Welcome to the Little Titan Caf '!

Today's special: Romeo & Juliet

Eren knew Levi was aware of his staring. He could see the twitch that formed in Levi 's temple, noticed the way fingers clenched tighter around his pen, thought it hilarious how he dug the pen harsher into paper. There was no laptop today, or the leather messenger bag. Just a notebook and pen. Eren walked by every now and then to get a glimpse of what Levi was writing, but couldn 't even begin to decipher the tiny letters. He gave up after several passes and opted to

observe

the man.

That was when he realized Levi always picked his cup up in a certain way. Like now, Levi 's hand fell over the opening of his half-finished latte, fingers clutching just below the brim of the cup. He lifted it up like that and tilted it against his lips, eyes on his paper all the while.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Eren grabbed a paper cup and filled it with water from the sink. He glanced at Levi, who set his own drink down, before mimicking his earlier cup-holding. This wasn 't so bad, Eren thought as he brought the cup to his lips and attempted to tilt it like Levi did. Only the closer it got to his mouth, the more awkward it became, and Eren bumped the back of his hand against his nose and the cup slipped from his grasp, splashing water all over the front of his apron.

'Damn it. '

An audible

tch

had Eren lifting his head up. Levi twirled his pen around his fingers, voice mocking, 'That 's what you get, brat. '

'Yeah, yeah. ' Eren untied the apron from his back and lifted it up over his head, bunching it up and tossing it into a corner somewhere. He grabbed a few paper napkins to wipe up the mess he made. 'It 's not my fault you hold your cup all weird. '

Levi shrugged. 'And it 's not my fault you were stupid enough to try. '

'I was

curious

. ' The jingle of the doorbell had Eren popping his head up to peek over the counter. 'Welcome to the Little Titan Caf '! ' He frowned when seeing the two girls, or, well, when seeing the taller one in particular. 'Oh, it 's you. '

Levi quirked an eyebrow and glanced over his shoulder. The first thing he noticed was what a strange pair they made, from the angelic-looking, petite, blonde-haired girl to the tall, gangly, freckled-faced brunette. She rubbed her nose with a sniffle ' no doubt from the cold 'and stalked over, biker books clacking loudly over the mahogany floors. One hand settled against a jean covered hip while the other leaned against the register counter. 'Two hot chocolates. Both armored. '

'Ymir, don 't be so rude. ' Blue eyes peeked from around her taller companion, a small smile adorning a childish face. 'Hello, Eren. '

'Hi, Christa, ' Eren stood up, bundle of napkins in hand, his earlier hostility dissipating. 'Are you just getting out of school? Bit late, isn 't it? '

'Our play just ended an hour or so ago. We decided to stop by on our way home. '

'Oh right. How was it? I heard you got the role of Juliet. And let me guess, ' he shot a sly glance at Ymir who looked down at him, 'Ymir played your

Romeo

. '

'Well, duh, ' Ymir snorted, hands on hips. 'As if I 'm going to let some guy kiss my Christa. '

'You know they wouldn 't actually kiss me, ' Christa said, eyes twinkling in amusement. But the smile on her face as she looked up at her girlfriend was filled with nothing but fondness.

'They 're not

supposed

to but they 'd take advantage of you and do it anyway. ' Ymir pinched Christa 's cheek. 'You 're too defenseless, I swear. '

After paying, they went to grab a table. When Eren was done making their drinks, he spotted the two girls sitting comfortably at one of the booths. Christa had opted to take off her scarf and petty coat. Ymir sat snuggly next to her, an arm draped around Christa 's shoulders. They giggled amongst themselves, whatever words exchanged lost to everyone else in the shop. Not that there were many people. There were four other customers with exception to the couple and Levi. And no, Eren was not smiling at how absolutely,

sickeningly

adorable they were. Because Ymir was not adorable. Christa was, just not her overbearing girlfriend.

