Chapter Text
The morning sunrise emitted a beautiful orange glow over the city. The sun was heavenly settled against red and yellow clouds, it shined a bright, divine radiance in the direction of an old book store on the Lower-East Side of the city.
This little shop called Kenny's specialized in unique, rare and used books. Kenny's had a distinctive and historic character, not only because of the range of books that lived there but also the history that had occurred under that particular roof.
Each and every early morning, the doors of the store were opened faithfully by a lonely, broken-hearted soul. Every late night when he closed, and slowly commuted back to his cold, empty apartment he wondered only one thing... if he would ever be able to get over his heartache and find another to love.
Someone who could love him back just at passionately as he loved them. For a long time, his prayers were met with no answers but on this special, bright morning something changed.
The doorbell of the store rang a sacred sound which alerted Levi that someone had entered the store.
The young boy kept his dainty fingertips against the cool glass on the door, making sure it didn’t slam shut. He smiled sweetly, and his nails were painted but the shine of the blue glitter had faded slightly.
The boy moved slowly through the numerous stacks of books that were at the front of the store. Levi only caught a sliver of a glance at the boy as he walked past but he was... intrigued.
Well, hello there. Who are you?
He was in his early twenties, a dark messenger bag slung across his shoulders and thin torso. His dark brown locks were tied up but a few strands fell amiably against his pretty face and the back of his delicate neck.
The earthy green color of his sweater fit perfectly against his soft, golden complexion.
Your sweater is loose. You're not here to be seen.
His feet patted softly along the old floor yet the colorful bangles rattled as they shifted on his slender wrist.
But those bracelets, they jangle. You like a little attention.
Levi tracked the boy with his silver eyes and listened to the sounds of his gentle steps across the floor. He caught special glimpses as the boy moved through a specific section as he carefully scanned the shelves.
I watch you search the books. But you're too sunkissed to sit around reading books all day, aren't you?
The boy couldn't seem to find what he was looking for, so he moved away and towards another section but he accidentally jostled a passing customer, it startled him, "Oh- I'm sorry."
Your voice is sweet, apologetic, almost like you’re embarrassed to be a good boy.
The boy turned another corner, walked to the center of the aisle and stared right at Levi. He was beautifully bright, like an ancient deity glowing right before Levi's very eyes.
Then you murmured your first words to me.
"Hello," His pretty fingertips fiddled with his necklace, but he dropped the hand as he asked, "Do you work here?"
"Guilty... Can I help you find something?" Levi tried to remain impassive, but he struggled not to crack a smile at the sweet boy conversing with him. He resisted the urge to avoid looking as desperate and besotted as he felt.
"Paula Fox?" He answered with a quiet uncertainty to his soft voice, perhaps speculating that the little shop hadn't stocked up on authors like her. Thankfully, the store was filled with a plethora of older books with lesser-known authors.
It was a shame really, that not all writers could have the critical praise and recognition when they were living Sometimes it came after they were already long gone. But at least they got it in the end, some of the greatest written works were probably never even published or if they were, they never amounted to much in the eyes of public. It was a daunting thought, but luckily Paula Fox received a little acclaim and now her books comfortably rested on the top of a shelf in the store and Levi knew exactly where that was.
"It's a good choice." Levi was impressed, it wasn't everyday he met a person who was interested in real literature. And never anyone even remotely close in beauty to the boy that stood before him now.
"I feel weirdly validated." The boy playfully joked as his gold necklace danced along on his fingertips. When had he brought his teasing fingers back up to his neck, Levi thought but he couldn't afford to think endlessly about that because he actually had to help the boy find the book.
"Follow me." Levi led the boy down another aisle, and stopped at a particular shelf, "She's going be in here."
"Thank you." The young brunette smiled as he said the words. Levi knew he's never been the social kind of person, yet as he stood opposite this boy, he found he had a profound desire to talk with him.
Levi had helped him find what he was looking for, at this point he would always walk away from customers, yet his feet stayed planted firmly on the ground.
"You're welcome."
The boy turned his full attention to Levi, and there was a slight ruby tint across his velvety cheeks. Levi thought his green eyes appeared more like emerald gemstones as they stared back at him, they were so beautifully intense fueled by passion and curiosity. Levi broke the gaze, reminding the boy of why they were stood there in the first place, "Paula Fox, top shelf. Want me to--"
"Nope, I got it." He went for the book, as he reached his sweater rode up, revealing his soft looking stomach. Levi silver eyes were instantly transfixed by the golden skin.
