Chapter Text
"No." I said for the umpteenth time that morning.
"But, Levi! Rico is perfect for you! You're both short and have no hearts! Just give it a chance!"
"I said no, Four eyes. Rico's too bitchy for my tastes." I sighed into the phone while pinching the bridge of my nose. I seem to be doing that a lot lately.
"All the more reason for why she's perfect for you! You've both got permanent bitch face and the attitudes to match!" they shrieked into the phone and I winced at the sound.
"Look, Hanji. I'm not in any rush to date anyone right now, I just got out of a Divorce settlement and I'm not looking to get into another one any time soon."
"Yeah, but Petra was your fault, darling. You practically pushed her into that other man's arms."
I sighed into the phone once more, this was just not my morning. Hanji was showing no signs of dropping the subject of getting me to date one of her friends and I was getting irritated. I hadn't even had my third cup of coffee as was routine before she called me. She knew what a stickler I was for routine.
"Let's not talk about Petra right now. I'm only on my second cup of coffee and I haven't even eaten breakfast yet. I'm nowhere near functional."
I heard her sigh heavily into the phone as well and almost rolled my eyes at the sound. I could practically see the childish pout on her face through the phone and it only proved to further my irritation with this whole conversation.
"Fiiiine! But I'm telling ya, Levi. You need to stop brooding at home all the time and get a life, get laid, have a one night stand, I don't care! Just stop being such a bitter grump!"
"Uh-huh. Bye, four eyes."
I ended the call before she could protest or worse, continue to chide me about my lack of a love and sex life. Like I really gave a shit. I had more important things to focus on, like paying my bills on time like the responsible adult that I was.
I placed my cell phone screen up on the small kitchen island, the white counter top shining brilliantly after having just been cleaned and sanitized as was routine for me as well. In case you haven't noticed, I'm a bit uptight about following my own schedule and I can't even fathom what a terrible mood I get in whenever something doesn't go according to my daily routine.
But just in case you're wondering, my usual routine starts out like this. I wake up every morning at 5:00 AM, not a minute later. I go for a long morning run around my block which allows me the time to think and gather my thoughts about just about anything in life that's bothering me or isn't bothering me, then as soon as my hour long run is over I come home and take a hot hour long shower to in turn do some more thinking. Then, I absolutely have to officially start my morning with three big mugs of black coffee, otherwise I'm just an even shittier person to deal with if I don't have some trace of caffeine in my system. Then after a light breakfast, I go about my daily cleaning ritual. Fast, simple and easy. Just the way I liked things to be at all times.
This morning however, had already proved to be starting off all wrong. For starters, I woke up 20 minutes past the 5 o clock mark. That should have been the first red warning flag but I tried to go about my morning routine as usual. Apparently, life had other plans for me. Aside from starting my morning run 20 minutes later than usual, it started raining not even 30 minutes into my run and I was forced to turn around and run back home in the rain. Well, Fuck you too Life.
Then when I get home, sopping and soaking wet and just over all pissed off at the world, I noticed that the empty apartment next door to me had it's door wide open and some boxes were stacked just outside the door frame. That could only mean one thing; New Neighbors. Oh, Joy. If you also haven't noticed, I'm not very good with people let alone neighbors. I'd been living in this apartment complex for 5 years now, and in that 5 year time frame I'd gone through at least 6 different sets of neighbors. Each one more obnoxious and annoying than the last. If it wasn't some jerk off with baby mama issues blasting music too loud at 3 AM, it was some god damn couple having sex that was too loud to be legal. Why did I always get the screamers?
Long story short, yeah, I was that guy who constantly files complaints about their annoying neighbors over any little thing that irritated me. I had my reasons. The manager of the complex, which was an older man by the name of Pixis had already gotten used to my complaints years ago and while he was a drunken bastard, he was still a decent human being and knew when trash didn't belong in his complex.
