#breaattackstitan

The cafe door swings open. “I'm sorry, I really am,” a deep voice booms. Eren pokes his head up from his homework. A tall blond is waving his hands back and forth between him and some girl, insisting loudly that he isn't interested. Eren sighs. He came here for some quiet. It's always dead here. Of all days to attract drama. “Jean, was it?” the girl asks. “I'm sure you'll like me. You just have to give me a chance.” “I can't,” Jean says. “You can't?” “No.” The girl is only getting more irritated the longer her advances are rejected. Eren can guess why. She's gorgeous, she probably doesn't hear the word no too often. “And why not?” she snips. “Um,” Jean falters. Eren scoffs. That's convincing. Jean turns at the sound, eyes meeting Eren's for a brief second. Eren drops his pen on the table. This Jean guy is stunning. He's all sharp features and piercing eyes. Jean has captured Eren's full attention. Eren stares, unabashed. Something nags at the back of his mind. Despite all the sharp cuts that put Jean together, something about him seems warm. Familiar. Eren's recognition resonates within him, shakes him to his very core. He knows Jean, he thinks. He's almost certain. He just can't place where from. “I have-” Jean turns his head to look at Eren again. Confusion flashes over his face, and his eyes narrow before softening in a plea. “A boyfriend.” Eren nods, as subtly as possible. “A boyfriend,” the girl repeats flatly, unbelieving. “There you are!” Jean exclaims. “Sorry I'm late, babe.” Eren's breath hitches. “‘Bout time you showed up, Jean.” Jean stares for a moment. Eren can practically see the gears turning in his head. “Didn't mean to keep you waiting.” Jean holds his hand out. Eren takes it. The warmth Eren felt before sparks between their fingertips, spreads until Eren's heart is thundering in his chest. He can see it in Jean's eyes, that same recognition he had. “If this is just some friend-” If the look Eren shoots her isn't enough to shut her up, his lips pressing against Jean’s does the job. Eren can feel Jean's shock, it feathers over his lips in a gasp, but just as soon as it came on, it's gone, and Jean is melting against him. Eren slips his hands underneath Jean's coat to wrap around his waist, and it's like coming home. Jean's fingers card through Eren's hair, gentle and welcome, nails grazing along the sensitive nape of his neck like he's mapped this out a thousand times over. Jean shudders against him when they part, whispering, “Eren,” against his lips. “Found you,” Eren breathes. “Pretty sure I found you this time,” Jean says, laughing as he pulls Eren into a tight hug. “Whatever, Horse Face,” Eren snorts. Jean groans and flicks Eren in the ear. “I can't believe you're calling me that again.” Eren laughs, loud and contagious, just the way Jean remembers. “Oh. Girl’s gone,” Eren says. Jean hums. “I saved you.” “Why do I feel like that's been a recurring theme with us?” Jean squeezes him. “You little shit.” Eren shakes his head. He isn't denying anything, just letting the memories flooding into his mind settle. “Who knows,” he says. He only remembers their last meeting right now. Their last life together. Something pits in Eren's chest. It tells him they're in for a surprise when the rest of the time they've spent together comes back to them. Eren thinks he can handle it. He has Jean, after all. Jean breathes in deep, face still nestled against Eren's hair. “We'll figure it out.” He presses a small kiss to Eren's temple. “Together.” Eren smiles. Together. It sounds good. Like they can do the impossible, so long as the other is near. Eren gets the sense that they have. He's sure they can do it again.

