I got told I was going OOC, thanks for that! Hopefully I've fixed that. Enjoy~
The worst thing about sharing a house with Erwin-having to sleep on the couch, on top of that-is that Levi doesn't have a room to himself. Therefore; Mike is there with him, alone, in the living room while Erwin and Eren go and get Eren's sleepover stuff (he's internally screaming at that) and Hanji's upstairs cooking curry.
Levi eyes the calendar on the coffee table. He glances warily at Mike, with all his shaggy haired glory. Mike is looking back at him with an equally bored expression. He might peak Mike's interest if he makes a move to hide it.
Fuck it.
He takes the calendar and lifts the couch cushion, placing the calendar underneath. Mike doesn't question his actions, or even raise an eyebrow at his behaviour. Good. Levi has trained him well.
Levi weaves his fingers through his black hair, is about to say something to Mike, maybe something normal like "how was your day". Levi doesn't really care about his day. And when Mike talks, he gives relatively short answers. He's succinct, which Levi likes, but it doesn't make for good conversation. Basically; there's no point in talking to Mike.
Instead, Levi leaves Mike to fend for himself and goes for a shower. If Mike looks under the couch and at the calendar; he fully knows what the consequences will be; the knife under Levi's pillow on the couch is there for a reason, after all.
He slips into the bathroom; it's white, clean with basic bathroom things and has fluffy white towels on the silver rack. He dumps a towel on the closed toilet seat and turns on the shower.
It isn't until he's halfway finished showering, the water having relaxed him with its cosy heat, then he remembers the dumb thing he almost said to Eren.
"You know, some people masturbate in the shower. Quite frankly, I think it's pretty fucking revolting."
Levi only takes three minutes under the stream of water, usually, but… something in his lower body is telling him to ignore his own beliefs and just let himself jerk it in the shower. Maybe imagine Eren pressed up against the pristine white tiles-clean, courtesy of Levi- imagine how he'd pant and whimper loudly, but the roar of the water would be too loud for anyone to hear them…. He shivers at the thought.
But Mike's in the other room.
And it's a little disturbing to know that after jerking off, he'll only come face to face with another person-whether or not it's Eren doesn't make much of a difference-after he's done such a deed in the bathroom.
…
Levi doesn't really want anyone but Eren to see what he looks like post-orgasm. He's gone limp just from thinking about cleaning up his own cum off the tiles. Thinking about how Mike will look at him oddly after having taken such a long time in the shower. He'd know exactly what Levi had been doing, too.
Levi decides against the whole thing and settles with lathering his body with soap as quickly as he can.
When he returns to the living room, all dried and in new clothing from his stash in Erwin's room, Mike blinks owlishly at him. His thin, blonde moustache twitches curiously. But he doesn't say anything.
The shorter man sighs, reluctantly going to join Mike on the couch-his couch, that's been invaded by a blonde giant-and turns the T.V on.
Wow. Reality TV has never been so… boring and superficial. He flicks through the channels-Erwin has Sky HD-and finds a channel in the movie section to watch.
"How about we watch a horror movie?"
Normally people watch horror movies on the first date, right?
Though, Eren is only coming over because he got kicked out, and having a crowd of non-friends with them… yeah that cancels out the date idea. They're just friends. If they can even be called that. Apparently, you have to know more than just their name to be a person's friend. He wants to know more about Eren, but that comes with time. He shakes his head, ignoring Mike's grunt of 'I don't really care either way' and programs the TV so that it alerts them when 'Robocop' comes on. Levi lets his mind wander, and eventually comes across Mike's face, and sees a small smile tugging at Mike's lips as he folds his long legs onto the couch.
"What's got you so happy?"
"Eh, just seeing Eren again. He's a really good kid, haven't seen him for years, y'know?"
Mike looks up towards the T.V, a little more interested with the channel that's on. Some BBC documentary about monkeys fucking or some shit. Levi leans against the back of the cushion, putting an arm onto the edge out of habit.
"Why did Eren need therapy?"
Mike pauses, and shakes his head with a low hum. "I can't tell you, sorry Levi." He smirks over at the smaller man. "I guess you'll just have to ask your boyfriend yourself."
Levi instantly feels the heat crawl up his neck and face. "He's not my boyfriend." He knows for a fact that his blush doesn't show on his face, but makes him look angrier instead.
Mike frowns at him, amusement playing on his face as his eyebrow quirks. "I thought you asked him out that night at the bar?"