The apartment complex I lived in wasn't super fancy, but it sure as well wasn't the projects or the slums. It was located on the upper town of Trost on Rose Avenue, the building itself was older in design taking on a slightly European look from the outside with it's cream colored face and pristine glass windows. It had an old fashioned elevator on the main lobby floor which wasn't very big to begin with but homey and otherwise very welcoming when you first set foot into the complex. The elevator looked like something out of an old Audrey Hepburn movie, actually the entire complex gave off a sort of Breakfast at Tiffany's feel if you asked me. Yeah, I'm a Hepburn fan so sue me.
Beside the old fashioned but well kept elevator with it's black and gold cage design, probably my favorite thing about the complex was the Grand staircase that was carpeted. The wood was painted white along with all the banisters of the complex and it just gave the place a much fancier feel than what it was. Overall, I adored my apartment complex. I had fought tooth and nail to get it back in my late college days saving and scrounging every last penny so I could buy it from the woman who used to own my place.
Point I'm trying to make here, I wasn't about to move out just because of some annoying neighbors so I made it my life goal to chase off anyone that dared move in next door to me. This time, as I stared at the many boxes of various sizes, I was sure that it would be no different than any other time I had a new neighbor. They would move in, within the first few days I'd start finding out all the little things that annoy the fuck out of me and by the end of the month I'll be filing my first complaint.
That was just how my life went these days. I can't lie though, my life isn't completely as bad as I make it out to be. For one, I lived in this amazing apartment that was just big enough for me, myself and I. Second, I worked as a Chef at my best friend's restaurant. Meeting me in person, you probably wouldn't believe that I'm actually a chef or a person who loves to cook and bake in general but yet here I am. Becoming a Chef wasn't my original plan in life, but well, as I explained earlier; Life has never really been a big fan of mine. It loved to fuck me over whenever it had the chance which was almost every other day, at least.
Hanji's call that morning had only been the icing on my shit cake of a morning, as I had already assumed my new neighbor had been causing a loud ruckus since about 7AM when I got out of the shower. I could only assume that it was them trying to move their furniture around, but it didn't mean I liked having to listen to some douche drag the legs of his sofa around on the hardwood for an hour straight. Who even does that? Fucking morons, that's who.
I was already sure that I was going to absolutely hate my new neighbor and I didn't even know if they were male or female yet. By the sounds of it, they weren't even human the way the stopped around in the room next door with as much grace as a fucking elephant. I could already feel the oncoming migraine as I leaned against my kitchen island sipping on my third cup of coffee and nibbling a piece of french toast I lazily made. No powered sugar, no syrup, just egg soaked bread toasted in a pan. Bland, just like my life in general. (Just because I'm a chef, doesn't mean I have to cook gourmet meals for myself.)
I had about two hours left until I had to go into work at Erwin's place. Another little thing to note, the restaurant I worked at was called Ailes de la liberté. Hilarious, I know. Erwin thought it was a nice name for a restaurant, a Bistro to be exact but I couldn't help but feel like it was just to make fun of my distant French roots.
I decided to try and work in some peace and quiet to read the morning newspaper, but I should have guessed that the elephant living next door wouldn't be able to keep quiet for more than a few minutes at a time. As I sat cross legged on the black leather couch of my small but cozy living room doing my damned best to read the Food and Culture section of the paper, I heard a faint meowing coming from the glass door of my balcony
The meowing caught my attention immediately, for one, I don't own any cats and two, I live on the 3rd floor. There should not be any stray cats just wandering around from some random place outside my balcony of all places. Needless to say, I was mildly curious as to if my mind was still sane or not. I warily stood up from my comfy spot on the couch, padding slowly toward my glass balcony door that had the shades closed despite it being well into the morning. I enjoy my privacy, thank you very much.
Pulling the shades back, my eyes searched my empty balcony. There were my herb plants by the banister, those probably won't need to be watered for awhile thanks to the morning rain. I continued to scan my outside balcony, looking for the thing that did not belong. Everything looked normal as usual... except perhaps... the black and white cat sitting in front of my door. Yeah, I probably should have noticed that first. The cat placed it paw against the glass and meowed a little more loudly this time and I groaned because despite my lack of patience for human beings, I kind of had a soft spot for cats and well, just animals in general.
