#he's established himself enough that some idiots being shitty at his career/him for no reason ain't gonna bring him down

[astrovian]

can I just say that I love Richard's new seemingly-devil-may-care attitude

[artbyrivaille]

Hair ☕

Okay, so at the outset, I would like to emphasize that English is not my mother tongue and I am still learning. But writing is my hobby and I decided that I will try my skills here too, in English, I invite you to write requests, I hope you will like it!

3,5k words!

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She was strong. She was a good soldier, commander, companion.

But she was also a beautiful woman with an amazing figure who was envied by many. Despite being quite short, because she was only five feet three, she had long slender legs. Overall, she was considered a beautiful woman. However, she had short hair.

Her hairstyle was practically identical to Levi's, but no one accused her of trying to look like him, as she was cutting her hair that way long before Ackerman joined the survey corps.

Oh, she and Levi. It was quite a sneaky topic, let alone the rumors around the body. They were often seen in each other's company, people interpreted it differently.

Some said it was just a friendship and a bond they established when Ackermann was part of her branch at the beginning of his career. And the others insinuated the supposed romance of the two. Well the versions were really different, but the truth was that y/n and good captain Levi were just two great friends. The woman was one of the few people who knew the man's past, and shared with him some facts about her. Because they both came from the Underground, however, and managed to get out of there on their own, and not with the help of scouts, as was the case with Levi.

At first they were not very sympathetic, quite the opposite. They had very similar characters, which theoretically should indicate that they will get along well, but that was only theoretically. In practice, they got on their nerves terribly.

But despite this aversion to a man, it was precisely this that helped him the most after the death of Farlan and Izabel. She provided him with comfort, help and warmth.  Something no one else could give him. It was thanks to her that he recovered so quickly, and he was in the place where he was at the moment.

At some point their relationship began to take a less formal path. More and more often they stayed at each other's offices, helped each other with Erwin's sentences, that is, documentation. They drank tea together, despite the fact that the brunette was a coffee advocate, she made an exception for Levi and almost completely gave it up. They had similar problems, especially those with sleep, may both of them suffer from insomnia, so when the entire corps was asleep, they sat in the two of them over documents, or simply spent their free time together.

Y/n did not even know the exact moment when she began to care in this other, more intimate way on the short captain. It came overnight. Of course, she was behaving the same as before, after all, she was not some horny teen, but a mature woman, but at the moment when she was going to the black-haired's office, or she just knew that he would see him, her body was flooded with heat. And maybe she wouldn't care so much if it wasn't for the fact that she had short hair.

She loved the short haircut, the long hair simply irritated her and disturbed the soldier's everyday life, but she was afraid that they might be an obstacle to any closer relationship with Ackerman.

***

She sat quietly in her office filling out paperwork for Erwin. She nervously tweaked her hair, which was longer than usual, because every time she tried to cut it, something was getting in the way and that was how it was already quite long.

The silence in the office was broken by the sudden opening of the door through which entered a black-haired man with pliers and a towel in his hand. He closed the door with a bang and set the items on the coffee table, then looked at the woman poring over reports and other documents.

"You have long hair." He said suddenly and walked closer to her chair, and when he was next to him, he entangled his hand in her dark strands. She breathed a breath and leaned against the back of the armchair, massaging her temples at the same time giving herself to the caress.

"I didn't have time to cut them off because of the last expedition, and with all the crap Erwin did, I have more work to do than ever. And Hanji keeps following me all the time and asks if I managed to convince Bushbread to do experiments on titans." She explained in frustration then exhaled her mouth with a whistle.

"Tch, fucking shitty glasses. Come on, rest a little, cut off your hair, and you will give me a haircut." He replied then pulled the woman's chair back and, grabbing her hand, led her to the bathroom. She was so tired of it all that she didn't care, and the presence of a cobalt-eyed woman was calming, so she didn't resist. "Get your hair wet." He gave the order, which she followed by putting her head in the shower and then she wet her hair with a stream of water. Ackermann handed her a towel, which she grabbed and dried her hair.

Let the two go back to the brunette's office, meanwhile she took off her jacket and threw it on the couch, which Ackermann only huffed, but said nothing. She sat down without a word on the low stool that the man had prepared at that time. He ran a hand through her hair a few times and began carefully trimming it.

"Can I ask you a question?" She finally gave up y/n, unable to withstand the silence in the room

"You ask them anyway, so why do you ask me for permission." The bored man replied by which l/n raised the corner of her mouth in a small smile.

"What do you think about women with short hair?" She asked, and black hair stopped breathing for a moment. What the hell was that about? Is this some kind of provocation?

"What am I supposed to think. They are no less feminine because they do not have long hair, their appearance does not define a person." He replied quite neutral, not realizing that he had just kindled a little ray of hope in his friend's heart. "And why do you ask?"

"Because I care about someone, and all in all, I wanted to know your opinion." Ah yes. His heart leapt into his throat, and his stomach seemed to have a 3D maneuvering device.  Someone did she like? But who the hell. After all, the only men with whom she spent time was himself, Erwin, sometimes he encountered Moblit in the company of Hanji and Mike. Who could steal her heart enough to make her care about her hairstyle? Probably Erwin. That fucking perfect general.

Maybe Levi didn't have complexes as such, but he was always a little jealous of Smith. He had a perfect body, he was tall, intelligent, had a high position in the military, and he came from a non-poor family. He was nothing compared to the blonde, he had nothing to offer. And he would like so much to have her with him.

"I'm done." He muttered softly brushing single hairs from the woman's clothes. She got up from the stool and unintentionally combed her dark hair. She looked beautiful, but he wouldn't tell her that.

"Your turn." She said and took the pliers from his hand. This time it was he who sat on the stool. He involuntarily smiled under his breath and closed his eyes at the woman's gentle touch. He was literally like a docile kitten. Why couldn't she be his?

***

He had been avoiding her like plague for about two weeks. He was irritated by the lack of a black-haired woman around him, but he knew that if it was like before, he would take the blow even worse.

A blow that would never come.

Y/n really didn't know what she could do wrong. After all, everything was fine, and then overnight Ackerman began to avoid her. Maybe he just got bored?

At first she explained his ignorance with overwork, in the end everyone in the command had their heads off. But when one day in a row she saw him sitting quietly with Petra, she knew it was not it. By the way, seeing a redhead in his company, something broke in her. What did this teenager have that she did not have? Did their relationship really mean nothing to him? So many questions, so few answers.

And this way almost every evening she landed in Erwin's office with Hanji with a bottle of whiskey or vodka, depending on what Smith had in the bar. Erwin and Hange really couldn't comprehend the change in brunet's behavior, and the sight of a really hurt l/n was so pathetic as to be nasty.

And so the next evening the three gathered in Smith's office where they once again debated about the captain's behavior.

"I do not feel it completely, so change the attitude towards people overnight. 

I know that our curly pedantic has its own rules, but without exaggeration." Hanji announced, finishing the rest of the whiskey from her glass.

"Maybe something made him do it?" Smith replied, then grabbed his chin.

"Tch, and this thing is called Petra Ral, really fascinating." Black-haired girl summed up pouring herself and Zoe whiskey.

Their conversations were so loud that they interested Ackerman who was just about to make himself a cup of tea. But when he heard three familiar voices, he stood at the door of Smith's office, listening to what was being said.

"Don't take it for granted." Erwin said and frowned by the high concentration of alcohol in his glass.

"So what could be the reason Levi is ignoring me then? Just like logic Erwin, there are two options, or he has something to me and he distorts what is unfortunately but impossible because he always treated me only as a friend. Or he just shoots with Petra, and that's what I believe more. "Did they talk about him? What romance with Petra? And y/n cared for him the way he wanted it, but he's just an idiot and he broke it? He held his breath for a moment and tried to enter the room, but stopped himself and continued to stand still.

"Like it or not, I have to agree with the above.  Although I keep my fingers crossed for the first version." Squeaked at the end of the woman, which caused a loud sigh of disapproval from y/n.

"Shut up Hanji, I don't want to hope again for something that will never happen." She growled angry and hurt. She really cared about him. Not on any Erwin, Moblit or Mike, but on him. On a goddamn Underground thief with a hard character and misophobic aspirations. Damn it, don't let this be a dream.

He walked away from the door and headed for his office. He has even forgotten why he left it at all. He sat down at the desk and stared blankly at the sky until the very morning, trying to put everything in his head. He must try to fix what he broke.

