Hey again! Happy Monday! Mondays suck, I know, so I updated today. :3
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Chapter 3 Tug of War
Three Months Later...
"Eren... get that shit out of my face." Levi said icily.
Eren was blocking Levi from entering their dorm. Eren grinned evilly as he held up the jar of freeze dried tubifex.
"C'mon, Levi. Little blocks of worms won't kill you."
"It'll get you killed if you don't get it away from me." Levi warned. "I will not hesitate to strike you."
"But if you do that, then all of these delicious worms will be all over the floor." Eren pointed out slyly. "And I'm certain that would affect you more than me."
"Tch. Eren, if you don't move, you will be reprimanded."
"Fine, Mr. RA." Eren relented, stepping to the side.
Levi quickly pushed past Eren and went on his side of the duct taped room.
Eren smiled. It has been three months since Eren and Levi started their journey as roommates. And even though the weather is turning a little colder, the two still have moments like these that heat things up. Ironically, Levi separating the room with duct tape actual helped them get more comfortable with each other.
"Don't you have a class to go to, brat?" Levi spat as Eren entered the dorm.
"Do you?" Eren retorted. "I've rarely seen you leave the dorm when I do. What are you even majoring in?"
"Business." Levi smirked.
"Oh, that's cool-"
"As in none of your business." Levi interrupted him.
"Do you want to sleep with the worms tonight?" Eren teased.
"Do you want to sleep for all eternity in a body bag?" Levi snapped. "Cross that taped line and that's where you'll be."
"That's dark." Eren laughed. "Have a heart, Levi."
Have a heart, Levi. Those four words struck Levi's brain, reliving an unwanted memory.
"I don't have a heart." Levi said, a vacant expression on his face.
Eren tilted his head in confusion. "What?"
Levi snapped out of his daze, silently cursing himself for letting that slip.
"Levi, what is it? Why did you say you don't have a heart?" Eren asked, inching towards him. What caused Levi's abrupt change in mood?
"Don't cross that line!" Levi barked.
Eren froze.
"I don't need your goddamn pity, you shitty brat." Levi closed his eyes and took deep breaths, trying to calm his nerves. "Like I said, I don't have a heart. I haven't felt my own heartbeat in twelve years... right after I joined the army. At 18, my heart was replaced with a stone. All the things I've seen..." Levi put his face in his hands. "I don't have a heart or a soul. I'm dead inside."
Eren was bewildered. What has Levi talking about?
"Levi..." Eren tried to get closer to Levi again.
Just when Eren was about to cross the line, Levi stood up, ran past him, and locked himself in the bathroom.
"What... what just happened?" Eren wondered aloud.
Eren had no choice but to leave Levi, or else he would be late for his organic chemistry class. Sighing, Eren lightly brushed his fingers across the bathroom door before exiting the dorm room.
Levi curled up in a ball next to the shower. Even though he didn't shed tears, he was filled with sorrow.
I don't have a heart... it's too late for me to think otherwise.
After Eren's last class of the day, Eren walked aimlessly around campus. He was worried about Levi.
Is he still locked in the bathroom? Eren wondered. Maybe I should go back to check on him soon...
Eren looked down and checked his watch. 7:00 pm. Not looking where he was going, Eren collided with another person.
"Ow..." Eren groaned, looking up. He paled when he saw who it was. "P-Professor Pixis! I'm so sorry, sir."
"It's quite alright." Pixis smiled. "Say, Eren... can you do me a favor?"
"Sure! Anything!" Eren replied enthusiastically.
"Great! Come with me to the pier." Pixis told him.
Wow! The pier? It's closed off to everyone except junior and senior marine biology students. I am so lucky. Eren thought, gushing to himself.
When they arrived, a group of seniors were finishing up. They were putting nets away and docking the fishing boats. Pixis walked over to one of the students while Eren looked on in awe.
"Here you go, professor." The student said, handing him a rather heavy icebox.
After thanking him, Pixis walked back over to the waiting freshman.
