Hello everyone! I have chapter 2! Yay! Chapter 3 is almost ready, too, and will post it within the next week or so. I've also got a pretty good outline for the next 6 chapters or so. That being said, hopefully, you guys wont have to wait too long for chapters on this one. Okay, I'll let you read. This one is basically leading up to chapter 3, so nothing too exciting happens, but pay attention. The information given is important. Loves, and Happy reading! Don't forget to review! ~HeartQueenVivaldi
The Choice We Make
Chapter 2
Eren and Levi walked up the single flight of stairs to the level of Eren's dorm room. He would be staying in the room directly across the hall from their old room. Eren pulled the key from his pocket and opened the door. Eren was glad to see that he was actually the first one there this time, which meant that he could choose which room he wanted and set up a little before his roommate arrived.
The apartment looked exactly the same as the other one, just flipped. The kitchen was to the left instead of the right, and the living room to his right. He put down his box on the counter and went to inspect the room. He decided he liked the bedroom on the left better for no real explainable reason, so he told Levi to start bringing things in.
It didn't take them long to get Eren set up because he didn't bring too much. He would only really be staying during the week, and he would most likely be returning to Levi every weekend. He didn't have the same job anymore, or a job at all, so he would have a lot more free-time this year. He was grateful for that.
Once Eren had his part of things set up he turned to pull Levi into a kiss, then sat them down on the couch. Eren reached for the remote on the coffee table and pulled up a random sitcom that they wouldn't pay any attention to.
Eren leaned in for another kiss and things were starting to get heated when they heard a key in the door. Levi nudged Eren, "go see if he needs any help. I'm not going anywhere."
Eren laughed and kissed Levi once more then stood to go meet his new roommate. The door swung open and Eren held out his hand to the tall, sandy-blond, giant of a man in front of him. He wasn't fat. Oh no. He had muscles to spare. Probably an athlete of some kind, considering the sweaty smell coming from the duffle bag the man had slung over one shoulder.
Eren ignored that for the moment and introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Eren. You must be Jake."
The man nodded and shot Eren a million watt smile with perfectly white, straight teeth. "That's me. Nice to meet you." He took Eren's outstretched hand and gave it a firm shake.
"I'll take it you've already chosen a room, yes? Which one is mine?" Jake asked.
"The one on the right. I hope that's okay."
The man boomed a laugh, startling Eren a bit, and even Levi on the couch flinched from the sound. "My luck never runs out! I always end up in the one on the right, and that's always the best one, in my opinion. Thanks, man."
Eren chuckled a bit at the strange guy in front of him then asked, "do you need any help bringing anything in? Levi and I would be happy to help."
"Nah, I've got it. I brought a couple of friends to help out. Thank for the offer though. So, your name's Levi? Eren's best friend, I take it." The man turned to Levi to address him, but he didn't give him any chance to answer before moving on. "That's cool. Nice to meet you. I'll just take my stuff to my room."
With that the man walked away and into the bedroom on the right, leaving Levi and Eren alone in the living room, looking at each other in bewilderment. Eren went to stand by Levi and said quietly, "I take it he doesn't know we are gay. Think we should tell him?" Eren laughed a bit, but he stopped when he saw the look on Levi's face. "What?"
"Actually, I don't think we should. He's exactly the type of guy that would be homophobic, and if you have to live with him for the next nine months, then that's exactly the kind of thing you don't want him to know." Levi said.
"He seems nice enough to me." Eren said then looked in the direction of the right bedroom.
"Right, and so does Kenny when he's sober." Levi stopped and looked like he had just been told his uncle was standing in front of him and he hadn't seen him. "He's too much like Kenny. I don't like it."
"What do you mean?" Eren asked with a tilt to his head.
"Kenny is seriously just like that when he's sober and talking to a straight man. He's too kind, happy, and enjoyable to be around. The second he finds out the person he's talking to is gay, his attitude takes a 180 and he becomes incredibly rude, hateful, even violent. So, he's a time bomb. I have a feeling this guy is, too."
