared my throat and watched as he slowly lifted his head up to look in my direction.

Shit, I really wish he wasn't wearing those sunglasses right about now. I couldn't tell what his reaction was to seeing me when his head finally turned to look my way, Levi was usually unreadable but I'd learned how to read even an inkling of his thoughts through those eyes that expressed more than he would ever let on. Now my only way of knowing what he thought of my outfit and how I looked was left entirely to assumption as he quietly observed me from behind dark lenses. He took the cigarette from his lips and flicked it to the ground snuffing it out with the sole of his boot as he straightened his posture and strutted over to me. I could practically hear myself gulp loudly as he got closer and closer.

I saw him blow out the last of the smoke held in his lungs through his nostrils, something I'd never seen him do before and damn, I thought that was the sexiest thing ever even though I'd seen others do it thousands of times. If I'd known any better, I would have assumed that there was a faint smirk on his face as he approached me and started circling me like a shark in a tank. I could feel his gaze on every inch of my body, burning into me like fire and I softly gnawed at my lower lip trying to fight the shivers that wanted to run down my body at the idea of Levi looking at me so hungrily. Then he spoke, in that dark silk-like voice of his that was so sinful and enticing,

"Not bad. You clean up nicely."

And there was that involuntary shudder I had been trying to avoid but it was clear in the way he spoke, the way he moved, that the man had an effect on me. I cleared my throat awkwardly before stumbling over my words a bit, trying to say anything that would sound close to a coherent word.

"U-Um, Thanks. Y-You look good too." I sounded like a nervous wreck and I stuttered not only once, but twice. Freckled Jesus, help me.

I heard a soft, dark chuckle come from behind me as Levi circled me one last time before he started for his car. As he brushed past me, I caught the smell of his cologne and the faint whiff of cigarettes that surprisingly didn't disgust me. Not only did he look good but he smelled fucking amazing too. I couldn't make out what fragrance he was wearing, not that I ever paid attention to colognes and perfumes but I know I've smelled this somewhere before.

"Throw your shit in the trunk and get in, Kid."

Don't ask me why, but I slightly bristled at him calling me 'Kid' now of all times. I often wondered why Levi always called me that, if not 'Kid' then it was always 'Brat'. I mean, it wasn't like he was that much older than me, from what I was told Levi is only 8 years older than me. I put my bag in the truck, not forgetting to bring out a few CD's before I did so and I slid into the passenger's seat buckling myself in.

Levi revved the engine a few times sending a familiar thrill of adrenaline through me and I wondered if he got the same rush too. We sped off out of the parking lot and into the light traffic of Rose Avenue, it was silent the first few minutes in and I slipped in one of my mixed CD's while Levi was focused on the road. I didn't mind the silence that usually accompanied Levi and I, most of the time it was a comfortable silence I was fine with not breaking but today was different. I decided to speak my curious mind.

"Why do you always call me 'Kid' or 'Brat'?" I asked turning to look at Levi slightly as I skipped the first couple of songs on the first CD.

Levi kept his eyes trained on the road, or at least I assumed he did, it was hard to tell with the sunglasses on. He was silent for a moment or two as I finally settled on a song to listen to. It was a Landon Pigg song and I smiled a bit at the song that came on. Levi finally spoke,

"Do you hate it when I call you that?" there was a hint of a smirk tugging at the corners of his thin lips.

"Not really. I'm just curious, I never hear you call anyone else 'Brat'."

"I call Armin 'Kid' too, in case you haven't notice."

"Yeah, but you don't call him 'Brat.'" this time I felt the smirk on my face as Levi fell silent again.

'Are you wondering, wondering if I like you?'

'Or are you wondering if I care at all?'

Levi spoke again, "Do you want me to stop calling you that then?" he inquired, that teasing tone in his voice again.

"I didn't say that!" I half yelled before realizing I was raising my voice, "I-I just wanted to know why that's all. I thought it was because of our age difference or something, even though it doesn't bother me that you're a little older... I like spending time with you." Levi said nothing.

'Cause all that you're getting, all that you're getting is glances,'

'And if you're lucky, a stare.'

I secretly watched the way his pale, slender fingers wrapped around the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white from gripping the leather tightly. My eyes trailed up the muscular forearms I'd had fantasies about holding me while I'm pounded into the mattress. I nibbled on the corner of my lip as I recalled the lewd images my mind made up during the lonely nights and I wondered if those slender fingers felt as good as I imagined they would if they were inside me.

'I know I feed your desires, to wear red lipstick and be dressed for the kill,'

'Yeah, I know I feed your desires cause now you're murdering my soul.'

I was snapped out of my embarrassing mini fantasy when Levi slowed to a stop light. He lowered his shades down the slender bridge of his nose until his eyes were visible to me and I took in the silvery orbs that met mine, swallowing a bit as they pierced into me.

"Be careful what you say, Eren."

I almost moaned at the way he said my name, so sinfully seductive, or maybe it was just my dirty mind playing tricks on me. I didn't care which it was, there was no way I could misinterpret the underlying tone of Levi's voice as he slid the sunglasses back into their rightful place and he stepped on the accelerator when the light turned green. I felt my face growing hot as I looked out the window and tried to calm my racing heart.

'So you take off your glasses, and highlight your lashes'

'And it's the beginning of a sad song'

'You lower your collar, I start to notice and it's the beginning of a sad, sad song.'

I steal several glances from Levi as we drive toward our destination. We're not even 20 minutes into the drive and I'm already shifting a bit uncomfortably in my seat. Of all days, why did Levi have to choose today to look all suave and sexy as fuck. I mean, he always looks sexy as fuck but today is a whole new level of sexy all together. I commit the images of his pale, exposed neck to memory for later use. I could imagine the taste of his smooth, porcelain skin between my teeth as I bite and suck at it leaving it a beautiful purple and blue. My hands fidgeted in my lap a bit as I tried to fantasizing about my incredibly attractive, hot neighbor.

'What have I created? A criminal with good intentions'

'And all that you wanted was love, but I didn't notice'

'And look where that got us, Well, I've become shallow and still you have no trace of the very thing that you wanted.'

'I know I feed your desires, to wear red lipstick and be dressed for the kill'

'I'm sorry I fed those desires, because I've been murdering your soul. Sorry, Sorry for murdering your soul.'

These little fantasies of mine were getting out of hand. I knew it was hopeless, or maybe it wasn't. I couldn't tell anymore, Levi always teased me and flirted with me or at least I thought he was flirting with me. If the suggestive comments and the subtle touching and lingering stares were anything to go by, I thought he was at least a little bit attracted to me and I hoped that wasn't just my dick talking.

Levi had told me himself on a couple occasions in the past that he was straight, but ever since I'd broken up with Jean I wasn't so sure anymore. Was it possible for a straight man to magically turn gay? Or was Levi gay and just didn't like to admit it? It wasn't like this was the first time I'd ever thought about these things, it's only that these questions seemed to be bothering me a lot more recently since I found myself attracted to Levi in a very sexual and emotional way.

Around others, he's stoic, stand-offish and just overall apathetic to most things happening around him and yet with me, he's so different. Stoic, naturally but there's a sort of comfortable feeling he gives off that I don't think just anybody gets when they're around him. I feel comfortable around Levi, I always sort of have. We don't actually have to talk in order for us to enjoy each other's company, it's so natural. It took me a couple of years to reach that point in my relationship with Jean and yet with Levi it happened in a matter of weeks, maybe even days. Levi snapped me from my thoughts with the sound of his low voice calling me,

"Oi, Eren." I turned to look at him expectantly. "Don't get ass hurt if when we're at the party nobody comes up to talk to me or greet me or you for that matter. Just ignore it."

I raised a questioning brow at that, why wouldn't anyone come up and want to talk to him? I know Levi could be intimating and a bit scary to talk to at first but I didn't think it was that bad. Plus, I was curious why he brought it up in the first place so I dared to ask him.

"Why do you say that?" I asked curiously turning slightly in my seat to face him.

Levi sighed, "Because, I don't want you getting upset or offended if people give you shit because you're with me. I'm not exactly wanted there, well, with the exception of Erwin's parents anyway. It's a long story, one you probably wouldn't want to be bored with."

"Levi," I sighed, "In case you haven't noticed, we kind of have plenty of time to kill. I'm sure I could stand to listen to your story compared to a four hour drive of me dying of curiosity."

He was silent a few moments after that and I was starting to wonder if he was going to tell me this story at all, but I was thoroughly interested now. I knew very little about Levi's past, and with this sudden new piece of information I couldn't help but wonder what kind of things Levi did to make him an outcast. He eventually sighed before drawing another long breath in, I braced myself for the words about to come.

"I'm only going to tell you half of the story, because the other half isn't really that relevant. What matters here is Erwin. Remember how I said Erwin, Hanji and I were all in the Army together?" he glanced at me through the corners of his eyes and I nodded. "Well, Erwin and Hanji enlisted in the Army a few years before I did because they're a couple years older. After they graduated from Military school, they immediately enlisted and started their basic training. I had to wait two more years before I could enlist. After I did, I went through my basic training as well but by then Erwin and Hanji had already made rank. Erwin was a Staff Sergeant when I entered and Hanji was a Sergeant. I had to start out from the bottom but I quickly made my way up the ranks after basic training was complete."

I listened to Levi tell his story intently, noticing the slightly melancholic tone in his voice as he reminisced. This was a side to Levi I'd never seen before, and I quietly relished in it.

"After nearly five years in service together, Erwin finally made rank of Sergeant First Class while Hanji chose to stay at Staff Sergeant Rank to be with her husband Mike. I had made it to Sergeant and I was in charge of my own small squad. One day, we were doing a basic practice course with I.E.D's to train new recruits on how to efficiently avoid them on the field. The I.E.D's were real but they were made so that they weren't supposed to go off. Someone had it out for us though, and Erwin being in charge of the training course got tipped off first. He tried to get me and my Squad off the course without setting any of the I.E.D's off and he half succeeded. Long story short, Erwin covered my ass and nearly got his entire right arm blown off."

I could see the way Levi's knuckles started going bone white again as he gripped the steering wheel tightly, his lips were pulled into a tight line and his eyes were narrowed on the road in front of him. I wanted to reach out and comfort him somehow but something told me it wouldn't be a good idea.

"I was injured during the accident too, but my injures weren't nearly as bad as Erwin's. He was just lucky they could save his arm at all, otherwise he would have had to use a prosthetic for the rest of his life. So you see, Eren. I'm responsible for ending Erwin's Army Career. He was supposed to take his father's place as the next Sergeant Major once he retired but because of his injuries he was discharged from the Army and so was I. Even though Erwin and his parents never blamed me, it doesn't stop others from doing so. I wasn't very liked to begin with, so I guess I didn't lose much."

I felt my anger quietly boiling in my chest. Not anger at Levi or at Erwin, but at the assholes who would be at this party treating Levi like he was dirt for apparently taking away Erwin's future. I don't know why I felt so angry, just so utterly pissed that I could feel my jaw aching in pain by how tightly I had it clenched shut. I didn't realize I had my fists balled up tightly in my lap either, and I only noticed because Levi reached over and placed his hand over mine.

"Hey, don't get pissed on my behalf. You think I really care if those fuckers like me or not? They can all go to hell as far as I'm concerned. I'm still here and just knowing that my existence alone pisses those old, shit heads off is enough to satisfy me."

There was a slight sense of pride to Levi's voice as he said this and I found myself relaxing all too quickly. He was amazing. To be able to see it from that point of view instead of negatively. Levi was simply amazing and I felt my heart flutter rapidly in my chest and it wasn't the first time. I let my fists relax until my palms were flat against my slacks, then I turned my hand that had Levi's on top over so that our palms met. I threaded our fingers together, not caring if the move was too bold or not and I squeezed his hand.

"I'm not leaving your side tonight. Don't try to stop me, I've already made up my mind." I finally looked up and smiled at him, wanting him to know how much I meant it.

I felt him give my hand a slight squeeze back and it made my heart skip a beat, the way his hand fit so nicely in mine, so perfectly. I felt a little short of breath when I felt his thumb rub tender circles against my skin, I barely noticed but his hands were like ice in my fiery grip. We fell into a comfortable silence, and in the small confines of his car we held each other's hand until we were forced to pull them apart.

---

The drive to Erwin's parent's estate was pleasant, but I was so glad when Levi and I finally arrived. I would have liked to stay in the comfortable privacy of Levi's car forever with just the man alone, but my legs were desperately screaming at me to be stretched and relieved. We pulled up to a large, black iron rod gate and Levi leaned out his window to punch in the security code for the gate to open. I was a little surprised that he seemed to know the code in the first place and I guess he noticed the question on my face as he turned to look at me.

"I told you, I've known Erwin since we were kids. His parents are like my second family, and this place is like my second home." he elaborated before he drove down the long, paved driveway.

Levi pointed out a shiny, black BMW that I immediately recognized as Erwin's. We parked not to far from it and Levi cut off the engine and moved to get out of the car. I, on the other hand, had to take in a deep breath because this was kind of nerve wrecking. I mean, it wasn't like I was meeting Levi's parents or anything, although I wondered what Levi's parents were like, but from the sheer magnitude of The Smith's estate and the beautiful Two story home stations in the middle of grass that was too green to actually be real I couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated.

Levi popped the trunk and grabbed our bags and after I finally composed myself so that I wouldn't be a nervous, spluttering mess, I took my bag from him and we started for the stairs that lead up to a deep burgundy door with a golden door knocker in the center and Mosaic glass windows on either side of said door. Levi knocked only twice and I realized I was holding my breath as we waited for the door to open. When it finally did, I was relieved to see that it was in fact Erwin and Armin who answered the door together with big smiles on their faces.

"Levi."

"Eyebrows."

"Eren!"

"Armin!"

Armin rushed forward and gave me a hug that was tighter than usual but I chuckled and hugged him right back. When he pulled away, we both took the time to appreciate each other's outfits. Armin was dressed casually for the most part, a light pink button up with the sleeves rolled up a bit and black slacks with brown oxford shoes. He was wearing his reading glasses as well but like I had assumed, he had his hair pulled back neatly into a ponytail with his bangs recently trimmed neatly.

"Could you two nerds be anymore of a fucking couple? You're even dressed like a couple." I heard Levi say next to me and I let my eyes rake over Erwin's attire.

I had to hold back a laugh because it was true. Armin was wearing pink while Erwin was in blue. It was so grossly couple-like but I couldn't help but think it was kind of cute at the same time. They were both wearing glasses, which only added to the adorable factor. I was almost jealous of them, Levi and I weren't matching at all. But, wait. Levi and I aren't a couple. Armin was blushing furiously before he piped up,

"Eren, you look fantastic. You even combed your hair back. It looks good."

"I have to agree, very sharp. Did Levi help you pick that outfit?" Erwin asked with a warm smile.

I felt my face getting hot at all the compliments but I sheepishly rubbed at the back of my neck out of habit and smiled while looking down. Levi was silent, seeming a bit impatient almost.

"Y-yeah. Thanks." was all I could manage.

"Oi, when are we going to stop standing around? I'm freezing my ass off. Did you forget it's fucking 55 degrees out here?"

Levi grabbed his bag and pushed his way past Erwin who only smirked and stepped aside letting the shorter man in. I quickly grabbed my own bag and follow Erwin and Armin into the grand house marveling at the inside as I entered. The floors were all marble, so shiny I could practically see my reflection perfectly in it. The walls were painted a warm golden color that the grand crystal and glass chandelier accented nicely with it's dimmed lighting. There was a staircase that wrapped around the front room leading to what I could only guess was bedrooms and guest rooms and all that jazz.

Levi looked about ready to start trudging up the stairs when a sweet woman's voice came ringing through the foyer catching all of our attention. A tall but very attractive woman entered the spacious front room, her golden blonde hair tied back neatly into a bun with a few well placed curls sticking out here and there. Her pale blue eyes twinkled like that of stars as her long legs strode toward Levi in quick, fluid movements. She reached out both of her well manicured hands and embraced Levi tightly but still with grace, the woman had some age lines around her eyes but her presence radiated youth.

"Levi! My darling, it's so good to see you." her sweet, dignified voice said each word perfectly.

I watched curiously as Levi wrapped one of his arms around the woman's wait and leaned into her embrace. When they pulled away, the wall, blonde woman kept her hands on Levi's shoulders inspecting him from head to two with a warm smile on her face. Levi had a faint smile on his as well and I found it strange to see him smiling at someone other than me like that.

"It's nice to see you, Juliana. You look as lovely as ever."

"Oh, Levi you handsome little devil. Flattery gets you nowhere. Oh! Erwin tells me you've brought a guest with you this year, introduce me!"

Oh shit. This is it. I wondered what this woman, who I noted must be Erwin's mother, would think when Levi introduced me to her. Would she think we're dating? That we're a couple? That I'm his lover? Would Levi introduce me as his neighbor? I tensed when Levi turned to look at me and felt Erwin and Armin's stare on me as well. I gulped clearing my throat softly and taking a step forward. This was it, Eren. Let's make a good impression.

"Hello. My name is Eren Jaeger." I said, trying to make my voice as clear and even as possible as I took a confident step forward and stretched an open hand out.

Levi looked slightly surprised at my actions, he was probably expecting me to chicken out and leave introducing me to him since I was his guest. Well, he thought wrong. I'm Eren fucking Jaeger and I could introduce myself just fine. This was my chance to prove to Levi that I'm not just some immature 22 year old. The blonde woman, named Juliana, looked at me with surprise as well but hers quickly faded as she took my hand daintily in hers and smiled widely. I returned her smile in full and the woman took a closer step toward me.

"Oh! My, what a handsome young man you are. Eren, yes, I believe Erwin and Armin have mentioned you. If you don't mind my asking, how do you and Levi know each other exactly?" the woman had a knowing look in her blue eyes that reminded me of Erwin. I could tell she was genuinely curious about what my relationship to Levi was but before I could make a fool of myself, Levi stepped in and answered for me.

"He's a friend, Juliana. He performs at Armin's Cafe, I met him there. Eren, this is Erwin's mother Juliana Smith."

I felt an unfamiliar pain in my chest at what Levi was saying. 'He's a friend.' it was just like that last time at the supermarket when the Cashier, Thomas asked if we were a couple. I couldn't really understand it then, why it kind of stung to hear Levi say we were just friends but now I did. Maybe I had already realized it awhile ago or maybe I was just in denial about it until now, but I wanted to be so much more than just a friend to Levi. I wanted to be his Lover, his shelter from all the critical eyes that judged him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Eren. You perform?" I was snapped out of my thoughts by the sound of Mrs.Smith asking me if I performed.

