Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

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( づ♡

Like most people who had to get up early for work, Eren Jaeger wasn't exactly a morning person. The sky over Trost was gray and dreary, matching his mood as he trudged through the rain-soaked streets. He waved through the crowds, cursing under his breath every time a passing car splashed muddy water in his direction, further soaking his already drenched suit.

But finally, he reached the glass building of “Trost Advertising” and scanned his ID badge before stepping into the elevator, frowning slightly at his reflection in the mirrored walls. Eren absentmindedly adjusted his loosely tied tie and attempted to fix his wet, long hair, as though it would help him somehow not to look like a total mess that he already was. Damn, why did he even bother with these suits? Only project managers and directors dressed like this! Everyone else dressed with simple hoodies, t-shirts, and all that casual stuff.  

Eren hadn’t always known he wanted to work in advertisement design. Like many other mortals who weren’t in particular passionate about anything or someone to guide the path, he stumbled into it, initially drawn by the way ads could communicate so much in such a short time through visuals and words. Working at this company straight out of studies had its perks, but the bureaucracy of all of it often grated on him.

Soon, one elevator ride later, Eren stepped out on the 7th floor into the familiar buzz of the department he worked in—phones ringing, keyboards clicking, and distant morning chats echoing in the office. His lips briefly stretched into a small smile, the shitty air now almost forgotten, save his hideously and unpleasantly drenched clothes. He liked it here.

“Morning, sunshine.” Jean Kirstein’s voice cut through the noise and Eren’s thoughts, soon accompanied by the characteristic, horselike laugh. Sometimes, he appreciated Jean’s company, partly relieved having someone like he on the team and not being the only one struggling. Other times, he was irritating. “Hah, damn, Jaeger, did you take a swim to work?”

Eren grunted, ignoring Jean’s stupid comment about his appearance. "Morning." 

Noting the cup in Jean’s hand and feeling desperate for coffee, Eren stashed his belongings on his desk and hung his wet jacket over his chair to dry.

Jean leaned against the side of his desk, as he did almost every morning, and quickly looked around the semi-empty office before speaking up. "Hey, you didn't hear it from me, but Mikasa is planning something for you for your birthday. Are you even free today?"

Raising an eyebrow, Eren let out a short sigh. Actually, he hadn't told anyone today was his birthday, intending to keep it low-key. He even hid that shit in social media. Besides, it was the middle of the week, a lame day to celebrate either way. Those times when he had a midweek night of drinking, he'd promised himself never again in his life. "My birthday?"

"Yeah." Jean shrugged nonchalantly. "Don't ask me how, but she's always ahead of everyone when it comes to your ass. Must be nice, huh?"

Eren gritted his teeth, trying to hide his irritation and barely refraining from rolling his eyes. Jean's crush on their colleague and Eren's mentor, Mikasa, was obvious as it gets. For the most part, he considered him to be a pretty good colleague/friend: their senses of humor matched, and they were able to not dwell too much on each other's feelings and tell things like they were, but sometimes these digs over Mikasa were annoying.

Eren was gay. And Mikasa knew it. If there were any feelings here, it was certainly not on his part, seeing her only as a friend and hoping it was mutual. Besides, his orientation wasn't something he wanted to share with everyone, and Mikasa just happened to learn that accidentally. Yeah, even though now companies and people were more accepting of it with the whole LGBT+ community and all the awareness, but this was simply a part he wanted to keep to himself. Whose business is it who he got off on?

"So what’s she up to?" Eren asked quietly, leaning closer to avoid being overheard.

"Jean, good job keeping secrets." Armin, their account executive, joined them with a cup of hot tea in between his palms. "Sorry, Eren. Looks like your day won’t be as quiet as you probably hoped. But if you need to leave early, I can try and cover for you."

Eren sighed. He had no plans for today, and now that Mikasa had something planned, he didn’t want to offend her. "It's all right. Thanks anyway." Quickly logging on to his computer, Eren skimmed through emails, noting the light schedule for the day. "At least not many meetings today. Just a few."

"Better meetings than redoing everything." Jean mumbled in frustration, having in mind his written copy.

"Hah, and you were bragging about an easy day. What happened?" Eren asked, unable to hide his smugness or hide the slight sneer in his voice.

"Levi." Armin explained softly, and instantly everything clicked into place.

"I swear he hates my guts." Jean frowned and placed his coffee cup on Eren's desk. Which was good because the horse liked to gesticulate fiercely while he talked and quoted. "Every part! ‘That sounds like something a brain-dead would write’, ‘Maybe try using more than two brain cells, Kirstein?" ‘I've seen better notes on the bathroom wall than this shit.’ or ‘If I wanted to read garbage, I’d check the dumpster. Redo it all.’"

"Ouch." Eren replied, though he couldn't suppress a snort at some of the comments. "Though…maybe take that brain advice, Kirstein?"

“Fuck you, asshole!” Jean lightly shoved Eren and shot him a glare. “Seriously, thanks for the support, Jaeger. Real helpful.”

Armin quietly cleared his throat and butted in. “Take it as a compliment. If Levi’s tough on you, he sees potential."

Jean scoffed, crossing his arms. "Potential my ass. He’s just a sadist."

Eren chuckled, taking a sip of Jean’s coffee since it was left unattended on his desk and rightfully now belonged to him. "At least he’s not ignoring you. Silence… is worse."

Jean groaned. "Great. Now I have to worry about silent Levi too? Just what I need.” Noticing Eren helping himself with his coffee, he grabbed the cup back, shooting him a mock glare. "Hey, and that’s mine! Get your own coffee, dumbass."

