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Mornings are shit, let's just start there.
Waking up to an artificial buzzing on your phone at 6:00 a.m. after a night of insomnia was a fresh hell many experienced; dragging yourself out of bed, eyes and limbs heavy was no easy feat.
Yet, Levi managed it every day without fail. The dog next door that liked to bark at the first light of day definitely helped.
Going through his morning routine of showering, shaving, brushing his teeth and getting dressed, feeding his fish and grabbing his messenger bag usually only took a total of twenty minutes, which left plenty of time to commute downtown. Via a bus, then a train ride.
Traffic was also shit, however riding public transit in traffic was the biggest pile of shit. Combining mornings with mass transit and traffic was the worst idea anybody ever had, and the only real solution was to drink piss-loads of coffee to build tolerance and acceptance.
However, tea was Levi's preferred method of caffeination, but finding decent tea on the go was difficult. Especially at big chain coffee shops, who all sold the same generic “black tea” without regard to the actual nuanced flavors that tea could provide.
This is how Levi had found himself cramming into the same tiny, local bagel shop every morning for the better part of a year, anxiously waiting his turn for sweet, caffeinated relief. There was artwork on the walls from local artists, a bulletin board with community events tacked to it, and a few tiny tables. It wasn't as if their bagels and tea were anything spectacular like he had hoped, but Levi found himself thirsty for the same thing every morning.
“Good morning, sir! What can I start you with, today?”
A tall glass of tanned sunshine, topped with the most brilliantly white smile he'd ever seen. It was extremely unfair that someone could be so chipper, so early, every single day. Though, Levi supposed, this boy had to be those things, seeing as it was a small, local coffee place that had to compete with Starbucks.
“Uh, black tea,” Levi mumbled, fishing his wallet from his bag. ”And a whatever bagel.”
The kid snorted under his breath, but punched in the button on his register screen. It wasn't as though Levi was being snarky on purpose; they literally had a whatever bagel on their menu. Trying to be clever while simultaneously turning over their day old bagels. It was like bagel roulette because ordering “whatever” meant it was a surprise as to what you received.
“Toasted?”
“Yes.”
He scribbled on the bagel wrapper, sliding it down the bar.
“Cream cheese?”
“Jesus… yes.”
Playing 20 questions so early was annoying. The kid just nodded, finishing up his transaction.
“Can I get a name to go with that bitterness?”
The sassiness was another reason Levi kept coming back, though he'd never given his actual name for his order. The cashier had always just given him a snarky nickname instead.
“Why do you even ask?”
His response was a slight nod and him as the cashier scribbled something on the cup for his tea, sliding it down the counter to the flustered looking barista.
“Maybe one day you'll surprise me,” the cashier responded, grinning. “Uh, your total is $4.69.”
Levi narrowed his eyes a bit at the way the kid's voice seemed to waver by saying 69, but he let it slide. He handed over his debit card, taking it back after the kid swiped it.
“Here's your receipt. Your order will be waiting for you at the end of the bar when it's ready,” Levi nodded, turning towards the espresso counter. “Have a lovely day, Levi.”
A bit surprised by his name being called, Levi just frowned a bit. However after thinking about it, Levi figured the kid had looked at his card and probably knew his name all along and was just being cheeky.
Levi shuffled to the end of the counter to wait, aimlessly sliding through his emails on his phone. There were mostly business related emails, but there were a few advertisements and coupons. Maybe he could use a new vacuum for such a good sale price…?
“Order for-… I swear to God...” Levi looked up at the exasperated barista holding a small bag and a cup of tea. “Order for ‘Teabagger!’”
A blonde girl and a guy with a shaved head behind the counter snickered, and Levi felt his lips pull into a small smirk. He grabbed his order, lingering a few seconds to catch the eye of the cashier. Once he looked up, Levi gave a small nod.
“When and where, kid.”
The cashier sputtered, and the baristas snickered again. Levi took this queue to turn and exit before making an ass of himself.
Thankfully this shop was only a few blocks from his office; a skyscraper in the middle of downtown. Levi worked for a small, but successful marketing and graphic design firm that catered to both small businesses and large corporate entities. Thankfully most of his work was done online, which meant Levi could spend his time mulling things over in the cozy sanctuary of his office.
