Chapter Text
“Eren, I invited you over to play video games, not ogle my brother,” Armin said as he jabbed him in the side with his elbow.
“Ow! I was...not,” Eren muttered, voice growing faint towards the end after realizing he couldn’t even deny it, he totally was checking Erwin out. But ya know, it’s his fault for being so hot.
“Hey, Armin...Eren,” Erwin called out as he and Levi walked past the living room. Eren liked to think he said his name with just a hint of suggestion, and was that a wink?
Eren smirked. “Hey.”
Armin nudged him again. “Don’t you have a boyfriend? A boyfriend by the name of Jean, who, might I remind you, already gets jealous too easily. I don’t think you should actually give him a reason to be.”
He sighed, knowing Armin was right. The mention of Jean’s name brought a spike of guilt stabbing into his stomach. It was easy to brush off though- far too easy at this point.
“Yeah. Hey, let’s go watch them play,” he suggested, pausing the game as he threw the controller to the ground and stood up from the couch.
“Didn’t I just say-”
“God, Ar, I said let’s go watch them, not ‘let’s go suck their dicks.’” Eren rolled his eyes.
“Fine,” Armin muttered.
“Hey, dudes!” Nanaba shouted as she and Mike zipped past the hallway. She was on Mike's back, guitar case slung across her shoulder.
"Hey, Nana-banana."
The two boys followed them down to the basement (more like a den that posed as a entertainment and game room). The band usually practiced there since it was ideal considering the soundproof walls and the lack of parents.
Armin and Erwin pretty much usually had this whole big house to themselves since their dad was always working and Erwin's mother was always out. It made hanging out a lot easier and gave them a perfect party venue for indefinite use.
Eren and Armin sat on the black leather couch placed against the wall and watched the band set up.
The 'band' consisted of Mike on drums, Nanaba on bass, Erwin on guitar (although sometimes he did vocals), and Levi on main vocals (he sometimes played guitar too). They called themselves Wings Of Freedom, but were always debating on whether or not to change the name. Eren liked the name personally, but then again he helped come up with it in like Eighth grade....
Mike counted down to four, clicking his drum sticks, and then the band began playing their latest song (newly written by Levi just a week ago). Armin looked bored since he'd never been too into music and was subjected to watching rehearsals far too often for his liking (not to mention sometimes the only thing his brother seemed to talk about these days was WOF). Eren however was enthusiastic as always, playing the perfect little groupie. Mostly though, he was just there for Erwin. To stare at him- the way his arms flexed as he plucked at his guitar with nimble fingers, the way his ice blue eyes twinkled under the bright spot lights they had set up, the way his silky looking blond hair moved as he bobbed his head, completely entranced in the music.
Armin stared at his lovesick friend and sighed. He should be used to Eren's crush on his brother by now (his friend had liked Erwin even before Armin moved into the Smith household and officially met Erwin himself. Armin guessed he had Levi to blame for introducing Erwin to Eren in the first place. One things for sure, Eren had fallen for the tall blond oaf long before Armin had accepted him as a brother.)
The group took a break after playing through a couple more songs. Erwin lead Mike and Nanaba upstairs to gather some snacks, Levi sucked on a water bottle and plopped down between Eren and Armin on the couch.
Eren snuggled up to him and Levi draped an arm across his shoulders.
"mmm, you have a gig this weekend?" Eren asked as he nuzzled into his neck.
Levi nodded, resting his head against Eren's. "Saturday night at Club MP."
"Isn't that twenty one plus?" Armin questioned.
"Yeah. What of it? The owner owes Hanji a favor and the pay's good."
"Well at least I get to skip out on this one."
"Aw, Armin, what good is your fake ID if you never use it?" Eren whined.
"I never wanted it in the first place," Armin grumbled, "it's cause of you and your bad influence..."
Eren opted to ignore his bitching in favor of practically throwing himself all over Levi. He sat in the older boy’s lap and ran his fingers through the stubble of Levi’s undercut as he whispered something into his ear that caused Levi to burst out laughing (which was pretty amazing and only something Eren seemed to be capable of cause Levi usually preferred to not show emotion- at least anything other than pissed off and grouchy that is- like at all).
Armin didn't understand how Eren could crush on his brother from afar and then cling all over Levi as if he were the one he liked. Eren and Levi had always been close (and Eren had always been a pretty big flirt), he supposed, but lately they've seem to be more...intimate. And Armin wasn't exactly sure how to feel about that especially considering Eren's clueless boyfriend and how said boyfriend happened to be his friend as well. Should he say something? He wants to give Eren the benefit of the doubt, he is his best friend after all, and he'd never peg Eren as the type to cheat, but with the way he's been acting...
