It was around ten o'clock in the morning when Eren woke - to be fair he had stayed up until 2 am with Levi. Levi had said he would swing by around midday to help Eren do the tables. Cursing to himself, as that only gave him just under two hours to eat, shower, get changed and start on the long list of things left to do for the cafe to reopen.
When he made it downstairs to the cafe, he was pleased with how the new colour looked on the walls. Now that it had completely dried it looked great.
The cafe before was fine, but the new design would certainly give it an extra edge. They had a steady flow of loyal customers and quite a few that walked in off the street. He was hoping the makeover would set them above the competition.
He was thankful that Petra was willing to invest the money into it. She claimed it was something she had been meaning to do anyway, and Eren has persuaded her that now was as good as a time as any.
Fingers crossed it would help bring in more customers, the hype and word of mouth about the makeover should hopefully help. They had also started focusing more on marketing and advertising. Closing the cafe for a couple of days would lose them a lot of revenue, but hopefully, it will be worth it.
As if right on cue, a knock at the cafe door informed Eren that Levi had arrived. So far, there had been no sign of the other staff members that said they'd help - probably hungover and still sleeping.
Like yesterday, Eren let Levi in and then locked the door behind him.
"Hey," Eren greeted, full of enthusiasm about the whole makeover.
"Fuck, you sound chipper," Levi grumbled as he handed Eren a bag, which upon inspection contained some lunch. Levi must have stopped at a deli.
He didn't have the heart to tell Levi that he woke late so had a very very late breakfast or early lunch. Besides, free food! He would never say no to free food.
"Look at you," Eren exclaimed gleefully, "thinking of me and buying me lunch."
Levi made a move to snatch the bag back, but Eren had predicted he'd do that and moved it behind his back. Levi continued to try and grab it. Eren grinned devilishly at him and stretched his arm as high as he could above his head. Levi wouldn't be able to reach it.
"Give it back, you little shit!" Levi demanded, "You don't deserve it," he proclaimed.
Eren danced out of way, all the while smiling cheekily down Levi, "You want it, come and get it!" Eren challenged.
A steely gaze met that remark, then suddenly Levi darted towards him. It startled Eren enough that he froze on the spot. Levi jumped and took it right out of Eren's grasp.
Spinning around to face Levi, Eren pouted, "Give it back," he pleadingly requested.
"No," Levi coolly returned, "you have to earn it back," he stated matter of factly.
Oh, okay, Eren thought. He could do that.
"Alright," he agreed, "I'll start by making you tea," he headed towards the kitchen, smiling the whole way.
When he returned he spotted the bag of lunch stuff on the counter, but he didn't try and take it, that was boring, he wanted to earn it back, "Here," he handed Levi a cup of tea, he sipped his own drink, "How are you with furniture instructions?"
"Good," Levi admitted, "As long as you let me do it my way."
Eren could have guessed Levi was the type of person who followed the instructions to the letter, laying out all the screws in a line and counting all the parts before starting. He, on the other hand, was the get stuck in and wing it type.
Eren held up his hands in a gesture of surrender, "I'm happy for you to be in control," he eyed Levi carefully as he said the last part, "There is a time and place for power struggles," he smirked over at Levi.
Levi sent him an 'I am not amused' glare, "You can assist," he ordered, ignoring Eren's tongue in cheek remarks. Although, he filed the comments away to evaluate later.
Heading to the nearest box, Levi opened it and started unboxing the parts.
Eren takes the pieces handed to him and places them on the floor, "Admit it, you assumed I'd be rubbish at this and assumed that you were best suited for the job." Eren asked, he wasn't mad, Levi was probably better leading the assembly of the tables, he was merely teasing Levi.
"I did," he confirms without a hint of shame, "I suspect you would put them together, discover you have some bits leftover, and simply think, 'that will do'."
Eren laughs and Levi looks over at the sound. Eren is very laidback, although Levi is insulting him, he is laughing and smiling. Levi likes that quality about Eren, he has an infectious personality, is easy to get along with - he was addictive. Levi craved his company, to be around him and catch a glimpse of his pleasing smile and a charming laugh.
