Staring was rude, Eren knew that but how could he not stare at a man that was just as beautiful as the rest of his paintings? Eren never considered being gay...but he never considered himself straight either, he hadn't confronted his own sexuality yet, however he was allowed to deem both genders beautiful because a man could be just as beautiful as a curvaceous woman.

Eren quickly looked away when Levi finally glanced over at him, though he would have guessed that the ravenette knew Eren was staring all along, he just came off as that kind of person - the all-seeing godly-type average man. The witty remark make Eren scoff, he hid his smile with his hand as he stared at the black and white marble floor, not the footsteps that calmly approached him.

"What did I tell you about staring?" Levi muttered, taking a seat beside Eren quietly before he looked him over quietly as the brunette looked back at him with a surprised expression.

"That...it's rude." Eren muttered breathlessly. There he was, lit up by the artificial lighting from the gallery lighting, sitting right beside him. Eren had to take a moment to figure out how to breathe again before he tore his eyes away from the ravenette knowing that not only would Levi hate the attention, but this man was much older than he was making any sort of semi-romantic gesture something of taboo.

"Exactly, now please, stop staring at me so I can talk with other people, I told you I don't plan on being your guide tonight." Levi hissed, glaring at the flustered brunette who seemed to sit up after Levi's short scolding.

"Than why are you here? If you don't plan on being by guide than go away." Eren pointed out, not trying to be rude but he knew his words were exactly that; rude.

"Go away?" Levi repeated with a scoff, crossing his arms over his chest trying to act as if he had the upper hand in the situation but really, Eren was right. "Alright, but remember what I said. Stop staring." He hissed before standing up, not bothering to look back at Eren again, it would just mean that the brat was winning.

"What? You can't take the heat?" Eren called out as Levi walked off, smirking once he realised that he had won somehow, he wasn't sure what the game was but he had won. Levi continued to walk away, rolling his eyes before he caught Erwin's from across the galleria before the blonde made his way towards him.

"Who was that?" Erwin muttered, glancing over at Eren, seeming to sneer as he noticed how under dressed he was.

"Just some brat that I met outside, seems to like my paintings." Levi muttered bitterly, glaring at Erwin who finally snapped his attention back to Levi, looking back down at him with a solid stare.

"He seems to like a lot more than just your paintings, Levi." Erwin hissed, following Levi as he walked towards the bar, grabbing himself a glass of wine while he waited for Levi's reply.

"Even if that's the case, it's none of your fucking business, last time I checked you don't mean anymore to me than a pile of dirt." Levi hissed, but somewhere, deep inside of him, his own words stung. He still stared up at Erwin, not letting him see the pain, he already lost to Eren he wasn't about to lose to Erwin.

"He's a kid, Levi. Doesn't look old enough to be out of college yet." Erwin muttered lowly, glancing back at Eren who had gotten up to examine more paintings.

"Did I ever say that I felt anything for that shit? No, I didn't. Fuck off Erwin." Levi hissed again, his brows furrowed as he gripped his wine glass tightly, threatening to break it in his hand. Erwin stared at him for a moment before sighing heavily and turning away, walking off to cool himself off.


Eren wandered around the gallery aimlessly for the rest of the hour, trying to find Levi again but never found the small ravenette. Instead, he ran into a taller blonde man just before he had to leave.

"Do I know you?" Eren asked, looking up at the older man, who was blocking his way out of the hallway that they stood in.

"No, but that doesn't matter. Listen to me, stay away from Levi." Erwin said lowly, crossing his arms over his chest as he examined Eren to try and get a better picture of him, why had Levi bothered to associate himself with this kid?

"Stay away from Levi? Why? It's not like i'll be seeing him again, i'm leaving in a few minutes..." Eren mumbled, looking past Erwin before he looked up at him again.

"Well, if that's the case, nevermind." Erwin said before walking down the hallway. "Have a good evening, Eren."

Eren watched Erwin walk off, raising a brow out of confusion before he went off to find Andre in hopes that he hadn't left without him yet.


Morning came late for Eren, luckily for him he had the afternoon shift at the cafe so even with his late start he wouldn't be missing work. He tore his blanket off of his body, sighing heavily before he got out of bed.

"Fuck this..." He groaned silently, wincing as he looked outside of his window to check the weather. It was a nice, bright sunny day, if Eren was still a child he'd be outside playing in the pool or playing pretend in his tree fort with Armin, but that was the past, and work was his now. Eren padded over to the bathroom, quickly showering and trying to groom his hair which got minimal results. He walked back to his bedroom to change into his work clothes before he went to his kitchen, grabbing himself a granola bar and a glass of water, definitely not a sufficient breakfast but he could eat some real food once he got to work.

Eren walked to work, not in any rush to be taking the bus or biking down to the cafe, he was more than positive that he'd be early for once, the thought made him proud knowing that for once he wouldn't have to deal with Andre scolding him for coming in late. He shoved his hands into his pockets, glancing up at the green leaves on a tree that he passed by before he glanced over at an elderly woman who was walking beside a little boy, the boy happily addressed the woman as his grandmother and was talking to her about an event that happened at school the prior day. Eren smiled before he continued along, doing his best not to dwell on his own memories, knowing that doing such a thing would only bring him down.

He walked into the cafe, the small bell on the door ringing as he opened it, smiling as he was greeted by Quinn who stood behind the front counter.

"Hey Eren! You're early." She said cheerfully, closing the cash register before Eren came back with her.

"Yeah, what a surprise." He said sarcastically, smiling as Quinn took off her cap, signaling that her day was over. "Aw, I'm all alone today?" Eren said with a forced pout, laughing as Quinn punched his shoulder playfully.

"Obviously, I love you but I'm not working unpaid overtime for you." She said with a laugh, hopping back over the counter. "See you tomorrow Eren!" She said happily, waving as she left the cafe leaving Eren alone.

The cafe was empty for now but it was lunch time, and lunch was when everyone strolled in needing their afternoon pastries and coffees, something Eren had quickly picked up on in the first few days that he was working there. He looked up when the door was opened, casually greeting the couple that came inside and ordered their lunch, Eren quickly made their sandwiches and coffees before handing it back, looking up again as the bell rang. For a moment, Eren had to hold his breath and do a double take, how ironic was it to find Levi in the cafe that he was working at?

"No cheerful hello?" Levi muttered bitterly, crossing his arms as he cocked his head to the side.

"Uh...Hi? What are you doing here? I've never seen you here before..." Eren trailed off, licking his dry lips before examining Levi. He was clad in black jeans and a black jacket, paired with a dark grey scarf around his neck, clothing that was more suited for autumn weather. Eren bit his tongue and held back his questions, instead he patiently waited for Levi's response.

"I was in the neighbourhood and decided to try something new, now what's the best thing you got here?" Levi asked impatiently, glancing up at the menu for a moment before looking back at Eren.

"Ah...honestly the most popular lunch item would be the turkey sandwich." Eren said with a nervous laugh, brushing a hand through his messy hair watching as Levi nodded and effortlessly gave his order but Eren found himself wondering if he could even manage to complete the order. It needed to be perfect, but it wasn't like he had ever screwed up anyone else's orders before, why would Levi be any different? The ravenette sat down at a nearby table as Eren got down to work, and his work seemed to go by in hours rather than minutes.