Work Text:
[Eren:] call me
[Armin:] can’t. working. which you should be doing btw.
[Armin:] why what’s wrong.
[Eren:] I need to use you as an excuse to get out of something.
[Armin:] k
[Eren:] or into something.
[Armin:] wait
[Armin:] what do you mean ‘into something’?
[Eren:] just call me
[Armin:] WORKING
[Eren:] so? just say you have to poop
[Armin:] can’t. already went to the bathroom like 15min ago.
[Eren:] tell them you have IBS.
[Armin:] i’m not gonna lie!
[Eren:] call me!!!
Eren slipped his phone back into his pocket.
“Sorry about that. What did you have again?”
“I said I had a six inch turkey club on whole wheat!” the irate customer snapped.
Eren pounded buttons slowly, taking as much time as possible, watching the man go from red to purple.
“Right. Did you want chips and a drink with that?”
“Did I say I wanted chips and a drink?” the customer shouted.
“No, you didn’t which is why I’m asking,” Eren continued in a bored voice.
“Come on man!” someone down the line shouted. “This is taking forever.”
“Hey! You don’t like it, you can go to the Quizno’s two blocks away!” Eren called.
The grumbling stopped. No one wanted to walk that far.
“Next!”
Just when Eren thought Armin had bailed on him, he felt his phone ring. A loud J-pop opening sequence from an anime played on full volume, attracting the attention of everyone there, including the customer in front of Eren wearing a shirt from the very same show.
“Oh man,” Eren said, grabbing his phone and hitting ‘Ignore.’ “That’s embarrassing. I forgot it wasn’t on vibrate.”
The customer looked at him flatly, holding his sub in his hand.
“Oh—and what a coincidence! You’re wearing the same shirt from the—oh isn’t that hilarious?” Eren said, smiling widely.
“You a fan?” the man asked, finally picking up on Eren’s cue.
“Am I!” Eren said enthusiastically, happy the man had taken the bait. “What about you?”
“No, I just wear this shirt for shits and giggles. Anyway, I had the veggie sub with—“
“What was your favorite part?” Eren asked leaning over the register, apparently unwilling to ring the newcomer up until he felt good and ready.
“Uh, I don’t know, when the hero gets beaten to a bloody pulp by his mentor—“
“Who is your favorite character?” Eren asked quickly.
“Eli. Look, so I’ve got a veggie sub and could I get—“ the man answered, a tic running through his lower eyelid.
“Eh, I don’t know if I like him so much. He’s clearly fanservice for their female audience. Also, they changed his age from the manga to make him more likeable. You...have read the manga, haven’t you?” Eren asked this innocently enough, but there was a weird spark in his eyes.
“I…yes,” the man replied, not sure where this was going.
“How old then?” Eren asked.
“Sorry?”
“He’s your favorite character, right? So how old is he in the manga versus his age in the anime? I mean, you say you’re a fan but…” Eren tilted his head to the side and looked the newcomer up and down like he was disappointed.
“He’s 34 in the manga, but in the anime they made him 19 so as to make him a better love interest for the lead heroine,” the man answered bitingly, leaning over the counter to match Eren’s posture.
Eren’s eyes flashed at the challenge.
His phone rang again, playing that loud garish opening song. Damnit, Armin was only supposed to call once.
“You gonna get that?” the man asked.
“Nah, it’s just my friend. He has IBS so whenever he’s in the shitter he calls me.”
Eren clicked the phone off without looking and then launched into a sequence of rapid fire questions.
“What city is the inspiration for the setting?”
“Vienna.”
“What age did Eli’s mother die?” Eren asked.
“Twenty—from cancer.”
“What was her name?”
“Sakura.”
“Where did the mangaka grow up?”
“Kyoto.”
“What are his two cats named?"
“Smokey and Bandit.”
“What is Eli’s favorite drink?”
“Black tea.”
“Dessert?”
“Trick question: also tea.”
“Favorite pastime?”
