Pieck smiled up at Zeke and swung their conjoined hands as they headed to the coffee shop with Porco. This was, of course, platonic hand-holding, and Zeke allowed it to happen, thinking Pieck was incredibly sweet for holding his hand like this. They arrived at the coffee shop down the street from the apartment the three shared, and Zeke pulled his hand away to open the door for the two of them, watching Pieck and Porco enter the coffee shop and following in after him.

He let his two friends order before him before stepping up to the counter, a short, dark-haired man with a stone-cold face standing at the register. Zeke couldn’t help but think this man was incredibly cute; incredibly attractive .

“What can I get for you?” the man said nonchalantly, and Zeke was surprised that he wasn’t greeted by a more cheerful customer service voice. He’d expected the short man to at least put on a fake voice for him, since he was a customer, but the short man clearly didn’t care about such pleasantries.

“I’ll have an iced caramel macchiato please,” Zeke smiled a little, taking out his wallet as the short man read off the total of his order. Zeke glanced at his uniform apron to see his name tag: Levi .

“Name?” Levi asked, glancing up at him from the computer screen.

“Zeke,” he replied, watching Levi type his name in and put in the order.

“Thanks,” Zeke said in a sultry voice as Levi handed him the receipt, the shorter man raising an eyebrow at him slightly as he took in how Zeke was talking to him. Zeke couldn’t help himself; he winked at the shorter man, Levi blushing horribly at his actions. Zeke smirked a bit at Levi’s red face before walking back over to where Pieck and Porco were sitting, both of them looking at him mischievously.

“What?” Zeke asked innocently, sitting down and stuffing his receipt in his pocket.

“We saw that,” Pieck smiled at him.

“Saw what?”

“You have a crush on the barista,” Porco pointed out, chuckling a little.

Zeke couldn’t help the redness that was probably appearing on his face, “So what? He’s handsome.”

“So what?” Porco laughed, “You get a crush at least once a week, Zeke. It’s not surprising to us at this point.”

Zeke didn’t think that was entirely true. He did fall easily, but he didn’t think there was a problem with having a crush. Plus, the barista really was a handsome guy, so what was the issue with liking him?

“One iced caramel macchiato for Zeke,” he heard from behind him, and turned to see Levi holding out his drink to him. Zeke smiled at him and took it gently, making sure their fingers touched ever so slightly as he took the coffee from the man. He could see the blush on the barista’s face, and couldn’t help but chuckle once he’d walked away. This barista was so easily flustered; so adorable . He turned back to look at Pieck and Porco, who were both grinning at him idiotically.

“Stop looking at me like that,” Zeke insisted, taking a sip of his coffee.

“It’s just so cute, Zeke,” Pieck giggled, “You’re such a flirt.”

“Yeah, you’re a major flirt,” Porco laughed, causing Zeke to roll his eyes a little. He didn’t get what the big deal was. It was just a barista. Well, maybe that wasn’t entirely true. Zeke did find the barista a lot more attractive than his usual crushes, and he was definitely going to try harder than usual on this one.

“And so what?” Zeke snapped, shooting a small glare to his friends, “He’s hot. Why can’t I flirt with him?”

“We’re just teasing you, Zeke-y!” Pieck giggled, using the nickname she always called him.

“It just feels like everywhere we go, you’re crushing on someone,” Porco chided, “You’re starting to look desperate , Zeke.”

Zeke sighed heavily and rolled his eyes, sipping his iced coffee and setting it on the table, “You act like you two don’t get crushes.”

But Zeke had to admit, he was a little desperate for some affection. It had been a while since he’d gotten laid, and he was looking for a cute bottom like that small barista to bang. He sucked in a deep breath and glanced over to the cash register, seeing Levi taking another person’s order. The two of them made eye contact, and Levi immediately looked away, blushing horribly at Zeke’s attention. Zeke smirked and turned back around to his friends, who were looking at him in a slightly judging way. But he didn’t particularly care; he had a mission now, and that mission’s name was Levi.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zeke showed up to the coffee shop the next morning, hoping to see that cute barista again. He breathed in the cool autumn air as he opened the door to the coffee shop, walking in and feeling his heart pounding slightly when he saw Levi standing at the cash register again. He held back a smile and went up to the front, Levi seeing him and his face going a little red as he remembered Zeke from the day before.

“Hey,” Zeke smiled as he approached Levi, “How’s it going?”

“Good,” Levi answered shortly, “Can I take your order?”

“Only if I can take your number,” Zeke said in a low voice, unable to help the small smirk growing on his face as Levi’s face began to turn a deeper shade of red.

“I don’t know if that’s appropriate,” Levi replied, glancing down at the computer screen, “Now what can I get started for you?”

“Same as yesterday,” Zeke shrugged a little, “Iced caramel macchiato.”

“Of course,” Levi replied, punching in his order, “Zeke, right?”

Zeke’s heart almost skipped a beat. He remembered my name , Zeke thought to himself, trying to keep it together as he nodded in response to Levi’s question. That must’ve meant something , right? He’d at least been in the barista’s mind somewhat.

“You’re very handsome, did you know that?” Zeke flirted, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he tried not to be too nervous.

Levi just stared at him in some embarrassment before quipping back, “I know that, I don’t need you to tell me.”

Zeke was a little shocked at his answer, but he couldn’t say he didn’t enjoy the rude answer from the short man. In fact, it only turned him on more to the barista. He grinned a bit at his response, listening to Levi read off his total.

He put his card in the reader, “But I’m sure you enjoyed hearing it, didn’t you?”

“I enjoy hearing it, but from you specifically? I don’t think so,” Levi snapped, unable to help but smirk up at him a little as the two flirted with each other.

“You know what I think?”

“Hmm?”

“I think you’re lying to yourself,” Zeke said shortly. He could feel the tension between them, and would’ve liked to just take the cute little barista to the bathroom to fuck the living daylights out of him. But he held back, not wanting to scare him off.

Levi stared at him for a moment, a small smile on his face, “I’ll have your order ready soon, Zeke .”

Zeke smiled and sat down at a table, pulling out his laptop and starting to look at his school emails as he waited for his coffee. He clicked through the emails and began deleting the spam, sighing a little as he thought about the amount of work he had to do for grad school.

“Do you have a lot of work to do?” he heard from next to him, and he turned to see Levi standing next to him, iced coffee for him in hand. Zeke took it from him and took a sip, nodding a little to Levi’s question.

“Yeah, I’m in grad school at the university around the corner,” Zeke explained, setting the coffee down.

“Me too,” Levi said quietly, “What are you doing for your degree?”

Zeke was glad he’d come to the coffee shop so early. There was barely anybody in there, giving him ample opportunity to talk with the handsome barista. He could capture Levi’s attention much more easily now.

“I’m working on my doctorate,” Zeke said, “I’m trying to become a doctor, like my dad.”

In truth, he didn’t particularly want to become a doctor, but his dad was paying for him to go to school to become a doctor, and he couldn’t just go against his father’s wishes like that. Levi raised an eyebrow, looking impressed.

“Wow, that’s a lot of work,” Levi replied, “I’m just getting my master’s in sociology.”

“That’s really hard work too,” Zeke argued, “What job do you want to get with that?”

“I’m not really sure,” Levi admitted, “I think I want to be a social worker.”

Zeke nodded, motioning to the chair next to him, “Do you want to sit? If you’re not busy, we could chat.”

Levi glanced between him and the empty chair, narrowing his eyes a little as if he was thinking about it. He tapped his chin for a moment before shrugging, “I can’t now, but I’ll be going on break in about five minutes. I’ll come sit with you.”

Zeke thought it was incredibly sweet that Levi would donate his break time to someone who was practically a stranger. Levi must’ve felt some sort of way towards Zeke as well; Zeke could feel it.

“Sure,” Zeke smiled, “I’ll be waiting for you then.”

Levi nodded and headed back behind the counter, still glancing up at Zeke every once in a while. Zeke could feel Levi’s eyes on him, and tried to meet his gaze every time. After five minutes, he watched Levi taking off his apron and hanging it on a hook behind the counter before walking over to him and sitting in the empty seat.

“So how’s the work coming?” Levi asked as he sat next to Zeke, leaning back in the chair.

“Meh,” Zeke shrugged, “It’s going okay. I have midterms next week, so that’s going to be rough.”

“I do too,” Levi admitted, “Though I’m sure sociology midterms are probably easier than yours.”

Zeke wanted to pull the conversation away from school, and he looked up from his laptop at Levi, “So how long have you been a cute little barista? Hmm?”

A visible blush rose on Levi’s face, and he looked away from Zeke as he grumbled, “First, I’m not cute or little. Second, I’ve been working here for like a year. I got this job through the school.”

Zeke nodded a little, chuckling, “You may not want to admit it, but you are cute. In fact, you’re fucking gorgeous. Most handsome man I’ve seen in a while.”

Zeke leaned his elbow on the table and his chin in his hand, smirking at the shorter man. Levi just stared at him, clearly a little taken aback from what Zeke had said. But the shorter man tried to compose himself.

“Well thank you,” Levi said quietly, “You’re handsome too, I guess.”

Zeke grinned, feeling his stomach fluttering with butterflies, “Thanks.”

“Levi!” Zeke heard from one of his co-workers, “We need you to clock back in - the morning rush is starting.”

Zeke wanted to curse and tell them to leave Levi alone; to let the poor man take his full break, but Levi quickly stood up.

“I have to go,” he said to Zeke, “It was nice chatting with you.”

“Same to you,” Zeke smiled, waving a little as he watched Levi walk away. He picked up his iced coffee, and for the first time noticed some writing under his name written on the cup. It was clearly a phone number, and Zeke couldn’t help but smirk at the fact that he now had obtained the barista’s number. He was just one step closer now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Levi clocked out of work and headed out the front door, seeing Hanji’s car sitting on the curb. He walked over to the car and got in, sighing heavily as he let out all the tension that he’d been holding in during work.

“You ready?” Hanji asked him quietly, smiling sadly at him.

“As ready as I can be,” Levi whispered, tossing his work apron in the back seat and taking out his phone. He scrolled through some notifications, mostly people texting him to make sure he was okay and to send him positive vibes.

Hanji peeled away from the curb and drove down the road, turning right onto a side road and heading towards their destination. Levi frowned at the messages he’d received, turning off the screen and squeezing his eyes shut in some pain.

“Are you going to be okay?” Hanji asked, glancing over to him in concern.

Levi nodded a little, opening his eyes again, “I’m fine.”

“Okay,” Hanji said as they continued driving, pulling into the parking lot after a few minutes and parking the car. They took the keys out and opened the car door to get out, Levi opening his car door and getting out as well.

“Did you remember to get the-”

“Yes,” Hanji interrupted, “They’re in the back.”

Levi retrieved the flowers from the back seat and followed Hanji across the lawn, the two of them stopping at the headstone. Levi could feel the emptiness inside his stomach, the constricting feeling in his chest. They stood in silence for a moment, Hanji shedding a couple tears as they spoke quietly to the grave in front of them.

“We miss you,” Hanji whispered, “I hope you’re happy - wherever you are.”

Levi put his hand on Hanji’s shoulder, trying to comfort them. Hanji sniffled quietly and put a hand over their mouth to stifle a sob, having to turn away from the grave.

“I’ll let you two have a moment alone,” Hanji whimpered quietly, heading back towards the car as they tried to hide their tears from Levi.

Levi nodded, knowing this was an emotional moment for both of them. It had been three years now to the day. Three years since the car accident the three of them had been in. Levi, in the back seat, had come out unscathed, Hanji, in the passenger seat, had broken a couple of bones. But Erwin, in the driver’s seat... Erwin didn’t make it. They had been T-boned from the driver’s side at high speed, and Erwin had been killed on impact.

“Erwin,” Levi said quietly, putting the flowers down gently in front of the grave, “Erwin, I miss you... more than you’ll ever know.”

Erwin had been Levi’s everything. They had been dating for at least a year before the accident: they’d spent every waking moment together, been each other’s first times, and confessed their love for each other. Levi had never felt like that about anyone before or since, and he sat now cross-legged in front of his lover’s headstone, tears welling up in his eyes.

“You know I love you,” Levi whispered, biting his lip hard as he tried to hold back the tears, “It’s been three years now, but I’ll always be faithful to you. I promise.”

He couldn’t help but sniffle quietly, rubbing at his eyes with his sleeve as the wet substance covered his cheeks. He whimpered, “I don’t know what to do without you, Erwin. I fucking miss you.”

Levi felt as though he’d never truly recovered from Erwin’s death. He’d taken a couple of months of therapy after the accident, but it hadn’t truly helped him. He knew he couldn’t get over Erwin, no matter how much time passed.

He could feel the sobs he’d been holding back start to shake him, and he covered his face with his hands, trying hard to picture Erwin’s face in his head. He and Hanji would come to the cemetery every month to visit Erwin, but every year anniversary was hard for both of them. Levi soon felt Hanji’s hands on his shoulders before they enveloped him in a tight hug, letting him cry into their shoulder as they themselves shed some tears.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi was walking across campus the next morning before he crossed paths with the man from his work who’d been flirting with him: Zeke. The blonde spectacled man grinned upon seeing him, and Levi could feel that all-too-familiar blush popping up on his face.

“Levi,” Zeke greeted him, “What a coincidence. I was just thinking about you.”

“Zeke,” Levi said his name carefully, “How are you?”

“Good,” Zeke said, “And you?”

“I’m okay,” Levi admitted, Erwin still on his mind from yesterday. In truth, he was fucking awful , but he wasn’t about to let this stranger know that. “Where are you headed?”

“To the library,” Zeke replied, “Do you want to join me? I’m just going to be studying.”

Levi pondered Zeke’s proposition. His only plan for the day had been to go home and lay in bed; he was a little too depressed at the moment to do anything. But something about this man had him interested, and he figured it might be a little more productive of him to study for his midterms rather than lay in bed.

“I suppose,” Levi replied coolly, “I can join you for a little while.”

Zeke smiled a little, and the two began to walk towards the library. Levi had obviously known that the taller man had been flirting with him since they met. He wasn’t blind. He figured flirting was okay, and had allowed the flirting to go on. The man was incredibly handsome, after all, and there was no harm in a little flirting.

Zeke led him into the library and they went up to the second floor, finding a quiet place alone at a table behind the bookshelves. Levi sat down and took out his laptop from his backpack, glancing up to see Zeke watching him carefully.

“What are you looking at?” Levi grumbled, opening his laptop and starting to check his email.

“Just admiring how sexy you are,” Zeke replied.

“Well, stop it,” Levi muttered, his face beginning to feel hot from the attention.

Zeke just grinned in response, taking out a huge medical book and opening it up. Levi’s eyes widened a little at the size of the book, a little intimidated by it.

“Fuck, that’s a huge book,” Levi said.

“You should see my dick,” Zeke quipped, and Levi supposed he’d probably walked right into that one.

He chuckled under his breath and started typing away at an email, seeing Zeke start to read his book and take notes. He settled his hands on the table as he read the next email, feeling Zeke’s hand gently take his. His heart began to pound in his chest as he tugged his hand away hard, as if he was offended by the action.

“Oh shit,” Zeke’s eyes widened slightly from Levi’s overreaction, “Uh, sorry.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Levi said quickly, his heart still pounding. He hadn’t experienced such an intimate action in quite a while, and he didn’t think it was okay for him to participate in such activities with someone else. He could feel some anxiety growing in his stomach, and he sucked in a deep breath as he tried to calm himself down.

“Are you okay?” Zeke raised an eyebrow slightly, noticing his suddenly scattered appearance.

“Y-Yeah, sorry, you just caught me off guard,” Levi tried, smiling a little to reassure him, “I didn’t mean to react like that.”

“Oh, good,” Zeke smiled back, reaching for his hand again.

“W-Wait!” Levi tugged his hands away, placing them in his lap.

Zeke was looking at him in confusion now, not understanding Levi’s reactions. Levi could feel his anxiety only getting worse. He felt incredibly uncomfortable, and he felt guilty. It wasn’t exactly Zeke’s fault that he was avoiding this intimacy. He didn’t mind hand-holding, but his anxiety was getting the best of him.

“I’m sorry,” Levi apologized again, not entirely sure what was wrong with him. He quickly shut his laptop and stuffed in into his backpack, his anxiety forcing him to get out of there as soon as humanly possible.

Zeke was staring at him with some concern, “Are you sure you’re okay? Where are you going?”

“I... I have to go,” Levi said as he got up, tossing his backpack over his shoulder, “I’m sorry, I’ll see you later.”

“Wait,” Zeke replied, getting up to stop him from leaving, “Can I ask you something?”

Levi stopped in his tracks, nodding a little as he waited for Zeke to speak.

Zeke cleared his throat, obviously a little shaken up from their odd interaction, “Um... I’m having a party tomorrow night. You should come. You can bring a friend if you want.”

Levi nodded a little, just wanting to get out of there as his anxiety was only growing with every second, “Text me the details.”

“I will,” Zeke smiled a little, waving at Levi as he rushed off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I don’t know, Porco, it was weird,” Zeke said into the phone after explaining what had happened in the library, “He looked like a deer in headlights. I just tried to hold his hand, I don’t see what the big deal is.”

“Maybe he’s a virgin,” Porco suggested, “Or maybe he’s got such a big crush on you that you made him nervous.”

Zeke chuckled a little at the thought, sitting down on his bed and leaning back against the pillows, “I don’t know if that’s the case. He ran out of there as if I’d tried to fuck him or something.”

“ Did you?” Porco accused, laughing a little, as he knew it wouldn’t be the first time Zeke had come on too strong.

“No!” Zeke sighed heavily, “I was a perfect gentleman this time. He just ran out of there. I don’t know why.”

“Maybe he wants to take things slow,” Porco wondered, “Like... really slow.”

“Damn,” Zeke frowned, “I mean, I guess he’s probably worth it. But I can’t even hold hands with him?”

“If you think he’s worth it, then you have to go at his pace,” Porco said, and Zeke knew he was right. Was Levi really worth it? Zeke thought so. He was developing more of a crush on him the more time they spent together. Aside from the weird moment they’d shared in the library, Levi was just his type. He was sarcastic and rude, but adorable and sweet at the same time. And if Zeke had to take things slow, no matter how slow, he’d do it. Just for Levi.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hanji sat at their desk in front of a table mirror, putting on mascara as they prepared for Zeke’s party. They’d never met Zeke, but clearly Levi had some interest in the man. Levi wasn’t one for parties, so the fact that he was willing to attend this man’s party was saying something. 

Hanji had been trying to encourage Levi for years to move on from Erwin, to try dating - the intimacy would be good for him. But Levi had never taken them up on this advice, and Hanji was glad to hear that he at least had some interest in someone, no matter what the end result would be.

Levi came into their room from the bathroom, having just finished fixing his hair and putting on cologne. He was wearing some tan chinos and a summery button up, and he held out his arms as he stood in front of Hanji.

“Do I look okay?” he asked self-consciously, going to tug on his shirt a little in nervousness.

“You look very handsome, Levi,” Hanji smiled, going back to doing their makeup, “I’m almost ready, then we can go.”

“Okay,” Levi replied, sitting on the edge of Hanji’s bed and swinging his legs as he watched Hanji doing their makeup.

Hanji was excited about this party. They hadn’t been out in a while, and given the difficult week they’d had because of the anniversary of Erwin’s death, they really needed a night out. They finished up their makeup and got up, wearing black short shorts and an open flowery button up with a black tank top underneath.

“You look good,” Levi smiled softly, getting up, “You ready to go now?”

“Yep!” Hanji grinned back, looping their arm through Levi’s and starting to drag him to the front door of their apartment, “Come on - I can be your wingman!”

Levi rolled his eyes a little as they headed down the stairs towards the parking garage below the apartment building, “I don’t need a wingman. I already found someone I like, it’s just about where I go from there.”

Hanji unlocked their car doors and climbed into the driver’s seat, waiting for Levi to get in and close the door before asking, “What do you mean?”

Levi stared out the window as they exited the parking garage and started driving towards the address Levi had sent them for the party. He sighed a little, “You know how I said we spent time together in the library the other day?”

“Yeah,” Hanji replied, remembering what Levi had told them about his cute little library date with the mysterious Zeke.

Levi swallowed thickly, clearly a little apprehensive about telling Hanji what had happened. He was fiddling with his hands in his lap as he admitted quietly, “Well, I got really anxious when he tried to hold my hand and I ran out on him.”

Hanji raised an eyebrow, “Oh?”

They weren’t entirely surprised. Levi had seemed to be entirely terrified of intimacy since Erwin’s death. But Hanji hadn’t anticipated this would be a problem if Levi came across someone he liked. Hanji thought he would be able to move past his anxiety because of his affection for someone, but clearly this wasn’t the case.

“Yeah,” Levi frowned, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. What if he tries to touch me again tonight? He only tried to hold my hand - what if he tries to do something more? I... I don’t want him to think I don’t like him. I do, it’s just... it’s hard.”

Hanji nodded in understanding, turning onto the road Zeke lived on and starting to look for parking. They parallel parked between two cars, the street being pretty packed with cars parked in front of Zeke’s house, which was bumping loudly with music.

Once they’d put the car in park, they turned to Levi and put a gentle hand on his shoulder, watching him almost flinch from the contact. He relaxed a little when he remembered it was just Hanji, and he looked up at them in some confusion.

“Levi, I know you’ll never stop loving Erwin,” Hanji sighed quietly, “But you need to let yourself be happy. I know you can’t help your anxiety, but I think that anxiety is motivated by those thoughts of Erwin. He’d want you to be happy, right? So allow yourself to be happy.”

Levi wasn’t looking at them, staring down at his lap, as if he was trying hard not to let Hanji’s words affect him. Hanji could see the tears starting to well up in his eyes, and decided to not continue their words of advice, not wanting to make the poor man start crying. After all, they were going to have a good time tonight, and starting the night off by crying was not what Hanji wanted.

“Come on, Levi,” Hanji spoke softly, rubbing his arm lightly, “Give me a smile. We’re going to have fun tonight, right?”

Levi sucked in a deep breath, nodding a little before forcing a small smile in Hanji’s direction. Hanji smiled back, “Come on, you can do better than that. Smile , Levi.”

They began to tickle at Levi’s side, and the shorter man tried hard to hold back his laughter, swatting at Hanji’s hands and smiling a little wider. There it is , Hanji thought, patting Levi’s arm affectionately before climbing out of the car. Levi followed them out of the car and towards the front door, shoving his hands in his pockets as Hanji rang the doorbell. The door soon opened, and Hanji could see Levi staring at the handsome man before them. Zeke was wearing denim shorts and a patterned button up that was unbuttoned just enough so you could see his chest hair and parts of his obviously muscular chest.

“Hi Levi,” Zeke smiled, not even noticing Hanji at first. Hanji held back a smirk at both Levi and Zeke’s reactions upon seeing each other, and smiled up at Zeke, holding their hand out.

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you! I’m Hanji, Levi’s friend,” they greeted, and Zeke tore his eyes away from Levi to shake Hanji’s hand.

“Hi Hanji, I’m Zeke,” he replied, pulling his hand away and stepping aside, “Come on in.”

Hanji walked in first, Levi trudging along shyly behind them. The house Zeke lived in was fairly nice, and Hanji wondered if it was his or if he shared it with roommates. They looked around the room at the chaos of the party, feeling excited as they were ready to socialize. Levi, on the other hand, looked incredibly intimidated, which wasn’t surprising to Hanji at all.

“Drinks are in the kitchen,” Zeke explained, starting to lead them there, “Did you two want anything?”

“Sure!” Hanji smiled as they followed him, “Can we take shots?”

Zeke laughed a little in some surprise that Hanji was so eager to start drinking, but nodded a little as they entered the kitchen. He opened a cupboard and took out three shot glasses, glancing at Levi, “Did you want one too?”

Levi rubbed the back of his neck nervously and nodded, and Hanji couldn’t help but think how adorable Levi was when he was so clearly smitten over somebody like this. Zeke poured the three shots full of vodka and they each took one, clinking the shot glasses together before they downed the alcohol.

Hanji shuddered a little from the bitter taste and set their shot glass back down on the counter. Zeke and Levi did the same, and Hanji could see the way that Zeke was looking at Levi; he clearly had a crush on the shorter man. Hanji was holding back a grin. They didn’t know Zeke well enough to determine if he was a good match for Levi, but just the fact that the man had a crush on Levi was enough for Hanji to be at least a little excited for their friend.

There was a sudden crash from the other room, and Zeke rolled his eyes a little, “Hold on, I’ll be right back.”

He wandered back into the living room, and Levi watched after him as he left. Hanji giggled a little and poked Levi’s arm teasingly, “He likes you, Levi.”

Levi immediately shook his head as a blush formed on his cheeks, “N-No! Shut up.”

“It’s true, Levi!” Hanji singsonged, “I can tell just from how he’s looking at you! And you like him too!”

“Hanji, seriously, shut up,” Levi socked them on the arm lightly, looking around as if Zeke might appear at any moment.

Hanji rubbed their arm, still grinning at him. Zeke soon reappeared, smiling sweetly at Levi, who was completely flustered now that Hanji had pointed out just how Zeke was looking at him. Hanji glanced between the two of them before deciding it would be a wonderful idea to leave them alone together.

“I’m gonna go play some drinking games,” Hanji smiled, “You two enjoy each other’s company!”

The two men both got a little red from Hanji’s comment, but Zeke smiled gratefully at Hanji. Levi looked a little panicked, clearly not wanting Hanji to leave because he was so nervous, but Hanji knew this would be good for him. They wandered off to find something to do, going into the living room and seeing a good-looking man sitting by himself. Perfect , Hanji grinned, heading over to him and sitting next to him on the couch, putting an arm around his shoulders as the shot of vodka was already starting to get to them.

“And what’s a handsome man like you doing all alone?” Hanji flirted, giggling a bit when the man got extremely flustered, staring at Hanji with his mouth slightly ajar.

“I... um... I came here alone. Zeke invited me; he’s in one of my classes,” the man explained.

“Well, well, that’s a shame,” Hanji smirked, “I’m here with my friend, but I’m kind of a third wheel right now. So I guess I’m alone too.”

The man couldn’t help but smile a little at the excited energy that Hanji radiated. He held out his hand to them to introduce himself, but Hanji grabbed his hand and shook it eagerly, interrupting him before he had the chance to say anything.

“I’m Hanji Zoe,” they said, practically beaming, “They/Them pronouns. Don’t fuck it up.”

The man stared for a moment at the possible threat before smiling back at Hanji and allowing them to shake his hand vigorously, “I’m Moblit Berner. He/Him pronouns. I won’t fuck it up, don’t worry.”

Hanji already liked him, hesitantly letting go of his hand. He seemed very respectful and kind, just a genuinely nice person. And he wasn’t too intimidated by Hanji’s overzealous personality; most people might’ve run by now, but he seemed interested and almost intrigued by Hanji’s excitement.

“I... I like your shirt,” he commented shyly, “You look good.”

Hanji could feel the blush growing on their face as they swatted at his arm, “Stop it! You’re making me blush!”

Moblit himself blushed, “O-Oh, sorry I-”

“No, I’m just kidding. I love compliments, tell me more,” Hanji grinned, leaning their face in their hand and their elbow on their knee as they stared at him. His breath hitched in his throat before a smile broke out on his face, and Hanji was starting to think maybe they would be just as lucky as Levi in finding someone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zeke smiled gratefully at Hanji when they walked away, now knowing he could have some alone time with Levi. The kitchen was empty; everyone was hanging out either in the backyard or the living room, and now Zeke could put the moves on Levi. But he remembered what Porco had said about going slow, and he wasn’t going to try anything that would make Levi uncomfortable.

“I... I’m really sorry about the other day in the library,” Levi spoke quietly, not looking at Zeke, “I just got flustered and... and...”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Zeke assured him, going to reach out to touch his shoulder before stopping himself. He didn’t want to scare the man off so quickly, and his hand retreated back to his side.

Levi had noticed, and he looked up at Zeke with an apologetic look, obviously feeling insecure about whatever the reason was behind his extreme nervousness. Zeke didn’t want him to feel this way. He wanted them to enjoy their time together.

“Do you want me to make you a drink?” Zeke asked, interrupting the silence that was growing between them.

Levi nodded a little, watching Zeke start to pull down ingredients from his cupboards. Zeke had been a bartender in his undergrad years, and he wanted to impress Levi with his skills.

“Anything you like in particular?” Zeke asked, pulling out his cocktail shaker and glancing down at Levi.

“Not really,” Levi shrugged, “As long as it’s not tequila - that always makes me puke.”

Zeke nodded, grabbing various ingredients and throwing them together in the shaker, seeing Levi watching him in some surprise and amazement at his bartender skills. Zeke grabbed some ice from the freezer and tossed it in before closing the lid and starting to shake it over his shoulder. He could see Levi staring directly at his muscles, and he thanked himself silently for it having been his arm workout day at the gym today. He took off the top and poured the drink into a glass, grabbing a metal straw from his cabinet and putting it in the drink before holding the glass out to Levi.

He took it and took a sip, “Wow, this is delicious. You’re either an alcoholic or a bartender.”

Zeke chuckled a little at the joke, “I was a bartender during undergrad. Worked at a bar downtown for two years.”

Levi nodded and continued to sip through the straw, his eyes locked on Zeke’s now. Zeke smiled upon noticing Levi’s eye color: they both had gray eyes, which was an unusual trait to share. It was meant to be , Zeke couldn’t help but think to himself.

“How long have you been a barista?” Zeke wondered, starting to put up the things he’d used to make Levi’s drink.

“About four years now,” Levi explained, “I got the job when I was an undergrad, and I really need the money now that I’m in grad school.”

“Understandable,” Zeke agreed, “Grad school is ridiculously expensive. I got lucky; my dad’s paying for me to go to school because he wants me to be a doctor like him.”

Levi raised an eyebrow, taking another sip of his drink before asking, “But do you want to be a doctor?”

Zeke’s breath hitched in his throat. Nobody had asked him that before. He supposed he’d never really thought too deeply about it. He’d just accepted his dad’s money and gone to med school without giving it thought as to what he might really like to do with his life. His dad was a huge influence on his future, and he’d never really been able to break away from under him, even though he was 25 now and had lived on his own for about seven years.

“I mean... I-I have to,” Zeke stuttered, taken aback by the question.

“But do you want to? What stuff do you like to do?” Levi asked, swirling the straw in his drink.

Zeke took a second to ponder this question. What stuff did he like to do? He supposed he liked science; he’d always had an interest in chemistry, which was why he liked bartending so much. Mixing ingredients together to get the perfect result was just something that he found fun.

“I kind of like science,” Zeke shrugged, “I used to love chemistry in high school. I took all the chem classes I could.”

“You should try taking another chemistry class,” Levi suggested, “Maybe you’re still into it.”

Zeke nodded, smiling down at Levi. The shorter man seemed so genuinely interested in his life, and it made Zeke feel special. He liked having Levi’s full attention, and he could feel his heart pounding in his chest when he realized just how much he would’ve liked to kiss him in this sweet moment they were sharing.

“Levi?” Zeke started, making himself a simple mix of rum and coke.

“Yeah?” Levi replied.

“Can I be honest with you?” Zeke asked, taking a long sip of his drink in the hopes the alcohol would give him more courage.

Levi began to look a little nervous if he wasn’t already, but he nodded in response to Zeke’s question. Zeke set his drink down and took Levi’s drink out of his hand, setting it down next to his own. Levi watched him, his hands stiffly at his sides now, as he tried to figure out just what Zeke was going to do.

Zeke was abandoning all his previous thoughts of taking things slow, the alcohol he’d consumed throughout the night starting to pound through his veins and mess with his head. He reached out and took Levi’s hand in his gently, tugging him closer. Levi went completely red in the face, staring up at Zeke in some surprise as the taller man began leaning down to kiss him. Levi ducked his head and tugged his hand away from Zeke’s, his eyes wide and terrified. Zeke was realizing this had probably been a bad idea, but he just couldn’t help himself. When he saw the look on Levi’s face, he felt a little guilty, and quickly took a step back to give Levi some space.

“I... Zeke I...” Levi stuttered, “I can’t just... please don’t do that.”

Zeke was beginning to wonder if those looks he’d interpreted as affectionate were completely in the wrong. Maybe Levi didn’t like him in the same way he liked Levi. He ran his fingers through his hair, picking up his drink again and handing Levi his.

“I’m sorry,” Zeke apologized, “I just... you’re hard to resist, Levi. I really like you.”

Levi’s face went completely red, not having expected Zeke to say this. He took a long sip of his drink, avoiding Zeke’s gaze, “I... Zeke, I can’t right now. I have to find Hanji.”

He was clearly using Hanji as a distraction from what had just happened, and Zeke frowned, sighing a little before nodding his head, “I’ll help you find them.”

Levi still had that nervous look on his face, and Zeke was still feeling bad, so he decided to just let go what had happened between them and help Levi find his friend. He resisted taking Levi’s hand and walked into the living room, seeing Hanji on the couch making out with some guy, a guy that Zeke recognized from one of his classes. Moblit, was it? He glanced to Levi behind him, who had just noticed the two as well, a blush forming on his face.

“Oh,” Levi said quietly, “I probably shouldn’t interrupt...”

Zeke nodded, “Did you want to go back in the kitchen?”

Levi shook his head quickly, and Zeke was feeling bad for having scared Levi so much. What if he’d scared him away for good this time? Why did his stupid feelings have to make him so attracted to Levi, and why couldn’t he have just stopped himself from trying to kiss him?

Levi saw Hanji pull away for air and walked quickly towards them, calling out, “Hanji!”

Zeke followed him, and Hanji paused their activities, looking up at Levi. Concern came across their face when they realized how shaken up he was, and they glanced up at Zeke in some suspicion.

“Are you okay?” Hanji asked, looking between the two of them.

“I-I’m fine, I just... who’s this?” Levi asked quietly, motioning to Moblit.

“Oh, this is Moblit,” Hanji said, taking Moblit’s hand and squeezing it as they giggled, “Isn’t he adorable?”

Moblit turned red, and Levi just stared between the two of them for a second before waving a little at Moblit, “Oh, uh... hi. Hanji, can we go?”

“Levi, we just got here!” Hanji protested for a second before they noticed the begging look on Levi’s face.

Zeke felt his stomach churning with the bad feeling of running Levi away from him, but he didn’t argue. If Levi wanted to leave, then he probably shouldn’t stop him, right? That might make things worse between them.

“Fine,” Hanji sighed, turning to Moblit and planting a kiss on his cheek, “Call me, okay?”

Moblit nodded, smiling at Hanji as they got up. Zeke sighed a little, turning to Levi, “I... I really am sorry, Levi. Have a nice night, okay?”

Levi nodded, barely able to look at him as he handed his empty drink glass back to Zeke, “Okay, thanks.”

He quickly grabbed Hanji’s arm and began to drag them to the front door, Hanji still looking back at Moblit almost dreamily as they waved at him. He waved back, a smile and a blush on his face. Zeke sighed heavily and sat down next to him. Clearly, his classmate had been much luckier than him tonight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are you okay?” Hanji asked as soon as they got in the car. Levi’s heart was racing and he could feel a lump in his throat forming as his emotions ran wild.

“He tried to kiss me,” Levi said quietly, buckling his seatbelt, “It just... It was too much.”

Hanji frowned, breathing a sigh of relief, “Oh shit, I thought he hurt you or something.”

“No,” Levi explained, “But it scared the fuck out of me. I don’t understand what’s wrong with me.”