Humming to himself, Levi pushed open the building doors and strode over to the elevator, poking the up button.
“You're late again. That's very unlike you, Levi,” A low voice sounded behind him, making Levi sigh.
“You're one to talk. Standing here means you're also late, Erwin.”
The tall blond man only chuckled as the elevator door opened for them to enter. Levi jabbed his finger on the 27th floor button, then furiously poked at the door close button.
“You know the boss won't mind if you're a bit late, you don't need to abuse the poor machinery,” Erwin chided in amusement. Levi just grunted, leaning against the wall and taking a sip of his tea, a contented him escaping his throat; it was perfect.
“Since when do you refer to yourself as ‘the boss?’ It's creepy.”
Erwin just exhaled through his nose in reply, and they were both silent on the ride up. Levi thumbed through his emails again quickly, but pocketed his phone as they arrived at their floor.
“Can you get me those mock-ups by this afternoon?”Erwin broke the silence as they stepped out of the elevator. “I'll just need to double check for accuracy, though I have no doubt they're correct and flawless.”
“Sure.” Levi responded, adjusting his messenger bag. Lately they'd been extremely busy trying to close a big deal with a major online retailer, and chances were good that they'd seal the deal this week. The mock-ups were Levi's pride lately, as were any of his projects, but this one meant a lot of money and exposure.
They parted ways after a nod; Erwin to the executive suites and Levi to his own comparable, but still single occupant, office. Technically Levi was third in command here behind Erwin and his direct supervisor Hanji. But they were both aware and respectful of Levi's desire for personal space, so he was allowed his own office.
The rest of his team had their own cubicles, though they, too, were spacious, with shorter walls to allow sunlight to shine around.
He opened his door, stepping into his office with a heavy sigh, rubbing his hand over his face. He set his bagel and tea down on his desk, moving to open up the window blinds.
From his office, he could make out the bagel shop down the street, as well as the other scattered food options for the business district.
Sitting in his desk chair, Levi turned his computer on, taking a sip of tea and leaning back as it booted up.
He really needed to decide if he was going to try and advance things with his bagel shop cutie, being completely creepy in the process, or just continue to silently pine like a normal person and leave the guy alone.
Levi wanted to think the guy was actually flirting with him by writing snarky shit on his cups, but maybe he did that to all the regulars. It was his job to be polite.
… But maybe there was something more?
“Ugh…”
Levi put his tea down and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.
“Rough day? It's only 9:30!”
Oh, goody.
“How many times do I have to ask you to knock? Are you deaf?”
Hanji snickered and let herself in to the office, sitting on the edge of his desk.
“No, I have excellent hearing!” Levi rolled his eyes, focusing on his computer screen to log in. “That's how I heard your pining all the way down the hall.” Hanji grabbed his bagel bag, looking at the handwriting on the side and snorting.
“I'm not pining for anything, piss off.” he responded in a huff, typing his login on his computer.
“Awww, Levi, you even have a pet name!” She teased, smiling widely at the wrapper. “It suits you.”
“Go away, Hanji.”
“That's adorable, when's the wedding?”
“Away, four eyes,” he grumbled again irritably. She set the bag back down gingerly, sliding off the desk and smoothing out any wrinkles in her pants.
“Don't be a creeper on this kid, Levi,” Levi just grunted, keeping his eyes on the screen. “I think he might actually like you, god forbid.”
At that, Levi looked up over his computer screen, stomach in knots.
“What could possibly give you that idea?”
“No reason, just my intuition!”
Levi snorted, waving dismissively at the door.
“Bye, Hanji.”
She made her exit, saluting him as she left. He stared at the doorway for a few minutes, mulling over her words. It was hard to not want to give merit to the idea, but it was really walking a thin line.
On the one hand, Levi could come off as totally inappropriate by trying to hit on this kid at work. It was a total creeper thing to do. This guy was gorgeous, he had to have men and women throwing themselves at him all the time and frankly that would get old really fast.
Turning to face the window, he took another slow sip of tea.
But on the other hand, maybe he really was interested in Levi and just couldn't outwardly say it because he was working.
“Intuition, huh…?”
