This story is sort of western, but please don't expect me to use a drawl of any sort. I may drop the ya'll bomb once or twice – but let it be known that I really despise using it, so try not to let it dissuade you from reading my story.
A/N: Alright, before you all get started reading I just want to give a few warnings. Yes this is about a series of homosexual relationships, but my main focus will be on Eren and Levi. Yes this fanfiction will have smut in it later in the series. Yes it may take me a bit of time to update, but that's just how I am as a writer – it sucks not only for you, but for me too. And yes, there will more than likely be errors, although for the first time with any of my fanfictions I've gotten someone to read and edit it before posting it. If she and I didn't catch some errors please don't tell me in the comments, PM me if necessary.
Disclaimer: I'd like to note that none of these characters are mine, the story line is though.
Late hours into the night sat a brunette scowling down at the many different building blueprints scattered about his desk they had been sent in the mail earlier that week. He had the rest of the night to make a final decision of the housing addition he'd been planning for the last half of the year. He brought a calloused palm up to rub at the stubble formed on his chin and cheeks.
His tired bluish-green eyes passed over every detail the 20 by 24 sheet of paper offered him. A sixteen roomed hotel's layout stared back at him, looking increasingly appealing as he searched over the ten roomed hotel that would mar his ranches appeal with its modernization compared to his older but very much up to date house that was built dead center of his land.
All thirty-five hundred acres of it. Again he found himself heaving an exhausted sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn't decide, if he chose the sixteen roomed hotel he'd have to pitch in another limb to afford it, not that it was all that much of a problem for the successful rancher. It was just the matter of his frugalness making his eyes pull towards the modernized resort living spaces. If he went with the ten roomed building plans, then the ranch would look out of sorts. He very much cared about the visual appeal of his family's dying will.
He cradled his head in his hand resting on his cushioned desk chair. The ten room would certainly be enough, it'd accomplish the goal the brunette intended to reach with it, far surpassing his expectations - he just wished it wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb.
The rancher slammed a frustrated fist onto the oak of his desk. There was a knock on his office door before a concerned blonde poked his tired head in through the crack of the door.
"Eren? Why're you still up?" The blonde asked, covering his mouth with a tight fist as he yawned against it. "You're aware how early it is right?"
"Yeah, I'm aware. Painfully." Eren said, mimicking the blonde's yawn with a deeper one of his own.
"I'm trying to get the plans pulled together before the group of architects arrive tomorrow. You know how Mikasa is when there's no decision made. She'll be pretty upset if I don't have the decision made before they get here - apparently her boss is a very organized man." Eren motioned to the untidy desk that held his empty coffee mug, a stack of half-piled documents, a desk lamp and many pictures of his family, ranch hands and his ranch itself.
"Can I help at all? A second opinion is always helpful when you're stuck on a decision." The blonde offered, entering Eren's office, quietly shutting the door on his way in.
Eren nodded turning the blueprints upside so his friend and most trusted ranch hand looked at them. He indicated to the two he most liked, and then explained to the blonde his dilemma with each of them. The blonde looked on with slowly-waking eyes that focused on the details of both sheets of paper.
"I agree with you about the ten roomed plans. It'd stick out obviously and detract from the scenery. Do you think the architects would change the plans?"
Eren shook his head. "Nah, Mikasa said the blueprints are originals and they stay that way. Her company draws them out and when they're final - they're final. No changes."
"Sounds like a pain to me."
He shrugged, rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes. "Armin, I don't know what to do. I have to make a decision - soon, from the looks of it."
His eyes darted to the clock mounted on his dark crème walls. It read eight minutes past three in the morning, Eren could feel the last twenty-four hours exhaustion settle into his mind like a fog. He needed to be up in three hours to start his daily chores in time to meet the group flying in that day.
They were supposed to drive from the airport to the ranch themselves, and were to arrive around eleven-ish, from what Mikasa had relayed. Armin's hand on his shoulder pulled him from his thoughts as he looked to his blue-eyed friend.
"Sleep on it, Eren." Armin persuaded, dragging the taller man from his seat and towards the door of his office. "If anything, maybe you can talk with the architects tomorrow and get their opinion, maybe they can be persuaded. You've always been good with dealing with people with things like that."
A smile cracked over Eren's lips, he knew he was good with making deals, he'd always been good at arguing to get things to go his way. He let the shorter blonde drag him to his bedroom down the hall.
"Get some sleep big guy." Armin teased heading off in the direction of his own room.
Eren yawned into his hand as he entered his bedroom.
The interior of his room was homely, filled with his masculine smell tinged with the apple pie scented sticks he usually burned in his house to keep it from smelling like a cattle farm. It did a really good job, considering he pasture raised his fifteen hundred head of cattle and that the land circled his home with his ranch hands' living quarters next to his house.
He stripped from his clothes, leaving himself in all but his boxer-briefs, which he changed; throwing the dirty pair into his laundry basket before checking his alarm and settling down into bed. He yawned again, readjusting his pillows beneath his head and pulling his blanket up around his very muscular body.
Sleep quickly claimed him.
*.*.*
Eren's eye cracked open, taking in his front porch. A clear sky hung high above his ranch, he welcomed the suns heat and the slight breeze the day had to offer him. He blinked open once, twice, a third time before realizing the two people standing in front of his house having a rather heated argument.
The blonde, he recognized as Armin had his back to Eren and was making frantic hand gestures. His eyes opened wider with shock as he recognized the second figure, he couldn't believe he had slept through the sound of the car on his gravel driveway. His nose scrunched upwards and he began massaging the headache forming behind his eyes.
Eren barely took a second to take in her appearance, she wore jeans and a loose-fitting blouse and a heavy amount of makeup. She was here for something, no doubt money or some object of a sort. He heaved an internal sigh and watch his friend try to deal with his ex.