***

Like a day like every other day. There was no expedition, no surprises, just an ordinary day in the recon. Well, maybe almost. Because Ackerman had been nervous and a little stressed since the morning. And it wasn't just because he wanted to talk to y/n seriously, but largely because he couldn't find her anywhere. As to spite that day, she sank underground, his only salvation could be Erwin. Which office was on his way to. The evening and dinner time was approaching, so he wanted to come to him before her, to look for the presence of a woman at the last meal, if necessary.

He entered the office without knocking, Smith merely looked up from the mountain of documents he had probably been studying since this morning, then turned him back to the sheets of paper.

"What you want Levi?" He asked breaking the silence prevailing in the room. He was pretty sure why this one had come to him, but preferred not to reveal all the cards at once.

"Where is y/n"?  Erwin sighed and then put down his quill and straightened up in his chair. He was afraid of Levi's reaction, but what could he do if the milk had already spilled?

"She went on a mission. She should be back in two or three days at the most." He replied with a straight face in the middle being a bit irritated by the reaction of the black-haired man.

"What mission? And why the hell didn't I know anything about this." Ackerman asked, very angry with the news once again.

"Maybe because you've been avoiding her for a long time? Maybe because it's a secret mission, I'm not obligated to tell you everything, Levi. I respect you and treat you as a friend, so I will give you some friendly advice. Think about what you really want and don't screw it up. I don't think I need to tell you what I'll do to you if you hurt her, not to mention Hanji." A faint smile affected his lips at the end of his speech.

"It's none of your business anymore. Thank you for the information." He replied coolly and, not worried about the threat of his friend, left his office.

So he was supposed to wait? He hated waiting. Uncertainty burst him from the inside, these few days will probably be a real nightmare for him.

***

It was well past nine o'clock, so most of the Corps' soldiers were resting in their quarters. Only a few officers were still in the courtyard. And Levi was watching them from his office.

Week. She has been gone since fucking week.

And he was consumed not only by uncertainty, but also by fear. Because they didn't know anything, not even Erwin, who entrusted the woman with this mission. Through it all, the captain was irritated and angry from day to night. Everyone wanted to be as far away from him as possible. Even Petra must have found out about his bad mood when some two days after y/n's departure, she felt bad for the fact that she smiled at him instead of focusing on cleaning. The last time he was afraid was when he first left for exeption.

Suddenly, a horse ran into the courtyard, on the back of which was a scout, but he was clearly unconscious, barely clinging to his mount. At first, Ackerman did not move from his place, but when he heard the screams about the return of squad leader l/n and summoning the medics, he sprinted out of the office.

When he was already leaving, he saw only a brunette, which two cadets were carrying on a stretcher to the infirmary. There was blood everywhere, and the worst case scenario flashed through his mind. She might have died.

He knew that they would not let him into the infirmary anyway, and the cadets didn't know anything, the only option was once again Erwin. What a mission it was to make her come back like this.

He hurried to Smith's office and threw open the door. He did not care about the surprised face of Hanji, who was sitting on the blonde's couch, but he walked over to the man and grabbed him tightly by the collar of a white shirt.

"What was that mission? And why did you send her over there alone, don't you care that she's just fighting for her life?" He was screaming at the top of his throat, he didn't care what everyone thought of him right now, he didn't care about the consequences, he only cared that he could lose her before he actually possessed her.

"In Stohess there is a man who leads the gang. It interfered with various shipments and the like. They are also active in the Underground. The task was to diversify into their ranks, apparently she did not quite succeed." He replied with stoic calm which made the black-haired man even more angry.

"Have you been really fucked up? Such a mission is not a job for one person, it is for the rest. Such matters should be handled by the MP's, not us!" He shouted and pushed the blonde back so that he almost fell from his chair.

"Only that they interfered mainly with transports to our corps. Mostly those not entirely legal. You know very well that a large amount of drugs and medical equipment we have is not entirely legal, but it is needed. I wanted to send the two of you on this mission, because both of you know the Underground, but she did not agree to you taking part in this mission. Probably because you were not getting along at that point." The man explained succinctly, and Ackerman said nothing. It was his fault, his goddamn fault. If only he wasn't such an asshole, nothing bad would have happened.

Until now, a silent Hanji came up to the shorter man and put her hand on his shoulder, the latter turned towards her, close to crying. Holy shit what she did with him.

"You'll finish later, for now, go to her." She ordered, and he nodded and without a word headed for the infirmary.

***

"When will she wake up?" He asked one of the medics, who was just finishing treating single wounds on the body of an unconscious woman.

"She should wake up in the morning. But probably not for long, he has to rest a lot now. She lost a lot of blood, it is surprising that she was even going here alive." She replied and got up from the small stool, putting the remnants of bandages and other medicaments on a silver tray. "But take it easy, she will get out of this, squad leader l/n is a damn tough woman, not just character.  She will lick it." She added after a moment with a slight smile on her face trying to cheer the man up.

"I know she's strong." He replied quietly, his head bowed and his hands folded.

"So just be patient. I think she survived because she had someone to return to." She laughed softly and just left the room, leaving the slightly confused captain with the unconscious woman.

He slowly walked over to her bed and sat down next to it on the wooden chair. He grabbed her chilled hand and pressed it to his lips, giving it a tender kiss. He had to wait.

And so the hours went by, and Levi spent them thinking about his feelings for the woman and simply gazing at her adoringly.

She was so beautiful, he loved everything about her. From a smile that could not be seen too often, ending with short hair. He was lazily combing them almost all the time, not being surprised how pleasant they are.  He did not even notice that it was starting to dawn, and the soldiers of the corps were slowly waking up to start another day of service. He also did not notice that Erwin accompanied by Hanji arrived in the room in the meantime, but when they saw the man sitting next to the y/n, they only smiled at each other and left, leaving them alone, of course they gave each other high five for fruitful cooperation.

"Wake up now, because these feelings will blow me up soon." The words were coming out of his mouth involuntarily. His eyes were closed, he tried to focus, to be patient. "I overheard your, Hanji and Erwin conversation about me. I really was an idiot. I shouldn't be away from you, that's why you're here at all. If I hadn't, you wouldn't be lying here, I wouldn't have allowed it. I have plans to blame Erwin for letting you go on this mission alone. But you don't know how much I was bursting from the inside by the thought that you care about someone, and that someone is not me. I was so fucking jealous. Ugh, feelings are a pain in the ass. You don't even know what you're doing with me. I just love you, and I love everything about you." There was a silence in the room, and the man breathed a sigh of relief, finally blurted out into the crowd of thoughts.

"Even my short hair?" Silence, a hoarse voice broke the silence in the room. The man immediately opened his eyes and straightened in his chair, a smile spread across his face at the sight of the woman's open eyes.

"Even short hair." He replied and once again ran his hand through it, and placed the other on her cheek.

"I heard everything, you idiot. Love you too." She said and smiled broadly as he reciprocated.

"I love you too." He replied and pressed their lips together in a kiss.

[bittysvalentines]

Only if You Want To

From @bitty-smol​

To @pastelle-pvnk

Rating: Teen (for swearing)

Hey pastelle-pvnk! I hope you like your gift, because I had a lot of fun writing it for you! (P.S. we should totes become friends because we have a lot of the same interests, so hit me up <3)

That being said, he was sure of at least one thing: he was in love with his coworker, Derek Malik Nurse. 

He was not necessarily a willing participant in this. The revelation came as a shock to him and once the thought crossed his mind, it wouldn’t leave. No matter how many times Dex tried to forget about his unfortunate unrequited love, it would just come back full force. 

It came like this: Nursey chirping him in the middle of a shift and then proceeding to eat shit while hopping the counter.

how am i in love with a man who can barely stand on his own two feet?

oh shit.

If anything, that should’ve helped the whole “in-love-with-your-completely-idiotic-coworker” thing, since Nurse was forced to take paid leave for a good month while his leg healed. Dex thought that not seeing him would lessen whatever he was feeling, but in retrospect it made it so much worse. 

He missed Nursey. Like, a lot. Like, more than you should hypothetically miss a coworker, regardless of the crush you have on them. 

That’s why, when Nursey finally returned, he couldn’t help the small tug he felt in his chest or the urge he felt to step out from behind the counter and hug Nursey as soon as he got close enough.

“Woah, Poindexter. Did you really miss me that much?” Nursey muttered against Dex’s shoulder. 

Dex’s heart hurt.

“No, but I did miss you at register. Johnson kept telling the customers that he was only taking over until the main love interest gets back, whatever that means.” Dex folded his arms and looked over at Johnson who was currently staring at him and Nursey as if he knew something they didn’t.

“Yeah, well I’m glad to be back,” Nursey stepped back from Dex, “I didn’t think I would miss going home smelling like pastries, but turns out it grew on me. I’m gonna go say hi to Bitty and clock in.” Nursey turned towards Bitty’s office and started walking away.

