Eager to Please

by pick_y0urfilter

Summary:

Living in one of the poorest neighborhoods growing up taught Levi that life is survival of the fittest. So most of his youth was spent stealing food to keep himself alive and praying he had a home to return to every night. Levi vowed to make a better life for himself– getting out of the gods awful neighborhood, getting a decent job so he didn’t have to steal for survival– that was all on his bucket list. Not working at the biggest company in Shiganshina.

Aka Levi works for Erwin who is the CEO at a big company

Chapter 1: Chapter 1

It wasn’t really on Levi’s bucket list to work at one of the largest companies in Shiganshina. Not that he was complaining. The pay was good and there were definitely perks that came with the job, but he never dreamed he’d be where he was now.
Living in one of the poorest neighborhoods growing up taught Levi that life is survival of the fittest. So most of his youth was spent stealing food to keep himself alive and praying he had a home to return to every night. Levi vowed to make a better life for himself– getting out of the gods awful neighborhood, getting a decent job so he didn’t have to steal for survival– that was all on his bucket list. Not working at the biggest company in Shiganshina.
~~~~~~~~~~
Pressing the hold button on the company telephone, Levi sighs and looks around to find someone, anyone, to help him deal with an angry business associate.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Levi says through his teeth before he picks the call back up when he doesn’t see anyone willing to help.
On the other line, an angry man yells about the loss of product. And even though Levi or the company couldn’t do anything about it– it was the fault of the weather for delaying the shipment, not the company– the man decided to take his anger out on the raven-haired man. This wasn’t new to Levi. It happened every day. After all, the bigger the business, the more criticism.
After telling the man, once again, that he couldn’t do much except wait until the shipment arrived, the angry man cussed Levi out before hanging up.
“Good. Fucking. Riddance.”
Levi gets back to his boring work: filing documents, writing reports, approving shipments. Work wasn’t exciting, but in some ways, that was good. What made Levi unhappy wasn’t necessarily the job itself, but the schedule that came along with it. He wasn’t used to doing the same thing every day at the same exact time. And after a childhood of going with the flow and not knowing what would come next, Levi began to find his life miserably uninteresting.
That is until the boss actually acknowledged his presence. Those days weren’t common and usually only happened when Levi fucked something up. This time, however, it was because Levi had done something right.
Levi had spoken with a potential business partner the week previous and cleared up all of their concerns. The partnership then birthed a new opportunity for the company. And a bigger fortune too. Happy with Levi’s advancement, the CEO requested to see the raven-haired boy. And this request did not go unnoticed by the rest of the office. From the moment he stepped through the office doors, all eyes were on him. It seemed no one dared to speak. Like the CEO would be able to overhear their gossip.
Though there was one person who didn’t seem to notice the eerie silence that had settled over the office.
“Hey, hey, hey number one businessman,” Hange says from across the office, disrupting the silence.
Levi rolls his eyes and walks past them, hoping to get to the CEO’s office with no other problems. But Hange didn’t let Levi’s attitude stop them.
“Good luck with your meeting– knock ‘em dead!”
That was the last thing Levi heard before the elevator door closed. Levi wasn’t really nervous– he never got nervous. It was simply an unpleasant feeling. He had never met the CEO unless he was in trouble. So he wasn’t sure what to expect. Would the CEO just praise him and let him go on his way? Would he give Levi a promotion? Levi really didn’t know. The fact that Levi wasn’t sure of what was going to happen made him think back to his childhood. And Levi kind of liked the feeling of uncertainty after living a boringly average life for a great deal of his adulthood.
~~~~~~~~~~
A knock on the door alerted the man engrossed in his work. A quick look at the time and Erwin realized it was time for a meeting with one of his workers. The man usually didn’t care much for his work so it came as a surprise when Erwin had heard of his work with their recent business partner. Erwin stood and straightened his suit jacket before responding to the man waiting outside his office door.
“Come in,” Erwin called out before walking closer to the door.
Levi opened the door slowly and looked up at the CEO before him, noting his good mood. That was good. Levi didn’t feel like getting berated today. With a slight bow, Levi greeted his boss.
“Hello, Mr. Smith,” Levi puts on his best professional smile.
Erwin smiled back before gesturing to the chair in front of his desk. “Come sit.”
Levi does as he’s told, watching as Mr. Smith takes his seat behind the beautiful mahogany desk.
“I’ve heard of your recent accomplishments with the Jayson Company and I will say that I am quite impressed.” Erwin starts, clasping his hands together. “But I will say, I am also surprised.”
Levi looks at Erwin confused. Surprised… what was that supposed to mean?
“I haven’t noticed much ambition in you,” Erwin says with a slight smile. “I don’t mean to be rude. I’m just curious.”
Erwin leans forward in his chair before continuing. Levi’s eyebrows furrow, expecting a sly comment about how he was lazy or something similar.
“Did something make you eager for approval?”
Ready to bite back to a rude comment, Levi wasn’t prepared for that question. Of course, Levi wasn’t looking for approval. He simply just wanted to get his job done.
“I’m not sure I really understand what you mean.” Levi responds. “I was just doing my job.”
Erwin just nods and stays silent for a minute. Levi could tell he was thinking of how to phrase his next sentence.
“It’s just interesting because you’ve never seemed to care for the job in the past,” Erwin begins, speaking slowly as if he was still thinking of the right words. “You didn’t have to try so hard, yet you did. The one you spoke with on the phone told me so. He mentioned you seemed quite pleased to answer all of his questions.”
Levi stared at Erwin, not knowing how to respond. Erwin catches on that Levi wasn’t going to respond and he stands up. He walks around his desk and crosses his arms before leaning back against the wood of the sturdy desk.
“I don’t think you’re even sure why you did what you did– and that makes what you did more interesting.” Erwin smiles while looking down at Levi. “Maybe you’re more fond of this job than you’ve let on.”
Levi chooses to look at the polished dress shoes Erwin was wearing rather than his face. Levi wasn’t sure how to respond. What was Erwin’s goal? Surely he didn’t make Levi come all the way up to his office just to talk to himself.
With a sigh, Erwin uncrosses his arms and runs a hand through his blond hair. He goes back to his seat, seeming defeated.
“You’re not one for talk, Levi,” Erwin says after a moment.
“There’s not much to talk about, sir,” Levi finally responds.
That earns Levi a chuckle from Erwin. He was confused how what he said was funny. But Levi also found Erwin’s laughter relaxing. It was completely different from the big bad boss persona that he put on when speaking to everyone else in the office. Levi wondered why Erwin was showing this different side of himself. Levi sits silently for a moment before standing up and finally looking at Erwin.
“Is that all, sir?”
Erwin looks at Levi for a moment and seems to ponder the question. Or maybe something else, but Levi would never be able to tell.
“Yes, I suppose I should let you get back to work,” He responds, back to his professional persona in the blink of an eye.
Levi turns to leave after he sees Erwin get back to the work piled on his desk. Without another word, Levi leaves the office and makes his way back down to do his average job in his average life.