“Did you want him to kiss you?” Hanji asked curiously, starting the car.

Do I? Levi wondered. When Zeke had leaned in to kiss him, Levi’s heart had been pounding so loudly that he didn’t even consider whether he actually wanted the kiss or not. He supposed maybe he did? He certainly wasn’t mad at Zeke for trying to kiss him, he’d just been unable to allow it to happen.

“I-I don’t know,” Levi admitted, “I think I did, I just couldn’t... it’s just... Erwin.”

As soon as he said his name, he felt the tears welling up in his eyes. That was the entire reason he’d been too scared to initiate or allow for anything to happen with Zeke. The realization dawned on him, and he was beginning to feel emotional as he realized this. He sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

He saw a frown on Hanji’s face as they began to drive away, “Levi, you can’t let Erwin dictate your life forever. I know you loved him. But if you want to kiss Zeke, that’s okay .”

“But what if... what if he gets mad?” Levi wondered aloud, “Wherever he is, what if he’s watching me? I don’t want to betray him.”

These were thoughts that had been plaguing him since he’d flirted with Zeke that first day in the coffee shop. He didn’t want Erwin to be upset with him. When they were together, they’d promised to love only each other. What if Erwin was looking down on him from somewhere, disappointed in him for trying to move on?

“Levi,” Hanji sighed, “Erwin would want you to be happy, wouldn’t he?”

Levi could feel a sob welling up in his chest, and he wanted this conversation to end. He didn’t want to cry about Erwin, not now. He quickly wiped at his eyes with his sleeve and sucked in another breath.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Levi said quietly, and Hanji was smart enough to know not to press him about this. They drove back to Hanji’s apartment in silence, Levi trying to avoid the thoughts of Erwin that were swirling in his head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I fucked up, I fucked it all up, Porco,” Zeke sighed heavily as he dropped his head into his hands. The party was still going on, and Moblit had left a couple of minutes ago, and Porco had quickly taken his place. The man was clearly drunk, and Zeke was a little tipsy himself, but he was still feeling incredibly guilty for coming on too strong to the shorter man.

“What’d you do now?” Porco asked.

“I tried to kiss him and I scared him away,” Zeke said sheepishly, feeling like an asshole for doing so, “I just don’t understand why he’s so scared of intimacy. He won’t even let me touch him.”

Porco shrugged, “Maybe you’re not trying hard enough.”

“You think I should try harder?” Zeke raised an eyebrow, “What if it just makes him run off?”

Zeke didn’t realize that Porco was probably too drunk to give him good advice, as the drunken man tried, “Maybe he’s just playing hard to get.”

Zeke pondered this for a moment. Had he misread the situation? Maybe Levi was playing hard to get. Maybe he did need to try harder. Or just try to do so differently. And he had the perfect idea of just what to do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi was at work the next morning. He’d spent the night at Hanji’s, a little too depressed to walk back home. Hanji had been good to him, letting him sleep in their bed while they slept on the floor, putting on his favorite movie and making him a nice cup of tea. He appreciated having such an understanding friend.

Work had been fairly busy up until about ten in the morning, when things started to die down. He had been about to take his break when Zeke came in, holding something behind his back. He was a little nervous about seeing Zeke again given their last encounter, but again, he wasn’t mad at Zeke for what he’d tried. He’d just been too scared to let it continue.

“Levi,” Zeke smiled at him as he approached the counter.

“Zeke,” Levi smiled softly.

“Are you okay?” Zeke asked, concern written on his face.

He was still clearly plagued by what had happened the other night. Levi was starting to feel bad for having stressed the man.

Levi nodded a little, “I’m fine.”

“Good,” Zeke sighed in some relief before pulling out the flowers he’d been hiding behind his back, “These are for you. To apologize for last night.”

They were a bouquet of white roses, and Levi could feel himself getting hot as his face turned red. He took them gently, not thinking he deserved these. He felt bad about taking them, not only because he hadn’t meant to make Zeke feel so guilty, but also because Erwin was in the back of his mind. Trying to kiss him was more of a sexual thing, Levi thought, but flowers were romantic as hell. This almost scared him more than the attempted kiss.

“Th-Thanks,” Levi looked down at the flowers, “I... I don’t deserve these.”

“Yes, you do,” Zeke insisted, smiling at him sweetly, “I feel so bad about trying to kiss you - I was a little tipsy and I should’ve at least asked your permission.”

Levi shook his head a little, “Really, Zeke. It’s okay. I’m just not used to intimacy and I...”

“You don’t have to explain,” Zeke said, “I get it.”

They stood there in some silence for a moment, before Zeke spoke up again, “Can I ask you something?”

Levi nodded a little, still admiring the flowers. They smelled beautiful, and he knew that roses weren’t cheap, especially a dozen white roses. He knew Zeke must’ve really liked him in order to buy him something like this, and that scared him a little. He didn’t know how to feel about it.

“Can I take you out on a date?” Zeke asked, and the question shocked Levi even more than the flowers had.

He quickly shook his head. He couldn’t do that. It was too soon, and too terrifying of a thought. A date was entirely different, and would confirm that he was moving on from Erwin, which he wasn’t sure he wanted. Zeke looked disappointed, and Levi was panicking as he felt the guilt of having disappointed him.

“You can’t,” Levi said shortly, “I’m sorry.”

Zeke nodded a little, trying to be understanding, “It’s okay. Can... Can you at least tell me why not?”

Levi went to respond when a customer came in, saving him from having to answer the awkward question. Zeke noticed the customer and frowned, “I... I’ll see you around, Levi.”

Levi nodded and watched Zeke head out, all types of emotions flowing through him. He wanted to tell Zeke why he was so all over the place; why he was so difficult for Zeke to get through to. But he was scared. Scared to open up to someone all over again, scared to see where things would go between him and Zeke, and scared to let down Erwin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pieck took a bite of her food, watching Zeke pick at his with his fork. He seemed dejected, and something told Pieck that it had something to do with that barista at the coffee shop. She knew that he had been trying hard to keep the man’s attention, to try and move things forward, but it hadn’t been going so smoothly.

“Zekey?” Pieck frowned, placing a hand on top of his, “Are you okay, hun?”

Zeke looked up, shaking his head a little before staring back down at his food.

“What happened?” Pieck squeezed his hand gently, “Is it Levi?”

Zeke nodded a little, explaining, “I tried to kiss him at my party, but I scared him off. Porco told me to try harder, so I brought him flowers and asked him on a date, but he said no and I don’t understand why. I thought he liked me, but every time I try to get things to move forward, he rejects me.”

Pieck sighed. Of course, Porco had given Zeke bad advice. That wasn’t surprising to Pieck, but the fact that Zeke had actually followed through on it was surprising. Zeke turned his hand over and squeezed Pieck’s hand back in some reassurance that he would be okay.

“Well, I don’t think you need to try harder,” Pieck advised, “I think you should give him some space. He clearly seems scared when you try hard; stay away from him for a little while. If he really likes you, he’ll approach you , instead of the other way around.”

Zeke looked like he was pondering Pieck’s words, but looked up at her and nodded a little, smiling sadly, “That’s a good idea. You’re probably right, anyways. I think if I keep trying hard, I’ll end up driving him off for good.”

Pieck agreed. Something was clearly off about Levi, though they couldn’t put their finger on what. But the shorter man was not one for being pressed into doing things, that was very much clear from Zeke’s interactions with him. Pieck hoped that Zeke putting distance between them would make clear whether Levi actually liked Zeke back or not. Otherwise, Zeke might just keep getting hurt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi was finishing up his shift at the coffee shop, feeling sick to his stomach. He hadn’t seen or talked to Zeke since the man had brought him flowers a week ago. He was beginning to worry he’d driven the man off for good with his inability to allow himself to engage in romantic activities. He took off his apron and locked the front door of the coffee shop, waving goodbye to his coworkers as he began his walk towards his apartment building.

He was truly missing Zeke, despite trying to convince himself otherwise. How could someone he barely knew leave such an impact on him? That must mean he had a crush on the man, right? Levi had been having trouble admitting his feelings for Zeke, because admitting it meant it was real, and if it was real, then Levi felt horrible for having those feelings in the first place. He was completely conflicted. Zeke clearly liked him, and he liked him a lot . Or at least, he must’ve liked him a lot to keep trying this hard for him. But now he hadn’t come into the coffee shop or texted Levi in a week, and Levi was feeling regretful for rejecting him so many times.

He took out his phone and dialed his childhood friend Isabel, hoping she might be able to help him. Hanji was busy after all, on a date with that Moblit guy they’d met at the party, and he decided getting someone else’s perspective was a good idea. Though Isabel was like a little sister to him, she always told it like it is, and he knew he wouldn’t get any bullshit answers from her.

“Levi!” Isabel exclaimed excitedly as she picked up, “You haven’t called me in so long, what’s wrong with you?!”

Levi sighed a little at the scolding, “I’ve been working and going to school. There hasn’t been much time to chat.”

“Well, what’s up? You’re clearly not calling me just to chat,” Isabel guessed correctly.

Levi sucked in a deep breath and muttered, “I... I think I have a crush on someone.”

There was a little silence on the other end of the phone before Isabel exclaimed excitedly, “Really?! Oh my god - is he handsome? What’s his name? Do I know him?”

“Isabel, shush,” Levi scolded quietly, shoving his free hand in his pocket as he continued walking back to his place, “Yes, he’s handsome... you don’t know him, his name’s Zeke.”

“That’s so adorable, bro!” Isabel giggled, “I’m so happy for you! You know I’ve been saying for months now that you need to move on from Er-”

“Stop,” Levi snapped, practically begging, “ Please .”

Isabel sounded a little taken aback and hurt, “I’m sorry... I’m just glad to hear you’re finally moving on...”

Levi sighed, knowing Isabel was easily hurt by his berating. She was so sensitive to what he thought about her, and he knew he had to tread carefully as to not upset her. But Isabel had been wrong. He wasn’t moving on. That was the problem.

“That’s the problem, Isabel,” Levi explained, “I’m having a lot of trouble um... moving on from him .”

He couldn’t say Erwin’s name; it hurt too much.

“Oh,” Isabel said, a frown coming through the phone clearly, “Did something happen?”

Levi turned onto his street and kept walking, nodding a little as he explained to Isabel all that had happened between him and Zeke. Isabel listened patiently, interrupting every once in a while to ask questions.

“Levi,” Isabel sighed once he was done, “You really need to go back to therapy.”

“Isabel, I’m not doing that,” Levi insisted, “It didn’t help the first time!”

“Because you never gave it a chance! ” Isabel argued, “You went like three times and gave up when it didn’t work immediately! Therapy takes time , Levi. And if you want to ever move on from Erwin, you’re going to need it. Lots of it.”

Levi let out a frustrated deep breath, approaching his apartment building and unlocking the front door, “You’re not helping, Isabel. I just want to know what I should do about Zeke. I really like him, but I’m fucking it all up.”

“You said you keep rejecting him, right?” Isabel inquired.

“Mhm,” Levi replied, heading up the stairs to his floor.

“Why don’t you ask him on a date?” Isabel suggested, “If he says yes, he’s still interested and that way you can show him that you actually do like him.”

Levi pondered over this suggestion. He liked it, and thought it was a smart idea, but the thought of asking Zeke out was terrifying to him. Could he really ask Zeke out? He felt as though he didn’t have another choice at this point; he really wanted Zeke to know how he felt about him, and that although he’d rejected him, he hadn’t really wanted to.

“Okay,” Levi finally agreed, “But what should we do for a date?”

“Take him to the movies,” Isabel said, “You won’t have to talk much, and you can relax and watch the film together.”

Levi nodded a bit, unlocking his door, “That’s a good idea. Thanks, Isabel. Talk to you later?”

“I’ll talk to you later,” Isabel replied, “And you better call me and tell me what happens.”

“Of course,” Levi responded, hanging up and going into his apartment. He looked at the white roses on his kitchen table, which were now wilting and almost dead after a week. He sighed, thinking it was an extremely ironic metaphor for where he and Zeke were after this week of no talking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zeke had spent a week of not talking to Levi, and it was killing him inside. He couldn’t stop thinking about the short, adorable barista. He’d decided that morning to go see him. He’d given him enough space, and if Levi didn’t seem excited to see him, then he would know for sure that Levi wasn’t interested. He walked from his house to the coffee shop, feeling as though he was on a mission. He was both nervous and excited; excited to see Levi and nervous about finding out whether he was still interested in him or not.

He approached the front door of the coffee shop and pushed it open, walking inside and seeing Levi wiping down tables. The barista looked up upon his entrance, his eyes widening when he saw who it was. It didn’t take long for a small smile to creep up on his face, and Zeke took this as a good sign.

“Zeke,” he breathed, and Zeke smiled back at him, walking over to him slowly but making sure he kept enough distance between them when he stopped. He was surprised to see Levi take a step closer to him once he’d stopped, and this was a good sign, too.

“Levi,” he greeted, “How are you?”

“I’m good,” Levi replied before continuing to wipe down the table in front of him, “Where the hell have you been?”

Zeke was taken aback by the question, and feigned innocence, “What do you mean?”

“You haven’t been here in like a week,” Levi accused, shooting him a small glare, “And now you just show up out of nowhere?”

Zeke couldn’t help but chuckle at Levi’s clear annoyance with him. So the dark-haired man did like him, after all. He wouldn’t be showing signs of irritation with him for avoiding him if he didn’t feel something .

“I was busy,” Zeke lied, “Midterms.”

“You couldn’t even text me?” Levi asked, looking up at Zeke and dropping the wet rag back into the bucket on the floor, “After I rejected you, I thought... I thought you were mad at me. I thought you didn’t want to see me anymore.”

“No,” Zeke explained, “That’s not true, Levi. Of course I wanted to see you.”

Levi sighed in some relief, smiling a little at him as he took another step closer, and Zeke was now thanking Pieck silently for her advice, as it appeared to be working. Levi was now only about a foot away from him, and he could’ve pulled him in for a kiss if he wanted to, but now was neither the time nor the place to do so.

“Zeke?” Levi spoke up quietly, looking at the ground as he avoided Zeke’s gaze.

“What’s up?” Zeke asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Levi suddenly looked incredibly nervous, his hands shaking a little as he tried to steady them by balling them into fists at his sides. He couldn’t look at Zeke, and mumbled so fast that Zeke nearly couldn’t make out what he’d said, “Will you go on a date with me?”

Zeke could feel his heart pounding. This was certainly not what he’d expected when he decided to come visit Levi. In fact, it was probably one of the last things he’d expected. Levi had rejected him, and now he wanted to go on a date? Zeke supposed the week of being without him had awoken something in Levi; perhaps made him a little more susceptible to the idea of romance.

“I’d love to,” Zeke answered quickly, almost as if he was worried Levi might take the question back at any moment.

“Cool,” Levi muttered, his voice weak and anxious, “I’ll text you, okay? I have to get back to work.”

Zeke nodded, “I’ll see you later then.”

Zeke started to walk towards the front doors when he heard Levi call out his name. Zeke turned and was surprised to see Levi right in front of him, almost as if he’d followed Zeke to the doors. Levi was red in the face, but he took Zeke’s hand gently in his own and squeezed it. Zeke could feel the blush on his face, and he could feel his stomach fluttering with butterflies as he squeezed back, watching Levi let go of his hand and return to his work. Zeke left the coffee shop feeling giddy and grinning like an idiot. Levi’s hand had felt so soft, so small in his own rough, calloused hands. He wanted to hold Levi’s hand like that more often, and hoped he would get a chance to when they went on their date. Pieck’s advice had worked.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Thanks for driving us,” Levi said as he got into Zeke’s car, buckling in and looking incredibly nervous. He’d texted Zeke later that day about going to the movies, and the two had agreed to meet up that Friday and go see the new Godzilla movie together.

“Of course,” Zeke smiled, “Did you get the tickets?”

“Yeah,” Levi confirmed, “They’re on my phone.”

Zeke peeled out of the spot he’d parked in out in front of Levi’s apartment building and headed downtown towards the movie theater. Levi stared out the window, watching the houses pass by as they drove.

“So,” Zeke piped up, “What made you ask me on a date? I thought you didn’t want to go out with me.”

Levi could already feel himself getting flustered, and he shook his head in response, “It’s not that I didn’t want to go out with you, I just wasn’t prepared for you to ask. I got nervous.”

“You know, you don’t have to be nervous around me,” Zeke said softly, pulling into the parking lot of the movie theater, “I promise I’m not going to judge you.”

Levi nodded, but that wasn’t really a concern of his. He hadn’t really been worried about Zeke judging him; he’d been far more worried about the intimacy of romance with Zeke than anything else.

“Thanks,” Levi replied quietly, unbuckling his seatbelt once the car was in park. The two of them hopped out of the car and headed inside, Levi showing the tickets to the employee working the front desk before they went to get popcorn and drinks. Zeke insisted on paying for everything, which made Levi a little uncomfortable, but he let him since he had bought the tickets. They found their seats in the back row of the theater and got settled, Levi reclining the seat a little as he tried to get comfy.

“Levi?” Zeke piped up.

“Yeah?” Levi replied, looking up at him as Zeke held the popcorn bucket almost self-consciously, looking nervous. That makes both of us , Levi thought to himself as he too felt his anxiety getting the best of him. He really liked Zeke, and it didn’t help that the man was incredibly attractive.

“Can I ask why you get so nervous around me?” Zeke inquired. He appeared to be incredibly cautious in asking, and Levi didn’t even know how to answer him. He didn’t think now was the appropriate place or time to tell Zeke about Erwin. He also wasn’t sure if he could trust Zeke with that information yet. After all, this was their first date; they’d only hold hands for two seconds in the coffee shop, and they’d just started their crushes on each other only two weeks ago.

“Well...” Levi said, his voice coming out shakier than he wanted it to, “It’s just... um... I...”

The ads on the theater screen paused, and the movie began, the speakers booming loudly with the soundtrack of the movie. This had saved Levi from having to answer the question, and he breathed a sigh of relief as he leaned back in his chair, glancing at Zeke, who was looking a little disappointed in not having gotten an answer. Levi kept his eyes trained on the screen for the first thirty minutes of the movie, not wanting to look at the disappointment in the man’s eyes.

He’d been pretty much avoiding Zeke up until that point in the movie, when a jump scare appeared on screen, causing Levi to jolt in his seat and grab Zeke’s hand, which had been resting on his own armrest. Zeke’s eyes widened slightly, but he took the opportunity to lace their fingers together, not wanting to miss his chance.

Levi glanced down at their conjoined hands. He supposed this was okay, right? His anxiety wasn’t too bad about the hand holding because it wasn’t like they were making out. He felt Zeke squeeze his hand gently, and squeezed back, exchanging a small smile with the man before he continued to watch the movie. Levi could feel his body aching to touch Zeke, to be close to him, but his mind was fighting him on that front. Why couldn’t he just relax and enjoy himself? Levi was beginning to worry that if he didn’t let things move along more smoothly between them, Zeke might give up on him and try to find someone who wasn’t as anxiety-driven as Levi.

This thought drove Levi to try something different. He used his free hand to pull up the armrests between them so that he could scoot closer to Zeke, feeling the warmth of his body as he lay his head on Zeke’s chest. He could feel Zeke’s heart practically beating out of his chest, and he wondered if Zeke could hear that Levi’s heart was doing the same.

They were about halfway through the movie when Levi felt Zeke’s fingers on his chin, tilting his head up so that they were looking each other in the eyes. Levi could feel the anxiety building, but he tried so hard to fight back against it, simply wanting to enjoy himself for once.

“Can I kiss you?” Zeke whispered against his lips, and Levi could feel his face getting hot at the question.

It wasn’t as though he hadn’t expected the question. He could sense that Zeke was building up to something, and this must’ve been it. Levi pushed all his fears back down into his body as far as he could, trying to think clearly without his anxiety clouding his mind. Without all his panic, he could feel himself yearning to kiss Zeke. He wanted to feel Zeke’s lips on his own, wanted to share that sweet intimacy that he’d been missing for three long years.

“Yes,” Levi murmured quietly, leaning in closer.

He could see the excitement on Zeke’s face; he was practically radiating it. Zeke leaned in and pressed a kiss to Levi’s lips, their lips moving against each other softly, experimentally, before Zeke pulled away. Levi was glad for this; he wasn’t sure he could handle much more than a tender kiss like this.

A smile tugged on his lips, and he could feel butterflies floating in his stomach from the kiss they’d just shared. Zeke was smiling too, and leaned in for another kiss, Levi leaning up and sharing another small peck with the man. He pulled away and sighed contently, laying his head back on Zeke’s chest as he clung to his arm. Levi felt Zeke’s hand in his hair, running his fingers through his locks gently. It’d been so long since he’d felt this way, and he could remember this giddy feeling.

But that’s when Erwin’s face began flashing in his mind. He could remember their first kiss; it had been during his undergrad years in his dorm. They’d been up all night watching anime, slowly inching closer to each other as the hours passed. They had both been so nervous that it took them about three hours to end up in each other’s arms, cuddling close as they continued to marathon the show they were watching. At the end of it all, Erwin had tilted his head up and kissed him sweetly.

He couldn’t stop himself from twitching slightly in Zeke’s grasp, his fingers starting to shake. Oh no, he thought to himself, a lump forming in his throat, Not here. Not now. His hands felt sweaty, and his chest began to constrict as his anxiety took over. He couldn’t breathe, and he quickly pulled away from Zeke, not wanting anyone to touch him.

Zeke was looking at him with concern, asking quietly, “Are you okay? Was it too much?”

Levi shook his head quickly, “I- no. I enjoyed it, I just- I have to use the bathroom.”

Zeke looked a little skeptical at Levi’s answer, but nodded as Levi got up and began to head down the stairs and out the door of the theater. He tried to take deep breaths, but each one pierced his lungs sharply as though they were stabbing him. He headed into the bathroom and straight into one of the stalls, locking the door and leaning back against the wall. He sunk to the floor and buried his head in his knees. Why was he so easily effected by thoughts of Erwin? Of course, he still loved the man, but Erwin was gone . So why was he letting Erwin control his life so much?

“Fuck,” he muttered, feeling tears welling up in his eyes as his anxiety pounded through his veins. His breaths were shallow and shaky, his body shaking as the tears began to fall. What the hell is wrong with me? He thought, feeling stupid for being so emotional over a kiss . How was he going to get anywhere with Zeke? Maybe he wasn’t ready for this yet. He felt like he was, but every time he let Zeke get further, he would freak out like this.

Levi allowed himself to shake and cry for a few minutes before he got up, wiping at his tears with his sleeve. He exited the stall and went to splash water in his face to calm himself, sniffling quietly and trying to hold his tears back. He could still feel his anxiety, though it was getting a little better with each passing moment. But he knew he couldn’t go back to Zeke now, not after crying like that. Zeke would surely notice, and he didn’t exactly want to explain to Zeke in the middle of a movie theater that his dead boyfriend was still effecting him this much.

Heading out of the bathroom, he walked towards the exit and out the doors, starting to walk to the nearest bus stop as he stuck his hands in his pocket. Maybe he really wasn’t ready to move on. He was still so deeply in love with Erwin, and he needed to know that Erwin would be okay with what he was doing. But how do you get permission from a dead man?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zeke knew as soon as Levi got up that he wasn’t coming back. He could sense it, and he waited a good twenty minutes before confirming that what he had suspected was true. Levi had walked out on him. Why? He wondered, watching the rest of the movie in some irritation. He’d been taking things slow, he asked Levi permission to kiss him, he’d been nothing but cautious and kind to him on this date, and Levi walked out? Zeke couldn’t help but be a little annoyed. He was starting to think the man was just playing games with him, and he could only be patient with him for so long.

He’d even tried to ask Levi why he was so nervous; what was causing him to act this way, but Levi had avoided his question again and again. He was starting to think it wasn’t meant to be, and as he got up when the movie was done, heading back to his car in the parking lot. He got in and started it, sighing heavily. Why the hell was Levi so difficult, and why did he have to choose the one person who was so hard to communicate with?

Zeke could feel himself getting angry, though he didn’t want to be. He wanted to be more understanding, but his patience had really started to run out. As he drove back home, he could feel his anger getting the best of him, and he was suddenly very upset with Levi for walking out on him. All his understanding for the man went out the window, and he was starting to think that maybe this just wasn’t worth it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi pulled into the parking lot and parked the car, having borrow Hanji’s car for the afternoon. He’d just dropped Hanji off at Moblit’s, and he had an idea in his head of exactly where he wanted to go. He got out of the car and sucked in a deep breath, looking around the cemetery for a moment before heading to Erwin’s headstone. He sat down in front of it cross-legged, staring at the words on the tombstone as he tried to numb himself to all the emotions coursing through him.

“Erwin,” he whispered, placing a hand on the top of the headstone gently, “I need to tell you something.”

He let the silence grow for a moment before continuing, “I... I have a crush. And I need to know if... if it’s okay to...”

Levi sucked in a deep breath and closed his eyes, starting over again, “Erwin, I met a guy at my work. His name’s Zeke. And I really like him, I do. But every time he tries to be romantic with me, I feel so guilty. Yesterday I... I let him kiss me.”

He could feel the anxiety growing in his stomach as he reminisced about yesterday’s date with Zeke. Of course, he felt bad for walking out on Zeke, but he felt even worse for having allowed a kiss to happen.

“I’m sorry,” Levi whimpered, breathing deeply as he tried to keep calm, “I shouldn’t have...”

Levi sniffled, swallowing thickly. This wasn’t fair. He was allowed to move on; he was allowed to kiss other people and be romantic with them. So why was he here apologizing to a dead man?

“No,” Levi tried again, “I... I deserve to be happy. You would want that, right? It’s okay for me to move on, right?”

He could feel the lump in his throat growing as tears welled up in his eyes, “Erwin, it’s so hard without you. I promised I’d love you forever, and every time I try to move on from you, I turn into a mess. I just can’t let you go.”

He wiped away at the forming tears and sighed heavily, “I... I need to know if it’s okay to move on. So if you could send me a sign, that’d be nice.”

Levi waited for a few moments, nothing happening. He hadn’t really expected anything to happen, but a small part of him hoped Erwin would send him some sort of sign from beyond the grave. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the top of the headstone before standing up shakily.

“I’m going to go now, but I’ll visit again soon, okay?” Levi breathed, “I love you.”

He headed back towards the car, getting in the driver’s seat and starting the car. All his emotions flooded his chest, and he let the tears run freely now as he leaned his head against the steering wheel, taking in a shaky breath.

“God dammit,” he sniffled, cursing himself for being so emotional. But he just couldn’t help it. All the guilt he was feeling, the guilt of betraying Erwin and the guilt of hurting Zeke with his indecisiveness, was swelling up inside him, and he couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. He sat up and sucked in a deep breath to calm himself, putting the car in drive and starting to head out of the parking lot. He had another place he needed to stop, and he headed in the direction of Zeke’s house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zeke was sitting on the couch in the living room playing video games when the doorbell rang. He paused his game and headed to the door, opening it to see Levi standing there, looking a little sheepish.

He frowned, sighing heavily, “What do you want, Levi?”

Zeke wasn’t exactly excited to see the shorter man right now. He was still a little pissed off about yesterday, and he was wondering why the hell Levi had decided to show up now. To apologize? Zeke wasn’t sure if he was ready to accept that apology this soon.

“Can we talk?” Levi asked.

“Fine,” Zeke agreed, wanting to hear what he had to say. He moved out of the way and let Levi in, shutting the door behind him and going to sit on the couch. Levi followed him and sat next to him, keeping his distance.

“I’m sorry,” Levi sighed, “I’m sorry I walked out on you. I just got-”

“Nervous, I know,” Zeke finished for him, crossing his arms in annoyance, “You always get nervous. That’s your favorite excuse.”

Levi looked a little taken aback by Zeke’s change in attitude, muttering, “Zeke, it’s not an excuse.”

“It certainly feels like one,” Zeke grumbled, “Anyways, apology not accepted. Why the hell did you walk out on me, anyways?”

Levi clearly hadn’t expected Zeke to behave this way. Levi looked anxious, and for a moment Zeke could feel himself sympathizing with the shorter man, before he pushed that sympathy down in favor of his anger.

“I had a panic attack,” Levi explained, refusing to look up at Zeke as he said so.

A panic attack? Zeke thought, What a pathetic excuse . He was almost certain that Levi was just playing games with him at this point, and he wasn’t sure if Levi was even telling him the truth anymore.

“Sure, okay,” Zeke mumbled, leaning in the doorway, “I’m done playing games, Levi. What’s the real reason?”

Levi opened and closed his mouth before sucking in a deep breath, obviously trying to remain patient with Zeke’s anger, “That is the real reason. And I’m not playing games with you, Zeke.”

“Then why the hell are you always so nervous around me? I tried so hard to be patient with you, Levi. I really did. But you keep pressing me more and more, and I don’t understand. Did I do something wrong?” Zeke asked.

Levi stared up at him for a moment before tears began to well up in his eyes. He bit his lip hard, trying to stop them. Zeke’s eyes widened slightly, not having expected Levi to get emotional.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Levi responded quietly, “Look, the real reason I get so weird about everything is... is...”

Levi swallowed thickly as Zeke awaited his answer, this time a little more patient, as he was curious to find out why Levi had been so nervous around him. He watched Levi’s demeanor; his hands were shaking, and the tears were threatening to break over his eyelids as he sucked in a deep breath.

“I got into a car accident three years ago,” Levi explained, “And my boyfriend, Erwin, he died.”

Zeke’s eyes went wide, not having expected this answer at all. He was starting to feel guilty for having gotten so angry with Levi. The shorter man was clearly shaken up, and the fact that he was sharing this information appeared to be causing him a lot of internal grief.

“Oh Levi,” Zeke frowned, “I’m so sorry.”

“I just... I like you, Zeke,” he sniffled, “I really do. But every time I try to do things with you, I think about him and I...”

A tear rolled down his cheek and he wiped it away quickly, appearing embarrassed for crying in front of Zeke. But Zeke wanted him to feel comfortable around him, and he gently reached out to wipe at the next tear that escaped Levi’s eyes. Levi gave him a grateful smile, still looking a little sheepish about crying.

“It’s okay, Levi,” Zeke whispered, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten upset with you. I just thought you were messing with me.”

Levi shook his head, “It’s fine, you didn’t know. I want... I want to be with you, Zeke. I’m just scared. I want to move on from Erwin, but it makes me feel so guilty. It feels like he’s watching me sometimes, you know? What if he’s disappointed in me?”

Zeke frowned, cautiously wrapping an arm around Levi to comfort him. Levi seemed to be okay with this, and leaned into Zeke’s touch as tears continued to flow down his face. Zeke ran his fingers through Levi’s hair to try and calm him.

“I mean, I never knew the guy,” Zeke said, “But if he loved you, wouldn’t he want you to be happy?”

Levi sniffled and nodded, “Y-Yeah. I keep thinking that too, but I just get such bad anxiety over it.”

Zeke held onto Levi tightly, feeling the man trembling in his arms. He hadn’t expected such a confession from him - that he had been through something so traumatic. Levi wiped away his tears and looked up at him, their eyes meeting as their faces were only inches apart. Zeke didn’t think this was a good time for a kiss, but he was shocked when Levi leaned in and pressed a deep kiss to his lips.

He closed his eyes, feeling the wetness of Levi’s tears on his own face as he kissed back carefully, trying to read Levi’s comfort level as they continued. Levi reached up and held Zeke’s face in his hands, kissing him harder and beginning to suck on Zeke’s lower lip gently. Zeke almost couldn’t believe this was happening. Levi was not only kissing him, but kissing him roughly : with passion, with excitement. He wrapped his arms around Levi’s waist and tugged him closer, feeling Levi nibble on his lower lip and opening his mouth slightly to allow the shorter man to let his tongue explore Zeke’s mouth. Zeke felt their tongues rubbing against each other, and suddenly Levi was straddling him.

Levi pulled away for air after a moment and rested his forehead against Zeke’s, smiling a little. Zeke smiled back, breathing heavily as he stared up into Levi’s eyes with a slight look of lust on his face. He was trying not to come on too strong to the shorter man, and was definitely holding himself back. 

“Are you doing okay?” Zeke asked, rubbing circles in Levi’s lower back to soothe him.

Levi nodded a little and went in for another kiss, this time kissing Zeke with much more determination. Zeke kissed back a little rougher this time, sucking on Levi’s lower lip eagerly and letting their tongues dance against each other. He could feel his heart pounding away in his chest, and he was slowly beginning to lose control. He grasped Levi’s hips and brought them down, feeling their erections rub together and letting out a low groan. Levi gasped in some surprise and whined quietly, grinding his hips down against him.

Zeke was surprised that Levi seemed okay with this, but he wasn’t protesting. He groaned as he continued a rhythm of grinding up against Levi, the shorter man meeting his thrusts. But after a moment, he could feel the wetness of tears again, and pulled away to see Levi in tears all over again.

“Baby,” Zeke frowned, running his fingers through his hair gently, “We can stop if you want.”

Levi sniffled and shook his head, wiping his tears away, “I want to. Please don’t stop.”

Zeke looked up at him in some confusion, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips, “Are you sure? You’re crying, love.”

Levi nodded, sucking in a deep breath to try and calm down, “I’m sure. I want to keep going.”

Zeke gripped his hips cautiously and began to grind up against him again, watching him to make sure he wasn’t still crying. Levi groaned and placed his hands on Zeke’s shoulders so he could bounce off his erection more readily. Zeke bucked his hips up and moaned quietly, breathing in deeply, before he started to thrust up against Levi a little faster. He could feel Levi wrap his arms around his neck, clinging to him as the two grinded against each other desperately. Zeke could feel that familiar growing in his stomach as they continued their activities.

“Fuck, L-Levi,” he groaned, gritting his teeth as he thrust up roughly.

“Zeke,” Levi whimpered, burying his face into Zeke’s shoulder.

They spent the next few minutes rocking and grinding against each other, their erotic noises filling the air as the two men grew ever closer to orgasm. With one final bucking of his hips, Zeke could feel his orgasm wash over him, and Levi twitched above him as he too finished. The two stayed like that for a moment, both of them panting as they held onto each other. But after a moment, Zeke could feel Levi shaking, and he frowned, holding him tightly as he realized the man was sobbing.

“Are you okay?” Zeke asked.

Levi shook his head ‘no’ into Zeke’s shoulder, sobs continuing to rack his body. The man was clearly going through emotional turmoil from their activities, but this time, Zeke knew why, and he could now be there to help him through it.

“Levi, it’ll be okay,” Zeke rubbed his back soothingly, “You deserve to be happy and to move on, remember? What we did is okay.”

Levi nodded a little, Zeke’s words seeming to put him a little more at ease, as his sobs slowed after a good minute. Levi pulled his face away from Zeke’s shoulder, and Zeke could see the redness around his eyes from crying. He pressed a kiss to Zeke’s lips gently, smiling a little at him.

“Thank you,” he whispered against his lips, kissing him again. Zeke felt so much better about this whole situation now that he knew what was tormenting Levi so much. He would help Levi through this, and he could now be here to comfort Levi when he was upset over their activities. But Zeke wanted more than just this. He wanted to make things more official with Levi.

“Levi?” Zeke spoke up softly.

“Yes?”

“I want to date you,” Zeke said quietly, feeling a little hesitant about having done so.