“Um, Nursey!” Dex shouted, his hand coming up to the back of his neck as if he could cover the blush that was creeping up. Nursey turned slowly, his face blank.

“Yes, Poindexter?”

“I, um,” Dex met Nursey’s eyes with his own.”I did. Uh, miss you, that is.”

Dex’s blush couldn’t help but crawl up his cheeks as he saw the smile that spread across Nursey’s face. 

“I missed you too, Dexy.” Nursey said, turning his back and heading back towards Bitty’s office.

Before Dex could let the “I missed you too” comment take over him he managed to call back “Don’t call me that, Nurse!”

Nursey couldn’t help but smile.

_X_

Nursey is in love. But then again, he always is. 

Derek Nurse cannot remember a time in the immediate past where he was not waxing poetic about some person or another. His sister called him a “disaster bi” and like, yeah, he could agree with that. But something about Dex was different.

His dreams were filled with fiery red hair and pale, freckled skin. More often than not, he found himself writing poetry about a muse that hardly even gave him the time of day and when he did, it was to chirp him. 

Maybe he was a glutton for punishment or maybe he was in that purgatory where life is just slightly shitty. Like, yeah, you can be in close proximity with the one you love, but they will never give you an ounce of reciprocation. 

That’s why when he finally came back to work after the counter incident (“Nurse, the counter lifts up for a reason.” “Now that wouldn’t be any fun, would it, Dexy.”) he couldn’t help but take the hug that Dex was offering.

Fuck, he missed him. 

And then Dex had said that he had missed him and-

Fuck, he was fucked.

After the hug, he found himself walking to Bitty’s office in a sort of daze, opening the door to find Bitty chatting away on the phone.

“Oh, I’ve gotta go, sweetpea. Nursey just walked back into the office,” Nursey took a seat in front of Bitty’s desk as he finished up the call. “Yeah, honey, I love you too. Bye.”

“So, how’s Jack?” Nursey asked, with a smirk on his face.

“He’s great. He just finished up teaching a class, so he called me before his office hours began to talk about dinner with his parents tonight.” Bitty said, smiling as he did. 

Seeing Bitty and Jack’s relationship gave Nursey genuine hope for his future love life, as well as a model for how a healthy relationship should look. They had been together for at least three years now and on their way to many more. 

“That’s great, Bitty.” Nursey smiled.

“Well, I know you didn’t come in here to talk about me. How’s your leg?” Bitty asked, standing up to walk around his desk and get a better look.

“Good as new,” Nursey said, bending his knee back and forth as if to prove his point.

“Oh thank goodness! You had me worried there for a second, Derek.” Bitty paused. “So uh, have you seen Dex yet?”

So, here’s the thing about being friends with your boss: they know far more than a boss should at any given time. 

It also doesn’t help that a few work outings ago, when Bitty was watching a drunk Nursey (a job, lovingly titled Nursey duty), he ended spilling his guts to Bitty. It was quite cute, really, aside from the vomit that ended up on his shoes for his troubles. 

“I have. Uh, seen him, that is.” Nursey stopped and looked at Bitty from across the desk. “He gave me a hug. It was… really nice.”

“That’s sweet, Nursey,” Bitty smiled, a small grin tugging at his lips.

Bitty finished giving Nursey the rundown of new recipes and products, but he couldn’t help but think that work at the bakery was about to get a whole lot more interesting.

_X_

Eric Bittle was no stranger to pining. Nor was he a stranger to emotionally constipated boys. He knew how to spot said boys from a mile away and he has made it one of his personal missions to help them as much as he possibly can. 

Bitty’s love life had been rocky to say the least. He moved out of Georgia and straight to Providence, Rhode Island to pursue his baking career. He’s not exactly sure why he chose Providence, but as he stared at a map one day it just seemed… right (that and when he threw a dart at the map, that's where it landed). So there he was, enough cash in his pocket to rent out an old restaurant space and a whole lot of motivation. 

Not a month after he had opened, Bitty had already become a staple business in the community. He had a solid group of regulars and found himself making more than enough to sustain his business and set himself up in a nice apartment. 

He loved his employees, his customers, his job. He really just loved his life. So when all of a sudden Mr. Tall and Handsome walked into the bakery, Bitty knew he was gonna have a problem. He knew as soon as he had seen those bright blue eyes and, oh lord, that <i>butt</i>, that he had to get to know that beautiful man.  

And so it turned out that his name was Jack Zimmermann. He was a history professor at the local university and an avid runner, as Bitty would come to find out. 

He came in almost every morning during his runs and often times after teaching classes to grade papers and answer emails. It was in times like these where Bitty made it his mission to befriend Jack. Before long, he found himself talking with Jack longer and longer and even took it upon himself to make Jack his favorite pie after a particularly hard week at school.

It wasn’t until Dex brought it up that Bitty had even realized what was happening. 

“So, like, are you ever gonna actually ask him on a date?” Dex had asked the day after Bitty had presented Jack with his pie.

“I don’t think I understand what you mean, William.” Bitty said, playing coy. He knew exactly what he wanted to do with Jack, but he wasn’t about to make one of his favorite customers (and people, in general) uncomfortable if everything went south.

“Dude, are you kidding me?” Dex said. “He’s smitten with you, I just don’t think he realizes it yet.” 

So one confession and an ice skating date later, they were official. It didn’t feel like some big event though, it just felt like something had clicked into place. Like this was exactly how his life was meant to be. 

And he just wanted Nursey and Dex to feel that too.

_X_

Once Nursey fully returned to work things got back to normal. Or as normal as they could be, he guesses.

He found himself working with Dex more and more often, whether it be opening or closing with him. It’s kind of nice, if he’s being honest. He couldn't remember a time when work was so fun.

Not to mention that he and Dex become a lot closer than before and dare he say it- friends, even. Sometimes after they closed they’d go out for drinks and when they’d open Dex would make Nursey his favorite salted caramel latte before the early birds arrived. They didn’t fight about dumb shit anymore, only the important things, like if pineapple belongs on pizza or not (Derek totally thinks it does). 

While all of this is all well and good, Nursey’s feelings are only growing. He found himself staring at Dex more and more often and can't help but try to make him laugh every chance he gets. 

Dex has a really nice laugh. 

But that's besides the point. They're friends now and Nursey does not want to ruin that. Even if it does mean suffering through work or staying out much later before opening shifts than he should, just so he can spend more time with Dex. He can handle a little self-control. 

Or at least he hopes he can. 

_X_

Jack Zimmermann was a lucky man and he knew it. He had a job that he loved, teaching at a well-established university. He had amazing students who wanted to learn. He had a devastatingly handsome boyfriend (soon to be fiancé, if he plays his cards right) who loved him.

That being said, he knows exactly the kind of person Bitty is. He's got a big heart, sometimes to a fault. He wants to see everyone happy and Jack can’t be mad at that. 

Which is why when Bitty tells him all about the plan he comes up with, he can’t help but go along with it.

He sends out an email to his students to let them know that class on the 13th is cancelled due to an “unforeseen emergency” and heads to the bakery per Bitty’s request.

It’s going to be a long night.

_X_

Unsurprisingly, Valentine’s day was one of the busiest days of the year at the bakery. They always ended up selling out of their chocolate strawberry creme pies and heart-shaped sugar cookies. Nursey and Dex started their shifts at the same time, as had become normal, neither looking forward to the rush that would inevitably come.

Nursey was taking orders and dishing up pastries, while Dex was making the drinks. They made a solid team and time seemed to pass so much faster when they worked together. When Jack came in around seven Dex was shocked to find that he had almost been working a full seven hours already, the hours flying by. He finally stopped to look at Nursey, who looked about as tired as he felt. His heart fluttered at the little smile Nursey gave him, before he turned back to take another customer's order.

“Jack, honey, what are you doing here?” Bitty said, as he came out of the kitchen. He was a mess, covered in flour from head to toe and smelling of chocolate from baking with it all day.

“Bits, I told you that I had made a dinner reservation for us at 8, didn’t I?” Jack said, coming around the corner to press a kiss to Bitty’s forehead.

As he said that Bitty couldn't help the look of shock that crossed his face. 

“Oh sweet pea, I can't believe I forgot! I'm supposed to close tonight.” 

Nursey and Dex exchanged a look between the two of them, before Dex made a resigned sigh and mumbled, “We can close if you need us to Bitty.”

With that, Bitty turned to the both of them with a smile wider than they had ever seen. 

“Y'all would really do that for me?” Bitty was still looking at them with shining eyes. 

