"So then I told them, he'll throw a fit if he sees your desks like that. And I mean, okay, I understand not everyone is tidy, I'm myself not, but how hard it is to keep a tiny cubicle relatively clean? At least wipe away the food stains, right?"

"I suppose so?"

"Well they did not listen to me and guess what? Levi comes in early one morning, realises the absolute filthy condition of one of the desks and actually punished the guy by making him clean not just his own desk but the entire cafeteria for a whole week."

"That's rather harsh…"

"Yeah but that's how he is: he is a spartan neat-freak. There's no way around it. They need to learn to mitigate. I can't say I'm sorry for the horse-face anyway. It's an office, not stables."

Eren sipped from his wine, his mouth dry from all the talking. Though he initially had suspicions about having a blind date, this Marco guy proved to be very easy to talk to and generally pleasant. It would be a little cruel to turn him down at the end but the man did not seem like type who would be particularly offended for being rejected.

"You really… know your boss… this Levi person very well, huh?"

Eren chuckled between sips; "Well, I did date him once."

As Marco's eyebrows rose at the revelation, he realised what he just said and choked on wine. Wow. Way to go tiger. You just told that to your blind date. Your 'blind date', you asshole. Uh, I hope he's not mad.

Eren nervously searched for discomfort in Marco's pretty brown eyes but instead found mirth there which was a relief but also a puzzle. Marco giggled, wiping his mouth politely with a napkin.

"I see now… So you used to date your manager?"

"Technically he was not my manager at the time."

"Oh."

"It was a long time ago, actually. When we were in college. It's not like I knew he'd be my manager when I started working at the Survey."

"So it's been years…"

"Pretty much."

They stared at each other a bit and then Marco leaned in slightly, resting one elbow on the table and his face on his hand, an amused smile stretching on his lips.

"Eren, you're not really interested in me are you? As a date, I mean?"

"Um… You are an interesting… person."

"But not one you are planning to date?"

Eren sighed and took a large gulp from his drink, suddenly disappointed that he was not in the least bit tipsy. This would be easier to handle if he was at least a little intoxicated.

"It's not you, it's me… Wow that sounded really wrong. I mean, I'm not much interested in dating right now. I'd like to focus on my career since I'm still a newbie and I do want to advance so…"

"I understand and respect that. Makes me wonder why you wanted a blind date though?"

Eren moved his gaze elsewhere – anywhere but Marco's face. Oh, that waiter's vest is so crooked. If Levi was here and that man was our waiter, he'd probably try to fix the guy's clothing before serving us. God. Why am I—

"Let me guess… you actually did not?"

"Huh?"

"You did not want a blind date?"

Eren sighed once more and downed the rest of the beautiful red in his glass before answering;

"Okay, yes, I did not ask for a blind date. My sister kind of forced it on me."

Marco seemed thoughtful.

"But why?"

"Something about me needing partner and happiness only a lover could bring and… um, whatever. Basically she just wanted me to meet someone nice, I think? She's a bit meddlesome and you are someone nice."

"Thank you, I try to be. I'm sorry you had to be pushed into this though, if you had told me earlier I wouldn't—"

"No, no, hold on right there. I'm not regretting this. You're really easy to talk to and it's been a long time since I ate dinner in a fancy place. I'm more than happy I came. There's a reason why I stayed, you know; you are very good company."

Marco smiled, a soft blush adorning his large cheeks and Eren wondered if it was indeed the right move to pass up this guy… He really was not interested though. No spark whatsoever.

"Thank you, again. I wouldn't mind just being friends by the way."

"I would actually love that."

"Sure. By the way, I hope I'm not being too intrusive, but could your sister's 'um whatever' reason for pushing you to a blind date be your boss?"

"Wha—How… did you?"

"You do realise that since we've been seated, you've talked about him almost nonstop?"

Eren froze for a moment as Marco smiled sheepishly at him. Oh shit. Did I literally babble all night about Levi to my date and then told him that I had dated Levi once… Fuck. Eren Jaeger, just how much of an inane jerk could you be. Congra-fucking-tulations.