He didn’t want to scare the man away with his question. Levi’s eyes widened slightly, and a smile grew on his face before it turned to a frown, conflict written all over his expression. Zeke ran his fingers gently through Levi’s hair, trying to comfort him through whatever he was going through.

“I... Zeke, I need some time to think about it,” Levi replied, smiling up at him sadly. Zeke knew that this would be the answer; he didn’t expect Levi to just drop all his feelings and be with him. He knew the shorter man might need extra time to think about it. It was a big decision, after all, especially when Levi had so much inner turmoil over their situation. He was just happy he could be with Levi like this, despite the difficulties. He knew they could endure them together now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi was busy working on homework when he got a call from his childhood friend, Farlan. He, Isabel, and Farlan had all been close since they were young, and he wondered what Farlan was calling him for.

He picked up the phone, “Farlan? What’s up?”

“Levi,” Farlan said, sounding excited, “I got straight A’s on my midterms!”

“Wow, good job,” Levi replied sincerely, not having done that well on his own midterms. Farlan was truly like a brother to him, and he was proud that the man was appearing to be so successful in grad school.

“Thanks,” Farlan smiled, “So how have you been?”

Levi couldn’t help but sigh. He wasn’t exactly sure how he’d been. Things with Zeke had been quite an emotional rollercoaster over the past couple weeks, and since he’d asked Levi to date him, Levi had been spending a lot of his time mulling it over.

“I don’t know,” Levi answered honestly, “I actually need some advice.”

“Sure,” Farlan responded, sounding a little surprised at the prospect of Levi needing advice. Things were usually the other way around in their relationship, but Levi was truly desperate to hear what his childhood friend thought about the situation.

“So I met this guy at the coffee shop-”

“Zeke, I know,” Farlan interrupted, “Isabel told me.”

Of course she did , Levi rolled his eyes a little, unsurprised that Isabel would tell Farlan about his problems.

“So what happened with Zeke?” Farlan asked.

“Well, we kissed on our date at the movies and then I got so anxious I walked out on him,” Levi sighed, sounding annoyed with himself, “And then we made up and... um... did things . I cried a lot, and then he asked me to date him. I just don’t know what to do, I told him I needed time to think.”

Farlan was silent for a moment, apparently in thought, before he responded, “I mean, it depends on how much you like him. Do you want to date him?”

Levi did. He’d thought about it a lot over the past couple of days, and the way that Zeke had held him and comforted him while he was crying had made him feel safe and loved. He had enjoyed his time with Zeke outside the tears and anxiety, and he wanted to at least give Zeke a chance to date him after rejecting him so many times. The problem was, like everything that had happened with Zeke so far, he wasn’t sure if he was ready.

“Yes,” Levi frowned, “But I’m... I think I’m scared.”

“Scared of what?” Farlan asked.

“Scared of doing this all over again,” Levi admitted, sucking in a deep breath as he glanced at the photo of him and Erwin sitting on his desk, “Scared of intimacy. Scared of disappointing him .”

Farlan sighed a little, “Levi, we’ve talked about this. What’s going to convince you that you can move on from Erwin?”

Levi winced a little at the mention of his name, and he looked away from the photo so that he wouldn’t have to look at the man anymore. He’d already cried enough this week, and he didn’t want to cry right now.

“I know I can move on,” Levi said quietly, “But it’s terrifying. Every time I kiss him, I’m just picturing Erwin’s face and how upset he would be. It feels like I’m cheating on him.”

“But you’re not ,” Farlan insisted, “Erwin’s not here, Levi.”

Levi swallowed the lump in his throat that was forming, and he tried to breathe normally, “I know he’s not here. But it feels like he’s watching me.”

“Levi,” Farlan tried again, “Even if he is watching, he probably wants to see you happy rather than stressing out about whether he’s mad at you or not. Besides, Erwin was never jealous like that. He was always so gentle with you.”

Levi knew he was right. Erwin had never been the type to be possessive over him. He’d always been kind and understanding, so why was Levi imagining him as some angry, jealous boyfriend who wouldn’t want him to move on? It was almost an insult to his memory to think of him this way.

“I know,” Levi frowned, rubbing his forehead in some stress, “Do you think it’s okay for me to date Zeke then?”

“I do,” Farlan replied almost immediately, “I think if you really like him and you want to date him, don’t let thoughts of Erwin stop you.”

Levi nodded a little, “You’re right.”

“So what are you going to do then?” Farlan asked.

“I’m going to date him,” Levi replied, unable to help a small smile from growing on his face, “I really like him, Farlan.”

“I think this’ll be good for you, Levi,” Farlan said, “I really do. I hope everything goes well for you two. And Levi?”

“Yeah?”

“You need to go to therapy,” Farlan insisted, “Isabel and me, and your other friends - we can only do so much to help you.”

Levi bit his lip slightly, lying, “Okay, I’ll look into it.”

In truth, he wasn’t really a fan of the idea of therapy. He’d been to therapy after Erwin’s death, and had been to about three sessions before he gave up on it. He didn’t really see the point. Besides, Levi wasn’t entirely the type to share his feelings with a stranger, and he had a difficult time making that connection with the therapist he had.

“Good,” Farlan replied, and Levi could sense his smile through the tone of his voice, “I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Okay, thanks Farlan,” Levi smiled a little, “Talk to you later.”

And with that, they hung up. Levi was feeling significantly better about the situation now, and picked up his phone, going to his messages and finding Zeke’s name. He typed out a message and pressed send, setting his phone down and sighing happily.

Can you come over, Zeke? I have something to tell you .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zeke parked in front of the apartment building and picked up his phone, texting Levi that he was there and getting out of his car. He went to the front door and rang the doorbell for Levi’s apartment number, hearing the door click as it unlocked. He walked to the elevator and took it up to the second floor, walking down the hall to the right door before knocking on it lightly.

Levi soon opened the door, a shy smile on his face, “Hi Zeke.”

“Hey Levi,” Zeke smiled back, his breath almost taken away from seeing the handsome man. The butterflies in his stomach never ceased when he first laid eyes on Levi, every time they spent time together he felt this way.

“Come in,” Levi said, moving aside and letting Zeke in before closing the door behind him.

Zeke followed Levi into the studio apartment, glancing around at just how clean it was. Levi sat on his bed and motioned for Zeke to sit next to him, which he did. He tried to keep his space from Levi, but was surprised when the shorter man scooted closer to him and took his hand. Zeke held back a dopey grin, and he brought Levi’s hand up to his lips, kissing it lightly and earning a blush from the shorter man.

“So, what did you want to tell me?” Zeke asked, though he was sure he already knew what it was about. He was sure that Levi probably was going to tell him whether he wanted to date Zeke or not. He braced himself for Levi’s response, hoping that the shorter man was going to give him some positive news. The hand-holding was already a good sign.

Levi turned to face him, holding Zeke’s hand tightly and smiling up at him, “Zeke, I want to date you.”

Zeke could feel the rush of relief wash over him, and this time he was unable to help the grin that plastered itself across his face. He wanted to tackle Levi, to shower him in kisses, but he held back, not wanting to scare the man.

“Good,” Zeke grinned, the two men staring into each other’s eyes for a moment. They were both radiating excited energy, and the tenderness of the moment settled in. Levi glanced off to the side and bit his lip, and for a moment, Zeke was worried that Levi was upset again. But when Levi looked back at him, he realized that the shorter man had a wanton look on his face, and the mood shifted very suddenly.

Levi took his hand away from Zeke’s and used it to shove Zeke back onto the bed, climbing on top of him. Zeke was almost in shock, not able to believe this was happening. He hadn’t expected Levi to initiate things like this, but he was glad for it. Levi leaned down and kissed him roughly, running his fingers through Zeke’s hair and tugging at it a little. Zeke started sucking on his lower lip and bit at it roughly, settling his hands on Levi’s lower back. Levi stopped kissing him to take Zeke’s hands and move them down to his ass, Zeke unable to help but chuckle at Levi’s actions before they resumed kissing. Zeke squeezed his ass and began groping at it, eliciting a small moan from Levi.

The shorter man pulled away and began sucking and licking at Zeke’s neck, earning a groan from Zeke. He continued to grope at Levi’s ass and pulled a hand back to smack his ass roughly, Levi gasping a little in some shock before groaning against Zeke’s skin. Levi suddenly moved away from him, causing Zeke to worry a little that he’d done too much. But when he looked down at Levi, the man was settling himself on the floor, kneeling in between Zeke’s legs and working at his pants.

Is he going to suck my dick? Zeke thought to himself incredulously, the answer becoming more obvious as Levi opened up Zeke’s pants and tugged at his boxers, pulling Zeke’s erection out of his pants. Zeke groaned simply from Levi holding his erection in his hands, and Levi stared up at him seductively.

“You’re so big,” he teased before licking experimentally at the tip.

Zeke moaned and bit his lip as he tried hard to keep himself from bucking his hips. Levi’s comment had made him blush, and he was watching Levi in some amazement as the shorter man swirling his tongue around the tip before taking it into his mouth. Levi began taking him as far into his mouth as he could, and Zeke reached down to grasp Levi’s dark hair in his fingers, tugging at it gently as he whined a little from Levi’s actions. He couldn’t even fit the whole thing in his mouth, and had to use his hand to cover the rest of Zeke’s erection as he began bobbing his head and twisting his hand in time with his mouth. His free hand gripped at Zeke’s thigh, and he was breathing heavily through his nose as he continued to suck the life out of Zeke, the taller man feeling like he was going to lose his mind.

Levi groaned around him as Zeke tugged his hair harder, and Zeke could feel his erection hitting the back of Levi’s throat as the shorter man took him in deeper. He squeezed Zeke’s thigh a little and continued to suck on him eagerly, glancing up at him every once in a while to make sure he was still enjoying himself. Enjoying himself, however, was an understatement. He was ecstatic that Levi was doing this, and without any pushing on his part. Levi had done this without any suggestion from Zeke, and Zeke was starting to feel like maybe they were moving past Levi’s severe anxiety surrounding their intimate activities. Levi wasn’t even crying this time, despite the fact that he had some tears in his eyes due to holding back his gag reflex.

“Levi,” Zeke groaned, gripping Levi’s hair roughly, “I’m really fucking close. Holy shit.”

Levi nodded a little before sucking harder and glancing up at Zeke with an innocent look, the look sending Zeke over the edge as he came, panting hard. Levi pulled away and wiped his mouth, sighing contently as he lay down next to Zeke, who was trying to normalize his breathing.

“Was it good?” Levi asked insecurely, and Zeke couldn’t believe he even had to ask.

“Fuck yeah,” Zeke breathed, leaning over and pressing a quick kiss to Levi’s lips to reassure him, “It was fucking amazing, baby.”

Levi blushed a little at the nickname and smiled, snuggling up to Zeke and wrapping his arms around him. Zeke wrapped an arm around Levi and tugged him close, pressing a few kisses to his forehead with gratitude for what he’d just done.

“Do you want me to get you off?” Zeke asked, rubbing Levi’s side gently.

“Not today,” Levi said quietly, “I’m not ready for that yet.”

Zeke nodded in understanding, not wanting to press the shorter man into anything he didn’t want to do. Besides, they were dating now, and they’d have plenty of time to do these types of activities together now.

“I really like you, Levi,” Zeke whispered against his skin before pressing more kisses all over his face sweetly.

Levi was blushing, but he leaned into Zeke’s kisses, “I really like you too.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hanji grabbed Moblit by the collar as soon as their apartment door closed, tugging him close so that their lips were only inches apart. Moblit’s eyes widened a little, though he didn’t look too surprised by Hanji’s actions.

“Already?” Moblit asked, “I just got here.”

“Come here, sexy,” Hanji smirked, pressing a rough kiss to his lips and wrapping their arms around his waist as they tugged him close.

Moblit kissed back, bringing his hands up to hold Hanji’s face. Hanji sighed happily, having missed their boyfriend. Since the party, the two had spent nearly every waking moment together, clearly in a honeymoon phase, as they couldn’t get enough of each other. They’d almost immediately decided to date, and Hanji was surprised at themselves. Usually they weren’t so quick to jump into relationships like this, but Moblit was different. He was sweet and understanding, able to handle Hanji’s wild fluctuation in moods, and just an overall amazing partner.

“Take off your pants and get on the bed,” Hanji ordered as they pulled away from him, and enjoyed the blush on Moblit’s face as he began to do what he was told. Hanji took their pants and underwear off too and climbed on top of him, grinding against his erection and groaning a little.

“Hanji?” Moblit piped up, gripping their hips in his smooth, narrow fingers.

“Yeah?” Hanji replied, continuing to grind against him.

He bit his lip a little from Hanji’s actions and said in a weak voice, “I want to please you this time.”

Hanji raised an eyebrow. So far, they’d mostly been fucking, but Hanji had sucked his dick at least twice now. But they welcomed the idea, and smiled a little at their boyfriend before laying back on the bed and spreading their legs a little to allow him access. Moblit settled himself between Hanji’s legs and took his index and middle finger, gently beginning to rub at their clitoris and leaning down to give Hanji a grateful kiss. Hanji squirmed a little under his touch, not used to being the bottom in these sorts of situations. But if Moblit wanted to try this out, they would welcome it. Moblit rubbed his fingers gently against Hanji’s entrance before pushing his index finger in experimentally and wriggling it around a little.

He seemed so focused, so determined to please Hanji, and that just turned them on more. He added his middle finger and began to pump them gently, using his thumb to rub at Hanji’s clitoris. Hanji couldn’t help but groan, grasping at the sheets underneath them.

“Fuck,” Hanji whispered under their breath, feeling Moblit curl his fingers up into their g spot. He was glancing up at Hanji every once in a while to make sure they were still enjoying themselves, pumping his fingers more roughly into the spot while using his other hand to run his fingers sensually around their clitoris. Hanji was almost shocked at how good he was at this; the quiet man certainly had his secrets. They were panting from his actions, bucking their hips against his fingers and whimpering a little.

Moblit leaned down and kissed Hanji sweetly before whispering in a low, rough voice, “You like that?”

Hanji could feel themselves blushing from his words, and they couldn’t help but grin mischievously as they laced a hand in his hair and tugged his face closer, growling, “Fuck yeah I do, baby. Give it to me.”

Now Moblit was blushing, and he cleared his throat as he tried to refocus his attention on pleasing his partner. He fucked his fingers roughly into them, the sounds of Hanji’s moans encouraging him to continue. He removed his fingers and placed Hanji’s legs over his shoulders before leaning down and starting to lick and suck at Hanji’s clitoris.

“Shit,” Hanji gasped a little, arching their back against Moblit’s mouth and groaning.

He used his hands to pin Hanji’s hips down, swirling his tongue and sucking on it before moving his tongue downwards and pushing it past Hanji’s entrance. They cried out as Moblit began fucking them with his tongue before he pulled out and went back to sucking on their clit. Suddenly, his head was yanked unceremoniously away from Hanji, and he glanced up to see Hanji, who was red in the face and panting, a determined look on their face.

“Fuck me, now ,” Hanji practically demanded, and Moblit could feel a grin tugging at his lips as he’d clearly made Hanji incredibly horny. He sat up and shook Hanji’s legs off his shoulders as he leaned over to grab a condom from his bedside table. He rolled the condom on, seeing Hanji squirming in some anticipation as they waited for him. He rubbed his erection against their clit roughly, enjoying the whines coming from his partner’s mouth, before he moved to rub against their entrance. Moblit pushed in, gasping a little at just how easy it was for him to slide in. He must’ve really done a good job, as Hanji was incredibly wet for him.

“Shit,” he muttered, leaning over Hanji and pressing a sweet kiss to their lips before he started thrusting, slowly at first.

“Oh my god,” Hanji groaned, wrapping their hands around his neck and tugging him close to share another kiss. He gasped a little at the warmth around him and continued thrusting, picking up the pace and sighing into their kiss happily.

“Harder,” Hanji requested, though it was more of an order than a request. Moblit pulled away and sat up, lifting Hanji’s legs back up over his shoulders as he began to slam roughly into them. His breathing was ragged, and he arched his thrusts upward so he was sure he was hitting Hanji’s g spot, eliciting a high-pitched moan from his lover. He began to thrust wildly, chasing after his own orgasm now that he’d clearly found Hanji’s pleasure spot. Moblit could feel himself growing closer, his panting only getting worse with every second that passed. Hanji reached down and began rubbing at their clit, their breathing also heavy.

“I’m so close,” Hanji groaned, “You’re making me feel so good, baby.”

Moblit moaned from Hanji’s words and continued to pound into them, gripping Hanji’s thighs tightly in his fingers. Hanji could feel themselves growing close, and arched their back into his thrusts as they came, grasping at the sheets desperately.

“Fuck,” Moblit groaned, pulling out and starting to jerk at his erection. Hanji took a second to catch their breath before they sat up on their knees quickly and swatted Moblit’s hand away, taking his erection into their hand and pumping at it forcefully.

“Come on, baby,” Hanji growled into his ear, “Cum for me. Let me hear you.”

Hanji was very used to taking control, and after letting Moblit take control for once, they were back on their game now. They could hear Moblit panting, his hips bucking into Hanji’s hand desperately.

“H-Hanji,” he moaned, “I-I’m so close.”

“ Cum for me, ” Hanji snarled, and Moblit cried out as he came, his breathing heavy as he came down from his orgasm. Hanji sighed contently and let go of his erection, pulling away a little to press a sweet kiss to his lips.

“Good job, baby,” Hanji smiled, and enjoyed the look on Moblit’s face as he blushed in some embarrassment. Hanji laid down on the bed and held their arms out to Moblit, who snuggled up in their arms.

“You’re so gorgeous,” Moblit smiled dreamily, leaning up to press another kiss to Hanji’s lips.

“No, you,” Hanji giggled, kissing back.

Their romantic moment was suddenly interrupted by Hanji’s phone ringing, and they frowned in some annoyance before getting up and rummaging through their discarded clothes to find their phone in their jean’s pocket. They glanced at the screen. It was Levi.

“Hold on, babe, I have to take this,” Hanji said to Moblit before swiping to pick up the call.

Moblit nodded and got up, discarding the condom and beginning to get redressed. Hanji climbed back under the covers, “Levi?”

There was a quiet sob on the other end of the phone, and Hanji immediately became concerned. What was going on with Levi? It probably had something to do with Zeke, or with Erwin, or both .

“Levi, what’s wrong?” Hanji frowned.

“I did something stupid,” Levi sniffled, “And Erwin’s probably so mad at me.”

Hanji sighed, already wanting to tell Levi off for thinking Erwin would be mad at him for whatever he did. Levi was so hung up on Erwin, and though Hanji was sympathetic, they were starting to get annoyed at his constantly being upset over him. They could only say the same advice so many times. The man clearly needed some professional help, but he was very resistant to that idea, as Hanji had tried to convince him several times to get therapy.

“What happened?” Hanji asked curiously.

“I... I sucked his dick,” Levi hiccuped, clearly distraught over this.

“Did... Did you want to?” Hanji inquired, hoping that this wasn’t something he’d been forced into.

“Y-Yeah, but I-”

“Levi, let me stop you right there,” Hanji frowned, “If you wanted to do it, then what’s the big deal? He wanted it, you wanted it - there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Levi was apparently having a meltdown over this, his sobs coming through the phone, “But... But Erwin-”

“ Levi, ” Hanji said in exasperation, “You have to stop with this. Erwin is not here .”

“Hanji,” Levi sniffled, “I know that. I know he’s not here! I can’t help but feel this way, so stop acting like it’s my fault!”

Hanji sucked in a deep breath, trying to keep their patience, as they pressed their fingers to their forehead, “I’m sorry, Levi. It’s just really frustrating to keep telling you the same thing over and over.”

“Why did I call you if you’re not going to fucking help?” Levi snapped, starting to sound irritated.

“Levi, I’m trying ,” Hanji retorted, getting annoyed themselves, “What do you want me to say? That Erwin’s probably mad at you? That you’re a bad person? Because those things aren’t true, but I’ll lie if you want me to.”

“So is that how it is now? You get a boyfriend and suddenly you don’t have the patience to deal with me?” Levi sniffled, sounding angry.

“ Don’t bring Moblit into this,” Hanji growled, and Moblit looked up from his phone in some confusion and surprise that Hanji was talking about him.

“It just feels like since you two started dating, you haven’t been making time for me,” Levi said, and Hanji could feel themselves getting furious with him.

“Just because you’re upset, doesn’t mean you have to take it out on me!” Hanji yelled, “I’m just trying to be here for you, but it’s hard when you literally cry over every little thing you do with Zeke! Christ, Levi, you sucked his dick! You didn’t dance on Erwin’s grave!”

“I can’t help how I feel, Hanji!” Levi responded angrily, “You of all people should know how this feels! Unless you never actually gave a fuck about Erwin to begin with.”

“Don’t you dare say that stupid shit,” Hanji growled, “You know Erwin was one of my best friends, you asshole.”

“Then why don’t you care about him? If you cared, you would be just as upset as I am!” Levi challenged.

Hanji could feel the fury pumping in their veins. Why was Levi being so fucking difficult and so fucking stupid?! What he was saying didn’t make sense, and Hanji knew he was just saying things to argue at this point.

“And if you cared about him, you wouldn’t be sucking another guy’s dick,” Hanji snapped, though they hadn’t meant it. In fact, they felt the opposite about the situation, but they knew this would get under Levi’s skin, and regretted saying it as soon as the words left their mouth.

“Fuck you, Hanji,” Levi whimpered, and the line went dead as the man had hung up. Hanji sighed in annoyance and tossed their phone on the bed angrily, groaning into their pillow in frustration at the argument they’d just had.

“Are you okay?” Moblit asked quietly, and Hanji felt his hand on their shoulder.

They pulled away from the pillow and sucked in a deep breath, “Levi’s being fucking stupid.”

“Is it Zeke again?” Moblit inquired, Hanji having filled him in on the situation.

Hanji nodded, “He sucked Zeke’s dick and now he’s having a conniption over it. I just don’t know what to tell him anymore, you know? I can only do so much to help him. I shouldn’t have said that stuff to him, but he was getting on my fucking nerves.”

“It’s okay, honey,” Moblit said sweetly, rubbing their back gently, “I’m sure you two will work things out.”

Hanji knew they would, but how long would it be until then? They rarely fought with Levi, but when the two did fight, they would avoid each other for long periods of time. This had been one of the worse fights they’d had, and Hanji wasn’t sure when Levi would forgive them for what they’d said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Porco was busy chatting with Pieck in a library study room when Zeke came into the room. He smiled a little at his friend; they’d both been waiting for him to show up for their group study date. The three often met in the library to study together, but today Zeke looked extra happy, and Porco exchanged a glance with Pieck as the two of them wondered what had happened to make him so giddy.

“What’s up with you?” Porco asked, raising an eyebrow, “You have a stupid grin on your face.”

Zeke chuckled, taking his backpack off and sitting down, “Well, I have two very exciting things to tell you both.”

They waited in anticipation, Zeke staying silent for a moment to bask in the excited atmosphere as they waited to hear what he had to tell them. Zeke put his backpack on his lap and took out his books and his laptop.

“First, Levi agreed to date me!” Zeke exclaimed excitedly, and Porco’s eyes widened a little in some surprise.

“That’s so great, Zekey!” Pieck replied, “We’re so happy for you!”

“Yeah, that’s awesome!” Porco chimed in, “Congrats!”

Zeke was grinning stupidly, not even remembering that he’d said he had two things to tell them. He was too busy recovering from having told them the first part of the incredibly exciting news.

“So what’s the second thing?” Pieck asked curiously.

“He sucked my dick!” Zeke beamed, looking a little smug.

Pieck rolled her eyes a little, but Porco grinned and held out his hand to bro hug Zeke, “That’s my boy!”

“You two are so stupid,” Pieck muttered as she watched them hug, “And you need to be careful, Zeke. Didn’t you say you two were going to take things slow?”

“Yes,” Zeke nodded, “But we are taking things slow.”

Porco was more than thrilled for Zeke, but Pieck seemed a little more hesitant, mumbling, “That doesn’t sound like you’re taking it slow.”

“Oh, come on, Pieck,” Porco sighed in some annoyance, “Let the man be happy. He got some head, let’s just be thankful for that.”

Zeke laughed a little at what Porco said, and Pieck sucked in a deep breath, trying again, “I’m just worried that you might push him away if you do things too fast with him, you know?”

Zeke was still smiling, though, as Pieck’s concerns didn’t seem to affect him much. But deep down, Porco knew Pieck was right. From what they’d heard of him, Levi seemed very fragile, and Porco too didn’t want Zeke to run the man off.

“I know, Pieck,” Zeke agreed, “I promise I’m not going too fast. I’m only doing things he’s comfortable with; I’m not pushing him at all.”

“If you say so,” Pieck smiled softly, reaching out to take his hand, “We just don’t want to see you sad if he runs off. That’s all. We are happy for you, truly.”

Porco nodded in agreement to what Pieck was saying, “Yeah, I guess Pieck’s right.”

He didn’t want to see Zeke get hurt either, and was worried that if Zeke pushed Levi too hard, the barista would leave and then Zeke would be depressed. But this was good news, right? The two were together now, and even if Porco and Pieck were cautious about his advancements, they truly were happy for him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi was sitting in Zeke’s room on his bed, the taller man kissing at his neck and working at taking off Levi’s pants. Levi clung to him desperately and whimpered from the feeling, smiling a little as Zeke pulled away to kiss his lips gently.

“It’s your turn, baby,” Zeke murmured sensually, tugging Levi’s pants down. Levi could feel his heart pounding in excitement, but he hesitated when Zeke grabbed the hem of his boxers.

He was suddenly jolted by a memory of his first time doing sexual things with Erwin. Erwin had been so sweet and gentle with him, constantly asking if he was okay and pressing loving kisses to his face. Erwin had jerked him off for their first sexual encounter, and Levi had finished moaning Erwin’s name over and over. The man had known just what to do and was incredibly good at it. He sucked in a deep breath, coming back to the moment between him and Zeke.

Levi could feel himself getting emotional again, his anxiety getting the better of him. What the fuck? He thought in irritation, trying hard to fight back against it as he felt Zeke pulling off his boxers. The man started pumping him slowly, twisting his wrist in a circular motion as he jerked him off. Levi groaned and clung to him, his chin resting on Zeke’s shoulder. From this angle, all he could see was Zeke’s blonde hair and muscular back. Just like Erwin , he couldn’t stop himself from thinking. He knew it wasn’t right to think this, but it was almost as if he were doing this with Erwin all over again. It was almost like Erwin was with him again. He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes, and went quiet and unresponsive to Zeke’s actions. The tears were pouring down his face now, and he felt powerless to his emotions as they overwhelmed him.

Zeke stopped after a moment, pulling away from Levi and growing concerned upon seeing the tears, “Baby, why are you crying? What’s wrong?”

Levi shook his head, sniffling and rubbing his eyes, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I can’t stop thinking about him.”

Zeke frowned, knowing exactly who Levi was referring to. He took Levi’s hands into his, pressing kisses to each of them before squeezing them a little, “Levi, don’t you think Erwin would want you to enjoy yourself?”

Levi nodded, and let Zeke continue, “Then this is okay, right? He’d want you to feel pleasure; I’m sure he didn’t expect you to be celibate the rest of your life.”

Levi agreed with what Zeke was saying, and the tears were starting to subside as Zeke rubbed soothing circles into Levi’s palms with his thumbs. He sucked in a deep breath as he thought of how to explain what was going through his head.

“It’s just... Erwin, he had blonde hair and he has the same build as you, so I... I can’t help but think of him sometimes when we’re doing things, and it makes me feel so guilty,” Levi admitted sheepishly.

Zeke tapped his chin in some thought, trying to figure out what to make of what Levi had just confessed to him. He looked deep in thought for a long time, and Levi began to get worried that he’d upset him.

“Well, did Erwin have gray eyes or a beard? Did he wear glasses?” Zeke asked finally.

Levi shook his head a little, and Zeke sighed, “Then just look at me, baby. Don’t bury your face in my shoulder, don’t close your eyes, just look at me.”

Levi gave him a small, sad smile, nodding at his words. He hoped this would work. He looked up at Zeke, his Zeke, who was not Erwin. He took in the man’s facial features, distinguishing in his mind just how different the two looked. He held his breath for a moment as his eyes raked over Zeke’s face, a loving look resting there.

“Do you want to try again?” Zeke asked cautiously.

Levi thought about it. He really wanted to make things with Zeke work, and it wasn’t like he didn’t want a hand job either. Plus, the more time he spent with the man, the more trust he grew in him. He knew that Zeke would stop if he got upset again, or if it was just too much for him to handle.

“Yes,” Levi responded, his dick already starting to become hard again just from the thought of Zeke jerking him off.

Zeke smiled a little and pressed a kiss to his forehead sweetly, “I’ll go slow, okay? Just look at me, baby. Only me.”

Levi nodded and looked up at him, locking eyes with Zeke as he reached down and grasped Levi’s dick in his hand again, starting to work at him slowly. Levi whimpered at the feeling and twitched a little under Zeke’s touch, the feeling of his warm calloused hand causing sparks to shoot up his spine in pleasure. The taller man picked up the pace, pressing a deep kiss to Levi’s lips before pulling away so that the shorter man could continue looking at him.

“You doing okay, baby?” Zeke asked, continuing to twist his wrist and jerk him off.

“Y-Yeah,” Levi groaned, his hips bucking up into Zeke’s fist as his body craved the feeling of Zeke’s touch.

Zeke stopped pumping him to rub his thumb over the head, wiping away some pre-cum that had formed there. Levi moaned at the feeling and bit his lip hard as Zeke went back to pumping him at a rough pace. He could feel the pleasure building in his stomach, and he reached out to take Zeke’s free hand in his, squeezing it for comfort. Zeke squeezed back and continued to jerk him off wildly, leaning forward to press kisses all over his face.

Levi’s eyes practically rolled to the back of his head and he growled a little, “F-Fuck.”

He looked away from Zeke in embarrassment at his noises, but Zeke pulled his hand away from Levi’s to tilt his chin up so that they were looking at each other again, their eyes meeting.

“Look at me, baby,” Zeke repeated his earlier line, “Only me, remember?”

Levi nodded and whined, bucking his hips to thrust into Zeke’s fist as he felt his orgasm over the horizon. He squirmed under Zeke’s touch, crying out as he came, the hot liquid covering his stomach and Zeke’s hand. Levi whimpered as Zeke continued pumping him slowly, helping him ride out his orgasm.

“You good?” Zeke asked, letting go and reaching over to his bedside table for the tissues.

“Yeah,” Levi sighed contently, taking the tissues when Zeke handed them to him so he could clean himself up, “That was great.”

“And you... you didn’t think about him during it, did you?” Zeke asked self-consciously, looking a little worried for Levi’s answer.

Levi shook his head, smiling up at Zeke as he caressed his cheek gently, “Only you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zeke sucked on Levi’s neck hungrily, the two already-sweaty bodies grinding against each other. Their shirts were off, and Zeke was already working at unbuttoning Levi’s pants hastily. This was the fourth time they’d hung out this week, and each time they’d done something sexual together. Levi hadn’t even cried the last time, which meant he was improving. Zeke was getting antsy, and he really wanted to bang the shorter man. He had even been having dreams about doing so, and it was making him wake up every morning with a massive boner. But Zeke didn’t want to push Levi, and he wasn’t sure when a good time would be to ask him about it.

Levi helped him to get his pants and boxers down, and they began to work on getting Zeke naked next. Once they were both in the nude, Zeke pushed Levi back on the bed and straddled him, grinding their naked erections against one another and eliciting groans from both men. Levi reached up to kiss Zeke roughly, sucking on his lower lip and biting it. Zeke continued to rock their erections together, moans echoing throughout the room.

“Zeke?” Levi said as he pulled away.

“Yeah?” Zeke replied, his breathing heavy.

“Can I suck your dick?” Levi asked sheepishly, and Zeke couldn’t help but grin down at him.

“Well, I’m definitely not going to say no ,” Zeke laughed a little, laying down on the bed so they could switch positions.

Levi chuckled a little at what Zeke had said and climbed on top of him, taking Zeke’s erection and licking from the base to the tip before swirling his tongue around the head. Zeke moaned and tangled his fingers in Levi’s hair, tugging on it roughly.

“Shit,” Zeke muttered as Levi engulfed his erection in his mouth and took it as deep as he could, gagging a little. He could barely handle the sight, and his eyes rolled back a bit as Levi sucked on him eagerly and swallowed around his length, using his tongue to swirl around him. Zeke groaned and whined, his legs twitching a bit from the intense amount of pleasure he was feeling.

He was losing control fast, and he knew exactly what he wanted in that moment. As soon as Levi pulled away for air, Zeke grabbed his wrists and flipped them, pinning him to the bed and kissing him roughly.

“I want to fuck you so bad, baby,” Zeke groaned, rocking their erections together, “Can I?”

Levi cried out from the feeling and whimpered, his eyes widening in some shock at Zeke’s question. He shook his head quickly, looking a little terrified by the suddenness of Zeke’s question, along with the fact that Zeke had just flipped their positions so quickly.

“Fuck,” Zeke mumbled, feeling a little disappointed but trying to be understanding, “Okay baby.”

“I’m sorry-”

“No, don’t apologize,” Zeke smiled a little to reassure him, pressing kisses to his cheeks, “I don’t want you to feel pressured into doing anything.”

“Maybe we can next time,” Levi tried, not looking so certain about what he’d just said.

Zeke appreciated the effort, though, and he kissed Levi sweetly before asking, “Do you want to keep going?”

Levi nodded eagerly and bucked his hips up to meet Zeke’s, the taller man groaning. He let go of Levi’s wrists that he’d had pinned to the bed, wanting the man to feel as though he was able to have more control over the situation. But this had apparently been a mistake, as Zeke was suddenly flipped back onto his back, Levi climbing on top of him and rocking their erections together. He hadn’t expected Levi to take so much control, but he suspected secretly that the man was possibly a power bottom.

“You like that?” Levi growled, grinding their erections together and whining a little.

“Fuck,” Zeke groaned and bucked his hips, grinning a bit, “Yeah, baby.”

Though he enjoyed being in control, he didn’t mind letting Levi take over for a bit. He thought it was incredibly sexy to see the smaller man on top of him, bouncing on his erection and saying dirty things to him.

Levi leaned forward and pinned Zeke’s wrists above his head, kissing him roughly before whispering in a deep voice, “I’m gonna make you cum for me.”

Zeke groaned and bucked his hips a little, smirking, “Hmm, are you?”

Levi nodded and continued to bounce against Zeke’s erection, holding his hands down so that Zeke couldn’t move. Zeke could feel himself growing closer, and wanted desperately to grab onto Levi and bring him down on his erection more firmly. He struggled a little in Levi’s grasp, but the shorter man had a surprisingly strong hold on him.

“F-Fuck,” Zeke moaned, breathing heavily, “Levi, I’m gonna cum.”

Levi was panting himself as he continued to rock against Zeke. Zeke gasped and came after one particularly powerful thrust from Levi, the shorter man thrusting against him a couple more times before cumming himself. Zeke sighed happily as Levi slid off his body and went to lay down next to him, both of them breathing heavily. He glanced over at Levi, who was already busy staring at him.

Zeke was about to ask why he was staring, when Levi whispered, “Next time, okay?”

Zeke couldn’t help his heart pounding in his chest, and a grin tugged at his lips as he thought about the next time they’d get together. He was excited at the prospect of having sex with Levi, and couldn’t wait.