“Of course, brah. It's chill.” Nursey spoke up, after a moment. “We want you to have your romantic date night so that we can live vicariously through you.”

“The night is still young,” Bitty sang as he brushed past the both of them, “I'll go grab my stuff from my office and then we can leave, honey.” 

“So, euh, thanks for doing this you guys,” Jack said, rubbing the back of his neck as he did so. 

“No problem, Jack,” Nursey said, “Bitty deserves a break anyways. He said he stayed late last night working on something.”

“Uhm, yeah, about that-” Jack started.

“Alright, sugar, let’s go,” Bitty said, as he came back from the office. He laid a hand on Jack’s arm and looked right at Nursey. “Close the doors right at nine and make sure to take the money back into my office. Don’t bother counting it tonight, I’ll do it in the morning.”

“Ready, Bits?” Jack asked, smirking and cocking an eyebrow at his boyfriend.

“As I’ll ever be, Mr. Zimmermann,” Bitty said, turning back to Nursey and Dex. “Thank you boys, have fun!”

“Yeah, we’ll try,” Dex mumbled, bumping into Nursey’s shoulder as he turned back to the espresso machine to make a drink.

_X_

Luckily, the rest of their shift went by pretty quickly. All of the customers had cleared out around 8:45, presumably to spend the night with their significant others. They had cleaned the cafe area and were finishing up the kitchen, when Nursey went to the front to begin collecting the money and closing out the register.

“Lame Valentine’s day, right?” Dex said, walking up behind Nursey as he was putting the cash in the bank bag.

“Eh, it wasn’t too bad,” Nursey said softly, as he glanced back quickly to look at Dex. “There isn’t anywhere else I’d rather be.” He whispered, turning around fully to face Dex. 

“Derek…” Their eyes met and they stayed that way for a few moments, before Nursey broke the trance.

“C’mon, let’s take the money to the back so we can get out of here,” Nursey mumbled, brushing past Dex. He’s not sure if he’s getting warm because he’s embarrassed or nervous. It had sounded as though Dex was going to respond to his advance, but instead he just… hadn’t. 

Nursey had been thinking so deeply about the encounter they had just had that he hadn’t noticed the giant red heart on the outside of Bitty’s office door. He did, however, notice that the normally plain office now looked as though Cupid himself had thrown up all over it.

There was a round table in the middle of the room, where Bitty’s desk usually sat, covered in a rich red table cloth, roses, champagne, and of course a strawberry chocolate cream pie. Next the the pie sat a note that read:

Dear Nursey and Dex, 

It was clear to me that neither of you were going to make the first move, so let this be it. The way you look at each other reminds me of the way that Jack and I used to look at each other. How we still look at each other. Y’all have something so special and I just want you both to be happy. Happy Valentine’s Day.

Love,

Bitty

“Hey, what’s- oh holy shit.” Nursey turned to find Dex staring at the office with wide eyes. He looked like a wild animal trying to decide whether he should run away or not. “What the fuck is all this?”

“Well,” Nursey started, “It’s Bitty’s Valentine’s Day present to us.” He finished, chancing a glance at the other boy as he moved to take the note from Nursey’s hand to read it. Dex read the note, before taking a seat at one of the chairs seated at the table. 

“Am I that fucking obvious?” Dex asked, running his hands through his hair. 

Which is… Not exactly what Nursey was expecting to hear.

“What are you talking about?” Nursey could feel his forehead scrunching as he asked the question. He was really fucking lost.

“Oh c’mon Nurse, there’s a reason that Bitty did this. Apparently I’m shit at hiding my feelings and he wanted to pity me by giving me a little hope today.” Dex sighed, “You don’t have to go along with this Derek, I understand it makes you uncomfortable.”

Nursey just sat there dumbfounded, because- what?

“Dex, are you fucking kidding me?” Dex’s head shot up at that. “Did you even read the note?”

Nursey couldn’t help but to laugh. How is this his life? He crossed the room to stand in front of Dex, whose expression was still blank.

“He did this for the both of us, you idiot,” Nursey couldn’t stop the smile spreading on his face. “Apparently neither of us have been very good at hiding our feelings. Although in my defense, I was drunk when I confessed to Bitty. You’re just always in awe of my beauty, apparently.” That final jab was the one to snap Dex back to reality.

“Don’t flatter yourself too much Nurse,” Dex mumbled, crossing his arms and refusing to meet Nursey’s gaze.

“It’s okay Dex. I’m always in awe of you too.” At this, Dex finally looked up at Nursey, who was slowly uncrossing Dex’s arms. “Kinda hard not to be.” He whispered, taking Dex’s hands into his. They stared at each other for a few moments, both men afraid to look away.

“Did our boss just fucking matchmake us?” Dex whispered, rubbing his thumbs back and forth on Nursey’s knuckles. Nursey couldn’t help but laugh.

“I guess he did,” Nursey said, flicking his eyes down to Dex’s mouth. “So like, I know we both just became aware of this whole thing, but can I kiss you? I’ve waited so fucking long.”

Dex’s eyes widened and he began shaking his head. 

“Fuck yes,” Dex said, stretching up to meet Derek’s mouth and covering it with his own. By the time they finished kissing they were both breathless.

“Okay, so,” Dex started, “I know that Bitty planned this whole thing for us, but-”

“You wanna take this elsewhere?” Derek finished.

“Only if you want to,” Dex said, looking happier than Derek had seen him all night.

“That’s alI want,” Nursey whispered.

With that, Derek couldn’t help but think that work at the bakery was about to get a whole lot more interesting.

[damienthepious]

Co-stars AU Megamind - Roxanne

caveat that i know very little about the actual practicalities of how making movies actually works with a real budget and shit, or how acting contracts/agents/etc work. but i liked how this turned out regardless, and it actually felt long enough for a title. bless

Typecast

There wasn’t any netting or padding below Roxanne, which was kind of terrifying considering that the outfit the costume department had dressed her in allowed exactly zero room for a harness underneath the fabric. She was pressed back against the window of a fake high-rise, the ledge beneath her heels slightly wider than it appeared from the angle of the camera. Theoretically, all she had to do was stand and press herself against the glass and call for help. It wasn’t the best role, obviously, but at least some of the other scenes gave her a bit of interesting dialogue, and if she could just nail this, then maybe- maybe the next role-

Her heel wobbled and she jerked back in alarm, and the director swore and called cut. Roxanne let her shoulders sag. “Sorry, sorry, it’s just starting to get a little- slippery up here,” she said, hoping the laugh that came with the words didn’t sound too forced.

“It’s whatever,” the director said, which was discouraging. “Reset, reset all of it and we’ll go from the start again. Just- try to angle yourself more, yeah Roxie? We gotta see your face and if the wind is blowing the hair-”

“Can’t you move the fans?” Roxanne tried again. “If you want me to be looking at where-”

“I think I know what I’m doing, Roxie.”

Roxanne smiled with bright fury, an automatic response at this point. “Of course.”

Another take, the ‘wind’ buffeting her against the glass as she tried to make whining ‘oh please won’t someone help me’ sound in any way natural while also trying not to actually plummet down to the concrete ground beneath her, and when Stewart called cut she closed her eyes for a moment and hoped that her performance had been good enough to make this bullshit stop for like, twenty goddamn minutes, at least-

“Reset! Another one, go again, come on I don’t wanna waste any more time.”

“What was wrong with that one?” Roxanne called out, trying to sound enthusiastic. “What can I do better?”

“Y’gotta stop making that face, Roxie,” he called out, and Roxanne was desperately glad that she couldn’t see his goddamn face behind all the lights aimed at her. 

“Face?” She chimed lightly.

“All scrunched up and like, tense and shit.”

“…. you want me to look less worried?”

“More worried! More worried but keep your face smooth!”

“So I have to… look scared, but not frown at all?” Roxanne asked in a voice of spiderweb-thin ice. 

“Yeah! Exactly! Let’s go again-”

“What in the… that looks extraordinarily unsafe.” 

The voice was new in the room, but Roxanne recognized it even though she couldn’t see the source through all of the lights. Megamind, the troublemaking former rock-star gone actor. He had to be here to film his cameo, for that scene near the end-

“Cut,” Stewart snarled, and then Roxanne heard the exact moment he realized who had interrupted him. “Oh- hey, dude, you’re kinda early-”

“Where is the harness?" Megamind failed utterly to acknowledge what the director was actually saying, and he strode directly onto the set beneath her, his sharp green eyes narrowing up at her and oh shit, he looked genuinely furious. Handsome as hell, too, but dangerously angry. Maybe his reputation was actually true, then. Maybe the reason he was typecast exclusively as villains was actually his attitude and not his appearance- maybe he actually was a terror on set, despite his sheer talent. “Are you comfortable up there?”

