Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The lights were finally on.

He moved closer to the curtains in the darkness of his bedroom, silver eyes alight and hungry. His cock was already half-hard tenting in his sweatpants obscenely, there was no use in pretending he had not been waiting for this moment all day. It was his day-off with no task to distract himself with and he had been panting for his new neighbor to grace his view with her silhouette, a translucent dream half hidden by the tulle curtains. Feeling more like a hormonal teen than an adult man, he caught the sight he had been pining for across the building. The desire had long surpassed shame and he simply indulged himself again. 

There was something careless and wild about it. He palmed his rapidly hardening cock through the fabric, letting himself wonder. Were you naive, did you not care, or did you want to give him a show? Somehow all of those options were delectable, yet the last one made his cock twitch, eager and leaking, staining the clothing already. He knew that he was just deluding himself and if you knew what he was up to when his lights were turned off and yours were alight at night, you would find him despicable. No kind smiles and warm greetings would be given anymore. When even that thought did nothing to falter his erection, he knew he was not going to last long once he got rid of the layers. You probably just thought you were dancing innocently, not understanding the effect you had on him. Maybe not innocent, just too immersed in your own world. When you caressed your half-naked body in a dance that looked more like a cabaret show, what were you thinking about? Fuck, he didn’t even know you that well. You may have as well been a stripper in secret and he would be none the wiser. You certainly seemed like you would be quite an earner, but the idea of other men witnessing this scene sent an acrid rage down his spine, making him clench his jaw. He shook himself off the thought, he had to just get off so he could relax. Hopefully soon get rid off this affliction you casted on him too, he was not used to being so obsessed with someone, especially so quickly, without knowing barely anything about them. He did not think he was that shallow.. Or maybe there was something deeper at play, a true spiritual connection. Stopping himself there, he scoffed, self-deprecating. When had he grown so pathetically sentimental? With one swift motion, he pulled his pants down and let his large cock spring free. He had been aching for so long, edged inadvertently. Only few months and he had been in this state, unwilling to admit he had a problem. Spitting in his hand, he coated his cock quickly, jerking himself without looking away from you even for a moment. He could not make out the details of your features from far, but your friendly, beautiful little face alight while trying to coerce him into making small talk that morning was fresh in his mind, vivid and tempting for him to imagine cumming all over it. Right here, on his bedroom floor. Licking him like a kitten, pressing your face to his crotch while your back arched gracefully, sitting at his feet. Then taking his entire length down your throat expertly, until your nose pressed against his coarse pubic hair - and you would look up at him cheekily, as if you didn’t know what you were doing to him. Red plush lips stretched to their limit, moaning around his thick cock, doing your best at sucking him while you played with your little cunt because you could not help yourself. Dripping onto his fucking carpet. Fuck. He wanted you to get drenched while sucking him off. Then stopping your ministrations and taking his cock out only to press kisses all over him, leaving red lipstick marks. Going down, licking and kissing his balls, trying to fit them into your mouth. Teasing him right up to his limit. Then obedient and loving, waiting for him on your knees, face upturned, so he could mark you with his seed. Opening your mouth, lips still slightly curved, sticking your tongue outside, ready to drink his cum. 

“You’d be so good to me, wouldn’t you,” he hissed, fisting himself generously now, precum spilling and making the glide easier. “So nice and sweet for me. So nice and tight. Fuck.” He wanted to fuck you right there on the floor where he imagined you were kneeling to suck him off, wet with your juices. Beg him to move to the bed but he would not be able to wait and take you right there like an animal.

He gave out a low groan. Your silhouette was still moving, sometimes stepping beside the tulle, giving him a better view of your curves. Bending over. Moving up. Flexible, graceful, teasing. Oh how much he wanted to press his hand over your head and grip your hips as he pounded without holding anything back. Levi’s calloused hand moved against his length faster and faster, weeping from tip, coming close to spilling. He would have felt ashamed of himself, standing in front of his window, staring from the little opening of his own curtain like a creep and jacking off furiously, but he had made his peace and moved past that by the time he did it for the dozenth time. It still did not make it easier to look at you in the hallway, while you greeted him pleasantly - without an inkling how he was going to think about peeling whatever you were wearing at that moment later on. It did no good in furthering your conversation, and he felt like more of a failure not to be able to ask you out. But it did make the internal battle whether if he was really going to jerk off against the window again cut off shorter.

You moved outside his visual field and he stopped. Fuck. So close. The light was still on, so you were not done yet. His cock throbbed painfully, protesting the wait. Just a glimpse. Come on. Give it to me.
 