“Next time.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hanji was walking on campus when they ran into Zeke, crossing paths with him on their way to class. Zeke looked cheerful to see them, but Hanji was a little more hesitant. They still hadn’t made up with Levi after their fight, and seeing Zeke had reminded them of this fact.

“Hanji,” Zeke smiled, “How’s it going?”

“I’m fine,” Hanji forced a smile in return, crossing their arms, “How are you?”

“Good,” Zeke replied, not recognizing how uncomfortable Hanji clearly was. It seemed that Zeke hadn’t been informed of Levi’s fight with Hanji, and Hanji wasn’t surprised that Levi wouldn’t tell Zeke this information.

“Well,” Hanji sucked in a breath and rocked on their heels nervously, “I’ll see you-”

“Wait,” Zeke interrupted, “I actually want to ask you something.”

Hanji raised an eyebrow, looking a little confused as they wondered what he was going to ask. They knew it was probably something about Levi, and they were really dreading it. The more they thought about Levi, the more guilt they felt about the fight they’d had.

“Yes?”

“I just want to make Levi happy,” Zeke sighed a little, stuffing his hands in his pockets, “He’s been so stressed lately, and I just want to surprise him with something nice, but I’m not sure what to do.”

Hanji smiled a little, thinking this was incredibly sweet. They took a second to think, genuinely wanting to help Zeke with this problem. Even though they were upset with Levi, they still agreed that the man was stressed and needed something nice to cheer him up.

“He’ll never admit it, but he loves romance,” Hanji responded, “He loves to be spoiled and enjoys all that sappy romantic shit, even though he pretends like he doesn’t. Take him to that Italian place downtown. He’s always wanted to go there.”

Zeke smiled a little, “That’s so cute. Thanks for the advice, I think I have some ideas now.”

Hanji smiled back sadly, feeling a little upset still at the fact that Levi and them were still fighting, “Of course, Zeke. I’ll see you later, okay? I have to get to class.”

Zeke waved and they parted ways, Hanji heading to their class feeling incredibly bad for having not made up with Levi yet. They always made up, but it’d been so much longer this time that they’d spent apart, and Hanji was beginning to worry about their friendship.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi waited outside his apartment building for Zeke to pull up, having gotten a text from him saying he was almost there. The taller man had asked him if he wanted to do something together, though he hadn’t provided much detail. It’s a surprise , he’d said, and Levi couldn’t help but admit he was a little excited to find out what it was. He’d been feeling much better about their relationship recently; he’d mostly stopped getting emotional when they were together. He was reminded of Erwin every once in a while, but when he remembered Zeke’s advice to look at only him , he did so and quickly forgot about his worries.

Zeke pulled up to the building and Levi got into his car, buckling his seatbelt and greeting his boyfriend with a kiss. Zeke looked far too giddy, clearly excited about whatever surprise he had in store for Levi. He began driving, and Levi tried to guess where they were going just based on the turns he was taking.

“How are you, baby?” Zeke asked sweetly, reaching out to grab Levi’s hand and hold it in his own.

Levi squeezed his hand gently, looking out the window as he tried to figure out their destination, “I’m good. I’m curious as to where you’re taking me.”

Zeke chuckled a little, “Well, it’s a surprise. I think you’ll like it.”

Levi nodded, not sure if he would. He liked surprises, as much as he didn’t like to admit it. He thought they were sweet; it meant the person who was surprising him really put thought into whatever it was they were surprising him with. Zeke looked both nervous and excited, his hand twitching slightly in Levi’s.

They pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant, one that Levi instantly recognized. It was a fancy Italian restaurant, very expensive, that Levi had been wanting to go to for a long time. Levi immediately turned red. Is this really where he’s taking me? He thought, impressed that Zeke was not only taking him to somewhere this high-class, but also that he seemed to know that Levi had been wanting to go here. He wondered how Zeke had taken such a good guess at a restaurant; it was almost suspicious, but he was thrilled nonetheless.

“Is this the surprise?” Levi asked in some awe, “This place is expensive.”

“Don’t worry about it, love,” Zeke smiled, parking the car and getting out. Levi got out and Zeke immediately took his hand, starting to lead him to the front doors. Levi was feeling a little uneasy; he didn’t want Zeke to spend this type of money on him. But he tried to push this feeling down, wanting to enjoy the surprise Zeke had planned for them.

“How did you know I’ve always wanted to go here?” Levi asked curiously.

“Hanji told me,” Zeke admitted, and Levi felt a little guilty. He and Hanji still hadn’t made up from their fight, and he could feel his heart pounding as he thought about how sweet it was for Hanji to share this information with Zeke, even though they had fought.

“I have a reservation for Yeager,” Zeke said once he got to the front desk, and Levi was impressed that he had made reservations for them. It felt so fancy, and he couldn’t believe Zeke would do something this romantic for him. The waiter led them to their table and they sat down, starting to look through the menus.

Levi was trying not to look at the prices; he knew he’d just feel bad that way. Zeke reached across the table to take his hand, kissing it gently and interlacing their fingers. Levi looked up at him and smiled a little, enjoying the warmth radiating off Zeke’s hands.

“Do you like the surprise?” Zeke asked.

“Yes,” Levi replied, “But it’s so expensive, Zeke. I feel bad that you’re spending this kind of money on me.”

Zeke shrugged, “It’s not a big deal, babe. I want to spend this type of money on you. I want to spoil you.”

Levi blushed a little, glancing back down at the menu and trying to figure out what he wanted. He thought that was incredibly sweet, but he tried not to let on to it. He didn’t need Zeke’s ego to know how much he was enjoying being spoiled like this.

“You’re too much,” Levi mumbled, Zeke chuckling in response.

“Should we get a bottle of wine?” Zeke asked as he paged through the menu, “They have a good selection here.”

“You’ve been here before?” Levi wondered aloud, pausing before he answered, “We can get a bottle of wine if you want.”

“What wine do you like? You pick,” Zeke insisted, handing Levi the wine list on the table.

Levi didn’t really know all that much about wine, but he took the list anyways, starting to look through the different wines. He knew he liked red wine, and focused on those as he read through the fancy names of the wines they had.

“Um... can we just get a Merlot?” Levi asked, handing the list back to Zeke, “I don’t know much about wine, sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Zeke took the list back and glanced over them, the waiter coming back to take their drink orders. Zeke requested the wine and the waiter walked off. Levi looked up from his menu to see Zeke giving him a loving look, and he blushed a little, smiling softly in his direction.

The waiter soon brought them the wine bottle and poured two glasses full, setting the bottle down and taking their food orders. After the waiter walked away, Levi squeezed his hand gently.

“Thank you for bringing me here,” he said quietly.

“Of course,” Zeke replied, squeezing his hand back.

Levi looked around the restaurant, his heart swelling with happiness. It’d been so long since he’d been treated to a date like this. In fact, the last time he’d been on a restaurant date was with Erwin. Levi reminisced about his last date with Erwin. He’d taken Levi to a steakhouse downtown. Levi remembered being incredibly touched, as he knew Erwin must’ve had to save up a lot of money to take him there. That was the date when he knew for sure that Erwin was the one for him. Levi smiled when he thought about how nervous Erwin had been, wanting everything to be perfect. Erwin insisted on being ridiculously romantic: he held Levi’s car door open for him, pulled out his seat, held his hand.

Levi couldn’t help but feel like this date was incredibly similar, and he was extremely grateful to Zeke for bringing him here. Though he was a little emotional about Erwin, he looked back on those memories fondly, and it truly made him happy to be given a second chance at love. He looked up at Zeke, admiring just how handsome he was. He’d been so patient with Levi and his emotional turmoil; so kind and loving. Levi knew he must’ve really cared to treat him so sweetly, and to take him on a date like this? Levi could feel the emotions churning in his stomach as he sighed contently, some tears forming in his eyes. Maybe Zeke was the one for him.

Zeke noticed the tears and frowned, squeezing his hand, “Are you okay? Did I do something wrong?”

Levi shook his head quickly, wiping at his eyes and smiling at him, “I’m really happy. This just reminds me of a date I went on with Erwin.”

Zeke was still frowning, “Oh.”

He probably didn’t want to hear that, Levi realized, and quickly tried to recover the situation, “It’s just... I was thinking about how happy I was... and how happy I am now. With you.”

Zeke smiled a little, bringing Levi’s hand to his lips and kissing it gently, “That’s so sweet, baby. I’m so glad you’re happy.”

Levi smiled back, “ You make me happy.”

“You make me happy too.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi and Zeke sat on Levi’s bed, as Levi had invited Zeke upstairs when he went to drop him off after their date at the restaurant. They were cuddling, exchanging kisses every once in a while as they shared this loving, intimate moment together.

“I love your smile,” Zeke said softly, running his fingers through Levi’s hair.

“Thanks,” Levi replied, looking a little embarrassed, “I love your laugh.”

Zeke couldn’t help but grin at this response, pressing a sweet kiss to Levi’s lips, “I love when you look pissed off. It’s adorable.”

Levi rolled his eyes a little, “Shut up.”

“Aww, but I was enjoying the little game we were playing,” Zeke chuckled, pulling Levi closer.

Levi pouted, burying his face into Zeke’s chest as he grumbled, “I love your stupid face.”

Zeke grinned and laughed, thinking Levi was incredibly cute when he was all grumpy. He rubbed Levi’s back gently, feeling thankful for the fact that Levi seemed so much more comfortable around him now.

“Did you have a good time tonight?” Zeke asked.

“Yeah,” Levi replied, “It was amazing. The food was delicious, and my date was incredibly handsome.”

Zeke could feel himself blushing, but a smile crossed his face, “Aww, thanks.”

He was surprised to feel Levi’s hands wander to his pants, unbuttoning them and sticking his hand inside to grasp his dick. He glanced up at Zeke with an innocent look, and Zeke could feel his dick twitch from the contact.

“You horny, baby?” Zeke asked, groaning quietly as Levi began to pump him, nodding eagerly to Zeke’s question.

“Shit,” Zeke whined a little, allowing Levi to jerk him off for a few more seconds before he pulled Levi’s hand out of his pants and climbed on top of him, kissing him forcefully and grinding their hips together. Zeke could feel the excitement coursing through his veins. Next time , was what Levi had said the last time they were together like this. This was their ‘next time’. Zeke’s erection was pulsing with blood the more he thought about having sex with Levi, and he was kissing Levi with all the energy this was giving him.

But he was still cautious. He didn’t want to push Levi, and maybe the shorter man still wasn’t ready. He shouldn’t get his hopes up, right? Zeke didn’t want this to end up with Levi having another meltdown, after all. He began kissing and sucking at Levi’s neck, feeling the shorter man cling to him and grasp at his back as Zeke continued the thrusts of their clothed erections.

Zeke rid Levi of his shirt and began kissing down his collarbone and his chest, taking a moment to lick at his nipple before he moved down to his stomach. Levi groaned and dropped his fingers to Zeke’s hair, watching in some amazement as Zeke continued his journey down, until he was face to face with Levi’s clear erection tenting in his pants.

Zeke glanced up at Levi, seeing the eager look on his face. The shorter man was twitching in anticipation and need, and Zeke worked quickly to undo his pants and pull them down in one swoop, along with his boxers. Levi whined as his erection hit the cold air, biting his lip as he stared down at Zeke. He licked from the base to the head before engulfing him in his mouth, a loud groan escaping Levi’s mouth as he tugged on Zeke’s hair. Zeke began bobbing his head, taking him deeper and sucking hard on his erection as he moved his head up and down. Levi was gripping his hair roughly, pulling at it hard as he whimpered from Zeke’s actions. Zeke was feeling a little smug for making Levi lose control like this, and he continued to take his erection further down until he felt the head hitting the back of his throat.

“ Zeke ,” Levi breathed, panting hard as Zeke continued.

Zeke groaned around his length and grasped at Levi’s ass, groping the skin with his hands as he continued to bob his head faster on Levi’s dick. Levi cried out from the feeling, tugging Zeke’s locks hard.

“Z-Zeke,” Levi whimpered, “Can... Can we...”

Zeke pulled away to whisper in a husky voice, “Can we what , baby?”

Levi groaned as Zeke took his erection back into his mouth, asking sheepishly, “Can we fuck?”

Zeke pulled away again, a grin on his face as he nodded in response to Levi’s question, “Of course, love. Do you have lube, condoms?”

Levi nodded, taking a moment to catch his breath before he leaned over the bed and retrieved the items from his bedside table drawer, handing them to Zeke. Zeke coated his fingers with the lube and watched with lust-heavy eyes as Levi lay on his back, spreading his legs open for his lover.

“Fuck,” Zeke muttered, positioning himself between Levi’s legs and tapping his thigh when he didn’t have enough room, “Spread them wider for me, baby.”

Levi spread his legs a little wider, a nervous look on his face. Zeke knew this was probably a lot for him to handle right now, and he leaned down to press a gentle, reassuring kiss to Levi’s lips before he sat back up and got comfortable between Levi’s legs. He circled a finger around Levi’s entrance, watching the shorter man squirm a little from the coldness of the lube, before he pushed his finger in gently.

Levi gasped a little from the intrusion and moaned quietly, already clearly enjoying himself, as he pushed himself back against Zeke’s finger. Zeke leaned over him, swirling his tongue around one of Levi’s nipples before taking it into his mouth and nibbling on it lightly. He glanced up at Levi, who was panting from Zeke’s actions. Zeke added a second finger, pumping them in and out gently at first before picking up the pace and starting to thrust them a little more wildly into him. He sucked on Levi’s nipple before pulling away to lick at it, watching the shorter man squirming and losing control underneath him.

“Oh god,” Levi whined, and Zeke could feel his dick twitching, both from Levi’s noises and from anticipation of what they were about to do.

Zeke added a third finger and curled them up, grinding them roughly against Levi’s prostate and eliciting a cry from the shorter man. Levi was bouncing back determinedly against Zeke’s fingers. Zeke could move his fingers inside the man fairly easily now, and he knew that Levi was ready. He pulled his fingers out and grabbed the condom, ripping it open. His hands were shaking with excitement, and he barely managed to roll the condom on. He kneeled in between Levi’s legs, and Levi draped his legs over Zeke’s thighs, watching Zeke carefully as he waited to be breached.

Zeke rubbed the head of his dick against Levi’s hole roughly before he started to push in slowly, wanting to give Levi the chance to get used to him. He glanced up at Levi as he continued to push in, the shorter man’s mouth hanging open as if he wanted to cry out, but no noise was coming out. Levi’s cheeks were red, his eyes half-lidded with lust. Zeke groaned a little, both from the feeling of Levi’s warmth around him and from the look Levi had on his face. He pushed in until his balls were flush against Levi’s ass, and Levi looked like he might orgasm right then and there, his mouth still hanging open.

“Fuck,” Zeke moaned, “You feel so good, baby.”

Levi whimpered, his knuckles white as he dug his fingers into the sheets underneath him, “Z-Zeke. Move. Please .”

Zeke didn’t have to be told twice. He pulled out almost all the way and pushed back in slowly, groaning and gripping Levi’s hips in his fingers. He took a second to catch his breath before he began moving at a steady pace, watching Levi’s dick twitch against his stomach from the pleasure. He was losing control fast, and began snapping his hips into Levi at a faster pace, the shorter man crying out and moaning from the feeling. He continued at this pace, pleasure coursing through his veins as he grasped Levi’s hips roughly in his calloused fingers.

“W-Wait,” Levi whined, and Zeke slowed to a stop, looking down at him worriedly.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” Levi replied, trying to catch his breath before he asked, “Can I ride you?”

Zeke stared down at him for a moment before nodding quickly, not at all opposed to the idea. He went to switch places with Levi, the shorter man climbing on top of him and grasping Zeke’s dick in his hand. He positioned Zeke’s erection at his entrance and sunk down on it slowly, gasping a little from the feeling. He placed his hands on Zeke’s stomach and started bouncing on his erection. Zeke groaned and placed his hands on Levi’s thighs, running his fingers up and down his inner thighs gently.

“Z-Zeke,” he groaned, bouncing a little more wildly as he panted loudly, his cheeks dusted red from their activities.

“ Fuck ,” Zeke growled, reaching his hand around to smack Levi’s ass hard, which earned him a loud moan from the shorter man as he continued to grind down faster against Zeke’s erection. Zeke couldn’t handle the sight of Levi like this: his eyes rolling back in his head, his face red, and his mouth open as he breathed heavily and let out erotic noises every once in a while. Zeke snapped his eyes shut and tried to focus on the pleasure that was pulsing in his dick, building in his stomach.

When he opened his eyes again, Levi’s face was stained with tears, causing Zeke some alarm. But the shorter man hadn’t stopped his actions, and was still bouncing on Zeke’s erection as fast as he could.

“Baby, baby, wait,” Zeke stopped him, putting a hand on his chest gently, “You’re crying.”

“I don’t care,” Levi whined, the tears continuing to roll down his cheeks.

“Baby,” Zeke tried again, “We can’t just have sex while you’re crying.”

Levi shook his head, wiping at the tears quickly and pulling Zeke’s hand away from his chest, “I want to keep going.”

With that, Levi was rocking on his erection again, lifting himself off Zeke’s dick and slamming back down on him again with a groan. Zeke was so confused by whatever the hell was going through Levi’s head, but the pleasure overtook him, and he was starting to not care that Levi still had tears rolling down his cheeks. He knew the man was emotional, he probably couldn’t help it. And if he wanted to continue, who was Zeke to tell him he couldn’t just because he was a little tearful?

“Shit,” Zeke groaned, moving his hands up to grip Levi’s hips and keep him in place, thrusting up into him at a desperately wild pace. Levi gasped and cried out, moaning and holding onto Zeke’s arms. His fingers dug into Zeke’s skin as the man continued to slam into him as fast as he could.

“ Fuck! ” Levi panted loudly, the tears still staining his face, “I’m so close, Zeke. I’m so close - don’t stop! Don’t stop! ”

“Shh, baby, I won’t stop,” Zeke whispered huskily, continuing his assault of thrusts on Levi as the shorter man practically shrieked, white liquid spilling out of him and covering his stomach and Zeke’s chest. Zeke moaned from the sight and pumped into him a few more times before he too came, watching Levi lift himself off carefully and collapse next to him.

“Shit,” Zeke tried to catch his breath, remembering that Levi had been crying and turning to look at him. Levi’s chest was heaving from their activities, his eyes red from his previous tears.

“Are you okay?” Zeke asked, “We should’ve stopped, I’m sorry-”

“I’m fine,” Levi insisted, smiling a little, “I just got emotional. It’s been a long time.”

Zeke nodded, knowing that Levi had probably been thinking about Erwin. It didn’t bother him, though. Erwin wasn’t here; he wasn’t a threat. After all, Zeke was the fortunate one; he was the one who could still kiss Levi, touch Levi, and be romantic with him. Erwin couldn’t. He reached out and pulled Levi close, pressing kisses all over his face. Levi smiled a little, the last of his tears rolling down his cheeks. Zeke wiped them away, pressing a deep, loving kiss to Levi’s lips. Levi kissed back, and the two parted after a moment, just resting in each other’s arms. A giddy feeling filled Zeke’s chest, and he couldn’t help but grin as he held Levi close, sighing contently.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi was leaving work, walking home, when he ran into Hanji about a block away from his apartment. Hanji was out on a walk themselves, their hands in their pockets and their earbuds in, listening to music. Levi stopped in his tracks, just staring at Hanji, and Hanji did the same.

“Hi,” Hanji said quietly, removing an earbud and pausing their music.

“Hey,” Levi replied awkwardly, swallowing thickly. He felt awful about their fight, but part of him was still annoyed with his friend for what they’d said to him. The two just looked at each other for a while, before Levi remembered something he’d wanted to say to Hanji.

“I... I want to say thank you,” Levi murmured.

Hanji raised an eyebrow, “Thank you? What for?”

“For telling Zeke about the restaurant,” Levi explained, “It was an amazing date. I really needed that. So thank you.”

A small smile crossed Hanji’s face briefly in recognition, “Oh, of course. I’m glad you had a good time.”

Levi was still frowning, though, and Hanji quickly went back to frowning as well. They stood there awkwardly, neither one of them really knowing what to say. Erwin had always been the middle man whenever they fought; he’d been the one who would bring them back together, force them to talk to each other about their disagreements. Without Erwin there, it was difficult to know what to do.

“I’m sorry,” Levi blurted, much to Hanji’s apparent surprise.

“No,” Hanji sighed, shaking their head, “ I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things to you.”

“I shouldn’t keep burdening you with my problems,” Levi admitted, shoving his hands in his pockets sheepishly as he looked away, “I know you’re trying your best, and I shouldn’t have blown up at you.”

“It’s okay, Levi,” Hanji smiled sadly, taking a step towards him, “I forgive you.”

“Yeah, I forgive you too,” Levi replied, looking up at them and allowing a small smile to form on his face.

Hanji stepped forwards again, and Levi thought they were going in for a hug, but was a little shocked when he felt Hanji whack him on the arm. He gasped a little and rubbed his arm, glaring up at them.

“What the hell was that for?!” Levi asked in annoyance.

“For being an asshole earlier,” Hanji explained, grinning a little. Levi rolled his eyes a little, supposing he might’ve deserved that. He had been kind of an asshole. Levi raised his fist to do the same to Hanji, thinking they probably deserved a hit too for what they’d said to him. Hanji winced as they braced themselves, but Levi hesitated. He sighed heavily and dropped his fist, wrapping his arms around Hanji’s waist and hugging them close.

“Aww, Levi!” Hanji grinned, hugging him back.

“Shut up or I will punch you,” Levi threatened, pulling away after a moment.

They were both smiling at each other now, and Levi knew that things would be okay between them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are you sure this is going to go okay?” Levi asked nervously, climbing into Zeke’s car.

Zeke chuckled at Levi’s nervousness, “It’ll be fine. They’ll love you.”

Levi wasn’t so sure. He was about to meet Zeke’s dad, stepmom, and half brother. And saying he was nervous was an understatement. With Erwin, he’d only had to meet his mom, as his father had passed away when he was younger. So this wasn’t his first time doing the whole ‘meeting the family’ thing, but there were definitely more people to impress this time. Plus, Erwin’s mom had been incredibly sweet to him, and even after he died, they still kept in touch from time to time. He wasn’t sure how Zeke’s family would be. What if they were assholes? Levi tried not to think about this as Zeke began to drive towards his parent’s house. They lived just outside the city in the suburbs, and Levi could already guess they probably lived in a nice house, just judging on the fact that he knew Zeke’s dad was a doctor who was paying for Zeke’s grad school costs.

“What are they like?” Levi asked curiously, pulling the sun visor down so he could look in the mirror at himself. He wanted to make sure he made the perfect first impression, so he needed to look good.

“Well, my dad’s a little intense, to be honest,” Zeke admitted, getting on the highway and speeding up, “But my stepmom is super nice. My half brother is a teenager, so he’s fun, but he can be a little angsty sometimes.”

Levi nodded, not exactly liking all the parts of his answer. Intense? He thought to himself, What’s that supposed to mean? The closer they got to his parent’s house, the more Levi was beginning to feel nervous, as if he hadn’t been nervous already.

“Levi, chill,” Zeke chuckled, “Don’t worry about it. It’ll go fine.”

“Okay,” Levi said, though he didn’t entirely believe him. So much could go wrong, and he just wanted to make a good impression. He couldn’t care less about the teenage brother, but he specifically wanted to impress Zeke’s dad, who he suspected was tough to please.

Zeke pulled up to his parent’s house, and Levi had been right. It was a two-story contemporary home, fairly big and expensive looking. Levi was feeling even more uneasy as Zeke parked in the driveway and got out, going to the passenger side and opening the door for Levi. He got out and shut the door, taking Zeke’s hand for comfort. Zeke smiled down at him and led him to the front door, flipping through his keys and unlocking the door. He pushed it open, and Levi was starting to feel out of place as he took in the expensive look of the place. Zeke shut the door behind them and locked it, glancing down at Levi and noticing his intimidated look.

“Babe, take a deep breath,” Zeke advised, “It’ll be okay.”

Levi nodded and sucked in a deep breath, seeing a young boy walking in between rooms. He paused when he saw the two of them standing there, and smiled upon seeing Zeke. Levi guessed this had to be Zeke’s half brother.

“Zeke!” he called out, walking over and enveloping his brother in a hug.

Zeke grinned and hugged back, “Hey Eren. How’s it going?”

Eren pulled away, crossing his arms, “Not great. Dad’s in a bad mood and I don’t know why.”

Zeke frowned a little, “Great.”

Fuck , Levi thought, not liking that their dad was apparently not in a good mood right now. Things would be much more difficult for him now, and he could almost feel himself sweating as he waited for Zeke to introduce him to his brother. He squeezed Zeke’s hand to get his attention.

“Eren,” Zeke smiled, “This is Levi, my boyfriend.”

Eren smiled sheepishly at Levi and held out his hand awkwardly, “Hi Levi.”

Levi shook his hand, not particularly a fan of teenagers. They were so annoying and rude. But he tried to remind himself that he too had been a teenager once, and that maybe Eren was different.

“Hi Eren,” he greeted him, pulling his hand away.

“I think mom’s in the kitchen,” Eren explained, smiling between the two of them, “Dad’s downstairs in his office, but he’ll be up soon.”

Zeke nodded a little, thanking Eren and started to lead Levi towards the kitchen. They entered the room, a pleasant smell entering Levi’s nose. It smelled like fish, and Zeke’s stepmom was at the stove cooking salmon. She looked up when they entered the kitchen, and grinned at the sight of them.

“Hi Zeke!” she walked over and enveloped him in a hug, much like Eren had done, “I missed you so much!”

Zeke blushed a little from the attention and smiled, hugging her back, “Hi Carla. I missed you too.”

She pulled away and held his face in her hands, smiling up at him happily before she turned to Levi, “You must be Levi! Zeke’s told us all about you!”

Levi couldn’t help his face turning red, and he smiled at her, holding out his hand, “Nice to meet you.”

“You can call me Carla,” she said, shaking his hand gently. Her smile was incredibly sweet, and Levi was instantly reminded of Erwin’s mom. Carla seemed very warm and homey, much like Erwin’s mom was.

“Nice to meet you, Carla,” Levi tried again, and Carla let go of his hand.

“Excuse me, boys, I have to keep cooking,” she said as she went back to the stove, “Zeke, your father should be up in a minute. Dinner is almost done. Can you go to the cellar and get some wine for us?”

Zeke nodded and left for the cellar, and Levi looked around to see if there was anything he could help with. He didn’t like feeling unhelpful, and he wanted to impress Carla with his ability to be extremely clean and a decent cook.

“Can I do anything to help?” Levi asked quietly, trying not to sound too nervous.

Carla smiled at him, “You’re too sweet. If you could get out some wine glasses. They’re in the left cupboard above the sink. We’ll need five of them - Eren can have a little too. The dining room is next door.”

Levi nodded and went to grab the wine glasses, going into the dining room and placing them next to each of the plates. Just as he finished placing them, Zeke was coming in behind him, opening the wine bottle. He started to pour the wine, and Eren entered the room, going to sit at one of the spots.

When Zeke got to Eren’s glass, he poured him a smaller portion. Eren frowned, “Can’t you pour me more?”

Zeke laughed a little, “No, Eren.”

“ Zeeekkkeee ,” Eren pouted, “Please?”

Zeke sighed a little at his brother, pouring him a full glass. Levi rolled his eyes a little as he watched the teenager take two huge sips, not wanting his parents to see how much Zeke had poured him. Zeke chuckled at Eren before finishing up pouring the wine, setting the bottle down. Levi went to sit next to Eren, Zeke sitting down directly across from him. Carla soon entered with the dishes, setting them on the table and running back to the kitchen to grab more food. That’s when Zeke’s dad entered the room, and Levi almost couldn’t believe the resemblance between Zeke and his father. Though his dad had darker and longer hair, they had similar faces and eyes, and the fact that both of them had beards wasn’t helping to distinguish them.

Zeke tensed as his dad entered the room; Levi could see his entire body physically tense up. He frowned a little, and he could tell that Zeke’s dad had an incredible effect on him just from simply walking in the room.

“Zeke,” his dad greeted him simply.

“Hi Dad,” Zeke replied, and Levi was surprised that the two didn’t even get up to hug or shake hands or anything . Zeke had been gone at college, not visiting for at least a month, didn’t his father miss him?

Zeke snapped out of his tense demeanor and motioned to Levi, “Um, Dad? This is my boyfriend, Levi.”

His father’s eyes landed on Levi, and Levi could feel himself sweating as the strict man’s eyes scanned him carefully before he reached across the table to shake his hand, “Hello, Levi. I’m Grisha.”

“Nice to meet you,” Levi replied, taking the man’s hand and getting a firm handshake from him. He pulled his hand away, watching Grisha sit down at the end of the table. Carla rushed back into the room with the last of the dishes and set them down, sitting next to Zeke as she instructed everyone to dig into the food.

Eren didn’t hesitate, immediately stabbing a piece of salmon and putting it on his plate. They started passing the dishes around, filling their plates with food. Levi was watching Zeke and Grisha cautiously - the two seemed to be silently giving each other looks for some reason or another. Grisha didn’t exactly seem friendly, and Levi was reminded that Eren had said he was in a bad mood.

“So, how did you two meet?” Carla asked, and Levi felt thankful for the break in silence. He looked at Zeke to answer, feeling incredibly shy.

“He works at the coffee shop on campus,” Zeke explained, “We met there.”

Carla smiled, “How sweet. Are you in grad school too, Levi?”

Levi nodded, “Y-Yeah. I’m going for sociology.”

Grisha was staring him down, he could feel the man’s eyes on him, and he wondered if sociology was a profession Grisha disapproved of. He seemed to be the type of man who had an idea of what the definition of success was and what it wasn’t, and Levi became worried that sociology probably didn’t fit that mold.

“That’s great!” Carla replied, going back to eating her food.

“So, Eren, where’s your little girlfriend?” Zeke teased, and Eren immediately went red.

“Shut up!” Eren protested, “And her name’s Mikasa.”

Levi raised an eyebrow, “Mikasa... Ackerman?”

Eren nodded, and Levi suddenly was putting all the dots together. His cousin, Mikasa, did say she was dating someone new, but he didn’t realize it was Zeke’s brother . He hadn’t seen his cousin in a minute, but even so he felt some need to protect her as the older cousin.

“That’s my cousin,” Levi said with narrowed eyes, and Eren’s widened in response.

“Oh,” Eren replied, sensing Levi’s overprotective nature and looking a little worried.

“What a small world,” Carla said, either not sensing the atmosphere or just not acknowledging it.

Zeke and Grisha were still having their silent war, as neither of them had spoken in a couple of minutes, just eating their food. Levi glanced between them nervously as the silence grew.

“Ezekiel,” Grisha suddenly said in a strong voice, and Levi watched Zeke jump a little in his chair from his full name being used, his eyes widening in worry. Levi didn’t like this - the effect Zeke’s father had on him. The man was 25 for fuck’s sake, why did his father have such a hold on him?

“Yeah?” Zeke replied, the room’s atmosphere growing tense as he looked down the table at his dad.

“Your grades came in the mail this morning,” Grisha explained, and Zeke’s eyes flashed with some fear, “Why aren’t you getting straight A’s?”

Zeke stared at him, his mouth opening and closing as he didn’t know what to say. Eren’s eyes were also a little wide, staring down at his plate, as he clearly wanted to stay far away from the conversation that was happening. Carla was also quiet, and Levi wondered if anyone would come to Zeke’s rescue.

“I... I mean, I only got two B+’s,” Zeke frowned, “The rest were A’s.”

“It was one B+, one B, and two A-’s,” Grisha corrected him, “Do you think that’s acceptable, Zeke?”

Levi was feeling incredibly uncomfortable, but he felt worse for Zeke, who looked terrified by his father’s confrontation. His hands were shaking, and he looked like a small child who was being scolded for drawing on the walls.

“Dad,” Zeke tried, “I-”

“In the hall,” Grisha ordered, getting up, “ Now .”

Grisha walked out of the dining room, and Zeke sucked in a deep breath, not saying anything as he got up and followed his father into the hallway, shutting the door behind him. Carla, Eren, and Levi sat there awkwardly for a moment, before Carla got up and mumbled about needing to get something from the kitchen. She left the room, and now Levi was alone with the annoying teenager who was dating his cousin. The two continued to eat in silence, and it wasn’t long before Levi could hear yelling in the hallway.

“You’re distracted , Zeke!” Grisha yelled, “I told you that having a boyfriend would wreck your grades!”

Levi tensed up. He knew Grisha wouldn’t like him. He just had a bad feeling about it.

“Dad, this has nothing to do with Levi!” Zeke tried, “It’s my fault! Not his!”

“You’re right,” Grisha growled, “This is your fault! And if you don’t get your shit together, I’m cutting you off!”

Levi flinched a little from the threat, and Eren sighed loudly next to him.

“This happens a lot,” Eren explained, guzzling the rest of his wine, “Better get used to it if you want to date Zeke. Dad is what would usually run off Zeke’s boyfriends in the past. I don’t think he’d blame you if you wanted to leave him after this.”

Levi frowned, feeling bad for Zeke. He definitely didn’t want to leave him, especially not after all the shit Zeke had helped him through. He was realizing now that he wasn’t the only one with a difficult life.

“It’s fine,” Levi said shortly, watching Eren reach for the wine bottle to refill his glass and smacking his hand away, “Hey! Stop it, you’re literally a child.”

Eren frowned and rolled his eyes, “Fine, and just know I warned you.”

“I don’t even want to be a doctor, Dad!” Zeke finally shouted, and Eren’s eyes widened in some shock.

“Oh fuck,” Eren muttered, “That’s not gonna go well.”

Levi frowned and heard a loud smash, causing him to jump a little. He went to get up, worried that Zeke was getting hurt, but Eren grabbed his wrist, “Don’t get in the middle of it, it’ll only make it worse.”

“Is he hurting Zeke?” Levi asked, tugging his wrist away.

“No,” Eren replied, “He just threw something. He’s never laid a hand on Zeke before.”

“You what?! ” Levi heard Grisha say loudly, and he hesitantly went to sit back down, “After all I’ve done for you - you’re just giving up?! I’ve been paying for your school, Zeke! Are you really that ungrateful?!”

“You forced me into med school, Dad!” Zeke argued, his voice sounding weak and scared, “I didn’t even get a choice!”

“ Listen to me! ” Grisha’s voice boomed throughout the hallway, vibrating through the dining room, “You’re staying in med school, and you’re going to get straight A’s next quarter. If you drop out or your grades drop, you’re done. You won’t get a cent out of me. So if I were you, I’d stop this silly relationship, break up with him, and focus .”

There was silence after that, and Levi could feel his heart racing angrily. He wanted so badly to get up and go into the hallway, to scream at Zeke’s dad and tell him what an asshole he was. But he just sat there, glued to the spot, almost in shock at what was happening. Plus, Eren had said it would only be worse if he intervened, and he definitely didn’t want to make things worse.

The door opened, and Zeke walked in quickly, his head down. He grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair and started putting it on, “Levi, let’s go.”

“Zeke, are you-”

“ Let’s go ,” Zeke repeated firmly, not looking at Levi as he muttered goodbye to his brother and headed for the door.

“Bye Zeke,” Eren replied, giving him a sad look as he watched him go.