Are you doing that on purpose? Showing that delicate part of yourself. And you want me to notice?
Levi barely knew the boy. But he was convinced there was definitely something special about him. For a person who hated wasting his time with awkward small talk or useless pleasantries, Levi thought it was somewhat ironic he now wanted to force conversation on another person. He struggled to think of something he could say to interest the younger man.
The brunette had managed to grab the book he wanted and was carefully reading the back.
"Have you read her fiction? Desperate Characters, it's her best." Levi tried.
"That's what I keep hearing." The young man sighed with his eyes closed, like he was disappointed in himself for not having read it yet. He casually took a little step closer to Levi as he spoke.
The small but meaningful gesture gave Levi the green-light in his head to lean closer to the brunette as he replied, "You haven't read Desperate Characters?", teasing him with a playfully judgemental tone.
"I know. I know. I'm worried it's not gonna live up to all of the hype." He expressed as he stared back at Levi.
"I can safely tell you, it is just that good." Levi reassured, and his response put a high-spirited smile on the beautiful boy's face.
"That's a high endorsement..." he started, and Levi couldn' t help but notice the boy's eyes dropped from his face to his chest, or name-tag more specifically but only for a second. Their eyes made contact again as the boy finished, "And from a bookstore clerk, nonetheless."
"Well, it's bookstore manager." Levi played along with it which put the brightest smile on the boy's face as he laughed. It was as if the boy was glowing with how perfect he looked like that, smiling and laughing to everything Levi would say.
You're so fucking cute.
He wanted to smile back, but unlike the boy, Levi didn't think his smile was cute or special. It certainly didn't brighten up his whole world like the little angel in front of him. And who looked as though he were about to bless Levi with his voice, however before he could get any words out they both heard,
"Hello? Anyone working here?" A middle-aged man stood close to the counter as his loud voice echoed throughout the store and interrupted them.
Reverie broken, Levi looked over at the direction of where that unwelcome intrusion occurred. He stood there, unbothered with his obligation to help the man, especially when there was someone so important stood in front of him.
Just as he decided to ignore that unfortunate voice, he heard kind words confessed to him, "Sorry, I really didn't mean to take up so much of your time." His head down, voice quiet. Did the boy feel guilty?
"No, I'm glad I could help you." Levi declared and he swore he could detect the slightest tint of a rosy blush on the boy's face as he looked back up, along with a smile on his lips, "Thanks for the help." Levi nodded before he regretfully walked towards the till, the young brunette walked on as well, but turned back to look at Levi. He stared at Levi with a sweet smile on his face.
At the counter Levi served the man, behind him there was a glass wall to an office where Erwin worked inside. "Can you hurry, I'm in a rush here." The man exclaimed as Levi packed his books.
Levi didn't know why the guy was pissed and he didn't really give a shit either, his mind was on much more important things. He still told him to have a nice day, though the man only grumbled before he turned to exit. The boy approached with the book he came for, and Desperate Characters, "Okay, I’m going for it."
Levi felt elated that the young brunette had listened to him, "You won’t regret it."
"I better not," he said as he went into his bag for his wallet.
The boy opened his wallet and Levi's sharp eyes scanned over the contents inside the best he could from where he stood without being too obvious. The younger man ignored the notes that were there and handed Levi his credit card instead. Levi gently took the card from him and immediately stared at one particular place near the bottom of the card...
You have enough cash to cover this but--
The name on the card read: E. Yeager.
--you want me to know your name.
"Yeager. Is that German?"
"Yea, how'd you know? My dad's originally from there, but he came over here when he was around my age. Some people call me by my last name but mostly everyone just calls me Eren... And you're," he looked over at Levi's name tag before he read it aloud, "Levi. And what's your last name?"
"Ackerman. But everyone calls me Levi." The boy laughed at the joke as he took a pen from the side of the till and signed for his credit card. He turned his glimmering gaze up at Levi as he handed him the receipt back.
"Aren’t you gonna tell me to have a nice day?" Eren's tone held a mischievous accusation, it was flirty and expectant.
"You have a nice day, Eren." Levi complied.
"You have one yourself, Levi." Eren held his hand out and Levi happily took it, they shook hands and with one last sweet smile, Eren left. Levi studied the receipt, he slowly placed his fingers over Eren's signature.
You smiled at me, laughed at my jokes, told me your name, asked for mine.
