108. “Are you hitting on me?”
—
It had been months now. Months of Levi trying to get into the new desk clerk’s pants, and months of said clerk being frustratingly, adorably clueless. Levi had considered at first that maybe Eren just wasn’t interested, but then he’d stare when he thought Levi wasn’t paying attention, smile and blush when he got caught, and Levi knew that wasn’t the case.
The tricky part was getting Eren to realize that the attraction was mutual, without blatantly saying, “hey there, can I bend you over this desk and fuck you senseless?” Which is what Levi really wanted to say, but even he knew that wasn’t appropriate.
So, he began bringing the younger man a coffee each morning, snacks from the vending machine in the afternoon, he complimented his hair, or the cute new tie he was wearing. Still, he’d receive nothing more than a flushed face and a “thanks.”
He was either very dense, or very shy, Levi decided. However, his friend and fellow housekeeper Hanji suggested it was just the way Levi approached him, that while his actions were kind, his face and tone of voice weren’t.
“The poor kid is probably confused,” they’d said.
“What’s to be confused about? I wanna take him out!”
“See, if you say ‘take you out’ with that face, he’s gonna think you intend to murder him, not bring him on a date,” Hanji laughed.
So, that was a new problem to work around. Hanji’s advice was to smile more, and be straightforward.
“Let me see your smile, Levi!” They said encouragingly. Levi obliged, baring his teeth and Hanji cringed. “Maybe don’t do that.”
Levi practiced smiling in the mirror that night, trying to get something that didn’t look strained or frightening. The next day, he strolled up to the desk, placing Eren’s coffee down as usual and the clerk greeted him with a bright grin.
“Thank you, Levi!” He said cheerily.
“No problem,” Levi answered. Eren turned away to write something down and Levi drummed his fingers against the desk, staring blatantly at the younger man’s ass, trying to think of something to chat about.
“Nice pants,” he said, without thinking.
Eren wore black dress slacks everyday, and gave Levi a confused smile over his shoulder. “Thanks? Uh, I got them half off at Banana Republic.”
“You can get them completely off at my place.”
The words slipped out before Levi could stop them. Eren blinked and Levi smiled in what he hoped was a friendly way, even though he knew there was no coming back from that slip-up. After a moment, Eren turned around, resting one hand on his hip, his expression thoughtful.
“Are you hitting on me?” He asked, cocking an eyebrow.
Levi hung his head in exasperation. “Yes!” He groaned. He looked back up at the younger man, clearing his throat. “I’ve been hitting on you for months now. I must’ve spent a fortune on these coffees, and all those bags of gross pretzels you like for some reason.”
Eren glanced at the cup of coffee. “I thought you were just being nice.”
“Ugh,” Levi scoffed. “I’m not even that nice to my friends.”
“Smile, Levi!” Hanji hummed as they passed by.
“Fuck off,” Levi snapped over his shoulder. He gave Eren a pointed look. “See?”
Eren laughed. “Well, I think you’re a nice guy, even if you don’t.”
He scribbled something down on the corner of a paper and then slid it across the counter. “Text me sometime when you’re free. Let me treat you to a cup of coffee for a change.”
Levi pocketed the number, flashing Eren a genuine smile. “Make it a cup of earl grey, and we’re good.”
108 (Ereri) with the line specifically said by Eren for a change 😂
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