A/N: For ereri-writing-prompts . tumblr . com August dialogue prompt. (Put in all three prompts because I'm extra like that. I just forgone the angst part.)
This was actually supposed to be like... 1k, 1.5k at most yet here we are, 7.6k later... Whoops?
Levi loved morning shift. He's always been a morning person – if suffering from insomnia counts as that – so he didn't mind getting up early. He liked that he could go in before opening time and clean the little coffee shop up to his own standards and not have to suffer other people half-assing it. Then he could finish early in the afternoon, go home, and have the rest of the day for himself, actually having the time to do whatever he needed to do, as opposed to the poor bastards who had to deal with the mid and afternoon shifts.
Morning shift also meant being the only one working the first two hours and Levi welcomed the quiet. No Hanji to talk his ear off, no Armin awkwardly trying to make conversation, no fucking Sasha trying to steal food when she thought no one was looking. Honestly, it was a wonder she hasn't been fired yet. It was true she didn't do this often, however, only when she was extremely hungry; plus the fact she was a natural at customer service and that her coffee was the goddamn best coffee Levi had ever tasted spoke heavily in her favour.
As Levi saw it, he had every reason to want and fight for the morning shift but luckily for him, none of his co-workers shared the sentiment. Everybody was more than happy to leave the mornings to Levi, none of them exactly willing to have to get up at the ass-crack of dawn just for the benefit of leaving a few hours earlier. And so Levi had no competition for his favourite shift.
Which Levi was grateful for because there was one more thing that made him look forward to his mornings at work and that Levi wasn't willing to give up. Or admit to anyone.
And that very thing was now entering the coffee shop, exactly 5 minutes after Levi opened, like he did every single day that Levi worked. He was a tall kid, a good head taller than Levi, with long, brown hair he usually wore pulled back into a bun. A bun that was so ridiculously messy that it had Levi itching to fix for him as soon as he saw him because god this kid's hair was just sticking out everywhere and half of it was even falling out; was he doing this on purpose just to annoy Levi?
Not to mention that hair looked so soft and nice Levi just wanted to run his hand through it so badly-
Levi stopped his train of thought abruptly, forcing himself to tear his eyes away from his stupidly attractive regular as the boy closed the door to the coffee shop behind himself and headed towards the counter. Levi only looked back up when the kid stopped in front of him, to be met with a loopy, tired smile and Levi couldn't help but notice the dark circles under his eyes. They looked worse than his own did.
Not even bothering to greet his regular, he levelled him with a judgmental stare before he stated flatly, "You look like shit."
Eren didn't miss a beat, his tired smile turning into a cheeky grin. "Well, I was up working all night but if this is how you look every morning," he paused, making a show of running his gaze up and down Levi's upper body, "then I'd gladly sleep at your place. Your bed have room for two?"
Levi's expression didn't change at all as he continued to stare at the other blankly, watched the kid's grin slowly turn into a small pout.
"You can look as stone faced as you want but I know my pick up lines are working," he huffed defiantly.
Levi smirked, finally starting to work on the unvoiced order. He didn't have to ask, the kid ordered the same exact thing every morning. An iced cafe latte with an extra shot of espresso. Putting the grounded coffee beans into the coffee machine and turning it on, he glanced back at his still pouting customer, finally giving a reply, "Sure, kid, whatever helps you sleep at night."
"Mean. I like it."
The grin was back now, and Levi could only roll his eyes as he reached over for the large clear cup and his pen. Not bothering to react to Eren's remark, he instead asked, "Name?"
"Eren," the kid replied with a dazzling smile as if this was the first time Levi had asked that question. But Levi asked every morning. He knew his name was Eren. However, Eren still grinned like this every time so Levi just kept on asking, willingly letting that smile blind him momentarily while he worked on Eren's coffee by memory.
"Here," Levi said finally, handing Eren his finished drink.
As Eren reached out to take it from his hand, their fingers gently brushed against each other. Before Levi could give any sarcastic remark about how much Eren failed at being subtle, Eren spoke up, "Wow, hot."
"It's iced, Eren," Levi answered flatly.
"I wasn't talking about the coffee," Eren murmured quietly with a wink before he took his coffee from Levi and brought it to his mouth, sticking his tongue out a little bit before his lips closed around the straw.
Levi refused to admit the sight made something stir in his stomach. So instead he just rolled his eyes and turned around, grabbing a little paper box that stood next to the pastry case before he reached inside to grab two of the many muffins. A raspberry-white chocolate and a blueberry.