"I'm sorry, I hope I'm not making you uncomfortable?"

"Are you kidding?! I hope I did not make you uncomfortable. I'm the one who should be sorry. Shit. I mean… I didn't really realise I was doing it… Like at all."

"It's fine, I kind of got that you were not aware of it…"

"It's just… it's complicated you know."

"I can see that. You seem to be quite taken with him though."

"It's not like that…"

"Well, you don't have to talk about it with me anyhow, I'm kind of a stranger. But I just wanted you to know that maybe you're not interested in dating anyone, because you are already interested in dating… someone? Someone specific that is?"

"Are you trying to say what I'm thinking you're trying to say? Because really… I was serious when I said I want to focus on my career. Also, I dated him once. The key being: past tense. It is in past tense because it did not work out."

"The fact that it did not work out once, years ago does not mean that it will not work out now though, does it? You're practically different people now, probably. Again, I'm sorry if I'm stepping my boundaries… But I just wanted to share my observation, that's all."

"Yeah, I get that…"

Eren was flustered at the line of questioning – not because he felt particularly discomforted at talking the matter, in fact, he recognised he preferred discussing it with Marco than others. Armin had been supportive but he had pounded his blond cherub too much on the topic that he felt guilty pouring his guts over him again and again. Mikasa… on the other hand had been a completely different story. She had not been happy about Levi's re-entrance into Eren's life at all and he could not blame her for it, even if he thought she was overreacting. Surely, getting Eren a blind date was a ploy to take his mind off Levi but considering how the night went, it did not seem to be successful. In any case, sharing thoughts on the topic with a complete stranger proved to be pleasant and refreshing as there was no need to inhibit any detail.

"Okay, I really was being incredibly nosy just now, wasn't I? I'm sorry, how about we get some desserts and it'll be on me? As an apology?"

He had not realised that his silent pondering and serious face had caused Marco to think the worst. He couldn't help chuckling at that.

"Marco, I swear to God you're an angel. Again, if anyone should be apologising it should be me… I'm sure this… This was not what you were expecting from your date. I'm a really shitty boyfriend-candidate as you can see."

"Not really, it was interesting and I'm enjoying my time."

Marco smiled and signed for the waiter who came to take their orders for the dessert. For a second there, Eren wondered, if indeed it was alright to forgo pursuing the cute and amicable brunet in front of him. However, when he realised that there was a tiny splotch of sauce on the right cuff of his date's pristine dress shirt, he immediately thought of how such a thing would be impossible for Levi. Or rather, it would be possible – but if it ever happened, Levi would either rush to bathroom to clean the little stain or go home altogether to put the 'dirty' item in laundry. It was completely irrational, but he would likely do it. The realisation that his mind kept on wandering to his viciously neat ex and that unlike many others he did not find the OCD tendencies particularly disturbing convinced him that he was correct on not pursuing Marco.

Heart wants what heart wants and mine wants a constantly-livid and obsessive-compulsive doppelganger of Atom Ant apparently.

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He gaped in horror at the charmingly packaged item on his desk. It was as if the object's mere existence was an offense to his very being and how dare the universe would place it on his own desk of all places. Alas, there was no running away from it.

"I hate Valentine's," he murmured as he took the small packet that so successfully nettled his insecurities and frustrations. There were two heart shaped oatmeal cookies with dark chocolate drops inside the pink transparent wrapping which was tastefully bound with a cutesy fuchsia ribbon. "Hand baked for our dear colleagues!" was the little note attached to it, apparently a 'gift' from their HR branch to everyone in the office.

But why?!