"He's right there Armin, I just need to talk to him." The girl tried desperately to look over his shoulder.
"I'm not anywhere near him, Petra." Armin hissed in an uncharacteristically terse tone.
Eren decided it was time to relieve his closest friend from the demon that was his ex-wife. He cleared his throat loudly, taking the steps down his porch slower as he neared the two. Armin looked hesitantly over his shoulder at Eren, eyes silently demanding that he go away. Eren shrugged the look off as he came to stand just slightly behind Armin.
"Eren, thank god. Your employee was refusing to let me see you." Her voice was soft, and sugary sweet. But Eren knew better, beneath that false exterior was something cold, he'd learned that the hard way. She stared at him with falsely innocent eyes. "Why haven't you answered my calls?"
"Phone's broke." Eren answered, staring past her shoulder at the driveway as he saw a kick of dust drifting to the air about a mile out.
"Haven't you ordered a new one by now? It's been a whole month!" She exclaimed, trying her best to not seem controlling and again Eren knew better.
Of course he had ordered a new phone, it was the only way he could keep him ranch business thriving, he just hadn't updated his ex-wife about his newly changed number.
"There's a complication with my plan is all. Why are you here Petra?" Eren asked coldly, trying to make things quicker.
His eyes drifted to the sun that was high in the sky, he could tell just from where it sat that it was nearing twelve and that no doubt the dust blowing up from the driveway were his guests.
Petra's expression faltered for a moment before pulling into an even tighter smile. "I came to see if you wanted to have dinner tomorrow night. I've been so lonely Eren." Her voice dropped off into a whine and Eren felt a sickening feeling of resentment twist in his gut.
"He's not-" Armin's interference died off in his throat as Eren came to rest his big palm on the smaller man's shoulder.
"I'd like to politely decline, it's kind of you to offer, but-" A sharp slap resounded through the air before Eren could finish his sentence, his head jerked to the side just as a black SUV appeared in front of his house.
He looked down to Petra, whose expression had taken a turn for the worse. Her expression was cold.
Like the rest of her. Eren thought rubbing his cheek.
"I think you should leave, Petra." Eren said in his most commanding authority in his voice.
She stared at Eren like he'd just slapped her right back before turning on her heel and hurrying back to her car. Eren frowned as he watched her peel out of his driveway, spitting gravel at his truck as she sped off, passing the black SUV as the driver took her spot.
Eren looked down to his blonde friend, who was touching his bottom lip and inspecting it thoroughly. "She sure hit ya hard this time Eren, one of these times I'm seriously going to force you to get a restraining order - she's a lunatic."
He shrugged with a small smile. "She'll never get violent enough that I can't handle her. Just let her run her course, she'll find another guy to fuck with soon enough - always does."
His attention was pulled away from Armin with the sound of multiple doors opening and even more feet crunching the gravel, followed by the sound of the doors shutting. He listened to the small groups' grunts as they stretched their arms and legs from the long drive.
"Will you tell the ranch hands to meet at the stable?" Eren asked, swiping the blood from his lip and wiping it into his hanker chief before tucking the rectangular piece of cloth into his back pocket.
"Yeah, sure."
"I'll bring them down to meet 'em soon, just tell them not to burn the place down before they've met the architects." Eren said with a soft chuckle as he passed his friend and headed for the small group of strangers.
As he neared the group he had a strong hunch that he was going to get along well with them. He watched as a tall auburn haired woman bounce about on the heels on her feet as she flutters about the group, specifically around a shorter man with jet black hair and an undercut. The man looked annoyed as it was, though it seemed his attention was divided in more than one way at the moment, for his eyes weren't set on the woman as he spoke.
Knowing he was spotted by a taller blonde man he met the man halfway, extending his hand immediately to the man. "Welcome to Rogue Ranch, I'm Eren, the owner. You must be Erwin, if I'm assuming correctly?"
The blonde seemed surprised for a moment before returning his handshake with a strong one of his own. A smile bloomed over the man's face, making his blue eyes scrunch slightly. "That'd be me, pleasure finally meeting you Mr. Jaeger."
"Just Eren's fine." The brunette said, relaxing his hands at his sides
"Eren it is." Erwin declared, giving his shoulder a friendly pat.
Eren's smile only grew, he was glad his gut hadn't been wrong about the group. If the rest of Erwin's crew was half as friendly as him, Eren was going to enjoy the next year while the construction was going on.
"Come on, you hafta meet the rest of the team before we talk any business." Erwin insisted, guiding Eren closer to the group of anxious architects chattering with one another.
Eren's eyes found the shorter man again, those dark eyes meeting his gaze. Grown aware of Eren's presence, the group quiets and they stand side by side to let the introductions begin.
"Everyone, this is ." Eren rolled his eyes, hating the formality that Erwin had addressed him with.
Though when the time came, he extended his hand to all five of the remaining architects. "Pleasure." The short man greeted. "Name's Levi."
"Eren, nice to meet you." He greeted, smile only growing as he passed to meet the next architect.
His hair was two-toned and like Levi and Erwin, sported an undercut. He wore black dress pants with a soft grey dress shirt - hopefully he was careful enough not to trip, Eren knew that if it happened it was likely the man's attire would be permanently ruined. The man introduced himself as Jean Kirschstein, shaking Eren's hand and letting him move on quickly.
The shortest of the group, was a small blonde woman, she had the clearest blue eyes Eren had ever seen on someone they didn't even compare to Armin's - though they didn't detract just how beautiful Armin's were as well. She wore tight-fitting jeans with a brown v neck t-shirt clinging to her acceptable amount of woman features - though Eren's eyes hadn't strayed long enough on her body, he just wasn't the type. She introduced herself as Christa, knocking his extended hand aside and hugging his mid-section.