Thank god for Armin, because he stepped in as soon as he noticed my stunned daze. I felt a little embarrassed having Armin answer for me, but I didn't want to make a fool of myself by saying something ridiculous. My mouth had no filter, I said whatever came to my mind and right now my mind was filled with Levi.

"Eren is the one I talked about earlier, he's a very talented singer and guitarist. He's been performing at my shop for a few years now and he's a local sensation." Armin said with a smile that could only be described as proud.

I smiled back at the blonde woman who was absolutely beaming at me. Levi was right, so far Erwin's mother seemed like an angel.

"Oh, how wonderful! I would love to hear you perform one day, Eren."

"Ah, yes. Thank you, I would love to perform for you." I said shyly.

"LEVI!"

Suddenly a booming voice broke the pleasant atmosphere, My eyes went a little wide and I could see Armin's eyes mirroring mine. My eyes frantically looked over at Levi who was looking at Erwin expectantly.

"Looks like Dad heard you're here, Levi." I heard Erwin say with a chuckle.

A big man with neatly groomed brown hair came into the room and I had to double take. He was the spitting image of Erwin except instead of the calculating blues I expected to see, they were cunning but warm honey browns. The familiar high cheeks bones, the thick eyebrows and the slight bump in their nose. The man needed no introductions, he was without a doubt Erwin Smith's father.

"There's my favorite little Chef! Hah!" the large, burly man rushed at Levi who in turn grimaced before he was picked up off his feet into a crushing bear hug.

I winced as I watched the painful but friendly exchange. Levi wheezed out something but it went unheard over the man's loud, hardy laughter. One thing was for sure, he may have looked exactly like Erwin but he sure didn't act or sound like it. The man was thunderous and apparently affectionate. Erwin was calm and more reserved.

"Dear, remember what we said about restraint." the tall blonde woman, who looked dwarfed next to her husband, said sweetly placing a gentle hand to her husband's beefy shoulder.

"Oh, you're absolutely right. Sorry about that, Levi my boy!"

Levi was eased back down onto his feet and he croaked out an uneasy 'Forget about it.' before he straightened himself up and readjusted his clothes. I would have laughed, honestly at the sight of Levi being manhandled so easily, but laughter was the furthest thing from my mind when a pair of calculating honey browns shifted over to me and I froze because I knew it was coming. The hug of death.

"And who do we have here?" the loud voice asked eyeing me with a crooked grin on his handsomely aged face.

"Dear, this is Eren Jaeger. Armin mentioned him remember? He's Levi's guest for tonight's party."

Mr.Smith lit up at that and his crooked grin grew into a smile so wide it hurt my cheeks just seeing it. He took a confident step forward and thrust his large, muscular hand toward.

"Well, Mr. Eren Jaeger it's very nice to meet you! Armin told us a lot about you and your sister, Mikasa if I'm not mistaken."

"The pleasure is all mine, sir." I said a little more stiffly than I would have liked to seem.

As our hands connected, I felt a crushing grip around my fingers before I was pulled into a bone crushing hug like the one Levi had received earlier. I felt a rush of air escape me as I hung quite helplessly in the man's embrace, I wasn't quite sure how to react to this man suddenly hugging me all of a sudden but I only smiled sheepishly and probably let out a few quiet whimpers of pain.

"Just call me Steve! Sir is too formal for a friend of Levi's to address me! Ha ha ha!"

Mr.Smith, as I called him, finally released me from his painful but warm embrace and I was grateful to have my feet back on the ground where they belonged. I was a little surprised by how forward Erwin's father was compared to his mother who Erwin seemed to have inherited his reserved nature from. Still, I couldn't help but like Mr.Smith. He was jolly and full of life.

"Oi, sorry to interrupt this little introduction but Eren and I would like to get our things settled." came the closest to Polite request I'd ever heard from Levi.

"Oh, yes! Go on, go on! Get yourselves settled in your rooms, Levi you'll be using your old guest room won't you?" Mrs.Smith asked with a flash of white teeth.

Levi nodded curtly before turning and walking up the stairs, Mrs.Smith turned back to me still showing off her perfectly straight teeth behind dark painted lips but there was that familiar cunning look in her blue eyes that made me swallow nervously.

"Eren, I'm so glad you came. Please feel free to use any of the guest rooms upstairs, Our home is your home." she chirped before taking a step toward me, her short heels clicking against the marble. "I'll understand if you want to share a room with Levi. He's is so shy when it comes to these things. I say go for it, the walls are sound proofed."

I looked at her with wide eyes and my mouth was probably hanging open in disbelief because, was I that easy to read? Or were me and Levi just too easily mistaken as a couple too often? Not that I'm really complaining, but instead of denying the blonde woman's words I only nodded as I felt the blood rush to my cheeks again. I tightened my grip around my bag and scurried off after Levi before he left me behind. I could feel four sets of eyes watching me as I hurried off.

---

Levi and I didn't get much time to relax or talk to Erwin and Armin before the first guests were arriving. Levi had once again reminded me about our little conversation in the car before we started down the stairs to join the other guests who were all arriving by the handfuls. Levi wasn't kidding when he said this party was a big deal.

I could quite literally see luxury cars of all kinds parked in the long, paved driveway. I wondered just how many people were actually going to be here, but quickly got distracted when Levi handed me a glass of Champagne and I sipped it wearily. I wasn't used to drinking things like this, my experience with alcohol was with beer, vodka and tequila of all sorts. Never Champagne or Wine.

As we worked ourselves into the building crowd inside the Smith's lavish home, we were eventually ushered into a large room with several Queen Anne Chairs and lots of French Provenience Furniture. The furniture complimented the flawless white marble floors and the dark forest green and gold drapery, but I was much more infatuated with the sight of the beautiful man that I had been standing next to all this time.

Levi had started out with a glass of Champagne at first before he left my side briefly and returned with a glass of what looked like Scotch. I couldn't be sure, but suddenly he nudged me in the side before he leaned into me and started whispering something in my ear. I could feel his hot breath on my neck and I almost shuddered, at this close proximity I could definitely smell that it was not Scotch but Whiskey. Crown Royal.

"Watch yourself, Goggles at 2 o clock sharp." I could only notice how husky his voice sounded for some reason. Was it the alcohol doing that to him?

His little warning went unheeded as a familiar shrill voice called out to us from across the room. I froze and heard Levi groan into my ear causing some very lewd images to come into my mind at the sound. Fuck, that was the sexiest sound I'd ever heard. My rousing fantasies were Interrupted by a pair of arms constricting around me and suddenly I felt like history was repeating itself, this was the second time today I've had the life squeezed out of me.

"Eren! You came! And you look so handsome, oh! I could just eat you right up!" came Hanji's excited squealing, earning us some strange looks from some of the other guests in the vicinity.

"N-Nice to see you too, H-Hanji." I groaned out, feeling like my lungs were about to collapse under the pressure of her hug.

"Shitty goggles, can't you see you're practically choking him?" Levi said halfheartedly as he took a swig of his Whiskey and rolled his eyes.

"Levi~ Mon petit chat! I see you're already hitting the Whiskey." Hanji cooed with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

"Fuck off, Hanji."

"Now, now. Language, Levi."

"Va te faire foutre, Enfoiré."

Okay, I have no fucking idea what he just said but whatever it was, Levi sounded hot as fuck when he spoke French. Ugh, what's wrong with me today? Anything Levi does has me thinking dirty thoughts. Fuck, he doesn't even have to be doing anything for me to be having dirty thoughts about him. He just has to keep standing there looking hot with his hair pushed back and his collar open showing off those sinfully beautiful collarbones of his. I took a long gulp of Champagne to calm my nerves a bit because I was suddenly feeling too hot all at once.

"Aww, I love you too, Munchkin!"

Suddenly, a large man with dirty blond hair and a beard came up behind Hanji and wrapped one of his arms around her waist. My eyebrows raised as I craned my neck to look up at the tall man who had a small smile on his face. DAMN, he was tall. I think he's even taller than Bertholdt.

"Hello, Levi." the man greeted with a little nod.

Levi gave a curt nod back, "Mike."

"Honey bear, this is Eren Jaeger. The one I told you about! Eren, this is my husband Mike!" Hanji chimed excitedly.

I was about to reach out my hand to shake with Mike but instead of his hand, I felt his nose bury into the crown of my hair as he inhaled deeply. I stood as still as statue as Mike continued to sniff me, not really sure what I should do. Then just as quickly as he had leaned in to sniff me, Mike leaned back and sort of smirked to himself before he stuck out his hand to grab mine firmly.

"Nice to finally Meet you, Eren. Hanji has told me a lot about you." Mike said with a smile.

I still was a bit shocked and disturbed that this guy just fucking sniffed me, but I managed a small awkward smile of my own before Levi finally cut in. Thank freakin' Jesus.

"Eren, let's go somewhere else. It's getting to noisy here." he said before grabbing me by the arm and jerking me off in the direction he wanted to go.

I shot an apologetic smile to Hanji who only beamed at me in return and waved at me happily as Levi and I left to god, knows where. I didn't really mind that Levi was dragging me around like a rag doll, I was much more focused on the fact that his hand was gripping my bicep so tenderly but firmly at the same time. He had strong hands. I could almost feel his fingers burning my skin through my shirt.

Suddenly, he released me altogether and I felt disappointed at the loss of contact of his hand on my arm. Should I feel disappointed that he's not touching me in some way or form? Probably not. Levi wasn't my boyfriend or even my lover, he was just my neighbor. Yet, I couldn't help but feel that pang of sadness anyways.

"Well, if it isn't Sergeant Levi Ackerman."

Ackerman? Levi and I both looked up at the unfamiliar voice that was approaching us. A tall, lanky man with black hair and something that looked like a beard on his chin and upper lip approached us. His hair was styled into an undercut similar to both Levi and Erwin's and I wondered if it was a military thing. I noticed the way Levi immediately tensed as he turned to face that man that was approaching us quickly. He was wearing a black tailored suit with a skinny black tie that I thought didn't suit him very well at all, in fact he looked somewhat out of place for some reason with that tie on.

"Dok." was all Levi said as he addressed the man.

I could see the way the muscle in Levi's jaw flexed as he clenched his teeth tightly. If I didn't have such a bad feeling in my gut that this 'Dok' guy was bad news, I probably would have found that particular action extremely attractive and sexy on Levi. He visibly straightened his posture, if that was even possible, and stood perfectly erect with his head held a bit higher than usual. He had a perfect air of confidence swirling about him and I couldn't help but be sort of awed by it.

"I can't help but ask myself why you keep coming around, Levi. You're obviously not welcomed here as a Military Official of any kind. Why do you still come slinking back here to The Smith's residence every year even though you're the one responsible for almost handicapping their only son? Is it because you feel guilty? Are you trying to make up for what you've done? Do you think coming here every year and working like a slave for Erwin will compensate for your mistakes?"

There were a few curious onlookers who were watching the exchange between Levi and this 'Dok' person and I noticed a few of the other guest snicker or chuckle at how this man was talking down to Levi. I furrowed my brows together and pressed my lips into a thin line trying to keep my mouth shut because who the fuck did this guy think he was? My eyes shot back to Levi who stared at this man like if he were a shit stain on a pair of white underwear.

"Is that all you wanted to say, Dok? Because I'm kind of getting fucking bored with your rambling. If you have nothing else to say, then I guess we're done here."

"How typical of you to run away from a confrontation, Levi. Can you actually do anything other than run with your tail between your legs?"

'Dok' was just taunting Levi now. I half hoped that Levi would just turn and walk and half hoped he was knock the guys fucking teeth out. I was seriously prayed for the latter.

"Actually, I can, Nile. I can shave that sorry excuse of a mustache you have or I could fix that shitty haircut of yours. Which would you rather prefer?"

"HA! GOOD ONE LEVI!" Hanji cackled from some unknown part of the room.

I could see the guy Nile seething with a quiet rage as as he fell silent at Levi's remarks about his mustache and his haircut. I tried really fucking hard not to laugh, it almost hurt to hold it in when all I wanted to do was to fall back on my ass and laugh until I cried. God, Levi was amazing. I was so awestruck by everything he did, he handled himself so well and I both extremely envious and extremely hot for him right now. I wanted to take him into a closet and do him.

"Watch who you're talking to, Ackerman. You may not be in the Army anymore but I'm still a Superior Officer." Nile hissed quietly.

The were hushed murmurs coming from every which way now and all eyes were on Levi, cold, critical and judgmental and suddenly I felt trapped under those gazes. Nile had already turned and walked away and some of the stares that were previously on us soon lost interest. But I couldn't help but feel the rage building up inside of me, to the point where I was starting to feel a little dizzy and light headed. Or maybe that was the Champagne doing it? I couldn't tell anymore.

I must have looked pretty upset or sick, or both, because I felt Levi place a firm but tentative hand to the small of my back before his low, silk-like voice spoke to me. I could hear the slight concern in his tone and it soothed me just a little.

"Hey, you okay? You look like you're about to fucking puke or maybe punch someone."

I let out a shaky laugh, "I kind of feel like doing both, actually."

There was a pause of silence and I finally mustered the courage to look down at Levi and boy was it a huge fucking mistake. He looked absolutely amazing. He was staring up at me with those piercing, silvery eyes full of something I couldn't quite make out. Concern? Adoration? Love? Worry? Anger? Maybe a mix of all of the above? I could feel my heart slowly start to speed up it's pace of pumping blood into my system and I worried that if my face got any hotter, I'd faint from heat exhaustion.

"Come on, we're going back to the rooms. This party is shit anyway." Levi said before he turned on the soul of his boots.

I nodded but couldn't find it in me to create words because suddenly Levi's hand grasped mine and he threaded our fingers together while pulling me along after him. His grip wasn't tight in the least, it was just comfortable enough to where I knew he wasn't about to let go anytime soon and I felt my heart stammering in my chest at the innocent little action. We were just holding hands, I don't understand why I feel so flustered like if we were doing something so intimate. It just felt so right. Any thoughts of anger I had melted away as my mind went blank and I only focused on the contact of that cold yet tender hand in mine.

I didn't pay any mind to the stares we were getting from the people we passed in the room, Hell, I think we passed Erwin and Armin at some point and I heard Armin say something to me with a dopey grin on his face but my mind was so transfixed on Levi that I didn't even comprehend that I was being talked to. The world felt peacefully silent as my eyes stayed trained between our linked hands and the way Levi's shoulder blades moved up and down as he walked in front of me.

Levi lead us back upstairs, hands still linked and I couldn't be stupidly happier. He took me back to my guest room and to my disappointment released our clasped hands once we were inside, he shut the door the behind him and sighed heavily. I stayed standing still by the shut door as Levi walked over to a comfortable looking white and cream colored chaise lounge sofa. He plopped himself down tiredly and nursed whatever he had left of his Whiskey which was surely watered down by now.

"Hey, relax, Eren. Stop looking like someone shit in your cereal. Sit down."

I didn't move from my spot by the door however, and I felt my fists balling up tightly. Oh, shit. I could feel it coming up, my horrible word vomit I always got whenever I was really pissed off about something. Shit, I thought I had already forgotten about what happened a little while ago with that fucking Nile guy but I could still feel myself ready to explode with anger if I didn't say something soon.

"Why did you let him talk to you like that!?"

I didn't intend or mean to sound so harsh and yell my question but I was just so fucking pissed off. Pissed off at Nile for talking down to Levi like he was lower than dirt, pissed off at Levi for not defending himself about anything he said, pissed off at the fucking bigoted asshats downstairs who snickered and whispered behind Levi's back and in his face.

"Eren, calm down, it's not that big a de-"

"No! I won't calm down! Those assholes don't know anything about you! They don't know the first thing about you but yet they talk shit about you to your face and act like if you're the scum of the earth! I hate that you didn't say anything to that guy!! I hate that you didn't defend yourself, Levi!! You're NOT a fucking coward!"

I let it all come out in a rush. I was panting slightly because I was just so worked up over everything and I could feel the hot, wet tears stinging the corners of my eyes threatening to fall at any moment. This is why I hated getting upset or angry, I always ended up crying and it made me feel so immature and stupid. I was always highly emotional as a child, some things just never change I guess.

"... I didn't defend myself because everything Nile said was true, Eren. There's no point in trying to defend myself, I'll only look like a fool if I did. I'm sorry, Eren. I am a coward." Levi said, voice calm and even.

I managed to look up at him, vision a bit blurry from the flood of tears gathering in my eyes before spilling over and clearing my vision. Levi was slumped against the back of the sofa with an arm slung over his eyes as if to hide from something. From what? His demeanor completely betrayed the calmness of his voice. He looked so ashamed of himself and it hurt me to see him like that because this wasn't Levi. Levi wasn't anything like what that Nile guy said.

"You're not a coward." I repeated, voice cracking a bit as I spoke. "They don't know you like I know you..." I was practically whispering at this point, sobbing and just not caring if Levi saw me crying like this again. "You're brave, and so fucking amazing, you're kind even though you try and hide it from everyone else. You care about your friends even though Hanji can be really annoying sometimes and Erwin likes to bring up embarrassing things from your childhood. You're gentle even if you don't think you are, and even though you say you're bad at comforting people you still try to comfort me whenever I'm sad or upset."

I took a stuttered breath and I could hear myself hiccuping from all the tears that were now flowing, staining my cheeks and burning my eyes so I clenched them shut. Levi was silent so I went on.

"I like spending time with you because you make me laugh even when I feel like shit and you always take me out to lunch or breakfast because you know how much food makes me happy. I feel comfortable around you and I like it when stroke my hair until I fall asleep in your lap and you always put up with my bullshit even though I know I can be a brat-"

My onslaught of word vomit was stopped abruptly when I felt a pair of lips smashing into mine, soft, warm but firm and harsh at the same time. My eyes blinked open and I only now realized that Levi had moved from his spot on the sofa and was now pinning me against the door gently, my wrists firmly in his grasps as he pinned them to either side of my head against the door as well. My heart felt like it was about to burst out of my chest if it pounded any harder and I immediately turned into puddy in Levi's hands.

I melted into the kiss, it's the only thing I've been wanting for so many weeks now. I had been so fucking curious about the taste of those lips and now that they were finally pressed against mine, I took the time to appreciate them. Levi's lips were smooth, not even the slightest bit chapped like mine were from biting them out of habit all the time. I tilted my head a bit to deepen the kiss because now that it was happening, I wasn't about to let Levi pull away and stop now.

