48 Hours before Celeb Feast
Did Levi just say that? Of course he did. He was caught up in the moment and the little shit deserved to hear it. Was it necessary? No.
Did he mean it?
Hell to the fucking no.
He was caught up in the moment and let his anger get the best of him. Was it the right choice? No. Did he regret it? Terribly.
And it only made him feel worse because after he said that and watched Eren's reactions, he dragged the teen out into the hallway and slammed the door behind him, curled up into his bed with no remorse whatsoever.
He slept like a baby that night. After the sudden out burst of energy he slept soundly. He was exhausted, yes. His heart wanted him to crawl out of bed and pull the brat into his embrace, comfort him, and fall asleep with Eren in his arms. He wanted to do the right thing. But his brain did the opposite.
The next day when he woke up, he found Eren sprawled out in on the hallway floor. The kid looked like a mess. His hair was messy and clamped up because that was one of the places Levi grabbed to drag him out. His clothes were disarray because that was another source Levi used to haul him out his room. His face was red and puffy from crying, snot dripped from his nose and his face was stained with dried blood from his nose and upper lip from where Levi had hit him. Not to mention the red marks around his neck.
His anger fueled the attacks and he felt bad. But Levi wouldn't be the bigger person.
Instead, he carried about his days as if Eren wasn't sitting next to his room looking lifeless and limp. Honestly, the kid looked like a rotting corps. His once vivid sea colored eyes have fallen dark and dull due to the loss of sleep and crying.
Levi didn't look too hot himself.
The rings under his eyes have gotten much darker over the span of a few days. He couldn't sleep with that sickening feeling whelming in his chest and choking him at night. Knowing Eren was sitting outside his bedroom door wasting away when he could be next to him in his embrace.
But as stated before, Levi would not be the bigger person.
Because Eren was in the wrong. If he listened and just went home...
He gave Eren food occasionally. Sometimes he would eat because he was starving other times he couldn't be bothered.
But the night Levi finally said something was when he came home with groceries. When Levi put away his groceries and went upstairs to get Eren a snack before dinner, and he was gone.
He panicked on the inside but kept a cool composure. He finally calmed down when he heard the shower running in the guest room. He walked inside the room, which was about half the size of his, and set Eren's food down on the large vanity before waking over to the bathroom door and knocking. He didn't get a response so he decided to enter.
He looked around, obviously Eren had been in there for a while because steam frosted the bathroom mirror. "Eren," he mumbled.
Again no response.
This made his stomach churn. He sighed heavily to alleviate the pain in his stomach a little before sliding opened the frosted shower door to see the teen, looking frail, fragile in weak sitting the corner of the shower, allowing the hot water wash at his tainted skin.
"I called you, you know," Levi said bitterly.
"..."
"... Why are you in here?"
"Showering obviously, what does it look like?"
Levi swallowed his bitter retort. Instead he slides the door back and walks over the mirror. Running his hand over the surface to clear a spot so he could see his reflection. He looked like a corpse who's been rotting in their grave for centuries and ran over by a pick up truck. He couldn't believe he went out looking like this. He wore his sunglasses as usual but they could only hide so much. His sunglasses couldn't fix the imperfections that marked his face. Sunglasses couldn't fix the disgusting, horrid, worsening dark marks underneath his eyes which made him look triple his age. He had to take sleeping pills before he went to sleep and they wouldn't knock him out for the entire night. So he would stay up, stare at the dark void and bitch to himself. The last time he had to take pills for insomnia was after the bad news with Petra. But even then he was able to stay asleep till the next day.
Now, he would have to pop triple his usual dosage of three for better sleep and pray he'll wake up the next day.
But sometimes, after he took the dangerous amount of pills, he hoped not to wake up the next day just to not see Eren suffer. Then maybe when Eren walked in and saw him dead, the teen would just leave or set the house on fire or something and say it was an "accident". Anything so he wouldn't have to see Eren's pain.
But that'd be taking the easy way out. That would be putting more grief, guilt, and burden on Eren.
And that was the last thing he wanted to do.
So, Levi would have to man up and face his demons. Even if it killed him inside.
"Eyebrows- eh... Erwin contacted me earlier and said he wants us at The Recon Agency at two. That's in an hour so you need to hurry up."
"Why does he want us?"
"Celeb Feast is Friday, dumbass." Eren's heart skipped a beat when he heard the crack in Levi's voice. He sounded like he was holding back a lot of feelings.
"... How long have I been here?"
"Almost a week," Levi answered quickly. "Today's Wednesday and we're flying out tonight..."
"I see..." Eren mumbled. He brought his knees up to his chest and put his chin on his knees. The water ran through his tangled locks. His scalp still hurt a little from Levi's abuse. And to think he was still waiting for a sorry...
~•~
"Eren, are you okay?"
"Hm?" Eren looked up, utterly dazed and confused. Erwin was staring at him. Along with the Hanji, Aaliyah, Rico, Hanji, Levi, Pixis, Petra... His eyes adverted from Petra because he couldn't bare to look at her. So he turned his attention to the beautiful blonde man in front of him. "Yes, I'm fine. Tires is all," he half lied.
"Try to stay awake, I can't have you looking like a lost dog during the event. Now, I've just discovered that Celeb Feast is being hosted in Las Vegas. Not Los Angeles. Check in time is at 11:00 to 11:30 AM for personal registration. Then at 12, you two will head around back, get into the limo and taken around front for introductions. From there, it's all on you two. Intros will last until three. Next, you'll head back to the hotel and take a short twenty minuet break before heading down to a private studio near Grand Central Parkway. Your coach, Aaliyah and Petra will be there with you from three forty-five until ten forty-five PM. Any questions for tomorrow's schedule?"
"What hotel will we be staying at?" Levi asked.
"Downtown Grand Las Vegas. I'll go over room arrangements on the plane." Erwin explained.
"When is our flight?" Levi questioned.
"Today at one fifteen, so we should hurry this meeting along."
Pixis stood and handed a few paper to Rico. "Good luck tomorrow night. And at promos and the main night. I've made the decision to stay back and attend to duties in the Garrison Building. I also have a meeting with a few clients in Italy so I'm afraid I cannot go. Again, I wish the best of luck and I will be watching. Lets go, Rico."
~•~
Eren was astonished by the plane. Never in his life has he ever been inside a plane. Especially a plane this luxurious! Unless making a fake plane from cardboard boxes when you're 7 in your parents room counted as luxurious.
This was the first time he made a different emotion from dreary,dull, lifeless and zombified in days. He looked around the plane, his mouth ajar as he took in every square inch of the plane. Erwin said an "Excuse me," when he squeezed past Eren, he sounded as if he was laughing. He looked at Eren.
"It's about time you changed that face."
"Hm?" He said snapping from his gawking. "O-oh, huh, I never been inside a plane before..." Eren mumbled, looking down. He sounded ashamed of his answer.
Erwin sat down in his seat, nodding to himself. "You're lacking confidence, Eren, that's not like you."
"Yeah... I know..."
"Take a seat, boy. You can't stand when we take off,"
Taking the blonde man's advice, he trudged over to the leather seats across from Erwin and took a seat.
"Is something bothering you?"
"No." The teen lied. "I-Im just tired is all..."
"Is that it? Your words are one thing. They can only go so far-"
"I'm okay! Its nothing, alright?! Its nothing, don't worry about it, it doesn't concern you."
"...You're right. In no way are you incorrect about that. But if your feelings get in the way of Celeb Feast-"
"It. Doesn't. Concern you! Leave me alone!"
The plane fell silent. Eren snuggled back into the seat and seethed. Hanji, Petra, Aaliyah, and Levi all boarded the plane. Hanji, the most excited of them all. Not once did she take a break from talking about Las Vegas or plans for Celeb Feast or about performers, everything about this event she rambled on about. Occasionally she took a breath, but continued in a split second.
No matter how annoying Hanji was, Eren was happy that she continued to talk. It kept the plane upbeat and it informed him on what he'll be experiencing and some pretty interesting places he was thinking about visiting in Vegas.
In no time, he fell asleep. More than anything, something that he desperately needed was some sleep.
And when they landed, he would've stayed asleep if it wasn't for Hanji's excited outburst and Aaliyah pushing him to wake up. It was already dark when they landed and Eren felt like he work up in a foreign country. It felt strange being awake in a place you knew then waking up in a totally different atmosphere.
