Alright, this chapter has been waiting to go up since yesterday but alas it had to wait until today.

I don't have planned uploading dates like I did for my last story but so far it seems that I spend all my free time away from work and school, writing fanfiction! So the chapters shouldn't take long each time ^o^

Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin or its characters

Chapter 2

"So he really didn't want to show up huh?" Eren asked himself aloud as he tapped his fingers on the wooden table in front of him. He took a sip of his coffee and pulled out his phone to check the time. 15 minutes before class begins. He sighed in an attempt to cease the disappointment that lingered in his chest.

'I'd better get going. I can't wait around much longer.' Eren thought as he lifted his bag from the seat next to him and swung it over his shoulder, lacing his arms between the straps. He left the café and squinted his eyes against the shining rays of the sun.

"It's way too bright for this cool weather." He mumbled before diverting his attention in another direction. He rested his eyes on a shady tree and sitting beneath said tree was Levi, drinking none other than the school branded tea.

'When did he-?' Eren began thinking as his feet unconsciously led him to the emotionless man leaning against the darkened tree trunk.

"Hey! Levi, what gives? I've been waiting for you in there," Eren said pointing a finger towards the school's café. "Did you see me and not say anything?"

Levi looked up from the laptop resting on his crossed legs before reaching a hand to his face to remove his glasses. "I didn't see you inside." He said in the least apologetic way.

"But I've been- Wait, what time did you get here?" Eren asked in confusion. "I looked out for you most of the time, but I never saw you walk in."

Levi sighed, closed his eyes, and leaned back further against the tree. "I get here at 8 o'clock each morning." He opened his eyes and gazed at the green leaves swaying above them. He let his eyes fall back to the brown haired man standing over him. "I did see you walk in though."

Eren closed his eyes sharply and brought his hand to his face, sliding it up until it raked through his hair. "You knew I was going in there to meet you didn't you?"

"I guess." Levi muttered impassively.

'You could have called out to me or even came inside. Actually coming inside would've made sense. Why didn't you do that?"

"I was already sitting down."

"…You were already… You're a very stubborn man, you know that?" Eren huffed before wiggling his hand in his pocket to fish out his phone. 9:52 am. "Darn it, not this again." Eren rolled his eyes and tightened his backpack over his shoulders. "I'm gonna be late again," He sighed. "Are you busy during lunch?"

"No." Levi replied dead panned.

"When does your next class end?"

"11:30."

"Great, I get out at 11 so I'll meet you here at say…11:35? Okay? Then I can have at least enough time to buy you your tea." Eren twisted a leg to turn around. "You'd better be here." He said, his back facing Levi now.

Levi groaned as Eren looked back waiting for a reply. "Yeah yeah, I'll be right here." He rolled his eyes and lifted his glasses to rest over his nose again. He could see Eren's blurry figure running off in the distance.

Levi typed away on his laptop for a couple minutes more before saving his document and shutting the lid. He stretched his left arm across his chest and then his right.

'What was that guy's name again? Jaeger…Eren? Right, it was Eren.' He placed his laptop into his messenger bag and stood up. 'He's the stubborn one…'

Levi lifted the bag straps over his shoulder and walked out from shadowed area. He glared at the beams daring to blind his sight. Levi reached for his glasses and folded them before stuffing them into his pocket, leaving a hand at rest upon his forehead to blockade his eyes from the uncomfortable gleam of yellow.

Levi stepped into his economics classroom and slouched in his seat, lazily pulling out his notebook, letting it fall onto his desk with a "plop".

"Hey Levi, you're finally here!" A woman with brown hair pulled up into a ponytail and glasses, slipping off of the end of her nose exclaimed.

"What do you mean finally? I'm here at the same time every day you moron." He turned to the woman next to him in disgust and frowned.

"Hey hey now Levi, you can't just talk to ladies like that." A short blond by the name of Erwin interrupted.