When he’d gone out the door, Erwin looked over from the office, "He write his number on there?"
"No, he was just being nice." Levi said nonchalantly as he folded the receipt.
"I’d be googling the hell out of him right now. You know his full name..." Levi turned to give his friend a disapproving look as reprimanded the advice, "That’s pretty aggressive, Erwin."
"I know you were disappointed with how things ended with Furlan but you have to try to move on. And just one little glance at his socials wouldn't hurt, would it?" Levi feigned indifference, but his friend seemed to know him well. "I suppose not." Was all he said as he stepped away from the till and strolled a trolley filled with books that needed to be shelved towards the front of the shop.
But the few words were enough for Erwin to have hope. "If you need me I’ll be near the history books. But for work, not for fun." Erwin promised as Levi walked away. He stopped near the front and looked out the window.
At the end of the day, some people can really just be disappointing, can't they?
He gazed at Eren in the distance as he headed down the subway.
But are you, Eren? Are you?
Levi’s eyes watched everything until there was nothing else to see, Eren had gone down the stairs of the subway. Levi turned away after that and looked upon the receipt that had not so long ago been in Eren's soft, delicate hands.
He pressed his fingers into the ink of Eren's signature again, and he noticed the ink earlier had marked his fingertips black. The ink of Eren Yeager had stained his skin, and that thought put a smile on his face as he carefully folded the receipt and put it into his in pocket.
The lovely blue sky had darkened to pitch black when Levi locked the store up. The late night air was briskly cold as he walked home deep in thought.
People find happiness. They find The One. I believe that and try to stay open. I was in love once, Eren. But he broke my heart. I should’ve seen the signs. But we never do when we’re in love.
Levi headed inside of his apartment building, carrying a takeout bag. The estate was built with dreary red bricks and dark green climber plants encasing most of the exterior walls of the building. He looked up at the second story window, from where he could already hear his neighbors loudly fighting.
Exhibit A: Nifa and Darius. Nifa’s a nurse and a single parent. You think she knew Darius was an alcoholic bastard when she fell in love? No, she thought he was a prince.
Levi climbed the stairs and saw Isabel sitting against the mucky white and faded red paint chipped wall, reading an old copy of The Three Musketeers.
And now, Nifa's life is not the only one that's ruined.
"What's up, Levi." She welcomed him cheerfully.
"Hey, Isabel."
They heard yelling from inside, something was thrown and it shattered, "Leave me alone! I don't want to talk to you! I'm sick of all of this!" That was Nifa straining out her weak voice, trying to scream at Darius.
"Everything okay in there?" Levi turned to question Isabel.
Isabel replied despondently, "Yeah. Mom and Darius are just talking," and her sad eyes returned to the old book that rested against her knees. Levi followed Isabel’s lead and pretended it’s not what it really was, instead he looked over to the novel on Isa’s lap, "You are burning through that book, aren't you?"
Levi's small acclamation of her reading skills put a little smile on her face and her eyes light up joyfully as she says, "Reads quick. With all the sword fights, it never gets boring. It's really good."
"Let me know when you finish. I’ll get you another one." Levi’s about to go inside but Nifa yells again, "Screw you! Get out of here!" He gave one more glance to the kid, "Are you hungry? I got this Italian wedge but I remembered I have Thai from last night."
Isabel’s eyes revealed how hungry she was but still, she sadly declared, "Nah. My mom will make me something later."
"That's a shame. It won't keep, so this shit is getting tossed."
"You sure, Levi?" Her young voice was constrained with a timid reluctance. Levi headed over and reassured her, "All for one and one for all." Isabel gratefully took the bag with a pleasant smile, Levi disappeared his apartment.
Levi's apartment had a vintage atmosphere, filled with old but well-kept books, small but very conscientiously tidy. As his locked the door behind him, he was deeply in thought...
The point, Eren: love is tricky. He shrug his jacket off and hung it by the door, dropped his keys into a handmade pottery bowl by the front, walked into the petite kitchen area and looked inside the empty fridge, but he alreasy knew before he looked in as he hardly ever stocked up. Notably, there was no Thai takeout but he knew that as well. Food never particularly interested him, though he did make himself some black tea. He put his old vinyl on, it played soft music and walked past a picture of a younger version of him and Kenny standing outside of the bookstore.
He set his tea down and sat at his desk before he opened his laptop.
I had to find out more about you. Your name was a glorious place to start.
On his screen he opened Google, and typed in the boy's name.
