I don't own SnK

"According to Greek mythology, humans were originally created with four arms, four legs and a head with two faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate beings, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves."

-Plato's The Symposium

~Chapter Two: Spark Between Us~

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Eren's eyes snapped open and he sat straight up on his bed, wincing when his back cracked loudly.

Bang! Bang!

"Eren! Open the damn door!"

Oh shit. He knew that voice everywhere; well, how could he not when that person had practically grew up with him. She was the protective mother hen among their friends, and the one he knew the longest. Eren knew what her reactions were going to be in particular situations, what she liked and extremely hated. There was no in-between for her or mildly disliked because she was the type of person who would instantly categorized one thing (or a person) in her list of likes and hates. And Eren would not want to be on her hate side.

He hastily got up from his bed and put a pair of sweatpants on, the one hanging on the swivel chair in front of his desk, almost tripping face-first on the ground. He left his room in haste, forgetting the other pair of his slippers and passed the kitchen connected to a living room, to the small hallway of his apartment. The young man breathed out a large huff of air and stilled his nerves when he put his hand on the doorknob.

Here goes nothing...

Bang! Bang!

Eren finally opened the door and there, his childhood friend greeted him with an angry glare. Her dark brown eyes seemed to penetrate his whole being and he felt a chill running down his spine as he met those icy daggers shooting around from her eyes.

"Where the hell have you been? And why couldn't I contact you?" the young woman snarled, and Eren imagined some four paws ready to tear him apart. Not that she would. Right?

"E-Err... Amusement park? And I broke and lost my phone?" the green-eyed lad answered unsurely.

Suddenly, images from last night's events came rushing back to him and almost knocked him away from his ground. Mikasa must have had noticed that he staggered slightly because the furious expression on her face cracked with lines of worry. She grabbed a hold of his arm before Eren could actually drop dead.

"You haven't been drinking, have you?" Mikasa asked, voice was interlaced with accusation, betrayal, and disappointment. Only Eren could actually tell those emotions in one-go because he knew Mikasa inside-out, and she probably knew him better than himself. Well, at least, not at his given circumstance right now.

Eren sat on the mini-step at the entrance hall and slumped his shoulders down, letting himself relax a bit. Mikasa let herself completely inside the apartment and closed the door behind her, sitting beside her best friend and ready to support him in case he were to fall.

"I haven't gotten much sleep," the brunet said. That didn't provide any explanation but Mikasa looked like she was ready to let go of the issue at hand. Eren could finally get some peace and quiet.

"Why? I'm asking you what happened yesterday because I bumped to Jean last night. I thought you guys were supposed to be together at the amusement park?"

Or not.

Mikasa was totally not just going to drop the subject and the newfound information about Jean just increased Eren's incoming headache. This was the subject that he had been dreading to discuss for he wasn't ready to relay the lame break-up that just happened yesterday. On a happy note, a certain short, older man certainly made yesterday a bit more fun than Eren originally intended to.

"Why are you smiling?" Mikasa asked, scrunching her eyebrows together in confusion. Eren immediately tried to cover his mouth, which was indeed displaying an embarrassing smile, but he ended up slapping himself in the process.

"Ow..." He yelped and he attempted to rub the skin that was slightly turning red. Mikasa shook her head and grabbed Eren's chin a bit non-too-gently. The green-eyed man watched as his friend caressed his skin with obvious affection. She rubbed his cheek and around his mouth, her eyes focused on what she was doing like she was trained to do this, and her fingers stopped moving on the side of Eren's lips.

Eren didn't know whether he found the atmosphere a bit too comforting or just plain awkward. Mikasa's hair were untucked from her ears and Eren noticed how much it had grown since a year and a half ago when she decided to cut it just slightly above her shoulders. Her eyes that seemed black were actually dark brown in the light, and her feminine features were defined. She was known in their college for just about everything; looks, brains, AND her notorious glare. He wasn't that clueless as to why Mikasa turned all her suitors down.

Eren knew.

He knew that behind those mother-like gestures that seemed natural for her was something more. It sprouted like wings and made Mikasa stood out more among the other girls in his university. He knew that the way she looked at him wasn't a look of a sister ready to scold her brother but more of a woman concerned about the one she loved.

Yeah, Eren knew that Mikasa loved him. No, she was in love with him. He didn't know when it started and Eren was afraid to know.

He was afraid to know how long had he been unintentionally hurting her.

