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Chapter 3

"You said today was your day off right?" Levi bundled a few helpful books in his arms and looked at Eren from behind glass frames.

Eren blinked. "Yeah, I did."

"Then why aren't you spending it with your girlfriend?"

"My…girlfriend?" Eren blinked again, this time in confusion.

Levi raised an eyebrow "The one who wore the red scarf earlier?"

"Oh! Mikasa!" Eren raised his head and brought it back down into several nods. "Mikasa is my sister, well not really but she is."

Levi blinked his dull eyes before walking past Eren. "That made no sense."

"I would elaborate, but that's a story I'm not fond of touching." Eren said trailing behind Levi.

Levi slid his school ID into a machine and began scanning the books he picked up. "Why not?"

"Hmm," Eren hummed. Several book checkout scanners beeped in the background and Levi's receipt skidded out from a small black printer. "Because it's more of Mikasa's business than mine, it doesn't feel right to tell everyone. Anyways, she'll be at my house tonight as well, obviously, because she lives there."

"I see," Levi muttered as he ripped his receipt from the machine. "Have you texted your dad yet?"

"Oh right, I forgot," Eren shrugged a hand into his pocket and reached for his phone. "I'll do that now." He began thumbing at the screen. "Was there something else you wanted to do first? If we leave now, we could take the 2:30 train."

"Not really, but I can drive us to your house." Levi settled his books into his backpack and Eren looked up from his phone.

"Drive us? Levi, you can drive?" Eren asked in surprise.

"Why are you so shocked?"

"Because…" Eren snorted and shook with laughter. "Can you actually reach the pedal?"

A sharp elbow jabbed into Eren's stomach forcing him to hunch over.

"Uhgg why'd you do that?" His hands reflexively pressed against his aching abdomen.

Levi narrowed his eyes at the pain struck man. "Can it or I'll ask for directions and just meet you at your place."

"Okay, no more short jokes. I get that now." Eren stood up straight and rubbed his stomach before following Levi who was already making his exit from the library. "This isn't a short joke…but with such small features, how are you so strong. That elbow hurt!" Eren leaned back, worried that Levi would take offense to the word "small".

There was a long pause before Levi said anything. He stood still and his eyes rested on the distant buildings.

"Levi?"

"I was a military brat when I was younger. My dad was stationed from country to country and no matter where we lived the kids always made it into a contest about whose parents were stronger and which one of them could beat the rest of us down the easiest." Levi started to walk again. "I trained a lot back then, didn't matter though because I always lost. Anyway after that my priorities changed and I ended up becoming stronger for my own reasons and not to just show off. The workouts were brutal but I still do them from time to time habitually."

'Something is surely missing from that story…' Eren thought. 'But if he left it out, maybe it wasn't meant to be said aloud.'

"That's interesting." Eren pondered what really made Levi want to be stronger than he was built to be. "Military life, huh?" He slipped his hands into his pockets and walked alongside Levi towards the student parking lot. "Have you ever considered joining the military as well?"

"I have." Levi said as he reached his backpack around to his front and pulled out a gray lanyard with only his car keys and presumably his house key secured on a key ring.

"And?" Eren asked still in tune with Levi's could-have-been military career.

"…It wasn't for me." Levi stopped in front of a black 2010 Toyota Camry and pressed a key into the lock on the driver's side. He threw his backpack against the backseat and eyed Eren. "Are you getting in?" He asked before situating himself and closing the door to the side of him.

Eren carefully swung open the door and plopped inside. "This is a nice car." Eren looked around before closing his door then tugged on his seat belt to fasten the metal into place.

"It's decent," Levi replied. "Here, input your address into this GPS?"

"Are you sure you want to drive there?" Eren asked meekly. "We could always drop off your car and walk to the station. My house is quite a bit a ways."

"My house is quite a bit a ways too, so walking to the station is a no." Levi turned the keys emitting a soft hum from the engine.

"Oh, alright then," Eren took Levi's phone and typed his address for the GPS app to read. He returned the phone to Levi who connected it to the speaker via bluetooth.

The car was silent for a few awkward minutes. Levi turned according to each direction the electronic woman gave.

"Your house isn't really that far." Levi murmured breaking the silence that disrupted any chance of a good atmosphere in the car.

"It doesn't seem like it now that I'm traveling by car. Maybe it seems far because of the train routes."

"How long does it take by train?" Levi asked without steering his eyes from the road ahead.

Eren took the time to calculate the minutes in between getting on the train and getting off of it. "About 40 minutes. Give or take a couple of minutes." He compromised.

"That long?" Levi's voice, and his voice alone, hinted with surprise. "That's more than half the time it'll take for us to get there now."

