February 15th

As college students on a tight budget, Eren and Levi truly knew the meaning of how to stretch a dollar. With student loans, food and necessities, and the cost of living in a one-bedroom apartment, part-time jobs didn't always cut it. Luxuries were scarce, virtually non-existent, and commercial holidays were completely off of their radar. With so many other things on their mind, finding a way to celebrate Valentine's Day was the least of their worries. February 15th, however, was an entirely different story.

It's not that either of them weren't romantic; actually, that couldn't have been further from the truth. From the moment that Eren and Levi had started dating in their senior year of high school, they've always had a habit of a trying to outdo one another with the presentation of small gifts, building up in meaning, not worth. To Eren, a kiss from Levi was far more valuable than any box of brand name, gross-tasting chocolates. Much the same for Levi, a deep shoulder massage after a long shift at the coffeehouse made more of an impression on him than any stupid bouquet of over-priced roses. He didn't even like the smell of flowers, honestly.

Laying down the law in the very beginning of their relationship, they made a joint pact that for however long they were going to be together, they would never, ever, ever partake in something as asinine as the "day for lovers". No, they would just wait until the 15th.

And why not? Everything was so much better the day after. Like spaghetti, for example. Okay, maybe not like that. Still, restaurants actually had open seating, candies and goods were marked down by a crazy pricing margin, and somehow, rebelling against the workings of society and the expectations placed on couples made the day so much more special to them.

Although, that didn't stop Eren from mockingly acknowledging the one day out of the year that neither of them could possibly stand.

"Happy Valentine's Day," he whispered teasingly, greeting Levi as he walked through the door of their apartment. "How was your class?"

"Ew, shut up," Levi scoffed. He sluggishly shrugged off his coat and gave Eren a gentle shove. Having just sat through a two-hour lecture about the shift in behavioral attitudes of human beings on Valentine's Day for his sociology class, he was in no mood to hear anything else about the big "V" word. "It sucked."

Pouting playfully, Eren offered to take his jacket from him. No explanation necessary, he could tell that whatever Levi's lecture had been about, judging from the way he looked so done with the world, it probably had something to do with the current date. "Sorry to hear that. Hey, do you have work tonight?"

Levi sighed heavily and kicked off his shoes. He was so tired of wearing them. "Yeah, I've got to cover for someone tonight. She's covering for me tomorrow, so it's the right thing to do. What about you? Don't you have to babysit for the Bossard's again?"

"Ugh, yeah," Eren groaned. It was disgusting for him to know that while he would be taking care of two, snot-nosed brats (funny, because sometimes Levi called him the same thing), their parents would be getting it on in some rinky-dink love hotel. Just the thought of it made him want to throw up. "I'll probably be home late, too."

"That's to be expected, right?" Levi smirked, laughing lowly over what he was about to say next. "It's weird how everyone has plans for tonight. I wonder what makes today so special."

Snickering at Levi's act of oblivion, the way in which he completed disregarded the purpose of the day as a whole, Eren shrugged his shoulders and played right along with him. "Yeah, me, too."

For the rest of the afternoon, as well as far past the evening and into the night, Eren and Levi barely had any time to call to themselves. Catering to coffee-loving lovebirds and dealing with awful children that had a fascination with throwing things at his head, it wasn't exactly the ideal way to spend the late hours of the day, but to the both of them, it didn't really matter. Valentine's Day held no meaning and they wouldn't treat it with such. Just another day, that's all it was. What was really important, however, was the day to come. And luckily, this year, the 15th came on a Saturday.

Waking up late was like a gift from the gods for the two students, and it was one of those sparing privileges that they took up with utmost gratitude. Lazing around for a good part of the day, just rolling over and cuddling in bed, it served to be the perfect start to their makeshift holiday.

When he was conscious enough to do so, Eren grabbed a hold of Levi's waist and pulled him closer up against the shape of his form. In an eager attempt of romance, he began to sprinkle short kisses all along the natural curve of his boyfriend's very defined facial structure. He wanted him to wake up to something sweet on their anti-Valentine's Day. "Hey, you," Eren murmured lowly, watching as Levi's eyes began to flutter open at the touch. "Happy 15th."

Exhaling peacefully through his nose, Levi stretched his body within Eren's comforting hold. "Hey, yourself." Waking up in the way that he deserved made him feel like a king, but he wouldn't allow Eren take control of the entire day. That wasn't how things worked with them. Unlike some relationships, they were all about the give-and-take route of things. Give a little, get a little; that was their motto.

