Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/ works/8743597. Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: Underage Category: M/M Fandom: Shingeki_no_Kyojin_|_Attack_on_Titan Relationship: Levi/Eren_Yeager Character: Eren_Yeager, Levi_(Shingeki_no_Kyojin), Armin_Arlert, Sasha_Blouse, Marco Bott, Isabel_Magnolia, Jean_Kirstein, Erwin_Smith, Mike_Zacharias, Hange Zoë, Eren_Yeager's_Parents, Mikasa_Ackerman, Connie_Springer, Annie Leonhart Additional Tags: Alternate_Universe_-_Modern_Setting, Alternate_Universe_-_High_School, Inspired_by_Photography, Photography_Student_Eren_Yeager, High_School Student_Eren_Yeager, Teacher_Levi_(Shingeki_no_Kyojin), Eren_Is_a_Little Shit, POV_Eren_Yeager, Angst_and_Fluff_and_Smut, Eventual_Relationships, Unresolved_Sexual_Tension, Unresolved_Tension, Attempt_at_Humor, Underage Drinking, Underage_Smoking, Implied/Referenced_Underage_Sex, Homophobia, Homophobic_Language, Smut, Blowjobs, Dirty_Talk, Praise_Kink, Other Additional_Tags_to_Be_Added Stats: Published: 2016-12-04 Updated: 2017-06-03 Chapters: 12/? Words: 36439 ****** Capturing You ****** by plasticmarshmallows Summary He loved to take pictures, to capture the beauty of something and share it with the world. To examine it forever even if it isn't meant to exist for eternity. Eren wanted people to appreciate the beauty that everything held, even if it was held under the surface. When you photograph a face, you photograph the soul behind it; capturing it in that very picture to keep forever. Never did Eren think that just maybe, someone would want to capture him instead. Notes Well hey there! I'm Frankie! This is my first fic that I've ever written and I'm kind of nervous but I do hope that you enjoy and stick around with me for this fun journey that's ahead of us! See the end of the work for more notes ***** Chapter 1 ***** Eren heaved a sigh of irritation as he walked down the street of his neighborhood. It was always quiet in the morning, dull like the other Monday mornings he walked to school. His stared down at his phone, at the new number that had been inserted into his phone a few nights ago. He still had yet to message or call the number, mostly out of fear that they wanted nothing to do with Eren or had found someone else. Given it was only a one night stand, so there wasn’t much of a connection that Eren could rely on. They had only just met each other that night. Saturday night was such a blur that it hurt Eren’s brain to try and remember all that happened. A lot of drinking, yelling, laughing and dancing. Loud music. Too many people in one place. Shots, flirting; more shots, more flirting. He remembers the cold air hitting his face after leaving, but it wasn’t with his friends. The brisk night air brushing the hair out of his face, cooling the pink that dusted his cheeks as he was pulled by the hand to a nearby motorcycle. A helmet was put on his head, words jumbled incoherently in his mind. Lights flashed past as they drove through the streets; Eren could remember himself laughing, clinging on tight to the fit abdomen of the driver. Remembers his chin resting on the shoulder of said person. Bodies were pressed together like they had been in the club, on the dancefloor where everything had started. It was hazy after that, bits and pieces placed in his tattered memory of two nights ago. He was pretty sure they had hooked up, more than sure because he woke up very hungover and very naked next to an equally hungover and naked man. He was asleep, giving Eren the chance to examine his face. His skin was like porcelain, reminding Eren of the soft tones of a full moon during clear summer nights. Raven black hair was disheveled in a devilishly handsome way. Eren noticed his eyebrows were pulled together and he shifted ever so slightly. Once he was settled down, Eren continued to drag his eyes over the face of his one night stand, taking in the sharpness of his jaw, almost as sharp as the steel eyes that belonged to him. It was one thing that Eren remembered clearly from that night. Those eyes. He had never experienced eyes as intense as his. In the club they were fierce, watching Eren like a predator watching its prey; a dog chasing its tail and Eren let himself be caught. Reaching his apartment, thrown into his bed, Eren watched as those eyes changed from steel to grey rain clouds. He couldn’t bring himself to send a message to the new contact on his screen; Levi Ackerman. A faint panic ran through his body as his thumbs moved on their own, clicking on the screen to type a message, but once he caught himself, he wasn’t able to type anything out like he had wanted to. He was probably working anyways, the guy looked like he was a businessman, but not a day over thirty. All he knew was that he looked too good in a suit and all Eren could think about was ripping it off to show the delicious skin that was hidden underneath. Eren shoved his phone into his pocket, deciding against all his being to send the other man a message and pushed through the heavy grey doors as he walked into the school. He navigated his way through the large corridors of the school and through the few groups of students that roamed the hallways until he reached his locker. Thankfully, his friends were already waiting for him there, Isabel doing a little spin to show off the new dress that she was wearing. They laughed at something that Sasha said, Isabel’s smile as bright at her eyes. “You’ve had better days,” was the first thing that Armin said to Eren as he walked over. “Wow, thanks. Nice to see you too,” Eren deadpanned with a roll of his eyes and opened his locker. “Man, I wish I could have gone,” Isabel groaned, effectively earning Eren’s attention as he glanced at her through the corner of his eye before looking forward again to exchanged books from his bag to his locker. “I had cheer practice and then we had family visit for whatever reason so I couldn’t go out with you guys. God, what I would have done for a drink.” Eren laughed, flicking hair from his eyes as he shut his locker and adjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder. Armin opened his mouth, but Sasha stopped him as she held up a hand and pointed at Eren, or rather, more specifically, Eren’s neck. “Is that a hickey?” She asked, taking Eren and his other friends by surprise. All eyes were on him now and he could feel panic rising even more. He had checked himself this morning before he had even made his way downstairs just to be sure that there wasn’t anything for his mother or father to question when he sat with them for breakfast. Thankfully, he hadn’t been very sore, it was only Sunday morning that had the biggest toll. Yet, it was his own fault for the pain but he wasn’t going to complain one bit. It was worth it in the end. She stepped forward, jerking his head to the side to get a better look. “Oh my god, it is.” She let go of his chin and he rubbed it as he watched her fish something from her bag. She pulled out something from a smaller bag, what Eren had learned to be her makeup bag and she flipped open something small and circular. Turning the mirror towards him, she poked at his neck where said hickey was. “Right there. Damn, Eren. You got it on . That’s supposed to be from like, two days ago.” He groaned, his forehead making contact with the cold metal of the lockers. “I checked this morning because I didn’t want my mom or dad to ask where or who it was from.” Armin snorted. “So either I hid it really well without even knowing, or my mom saw it and didn’t say anything and my dad didn’t see it, or neither of them didn’t see it.” “Let’s go with the last option.” Isabel chimed in. “Better on your conscious.” She shrugged with a grin. “And if we don’t get going, we’re going to be late for homeroom. You’ll just have to live with it until study period and then we can conceal it for you.” “Unless you just want to wear it around like a trophy.” Sasha said with a little grin herself. “Ha ha, funny.” Eren jabbed, “I’d like that, please and thanks.” Isabel smiled with a nod, giving him and Armin a hug before she hurried off to homeroom with Sasha trialing behind who gave a smile and wave as well. He sighed and Armin chuckled as they walked to their homeroom. “It’s like he went vampire on your neck.” Eren felt a blush dust over his cheeks and glanced away, ruffling his hair the way he did whenever he was uncomfortable. “It’s not like it’s your first hickey, Eren. You’ve gone to school with them before. Why are you getting embarrassed this time?” Armin had a point. Eren had gone to school with much worse, but for whatever reason, since they had been given to him from someone much older than him, it played an embarrassing aspect to it. Whether people saw it or not, no one said anything. Not to him directly anyways. It seemed like forever until study period, his classes dragging on. He seemed suspicious as he tried to hide the hickey on his neck. He was positive that he had seen more than one but Sasha hadn’t mentioned multiple. His eyes stared the clock down, glaring at it in hopes that it would make the hands move faster past the numbers so that he could rush out of the class and downstairs to his locker where Sasha and Isabel would be waiting for him. As the bell rang, Eren jumped up and hurried his way out of the classroom and pushed his way through the sea of students. He sharply turned a corner for a short cut to reach his locker without having to deal with the main hallway full of the majority of kids and bumped into someone else, Eren stumbling a little as he watched papers fall to the floor. “Shit, I’m sorry.” He reached to begin picking up a few papers near his feet. “It’s fine, kid. Just watch where you’re walking.” Eren froze at the sound of that voice. The silky, low tone that sent familiar shivers down his spine. He couldn’t will himself to look up in fear of who it actually might be. There was no way it couldn’t be him, right? He handed the papers back, getting a glimpse of pale skin, a jagged scar starting from his bottom knuckle and trailed its way to the base of his thumb before darting back down the hallway and down the stairs, his heart racing, but not because of his running. He finally reached his locker, bending over to place his hands on his knees as he took a few deep breaths. Sasha and Isabel stared at him, waiting for an explanation for when he stood back up. “You look like you just saw a ghost,” Sasha commented and Eren shrugged, swallowing the lump in his throat. Isabel didn’t say anything, just reached into her backpack and grabbed a smaller bag that matched Sasha’s only with flowers on it. “But that’s a good thing, makes the hickies easier to see.” She smiled at him before they made their way up to the library. They sat near the back so that they wouldn’t get as many weird looks as Isabel worked expertly at his neck. She said something about being grateful they had near the same skin tone, making it easier to cover the dark purple bruises on his neck. His mind was too preoccupied to reply though. His thoughts were thinking about to that jagged scar of the teacher that he had run into, remembers asking about it two nights ago while two acquaintances were sharing drinks, inching closer as the music blasted behind them. A snap of the fingers two inches from his face jerked him from his thoughts and he blinked a few times. “Jesus, you were really zoned out, weren’t you?” Sasha asked, a sigh leaving her lips as she stood up and ruffled Eren’s hair. “Whatever it is that you’re thinking about, stop. It’s only stressing you out.” “And if you don’t stop, at least you have photography next period.” Isabel grinned and nudged his shoulder with hers as he stood up. He wasn’t really sure how long he had zoned out, just knew that study period was almost over. “Just try not to touch your neck very much. This shit is expensive and I don’t want to keep using it to cover up your one night stand hickies from a vampire.” She skipped away before he could comment and Sasha laughed. “It’s true.” “Shut up,” he muttered and slung his bag over his shoulder. “I’ll see you guys at lunch.” With a simple wave, he made his way through the crowd of students. It was enough to make him feel claustrophobic and he scowled to himself. Despite all odds of him not making it to his class, he did. The first one too and he sighed as he made his way to his seat near the back of the classroom. He always chose a window seat so that he could watch the wind blow through the trees, creating a million different perfect pictures just waiting to be captured by his camera. The birds jumped from tree to tree, singing their unique melodies to each other without a care in the world, not caring about Eren’s intense stare as he watched them. Slumping down in his seat, he groaned silently to himself and carded his fingers through his hair multiple times, sending strands every which way but it suited him in the right way. He dug around in his bag that was placed beside him and pulled out his notebook and a pencil. He didn’t bother with looking up as more footsteps entered the classrooms, the loud chatter of the ocean of students in the hallway dulling as more and more dispersed into their classrooms. When the bell rang, there was murmured whispering throughout his small classroom, the others slowly becoming concerned when the usual cheery voice of their photography teacher didn’t brighten their days. Instead, it was a different voice; a lower, silky voice that was enough to send everyone into silence and shivers down Eren’s spine. His eyes widened and he looked up as his heart dropped to his stomach and his mouth went dry. “Alright,” he cleared his throat as he leaned back on the desk, firm arms crossing over his toned chest. “I’m Mr. Ackerman and I’m going to be your new photography teacher for the rest of the year since Mr. Ral had to take leave for whatever reason she needed to.” Eren couldn’t whip out his phone fast enough, heart pounding so loud that he was sure that everyone else in the class would be able to hear it and he typed a message to the group chat that Isabel had put them in a couple years ago. Eren, 11:37am: oh my god Eren, 11:37am: i’m so dead Izzy, 11:38am: what??? Sasha, 11:38am: what did you do? Armin, 11:38: I’m in the middle of a test, this better be good Eren stopped for a moment, glancing up to make sure that he wouldn’t be caught before taking a deep breath and typing out his next message. Eren, 11: 40am: I banged the new photography teacher. ***** Chapter 2 ***** Chapter Notes Damn that was a really long chapter and damn it's really, really early in the morning but I have no regrets. Enjoy!! As Eren’s phone buzzed off the hook, he tried to focus his attention on the new teacher that was standing at the front of the classroom. Eren had missed everything he said, not that he particularly cared. He wasn’t sure if he could last the entire year staring at the face of his one night stand he had exchanged numbers with. Well, at least it answered his question that, yes, he was working and no, he wasn’t a businessman. Eren tried to avoid his eyes from looking directly at the other man, keep his head down enough so that he wouldn’t be recognizable. “Okay, before we start, let’s rake roll.” He sighed, padding his way around the old wooden desk and picked up a clipboard. “And yeah, I know, that’s the point of homeroom to take attendance and whatnot, but I like making sure myself, so raise your hand when I call your name so I can see your face.” He read off the names, giving a nod every time he saw a hand shoot up and connected the name with a face and Eren dreaded every second that he made his way down the list to his name. “Eren…” He paused, a few students laughing at the confused look that crossed over his face as he stared at what Eren only assumed was his last name. With a sigh, Eren raised his hand. “Jaeger,” he corrected. “Eren Jaeger.” Mr. Ackerman looked up to find the hand, eyes connecting immediately and Eren took notice of the way his eyes widened ever-so-slightly, a wide mix of emotions flickering through those searing, silver eyes as he examined Eren’s familiar face. He didn’t say anything and finally looked away, reading the rest of the names on the list and went on to the lesson for that day. While his back was turned, Eren snapped his eyes down to his phone. He could have laughed out loud at his friends’ reactions but if he did, he knew he’d be caught. Izzy, 11:41am: EXCUSE ME???? Sasha, 11:41am: omfg Armin, 11:41am: Eren, you’ve got to be kidding me. Izzy, 11:42am: YOU HAVE TO GIVE US DETAILS Izzy, 11:42am: YOU CAN’T JUST LEAVE US HIGH AND DRY Sasha, 11:43am: i actually have no words Armin, 11:43am: Please tell us that you’re only joking. Armin, 11:44am: Oh my god, you’re not joking. Armin, 11:44am: Eren, that’s illegal! Izzy, 11:45am: DAMN EREN GET IT At Isabel’s last message, Eren let out a snort, biting his lip to keep himself from actually letting out a laugh and he looked up at the board to pretend as if he was actually paying attention. Mr. Ackerman didn’t turn around, his hand simply stopping for a moment before he continued on with whatever he was writing. Eren was hoping that it was going to be an easy day, not in the mood to do actual work because he knew that his brain wouldn’t be able to think about anything else other than the eye candy of a teacher that stood in front of their classroom. Eren’s eyes raked over the familiar form of their new teacher, memories clicking in his brain; he remembered the way their bodies moved against each other, it should have been illegal the way that man could move. Eren was definitely more curvy than the older man, the latter having more muscles that filled out his body nicely. And Eren appreciated it. A lot. The shirt he wore clung to the right places in the right way, extenuating the perfection that were his biceps and his pants showed off the glorious ass of the shorter man. He had a right to check out their new teacher, they had slept together, not that anyone knew. Except his friends. When he turned around to dismiss them to do their work (Eren wasn’t exactly sure what kind of work since he wasn’t paying attention), their eyes locked once again and Eren could feel the tension rising even more. He could see the multiple unasked questions that swam around in his grey-blue eyes and Eren was the first to tear away before it was sensed by the other students. There wasn’t really much to go over, obvious that he hadn’t really prepared a lesson since it was the first day and he wasn’t exactly sure where they had left off with Ms. Ral. It had only been two weeks, but it was the advanced photography class, containing mostly seniors with a few overflow juniors scattered throughout room. Eren’s eyes flicked from his phone screen to the teacher that walked past the first row of students, quietly asking questions and seemingly getting to know them. A few of the girls blushed as he approached them, he watched in slight irritation as they flipped their hair over their shoulders in the way that was practically begging for attention. Eren knew that he didn’t have the right to feel irritated by it, yet, at the same time, there was a smug feeling settling in his stomach as he couldn’t help the thought that crossed his mind; sorry ladies, he’s gay. Before he could reach Eren’s side of the room, the bell rang and students stood up, gathering their things and Eren rushed to do that same thing. It was —thankfully— his lunch time and he bolted out quicker than he thought he ever could. He didn’t spare Mr. Ackerman a second glance. Once again, he was out of breath when he reached his locker and he leaned against it, his head tilting up to stare at the dull ceiling. As his breathing calmed, his heart continued to race in his chest at what had just happened. His worst nightmare had happened and he was pretty sure that he was going to have to drop out of his favorite class of his senior year. Or worse, it would be discovered somehow that Eren had slept with the older man and he would be forever expelled from high school. Before his thoughts could run down an even wilder road, Eren was snapped away from his thoughts as a pair of hands grabbed his shoulders and shook him violently. He jerked, his head hitting the lockers behind him in surprise and a rather loud curse left his mouth and he shoved the hands away from his shoulders. “Isabel, what the fuck?” He groaned, watching as her grin remained on her face. Of course, he could have expected that at the very least to happen. He had never replied to their continuing spam in the group chat and Isabel had been the one most excited about it while Armin acted as the logical parent who worried about anything and everything. That’s basically what Armin was to Eren at times, a third parent. But he had to admit that there were times when he definitely needed one. “ Details .” It was almost as if she couldn’t emphasize it enough and she shook his arm and he groaned. “C’mon, Eren. You can’t just tell us that you banged the new—” He slapped a hand over her mouth before she could finish her sentence, a scolding look crossing his face that was able to shut her up immediately. Isabel had enough of a blabber mouth to begin with, but this was the one thing that he couldn’t have her going around yelling about. He was already having enough troubles with himself and what the fuck he was actually do, but he couldn’t wrap his brain around it. The two friends made their way outside to the spot they had always sat in to eat lunch ever since their freshman year, far enough away from everyone else that they could have their own private conversations, but close enough to know when it was time to go back to class. “Bitch, you have some explaining to do.” Sasha said the moment she caught sight of him, sitting on top of the table rather than the actual bench that was meant to be sat on, one leg crossed over the other. Eren sighed, his backpack falling to the ground limply which was the same thing that Eren felt like doing. The day was barely half over and he was already too emotionally drained to continue on. Honestly, he was quite surprised that he had made it as far as senior year. Isabel held up her hands, sitting on the seat next to Sasha’s feet. “Wait, we should wait for Armin because god knows he’s going to chew Eren out, so might as well do it for the right reason.” Eren groaned, hand combing through his hair. Isabel was right, not that it was going to be the first time that Eren had been chewed out by Armin. He was the parent of the group after all. And when he finally arrived, all he did was give Eren dad look of disappointment, sitting next to Isabel as he took one of her baby carrots and sighed. “Okay,” Isabel clapped, “now you may start.” Eren explained as much as he could, wasn’t entirely sure when he had started pacing but didn’t stop when it was pointed out to him. Saying the story out loud, it sounded more strange than it did in his head and he was sure that his friends were going to check him into a mental hospital for going home alone with a random, strange man that they had met at a club one weekend night. He was paranoid that he was also being listened to by someone of authority who was going to bust out at any moment and drag him away for multiple offenses; fake I.D, underage drinking, underage sex, underage smoking. Basically, anything that Eren did for fun, it was probably going to be considered illegal. It wasn’t like he was a criminal though, because he wasn’t. Just liked to let loose every once and awhile and forget all the stress that poisoned his life and caused him to fail at everything that he did. “So… Mr. Nice-Ass-Short-Stack is the one who went vampire on your neck?” Sasha asked after a moment of silence ticked by. Eren stared at her incredulously, watching as Isabel and Armin laughed at her simple question to such a complex story. Isabel laughed even harder at the nickname, her and Sasha exchanging their routine handshake they had made up too long ago. Eren wasn’t really sure how they had managed to memorize it. They were full of surprises, those two. They never ceased to amaze him. “That’s all you took out from this?” Eren asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Sasha stopped for a moment, acting as though she was thinking before nodding her head. “Yeah, pretty much.” He threw his hands up in defeat and Sasha laughed. “Eren, chill out. It’s not that big of a deal. It’s not like we’re gonna go blabbing out mouths to Principal Smith. Your secret about Mr. Vampire and you are safe with us.” Eren rubbed his face as Armin sighed. “Are… are you done with the nicknames?” Eren asked, peeking at her over the edge of his hand and only received a grin in response. “Of course not.” The rest of lunch went on, Eren somehow managing not to die from the embarrassment that his friends brought on though he knew fully well that he deserved it. But not that much, not yet. They should have at least spaced it out throughout the weeks to come. They weren’t helpful either with trying to figure out just what it was that he should do in consideration to the class with his vampire-like one night stand. He