No, definitely can't trust Hanji. That never came with good results, though he'd never really been led astray by his friends. At least not intentionally. He usually screwed himself out of happiness by not listening to advice and ignoring his own better judgement.
… Maybe it was time for a change.
The next morning was rainy, which was ideal because it had been hot as balls lately. Summer was giving way to fall, which meant sweater weather was approaching. The best time of year for layers and hand holding.
Levi felt almost giddy stepping out of the transit station and opening his umbrella to make the few block trek to the bagel shop.
Today he was hoping to ask the green eyed cashier for his number, or at least for some kind of sign. Maybe he could slip in a pun during their daily transaction. He'd seen a rather clever one on a crappy Facebook meme Hanji had posted the other day… which come to think of it was probably her not so subtle way of encouraging him.
Or maybe he could “accidentally” leave his business card on the counter? That was more subtle and more his style. Satisfied with his genius plan, Levi arrived at the bagel shop and pushed open the door, brimming with confidence.
Confidence that was instantly squashed when the cashier was instead a small blond boy with owlish blue eyes behind his gigantic glasses instead of the tanned beauty that usually stood there. He seemed to get nervous when he spotted Levi lingering by the door instead of joining the queue.
Glancing around the tiny shop, Levi confirmed that the object of his potentially one-sided affections was absent. Well… balls.
“W-Welcome to Titanic Bagels!” The cashier called, effectively snapping Levi out of his trance. Shuffling to the counter, Levi gave another quick glance around before sighing. “What… can I get you?”
“Hi, uh… can I get a small earl gray latte?”
“Sure!” the cashier chirped, writing the order on his cup and sliding it down the counter. “Will that be all for you?”
“I suppose so,” Levi sighed, feeling defeated. The cashier smiled nervously, tapping the order in on his screen.
“Um, that'll be $2.37… Please.”
Levi handed him a $5, turning towards the end of the espresso bar before he could get change.
“Uhhh… Uh, Levi?”
Levi paused, looking over his shoulder at the timid blond cashier, who seemed unsure of himself. How did this kid know his name? A surge of butterflies in Levi's stomach told him that maybe his crush had discussed him with his co-workers?
No way, that's ridiculous.
“I don't need any chang-”
“Eren's just out sick today,” the blond stated, like it was an obvious fact. Levi just blinked and raised an eyebrow in confusion.
“What…?”
“Oh, um, the regular cashier? Brown hair, taller than me…?”
He trailed off, looking regretfully at Levi's confused stare.
“... oh,” Levi deadpanned. It was then that Levi realized that he'd never once bothered to learn the cashier's name. The guy he had a thing for. And he hadn't bothered with his name. For nearly a year. “Oh! Um, right.”
The cashier looked relieved that Levi made the connection, giving him a half smile.
“You didn't know his name, did you?” Blondie asked, though his smug expression told that he was well aware of the answer. “That's OK, he still likes you. My name is Armin, by the way.”
Levi stepped back over, shaking the hand that had been extended to him.
“Just wanted to clear that up so you have a point of reference,” Armin said, almost smugly. “Eren talks about you constantly.”
Levi had looked away in embarrassment, but snapped his head up at the last comment. Armin just stared at him evenly. Levi opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by more customers coming into the shop, occupying the cashier. He stepped back, shuffling to the end of the counter.
It was definitely uplifting to know Eren was obviously talking about him, but was it good things? Or was he complaining about how Levi was in here every day?
“Levi.”
The barista called out flatly, signaling his latte was ready. Levi reached for it, making brief eye contact with the barista who still had her hand around the cup; a grumpy looking sort of girl with black hair and a red scarf. They sized each other up for a few brief seconds, though for what reason Levi was unsure.
“Mikasa! Leave him alone, jeez…”
Another boy came up, whom Levi recognized as one of the regular baristas. He had kind of a longer race, two-tone hair and a lip piercing.
The boy placed both his hands on the girl’s shoulders, shoving until she let go of Levi's cup, effectively moving her back in front of the espresso machine. She didn't protest, but kept her eyes on Levi.
“Sorry about my girlfriend, she's kind of ridiculous sometimes,” Two-Tone apologized, giving Levi a half smile before busying himself with some drinks. “She has a creepy brother complex.”