The man returned from his room at that moment, gave Eren and Levi a wave, then walked out of the dorm. Eren looked back at Levi with a brow raised. "I think you're exaggerating and a little paranoid."
"I'm not paranoid, Eren. You know I'm not that type." Levi gave Eren a look that said he was getting irritated.
"What do you call the twelve guns you have hidden around the house?" Eren asked, and Levi's face went dark. It was a look Eren hadn't seen since their first days in the dorm.
"Cautious." Levi practically growled, but then he saw the nervous look on Eren's face. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm down and keep himself from getting too angry at the man he loved. "Fine. If you want to tell him, tell him. But don't say I didn't warn you. My instincts are rarely wrong."
Eren nodded, his brows furrowed. "But they can still be wrong sometimes."
Levi sighed. "I'm not perfect. Nor are my instincts. Just please be careful. I'm headed home tonight, so I think I'm going to get going." Levi changed the topic suddenly and patted his pockets to make sure he had everything of his.
"Already?" Eren's face fell.
Levi looked up at Eren and almost consented to stay. The younger had pulled out the puppy-dog eyes that he knew Levi was weak to. The raven shook his head. "Yes. It's a long drive, and I have no clothes for tomorrow for me to stay. I already won't be home until late."
"Okay but call me when you get there. I want to know you made it safely." Eren said and kissed Levi chastely on the lips.
"You know I will. I love you, Eren."
"I love you, too."
With one last kiss, Levi and Eren left the dorm, passing Jake on the way down to the parking lot. Eren gave the man and his friends a smile, and they continued on. Eren gave Levi one last kiss, but Levi pulled him back in for a hot, passionate one that left them both longing for more.
Levi decided it would be best to leave it at that, so he climbed into the car without another word and drove away before he could change his mind. He watched Eren walk into the building from his rear view mirror, then turned out onto the road and drove toward home.
…
Levi spent the next week waiting anxiously for Eren to call every night when he was done with classes so they could talk on the phone. And they would talk for hours. Or at least Eren would. Levi was just happy to listen. Eren would tell him about everything that happened during the day, including his coffee breaks with Kim. That tradition apparently held strong from the year before.
Finally, with nothing to do and getting sick of playing the piano all the time, on Thursday, Levi went shopping. Not just any kind of shopping, car shopping. It would take Eren too long to take the train and busses all the way out to Karanes every week, and they could spend more time together if Eren spent less time on public transportation.
So, his mission that day became buying Eren a car. He looked at quite a few used ones but found that none of them suited his fancy or seemed to fit Eren. Then, as he was walking through the parking lot with a sales rep, he spotted the one. It appeared to be a brand new, blue Jaguar. He wasn't even sure why such a car was on a used lot, but he wasn't complaining.
Interested, Levi veered to the left, the sales rep following behind once he noticed the diverted attention of his client. He approached the vehicle and inspected it a little closer. "How old?"
"One year. Only two thousand miles on it. It's a sound vehicle and has no problems. Still under the original warranty, of course." The rep said, noticing Levi's sudden lack of interest in the car they were on their way to see only seconds earlier.
"So why is it for sale?" Levi asked, looking at the slip of paper in the window that had all of the information he needed to know about it, including engine information and price.
"The previous owner couldn't afford it. Set his sights a little too high. He traded it in for something much more standard. A Toyota if I remember correctly."
"I'll pay cash. Mind if I pick it up tomorrow? 7 am?" Levi said, looking at the rep for confirmation.
The man's jaw had dropped, "You mean, you don't even want to test drive it first?"
"Hmm, not a bad idea. Let's go for a quick drive, then I'll pay cash. Is 7 am alright?" Levi asked again.
"Oh, um, yes, that's fine. There is no gate on the lot and you'll get the keys today, so you can pick it up at midnight if you wish." The man still looked a little overwhelmed.
Levi loved the feel of the car when he drove it, so when they returned, Levi went to his own Audi, pulled the cash from the bag in the center console and paid the asking price without further question. The sales rep handed him the keys like they were best friends and Levi left in the Audi.