Eren blinked a few times, taken aback when Levi handed the small box over. "I didn't ask for any muffins. And I already paid."
Levi clicked his tongue impatiently, putting the box on the counter right in front of Eren. "You haven't had breakfast yet, have you? We're going to throw them out later anyway."
A smile slowly pulled on Eren's lips before a chuckle escaped him, "Levi, you literally opened ten minutes ago."
Levi scowled, glaring at the cheeky kid in front of him, all the while fighting back the heat he felt slowly creeping up to his cheeks. He would not blush. Especially not because of something like this. "You don't say," he bit out sarcastically before he heaved a sigh and gestured towards the glass case that was full of pastries. "It's fine. We never sell all of this shit anyway." A lie. They almost always sold everything out but Eren didn't have to know that.
Something told Levi the kid knew anyway. It was probably the gentle, knowing smile that played on his lips as he gingerly ran a hand over the top of the box like it was something precious. "Thank you, Levi," he said, voice quiet and soft, his equally as soft smile widening when he looked back up at Levi with those big, expressive eyes. "Blueberry is my favourite."
Levi almost automatically replied with, "I know," but he stopped himself last second. How weird would it be that he remembered something as insignificant as Eren's goddamned favourite muffin flavour? So instead he waved him off, trying to sound as casually dismissive as he could. "Go on now; go home and actually fucking sleep for once instead of overdosing on caffeine."
"Ah, you're right," Eren nodded in agreement but didn't make a move to leave. Instead, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the counter as he looked up at Levi through his eyelashes. He was probably trying to look flirty and seductive but to Levi he looked more like a little puppy than anything. Adorable, his mind supplied but Levi ignored the thought. "I could use something warm to cuddle while I sleep. When do you get off?" Eren paused, his lips stretching into a smirk before he continued, "Or when do you want to get off?"
A beat of silence passed.
"Get the hell out."
Eren burst into giggles at Levi's monotone, yet mildly annoyed response, gathering the muffin box and his coffee, finally heading for the door. Before he left, he flashed Levi one last wide grin, calling after the barista cheekily, "One of these days, I will get you to go out with me, mark my words."
"Bye, Eren," Levi stressed, making Eren laugh once more.
"See you around, Levi." And he was gone.
Sleep deprived little shit, Levi thought to himself, shaking his head. He didn't bother to fight the small smile that found its way to his lips.
By the time his shift was over, Levi couldn't wait to get home and finally relax. Contrary to how things seemed that morning, the coffee shop got ridiculously busy come ten in the morning, the summer heat forcing people to take refuge in the air conditioned shops. And if the shop happened to serve drinks? Even better. Which for the poor people working meant they barely had the time to breathe.
Levi let go of a large sigh when he resolutely shut the entrance door shut behind him on his way out. Standing on the street in the heat, nursing his own ice cold, lemon infused green tea, he thought he couldn't blame anyone for wanting to hide. He's been out for all of thirty seconds and he was already drenched in sweat. Still, he was glad to be done with work for the day.
Not to mention it was Friday, his last day at work before his sweet, sweet vacation. Two full weeks of freedom. He could go home and lazy around to his heart's content, with no reason to bother with either the heat or the people with shit for brains. (No, he could not "just not add the caffeine to their special house blend" to make it decaf. Yes, there was indeed milk in a milkshake. No, he didn't want to meet anyone's daughter.)
However, before he could even decide how he would enjoy this fine evening, it was decided for him when his phone rang, the stupid selfie his best friend set as her contacts picture mocking him from the screen, telling him that any plans he might have had were already ruined.
It was only with resigned annoyance that Levi swiped to accept the call. Even before he brought the phone to his ear, he could hear the wailing from the other end and any annoyance he had felt was immediately replaced with concern. "Hanji?" he asked carefully, not sure how exactly to react yet.
His only answer was a broken whimper of his name.
"Hanji," he tried again, trying to make his voice sound soothing. "What happened?"
"My," she sobbed before taking a deep, shaky breath. "My babies! They're gone!"
Levi frowned, wondering exactly which babies she was talking about. It could be the mice she was keeping and feeding to her snake. It could be the spiders living in the corner of her balcony. It could be the actual, human children. Or...
He stopped in his tracks when it downed on him. "Hanji, are you telling me," he started slowly, voice dangerously low. "That there is an entire ant colony on the lose somewhere in your house, possibly the entire street?"
"What if something happens to them?!" Hanji cried, obviously uncaring that some poor fucker in her area was probably currently screaming over a sudden invasion of ants.