Don't get me wrong, I would never own a cat or any other kind of pet for that matter but that didn't mean I couldn't like looking at them from afar. Sighing, I slid the glass door open just slightly to allow the strange new cat to waltz in. It sat just behind the threshold of the door, peering up at me with sharp, ice blue eyes that reminded me of something but I couldn't place my finger on what exactly. We stared each other down for a few seconds, this cat seemed to be expecting something and I was getting annoyed when it wasn't doing anything except sitting there and glaring at me.
"What? Does your furry ass not want to get out of the Rain because I'll gladly close the door." I said to the peculiar who only continued to glare at me.
Then, as if my words were a personal invitation the cat daintily sat up from it's spot at the door and trotted inside like it owned the place. Damn cat. I shut the door behind it sighing again because was I really so lonely that I invited a strange cat into my apartment without even thinking? It didn't look like your typical stray, and sure as hell didn't act like it so I could only assume that it was a trained house pet that belonged to somebody in the complex.
As I padded back toward the sofa, I eyed the cat suspiciously as it sat in front of the sofa kneading it's paws into the white rug I had placed underneath the glass coffee table in front of the sofa and I sucked my teeth loudly.
"Tch. Your paws better be clean damn it, or I'll throw you in a pot and cook you."
My threats didn't seem to phase the feline as it went back to glaring at me with those cold, ice blue eyes or theirs. I took a minute to admire the cat while it momentarily sat still. It had jet black fur from head to two, shiny and sleek but with a faint strip of white painting it's chest and lower neck. The tip of it's fluffy tail was also dipped white and so where the tips of it's pointed ears. It's fur was semi-short for the most part and it was relatively small with long, shiny whiskers and small pink nose. 'Not bad.' I thought to myself after taking a mental note that the cat was pretty good looking.
Then, out of nowhere, the damn thing leaped softly into my lap curling itself into a tiny ball of black fur and I stiffened not wanting to disturb it while simultaneously cursing myself for being stuck in this uncomfortable position on the couch. I sat there for a minute a two, contemplating throwing the damn cat off my lap and resuming my morning read or just letting it sleep there until it decided to move on it's own. I didn't own any cats but I knew well enough not to move a cat until it's ready to move on it's own.
Giving into the warm ball of fur in my lap, I softly began to stroke it's fur and it started to purr softly at my actions. I let a smile creep onto my face because I had always enjoyed the quiet company of animals as opposed to loud, obnoxious human beings. Cats just brought a certain soothing atmosphere when they were being personable, hell, even when cat's aren't very personable I still like them better than their human owners. I continued to stroke the cat for what seems like hours but I know in reality it's only been a few minutes and then my peaceful tranquility is over when a frantic set of knocks comes rapping at my door and I slightly startle at the sound cutting through the thick blanket of silence hanging over my apartment.
It's only then that I realize the noise my new neighbor had been making had silenced and the only noise that could be heard now was the loud set of firm knocks on my door that was surely ringing through the corridor as it was still early in the morning and not many people were up yet. It was Saturday after all, most people slept in past 10AM if they could help it. I debated pushing the cat off my lap or just carrying it in my arms and eventually settled on the latter when the soft purring never came to a cease. Scooping the warm bundle of fur up into my arms, I padded over toward my front door and silently cursed whoever the hell was bothering me at this hour.
Irritated, I made the mistake of not checking who it was through the hole in my door and opted for just yanking the door open. The sight that greeted me made my heart stop and my breath hitch in my throat as I was immediately thrust into two pools of sparkling Caribbean Blue eyes staring wide eyed at me. Call it cheesy, but I felt like time stopped for a few minutes as I took in the sight of the person standing in my doorway.
I had already noted the big, expressive doe eyes that had me ensnared from the moment I saw them but I took the time to try and dart my eyes over every inch of the face that currently had me frozen in place, unable to move or look at anything else but this persons face. The second thing I noted, was their hair. A deep chocolate brown, unruly and overgrown covering parts of their face. The third thing, was their skin. It was a beautiful golden tan color causing the bright color of their eyes to stand out even more. The straight narrow bridge of their pointed nose, the full set of rosy pink lips that were slightly parted in labored breathing and the slick sheen of sweat that layered their forehead and allowed the chocolate brown locks to stick slightly to their face.
