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Levi hesitated. He studied the flyer on the complex’s bulletin board. Apartment sitting.
He was as torn as the tabs on the flyer. He needed someone to get his mail and water his plants while he was on this next assignment, and he knew absolutely no one in this city. It was apparently a program set up by the landlord and supported by tenants willing to volunteer. But they all were still strangers. He rarely saw anyone who lived in his building, even passing. Could he really trust a stranger to enter his home? He knew that everyone here had to pass a background check, but that wasn’t always a sure thing.
Not to mention the invasion of privacy.
But he had no one else to turn to, and he was leaving in a week. He sighed and made a decision. He tore off the little slip of paper with the email address that he would need to contact to be added to the list. He sent the email as soon as he returned to his apartment, before he could change his mind.
He received a response within a few hours. The tenant from apartment 413 would be apartment sitting for him. There was an offer to meet up to collect his keys prior to his leaving.
And Levi had every intention of following through with the meeting. It was better than letting some faceless person into his space, but he got caught up at work finalizing the details of his trip. He shot Tenant 413 an email apologizing that they would not meet, but explained that he would leave his apartment key in 413's mailbox. The responding email was full of understanding and signed with a smiley emoji. Great...his apartment sitter was a 19 year old girl.
Levi looked around his apartment, mentally cataloging his belongings in the event something turned up missing, and checked the note stuck to his fridge before leaving in the predawn of the morning to catch his too early flight. Such was the life of a travel photographer.
Levi grunted as he pulled his suitcase across the threshold of the apartment complex. Two weeks traveling in a country where he didn't speak the language and sleeping in less than comfortable conditions was tiring enough. Compound that with a 13 hour flight, two lay-overs, and crossing two different time zones, tired didn't even begin to explain the depths of his exhaustion. He had to send an email to 413 to explain that he would be obscenely late and to leave his spare keys under his door.
He came home to a surprisingly neat apartment. His mail had been stacked neatly and organized both alphabetically and by type. There was a plate of chocolate chip cookies sitting next to the mail. On his fridge was a bright pink post-it.
'Your pantry and refrigerator was depressingly bare. I brought you a few things for your return. Reheating instructions are on the containers. :)'
The penmanship was neat and blocky, very deliberate.
Levi opened his refrigerator and was greeted by the sight of at least a week's worth of reheatable meals. Just who was 413? He looked around the apartment and the only thing out of place was a dirty spoon in the sink. Even his plants seemed to be surviving.
Whatever, he could contemplate his mysterious apartment sitter in the morning. Right now, he had a date with his pillow. He barely had the energy to shuck his shoes and jacket before collapsing face-first onto his bed. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.
“So, how was your trip?” Isabel asked through the video chat.
“It rained...a lot. I was barely able to get enough shots for the client. I’ll develop and send them this week.” Levi was leaning against his kitchen counter waiting for his first pre-made meal to heat.
“I still don’t know why you had to move so far away. Have you met anyone yet? Made any friends?”
“We’ve been over this. I don’t want to be a travel photographer forever and I need to be somewhere with more opportunities.” The microwave dinged, giving Levi an excuse to look away.
“You’ve been a hermit, haven’t you? That’s why you’re not looking at me right now. Bro, you’ve got to put yourself out there. I hate the thought of you being alone.”
“Oh my god, fuck me,” Levi moaned as he took the first bite of food.
“Bro? Levi, do you have company?”
“No, but this food is almost as good as sex. Holy hell.” Levi groaned in appreciation before taking another bite.
“Food? That’s really what has you moaning like a whore?”
“I would whore myself out to get this. It’s so fucking good.” Levi couldn’t remember the last time he hadn’t eaten something from a box, a restaurant, or something so exotic and questionable that he didn’t want to think about it.
This... was delightful.
And when Levi received the email chain two weeks later informing everyone that tenant 413 would need an apartment sitter in a week, Levi didn’t hesitate to volunteer, curiosity eating at his very soul. 413’s response was as friendly and as full of emojis as Levi anticipated.
The hope of finding out the identity of 413 was dashed when he received the email notification apologizing that an emergency had come up at work and 413 would leave their keys in Levi’s mailbox due to unforeseen time constraints.
Well, maybe Levi could at least get an idea about 413 after seeing their apartment.
Apartment 413 was one of the corner apartments with more floor space, bigger windows, and a balcony, all of which made Levi just a little jealous. For the most part, the apartment was neat and sparse, but would benefit from a deep cleaning and some decoration. The walls were bare and it made Levi shiver with how cold the space felt.
He was looking around the overstuffed bookshelves when he was startled by a thump beside him. He almost tripped over his feet trying to find the source of the noise. What he found was a large black cat looking up at him with a bored expression, signifying that it was hardly impressed by Levi. Levi snorted and frowned at the animal.