When they got off the plane, they were greeted by a man in a black tuxedo holding the door for the back of a large white SUV with dark tinted windows.
They all got inside. Eren more sluggish than everybody else. He notice Levi continued to sneak glances or just hold a stare but Eren refused to do the same no matter how much he wanted to. No matter how much he wanted to run up to Levi slap him, throw a few insults, then kiss him to make it all better.
It's what his heart wanted. He wanted to put a band-aid on the crack in their hearts and mend it together.
But that wasn't how it was going to happen.
Ever.
Levi said what he said and personally to Eren, it's what he meant.
His head spun a little when the driver took the car out of park and began to head out of the air port. He blinked, his eyes stinging as they headed out into a city of bright lights and extreme sights. He was enticed by the new atmosphere and trying to take in every inch of it. The city was decorated for Christmas. Not a nook or cranny was left untouched. Everywhere screamed Christmas spirit. And to think he actually forgot Christmas. Hell, he forgot it was December.
Levi, seeing Eren's curiosity to his new surroundings, found his lips trying to twitch to a smile but held it back. But he did chuckle a little. He even tried to put his hand over Eren's but quickly scratched the idea from his thoughts.
"We'll be at the hotel in less than 10 minuets so let's go over the room arrangements. We'll be sharing our rooms. Each room has two beds so I don't think there should be any arguments, right?"
Levi noticed Erwin turned and his eyes focused on him and Eren and unintentionally, he reached out and touched Eren's hand. But the teen retracted it back and turned his body so he would be facing the window.
Levi then narrows his eyes at his boss and mumbled a quick, "We got it, eyebrows. Continue."
"Hanji and I will be sharing a room. That'll be room 606 on the top floor. Then Petra and Aaliyah will accommodate room 608 across the hall and Eren and Levi will be sharing room 610. Agreed?"
Everyone agrees but no response comes from Eren and Levi who both fume, distressed and mumbled under their breaths.
"Do we all agree?" Eren said a little more stern, turning his body so he was looking from the front seat to the back, directly at Eren and Levi.
"D-do we have to share a room?" Eren asked quietly.
"It'll look peculiar if you're not staying in the same room. Paparazzi is everywhere. They all want the latest scoop and we can't afford a slip up. Plus,you don't have to sleep in the same bed."
"Alright then..."
"Since that's settled, our schedule is very tight.
When they pulled around to the hotel, there was a small crowd waiting outside for them. So it took about fifteen minuets just to make it inside and another ten minuets to find the front desk in such a huge complex, five minuets get registered at desk, about two minuets to get to the top floor and about a minuet to get inside their rooms.
Eren felt like he was going to pass out now.
Holy fuck. Were the rooms beautiful. The room was decorated Sophisticatedly and stylish, the colors contrasted perfectly with each other giving off a comforting, home life vibe that Eren really liked.
Man, only if his mom was here. She would never want to leave...
...
...
"Mom!"
How could Eren be so stupid?! He forgot his mom?! He just traveled millions of miles from an extremely overprotective woman who won't even let him tie his own shoe (not literally) into Las Vegas of all places and he forgot about his own mother.
The Carla Jaeger.
The sane woman who he treated badly...
And now he gets to roll up in a hundred-dollar bed, take a shower in a shower where who knows what celebrity or high-class person showered in!
He gets this luxury for being a complete dick to everybody while his mother, who worked hard her entire life, is still stuck in Rose Capitol in a coffee shop probably worrying for her son right now...
"What, did you shit yourself? Stop standing around and get unpacked, we're leaving in 15 minuets."
Eren turned on his heel, a sharp glare in his eyes thrown at Levi before he said, "I need to call my mom."
"I'm not stopping you. The phone is on the desk."
Eren nodded, looking around the large room to find a large desk settled in the corner with small cabinets, pens, pencils, erasers, a pencil sharpener and a black telephone not looking the least bit out-of-place.
He walked over, picking up the phone with caution and staring at the buttons for a moment before punching in the numbers to Titan Chronical. His stomach tightened and quenched as the phone rang.
One ring.
Two rings.
Three rings.
"Hello, this is Titan Chronical... Marco speaking."
"Eh? Marco?"
"Eren?" Marco said sounding slightly confused. "Where are you? We're all worried. You've been out of school for a week, he missed a lot of classes. Did you get a new phone? The caller ID is saying-"
"Look, something came up and I haven't been feeling well lately... Where's mom?"
"Um... She's in the kitchen. Do you want to talk to her?"
"Yeah..."
There was a brief pause, sounds of Marco calling for Carla came through before finally, he heard his mother's voice.
"Eren?"
He felt his heart twist and ache, finally being able to hear his mother was such a relief. But hearing how shaken and soft it was made him want to break down in tears.
"Hi mom..."
"Eren, where are you?". She sounded a little panicked.
"I... I'm sorry..."
"About what? A-are you hurt?! Who's with you?!" Her voice hiked up an octave.
"I'm sorry about everything that I've done. Everything that I said, you're right, I do regret. And no, I'm not hurt. I'm just tired is all. And I'm with Levi... And Erwin, and Hanji... Oh and P-petra... And Aaliyah..." His voice died down a little saying Petra's name. He made sure to keep it low since Levi was in the same room and he didn't want to start anything again.
"I see... Where are you exactly?"
"I'm... In a hotel... In Las Vegas..." Eren murmured the last part, barely understandable.
"What?"
"I said I'm in Las Vegas right now."
There was a silence. He didn't have to be in the sane room as his mother to know her eyes were narrowed, her eyebrows were furrowed in confusion and her thoughts were tumbling through her mind trying to piece together and decipher everything Eren just spewed.
"Las Vegas? Is that a code for something?"
"N-no. I'm actually in Las Vegas... Like, Las Vegas, Nevada. There's a casino below us in the main lobby." Eren laughed awkwardly, trying to lighten the atmosphere a little.
It helped a little, thankfully. His mother giggled but he knew she didn't believe him.
"Where have you been these past few days? I called you many times but it went straight to voice mail. Mikasa wanted to go check up on you and... Levi... But I said to leave him be for a few days but honestly, I truly am worried."
"I fell a little ill so I stayed at Levi's..." Eren lied. His voice shook a little. He slid into the black office chair and rested back, ready to continue their much-needed lengthy conversation. "But I'm feeling much better now. And we left for Las Vegas this morning because the first day of Celeb Feast is tomorrow."
"Celeb Feast? It's this week?! It's almost Christmas!"
That stung Eren for some reason. He actually forgot about Christmas and he probably wasn't going to be back home in time to celebrate with his mother. He prayed that wouldn't happen but he had to be prepared for what might come up. Only if she was here...
She would be able to see the Las Vegas decorations around the city... She would be able to celebrate the holiday's with Eren... And now that he thought about it, this was the first time he left home by himself without his mother's knowing. The only time he would be able to go anywhere out of the city would be field trips with his classes for Marine Biology or when he hung out with Armin and the others. But it was rare they ever left Rose Capitol. And now that he was away from home, it all felt strange. It felt different... And to think he always wanted to leave home.
Was this what independence felt like?
Is this what if felt like to be away from home?
Imagine if he moved away. Would he still feel like this?
It almost felt sickening.
But as he thought about it more, it almost felt too good.
"Eren? Are you still there?" Carla's voice rang through his eardrums, knocking him out of his thoughts.
"Mhm, I'm here. And hopefully I'll be home before Christmas. I promise."
"Don't make promises you can't keep. Remember that."
"Oi, brat. We're leaving now. Wrap it up." Levi called.
Eren groaned and sighed. "Hey mom, I'll try to call you back later tonight. There's a lot we need to do for tomorrow so I might be busy. If I can't call you back tonight, I'll try tomorrow night... And if not tomorrow night, I'll call you before the show because I'll need a lot of luck."
"That's fine by me. I'm just happy I got to hear your voice. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you. And I'm glad you were the bigger person and apologized first, that's how I know I raised you right."
Eren smiled at her words. How long has it been since he's last cracked a smile this big? He even felt like crying!
"Thanks... A lot... I'll talk to you soon. I love you."
"I love you too, sweetie. Goodbye, Eren."
~•~
When they arrived inside the studio, Eren, for the millionth time today was astonished by the many unforgettable attractions that is Las Vegas.
