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Levi hates traveling.
Well, to be more accurate, he hates the process of traveling – particularly airplanes.
Airplanes are stressful, overwhelming, and disgusting. Levi despises them.
Unfortunately, however, air travel is a necessary evil for Levi to visit his sickly mother, especially during holiday breaks. He should be well-accustomed to traveling after nearly four regular years of it, but even as a senior dance major in university, the thought of going to an airport never fails to make his skin crawl.
On the brighter side, this time his best friend and roommate of nearly four years accompanied him. Levi still isn’t quite sure why he allowed Hange to tag along in the first place, but it is nice to have someone else around (even if he is loath to admit it).
However, when they nudge him for the umpteenth time into the four hour-long flight, Levi is starting to reconsider inviting Hange entirely.
“Why don’t you go talk to him?” They say in a far too loud whisper that Levi could hear despite his earbuds firmly pushed into his ears.
He fights the urge to cringe and side-eyes Hange (well, more like side-glares). Hange is unphased. How could they not be, when they are well-accustomed to Levi’s bristly, abrasive nature?
“Shut up,” he hisses, elbowing them back. The last thing he wants is for him to overhear, even though Levi could see that it was practically impossible with the massive, no doubt expensive noise-cancelling headphones he wore.
Hange gives him an unimpressed look over their glasses and leans in, their voice thankfully much quieter than before. “You haven’t stopped looking at him since we got to the gate. Who knows? Maybe he’s friendly-“ they elbow him again, earning them a disgruntled noise, “-and single.”
“I said no. Drop it already.” Levi crosses his arms and settles back into his seat with a huff, refusing the offer from the flight attendant to refill his water cup. The last thing he wants is to give Hange the satisfaction of knowing they are right.
In all truthfulness, he really hasn’t been able to stop staring at the hot blond sitting on the opposite side and a row ahead of him; not since he and Hange first found their gate after an agonizing wait through the Starbucks line for Levi’s tea (not that it was good tea to begin with, but Levi is stressed, and when he’s stressed, beggars can’t be choosers). When they sat at the gate seats, Levi had been almost instantly captivated by the blond sitting the next row over, facing him.
He had been busy reading a boring-looking history book, so thankfully he was none-the-wiser to Levi’s surreptitious looks. Levi had pulled out his own book, a murder mystery book he took from home, and between reading lines on the page he would glance up to admire him.
Who could blame him? The blond was beautiful – nearly annoyingly so – with perfectly groomed golden hair that caught the early afternoon light with every movement of his head, high cheekbones, full lips, and a Romanesque nose. He might be a little nerdy-looking (who the fuck wore khakis and a button-down for pleasure anymore? And the glasses perched on that ridiculous nose didn’t exactly do him any favors in the stylish department either) but Levi could live with that.
There had even been a close call at one point when the gate agent started the pre-boarding announcements. The blond had glanced up and for a split-second caught Levi’s eye. Levi had immediately looked back down at his book, cheeks burning pink and skin prickling at the thought of those stunning blue eyes looking at him. He hadn’t dared to look up again and pointedly ignored the blond throughout the boarding process despite the fact they were five people apart in line, and Levi could have sworn the blond looked at him again as he passed him to sit in his window seat.
Now, with the safety of sitting a row behind him, Levi can at least admire him more than before… Until Hange notices.
He can practically feel the heat of their gaze on him as he stares at his book, the words meaningless to his brain as he waits for a safe time to look up at the blond again. He can’t help it; there is something magnetizing about him, as though he’s a sun and Levi’s a moon, utterly helpless to the weight of his gravity as it pulls him in. If Hange weren’t with him, Levi could at least admire in peace.
That isn’t the case, though, and Levi hates it. He hates flying, he hates the crying babies and noisy coughing and the depressing reality that once they land he likely will never see the blond again. If it were any other place, Levi might have made a move. He can see himself buying the blond a drink at a bar or making out with him in the shadows of a thumping, stifling club.
But a plane? Absolutely not.
He waits another five minutes and, once he is certain Hange is no longer paying attention to him, Levi looks up in search of the blond but stifles a groan when all he could see is Hange’s face, their far too intelligent eyes glinting at him knowingly.
“Fucking Christ, Hange,” he complains.
Hange grins, a touch too evilly for his liking, and says, “Go talk to him.”
Levi scoffs and pointedly flips a page in the book he hasn’t been reading for the past thirty minutes. “Fuck off.” He stares back down at his book and forces himself to read the first paragraph while trying to ignore Hange’s eyes drilling holes into his profile.
They are quiet for another ten seconds before reaching down to dig through their horrifically unorganized backpack, mumbling under their breath as they search for something. Levi ignores them and manages to read a page before Hange makes a triumphant noise.
Levi looks, and there’s a pen fisted in their grasp. His blood runs cold. “Hange.”
His best friend ignores him as they pluck the napkin his water cup has been using as a coaster. They uncap the pen with their teeth and scrawls a phone number and suddenly Levi can’t breathe. It was his cell-phone number.