"Are you really okay?" she asked him, breaking his trance. The brunet blinked once, twice, and thrice until he shook out his thoughts. He smiled to Mikasa and slowly pulled away from their close proximity.

"I'm fine."

"Then, are you really not gonna tell me what happened?"

He knew that she wasn't gonna stop asking until he told her, especially since he used to recount every incident that happened to his life to Mikasa and Armin. However, his love life wasn't supposed to be open to her. Recounting his stories would be like pouring salt onto the wound and Eren didn't want to give her more pain.

"Do you really want to know?"

"Eren," she paused and stared him square in the eye, "I'm just worried that something happened. I'm always here for you and if that bastard needs some beating up—"

"No one needs one," Eren laughed. He turned his head away from the woman and stared at his plain, white door.

"Then..."

"We broke up."

"...What?"

"He called me and told me that he's not gonna make it to our date. That we're done."

"That shit."

Eren couldn't help but smile. Mikasa getting overprotective of him wasn't something new, and if not a little over-the-top he actually found it a bit endearing. Regardless, he loved her, too. But in a different way.

Mikasa would always be the sister whom he'd never had.

"Well, he is a shit for doing that," he agreed. He leaned back on the floor with his hands propping him up. Eren could feel the gaze that Mikasa fixed upon him. By telling Mikasa about his break-up, she would either offer to comfort him or really beat up Jean. He really didn't want either of them because none would make him feel better. Unless he would be the one throwing the fist to the little bastard of a horseface.

"How did you get home?"

The sudden question caught him off guard; he really did feel his muscles tense under the intrusion of the said question. The green-eyed lad didn't know whether to reveal the stranger he met last night, or keep Mikasa calm and just tell her a white lie. He really didn't want her to get stressed out, especially since her law school was definitely making things tough for her already.

"I took a taxi." A lame, common lie but it was worth a try.

"You weren't home when I visited at 8," Mikasa pointed out. Eren bit the inside of his cheek. Well, how would he get through this interrogation without the mention of the name Levi?

Luckily for the brunet, Mikasa's phone rang, the soft piano tune filled the hallway a song that Eren was familiar with. She picked it up and answered curtly due to the unwanted interruption.

"Annie? Yeah. I'm gonna be on my way."

She hung up after the brief conversation and Eren silently exhaled a sigh of relief. He would have to give the certain blonde some coffee in the morning on her way to work as an appreciation for preventing the unavoidable questioning.

Mikasa averted her eyes from the screen of her phone and looked at her best friend.

"We're continuing this conversation later when we meet up with Armin," she stated. No disagreements. No whatsoever. There was really no use going against her because she would totally grill him either way. If not now, she certainly would in the future.

"Are you gonna meet up with your law-buddies now?" Eren asked, a smile playing on his lips. He got up and Mikasa followed after him, picking up the black messenger bag that she put down on the floor, which Eren didn't notice earlier.

"Yeah. I'm gonna see you later. Feel better," she said with a small smile and her stern expression softened up. She reached out for him and he hugged her close.

Mikasa, the one who cared for him and took care of him for five years after his parents died, seemed so strong and dependable. However, Eren was only one of the few people who could hold her close like that and think of how breakable this petite girl really was. And Eren would hate to think that he was the one who could potentially break this form and her heart that was so giving and loving.

Which was why he would never let her know that he knew. At least, not now.

They broke their hug and bid their goodbyes. Eren watched as the gap of the door decreased in size, waiting until the figure of Mikasa was totally gone. Once the click of the door sounded in the hall, he got tempted to sit down and get his shit together.

He had to go through his classes today, which actually could help him divert his attention elsewhere.

Going to the school by the train was the usual. Going to classes with his old, paint-smudged shirt was also what he had done almost every other day. And greeting Marco in painting class with the usual high five was also part of the routine. No signs of Jean, Mikasa, or Armin, which was good so far.

However, getting out of the class and being greeted with the sight of a vertically-challenged man was not at all, the usual.

Levi was leaning on his Maserati car like he was just casually going for a midday sunbathing, which would be something he would need because he was paler than Eren. Not that he minded his skin color or whatsoever; he could be a sun-kissed, tanned old man for all he cared.

The only thing that Eren didn't like at the moment was the fact that he was hiding behind a pillar of the building.

His back was pressed against the cemented surface and he gripped his sketchbook, which was under his armpit. Oh god, why is he here? Eren thought, blinking the sweat out of his eyelids.