Levi took a bus to the lot the next morning to pick up the car and headed straight for Trost University. He would be surprising Eren today.
When Levi arrived, he used Hanji's trick to get into the dorm room, meaning he just asked a janitor to open the door, then made himself comfortable on the couch while he waited for Eren to come back from classes.
The first to return was Jake, however, looking like he just came back from a rough workout in Shorts and a tank. Levi sat up a little straighter when he saw who it was. He knew that Eren hadn't told him anything, so he didn't have anything to worry about yet, but the tall man still made him nervous.
"Levi? How did you get in here?" Jake asked, looking back at the door he had just walked through using the key in his hand.
"I have my ways. Don't worry, not just anyone can get in here." Levi answered.
The man nodded slowly. "Alright… well, I'm going to go take a shower. Eren should be here soon."
Levi nodded and watched the sweaty man walk away toward the bathroom. The shower turned on just as another key was inserted into the lock and Eren walked through the door, on the phone, a backpack on his back, and not paying attention.
The brunet walked into the kitchen, opened the freezer and dug around, looking for something. He was probably talking to either Mikasa or Armin, since he asked how classes were going and he had already had his coffee meeting with Kim.
He closed the freezer, now with a popsicle in his hand, and turned to walk into the living room, finally looking toward the couch, where Levi sat, watching him and waiting patiently. He spotted the raven sitting on the couch and his eyes went wide. "Mikasa, I gotta go." He hung up without further explanation and launched himself at Levi.
He pulled the man into a massive hug, then gave him a hungry kiss. He then looked around. Not seeing his roommate, he pulled Levi into his bedroom. He closed the door and pushed Levi into it, diving back into a fiery kiss. He dropped his backpack onto the floor close by.
Levi pushed Eren farther into the room and toward the bed. They climbed on the bed and Eren scooted back to rest his back on the wall behind him and Levi straddled Eren's thighs. Eren's popsicle lay forgotten on the desk for the moment.
When they had their fill of each other's lips for the moment, Levi reached for Eren's popsicle so that he could eat it before it melted all over the desk.
Eren licked happily at his popsicle while he and Levi sat on the bed and talked. Finally, Eren asked, "I thought I was supposed to be coming to visit you?"
"You are. I came to pick you up. And I brought you something." Levi responded and licked some of the blue, sugary liquid off of Eren's lips.
"Did you? What did you bring?" Eren asked innocently, taking another big lick of his popsicle.
"Not an opportunity for a blow job if that's what you're suggesting with your seductive licking." Levi eyed the blue popsicle and Eren's capable tongue licking it over and over again. The same blue as the Jaguar he was about to hand over to the young man. Eren only made it worse when he practically engulfed the whole thing in one go, then pulled it out again, lips wrapped seductively around it the whole time.
Levi suppressed an aroused shudder and climbed off the bed. "Okay, before this gets out of hand, let's go. We can continue this display and my reactions to it when we get back to Karanes." Levi grabbed the already packed duffle bag at the foot of the bed and held out a hand to Eren.
Eren took three big bites of his popsicle and threw the stick away before grabbing Levi's hand and letting him lead the way. They let go when the door to the main room opened. Levi was glad they did, since Jake was sitting on the couch watching TV.
"Where are you going?" Jake asked when he saw the duffle bag.
"To hang out with Levi for the weekend. See you Sunday night!" Eren answered and followed Levi out into the hallway.
They quickly walked down to the parking lot and Eren looked around for the familiar, black Audi. "Where's your car?"
Levi didn't answer and walked toward the back corner of the lot with Eren in tow. He approached the Jaguar and Eren looked confused. "Levi, are you okay? That's not your car."
"Nope. It's yours." Levi popped the trunk and threw Eren's duffle bag into it then held the keys out to Eren. But Eren wasn't paying attention, too busy gaping at the car.
Levi smirked and shook his head. He went over to Eren and pushed the key into the palm of Eren's hand and kissed the back of it. Eren looked back at him, wide-eyed. "Levi, I can't take it. It's too much."