"Nah, I just told him I liked his hair and that I wanted to talk to him. He had to go to his friends though. You were there, didn't you see?"
"… Aye. But well, I never heard the whole conversation, just Hanji's comments." Mike lowers his voice carefully. "Now you've got me wondering… How the hell did you get him here?"
"I invited him."
"And he came over just like that?"
"Well. He came to the store, he ran away when he saw my face-"
"Why?"
Levi growls at the interruption. "I saved him from a stalker and we sort of spoke in a shop, though I don't think he enjoyed it. Anyway, he ran away, and then I gave him the store competition form to fill out-getting his phone number off the sheet. He came into the store again, I invited him here, and presto; here he is. Or will be. If Erwin hurries the fuck up."
Mike just stares at him, with blue eyes as wide as the ocean and shaking his head as though he's been told he's going to die tomorrow. "Levi, taking personal information from a form is illegal-"
"And yet here he is."
"Because you forced him!"
Levi frowns at him. "No, I-"
"Levi," Mike looks him directly in the eye. "I've seen how you approach people, as rare as it happens. And… I don't think you realize just how creepy you're being."
"I did apologize for that. And he came here by his own free will. Erwin made sure of that." After many questions and glares at Levi while doing so before even letting the kid in the car. Yet, Erwin still didn't know why Eren had come over.
With a heavy sigh, Mike slouches into the couch, putting his feet back on the ground. "At least he knows me. That must've come as a relief to him."
All of a sudden, Hanji with a number of bowls, Erwin and Eren with a small overnight bag hugging his shoulder come into the flat and immediately take up more room. Levi's eyes lock on Eren, and he can't really pull his gaze away.
Levi finds himself almost missing the seclusion of his house in Calton. He'd pretty much lived alone, and he isn't used to being in a room with so many people for long, seeing as Erwin usually invites his friends out.
Mike and Hanji have their ways of invading his privacy when Erwin invites them around, which is becoming more often since he's given them a spare key so they can play the x-box when he's out. Mike invades his privacy by smelling him upon arrival and taking up too much space with his legs and hovering presence, and Hanji does as well by asking Levi too many questions and talking Way. Too. Much. To the point where Levi wants to strangle the Irish man.
'Gotta love the Irish'? Fuck that noise. Levi has met one and he is hell to be around.
Hanji bustles around the kitchen, finding plates for everyone to eat their curry on. Erwin and Eren come into the living room, moving to sit on the other couch next to Levi's.
Levi doesn't like the other leather couch and usually refuses to acknowledge that it exists. Erwin had once thrown up on it-in front of him-after drinking too much one night. Levi never learnt why Erwin had drunk so much, but then again, he was too busy fuming over the vomit to really care.
Erwin takes the bag from Eren to keep it safely in his room with a small grin and a waggle of his eyebrows, and Levi wanders over to the other couch, slapping his arm onto the edge behind him. Eren jumps and Levi can actually see him cower away from him, can smell the fear igniting Eren's being.
"Eren, do you hate me? I invited you around, but you don't need to feel pressured to stay. Mike told me I'm creepy." he does his best to keep his voice gentle.
Eren gives a small smile, though his eyebrows are still creased in fear and Levi can hear his breathing hitch. "I-I don't mind! I don't hate you, and you're not that creepy. I got to see Mike again, and… as it turned out, I needed someplace to stay anyway. Besides… I always keep my promises." he finishes with a determined grin.
So basically; Eren is an idiot. He is really sweet and madly endearing, but fairly stupid.
Levi leans back slightly, feeling his lips curve upwards slightly. "Good." He gives a curt nod and turns his attention to the screen, where the alert tells him the movie is about to start.
God only knows what kind of trouble the kid could get himself into. Then again, there had been the mentions of stalkers, hadn't there? Maybe it's for the best that Eren is staying over after all.
Levi bites his lip, glancing discreetly at Eren, who has his arms crossed and bright green eyes staring at the screen. He looks calm in the near darkness, and the sun has long gone down, and Levi can see Eren's face lighting up from the screen. It makes Eren look like a black and white film star. Levi starts breathing a bit more heavily.
Tonight; Levi is going to have to learn self restraint.
It takes him a while to realize, but it's just occurred to Levi that he is sitting on the couch that Erwin puked on. He reassures himself that it's fine, that the bottle of disinfectant he went through to clean it was good enough and that the couch is therefore beautifully clean. Ha. It's hard to believe. He just needs to distract himself. Looking at Eren is an effective distraction. So is the smell of curry. That works quite well too. Though it blocks out Eren's smell.