“Same as mine, cleaning up dirt.”
The man ran his finger along the countertop and held it up for Eren to see the grime there.
“Now are you going to ring me up, or are we going to play twenty questions?”
Eren hit the buttons on the POS and then quickly handed the man his receipt.
“Thank you.” The man turned to leave but called back, “Oh…what color was the ribbon Maria always wears?”
Shit. Eren didn’t know. He’d only prepared his questions.
Eren was saved by Armin calling.
“Hey Arm’ how’s your butthole, buddy?” Eren asked answering the phone and sliding behind the register so he couldn’t be seen.
<*>
Second day of the con was just as busy. Eren figured out a quick way to self-dial his phone, but never got the chance to use it. Surprisingly the man from the first day joined the breakfast queue, wearing a different shirt from the same show.
“Blue,” Eren said victoriously.
“Huh?” the man asked.
“Maria’s ribbon is blue. Who gave her the ribbon?”
“Her father, for her birthday,” the man said in a bored voice.
“Did you know the voice actor for the father is the same—“
“As Eli, yeah, I know.”
“Damnit!” Eren roared, punching a drink cup with his fist and flattening it into a disk.
“Have a nice day,” the man said in amusement, watching Eren’s temper tantrum.
<*>
Same day. Lunch rush.
“What no questions for me?” the man asked.
Eren was behind the sandwich line.
“No bro. I admit defeat. You have bested me in battle. I, Eren of Subway, hereby pass on the title of supreme knowledger to you, Veggie-Sub of the Green City Anime convention.”
“Levi.”
“Levi, also known as the Last Knight of the Veggie Sub.”
<*>
Next day. Lunch again.
“Dude, I’m worried about you. You know Jared didn’t really lose all that weight by eating here, right? I’m only saying this because I care man. You seem the fitness-y sort. Like little, male Jane Fonda. Buns of steel and all that shit, you know?” Eren said, messing with his nametag which read “Consuela.”
“I guess?” Levi said, not following Eren’s rapid patter of speech.
“And like, I’m not ever supposed to say this, like I could get fired, but this shit is disgusting.”
“It’s not great,” Levi agreed.
“And—“ Eren looked around to see if a manager was listening. “The manager before I started here was totally arrested for jizzing into the lettuce.”
“You’re so full of shit.”
“No, I swear, they took him to jail. He like got twenty years because a lady got gonorrhea and sued.”
“You’re such a liar.”
“No, dude, I’m telling you. This could be jizz lettuce.”
“Is it?”
“I don’t know! It could be! I would never jizz in the lettuce because like, what if the lettuce gets pregnant? Or like they could go all CSI on this shit. Like someone could put this lettuce at the scene of a crime and I could go to jail because my DNA was on this lettuce, so I’m not going to risk it.”
“You’re crazy.”
“You gotta be crazy to work here during the cons,” Eren said seriously.
“I can tell. The line yesterday went around the block.”
“Yeah, lunch rush is like 3 straight hours of sandwich making. I’m seriously like the Neo of Subway. When it gets going, I am plugged into the Matrix. I know sub-fu. I like working on the sandwich bar here because I lose my voice on the register. It’s all ‘would you like a drink or a cookie?’ and they’re like ‘yes.’ No, I gave you two options dumbass, pick one. And by the end of the day I’m hoarse from screaming at idiots. And then, once this con is done, there’s another one the next weekend. It never ends.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, it sucks, but you know. Gotta make bank before I go back to college.”
Eren shrugged.
“Do you actually get to go into the con when you’re on break?”
“Nope. We can’t get in without badges. Anyway man, enjoy the last day of con. And while you do, just know that I will be here, sweating next to the toaster, getting swamp ass.”
“Is there swamp ass in the lettuce?”
“Honestly? There might be.”
<*>
Ten minutes before close.
Eren stepped out from under the half-pulled gate. He heard a throat clear and when he turned around Levi was standing there.