He stood stalk still as the blonde pulled away and threw a thousand watt smile up at him. He reluctantly moved on, knowing for sure he liked Christa - happy with the brotherly bond he immediately felt between the two of them. He side-stepped in front of the next architect.
"I'm Hanji!" The auburn haired woman, wearing glasses, belted before Eren could even extend his hand. "And wow, aren't you attractive."
Eren's face pulled into a look of modesty tinged with embarrassment as the woman's obviousness. He smiled nonetheless, telling himself that he'd have to accept the change of pace in the woman, seeing as that's how she was with everyone - at least he hoped.
Hanji wore a black tank-top and dark jean shorts, obviously prepared for Wyoming's intense summer heat though it was closing in on fall most day were still fairly hot and muggy. He shrugged off the pass Hanji had made, muttering a 'nice to meet you too' before moving in front of the next individual.
And lastly he came to a stop before a raven haired woman he knew all too well. His childhood friend looked up at him, standing his full six-foot-two inches of height he towered over her and the rest of the girls of the small group, including Levi who, if Eren had to guess, stood at a mere five-foot-six inches. Her black eyes stared at his mouth for a second, the corners of her mouth pulling down into a frown before she nevertheless hugged him tightly around his higher mid-section. His back cracked wonderfully with her strength and Eren laughed at her repulsed withdraw.
"Nice to see you again Mikasa. Thanks again for setting all this up." Eren grinned down at her happy expression.
She wore jeans and her rugged boots that she not doubt kept for this very chance. She sported a loose fitted blouse, the color of peaches.
"No big deal, Eren, you know I'd do anything for you. I saw Armin earlier, where'd he go off to?" Mikasa followed her question by peeking past Eren's body.
"Sent him to pull the hands from the cattle so they could meet you all. Ya'know, so they don't think I've got trespassers on the land." Eren rubbed at the back of his neck with a growing smile.
"Having problems with trespassers?" Mikasa asked, turning violent for a second.
"Not at all." Eren said carefully. "Just being a step ahead of the game, ya'know?"
"I see." Mikasa replied skeptically before letting the topic drop as she moved to a new, more current one. "You decided on which plans you want to go with?"
Eren hesitated with a small cringe, he'd been hoping he'd get a bit more time before the topic was brought up. He didn't like to admit his indecisiveness, especially in front of a group of strangers - though they've known sooner or later.
"I'll take that as a no." Mikasa sounded disappointed for a moment.
"It's not like I forgot about it, I just couldn't make up my mind on two of them. We'll talk business later when I can get the plans from the office, as is I need to return to a rowdy horse I've been trying to break for the whole morning." Eren expertly maneuvered around the topic and turned back to the whole group.
They looked back at him, faces void of emotion as Eren took to leading the group and giving them a brief tour of the grounds from his home - where he'd house them for however long they had to stay to finish the job.
As he directed them towards the large building that stretched out beside his own he explained the purposes of each building, barn and field provided. He raised a little over fifteen hundred heads of Angus cattle, a thousand of which were feeder, he also raised five hundred heifers, enough so that he was close to getting another thousand head of feeders the next year to come. Both the feeders and heifers were in separate parts on his ranch, so that when it came down to slaughter time he wouldn't have to check tags – though he did anyway, knowing that his system wasn't completely sound. Eren also raised twenty heads of bulls, they provided him with well enough money, some of them he let Reiner – his ranch hand, he had explained – take to bull shows and rodeos. He himself never did those shows, never had the time to continue doing them since his youth.
He even went through some brief details of the horses he raised and what he sold them to do. Since he didn't want to hire anymore ranch hands, the ones he had were the ones he could trust most in the world, he raised quite a lot less of horses than his ranch could home. With his grand total of three hundred and fifteen horses he had a little over what he and his eight other hands could handle. He didn't go into what he trained them for though, knowing he'd get sucked into the conversation and that he'd never get back into his chores.
Eren fell into a comfortable chattering with Hanji as they spoke briefly about how well Eren's ranch sustains itself.
"I wouldn't ruin the land that provides for me. I give back to the land as much as I take, my father wanted to turn the place into a slaughter lot - 'cuse my crassness - my mother, the rightful owner couldn't stand the idea of it. We've pasture raised all the animals we've ever had and they've brought more income than those confined behind walls ever will." Eren shoved his hands into his front pockets, his chest swelling with his pride as he watched a trio of horses trot along the fence beside his tour group.
The paints began to nicker in Eren's direction, ears pulled forward and tail raised as Eren nickered right back. Beside him the auburn haired woman visibly shivered her enjoyment. "That's got to be the hottest Cub Scout thing I've ever witnessed."
Eren shrank back sending Hanji a hesitant look as he faced back to the horse stable coming into view over the slightly inclined road. He was completely unaware of the prying eyes staring blatantly at the back of his head as they entered the stables. The large brown building opened up around them, protecting them from the suns heat as they stepped upon the cement flooring, dirty from the wind dragging pieces of oats and hay across the ground. The stables were built to shelter twenty horses, providing a large trough of water that divided into two stables and a large rack for hay.
The stalls were divided by a wooden panel with iron bars peeking head level for his horses to see one another. In front of each stall was a hook for the reigns, both leading and riding were mounted on most all of the hooks. He kept the saddles locked securely in a backroom lead off he added a few years back when a few local teenagers thought it funny to sneak in and steal or destroy them. He shook the thoughts from his mind and squared his shoulders again, no use reliving the past.
As they continued deeper into his stables he heard some bickering followed by terse whispering, he definitely knew something was up and cleared his voice quite a ways down the building yet. Letting them know he was bringing company and not wanting to stir about the problem in front of them.