rifled through his bag, forgetting what he was looking for when Isabel had asked if she could see his notes from math. This caused a new panic to settle in as he flipped through the various notebooks and papers in his bag but the one that he wanted wasn’t present. “Fuck,” the curse word slipped through his lips as he took everything out and groaned when he found that he wasn’t going crazy and that the notebook really wasn’t there. He thought back to the last time that he had used it and another groan escaped from the back of his throat. The last time that he had pulled it out was during photography so that he could flip through the notes and make sure that he actually had done all the homework. He had a test that day and knowing his friends, he wouldn’t have been able to study for a single second during lunch so he had to get his studying and review in somehow. Then it dawned on him. He would have to go back the classroom if he wanted to grab is notebook. It was almost as if the universe was out to get him, torturing him in various forms of karama for the sins he has done. He was well aware of what he has done (not that he was regretting any of it) and didn’t much appreciate the consequences. He had enough already with having Mr. Ackerman as his new teacher and hickies on his neck to hide from his parents. When lunch ended, he dragged himself from class to class, dreading every second that ticked close to the end of the day. There wasn’t really any reason for him to dread it or wish that he didn’t have to go back to that classroom. They could be mature adults about it, putting it behind them as if nothing had happened that night and continue on as teacher and student. But Eren knew himself and he knew it was much easier said than done. Especially when Mr. Ackerman was as pretty as he was, it was hard not to stare and drool all over him. His heart jumped when the bell rang and he got up slowly, making sure to take his time as he walked down the hallway while students slowly emptied out. When he reached the classroom, he paced back and forth a bit before entering. A sigh of relief left his mouth when he noticed that it was empty and he quickly made his way to the back of the classroom so that he could grab his notebook and leave without a trace. But once again, the universe strikes again when Eren found that his notebook wasn’t there. A string of curse words left his mouth while he dropped his bag to look for it with more ease, groaning and grunting quietly to himself as his frustration built up and he didn’t hear the door to the classroom open and someone else walk inside until a voice spoke up. “Um, can I help you?” Eren felt every part of him freeze in fear and panic, that sleek lower voice stopping Eren in his tracks. Slowly, he found himself turning to face him. The shorter man looked surprised when he recognized that it was Eren, his expression only changing slightly but he remained in the same position with his arms crossed over his chest. “I…” Eren swallowed the lump in his throat, feeling heat rise to his cheeks in embarrassment. “I left my notebook in here and I came to look for it.” He watched as his teacher said nothing, giving a curt nod as he tore his eyes away from Eren’s and made his way to the desk. His footsteps echoed in Eren’s ears, too loud for the room as it suffocated him with the tension that had built up too quickly; it was thick enough to cut through with a machete. Eren grabbed his bag and cautiously made his way up to the desk as he sat in the chair, pulling open a drawer and pulled out the spiral yellow notebook Eren had been looking for. “Thank you so much.” He reached for it with a sigh of relief, only for it to be yanked away from his reach. His eyes flicked up to meet those magnetizing and enticing eyes. Eren raised his eyebrows in a silent question, waiting with his hand out for the notebook that he didn’t need as desperately as it was coming off. “You’re a minor.” Eren snorted at the vagueness of the statement, couldn’t help it. “You’re a teacher.” “You didn’t tell me,” he continued and Eren arched his eyebrow once again, a silent challenge as he folded his arms with a shrug. “You didn’t ask.” “You have a fake I.D.” Eren snorted once again, knew that it was going to get him in trouble in the long run but he was already deep enough. “Not like it was obvious, if it was, you wouldn’t have taken me home or even gotten my number, hell, you probably wouldn’t have approached me if you knew that I was a minor.” There was no reason for Eren to be getting upset, but he could feel it rising increasingly. Levi was quiet for a moment as he looked over Eren’s face, trying to read the boy’s expressions like the open book that he was on the night they had shared together, but it was different this time around. A different situation and a different scenario that could land them both in deep shit. “You never texted me,” was his next reply, finally handing Eren back his notebook and he leaned back in his chair. Eren was take aback but the response, he wasn’t quite sure what exactly that he needed to say. “I… got nervous.” It was the truth, Eren for whatever reason feeling the need that he might as well share it with the man in front of him, there was no reason not to. “Thought that you had realized I was just some dumb highschooler and wanted nothing to do with me. You have my number, why didn’t you text me ?” It was a good question in Eren’s opinion, having every right to ask but he wasn’t ready to hear the truth behind it. “I was too.” Eren blinked in surprise. “I thought you thought I was too old for you, given, this is when I thought you were twenty-one and not…” He paused and looked Eren over. “Exactly how old are you?” “Uh… seventeen.” “Oh for Christ’s sake.” Levi tilted his head back and rubbed his face. “That makes it doubly illegal for this to happen.” Eren’s interest piqued at this, tilting his head to the side ever so slightly, a grin appearing on his face. Levi realized what he said and he shook his head, waving a hand absentmindedly at Eren. “Go home, kid.” Eren didn’t argue, the grin remaining on his face as he stuffed the notebook into his bag and walked over to the door, a slight bounce in his step. Before leaving, he looked back to see that Levi was watching him leave and Eren gave a smile and a wave. “See you tomorrow, Mr. Ackerman.” His grin flipped to a smirk, sending the man a wink before he began to make his way home. Maybe it wasn’t going to be so bad after all. ***** Chapter 3 ***** Chapter Summary It's kind of short, but it's a filler chapter to get the ball rolling between these two Chapter Notes I've been working on this a lot more than I thought I would, but I'm actually really excited about it! Also, once this has a decent number of chapters, I might consider working on a second fic but we'll see. That's a little ways down the road! All night, Eren had an internal battle as he debated on whether or not he wanted to send a message to his new teacher. He wasn’t exactly sure if it was illegal, given, they had exchanged numbers before he knew that Levi was going to be his teacher and before Levi knew that Eren was actually a minor. All in all, the situation was pretty fucked. But Eren couldn’t bring himself to care. After doing some research, Eren wouldn’t get in trouble but instead Levi would, even if it wasn’t entirely all his fault. If it was discovered that Eren had been drinking underage, that was a different offense that he would get in trouble for. So yes, it was illegal for them to do anything, but Eren knew that nothing was actually going to happen. He shouldn’t want there to be anything either. One night stands are supposed to be for fun, no strings attached and never to be seen again. Yet, of course, with Eren’s luck, his one night stand would be his fucking photography teacher and he would have to stare at that beautiful face every damn day. Tossing his phone to the side, Eren groaned and stood up as he ran his hands through his hair, ruffling it. He was freaking out for no reason, pacing back and forth in his bedroom as he debated with himself. His heart jumped when he heard his phone ding off and he chewed his lips, walking over to his bed. He stared at the screen, at the name the flashed. Levi Ackerman, 10:27pm: You left your beanie at my place. A smile spread over Eren’s face, unable to keep the chuckle that escaped past his lips. He had forgot that he had even worn a beanie that night, thrown about in the midst of their other clothes. It was all a mess, a least what Eren remembered. Bed sheets and blankets mixed about with clothes. Eren remembered how warm he felt when he woke up, the warmth from Levi’s firm chest. Eren, 10:30pm: can you just bring it to school tomorrow and i’ll pick it up from you in the morning?? A shaky breath fell from Eren’s lips as he pressed the send and he could feel his heart pounding at his chest, begging to jump out. He waited anxiously for a reply; should have known better than to expect one instantly. It was his teacher after all, he probably had a life, probably had a boyfriend. Eren groaned once again and threw himself on his bed, holding the phone over his face as he played a game. When his phone dinged, he jumped once again and allowed him to let go so that it could fall on his face. Levi Ackerman, 10:33pm: Don’t you know how to use capitals kid? You’re a senior in high school. Levi Ackerman, 10:34pm: You’re not that lazy, are you? Was he really making fun of Eren? He couldn’t believe that this was happening, but there was a part of him that was glad it was. He couldn’t exactly explain why except that maybe his brain just liked the challenge of doing illegal things. Eren, 10:36pm: maybe i am, have a problem with it?? Levi Ackerman, 10:37pm: I know how much stamina you have, don’t lie to me. Eren felt a deep blush settle over his cheeks as he stared at the message. So he wasn’t the only one who remembered. A small feeling of relief settled in his gut, it meant that he was a memorable fuck. There was a part of him that wanted to memorable for something else, for something else to hopefully bloom between the two of them but Eren knew the likelihood of that happening was zero to none. It was too risky, too illegal for there to be a relationship between them. Not only was Eren a minor, but also Levi’s student which made the risk even higher. Of course, the only ones who knew were his closest friends and he trusted that they wouldn’t tell on him. Eren, 10:39pm: … Just don’t forget to bring my beanie to school He wouldn’t stop stressing over his outfit while he made his way to school the next morning, everything seeming to fit in the wrong way that he wanted. He had spent much longer than usual on his attire, his mother even coming up to knock on his door and ask if he was okay and if he was going to eat breakfast. He ended up settling for a pair of black skinny jeans that were ripped at the knees (he never would understand that as part of the style but whatever) and a random t-shirt he found lying around. After pulling on his shoes, he grabbed a fruit before rushing out the door with a short wave to his parents. His heart was beating at an unhealthy rate when he reached the school and he cursed himself. It was seriously nothing to be freaking out about, there wasn’t anything to worry or panic for. He was just going to go in, get his beanie, and leave. Simple as that. Maybe try and strike up a casual conversation that eluded from that previous weekend. Eren could only hope that it was as easy as he was making it sound. Making his way to the classroom, he texted his friends to let him know where he was and what he was doing, of course Isabel blowing everything out of proportion and Sasha and Armin letting her go on and on without making an effort to stop her. He put his phone on mute, sliding it into his pocket as he knocked on the door before turning the handle slowly and popping his head in. When he saw his teacher sitting at his desk, he slipped inside quietly, the door shutting feeling as though it was the loudest sound in the world while it echoed through the quiet and empty classroom. “Whoa, no way,” he said as he walked over to the desk, taking notice of the camera sitting in Levi’s hands. “You have a Canon EOS 750D?” A fascinated look crossed over his face and Levi looked up with mild interest. His eyes flickered over Eren’s face and then down at the camera in his hands. “I heard they’re pretty great. Expensive too.” Levi nodded, turning the device in his hands before holding it out to Eren. “Not the most expensive on that I have, but also not the cheapest.” He shrugged nonchalantly. Cautiously, Eren reached out and took the camera from his hands, their fingers brushing lightly. A smile spread over Eren’s face as he looked at the camera. He had dreamed about having such a camera too many times before, trying so many times to save up for one but never successful. He could just imagine the amazing pictures waiting to be snapped, capturing the hidden beauties of the world that he wanted to expose and share with anyone and everyone. He brought it to his face, closing his amber colored eye; a color that matched the sun on dull days, different shades of gold and yellow swirling about. He looked around, a bright smile coming about and he snapped a picture of Levi who had been staring at Eren, enraptured by Eren’s curiosity in its purest form. “I didn’t take you as a artsy type,” Levi said, taking Eren by surprise. He glanced up as he deleted the picture he had taken and shrugged. “What did you take me for?” Eren asked as he set the camera down as the short man shrugged at the question, leaning back casually in his chair. His hands folded behind his head, smoothing back his jet black hair. It was a good look for him Eren decided. But of course, he wouldn’t say such a thing out loud. “More of a party-jock type.” Eren snorted. “Just because I go out drinking illegally with a fake I.D doesn’t make me a jock. In fact, a few of them and I don’t exactly… get along.” He thought back to all the times where he was almost suspended for fighting. He didn’t like to do it often, but they picked on Armin too much and Eren wouldn’t have it. Never have and never would. The blond was too fragile to fend for himself and he knew it himself. Of course, he was always against Eren fighting in general, even if it was to protect his well being but Eren never listened to him in those situations. It often took a couple teachers to tear Eren away and even then he was still fuming and would go back the next day ready to throw more hands if needed. It was a bad habit that he needed to get himself out of. “I’ve seen your records.” Eren raised his eyebrows in question. “I was curious. You’re my student, I have a right.” Rolling his eyes, Eren carded a hand through his hair before dropping his arm and shoved his hands into the back pockets of his jeans. “You’re quite a hot head.” “Only when I have to be,” he answered honestly. Levi raised an eyebrow. “It looks bad on your record.” “I haven’t gotten suspended yet.” “Yet.” Eren scoffed, rolling his eyes once again and crossed his arms over his chest as he stared down at his teacher. “You don’t know me well enough to be able to determine whether or not I’ll ever be suspended.” He was treading in dangerous water, getting snarky with his teacher. But he had a feeling that Levi wouldn’t do anything even if he wanted to. There was a connection between them that wasn’t exactly easy to ignore. And it wasn’t going to go away anytime soon, despite if either one of them wanted it to. His eyes followed Levi’s hand as he scratched at his chin, shoulders lifting in a lame shrug. “You’re right, I don’t.” With a sigh, he sat up, bending over to rifle through his bag and he pulled on something. When he straightened up, Eren noticed that it was his beanie and he reached for it when it was outstretched to him. “But,” Eren flickered his eyes to look over at him while he straightened out papers on his desk and folded his hands on top of a stack, “that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to get to know you.” This took Eren by surprise. He wasn’t sure if it was because they were in a school setting or because the man was almost ten years older than him (even though that didn’t stop Eren from sleeping with him). Pulling the beanie over his head, Eren used his phone as a mirror to adjust it even as Levi watched him. “Just look at my records,” was his mumbled reply to Levi’s sudden proclamation. He heard the chair squeak and listened as Levi walked around his desk so that he stood in front of Eren, who swore that if Levi stepped any closer he would hear how fast and loud Eren’s heart was pounding at the walls of his chest just from the proximity of the older man. Swatting away his hands, the raven reached up to fix Eren’s beanie in on his head, sweeping his hair away from his eyes as well. “I don’t want to know you as a student,” Eren raised an eyebrow, staying still so the latter could continue fixing his hat. “I want to know you as Eren. That’s not too hard to do, is it?” Their faces were almost too close, close enough that Eren could kiss him but he flinched away as he mentally slapped himself. There couldn’t be anything between them, he needed to get used to it. One night stands were supposed to be no strings attached. “Don’t tell me you’re shy?” He jabbed, prodding at Eren’s pride and he scoffed. “Not in the slightest.” A grin crossed over Eren’s face, stepping closer to the shorter man despite the little voice in the back of Eren’s mind that told him not to. “Just the opposite.” He dropped his voice to a low whisper, his grin twisting into a smirk before taking a step back to grab his back and slung it over his shoulder. “I’ll see you later, Mr. Ackerman.” Eren walked out, his pride swelling in his chest as he made his way to his homeroom. Armin gave him a look but Eren simply grinned with a shrug. Levi’s smell lingered in Eren’s nose, the memory of waking up together Sunday morning filling Eren’s brain and he rubbed his face before turning to look out the window. One night stands were supposed to be no strings attached, yet, somehow, one had formed and Eren needed to cut it before it got too strong. Except… he wasn’t quite sure that he wanted to. ***** Chapter 4 ***** Chapter Notes Ayyy the ball is finally rolling... kind of. I'm super excited for this fic, I'm sure that it'll get tiring to hear that but whatever. Special shout out and a big happy birthday to ker-fucking-chow, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I hope you had an amazing birthday! A couple weeks ticked by slowly, slower than Eren’s liking but there wasn’t anything that he could do about it. Just go through the same, everyday routine that he had made for himself to get through the day. The only differences were the few text messages that he and Levi shared over the short time period. Eren had tried starting a conversation a couple times, his awkward shyness coming out at the wrong time whenever he wanted to text the latter. He decided to blame it on Levi’s teasing. It wasn’t often, but whenever they did text a few messages back and forth, there was some teasing involved that had Eren a blushing mess and he could never reply back until hours later to change the topic. More and more students quickly learned of the new teacher that walked through the halls, always having a displeased of uninterested look on his face. Sometimes there was even a scowl; though, that one was mostly saved for class to scold students with. A few of the older girls in the senior class tried flirting their ways into Levi’s heart which only made Eren laugh. He was strangely good at hiding his gay. Of course, the flirting never affected Levi. Nothing really did except the time he was subbing in a freshman classroom and a paper ball was thrown at the back of his head from the back of the classroom. Eren wasn’t sure how they had gotten on the topic of Levi teaching, but they did. It was one night when Eren wasn’t feeling his homework, his fingers itching to do something other than hold a pencil. Long story short, the kid who threw the ball and the kid it was initially aimed for had lunch detention scraping gum off the bottom of desks. He wasn’t really sure if Levi was allowed to force students to do that, but it was better to just go with the flow than argue. There had been a couple days in those two weeks where Eren decided to sit in for lunch and chat with his teacher, which wasn’t weird at all thankfully. Students did it all the time. They were the days when his only three friends were busy with other things like a cheer team meeting for Isabel, a science assignment for Armin or Sasha who had decided to go home after forgetting a few homework assignments and notes that she was supposed to hand off to Eren. They had been pleasant chats, casual more than anything. Certainly better than their awkward and lame attempts at texting. The conversation just rolled right off when in person, a few awkward and stiff silences here and there, but it was almost as if they mutually agreed silently to ignore the tension rising between them as the thoughts and memories of two Saturdays ago filled their brains. Eren was packing up his things, taking longer than usual mostly because he liked to hang around a few extra minutes in the classroom and make small talk with his teacher before going to lunch with his friends. It had almost started to become a habit not that he had meant to make it one. It just happened. The first time they talked for two seconds, then two minutes, there was even a time where they had spent at least half of Eren’s lunch break talking about cameras and he had to make an excuse to his friends about making up an assignment in a different class. But they knew better than to believe his silly little lies. “I didn’t know that you knew so much about photography already,” Levi said suddenly, breaking the quiet that had spread throughout the classroom as the last of the students left, leaving just the two of them. Eren glanced at him and shrugged. “It’s kind of the only thing that I’m good at.” A scoff came from the short man, earning Eren’s attention. “I beg to differ.” A smirk covered Levi’s face, his eyes dragging down Eren’s body before moving up to meet his eyes, admiring the blush that covered Eren’s cheeks. A deep chuckle rumbled from Levi’s chest and he crossed his arms, leaning back against his desk. “You’re also good at being a hot head.” Eren’s blush quickly faded as fast as it had come and his face settled into a glare and he rolled his eyes. “Ha, funny.” Slinging the strap of his bag over his shoulder, he pulled out his phone and replied to a message before looking back up at his teacher. “I thought you were going in a different direction with that.” Levi raised an eyebrow, another smirk covering his face and his hands fell to either side of him, gripping the desk he was leaning back on. Eren took a moment to rake his eyes over the toned chest of his teacher, full aware that he was being watched, but he didn’t care. It was past the point of embarrassment of checking each other out given the sexual tension that flooded between them during the course of two weeks since that night they shared together. There had been a few instances where Eren had wanted to bring it up, ask if Levi remembered as much as he did or even more. Wanted to know if Levi had enjoyed it as much as Eren and if he even thought about it as much too. Sure, Eren had plenty of party nights like that one, had just as many one night stands with as many people as he could count, there were even a few threesomes in there but it seemed like there was something special about that one that he shared with Levi. It wasn’t the first guy that Eren had been with either, given that he hadn’t been with as many men as women but Eren still enjoyed it nonetheless. He had to guess that it was something to do with Levi’s experience, the way he had treated Eren and made sure that he was enjoying it and he was feeling as much pleasure. He hadn’t ever experienced something like that before. And he loved it. “Eren? Oh, hey. There you are.” He looked up at the call of his name, watching as Isabel skipped into the classroom. “I need ten bucks.” Before Eren could question her, Levi spoke up instead, earning their attention. “Isabel? You know Eren?” She turned to him, her face switching between so many expressions in less than ten seconds and she looked back at Eren before at Levi once again. “Levi? What… are you…” A look crossed her face, one that Eren knew too well and slowly, her head swivelled to look at Eren who had a sheepish look on his face, already holding out the ten dollars that she said she had wanted. “I’m the new photography teacher here, did Hanji not tell you? Or have you just not been paying attention as much as you should?” Levi teased, Isabel snatching the money from Eren’s fingers before crossing her arms over her chest. He pulled out his wallet, pulling money from it and held it out to her. “And don’t take his money, if you needed some then you should have just asked.” Eren took his money back as Isabel walked