Levi got up and followed Zeke out, the two of them heading back to the car and getting in. Zeke started to drive, and the two of them sat in silence, Zeke gripping the wheel so hard his knuckles were turning white. He was incredibly tense, a stressed look on his face as he drove back towards Levi’s apartment. Levi didn’t want to push him to find out how he was feeling, and left the silence alone for the moment, glancing at Zeke every once in a while to see how he was doing.

Zeke suddenly pulled over on the side of the highway and put the car in park, his breathing ragged.

“Is everything okay?” Levi asked, and Zeke didn’t answer, still gripping the wheel tightly, before he let out a loud yell and punched the dashboard. Levi watched as he placed his head in his hands, his whole body shaking.

Levi reached out cautiously and placed a hand on his back, “Zeke... are you okay?”

“Do I look okay?!” Zeke snapped, and when he looked up at Levi, his face was strewn with tears.

Levi’s heart immediately skipped, a nauseous feeling in his stomach from seeing his boyfriend so upset. He wrapped his arms around him and held him, whispering, “It’s okay, Zeke. It’ll be okay.”

Zeke was trembling, clearly shaken up from the fight with his dad. Levi could feel the wet tears soaking his shirt, and Zeke was hugging him back tightly, almost like a scared child. He sniffled and let out a quiet sob, Levi rubbing his back gently.

“It’s just hard,” Zeke sniffled, finally letting go of Levi after a minute and pulling away as he wiped away his tears, “He has such high expectations and no matter what I do I never meet them. He can never just be happy for me.”

“I’m so sorry, Zeke,” Levi frowned, reaching up to wipe the new tears that were running down his boyfriend’s face, “It’s wrong of him to expect so much out of you. Does he do this with Eren, too?”

Zeke shook his head, “No, or at least not as bad. He has expectations for Eren, but he’s not as strict. I think it’s because Carla would chop his head off if he talked to Eren the way he talks to me.”

“Why doesn’t she stand up for you?” Levi wondered.

“It’s not her place,” Zeke shrugged, “She’s tried to, but Dad says I’m not her kid, so she doesn’t have a say.”

Levi nodded in understanding, sighing a little as he took all this in. He leaned over and pressed a couple of kisses to Zeke’s face, holding his face in his hands gently as he did so. He smiled sadly up at him.

“I should’ve stepped in,” Levi said quietly, “I’m sorry.”

“No,” Zeke replied quickly, “It’s a good thing you didn’t. I’m lucky Dad didn’t forbid me from seeing you.”

“Zeke, you’re 25 years old,” Levi emphasized, “You don’t have to do what your dad tells you.”

“But I need his money, Levi,” Zeke explained, “How am I supposed to afford rent for that house I live in? My car insurance? School? He pays for everything, Levi. Even if I got a full time job, I wouldn’t be able to pay for all that on my own.”

Levi frowned, knowing he was right. It truly did feel like Zeke was stuck in this situation, and Levi didn’t really know how to help. All he knew was that he did not like Grisha, and he no longer cared about trying to impress the man. He’d get back at him somehow for how he treated Zeke.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was about a week after the incident with Zeke’s dad, and Levi was still incredibly pissed off about what Grisha had said to his son. He had been mulling over how to get back at the old man, and he knew just the person to call. He searched through his contacts and clicked on the name, putting the phone to his ear and hearing the dial tone.

“This better be good,” he heard from the other end.

“Hi Kenny,” Levi frowned, not particularly excited about having to contact his uncle.

“What’s up?” Kenny replied, sounding disinterested in whatever Levi had to say to him.

“I need a favor,” Levi said, leaning back in his desk chair, “I need you to have a talk with someone for me.”

“And who would that be?” Kenny asked.

“Grisha Yeager,” Levi replied, “Don’t hurt him, just rough him up a bit for me.”

“And what connection do you have to Grisha Yeager?” Kenny wondered, apparently knowing the man.

Levi frowned. He hadn’t wanted to admit this, but he mumbled, “He’s my boyfriend’s dad. He’s a dick.”

“ Boyfriend?! ” Kenny cackled, “Wow, Levi. Didn’t realize you went soft.”

“I’m not soft,” Levi grumbled, already regretting having started this conversation with his uncle. But he knew Kenny would have his back. He owed him for the multiple times Levi had been dragged down to the police station to be questioned about some illegal thing Kenny had done; Levi had covered for him every time. So every once in a while, when someone was really bothering Levi, he would call up Kenny.

“Fine,” Kenny said, still laughing, “And what exactly did he do wrong?”

Levi explained what had happened the other night at dinner, and became extremely annoyed when he heard Kenny chuckling on the other end, “You went to meet the parents?! Damn, this must be serious. What happened? I thought you were still hung up on that other guy... the one who died - what was his name?”

“Erwin,” Levi said with gritted teeth, “Can you stop making fun of me and just do the job?”

“Alright, alright,” Kenny replied, “I’ll get it done.”

“And seriously, don’t hurt him,” Levi said, “Zeke would be pissed if I sent someone to beat up his dad.”

“Fine, I’ll be careful,” Kenny muttered, sounding a little disappointed that he couldn’t do some real damage.

“Good,” Levi replied, hanging up the phone. He set it down on his desk and smiled a little, knowing things with Zeke’s dad would soon be cleared up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi sat in Zeke’s living room sipping tea while Zeke was busy working on a paper for his class. They’d mostly been sitting next to each other in silence, Levi leaning on Zeke’s shoulder and snuggling up to him occasionally. Zeke set his computer aside, wrapping an arm around Levi and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. Levi sighed contently and set down his tea on the coffee table before climbing into Zeke’s lap, straddling him.

Zeke immediately placed his hands on Levi’s hips and tugged him closer, Levi leaning down and kissing him deeply. The two stayed like that for a moment, exchanging sweet kisses and gently rubbing their tongues together. Levi could feel himself growing aroused as he pressed his hips against Zeke’s and rubbed up against him.

“Baby,” Zeke pulled away, “Don’t tease me, you know I don’t have time to mess around right now.”

Levi pouted a little and began rubbing Zeke’s chest with one hand, “But baaabe , I want you.”

Zeke couldn’t hold back his smirk, and he leaned up to kiss Levi again, “You’ll just have to wait. I really need to get this paper done.”

Levi sighed and pressed a couple kisses to his neck, “But you deserve a break.”

Zeke groaned quietly from his actions and gently pushed him away, “No, baby. Not right now.”

Levi nodded, slowly getting off his lap and going back to snuggling up to him. But just as Zeke wrapped his arm around his boyfriend, his phone began to ring, and Levi watched Zeke grab his phone from his pocket.

His face immediately paled, and Levi asked, “Who is it?”

“It’s my dad,” Zeke said quietly, “I have to take this. Hold on.”

Levi frowned, not liking the look on Zeke’s face. He wondered if Kenny had talked to Zeke’s dad yet, and was curious as to what Zeke’s father was even calling for in the first place. Zeke got up shakily and picked up the call, heading towards the other room.

“Hi dad,” Levi heard him say, “What’s up?”

Zeke’s voice trailed off as he went into the kitchen, and Levi was almost waiting for the shouting match to begin. He went on his phone and got lost in his Twitter timeline for a good five minutes before Zeke re-entered the room, looking paler than before. Levi wondered what the hell his dad said this time that made him so sick-looking. Zeke sat down next to Levi with widened eyes, not looking at his boyfriend.

“What’d he say?” Levi asked curiously, reaching out his hand cautiously to place it on Zeke’s knee.

“He... He apologized,” Zeke said quietly, as if he were in shock, “He said he was sorry for yelling at me and he... he told me he was being too hard on me. He promised he’d be a better dad and then he... he said...”

“What? What’d he say?” Levi wondered, his eyes also widening from what Zeke was saying. Kenny must have talked to Grisha; there was no way he would say these things all of a sudden on his own.

“He said he was proud of me,” Zeke said in a small voice, tears welling up in his eyes as his lower lip began to quiver.

Levi stared at him for a moment before enveloping him in a hug, knowing just how much that must’ve meant to Zeke. He’d probably rarely, if at all, heard his father say something like that to him, and he was practically shaking in Levi’s arms. Levi held him tight, letting him cry into his shoulder silently.

“Baby, I’m so happy for you,” Levi whispered against his cheek before kissing it lightly, “That’s so great.”

Zeke pulled away, sniffling and taking off his glasses so he could wipe away his tears. Levi didn’t know whether he should tell Zeke about Kenny or not; if that would ruin the conversation for him. But he supposed his father must’ve meant that sentence in some capacity, right? It didn’t sound like something Kenny would force him to say. The apology, yes, but being proud of him? Kenny wasn’t someone who would think of something like that to say.

“I just didn’t expect it,” Zeke sniffled, “It’s so weird, I don’t understand why he changed his mind.”

“I... I have something to tell you,” Levi said, looking down at his lap, “So... I have this uncle... Kenny, he’s kind of... well-”

“I thought you didn’t have any family,” Zeke replied, putting his glasses back on and looking at him quizzically. He almost looked excited about the fact that Levi had somebody for him to meet.

“Well, Kenny took care of me when my mom died,” Levi explained, still avoiding Zeke’s eyes, “But anyway, he’s kind of... well, he’s not the best person. Let’s just say he’s been in and out of jail a lot.”

“What does this have to do with my dad?” Zeke wondered, and Levi looked up at him to see the confused look on his face.

“Well,” Levi replied, “After dinner with your dad last week, I called my Uncle Kenny because he owes me some favors and he... he may have possibly gone to have a talk with your dad.”

Levi emphasized the word ‘talk’, hoping Zeke would understand what he meant by that. Zeke’s eyes widened, “You sent your uncle to beat up my dad?”

“No, no, no!” Levi shook his head quickly, holding his hands up innocently, “Not beat up , just convince. ”

“Levi,” Zeke stared at him with a look of shock, “You can’t just do that.”

Levi frowned a little, crossing his arms defensively, “Why not? It worked, didn’t it?”

Zeke stood up, starting to pace the room as he ran his fingers through his hair in some stress, repeating, “ Levi , you can’t just do that .”

“But... But why not?” Levi asked, genuinely not understanding why Zeke was suddenly so upset with him. He was just trying to help, and it had worked, so why was Zeke so stressed out about it?

“Because!” Zeke exclaimed, “You just... it’s my family, and my problems. Not yours. Plus, I thought my dad genuinely meant what he said. But now I guess he was just saying it because he was forced into it? That’s just... Levi, that’s fucked up.”

Levi frowned, feeling a little guilty. He hadn’t meant to make Zeke upset. Maybe it would’ve been better to keep the Kenny thing a secret, but he had wanted to keep their relationship open and honest.

“I... I just wanted to help,” Levi said quietly, looking down at his lap.

He felt Zeke’s fingers on his chin, gently tilting it upwards so that the two were looking at each other. Zeke sighed heavily, “Levi, I know you were just trying to do the right thing. But please don’t meddle in my family affairs. They’re mine to deal with, and now I have to wonder if my dad is really proud of me or if he was just saying that because your uncle made him.”

Levi nodded a little, “Okay, I’m sorry. And for the record, knowing my uncle, there’s no way he made your dad say that. He’s not sentimental enough for that shit. He probably just told him to apologize for being a dick.”

“Well, I guess I’ll never know,” Zeke replied, a sad look crossing his face. He looked disappointed , and it was making Levi’s heart race, a lump forming in his throat as the guilt settled in his stomach.

“I’m really sorry,” Levi repeated, “I thought I was helping. I just really didn’t like the way your dad talked to you.”

“Well, siccing your uncle on him isn’t going to magically fix all our problems,” Zeke sighed, taking his fingers away from Levi’s chin. Levi instantly went back to staring down at his lap.

The two of them were silent for a long time, and Levi could feel some tears forming in his eyes as he clenched his fists in his lap. How had this gone so wrong? He sniffled quietly, and heard Zeke sighing from above him.

“Baby, don’t cry,” Zeke almost begged him, sitting down next to Levi and wrapping an arm around him, “I’m not mad at you. I just wish you would’ve come to me about it before you did something like that.”

“I’m sorry,” Levi whimpered, “I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m sorry.”

“Levi, please calm down,” Zeke frowned, pulling him into a hug, “It’s okay. I know you just wanted to help, and I appreciate that you’d do something like that for me. I just wish you would’ve asked me about it first.”

Levi nodded, wiping away the tears from his eyes, “Okay, I’ll ask next time. I’m sorry.”

Zeke pulled away and placed both his hands on either side of Levi’s face, staring into his eyes, “It’s okay, baby. I forgive you.”

He placed a gentle kiss to Levi’s lips before he pulled away, hugging his boyfriend close again. Levi clung to him, his sniffles dying down as his tears went away. He breathed in Zeke’s scent and sighed contently, thankful that Zeke had forgiven him.

“So... can I meet your uncle then?” Zeke asked, pulling away.

Levi’s face fell immediately, not liking this question. He hadn’t thought Zeke was going to ask something like that . Levi shook his head immediately. He didn’t like the idea of Zeke meeting Kenny; Kenny would just make fun of the two of them the whole time.

“Why not?” Zeke wondered, a frown forming on his lips.

“Kenny’s... he’s not...” Levi tried to find the words, “You don’t want to meet him.”

“But I do,” Zeke replied, “I wanna find out what he said to my dad. And I want to meet your family too, Levi.”

“He’s barely family,” Levi rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

“But he’s still family!” Zeke protested, tugging on Levi’s arm gently as he begged, “ Please , Levi? You owe me!”

Levi supposed that was true. He did owe Zeke after what he’d done, and he cursed lightly under his breath as that realization dawned on him. Fuck , he thought in annoyance, knowing he’d have to give in now.

“ Fine ,” Levi grumbled, taking out his phone and going to text his uncle, “I’ll see if he can meet up tomorrow.”

Zeke grinned, looking excited as he nodded in response, leaning over and kissing Levi on the cheek, “Thanks, baby. I’m excited to meet him.”

“Don’t be,” Levi muttered, “There’s nothing special about him.”

Zeke only laughed, but Levi was being serious. He didn’t particularly like the idea of him, Zeke, and Kenny meeting up to talk. He knew Kenny was going to seriously make fun of him and embarrass him. When Levi had been with Erwin, Erwin had never met Kenny, and Levi had almost made certain of that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day they met at the coffee shop, Zeke and Levi getting there a little early upon Levi’s insistence. Zeke watched a tall man approaching the front counter, and saw Levi shrink a little in his seat as he watched him. This must be his uncle , Zeke thought, examining the man’s aged face with a scruffy beard. He ordered his coffee and picked it up, walking over to the two of them.

“Levi,” he grinned, and Zeke could almost sense a mischievousness behind this smile, “Is this your boyfriend?”

Levi nodded, crossing his arms almost instantly as he muttered, “Kenny. This is Zeke.”

He motioned over to Zeke as Kenny sat across from him, and Zeke instantly held out his hand for the man to shake, wanting to impress the one family member in Levi’s life, even if Levi didn’t seem to care.

“Hi, nice to meet you, Mr. Ackerman,” he greeted.

Kenny immediately started laughing, and took Zeke’s hand, shaking it roughly before pulling away, “You can call me Kenny. I like him, Levi. He’s so polite .”

Levi rolled his eyes, “Shut up.”

Kenny chuckled at Levi’s words and reached across the table to tussle Levi’s hair, which he looked furious at, smacking Kenny’s hand away in annoyance. Zeke wondered why Levi disliked his uncle so much; he didn’t seem so bad.

“So you want to know what I said to your dad, right?” Kenny asked, and Zeke wasn’t sure if he’d heard this from Levi or had just guessed, but Zeke nodded at the opportunity to learn more about what had happened.

“He seems like a good guy,” Kenny shrugged, “But an incredible prude, if you ask me.”

Zeke couldn’t help but laugh a little at that, “Yeah, he definitely is. Where did you approach him?”

“On his walk to his car at the clinic,” Kenny smirked a little, “In the parking lot. Scared the fuck out of him.”

Zeke wanted to be upset or angry at the prospect of his dad being threatened into apologizing, but in this moment, he couldn’t help but be a little amused. He grinned a bit and waited for Kenny to continue his story.

“I followed him to his car, right?” Kenny explained, “And he finally turned around and asked me if I needed something. Thought I was homeless, I think.”

“You look fucking homeless,” Levi grumbled in annoyance, but Kenny ignored him.

“Then I pulled out a knife and told him to get in the car,” Kenny grinned mischievously.

Zeke’s eyes widened a little. A knife? He supposed it could’ve been worse, but he still felt a little bad at the thought of how scared his father must’ve been. Just because they didn’t get along didn’t mean he wanted his father to be threatened at knife point.

“So we’re sitting in his car, and he asked me what I wanted - money or something,” Kenny continued, “I did think about asking for money, but I knew Levi would be pissed. Normally that wouldn’t stop me, but this was a favor for him, so I decided against it.”

“Good fucking choice,” Levi shot him a small glare.

Kenny ignored Levi again, going on with his story, “I told him I heard how he was treating his son, and basically told him I’d come to his house and fuck him up if he didn’t apologize. He was shocked; didn’t know how I knew who he was or what was going on in his household. It didn’t take much convincing, to be honest; he seems so strong when you initially see him, but he was really just a scared little man in the end.”

Zeke’s eyes were wide by the end of Kenny’s story, surprised mostly by how easily convinced his dad had been. He was also so certain his father was an undefeatable person; someone strong who wasn’t easily swayed. But a simple knife and a random man had reduced him so easily, and his father had actually followed through?

“Wow,” Zeke said after a moment, not really sure how to respond to such a story.

“Any questions?” Kenny asked as he leaned back in his chair and took a sip of his coffee.

“Did... Did you tell him to tell me he was proud of me?” Zeke asked, needing to know.

“No,” Kenny shook his head, “Just to apologize and not treat you like shit.”

“Oh...” Zeke replied, a small smile creeping up on his face as he realized what his dad had said was genuine. He really was proud of Zeke, and that made Zeke’s heart swell with pride as he realized the truth behind his father’s words.

“So you like dick, huh?” Kenny asked suddenly.

Levi reached across the table to sock him in the arm, growling, “ Shut up .”

But Zeke was amused by the question, and answered shortly, “Yes, sir. All my life.”

“Good for you,” Kenny laughed, “I’m a fan myself. Guess you could say I passed that trait onto Levi.”

Levi was looking more and more pissed off by the second, which was even more amusing to Zeke. He felt as though he was getting along with Kenny, and that fact was irritating to his boyfriend. He didn’t particularly want to piss his boyfriend off, but it was a little cute; he had to admit.

“So, what was Levi like as a kid?” Zeke asked, and he could feel Levi’s eyes glaring holes into his head.

“ Zeke ,” Levi tried angrily, “ Kenny, no- ”

“He was a scrawny little kid,” Kenny interrupted, grinning a little, “Very shy and easily embarrassed. He always hid behind my long coat whenever we went anywhere.”

“Aww,” Zeke chuckled, grabbing Levi’s hand under the table, only to have Levi immediately rip his hand away in annoyance.

“Not much has changed I see,” Kenny noted as Levi’s face was incredibly red from his uncle’s comments, “He also had a bed-wetting problem-”

“ Okay , that’s enough,” Levi snapped, getting more embarrassed by the second, “Zeke, can we be done now?”

“But Levi ,” Zeke grinned mischievously, exchanging the look with Kenny, “I’m getting along so well with your uncle. I like hearing stories about you.”

“When he was ten, I caught him drawing pictures of men kissing,” Kenny chuckled, “That’s when I knew he was definitely gay.”

“ Shut up ,” Levi protested. Zeke could practically see the steam coming out of his ears, but he was enjoying Levi’s embarrassment far too much at this point.

“And he loved his Uncle Kenny,” Kenny smirked at Levi, teasing him, “Didn’t you, Levi? You couldn’t sleep unless Uncle Kenny tucked you in at night?”

“Uncle Kenny’s about to get socked in the fucking mouth,” Levi said through gritted teeth.

Zeke couldn’t help but laugh at Levi’s response, and at Kenny’s words as well. Kenny joined him in his laughter, reaching across the table to pat Zeke on the shoulder heavily, “You’re a good man. I like you. You call me up if your dad ever bugs you again, okay?”

Zeke nodded a little, though he wasn’t sure if he’d ever take Kenny up on the offer. He was fairly certain his dad was going to be nice to him now, plus he didn’t particularly like the idea of sending a man to threaten his father. But he appreciated Kenny’s offer nonetheless.

“Well, Levi,” Kenny sighed, finishing up his coffee and setting it down, “You have my approval now. That’s what you really wanted, isn’t it?”

Levi was staring daggers at his uncle and grumbled, “I don’t need your fucking approval.”

“Sure,” Kenny rolled his eyes a little, “You’ve always been a little brat, haven’t you? Are you ever going to admit how much you love your uncle, hmm?”

“Can’t admit something that’s not true,” Levi muttered, shooting a glare in his direction, “Can you go now?”

“Alright, alright,” Kenny chuckled, getting up, “I’ve had my fun. I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone. Lovely to meet you, Zeke.”

“Nice to meet you too, Kenny,” Zeke stood, shaking Kenny’s hand before sitting back down again. He watched the old man walk out the front doors of the coffee shop and down the street before he turned to Levi, who was still trying to calm himself down from the interaction they’d just had with his uncle.

“Levi, that was so sweet,” Zeke smiled, leaning over to press a kiss to Levi’s cheek.

Levi dodged his kiss and pouted, “You encouraged him far too much. Don’t fucking do that shit.”

“Aww, don’t be angry, sweetheart,” Zeke grinned a bit, “It was really cute. Your uncle really cares about you.”

“That’s just a front he puts up,” Levi mumbled in annoyance, “He’s not really like that.”

“Okay, Levi,” Zeke chuckled, “Whatever you say. You know what I think? I think you love your Uncle Kenny.”

“I think you should watch what you fucking say,” Levi turned to him and snapped, “Before I sock you in the mouth too.”

Zeke tossed his head back and laughed at Levi’s words, finding it hilarious. Levi looked so pissed, and usually he wouldn’t have found it funny, but the situation was just too much for him not to laugh. He was happy to have finally met someone who knew Levi, even if Levi didn’t like it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hi Zeke,” Levi smiled when his boyfriend opened the front door to his house. Levi had agreed to come over, and now he stood at Zeke’s door.

“Hi baby,” Zeke grinned, looking down at Levi’s outfit and thinking his sunflower-patterned shirt was incredibly adorable, “I like your shirt. The sunflowers are cute.”

Levi walked into the house and greeted him with a hug, “Thank you.”

Zeke hugged back before pulling away and pressing a kiss to Levi’s forehead, “You’re my little sunflower.”

Levi immediately blushed and swore under his breath, causing Zeke to grin. He enjoyed saying things that would make Levi embarrassed, and the shorter man was fortunately very easy to embarrass with romantic gestures.

“Shut up,” Levi grumbled, taking Zeke’s hand and starting to tug him up to his room. Zeke allowed himself to be pulled, wondering what Levi was so eagerly tugging at him for. He had his suspicions, but didn’t want to get his hopes up.

Once they were in his room, Levi shut the door and shoved Zeke up against it, leaning up to kiss him passionately. Zeke gasped in some surprise before kissing back, grinning into the kiss as his suspicions had been correct. He felt Levi grasp his shirt roughly, pulling him in closer and starting to kiss down his neck, sucking and licking at the skin there. Zeke groaned quietly and rubbed Levi’s sides lightly to encourage him, his fingers grasping at the soft cotton shirt. Levi’s hands wandered under Zeke’s shirt and groped at his skin, feeling up on his muscles and moaning against Zeke’s neck.

“Will you fuck me?” Levi asked quietly, pulling away to look up at Zeke with innocent eyes.

Zeke smirked a little and nodded, reaching down to grasp Levi’s ass and grope at it, “Get on the bed, baby.”

Levi whimpered from the feeling before pulling away from Zeke and doing as he was told, walking over to the bed. He glanced at Zeke mischievously, and Zeke wondered what he was doing. Levi tugged down his pants and underwear, discarding his shirt as well, until he was completely naked. He climbed onto the bed and got on his hands and knees, leaning down on his elbows and pushing his ass out in Zeke’s direction. Zeke just watched him, his mouth slowly dropping open as Levi started sucking on his own fingers. He’s not... Zeke thought, unable to believe this was happening, as Levi reached around and pulled one of his cheeks back, using the now-wet fingers and gently pressing one into his entrance.

“Fuck,” Zeke groaned at the sight, starting to strip. He could barely keep his eyes off Levi, who was fingering himself and moaning loudly. As soon as he was naked, he made his way over to the bed, watching Levi add a second finger and continue fucking himself. Zeke grasped his ass in one hand, groping at the skin before reaching back and smacking it hard. Levi cried out and whimpered, and Zeke smacked his ass again, causing the shorter man to yelp.

“ Zeke ,” he groaned, adding a third finger and fucking himself roughly, his breathing growing heavy as he continued. Zeke smirked and continued groping his ass, enjoying the redness his hand had left there. He hit his ass a few times in a row, Levi letting out erotic noises each time he brought his hand down on the skin. Levi pulled his fingers out, panting heavily and clinging to the sheets.

“You ready, baby?” Zeke chuckled at how worked up Levi was already, and he grabbed a condom from his bedside table, rolling it on. Levi nodded eagerly, and Zeke rubbed the head of his cock against Levi’s entrance roughly before starting to push in, watching his dick slowly disappear into the shorter man. He groaned and gripped Levi’s hips in his fingers, starting to pump slowly in and out.

“Oh my god,” Levi moaned, clinging to the sheets, “F-Fuck.”

“That feel good, baby?” Zeke asked, groping Levi’s ass roughly with his hands.

Levi nodded quickly, gripping the sheets as he started moving back against Zeke’s thrusts. Zeke groaned quietly, picking up the pace as he snapped his hips forward roughly into his lover. Levi cried out and whimpered, his fingers digging into the sheets.

“There you go,” Zeke teased as he continued, slamming into him hard as he lifted his hand, smacking Levi’s ass, “You’re being so good for me. Such a good boy.”

Levi was making all sorts of lewd noises, his legs starting to shake from pleasure as he moved back against Zeke’s thrusting as best he could. On a particularly well-angled thrust, he cried out, and Zeke smirked a little as he began to pound into that spot roughly. Levi’s mouth dropped open, his moans only getting louder as Zeke continued. Zeke could feel himself getting close, and gripped Levi’s hips tighter in his hands, hitting his ass a couple more times just because he could.

“God, Levi,” Zeke groaned, “You’re so fucking sexy . Fuck.”

Levi panted hard as Zeke plowed into him wildly, the mattress creaking loudly at their actions. Levi tossed his head back and shrieked, “ Erwin! ” before cumming all over the sheets underneath him. Zeke came at the same time, breathing heavily as he rode out his orgasm. Wait, he thought, his heart suddenly racing, What did he just say? Did he just say ‘Erwin’? Zeke pulled out, thinking maybe he’d just been hearing things. But Levi stayed where he was, and Zeke could see his eyes were wide and terrified for some reason. Maybe he had heard Levi right.

“Zeke, I’m so sorry,” Levi apologized, going to stand up, “I didn’t mean to... I just-”

“Levi, it’s okay,” Zeke said quickly, not wanting the shorter man to get upset. But was it really okay? Zeke couldn’t help but feel anger and jealousy at what had just happened between them. He knew that Levi couldn’t help being plagued by constant thoughts of Erwin, but really? He’d called his name out during sex, and that was something Zeke wasn’t sure he could just let go. He started to get dressed, not saying anything to Levi.

“Zeke?” Levi tried, starting to get dressed himself, but noticing the silence between them.

“What,” Zeke said shortly, not bothering to look at him as he finished getting redressed.

Levi frowned a little at Zeke’s short answer, finishing putting his clothes on and starting to twist his shirt in his hands nervously, “Are... Are you mad at me?”

“You just moaned a dead man’s name as you came, Levi,” Zeke snapped, “How the hell am I supposed to feel about that?”

Levi whimpered, looking incredibly guilty. He bit his lip and looked at the floor, and his inability to answer Zeke’s question was only making him more upset with his boyfriend. He sighed heavily and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, Levi watching him with some concern.

“I think you should go,” Zeke frowned, and Levi quickly shook his head in response.

“But... But I said I was sorry-”

“ Levi ,” Zeke raised his voice, immediately regretting it as Levi flinched at the loudness. He sucked in a deep breath to calm himself, “Levi, I really think you need to leave.”

Levi frowned, “I... but why?”

Zeke was losing his patience. He shot the shorter man a glare, “ Because Levi! You just moaned Erwin’s name during sex with me! I’m fucking pissed, but I’m trying not to be. So please just go!”

“It was an accident , Zeke!” Levi argued, “ You said it was okay!”

“I didn’t know how to react!” Zeke replied, trying hard to hold himself back from yelling. Why didn’t Levi see how hurtful this was? It was painful to hear that Levi was still thinking about Erwin while having sex with him. To the point of calling out his name instead of Zeke’s.

“You know I wouldn’t do that on purpose,” Levi frowned, “I said I was sorry. I can’t help but think about him-”

“I can’t keep doing this , Levi!” Zeke finally shouted, clenching his fists at his sides, “I can’t just keep forgiving you over and over when you’re hurting me! ”

Levi winced from Zeke’s yelling, shouting back, “ I can’t help it! I’m sorry I hurt you! I didn’t do it on purpose! You can’t blame me for something I can’t help!”

“But I can blame you for not fucking doing anything to better yourself!” Zeke yelled angrily, “You keep allowing this behavior to continue, Levi! What are you doing to change it? Nothing! You think it’s fucking normal to be thinking about Erwin this much? It’s not! And I’ve been very patient with you, but this is too much! I can’t date someone who’s constantly thinking about another man while he’s with me!”

Levi was sniffling now, angry tears running down his face, “You’re being fucking mean, Zeke.”

“No, I’m being real ,” Zeke responded, crossing his arms as he snarled, “ Stop crying. You’re not getting sympathy from me this time. I have to start thinking about myself a little in this relationship. I’ve been patient with you, now it’s your turn to work on yourself for me . Don’t you care about me enough to do that?”

To say Zeke was mad was an understatement, and he could feel the anger pulsing through his veins. Levi seemed taken aback by his words, appearing to not know how to handle being confronted like this.

“Fuck you,” Levi growled, wiping at his tears and heading for the door.

“You’re just gonna run away?!”

“ You told me to leave! ” Levi whipped around and shouted at him.

Zeke sighed in frustration, picking up a pillow and throwing it at him, “ Fine! Fucking go! ”

Levi dodged the pillow and shot him a nasty look before storming out of the room and slamming the door behind him. Zeke could hear him stomping down the stairs and slamming the front door loudly as he left.

“ Fuck! ” Zeke yelled as he tried to get his anger out, grabbing another pillow and whipping it at the closed door. He sighed shakily, running his fingers through his hair. He couldn’t believe he’d had such an awful fight with Levi, and he was feeling sick to his stomach as the anger subsided, and the regret set in. He was still angry at Levi for what he’d done, but he felt upset about some of the things he’d said. He hadn’t meant to get so furious, but he really felt like Levi wasn’t trying for him. And he truly didn’t know if he could be with someone who wouldn’t at least listen to him and try to be better for him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi immediately headed in the direction of Hanji’s apartment as he left Zeke’s house, angry tears still running down his face. He wiped away at them and continued to walk determinedly towards Hanji’s. He was so furious at what Zeke had said to him; he couldn’t believe he would say those types of things. Sure, Levi had fucked up by moaning Erwin’s name during sex, but he didn’t mean to do it. He had apologized, and he felt awful about it. So why did Zeke have to rub it in like that? He buzzed Hanji’s apartment number and they soon let him in, and Levi walked up the stairs to the third floor, knocking on Hanji’s door.

He heard some shuffling and the door soon opened, Moblit standing there in his boxers. The two of them just stared at each other; Levi still having tear-stained eyes and Moblit half-naked. Both of them were incredibly red in the face and embarrassed, and Levi rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“Um... is Hanji here?” Levi asked sheepishly.

“Yeah,” Moblit said.

But before he could move aside, Hanji wrapped their arms around Moblit’s middle from behind, murmuring in a sultry voice, “ Come back to bed .”

Levi could feel himself blushing worse, and Moblit looked incredibly red in the face as well, “Hanji, Levi’s here.”

Hanji let go of Moblit and peeked over his shoulder, “Oh. Hi Levi! What’s wrong?”

They noticed his tearful eyes, and Levi shook his head a little, “I’m sorry - I don’t want to interrupt anything.”

“It’s okay, Levi. We’ve already fucked twice, so it’s probably a good time for a break,” Hanji said nonchalantly, and Moblit covered his face with his hands in embarrassment.

“Hanji! Don’t say things like that,” Levi scolded, giving in and walking into the apartment as the two moved out of his way.

“Sorry,” Hanji shrugged, only wearing a sports bra and booty shorts, “Come on, let’s talk.”

They took his hand and dragged him into the living room, plopping down on the couch and pulling Levi down next to them. Moblit stood in the corner of the room, looking like he didn’t know what to do with himself.

“Babe, can you wait in the bedroom for me?” Hanji smiled up at him, “Levi and I need some alone time.”

Moblit nodded, smiling back sweetly at Hanji before going back into the bedroom. Levi leaned back on the couch and looked around the room, surprised at how organized everything looked. Hanji’s apartment was usually an absolute mess, with piles of papers and books everywhere.

“Your apartment’s clean,” Levi said in some shock, looking around the room with widened eyes.

“Yeah,” Hanji replied, “That’s Moblit. He’s great at keeping things clean and organized.”

“Oh,” Levi nodded, already starting to like Hanji’s new boyfriend.

“So what happened? Is it Erwin again?” Hanji asked cautiously, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder in comfort.

Levi sighed a little, shaking his head, “It’s Zeke. We had a huge fight.”

Hanji frowned, rubbing his arm gently, “Oh no, what did you fight about?”

Levi began to explain what happened with Zeke, going into detail about the harsh words they’d exchanged. Hanji watched, biting their lip as he continued to talk, clearly holding back from interrupting.

“Well,” Hanji said, not looking at Levi as they murmured quietly, “I think Zeke is right.”

“ What?! ” Levi exclaimed in some surprise, feeling a little betrayed by his friend. He hadn’t come here for Hanji to say that , and he was beginning to worry that he and Hanji would have another argument.

“Levi, calm down,” Hanji tried, holding their hands out as they feigned innocence, “You want my advice, right? Then you can’t get mad at me for not agreeing with your side of things, okay?”

Levi crossed his arms in irritation before sighing heavily, “ Fine . Why do you think he’s right?”

Hanji tapped their chin in some thought before readjusting their glasses, “Well, put yourself in his shoes. What if Zeke moaned an ex’s name during sex with you? How would you feel?”

Levi frowned, arguing defensively, “But I apologized for that. And he said it was okay!”

“Levi,” Hanji replied, “He probably didn’t know what to say! And just because you apologized doesn’t automatically make it okay!”

Hanji took a second to breathe, and Levi was refraining from shooting them a glare for what they were saying. His automatic response was to be defensive and angry, so he was really trying to be more understanding this time, as his defensiveness clearly hadn’t gotten him far with Zeke.

“Listen,” Hanji sighed, “You know I love you, Levi. But I have to be honest with you. This is the reason why we got into a fight too. You’re hung up on Erwin, and you refuse to get yourself help. It’s hard to watch you suffer and know you’re not doing anything to make yourself better. And your suffering effects other people too. You’re hurting Zeke by continuing to think about Erwin when you’re with him, and now it’s extended into your sex life. You have to go to therapy or something .”