I could feel Levi's strong chest pressed up against mine and the way he had to slightly crane his neck up because of our height difference but I quickly adjusted myself to Levi's height so he wouldn't have to strain. I didn't mind having to bend my knees a little if it meant kissing this amazing man in front of me. I ran my hand through his undercut and then threaded my fingers through his neatly groomed hair. I felt Levi swipe his tongue across my bottom lip and I didn't need to be told twice before I parted my lips and allowed him to explore my mouth as I eagerly explored his. I was whimpering softly into his mouth, but the sounds were swallowed by him completely.

Levi tasted like a strange mixture of Crown Royal, Black tea and Cigarette smoke, sweet and with just that twinge of alcohol, I always loved the smell of Crown Royal but now the taste would be forever embedded on my taste buds thanks to Levi and his preferred drink of the night. Our tongues fought for dominance, I would push my tongue against his in defiance and then he would suck on my sweet spot eliciting the tiniest of moans from me as a bolt of pleasure bolted through my body. I was so enamored with his taste, so intoxicated by his mere presence alone that if I hadn't already been drinking that night, I would have felt drunk of his kisses.

When Levi finally broke away from me, I opened my eyes to stare down at him breathing harshly against my throat. His eyes were half-lidded and I could see the way his black lashes shimmered as he trailed his eyes to look up at me. When our eyes finally met, I was slightly surprised as I stared back into what I thought were silvery-grey irises at first but what I saw was the tiniest hint of a muted blue ring around his black pupils. His eyes were breathtaking, like staring into the raging storm. I'd never seen Levi's real eye color until now, this was the closest we've ever been.

"Eren..." he called, his voice low and thick with arousal and I felt my dick twitch. "Do you have any fucking idea how long I've wanted to do that?"

I couldn't help the smile that made it's way onto my lips as I wrapped my arms around Levi's neck pulling him in closer. So I wasn't just imagining it all this time, I wasn't the only one who felt this way.

"No, but I want you to do it again." I said against his lips.

Levi all too happily complied with my request and this time I enjoyed the way his lips pressed against mine more slowly, less desperate. My heart was a fluttering mess, and that was all the confirmation I needed to know that yes, I was indeed falling so very hard for this man who was so many different shades of grey.

Our lips melted together in perfect harmony, but soon I was getting impatient and anxious. I'd been wanting to get Levi alone in a room since the very moment I saw him this afternoon before we left the apartments and now I was getting my chance. I broke away from his lips and started on his jawline and I heard him groan softly when I kissed a tender patch of skin. I smirked into his neck and lightly scraped my teeth against that same spot but soon I felt Levi's hands pressing against my chest.

I pulled off of him and looked at him questioningly, had I read the mood wrong? Did Levi not want to do this with me? It seemed like he could read every emotion in my eyes as he stared at me and then he spoke,

"Sorry, it's not that I don't want to do this, because I really fucking want to but..." he looked so unsure of himself as his eyes searched the ground for something to say.

I sighed but smiled, "Levi, it's okay. I understand. You've... never done it with a man before, right?" I asked softly, not wanting to upset him in anyway.

"Of course not, dipshit. I literally just accepted the fact that I'm gay a couple of months ago, not exactly enough time to explore the perks." he said with a slight roll of his eyes but I could tell that he wasn't really as annoyed as he was trying to sound.

"Sorry," I laughed into his neck as I buried my nose there, taking in his scent because I was just so happy that the physical barrier wasn't there anymore. I could touch him the way I've always wanted to now without having to worry about mutual attractions. "So, what do you want do exactly? Because I know that I definitely want this to go somewhere." I mumbled into his skin.

"I want to take this slow, I don't want to jump right into things and you end up realizing that you only wanted my company because you're lonely. Not to offend you, Eren, but you kind of just got out of a long term relationship a little more than a month ago. I don't want to be the rebound."

I pulled away from Levi and stared into his eyes, not entirely sure how to respond. His answer was so honest but I couldn't possibly be offended by that fact, Levi had the damn right to say that because it was true. I did just get out of a serious, long-term relationship and I'm sure that was probably making him feel kind of insecure about if my feelings were real or just the loneliness talking. I gave Levi a soft smile as I pulled him into a hug, I buried my nose into his hair (that I had kind of messed up during our little make out session) and took in the smell of his shampoo.

"It's okay, you don't have to worry about if you're my rebound. I can guarantee that you're not, I already felt like this even before I broke up with Jean. But, if it makes you feel better we can definitely take things slow, we don't have to do anything until you're ready and I'll understand. I'm just... so happy right now."

I heard and felt Levi chuckle against my throat as he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled our bodies closer together. I could feel his hardened muscles underneath his tight black button up, and while I wanted nothing more than to rip that shirt open and just lick him up and down, I would wait until Levi was ready. My dick on the other hand, didn't seem like it wanted to wait at all. I sheepishly pulled away from Levi's embrace, hoping he would see how obviously turned on I was at the moment.

"I think I'm going to call it an early night, the party won't last much longer anyway. All those saggy ass old geezers and their wives will be gone by 10PM so there's no use in going back down there. I'm going to go take a shower before bed, if you need anything just come down the hall to my room."

Levi leaned forward and pecked me on the lips but one peck turned into two and then two turned into three and then three turned into one long, sweet kiss and I was left breathless against the door once more. I smiled and Levi smirked.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to the way that makes me feel." I said with a little laugh.

Levi chuckled softly, "Goodnight, Eren."

I watched with longing eyes as Levi turned to leave my room, I wanted to reach out and pull him back into my arms so badly. I felt like a love sick teenager who couldn't stand to be away from their lovers for more than an hour, yes, that's exactly how I felt right now. Levi was gone all too quickly though and I felt slightly empty and cold after having just been in his safe arms less than a minute ago. I traced my fingers over my lips remembering the way Levi's lips felt like fire on mine. I closed my eyes and let the feeling take over me as my hand unconsciously snaked down my stomach toward the hem of my pants.

Fuck, I had almost forgotten about my little boner situation for a moment. I wasn't as hard as I had been a few minutes ago when Levi and I were locked in hot and heavy kisses, but I could feel myself perking right back up again at the thoughts of having Levi's hot mouth all over me. I wanted to feel what it would be like to have those fiery lips latched onto my neck and collarbones, moving to my nipples as he abused them mercilessly with his teeth and tip of his tongue.

I drew out a long moan when my thoughts took an even filthier turn, imagining Levi with his lips wrapped around my swollen cock, licking at my cum spurting out as I came on his face. Shit, suddenly my pants felt too tight all over again and I quickly started unfastening my belt to get my pants open. I clumsily fiddled with the clasp on the slacks before I was yanking the zipper down and palming myself through the fabric of my boxers.

I slumped against the wall, gasping and groaning at the light friction I was creating with my hand and I could feel my own pre-cum leaking out and staining my clean underwear. (Thank god I brought an extra pair) I rolled my boxers and pants down just enough so that my cock sprang free of it's confines and I slightly shivered at the cold air that hit my hypersensitive dick. Not caring that I was jerking myself dry, I relished in the sweet friction my dry palm was bringing me. (I liked my sex rough and hard anyway.)

Soon, my room was filled with the slick sounds of my hand working my own dick, now that the precum had leaked I used it as a makeshift lubricant. I tried to hold in my moans at first, but then I remembered what Mrs.Smith had said... the rooms were fucking sound proof, hallelujah. I immediately forfeited any attempts at restraining myself and started moaning loudly like a slut in a whorehouse.

It wasn't enough though, jerking off wasn't going to give me the satisfaction that I needed to fully get off. I kicked off my shoes before awkwardly shuffling over toward the huge bed in the middle of the room, crawling on top of the perfectly white duvet and sheets. My pants puddled around my knees as I pushed them down further so my ass was now exposed and I leaned forward pressing my cheek to the mattress. I arched my back so that I was in a rather revealing position, quite literally face down, ass up. (Yes, that is the way I like to fuck. Thank you very much.)

I shoved three of my fingers into my mouth (Why waste time?) and made sure that they were slicked up and covered good with my saliva before I reached behind me and started teasing my own entrance. I didn't bring any lube with me, so while Saliva wasn't my favorite choice of lubricants, it would have to do. I wasted absolutely no time with preparing myself and I plunged two fingers inside my hole, throwing my head back as I hissed at the slight burn of the sudden intrusion. The burn faded quite quickly and I adjusted to swallowing two fingers at once rather quickly, I had never been more grateful for masturbating that night before since I was still a little loose from my previous ministrations.

I started moving my fingers in and out of me as a rapid pace, searching desperately for that spot that I knew would bring me the release I so desperately wanted. My mouth hung open letting every sound I made fill the room. I closed my eyes and imagined that my fingers were actually Levi's nice fat cock slamming into me and I immediately felt my dick twitch with excitement at the lewd images I was conjuring up in my mind. I remembered that low, guttural groan Levi had made earlier tonight and I played it back in my head imagining that was the sound Levi would probably be making if he were truly the one fucking me right now.

"Nnh! S-So... good...ahh!"

I didn't realize I was actually saying what I was thinking in my head, my mouth was shooting off on it's own in my haze of pleasure and before long I felt my fingers rub against that little special spot that always had me a writhing, whimpering mess. I turned my head and buried my mouth into the sheets screaming to my hearts content because, jesus fucking christ, it just felt so fucking good. I added my third finger in and my pleasure intensified incredibly so. I kept imaging Levi slamming into me, Levi groaning behind me as he fucked me nice and good, Levi shoving my face into the mattress as he jack hammered into me.

"L-Levi...! Levi! Yes,yes, so good... nngh!"

Fuck, fuck, fuck! I was so fucking close now, but there was still something missing. I couldn't place my fucking finger on it, but god, my mind was too jumbled up to think straight. All I could focus on was my increasing pleasure. In what little sense of surrounding I did have left through my lust filled daze, I thought I heard my door creak open. If I hadn't been currently drowning in a sea full of ecstasy, I probably would have given a damn that someone might be watching me or coming into my room. But as of the moment, I absolutely did not care.

Chapter Text

I knew I should probably just walk away right now.

Just walk away and act like I didn't just hear Eren moaning out my name wantonly.

Walk away and ignore the aching need in my pants that just would not go the fuck away.

But I didn't walk away, no, I walked toward Eren slumped forward on the bed, ass in the air with his fingers ramming in and out of him at speeds I might have thought impossible if I wasn't looking at him do it myself.

"Levi...!! H-Harder... fu-fuck me harder.... nhh Levi!"

There it was again. My name being practically screamed into the big, emptiness of Eren's room. So needy, so desperately, how could I possibly just turn around and act like I didn't hear him calling out for me just now? It was simply fucking impossible.

So I reached out a hand and I touched him. Leaned over him on a knee while one of my hands kneaded into his tight, firm ass while the other one snaked around his waist. I pressed my chest against the arch in his back, molding our bodies perfectly as I breathed hotly next to the shell of his ear.

"Eren..." I could feel the way he shuddered under me, sending a bolt of excitement through my body like electricity.

"Hnn... L-Levi... more-I need more...ahh!"

and more I would give him. I wasn't entirely sure what I was supposed to be doing, I've never had sex with a man before and I still wanted to hold true to my word of taking things slow with Eren so fucking him was out of the question. Not that I actually intended to in the first place, but I settled for at least helping him reach his orgasm.

I had noticed the way Eren had been staring at me the entire day since he first saw me earlier that afternoon. I wouldn't deny the fact that I wanted to jump his bones as soon as I saw him standing there awkwardly in that tight forest green button up I'd gotten for him and those sinfully tight slacks that gave me the perfect view of his nice ass.

My hand was still kneading said nice ass as the arm I had wrapped around Eren's waist was now snaking down between his thighs to grab his dick and oh fuck, Hanji had been so fucking right. Eren definitely wasn't small in the dick department, I didn't need to see it to know that. Just the feeling of his girth in my palm was enough to tell me this as I began to stroke him.

Eren's cheek came up from being smashed into the mattress and he whined loudly as I squeezed him harshly at the base of his cock first and then gave him a couple of good pumps before I was swiping my thumb across the slit of his cock. It was throbbing in my hand, hot and so obviously fucking swollen with need. It was already slick with precum so my hand easily glided up and down his dick while I felt his fingers still vigorously working his ass.

I tried to time my strokes with his quick paced fingers and it seemed to be working if the lewd noises Eren was making were anything to go by. He was loud and beautiful as he begged me, pleaded me to give him more, faster, harder, deeper and fuck I was going to lose my mind soon if he didn't cum.

"A-AHH! C-close! Levi I'm-uhnn!- gonna cum!" his voice was shrill and thick with need and arousal as he bucked his hips into my hand.

This all felt so unreal, was I really leaning over jerking him off right now while he fucked his own fingers? This was like something out of one of my wet dreams and I prayed to whatever fucking god was out there that this was not a fucking dream. So far, it was all starting to seem more real as I felt Eren's hips start to gyrate erratically bucking into my hand with pure anxious need.

"Cum for me, Eren." I could hear the shakiness of my own voice as I goaded him on toward his orgasm but it seemed to do the trick for him.

"Fu-fuck! Fuck! Levi!!" he cried out desperately.

I felt his warm cum start spilling out profusely as I continued to stroke him through his orgasm, making sure that every last drop made it into my fisted hand. Eren was gasping and I could feel his body spasm underneath me. He was panting heavily as his body eventually started going limp before he sunk down into the sheets. I released his softening dick from my hand and placed a kiss to his sweaty temple as he came down from the high of his intense orgasm.

I awkwardly stood up from the bed and reached for the handkerchief I kept in my back pocket at all times, pulling the white square of fabric out to wipe off the cum from my hand reminding myself to wash them later. Eren flopped onto his back, and he tiredly pulled his pants and boxers back up but left his pants open and unbuttoned. He was staring up at me with his half-lidded, clouded Viridian's through long lashes and his eyes immediately darted down to the tent in my pants.

Shit, I didn't realize how turned on I was watching and hearing Eren getting off to thoughts of me. I was so painfully fucking hard right now but I was still set in my decision not to do anything with Eren just yet. Eren, however, seemed keen on other ideas.

I was surprised when he dragged his body off the bed and dropped down on his knees in front of me. His hands shot toward my belt as he hurriedly tried to unfasten it with as little time possible and I found my own breathing starting to get heavy from the sight of Eren kneeling in front of me, his face still flushed from his orgasm and his breathing still a bit labored. I would remember this image of him forever probably. It was just so fucking sexy to see him looking up at me with his pupils blown so wide his brilliant fucking eyes were practically black.

"I-I know you want to take this slow," he said hoarsely, fuck, he sounded so wrecked. "but just let me do this. Please, Levi. I want to make you feel good too."

Shit. How the hell do you say no to that when the most beautiful fucking brat was practically begging you to let him suck you off. My willpower against him wasn't very strong to begin with, so with a little nod of my head I let Eren do what he pleased with me. He smiled after getting permission and he got back up on his feet before his hands were flat on my chest steering me back toward the bed.

The back of my knees collided with the bedside knocking me back gracefully until my back was flat on the mattress and Eren was sinking between my thighs again. He expertly unclasped my slacks and pulled the zipper down until my black Calvin Klein boxer briefs were showing. Eren placed a kiss to the bulge that was painfully straining against the material and I let out a shaky breath at the sight.

How could he be this perfect? Eren started mouthing my dick through the material of my boxers and I inhaled sharply biting my lower lip to prevent any sounds from escaping. Unlike Eren, I was never very vocal when it came to sex. I reached a hand out and threaded my fingers through Eren's already disheveled hair, so much for him having tamed it for even just a little while.

I heard him letting out little whimpers and moans, the sounds further arousing me because they were coming from Eren as he mouthed my dick. Then, he seemed to get impatient as he all but yanked my boxers down and my cock sprang free like a fucking jack in the box. I noticed how Eren's eyes glazed over once more when he saw my hard erection displayed proudly against my stomach, his tongued flicked out of his mouth to lick his lips and I stifled a groan at how sexy that was.

The groan wasn't as contained as I had hoped it was and something seem to spark inside of Eren when he heard my quiet sound. He placed the flat of his tongue against the underside of my cock and licked a long, hot strip up toward the tip. I grunted out my approval at the wet sensation of his tongue on my dick before my head fell back against the mattress.

The hand that was in Eren's hair started to tangle in the locks as I gripped at a handful and then released him and repeated this action as he continued to place teasing kissing to the crown of my cock and along the vein on the underside. My heart was thundering in my ears as all my blood rushed straight to my groin, my other hand clawing at the sheets.

I melted when Eren finally took me into his mouth, at first it was just the tip were he swirled his tongue around it sending me into a frenzy of groans and grunts that were progressively getting louder against my will. I tried to swallow the sounds down deep inside my throat but it was no use, Eren was turning me into a mess of a man with his mouth doing such sinful things to me.

Eren hummed around my cock sending waves of vibrations through me and I hissed at the sensation bucking my hips slightly, I arched my back slightly and ground my hips into the mattress trying to still them from bucking again. The last thing I wanted was to choke or gag Eren while he has my dick in his mouth. He pulled off of my dick and I opened my eyes (when had I closed them?) to look down at this beautiful kid as he stared up at me. His lips rosy and swollen from sucking me off and he had some of my precum smeared on his lips and chin. It was a picture perfect moment, I don't give a fuck how perverted that makes me seem.

"Levi, it's okay. You can fuck my mouth if you want. I pretty much have a nonexistent gag reflex." he managed a small smile despite his labored breaths and my dick twitched at the sight.

I felt my cheeks growing hot, actually, my entire fucking body felt like it was burning with the desire to cum. I gave Eren a concerned look and he only squeezed my thighs in reply before he was eagerly swallowing me again, this time taking my more of my cock into his hot, wet mouth and my mouth fell open in silent pleasure as I rolled my hips up instinctively.

It hadn't been very long, but I could feel myself so fucking close to my climax. I never claimed to be some kind of Sex god, nor have I ever claimed to be very experienced at Sex either. Sex was always just sex, you did it and you get done and clean up as quickly as you can before falling asleep. Simple. This wasn't sex, it was a blow job, but I was currently cursing my lack of stamina for these kinds of activities.

The hand that was still threaded in Eren's hair tugged harshly at the silky locks still wrapped around my fingers and at first I worried that maybe I was being too rough with Eren but my worried soon melted into relief and slight surprise when Eren moaned around my cock again as I tugged on his hair. So he had a kink for hair pulling it seemed. Now, that I could deal with.

"Fuck..." I cursed quietly, not wanting to let any embarrassing noises come out.

