I don't own SnK

It hurt because it mattered.
-John Green

~Chapter Four: Home Cooked Meal~

"Eren."

Those light brown eyes had the spark of kindness in them, and he felt comforted upon gazing those orbs.

"Come here. Let me give you a hug."

Her black hair fell past her shoulders, and there was an affectionate smile presented on her lips. Happiness overflowed from her whole being, and he couldn't help but reach out his arms and wrap them around her shoulders.

"Mom."

"Mhm. I love you, Eren. Always and forever."

"Mom."

Eren's sea-green eyes snapped open and the white ceiling came into his view. No smiling face of her mother. No wrinkles around her eyes when she tried to envelop him in her warmth. He sat up on his bed, unaware that there were droplets of porcelain tears running down on his cheeks. His eyes fell on the picture frame by his bedside table.

It was a photo taken after he got into high school. He had an arm slung around his mother's shoulders and she was holding onto him by his waist. Bliss was displayed by their big smiles. It made Eren become aware of the lack of warmth in his apartment; he couldn't even call it his home.

The clock said that it was just seven in the morning, but there was probably no way that Eren could fall back asleep now. So he got out of his bed and put a dark green hoodie on; he would always sleep without a shirt on and going naked outside in the middle of April would only result to the common cold. He spent a few minutes in his bathroom before leaving his empty dwelling.

A good jog would be the best distraction as of now.

The neighborhood didn't change since he moved to the apartment complex two years ago; Marco's house was still down the block, the granny who kept swatting at the invisible bugs was already up, the children who usually played in the streets or went out to the park, were still asleep—Eren remembered them them all, the people outside his lonely world.

"Hey, Eren!" He heard a familiar voice called out to him as he jogged past a light blue house. He strode backwards until the same freckled guy came into his view.

"Hey, Marco. Up so early?" he greeted him, trying to sound upbeat.

"Uh, actually I'm just about to sleep. Stayed up to do some work like, Shadis just loves to torture us." Marco yawned, bending his neck to crack it.

"Tell me about it. I had to stay until five in the morning just for one essay." Oh, how he loved college. Majoring in art still wouldn't let him escape those bothersome alternative classes.

"Oh, that one from few days ago?"

"Yup."

"That was hell."

"Uh-huh."

"Good thing we don't have any assignments the following week, 'cause I really wanna work on my painting. Have you thought of what do you wanna do yet?"

Eren shook his head and said, "I'll try to find some inspiration, I guess. I don't wanna hand in some shitty artwork."

"Shitty artwork? Are you kidding me, Jaeger?! You got a spot in the gallery last month!"

"M-Mhm, well." He really wasn't the type of a person to boast about his work since he merely enjoyed being on the sidelines and watching people wonder about his art. He couldn't possibly tell them what was going on in his head—they would probably have a heart attack.

Marco yawned again and Eren told him to go inside and sleep. The other man didn't complain and he bid Eren goodbye before his wooden door shut close. And once again, there was peace and quiet surrounding Eren. He resumed his activity, passing by the park nearby and heading towards the street of where he worked at. Mike's Bakery was now open since it was already eight, and he really wanted to go grab some cheese-strawberry-filled croissant before he head towards the cafe across the street. It suddenly reminded him of a certain gray-eyed man.

"Hey, Eren. You're up so early," Mike greeted him. The sweet smell of bread and other available pastries filled Eren's nostrils and he wanted to sit down and just inhale the intoxicating smell. But he had to stay awake, because he needed to find this so-called-inspiration for his assignment.

He scratched his head, feeling icky when his hand came in contact with the sweat plastered on his dark fringes. He then said, "Bad dreams. And need to find some kind of an inspiration for my art."

"You always do that, don't you? Last time, you made a drawing of this bakery. I hope you'll show me what's gonna be your next subject," the older man said. The green-eyed man couldn't help but smile because Mike had been so nice to him, even before he started working here.

"Sure. Oh for work, I'll probably be available tomorrow afternoon so I'll come in here," he informed him.

