EDIT: Figured out how to update old chapters. All the chapters have been proof read (finally) so hopefully there aren't as many errors as there was before. Thanks to tumblr user x-j9 who helped proofread the story. I've also provided spacers for time gaps.
You can check me out and request a prompt on my tumblr yhanyu.
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He wasn't at all particularly interested in ice-skating, or anything remotely related to ice. Eren hated the cold and would have much preferred the sweltering heat of his home country, Japan. He didn't know why he ended up wandering to the skating rink—maybe because Jean played hockey and he had wanted to confront him over something. That usually was the reason for his appearance at the rink, to bicker with Jean. However, what he found in the rink wasn't the two toned blond, but someone else.
And god was he beautiful. His movements were so graceful; Eren never thought he'd found ice-skating so attractive before. He stood there, watching, not moving a muscle so as not to disturb the talented stranger before him.
He had just done a triple spin before landing. He nearly had to lay a hand down on the ice to maintain his balance but apparently it wasn't needed. As he got ready to do another spin (that of which the names Eren knew none of) he did this move with his arms and spun his body upward and landed even more graceful than the first time. After he landed, he began to skate backwards around the rink twice before skidding off to the side to grab his drink of water.
What was he doing anyway? His earlier goal of confronting Jean had flown right out of the window and into the snow outside as he walked toward the ice skater, his mind muddy.
"Hello," he blurted out. What would he say? Hi, you're really good at ice-skating! Jesus Christ.
"You did really good jumps," he said. Wow, that was even worse than what he should've said.
The figure skater just finished his break and looked liked he had intended on practicing some more when low and behold, he, some stranger decided to approach him and start up a conversation.
The man looked like he was used to it. Probably got comments all the time about 'how beautiful of a skater he was' or 'how he should be in the pros,' or other bullshit he's heard before.
He shot him a flat stare as he said plainly, "Thanks. You skate?"
"No," He said, and thought how stupid that sounded. "No, I just came here to see a friend of mine—he plays hockey, but I guess I came a bit early since you're here."
Sitting on one of the nearby seats, Eren studied the stranger for a bit, thinking of what he should say.
The stranger barely lifted a brow. Eren figured it wasn't every day that he got a male visitor and that the days he did it was probably one of Jean's dumb hockey friends who thought there was practice that day.
It's not like Eren had shown up in hopes of finding a figure skater, but after seeing the short performance that he did, he was glad to have seen it instead of bickering with Jean.
"What's your name, kid," he said dryly as he leaned over the side of the rink.
That 'kid' part almost made his eyebrow twitch. The stranger looked young, perhaps not as young as he was—but since they were on campus grounds he figured the other would be a college student like himself.
"Eren," He responded nonetheless. If he had been more tactless, he would have commented about the man's lack of height. "I'm Eren Jaeger. What's your name?"
It almost looked like it took a bit of strength for him to suppress a growing smirk to his reaction of being called a kid.
"Levi," he said eventually. "If you're waiting for your hockey friend, practice was canceled completely today, they won't be here at 2:30 so if you're intention was to wait for him, you're wasting your time." His answer came off a bit cold. He thought it was probably all the ice going to his head.
Levi started to skid off onto the ice and began doing some warm ups.
It was still early and today was his off day. He could have just played video games instead of wait around in the damn cold, but hey, watching Levi was actually pretty nice. It wasn't as raw and unnerving like Sasha's archery skills or his sister's sword play—and he's so used to that kind of thing; the too physical aspect of sports. Figure skating was much calmer, graceful in fact.
"What a fucking snow queen," he muttered to himself, smiling a little as he continued to watch.
"I fucking heard that," Levi griped as he landed a triple spin effortlessly and moved into a backspin.
He could tell that Levi was tough, though. His outfit was so tight that he could see his triceps, biceps, and abs. He figured as much, he's probably landed a few in the hospital. He wasn't about to doubt what damage the short figure skater could do because quite frankly, he didn't want to learn the hard way by earning himself two casts for his legs.
Eren didn't know how long it'd been since he strolled into the skating rink, but Levi was too focused on his jumps and spins to probably even notice that he was still there.
