I have no excuses and nothing to say for myself but FCKN WHOOPS
But seriously, as long as it took for me to write this, it is the longest chapter I've ever written of anything I'm pretty sure (not 6+ months long, but semantics) and I actually really like this chapter.
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Eren took a deep, unsteady breath. Nerves floated through his stomach and he shifted uneasily from foot to foot. His hand was fisted and prepared to knock on the door in front of him, but every time he raised his hand to do just that, something stopped him from actually making contact with the wood. He had made his decision, and he was definitely going to do this - eventually. Now it was just a matter of either a) stalling long enough to gather the courage on his own or b) stalling long enough that Levi came out of the apartment and caught him.
Frankly, while the idea of knocking was terrifying, the idea of Levi leaving the apartment and finding Eren standing there, gaping like an indecisive idiot, was far worse. Eren could already imagine the derision, though he supposed that it was entirely possible that this new Levi wouldn't react that way (in which case, Eren could imagine the teasing, and that was just as bad, really). With that in mind, Eren scrunched his eyes shut and blindly brought his fist forward.
In his moments of waiting, Eren made an effort to compose himself well enough that he could at least pass for someone who actually had their shit together. People like Levi could smell fear. Probably.
Levi opens the door with a bored, vaguely annoyed, and entirely familiar expression on his face, that quickly morphs to a not-so-familiar shit-eating grin when he sees Eren. He leans against the doorjamb, radiating smugness.
"I knew you'd be back," he said immediately.
"Maybe I'm just here for payment for those Skittles you stole," Eren replied automatically, cringing internally because God, that was a stupid thing to say. But Levi just shook his head.
"Those Skittles were my due recompense," he said, deadpan. "If you plan to fight me on this, I will use my shitty teacher salary to lawyer up. No jury will rule in your favor."
"Recompense for what?" Eren demanded. Logically, he knew Levi was joking (wasn't that a thought) because the man couldn't possibly be serious, but Eren was thrown for a loop nonetheless, feeling terribly off balance.
"My broken heart, of course," Levi explained, tapping his knuckles against his chest. "I feel like I've explained this already. Poor little Levi, alone and rejected, had claim to the Skittles as payment for emotional damage."
"But you weren't rejected. I'm here to accept your offer, so you were hasty with your 'recompense,' weren't you?" A smirk found its way onto Levi's face, and it was only then that Eren realized he had actually said what he had come here to say - he had actually agreed to go on a date with Levi. The words came out far more easily than he expected them to, so much so that he hadn't even noticed until after the fact. He swallowed thickly, rubbing at the back of his neck.
"So," he said, notably less smoothly than before, "um, I guess when you're free sometime we can, you know, go on a date or whatever."
"I'm free now."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm free," Levi repeated. "Right now."
"Oh, now. Now as in right now, okay, well, um-"
"Are you free now, Eren?" Levi asked, amusement obvious in his eyes as he cut off Eren's stuttering.
"I mean, yeah. Yes. I just didn't - should I change?" Eren pointed weakly to the door of his own apartment, glancing down at the t-shirt and jeans ensemble he was wearing that had at least smelled clean when he put it on this morning. In comparison to Levi, whose clothes were simple yet impeccably neat, Eren probably looked like a complete slob.
"No, you're fine," Levi dismissed without even really checking. "It's not like we're going to do anything fancy or any weird shit like that. And you're what, eighteen? Nineteen? To be honest, I'm not expecting much."
"I'll have you know I clean up very nicely," Eren objected, scowling slightly though Levi's tone made it kind of hard for Eren to actually be offended. Maybe it was just because it was Levi, and that was such a Levi thing to say, dismissive and blunt, the old reassuringly mixed with the new.
"Sure you do, kid," Levi humored. "Do you need to get anything before we go? It's only six we can probably catch a good movie if we go now."
"Need to get my wallet," Eren said after patting his pockets down in a cursory check. "Then I'm good to go."
