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“Eren Jager, the first time I laid my eyes on you I changed.”
* * *
“Hanji, shut up.” I mutter and bury my face in my hands. I knew it was a bad idea to inform Hanji of what classes I was taking this year because of course she would choose to take one with me.
“Oh, Levi. Didn’t I tell you to go to bed early last night?” she asked with her annoying smile laced through her voice. I feet her pat my shoulder and jerk out of her reach.
“I went to bed at eleven, Hanji. You’re just annoying as fuck,” I growl. She laughs - or more so cackles - only causing my head to start pounding. Jesus, I did love the woman. Truly I did but, fuck, she was obnoxious.
“You know you love me, Levi. Anyway, Erwin’s birthday is coming up soon so I think we should throw him a little party or something, don’t you think? I think that would be fun.” Hanji goes rambling on about party details which I tune out completely. I lift my face from my hands just in time to notice a short blonde boy skip through the door of the filling classroom. He wears an excited expression and his eyes gleam with anticipation as if he were actually itching to learn.
I roll my eyes and am about to turn my attention elsewhere when two other people follow the blonde through the door looking much less enthusiastic. My eyes first land on a pretty girl with raven hair that fell just above her shoulders. She wears a red scarf that hid her chin and mouth. Her expression is blank aside from her eyes that are oozing with emotion and flickering between the blonde and the boy who stood beside her.
And it happens. I set my attention to the boy standing beside her and a surge of excitement springs through me. His eyes are a pure sea green color and they seem to shine. His skin is tan and his dark brown hair is messily ruffled but seemed to be naturally swept to one side. His lips are thin and his cheeks are slightly pink. He is taller than both the blond and the girl and he wore a pair of dark jeans and a maroon plain tee shirt. He is beautiful.
My breath must hitch because I can feel Hanji’s eyes boring into the side of my head but I don’t dare turn to face her. Instead I keep my gaze locked on the beautiful boy who has caught my attention so suddenly and fiercely. He is climbing the stairs of the isles and follows the blonde to sit three rows in front of me. By now I just feel creepy for staring at him for so long but I can’t seem to tear my eyes away.
“Levi, what are you staring at?!” Hanji practically shouts and I can feel the annoyance spread across my face but my embarrassment covers it up as the boy turns around in his seat and looks me straight in the eyes. He has caught me. For a few moments I don’t look away but once I realize the dark tinge of pink on his cheeks I snap my eyes in Hanji’s direction, ready to kill.
As I hiss at her I notice I’m not as harsh as I would of been any other day. I also notice the nervousness coursing through my veins as the boy keeps those sparkling eyes on me until the class starts. This is different.
* * *
“Eren Jager, the first words you spoke to me brought me to life.”
* * *
He now sits in front of me since I nonchalantly kept on switching the rows Hanji and I sat in until I figured the chair right behind his was my prefered seat. Everyday he walks walk into class and everyday my heart seems to speed up. I don’t know what it was about him that makes me feel so excited but I like it. Maybe it’s his beauty or intelligence, which had been proven by him always interacting in class and getting As on tests we took - not that I peeked over his shoulder to see his grades or anything - or maybe it’s just the way his voice sounded when he talked to his friends. Whatever the reason, I still can’t decide whether I hate the feeling or want to indulge it.
Right now, I know that I definitely don’t hate it.
“Hey, Levi, here comes your lover boy,” Hanji whispers but she sucks at whispering so a couple people around us certainly heard her. I try to conceal my embarrassment and fiddle with the pen in my hand but I can feel my face heating up. Dammit.
“Hanji, I will end you.” I warn under my breath and she just giggles. She starts talking but I tune her out as usual. She should really learn to not talk to me during Literature because my focus is directly on him.
I watch as he walks in after the blonde as usual with the girl beside him. I am starting to get annoyed by her lately because sometimes he walks in with his arm around her and other days, like today, they just walk in shoulder to shoulder. Either way she is too close to him and I don’t like it.
I keep my eyes glued to where their shoulder brush until they are in their seats, directly in front of me. He pulls out his laptop and sets it on the table. He leans back in his chair, crosses his arms, sighs.
“So how did that date go last night?” The blonde asks causing my eyes to bulge momentarily before Hanji nudges me and I glance at her with deadly eyes.
“Not well. He was a total dick.” He says and I snap my gaze to him just as I drop the pen I had been clutching since he walked in. The pen rolls off the table and by his feet. “Oh.”
I watch as he leans over, grabs the pen, and turns around to meet me with those eyes. I think I’m wonderstruck. His smile is etched perfectly along his face and his hair seems like he actual tried to make it look presentable today.