"Because of the phone, maybe?" he mumbled under his breath.

He peeked over his shoulder and saw that the gray-eyed man was still just ten yards or so away from him. The brunet wanted to come out from his hiding and ask the shorter man what was up, not that he was expecting him or anything.

He sighed and gave in. He was about to come out when he saw the intern, Hanji Zoe, from the Biology department and she was walking towards Levi.

What.

Wait.

Back up.

Don't tell me they're...

Eren didn't finish his thought as his mind instantly went blank when Hanji threw her arms around Levi, squeezing the life out of him but this went unnoticed by Eren. He was too focused by the fact that the uber-scary man that he just met yesterday would actually allow someone to hug him.

And the green-eyed lad came to the conclusion that the 31-year-old was totally and utterly unattainable for him.

He turned away from the spot, not bothering to look back, as his disappointment and growing frustration gnawed him from the inside.

Thus, he failed to see Levi look at his way as the older man pushed the overly-hyped woman away from him.

Eren's shift at the bakery ended at 7:30 PM. He left the building and bid goodbye to Mike, his boss. The green-eyed lad ran across the street towards the usual cafe he went to. He was supposed to meet up Mikasa and Armin there. He entered the shop and was instantly greeted with the waft of coffee beans, making him close his eyes for a moment and bask in that glorious smell. He went to the counter and waved a "hi" to his friend.

"Can I have the usual?" The green-eyed young man said politely to the blond-haired woman.

"Sure. How's work?" Annie asked him, a slight change from her usual indifferent attitude.

"Good. How's your day so far?"

"I have to prepare for some trial tomorrow."

"Oh, good luck. By the way, did you see Mika—" He trailed off as his eye caught a certain black-haired man, sitting at the corner of the cafe. With Hanji Zoe.

Oh, shoot.

"Oi. Earth to Eren?" Annie waved a hand in front of his face, eyebrows were meeting together in curiosity.

"H-Huh?"

"Who are you looking at?"

"Uh-Nothing. No one." Eren shook his head a bit too eagerly and Annie turned her head a bit just to find out what (or rather who) distracted the young man.

"I've never seen him around here before," the blonde murmured, but Eren heard it.

So they don't see each other a lot? the brunet thought, hope sprouting in his chest despite his mind telling him to stop his delusions.

"Here's your coffee. I already put two creamers and two sugars in it," Annie said thoughtfully and Eren mumbled a thanks, paying for his drinks before he sat down a couple of tables down the isle from where Levi was.

The green-eyed lad glanced at the gray-eyed man every once in a while. The older man hadn't changed within the twenty hours they didn't see each other; he was still the same grumpy-looking, hot mess of a short person Eren met yesterday. The latter tried to concentrate to find some inspiration from people passing by the cafe and so far, nothing was able to distract him from looking at Levi.

"Have you been sleeping enough?"

"Who cares, four-eyes."

"I know being a lawyer is tough but you seriously need to sleep."

"And I'll appreciate it if you just hand in the documents I came here for."

"I cannot believe you didn't tell me that you came back from Japan! What the hell, Levi?!" Hanji's excited voice reached Eren's ears and his interest was suddenly piqued.

"Yeah, well. Yesterday, Erwin told me to go to the amusement park, and god knows why did he send me there just to get some fucking documents from him. And now he's telling me to get them from you," Levi's uncaring attitude and irritation were presented in his tone.

"And he forgot about it yesterday, didn't he?!" the redhead woman laughed out loud without getting embarrassed and continued, "By the way, why has he been looking over this way?" She was pointing at Eren with her eyes on him.

Eren, who was drinking his coffee and eyes trained on the back of Levi, choked on his drink. He coughed loudly and he cursed, stabbed himself mentally out of shame. His lips were wet, coffee trickling down his chin and his green orbs met Levi's silver ones, which widened at the sudden revelation.

"Brat?"

Of course, he would call him that.

Eren wiped his chin with a napkin before responding, "H-Hi, old man."

Levi swiveled his small, taut body so he was facing the brunet's direction, much to the latter's embarrassment. He was suddenly guilty that he had been eavesdropping, wishing that the older man would notice his presence. And now that he did, Eren wanted a black hole to swallow him whole because the situation didn't turn out like he wanted it to be.

