Levi: So she's back. Yay!
Me: Levi, was that sarcasm?
Levi: Yes. Now, if you excuse me, I have important things to attend to.
Me: Oh! I see, I think your 'important' things are hanging out with Eren. *wiggles eyebrows*
Levi: *Walks towards me with a knife*
Me: You'll never catch me! *runs away*🏃🏃🏃
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The two boys, Armin and Eren, sat down on the floor of Eren's room. It looked like any other boy's room, it was blue and simple, and not really organized.
Armin decided it was time to break the silence.
"Hey, we need to talk."
"Yeah sure. How'd you like practice today Armin?"
Armin sighed.
"We don't need to talk about that, but it was fine. Eren, have you ever thought about... Boys?"
Eren arched an eyebrow. Such a familiar gesture by now, with how much Levi did it.
"Boys?"
"Yes, boys. Like, uhh, hmm..."
Eren knew what Armin was going to say already.
"Armin Arlert I'm not fricken gay. Okay?" Eren spat quickly as he looked in the other direction.
"Well... I saw the way you looked at that guy at swim practice... And, I've just never seen you look at someone like that." Armin said, a little flustered. He had been wondering about himself lately, girls just didn't seem all that attractive.
"No way Armin. I'm not gay. I may not have a girlfriend but there's no way I want to have a *boyfriend*."
"Well I mean, whether or not you consciously say it, your body seems to be reacting to that guy. You were blushing so much, and you looked so happy when you picked that other number." Armin made the last part of the sentence hurt. They had promised to stay together this swim season and Eren had already broken it.
"It's not because I like that guy, it's because... Uh... He's interesting I guess. And I need some new friends."
Armin didn't look convinced.
"Listen, if you ever need to talk, just ask me. I'll listen okay?"
Eren laughed and hugged Armin.
"I know who I can count on, don't worry. You're still my best friend and always will be."
Armin just smiled. Although it hurt him, he understood that him and Eren would only be friends, and nothing more. Anyway, he couldn't possibly compare to the black haired hottie could he?
"Do you want anything to drink? I'm feeling like I should go down and get a Dr Pepper or something."
"Nah, I'm fine. I'm not too thirsty right now, but thanks!"
With that Eren left the room.
*buzz*
"What the...?" Armin said as he looked around. The sound came from Eren's cell phone he had left on the floor. "Levi" flashed on the screen. Should I open it? Armin thought to himself as he reached for the phone. He heard footsteps though, and the screen went black, so he laid down on his back and stared at the ceiling.
"Okay I got some Dr Pepper, so we are all good." Eren said laughing as he took his spot on the carpet. Should I tell him his phone buzzed? Armin thought to himself. Better not... He might get defensive.
The boys continued to talk throughout the night until it was around 11:30 at night, and Armin headed home. He was Eren's next door neighbor, so he could easily stay over as long as he wanted. It was Friday night though, and they both knew staying up late before a 7 AM Saturday practice was not a good idea.
Once he had watched Armin walk home, Eren sprinted back upstairs. He grabbed his phone and put it on his desk, and opened his laptop computer.
It was time for some hardcore Facebook stalking.
Not that he was even sure Levi was into that kinda stuff anyway.
*buzz* *buzz*
Eren flipped over his phone (he usually always left it screen down), and saw that there were 3 messages from Levi. Eren's heart started beating faster. He opened the messages.
"Is this Eren?"
"If it's not Eren I'm going to kill him tomorrow."
"Eren you brat answer your damn phone."
Eren laughed. He's so bad mouthed for being so tiny and cute. He thought to himself. Wait, what did he just think? Did I really just say... 'Cute'? He slid back in his desk chair with his eyes wide.
What if Armin is right? What if I'm gay? He thought to himself, as he put his head in his hands and leaned down like someone with an extreme hangover.
*buzz*
He slid open the lock on the screen.
"Practice time is at 7 AM tomorrow. Don't be late idiot, I have things to teach you."
Eren wanted so badly to reply, but instead he left the messages and texted Armin.
"Yo Armin um about what u were talking about earlier do u actually think I'm gay or was it just the way I was acting around that guy"
Eren hit send. In less than 10 seconds he saw the little bubble with the dots, which meant Armin was formulating a response.
"I don't think you're gay. I was just saying that because I've never seen you look at anyone like that. Don't worry, I won't spread it around."
Eren sighed and smiled.