Another half hour or so passed by when Levi skidded off the rink and sat down to take off his skates when he looked up to see that Eren was still there sitting in the same spot.
"You're still here?" he asked only a bit shocked. Even Eren knew visitors come and go and don't normally stay for majority of the practices. Even when he went to Jean's hockey practices, some of the teammate's girlfriends didn't stay the whole time.
"Yep," he replied casually, cracking a smile. "It's nice watching you skate," even if Levi was a little shit, Eren really did enjoy watching him. "Well I guess this is my cue to go," standing up; Eren stretched feeling sleepy all of a sudden. This was what he hated the most about the cold, it made him so much more tired.
"Maybe I can get to see you again sometime, watch you compete even. That would be nice," He grinned as he stepped down, feeling light as he descended.
This time Levi cracked a smirk, "Just a sec," he said as he reached into his duffle bag and pulled out a pen and ripped paper. His skates were completely off as he walked closer to Eren and wrote down a date on the paper. He looked up and handed him the paper and without those skates, the height difference was even more obvious and it took a lot in Eren to not comment on it.
"That's my next competition," he said as he walked back to toss the pen into his bag.
"I'll buy you a coffee, or hot chocolate or whatever kids drink. Jeez, you look freezing, are you really not that used to the cold?" he mentioned.
Eren blinked before staring at the piece of paper, which registered a string of numbers and words. He would have liked it even better if Levi had written down his number as well.
"No, I hate winter," he said, tucking the paper away in his pocket before burying his hands inside as well. "I like summer better," he admitted. His sport was swimming so naturally he preferred the warm and sunny seasons to cold harsh ones any day.
"It's fine, I'd rather just get back to my warm room, and the cold makes me tired too. Plus, I don't have to get myself called a 'kid' by some snow queen."
Levi scoffed at the remark.
"Right, haven't heard that one before from all your hockey player friends," he put his skates away and hoisted the duffel bag onto his shoulder and began walking with Eren toward the exit.
"And besides, you probably are a kid, do you even go here?" he asked as he jabbed a finger into Eren's arm. Normally he wouldn't be this chatty with someone he'd just met, but Levi grinded his gears and fascinated him all at the same time so it really just couldn't be helped.
"I only have one hockey player friend and he's an asshole most of the time,"
"Yeah well, they're still all assholes to me," Levi muttered.
Eren said as he rolled his eyes and fell in sync with Levi's steps. "And I do go here, I'm a sophomore as part of an exchange student program." Once they were out of the building Eren shivered immediately as the wind began to pick up.
"I'm an engineer major, how about you?"
"Senior, fine arts," he stated simply. He figured that he was a senior what with him calling him a kid the whole time. That much was at least somewhat apparent.
They approached what he guessed to be Levi's car and he fished his keys out of his pocket.
"My apartment is that way," he pointed as he unlocked the trunk and set down his duffel bag. But first he grabbed a pen and walked back to reach for Eren's hand.
At first Eren was a bit confused when he snatched it so suddenly and started scribbling all over it. When he got his palm back there was a string of neat numbers scrawled all over it and he smiled almost stupidly. He was an idiot for being this happy.
"I'm going to text you if your asshole friends keep bugging me during practice," an obvious lie. He opened his car door and slid inside.
"I'll be seeing you around, kid," he smirked as he started his car and drove off.
"See you around, snow queen," he called after. Damn, he really couldn't wipe that stupid grin off his face. When he was sure Levi couldn't see him anymore he couldn't help but jump a bit in joy and he almost skipped (and slipped) away as he stared at the number on his hand. When he finally got to the comforts of his dorm, he brought out his cell phone and entered the number, quickly typing in a message.
I hope you didn't see me jumping in joy when you left, he keyed in, laughing a bit, not caring that he was that honest with Levi.
He was glad that he made a new friend; at least, to him they were friends. Hell, he gave him his number of course they were! His personality, though it wasn't the best, was refreshing compared to all his friends. He could talk to him as a person but he could still bicker with him without ending up in a fistfight like with Jean.
He realized he hadn't had any senior friends before, the oldest friend he had was probably a junior named Reiner. The guy was big, big enough to be a senior and he was the star player of the football team. How he came to be his friend, he didn't know.