“Hange, don’t you fucking dare—” He lunges over to grab the napkin but Hange manages to snatch the napkin away, ignoring him entirely as they unbuckle their seatbelt. “Hange!” People are starting to turn and stare, but Levi doesn’t care because Hange’s about to ruin his goddamn life—
He stares in horror as they lean over the blond’s aisle seat partner, gently tapping him on the shoulder. The blond pulls his headphones down and looks up at Hange curiously, and even after hurriedly yanking his earbuds out, Levi can’t hear what they’re saying over the roar of the engine. And when Hange points at him, leading the blond to follow their finger and look at him, Levi barely holds back an indignant, strangled noise as he sinks as lowly into his seat as he possibly can.
He has never been so thankful for having stunted growth.
Agonizing seconds tick by until Hange plops back down into their seat. Levi reaches over and squeezes their wrist in an iron grip, hissing, “what the fuck did you do? I fucking told you to leave it alone—”
His phone buzzes in his pocket and Levi chokes as though a bucket of ice water douses him mid-fury.
Hange gives him another far too evil smile for his comfort and says, “talk to him. You’ll thank me later.”
Levi gapes at them in disbelief. The absolute last thing he wants is to open his texts, especially after being humiliated by his so-called (and debatably ex) best friend. He grits his teeth and drags Hange down to his level, ignoring their grunt of discomfort from how tightly he’s gripping their wrist so he can seethe, “what the fuck did you say to him?” He has no idea how (or if at all) he’s managing to keep his voice hushed.
Hange shrugs and says, “I said that I had a very hot and very single best friend and if he’s interested, to send you a text. Texts are free on this flight, you know.”
Levi doesn’t know what to say to that. He’s at a loss for words.
Slowly he releases Hange’s wrist, their sound of relief as they rub at their reddened skin barely audible over the sudden pounding in his ears. He’s almost certain that his heart will beat out of his chest from anxiety, but he hesitantly reaches into his pocket to pull out his phone, eyes as wide as saucers as he read the message from an unknown number.
‘Hi! I can’t say I’ve ever been offered a phone number during a flight, so thank you, I’m very flattered. 😊 I’m Erwin.’
Never in his life has Levi wanted to disappear so badly before. It’s ridiculous and completely embarrassing; what if he – Erwin – isn’t interested? What if he’s already in a relationship, or even worse, what if he isn’t into men?
Levi closes his eyes and takes a breath, his thumbs moving as if on their own accord.
'No problem, and it’s Levi… You really didn’t have to do this.’
He presses the send button before he can talk himself out of it. He can feel Hange’s eyes on him again, but he ignores them and tries to ignore how quickly he glances at his phone again when it buzzes in his palm.
'I apologize if I’ve made you feel uncomfortable. For what it’s worth, I think you’re attractive and I’m glad your friend approached me. But if you would rather not chat, no hard feelings. 😊 '
Shit. Now he feels bad.
Levi chews on his lower lip as his thumbs hover over the screen. Despite the fact that his cheeks still burned from the entire ordeal, he also can’t deny the fact that he hasn’t been able to stop stealing glances at Erwin for the last few hours. And now, even though Hange did the exact opposite of what Levi wanted them to do, he also can’t deny that he really wants to talk Erwin even more.
What’s the harm in just talking? He doesn’t exactly have anything better to do, and it’s not like anything will come of it. It’s impossible to fathom that anything would blossom from a stupid mile-high crush. Besides, there’s just as good of a chance that they won’t get along after all. No harm, no foul.
It’s not a fucking marriage proposal. It’s just talking.
'You’re fine, we can talk. I should be apologizing for my shitty friend anyway.’
‘Nonsense. Your friend had the guts I didn’t, so you should thank them for me instead.’
Levi’s cheeks burn and he steals a glance at Hange, which was a mistake (again). They lean in and mumble too loudly, “what’s he saying?”
“Fuck off and mind your business,” Levi huffs, elbowing his friend away, but he also can’t deny that Hange was instrumental in this whole ordeal. Mortifying situation or not, Hange’s a decent friend. He softens his tone and says, “He says thanks.”
Hange says something, but Levi tunes them out when his phone buzzes again.
'Tell me about yourself.’
‘What do you want to know?’
‘Well, I suppose an easy question is what you do for a living. Or are you in school?’
‘I work part-time but I’m also a senior at The University of Maria. You?’
'That’s only an hour away from me! I attend Sina University and I’m a year into getting my PhD in Classical History.’
‘Fucking nerd. That explains the history book you’re reading.’
‘You were looking at the gate, huh? 😉 It’s a source for my dissertation, but it’s rather interesting. What do you study?’
‘I’m a dance major. Ballet.’
‘Ballet? 😮 That’s so cool! And I can’t say I’m surprised.’
Levi frowns. He’s been made fun of since his mom signed him up for ballet classes when he was four years old. Over the years, he’s learned to let it roll off his back, but it’s a real damn shame if Erwin’s a judgmental asshole because Levi’s passion happens to be something that’s typically associated with femininity. He busies himself with adjusting his positioning so he’s facing the window and angled away from Hange as an excuse to avoid answering for a few moments, but he can only put it off for so long.