Inside the studio looked so exotic. Well, not only the studio but the many trainers and their students looked exotic as well. Some wore vivid, stunning costumes while practicing their dances, most likely preparing for a competition or maybe even Celeb Feast. While the others wore regular dance where, but they still shined. They were much better than Eren. They were better than Levi. They outshined Aaliyah.
They were trained better than the duo, that much was true. They may have even had more experience in the dance world and experimented with different techniques, music and such.
But they definitely weren't from Shiganshina. Especially with the way they trained and the way their students danced.
Once Eren, Levi, Aaliyah, and Petra checked in, they were taken to a room around back. From the outside, it looked like such a small, room you were entering. But inside, was a completely different world.
A different story completely.
Don't judge a book by its cover. Never. Because the room was about as big as two of Levi's home.
There was a chandelier handing high in the middle of the room, there were two large mirrors plastered on both walls, parallel to each other unlike Aaliyah's studio.
But Eren didn't have too much time to gawk, he was immediately put to work. Aaliyah has her stuff set up quickly. She went through a quick five minuet stretch exercise before putting on the first song and watching them go through the routine.
...
Where was their energy? Wait, no. Energy wasn't the right word. Where was their charisma? They looked like they couldn't stand to be near each other for more than two seconds.
They were still in beat with each other, Eren falling out-of-place a few steps, nothing she couldn't fix... But then again, the dance was seriously missing something.
It felt dull.
Boring.
There was no pull unlike a few days ago when it looked like they didn't want to let each other go.
But Aaliyah remained silent, watching the dance go on as it should, calling out their mistakes every so often. Once the music came to an end, she couldn't help but narrow her eyes and exhale a deep breath. She knew both males waited for her input even if they didn't say anything. But instead of giving her constructive feedback to them, she simply turned to Petra. The hazelnut haired woman was watching the dance as well through the corner of her eye as she set up her rack with the small line of clothing she created for the two.
"What did you think?" Aaliyah asked, directed at her co-partner. Petra looked at her confused for a moment before blurting out an answer.
"I-I thought it was alright. I like the music."
"Mhm... I see... I didn't ask about the music though, I asked about the routine."
"..." Petra looked at both Eren and Levi. "I think it looks really nice. Its a clean routine and you both did good."
"You're too kind," Aaliyah groaned, she stood up and walked over to the two males who now turned around. "Be honest. Give some insistent denunciation. I've already spotted the error that'll mess everything up. I just want some back up and make sure I'm not the only one who sees their mistake."
"...Well, I don't think they're good duet partners. I-I mean, uh, I mean, they dance well its just, I don't think they're right together for this dance... Maybe if we brought a female lead in and mix if up-"
"No, that won't work. We can't bring in another dancer now, it's too late."
"I mean, they work well together. Especially in the photography sessions, they produce beautiful photos... What's happening here?"
"I agree. You two are dancing like two separate dancers instead of one. When doing a duet, from the audience's perspective it's supposed to look like they're watching one dancer perform their own solo. Except, there are two dancers. You can be in sync with one another, and I must say you guys are staying in sync perfectly. But you may perform the dance flawlessly but it'll look monotone and robotic if you're not giving off the right emotion. This song is supposed to be about love, but your faces and actions are saying the opposite."
"..."
"We have charisma. We're just-" Eren tried.
"Prove it." Aaliyah challenged, crossing her arms. The teen sighed heavily and looked at Levi who stared back at him with dark, intimidating eyes. Eren's lips pursed for a second before saying, "Before we left Rose, we did a quick dance. We were going to post it so people would have something to talk about but we were going to wait for tonight to do it. It's on my phone."
The woman raised a brow. "Let me see your phone."
"I don't have it."
"Why not?"
"It's back at home... Well... On top of the bathroom counter in the guest room."
"Good fucking job, brat." Levi blurted, whipping his head around to meet Eren's eyes. "We might as well stop now because there's no way we'll be performing on Friday. Just like everything you fucked this up."
"Don't start that bullshit with me again, I'm not a fucking fuck up, you old bat!"
"I'm not dealing with Erwin's shit because you forgot your phone on the bathroom counter. You're unreliable."
"I wouldn't have forgotten my phone if you-"
"If I what?" Levi tried. His eyes narrowing and his voice.
"If you weren't such a fucking dick!"
"Will you two stop acting like that? No wonder why you have no charisma, you guys are probably constantly fighting when not in the studio."
"We're just not compatible," Eren shrugged nonchalantly, as if Levi wasn't there and they didn't just get into a small argument. "Simple as that."
"That's not what you showed me a few days ago. You two have some type of pull to one another. You guys are close. Don't let something stupid come between it."
"Pfft, whatever. I don't have time to be deal with that brat. And we never had anything with each other, like he said." Levi mumbled, he leaned against the mirror and crossed his arms.
"Look, you're going to need something to hype your names up to the top ten in about... Fifteen minuets... Do you think you can do that routine again? Plus I'd love to see what you two came up with. Maybe it'd light that flame again?"
So, reluctantly, they agreed. They went through the dance as if it was nothing, while Aaliyah angled her phone to a low point of view and to the left of the two.
They were surprised they both remembered the dance. More like they were surprised they were this close to each other. With each swift movement, every grind, each turn, their partner work was gorgeous. The way Levi lead Eren through the dance only made the younger boy crave his touch more.
Levi was alluring. No matter how much he hated to admit it. No matter how much he wanted to hit Levi and leave the studio after everything he went through. He wanted Levi.
Question is, did Levi feel the same about him? Or does he want to run back to the woman who shattered his heart years ago?
Eren didn't notice the dance was over until the music cut and Levi's hands were gone.
And once again, Levi's touch was only a ghost lingering over his skin.
Celeb Feast
Day 1: Introductions
Late last night, around 11:53, when everybody got back to the hotel from the studio and headed off to bed, Aaliyah went through her phone and wasted no time to post the quick dance online. She captioned the video with: Anybody else want to see these two show up at Celeb Feast?
And no more than six minuets later was everybody talking about it. Commenting on the video, sharing the photo, adding "ErinAndLeviAckerman", "ErinAckerman", and "LeviAckerman" hastags. There was end to the reign of fangirls online boosting them up the charts.
When Eren woke up the next day, he was surprised to see how busy his room was. Everybody was in the room. Levi paced around, half-dressed. Petra was organizing everything for Eren and Levi, Aaliyah was talking with Erwin about the video from last night, and Hanji was making sure everything remained on schedule.
Eren just sat up with a big yawn. He looked around watching everything happen. When Erwin finally noticed he was awake, he spoke up with an impressed smile.
"Good to see you're awake. I'm sure you'll be happy to read this," The blonde man walked from where he was and handed a small back envelope wrapped with a white bow on it. The front of it read Erin in large white letters.
How long was he famous? And they still didn't spell his name right...
Once he opened the letter, he skimmed over it.
Erin Ackerman, you have been invited to an all Celebrity Performance Event dated December 20th - December 22nd. This event is being hosted at Bellagio in Las Vegas Nevada. You've landed number 3 on the Top 10 Most Trending in America and number 8 Most Trending Internationally.
December 20th - Introductions: Check in is 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM. Introductions start at 12 noon and will last until 3 PM; Introductions is just a simple way to showcase all the celebrities and different entertainment who will be attending and performing at Celeb Feast.
December 21st - Promos: Check in is at 7:30 PM. Promos start at 8:00 PM. That is also when filming from inside where Celeb Feast is being hosted will begin. Advertisement for the performing celebrities will be shown that night. (Music Videos, photos, previews, small performances etc...)
Performance Time: 8:45 PM
Performing: Love Me Harder by Ariana Grande ft The Weekend
Partner(s): Levi Ackerman
Dance
December 22nd - Celeb Feast: Check in is at 6:15 PM. The event begins at 6:30. (Celebrities are allowed on the red carpet after check in; you must be inside by 6:30) All Celebrities perform tonight.
Performance time is: 9:20 PM
Performing: Undisclosed Desires by Muse
Partner(s): Levi Ackerman
Dance
We look forward to seeing you there.
~•~
Eren didn't even get the chance to call his mother before he left. One of the reasons why he was somewhat stubborn and grouchy. But on the outside, he held a huge bright, beaming smile. Vivid enough to blind the sun.
The first day of Celeb Feast had already begun. A sworn of people bring restricted by a velvet rope and security guards pushed past each other to get a few pictures of Eren and Levi. This felt strange.