"That's fine. Customers usually come in before ten and in the afternoon."

Mike handed him his bread and Eren happily took it. He paid Mike as he took his first bite, groaning at the usual buttery taste that he loved. The sweetness of the strawberry with the cheese just rightly balanced the bread. Oh, how he would love to have this every morning.

"I'm gonna get my coffee across the street. See ya." Eren gave a wave as he finished his last bite and Mike returned his gesture with a small smile on his face.

Eren jogged across the street, glad that there were only a couple of cars passing by. He pulled the door of the cafe open and he suddenly remembered that this was one of the places where he accidentally encountered Levi. There was something special with those meetings and it made Eren blush upon recalling them. He went inside and was about to go to the counter when he saw one of his friends. Well, douchebag friends, apparently.

It was Reiner. The sight of the blond-haired guy reminded Eren of what Jean told him—that it was Reiner who dared him to break up with him. He was about to turn his heels away, but the blonde shit just had to call out to him so casually that it made Eren's eyes narrow in anger.

"Eren! Hey! Aren't you gonna buy something?"

He had no choice but to turn back. He couldn't possibly continue his walking out of the shop because that would just prove that he was running away. And Eren didn't want that. He had to show that he was no guy who they could just toss around for their mere games.

"Coffee. Two creamers and two sugars," the green-eyed man coldly told the cashier.

"Coming right up. $3.59, please." He gave him the money and got back his change, and the brunet thought Reiner wouldn't bother to say anything. But he was wrong. So wrong and he wanted to punch the blond dude for it.

"Hey. Y-You see, Jean and I talked yesterday. He was so mad, like dude, he was furious. And I'm so fucking sorry about what happened—"

Eren cut him off, "I don't care. Just give me my damn coffee."

"Oh my god, Eren. You don't understand. Jean, he—"

"Look," the brunet snapped, "I DO understand that he was a fucking egoistic bastard and that it was you who gave that shitty dare. So don't tell me that I DON'T fucking understand. I DO understand that it was a mutual break-up."

The fact that he just had an outburst should've made him at least a bit frightened because Reiner was like, twice his size. The blond-haired guy was tall and muscular; Eren wouldn't stand a chance against him. However, the big man merely shook his head like he was saying 'such a waste' and Eren was about to flip his shit but stopped when the #1 person in his I-don't-want-to-see list just came in through the effin' door.

"Oh god. What the hell," he grumbled incredulously under his breath as his eyes met Jean's surprised light brown eyes. Reiner, the supposedly-huge guy made an audible squeak and immediately went to work for Eren's coffee.

The silence in the cafe was already deafening and now, the tension was up high and thick enough to be slashed by a knife. Eren wanted nothing but to get out of the hellhole.

"Eren," Jean uttered softly, and the said person couldn't bear to look at him any longer.

"Is my coffee done?" he gritted out between his teeth, ignoring the ashbrown-haired man behind him. Reiner responded with a stuttered 'o-one sec' and all the brunet could do was to impatiently tap his sneaker on the polished floor. He heard steps and he knew that Jean was walking closer to him.

"H-How are you?" the poor guy stammered.

Eren closed his eyes. I decided to stop being a dick to him. C'mon! He turned around, and the other man were mildly surprised that he unconsciously backed away. He probably thought that Eren would lash out to him. He couldn't blame him since he could be an arse when he was driven with anger.

"Sorry. And I'm fine," he responded with an edge on his voice. Well, it was certainly hard to get rid of his remaining animosity towards his ex-boyfriend. On the other hand, Jean's face lit up like a freaking Christmas tree, about to open his mouth, and Eren couldn't thank Reiner's timing enough.

"Your coffee, Eren." He handed him his coffee and the green-eyed student finally breathed out a sigh of relief because he could finally get out of that suffocating place. He really wasn't expecting that encounter—he was supposed to have a peaceful and an inspiring morning, like c'mon!

And as if his routine was not ruined enough, person #1 on his I-wanna-see-list came through the door. Like, what the hell?!