"I know," Eren sighed then turned to Levi. "But that's usual for the train system. Haven't you rode a local train before?"

"Never."

"Never?" Eren repeated in astonishment. "Trains are the most commonly used form of transportation here! Only the wealthy use cars on a daily basis."

"You sound like an encyclopedia." Levi said as he made a turn into a quiet neighborhood street. "And I've never rode a train nor am I anywhere close to wealthy."
"Then how can you afford to use a car everyday?"

"That's frivolous information." He muttered, eyeing each house closely as he searched for Eren's dedicated address, since Eren himself, was too busy trying to fathom the idea of cars over trains . "Is that one yours?"

"Yeah, with the silver car out front."

Levi pulled into the driveway and unlatched his seat belt with Eren following alongside him. The two stepped out of the car and headed for the door. Eren already had his keys ready and was fiddling with the doorknob. He managed to unlock it quickly and open the door, taking a step inside and swiftly nudging off his shoes.

"Mom! I'm back!" Eren called from the doorstep and began walking forwards. Levi likewise took off his shoes and placed them by the door before trailing behind Eren. Levi's head moved in slow circles as he looked from one side of the house to the other. The place was nice to say the least. The front door left them in a spacious and well decorated living room. A tan leather couch sat square in the middle of the room, facing a wide flat screen about 42'' inches across. Picture frames atop the entertainment center and the chestnut colored ceiling fan hung silently above the couch.

"Welcome back Eren," Eren's mother, Carla, hummed from another room. "I've made sandwiches for lunch if you're hungry, they're in the refrigerator now."

"Alright! And also I have a friend over." Eren's shouting voice softened as he stepped closer to the room his mom was in.

'Friend huh? I barely know you.' Levi's mind pondered the definition of the word "friend" but it quickly shifted on to something else. Levi stared intently at the back of Eren's head. His hair looked soft, like silky soft. 'I wonder how soft it really is...' He wondered, not giving the curiosity a second thought.

The sound of a plastic container being placed against wood was heard before Carla replied. "Oh really?" She asked all too excited. There was no question about where Eren must have gotten his excitement from. Levi could hear in her voice that it was rare for Eren to bring over new people.

Carla poked her head outside the room and smiled before stepping out fully. Her hands were gloved in yellow rubber and her hair was pushed back into a loose ponytail. She peeled of her gloves and walked towards Levi, extending a hand.

"It's nice to meet you," She shook his hand lightly and grinned. "My name is Carla, I'm Eren's mother."

"I'm Levi," He returned the greeting thoughtfully, though his face still looked unpleasant. Eren's mother didn't seem to mind that. The two brunettes couldn't be more similar in Levi's eyes.

Carla smiled before reaching for her gloves and snapping them back on each hand. "Okay boys, I'm going to get back to cleaning now." She leaned in close to Levi. "This boy won't even clean his own toilet." She whispered and shook her head. "That's the duty of a mother I suppose."

"Mom! What are you telling him?" Eren defended, his face flushing with embarrassment. "I do clean! ...Just not very often I suppose..." He quieted down and thought about the last time he took the effort to clean anything besides his own room. "You just get to it before I do..." He mumbled, avoiding her eyes.

"That's what you always say," She laughed and went into the bathroom. "Also, Mikasa should be home soon, she stopped to eat after school with a friend. Tell her to come see me when she gets in, in case I can't hear the door."

"Sure." Eren agreed. She probably just wanted to gossip about Mikasa's new love interest.

"So my dad comes home in about an hour and a half," Eren turned to Levi. "Should we watch a movie? Then he'll be here in no time."

"That's fine with me. What kind of movies do you own?"

"All genres." Eren said, beckoning Levi to follow him back into the living room. "Here, take a look at these." He popped open a wooden cabinet door to reveal shelves stocked with DVD's.

"Oh, impressive," Levi nodded. "How about I choose the genre and you choose the movie?" Levi asked, looking up at Eren now.

"Alright, then which genre?"

Levi folded his arms and skimmed the titles.

"Mystery/ Suspense." He decided after some consideration.

"Sounds good to me." Eren glanced over the titles and pulled out a black DVD. On the cover was a bloodied knife giving away a reflection that revealed a blurred man. "Have you seen this one?" Eren tilted the DVD's front in Levi's direction.

Levi's eyes stumbled down the black box then flicked back up to Eren. "No. Play it."

The DVD case expanded horizontally and Eren pressed his thumb against the rim binding the DVD in place before carefully peeling it from its case.

"Okay." Eren nodded, inspecting the glinting disk encircled around his finger.

