#pwasoi.snapshots

[toruvi]

Idk if anyone has asked this before but okay I was looking at some jewelry to buy online today and it got me thinking: how would paychecks!levi react to the reader actually asking him to buy them something. Like the reader would sit and think for a minute like “do I really wanna ask him for this” and then just text “leviiiiiii, can you order me this necklace and bracelet” like pls I need to know for scientific reasons sksjjsjsjsjsjs

okay wow this got a lot longer than i expected it to oops dfghsdjkgh 

wc 1.7k, mostly fluff and maybe a bit of suggestive conversation?

just a little blurb in the Paychecks With a Side of Intimacy universe uwu

It feels weird to ask for something from Levi. At least, something of monetary value. He gives you so much money already that realistically you could just buy yourself if you set aside a few bucks at a time. And while you've constantly berated him for buying you things, there are moments where maybe it'd be kinda ...nice. If he did.

He's offered countless times, but honestly? It's mere instinct to brush it off and say, "I don't need that". Levi always allows a few seconds for you to change your mind before he moves on, giving a pointed stare and appearing so still he could be mistaken for a statue occasionally.

But this time? You really want something.

Hell, it's not much. Not as much as the things he's offered to buy you already, but it's certainly not a $10 kind of thing.

There's a small bracelet you found during one of your outings with Ymir. A dainty silver piece, with the option to attach the showcased mini constellations on whatever astrology sign may be desired. Hell, she noticed how long you were staring at it too, and threw out the predicted line of "Why don't you just ask your man to get it for ya?" Yeah, she's started to call him "your man" instead of what Levi really is. She justified it by telling you it's easier to say in public, but there's always a snarky tone when the words are uttered.

You ignore it. But damn it, the bracelets are just so cute! And there can even be the option to add multiple charms!

Shit. Would Levi make fun of you if you asked him to buy it? How would he react if you wanted a pair of matching ones with him? Does he even wear bracelets?

Matching bracelets... you're not even a damn couple. Dummy.

That's the thought you have to tell yourself every time you think about asking him.

But that urge builds and builds the more you talk to him, the more you hang out with him. The subject of your birthday comes up one night during a relaxed dinner, and that's when you can no longer avoid the idea completely.

"Listen, I know you get fussy about gifts," Levi prefaces after a sip of his whiskey, leaning forward with a tilt of his head as he blinks at you. "But there has to be something you'd want for your birthday."

You hum in deliberation, chewing on the straw haphazardly stuck in the cup. The condensation bleeds out into the tablecloth underneath your palms. "I--well... I guess... I guess there's something."

"Oh?" His head tilts the opposite way, curious. There's a certain light that seeps into those gray irises. It's cute, you think. He is so unintentionally comparable to a cat sometimes. "I'm all ears."

"Mm... There's um. There's this bracelet I saw the other day."

"Yeah?" Another sip of whiskey. You stir your drink with the straw between your fingers.

"It's really cute. Like, has little stars and stuff. Y'know those constellations for your star sign? You can customize it and have your sign on it."

"Send it to me. I'll buy it," Levi says smoothly. You swear he must've scooted his chair towards you just now, easy to tell with how his hands easily reach yours. "If you need a reminder, I don't give a shit about the price. Especially for your birthday."

Instinctively you play with his hands, tracing along the gently protruding veins that lead along his forearms. "It's not that expensive, actually. But it's only sold in a store. At least the one I want is. If that's okay."

"Course it is.”

And so he takes you to the place you mentioned, inspecting the bracelet closely and staring at all of the constellations available for attachment. When you'd ask about his birthday at dinner, he refused to answer at all. Let alone give any hint towards what his sign would be.

However, he does show a vague interest in the Capricorn one, picking up the charm and staring a little bit longer at it compared to the others.

Capricorn, huh? Maybe you'll ask Historia about Capricorns on your next shift. She is pretty obsessed with astrology after all.

"This is only $40. You don't want anything else along with this?" Levi asks, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Your head shakes. “You know you can ask for much more than this.”