They're halfway through the movie, and Eren is cooing over how the movie is a totally manipulative mind fuck, testing the audience's morals by flipping opinions around to their own benefit. He's impressed by the movie, and that leaves Levi satisfied in knowing his choice of movie was a good one.
On the floor with a bag of popcorn, Hanji complains that the movie isn't realistic at all, what with how they portray people's reactions, and keeps questioning the T.V as though it has motives.
"Hanji, it's just a damn movie! Jeez, man." Erwin shakes his head in half amused annoyance. Hanji sulks and moves to clear up the dishes left behind from everyone's curry.
Levi would have done it, but… he's a little busy freaking out over Eren's closeness.
Eren shuffled over to talk to him during the movie, with a dumb smile as bright as his eyes and an eager but low voice that has Levi clenching his fists with how frustrated he's becoming. Sexually frustrated, that is. Now, he touches Levi's wrist to get his attention, and Levi is glad that the darkness of the room means that Eren can't see him blush, because he surely is. He must be. That would be a human reaction to such intimate proximity.
The only thing separating them is a few inches of leather, and the shared packet of Haribo sweets.
Levi finds himself wondering how the hell people even manage to have sex if they get so nervous, like this. He's dizzy and shaking like a leaf just because Eren touched him and looked his way. He can't even imagine what he'd be like if Eren were to do anything more.
He takes a deep, stuttering breath to steady his nerves, and allows Eren to see a small smirk appear on his face, shaking his head at Eren's childlike excitement over the movie.
"You know, I actually wanted to go to Uni to do Film and Visual Arts, so hearing Hanji's feedback interests me, as annoying as you seem to find it." Eren whispers, and flashes his teeth at Levi who melts a little at the sight.
"Why didn't you go do it?" He'd really like to have those teeth on his lips, if he wasn't so damn terrified of… of being in love, it seems.
Eren gives a dark chuckle and there's a dangerous gleam in his eyes. "Shit happens, Levi."
Levi scoffs, but not at Eren. "I would know, I work at a crappy shop and sleep on someone's couch."
Eren turns to him again, this time a little more curiously. "You actually sleep on the couch? How long has it been like that?"
"Eh, for three months or so."
Eren frowns. "What, so you're homeless?"
"Pretty much."
Hanji comes back to sit on the floor, and that seems to end their conversation for the rest of the movie.
It's difficult to have Eren so close. He can't watch the movie at all and he can feel Eren's breath on his skin. To think he'd went almost an entire month without seeing Eren then BAM he sees him for one day, and the next; he's over at Levi's house, asking to stay over. Eren's going to sleep in the same room as him. His eyes widen in excitement at the thought. He could make Eren breakfast. He might get to hear Eren jerking off his morning wood-
Eren's phone rings and he swears as he leaves the room to go and answer it. All at once, Levi's suddenly more relaxed but at the same time, his body's colder. Eren must be a radiator, keeping Levi warm like that.
If Levi hadn't been so hyperaware he must've have even fallen asleep in the cosiness. Might've fallen asleep with his head falling onto Eren's shoulder, could've woken up to the boy stroking his hair like a cat…
"What do you mean it doesn't have "Ackerman Approval"?! That's not even a thing, Mikasa! I'm a grown man, and I have a black belt in Taekwondo; I'm perfectly capable of keeping myself safe." Eren's voice is loud in the kitchen.
The credits begin to roll on the screen and Erwin gives a low whistle, having been intrigued by the plot like some slack jawed teenager the entire time.
"I never expected the News Reporter guy to get angry like that. It's like… he moved from one extreme to the other about liking the robots, then started going on about how "great" America is and missed the point entirely."
Erwin looks pretty damn dumb when he's just had his mind blown. Wait. That's not an image he wants to see right now. Urgh. Yuck.
He escapes the living room to head to the kitchen, and sits on the black, smooth counter as Eren rants to his sister. Mikasa Ackerman, it seems. Why does his sister have a different surname from him? He kicks his legs gently against brown cabinets as he watches Eren pace on the cream coloured linoleum.
"Eren, why don't you let me speak to her? I'm the one that invited you, so she might want some reassurance that I'm not going to murder you in your sleep. I might have a knife beside my pillow, but it's not like I'd hurt you with it."
Eren and the voice on his phone pause for a very long moment.
"Eren, just come over. You should've asked me in the first place instead of intruding on strangers like that."
