Working Levi
Chapter 1: Levi's Secret
Disclaimer: I do not own Attack on Titan, nor am I affiliated with Victoria's Secret. I do have a shit-ton of their bras and underwear though…
In this exciting chapter, Levi applies to work at Victoria's Secret because it's the only place where he's allowed to wear all black and he's too gay to get embarrassed over ladies undies.
The Application
Levi sighed, resting his chin on his hand as he slouched over the computer. He was scrolling through job websites, looking for a decent posting so he could make some money and pay some bills and basically not starve.
Victoria's Secret is now hiring! Apply now by filling out an application and take it in to your local store!
"…hmmm." Levi glanced at the responsibilities and requirements. It seemed easy enough, even though he wasn't very aware of the products. He was a gay man who had no use for bras or frilly underwear. Well, maybe if he had a boyfriend…
Regardless, the store obviously catered to a certain clientele, which he was not a part of, but it didn't require anything higher than a high school diploma. He printed out the form and completed it quickly, attaching his wildly exaggerated resume. After a quick search, he discovered there was a store in the nearest mall and hopped in his car, a shitty Honda something.
Vroom, vroom.
~0~
"Hey, I have an application." He stated to the first girl in black he saw once he entered the store. He glanced around, noticing the colorful displays.
"Okay, I'll get this to the manager and we'll call you for an interview." The girl replied, not even batting an eyelash at the fact that he was a guy.
"Thanks." He told her, watching as she weaved through the store to hand the application off. He decided it might be helpful to his cause if he looked around.
With a hand in his pocket, he browsed the selection of bras and underwear, wandering toward the section designated for college-age clothing. He had to admit some of it looked cute. The lingerie and corsets were detailed, making him envious of women confident enough to put them on.
"Hey, when are you available for an interview?" the girl asked, practically sneaking up on him.
He jumped slightly, not expecting her to find him so soon. "Um, anytime, really."
"Thursday at two o'clock okay?"
"Sure."
"Alright, see you then!" she told him cheerily. Her short, reddish-brown hair bobbed as she went to help a customer.
He shrugged and headed back home to look for more jobs, just in case this one didn't go any further than an interview.
The Interview
Levi figured wearing all black to the interview wouldn't hurt, even though it was hot as balls outside. He entered the store again and saw the same petite girl from last time. He couldn't believe it, but she was shorter than he was.
"Wait right here, look around for a bit, and we'll call you in." she told him. He nodded and began perusing the shelves again.
He saw a few other women dressed nicely, also perusing. It seemed odd that they would all show up for an interview at the same time.
Until, of course, he realized this was a group interview. He was the only guy, sitting in the middle of a circle of women who were applying for the same position. His face was grim, but he told himself to look more open and approachable.
"Okay everyone, I'm going to ask some questions just to get to know you, so try to answer the best you can. First, an icebreaker: what would you take with you on a deserted island?" the manager asked.
"Oh, maybe a book, or my cell phone." The first girl replied.
"A radio, an extra set of clothes, and some food." another girl answered.
They turned to him. "Probably a raft or something so I can get off the island." He blurted. They laughed, and he thought maybe he chose the wrong answer, but the other girls started nodding.
"Yeah, that's true, I'd bring some kind of survival gear or something." The girl after him replied.
"I'd bring my boyfriend so I wouldn't be bored!" the last girl exclaimed. Another round of laughter ensued.
It took him a few questions to catch on to the fact that he needed to stand out. He needed to essentially provide better answers than these other girls to be considered. But he wasn't quite sure what answers were better or worse.
"Why do you like Victoria's Secret? What is your favorite thing in the store?" the manager asked.
Shit. Levi thought.
"I love the underwear! Most of my pairs are from here." One girl said.
"Yeah, and I get all my bras from here because they fit so well."
"I love the swimsuits, but I also like the perfumes!"
"…" he was silent for a moment. "Well, I don't personally shop here for myself…" they giggled. "But if I were female, I would probably get all my lingerie from here."
They burst into laughter and he wasn't sure if he should be embarrassed or proud.
"I'm glad to hear that! Do you have a girlfriend? Maybe you can buy her some lingerie." The manager smiled.
"Um…well I'm gay so…" he paused. "But I have female friends I shop for."
"Good! Bring them in sometime." The manager replied.
He was a bit more relaxed for the rest of the questions, which were practical and job-related. He could start to tell who would get called back and who would most likely be forgotten.