Chapter 2: Chapter 2

When Levi got back to his desk, Hange was there waiting for him.
“So what happened? Did you get a promotion? Tell me, tell me,” Hange starts with excitement.
Levi sits and chooses to ignore them. That is until they choose to not let up in their pestering.
“Was he mean to you? Oh no, did he yell at you again?” Hange continued.
“For the love of gods, will you calm down?” Levi bites back. “He didn’t do anything. He just kind of… talked.”
That seemed to satisfy Hange as they shrugged and went back to working on whatever had occupied them previously. With Hange focused on their work, Levi was able to get started on his task at hand. Figuring out how to get a shipment out and to its location in only twenty-four hours. All the while thinking of what Erwin said to him earlier. If Levi wasn’t careful, it would take over his mind for the rest of the day. And Levi didn’t have time for that. Taking a quick break to get a black coffee from the breakroom, Levi prayed his mind would not wander on the useless topic.
Apparently the gods were listening today because Levi was able to get everything done with enough time to stop and eat lunch. The talk he had with Erwin didn’t even cross his mind until he was about to leave for the day.
“Hey, Levi, I heard you had a talk with Mr. CEO this morning,” Levi heard from old man Kenny’s mouth.
Levi hated the man. He never did his work and manages to harass every woman he ever meets, all while managing to keep his job. Levi blames him keeping his job on the fact that the man has dirt on everyone. So if you blabbed to the higher-ups, you’d be exposed. Levi has indeed thought about reporting him anyways. After all, Levi didn’t have much to hide and all of his dirt had been dug up already.
Levi responds only with an eye roll and finishes packing up his belongings. Either Kenny had left or had deemed harassing Levi too much work because Levi didn’t hear a word from him after that. Upon looking up, Levi noticed he was alone and ran a hand through his hair before walking out of the office and into the bright evening sun.
The day was tiring and it was the end of the week so Levi felt he deserved a drink. Deciding that he was going to spend the night at one of his favorite bars, Levi arrives at his apartment. While not the most expensive or fancy, the place was home to Levi. And much better than his childhood home. Levi parks his car and gets out, seeing the stray cats run into the bush next to the door. Levi walks closer and pushes away some of the foliage.
“I don’t have anything for you today, I’m sorry,” Levi says in a quiet voice, holding out his hand for the cats to sniff. “I’ll bring you some on my way out, okay?”
Levi retracts his hand and stands up straight, his knees popping in the process. He starts walking up to his apartment, stopping briefly only to talk to the doorman.
Once he arrived at his apartment, Levi dropped his things by the door and immediately makes his way to his bathroom to wash up. Work made him feel gross. The angry men he had to deal with on a daily basis, the breakroom that housed a coworker's tuna sandwich- seriously, who brings that to an office?
As Levi rinses the shampoo from his hair, his mind wanders back to the conversation he had had with Erwin. Levi’s mind was mainly focused on how good it felt to make the other man laugh and how he’d like to hear that sound again. It seemed wrong that he thought so much about his boss and after a moment, Levi shook his head to free it of thoughts of Erwin.
Levi gets out of the shower and picks out a casual going-out outfit. His favorite distressed blue jeans and a dark green sweater– the outfit complete with his hair gelled back and a few rings adorning his fingers. After a quick look in the mirror, Levi makes his way out of his apartment to begin his night of pitifully drinking alone.
~~~~~~~~~~
Walking up to the door, Levi sees the bouncer checking IDs and shooing away teens wanting to party. A regular, Levi was able to flash his ID at the man and walk right into the bar. He immediately gets a whiff of booze and sweat. The crowd in front of him is dancing to some EDM-type music that was popular and their sweaty bodies made it difficult for Levi to get to the bar. Wading through the sea of already drunk patrons, Levi manages to get to the bar to get drunk himself.
Levi sees the usual bartender and she smiles at him as he sits down.
“Levi, it’s lovely to see you again,” She starts and leans against the bar. “You didn’t come in last week and I assumed you found a place better than this shithole.”
Levi laughed and asked for his usual, talking with the woman as she made his drink.
“This place’ll never be a shithole when it has your drinks, Sasha,” Levi says after he takes a sip of the drink Sasha expertly crafted. “I swear, it’s magical how well you make your drinks.”
Sasha bows playfully before turning her attention to another patron. Levi sits back and relaxes, sipping on his drink and watching as the scene around him gets more and more hectic. What Levi failed to notice was that someone had sat down next to him.
“Weird seeing people live their life with no concerns for tomorrow.”
Levi turns and he immediately wants to chug the rest of his drink. Or maybe he was already so drunk because he couldn’t possibly be seeing his boss in a bar. Much less this one. Just sitting right next to him and being all casual.
“You don’t have to look so shocked,” Erwin laughs before taking a sip of his drink. “Is it so strange for your boss to need a break too?”
Levi swallows before responding.
“I’m not shocked you need a break, I’m just shocked you chose here of all places,” He said matter-of-factly.
Erwin cocks a head at Levi’s response. He places his glass down before responding.
“This place is perfectly fine, why wouldn’t I go here?”
Levi shrugs in response. He didn’t come to the bar to talk. He came to drink and destress from his job– his goal was to keep himself from thinking about Erwin and his laugh. Now, with Erwin sitting right next to him and laughing, Levi’s plans of relaxation go out the window. Levi chugs the last of his drink, flagging down Sasha for another one. The awkward silence between the two men gets too much for Erwin and he begins another conversation.
“So I assume you needed a break as well?” He says and the way Erwin’s voice goes up in pitch gives away the fact that he seems unsure about the entire situation.
Levi nods and turns to face Erwin.
“Trying to get away from work,” he says, hoping Erwin would get the hint and find someone else to talk to.
Erwin smiles at Levi’s response. “You don’t seem to be doing a good job at it.”
Levi scoffs and takes a drink to fill the silence between them. Erwin obviously knew what Levi had been hinting at and chose to continue to sit right next to him. Oh well. Levi could try to relax in his presence. Erwin doesn’t say anything after that, seeming content to listen to the music playing loudly over the speakers.
Sick of sitting and wasting his night next to his boss, Levi gets up and goes to the dance floor, hoping to find someone willing to entertain him for the time being. His target was a lanky brown-haired man who seemed to be more leg than anything. With practiced ease, Levi waltzes up to the man and gestures to dance. The man, with alcohol-induced confidence, wraps an arm around Levi and begins to sway against him.
Levi didn’t walk up to the man because he was interested in him, don’t get his intentions wrong. Levi walked up to the man solely for entertainment purposes. After all, Levi’s life wasn’t all that interesting so he’d take all the excitement he could get.
Eventually, the dancing men separated and went their own ways– Levi going back to his spot at the bar and the other man to another body. Sitting down in his spot next to the bar, Levi notices Erwin had either gone to the dance floor– which Levi thought was highly unlikely– or left the bar completely. And Levi didn’t care either way. It was his boss after all. He wasn’t supposed to care or meddle with his personal life.
Three hours and four drinks later, Levi was on the side of the road trying to flag down a taxi to take him home. Levi hadn’t expected to get that drunk, but apparently, his week had warranted a few extra drinks.