“Oh, here, I got you a thing—“ Levi said, flinging a shirt at him. “I felt bad you couldn’t watch the panel for the show, so I grabbed a free tee for you.”
“Oh…thanks,” Eren said, holding it up and looking at it.
He had pulled off his hat and his hair was soaked through with sweat and there was a line of condiment stains on his ugly polo.
“You don’t like it?”
“No, I mean…okay, so, fun story: I don’t like the anime. Or the manga. Or this otaku shit in general.”
Levi stared at him.
“Right so, I, uh, it gets boring as fuck here, so what I do is for each con, I figure out what the big main attraction or fandom is and I spend all week learning everything I can about it.”
“I…okay.”
“And then I wait for someone cosplaying or wearing merch from that fandom and I just grill them. Like I made a grown neckbeard of a man cry because I dropped spoilers from Game of Thrones at FantasyCon last weekend. I convinced several people here for the roof and siding con that asphalt shingles were out and the new future of roofing was cedarwood.”
“That’s pretty fucked up.”
“Yeah, well I guess I’m kind of fucked up. Anyway, yeah, no, the show is decent, but iunno man I don’t want to be seen wearing this shirt because it’s a little gay, you know what I mean?”
“What’s wrong with a little gay?” Levi asked.
“Oh. Nothing. Nothing. I mean, I like gay, gay is cool, I’m like half gay myself, so it’s like…whatever…”
“Half gay?”
“I mean…” Eren made several noises before petering out, scratching at his neck.
“Well, you can keep the shirt. It was free,” Levi said. “And good luck this summer. Who knows? Maybe I’ll see you next summer at the con.”
“God I hope not.” At Levi’s startled expression, he clarified, “I mean, I just hope I’m not working at this pitstain next summer. I will just die.”
“I see. Well nice to meet you Eren.”
“I—bye!” Eren said awkwardly.
The lack of a sneezeguard between them made Eren twitchy and he gave a half-wave, tucking his hands into his pockets watching Levi descend the escalator.
<*>
Next weekend. Day one of GamerCon.
“You mean, you didn’t know the motion capture was based on Muay Thai style fighting? Wow, so you really don’t know much about your ‘favorite’ game, do you?” Eren said smugly. “So much for being a superfan—HEY! YOU!”
Eren’s humiliation of the gamernerd was halted as he recognized the next person in the queue.
“Oh, hello,” Levi said, pulling out his wallet to pay for his sub.
“You—you—are you stalking me?”
“I had the Veggie Sub—“
“I’m sorry I couldn’t hear you over ‘IT PUTS THE LOTION ON ITS SKIN!’” Eren shouted.
“Eren!” a manager said warningly.
“Sorry Deborah!” Eren apologized. “What the hell?”
“I probably should have told you I had passes to this weekend’s con too, but I just wanted to see the look on your face,” Levi said as Eren continued to gawk. “Definitely worth it.”
“Do you even have a real job or do you just go from con to con?” Eren asked, when he finally recovered his voice.
“Both,” Levi said, flipping over his pass to reveal a red badge, meaning he was likely a vendor or maybe even a guest of the con.
“What do you do, sell like badges and pins and shit?” Eren asked wrinkling his nose.
“No. I’m a booth babe,” Levi deadpanned.
“Shut up. You’re so fucking full of shit.”
“I am,” Levi insisted with a straight face.
“Fuck you.”
“EREN!”
“Damnit Deborah, I’m busy here!” Eren waved his hands. “Oh shit, she’s really pissed, sorry dude can’t chat.”
<*>
Second day.
“I’m just getting a refill,” Levi said putting his hands up in surrender.
The line was dead and only a few weary cosplayers sat in the booths. Eren rang Levi up and then resumed sweeping the floor, picking up a great deal of glitter and one fake fox ear. Eren sang very loudly along to Aretha Franklin.
“Hey,” Eren whispered, nudging between Levi’s shoulder blades when he thought his manager wasn’t looking. “Wanna see something?”