A moment later you appeared again, now having shed the little top, only with a bralette. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Levi swore between his teeth and yanked at his cock again, his balls tightening. The slick noises he wanted to pretend that came from fucking your cunt and not just his spit and precum filled the room. You stretched high, facing him, then moved closer to the window, pulling the curtains close, slow and seductive, arms pushing at your chest as you pulled. 

“Fuuuuck,” Levi swore again as he caught himself before he could soil the curtains, fisting his cock violently as he spilled into his hand. It felt like the high lasted forever. He wiped the last of the spurts off and breathed out, feeling relaxed and fulfilled and took a final look from the little opening between his dark curtains. You were somehow still there, standing between the little gap that was left while you grabbed onto the curtain by each side, with a little smile he was not sure if he was seeing or not, and the gaze that seemed to find his hiding place only for a moment before you pulled the curtains to a close.  Squinting his eyes, he reflexively shoved his face closer to the opening. Did he just dream that or were you looking at him? No, that wasn’t possible. Was it? His now-clearer mind rewound the movements, how you pushed your chest towards the window and all too slowly reached out as he reached his peak. That pause and the gaze that seemed to find his hiding spot.

What the fuck was that?

Chapter Text

Levi woke up to the cold light of the morning seeping between the closed curtains, feeling oddly hungover, a pool of dread in his stomach. His eyes moved automatically to the alarm clock, showing fifteen minutes before he had to get up. Then it suddenly it him, what he did last night. A wave of confusing paranoia and the urge to cringe filled him, mixed with unwanted lust that went right to his dick. He couldn’t get rid of the feeling you had been aware of what he was doing and that hadn’t been an illusion, but it made no sense in the greater context of how you acted. 

He shook himself. He had no intention to indulge with any of those feelings. Checking his phone with a frustrated grunt, he found that the chief had texted him at the crack of dawn to ask if he would be available for a late shift today to check out some machinery that was due to get delivered a little later. 

Great, he thought, sending a simple affirming Yes. More distraction is exactly what I need. Without a pause he got off the bed, shed the only piece of clothing he had on him which was deep black pajama bottoms, executed his morning routine and got ready for his job at the factory forty minutes away as an industry engineer. Thoughts purposefully banished from his mind, by the time he dutifully got out of his five-minute shower after thirty-five minutes of morning workout with no delays in between, it read seven in red letters of the alarm clock. Feeling more like himself, he went to kitchen to make some tea - black, no milk, no sugar, the usual - and ate nothing. Standing up next to counter, he tapped his foot, impatient for the scalding hot drink to be emptied already so he could start his day. He took one good look at the mirror before he left to make sure everything was in their rightful place. Then he wondered about your daily schedule. 

Then he wondered if you had seen him last night.

It really was fortunate that he was going to have a long and busy day that would not give him a moment of rest, because it really seemed that he needed to clear his head. He both wanted to see you and avoid you, and the same applied to the runaway thoughts. Coming to the conclusion it would be too early for you to wake up since he had been inadvertently observing your schedule, he put on his coat, wondering if he would be missing a show tonight too, and if he could see you tomorrow instead. Unfortunately, those were not always as strictly scheduled as one would hope.

“Good morning, Levi.” A cheerful voice chimed in the hallway. He almost closed the door out of reflex.

“Morning,” he replied to you with an uncomfortable delay, tense, caught off-guard. 

“Doesn’t seem too good for you.” Tone of your voice was a little different, low, like you whispered it to someone else next to you, which made Levi’s shifted eyes focus back and narrow. You gave a little laugh at the annoyed and confused look he gave you, as his hand kept grasping the door like it was threatening to escape its hinges.

“Sorry,” you said, waving your hand. “You seem more brooding than usual. Were you up late?”

More brooding than usual?

He was…brooding?

He scowled harder for a moment, then realized the implication that followed other than that you might have found him depressing.

Up late.

“No,” he grumbled. Technically not a lie. You didn’t pass eleven too much, after all, and he fell asleep right after…watching you. He scanned your face, but there wasn’t a hint of double meaning, no implication. You seemed…positive and engaged, a little curious. A little too energetic and chipper for this early in the morning, especially since you had mentioned that you weren’t much of a morning person to him before. Your job certainly didn’t start this early, that much he knew, but he didn’t want to ask and come off like he was some kind of obsessive stalker. He didn’t need that on his resume too. 

“To the work?” You seemed already ready to go when he opened the door, why were you still standing there?