“It is,” Eren says through a yawn, “entirely too early for life right now.” He glares at the 6:45am blinking back at him on his phone. He wonders if the barista would throw him out of this Starbucks if he just yelled out his order from way back here. Probably. They did at McDonald's the one time he did it drunk. Eren maintains that they were being unreasonable. “I wanna go back to bed,” Eren whines. “Agreed,” Jean grunts. Eren blinks blearily, mindlessly scrolling on his phone. He slips his fingers through Jean’s and squeezes gently. “Um.” Eren's hand jostles. “Can I help you?” Eren looks down at his hand, fingers laced with ones that decidedly do not belong to Jean. Eren's eyes flick up and he's met with a tired gaze, gray eyes studying him, bemused. He's… adorable. Stunning, actually, now that Eren takes a better look, but- “Uh, you're not Jean.” “No shit,” the man snorts, but his lips curve a little all the same. “I'm Levi.” “Levi. Right. Hi.” Eren peeks over his head, squinting. “Where's my Jean?” “Back here, Eren,” Jean sighs. “You're holding the wrong hand.” Levi turns, observing Jean with the same guarded interest. Something Eren misses, but Jean picks up on. Eren stifles another yawn. “Are you sure I'm holding the wrong hand? I'm barely sure I'm a person right now.” “We’re sure,” Levi and Jean say. “Positive?” Eren asks, grinning at Levi. He can't help but be flattered that Levi is still holding his hand, even if he does look ready to kill a man. Then again, so does every other coffeeless soul here. Eren thinks it's fair to chalk it up to a lack of caffeine. “It is,” Jean says in a voice that borders on a mock of Eren's, “entirely too early for you to be this embarrassing.” “I mean, I feel kinda committed to finishing this Starbucks experience with you now,” Eren says, batting his lashes at Levi and pointedly ignoring Jean's dig. Levi shrugs. “Fine, but I'm not paying.” Eren pulls a face. “Never mind, I'm going back to my boyfriend,” he says, dropping Levi's hand and scampering back a few steps to grab hold of Jean's. Jean scoffs, shoving his shoulder against Eren’s. “I'm not paying either!” Eren huffs. “And after you so rudely woke me up this morning.” Jean opens his mouth to argue, but a short man with buzzed hair peaks around Levi. “If you come hold my hand, dude, I'll buy you any coffee you want.” Eren's eyes light up. “I'll even buy you a breakfast sandwich.” Eren releases Jean's hand, nearly shoving him aside as he cuts in front of Levi. Eren sticks his tongue out at Jean and Levi. “Charming,” Levi deadpans. Eren says, “At least someone-” “Connie,” the man informs him. “At least Connie cares about me,” Eren says triumphantly, happily swinging Connie’s hand. Levi rolls his eyes, the expression in them too soft to reflect the action. “Well,” Jean says. Levi turns, barely catching the way Jean's eyes drag along his frame. “Do you want to have coffee with me?” Levi gives him a small smile. “I'm still not paying,” he insists. Jean shrugs. “As long as you hold my hand,” he says, cheeks flushing pink, “I'll pay.” “Hey!” Eren gasps as Levi links his fingers with Jean's. Levi looks Eren dead in the eye. “Deal.” “I was already holding your hand, why won't you buy me coffee?” Eren demands. “Because if it wasn't for your snoring, I wouldn't have to be here at all,” Jean says bitterly. “Besides.” He smirks, tone flicking like a switch to ring smug. “Levi's cuter than you are, and I bet he doesn't snore.” Eren grumbles some half hearted insult, then asks, “How can you know that?” They both turn to Levi. He regards them both with amusement. “You two will just have to find out.” Jean turns another brilliant shade of pink. Eren's brows shoot up under his fringe. The barista asks Connie what he'd like, and Eren turns to him, salacious smirk still in place, to tell him what his order is. “Hey,” Connie says. “Don't look at me like that. Just because I'm buying you coffee and holding your hand, doesn't mean I want in your pants too.” “That's how I got him,” Jean whispers to Levi. Eren squawks and kicks at Jean. “Good to know,” Levi says, tightening his hold around Jean's fingers for a moment. He just needs to find out if the same works on Jean. Maybe next time.

“Eren,” Mikasa says. “You haven't said a word since you got home. Is something wrong?”Eren shakes his head and takes another sip of water.Armin tilts his head. “Are you sure you're okay?”Eren nods fervently and offers them a tentative smile.“Eren.” Mikasa says calmly. Eren stiffens. “What happened?”Eren fakes a yawn, hoping to hide the slurred lisp in his voice, “Nothin’. Just tired.”Mikasa’s eyes narrow. “Why do you sound like that? Are you drunk? It's 1 in the afternoon.”Eren snorts, “No.”“What's that in your mouth?” Armin asks.Why is he always being interrogated? “Nothing.” Eren says, tight lipped as possible.“Eren,” Mikasa and Armin sigh in unison. “Fine,” Eren huffs. He sticks his tongue out to reveal the shiny, twin metallic studs freshly set there.“Oh, my god,” Armin barely bites back a laugh.“Why?” Mikasa sighs, more exasperated this time.Eren shifts. “Well. Levi is gone another week and he's, like, 90% of my impulse control.”Mikasa shakes her head. “You know we have dinner with mom tomorrow, right? What are you gonna tell her when she asks why you aren't eating her lasagna? You know she thinks tongue rings are strictly for oral sex.”Eren purses his lips. “...That I'm going gluten free?”Mikasa laughs daintily before smiling. “You are so fucked.”Eren knows she's right. He wonders what Levi is doing, and if he'd mind if Eren showed up at Isabel’s without warning.***“You did what?” Isabel asks, pawing at Levi’s shirt.Levi swats her hand away and covers his nipples. “Izzy, you shit.” She glares at the nickname. “They still hurt.”“Then why did you pierce them, you big weirdo?”“Eren is 75% of my-” Isabel flicks him.

