SUMMARY
People don't understand how Eren and Levi have decided they are each other's better half after a single meeting. Then, they do.
Armin doesn't understand it. Yes, he knows Eren can be impulsive and hotheaded at times, but even he couldn't have found a boyfriend in the hour and a half he left him alone.
Except he did. Eren has a boyfriend now. A boyfriend fifteen years his senior, who Armin has never heard of before, and who looks as far as Eren's type as possible. All of Eren's other relationships were with people taller than him, more on the lanky side, usually paired with preppy and happy personalities. Armin doesn't get it.
(Eren would confess, years later, that he didn't date anyone like Levi on purpose. It hurt to much, everyone fell short to the man who has held his heart for a lifetime already. It was easier to bury the memories if he stayed clear of people who reminded him of what he had lost.
And Armin wouldn't understand - how could he, he doesn't have the memories like Eren and Levi do - but would still hug his best friend and comfort him as he reminisced the horrors of a life they lived together but Armin can't remember.)
Except Eren has that look when he talks about Levi. His eyes shine, brighter than Armin has ever seen them, and there's this happy edge to his voice that's impossible to ignore. He talks about Levi like he's the world, with a familiarity that he should not have, given that they've known each other for a grand total of two weeks. Still, it doesn't feel strange, per se. Armin gets the feeling of deja vu, like he has gone through this before, but that's impossible. Neither of them have met Levi before in their lives, and this is the first time Eren looks so happy since Armin has known him. They have known each other since they were children, so that's a lot.
Eren thinks Armin doesn't notice. He thinks none of their friends notice, but they do. Eren always looks far away, like he's not entirely there. He's always daydreaming, startled by mundane things, eyes filled with such deep emotions that shouldn't be there. Armin sees the heartbreak in those teal eyes, sees the sorrow and the pain.
He wants to ask why is it always there when Eren watches all their friends together, laughing and joking with each other.
He doesn't. Armin has a feeling if would break him.
But Eren has always been different. Ever since they met all those years ago in primary school, when Eren saved him from the bullies, he has always looked older, wiser. Armin forgets, at times, because for all that wisdom, he can be dumb as a brick sometimes. But Eren holds a sharpness that he hasn't seen in anyone else, a drive and a sense of purpose no child should have, and despite that, it feels so familiar it aches.
A lot of things feel that way, like when they had gymnastics at school and Eren gracefully moved around, or when he took out a gang of bullies with practiced movements Armin never saw him learn. Like that time Sasha stole a steamed potato from the cafeteria and was caught by one of the teachers, or when they went play paint ball and his hold on the riffle felt frighteningly comforting. Safe.
A lot of things feel familiar, but Armin has never figured out why.
Still, despite the weirdness of it all, Armin is nonetheless excited to meet the man that seems to mean so much to his best friend, if only to keep Mikasa under control. She, unlike Armin, hadn't taken the news so well. It's not that Mikasa doesn't like Eren to date anyone - though that certainly is part of it, Mikasa is a little bit overprotective when it comes to anything remotely related to Eren - but she, like Armin finds it weird that her adoptive brother would be so smitten with a man he only just met, and unlike Armin, she is more than ready to break some bones if she doesn't like what she sees.
That's what Armin is there for. If push comes to shove, he'll have to mediate between the brothers. Again. Just thinking about it has him having flashbacks from before Mikasa moved out in favour of sharing an place with Annie, when the three of them still lived together, Walls.
Walls? Huh, that's weird. Armin's never heard of that expression before. It sounds... right though. Oh well, maybe he saw it on a videogame of something.
They all agree to meet at a cafe near their campus at around six, since Levi has to work. Eren is practically vibrating on his seat during all his classes, or at least the ones they share, texting back and forth with whom Armin can only guess is Levi, if the happy grin in Eren's face is anything to go by.
When they arrive (Armin is on the lookout for Murderous Mikasa, but so far things look good), there's a man sitting by the window corner, and Eren immediately does a beeline for him. As if the man could sense him, he turns around as Eren reaches the table, Armin and Mikasa trailing behind, and opens his arms just in time for Eren to crush the man in a hug.