"And don't forget your key," Levi called to Eren as he moved the small way down the hall to his own door, which he had left slightly open before leaving to talk to Levi specifically so he didn't have to worry about unlocking it to get back in when he was literally only going a few feet away. Though joke was on Levi, Eren actually already had his key on him for once.
Once inside the apartment, Eren stopped to lean his back against the door for just a minute, collecting his thoughts. Armin, having heard Eren enter, twisted around to peer at him from the couch.
"How'd it go?" the blonde asked. "Did you actually go through with it or did you just stare at his door for-" Armin glanced to the clock "-an hour and a half?"
"I talked to him," Eren replied, a little too shocked by the course of events to muster any defensiveness at Armin's words. "I'm going on a date with him. Now."
"Now?" Armin parrotted.
"Right now."
"You work fast," Armin commended. "Get your stuff together and go. Don't want to leave the guy waiting." With that, Armin went back to his show, leaving Eren to grab his wallet off the small table next to the door.
He took a deep breath. He was going on a date with Levi. Right now. And if he was being honest, he was actually a little excited. He wasn't even nervous - he didn't have time to be nervous. Just excited. And slightly giddy, maybe.
"I want details when you get back," Armin shouted as Eren left the apartment, far louder than the small space between them required. The door clicked shut, and Eren turned to face Levi, who was straightening up from where he had been leaning against the wall between their doors.
"Jeez kid, you get lost in there or something? Where the hell was your wallet - Narnia?"
"Wonderland, actually," Eren replied with an ease that shocked him. "You know, they never really talk about what happens if you need to get back up the rabbit hole."
"Because that's definitely something I spend my time talking about."
"Doesn't everyone?" Levi snorted and rolled his eyes, leading them to the stairs. Eren could only take the silence for a moment before he started to think about all the things he specifically didn't want to think about - Levi, and who he used to be, and who he seemed to be now, and how Eren had absolutely no idea what he was doing or where this was going.
"I'm eighteen," Eren blurted, just to stop thinking. "By the way. You said I was eighteen or nineteen. I'm eighteen."
"Oh great. Barely legal. Just the way I like them." Eren couldn't tell if Levi was being serious. There was no bitterness or sincerity or humor in the shorter man's voice to indicate one way or another, and Eren shifted uncomfortably. He had known, of course, that Levi was older, but he had no idea by how much, and it hadn't occurred to him that that could possibly be a problem. With everything else going on, Levi's age was the least of the things Eren had thought to worry about, but Eren's stomach twisted uncomfortably to think that, maybe, their ages, of all things, would be the thing that stopped this (whatever "this" was) before it even started.
"I'm 29, by the way," Levi added. Eren just nodded, still keeping pace with Levi as they exited the building. He didn't say anything. Primarily because he had no idea what to say. The silence that fell between them then might have been slightly strained, but Eren couldn't tell if the tension was real or imagined. Maybe it would be best to throw in a word or two just to diffuse the situation, but Eren was awful at being subtle and he honestly couldn't care less how old Levi was. An eleven year age gap seemed like nothing in comparison to the shit from their past life, and on top of all that, Eren was pretty sure that Levi had to have been at least twenty years older than him back then. Eleven years: really not a big deal.
Eren glanced around the small parking lot, wondering which of the cars was Levi's, only for the man to approach something else entirely. Levi hoisted a helmet and weighed it thoughtfully in his hands for a moment before tossing it over to Eren, who caught it on reflex.
"I only have the one. I'll let you wear it, since I'm a complete gentleman - not because I never wear the thing anyway, no, it has nothing to do with that. I'm just a chivalrous type of guy." Eren stared blankly at the shiny visor of the helmet in his hands before looking back up to Levi who blinked for a moment before realization covered his face.
"Well shit," he said sheepishly, sticking his hands into his pockets. "Hope you don't mind motorcycles; that would complicate things somewhat." Staring at Levi's crooked, apologetic, but completely unembarrassed smile Eren was pretty sure he fell just a little bit in love.