"Yo Boss!" Connie yelled to him as the bald man peeked around the corner of a stall that opened up to the horse pens.
"Connie you know he doesn't like being called that." Eren listened to Marco's gentle voice before the freckled brunette peered around the corner, his head just above Connie's.
"Yeah, but it's still funny to see the tension on his face. I mean come on, look at him – his face is all scrunched up about it." Connie said, pointing and then beginning his infectious laughter. From behind him he heard Mikasa snicker in his direction.
He tossed a look back at her but she only seemed to snicker harder before throwing her hands up to exaggerate her shrugging off the situation. Eren heaved a tired sigh and motioned for the hands to come meet the architects.
He watched his tired crew pulled themselves off the hay bales and into the walkway of the stables. Out of the people he hired, only three competed with his height. He stared up at Bertholdt as the taller man rubbed his hands nervously, Eren knew the man had social anxiety with meeting new people, which was exactly why he had hired the man on the spot. He didn't have the heart to let the man go through more interviews to get a job.
Next tallest was Mike, he'd been working with the Jaeger family since before Eren was even born, the man was a close companion and is a father figure to him. Although he'd never admit it out loud, he learned most of his stuff by following the scruffy blonde around in his youth. He and Bertholdt stood at around six-foot-six, give or take an inch. His third tallest hand was Reiner, he was more muscular than Eren and about an inch or two taller than him as well.
Reiner and Mike spent most of their time training the bulls for rodeos so he wasn't surprised to see a few bruises on both of the guy's arms, no doubt having a few hidden beneath their clothing.
"Hey Eren." Reiner called, walking until he was right beside him. The blonde rested a hand on his shoulder and looked over to the group of architects, his eyes widened slightly, catching an excited auburn haired woman observing them too closely.
"Your ranch hands are walking wet dreams." Hanji sighed. Eren watched Reiner's expression turn bright red before he took a step behind Eren, like he was the weaker of the two.
"Seriously Eren, you always find the odd ones." Reiner whispered, his deep baritone voice making his chest rumble against Eren's shoulder.
"I didn't find her, blame Mikasa." He stated, elbowing the blonde in the stomach. "Introduce yourself, I can feel the growing elephant in the room."
Before Reiner got a single word in Sasha came bounding up to the group and introducing herself enthusiastically. Eren watched the group of architects tense up as the auburn haired girl bounced about, much like Hanji Eren noted in his mind. She flitted about the group, hugging Christa back when the small blonde girl did her own type of introduction.
"You're so pretty!" Sasha shrieked, hugging Christa close to her.
"Oi…" Eren called, starting to worry about the architects breathing.
He knew Sasha was stronger than she looked, that was why he had hired her to begin with. But it seemed he didn't need to worry about Christa, since Ymir and Connie had already intervened, Connie peeled Sasha off the girl and Ymir had braced the blonde against herself.
He cocked his head to the side when he caught Ymir's eye and she shrugged, looking curiously down at Christa. She introduced herself, acting much like Eren had when the blonde had hugged him instead of shaken his hand.
Eren chuckled, turning his attention back to the rest of the group, Bertholdt was slowly introducing himself to Erwin – the blonde man seemed to be taking in that Bertholdt was shy towards strangers and was starting a small conversation with him. Eren didn't catch what they were talking about but then it wasn't really his business, as long as Bertholdt could make a few more friends Eren was pleased as a pampered pup.
After the introductions were over with, the tension of the unheard conversation from earlier was boiling beneath the lids of his ranch hands. He could tell from the looks he was receiving from Mike and Marco, the quietest ones of his group.
"Eren," Mike started, Eren shot the older man a wry look but still the blonde continued. "There's a bull that's been trying his dominance with the group. Reiner and I can't get him to break, think you can take a break from your pinto to help us out?"
"Big blue again?" Eren inquired, glad the problem hadn't been about earlier – though he knew from the looks he was getting from the rest of his hands that they weren't about to not say something to him later in privacy.
Mike nodded scrunching his face. "He's getting antsy for a heifer."
"Yeah, s'bout that time of year. I have to get these guys settled into their rooms and such before I can do anything with 'im." Eren stated, eyes drifting to the architects and back.
"I can get them settled for you Eren, I have to start dinner soon anyway." Armin piped up.
"If it's not any trouble, would you? They're staying in the house, show them around a bit if you have time." Eren looked up to the group of architects, "The plans on in my office, Armin saw them last night so if you need a final decision before I get home tonight then he's your guy. I trust his decision. You're all welcome to whatever's in the fridges. I've got cable so if you find yourself bored it's in the den…s'there anything I'm forgetting?"
He looked down at his fingers as he mentally counted off the topics he'd planned on covering on his own. "Oh, uh there's internet connection too. Passwords the same as it's always been, Mikasa." Eren gave her a pointed look, making sure she knew to get everyone hooked up.
He pulled on his index finger, pinching the bridge of his nose.
He hated how forgetful he was at times like this, when his attention was divided between his ranch and his livestock. Eren looked to Armin for help.
"If there's anything you're forgetting I'm sure I'll cover it with the house tour." Armin added patting Eren's bicep.
Eren watched as his childhood friend led Erwin's group out of the building and towards the house, he caught himself staring at the backside belonging to Levi and shook his head clear.
"We'll talk about Petra later," he declared knowing as soon as they were alone if he gave them the chance they'd tear him apart with questions and demands. "For now we've got a bull to put in place and I've got a stud that's causing problems with the rest of the horses."
*.*.*
Eren's thighs screamed as he straddled the back of Big Blue. The bull was putting up a hearty fight for dominance but the brunette was having none of it. Having stripped from his shirt an hour into the breaking his chest heaved as he continued to ride the bull. He'd already been thrown once and his hip hurt from the hard impact but still, his stubbornness held like an unwavering statue.