The brunette sighs with a roll of his eyes. "Look, Levi invited me over, and his room mate let me stay. He reminds me a little of you. You're both as tactless as one another. I think you'd like him. Plus, I have a promise to keep. I said I'd talk to Levi, but we've been too busy watching the movie to really get round to it."
Levi's leg stops swinging as he freezes. His throat is clogged with emotion; he's suddenly love-struck with Eren's sweetness. It surprises him that Eren would go to such an extent just to keep a promise… and to a stranger, no less. A really creepy stranger, as he's been told.
Well. There wasn't really any other way to go about trying to befriend Eren than inviting him over. Sure, he might have been a bit… unorthodox in his methods, but even after telling Levi that he was being weird, Eren seems to not give a damn in the least. Even if it'sdue to stupidity. But Eren said he'd wanted to go to University, so he can't be all that stupid.
"Eren, please just come over. I'll feel better knowing that you're safe and with someone you know well."
Yeah. Levi has a feeling he might not like Eren's manipulative sister.
Of course, after a request like that, Eren gives in and tells Erwin he won't be staying after all.
"It was nice meeting you, Eren. Don't be a stranger; you're welcome here anytime." Erwin shakes Eren's hand.
Hanji and Mike are already gone, and surprisingly a) Hanji barely spoke to Eren and Levi during the entire night b) Mike hugged Eren before he left. Mike is hardly the hugging type and by the looks of it, Eren didn't really seem to enjoy it that much the second time around, probably having come down from his initial excitement from seeing Mike again. "Michael" as Eren said.
Eren manages to reassure Erwin that Mikasa actually lives close to here, and that it shouldn't take more than ten minutes to get there, but doesn't reject Levi's offer to walk him home. Erwin looks at Levi with masked annoyance, and Levi can't help but be smug with his winnings.
They head down the painfully bright yellow stairwell, and into the dark night. It's around about eleven at night, and it'll be getting brighter soon when summer comes. Summer is his least favourite time of the year. Then again, he kind of hates all seasons because each one brings new problems.
Summer brings too much heat and sunlight in the early hours which worsens his insomnia. Autumn brings insects upon insects into his house, so often that he can't open the window to let out the last of the summer heat that's still in his room. Spring is just too cheerful for Levi's liking. Winter brings huge gas bills and fucking annoying Christmas songs. Oh, and his birthday. Right on Christmas; the very day he also hates with a passion.
Eren and Levi walk down the street that's lit with orange lamplights, the air is refreshing after having been in a stuffy room with too many people and Levi lets out a sigh.
"Is something wrong?" Eren takes a glimpse at him with mild concern. Levi has to look away as he suppresses a dopey grin.
"Nothing much. I'm just glad I'm out of that hellhole. It was way too crowded before. I'm going to have to wash my couch. It's got Erwin's ass germs on it now. Brilliant. It's bad enough that I can't clean properly when he leaves his stuff lying around everywhere."
Their trainers clack onto the pavement, echoing in the silent street. Levi sees Eren readjust his bag on his shoulder, having to cross his arms across his chest to keep the heat. The cold doesn't bother Levi much. He's lived through worse, after all. It could get worse even in spring. A couple of years ago it snowed it July. Then it was sunny again the next week at 23 degrees Celsius. Damn, that'd been a weird summer to say the least. Fucking Scotland, man.
"You know, I could help you out with that. I know who to go to, after all."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, you just need to go to the council. Apply for the homeless list and since you're sleeping on a couch, they'll most likely put down your situation as "Dire" and get you into supported accommodation. You'll pretty much have a flat to yourself for a while until they find you a decent place."
"How do you know that?" Levi had been to school, had stayed all through high school too, almost religiously. Although due to the lack of proper resources, he hadn't done very well in his exams. Still, the school should've told him something like this, right?
"Ah, well, I got thrown out by my sister when I was sixteen. Back in Buckie. I was homeless for a while and had to go through all that."
Levi frowns, completely confused. "Mikasa, the girl who keeps tabs on you, threw you out? How could she even do that?"
Eren shakes his head slowly. "No, I have another sister. Andrea. Mikasa isn't my blood related sister, she's my foster sister. Andrea… is my half sister. My mum went through a ton of boyfriends, so we have different dads. My mum had me when she was in Art College and my sister just before she started it. Probably not the best decision she could have made."
Levi nods. "People do dumb things when they're young."
Eren just looks at him. "My mum was twenty when she had my sister."
Levi nods again, slower this time.