“Jean!” Mikasa scoffed indignantly. “I do not have a complex! I just like to come to my own conclusions.”
Levi just raised a brow at the exchange, taking a sip of his latte. He was going to be late, but something told him to stand here for a minute. Two-Tone just snorted, squirting some syrup into a cup.
“I'm sure Eren doesn't want you to meddle with your own conclusions,” His voice was rather grating, but he glanced up to see Levi still standing there looking confused but intrigued. “Oh jeez, I thought you left, bro.”
Levi narrowed his eyes a bit at the use of the word bro, but he let it slide.
“Am I missing something?” Levi asked, taking another sip of his latte. The baristas glanced at each other; Two-Tone just shrugged, and Red Scarf glared at him.
“Mikasa is Eren's mother hen of a sister.” Two-Tone stated, which earned him a light smack on the arm.
“I am not!” She tried to look angry, but her pouty face betrayed her. Levi grumbled, checking the time on his phone. “I just have concerns about Eren! He always picks such weird boyfriends-”
Levi's stomach flopped.
“Well, have a nice day.” Levi stated curtly, cutting her off before she could finish, turning and walking quickly to the door, pushing it open to make his exit. His heart was thumping loudly in his chest as he shuffled to the crosswalk, leaning against the light pole.
Hearing the word ‘boyfriend’ did wonders for his ego, but terrorized his insides. He felt on fire and like he could puke and laugh at the same time. Validation was wonderful, but what should he do with it?
The light changed and Levi stepped off the sidewalk to cross the street, mulling over the exchange in the coffee shop. His previous optimism had returned, but it came with some uncertainty.
What should he say next time he saw Eren? How should he act?
… How did Eren even spell his name?
“... Crap.” Levi muttered as he entered his office building, thoughts racing. This absolutely couldn't get out to Hanji and Erwin, because he'd never hear the end of it. He'd lay low until he could figure out a plan of action.
Apparently that meant zoning out during a staff meeting, not responding to emails in a timely fashion, forgetting that Hanji addled him to lunch and getting an earful from Erwin about lacking focus for the past week. Or something.
A thud on his desk made Levi jump a bit in his seat and look over his screen at an agitated Hanji. Which was instantly concerning because Hanji was always annoyingly jubilant no matter what.
“Are you sick?” She asked, genuine concern written all over her face. “Or high? You're so… weird, today.”
Levi just blinked.
“Am I?”
Her eyes widened in surprise as she looked over her glasses, pulling them down her nose and raising a brow.
“Levi, be serious.”
They stared at each other for a few seconds until Levi sighed and leaned back in his chair. He ran a hand through his hair and looked at his computer screen. Which hadn't changed much all day as he'd not really been focusing on work.
“... I think I'm gonna take off early today, Hanji. I'm just not feeling it.”
If she didn't look mildly hysterical before, she sure did when he said that.
“Have you lost your mind!? What about the deal we're trying to close?” She asked, thrifting her hands up as Levi closed his laptop and stood to retrieve his messenger bag. “Those people will be here in two days to go over their designs and our top designer has checked out!”
Stuffing some papers into his bag, Levi just gave her a withering look.
“We all know that the deal will be fine, and you and Erwin both know that I've already submitted my designs,” he started, reorganizing the papers on his bag. “So I don't see what the harm is in me taking some personal time for the last,” he checked the time on his phone. “Hour and a half of my day. I'm not being productive, I've not talked to anybody and I'm honestly feeling conflicted about my personal life.”
He slung his bag onto his shoulder and turned to close his window blinds. Hanji put her hands on her hips, looking frustrated but also concerned.
“Is this about that boy at the coffee shop?”
Levi really tried not to react, but the slight stiffening of his posture betrayed him. He reluctantly turned to face her, feeling sheepish and annoyed at being caught. He'd almost made a clean break from this conversation.
“I see, now. It all makes sense!” Her mood had done a complete 180°; now she was nearly giddy, a small smirk on her face. “What is it, did he tell you to take a hike?”
“No,” he said gruffly, walking around her to exit his office. “I'm going home.”