Levi decided to make an appearance just when he was about to walk towards the exit passageway of his hellhole. Well, couldn't this day get any worse?

The brunet locked eyes with the shorter man as the latter made his way inside the cafe. Eren couldn't move from his spot and he was painfully aware that Jean and Reiner behind him were boring holes on his back. Levi continued to stroll towards him before he completely stopped right in front of him.

The unmoving young man started making faces and signals using his eyes to Levi and the older man either didn't get his signs, or he was totally teasing him.

"Well, how are you, Eren?" he asked ever-so-sweetly that Eren's knees went soft at the sound of his name rolling on his tongue.

"H-Hi, Levi. I... I was just jogging and getting my early breakfast," he stuttered dumbly, his mind clicking at the difference between his response to Jean and to the person in front of him now.

"Mhm," Levi turned to Reiner, eyes swiping to the cashier's face and to the long-faced guy before saying, "Can I get an espresso here?"

Reiner was confused, following the order anyway, and Jean's eyes were narrowing into slits, considering the situation at hand. Eren knew that he wasn't the brightest bulb but there was that fact that the guy was pursuing law and was actually one of the best students; so it would be no wonder if he figured out that something was going on between him and Levi.

"Well, Eren, dear, you should definitely tell me when you feel like doing something. You know that my name is still under your contacts, right?" Levi stated so calmly, but his smirk told a different story. Yeah, that expression was sexy as hell but Eren was flabbergasted as to how the older male was using freaking endearment to him right now. He was totally teasing him! He didn't fail to catch the underlying threat of his last question because it was true—Eren still hadn't gather up his courage to call Levi.

The brunet felt his phone digging in his ribs and he gingerly took it out, the pair of earphones that was still connected dropped on the floor and he clumsily tried to put it back in his hoodie pocket.

"Uh. I'll keep that in mind," Eren said softly and he whispered to the gray-eyed man, "But why are you here?!"

"Getting my coffee," the other answered plainly and as if to prove his point, Reiner gave his cup of espresso and paid him. He casually strode back to Eren and of course, Jean just had to say something.

"...Are you his friend?" The direction was directly to Levi and Eren cursed his timing.

"...You could say that," the shorter male replied.

What's up with the pause anyway?!

"I've known Eren since high school, and I don't know he'd ever mention having a friend like you," Jean stated, emphasizing the word 'friend' with some underlying tone.

"Jean—" Eren tried to interject but Levi beat him to it.

"Well, I certainly don't see why is this any of your business."

The brown-eyed guy looked a bit taken aback but regained his composure as he scrutinized Levi from head to toe, and Eren could practically hear his gears turning as he tried to find some comeback. His almost-constipated-look was the evidence of it.

"If you have nothing else to say then I'll take my Eren since we have a lot to discuss. Right, dear?" The green-eyed student didn't know what response to give to that so he let Levi grab his wrist to finally drag him away from the blasted place.

"Wait."

Jean's own hand shot up and wrapped itself around Eren's other hand—not his wrist, but his hand. It seemed a silly thing to think about but Eren could practically see electric sparks flying everywhere and a freaking thundercloud would've possibly manifest right above them. Blood rushed to his face and he could feel his heart hammering loudly against his chest. He didn't fail to see that Levi's wolfish glare was back and was fixed on Jean's own glare, which was one level feeble compared to the older male.

"Let him go," Jean ordered, eyebrows were pulled together as if concentrating his willpower not to stammer in front of his rival. Reiner had somehow disappeared through the backroom and Eren certainly realized that he was all alone in this now.

"Why would I?" Levi asked, also determined not to lose and to prove that, his grip tightened around Eren's. His silver eyes became stormy as they fell on Jean's hold around Eren's hand. Oh, he just did not...

"Because I am—"

"What? His lover? Last time I checked, some asshole ended things with Eren."

"What did you say?!"

"And it was because of a shitty dare. Really. That's low," the shorter man growled. A look of anger flashed across his face. And even if it was merely a glimpse, Eren was ten times scared of that expression than the one that he saw the first time they met each other.