“You’re a menace,” Levi declared as the cat bumped its head against His leg with a purr.
He picked up the cat and walked into the kitchen. There was an array of brightly colored post-its littering the front of the fridge.
‘Meet Titan.’ The first one read. ‘She’s sassy but harmless.’ This was followed by feeding instructions. Levi smiled at the horrible rendition of a cat in the corner.
“Your owner sure does spoil you, kitty,” he said stroking the purring feline. “Just wish I knew a little bit more.”
Even the mail didn’t help as all of it was addressed to E. Smith. Emma? Emily? Ellie Mae?
Levi sat the cat down and took a picture of her. He quickly sent an email to 413 saying, ‘Titan and I have bonded. -503’
He received compliments on his photography skills and a line of emojis in response. He rolled his eyes even as he plotted how to pay back 413 for the food.
He emerged a couple of hours later, cat fed, mail sorted, and the apartment a little cleaner. He would do more the next day. Maybe frame some old photos of his to liven up those walls.
“Hey, you apartment sitting?” Levi turned at the sound of a voice. He came face to chest with a giant of a man with dark blond shaggy hair.
“Yeah, I guess she’s gone for the week.”
“She?”
“Yeah, 413.”
“Of course,” the blond said slowly with a smile. “Have you met 413?”
“No, not yet. Maybe when she gets back. Do you know her?”
“Yeah, we’ve been neighbors for a while. Why?”
“I was just wondering if she likes photography.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard a mention of Ansel Adams a few times and maybe Robert Frank. Why?” The taller man scratched at the scruff in his chin.
“Just curious. Thank you...”
“Mike. Mike Zacharius. Nice to meet you.”
“Levi Ackerman. It was nice to actually meet someone in this building.”
“Yeah, you’re not around much are you?” Mike asked.
“No, I travel a lot for work. Well, I have to get going.” Levi gave the man a friendly nod and turned.
“Hey, Levi, you should come out with me and my friends sometime. We can always use the extra company.”
“Yeah, sure. I’m in 503. Just stop by sometime and we’ll think of something.”
The next day, Levi had framed and mounted several of his own photographs in various spaces around apartment 413. It was starting to look like a home, where an actual human lived. He cleaned a little more and spent a good hour just cooing at Titan. He just hoped 413 liked it.
As with Levi’s previous trip, weather And unforeseen delays prevented Levi meeting with 413. He was asked to slide the spare keys under the door because of 413’s late return. The email was signed with a sad emoji. Why the two of them never used their names, Levi would never know, but he had to admit that he liked the mystery of it all. He wanted to figure it out, rather than be told. So this exchange continued on. They began apartment sitting exclusively for each other.
Post-its were traded back and forth, emails sometimes had funny jokes or a link to a cat video attached. Levi always came home to freshly baked desserts and fridge stocked full of the most delicious food he could ever remember eating.
413 would return to a cleaner apartment with newly framed photographs and a few houseplants. And maybe a slightly more spoiled cat.
Levi started making friends. He would hang out with Mike and his wife Nanaba at least one evening a week. His neighbor, Petra would filter in and out of his apartment at random. And then there was Hanji. He had met Hanji through work and they had decided to adopt Levi. Mostly against his will. He was beginning to adjust. He was also getting a new hobby.
He had noticed, on mornings that he would wake up to get some photos in the dim light of sunrise, that a certain man would leave the building for his morning run. Levi would really enjoy those mornings as this man was absolutely the stuff of fantasies, tall, blond, beautiful body. He would return sweaty and sometimes shirtless, and Levi learned that he really enjoyed the view.
He never was able to find out which apartment the man lived in, and never passed him in the hall or saw him any other time of day. But he was sure nice to look at.
Erwin sighed in exhaustion as unlocked his apartment door. It was a long, hectic trip, and he was more than happy to be home. Titan barely stirred from her perch on the back of the couch as he walked through the door, kicking his extra set of keys with the toe of his shoe. He dragged his suitcase in the apartment before bending to pick up the keys. They were on a new key ring - a rainbow unicorn with a pink sparkly tassel. He rubbed his burning eyes to make sure he was seeing things correctly.
He wouldn’t question sleep-deprived delusions at this hour.
Nope. A happy, smiling unicorn still stared back at him, and he chuckled despite himself. His apartment sitter must have quite the sense of humor. He looked around his apartment, noticing how warm and welcoming it felt. He couldn’t remember it ever feeling anything but lonely. He had a couple new houseplants, a variety of artistic black and white photographs, and sparkling clean surfaces.
