Chapter Text
“Fuck, this is heavy,” you groaned, your arms wrapped around a giant cardboard box. “Thanks for coming, Hange. There’s no way I would’ve been able to unpack all of this by myself.”
Your best friend turned towards you with a grin, their arms full of a lamp and two pillows, with a duffel bag slung around their back. “No worries, El. I’m happy to help. I had to move in this weekend too, for TA training, so it was super convenient.”
It certainly did not help that it was almost ninety degrees out. You felt like you were drenched in sweat. Move-in day was the very worst, especially when the heat was this brutal in mid-August. Your parents weren’t able to come, either, and therefore it was up to you to move all your belongings into your new dorm. Thank the heavens that Hange was free today.
The two of you trudged from your car into your residential hall: Eldia. It was one of the bigger ones on campus, too—a tall, brick building with eight floors. It was fairly old, but still one of the most coveted residential halls on campus. Thankfully, you were on the first floor. You’re glad because you couldn’t imagine hauling all your belongings up that many flights of stairs.
“This way, I think,” you called to Hange, who followed you obediently.
You turned right and went all the way down the hall. There it was, room 120. Home, sweet home. Well, for the next nine months, anyway. You had the right wing of the floor, the female side. Eldia was famous as the only co-ed dormitory at the University of Paradis. You were pretty lucky to get assigned here. It is also conveniently right near Scouts Hall, where you’ll be having most of your education classes for your major.
You dropped the heavy box of your belongings and fished out your key. With bated breath, you unlocked your dorm. You weren’t sure what to expect. But as you stepped in, you let out a little sigh of relief. It was nice enough. A little small, but it will certainly do. You had a bathroom off to your right and a closet directly in front of the door. Your bed was off to the left in the corner, and you had a desk by your window. In fact, it would do quite nicely.
“Hey, not too shabby,” Hange admired. They dropped your pillows onto the mattress and placed the lamp on the nightstand that was next to your bed. They dropped the duffel bag as well and turned to you with a grin. “Give me your car keys and I’ll head out for the next load.”
You smiled in relief. “Have I mentioned lately how much I love you?” You batted your eyes adoringly at your best friend and tossed them the keys.
“You could stand to say it some more.” They teased you, laughing loudly. They caught the keys and headed out and down the hall.
You were so lucky to have Hange. You met them freshman year in your biology lab. The two of you were partners, and after a few weeks of working together and doing pretty well on your assignments, you began to hang out outside of class, too. It wasn’t an immediate friendship, the two of you definitely clashed a little initially. Their overbearing enthusiasm for science did not mesh well with your desire to get in, fulfill your GE requirement, and get out. It also did not help that you were a little quick to snap. But, once you got to really know each other, the rest was history—and Hange’s excitement and knowledge ensured you both received an A in that course.
Now, the two of you were practically inseparable. You lived together off-campus for your last two years, but when senior year rolled around, and you were encouraged to apply for the RA position, well—you couldn’t turn down the money. It worked out well that Hange will be the TA for biochem so they’ll be given a stipend and you don’t feel too bad for leaving them by themselves to pay the rent.
You seriously would not have managed to stay sane in college without them.
You grabbed the cardboard box and quickly unpacked the things you could—some books, some shoes, and some toiletries. A curious hodgepodge of items, for sure. You hadn’t put a lot of effort into packing your stuff and now you were regretting that a little. You didn’t want to spend all weekend simply unpacking since you had meetings tomorrow with the other RAs. You would have to make their door decorations and plan your first meeting with your hall.
With a groan, you stood up and stretched, mentally preparing yourself to head back out to the car and carry some more stuff. You glanced in the mirror in your bathroom before leaving. You looked… okay. Definitely a little sweaty and disheveled, but you were glad you were wearing denim shorts, a white tank top, and some brown Birkenstocks. It was much too hot to be wearing a ton of layers in this heat.
You left your dorm, propping the door open so that Hange would be able to head right in. You felt pretty safe doing so; the residents won’t be moving in for two more days and so the only other person likely to be around would be the male RA for your floor. You hadn’t met him yet, but you’d heard some things about him. Levi Ackerman. He’s a senior, like you, and he’s majoring in economics. You heard this much from your boss, who had sent you some information on Levi to get you acquainted. From your peers, however, you heard a few more details. People said that he was fairly witty, and could very easily charm people. You’d heard rumors of him being quite the heartbreaker, too—you knew of a handful of girls who fawned over him. Every professor he’s ever had has worshiped at his feet. You were certainly curious about a guy like this.