Huh. Eren has always liked physical contact, but Armin's has never seen him like this. He's shamelessly crushing the daylights out of this man, not that Levi seems to mind or anything, and he's nudging his nose against Levi's neck.
Unexpected, though Armin really shouldn't, given the amount of things he has heard about Levi from Eren in the span of two weeks.
Eren hastily introduces them, though it sounds more like he's introducing Levi to them, as if the man already knew them, and they all sit down. Mikasa huffs in displeasure when she sees Eren sitting next to Levi, but a warning glance from Armin has her back down. For now, at least, there's nothing that can really deter Mikasa is she's determined.
A waiter takes their orders, and Armin takes note on how Levi seems to know Eren's order by heart, not even hesitating before ordering him a double-shot latte with extra cream. Does that mean he knows about Eren's insomnia too? They haven't spent the night together, as far as Armin knows - and he should know, they live together after all - but looking at them, he's not so sure anymore.
It really feels like they've been together forever, seeing how comfortable they look around each other. They fit, Armin realises as he looks closely at them. Despite being shorter, Levi loops an arm around Eren's seat, and Eren rests his head on Levi's for a moment, before the other man shoes him away, earning him a light chuckle from his friend.
Mikasa clears her throat, none too subtle, breaking the moment. Armin almost feels bad for them, they looked really cute together and Levi really doesn't deserve Mikasa's wrath - no one does, but especially not Levi, if he makes Eren happy - but the way Levi's face twists in practiced annoyance, like he was already expecting it, makes him hesitate.
"So. What are your intentions with my brother?" Mikasa, for all her talents, has never been known for her subtleness, and it shows. Armin sighs, but in all honestly, he had been expecting it. He's surprised she hasn't done anything else, actually.
"Mikasa!" Eren groans, trowing his head back in exasperation. Levi doesn't seem phased, but with how things have been going, Armin is less and less surprised. It seems like the man really does knows them well, or at least Eren has warned him enough about Mikasa's protectiveness.
Though, in all fairness, Armin doesn't think nothing could ever prepare someone for Mikasa's protectiveness when it comes to Eren.
"What? I have to make sure he's not gaslighting you or something," unapologetic as always, it seems. Well, she's not wrong. Even if he wouldn't use the word gaslighting, Armin still thinks is kind of strange.
"What Mikasa is trying to say," he intervenes before it can escalate to a shouting match, again. "Is that this is the first time you've been so excited about someone Eren, so we want to know more about Levi. That way, we can know why you like him so much," that is definitely not what Mikasa meant, and everyone knows it, but Armin doesn't care. He won't have those two ducking it out in the middle of a coffee shop. No, sir, not this time.
"Just to be clear, I'm not gaslighting anyone," Levi says, eyebrow raised at Mikasa, who huffs and crosses her arms against her chest. "Eren and I met at the train station a while ago, and we just clicked. It was..."
"Like a memory," Eren has that faraway look again, deep in whatever it is that always plagues his mind. He has never explained it - looks almost scared to, the few times someone aks about it - and they usually just have to let him ride it out before resuming conversation, but Armin watches in fascination as Levi grabs a hold of his hand, drawing slow, steady circles in his palm until Eren's eyes focus again, taking a slow breath.
It a move that speaks of understandment, of companionship.
Armin hadn't believed it when Eren said Levi was the one. There was no way for Eren to know that after one meeting, despite how well he clicked with someone. But now... well, Armin certainly sees what his friend meant.
It's not the closeness, not even how they seem to read each others minds. It's that Armin sees in Levi what he had only ever seen in Eren. That edge, that look in his eyes, that air of... something more. He holds himself with a grace that speaks of balance and discipline (doesn't Levi work at an office? So why does he remember Armin of a soldier?), speaks like someone who knows too much, has seen too much.
Talks to Armin and Mikasa like he knows them.
Yes, Armin can see why Eren is certain Levi is the one for him.
He still doesn't understand it. He doesn't think he ever will. But he doesn't have to, when he sees those two, and sees a future.
* * *
When Levi tells him he got himself a boyfriend, Erwin doesn't believe him. Antisocial, moody Levi? Get himself a boyfriend? Without any outside help? Erwin wouldn't imagine it in his wildest dreams.
