A/N: As always, thanks for positive feedback on the last chapter :) Thank you for your patience and enthusiasm, every single one of you readers, followers and reviewers. The show is finally on the road!

Now may you sit back and relax, and enjoy the following chapter :D

Disclaimer: I do not own SnK, its characters or any other brands mentioned in this story.

Eren had always believed Jean Kirstein was the one.

Never to be one to believe in love at first sight, Eren would be lying if he said it was that instantaneous. However, he did want to fuck Jean from the first moment he'd laid eyes on the slightly taller, more experienced fighter. Watching Jean fight for the first time, the way his body moved, the power and precision in his strikes…it was enough to have the novice drooling. Yet when pitted against the pompous fighter, Eren became livid at the man's cockiness…but he would be lying if he said it was not a turn on. That smugness, although it enraged the young novice, made him want to do things to Jean Kirstein that would be borderline illegal. He wanted to put that cocky fucker in his place and get maximum satisfaction out of it.

And once was not enough.

Again and again, Eren ate of the fruit but was never full. Despite Jean being able to satiate Eren's lust completely, satisfying the novice's needs and leaving him full and exhausted every time, something about Jean had Eren always hungry for more. It was a vicious cycle, like a disease, where Jean was all Eren needed but even in being everything it was never enough. This constant hunger only grew, and none too soon, Eren found himself falling in love with that pompous idiot. When it happened, those in his life vehemently protested his relationship, saying that the foundation of it was weak. Of course, Eren disagreed; what he and Jean had was powerful and filled with passion, but only now did Eren realize it was passion of the wrong kind.

Looking back now, the signs were painfully obvious. Eren was Jean's first male lover, which obviously made the novice feel accomplished and quite frankly smug. What the novice never considered was the fact that this may have simply meant that what they had was nothing more than a phase for the otherwise heterosexual man. Also, Jean had little interest in couple's activities; any sort of date was not high on the man's priority list, and one could absolutely forget about any form of romance. Then of course the dismissive behavior, which Eren likened to "Jean being Jean". Only, that dismissive attitude became downright evasive as time went on, but the love-struck novice thought nothing of it and continued to give everything to Jean, giving until there was nothing left to give.

Yet in spite of it all, Eren thought they were perfect together.

So when Jean left Eren, Eren was shattered. He had never dealt with heartache before, and he said then if he ever had to go through something as agonizing as that again, he'd much rather throw himself off a bridge. Of course, those words were spoken when emotions were running high, but the betrayal and the hurt was enough to put Eren off pursuing any form of relationship in favor of begging Jean for a second chance. Rather the devil you know, he reckoned. In this instance, the bastard you love.

Looking back now, it was pathetic, really.

For a long time, Eren was lost and distracted. It took him weeks to realize that his aimless meandering through the barren wasteland called life was eerily familiar. It was not the first time Eren had found himself directionless, only this time, the consequences thereof seemed graver; as an adult, losing his sanity could put him in a very dire situation. He took a moment to reflect, to remember what it was that had helped him in that dark period of his life, and when he remembered being inspired by Levi Ackerman, he turned to that hope. The man, his idol, who had come from nothing, who had lived a life filled with nothing but heartache, betrayal and violence, had become such an overwhelming success that his life now must have made the hardships forgettable. If Levi could go through all of that, surely Eren could go through a stupid little heartbreak.

It may have devastated him, but he would be damned if he let it kill him.

Why was all of this coming out now? Why was Eren rehashing the embarrassing tale of how he'd fallen for a man's seduction and been broken by it? Why, of all things, did he confess to looking for Levi Ackerman's guidance through the worst of it?

If Eren could, he would stop himself. But as his story flowed from his mouth, it was as if he had lost all control of his body. In fact, it seemed as though he were sitting on the opposite side of the room, watching himself speak to a man who seemed deathly interested in his story. Despite having given much more detail than was acceptable to give a prospective lover about an ex, Levi seemed hungry to know it all – when Eren summarized, Levi asked for details, when Eren was unclear, the man sought clarification. Levi's interest in Eren's past was strange to say the least, but the brunette thought nothing more of it, simply grateful that, for the first time since his heart had been cruelly broken, he was able to let it all out.

Eren even went so far as to admitting that Jean had asked him for a second chance. Of course, he hadn't outright admitted that he had said to Jean that he would consider it, but he was truthful in that he had not flat-out said "no" at that time. To that, Levi scowled slightly, and for the first time in what felt like an hour, the man spoke.