Eren smirked as he stood up and stretched slightly. "Fine, fine. I’ll go get my own. Though it feels nice not to be the one who needs to redo his shit."

Armin quickly pushed Jean away from Eren before they could start another round of shoving. "Hang in there, Jean. We’ve all been through it."

With a quiet chuckle making his way to the kitchenette, Eren then wiped the little smirk off his face once no one could see him.

Almost in no time, his thoughts instantly drifted to Levi, as they so often did whether he worked, ate his lunch, or went to sleep… His hopeless crush on their senior designer was becoming ridiculous, somewhat serving him both as a constant source of both distraction and motivation. Funny enough, he had meant what he said to Jean: he would rather have Levi ripping him apart and telling him how brain-dead he is than getting what he usually got—silence. Honestly, his indifference stung far more than any of those harsh words would. Since, for some reason, whenever Levi saw him, he either frowned, ignored him, or, on very rare occasions, he’d say something curt and dissmisive and walk away before Eren could even process it. On days when he would be extremely sleepy, he even wondered whether he just imagined hearing him say something.

Yet despite all this, he was stupidly into him so badly.

Well..how could he not be? 

Eren certainly wasn’t the only one in the office who had eyes on Levi Ackerman and had even witnessed how some women stared at him, let alone some fawning comments that he happened to overhear. Though in those moments, much to Eren’s selfish relief, Levi’s unnaproachable vibe kept them all at bay. Yeah, it kept him as well, but he’d rather see and hope he was single and scratch all the reasoning and why’s. After all, he was a man, and he definitely doubted he’d be so lucky that it would extend to Levi being gay as well. 

Or at least, his…gaydar didn’t pick up any vibes—in fact, quite the opposite. Maybe he was asexual, or worse, dating someone or he just plain hated him. However, Eren couldn’t remember ever doing something to deserve Levi’s animosity.

Setting those unpleasant thoughts aside, one fact remained: Levi was drop-dead gorgeous, and however cringe this description may be, he was like a fictional character brought to life. With those sharp cheekbones, a defined jawline, and those damn piercing silver eyes obscured by the raven-colored hair that seemed to see through anything, fuck. He was totally Eren’s type, if he ever had one. And while despite being shorter than most men, something that often led to them being overlooked or rejected, he exuded so much quiet confidence that it made his height absolutely irrelevant. Besides, Eren found even that aspect of him…cute. Yeah, he had it bad.

Sure, Levi could come across as rude—Eren thought so at first, too—but he soon realized that wasn’t the case. He was just brief and to the point, not wasting words or sugarcoating anything. His bluntness could be brutal, but it was still valuable and honest. It was just as Armin said, Levi’s straightforwardness wasn’t rudeness but his way of pushing others to do their best. Besides, Eren was never a big fan of overly cheerful people, or perhaps he really liked to suffer and pine over someone he could never have.

Grabbing the coffee cup from the cupboard, Eren briefly recalled the first time his work had been reviewed by Levi. It didn’t happen often since Mikasa was assigned as his mentor, and while she was encouraging and supportive, unlike hers, his critiques were blunt and unfiltered, pushing Eren to improve in ways he hadn’t thought possible. That time, the amount of notes Levi left on his design drafts was certainly overwhelming—every part was covered with suggestions, question marks, and other ideas for improvement. Yeah, it was daunting to redo everything, but also it was for his good, and the design actually came out looking much better than it did originally. Their senior designer saw things that others missed and didn’t coddle him like he noticed Mikasa often did. 

With a quiet sigh, Eren scratched at the back of his head in attempts to clear his mind. He had work to do, and daydreaming about Levi won’t get it done nor he will be paid for that. Unfortunately. Regaining some focus on the present, he placed the cup in the coffee machine and leaned closer as it started to brew, momentarily distracted by the quiet hum of the machine. 

When quiet footsteps approached, Eren automatically turned to greet whoever it was, but his mouth slightly dropped open in surprise, probably ending up looking like a dumb kid in the grocery store queue with that expression when he saw just who it was. His heart rate quickened in no time, and this time reaction to his crush was even stronger than usual, probably because he had just been thinking about him. 

Wasn’t there a saying, ‘The wolf is mentioned, the wolf is here’?

Swallowing hard, Eren tried to compose himself and regain his gift of speech. “Uh. Good morning, sir.” He heard himself stupidly muttering.  

When Levi approached the counter and turned the kettle to make some tea, Eren’s gaze automatically drifted to check him out, albeit as discretely as he could. Levi always dressed so simply, yet ended up looking so beautiful. Most of the time it was oversized simple t-shirts, black pants, and sometimes a black jacket on top. His clothing made it look like he didn’t care about appearances and just happened to look stunning, which Eren only found all the more attractive. Also, he didn’t miss how pleasant Levi smelled; it was something like a hint of laundry softener mixed with fresh cologne that subtly lingered whenever he passed by. If they were on talking terms, Eren probably would ask what fragrance he used, just to smell it whenever he liked it…like some creep.

Levi frowned, dropping some tea leaves into his cup. He barely glanced at Eren as he shortly and annoyed (at least it felt that way to Eren), replied. “Hi.”

The silence that followed after that short greeting with a frown felt heavy to Eren, occasionally broken only by the coffee machine’s and kettle’s noise. He found himself almost desperately searching for something else to say and strike some sort of conversation while they both waited, but his mind drew a blank because he understood it’s not exactly welcomed. 