Levi paused, letting the foam die down on his Diet Coke. Eren dug around in his pocket and for a moment Levi thought he was going to show him drugs but instead it was a tiny remote.
“I got a replacement remote for the sound system here and I synced it to the XM station and I just have to do this—“
He hit the button and suddenly Screamo music began playing. Eren’s poor manager spun on the spot.
“Not again!” she cried, thunking on the machine.
Eren snorted, trying to keep her from seeing his expression.
“You’re awful,” Levi said as the music switched back over.
“You make me feel like a natural woman,” Eren wailed into his broom microphone.
“I’m serious, you’re awful,” Levi said, capping his drink.
Eren hit the button again and Heavy Death Metal began playing.
“DEBORAH! It’s doing it again!” Eren shouted.
The poor manager ran from the back room and Eren doubled over in laughter.
“Damnit Eren! I know it’s you!”
“Uh oh, here,” Eren shoved the remote into his hands. “Destroy the evidence!”
Levi watched him run away, staring at the remote in his hands.
<*>
Third Day of con.
“Dude, no,” Eren waved Levi off as he entered the line. “I can’t watch you do this to yourself. For your own good I’m refusing to serve you.”
“This is the closest place. I don’t know the area,” Levi said, waving his wallet.
“Even I don’t eat here,” Eren said. “And I get this shit for free.”
“No you don’t,” his manager said, looking up from her clipboard.
“Oh Deborah,” Eren said, shaking his head.
He turned back to Levi.
“When I take my lunch break I’ll show you,” Eren said, rolling his eyes.
“Are you asking me out on a date, Eren?” Levi teased.
Eren turned pink under his hat, but didn’t say no.
<*>
“So there’s hotdogs and gyros,” Eren pointed lamely at the two different stands in the courtyard.
Outside the con it was a sunny 80 degree day, leaving both Eren and Levi sweating slightly and blinking at the bright contrast from the dark convention center.
Eren got a messy chili dog and Levi got gyros and since seating was full, they sat on the concrete blocks surrounding the flower beds.
“So I rewatched your show,” Eren said, dripping chili down his chin.
Levi handed him a napkin.
“Thanks,” Eren said wiping at his mouth. “And it’s not so bad, I guess. I see why Eli is your favorite. He’s a badass but still sexy.”
“Yeah,” Levi agreed.
“And I like the way the English dubs do his little, ‘Tch!’”
“Tch!” Levi said.
“And how he’s all, ‘This is your choice, make it count.’”
“This is your choice, I can’t decide for you, make it count,” Levi recalled.
“That was pretty good, except he’s a little gravely like, “This. Is your choice.”
“This. Is. Your Choice.”
“You’re really good at that. Oh, hey, I played a little of your game too.”
“Oh yeah? What did you think?”
“Pretty cool. The motion capture is really good. Especially the Captain. ‘I’ve found pain is the best discipline!’”
“’Someone tell these shitty brats to shut up!’” Levi recited.
“Dude you are good at that. ‘Friendly fire!’”
“’Friendly fire!’ ‘I can’t do that!’ ’You must construct additional pylons.’”
Levi’s imitations were spot on and tickled Eren.
“Ahaha. ‘In a world…’”
“’In a world,’” said Levi in a deep voice. “’One Subway employee will be tested.’”
“Haha, stop, you’re killing me,” Eren laughed.
“’Tch!’” Levi repeated.
Eren’s smile slowly disappeared.
“Wait…” he said, comprehension dawning on him. “No. Are you—? Wait.”
Levi waited.
“No!” Eren gasped. “Are you? What? No way! WHAT?”
Levi looked very proud of himself as Eren tried to work it out.
“You’re the voice of Eli and the Captain!” Eren gasped, finally getting there. “That’s why you’re here for two cons!”
“Yup,” Levi nodded.
“Holy shit, you’re like my hero. Oh my god, you’re like a celebrity! You’re probably the most famous person I’ve ever met! Except for that one time I saw Mini-Me—Verne Troyer—at a pizza place. Holy shit balls, no one will ever believe me. Do another one!”