"Eren, there is salmon in this icebox. This school's night cafe, the Ocean Prime Cafe, called me earlier to let me know that they were short on salmon. Can you deliver this to them?"
"Of course!" Eren confirmed, balancing the icebox in his arms. "I won't let you down."
Pixis ruffled Eren's hair. "You're a good kid."
Pixis turned back to talk to the older students. Eren marched onward, determined to honor Pixis's wishes. After about ten minutes of strayed walking, he stopped, realization hitting him.
"Shit! Were the hell is that Ocean Prime Cafe?"
Eren sat the icebox on the ground to take out his phone, only to find that he left it in his dorm.
"Well this is fan-fucking-tastic." Eren sulked, picking up the weighty icebox. "I was given one simple task, and I can't even do it."
Eren spotted a familiar short man with short black hair not too far away.
"Levi!" Eren called, hurrying over to him. "Hey, Levi!"
The said man stopped and looked over at Eren coldly.
"What do you want, brat?"
Eren panted, the icebox weighing him down. "I... I need your help. Professor Pixis generously gave me the responsibility of delivering this salmon to the Ocean Prime Cafe. Can you take me there?"
Levi rolled his eyes. "I have better things to do than take you there. Listen carefully. Go straight, take two right turns, one left, and keep walking at 90° for five minutes and you'll be there."
With that, Levi stalked away, leaving Eren even more panicked than before. Dejected, Eren did his best to decipher Levi's instructions.
"Okay, okay. Go straight, two rights, one left, walk 90° for five minutes and I'll be there." Eren repeated softly.
The rose colored sky darkened, and the night lights all around campus flickered on. After about thirty minutes of ineffectual walking, Eren gave up, sitting on a bench. He put his head in his hands.
I was given one fucking task, and I can't do it.
"What do you think you're doing, brat?"
Eren looked up to see Levi standing in front of him, arms crossed. Eren blinked. "Levi..."
"Why the hell are these fish still here? Didn't you find the cafe?" Levi asked sternly.
"N-No..." Eren quivered.
Levi raised an eyebrow. "Are you crying?"
Eren wiped at his eyes. Sure enough, he found streaks of water on his hands.
"No, I'm not crying." Eren looked away. "I'm just frustrated that I couldn't find the damn cafe."
"Why didn't you just ask someone else to take you?" Levi asked, a bit puzzled.
Eren's muscles tensed. "Because... because I wanted you to take me, Levi."
Levi suddenly felt heavy in his chest. What's with this brat? What's going on?
Levi closed his eyes, scowling. Damnit...
"Stand up." Levi ordered. "I'll take you. My shift there is about to start soon anyway."
Eren's eyes widened. "Huh?"
Levi had his hand stretched out, waiting for Eren to take it. "Hurry up brat, before I change my mind."
Eren took Levi's hand and scrambled to his feet. Their hands lingered as they stared at each other. Eventually, Levi snatched his hand away and picked up the icebox.
"Let's get going, brat."
"You don't have to carry the icebox." Eren told Levi, falling in step with him.
"You sat down because you were tired, right?" Levi asked snippily. "So shut up and let me carry it. In the meantime, you need to go to the gym and work on gaining muscle. Seriously, you're limper than a noodle."
Eren pouted. "That's mean."
Levi ignored him and kept his face forward. When did I allow myself to sway this much? Eren and I aren't even friends. I was meant to walk this earth alone... right?
In a few minutes, the bright blue lights of the Ocean Prime Cafe sign were in view. The cafe was bustling with people laughing, eating, and drinking.
"See, if you had kept walking 90° like I told you, you would've been here." Levi scolded Eren.
"Well excuse me for not understanding your vague instructions." Eren retorted.
Levi walked to the back entrance. "You can get lost now, brat. Literally." Levi told Eren. "I showed you the way."
"Actually... can I stay?" Eren asked nervously. "I can help you out with stuff, you know, to make up for whatever I did to make you angry this morning."
Levi felt another heavy tug at his chest.
"You're seriously pissing me off!" Levi barked, walking inside the back door and slamming it shut.