Both the flashing camera flashes and being held in Levi's secure grip. Its been a while since Levi's last wrapped his arms around Eren's waist and held him close like this. And Eren was enjoying it. Being held like this was the security he always craved from another being. But Levi was only doing this to keep his job, to make sure he doesn't fuck up his career. And Eren? He was only a prop in Levi's eyes. So why did he continue to do this to himself?
Simple.
He was in love with the man. There was no denying it. It was clear as day. He couldn't resist snuggling close to his chest and glancing up at him, embracing the man's beauty. He always wanted to be close to Levi, its been a long while since he's felt this strong about anyone.
...
This was the first time he felt so strongly about someone. A middle school crush? It means nothing if they haven't stayed by your side through the long shot.
Question is if Levi felt the same way about him.
"Oi, Eren," The teen snapped from his thoughts and looked at Levi who looked back at him. "Quit daydreaming. An interviewer is headed this way."
He wasn't joking. A woman who continued to ramble on glancing around every so often was nearing the two, and once she reached, Eren's smile fell.
"Aha! Look what we've found! Mr. Levi and Erin Ackerman!"
"Uh, it's Eren... And we-we're not married..." Eren bowed his head and mumbled the words"we're not married," as if ashamed to say it. "M-my last name is Jaeger. I'm Eren Jaeger." He looked up and smiled a little.
"Erin?"
"Eren," He corrected, taking an unintentional step forward as if it'd make his voice louder and his words clearer.
"How do you spell that?"
"...E-r-e-n. Eren." He spelled it slow. "Eren Jaeger."
"Ah! I see! And now, questions for Levi! What made you chose Eren? There are plently of gorgeous women you could be with. Why him? No offence. he's good looking but why?"
The shorter male scowled when the microphone was pushed in his face follows by the camera. He let go of Eren and pushed the woman's hand away. "First of all, get that shit out my face cause I'm not a fucking animal inside a cage, and two, I chose Eren because he had the look we needed for a photoshoot back in August. Why do I want to be with him? Because he's not like any other relationship I had back in the past. Eren's... Different. He's a lovey-dovey hormonal teen who crys at sunsets,"
Levi let a chuckle slip through by mistake when he said that. He paused for a moment and glanced at Eren before he continued.
"And... I don't know... He makes me feel strange inside... Like I want to stab myself and its a lot more intense then in my past relationships. Like, back then, it would go away after a while and I would forget about it. But now, I want to fucking throw up because of this little shit always infesting my mind and there's nothing I can do about it. He always comes crawling back no matter what I do and he gets more attached. And then I get more attached. Sometimes I wish I could just push him off a building and not have to deal with these suffocating feelings. But then again, life would be dull without him. But I messed up."
"Messed up what exactly?"
"Pfft, none of your fucking business. Go to hell."
"Levi!" Eren shouted. "He's been a little moody today, I'm sorry about him." Eren smiled at the woman. He took Levi's hand in his and gave it a light squeeze, signalling him to tone it down.
"See what I mean? He's a fucking house wife and it's cute as hell."
"Please stop..." Eren groaned, his face flushed and his cheeks turned red along with the tips of his ears.
"Gosh, you guys are adorable! Ah, but I have to ask, you said he was a teen? You're twenty two... How old are you exactly?" Eren noticed the fear on her voice. Her voice wavered slightly and her facial expressions changed. The camera man pushed the camera closer to his face and demanded and answer.
Levi wanted to step in but that would only make matter worse, wouldn't it? It would look like he was getting defensive about Eren's age and it would look like he's dating a fifteen year old.
So instead, he ushered Eren to speak up.
"I-is the camera rolling?"
"Yes, we're live."
"Live?!" His head whipped towards Levi. "You were cursing! Who knows who's watching, my mom could be watching!"
"Big fucking deal, what is she gonna do? Hop into the TV and lecture me on using "appropriate words?" That's pretty fucking stupid, even for you."
Eren rolled his eyes and sighed. "I'm nineteen. I'm a college student and by next year, I'll be twenty."
"Mmm..." The woman hummed, chewing on her bottom lip. "That's true but isn't Levi's birthday coming up?"
"Yes, it is actually," The man cut in before Eren could open his mouth and fuck everything up with a question he knew was going to slip out, "You're birthday is coming up?" That was beyond predictable and it would seem strange if Eren was unaware of Levi's birthday so he refused to let that happen. "What are you getting at?"
"You're turning twenty-three."
"That pretty obvious, anything else you want to deduce Sherlock?"
"Again, I'm sorry for his mouth." Eren said.
"Oh, no, don't apologize. I don't apologize for what I say, people will take me for granite and I'm not one to deal with people's shit."
"... U-um? Well, I mean... Since you're about to turn twenty-three, wouldn't that mean you have an age gap of four years?"
Levi couldn't help his eyes rolling and showing the fact he was clearly fucking done with this interviewer and wished for a truck to come and hit her so he could laugh.
"Yeah, so? Some people have an age gap of twenty to thirty years and that didn't stop them from getting married. So why the hell should I care?"
"Are you thinking about marring him?!"
"If I do, then I do. And there ain't shit you can say or do about it. If I don't, I don't. And like I said before, there's nothing you can do about it."
"What do you have to say about this, Eren?" Again, with the microphone being shoved in his face. He felt like all eyes were on him. Like if he said the wrong thing, a bomb would go off or the world would end or some supernatural thing would happen if he said the wrong thing.
Why was this so hard? Other celebrities made it look so easy. Or that's what Christa always said about them. Well, know that he thought about it, he did believe Christa is pretty phony, so why take her word on it?
"Well... I've never really... Thought... About it.. A-and well.. I um... Um... Erm..."
"Obviously, you're making him uncomfortable." Levi chimed in bitterly. He tugged Eren to him and quickly pecked him on the lips and locked his arms around his waist. "Can we hurry this along? I'm pretty sure there are other, more interesting interviewers for us to meet."
The woman narrowed her eyes and curled her lips down.
"How old are you Eren, really?"
Eren spaced out for a moment, slightly angered by the unexpected kiss. "I'm nineteen."
"Aren't you still a minor?"
"How exactly? I'm over the age of eighteen. And it's not like we're getting married tonight."
"You're right. But Levi's twenty-three."
"I'm still twenty-two until December 25th." Levi pointed out, his voice coming out like sharp, broken glass.
"Personally, I don't think this is right-"
"Personally, I don't give a fuck," Levi growled. "Move along now, sweetheart. I want to hurry this along because I'm taking Eren to dinner after this."
~•~
"What the hell was that?"
"Clearly a dimwitted interviewer." Levi answer, pulling off his tie and walking over to the sink to wash his face of excess sweat.
"Obviously, I know that. I mean, what was with that bullshit you spewed? About marriage and taking me out to dinner and all that other crap?"
Levi rubbed soap and cold water on his face, washing away the flashing lights and gossipers. He reached over for a towel and dried his face. He then responded. "I meant it. Some of it. I'm not taking you out to dinner you little shit. The marriage thing was legit though, I mean it. And what I said about you was true too."
"... What makes you think we'll get married?"
Levi shrugged, trying to brush off Eren's harsh yet true words. "Don't know. I'm not going to beg you to forgive me. Because I hope you realize you were in the wrong too."
"Gah, whatever. Just shut up and change so we can work on our stupid dance and get this over with..."
"Don't tell me what to do, fuck face."
Once they changed, they headed out. They got to the studio in about twenty minuets. They rushed inside, checked in and headed to the same studio in the back.
Tomorrow was Promos. Meaning tomorrow they would have to perform Love Me Harder to get the audience pumped up and interested in what they're actually going to do for Celeb Feast.
Actually, to be quite honest, Eren had almost no idea how Celeb Feast -or promos more specifically worked. He read the invitation over and over trying to figure out the brief instructions and tried to figure out the block scheduling. Tomorrow, he would have to just go with the flow and acted like he knew what he was doing. It seemed to work perfectly fine since the beginning.
He felt empty inside as he zombied his way through the dance. There was no life. There's no energy. There's zero connection between the two.
Aaliyah wanted to rip her hair out watching the two dance. At first she was annoyed about the fact Eren couldn't keep up with Levi and messed up the routine. After watching them dance several times, she stood up. The music died down slowly, signalling the end of the song and dance. And within seconds, Aaliyah's voice echoed through the studio.
"Maybe we should give the dance a theme."
"A theme?" Eren asked confused.
Aaliyah nodded, dropping her voice to a deadpan tone. "Night of the living dead. Because that's all I'm getting. I've already lectured you both on this and you don't seem to want to take the advice."