After ten minutes of trying and no luck, Levi decided to just walk his drunk self home. On unstable legs, Levi managed the three blocks to his apartment with minimal accidents. Only one case of throwing up on the side of the road and probably looking like a complete drunk to passersby and Levi was safe and sound in his apartment. A look in the mirror confirmed that Levi did, indeed, look like a drunk with his mussed-up hair and sweat dripping down his forehead. Too tired to care, Levi fell into bed and quickly began to fall asleep, thinking about how he’d talk to his boss after their awkward meeting.

Notes:

Hopefully there weren't too many mistakes in this chapter because I didn't really want to check it. If you'd like to support me, follow my twitter (@pick_y0urfilter) or tumblr (@picky0urfilter)

Chapter 3: Chapter 3

The rest of the weekend for Levi was fairly uneventful. He woke up with a hangover and blurred memories of his night out. Deeming a shower was necessary as his clothes were becoming glued to his body with sweat, Levi rolled out of bed and trudged to the bathroom. 

Levi regretted drinking as much as he did. He usually was too busy talking to Sasha to drink six drinks, but last night was so busy and Levi was more stressed. Therefore, Levi wasn’t able to talk to Sasha and had to distract himself with his drinks. It wasn’t the first time it had happened, but Levi can’t help but think about what made him so stressed in the first place. Was it just his job or did Erwin play a bigger part in his stress? 

Soap ran down Levi’s forehead as he pondered what he should do to get his mind off of Erwin. He wasn’t even sure why he had been thinking about him so much. It’s almost as if Erwin cast a spell on Levi’s brain to only think of him. With the way Erwin was looking last night though, he wouldn’t even have to cast a spell to occupy someone’s mind. Seeing Erwin in his business attire was much different from his casual. Erwin looked a distinguished kind of attractive in his expensive tailored suits but in his casual clothes, he looked more like the guy you’d have a passing crush on in the airport. Levi felt honored to have witnessed Erwin’s casual demeanor and though he seemed to hate Erwin’s presence, Levi couldn’t help but admire how he looked last night– though he wasn’t going to admit it out loud. 

“He’s my boss, goddammit, stop thinking he’s attractive,” Levi says to no one but himself as he gets out of the shower to dry himself off. 

The rest of the weekend went by far too fast for Levi’s liking. Monday morning, he pulled himself out of bed at the sound of his alarm, dreading the week ahead of him. Not only did he have to deal with shitty customers at work, but now he was constantly thinking about his boss. It was like his brain wanted to make his life a constant obstacle course. 

Levi’s body went on autopilot as he got ready for the work day: brushing his teeth, getting dressed, forcing down a bagel so he would die of hunger. The only change to his morning routine was going down a different road because of construction blocking his regular route. 

When Levi arrived at the office, everything seemed normal. Everyone was in their usual place either working or talking to coworkers while downing a cup of coffee. Everyone seemed in a good mood which was a good way to start the week. Passing by his coworkers, Levi chooses not to engage in the dreadful small talk that was going on and instead chose to go straight to his desk. 

Waiting for Levi was Hange. With the way they were looking at Levi, they must’ve been on their fourth cup of coffee. 

“How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun?” Hange questioned as soon as Levi got to his desk. 

“Went out. Slept. Ate. Pretty average I’d say,” Levi responded bluntly. 

Hange sighed before speaking again. “I had a wonderful weekend, thanks for asking,” They smiled their signature crazy smile. Levi was in for a story. “Sawney and Beane shed on Friday and they ate their shed. It was really cool- I didn’t know lizards did that.” 

Hange rambled on about their beloved pet lizards, but Levi managed to block them out in order to get some work done. 

By lunchtime, Levi was able to get most of his work done. He was really focused on making sure some important documents were in the right order when one of his coworkers came by his desk.

“Hey Levi, Mr. Smith asked me to ask you if you could meet him in his office,” they said as they leaned against Levi’s desk. 

Levi arched a brow in their direction and they immediately straightened up. Not leaving, they cross their arms and wait for Levi’s response. 

“Yeah, I’ll be there. Give me ten,” Levi finally responds before looking back at his computer screen to finish up his work. 

Ten minutes passed and Levi hadn’t gotten up from his desk. It was half because Levi forgot Erwin wanted him– he wasn’t used to being summoned so you can’t blame him– and half because he got too focused on the task at hand. So when Erwin personally came down to retrieve Levi, he was surprised.

“Did you forget about me?” Erwin asks with a sly smile. 

Levi jumps at Erwin’s voice. Looking up from his computer, Levi sees Erwin leaning against his desk, arms crossed and a smile across his face. If it were any other person, Levi would’ve either cussed them out for scaring him or completely ignored them until they got bored and left. But this was his boss and he couldn’t get rid of him that easily so Levi chose to respond in a nicer way. 

“Honest answer: yes,” Levi answers honestly. “But if I were to give you my professional answer, it would be: I’m so sorry sir, I got so caught up in my work that I lost track of time.” 

Erwin seemed amused with Levi’s answer, his smile widening. Levi leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, waiting for Erwin to say something. 

“Working so well to get some more praise?” Erwin asks jokingly. 

Levi rolled his eyes before silently panicking at his behavior in front of Erwin. To Levi’s luck, Erwin didn’t mind the slight rudeness coming from Levi. In fact, he seemed amused by it. Without a response from Levi, Erwin speaks again.

“Follow me,” Erwin says and motions for Levi to follow him. 

Levi gets up and follows Erwin without another word, making their way past the stares of Levi’s coworkers. As they passed Hange’s desk, they gave Levi a wink and a thumbs up. Levi rolled his eyes at Hange’s antics and continued walking. With the considerable height difference, it was hard for Levi to keep up with Erwin. And when Erwin means business, he walks faster than what should be humanly possible. 

When the two arrived at Erwin’s office, Erwin turned to check Levi was still behind him before opening his door and letting Levi inside. The office was the same as the last time Levi visited it-- the mahogany desk still had piles of paperwork on it. The average desk of a man who ran the largest company in Shiganshina. 

“Get comfortable, Levi,” Erwin says before walking to his own chair behind his desk.

Levi does just that, sitting in the chair in front of Erwin’s desk and crossing his legs. Erwin looks at Levi for a moment before speaking. Levi has begun to notice that Erwin does that a lot. Levi wondered why. Maybe Erwin was constantly figuring out what to say next and he just so happened to be staring at Levi’s face. Whatever it was, Levi couldn’t say he hated it. 

“You seem to care about this job, Levi,” Erwin starts. “And you’ve helped increase the number of sales as well as expanded our reach.”

Levi sits in silence, waiting for Erwin to get to his point. 

“So… I wanted to give you an opportunity,” He continued. “An opportunity to work alongside me. I’ve been quite a bit in over my head recently and could use the help.”
Levi looks at Erwin surprised. He didn’t know what he was expecting, but it was definitely not this. Levi cleared his throat before speaking. 

“Are you sure I’d be the best option?” Levi asks honestly. “I may be able to get the work done, but I can’t say for sure I’d be enjoyable to work with.” 

Erwin chuckles softly, leaning back in his seat. 

“I’m not concerned with your attitude while working– I actually don’t mind it– but my concern is that the work gets done,” Erwin says matter-of-factly. “And if you have to be a complete ass to get things done, that’s how we’ll do things.” 

Levi smiled for the first time that day after hearing Erwin’s response. He wasn’t expecting Erwin’s more natural persona but was more than pleased to see it. Levi shrugged and crossed his arms, making eye contact with Erwin.

“And what would be in it for me?”

Erwin’s smile widened at Levi’s response. “A sizable pay increase and more paid time off if you chose to take it. And a chance to get away from the rest of the office that I know you aren’t entirely fond of.”

“And if I said yes, when would I start?” 