“It’s alright, it’s not--it doesn’t need to be a thing.”

“I’m not making it a thing,” Levi’s hand runs up and down the span of your back. You shiver. “Don’t be dramatic. Let me do something nice for you.” 

You fidget with the edge of your shirt as he takes one of the boxes for a bracelet, looking at you expectantly to pick out one of the charms. He hums in thought once he sees the charm you’ve chosen. 

“Hange would love to talk about this kind of crap. All that ‘what’s your sign’ bullshit,” he says as you two head to the register.

“Kinda surprising for someone who’s in the science field.” 

“Everything about them is surprising... They’re completely unpredictable. I don’t know how Moblit deals with it all the time. Sounds exhausting.”

"There's some fun in unpredictability too."

"Only in moderation."

When he's finished buying the bracelet, he hands the box right to you as you two exit the store and head to where he’s parked.

"You're giving it to me now?"

"Do you want me to re-wrap it and wait for your birthday?" He asks flatly.

"Well--don't you usually give the gifts on the actual birthday?"

Levi pulls his car keys from his pocket, smirking as he opens the passenger door for you. "I have other plans for your birthday."

Your eyes narrow pointedly as you stumble into the car. "Such as..?"

He shrugs before shutting the door and hopping in on the drivers side.

"I don't even get a hint, Levi?"

Levi chews on his lip in thought, his smirk melting into something more of fondness at the sound of his name. He really likes how you add it to the tail of your questions once in a while. "It's a surprise."

"You said you don't like unpredictability."

"I said in moderation. You said it could be fun, no?"

At a crossroads with the turnaround of your own words against you, your lips purse. But the curiosity of what he could possibly have planned for something eats at your brain like a parasite. Even more so at his refusal to provide any hints for it.

He merely takes his time peeling off his blazer and gently placing it in the backseat before staring at you with an expectant expression. "Are you going to put it on?"

"What, now?"

Levi nods. "Let me see how it looks on you. With your own charm on it." Alright, he's already handed you the gift anyway. Early present, you suppose. After you open the box, he's leaning over to take it out and hold it under your wrist. "Here, let me."

You murmur a thanks, nearly shuddering at the light brushes of his fingertips. Just enough to feel them, not enough to feel the satisfaction of his touch completely. His exhale through his nose huffs in the space between you two, blown away by the gentle breeze of the soothing air conditioner in the middle vents.

"Kind of a pain in the ass to clip it," he grumbles quietly after a struggle with the small clasp.

"Might need you to help me put it on every time then, huh?"

Levi looks up through his lashes and the fringe of his hair, his silver eyes shining underneath the black strands of hair. "Is that an excuse for something else?"

An excuse to get him to touch you, obviously. Guess you're as readable as ever, damn.

He finally finishes clasping it, though part of you is convinced that he might've intentionally taken longer than necessary. The gentle grasp on your wrist turns it to fully exhibit the jewelry as he inspects it. It glimmers under the sunlight shining through the tinted windshield. Levi seems satisfied.

You stare at how similarly the silver reflects his eye color. Trying to swallow the lump in your throat with how his thumb his pressing against the pulse on your wrist, and focus instead on the jingle of the charm dangling underneath. No attention needs to be paid on how the light hits the length of his nose, or how his lips somehow always look perfectly glossy right after he absentmindedly licks them.

"Looks nice."

Yeah, he does.

"Do you like it?"

It takes you a few moments to collect yourself enough to give Levi an answer. He's patient, pulling away and taking his sweet time to let the warmth of his fingertips leave your skin.

"Uh-huh. Thanks for the early present."

Levi pats your thigh, and you don't miss the subtle squeeze he gives too.

"Are you really not gonna tell me what you have planned on my actual birthday?" You try to pry again to avoid running your thoughts into other tangents over these silly little touches and glances.

"No." It's absolute in his tone. "You'll have to practice some of that patience I taught you."

You blow a raspberry. "I don't think you did a very good job at teaching me at all, honestly."

"Clearly. Maybe I should give you a couple more lessons." He chuckles, low and decorated with amusement as he shifts in his seat.