“’Get moving or I’ll shove my boot so far up your ass you’re gonna need surgery to remove it!’” Levi barked just like his Captain. “I also did the motion capture.”
“Wow really? But not the fighting, right?”
“No, I did that too.”
“You are the coolest fucking person I have ever met,” Eren said, open mouthed.
Levi tried not to look flattered by this information.
“Now I feel really stupid,” Eren mumbled. “You’re like a jet-setting, silver-tongued, celebrity and I’m…I wearing a green work polo. And a hat.”
Eren continued to look put out.
“But it’s just for the summer, isn’t it?” Levi prompted.
“I mean, yeah, but what if it’s not?” Eren said despondently. “What if I’m still 25 and working here?”
“I worked at a Wendy’s until I was 27,” Levi said.
“No shit, really?”
“Yeah, I was a manager. Corporate loved me. Work is work. Money is money. And honestly I got into this profession by luck. Hard work, yes, but a lot of luck.”
“I hate it here. It’s the worst,” Eren said, kicking at a soda can.
“Ah well, summer jobs are supposed to suck. But they’re great in a way, you know? You get to meet all kinds of people—“
“Awful people. Never did I realize how dumb people were until this job.”
Levi chuckled, a low rich sound that surprised Eren.
“Sure, but then at night, you get to hang with your friends and they’re all in the same boat. You’re broke—“
“Mhm,” Eren nodded.
“Tired.”
“Yup.”
“Hungry.”
“Ah, I should have gotten pizza.” Eren rubbed at his belly.
“And just too exhausted to do anything else so you just kind of melt into basement furniture and have talks about the most important shit you will ever talk about.”
Eren cast a sideways look at Levi.
“And it’s not all bad. Maybe you’ll go to a party. Kiss a girl. Hang out with your friends. You better hang out with them because each semester you spend at college only forces you further apart. Then you only see them at Christmas or at weddings of mutual friends and before you know it everyone is married and having kids. All of those memories seem so far way, frozen in time like they’re preserved in amber. You don’t get more time with them. So enjoy it. Even though it sucks.”
Eren was quiet at this, thinking over Levi’s words.
“What’s your major?” Levi asked, breaking the silence.
“Computer engineering,” Eren said excitedly. “I want to design video games. Wouldn’t that be badass? I’d write the code that is able to translate your round house kicks into the video game.”
“That would be pretty amazing,” Levi agreed.
“How long are you in town? Do you live nearby?”
“No, I’m from New York.”
“Oh,” Eren said looking disappointed.
“And today is my last day.”
“Oh,” Eren said sadly.
There was an awkward pause.
“Well hey, do you want to hang out tonight? I mean, unless you’ve got super important voice actor shit to take care of. You know what forget it, that was stupid, I’m sorry.”
“Sure,” Levi said and Eren’s mouth dropped open to crooked grin.
“Really? I get done at 8. Is that too late?”
“Sounds great, want to get drinks?”
“Oh, uh, I’m only 19.”
“Oh.”
“Um. We could get…” Eren looked around the food court area. “Ice cream?”
“Okay.” Levi nodded.
“Okay,” Eren said in relief.
<*>
“What did you get?”
“Mango raspberry sherbet. What did you get?”
“Oreo, Butterfinger, and Chocolate chip cookie dough,” Eren said dragging his tongue around the side of his cone. “Man, this is still melting like crazy. Want a lick?”
“I’m lactose intolerant,” Levi said in a thick voice, spoon in his mouth. “Also dairy isn’t good for the vocal cords. Neither is pop but you know I was just getting refills as an excuse to talk to you.”
“Oh,” said Eren. “Then could I try yours?”
Levi grabbed a small bite with his spoon and offered it to Eren. Only then did the weight of what Levi had said hit Eren and he froze with his mouth around the spoon a blush creeping over his tan cheeks.