"Thx man"
"No problem :)" was Armin's response. Eren laughed. It was so like Armin to type so perfectly and add emojis. Should I reply to Levi? Eren asked himself. He didn't want to see overly eager... Although Levi was the one who was being an annoyance.
"Yah I'll be there at 7" was Eren's reply. Little did he know was that Levi had be sitting by his phone since the first message, waiting for Eren's response.
"Jaeger answer me when I text you." Came another response. Eren glanced quizzically at the phone.
"Srry my friend was over an we were doing stuff I didn't have my phone"
"Well keep it with you."
"Kk"
And then the messages stopped. Eren couldn't tell if he was happy or disappointed, but he knew it was too late to look for "Levi Rivaille" on Facebook. He closed his computer and went to sleep.
Eren smacked his desk randomly to look for his cell phone that was blaring music into his ears. He located the device and snoozed the alarm. Suddenly the boy shot up in bed.
"I have swim practice!" He thought out loud as he ran to the bathroom to brush his teeth and get his swimsuit on. His hair was really messy, but he was just going to swim anyway so he didn't see how it mattered.
Running down the stairs, he looked out the window to see that Armin's mom was already in the driveway. "Shoot." He said out loud again as he put a piece of toast in his mouth and ran out the door.
He opened the car door and hopped into the back seat. Thankfully the pool wasn't far.
Not so thankfully, Armin and Armin's mom were both morning people, and that was difficult for Eren, being a night person himself.
"So Eren, dear, how do you like the swim team? Are the boys nice to you and my little Armin?"
"Mom please. Eren is not a morning person at all."
"No it's fine Armin. Yeah the boys are nice and the team is really elite. The sets we had yesterday were pretty hard."
"Yeah it's really a great team though."
With those two statements said, Eren actually fell back asleep. He was only woken when he realized that Armin was carrying him out of the car. He shook out of Armin's arms and started running towards the building. He looked back at Armin to see an expensive black Porsche pull into a parking spot. Who got out?
Levi Rivaille.
Eren stood there with his mouth open as he locked eyes with the familiar black haired boy. Eren gulped. They just stood there, staring at each other, until Armin grabbed Eren's arm forcefully.
"Stop staring at him with that stupid toast in your mouth and get inside."
Eren grabbed the toast out of his mouth and ate it quickly, heading straight into the locker room to get changed. They had dry land after practice today. He quickly changed out of his shorts and t-shirt and headed out to the deck, where the rest of his team was waiting.
"There's Eren." A boy named Jean said. Everyone turned and looked. Eren smiled.
"Hey guys. Sorry I'm late."
Coach Pixis did not find this amusing however, and once Armin was out of the locker room too, the two boys were sentenced to push up position for 10 minutes.
Levi is outside... Why doesn't he just come in? Eren thought to himself as all the blood was rushing to his head. The rest of the boys were already doing warm up, and Armin and Eren were forced to stay in this humiliating position for another 4 minutes. And Levi was nowhere to be seen still.
"Jaeger!" He heard a gruff voice.
"Yes coach P?"
"Where's your lane partner? Where is Rivaille?"
"I don't know, I don't babysit him." Eren spat of his mouth. Why did everyone assume he knew where Rivaille was? First Armin, now coach p?
Coach P bent down to Eren's level.
"You just earned an extra 10 minutes for being a jack wagon."
Eren's mouth hung agape as he stressed about the situation. Armin was almost done, and he'd be plank-positioning for another 12 minutes.
"Sorry Coach." Levi said as he took the small amount of space In between Armin and Eren, plank positioning as well. Armin looked at Eren, and Eren at Armin trying to figure out what happened.
"Rivaille, care to explain why you were late?"
Levi looked up, unamused.
"No."
"Rivaille, we keep you on this team because you keep the others in line. We don't keep you for your spectacular social skills."
"Good to know."
"You got 15 minutes down there. Actually, no, just be done when that idiot Jaeger is done."
"What'd he do?"
"I did nothing." Eren interjected. He didn't want Levi to find out that he had called knowing the black haired boy's whereabouts "babysitting".
"Oh-ho, jaeger, you've earned yourself another 5 minutes. That means another five minutes for your friend over there too." Eren heard Levi "tsk" under his breath. He shook his head and just sighed, making no further comments.
He felt someone staring. He glanced to his right to see Levi focusing on the ground, his muscles twitching to hold his body weight. And yes, he had the legskin on.
How can he be that muscular? Eren thought in awe as he watched Levi's arms twitch and his veins started to appear. They were only 3 minutes into the new 15- minute sentence as well. He groaned to himself.