Or- maybe not?

“What?” she called down on autopilot, though she had heard him well enough.

He scowled, then snapped his head to look at someone to the side of the set. “Turn that wind machine off immediately, thank you.” His tone brooked no argument and the wind cut off as immediately as desired, though Stewart yelped a protest in the background. “I said, are you actually comfortable up there, Miss Ritchi? Those heels don’t quite look compatible with that ledge.”

Roxanne laughed weakly. “I- uh, I mean-” Megamind was still staring up at her, but she was more conscious of other eyes on her right now, the crew and the director in particular, waiting to see what she said.

“You don’t look comfortable,” he prodded.

“She’s not supposed to look comfortable,” Stewart called from out of sight. “She’s supposed to be in distress!”

“Her character is,” Megamind corrected.

“I wanted the reactions to be authentic, dude, don’t you get method? C’mon-”

“So you’re saying that you don’t trust her acting ability enough to successfully emulate the role you hired her for without actively putting her in danger?”

There was a beat of silence, and Roxanne felt a pulse of yes, thank you, god, but it was superseded by the absolute certainty that she was about to lose this job.

“Stop. You’re going to get me in trouble,” Roxanne hissed down at him between her teeth. “He’ll say I’m ‘difficult to work with’ and I’ll never get a role this big again, don’t screw this up for me-”

“You’ll get even less roles if you let him break your neck for his perfect shot,” Megamind retorted, full volume as the director sputtered behind him. “Come down and I’ll put you on the phone with my lawyer, and you can discuss exactly how many ways this mediocre auteur has abused your safety on this set.”

Roxanne hesitated for a long moment, then nodded. “I- uh, don’t actually know how I was supposed to get down from here, to be honest.”

Megamind looked, if anything, even angrier as he turned and snapped at a couple of crew members to grab a ladder already, and soon Roxanne on her way back to ground level, Megamind lifting a hand to her to help her wobble the last few rungs down the ladder. Stewart was still swearing and apparently hitting his chair in the background, though he seemed too terrified to come within ten feet of Megamind. Roxanne was substantially less intimidated.

“Not that I don’t appreciate being spoken up for, but you do realize that it isn’t easy to get a role like this, right? I can’t be picky when I’m trying to establish-”

Megamind instantly raised his hands in surrender as they started walking together away from the high-rise set. “I know- I know, I’m terribly sorry, Miss Ritchi. I tend to let my mouth run away with me when idiots like that Schteward think they can bully a better performance out of someone.”

“You- I assumed you agreed to cameo on this project because you liked the director,” Roxanne said with a raised eyebrow. “I figured it couldn’t be because of Wayne. Everybody knows you two don’t get along anymore.”

“Because I liked- oh goodness no,” Megamind sneered, dramatically flicking his wrist in front of him as if shooing a fly. “That was just an unfortunate cost if I wanted to get the chance to- er, that is-”

Roxanne tilted her head, trying to make sure that she wasn’t imagining the splash of pink flooding into his cheeks.

“It doesn’t matter anyway. Obviously I’ll be dropping out. He won’t want me on set anymore, no matter how much notoriety I would draw for him. I directly challenged him in the middle of filming. Someone with his ego won’t let that go lightly. And-” he sighed and shot her a guilty sideways glance, “likely he will lump you right in with me. Sorry about that. If you’d like, you can go back and loudly denounce me after we tighten up your contract and get you a better agent, if you want to finish this one up before your next role.”

Roxanne blinked. “You think I would just- go back and lie?”

He shrugged. “It’s your career, Miss Ritchi. I certainly wouldn’t blame you. I already have a reputation, and it wouldn’t hurt me any further for you to confirm it. I’m still going to get the roles I want regardless, so it makes perfect sense for you to distance yourself from me, since you don’t have that safety net yet.”

“That- that isn’t fair,” Roxanne said, brow furrowing. “Have people done that to you before? That’s horrible.”

He grinned a sharp little grin and shrugged. “Show business, Miss Ritchi. You’re just as familiar with it as I am.”

“No. That’s bullshit. I won’t throw you under the bus like that.”

The grin faded a little, surprise edging in at the corners of his expression. “That- well, that’s up to you, of course. But- you really shouldn’t risk your job for me any more than you already have.”

“It’s not for you, it’s just the right thing to do.” She stopped for a moment to kick her ridiculous heels off, opting to carry them instead. ”This was a shitty role anyway.”

“Well.” He laughed lightly. “I hope, then, that you’ll at least let me get you in touch with some other projects that will be casting, soon-”

“I appreciate the thought but I don’t need charity roles, Megamind.”

“Charity? No, I-” he flushed again, then bit his lip hard before he continued. “I’ve- I’ve seen your work before, Miss Ritchi, and I think you’ve been wildly, atrociously overlooked. You have this inherent charm and- and you always bring such nuance to roles that otherwise would have just been- and you do anger in this really fascinating way and-” he laughed, a nervous sound that he seemed to be using to make himself stop his jolting stream of words. “The only reason I even agreed to this idiotic villain cameo was because I thought- if Roxanne Ritchi is involved it might be worth- rather, if she’s attached, maybe this Schteward fellow isn’t as bad as they say he is. I was wrong about that part, but- well, you deserve to- you deserve a chance to- to work with people who will actually appreciate you. Is all.”

Roxanne stared at him as the words dried up, at the discomfort in his expression started to verge on panic, and thought, only an absolute asshole would think this guy is a problem to work with. And then, he’s actually even prettier in person than on screen, which should be both impossible and illegal. And after that, I did not imagine him blush three entire times while he talked about me. 

“Okay. We’ll call your lawyer,” she said, “and work out whatever- business we need to, and you can give me contact info for some casting directors if you really think I have a shot. And then I’d like your number, if you’d be willing to give it.”

Megamind made a wordless noise, then shook his head. “Of- of course, I mean, you would want to get in contact with me for reference, of course-”

“Not for reference.” Roxanne stopped, turning to face him properly with a smile tugging at her lips. “I’d like to take you out for coffee, sometime.” She paused while he stared. “Unless you wouldn’t like that. I imagine that you’re probably pretty busy-”

“No I would love to- I mean, of course I would like- coffee, with you, obviously I would like-” he clamped a hand over his mouth and then gave that nervous, awkward, charming laugh again. “Like- but, of course you don’t mean- like a date, Miss Ritchi?”

“Like a date.”Roxanne smiled in earnest, now. She couldn’t help it. “And- you can call me Roxanne, you know.”

“Oh,” Megamind said, his voice gone light and stunned. “Oh. I would like that very much, Roxanne.”

[thisgirlsays22]

Intro to Data Science Chapter 3

Rating: E

Fandom: Shingeki no Kyojin

Pairing(s):  Eren Yeager/ Levi

Chapter Word Count: 3.7K

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Fluff and Smut, (British) Professor Levi, (American) Student Eren, Long Distance

Summary:

“You’re probably just into him for the accent.”

“It’s not that,” Eren argued. “It doesn’t hurt, but it’s so much more than that.”

Mikasa rolled her eyes. “Sure.”

Notes:

This chapter took inspiration from @ereri-writing-prompts incalescent prompt ;)

For my lovely @fluffymusketeer who loves smut. May this chapter bring her joy. 

And a big thank you to @attraversiamo19 for being a fantastic beta and workshopping lines and ideas with me nonstop. 

Read chapter 3 on Ao3 or under the cut. Chapter 1 & Chapter 2 on Tumblr. 

Levi should have never allowed the kiss to happen. His plan--if you could call it that--had spectacularly backfired.

“I thought if I spent more time with him, he’d turn out to be a twat, and I’d lose interest,” he tried to explain to Isabel.

Spring had come out in full force that weekend, the sweet smell of the first crocuses blooming in the air. They jogged through Clapham Common side by side, dodging cyclists and couples strolling hand in hand.

“Maaate.” Isabel let out a low whistle. “That makes no sense.”  

She wasn’t wrong. He’d not stopped thinking of Eren’s smile or the kiss for two days straight.

“I’m hardly ever interested in someone once I properly chat to them,” Levi said, wiping some sweat from his brow.

“Fair point. Can’t argue with that.”

Isabel and Farlan knew his track record better than anyone, even Hanji and Erwin. Childhood friends always saw how the sausage got made.

They ran for another kilometer, the kiss still playing through Levi’s mind on repeat. He hadn’t even kissed Eren properly. A fucking wasted opportunity.  

A student had never caught his interest before, and even if they had, he never would have pursued anything. Eren’s pushiness should have been a turn-off, but he didn’t push quite hard enough to be off-putting.

