He had spotted them earlier when he entered the bar, they were loitering outside and looking ominous. The taller of the two, the one with pure hatred in his eyes sent a particular ferocious snarl his way.
Eren, not one to usually be scared so easily, knew when it was best to stay away, he had hurried inside, relieved to be inside his second home. His favourite bar.
When he left a couple of hours later the two thugs were still outside. Something was off, his gut churned and he consciously began to walk faster. He could sense someone following him. When he glanced back he saw that the two guys were now trailing him. It could be a coincidence, but Eren was not dumb enough to believe that.
He ducked into a shop to try and shake them off, yet there they were when he re-emerged. He started to panic, it was getting dark and there weren't that many people around.
Up ahead he saw a lone figure standing at a bus stop. He hurried over to them. The stranger heard his footsteps and they glanced up at him, Eren slung his arms around the stranger. He could feel the man tense, but Eren whispered hurriedly, "I'm sorry, but there are two guys following me and I think they mean harm. Can I pretend I'm with you?"
The man relaxed a little and placed his arms around Eren, making a point of speaking clearly so his voice carried, "You took your time. I thought you were going to miss the bus."
Eren breathed a sigh of relief, he let go of the stranger and smiled down at him, he mouthed a silent thank you.
The two guys had stopped advancing but were still waiting in the shadows, watching. Eren felt sick, he couldn't walk away from the stranger now after pretending to be meeting him. If he did those guys would definitely make their move.
He must have looked frightened as the stranger took his hand and said, "The bus should be here soon."
Eren squeezed his hand and made no move to let it go. The stranger was right, the bus pulled up a few minutes later and they both stepped on. Eren was too busy watching the two men, waiting to see if they too got on the bus, to register that the stranger had paid for his ticket and was now pulling on his hand to get him to sit down. One strong tug made Eren snap out of it and he followed the stranger to the back of the bus.
When the bus doors closed and they drove by the two men, Eren exhaled sharply.
He let go of the stranger's hand, self-conscious of the fact that the poor guy didn't ask to be caught up in this. Eren couldn't bring himself to look at his rescuer, instead, he stared straight ahead when he thanked him.
The stranger did not acknowledge the thanks, bypassing it all together, he chose to say, "What's the deal then kid?"
Although Eren felt sick and was still unsettled by the whole thing, he turned to frown at the man sat next to him, "I'm not a kid!"
This caused no effect whatsoever, the strangers face remained blank and his eyes pinned Eren to the spot.
"I went to dilectio, and they were outside scowling at anyone who entered. They were still there when I left, and they began to follow me." Eren explained, the fear still coursing through his body.
"Why me?" The man asked.
Eren wasn't entirely sure, he had seen him at the bus stop and he just knew the stranger would help.
He shrugged, "I tried losing them by going into a shop. There weren't many other people around, you were by yourself so no girlfriend to get upset." He acknowledged.
Levi watched the kid carefully. He knew the bar he had mentioned, it is one of his favourite places. It was the only gay bar in town after all. He had heard from other patrons of the bar that a couple of thugs had been hanging around outside lately and that one regular had been beaten up in what the police called a hate crime. He wasn't going to tell the kid, but he suspected that he was their next target.
"I'm Eren by the way,"
"Levi,"
Now that he was physically away from them and that there was some distance between him and those guys, Eren relaxed a little, "So," he began as he smiled at Levi, "where is this bus going?"
"East," Levi coolly replied.
This caused Eren to laugh, it seemed this kid liked his shitty sense of Humor.
"I mean whereabouts, like area, street, something more specific." Eren clarified, nudging Levi's leg with his own.
Levi's eyes slid down to their legs, the brat had switched from being tense and scared, to happy and playful. Idiot.
"It stops near my home," was all Levi deemed necessary.
Eren began to hum a song, not caring that he had no idea where they were heading.
After five minutes Levi pressed the button and they got off, Eren cheerfully thanking the driver.
They stood at the curbside, hesitant. Eren did not have a single clue as to where they were. He had never been to this side of town before. He supposed he could walk and use google maps on his phone.
Before he could utter a goodbye Levi spoke up, "I live just down here, come back to mine and I'll call you a taxi."
This caused Eren to grin, looking all goofy and adorable - not like Levi cared, he was simply making an observation.