Sweat glistened on his chest and brow, his fist was wrapped tightly around the rope that wrapped four times around big blue's chest. The bull tilted forward on its front legs and lashed out with its back ones, giving Eren a jostle before it went rampant around the small coral, nothing but the scuffle and Eren's labored breathing was heard in the air. Mike and Reiner sat perched on the coral's gate, ready to fly into action if the bull threw him.
"That all you got Blue?" Eren provoked, slapping the bull on his flank, earning an angry snort from the head in front of him.
His fist tightened around the rope as the bull went into his feral throws. He was jerked to the right and immediately jerked to the left, his thigh muscles held his body in place but his head jerked forward with a sudden lurch. The bull was furious, Eren knew, but still he kept up his harassment. The bull slammed his leg into the coral's fencing and he winced, prodding the bull sharply in the ribs.
"Playing dirty old man?" Eren grinned, enjoying the fight in the beast below him.
"Seriously Eren, your relationship with that bull is beyond creepy. It's like he's your grandfather or something." Reiner called from where he sat on the coral fence.
"If I treated him otherwise we'd never get him under control like we have in the past – you know how he is Reiner – you spend the most time with him after all."
Blue jerked to the side but Eren reacted in time to get a good grip with his feet and thighs on the near two thousand pound of muscle beneath him.
"Yea, still! That's beside the point." Reiner mumbled when big blue brought him closer to the fencing.
The blonde shook his head and flipped the conversation completely, "What's your impression with the architects Eren?"
"Seem nice enough to me, Mikasa likes them well enough I don't see how things aren't gonna work out. Hanji's a handful but I deal with bulls…" Eren paused to catch his breath as blue jerked to a stop, trying to throw him forward but failing miserably. "I can manage I'm sure, the Jean guy is a little odd though, not sure about him. He didn't really say much but from the feel of his hands he hasn't worked very hard a day in his life."
"Yeah, he's got gentle hands but most of them did Eren. S'not like everyone in the world has grown up on a big ass ranch like we have." Reiner laughed, watching the bull jerk Eren around for another five minutes before he spoke up again. "What about the shortie with the black hair? What're your thoughts on him?"
Eren cocked his head in thought, though he still stayed focused enough on the bull – if he were to falter he'd get thrown again for sure. "He seemed nice enough. I get the feeling he wasn't trying to talk much, getting a feel of us ya'know?"
"Yeah, he looked irritated too though."
"I'm sure it was because of the flight and drive. You know how travelling gets to some people, remember the family that vacationed here last summer? That woman was mean at first but after she relaxed she was nice enough, as long as she wasn't shrieking about a horse moving around her." Eren let out an exasperated sigh at the memory.
He looked past Reiner's shoulder to see Levi, Christa and Hanji scouting around the back of his house, followed by Mikasa who was no doubt telling stories about their childhood. Eren yelped his surprise as the bull nearly dumped him, pulling the attention of the architects and making Reiner lurch forward on the coral.
"Holy hell." Reiner cursed, "Stop talking and get that fucker under control."
By now the bull was frantic, it jerked right then left then spun clockwise in a tight circle. Eren stomach lurched as he fought to get Blue under his thumb again. He grunted as his weight of an astounding two-hundred and thirty pounds was tossed easily around the back of the bull. Deciding he had had enough Eren locked his legs on either side of the bull and squeezed with all his might, a forced snort escaped blue as he slowed his bucking. Eren jostled further on the bull before the bull fell into an exhausted walk.
Eren cheered, throwing his free hand in a fist up in the air. "Reiner he should be good for now. Run him for another hour then pen him by himself for the night – I don't want to be up at two breaking up a bull fight."
As Eren hauled his numb body off the bull, throwing his leg over the coral fence following suit with the other a mere second later. His legs ached as he stretched and grabbed his shirt from Mike, using it wipe down his body and face.
He fell onto the grass and folded his arms under his head. "Wake me up when dinner's ready." But groaned as he remembered the horse he planned on breaking that day. With a huff he let Mike pull him back to his feet.
"You wouldn't wanna break an ornery horse would ya?"
"Not in a million years, bulls are my forte Eren, horses not so much." Mike answered honestly giving Eren a reassuring pat, "You could always do it tomorrow."
"I've gotta work things out with the construction group and architects, I can't leave that to Armin, I shouldn't have piled on choosing which plans to go with on him either. That guy works too hard as it is." Eren muttered rubbing the stubble forming on his chin.
"The next day then?"
"We have the auction Mike." Eren stated tiredly, pinching at the bridge of his nose. "I'm hopin' Dawk'll sell me his Nakota this year – finally breed the one we have now."
He looked absentmindedly to the pasture that the black horse was grazing in at the moment.
"He'll budge this year, you heard Rico last week. She's been talking with Dawk since last months' auction." Mike stated, reassuring Eren with the lightness of his tone.
"Thanks Mike. I'm gonna head to the horse coral, I'll try to get the beasty to break before dinner time, but don't wait for me if I'm not in for dinner. Try to break the ice during the conversation too, I need your opinions on the group too. I don't want the wrong people doing the job." Eren whispered, dropping his voice as he walked past the taller man. "See you later."
Eren jogged off towards the corral, his long night showing effects. He pulled back on his shirt, not wanting a possible sunburn. He sighed at the cool relief, physically taxed over the menial task of reinforcing Big Blue's domestic role.
As he entered the indoor corral he couldn't help but think about his tiredness, accepting the fact that he still had at most another hour perhaps two of working this horse to go before he got a break. He entered the fenced in area with the paint which had its head buried in the trough of water.
The horse peered up at him and from the look it gave Eren he knew the animal wasn't going to make it easy for him in the least.