You were lost in this train of thought when you crashed into something—or someone. Your eyes had been down at your feet while you were walking and pondering and you felt immediately a little embarrassed. Probably Hange coming in with a load of your stuff.
“Oh!” You gasped. “Sorry, Ha—”
You looked up, only to be met with cold, grey eyes. As your gazes met, you saw something flash briefly in his eyes, but as quickly as it came, it went.
“You’re not Hange,” you stated the obvious.
He raised an eyebrow. “No. I’m not. And watch where you’re going, I almost dropped all this shit.” His arms were full of books, carrying a stack that was almost taller than his head.
His tone kind of rubbed you the wrong way. Clearly, it was an accident, you didn’t intend to crash into him. Your first instinct was to snap back at him, but you took a second to analyze the situation. The very fact that you ran into a guy here would imply that this is your co-RA. Perhaps it would be better to be kind and assume that the guy was just in a bad mood. You get that—the heat, heavy boxes—you’re a little cranky too, in all honesty.
But with a quick glance, you knew he was not at all what you had expected. Based on the way you heard people singing his praises, you never would have guessed that Levi Ackerman was a short, irritated-looking man with black hair and an undercut. He was a few inches shorter than you and he stared at you with an apathetic glare. Despite the weather, he was wearing a white button-down, slacks, and boots. Was he insane? It’s sweltering outside.
You noted, with mild irritation, that he was indeed quite attractive.
Stopping your thorough examination of him, you forced a smile on your face. “You must be Levi.” You held out your hand to shake.
“Yeah.”
You waited for him to continue speaking, to ask you your name, to ask you how you were doing. Literally anything at all. Instead, he just kept looking at you. After about ten seconds of this awkward silence where he refused to shake your hand, you pulled it back, a little weirded out.
You cleared your throat. Okay. Guess it’s up to you, then. “Well, it’s nice to meet you. I’m—”
“El!” Hange walked up to the two of you, their arms loaded with bags.
“Hey, Hange. Do you need me to help you carry anything?”
They shook their head with a beaming grin. “Are you kidding? This is great exercise.”
You grinned back in return and called to them as they walked away. “I’ll be back with another load soon!”
You turned back to Levi, who was just watching you with a bored expression on his face. For a moment, you wondered if he was moving in all his belongings by himself.
An even more uncomfortable silence ensued. This time, you kept watch of him. You were curious to see if he would eventually be pressured to continue the conversation. With a sigh, he opened his mouth to speak, clearly reluctantly.
“So, your name is El?”
You frowned. “No. It’s a nickname. Didn’t you read the email with my information? I know I got one about you, so you must have gotten one about me, too. It was supposed to help us get to know each other since we’ll be working very closely together all year.” You felt kind of like a teacher’s pet, explaining to him what your boss had told you. But it felt like common courtesy for him to make any sort of effort regarding getting to know you.
“No, I didn’t read it. Didn’t feel necessary.” He shrugged. “What is El a nickname for, then? Ellie? You look like an Ellie.” He spoke dryly. You watched, in shock, as his eyes traveled up and down your frame, as though he were sizing you up.
You look like an Ellie. What the fuck is that supposed to mean? You were getting irritated. You can’t even count the number of people who dismissed you based on your looks and were quick to assume that you couldn’t possibly be witty or intelligent. Why bother making conversation if he’s just going to be a jerk? Why should you answer his questions? Now, he’s just making baseless assumptions about you. Whatever, you weren’t going to stoop down to his level. You’ll be the bigger person.
“It’s short for Hell, actually.” You pursed your lips. “Hange and I argued a lot when we first became friends and because of my attitude, they jokingly called me a Hellraiser. Eventually, that became Hell, and then El.” You’re not sure Hange has ever called you by your real name. Perhaps once or twice, early on, but then the nickname stuck. Practically everyone you were friends with, or even acquaintances with, now thinks that El is your name.
It wasn’t a terrible nickname, and it definitely wasn’t worth the effort to go around correcting everyone.