I was nearing my end soon, Eren was working me like a well oiled machine and I was groaning and hissing and cursing as he swallowed me deeper and deeper each time until I could feel the slimy wetness at the back of his throat and holy fuck, Eren was going deep throat on me. Satan take the wheel, this wasn't fair. The muscles in my tightened and I knew I was going to cum any fucking second now. I gave Eren's hair a few good tugs and relished in the sounds he made while my cock was stuffing his mouth, the muffled moans and lewd images better than any wet dream my perverted mind could have ever created.

I was sweating profusely, halfheartedly thrusting up into Eren's mouth, my body felt extremely hot but cold at the same time as a familiar slow burning feeling start building and building tightly in my stomach and groin. My muscles twitched the closer I got to my orgasm and Eren was sucking me like this would be the last time he'd ever have my dick in his mouth. Like fuck, I would make sure my dick was in his mouth again sometime soon.

"E-ren..." I panted out as both of my heads were now buried in his long locks of hair.

When I felt his throat swallow around me, that was fucking it for me. I clenched my eyes shut and gripped tightly into Eren's hair like my life depended on it as my stomach muscles tightened and then released altogether wrenching a loud groan from my throat as I felt myself cum violently into Eren's mouth. I was too distracted and high on my own damn orgasm to notice that Eren was still moaning around my dick wantonly as one of his hands jerked him through his own orgasm. When I was finally coming down from my high, breathing harsh and ragged and my head slightly spinning, I heard Eren pull off of me with a wet pop and he was panting like a dog.

When I realized that Eren was still sitting between my thighs, I sat up propping myself up on my elbows while I looked down at him from the edge of the bed. He was still stroking himself feverishly, but when those half-lidded green eyes slowly trailed up to lock on with mine I smirked at the charming scene Eren was displaying for me and he came with a shout of my name.

I watched him so very carefully as he came down from his high, his entire body trembling with exhaustion, his hair was back to it's original messy state and his tie was hanging loose around his neck. His button up was wrinkled and I might have cringed at the sight of such a nice and expensive shirt having a single wrinkle on it, but I was too satisfied and engrossed with simply observing Eren in such a vulnerable state up close.

I stood up from the bed helping Eren up from the floor, his legs were wobbly and I could tell that his thighs probably felt weak from having cum twice. I started removing his tie, then his shirt followed and I pushed his pants down until he was stripped down to nothing but his boxers. I did the same, removing my shirt and tossing it on the lounging sofa with the rest of Eren's close until we were both in nothing but our boxers and then I pulled him onto the bed pulling the sheets back.

Eren collapsed onto the bed with a sigh and I shuffled up next to him pulling the sheet and clean duvet over us before I reached for him and pulled him close to my chest. Despite our difference in height, Eren only smiled as he curled into me, hands pressed up against me as he nuzzled into the crook in my neck. I sighed contently as I buried my nose into his hair because, fuck, I've waited so fucking long to do this with him it almost didn't feel real. This was all I could ever ask for.

To have Eren in my arms while we fell asleep in the same bed together, this kid has turned me into a fucking sap because I had never been a cuddle kind of guy before. Eren was slowly changing me into this person I've never known I could be before. He had worked his way into my life and now I couldn't imagine it without him in it.

"Oi, Eren." I said tiredly into his hair.

"Hm?" he hummed back sounding just as tired.

"Wanna go out with me?"

He giggled, "Isn't it obvious?"

"Just checking." I smiled into his hair burying my nose further and taking in his scent.

He chuckled into my skin and then we both fell silent. Letting sleep take us as Eren stayed wrapped up in my arms and I stayed with my chin on top of his head.

---

"Should we really be doing this? Levi will be mad won't he?"

"He'll thank us for it later. Trust me!"

"M-Miss Hanji, lower your voice or you'll wake them."

I started rousing from my sleep when I heard not-so-hushed whispering in the room. I hadn't fully opened my eyes yet as I started to slowly grow conscious to the world again, but the hot warmth I felt against me made me want to stay asleep forever. Eren was still pressed up against me in a similar position we fell asleep in last night, one of my arms was still cradling his head while the other was draped possessively over his shoulders. He had moved his arms that were curled up against my chest, they were now wrapped around my torso and I could feel his soft breathing against my throat.

"Hanji, I think he's waking up."

"Shh!! Just let me take one more picture aaaand.... done! Let's go! Go, go!"

My eyes cracked open tiredly and my blurred vision made out three figures making a bolt for the door of Eren's guest room. I could make out two blond heads of hair and one crazy mess of brown hair and I blinked trying to adjust my eyes to the bright lighting of the cream colored room.

The shades in Eren's guest room were wide open and sunlight was streaming in, I was getting with the worst of it while Eren was mostly protected from it while he was burrowed in my arms. I couldn't bring myself to care about the blinding sunlight however as when my eyes finally started to adjust I saw Hanji's tall, lanky form disappearing behind the door before it was shut quietly behind her. Fucking glasses. What the fuck was she-

My thoughts were interrupted when I looked down and saw the angel sleeping in my arms, still pressed so closely to my body, our legs were tangled together in a mess of limbs. Any thoughts of Hanji and her weird shit went out the window as I stared at Eren's sleeping so peacefully in my arms. My heart started fluttering like a caged bird and I gnawed on my lower lip trying to resist the urge to just lean down and kiss him.

I leaned forward and placed a soft kiss to his temple first, then after he didn't stir, I kissed him again on his eyelids, then his nose, then the corner of his lips and then his eyes started to flutter open. Those big, turquoise jewels blinking a few times until our eyes met. Eren let out a small yawn before he smiled, wide and bright.

"Good morning." he greeted innocently. His voice still thick with sleep and it was the most adorable thing I'd ever heard in my life.

"Morning, Bright Eyes." I greeted back with a little smirk. He looked away shyly and blushed at the nickname.

Eren chuckled nervously before he stretched his limbs out, untangling our legs in the process and I watched as his muscles rippled with each pop and crackle of his bones. He let out another yawn and I rolled over to the right side of the left side of the bed to sit on the edge. I could feel Eren's eyes on me as I rolled my neck working out the creaks before standing up to grab my clothes from last night. It was when I was crossing the room, I heard Eren make a noise of surprise or something similar to it and I turned to look at him half sitting half laying on the bed.

"Levi, are those the scars from your accident?"

Shit. I had completely forgotten about that. Scars were like tattoos, Once they've been apart of your body for so long you eventually forget you even have them at all. I looked down at my right leg, frowning at the shiny, slightly fleshy looking scar that ran down my leg starting from my shin and stopping at just below the ankle. It wasn't the prettiest of scars and I suddenly felt a little self-conscious.

"Yeah, they're gross aren't they?" I said making a face as I hurriedly tried to pull on my pants.

"No, they're not! Levi-"

"It's okay, Eren. Actually, mine aren't really that bad. Erwin's are much worse."

Eren went silent at that but I could see the apprehension in his eyes. I lazily threw on the black button up shirt leaving it open as I walked across the room and placed my hand against the side of his face.

"Don't worry, talking about isn't going to upset me. I'm just a little self-conscious about my scar because I don't usually let anyone see it."

Eren slightly leaned into my touch, there was still a frown on his face and he looked like he wanted to say something to ease my worry but I didn't give him the chance as I dropped my hand away and turned to grab the rest of my things.

"I'm going back to my room to take a shower because I feel like I smell like a fucking gym sock. You should do the same. I'll come back in an hour and we can decide what time to leave."

I turned back to look at Eren one last time, he nodded and finally smiled at me and then I left to my room to take a well deserved shower. I was still feeling gross and grimy from last nights activities but was way too tired to even think about showering or getting clean. Ugh, how had I managed to even fall asleep like that? Oh, right. I had a fucking angel sent from the heavens above in my arms at the time. It all made sense. I always fell asleep so easily whenever I was in Eren's presence.

Just like I had said, I took a nice hot shower, changed into a fresh set of clean clothes and walked back to Eren's room with my bag slung over my shoulder. Eren had just walked out of the bathroom with a fresh outfit on while drying his damp hair with a towel as I walked in. He lit up when he saw me and my heart instantly started doing that thing it always does whenever I'm anywhere near Eren.

"Hanji just left before you came in, she said Mr and Mrs.Smith just invited us to have breakfast with them before we leave."

I clicked my tongue at the mention of Hanji's name. That shitty four eyes. I needed to find out why the hell she and Erwin (and Armin I think) were in Eren's room this morning sneaking around like little thieves.

"Yes to breakfast. No to breakfast with Hanji." I said as I helped Eren get put his discarded clothes from last night into his bag.

"I thought I heard Hanji come in the room this morning, but I think I was just dreaming."

"You weren't dreaming. When I woke up earlier I saw her and Erwin sneaking out of the room like a couple of little criminals. I think I heard Armin with them too, I'm not sure."

Eren's face looked red all over as he blinked at me in disbelief. I only shrugged before tossing his bag at him and moving to hold the door open for him so we could go. I would have to save interrogating Hanji until later.

Eren followed me as we made our way downstairs but we were greeted by a screeching voice that I was hoping to avoid this morning. Maybe it wasn't too later for us to just book it, the front door was literally ten feet in front of us. Nope. Hanji just came out from the Kitchen and was heading straight for us. Shit, so much for that.

"Levi! Eren! Good Morning, the sun says hello!"

"Tell the Sun to go fuck itself."

Hanji gasped dramatically, "Levi! I can't believe you! For shame! It's such a beautiful morning~"

"It's fucking cold as shit, four eyes. How is that considered a beautiful morning?"

Reluctantly, I followed Hanji into the kitchen with Eren following closely behind us. We entered the spacious kitchen area with all it's granite table tops and white painted cabinets with gold accents, Armin, Erwin and Mike were sitting at the small table that occupied the kitchen and the three blond's looked up and smiled a little too brightly for my tastes.

I looked over at the large Kitchen island at the center of the room with Erwin's parents sharing a bowl of fruits before the both of them both greeted Eren and I a little too happily and okay, now I was starting to get fucking suspicious. Just what the fuck was going on here? Everyone was way too fucking... happy. Did Eren and I miss something?

"Levi, Eren! Come, sit! I've made Pancakes." Juliana Smith sang from the counter before she hurried over toward us with two plates of fluffy looking pancake perfection in her hands.

I looked over at Eren who was smiling sheepishly and I motioned for him to take a seat at one of the stools by the bar and we both sat next to each other as Erwin's mother placed the plate of pancakes in front of us and we both tucked in to our meals. I didn't normally like sweet things but Juliana's pancakes were always my favorite. The overly happy expression on everyone's face was starting to annoy me the longer Eren and I ate in silence. Eren didn't seem all that bothered, but after five minutes of just having six overly excited pairs of eyes on us with smiles too bright to be legal I stopped eating my food and cleared my throat loudly.

"Is there something everyone is not telling us? Because to be quite fucking honest, you're all starting to creep me out." I said, trying my best not to glare and hiss out of respect to Erwin's parents who were too nice to be glared at for anything.

"Language, Levi dear." Juliana sweetly chided me.

Suddenly I heard my phone chime notifying me to a new message. I fished it out of the pocket of my slacks and saw that it was a new picture message. It said it was from Hanji. I turned around in my seat and suspiciously eyed her, when all she did was smile manically as she usually did, I rolled my eyes and went back to opening the message to see what the dumb ass sent me.

My eyes went rather wide when I saw the not only one, but three pictures of Eren and I wrapped in each other's arms half naked in bed this morning. Our hair was simply a mess and the sheets were crumpled around us but the petite, pale body that was wrapped around a long, tanned one was unmistakable. Then I heard Eren's phone chime as well and he fished it out to make the same mistake as I had done. I heard him make some kind of a squeak of surprise when the images no doubt finally loaded on his screen and I frantically looked over to see his flushed face and wide eyes.

"Congratulations to the new couple!" Hanji sang as she shot up from her seat and approached us.

I heard the room erupt with laughter as I glared at Hanji, murdering her multiple times with my eyes alone. She threw her hands up in a defensive manner and turned my glare to the other three Blond's all sitting at the table grinning like idiots.

"I hope you all have life insurance because I'm about to commit mass murder." I quietly hissed through clenched teeth. Erwin and Hanji were the first to laugh at my threat.

"Why all the hostility, Levi? We all knew you and Eren would eventually get together. You two are about as subtle as a firecracker about your feelings for each other."

"That's not the fucking point, Hanji! You don't break into someone's room and start snapping fucking pictures of them when they're not aware!"

"Levi, it's okay." I heard Eren's shy response.

"No, Eren. It's not okay. This fucking shitty glasses needs to delete these pictures-" I halted my words as I felt his hand tenderly touch my arm.

"But I liked them, Levi." he said it so quietly that I almost didn't hear him.

Now I was the one who felt my face growing hot as I swallowed and turned to look at Eren who had his head ducked slightly as he glanced up at me with a coy little grin that made my heart start pounding in my chest. I cleared my throat softly as my mouth suddenly felt very dry and I took a sip of my black tea (courtesy of Mrs. Smith) casually.

"Well, if Eren likes them then I guess whatever." I grumbled halfheartedly.

"Oooh! Do you hear that everyone? Only the first day and Levi's already whipped!" Hanji cackled.

I really couldn't find it in myself to deny that. It was true, I was whipped for Eren. If Eren asked me to fucking jump out of a plane without a parachute and to trust him, I fucking would. Yes, I was fucking whipped. I would do anything to keep Eren happy, and if I was being honest with myself, the pictures were kind of cute. Well, fuck me sideways.

---

Finally, Eren and I were back on the open road making our way home back to Trost and good old Rose Avenue. After a semi-awkward breakfast with Erwin's parents and basically everyone teasing us about finally dating, Eren and I said our thanks and bid our farewells and we were now casually chatting in the car as we started our four hour drive.

"Erwin's parents were really sweet. You weren't kidding when you said they were too nice for their own good." Eren said with a little chuckle.

"Yeah, they're great people. They're just forced to keep some shitty friends. I'm surprised my mother wasn't there last night, but then again she never really goes unless it suits her."

"What are your parents like, Levi? After meeting Erwin's I can't say I'm not a little bit curious, especially how close you seem with Juliana and Steve."

I sighed but kept my eyes on the road, "You probably wouldn't think they're as nice as Erwin's parents. They aren't very welcoming people, well at least my father wasn't."

"What do you mean?" he asked innocently. Damn him and those puppy eyes.

"My old man was the same Rank as Erwin's Father and he always made it a point to drill the military way of life into me since the day I could crawl. I ate, slept and breathed like a soldier most of my life. My dad taught me how to throw any and all emotions away, tried to shape me into a true tool for the Army to use at their disposal but that was just what made me start to rebel against him in the first place."

Eren listened to me quietly, I could see the frown forming on his face already so I quickly moved on with my story. I knew he wouldn't like what I told him next since last night was still fresh in his mind, but I felt like he needed to know.

"Remember how I said Erwin's injury was only half the reason why nobody at the party likes me?" Eren nodded.

"Well, the other reason why they all consider me a bastard is because when I was 15 I started rebelling against my father who always wanted me to join the Army as soon as I was 18 but I had wanted to join the Air Force and fly fighter jets. It's nothing but a silly childhood dream now, but when I was young I used to dream of growing wings and flying high up in the sky. Which is kind of why I got my wing tattoos in the first place."

I paused and looked over at Eren who had a soft, tender look in his eyes and the smallest of smiles as I talked about my stupid little childhood dream of flying. It made my heart pound wildly in my chest regardless, though.

"After my old man found out about my tattoos, we got into a heated argument eventually leading me to runaway to Erwin's place for a couple of weeks since my dad didn't want anything to do with me at the time. Then on the second week after I ran away, I got a phone call from my mother telling me my dad suffered a heart attack and was in critical condition at the hospital."

I didn't have to look at Eren to know that he was probably frowning or giving me a sympathetic look. That was the last thing I needed from him right now, so I kept my eyes trained on the road.

"He died a few days before my 18th birthday and I never got a chance to tell him how fucking sorry I was for being such a little shit. My dad was tough and not very affectionate, but I was still damn proud to have him as my old man. I threw away all my ambitions to join the Air Force and enlisted in the Army as soon as I was 18, just like he had wanted me to do. But it didn't matter what I did, my Father's colleagues all blamed me for his heart attack and his passing. I guess it was kind of my fault, but I learned to stop blaming myself a long time ago. The past is the past and I don't have any regrets for joining the Army instead of the Air Force."

There was a long silence between Eren and I after I finished explaining things to him and I wondered if I had scared him away a bit with my sob story about my old man.

"My mother, on the other hand, she's extremely blunt and straight-forward like myself and she'll tell you exactly how she feels about something. After my old man died, she got kind of distance and didn't really talk to any of her friends like Juliana Smith. Eventually, she just kind of left after I joined the Army. She went back to her hometown in France and she's been there ever since. She doesn't bother me and I don't bother her. That's basically how our relationship goes."

 

"That's... kind of sad, Levi." I heard Eren say. It didn't offend me though, because I knew it was true. It was fucking sad.

"Yeah, well. Shit happens. She probably wouldn't have accepted the fact that I'm dating a man now, so it's not like I have any regrets about not including her in my life."

"Would you dad have accepted it?"

I snorted, "Fuck no. He would have killed me if he were alive today." I couldn't help kind of smirk at the idea of that happening.

"So, are you happy that you finally accepted that you're gay?"

I paused, "Duh. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to sit here with you in this car and do this." I grabbed his hand and threaded our fingers together squeezing our palms together tightly.

Eren blushed and smiled before he squeezed my hand back with just as much force making me smirk as I glanced between him and the road. It was hard to focus on anything when he was smiling that bright, beautiful smile of his.

"What about your parents? Did they accept that you were gay?" I asked trying to turn the conversation to something other than my tragic life story.

"My parents were a lot like Erwin's parents, I guess. They didn't have much of a problem with me coming out when I was 14. My dad took awhile to come around at first but he supported me eventually. My mom accepted me right away. They were both great."

I noticed how he was referring to them in the past tense and I raised a brow at him. He was smiling sadly down at our linked hands, his thumb now swiping across my knuckles gently.

"Were?" I inquired softly, not wanting to push him into talking about something sensitive.

"I lost both of them in a car accident when I was 17." I squeezed his hand a little tighter and he seemed to appreciate that.

"What were they like?" I asked keeping my eyes on the road.

"My dad wasn't the most talkative, he was stern and always put education first but he was supportive in whatever I wanted to do. If I wanted to join a new sport and my mom didn't want me to, he would always talk to her and convince her to let me join whatever I wanted. He was a doctor at a hospital so he was busy a lot, but I didn't mind him not being home so much because I knew he was helping people and saving lives. I was really proud of him." he had a soft smile on his face as he stared absently at our hands still linked. Then he lit up.