What does he usually talk about with other colleagues? Or should he just stay silent?

However, when he felt eyes turned on him, slightly taken aback, Eren refocused his attention, noticing Levi’s silver eyes trained on him. They slowly lowered and eventually stopped to linger on Eren’s chest, and Levi’s expression slightly shifted. 

Eren couldn’t even say whether Levi looked confused, angry, or bored, but his eyes seemed to widen slightly before he turned away to pour water into his cup. 

?

“What the fuck is with the “sir”? I’m not that old.” Levi suddenly spoke before Eren could even wonder, his voice sharp yet so beautiful that his heart began to beat louder. Damn, he was too surprised to process the words or tone immediately.

Seeing that Levi, after grabbing his tea, abruptly turned away and headed for the door, Eren blinked and stunned, saying the first thing that came to his hopeless mind. “…my bad, Levi.”

The raven-haired man paused in his tracks for a brief moment, then continued his way out of the kitchenette without another word, as if Eren hadn’t said anything.

Left alone, confused as fuck, Eren exhaled sofly then, feeling the tension in his shoulder ease a little now as he was left alone. Well…

On a positive note, despite the curt responses and some swearing, Levi had actually spoken to him and acknowledged him, even. And that look… Feeling curiosity gnaw at him, Eren glanced down at his clothes, and his eyes instantly widened. He had no idea that his white dress shirt that he wore under his jacket, a jacket that now hung to dry on his chair, was so damn see-through. Eren's stiff nipples pressed against the wet fabric, making him feel now all the more pathetic than ever. Well, yeah, he looked like shit, but who cares…?

Trying not to cringe too badly on his return, Eren placed his freshly brewed coffee on his desk and immediately threw his jacket back on himself, despite his previous ‘who cares’. While he did so, he shot a quick glance at Levi’s desk near the window, slightly disappointed to see only his hand that hid the side of his face. Yeah, it’s not like something that tragic happened. It’s probably just his crush making him feel more self-conscious than he usually was. Not a big deal.

Feeling a hand on his back, Eren turned around just to see Mikasa smiling softly before she greeted him and asked how he’s doing. He returned the brief smile, feeling grateful to not see a frown upon seeing him, and sat down in between her and Armin as usual before turning on a few apps for his designs. 

While waiting for everything to load, they had a small talk about the evening's plans before they returned back to work subjects. Maybe the party won’t be such a bad idea as he initially thought, and screw it being only Wednesday. Eren kind of felt like having a drink or a few right now. While nothing bad happened, sometimes his crush felt literally like…well, a crush. That was one of the reasons he didn’t feel like too openly staring or sharing such a thing with someone from work. It would feel embarrassing. Besides, they probably would question how he can fall so stupidly for someone like that without even properly speaking with them or with them openly showing their displeasure with him. 

 𖨆♡𖨆

Later in the day, their team gathered in the meeting room to discuss their overall progress. Hanji, their project manager, already stood at the head of the table near the board, waiting for Mikasa, Jean, Armin, Levi, and a few others from the team to fill the seats and cut their chatting.

Enthusiastically clapping her hands to get everyone’s attention, Hanji then began to write on the board. “Alright, team, let’s get started. We’ve made some good progress, but we need to address a few things and redistribute some tasks.” She turned around and pointed her sharpie at Mikasa. "Mikasa, give us an update  on the current state of the design?”

Mikasa nodded and glanced at Eren before she spoke. "We’ve finalized the initial concepts for the advertisement and product design. The client has approved the color scheme and the overall aesthetic. We’re now moving into the detailed design phase."

Hanji smiled. "Great job, Mikasa, Eren. Now, Jean, how's the copy coming along?"

Jean shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "It’s... coming along.” He cleared his throat, and Eren pressed his lips tightly to not laugh at such a jaded expression. “I have to rework a lot of it after Levi’s feedback."

Levi leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms with a smirk. “Rework is a polite way to say ‘rewrite the whole shit,’ right, Kirstein?”

Jean shot a small glare at Levi but said nothing. Even he, while reworking, couldn’t complain receiving all that detailed feedback since it certainly was helping the whole thing to come along the way much better considering the marketing audience.

Hanji chuckled, clearly amused by this small interaction. She totally favored Levi. "Jean, don’t take it to heart. Levi has best intentions.” She noted down a few points on the board and turned her attention back to everyone. “Now as we speak of the design, we have a bit of a staffing issue. Tom and Mikasa will be temporarily borrowed by Planning Team 2 to help with their project since they’re short on staff.”

Eren’s eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, Mikasa's leaving us?"

Hanji nodded. "Only temporarily. Planning Team 2 needs her expertise, and we need to support our colleagues in need, right? Besides, it will be a great opportunity for you, Eren, with Levi taking over your design oversight."

Levi’s eyes widened slightly at the mention of this new responsibility, but he said nothing, not shooting even a quick glance in Eren’s direction. Not that he had to, but still… Eren’s eyes lingered for a while on his handsome profile before he looked away. Smile was trying to stretch on his lips right now, feeling a joy of happiness to have something in common with his crush for once.

Hanji clapped her hands again to refocus the group. "Alright, I will give more details later to you two, but for now, Armin, how’s the research for the product features coming along?"

Armin straightened in his seat. "It's going well. I’ve gathered some insights that will help us refine the product’s selling points. I’ll have a detailed report ready by tomorrow."

"Excellent, let’s keep it going. With Mikasa and Tom helping the other team, we must tighten up and stay on schedule. Levi, you’ll check Eren’s designs. Jean, keep working on that copy and incorporate the feedback. Everyone else, keep pushing forward with your tasks."