The Offer
He was called a few days after the first interview and told to come in for a second interview. It was another group, and he recognized one girl from the first interview, but the rest were new. It was another round of questions, similar but more in-depth than the ones before. He came away from it thinking he did well, at least as well as last time. Hopefully it was good enough. Next up was checking references, and since he only worked for one other person, it should be quick and easy.
He was just about to apply for another job a couple days later when his phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hi! This is the manager you interviewed with at Victoria's Secret. I'd like to offer you a job with us!"
"R-Really?" he blurted. She laughed and he winced, hoping he didn't just mess up his chance. "I mean, that's great. Thank you very much."
"So you accept? When are you available to start?" she asked.
"Yes, and I'm available immediately."
"Alright, come in on Monday at 10:00 am."
"Okay, thanks again." he replied, holding the phone up to his ear even after she hung up. He stared at his computer screen, at another job listing, and slowly put the phone down. Standing, he did a quick victory dance consisting of several jumps, arm flailing, and twirling in a circle. "Yessss!" he hissed, pumping his fist in the air.
Training
He came in the first day dressed in all black and began training. They put him in different parts of the store and several positions to see which one he would fit best in, despite the fact that he applied for the cashier position. He didn't mind doing other positions, like the floor sales where he could move around and helped out customers with products.
The training was exhausting and a lot more work than he originally thought, but since he had other retail experience it wasn't too bad. He was getting the hang of everything and soon became friends with the first girl he met when he came in to apply, whose name he found out was Petra.
She was one of the girls helping out with training, and he enjoyed having her help. She was cheerful, but he learned she also had a commanding side and could be quite dangerous when pushed to her limit. She was a tough girl, no doubt, and he respect the hell out of her for it. When customers gave her shit, she took it with a smile but made it clear she wasn't getting paid to deal with their idiotic asses.
"You're a pretty quick learner." Petra commented one day. He was almost done with training, and had a feeling he knew where they would put him.
He shrugged. "Comes natural, I guess. I was a cashier at Target before."
"So what happened with that?"
"Got caught fucking my boss. I'm glad that wasn't mentioned in the reference." He snorted.
Petra laughed. "Wow, that must have been a fun experience. Although here you don't have to worry since you're gay and most of us are women."
"Isn't one of the regional managers a guy?"
"Mr. Bodt? Yeah, he's really sweet too. But I think he's married."
"Well shucks."
She cackled again. "I'm glad they decided to hire you. Some women like having a male's opinion, even if he's not playing for the same team."
"I'm glad too, starving isn't my thing." He replied with a small smile.
Ultimately he was put in the cashier position, because he wasn't good at approaching customers and appeared stand-offish to some. It was where he wanted to be, even though he saw less of Petra that way, but it made life easier when the only thing he had to deal with was ringing up bras, undies, lotions, and clothing. Small talk was easy, and a quick smile was all he needed.
The Customer
It was several months after he started working when it happened. He glanced up when he heard enthusiastic talking and saw a woman dragging a man into the perfume and lotion section. It was close to the cash register, so he could hear their conversation.
"This one smells so good!" the woman exclaimed, sniffing a tester.
"Hange, why did you drag me in here? I didn't even know you wore this stuff." The tall blond companion replied.
"I like their lotion and smell good stuff, okay? What, are you embarrassed? You're gay, so shut up." Hange answered, sniffing another tester. "This one is good too!"
The man sighed, and Levi's breath hitched. He was gorgeous, and exactly Levi's type. He had to focus on the customer in front of him, ringing up her thongs without so much as a flinch.
"Did you find everything okay?" he asked the woman, keeping an eye on the two other customers.
"Yeah, I just love these thongs!" the customer replied. He smiled at her, putting the merchandise in a bag and telling her the total. After she paid he looked up to see the tall blond and his excitable female friend were gone. Pouting slightly, he waited a few seconds before another customer approached with items.
There was a steady line for a few minutes, leaving little room to look around, but at least he wasn't waiting. He didn't even notice the two approach until the perfume was set on the counter and he glanced up to give his customary smile and saw the woman beaming behind her glasses.
"I convinced him to get me this one, it's for my birthday which he forgot." She told Levi.
Levi coughed, slightly startled, and slid his eyes up to the taller man's, who shook his head. "I was busy, okay? Besides, you always change the date when I ask."
"It's to keep you on your toes!"