"Anyway, didn't Jean want to go to Marco's party this Saturday?" Armin said, putting emphasis on Jean's name as if to say ya know, your boyfriend. Remember him?
Eren's eyes snapped over to Armin's narrowed ocean blue ones. He hated the accusatory glare Armin was giving him.
"Horseface can do what he wants, but I think he'd prefer MP over a lame house party," Eren said.
"Levi! Ya know those lyrics you wanted me to look over? Mike just spilled his drink all over them!" A voice bellowed from upstairs.
"Goddammit," Levi groaned. He tapped Eren's thigh, signaling him to move so he could get up and ran upstairs.
Eren slouched against the armrest of the couch, resting his feet in Armin's lap.
"Eren?" Armin started,
"Hmm?" Eren hummed,
"Are you...uh.." Armin struggled to voice his thoughts, "have you...have you slept with Levi?" He finally managed to ask, albeit stuttering and awkward.
Eren made an ugly scoffing noise in the back of his throat as he sat up straight and fixed Armin with a glare. "Are you shitting me?" He asked in disbelief, "you know I'm with Jean."
Armin rolled his eyes. "Have you, or haven't you?"
"I have not!" Eren snapped.
Armin stared at him incredulously. He noted the way the tips of his ears flared red. "Your ears turn pink when you lie," he stated.
Eren cautiously brought a hand up to tug at his ear. "I'm not lying, they're like that cause I'm embarrassed. I'm embarrassed you think so low of me-"
"Oh, cut the crap, Eren!" It was Armin's turn to snap.
Eren huffed, releasing a breath through his nose. "A few times," he murmured, refusing to meet Armin's gaze.
"What was that?"
"I said we fucked a few times, alright?!"
"Figured as much," Armin muttered. "What about Jean?"
"What about Jean?" Eren reiterated. "He doesn't know and he's not gonna find out, obviously."
"But, Er-"
"What? Are you gonna tell him? Would you really do that to me, Ar?"
"It's not fair-"
"I can't lose him, Ar." Eren looked at him with pleading large blue-green eyes.
"Do you even love him?" Armin questioned.
"Of course I love Jean," Eren said, "wouldn't have stayed so long with the horse faced bastard if I didn't."
Armin snorted, chuckling just a bit before he sobered up. "Then why'd you...with Levi?"
"Cause Levi's hot and I was horny and pissed off at Jean-"
"You're always pissed at Jean."
"Fair enough." Eren shrugged. "Can we not talk about it. You're making me feel-"
"Guilty? People who cheat typically feel guilty."
"Dammit, Ar-"
"Not to mention cheating multiple times-"
"Armin, I really don't wanna hear it!"
"Fine then."
"Thank fuck."
"But what about Erwin?" Armin said.
"I haven't slept with your brother, I swear!"
"But you like him," he accused.
"And?"
"And you want to. You want to sleep with him, but you settled for Levi bec-"
"Hey, stop that! I didn't settle for Levi. I like Levi-"
"Who do you like better then?"
"I'm not answering...no." Eren shook his head. "They're both hot, but they're both different people. I've known Levi for as long as I've known you and Mikasa- practically forever. I've always liked him- you have to've known that. Now with Erwin, I'll admit, it's mostly infatuation. He's...so perfect, ya know? All charismatic and bright, student council president, former football player... Everybody likes him. He’s even dubbed the hottest Senior at our school..." Eren shook his head again, lost in thought. "You don't have to worry, he'd never go for me anyway."
"Especially now since you fucked his best friend," Armin told him.
Eren smirked. "Yeah, probably."
xx
Armin sighed as he watched his brother and best friend chat animatedly. Eren laughed too loudly at something Erwin said, trailing his hand down Erwin's bicep as he grinned that 100 watt smile of his. Erwin was staring at him with adoring eyes, drinking in the way Eren's eyes squinted when he laughed, the pull of his pink lips as he smiled...
'He'd never go for me anyway', my ass Armin thought bitterly. He shifted his attention away from them over to Levi who sat just on the other end of the couch from him, tapping his pen against the notebook in his lap, eyes peering at the stained, hastily blow-dried paper as he tried to make sense of the smudged handwriting. He looked up when he felt Armin's gaze on him and raised a questioning eyebrow at the blond. Armin didn't look away, just kept staring at him for a few seconds before turning to look back at Eren.
