Work Text:
"So that guy from planning is pretty cute, in that douchebag with oversized glasses and remnants of his scene kid phase kinda way." Jean says casually, sipping his starbucks and handing Marco his own. Marco schools his face carefully, takes a sip of his over expensive coffee.
"What guy?"
Jean sneers. "Don’t even try to pretend you don't know who I'm talking about. I've seen you mooning after him, and you're always making excuses to go over to planning even though you literally have no business being there."
"Could be going to see Armin."
Jean gives him a look that roughly translates to "just how stupid do you think I am?" "Could be." He allows. "Except your crush on Armin wore off three months ago, roughly around the time he started banging Annie in the photocopy room."
"Could be--"
"You doodle his name all over your sales reports." Jean holds up said paper, which has Eren written in black ink with little misshapen hearts. "I don’t know when we time traveled back to grade school, but if at any point you want me to pass him a note that says do you want to go out with me, check yes or no, I’m officially disowning you." Jean flops down into his chair, and fixes Marco with a dry look as though to say "so?"
"That won't happen." Marco sighs, slumping onto his desk and twisting a paper clip idly. "Eren doesn't even know I’m alive. I just kinda like looking at him."
"Do you enjoy your self pitying borderline masochistic pining?" Jean rolls his eyes hard. "If so, please continue. If not, fucking grow a pair and say hi or something."
"Coming from the guy who could wax poetic about Mikasa Ackerman’s hair, and then when he finally got to talk to her at a meeting said to her this pen writes really smooth." Jean flushes, and Marco grins.
"I dare you to do better when faced with Eren from planning." Jean huffs.
"This isn’t high school, Jean." Marco retorts dryly, taking the stacks of spreadsheets from his in box and sorting through them.
"You're the one doodling Marco and Eren forever man. You wanna drag us back to high school, we're going back to high school."
*
Eren from planning is not cute in a douchebag in a scene kid phase kind of way. He's just cute, dark hair, brown skin, Ray Bans glasses and all. He always looks neat, a crease between his brows as he sketches out plans, lip or pen or thumb caught between his teeth whenever he’s thinking.
He always looks so serious, Marco barely knows what to do with him. And really, Marco didn't have a reason to go to planning before he met Eren. But shit, what does Jean know?
He didn't meet Eren as much as run into him on his way out of the elevator, scattering his sketches all over the floor. He'd bent immediately to help gather them, apologies falling off his tongue until they were all gathered in Eren's hands again, and when he finally looked up into Eren's eyes, caught his tight little smile and his polite little "thanks", Marco knew he was utterly lost.
So he goes to planning more often than he needs to and pretends to chat with Armin so he can watch Eren work, but that's what people do with harmless, meaningless crushes. They certainly don't take their stupid friends up on a stupid dare.
"H-hi, Eren." Marco squeaks. And no that wasn't suave at all, but Eren looks up and nods politely.
"Hi. Marco, right?" He asks, and Marco nods eagerly and fairly swoons. He knows his name. He knows he exists. "Anything I can help you with?"
"Ah, no um...I was just about to go on a coffee run and wondered if I could get you anything?" He bites the inside of his cheek and tries not to fidget as Eren thinks about it. He peels a post it note from a pad and jots down something, and passes it to him.
"Here. Just a small orange pekoe, two sugars, one milk. Thanks." He smiles tightly at him, more a thin baring of teeth than anything friendly.
If Marco keeps the hastily jotted note, tucked away somewhere where he can thumb over Eren’s chicken scratch and smile, that's not for Jean to know. But he does drop by Eren's desk more than once to drop off a cup of tea. At first, he only smiles and accepts Eren’s small thanks, feeling like his heart will burst from just that interaction. By the fifth time he works up all his spare courage and tries awkwardly asking, "how's it going?"
"Poorly.” Eren sighs, taking a long sip of his tea. “Section chief Levi has rejected my designs three times already, and I really have no idea what he wants." Eren slides his glasses down his nose and rubs at the bridge. "Thanks for the tea, Marco. I’m clearly going to need it."
“You’re welcome.” Marco thinks of leaving him to it, he even turns away. But he turns back, because his stupid crush has a problem and he’s fairly sure he can help, and what else are stupid crushes for? He rounds the low partition into Eren’s cubicle and kneels beside his chair. "What did Levi say?"
Eren blinks dumbly at him, and Marco would swoon again if he wasn’t trying to work. "Ah, he said more whimsical." Eren lets out a frustrated noise and gestures at his sketch. "But what the hell does he mean by whimsical? Does he even know how to be whimsical?”