With that last counter, Jean's grip loosened on Eren's until it dropped on his side. His head was downcast and the green-eyed lad couldn't see his face nor those familiar brown eyes. The shorter man took that opportunity to leave the cafe, pulling Eren alongside him and not stopping until they reached the silver Maserati. Levi told him to go inside and the brunet complied, not really wanting to stay there any longer. Once they were inside though, Levi was the one who broke their silence first.

"Was that your ex?"

The taller man just nodded. He couldn't tell Levi that guilt was clutching his heart as the image of the defeated figure of the ashbrown-haired guy kept flashing before his eyes. He didn't want to admit that he was too soft on almost everyone, that he couldn't bear to hold grudges.

That would make him look weak.

"Sorry."

It startled Eren to hear Levi apologize because he should be the one apologizing. Not him.

"The reason I pulled you away was because that horse-face was fucking irritating me. He had a vice grip on you even though you're not fucking his," the gray-eyed man admitted, bitterness in his voice.

The green-eyed man was surprised to hear that since he was not used to this side of Levi. Levi who always maintained his cool no matter what, was actually admitting that he was bothered by someone. Mind you, this was the same man who made him look like a crybaby in the amusement park.

Oh, how he kept going back to that day.

"Did you just call him horse-face?" A grin broke out on his face.

"Yeah, got a problem with that, brat?"

The brunet couldn't help but chuckle, but his eyes turned serious once again.

"I... wanna hear him out. But I don't think I'll get back with him anymore," Eren explained, gazing forward as Levi switched gears and proceeded to drive.

"You better not, brat." It was faint but Eren caught that statement from Levi and it made him red on the face.

"Why are you there anyway?" he asked, changing the topic.

It took a moment for the older male to respond and he said, "I like their coffee." Now, that was one thing they had in common.

"Me too," the younger man agreed, a grin making its way on his face.

"I didn't know you go on morning jogs."

Eren bashfully scratched his cheek and mumbled, "I still wanna be fit, you know."

"I thought you're like those weirdos who never gain weight no matter how much of a pig they are." Well, no-filtered Levi was certainly back.

"I'm not a weirdo, geez. I'm looking for an inspiration for my art, too."

"Oh? I don't think you'll find it in a pissed-filled neighborhood."

Eren face-palmed himself after he figured out what category Levi belonged to.

"You're one clean-freak, aren't you?" he asked, though it was unnecessary. He couldn't believe that he missed that detail about the black-haired man. Who wouldn't? Levi allowed himself to puke after a day at the amusement park and he also lent Eren his handkerchief.

Oh. Wait.

"Aren't you gonna take back your handkerchief? I washed it, you know," he told him. Something clicked in his mind and he thought, Oh wow. I should've figured by that time he rejected to take back his hanky. He would've burned the object, but I don't think he would've touched it to begin with.

His thoughts were broken when Levi answered, "Yeah. Pick it up from your place; I have nothing to do anyway."

It only took a few minutes before they arrived in front of Eren's apartment building, and as Levi cut off the engine, Eren finally realized what was going to happen. He had two delicate options: 1) he could just go get the handkerchief and make Levi wait for him to come out or 2) he could invite him inside. The lad was leaning towards the second option and by the heavens, how he knew what would be the consequences of that. However, he didn't want to be rude towards the certain man, especially since he already owed him many favors.

So he chose the most dangerous option.

They headed towards apartment 0845 and Eren introduced Levi to his place, shrugging off his sneakers and was about to tug off his hoodie when he remembered that he wasn't alone in the room, and that he had no shirt underneath. That was close.

"Do you even know how to clean your own place, brat? It's a wonder how haven't you suffocated yet with this amount of dust," the shorter man complained as he went inside the living room.

Oh, his clean-freak level was absolutely exceeding Eren's assumption.

"I'm only alone in the house so... I just clean what I see," he replied a little weakly.