Eren stole another glance at Levi, who was staring in front of himself, and took a deep breath. He was determined to prove himself, no matter how tough Levi would be or how much of a moron he would make out of himself while interacting with him. Even though so far he hadn’t had the best luck in at least a remotely friendly relationship, in the back of his mind he couldn’t help but feel glad for this opportunity. Was he what they called a…simp?

As the team began to leave the meeting room to wrap up their tasks for the day, Mikasa laid a hand on Eren’s shoulder, quietly asking him to wait. “Eren, are you going to be okay without me?"

Eren shrugged, slightly taken aback by her overly concerned gaze, though not for the first time. "Yeah, I’ll be fine. And it’s not like I’ll be all alone."

She bit on her lower lip and then let out a sigh. It was quite amusing to see her fret over him as if he were a baby. Well, amusing and, at the same time, slightly irritating. He was working here almost for four months. He wasn’t that hopeless. "You will. Just don’t hesitate to ask for help if you need it, okay?"

Eren nodded and offered her a faint smile. "Yeah, thanks, Mikasa."

With a last nod, Mikasa moved towards the door, and Eren was about to follow her, but he briefly halted as he felt a gaze on him. He instinctively turned his eyes at the meeting room’s glass wall and found Levi staring in their direction. Once Eren’s heart sped up as their gazes locked, their eye contact instantly ended with Levi turning his head away.

After the meeting, Eren spent the next few hours immersed in his designs, now all the more determined to do well with it. With Mikasa temporarily gone to help another team, he felt his own added pressure of living up to Levi's standards. He even revisited his past feedback on one of his previous works, striving to use it all as meticulously as possible.

When the office nearly completely emptied at the end of the day, Eren saved his work and shut down his computer before he tiredly gathered his belongings and slung the bag over his shoulder. Out of habit, he turned to glance at Levi’s desk, slightly surprised not to find him here in the office anymore. Usually Levi tended to stay later after work, or at least whenever Eren stayed later, he saw him hanging around too. If he were still here, maybe he would even muster some courage to try to invite him to his birthday party, even though he was sure he would get only a snort as an answer or something. 

Trying not to feel too disappointed and not give this more thought than needed, since he doubted Levi would’ve agreed either way, he stepped out of the building. Taking a deep breath of the cool evening air, Eren’s phone rang, and he stepped to the side to answer.

"O, you answered! Hey," came a cheerful voice from the other end. “Happy Birthdayy!”

"Hey, Marco," Eren replied, leaning against a nearby lamppost. "Thanks. How's it going?"

"Pretty good. Just finished up some stuff at home and thought of calling you. How are you? And just wanted to clarify, Are we still good about the weekend?"

"Just wrapped up with work.” Eren said, glancing towards the door he just stepped out from, enjoying how relatively quiet the street was right now, though it will probably rain again in any moment now. "Soon will head to a small…um, gathering with some friends. They are preparing something for my birthday. And yep, we’re."

"Good. And, man, it sounds fun. You’re making some friends there, huh?”

“Hm. I guess.” The long-haired man faintly smiled as he thought of his colleagues and how excited they seemed to be on their way out. Considering that he never had many friends throughout his life, it was quite surprising how easy it was to blend in with the majority of them here.

“I’m glad!” Marco answered and then briefly gasped. “Speaking of glad, hey, remember that guy I was telling you about? We finally went on a date last night."

"Oh yeah? How'd it go?" Eren asked, feeling genuinely interested. 

"It was great. We really hit it off. Makes me think you should put yourself out there more, you know?"

Eren chuckled. "Yeah, maybe. It's just... I don't know. I don’t wanna. Dating and dealing with some randos is tiresome. Dunno, maybe that last guy deterred me from those apps forever."

"Yeah…that one was curious…okay, let’s face it how it is, he was nuts. But not everyone there like that, you know?"

"Yeah but…" Eren trailed off, looking down at his feet as he thought of Levi and his frowning face, which still looked hot as hell. He really was a desperate moron. "It’s not that easy. I think you just luckied."

"It…definitely took a while to find someone decent. I hope I’m not jinxing it, though. And..you're a catch, Eren. Any guy would be lucky to have you."

"Thanks, yeah, of course," Eren snorted but then smiled despite it all, not fully meaning it. "Just gotta find someone who thinks the same way, I guess."

"You will. Just keep being yourself," Marco encouraged as usual. "Anyway, sorry won’t keep you any longer, just wanted to wish you a happy birthday and…enjoy your gathering. See you on weekend, yeah?"

"Yeah. Take care, Marco."

"You too, Eren."

Eren took away his phone from the ear and brushed his hair out of the face, feeling a bit lighter after the conversation with his friend. For some time, he stared at his phone and replied to a few more messages wishing him happy birthdays and other nice things. After that, he headed towards the bus stop to get home, shower, and change his clothes before showing up at Mikasa’s place.

 𖨆♡𖨆

“Make a wish, Eren.” 

 …was the first thing Eren heard after he rang a bell, and the door to Mikasa’s house creaked open, revealing the dimly lit and flickering from birthday cake’s candles hallway with multiple faces hovering above it.

“Huh?”

"Make a damn wish, dumbass!" Jean spoke somewhere from further away, and Eren rolled his eyes, feeling slightly amused and a bit touched.

“Who starts with the cake this early? I haven’t even stepped inside.” 

“It's…something like a tradition in my family," Mikasa answered with a smile. "You make a wish as soon as you walk in. That way, your true wish is first in your mind."