“Interesting.” He grunted. Clearly, he was not one for conversation. “I’ll be going now.”
Without giving you a chance to reply, he walked away towards the male wing of the dormitory.
You stood there, for a moment, just staring at his retreating frame. You’re not so sure Levi Ackerman deserves his glowing reputation. Frankly, he’s kind of a dick.
“Fine. See you later!” You called after him, an evident twinge of annoyance coloring your voice.
He did not reply but merely disappeared out of your line of sight.
Well. This year seems like it’s gonna be a blast. You rolled your eyes and headed back towards your dorm to help Hange.
“Hey, who were you talking to?” Hange asked once you walked into the door.
You groaned. “Some jackass.”
Hange raised an eyebrow, as though they were wondering if the guy was actually the jerk, or if you were just being snippy.
You knew that was exactly what they were asking you.
“No, really. He’s my Co-RA, but he’s a dick.”
Hange hummed as they unpacked a box of your clothing. “Interesting.”
You raised your hands up in exasperation. “No, Hange, seriously. I feel like you don’t understand. He called me Ellie! Then he just walked away in the middle of the conversation!”
Hange nodded, placatingly. “Ah, yes. Those sound like serious crimes.”
“Hange!” You groaned, again, exasperated. “Fine. You’ll just have to wait and see for yourself.”
They grinned a little. “I’m on the edge of my seat. For now, let’s finish getting your stuff and then grab some dinner. I’m starving, and you’re buying.”
You laughed. “Sounds like a fair deal.”
The next morning, you trudged to the student union, Trost Center. It was nine in the morning, but the sun was already warming up the sky. You were more or less a morning person, but it was a little early to begin socializing and meeting a ton of new people. You kind of hated to admit it, since you were typically a social butterfly, but you were nervous.
You had unpacked most of your stuff yesterday. Hange had stuck around for the majority of the evening to help you, once you had ordered a pizza for the two of you to share, that is. It had been kind of weird, falling asleep in your new room. It was especially weird when you remembered you weren’t alone on the floor, and before you fell asleep, you had let yourself think of Levi, just for a moment.
Pushing open the door to the big conference room the training was held in, you looked around hesitantly. There were a lot of people in there, at least thirty. That made sense, considering how large the university was. There were certainly plenty of residence halls on campus. You let out a little sigh of relief when you noticed a friend of yours in the crowd.
“Petra!” You called, a little giddily. You gave a little wave in her direction. You felt a little more relaxed knowing you weren’t entirely alone.
“Hey, El!” She called back with a grin. “Come meet my Co-RA!”
You headed over to her with a smile. She grabbed your arm and pulled you over to the group she was standing with. “This is Oluo. He’s a senior, like us.”
You turned to him, holding out your hand. For half a second you could only think about your interaction with Levi yesterday, and you worried that you would be left with your hand out, looking like a complete idiot. Luckily, like a normal person (AKA not Levi Ackerman), he reached out and shook your hand with a firm grip. “Nice to meet you… El, is it?”
You nodded. “That’s what they call me, anyway.” It was half a joke and half a genuine statement. The group chuckled a little, but you knew they didn’t all really get the reason it’s actually funny.
Oluo grinned all the same. “Well, it’s nice to meet you. Especially since we’ll be in Eldia together.” He was tall and lanky, with blonde scruffy hair. He pointed towards the others standing with him. “These are my friends. They’re both in Marley Hall. That’s Gunther, and this one is Eld.”
Gunter was a little shorter but broader than Oluo, with spiked-up brown hair. Eld was about the same height but had his blonde hair pulled up into a small bun.
You nodded. “I actually think we’ve had an English class together,” you gestured towards Eld.
“Oh yeah!” He snapped his fingers towards you. “English 200 with… Professor Shadis, right?”
You grinned, a little relieved he remembered you, too. “Unfortunately. Wasn’t it at eight in the morning?”
Eld laughed, his eyes crinkling as he smiled. “Yeah, it was. I think I slept through my alarm a handful of times, too.”
“I’m sure I did the same,” you reassured him. “Shadis was intense. I was in no rush to get to that class, believe me.”
Everyone laughed and you let out a small sigh of relief. Knowing that you had a few allies in this group filled you with joy. You knew you would be a good RA, but you knew it was also a tough job, too. Having people to joke around with will surely make the job a bit easier.