“Eren,” Levi said, as Eren continued to hold onto Levi’s spoon. Levi wiggled it between Eren’s teeth.
“M’sorry,” Eren said releasing it, his tongue coated in sherbet.
‘It’s fine,” Levi said, retrieving his spoon.
He nearly had it to his lips when Eren beat him there, leaning over and kissing him.
“I’ve never kissed a man before,” Eren said pulling away.
“How was it?” Levi asked, looking up at Eren through thick lashes.
“Sherbet-y,” Eren said, running his tongue over his lips.
They kissed until ice cream was running down Eren’s knuckles and he gave up and threw it in the trash, licking it off before replacing his mouth on Levi’s.
“Ew,” Levi said, running his hand up the back of Eren’s neck and pulling him close. “Want to go to my hotel room?”
“You have a hotel room?”
“Yeah, the con pays for the rooms of guests.”
“Shit man. With like a Jacuzzi and shit?”
Levi smiled, making Eren’s heart thump in his chest.
“Yeah like a Jacuzzi and shit,” Levi nodded. “Wanna go up and watch a movie?”
“I—“ Eren started because fuck yeah he wanted to go up, but also that as a very bad idea. “I mean. I—uh—that’s like how every episode of Law & Order SVU starts.”
“What?” Levi asked in confusion breaking away.
“I mean, I—I feel like if I went up with you that’s like making a promise I can’t really keep.”
“I understand,” Levi nodded.
Except five minutes later, Eren slipped his arm out from around Levi and scratched at his scalp furiously.
“Like an actual Jacuzzi, with jets and everything?”
“Yup.”
<*>
[Eren:] i’m going to do something stupid.
[Armin:] oh god.
[Eren:] don’t tell Mikasa.
[Eren:] i met a guy and i’m going to his hotel room.
[Armin:] that is a very bad idea Eren!
[Eren:] his name is Levi Ackerman (I looked at his ID) he is 34 and the room is 2112 at the Plaza.
[Armin:] BAD IDEA EREN!
[Eren:] I am going to text you every hour on the hour to let you know I’m still alive.
[Eren:] boop. still alive.
[Armin:] don’t drink anything he gives you! and use protection! fucking goddamnit eren.
<*>
“I feel weird.”
“Why?”
“I feel like everyone thinks I’m a high class hooker,” Eren looked down at his uniform shirt. “Eh, just a hooker. People are looking, trying to figure out if you’re Pretty Woman-ing me.”
A couple entered the elevator and Levi and Eren were forced to opposite corners. The couple exited before them.
“Big mistake!” Eren shouted after the doors had closed. “Huge!”
“I don’t know if you realize, but voice actors don’t make that much money,” Levi pointed out.
Eren fidgeted nervously.
“No sex.”
“Okay. I mean, you said that already, but okay.” Levi nodded.
“I mean it. Everyone knows that ‘let’s watch a movie’ is code for ‘halfway through Anchorman 2, I’m going to give you one of these—‘” Eren waggled his thick brows suggestively.
“What was that again?” Levi asked and Eren repeated the motion.
“I promise I won’t put the moves on you.”
“And no fooling around. Let’s keep stuff above the waist!”
“Okay,” Levi nodded.
Levi opened his hotel room and Eren peered in, but didn’t move. Levi stepped in and Eren messed with his phone.
[Eren:] boop, still alive.
“What do you want to watch?” Levi asked, picking up the remote and looking through the menu.
Eren lurched forward and took in Levi’s space. His suitcase was emptied and all of its contents were folded neatly in the hotel drawers, which Eren discovered as he opened them all and peered inside.
“They’ve got a bunch of On Demand videos. And—“ Levi paused because Eren was rifling through all of the free shampoo bottles.
“Are you going to use these?”
“No.”
“Can I have them?”
“Sure.”
Eren stuffed his jean pockets full of little soap bottles and went over to the Jacuzzi. He turned the tap on, feeling the warmth against his fingers.
“This is a nice room,” Eren commented, shutting off the water, and drying his fingers.