"She had me when she was thirty."
Oh. "Well. Okay."
Eren chuckles. "So, yeah. My mum had always been ill, and Andrea looked after me from when I was nine, after I left foster care and she got the legal permission." He sighs.
"I just think it's really ironic. Like, Andrea was always telling me how ungrateful I was, telling me she loved me and that was why she took me on, with her son and eventually her daughter. My niece and nephew. Then she goes and kicks me out. Even though my mum had kicked her out when she was sixteen, too. Andrea didn't just dump me on the streets like my mum did for her, after Andrea came out of foster care. She also had a semi-good reason to ask me to leave, but…" Eren trails off and Levi is struck with a chest pulling urge to comfort him.
He doesn't try to. He's not good at that at all, and he'd probably just make Eren cry. He kinda looks like he will. God. What has he done? He just wanted to know why Eren knew how to be homeless.
He'd considered taking Mike on his offer, maybe going and asking Eren directly why he was involved with Mike and his therapy, but yeah. He's done enough damage tonight. It makes him feel oddly guilty to have pried so much. Though… it had been Eren's doing.
Eren grins weakly at him. "See, you get me talking and I end up spilling my life story. I'm used to talking to strangers I guess. Well. You got what you asked for; I talked to you."
Really, Levi still has a lot of questions that haven't been answered. Even more, now that he's been given a preview of Eren's life. He's really surprised at how open Eren is after just a few times of meeting.
"I think I actually asked if I could talk to you, not the other way round." Levi teases him.
Eren laughs, more genuinely this time, like Levi's somehow lifted a barrier. "Another day, another day. I'll contact you this time, okay?" They stop in front a house, and Levi feels the familiar dread of never seeing Eren again creep in. It's a cold and lonely feeling.
"Next time, I'll take you to the council. We'll talk to a housing officer. Yeah?"
Right now, Levi wants this to be a date, and he really wants to fucking kiss this man full on the lips. Instead he gulps, nodding a little too eagerly and waves Eren off with a single goodbye before awkwardly walking back down the street without another word. He can't really say anything, what with how overwhelmed he is all of a sudden.
Eren isn't deterred in the least by Levi's sudden indifference, and when Levi looks back, he sees Eren wave back a little more enthusiastically before rushing inside the house, his bag bouncing against his shoulder as he runs.
The words are like a mantra inside Levi's mind. He walks down the street back to his house in a happy daze.
Next time-next time-next time.
He'll contact Levi this time. God, this must mean he kept Levi's phone number as a contact last time Levi called. Wow. Levi's ears are burning at the tips. That means he's really fucking happy.
He still wonders why Eren needed to go to therapy. Eren seems pretty resilient, after what he's heard and seen from him. He heard things about his mum. Levi isn't quite sure how he should take it when he realizes Eren referred to her in past tense. Went through boyfriends. Had always been ill. And he'd heard about his sister, the other one called Andrea. They'd both been through foster care, and Eren had met Mikasa and possibly Armin through it, it seems.
Levi has lived by himself for as long as he remembers, seeing as his "guardian" Kenny wasn't exactly there for him like a proper parent should. Still… There aren't many people he can think of that get thrown out at sixteen years old… Not in this country. Not in this day and age.
But… then again, the universe kind of has to bend around Eren's being for anything to make sense.
He reaches Erwin's house and goes straight to the couch-his couch, of course. Erwin is in the bathroom, getting ready for bed and Levi can't really care less. Levi could be leaving this place soon. He might never have to sleep on a couch again, and he might have his own actual fucking house for once. His own space. His own privacy. All because of Eren.
Who's to say Levi is a stranger now? He knows the kid's name and practically half his story, and it's almost the same for Eren. He gets to explain himself though. Next time.
And best of all; Eren doesn't think he's creepy. So fuck you Hanji. And Mike. And Erwin. Everyone can just go fuck themselves senseless and feel no pleasure whatsoever. Ha.
He fishes out the calendar from underneath the cushion, and finds the ballpoint pen using the weak light from the lamp across the room.
How does he even write down a day like this?
What can he say to immortalize the fact that he sat through a movie with Eren fucking Jaeger, got to listen to his story, got to eat fucking Haribo with him and he got to see Eren two days in a row, with the promise of another meeting? The fact that Eren guaranteed his freedom from Erwin?
How the hell does this guy even exist?!
He flips the calendar to April, and writes down a sentence in the dated box.
"The day I realized that Eren Jaeger is humanity's last hope."