Both males remained silent. Aaliyah glanced at the time on her phone and said, "I have to make a quick phone call. While I'm gone I want you two to run through Undisclosed Desires. And when I come back, I hope to see a better connection between you both."
She held her phone up to her ear as she left the room, leaving the boys in a dense silence.
Levi could tell Eren was staring at him waiting for him to the move. Hr wasn't wrong either. When he looked up, Eren's big sea colored eyes were focused on him. But when Levi didn't say a word, Eren spoke up.
"Levi,"
"What?"
"This is all messed up. I don't like where our relationship is going..."
"... What relationship exactly? The one you fucked up?"
"Look, I didn't fuck up anything, alright? It takes two to mess up a situation!"
"And it takes one to start it."
"You're so stubborn-"
"If I'm stubborn, then why the hell do you like me?!" Levi shouted. Eren took an unconscious step back when Levi launched forward. "Tell me, Eren? Why the hell would you agree to do this, besides the fact you wanted a paid tuition?"
"..." The words couldn't form. They wouldn't roll off Eren's tongue but they struggled to be heard.
Levi took a firm hold of Eren's wrist and slammed in back against the mirror, his eyes baring daggers in the teen.
Eren's eyes shook. He tried to struggle out the smaller man's grip with no success. He's seen Levi mad, but this was just terrifying. "Levi, you're hurting me." Was all Eren could say.
"Why are you doing this to me? Why are you making me feel like this?" Levi lowered his head to Eren's chest, pressing his chest to the taller male. "Tell me... Why do you like me? Why couldn't you leave me out to rot, why did you walk onto my life? Why do I deserve someone like you...?"
"... Why do I like you...?" Eren questioned slowly. He again try to free himself with no leisure. So instead of embracing the smaller being, he let his words do it for him. "I like you because you're not like everybody else. You're a cold, bitter person... But I know that's the only way you know how to express love. That's the only way you know how to express affection. And I love it like that. I'm the only person who realizes that..."
"You're a brat."
"I'm still your brat. Whether you like it or not. Even if we did end our relationship. I'll always be your brat."
"... You're a little shit... Stop it..." Levi growled. His grip only grew tighter. He heard a small grunt from Eren when he began to dig his nails into his skin.
"You're all I've ever wanted, Levi." The man's lips crashed into his. His grip loosened slightly, his body gliding along Eren's as he allowed his emotions to run freely. Too many things were running through Levi's head at once. He really hated Eren at this moment, but at the same time he wanted to the stupid shit. Everything Eren said was true. It's just Levi had no idea what to do with his emotions anymore and got rid of them in the most terrible ways.
Even if that meant hurting Eren, he would find a way to relinquish himself of the painful, heart racing, agonizing feelings.
Was this love?
Levi had no idea anymore.
Celeb Feast
Day 2: Promos
"Rise and shine, Eren!" Hanji's voice rang through his ears followed by bright light shining through the windows. He mumbled something and simply snuggled deeper underneath the covers. But of course she through back his covers and hit him with his pillows a few times until he finally sat up.
He yawned widely, stretching his body with a few snaps here and there. He looked over to Levi's bed to see it's already been made up. But there was no Levi. He looked around and didn't see him in sight.
Only Aaliyah sat in front of the mirror getting dressed. "Where's Levi?"
"Oh, he went down stairs with Erwin and Petra to get breakfast. I wanted to go but Erwin said I get to wake you up!" Hanji beamed brightly, taking a seat next to Eren.
"Errren, do you know what today is!?"
"Promos..."
"Yes!" Hanji exclaimed. She stood up as soon as she heard the door open and immediately ran towards it. "Wha'dya get? Hmm? Did they have bacon? Ohh! I smell pancakes!"
"Erwin, I seriously think it's a better idea to starve her." Levi said, setting the plate of breakfast on the counter, scowling as Hanji hovered over him. "Don't touch my food! I have no idea where you hands been!"
"But I know where yours been ~" She chimed happily.
Levi shot her a quick questioning look. "What's that supposed to mean?"
The woman smiled goofily, wrapping her arms around Levi and pulled his cheek. "I know your secret~"
"You don't know shit. And get the hell off me!" He attempted to slam his elbow back but Hanji, already knowing the man's actions, moved out the way and laughed. "Slow down there, don't hurt yourself!"
Levi scowled and rolled his eyes. Instead of retorting, he simply sat down and tried to ignore the woman.
With no success.
"Come on, Levi. Don't play dumb anymore, we all know your little game~"
"Enlighten me," Levi said coldly.
Hanji leaned forward, trying her best to choke back her laugh. "You think you could get past me? You may have everybody else fooled but I know you well. You and Eren need to make up already. Just bang."
If looks could kill, Hanji would be in hell rotting away where she belonged. She laughed harder than she should have when Levi stood up in defense.
"Hey hey hey, don't hurt me, it'll look suspicious ya know~"
"I wasn't going to hurt you, shit stain. How much do you fucking know and I swear to God if you told Erwin or a single soul I will-"
"Oh calm down, will you? I haven't told anybody... Yet."
"Don't play that shit with me." He warned. He glanced over her shoulder to see Eren had already gone in the shower and Erwin, Petra and Aaliyah were outside chatting on the balcony. When he looked back at her, he just wanted to smack that stupid fucking toothy grin off her face.
"Did Eren tell you anything?"
"Pfft, no. Its pretty obvious, you're both horn dogs after all!"
"You're a fucking pervert." Levi groaned.
"Come on, don't be mad at me, you should be mad at yourself."
"Why is that?"
"Because you upset Eren."
"How do you even know he's upset?" Levi asked, his voice wavering slightly trying to forget about their argument...
"Look at the kid. He's not like you. He's not good at concealing his emotions." Levi simply shrugged off her words and sighed heavily. He sunk down in his seat and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I don't know what to do anymore."
"I can tell..." She mumbled. She hauled herself onto the desk and kicked her feet. "Well, for starters, what happened?"
"None of your fucking business. I didn't ask for your help."
Hanji rolled her eyes. "Ok well... How about you apologize to him? Oh and buy him flowers. And chocolate! Oh! And how about a romantic dinner then come home to a sexy bubble bath? Eren would be all over you!"
"From what happened, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't want to get close to me. We can barely stomach each other."
"Didn't you guys have sex last night?"
"What?!" Levi said, louder than he expected to. "Hanji, what the fuck are you talking about? Probably some sick perverted fantasy or some shit."
"Uh, no. I don't fantasize about you and Eren doing that stuff. That's your job." Levi stood up to leave, completely done for the day whereas Hanji is concerned but she grabbed onto his wrist and pulled him back.
"Will you stop being obnoxious for ten fucking minuets?!"
"Just wait a second! Look, I'll stop okay? Just let me finish."
"No."
"Levi!"
"No."
"Anyway, what I mean by "Didn't you guys have sex last night," I mean, when Eren came back, he seemed all flustered and hot and bothered. Not to mention he disappeared in the bathroom for like forty minuets while Erwin was going over today's schedule." She spit quickly. She took in a quick breath when Levi turned around and recoiled his wrist from the woman.
"He probably had to take a shit." He deadpanned.
"Doubt it," she smiled. "He acted waaaay too casual when he returned and his ears and cheeks were still red. His breathing was also rapid."
Yup... If one person knew his sexual façade well, its was Levi. Eren was probably the cutest fucking sexual partner he's ever had. Seriously. He enjoyed every moment of making love to the brat and it's imprinted into his memory because every single moment was memorable with him. His sweet, delicious moans and mewls and lovely screams, watching his body twitch and shiver in response to Levi's skillful touch, the way his face turned red and he tried to hide his lust filled eyes behind his hands...
"Levi? You okay there, shorty?"
"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine. And don't call me that."
"Anyways, why don't you do something special for Eren? He's a sucker for romantic stuff, trust me. He's almost like a girl."
"Ha, he is a girl," Levi laughed. He actually laughed. Well, it was more of a choked out two second laugh but he actually smiled a little.
...
God this brat is going to be the end of him.
"You love him, right?"
"Fuck you. And I don't love him. He's the one head over heels for me."
"Mhm, I see a happy ending in your future."
"Yeah, and I see my foot up your ass in your future."
"Well played~" she cooed. "Now, what are you going to do for him?"
"I don't know. You tell me."