"No protesting here. I would, no, I have done that." Eren admits, remembering putting together his study desk and having a couple of screws leftover and not caring in the slightest.
Levi tuts in disapproval at him and Eren shrugs, "That desk is still standing, I'll have you know." He stands straighter, proud of his handiwork.
The frown he receives from Levi only results in Eren Laughing again.
Why the fuck, Eren, was immune to his glares was beyond, Levi.
As predicted, Eren was right, Levi did indeed remove all the pieces, count them and check them against the instructions taking stock, before laying them out.
"Can we start now?" Eren teased. He didn't mind, the longer it took to assemble these tables the more time he had with Levi.
"Patience," Levi retorted.
Eren wriggled his eyebrows and said, "Maybe you can teach me a way to be patient,"
Levi rolled his eyes, bloody brat, making innuendo jokes when they're meant to be doing an important task. Besides, he could not afford to think about all the filthy ways he could teach Eren about patience. He would get distracted, and mess up the assembly of the tables.
Levi ignored Eren's comment, in favour of reading the first stage of the instructions.
"Make yourself useful and make another tea," Levi ordered.
Eren huffed but did as he was told.
Thankfully, on his return, he could see that Levi had finally begun making the table. Only a gazillion more to go.
Eren was instructed to pass Levi the relevant parts, as Levi did the bulk of the work. They talked, but Eren was worried about distracting Levi, making him lose focus.
He couldn't help himself occasionally commenting, such as, "You're good with your hands."
"You have no idea just how good I am," Levi returned arching a single eyebrow at Eren. He was pleased to note that Eren blushed and ducked his head busying himself with locating the next screw needed.
That remark had given Levi a bliss-filled ten minutes of silence. Not to mention, the confirmation of Eren's feelings towards him as Eren's emotions washed over him and settled in the centre of his chest. Levi felt a little less empty when that happened.
Eren's stomach rumbled breaking the silence, "Have I earned that food yet?" Eren asked pouting at Levi.
"You're incorrigible," he announced fondly, "go ahead," giving Eren his permission.
He consumed the goodies with gusto and ignored the judgmental stare Levi was sending him.
"You seem a lot more chilled," Eren observed, questioning Levi.
"Minimal people," Levi gave a short two worded answer.
"I'm people," Eren pointed out.
"You're..." Levi sighed, "...an exception."
Eren grinned, "Oh, am I!"
"Only because it is impossible to not be caught up in your idiotic personality," Levi bemoaned.
"You have such a way with words," Eren joked. What a backhanded compliment.
"With every word that comes out of your mouth you solidify my point," Levi counters.
Eren reaches out and gently shoves Levi's shoulder, "Arse,"
Not wanting the others to show up and spoil his alone time with Levi, Eren texts them to say he had it under control, and they can continue to recover from their hangovers at home.
Once Levi had built one table successfully, he progressed quicker with the others, memorising the instructions and not needing to consult them as often.
Eren felt a bit useless watching Levi, instead of sitting around not doing much, he chose to potter around, putting up some pictures, decorating the shelves and unboxing the new menus.
"Hey, moron," Levi called across the cafe.
Eren looked up, then cursed himself for responding to being called moron, "What?" he asked.
"It's getting late," Levi began and Eren's stomach dropped, although he had been with Levi since lunchtime, they had been working on separate jobs and therefore he had not had enough Levi time. "I think it's about time you feed me," Levi finished, and Eren beamed, Levi wasn't planning on leaving he simply wanted a break for food.
"Takeout it is," he announced.
Eren adored Thai food and was extremely happy when it arrived, digging through the bag unloading the contents akin to a kid on Christmas day. Levi silently observed him the entire time, wishing he could find happiness in such trivial things.
Eren was already taking a huge mouthful of, Pad Pak Roam before Levi had even located his favourite dish. Eren was attempting to chew his mouthful as he continued to dig through the bag looking for his duck dish.