~~~~~~~~~~

Erwin requested Levi to clean off his desk right away. With the new promotion, Levi earned himself his own office– right next to Erwin’s conveniently. As Levi was making sure all of his pens were in their proper place, Erwin walked up behind him. 

“I’d like for you to start by making some calls to the Reison company,” He said once Levi had turned and faced him. “Make sure they pay up– I’ve noticed they’ve been shorting us the past couple of payments.” 

Levi simply nodded and sat down, opening up his computer to check the Reison file. Erwin was right– the company had neglected to pay for the last five shipments and then refused to answer their damn phone. This might be a bit difficult for Levi. But Levi wasn’t going to screw up his first job. He finally had his own space– and a breakroom that he only had to share with Erwin and a few other higher-ups. No more tuna sandwiches stinking up the place. 

Levi picked up the company phone and began dialing the number for the Reison company, hearing it ring three times before it went to voicemail. 

If you’re going to avoid someone, be smart and not decline the call after three rings. 

Levi refused to be ignored and called again, this time the phone ringing a little longer. When it went to voicemail again, Levi hung up and tried again. Levi had all day. He would call as many times as it took. On the twelfth time, someone picked up.

“What the fuck is it now?!” The person on the other line started with.

“Hello Mr. Olvidi, I’m calling to remind you that you owe us money from the last five shipments,” Levi started with a fake nice voice. “I’m sure this was a mix-up and you weren’t ignoring us… right?”

“For the love of the gods, did you seriously call for that again? I told the last guy we wouldn’t pay you guys shit.”

Levi was over this guy’s attitude. “No, I think you will pay us what you owe and more for troubling us, you little shit,” Levi dropped the niceties. “Unless you want to get the law involved.”

The man let up and Levi was able to get the proper payment information. It was a new record for Levi. On average, it took him about ten minutes to get his way from a customer, but this time, it only took five. 

Erwin came in shortly after Levi had gotten everything sorted out. He sat in the leather couch caddy corner from Levi’s desk and asked him how the call went. 

“All the money was paid out– and some extra because they felt so bad for troubling us,” Levi told Erwin with a proud smile. 

“‘Troubling us’ must mean code for ‘I gave them hell until they let up’ or am I wrong?” Erwin responded, matching Levi’s proud smile.

“You’re head-on.” 

The two laughed to themselves at the situation before a silence fell upon them. It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence and for some time, neither of the two men tried to fill the silence. Erwin made himself comfortable on the couch while Levi sorted a few documents into their correct folders. It wasn’t until Erwin’s phone chimed that the silence was broken. 

“Ah, sorry I need to take this,” Erwin said as he looked at the caller ID. “I’ll be right back.” 

Erwin left the room for a couple of minutes and Levi gave himself a moment to relax. It had been an eventful day after all. He deserved some rest. When Erwin came back into the room, he asked a question that shocked Levi even more than his promotion. 

“Would you like to talk over dinner tonight?”

Notes:

For those who are enjoying this so far, my goal is to post a new chapter at least every other day, but depending on my schedule, it might be less so just watch out for new chapters. I will try to get a new chapter out each week at the very least. :))

Chapter 4: Chapter 4

Summary:

Sorry this one's shorter than the rest. I just finished finals and they kinda kicked my butt so I wasn't in a huge writing mood. But Levi and Erwin finally spent some time together!

Levi thought he heard Erwin wrong. He thought there was no way his boss– the man who had yelled at him when he forgot a simple task, the man who had then praised him for simply doing his job– asked him to dinner. 

“What-” Was all Levi could say. 

Erwin laughed softly while scratching the back of his neck. A nervous habit. Levi didn’t seem to notice it. 

“It’s about dinner time,” Erwin explained. “So I thought I’d ask if you’d like to talk over a meal. My treat, of course.”

Levi thought for a moment. The last time he had been asked to dinner was while Levi had been working some fast food job– an old man had just given his order to Levi and proceeded to ask Levi to eat with him. That was Levi’s last day at that place. Most bosses don’t appreciate their employees throwing food at customers. 

When Levi realized he had left Erwin’s question hanging in the air, he decided to answer. 

“Where are we going?” Levi asked 

Erwin smiled and wrung his hands together. Another nervous habit. This time, Levi noticed it. Levi stood up as he waited for Erwin’s answer, grabbing his coat. 

“There’s a new Italian place a block from here,” Erwin answered eventually. “Will that be okay?”

Levi nodded. Erwin motioned for Levi to follow him before holding the door open for him. The two walked through the office in comfortable silence, only stopping for Erwin to tell the receptionist to cancel his afternoon meetings. 

Erwin suggested simply walking to the restaurant, to which Levi agreed. The two only exchanged a few words but were content with just admiring their surroundings. The wind blew a cooling afternoon breeze through the streets, fallen leaves passing flying past the men’s feet. The air was crisp. It made Levi feel alive. 

They arrived at the restaurant a few minutes later. The place was bustling– as expected from a new place near the city. With a level of confidence only in the privileged, Erwin walks up to the hostess and they were able to bypass those waiting with just a few words uttered by Erwin. Levi had never had the privilege of getting anything he wanted when he wanted, but he did have to say, it was convenient. 

Not only did the two men bypass the line of hungry people, but they were escorted to their table by the boss herself. They got the best seat in the house– a view of a garden full of the most exquisite flowers. If he was being honest, it was all a bit much for Levi. Not once in his life had he been treated this way– with such respect. He wasn’t aware that he hadn’t spoken since they’d arrived until Erwin spoke up. 

“Levi?” He said to get his attention. “Do you know what you’d like?”

Levi turns to face Erwin, his eyes then moving to face the waiter that was waiting for Levi’s order. Without a word, Levi opened the menu and looked for something that sounded appetizing– though he couldn’t really tell what was what. Erwin noticed Levi’s panic to pick something and spoke up. 

“We’ll just do a Vitello Tonnato for him,” Erwin told the waiter with a smile. 

The waiter leaves to put in their orders and Erwin starts up a conversation to– hopefully– ease Levi’s tensions. 

“I ordered us a bottle of Pinot Noir while you were in your daze,” Erwin said before chuckling. “I hope you don’t mind.” 