The only word that came to mind as I stared up at this figure in the doorway was 'beautiful' and I suddenly realized my situation. I had just been staring at this person for the last, god knows how long and I probably had a pretty stupid look on my face as I tried to calm my beating heart that suddenly felt like it had been jump started with electric shock cables and my mind was a muddled mess as I tried to piece everything together but the beautiful creature at my door beat me to the punch.
"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, did he cause you any trouble?" the creature spoke in a worried, slightly husky voice I noted.
The words the stranger spoke didn't set in right away as I knitted my thin brows together in confusion at the question. Did who cause who trouble? What were they talking about?
"Huh?" I asked dumbly letting my mouth hand open in confusion as my slow brain tried to kick start into action.
"My cat, you have him in your arms. Did he cause you any trouble at all? Break anything?" the creature spoke again and it was then I realized, this beautiful person was a guy.
'Holy shit...' I had just been momentarily struck by the beauty of another man and here I was probably looking like the worlds biggest idiot as my confused eyes trailed down to the ball of fluff in my arms that was now regarding it's owner with a bored expression, I felt the cat nuzzle it's head against me and the purring from before started up more loudly and I jerked my attention back up at the beautiful guy standing in my doorway when he spoke up again.
"Captain! You had me so worried, you shouldn't wander off like that!" the stranger chided and I raised a brow at the name he used for the cat.
"Captain?" I asked curiously, feeling the way the cat squirmed in my arms before setting it down on the ground where it proceeded to rub against my legs affectionately purring like a motor.
"Ah, yeah. That's his name. It's kind of an inside joke between some friends of mine, they said it's because he's got this really intimidating look and because he's kind of bossy."
The beautiful stranger stared down with a tender look in his eyes as the cat continued to rub and nuzzle up against my legs and I couldn't help but stare at him instead because this guy was really nice to look at. Wow, what's wrong with me?
"It's so weird, he doesn't like strangers or... anybody really. I've never seen him take to anyone other than me." the stranger crouched down so that he was at eye level with the cat still wrapped around my legs before he smiled up at me and I felt like my heart stopped and I couldn't breath.
"He really seems to like you!" he added with a laugh and wow, I would like to thank not only God but Jesus.
This is it, I thought, this is how it ends. This is how I die. My life was pretty much shit but thank you God, Satan, Buddah for letting me die in such a nice way. Okay, so I was being over dramatic but damn this kid had a nice smile and laugh. I thought he was just nice to look at but his voice is heavenly as well. Boyish and not too deep but husky at the same time, filled with emotion like everything he said was something important to be heard and I found myself hanging off his every word.
"Would you like to come in?" I blurted out without even thinking and then I made it worse by rambling because I was embarrassed. Shit, I never ramble.
"I mean, since your damn cat already got comfortable and all. Shit, that's not what I meant, what I meant was-"
"Sure." came his cheery response cutting through my onslaught of word vomit and I froze.
"What?"
"I said, Sure. I'd love to come in." he tacked on with an adorably cute smile and I felt my stomach flip flop for the tenth time since meeting this kid.
"Okay."
Wait a minute, what was wrong with me? I'm inviting this complete and total stranger into my home without even thinking and to top it all off, I'm acting like a nervous wreck around him. Shit, why did my heart feel it was beating a million miles an hour? I couldn't understand why he was making me so nervous and jittery. Him. Another man. As far as I was aware, I wasn't gay. Or was I? Fuck, now he has me questioning my sexuality! This is not good, this is not good at all.
I decided to push my confusing thoughts away in the meantime and step back into my apartment letting the bright eyed kid follow me in as I did so padding back into my kitchen.
"I'm Eren, by the way. Nice place you've got here." he said as he shut the door behind us, following me into the kitchen shortly after.
Eren. That's a nice name. I made sure to remember it as I nervously fluttered about the kitchen trying to figure out just what the hell I was doing exactly.