Why would he have to deal with this crap even in their publishing house which was deemed to be so "rad", so "avant-garde", so "renegade"…? He had written a deconstruction of "love in modern times" just last night as a blog post for their own website for God's sake. Yet here he was, on the morning of another February 14, still single with only two cookies baked by the HR of all people. He was miserable. I'll die alone… I'll die alone and then my cat will eat my body and Mikasa will find my corpse two days later and partially eaten after I had stopped returning her daily calls…

He sighed and stuffed the little package in the large pockets of his oversized cardigan; nobody he knew would eat something so healthy and unappetising… Well… Nobody he knew but Levi. His manager would certainly get one himself from the HR though, so there was no point in offering. The man looked even more ashen and furious than usual these days anyway. How does he manage being so pale and enraged at the same time? Aren't you supposed to get red if you're irate? His actual fury has always been more of an arctic blizzard than a scorching fire.

As Eren started his work, cranky even more when he saw how many proofreading tasks Levi had assigned him for the day – what the heck, I'm not a proofreader for fuck's sake, why is he doing this to me? Is it that much fun to torture me?! Argh! – he tried to console himself that this nefarious day would at least end in peaceful joy with his dearest friend. As two lonesome souls, it was their tradition with Armin to spend Valentine's nights wrapped in warm blankets, watching sappy romantic comedies, drinking and testing who could eat more sweets. Years ago, Mikasa used to join them as well in this act of civil disobedience against Valentine's Day and the exploitative greeting card industry; he fondly remembered those days and had to admit that he missed his sister, even though they had seen each other during holidays…

His sweetly nostalgic reminiscence and alleviating hopes for the night were shattered half an hour before lunchtime when he received two messages from Armin. The first was a series of over a dozen "SORRY"s and ended with a 'nervous' emoji. The second explained the reason behind the apology: Armin was casually asked on a date by that neurosurgery resident whom he had been crushing on desperately for almost two years now. She looked like a terrifying ice queen despite her petite size and always wore a stoic expression, so Eren was not sure what exactly made her so irresistible to Armin but he thought he was not in any position to criticise his friend for being infatuated with a seemingly emotionless tiny ball of frigid ire. No wonder we're best friends; we have the same lousy taste. Though I'm not really into blonds so…

He cheered on his friend in his response, repeating multiple times that it was "not a problem" and while his delight over Armin's good fortune was sincere, it not being a 'problem' was not fully truthful. He would never be selfish but he could not help the feeling defeated and lonely. Hell, I'll probably bawl my eyes out instead of making sarcastic jokes over romantic crap today so yeah Eren, buddy, no romcoms for you tonight. I can watch horror… Maybe I should watch 'My Bloody Valentine'… Buy some booze and candies on the way home. Drown myself in cheap chocolate.

Lost in his own dread for the next half an hour, he did not realise Hanji and a few others enthusiastically chirping in the cafeteria until Hanji practically yelled his ears off:

"Eren! My sweet angel! I was just about to come and get ya!"

He blinked a few times before composing himself and placing his homemade lunch on the table – a plastic container filled with his very own recipe of fettuccine alfredo.

"Um, you needed me for something?"

Hanji raised what they were holding – a small basket filled snugly with all kinds of expensive looking chocolate.

"Goodies have arrived! It's time for our annual Interdepartmental Saint Valentine's Trivia Race!"

"Interdepartmental what?"

"It's a trivia competition between Fiction and Non-Fiction people."

"Trivia of what though?"

"Mainly romance and love in contemporary fiction and pop culture?"

"Isn't that kind of biased?"

"Why? Because we do fiction? Pfft. Please. In fact, for the last five years the consecutive winner has been Non-Fiction peeps. Such a tragedy."

"Really? That's strange…"

He took a glance at Erd, since he was not sure if Hanji was bluffing him but Erd nodded with a smile, "Petra's been kicking their ass…"

"Oh. But she's not here today, is she?"

"Yup!" Hanji roared and then leaned towards Eren like a predator staring down their prey, "And you my pretty boy are the best replacement for her!"

"What? Me? No way."

"Told you he'd be too scared Hanji."

Eren shot a dirty look at the young man who had chimed in and had the audacity to smirk.

"I'm not scared. Why the heck would I be scared? How old are you Jean? Nine? Twelve?"

"Why don't you want to do it then?"