"Are you asking for me help?"
Levi shrugged. "Four eyes, do me a favor?"
"What short stuff?"
"How about you push your shitty glasses up your face and back the hell away from my food? Disgusting. You're drooling all over the fucking place, you're not a dog, have some respect for yourself."
"Can I have your waffles?"
Levi glanced at his food then at Hanji who was staring intently at the plate. He cut himself a piece of waffle, and ate it.
"Go fuck yourself," he mumbled.
~•~
"Hold still Eren, it'll only take one more second." Petra said, fixing his collar. Eren looked around, feeling somewhat uneasy.
They sat back stage. Inside the dressing rooms, it was somewhat hectic and a little bit disorganized since they were thrown off schedule by thirty minuets. Meaning they checked in late and they had about a fifteen minuet block to get dressed, rush the routine, do fitting and so on. Everything was happening so fast and Eren felt like a nervous mess.
"There you go..." Petra mumbled. She took a step back to admire her work before flashing a big smile. "You look good!"
"Thank you..."
"Eren, get over here, we have to run the routine quickly." Aaliyah called. When he tried to walk over with wobbly legs, Erwin's voice echoed through his ear drums.
"We have no time. They're on in five."
Eren looked at the blonde who was reading over the TV scheduling, scowling as he look down at the papers in disagreement. Eren then looked at Levi who stayed to himself. He stood in front of the mirror, fixing his tie around his neck and tightening it. He slid his hands through his locks, biting his lip softly.
The man truly was beautiful. Absolutely stunning in Eren's eyes.
"Oi, brat, quit staring and close your mouth. You'll catch a fly."
Eren's slightly parted lips slammed shut and he looked away, trying to hide the small blush on his face.
"Levi and... Eren...?" A person who worked backstage entered the room, looking over his clipboard quickly before looking up. "You're on now."
~•~
Commercials hadn't even ended, yet the crowd was already cheering for Eren and Levi's upcoming performance as the crew set up the black leather chaise lounge chair with red velvet pillows to accompany the seat. Their names flashed on the large display screen set above the stage and the medium-sized screens on either sides of the larger screen. The audience chanted their names as the crew ran around the stage. Eren took in a deep breath and ran his hand over his chest, finally realizing he forgot something.
"Oh, uh..." He dug into his back pocket and pulled out a sleek back silk tie. "Hey uh, L-levi-"
"Figure it out yourself, you little shit. You should've put on back inside the dressing room."
"..." He sighed heavily and grumbled, "Fine, I don't need your help..." Instead of wasting time trying to tie the forsaken piece of clothing, he let it drop to the floor and undid two buttons from his shirt. He probably wasn't going to hear the end of it, but it was better than looking like a complete fool on stage. Plus the audience had no idea he was supposed to wear a tie. They haven't been rehearsing the routine so they'll never know.
That'll be his excuse.
"Forty seconds!" Someone called from the right.
"Eren, Levi, get into positions," someone else called. He felt a small push from behind ushering him onto the dark stage.
He walked over to the seat. First Levi took a seat, sinking down into the seat and opening his legs a little. Eren stood for a moment, swallowing the thickening hesitation that built-in his throat in the remarkable span of two seconds. He eased himself onto Levi's lap, draping his arms around his neck slowly. He eased forward. Close enough so he could feel Levi's breath on his cheek.
His heart sped up. His face turned hot. The dance hadn't even started and already he was excited.
"Welcome back to our annual all celebrity event internationally known as Celeb Feast," Eren noticed from the corn or of his eye, the announcer stood in the wings of the stage, leaving only him and Levi to do what they were taught to do. "Tonight, we're giving you the sneak peaks for tomorrow's event. Ranging from different acts from singing to acting. Now, without further ado, we have two of the hottest trending celebrities about to perform a sensual dance for you tonight. All the way from Sina,"
Already the crowd (again) started to pick up their excitement. And Eren jumped a little at the unexpected screams.
"A world wide famous sex symbol, performing with everybody's favorite innocent, emerald eyed, sensational boyfriend, here's Levi Ackerman and Eren Jaeger performing Love me Harder by Ariana Grande and the Weekend!"
Wow, all those kind, flattering words were not needed in that announcer's sentence. It only made Eren more nervous and timid.
He almost fainted when the audience screamed.
He noticed the song was pitched down and slowed slightly. He looked over at Aaliyah who stood in the wing with her arms crossed, slight confusion painting his eyes.
She simply rolled her hand, signalling him to just continue and not worry about it.
So he did.
When the first set of lyrics rolled around, he bent back, the audience upside down, Levi's hand supporting his back. (Lyrics) He rolled himself back up, using his right hand to push Levi back while sliding his left off the couch, leaving his right leg still next to Levi's. Once his left foot hit the ground, he mouthed the words, "I'll take the pleasure, take it with the pain." As he eased himself forward.
Instead of locking their lips, Levi pushed Eren away, and stood up. Eren was trying to look as erotic and sexual as possible but by the look Levi was giving him, it seemed like he looked like a nervous wreck.
Levi's face gave off an irritated and annoyed vibe.
Maybe this was what Aaliyah was lecturing them about...
I know your motives and you know mine
The ones that love me, I tend to leave behind
If you know about me and choose to stay
Then take this pleasure and take it with the pain
Even though the audience was going insane, chanting and hollaring their names, he knew he was messing up. With the look on Levi's face, he knew he was doing something wrong.
So what would I do if I can't figure it out?
You got to try, try, try again
So what would I do if I can't figure it out?
I'm gonna leave, leave, leave again
Eren stumbled. He stumbled over his own two feet. Luckily, he caught himself before he fell but ended up clashing with Levi. Levi didn't fall. But Eren did. They blanked out for a second, more Eren than Levi. But to cover it up, Levi extended his hand forward and pulled Eren to his feet. Doing a quick turn with Eren in his arms, swooped him down then up then locked their lips for a split second.
Cause if you want to keep me
You gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta, got to love me harder
(Imma love ya harder)
And if you really need me
You gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta, got to love me harder
Eren stood for a second, completely fazed by the unexpected moves. It took a few moments for his brain to process what step to do next.
And if you really need me
You gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta, got to love me harder
(I'm gonna do it, do it. Imma love ya harder)
Ooo love me, love me, love me (Love you)
Ooo harder, harder, harder (Love me, love me baby)
Ooo love me, love me, love me (Just a little bit harder, harder baby)
Ooo harder, harder, harder
When Levi waltzed over to the couch, Eren did the same. He remembered he was to do the same moves as Levi now. Eren wished he didn't have to be seated on the side where Aaliyah could see him. He could feel the knives being thrown at him. He could feel the flames burning his poor body. He could just imagine Aaliyah with a voodoo doll shoving knives and needles and just abusing a poor Eren doll for just messing everything up.
He could just imagine how pissed off Aaliyah must be...
He stumbled a few more times, missed a few steps, looked like he'd just seen a ghost, but when the song finally ended and the lights faded dim, he was even more terrified than before.
When they exited off stage, the first person to confront him was of course Levi. And his words weren't kind. He remained emotionless; his voice flat and deadpanned.
"You fucking did it. You fucked everything up as usual. Now hopefully, I won't lose my fucking job and fuck up my career. Because it won't be a happy ending for you."
"Leave me alone Levi, I don't want to talk to you right now. I need to find Aaliyah."
"I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to talk to you either."
"You know what Levi, go fuck off. Go fuck yourself and leave me the hell alone. I don't have to take your bullshit. And I'm a fucking idiot for even trying to fix odds with you. You know, we ended our relationship but the fanbase has no idea yet. They still think we're both head over heels for each other. So why don't we tell them the truth huh? Tell them I'm a fuck up and tell them you're a disgusting douchebag who cares for nobody else but himself."
"Eren-"
"Don't you Eren me. Ask yourself that. Why don't we tell them we broke up? Why don't we tell them we were only fuck buddies? Nothing but a fucking one night stand-"
"You weren't a one night stand." Levi retorted.
"We might as well have been. You don't want to lose your job because of this. But I know that's not the reason why you will never tell them that and it's because you can't face your own mistakes. You won't face your own demons. You know you're wrong. You know you were wrong for being me into this and making me actually fall for you. This was a mistake. Falling for you was a mistake. If I knew this was going to happen and I was going to be the one getting hurt I would've never done it just to save my own ass."
"Eren, stop it-"
"Why? Because I'm right?!"