"Levi! What did I do?" Eren desperately called through the door.
Absolutely nothing, that's what. Levi thought to himself as he angrily changed into his uniform. And that's what's making me so mad! Why is he nice to me? Why is he still my roommate? Why hasn't he left like everyone else? Damn it all to hell...
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.
Shoving his hands in his jacket pockets, Eren trudged to the front of the cafe, going inside. He took a seat at the bar table, scooting the bar stool up.
"Hi there! Welcome to the Ocean Prime Cafe!" A short waitress said cheerfully. "My name is Petra Ral. Can I start you off with something to drink?"
Eren rested his cheek on his knuckles. "Anything strong that is nonalcoholic."
Petra laughed. "This is a cafe, hon. Everything here is nonalcoholic. So you want something strong, hmm? I know just the thing."
Petra walked a few steps over to the beverage station. "So, what's got you so worked up? When you walked inside, I could see a dark cloud hanging over you. Are you having trouble with someone?"
Eren sighed. "My roommate, actually."
"Ugh, been there." Petra rolled her eyes, taking out a frozen mug. "This is my last year here, and I was so glad that I was finally able to have a room all to myself."
Eren chuckled. "It's not that simple."
"Do explain." Petra said, pulling a lever to fill the mug.
"Well, at first, we were at each other's necks. He's freakishly clean, and I'm freakishly not. Then... we started to get along. Sure, we had daily arguments, but end the end, it was always playful. But now, I apparently said something wrong, and from there, he's just been upset at me. I have no idea what I did."
"Wait..." Petra turned around. "Are you Eren Jaeger?"
"Y-Yes." Eren was taken aback. "How do you know?"
Petra laughed heartily as she sat Eren's mystery drink in front of him. "You're a hot topic around here. Levi talks about you a lot."
Eren's heart skipped a beat. "Really?"
"Don't get too excited." Petra winked at him. "He mainly calls you a brat and complains."
"Oh." Eren looked down.
"But," Petra continued. "I know he thinks well of you. I could even say that he kind of admires you. Sometimes, Levi gets this faraway look in his eyes when he talks about you. I've known the guy for twelve years, and he never had that look before."
Eren was astonished. "Wow... really?"
"Yes." Petra gave Eren a sad smile. "I know Levi is not the easiest person to be around. In fact, I think he's the hardest person to be around. Nonetheless, you've stuck by him as his roommate. No one has ever done that. You're the first one to stay for so long. Levi was so used to being alone. But you're here, and that means so much more to Levi than he'll ever admit."
Eren looked down at his drink. "Is that why he's so upset?"
"Most likely." Petra replied. "It's like he's waiting for you to say you're switching rooms. He's not used to someone like you, Eren. You're probably the most precious friend he could ever ask for."
"I wish Levi could open up a bit more and not be so cold all the time." Eren muttered.
"Levi's not as heartless as you think." Petra grinned. "He gives food to stray kittens."
"What?" Eren's eyes widened. "Are you sure you're talking about Levi?"
"Yes! Lately, we've been having stray cats sneaking onto campus, the fish attracting them. We've been told to chase the cats away if they came here, but Levi doesn't. He always takes food out back to them. He thinks no one could see him, but I did." Petra said proudly.
Eren didn't know what to say. Instead, he took a sip from him mug,
"Whoa! This is strong!" Eren cried.
"That's ginger beer." Petra explained. "It has an alcohol level of under 0.5, and by FDA standards, it's nonalcoholic. The taste is as strong as an alcoholic beverage, though."
"This is great. Thank you... and thanks for telling me about Levi." Eren told her.
"No worries." Petra said. "Oh, and by the way, if you don't believe me about Levi and the cats, go around back in three minutes."
With that, Petra waved at Eren and went to tend to other customers at the bar table.
"Three minutes, huh?" Eren murmured.
He gulped down the rest of his ginger beer and left a ten dollar bill for Petra's tip. Eren did what Petra suggested and went around the back of the cafe three minutes later. Sure enough, he spotted Levi and two cats. Eren hid behind a trash can and peered at him.