Levi rubbed at his forehead flinching when the drink he was holding bumped to his cheek. "So what do you want me to do about it?" he asked, silently praying she wasn't going to ask him to go on a wild ant hunt.
"I'm sad Levi!" she screeched, making Levi flinch and pull his phone away from his ear before she continued in a quieter, more dejected tone, "I need a drink."
"Fine," Levi said, heaving a deep sigh. He didn't see what the big deal over losing a bunch of insects was but Hanji was obviously upset and he was too weak to let her wallow in it by herself. "Usual place at," he paused for a second, thinking, before he stated firmly, "At seven. Don't think about it too much until then, Four eyes."
He heard her hum noncommittally in response, obviously still not any calmer than she was before. So Levi talked nonsense to her until he got home and continued talking to her even after she finally started chuckling at his terrible jokes and began telling him about her own day, while Levi listened and snacked on his favourite raspberry-white chocolate muffin.
It was ten minutes before seven when Levi arrived at their usual meeting place. Throwing a passing glance at the ugly, neon sign hanging over the entrance to Maria's, Levi thought, not for the first time, that nobody who didn't already know would ever be able tell this was the best damn bar in the entire city. If it wasn't owned by Levi's other best friend Erwin, Levi himself would never have even thought to set foot inside the cringy looking place. But as it was, he knew the bar was actually very classy and clean, with a quiet, cosy atmosphere and professional, carefully picked out staff who served the best drinks Levi's had ever tasted.
Of course, the fact Levi and Hanji had the benefit of a family and friends discount didn't hurt either.
Waving a greeting to Erd, the bouncer for the evening, he walked in and looked around briefly. For a Friday evening, there weren't many people yet but Levi was sure it would get uncomfortably crowded later.
Tearing his disgusted gaze away from the young couple passionately making out in the corner – not for long as Nanaba was already heading in their direction with an annoyed look on her face – he wasn't surprised to notice Hanji already sitting at their usual spot at the bar, nursing a bright blue cocktail, and looking lonely and sad even while she quietly talked with Petra. The short ginger haired woman was one of the bartenders and a close friend of theirs. It was also no secret she hated any and all insects with a passion.
Levi heaved a sigh when he noticed the poor girl's disturbed expression. Clearly, she was just as happy about the prospect of an ant colony on the lose as Levi was and judging by Hanji's pout, she was probably not as sympathetic to Hanji's loss as the maniac thought everyone should be either.
"I take it the shitty insect invasion is still at large," Levi said as he slid into the chair next to Hanji.
Petra shot him a grateful look before smiling warmly. "Hi, Levi. And welcome to Maria's. How are you today?"
"Hey, Petra," Levi replied, rolling his eyes at the semi-professional greeting. "I'm worried I'm gonna end up on a mad insect chase before the fucking night ends but other than that, I'm fine."
Hanji let out some barely coherent sounds of protest, from which Levi understood only, "my babies" and "not dangerous." The woman obviously knew very well where Levi stood on the issue of pest infestation in anyone's house.
Petra only gave Levi a sympathetic look. "So what would you like to drink?" she asked instead of adding oil to the flame by joining Levi's side.
"A Negroni. Bitter, strong, and sexy, just like he is."
Forgetting her sulking, Hanji snorted and immediately choked on her drink while Levi only groaned at the new voice that came from the other side of the bar, scowling at the owner. He didn't even bother to grace that with a reply.
Petra, on the other hand, jumped with a little squeak, not expecting one of her co-workers to appear out of nowhere like that. She spun around, glaring at the newcomer with her hands on her hips. "Do not sneak up on me like that, Eren Jaeger," she scolded, sounding distinctly like Levi's mother. "What if I was holding a Dom Perignon or something?"
Eren laughed sheepishly, "Sorry, Petra; I'll make sure to make more noise next time."
"You'd better," Petra huffed, shaking her head before she excused herself to attend to her other customers and left Levi and Hanji in Eren's care.
The boy gave them a bright smile. "Hello, and welcome to Maria's. I'm Eren, I just clocked in, and I'll be taking over from Petra as your bartender for the evening."
"Joy," Levi muttered, earning himself a pout from Eren and a reprimanding slap on the shoulder from Hanji.
Eren shook his remark off a second later, that wide, happy smile finding its way back on his lips. "So will that be the usual bitter Negroni for the charming man, or may I offer a Screaming Orgasm instead?"
Levi gave him a deadpan look but his intense stare was only met with a cheeky wink. All the while accompanied by Hanji's laughter.
"Anyway, Eren," Hanji started, making the eyes turn to her instead. "How are you? It's been a while since I've seen you," she asked as she sipped on her drink.