Eren chuckled nervously, feeling a bit awkward by such attention and weird tradition. However, he decided to indulge and closed his eyes to think on the wish, but his thoughts instantly shifted to Levi. Why not?

‘I wish Levi would…fall for me.’

 Eren opened his eyes just to see everyone watching him expectantly as if they waited for the wish to appear before their eyes or something?

"Well, what did you wish for?" Jean instantly questioned.

"Pfft. Like I'm going to tell you," Eren replied, trying to play it cool, though he could feel his cheeks burning. The wish was so childish and stupid, but it was really the first thing that came to his mind. 

"Come on, let him enter now," Armin said with a small grin as he moved to the side to give some space in the hallway. “And happy birthday, Eren."

Chapter Text

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( づ♡

Dreams and all sorts of mystical stuff were certainly not something Eren ever believed in. If someone forced him to genuinely have faith in such things, he would have stared at them as if they were missing a screw or few in their brain. 

After all, birthday wishes were just silly whims, and birthdays themselves were a mere reminder of time passing. 

Yet, for over a week since that day, he couldn’t shake the feeling that his silly, childish wish had somehow affected reality in ways his common sense couldn’t explain. Or maybe it was just a coincidence, but if so, it was a damn good one.

During these months of work at Trost Advertisement, some things, however unpleasant, had already become a habit in Eren’s day-to-day work life. His own subtle glances were usually met with frowns and averted eyes while his words hit the wall or were returned with short and hostile replies. 

That's why Eren was taken aback when, on Thursday after work, with the office nearly empty, none other than Levi Ackerman approached his desk. The interaction was brief, but bizarre enough to leave his mind wondering about it even after he had returned home.

That evening, as Eren stuffed his belongings into his backpack, lost in thought, tired, and just ready to head home, he heard quiet footsteps approaching him. Looking up, he was more than surprised to see Levi standing nearby, looking unnusually awkward as if he were out of place, and was very well aware of it too.

Levi's fingers drummed briefly on the desk, their eyes locked for a moment before he avoided Eren's curious gaze with a small frown etched on his pale face.

“Um…” Eren cleared his throat, unsure what to think of it. “Did you…need something?”

Levi's eyes narrowed while he gazed somewhere further away. He really looked like he was struggling with something, but before Eren became concerned if something happened, Levi finally blurted out, "Your desk," 

Eren blinked in confusion. "My desk? What about…it?"

"It's a fucking mess, Eren." Levi replied curtly and sighed, finally turning his sharp eyes to meet Eren’s. "How can you work like that?"

Eren felt as if he had been smacked with a pan. It wasn’t that uncommon for colleagues to comment on each other’s pigsty of a desk, but after work hours and from all people from Levi, it was way too random. If someone asked him, considering how the other man barely glanced at his desk since he was too busy looking around the office, it was as if he simply dropped whatever was first on his mind.

Swallowing harder, Eren tore his eyes away from his handsome colleague, who probably at this point might as well be saying whatever he wanted as long as he was talking with him, and cast a glance at his desk as if he were looking at it for the fist time today. His cluttered desk now seemed messier than ever. “Oh. Yeah, I guess I could tidy up. Does it…bother you?”

“It...” Levi rubbed the back of his neck and sighed softly before his pale fingers reached to one of many bellpoints with a missing cap. "…helps with productivity. You waste less time looking for things."

Eren raised an eyebrow. But then it dawned on him. Maybe it’s because he has to look after him instead of Mikasa from now on, and that’s why he decided to give out a few pointers? That would make sense. Odd…but would make sense, yeah. “M, yeah, true.”

Levi nodded, but remained motionless, and he really seemed to be searching for something else to say. “And your files.” He abruptly spoke up and motioned with his chin to Eren’s computer screen, which was a mess with random files named ‘1ssssdFinaal.psd’, ‘1ssssdFinaalFOreal3.psd’. “You need to sort that out. It’s hard to find shit if everything is scattered everywhere.”

Eren followed the gaze at his screen, smiling a bit bashfully. Probably you couldn’t call it even something as ‘organized chaos’ at this point. He indeed spent a useless amount of time opening through a few or checking dates, which one was the “for real” final one. “Yeah…I’ve been meaning to clean it up, just, uh, haven’t gotten around to it.”

Levi cleared his throat. "Okay, and…you should separate your current projects from completed ones.”

Eren nodded, trying to keep his face straight and fight off that stupid smile off his face. "Sure…" 

Levi nodded as well and flattened his hair at the back of his head, soon then turning away to look around the office yet again. Basically anywhere but Eren. Which in turn made it really hard to expect something, whether he was about to leave or give another pointer.

There was a moment of weird, stretchy silence as they stood there awkwardly before Eren finally asked. “Anything else?” Though he couldn’t help his voice sounding slightly teasing. 

Levi hesitated a bit and shifted weight on his foot. “Yesterday was your birthday?”

“M…yeah.” Eren blinked in surprise again. He probably looked like a moron with that constantly wide-eyed expression, but his pounding heart from their mere proximity and unexpectedness of this conversation just left him perplexed. “How did you—“

“Kirstein talks loudly.” Levi explained a bit too fast before Eren was able to finish his question. “Either way…”

He then reached into his backpack and took out a small envelope before placing it on Eren’s messy desk. “…Nothing special, but thought you might want it.”

Eren stared at the envelope, then back at Levi and repeated it a few times before his brain figured to open it. Inside was a gift card for a local coffee shop for a reusable cup and to pay for coffee—nearly a month worth. “Oh! Thanks?” Eren answered and chuckled nervously, feeling his face flush slightly. “Um, this is…unexpected.”