"Maybe you should." Not that you'd ever complain about these "lessons" anyway. 

The entire drive home, the habitual grip Levi has on your thigh never leaves. You wonder how aware of it he is. Or if it’s just become another one of his habits with you. There’s a small smile on his lips, too. It stays there, and you sit in silence with admiration for it, to afraid to speak and distract him from whatever seemingly peaceful thought must be running in his head.

You prop your arm on the door’s armrest, the bracelet shifting a bit downwards with the movement. Maybe you could buy him a matching one for his birthday, if he ever tells you when it is.

[toruvi]

Don't know if you were gonna do this or not but it would be so genuinely sweet for levi to ask reader to send him that one picture of them in vegas since you mentioned at some point he wished it was on his phone 🥺

eep i didn't really have any plans to but i can do a little snippet for it :) lets just consider this a moment that happened on the second night reader stayed at his house hehe

Despite how early Levi knows he has to get up, he wants to hold onto this moment for a little longer. 

His arm propped around your shoulders, squeezing it absentmindedly. You're curled up into his chest, showing a plethora of animal videos on social media--it's not even intentional, you just keep scrolling. And somehow, he can't stop watching.

Your giggles ring so cutely in his ears anytime something funny plays. And though you can't see it, he's smiling into the top of your head. He wonders if his chest shakes too much from his stifled chuckles.

At one point, you accidentally tap on something that leads to your homescreen popping up--and that's when he spots a smaller version of that one photo with you and him in Vegas.

"You put that on your homescreen?" He asks, tapping on your phone.

"Oh--it's just a widget that displays your pictures." You mumble with a tad of sheepishness.

"And you kept that photo in them?"

"Well… I mean--yeah. I like it."

Levi hums as he readjusts under your head. He swallows, doing his best not to completely stiffen up and possibly panic at the next thing he utters. "Send it to me."

The smile in your voice is obvious. "You want me to send it to you?"

"That's what I said, isn't it?"

"You're a little too giddy about this. I only asked since I need a contact picture for you anyway."

He doesn't mean to sound defensive, but you come off too excited about his question!

You giggle once more, your toes wiggle under the sheets as you fly straight to your pictures and drop it in a text message to him. His phone vibrates on the nightstand.

"Oh, sure. Of cooooourse, Levi."

"I'm not appreciating the sarcasm," he huffs, pinching your arm. You whine, turning briefly to pout at him.

"It's okay if you want the picture--wait. I need one for you too! Let me take one right now."

"Absolutely not. Just use that one."

"But it's old now! I need a recent picture. Your hair has grown longer."

"Hardly."

You blow a raspberry, opening up your camera. He grumbles at the unflattering angle, hovering a hand over his face. You swat at his hand, holding the phone higher.

"Don't be a brat, let me take a picture!"

"Oh so I'm a brat now? Oi--quit it!"

"Levi!!"

He calls your name with equal conviction when your phone rises out of his reach. You snap as many pictures as you can before Levi's strength wins over in yanking your arm back down as he rolls out from under you. He hovers on top, straddling you and snatching your phone from your hand.

Unfortunately, you managed to lock your phone before he nabbed it. He shoves the screen in your face, shifting so that his weight isn't fully on you.

"Unlock it."

"No," you smile, breathless.

He exhales loudly through his nose as his eyes narrow. "Alright. You won't be able to use it for a while, then."

Levi immediately starts pressing random numbers on your lockscreen. When you realize his objective, you cave, yelling out the passcode for access.

"No fun," you say, defeated. He immediately gets to work deleting them, and you sigh while curling back up on him. There's surprisingly a lot of photos, granted most of them are blurry, and he's not completely in frame. His thumb hovers over the last picture, contemplating.

"You can keep this one," he mumbles as your chin props on his shoulder. You light up instantly, yanking the phone back out of his grasp as you set it to his contact picture.

You murmur a giddy "thanks", he resists the urge to kiss your temple.

At least he got the picture.