Eren smiled again then as he went to work on Levi's drink. "I'm great, Hanji, thank you. I'm off for a bit starting tomorrow so I'm looking forward to that."
"Oh, is that why you're here earlier than usual then?" Hanji continued, leaning her elbows on the counter and Eren nodded.
"Exactly. How about you? I heard something about some missing pets?" Eren was fully focused on arranging the small piece of orange in Levi's Negroni as he returned Hanji's question, before proudly presenting the finished drink to Levi.
Levi only nodded in thanks, accepting the cocktail without a word as an overdramatic sniff came from Hanji.
"My ants got out of their tank," she said, dejected, draining the rest of her glass and pushing it towards Eren.
Eren gave her a sympathetic look. "How did that happen?" he inquired as he picked the glass up. "Another Blue Hawaiian?" Levi personally thought Hanji shouldn't be drinking too much in the state she was in, but it was Eren's job, after all. He'd just have to watch her and cut her off as soon as she started musing about the effects of weed on fucking ladybugs or something like it again.
"A Tequila Sunset, please. And I don't know! I woke up this morning only to realize they opened the tank and ran off somewhere!"
Eren paused in what he was doing to stare at Hanji blankly while Levi nearly choked on his drink. Putting the glass on the counter in a calm manner belying his shock, the man turned to look at his best friend. "They fucking what?"
Hanji looked at Levi then, tears in her eyes and lip trembling when she answered, "They opened the tank, Levi."
"Care to explain just how a bunch of fucking ants managed to open that giant thing?" Levi sighed, rubbing at his eyes. He wasn't entirely sure he even wanted to know.
Hanji huffed at his disbelief, then went to dig out her phone to show Levi the photos she took of the tragedy that struck her household, and Levi's eyes reluctantly fell to the screen she was shoving in his face. The lid of the tank Hanji kept her "pets" in was slightly ajar and it was still swarming with a bunch of ants in the photo, a sight that made Levi's skin crawl. He had to suppress a shiver.
Shoving Hanji's hand away so he didn't have to look at the things any longer than he had to, Levi shook his head. "You sure you didn't just leave it open yesterday?"
An offended sound came from Hanji at his continued scepticism. She glared in Levi's direction and turned her phone to show the photo to Eren as well. "Do not underestimate my babies, old man. They are mine and they're smarter than you," she stated firmly.
Levi was spared from defending himself from having his intelligence compared to ants of all things when Eren took the phone from Hanji's to take a closer look. Then, with a completely neutral face, his eyes glued to the screen, he whispered in a grave voice, "This is so sad. Alexa, play Despacito."
A beat of silence passed between the three of them before Levi groaned, "Oh my fucking god, shut up."
With the spell broken, Eren burst out laughing, apologizing to Hanji who snatched her phone back with the largest pout imaginable on her face.
"You're terrible, the both of you," she complained in a hurt voice even as a smile obviously tugged on her lips.
Eren had to gulp back another wave of giggles at the dirty look she gave him, clearing his throat before presenting her with her new glass, red and orange and full of ice.
Hanji only glanced at the drink warily before narrowing her eyes at Eren. "You didn't put in vodka instead of tequila or anything, did you?"
"No," Eren laughed at her suspicions, showing her the bottle Casamigos Blanco.
Hanji still didn't look convinced, however. "I just can't trust you right now. Either of you," she added, shooting a glare at Levi as well for good measure.
Levi ignored her, hiding a smirk behind his own glass.
Eren reached somewhere on his side of the bar, then a second later leaned over the counter, looking Hanji directly in the eye. "Here, an extra cherry as a peace offering."
"That won't save you, young man," she said seriously, even as she immediately grabbed the cherry and popped it into her mouth.
Eren only laughed at that, an amused sparkle in his eyes even after he left to actually do his job with the other customers. Levi could only watch him, that bright smile and sweet laugh burned into his brain and making his stomach do a few flips.
It was already past midnight when Levi decided it was time to cut Hanji off. She had weakly protested when he pulled out his phone to call Moblit to come pick her up but was unable to do anything against Levi in her highly inebriated state. Moblit picked his phone up right away, obviously waiting for someone to call him and then arrived only some twenty minutes later.
Of course, once he was there, Hanji latched on to him and refused to leave, demanding that he has at least one drink so that he "doesn't shame her name," whatever that meant. Moblit, being the weak human that he was, ended up sitting with them for a bit, Hanji promptly passing out on his shoulder.