You all made conversation until you heard a tapping on a microphone. You glanced up to see your boss, Miche, standing in front of a projector screen. Miche is a little awkward, but overall nice. He’s got scruffy dirty blond hair and a similarly colored mustache. He’s tall but not too imposing. You felt comfortable around him, which you considered a huge plus. He cleared his throat and spoke quietly into the microphone.
“Good to see you all.” Miche nodded to the crowd of you. “I’m looking forward to getting to know all of you. Before we get started, take a minute to find your floormate and get to know them if you haven’t already.”
You watched as all the other RAs began to gather amongst themselves. Petra, Oluo, Eld, and Gunther were already all with their co-workers and Petra gave you a sympathetic look as you stepped back from the group. It took a few seconds to truly dawn on you that this meant you needed to track down Levi. With a groan, you stretched a little and looked around the room.
You spotted him off to the side, sitting in a chair, his arms crossed, and one of his legs draped over the other. For whatever reason, he was still dressed like he was going to a job interview, and like it wasn’t going to be ninety degrees again today.
Everyone else was milling around the room, but he stayed seated. Your blood began simmering, just a little. You realized what that meant—he was assuming you would come to him. Jackass.
Slowly, as though it would prevent the inevitable, you moved towards him, walking as though you were wading through a swimming pool. You did your absolute best to trudge over there, but sooner than you would have liked, you found yourself standing in front of him.
Levi looked up at you with a bored expression on his face. You wondered if that was his default expression.
You glanced at him pointedly.
He stood up, begrudgingly, ruffling his hair with one of his hands. “Ellie, right?”
You plastered the nicest smile you could muster on your face. He probably just remembered wrong. You’ll correct him kindly—this time, anyway.
“Nope, not Ellie. But if you’re insisting on calling me by a nickname, El works fine.”
He grunted. “All right. So we’ve met. Sounds like we’re good, then.”
Levi sat back down, and you gaped at him.
“Shouldn’t we get to know each other like Miche asked?”
He eyed you warily. “Seems like we have all year for that. I’m good.”
You bristled, your temper rearing its ugly head. “Did I do something to you?”
Levi regarded you coolly, and shook his head. “Just because the two of us are working together, doesn’t mean we need to be friends. That’s all. It’s nothing personal.”
Nothing personal, huh? Well, that settled it. Levi Ackerman is a grade-A douchebag and you were in for a year of misery.
You continued looking at him, waiting to see if he was going to change his mind or do anything remotely resembling a functioning and considerate human being.
He sighed a little. “What, Ellie?”
This asshole. “Not Ellie,” you grumbled stubbornly, narrowing your eyes at him.
Levi raised an eyebrow. “Agree to disagree.”
You huffed and sat down in a chair two down from him. It was petty, sure, but you were irritated and you were sure he wouldn’t complain about a little bit of distance.
“All right, then.” Miche’s voice echoed through the room. “This may seem silly, but I want you to shake hands with your floormate. You’ll be working a lot together and this is a good way to begin the bond, collaboration, and friendship that is sure to form. Go on.”
You snorted aloud, then quickly ducked your head when several others within earshot turned to look at you. Levi was none too keen on shaking your hand yesterday.
“Well!” You turned to Levi with a beaming grin. You felt a little evil at how excited you were. You were a little happy to see him squirm. “Guess you’ll have to shake my hand after all.”
Levi turned towards you, his face set in a scowl. His face is all angles, and the harshness of his expression made him look a little frightening.
You smirked and held out your hand. You had to lean forward to compensate for the distance stretched between the two of you.
You watched with a sick sense of glee as Levi stuck out his hand, clearly tormented at being told to do this. He quickly reached for yours and clasped it, pumping your arms up once, then twice, then he released your hand, dropping it like it was on fire. His hands were a little calloused. Not what you would have been expecting.
He turned away from you, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bottle of hand sanitizer. He squirted some into his palm, rubbed his hands together, then tucked the bottle back into his pocket.
You tried your hardest to not take that action personally.
“Great!” Miche exclaimed. “I’m sure that was a fantastic start to a budding partnership.”
You and Levi both shifted, glancing at each other sideways.
Then he turned back away, and you sighed.
Yeah, some sort of team the two of you will be.