" First off Erwin, I could if I wanted to and second of all I don't see any ladies around here anyways, unless you may be referring to Hanji over here but I'm sure she's more related to a swine than a woman." Levi's monotone insults were something they all expected on a daily basis.

"Oh Levi! That's a cruel one!" Hanji shouted, fake tears streaming down her face.

"Ew, cut that out. You look more disgusting than before." He snarled, turning his attention away from the aggravating woman.

Erwin could only cover his face with a hand and take in a deep breath, hoping soon that the lesson would begin so he'd hear less bickering between the two" friends".

"And that wraps up our lesson for today," Zackly, the economics professor, concluded as he put down a red dry erase marker. "Don't forget to have your proposals by next Monday. I'll be reminding you every day until then."

"Ehh that was horribly boring." Hanji complained while packing up her course materials.

"Tch. You actually know the meaning of the word "boring"?" Levi asked, putting away his own notebooks and pens.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hanji asked taken aback by the comment.

"Two words," Levi said, holding up a fist. "Mythical. Creatures." He held up two fingers for her to count then stood up from his desk.

"Hey! Mythical creatures are the best!" She yelled offensively. "You don't understand how perfect they are! Have you seen the recent images of big foot?" Her breathing started to increase as the various unexplained images drifted through her mind. Levi covered his ears and grimaced at her.

"H-Hanji…Are you drooling?" Erwin asked, wearily peering closely at Hanji's face.

"Heh heh probably heeehhh." She continued.

"This is disgusting, I'm leaving now." Levi's frown deepened.

"Wait Levi!" Hanji snapped back to her usual self. "Are you coming to eat with us all for lunch?"
"Not today." He replied.

"Why not? You don't have anything better to do." She whined.

"What a rude person." He scoffed. "I'm meeting this guy in a few minutes, so I do have something better to do."

"HUH?! You're going to meet someone?! Who is he?" Hanji bellowed out her words without any thought. Even Erwin leaned in for this conversation. "You actually made a friend Levi?"

"Tsk, since when have I not had friends?" He asked. He couldn't take much more of this conversation.

"Well besides me, Erwin, Oluo, Gunther, Eld, Petra, and Mike, you kinda just ride solo."

"So what? This guy isn't my friend anyway; he's trying to pay me back for spilling my tea yesterday morning."

"Ha, really?" Hanji questioned while holding in a few chuckles. "I'm surprised he's not dead yet."

"Yeah well he wasn't rude about it, so I couldn't be that angry."

"Great job Levi!" Hanji exclaimed. "Better hurry off then, see you tomorrow!" She waved her hand and jogged to catch up with the others.

Levi walked in the opposite direction of his friends and headed towards the tree he was sitting beneath earlier. He could see Eren faintly in the distance with two other people. One, a young woman with a bright ride scarf and the other, a young man with shoulder length blond hair. Eren's features soon became more apparent as the tall man was once again standing over him.

"I don't know why you sat down, when you're only going to have to get up again to come inside with me." Eren said, smiling softly and shaking his head.

"Bring it outside." Levi said in his usual low voice.

"Why can't we go inside?"

"Because people are annoying and the weather is nice. Bring the drink out here."

Eren sighed. "Fine, what kind of tea do you drink?" He asked, as if there was no hope in persuading the man to go inside even if he begged.

"Hot unsweetened green tea."

"How expected." Eren muttered.

"What's that mean?" Levi asked, his eye brows furrowing at the comment.

"You just seem like the kind of person to drink such a bland and boring tea." He said looking down at Levi, slightly regretting that he could never shut his big mouth.

"What's your idea of an exciting tea then?" Levi asked sarcastically.

Eren laughed at Levi's word choice. "Well I like my tea sweetened with LOTS of honey!" Eren smiled brightly, imagining the sweet taste.

"That's…gross Eren. Hurry and get the tea. Geez." Levi lifted his hand and gestured Eren to go.

"O-okay."Eren replied. His name sounded surprisingly nice when he heard it leave the man's lips for the first time. His face burned lightly but he rubbed it off as the heat from the sun as he walked towards the café.