"My mom was the greatest though. She was sweet and very kindhearted, but she had an iron fist when it came to doing chores and getting things done. She had a beautiful laugh and smile, I used to love to hide in a pile of blankets and pop out and make silly faces just to make her smile and laugh. I was such a brat with her though."

Eren was smiling at the memory and I found myself smiling along with him. I was glad he felt comfortable sharing such happy memories with me, I wanted to see him smiling like this all the time.

"She would have loved to meet you." he said shyly.

I looked back at him feeling somewhat shy myself. Was he telling me that if his parents were still alive, he'd have wanted me to meet them? I sure as hell hoped that's what he meant because my heart was a fluttering mess right now.

"I think I would have loved to meet her as well." Eren's hand gripped mine for firmly over the shifting gear and we fell into a comfortable silence after that.

His other hand started fiddling with one of his many CD's he'd brought and he popped in a new one. He skipped a few songs here and there but I was much too focused on our linked hands to notice any of the previous songs that had been playing as we drove. My attention eventually was caught when I heard a song that wasn't in english and I shot Eren a look.

"You listen to Korean music?" I asked with a hint of a smile.

"Yeah! Armin got me into it, honestly. He plays a lot of Korean Indie songs at the cafe whenever our usual playlist of songs runs out, so naturally I got hooked. It's nice, isn't it?"

I took a moment to listen to the soft acoustics of a guitar playing and the even softer male voice coming through the speakers of my car and I bobbed my head a long to the mellow beat.

"Not bad. Kind of mellows you out." I said after a moment.

"Exactly." Eren said with a big grin and then we fell back into that comfortable silence as we listened to the rest of the song that was currently playing.

'I think I forgot how to love years ago,'

'I got tired of life and went on without love– I was fine on my own'

'But then that one day after I met you,'

'I think I started changing without a clue.'

I couldn't understand what the song was saying since I don't speak Korean, but I had a feeling that this was a love song of sorts. Eren hummed along with the soft voice coming through the sound system and I quietly relished in the sound of his sweet voice mixed in with the acoustics.

'I think I’m in love, I think I’m in love,'

'I can’t do anything, I can only smile and my heart’s beating so fast,'

'Would this be called love? I forgot how to love.'

'Even if I just hear your name, I know it sounds lame but I can’t stop thinking about you.'

I stole glances every now and then from Eren as he looked out the window with a soft smile on his face. I felt my heart thundering in my chest whenever I saw the way the sunlight reflected in those oceans for eyes, illuminating them even more brightly than I ever thought possible and I was breathless all over again.

'I find it quite awkward thinking like this,'

'I find myself smiling as much as I breath all the time,'

'I never knew that life could be this bright, I think I'm in love.

---

Eren and I trudged up the stairs to our complex chit chatting as we went until we finally made it to the landing and started for our doors. Eren wanted me to come over to his apartment as soon as I put my things away and unpacked and I agreed before we went our separate ways for now.

I didn't really much to being with so unpacking and putting my things away was easy and quick and I was out my door again knocking on Eren's and waiting for him to let me in. When he finally did, he opened the door with Captain in his arms and a wide grin on his face. I mentally sighed because god damn it, I loved that smile.

"I think Captain's trying to give me the silent treatment because I left him for so long. He didn't even try to bother me for food like he always does around this time." Eren set the black feline down and Captain approached me slowly.

The damn cat glared up at me like it always did and I returned his glare right back crossing my arms over my chest. This went on for at least a full minute the cat eventually broke his gaze and turned with a snooty tail in the air to walk away. Cheeky little shit. I started to enter Eren's apartment before he stopped me with a gentle hand to my chest and a sheepish smile. I raised a questioning brow at him before stepping back.

"I was just thinking, um, since we both have the rest of the day off and it's only one in the afternoon that you and I could maybe... go see a movie or something, if you want, I mean."

Was Eren asking me out right now? God, and he was being so fucking adorable. What had I done in this life to deserve such a cute, sexy, perfect person such as Eren? I trying so hard to fight the smile that wanted to make it's presence known but I think I failed because Eren was seeming less tense by the second and now he was back to that goofy smile of his that made me feel all funny inside.

"If you're trying to ask me out, you're doing a shit job, dumbass." my smile was so obviously betraying my words and I could tell Eren knew this.

"Soooo is that a yes?"

"Come on, brat."

Chapter Text

It's been Three weeks since Eren and I started dating, and I couldn't be a happier piece of shit. We were nearing that one day of the year that I fucking hate more than any other day of the year, December 25th. Eren had insisted we spend Christmas Day together, which was kind of a given considering I had already planned on spending Christmas with him anyway.

I sat at my usual table at The Shoreline Cafe and Bookstore and sipped on a large cup of Black Tea, no matter how many times I come here the tea just gets better and better, Eren was fluttering about behind the counter filling orders. I silently watched him from the corner of my grey eyes. I let out the tiniest of sighs, smiling into the rim of my cup.

Eren was smiling, bright and angelic and all forms of beauty. He had his hair tied back into a short pony tail while he worked, those luminous eyes of his would shimmer and sparkle as he moved around, catching in different lighting. I sat in my chair, slightly struck with wonder as I always was whenever I looked at Eren, really looked at him. Even after these three weeks of going on countless dates, spending countless evenings and mornings together, the countless phone calls and countless texts messages, Eren is still such a mystery to me.

I'd learned what his favorite foods are, learned what his favorite songs were, his favorite books, his favorites movies, favorite singers and performers but I still feel like I had so much more to learn about him. So much left of him to explore, and the thought alone excited me. To think that a month ago we were still dancing around each other, stealing little glances to fill our insatiable needs, well mine anyway.

Things hadn't changed very much since those times, but I guess the big difference now was that I could touch Eren however I wanted. I didn't have to hold back anymore, although sometimes I still did. If I saw him sitting on the sofa with Captain in his arms, I could set next to him, thighs pressed closely together and he would lean into me. Thread my hand through his soft hair whenever he fell asleep either in his bed or in mine. Watch his sleeping face greedily because even though I got to see it as much as I wanted to now, I still took every chance I got to stare, to appreciate.

God, I must have done something fucking right if Eren was giving me this chance to become something more to him and I hoped that I was because if I thought I was fucking lovesick before, I was dead wrong. Being able to touch Eren, to kiss those lips whenever I wanted to, how ever much I wanted to, it was maddening in a good way but it only made me want more and more of him. I wanted to keep him Forever, and maybe I could if he would let me.

I was snapped from my thoughts when Eren plopped down in the seat across from me, a tired little grin on his face but he still looked so vibrant and youthful despite that.

"You were frowning into your tea." He says with a little raised eyebrow.

"Mm. Was I?" I answer tearing my gaze away from his reluctantly to stare out the fogged window. It looked like it would rain.

I heard Eren chuckle softly before I felt a familiar warmth in my hand that was placed on top of the table. He slipped our fingers together, clasping my hand with his own slightly larger one and I could feel the heat coming off of him in waves. One thing I'd learned about Eren was that his body was always ridiculously hot, like a human heat lamp. It contrasted with my naturally low body temperature but I always welcomed the warmth when he spooned. I looked back at him again to see the shy little smile that replaced his earlier grin.

"Are you excited about Christmas?" he asked softly, the tiniest tinge of pink staining his cheeks. Fucking adorable.

"Only because I'll be spending it with you. I still hate the holiday itself." I snorted into my cup before taking a sip and setting it down on the saucer.

Eren laughed, "You're such a Grinch. You have no heart, Levi."

'That's because you stole it, you dumbass.' I wanted to say, but I chose to keep those words to myself in favor of my usual Snark instead.

"Then does that make you my Cindy Lou Who? How about it Eren? Think you can make this Grinch's nonexistent heart grow three sizes?" Cue the blush.

Eren's smile dropped and the light tint of pink from before turned a beautiful scarlet, I couldn't help but smirk. After three weeks of dating, we hadn't actually slept together, well we slept together, we just didn't have sex before sleeping together. It was a little frustrating since we hadn't taken that step yet, so far it's just been subtle touches and heavy petting. Like right now, I felt the way Eren's leg hooked around mine underneath the table and his thumb rubbed slow circles into my wrist making me fight back shudders.

"I'm sure I can make something grow three sizes." he said quietly. Was it just me or did his voice suddenly drop an octave? Holy shit, that was hot.

"Is that a challenge?" I asked with a snort. I forced myself to start thinking about the balls cold temperature outside to will the heat building up in my groin away.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Levi." he said with a sly smirk. "I was only trying to talk about Christmas and you're over here thinking about such dirty things, perverted old man."

I shrugged, "A perverted old man you gave a blow job to." This time it was my turn to smirk as I saw Eren's face go as red as Rudolph's fucking nose and he spluttered.

"L-Levi!" He halfheartedly kicked me underneath the table but he never let go of my hand. I couldn't help but chuckle darkly into the rim of my cup.

"Well, aren't you two just the cutest things in here? Three weeks and you're already acting so Lovey Dovey." A familiar voice said.

Eren and I looked over to our side to see Armin standing there with his long forest green Apron, a teasing smile on his face as he looked at us with a raised eyebrow. I squeezed Eren's hand tighter so he couldn't pull away or let go and set my almost empty cup back down on the table.

"That's funny, coming from the guy who slept with Erwin first before you were even a thing." I watched on with amusement as both Armin and Eren flushed red.

"Guess you got me there." Armin said with a nervous laugh. "I think Sasha's calling me, gotta go!" he said before trying to hurry off toward the counter.

"Oi, Arlert." I called. Armin stopped and looked back at me nervously.

"Thanks." I said with a hint of a smile as I squeezed Eren's hand again.

Armin blinked before he realized what I meant and then he smiled brightly before waving at us and going back to his designated spot behind the counter to fill drink orders. Eren looked at me curiously.

"What was that all about?"

"Nothing."

---

Finally, the dreadful day had come. Well, okay, it wasn't really that dreadful. It was Christmas Day, Eren was supposed to be coming over. It was also my Birthday. Oh, goody. I didn't actually feel like getting out of bed that morning, even though it was unlike me to stay in bed past 8AM on a day off, I still stayed stashed under the covers until about 11AM. I didn't actually sleep, just kind of lied there and thought about things, about how much my life has changed for the better since Eren came around.

Around this time last year? I probably would have been forced to spend the day with Erwin and Hanji singing horrible Christmas Carols, hanging up tacky decorations and opening even more tacky gifts. (Well, only Hanji's gifts were tacky, Erwin knew what I liked.) I normally hate this day with a passion, but for once I was looking forward to it. Because Eren would be with me, and he wanted to just stay in and spend time together. I was perfectly okay with that.

Around noon I finally managed to peel myself off my bed to take a shower, I did my usual routine slower than normal, despite my excited nerves telling me otherwise. Eren wouldn't be here until later so I took my time showering, cleaning my apartment, taking a break every now and then to sip a cup of tea, let Captain in since he was meowing outside my balcony door. All the while, I stayed in the shirt Eren had bought for me a couple of months ago at the Mall. It was baggy and fit me long so I didn't bother to wear any pants, just my boxers underneath.

At 3PM I heard frantic knocking on my door. I had nodded off on my couch sometime ago with my laptop playing some playlist Hanji had set up for me a while back on Spotify. I groggily stood up from my leather couch, Captain jumped from my chest since that was where he had been curled on top of me, and I stumbled toward my door. I heard the familiar sound Eren's voice calling my name from the other side of the door so I quickly yanked it open.

I stared up at his breathless form, huffing and puffing and struggling to catch his breath. His eyes only lingered on my face before emerald orbs trailed down the rest of me, taking in my own slightly disheveled form. It was silent except for the sound of Eren's slightly labored breathing and whatever song was currently playing from my laptop. I watched as his eyes lingered on me and then I realized, shit, I was still wearing the shirt Eren gave me and my boxer briefs.

"You're wearing the shirt...the one I bought you." he said breathlessly, his eyes not coming back up to meet mine.

I stayed silent as I felt my face heat up from embarrassment and both being caught wearing the shirt and being caught wearing said shirt with nothing but underwear on. I swallowed thickly, trying to push back that weird lump in my throat as Eren's eyes roamed over me. My scarred leg fully exposed for him to see and I felt that sudden pang of self-consciousness hit me and before I knew it I was backing out of the doorway to bolt toward my room to cover myself up.

Eren stopped me however, when he grabbed my wrist and pushed inside my apartment door slamming it shut behind him before he was just all over me. He pushed me up against the wall with ease, holding my wrists in each of his hands as he pressed his body close to mine. Then his lips were on mine, kissing me madly, hungrily, desperately like all the oxygen left in the world was inside my lungs and he was trying to suck it all away. To breath.

'But I don't, But I don't think I can wait, I've been living for this day,'

'I think that if I do or don't, It'll turn out the same way.'

'But I can't seem to pull myself away and I hope that's OK,'

'Even just the very thought makes me want to stay.'

He pulled away briefly to speak, "Why didn't you tell me today was your Birthday?"

I let my eyes flutter open slowly and I vibrant turquoise stared back at me, lucid and bright and burning with something I couldn't quite place my finger on. Determination? Anger? ...Love?

"It wasn't that important. I just wanted to you here." I said back in almost a whisper. I could feel his hot breath on me, he smelled like mint, sweat and cinnamon.

"Well, I'm here now," he released my wrists and snaked his hands around my waist. "And now that I've seen you in that shirt, I'm not letting you get away from me."

His lips were back on mine, and I let my hands roam up his shoulders, over the warm exposed skin of his neck and up into his soft, chocolate locks tangling them there all the while allowing it to deepen the kiss. I felt like I was utterly melting into the heat of Eren's body, he was still wearing his fur-lined Parka and I knocked off the grey beanie from his head to further tangle myself in his mane.

He pressed a knee between my slightly parted legs and I buckled but only momentarily, I felt his strong arms supporting me up effortlessly. As his tongue mingled with mine, he started shrugging his parka off until it fell to the ground along with his beanie and now I could feel the warmth of his body even more. Even through the grey long sleeved shirt he was wearing. Now that he wasn't pinning me against the wall as forcefully, I started pushing him back, steering him toward my bedroom because I had enough experience to know where this was going. All the while, we kept stealing hungry kisses from each other in our desperate need. My heart beating wildly in my chest like a caged bird.

'This is more than I can take, I fear my heart will burst or break,'

'If there's a thing as too much joy, I will be taken away.'

'If I wrap you up inside of me, Kiss your fingers greedily,'

'I will lose track of the floor, I will lose track of my feet...'

We stumbled into my bedroom, Eren knocking into my dresser only once before I was pushing him back on the bed. He kept his eyes focused on nothing me and I did the same, tracing the outline of his muscles through the thin fabric of his shirt. I'd slept with Eren shirtless several times now, but there was something thrilling about lifting his shirt up slowly revealing every inch of that delicious caramel skin. My fingers danced across his stomach, making his muscles twitch and tense slightly before he was pulling my shirt off and over my head.

'All that you've conquered, was already yours,'

'Walking the night sky, Freckles to the stars,'

'All that you've longed for, Is painted on my arms,'

'Here, I can take you, I can take you, I can take you...'

The music was only a muffled sound in the background as I hovered over Eren, placing a kiss to every inch of his skin that I could reach. I peppered his jaw with short, loving kisses before my lips found his collar bones. I nipped and sucked at the tender skin there leaving blossoming bruises behind as I trailed further and further down his chest, kissing the mole and the little freckle next to his naval. Eren whimpered softly at my kisses and he threaded a hand through my hair as I descended lower and lower.

'But I don't, but I don't know what to say, All my language slipped away,'

'I only know that I am yours and, I hope you take the hint.'

'Be still my sweaty little heart, You are my every waking thought,'

I tugged his jeans down slightly, revealing those hip bones that have always tempted me. I wrapped my lips round one, scraping teeth against bone and smiling at the little hiss Eren released as I abused the spot until it was raging red. I prayed there would be a lovely purple and blue bruise there in the morning, just like I prayed his neck and collar bones would bruise the same. I unbuttoned his pants and slowly pulled the zipper down, watching through half-lidded eyes the way Eren's bright Viridian's glowed with anticipation at my every touch.

'If there's a thing as too much love, I am guilty as I stand.'

'If I dive head first straight into you, The way I've always wanted to,'

'I can't be held responsible, There's no telling what I'll do...'

I tugged Eren's jeans down along with his boxer, he lifted his hips up just enough off the mattress to help me get them off his hips and down his thighs before he settled back down again. He was already half hard, it was my first time seeing his cock like this and I was mildly surprised at how big he looked and he wasn't even fully hard yet. I licked my lips unconsciously before swallowing. I wanted to try sucking him off, but I'd never given a blow job before and I knew it would be bad considering my inexperience.

"It's okay, Levi. You don't have to do anything." he said softly, gently.

I looked up and into those captivating eyes of his and mentally cursed myself because he looked so concerned for me, all the while still looking so amazingly flushed and aroused. But I wanted to do this, I wanted to make him feel good. I shook off my uncertainty and gripped Eren's cock at the base firmly, squeezing just the tiniest bit and watching him nibble on his lower lip as I leaned forward and licked a long, hot strip up the underside of his cock tasting the saltiness of his skin.

Eren let out a small, stuttered breath as his eyes slowly closed lolling his head back a bit as I tried to work up the nerve to take him into my mouth. I needed to take this slow, I knew how blowjobs worked, I wasn't an idiot, but that just made it all the more vexing since this was my first time. I continued to slick Eren's dick up with my own saliva, licking him up all the way to to the tip of his cock were precum started to pearl out in small beads. I could taste the bitterness of it each time I swiped my tongue over the head but I ignored the odd taste, stroking the base of Eren's cock while I tried to work the head with my tongue.

So far, I could tell I wasn't doing too bad, Eren would let out little noises of pleasure whenever I teased the head of his cock or squeezed or fondled his balls while I worked on him. I could feel him getting harder by the second, he was practically throbbing in my hand. I wanted to fucking swallow him whole, looking at his cock so needy and neglected. Shiny with saliva and dark in color now that it was pumped full of blood. I let my hot breath ghost over the head of his cock, Eren opened his eyes and gave me that worried look again.

"I've never done this before, so sorry if it's shitty." I mumbled quietly as I pressed the tip of his cock to my lips.

I gave him one last look and he was smiling down at me warmly, I felt my face go hot all the way up to the tips of my ears but I shook off the embarrassment and finally took the tip of Eren's cock into my mouth swirling my tongue around the crown in the process.