Levi sat back and allowed Eren to unload everything onto the table they decided to sit at. They didn't particularly have their own dishes, they ordered a variety of dishes to share between them.
They spent the next few moments taking bits from each of the dishes, pilling it onto their plates and eating in silence. Once they had devoured a decent amount of the food, they started up a light conversation, picking at the remainder of the food.
"Ugh, I'm so full," Eren complained, as he reached for the dish next to Levi's hand.
"Then stop eating," Levi remarked.
"Never," Eren sounded hurt, "It's a challenge," he declared, shoving yet more food in his mouth.
Levi shook his head, choosing to eat with a little more etiquette than his dining partner.
Once Eren had stopped ramming food in his mouth, Levi pointed out he had splatters of sauce on his face. Eren frowned, and before he could wipe it away, Levi reached across the small table and wiped it away using the pad of his thumb. Slowly swiping from the corner of Eren's mouth, across his cheek and stopping at his jaw. He lingered for a second before dropping his hand.
Eren was caught up in Levi's eyes, watching him in some sort of dazed state. Neither, broke eye contact for what felt like a long time, but was most likely only seconds.
"We should tidy up," Levi announced, standing and grabbing a few takeout containers.
Eren wanted to grab Levi's wrist and pull him down into his lap, yet, he did not dare do so.
Scrapping the food into the food waste bin, Levi kicked himself for breaking the moment they were having. He wasn't sure he should intensify their-whatever- it-was, Eren did not know about him being an empath. Eren needed to know before Levi made any kind of move.
He was sure if he took that step with Eren, then Eren found out afterwards what he was, he may back off and this would cause him more pain. That was a risk he was not willing to take. Although feeling Eren's emotions helped clarify that Eren felt the same, that could all change once Eren knew everything about him.
He sensed Eren approaching from behind, not just his gentle hesitant footsteps, but the sense of disappointment that washed over him as Eren drew nearer. Eren was disappointed that he had broken the moment. Levi felt guilty but he had his reasons.
"Here," Eren said, as he passed Levi the remainder of the containers, "What-"
Levi gave him a look that clearly said don't go there.
Eren sighs, "Why don't you tell me whatever it is that is making you hold back, then we can get that out of the way." He was frustrated by this big secret Levi was hiding. He was beginning to think Levi was using it as an excuse because he didn't want to move onto the next step with him.
Levi turns to face him fully, "I can't,"
Eren cuts him off, "More like you won't. What's stopping you?" he demands annoyed.
"You have to understand I'm way out of my comfort zone here. My whole life, or most of it, I have isolated myself, hidden away and learned to control my emotions, not talking to anyone." Levi explained, needing Eren to understand.
Eren tentatively reaches out and takes hold of Levi's wrist, "And you think I cannot handle whatever it is?"
"No," Levi returns, "Maybe, I mean, I'm sure you can comprehend it but, once you know, that's it. No going back, no pretending that..." he gave a small sigh himself, "No pretending that the reason I am alone, is because I do not open up and put myself out there. Taking that risk that someone else knows and that maybe they will walk away, and then I'm alone again."
"Levi," Eren calls his name softy, they lock eyes and Eren says, "trust me."
Eren slides his hand down Levi's wrist to his hand, taking it, loosely interlacing their fingers, it felt very intimate, "Levi," Eren repeated, urging Levi to trust him, to tell him. He wanted to show Levi no matter what he threw at him, he wanted something with Levi, something more than friendship.
This small gesture of holding hands meant so much to Levi. He rarely came close to people, and when he did, like when he is around his friends, he never initiated body contact. He couldn't remember the last time he held someone's hand. For him, it was a sign of affection, a sign of wanting to be close to someone. Holding Eren's hand created a certain energy exchange, especially so because he had feelings for Eren. The moment Eren had gripped his wrist Levi felt settled. A calm washing over him.
To Eren taking Levi's hand was a promise, a way of communicating through touch that he was here, that he was not going anywhere.
It was a gentle, cautious, safe way of making a connection.
"Let's sit down, and I'll tell you." Levi finally yields.