It made him smile for the first time in days. He was home, and it finally felt like it. Erwin found that he liked his apartment sitter. 503 liked to leave notes laced with sarcasm and judgmental humor. It was a change of pace from the people he dealt with while traveling.
‘Yes, Chef.’ Was replaced by: ‘Your fucking, spoiled-ass cat.’
It was refreshing.
Of course Erwin didn’t mind apartment sitting at 503. His inner chef wailed at the abysmal state of 503’s pantry and kitchen. He vowed to get them a new set of pots and pans as soon as he had a spare day to shop for them. In the meantime, he would just continue filling 503’s refrigerator with a week’s worth of food. He liked their arrangement. They had stopped using the email chain after a few months of back and forth. They hadn’t met...hadn’t even exchanged names. 503’s mail simply said Ackerman.
It was almost a game, trying to figure out 503’s identity. There were pictures of some many different people that Erwin couldn’t begin to guess which one the apartment belonged to. The mystery was fun.
“Erwin, what the hell is this?” Erwin looked over at his best friend, Mike and saw him holding the unicorn keyring dangling from his fingers by the pink, glittery tassel.
“My spare keys,” he deadpanned, carefully wiping all emotion from the statement.
“Naw? Really? Smartass. Since when were glittery unicorns your aesthetic?” Erwin chuckled at the bewildered look on Mike’s face as he zipped up his carry-on.
“It’s growing on me,” he answered with a small smile.
“It’s no wonder he thinks you’re a teenage girl.”
“What? Who?”
“Levi.”
“Who is Levi, and why would he think that I’m a girl, teenage or otherwise?”
“Levi? You know.”
“Obviously not.” Erwin shook his head in confusion.
“Come on, man. Levi?” Mike looked at his blank stare. “Your apartment sitter.”
“You know my apartment sitter thinks I’m a girl, and you didn’t think to...I dunno...correct him?”
“I would have thought that at some point you two would exchange names, meet in person, or something that would tell each other who you are.
But if you two want to play clue, who am I to stop you?” Mike shrugged.
“But he thinks I’m a girl!”
“Yeah, and this thing isn’t helping,” Mike replied, jingling the keys in his hand. The unicorn smiled back at Erwin tauntingly.
“He’s the one who bought it. I thought it was a joke!” Erwin rubbed his face with his left hand.
“Are you at least going to correct him when he comes to pick up my keys from you?”
“Nope. I’m enjoying this too much.”
“Bastard.”
“Not my fault you’re socially constipated,” Mike sniffed.
“Are you at least going to tell me what he’s like?”
“Not a chance. I’m going to let you keep crushing on his apartment.”
“Why am I your friend?”
“Because I’m keeping it real, Erwin. Now let’s get you to the airport.”
Erwin found himself strangely self-conscious after his conversation with Mike. In his frustration with Mike, he had declared that he would notify Levi of his identity once he reached his destination, and put this entire mess to bed.
But in the dim light of the hotel’s bedside lamp, his courage faltered. What if their exchanges were fun and easy because of Levi’s belief he was a girl? Was Levi a straight, early 20-something and thought he was flirting with someone near his own age? Was it flirting at all? Was Erwin overthinking everything?
Erwin knew that he was, for lack of better term, developing a crush on Levi. Of course, he didn’t know his name until that morning, but it was their exchanges, their little notes. Maybe Mike was right, and Erwin was socially constipated. He travelled so much that it was difficult to make connections with anyone. So, maybe he was seeing more than there was. So, really, should anything change between them? Erwin was just living out a fantasy...a fantasy where they would meet and there would be a spark.
Maybe Levi would happen to be that hot guy with the camera he saw some mornings when he came back from his morning run. This, however, was unlikely, and Erwin was probably spending too much time watching rom-coms on airplanes.
So, instead of sending the email introducing himself after months, he sent another link to a cat video. He told himself that he needed to learn to be content with what he had. It definitely wasn’t because he was a chicken. Nope, not at all.
But sometimes things are inevitable...sometimes things are meant to happen, no matter how we try to avoid them.
Erwin walked into apartment 503 just two weeks later. He studied the space more carefully than he had ever before, trying to glean the least little detail that may give him insight to who Levi was. He studied the bookshelves, the photos on the wall, the plants on the counter.
He wasn’t quite sure what he could possibly learn without completely violating the man’s privacy. He sighed in self-depreciation and commenced his usual routine, sorting mail and checking the status of the pantry. He was so busy that he didn’t hear the door...
“Yeah, well you can tell your client that I’m out. I just flew halfway across the globe to be told that, ‘oh, I’m sorry we’re going in a different direction, we don’t need you yet. There’s a flight back home leaving in two hours.’ Screw that, Petra!”