Levi shook his head, “No. I’m not doing that-”

“ Levi ,” Hanji snapped, “If you don’t get yourself help, you’re going to lose the people you love. You’re driving people away. If you really care about Zeke, if you care about your friends , you’ll at least consider it.”

Levi frowned. Therapy was the last thing he wanted to do. He didn’t want to confront his feelings; his grief over Erwin’s death. The therapy sessions he’d been to before had been so traumatic, so painful for him. But Hanji wasn’t wrong when they said he was driving people away. He and Hanji had already had a major fight, and now Zeke? How soon would it be before they both got fed up with him and left? What about Isabel and Farlan? Would they get fed up and leave him too?

“Hanji...” Levi said in a weak voice, staring down at his lap determinedly, “I can’t... I can’t go through that again. I don’t want to drive people away, but I’m serious when I say I’m... I’m too scared to go back to therapy. I can’t just... it’s too much to handle.”

“I know you’re scared,” Hanji rubbed his arm soothingly, “But you have to at least try, okay?”

Levi nodded in defeat, balling his fists up and resting them in his lap. He didn’t know what to do. He was now feeling guilty about what he’d said to Zeke, and wanted to know how to get him back.

As if they read his mind, Hanji continued to speak, “You should start by apologizing to him. Tell him you’re going to work on yourself. And-”

“Okay,” Levi interrupted, “Thank you.”

“ Please take my advice seriously, okay?” Hanji begged, “I don’t want to see Zeke break up with you over this.”

Levi frowned. He hadn’t even considered the possibility of Zeke breaking up with him, and now he was getting worried. But he nodded in response to what Hanji had said, deciding that he would do his best to work on himself. But he was still extremely hesitant about the whole therapy thing, and would do anything to avoid that. But he did owe Zeke an apology, that was for certain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi heard the doorbell to his apartment ring and went to let Zeke in, unlocking his apartment door so that the man could walk in once he got up to his floor. He went to sit on the couch, wringing his hands nervously. He heard the door open and close, and saw Zeke appear in his living room. They exchanged an awkward glance, the two of them clearly not knowing how to greet each other after having such an argument like the one they had yesterday. Levi had asked him over to talk, and Zeke had agreed, so here they were.

“Levi,” Zeke breathed, a regretful look in his eyes, “I’m so sorry-”

“No, I’m sorry,” Levi interrupted, standing up, “It really was an accident, but I shouldn’t have expected you to forgive me immediately. And what you were saying was true, I need to get help. I’m going to work on myself, I promise.”

Zeke smiled at him gratefully before frowning, “I appreciate that. But listen, Levi. I know how hard it is for you, and I shouldn’t have gotten so angry. If... If you need to pretend that I’m Erwin during sex... you know, to cope ... then... it’s okay with me.”

Levi stared at him in some surprise, “I... really?”

He was shocked, not having expected this. Was this something he even wanted? Would it help him cope to pretend he was having sex with Erwin and not Zeke? Levi wasn’t sure, but he couldn’t say he wasn’t tempted to find out.

“Yeah, really,” Zeke smiled sadly, “I just want you to be happy, Levi, and I want you to get better.”

Levi frowned, pondering Zeke’s proposition. He didn’t want to hurt Zeke, or make him upset. But Zeke had said it was okay, right? Levi decided maybe he would at least try . Maybe it would help him get over Erwin; to pretend he was having sex with him one last time.

“I... I want to...” Levi practically whispered, “Can we do it now? I want to see if... if it’ll help.”

Zeke’s eyes widened a little, and he ran his fingers through his hair as he thought about it. He bit his lip and finally nodded, letting out a deep sigh. Levi could tell this was something that was plaguing Zeke, but he needed to be selfish just this once. He had the sheer dumb hope that this would help him get over Erwin, and he craved that more than anything.

“I... I’m going to go into the bedroom and get undressed,” Levi spoke carefully, “Just come in and... and don’t let me see you, okay?”

Zeke nodded a little, a frown still on his face, “How... How was he? In bed... I want to do it right.”

“He was gentle,” Levi explained, a lump forming in his throat that he tried to swallow, “He would go slow and tell me how beautiful I was...”

Zeke nodded, sucking in a deep breath to prepare himself. Levi could feel the guilt in his stomach, but he needed to do this. He walked into the bedroom and got undressed, his hands shaking a little. He climbed onto the bed and got on all fours, grabbing a pillow and hugging it, before he called out for Zeke to come in. He closed his eyes and heard footsteps coming towards him. Levi tried to picture Erwin walking into the room, and felt the man’s fingers gently running over his ass. He heard him walk over to the left of him and listened to the nightstand drawer open. He heard the footsteps walk back to take place behind him, and soon felt a thick finger breaching his entrance. Levi could feel his face getting red. Zeke’s fingers felt so similar to Erwin’s; thick and calloused. He whined a little from the feeling, the finger beginning to pump in and out of him slowly.

The man soon added a second finger, moving them a little faster but not too forcefully. He could tell Zeke was trying to be gentle with him, and he appreciated the effort. He tried to forget about Zeke, forcing himself to picture Erwin doing this. Erwin’s large hands, his thick digits fucking into him. It’d been so long since Levi had been fucked by Erwin; three long years. He could feel himself getting emotional already, but he held back as he tried to just enjoy the moment. A third finger pushed in and continued to plow into him, gently rocking against his prostate. Levi groaned, burying his face into the pillow and whimpering from the feeling. He could feel himself being stretched open, and squeezed the pillow to cope with it.

“F-Fuck,” he whined as he brought his head back up from the pillow, “ Erwin .”

The fingers paused for a moment, as if Zeke was trying to get used to the idea of being called Erwin’s name. But they soon continued, and Levi could picture Erwin’s face watching him unravel because of his fingers, moaning because of his actions alone. The fingers soon pulled out, and Levi felt the head of Zeke’s... no, Erwin’s dick line up with his entrance. He groaned as he felt the head breach him, feeling himself being filled by Erwin’s length.

“Oh god,” Levi whimpered, “E-Erwin, you feel so fucking good.”

A deep voice responded, “So do you, baby. So beautiful, so sexy for me.”

Levi moaned loudly from those words, feeling the erection fill him up all the way before it began fucking into him at a steady pace. He whined and pushed back a little, feeling two hands gripping his hips. He could picture Erwin standing behind him, snapping his hips into him and gripping onto him with his rough, calloused hands.

“E-Erwin,” Levi groaned, “Fuck, I missed this so much.”

He heard the man’s breath hitch before he said quietly, “I missed it too, baby. I missed you .”

Those words alone caused tears to rush to his eyes, and he could feel the walls he put up breaking down as tears rolled down his face. He felt the man behind him pounding into him and he moaned, a sob escaping his mouth.

“I missed you too, Erwin,” he whimpered, “ So much. ”

He felt the man gripping his hips tighter as he picked up the pace a little, still being incredibly gentle and kind to him. His shoulders shook as he continued to cry, clinging to the pillow for dear life as he felt himself growing closer to the edge. He started panting in between sobs.

“Erwin, I love you,” he sobbed, “God, I love you.”

“ I love you too .”

Levi came hard, breathing heavily with tears running down his face. He collapsed against the pillow as the man pulled out, and suddenly he was brought back to reality. This hurt even worse, because he knew that Erwin was gone, that what happened wasn’t real. It didn’t work. He was sobbing uncontrollably now, and felt two strong arms envelop him in a hug. He prayed to god he would open his eyes and see Erwin there, by some miracle. When he opened his eyes and saw Zeke, he couldn’t say he wasn’t disappointed. But Zeke looked incredibly concerned, holding his face in his hands and repeating his name again and again to try and bring him back to reality. Levi was looking off into the distance, though, his stomach filled with incredible dread as he realized just how much he missed Erwin. His Erwin.

“Levi,” Zeke tried for probably the tenth time to get his attention, his fingers gently caressing Levi’s tear-stained face, “Levi, baby, come back to me.”

“I’m not your baby, I’m his, ” Levi growled, shocking both himself and Zeke. Levi’s eyes widened, and he quickly shook his head, “No, no, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Zeke replied, but the damage had clearly been done. Zeke looked incredibly hurt, a frown on his face and his fingers shaking against Levi’s skin.

“I’m sorry,” Levi sobbed, “I’m so sorry, Zeke.”

“Levi, it’s fine, really,” Zeke insisted, but Levi could tell he was lying.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” Levi whimpered, rubbing at his eyes with his sleeves, “I don’t understand why I can’t just-“

“Levi,” Zeke sighed heavily, pulling his hands away and pressing his fingers to his forehead in clear stress, “Just stop. Please stop. I can’t… I can’t take it.”

Levi sniffled, deciding it was probably a good idea to just shut up, the only sounds filling the room now was the sounds of his quiet weeping. Zeke sucked in a deep breath, clearly trying to push away all his frustrations as he wrapped his arms around Levi once more, rubbing his back soothingly. Levi clung to him, practically having a meltdown as he held tightly to his boyfriend. Zeke . Not Erwin. This isn’t Erwin, he had to remind himself, and the tears only got worse as he remembered this fact. Erwin was gone. Maybe doing this had helped him, but not in the way he thought. It’d helped him to come to terms more with his grief, and perhaps that was a good thing in the long run.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eren got off the bus and walked hurriedly to his brother’s house, holding his backpack straps tightly in his hands. He’d just got done with school, and took a different bus than his regular one just so he could visit his brother. He wanted to surprise him, especially after the horrible night at dinner with their dad last week. He walked down the street to Zeke’s house and went up to the door, knocking on it loudly. His brother soon opened the door, a smile forming on his face upon seeing Eren. But before he smiled, he could see clear stress written all over Zeke’s face. The man looked like he hadn’t been sleeping, and he looked incredibly tense.

“Eren!” He exclaimed, enveloping his younger brother in a hug.

Eren hugged back, but was a little skeptical and suspicious now. What was Zeke so upset about? He wasn’t still stressed from their dad yelling at him, was he? Zeke usually didn’t stress for this long about their father’s explosive arguments, but maybe he was truly distraught over this particular time. He pulled away and followed Zeke inside, shutting the door.

“Do you want something to drink?” Zeke asked, heading towards the kitchen.

“Can I have a beer?” Eren asked instantly, jumping at the opportunity for alcohol.

Zeke couldn’t help but laugh, “Fine. As long as you don’t tell your mother.”

He watched Zeke open the fridge and grab a beer, tossing it at Eren. He caught it and grinned, opening it and taking a sip. He leaned against the door frame, watching his brother carefully. Behind his cheerful demeanor was another man entirely. He was stressed about something, but Eren couldn’t put his finger on it.

“So, what’s up with you?” Eren asked curiously, taking a long sip of the beer.

“What do you mean?” Zeke replied, raising an eyebrow as if he didn’t know what Eren was talking about.

“You’re clearly stressing about something ,” Eren frowned, “I may not be the smartest, but I’m not an idiot.”

Zeke sighed a little, frowning when he realized he couldn’t keep his secrets from his brother. He sat down at the kitchen table, and Eren went to sat across from him, taking a long sip of the beer in his hand before setting it down.

“It’s Levi,” Zeke said, “I’m having a hard time with our relationship.”

Eren frowned, wondering aloud, “Why?”

Zeke looked down at his lap, starting to explain everything. He started with the fact that Levi’s boyfriend was dead from a car accident three years ago, and explained everything that had happened between Zeke and Levi up until this point, including the fact that Zeke had pretended to be Erwin when he fucked Levi last night, which had led to a complete meltdown on Levi’s part.

“Oh my god,” Eren said when he finished, his eyes wide, “That’s fucking... that’s wild, dude.”

Zeke couldn’t help but chuckle a little at Eren’s reaction, nodding, “Yeah... it is wild. Anyways, it’s really stressing me out. I want Levi to feel comfortable, I want him to get better. I’d do anything to help him, but this... this was just so much for me to handle.”

“That low-key sounds toxic as fuck,” Eren admitted, Zeke looking a little taken aback at his honest answer.

“I mean... is it?”

“ Yes ,” Eren frowned, “You literally pretended to be his dead boyfriend fucking him, Zeke. How is that healthy?”

Zeke sighed heavily and buried his face in his hands, “Fuck, I know. It’s fucked up, isn’t it?”

Eren waited for Zeke to look back up at him before he nodded, “Yeah, it is. You need to break up with him.”

Zeke looked a little panicked at that suggestion, immediately objecting, “No! I don’t want to break up with him... I really like him.”

“Well, then you need to do something about this,” Eren frowned, “It’s a problem.”

“I know, Eren,” Zeke agreed, “But I... I think I’m falling for him...”

“Oh,” Eren said in some surprise, “ Oh. That’s not good.”

“I know,” Zeke sucked in a deep breath, rubbing his forehead in stress, “It just makes everything more difficult. I don’t want to break up with him, but things just can’t continue like this.”

Eren nodded in agreement. He took another sip of the beer, setting it down and reaching out to pat his brother’s arm comfortingly. Zeke smiled at him gratefully, and Eren couldn’t help but feel bad for him. What a mess , Eren thought about the situation between Zeke and Levi. He could see the hurt in Zeke’s eyes, and was genuinely worried about his older brother.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zeke pushed the table into the middle of the room and then began to set up the table for beer pong, taking Solo cups full of water and putting them in triangular shapes on either side of the table. He was preparing for a party he was hosting, which would be starting soon. Levi was busy dusting the living room, and once Zeke was done setting up beer pong, he turned to watch his boyfriend clean, sighing a little. The two still hadn’t spoken about what had happened the other day; in fact, they’d almost been avoiding the topic. Zeke didn’t want to bring it up; he didn’t want to upset Levi by causing him to remember his painful breakdown.

“Hey babe?” Levi looked up from what he was doing, and Zeke started walking in his direction.

“Yeah, love?” he responded as he approached Levi, watching him dust the television.

“I’m done, is there anything else left to do?” Levi asked, setting the duster down.

“No, I think people will start showing up soon,” Zeke replied, turning around to head back to the kitchen. He was surprised to feel Levi’s arms wrap around his middle from behind, the shorter man hugging him tightly.

“I miss you,” Levi murmured against his back, and Zeke could feel himself blushing. He didn’t really know what Levi meant; they were in the same room together, but he smiled nonetheless.

“I’m right here, baby,” Zeke turned around, hugging Levi close, “How can you miss me when we’re in the same house?”

“Because I miss your touch,” Levi clarified, leaning up to kiss Zeke sweetly.

“Well, I’ll touch you all you want,” Zeke smirked, winking at his boyfriend.

A small blush appeared on Levi’s face, but he grinned at what Zeke said, “Is that so?”

“Mhm,” Zeke nodded, reaching down and squeezing Levi’s ass with one hand. He could feel himself getting turned on, but his arousal was soon interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. He sighed a little in annoyance and pulled away from Levi, heading towards the front door. Levi followed cautiously behind him, taking Zeke’s hand as the man opened the door. Porco and Pieck stood there, Porco carrying a six-pack of beer, while Pieck had a bottle of whiskey. Zeke could see how nervous Levi looked out of the corner of his eye, and the shorter man practically hid behind Zeke, still clinging to his hand. Zeke couldn’t help but chuckle at this, thinking Levi’s shyness was adorable.

“Hey Zeke!” Porco greeted, shoving the six-pack into his free hand and walking into the house with Pieck.

“Hey,” Zeke smiled, “This is my boyfriend, Levi.”

Zeke tugged Levi out from behind him, and Porco and Pieck both looked incredibly excited to meet the man that was making Zeke so happy (for the most part). Levi waved nervously, and Pieck quickly enveloped him in a hug.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Levi!” Pieck exclaimed, “You make Zekey sooo happy!”

“Hey, don’t scare him,” Porco scolded as Pieck pulled away, and he held his hand out for Levi to shake. Levi took it, looking a little shaken up from Pieck’s hug. Porco didn’t make it any better, as he tugged Levi closer and shook his hand firmly, “Just know if you hurt our Zeke, we’ll have a problem.”

Zeke rolled his eyes as Levi looked a little intimidated by the two, “Hey, leave him alone, you two!”

Porco let go of Levi’s hand, still staring at him with narrow eyes, as if he was figuring out if he could trust Levi or not. Levi stuck his hands in his pockets, unsure of what to say. He glanced up at Zeke for help, and Zeke quickly wrapped an arm around him to calm him.

“Can we take shots?” Pieck asked, already starting to head to the kitchen. Porco, Levi, and Zeke followed her, and Zeke set the six-pack Porco had given him on the counter, going to get shot glasses down from the cabinet.

“You want one, baby?” Zeke asked Levi, who nodded in response. Zeke grabbed four shot glasses and took the whiskey from Pieck, pouring the shots and handing them out. They clinked their glasses and downed the shot, each of them reacting in their own way to the bitter, but strong, taste of the liquor.

“Zeke, you wanna shot gun a beer with me?” Porco asked, breaking off a beer from the six-pack he brought. Zeke knew Porco would keep bothering him if he didn’t, so he nodded, taking a beer from Porco. They made holes in the bottom of the cans before Porco counted down from three. They opened the beers and started downing them, Levi rolling his eyes a little and crossing his arms as he waited for them to be done.

Zeke saw Pieck put a hand on Levi’s shoulder, smiling at him sweetly, “Do you want a drink? I’m making a mix of whiskey and Sprite.”

Levi blushed from her touch, but nodded a little, Pieck going to make the two of them drinks. Porco threw the empty beer can on the ground and crushed it with his boot, grinning, “I win!”

Zeke finished his and did the same before picking the two cans up and tossing them in his recycling bin, “Yeah, yeah, Porco. You always win.”

Porco laughed a bit and the doorbell rang again. Zeke moved to go get it, but Porco put his hand on Zeke’s chest, “I got it.”

Zeke smiled as Porco walked off and watched Pieck chatting happily to Levi, the shorter man listening patiently and sipping on the drink she’d made him. Porco soon returned, Hanji and Moblit walking in behind him. Upon seeing Pieck, Hanji’s eyes widened slightly, and Zeke watched Pieck smile in Hanji’s direction. Moblit noticed, but didn’t really react much.

“Can we play beer pong?” Pieck asked, grabbing Hanji’s arm, “I think I found my partner.”

Hanji grinned a little, and Zeke frowned, “Uhhh, Pieck. Hanji’s in a relationship.”

“An open relationship,” Hanji clarified, and Zeke’s eyes widened slightly as Moblit nodded in agreement, smiling a little.

“Oh,” Zeke said in some surprise, watching Pieck smile and start to drag Hanji into the other room.

Porco smiled at Zeke, “Wanna be my partner?”

“As long as Levi won’t get jealous,” Zeke teased, and Levi rolled his eyes a little.

Zeke followed Porco into the other room, already seeing Pieck and Hanji getting along almost too well, giving each other tender looks and touching each other far too much. Zeke was a little worried about leaving Levi alone, but he figured Moblit and Levi would be the perfect pair for each other since they were both quiet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi stood there with Moblit, not wanting Zeke to leave. But he was gone already, and Levi was left with Hanji’s boyfriend. Moblit broke off a beer from the six-pack Porco had brought and opened it, taking a sip and glancing in Levi’s direction.

“So, how are things with Zeke?” Moblit asked quietly.

Levi stuck his hands in his pockets awkwardly, taking a long sip of the drink Pieck had made him before answering, “It’s good.”

“Are you still having trouble, you know... with Erwin?” Moblit asked, and Levi was a little taken aback. Apparently, Hanji had been sharing his problems with their boyfriend, and Levi wasn’t particularly sure he appreciated that.

“Um... I mean... I guess, yeah,” Levi admitted, not sure really how else to respond.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Moblit replied, a frown on his face, “It must be hard. If you ever need a therapist, I have a couple I can recommend. I’ve been going to therapy for a couple of years now and it really helps me.”

Levi wondered why Moblit needed therapy, but he remembered Hanji once telling him that you didn’t need a reason to go to therapy, sometimes it was just nice to have someone to talk to about your everyday problems.

“Thanks,” Levi said, “I’m not a fan of therapy.”

“Why not?”

“It was really hard,” Levi swallowed thickly, not sure why he was being so honest with this man, “I... I had a really difficult time in my sessions. I cried a lot and I just felt like it wasn’t productive.”

“Well, you have to give it more of a chance than that,” Moblit advised, “Therapy takes time. It took me a lot of time to feel like I was getting anything out of therapy, but it really helps when you give it that chance.”

“I guess,” Levi shrugged, finishing off his drink and setting it down. He grabbed the whiskey and poured the glass half full, deciding it would be okay for him to get a little drunk tonight.

“You know, it would really make both Zeke and Hanji happy if you went,” Moblit said, “Even if you only went once-”

“It’s not really any of your business,” Levi snapped, and Moblit immediately shut his mouth, frowning at him. Levi immediately regretted snapping at him, and he was sure he’d hear shit from Hanji about it later.

“So, you’re cool with Hanji being with other people?” Levi asked, trying to change the subject.

“Yeah, we decided being in an open relationship is something we both want,” Moblit said, admitting sheepishly, “Plus, we’ve been looking to have a threesome, so...”

“Oh,” Levi blushed, “I see.”

“How much do you want to bet I walk in there and Hanji’s making out with that girl?” Moblit chuckled, and Levi didn’t even know what to say.

“Knowing Hanji, you’re probably right,” Levi agreed, and he followed Moblit into the living room. More people had arrived by this point, the house beginning to fill up. Moblit immediately started laughing, and Levi wondered what was so funny until he saw where Moblit was looking. Hanji and Pieck were on the couch making out, Pieck straddling Hanji and kissing them roughly. So Moblit had been right.

“Christ,” Levi rolled his eyes, “Maybe you’ll get your threesome after all.”

Moblit chuckled a little, “I’ll probably just go hang out in the kitchen, I don’t want to interrupt them.”

He went back into the kitchen, and Levi was alone again. He searched the room for Zeke, taking a long sip of whiskey as he felt the warmth of the alcohol in his chest. Zeke was with Porco on the other end of the room, Zeke laughing at something Porco had said. Levi smiled a little, thinking Zeke looked incredibly handsome, as he tossed his head back in laughter. Levi quickly finished the rest of his glass, starting to feel a little tipsy. He went back to the kitchen, seeing Moblit talking with some random guy, a light blush on his face. How did both him and Hanji get so lucky at finding people? And was Moblit pansexual?

Levi shook these questions from his head and headed to the bottle of whiskey, pouring himself more and taking a long sip. He could feel the alcohol messing with his head, and he hiccuped under his breath, his vision starting to blur. The more sips he took, the more drunk he was becoming, and he could feel his head pounding a little as his ability to judge what he was doing started to go out the window. He finished his drink as he watched Moblit and the random man flirting and getting closer to each other. He palmed for the bottle of whiskey, shakily pouring himself another half glass full. He’d probably had enough, but his ability to decipher that was gone, and he just wanted to keep drinking, enjoying the warm, drunk feeling he was having. He stumbled into the living room, walking right into his boyfriend.

“Whoa,” Zeke said, grabbing him by the shoulders to steady him, “How much did you drink, baby? You look wasted.”

“‘M not,” Levi mumbled, holding the glass away from Zeke when he tried to take it.

Zeke frowned, “Baby, I think you’ve had enough.”

“No!” Levi pouted, taking another long sip, “Lemme have fun, Zeke. I never get drunk. I just wanna have fun tonight.”

Zeke sighed a little and backed off, still holding Levi with one hand to keep him steady, “Fine, but if you start puking, you’re done.”

Levi nodded, suddenly feeling very excited about being around his boyfriend. He clung to Zeke’s arm and leaned up to try and kiss him, “Kiss me, babe. I wanna make out.”

“Levi, we’re not making out when you’re this drunk,” Zeke laughed, pressing a kiss to his forehead anyways.

“But I wanna ,” Levi sighed in exasperation, “Hanji got to make out with someone - and it wasn’t even their boyfriend!”

Zeke chuckled, pressing a gentle kiss to Levi’s lips, “That’s all you get. Now come on, drunky, you wanna go sit down?”

Levi nodded, taking another sip of whiskey and following Zeke to the couch. Pieck and Hanji had stopped making out at this point, but Pieck was sitting in Hanji’s lap, Hanji’s hand gently caressing Pieck’s ass, as the two of them chatted with Porco.

Levi sat next to them, grinning at Hanji, “Hey.”

Hanji stared at him for a moment with eyes wide before looking up at Zeke, “How much booze did you give him?”

“I didn’t!” Zeke argued in some exasperation, “I left him alone for like an hour and he’s drunk as hell.”

“Hanji, Hanji,” Levi whispered loudly, cupping his hands around his mouth as he failed at keeping quiet, “I have a secret to tell you.”

Hanji grinned, enjoying Levi like this and leaning closer to him, still holding onto Pieck, who was distracted having some deep conversation with Porco, “What is it, Levi?”

“You’re so pretty,” Levi said as quietly as he could, “And I really, really love you. You’re my bestie.”

Hanji started giggling, a blush on their face, “Aww, Levi! That’s so sweet. I really love you, and you’re my bestie too, you handsome boy!”

Levi grinned, “Come here, I wanna give you a kiss.”

Zeke was face-palming at how drunk Levi was, but Hanji was thoroughly enjoying every second of drunk Levi. They leaned closer to him and Levi grabbed Hanji’s face, kissing them directly on the lips. Though it had been a platonic kiss, Hanji clearly had thought it was going to be a kiss on the cheek or something, and their face was completely red when Levi pulled away from them. 

Levi was giggling hysterically, barely able to get out, “Your... Your face! You look so embarrassed.”

“Oh my god,” Hanji laughed, still a little shocked, “I didn’t know you were going to kiss me on the lips , Levi! You have a boyfriend!”

“But I have to give my bestie kisses too!” Levi protested, pouting a little.

Hanji was still a little red, but was laughing at what Levi had just done. Levi felt two hands on his shoulders, and looked up to see Zeke smiling down at him softly. He smiled back, feeling completely head over heels in his drunken state.

“Maybe we should get you to bed, baby,” Zeke advised, “You’re pretty drunk.”

“Nooooo,” Levi whined.

“Let him have fun, Zekey!” Pieck stood up for him, pausing their conversation with Porco.

Levi grinned, “Yeah, let me have fun, Zekey! ”

Zeke sighed a bit and rubbed his forehead in some stress, “Fine, but Levi, stay with me . I don’t need to lose you and find you making out with some random person.”

Levi nodded, reaching over to grasp Zeke’s hand in his so he wouldn’t get lost. He downed the rest of his whiskey and set the glass down on the table, the alcohol pumping through his veins. It wasn’t long before Porco got up to go play another drinking game, and Hanji and Pieck went back to making out.

“Hey, how come they can make out, but I can’t?” Levi frowned, looking up at Zeke.

“Because they’re not nearly as drunk as you,” Zeke explained, pressing a kiss to Levi’s forehead.

There was suddenly some yelling coming from the other side of the room, and Levi could see two men shouting at each other, looking like they were ready to fight. Zeke frowned and got up from the couch.

“I’ll be back, Levi, stay here . I have to sort this out,” Zeke said, “Hanji, watch Levi for me.”

He wandered into the crowd towards the two angry men. But Hanji was too preoccupied with Pieck, and Levi immediately forgot what Zeke had told him, and he got up, starting to stumble in the opposite direction Zeke had gone. He looked around, trying to figure out if he recognized anyone here from school. That’s when he saw a man who was turned away from him. A man with blonde hair and an undercut, tall and built. Levi’s drunken mind wasn’t thinking right, and his immediate drunk thought was that this had to be Erwin. He walked towards the man in determination, feeling his heart pounding. Could this really be Erwin? Maybe he’d come back, somehow. Maybe his death was just a bad dream. Either way, Levi was able to justify it in his drunken state. He could feel the excitement pulsing in his veins, and a smile grew on his face.

“Erwin,” he greeted, putting his hand on the man’s arm. The man turned around, and Levi immediately knew he’d been wrong. This man had brown eyes, and a completely different face. He looked nothing like Erwin from the front.

“Um... sorry? Are you looking for someone?” he asked.

“I... I...” Levi stared at him, a little shocked, “You’re not Erwin.”

“No,” the man chuckled a bit, “Do you need help?”

“N-No,” Levi stuttered, his heart sinking in his chest as all his hopes crashed and burned, his anxiety starting to build as he realized just how wrong he had been. He quickly walked away from the man, completely shaken up. How could he have been so wrong? He felt so stupid for having the dumb hope that Erwin had come back to him. That was impossible, and Levi knew that, but he had held out hope anyways.

He pushed his way through the crowd, not knowing where Zeke was. He didn’t even remember how to get back to Hanji and Pieck at this point, and who knows where Moblit or Porco had ended up. He was in a sea of strangers, and he could feel himself getting more and more panicked as he worked his way through the crowd. Suddenly, he felt a hand smack his ass roughly, and he yelped, thinking it was Zeke playing a joke on him. He whipped around to glare at him, and came face to face with the same stranger, who had followed him.

“Hey sexy,” he said in a low voice, grabbing Levi’s arm, “What are you doing all alone here?”

Levi frowned, feeling uneasy about this man, but his alcohol-ridden mind was definitely a lot more trusting than usual. He allowed the man to pull him close and answered quietly, “I... I don’t know... I just wanted to make out... and then-”

“We can make out if you want,” he interrupted.

“Really?” Levi asked, looking hopeful. Maybe Zeke wouldn’t mind? He did agree to let Levi have fun, after all.

“Really,” the stranger grinned, starting to drag him towards the stairs. Levi followed him upstairs, his vision blacking out every few seconds. One second he was at the bottom of the stairs, then at the top. Then he was in Zeke’s bed, being kissed roughly by this stranger. Suddenly, he didn’t have his shirt on anymore, laying on his stomach, and the man was grinding against him.

“I’m gonna fuck you so good,” he was growling in his ear, and Levi frowned a little. That wasn’t what he had come up here for. But then he was being kissed again, and he tried weakly to push him away. He didn’t want to have sex. That wasn’t what he’d agreed to. But the man was holding him down, and being so drunk, he felt unable to fight against him. Fear began to take hold of him, and the next thing he knew, he and the man were in their boxers. The stranger was grinding against him wildly and holding his wrists so hard that Levi could already feel bruises forming there.

He whimpered, “You’re hurting me.”

“ Shut up .”

That’s when the door slammed open, Zeke and Hanji both standing there. Zeke had a look of shock, concern, and anger all twisted on his face. For a moment, Levi thought Zeke was angry with him , and he felt guilt rising in his stomach. But before Zeke could even move, Hanji had thrown the stranger off Levi and onto the floor, kicking him in the balls as hard as they could.

“You piece of shit! ” Hanji shouted, “ Stay away from him! ”

Zeke stared for a moment, not bothering to step in, as the man clearly deserved this. Zeke rushed over to Levi, immediately checking to make sure he wasn’t hurt, “Are you okay? I shouldn’t have left you alone, I should’ve stayed, I should’ve-”

“Zeke,” Levi interrupted, “I thought... I thought I saw Erwin.”

Zeke frowned, “What? What do you mean?”

“He... He looks like Erwin from the back,” Levi explained, “And I thought it was him and then... then it wasn’t. And he said he just wanted to make out, and I wanted to make out, but then...”

“Shh, baby, you don’t have to explain,” Zeke cooed, gently running his fingers through Levi’s hair, “It’s okay, baby.”

“Are you mad at me?” Levi asked, his eyes filling with tears not only from worry that he’d upset Zeke, but also from the fact that he thought he’d seen Erwin and it had turned out so horribly. He still hadn’t entirely processed what had happened.

“No, baby, no,” Zeke replied, kissing his forehead lightly, “I’m not mad at you.”

Hanji kicked the man a few times in the stomach, grabbing him by the hair and picking him up, “Get the fuck out of this house, or I’ll fucking kill you.”

Porco, Pieck, and Moblit soon appeared in the doorway, having been looking for Zeke, Hanji, and Levi. Porco immediately recognized what was going on, and he grabbed the guy by the shirt, “I’ll take care of him. Don’t worry.”

Hanji nodded, and Porco dragged the man down the hall, the stranger protesting loudly about how ‘he wanted it’. Moblit gathered Levi’s clothes off the floor and handed them to Zeke, who helped Levi get his pants and shirt back on. Levi was shaking, and Zeke caressed his cheek gently to try and soothe him.

“I... I thought I saw him,” Levi sniffled, tears starting to stream down his face, “But it wasn’t him. He’s never coming back.”

Zeke’s eyes widened slightly at the sight of Levi’s tears, and Hanji immediately moved to sit behind Levi. They placed Levi’s head in their lap and started running their fingers through his hair to try and calm him down.

“Shhh, Levi,” Hanji whispered, “It’s okay. It’ll be okay.”

Levi could feel himself breaking down. He had been so sure that it was Erwin he’d seen. How had it turned out so badly? It wasn’t Erwin, and even worse, it was some douchebag who’d tried to assault him. He felt completely rattled, and his tears were coming faster now.

“He’s never coming back,” Levi repeated as he let out a sob, and Pieck appeared at his side with a glass of water.

“Drink some water, baby,” Zeke tried, holding the cup to Levi’s lips. He took a couple sips of the water, the cold drink at least making his pounding head feel a little better. Pieck took the glass back from Zeke and set it on the bedside table.

“Does he need anything else?” Pieck asked Zeke, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Zeke frowned, “No, Hanji and I got him. Can you and Moblit go clear everyone out? Party’s over.”

Pieck nodded, and she and Moblit left the room to go do as Zeke had asked of them. Hanji was still caressing Levi’s head gently, running their fingers through his hair and whispering soothing words to him.

Levi sobbed, “Hanji, he’s never coming back.”

“I know, honey, I know,” Hanji sighed, “It’s okay, you just let it all out, okay? We’re here for you.”

And Levi took Hanji’s advice, letting go completely and starting to sob uncontrollably. He turned around and wrapped his arms around Hanji’s middle, burying his face in their stomach and shaking with sobs. Zeke rubbed his back gently, pressing a kiss to his cheek lightly. Hanji just held onto him tight, kissing the top of his head lightly.

“Do you want me to leave you two alone, Levi?” Zeke asked cautiously.

Levi shook his head against Hanji’s stomach, hiccuping as he sobbed again, “D-Don’t go! I’m sorry!”

“Baby, you don’t have to apologize,” Zeke laid down next to him and tried to look into his eyes, “This isn’t your fault.”

Levi sniffled and looked up at him, “No, Zeke, I’m sorry about the other night. I shouldn’t have a-asked you to do that.”

Zeke blushed a little, him and Hanji exchanging a glance, “Baby, we can talk about it later, okay?”

Levi sniffled, “I’m a bad boyfriend.”

Hanji looked a little uneasy; this conversation was obviously going somewhere that they didn’t feel comfortable being in between. Zeke sucked in a deep breath, wrapping his arms around Levi and shaking his head.

“You’re not a bad boyfriend, baby,” Zeke pressed kisses all over his tear-strewn face, “You’re an amazing boyfriend. Come on, sweetie, let’s not talk about this now. Just take some deep breaths, okay?”

Levi sobbed, his breathing uneven and ragged. He tried to breathe normally, another sob escaping his mouth. Zeke held him tight, and after a few minutes of Zeke rubbing his back and Hanji running their fingers through his hair, he could feel himself calming down. He was down to sniffles now, and he wiped at his eyes as Hanji handed him a tissue. He blew his nose and Zeke handed him the water again, allowing him to take a few sips before putting it back on the bedside table.