"Hnng..." he hissed softly throwing his head back against the pillows. That gave me a slight boost of confidence to keep going.

I slacked my jaw as much as I could to try and take as much of him as I could, mindful of my teeth at the same time. I hallowed my cheeks and felt the girth of Eren's cock sliding in slowly before I started sucking halfheartedly, trying to get a feel for this since it was such a foreign action for me. It was sloppy and I could feel my spit dribbling out from the sides of my mouth and dripping down my chin. Gross. But the saliva that was dripping down Eren's cock was making the glide much easier as I started to bob my head slowly, mimicking the way I remembered Eren had done to me a few times.

"Nhg! L-Levi...!" Eren groaned loudly as his body trembled.

I could tell he was trying so fucking hard not to roll his hips up into my mouth by the way he gripped the sheets of my bed tightly. Taking fistfuls of the black fabric, his back arching slightly off the mattress as he struggled to still his hips. I tried to take a little more of him down my throat, wanting to make sure he got his pleasure instead of just holding back for my sake. I sunk my mouth down on his cock further and I felt the head of his cock start to activate my gag reflex the further I tried to take him in, I knew I wouldn't be able to take him as deep as he could take me since I've never done this before but I wanted to try.

I pulled off of his cock when I felt myself gag and coughed as I felt my mouth water profusely because of the effect. Eren sat up quickly and I felt his warm hands on my shoulders rubbing soothing circles across the ink of my tattoos, tracing the wing patterns there until I calmed down a bit. I wiped the spit running down my chin with my arm and felt my face flushing as I looked at anything but at Eren's face.

"Sorry..." I said a little hoarsely as I wiped more spit away with the back of my hand.

"Hey, it's okay. It was your first time, you did better than I did." he said with a little laugh. Then he was pulling me down onto the bed until our positions were switched, him looming over me with a warm smile as I stared up at him.

"You'll get used to it later, for now I want to do something else with you." he purred softly before capturing my lips again.

I could feel the way his fingers hooked under the hem of my boxers before he pulled them down around my thighs, I squirmed until the clothing was around my ankles before I kicked them off to the ground, relishing in the feeling of Eren's thigh rubbing against my bare cock. I groaned into his mouth at the sweet sensation of skin on skin and he smiled into the kiss before pulling away.

"Hold on, I'm going to show you something good." he said with a cheeky little smile before he shifted to the edge of the bed looking for his discarded pants.

When he found what he was looking for, he held up a bottle of clear liquid and I raised a brow at him questioningly. He popped the cap of the small tube open and poured some of the liquid onto his fingers before he looked down at me softening his expression. He leaned forehead and gave me a quick, chaste kiss on the lips and stared down into my eyes.

"Do you trust me?" he asked tenderly. I stared into his big, doe eyes already slightly glazed over with arousal but I could still see the warmth in those two oceans.

I simply nodded before catching him in another kiss and he kissed back just as feverishly. Next thing I felt was a cold, wet sensation pressing lightly against my asshole making my eyes widen as I gasped into Eren's mouth. He cupped my face with his free hand and looked into my widened eyes with slight worry before he tried to reassure me,

"Relax, I'm going to show you how you need to prep me before we do anything else. I also want to show you something nice." he cooed softly before pressing another light kiss to my forehead.

I relaxed just a little after hearing Eren tell me that this was necessary, if I needed to know how to make sure Eren was prepped then I was going to do my best to relax and let him show me what I would need to do later. Once he felt that I was a little less tense and more relaxed, I felt him dip the tip of his index finger inside my tight ring of muscles and I hissed as I felt the slight burn of the sudden intrusion. All the while, Eren whispered sweet things into my ear and kissed me softly on my neck, throat and jawline.

"You're doing good, baby. Just try to relax, it'll be easier."

the sound of his voice whispering so softly to me, sounding truly worried for my comfort, made me melt and I unconsciously did start relaxing little by little. Then I felt him start moving his finger in and out of my shallowly, twisting a bit before I felt another finger probing my entrance. I bit my lower lip slightly as Eren pushed his second finger in to join his first and then suddenly I felt his free hand grab my dick and start stroking me lazily.

"Good, you're doing so good Levi. I promise it'll start feeling good real soon, just bare with me. I want to show you how to make me feel good."

I squirmed and panted at the strange and foreign feeling inside me, Eren started twisting and curling his fingers rubbing against my walls and I grunted at the faint burn of being stretched whenever he parted his fingers in a scissoring motion. It wasn't painful, just really fucking weird to feel his fingers wiggling inside me. My body was tightly wound up from having Eren's fingers shoved up my ass but I tried to relax as best I could because obviously Eren knew what he was doing.

Then suddenly, I felt his fingers brush past something that made me elicit an embarrassing sound as I saw a flash of white just as he did so. I moaned, I fucking moaned and it was loud and shrill and oh god, there! He touched that spot again and now my body felt like it was on fire as I let out another one of those embarrassing noises slip past my lips and I heard Eren moan at the sounds I made.

"Ah, shit! E-Eren..." I panted out harshly.

"Oh god, Levi. You sound so hot... I guess that means I found your sweet spot."

I didn't even realize my back was arching off the bed until I felt myself so flat against the mattress once more, Eren was nuzzling into my collar bones as he licked and sucked bruising marks like I had done to him earlier. My breathing was labored as I struggled to catch my breath, the sudden euphoric feeling that assaulted me had my heart in a frenzy and I felt a little like a limp noodle as I melted into Eren's touch. I was completely relaxed now.

"Fuck, that was amazing..." I said as I finally managed to sort out my thoughts from the jumbled mess they had been just a second ago.

Eren smiled down at me and chuckled, "Told you I would show you something nice." He then removed his fingers from inside me, leaving me empty.

I caught his lips in a hungry kiss, pushing him back down onto the mattress so that our positioned had been switched once more and I was now the one straddling his hips. I knew I was probably being greedy, but god damn it, it was my birthday today and I think I'm allowed to be a little greedy. I rolled my hips forward and ground our erections together, making Eren throw his head back and moan as I did.

I leaned over him to the night stand by my bed and rolled out a condom, tossing it near the pillows as I settled myself between Eren's thighs, he spread his legs for me instinctively and I searched for the bottle of lube he had brought.

"You shouldn't have to prep me much, I kind of... fucked myself last night because I couldn't wait." he admitted shyly.

"Oh?" I smirked. "And to what might I ask did you fuck yourself to thoughts of?" I asked as I found the bottle of lube and started coating my fingers the way Eren had done.

I prodded Eren's entrance with one finger, dipping the tip in and out experimentally enjoying the way Eren's hole twitched every time I did so. Then I finally decided to stop fucking around since my patience and restraint was wearing thin by now and I wanted to be inside Eren as soon as possible. I pushed my digit inside him, sheathing it all the way up to the second knuckle before I pulled it back out and repeated the action.

"Uh-hng! I t-thought about how good it would feel to have you fuck me... aah!"

I plunged the second finger in and was now working him in the same scissoring motion he had done to me earlier, one thing I was grateful for, I was a quick learner. I started curling my fingers, eagerly searching for the spot Eren had shown me earlier but so far it looked like I wasn't having any luc-

"A-Ahh! Oh g-god, Levi!" Eren suddenly cried out gripping fistful of sheets. Bingo.

I pressed my fingers into that particular spot, wanting to test and see for myself just how far I could push before Eren came undone. Eren's heels dug into the mattress as he arched off the bed and writhed under my touch, I could feel him pressing back against my fingers and I couldn't help the little moan that escaped my lips as I heard the lewd noises Eren was making from having my fingers abuse his prostate. I felt like I was slowly losing my mind as I watched Eren coming undone under my touch.

"Nnh! Levi! H-Hurry... put it in... I need you so badly!" he cried, and fuck I didn't need to be told twice.

I removed my fingers from inside of him and Eren whimpered at the loss. I quickly ripped the condom open with my teeth and rolled it over my swollen and leaking cock, it was practically twitching with excitement. Suddenly, Eren was pushing me down on the bed again. I plopped down on my back, my head hitting the warm pillows where Eren had previously been laying.

Eren straddled my hips, spreading his legs on either side of my waist and he settled his ass against my hypersensitive cock. Even with the condom on, I could still feel the delicious friction of Eren's ass rubbing up against my cock. He was grinding on me slowly, while he settled his hands against my chest to support himself up.

"Just lay back and watch, okay?" he said breathlessly. I could only nod because I didn't trust my own voice to work properly at the moment.

He slowly lifted himself up on his knees and I felt him reach behind and align my cock with his slicked up entrance. He lowered himself down onto me, penetrating himself on my cock and his eyes closed shut but I fought to keep mind open as I watched him swallow me. He took me all at once, surprising me as I threw my head back and groaned while my hands flew to grip at his hips. He felt so hot on the inside, the heat engulfing me as I struggled to still my hips.

"F-Fuck!" I cursed loudly. "Eren... you're so fucking tight-shit!"

Eren only moaned in response as he finally started to move, he rolled his hips forward and rose up off my dick before he sunk back down quickly swallowing me again. I could feel his nails digging into the pale skin of my chest, leaving little red crescents behind as he did so but I was in no better position gripping onto his hips like my life depended on it. He repeated his previous actions, raising himself almost completely off my dick before he dropped back down slamming down onto me sending a wave of pure pleasure through me as I was swallowed deeper and deeper each and every time.

"A-ahh! Le-Levi!"

Hearing him calling my name wantonly with his head thrown back to the ceiling made my dick twitch with excitement and I gripped his hips tightly before I suddenly bucked up into him catching him slightly off guard. His body twitched when his hips slammed against mine causing a loud slapping sound to reverberate through the room as I repeated the action, this time hitting Eren's sweet spot as I thrust up to meet his ass once more.

"Nhh! Fuck-yes! There!" his cries became more shrill and needy as I started to pick up the pace a little more.

My own needs pushed aside as I tried to angle my hips upward so that each time Eren slammed down onto my cock, it would hit his prostate just right. My body felt like it was burning all over, hot and tingling as Eren's tight hole swallowed me and each time it did he would moan loudly, the lewd sounds filling the room along with the sounds of skin slapping against skin and the wet squelching and slurping of Eren's lubed up ass meeting my cock.

We were both sweating profusely, hot breaths mixing together as he leaned forward and begged me in a needy voice to kiss him and I did. I kissed him and swallowed all his noises and he swallowed mine, only parting when he wanted to warn me that he was going to cum.

"L-L-Levi... I'm-I'm-" I didn't realized how roughly I was pounding into him that he stuttered to say every word."-gonna c-cum! Nh! Ahh!"

I looked up into those bright, luminous eyes of his. Glassy and pupils blown wide with lust, but there was a certain look of defiance as he huffed and puffed out harshly trying to catch his breath. I suddenly remembered that little kink I had discovered the night at the Smith's estate and I reached a hand up to tug at the longer hair at the nape of his neck roughly. Eren gasped with a moan following after and I half sat up so that I could bite at the exposed skin of his throat, sucking on his adam's apple and scraping my teeth over it lightly.

"Cum for me, Eren. Scream my name." I growled into his throat as I bucked up with as much force as I could hitting his prostate again.

"F-FUCK!" was the only warning Eren gave before he spilled all over my chest and his stomach with a shouting chant of my name.

I felt him clench around me as his body convulsed and he went into spasms, but the sudden tightness I felt swallowing me had me cumming and growling out Eren's name as I buried my face into the crook of his neck to muffle my sounds. Eren was breathing harshly as he cradled the back of my head with a hand, I could feel his fingers running through the shorter hairs of my undercut as I came down from the high of my orgasm.

Eren was moving off my softening cock before I even realized it and I reluctantly stopped hugging his waist so that I could removed the condom clean up. Eren seemed to read my mind as he crawled off the bed and waddled toward my bathroom across the hall. After I disposed of the used condom, I tiredly followed after Eren in the bathroom where he was bending over the tub to start the shower. I stopped a moment to appreciate the very nice view Eren was giving me of his ass, and I swear to fucking god, my dick was ready for round two already.

I sauntered up behind him and gave his ass a little slap, startling a small yelp from him before he pouted at me. I smirked and leaned over pecking him on the lips, and one peck lead to two pecks, and two lead to tongue and then it was all downhill from there. Eren pulled away from me smiling and I wrapped my arms around his waist possessively.

"God, Levi. I don't care how many times I see you shirtless, I'll probably never get over how perfect you look like this." he said blushing as his eyes raked over my naked form.

"I'm not perfect, Eren. I'm scarred and beat up." I said resting my forehead against his shoulder.

Eren pulled me closer to him, resting his chin on top of my head and I heard him sigh softly through his nose. There was a peaceful silence between us before Eren finally spoke again,

"I didn't fall in love with your body, Levi. I fell in love with you, your scars are apart of you just like your tattoos and I wouldn't want you any other way."

His breath tickled the top of my hair and his fingers started to trace the ink on my shoulders once more, sending small shivers down my spine as I leaned into him and sighed. How? How the fuck did I end up with such an amazingly perfect person? What did I ever do to deserve Eren? I didn't deserve him, I knew that. But I sure as hell wasn't about to let him go. He loved me, despite how difficult I could be and all my weird quirks about cleanliness. And I loved him. Fuck, I loved him so much.

"Eren." I listened with one ear pressed to his chest as he hummed in response. "I love you too." I closed my eyes as soon as I said those four words, four little words that had his heart beating a little faster in his chest and I smiled. "Everything. I love everything about you too."

After a shower, Eren and I spent Christmas day in bed kissing each other stupidly every second. He would sing me a little song and I would stroke his hair until we both fell asleep, only to wake up half an hour later kissing and holding each other tightly with hands and fingers laced and tangled together like we would never get the chance to do this again. Like these were our last moments together. But they were actually the first of many to come, I could feel it in my bones. This was only the beginning.

Chapter Text

So it's finally happened. My human is mated to the Levi human. It's about fucking time. Although, I think they could have waited until I wasn't in the same fucking apartment with them until they got busy. I did not need to hear all that... whatever-is-was- noises my human and the Levi human were making. Disgusting. They've been going at it like cats in heat the last week. Well, at least I know I'll get better food out of this. Speaking of which.

I walked up to my human's bed, swatting at the hand that was hanging over the edge. 'Oi. I'm hungry, shitty human. Make me food.' I meowed licking my whiskers. I heard some groaning and muffled curses, must have been the Levi human's hand I swatted. Oh, yep that's him. Levi peeked over the edge of the bed glaring down at me tiredly, and oh, he's good. I'll give the human credit for being able to glare at me so intensely so early in the morning.

Next, I saw Eren's messy mop of fur pop up from the blankets and he blinked down at me. I sat on the carpet staring up at both of them giving them my best glare. Eren yawned and then he smiled at me, damn human. I asked for food, not smiles.

"Good morning, Captain." he croaked reaching an arm out to stroke under my chin. Damn it, that's my weak spot. "Good morning, Levi." I cracked an eye open to see the two humans swapping spit. Gross. Human's mating rituals are so fucking weird. Use your tongues to groom that mess of hair instead, dumb fuck.

"I think the little shit is hungry." I heard Levi said. Fuck, finally! At least somebody understands me around here.

I heard Eren sigh, "It's like 9am on a sunday."

Eren stopped stroking me under my chin and I just sat there. Waiting for one of these idiots to get off their lazy asses and feed me before I jump up there and claw them to death. Finally, Levi made a move to get up from the bed but Eren was hanging off of him. Oh my fucking god, did I need to repeat myself? Food! Now!

"Eren. It's kind of hard to get out of bed when you're hanging onto me like a fucking Koala."

"That's because I don't want you to get out of bed."

"Well, someone has to feed your damn cat so he'll stop glaring at us."

Eren made a weird whining sound before he eventually let Levi go, and praise the cat gods! I was finally getting food! I sauntered out of the bedroom and made my way toward Eren's kitchen before hopping up onto the counter to patiently wait for my well deserved breakfast. I wasn't on that damn diet the vet put me on a few months ago but Eren still insisted on limiting my portions. Whatever.

I internally sighed as I waited for Levi to come and feed me. I could smell rain in the air, which meant I was definitely staying indoors for most of the day, like fuck I was going out to get my fur all wet and stinky. Finally, Levi came into the kitchen wearing nothing but one of Eren's huge ass t-shirts that even fit him too big. I swished my tail in anticipation as I waited for my dish to be presented.

"Your paws better be clean, damn it." Levi grumbled. I simply ignored him. Rude. I'm always clean, shit face.

I watched quietly as Levi pulled out my feeding dish with my name on it from one of the cupboards before he opened one of the bottom cabinets for my cat food. Now, normally I'm not one who likes cat-food, or the nasty cheap shit anyway, but since Levi's been around he's insisted that Eren start buying me better cat food. Bless him. He scooped up some of the dry kibble into my bowl and moved to set it in front of me on the counter. I could hear angels singing from the heavens.

"Try not to make a mess, flea bag or I'll skin you." he threatened halfheartedly. I felt him stroke my ears back once before he moved to the kitchen sink to wash his hands.

I was completely unaware of everything else around me as I scarfed down my first meal of the day. Salmon and Chicken flavored kibble, my favorite. This will hold me over until lunch time at least. I heard Levi shuffling back and forth in Eren's kitchen but I was too busy enjoying my meal to bother being even the slightest bit hyper-aware of what was going on around me. Shit, one of Eren's friends could come up and yank my tail and I probably wouldn't even notice. Salmon, salmon, salmon. It wasn't as good as the real thing but it would do.

I guess Eren came in some time while I was too busy making love to my breakfast, I looked up at my human who was hugging the Levi human from behind as he seemed to be cooking something. I couldn't care less as I licked my whiskers and my paws still tasting the salmon and chicken.

"What are you making?" I heard Eren ask.

"Pancakes. What do you want on yours?"

"Hmm. I would say Blueberries but I highly doubt I have any. Bananas?"

"Sounds good. I'll make us both Banana Pancakes then."

"Rain and Banana Pancakes... that reminds me of a song."

Eren gave Levi a quick kiss, as I heard the humans call it, on his shoulder before he dashed off into his room. Probably to get that noisy thing he calls a guitar out. I didn't really mind when Eren played his strange object around me, sometimes the noise he made with it was nice. Other times it was slightly annoying. I stayed seated on top of the counter in the kitchen as I continued to clean my paws and groom myself.

I guess Levi was done when he started carrying two plates of whatever it was he made into the bedroom where Eren was. It's not really that I was curious as to what the humans were doing, I just wanted to know what the fuck that amazing smell was. I hopped off the counter and followed slowly after Levi, luckily they left the door open so I wouldn't have to meow or hiss at them to open it for me. Having no thumbs sucked balls.