Noticing the new addition, Eren seemingly materialized out of nowhere, asking what Moblit would like, and then looked highly offended when the man asked for a Virgin Cuba Libre.
"But that's just coke with a slice of lime; get at least a Virgin Frozen Margarita or something!" he whined, making Levi roll his eyes and Moblit chuckle awkwardly.
"Make the poor guy his coke and stop complaining for once, brat," Levi scolded him, to which Eren's eyes flashed, a sly smirk on his lips.
"Will you spank me if I don't?"
Levi only raised his brow at that. "Where do you get off, talking to customers like that?"
"Wanna find out?" he asked lightly without missing a beat. However, when his only response was a levelled stare, he clicked his tongue in disappointment. Giving up, he finally pulled up a collins glass in a marvellously defiant fashion, mixing a bit of lime juice and a coke together, garnishing the glass with a single slice of lime. Levi thought the slice looked a bit too thin, like Eren's silent protest at Moblit's too simple request.
He didn't spare Moblit a glance as he presented him with his coke, instead glaring at Levi who looked right back at him with barely suppressed amusement. "One of these days, I will get you to react."
Levi snorted at the warning, not bothering to hide his smirk. "You gotta up your game then, brat."
Eren huffed, crossing his arms on his chest, but didn't say anything to refute Levi. Instead, he glanced towards Moblit, more specifically, at the lightly snoring Hanji. Honestly, they were lucky they were such good friends with the owner or the staff would have kicked them out the second Hanji fell asleep.
Actually, had Erwin been there, he might have kicked them out all the same, best friends or not.
"So Moblit," Eren started slowly, a slight curious tilt to his voice. "How did the ants get out of the tank?"
Moblit winced at the question, scratching at his nape awkwardly while being careful not to jostle Hanji too much, before he went to explain, "Well... It's likely one of us didn't close the lid properly the last time we had checked on them." He paused, heaved a deep sigh, and continued. "That, or one of the kids was curious and messed around with it. Hanji is convinced they opened the lid themselves, though."
Levi huffed out a laugh as he nodded towards his best friend. "Yeah, she spent like two hours rambling about how amazing they were, and then crying because they were off on a dangerous adventure without her there to protect them or whatever."
Moblit chuckled at Levi's words, shaking his head a little. "Sorry about that," he said then, a fond smile on his lips when he glanced at the wild mess of hair on his shoulder.
"No, it was damn funny," Levi assured with a smirk, making Moblit laugh.
"Is there a chance they could come back?" Eren asked with concern after a moment of silence that settled between the three of them.
"Yeah, the queen is still in the nest," Moblit shrugged and drained the rest of his glass. "Unless they get into someone else's house and get drowned in insecticide, they'll be back soon."
Levi nodded, relieved to hear the news despite himself. As much as he hated pests and insect, Hanji cared and he'd hate to have a repeat of listening to her sob into the phone because of this again.
A moment later, Moblit got up, coaxing a drunk and dozy Hanji to her feet in preparation to leave. Saying goodbye to Eren, he offered Levi a ride home, which Levi politely declined. It was still only after midnight, what were a few drinks more. It wasn't like he went out like this often and he didn't get drunk easily so little to no danger of embarrassing himself.
Except the happy, excited grin that Eren gave him as soon as Moblit and Hanji were gone. That smile was ringing warning bells in Levi's head; it was exactly the kind of thing that he would embarrass himself over.
"You're not leaving?" Eren asked, and even in the dim lighting of the bar Levi could see the sparkles shining in his eyes.
Levi had to look away, couldn't keep looking at Eren like that. Couldn't let the blush come out. So he just shook his head, muttering into his glass, "No, not yet. I have nowhere to be tomorrow anyway." He was leaving on his vacation tomorrow but that wasn't until late afternoon. He could stay a few hours more... possibly until Eren was finished with his shift.
Levi hated the implications of that thought.
Eren lit up even more at those words, if that were even possible, and Levi couldn't take it anymore. "Shut up," he snapped, no real venom in his words. More embarrassment than anything.
"I didn't say anything!" Eren defended himself with a laugh, still obviously giddy over the thought of Levi staying the bar, alone, with nobody to keep him constant company except the occasional short exchange with the friends Levi had on staff. Levi could see Eren took Levi's declaration for what it really was and he hated it.
This time, he couldn't fight the slight blush down as much as he tried.
Over the course of the next three hours, Levi managed to catch up with both Nanaba and Petra, the two of them joining him for a drink and a short chat when their shift ended, asking questions about his upcoming vacation, demanding a get together when he's back so they can see all the photos. They also filled him in on what has happened since they last talked, complaining about customers and co-workers alike – namely Eren every time he was within earshot.