"Why do you even want to do this? Never pegged you as one into romance."

"Who says I'm not into romance? My master's thesis was titled 'Tracing Romeo and Juliet in 20th century Sci-Fi'. Why would I turn away a chance to kick you guys' ass, return the glory to the Fiction dep, and get some chocolates as a bonus?"

There was nobody else in the whole company who provoked Eren as much as Jean Kirschstein did. And the thing was… Eren was actually very good in romance trivia. He had always loved watching and reading romance; it had been one of his favourite genres. He had also received his fair share of bullying and snide comments about this particular preference though and thus had learnt over the years to hide his hobbies. I'm sure as hell I can beat Jean's sorry equine ass at this but do I really want to expose my inner corny fanboy… Argh, shit, why does this day keep getting worse?

"C'mon Eren! Don't you want a show down with Jean? I think you guys would be perfect rivals for this year! And you wouldn't want to miss these goodies, now, would you? They're really good. All European stuff. Real deal y'know. Thanks to me and Levi."

"Levi?!"

Much to their displeasure the exact comment of disbelief had arose from both Eren and Jean at the same time. They quickly exchanged glares as if to confirm their resentment with each other. Hanji giggled at their situation.

"Yep. Surprised? Well I've aaaaalways been into trivia and—"

"No, I mean, why would Levi sponsor… this?"

"Why wouldn't he?"

Hanji winked purposely to Eren, who flushed slightly. Levi had never been into romantic antics nor sweet things, though he was passionately fond of dark chocolate. Hanji personally must have managed to get Levi to agree into sponsoring the prize and Eren was in awe at this accomplishment. I really should ask them how the hell they can get Levi to obey them so easily… Do they hypnotise him or something?

"So, Jaeger, are you in or out?"

Eren pondered for a second while his eyes shot daggers to Jean's pompous sneer. On one hand, he would be parading his inner mushy dork for all to see. On the other hand, he would be removing that conceited smirk of Jean Kirschstein's face. And chocolates. Pricey, sweet, sweet chocolates. Oh well, it's not that difficult of a choice to make…

"Say your prayers Jean, you're going down."

"Oh we'll see."

"Yeah, we'll see."

If he had to admit, and he did not have to and thus would never do, it was a fierce battle. He had not seriously thought that Jean would indeed know so much pop culture junk and recall them all so flawlessly too. The sci-fi questions were especially formidable yet that made it all the sweeter that at the end it was Eren who won and did so because Jean completely failed at remembering the name of Paul Atreides' one true love. Serves you right, horseface.

The basket full of chocolates brightened his gloomy day a little. He would likely finish half of it and stuff himself with them till no place was left in his stomach for any other food, if it wasn't for Mikasa's message in the afternoon celebrating his Valentine's and reminding him kindly to not gobble down too much sweets and eat something proper. Remembering his long forgotten pasta at the cafeteria, he had his delayed lunch at 5 pm. Going back to his desk, he was once again painfully aware that he had… nothing to do. Other than work. Yeah, I can work. I can finish all the proofreading asks and this way I won't have to rush them later in the week. Yes. I'm a working adult and I will work because this is a work day.

The next time he took a break and went to grab a coffee, the clock on the wall of cafeteria read 7 pm. He returned back to his desk in anguish once again, his feet heavy, eyes tired, and lips turned down in a frown. Suddenly, he felt much unmotivated. Maybe he should have left for home. That idea of watching horror films surfaced on his mind again, just before his eyes caught the sight of the lavish basket of chocolates on the other side of his desk. He looked through it and realised at least one half were dark chocolates. He preferred milk chocolates over dark ones, mainly because of his sweet tooth but also because the bitter taste of cacao in general was unpalatable to him. He remembered once again how Levi often indulged in dark chocolate, going on and on about the benefits of cacao and scrunching his nose over milk chocolate which he found to be too sugary. Certainly, Levi was not being a loser bum like him in this significant day and was out having fun dates… Maybe sexy dates. Maybe fun and sexy dates. Fuck. Why am I thinking about him again?!