"Oi, eat first. Guitar later." Levi said, handing Eren one of the other plates.

I leaped onto the bed but sat on the edge quietly as I watched the two humans cutting small squares out of the fluffy brown things on their plates. Eren made small humming noises as he ate and Levi was quiet. I could hear the soft pitter-patter of raindrops bouncing off the glass window in Eren's room, the soft noises mixed with a full tummy was putting me to sleep as I kneaded my paws into a corner of Eren's bed settling down there comfortably.

I only stirred a little bit when I felt Levi get off the bed to dispose of the dishes in the kitchen, then at the sound of Eren making random noises on the guitar thing again. Was it so hard to ask for even a little peace and quiet around here for a fucking cat nap? Guess so. When Levi came back into the room, Eren pulled him back down onto the bed startling me as the bed jumped when Levi fell back. Levi cursed while Eren laughed and if I weren't a cat, I probably would have rolled my eyes. Still, this was nicer than having Eren bug me while I'm trying to nap. Now he has Levi to bug instead of me.

There was that soft noise I was talking about earlier coming from Eren's strange guitar object, it was a nice sound but not as nice as the Piano noise Levi occasionally played when I was over at his apartment while Eren worked. Then Eren started to sing,

'Well, can't you see that it's just raining?
'There ain't no need to go outside...
'But, baby, you hardly even notice'
'When I try to show you this'
'Song is meant to keep you'
'From doing what you're supposed to.'
'Waking up too early'
'Maybe we can sleep in
'Make you banana pancakes'
'Pretend like it's the weekend now'

'And we could pretend it all the time
Can't you see that it's just raining?
There ain't no need to go outside'

'Not bad,' I thought. I guess I didn't mind this noise Eren was making and I guess Levi didn't mind either, he was laying on his side facing Eren on the bed as he sat cross legged with his guitar-thing in his lap pulling on those weird strings. I noticed the way Levi's fingers drummed around his leg along with the sound of Eren's guitar, these two idiots. I settled into my spot more comfortably and yawned, being lulled to sleep by the sound of the rain mixed with Eren's guitar and his voice.

'But just maybe, like a ukulele
Momma made a baby
Really don't mind the practice
'cause you're my little lady
Lady, lady, love me
'cause I love to lay here lazy
We could close the curtains
Pretend like there's no world outside'

'Ain't no need, ain't no need, mmm, mmm,
Can't you see, can't you see?
Rain all day, and I don't mind'

'But the telephone is singing
Ringing
It's too early
Don't pick it up
We don't need to
We got everything
We need right here
And everything we need is enough
Just so easy
When the whole world fits inside of your arms
Do we really need to pay attention to the alarm?
Wake up slow, mmm mm, wake up slow'

'Ain't no need, ain't no need
Rain all day, and I really, really, really don't mind
Can't you see, can't you see?
You gotta wake up slow...'

I definitely didn't need to open my eyes to know that Eren was done singing and that he and the Levi human were swapping spit again. Honestly, I guess I didn't really mind the two morons always being so affectionate. It only took them half a damn year to get together, and none of it would have happened with me of course. Still, I guess I could overlook it, really. I now had two human's to take care of, oh joy.

Well, at least I knew Levi could pretty much take care of himself, unlike Eren. Still, I wouldn't change Eren even if some of the shit he does annoys the fuck out of me but I'd rather have him happy and acting like an idiot around Levi than sad and angry. I had a lot of fucking work cut out for me, I could tell. Whatever, as long as Levi kept giving me good food and tummy rubs we'd be all good. I yawned again, feeling two hands stroke my fur as I finally got the peace and quiet I wanted. Perfect.

Chapter Text

"It's cold as balls today, Eren. I can't believe you wanted to walk all the way to The Shoreline." I grumbled as we sped down Rose Avenue

"Sorry, I forgot you hated the cold." Eren said with a little laugh.

Eren and I were making our way over to The Shoreline Cafe for a small New Year's Eve party Armin and all their friends were putting together. Naturally, Erwin was going to be there and because Erwin and I were to be there so was Hanji and Mike.

"So Petra came over yesterday you said?" Eren asked as he fiddled with the volume for the radio.

"Yeah, she brought Auruo and their kid too. The little snot nosed brat looks just like her."

Eren smiled, "Don't tell me seeing your ex-wife with a baby is making you wish you had kids now?"

"Don't even fucking joke like that, Eren. We both know I'd be a shit parent." I knew he was joking, but I was still being honest.

"I don't know about that, Levi. You're pretty good at taking care of Captain."

"Cats and Kids are two different things, Eren. Cats don't fucking vomit and drool all over you."

"You're such a grouch!" he laughed again, this time a little more loudly.

"Damn right, I am and you're stuck with me so deal with it."

His laughter trailed off just as we parked on the side of the street across from the cafe. I cut the engine and made a move to open the driver's side door when I felt Eren's gloved hand reach over for me. Eren cupped my face in his hands and pulled me toward him where he leaned over and captured my lips in a kiss. His lips were slightly chapped from the cold but I didn't mind as I let my eyes flutter closed and tilted my head to deepen the kiss. He pulled away too soon for my liking and I scowled at him as he grinned widely.

"You're a grouch, but you're My grouch."

I felt my face grow hot and I knew I was probably blushing like an idiot. He chuckled before leaning over and kissing me on the nose quickly and then he was getting out of the car and away from my reach. Damn him. He knew that if he stayed where he was I wouldn't let him go anytime soon. One kiss never stayed one kiss when it came to us.

I got out of the driver's side and rounded the car as I locked it and caught up with Eren who was waiting for me, the biggest shit-eating-grin on his face. I was just being greedy as usual.

"Shitty brat," I said as he slipped his hand into mine and we crossed the street together. "But you're my shitty brat." I mumbled that last part but I knew he heard me anyway when I felt his hand squeeze mine a little more tightly.

As we approached the French door of the Cafe, I noticed Armin had the 'Closed' sign on the front window. Through the large picture window in the front, I could see some of Eren's friends moving around in the cafe. I couldn't help but feel slightly nervous as we were about to enter, I didn't know how Eren's friends felt about us being together. I knew Armin and Eren's sister Mikasa were okay with it but I wasn't sure about the rest of his friends, it wasn't like they knew me very well either.

Eren never let go of my hand as we entered the cafe, ten sets of eyes turned to look at us as the little bell at the top of the door signaled our arrival. It looked like we were the last ones to arrive. Well, scratch that. Hanji and Mike weren't here or at least I didn't see them anywhere. Eren's friends all smiled and greeted us loudly and I felt a small sense of relief wash over me.

Eren and I only stopped holding hands briefly to take our coats and scarves off before hanging them up on a rack. Then his hand found mine again and Armin came and handed us both drinks. A cup of Assam for me and Pumpkin Spice latte for Eren. The warmth in my hand was welcomed and I thanked Armin for thinking of this ahead of time.

"Well, if it isn't the new couple on the block." the bald kid, Connie I remembered, said as he approached us. The Sasha girl bouncing after him.

"Yeah, don't the two of you look adorable wearing matching outfits and everything? You're even still holding hands! Not even Con Bon and I hold hands that much." Sasha smiled but then pouted as she turned to look at Connie.

"W-We can hold hands whenever you want! Here, G-Give me your hand!" Connie was blushing furiously as he grabbed Sasha's hand, Sasha in turn blushed lightly but smiled regardless.

"We're not wearing matching outfits, gosh." Eren finally said, a cute pink color staining each cheek as he smiled shyly.

"Actually, we kind of are." I said motioning at Eren's outfit and then mine.

Eren looked down at his own outfit and then at mine and he stayed looking between the two of us for a few seconds before he smiled and laughed.

"Well, I guess we just think the same way. It's just a coincidence, really." he still sounded a bit unsure but I squeezed his hand tightly and smirked when he looked down at me.

"We could just play along and say we planned our outfits, you know. We could say we called each other the night before and spent hours on the phone talking about what we were going to wear today." I teased.

"L-Levi." he said smiling down at the ground shyly. I couldn't help but chuckle, I loved to tease Eren and watch him blush.

"Eren." Mikasa approached us, her girlfriend Annie standing next to her wearing a short powder blue dress, her blond hair loose.

"Happy New Year's eve, Mika." Eren released my hand to hug his sister and I used my free hand to shake Annies. We gave each other curt nods which was good enough for me.

After hugging his sister, Eren hugged Annie and the four of us stood there chatting for awhile. I glanced around the cafe in search of my own friends, I hadn't seen Erwin or Hanji when I walked in so I had to assume that they weren't here yet. So I guess Eren and I weren't the last ones to arrive in the end.

Suddenly, I felt a heavy hand down on my shoulder and I slightly winced from the sheer force of it as I cradled my tea in my hand. The big blond Reiner came up from behind Eren and I and had his other hand squeezing Eren's shoulder as he smirked at the two of us.

"So Eren, be straight with us. You guys got together pretty quick and you've been going out for like a month, the sex between you guys must be insane" Reiner said wiggling his thin eyebrows at us both.

Eren must have turned ten different shades of red as he spluttered into his drink, while Mikasa rolled her eyes and turned to talk away, Annie trailing behind her looking just as annoyed with Reiner.

"That's disgusting, Reiner." I heard Mikasa mumble after she walked away. I guess it would be pretty gross to hear about your brother's sex life with his new boyfriend.

"So? Is the shorty as small as he looks?" Reiner prompted after Mikasa was out of ear shot. I felt my brow twitch but I chose to bite my tongue.

"T-There's nothing small about Levi." I heard Eren grumble out.

"Damn, I knew it!" Reiner said with a chuckle

I smirked into the rim of my cup, "There's also nothing small about Eren, but you would know about that wouldn't you Reiner?" I said before I started walking away.

Behind me I could hear Reiner howling with laughter and I think our conversation was overheard by Christa and her girlfriend Ymir as I also heard the tall, freckled girl cracking up as I walked over to Armin who was cleaning up behind the counter.

"So, Where's the Eyebrows?" I asked as I handed him my empty cup of tea with a small thanks.

Armin shook his head with a smile, "Erwin's not coming. He's made us a dinner reservation for tonight and then we're leaving early in the morning to spend New Year's day with his parents."

"That fucking bastard. He said he was going to be here for sure." I grumbled more to myself than to Armin but the blond laughed anyway.

"Sorry, Levi. I'll be closing up the shop early, I just wanted to spend a little time with everyone before we ring in the new year." he admitted shyly.

I sighed, "Nah, don't worry about it, Kid. I don't mind being here, as long as Eren's happy."

Armin gave me a warm smile and then he handed me a fresh cup of tea, I gave him another small thanks before I turned back to join Eren who was sitting at one of the tables alone now. His other friends were all arguing over whether or not they wanted to break out the Karaoke machine and I really hoped they wouldn't.

I approached him quietly, leaning over to kiss the top of his head just when I got close enough and I heard him laugh softly. I took the seat across from him, he was sitting at the table I usually sit at my the window. It was pointless to look outside since the most of the window was fogged over with a thin later of ice and the sky was darkening quickly. He reached out and held my hand once more and I relished in his natural body heat as he smiled at me.

"This is our first New Year's eve together. Are you mad that we couldn't spend it alone?" he asked me honestly.

"Why? Do I look mad because we're here?" I asked raising an eyebrow at him.

"No, not really. I'm just curious. What would we be doing if we didn't have to be at this party?" now he was starting to look shy again.

"Do you really need to ask?" I asked with a chuckle. "Either way, I still plan on keeping you all to myself come tomorrow anyway."

Eren looked away from me, face slightly flushed but a small smile still evident on his face. God, he was so fucking beautiful. I would probably never get over just how amazing he is to me. I felt the urge to just lean over and kiss him again but our moment was ruined when Eren's group of friends suddenly got noisy, and when we both turned around to see why, I growled out loudly.

"Fucking Hanji."

"LEVIIIIIII!! Bonne année, everyone!"

I groaned loudly, letting Hanji know how annoyed I was by her appearance. Surprisingly, she wasn't with Mike, which only meant bad news since without Mike around to keep her in check Hanji would try and get drunk off her ass for sure. After introducing herself to Eren's friends as Erwin and I's best friend, she bounded up to Eren and myself and smiled manically.

"Bonne année, Eren!" she chimed pulling him into a tight hug.

"H-Hi, Hanji!" he wheezed out.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Hanji. You're choking him." I hissed at her.

"But I can't help it! Eren is just so adorable! Totally out of your league, Penguin!"

"Did you just call me a fucking Penguin, you four eyed freak?"

"Mhm! Don't you think he kind of looks like a cute little penguin, Eren?"

"For your sake, Don't answer that." I said glaring at Eren who only laughed sheepishly.

"Where's Erwin? I need to tell him Bonne année too!"

"Bonne année?" Eren asked with a curious brow raised.

"It means Happy New Year in French." I answered for Hanji who looked like she was ready to give a damn lecture.

"Oh, I almost forgot you and Hanji speak French. Does Erwin know French too?" he asked curiously.

Hanji snorted, "He understands it, just can't speak it very well." I couldn't help but smirk.

"While we were studying in France, he used to always have to have either Levi or myself go with him everywhere since he couldn't say the right pronunciations in French. Poor guy. He can understand it perfectly but he can't speak it to save his life. I guess it's the rolling of the tongue he couldn't get the hang of."

"Wow, so there's actually something Erwin's bad at?" Eren asked looking fairly surprised.

"What? You thought Erwin was Captain Perfect?" I asked with a snort as I took a quick sip of my tea.

"Well, yeah. Kind of." He admitted.

"I guess I can understand that. Erwin just has everything together, but he has his weaknesses too."

Suddenly, our little conversation was halted when Eren's friend Connie came practically tripping down the steps of the spiral staircase with a big box in his arms. Oh god, was that the Karaoke machine? Fuck, and Hanji was here which meant she was going to try and sing and that never ended well for anyone.

"Hey!! Are you guys doing Karaoke!?" Hanji practically screamed as she ran over to the group of young adults who were setting the Karaoke machine up.

Eren turned back and gave me a devilish grin and I frowned at him.

"No." I said before he even asked anything.

"You're no fun!" he deflated immediately.

"No, I'm not. Do you regret dating me now?" I asked jadedly.

Eren was silent for a long while and I didn't raise my head to look at him, I just kept fiddling with the handle of the tea cup as I heard Hanji and Eren's friends struggling to set up the machine. Then I felt a hand underneath my chin, tilting it upwards before I was staring at Eren again as he leaned over and kisses me feverishly. We kissed once, twice and then on the third kiss he smiled.

"I'd never regret dating you. You're the best thing that's happened to me this year." he said quietly against my lips before he pulled away.

I felt slightly dizzy from having him kiss me like that and say something so cliché that had my heart beating like crazy. Eren made cheesy and cliché work though and I couldn't help but smile at him in return.

"Whoa. I think I regret coming back here already." a familiar voice rang through out the empty cafe that had all of us turning to the door to see the new arrival.

Eren's ex-boyfriend Jean was standing there, hand in hand with the freckle kid Marco from the pet clinic. There was a smirk on his long face and he was wearing a thick parka with a grey beanie similar to Eren's. I stiffened slightly because I wasn't exactly sure what stable boy was going to think about Eren and I being a couple now, it had only been about two and half months since he and Eren broke up after all.

Eren had already turned back and given me a reassuring smile as we both stood up from the table, he kept a firm grip on my hand as he lead us toward Jean who was being crowded at the door by all of their other friends. Marco was shyly blushing as he stayed standing next to Jean, never once leaving his side.

"Jean!" Eren said with a big smile as he went up and hugged him. I stood behind feeling a little awkward but trying not to let it show. Marco had a similar look but I thought he didn't have any excuse to feel awkward, or so I thought.

"When did you get back? We weren't expecting you to come back to Trost for another two weeks." Eren asked, his eyes shining.

"I just decided to drop in today after Marco called and told me about Armin's party. I literally just got here like an hour ago." Jean said rubbing a hand over the back of his undercut awkwardly.

"Well, I'm glad you're back. Are you staying at your old place?" Eren asked.

"Actually, I'm staying at Marco's while I'm here. We're kind of... dating now." Jean said looking away, a faint blush on his pale cheeks.

It both surprised me and didn't surprise me. Hearing that Jean was dating the vet Marco wasn't something I expected but none of their other friends seemed to be that surprised. Guess they all saw it coming, which makes sense I guess. Even Eren looked like he expected that happen, which of course made me relax just a little bit. So maybe I was still just a little insecure, who the fuck wouldn't be? Still, Eren looked genuinely pleased.

"So it finally happened!" Reiner said from the small stage of the cafe.

"Yeah, Marco's only been waiting since like Middle School!" Connie added, high fiving Reiner as they struggled to set up the machine.

"We're so happy for you two!" the small blond, Christa said clapping her hands and bouncing on her feet.

"Yeah, looks like Eren ain't the only one with a new boyfriend." Ymir tacked on with a smirk as she glanced over toward me. Bitch. She said that on purpose.

"Lemme guess, Jaeger's dating the shortie?" Jean snorted. Apparently he hadn't seen me standing behind Eren and the rest of his friends.

"Jean." I heard Eren warn him quietly.

"Oh shit, is he here?"

I cleared my throat loudly and started back toward Armin who was smiling nervously behind the counter. This kid needed a break, he was working even while hosting a part at the same time. I could hear Eren and Jean bickering quietly about something but I tuned them out rather quickly. I didn't care to hear Eren telling his ex to come and apologize to me, because that was the most predictable thing for him to do.

"You alright, Levi?" I heard Armin ask quietly as I leaned against the clean counter top watching Hanji trying to help Reiner and Connie set up the Karaoke Machine.

"Why wouldn't I be alright?" I asked absently, not even bothering to give Armin my full attention.

"Just making sure. You know, you and Eren can leave early if you want. You don't have to be here with us." I finally turned to see a very apologetic looking Armin.

"I'm fine, kid. It's not like it's the first time someone's said something about my height, in case you haven't noticed I am kind of shorter than you."

Armin chuckled, "Yeah, but at least you're taller than Connie. He's the shortest one out of all the guys here."

I couldn't help but chuckle and smile at Armin's words. He was trying to make me feel better and it was obviously working. Still, as much as I was telling Armin that I was fine, I felt like I needed some fresh air. It was cold as fuck outside but a few minutes of solitude was worth standing it. I glanced around the room and saw Eren talking with Ymir and Christa so I figured I could sneak out and light one up for old times sake.