"Nothing is too much for the man I love." Levi responded.
"No, no. It really is. A Honda accord would have sufficed… and I thought you were going to wait a year before buying me a car?" Eren looked at the key in his hand then at the car again. "It really is too much."
Levi rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine. It's mine, but I'm letting you borrow it. Feel better? It'll be your anniversary gift when November rolls around."
Eren shook his head and laughed breathlessly, almost gasping. "Okay…" He backed down, but still thought it might be a little overboard.
"Now, get in. You're driving." Levi opened the driver's door for Eren and the younger man grinned. He ran over to Levi and gave him a big kiss before climbing into the driver's seat. Levi closed the door and got in on his own side.
Eren was already in and playing with all of the many features of the car. Then he pulled the key out to insert it, but he stopped short. He looked at Levi.
"It's keyless. The whole thing. We can program our fingerprints into the door handles to unlock it, and it's a keyless start. Just push that button." Levi pointed to the button next to the steering wheel.
Eren pushed the button then squealed. "That is so cool!" He said as the engine came to life.
He drove gingerly for a minute, but as he got used to the feel of the car he started to play with the acceleration and get a feel for the power under the hood. "What engine is in it?"
"A V8. It's the Jaguar XJL Supercharged. One year old."
"How does that compare to yours?" Eren asked.
"Mine's a V6 Turbo. So, yours wins. Yours is also newer. Mine is three years old." Levi reached over to turn on the radio softly. "Also, your sound system is nicer than mine."
"Oh, Levi. You really didn't have to do any of this. I really would have been happy with a crappy commuter car."
"Eren, I wanted to do this. I wouldn't have done it if I didn't want to, you know that. Can you just say thank you and be happy about your new car?" Levi said.
Eren just nodded and ran his hands over the leather of the steering wheel. "Thank you."
"Now, moving on. How's your roommate?"
Eren groaned. "Honestly, the guy is a nuisance. He doesn't clean up after himself. If I didn't do the dishes, they would sit there forever. And I'm about sick of cleaning up his dirty laundry off the bathroom floor. We got into a huge fight over it last night after we hung up and he basically told me to Fuck off. I would much rather deal with you being a clean freak than him being a slob. You two couldn't be more opposite if you tried."
…
The weeks passed too slowly for Levi and Eren. Levi was slowly starting to go crazy living on his own in the big house, and he was running out of things to do. Hanji came to visit frequently, but she would leave again, and Levi would be alone again. He was starting to think he needed a job. Not for the money, but for something to do with his life other than wait around for Eren to be free.
Eren, on the other hand, was becoming more and more frustrated by the day. Every day he cleaned up more of Jakes messes and started to put up with more than just the messes. Jake would invite groups of friends over and they would be there all hours of the night, playing video games, drinking, and causing a ruckus. Eren was starting to lose his sleep now, too, and not just his patience.
Why did people go to college if they never went to class or did any learning? Just to party? Couldn't they do that without spending thousands of dollars a year to be on campus? But of course, people like Jake didn't pay a penny for school. Between rich parents and sports scholarships, they were set.
Eren quickly learned that Levi was right, too. One night he decided to watch the movie Jake and his friends were watching, since it was one of his favorites: The hangover. It was easily his favorite comedy. He was disappointed when Jake scoffed and turned it off. "Why did you turn it off?"
"That was a gay guy! It's disgusting." Jake said and his friends were quick to agree. He went on to tell Eren and his friends about the time he and a couple of the guys from the football team beat up the gay kid in high school and how they were never caught. He even admitted to wanting to rape the kid just to rape the gay out of him so he would never want to have sex with a man again.
Eren felt like puking when he heard it, but just sat there quietly. Telling Jake, he decided, was not an option.
Suddenly, Eren wanted nothing to do with his dorm and spent as little time there as he possibly could. He spent every second he could with Kim or studying somewhere on campus until everywhere closed and he had no choice but to go back.