A shiver interrupted his thoughts and he decided to make something warm. Coffee was out of the question since the caffeine would have him up all night, so he opted for a hot chocolate.
As he grabbed for a mug in his kitchenette and a chocolate packet from the cupboards, there came a small buzz from his phone on the couch and he hated himself a little bit for running a little too fast (and too clumsy) to retrieve his phone and open up the text.
Totally did. And you call me the snow queen.
Another lie he guessed as a widespread grin began to form on his face. He opened up another message as he began to type
Liar. And you are one.
He removed his coat and sat on the couch, completely forgetting about the hot chocolate on the counter.
Armin was out, probably in the library again so he had the room to himself. He thought about calling him but that was too much for him to handle, even if there was nobody around to hear him. He already felt like he was bugging him for texting him so fast; they did just meet after all. It was bad to let Levi know that he had gotten him so interested so quickly.
Sighing, Eren stared at his phone, wishing he had said yes to Levi's offer to a drink earlier.
His phone buzzed as he read the message on his screen and let out a rather loud laugh.
Snow queen my ass, this shit isn't Frozen.
It took a moment to regain his composure when another message came in.
I'm practicing a full routine tomorrow if you wanted to see some actual skills.
Actual skills? What, the performance he saw today wasn't the full thing? Jeez, this guy must've been amazing. He tried to remember what his schedule was tomorrow and he grumbled loudly as he remembered he had a morning and afternoon class.
He still couldn't help but feel a little overjoyed that Levi decided to invite him to watch him practice. He actually wanted his company there and he felt a little fuzzy that he even thought about him enough to invite him to a practice.
Reluctantly, he opened up a message and began to type.
I have a morning and afternoon class tomorrow, sorry.
He scratched his head in frustration. He wanted to go, badly. He thought about skipping class just to go watch him but that was a bad move. He didn't want to jeopardize anything I his curriculum. Surely Mikasa would scold him for missing classes anyway.
He figured if he left fifteen minutes early and ran all the way to the ice rink he'd catch him just in time before he left. He would have to go for it.
But I can drop by when you've finished, maybe treat you to something for your hard work?
He wondered what a fine arts major even did in his spare time. Eren began to wonder what Levi's daily routine was; wake up at six sharp, scribble down some poetry, stare at the sky, paint the Mona Lisa, skate, paint some more, go to sleep. Yes, he concluded that this was the life of the oh so mysterious Levi.
A minute later and his phone popped up with a message.
I see how it is, turn down my offer to treat you, only to have you pick up where I should have left off? Boy are you smooth.
He grinned reading through the message and let out a laugh before reading the rest.
But sure, kid. I get off same time as today.
A second later
Sorry, not kid. I meant to say Mr. Man.
Eren couldn't help but roll his eyes. Levi's dry humor and scarcasm rocketed through the roof and into outer space. He could only imagine him being booed out of a comedy club and then beating up everyone that had booed him.
He decided to let him know about the little coffee shop near the campus and even pointed out the amazing croissants they served there. He was met back with a rather embarrassing reply that made him blush a bit.
Croissants on a first date? Aren't you fancy. Keep this up and I'll be swooning. Gotta get to bed, night.
He typed back a simple good night after and threw his phone across the room. What the fuck was with that stupid first date comment it's not like it was a first date, it wasn't even a date. Eren decided not to let it bother him because he was gonna see him tomorrow anyway. Might as well not make anything more awkward than he was. Eren's whole life was just awkward. He was a big awkward mess who flailed his arm a bit too often.
He took a quick shower before sitting back on the couch to end the night with some video games and waited for his friend's arrival.
Armin was always a book worm and unfortunately, so was Jean. Lately they'd been hanging out and it pissed Eren off. It was like he couldn't be an asshole to Jean in front of Armin because he knew they were friends. He could tell the same went for Jean because every time the three of them hung out there was a sharp tension in the air and one could tell how hard the two were holding back from punching each other in the face.
Sure enough, Armin had returned along with Jean. Eren stuck his tongue out at him when Armin hung up his coat.