He tried to picture them together, tried to picture them locked in a heated kiss, picture them naked and rutting against each other... It wasn't hard, they had a natural chemistry after all. If the moon shone because of the sun, then Levi smiled because of Eren. It'd been that way since they were kids, really. The older boy had a soft spot for Eren, his stoic expression melting whenever he looked into those big green eyes of his. And Eren adored the attention, always following the older boy around like a lost puppy when they were younger. Although, Armin had to wonder who exactly the lost puppy was now.
Armin peeked at Levi again and found he wasn't the only one staring at Eren. He couldn't completely tell from this angle, but he wondered if Levi's usual stormy grey eyes had hardened to silver as he watched Eren and Erwin interact. His lips were turned down in a subtle frown, that much Armin could tell.
Levi stood up suddenly, muttered something about a smoke break when Nanaba asked where he was going.
Armin waited a couple seconds after Levi left the room and then got up to discretely follow him. He found him sitting outside on the back porch, puffing away at a cigarette. He sat down a couple feet away.
"What do you want, kid?" Levi asked him.
Armin crinkled his nose at the smell of cigarette smoke. "You're only a year older you know."
"And you're still technically a kid."
Armin sighed, digging his hands into the pockets of his hoodie to ward off the chill of the late January evening. "So...Eren told me some things..."
"Oh, really, what about?" Levi's tone sounded mocking.
"Just that y-you two...uh..did it."
"Did what exactly?" Levi's lip twitched, a vicious smirk threatening to appear.
Armin gave him a withering look. "You had sex with my best friend," he stated.
"So I did," Levi said.
"Why?"
"Are you asking why people have sex in general?"
"Ugh." You're insufferable. "He has a boyfriend you know."
"Yes, and you're the only one who seems to care. If you tell him anything, you'd be a shitty best friend and Eren will be pretty upset. And you don't want Eren upset ‘cause I'll fucking punch you..."
"Good to know,” Armin muttered. “I hate...I just..I can't imagine what it's like to be Jean. I think he'd be heartbroken if he found out. You know he's really a big softie even if he's stupidly hotheaded most of the time, kinda like Eren. But...it's not my business so... "
"So you'll politely shut the fuck up?"
Armin nodded warily. Levi lit up another cigarette.
"Eren likes my brother," Armin said.
"Hoh? Hadn't noticed," Levi deadpanned.
"Seriously."
Levi sighed, blew out a stream of smoke. "Seriously, it's obvious to anyone with working eyes."
"What do you think about it?"
"I think they're gonna fuck and it's a hundred percent unavoidable."
"Really? I guess so considering their flirting as of late. Do you think Eren likes him better than you?"
"Look, kid... Eren looks at Erwin and he sees Mr. Unattainable. His best friend's big brother. Golden boy of Maria High. He's starry-eyed and in awe or whatever...it's disgusting."
"And what does Eren see when he looks at you?"
Levi snorted. "A good fuck."
"You know that's not true."
"Partly true... Alright, a friend then. A confidant. Someone he can rely on- as he should since I'd do anything for the idiot."
"What do you think he sees in Jean?"
"Stability," Levi stated without missing a beat.
“Hmm. Does it hurt knowing the guy you're in love with likes someone else?”
“And who said I love the brat?”
“You know, Erwin’s been staring at Eren a lot recently. Like at his lips or admiring his eyes or tracing over his features when he thinks he can get away with it...but you, you already know the exact lines, the plane of Eren’s face. You already have a map all drawn out, and yet you still look at him like he’s something new and shiny and undiscovered, I’d even say some cheesy thing like ‘you look at him like he hung the moon and stars’ but that can’t be right because, I think Eren’s your sun if he’s anything at all.”
“Wow, kid, you’re pretty fucking perceptive. It’s almost terrifying.” Levi shook his head. “No...it is.”
“I try. Thing is though, if you love him, shouldn't you...I don't know, tell him?"
"No,” Levi scoffed.
"Shouldn't you fight for him?"
"No. If things are meant to be, then they'll come together on their own. Right now, if I tell him that... It's just not gonna amount to anything good. Things are never that simple. He won't magically stop lusting after Erwin, won't suddenly fall in love with me... Hell, I don't even know how to do relationships. It's better off-"
"That's stupid though. If you want something in life, you have to go after it. Otherwise you'll never be happy."
"Is anyone ever really happy? Life's not fair, kid. Thought you knew that."
"That's very bleak.”
“Yeah, well.” Levi shrugged. He flicked his cigarette bud away and stood up. “Are we done with this...whatever this was?”
“I’d like to think it was a heart-to-heart.”
“Right. Let’s go back inside, blondie."