"Alright." Eren made his way back over to Levi. "I have one hot unsweetened green tea for Levi and one sweetened regular iced tea with extra honey for me." Eren sat down across from Levi who previously absorbed himself into a book while waiting for the brown haired man to return. He placed the book down along with his glasses and picked up his tea to take a sip.

"Thanks."

"No problem! Sorry again by the way." Eren ducked his head a bit as he looked at Levi apologetically.

"Mention it one more time and I'll purposely dump my tea on you."
"Alright," Eren's faced scrunched up as he looked at Levi. "Er, were you reading Harry Potter?" He asked snickering a bit to himself.

"Yes, but not on my own accord. A troublesome friend of mine said it was well worth the read, but frankly I don't see it."
"Slytherin." Eren said pointing a finger at Levi.

"Huh? Is that an insult?" Levi took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes slightly. "You'd no doubt be a Gryffindor then because of your aggressive need to care for others."

"Thanks Levi," Eren smiled, glad to hear the praise.

"That wasn't exactly a compliment." Levi muttered.

"I guess not huh?" Eren laughed lightly, scratching the back of his head. "Honestly though, my friends tend to say I have troublesome anger issues, ridiculous right? But it's true sometimes. I can let my anger get in the way of my usual attitude and it's a bit annoying."

"Well no one likes a complete goody two-shoes anyways." Levi said locking stares with Eren.

"Y-yeah I guess." Eren fidgeted in the grass. He knew he only had about 10 minutes left to sit around but he didn't really want to leave. Not yet. He enjoyed talking with Levi even if it was only a short while and even if Levi's expression always remained the same. And for some reason, hearing words of praise from Levi sparked a keen happiness inside of him that didn't usually take form from just anyone. "L-Levi?"
"Hmm?" Levi hummed, pulling out a napkin to clean his glasses off before looking through them casually.

"Can we meet again?" Eren asked his pulse quickening as his nerves caused the heat to swell inside of him. He hoped Levi would say yes. He hoped they could talk again, get to know each other and become friends. Besides, Armin and Mikasa had always been the only ones he'd gotten close to. A new friend with a distinct personality wasn't a bad idea.

Levi eyed Eren closely. "Why?" He asked simply. It was a wonder why Eren wanted to hang around him because literally no one else really wanted to, aside from Hanji but how appealing was that?

Eren curled in his bottom lip and thought for a second before replying. "Because I want to be your friend."

Levi's mouth opened to speak but nothing came out. This kid was really strange, he sounded like an elementary student. It was weird. But his being was oddly comforting to Levi and he couldn't say he completely minded the other man's presence. It was a nice break from his usual acquaintances.

"I-I'll buy you tea again!" Eren stuttered on impulse, alarming Levi in the process.

"God Eren, no you're not buying me more tea. My life doesn't revolve around tea just so you know. But I'll still meet with you again."

Eren perked up when he heard the agreement. His eyes were probably sparkling at this moment. Eren could tell by the way Levi's unamused face formed into more of an appalled look at this point.

"Really? When?" Eren smiled awkwardly trying to hold back the excitable grin that wanted to dominate.

"When…? How about today after school? I need to pick up a few library books anyway. You can tag along if you really want to."

"Sure," Eren nodded his head trying not to sound too excited. A chance to be with a friend always made Eren giddy inside. "Okay, class will be starting soon but can I meet you here at 1:15?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Levi didn't bother returning a smile or even a nod, what did that matter though? Eren looked happy all the same, facial expressions weren't necessary. Eren could tell that Levi didn't absolutely hate him and Levi could see that Eren knew that.

"Mikasa, I'm not taking the train right after school today, so feel free to ride with the asshole." Eren shrugged unconcernedly. "I'm hanging out with Levi after school." He beamed as he took his seat next to Mikasa and behind Armin in their ENG 101 class.

"Levi?" Mikasa's eye brows dented as she ran the name through her mind. "The one you spilled coffee on?"

"Tea."

"What?"

