AIN'T TALKIN' 'BOUT LOVE

CHAPTER 11 - DIRTY LAUNDRY by ALL TIME LOW

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Eren sat on the folding counter and stared at the dryers spinning, blurring the colors together before him. So mesmerized by the constant cycle of movement and the intermittent clang of coins or pens or lighters, he didn't hear the heavy sigh that came from the door. His eye caught the movement a second later, and he tossed a look over his shoulder.

Levi Ackerman stood next to him with a scowl that was becoming all too familiar. He held his very shiny clothes basket on his hip and glanced at Eren's not-so-shiny roughed up army bag. His upper lip pulled up and he rolled his eyes, as he turned his body in the opposite direction to the table farthest from the smiling boy.

Eren huffed a small laugh and dropped his head between his shoulders. "Guess you're going to have to get used to seeing me around."

Sliding his basket of uniform black, grey and white clothes towards the washing machine, Levi shrugged and clicked his tongue. "I don't plan on seeing you very often." He pushed up the washing machine lid, pressed a series of buttons, and closed the lid once more.

Frowning, Eren looked at the basket of Levi's clothes, then back to the machine. "How come you're not putting your clothes in?"

"I put them in after the machine has filled with water, and I've put the soap in."

"Why?"

Levi's nostrils flared and he shook his head. "Why the fuck do you care?"

Eren sniffed and raised his eyebrows. Without a word, he hopped off the counter and walked to his dryer. He pulled it open and began carding his hands through the hot clothes, moving them into the basket he had on the floor.

Levi watched him out of the corner of his eye and tried to understand the uncomfortable pang of feeling that sat like a rock in his stomach.

Sure, it was bad enough that he now lived next door to the most unforgettable head he'd ever received. And that he was now inextricably bound to the boy through Isabel's relationship with him. And that he now knew, painfully, the way Eren sounded when he came, as well as the effect that he had on the people he slept with. Levi knew all of these intimate details about his neighbor, and now Eren wanted to talk laundry. It just all felt backwards somehow.

But Levi didn't have to be a dick about it. "That's what the directions say."

Eren froze in the act of shaking out a shirt to fold it. He turned slowly with confusion painting his face. "Say again?"

"The reason I let the machine fill up with water first is that it distributes the soap evenly."

The boy's eyes narrowed and he slowly lowered the shirt to the counter. "Uh okay, nobody ever told me that." He folded the shirt and turned around to face Levi, resting his hands behind him on the table, elbows bent. "I've always just gone for the quickest way, I guess."

Levi pressed his lips together and nodded slowly. He opened the machine lid and layered clothes into the water, balancing the load. Over his shoulder he said, "Sometimes you have to go slow to go fast."

"Damn, who knew a killer guitarist could be so wise," Eren responded with a toothy grin. "You really are more than you appear."

Levi paused, but couldn't resist nibbling the bait. He turned around to face Eren, arms crossed over his chest. "How do I appear?"

"Well...mostly in my dreams, but..."

Levi's eyes grew big and his mouth dropped open.

Laughter bubbled out of the green-eyed boy. He pounded the table and watched the alarm fade from Levi's face, quickly replaced by his usual irritation. "Sorry, man! I couldn't resist!" Standing up straight, he cleared his throat. "No, but really, I wanted to ask you something."