“Right, I’ve had enough,” Isabel said, slowing to a walk. She flung herself onto the grass, red hair fanning out around her. Levi frowned, but gingerly took a seat next to her after he made sure the area was clear of bird or dog shit. Dogs were running everywhere without their leads, and some owners were irresponsible fucks.

Isabel picked up the former thread of their conversation. “He must be quite fit if you’re still interested.”

This line of questioning could only go to stupid places, but Levi thought of how tall Eren was, his lithe muscles, his beautiful green eyes. “Yeah. He’s alright.”

She nudged his arm. “He hench, then?”

“What the fuck is 'hench'?”

“You know, like...jacked and shit.”

“Ug.” Levi rolled his eyes. Isabel taught at a secondary school, and she picked up all the awful slang her students used.

“What are you going to do about it?”

“Fuck’s sake. I don’t know yet.”

“You can’t tell Farlan about this,” she warned. “Exactly the sort of thing he’d freak out about, innit?”

Levi never would have breathed a word about Eren today if Farlan hadn’t been ill. “Of course I’m not telling Farlan. What kind of dick-head do you take me for? I thought you would probably tell him.”

“Alright, alright. Respect.” She held up her hands in surrender. “Just making sure. And no, I won’t unless you tell me I can.”

“Stop saying ‘respect’ like that,” Levi said irritably. “You sound ridiculous.”

She laughed. “Whatever.”

“Thanks. There’s no reason to tell him, really. He’ll get up in arms over fuck all.”

Levi had always appreciated that even though Farlan and Isabel had gotten together when they were teenagers, he’d never been made to feel like a third wheel. If Isabel said she’d respect his desire to keep this between them, he knew she meant it.   

“For the record,” she said, picking at a blade of grass by her leg. “I don’t think it’s that big a deal. You’re both adults, and you’re a good bloke. You’d treat him right.” She winked at him. “Not like if one of the teachers at my school were dating a student.”

“Well, yes,” Levi said, “your students are fourteen. I’d say that’s quite different.” 

“Right. Exactly.” She pointed at him. “So once your classes are over, have yourself a nice shag, if you like.”

“Still feels wrong,” Levi said. Even if you removed them from the university setting, Levi had an established career, money, experience.

“Look, if you wanted to be talked out of it, you’d have gone to Farlan. But you came to me.”

She had a point. Levi shifted uncomfortably, the spot between his socks and his trousers tickled by the grass. Isabel might talk like a bloody idiot sometimes, but she was smart.

“Clever girl,” he said dryly.

She punched his arm lightly. “Yeah, I do alright sometimes, don’t I?”

“Mm. You ready for another lap, then?”

She spread her arms out. “Ten more minutes. I’m cloud watching now.”

Levi sighed, but he joined her in gazing up at the blue sky, full of fluffy clouds intermittently covering the sun. He felt oddly at peace. Perhaps the simple act of confiding his ‘sins’ in Isabel had freed him from their hypnotic spell. Perhaps if he ran hard enough, he could enter into spring’s embrace and leave Eren and their kiss behind him.   

   Of course, he was wrong about that. The next night, he checked his emails only to find one from Eren waiting for him at the top of his inbox.

Hi Levi,

I was just wondering if I could swing by during your office hours to pick your brain about graph databases? We only briefly covered them in class, but I was curious if you had any further reading. My thesis is focussed on them, and Professor Zacharias recommended I come talk to you.

Thank you,

Eren Jaeger

Levi blinked at the computer screen. He hit ‘reply’ and tried to formulate a response.

Eren,

The cursor blinked back at Levi. His hands hovered uselessly over the keyboard.  

I don’t think I’m the best person to advise you.  

I wish you all the best with your thesis. You’re an excellent student, and your hard work will pay off.

No. That sounded shitty and weird. “Your hard work will pay off”? It could be misconstrued as a pervy come on. And “you’re an excellent student”? He’d barely noticed Eren was in his class until they’d spoken at the pub.

He tried again:

Eren,

I’m not the best person to advise you. Professor Zacharias overestimates my knowledge on the subject.

I wish you all the best with your thesis.

Best,

Levi Ackerman

He hesitated before he hit send. Because if he were Eren, he’d read it as the rejection it was meant to be, and he’d leave well enough alone. The thought made his stomach drop.

Fuck. He stood up and paced around his small bedroom, lit only by the faint glow of the screen. He disappointed himself. Relief, not disappointment, should be his foremost emotion.

Farlan had once pulled some armchair-psychologist bullshit that Levi found flaws in appropriate potential partners in favor of doomed ones because deep down he thought he deserved to be alone.

Levi sat back down and hit send on the email.

   The last lecture of the semester had been earlier that week, and Eren had sat at the back of the room, expression unreadable when Levi had braved a look.

Exam schedules were now set, and panicked students sent him emails asking for clarification about all sorts of topics. Most preferred to communicate digitally rather than dropping by his office hours, which suited Levi just fine.  

He was cleaning his desk when Eren showed up. Levi wasn’t exactly surprised.

“Hey,” Eren said from the doorway, looking nervous. “Can I come in?”

“Sure,” Levi replied. “You alright?”

Eren's eyes narrowed. He marched into the room and shut the door behind him, not quite a slam but with more force than necessary. “Why wouldn’t I be alright? Because you kissed me and then just left? And then sent me that blow-off email? I’m great.”

Levi couldn’t help it; he laughed despite his irritation with Eren, with himself. He’d gone through this misunderstanding with Hanji before. “It just means ‘how are you’. But fair point.” He put the cleaning spray and rag down on the desk, unsure of what to do with his hands now that they were empty.

The laughter startled Eren and seemed to have a placating effect. He shoved his hands in his jean pockets and looked away. “Oh, yeah. I’m still not used to that phrase.”

Silence hung between them, an awkward companion in the room.

Levi took it upon himself to break that silence. “Look. The kiss shouldn’t have happened.” There was no point pussyfooting around it.   

“I don’t care,” Eren retorted, prepared. “I’m glad it did.”

“I’m not here to live out some teacher, student fantasy with you,” Levi said flatly. It wasn’t that he was opposed to one-night stands or flings, but the thought of being used like that, playing some part, pissed him off. He didn’t want to take advantage of Eren, but he didn’t want to be taken advantage of either.

Eren shook his head. “That isn’t what this is.”

“No?”

“No. I like you. ” Eren took a seat in front of Levi, the small room shrinking further. His body said, I’m not going anywhere. I dare you to move away. “I think you like me too.”

This was terrible in its own way. Because Levi wanted Eren, and if he really wasn’t just some way for Eren to live out a cliche fantasy, and if Eren kept pushing--which it was clear from the way he was looking at Levi that he would--then Levi wouldn’t be able to say no.

They probably just needed to get this attraction out of their systems. This couldn’t possibly go beyond that. Whatever was between them, it had no legs.

Levi didn’t answer but he didn’t look away either, arms folded across his chest as he leaned back against the front of the desk. They were so close, and when their eyes met, he felt the heat, the spark between them.

Eren stood slowly, giving Levi time to break the eye contact or retreat behind his desk. He stayed still as Eren moved closer until his hands were resting on either side of the desk, caging Levi in.

Levi knew he shouldn’t let this happen in his office--and he’d just cleaned the bloody desk--but he had fantasised about fucking someone here. He’d just assumed it would be another professor. Or at least a student in an entirely different department. Music Theory, perhaps.  

Well. If this was going to happen, he’d do it right this time.

He reached a hand up behind Eren’s neck to pull him in, crushing their lips together in a bruising kiss. Sucking and biting Eren’s lower lip the way he’d stopped himself from doing last time, brushing a thumb against Eren’s nipple through his thin t-shirt. Levi was rewarded with a pleased moan, Eren clutching Levi closer.

Once, he told himself, just once so fucking enjoy it. He licked his way into Eren’s mouth, teasing their tongues together.  

After a few minutes, Eren broke the heated kiss, breathing hard. He rested his forehead against Levi’s. “God, you’re sexy.”

“Go lock the door,” Levi brushed past the compliment, shallow breath breaking the illusion of a calm exterior.

Eren stumbled over himself rushing to the door, and Levi rolled his eyes.  

When he was finished, Levi pulled him forward again for another kiss, running his hands along Eren’s back and then slipping them underneath his shirt, fingers cool against Eren’s hot skin. It was only a matter of time before Eren set him ablaze.

“Why are your hands so cold?” Eren took Levi’s hands between his own, warming them.

“They’re always cold,” Levi dismissed, looking down at their intertwined hands. Eren kissed each knuckle, and somehow this felt more intimate than Eren’s tongue in his mouth.