"Tea. I spilled tea on him." Eren pointed out.

"Alright, but is he the one you're going to see?" Mikasa questioned as Armin turned around to join in.

"Yeah, he agreed to let me go with him to the library later."

"He agreed?" Armin repeated. "You make it sound like it took you a lot of effort to get him to want to hang out with you."

"Well I wouldn't say "effort"….but he isn't really the sociable type from what I can tell. He didn't say yes right off the back." Eren explained as he thought back to Levi's unexcited face earlier that afternoon. " Doesn't matter though. This'll be the third time we meet and third time's the charm. We'll be good friends in no time." Eren nodded while pulling out a blue spiral notebook.

"Why do you want to be his friend so badly?" Mikasa asked, steadily watching Eren's movements and expressions. Eren rolled his eyes at the emphasis on the word "his".

"I don't know Mikasa," Eren began impatiently. "Maybe blunt honesty is a characteristic I like in a friend."
"Or maybe you prefer short friends with horrible personalities." She caviled.

"You couldn't possibly know what kind of personality he has," Eren retorted coldly.

Armin's eyes flickered back and forth between his bickering friends.

"You sound like a teenage girl defending her delinquent boyfriend." Mikasa derided, her face still portraying its usual unemotional features.

Eren's calm demeanor was beginning to take a turn.

"Now you're just saying stupid things!" Eren snapped. "Even if I was a teenage girl, I'd sure as hell pick out better guys than you do." He lampooned.

"You barely know him." Her lips quivered slightly at the direct attack towards her.

"Sheesh! You took the words right out of my mouth!" Eren threw a hand up in annoyance. "Mikasa, you-"
Armin lifted his hands to both of their mouths. "That's it you two. I can only listen to your sibling quarrels for a certain amount of time. I even let you run over for this one." Armin interrupted. "Mikasa, maybe Levi's not a bad guy. And Eren maybe Jean's not so bad a person either." He moved his hands from covering their mouths.

"How did you know about Jean?" Mikasa asked quietly, making brief eye contact with Eren who in return shrugged his shoulders and faced Armin, wondering the same thing.

"Why do you two look so surprised?" Armin placed his elbow on Eren's desk and leaned his cheek against his palm. "Jean is the only one who infuriates Eren enough to be nicknamed "asshole"." He sighed. "And I've known you two my whole life; wouldn't it be weird if I didn't notice? No point in keeping secrets from me." He looked up and smiled.

"It wasn't a secret. It's just that I only told Eren last night…"

"Friend intuition." Armin said before their teacher, Professor Hannes, walked into the class and greeted everyone with a hearty hello. Five minutes late, as usual.

"So what books are you picking up?" Eren asked as he and Levi walked to the school library.

"Economics related ones. Preferably ones that can help me format a suitable proposal to turn in." Levi said as he pulled on the library door handle and gestured for Eren to go in.

"Thanks," Eren mumbled languidly. "Wait. Are you majoring in economics?" He asked quickly with exhilaration.

"Keep your voice down." Levi hissed glaring up at the intrigued man. "Do you know what a library is?" He sighed as Eren threw his hands over his mouth instantly and nodded. "Good, and yes, I'm majoring in economics."

"Really?" Eren whispered. "That's interesting because-" Eren's voice descended into lower than a whisper now.

"Now I can't hear you." Levi said as he turned into an aisle of books, skimming his eyes across the rows of colored book spines varying from "How To's" to "…For Dummies" titles.

"I was going to say that my dad is an economist. I think it's a pretty boring job, really it just hurts my head to watch him work." Eren groaned rubbing his forehead. "What's so interesting about it?"

"Nothing," Levi replied as he pulled out his reading glasses and adjusted them over his nose. "It's an uninteresting subject but it only takes common sense to figure out."

'Seems like a lot of important thinking to me.' Eren thought as he remembered images of his dad working for hours behind his desk even after he got home from work that day.

"Guess it all depends on how you go about the situation." Levi said while trailing a finger over several book titles, searching for guides on how to write his proposal.