Levi finally sat up, still feeling incredibly drunk and now exhausted from expending so much energy crying. Porco soon appeared in the doorway, breathing heavily and his fists bloody.

“I took care of him,” Porco frowned, “He won’t be bothering you anymore.”

Levi nodded a little, and Zeke sighed, “Thanks, Porco. Are people leaving?”

“Yeah, it’s almost empty downstairs,” Porco replied, “Pieck and I are going to head out. Hanji, Pieck says to call her.”

Hanji couldn’t help but smile a little, “Okay. Thanks.”

Porco headed back down the stairs, and Moblit soon appeared in the doorway, waiting for Hanji. Hanji carefully removed Levi from their lap and went to get up, but Levi shook his head and clung to them.

“Don’t go!” Levi sniffled, “ Please don’t go, Hanji. I need you.”

Hanji and Moblit exchanged a glance, and Hanji reached into their pocket and tossed their keys at Moblit. He caught them, looking at Hanji in some confusion.

“You go stay at mine, it’s closer. I’m gonna stay here,” Hanji said, turning to Zeke, “If that’s okay with you.”

Zeke frowned, “You can both stay here. I have a guest room. Moblit can sleep there and you and Levi can stay here. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

Levi shook his head again, grabbing Zeke’s hand, “You can’t go either.”

Zeke held his hand tightly and pressed a kiss to it, noticing the bruises on his wrists and immediately starting to kiss at the bruises, “I won’t go, baby. But I don’t know if we can all fit in one bed.”

Hanji gave him a look that told Zeke he shouldn’t argue right now; that they would figure something out, and Zeke corrected himself, “But we’ll try, okay?”

Levi nodded, watching Moblit kiss Hanji goodnight and head for the guest bedroom. He settled under the covers, Hanji on one side and Zeke on the other. It was a little cramped, but Levi felt comfortable with the two most important people in his life so close to him. He drifted off to sleep quickly, due to the alcohol, thoughts of Erwin still floating through his head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was several days after the party. Levi had woken up the next morning with an incredible hangover, and Zeke and Hanji had spent the day nursing him back to health. He had been very quiet since then, and Zeke was growing increasingly concerned for his mental health. He’d had a mental breakdown while he was drunk, not only because of Erwin, but also because of the traumatic experience he’d gone through with the random man at Zeke’s party. But he wouldn’t talk to Hanji or Zeke about any of it, which was new for both of them. He was usually pretty open about his feelings of grief about Erwin, but now he had gone completely silent about it. Zeke and Levi were now sitting in Levi’s apartment, watching TV. Hanji had visited for a couple of hours earlier in the day, but had left to go see Moblit at his apartment.

“Levi?” Zeke spoke up, “Can we please talk about what happened?”

Levi’s eyes widened, as this was the first time Zeke had brought it up. He’d been trying to keep quiet about it up until this point, not wanting to trigger Levi and make him upset again. But Zeke was worried, and he didn’t want Levi to feel like he had to bottle up his feelings.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Levi replied, shrugging a little.

“Levi,” Zeke tried again, “You know there is. I don’t want to force you to talk about anything, but I also don’t think it’s healthy for you to keep things bottled up like this. So please talk to me if you need to.”

Levi wasn’t looking at him. He was staring at the television determinedly, crossing his arms stubbornly. Zeke frowned, feeling as though he was failing on his mission to try and get through to his boyfriend.

“Can we at least talk about the Erwin thing?” Zeke asked, “We don’t have to talk about what happened at the party, but we have to talk about what happened last week when we had sex...”

Levi visibly tensed up, and an uncomfortable look passed over his face as he frowned up at Zeke, “Do we have to?”

“I mean, we have to at some point,” Zeke replied, reaching out to brush some of Levi’s hair out of his face, “I can’t just let that go.”

Levi sighed heavily, turning away from Zeke again, as he clearly was trying to figure out how to get out of this conversation. But, seeing no way out, he grabbed the remote and turned the TV off, crossing his legs and turning to face Zeke.

“Fine,” Levi said, sounding uncertain, “What do you want to talk about?”

“I just... I can’t do that ever again, Levi,” Zeke frowned, “It hurt too much to see you like that... and to pretend to be him was... it was just fucked up, baby.”

Levi nodded in agreement, “I... I know. I’m really sorry. I don’t want to do that anymore, anyways.”

“Did it not help?” Zeke wondered in genuine curiosity.

Levi wouldn’t look at him, and he took a deep breath, “I mean... it sort of helped. It helped me get over some grief, but... it wasn’t what I thought it would be. I thought it would make me happy, you know, since I miss him. But it didn’t.”

“Well, we shouldn’t do that again,” Zeke replied, “It really hurt me.”

Zeke didn’t want to make Levi feel guilty, but he also needed Levi to know how much doing that had been painful for him. He didn’t like pretending to be Erwin; he didn’t like seeing how much Levi clearly still loved the man. It made him a little jealous, though he didn’t like to admit it.

“I’m really sorry,” Levi said as he looked up at Zeke, taking Zeke’s hands into his own, “I didn’t want to hurt you. We won’t do that again, I promise.”

Zeke smiled a little and pressed a kiss to Levi’s knuckles, “Thanks, baby.”

They sat in silence for a moment, just holding each other’s hands. Levi looked away from Zeke in clear thought, sighing a little and biting his lip. Zeke wondered what was going through his mind, and he didn’t have to wonder long.

“And I’m okay... you know, from the party...” Levi said slowly, “Still a little shaken up, but I was mostly just upset because I thought it was Erwin. And then... well, you know what happened. It’s scary to think about what almost happened to me, I’m glad you and Hanji came looking for me.”

Zeke was surprised Levi was talking about this, but he took the opportunity to squeeze Levi’s hands gently in encouragement. He wanted Levi to feel comfortable talking to him about anything, and this was a good first step.

“From what I remember, I was really scared,” Levi continued, his eyes trained on the ground, “And I thought... I thought he was really going to hurt me.”

“I’m so sorry, baby,” Zeke pressed another kiss to Levi’s hand, “I feel so awful for leaving you alone. If I had just stayed with you, none of that would’ve happened.”

Zeke recalled just how panicked he’d been upon returning to Hanji and Pieck to find out that Levi was gone. Hanji had immediately jumped up to help him look, and when they realized he wasn’t anywhere downstairs, they had quickly headed upstairs to search for him. Zeke remembered hearing the moans and kissing noises before even opening his bedroom door, and he could already sense something bad had been going on. When he’d opened the door to see Levi in that position, his eyes opening and closing as he was nearly passed out from drunkenness while some random guy was busy grinding against his ass and kissing at his neck, he’d been beyond angry. He couldn’t even put into words how furious he was to see someone doing that to his boyfriend, especially when Levi was so incapacitated.

“It’s not your fault,” Levi frowned, “I shouldn’t have run off, but I got distracted-”

“Babe, you were drunk,” Zeke shook his head, “None of what happened is your fault. I was the one who was supposed to watch you, and I failed at that. What happened to you is my fault.”

Zeke had truly blamed himself for this. He should’ve at least made sure Levi was being looked after properly. Guilt had been consuming him over this for the past week, and even though Levi was here telling him it wasn’t his fault, he still felt bad over it.

“Zeke, please don’t blame yourself,” Levi frowned, “It’s not like taking care of drunk me is the easiest thing to do. I don’t want you to feel bad.”

Zeke sighed, “Well, I won’t blame myself if that’s what you want. But I still feel guilty over it.”

Levi stared off, clearly in thought about the whole thing. He had a blank expression on his face, as if he didn’t know how to feel about everything. Zeke frowned, allowing him to go off for a moment before waving his hand in front of Levi’s face.

“Baby?” he murmured, “You okay?”

Levi snapped back to reality, looking down at Zeke in some confusion. He’d clearly been far off in thought, and looked like he didn’t know what Zeke had even said to him. Zeke gently rubbed Levi’s arm, trying to ground him.

“Can we cuddle?” Levi asked, his eyes looking watery.

Zeke nodded, “Of course, you wanna go upstairs or just cuddle on the couch?”

Levi sniffled quietly and hugged onto Zeke’s arm tightly, “Right here. Just... please- hold me, okay?”

Zeke immediately wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, holding him close and pressing loving kisses to the top of his head. He helped Levi lie down and laid down behind him on the couch, snuggling up to him and holding him in his arms. Levi sighed contently, sucking in a deep breath as he tried not to cry. Zeke could feel him shaking, and held him a little tighter to keep him from doing so.

“It’s going to be okay,” Zeke whispered, “What’s upsetting you? The thing that happened at the party? Or Erwin?”

Levi turned around and buried his face into Zeke’s chest, mumbling, “Both.”

“You just lay here, baby,” Zeke sighed, rubbing his back, “Just relax. Do you want me to make you some tea?”

Levi sniffled and shook his head, “I don’t want you to leave.”

“You want to come with me to the kitchen?” Zeke asked.

Levi nodded a little, holding tightly to Zeke’s shirt and sniffling quietly. Zeke was trying to think of all the things he could do to help his boyfriend feel better. He wrapped his arms around Levi’s middle and sat up so that Levi was straddling him, before he put his hands under Levi’s thighs and picked him up, carrying him to the kitchen. Levi was clinging to him, nuzzling his face in Zeke’s neck. If Levi hadn’t been so sad, Zeke would’ve thought this was adorable. He turned on the electric kettle and went to his cabinets to grab the tea bags; he’d specifically stocked up on Levi’s favorite tea for moments like this. He took out a mug and put the tea bag inside, pouring the hot water with one hand as he held Levi with his other. He handed Levi his tea and started carrying him up to the bedroom, wanting to give him a more comfortable place to cuddle. As soon as they entered his bedroom, though, Levi started shaking again.

“Baby? What’s wrong?” Zeke asked, setting Levi down slowly. Levi was staring at the bed, not answering him. Zeke realized what was probably going through his mind; he was likely reminiscing the events of the party as he looked at the place where it had happened.

“Should we go in the guest room?” Zeke inquired slowly, not wanting to set Levi off. Levi nodded, turning to Zeke and looking up at him with tearful eyes. Zeke gently put a hand on his back, leading him down the hall to the guest room.

“We can just stay in here, okay? We don’t have to go back in there,” Zeke said calmly, pushing back the covers and waiting for Levi to climb under them before he pulled them up over him and kissed his forehead. Levi sipped his tea, patting the spot next to him for Zeke to sit down.

“Wanna watch a movie?” Zeke asked, climbing onto the bed and under the covers next to his boyfriend.

Levi shook his head, setting his tea down on the nightstand and snuggling up to Zeke, “I just want you, Zeke.”

Zeke sighed happily, hugging him close. He was sad because Levi was sad, but he felt happy that Levi trusted him so much that all he wanted to comfort him was his boyfriend. Zeke held him tightly and pressed kisses to his face, rubbing his back lightly as he tried to comfort his poor, traumatized lover.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They were sitting on the couch a day or two later when Levi suddenly climbed into Zeke’s lap, straddling him and holding his face in his hands. He pressed a deep kiss to Zeke’s lips, and Zeke could feel himself already getting aroused already. But he didn’t want to push Levi into anything, especially considering he was essentially assaulted a week ago. But he was surprised to feel Levi grind against him lightly.

“Baby, what are you doing?” Zeke asked in some shock.

“I’m trying to get fucked?” Levi responded, raising his eyebrow, “Is that a problem?”

“I’m just surprised,” Zeke looked up at him in confusion, “Aren’t you like... messed up from last week?”

“I mean, yeah,” Levi shrugged, “But you’re not him. Everybody reacts differently to assault. Doesn’t mean I have to stop having sex. I trust you, and I know that if I get uncomfortable we can stop.”

Zeke nodded a little, cautiously bringing his hands down to Levi’s ass and squeezing it gently, “If you’re sure... you just let me know if you wanna stop.”

“Okay,” Levi smiled, kissing him deeply, “I want you.”

“I want you too,” Zeke smiled back, reaching his hand back and smacking Levi’s ass hard, which caused the shorter man to yelp in surprise.

Levi began grinding against him roughly, bouncing on Zeke’s erection and groaning, “I want it so bad.”

“Is that so?” Zeke smirked, biting his lip from the feeling and grinding up to meet him, “You want it, baby?”

“Y-Yeah,” Levi whined, starting to undo Zeke’s pants and tug them down along with his boxers, freeing his erection.

Zeke started pulling Levi’s pants off as well, and soon they were both free of their clothes below the waist. Zeke held his fingers up to Levi’s mouth, and the shorter man soon took them past his lips, sucking on them roughly. Zeke removed his fingers after a moment and pressed one to Levi’s entrance, pushing it in and wriggling it around a little.

“Shit,” Levi muttered, starting to bounce against his finger before kissing Zeke hard, “Your fingers feel so good.”

“You like it, baby?” Zeke asked, adding a second finger and starting to fuck into him harder, “You like my fingers fucking you like this?”

Levi nodded and groaned, grinding down against his fingers desperately as his breathing became uneven. Zeke added a third finger and began to grope at his prostate, eliciting a whine from Levi as he panted from the feeling.

Soon, Zeke removed his fingers and glanced up at Levi, realizing he’d have to go get a condom, “Baby, get off. I gotta grab a condom.”

“Just put it in,” Levi groaned, rubbing up against him, “I need you, Zeke.”

Zeke blushed a little, but decided not to protest. He trusted Levi, and he could sense that Levi trusted him too. He held his dick in his hand and began to rub it against Levi’s entrance, grinning up at his boyfriend.

“Tell me you want it,” Zeke smirked, and Levi whimpered as he ground against him.

“I want it,” Levi groaned, “Give it to me, please .”

“Okay, baby,” Zeke chuckled, “I’ll give it to you, but only because you asked so nicely.”

He pushed the head in slowly, watching Levi’s face twist in discomfort before it turned to pleasure, a low moan escaping his mouth. He continued to push in until he was in as far as he could go, and he groaned from the feeling of Levi’s warmth around him. It was so much warmer without a condom, and he could feel him more.

“Shit,” Zeke muttered, gripping Levi’s hips, “You feel so good, baby.”

But Levi was too busy moaning, his face flushed red and his mouth open as he whimpered from the feeling of Zeke being inside him. Zeke gripped his hips tightly, murmuring sensually, “Shhh, baby, it’s okay. You’re taking my dick so well.”

Levi groaned and put his hands on Zeke’s shoulders, starting to bounce eagerly on Zeke’s erection, “Fuck, keep talking like that. I like it.”

Zeke couldn’t help but grin a little from that, leaning up to press a kiss to his lips before growling, “You like it when I talk dirty to you? You wanna hear me say naughty things while you’re bouncing on my dick, baby?”

Levi’s face turned a deep shade of red, but he moaned from Zeke’s words and nodded, “Fuck yes.”

“Hmm, such a bad boy,” Zeke chuckled, smacking Levi’s ass hard, “We’ll have to do something about that, won’t we?”

“God, Z-Zeke,” Levi panted hard, “Y-Yes.”

Zeke grabbed Levi around the waist and pulled him down onto the couch, so that he was now lying underneath Zeke as he began to slam into him roughly. Levi cried out and wrapped his arms around Zeke’s neck, breathing heavily.

“So bad, letting me fuck you without a condom,” Zeke scolded quietly, “You know only naughty boys do that, right?”

Levi whimpered, arching his back a little into Zeke’s thrusts, “Oh my god.”

Zeke brought his lips down against Levi’s again before growling against them, “I bet you’d let me bend you over and fuck you anywhere, right? You’re so desperate for it.”

“Fuck!” Levi cried out as Zeke pounded into his prostate, “Fuck yes, I’d take it anywhere- you make me feel so fucking good.”

“Are you getting close, baby?” Zeke cooed in his ear, nibbling on his earlobe and groaning.

“Y-Yeah,” Levi moaned loudly, “Sh-Shit.”

“Let me hear you, baby,” Zeke groaned, plowing into him as fast as he could, “Tell me how much you love this.”

Levi looked as though something clicked in his head, as if he was abandoning anything that was holding him back, and he tossed his head back, whining, “Z-Zeke! I love you fucking me like this - god, give it to me. Give it to me .”

“Shh, baby,” Zeke whispered in his ear, fucking into him harder, “I’m gonna fuck you until you’re screaming for me.”

“You’re gonna make me cum,” Levi panted, “I’m gonna cum, f-fuck.”

“You gonna cum, baby?” Zeke growled, snapping his hips forward roughly, “Are you gonna cum for me?”

“Yes, Zeke, yes! ” he practically shrieked, spilling between them as he orgasmed. Zeke groaned, pumping into him a few more times before he pulled out, starting to jerk himself off. Much to his surprise, Levi sat up quickly, grasping Zeke’s dick and starting to jerk him wildly, leaning down and opening his mouth.

Zeke nearly came just from the sight of Levi’s open mouth, and he panted hard as he whined, “Levi, sh-shit. Are you sure you want me to-”

“Do it,” Levi ordered, darting his tongue out to lick at the tip as he continued to pump Zeke’s dick as fast as he could.

Zeke gasped and came, spilling into Levi’s mouth and moaning from the sight as Levi began to lick his lips and lap up his cum. He almost couldn’t breathe; he was so shocked from how dirty they’d been. But they both seemed to enjoy it, and Zeke couldn’t argue with that. Both men were panting as they calmed down from their activities, and Levi grabbed some tissues off the coffee table to clean himself up, handing the box to Zeke when he was done. Once they were both cleaned up, Levi reached up and tugged Zeke down for a deep kiss, sighing contently.

“Damn, that was hot,” Zeke breathed out, kissing back and laying next to him.

Levi nodded in agreement, snuggling up to Zeke, “Guess what?”

“What?” Zeke asked, running his fingers through Levi’s hair.

“I didn’t think about Erwin that whole time,” Levi smiled, and Zeke couldn’t help but grin.

“Really?” he said hopefully, and Levi nodded in response. Clearly, he’d thought about him just now, but Zeke trusted that he was telling the truth when he said he hadn’t thought about Erwin during their sex.

“Yeah, I was too focused on what you were saying,” Levi explained.

“I’ll have to remember to say dirty things to you more often, then,” Zeke smirked, pressing a deep kiss to Levi’s lips. Zeke could feel Levi smiling into their kiss, and his heart was swelling with joy. Maybe they could move past Levi’s grief to be together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi got off the bus and began walking up the driveway, cutting through the grass and sitting down in front of the tombstone. He was here again to visit Erwin, and smiled sadly at the name on the headstone as he settled in the grass.

“Hi Erwin,” Levi said softly, “I missed you.”

He brushed away some moss that had begun to grow on the top of the stone, and grabbed the backpack he brought with him. He took out some cleaning products, spraying the stone with it and taking a scrub brush. He did this every once in a while, even though Hanji thought he was nuts for cleaning a tombstone. But he wanted Erwin’s stone to be clean and presentable, much like the man was when he was alive. He did it to show Erwin he still wanted to care for him, even if they couldn’t be together anymore.

“I have to talk to you about something,” Levi started as he scrubbed away the dirt and grime on the headstone, “You know how I told you about that guy? The one I had a crush on? Well, I’m dating him now... I hope that’s okay with you. I’m really happy with him, but I still think about you often. I wonder if you’re upset with me.”

Levi sighed heavily, taking a water bottle from his backpack and pouring it over the headstone to wash away the soap. He grabbed some polish and a rag from the backpack next, starting to scrub the granite until it shined.

“I... I was wondering if you could do me a favor,” Levi continued, “Can you send me a sign? If... If I’m making you upset, please send me some type of sign. I need to know if what I’m doing is okay or not.”

Levi stayed silent for a few moments as he finished polishing the stone, putting his supplies back in his bag and zipping it up. He admired his work, the headstone shining in the sunlight. But just as he was preparing to get up, he felt a drop of rain on his head. He frowned as the drops continued, and looked up to see it had started to rain. Levi’s heart nearly stopped. Was this his sign from Erwin? Rain? That wasn’t a good sign at all. He glanced back at the headstone, trying to convince himself it was just a coincidence. But he had a nauseous feeling in his stomach, and he felt like this was the sign he’d been asking for.

“You... Is this the sign?” Levi asked, “You really are upset with me?”

He frowned and covered his mouth in some stress, “But I... Erwin, I really like him. I might even... I might even be falling for him.”

The rain turned from a drizzle to a heavy pour within seconds, and Levi quickly stood up, preparing to leave as he was starting to get soaked. But he stared down at the tombstone in some shock.

“I’m sorry, Erwin... if that’s how you really feel, then...” Levi sucked in a deep breath, “Then I won’t hurt you anymore. I’ll see you later. Love you.”

He walked back to the bus stop, getting drenched with rain. Tears were beginning to pour down his face, though you could barely tell with the rain pouring so heavily. He took the bus and immediately headed to talk to the one person he needed to right now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zeke was sitting in his room, listening to the thunderstorm outside as he took notes for class, when the doorbell rang. He got up and walked down the stairs, opening the front door and seeing Levi standing there, completely soaked from the rain and practically shivering from the cold.

“Baby, what are you doing?” he asked almost instantly, taking his hand and pulling him inside, “You’re gonna catch a cold. Where’s your coat?”

“I... I didn’t know it would rain,” Levi replied softly.

“Come upstairs, I’ll give you a change of clothes,” Zeke suggested, turning to head up the stairs but stopping when he felt Levi grab his arm.

“No,” Levi said, “I... I came here to say something.”

Zeke turned back around, looking confused, “What is it? Can’t it wait? I don’t want you to get sick, babe.”

“I... we have to break up,” Levi said quietly, and Zeke wasn’t sure he had heard him right.

“W-What?” Zeke asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m breaking up with you,” Levi tried again, speaking more strongly this time.

Zeke’s eyes widened, his heart beginning to race, “Levi... what are you saying? You can’t be serious...”

Levi was breaking up with him. But why? Things had really been improving between them over the past couple weeks, and they were doing so well now. Zeke had even thought maybe they could move in together in a couple of months, but now... now he was completely shocked, unsure of why this was happening, and why now of all the times Levi could’ve done this.

“Zeke, we can’t be together anymore,” Levi tried again, and he refused to even look at Zeke as he was saying this, “I’m serious.”

“You better fucking look at me if you’re about to break my heart,” Zeke snapped, starting to get irritated. After all this, Levi was just giving up on their relationship? And for seemingly no reason? Had he done something wrong?

Levi’s eyes flashed with guilt before he looked up at Zeke, tears starting to fill his eyes, “Zeke... please don’t be angry with me. I have to do this.”

“But why?” Zeke asked in some exasperation, not understanding why this was happening at all.

“I can’t... Zeke, it just has to end,” Levi sighed.

“ Why?! ” Zeke growled, “Don’t I deserve an explanation at the very least?!”

Levi bit his lip, apparently still feeling bad, before he opened the front door again, “Zeke, I just can’t be with you-”

“ Why?! ” Zeke shouted, needing to know. He didn’t care if he was coming off like an asshole. He was incredibly hurt, and wanted to understand what he had done to drive away the shorter man.

“Because I don’t want you anymore!” Levi shouted back, looking like he regretted it as soon as he said it. He quickly tried to correct himself, “I don’t... I just don’t want to be with someone like you...”

“Someone like me?! What did I do?!” Zeke asked, sounding almost desperate at this point.

“Stop shouting at me!” Levi replied, starting to look annoyed.

“Then tell me what I did! You don’t even care about me enough to give me a reason?!”

“No, I fucking don’t ,” Levi snapped, looking regretful as he walked out the front door and slammed it behind him. But Zeke wasn’t done, and he ripped the door back open, seeing Levi starting to walk down the path towards the road.

“Levi, come back!”

The shorter man kept going, his hands shoved in his pockets as rain poured onto his already-drenched clothing.

“ Levi! ” he yelled, “If you leave now, then you never gave a fuck about me! Come back, and prove to me that’s not true!”

He sucked in a breath and held it as Levi paused and turned around. He prayed silently that Levi would come back, would explain to him what the hell was going on. His hands were at his sides, squeezed into fists, as his shoulders tensed up from the stress of what was happening.

But Levi only said, “I’m sorry, Zeke,” before turning back around and walking down the sidewalk towards the bus stop. Zeke could feel his heart tearing in two, a horrible dread filling his gut. He slammed the door shut angrily and stormed up to his room, flopping onto the bed and screaming into his pillow angrily. He didn’t understand why this had happened, and he felt angry tears tugging at his eyelids, soon spilling over his cheeks. What did I do? He thought, sniffling and wiping away at the tears.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Porco was pissed. He was more than pissed, he was livid. When Zeke had called him crying, he knew instantly what had happened. Zeke didn’t just cry over nothing, and Porco had suspected that Levi had broken up with him before the words even left Zeke’s mouth. He’d agreed to come over with Pieck, and contacted her immediately after hanging up with Zeke. The two of them had just entered Zeke’s house, as he left the door unlocked for them. Porco followed Pieck upstairs and down the hall to Zeke’s room, and they pushed back the door to see an incredibly depressed Zeke, his eyes red with tears and a cigarette in between his fingers. He was standing at the window smoking. He must’ve been really upset. He only smoked when he was significantly stressed. Pieck immediately went over to him and tried to take the cigarette, but Zeke held it away from her.

“Don’t!” he shot her a glare, and Porco came up behind him and snatched it from his hands.

“You know that’s bad for you,” Porco said as he put the cigarette out, watching Zeke sigh heavily in annoyance.

“I asked you guys here to help me, not to waste my cigarettes,” Zeke grumbled, crossing his arms.

Pieck ignored his comment and wrapped her arms around him, leaning her head on his chest, “It’ll be okay, Zekey.”

Zeke frowned a little and let her hug him, some tears welling up in his eyes. He swallowed thickly to hold them back, and Pieck began rubbing his back gently. Porco frowned. Hadn’t he warned that little twerp that they’d have a problem if he hurt Zeke? He’d have to have a talk with the shorter man at some point. Porco didn’t like seeing his friend so distressed, and he’d fuck up anyone who messed with Zeke.

“Why’d he do it?” Porco asked as Pieck pulled away and led Zeke to his bed, sitting down with him.

“He wouldn’t tell me,” Zeke muttered, running his hand through his hair in stress, “He said he didn’t care enough to give me a reason.”

Porco clenched his fists, “I’m gonna fuck him up.”

“Porco, don’t say things like that,” Pieck scolded, “That’s not what Zeke needs right now.”

Zeke took off his glasses and wiped his tears with the back of his hand, sniffling a bit. Porco quickly grabbed the tissues from off Zeke’s desk and handed him one, Zeke smiling up at him gratefully.

“I just don’t understand what I did wrong,” Zeke said quietly, sounding defeated, “We were so happy, and he just did this out of nowhere.”

“I’m sure he has his reasons,” Pieck replied, “Whether they’re good ones or not is up for debate.”

Pieck rubbed his back lightly, and Porco was pacing the room, getting more irritated by the second. He didn’t understand why Levi would do something like this, but he wanted to find out.

“Give me your phone,” Porco practically demanded, and Zeke looked up at him in some confusion before handing him his phone.

Porco scrolled through his contacts, “I’m calling the bastard.”

“Porco, don’t,” Pieck argued, but Zeke didn’t say anything. Part of him must have thought Levi deserved Porco’s scolding, and Porco found Levi’s number and dialed it, listening to it ring.

“Zeke,” Levi picked up, “I told you, I-”

“This isn’t Zeke,” Porco said with gritted teeth, “It’s Porco. Why the fuck did you break up with him?!”

“That’s none of your business,” Levi replied shortly, “Why do you have his phone?”

“Because you broke his fucking heart, you asshole!” Porco growled, “Now tell me why you broke up with him, or I’ll find out your address next.”

“Is that a fucking threat?” Levi snapped, sounding just as angry as Porco was.

“Maybe,” Porco growled, “Do you want to find out?”

“Fine,” Levi growled, “I broke up with him because he’s not a good boyfriend.”

“ How?! ” Porco practically shouted, causing Pieck and Zeke to jump a little, “He’s been nothing but good to you, even with your weird fucking obsession over some dead guy-”

“ Don’t talk about Erwin like that!” Levi yelled.

“Then tell me what the real reason is,” Porco ordered, “Because that was a bullshit answer.”

“ Fine ,” Levi grumbled, suddenly sounding a bit sheepish, “I broke up with him because... because it rained.”

Porco was silent, a confused look crossing his face. What the fuck was that supposed to mean? He was incredibly lost as to what Levi was talking about, and he took a few seconds to process it before he responded.

“Because it rained?” Porco repeated, “What the fuck does that mean?”

Levi hung up on him, and Porco wanted to throw the phone at the wall, but refrained when he remembered it wasn’t his phone. He handed it back to Zeke, running his fingers through his hair in stress.

“What’d he say?” Zeke asked curiously, stuffing the phone back into his pocket.

“He said he broke up with you because it rained,” Porco explained, “What a fucking idiot. You dodged a bullet, if you ask me.”

Zeke stared up at him in confusion, “Because... it rained?”

“Yeah, I have no fucking clue what that means,” Porco frowned, sticking his hands in his pockets, “Sorry, Zeke. He’s just an asshole.”

Zeke sighed heavily, going to lay under the covers. Pieck tucked him in and pressed a kiss to his forehead, “You want us to stay the night, Zekey?”

Zeke nodded, smiling sadly at Pieck, “If you guys don’t mind. It’s lonely in this big house sometimes. And I’m used to Levi staying the night.”

He frowned at that last statement, more tears filling his eyes. Pieck ran her fingers through his hair soothingly, and Porco went to sit next to Pieck on the bed, patting Zeke’s arm comfortingly. He didn’t understand why Levi had broken up with Zeke, but he knew one thing for certain: Zeke was better without the bastard, anyways.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi opened the door to his apartment and Isabel immediately rushed in excitedly, pushing past him and looking around his apartment in awe. Farlan followed in soon after, smiling at Levi. He’d invited the two of them over for the weekend, his depression having gotten worse since he broke things off with Zeke. He felt incredibly guilty for the things he’d said, mostly because they weren’t true. He did care about Zeke, he just needed Zeke to stay away from him, and he felt stupid for his real reasoning behind the breakup. How was he supposed to explain that Erwin had sent him a sign?

“Wow, your apartment is so cute, bro!” Isabel exclaimed, beginning to explore his small space, “I love it!”

“Thanks,” Levi mumbled, going to sit on the couch. Farlan went to sit down next to him, putting an arm around Levi.

“So how have you been since... you know...” Farlan asked, referring to the breakup.

Isabel stopped looking around and frowned, “Yeah, are you okay?”

Levi sighed heavily, “I mean... I’m fine, but I feel like an asshole for what I said to him. I didn’t mean to come across so... mean, but I just wanted him to stay away from me.”

“Why’d you break things off, anyways?” Farlan asked, “I thought you were happy with him. Was it just too much?”

Isabel went to join them on the couch, putting their legs up across Levi and Farlan’s laps and getting comfortable. Levi looked away from the two of them, feeling a little embarrassed to admit the real reason.

“I... I went to see Erwin,” he said quietly, “And I asked for a sign. I asked him to send me a sign if he was mad at me, and then... then it rained.”

Isabel immediately burst out laughing, covering her mouth to hold it back, and Farlan shot her a glare. He rubbed Levi’s arm sympathetically, “Levi, I don’t think that’s Erwin sending you a sign. The forecast called for rain yesterday.”

Levi frowned, “But... But it started literally as soon as I told him to send me a sign.”

“That’s probably just a coincidence,” Farlan said, “Are you sure there’s not another reason why you may have broken up with Zeke?”

Levi thought about it. Was there another reason? Perhaps the rain was only the surface reason that he’d broken up with Zeke. But then, what was the real reason? He looked at Farlan in some confusion, as if he was searching for Farlan to tell him the answer.

“Did you maybe break up with Zeke because you’re still hung up on Erwin?” Farlan asked, “Maybe you just can’t handle being in a relationship because you’re always thinking about Erwin.”

Levi frowned. Farlan was completely right, though Levi hesitated to admit it. He thought he’d been doing so well in trying to move past Erwin, but here he was so caught up on what he perceived to be a sign from the man.

“Yeah, Levi,” Isabel agreed, “I think you’re still caught up with him. Don’t you want to be happy? How are you ever going to be happy if you can’t move on from Erwin?”

Levi didn’t know the answer to that question. He could feel the tears welling up in his eyes and swallowed them back. Zeke didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve to be broken up with over some stupid ‘sign’. Levi felt so stupid, but he’d really believed that Erwin would try to speak to him, would try to send him some sort of sign.

“Weren’t you happy with Zeke?” Farlan asked, “I thought you were. You seemed to be getting better when you were with him.”

“Maybe you should go beg for another chance,” Isabel suggested.

“Maybe... I was really happy with him,” Levi said quietly.

In fact, when Levi thought about Zeke, all he could feel was happiness. He missed the bastard, even though it’d only been a day since they’d broken up. He was feeling incredibly stupid for having broken things off, and he was wondering if Zeke would even give him a second chance at this point. He’d already been so patient with Levi, maybe this was the last straw. Besides, Levi had said such awful things to him. Perhaps he didn’t even deserve a second chance.

“I think... I think I’m falling for him,” Levi piped up after a moment of silence, “And that scares me.”

Isabel swung her legs off them so that she was sitting up and turned to Levi, “If you don’t go to therapy, I’m going to smack the shit out of you.”

“Isabel!” Farlan scolded, and Levi looked a little taken aback.

“I’m serious, Levi!” Isabel frowned, crossing her arms, “You have a lot of trauma you need to work through. If you’re going to ask for Zeke to take you back, you need to promise him that you’re going to go to therapy. And fuck, promise us! Don’t you think we want to see you happy too?”

Levi stared at Isabel, surprised that she’d gone off on such a tangent. He looked to Farlan, who, to his surprise, nodded in agreement, “She’s right, Levi. You need to go back to therapy and get some help. At least give it another chance. It might make you feel better!”

Levi sighed heavily. This was the last thing he wanted them to say, but he knew they were probably right. As much as he despised the thought of going to therapy, he needed to do something to get better, and continuing the way he was going was obviously not working out. He sucked in a deep breath and finally nodded.

“Fine,” he muttered, and felt Isabel throw her arms around him.

“I’m so proud of you, bro,” Isabel murmured in his ear, “We just want to see you get better.”

Soon, Farlan joined their hug, and Levi tried not to be annoyed by the group hug. He allowed them to hug him, but now he was beginning to worry about something else entirely. How was he going to get Zeke back?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Oh my god ,” Pieck moaned as Hanji pushed a third finger past her entrance, starting a fast pace into her g spot.

“Shit, you’re so wet for me,” Hanji murmured in her ear, continuing their assault as they picked up the pace, “You’re fucking gorgeous, babe.”

“Kiss me,” she said in an almost begging voice, and Hanji obliged, pressing a sweet kiss to her lips. They pulled their fingers out and grabbed the strap-on they’d taken out of their closet, starting to put it on.

Pieck twitched in some anticipation as Hanji lined the plastic dick up with Pieck’s entrance, pushing in gently. She groaned and spread her legs a little more, arching her back as Hanji began to thrust. Hanji leaned over her and kissed her roughly, pinning her hands above her head.

“F-Faster,” Pieck requested, and Hanji began to pick up the pace.

“How does it feel?” Hanji asked, beginning to press kisses down Pieck’s neck and onto their collarbone, “Do you like it?”

“Y-Yeah, it feels so good,” Pieck groaned.

“Good,” Hanji smiled against her neck, continuing to slam into her roughly.

The door opened suddenly, and Moblit stood there, his face completely red.