Their gazes briefly met before Levi’s silver eyes lowered to Eren’s warmed, flustered cheeks, and he almost instantly turned away with a frown. “Yeah, well,” Levi trailed off and was about to walk off, but he paused and pointed at the desk. “And remember what I said about your desk. It’s distracting. Goodnight.”

Eren smiled. Damn, he felt so happy no matter how awkward, slow, and weird this conversation was. “I’ll keep that in mind. Night, Levi.”

After that, Levi, with a short nod, walked out, leaving Eren standing by his desk. That was so stupidly sweet that it took him some time to remember what he was doing before he was interrupted. While he was aware that Levi was just a hard-to-get-to-know and aloof guy, it was really random of him to actually come over and even gift him something. Even though he really didn’t have any rights to even think such stuff, a selfish, petty part of him really wanted to hope and believe that their senior designer doesn’t do that with all of his colleagues. Yeah, of course, it was nice to imagine that he got some special treatment for…reasons unknown. Damn, Eren then realized that he didn’t even know when Levi’s birthday was? He should’ve probably asked, but given how dumbfounded he was by this whole weird conversation, it’s not that weird that this thought popped up a bit too late.

That one short conversation on Thursday, Eren could’ve passed as an after-birthday gesture and Levi’s new responsibility to look after him, considering the given pointers, but it happened again on other days. Maybe if it were any other random colleague, he wouldn’t even have given it a second thought, but well, it was his crush. So, naturally, he was overthinking things.

𖨆♡𖨆

On Monday of the following week, their team received an invitation for dinner as a thank you from one of their previous clients. Mr. Reeves had achieved his goal of success, and as a token of his appreciation, he invited them out to a cozy, upscale restaurant. When he was their client, Eren had just joined the company, so he wasn't very familiar with the project or the client, but he tagged along anyway, mostly for the free food. For this reason, he opted to sit in the furthest table corner rather than somewhere near the client where Mikasa and Armin were sitting. 

Maybe that’s why, seeing Levi enter the restaurant, glance around the table, and sit down near him at the end of it, he felt a jolt of pleasant surprise. He definitely didn’t complain and was glad to share a seat with him somewhere outside the office.

However, before Eren started overthinking and getting way too pleased with Levi’s choice, he realized the only free seats were near Hanji or Jean. So, he probably saw him as the less annoying option. Well, better than nothing, he supposed.

Levi had one hand on his cheek and wore a neutral expression. In a way, it kind of reminded Eren a bit of how his parents used to invite him to sit with random guests at the table to show good manners, despite how boring it was. Deciding to seize the chance and converse a little, Eren quietly cleared his throat. “This place is nice. Didn’t expect him to pick somewhere so…uh, fancy, just to treat us.”

“It’s probably a tax write-off.” Levi commented, eyes casted down at the fork he idly swirled between his fingers.

“Oh! Levi—“ Hanji shouted across the table when she noticed Levi. “There’s a seat here too!”

“…I’m good,” he replied without looking up.

Hanji laughed rather loudly then waved a hand and turned to Mr. Reeves. “He’s shy, as usual.”

“Tch.” Levi sighed and lowered his hand away from his cheek, no longer obscuring Eren’s view of his beautiful face. “I'd rather sit next to a snotty, bawling toddler.”

“Thanks?” Eren chuckled, feeling amused by Levi’s quiet remark to their project manager’s comment. Well, that figures why he chose this seat.

“You’re a brat, but I didn’t mean… it that way.” He rolled his eyes a little and gave a faint smirk. Then he turned his face to the side and mumbled something else Eren couldn’t catch, though he was sure he heard the word ‘want’. 

“Um, w—“ Eren was about to clarify, but the waitress approached to take their orders, and he dropped the conversation for a while.

Soon, talks around the table grew louder as drinks were poured and appetizers arrived. Feeling slightly bolder now as they have already talked and the atmosphere has become cozier, Eren quietly asked, turning to Levi. “So…how was your weekend?”

Levi shrugged and slowly rubbed at the back of his neck, watching the salt shaker quite intently. “Uneventful. Cleaned up around the house, worked out, prepared some meals.”

“Let me guess, your place is spotless?” Eren smirked, having already heard some remarks about their senior designer’s meticulous love for the cleanliness and tidiness. These talks weren’t mean but just something that was brought up from time to time. And well, considering how often Eren stole glances at him, he had noticed some of Levi’s habits, which he found hot along with his other qualities. As silly as it was, sometimes while scrubbing his own place, he found more motivation just at the mere thought of the colleague he crushed so hard on. 

Finally lifting his eyes to meet Eren’s, Levi gave a faint, charming smirk. His silver eyes, with a few dark strands of hair over them, narrowed a little. “Naturally. Unlike some brat’s desks, I know.”

Eren chuckled, shaking his head. “Oi, I...cleaned it up.” Recalling Levi’s previous comment, he frowned slightly before mumbling out. “And I’m not a brat.”

“Uh uh.” He snorted quietly, then cleared his throat, looking up at the wall in front of them. Whether it was lighting or Eren was just seeing things, he wasn’t sure, but it looked like Levi’s usually pale cheeks flushed a little. “Weekend. So, how was it?”

“It was…pretty low-key.” Eren answered and smiled a little, feeling pleased Levi had asked something about him. Maybe he was just killing time, but he was glad he wasn’t frowning and ignoring him at least. “Met up with an old friend, had some drinks, gamed, and worked out. As usual, the weekend flew by.”