Levi smiled, totaling the amount. The man stepped up to swipe his card.
"What's your e-mail?" Levi asked a bit tentatively. It was normal, but for some reason it felt more personal this time.
"Hm?" a thick eyebrow was raised and Levi stopped breathing for a moment.
"It's uh, to receive discounts and stuff." Levi replied.
"I don't really shop here a lot, but it's wings of freedom at titan dot com."
Levi typed it out.
"And…phone? It's another thing we ask…"
The man shot his friend a glare before rattling off the numbers. Levi definitely didn't bring the information up the next chance he got to put into his cell phone or anything. Nope.
~0~
"Petra, I think I'm in love." he said, voice monotone as usual, on his next break. They were outside smoking a cigarette.
"Oh really? It's not one of our bosses, is it?" she joked. She liked to bring it up sometimes for a laugh.
"No. A customer. Well, he bought it for his friend, but still."
"Ohhh, the tall blond guy with that weird four-eyed freak?"
"Yeah. Mr. Heartthrob. I hope she drags him in again soon. I may have snagged his number and email from the computer system."
"Bad boy!" Petra smacked his arm playfully. "It happens all the time. But have you tried to contact him yet?"
"No, too chicken. Besides, what would I say? 'Hey, I illegally wrote down your email and number so I could stalk you like a perv'?"
She laughed again. "No, maybe something like 'Hey we have a new line of that perfume your friend likes' or something and pretend it's a normal message."
"I'm pretty sure that would get me fired."
"Yeahhh…it would." She laughed again as he pulled a drag on his cigarette. "I was joking, anyway. You'll just have to wait until he comes in again."
"I mean, women wear underwear and bras, even weird ones like her. Plus she might use a lot of perfume, so they may be back soon."
"Pffft. A woman like that doesn't buy her panties and bras from Victoria's Secret. Maybe Wal-Mart. Or she goes commando."
"Wow Petra, didn't need that image in my head."
"Would you prefer to see him in a thong instead?"
"Yes."
They were laughing again, and time ran out. Back to work.
Return of the Blond
This time he was alone. It was close to Christmas, so Levi assumed he was shopping for gifts. The store was packed because everyone and their mother wanted to get a gift card. He watched the man glance at the lotion selection and perfume bottles, contemplating which ones to get.
Levi wasn't sure if it would be weird to make a comment about the perfume or not, so he simply gave his usual smile as he rang up the items the man eventually chose.
"You were working here last time I came in, right? A couple months ago?" the man asked.
Levi blinked. The handsome bastard remembered him. Damn. "Um, yeah. You were with that one woman who liked perfume a lot."
The blond chuckled. "Yeah, Hange has a thing for this stuff, although I never knew she wore perfume."
"Did she run out already?" Levi asked, eyeing the gifts he was wrapping.
"Not yet, but when she does I'll give her this one. Plus I needed to get my mother something."
"No girlfriend?" Levi dared to ask, casually.
"No, I prefer male companionship." The man replied.
Double Damn. Levi remembered Hange calling him gay the first time they were in the store.
"Cool…" was the only thing he could say as he totaled the purchase.
"I assume you are too, since I doubt a straight man would want to work here."
"Ha…yeah, I am. It was weird at first, but I kinda like it here." Levi told him.
"I bet. Well, thanks. My name is Erwin by the way." The man offered his hand over the counter.
Levi shook it, feeling awkward yet excited at the same time. "Levi." He replied.
"I'm not sure if I'll come in here again anytime soon, but it was nice chatting with you." Erwin replied as he collected the bag.
"Yeah, same here." Levi replied and smiled as he watched Erwin go. He was paying close attention to the man's ass until Petra got in the way of his view.
"He came back." the woman smiled knowingly.
"Yep." Levi replied, lips smacking.
Erwin and Levi started dating a few months later after Hange and Petra discovered there was a mutual attraction between the two men and began scheming to get them together.
Author's Note: This concept was originally inspired by my job hunting, specifically applying and going through the interview process at Victoria's Secret. Sadly, I only made it to the second interview and haven't heard back (but I have a job in my career field so all is well). That means everything after the interview part is pure bullshit that I made up based on what I know of the company, so please don't sue me.
You can suggest jobs for Levi to work, and be sure to look out for more sassy shenanigans in the next installment of Working Levi! Each chapter is unconnected with the first, this is just an excuse to see Levi working weird jobs.