over to take it from him. “Are you in this class?” She asked Eren and he nodded slowly, carefully examining her face and she glanced at Levi over her shoulder, her eyes traveling up and down him before lingering on his face and she sighed. “Sasha is making a run to Taco Bell, what do you want?” “The usual,” he shrugged and Isabel nodded before walking out. He groaned as she turned to him and pointed, saying, “We’re talking later.” He knew what it was about, how could it not be about Levi when she obviously knew him and she knew her. Running his fingers through his hair, Eren rolled his eyes. “She’s my best friend,” he answered Levi’s silent question. “One of them at least.” “I’ve never seen you before.” Eren shrugged. “We never really go over to her place because Sasha’s house is bigger and usually empty. We’ve been over to Isabel’s, her sister is pretty chill though.” Eren said his goodbyes, making his way to the table where Armin and Isabel were sitting outside, well, Armin was sitting while Isabel paced around it, not listening to whatever it was the Armin was saying to try and get her to sit down. “What’s your problem?” He asked when he finally made it over, Armin and Isabel both glancing at him as he sat next to his blond friend. “You banged my uncle.” If Eren had been drinking something, he definitely would have choked and spit it all out at that moment. He stared at her incredulously and she finally sat down across from him. “Okay, well, he’s not really my uncle but still.” Armin laughed, shaking his head as he clapped a hand on Eren’s shoulder. “What do you mean your ‘uncle’?” Eren added air quotes to the last word, trying to hide the blush on his face as he picked at his nails. He had really messed up this time, he wouldn’t be able to live this down, especially if Isabel found out that they had been texting. He was certainly dead if Sasha discovered too and he had no doubt that she would. “He and Hanji have been best friends since, like, the seventh grade.” She shrugged. “And they met Principal Smith in tenth grade and the three have been friends ever since.” “Explains why you never get in trouble,” Armin goaded, laughing as she threw a gum wrapper at him. Before she could open her mouth to argue, Sasha had already made her way over with a brown paper bag, placing it in the middle of the table and took her place next Isabel. It was quiet for a moment as they ate their food, Sasha raising her eyebrow as she glanced at Isabel and then to Eren. “He banged Levi.” Isabel blurted and Eren threw his hands up in the air in defeat. “Yeah, I know.” Armin and Eren stared at Sasha in disbelief as she continued eating her burrito with a nonchalant shrug. “What about it?” Armin scoffed slightly, crinkling the wrapper of his taco into a ball as he stood up and clapped a hand on Eren’s shoulder. Sasha laughed, wiping her hands on a napkin in front of her and took a sip of her drink as she glanced at Isabel who stared at her, jaw dropped. “How did you not figure that out two weeks ago when he told us?” “Wait,” Eren waved his hands in front of him to gain their attention, “you know him too?” “Well duh.” Sasha rolled her eyes. “I’ve been Isabel’s best friend since the fourth grade. Of course I know him. He’s around all the time. Might as well live there. I’ve even been over to his place. It’s pretty nice.” “Yeah, I know.” Eren mumbled and Isabel groaned. “His bed is pretty nice too.” A smug grin came to his face as Isabel leaned on Sasha to hide her face in the other girl’s shoulder. “Okay, okay, I’ll stop.” He chuckled with Armin who joined with them once again and placed a water in front of Eren. Of course, the rest of their lunch was spent bantering and teasing between Eren and Isabel, seeing who could get who the most embarrassed. Sasha was the one who one, saying things that should never be said out in public, successfully getting the bickering teens to quiet once and for all and it caused a smug grin to cross her face. Once the bell had rang, Eren sighed and picked up his things and began making his way to Levi’s classroom. He always stopped by to say hi before making his way home or making his way to meet Sasha and Armin. They often waited until Isabel was finished with practice at a little cafe that was down the road from the school, always bustling with after school activity. It had become a nice place for students to hang out and do small study groups or even just to talk and have a reason not to go home quite yet. As he turned into the classroom, he froze, a confused look crossing over his face as he saw their principal Mr. Smith a little too close to Levi for Eren’s personal comfort. “Uh,” he cleared his throat, both men looking over at him. Mr. Smith held a slight sign of irritation in his eyes while Levi’s held something else. Eren didn’t look long enough to try and see what it was and he glanced down at his feet before around the classroom. “I, uh, I can come back later if this is a bad time.” He straightened up, allowing himself to hide the discomfort that he knew he shouldn’t be feeling. Mr. Smith raised a meticulously groomed eyebrow, his authoritative blue eyes staring Eren down and he made a small grunt. “No, it’s fine.” Levi spoke up, taking a step away from the taller man and straightened out his jacket. Eren could feel him trying to search for Eren’s eyes, trying to get the younger boy’s attention for whatever reason but Eren refused to look at him. “Mr. Smith was just leaving. We can finish our conversation later. My students come first.” At that, Eren looked up but Levi’s gaze was fixed on the tall blond standing in front of him who didn’t say anything. Instead, he smiled at Levi, a look that Eren couldn’t read before he walked towards the door. There was a slight challenging aura that Eren caught onto, but he couldn’t be sure. The smile and look in Mr. Smith’s eyes as he passed Eren, lingering for just a moment before he looked back at Levi and gave a nod before exiting. Eren let out a breath that he didn’t know he had been holding and ran a hand through his hair. “What was that about?” He found himself asking, making his way over to Levi’s desk as he sat with a heavy sigh. He waved a hand at Eren. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it.” After rubbing a hand over his face he looked up at Eren, the stern scowl on his face softening to a faint smile. “What can I do for you?” Eren hadn’t been expecting that, suddenly feeling awkward as he shifted from one foot to the other as he searched for an excuse as to why he had come to visit his teacher. Levi chuckled. “I’m just messing with you.” Eren heaved a sigh of relief, walking a couple steps to hop up on a desk that was sitting in front of Levi’s. “Can I ask you something?” Eren raised his eyebrows, glancing up from his hands that were sitting in his lap. “How…” Levi paused for a moment, pearly white teeth reaching out to chew on his bottom lip for a moment and Eren found himself staring more than he should have. “Would you… like to go on a date? With me?” “I… seriously?” Eren asked in disbelief, heart racing in his chest. “You don’t have to,” he said quickly. “Unless you want to. Even though it’s kind of illegal.” Eren laughed, sliding off the desk to stand up. “Since when as that stopped us before?” “Is that a yes then?” Eren couldn’t help the small smile that crossed his face and he found himself nodding. “I’d love to.” ***** Chapter 5 ***** Chapter Notes It's been so looong! I'm sorry! I've just been like hella busy from the holidays and school started up again. I hope that everyone had a great holiday and new years! I'm happy to be getting back into this fic again, I've been thinking about some other ones but, obivously, this is my priority one lol I'm not really sure if things are going too fast or too slow, I'm terrible at pacing and this is my first fic so please leave any feedback, I'd love to hear from you guys! That being said, this a long ass chapter and I loved writing it and I do hope that you enjoy! “Eren,” he groaned when the covers were thrown off of him and he pulled the pillow over his head to try and hide the light that had been flicked on by his mother. “You’ve slept in late enough. C’mon, I’m making your favorite breakfast.” Blindly he reached for his phone to check the time, groaning once again. It was hardly late at all. He didn’t even sleep in as much as he had liked to. But then again he did go to bed fairly late and he had Isabel and Sasha to blame for that. Some of it was Levi too but Eren had actually wanted to talk to him whereas Sasha and Isabel were practically keeping him awake by Skype calls and spamming his phone to the point that it was a vibrator. “ Moooom ,” he groaned. “It’s only nine thirty in the morning.” “We have guests coming over tonight.” He groaned yet again. “When? Can’t I just stay in my room?” “They’re coming over sometime tonight. And no, Eren. You can’t. Mr. Pixis is coming over with a family friend of his so you need to be here. He’s been wanting to meet you for a while, you father talks about you a lot apparently so what better time to meet you than now.” He sat up almost instantly at that, staring at her incredulously. “What? Tonight ?” She looked at him with a confused expression, having never seen him move so quickly in the morning (she was sure that even if there was a fire he wouldn’t move that quickly). “Yes, tonight.” He cursed himself under his breath and ran a hand through his hair and searched blindly for his phone. He was thankful that she didn’t stay to question what he was doing and she walked out, giving him a list of chores that was followed by a kind smile and he let out an exasperated sigh once his door was closed. That night he was supposed to go on a date with Levi, and he would be lying if he said that he wasn’t excited about it. He was, of course, planning to lie to his parents because he couldn’t very well tell them that he was going on a date. One, because then he would be bombarded with questions and followed to said date, two, they didn’t even know that he was gay. He was sure that his mom had a sneaking suspicion but she had never said anything to him. His father, on the other hand, constantly was asking him about when he was getting a girlfriend, if he already had one, if there were any cute girls at school. Hell, he had even asked if he and Isabel were dating. That was an interesting twenty minute conversation. And unfortunately Isabel had been there with him when his father walked in and asked. His phone buzzed in his hand pulling him away from his thoughts and he looked down to see that he had received a message from Levi. Eren could feel his heart skip a beat and began to pound in his chest, fingers shaking and he unlocked his phone to take a look at it. Levi, 9:38am: Hey, I hate to do this but I have to cancel our date for tonight. A family friend of mine invited me out to dinner with him and a business partner of his and I haven’t seen him in a while so I said that I would go with him. I hope that’s okay? Eren let out a sigh of slight relief. At least he wouldn’t have to break the news to Levi that their date had to be cancelled. Eren, 9:41am: oh, nah that’s okay. i was about to message you too bc my parents said that we’re having guests over tonight so i have to be there tonight Levi, 9:43am: Would it kill you to use capitals? He snorted; of course he did it on purpose because he knew that it would piss Levi off. Eren, 9:44am: possibly, why? does it bother you? ;) Levi, 9:46am: Shut up, brat. He laughed and tossed his phone aside as he stood up and got dressed, sending Levi a message or two every couple minutes. Sasha was already asking what he was going to wear on his date with Levi that night; obviously he hadn’t told Isabel for fear of his dick being ripped out and thrown into the ocean to be lost forever. Sasha was upset to know that his date was cancelled and demanded that Eren immediately reschedule it, but he figured it would be rescheduled in time. It was the last thing that he needed to think about considering the last time that Eren and Levi had been together alone for a night. The day was filled with cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaning. There was some food that Eren was able to sneak in here and there but knowing his mother, she would get upset that he decided to eat in a place that they had just cleaned spotless if she found out that he had been eating. She always got like this whenever there were guests coming over, especially important guests. Eren didn’t really understand it, the only part that he hated the most was that he couldn’t drink with his parents simply because they didn’t know what he drank and he wasn’t eighteen yet. His father had mentioned what when he turned eighteen he would let Eren have his first drink, little did he know that it wouldn’t exactly be his first one. And certainly not his last. Eren was lounging around on his couch in the living room, his mother having kicked him out when she started to prepare dinner because they both knew how useless he was when it came to cooking. Call it a curse, Eren’s mother was the best cook on the block, even his dad could make something as simple as mac and cheese. And then there was Eren. He could at least burn water (cooking wasn’t his strong point). He held the camera up to his eye, closing the other so that he could focus on something to snap a picture of. The door opened and he heard his father let out a sigh. “House looks nice,” he commented as he dropped his stuff on the floor near the entrance to the living room. Eren nodded, glancing at him over his shoulder. “Thank you for helping your mother today. I really appreciate it.” He smiled at Eren, hand reaching over to ruffle his hair before making his way to the kitchen to greet his wife. It was times like that when Eren felt that he and his father really had a good relationship. Of course, like every other family, they had their ups and downs, more downs than ups recently. There wasn’t much he could really do about it, seeing how stubborn they both were. It was quite obvious where Eren got it from. He went back to snapping pictures of random things in the living room, examining them and deleting them right after if it wasn’t anything he felt that he could edit into something cool later. Half an hour later, Eren’s laptop was sitting on the table, uploading a few pictures to his program so that he could edit them. As he leaned back against the corner of the couch, the doorbell rang, his father yelling, “I got it!” as if Eren was going to move and answer the door to some complete stranger. “Please, come in.” He could hear the strained friendliness in his father’s voice, one that matched the fake mask of happy smiles and howling laughs whenever there was a guest over that he was trying to particularly impress. It made Eren want to scoff. His ears tuned out the conversation between the two men, a couple other people and his mother being introduced. He jumped when he felt a hand clapped on his shoulder, causing a curse to fall under his breath. “This is our son, Eren.” The hand on his shoulder gripped lightly which gave Eren the message that he was expected to stand up and introduce himself. Shrugging the hand off, he turned with a smile. “Eren, this is my boss, Doctor Pixis.” They shook hands. “Oh,” the older man stepped aside slightly. “And this is an old family friend, Levi.” Eren could feel his skin grow pale and his heart drop to his stomach. You've got to be kidding me, he groaned to himself. He almost faceplates but refrained from doing so. Leave it to the universe and Eren's luck to cancel their date, only to see each other that night at a work related dinner. It was times like these when Eren wished he could grab a drink and lay on the floor and wonder what ever did he do to deserve such treatment from the universe. He was a good person, got decent grades. This was the second time he was questioning things and if you need to question life more than once in the time span of two weeks, most definitely there was something wrong. “You do photography too?” The Pixis man asked Eren and he was taken by surprise, suddenly remembering that he had his laptop open and a camera in his hands. Eren nodded slowly, trying to avoid looking at Levi. Things were already awkward, he didn’t need the tension between them to be evident to his parents as it was to his friends. “Levi is a photographer,” he slapped a hand on Levi’s back and Eren couldn’t help but flicker his eyes to Levi’s face, watching an awkward smile come up and he had to look away before he laughed. Yeah, I know, Eren wanted to say it outloud but he didn’t want any suspicion to be raised. He was more than positive that it would be found out that Levi was Eren’s teacher, his mother always curious about everyone’s jobs and what they do in their life. She was just a kind woman like that and it was one of the things that he loved most about her; how engaging she was with everyone and everything. Grisha walked Pixis into the kitchen where his mom was currently making dinner, leaving Levi alone with Eren to “talk about common interests and get to know each other”. At least, that’s what his dad said and what Pixis agreed to; they were treating Levi like he was a teenager as well and Eren let out a puff of air of amusement. Levi draped his coat over the couch and Eren glanced at him as he leaned back in the spot he was once slumped in. The silence between them was a bit stiff, awkward and Eren set his camera on the coffee table as Levi walked around the other side of the couch and sat down slowly. “What are the odds,” Eren said, his head rolling to the side to look at the older man. Levi simply raised his eyebrows in question as he glanced up at Eren before looking down at his phone. “We cancel a secret date only to see each other again but in different circumstances.” Levi snorted slightly, giving a slight nod of agreement. “ Very different.” Eren watched him rub a hand over his face, rubbing that perfectly straight and strong jawline that had Eren wanted to drag his lips and teeth over it. It made him think back to their one night stand, he hadn’t thought about it for a week now. Yeah, he thought about it. How could he not with the sex god that was Levi Ackerman. “I didn’t want to cancel,” he said, his voice hushed as he ran his long, slender fingers through his hair and through his undercut. Eren’s fingers itched to reach out and touch it, remembering how it felt to have his own fingers tangled in that soft, raven black hair, how it felt to scratch that back of his head and neck through his undercut and revel in the way Levi practically purred. Eren jumped slightly when Levi leaned over and snapped his fingers in his face. “Earth to Eren.” His eyes darted up to Levi’s who was looking at him inquisitively. “Jesus, kid.” A scoff left his lips. “What were you thinking about? Whatever it was, you were really enjoying it. There’s still some blush left on your cheeks.” That snarky smirk made it’s way to Levi’s stupidly perfect face and Eren felt the blush darken slightly and he looked away as he rolled his eyes.   Eren watched out of the corner of his eye as Levi reached for the camera sitting on the coffee table and Eren tried to act as though he wasn’t interested as he continued to edit the current picture on the screen of his laptop. He felt Levi shift a little closer, closer, closer until he could feel Levi’s heat radiating from his side, their legs almost brushing. Eren tried to ignore it, ignore the way his body subconsciously leaned into Levi, the older man’s cologne drawing him in. He clicked on a few things, changing the shading and the lighting of the picture and found himself continuously looking through the corner of his eye once again to try and read Levi’s facial expressions. “No, not that one.” He finally spoke up, his voice low enough to send a small shiver through Eren’s body. His breath was warm on Eren’s cheek and his breath caught in his throat. “You want to try and make it glow. The main…” he waved a hand around as he tried to think of the word he wanted to say and Eren took the moment to turn his head a few inches so that he could get a better look at his face. His eyes were closed, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose before they snapped and his eyes opened, “the main object, for lack of a better word, which in this case is the tree with the sun setting behind it, you want to try and make it pop. Make the rays of the sun seem even brighter so you want to set the outside of the tree and the sky to a slightly dark and lower tone.” Eren was half listening, his attention rather focused on the proximity their faces were. It would be nothing to lean over and place a gentle kiss on Levi’s cheek. His parents were in the other room, it was just the two of them but he couldn’t bring himself to do such a thing. As Levi’s head was turning to look at him, Eren snapped back to the computer and did as Levi suggested, a smile coming to his face. “Whoa,” he made a couple finishing touches, with the help of Levi of course, and he pushed back a little. “It looks even better than I thought it would.” When Eren turned to look at Levi, the latter was already looking at him and it caused their faces to be inches from each other. He could feel his breath hitch in his throat and his heart began racing in his chest; he thought it was loud enough that even his parents could hear it in the kitchen. Nothing was said between them, Levi’s eyes roaming slowly around Eren’s face, taking in every inch of detail that he could while Eren’s eyes were locked on those sharp silver ones. Finally, Levi’s eyes settled on Eren’s lips and then up to meet his own. It was like they were thinking the same thing, both subconsciously leaning closer. Eren could feel the older man’s breath on his lips when they both jerked away at the sound of his name. “Boys! Dinner is ready!” A frustrated groan left Eren’s throat and he closed his computer. As Levi stood up, he chuckled slightly, placing the camera back in it’s place and he ran his fingers through Eren’s hair as he walked away. Eren froze, blush rising to his cheeks and he buried his face in his hands. “Are you okay sweetheart?” His mother asked as she made her way into the dining room after him, setting a few things on the table. Levi followed in after her, setting something down as well. “Your face looks a bit flushed.” Eren watched as a smirk came to Levi’s face and Eren glowered at him for a moment before looking at his mother with a reassuring smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bit… warm.” She didn’t seem to believe him but thankfully let it go anyways and kiss his head. Levi slid into the chair next to him and Eren kicked his leg. “Oi,” Levi snapped with no bite at all and his smirk remained on his lips. “What was that for?” Eren crossed his arms. “You know what you did.” Before he could respond, his father and Pixis made their way in, laughing at something that his father had said. Another woman made her way out and sat next to Pixis, Eren assumed it was his wife and his parents sat at the ends of the table. The conversation drifted between the adults, Levi even joining in some. Eren remained as quiet as he could, pushing his food around and eating it quietly as he texted his friends under the table. “So, Levi, what do you do?” His mother asked, all attention turning to the man next to him. He was quiet for a moment, Eren was waiting for Levi to say something humiliating about him, but thankfully, he was being a decent human and didn’t. “I’m the photography teacher at Sina High.” “Oh, Eren, you didn’t tell me Mrs. Ral was out.” He glanced up from his mother and shrugged a little. “What a shame, but I’m glad that they found a new teacher who knows what he’s doing.” Levi chuckled slightly, placing his glass down gently. “That would mean you have Eren as one of your students, correct?” Eren groaned. “He’s not a bad student is he?” His father asked and Eren looked up, the look on his face he had given to his parents many, many times before. Levi chuckled once again and thankfully shook his head. “Good. You know where to find me so if he is, just give me a call. Feel free to put him to work in any way you’d like.” Eren knew that his father was teasing, but there was that small hint of truthfulness hidden behind his words that let them know he wasn’t entirely kidding. “Don’t worry, Mr. Jaeger,” Eren felt Levi’s foot nudge his slightly, hooking their ankles and Levi’s hand brushed over his thigh and it caused Eren’s breath to hitch in his throat. “I will.” Eren could practically hear the smirk in his voice and it made Eren want to curl up in a ball in embarrassment but at the same time punch Levi in the arm for being like that in front of his parents. Only Eren knew the hidden innuendo under his words, making it even worse. The conversation carried on after that thankfully, Levi’s hand removing itself from Eren’s thigh but they continued to play footsies under table, no thanks to Levi. Eren decided to blame the wine, even if Levi hadn’t consumed that much of it. The man could certainly hold his alcohol, Eren