Forever and Always

Chapter 12 - Meeting Parents

"Okay," Jean snickered, wiggling his recently retrieved cell phone in our line of sight. We were standing in the front of the library that he had left it in. "Get that shit off your faces. My parents aren't exactly allies. There's a bathroom in the back. Go quickly."

"Then why did you put it on our faces?" Levi asked, folding his arms.

"Just go, Numb Nuts."

Levi and I darted off to the public library's restroom to hide any evidence of our homosexuality from Jean's parents. I rinsed my face off and Levi followed suit, scrubbing at his face until the skin of his cheeks were red and raw. I gently caressed his cheek, trying to silently tell him to stop marring his beautiful features. My fingers were cold compared to his hot cheeks.

"If they're such homophobes, why did they pick San Francisco to move to, of all fucking places? This is, like, the gayest city in the nation, not to mention UC Berkeley right next door." Levi pulled his plugs out, slipping them into his pocket.

"Don't ask me, they're not my parents," I countered, looking into Levi's hard, icy eyes.

"Well I guess that means that we have to be straight for the day. Think you can manage that, Jaeger?" Levi smirked, swiping his tongue across his soft, pink lips. He batted his long eyelashes alluringly. He was devious, my absolute weakness in every way. I had no idea how I had ever hated him. The fluorescent lighting in the less than sterile bathroom enchanced his lack of proper sleep, making him look even more vampiric than he usually did. The harsh lighting and shadows brought out the sharp bones in his face beautifully. "Hello? Jaeger?"

I snapped back to reality, realizing I had been staring.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm here."

"You kinda spaced out for a second, Eren. Is everything okay?"

I nodded slowly, slightly pulling the corners of my mouth up into a sad smile. My head was fogged up with a sudden depression. I wasn't sure where it all came from, but it scared me with how strongly and quickly it had come. "I love you."

"Hey, I love you. You're my world. Nobody has ever loved anybody as much as I love you. Ich liebe dich, Eren Jaeger."

"What language was that?" I asked.

"German," Levi murmured, starting for the door of the bathroom.

"You know German?" I exclaimed.

"Where do you think the Ackermans are from? Germany, dumbass. They married into some Japanese family about a hundred years ago, which is why my mom and I are so short, unfortunately. But anyways, yeah I had to learn German. Part of grooming me to take over my family's, uh, business. Not that I needed that, anyway. I didn't know I was gonna abandon that responsibility."

"Right. So how many languages do you know, then?" I asked as we left the bathroom together, properly cleaned off and presentable to a conservative family.

"A few," Levi remarked, returning to our friend. "Do I look like a straight bachelor?"

Jean rolled his eyes, nodding. "As much as you possibly could."

"What is that supposed to fucking mean?" Levi scowled, fire in his eyes. He held the door open for Jean and I as we left the library

"You look fine. Jaegerbomb is just eyeing you like a lost puppy." Jean elbowed Levi softly.

"Don't test me, Horseface, if you value your arm." Levi glared at Jean. "And Jaeger always looks like a lost puppy. He craves attention like one, that's for damn sure."

"You have a ring on your finger, idiot," Jean snickered, pointing at my left hand.

"So?" I hedged. Jean and I were walking in sync and Levi was struggling to keep up with us.