"Eren, this doesn't make any sense. If the police knew that this man had a motive to kill his wife, then why did they literally question everyone besides him? It only makes sense to question the husband first anyways. Dumbasses." Levi muttered the last word and without moving his head, he glanced at Eren from the corner of his eye. He frowned at the narrowed glimpse of Eren soundly sleeping his time away, huddled to the opposite side of the couch. Sure, the movie wasn't great but how'd the guy fall asleep so soon. They were only about a half hour in. Levi clicked his tongue and let his attention fall again on the television screen.

"He went to bed late last night." A new voice peaked Levi's attention. He cocked his head to follow the voice leading to a tall dark-haired woman wearing a red scarf that hardly matched the lime green hoodie beneath it. Her clouded eyes remained on Levi, watching him intently, while at the same time, showing no signs of urgency towards the short man residing on her family's couch now. When did she walk in?

"You must be Mikasa," Levi's voice was unnerved and dull, matching his face exactly.

"It's nice to meet you..." Mikasa returned the expression and her eyes met Eren's sleeping face again. "Levi."

Levi's eye brows drew closer together in slight confusion though his eyes stayed focused and narrowed.

"Eren talks about you." Her sentences were short and to the point. "I'm sorry he spilled...tea on you." Her apology sounded sincere leaving Levi to relinquish his previous confusion.

'I guess he would talk about that. What else could he talk about?' Eren no doubt would have told his friends about that accident but for a split second Levi had wondered if that reckless man may have just spoke about Levi to them out of sheer interest. He couldn't decide if he hoped for that or if a standard cliché was just passing through his train of thought.

"He was a little too excited to get together with you after class today." She continued, her focus only on Levi now. "He talked about that too."

The corners of Levi's mouth twitched at the selected words. It was certain. Levi had hoped Eren talked about him in a way that didn't involve a drenched jacket and a pissy looking man on the floor.

'Why would I care? Maybe I'm suddenly interested in young idiotic boys?' He released a short breath, scoffing at the idea. 'Highly unlikely.'

Maybe it was the sense of importance. Levi couldn't deny it, as much as he'd like to, but it didn't feel half bad for someone to consider him important enough to get excited over. Even if the person in question was an airheaded brat. He was an airheaded brat who wanted to spend time with Levi, unlike his friends who probably felt obligated to just talk with him only because they knew exactly where he came from, rather what he had come from. Eren didn't know the full story, yet he still put out the extended effort just to remain acquainted with Levi. That was enough to arouse at least some sort of feeling in Levi's chest.

He turned to look at Eren. He slept so pleasantly for being curled in such a cramped position. His chest heaved up and down slowly, following the rhythm of each soft breath that slipped through his half-parted lips. Levis' chest strummed uncomfortably at the sight. He drew his attention away from the sleeping youth and back to Mikasa.

She inhaled a deep breath and spoke again. "I don't know you, but I know Eren, very well," She emphasized and now Levi's stomach felt an afflicted churn within it. "And he's a fragile guy, so please be kind to him. His emotions spiral but he always means good by what he does."

Levi's features softened as he raised a hand up in agreement. "I can see all that already," he sighed. "I'll be good to him."

"Thank you." She gripped the straps of her backpack and made ready to leave, her back facing Eren and Levi. "Wake up Eren, that's no way to treat a guest!"

Levi's eyes grew with mild surprise. 'So she could talk louder.'

A low yawn emitted from behind Levi. Eren's half-lidded eyes gazed around the room in a daze. They rested on the man sharing a couch with him before instantly widening.

"Levi, I fell asleep? Why didn't you wake me up?" Eren's voice shook as a wave of guilt struck through him.

"You looked really nice sleeping there, I had no reason to wake you." Eren's chest thumped at Levi's reply and he could have sworn his face was feeling warm again. "And the movie is still on so you haven't been asleep that long evidently."

"S-Still..." Eren stammered. "It's rude to fall asleep while a guest is here, especially if it's you that's here." He muttered the last part more so to himself than to Levi.

"That's what Mikasa said as well."

"Mikasa was here?" Eren's face formed in between confusion and worry. "Did she say anything...weird?" He asked, partially not wanting to know what she said at all.

"She said that you were really excited to hang out with me and that I should be kind to you." Levi's expression remained unaltered as he repeated her earlier words of wisdom.

"She said...uhgg has she ever heard of embarrassment?" Eren pressed his hands to his forehead and shook his head. He let his hands fall against his lap and looked up at Levi, smiling apologetically. "I'm sorry. It's weird enough that I bombarded you with tea offerings but now I must just seem strange." He scratched the back of his head and avoided the eye contact. "I've only known you a couple of days but I'm probably annoying you and I didn't even realize it until now. Lame huh?" Eren's eyes left their wandering route and focused hard on his hands. "You definitely do not have to listen to what Mikasa said."