Eren blinked, suddenly feeling something was odd—like oddly small. It was like his apartment was ten times narrower than before, letting him feel a bit ashamed in front of Levi. The older male paid no heed to it, though, as if he never noticed anything. The brunet came to the revelation that it was probably because his place wasn't really designed for another person besides from him.

He never thought of how lonely it was, until Levi walked in.

Mikasa and Armin had been there a couple of times but he rarely got that feeling of isolation or degradation because those two managed to keep him away from those thoughts. With Levi though...

It was like he was able to feel the need of a companion in the house, and he wondered why would he feel that way towards a man whom he had just known for a short span of two weeks.

"Aren't you even gonna serve some breakfast?" Levi demanded, his tone was obnoxiously laughable that it made Eren snicker a bit.

"Yes, yes. Would you like some ramen?"

The gray-eyed man's mouth dropped and his eyes glinted with some bloody scary intent. It was so out of the blue that Eren wondered what he had just said wrong.

"Have you been eating right, brat?"

"Eh?"

"Don't tell me... You've only eaten ramen...?

"Uh... sometimes I eat at the bakery or order Chinese food..."

"Oh for the love of—" Levi planted his face on his palm for a moment and then he looked at Eren and asked, "Kitchen. Where is it?"

The younger man timidly pointed to the direction of his kitchen, which was already visible so Levi probably just had the urge to be polite. His guest was quick to his refrigerator and the intimidating look on his face certainly intensified and he could feel chills on his spine as Levi's glare turned to him.

"Wh-What?"

"You don't have food."

"I-I have juice..."

"Hah?!"

"...And apples."

The shorter man strode towards him in three steps and Eren backed away towards his brown couch until his knees buckled and he fell on the cushioned object head-first.

"Ooof!"

"Dumbass, what are you doing? I'm taking you to the supermarket," Levi declared, dark aura enveloped him and Eren tried to sit up and defend himself. His guest was totally scaring him off; he gulped loudly and the next thing he knew, he was being pulled out of his living room and out of his apartment, towards that silver car of Mr. Clean Freak.

Why did he even think that his second option was dangerous?

They got to the grocery store in no time and Eren decided to keep his mouth since Levi had gone into papa-mode, or mama-mode if he were allowed to muse. Oh, he could feel that it was going to be a long day.

It was already eight in the evening. The day, without a doubt, had passed like a blur but for Eren, it felt like it was long enough to make him want to sleep forever.

How did a simple encounter at the cafe became a day to spend with Levi, that—he didn't even know.

His supposedly-guest had practically dragged him in the grocery store, picking vegetables and meat and other necessities that Eren didn't find the need to buy (like a vacuum...). The worse was he certainly felt guilty because the money for all of that expenses came from the lawyer's card. The only thing that he paid for, with a great amount of force exerted, was the pizza they had for lunch.

Now...

Why is Levi wearing an apron in front of the stove and cooking dinner?

The fact that the apron that the older man was wearing had this rabbit design was supposed to be ridiculous, but Eren's thoughts were running wild. He thought of Levi's delicate hand on the spatula and a wine on the other. The way his ass was—

Ah, shit. Stop it, Eren Jaeger.

He shook his head and was pulled back to reality, which was him sitting at the table with two plates already set and a couple of cups ready. The sight of it was very nostalgic and it made him recall his dream this morning.

His mom would usually wake up early in the morning to prepare breakfast for him, even if he already told her that he didn't like eating anything during that time of the day. She would scold him and tell him that it was supposed to be the important meal of the day, then he would eat his food anyway. His lunchbox was ready before he went to school, too, and he would give her a kiss on the cheek before he left the house. After school, he would help with the laundry and other household chores before doing his homework. His mom would then call out for him and tell him that the dinner was ready.

"Eren. Come down and eat."

"Eren. It's done. Now eat, brat."

Levi's voice broke his trance and he realized how directly he was staring at Levi who was standing in front of him with two plates of the delicious-looking steaks. He set them down on the table and Eren scrambled out of his seat to get some rice. As he scraped out some rice for him and for the older male, he felt like there was a lump in his throat that refused to go down. There was that squeezing feeling in his heart, too. He couldn't get rid of the ache and the more he thought about it, the more the tears in his eyes were threatening to spill.