But he did. Levi don't-talk-to-me Ackerman did, in fact, get himself a boyfriend. A real, tangible, college boy. Erwin is not even going to question the age difference, he just wants to know how it even happened. It's not like he has no faith in his friend, but it has to be said that Levi does come across as unapproachable at first glance. And second. And third too, if he's being honest. He comes across as unapproachable, period.
What really surprises him though, is how smitten Levi seems to be with this boy. Even for a relationship, Erwin has never seen him as attached as he seems to be to this Eren Jaeger, and Erwin is intrigued. What does this boy have that makes him so different?
He finds one day, at the office.
It's a fairly normal day. Busy, but when isn't it. Hange is causing chaos as usual, and Levi is either cleaning up their messes or reconsidering his life choices as he does paperwork in his office. It's a normal sight for everyone in the office, and most are wondering if something remotely interesting will happen that day. Hange and Levi's squabbles have long stopped being interesting, though it's always a sight to watch Levi lose it because of something Hange did.
They are in the middle of one of said squabbles - their arguing can be heard even with the door of Levi's office closed - when the elevator's doors open, and a young man with long hair tied in a bun and impressive teal eyes walks in. He's wearing a shirt and sweatpants, probably the least formal wear Erwin has ever seen someone wear to the office, though he supposes it doesn't matter, since the kid doesn't work there.
Which brings him to the matter in question. Who is he?
Erwin gets his question answered before even having to ask it. The boy - man, those eyes are not the ones of a boy, they look too old for that - scans the room, eyes stopping every once in a while as he takes everything in. Then, Erwin presumes he hears Levi and Hange - he swears, they are very competent workers, but they can behave like children sometimes - and something lights up in his face.
The man walks calmly to where Petra, Levi's secretary, is stationed, and Erwin observes curiously as the conversation unravels.
"Good afternoon, I'm here for Levi? We were supposed to meet downstairs, but he's not answering his phone," he says politely, unlike most people he's age, smiling a bit at the end as Petra's eyebrows raise a bit. Then she clears her throat as a mask of professionalism slides in, and smiles back.
"Of course. Could you give me your name, sir?" teal eyes widen at that last part, and he stammers something about that not being necessary before giving his name.
So this is Eren Jaeger. Somehow, despite not being what he imagined, Erwin can easily see his friend in a relationship with the young man. He can picture them in a grass field, training in hand to hand combat—
Huh. He doesn't know where that came from. Oh well, it's not like it matters.
Petra calls for Levi through the intercom, and the arguing inside his office stops at once. Moments later, said man sticks his head out of the door, eyes widening a fraction when he sees Eren next to Petra's desk. He hurries out the door, meeting Eren with a guilty expression.
"I'm late, aren't I?"
"I waited downstairs for twenty minutes, then figured you hadn't looked at the time. It's okay, I don't have any classes for the rest of the day, and my shift is in a few hours," Eren bends down and— wow, he just kissed Levi's cheek. And he's not in extreme pain on the floor. What an interesting development.
"I'll drive you home after," Eren humms, a pleased smile on his face. "Let me grab my jacket, alright? I'll be back in a second."
It's a short interaction, but Erwin is taken aback by the familiarity of it. They seem so comfortable within each other's presence - too comfortable, it speaks of domesticity and routine. A month is not enough for this kind of familiarity - so attuned to each other. Eren, despite being more than a decade younger - or is he? Erwin thinks he is, but those eyes... - doesn't even come across as that younger, that different. Like he grew up too fast, like he has already grown.
Erwin wonders.
Despite being a very efficient person, Levi isn't fast enough. When he gets back, Eren is being surrounded by their coworkers, and it looks like Hange is having way too much fun talking to him.
Oh well, Erwin figures it's Levi's fault. He's the one that didn't introduce them in a more controlled environment. If anything regarding Hange can be called controlled, that is.
"So you're the Eren Levi always goes on about!" Hange says, eyes sparkling in what Erwin hopes is not the beginning of another one of their plans. The office barely survived the last one, and Levi was murderous for a week after. Not that it wasn't amusing - Erwin finds a lot of entertainment in Levi's suffering at Hange's ideas, even if he would never tell anyone, bad for his image as a good boss and all that - but an uncooperative Levi is bad for everyone.