“I thought so. Nicer than the room they gave me last year.”
“Can I kiss you?” Eren asked suddenly, coming up behind Levi as he messed with the remote.
“Sure. If you want.”
Eren kissed the nape of Levi’s neck, because the sharp relief of his topmost vertebra there was so very appealing. Levi leaned into Eren’s arms, enjoying the kiss, but his arms were across his chest. He was tense and tightly coiled and Eren felt a weird sense of relief. He wasn’t the only one who was nervous.
“I kind of want to take a bath,” Eren admitted. “I smell like tomatoes.”
“Ha,” Levi said weakly. Then after a few moments, “I’m…not going to stop you.”
“You could join me,” Eren offered.
“I think that would be starting things we’re not ready for.”
“Eh, yeah. I mean…I know what you mean. But hey, if we wore our undies, it’s kind of like we’re wearing swimsuits.”
“Okay. Yeah. Sure.”
“Can I put bubbles in?”
“Go ahead.”
Eren emptied the entire bottle into the running water. Both he and Levi watched the tub filling. Eren pulled off his uniform. Levi followed and they both carefully avoided eye contact as they stepped into the water. Levi settled back, staring at the ceiling, the foamy water lapping at his pale chest. Eren sank in cross legged.
“I’m gonna turn on the jets,” Eren informed Levi, his hands shaking slightly.
“Yeah,” Levi whispered.
Eren hit the button, then leaned back and nearly let out a moan as the hot stream kneaded at the knot on his lower back. He stretched his legs out slowly and Levi jumped when Eren’s toes brushed against his thigh.
“Sorry,” Eren mumbled.
Eren leaned back and closed his eyes, trying to focus on the jets and not his pounding heart. He felt something tickle his ear.
“Uh Eren,” said Levi. “How much of that stuff did you put in?”
“All of it.”
Eren opened his eyes and realized the jets had rapidly multiplied the bubbles.
“Turn the jets off,” Levi said as the bubbles reached his chin.
“I can’t find the button!” Eren laughed, digging through the bubbles to find the controls.
“Eren!” Levi protested.
The bubbles were nearly swallowing Levi up and Eren was laughing so hard, his shoulders were shaking.
“It’s like quicksand!” Levi swatted at the bubbles. “Turn it off Eren!”
“I’m trying—I can’t—“ Eren gasped for air, clutching his stomach in laughter.
He finally found the button and thumped at it and the jets stopped. There was the sound of several bubbles popping as the water stilled and Eren was still sobbing at the sight of only the top of Levi’s head and his eyes visible.
“Here, hold on,” Eren scooped up a handful of suds and placed them on Levi’s head like a crown.
“Thanks, really. Thanks for that,” Levi said dryly.
“Do you like my beard?” Eren asked, stroking his bubblebeard.
“It’s beautiful. Truly,” Levi nodded seriously, scooting forward.
Eren inched forward as well and Levi wiped off the beard to kiss him. They kept an unspoken rule of hands above the waterline, wrapping around each other’s shoulders, arms coated in suds. Eren dipped one hand below the water and touched Levi’s hip before breaking away and leaning back, resting his head on the edge of the tub.
“Man, I’m sore,” Eren complained. “Standing all day over deli meat and bread is not good for my back.”
“I know how you feel,” Levi nodded. “They put my booth really deep into the con, so if I had to go piss or grab lunch or when I had to go to my panel I’m walking back and forth, just trying to get past throngs of people and it’s exhausting. My feet always hurt at the end of cons. And it always smells like ass.”
Eren reached under the water and snaked Levi’s foot and gave it a tug. Levi slipped and his whole head disappeared under the water.
“Oh, sorry!” Eren said as Levi resurfaced, wiping his bangs off his head in annoyance, his pale cheeks pink from the heat.