He caught Levi 's look and quickly hurried off, absolutely not blushing in embarrassment. It occurred to Eren a second too late that he normally would call customers over to get their drinks. But there was something about the way Levi looked at him ' amusement, for one thing, and admiration? No, Eren shook that thought away ' that had him scurrying off. By the time he reached the girls ' table, he convinced himself it was a figment of his imagination and set their drinks in front of them. Christa smiled, tiny fingers wrapping around her drink, noting the way Eren had taken the liberty to label their orders

Romeo

and

Juliet

respectively.

'Thanks, Eren. '

'So who 's that guy? ' Ymir asked, not quite clutching her own drink with the entirety of her hand. Her wrist was bent loosely as she swirled it around, waiting for it to cool down.

'Levi? ' Eren shrugged. 'He only started coming here a couple of days ago. '

'Really. ' It wasn 't a question, but he caught on to the incredulity in her tone. 'And yet you 're already on first-name basis with a

customer

? '

'Your point? '

'It 's so obvious you want to bone him. You kept looking at him while making our drinks. '

Eren turned as red as Christa 's skirt, spluttering, 'Wh-what are you ' ' He lowered his voice into a small whisper, 'am I that obvious? '

'Pretty much. ' Ymir tested the temperature of her hot chocolate with a sip. 'But knowing your luck, he 's probably super straight. '

Eren sighed. As if he hadn 't already thought that. 'Probab ' ' He called out a hasty welcome as another customer stepped into the store. 'Well, catch you guys later. '

'Good luck, Eren! Don 't give up hope! ' Christa called out.

He stumbled over his feet.

'Classmates of yours? ' Levi asked as Christa and Ymir left the shop hand in hand.

'Sorta. We went to the same high school. ' Eren finished wiping down the counter.

'And here I thought you were still in high school. '

Eren slung his rag over a shoulder. He could tell Levi was trying to tease him again, but Eren considered the comment thoughtfully. 'Wouldn 't it be illegal for a high school student to be working this late? '

'True, ' Levi conceded. He had stopped writing a half an hour ago, opting to glare angrily ' or at least that 's what Eren thought, it was hard to tell when the man 's expression never

actually

changed ' at his paper. Every now and then he had scribbled out words with his pen and tapped furiously with it against his notebook. But now his notebook sat shut, pen laid against the binding.

'And even if I was a high school student, don 't you have anything better to do than spend your night hanging out with one? ' Eren asked. He saw his opportunity to tease the man instead and seized it. Not that Levi looked bothered, either.

'It 's called getting some work done. '

'Can 't you get some work done at home? '

Shut up, Eren

, a voice hissed in his head. The last thing he wanted to do was drive Levi away, but his mouth worked faster than his brain.

'No, ' and that was all Levi would say on the subject. Whatever it was that prevented him from working at home in peace and quiet irked him enough for shadows to settle over his eyes. Eren was reminded of Levi 's angry look on the night he first came to the caf ', a look Eren thought was reserved only for jokes about his height.

It was a reminder that Eren knew absolutely

nothing

about Levi. Okay, maybe not absolutely. He knew Levi liked to hold his cup in an unconventional way, or just a way that Eren found awkward. He knew Levi had broad shoulders and a thick neck. He knew Levi liked caffeine ' though that was putting it bluntly. Caffeine was a necessity. He knew Levi liked to tease him. He knew Levi had nice arms. He knew that, when Levi was deep in thought over work, a small crease would form between his brows, and sometimes he would randomly perk up as if possessed by a new, wondrous idea.

It wasn 't a lot, but it was enough.

'But I should be getting back, ' Levi said with a weary sigh. He rubbed his closed eyelids with the pads of his index finger and thumb. Eren glanced at the clock on the wall. 23:50. Almost time to close. He wanted to ask Levi to stay a little longer, but that would make his infatuation a little too obvious, would make him seem a little too desperate, so he kept his mouth shut. 'Head home safely, brat. '

Whether Levi was thrown off by Eren 's sudden bright disposition or the genuinely happy smile that spread across said brat 's face, he wasn 't sure.

'You too, Levi. '