As if his own attempts at kicking his own crippled self-esteem were not enough, he felt the urge to check if Levi still showed online on the corporate messenger – a sure sign of him busy working and not fine dining with someone special. The fortune was finally on his side as he realised the little green status icon near Levi's name. Perhaps he was being selfish and sour, but the fact that he was not alone in spending Valentine's night working allayed his tense nerves and aching self-doubts. He wondered if Levi was working from home or at the office, for he had not seen his prickly manager all day. He slid his swivel chair away from his desk and twirled around to peek at the corner office in their floor. Lights were on.

It was stupid to be happy about it. Not just stupid but putrid. Atrocious. How could he be glad that Levi was lonely? Was he lonely though…? He never seemed particularly lonely. Considering how fine his boss was, the man could woo anyone he wanted. Hence, being alone tonight must have been a preference than a failure at dating, right? Eren started swinging from one side to another on his chair absentmindedly as he eyed the office on the far end, beyond the cubicle jungle. Being a workaholic and a misanthrope, he probably enjoys working today than going on dates.

Levi had never been very interested in dating, that much Eren knew. Even when they were together, Levi preferred casual company and time spent in peace at home than outings. He recalled the only Saint Valentine's in his twenty five years of living that he spent with a boyfriend: it had been in his first year of university and with Levi. It had… not been something similar to what one sees in Hollywood films. There had been no candlelight dinner at an upscale French restaurant. There had been no exchange of gifts or flowers. Instead, they had tried cooking together and mostly failed at it. He could not recall what they had made but at least it had been edible. He could clearly remember how Levi had refused to serve him wine though, which had led to a round of bickering and then some rough housing which in turn led to an intense make out session on Levi's tiny living room's floor which always smelt lightly of bleach. They had watched a romantic comedy film later in the night despite Levi's protests but Eren had enjoyed it a lot, especially whenever Levi snidely commented on what was going on the screen. Mr Sourpuss loved nitpicking films in general and his criticism peppered with toilet humour and profanity always managed to send Eren into giggling fits.

He sighed at the pleasant details of their past which had ended in a cold detachment that he believed neither had truly deserved. "That's how life is", he murmured to himself as he drifted his chair towards his desk once more. He was about to start typing, hand hovering over the keyboard when an idea occurred to him. Honestly, he was not sure if it was the best idea… Scratch that. It's a terrible idea. Why did I even think of this? Now I'll keep thinking of it till he leaves the office… Ugh, I hate myself. Damn it.

He grudgingly stood up and grabbed the basket and took a second to calm his nerves to the best of his abilities and at least stop his hands from shaking nervously. There was no reason to be so fidgety. Just breathe. It's normal. Many office mates do this. Wait, are we office mates with Levi? In a sense, we are right? Well I'm sure many people do this with their boss too. Mostly to suck up to their superiors probably but… Oh shit. Will he think I'm sucking up to him?! No, he won't. He knows my character well enough. Uh, Eren Jaeger, stop being antsy over stupid shit and put your only good quality to use: determination, tiger. Determination. You can do this.

After a deep breath, he walked over to Levi's office and knocked the door but entered before the other even had a chance to say anything. He found Levi sitting at his desk, dark circles of his eyes a deeper shade than usual, his gaze fatigued, about to take a bite from an oatmeal cookie courtesy of the HR. He raised an eyebrow at his intruder and put away the half eaten cookie, instead reaching for his cup of tea and taking a quick sip.

"If you're gonna barge in anyway, why do you knock? Background music for your grand entrance?"

"Oh," Eren's dazed staring at every detail of Levi came to a halt with the stern voice of his boss, "I'm sorry… I didn't think."

Just as the words made it out of his mouth, he cursed himself silently; yeah, genius Eren! Go ahead, give him a bone to chew on. Great. God knows what he will spout now.

Instead of the crude comeback he was expecting, Levi took a moment to scrutinise him in curiosity and then asked in a disinterested voice that did not match the glint in his gaze,

"So? Why are you here? Other than gawking at me."