[toruvi]

Had a thought about getting high with paychecks Levi and him loving having his hair played with when he's high. Moaning and sighing when you scratch his scalp and gently comb your fingers through his hair. Ugh

Cw drug use (weed)

Levi won't ask for the head scratches when he's high. He just waits for the inevitable fidgeting of your hands that happen to reach his scalp at the right time. The blunt being passed between you wittles slowly, he's only taken a few hits but it feels like he's already smoked the entire thing.

He doesn't often come to your apartment to hangout, with how fussy you get about your roommate. He says he understands, but really he wishes you would stop caring about what that guy thinks of you.

He wasn't planning on smoking tonight, never does. But you always offer to smoke him out, claiming how "cute" he gets when he's high. He's not cute. Definitely not.

Yet here he is, sitting on a decorative pillow leaned back against the side of your bed, baked as shit. You're laying on your stomach above him on the mattress, feet swaying back and forth as you drawl on about one of your friends being "too chicken to ask a girl out for too long". He nods as he listens, half zoned out to the playlist that you have on.

And it's in this moment he feels the nails scratch gently into his scalp. He closes his eyes at the feeling, how it tingles and makes him shudder. How it feels like water is sprinkling down his skin, in a way. Levi can't contain the hums of satisfaction leaving his chest. How content and just... How okay he feels. Right in this second. It's only a second, but it lasts an eternity.

"you okay, Levi?"

"'course," he mumbles, eyes remaining close as his head tilts to allow you easier access for optimal scratching.

"...and you call me cute," you laugh after a huff of smoke leaves your lips.

"huh?" Levi takes the blunt, perching it between his lips. He should probably stop soon, but damn this feels too good to even consider that.

"nothing," you singsong, your tone sounding so... At peace? Happy? He wonders if you feel the same bliss right now, too.

For now, Levi tries not to overthink it. He tries not to think about when he'll have to go home, alone in his bed... no, that doesn't matter right now. What matters is hearing the smile in your voice when you speak, and feeling the familiar touch of your nails coursing through his hair.

Yeah, for now he'll enjoy this.

[toruvi]

During the holidays Hange loves to drag out the friend group to look at all the holiday decorations put up in neighborhoods. They will make them bundle up and walk around even on the coldest nights after grabbing a hot drink from the nearest coffee shop.

Levi always complains about it, he says its too fucking cold to be out. That these houses are just obnoxious fire hazards, that this is a waste of time and he could think of 10 other things he’d rather be doing than looking at stupid Christmas decorations. Nanaba and Hange always make the best of it despite his complaints, even Moblit, Erwin, and Miche play along because it’s nice to feel some holiday spirit even just for a moment. For them, it’s nostalgic, a callback to childhood memories whether it was playing in the snow or hunting for gift ideas for family members and friends.

For Levi, he says it brings nothing. It doesn’t remind him of anything good because he doesn’t have memories as a child that could be reminiscent of any of these experiences. He didn’t celebrate holidays--his mother was too busy working those nights, and even with Kenny--well. It’s obvious that Kenny would never come close to entertaining the idea of celebration for anything. 

Though, sometimes there are good moments during these excursions. Levi recalls how one time Hange accidentally thought a santa impersonator was a statue, and to their misfortune was indeed a real person once they sat on his lap (In their defense, Nana may have convinced them to spike their hot cocoa before they left the house). 

In another instance, Erwin may or may not have tripped on a stray cord of fairy lights, thus resulting in a good chunk of decorations falling off the face of someone’s house. Levi couldn’t help but chuckle at that--why the fuck would they have left the cord out on the sidewalk anyway?! 

Levi will bitch about Nanaba’s constant need to take group photos with her polaroid camera, and how the flash always temporarily blinds him worse than the incessant blinking of christmas lights on the passing houses. But he’d be remiss to say there’s an inkling of... comfort when he flips through the polaroids at home after all is said and done. 

Sure, it’s fucking cold. Yes, sometimes the group can be a little obnoxious. But... Maybe these small, chaotic trips fill a space that’s been missing in Levi’s childhood. Maybe that’s why Erwin looks so satisfied at the end of the night when he drops everyone off. 

