The beach house Hange rented was a five-minute walk from where they watched the fireworks, which probably meant it would have been a shorter distance if they were sober, and not tripping over their own feet.

Levi is drunk enough to ignore the gusts of wind against his face, but not nearly enough to ignore that they were at the beach and should take a bath before going to bed - the ones he is going to share a room with, at least. As for himself, he can't wait to feel the hot water washing the dirt and the cold away, and be out of Smith's sight. As much beer as he had, he isn't able to look at the blonde without blushing, so he doesn't look at him at all. Still, he can feel his blue eyes piercing through his skin.

The house is bigger than Levi expected, so he might be able to avoid his neighbor until they leave, in the morning.

His fucking neighbor, for crying out loud.

So much for baby steps.

.o.

There are four bedrooms and three bedrooms there. There are also some other rooms, like a living room, kitchen, attic, even a porch, but he doesn't really care about those. Right now, all he cares about is getting cleaned, getting his roommates cleaned, and a good night's rest. He was assigned a room with Oluo and Gunther, and has been working on a plan to avoid sleeping in a room smelling of alcohol and sweat ever since they left the beach. The others were split into small groups: Petra and Hange, Smith and Mike, - inside the pockets of his jacket, Levi's fingers hurtfully press against his palm - and the other three had a room for themselves.

Only problems is, Levi didn't know he was going to spend the night out, so he doesn't really have a change a clothes, or clean sheets, or anything of the sort. He hangs out in the living room, grumpily trying to come up with a solution to his problems. He could take a shower and wear the same clothes, as long as he didn't put on his dirty underwear, and supposed his roommates could do the same. Or maybe he could go out and try to find a store to buy some new clothes, although he did like to wash them before putting them on. All he seems to have are half decent options.

"Hey, Levi, is everything alright?" Petra hands him a bottle and leans against the wall, beside him.

"You guys could've taken me home for a change of clothes, at least." He takes a gulp from the bottle.

"And then you wouldn't've left your flat."

"Hm," he considers "probably not."

She leaves his side and walks straight to Hange, whispering something to their ear. Levi watches as they make their way to Smith, and both look in his direction. He faces the wall in front of him, taking another gulp.

Maybe he could find an open store and a good excuse to leave the house.

"Oi, midget!" Hange calls after him before he reaches the door. He slowly turns on his heels and look at them, still avoiding Smith's piercing gaze. "Come here!"

Levi remembers the first time he ever laid eyes on him. He had just moved to the neighborhood, and they crossed paths early in the morning. Levi was going to work, and at the time, he guessed Smith must have been going to college, because he had a backpack on his atlantean shoulders. He wore an army green buttoned shirt and a large smile on his face, welcomed him and offered help with anything he needed, no need to be shy, but they never exchanged as many words the following years. At least not in person, as it turned out.

Now, as he walks uncertain steps towards him, he thinks Smith is just as handsome as he thought back then - maybe even more so. Maturity surely fits him well.

"Erwin has some spare shirts, if you want to wear something clean." Says Hange. "You can't get any cleaner than Erwin here."

It came quite as a surprise for him, given that everytime he thought about this man, wether he was his neighbor Smith or Dillion, the sexy teacher he pictured when they were texting, they were actually some dirty thoughts. But he decided not to share his surprise.

"Thank you, but I'm not going to walk around in nothing but a shirt."

"It'll look like a dress on you," Hange corrected him "but if it bothers you, you can borrow one of Petra's shorts."

Levi hmph-ed, but it did sound like a better plan than facing the cold night outside, especially now that as the alcohol is leaving his system, he can't rely that much on the booze to keep him warm. He agreed, as long as he doesn't have to go to either of their rooms - he doesn't feel like being alone with Smith in a bedroom, and can't find a good enough excuse to agree to go only to Hange and Petra's room, so he says he needs to get his roommates to shower and will meet them in his own bedroom. He could use the help to get them out of bed, anyway.

Both of them are fast asleep when he arrives in the room. As he suspected, the room reeks of sweat and beer. He nudges Oluo's head. "C'mon, go take a shower."

"Fuck off, Levi" he mumbles.

He hears footsteps approaching on the wooden floor, and decides to move things faster so that everybody can get some sleep and Smith be out of his sight as soon as possible. So he locks his arms into the other man's and pulls him out of bed. Oluo falls on the floor with a tud, and an angry gaze.

"I said FUCK OFF, Levi!"