Okay objectively that's not very nice but on Levi's standards it's pretty much an enamoured teasing, so wow, he must be in a good mood. Why is he in a good mood when he looks like he hasn't slept in days and is stuck at the office on Valentine's of all days?!

"Um, apparently there's this trivia competition between departments?"

"Hanji's shenanigans, yes?"

"'Hanji's shenanigans'? They told me you were one of the sponsors."

"I did not have a choice."

"Wow Hanji is formidable."

Maybe that was not the right comment to make but it did bring ghost of a smile over Levi's alluring lips so Eren counted it as an unintended win.

"That, they surely are. Will you get to your point or do I have to dissect it out of you?"

Eren chuckled and lifted the basket, wiggling it for a second,

"I won."

"No shit. It would be weird if you didn't. How did they even let you in? You shouldn't be allowed."

"What? Why not?"

"Because it's obvious that you'd win."

Levi took a long sip of his tea and Eren beamed timidly. He was not even sure if he could count the remark a compliment but even the hint of a praise from Levi elated him and spurred butterflies and tingles all around his body.

"Well… Jean wasn't that bad either actually."

"Did you just call Jean 'not bad'? Okay, did you eat anything funny today? Are you high? I hope you're not smoking pot in the office because if so, I'll kick your shitty ass out the door. You know I can't stand the smell."

Eren chortled, his previously excited nerves mollified and a serene joy spread into the pit of his stomach.

"I don't smoke pot anymore… Anyway, I won and it turns out half the basket is full of dark chocolates, which I don't eat."

Levi took another long sip from his tea but his eyes never left Eren's face; he was clearly amused which strangely relaxed Eren. It had been a long time since they bantered like this.

"So?" Levi asked.

"So, as you know I hate wasting food," Eren couldn't help a smirk escape onto his lips before he continued, being fully aware that Levi shared this specific hate of his in an equally passionate manner, "I thought that I could give them to you because they seem very expensive and delicious and I know how much you like dark chocolate, don't even deny it."

He started taking the chocolates out of the basket and onto Levi's desk while answering and even though he was not looking at Levi's face at the time, he could swear he heard his usually grouchy manager huff jovially.

"Doesn't your sister also like dark chocolate?"

That shot Eren's gaze back to Levi in a flash and it apparently took his boss a couple of seconds to realise that perhaps such a miniscule detail was not something easily remembered. Eren was positively surprised at the fact. Levi soon shrugged, "What? You know I have a good memory."

He indeed had. It did not rain on Eren's parade though and the young man shrugged in return and let out a quiet giggle which caused Levi to shake his head disapprovingly and take another mouthful from his tea; by now Eren was about 70% sure that Levi was taking the cup to his mouth in strategic moments to hide his smiles. Perhaps it was wishful thinking. Perhaps it was stupid. But Eren truthfully thought so.

A moment later, all the packages of dark chocolate now neatly stacked on Levi's table, Eren softly said, "it's not like I could send them to her you know… She's literally on the other side of the country."

"True."

Eren stood there for a second watching Levi stare at the chocolates. He wondered why the moment felt so intimate despite it lacking any physical or emotional proximity. Levi lifted his gaze to Eren's face after those few silent seconds shared,

"Anything else?"

"Um, no. Just that."

"Okay. Thanks. Have a nice night."

"You too."

Eren smiled before he turned to leave. Just after he closed the door behind him, he paused and faced back, stealing a glance at Levi through the edge of the glass window. His boss was savouring a piece of chocolate in his mouth; lips moving lazily and eyes focused on the screen of his mac. Eren felt unnecessarily flushed at the scene and reverted his gaze swiftly, moving back to his desk in a giddy pace. When he sat down on his seat once again and his eyes flickered through the screen of his own computer, all of a sudden the idea of proofreading throughout the night did not sound so bad and he did not feel as lonely anymore.

It was very odd because he still despised proofreading and he still was the sole one left still working in their whole floor, not counting Levi.