[toruvi]

how would paychecks levi react to reader buying him flowers? because I like doing that and one of my past partners reacted badly to it???? (red flag btw!!! run asap!!!)

reacted badly WHAT that is such a sweet gesture??? definitely a flashing red flag wtaf!! anyway uhhhh this is my response bc i thought of smth kinda sad with your answer so djkghdfgjkh

"Why?" Is the first word that blurts out of Levi's mouth when you hand over the bouquet of flowers to him. To say he's confused might be a little bit of an understatement. He's never been on the receiving end of flowers--with the exception of his ex-boyfriend offering to buy some as a joke at times. He was snarky like that.

"Because I want to," you reply. It's a simple answer. And it's one he's given one too many times when you've asked why he buys you gifts. Though in this instance, he's not sure your reasoning is the same sarcastic use of throwing back his own words into his face in place of a decent answer like usual. "Is it bad to give a guy some flowers? They looked pretty and they reminded me of you. And... Maybe you could put them next to your Mom's portrait--or something."

Oh. His insides turn at the tail end of your explanation. His heart twists in both a dull pain of mourning but also affection for the gift, for the way you put that much thought into something as simple as flowers. And while he can usually hold his composure pretty well--at least, he likes to think he can--his voice cracks when he offers a quiet thank you.

Of course he accepts them, he'd accept just about anything you'd offer at this point. Anything, anything from you is a gift. From whatever you hand over in your palms to the stolen glances when you think he doesn't notice. Even if the flowers last only a week, the sentiment stays for so much longer than that.

[toruvi]

"If you're going to get me fake vanilla, I'd rather you not get me anything at all."

Levi stares at the bottle of vanilla extract Hange just handed to him in confusion. It's not even a nice brand or anything, merely a generic store brand in a plastic bottle. He has no clue why they shoved it in his hands over dinner just now, or why they're leaning with their chin in their hand with a stupid smile.

Though the longer Levi waits for Hange to say anything, their smile fades into mild annoyance. "Really? Nothing? That's the reaction I get to handing you such an abomination?"

Levi tilts his head, Erwin is sighing with the shake of his own.

"It's not real!!"

"I'm aware of that." Levi only grows more confused and looks down at the bottle.

Hange throws their hands in the air. "Ugh! Nevermind! I thought you were going to explode with rage again like last time!! What the hell?! Is it because of your girlfriend--"

"She's not my girlfriend," Levi snaps and nearly tosses the bottle across the table, reddened cheeks giving away his indignance.

"Oh..." Hanges brows raise, the sly smirk returning as they catch the bottle before it rolls to the floor. "So THATS what gets ya now, huh?"

"Shut your ugly mouth before I do it for you,"

"Oh my, now are you gonna talk to your best friend like that in front of---"

"Shut. It. Right. Now."

"Okay, okay! I surrender!" Hange waves their hands before adding with a giggle. "I'll just tease ya at the banquet when she's there so you can't be mean to me!'

They burst into a cackle, instigating the usual routine of Erwin playing mediator and shushing both of them whilst almost having to physically restrain Levi from throwing his dinner at the brunette. Levi, who's building up a sweat for some unknown reason, wonders how possible it is to ditch the banquet altogether.

[toruvi]

How would paychecks Levi react if reader said something about going back to Vegas and there, mentioned marriage? As a joke, but still. What would he do? Jjdjdndkdnwks I think he would call her an idiot but become all red

HMMMMMMMM............ I imagine this happening when Reader is pretty drunk?

"I miss Vegas. Vegas was fun. Ya know... what would've happened if we married there?"

Levi is on the verge of sputtering out his tea at your drunken rambling. It’s a joke, of course. He knows that by the giggle in your question that escalates into a cackle within half a second. 

“Don’t joke about that,” he mumbles into the rim of his cup. The tea doesn’t serve as a distraction from the playful smack on his upper arm. 

“Why are you blushing?! I was only kidding!” 

His cheek is pinched. 