“Yeah…it’s how it usually is.” Levi murmured. 

“Unfortunately.” Eren smiled and briefly thought about what else he could share about his weekend. While he could be quiet when necessary and the silence didn’t feel that uncomfortable near Levi, at least not as much as he usually felt, he didn’t want to stop yet. “Oh!” Recalling, he spoke tad too loudly, earning Jean’s glance with an eyebrow raised. “I also searched for one movie. I spent way too much time on it and still haven’t found it. I watched it a long time ago but can’t remember the name, and it bothers me.”

Levi raised an eyebrow and turned to look at him. “What’s it about?”

“That’s the stupidest part. I don’t remember.” Eren sighed and bit at his lower lip while thinking. “I just remember the part of the phrase where man says that he will reach the coast. And he will do it no matter what it takes. I think it was like an…apocalyptic movie.”

“Hm.” Levi eventually hummed quietly after some thought and smiled. Like actually smiled briefly. That was all it took for Eren's little crushing heart to melt at the sight.

𖨆♡𖨆

That evening, he could’ve explained things like them going out, the change in atmosphere, and Levi not having anything better to do but converse a bit with him during the dinner. Especially since on the next day things were almost as usual besides their senior designer greeting him first and then checking some of his work instead of Mikasa. To make matters worse (relatively), the next day he was ignored and met with another small frown before Levi sneaked out of the small kitchen the moment Eren walked in. He didn't really know how to handle this whole hot and cold attitude, but it was safe to say that if Levi Ackerman had been living rent-free in his head previously, now it was on a whole other level. 

While working, he became more often distracted by those short conversations and seemingly sudden changes in behavior, by Levi's smile, something he probably saw for the first time while he worked here, or by his birthday present, which he still used every morning before arriving at the office. Eren found himself feeling like he was barely sixteen with a stupid school crush, speculating whether the guy was staring more for no reason or because he perhaps liked Eren. Expecting anything more between them was naive, and he tried not to do it, but it at least seemed to him that there might be some sort of collegial friendship suddenly starting to form between them. It wasn't enough, but it was better than nothing.

But on Wednesday evening, while Eren was busy not setting his place on fire by cooking from a recipe he saw in one of the short videos, his phone buzzed. At first, he ignored it, not really expecting a message from anyone, and simply opted to check when he was done cooking. After several attempts to rescue the poor spaghetti sauce, which took longer to make and cost more dirty dishes than the food was worth, he sat down to dine at the small kitchen table. With a glass of water, he picked up his phone and nearly choked on it as his heart suddenly leapt at the name.

On social media, they had a team group chat with all of them in it, yet no matter how much it tempted to reach out to Levi personally, he was never able to find any reason to do so. They didn't communicate properly, nor did they have some heavily touching topics that he couldn't ask Mikasa... Even when Levi was appointed to check his work and advise him, Eren still cringed at his dumb ideas about what he could write. And especially if, in the office, their communication was already lacking or it seemed to be completely avoided, it made him even more reluctant to see a "seen" or to get some cold, dry answer. 

But now Levi had texted him. Himself. Tapping on the DM, Eren read what was there, trying not to smile like a moron while at it. It's just a message.

[Levi Ackerman]

Hi. Is the movie still bothering you?

Actually, Eren had already kinda forgotten about it after several more unsuccessful attempts and reluctantly giving up. He probably sucked at googling things, or maybe he remembered the quote wrong.

[Eren Jaeger]

Hey, yes. Do you know which one I had in mind?

[Levi Ackerman]

No. Just wanted to remind you about it.

[Eren Jaeger]

What the

That’s just cruel! I had almost forgotten about it :(

[Levi Ackerman]

;)

[Eren Jaeger]

You love messing with me, don’t you?

[Levi Ackerman]

No way.

[Eren Jaeger]

I think you totally remember the title. Give me a hint at least? T_T

[Levi Ackerman]

Hmm, alright. I can give one. It’s post-apocalyptic.

Eren couldn’t help but chuckle faintly at this playful… cruelty going on.

[Eren Jaeger]

That’s barely a hint. I already knew it was post-apocalyptic! Narrow it down.

[Levi Ackerman]

I said one hint. Pushing your luck, Jaeger?

Taking a deeper breath, the long-haired man closed his eyes briefly, feeling his cheeks almost hurting from smiling like a dumbass over this brief conversation. Levi actually reached out to him first. Even if he remembered the movie name, he could’ve just dropped it and called it a day instead of teasing him and conversing further. It was personal, considering how distant he usually was. Therefore, Eren decided to push a little bit further.

[Eren Jaeger]

How about we make a deal? You give me another hint, and if I guess it right, I will buy you a tea.

There was some time his phone was silent even though Levi had read the message. He didn’t go overboard, right? Even straight guys can offer to buy tea or coffee without any meaning behind it. Yeah, this time there was a meaning, but that’s just details. Deciding to focus on his cooled-down spaghetti, which wasn’t great to begin with, he slowly chewed his concoction, doing his best to pretend that the phone wasn’t in the same room with him.

Right as he heard the buzz, Eren instantly dropped his fork and checked his phone.

[Jean Kirstein]

Guess who got a message from Mikasa dude

Eren sighed and rolled his eyes. Damn Jean, what’s with the timing.

[Eren Jaeger]

Horse?

[Jean Kirstein]

Oi stfu.

However, when after a few minutes another notification popped up, he instantly opened it.