"Sorry I was gone so long, I found a really interesting book about neurons in the—"
Eren cut him off with a throaty groan, signaling his friend that he wasn't at all interested.
"Boring," he commented as he faced himself back to the monitor in front of him. He cursed aloud as his car crashed into a ditch on the screen.
"So horse face I went to go find you at practice so I could beat you up but it was canceled." Eren said eyes still on the screen. Jean scoffed and bumped shoulders with him as he sat down next to him watching the screen as well.
"Coach Shadis had surgery on his leg today; next few practices will probably be canceled too. Sorry to make you walk all the way in the cold only to find an empty ice rink, loser," he said rather smugly as if the idea of Eren trotting through the snow only to be by himself set Jean at ease.
Armin took up a spot on the other side of Eren as he watched the screen too, smiling to himself as he listened to the two bicker.
"Jokes on you cause someone was there. And he's a senior," he said proudly. Except why was he proud? It was just Levi. Eren began to bite back at his snarky comment and wished he hadn't said anything in the first place when he saw Jean's face light up with amusement.
"You mean that fruity ice skater? Wow Eren, didn't think you'd cross over to the other side," he cackled. Eren paused his game to grab a pillow and began smacking Jean in the face with it only to have Jean retaliate with a pillow of his own. Armin side as he pushed the two apart and both boys ceased to move their pillows so as not to hit Armin.
Jean made a face at Eren and waved to Armin as he announced and took his leave. Eren dropped his pillow and clicked resume on his game and began playing again, anger still bubbling within him.
"How are you friends with that jack ass?" Eren asked.
"Who's this ice skater you were talking about?"
"Don't try to change the subject," Armin laughed and went to the kitchen to get a drink.
"Yes, Jean's an ass. But this ice skater guy, who is he?" he called from the kitchen. Eren groaned and his whole body turned sharply as he tried to turn his car on the screen, matching the movements.
"Like I said, I was looking for Jean but he wasn't there and instead there was this figure skater who was really good and I ended up watching him practice," He got up himself and strolled into the kitchen to put away his mug and hot chocolate that he took out earlier. As he reached up to place the mug back, Armin pointed at his hand, a small smile gracing his lips.
"What's written on your hand?"
Eren looked to what he was pointing at and tensed up as he saw the number that was scrawled across his palm. He quickly set it down before answering.
"Levi gave it to me—"
"Levi? That's the figure skater's name?" Eren mentally kicked himself before stalking off to his bedroom, Armin's giggles left behind.
He could hear the humming from his xBox cease as Armin turned it off. The silence was now enough for him to sleep and he closed his eye and let his mind drift off to sleep.
\
The next morning he was tired since he couldn't sleep that much. The classes were painfully slow, but the thought of meeting Levi later gave him energy when the afternoon rolled in. His afternoon lecture felt like it was taking days as the time for him to leave got closer.
He might have left twenty minutes earlier instead of fifteen and he might have ran (sprinted) all the way to the ice rink. He only ran that fast because he couldn't stand the cold. At least, that's what he convinced himself.
He was panting by the time he entered the ice skating rink and saw Levi there, packing his things up.
"Hey," he greeted breath still misty because of the cold.
Levi didn't look up once when Eren ran in, his clumsy footsteps probably gave it way. It wasn't until he spoke that Levi finally looked up.
"Jeez, did you run here? You're outta breath," he commented as he pulled his bag onto his shoulder. "I'll be back in a sec, gotta change," he walked toward the locker room and Eren sat down to catch his breath.
By the time Levi had returned, his outfit made Eren look like he had just crawled out of a dumpster. Levi was pressed from head to toe, and honestly he wasn't even that surprised. Levi looked like the type of guy who was notorious for dressing nice on all occasions. He looked like a J. Crew model.
"Do we need to take my car or is it within walking distance?" he asked. It took a second for Eren to realize he was talking to him when he answered.
"We can walk, since you enjoy the cold so much," he commented as they made their way outside. A gust of wind rolled on buy and Eren nearly tensed up and turned his neck roughly in Levi's direction.
Levi had a smug look on his face as they ended up taking his car instead. Eren already knew what he was thinking. Damn kid can't handle the cold.