"You drive this to work?" Eren asked, remembering that Levi apparently taught high schoolers now (and wouldn't that be an interesting class).
"Hell no. I wouldn't dare to leave this thing in a parking lot with those godless heathens." Levi's absolutely disgusted expression - nose wrinkled, lips curled, eyes horrified - shook a laugh from Eren. "I carpool with Hanji. A different godless heathen entirely, but the lesser of two evils." Eren nodded his understanding and fit the helmet over his head, snapping it securely into place.
"Oh, and by the way, I don't mind motorcycles at all."
Levi grinned in response, slinging a leg over the bike, glancing back over his shoulder to invite Eren to do the same. Fitting himself onto the bike behind Levi was honestly a little uncomfortable, mainly because Eren had never been on a motorcycle, and he had definitely never been on one with someone else, but as awkward Eren was feeling, he was still aware that the machine beneath him was powerful and fast and it would fuck him up if he didn't hold onto something. With a grudging amount of red in his cheeks and determination in his eyes, he wrapped his arms around Levi's waist because he wasn't planning on acting like some coy, shy idiot who had to be told to hold on. Levi covered Eren's hands with one of his own for just a moment before starting the bike, and then they were going.
It was anticlimactic at first - slow and boring like a normal bicycle or something - and then they got on the highway. This date was definitely a good idea. Even if the rest of the night went to hell, this was worth it. The wind was strong and brisk, and Eren wondered how Levi's eyes could handle it without the visor of the helmet. The world was a fast blur of color and the sound of Eren's unintentional laughter was stolen by the wind and the blood rushing through his ears.
The ride was over too soon for Eren's liking, and he was standing up with legs that shook ever so slightly when he put his weight on them. He pulled the helmet off of his head, shaking his hair out, and turned to see Levi staring at him.
"What?" Eren asked, slightly breathless from the thrill.
"Nothing," Levi said, shaking his head. "Just hoping that you'll agree to a third date at some point."
Eren blinked a few times, then turned his gaze down to the helmet in his hands for lack of anything better to look at. He caught sight of his reflection in the shining surface, and suddenly Levi's words made sense. Eren's eyes were bright, his face flushed, his hair mussed. He quickly put the helmet where it belonged, because yes, he understood what Levi meant, and okay wow, he didn't want to think about that at this exact moment, and his face was probably even more red now than it had been a few seconds ago.
"So, what do you want to see?" Levi asked, as if he hadn't just thoroughly embarrassed both of them. Eren pointed blindly to one of the movies that would be showing soon, startling when Levi bit his lip on a laugh.
"Okay, kid." Eren stood in confused silence for a moment before realizing that he had, in fact, chosen a kids' movie, but to his own credit, he had seen commercials and it actually looked pretty good. Eren had a healthy appreciation for animated movies, and who didn't love a good story about friendship and family and all that shit? Anyone could enjoy these movies as long as they had, you know, a soul, and it had nothing to do with Eren's immaturity, no matter what Armin said.
Levi paid for their tickets, which Eren allowed because a) Levi presented a very logical argument about him having been the one who asked Eren out on the date and b) Eren was a broke ass teenager who would definitely not hesitate to let his date pay for shit when said date was so willing and eager.
Levi faced the concessions area like a warzone.
"Okay," he began, eyes roving the area, "I'll get our drinks and popcorns. Preferences?"
"I don't need my own popcorn," Eren said, picking up on the plural. As far as he was aware, part of the whole "movie date" gimmick was sharing a tub of popcorn and cheesy hand touching and shit, and Eren wasn't saying he wanted that, but it was the done thing, wasn't it?
"Listen kid, you're cute and you're interesting, but you're still an eighteen year old boy, and I'm not letting you stick your hands in my food. I remember being eighteen, and I will never trust you enough to take that risk, understood? Now, preferences?"