God, he hopes Erwin isn’t an asshole.
'Why? Because of my size?’
‘No… You have a natural grace whenever you move. Forgive me if I’m overstepping, but you’re mesmerizing.’
‘Oh.’
Levi swallows thickly, reading the message over and over again, shifting in his seat. It’s unfair that Erwin flusters him so easily and over a text message, for God’s sake. He hopes Hange’s finally minding their own business as he wills his furious blush to go away.
Erwin still has yet to reply, so Levi bites his lower lip as his thumbs move again.
'You said your book is a dissertation source?’
‘Yes! 😊’
‘What’s it about?’
They continue to text back and forth for the remaining three hours of the flight, with Levi angled away from Hange as his thumbs flew across the keyboard. They discuss Erwin’s research (not that Levi understands much of it) and Levi’s ballet repertoire. Erwin tells Levi a funny story involving his best friend, Mike, and Levi takes his own little revenge by telling an embarrassing story about Hange.
Talking with a stranger shouldn’t be so easy (especially for proud introvert Levi), but Erwin is a fantastic conversationalist. Levi dreads getting off the plane as he reluctantly watches the minutes tick by each time he opens his phone, because even for those few hours, it felt as though they existed in their own little universe. For a small pocket of time, it was as if he and Erwin were tucked away from the reality that awaits them when the plane lands.
It was nice.
Not that it has to end, of course. Levi wants nothing more than to keep in touch with Erwin; not merely for a romantic prospect, but simply because throughout their time talking, he can tell he’s a good guy. But he also doesn’t know what Erwin’s thinking, even though he’s tempted several times to ask throughout their conversation, what next?
He refuses to be the one to ask, though. He’s suffered enough humiliation today as it is.
He’s mid-response when the flight attendant announces they’re beginning to descend into Maria and his stomach lurches. Soon, the text messaging feature over the plane’s Wi-Fi will be disabled and he will lose contact with Erwin. They would return to reality and back to their own lives.
What if Erwin doesn’t want to continue… Well, whatever this is?
Levi’s phone buzzes in his tight grip, and he cautiously looks at his screen, heart in his throat.
‘Texts will be disabled soon. ☹️ I know this might be weird, but I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you, Levi and I’d like to continue… And I’d also like to officially meet you in person if that’s okay.’
Staring at his phone, he tries to ignore how his heart is pounding and his blood roaring in his ears, so very similar to how he felt a few hours ago when he got Erwin’s first text. Only this time, it was no longer dread.
It was pure, unadulterated excitement.
He allows himself a small smile as he sends his final text, just in time before the Wi-Fi is disabled and the plane descends. He watches the approaching landscape, head resting against the window while trying to ignore his stomach fluttering with butterflies and crossing his arms so his hands won’t visibly tremble. It takes every bit of self-control to remain deadpan when he and Hange are able to get up from their seats, pausing to grab their carry-on items before deboarding and mumbling a quiet, “thank you” to the flight attendants.
With every step closer to the terminal, the butterflies only became worse. Hange wisely stays quiet and walks behind Levi, and he’s thankful for it. If he tries to speak now, he isn’t sure what will leave his mouth, especially since he’s so close to finally meeting Erwin face-to-face.
It was only a moments later when he saw him, and he’s as beautiful up close as he is far away – especially with the wide, dorky grin stretched across his lips. It’s contagious, and before Levi realizes it, he’s returning it with his own smile (which isn’t much by normal people’s standards) as he walks over to him as though his legs had minds of their own. Hange, on the other hand, keeps their distance to allow their privacy.
“You must be Levi,” Erwin says, and Levi’s breath catches in his throat as he takes Erwin’s outstretched palm.
“Yeah,” he manages in a rasp. It’s unfair how beautiful Erwin is; how is he supposed to talk to him now with that easy smile and a gaze that pierces straight to his soul? Over texts it was easy because Levi didn’t have to look at him but now that he’s here, in Erwin’s presence, it’s borderline too much. “And you’re Erwin.”
Erwin nods and fuck, his smile is as gorgeous as the sun itself. “Well, you did say to meet at the gate. It’s a pleasure, Levi.”
“Yeah, you too.” Levi wipes his palm on his jeans and resists the urge to kick himself. He isn’t a small talker, or a talker in general, really. Erwin had been the one carrying their text conversation and he’s still confused as to why Erwin wants to meet him in the first place. He’s the last person he would think Erwin would be interested in, even just as a friend, so why is he here?
His thoughts were interrupted as Erwin shifts his weight from one foot to the other and adjusts the strap of his messenger bag on his shoulder, and for once he seems… Nervous? “I realize this may be forward of me, but I truly did mean it when I said I want to keep in touch with you… And I’d like to meet you again, maybe over dinner?”
Levi’s throat runs dry as he stares at Erwin, and he can’t possibly think of anything else except –
“Yeah. Yeah, I’d like that.”
The End.