Levi marched forward, putting his hand over Eren's mouth and forcing him against the wall. "No because we're in public. I will not argue with you here. Paparazzi is everywhere am I will not sabotage you, Erwin, The Garrison or The Recon Agency because of a fight we can handle when we're alone."
He slowly removed his hand from his mouth and gave him a dark look.
"So quit acting like a spoiled brat, you shit."
Celeb Feast
The car ride yesterday was absolutely silent. It was awkward and the tension was real and thick. Suffocating actually.
When they got back to the hotel, Eren simply stripped himself of his clothes, washed his face and collapsed on his bed.
But when he woke up the next day, immediately no more than about five minuets after he woke up, his lecture began. And it was too damn early to listen to commander eyebrows lecture him.
"What was that last night?"
"Our routine..." He tried to lay off the sarcasm but hell he just woke up, he's irritated and had zero patience for anybody.
"Cut the sarcasm, Eren. And watch your mouth."
He closed his eyes for a second in annoyance, when Aaliyah took a seat at the foot of his bed, looking too calm for his liking.
"Last night, your performance started out strong. And then what happened? You looked like a deer in headlights out there."
"..Yeah, okay, I'm sorry..." Eren mumbled, hoping it would get the blonde man off his ass. But of course the universe hates him and that's not what happened.
"This morning, when Hanji checked social sites, The Recon Agency, as well as you got poor reviews. Critiques have criticized the Recon Agency and who we decide to sign contracts to too and so on. Also, they believe Aaliyah was responsible your actions on stage."
Eren took a quick glance at the woman.
"Aaliyah, do you have anything to say?" Erwin asked.
She remained silent for a moment. "Eren, look at me," she said. When he looked up she continued. "I'm not going to scold you like a child. That's not my place as far as I'm concerned. But I will tell you this, pull that little stunt on stage again tonight and trust me, I will make sure nobody will work with you again. It sounds harsh, I must admit. But don't jeopardize what I have to do for a living."
Was everybody this stuck up? "Oh, it's about my career," "I can't lost my job," the same things over and over and over again. It was like a broken record with these damn people and Eren was sick of it.
He was sick of the celebrity life. He was sick of being well known and having people chant his name and people always wanting pictures. With him, he was tired of having to keep up with social medial and seeing his name spelled incorrectly and under hashtags.
He was sick of this new life.
And he wanted his old one back.
"I'm only going to say this once Eren. Remember that it's not all about you. You're actions will affect others in the future as well."
Who is she? His mom? He didn't need to hear this.
So reluctantly, Eren agreed with what she had to say and within minuets their ridiculous conversation was over and he headed to the shower. Tonight was the last night before they headed home so he might as well make the best of today, right?
~•~
"Levi, you're a fucking dick,"
"And you're an infuriating brat, so shut the fuck up."
"Stop arguing for like ten minuets please? We need to get this dance done. This dance is more technical that Love Me Harder and so help me if you mess it up," Aaliyah called over the music. "This dance better be perfect."
Through rehearsals, they were sluggish. Aaliyah has seen leaves dance in the wind better than what the two were giving her now. They even had more life and energy. With these two, if felt like watching a terrible soap opera.
They acted like an old married couple. They wanted to make up with each other while at the same time were royally pissed off and refused to make amends.
But as rehearsals went by, they starting to pick up their stamina and work with each other a little better. But the rough tension between the makes were undeniable. And as Aaliyah sat on the sidelines, occasionally calling out their errors and making small mental notes on how they could improve the dance, she started listening to the lyrics and slowly but surely, an idea began to crawl on her skin. And before she knew it, a small smile twisted on her lips and she began talking.
"Eren, Levi," she walked over and shut off the music, waiting for them to turn to her to continue. "Let's take a short break. Get some water and rest. But, while you're resting, listen to Undisclosed Desires."
The room remained silent. And by the confused look on Eren's face, she decided to elaborate more.
"I just thought... Instead of simply performing the routine, how about you feel it. I noticed last night you were nervous and that's probably why you messed up so bad. I'm just going to say this now, you're not a shy person so what happened on stage was complete and utter bullshit. Don't do it again. Now, what I mean by feel the music is, sit down and just listen to the song."
Within a matter of minuets, Eren and Levi were sat against the mirror, a few inches keeping them distant. Eren sipped on his water, his heart skipping a beat as soon as the song came on.
At first, he wondered why Aaliyah had them sit back and listen to the music instead of executing the actually thing but he knew better than to go against her word. But as the lyrics began and he really started listening to it, word for word, he slowly began to realize what she was trying to do. He finally understood what she wanted to interpret into the dance. He finally fathomed why she chose this dance. Why she chose this specific song for them in particular.
This wasn't like Love Me Harder which had almost no concept further than the fact it was about sexual interactions, no.
This song went a lot deeper than that.
This song described them perfectly.
Almost too perfectly.
As if Muse sat down and studied their relationship and just wrote a song dedicated to them.
The lyrics seemed to alter between Levi's point of view and Eren's. As if telling a story from each male's perspective. The song spoke the lyrics that Levi wanted to tell Eren and vise versa.
This song was perfect.
No, flawlessly impeccable.
Eren didn't love this song before. He did now.
Eren looked over at Levi, his mouth slightly ajar only to see the man sat back with a stoic face. As if the song went through one ear and out the next without second thought...
"H-hey Levi-"
The man only stood, sighing to himself quietly. He looked over at Aaliyah and mumbled something before walking out.
~•~
Celeb Feast was like trying to catch a subway in Shinjuku. Backstage was absolutely busy. People were busing about left and right, the stage directors commanding people, celebrities roaming around trying to get ready for their spectacular performance, then there was Eren.
Walking around like a lost puppy even through he was surrounded by Erwin, Levi, Petra, Aaliyah and Petra. He still seemed lost in such a place.
He thought by yesterday he'd be used to backstage but maybe not...
They just finished taking photos on the red carpet and debuting their star-crossed lovers lie. Now they were trying to find their dressing room backstage. You'd think they'd be in the same room as yesterday but of course some international pop star who looks like a failed science fair project, (basically a poor attempt at Lana Del Rey) asked for their room in particular due to some "importance" as she calls it, the room has. Maybe every time (if she's lucky...) She attends Celeb Feast she's always designated to that room?
Or maybe its because she has so much money coming out here ass she can do whatever the fuck she wants. That's how Eren sees it.
And he's 1000 percent correct.
~•~
Eren tugged at his long tie that sat a little too snuggly around his neck. They stood in the wings of the stage, this time on the opposite end. Hanji said they would be exiting the stage the way they entered it last night. Which again made no fucking sense in Eren's head but yet again knew it was best no to question it.
"You guys are gonna do great!" Hanji beamed.
"Mhm. No mess ups. And I right, Eren?" The teen could feel the words firing into his skull from the short woman behind him.
"That's right..." He mumbled.
Eren noticed the seat used from last night's performance was rolled back into the middle of the stage. The difference was this couch looked like a high school senior girl with entirely too much social life her hands. The couch was completely contoured.
Completely redone.
Instead of the leather seat, it was made from a soft black thick fabric. Unlike the wood legs from the couch from last night, it was painted black and the wood lining around the seat was painted pink adorned with pink and white pillows with black rose petals on the seat.
"Don't you think the rose petals were a little too much?" Eren asked Hanji. She shook her head vigorously and said, "I think there are too little! There are only about five rose petals out there."
Eren chuckled a little.
"Oi, Petra... Why pink? Usually we wear red." Eren heard Levi say. He turned around and noticed Petra fixing a small pair of pink, mixed with black framed glasses on the bridge of his nose.
A matter of fact there were blots of pink here and there on their outfits. But they weren't dressed identical.
While Eren was dressed more business like, Levi was dressed like a teenaged boy.
Eren chuckled a little. Would you look at that? They changed roles in the relationship. Eren was the responsible, mature adult while Levi was a rebellious teen who was to listen to him.
Levi wore a simply black button down shirt with dark skinny jeans with converse. Typical Eren wear. While he was stuck in a white shirt, black pants and simple dress shoes... Boring.
He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the crowd roar. It wasn't as spectacular as last night... But it was still something... This probably meant he was really going to have to step up his game and hopefully, by the end of this, the crowd would be going insane for him and Levi.
The announcer walked out on the middle of the stage with a crooked smile. "Welcome back everybody! Its been a long night, can we all agree?"
