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Levi always knew that the flower shop was on the corner a block away from his office. He never went inside, as he had no need for flowers. The only thing that he would ever need flowers for is if someone dies, and he hasn't associated himself with those above the age of fifty, so the odds of death happening to any of those he talks to are slim. He didn't know, however, that the flower shop was run by a family and the person who was almost always behind the counter was the person who would find himself falling in love with.
It was a cold day when Levi received the text from his friend, Hange, who asked him if he could buy a bouquet of carnations for them. He didn't think much about it, only going into the shop that he always passed and asking for a bouquet. He didn't pay much attention to the person arranging the flowers, only finally looking at them when a voice broke through the relative silence the two had been in.
"Eren! Did the lilies come in yet?" When the man looked up, wanting to find the person who had screamed he didn't see anyone but a tall boy with tan skin and a soft small and–fuck it was much too early in the morning for him to be thinking about this. Hell, he didn't want to think about this at all.
The guy, Eren, had called back, "Yeah, Mikasa. They're in the cooler." Levi didn't comprehend why a bunch a flowers needed to be in a cooler; didn't you just water them and they were fine? when the guy handed him the pink flowers, he somehow knew what the man was confused about. "Putting flowers in a cooler helps retain their freshness a little more than water does." It was all Levi could do to nod, because, God, his eyes were so bright and he couldn't tell what color they were but they were so damn luminescent.
He paid for his flowers and hurried out, cursing yet thanking Hange in his mind because of that guy.
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After some time, Levi found himself making trips to the flower shop for no reason. He'd show up, buy another bouquet of flowers and discard them before even making it to his workplace. By the fourth time he went, there was another person behind the counter, the girl. He presumed her name was Mikasa, because he had seen her before, wandering around the shop and rearragning things.
"Where's the other guy?" He didn't know why, but for some reason the girl's eyes narrowed, only the slightest, but he saw it.
"He has the day off," she replied, but the man felt like there was a little bit more to it than that. Still, he let it go and paid for his dozen of daffidils and left.
A week later, Eren was back. Levi's heart was practically doing bungee jumps in his chest so he thought that maybe he should try to do something about the crush he might have on the boy. He bout three roses and asked if they could put them in a box, and give him a slip of paper to write along with it. He did as asked and even though it was twenty extra, he still bought it. When he was out the door, he wrote down his name and number, not caring if the guy didn't have a single interest in him, but he was glad that he was finally doing something about it.
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There was a period if three days between Levi leaving the roses with his information and Eren actually texting him.
Unknown Number: Hi this is Eren, the guy from the flower shop. You left your roses here and it had your name and number. I wanted to ask if you needed another or if you got it handled.
Levi: I meant to leave those. Are you as oblivious as you sound?
He sounded harsh but that was his usual attitude and he'd be damned if this kid somehow managed to change that about him. Still, he entered in Eren's information and waited for a reply, his heart doing a backflip when he received one.
Eren: Oh, yeah. You're the short, rude one, right?
Levi: Now who's being rude?
Eren: Well I had to make sure. Those were the only two adjectives I had to describe you, having our short meetings only supplying me with /so/ much information.
Levi: How about I take you out so you can add more adjectives to sufficiently describe me. Sound good?
Eren: Yeah, that'd be alright.
He was glad the guy didn't text shorthand and texted like he was writing a paper. It also helped that he wasn't offended by his offensive words because most people couldn't stand to converse with him longer than a few sentences.
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It took four days before the two actually went on their date–which, to Eren's delight, was to skating rink that had recently been opened. Levi learned that he grew up in Germany, which accounted for the slight accent, and that during the winters, he and his friends would go skating on frozen ponds. He was pretty good at it, much better than Levi and that was saying something. After all, he wouldn't take someone to a place where he couldn't impress them, though he was actually the impressed one this time.
"We've been here thirty minutes and I haven't added another adjective to my list besides 'proud.' This isn't working, Levi." There was a way that he sad the man's name that made him one to just yank him down by the collar and kiss him until the world ended but he had more self control than that. So instead, they turned in their skates and walked across the street to a little café that was so warm it made Levi's hands burn from the sudden temperature change. They both ordered hot coffee and settled nto a corner booth in the back to talk.
And they did talk. Throughout the evening, Levi learned about Eren's favorite childhood memories, how Mikasa was his adopted sister, how his best friend was going into the medical field, how he wanted to be an artist but tuition costs too much. And the man found himself spilling facts about himself. Like how he was adopted when he was younger, about how he worked in a large corproation, aout how he always wanted to go in the military, about how he didn't have many friends because of his demeanor, about how a certain kid was ruining his life.
Eren just laughed and started to write down on a napkin words that he used to describe Levi. By the end of the night, he had short, rude, blunt, sarcastic, potty-mouth, adopted, rich, and my friend. It almost made the man cry when he sayw the last one, but instead he just leaned across the table and kissed the guy into tomorrow.