"Thanks. I'm Levi. Do you want some coffee, Eren?" I let his name roll off my tongue effortlessly. I liked the way his name felt in my mouth as I said it.
Captain, Eren's cat, trailed after me in the kitchen following my steps closely and rubbing up against the inside of his legs as often as he could. Damn cats.
"Yes, please. That would be great." he said sounding a bit exhausted as he came around the kitchen island and rested his elbows on the counter top.
I gave him a curt nod before I went to work pouring him and myself a fresh cup of hot coffee. He glanced around my apartment for a second and then his eyes trailed back down toward the cat still sticking close to me and I watched as a small smile formed on his face.
"Cream and Sugar?" I asked turning my attention away from him reluctantly to move toward the fridge to get out the creamer and then to a cabinet to get the sugar.
"Yes! Heavy on the cream and sugar, please." he beamed and I felt my heart do that weird thing again. Am I having a heart attack? Do I need life alert?
I prepared his coffee as he requested, cringing internally at the amount of sugar I had to put in there to hopefully satisfy him. Seemed the kid had a sweet tooth, but that was just a guess. Maybe he only drank his coffee like that and wasn't very big on sweets. I know I was certainly like that, I liked my coffee strong, bitter and black but I had an addiction to chocolate.
Handing him his mug of coffee, I took mine in my hand and blew on it gently before taking a long sip. I watched Eren as he did the same over the rim of my cup and decided to check out what he was wearing while he was momentarily distracted with cooling his coffee.
Eren was wearing a loose, long sleeved grey shirt that hung low around his neckline showing off some collar bone and the length of his neck. The sleeves were a bit too long for him as they came over his fingers just a bit while he cradled the mug in both hands still blowing gently at the steam rising. My eyes trailed lower and I noticed that he was pretty lanky and taller than I had originally realized, then again I was shorter than average so most people were taller than me anyway.
Still, despite the loose fabric on his body I could tell that he was pretty thin but not lacking some sort of muscle. I could tell because his shoulders were broad and his chest was wide, he had what I liked to the the swimmer's body. Wider at the shoulders and then more slender and thin toward the waist line forming a V shape. I could tell he probably did some kind of sport but I couldn't be sure which and then I trailed my eyes back up to meet his face to find him already staring back at me.
I swallowed thickly because, shit, had he caught me staring at him? He must have thought I was some creepy trying to check him out, fuck, no I don't want that. So I tried to distract him with a question as I cleared my throat.
"So, did you just move into the complex?" I asked trying to sound and look as bored and impassive as I possibly could. Pat on the back, Levi. Looks like your natural grumpy face as it's perks after all because behind this mask I knew I was mortified I'd been caught staring.
"Yes, I just started moving in this morning. I hope I didn't make too much noise while I was getting my furniture situated." he said with an apologetic smile and I nearly dropped my mug.
He's my new next door neighbor? The fucking elephant in the next room that was making enough noise to cause a mild migraine? Holy shit, life really hated me. This beautiful man that I had just invited into my apartment and was now chit chatting and drinking coffee with like it was nothing is my sworn enemy. I don't do neighbors, no way. Just nope. Never been the type of person to go over to their neighbors place and knock and say 'Hey, Neighbor. Mind sparing me a cup of milk or sugar?' Fuck no. That's just not me. I'm a solitary being, I like being alone and this kid was already fucking everything up.
"Oh, so you're the one who was making all that damn noise earlier. I thought there was a baby dinosaur on the other side of the dry wall for a minute." I drawled and oh my god, shut up, Levi. You're making things worse, now he's going to think you're a creep and an asshole.
To my surprise though, Eren only laughed. Full on threw his head back and barked out a laugh that filled my entire kitchen with his lovely sound. It bounced off the tiled wall and resonated through my ear drums like a soft sonata and I found myself not hating the sound of his laughter at all. It wasn't overly forced or obnoxious in any way, but pure and genuine like it was the funniest thing he'd heard in his entire life.