"I told you not to be late you idiot" Levi whispered to Eren.
"I was only 2 minutes late. You were like 10 minutes late!"
"Oh so you were waiting for me?" Levi snickered. Eren's face turned red.
"N-no, I wasn't. I was asked where you were though."
"Ah yes coach P likes to believe our lane partners are our best friends, regardless of how we actually feel about them." Levi put extra emphasis on that last part of the sentence and it pissed Eren off.
"I told him I wasn't your babysitter, and he got mad at me."
Levi got quiet.
"What did you say Jaeger?"
"He asked if I knew where you were, and I said no, I wasn't your babysitter."
Levi looked mildly pissed at this point. He stopped talking and once again focused on holding perfect form. Sweat was beading from Eren's hairline as it dropped to the pool deck and made a small wet mark. Levi moved further to the other side, now that Armin was gone.
Sooner than expected, the whole practice was over with. The sets that day weren't too bad, and the dry land just consisted of running. Eren loved to run, if he hasn't become a swimmer he would have done track. He ran faster than all of the other boys in the mile run, except Rivaille, who seemed skilled in everything. Eren just rolled his eyes as Levi copped that usual unamused face.
"Hey, Eren! Why'd you start running faster?" Armin said as he ran up to Eren.
"I thought we were going to finish the mile together?" He asked.
"Sorry Armin, I got preoccupied. My competitive streak came through. You still got third though!" Armin gave him a pissed look. Eren looked down.
"After practice lets go to that coffee shop on the corner and we need to have a discussion about this."
"Alright. I need to get some things off my chest anyway Armin." Eren said as he started walking towards the building again to grab his things.
"Jaeger." He heard from behind him. It didn't sound like coach P, Armin, or Levi.
It was Jean.
"Eren Jaeger! Did you run track before this?"
"No, I've never ran track. I just really like to run, especially when I'm angry." Eren shook his head.
"Well, that was really impressive. Your friend Armin did great too."
"Thanks Jean." Eren said as he walked into the building to get his stuff. Everyone seems to be so friendly here...
When Armin and Eren exited the building, Eren caught a glance of Levi sitting in his black Porsche, looking at his phone. Eren suddenly had a strong urge to look at his own phone, but he decided against it because Armin was giving him a look. So Levi is older than me... Eren thought. He's gotta be at least 16 then, to have his license. Soon, Eren's dad pulled up and the boys got into the car. Armin had actually brought clothes, because the two were planning on hanging out later anyway. And plus, Armin didn't mind showering at Eren's house. So Eren's dad just brought them to Eren's house.
"Armin you can shower first. I don't feel like showering quite yet."
"Oh, okay if that's alright with you."
"Yeah sure it's fine."
So Armin showered first, leaving Eren alone. He thought about how he was going to bring this up to Armin. "So Armin... I've been thinking... If I was gay, would you be creeped out?" He practiced to himself. No no, not that way. He figured it would be better to just leave it unless something came up.
Armin arrived in Eren's room shortly after, and it was Eren's turn.
"Uh Eren, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"Do you know why that guy came between us when we were doing planks?"
Eren thought for a moment.
"Actually, I have no idea. I guess it was just convenient."
"Oh." Was Armin's only response. Eren grabbed some clean clothes and headed for the shower.
When Eren came out of the bathroom, and went into his room, he saw Armin looking at his phone. His eyes shot open instinctively, and he rushed down to grab his phone from Armin, but Armin pulled it away.
"Your conversation with "Levi Rivaille" is pretty interesting you know." Armin said, sounding a little bit hurt.
"Huh?" Eren responded as he took a hold on his phone.
"Jaeger."
"Oi, Jaeger."
"We need to talk."
"Fine then, don't."
"I don't give a crap anyway."
"See you on Monday."
"Or sooner."
"Dammit, did that send?"
"Never mind."
Eren's mouth was open in awe. Why is he such an annoying texter? Armin frowned at Eren.
"Are you not telling me something?"
"Armin! Did I reply to any of those messages? No!"
"But he sent them... And he send a bunch. Why would he do that? Because he likes you. And you like him."
"Armin, you're being ridiculous. I don't like that guy. He's just my assigned lane partner, and he said he'd give me some tips on swimming. That's all!" [Well, frick, there goes my chance to tell him I might be gay.]
Armin sighed.
"Fine. I give up. Let's go get some coffee."