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Eren: Leviiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. Are you coming in tomorrow?
By now, they've established that the man came in every Tuesday and bought Eren a bouquet of flowers that always stayed on the counter until the next week, no matter how wilted they got.
Levi: Yeah, but I might come in the afternoon. I got a meeting that I can't be late for.
Eren: Okay, I'll see you then!
His heart skipped a beat and probably would've skipped more but it was then that another car hit his and all he saw was darkness and somehow he just heard Eren's voice in his head, whispering all of the words that he thought Levi was.
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When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Hange leaning over his face, their oval glasses just mere centimeters from his face. They jumped back, squealing which caused the other occupants of the room to look up. He saw Hange and Erwin on one side and then he looked over and saw Eren, whose forehead bore lines that looked suspiciously like ones you would receive from falling asleep with your head pressed into wrinkles. Which, Levi decided, was exactly what he had done.
"Why am I in a fucking hospital room?" He said the words, though they came out slurred and then he was remembering the events that led him to be in said room though he didn't know how long he had been in there. "What day is it?" Was his second question.
"The eighth," replied Erwin. "You've been out for sixteen hours, worrying us all to death. By the way, the meeting had been postponed."
It didn't bother the man that his friend had informed him about work; he always sacrificed his own health for something work-related, though this time he had sacrificed himself for something in his love life. And that thought made him think about how Eren was doing and when he looked over and just saw a blindingly bright smile and eyes-that-didn't-have-a-color shining brightly and he knew that all was right and he didn't have to worry anymore.
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It was ten days after his accident and he realized that he and Eren had been dating for two months so deciding that, in celebration of said fact, he would have Eren move in with him. He knew that the pair lived in a one-room apartment and Eren usually slept on the couch and sometimes woke up with a crick in his next and it had been ages since he slept in a real bed.
When Levi proposed the idea, his boyfriend had been shell-shocked for a few seconds before leaning down and kissing him, muttering, "Yes," the entire time. And that little fact made the man so happy that he didn't even car that he would have to worry about the cleanliness of his apartment more now. After all, love always conquered or the quote went something like that, he couldn't remember.
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The first night Eren spent in their apartment, they had a horror movie marathon and for five hours the two laughed their way through horrible special effects but still jumped at some parts. They couldn't always have it all.
The second night, Eren had brought home a bouquet of lavender and wouldn't tell his boyfriend why so Levi just let it go and watched the purple flowers on the little table in the living room.
The third night the two took to their bedroom and did the one thing they had never done yet because they knew it was now love even tough neither said the words out loud. They just knew.
The fourth night, Eren made a special dinner and Levi didn't understand why until it was revealed that Eren had received a full scholarship for art school.
The fifth night they did nothing, with Eren dragging out his sketchpad and charcoals and working on a sketch of Levi who was tapping away at his laptop. The finished product was magnificent.
The sixth night, Levi was exhausted so he went to bed early only to wake up and see Eren crying on his side of the bed. He didn't say anything, just moved closer into the other boy's chest and smiled contentedly when his hand wrapped potectively around his abdomen.
The seventh day, neither said anything about the night before and everything started falling into a routine after that.
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It was almost a year before Eren vanished for the day and Levi had called Mikasa so ask if she knew, to which she replied to go to the cemetary. He complied and saw the guy's little car in the lot and he realized then that he had never heard anything about the other's parents past the part they moved the America. He walked for just a little bit before finding the taller boy kneeling in front of a gravestone with tears running down his face again. Levi just ank down beside him and didn't say anything, just let the semi-broken boy cry, but he knew that the other knew he was there.
When he was finished, they stood up and went to a fast food place where Eren told Levi about his family over a greasy burger and fries.
His mother was murdered in their home while Eren was there, and he watched from a crack in the closet door after his mother pushed him into it. His father stuck around for a little while after that but finally skipped town when Mikasa was eighteen. Her love of flowers led them to open the shop, which brought in a large amount of money, though only enough to covers the bills and the flowers.
They went home and made hot chocolate and watched a romantic comedy that both of them cried at.
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One their one-year anniversary, Eren brought home another bouquet that guest-starred lavender and had a silver ring with three diamonds tied on a string. Needless to say, Levi said yes and they two shared another night in bed, this time with even more passion than the first.
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They didn't have a large wedding, only with Erwin, Hange, Mikasa and Armin. It wasn't formal either, so when the two kissed their were cat calls from Hange, who looked extremely pleased with themselves. The two standing at the alter looked a little embarrassed, especially the shorter of the two since they had called out, "You get some, shorty!"
They ended a day with a nasty bruise on their leg.
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After Eren always giving Levi lavender on their anniversaries, he finally asked what it meant.
"Lavender means love and devotion. And it's not a very popular flower, not overrated, not that superficial. It's kind of like us and our relationship. And that was so cheesy that Levi couldn't help but pull Eren down by the collar and kiss him into Sunday.