Erwin froze at the sound of that deep, unfamiliar voice. He was standing in the kitchen, cooking bolognese sauce. Levi wasn’t supposed to be home for three more days. Why was he here? What was Erwin going to do?
“Something smells delicious. I’m so fucking hungry. Those bastards didn’t even offer to buy me lunch. I mean it Petra, I’m doing this anymore. I have a showing at the Rose Gallery next week. I’m starting to get commission requests from pretty big time players. No more travel.”
Erwin started to hurriedly clean up the kitchen, hoping he could make a quick, respectable retreat. He ended up dropping a pan on the floor and it clattered loudly.
“Shit, I forgot to cancel my apartment sitter and she’s here. I gotta go. I’ll call you.”
Erwin bit his lip and held his breath and hoped that Levi would not be angry about the state of his kitchen once he saw it. The sauce had another hour and twenty minutes to cook, and Erwin wasn’t sure that he would appreciate Erwin being in his space for that long.
“So, 413, we meet at last,” Levi said as he turned the corner. He looked across the kitchen island, expecting to come face to face with a college-aged girl. He nearly tripped over his feet when he saw the hot jogger standing there holding a spoon looking close to panic.
“Um, hi?” The blond waved sheepishly.
“You’re 413?” Levi finally managed to choke out.
“Yeah, and you're the photographer I see in the mornings. Levi, right?”
“That’s it, Mike is dead,” Levi said simply before turning on his heel and walking back toward the bedroom. He couldn’t deal with looking at that man...that beautiful man looking so at home and domestic in his apartment when he had mentally prepared himself for a bored, prissy teenager. Nope, his brain had decided to freeze up and needed a moment to reboot.
“Um, Levi? Listen, I'm just going to go. I left instructions on how to finish the bolognese, if you wanted.” The blond’s voice was muffled and uncertain coming through the door. Levi took a deep breath to center himself before opening the door.
The blond stepped back, making sure there was a proper amount of space to keep Levi from being crowded. He was even more handsome up close and he smelled good enough to eat, literally. His stomach growled loudly, and the blond’s mouth twitched, fighting a grin.
“What are you making?”
“Ragú, but I was out of tagliatelle so I was going to make it with pappardelle...”
“I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about, but it smells good.”
“Oh, well, thank you. The sauce has to cook for another hour or so. I’ve set a timer for you.”
“You’re not going to stay and eat? That seems like an awful lot of work.” Levi watched as the man blushed.
“I was making it for you anyway. The stuff in your freezer is an abomination and...nevermind. I’m sure you must be tired. I’ll go and let you get some rest.”
“I’m asking you to stay for dinner, idiot,” Levi snarked. “I mean, it’s not much of an invitation, since you’re doing the cooking, but I would like the chance to get to know the person who has been in my personal space on and off for almost a year.”
“Erwin.”
“What?”
“As opposed to idiot. My name is Erwin. I would love to stay for dinner.”
“Good, then maybe you can explain what tagitale and pepperedly is.”
“You mean tagliatelle and pappardelle?”
“Yeah, whatever that shit is?”
“Sounds good,” Erwin said with a chuckle.
Levi looked up as he heard the key in the door. He was scratching Titan behind the ear as her tail swayed lazily in the afternoon sun. She didn’t even look up as her owner entered the room.
“You have spoiled her rotten,” Erwin accused as he leaned his suitcase against the wall
“She deserves it,” Levi responded unapologetically, earning extra loud purrs.
“I see how it is.” Erwin flopped gracelessly down on the other end of the couch.
“How did it go?” Levi looked a little hesitant.
“They’re going to invest. This time next year I’ll be opening my own restaurant. I’m officially done with traveling. Although that makes me a little sad.”
“Why? Haven’t you wanted this your entire life?”
Levi watched as Titan stood and stretched before hopping down to go lay in the sunlight streaming through the windows.
“But you won’t be my apartment sitter anymore,” Erwin whined.
“Erwin, I live here. We’re getting married in three months. I quit being your apartment sitter a while ago.”
“But still, there’s something so illicit about it. It was kinda sexy...me having hot sex with the apartment sitter.”
“Just think about this...having mind blowing sex with your husband. Easy access, always available, and you don’t have to worry what people will think.” Levi crawled over the length of the couch to straddle Erwin’s lap.
“I like where this is going. Easy access, huh?” Erwin smiled fondly.
“Think of the possibilities. All the role play you can stand, but with someone who puts up with your morning breath.”
“So mean,” Erwin pouted.
“You’re such a big baby.” Levi leaned in and nuzzled under Erwin’s chin.
“Perhaps. But you chose me. You’re the one who proposed, so now you’re stuck with me.”
“I think I can handle that.”
-Fin