“Uh-huh,” he said. He wasn’t sure why you were asking him something so obvious as he locked the door. 

“Bye-bye,” you said with a little wave, too cute for your own good. “Have a good day at work.” As if you were his loving housewife. Christ, Levi swore in his head. So much for clearing my mind.

With a nod, he walked outside, embracing the cold weather where he could finally breathe, missing the way you looked at his back as he left, with a small, exasperated smile and a slight blush on your face.

-

It all began when you moved to his building three months ago. It was a nice apartment complex in a good side of the city, a little secluded and a tad far from the main roads, which allowed it to keep its calm and safe state at a good price while still remaining close to the center. Even if you hadn’t been taken in immediately by the intimate and beautiful feeling of the place, you would have jumped at the lucky find, just to finally free yourself from draining your bank account to stay at hotels to be near the place your job moved to. The inside of the apartment was exactly as it was advertised as well and it all seemed perfect. 

That was the day he saw you. Beautiful, warm, successful, seemingly single. You reached your soft, small hand to him once the owner introduced you two briefly, you taking the role of the initiator towards the stoic man, even though he should have been the one making the first move. A little tongue-tied with the feeling of your warm hand in his, he managed to grumble you a welcome he hoped didn’t sound downright hostile. Pleased by how you didn’t seem put-off at all, continuing to chatter cheerfully about your situation, expressing your wishes to get along with him in the future, and that you hoped that you wouldn’t disturb him too much with the noises your moving in would create. You were captivating, he thought, from the first sight.

Your relationship continued as such, amicable, with a distance Levi assumed was polite. Up until that one night he had noticed you dance, he had his best to suppress his reluctant feelings for you. Then it became impossible to deny. First he had stared at you from where he stood in the darkness of his own room, spellbound. He couldn’t deny his body’s reaction, but he refused to act on it. But in time you became bolder and bolder, your dance becoming more and more seductive, and slowly, he had succumb to it. Sometimes he just wanted to pretend you were putting on a show to repress the feeling he was taking advantage of you. What would you do if you noticed how he looked at you? Not like a polite, helpful acquaintance but someone to be wary of? There was nothing but shame to be found in his thoughts, he denied it at every chance, except when there was nothing to do for him except to indulge.
There was nothing that ruined his day more than when he saw how friendly you were to your other neighbors whose names he couldn’t even bother to learn.

-

“Hey there, Grumpy.”

The chaos had a way of seeking Levi out.

“Four-eyes,” he gave his best friend an acknowledgment without turning his head. He was busy with his routine inspections and didn’t want any delays - Hange had a way of getting into way of everyone’s work then binging their own at the very last minute.

“How’s it goin’?” The voice was melodic and he knew nothing good was about to come his way.

“Shitty now that you’re buzzing in my ear.”

“So eager to chase away your only friend,” Hange tut-tutted. “What will you do if I decide I’m better off with people who appreciate my wonderful company?”

“Says who? There’s Erwin and Mike.”

“And when was the last time you saw either?”

Levi rolled his eyes, still focused on his task. He had been neglecting his friends for some time now, but he didn’t want that thrown in his face, especially by someone who would potentially get missing person reports filed under their name for neglecting to return calls for a year because they were too distracted.

“How’s the lovergirl?” And there it was, what Hange wanted to talk about.

“Don’t fucking call her that.”

“But she is!”

“Fuck off.” 

Hange pressed against the flat metal surface of the machine like she didn’t feel the cold, and shook her head dramatically.

“No wonder she doesn’t want your grumpy ass.”

“We never established that,” Levi sneered, feeling annoyed at his past self for divulging too much information about you at a moment of weakness. 

“Oooh,” the reply came immediately. “So we do retain hope.” Levi had stepped right into the trap, knowing and willing. He turned to them as he wiped the oil from his hands.

“Hange, I’m not talking about my fucking-“ he lowered his voice dramatically, a threatening hiss coming out, “neighbor with you at work. If you give that fucker-“ he motioned with his head to where Nile stood, on the opposing side of the wide opening to do an inspection of his own, his body showing a slight tilt towards where Levi and Hange stood as if he wanted to hear the talk, “any gossip about my private fucking life because you can’t show the decency to wait till fucking lunch, I’m gonna fucking throw you head first from the highest scaffold I can find.” 

“Aye aye, Captain,” Hange laughed, hands up in defeat. “Still don’t know why you can’t get along with Nile. He just got divorced, you have so much in common.”

