Chapter Text
It had been about two months since his decision to find romance through cheesy cliches, and nothing had come from it. The coffee shop was a bust, as was the party, and every scheme after.
Ice skating to teach a pretty girl how to skate? He fell flat on his face and only managed to get off the ice after Levi stopped being a colossal ass for laughing at him and helped him up.
Book store romance? He got scared away from the romance section once Armin started explaining Fifty Shades of Gray.
He was hopeless.
He was running out of ideas too, even with Armin and Levi’s combined efforts.
Levi, to Eren’s surprise, had driven wholeheartedly into his plots. The pair spent many a night watching cheesy romantic comedies in an effort to come up with a new ploy. They’d continued on their “Research Nights” -as he had dubbed them- even when Armin was busy off with his boyfriend.
“Too bad you’d probably get arrested for crashing a wedding. Or beaten up at the very least.” Levi mused.
“Ha, ha.” Eren deadpanned in response, “All these movies are way too unrealistic. I’m a broke college student, I can’t travel halfway across the world and meet some mysterious foreign girl while she’s stealing some rare treasure as part of an elaborate heist to take down the Queen of England. “
Silence for a moment. Then, “Why would someone want to take down the Queen of England? And how would treasure help with that?”
Eren groaned, throwing himself backwards on the comfy couch that occupied Levi’s living room, where they were enjoying another in a series of their movie nights. It’d become a regular thing between them, meeting up at Levi’s on a Friday or Saturday night and watching the crappy chick flicks until one of them passed out from stuffing themselves with too much pizza or popcorn. Hanging out with Levi for movie night was far more preferable to movie nights with his other friends, which had become more of couples-plus-Eren nights.
“You’re missing the point.” Eren told the older man with a sigh.
“No, but I’m very concerned. Do you know anything about a plot to take down the Queen of England? I think that’s considered high treason, kid.” Levi pressed, his voice filled with what seemed to be genuine concern, but Eren knew him better than that.
Even after only a few short months of their friendship, he’d gotten remarkably well at reading the older man. Levi, for all his cold and angry exterior demeanor, enjoyed teasing his friends immensely. It was also, as Eren had discovered, a tactic to pull him out of the slump he got into whenever he dwelled on his lack of romance for too long.
“We live in America, Levi,” The college student reminded the older man, “It can’t be treason.”
“Fair enough. But if you do know anything about this plot to overthrow the monarchy, you’ll probably have to go into the witness protection program in order to avoid assassination attempts to prevent leakage.” Levi declared.
“You’re ridiculous.” Eren mumbled, turning to bury his face in the couch cushion.
“Says the shit who was chasing down some chick he’d never spoken to before to beg for a girlfriend the first time we met.” The dark haired man retorted.
“You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?” He sighed, straightening up again to peer at the screen, where the credits were rolling from their last movie. “What’s next?”
“Hmm…” Levi scanned the list of chick flicks for rent on his television, “Friends With Benefits?”
“Why not?” Eren agreed, settling back against the couch for another movie.
***
“I thought the point of being friends with benefits was to avoid getting emotionally attached. The fact they end up in love defeats the purpose.” Eren complained as the credits rolled.
“That’s the point, brat.” Levi rolled his eyes, standing up and starting to clean up the food mess they had made. “It’s a movie about best friends falling in love. With all the movies we’ve seen, I’d think you’d have picked up on that cliche right away.”
Eren shot up, eyes wide, “That’s it!” He exclaimed, throwing off the blanket and hurriedly shoving his feet into his shoes.
“What’s it?” Levi’s exasperated voice came from the kitchen.
“Friends falling in love! That’s the cliche I’ve been missing - it’s so perfect too!” Managing to finally get his feet into his shoes, the brunet grabbed his jacket and rushed to the door, “I’ve got to go, Levi, but I’ll see you tomorrow at the coffeeshop!” The door slammed behind him without waiting for the other man’s response.
“Such an oblivious little shit.” Levi threw out the remnants of the popcorn with a sigh.
***
“I have a problem.” Was Eren’s greeting to the older man when he fell into the seat across from him on his break.
“Tea first.” The dark haired man deadpanned, not looking up from his laptop until the boy slid the cup across the table to him. “What is it this time?”
“I don’t have any friends.” Eren spoke with all seriousness.
Levi raised an eyebrow, “Oh good, I’m glad you realized I’m just using you for free tea.”
Eren rolled his eyes and groaned, burying his face in his arms, “Not like that, you jerk.” He grumbled, “I mean, all of my friends are taken.”
“I thought we already established this.” Levi frowned, nodding to the coffee shop, “Isn’t that why this happened?”