"Are you an idiot?" Levi raised an eye brow and pierced Eren with an icy stare. "Do you think I'd be here if I didn't want to be? Yes, your dad can be a great help with my proposal, but I sure as hell would rather read a guide than go home with some kid I can't stand."

Eren's hopeless expression was hauled away and replaced with bafflement now. So he wasn't a nuisance to be around? That was a surprising relief. Eren had always been the type to be pushy with his friends and quick to form close relationships with them which only managed to drive everyone away. Levi seemed different though. His words were backed up with honesty and it's possible he didn't really mind sharing his free time with a persistent guy like Eren.

Levi rolled his eyes and faced the television yet again. "Now I missed a good portion of the movie. Stay awake this time." He lingered his view on the T.V and Eren nodded his head. Levi watched the people on the screen frantically scatter and run from room to room pursuing the killer in what seemed to be a hospital. A strange place for an encounter but Levi had missed the explanation behind that. Even now he could barely keep his attention on the movie. Talking to Eren any longer was no good though. Levi felt strange. His heart pattered at an unusual pace. It wasn't a feeling he was accustomed to, actually it was new altogether. From the corner of his eye, Levi watched Eren. His short trimmed brown hair smoothed over and a few strands guarded his turquoise eyes. He sat properly on the couch now and folded his arms over his lap, leaning towards the T.V. Eren's face appeared red again, at least it hinted at it. The guy wasn't half bad looking, for a man that is.

Throughout Levi's life, he'd never looked to someone as attractive. It seemed that an interest in the actual person had to spark first before any gawking would even begin to take place. And after all this time, there hadn't been a person out there who'd interested Levi personally and then physically.

Eren's body was molded pretty well for someone who looked like a lazy sleepaholic. He must have covered a lot of walking distance considering he never drives himself anywhere but that wouldn't have been enough to create what he is now , the rest was given to him naturally.

Levi's eyes skimmed every part of Eren for who knows how long before the grinding sounds of metal shook him back into reality.

"Hey dad," Eren welcomed while standing up to greet his father and gesturing for Levi to stand up as well. "This is my friend Levi, the one I texted you about." He placed a hand on Levi's back and propelled him towards the taller man with circle rimmed glasses.

"Hey there Levi," He reached a hand out and gripped Levi's within his own then nodded in approval. "Good grip, good kid. Teach my son a thing or two about that will you?" A deep laughed emerged as Eren sighed. More embarrassment was exactly what he needed. Eren couldn't return a firm grip but he could win a fight if he needed to and that's really all that mattered to him on that issue.

"Of course sir, and thank you for taking the time to work with me, I truly appreciate you going out of your way." Levi's words were far from reflecting his facial image.

'It's a good thing I warned my dad about Levi's indifferent features before they actually met.' Eren breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"Sure, anything to help a friend of my boy's." He patted Levi's shoulder. "Let me go and greet Mikasa and my wife and then I'll be right back."

Levi nodded and allowed him to walk past.

"Your parents are both very bubbly people." Levi turned to Eren.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Not at all."

'But I wonder which one he gets his supposed anger problems from.'

"Anyway, my dad's name is Girsha Jaeger. You can call him Girsha or Mr. Jaeger, I don't think it matters to him." Eren stepped close to Levi now. "Now that you've met my whole family, when do I get to meet yours?" He asked smiling downwards with an apparent annoyance glaring back up at him.

"What are we dating? You're not meeting my family."

"What? Why not?" Eren's eye brows slanted down putting him on the defensive side. "You'll never let me come over?"

"I didn't say that," Levi looked away as the uncomfortable feeling decided his chest would be a nice place to call home for a second time now. "But the chances of you being able to meet them at this point is zero to none."

"And why's that? Are they gone because of work?" Eren pressed question after question, all to be answered with deluded word choice and subtle meanings. "That's right, you're part of a military family, that must be why they're gone so often right?"

"Something like that," Levi mumbled. "My dad is gone because of work and I guess you could say my mom tagged along."

Eren felt bad that he couldn't meet Levi's family just yet, not even Levi could see them at this point, but Levi did say that Eren could possibly come over sometime and that would be close enough for the time being.

"Okay, Levi are you ready?" Grisha returned to the room with a coffee cup and a pen. "We can use the kitchen table to lay out your material."

"Alright." Levi grabbed his bag from resting against the side of the couch and strolled behind Grisha.