An obvious teasing which resulted in more than one napkin flying over the bar counter and a huffy Eren grumbling about mean people who dared to call themselves his friends.
Levi didn't remember laughing this much in a good while. He wanted to say it was the alcohol but he had to admit he had missed his friends. Lately, he had been too busy at work, plus the opposite schedules of the people with day jobs and the people working nights at the bar were making the search for a good meeting time even more complicated than usual.
When the two of them left, he swore to himself he would make damn sure to make that get together happen if it killed him. Hanji would no doubt be delighted to help coordinating everything.
By the time 2 in the morning rolled around, the bar was significantly less busy than it was hours earlier, and so Eren himself had more time to keep Levi company.
"Enjoying your cocktail?" Eren asked with a smile. He tried to sound as cheery as ever but Levi could see how obviously tired he was from the long hours he'd been working by that point.
"It's... fruity," Levi said lamely, he himself not really having the energy to give any more constructive criticism anymore. Since a while ago, he had deemed himself intoxicated enough and had only been nursing virgin cocktails that he let Eren chose for him. That basically meant a lot of different juice combinations and to be perfectly honest, with how many different drinks he'd had that evening, Levi could barely tell the difference anymore.
Eren hummed at his response, a contemplative look on his face. "Want a coffee instead? On me," he said after a moment and Levi let go of a sigh. Coffee sounded heavenly at this point.
So he nodded gratefully. "Yes please. Just don't make it Irish," Levi said with a slight smirk, to which Eren only huffed.
"I don't give alcohol to people who don't ask for it." Eren replied with a gentle smile in Levi's direction and Levi couldn't help but smile back.
The coffee Eren had made for him – with extra cream which Levi didn't request but was grateful for – lasted Levi until almost an hour later when Eren came up to him again, asking if he was leaving soon, to which he glanced at his phone, and nodded. He was already too old to pull all-nighters after all. Eren gave him an intense, determined look then and told him to wait right where he was. Levi rolled his eyes at that but still watched without moving as Eren said something to one of his co-workers and then disappeared in the back.
With Eren gone, Levi raised the coffee cup to his lips one last time to make sure he did, indeed, drink all of the shitty liquid – one that was still nowhere near as good as tea in Levi's books – and waved to the only bartender who was currently available to settle his tab. A tab that made Levi swear he would avoid this place for half a year at least, even with his discount.
All ready to leave and with nothing to do until Eren came back with whatever he told him to wait for, Levi picked up his phone to mess around with a few apps for a bit. However, before his email even loaded, he felt someone approaching him from behind. Levi's entire body tensed, all senses on high alert, waiting.
A moment later, arms appeared on either side of him, caging him against the counter with a foreign body uncomfortably close to his back. However, before Levi could bite out a venomous "get the fuck off," a whisper in a very familiar voice came from the person behind him, "Care for a drink, hot stuff? Do you have a girlfriend? Or Boyfriend?"
Levi's body immediately relaxed, all aggression leaving him only to be replaced by annoyance. "Stop fucking around, you little shit. Let me go."
Eren immediately backed off at his words, laughing a bit. "Sorry Levi, just teasing. Still my offer stands."
Without replying, Levi slid off his bar chair, giving Eren a pointed look. The boy was in his casual clothes, obviously free to leave with his shift now seemingly over.
Eren sighed, leaning down to pick up his bag from where he had left it before rudely assaulting Levi. "Fine, you're leaving. I'm leaving now too; mind if I walk you?"
"Suit yourself," Levi shrugged, then turned around and started walking out of the bar, leaving Eren to jog after him to catch up.
As soon as he was out of the door, Levi stopped in his tracks, taking a deep breath of the fresh air. It was nice. It was hot as shit during the day but the nights? So comfortably warm and Levi loved it. Loved the serene atmosphere, loved the darkness, loved the city lights.
Eren almost ran into him then, didn't see Levi standing there in his haste to catch up. But he noticed just in time, stood there frozen for a moment, and Levi was acutely aware of his stare. Could just imagine the soft expression that was adorning his face and in that moment, Levi had decided he had enough. Enough of Eren's longing stares and bad flirting, both of which present almost constantly over this long evening.
Turning to shoot Eren a quick glance, he jerked his head in the direction of the parking lot and walked off, again not waiting for Eren to move. This time he walked at a much slower pace though, and Eren was walking next to him in no time.
A quiet unusual for Eren settled over them and Levi welcomed it; felt like there were no words to be said in that moment.