“I want to make you feel good,” Eren said.

Levi glanced at the desk. He had pens, windex, a rag, and a box of tissues. “I don’t have any lube.”

Eren laughed. “Me neither. This is going way better than I imagined.”

“Yeah. You sure won the lucky draw.”

“I know you’re being sarcastic, but I like it,” Eren said. “Clothes on or off?”

Levi glanced at the door. “On.” He knew he would regret not seeing Eren naked, but if someone turned up, they wouldn’t have very long to get decent. His cock swelled at the thought, surprising him. Even the idea of ravaging Eren in his stupid, ratty Abercrombie t-shirt wasn’t enough to turn him off.

“Do you shop anywhere else?” Levi asked, fisting the front of Eren’s shirt.

Eren blinked at him. “Your flirting is so weird. Don’t change.”

“I was sincerely asking.”

Eren ignored him and instead bent forward to kiss Levi’s neck, nibbling and sucking up and down, hitting all those sweet spots that made Levi’s eyes flutter shut. Rendered him speechless.  

“Okay,” Eren said, straightening up. “I know what I want to do.”

“Go on then,” Levi said, nearly breathless.   

Eren dropped to his knees to mouth at Levi’s cock through his soft slacks, the hard outline pressed against his lips as he left wet marks on the material. Eren cupped Levi’s length while slipping two of Levi’s fingers into his mouth. A low groan slipped past Levi’s lips as he imagined that tight, wet heat around his dick.

“Can I?” Eren asked, looking up at him in a way that had Levi straining against his trousers.

“Yeah.” Jesus fuck, yes. Do anything you want to me.

In seconds, his cock was freed from the confines of his trousers. Briefly, he wondered if it would bother Eren that he was uncut; the only other American man Levi had slept with had been taken aback by it.

But Eren licked him from root to tip without hesitation, moaning softly.

“I love your dick,” he said before sucking the head into his mouth and giving his tongue a swirl. He gripped Levi’s ass, moans muffled now as he took Levi deeper and deeper.

“Oh my god, ” Levi choked out. He’d never had someone sound quite like that--downright filthy--when they sucked him off, the vibrations around his length and the way Eren was playing with his balls had Levi’s legs shaking as he clutched the edge of the desk behind him for support.

Eren looked up at him, eyes clouded with lust, and smirked around his cock. Tangling a hand in Eren’s silky, wild hair, Levi tipped his head back, letting go.

Torturously, Eren paused his ministrations, and said, “Keep watching me.”   

Levi obeyed, and Eren tilted his head to the side and began to slide his wet lips up and down Levi’s shaft. It wasn’t a bad sensation, but Levi was confused.

“What are you doing?”

“The harmonica technique.”

Levi had no idea what this technique was, but Eren’s enthusiasm was delightful. “That doesn’t seem right.”

“What do you mean? I’ve been doing it this way for years, and no one’s complained.”

“Well, it’s not awful,” Levi offered. “Wrap your lips around it more when you move.”  

Eren gave a look of intense concentration, and Levi was surprised at how sexy he found it.

This time, Eren got his lips halfway round Levi’s cock as his slid up and down. “Fuuuuck,” Levi groaned, snapping his hips forward.

Eren pulled back and grinned up at Levi. “Like that, then?”

“You’re a fast learner.” Levi's knuckles went white as he tightened his grip on the desk.  

At the praise, Eren let out a soft, pleased sigh, and switched to the other side. Levi was so hard, and all he wanted was to fuck Eren’s sweet mouth, to completely let go.

“Eren--”

An acknowledging hum, and Eren began sucking him off in earnest again. Taking Levi as deep as he could, and christ almighty, Levi wished he could just bend Eren over the desk and fuck him into oblivion.

It took all his willpower not to come as Eren deepthroated him and held him still, throat constricting around him.

“Eren,” he panted. “I’m so fucking close.”

Slowly, Eren pulled back. Levi watched reverently as his glistening cock inched out of Eren’s mouth. “Fuck--I’m gonna--”

Eren opened his mouth and closed his eyes, and Levi’s cum painted that gorgeous face and lips and tongue, a filthy masterpiece.

A strange look passed over his face as Eren wiped some cum off of his chin. And suddenly, Eren stood up and slid a cum-streaked finger down Levi’s cheek.

“What the fuck?” Levi spluttered, still in a post-orgasm haze.

“That’s for your email,” Eren said, eyes full of amusement. “And for making fun of my shirt,” he added as reached around Levi to snatch some of the tissues from his desk--for once hayfever season had proven useful--to wipe down the rest of his face.

“I--you absolute shit. That’s disgusting.” His words lacked any bite, despite his best effort. Why the fuck was he horrified and amused?

Levi grabbed one of the unused tissues from Eren’s hand and wiped the cum off furiously.

He yanked Eren, who was obviously trying to hold back laughter, towards him, and kissed that stupid fucking smile off his face. He pulled on that messy, ridiculous hair and when he tugged a little harder Eren moaned into his mouth. It was a shame this couldn’t happen again or he’d want to explore that.

Levi unzipped Eren’s jeans and palmed his erection. “You want me to take care of that?” he asked, voice low.

“God, yes.” Eren rubbed himself against Levi’s hand, letting out a desperate whimper.

“Shame you’ll have to beg for it now after what you did.”

Pleased by the sharp inhale above him, he started another messy kiss. As Eren tried to grind against his hand, he shifted back ever so slightly.

Eren pulled away with a groan. “Stop moving your hand away, I can’t take it.”

“Beg for it,” he said. “I told you.”

Cock jerking against Levi’s hand, Eren gasped, “Please, Levi.”

Levi stroked a finger down Eren’s rigid length, chasing a bead of pre-cum.     

“Please, damn it. I need you to really fucking touch me, I’ll do anything. Please,” he begged, pupils blown wide, as his lustful gaze met Levi’s.

“Alright, then,” Levi sighed, slicked his hand with spit, and gave Eren what he wanted.

Eren’s cock was perfect: long and smooth and not too thick. Levi loved the way it slid between his hands as Eren thrust helplessly, and he imagined what it would feel like inside of him. His cock twitched with renewed interest, but he shook off the fantasy. This wouldn’t happen again.

Levi nipped at the space where Eren’s collarbone met his neck, and whispered, “You going to come for me?”

“Not yet.” Eren shut his eyes. “Too good.”

“Come on,” he said softly. “I want you to. Come for me, Eren.”  

Eren cried out, face twisting in ecstacy. He came all over Levi’s hand in hot, sticky bursts, fingers digging into Levi’s arms as he shook.

“Asshole,” Eren murmured, slumping forward.

For a minute, Eren remained boneless in his arms, Levi half sat on the desk with Eren draped over him. As much as he felt the surprising, unwelcome urge to stay like this, Levi disentangled himself.

Pulling a few tissues from the box to clean them both up, Levi said, “Unlike you, I’ve got a little class.”

“Thanks.” Eren tucked himself back into his jeans. He flicked his eyes up to Levi's. “Sorry I wiped cum on your face.”

Levi arched a disbelieving eyebrow. “You’re not sorry.”

“It was pretty funny,” Eren admitted.

“It was vile.”

“My punishment wasn’t fair, though. Making me beg like that.”

“Seemed like you enjoyed it.”

Eren flushed but otherwise didn’t acknowledge Levi’s observation. “You shouldn’t have blown me off in your email.”

“Well, you didn’t really come here to talk about graph databases, did you?” Levi said, walking over to the bin to throw the crumpled tissues away.

“No.” Eren gave a shaky laugh, looking a little dazed. “I really am doing my dissertation on them, though.”

Levi stayed behind his desk. Now that they’d gotten their attraction out of their system, he felt he should keep his distance. The hazy fog of arousal no longer clouding his judgement, Levi cleared his  throat. “I can email you some recommendations, if you like. I haven’t worked with them much, but I have some resources.”

“Thank you,” Eren said. He looked sad, though. “So was this...is this really it?”

“Afraid so.” Even Levi realised how callous that sounded. “It’s nothing to do with you, Eren. It’s this--” he gestured around them, “we’ve acted on the attraction, and now we can move on.”

“You’re not even my professor anymore.”

“Technically I am. You haven’t sat your exams yet, and I could be involved in grading your dissertation,” Levi pointed out.

He didn’t even know what the policies were on being involved with a student in your department. Probably, “don’t do it”. There was no point in pursuing something else anyway. For what? A few more shags? Ridiculous.   

“Okay.” Eren made a move towards the door. “I’m glad we…acted on the attraction. It’s been real.”