“Is this yours?” And it happens. I feel my breath being forced out my lungs and I can’t breathe. My eyes are trained on his and it feels so right to be looking into them freely with them looking into mine. Instead of speeding up my heart stops and everything freezes. The warmth of his smile never ceases nor do the feelings radiating through me. And then I breathe in. The air seems so sweet and crisps as it fills my lungs and I feel like something new has begun.
I bathe in the waters of his eyes for a few more moments before reaching out for my pen, brushing his fingertips, and giving a tiny smile.
“Yes, thank you.” He nods and turns around to go on with his conversation about his horrible date. I don’t listen. I’m too busy trying to control my breathing but something feels different. It’s a good different.
* * *
“Eren Jager, the first time we kissed I knew it.”
* * *
Our fingers are laced together and I feel like a child having to hold my hand a little above my waist since Eren is a good head taller than me. We walk in silence as I take him back to his dorm and thankfully I can’t say that this is awkward.
If it were anyone else I probably would feel awkward as hell and be trying to speed up this shitty date so can just go get some sleep but no. This is Eren Jager and there is something about him that makes me want to stop right here in my tracks and never leave him. I am already dreading the moment his door closes behind him and I will have to walk back to my dorm alone where I will be interrogated by Erwin. I roll my eyes at the thought.
“Is something wrong?” Eren asks and I feel a twinge - no. I feel extremely guilty immediately for making him think I am annoyed with him. I glance over at him and stop in my tracks causing him to stop as well. I grab his other hand and pull him close while wrapping his arms around me. I lean into his chest and inhale. It feels so right.
“No, I was just thinking about the interrogation I am going to get from my friends about our date. They are always prying.” I say and I can feel the vibration of his chuckling through his chest. He tightens arms around me and my knees feel shaky from our closeness. I feel so warm and safe with Eren. I have no clue why but I can’t seem to stop myself from wanting more and more of him.
“Yeah, you always seem to be annoyed with Hanji in Literature. You know I can hear you guys when she makes fun of you for staring at “lover boy”, right? Who’s lover boy, Levi?” Eren asks and I swear I can hear him smirking. I nudge him, embarrassed and hide in his shirt.
“You little shit.” I mutter. He can be childish, annoying, and stubborn from what I have learned in class and on this date but strangely, everything that I should find irritating about him only makes me want to learn more about him. To spend more time with him. To let him know every single detail about me.
“Levi?” Eren mumbles after too short a time of standing in each other’s arms. I hum in response and as soon as I do Eren pulls away slightly. A pout find it’s way onto my lips but it vanishes once his fingers wrap under my chin and tilt my head upwards.
And it happens. His lips are on mine and I feel something lift off my chest. I feel something leave me and it is as if it slips through my lips and onto his. I feel like I have lost some part of me but I’m ecstatic because Eren Jager is kissing me and it is so much better than I could of possibly imagined. Then the realization hits me and I know. Now I know.
He pulls away all too soon and I flutter my eyes open that I didn’t even notice had slid shut. My eyes open to find Eren’s pouring into mine. I am so happy I notice he isn’t smiling at first but when I finally do I feel darkness start to fill my chest. But then his presses a kiss to my cheek and leans his forehead on mine. We breathe each other in for a few moments before he mutters three words that would have stolen my heart if he hadn’t already done so.
“You’re so beautiful.”
* * *
“I just did. I knew you were it for me. I would never want anyone else’s lips on mine, I would never want to hold anyone else’s hand, I would never want to be in anyone else’s arms. I would just want all you for the rest of my life, Eren.” My hand is shaking as I reach into my pocket and pull out the black velvet box. Eren gasps as I fall onto my knee and hold out the box. I slowly open it while holding his gaze and take in a nervous breath.
“And I still do. I always will. So, Eren Jager, will you marry me?” Eren is still, looking down at me with an unreadable expression and worry engulfs me. What if he says no? What if he was going to leave me? What if he never thought we would get this far?
“You bastard,” he mutters and my whole world feels like it’s shattering. I let my head fall and I slowly lower the box. “You beat me to it.”
I hear Eren fall to his knee before me and I look up, confused, to find him digging in his pocket and pulling out a red velvet box. He opens it to reveal a ring identical to the one in my hand. In this moment everything seems to come together and my momentary heartbreak turns into an overload of joy.
I smile so wide I feel as if my face will split and I attack him with a hug causing us both to fall into the sand. I am laying on top of him and his arms around wrapped around my waist.
“I fucking hate you. I thought you were going to say no.” I admit as I snuggle into his chest. It so satisfying to know that I will be able to do this for the rest of my life. Eren is mine forever and there won’t be a day I won’t be thankful for it. I hear Eren laugh and he kisses the top of my head.
“Oh, Levi, how could you ever think that? Do you even know how much I love you?” He asks me and I feel him grip my waist and drag me up his body until my face is directly over his. His eyes are gleaming.
“No, I don’t.” I whisper.
“More than you’ll ever know.”