He groaned, scowling at Levi with an expression that told the man just how helpful Eren thought he was being. “Yes, but that means that I can’t succeed in the friends-turned-lovers cliche, and I’m fresh out of all other ideas!”
Silence descended between them for several minutes while Levi typed and Eren wallowed in his sadness.
Finally Levi closed his laptop and spoke up, “Eren?”
The boy in question’s head peered up at the man from its position on the table.
“Is it possible that the reason you can’t get a date is because you’ve been looking in the wrong place?” The older man asked, causing his brows to furrow in confusion.
“I’ve been looking everywhere - that’s the point of the cliches, they got me out of my comfort zone and exposed me to people I wouldn’t have met otherwise.” Eren explained.
“And how’s that been going?” Levi folded his arms across his chest, sitting back to observe him as he spoke.
“What kind of question is that? Obviously if it was going well I’d have a girlfriend.” Eren frowned, unsure at what the man was getting at.
“I don’t know how to get this through your head gently, kid, but you’ve already had a million chances, you just weren’t interested.”
Eren’s head shot up from the table, “What are you talking about?”
Levi sighed, seeming to be getting more impatient as the conversation dragged on and he only got more confused. “The day I met you there were at least five pretty college girls sitting around alone, and you didn’t seem to pay them any attention. Same with the party - there were plenty of girls you’d never met but I never saw you talk to even one of them. If you were really desperate for a girlfriend, you would have be drooling over any one of them, but you never even tried.”
“It seems to me that you say you want a girlfriend, and maybe you do on some level, but you truly don’t know what you want. The only time you ever chased after a girl was when you knew she was already too far gone to get.”
Eren’s mouth opened and closed several times as he attempted to come up with a response, but he came up empty. The only thing he could think to say was, “But I’m sick of being alone and watching all of my friends with their significant others. I want that too.”
“I don’t doubt that,” Levi agreed, “You want something, but you aren’t sure what it is. Which is why I think you’ve been looking in the wrong place from the start.”
“How have I been looking in the wrong place for a girlfriend?” He asked, genuinely curious. He figured Levi was right - he hadn’t taken any of the opportunities that were there, but looking back he couldn’t determine why. He wasn’t sure what he’d been wrong about.
Levi looked torn between being frustrated and sympathetic at the question, then shook his head and started packing up his laptop, “I can’t answer that for you, kid. You’ll have to figure it out for yourself.”
“Wait- Levi.” Eren caught his arm before he could leave, and the older man turned faster than he expected, and suddenly their faces were much closer than he’d anticipated.
He had a feeling of deja vouz as he stared into the man’s gray eyes - no, not gray, silver, - he corrected himself. He hadn’t noticed how smooth Levi’s skin was before, how soft it looked like it would be to touch. He felt something twinge in the back of his mind as his gaze darted down to the older man’s lips, which looked even softer than his skin.
“Your break is over, Eren.” Levi’s words shook him out of his daze, grounding him back on Earth and raising a blush to his cheeks. “Is there something you wanted to say?”
“Uhh.” Eren wracked his brain, trying to come up with what he’d been thinking before he got distracted the the raven-haired man. “N-no.”
“I’ll see you around then.” There was a hint of disappointment in Levi’s face as he turned and left the coffee shop, and Eren was left with the feeling he’d somehow failed at something, though he didn’t know what.
***
The next several days, Eren couldn’t shake off the dread he’d felt start to build since Levi had left him at the coffeeshop. The look on the other man’s face had been one that Eren had never seen before, a mixture of disappointment and defeat that didn’t suit the man’s beautiful features.
He had a feeling it had to do with whatever Levi had been saying about “looking in the wrong place”, but he hadn’t the faintest idea what that could mean.
Levi hadn’t texted him since then, despite their near-constant communication before, though to be fair Eren hadn’t had the courage to text him either. He felt like they were fighting, even if there was no reason for him to feel that way. Unless he counted the fact that Levi hadn’t come into the coffee shop for the past several days either.
After their first meeting, Levi had become a regular at the coffeeshop, and while it wasn’t unusual for him to get busy and not stop by a couple of days, Eren couldn’t shake the idea it had something to do with him.
And he was clueless as to what to do about it.
Friday night he still hadn’t heard anything from Levi, and after staring at his phone for several hours, he finally accepted that their weekly movie nights had come to an end. The rain pouring from the sky reflected his mood perfectly and he was very tempted to stay home and sulk the night away. He waited until the last possible second before heading out to Armin’s, deciding that wallowing around his apartment for another day probably wasn’t healthy, and he should at least attempt to get some social interaction.
The usual group was already at the blonde’s when he arrived, all the couples already spread out across the college student’s living room. Most were surprised to see him there, as he’d spent the past several movie nights at Levi’s.