Eren's neighbour is hot. No, gorgeous. He's got those sharp, piercing eyes; always assessing, observing. A strong jaw. Beautifully shaped lips. And those cheekbones. Turns out he’s muscled everywhere from the neck down, too. Eren knows because he's currently in his front yard, shirtless and wearing shorts that are at least 90% spandex. They hide nothing, and Eren is grateful. Eren learned when the man moved in the other day that his name is Levi. It's probably the most beautiful name he's ever heard. Or maybe he just thinks that because Levi is bent over and has what is possibly the nicest ass ever. Eren mentally thanks his last neighbour for letting their yard go to shit before they moved. Levi has been yanking weeds out of the ground for well over an hour. Eren hasn't been staring, for the record. Until now. Just stole fleeting glances when he first saw Levi out there. But Armin has always said Eren is shameless. Eren doesn't have it in him to prove his best friend a liar. God, Eren could watch this all day. Levi bends over again, his arms flex as he rips the weeds from the earth, then tosses them into a garbage bag. Wipes sweat from his brow. Dumps… water all over his face? It's running down his chest, through the contours of his abs, along the jut of his hip bones. Life just keeps getting better. Eren is starting to feel creepy, in all honesty. But Levi is so beautiful and Christ- “I want him to sit on my face.” Levi's head shoots up, his brow is raised. Eren’s heart drops into his stomach. The fucking window is wide open. “You know,” Levi says dryly. “Most people welcome their neighbour with some kind of dessert. Like a cake.” The blood drains from Eren’s face. “I-” “Or at the very least,” Levi snips, “take someone out to dinner before offering to eat their ass.” Eren gapes and blood rushes back to his face to flood it with colour. He does the most reasonable thing, given the situation, and drops to the floor, crushing his half formed erection in the process. Eren misses the little smile that crosses Levi's face before he resumes his yard work. *** Eren agonizes over the incident for hours, repeating why, why, why, stupidstupidstupid over and over in his head. “I can probably bounce back from this, right?” Eren asks. Mikasa sighs on the other end of the phone. “I’ve recovered from worse.” “Are you seriously still thinking about getting in his pants?” Mikasa asks. “That dream is dead, Eren. Let it go.” “This is not about-” Eren huffs. He paces back into his kitchen. “I just want to make it up to him. He might live next door for the rest of my life. I don't want things to be weird between us.” “You are unquenchable,” Mikasa says. Eren snorts. “I'm gonna quote you next time I catch you drooling over Sasha at the gym.” “She squats right in front of me on purpose, I swear.” “Unquenchable,” Eren mocks. “Whatever,” Mikasa says. “I have to go.” “To the gym?” Eren sasses. “Good bye, Eren.” She hangs up. Eren sighs. What should he do? Most people welcome their neighbours with some kind of dessert. Like a cake. Eren smiles. He has an idea. *** Levi wakes to his doorbell ringing. Grumbling, he stumbles to the front door and swings it open, ready to ream out whoever decided waking him at 6am was acceptable. Except no one is on the other side. There’s simply a cake on his doorstep, slathered in frosting with Dinner? scrawled over it in what can barely be considered legible lettering. Levi scoffs, if only out of amusement. Too tired to unload his dishwasher, Levi bends down, pinches a piece off with his fingers, and pops it into his mouth. His nose wrinkles. At least he knows why he heard smoke alarms going off last night. “Hope he’s better at eating than he is at baking,” Levi mutters. He smiles. He supposes he can wait until after dinner to find out. Dinner was Levi’s idea, after all.

Jean is tired today. He can barely focus on anything for more than a couple minutes, never mind one of Eren’s long winded, enthusiastic rants. Jean’s trying to listen, he really is. Because while Eren talks a lot of shit, there are always a couple gems laid within the sentences he haphazardly strings together, words sometimes tripping over themselves in his excitement to express what's on his mind. Even if Eren doesn't manage to spew something profound, he always says a few things that make Jean smile. Then there are the times that Eren catches Jean completely off guard. Makes a joke edgy enough that Jean doesn't know whether to laugh or take offense. Explains something that gives Jean new perspective. Makes an observation about their past lives together, how while everything around them changes, things between them are much the same. Jean loves listening to Eren talk. But today, he’s exhausted. It makes him wonder where Eren gets this limitless supply of energy. They were both up til 3am watching bad rom-coms, yet Jean is the only one that seems half dead. He’d ask Eren his secret, but he feels like his answer would be something ridiculous, like how Jean doesn't do enough yoga, and he's not up for that debate again. (For the record, yoga is not a magic cure for everything, Eren). Jean yawns, slips an arm around Eren’s waist. “You never shut the fuck up, do you?” he asks, mostly to watch Eren's eyes go wide and his brows furrow. Eren huffs more dramatically than need be and throws an elbow at Jean's ribs. “If it bothers you so much, why do you stick around?” Jean smiles, pulls Eren a little closer and presses a kiss to his temple. “Because I never tire of hearing it,” he says, because sometimes he has to throw Eren off too. It works. Eren is stunned into silence, just sits there while his face fills with colour. “Yeah, well-” “Shh.” Jean squeezes him. Eren glares at him. “I thought you just said-” “I know what I said. But sometimes it's nice when you sit there all quiet and pretty, too.” Eren scoffs. “Ass.” Jean hums. “Nap with me. Finish your story when we wake up.” Eren looks ready to argue, but Jean yawns again and he relents when he mimics the action. So the little shit does run out of fuel from time to time. “Fine.” He grabs Jean's hand, finger running over his engagement ring. “It’s not like we don't have time.” Eren's right. They have nothing but time. In this life and the next. And Jean's sure he'll never tire of hearing Eren talk. Hearing him snore, however, is another story.