“I’ve never even been engaged.”

“Yeah,” Hange said, cheerful. 

-

A little more than ten miles away where Levi left you, you were curled up on your white sofa in your beige living room, dressed up to the nines all ready to go, having your second sleep.

Chapter Text

Two Months Prior

“That’s a giant cactus,” Levi remarked.

“Yeah, wanted to bribe you into letting me inside your apartment more!”

“With a cactus,” Levi shook his head as he made way for his best friend who tumbled inside without taking their shoes off, the plant worryingly close to their face. “If you pull anything, you won’t be invited for the next five years.”

The place was minimalist and clean, not ultra-modern but somewhere between that and pure comfort. He did not clutter, he did not like interruptions from people who cluttered or otherwise -  it was truly rare for Levi to invite anyone home. He did not enjoy people in what he thought of like a private, perfectly clean sanctuary.

“You won’t regret this,” Hange reassured him enthusiastically.

“Stop acting like this is your first time here.”

Hange stopped, thoughtful, putting fingers down like they were trying to remember very hard.

“Maybe….fifth? If you don’t count dorms.”

“Five times too much then.”

They ordered take-out and Hange surprisingly had brought dessert Levi did not find objectionable to eat alongside tea afterwards, while the former grumbled something about how it was rude of him to force his visitor to drink tea instead of coffee.

“I’m not letting you drink that atrocity,” he grumbled, having a seething hatred for how Hange preferred their coffee with sugar and milk. Hange had to make peace with tea with five spoons of sugar while they watched a documentary, interrupting it a little too much with commentary while Levi somehow managed to pay attention to both. 

“Gonna find a nice place for Lenny,” they yelled while Levi put the leftovers to the fridge.

“I’m not calling the fucking cactus that,” he grumbled. “And don’t fucking wander and make a mess, four-eyes.”

It was silent for two seconds, which in retrospect by the owner of the apartment, should have been assumed as the silence before the storm.

“Hey Levi..who the hell is that.”

He knew before he saw Hange standing in front of his bedroom window with the plant loose in their hands.

Shit, he swore under his breath. You had chosen the most inopportune time to start.

“My new neighbor,” he said drily, trying to mask his breathlessness.

“Damn, maybe I should move in here too.”

“Fuck no,” the response was automatic. “Stop watching her like a creep and come over here.”

He moved to keep his friend far away from the view, on the off chance you could see the silhouette, dragging them by the arm back to the living room.

“Does she do this all the time?” Hange seemed overcome with enthusiasm as she tried to face him to get better answers while he tried to avoid meeting his friend's eyes.

“She..has few times before.”

“So a hot chick has been giving you a private show and you choose to keep it from me.”

“It’s hardly fucking private. Anyone can see it.” Levi wondered whether his teeth would break if he clenched his jaw harder.

Hange went back to look at the structure, how the windows were placed in the building. The angle was…

“Huh,” Hange thought. “That’s definitely..”

“Move the fuck away from the window, Hange. She’ll see you.”

“Well, she certainly wants to be seen by someone.”

“She’s just dancing,” Levi tried again, getting flustered. He had noticed you a few weeks ago and tried his best to ignore looking at you like a creep, but the lights near his bedroom made it really hard. He often had to sleep early to wake up at dawn and you were dancing with lights on around ten in the night. It was not exactly the optimal environment for him to pretend you did not exist.

“Are you seriously telling me you never watch her?”

“I’m not a fucking creep, so no.”

“Sometimes I wonder how you ever manage to get laid.”

Levi rolled his eyes.

“Don’t shit where you eat and all that,” he said. “I don’t wanna get involved with a neighbor. Messy when you break up.”

“Well, maybe you’ll marry her.”

CURRENT DAY

“Soooo,” Hange twirled the fork into the mess of noodle as they sat down in the cafeteria of the factory, seated in the corner as far as possible, the noise of their speech hopefully drowned by the chatter outside. “What’s new with your personal stripper?”

“What the fuck,” Levi hissed, almost choking on his drink. “Don’t ever fucking say that again.”

“Nobody will hear, Levi,” Hange raised their hands impatiently. “No lovergirl, no stripper. You’re really no fun.”

Levi shifted a little where he sat uncomfortably, thinking about the morning interaction, about how you called him brooding.

“What’s with that?”

“Nothing.”

“Something did happen with her, didn’t it?”

“Stop pestering me about her or I’m never telling you shit again.” Levi already was fine with being a closed book, or a castle that was protected by very large and very impenetrable walls, but every once in a while something slipped past the gates and landed in his very noisy and very intrusive and overly enthusiastic friend’s lap.