Eren wiped away tears of mirth as he tried to even his breathing out but he would occasionally break out into a light fit of giggles before finally his laughter subsided enough for him to speak clearly.
"S-Sorry, it's just, you said that with such a serious face and I feel so guilty because I know I probably made way too much noise for it being so early. I hope I didn't wake you up or anything, then I'd really feel awful." he said with a sheepish grin that totally contradicted his earlier outburst of laughter.
"Nah, you didn't wake me up. I had already been awake since five o clock, that's the time I'm usually awake every morning. But you were kind of loud, what kind of furniture do you got kid? It must way a ton if it makes that much noise against the hardwood." I snorted taking another sip of my coffee as he set his almost empty cup down.
"Yeah, I know I'm sorry. My sister insisted that I take some of my mom's old furniture with me when I moved here and it's really bulky and heavy set and everything is hand carved from some special kind of wood from Turkey. The sofa I have is massive and really old but it's comfortable as all hell." he chuckled tilting his head to the side a bit and the chocolate brown bangs fell in his eyes slightly.
I hummed into the rim of my mug not really sure what to say to that since I was basically right in my assumptions about his furniture weighing a ton. At least he apologized for the noise.
Eren and I chit chatted a while longer, he drank another cup of coffee and I prepared a cup of Assam tea in exchange for the caffeine sipping it slowly while we talked about nothing really. He would ask about some of the paintings in my living room and I would explain to him what they were and the artistic bullshit people told you in order to buy their shit. Then we'd talk about his cat some more and the damn bossy thing had the nerve to sit on my counter top.
In the good half hour I spent talking with Eren, I found myself not hating his company at all. He revealed to me that he was 22 years old, fresh out of college but not really sure what he wanted to do with his life so he was working at a friend's bookshop that also doubled as a coffee shop. Could have been worse, I thought. I found myself enjoying his smile and laughter as it was a strange but welcomed change to empty, quietness in my life and I caught myself thinking that I could get used to this. Wow, I really must be lonely if I was getting so worked up over this kid.
Maybe Hanji was right, I should probably get out more. But to hell with that four eyes, right now I was enjoying my time with Eren and this damn cat that I'll never admit is pretty adorable when it's not acting like the Queen of Sheba. Suddenly, Eren glanced at the clock on the wall behind me and he gasped.
"Oh shit! Has it been that long already? My boyfriend said he'd be here to help me finish move the rest of my stuff in, I should probably go." he said sounding hurried as he picked up his cat from the ground and cradled it in his arms.
Wait, did he just say 'boyfriend'? As in 'Boyfriend' boyfriend??? Eren is gay? Hold on, maybe I just misheard him. I'll just ask him straight out. Honestly has always been my policy and I've never been the shy type when it comes to expressing myself.
"Boyfriend? You're gay, Eren?" I repeated my thoughts out loud and realized my question probably came out a little more surprised than I intended it to.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry, did I forget to mention I'm also gay? I hope that doesn't bother you, Levi?" he said giving me a sad and worried look that just struck my heart like a knife.
Shit, now he probably thinks I'm a homophobe who hates gays. You gotta handle this with delicate care, Levi. Don't fuck it up.
"What? No, why would that bother me? Jesus, kid. I'm not some close minded asshole, I don't care if you like dick." Smooth like butter, Levi. Way to go, you just said the most offensive thing you could ever say to a gay guy ever. Well, okay maybe not the most offensive thing.
I felt my worries instantly melt away when Eren turned and smiled at me, wide and bright like nothing I've ever seen and I gulped loudly.
"Oh, good! I was worried you'd feel weird being around me or something. I really enjoyed talking to you, Levi." he said it so innocently that I felt like the worlds biggest asshole for some reason even though I know I didn't do anything wrong. Damn him and those big puppy eyes.
As I walked him out of my apartment, he thanked me for the coffee to which I shook my head and told him it was no problem at all. In truth, I really enjoyed his company. Even if I would never admit that out loud. Ever.
