One: Black and Blue
Eren Yaeger had a hard day at work. What way was better to deal with such a shitty day than to go out and have a few drinks? Currently, in Eren's mind, nothing could beat the pleasure of gulping down copious amounts of alcohol in far too little time than the human body should be able to.
In his drunken haze, all Eren could seem to focus on was the man a little ways across the bar, who was downing his tenth- maybe twelfth- shot of straight vodka. Eren couldn't stand the stuff, but not as much as he couldn't stand the way the man was looking at him when not focused on his shot glass.
After nearly an hour, Eren stood from his stool, slamming his hands against the bar top and drawing the attention of the few still sober in the room, and stumbled over to where the man sat, his already narrowed eyes narrowing further than should be humanly possible as Eren drew nearer.
"Why do you keep lookin' at me?" Eren slurred drunkenly, poking the man sharply in the shoulder. The man scowled, standing from the stool, and Eren was surprised and amused at how short this man was. Coupled with the stern, intimidating look on his face, the entire situation suddenly seemed almost comical.
"I could ask you the same question, brat." He spat, literally, into the empty shot glass at his seat. The bartender swooped in, removing the dirty glass with a grimace, before sending a sharp scowl at the two men. Pointing at them with a pudgy finger, he gestured to the door.
"If you two are going to fight, take it outside." Eren scoffed, glaring down at the shorter man, who was obviously still in his work clothes, he breast adorned with a silver nametag that read 'Levi' in swirling black letters.
Eren looked at the bartender. "This short-ass couldn't take me on if he-" Before Eren could even register what had happened, he was being dragged out of the bar by the collar of his shirt while lying flat on his back. Seconds later it occurred to him, that Levi had kicked his legs out and was proceeding to drag him outside.
… Oh fuck.
:::
A kick hit him square in the cheek and he collapsed on his side with a pained gasp, looking up at Levi through a swollen, purple eye.
"Short-ass, huh? You'd better watch your mouth." He kicked Eren again, kneed him in the stomach a few times, dropping him to the blood spattered ground, placing a foot between his shoulder blades in a pure sign of dominance.
"Yeah?" Eren coughed. "Then tell me where you work to get a swirly little nametag like that. Do you-" another sharp kick to the face shut him up quickly, as Levi once more rained multiple blows down upon him, swearing up a storm as he did so. Eren wished he had consumed more alcohol, then maybe he wouldn't be in as much pain, and maybe the next day he wouldn't remember getting his ass kicked by someone who was nearly a foot shorter than him.
Spitting on the ground, Levi backed off, muttering under his breath. "Waste of my time. Couldn't even put up a good fight," With that, he walked off, surprisingly straight for someone who was hammered, except for when he slammed into a brick wall. Eren chuckled a little, karma was truly a bitch, a wonderful, vengeful bitch. Soon after Levi had left his sight, Eren pushed himself off the concrete, stumbling, obviously very, very drunk. And he could barely see out of his left eye.
Even as he was, Eren moved quickly, suddenly loving the sound of drinking several gallons of water and passing out on his bed. His mind was pleasantly occupied by these thoughts, until he nearly ran into someone walking in front of him. His heart leapt when their eyes met.
"Come back for more, brat? Or are you stalking me now?" Eren took a step back, cheek and eye throbbing in a painful reminder of the things this man had done not even half an hour previous. Mustering up all his drunken courage, Eren drew himself to his full height and continued to walk alongside Levi.
Levi groaned impossibly loudly when they turned onto the property of the same apartment building. Eren internally cringed, muttering, then pressing himself forward. All he had to do was brave the elevator shaft with asshole next to him for who knows how many floors, and then be rid of him. Simple.
They pushed each other through the door and into the lobby, grumbling while waiting for the elevator. Upon its arrival, they hustled inside, slamming their index fingers down on the same button at the same time. Eren turned, kicking the wall as the elevator began to move with a shuddery jolt. Nine floors up. Just nine floors. Both stood in opposing corners of the small boxed area, looking everywhere but at the other, until the elevator dinged.
Both shot down the hallway, all but running as to not disturb the people living on the eighth floor. Eren was surprised that he didn't get another beating when Levi unlocked the door next to his own, sending him a murderous glare as the lock clicked back into place, door slamming quietly.
Eren growled, opening his own door and shuffling his way inside, shutting and locking the door, walking into the kitchen. Since Eren was a regular drinker, not an alcoholic, but certainly enjoyed a drink or two, grabbed a water bottle from his fridge that held two gallons of water (He'd found it on a trip to the States), guzzled almost half of it, and collapsed onto his bed.
Starting to doze off, Eren was left to wonder why the only thing swimming around his beer-hazed mind were thoughts of the short, angry man named Levi that lived next door.