There’s not a lot of Eren Yeagers.
A host of sites appeared -- Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr. He began to click and scroll through it all. He searched meticulously...
There you were. Every account set to public. You want to be seen, heard, known. Of course I obliged.
There were seemingly infinite photos to be found, everything about Eren's life put online for anyone to see. Levi felt conflicted about this, he appreciated that he could access everything but a dark possessive part of him was irritated that others could see it all as well.
He pushed those grim thoughts aside, focused instead on finding out as much as he could about Eren. His Instagram account had a pride and trans flags in the profile, as well as his pronouns, 'he/him' with little love hearts around it.
This made Levi wonder a little, could he take this as confirmation that he's gay or perhaps trans?
He scrolled through his whole account, but most of his posts were superficial, just smiling in the camera type pictures. He looked pretty but Levi wanted to know more, intimate details about Eren.
He found an old account that Eren stopped posting on over half a decade ago. He did post a lot before, from pictures of his home, his parents, friends to his little poems and rants. Levi read through it all. He wrote pretty poems about falling in love and breaking away from the restrictive barriers of society, he liked to refer to them as walls. Then, Levi found a little branch of the old account that seemed to have deleted a lot of the uploaded pictures, however some of the written content was still there.
It was invasive, Levi knew to pry into his past like this, especially seeing as Eren wanted it gone, was wrong. But he couldn't resist the pull of the unknown about the boy, and he finally got a few answers. Eren had posted photos of his slow, but steady transition when he was much younger. The text explained the sort of issues he faced, the next steps into the medical transition since he had explored a comfortable social transition during his early teen years. It was interesting to Levi, this discovery made him feel closer to the boy in some ways. Eren was strong, courageous and intelligent, in Levi's mind, he was beyond perfect.
You were born and raised in Nantucket Island. You had a bestfriend Armin growing up. Your parents seemed to get on until your Mom died when you were in high school. Your dad dropped out of the picture after that. Armin got a full scholarship and early admission into an Ivy League college and left you. All alone.
Levi wondered if Eren still felt lonely inside, like he did. He looked through more photos, ones that showed Eren's college life as he drank and partied with his friends. Eren seemed to really like having beach days...with boys unfortunately.
You left to study at Brown where you majored in Literature. He scrolled and found copious amounts of unpleasant pictures of a particular man who appeared all over Eren's account. A pretentious, rich boy. He posed with his tongue out and a grubby beard.
Horribly privileged pricks aside, Eren seemed to like exploring forests, remote parks, and coasts. But especially loved boat riding on the ocean, Levi thought that was quite cute. After Brown, Eren posted how excited he was to move onto the next chapter of his life by starting at Columbia.
He noticed that around the time Eren came to the city, he had slowly begun to stop posting the little poems and short stories he wrote on his account before, instead only posting endless nights out with his friends.
Levi scrolled through more posts of Eren out in the big city. He had posted a video recording of his friends on the New York Highline, tipsy and carrying glasses of wine with them as they complained about needing to already be somewhere else.
You're too busy living out moments you won’t remember five years from now. You don't ever have time to write anymore, I know this because you post about your city life all the god damn time. Honestly, it’s the least appealing thing about you, Eren.
But that's not fair of me to say, is it? Because your online life isn’t real. You want it all to seem so care free. So you paste this version of yourself up everywhere, but that's not the real you.
Levi stopped on one photo in particular, Eren in front of a building carrying a moving box near the stairs.
He copied the image before he pasted it into a certain search engine. Something came up and he smiled.
...
A building in the West Village. The address: 171 Bank Street.
Levi stood, tucked unobtrusively by a street tree on the opposite side of the road.
There it is, with its big naked windows.
From across the street, Levi had a private, relatively unobstructed view of the slightly elevated first floor apartment. The windows were uncovered. Everything was on view.
It's nice, too nice. Definitely more than you could afford. Probably subsidized school housing.
Just at that moment, Eren walked by the window, wrapped in a green towel but still wet from his shower.
Christ.
Levi looked around at the people coming and going outside. They strolled right past, unknowningly and unbothered by what had captured Levi's undivided attention.
Inside Eren was on his phone, he scrolled on the device while he stood smiling to himself. Something made a bell sound which alerted him and he turned his head in the direction of the sound. Then went away to his small kitchen, approaching the microwave on the counter. Eren took the hot ready-made meal out, he quickly placed it on a little dining table to cool down, after he made his way over to his bed.