I walked over to the rack full of jackets and found my leather one before throwing it on and reaching for my pack of cigarettes and lighter. I slipped out as quietly as I could hoping the other would be too distracted to notice the sounding of the bell as I opened and shut the door. I inhaled the crisp, frozen air deeply letting it sting my nostrils before I leaned up against the brick wall of the Cafe and placed a fresh cigarette in my mouth.

I relished in the quietness of the outside. Winter always brought a strange stillness to everything, the world just seemed a lot quieter whenever it was cold outside. Everyone too bothered by the cold to go out of their houses or drive out on the slick roads. It was peaceful. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I didn't like Eren's friends but being the person that I am, parties have never really been my thing. I still prefer my solitude and my peace and quiet, to think by myself and just relax without having to worry about conversing with lots of people.

My solitude was short lived however as I heard the door open and shut as I took a long drag of my cigarette. Great. I didn't bother to look up to see who had come out, I was too focused on the swirl of smoke that drifted from my lips and filled the air before it disappeared altogether.

"You mind if I bum one off you?" Jean's voice cut through the thick silence.

Without looking at him, I reach into my pocket and pulled out the pack holding it out for him to take one. He plucked one out and I handed him my lighter, he handed it back once he was lit up and I shoved both the lighter and the pack back into my inner jacket pocket. It was silent as he leaned up against the brick wall not too far from me, I could tell the horse had something to say and well, I've never really been very tolerant to people who beat around the bush.

"Speak now or forever hold your shitty peace." I said after I blew out some smoke. If he wasn't going to talk first, than I was.

"I don't think I have to tell you that Eren really cares about you." Jean said as he took a drag from his cigarette. I kept silent to see where exactly he was going with this.

"And I definitely don't think I should have to tell you that if you ever hurt him in any way, I'll have to beat the shit out of you. Even though Eren is very capable of beating the shit out of you himself, I know he definitely did to me whenever I did something stupid." he said laughing dryly.

"And I don't think I should have to tell you that I would never intentionally hurt Eren if I could help it." I said taking one last drag of my cigarette before flicking it down to the cement and stomping it out. "He's too good for me, but I'm going to hang on to him for as long as I can."

Jean chuckled, "Good to know I don't have to tell you the obvious. Eren was too good for me too, shit, even Marco's too good for me but they're both willing to put up with my shit. I'm just letting you know ahead of time, I guess. That just because Eren doesn't have a family, we as his friends will play the part of his family and we'll protect him."

I let that sink in for a moment before I smirked, "Well, I'll tell you this now. If I ever do hurt him in the future, I give you, Mikasa, Reiner and even Armin full permission to beat my ass because if I ever take his smile away, it's what I would deserve and more. Although, if anyone in this relationship is more likely to get hurt in the end, it's me." I said honestly.

It was the truth, I don't think I had the power to hurt Eren. I felt like it was the exact opposite, if anyone held the power to hurt anyone it was Eren. If Eren ever decided that he didn't want me anymore, that I wasn't worth the time or the effort and he decided to leave it would hurt me more than I could even imagine. Because Eren is the light of my life, he made everything brighter for me during a shitty time in my life and damn right I'm going to be a selfish bastard and hold onto him like my life depended on him.

I pushed off from the wall and walked around Jean who was still leaning against the brick while smoking the last of his own cigarette. We didn't look at each other as we passed, we didn't need to. He could probably see the smile on my face and I could no doubt imagine the smug smile on his, so we had no need to make any eye contact. Before I pulled the door to the cafe open, Jean laughed.

"Well damn, if there's one thing I do like about you it's that you're honest as fuck."

I chuckled but said nothing else as I pulled the door to the cafe open and let the heat from inside warm my chilled bones. I started shrugging off my jacket, shaking off the light little snow flakes that had landed and stuck while I was standing. My attention was immediately caught when I felt a large hand grasp mine and my head whipped up to see Eren looking at me with an accusing look.

"Were you outside smoking?" he asked drawling the last word out.

"Yeah, sorry." I meant it because I knew he hated when I smoked.

He sighed and shook his head, "It doesn't matter. Come on, let's go watch Connie make an idiot of himself while singing Britney Spears onstage. Reiner dared him to sing while wearing Sasha's lipstick." he said with a laugh.

I smirked and nodded letting him lead me toward the small stage toward the back of the Cafe near the ocean and sunset mural on the back wall. All his friends, including Hanji were gathered around the stage occupying the nearest tables and Eren and I took two empty seats at Annie and Mikasa's table. Just as we got settled, Armin lowered the lights a bit to add to the effect and I couldn't help but snort and roll my eyes because it was so typical.

Then the first few beats of Oops I Did it Again started up and I had to hold in another snort and maybe a laugh because of all the damn Britney Spears song, they had to pick this one. Well, I guess I should be thankful it wasn't one of the more slutty Britney songs. Then I probably would have been mortified. Connie hopped up on stage wearing the bright pink lipstick Sasha must have put on him and fuck, I think he was wearing mascara too unless those were false eyelashes.

Connie was striking poses to ever beat and even strutting across the small stage from end to end, Eren and all his friends were roaring with laughter. Reiner was right in front recording him on video. Poor bastard. I could tell they were probably going to use that as black mail against Connie for months to come, maybe even years. Still, I sat back and enjoyed the show.

"I think I did it again! I made you believe we're more than just friends!" Connie tried to sing in a high pitch voice while swaying his hips awkwardly.

"Oops, I did it again! I played with your heart, got lost in the game! Oh baby, baby!" no matter how hard I tried, and I was trying really hard, I couldn't stop the smirk that made it's way onto my face as I watched Eren and his friends try to sing along with Connie to the chorus. Hell, even Hanji was chiming in. This went on through out the rest of the song and my reserved mask was slowly starting to break if this kept up any longer. Even the Annie girl was smiling, it was a small smile, no teeth showing.

Then Mikasa was up next singing Genie in a Bottle by Christina Aguilera and that wasn't so bad too watch. Mikasa had a fairly nice voice and I wondered why she didn't sing with Eren. Jean had come back inside before Connie's performance had ended, and he was sitting at the table across from us with Marco as Mikasa and now Christa now started on the chorus of the song together.

"Ooh, my body sayin' let's go. Ooh, but my heart is no. If you wanna be with me, baby there's a price to pay. I'm a genie in a bottle, you gotta rub me the right way." Mikasa and Christa were even copying the dance moves from the songs music video and Ymir was jumping from her seat wolf-whistling at her girlfriend Christa and she glared when Reiner said something about shaking her ass.

"I'm a genie in a bottle baby, gotta rub me the right way honey. I'm a genie in a bottle baby, come come, come on and let me out."

I think after Mikasa and Christa's performance, thing went downhill from there. Which lead me to wonder just how fucking much Eren's friends had drank because I had no doubt in my mind that these brats were buzzed if not tipsy. I think I confirmed my thoughts when Reiner, Connie, and Sasha got up on stage (Connie and Reiner both wearing lipstick now) to sing No Scrubs by TLC.

"A scrub is a guy who thinks he's fine, also known as a buster! Always talkin' bout what he wants and just sits on his broke ass. So," Sasha started off before Connie cut in with the next verse. Armin had joined our table and was trying to suppress his laughter behind his hands but it didn't look like it was helping.

"No, I don't want you number, no I don't wanna give you mine and no, I don't want to meet you nowhere, Don't want none of your time and" then I think everyone lost it when Reiner jumped in to sing the chorus in falsetto, snapping his hips and somehow or another he and Connie and come up with some kind of weird in sync dance as they sang the chorus.

"No, I don't want no scrub a scrub is a guy that can't get no love from me! Hangin' out the passenger side of his best friend's ride, trying to holler at me!" I watched on in amusement as Eren, Mikasa and Armin started singing to each other smirking whenever Eren would glance back and catch me staring at him and he's turn away blushing in embarrassment.

That didn't last long, though. Not when Reiner, Connie and Jean pulled him up onto the stage to sing It Makes Me Ill by the *Nsync. Hanji insisted she join their group song and I probably would have gotten up and left if my boyfriend wasn't the one on stage making an idiot of himself. Still, I stayed glued to my seat mentally laughing because a few months ago Eren was making fun of me and my friends for loudly singing to the Backstreet Boys and now here he was about to sing an *Nsync song.

Connie started them on the first verse, and thank fuck they didn't try to put lipstick and make up on Eren because I don't think my heart would have been able to handle him wearing make up. I had a feeling that even with horrendous lipstick, he was pretty enough to pull it off and damn it, stop that Levi. Imagining Eren wearing make up is not what you need right now.

Connie jumped to the front of the stage and started,"I was hanging with the fellas, saw you with your new boyfriend that made me jealous I was hoping that I'd never see you with him but it's all good cause I'm glad that I met him!"

Then Jean started, "'Call me a hater if you want to, but I'm only hatin' on him cause I want you! Say I'm trippin' if you feel like but you without me ain't right!" and then the idiots all tried to mimic the dance moves from the actual song. All because Hanji started it with the pelvic thrusting and then the others tried to copy her.

It was awkward and kind of out of sync but I guess they weren't bad, I was currently trying not to laugh at how Hanji somehow knew all the damn steps to the song. I could only guess that it was Hanji bringing out her inner boy band fan girl, she probably had the videos of all their performances or something. I wouldn't put it past her.

"It makes me ill, to see you give love and attention at his will and you can't imagine how it makes me feel to see you with him!"

I noticed that Armin was recording a video so I nudged him and told him to send it to my phone later. He smiled brightly and then agreed, knowing full well that I would use it to tease Eren come tomorrow morning. When the song was over, Eren tiredly came back and took his seat next to me. His goofy smile was practically stitched onto his face. We watched some of his other friends go up on the small stage and make fools of themselves, Hanji sang one Usher song before I was grabbing Eren and walking out the door.

"Let's get the hell out of here before she ruptures our ear drums." I said as I grabbed my jacket.

Eren laughed, "Well, we probably should anyway. It's almost eleven, the streets are going to start crowding soon. Let me just go tell Armin and Mikasa bye, you can go ahead of me." I nodded and then stepped out into the cold December air taking in mouthfuls of the chilled air. The biter bite of Winter sending dull aches into my scarred leg but I ignored them.

I could just barely make out the smell of smoke and burned paper, people had been setting off firecrackers all evening and it wasn't even an hour to midnight yet. I walked over to my parked Ferrari and quickly got in turning the engine and the heat on so the car could warm up by the time Eren came. It didn't take him long, soon he was getting into the passenger side of the car and smiling warmly at me.

"Ready?" I asked.

He nodded, "Let's go back to your place tonight." he said.

"I'm guessing that means your place is a war zone then." I snorted before pulling out into the street.

"No," He chuckled. "We just have more... privacy at your place." he said shyly after awhile.

We fell into that comfortable silence the rest of the drive, my hand on top of Eren's over the gear shift as we drove. It had turned into a habit between the two of us ever since the party at the Smith's. I rubbed my thumb over his knuckles wishing that he wasn't wearing his gloves so I could feel his skin against mine, but well that could wait until later. I only spoke again once we pulled into the apartment complex parking. I turned to look at Eren,

"There's something I want to give you before we go inside." I said before I moved my hand from his in search of something in my pockets.

Eren gave me a questioning look as he stayed quiet and watched my hands move around curiously. When I felt what I was looking for, I pulled out a little white box with a black satin ribbon tied around it and held it out for him to take.

"I thought we already exchanged gifts, Levi." he said with a little chuckle as he took the box from my hand.

"We did. Just think of this as a second gift." I motioned for him to open it and without another word he carefully untied the ribbon letting it slip off.

He lifted the top of the box off and pushed the tissue paper aside revealing a golden key placed in the middle. He looked confused at first but then he looked at me a little wide eyed.

"This... isn't this a key to your apartment?" he asked hesitantly. I could hear the way his voice shook slightly.

"It's a copy of the key to my apartment. I'm giving it to you so you have a way to get in at all times. You don't have to knock and wait for me to answer the door anymore." I said with a little smile. Eren looked speechless, he probably stared at me a full minute before he finally said something.

"Does this mean..." he trailed off, sounding extremely unsure of himself.

I took his free hand lifting it up to my lips and kissing his knuckles softly before giving his hand a little squeeze and smiling a little more gently this time.

"It can mean whatever you want it to mean, for now. I'm not asking you to do anything, just know that I care about you." I placed another soft kiss to the back of his hand.

When I looked up at him, he was as red as a tomato but there was a smile on his face and a look in his bright eyes that was so warm, so loving that I couldn't help but be swallowed by them. He leaned in and placed a soft, chaste kiss to my lips, once, twice and then he pulled away smiling again. We got out of the car and held hands as we made our way up the stairs to my apartment, his fingers laced with mine.

Once inside my apartment, we kicked off our shoes and shrugged off our jackets but before I could make my way into the kitchen to pour us a couple of glasses of wine to bring in the new year once midnight struck, Eren stopped me and had me pinned against that wall in the foyer, just like that afternoon on my birthday. He was holding m wrists in his hands again, staring down into my eyes with so much fucking love that I felt like my heart would give out if it beat any faster. I swallowed and let my eyelids droop heavily as he leaned in slowly, ever so slowly toward my lips.

I let out the smallest of sighs when I felt his lips brush against mine softly, the feeling of those familiar chapped lips on mine send little sparks of electricity through out my entire body and I just knew, this was so right. We were meant to be here where we were at right now, I was meant to be here in Eren's arms gazing into those amazing eyes of his that held so much love and emotion. His lips pressed against mine finally and I tilted my head, slotting our lips together perfectly.

This kiss didn't hold any kind of fierce hunger, or feverish heat. It was slow, sweet and soft displaying Eren's love for me and I kissed him back with as much sweetness as I could. I wanted him to know how much I loved him because just telling him 'I love you' wasn't enough. I wanted to show him, make him feel it in his bones the same way he made me feel it in everything he does. I ran my hand through the longer hairs at the nape of his neck, and he pulled away from my lips smiling softly.

"I love you, you know? You're so good to me." his slightly husky voice whispered just as softly as he pressed his forehead against mine closing his eyes.

I stared at the way his long brown lashes brushed the tops of his cheeks slightly, captivated by his beauty as I silently appreciated this person in front of me, just so fucking stuck in this moment right now. Eren always stunned me no matter where we were.

"I love you too, more than you'll ever know, kid." Eren pulled away from me chuckling, his eyes finally opening as he stared at me with a crooked grin on his face.

"It's 30 minutes until Midnight. I'm gonna go get something from my place and I'll be right back. Get the wine glasses ready." he pecked a kiss on my nose before letting my wrists go from his grip and walking back out the door.

I shook my head and sighed, a smile still curling my lips as I sauntered into the kitchen feeling slightly like I was on a cloud at the moment. Eren's kisses always managed to leave me feeling kind of high, but in a good way. I poured us two glasses of my favorite imported red wine and carried the glasses into the living room where I all but threw my tired body down on the couch and stretched my legs out across the leather, glass of wine in one hand and the other hanging off the side of the couch.

I heard the sound of the lock on my front door clicking and then Eren's sheepish expression as he poked his head into the foyer. I smirked and rolled my eyes because the little shit just wanted an excuse to use the key I gave him. Honestly, he was so adorable. He came back in with his guitar slung on his back and a grumpy Captain in his arms, he set the cat down and it immediately ran toward my bedroom to hide.

"He was being fussy about coming over here." Eren said sounding exasperated as he made his way over toward the couch and took a seat on the rug next to where my head was resting on the couch. He set his old, beat up guitar in his lap and started to fiddle with the tuning heads as he took a sip from the glass of wine I had left for him on the coffee table.

"Damn, that's some smooth wine." he said licking his lips and I chuckled.

"That's because it's imported straight from France, dumb ass. What are you doing with your guitar anyway?" I asked slightly turning on my side so that I could face him.

He grinned up at me, "I'm going to sing you a song before the new year, duh."

I glanced down at the watch on my wrist, "You got about 10 minutes." I said eyeing him curiously.

"More than enough time." he said with a laugh and then he started clearing his throat as he tested out the sound of his guitar.

I waited patiently, watching him as he fiddled some more with the tuning heads and plucked at each steel string one by one making sure the sound was to his liking before he finally turned to me and started strumming softly. I curled my arm under my head and rested it against my forearm as I kept my eyes trained on Eren and nothing else.

'Love is a river that flows through the soul straight to the heart of man'
'And our love forever lives deep in the palm of God's hands'

'Just as my heart woke, it beat for you'
'Just as my mouth spoke, it spoke for you'

'Forever in love'
'Forever in love with you'
'Forever in love'
'Perfectly able and born to be true'
'Forever in love with you'

His eyes looked up from the strings of his guitar and met mine, shining with something indescribable but beautiful as I stared into those endless pools of blue and green swirled together like someone took handfuls of the ocean and poured it straight into his eyes. I could hear the sound of my heart thundering recklessly in my chest mixed with the sound of Eren's tender voice.

'Forever is not some measure of time'
'Don't matter how long you live'
'It's a promise where one, even after we're gone'
'Til nothing on earth will exist'

'Just as my eyes saw, I saw you'
Just as my legs walked, I followed you'

'Forever in love'
'Forever in love with you'
'Forever in love'
'Perfectly able and born to be true'
'Forever in love with you'

'Only in love'
'Only in love'

'Just as my heart beat, I prayed for you'
'I answered I will always wait for you'

'Forever in love'

'Forever in love with you and only in you...'

I hadn't even noticed that he had gradually been moving toward me until I felt his hot breath ghost over my lips. He lay his guitar out to the side and out of his way as he rose to his knees and leaned over me on the couch. His lips pressing against mine once more and I struggled to put my glass of wine down so that I could wrap my arms around his neck. When my hands were free, I did just that. Bringing him closer so that his upper body was flat against mine as he kissed me again and again and I felt like I was going to die from all this happiness. Fuck, I was so happy right now.

I don't know how long we stayed like that, just kissing each other stupid, but I could hear the faint sounds of fire works being set off after awhile and then I felt Eren smiling and chuckling into the kiss before we pulled away. Lips shiny and slightly swollen, the moonlight from the window hitting him perfectly and illuminating those eyes of his.

"Happy New Year, Levi." he whispered before I pulled him back into my arms and back into my hungry kiss.

I couldn't have asked for a better way to end my year. With the love of my life in my arms, holding him and kissing him breathless, taking in every inch of him. If you had asked me what I thought I'd be doing for New Year's this time last year, I would have just shrugged and said 'Like fuck if I know.' but if you were to ask me that same exact question right now, I would probably tell you the obvious. Spending this New Year and every New Year to come with Eren. Because a life without him in it, is a life I don't ever want to go back to living.