*.*.*
It was nearly forty-five minutes past six when Eren was pulling on his boots on the front porch and entering the house. Dinner had been served at five thirty and he was partially crestfallen because he had barely made any way with the damn horse. The sun had begun setting as Eren entered his home, unbearably tired and just slightly hungry.
A trudged down the tan colored hallway, decorated with family pictures of himself and his mother from when he was younger, he set his boots on the rack noticing the many other pairs of shoes stacked all around. He'd nearly forgotten about his company from working with the frustration he'd tied up in the corral for the night.
"Eren?" He heard Armin call from within the house, probably from the kitchen from the distance of it.
"Yup." He called back, tiredly.
Eren walked through the living room, noting once more that everything seemed slightly cleaner and very much tidier. Even the flat screen TV mounted to the wall shined a little more. He brushed it off once more as he entered the kitchen. He caught sight of Armin cutting pieces of cake into smaller portions and setting them on small plates Eren wasn't even aware he owned before now.
The smell emitting from the oven was what really pulled him in, he smelled chicken and it wasn't just the regular baked Armin usually made, it smelled of different spices and dressing that pulled his attention back to his ever-growing hunger. He made an approving sound deep from the back of his throat as he headed for the oven.
"Smells good Armin…" He could barely contain the moan as he opened the oven just a crack and the scent wafted into his nostrils. His stomach gave a loud demanding rumble as he crouched back on his heels, planting his weight on his calves.
"We tried to wait for you, but Reiner said he saw you still working with the paint. How'd things turn out by the way? Wait, don't answer that, serve yourself and head for the dining table, we'll eat our dessert while you fill up on dinner. I'm serious Eren, take as much as you want I don't want that chicken to go to the fridge, because we all know how well you like to fend for yourself." Armin's voice sounded patronizing as he filled his arm with the slices of cake, balancing each dish like he does it for a career.
"Don't mind if I do." Eren replied rubbing his dirtied hands together. He took note of the dirt and headed for the sink, washing his hands thoroughly before grabbing the clean dish off the counter and mounting a slab of chicken breast on his plate and adding mashed potatoes and green beans on the side. He retrieved a beer from the fridge before making his way to the dining room.
Unlike most homes Eren's dining room was larger than his living room, his mother had remodeled it the year before her death. She knew that when Eren would take over the ranch that he'd have anyone and everyone over for dinner that he could get – he was social, as everyone who'd ever had the chance to meet him knew. The room fit his fourteen dinner quests with room for about four others to join, if he included himself.
A series of greetings erupted from the table, surprising him to say the least. He hadn't been expecting everyone to be seated at the table while he ate.
"Uh…" Eren started, his brain not quite functioning as properly as it should be.
"You seem a little dumbstruck, boss." Connie prodded teasingly.
Eren gave his head a clearing shake as he took his usual seat at the head of the table, surprised to find Erwin and Levi seated on either side of him for a change. Still he couldn't seem to believe his eyes, everyone had waited up waited for dessert to eat with him. He couldn't remember a time where he'd sat down with such a large group and had an everyday dinner, usually the dining table wasn't even used when it came to such a large group.
A warm smile pulled at his lips as his eyes drifted over everyone, everyone looked pretty worn out, his ranch hands from their chores and the architects from the travel fatigue he guessed they were recuperating from.
"You look like you're five Eren, seriously that smug grin's giving me the heeby jeebies." Ymir teased, she sat beside the blonde and looked oddly content with the small amount of space between their chairs.
"You look like you're cozy." He shot back, blatantly eyeing Ymir then jutting his chin in towards the small blonde.
If looks could kill Eren was pretty sure Ymir would've killed him twice already. His smile only grew when her expression fell away as Christa turned her attention back to the freckled woman. The group fell back into their conversations slowly as Eren began eating away at his plate.
Though they were quick to die away when the first bite drew a throaty moan from Eren. He hadn't even realized the sound he made was audible before Sasha belted her laughter from the left side of the table. His face set aflame at his realization.
"Eren approves." Connie stated holding his midsection as he continued to laugh.
Levi watched the flustered brunette from the corner of his eye. He knew the man was struggling for something to say, something to relieve himself of the embarrassment. It brought a smile to his lips as he sipped at the cup of tea in his hand.
He took one more look at Eren's tired expression, if he looked like this every day returning home Levi was amazed he hadn't exhausted himself already – though the man only looked to be in his mid-twenties Levi highly doubted even someone with as much energy as Eren could withstand coming home exhausted every day.
Finally after some decisive thinking he decided to give the man a helping hand, seeing as those gears in the brunettes head were working slowly.
"How'd things turn out with the horse?" Levi inquired, though it didn't much matter to him he was still curious.
While they had been outside that afternoon Hanji had pointed Eren out as he was tossed around on the back of a furious looking bull.
What caught his attention the most was the sheer happiness the moment brought the brunette, he could see the smile even from space he'd bet. What caught Levi off guard though, was his attention to the muscular man.
He'd blamed it on those eyes. It was like looking into the sea all over again, if the sun caught them just right he could swear you could see speckles of golden in them. It was like a deep sea dive for a lost treasure. But as he kept investigating the brunette he'd come to realize that there was more than a few reasons his eyes were drawn towards him.
Eren's smile, the way he carried himself, the way he interacted with complete strangers as if he'd known them for all his life. Eren was conundrum, one Levi wasn't sure how to figure out or even if he wanted to try to piece together the perplexity.
All he was certain about figuring out about the brunette was why the many pictures he'd seen around the house made Eren look less and less happy each time they were taken, showing Eren growing older. He'd seen many pictures of Eren from the time he was a toddler up until the time he graduated. There were not many pictures afterwards, and if there were they were mostly of Eren and a few of the hands. But after his graduation it seemed the photogenic boy stopped trying for the pictures.