Levi smiled as he took a step closer. He heart told him there was a lot more to the beautiful boy, and he was practically buzzing with happiness that he was going to get to find out everything about Eren.
Levi opened his eyes in a wicked sense of excitement, he impatiently waited for time to pass by faster so he could get ready for what he knew was going to be an interesting day. He couldn't stand the daunting clock that seemed to deliberately make seconds feel as long as hours. But still Levi waited with such an eagerness that he couldn't recall ever feeling before in his life.
Our day starts at the crack of dawn. I know from your posted schedule that you teach a 6:30 excercise class.
Levi got ready quickly and made his way over to Eren's home, when he arrived he saw Eren through the large windows. Steel eyes widened as they laid their gaze upon the brunette, who was only half dressed, as he struggled to pull his shirt down all the way, down to where his black sweater pants hugged his beautiful waist.
In his apartment, Eren hurriedly prepped for his day as he pulled his pink sports top down to cover the waistline of his bottoms and drank some coffee.
Soon he rushed out of the building door and made his way to the Yoga studio. Levi discretely followed behind him and when Eren eventually arrived at work, he stayed outside but he wasn't too bothered about that because luck was on his side.
The studio had full glass windows for walls, so he secretly watched Eren from across the street. He stood to the side across the studio, the street was mostly empty as the young man taught a class, offering smiles and lies of encouragement.
By 10:00 am you’re at campus to TA a Romantics Class.
Eren raced across the lawn until he caught up his teacher.
"Morning, Professor Shadis." Eren said it warmly.
In return the old man draped an arm around him, "I told you, it’s Keith." He tried to be casual but his tone was sleazy. Eren reacted only slightly to the uncomfortable arm around him, he plastered on a false smile but moved away with the excuse of trying to get something from his bag.
Eren and the creepy Professor Shadis headed inside the school building and Levi was left alone to mull over the events of the morning so far.
After the long hours at the college, Eren felt more than a little drained as he left the building doorway.
After class, you head to your favorite café to write for the first time all day. But your life doesn't cooperate.
Eren's phone started to buzz to life in his back pocket. He pulled it out and stared at the screen as his weary eyes read over the messages from his friends.
Your wealthy friends have just now woken up and have nothing better to do other than plan their next pointless night out.
Eren had sighed, as his tired eyes glanced at his surrounding before landing back on his phone but texted back, like he always did.
Levi followed him to a pricey, but fashionable retail store in SoHo, Eren spoke kindly with a saleswoman as he looked at the $3,000 handbags. After a while, the saleswoman smiled and walked away, leaving Eren to his own devices. It shocked only slightly when Eren quickly wrapped a fancy scarf up and shoved it into his bag. Levi gazed amazed through the shop window, with the unhurried grace of a shoplifter, Eren headed out of the store and dashed down the street, if he wasn't in such a nervous hurry he might of spotted his new friend from the bookstore.
In an upscale eatery in the Village, a warmly lit table seated a group of laughing, drinking friends in celebration. "Happy Birthday!" They cheered in union.
Eren sat opposite the birthday girl, Historia who liked to appear as a kind spirited girl, and she sat beside Ymir, who was mostly sarcastic and unbothered with anything that didn't concern her. And the Queen-Bee, Mikasa, sat closely next to Eren. Historia opened her present, inside the elegant, crystal giftbag was the scarf Eren had just less than legally acquired. Alhough, they were none the wiser about that little secret as they all cooed over it. Historia gasped in an overly excited manner as she held the scarf up.
"Do you like it?" Eren's voice was a little unsure as he asked. "Of course, I love it, Eren!" She was sounded genuinely happy for the gift to Eren, but doubt still lingered within his heart.
"Cause you can always return it--" Historia wasn't entertaining that, "Please! I said I love it. I mean it."
Levi sat at a nearby table, not too close as to be seen but close enough to hear what was going on as he faced away from them.
"Farm-Boy didn’t even get her something that nice." The blonde birthday girl semi-playfully smacked Mikasa, "I told you not to call him that, his family own the farm, he works in a bank, okay?" Her mouth formed a smile by the time she finished, yet she looked anything but happy. And Ymir's whole face soured when the banker boyfriend was mentioned.
"Please. Open my gift next and tell me how much you hate me then lady." Historia did, opened the small lavish box. It’s a necklace, with an opulent diamond encrusted dolphin. The girls were in absolute awe of the beautiful piece, but Eren's face contorted into a tight smile as he slouched back into his seat, his moment in the sun already eclipsed.