Levi shook his head. Erwin noted Levi was still a bit tense. He didn’t push it and instead poured Levi a glass, and then himself. The red liquid had a fragrant smell that wafted through the air, pleasing to both Erwin and Levi– relaxing. Levi met Erwin’s eyes before picking up his glass and taking a sip, the liquid staining Levi’s upper lip slightly. 

“I hope my asking you here didn’t make you uncomfortable,” Erwin said suddenly with an awkward laugh. 

Levi cocks his head at that before setting down his glass. 

“Not uncomfortable, just surprised,” He responded to hopefully clear up Erwin’s concerns. “And I’m not used to… this.”

Erwin nodded, understanding what Levi was implying. The two men returned to a comfortable silence until the waiter returned with their food. 

It smelled amazing. After a hard morning at work, Levi was starving and immediately began to dig in, Erwin doing the same. Erwin, pausing to take a sip of the wine, smiled at Levi. Noticing the eyes on him, Levi looks up from his plate. 

“What?” Levi asks when he sees Erwin smiling at him. 

“Nothing- do you like your food?” Erwin responds before looking away from Levi.

“You smile a lot.”

“There’s a lot to smile about.” 

“Is there?”

Erwin looks back at Levi, confused. Erwin was aware of Levi’s naturally emotionless demeanor so he couldn’t say he was really surprised by Levi’s comment, but Erwin couldn’t contain his taken aback expression. 

“What do you mean by that Levi?” Erwin asks after composing himself. 

Levi shrugged before taking another sip of the wine. 

“There isn’t anything in particular worth smiling over,” Levi responds in a toneless voice. 

Erwin scoffs and crosses his arms when hearing Levi’s response. 

“Smiling doesn’t have to be ‘worth it’ Levi,” Erwin bites back. “Does nothing make you happy?” 

Levi sighs and runs a hand through his hair, clearly not used to talking about his emotions like this. 

“I never said that- its just, my life doesn’t surprise me,” Levi says after a moment of silence. “And since there’s nothing surprising, my life is just dull- so there’s not much I smile about. Is that so bad?”

Erwin ponders Levi’s question, not really arriving at an answer. Erwin had to admit, what Levi said did make sense. It was just that Erwin didn’t want to accept the fact that someone’s life could be so dull that they didn’t see a reason to smile. The two finished their meals in awkward silence– neither wanting to continue the previous conversation but also neither of them knowing how to start another conversation. 

When the bill comes out, Levi goes to look at it, but Erwin grabs it before Levi could see the total. 

“I told you it was on me.” 