“Did you lose your eyesight along with your braincells after drinking? I’m not--I’m not blushing. Don’t be ridiculous. Drink some water and sober up before you embarrass yourself further.” 

“So defensive,” you huff. You watch how he nearly slams the teacup back on the table. “You don’t wanna marry me? I think I’d make a good wife. Probably.” 

Your chin leans on his shoulder. He freezes. “You’re not making a good case for this hypothetical marriage.”

“You’d make a better wife than me,” you muse. “Well, nevermind. You can’t cook. I can’t cook. We’d both be terrible wives.”

“Why am I considered the wife in this scenario?”

“You give wifey vibes, that’s all.”

“What does that even mean.” 

“And you say I lost braincells!” 

You giggle again, drunkenly tumbling over and sprawling your upper body across his lap on the leather couch. He leans back, hands hovering over you with uncertainty of where to place them. Your breath smells of alcohol, eyes glazed over with a tipsy undertone that tells him you most likely won’t remember anything in the morning. 

“Would you marry me?” You ask. A smile that touches your cheeks and shows a hint of your teeth. He stares. It’s not serious. Nothing you’ve said the last ten minutes has been serious.

But he still considers the question. It must take him too long to respond, because your grin only grows in the silence. “You’re thinking about it!”

Levi gently places his palm over your mouth to stifle the beginnings of a snicker. “I’m not. No more stupid questions the rest of the night. I’m forbidding it.”

You mumble under his hand but he’s not having it. He won’t look at you, and doesn’t acknowledge the question any further. You fall into another fit of laughter that vibrates up his arm. His eyes roll as he tries to conceal his own smile under the bite of his lip. 

Nevermind the searing on his cheeks, or the slamming of his heart against his chest.

It was just a drunken hypothetical question, after all. 

[toruvi]

Paychecks With a Side of Intimacy Masterlist

Read on Ao3

Ongoing fem!reader x Levi fic ↳ contains a bit of Eren x Reader, but Levi x Reader is the main focus

Synopsis: College life has you fresh out of savings, so you pick up a job at a café near your roommate’s work per his suggestion. However, you can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to financial hardship. That is, until you meet a stoic CEO who proposes a unique arrangement to help you earn some extra cash.

Content warnings: strangers to lovers, sugar daddy levi, eventual romance, modern au, slowish burn, drug use, alcohol abuse, light angst, hurt/comfort, a fuck ton of smut (warnings should be in each chapter)

Playlists

↳ general playlists: Arc I  ↳ by chapter: 17 | 18 | 19 ↳ by character: Levi | Reader | Eren ↳ Poisonpeche’s playlist

Tags

Updates: #pwasoi.updates Art: #pwasoi.art Asks: #pwasoi.ask Inspo: #paychecks inspo Random blurbs: #pwasoi.snapshots

[toruvi]

ley I just read that little piece of what I’m guessing g is chapter 18 of paychecks and omfg I needed that so much !!!! <3333

i binged read as the spark dies on ao3 (idk if you’ve read it but it destroyed me) and omfg I’m so completely broken that I think I might go and reread paychecks altogether cause I need some form of coping mechanism to prevent myself from falling into a pit of misery and numbness (it happens from time to time lmaooo but I probably need therapy for that wjskkdldkx)

SO in the case that I cannot afford therapy, I’m rereading paychecks and giving myself butterflies and tingles instead of pain and numbness :))))

(if I need to say something during my reread, please know I will head over here to say something cause I will probably need it abjsnsnsndldj :’))

🥺🥺🥺 ALEXXX fjdjdjdj so what I posted is actually just a spur of the moment drabble..I was thinking that if I ever have ideas that I can't fit into the story or only small moments I don't want to make an entire oneshot of I'll just post them here and tag it pwasoi.snapshots!! BUT it is canon to the story!!

I've been wanting to read as the spark dies but I know what happens in the end and I simply don't think I can handle the angst 😭😭 PLEASEE feel free to drop by during your read I always love for your reactions hehe I hope it helps recover from the pain!!🥲 ❤️❤️❤️