"Am I going to be competing against Kirstein?"

Eren opened his mouth to say no, but one look from Levi and he knew that he had to answer this question very carefully. While it was painfully obvious that he wanted Levi – whatever it is Levi was willing to give – Eren could not deny the fact that he had, at a stage, loved Jean, and still did. He could not deny that he was not entirely over Jean. While his venture with Levi would by no means be a rebound, especially considering the seriousness of what it was Levi wanted, it would be unfair on the man to enter into something unhealed.

I did want to just fuck around, Eren reminded himself, but that was before he learnt Levi's true intentions. He had mistakenly thought Levi was the kind of man to use his looks, status and money to get what he wanted, and had that been the case, a brief affair may have been on the books. What Levi wanted, however, was forever.

It was a lot to ask.

The brunette sighed. He wanted forever, too. Despite his tender age, he wanted a fairy-tale romance with his Prince Charming who would love him 'till death do them part. Did he think Jean was that prince? At a stage, he wondered. Could Levi be him? Who knows? But…with Levi guaranteeing trying to give him that forever – being more mature and emotionally stable – was it even worth it trying to stick around and see if Jean had changed?

"I don't think so," Eren said.

Levi leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes contemplative as they seemed to size Eren up. The younger man wondered what was going through Levi's mind, but did not push. The silence persisted, and despite Eren itching to break it, he knew he had to give Levi time to process all that he had said.

Eventually, Levi said, "You aren't over him, that much is obvious. What I want to know is would you seek him out, if you had someone else?"

Was Levi asking if he would cheat? Eren scowled at this, the temptation to spit his offence making his tongue sting. Instead, he clenched his jaw and balled his hands into fists – Levi was older, more mature, and if Eren wanted to win, and keep, his favor, he would have to reciprocate that maturity.

So, as hard as it was to maintain his composure, Eren simply said, "No."

Levi nodded thoughtfully, but said nothing further.

"You're right, I'm not entirely over him," Eren admitted, his venomous spite now contained. "Honestly, if you weren't in the picture, I would have considered going back to him." To this, the raven-haired fighter raised a brow. Ignoring the unsettling feeling in his stomach, Eren continued with his admission. Something about Levi told Eren that the man liked to know the undiluted truth, as sinister as it may be. "Like I said, I tried getting him back for months. But after meeting you…especially after what happened between us, I started to wonder if I even want to waste my time with that dick."

Levi raised a brow. "Pun intentional?"

It took a moment for Eren to realize what Levi meant, and when he did, he blushed lightly and averted his eyes with a shy smile. He found it sweet that Levi would attempt to lighten the mood.

"I didn't know what you wanted from me," Eren said honestly. He caught Levi's gaze again, and pondered the curiosity in those mysterious greys. "Obviously it wasn't just sex…you made that pretty clear. That was when I realized that it might be more, and if that was the case, it was…" Eren bit his lip, brows furrowing yet again as he fought to find the words to say it without it sounding as harsh as it did in his mind.

"Either him or me," Levi stated bluntly, saying the words Eren tried avoiding. The brunette nodded tentatively. "Tell me…what can he give you that I can't?"

To this, Eren gawked slightly. It seemed like a cocky question, as if Levi believed he had the right and ability to grant Eren anything he desired, and the audacity to flaunt that fact.

Levi quickly reacted to Eren's gawking. "If it's between him and me, there must be pros and cons to each of us."

Of course there were pros and cons, but Eren hadn't even begun to weigh them up. Nevertheless, he decided he would answer Levi to the best of his ability. If he spoke without too much thought, would his words not be the unbridled truth, unobstructed by fantasy?

"Obviously he hurt me, so that's his biggest con. He hurt me a lot, not just by leaving me but by treating me, well…" Eren gestured lamely in the air, referring to the night Levi had caught him throwing away the last shred of his dignity in a parking lot. Valentine's Day. The older man nodded for Eren to continue, eyes not betraying his thoughts. "The pro…I love him. Not as much now as I used to, but there is something there, and it will be easy to get into it. He's uh…also great in bed." Eren blushed a bit as he said that, but Levi only snorted. When Eren glanced at the man, he saw Levi schooling his expression, but what he caught a glimpse of riled up his curiosity about the man – he saw challenge, as if Levi knew he would be even better.

"My pros and cons?" Levi asked.