knew that much. “Eren, don’t be rude.” His mother scolded and he could feel all eyes on him and he shoved his phone in his pocket. “Sorry, uh, Isabel… was having a crisis.” His mother raised her eyebrows, opening her mouth to ask questions but he waved a hand. “It’s nothing major. She was just upset about… her T.V show.” He was hoping that she wouldn’t pick up his hesitation in his lie. It was when his dad spoke up did Eren want to melt away into the floor. “Isn’t that your girlfriend?” The captured everyone’s interest and Eren groaned slightly, feeling his face becoming a soft shade of pink. “No, dad. I’ve told you this. She isn’t my girlfriend.” He kicked Levi’s foot as he choked on another sip of wine when the question was asked and he covered his amusement up with coughing, but Eren could see the hidden smirk behind his fist. “Mm, I don’t believe that,” Pixis decided to join in on the teasing. “Judging by the blush on your cheeks, you have to at least like her.” Eren scoffed. “You’re quite a good looking young man,” Mrs. Pixis spoke up and Eren smiled a little, giving a little nod of thanks and lifted a shoulder in a lame shrug. “Surely you have to have your eye on someone. I’m quite surprised that you’re single. You’re very charming.” Eren didn’t know how to take all of this flattery, the last person to shower him in compliments being Levi when they were drunk and making out on his bed. Eren could feel his neck beginning to turn the same shade of red as the tips of his ears and his whole face and he stood up, ducking his head and taking the empty plates to the kitchen. Eren heard them continue to talk, straying away from his love life and he sighed, cursing to himself as he took his phone out. “Didn’t your mother ever teach you manners?” Eren rolled his eyes as he took the empty dishes from Levi and put them in the sink, turning on the water and began washing them after a moment. “Shut up.” “I’ll take that as a no.” Eren loved it when Levi chuckled, the sound making him want to smile and cause Levi to chuckle again just so that he could hear it once more. “So, do you have your eye on someone?” Eren shrugged, not turning to look at the latter as he rinsed off the plate in his hands. “I mean, I did , but he cancelled on me so I’m not so sure anymore.” A grin made it’s way to Eren’s face as Levi scoffed and he laughed when the other man flicked water in his direction. “Okay, change that to definitely not sure.” “Oh please,” Levi rolled his eyes and when Eren turned to look at him, his heart jumped at the small, playful smile on the raven’s lips. He couldn’t stop staring at it. It took all his willpower to look back to his eyes and not kiss him right then and there. “I was meaning to message you and ask if we could just move it to tomorrow, assuming with the life you have, which is none, that it wouldn’t be a problem.” Eren wanted to say no, just to humor Levi but he found himself smiling, ignoring the last comment and he nodded. “Sure, let me just check me oh-so busy schedule.” Levi rolled his eyes. “Same place and time?” Levi nodded and Eren grinned, couldn’t help himself when he leaned over and kissed Levi’s cheek. It was surprising how close the two of them had gotten over the two and a half weeks they had been talking ever since the discovery that Levi was his teacher, but Eren definitely wasn’t going to complain. He didn’t want to admit how much he had already gained to like Levi, more than he should given the circumstances but there wasn’t anything stopping him. ***** Chapter 6 ***** Chapter Notes Okay, listen. This chapter,,, it's no. I hate it. It doesn't vibe the same way as the others, there isn't like any groove or flow to it and I hate it but I had an amazing friend edit the shit out of it so I told myself that I would fix it and post it online because I wanted to get another update out. With that being said, I also wanted to note that this past Sunday, I fell out of the bathtub when I was rushing out of the shower and I broke my arm and fucked up my wrist so more than half of this chapter was written with one hand or voice text-speech thingy that's available. It was difficult. But I do hope that you enjoy this chapter and updates will be definitely much slower now because I was an idiot, but I do hope you love it and I'll stop rambling now Eren couldn’t sleep that night. How could he? It seemed almost impossible, what with his heart pumping in his chest and his thoughts racing faster than a 15-year old virgin could drop his pants for a prostitute who offered a free hour. He tossed and turned in his bed, throwing covers off of him only to pull them back over him. All through the night he constantly checked his phone for any messages, mostly from Levi to see if he was going to say anything about Eren kissing his cheek so unexpectedly. He didn’t seem upset about it, rather shocked that Eren had done such a thing. In fact, he was so shocked, he had walked right out of the kitchen after a stiff moment of silence. But Eren definitely caught the smile on the other’s face and it made his nerves ease just slightly. He still felt nervous that Levi would suddenly cancel their rescheduled date; Eren should know not to think so irrationally, but he couldn’t help it. Along with his paranoia, he was continuously thinking about how he really felt about the older man. In reality, he shouldn’t feel the way that he did with how little they knew each other. It was kind of ridiculous, Sasha even said so; that wasn’t to say that she was degrading him for feeling the way he did. He felt that things would be better if they got to know each other a little more. “They fucked while drunk.”Isabel chimed in during their late night skype call after the dinner had ended. Eren had claimed it was an emergency, he was the one in trouble this time. Armin had rolled his eyes but nodded nonetheless and Sasha snorted. “That’s as much of a connection to someone as knowing them for months.”She had a point there. Eren definitely wasn’t going to deny that it had been good sex. Not good, great.Obviously, he wouldn’t admit that out loud to his friends. He wanted to spare them the details, spare Arminthe details while Sasha begged to know everything. She was extra like that. He was flicking through the cable channels when there was a knock at the door . Before he could answer, it opened and Sasha made her way in. “Waddup, bitch?” Eren tilted his head back as Sasha entered the living room, ruffling his hair. Armin shut the door, he and Isabel joining them. Isabel plopped on the couch next to Eren, Sasha making herself at home on the ground as she kicked her shoes off. “You know, it’s a good thing his parents aren’t home,” Armin chastised as he sat in a chair and Sasha shrugged. “Not gonna change anything about me. They've never really liked me anyways.” “Hm,” Eren tapped his chin with his finger, “I wonder why.” He rolled his eyes and Sasha laughed. “But seriously, thanks for coming over.” Isabel ruffling his hair, messing it up just to comb her fingers through it and fix is again. She had a weird fascination with hair, something they had all learned the weird way in middle school. “You look like you have soft hair, can I touch it?”It had taken Eren by surprise. For one, the fact that a pretty girl – twopretty girls – had approached him and Armin and had actually wanted to have a conversation with the two. It took Eren too long to respond apparently because Isabel had already reached out and was petting his hair. When Sasha noticed, she smacked Isabel's hand away like a mother would to her child. They had become friends almost instantly after that, all four personalities clicking and becoming inseparable. A few of their classmates found it strange seeing that Isabel was considered popular, whilst Eren and Armin were at the “bottom” of the food chain. Well, at least Armin was. “Why wouldn’t we? We’re your best friends… and you fucked my uncle but that’s beside the point.” She laughed when Eren shoved her away. “Speaking of him… what are you wearing on your date?” “Does it matter?” Sasha and Isabel both gasped, staring at him incredulously, as if he had admitted to murdering the Pope. “ Uh, yeah .” The two said simultaneously while they had continued to stare at him and then turned to each other to exchange looks. “It’s vital that you wear something amazing.” Isabel continued and Sasha nodded. “You have to look extra hipster garbage.” Eren glanced at her in confusion. “Huh?” “Hipster garbage. That’s what you are. What with your man purse backpack, beanies and skinny jeans, and your stupid camera shit. You are actually the epitome of a fucking hipster. It disgusts me but I fucking love it. You’re my hipster douchebag.” “It’s not a man purse .” She rolled her eyes in response. “It’s just a bag you put over your shoulder. Girls do it all the time.” Sasha waved a finger at him. “Ah, yes, but that’s the thing. You’re not a girl. Which means that usually guys with that kind of bag – a satchel if you will– are hipster douchebags.” “Okay,” thankfully Armin intervened and waved his hands to gain the attention of his bickering friends. “I could be doing my English essay but instead, here I am, sitting in Eren’s living room listening to you two argue about what the definition of ‘hipster garbage’ is.” He added the air quotes for effect and Isabel laughed. “Nonetheless, if you’re wanting to help him pick out a wardrobe for his date, you might as well get to it now because Eren has as many clothes as Isabel and, well, you two are picky.” Isabel opened her mouth to argue before closing it. It was true. it was as though she had a fucking store in her closet. She jumped up and grabbed Eren’s hand and gave it a harsh tug, ushering him in the direction of the staircase. “Let’s go.” Eren allowed himself to be pulled up to his room, Armin and Sasha following behind. In less than ten minutes, there were clothes thrown everywhere while Isabel and Sasha attempted to find something that they deemed good enough for Eren to wear on his date. It took even longer for them to put together outfits for him to pull on, they weren’t even sure how much time had passed since they had gone up to his room. He just knew that the moment they entered his room, it was as if a tornado had gone off and blown up his closet. His mother certainly wasn’t going to be happy with the mess if she saw it and he would have to come up with a lie to explain why there were clothes strewn about everywhere. “Eren?” The brunette looked up at his name and glanced over at Armin who had a slight ly worried look on his face. “What time did you say your date was?” “We’re meeting at five, why?” He looked back at himself in the mirror to observe the outfit that Sasha and Isabel had thrown him in. “Because it’s four forty-five.” “ What ?” The other three stared at him incredulously and he turned his phone to them to show the time. “ Fuck .” Isabel and Sasha rushed to make Eren look more presentable before Eren shoved them out of his room and they made their way down the stairs as quickly as possible. Shoving his phone and wallet into his pockets, he grabbed his keys and shut the door behind him, fumbling a little to lock the door as quickly as possible. “Sasha , can you drop me off at the school?” He asked and she nodded while they made their way to her car. “Why the school of all places?” Isabel asked with a displeased look, clutching onto Armin when Sasha sped out of the driveway and put the car in drive to speed down the street. “That’s not romantic at all. Levi needs to step up his game.” Armin snorted. “They’re probably meeting there so that he can take them somewhere else where people won’t know their faces, that way they won’t get caught.” Eren nodded to show that Armin was indeed correct and Isabel changed the subject to something else. Eren wasn’t listening though, too preoccupied with his pre-date anxiety. It had been too long since he had gone on a date. He certainly hadn’t been on a date with someone he had a one night stand with. One thing that Eren was thankful for was that Levi never mentioned that night. Despite how much Eren thought about it, and regardless of whether Levi thought about it or not, it was never brought up. “A motorcycle?” Sasha spoke up when they arrived at the school and Eren felt his heart skip a beat… or seven. He felt like a Japanese school girl who's crush noticed her for the first time and he disgusted himself. “Oooh, Eren you're special.” They looked back at Isabel who had a knowing grin on her face and it made Eren shift a little in his seat in an uncomfortable way. “Levi never lets anyone on his motorcycle. I've been on it like maybe… twice. Once for my birthday and once when he first got it and I begged him to let me ride with him.” “Maybe he wants to get laid.” Eren glared at Sasha, feeling his face grow flush. He wanted to say something back, but all words caught in his throat and he couldn't. Isabel shivered and Armin laughed, not agreeing but he didn't disagree either. She grabbed something from her glove department and dropping it in Eren's hands. He groaned. “Oh my god,” Isabel and Armin leaned forward to glance at what was in his hands and began laughing and he scowled at his friends. “I don't need condoms .” “Shouldn't we be asking why she even has them in her car?” Armin asked and there was a stiff silence for a moment. “I don't wanna know.” Eren said in defeat and shoved them back into Sasha’s hand before unbuckling his seatbelt and checking his pockets for everything that he needed; keys, wallet, phone and none of Sasha’s sketchy condoms. “I'll text you when I get home.” “Or if you need me to pick you up.” Sasha pointed a finger at him. “Or if you're dying.” Isabel piped in. “Please just be safe.” Armin commented with a slight groan and he shoved Isabel's shoulder. Eren rolled his eyes but smiled at his friends. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I won't do anything illegal.” “Going on a date with your teacher is illegal.” Armin pointed out. “Okay, change of words. I won't do anything else that's illegal.” Armin nodded and they smiled at him before Sasha shoved him out of the car. He felt his heart began to flutter stupidly as he straightened himself up and walked over to the older man slowly, eyes wandering up and down his body. he very much appreciated how Levi looked in black. He definitely needed to wear black more often. Especially his leather jacket. Eren smiled awkwardly as he finally reached the raven and Levi gave him a slow once over before glancing at the car that had yet to leave the parking lot. “I thought you were never going to leave that car and that I was going to have to walk over there myself.” “Sorry,” he blushed slightly and looked over his shoulder at his friends who he knew were watching them. “It’s just Sasha, Armin, and Isabel. They stopped by my house and I was almost late so I had Sasha drive me here. They were… giving me rules.” He wasn’t sure how else he should have put it. He wasn’t exactly wrong either because the three of them had all gone into parent mode before he left the car. Levi chuckled, handing Eren a helmet before putting one on himself and swinging his leg over the bike. Eren hesitated. A part of him was a bit nervous. He had never been on a motorcycle before —well not sober at least. Levi glanced back at him after starting the bike. “Is this okay?” He asked, concern clear in his voice and Eren nodded, putting the helmet on his head slowly and very clumsily climbing on the back of the bike behind Levi. He wrapped his arms around Levi’s abdomen and instantly relaxed. Eren was more than positive that Sasha had yelled “Use protection!”as they drove away but decided to ignore it. His heart was racing just as fast as the motorcycle as they drove down the streets and Eren’s arms tightened a little as they turned a corner. He could feel Levi’s chuckle more than he could hear it and his heart skipped yet another beat. Eren was more than sure at this point that Levi had brought his motorcycle on purpose. For thispurpose and he certainly wasn’t going to complain. He simply pushed himself closer to Levi, chest pressed against his back and arms tight around Levi’s abdomen, Eren even went as far to rest his chin on the other man’s shoulder and he felt Levi relax ever-so-slightly back into Eren. Thirty minutes after motorcycle cuddling on the freeway, the arrived in the town over and Eren looked around as they slowed down. It wasn’t as busy, kind of cute looking if Eren was honest. “Where are we going?” He asked once they were stopped at a stoplight and he sat back a little. “Bowling alley.” Levi said as loud as he could so that Eren could hear him, turning his head a little over his shoulder. “But we have one back home.” “We don’t know anyone here.” Levi had a point there. “And if they do, they can’t really prove anything. And this one is a lot nicer and has better food.” Eren laughed, clinging to Levi suddenly when he pulled the motorcycle up into a wheelie as they drove off when the light turned green. Eren punched his shoulder. “Asshole. Don’t do that.” They finally arrived, alive (thankfully), and Eren almost didn’t want to get off. He was enjoying the close proximity of the two of them. No doubt that they’d stay stuck at the hip for the rest of their date; they had a way of doing that, always staying unnecessarily close together even though they didn’t need to. He noticed it happened in class quite a bit as well. Whenever they did in-class work, Levi often walked around the classroom to make sure that everyone was on track and that there wasn’t anyone doing something that they weren’t supposed to be doing. But when he reached Eren’s desk —Eren usually worked alone, it was better for him to focus— he stayed much longer than he needed to. Always hovering over Eren’s shoulder in a way that he knew Eren hated and often casually brushing Eren’s back or shoulder with his hand in a teasing manner that made goosebumps pop up on his skin. “It’s been years since I’ve gone bowling.” Eren said as they made their way inside and he stuffed his hands in his pockets. It smelled weird, but when did a bowling alley not? That was the real question. “Don’t cry too hard when I beat your ass.” Levi smirked at him, not giving Eren a chance to retaliate When they rented their shoes and lane, Eren was thankful that they were at the very far end lane where there were less people. It made Eren feel slightly less nervous. As Eren was putting on his shoes, Levi stood up and grabbed a couple bowling balls and placed them down in the holder. He set up the names and the scoreboard, Eren pulling out his phone to check his messages for a moment. Before he could reply, his phone was snatched from his hands and Levi shoved it into his back pocket. “No phones.” Levi answered curtly. “This is a date between you and me. Not me, you, and your nosy friends.” Eren couldn’t help but smile a little and laugh. “If you want it back, you’ll have to take it back.” That explained why Levi had shoved his phone into his back pocket, it was like he was practically asking for Eren to touch his ass. Probably wanted him to, Eren wasn’t surprised. “Same goes for you.” Levi looked at Eren with a look that made Eren feel slightly offended. “Well duh.” He stepped away from the small computer and cracked his knuckles, gesturing to the bowling balls. “Let’s go. You’re first.” “Aw, what a gentleman.” Levi rolled his eyes and Eren laughed as he grabbed the ball he guess he would do best with. “What happens if you win?” He asked, turning to look at Levi over his shoulder as he reached the line and held the ball up to his chest, examining it closely. Eren watched as Levi raised a meticulously groomed eyebrow, he has nice eyebrows, he couldn’t help but think. They were nice. Aesthetically pleasing, that’s what Isabel said, not that Eren knew what that meant. But he wasn’t going to deny that Levi had nice eyebrows. Honestly, the man had nice everything. After a moment of silence, Levi shrugged. “Bragging rights?” “What if I win?” Levi thought for a moment before a smirk came to his face and he shrugged. “Guess you’ll have to win if you want to find out.” ***** Chapter 7 ***** Chapter Notes I'm surprised that I got this out so quickly with my broken arm but ayyyye, I did it. I'm having my brother's girlfriend to help me type this and she's an actual angel so shoutout to Liz! Anyway, yeah. Enjoy this chapter and these two being gay and also, DISCLAIMER: The word faggot is used a couple times in this chapter so you have no been warned. “You motherfucker.” Eren laughed, watching as his ball knocked down all his pins for a third strike in a row. He hadn’t gone bowling in years, it was a mystery as to why he was so amazing all of a sudden. If anything, he was going to blame it on Levi’s challenge that he couldn’t beat him and he would be lying to say that he didn’t know want to know what his prize would be if he win the game. He had already won their first game, but Levi wanted best two out of three. Eren didn’t have the right to complain seeing that he wanted to win just as badly as Levi did. There was a feeling Eren had that Levi was going easy on Eren just to let him win and it made him feel even more giddy on the inside. “Don’t hate the player, hate the game.” Eren winked at him and made his way back to his chair and Levi scowled at him. Levi bowled his ball down the lane, cursing rather loudly when he only knocked down two pins. Eren laughed again, grinning brightly when Levi slumped in the chair next to him. “I give up. This game is rigged. Fuckin’ cheater.” Eren laughed again, shifting in his seat to look at Levi and raised an eyebrow. “You’re just a sore loser.” Eren say with a shrug and Levi slowly rolled his head to the side to stare at him with a look that could kill. Eren knew that he didn’t mean it and it caused his grin to widen even more. “So, what’s my reward?” Levi pushed himself up in the chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Excuse me?” “I won the game. What do I get? You said it was something, but I had to win first.” Eren was slightly nervous about what it could possibly be. He had racked his brain practically the entire game thinking about it. There wasn’t much that it could. If anything, Eren half expected it to be a pat on the back and a thumbs-up. But judging by the smirk that Levi held on his face something had Eren thinking otherwise. It only made Eren feel more nervous but a rush of excitement ran through his body. He watched as Levi thought for a moment, hand running through his hair before his eyes flicked to examine Eren’s face and he smirked once again. It made Eren’s stomach do flips and his heart turn in his chest excitedly. This was honestly getting ridiculous. Stop acting like a teenage girl, Eren, he told himself but his breath caught in his throat almost instantly when Levi moved closer to him. “You’re right,” he said in a low tone of voice so that only Eren could hear despite that there wasn’t anyone around them. They had been at the bowling alley for way longer than he had anticipated them to be but he wasn’t going to complain. Either parent had yet to actually message him and ask where he was. “You did win.” Now there were only inches between their faces and Eren knew what his prize was. “I did,” he breathed, a smile breaking over his face. Levi’s hand came up and brushed hair from Eren’s face, fingers tracing down his cheek and over his jawline before they gently grabbed his chin, loose enough that if Eren wanted to break away, he could. But they both knew that he wouldn’t; they both knew that he didn’t want to. Levi’s thumb ran over his bottom lip and Eren watched as his eyes travelled over Eren’s face. It was a lot like the previous night, sitting on the couch together while his parents were in the other room with his father’s boss. They had come so close but this time even closer. After resting on Eren’s lips, Levi’s eyes finally made their way to Eren’s eyes and he pulled away slightly. “Maybe I should let you claim your prize.” It sent shivers down Eren’s spine the way Levi had purred the words, reminding him so much of their shared night together in Levi’s apartment. Eren didn’t hesitate, closing the distance to press their lips together in a much needed kiss. All the tension that had built up between them had finally been broken down, flowing through with ease as their lips slotted together in a perfect kiss that sent fireworks off in Eren’s stomach and his heart beat rapidly in his chest enough that he was sure it was trying to break out. It filled him with a certain pride as Levi melted into the kiss, the hand that held his chin now moving to hold Eren’s face so they couldn’t pull apart until needed. His chest was heaving, the kiss leaving him breathless and he smiled with a little blush falling over his cheeks. “I should let you know that I let you win just for that.” “Are you expecting me to complain?” Eren grinned and Levi chuckled, placing a chaste kiss on Eren’s lips before standing up. “We should probably head out.” Eren sighed and nodded in agreement despite that he didn’t really want to. It had been the most fun he’d had in a long time and it was already ending so soon. “Hey,” Levi snapped his fingers in front of Eren’s face and he blinked and looked up at Levi. “Don’t look so grim. I didn’t say it was over, I just said we should probably start making our way back to town.” As they made their way out, Eren reached over and slipped his hand into Levi’s, his heart doing flips when Levi linked their fingers and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. They shared another chaste kiss before climbing onto the motorcycle and Eren felt much more relaxed with iit compared to their way here. He took notice that Levi took the long way back to town and even longer way to his house when they finally arrived back to his neighborhood. “My house is like a block away.” Eren said when Levi pulled up to the curb near a park. “I don’t want to risk your parents seeing us if they’re home.” Eren removed the helmet and carefully made his way off the bike and watched Levi remove his own. “I didn’t park too far away either. No doubt you’ve walked to school from here so don’t even complain.”  