Eren placed one last peck to the center of Levi's forehead, before he, too, exhaled softly. "Are you excited for today?"

The feeling of excitement was a major understatement. Levi and Eren never did any proper planning for their dates or anything of the like, so never really having a sense of what the day ahead held for the both of them was enough to make anyone anxious.

"Of course," Levi hummed, poking Eren in the chest as he did so. "Are you?"

"Um, yeah? Is that even a question?"

Chuckling softly at his dramatic response, Levi stretched one more time before he attempted to sit himself up. Eren, on the other hand, decided to keep him grounded. He clung closer to his boyfriend and whimpered against his neck, obviously unwilling to let him go. "No, net yet. Let's cuddle for a little longer."

"Eren, I'd love to," Levi began to wiggle, "but I'm about to piss my pants. Come on, let's get dressed and go out and do something. We can cuddle more later tonight."

As much as Eren hated the sound of having to wait that long, he didn't dare complain. Unlike most, he and Levi would be spending the entire day together. Well, what was left of it, that is. Just one look at his alarm clock showed him that it was already 2:34 in the afternoon.

After Eren finally allowed Levi to leave the bed and relieve himself, the two slowly went about getting ready for their day. Dressing to their best and styling their hair in different ways than was normal, the effort that was put forth to make themselves look good for one another really showed.

Figuring they'd start their date by hitting the town that surrounded their college campus, just as Levi was getting ready and pulling on his coat, he made a show of checking his boyfriend out. His outfit of choice for the day was the most fashionable thing he'd seen him wear all week, and he loved it. It was such an improvement from sweatshirts and sweatpants that he just had to comment on it. "Who are you trying to impress by wearing that, hm?" he wondered, slipping into his shoes.

Eren had also been putting on shoes, when Levi spoke to him like that. Arching a brow and fitting his hand into his hip, he scoffed and flicked his head to the side, giving him the appearance of the cutest narcissist Levi had ever seen. "Pffft, not you."

Sighing regretfully, Levi slid his way past his boyfriend and headed out of the apartment before him. "Too bad," he exhaled again, finding it much too fun to drop the act just yet. "It was certainly doing the trick."

Window shopping on the 15th was always a marvelous sight. Sales, there were sales for as far as the eye could see. With the weak wallets of two weary college students, fifty-percent off signs were a Heavenly thing.

One of the hottest items that always got marked down the day after Valentine's Day was candy. Not one for sweets himself, Levi usually bought all of the cheap chocolate they could find for Eren. Making sure to purchase the ones that he liked - Eren was quite picky about his taste in chocolate - they always ended up keeping a stockpile of the stuff in one of their closets. It wasn't like chocolate expired that quickly anyway.

When Levi and Eren had finished their shopping about an hour or so later, carrying bags filled to the brim with chocolate hearts and sweet tarts, they decided to drop by a nearby McDonald's for a quick bite to eat. They were romantic, yes, but they weren't fancy. Going to a five-star restaurant just wasn't in their style.

After their fatty meal had left them feeling satisfied, it was by Levi's suggestion that they ended up catching a quick, matinee showing of a movie before the tickets got bumped up to nine dollars per person. The film had been some drama about a woman who suffered from severe memory loss after getting hit by a car in a head-on collision, and she was unable to remember who she was and that she was married with children. In the end, she regained her memories, and of course, Eren didn't pass up the opportunity to fit in his own commentary about the production. Overall, the movie had been a bit too cliche for their standards, but Eren and Levi still enjoyed the romance behind a theatre experience nonetheless. It definitely set the mood nicely for what was to come next.

They'd done their shopping and had their meal, and now that they'd seen a movie, heading back to their apartment was the only step left to their date, and it was the step that was very much looked forward to. Not even halfway through the door before they were poking and prodding at each other, all bags and winter apparel aside, they raced their way over to the sofa. It was silly, yes, but that didn't stop them from tackling each other over the side of their couch in a frenzy to get a hold of one another. Not surprisingly, Levi was the first to say, "I freaking love the 15th."

And already getting ready to take things to that next level that they were craving for, Eren couldn't have agreed more. Screw Valentine's Day and all of its expensive crap. Who needed it, when you had something as lovely as February 15th?

"Yeah. Me, too."

Hi there! Chappy here! :D

Happy February 15th! It's the day that I find to be so much better than Valentine's Day. Everything is so cheap, and places aren't so over-crowded. *A*

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this little drabble! I really gotta start getting back into writing these more frequently. They're a lot of fun. (:

As always, thank you for taking the time to read!

- Chappy