"I don't know you. You don't know me. What if we are incompatible and never fall in love? It will have been wasted."

"We should get to know each other then."

"Our lifestyles are worlds apart. We've spoken about that already."

Levi narrowed his eyes. "Yes."

"What if I can't give you want you want?"

"Are there any pros, brat?" Levi asked. Eren may have imagined it, but there seemed to be a hint of insecurity in Levi's voice.

"I really want you." Eren smiled, despite Levi's unimpressed glare. "You want me too. And I believe that I can give you what you want…" Eren bit his lip subtly, wondering if he should be bold and say what was on his mind. He decided to throw caution to the wind. "I think I can give you what most other men can't."

This piqued Levi's interest. He raised a delicate brow, the interest in his eyes unconcealed as he shifted forward, intertwining his fingers with one another as he came to lean his elbows on the table separating them. "And what, pray tell, may that be?"

"The perfect submissive."

Levi had clearly not expected that. The smugness in the man's features disappeared in the blink of an eye, shock left in its wake. Eren had never wished for the ability to read minds as hard as he did now.

After a minute, Levi schooled his expression and said, "If you are willing to work towards that, you are already more than halfway there."

Eren nodded. He did not have a reply to those words, nor did he have anything more to say. The rest was up to Levi – if the man believed he could take a "brat" as a lover, Eren was more than willing to give it a shot. What happened with Jean…if Levi treated him right, his wounds would heal and he would forget about Jean in no time. And something was telling Eren that the man before him would do more than just treat him right.

"I don't want to compete with a wet-eared brat, Eren," Levi said, obviously referring to Jean. "Like I said, I am thirty. I don't have time for games."

"I'm not going to play games with you," Eren said, tensing up as he spoke. "You know, if we do decide to do this, I'm going to be doing a lot of things for the first time. I don't really know a lot about your kinks and shit, but I do know that shit takes a lot of trust."

Levi smirked. "You have no idea."

"So…" Eren shrugged, shaking his head. "I'm not going to fuck around with someone else if I am going to be with you."

"And do you want to be with me, Eren?" Levi asked, his tone somewhat sultry. It made Eren swallow thickly as his eyes flickered to Levi's lips, the urge to kiss them suddenly at the forefront of his mind. "Do you want me or Jean?"

As if in a trance, Eren mechanically answered, "You." A second later, his blinked, eyes flitting up to meet Levi's. "I want you, Levi."

Levi nodded, a pleased smirk on his face. Without saying a word, he stood, gathering both his and Eren's dishes from lunch and making his way to the kitchen. Eren followed behind him, considering offering to help with the dishes, but missing his opportunity as Levi made a beeline for the sink and starting filling it up with dish-washing soap and water.

"Thanks for lunch," Eren mumbled as he stood behind Levi, desperately trying to keep his eyes from running the length of the man's impressive physique. He could not believe he was in a negotiation to enter into a relationship with Levi Ackerman. It was too good to be true, but he did not want to wonder about the catch at this moment.

"I want you too, Eren," Levi said, not once turning around. "I may have said this to you before, but there is something about you that draws me to you." The man began washing the dishes, never once directing his attention to Eren as he spoke. Nevertheless, Eren was completely engrossed. "Your attitude, your face, your fucking gorgeous body and fuck, your eyes…those fucking eyes." Levi paused, looking at the ceiling for a moment before continuing. "I had to have you. I have to have you. Of course, I'm no brute that's going to hit you over the head and drag you to my cave." For the first time, Levi glanced over Eren's shoulder smirking. Eren smiled back – it was forced, because he was too captivated by Levi's words to pay mind to anything else. Levi turned away again. "I'm willing to put some work into this. I know it won't be easy to be with a brat like you, but I believe we are somewhat compatible."

Eren did not expect that. How could Levi believe that? Levi knew next-to-nothing about Eren – his hobbies, things he liked, places he enjoyed spending time – and that, added to the age difference made Levi's statement sound like more of a shot in the dark, or a delusional hope, than any truth.

"How the hell can you believe that?" Eren asked, uncaring of his confrontational tone.

"Opposites attract," Levi said. "You and Kirstein have many…similarities. Look how that worked out."

Eren scowled, eyes downcast as his jaw clenched.

"I have met people with…similarities as well," Levi continued, "and it never worked, obviously. It just seems to me that when people are too alike, they are incompatible."

Eren nodded, despite Levi not being able to see the movement. "So…you're willing to give us a go?"