It almost made Levi sad thinking about it.
His attention was pulled back to the here and now when he heard Eren speaking directly to him.
"He's ornery and young, so I'll probably have to work with him again soon. I just wish I could've had him ready for the auction house at least, it doesn't seem like he'll get along well with the other horses at all, he's a leader and we can't really have that – fights will break out for dominance. Wild as these horses come I need them to think of me as the one and only leader, or well at least myself and my ranch hands." Eren spoke confidently as he explained the system the ways his horses worked. The earlier embarrassment seemed to fade from Eren's face, and between Levi asking simple questions Eren would eat.
A few times, while Eren had been digging in, Bertholdt would answer for him. Levi took the tall man for a gentle giant, a shy one at that, he was relieved to see the man warming up to himself and his crew. It'd taken some time during dinner before Bertholdt would even speak for himself. Simple social anxiety, Levi had guessed.
"That brings up another question, how come you had to…er, is the term break correct? Earlier when you were riding the bull, I mean." Christa seemed to be stumbling over her words. Levi watched as the freckled brunette beside Christa started smiling wider after each unsure pronunciation.
"Big Blue's a thorn in everyone's side. He'll throw his tantrums about four times during the summer. He's got a problem with authority and more than once in my life I've had to break up a bull fight. Him being the instigator he is." The look of nostalgia pooled in Eren's eyes as he seemed to be recalling the night right then. Levi took another sip of tea as the brunette found the words before retelling the story for their sakes.
"It was his first fight that we're aware of. He'd been moody the entire day, tromping around the pasture and bullying his way around the other bulls. Mike and I had been on and off watching him all day, checking up on his mood swings and keeping an eye out for the other bulls. He seemed to settle down well enough that we all turned in for the night."
Levi put his cup down and turned slightly in his chair, watching as Eren's face expressions went haywire a look of confusion to one of calm then to feigning his surprise.
"I remember Armin waking me up frantically, you should've seen his face I swear I've never seen someone as pale as he'd been. It scared the hell out of me." The brunette shook his head and took a drink from his beer bottle before starting back up again. "Armin was filling me in when I saw that big bastard rear up and kick Reiner clear six feet back into the barbed fence. We changed the fence the next day. But anyway, I was too furious with the damned bull to even see clearly."
"Oi, Eren you're skipping the best part of the story." Reiner tattled from the far end of the story.
Eren shot the blonde a fierce look of pleading but the blonde was relentless. "The idiot was so worried and mad that he'd run outside in nothing but his underwear."
"Reiner! C'mon man, seriously?"
"The lunatic leapt the fence and took on big blue with his bare hands, almost as naked as the day he was born." Reiner boasted looking proudly to Eren and even slightly smug.
Levi's eyes widened at the confession and he fought off the urge to laugh. Just imagining Eren wrestling with the behemoth nearly nude made him want to laugh loudly, he didn't for the sake of Eren's modest pride. But Hanji and Jean certainly didn't hold themselves back, they laughed so much the story was put on hold until his auburn haired colleague could sit quietly again.
Eren cleared his throat, fighting the blush off his face but failing as he continued to tell the story.
"Anyway! I was furious, Blue was gonna charge Reiner and I acted on instinct."
"Eren body checked the bull and continued to wrestle in the mud with it until he'd caught Blue in the most awkward choke hold I've ever seen an animal in. Then again I've never seen a two-hundred pound man wrestle a bull into submission until Eren." Reiner interjected knowing Eren was going to show his modesty.
"It wasn't that great, he's exaggerating." Eren claimed.
"Sounds like quite a feat nonetheless." Everyone turned their attention to Erwin as he spoke up.
"S'nothing really. Anyone with enough stubbornness can do it. But anyway, that night Big Blue settled down, we didn't have another problem until a few months later when the heat took hold of him. The reason we're breaking him in again is 'cause we've neglected finding him a mate this year, I was hoping my neighbor, Nile Dawk would want to breed his prized heifer with an prized stud – meaning Blue." Eren mumbled, pressing his thumb only to hiss at his forgotten split lip.
Levi found himself staring at the angry wound, pondering how Eren could have gotten it. His mind went straight to the angry woman peeling out of the drive as they arrived, narrowly missing the side of their SUV on her way out. She seemed to be the aggressive type, but then again Eren could've done something to it earlier this morning. He wasn't going to point the accusing finger.
Eren had finished his meal sometime during the story telling, his plate completely wiped clean. Levi was glad he enjoyed the chicken, he'll never admit he was the one to help Armin make it, it was out of sheer boredom that he had wandered into the kitchen that afternoon and offered his help. He still felt good about helping out, everyone's reaction with the first bite gave him a growing sense of pride, especially Eren's.
"I suppose I've held it off long enough." Eren sighed, pushing his plate to the side. "Did you all decide on a plan for the housing?"
Those blue eyes passed over each architect, landing and staying on Levi. A gentle smile on Eren's lips.
Feeling subjected to answer the question Levi cleared his throat. "Armin talked with us about your dilemma with each of the plans and after seeing the location you want to have it built we thought about completely redrawing a plan – with your help. But that would set back the process of getting it started another week, two at most. You'd have to call the construction company and get things worked out with them."
"I think we can get the foundation poured by this weekend though, since that's the beginning process of making the blueprints and its one less call for you to cancel. We're going to need your help making the plans though, I'm not wholly sure how that will affect your daily routine."
Levi took a moment to study Eren's face, knowing he'd just about covered what he needed to say to the man. The brunette looked to be deep in thought his brow was furrowed and it was like he was looking at Levi, but not really seeing him.
"I'll figure something out with that. How much time are you thinking?"
"Hard to say. An hour, perhaps two a day for the next week." Levi stated, watching the brunette's face scrunch as he forced the wheels to work.