Eren froze with his hand on the doorknob and turned to face Levi again. The look he gave was dangerous, determined. He marched back towards Levi, around the desk, and kissed him forcefully, pure fire. Again, despite his earlier words to the contrary, Levi found himself melting into Eren. Their teeth clashed as they tried to find the right angle, to get closer, Eren’s fingers buried in Levi’s hair.

Eren eased them out of the kiss, planting a few final, softer ones on Levi’s lips.

“Okay. Goodbye for real now,” Eren said, nodding to himself before walking out the door.

In stunned silence, Levi stared at the space Eren had occupied, a small part of him wishing that Eren would come back, that this wasn’t goodbye.

“You know what, no,” Eren said walking back in the room. “I want to see you again.”

Both of Levi’s awful plans had failed. Talking to Eren more and messing around with him had done nothing to lessen his interest. He’d just crossed a big line, might as fucking well cross another.

“Come round for tea this weekend, if you like.”

Eren blinked at him.

“I don’t...I don’t see where this can possibly go,” Levi said. “But we might as well talk.”

“Okay.” Eren ducked his head as he hid a smile. “Yeah.”

Levi grabbed some paper from his desk and jotted down his number. “I would tell you not to abuse this, but I have a feeling you will.”

Eren took the paper and tapped it lightly against the palm of his hand. “Nah. I’m gonna play it so cool now. You’ll be dying for me to message you.”

Rolling his eyes, Levi said, “Play it too cool, and you won’t get an address.”

Moments after Eren left his office, Levi had a text that said, I’m the uncoolest of cool. Please send me your address and a time.

[imafantasticbaby]

2ne-sone for this Reply

girl you write novels just like me, I respect that. now, I just wanted to say that I do NOT believe he doesn't deserve to be blamed on things that have happened within his company. I will agree he needs to fix things when it comes to better management, better PR and honestly I think he needs to kick his brother out of the CEO chair and take back the title cause his brother is another reason for things being shitty at times. 

i want to address his comments he makes sometimes. The man is brutally honest and I agree he needs GD or CL to take their perfectly manicured and moisturized hands and get a good ole slap. he needs to think before he speaks and I think a major issue for this is that he doesn't go on the media enough to learn how to control his words. Yes he does Kpop Star and survival shows but those are shows where he is use dto saying such bold and harsh criticism. if he actually put himself on other shows like JYP does then maybe he will get the practice. but still he can also learn to fucking choose his words in a way he gets his message across but also doesnt set fire to a wound. hes an idiot for this i agree.

When it comes to Park Bom I am 100% in agreement girl, I am. she deserved better treatment and this long ass “self reflection” needs to stop. It shouldnt have started to begin with and I do hold a lot of blame on YHS for that. He should have made sure things went more smoothly and the recovery was handled better. However, I cant sit here and call him a horrible person because of it because We do not know the full story as too what happened behind YG doors other than what we see in the media speculations-- the media that started the whole damn thing. there could be things we are not aware of so I cant just assume when there are blank spaces. you know? Park Bom has come out herself with a Diray entry and twitter replies saying he is a good guy and takes care of her. So, what else can we do but believe her when she says it? i dont know but I do agree he should have handled it better.

With Minzy I have mixed feelings about her that are my OWN opinions. I respect everyone else opinions too. I just believe that if she stayed then YGE would have been able to continue with a 2NE1 comeback instead of getting discouraged and just giving up on them. They deserved better then that. 

When I mean individual dreams I mean, that Minzy wanted a solo debut, YG wasnt focused on that request at the time so she left. Her Dream for a solo to happen ASAP was not in sight for her at YGE at the moment. I do agree that this should have been delt with better and management should have planned better and worked things out to fulfill this dream because she deserved it. However, It was her choice to go and thats something we have to respect and YG did so by letting her make that choice. I do think they should have rearranged priorities better and started working on giving her the solo she clearly deserved but it didnt happen. and thats a all in all Company’s  fault not one man’s.

Now when it comes to CL and her American Solo activities-- you need to separate YG from it a bit because its not YGE that is handling it on the majority. CL has signed with School Boy Records which is an American record label established in 2007 by Scooter Braun through his School Boy Entertainment company that is also in parent with Universal Music Group. They have signed artists such as PSY, for his american promotions, Justin Beiber, the black eyed peas, and more. They are handling her American promotions and her Solo career there. YG is just getting benefits and also paying them to do so. So because of that, you cant just blame YG for her solo delay. You just cant. if there was anything you could blame YGE for in regardless to this is maybe they need to kick Scooter’s  ass and tell him to hurry up.

Also, yes I am aware that Yang Hyun Suk is the biggest share holder of YG, i mean he is the creator and owner after all. but besides him Naver has majority as well. and has a lot of power and influence in the company. You gotta make your investors happy you know? or they can pull their findings. YHS does have power, I agree, he does have  influence, but he still has to take ideas and orders from his investors and all. and if it comes down to it that they want this thing or they walk then YG has to fold unless he wants to lose billions of dollars in funds.

Yes he is a higher up as well, but hes ONE person and just because hes the founder and owner doesn't mean hes the controller on every detail. there is a Board of directors whether people want to believe it or not and there are votes being held. its how a company runs.

Now I am not appreciating how you think im supporting hate on Park Bom and that I would just go to her and say  “Shit happened, its life.” you take a phrase I used in my post and just create a while thing around it because you are upset with my feelings on the matter. I wouldn’t NEVER do such a thing to her when I agree she CLEARLY deserved better treatment.

Also, im just gonna add that most statement links that get thrown at me are a PR team responding on queue. and then you have the link where YG gives his own thoughts. did you even READ the words? you completely missed his meaning. just like you are completely missing mine because you are a dedicated blackjack ( just like I am. I mean I worship them and support them like crazy and cried for weeks after they disbanded-- but anyway-- ) who is quickly upset when you see a sentence or phrase that sounds horrible against them.

Yes he said  “ What led to the decision to disband the group was the state of Park Bom’s mental health, After ‘the incident the criticisms we received were endless. But in addition to the stress and guilt from that, I’m sure Park Bom would have felt a strong determination to continue 2NE1. I told her, ‘2NE1 is important, but I wish for you to be healthy, both mentally and physically.” 

Now if you actually READ that and understand that he is saying that after the scandal broke out they were SWARMED with ENDLESS hate and most of it was Thrown at Bom. Depression hit for her and she needed a break-- a break that is going too long I agree-- and he reassured her that 2NE1 is important but he wants her to not push herself and do some self care. She was probably constantly crying because of all the hate she was getting and wasnt stable enough to work in the studio. I mean dont you feel like its impossible to do anything after an anxiety attack or something? He was concerned for her and im glad he gave her rest. BUT NOW ITS TIME FOR HER NOT TO HAVE IT. ant to be honest. I believe he had started to end her break. MAMA 2016 happened, the return of Park Bom for a short while. I believe that Performance was a statement to show that she is here and she is ready to PLAY......but then shit hit the fan with Minzy leaving, CL’s american promotions, BP;s Debut and other things and in the end a unanimous decision was made.

But it's not necessarily completely over: “You never know what can happen," he added. "It’s possible they’ll get back together like S.E.S. It may not be as long of a break [as S.E.S], but I’m thinking there’ll be a day when the reunion happens.”

This quote gives me hope that YGE will look to them once again once the time is right and if you cant believe that then thats fine. its your choice, but I will continue to have hope.  

Most of your points where not even ANYTHING I was talking about in my post and you assumed things that you thought I was meaning when I was NOT. 

“You’re assuming that the issues within the company and regarding it’s artists are not all YHS’s fault. In contrast, I’m assuming that a large percentage of the issues are his fault, considering the amount of clout he has within his own company. But here’s the kicker: we will never know if either of us are right because YHS can never give a straight answer.”

One, I agree that YG holds blame on things. I NEVER said he things are not all his fault. I was just expressing that a LOT of hate he gets on the majority is uncalled for. but YES there are a lot he is called for. 

YES I agree. we will never know  the full truth because YGE does not give detailed straight answers, and that might be a reason for it that could be completely understanding, whether its that they just dont want to let the issues carry on or that they are trying to deal with it peacefully without the media knetz gluing themselves to the front door..

but because of this fact we shouldn't be QUICK TO JUDGE and get upset. we are only seeing glimpse of things and we are getting frustrated. we need to breathe, step back and try to understand instead of immediately attacking cause we assume or feel some type of way. 

I was angry when I heard the news of 2ne1, but I didnt start attacking. I did research and I listened to all opinions and monitored Bom and Dara and CL just like all other Black Jacks did. and this is how I got to my conclusion.

whether you agree with me or not, thats okay. you have your feelings, I have mine.