Levi sat on the couch, waiting for his phone to buzz. Or to see the triple dots. But it never happened, and as he waited longer he just got more and more sure that Eren Jaeger might not be the kid that Levi Rivaille might have possibly fallen for.
He got up and paced his bedroom. He decided it would be best to go and grab some *decaf* coffee. He reminded himself of the decaf part while snapping his wrist with a rubber band. Levi, we don't need to go down that road again.
"Uh, yeah I'll take an iced venti quad shot caramel macchiato." Eren said as he ordered his favorite drink from the corner shop. Armin just ordered a hot chocolate, as he didn't like the bitterness of coffee. They sat down at their favorite table by the front window.
"So Eren, can we talk about something kinda personal?"
"Armin no. I am not telling you about my dreams again."
"No no, um, I just needed to tell you something."
"Sure, what?"
"Some boys on the swim team said that they all think that Levi is gay." Eren didn't look phased.
"Ahem, what I mean Is that if you hang around him a lot, people are going to get the wrong idea."
"So?" Eren responded looking out the window.
"It doesn't matter to me what people think anyway." He continued,
"They know me for me, not for which gender I'm romantically involved with."
Armin breathed in heavily.
"So you're saying you like boys."
Eren paused. He looked at Armin, straight in the eyes.
"I think so." Armin's eyes widened to a whole new level.
"What does it feel like?"
"Well, see, when I see Levi my heart flutters... It's weird. And then I get all nervous, and my face gets hot, and I've never felt like this with anyone before. So I'm starting to suspect that I might have things for boys."
Armin opened his mouth to talk when Eren grabbed his wrist, starling him.
"Oh my gosh. Look who it is."
Of course, of all people to show up, it was Levi. He was dressed in tight white jeans and a black v-neck shirt.
Armin elbowed Eren.
"So what do you think of those white pants, eh?" Eren smacked Armin on the back of the head.
"I don't have perverted feelings you idiot." Actually, Eren was wondering about that, because those white pants really did highlight Levi's assets.
Eren quickly took his coffee and went to sit at a secluded table near the back of the coffee shop. They small talked for a little while, but Armin could tell Eren was preoccupied looking at Levi. Specifically his legs. Which disturbed Armin a whole lot.
"Say Armin, how do you think I'd look in a legskin?"
Armin's face got red.
"Umm I'm sure you'd look fine in it."
"No I mean, if you were gay, and saw me in a legskin, would you like it?"
Armin's face burned even more.
"Uh, probably?"
"I might order one."
Armin's eyes widened again.
"The usual." Levi said to the barista, as she scribbled some things on a cup and handed it off to the next person. Levi paid with his credit card and took a seat in the table In front of Eren and Armin. He didn't seem to notice the two, and his back was facing them while sitting. The barista came and gave him his coffee and Eren strained to see it.
"It says he got a decaf Americano mixed with coffee (dark roast) decaf instead of the usual water. Who gets that much coffee and gets it decaf?"
Armin already knew what was up.
"Do you see the rubber band on his right wrist?"
"Yeah I guess."
"That's usually what ex-addicts do to keep themselves going clean."
Eren understood then. So he struggled with a caffeine addiction? He had thought the stoic boy would have had more self-control than to let himself spiral into the world of legal stimulants. Maybe I'll ask him about it sometime.
Eren whipped out his phone and texted Levi,
"Hey turn around"
He heard the familiar buzz of the iPhone, and soon enough Levi was reaching into his pocket to grab his phone. He looked at it, but he didn't look back. He simply turned off the screen and continued to stare straight ahead.
Idiot. Eren thought to himself as he sipped on his coffee. Armin's watch beeped.
"Aww man, I gotta get home for my clarinet lesson. "
"Alright let me finish my coffee and we can go." Eren sipped the last bit of his coffee. Armin said he needed to be back immediately, so he started to the door before Eren. Eren followed behind, heading for the trash can when he passed *the table*. Levi's table. He felt an unfamiliar poke to his side, and then he felt something go into his back pocket. Eren turned around to see Levi looking at him. No words were spoken, but Levi suggestively raised his eyebrows at Eren. Eren raised one eyebrow and cocked his head, expecting explanation, but instead Rivaille picked up his coffee cup in the weirdest way possible and drank from it without another word. Feeling dismissed, he walked to the trash can and out of the store. The part of his side where he was poked was burning and he felt warm all over. His face was probably bright red, and he couldn't get Levi's expression out of his mind. He reached into his back pocket to Find a slip of paper,
"You should have saved me a seat you idiot."
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Sorry this took so long guys! I hope you liked it!