"When would you want me?"
"Whenever time works best for you. We can do it before everyone turns in for the night, so it doesn't affect your daytime work." He brought his cup back up to his mouth and finished off his tea.
"Sounds good to me. I set aside tomorrow for you all, so we can get started tomorrow morning and work throughout the morning until lunch, then I had planned to take you all into town letcha meet some of the neighbors and so that this small town can get to know your faces. Did Armin mention that if anything is needed, small little tid bits here and there, a new pair of clothing, to charge it to the ranch?"
Levi looked to Armin who looked like he was scolding himself for forgetting and then back to Eren, a look of shock plastered upon his face as he skeptically studied the brunette.
"That's very kind of you but-" Erwin started, only to shut up the moment Eren faced him.
"It's no problem really, you're all my guests, on our contract one of our conditions was that I was to provide for you all. Food, bath, room and board, also meaning clothing and whatever else that I could think up and in return there'd be five thousand deduced from the final payment." Eren stated smugly.
"Food, room and bathing is all an understandable condition, Eren, but I cannot allow you to foot the bill for my workers' clothing." Erwin retorted with a stern look set on his face.
"I agree." Jean stated, tucking his arms across his chest.
"It's not up for debate, you're my guests and it's written in the contract." Eren's tone was stern as he spoke but it was nothing that intimidated any of the architects.
"Where in the contract does it have written that you, Eren Jaeger will buy us clothing?" Christa jumped in and asked, pointing out Eren's flawed logic.
Levi looked around the small group, out of all of them Eren looked to be the most distressed by their protests.
"It's no big deal, a few extra pairs of clothing will do you all some good, especially on this ranch." Eren stated after some thought.
"It is a big deal though. We've all brought enough clothing ourselves, and if worse comes to worse we will all buy our own clothing. There's no reason that you should give us anything that isn't in the contract." Erwin spoke next. It seemed like it was team up on Eren day from the look Eren had on his face.
"If. If we were to allow that, then we'd pay you back with labor. Cooking, cleaning, assisting with some chore you have around the ranch. We're not here for charity Eren," Levi paused, making sure the brunette got the message, "This is a business deal. What we get, that's not a part of the contract, will be given back by any means necessary."
He made eye contact with Erwin, who looked relieved that it seemed that they were at a stalemate. A sigh of defeat made Eren settle back into his chair with his hands folding over top of one another on his midsection. Levi watched Eren's internal tantrum.
The brunette was pouting for a moment then before Levi could roll his eyes Eren was up from his chair, dishes in hand and walking back into the kitchen. Without so much as a word. Levi listened to the clatter of dishes being washed and then the water turned off. Resuming his bored expression he propped his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his hands, expecting Eren to return.
When everyone looked towards the direction of the stairs, Levi resigned himself back into his seat. He had a feeling he was going to butt heads a few more times with Eren's need to control things. He understood it he himself was a control freak, but that didn't mean he was going to let Eren buy them clothing and whatever else. They were all adults and none of them were incapable of footing their own bills.
A low whistle broke the silence and Levi looked down the table to see each of the ranch hands staring at him dumbfounded. The bulky blonde, Reiner, was the one who had whistled and the look of pure satisfaction couldn't be wiped away.
"I've never seen anyone shut down Eren so quickly." Reiner didn't hide the astonished lift in his voice. "Welcome to Rogue Ranch, stay as long as you'd like, especially if you can keep doing that to Eren. Don't mind him though, he's been like that since his mom passed,"
Reiner pinched his mouth shut quickly, looking like he'd said something he shouldn't have. The blonde laughed to himself, smacked his leg and stood up from the table.
"Sorry, I said too much. Have a good night, see you all back here for breakfast." He excused himself and said his good nights, leaving through the back door out of the kitchen. Levi could have sworn he heard a hoot of excitement from outside but brushed it off.
"He wasn't serious about footing our bill for small necessities was he?" He looked over to Hanji as she spoke, then to the ranch hands.
Each one of them had a small look, they each did their nervous little habits; a touch to the back of their neck, a scratch of the nose, an overly large smile, avoidance of eye contact and a small blush. But not one of them spoke up to deny Eren's actions, meaning the brat was dead serious.
"What a brat." Levi mumbled, lifting himself from his chair and grabbing his mug.
"What time do you all usually get up?" He asked, changing the subject to something more comfortable and less suffocating.
"Eren's usually up the earliest, at six thirty but he'll sometimes sleep in until seven. Everyone else is up by seven thirty." Armin answered as soon as Levi had asked the question.
"Would any of you mind if I made breakfast tomorrow?" Christa asked, looking around the table, "I don't want to step on toes while I'm here, so if there's a certain routine for that sort of thing please tell me I'm overstepping."
Levi looked towards his blonde colleague.
"Usually I handle cooking the meals, without it Eren would've starved to death or fallen ill. He's typically a good cook but some days I wonder." Armin said looking more than a little overjoyed that she was offering to cook.
Levi felt his lip upturn at the edge as he watched the two already becoming friends.
"What time does the grocery store open?" Levi asked Armin.
"Hannes usually opens the store at six and closes at five. Why?"
"I'm thinking I'll take a trip into town tomorrow morning. Christa I'm assuming you'll be willing to help me decide on groceries?"
"Sounds like a plan Levi." The blonde smiled deviously.
He returned the smile, at least she was quick to catch on to his schemes. "Be ready at a quarter til six then.
Levi turned to Armin who looked like he was between laughing and crying. Levi knew that he'd like the kid. He just hoped Eren chose tomorrow to sleep in.
For those of you who made it to this point, thanks so much. Feel free to tell me your thoughts – both positive and negative, though if they're going to be negative please let them be constructive in some way. Thanks again.
-P.