"Levi talks about me?" Eren's eyes light up, and his face splits on a grin. God, Erwin doesn't think he has ever seen anything so bright.
"All the time! It's always Eren this, Eren that, Eren would know how to do this better, you know who can make my tea best? Eren. He's always talking about you!"
"Hange," Levi doesn't yell, he doesn't need to. Hange straightens immediately, grin turning sheepish as they slowly turn around. "Stop harassing him. Eren, lets go."
"But you'll never let us meet him otherwise! Right Erwin? Back me up on this!" Erwin swears internally. He hadn't been expecting Hange to bring him into the conversation, an oversight on his part. He should have seen it coming.
"I'm sure Levi would have introduced us at some point, Hange," he tries to appease his friend, if only so they don't go on a rampage not even he would be able to stop, but they don't look all that convinced. "But seeing as we're here, why don't you introduce us, Levi?" that should probably calm them down.
"Sure, might as well. Erwin, Hange, this is Eren," he points at his boyfriend - his boyfriend, Levi actually has a boyfriend, wow. "Eren, this is Erwin and Hange," Levi has probably talked to Eren about them, because he doesn't look all that confused at Hange's actions - he looks even nostalgic, like he's reuniting with someone instead of meeting them - and just smiles. It's a different smile from the previous one, more... sad.
"It's nice to finally meet you," he looks like he's going to say something else, but Levi beats him to the punch.
"We'll be late if we don't hurry, come on. Erwin, I'm taking my lunch break now. If you need me, don't," that said, he starts dragging Eren away, and slowly, everyone in the office goes back to how they were before.
Erwin is sure that what he hears next is private, but he also can't leave the vicinity without alerting his presence, and he has a feeling that would do less good than just listening.
"How do you do it?" Eren sounds nothing like he did before, the despair so clear Erwin can taste it. "How can you look at them every day without...?"
"I just thank the Walls it won't happen again. They're safe this time around, and that's all that matters," Levi's voice is incredibly soft. Erwin doesn't think he has ever heard him talk like this to anyone. "I'm sorry, I didn't want you to see them so soon."
"It's okay. At least I know they're fine now."
The two leave soon after, leaving only the pinge of the elevator behind, and a conversation Erwin doesn't have the puzzle pieces to understand.
One thing is clear though. Erwin doesn't know how they found each other, nor how they knew that they were meant to be with each other, but he can't deny that something feels right when he sees them together.
They fit, he realises as he sits down in front of his desk. Erwin doesn't know how he's so sure of it - he's only known Eren from that brief interaction, there's no way for him to know the man - but he's certain there's no one better for Levi than Eren.
Perhaps it was fate, weaving their threads together so they could find each other. Erwin is by no means a romantic, but he quite likes that thought. His friend deserves happiness after all the pain he has lived through. Somehow, he's sure he can find that happiness in those teal eyes, that mysterious knowing gleam he has only ever seen in Levi.
And Erwin doesn't have to understand it, even if he would like to. Just knowing his friend has found his happiness is enough to let the matter rest.
(If there is something that tugs at him when he thinks of them, a feeling of hope and victory, he disregards it.)
AUTHOR'S NOTE
So. I wrote this in less than 24 hours, inspiration struck and I couldn't let it go. My grades are going to feel it, but at least I got this out of my system.
I'm sorry there's not that much Ereri in this! This is more of an outside perspective in their relationship, from two people who are by nature curious and analytical. Even when they don't remember, they both can see how Eren and Levi are good for each other, despite not knowing why they know this.
I also wanted to add some vague mentions to their past lives. They don't remember, but they do get the feeling of deja vu like Eren and Levi do. They just don't know why.
I'm also all caught up with the anime (please don't spoil anything from the manga! I spoiled myself by accident yesterday while I was looking for something *cries in omg the last season is going to hurt*), and I'm heartbroken. I'm an Eren Jaeger apologist, but god did this hurt my soul.
Well, that's all for now! My exams are coming up in like two weeks, so I'll have to study for that.
Stay safe! Kudos!
Pato