"I said that, didn't I?" Levi said.

"Well, I'm in if you are," Eren said.

Levi looked over his shoulder, smirking at Eren with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "As irresistible as I am, brat, I need you to think this through."

"I have!" Eren snapped. Curse this cocky asshole! Of course Levi was irresistible, more than just irresistible, in fact, but in the face of such a sobering reality, Eren could not afford to think with his dick. He may have done that with Levi before, but in this moment, Little Eren was giving no input whatsoever.

"Well, let's do it then," Levi said as he pulled the plug and turned to face Eren.

The brunette balked, staring at Levi with his mouth damn near agape from shock. Is that it? Eren thought loudly, wondering if the words Levi had just said implied that they were entering into a relationship or if they meant they would work towards one.

"But we're going to do this the old school way," Levi said, smirking slightly. "Since I am a gentleman."

Wait...what?

"Huh?" Eren could not find the words to respond. He was still wondering about the implication behind the words "let's do it".

As if he were suddenly exasperated by Eren's mere presence, Levi sighed and glared at Eren with cold, detached eyes that Eren had not seen yet today. "Just because I really want it, I am not just going to spontaneously fuck the dog shit out of you, brat." Eren blushed profusely at Levi's words. "I'd actually like us to build some sort of relationship outside of sex."

Nodding, Eren could not help the smile that tugged at his lips. That very sentence was the one thing that separated Levi and Jean, the one thought, attitude, mentality, call it what you may, that made Levi the better choice. Even if he were to go back to Jean, the fact of the matter remained: their relationship was built on sex. To change that would be to change the fundamentals of it all, and if it came down to that, would it not just be like building a new relationship from scratch?

"That's another pro," Eren said, and Levi raised a brow curiously. "You want a relationship built on...whatever they're built on, not just on sex."

"Those never last, trust me."

Eren hummed in agreement. No one knew this better than he did. As soon as that thought came, it left, leaving Eren open to ponder the meaning behind Levi's earlier words once more. However, before he could confront the man, Levi spoke.

"I want to go on a date with you," Levi suddenly said.

A date? Eren cried out internally, staring at Levi as if the man had grown a second head. He never pegged Levi Ackerman to be the type of man to want to go on a date, but then again...

"Something on my face, brat?" Levi growled, clearly unappreciative of Eren's obvious awe.

"Uh...n-no..." Eren quickly responded, shaking his head.

"Then what?"

"I just never thought you do dates," Eren said before he could stop himself. He bit the inside of his cheek, internally cursing himself for running his mouth.

Levi, however, immediately shifted from irked to amused. It was uncanny how quickly the man's moods could shift, frightening even. "Oh? Did I not just say I'm a gentleman?"

"Yeah but..." Eren blushed and averted his eyes. "I just didn't think you were like that, that's all."

"We have a lot to learn about each other, Eren," Levi said. "That is why I would like to have a date with you. In a private setting, of course."

"Obviously," Eren murmured. He snorted. "And here I thought you were going to wine and dine me."

The older man crossed his arms over his chest and smirked. "Is that what you want?"

Sensing Levi's playful mood, Eren swallowed his embarrassment and said, "Only if you take me home after."

Now it may have been a figment of Eren's imagination, but he could have sworn he saw unadulterated lust spike in Levi's eyes for only a split second before the man schooled his expression. When Levi spoke, however, his voice betrayed what his eyes had flashed. "What if I wine you and dine you at home?"

The playful atmosphere was gone as quickly as it had come. Levi's intense stare held Eren in place, causing the brunette to balk, biting his tongue. Oh, he wanted nothing more than to kiss Levi right now. He wanted to kiss the man and touch him, in fact he wanted to do so much more than just that and while the implication behind Levi's words was as clear as the sun in the sky, Eren knew it was not an invitation to fuck.

"I don't put out on the first date," Eren eventually whispered, desperate to break the heavy tension that hung between them.

Levi seemed pleased with Eren's answer, and the intensity of that glare immediately faltered. "Well, that would certainly give a gentleman incentive for a second date."

Happy to have the playful mood back, Eren could not help himself when he said, "And if you get to date number three, you can fuck me."

Thanks for the read! Just a note, I am going on vacation in the next couple of days and will be gone for a month. I will try my best to keep posting during that time, as I foresee the new year being a very busy one! v.v

Thanks for the ongoing support so far, and for sticking it out this far. Let me know what you think :)

OS