Hanji, predictably, followed him out and towards the elevator. The members of his team looked curiously at them from their cubicles; he hadn't spoken a word to them all day, which was highly uncharacteristic. Their concern was valid, but all Levi really wanted to do was go home, drink wine and make his plan of attack.
“Are you going to ask him out?”
If there was a doubt of his team murmuring to each other about Levi's weird mood, there certainly wasn't after Hanji’s loud question. Their tittering could be heard as the two walked down the hallway to the elevator. It's not as if he was secretive about his personal life on purpose. People just didn't really ask him questions about it. There also wasn't much to tell as he lived in a small two bedroom house with just himself and some goldfish.
“You gonna ask him out to drinks?” She persisted as he furiously pressed the button for down. “Is he even old enough to drink?”
At that, he stopped and turned to look at her, eyebrows raised.
“... I don't actually know,” he admitted as the elevator arrived at their floor and he shuffled in, pushing the door close button. “I actually only just learned today that his name is Eren.”
Hanji’s excited squawk was cut off as the door closed, and he leaned against the wall with a heavy sigh.
This week needed to be over. A night full of downing an entire bottle of wine and binge watching Netflix helped ensure Levi got to sleep before midnight, which was a rare treat.
There were times when Levi truly treasured his ability to sleep like a rock. Waking up at 10:37 a.m. with a mild hangover to an annoyed call from his boss asking why he wasn't at work yet was not one of those times.
Cursing and flailing, Levi had leapt out of bed, brushed his teeth while he showered to save time, skipped shaving and threw some food to his fish as he ran out the door. He had a bit of 5 o’clock shadow, but he couldn't be bothered to care. His hair was still damp, which meant the ends would curl a bit and look ridiculous, but as he tried to get his tie on correctly on the way to the bus stop, the thought running through his mind was that he'd have to skip his daily ritual of going to the bagel shop.
His distress at being late was smothered by his disappointment at not being able to see Eren. After he'd heard many encouraging things yesterday, he was going to go back and hope to see Eren, but honestly he probably looked like shit. Hungover was not a good look for him, as it only pronounced his strong eye bag game more than usual.
Levi waited for five minutes at the bus stop before deciding on an Uber; fuck it, he was already late but he didn't want to be a whole extra hour late because of public transit.
He arrived to his office just after 11:30, which was pretty good all things considered. He rode the elevator up, and was instantly cornered by Hanji when he arrived on the floor.
“There you are- oh you look awful- do you want coffee? It's thirsty Thursday!”
“Holy shit, let me get out of the elevator first.”
Honestly, there must have been some higher power looking out for Levi today; thirsty Thursday was something upper management did once a month to treat the employees. It was a chance to say thank you by ordering coffee for the office.
Hanji followed him to his office, a notepad and pen in hand, taking orders as she passed cubicles. Some employees were modest, ordering simple drip coffee. Others were really elaborate, getting complicated large drinks. Levi really had no preference as he usually drank tea, but today he really needed some stiff caffeination.
Upon entering his office, he let his bag fall to the floor as he flopped into his chair. His personal secretary, Petra, looked alarmed at his noisy entrance. Her desk was right outside his office, and she timidly came to his door to peek in.
“Um, are you alright?” She asked, concern evident in her face. He rubbed both hands over his face, nodding.
“I'm fine, Petra. Just…” He trailed off, opening his laptop and removing his tie as it booted up. “Just a lot on my plate.”
She looked skeptical, but thankfully let it drop.
“Right,” her voice was soft and sympathetic, which was both annoying and comforting. “Well, you do have a meeting this afternoon with Accounting, and Mr. Smith was not so happily looking for you this morning.”
Levi just nodded.
“I'm aware. Thank you, Petra.”
She smiled before nodding and going back to her desk. Hanji must have been waiting for her to move because she rushed in no sooner than Petra left, nearly laying face first on Levi's desk
“So how about it?” Her face was inches away from his, and he leaned back so suddenly he nearly tipped backwards. “I've already got the rest of the orders, I'm getting it from-”
“Yes, ok, fine!” He cut in bitterly. “Just get me, like, seven shots in a cup, I don't care.”
She gleefully jotted it down, looking way too pleased with herself.