The yelling rushes the footsteps outside, and Smith opens the door, followed closely by Petra and Hange. Gunther remains undisturbed.

"What's going on here?"

Levi was still dragging Oluo on the floor, who fought to break free. And as the saying goes, appearances can be deceiving, and Levi is stronger than he looks - maybe from all the cleaning and scrubbing, maybe from the heavy lifting at the store, maybe from years of kickboxing, which is something he mainly keeps to himself. Even Smith, with his impossible muscles, had to apply more strength to break them apart than he thought he would.

He is still overpowered by Smith, one big arm going from his left shoulder to the right side of his his waist to keep him from going around giving everyone baths, or whatever is going through his mind. However, Levi wouldn't be able to move if he wanted to. It is just so hard to focus on anything else besides the blonde's incredibly good smell. He smells like soap, bourbon and something that must be his own scent. He doesn't even pay attention to Oluo's relentless grumbling about how he is a clean freak psychopath. It is only Smith's voice that snaps them out of his reverie, and their eyes finally meet.

"I've already showered, and I don't think Mike would mind switching places with you."

Levi still tried to gather the strength to fight him, but was defeated by how tired and dirty he felt.

.o.

Two or three Levis would easily fit into Smith's shirt, but Petra's shorts seem to have been tailored for him. He leaves the bathroom already dressed, towel drying his hair on the way to the room he will be sleeping in. It feels like something in the bottom of his stomach is trying to crawl its way up and out his body, but he manages to have a flat expression - or at least he thinks so - as he walks in.

Everything in the room smells like Smith, from the sheets to Levi himself, so he tries not to sniff the shirt while the lights are on and he can be observed. He feels intoxicated.

Smith is already tucked in, under a heavy comforter up to his chest. His arms are out, elbows bent and both hands under his head.

"You," says Levi. With a sound, Smith acknowledges he is listening "no funny business."

"Promise to be on my best behavior, I won't do anything" there's a brief pause "you don't want me to."

Unlike the other room he was in, which has three single beds, this has only one. King-sized. Levi shoos Smith from the middle of the bed to his corner, and turns off the lights before lying on the left side. There is plenty of room for both, but still the darkhaired squeezes himself against the wall, avoiding any sort of physical contact with that blonde titan. The comforter is warm enough, but it does nothing to his hands and feet, that feel as cold as the snow beggining to fall outside.

"You awake?" Smith breaks the silence, after what Levi thought was too long and too awkward. Now, it feels like it wasn't nearly enough. He murmurs 'hm' as an answer, and says nothing else. "Heard you're going through quite a rough patch with your girlfriend."

"Apparently, everyone has." He sounds more butter than he planned, but doesn't regret it.

"I know how it can be. Been expecting a text all night long myself, but nothing so far." His voice is even huskier, as if the alcohol washed it down to the bottom of his throat. "I wouldn't mind a happy new year kind of message... Or a goodnight kiss."

Levi is thankful it is pitch dark, so the blonde can't see his face burning red.

But since he said he wouldn't mind either of those, he picks up the phone and unlocks the screen.

"Happy new year."

Only a few seconds pass before his phone chimes.

"What about that goodnight kiss?"

He is typing that he said he wanted one or the other when his phone is snatched away from his hand and he feels the warmth of Smith's body coming closer, so close he can almost taste the bourbon in his breath when he speaks. "Do we really need to text?"

"You said you were expecting a message, didn't want to leave you hanging."

"There was another offer on the table... There is, if you want to." Smith's hand finds his shoulders in the dark, and works its way up to his face, where they gently caress with the back of his fingers. "I'm not gonna force you to anything. I promised, baby steps. But being this close to you... Certainly makes it hard."

If there is one thing Levi is sure of, is that being this close to Smith is for sure making it hard.

Levi feels his fingers rest on his face, his thumb brushing his lower lip. He is a lot gentler than Levi expected, and such tender touch sends a shiver down his spine, making his lips part as he exhales deeply. Almost immediately, he feels his thumb rush to the inner part of his lip, just a little rougher, a little more urgency to his touch. His fingers, which were simply resting on Levi's cheek, stretch all the way to the back of his head, holding him still. His gray eyes widen, as if trying to get a glimpse of anything in that darkness, but unable to. It is the electricity in his skin that alerts him of Smith leaning over to him, until they are ever so close his eyes give in and shut, while his mouth opens up to receive the blonde's tongue.