“I think I’ve only seen him crack a smile once.” Marco agrees. He peers over Eren’s shoulder, which is bony and delicate, perfectly accentuated by his dress shirt, at the plans. “Your colour scheme is too dark and too…” he struggles for the word and settles at last for, “matchy. It makes it look too composed and mature. Use paler colours and a more asymmetrical layout and it’ll be perfect.”
“Like this?” Eren quickly switches out his colour schemes and tilts a few lines.
“Perfect. Levi will eat it up.”
“Thank you!” Eren beams. The smile lights up his green eyes, or perhaps that is only the fluorescent lighting reflected off them, but it’s the first time he’s ever seen Eren give such a genuine smile. He’s beautiful.
“Anything for you.” Marco murmurs, he’s utterly mortified when it slips out, but Eren doesn't seem to notice, or care.
He hurriedly prints off the sketch and staples it to a form. “If he likes it, I’ll treat you to coffee for once. Lunch too.” he smiles once more and dashes around Marco, leaving him dazed and so in love in his cubicle.
*
“You keep pressing that photocopy button, you’ll be in trouble with resources again.” Jean says blandly, jerking Marco from his reverie with a hand to his shoulder.
“What? Oh!” he gathers up the photo copies and straightens them, pressing the cancel button. Jean watches him with narrowed eyes that Marco tries very hard not to meet, folding the photo copies into neat rectangles and sorting them into relevant inboxes.
“Alright spit it out,” Jean snaps. “Watching you like this is giving me ulcers.”
“Your shitty diet is giving you ulcers.” Marco retorts.
“It’s Eren isn’t it?” Marco freezes, and Jean’s face lights up. “Did that douchebag reject you? I mean, that’s hilarious, but I’ll still punch him for you.” he slaps Marco heartily on the back.
“He didn’t reject me, really. it’s just… you know.” his mouth turns down.
Jean regards him seriously for a moment. “Man you really do got it bad. Alright, tell me what happened.” he does, and Jean listens intently. every time their supervisor passes by, they pretend to be photocopying something. “Okay, so you helped him out, and you haven’t seen him since, so you’re afraid that he’s pissed at you if you ended up giving him the wrong advice?”
“That’s pretty much it.” Marco sighs despondently. “What if Levi gives him a hard time over my stupid suggestions? what if he’s kicked off his project for failing to get results one too many times? What if--”
“I’ve never known you to be such a pansy, Marco.” Jean interrupts. He punches his shoulder and tosses the extra photocopies into the recycling bin. “Just go talk to him.” Marco bites his lip, and wants to curl up in a corner and never think about Eren again, but Jean’s tone doesn’t allow room for cowardice. “It’s almost lunch. Go go go.” he shoves him out of the photocopier room and follows him until he’s at the elevator. “Either you come back with a date, or you don’t come back at all. I don’t care if I do have to pass notes like grade school again, you make that douchebag your bride.” he shoves him into the elevator, presses the floor for planning, and steps back out again, waving merrily.
“Like to see you say the same about Mikasa Ackerman.” Marco teases.
“Ain’t the same. You try having a crush on the section chief's niece and see how well that goes for you.” The elevator closes on Jean’s bright red cheeks and his half hearted scowl.
*
Eren isn’t in his cubicle when he stops by. Marco thinks of just leaving him a note on his post it pad, or dropping off a cup of tea after lunch when Armin rounds the corner and smiles sweetly at him. “Looking for Eren?” he asks. Marco nods vaguely, cheeks hot. “He went for a washroom break, he’ll be back any second.”
“Sure.” Marco murmurs, belly full of butterflies and heart skipping beats. “Thanks.”
“Not a problem. How’s it going up in sales--”
“Armin, did you get--” Eren stops when he sees him, looks at Armin, and mutters “Nevermind, I’ll ask later.” he brushes passed Marco to round the partition wall into his cubicle and looks up at him expectantly. He looks haggard, but he smiles at Marco sweetly. Marco vaguely notices Armin’s cunning look before he slips away, leaving them alone. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Marco squeaks back. In his head, he hears Jean hiss at him to grow a pair, so he swallows and asks, “How’d the sketch go over?”
“Oh, Levi loved it. He loved it so much he put me in control of other projects, and I’ve been so busy I didn’t even have time to come over and thank you.”
“No need--”
“No.” Eren interrupts, frowning. “You didn’t have to help me, but you did. Thank you.” Marco blushes beneath Eren’s earnestness,pinned by his sparkling sea glass eyes, and rubs at the back of his neck nervously. “It’s almost lunch time.” Eren says, looking down and Marco nods. “You wanna maybe… stop by some place to eat? I mean, together? My treat, of course.”
“Yes.” Marco beams. “Yes I’d like that very much.”