The look Erwin gave Levi let him know that there was no use in arguing, so Levi allowed Erwin to pay for their meal. Levi wasn’t going to admit it, but it felt nice to be taken care of. It was one less thing to worry about for the day. 

~~~~~~~~~~

The two got back to the office a quarter past six. Erwin seemed quiet on the way to their offices, only speaking to the people they passed, not to Levi. It wasn’t that he was mad at Levi or anything– just didn’t know what to say. It was hard to talk to the man when he didn’t seem to want to continue the conversation. 

As Erwin entered his office, he sighed. Levi was insanely hard to read– he was like some ancient Greek text and Erwin had no idea how to read ancient Greek. Erwin wanted to get close to him, but he didn’t want to annoy the raven-haired man. But Erwin also assumed that Levi would tell him outright if he was annoyed by Erwin’s presence. And he hadn’t yet. So was it safe to say that Levi enjoyed spending time with Erwin? 

Erwin wasn’t sure. But he was sure that there was plenty of work that needed to get done and Erwin was already behind– even with Levi’s help. So, as a way to distract himself from thoughts of Levi, Erwin got started whittling away at the pile of paperwork sitting on his desk.

Chapter 5: Chapter 5

The week goes by with only slight issues. Some paperwork went unfiled and hindered a shipment– which, in turn, made some customers unhappy. But nothing too out of the usual. Except for the fact that Erwin could not stop thinking about Levi and how to get close to him. He saw the man every day, but they mostly spoke about work. And when Erwin tried to start a conversation about Levi’s weekend or what he ate for lunch, Levi didn’t get into the specifics. Erwin tried not to let it get to him though. As long as Levi would let him, Erwin would try his best to get close to his junior.
Erwin glances at the clock hanging above the door and notices that the day was already over. Two free days were ahead of him, the promise of a relaxing time at the bar luring him out of his office. But Erwin remembered a task he had given Levi a few hours ago. Erwin had told Levi to oversee all of the shipments for the day and to not leave until reporting back to Erwin. It surely had been a lot– after all, there were close to fifty shipments needing to be overseen today– but Erwin trusted that Levi could handle it. Since Erwin wanted to leave sooner rather than later, he makes his way down to the shipping area and looks for Levi. Upon spotting the short man, Erwin walks over and places a hand on his shoulder.
“I trust you’ve been handling this well?” Erwin phrases it as more of a question, but he was sure of the answer.
Levi jumps slightly in surprise before responding.
“That stupid paperwork delayed a few shipments, but we should be back on track now.”
Erwin hums, delighted with Levi’s progress. He removes his hand from Levi’s shoulder and speaks again.
“In that case, feel free to go home.”
Levi just nods and finishes writing a couple of notes before turning and leaving.
“Oh and Levi,” Erwin calls out before Levi gets out of earshot. “I have something to request of you on Monday.”
Levi turns and cocks his head at this, his eyebrows raised slightly.
“Yes sir.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Levi didn’t even have a guess as to what Erwin wanted of him and he really didn’t want to think about it for the entire weekend. Not after thinking about Erwin and the dinner he had shared for the entire week. Levi had assumed that Erwin was just being a nice boss, but now he was starting to suspect Erwin wanted more than a boss-and-employee relationship. While Levi had no problem being friends with people, he wasn’t sure how being friends with his boss would turn out. And Levi definitely had eyes and saw how undeniably attractive Erwin was– being friends with him would no doubt leave Levi pining after his boss.
Needing a drink after the stressful week of correcting people’s fuck-ups, Levi knew he was going to the bar before he even left the office building.
Levi went to the bar most weekends. And he seemed to have forgotten that the previous weekend, he had the pleasure of seeing his boss while he was trying to get away from said person. Levi forgot that the very person he wanted to keep himself from thinking about would likely want to destress as well. Levi’s forgetfulness led him to the bar and directly to Erwin himself. Levi cursed the gods silently as he noticed the built man and blond hair from across the crowded bar. Determined to not let Erwin’s presence affect him, Levi chose to sit in a corner booth. He would order a couple of drinks and get out of the place before Erwin even had a chance to look in Levi’s direction. But luck wasn’t on Levi’s side this evening. Before Levi could down his first drink, Erwin had noticed the raven-haired man from across the bar and made his way over to the booth where Levi was sitting.
Both Levi and Erwin had forgone changing from their office clothes, but it was odd how much the setting could make Erwin look even better in his usual suit. Or maybe it was the drink Levi had nearly downed.
“It seems we can never get away from one another,” Erwin says with a smile as he slides into the booth.
Levi notes Erwin had unbuttoned the top two buttons on his suit and loosened his tie. It made him look delectable. Levi washed that thought down with whiskey.
“I don’t know, maybe you’re just stalking me,” Levi responds after setting his now empty glass down.
Levi hears his favorite noise in response– Erwin’s light laughter. Short-lived. It made Levi itch to hear more.
“You’re right, I follow you everywhere,” Erwin jokes before taking off his suit jacket. “Is it hot in here to you or have I had one too many drinks?”
Levi’s eyes linger on Erwin’s arms, his dress shirt hugging his arms beautifully. It was such a shame that he had such a nice physique, but was never able to show it off. Always covered in an expensive suit. Levi wished he could admire Erwin without the fabric constricting his view.
Now Levi was sure he had too much to drink.
“I’m not sure about you, but I definitely have,” Levi says before standing up. “So I think I should make my way home. Have a good weekend, Mr. Smith.”
Levi hears Erwin try to argue, but Levi chose to ignore it and make his way out of the bar. He had a long day anyways, so he hadn’t planned on staying long.
Leaving Erwin to wonder if he had done anything wrong, Levi made his way to his apartment to wash the stressful day off of him.
~~~~~~~~~~
Erwin didn’t stay much longer after Levi left. His goal wasn’t to get drunk, just to have a drink or two after dealing with the week’s workload. And he definitely didn’t want to deal with seeing the guy he can never get out of his mind. But as soon as Erwin had seen Levi, it was like he was drawn to him. He had made his way over to the man without even thinking. Like his body knew what to do before his brain did. It confused Erwin. He knew he was drawn to the sarcastic raven-haired man, but he didn’t think he was that drawn to him. Erwin wanted to know why he was so drawn to Levi. Surely it wasn’t just because Levi was sarcastic and hardworking. But did Erwin really want to admit that he liked the guy? It could just be a friendship sort of liking. But Erwin couldn’t shake the fact that it could be more. It wasn’t right. As Levi’s boss, Erwin couldn’t take advantage of Levi. There was no way he could get involved with his employee. Though Erwin couldn’t deny the fact that Levi looked good when he did his job– among other things.
Erwin’s brain hurt. His mind was taken up by Levi his entire way home. Like Levi had infected Erwin. And much like an infection, Levi was dangerous. You sometimes don’t realize when the infection starts, but it soon spreads to the rest of your body.
Erwin almost couldn’t take it. He needed something to distract himself from Levi. Pulling his laptop out of his briefcase, Erwin got to work on paperwork not due until next week. It was a temporary solution– he would run out of work soon– but it would have to do until Erwin was tired enough to sleep without his brain thinking of Levi. And it did work. Erwin spent three hours working until his eyes struggled to stay open. Figuring he was tired enough, Erwin changes out of his suit and gets comfortable in his bed. He fell asleep soon after, his brain too tired to think of anything.
~~~~~~~~~~
Levi wasn’t doing much better. As soon as Levi got home, he made his way to his bed to sleep, but sleep never came. He kept thinking about the way Erwin had been looking, how he had been so kind, how he managed to get the most work done no matter what. Levi wasn’t sure if he was just admiring the man or if he wanted more than a workplace relationship. And now Levi couldn’t stop thinking about what Erwin had said before he left the office.
What did Erwin mean? Was it another promotion? Levi wasn’t even sure it was possible for another promotion– unless Erwin gave his position to Levi. Maybe it was another dinner with Erwin. Levi would accept if it meant that he got to eat good food for free.
Levi’s brain didn’t turn off until the early hours of the morning, his body so desperate for sleep that his brain had to comply and rest.
When Levi awoke, his mouth was dry and he was covered in a sheen of sweat. He looked at the clock sitting on his bedside table and read the time.
12:24
Fuck. Levi had slept in more than he wanted to. He had planned on using his two days off to get some cleaning done around his apartment– maybe even shopping. But with one of his days halfway over and a headache creeping in, Levi lost his motivation to do anything.
He turned over and pulled the covers higher up his body, even with the uncomfortable dampness of his sweat. He was almost able to get back to sleep when he heard his phone go off on his bedside table. Reaching an arm behind him and blindly trying to grab his phone. He manages to grab it and answer the call, hearing an overly excited voice as soon as he put the phone to his ear.
“Levi did you hear that the annual Rumbling Dinner is going to be hosted by none other than… drumroll please… our company!”
Levi had completely forgotten about the annual dinner hosted by differing large companies in and around Shiganshina. This year, apparently to Hange’s excitement, it would be hosted by none other than their company. Which was great. But it also meant that there would be a shit ton of planning on top of the usual workload.
“That’s great, Hange,” Levi said with a sigh. “And you couldn’t wait to tell me until Monday? I don’t want to think about work on my days off.”
Even though Levi couldn’t see it, he was sure Hange was rolling their eyes.
“Oh, stop being so grumpy. I just wanted to tell you the news so you’d be prepared. Now actually do something with your life and get out of bed because I know you’re still lazing about.”
And with that, Hange hung up, leaving Levi alone in his bed, seriously questioning why he gave Hange his phone number.
~~~~~~~~~~
Erwin’s weekend had started off fairly normal. He woke up at about nine in the morning and had his usual breakfast. The only thing that was off about his weekend was the fact that he had to start planning the Rumbling Dinner. He hadn’t hosted the dinner before but had always been a part of the lavish dinners. The expectations made the planning process more stressful. Erwin had a lot to live up to. He wanted this dinner to be memorable for the successful companies of Shiganshina. So he was thinking about doing something different this year. Though Erwin was an attractive man, he had never brought a date to one of these dinners. Most businessmen and businesswomen had sufficient arm candy when they came to events like these, but Erwin was never one to bring someone just to brag. He wanted someone he actually felt a bond with. This year though, he was trying to convince himself that it was a good idea to ask Levi to join him– maybe not as a date, but as a friend. Erwin wasn’t sure if he should ask Levi to be his date since they hadn’t gotten that close. And even if Levi denied his invite, Erwin would surely find something else to make this dinner stick out.
Erwin did say that he would ask Levi on Monday, but Erwin wasn’t sure he wanted to wait. The dinner was in less than two weeks and he would rather have the easiest things done before he got to the more difficult aspects of planning the dinner. Without much more thought, Erwin looks through his contacts to find Levi’s number. He hits the green call button and hopes that this goes as planned.

Notes:

I'm sorry for not uploading in a long time and I apologize for any mistakes, but I just wanted to knock this chapter out before I lost the motivation.

Chapter 6: Chapter 6

Notes:

This chapter is a bit longer to make up for my absence :))

When Levi heard his phone ring again he assumed it was Hange. He was definitely not expecting to answer the call and hear the voice of his boss on the other end. 

“Levi? Are you able to talk for a moment?” Erwin questions, the nerves evident in his voice. 

Levi sat up upon hearing Erwin speaking, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. 

“Mr. Smith- how’d you get my number?” Levi asked.

He didn’t hear a response for a moment and he questioned whether or not Erwin had hung up. 

“Well, I have all of my employee’s number’s, Levi.”