[Levi Ackerman]

And what if you deceive me? I will give you a hint, you will remember the movie and purposely guess wrong. What’s in it for me?

Waiting a whole thirty seconds or so, to not seem too desperate, obviously, Eren then typed his reply.

[Eren Jaeger]

Okay, tea for the hint then? But don’t make it something like “movie was filmed in Aquador.”

[Levi Ackerman]

Demanding, are we? Alright. A father and his son are the main characters.

Feeling something familiar stir within him, Eren briefly halted to think before it finally dawned on him. 

[Eren Jaeger]

The Road!

[Levi Ackerman]

Correct.

[Eren Jaeger]

Omg it was quite…the road to remember it :D

Got it?

[Levi Ackerman]

…

Yeah, Eren.

[Eren Jaeger]

Thanks a lot. My ass can rest easy now. I’ll watch it again ;)

Now, as he thought more about his offer, Eren realized he didn’t specify buying tea meant he wanted to be there with Levi in the cafe. Maybe the other man just thought he would buy it and bring it to the office?

[Eren Jaeger]

So, regarding that tea...

Would you like me to bring it to you or go somewhere and drink it together?

[Levi Ackerman]

“It”? Are you planning to share a cup of tea?

Eren chuckled again, some from being pleased Levi didn’t respond with ‘Bring it to me tomorrow morning’ and amused by the nitpicking of his wording.

[Eren Jaeger]

Is sharing not your…cup of tea?

[Levi Ackerman]

Why can I imagine you stupidly grin now? Both are fine with me.

This caused Eren to smile even wider, at least in some way he was on Levi’s mind. Considering where they were just a week ago and now sharing personal messages…he sure wasn’t complaining.

Well, though it made him smile, it wasn’t that helpful, Eren thought, but at least Levi wasn’t opposed to the idea to share a drink together outside of the office or drink it together in general instead of him just bringing the cup to his desk and be gone out of his hair.

And just a while ago, he barely could say ‘Hi’ without overthinking, and now he will actually go somewhere with him! Deciding just to go with the suggestion after work since he said he doesn’t mind either, he quickly typed a few messages.

[Eren Jaeger]

Hah, that’s a good question?

Okay, then let’s meet up for it. When are you free? Or should we do it after work tomorrow?

[Levi Ackerman]

Yeah. Tomorrow’s fine.

[Eren Jaeger]

Deal :)

He stared a bit longer at the screen and three dots since it seemed that Levi was typing something; however, suddenly it stopped, and instead of replying, he just put the thumbs up on his last message. Eren was almost tempted to write something more but also decided against it. He didn’t want to seem way too eager and get on his nerves, not being fully sure when this…friendly streak may just end like that.

Throughout the rest of the evening, Eren tried to occupy himself with various chores that he neglected to do otherwise, understanding that now he just tried to stir his mind away from the phone. Not only that, but he actually began to feel nervous, like quite a lot. Nervous and happy at the same time, even though it wasn’t even a date or anything like that. Just…two colleagues sharing a cup of coffee or a tea. At least Eren had drank more than once together with Armin, Mikasa…damn, even Jean. But another, probably way too hopeful part of what he tried to pretend doesn’t exist to not put any unrealistic expectations, did wonder whether it’s usual for Levi too. After all, it wasn’t like he knew everything about him and where he goes. At least, at work he didn’t see him being close or talking about something more than work-related subjects with anyone, but it always could be that he was like that just with his own team.

𖨆♡𖨆

The next morning, after a night full of restless thoughts, Eren rushed to the office, barely concealing his anticipation and nervous energy. Somehow he had to make it until the end of the working day with not too much distraction or thoughts, as this was just a simple meeting with Levi for some tea.The office was as busy and active as ever, but at the same time today it felt much brighter and cosier than it normally does. Eren was smiling wider than usual, and that was proven with questions whether something good had happened or with some curious glances. Jean of course as usual also had something snarky to say, but Eren let it slide this time. 

Throughout the day, while he occasionally stole glances at Levi, he was pretty much his usual self - stoic, meticulous and a tiny bit intimidating.However, maybe it was only Eren’s imagination, but he did notice some changes in his behavior, like some brief nods whenever they crossed paths in the hallway, short glances during the team meetings, and even a subtle smirk when Eren made a joke. As tiny these gestures as they were, he took all of it gladly, and they kept his spirits high and mind racing. Given how hot and cold Levi could be, he had almost expected him to act as if they hadn’t agreed on anything or just ignore/show displeasure with his presence as he had before.

Finally, as the workday drew to a close, Eren glanced at the clock more than usual, now all the tasks and attempts to focus completely forgotten. He slowly packed his belongings, making sure everything was in its proper place and his desk looked decent, now beginning to wonder when they should go? Usually Levi tended to stay later than others, just like Eren, since, as a junior specialist, he often took too much time before submitting his work and, after receiving feedback, had to rework it if he wanted to stay on the set schedule. As for Levi, Eren didn’t know why he was late to leave, but he assumed it was often because of his meticulous attention to detail nature. Therefore, now Eren wasn’t sure whether they should stay later and wait for others to leave or—

“You good?” Levi’s calm and composed voice behind Eren cut his train of thought in no time, and he lifted his green eyes up in surprise.

Armin also curiously turned in his seat, and his mouth parted slightly in confusion and surprise.

Casting a quick glance at his blond friend, Eren faintly smiled, in a way promising him to tell things later before he returned his attention to Levi. He nodded, trying to sound calm as well and keep his excitement in check. “Yeah. Let’s go.”