He quit talking to Levi in the dorm. It was too dangerous, and Eren didn't feel like he could speak freely there. When they talked every day, Eren would go for a walk, but it was starting to get colder outside, and that option was quickly going away. When Eren woke up to snow one day late in October, he felt like crying. His days of speaking to Levi freely were getting fewer, if not already gone.
Levi noticed something was off. Eren started being more reserved and cryptic, and he acted differently when he came home on the weekends. It was like he was shy and nervous, but he had no reason to be like that around Levi.
Halloween came and found Eren and Levi sitting side by side on the couch in the house in Karanes. Eren would only let Levi have a specified number of drinks and counted each one, then took the whiskey away. Levi still felt far too sober, but he had asked Eren to do this, so he couldn't be angry. He was too sober to be angry at Eren anyways. Perhaps if he had had a few more drinks, but he hadn't. He was still very much sober.
But his mostly-soberness also allowed for a clear mind and the ability to think. Instead of thinking of his horrible night 5 years ago, he thought about Eren. He thought about why Eren had changed so much in recent weeks. The tipsy part of his brain allowed for him to ask what needed to be asked.
"Eren, what's going on?"
Eren hummed, "What do you mean?"
"You've been acting strange the last few weeks, and I'm starting to get worried about you. I just want to know if something happened." Levi looked over at Eren, who was starting to think he would need some of that whiskey.
"Nothing. It's fine." Eren replied and closed his eyes, leaning his head back on the couch.
"It's not fine. Something is bothering you, and I want to help. But I can't help if you don't tell me what happened." Levi moved so he was facing Eren, resting his elbow on the back of the couch.
Eren opened his eyes to look at Levi's concerned face. "It's really fine, Levi."
"Okay, I'll wait." Levi said then continued to watch Eren.
Eren could feel Levi's eyes still on him, and sure enough, when he opened his own again, he was staring into two blue-grey pools of swirling concern. Eren sighed and sat up a bit. "Alright, fine. You were right. Jake is a homophobic asshole, okay."
"Did you tell him?" Levi asked.
"No, but I sure as hell don't want him to find out now." Eren said.
"What happened?" Levi pried again.
"We were watching the Hangover…" Eren started and told the whole story, including what Jake had said about raping a gay man. "So basically, I don't think telling Jake is a good idea." Eren finished then looked over to Levi to see a raised eyebrow. He sighed, "go on. Say 'I told you so.' I won't be mad."
"Man, do I hate that I'm right all the time. So, I told you so, but now I'm nervous to let you go back tomorrow." Levi went from slightly smug to incredibly worried in the span of two sentences.
"I'll be fine. I just won't tell him." Eren said, sinking into the couch, feeling defeated by life.
"That's all fine and great until he sees your screensaver on your phone. Or the background on your laptop. Not exactly explain-away-able. Me kissing you on the cheek is sort of a dead giveaway." Levi countered. "I think we need to get you out of that dorm before things take a turn for the worse."
"And where do you suppose I go? To the apartment with the mice? Or the one that's fully rented?" Eren rolled his eyes. "No, I'll just have to put up with it and continue to avoid him. Maybe I need to get a weeknight job to do it, but that's just what has to happen for now."
Levi huffed. "Well, I don't like it. Jake is a big guy, and if he decides he's going to beat you up, or, god forbid, rape you, he can do it. And unfortunately, you won't stand a chance. You're not exactly working out every day."
Eren lit up at that moment. "That's it! That's how I can avoid him! I'll get a gym membership so that when I run out of things to study, I can go work out. I'll get fit and be more able to protect myself, not to mention the good things it'll do for us in the bedroom." Eren winked at Levi, and the older man shook his head. "What? You work out every morning and you're practically a sex god. It wouldn't hurt for me to gain a little muscle and lose a bit of the chub I've gained over the last year."
"Alright, but you can't run from him forever. There's eventually going to be a day that you're going to have to be in the same room as him for more than five minutes at a time. When that comes, a gym membership isn't going to save you." Levi said. "Come on, let's go to bed. I'm tired and don't want to think any more."