A/N: The no cheating thing was the best decision I ever made. Seriously.
iHillery - You'll never prepare them enough.
animezerogirl - Your English is fine! And yes, I would also love to kidnap Levi. Sadly, I probably wouldn't make it out alive.
arisanightray - Or he has to take on a whole bunch of thugs... Either one.
Levi woke up to a cat's butt in his face.
"Kyojin!" he groaned, rolling over. He checked his clock. It was around five in the evening. He had taken a nap after coming home from his classes. He pet Kyojin, yawning. Kyojin mewed happily and curled into Levi's side, purring.
Eren still hadn't come home. Levi sighed and got up, hearing the doorbell ring. Maybe that was him.
When he opened the door, he got Zoe and Irwin instead.
"Hi, Rivialle!" said Zoe cheerfully. She grinned and grabbed his hand, dragging him out into the hall without saying anything more.
"What are you doing?" he asked. He hadn't even run a comb through his hair yet, or fed Kyojin.
"Taking you out for drinks." said Irwin.
"I don't want drinks." said Levi, trying to pull out of Zoe's iron grip. He was failing.
"Pizza and drinks." said Zoe. Levi stopped struggling immediately. Zoe smothered a laugh at Levi's hopeful expression.
"Just for the pizza." Levi muttered, looking away. Zoe grinned even wider.
At the bar, Zoe ordered their food as Irwin and Levi sat down. They didn't mention Eren, even though Levi knew they were trying to cheer him up.
"Levi, remember the first time I met Irwin?" asked Zoe after she had taken a sip of her beer. Irwin grimaced.
"Yeah." Levi smiled at the memory.
Zoe had walked up to Irwin, a complete stranger at the time, run her thumb across his eyebrow and whispered "Why hello there handsome brows." Levi later heard from Irwin that he had fallen in love instantly.
"Why?" asked Levi, no real interest in his voice.
"No reason." said Zoe, her smile faltering as she chugged her beer. Irwin cast a sideways glance at her before taking a sip of his, not wanting to get drunk so he could drive them home.
"Hey, Rivialle! Guess what?" said Zoe after downing half of her beer.
"Hm?" asked Levi. He was already feeling a buzz from the alcohol and wondered if he should stop drinking.
"Petra and Auroro broke up." she said. Levi raised an eyebrow.
"And why should I care?" asked Levi. Zoe's expression didn't change, but he saw hurt flash through her eyes before she hid it.
"Well, you used to have a crush on her..." she said awkwardly. She glanced at Irwin, whose expression was unreadable.
"'Used to' being the key words there." he said.
"I just thought you might want to know." she said nervously, afraid that she had set Levi off.
"I didn't." snapped Levi. Zoe almost visibly flinched, hiding it with a grab for her beer and a cough. Irwin looked between the two, his gaze calculating.
The rest of the evening passed in almost total silence, with a few conversations between Zoe and Irwin. They dropped a drunk Levi off at his apartment and exchanged glances with each other. Zoe lifted her ring finger, which now had a shiny engagement ring on it.
"Maybe now isn't the best time to tell him." she said with a forced laugh. Irwin took her hand and brought it to his lips.
"We'll have to wait." he said against her skin. She smiled and pulled her hand away, rewarded with a confused look from Irwin. She grabbed his hair and pulled him closer to her. They were now inches apart.
"I'm sure he'll be happy for us." she said. "He's just upset." She had seen the way Irwin looked at Levi when he had asked why. She had seen how Levi's eyes had been full of disinterest, and how sad Irwin had looked. "We'll be fine."
She smiled as she pulled his lips toward her's.
Eren was lost. All of the houses looked the same. They were all shitty and looked like they were about to collapse at any moment. It looked like somewhere Eren might live if he hadn't met Levi.
Eren sighed and leaned against a shady looking Rite-Aid. There were a few smokers there who paid Eren no mind. He watched them breathe in, then blow the smoke out.
On his meager pay at the cafe, and with his current situation with his parents, Eren wasn't sure what he would do without Levi. He often wondered why Levi bothered to keep him around. Eren was nothing special. But Levi still came to the cafe and watched him work, let him live in his apartment, fed him...
Eren really did feel worthless. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the three boys approaching him. He didn't notice when the smokers eyed each other and walked away. But he did notice when he was pushed roughly in the shoulder by the biggest of the bunch.
Instead of saying anything, Eren glared at them. One against three wouldn't be too bad, right?
"Looks like you're far from home." said the biggest one, gesturing at Eren's outfit. He was wearing a plaid button-up shirt and jeans. Not much different from what they were wearing. Eren supposed it was just the way he stood, like they knew that he had been raised in a middle-class family.
Eren shrugged. "Not really." In truth, Eren had no clue where he was.
"You know, it would be a shame if someone messed up that pretty face of yours." he said, smirking.
Eren raised an eyebrow. "Sure would. How else am I supposed to pay the bills?" He cocked his head to the side, trying to look confident. One of the two in the back sputtered.
"You're funny." said the guy in the front, without emotion. "Now, I'm sure you've got cash on you."
"Nope." said Eren, turning his pockets inside out. "I'm broke."
The one in the front scoffed. Eren decided to name him Doug. Doug took one step closer to Eren. Doug was taller than him, and he could only imagine how much taller Doug was compared to Levi. Eren would have laughed if it weren't for the huge man standing in front of him. Eren took a step back, his back hitting the wall.
"You're sure?" asked Doug menacingly. Eren looked up at him.
"Positive."
Eren felt felt the air leave his lungs as Doug landed a punch in Eren's stomach. "Smart ass." said Doug before leaving. Eren was left on his knees, gasping like a fish.
At least he hadn't been beat up too badly. But it was getting dark, and Eren needed a place to sleep. No way in hell was he going back to Mike's, but he also didn't have any money with him. He couldn't very well sleep in the streets. So Eren started walking. If he couldn't find a place to sleep, then he just wouldn't sleep. It was as simple as that.
A/N: Review and I'll be your best friend.
And Eren's adventures in the streets continue next chapter, along with some LegoutxArminxJean angsting.