“Excellent! I'll let you know when it arrives!”
She nearly pranced away, but the fatigue and headache Levi felt was too prominent for him to really care.
For a good 45 minutes, Levi clicked through his emails and organized his notes for his afternoon meeting, but was interrupted by a few knocks on his door.
“Come in.”
His voice was flat, but he wasn't even finished before Hanji nearly broke the door opening it.
“For fucks sake, can you not-”
“Coffee's here!” She chirped, cutting him off, much to Levi's annoyance. He sighed and closed his laptop screen, getting up to follow her down the hall to the front desk.
She seemed to bounce with every step, which made Levi suspicious; Hanji was a generally gadfly person, but this was almost too much.
“What's your problem, four eyes?” he asked, and she just grinned.
“I don't know what you mean, Levi.”
He narrowed his eyes at her, but didn't say anything back. They rounded the corner at the end of the hall, and that's when everything made sense.
“Hanji, what the fuck!?” Levi hissed, ducking behind her as they approached the front desk. Standing there looking tired but just as handsome was Eren, a few drink caddies in his hands. He caught sight of Levi, and he was clearly surprised to see him.
“Oh, uh, hello!” he greeted, a goofy half grin blossoming on his face. Levi internally panicked, but Hanji was the one to respond.
“Good morning! I'm Hanji, I placed the order,” She held her hand out for him to shake, and he set the drinks down on the front desk to shake her hand. “You must be Eren?”
“I am indeed, here to invigorate you with caffeinated magic,” he replied, nodding with a smile, but not letting go of Hanji’s hand. “Though I must say, miss, you're definitely very invigorating.”
Levi felt his eyes widen considerably at the audacity. Hanji gasped, a laugh bubbling out of her.
“Oh, you are just adorable! Bless you,” She giggled, retracting her hand to rummage money from her wallet. Levi couldn't believe the display he was being subjected to. “What do I owe you for all this mess?”
Eren pulled out his phone, looking at his screen for the total.
“Looks like the damage today is $172.32.”
She nodded, rummaging the appropriate amount. Not once had Eren acknowledged his presence, which was honestly tearing Levi up inside.
“You weren't there yesterday.”
Hanji and Eren both paused to stare at Levi in surprise after his blunt statement. Eren’s smile faltered as Hanji handed him money.
“Sorry, I had a migraine yesterday,” he paused to grab change from his bag. “Which is saying something because I didn't have to see you at all.”
Hanji snorted loudly beside them; Levi was a bit stunned, but also impressed.
“For someone who relies on tips, you're sure snarky.”
Eren grinned as he handed Levi the change as Hanji had picked up the drink caddies.
“I can handle whatever tip you can give me,” he stated, giving Levi a once over glance. “No matter how small.”
Levi's jaw dropped open, and Hanji burst into a fit of obnoxiously loud laughter and smacking Levi on the back, handing Eren a $50 bill in tip after setting the caddies back down.
Eren just smiled widely, nodded his head in thanks and turned to leave. Levi just watched him, hand still outstretched with their change in it. Hanji just guffawed.
Never in his life had Levi been so stunned to silence. There was now no doubt in his mind that his feelings were reciprocated, but maybe he was in over his head, here. Eren could clearly hold his own against Levi's sass, but now Levi was doubting his own ability to keep up.
Levi grabbed his coffee from one of the trays, but noticed some words under the hot sleeve. He frowned, setting it on the counter to pull it off.
"If you were ground coffee, you'd be espresso because you're so fine..." Levi read out loud, and he felt his face get hot. “Oh, wow…”
“Ooh, Levi, a secret love confession, perhaps?! Are you blushing?” A sharp jab in the ribs brought him back to reality. He turned to glare at an amused and red-faced Hanji, who was nearly crying from laughter.
“You two are just adorable!” She picked the caddies back up. “Honestly, when's the wedding? I'll bring the bubbly!”
She continued to laugh as she walked away with their coffee, but Levi remained in his spot, starting at his coffee cup. His lips curled into a pleased smile, and he moved to clench his fist but forgot he was holding their change. He looked down at the coins in his hand and realized their change was $.69.
“... That cheeky little shit.”