Mondays were light like an appetizer before the main course, despite the global aversion, the desire to stay in bed and the laziness throughout the day. Their only class began at 10 am and by 12:30 they were free. It was one of those days Eren had to work in the laboratory after lunch. The professor had told him he'd be more present this week; the hairs at the nape of Eren's neck rose at the thought. For some reason he was excited, not exactly to run gels, but to be with that intense man who could spread goosebumps on his skin using only his gaze. The boy spent the morning lecture daydreaming about Saturday, he found rather thrilling having slept on Levi's bed and having seen him in his 'natural habitat', a place he felt comfortable in. He played flashes from the night he got drunk in his mind and filled in the gaps with made up scenarios. He imagined being carried upstairs, his dormant body swaying against Levi's; the man, shorter than him, struggling to get him in bed; unlacing his sneakers, taking his shoes off, unbuttoning his pants and pulling them down his legs. All of it excited Eren. Perhaps it was too exciting to be thought about in a classroom, where everyone could see the reactions of his body.

He walked into the laboratory; it was empty at first sight. Although, on Petra's bench there were tips on pipettes, used volumetric flasks and agitating solutions. He took his backpack off his shoulders and hung his jacket next to what looked like Levi's overcoat, making sure to purposely stroke his fingers down the fabric. He let out a chuckle, for he remembered Historia saying "I think I have a crush on Professor Smith". Of course, Ymir looked at her like she'd just committed a crime "My goodness," the blonde threw her arms in the air "I'm kidding! He is just good looking, miss I-take-everything-seriously." She rolled her eyes. The whole scene was funny because it was childish. The crush-on-the-teacher situation sounded like something out of a cliché teen novel or a pornographic movie. The side of the familiar coat made him think about the first time he met Professor Ackerman at the Library Café, how he couldn't take his eyes off him in class, the night he stayed behind to watch him run. A wave of heat traveled from his stomach to his neck, feelings for the professor, it crossed his mind realizing how stupid and immature it sounded. In spite of being way younger than Levi and his pupil, which would make it wrong and unethical if something happened between them, Eren wasn't going to make a big deal out of it.

The boy pulled the stool from under his bench and sat down reading the protocols for that day. He could hear laughter from the corridor and steps that got louder by the second. Levi emerged from the door, his hands resting in the pockets of his unbuttoned white coat, his eyes droopy and impassive as ever. Petra followed with a cheerful grin playing over her lips. The brunette watched them closely as a sour feeling filled his body. His brain produced ten thousand hypotheses in less than two seconds only to be calmed down by the sight of centrifuge tubes in her hands, they were just centrifuging her samples. They clearly had history together; his body language indicated they were intimate, for he didn't realize he was occupying her personal space, and the ginger giggled and used every opportunity to make physical contact. She was evidently a lot more invested than him, nonetheless. Eren could see himself in her, which bugged him. "Hi, Eren." He jolted awake as Petra's voice rang across from him. Levi switched his attention to the boy who shifted in his seat under his penetrating gaze. "Levi, I'm going to freeze the pellets and head to Oluo's seminar," she said, "are you coming, too?"

"No," he replied, his eyes fixed on the quiet boy "I'm babysitting today."

Petra took her samples and came back with her coat in her hands stepping towards Levi. She brushed her hair behind her ear, "We'll talk later." She informed him in a low voice squeezing his shoulder. Eren thought back to a week ago when she said the exact same thing, although this time he didn't say 'no', in fact he didn't say anything. He could feel his jaw clench and cheeks flush with jealousy.

The red-haired girl left leaving them alone in the lab. Apparently Eld and Gunther were going to Oluo's seminar as well and Levi had stayed behind to 'babysit' the unexperienced student. Did he read the protocol? Yes. Did he know how to follow it? No. The professor proceeded to explain the steps and how to execute them which Eren did without saying a word and that made the raven man uneasy. "You are too quiet." Levi placed his hand between the boy and the electrophoresis apparatus. Eren, who was about to pipette a sample into the gel, pressed his lips into a hard line and shook his head "I have nothing to say, so might as well be quiet and focus on my work." He adjusted himself on the stool and raised the pipette again.

"I've known you for less than two weeks and I can already tell you're not one to be quiet… even if something's wrong." Levi's expression changed from his usual unemotional one to one that reminded Eren of concern. The boy stared at squinted dark eyes, the only other time he seemed human was the morning he had woken up in his apartment.

"Nothing's wrong." The taller knew he was being childish throwing a tantrum, especially because he'd promised himself he wouldn't make a fuss about the whole Levi thing, but at the same time he knew he wanted something he couldn't have and to top it off, someone else already had it.

"Tch," the man turned his back on Eren in a quick spin and reached for the 500 mL glass beaker containing the buffer "these damned brats." He let out under his breath. Eren pressed his tongue over his top lip and rolled his eyes at the remark. "I saw that, kid." Levi stood behind the brunette and leaned forward to murmur into his neck. Every hair on his body roused to life at the warm breath that caressed the skin of his neck and jaw. He filled his chest with air and let it out slowly in a painful sigh; his eyes closed and shoulders tense. He knew the man was smirking. He knows. Eren bit his lip as he tried to convince himself otherwise, unaware the pipette had slipped from his hand and dropped to the floor. "Focused on your work, huh? I see."

Two hours later they had the results and Eren left. He had only opened his mouth to speak whenever Levi asked him a question about the electrophoresis results and to say goodbye. He could tell the boy wasn't in his days, so he let him go earlier than anticipated. As he was locking the laboratory his phone vibrated inside the pocket of his gray chino pants.

From: Petra

5:17 pm

I'm waiting for u at ur door xo

He hooked his index fingers on his black turtleneck and pulled it outward thinking of a reply. He should send her away, maybe tell her he was tired. He typed a few words, but pressed the backspace key, shoving the phone back in his pocket without answering.