What was with his weird obsession of calling him a kid anyway? Was it just some stupid habit he had? Why not opt for bucko or pal? Actually, the more the thought of it the more he couldn't see Levi ever even muttering those words to a human being.
It wasn't long before they arrived at the small coffee shop. It was smacked right in between a bookstore and a school supplies store. There weren't many people in today which was the way he liked it. When Eren got out of the car he ran inside to be welcomed by the pleasant warmth. He almost smiled as he took off his coat and began to feel his fingers tingle.
The café had been at the school for years, he remembered he used to study there as a freshman before he had Armin as his roommate. He was unlucky his freshman year and got roomed with some total douche bag and rarely spent his time in his dorm.
They both ordered their food and sat in a booth. Eren watched as Levi surveyed the place before setting his chin in his palm.
Eren thought this would be a good place to bring Levi because it was never overcrowded and the menus were simple and never changed. He wouldn't place the name introvert over Levi's head, but if he had to guess, he'd say he probably liked to keep to himself for the most part.
Eventually, two chocolate croissants, a plain black coffee and a caramel latte were brought to their table. Eren smiled as he brought the warm drink to his lips and took a sip. He could feel the warmth spread through his body and felt good in this kind of weather.
"So," Levi started as he stirred some sugar and cream into his drink. "Are you actually interested in engineering or was it just the easiest thing to apply for?" he asked.
"Actually, I'm not interested in anything aside from swimming," he admitted as he fiddled with the spoon in his drink. "My dad's a doctor and my mom's an architect, they both wanted me to be one of those. So I picked engineering to piss them off," he snorted a little. He knew it was the most childish thing to do, but he didn't really appreciate the fact that his parents tried to make him choose a path for his life. Of course they're fine with it now, if anything they felt a bit guilty for putting that type of pressure on him.
"But it's not so bad. It's actually kinda cool so I'm not complaining. How about you?"
Levi chuckled at his explanation. "My parents didn't have a preference. I excelled in the arts since elementary and decided to major in it. Figure skating is just another art form to me and obviously, I excel in that as well."
How eye rolling, Eren thought. It was like he was reading a section of his autobiography.
"What do you swim?" he asked curiously.
"Usually butterfly or freestyle. But I did get gold for the 200 meter backstroke last summer," he boasted. Levi chuckled as he rolled his eyes.
"Well maybe in the summer I'll watch your competitions then, too." Eren immediately tensed up. Summer was a while away, that meant that Levi had intended on hanging out with him even in the summer? He had a stupid giddy feeling in his stomach as he thought so and had to force himself to calm down to answer him coolly.
He shrugged as he propped his elbow up on the table. "Yeah if you want, I mean, summer doesn't really sound like your kinda thing, I mean it get's got—sweltering hot and you're so opposite to that—"
"True, maybe I'll just read about it in the school paper—"
"No you should come watch live!" he blurted out. He clasped a hand over his mouth. His plan to play it off cool pretty much backfired right in his face and made him look totally lame. He peeked up to see Levi smirking down at him and Eren couldn't help but laugh a little.
"Was it that obvious that I was trying too hard?" Levi nodded as he found himself laughing too.
"Big time."
Eren was glad there was only one other person in the café because both he and Levi erupted into this sort of laughter that was almost contagious. He could even see the barista's smiling at them.
The next hour or so went on like that until their snacks were gone. They chatted and learned things about each other; Levi taught Eren some proper names of moves for ice skating and Levi being Levi already knew the names of the types of swimming in swim. If anything it was Levi talking and Eren listening to him talk about painting and skating and it was really fascinating to him. He'd never had a friend so invested in the arts and it was nice to hear someone talk about something they were so passionate about.
Levi mentioned a studio where he had all his art pieces because the pictures that he paints are on huge canvases that wouldn't fit in his apartment. Eren piped up something about wanting to visit someday and Levi promised him that he'll bring him.
Eventually, it got dark and Levi dropped him off at his dorm and drove away. Eren had too good of a day to even notice Jean in the living room and he ignored everything he spat at him and it felt nice. He changed into his pajamas and went to sleep happy.