"Are you stalking my boyfriend?" Hanji asked, mouth was opened in an exaggerating gasp. But the green-eyed man just froze on his seat, almost letting the cup of coffee slip from his hand. He nervously laughed and scratched his head, refusing to meet the look that Levi was heatedly sending him.

"U-Uh. NO. I mean, y-you look familiar and it's my first time seeing you here in the cafe so I was curious," Eren stuttered out. He wiped his now-sticky hands on his pants. Ugh, gross.

Silence ensued. Except from the quiet rambling noise that a machine nearby was making, and Annie flipping pages of her book like she was just a silent bystander. And Eren needed her to intervene one way or the other. Badly.

Hanji burst out laughing, much to Eren's surprise, and he gathered up his remaining courage and dignity to look at Levi. The gray-eyed man was seemingly distressed, rubbing his temples with his fingers.

"Are you done messing with the brat now, shitty-glasses?" the short man grumbled. He suddenly stood up and stalked towards Eren, who was visibly trembling in nervousness.

"U-Uh. Lo-Long time no see?" Eren mumbled dumbly, raising his hand to silently wave which made him more awkward.

"It hasn't even been a day, brat." Some response, that was.

Levi sat down across from Eren, crossing his legs, and they both heard Hanji whined, "Levi~! Why are you leaving me here?"

"A-Aren't you s-supposed to be with your g-g-girlfriend?" the green-eyed young man stammered, which sent the redhead woman into a laughing fit again, much to Eren's confusion.

"Ignore the insane woman. She's not my girlfriend," Levi gritted between his teeth, like he was disgusted with the idea. Eren's emerald orbs brightened significantly, which didn't go unnoticed by the older man. If only the young man knew what effect he had on Levi...

"E-Eh? U-Uh. W-Why are you here, by the way? I-I mean, not that I mind! Actually I-I don't mind at all that you're here. I-It's just that I haven't seen you here before." Eren mentally punched himself for being such a wuss and for his rambling. Since when was it that he lost all his rationality and spit out words whenever he was in the presence of this oh-so-handsome man?

"Well, if you get your knotted-tongue straightened out, then I'll talk to you properly," Levi responded, a smirk plastered on his face. Eren would never admit that he found that hot. Really...hot—

Eren pinched his arm under the table and grimaced. He had to stop his daydreaming or he would really get in trouble. The young man sighed and he jumped conspicuously when Hanji grabbed a chair from the nearby table and sat down next to him.

"You're young. How old are you?" she asked, curiosity laced in her voice. Typical medical student... Eren thought.

He, nonetheless, answered her, "I just turned 22 a week ago."

"Oooh. Belated happy birthday!" A lazy but playful smile shaped the woman's lips and with her eyebrows wiggling mischievously, her eyes turned to Levi, who was obviously ignoring her and was staring at Eren with such intensity that made the taller man squirm in his seat.

"A-Are you Hanji Zoe from the Biology department?" Eren asked, attempting to strike a conversation and to break the tension hanging in the air.

"Yeah! I'm with some researchers and scientists conducting experiments in the department's laboratory. And you are...?"

"E-Eren Jaeger."

"Jaeger? You're German." Levi joined into the conversation but his question sounded more like a statement. Eren nodded vigorously, a bit pleased with the idea that Levi was indeed a bit interested in him.

"Wait!" Hang exclaimed, eyes shining like she just discovered something amusing. "Does the title Under Water ring any bell to you?" she asked.

Eren, who met Levi's gaze, snapped his head towards Hanji in recognition.

"Yeah. That's the name of the piece that I—"

"I knew it! You were that amazing artist! I saw your work in the gallery show last month and I totally fell in love with your art!" Hang suddenly clasped Eren's hands with hers and his green eyes widened in surprised. Hanji was about to go on to another lengthy rant when Levi tugged Eren's hands off the woman's.

"Eh...!"

Levi stood up abruptly, the chair made a scraping sound on the floor, and he enveloped Eren's left hand with his. The young man looked shocked and his heart suddenly raced a hundred km/hr. Fainting because of the sudden stimulation would be so lame...

He then realized that, even given the fact they spent the whole day together, the two of them had never once held hands. Not that he had ever heard of strangers doing that.

Then again, no strangers would actually share some kisses on the day they met each other.

"I'm going to talk to this brat," he merely stated before dragging away the confused Eren out of Hanji's sight. The redhead woman smirked at the scene in front of her; Levi was pushing Eren out of the door until they totally left the cafe.