In an attempt to wipe the stupid grin off his face he added, "Because I wouldn't want your death on my conscious, at least if I call you a taxi I know you've gotten home safe."
To his horror this only caused, the brats, smile to widen. It was pointless trying to prevent the brats stupid reactions. He turned and began walking, knowing from the sounds of his footsteps that Eren had followed.
Eren soon caught up to Levi and was now walking side by side with him. However, before Eren could start up a conversation, Levi had turned and was walking up some steps to his front door.
He pulled a key out and unlocked the door, walking in without saying a single word to Eren. Eren followed and closed the door behind him. He followed Levi into the kitchen. Levi had already begun the process of making some tea.
"Nice place you have here," Eren observed.
Levi arched an eyebrow at him, the brat had seen the sum total of the hallway and the kitchen. The brat seemed to be comfortable enough to sit himself down on a stool at the kitchen island.
"Two sugars please," Eren requested.
Both of Levi's eyebrows rose at that, the little shit had assumed he was making him tea too. How long did he plan on staying?
For pure bravery Levi made the shit a cup of tea, placing it in front of him. He himself chose to remain standing on the opposite side of the island to the brat.
Levi watched him carefully, now they were facing each other and they were in better lighting, he could admit there was something quite attractive about Eren.
They sipped their tea silently, Eren sneaking not so subtle glances around the kitchen and at Levi.
"Like what you see?" Levi asked abruptly.
Eren the shit didn't even look away from him - no shame whatsoever.
"Yeah," he cockily replied, "I like it a lot."
Levi shook his head at the audacity of him, "Now I know why you were out alone tonight."
Another laugh, the fucker was not stung by Levi's humour, or cutting remarks. If anything it encouraged the bastard.
Levi drained his tea and glanced at the clock on his kitchen wall. Eren followed his line of sight, "Oh shit, it's late. Sorry." He began rambling, not sounding as confident as he had done before. "I bet your wife would be pissed if she woke up to find a stranger in your house."
If that was the brats way of finding out if he was single, it was a shit attempt and Levi was not going to make it easy for him.
"I'll call you a taxi," he stated instead ignoring Eren's statement.
After a short conversation with the taxi company, he ended the call and told Eren the taxi would be about 5mins.
Eren thanked him and stood, taking his cup and rinsing it out and placing it next to the sink.
"How much do I owe you for the bus fare?" He asked nervously rubbing the back of his neck. Levi had not corrected him when he mentioned a wife, which made him think that Levi had one or at least a partner as he saw no wedding ring.
Not like it mattered, he was a random stranger he met less than an hour ago, who seemed like he barely tolerated him. Only doing so to ensure his safety.
"Fuck all," Levi returned. He couldn't care less about the measly amount of money it cost for a one-way ticket.
Eren nodded, "Right," they stood awkwardly for a moment before Eren made a move out to the hall, "Once again, thanks for everything." He didn't really want to go, he didn't want to say goodbye. What if he never saw Levi ever again?! Yet, what reason did he have to stay, or request future contact?
Levi had followed him out into the hall, both stopped by the closed front door.
"Er...I guess this is goodbye." Eren said as he faced the handsome stranger.
Levi a man of few words inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement to Eren's statement.
Eren opened the door and stood on the top step, "Thanks…"
"You've already thanked me," Levi reminded him.
"Right," Eren agreed embarrassed by the reminder, "bye then." He cringed as he had also already said goodbye. Smooth.
He turned and took the rest of the steps and path to the end of Levi's front garden. He waited at the end of the path for the taxi. Thankfully he had some money left in his wallet to pay for the ride home.
He saw the car lights as they approached, the car coming to a stop outside Levi's house. Eren turned and waved a final goodbye to Levi who was standing in the doorway leaning against the frame.
Levi put his hand up as a goodbye and remained in the doorway until Eren had climbed into the taxi and the taxi pulled away.
What a night! Eren reflected. It could have gone in a completely different direction. If Levi wasn't there, or if he pushed him away when he had hugged him. He filled with dread at the thought of what could have happened if those two thugs had caught up to him. When he reached his flat, he was once again feeling a bit nervy. He rushed inside, bolting his door behind him. When he was alone he tended to dwell on things, overthink them and get himself worked up. He needed to go to bed and sleep before he worked himself up to never wanting to leave his flat again.