Eren's eyes flicked up and down at the books. He laughed quietly to himself before pulling out a book titled, "How to Come Out For Dummies". He flipped through the pages, snickering every so often at the various instructions and precautions of letting others know you're into the same sex.

"Didn't know you were looking for your own books here Eren." Levi said as he walked behind Eren to view another shelf of book.

Eren zipped around to face Levi fearfully. His face was reddened from embarrassment and humiliation.

"No! I'm not- I wasn't looking because I need this book!" Eren stammered loudly causing a few people to turn and stare.

Levi grimaced and put a finger to his lips. Eren nodded again at the inference for him to be quiet. He turned around and slid the book back into its open space as he sighed.

Eren glanced about again and spotted another book, this time, more closely pertaining to Levi's tastes. "Proposals are Your Friends" was the title.

"Hey Levi," Eren softly called. "How about this-" He cut off his own words. Levi sat on the floor, legs crossed, and eyes focused. Eren stared for longer than need be as his thoughts revolved around Levi's appearance. His petite hands lightly grasped onto the book's edges and fingers delicately pulled across page corners every few seconds. Levi's eyes moved horizontally down the pages in concentration. Did he even know where he was anymore? His focus looked unbreakable. Not only that, but Eren would be lying if he said Levi didn't look good in glasses. And good was an understatement here.

Eren's stomach tingled with an affectionate sensation. He suddenly wanted to touch Levi .It didn't click to Eren why but he felt he needed to. His hand lifted slightly and began to slowly stretch out in front of him.

"Eren?" Levi's voice jolted Eren back into a conscious state of mind.

'What was I about to do?' The thought repeated in Eren's mind, putting him in an uncomfortable quandary about the situation.

"Eren, what's wrong with you?" Levi asked looking up at Eren in confusion. "The more I Iook at you, the more of an idiot I think you are."

Eren frowned at the insult and cleared his head, noticing the other's tiny fingers curl tightly around the book pages.

"Wait, Eren, are you getting bored? You don't have to stick around…I know this was a bad place to pick but-"

Eren bit his bottom lip to fight back another careless smile.

"I'm definitely not bored Levi," He assured crouching down to meet at eye level with the other man. The concern was cute, the fidgeting was cute, and the glasses…oh they were definitely cute. But cute wasn't a way to describe another man. That wasn't the real issue though. The real issue was what to say about the man who describes another man as such.

Eren's heart flickered again and again now. The undeniable pieces were falling together but Eren couldn't quite figure out the puzzle. He did at least understand that he valued his time with Levi. More so than he should have after only meeting the guy yesterday. He hesitated briefly before speaking again.

"Do you have class tomorrow?" He asked. It was typical for students of their college to have at least one weekday off and Eren was hoping Levi's would be a Wednesday.

"No, I don't. Why?"

"M-My dad is off tonight, so I was wondering if you'd like to come over…and meet him. I'm sure he can help you out a lot with your proposal." Eren averted his gaze from Levi's unchanged aspect. "He's really kind and patient. If I let him know now then I'm sure he'll have no problem with it…"

Levi watched Eren for a while before answering. It would definitely be a good opportunity for him, but why did Eren look so strange while asking? Was something really wrong? Probably not. Eren was a strange kid. His face was so red though…Maybe he was sick? Levi would have no association with a house that harbored a sick man. But Eren didn't seem sick. At least not before now. No, he wasn't sick, Levi knew that much. He shrugged it off for the time being.

"I wouldn't mind that," He said in his low monotone voice. "As long as you really don't mind."

"I don't!" Eren shouted with unnecessary anticipation.

Levi could only wince and rub a hand over his face.

Eren chuckled silently as the corners of his lips lifted up.

"Sorry Levi."

Let the lovins begin~ Well for a conflicted Eren that is...

I actually got this chapter out within a few days after the first and I'm hoping to keep it that way.

I've already started chapter 3 at least so please follow and review!

Thanks for reading!~