Eren choked on air as a laugh startled out of him. This Levi was so different than the old one that Eren sometimes found himself surprised when things remained the same. Like OCD and casual references to Eren's masturbatory habits.
"Just popcorn and a Pepsi's fine," he eventually replied.
"Okay then," Levi nodded with a self satisfied smile, "I'll hook us up with that while you go get the candy. I don't care what you get but be sure to get a lot of it."
"Yes sir," Eren said with a joking salute - hand to the head style rather than hand to the heart.
With that they parted ways, each retrieving their various wares. They met up again at the entrance to the theater their movie was being shown in, a put upon look on Levi's face as he waited, trying to balance two bags of popcorn and two large drinks. Meanwhile Eren, hefted a bag full of candies of all varieties that probably weighed more than his head. Levi shoved half his burden into Eren's arms the moment the younger man was close enough.
Eren let Levi choose their seats, mainly because he had no idea how this was meant to work. Eren had been on about five dates in his life, and none of them had been to the movies, so all of his knowledge on how this was supposed to work came from movies. Like the popcorn thing - which frankly, he wasn't complaining about, because sweet, he got his own popcorn, and the whole "accidental hand touching" thing wasn't a huge loss. Then there was the seats thing, which basically dictated that people on dates sat at the back of the theater so they could make out or some shit. And Eren really didn't want to go there, but god forbid he break date rules or something like that.
He was probably overthinking this.
Levi seated them safely in the middle of the almost empty theater and Eren was so relieved it was honestly a little embarrassing. The next revelation came during the previews: Levi was not going to shut up at all during this movie. Already he was keeping a running commentary of everything that was going on, leaning heavily on the seat arm between them. When the actual movie began, he was polite enough to lower his voice - leaning closer so Eren could easily hear his words and contribute without straining to hear - but he wasn't polite enough to stop, and as Eren had to muffle laughter for the fifth time, he found that he couldn't care less.
Throughout the course of the picture, they (namely Levi) were shushed a grand total of eight time by a woman two rows in front of them, and twice by a man with his son behind them. The movie was as good as Eren thought it would be, with tales of friendship and the power of love and all that classic shit, and it was artfully done, and just really good, and Eren wasn't weird for thinking so.
"Are you crying?" Levi questioned disbelievingly by Eren's side as the movie drew to its close. Eren opened his mouth to vehemently deny such a dirty accusation, but Levi cut him off. "No, don't answer that, you're just going to lie. You are. You're actually crying." Levi sounded far too gleeful for Eren's liking.
"It's sad," Eren hissed in his own defense, narrowing watery eyes at his date (and some date he was being).
"It's a movie. For children." Huffing a frustrated breath, Eren picked up his mostly empty popcorn bag to throw at Levi, earning an indignant growl, which was enough the prompt Eren into throwing his empty soda cup too.
"That's disgusting, Eren!" Levi griped, sounding the most annoyed Eren had heard from him so far, amazingly similar to the way he used to be when faced with anything messy. Though in their past life Eren would be dead rather than on the receiving end of a nasty glare.
"There's popcorn all over the floor now," Levi mumbled. "You little shit." That earned them a third pointed "hush!" from the man behind them. "Oh, you hush. The movie is over now," Levi shot back to the man, twisting around in his seat and gesturing to the rolling credits. "I am covered in movie theater butter and if I want to bitch about it, I am damn well going to. Loudly."
Eren laughed at the righteously affronted look on the stranger's face, but stood and tugged on Levi's arm to pull him away before anything could escalate. As Eren pulled Levi from the theater, he muffled another laugh behind his hand and pulled an unpopped kernel from Levi's hair. The thought that he had seriously dumped popcorn over Levi was terrifying, but the horrified look on the man's face was completely worth it.
"You are foul," Levi hissed. "I was going to buy you some payback Skittles on the way out, but see if I fucking do that now."