Eren watched them leave and take their seats in the dining room, which was visible from the living room so while watching T.V, Eren could potentially tune into them if he really wanted to. And he did. He wanted the chance to watch Levi without some kind of insult being thrown at him.

Eren could only faintly hear their discussion, not that it'd have any importance to him anyways, most likely it would only prove to cause him a another economic related headache. In this case though, seeing was most definitely better than hearing. He watched Levi adjust his glasses every so often and scribble down notes while his father spoke with seriousness that always reverted back into laughter. Levi looked damned smart with glasses and a pile of books around him. He made a couple of familiar glares at Grisha's humorous gestures and even while glaring he still managed to look good. Eren wished he was the one being glared at and he was the professional economics major but Levi was in the senior class so that option was impossible from the get-go. Eren just wanted Levi's attention. Strange ideas formed in Eren's head and he couldn't grasp the reason for why these ideas came with such a strong need to act on them. He wanted to lace his fingers through Levi's hair and drag his hands down the man's neck. Would it be warm or cold? He wanted to find out, he wanted to pull Levi in tightly and embrace him, submerging himself in the smell and the feeling of having the older man pushed against him.

Eren's thoughts ran rampant as he continued to stare at Levi who didn't seem to take notice. Eren thought for a second or two that he caught his dad looking back at him but his mind was too far gone for that thought to have any importance now.

It was 1 am when Eren awoke to the familiar voices of his dad and Levi joining him back into the living room where he had again, fallen asleep curled into the corner of his couch.

'It's this late already?' Eren glanced at his phone in shock. This was exactly why he wanted to make sure Levi had no classes for the next day.

Eren sat up and tried to press his hair back down with no luck, surely strands were darting in every direction by now.

"Thank you again Mr. Jaeger, I'm sorry to have kept you up so late tonight." Levi shook Grisha's hand again and began prepping his backpack to leave.

"Sure thing, I can talk economics all day long and I can guarantee you an A with that proposal but are you sure you wouldn't like to sleep over, the couch pulls out into a bed?" Grisha worriedly tried to persuade Levi. The question woke Eren up completely now.

"No thanks, I'd better get back, otherwise I'll overstay my welcoming. It was a pleasure to be allowed over, thanks for inviting me." Levi's attention was brought to Eren now.

"N-no problem. You can come over anytime."

"Alright." Levi laughed huskily.

Eren got up and stretched over the couch to assist Levi out the door.

"I'll see you soon Eren." Levi said before he pulled out his keys and heading for his car. He unlocked the door with a loud beeping noise that sent a nearby cat fleeing the area. Levi waved to Eren abruptly then climbed in and pulled out of the driveway.

Eren closed the door behind him and sighed. He shut his eyes and slumped to his room but was stopped midway by a hand on his shoulder.

"Levi's a good kid Eren, how'd you find him?" Grisha gripped his son's shoulder, barely holding him up from falling then and there onto the floor to sleep.

"I actually," A long yaw escaped his lips. "actually spilled tea on him and now we're here, okay, goodnight dad."

"Not yet Eren." Grisha shook his head. "He's a bit strange at a first glance, do you really like him?"

"I do dad, I think we'll be great friends." He yawned again, this time trying to walk forward but was still bound in place.

"...Do you like him differently than you do Armin and Mikasa?"

"What does that even mean?" Eren's eyes remained closed but his frown deepened at the question.

"The way you look at him...Actually never mind that Eren. If you don't know then it's fine the way it is."

"Alright dad, goodnight dad." Eren drifted to his room and plummeted face first against his pillow. He couldn't remember when but at some point, he took the effort to leave the couch, change into pajamas, grab a sandwich and take care of his nightly routine.

'Do I like him differently than Mikasa and Armin?' The question repeatedly spun around in Eren's mind. 'I'd be lying if I said it's the same...everything I thought about earlier were exclusive to Levi only. Damnit, what's that old man trying to say? He had better not be implying anything because there's no way I'm in love with Levi if that's-' Eren's heart picked up in pace at the words love and Levi together in the same sentence. He did have strange feelings that he was only aware of when Levi was around but that couldn't mean that he truly liked him in that way. He hardly knew him. And he is a him. That should have been the first signal telling Eren that such feelings were wrong. They didn't feel wrong, on the contrary, they felt so right that he could've acted out every thought and never once questioned the gender of the person he was with. It didn't matter then. All that mattered was that he knew he wanted Levi.

Eren grumbled into his pillow and turned onto his side. He wanted to organize his feelings and give a meaning to them but right now, he just needed sleep.

Thank you for reading again c:

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