But Levi knew it couldn't last forever and as soon as they entered the lot, Eren grabbed his hand and forced him to a stop. In the darkness they were in with the streetlight closest to them broken, Levi couldn't gauge Eren's expression, couldn't guess what emotions were playing in Eren's big, expressive eyes. So he waited; waited for something to happen. For Eren to make something happen.
Finally, he heard the other man take a deep breath, speaking deliberately slowly, seriously, "Levi I," he paused, weighing his next words. "I really do love you, you know."
Levi froze, taken completely off guard by the sudden confession. A minute of heavy, tense silence passed between them before a bubble of laughter burst out of Levi's chest. Why was this kid so ridiculous? He would never understand him.
Shaking his head, he glanced up at Eren, who was giving him a mildly puzzled look. "You're a little shit, you know that?" Levi huffed, amusement still apparent in his voice.
He could barely make out the slight smirk that appeared on Eren's lips as he took a step closer, lacing their fingers together, pulling on Levi's hand lightly. "I'm only your little shit though. Is that okay?"
Levi rolled his eyes at the cheeky remark and muttered a simple, "Shut up," before his hand shot up, grabbing Eren by his collar and pulling him roughly to his level.
Eren didn't wait for anything then, his free hand curling around Levi's neck and pulling him close, their lips crashing together a split second later. The kiss was desperate and sloppy, neither of them caring for any grace at this point.
Levi nipped at Eren's lower lip only to lick it carefully, deliberately slow, making Eren moan lowly. Levi took that as his cue to deepen the kiss, prying Eren's mouth open with his tongue and slipping inside. It didn't take Eren long to respond and soon their tongues were dancing together, exploring each other's mouths and trying to taste as much of the other as they could.
Levi felt almost overwhelmed in that moment. Kissing Eren like this... It was more intoxicating than all the alcohol he had had that evening. Eren was warm, almost too warm, and solid and beautiful and Levi didn't think he could ever get enough.
Still, he could at least try and prolong the moment. Letting go of both Eren's shirt and the hand that was still clutching at him like Eren's life depended on it, Levi threw his arms around Eren's shoulders, keeping the other in place, not letting him pull away.
Not that Eren showed any indication of wanting to. Quite the opposite, really. His hand in Levi's hair tightened, almost painfully so, but Levi didn't mind the sting at all. Welcomed it, even. Just as he welcomed the feeling akin to fire on his skin when Eren's other hand snaked around his waist, pulling him even closer still.
It was only the need of air that made them pull away, even if only minutely. Panting, the two of them continued hanging onto each other, unwilling to give up the feeling of the warm solid presence in their grasp.
So, instead of letting go, Eren merely rested his forehead against Levi's with a dopy smile on his face. "Does this mean I can finally take you home?" he whispered, staring Levi deep in the eyes.
At those words, Levi let go of an exasperated sigh, finally pulling away completely – or rather, shoving Eren away from him. With a click of his tongue, he narrowed his eyes at Eren. "Way to fucking ruin the moment. Can you stop shitting around? We fucking live together. We came here in the same goddamn car. If you do not take me home, you're sleeping on the couch."
A beat of silence passed between them until Eren burst out laughing. "Sorry, love. But they do say to treat your lover like you are still trying to win them over, no?"
Levi gave Eren a look at that. "I don't think they mean it quite to this level. You're just a brat."
"You love it," Eren said, a cheeky grin on his lips as he pulled Levi close again to give him a loud, sloppy kiss on the cheek.
Levi only grumbled to himself, not really having the heart to refute him as he let Eren lead him by the hand to their car. He did love it after all. But he'd rather cut his tongue out than admit it.
Levi groaned in frustrations at the sound of his phone going off with an incoming call. He blindly reached over to the bed-side table with every intention to just turn the annoying thing of, whoever it was that dared to call him this early be damned. They could just go eat shit as far as he was concerned.
However, cracking one eye open and seeing the caller ID, he cursed internally. Hanji. Of course it was Hanji. If he rejected her call, she would just call again two minutes later and wouldn't stop until he did pick up.
Resigned to his fate and putting the call on hold so it would at least stop ringing so loud, he carefully pried the hands that were securely wrapped around his waist away and got up, mindful of all the bodies present in the bed that was supposed to be used only by him and his boyfriend. As it was, it was home also to their dog and two cats and honestly, Levi sometimes wondered how he even managed to sleep in the cramped space. They really needed a bigger bed.