"Levi! You were going to buy me symbolic apology Skittles? How sweet."
"Well, not now," Levi huffed. "You can take your symbolism and shove it up your ass-"
"It's only our first date; I really don't think I'm ready for that."
"-and, I'll be claiming all the candy left over from today as compensation for what a brat you are." Without further word, Levi snatched the bag containing the remaining candy, the look on his face just daring Eren to challenge his claim. Eren, in all his graciousness, let the issue lie.
Eren revelled in the ride back to the apartment building, mainly because his second time on a motorcycle was just as awesome as his first, but also because a creeping part of him wondered if he would get this chance again. He thought the night had gone pretty well. Not like, outstandingly perfect or anything, but at least pretty well. The problem was that Levi was impossible to read, and sure he was laughing and all, but maybe he was just making the best out of a bad situation or something. Eren was pretty sure it had gone okay, but he was going to enjoy this ride to the fullest, just in case.
Levi eased the bike to a stop and shut it down, taking his helmet from Eren's hands and putting it where it belonged. They walked to their floor in silence, but it was far more comfortable a quiet than the one Eren had tried to escape earlier that evening.
"So these dates usually go dinner and a movie, right?" Levi asked casually, hands shoved into his pockets.
"Yeah."
"So what would you say to ordering some pizza?"
Eren smiled. He had been enjoying himself. The banter, just getting to be close to Levi, getting to be close to this new Levi without being plagued by paranoia every second.
"I'd say where the hell are we going to eat it?"
"We have to perfectly good apartments to choose from."
"Ah, yes. Apartments inhabited by annoying roommates." Levi was quiet for a moment.
"You're not wrong." Then, after another moment: "There's always the roof."
"Well in that case-" Eren thought for a moment, "-I'd say anything goes as long as there's no pineapple on it. On further thought, I'd ask: do they deliver to the roof?"
"If I'm paying them, they fucking better."
"Cool," Eren said with a nod of his head, "race you to the roof." He was gone before Levi had a chance to ask questions.
Eren bolted the stairs much faster than necessary, considering that Levi was not at all close behind him. Honestly, Eren wasn't surprised by that alone - Levi refusing to race him up five staircases seemed reasonable. It was only when a couple of minutes had passed that Eren started to get uncomfortable. And then ten minutes flew by and he got worried. Maybe Levi was ditching him. Maybe he didn't enjoy the night as much as Eren did. Maybe he wanted to get rid of him. In that case, they could have just parted ways at their apartments, but maybe Levi was being vindictive and cruel like Eren knew he sometimes could be, in their past life.
So, confused, disheartened, Eren made his way back downstairs, and then he got mad. Levi was sitting calmly in the hallway, tapping on his phone. He looked up as Eren came closer.
"They won't deliver to the roof," he announced simply. Eren blinked.
"You asshole."
"Hey, you're the one who went running off."
"I thought you ditched me," Eren confessed grumpily. Levi nudged Eren's leg with his foot as Eren moved to pass. Eren took that as a cue to take a seat beside Levi and did so after a moment of reluctance.
"Why would I ditch you after trying so hard to get in your pants?"
Eren scoffed and rolled his eyes, but inched his seat against the wall slightly closer to Levi.
"So, we're waiting for the pizza, now?" he asked, after a moment's pause.
"Yep," Levi responded, eyes flicking from his phone to Eren, and then back. "Now we wait."
Eren took a second, eyes scanning over Levi's profile, sharp features lit from the bright light of his screen. Eren settled back against the wall. He was fine with waiting.
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Endings are weird
At some point I said Levi was 25 I LIED. That seemed too young for a teacher. He's 29 now. Still young, but older. Apparently I have a thing for 11 year age gaps, I think it was the same in Risk
This story will be finished. Eventually. I remember when I started my first story and I was posting two chapters a day sometimes, hah. College is hard, guys. See you again in 6+ months. (Yes, it may take that long, be prepared, but you will see me again.)