Doctor's Orders

Chapter 18

Levi

"I don't understand how hard it is to grade a damn test, she shouldn't have assigned it if she was going to take 10 years to give us the results."

A loud laugh escapes Isabel as she takes another bite of her sandwich. "You have to give your teachers time, I'm sure they're just as stressed as us. You'll get the midterm back when you get it back."

I grumble under my breath but don't respond, not wanting to give Isabel the satisfaction of knowing I secretly agree with her. She doesn't need any ego boosting, her head is already way too big for the rest of her body.

"So!" She starts with a clap of her hands, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Tell me more about this Eren person. I don't think he likes me very much, give me the info to get on his good side."

I scoff. "Eren doesn't dislike anyone, he's an angel."

"He looks at me like he wants to murder me. Explicitly and violently."

I try to think of where she might be coming from, but I simply can't. I guess I'm biased since Eren is such a sweetheart, blessed by whatever gods above to be so pure and wholesome-

"Anddd I lost him. Seriously Levi, tell me about him!"

I sigh, loudly, and very dramatically to let her know how much I am not enjoying this conversation. "He's my boyfriend. 28. Pediatric orthopedic surgeon. Has a nice juicy fat ass."

"Very nice," She smiles, resting her head on her hands. "But that's not what I was getting at. You know what I meant."

And this is the issue with cousins, for some reason they always seem to be on some double meaning bullshit. Or, maybe that's just my family. Ackerman genes are a little special sometimes.

"....Do you care about him?"

"Yes," I answer without hesitation. "He's the best thing that ever happened to me, living with him has been like a fucking dream and I can't wait to be a stay at home husband for him when we get married." It all slips out of my mouth before I can stop myself, and my eyes widen slightly as my cheeks flush from the uncharacteristic word vomit.

Fuck. Isabel's never going to let me live this one down-

"OH MY GOD!! Levi!" She practically squeals, gaining us a few annoyed looks that I promptly flip off. Mind your business fuckers.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, just calm down-"

"Oh my god, you love him. You are in love Levi."

I scoff as my cheeks heat up rapidly, mentally cursing her for figuring out what I've been trying to make sure is as subtle as possible around Eren so quickly. "No shit, sherlock. Quiet the fuck down."

"And you've told him?" She raises an eyebrow as she takes a sip of her latte. I don't reply, and she lowers her drink to give me a look. "Seriously. Why?"

I hesitate before responding, it's actually something I've been very uncharacteristically insecure about, and I haven't shared with anyone. I trust Isabel though, and I know she would never make fun of me for something like this, so I open my mouth and let the words fall out.

"I'm nervous...what if he doesn't feel the same, or thinks I'm not being serious? He used to think I couldn't seriously like him because I'm so much younger, sometimes I think he still thinks I'm going to leave him for someone my age. I don't want that, I just want him. And I want him to understand that."

Isabel hums in understanding as a beat of silence passes between us, her eyes lighting up mischievously in the way they do when she has a plan.

"No, I don't even want to hear it-"

"You know one way to make someone know you're serious? With a ring."

"Whoah, it's a little too early to propose. That's going to mess up my planned out timeline."

She rolls her eyes. "Obviously not propose, but you could give him a promise ring, something that represents how much you care for him and how serious you are. There's no way he could misinterpret that, it makes it pretty clear what your intentions are."

I roll the idea over in my head for a moment, going back and forth with the idea of Eren wearing a ring gifted by me on his finger. Maybe then that one secretary at his job will stop flirting with him and get the hint he's taken, thank you very much. Fuck you Joanne.

"Fine. Let's do it, but you have to help me pick out the ring."

"You already know I will!"

***

Eren

"Excuse me," I murmur as I slip past the small group of teenagers crowded in front of the elevator, entering and pressing the button for my floor. I would normally hold it open and ask if they were going up, but I'm not in the mood to be a good samaritan today.

The past few days of late appearances by Levi, strangely distant behavior, and frequent calls from his friend Isabel have left me in a shit mood. I feel bad for glaring at her as she turns in for the night on the couch or heads to the guest room, but her presence has been seriously unnerving me to the point I've contemplated punching her in her face with her...perfectly shaped nose. I will give her credit for that.

I feel even worse for even considering the idea that Levi would be up to anything fishy, I keep repeating that he wouldn't cheat on me in my mind, but the small part of me that was insecure keeps getting bigger and bigger and I'm starting to seriously question what he and Isabel get up to when I'm not around.

A sigh escapes my lips as my mind circles back to the image it so helpfully created of Levi and Isabel entangled together, they're just friends for Christ's sake. I need to figure my shit out, maybe even talk to Levi about this since it's bothering me so much.

As the elevator dings signaling it's on my floor I steel my resolve to talk to Levi about how I've been feeling, communication is key in relationships and it's time for me to stop letting my thoughts get the best of me. I loosen my scarf and begin unzipping my jacket as I turn the corner to my hallway, stopping in my tracks as I take in the sight in front of me.

Isabel stands just outside the apartment door, hair messy with similarly messy clothes that look like they were quickly thrown on. Levi stands in the doorway, hushed voices going back and forth before her hand reaches out to take his in her grip, giving a quick squeeze as a smile spreads across her face. I turn around just as she leans in to press a kiss to his cheek, the acidic taste of bile rising in my throat as I hastily rush back to the elevator, rapidly pressing the down button as I feel the image of Levi crashing down around me.

The elevator opens and I rush past a couple leaving to push the close door button, breath coming in harsh pants as a stinging sensation takes over my eyes and tears pool in them. My back slides down the hard metal wall of the elevator as the doors slowly close, my reflection staring back at me as I take in the distorted tears streaming down my face through the burnished metal.

It feels like an eternity I sit there, but couldn't have been more than a minute as thoughts come rushing into my head, finally processing what I just saw and making the connections to my previous insecurities....that turned out to be true. I almost feel like yelling at myself for being so stupid, for seriously thinking Levi could ever be satisfied with someone like me, but one message blares through my mind like an alarm.

Levi wouldn't cheat?

Yeah fucking right. Wishful thinking at its best.

Quick note- Thank you all for being patient on my short break, I'm back and all good now. Also, you might have noticed I changed my @, check my most recent announcement if you're curious why, it's kind of funny tbh. Communication is key friends, thank you for reading, and see you next Sunday!