You want so badly to be one of them, don't you?
"A dolphin! It’s my spirit animal for the year. You remembered." Historia seemed genuiely happy now. "Only because you wouldn't shut up about it." Mikasa sat back, she knew the gift was a success.
"It's a shame Sasha couldn't make it tonight." The birthday girl sighed, but her freckled friend was quick to cheer her up again.
"At least now, there's enough food for everyone."
They erupted into laughter but Levi grimaced.
They spend some time talking, drinking and laughing the whole way. Eventually, the group said their goodbyes, though they had begged Eren to go out to another bar with them, he had resisted their pleas.
They’ve got nothing to do after this. So they can just party all night and scrape it together tomorrow. You can’t. You have to work for a living.
Ymir and Historia peeled off in one direction, but Mikasa didn't leave with them, "I’ll catch up with you guys," Mikasa lingered at the table with Eren.
They sat opposite each other now, "A McQueen scarf, Eren? How much was it?"
Maybe not all your friends are dumb.
"...it was on clearance," Eren tried.
"They haven’t put a McQueen scarf on clearance since he hung himself in 2010... It would be too much for you to pay even if she deserved it, which god knows she does not." Mikasa watched as Eren tried to shrug it off, he was clearly were uncomfortable with this conversation.
"You always do this. You make a big gesture that you can't afford because... I'm sorry, you're too nice."
"It's no big deal. I had,a.. umm..a gift card." Eren tried again to play it off, he couldn't just admit he stole the damn thing.
"How broke are you? Just tell me what's up."
Actually sounds like she cares.
Eren’s taken aback by the direct question, "Look, I appreciate--"
"Eren. Why don’t you just let me loan you some cash? Okay? I keep telling you, it's nothing. I literally have three trust funds, all from relatives I hated, you’d be doing me a favor. How much do you need?"
If only she didn’t sound so condescending.
"Honestly, Mikasa, I don't need any. I'm fine... But if I ever do--" The dark-haired girl leaned closer and didn't let him finish again,"You better ask." She reached out her hand to pet Eren's head like he was her cute, little puppy dog.
Mikasa smoothed Eren’s hair and raked her manicured nails through his dark locks, a more than friendly gesture. "Can’t have you run yourself into the ground, you’re the only friend I actually like. I swear to god, don’t strand me with those dumb bitches."
Eren laughed heartily at that, and Levi wondered exactly how much Eren liked the special attention he got from the Queen-Bee herself. Mikasa had Eren’s hand in her other palm and stroked it a little with her snake like fingers. "You know.. I’d do anything for you. Don’t forget that." Eren looked down at Mikasa's hand on his, and for a split second, it suddenly felt just the tiniest bit...weird. Mikasa casually withdraw her hands after and the moment was over. "Sure you don’t want to come out with us?"
"Sorry. I gotta write."
"Catch you later." With that Mikasa headed off to join their other friends. Eren sat on the table by himself, and finished his drink with a frown.
So is that the best friend you’ve got? If so, Eren, you really are alone.
It was late when Eren managed to get back to his place, his windows illuminated as he entered and took a diet coke from his fridge. He sat on his couch and opened his laptop, he wanted to finally write something. Levi stood beside a tall tree on the opposite side of the street, watching Eren.
Your social media life is a lie. It says you’re a happy-go-lucky Lit student.
Eren sipped the drink and immersed himself in his writing, with a little smile on his face.
But you're not. You're not happy, are you Eren? And yet, you seem like the genuine article. As soon as the door closes, you're back at the keyboard, trying to write. Dedicated and determined, despite your exhausting day.
Eren sat focused on his screen, when his phone buzzed, he checked the alert and hesitated. He stood with a puzzled expression on his tired face, unsure of whether to answer or what to do.
A brawny man in late twenties, hipster type in expensive but unkempt clothes quickly jumped out of a yellow taxi as he yelled, "Thanks. Keep the change man," and ran towards Eren's building. Levi fell back into the shadows, he watched as Eren appeared in the window and looked down at the man. He yelled again, "Hey. Let me up!"
Through the window, Levi could see that Eren was frustrated but walked away to his door to push the buzzer. The guy smiled, sauntered up the stairs and into Eren's place.
Levi felt his chest tighten, almost painfully and his eyes felt like daggers even to himself as they widened in surprise.
Uh, Eren, who the fuck is this?