A small smile tugged at his lips at the sight of the dog snuggled up impossibly close to Eren, both of them dead to the world. One of the cats peered up at him with her giant, alert, bright blue eyes from under the blanket, while the other cat, still basically a kitten, was already at his feet, rubbing her head against his calf.
Tempted to take a photo of the snugglefest happening in front of him, Levi remembered he actually had a call waiting for him. So he picked the kitten demanding his attention up and walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind himself quietly.
Only when he settled on the couch in the living room, kitten purring in his lap, did he finally put the phone to his ear. "What is it so early, Hanji?"
Hanji laughed loudly on the other end, making Levi wince. "It's not that early Levi, you would have to get up soon anyway," she sang and Levi squinted at the time displayed on their TV. Indeed, it was later than he had assumed. Barely could be considered morning anymore.
"Whatever. What did you want?" he asked tiredly, having to suppress a yawn.
"Oh, just called to let you know we'll be over to pick up the fur babies in like an hour," she explained and Levi glanced down at his lap. The cat was looking at him with this almost accusing look in her eyes as if she knew Levi and Eren would be abandoning her and the other two menaces for two weeks while they dicked around on some shitty Mediterranean beach.
Ignoring the pang of guilt he felt at the sight, Levi only scratched her behind the ears to make her resume her content purring. "Thanks Hanji."
"No problem," she replied, a smile tangible in her voice. "Actually, I should be thanking you for yesterday. Thanks for going out with me."
Levi shrugged even though Hanji couldn't see him. "It was nothing. How did it turn out? Moblit said the ants should come back if nothing happens to them."
Hanji laughed and Levi knew what the answer was without her having to say it. Turned out Moblit was right and the disgusting tiny fuckers came back – or at least most of them did. Hanji said it looked like there had been some losses, however, it was nothing quite so major that the colony couldn't deal with by itself and even if Levi himself was tempted to pour an entire gallon of insecticide into their tank whenever he went to visit Hanji's house, he was relieved to hear the news, for her sake.
The call finished quick after that since they would be seeing each other in a bit and they could save their goodbyes and safe flight wishes for later anyway. Seeing as it was pretty late already, Levi saw no point in going back to sleep, so he decided to just go take a shower and start getting breakfast ready.
As soon as he entered the bedroom to get his clothes, a sleepy voice called out to him, "Levi? What are you doing up? It's like, eight."
"It's almost noon," Levi deadpanned, to which Eren only hummed, obviously uncaring.
"Whatever," the boy mumbled into his pillow, his voice muffled and barely understandable. "It's too early. Please just come back to bed."
Levi sighed, almost exasperated. "Eren, we have to leave for the airport in a few hours and Hanji will be over in a bit to get the animals. Plus, the fat pig of a cat is sleeping on my pillow," he noted
Cracking an eye open, Eren glanced to where said cat was sprawled, taking up Levi's entire pillow and half his side of the bed. Closing his eye again, Eren shrugged with one shoulder. "You can use my manly chest as a pillow. And that we have to leave in a few hours just means we have a few more hours to sleep," Eren pointed out, and Levi felt the corner of his mouth twitching.
Nonetheless, as tempting as that offer was... Levi could only narrow his eyes at his lover, then turn a pointed look at the half packed suitcase badly hidden in the corner of the room.
"I'm not packing your shit at the last minute again, Eren. We've talked about this."
A long, almost painful whine came from Eren at that and Levi knew he had won.
Grabbing his clothes, he took the few steps towards Eren's side of the bad, ruffling his long, fluffy hair before he leaned down to give him a small kiss to the temple. "I expect you to be up by the time I'm out of the shower."
Eren hummed after he heavily rolled over to his back, blinking up at Levi sleepily. Levi smiled slightly at his messy hair and the squinting eyes but before he back away to finally go to take his shower, Eren grabbed him by the elbow and pulled him gently towards himself.
And Levi let him, let Eren guide him down until he was hovering over the man who propped himself up on his elbow then, leaning up to softly press his lips against Levi's and Levi only smiled into the sweet kiss, returning it gladly.
"Good morning," Eren whispered when they pulled away, their lips still barely touching.
"Good morning," Levi returned just as quietly before giving Eren one last peck and disappearing in the bathroom.
Leaning against the bathroom door and thinking back to the boy lying in his bad, he couldn't help the feeling that this upcoming vacation would be the best two weeks of his life.
Definitely would be, if the small, black velvet box packed securely in his own suitcase had anything to say about it.
A/N: A special shout out to DatWriterWannaBe (on AO3 & tumblr) for supplying Eren with most of his pick up lines 3