He tried to compose himself and then he settled down on his seat, noticing that Levi was pouring some white wine for himself and giving Eren some apple cider.

"I'm legal, you know," he reminded him.

"I know, but you're still a brat. Already crying when you still haven't taste my food," the gray-eyed man retorted.

"I'm not!" the brunet quickly wiped away the invisible tears that haven't even fell yet. He suddenly felt exposed; it felt like Levi could see right through him and he didn't want him to see what turmoil was building inside him.

After admiring the pleasantly presented food right in front of him, he went to dig in. The taste of the steak burst in his mouth and made him hungry for more. He was unaware that Levi was staring at him the whole time, though there was that prickling sensation that he got.

"T-This is delicious! Totally different from any take-outs!" he exclaimed, a bright smile made its way on his face.

"It IS the best, you brat. Don't even compare my food with those fucking grease-filled take-outs."

He laughed. He couldn't help it. A companion in the house for the first time in like a year, and a home-cooked meal right in front of him. Those two things have been deprived of him ever since he decided to move out from the Ackerman's house. And ironically, another Ackerman was filling the space in.

A warmth spread from his mouth and to his whole body, and his chest felt like it would cave in because there were several swirling emotions that have been brought by his memories. One by one, tears escaped from his eyes but his smile never left its place.

"Is it that good that it's making you cry?" Levi asked, his voice had an edge of sarcasm but Eren saw through it. There was concern and gentleness on the usual indifferent mask of Levi, and Eren's cheeks turned pink a little.

"Mm. Y-yeah," he replied, silently sobbing and he watched as his tears fell on the table cloth.

There was silence that ensued afterwards, and the green-eyed lad was more than glad to have that because it calmed him down. After dinner, he went to his room and grabbed the familiar handkerchief that had been sitting on his desk for two weeks. He really did clean it after his second encounter with Levi, and that was the smartest idea he thought of since he knew now that the certain man didn't really tolerate dirt.

"Here," he handed him the said object and Levi looked up to him. They were standing in the middle of the hallway that led to the front door. The older man slowly took his possession back from Eren and he let himself become lost in those sea-green eyes.

"I'll...cook for you, again."

The younger man's mouth opened in surprise and he tried for any signs of just...anything on the older man's face, but his stoic facade was already up. He rubbed the nape of his neck, embarrassed at their current situation.

"You don't have to—"

"I want to."

He searched those gray eyes again, trying to find the reason why would he go that far for him. A simple trick of fate wasn't enough and Eren knew that. One would have to start caring and it was hard to figure out things because Levi wasn't exactly the expressive type of a person.

"Why?" He breathed out.

The other man didn't hesitate one bit as he replied, "Because I care."

"Don't pamper me..."

"I'm not."

"No, you certainly—"

"I'm not. I'm not taking away your freedom, right? Treat it as bonus from the effin sky, you brat."

It was enough to make those emerald orbs water again, but the brunet held it in this time. Before his mind could process what he was doing, his body was already moving on its own accord and his arms were wrapping around Levi's shoulder.

"Ere—"

"J-Just a sec."

There was that warmth again, filling his chest with bliss and opening his mind to possibilities that could potentially change his life. His dream resurfaced in his mind—his mom's kind eyes brightened in happiness. He never felt that kind of warmth with anyone else in a long time, besides from his second family and his childhood friends.

So how come Levi could give me this much comfort?

Somehow, the idea of having Levi walk around in his apartment almost everyday with that silly apron didn't seem too bad.

And Eren said, "I think I just found my inspiration."

Levi couldn't help but let his fingers tug on the younger's shirt, slowly returning the warm embrace.

A/N: Sigh. I feel like crying for Eren as I'm writing this... But this is the start of their "budding" romance, don't cha think? :D Read and review~! Thank you! Anyone caught on 0845? XD
-CrimsonHazelEyes