"Uh-huh. He's so possessive of him even though he has yet to mark him his," Hanji muttered curiously, starting to hum in amusement. She now had finally found something to tease her friend with, and that embarrassed expression that Levi would have on was enough to make her laugh evilly.

Annie, who was watching the entire play-like scenario with her nose buried under her book, mumbled softly, "Mikasa is going to kill that shorty."

"Sorry. My friend is really nosy and boisterous," Levi said softly that Eren was afraid he heard it wrong.

They were outside of the cafe, in an alley where there was no one around. A cat jumped on the stack of the wooden crates which startled Eren and made him jump nervously.

"U-Uh. It's okay."

A pause ensued. Surely, Levi wasn't really a criminal, was he?

"Are you really an artist student?"

Eren turned to Levi and nodded, albeit unsurely because he was suddenly hyper-aware that the two of them were alone. The situation could only lead to two ways—him being dead or him being ravished. He gulped; none of those two possible outcomes could potentially benefit him. Not that he minded the second one—

"Oh? Hard to believe that a brat like who you just cried in the middle of the fucking street—"

The taller man huffed incredulously. Eren didn't really want to be reminded of that right now.

"You're really not letting that go, are you? And for your information, I'm a decent artist."

"Pfft. Yeah, right. And no, a crybaby like you is kinda hard to forget."

Eren stopped and thought, Does that have any other meaning?

"Then, I'll show you all of my work!"

"Oh? Little puppy ready to bark now, eh?" Levi smirked.

Eren's ears turned visibly red and he crossed his arms in mocked anger. He refused to look at Levi and he knew that it was childish but he couldn't help it. On the inside though, he was glad that the awkward atmosphere melted between them.

"Your phone. I was going to fix it, but it was too troublesome," Levi suddenly brought up. Eren's thoughts flew out of the window as the statement sank it. Oh, shit. Mikasa would kill him.

"EH?! Please, give it back to me then. I have important contact information—"

Out of the blue, a smartphone was thrusted upon his face, and the young man blinked in confusion and tilted his head sideways.

"I bought you a new one earlier."

Holy shit. What.

"What...?!"

"Don't worry, I already transferred all of your contacts and necessary data from your old shitty one. I was gonna give it to you tomorrow but didn't know I'd ran into you tonight," the black-haired man said casually like he just didn't spend $500 on a phone. Eren knew that it cost that much because the phone presented to him was undoubtedly the brand new one issued recently.

"I-I can't accept that! I mean, I was prepared to fix or buy a new one, anyway—"

He was cut off by a glare from Levi, and the green-eyed young man gulped. It seemed like he had to be afraid of two people in his life now.

"I was the one who broke your phone, even though it was partially your fault for being an idiot. Consider it a late birthday gift so accept it. Or I'll throw it away," Levi threatened. Conveniently, he was next to a trash bin and Eren didn't want to waste the poor phone so he gingerly took it, his head downcast.

"Th-Thank you..."

As he held his hand to take the object from Levi, his fingertips touched the man's skin, a spark suddenly coursed through his vein and he jerked his hand away.

They really didn't have to take the whole spark thing literally, you know.

Nonetheless, it was enough to make Eren self-conscious again.

"Oi, brat." Levi's husky voice was enough to make the hesitant Eren look at him. Unbeknownst to him, Levi became rooted on the ground as Eren's green eyes lightened under that one lamp post next to them. The man's eyes were enough for Levi to be captivated—completely taken—as the shadows swallowed them whole and only those green eyes sparked with innocence and that mysterious warmth he felt the day he met him. And before Levi knew what he was doing, the he was already on his tip-toes and pressing his lips on Eren's cheek.

It seemed like an eternity long before Levi pulled back, indifference was on his face but Eren couldn't have mistaken the faint blush on the older man's cheeks.

"Payback for last time. And belated happy birthday," Levi simply said and he hastily walked away, leaving a stunned Eren.

And the green-eyed lad was surely thankful that Mikasa and Armin arrived before they could see his beet-red face and the man named Levi. Keeping him a secret would probably the best for now. It wasn't like they would meet each other again, right? After all, he already got back his phone, so there would be no reason to meet each other again. Much to his disappointment.

Except for fact that Fate loved to mess with them, just waiting to strike at the young, blushing student and the stubborn, short lawyer.

A/N: Thank you for reading :) A review would be appreciated ^^ I promise that the story will flow exhilaratingly soon! See ya~!

-CrimsonHazelEyes