“Oi, Jaeger, good to see your shitty face again!” Jean called from his space on the floor, sprawled out on the ground with his head resting in Armin’s lap.
“You have no room to comment on my face, horseface.” Eren shot back, taking an empty spot on the couch, next to Mikasa who was curled around Annie.
He’d forgotten just how couple-ly all of his friends were when they were together like this. Even Sasha and Connie were googly eyed for each other, with Connie tossing food up into the air for Sasha to catch and kissing her on the cheek each time she succeeded, which was almost every throw.
Sitting there amongst the couples, he felt a pang of regret and his eyes automatically went to his phone. He had no new notifications. He couldn't help but wonder what Levi was doing at the moment, whether he was at home or out, whether he was thinking of him too.
Looking in the wrong place, he frowned, struggling, as he had been the past several days, over what Levi could have meant by that.
Why should he care anyways? It's not like he had put anything at risk in my crazy schemes. Why would he be so disappointed? Why does it feel like the end of us if I don't figure this out?
His mind was running in circles. He had thought of everything, but he couldn't come up with a sound answer to his questions that made sense. Unless...
His gaze swept across the room, taking in all his friends, how they all seemed so contented with each other, so happy.
Unless...
He noticed how calm Jean looked, contented to lay his head in Armin's lap and have the boy play with his hair, so different from how arrogant and full of himself he usually was. Armin softened him and brought out the best in him.
He remembered the cold way that Levi had acted when they first met, and how he'd gradually softened to him.
Unless...
Unless... Levi liked him?
The idea was so preposterous and out there that he nearly dismissed it immediately.
But looking back, it wasn't far out of the realm of possibility. After all, Levi stuck with him through his whole crazy plan, silently watching and offering his constant presence. There was no need for him to come to the party, or the ice skating, or host all the movie nights.
He'd been there since the beginning.
Had Eren really been so blind?
He had to ask Levi, to confirm what he thought he knew.
He jumped up, and ignoring the weird looks his friends sent his way, ran out the door.
***
It was late by the time he arrived at the older man’s apartment and the pouring rain had yet to stop. As he walked up the steps to the door, getting soaked by the storm, he realized that Levi might not even be home. After all, it was a Friday night, and it was entirely plausible that the older man had gone out. Where he would go in such weather was a mystery, but who was Eren to judge?
He tried to brush those fears aside, however, as he raised a hand to knock on the door.
The second ticked by, feeling like hours as he waited to hear some kind of movement from the other side of the door.
He knocked again, nervous that Levi actually wasn’t home, or that he was sleeping. He’d feel like an idiot for coming all the way over here for no-
The door opened.
His mouth went dry and and his brain froze momentarily.
Levi stood there, shirtless with a towel wrapped around his waist. His dark hair was damp, dripping water down his neck and across his chest. Eren swallowed heavily and attempted to drag his eyes back up to the man’s own.
"If you are just going to stand there staring while I freeze my balls off I'm going to slam this door in your shitty face." Levi broke through his momentary lapse in brain function, already starting to close the door.
He said the first thing that popped into his mind, "Hanji's not your girlfriend, is she?"
Levi stared at him for a long moment, expression carefully blank, but Eren sensed some surprise from the way he shifted back.
"Go wait on the couch while I get dressed. And try not to soak the furniture" He said finally, turning and leaving him at the door while he walked toward his bedroom.
Eren stood at the door for several more seconds before stepping inside the apartment and closing the door behind him. He took a seat on the couch, after placing a blanket down to avoid getting it wet, and flipped through the channels in the television, at home in the familiar room where they had shared so many movie nights. He settled on a crappy horror movie playing on SyFi, done with romantic comedies for the moment.
He actually got into the movie a bit, nearly forgetting that a movie night wasn't his purpose, until Levi appeared next to him, dressed in loose fitting pajamas.
"What the fuck is that?"
Eren didn't even glance away from the grotesque monster on the screen. "I think it's some sort of slug."
"It has scales. And is breathing fire." Levi pointed out, sounding faintly disgusted.
"It's SyFi." Eren said in explanation before muting the beast and turning to focus his attention on the older man. "You didn't answer my question."
“What happened to those shitty romcoms? I thought you were doing research with those.” Levi ignored him in favor of heading for the kitchen. “Tea?”
“Yes, please.” He was freezing, and some nice warm tea sounded amazing. “I’m done with romantic movies.” He informed the man, frustrated at the direction of the conversation but patient enough to wait for him to join him on the couch before he said anything more.
Levi took a seat beside him a few minutes later, cradling two cups of tea, one of which he handed to the younger male.