“Oh god, I’m so sorry-”

“You’re back early,” Hanji turned to look at him, not stopping their assault of thrusts on Pieck, who moaned wantonly, “Wanna join?”

Moblit stared at them, his face still red, and his arms hanging down at his sides as if he didn’t know what to do with them. But he nodded slowly, as if he was unsure of what to do. Hanji chuckled a little at his nervousness.

“You okay with Moblit joining?” she asked Pieck, who nodded a little.

“Come here, baby,” Hanji motioned for Moblit to come closer.

“I... I don’t know what to do,” Moblit said quietly, walking over to Hanji anyways.

“I’m gonna fuck her,” Hanji explained, pointing to Pieck, “You can either let her suck your dick or you could try to fuck me. Whatever you two are comfortable with.”

Pieck smiled and held out her arms to Moblit, “Come here, cutie.”

Moblit swallowed thickly before he walked over rigidly to Pieck, looking incredibly nervous. Hanji grabbed his hand and tugged him over once he was close enough, pressing a kiss to his lips.

“Don’t be nervous, baby. I’m here,” they whispered against his lips, and he smiled and nodded a little.

Hanji began undoing his belt buckle and tugged his pants down, working on his boxers next and pulling them down as well. They took his dick into their hand and started pumping it slowly, wanting to get him comfortable before he went all in on the two of them. He groaned a little, and Hanji started thrusting into Pieck while jerking Moblit off.

They soon let go of Moblit and pulled out of Pieck, flipping her over and putting it back in. She whined and arched her back, getting up on her hands and knees as Hanji continued to pound into her roughly. Moblit climbed in front of Pieck and she instantly put her mouth around him, sucking on him eagerly. Moblit groaned and gently put his fingers in her hair, tugging on it gently. Hanji smirked at them and kept going, enjoying the noises of their two lovers being pleasured.

That’s when their phone rang, and Hanji sighed heavily. If that’s Levi, I’m gonna kill him , they thought as they pulled out of Pieck and got off the bed, searching their clothes for their phone. They found it and sure enough, it was Levi. Hanji knew that Levi and Zeke had just broken up, so they tried to be understanding.

“You two keep going, I’ll be right back,” Hanji said as they went into the hallway, picking up the call.

“Hanji,” Levi said once they picked up.

“What’s up, Levi? I’m, uh, kind of busy,” Hanji said, glancing into the bedroom to see Moblit had moved behind Pieck and was now fucking her wildly, the two of them making all sorts of erotic noises. Hanji pouted, not liking that they were missing out on the fun.

“I’m sorry, I promise I won’t be long,” Levi assured them, “I just... Farlan and Isabel convinced me I need to go to therapy... and I’m going to, but I-”

“Really?” Hanji said in some shock, “Good for you!”

They never thought that they’d hear Levi say that he was going back to therapy, but they were thrilled to hear it. Finally , they thought, smiling a little. Levi sighed into the phone, clearly not excited by the idea.

“Thanks,” he grumbled, “But I also want to get back together with Zeke, and I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to get him back. That’s why I called.”

“Well,” Hanji frowned, tapping their chin, “You just need to have a talk with him. Tell him you’re sorry, and tell him you’re going to go to therapy for him. He’ll appreciate that. Maybe bring him a gift?”

“Like what?”

“Get him chocolates or something,” Hanji suggested, still incredibly aroused as they watched their boyfriend plowing Pieck into the mattress, “ Or you could get him a sexy gift.”

“A sexy gift?” Levi replied in some confusion.

“Yeah, like dress up for him or something,” Hanji smiled, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m in the middle of having a threesome.”

“O-Oh,” Levi stuttered, sounding embarrassed, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“It’s fine,” Hanji chuckled, “I’ll talk to you later, Levi.”

They hung up and went back into the bedroom to find the two collapsed on the sheets, both having finished already. Hanji frowned, looking incredibly disappointed. But as soon as they re-entered the room, Pieck held out her arms to Hanji.

“Come here, sweetheart. It’s your turn,” she said, and Moblit sat up to help.

Hanji took off the strap-on and climbed onto the bed, Moblit pulling them close and whispering in their ear, “You want me to fuck you, honey?”

Hanji blushed a little from the sweet but dirty statement, and nodded eagerly, climbing into Moblit’s lap. He positioned himself at their entrance and pushed in, Hanji starting to bounce on him. They soon felt Pieck behind them, and she wrapped her arms around Hanji, using one to grope at Hanji’s chest and the other to start rubbing at their clit. Hanji groaned, already feeling their arousal growing in their stomach.

“Fuck,” they groaned, feeling Pieck licking and sucking at their neck as she continued to use her hands to pleasure them. Moblit gripped their hips tightly and pounded into them at a rough pace, glancing up to make sure Hanji was enjoying themselves.

“Oh g-god,” Hanji moaned, bouncing back against Moblit’s thrusts desperately. They could feel themselves growing closer and closer, pleasure surging through their body. They cried out and arched their back, leaning their head back on Pieck’s shoulder as they panted hard, their legs starting to shake.

“I’m so fucking close,” they whined, and Moblit picked up the pace.

“Come on, babe,” Moblit said in a low voice.

“Cum for us,” Pieck murmured into Hanji’s ear, and they gasped as they finished, riding out their orgasm and breathing heavily. They climbed off Moblit and collapsed on the bed, the three of them now exhausted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi took Hanji’s advice, showing up at Zeke’s house the next morning with a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates. He really wanted to get this right, and he rang Zeke’s doorbell, his hands shaking nervously.

Zeke opened the door after a couple of minutes, staring at Levi and the things he’d brought with him. He crossed his arms, already looking angry and standoffish about seeing Levi at his doorstep.

“Zeke,” Levi said, holding the flowers and the chocolates out to him, “I... these are for you.”

Zeke took them cautiously, eyeing Levi with suspicion, “Is this supposed to be an apology? Because you’re not going to win me over with gifts.”

“I know,” Levi responded, sticking his hands in his pockets, “Those things I said... I didn’t mean them. I said stupid things that I shouldn’t have, and I’m so sorry for hurting you. I was insecure and hurting myself, and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

Zeke stared at him for a moment before sighing, “Come in.”

He moved out of the way and Levi walked into the house, shutting the door behind him. Levi followed Zeke into the kitchen as he set down Levi’s gifts on the kitchen counter, turning to him and crossing his arms once again.

“Why’d you break up with me? I want the real reason,” Zeke demanded.

“It’s so stupid,” Levi frowned, explaining how he went to visit Erwin and thought the rain was a sign from him. Zeke just stared at him, a frown on his face as he listened to Levi talk. When Levi was done, they just stood there for a moment in silence.

“I can’t keep doing this, Levi,” Zeke sighed, “Your obsession with Erwin... it’s not healthy. It hurts me to see you like this over him.”

“I... I know,” Levi agreed, “That’s why I’m going to go to therapy.”

Zeke’s eyes widened in surprise, and he opened and closed his mouth in some shock before asking, “You... You are? You promise?”

“Yes,” Levi replied, looking down at the ground, “I promise... I’m going to go to therapy for you.”

Levi felt his chin being tilted up, and he met Zeke’s gray, calm eyes as he said quietly, “Don’t go to therapy for me, baby. Go for you.”

Levi searched Zeke’s eyes for forgiveness, and found the sympathy he was looking for there. He knew that this was Zeke forgiving him, giving him a second chance, and he appreciated it more than Zeke could ever know. He leaned up and pressed a deep kiss to Zeke’s lips, wrapping his arms around his neck and tugging him closer. Zeke kissed back for a moment before pulling away, his hands on Levi’s face.

“I’m so proud of you,” Zeke whispered against his lips, “I want you to get better.”

“Thank you,” Levi murmured, and Zeke lightly pecked Levi on the forehead.

“Just... don’t do this shit to me again, okay?” Zeke said, a hurt look still on his face, “You really hurt me, Levi.”

“I know, and I’m so sorry,” Levi replied, pressing another kiss to Zeke’s lips, “Next time, I’ll tell you the truth and we can work things out. I won’t try to run from you again.”

Zeke nodded, sighing happily and pulling Levi into a tight hug. Levi hugged back, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. He’d come here with the possibility that he might be rejected, and he was so thankful that Zeke had accepted him back.

“So we’re boyfriends again, right?” Levi asked quietly, wanting to make sure.

“Only if you want to be,” Zeke smiled, resting their foreheads together.

Levi nodded, smiling back at him, “Of course I do.”

Zeke held his face in his hands and kissed him again, looking entirely content. But Levi wasn’t done, and he had more in store for his boyfriend. The chocolates and flowers weren’t the only part of Hanji’s advice he’d taken.

He pulled away from Zeke and smiled up at him, “I have another surprise for you.”

Zeke chuckled, “And what would that be?”

“Close your eyes,” Levi ordered, and Zeke nodded, doing as he was told.

Levi took off his jacket and set it on the counter, kicking off his shoes and socks. He pulled off his shirt and then dropped his pants to the floor, taking a deep breath as he stood there almost naked.

“You can look now,” Levi said sheepishly, feeling a little nervous.

Zeke opened his eyes and his mouth nearly dropped open. Levi stood there in a pair of sexy black lingerie; a lacy one piece with a thong bottom. Zeke just stared at him, practically drooling over Levi all dressed up for him.

“Well?” Levi piped up after a moment of silence, “Do you like it?”

Very suddenly, he was pressed up against the wall, being kissed roughly as Zeke murmured against his lips, “You’re so fucking sexy, baby. I love it.”

Levi gasped in some surprise before kissing back, groaning as he felt Zeke’s hard-on press against his own. He whimpered a little at the feeling of them grinding against each other, clinging to Zeke as they kissed each other desperately.

Zeke turned him around and bent him over the kitchen table, growling, “You’re gonna get it now, baby. Teasing me like this. Are you ready for it?”

Levi whined and lay his face on the cold table, nodding a little as he felt Zeke pull the fabric of the thong out of the way, tugging it across one of his cheeks to give him access to his hole. Soon there were three fingers being pushed unceremoniously into his mouth, but he didn’t mind. He sucked on them eagerly, just wanting Zeke to get on with it. Zeke pulled his fingers out of Levi’s mouth and gently rubbed them against Levi’s entrance, pushing one in and starting to pump it into him roughly. Levi groaned and clung to the table, his fingernails starting to scrape the surface lightly.

“You want me to talk dirty to you again, baby?” Zeke asked, adding a second finger and starting to fuck him more roughly.

Levi whimpered, “Y-Yeah, please.”

“Such a naughty boy,” Zeke chuckled at Levi’s answer, plowing his fingers into him as he added a third, “You like it dirty, don’t you?”

Levi nodded, his legs already starting to shake from Zeke’s actions. He moaned and cried out as Zeke smacked his ass hard a few times in a row, jutting him against the table with every hit. He was gasping by the time Zeke’s assault was done, his dick leaking pre-cum from his actions.

“You’re getting my table dirty,” Zeke smacked his ass again, “Such a bad boy.”

“I-I’m sorry,” Levi whimpered, his fingers grasping at the edge of the table as he tried to steady himself, “I’ll be good, I promise.”

“You better be,” Zeke muttered, hitting his ass a few times as he alternated cheeks, “Otherwise I’ll have to give you another spanking.”

“Sh-Shit,” Levi groaned, “Can you just put it in me already?”

“Who’s in charge here?” Zeke smirked, groping at his ass.

“You...” Levi grumbled in annoyance.

“Who’s in charge?” Zeke asked again, spanking his ass hard and enjoying the red marks that now littered the shorter man’s ass.

“You!” Levi cried out, whimpering a little, “ Please put it in me, Zeke. Please .”

He didn’t like being reduced to begging, but he had to admit how much he enjoyed being submissive under Zeke. The man knew just what buttons to press, just how to touch him, and what to say to him that would make him orgasm.

“That’s better,” Zeke grinned, smacking his dick a couple of times on Levi’s red ass before he began rubbing the head against his hole. He pushed in slowly, groaning as he did so. He reached up to run his fingers over the lace of the lingerie, admiring Levi for a moment before he started pumping in and out of him.

“Shit,” Zeke groaned, gripping Levi’s hips tightly, “So fucking sexy, baby.”

Levi moaned loudly as Zeke began pounding into him at a rough pace, scraping at the table and trying to push back against him. He could hear Zeke’s panting, and another smack was brought against his ass as Zeke continued his hard pace.

“You’re so fucking hot,” Zeke moaned, “You like that dick, baby?”

“Y-Yeah,” he groaned, tossing his head back, “I fucking love it.”

“You fucking love it, baby?” Zeke slammed wildly into him, “You love that dick, such a good little slut for me.”

Levi whined at what Zeke had said, “Z-Zeke, I’m so close.”

“Hold it,” Zeke growled, continuing to pound into his prostate at a rough pace, “Don’t cum yet.”

“B-But Zeke I-”

“ Hold it ,” Zeke demanded, slapping his ass again hard, “Don’t you dare cum.”

Levi moaned loudly, panting as he tried to hold himself back. He could feel himself nearing the edge, and held his breath as Zeke continued to plow into him roughly. He was so close, and he could barely hold on.

“Zeke, please! ” he cried out, “I have to- I’m so close. Please let me.”

“That’s good, begging me like that,” Zeke smirked, “You wanna cum, baby?”

“Y-Yeah, yes please,” Levi groaned, his knuckles turning white as he clung to the table, everything in his body tensing up as he tried to hold his orgasm back.

He could hear Zeke chuckling behind him, “Okay, baby. You can cum.”

Levi practically screamed as his orgasm tore through him, panting hard as Zeke helped him ride out his orgasm. The man continued to fuck into him, and Levi could feel his sensitive cock twitching with pleasure from the continued assault.

“I’m gonna cum inside you, baby,” Zeke groaned, “Is that okay?”

Levi nodded, “H-Hurry, I’m sensitive right now.”

“Then tell me dirty things,” Zeke ordered, “It’s your turn.”

Levi tried to think of dirty things to say, and he could feel his face turning red as he moaned sensually, “Give it to me, Zeke. Give it to me.”

Zeke groaned loudly and slammed into him roughly, “Fuck, just like that, baby. Good job.”

“Fuck me, please fuck me!” he cried out, “I want you to cum inside me, p-please!”

“You want my cum inside you, baby?” Zeke moaned, “I’m gonna cum in you, and then everyone will know who you belong to. So whose is it, baby?”

“It’s yours, all yours,” he whimpered, his dick starting to get hard again from Zeke’s actions.

Zeke gasped loudly and spilled inside him, groaning and pulling out slowly, “Holy fuck , Levi. What the hell, that was fucking amazing .”

Levi went to get up, but Zeke pushed him back down on the table, listening to Zeke’s heavy breathing as he groaned, “Fuck... my cum’s running down your legs, baby. You’re so sexy, damn.”

“Zeke,” he blushed, “Can we go cuddle now?”

Zeke nodded a little, taking his hand off Levi’s back and letting him get up, “You gotta go get cleaned up, sweetheart.”

Levi got up shakily, his legs almost giving out as he walked to the kitchen sink and started to clean himself up. He went to pick up his clothes when Zeke stopped him, grabbing his arm gently.

“Don’t put your clothes on. I like the lingerie,” Zeke admitted sheepishly, and Levi couldn’t help but smile. He’d have to thank Hanji for the perfect advice they’d given him about the sexy lingerie.

Levi nodded and started walking towards the stairs, Zeke following him up to the bedroom. They both climbed into the bed, Zeke still naked and Levi in the lingerie. Zeke snuggled up to Levi’s back, and Levi could already feel his dick getting hard as it pressed up against his ass. Zeke wrapped an arm around him, unable to help but grind against his ass. Levi blushed, feeling Zeke’s head fall onto his shoulder as his breathing began to get heavy again. Levi could feel himself growing aroused from Zeke’s actions, and he reached down to pull back the band of the thong so it was out of the way, allowing Zeke better access. Zeke groaned and rubbed his erection against Levi’s entrance, starting to kiss at his neck.

“You can put it back in,” Levi murmured, and Zeke moaned at his words before pushing in, going slower and more sensual this time. He held Levi close, rolling his hips up into him and fucking him at a steady pace.

“Shit,” Zeke groaned, “God, you’re so beautiful, baby. So fucking sexy. I’m so lucky.”

Levi could feel himself blushing, pride swelling in his chest from the compliment, and the words he wanted to speak aloud immediately rose in his mind, but he hesitated, holding himself back. Could he really say that to Zeke, right here, right now?

Zeke rocked and grinded his hips into Levi’s prostate, pressing sweet kisses down Levi’s neck and on his shoulder. Levi groaned and arched his back, holding onto Zeke’s hand tightly and sighing contently at the kisses being left on his skin.

Levi thought back to all their times together, but this one felt the best. It was so sensual, so soothing and loving. He was enjoying Zeke’s every gentle touch, his tender kisses, and his slow but hard thrusts into him.

“Z-Zeke,” he groaned, “I- oh god.”

“Shhh, baby, it’s okay,” Zeke whispered in his ear before nibbling at his earlobe, “I got you, baby. I’m gonna make you feel so good.”

Levi moaned and tossed his head back, resting it on Zeke’s shoulder and feeling Zeke kissing his cheek and his lips lightly. He whimpered, practically squirming under Zeke’s thrusts, his toes curling as he felt the pleasure building. The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to say it. What the hell , he thought, deciding it was better to be honest than to hold himself back.

“I-I love you,” he whined, and Zeke stopped this thrusts for a moment.

“Baby,” he sighed heavily, sounding hurt, “We talked about this. I’m not Erwin.”

Levi’s eyes widened a little as he realized Zeke’s mistake. He thought Levi was pretending he was Erwin again; that he was saying these words to Erwin and not Zeke. Levi whimpered a little from Zeke stopping and turned his head so they were looking in each other’s eyes.

“No, Zeke,” Levi tried to clarify, “I love you .”

Zeke stared at him in shock for a moment before he groaned and picked up the pace, holding Levi closer and kissing at his neck, “Fuck. God, I’m gonna cum. Say it again, baby. Please.”

“I love you,” Levi groaned, feeling himself growing close as well, “I love you, Zeke.”

He felt Zeke spilling inside him, and whined as he too came onto the sheets. He felt Zeke pulling out, and knew he needed a shower.

“Can we shower now?” Levi asked as he turned to look at Zeke, “I feel really gross.”

Zeke smiled down at him, running his fingers through Levi’s hair, “Sure, baby. Let’s go.”

Levi sighed happily, getting up. But as they climbed into the shower together, Levi realized that Zeke hadn’t said ‘I love you’ back. He was suddenly beginning to feel embarrassed that he’d said it. But Zeke had enjoyed it, right? He practically came from Levi saying those words, so he must’ve been happy about it. Then why didn’t he say it back? Maybe he just wasn’t ready. But Levi was beginning to feel insecure about it, and he worried that maybe Zeke didn’t love him back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi held Zeke’s hand tightly as they entered the medical building, feeling incredibly nervous. It was his first therapy session, and Zeke had agreed to come with him to help him get through it. He approached the front desk cautiously, glancing up at Zeke and waiting for him to speak, being too scared to do so.

“Um... appointment for Levi?” Zeke inquired, squeezing Levi’s hand reassuringly as the shorter man practically hid behind Zeke’s tall form. He thought Levi being this nervous was incredibly cute - it made his heart flutter - but he also knew that the reason for Levi’s nervousness meant he would have to really try and be there for his boyfriend. The front desk person searched the schedule for Levi’s appointment and checked the two of them in, sending them back to wait in the waiting room. Zeke sat down and Levi sat next to him, fidgeting uncomfortably as he was clearly anxious. Zeke rubbed his arm soothingly, leaning over to press a kiss to his cheek, and Levi threw him a grateful smile.

“I think you’re allowed to join later on in the appointment,” Levi explained, “But I have to go in by myself first so that the therapist can get to know me a little by myself. That’s the part I’m most terrified of.”

Zeke nodded in understanding, “I’ll wait out here for you, okay? Just remember to take deep breaths, and that I’ll be there to comfort you at the end of the appointment.”

Levi smiled sadly and nodded, leaning over to kiss Zeke sweetly on the lips. A young woman with black curls stepped into the waiting room, smiling at Levi and Zeke, who were the only ones there.

“I’m looking for Levi?” she said, holding a clipboard.

Levi sunk back in the chair a little before he stood up shakily and walked over to her. Zeke watched the two shake hands and introduce themselves before they headed back out the door towards the therapist offices, Levi shooting Zeke a nervous glance as he went. Zeke waved a little and smiled encouragingly. As soon as they were out of sight, Zeke went back to scrolling through his phone while he waited, sending a couple memes to the group chat he had with Porco and Pieck.

“Zeke?” he heard his name after what felt like at least a half an hour. He looked up and saw the same therapist smiling at him.

Zeke stood up and walked over to her, “Nice to meet you. How’s Levi doing?”

She shook his hand, “I’m Dr. Davis. Nice to meet you, too. Come on, let’s go back and see him.”

Zeke nodded and followed her back into the offices, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Your boyfriend is very quiet,” she explained, “But he seems to have a lot going on emotionally. We’ll talk about it more when we get into the office.”

Zeke nodded again, following her to the end of the hall and into her office. Levi was sitting on the couch, a tissue box in his hand and his eyes stained red with tears. Zeke’s heart immediately sunk from the sight, and the therapist motioned for him to sit next to his boyfriend. Zeke immediately did so, and Levi would barely look at him, clearly off in another space.

“Now, Levi, tell Zeke what you told me,” she instructed.

Levi looked up at her with wide eyes before he squeezed them shut painfully, whispering hesitantly, “I’m still so deeply in love with Erwin that it scares me to love you. But I do love you, and it’s really... it’s really hard to...”

Tears began to roll down his face as he squeezed a barely used tissue in his hand, as if he were trying to keep a grip on the reality of the situation. Zeke immediately went to take his free hand, and Levi squeezed it a little before he opened his eyes again to look at Zeke.

“I feel so guilty for what I’ve been putting you through because I care a lot about you. And I... I don’t blame you for not loving me back...” Levi sniffled loudly, grabbing another tissue and blowing his nose.

Zeke’s eyes widened slightly as he took in what Levi was saying. He suddenly realized he’d never returned Levi’s words of love, and the man had apparently taken it to heart. He hadn’t said it back, but not out of spite, more out of fear and uncertainty. He had been so shocked when Levi said he loved him, and he just didn’t know what to say in response. Plus, they’d been having sex, so he was a little more focused on other matters.

“Levi...” Zeke said quietly, squeezing his hand back gently.

But Levi wasn’t done, and he continued, “I just want to see you happy and... if I keep making you upset, then I shouldn’t keep burdening you by forcing you to stay with me.”

“Levi, why do you think you’re a burden?” the therapist asked, “Has Zeke told you this?”

Levi looked slightly taken aback by the question, as if he’d never thought about it before. He shook his head a little, wiping his eyes on the back of his hand. Zeke didn’t know when he should speak, but he had so much to say he didn’t even know how to articulate it.

“Is Levi a burden to you, Zeke?” the therapist turned her attention to him, and Zeke finally felt like he could talk now.

“No,” he said almost incredulously, as if he couldn’t believe Levi would think something like that, “Levi, you’re never a burden to me. No matter what, all I want is to be here for you.”

“And is Levi forcing you to be in a relationship with him?” the therapist asked, making some notes on her notepad.

“Of course not,” Zeke replied, “I want this relationship and his happiness as much as he wants mine. I don’t blame him for being so caught up on Erwin, but sometimes it’s just hard to cope with... that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be in a relationship with him, though.”

Levi’s tears were coming constantly now, his sniffles worse and small hiccups occurring every once in a while. Zeke didn’t know what to do. He wanted to comfort Levi, to press kisses to his face and whisper sweet nothing's in his ear, but he didn’t want to do all this in front of a stranger. He felt stuck, as if he wasn’t sure what was appropriate to do in the therapist’s office.

“So why do you think you’re a burden to him, Levi?” the therapist wondered.

“I-I just...” he hiccuped, “I guess I thought it was all my fault... for making him hurt.”

Zeke couldn’t stand watching Levi break down like this, and he wrapped an arm around his boyfriend, tugging him close and rubbing his arm gently. Levi let out a small sigh of relief and sunk into Zeke’s embrace comfortably, taking another tissue out of the box and blowing his nose again.

“Grief can make us do a lot of things that we don’t mean,” the therapist explained, “It can hurt the people around us without meaning to. I think once you get to the root of your grief, it’ll be easier for you to have relationships with the ones you love.”

Levi nodded, and the therapist continued, “You can’t blame yourself, Levi. Grief is hard, and you can’t expect yourself to be perfect in a brand-new relationship when you’re still grieving an old one. So let’s just take some deep breaths and calm down now, okay? I want you to tell yourself you’re not a burden.”

Levi sniffled and sucked in a deep, shaky breath, letting it out and trying to take in another one before a small sob escaped his mouth. He tried again, breathing in and out once more as he tried to regulate his cries to a minimum. Hesitantly, and slowly, he said in a small voice, “I’m not a burden.”

“Good job,” the therapist praised calmly, and Zeke pressed a kiss to the top of his head in encouragement, knowing just how hard that must’ve been for Levi to say out loud.

“Now,” Dr. Davis said, “I’m going to go get some forms I need you to fill out before you leave today, and we can schedule another appointment if you’d like. Is that something you want to do, Levi?”

Much to Zeke’s surprise, Levi nodded almost instantly, mumbling a quiet and shaky, “Y-Yeah.”

Dr. Davis smiled and nodded, getting up, “I’ll be right back, then.”

She left the office and closed the door behind her, and Zeke and Levi both sat there awkwardly for a moment before Zeke wrapped his other arm around Levi and tugged him into a warm embrace.

“You’re never a burden to me, baby,” Zeke whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of his head, “And I’m so, so proud of you for being here today. You know that, right?”

Levi sniffled and nodded, clinging to Zeke desperately as small sobs began to rack his body again. Zeke could feel himself tensing up nervously as he remembered what he’d wanted to say originally, but was afraid to do so with the therapist in the room.

“And Levi?”

“Yeah, Zeke?”

“I love you too.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Levi smiled as he watched Zeke and Hanji running at the water, racing each other across the beach. Moblit was busy laying out a towel on the sand, and Levi set the cooler on the end of the towel so it wouldn’t blow away in the slow breeze that flowed through the air. Moblit laughed a little at Hanji and Zeke before heading towards the water himself, and Levi was left sitting with all their stuff. Typical , he thought, laying down on the blanket and adjusting his sunglasses as the sun shone down on him. He closed his eyes and sighed contently, until a shadow was cast in front of the sun, and he opened his eyes to see his boyfriend hovering over him, completely soaked already from the water.

He grimaced when the man dripped some water onto him, “Hey! You’re dripping, stay away from me.”

“Levi, you’re not going to get in the water?” Zeke asked, not moving despite Levi’s words.

“Fuck no,” Levi scoffed, taking off his sunglasses so he could properly see his boyfriend, “I don’t know what kind of germs are in that water.”

Zeke chuckled a little, grabbing his hand and pulling him up to his feet, “Come on, it’ll be fun.”

“ Zeke ,” Levi protested, groaning in annoyance as Zeke pulled him towards the water, “I don’t wanna .”

“You’re such a big baby,” Zeke laughed, turning and picking Levi up by his thighs. Levi gasped and wrapped his legs around Zeke, grumbling curses under his breath as the man carried him towards the water. He thought Zeke would just walk into the water with him, but was shocked when the man tossed him in, causing him to go under the water. He came up sputtering and glaring at Zeke.

“You fucking ass ,” Levi growled, walking through the water over to Zeke, who was doubled over laughing at his boyfriend.

“You’re gonna get it now,” Levi pouted angrily.

Zeke was grinning, trying hard not to laugh anymore as he stood there staring down at Levi, “Oh really? Am I?”

Levi tackled Zeke back into the water, both of them going under and soon coming up, Levi tossing his head back and laughing as Zeke sputtered in some surprise at Levi’s actions. Zeke eventually got his bearings again, and he smirked a little at Levi’s laughter, the two enjoying each other’s happiness.

“Come here,” Zeke wrapped his arms around Levi’s waist and dragged him close, pressing their foreheads together, “You look so sexy all wet like this, baby.”

Levi blushed horribly, shoving him away a little and grumbling with uncertainty, “Oh yeah? Well... you... I like it when you don’t wear a shirt.”

Zeke laughed and pressed a kiss to Levi’s forehead, turning to see Pieck and Porco coming down the beach to join them. He waved at them, starting to head back to shore to talk to the two. Levi could also see Eren and his cousin, Mikasa, further down the beach, heading towards them. They’d all decided to get together and have a day at the beach just for fun. Hanji suddenly swam over to Levi, smiling at him.

“So I heard you said the ‘L’ word to Zeke?” Hanji giggled a bit, “That’s so cute.”

Levi blushed a little and nodded, “Yeah...”

“Did he say it back?”

“Yes,” Levi responded, crossing his arms almost defensively as he tried to figure out what Hanji was so interested in.

“Aww, Levi!” Hanji squealed, hugging him tight, “I’m so happy for you!”

Levi sighed a little, allowing them to hug him before they pulled away, muttering a ‘thank you’. He looked off into the distance towards a small shack that was further down the beach. Hanji followed his gaze, immediately frowning and turning back to Levi.

“You’re thinking about him again, aren’t you?” Hanji asked carefully.

“Yes,” Levi replied, “I think... I think I should go have a moment alone.”

This shack had been the sight of Levi and Erwin’s first kiss; they’d snuck away from their friends at the beach to share a kiss in the small shack. Hanji nodded and patted his back comfortingly, Levi going back to the shore and picking up his phone off the towels.

“Hey, baby,” Zeke smiled, “Where are you going?”

“I just... I need a moment alone, okay? I’ll be right back,” Levi explained, trying to give Zeke a reassuring smile. Zeke looked a little confused, but nodded, knowing Levi could sometimes get overwhelmed in social situations. Levi headed towards the shack across the beach, not looking back.

Levi entered the old shack slowly, as it was pretty broken down and had nothing but old life vests in it. He sighed a little, reminiscing about his first kiss with Erwin, and subsequently remembering all the kisses he shared with the man afterwards. But he knew what he needed to do, and he felt like this was the perfect place to do so. He kneeled on the sandy wooden floor of the shack.

“Erwin,” he said softly, “I came here to say something. I just want you to know how much I miss you; how much I love you. How much I’ll always love you. Erwin, I’ll keep you in my heart until my last breath, and I’ll never forget you. But I’m going to keep moving forward, okay? Even if I’m scared to, I’ll be brave for you. I’ll live my life in a way that honors you, and I’ll live to the fullest because you weren’t able to.”

Levi took in a shaky breath, trying to hold back the tears, “I’ve been learning that I can’t live for you, but I can share my happiness with you. You don’t need to worry about me anymore, okay? You can go and rest now. I know you love me and I’ll treasure that love forever, but I also know you would be happy for me, finding a good man like Zeke...”

Levi closed his eyes tight, trying to picture Erwin’s smiling face in his head. He slowly opened his eyes again, murmuring, “Erwin, I love you. It’s time for me to say goodbye, okay? I’ll still visit you, but I need to let you go. Until we meet again. This is for you, my love.”

He took his phone and starting playing ‘their’ song: Love of My Life by Queen. He could feel his heart beating in his chest, and wiped some tears away as the song played. But he could almost imagine Erwin’s response; imagine him wiping away at Levi’s tears, pressing kisses to his forehead and comforting him like he used to. He knew Erwin would support him in his choice to be with Zeke, and he knew Erwin would understand that he was moving on now. As the song finished, Levi let out a deep breath, as if releasing all his emotions at once. He shakily stood up, leaving the shack as if he were leaving behind all his insecurities; all his worries behind there.

Zeke frowned upon seeing his tearful boyfriend walking towards them, and walked towards him cautiously. But Levi couldn’t help but smile upon seeing Zeke, and rushed towards him, practically flying into his arms. Zeke gasped in some surprise, holding him close and rubbing his back.

“Are you okay?” Zeke asked in concern, “What happened?”

“I’m fine,” Levi sighed contently, “I’m great, actually.”

Zeke held Levi’s face in his hands, as if searching his eyes for what was actually going on, “Are you sure, baby? You look like you’ve been crying.”

“I’m fine, really,” Levi insisted, smiling up at him, “Zeke, I love you.”

Zeke looked a little confused and taken aback, but smiled back at his boyfriend, “I love you too, baby.”

Levi hugged onto Zeke tightly, burying his face into his boyfriend’s shoulder. He felt as though he had finally let go of everything that had been holding him back. Sure, he was sure it would take a lot more therapy and support for him to fully get over Erwin, but he was finally starting to feel it: he was finally starting to feel like he was moving on.

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A month later, Zeke opened the passenger door for Levi, who climbed out with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. Zeke shut the door once he was out and took Levi’s hand, allowing the shorter man to lead him across the lawn past all the headstones. He couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. He was about to ‘meet’ the man who was so incredibly important to Levi.

Levi led him to the tombstone of the Erwin Smith, smiling a little as he kneeled down in front of the stone. Zeke kneeled next to him, unsure of how to even act in this situation. He knew that this was something incredibly important to Levi, and he definitely was feeling the pressure of living up to Levi’s expectations.

“Hi Erwin,” Levi said quietly, “I brought somebody to meet you.”

Levi looked at Zeke expectantly, and Zeke scrambled to find the right words, “Hi Erwin... it’s lovely to finally meet you. I’m Zeke. Levi talks a lot about you.”

Levi smiled at Zeke, squeezing his hand as if to thank him before turning back to the headstone, “How have you been, Erwin? I’m doing a lot better since the last time I came to the cemetery to visit. Did I tell you I’m seeing a therapist now? She told me you sound like you were very charming.”

Zeke sat crisscrossed on the grass, still holding onto Levi’s hand as he watched his boyfriend talk to Erwin. He was so proud of how far Levi had come. He hadn’t even cried about Erwin that whole month, and when he did bring Erwin up, it was no longer in sadness. Levi was trying his best to keep Erwin’s memory as a positive one, and so he would smile upon remembering Erwin, rather than cry like he used to.

“Do you want to say anything, Zeke?” Levi asked after a moment.

Zeke cleared his throat, nodding a little as he’d been given time to think, “Erwin, I want you to know I’ll take good care of Levi. I’ll always support him and I promise I’ll do my best to make him happy. I know I’ll never replace you, but I hope I can live up to your expectations.”

Levi smiled softly at him, “See, Erwin? I told you he’s a good guy.”

Zeke couldn’t help but smile at Levi’s compliment, leaning his head on Levi’s shoulder and sighing happily. Levi leaned his head on top of Zeke’s, spending some more time filling Erwin in on what they’d been up to lately.

Levi got up, “Okay, we’re going to head out. We’ll visit again soon. Love you, Erwin.”

Levi started to walk off, Zeke pausing to say, “Thank you, Erwin. Thank you for giving Levi to me. I promise I’ll take good care of him.”

Zeke rushed after Levi, taking his hand once he caught up with him. The two of them headed to the car, climbing back in and buckling their seatbelts. Once Zeke started the car, he felt Levi touching his cheek, and turned to look at his boyfriend.

“Thank you, Zeke,” he murmured, leaning in and kissing him sweetly.

“Of course, baby,” Zeke replied, kissing back, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Levi smiled.

Zeke put the car in drive, starting to head back to Levi’s apartment, the cemetery disappearing in his rear-view mirror as they drove away.

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