Levi hummed in understanding before he decided to get himself out of bed. This was the first time, other than at the bar, that Erwin had spoken to Levi outside of work. It was a little odd but not entirely unwelcome to Levi. But it did bug him why he welcomed Erwin’s voice so easily. Pushing aside that thought, Levi spoke up to get the conversation going. 

“And why did you call me?” Levi asked.

Levi heard Erwin clear his throat on the other line as he awaited an answer. 

“As you know, there is the Rumbling Dinner coming up,” Erwin started, pausing just in case Levi wanted to speak. “And this year, on top of hosting, I wanted to make the dinner a bit different– I wanted it to stick out.”

“Mhm, go on,” Levi said after a longer pause between them. 

“And I know all the employees will be there– albeit serving and working with the other companies– but I wanted to ask if you’d like to join me as my plus one.” 

Levi took a moment to pause and think about what Erwin had just asked before he responded. 

“Like, as your date?” 

Erwin spluttered, surprised by Levi’s bluntness. 

“Well, technically, yes. But I won’t introduce you that way or anything,” Erwin chuckles nervously. “Just- as a coworker I am fond of.” 

Levi raised a brow, waiting to see if Erwin had anything more to ramble on about. Levi did think that it would be a bit more enjoyable if he didn’t have to work at the dinner, but did he want to be around Erwin the entire night? It was already awkward between them, but maybe this dinner could make it less awkward. Or more awkward. In spite of Levi’s worries, he responded to Erwin’s invitation. 

“What should I wear, sir?”

~~~~~~~~~~

Levi and Erwin talked about the event for a few more minutes before the line went silent on both ends– both men not having anything else to add to the conversation. Levi tried to not internally panic when he realized that he had to try to find a nice outfit to wear. Erwin said that it was a formal event, but that Levi should wear something he felt comfortable in. And Levi didn’t want to wear what he wore every day. It wasn’t a usual thing for Levi to be a guest at events like these and he wanted to make it special. 

After looking through his small amount of clothes, Levi decided to be a little risky in his outfit choice. The only nice suit that he had was all black, but instead of having a plain button-up underneath the suit, Levi thought he’d just not wear anything under the suit jacket. And to make the outfit look more elegant– and like Levi had experience with fashion– he planned on adding a simple gold necklace. With the dinner less than two weeks away and his outfit already planned, Levi felt good. He just hoped the rest of the planning went as smoothly.

~~~~~~~~~~

Levi woke up earlier than normal on Monday, his body apparently rested well enough to take on the stressful work week. Other than the earlier-than-usual wake-up time, the morning went smoothly and Levi arrived at the office with thirty minutes to relax. Other than Levi, there were no other early birds in the office until Levi noticed Erwin in his office. It wasn’t strange for Erwin to arrive early– he was the boss after all and that came with a lot more work– but Levi wasn’t used to seeing Erwin before work. Instead of having paperwork in front of him, working on it with his brows furrowed, Erwin was leaning back in his chair, drinking a cup of coffee. 

Levi did a double take and stood, watching Erwin relax. If Levi felt he was overworking himself, he couldn’t even imagine how stressful Erwin’s life was. Deep down, Levi wished he could get rid of some of that stress, but he really didn’t know how to. After Levi realized he had been staring for too long, he continued down the hallway to his own office and decided to follow Erwin’s decision to relax. 

Levi sat in his chair and leaned back, closing his eyes. It was oddly quiet without the usual hustle and bustle of a regular workday. Without work or people to distract Levi, he found himself thinking too much. About the Rumbling Dinner, about the shipments that he would have to oversee today, about Erwin. It was all a bit too much for Levi this early in the morning so he decided to go to the breakroom to make himself a cup of coffee. 

What Levi wasn’t expecting was for Erwin to have the same idea as him. When Levi entered the breakroom, he saw Erwin’s built back standing in front of the coffee machine. Without turning around, Erwin notices Levi’s presence. 

“You’re here early, Levi,” Erwin said as he poured some sugar into his freshly brewed coffee.

“Felt like getting here before everyone else,” Levi responded. “How’d you know it was me, sir?”

Erwin turned around to face Levi as he stirred his coffee, a smile on his face. Erwin lifted the spoon out of his mug before tapping it on the rip of the mug three times. 

“You’re cologne.”

Levi raises a brow at Erwin’s response. Erwin must have an insanely strong sense of smell because Levi never wore that much cologne. He never thought it’d really be noticeable enough. Then Levi realized that Erwin must’ve been able to smell his cologne every day since he immediately recognized it.  

“What, do you go around remembering the cologne of all your employees?” Levi asked with his arms crossed. 

Erwin chuckles before taking a drink of his coffee, leaning against the counter. 

“We work close to one another, I suppose I’ve just recognized your smell because of that. Not because I go around smelling my employees.” 

Levi shrugs at Erwin’s words and walks up to the coffee machine to make himself some coffee of his own. The sound of the coffee brewing and the smell of the coffee grounds filled the room as the two men stood next to one another. Erwin sipped on his coffee and watched as Levi made his coffee the way he liked it– plenty of sugar and cream– only looking away when Levi looked back up at him. 

“I’ll be in the shipping area again today if you need me at all,” Levi said before taking his coffee and leaving the breakroom, Erwin’s eyes on him as he left. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Erwin didn’t go to find Levi until much later that day. He tried to focus on the usual tasks over the Rumbling Dinner planning, but once he finished filing the necessary paperwork, he left his office to find his favorite– though he won’t say it out loud– raven-haired employee. 

The shipping area was always busy, but today it seemed a lot more calm than usual. That made it easier to find Levi. Standing amongst a couple of employees, Levi was talking about something seemingly important. Getting closer, Erwin realized Levi was just telling the others to take their break since they had worked so hard to get almost everything done. With smiles on their faces, the others left to take their much-needed break.

“Levi, how’s it been down here?” Erwin asked when the other employees were out of earshot. 

Levi turned to look at Erwin before responding.

 “Normal. Everything’s going smoothly if that’s what you’re worried about.” 

Erwin nodded and put his hands in his front pockets, waiting a moment before speaking again. 

“Since you seem to be mostly done for the day, I was hoping you could help me with some planning for the Rumbling Dinner,” Erwin asked. Not looking Levi in the eyes.

“It’d be my pleasure,” Levi started. “I really want to get out of here.” 

“Very well.”

~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the days leading up to the Rumbling Dinner were the same. Levi came in a bit early and coincidentally met Erwin in the breakroom for coffee. Levi went down to monitor the shipments while Erwin worked on paperwork in his office. Erwin came down to meet Levi to have him help with planning. Levi stayed a little later than usual because they definitely needed to get the planning done– not because he was really starting to enjoy Erwin’s presence. 

They didn’t only talk about the Rumbling Dinner though. They also started talking more about their own lives. Levi was surprised with himself at how easy it was to talk to Erwin once he started to get comfortable. He started to feel less like Erwin was his boss and more like he was just a friend. 