As soon as the door to my apartment open, Captain was hissing and leaping from Eren's arms and jumping into a defensive position arching his back high. His inky black fur standing on end as he fiercely hissed at someone standing at Eren's door and I caught a glimpse of the tall, ash blond male while he turned to look at the cat hissing viciously at him.
"Jean! You're here early. I wasn't expecting you for another 10 minutes." Eren said as he approached the taller male and I watched as he greeted the other with a peck to his cheek and it was then I realized that this must have been the boyfriend he mentioned.
I narrowed my eyes when Eren's boyfriend wrapped a possessive arm around his waist pulling him into a kiss and I felt my body go rigid with something. Jealousy? No, why should I be jealous. Why should I care if Eren and his boyfriend kiss? It was natural for couples to do. But still... I felt an unfamiliar heat settling in my chest and stomach as I watched the exchange.
"Che. I really hate that cat. It always looks like it's going to claw my face off whenever I come anywhere near you." Eren's boyfriend spat as the cat continued to hiss before it darted back into my apartment hiding behind my legs.
"Jean, leave Captain alone. Maybe he wouldn't act like that around you if you'd just stop being such a dick." Eren chided his lover and I mentally sneered at the jab.
Eren's boyfriend snorted. "You know you love my di-"
I abruptly cleared my throat, interrupting what I already knew he was going to say as I reached down for Captain who was peeking out from between my legs and taking a few steps to hand him over to Eren.
"Oh, Jean. This is my new neighbor, Levi. Captain seems to really like him. See, he even let's Levi pick him up and hold him and he never lets anyone but me do that." Eren said with a wide grin as he took the cat from my hands.
I crossed my arms over my chest and stood there allowed Eren's boyfriend to scrutinize me from head to toe as I did the same. He looked to be about Eren's age, he was taller than Eren which I found amazing because Eren was already pretty tall to me. He had two toned hair styled in a funky undercut that I thought looked stupid. The top half of his hair was obviously bleached while his undercut was a much darker color than the bleached hair altogether. As if his hairstyle wasn't ridiculous enough, the guy had a weirdly elongated face paired with intense sharp eyes that I thought made him look like a horse.
Still, I'd be lying if I said the guy wasn't good looking. Aside from having that freakishly long face, I could see why Eren probably found him attractive to some extent. Although, to me this guy's good looks paled in comparison to Eren's. Wow, now I'm really starting to worry. Why am I suddenly comparing everyone to Eren?
"No shit, that cat hates just about everyone except Eren. Especially me." Jean reached up to pet Captain and the cat hissed and swatted an unsheathed claw at him swiping air as the taller boy yanked his hand away glaring at the cat.
"See what I mean? Hey man, I'm Jean Kirstein. Eren's boyfriend. Thanks for, you know, looking out for the cat I guess." Jean extended the hand that was just swatted away by the cat and took a step toward me.
I looked down at his extended hand for a short period of time before I begrudgingly took his larger hand in mine and gave it a light shake before quickly releasing it and crossing my arms over my chest again.
"Levi." I said flatly before turning to Eren standing just to the left of Jean.
The boy smiled down at me while he soothingly stroked at Captain's fur still cradling the cat in his folded arms.
"Thanks again for everything, Levi." he beamed and I felt myself slightly relax.
"It's no big deal. Welcome to the neighborhood, Kid. See you around." I said with a nod of my head before I walked the short distance back to my apartment and shut the door behind me.
I sighed while leaning back against the cool wood of my door, I could hear Eren's faint giggling and laughing from the hallway and the sound of his douche bag of a boyfriend complaining about the cat being the spawn of Satan and I snorted. Don't ask me why, but Eren's boyfriend just rubbed me the wrong way. I definitely wasn't jealous. Nope, just annoyed that now I'd have to deal with two brats instead of just one.
Even if one of those brats had the most beautiful eyes and laugh I'd ever seen or heard. I pushed myself off from the door and proceeded to my bedroom where I figured I might as well get dressed and ready for work since I have nothing else to do. As I got dressed to go to the restaurant, my mind frequently drifted back to Caribbean Blue eyes and the thought of being able to see them again soon. I smiled the entire time getting ready for work.