Eren laughed, giving a vague shrug and held the helmet out for Levi who just stared at him questioningly. “Keep it.” Eren raised his eyebrows in confusion. “This isn’t going to be the only time you ride my motorcycle and it’s better to be safe than sorry.” “There’s a next time?” Eren asked innocently and Levi rolled his eyes. “Thank you, for tonight. I had a lot of fun. The most I’ve had in a long time actually. It’s been awhile since I’ve gone on a real date,” he admitted with a blush and he glanced away and focused his eyes on tracing patterns on the helmet in his hands. Levi reached out and grabbed one of his hands, tugging on it gently to pull Eren closer and he kissed the back of his hand. “Me too.” Eren blushed, heart stopping for a moment when Levi pulled him down into a soft kiss. He almost whined when Levi pulled away but he refrained from it and smiled at the other man. “Be careful walking home.” Eren nodded, kissing his cheek before turning around and making his way home. He sent Levi a text when he arrived inside despite the fact that he knew that Levi was watching just to make sure that Eren did get home safely. His parents were in the living room, calling out to him as he made his way upstairs to hide the helmet before any questions were asked. As he fell back on his bed, his phone buzzed and he sighed. Izzy, 8:32pm: How did it go??? Eren smiled again, butterflies beating at the walls of his stomach all over again and he held back a small squeal he wanted to let out. Eren, 8:36pm: Even better than imaginable   ===============================================================================   Eren’s head bobbed to his music as he walked down the hallway. He had arrived a little earlier than he thought that he would, he hadn’t really been able to sleep that night because his brain continuously played through their date and how he and Levi had slowly started moving closer to each other throughout the night until they kissed. He still remembered the feeling that spread throughout his body as he thought about the kiss they shared. There were more fireworks than the night of the fourth of July. He was looking down at his phone, he texted Isabel who was already waiting for him at his locker, he turned the corner to the hallway that lead to his locker and instead bumped into someone and stumbled backwards. “Oh, shit, I’m sorry.” He looked up and his apologetic look instantly was replaced with a glare. “Oh, it’s just you.” “If only I had that recorded. Eren Jaeger actually apologizing for being the fucktard that he is.” Eren ran his tongue over his teeth, shoving his phone into his pocket as he clenched his fists and crossed his arms. “Give me a break, Jean. If anyone is a fucktard, it’s you.” He tried to step out of the way of Jean so that they could go their own ways but Eren knew that was a long shot. Of course, Jean stepped in front of him, taking one step closer to Eren in a way that the other boy would piss Eren off. Everyone knew that Eren had a bad temper; it was tamed now but if you knew how to push the right buttons it would slip out with ease. “Listen, I said I was sorry. I don’t need to deal with your bullshit right now and you’re just itching for a fight. Need I remember of the last time that I kicked your ass. Or wait… every time I kicked your sorry ass.” Eren deadpanned, not bothering with backing down because it was futile at this point. If Jean wanted a fight then Eren had no choice to give him one. Well… he had a choice, he was just choosing the wrong option. Eren could see a few students start to gather around them, it always happened because the upperclassmen knew that if Jean and Eren were ever seen together it was more than a fifty percent chance that fists would be thrown. He could see Isabel and Sasha rushing over and pushed their way to the edge of the crowd and Sasha stepped out, pushing her sleeves up her arms to make her way over to the duo but Isabel stopped her instead. It was never a smart idea to get in the middle of a fight between the two boys. Jean scoffed, his arms crossing over his chest. Eren wouldn’t deny that Jean had a bit more muscle than him, being an athlete and all. His ego was big but his IQ wasn’t. “Oh please, only in your dreams could a faggot like you beat my ass. But, then again, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Eren felt his whole body freeze before shaking with anger. Of course, this wasn’t the first time Jean had called him that. It had been too many times to count but it still shook him to the core with each time that the name had been spit at him with hatred. It took everything in Eren’s self control not to slam Jean to the ground and beat his stupidly smug face in. He didn’t want to stoop to Jean’s level. “You’re just angry that I still get more ass than you.” The crowd now forming around them filled with laughs and “ooooh buuuurn” comments that set a smug smirk to Eren’s face and he tilted his head up at Jean, a silent challenge for him to continue. When Jean didn’t say anything, Eren scoffed in victory and began to walk past him yet didn’t make it very far when he was grabbed by the arm and slammed into the lockers behind him. “You would have to catch me dead before some faggot-ass loser like you could ever beat me in anything .” “Hey! Get your filthy hands off of him!” Jean kept Eren pinned to the wall but turned his head over his shoulder to see who had yelled at him. Eren didn’t bother struggling, knowing that it would be pointless unless the right moment occurred. Armin and Isabel were barely managing to keep Sasha back, trying to contain her before she ripped past them and tore Jean to shreds. “I swear to fucking god I will knock that stupid, smug smirk off your fucking face if you keep fucking looking at me like that.” She spat, struggling relentlessly against her friends. Jean scoffed. “Oh, well would you look at that,” he turned back to Eren and pressed his forearm harder into his collarbone. “Maybe you’re not so much of a faggot as I thought. You managed to score yourself a cute little hoe.” Eren’s scowl darkened dramatically before he shoved Jean away forcefully, a fist clenching to prepare to throw a punch if he needed and he sweeped Jean’s legs out from under him and kicked his stomach. “Say something again, Horse- face. I fucking dare you.” Eren’s voice was cold, dangerous; filled with a venom more poisonous than a thousand snakes combined. No one insulted his friends. When Jean said nothing, Eren scoffed and removed his foot from Jean’s chest. “That’s what I thought.” He looked back at his friends who were watching him intently and Sasha gave him a nod. As he turned around to walk away, Jean grabbed his foot and yanked him to the ground, slamming Eren on his back and Jean climbed on his chest, fist pulled back for a punch. “Hey!” The voice was sharp, easily cutting through the crowd of students who had gathered around them and cheered for a fight. They cleared the way for the teacher who found them, Eren’s heart dropping when he saw it was Levi. The older man didn’t look at him, looking at everyone else who cowered away. “Get to class.” No one hesitated, everyone running down the hallways in the directions of their classes. The only ones who stayed were Eren’s friends and a few of Jean’s posse members. Mike, one of the school’s security guards, walked over and pulled Jean off of Eren with a bit more force than Eren knew was necessary and Isabel rushed over, helping him up and making sure that there weren’t any injuries to him. “Take him to Mr. Smith.” Levi said to Mike, waving a hand in the direction to the Principal’s office and he turned to Jean’s friends. “Get to class. Now.” They glared at Eren and his friends as they walked away but did as they were told and Eren straightened himself, taking in a deep breath. “It was Jean’s fault.” Isabel blurted, Levi raising his eyebrows as he crossed his arms. “He just started giving Eren a hard time for no reason.” Sasha added. Armin rolled his eyes and handed Eren his bag. “Since when does Jean not give Eren a hard time?” Levi held up a hand to silence them before looking straight to Eren. “What really happened?” For whatever reason, Eren felt a bit nervous about telling Levi what exactly had happened. He wasn’t sure if it was because of their date or because it was just something petty to have fought about but Eren found himself hesitating. “I bumped into him by accident, I apologized, he said some shit, I said some shit back and he didn’t like the shit I said back and responded and then didn’t like my response so he shoved me against the lockers and called Sasha a hoe so I shoved him away and knocked him on his ass. Clearly, he wasn’t the biggest fan of that.” Eren shrugged, trying to keep his story as vague as possible. He knew by the very least that he would have to get detention once again and if anything, Levi would hopefully be forced to give the punishment so it couldn’t be too terrible. Levi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Let’s go.” He motioned him towards the office. “And you three go to class. You’ll see him later.” Eren nodded and waved at his friends as they made their way to class and Eren sighed. “What did he say to you?” Levi asked as they walked to the office and Eren shrugged limply. “Eren, this is serious. That’s bullying.” “No, it’s just Jean being an egotistical asshole who thinks he’s better than everyone because he’s the star athlete of the school. We’ve always had an issue with fighting since the fifth grade. This was nothing.” “It still matters.” Eren brushed their hands together slightly, giving Levi a secret smile for reassurance. “I’m fine. I promise. I’ll just get after school detention at least.” It wasn’t a surprise to Eren that, indeed, he got detention. Not as much as Jean, thankfully. Seeing that Jean was the one who initiated the fight, he was forced for lunch detention meaning that he had to be the garbage boy for everyone in the cafeteria. Eren thought it fit him perfectly but of course he didn’t say that outloud, keeping his smug smirk to himself. Eren called his mom, thankful that she picked up so that he wouldn’t have to call his dad and explain that he got detention once again. By now, it really shouldn’t be a surprise that he had to stay after school and do a shit load of extra assignments. He was honestly just hoping that he would make it through at least first quarter without a fight with Jean. After hanging up, he made his way to Levi’s classroom, who was the one who offered to take Eren for detention and Eren was quite surprised when Mr. Smith didn’t argue with him and simply nodded before dismissing Eren. “About time.” Levi said as Eren walked into the classroom and the brunet rolled his eyes, tossing his things on an empty desk before sitting in the one next to it. “I had to call my mom, don’t get your panties in a twist.” He watched as Levi stood up and walked over, slapping a stack of papers in front of him. Before Eren could open his mouth, Levi answered for him. “Your detention work. You better get started.” ***** Chapter 8 ***** Chapter Summary Eren and his parents have a bit of an argument before getting a look into how good of friends Isabel and Eren really are. Also, Levi and Eren try their hand in flirting. Chapter Notes It's been a while, I know. I'm making a pact with myself that I'm going to start updating at least once a month and hopefully, after I graduate high school, it'll be two update or I'll upload another fic that I want to work on. We'll see how everything goes but for now, expect at least one update a month! Also, the word "faggot" is used once in this chapter, so I figured I should flag despite the use of it in this chapter is so little but you can't be too sure. Anyways, please enjoy! Thanks for reading! :) Eren was held much later for detention the last day than the other two he had to stay. It wasn’t Levi’s fault, in fact, Levi wasn’t the one that had to watch over him during his detention time. He would have, but he informed Eren that he had a meeting with a few other teachers and Principal Smith so another teacher, Mr. Shadis—who of course happened to be the coach of the soccer and baseball team—and he already didn’t like Eren for getting his star student and athlete suspended. Eren had finished all the work that he needed to that was required for him to do before being able to leave, but Shadis had to find something for Eren to do so he was kept even later. Late enough, in fact, that when Levi finished with his meeting, Eren was still in the classroom, working away like the slave laborer that Shadis had forced him to be for the time being. He was internally and externally grateful that Levi dismissed him, none too happy about the fact that the coach used this bias to keep Eren for longer. “Eren.” The brunet froze the moment he stepped foot inside, silently shutting the door behind him. Keeping in a groan that almost slipped, Eren dropped his things and toed off his shoes before slowly walking into the living room. His father was sitting on the couch, sitting with his ankle resting over his knee, papers settled in his lap. Removing his glasses, he looked up at the boy and motioned for him to sit in the chair and Eren knew he was in for it. “What—” Before Eren could get a chance to speak, he was swiftly cut off by the hand of his father who sat up straighter, leaning over to place his papers on the coffee table and took a mug from his mother who soon joined moments later. “Is this about the detention?” Eren asked, wanting it to be over and done with as soon as possible. There was silence that followed his question and he couldn’t help but chew at the inside of his cheek in nervousness as he fidgeted a little in his chair with the growing silence. He knew his father would be mad, but he looked just about royally pissed this time. He wasn’t sure if he should try and defend himself or not, not knowing if he was going to be shut up instantly or even grounded. He had at least told his mother, that should count for something. Right? “Yes.” Eren let out a slight sigh of relief when his mother spoke up after what seemed to be an eternity of silence. “But,” Eren was immediately shut down and he snapped his eyes up to his parents. “It’s also about the fact that you weren’t completely honest with us.” “What? Yes I was. I told you that I had detention.” “Only for one day,” she pointed out and crossed her arms over her chest. Eren fidgeted a little, looking away from his parents so that he could try and internally debate with himself if he wanted to tell them the truth or hit them with another bullshit lie that they would eventually believe or leave him alone in general. He wasn’t sure why it was such a big deal this time. It wasn’t like this hadn’t happened before. It was a common reoccurance throughout his high school career and while, at first, his father was none too happy, he had learned to live with it and with the fact that his son was a hot head and would act out on his anger if he felt that it was needed. “Nor did you mention the reason for why.” Eren groaned. “Don’t groan at me, Eren.” “It’s nothing—” He began but was swiftly cut off by his father. “No, it’s not just nothing , Eren. You lied to your mother, you didn’t even say anything to me and you want to play it off as being nothing? You’re a senior in high school . When do you plan on actually controlling your anger and not going off on a whim and using violence for everything. And always with the same kid.” “He started it.” Eren snapped harshly, fisting his hands in his lap and clenched his jaw. “That doesn’t matter, Eren.” His father’s voice was getting progressively louder. “When are you going to understand that violence isn’t the answer for everything? You could have easily just walked away from him instead of getting detention once again . Do you know how bad suspension and detention looks when applying to college?” Eren rolled his eyes, something that he would never have thought about doing in front of his father but at this point, he couldn’t bring himself to care. “I couldn’t have just walked away . Jean is a fucking asshole.” “Language.” His mother scolded and he stood up, fists balled at his sides. “No, I’m not going to watch my language. Jean was being a major dickface and I had enough. I couldn’t just walk away from the shit he was saying and doing. That wouldn’t have been fair to me!” “That doesn’t mean that you have to stoop to his level.” His father chastised. “What was so terrible that he said to you that made you respond in an act of violence?” “It wasn’t even me that started the violence! It was him. He was the one that shoved me and pushed me against a locker while calling me—” Eren stopped himself before he could continue on, his body shaking and ears red in anger. He was sure that when he went upstairs and loosened his fists, there would be blood from where his nails dug into his palms. They stared expectantly at him, waiting for an answer that wouldn’t come. “What did he say?” Faggot. “Nothing.” “Eren, it was obviously something.” Her voice was gentle when speaking, noticing the change in demeanor and the angry tears filling his eyes. “What did he say? Are you being bullied?” Eren had the audacity to scoff and crossed his arms over his chest. “Are you going to ground me or what? I have homework that I need to do.” “This isn’t over.” Grisha stood up, leaning over the side of the couch for something and placed the motorcycle helmet on the coffee table. “What’s this?” Eren’s blood ran cold and he could feel his body go rigid but he refused to let either parent see that. “A motorcycle helmet.” “Enough with the smartass remarks, Eren” The man snapped. “Why do you have this?” “Why were you in my room?” “Eren—” His mother started but Eren cut her off, staring at his dad instead. “That was in my closet. Why are you just going through my things? You wouldn’t like it if I just went into your office and messed around with your shit.” Eren's fingers itched to swing a punch, not at anyone but he hated the angry feeling, the dread that settled in his chest and the pit of his stomach. “If you must know, Sasha is thinking about getting a motorcycle and she found that at a garage sale. Happy?” Swiftly, Eren turned on his heel and stormed his way up the stairs, slamming his door violently. It caused a few picture frames to rattle on the walls and he paced back and forth. Anger swelled inside him and he kept himself from punching a hole in the wall, knowing his dad would chew him a new asshole if he did that. As his anger subsided, he could hear the muffled voices of his parents downstairs and he sighed. He fell back on his bed, pulling out his phone and noticed he had missed a few messages. There were a few from his friends, asking about detention, if he was alive for not answering and he felt a small smile come to his face. The next name his eyes took notice of caused his breath to hitch in his throat. If anything, he should call the other man and tell him that his parents found the helmet but on the other hand, Eren wasn't sure if he could bring himself to call. He groaned, dialing a number before pressing it to his ear in hopes it would be answered. “Hello?” “Hey, Isabel.” “Is something wrong?” The sound of a chair being pushed against the floor and shuffling that told him she was most likely eating dinner with her sister, the sounds of other voices in the background. “Can I not call my best friend out of the blue?” He scoffed but it made him feel good that she instantly knew there was something wrong. “No.” The response was almost immediate. “You're not one for phone calls unless you're dying or something.” “When have I ever called when I'm dying?” There was another muffled voice yelling at Isabel and she sighed into the phone. “Yeah, I'm just talking to Eren—Yeah he's fine. Okay, Hanji… Hanji—Hanji he's fine.” There was another  huff and Eren chuckled a little. “Anyway, how was detention?” “What's his name kept me after way longer than I should have been there.” “Le—Mr. Ackerman?” Her voice lowered, becoming more hushed which told Eren that more than likely he was there at their house with them. It explained the other voice that clearly wasn't Hanji’s. “No, it was what’s his face.” Eren snapped his fingers as if that would help the name come faster to his brain. It was right on the tip of his tongue. “Oh, Shadis. He was the one who had to take over because Mr. Ackerman,” Eren hated saying his name like that. It made him cringe every time, “had a meeting or something so Mr. Smith assigned Shadis to do detention.” Isabel scoffed. “Shadis is an asshole.” There was yelling in the background and Eren chuckled, knowing it was Hanji more than likely scolding Isabel for her language. There was another voice, one that Eren didn't recognize and he knew it wasn't Levi's voice. “Shadis only kept you so long because you got douchewaffle suspended. As he should have been.” There was a pause and Isabel groaned. “No, I'm not going to put him on speaker. Why? Because this is my conversation and it's confidential… I don't really care that they know who we're talking about. More power to them.” Eren laughed, sitting up and situating himself against the headboard of his bed. “Who are you talking to?” Isabel grumbled something and sighed. “Hanji and uh…” She paused for a moment. “Is Levi there?” “... Yeah.” “Anyone else?” “... Smith.” Her voice was almost too quiet and Eren had to strain to hear her, but he did. It explained why Hanji wanted Isabel to put him on speaker. Both men knew him and if they were going to talk shit, might as well do it on display for everyone to hear.  Which wasn’t how Eren and Isabel rolled. Most of their shit talking was under the table, if they wanted something displayed to the public, they turned to Sasha who was more than glad to announce or be blatantly obvious that she was, indeed, talking shit. Eren wasn’t sure if Mr. Smith liked him or not. The only times they had interacted was only during the times he and Jean had gotten in fights and were to be suspended through the years. So, he knew Eren’s face and his horrible temper. But he wasn’t a bad student. He kept his grades up and mostly kept out of trouble. “Yeah, well he should have been expelled.” Isabel all but yelled, bringing Eren back to the conversation. “Why? Because he—okay but Eren didn’t even fucking start it—no I’m not going to watch my language.” Eren cleared his throat. “Izzy, listen to me. It’s okay. Count to ten and take a deep breath.” He said calmly and he could hear her exhale a puff of air before sighing. “Sorry. I just… I hate Jean.” “Trust me, you’re not alone.” “Just… because of what he says to you.” Eren swallowed thickly, Jean’s words coming back to him and he went quiet for a moment. “It’s fine,” he lied. “It’s not the first time and won’t be the last time. It doesn’t really get to me.” “See, that’s where I know you’re lying. I know that it does get to you. More than it has before in the past.” That’s where Isabel was right, but he would never admit it to anyone. He wanted to remain strong for his friends and show that words didn’t hurt him the way that they actually did. And now that Eren was potentially seeing someone, it was worse than usual and he wasn’t entirely sure how to deal with it. It shouldn’t bother him, whereas his friends would argue that it should bother him because it’s bullying, but he had the mentality to ignore them in a form of “out of sight out of mind”. He shrugged despite that he knew that Isabel couldn’t see him. “I promise, I’m fine. If I wasn’t, I would have shown up at your place.” “Yeah, but you called me instead because you got in trouble with your parents otherwise you’d be here already.” “How the fuck?” “Honey, you seem to forget that we’ve been best friends for how many years? I know you as well as you know you.” “Okay, well—” There was a knock at his door, hearing his mother’s voice on the other side wanting to talk and Eren sighed. “I have to go but I’ll text you later.” They said their goodbyes and Eren hung up, shoving his phone into his pocket before getting off his bed and making his way to the door. Her smile was warm when he opened the door, almost making him feel a little guilty for storming away and slamming the door like a child throwing a tantrum. He casted his eyes downwards and she stepped forward, ruffling his hair in the loving way she did and he looked up. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.” “For what?” He turned away and sat on his bed and she followed him, sitting next to him. “I know that we’re hard on you, but that’s what parents do.” She smiled at him, pulling him closer and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. “And I didn’t know that he had gone through your room otherwise I would have said something.” Eren simply shrugged and leaned over to let his head fall on her shoulder, her fingers combing comfortingly through his hair. There was a nice silence between them, Eren’s eyes falling closed and he let out a deep sigh. “I’m sorry for yelling and slamming the door. I was just… frustrated.” She nodded, kissing the top of his head. “I know, sweetheart. I know. You and your father don’t really see eye to eye. But he is right about the college application thing.” Eren lifted his head to argue, but she cut him off. “And I also know that you don’t like talking about that but it’s coming up, Eren. You have to start deciding on where you want to go, what you want to do.” “But I don’t know what I want to do.” He had been asked this question all his life; people seemed to love to ask kids what they wanted to do with their life when they didn’t even know what they wanted for dinner. “It’s only the end of September. Can I at least get through the first quarter of school before being pestered again with all these questions? That’s all I ask.” She nodded after a moment and stood up, giving him another kiss on his head before saying goodnight and closed the door softly behind her. He pulled out his phone, noticing that Isabel had texted him along with a message from Armin and Sasha as well. He knew it would get out to them that he had called Isabel out of the blue for emotional support without even asking, but he wasn’t expecting a message from Levi as well. He hesitated to open it. He was almost tempted not to. Levi, 7:03pm: Are you okay? Eren, 7:13pm: what? why are you asking?? Eren was surprised by the almost immediate response. Levi, 7:13pm: Well, you called Isabel, which apparently doesn’t happen much and I also heard her talking to other friends on the phone and she wasn’t as discreet as she could have been. Kirstein obviously said something to you. Eren, 7:14pm: awwww are you worried about me?? ;) He watched amused as the three dots that indicated Levi was typing appeared and disappeared several times, as if he was trying to figure out what to say. Eren could only guess that he was probably flustered, making the grin on his face grow wider. Levi, 7:16pm: You’re my student, I’m obligated to worry about your well being. Eren. 7:16pm: just your student?? :( At this point, Eren might have been making an effort to potentially piss him off. Levi, 7:17pm: Shut up. Eren, 7:18pm: make me short stack Levi, 7:19pm: Oh, trust me. I want to and I will. Eren, 7:20pm: Is that a threat or a promise? Eren didn’t get a response after that, and he tossed his phone on his bed, walking over to his closet to change into sweatpants and a t-shirt. Upon returning, he saw his phone screen light up as a message appeared and he smiled when he saw that it was Levi. Levi, 7:30pm: Yes, I’m worried about you. I just want to make sure that you’re okay He felt a smile come to his face at the message and his thumbs hovered over the keyboard before typing out a message. Eren, 7:31pm: I’m fine, Levi. Promise He decided to be a decent human being and use capitals for once, a way to signal Levi that he was fine and that he did mean it. But Levi had a different idea. Levi, 7:32pm: Are you sure? You’re using capitals and actual punctuation. Which you never do because you’re a brat. Eren, 7:33pm: i was being a decent person but i guess i can’t even do that. But i’m fine, i assure you. And i’m your brat ;) Eren’s felt his heart skip a few beats at the next message, completely ridding him of his bad mood. Levi, 7:34pm: That you are kid. At least I know that you aren’t lying about that. Eren, 7:35pm: don’t call me kid. that’s a huge turn off It went on for what seemed to be hours, a smile never leaving Eren’s face and his heart skipped a beat every time he received a message from the other man. He knew he was acting like a teenage girl, squealing over talking to someone almost twice his age, but he couldn’t help it. Levi made him feel a way that any other crushes Eren had in the past never really made him feel. He had tried thinking about why, going over differences and reasons as to why but he couldn’t come up with anything and it was driving him crazy. Levi, 9:03pm: Shouldn’t I take you to dinner first before we have a conversation about nicknames? Eren, 9:04pm: if you see fit to do that, sure. Or a movie Levi, 9:05pm: How about both? Eren, 9:06pm: Perfect ***** Chapter 9 ***** Chapter Notes Hey guys. I know, it's been a while but things have been extremely crazy in my personal life and I just got my computer back on top of that. But updates should be coming once a month, possibly even every few weeks depending. Also, note that after chapter 10 of this chapter, I want to start another fic so definitely be on the look out for that! Another note, there is some slight homophobic comments in the begging of this chapter so please be aware. Eren thought that having a good night’s sleep and ending a good conversation with Levi would put him in a good mood the next day, but he was wrong. He must have slept on the wrong side of the bed, crawling out from under the covers reluctantly. After tugging on his clothes with a bit more aggression than he probably should have, he trudged downstairs and slumped into a chair at the table. It was quiet in the dining room as his mother was in the kitchen and his father sat across from him, flipping through the newspaper while sipping his coffee. He reached for an apple from the bowl on the table and observed it before rolling it around. “Eren, don’t play with your food.” He glanced up at his father who didn’t spare him a glance as he scolded him. “Eat it or put it away.” Eren clenched his jaw and rolled his eyes, tossing the fruit back into the bowl. His mother came in and smiled at him, ruffling his hair gently and placed a kiss on top of his head. “I made you some bacon and eggs.” She said and placed a plate in front of him. “Thanks.” He wasn’t feeling eating but ate a few bites to please his mother while she and Grisha talked about things in the paper. Eren didn’t bother with listening, leaning his cheek into his palm as he pushed his food around. His thoughts were elsewhere, thinking about the argument that he had with his parents yesterday, how he had to lie about the helmet. He knew that Sasha wouldn’t mind; she would go with the lie with smooth sailing. It was her strange talent, to lie as smooth as butter. “—found out their son is gay. He has a boyfriend now. It’s super sweet, the two of them.” Eren immediately tuned back into the conversation, his fork slipping out of his hand and clattered against the plate. They glanced at him but he waved them off as he tried to listen. “He’s gay?” The tone in his father’s voice was one that matched disgust, like the face someone would make when touching a gross, soggy piece of food while washing the dishes in the sink. Repulsive. Eren felt his heart drop to his stomach. His mother nodded, the look on her face the same as always; it was warm and welcoming. She didn’t blink an eye at the tone that he held in his voice. “Since when?” The man clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Kids and their terrible life choices,” he looked up at Carla, not noticing the way Eren’s skin paled with each word that left his mouth. “I hope his mother has plans of changing his mind. What a shame.” All of Eren’s appetite left and he swallowed thickly. Pushing the untouched plate of food away from him, he stood up and claimed that he was going to be late to school. He didn’t bother letting his mother try to stop him and correct him as he pulled his shoes on and his jacket. As he grabbed his things, he made sure to grab his headphones and camera before waving a hand and heading out the door. A shaky breath left his mouth and he ran a hand through his hair. He couldn’t get his father’s words out of his head, plans of ever coming out to his parents flying through the window and into a grinder to be ground into dust and blown away, never to be seen again. His stomach churned at the thoughts of what he might be told, what would happen to him if he ever were to come out; what names would be yelled at him until he was kicked out of the house. Disguting. Sickening. Pathetic. Faggot. The last word hit him like a ton of bricks and Eren almost had to stop walking to catch the breath that had hit him from the impact. Just the thought alone of being called that by his father was enough to get Eren to start tearing up. He cleared his throat, rubbing at his face and he bit his cheek to keep it from happening again. As he reached the school, he snapped a few pictures, making him feel just a little better before he made his way inside. Since it was a bit earlier than when he usually showed up with his friends, he was able to walk around, letting the silence calm him. The words and names continued to echo and bounce around in his head as he sat alone, one of his knees pulled up to his chest. He had never questioned his parents thoughts on that type of thing, never had been brought up when he was growing up so it was a slight shock to him. Yet, at the same time, he expected it. “You’re here early.” Eren looked up to see Levi standing over him, hands in his pockets. He didn’t say anything for a moment, examining over Levi’s face as thoughts of their conversation ran through his head followed by the comments of his father. “Yeah,” came his quiet response, something that was uncharacteristic of Eren. Levi weighed his options for a moment, looking around before taking a step closer and he crouched to Eren’s level. “What’s wrong?” The brunet was surprised by the soft, worried tone that came from Levi and he looked up to see him closer and at a better eye level. Eren could get a better look at Levi’s eyes, watching  his grey eyes shifted to a pale blue to match the worry and concern that swirled in his eyes. He was never one to show emotion—according to Isabel—so seeing the raw emotion in Levi's eyes stuck something in Eren's chest, an unfamiliar ache and he swallowed the lump in his throat. “Nothing.” He lied, glancing away and picked at knee, picking off nonexistent strings and fuzz to keep him attention elsewhere. Levi sighed, mumbling something under his breath and Eren glanced at him through his bangs. He could tell that Levi wanted to do something, to say something but couldn't. It left Eren feeling a bit guilty and he sighed. “I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.” He didn't want Levi to worry about him despite the small part in the back of his brain that loved the attention like the attention whore that his subconscious was. “It's nothing. I promise.” Levi still looked conflicted but didn't argue and stood up. “C’mon.” The raven gestured for Eren to follow him, making his way down the hallway and glanced over his shoulder to make sure that he was following. Eren complied, knowing it would be better than sitting in the hallway like a sad loser. He also knew that any kind of alone time with Levi would easily lighten his mood. He argued that he'd rather not feel like shit for the whole day which in the end would make it a shitfest for everyone. “Where are we going?” Eren called, voice echoing slightly in the empty hallway. The only response he got was Levi's soft footsteps in front of him. He sighed as Levi slipped around the corner and Eren grumbled to himself. Levi was waiting by a side door when Eren turned the corner. “You're a slow walker.” When Eren opened his mouth to give a snappy remarked, the older man pushed the door open and walked outside. He left Eren no other choice than to follow him out of mere curiosity. It made sense now, since they were outside. Levi took him to the school's greenhouse and garden where most of the flowers were grown that were sold as bouquets and corsets during special events that went on. Eren stepped inside, surprised by the thriving plants inside. Out of the four years he had been in high school, never once had he made his way here. During projects and assignments for photography, most kids made their way out here or just outside in general as an excuse to dick around. His thoughts were snapped back to his hands as Levi carefully slid his camera from his hands. He clicked a few buttons, Eren wanting to argue but figured Levi probably knew what he was doing with a camera more than he did. Subconsciously, he followed Levi around the greenhouse until he stopped and brought the camera to his face. Eren studied his form, the curve of his muscles and the way his shirt fit him in all the right places. His hair was a big contrast to his porcelain skin that Eren wanted to run his fingers over, wanted to feel the goosebumps pop up under the pads of his fingers. The smile that came to Levi’s face after viewing the picture he had taken sent an arrow through Eren’s heart. It made him breathless just like all the rare smile he had come across that made their way to Levi’s face. “Eren?” “Huh?” The brunet blinked and scratched his cheek awkwardly and cleared his throat. “You’re supposed to be listening. This is educational.” Eren rolled his eyes. “Yeah, like anything with you is educational.” Snatching his camera back, he crouched down and brought it to his face. It felt as though time had stopped as he examined the flower through the lens. It’s beauty was accentuated by the light the seeped through the ceiling, the veins on the petal popping out and Eren held his breath as not to disturb it from it’s place. Of course, a picture did nothing to capture the true elegance of the flower, the bright pinks and purples mixing together. He turned the camera in a different direction, hoping that at a better angle he could catch the light in a different way. He felt at peace; his bad mood had melted off his shoulders and it was just him and his camera now. “Feel better now?” Levi asked softly as Eren pulled away to click through the pictures he had taken. Eren nodded, glancing at Levi who had a soft expression on his face, eyes roaming as they took in every detail of the boy in front of him. The air between them was thin as Levi took a step forward and let his hand find the back of Eren’s neck. He melted into the warm touch, a soft sigh of content leaving his nose and he let himself be pulled forward into a soft kiss. It didn’t last, not the way Eren wanted it to but it was enough to have him smiling. They moved away in time for the door to open and Eren took a large step away from Levi. He smiled awkwardly at the teacher, Levi explaining that he was giving Eren help with his assignment for photography and she left with a smile and wave. “That was a bold move.” Levi shrugged and picked away a dead leaf. “You looked like you needed it.” “I need a lot more than one kiss.” Levi’s eyebrows shot up instantly and Eren sighed, arms stretching up above his head. “I need a drink, or four. And a cigarette.” He rarely smoked, only on the days when he felt the worst and this wa sone of those days. Maybe he’d have Sasha ditch with him. Didn’t sound like a bad idea. “You realize everything you just told me is illegal.” Eren glanced over at the shorter man. “What’s your point? Like you’re going to turn me in? Everything we’ve done is pretty illegal and you could easily go to jail like that,” he snapped his fingers, “and there’s nothing you or I could say to stop it from happening.” He watched as Levi’s lips parted for a moment, tongue darting out to wet his lips and ran over his teeth. “Smoking is bad for you.” Before Eren could answer, Eren heard the bell go off and Levi sighed. He watched as Eren picked up his things and carefully put his camera away. He was yanked by Levi into another kiss and Eren felt his heart melt. “We’ll talk about this later.” “Okay, mom. ” The moment Eren stepped foot back into the building, the bad mood he had thought was gone came back almost instantly and he cursed himself. He swiftly avoided groups of students that liked to stand in the middle of the hallway, not wanting to accidentally to snap someone’s head off. Finally, he had made his way to his locker, not so nicely shoving his books into his backpack and his locker. As he slammed it shut, he caught sight of his friends walking towards him. “What’s your problem?” “Everything,” he grumbled and situated his bag over his shoulder. They looked at him, the three of them exchanging looks of concern. “My dad is just being a dick, that’s all.” He sighed. “Oh, and by the way Sash, I used you as an alibi.” She shrugged. “As long as I didn’t do anything illegal.” “You’re thinking about getting a motorcycle to you bought me a helmet.” They laughed. Isabel’s smile always did wonders to make Eren’s day better, as did Sasha’s crude humor and Armin’s groaning every five minutes as he slowly regretted becoming friends with them. He felt his mood start to brighten a little, thankfully, but he knew that it wasn’t going to stay long as Isabel groaned. Knowing Isabel well enough as he did, it wasn’t a pleasant groan; it was one of annoyance. How Eren was really feeling that day. “What do you want, Mikasa?” Now it was Eren’s turn to internally groan, watching as the other girl made her way over to them. She stopped, giving Sasha a quick once over with slightly disgusted look. Eren had to pat her shoulder, gripping it with a little force to make sure that she didn’t do or say anything that would get her in trouble. Most people tended to stay away from Sasha. It wasn’t much of a surprise because of the way she carried herself; with confidence and a look on her face that said ‘I will not hesitate to make you eat dirt and hate yourself more than you already do’. It was something that Eren loved most about her. She was a sweetheart when she wanted to be, but also a ‘vicious bitch’ as Sasha liked to say. “That’s no way to talk to your captain.” Her face held a smile but her voice held a tone that was anything but nice. Before Isabel could open her mouth to retaliate, Mikasa stopped her as she held up a hand. “We’re extending practices this week since we have the homecoming game in about a week.” “Oh, shit, is that this week?” Armin asked and Eren turned to him with a shrug. “I have to go. I’ll see you guys later.” He gave a swift wave and took off without a second look. Sasha and Eren exchanged looks, Isabel raising her eyebrows as she watched him disappear into the swarm of students in the hallway. “Anyway,” Mikasa cleared her throat to bring the attention back to herself and Eren resisted the urge to roll his eyes. She shifted her weight from one leg to the other and turned her body to face Eren, one hand placed on her hip while the other twirled a strand of hair between her fingers. “So, Eren. Do you have anyone in mind that you want to take to the dance?” Eren should have seen this coming, he really should have. Mikasa had been flirting with him ever since he could remember. A great part of it was to piss off both Isabel and Sasha and the other part was because she liked him. Or at least, that’s what Eren assumed. But it was confusing because he was pretty sure that she was a thing with Jean. He didn’t really care. “No.” He answered honestly in the most bored tone that he could. “He’s taking his boyfriend. ” Sasha said, stressing the word more than she needed to. Eren could feel his eyes widen, chest tightening and his heart rate picked up. “I don’t have a boyfriend.” He countered instantly, taking Mikasa and his friends by surprise. “I’m not gay.” Which, it wasn’t necessarily a lie. Being gay and bisexual were two totally different things. He knew that this would repercussions with his friends later but he could deal with that. He just didn’t want a rumor getting out that he was gay with the possibility of it somehow getting to his father. That was something that he definitely didn’t need. “I have to go to class.” He said curtly, walking around his friends and Mikasa to make his way to his homeroom classroom. Even thinking about it, Eren wasn’t sure if he was or wasn’t gay or bi. He had told himself and his friends that he was, the only man he had ever really fooled around with was Levi. Sure he had given handjobs and blowjobs in the bathroom of some gross smelling bar, but he had always called that experimenting. Those thoughts remained with him throughout the day, distracting him from his work in most classes. Even in photography he refused to look up in Levi’s direction, keeping his eyes on the computer monitor near the back of the room. He fidgeted a bit nervously, his heart racing as he chewed on his nails. Of course, thoughts like these had come through his mind before but that was before he found out just how homophobic his father really was. It set everything a bar higher than they had been before. And he wasn’t sure how much he could handle until it crumbled. ***** Chapter 10 ***** Chapter Summary Eren and Sasha have a talk Chapter Notes This is short but I have another one coming out that is much longer like tomorrow so don't you worry lovelies! I know that I've been gone for a while but there's been a lot going on but I think that I might be getting back into a grove. I hope that you enjoy! <3 “I thought you were going to quit.” Eren didn’t look up at Sasha as he lit the cigarette that hung loosely between his lips. She took one herself before tucking the pack away in her back pocket, catching the lighter that Eren tossed to her. Taking a slow drag from it, Eren blew it out in the opposite direction of her before turning his attention to look at her. “And I thought you were going to pass your math test.” Usually, he didn’t smoke. He had cut back compared to when he first started smoking. Now he did it when he felt like it or if he was stressed out about something. It was both if he was honest with himself. Thankfully, Sasha didn't say anything else, turning the music up louder so they could bob their heads to the beat. His eyes flickered over to watch as she bounced from one foot to the other, lips mouthing the words as her eyes closed. She looked as peace, bringing the cigarette to her lips to take a slow drag and when her eyes opened, they found his. He could see the silent question etched over her face, a meticulously done eyebrow arching up and he sighed. Hanging his head, he took another drag and blew it out slowly before looking up at Sasha. She had stepped closer and he took the moment to examine her combat boots. They were the same ones she had had since the ninth grade. “What's on your mind?” The question washed over him in a form of strange relief. Instead of answering verbally, he took to shrugging and leaned back with his hand behind him. She didn't take her eyes off of him. “A lot,” came his answer after a silence that had drawn out for too long. She waved a hand. “Elaborate. What? Having second thoughts about the dance? Because Isabel will actually murder you.” “Dances are overrated.” He muttered and Sasha scoffed. “But no, I’m not having second thoughts about the stupid dance. I already bought the damn suit. My mom was rather excited that I had decided to go.” Sasha cooed at him mockingly, reaching over to ruffle his hair and he swatted her hand away. “She didn’t ask you if you had a date?” Her voice held a slight tone of surprise and she kicked his feet away from the bench where they were resting and sat down, glancing up at him where he sat on the picnic table. “No, instead, she was happy to hear that it was Armin who has a date. She kinda figured I would be taking you and Isabel together.” “What other way would you do it? Can’t really take Levi.” Eren knew that she was teasing but that didn’t stop the blush riding high on his cheeks. He wasn’t about the admit that he had definitely thought about the fact that he couldn’t take Levi to the dance in the way that he wanted to. He was more than sure that Levi was going to be forced into being a supervisor, Hanji coming along as well. To be honest, he was sure that it was the work of Isabel but he couldn’t be too sure. “Hey,” Eren was snapped away from his thoughts as Sasha punched his knee and he flicked his eyes to glance at her. “What was up with you the other day?” “You’re going to have to be more specific.” She rolled her eyes, crossing one leg over the other. “It was like last week, Mikasa came up to Isabel and she asked you about the dance and then I said you were gonna take your boyfriend and you just got really defensive.” Eren looked away, flicking the bud of the cigarette between his fingers. “Then you claimed you weren’t gay—” “I’m not.” Eren intervened. “—which I wasn’t implying.” Her eyebrows narrowed slightly. “What’s up with you?” He was quiet, refusing to meet her eyes as he stared down at the suddenly fascinating scuff marks on his converse. He couldn’t decide if it was worth it to explain to her what was really wrong. He knew that she was going to want to say something, that he should say something about it. Silence filled the air between them and Eren could feel Sasha’s eyes on him, watching to see if she could read him like the book that he was. “If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s all you have to say. You don’t have to remain awkwardly silent and avoid eye contact with me.” “It’s not that…” Eren groaned, rubbing a hand over his face and he sighed. “But?” Sasha continued for him, eyes filling with worry and she dropped her cigarette, crushing it with her foot to put it out and plucked Eren’s from his fingers to do the same. “Eren, seriously. What’s wrong? You’re actually starting to concern me.” “Just some stuff with my dad.” He admitted with a shrug. She opened her mouth to say something but Eren stopped her by holding up a hand and answering for her. “He’s being a dick. What’s new?” Sasha shrugged, nodding her head in agreement. “Yeah, but still. It seems like there’s something else bugging you.” “Doesn’t matter.” But in fact, it did matter. More than Eren wanted to admit to himself that it did. The words that his father had said, they weren’t toward him but they still tore a hole in his heart, in the pit of his stomach; it made his chest tighten in a way he had never felt before. It was entirely different level of emotion he didn’t feel was possible for him to feel. Of course he had his ups and downs with life, everyone did and with the exploration of his sexuality, he should have seen it coming but it came much sooner than he had expected and hit him full force like a truck. Thankfully, Sasha didn’t bother pushing the matter any further after sensing Eren’s uncomfort. They went through half a pack of cigarettes together, Eren finally relaxing somewhat after five despite the small voice inside of him screaming at him that he should stop and that each puff he sucked in was another step closer to lung cancer. He should care, and he did but at the moment he didn’t. He just wanted the stress and weight of senior year pressures to lifted off his shoulders. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like that was going to happen any time soon. ***** Chapter 11 ***** Chapter Summary The kiddos go to the dance and have a grand ol' time Chapter Notes Well shit lol. This is definitely the longest chapter I've written for this fic and I did not know how to end it and it was kinda bad but like... shit I hope you enjoy <3 Also, Jean is an asshole once again and the word 'faggot' is used so please beware! “Mom—mom, please, stop. No—mom! I got it!” Eren swatted her hands away from his hair and stepped back as she tried to reach for his hair again. He shot her a slight side glare and she sighed, settling her fists on her hips. He turned to the mirror that he was standing in front of, running his fingers continuously through his hair before deciding to fully shake it out as a restart. “There, see? I fixed it.” He turned to her after fixing it, moving a few strands to the correct place. She looked as though she wanted to say something, but instead a warm smile replaced her pursed lips and she reached up to pat his face. “I’ll go get the camera.” He rolled his eyes, turning back to face the mirror as he adjusted his suit jacket and contemplated on whether he should keep it buttoned or not. Isabel had picked out for him to wear a grey suit with a dark blue tie. She had said something along the lines if it complimenting his skin tone, not that he paid attention to that. It really didn’t matter to him if he was honest. He was only going to this stupid dance because Isabel had practically begged him to go—just like every other year—not to mention that it was his senior year and his mom was going to make him go despite if he wanted to or not. Of course, his thoughts trailed to Levi and what they could be doing together if Eren wasn’t going to this stupid dance. They had wanted to schedule another date together, one that was desperately needed but unfortunately they had been both roped into attending events that they couldn’t care less for. His eyes looked at his phone, a small part of him hoping for it make it’s signaturing ding that meant he had gotten a message but he knew that it wouldn’t. The sound of the doorbell sounded instead, making him jump out of his thoughts. He could hear his mom yell “I’ll get it!” before Eren could respond and listened as the door opened and she began gushing at who Eren could only assume was Isabel and Sasha. “Eren! The girls are here!” “I know, I know.” He called back to her, walking down the stairs as he adjusted the cuffs of his jacket and shirt. He smiled at the sight of his friends, Isabel clapping in excitement as he reached the bottom of the stairs. Her dress matched his tie, a beautiful dark blue color that brought out her eyes and her hair that was intricately braided on her head. Her smile was bright and glittery, just like the jewelry that she was wearing. “Wow,” was all he could say as he reached out a hand to give her a small twirl. “You look as stunning as ever.” Of course, you could say that he was just being sweet—and he was—but he genuinely meant it. If he was a little more straight than he was thinking he was, they’d already be a couple by now. Isabel blushed, turning to Sasha to grab her hand and pull her further inside the entryway. “So does Sash. I got her to wear an actual formal dress.” She said, pride swelling in her face as she glanced at her best friend beside her, fixing a couple of the curls that fell at her shoulders. Sasha rolled her eyes, doing a small twirl for the sake of Eren’s mother and even a half-assed curtsey. “I mean,” Eren shrugged, “she’s not wrong.” “You clean up nicely too.” Sasha bit back with a grin. “Okay, okay! Pictures! Then you guys can get going!” Carla pulled them together, pushing Eren in the middle of Isabel and Sasha before positioning them in the way that she wanted so that she could take the pictures that she wanted. Grisha made his way out at some point, smiling at them and taking the camera so that Carla could join a picture or two as well. Eren didn’t know how many pictures she took and he didn’t care to count either, he was just happy when she allowed them to leave and head to dinner. It was all a blur to Eren, really. The conversations, the dinner, the driving. He enjoyed it, of course but those parts he didn’t much care for is he was honest. It wasn’t like they couldn’t go out to dinner and drive around any other day. He wasn’t sure why all the pictures and everything was needed, it was all just extra money. But it made his friends happy and that’s really all he could care about for the time being. Armin joined them once he and Annie had arrived, Isabel gushing over how cute they looked with his matching tie and her dress colors. Eren wasn’t sure how long they were standing in line outside, waiting for them to let everyone in and allow them to start the dance. He was almost about to walk back to the car and have someone text him when they were letting people in, but he was stopped when he spotted Mikasa and Jean walking up towards the front of the line. “Hey asswipe,” Eren barked, successfully earning the attention of the snarky, horse-faced bastard that who’s face Eren wanted to smash through a church window. “You can’t just cut in front of everyone. Wait in line like everyone else.” He raised an eyebrow, a look crossing over his face as he straightened up, adjusting his jacket. It looked as though he wanted to say something, to walk up to Eren and get in his face like all the other times he had before but Mikasa stopped him. Isabel held onto Sasha’s arm, keeping her in check in case Jean or Mikasa wanted to try something. She would do anything to keep from ruining the dance for Isabel. Jean glared at them as they started making their way to the back of the line, the tension surrounding everyone else slowly decreasing as the chatter was brought back due to excitement to finally be let in. Isabel sighed, patting Eren’s arm and giving him a small smile, shaking her head when Sasha mumbled something about something shoved too far up Jean’s ass. Her grumbling subsided though as the line finally began moving and before time, they walked down the decorated hallway that led to the gym. “You know, it doesn’t look as bad as I was expecting it to.” Sasha commented as they walked in. “Midnight in Paris, I was expecting some half assed shit but they practically went full prom decorations on this.” Isabel clapped excitedly, running over when noticing a couple of her other cheerleading friends that had helped put on the dance and they squealed together. Eren shook his head, leading them over to an empty table to sit at while they waited for things to finally pick up. He took the moment to look around and see what teachers had actually shown up to supervise the dance. The same ones as every other dance they had gone to. “Guys, come on.” Isabel pulled on Sasha and Eren’s arms, earning their attention as they looked at her over their drinks that they had gone and gotten while Isabel fluttered around to be the social butterfly that she was. “Come dance. There’s finally a crowd and the music is picking up and you guys are going to end up doing something stupid together.” Eren and Sasha exchanged looks, knowing that the truth behind their friend’s statement was painfully true. If they didn’t stick with Isabel, Lord knows that they’d end up picking a fight with someone. She plucked their cups from their hands, setting them on the table behind them and pulled them up before dragging them to the dance floor. Eren would be lying if he said he wasn’t having a good time. A few others joined them, acquaintances they had in other classes who didn’t feel like dancing in the larger crowd that was in the middle of the floor. “Uh… hey, isn’t that Hanji?” Sasha asked, Eren and Isabel both looking over in the direction that she was pointing and their eyes fell on their Principal, standing in a suit nicer than ones he wore during school hours as he laughed with a couple others. It was hard to see who it was that he was laughing with, but Eren knew that Sasha was right when she said that it was Isabel’s sister. Eren glanced over at Isabel, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion and she began making her way over to who they suspected was her older sister. They followed suit, the adults noticing them after they had reached a few feet away and their suspicions were correct when she turned and smiled widely at Isabel, opening her arms for a hug. Sasha laughed, the baffled look on Isabel’s face the most amusing thing of the situation and Eren grinned. “Hanji, what the fuck are you even doing here?” “Chaperoning.” She smiled, wrapping her arm around Sasha’s shoulder in a side hug. “Erwin— Mr. Smith asked if I wanted to.” They looked over at their principal who simply shrugged, a smile on his face as well. Isabel crossed her arms, sticking out her bottom lip in a pout. “Are you trying to ruin my senior year?” She asked the blond and Sasha choked on her water for a moment, turning away so that she could laugh. “Inviting my sister? You could have invited Levi for all I care but instead you invited my sister?” Eren felt his heart skip a beat at the other man’s name. Sure Eren wanted to see him, but not under the circumstances they were in now. If anything, he didn’t want to be surrounded by a couple hundred of other students, a bunch of other teachers that were supervising, one of which was the principal of the school. “What makes you say I didn’t invite him?” Eren tuned back in, feeling the color drain from his face and he looked over at Sasha. “He’s right over there.” They turned to look over at where Mr. Smith had pointed, taking notice of the shorter teacher making his way over to them. Eren was sure that his breath was caught in his throat, eyes glued to every movement that Levi made. From the way he ran his hand through his hair to the way he adjusted the sleeves of his shirt so that they were more even and comfortable. He still had a disinterested look on his face, getting sidetracked for a moment as he barked something at a couple that was getting a little too frisky with their making out at a table. The moment he made eye contact with Eren, his facial expression changed. His eyebrows raised and his frown dropped in the slightest, giving Eren a quick once over before looking past him and at the tall blond that was of more importance behind Eren. “Fucking kids.” He said once he was close enough, Hanji barking out a laugh as Sasha snorted. “Language, please.” Mr. Smith chastised but there was a playful grin on his lips as he glanced down at Levi. There was a sickening twist in Eren’s stomach as he watched the two interact, something about it making him uncomfortable. It was strange. The way that he didn’t even spare a second glance at Eren which was something that never happened. He knew that he was overreacting for something so small and stupid. Thankfully, Eren was saved by the bell when Isabel gasped loudly and clapped her hands in excitement. “I love this song! Let’s go!” She grabbed Eren and Sasha’s hands before yanking them away and Eren was able to glance at Levi to see a faint smile on his face as he watched them be pulled away. “I bet you weren’t expecting him to be here.” Armin said once Eren had finally escaped away from Sasha and Isabel and made his way to the table so that he could strip off his jacket. He shrugged, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt and glanced in the direction of Levi. “Didn’t think he was the kind of guy to chaperone at these kind of events.” “He isn’t.” Eren muttered, slumping down in the seat next to his best friend and ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. “He only came, I’m assuming, because Hanji and Mr. Smith roped him into it. We were supposed to go on another date tonight but I was dragged here instead.” Armin raised his eyebrows, leaning forward so that he could rest his elbows on the table as he looked over Eren’s face. “You seem to like him a lot.” It seemed as though the loud music that was blaring behind them slowly faded out. Eren hadn’t exactly thought about how he felt about Levi. He tried to keep those feelings down to a minimum because it was the last thing that he wanted to get caught. He didn’t want to get in trouble with his parents and he certainly didn’t want levi to lose his job just because he made a stupid mistake for falling for his teacher. Honestly, Eren had yet to even be honest with himself on who he was and sorting out all of his internal battles. Did he want to admit that he liked their teacher? Or did he want to just say that it was a stupid fling that he got caught up with? Of course, it was still too early to tell if there was anything between them so why should Eren have to make the decision if he liked the other man or not. Especially if Eren didn’t even know if he wanted to stay at the dance the whole night. But despite if he wanted to or not, he knew that Isabel would end up finding a way to keep him there anyway. “It doesn’t matter.” He grumbled, knowing fully well that Armin knew that he was lying. The mood changed fairly quickly, the upbeat and fun music getting replaced quickly with a slower melody. The sound of a piano filled the gym from the speakers and the large crowd dispersed as couples made their way to the dance floor to have the first slow dance of the night. Annie came up to find Armin who was reluctant to leave Eren. It didn’t take much coaxing to get the other boy to go slow dance with his date, Sasha winking at him as she walked past them to join Eren at the table. “Where’s Isabel?” Sasha gestured in the direction of Hanji where Isabel was standing, leaning against the wall. “No one asked her to dance. She’s pretty upset by it.” Sasha said with a sigh. “I asked, of course but I think she was wanting Farlan to ask but I don’t see him in here. Either he didn’t come or he’s taking pictures.” She shrugged, hugging her arms as she crossed her legs. Eren looked over at Isabel again for a moment before standing up, ignoring the thumping in his chest as he neared the three adults and his best friend. He kept his eyes trained on her, calming his breathing. He could feel them watching him and he smiled at Isabel, holding out his hand for her. “Can I have this dance?” He could see her eyes sparkle from the tears that had been welling there slowly and relief washed over him as she smiled, sniffling and reaching out her hand to take his. He flickered his eyes over to Hanji’s and noticed the thankful look on her face, her hands clasped together happily and Eren smiled a little more, leading Isabel to the dance floor. It was nice, for lack of a better word. They made small talk but there wasn’t much to be said. That was the good thing of being best friends, they didn’t need to say much to understand each other. Instead, they made stupid faces at each other. Isabel often would tease Eren about stealing glances at Levi who had been watching them the entire time while Hanji and Mr. Smith walked around to make sure that people were being appropriate in the darker corners of the gym and even while dancing. At one point, their eyes had met and Eren couldn’t help but smile. “C’mon, Jaeger. You gotta make up your mind at some point.” Eren looked up when the song ended, a different, much more upbeat song replacing the slow ballad and noticed Jean. He dropped his hands from Isabel’s sides, shoving them into his pockets so he could ball them into fists without directly showing the affect Jean had on him. “Are you straight or are you a faggot?” He ran his tongue over his teeth, noticing the smug smirk on Jean’s face grow with each passing second and he wanted nothing more than to punch it off his face. “Fuck off Jean. Can you not be an asshole for once in your life and leave us alone? We’re trying to have a good time here.” Eren took a step forward, holding out his arm to push Isabel behind him in case Jean had decided to get physical. He could see Levi over Jean’s shoulder as he straightened up from where he was leaning on the wall, a look of concern on his face and he took a couple steps forward. “Why didn’t you ask me if I wanted to dance?” He mocked, taking a closer step to Eren, leaving only a foot of distance between them. Eren could smell his cologne, too strong of a scent as if the asshat had poured the entire bottle all over himself. He scoffed. “And why would I want to dance with a horse-faced jackass that smells like a middle school boy’s locker room?” Eren could see the anger flash in Jean’s eyes and he made a move to do something, but was stopped at the sharp voice of one of the teacher’s. “Hey, knock it off.” Levi pushed the two boys away from each other, giving each a scolding look. “Walk away. I doubt either of you want to explain to your parents that you got kicked out of homecoming because of a stupid fight.” Mikasa walked over, pulling Jean away after a moment of convincing him and he gave Eren a glare before turning away. Eren let out a sigh and removed his hands from his pockets, reaching up to ruffle his hair. Isabel grumbled something, thanking Levi who sighed and shook his head before giving Eren a look. He walked away, back over to their principal and Hanji and Isabel gave Eren’s arm a tug. She smiled at him, nudging him with her shoulder as he glanced back over at the raven that had saved him from getting in another fist fight with Jean. The tension that he was feeling finally melted away as Sasha joined them to dance, her and Isabel screaming the lyrics of the song playing. Sasha had mentioned something about closing his eyes and acting as though they were just dancing in the club and to just let loose a little so he took her advice and did just that. When he opened them, he watched as Isabel and Sasha teased a couple of guys watching them. Dancing ridiculously close to each other and even grinding a little and sending them flirty winks and smiles. Eren laughed. A couple of other girls joined Eren, dancing with him and he looked up to see Levi’s intense eyes cutting through the darkness, watching him with a glint in his eyes that reminded him of the night they had first met. They maintained eye contact for who knew how long, Eren unable to look away. And he didn’t want to. If anything, he wished that it was Levi he was dancing with. He wanted that close intimacy back, he wanted to feel Levi’s body move against his again and to feel the tension rise between them until given the chance to finally release it in a more private setting. Once the song ended, Eren shot a look over to Levi once again and stepped outside into the hallway for a breather, making his way to the bathroom. He made sure that there was no one else there, thankful that there wasn’t and leaned against the sink counter as he waited. The door opened a couple moments later, Eren standing up straight to act as though he was doing something and sighed in relief and it was only Levi. “You put on quite a show out there.” A shiver ran down Eren’s spine at the lowness of Levi’s voice. “Did I?” He feigned innocence, looking up to look at Levi through the mirror before turning around to lean against the counter once again and he crossed his arms over his chest. He took a moment to really look Levi over. Very much appreciating the way the suit fit him in all the right places but Eren wanted nothing more than to remove it slowly and admire the skin under it. He felt his cheeks redden slightly at the thought, a thought that he more or less shouldn’t be having but he couldn’t help it. Especially with the way Levi was looking at him while he was dancing. Levi smirked, stepping closer and Eren’s eyes snapped up to meet his. “You know, it was a shame that we had to cancel our date for this dance.” The brunet raised an eyebrow, a grin slowly making its way to his face. “The night is still young and I don’t feel like continuously getting harassed by Jean and watching you shamelessly flirt with our principal.” The last part he hadn’t meant to let leave his mouth, but the excitement of possibly getting to see Levi in a different setting that isn’t the school caused him to ramble.                       “Are you jealous?” Eren scoffed. “Pfft, no. Why… would I be jealous?” He swallowed thickly as Levi crept closer to him. Close enough that Eren could smell his cologne and it made Eren weak in the knees. His eyes flickered down to Levi’s lips, wanting nothing more than to lean forward and capture them with his own in a heated kiss. “Because Erwin has more of my attention than you do.” Levi's voice lowered and Eren could feel a shiver go down his spine, his body tensing as Levi's hand slipped around his waist to pull their bodies closer. “Which, I should inform you that he doesn't.” “Prove it.” Eren challenged, cocking his chin up in defiance. Levi smirked, mischievously so and removed his arm from around Eren's waist. “Can't exactly do that in a high school bathroom now can I?”high school bathroom.” Excitement shot through Eren’s body and it took all of his well being to not act on it. “Can—” he paused for a moment, clearing his throat, “can I meet you in the parking lot in like ten minutes?” Levi nodded, straightening Eren’s jacket before leaning up to brush their lips together and walked out of the bathroom without so much as a second glance back to Eren. He gripped onto the counter behind him, his knees buckling under him for a moment and he let out the breath he didn’t know that he had been holding. He managed to get himself together, turning around to ruffle his hair a few times and took a deep breath. He was definitely glad that it was dark enough in the gym that his friends couldn’t see how red his cheeks were from the encounter he had with Levi in the bathroom. They smiled at him as he walked over, Isabel beginning to babble but Eren wasn’t listening. “I hate to do this, but I gotta go. Something happened at home and mom wants me home.” Isabel pouted, sticking out her bottom lip to emphasize that she wasn’t happy about it. Eren exchanged looks with Armin, giving him a pathetic excuse for an apologetic smile. Sasha didn’t seem to buy it either but neither said anything. He grabbed his jacket, pulling it on rather hastily and adjusted his sleeves before being pulled into a hug by Isabel. He said his goodbyes, Isabel still trying to convince him to stay a little longer at the dance before she finally let him go and he hugged her, giving her a kiss on the head before leaving. It took everything in him not to run outside and look for Levi so he settled for shooting a text to him saying where he would be waiting so he didn’t seem suspicious and he wouldn’t be seen with Levi. He didn’t know how long he had been standing outside, anticipation and nervousness running through him and he jumped when his phone vibrated in his hand to signal that he had gotten a text from Levi. Eren looked up as a car came to a slow halt by the curb but he didn’t move, watching to see if anyone was going to get out or not. The window rolled down, showing Levi’s face as he leaned over a little. “Hurry up so we don’t get caught.” Eren grinned, looking around as he rushed over to the passenger door and slid in. As he was clicking in his seat belt, Levi made his way out of the parking lot and sighed once they were on the main road. “Jesus, it was a bitch getting away from both Hanji and Erwin.” Levi said and Eren glanced over at him. “Why do they have to ask so many questions? I wasn’t needed to chaperone, Hanji just practically fucking begged me and wouldn’t leave me alone until I caved and agreed to come. But I’m glad I did.” He looked over at Eren as they rolled into a stop and winked, causing a blush to ride high on Eren’s cheeks. “Where else were you expecting me to be tonight? I’d like to think that you’re at Isabel’s place enough to have heard her talking about the dance nonstop. It’s all she could talk about for weeks. She was so excited.” He paused for a moment. “Also, I didn’t know that you also owned a car?” Levi laughed, a sound that made Eren’s heart flutter in his chest. “Of course I have a car. I can’t transport you around illegally on just a motorcycle. It’s easier to get caught that way.” He winked and Eren rolled his eyes but laughed anyway. It didn’t take long to get to Levi’s apartment—they had decided that was the safest place to go so they didn’t run into anyone that they could potentially know—and Eren felt a somewhat nervousness swirl around in his stomach. It had been about two months since the last time he had stepped foot in Levi’s apartment and even then he vaguely remembered any of it. Levi parked his car, but neither moved and Eren could feel Levi’s eyes watching him for a moment before bringing Eren’s hand to his face and brushed his lips over the back of it. “It can just be an in-home movie date.” Eren looked over at him and smiled, giving a little nod before they got out. Levi took his hand again, leading him up the stairs before dropping it reluctantly to unlock the door. He looked around nervously as he waited for Levi to open the door, getting pulled in almost a bit too forcefully. Once the door was closed, Eren let out a small sound in surprise when Levi pressed his lips to Eren’s. He wrapped his arms around Levi’s shoulders as he felt Levi’s wrap around his waist to pull him closer. The brunet realized that he had thought about kissing Levi a lot more than he cared to admit to himself and let himself slip into a content state of mind as their lips slotted together perfectly. “Fuck,” Levi said as they pulled away and Eren couldn’t help but smile. “You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to do that since our last date.” “That makes two of us.” Eren mumbled before pulling Levi into another kiss, reveling in the sound that Levi from the back of his throat. They stumbled into Levi’s living room until the back of Levi’s knees his his couch and Eren tumbled forward. He laughed, pulling himself up off of Levi and stared into his eyes for a moment. “You know you’re a fucking tease. Especially with your dancing.” Levi commented, settling Eren on his lap and rested his hands on the boy’s hips. “But I’m not complaining. It was fun to watch. Not to mention that you’re so fucking hot in a suit.” Eren blushed, adjusting himself until he was comfortable and wrapped his arms around Levi’s neck, playing with his undercut. “That makes two of us.” He repeated, this time with a wink and Levi rolled his eyes. “But seriously, I’m surprised I didn’t pop a fucking boner when I first saw you.” The older man’s small smile turned into a smirk and he brushed his lips over Eren’s chin, cheeks, lips and then jaw and Eren’s breath hitched in his throat. “Should we change that?” Eren whined as Levi pressed a faint kiss under his ear, hips moving on their own a little to grind down into Levi’s faintly. “Won’t be that hard.” “I will be if you keep doing that with your hips.” It was Eren’s turn to smirk as he moved his hips again and watched as Levi bit his lip to keep in any sound that wanted to escape past his lips. It was before long that Eren was fully grinding against Levi in slow, languid movements while Levi kissed over his neck. His hands had untucked Eren’s shirt and roamed around on his skin, finding their way up to Eren’s nipples and teased him slightly. It caused a small, wanton moan to leave his mouth and he let his head fall back, giving Levi more access to kiss his neck. “Fuck, Eren.” Levi said breathlessly and Eren swore that if he wasn’t already hard, he definitely was from that. He grinned at Levi, batting his eyelashes innocently and slipped of the older man’s lap and sat on his knees in front of him. “What are you doing? You know that this is illegal right?” Eren scoffed, running his hands over Levi’s thighs. “Literally me being here is illegal. What’s your point?” Levi didn’t say anything and Eren smiled. “Exactly. And to answer your question, I’m going to give you a blowjob.” His hands reached for Levi’s belt but halted when he noticed the look on Levi’s face. “Unless you don’t want me to?” He started pulling away but Levi’s hands stopped him. He raised his eyebrows. “No, it’s not that… Are you sure that you want to do this?” “Well yeah. Of course. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be on my knees getting ready to suck your dick if I wasn’t.” He could have laughed at Levi’s reaction and the dark red color that his face turned. “I want to do this. I promise. It’s not like I’m going to tell anyone either.” He smiled to reassure him, rubbing his hands gently over Levi’s knees until he relaxed. Levi slowly unbuckled his belt, pulling it off with a little bit of difficulty and Eren laughed a little as he struggled. He pushed Levi’s hands away from the button of his pants, silently asking if he could do it and smiled when he relieved a nod. Slowly, he undid the button and pulled down the zipper, allowing Levi to awkwardly push his pants down. Eren mouthed at his thighs, making his way up slowly before mouth at the erection that was straining in Levi’s boxers. He let out a low moan, his head tilting back and Eren enjoyed the blush on Levi’s cheeks. He moved away after a moment, giggling slightly at the whine that Levi let out from the loss of contact and moved his head back so that he could look down at Eren. The brunet smiled innocently, pulling Levi’s boxers away to let his cock spring free and Levi gasped. Eren reached up and took hold of it, stroking it slowly and loved the way that Levi moaned, bucking into his hand. “Fuck, Eren.” Levi moaned and he felt a little bit of pride swell in his chest at the sound of his name falling off the older man’s lips. He was glad that he could hear it sober this time. Eren continued for a few more moments before leaning forward and wrapping his lips around the head and Levi cursed under his breath. The younger boy maintained eye contact as he slowly lowered himself, taking more of Levi into his mouth. It was times like these that Eren was glad that he didn’t have a gag reflex. Once he had taken Levi all the way, Eren waited a moment until he began bobbing his head slowly. Levi was already a mess, moaning Eren’s name and tugging at his hair to get the boy to move faster. And he did. Fondling Levi’s balls as well, Eren moaned around the dick in his mouth and allowed his mouth to go slack so that Levi could move buck his hips with more ease. “Face fuck me.” Eren moaned as he pulled off, a string of saliva connected from his lips to the tip of Levi’s dick. Levi was panting, his hair disheveled and he pushed Eren’s hair out of his eyes. “Please.” He whined and watched as something flashed in Levi’s eyes. Giving Eren’s hair a sharp tug, he pulled his head back and ruthlessly facefucked him and Eren moaned loudly around him. It wasn’t long before Levi came on Eren’s face, panting with Eren’s name on his lips. It was the breathless tone in Levi’s voice that set Eren over the edge and caused him to cum in his boxers but he couldn’t bring himself to care. “Holy shit.” Eren gasped and Levi nodded, pulling the brunet up so that he could bring him into a kiss. “God you’re perfect.” Levi murmured, peppering kisses all over Eren’s face as the younger yawned. Levi picked him up, carrying him to the bedroom and laid him down on the bed before undressing him and grabbed a washcloth to wipe them both down. Without realizing, Eren reached out for the older man, pulling him down until Eren could cuddle into his chest. Levi chuckled, a sound that was much warmer due to the closeness of them and Eren melted at the feeling of fingers combing through his hair. Eren didn’t know how long it had been since he had fallen asleep so quickly and so contently but he certainly wasn’t going to complain anytime soon. This was so worth skipping the rest of the dance. ***** Chapter 12 ***** Chapter Summary Eren and Levi have a little talk Chapter Notes GUYS I GRADUATED! WOOOOOOO!! SO THIS IS WHY THIS UPDATE IS LATE BUT I THINK THE CONTENTS OF THIS CHAPTER MAKE UP FOR IT ;D Sunlight filtered through the curtains and lit up the room, causing Eren to wake up to the sound of birds chirping outside. There were kids outside laughing and screaming as they ran around and Eren was glad that he was an only child so he didn't have to deal with screaming and the rambunctious ways that children had. He rubbed his eyes, letting out a small sigh as he willed to let them open. So he took his time, listening to the sounds outside the window, his own breathing. He was startled from the shifting next to him and snapped his eyes open, looking in the direction of what or who was next to him. It was a sense of   déjà vu, seeing Levi next to him asleep. He looked peaceful and Eren took the moment to examine his face; it was relaxed instead of tense which was the way it usually was whenever he was awake. A small smile danced over Eren’s lips and he found himself reaching out to brush the raven’s hair away from his eyes. His skin was like porcelain, Eren was quite surprised with how soft it was. He kept in a chuckle as Levi leaned into his touch while Eren combed his fingers gently through his hair. Slowly, he inched his hand to the back of Levi’s head so that he could play with the short hairs of the undercut there and he smiled more at the way Levi purred. “What are you doing?” Eren jumped, drawing his hand back and felt his cheeks redden as Levi chuckled. His eyes opened, watching Eren carefully as he propped himself up on an elbow. The brunet didn't answer, instead looked away in a flustered manner. He could have laughed at how stupid he looked in front of Levi and he flopped onto his back. His heart skipped a beat in chest as the man next to him chuckled wholeheartedly. Eren sighed in content while Levi combed his fingers through his hair. It was quiet for a moment, the outside sounds that were muffled from the window and the wall filled the room nicely. Eren blinked his eyes open after he yawned, turning his head to look at Levi and smiled softly. He wasn’t sure what kind of feeling it was that he was feeling in his chest. His heart beating irrationally as he stared at Levi and examined his face, his hands itched to reach out and fold his fingers with Levi’s, his lips ached to brush against the other’s in soft and gentle kisses. It was almost as if nothing had to be said, everything was being said with the silence that wrapped around them like a blanket. “I was playing with your hair,” Eren said after a moment. “To answer your question.”  Levi rolled his eyes, leaning forward to press a kiss to the corner of Eren’s mouth before rolling away to stand up. He smiled, fingers brushing over where Levi’s lips had met his skin and he trailed his eyes to watch Levi stretch. It was fucking magical. That was all there was to it. Levi was gorgeous and there was nothing in this world that could convince him otherwise. He watched the older man’s back muscles flex as he twisted around before walking into the bathroom and Eren fell back on the pillow with a sigh. He felt like a teenage girl who had just been noticed by his crush, except it was true in most aspects. He had just woken up next to his crush. Not to mention that he was facefucked by said crush the night before. But he wasn’t complaining one bit. Thinking back on it now, he could feel his face redden with each second that ticked by as the image became more engraved in his mind. Bright green eyes opened as the bed dipped and Levi joined Eren, leaning over him with a small smile that graced his lips. Eren caved into his wants and reached up to cup Levi’s cheek, his thumb brushing under his eye. Up close it was easier to see the bags under his eyes, darker than his regular skin color. It made his eyes stand out a little more. His head turned, Levi’s lips brushing over his wrist. Eren leaned up, moving his head off the pillow so that he could press his lips to Levi’s in a proper kiss that he thought he had deserved that morning. It felt as though his heart melted in his chest at the softness of Levi’s lips. There was a faint taste of mint on his lips from what Eren could have only assumed was from Levi brushing his teeth. He decided to be bold and poked Levi’s bottom lip with his tongue, surprised when Levi’s lips separated to allow him access. A small moan escaped Eren’s throat as their tongues swirled together and he shifted, pulling away so that he could push the older man down on the bed and climb on top of him. “Someone’s feeling bold, eh?” Levi teased, his hands resting on Eren’s hips and he rubbed circles into the tan skin with his thumbs. Eren grinned, leaning down to capture those soft lips again in a slightly more heated kiss with more tongue than Eren cared to admit there was. But neither were planning on stopping any time soon.   Eren ran his hands over Levi’s chest, their lips separating breathlessly and he moved his lips over Levi’s jaw. He grazed his teeth over the underside of his jaw, loving the way Levi’s chest rose as he sucked in a sharp breath from the sensation. He smirked a little as he felt Levi’s fingers press harder into his hips. A part of him almost wanted there to be bruises in a form of a reminder of their time together but another part of him was scared that it would somehow be seen from his parents. And that wasn’t a conversation that he was ready to have with them yet. He wasn’t even ready to have it with himself. He peppered kisses over Levi’s neck, teasing him a little as he dragged his tongue slightly over the older man’s pulse point. Eren chuckled when Levi sucked in a sharp breath, tilting his head back to expose his throat. He took to mouthing at the newly exposed throat, nibbling the skin there and chasing the adam’s apple that bobbed with each time that Levi swallowed. Eren sat back, grinning as he felt Levi’s bulge brush against his ass. He examined Levi for a moment, taking in the flushed look on his face and his eyes flickered down to watch his adam’s apple bob again before he smirked. Leaning forward, Eren brushed his lips over Levi’s, letting his tongue slip out for a moment to swipe over the other’s bottom lip. “Someone’s quite excited, hm?” Levi huffed, air blowing his bangs away from his eyes so that he could get a better look at the boy above him. “How can I not be?” “Why would you be?” Eren asked, a challenging look in his eye as he leaned down so that their faces were inches apart. There was a glint that flashed in Levi’s eyes. Before Eren realized what was happening, he was flipped over, his back pressed into the mattress; all the air was knocked out of his lungs. He tried wiggling, his wrists being held together by Levi's strong grip above his head. He would be a liar to say that he wasn't melting more and more with each second that ticked by as Levi hovered over him. There was a primal look on his face. Eren swore his heart skipped a beat. “Who's the bold one now?” Eren chirped, trying his best to keep his voice steady. But with Levi hovering over him, looking at him like a predator its prey made it difficult. “I just thought you needed to be taught a lesson on who should be in charge.” Levi's voice sent shivers down Eren’s spine. He kept his whine in his throat, biting his lip to keep himself from panting as Levi kissed down his neck teasingly. It was an agonizingly slow pace. He loved it but at the same time he wanted— needed —more. Needed the pace to be faster because he couldn’t handle it. As Levi sucked lightly on the sweet spot of Eren’s neck, he couldn’t help but whine, “Levi.” He could feel his face quickly turn a soft shade of red at how needy he must have sounded but there was also another part of him that didn’t care. “Stop teasing.” “Why? That’s all you’ve been doing to me this morning. Shouldn’t you deserve a little taste of your own medicine?” Eren didn’t think this man could get any hotter until he saw the smirk that unraveled on his thin lips. Another whine left Eren’s lips and he could feel the older man’s smirk on his throat as he mouthed at his adam’s apple. “Hm? What was that?” When Eren didn’t answer, Levi’s smirk only grew darker as if there was a secret that he was keeping from the boy. Eren sucked in a sharp breath as Levi’s tongue ran over his collarbone, trailing over his nipple for a moment. He stopped, giving Eren a moment to process what had just happened and couldn’t wipe the proud, snarky grin on his face as he noticed the way Eren basically unwound under Levi’s tongue. “ Fuck .” He gasped, arching up into Levi’s mouth. “L—Levi please.” His begging seemed to have hit the right spot in Levi’s mind because he was moving much faster now, sucking and nipping at Eren’s chest and collarbone. He made his way down Eren’s stomach, eventually letting go of his wrists with a firm, “don’t move.” So Eren obeyed, staying as still as he could while Levi continued to explore his skin. A wanton moan left the boy’s throat as Levi’s lips found his thighs, sucking rather harshly to leave a dark bruise. Eren let his legs fall open more, allowing Levi more access to his skin and whimpered at the look in his eyes when they made eye contact. The older man chuckled, teeth scraping over the sensitive skin. He continued the torture until Eren was a whining mess, begging for Levi to move on from his thighs and to more important matters at the moment. “Good boy,” Levi purred. Eren moaned at that, squirming under Levi’s gaze. “I remember that much about our first night together.” He snapped his eyes to Eren’s, sitting up and pushing his legs apart to give himself better access to press his palm to the obvious bulge in Eren’s boxers. “You loved hearing me praise how well you were doing, tell you how much of a little slut you were being. It was quite the turn on.” Eren felt his heartbeat pick up. Felt as if he couldn’t breathe as the words left Levi’s mouth and he wanted nothing more than for Levi to take him then and there. He needed it. So bad. Lips were back on his stomach, licking, savoring the skin there and Eren let out a soft sigh at the feeling only for his breath to hitch as Levi’s tongue replaced his palm on Eren’s straining erection. If Eren thought it was amazing when they were drunk, he couldn’t even imagine what it was going to be like sober. But he couldn’t wait to find out. They maintained eye contact as Levi slowly unraveled Eren with his tongue, gaining silent consent from the boy under him to peel away his boxers. If Eren thought Levi was good with his words, then he was a God with his tongue. Slowly, he traced the curve of Eren’s cock with his tongue. He took in every inch as slowly as he possibly could while Eren squeezed his eyes shut, shaky hands gripping the sheets under him. He wanted to melt into the sheets. Wanted this moment to last forever because who knew if it was ever going to happen again. Of course, Eren had to guess that it probably would considering all circumstances. “Oh, god. ” Eren moaned as Levi took the tip into his mouth. “Levi. Fuck.” His back arched off the bed. He could feel Levi’s smirk more than he could see it while the older man took more into his mouth, slowly easing his way down to the base. Eren’s mind was scrambled. His thoughts were everywhere, trying to comprehend the feeling of Levi’s tongue on his dick, his nails scraping down his thighs and the feeling his eyes searing into Eren’s. He was surprised he didn’t blow his load then and there. The sounds that filled the room were absolutely sinful but Eren certainly didn’t have any room to complain. He could hardly form any thoughts, let alone words to complain about the wonderful things that Levi was doing to him. Bright green eyes bored into intense silver ones, almost encouraging Levi to more than he already was to make Eren go crazy. And he took that silent challenge, surprising the boy under him as he took Eren’s dick down his throat the best that he could. It brought Eren to the edge and he could have came if not for Levi pulling off and pressing soft kisses to his thighs. “Why did you stop?” Eren whined, frustrated but exhilarated at the feeling of being so close yet so far. “Shhh,” he pressed a finger to Eren’s lips, brushing his own against Levi’s chin. “You’re so impatient.” A low chuckle rumbled in Levi’s chest and he moved away, proceeding to remove his own boxers. The brunet licked his lips, watching Levi’s movements with an intense, watchful eye. He licked his lips, allowing them to curl into a smirk as he sat up and reached out for Levi. He managed to pull him closer by his hips, flipping them around to press Levi’s back into the mattress as Eren straddled him. He ran his hands over Levi’s chest, relishing the feeling of his smooth, porcelain skin under his fingertips. Levi’s breath hitched when Eren thumbed his nipples, tongue connecting to his collarbone. There weren’t enough words that Eren could form to describe the feelings swirling around in his chest and brain. He went with his gut intuition instead and sat up, winking at the man under him while he let his hands move on their own down his own body. They travelled lower, lower until— “Wait.” Levi’s hands shot out and grabbed Eren’s hands before they could travel any lower to prepare himself. His heart dropped to his stomach, the color draining out of his face. He tried opening his mouth, but nothing came out. All words died in his throat and he could feel his hands start shaking. “It’s not bad. I promise.” Levi sealed his promise with a gentle kiss and then pressed one to Eren’s nose. “I just…” There was a pause that burned in Eren’s ears. “What are we?” The question hit Eren like a ton of bricks and he let out a long groan, falling back on his back. “Are you kidding me? ” He couldn’t stress the question enough, wiggling away as Levi tried to pull his hands away from his face. Finally, he sat up with an incredulous look covering his face. “We were about to fuck and you pull that. ” He could have laughed at the look on Levi’s face, the way his cheeks flared up in embarrassment and cleared his throat. “I just… want to make sure that this isn’t anything that’s going to be regretted.” “So you wanted to ask—” “What are we?” Levi finished for him and Eren sighed. It took a moment of thinking, hard and long before he answered. “Illegal.” “Oh my god, Eren.” It was Levi’s turn to groan, pushing Eren away from him as the younger laughed. “We didn’t just fucking jump the border of another country, Jesus. This is a serious question.” He laughed harder, holding his stomach as a couple tears pricked the corners of his eyes. After a moment, he calmed down, shifting to lean his head on Levi’s shoulder to dwell in the calm silence. Never did it occur to Eren that they needed to really be anything with some kind of label. Of course, he wouldn’t mind a label for whatever it was that they were, but society certainly wouldn’t like the situation of a student and his teacher putting a romantic type label on their relationship that was supposed to be strictly professional. But Eren almost didn’t care. “Can’t we just be… whatever it is that we are? Like, not worrying about a label for now until there’s something more concrete to go on?” He asked, glancing over at Levi who nodded slightly. His hand found Eren’s, linking their fingers together and gave a gentle squeeze. “As long as we establish that there’s something here.” Eren snorted. “We were just about to have sex.” He moved to straddle Levi’s lap, arms wrapping around the older man’s neck. “Pretty sure that there’s something there that’s hard to ignore.” Levi smiled, a genuine smile that sent Eren’s heart in a tumble before it melted as Levi kissed him softly. He smiled into the kiss, their lips moving together perfectly as if they had been doing this for years. The only label that Eren could use for the moment was comforting; he only hoped that it would unravel into something more. End Notes Thanks so much for reading! Don't be shy to leave a kudos or a comment and I'll see you around! 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