Before the two of them knew it, the Rumbling Dinner was tonight. Levi was at home, putting on his outfit that made him feel elegant while Erwin was no doubt doing the same. Erwin had told Levi that his driver would pick Levi up at 8 pm sharp. That meant that Levi had about twenty minutes to figure out how he should style his hair for the night. He usually left it unstyled– he didn’t like the feeling of gel in his hair every day. But he thought it would be a good idea to try harder for this dinner. So there Levi was, in his bathroom with hair gel sticking up his hands as he tried his best to make himself look presentable. 

With five minutes left to spare, Levi made his way out of his apartment to meet Erwin and his driver. Looking at the time, a sleek black car pulls up in front of him right at eight. Erwin wasn’t lying about arriving at 8 pm sharp. The door closest to him opens and out comes Erwin, looking delectable in a navy suit. 

“Evening, Levi,” Erwin said while looking Levi up and down– hopefully discreetly. 

Erwin gestured for Levi to get in, to which Levi complied. The car was as nice on the inside as it was on the outside. Nice leather seats and a friendly face sitting in the driver’s seat. Erwin closed the door on Levi’s side before walking around the car and getting in himself. The driver looked back at the two men, making sure they were both ready to go before taking off to their destination. 

“You look nice, Levi.”

Levi stopped looking out the window to make eye contact with his boss. With a small smile, Levi responded. 

“You’re not too bad yourself.”

They rode the rest of the way in comfortable silence, Levi mentally preparing himself for all the cameras and businessmen that would no doubt crowd around him. And Levi was right. When the car arrived, there were already plenty of people with cameras outside of the building Erwin had rented for tonight's dinner. While watching the chaos from the car window, Levi began to get nervous. Not just because of the number of people crowding around and taking photos, but because he realized that Erwin and himself would stick out compared to the other businessmen. Most of the men brought their girlfriend or wife as their plus one. And while Erwin said Levi wasn’t his ‘date’ the two of them walking in together would lead to some suspicions. And with all of the cameras and reporters, it would no doubt lead to rumors as well. 

“Mr. Smith, are you sure you want me walking in with you? I can always lag behind a bit,” Levi spoke up before the two got out. 

Erwin looked at Levi confused for a moment before his expression softened. 

“Levi, I brought you as my guest, I want you to walk in with me.” 

Levi nods and Erwin gets out before walking to Levi’s side and opening his door. With the confidence of a god, Erwin walks beside Levi into the building, the cameras flashing as the reporters try to get good pictures of the two men. While Erwin had plenty of confidence, Levi found himself looking down and hoping they could get inside the building quicker. 

Inside the building wasn’t much different. There weren’t any overbearing reporters or the flashing of dozens of cameras, but there was still the hustle and bustle of different people trying to get a business deal and their dates trying to entertain themselves with the free drinks. Since he was the host, everyone seemed to gravitate towards Erwin to tell him that he did a good job planning or discussing business. Erwin was polite, but he didn’t want to talk about business when the dinner was meant more for relaxation, so he tried to brush everyone off. And every few minutes, Erwin would check up on Levi, noticing how quiet he was.

“Do you need to sit down? I can get you a drink,” Erwin lowered himself to talk directly into Levi’s ear since it was so loud. 

Levi shook his head and stayed silent until Erwin told him that he would have to make a toast before they all sat to eat. 

“Usually the ‘date’ would come up with the host, but you don’t have to since you’re not really my date but if you wanted to or anything I wouldn’t be mad- I’d actually like to have someone up there with me-” Erwin rambled.

Levi laughed softly before placing a comforting hand on Erwin’s arm.

“I can go up there with you, sir.”

Erwin smiles before putting his hand on the small of Levi’s back, the two of them walking up onto the small stage to make the toast.

The commotion calmed down when Erwin cleared his throat into the microphone, everyone halting their conversations and directing their attention to Erwin. 

“Thank you for coming everyone,” Erwin starts with a professional smile. “As you are all aware, I was chosen to do the honors of hosting the annual Rumbling Dinner. But I could not have done it without the help of my wonderful employees, specifically the one who works alongside me and who is currently standing beside me today, Levi.”

Levi wasn’t paying much attention, choosing to focus on how well he shined his shoes for tonight, but upon hearing his name, Levi’s eyes flicked toward Erwin. Erwin was looking right at him, now with a real smile replacing his professional one. 

“I will forever be grateful for my position and the loyal employees and business partners I am lucky to have,” Erwin continued on after a moment. “So let’s all celebrate our successes with this wonderfully prepared dinner.”

Erwin holds up a glass of champagne signalling the toast. After the toast, Erwin gestures for Levi to walk ahead of him as they make their way to their designated spot at the table. Erwin, continuing with his gentlemanly approach, pulled out Levi’s chair for him before sitting down himself. 

“Would you like for me to order for you again?” Erwin asks, teasing Levi for his awe the first time they went to eat together. 

Levi elbows Erwin before responding in a hushed voice. 

“That was one time.”

~~~~~~~~~~

The dinner went along nicely. Business conversation melded into a personal conversation, people asking what it was like to work with such a handsome boss– that was mostly the women– and how they were surprised Levi wasn’t taken himself. Levi entertained each conversation, even though he wasn’t entirely fond of people pointing out the obvious fact that his boss was attractive. Erwin seemed to have noticed he got uncomfortable because, underneath the table, a comforting hand was placed on Levi’s thigh. 

When the night was over, Erwin made sure to stay to see everyone leave, thanking them for coming and wishing them well. Once everyone was gone, Erwin made sure the crew was okay with the clean-up. Levi wasn’t sure if he had too much champagne or what, but he found Erwin’s sincerity insanely attractive. 

The two walked out of the building and back to the sleek black car waiting for them. They rode in silence for a few minutes until Levi felt the confidence to start up a conversation. Maybe he did have a bit too much to drink.

“You know, for a rich businessman, you’re not a complete asshole.”

Erwin laughed, his eyes forming crescents. 

“Do you assume all ‘rich businessmen’ are assholes?”

Levi shrugged before responding.

“Kinda. But you’re like, the kind of guy I’d actually wanna be around,” Levi responded before inching closer to Erwin, a hand finding its way to Erwin’s thigh. 

Erwin tensed up, not sure how to respond to Levi’s touch. He knew Levi was not a touchy guy, so he found it odd that he suddenly became touchy. Erwin cleared his throat before finally responding.

“Levi, I believe you had too much to drink tonight,” Erwin responded while gently taking Levi’s hand off of his thigh. 

That seemed to upset Levi, his expression turning confused before he moves away from Erwin and looks out the window. 

“We can talk about this another time, Levi,” Erwin said with a sigh. “I want your head to be clear when we do.” 

Levi didn’t respond and didn’t speak for the rest of the ride. When they got to Levi’s apartment, Levi opened the door without a word, not even looking back at Erwin.

“Have a good night Levi,” Erwin said, hoping to get a response from the smaller man.

Erwin was met with the door slamming and watched as the other walked himself into his apartment building, regretting how the night had ended.

Notes:

This chapter is a bit longer to make up for my long absence :))

Notes:

Feel free to let me know what you think and if you'd like to continue to support me, follow my twitter (@pick_y0urfilter) or tumblr (@picky0urfilter)