“No, she isn’t” He finally admitted after several long sips of his tea.
“Then why did you let me believe she was?” Eren asked, frowning at his cup.
“You assumed it.” Levi shrugged, “You assume a lot of things and I’d rather let you figure them out for yourself than tell you. If I told you everything you thought you knew, you probably would hate me. Besides, I found it hilarious you thought I’d put up with shitty glasses as a girlfriend.” He smirked.
“Ha ha, very funny.” Eren made a face, then considered his words. “Like how I assumed I was straight?”
The corners of Levi’s lips twitched into a smile, “Like how you assumed that your cliche love interest would be female.” He agreed, then shook his head, “You know, with all those gay friends of yours, it’s surprising you never considered anyone outside of the female sex.”
Eren blushed, though Levi had a point. “I’ve always just considered myself the token straight friend. It seems ridiculous that everyone in my friend group would turn out to be gay.”
“Birds of a feather.” Levi smirked.
Silence fell between them for several seconds before Eren spoke up again, feeling awkward. “So, what now?”
“What do you mean?” The other man raised an eyebrow, seeming amused at Eren’s discomfort.
“I mean.. between us?” He frowned, confused at why Levi wasn’t helping him out when he was clearly lost. He may have been researching romantic cliches for months, but he was completely clueless when it came to relationships.
“It’s up to you where you want to go from here.”
He made a face, “Why is it my decision? Shouldn’t it be both of ours?”
Levi sighed, looking at him like he was an idiot. Which, to be fair, he kind of was. “I already made up my mind, brat. I’ve known I liked you since your shitty party when you shoved your drunk tongue down my throat and I wasn’t disgusted. I’ve just been waiting for your dumb ass to figure itself out.”
That was news to Eren. He blinked several times. “I- I uhh.. shoved my tongue down your throat?”
“You were wasted. And eager. And you passed out right after.” Levi informed him matter-of-factly.
Eren groaned, covering his face with his hands in an effort to hide his embarrassment. “I didn’t really, did I?”
“You did.” The older man confirmed, “Which makes for a pretty shitty first kiss between us. I expected more from a brat so hung up on romantic cliches.” There was teasing in his voice.
“Sorry to disappoint,” Eren rolled his eyes, then grinned, an idea popping in his head. He stood up quickly, nearly knocking over his tea in the process.
“Oi, watch it, you sh-!” Levi complained, but was cut off by the younger man.
“I’ll make it up to you.” He declared, heading to the door.
“Where the fuck are you going? It’s pouring outside.” The dark haired male narrowed his eyes.
“Just wait! I’ll be back, I promise.” Eren told him before rushing out the front door despite the gray clouds dumping buckets of water. He was soaked within seconds of leaving the apartment’s cover for his car. Once seated in the vehicle, he started the engine and connected his phone.
He called Levi, trying to keep his teeth from chattering as he waited for the man to pick up. He may have been freezing, but he was determined to see his final scheme through.
“What the fuck is wrong with you? Where did you-”
Eren cut him off again, “Just come meet me by my car, okay?”
“Hell no. I’m not getting cloud piss all over my pajamas. Whatever your shitty plan is, it can wait until tomorrow.” Levi argued.
“Levi, please.” He pleaded with the man, starting to shiver furiously.
He heard a sigh from the other end, then a grumbled, “Fine, you brat.” The phone clicked. Grinning to himself, Eren scrolled through his phone until he found what he was looking for and glanced back to the apartment. He waited until the older man was trudging across the parking lot to him before he clicked play, turning up the volume and stepping out of his car to greet him.
The first several notes echoed across the empty parking lot, and the second they reached the older man’s ears, a look of disbelief crossed his face.
“Eren Jaeger,” Levi stood in front of him now, shivering in the rain but wearing such an amused expression that he didn’t seem to care about the water. “You have to be the cheesiest fucker I’ve ever known.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Eren grinned, drawing the shorter man closer in his arms and dipping down to bring their lips together.
Don’t you forget about me.
Don’t don’t don’t don’t
Don’t you forget about me
The kiss was soft at first, tentative as they tasted each other, both sober, for the first time. It was wet, but neither of them minded the rain as it soaked through their clothes and into their bones. Instead, Levi simply wrapped his arms around Eren’s shoulders and pressed them closer together, deepening the kiss.
Would you recognize me?
Call my name, or walk on by?
Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling
Down, down, down
They stood there for what seemed like hours, but was really only several minutes, until their teeth were chattering too much to continue to kiss.
It was too cold to be labeled the best kiss ever. There was too much teeth, shivering, and water from the rain, but to them, it was perfect.
Cliches are cliches for a reason, after all.