The audience cheered happily and the man continued, pacing back and forth slowly. "We've seen live performances from top artists. We've seen martial arts fighting, even profession acrobatics on silks. But now, we're going to unwind for a bit. You know them, you love them, America's favorite couple and modeling companions, here's Levi Ackerman and Eren Jaeger dancing to Undisclosed Desires."
The lights went dim and the auditorium went dark. Dark enough for Eren to sprint across stage and get into his position. He pinpointed some people shouting out "Eren," and "Levi," with the occasional "I love you," and other things like that. But what really captured his attention was many people shouting the word "Ereri."
He had no idea what that meant, but it sounded like a part of his name?
The brunette almost fainted when the lights on the stage came on and he was revealed to the audience, the music finally coming through followed by Levi's voice over.
There was a short instrumental at the beginning and Aaliyah decided to add some last minuet dialogue in there.
Plus, she thought it would help explain the concept of the dance more since the rest of the viewing audience. had no idea about their fued. Why not explain the storyline to them?
Levi walked from his end of the stage slowly, mouthing the words as he walked. "Oi, Eren... Tell me something."
"What?" Eren mouthed, trying not to focus his attention on Levi. He noticed people in the audience wearing... pink? Was Celeb Feast revolved around pink or something? Or was it just a coincidence?
"How do you feel about me?"
Eren snapped from his thoughts and swallowed, throwing his mouthing off a little. "What's that supposed to mean?" Finally Levi was behind Eren, he leaned forward a little, his lips brushing over Eren's ear while his hand ran down his chest, attempting to undo his tie. "Do you love me?" The audience was screaming at those words.
Eren rolled his eyes, trying his best to portray an annoyed expression. "No." Of course some male shouted "Yes you do!" from the audience making Eren's ears turns red...
Levi stopped undoing Eren's tie and stands up straight, he crosses and arms and scowled. "Tch, brat."
"Bitter old man,"
"Little shit."
Levi pulled Eren up from the seat, and Eren immediately tried to swing at him. But Levi simply caught the assault and pulled Eren close.
I know you've suffered,
But I don't want you to hide,
It's cold and loveless,
I won't let you be denied
When the lyrics Soothing, rolled around, they were center stage, far back away from the chair but lined up with it. Eren locked his arms around Levi while Levi stripped him of his jacket while kissing the exposed flesh of Eren's neck. He pulls the tie loosely but not enough to pull it free.
I'll make you feel pure
Levi slithers around Eren, standing behind him, his hands starting from his midriff slowly making their way teasingly to his crotch. The audience started to hoot and hollar at the scene displayed on stage.
Trust me,
You can be sure
Levi marches around in front of Eren and tugs his tie forward, standing on his tiptoes to kiss the teen but the boy pushes him away as the chorus starts.
I want to reconcile the violence in your heart
I want to recognize your beauty is not just a mask,
I want to exorcise the demons from your past,
I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart
Now it was time to show the audience that it was Eren's turn to seduce Levi and as the lyrics echoed through the event, Eren played his part to par.
You trick your lovers,
That you're wicked and divine,
Levi faced the wings of the stage, his arms crossed and his face sour. Eren sneaks up behind him and pulls him to his waist, tilting his chin up to look deep into his eyes.
You may be a sinner,
But your innocence is mine
Levi was able to turn around, finally facing Eren. With his hand, he pushed the teen back and onto the seat, settling himself between his legs slowly quickly unbuttoning his shirt but when it reached the third to last button, Eren hauled him up onto his waist and let Levi do all the work.
Please me,
Show me how it's done,
Tease me,
You are the one
Eren draped his hands onto Levi's waist, adding extra pressure on the rotating grinds on his crotch. Eren bit his bottom lip, sooner allowing a low, deep moan escape. He almost couldn't hear the crowd as he lost himself in Levi's seduction. From the way the man stared at him was enough to make his heart race and his body ache...
I want to reconcile the violence in your heart
Eren's eyes darkened a little and as part of the dance, pushed Levi off him, and Levi as instructed, slid off his partner's lap and stumbled backwards, grabbing onto Eren's collar to drag him forward.
I want to recognize your beauty is not just a mask,
Levi was to catch Eren and undo his shirt completely, throwing it to the sea of people and hell did they fight each other for the rare merchandize. It was like throwing steak at a pack of vicious starving dogs...
I want to exorcise the demons from your past,
Levi turned around, setting his ass against Eren's crotch and grinding against it. The only thing with this was not apart of the dance. What the hell was Levi doing?! Eren was confused, completely but didn't let it show through. Instead, he went along with it.
I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart
Right now, they would back at the studio, just the two of them practicing around this time since Aaliyah would leave to attend to her Master Class. Right now, it would be them in the studio making a few jokes, inappropriate or not, talking about life or whatever came to mind. They would just sit back and act like a normal couple. Forgetting about the spotlight and fame, and just relaxing with one another.
They were comfortable with each other on stage, this was like being back at home with each other.
Please me,
Show me how it's done,
Levi pushed Eren back, crawling on top of the taller male and smirking lightly. His boner rested against Eren's chest and it took all his willpower not to take Levi right here and now.
Not like he would let him do it anyway...
Instead, he unbuttoned Levi's pants and unzipped them but Levi gave him a look that signalled him to stop. The smaller male leaned forward, undoing the final buttons on his top and rested his chest against his. Levi's thin, cold lips leaving ghost kisses along Eren's chest. He straddled Eren and smirked darkly now.
I want to reconcile the violence in your heart,
I want to recognize your beauty is not just a mask,
I want to exorcise the demons from your past,
I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart
As the song came to its climax, Levi placed a quick peck on Eren's lips. Levi and Eren just started at each other. Only Eren mattered. And only Levi mattered. They laid on the couch, looking like a complete erotic mess with their erratic breathing, their disarray clothes, that passionate look in their eyes. Except this was only child's play. Their love making was much more than what was interperted on stage. Levi muttered something, but Eren couldn't hear it over the uproar of the audience. Not like they mattered. He only saw Levi's lips move and him remove his glasses and set them on Eren's face.
Eren loved Levi's face during this moment; slightly parted lips and greedy eyes.
~•~
As soon as they got back to the hotel, they slammed and locked their hotel door. They already had a good 60 percent of their clothes stripped so there wasn't much to go.
Levi slammed Eren against the wall as their lips battled for dominance, their tongues colliding in a fiery passion.
They broke away for a moment, panting heavily, nothing wanting more of each other.
"This isn't right," Levi stated, pulling off Eren's pants.
"T-then why do you continue this? Stop of you don't want to..."
"I don't want to stop. Don't tell me what to do you shit," Levi purred into the crook of Eren's neck, his breath making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. "If I wanted to stop, I would've stopped."
"Then why did you say this isn't right?"
"Because... This isn't..."
"Stop being like- ah! That..." Eren moaned, his head lolling.
Levi broke away from the teen, Eren shivered as he did.
"Tell me Eren, do you love me?" Levi asked.
"N-no..." He lied.
"Do you love me?" Levi repeated.
Eren grabbed Levi's chin and pulled him into another tongue twister. His head spun and swirled with passion, ecstasy, want, desire. Their tongues played games with each other. Mixing between deep sucks and exploring each other's mouths. Eren pulled away for a moment to mumble a quick, "Go to Hell," against his lips before locking them again.
This isn't love. Eren will always told himself that. No matter how much he wanted it to be, it never will be.
But one thing he knew for sure about their relationship, was that even Levi's tongue knew how to dance.
Not just his body.
A/N: Holy hell that was a loooooooooong chapter. I'm tired and it's almost six in the morning so I apologize for many errors and mistakes throughout the chapter. I'm also sorry for rushing at many parts! I'll try explaining Levi and Eren's attitudes towards each other next chapter in case you don't understand cause the way they act is pretty confusing even for me. I'll just say this, they're in denial of wanting each other because neither of them want to confess first. Even when they do confess to one other, the other one tries to push them away or deny their true love and affection, simply thinking they want each other for sexual interactions only. That's not the case though.
Yeah, I'll go through their relationship difficulties next chapter.
I'm really tired but so I'll do review response next chapter. Thanks for all the favorites, follows, and reviews! I'm sorry I didn't update sooner! I had a bad writer's block writing each part and I ended up rewriting a few parts up to at least 8 times... so I'm not gonna stay long, again thanks for the dedication you guys give me to this story and until next time! Stay sweet!