Levi fed the cats some salmon and scratched them behind their ears briefly. Looking around to make sure no one saw him, Levi walked back inside the cafe.
Eren smiled, seeing Levi in a different light.
Four hours later, Levi's shift ended. Thunder was rolling outside, and Levi hoped he would make it back to the dorm before the rain started. After making sure the kitchen was spotless, he neatly folded his uniform back and grabbed his stuff.
What did I do? Eren's voice echoed through Levi's mind.
"Tch, damn brat." He muttered, opening the back door.
Speak of the devil, Eren was standing right outside the door. Levi flinched in surprise.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Levi asked. "Have you been standing out here for four hours?"
"Not exactly." Eren said, remembering his conversation with Petra.
At that moment, the rain was released from the clouds.
"Damnit, I knew I should have brought my jacket." Levi moaned.
A collapsed red umbrella came into Levi's line of vision.
"Here, take this." Eren told him, a bit shy. "I can use my hood. I always keep an umbrella with me in case of an emergency."
Levi said nothing as he took the umbrella from Eren. He opened it and walked into the rain. Eren quickly put his hood up and followed him.
"...you really shouldn't have waited for me." Levi eventually said. "You have classes tomorrow, I don't. And it's midnight already."
"It's no problem." Eren waved away Levi's concern. "We're friends. I don't mind losing a few hours of sleep for you."
Levi nearly froze. "...friends?"
"Yeah." Eren said. "The best."
Levi walked a little quicker, and Eren had no trouble keeping up with him. Eren smiled when he saw a faint blush on Levi's cheeks.
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
"What... the... fuck?"
Eren's thoughts mirrored Levi's words as he stared at the mess before him. The window above Levi's bed was open, and the rain drenched his bed and the flooring surrounding it. Levi crossed over on is side of the dorm and quickly shut the window.
"Damnit! I forgot to close the fucking window after I cleaned this afternoon." Levi seethed.
Eren did his best to suppress a laugh when Levi slid a little on the floor, almost making him fall. "Fuck this shit." Levi growled lividly.
Levi started to take his bed apart. He was having a little trouble because of the wet bedclothes and the wet floor. Eren looked down at the duct taped line, at Levi, then back at the duct taped line. He made his decision.
Levi... I want to help you. I want to get close to you.
Eren stepped across the line. He stood next to Levi and helped him remove his sheets. Levi looked over at Eren in shock. Eren simply smiled and went back to work. Levi felt the same pulling in his chest again, only much more intense.
Eventually. Eren went to retrieve the mop from the storage space. He mopped the water then went back with paper towels to dry it, making sure there wasn't a drop left.
"...thank you." Levi said, barely above a whisper.
"Like I told you earlier, it's no problem." Eren replied. "Now, there's no way you can sleep on that wet mattress. You'll have to wait until it dries. So, you can have my bed for the night. I'll sleep on the floor."
"No." Levi said firmly. "I'll sleep on the floor. I've been in the army. I'm used to that."
"But floors are filthy, right? All the more reason for you to have my bed." Eren insisted, setting up a pillow and blankets on the floor for himself. "I'm just as stubborn as you are, Levi."
Levi couldn't wrap his mind around what was going on.
"...fine." Levi gave in.
"Oh, one more thing." Eren said, looking at Levi. "The day after tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I talked with my mother last night, and she said if I had a friend I wanted to bring over, I could. So, Levi... would you like to spend Thanksgiving with me... and my family?" Eren added on quickly.
Levi was taken aback. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Eren looked at him with pleading green eyes. Levi exhaled.
"Er... sure."
Eren grinned widely. "Awesome! I live in Shiganshina, which is about eight hours away from here. Even though the weather here is still pretty mild, I'm sure the temperature is really cold at home!"
As Eren babbled on about Shiganshina, a small smile overtook Levi's lips.
This damn brat... why do I like him so much?
And that is it for chapter 3! So the plot begins! I will have he next chapter out as soon as I can since I love you guys so much. :3
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