“You can’t tease me with information about your crush then pull away, you know,” Hange pouted. “Do you know how rare is this?”

“Yes, I do.”


Levi and Hange had met during university, which granted her the privilege and hurdle of being one of Levi’s oldest remaining friends. He had been looming in the corner of an early class at his first week and Hange had been late to the class with a coffee-stained paper cup that looked like it had gone through war, threatening to spill onto the entire desk. Levi had moved away his things, a little disgusted, and looked up at her judgmentally for picking the place next to him of all places in the entire amphitheater. The newcomer was not fazed at all, and that was how they became friends - practically inseparable, for Levi’s standards. And this was why the latter had a rather too good of a grasp on Levi’s romantic history or lack thereof, certainly more than he would have liked. Among all his friends, Hange knew the best, that he did not do relationships and practically could not tolerate anyone more than the length of a one or two night stands.

He had been satisfied with that - despite all the efforts to get him to change his ways, he could be the most obstinate person on earth. And the idea of changing his ways, only to get into a relationship with someone who lived next door was an absurd one. That was something nobody would recommend, not even the most hopeless romantic.

That was what he told himself.

And that you probably thought he was a creep.

Hange chose to focus on her food for a moment,  on purpose, to let Levi relax a little, looking more sullen than usual.

“Is she still dancing like that in front of your window?”

Levi felt a bit of heat rise to his face at the memory.

“Yes,” he grumbled out.

Hange paused, then let out a genuine chuckle. “God, you’re hopeless.” Levi scoffed and got ready to attack. “She’s obviously giving you a show and you’re too dumb to even get it.”

“You don’t know that,” Levi hissed, promptly deciding never to mention how he felt your eyes on him last night, not wanting to inspire Hange’s optimistic nature to feed his delusions, and he definitely did not want to face the fact you may be well aware of his.. transgressions. There were too much Hange did not know and he certainly was not about to disclose them all to her. He would never hear the end of it, if he admitted to watching you every single time while jerking his dick raw which he also was pretty sure would put him on some sort of sex offender list. And force him to move. And Hange did not need any more enabling.

“Yes, I do,” Hange emphasized by stabbing their food with the fork three more times. “Nobody does that with open curtains on windows so close to their neighbor’s, trust me.”

“Nobody trusts your judgment when it comes to normal people.”

“Are you saying it’s normal to dance like that? Does she want tips?”

Levi groaned, trying to push the image away, with the bothersome suggestion you could grace the same view to others.

Others you may find more….fun.

His mood soured immediately and he squeezed his can a little too much.

He reconsidered. He thought about seeing you again. He gave in.

“She called me brooding this morning. What the fuck does that even mean?”

Hange looked confused. She put down her fork, narrowed her eyes, tilted her head, even her ponytail almost jumped in disbelief.

“That offended you?”

“It’s like calling someone depressing.”

“What. No, it’s not!”

“Yeah, she said I looked more brooding than usual.”

Hange looked somewhere between gleeful and horrified.

“She was clearly trying to flirt with you!”

“You’re crazy,” Levi denied with a weak voice, his ears a deep shade of pink.

“She was teasing you, dummy,” Hange said in fascination, looking lost in her own mind, talking to herself. “Oh she so was!”

Levi felt flustered, forgetting to eat his lunch.

“You’re fucking crazy,” he reiterated again, starting to play with his food.

“I need to come over there and see you two interact.”

“The fuck you will. I’m never letting you meet her.”

“I can’t believe I missed it when I was there!”

“Yeah, because I knocked you out when you tried to knock on her door.”

-

You yawned and slowly woke up. The time showed eleven, right in time to have a cup of coffee then leave for work. Thankfully where you worked allowed you the luxury of not having to get up and leave at the crack of dawn like a certain someone who seemed to thrive under such conditions. You got up from the couch, clothes a little messed, hair ruffled and makeup not fresh enough, but you still felt good with the extra rest - despite the earlier fiasco.

Your cute neighbor was being a little too hard to get.

To think you got up at that crack of dawn to actually catch him leave. He looked too unfairly good too, no one should be allowed to look that good that early, you thought. You were certain your intentions were obvious, emboldened by the previous night, but he seemed to not get what you were doing at all.

Not obvious enough? You wondered, rewinding the scene again, feeling certain once again that you had been laying it very thick when all things considered. No, no one could be that oblivious.

….Could they?