He rubbed at Levi’s instep and Levi gave a happy little hum. Eren kneaded at Levi’s feet before working his way up to Levi’s calves, but he stopped short of his thighs. Levi’s eyes were closed, the line between his eyebrows smoothed and relaxed and he could have been sleeping. Eren slipped closer and there was a sliver of grey watching him as Eren rested his head on Levi’s chest.
“I can hear the bubbles popping,” Eren said grinning, listening to Levi’s heartbeat as well.
Levi wrapped his muscular arms around Eren, stroking his soft hair. They stayed that way until there were no more bubbles left.
“I wish you didn’t live in New York,” Eren said softly.
“I know.” Levi squeezed him tighter.
“Can you stay a bit longer?” Eren asked, his throat tight.
“No, sorry,” Levi said and he really did sound sorry.
“It just feels nice, you know? Having someone to talk to. I have my friends, but most of the time I just feel so alone. And now I’ve found someone really cool and I might never see you again.”
“Maybe next year,” Levi murmured. “Okay?”
Eren was sure the chances of that were fairly slim, but he nodded anyways.
“This was fun,” Eren said in the doorway.
Levi was wearing one of the fluffy hotel robes and Eren had his undies in a plastic bag and was sporting another free tee.
“Yeah, it was,” Levi nodded. “You sure you don’t want me to call you a cab?”
“Yeah, I can catch the bus, don’t worry about it.”
Eren kissed him fiercely, nearly picking Levi up off the ground. One last kiss.
“Bye Levi.”
“Bye Eren.”
[Armin:] Eren answer! i am this close to calling the cops!
[Eren:] boop! still not dead. leaving for home.
As the lights streamed by the bus window, Eren smiled against the glass. The summer was shitty, there was no doubting that, but there had been bright moments. He daydreamed about seeing Levi again and doing more than kissing and fell asleep with these thoughts, nearly missing his stop.
<*>
Next year. First day of con.
“Levi! LEVI!”
Levi was riding up the escalator when he heard someone call his name. He caught sight of Eren riding down the escalator next to him.
“Excuse me, scuze me!” Eren pushed people aside, running up the escalator. “Nice cosplay, scuze me!”
“Eren!” Levi’s eyes widened in surprise and then he smiled.
“I—hold on!”
Eren jumped over onto the other escalator and met Levi at the top.
“I didn’t think I’d see you!” Levi said as Eren raced up to him. “I stopped by the Subway and they said you quit.”
“Yeah, that place sucks ass, lookie here,” Eren tapped his con badge and headset. “I’m running security at this circus. Well, I mean, they say I’m security, but really I just show people how to form lines and check badges. I mean, it’s dumb, but hey, it’s just for the summer.”
“That’s great,” Levi said breathlessly.
“Are you…I mean obviously you’re in town for a few days. Do you want to—we could hang out if you wanted. Get ice cream. Or sherbet.”
“Yeah, I’d really like that,” Levi nodded.
Eren’s face turned red and he broke out in a wide grin.
“I really want to kiss you right now,” he confessed, still beaming.
Levi tugged his shirt and pulled Eren’s lips down to his own.
“EREN!” Eren’s headset blipped. “I know you don’t have IBS, you jackass! There’s a mess in room 12A you need to clean up!”
“Oh my god, Craig, it’s puke it’s not going anywhere!” Eren complained back. “I gotta go Levi, but after work, I will be back!”
Eren pulled him into a deep kiss before taking off, running down the escalator, leaving a bemused and pleased Levi in his wake.
<*>
They met like that, once a summer for three years, then after Eren’s graduation from college he called Levi up to tell him he had an interview for a job in New York. They met for dinner, catching up.
“Hey, if I get this internship that means I’ll be here all summer,” Eren said. “We could see each other for more than three days a year.”
Levi turned pink at the prospect.
“That would be cool,” Levi nodded slowly.
“I mean, don’t get your hopes up,” Eren said scratching his neck. “But still, it would be nice. We could...actually date.”
“Date,” Levi repeated, the words seeming foreign to him but not altogether unpleasant.
The next day, Eren called him.
“I got the job!”