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Fighting a Losing Battle

Summary:

Levi hasn't met his next door neighbour yet, but he already wants to punch them in the face.
But it turns out, his neighbour is fighting his own war, in his own personal hell.

 

(Please don't take this seriously, there's just a huge-ass cockroach in Eren's apartment)

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Work Text:

It was a normal Thursday evening of a normal week. Levi Ackerman had stumbled in, grumbling and groaning, from work – unavoidable tea cravings sending his feet on autopilot to the kitchen. He threw his briefcase on the table, backpedalled, set it up straight, and then made towards the kettle again.

It had been a long day at the office, but he had a three day weekend to look forward to. With no hobbies and even less friends, he was probably only going to spend it cleaning – but it was three days he didn’t have to put up with his shit-for-brains co-workers and neverending work pile.

The sound of the kettle boiling was music to his weary ears as he spooned loose leaves into the tea infuser.

What wasn’t music to his ears though, was the sudden yelp, crash and bang that (although the sound itself was slightly muffled) literally made his table vibrate.

Levi glared at the wall that separated his apartment and the one next door to his as though it were personally responsible.

Although he’d never met his neighbour to the right, he was in the process of building up an opinion of them in his head. Sometimes they played music or movies too loud – and sometimes they slammed their apartment door when they left the house in a hurry. But that kind of sharp cry was definitely a first.

And hopefully the last.

Levi tried to get his thoughts back on track as he poured the water into his teacup, the sweet aroma of black tea filling his senses instead.

Until there was another bang.

This time, directly on the wall dividing the two apartments.

Did this brat have a death wish?

Levi didn’t feel like nursing a headache this evening, oh hell no.

A shrill scream cut through the air, the intensity of it making Levi flinch.

What the hell? Rage began bubbling in his stomach, and a hand came up to massage at his temple. Levi picked up his cup of tea by the rim and stalked over to his couch, cursing the lack of soundproofing these apartments offered.

The noises from next door died down (thank god) and Levi could finally relax – sipping his still scalding tea and allowing himself to sink back into his couch.

He raised an eyebrow at the sudden sound of frantic footsteps from the next door apartment and then a slamming door, but he took it to mean that whoever it was had just gone out and therefore he was now free from disturbances.

It was going to be a good evening.

 

About half an hour later, the teacup was empty, washed, dried and back on the shelf. Levi’s stomach was demanding food, and there was fuck all in the house.

‘To the convenience store it is.’ He thought to himself as he went to grab his coat.

Levi shoved his keys and his wallet into his back pocket and slipped his shoes on by the door. The second he stepped out, he was greeted by something he didn’t see everyday.

There was a teenager (?) sitting, looking dejected, outside the door of the apartment next door to him. The boy looked up as him as he was closing his door, and Levi’s breath caught in his throat.

For lack of a better word, he was gorgeous.

Sun-kissed skin, tousled hair, toned arms wrapped around his legs as he hugged his knees to his fairly muscled chest. A complete and utter heartbroken look on his face as he looked up to regard Levi with forlorn green eyes.

Levi licked his suddenly dry lips.

“Uh…” He began, looking between the boy and the apartment door. “Did you get locked out?”

The teen (??) on the floor shook his head, biting his lip – the action stirring something dark in Levi’s loins.

'Now is not the time, you piece of shit, almost non-existent libido.'

Shit, the boy had replied but Levi was barely paying attention – too busy appreciating how he looked glancing up at him through thick eyelashes.

Levi tried again,

“What?”

The boy fidgeted.

“There was….” He looked off to the side, refusing to make eye-contact. “There was a cockroach.”

There was a beat of awkward silence.

“A cock-”

“Yes, a cockroach.” The boy cut him off, still stubbornly refusing to meet his eyes. “A really big one…”

“So that was the scream? And the crashes?” Levi asked, trying to put the pieces together.

The boy turned bright red, his whole body tensing up.

“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to…”

It was Levi’s turn to cut him off.

“You’ve been out here for over half an hour.”

It wasn’t a question.

The boy dropped his shaggy head onto his folded arms, huffing out a long, muffled whine.

“Are you going to go back in?”

“I’m trying!”

‘Clearly you’re fucking not,’ thought Levi sardonically. The boy continued, the defensive tone not leaving his voice.

“It flew at me… So I ran…”

Levi sighed and his stomach growled, but he elected to ignore it.

“If you stay out here, the cockroach could be finding a nesting place in your apartment and you won’t know where it is.” Why was he taking the time to explain? Levi felt like punching himself for suddenly becoming altruistic when faced with a bright-eyed twink.

“I know…” Groaned the boy. He lifted his head up, instead letting it drop back to thud against the wood of the door. His eyes stared up at the ceiling, “Maybe I should move apartments…”

Was this kid being serious?

“How would you pack your stuff?” Levi probed, honestly not understanding why he was letting this conversation drag as much as it was.

Those beautiful eyes clenched shut as the boy whimpered pathetically.

“Fuck.”

Levi took a deep breath. Why the fuck not, he didn’t have anything else planned. He stretched out a hand and dangled it in front of the boy’s face.

The kid looked at him quizzically.

“Come on, get up.”

The same questioning, unblinking stare.

“We have a cockroach to kill.” Levi fought the urge to roll his eyes and barely won – but then the smile that broke out across the boy’s face almost made him take a step back. A warm hand grasped his and caught him slightly off guard. His calloused fingers could only revel in the softness of the boy’s hand for a second before he hauled him up.

The kid stumbled forwards a few steps, just close enough for Levi to feel the heat radiating from his body.

‘Nice.’

The kid was probably about a foot taller than him though.

‘Less nice.’

But then he flashed Levi another of those megawatt smiles and Levi had to manually remind himself to breathe.

‘Nice.’

 Their fingers were still intertwined though, but the boy brought their hands up so it ended up looking like a handshake.

“I’m Eren.” He said, still grinning.

“Levi.”

“Thank you for helping me, Levi.” Eren bit his lip again and let go of Levi’s hand, his fingers barely brushing his palm as he took his own hand away.

It had been way too long since Levi had gotten laid, fucking hand contact was making his body heat up.

“How old are you?” Levi blurted, unable to stop himself.

Eren raised an amused eyebrow at him before raking his eyes up and down Levi’s form appreciatively as though he’d only just noticed he had a body. Pride licked at Levi’s gut, almost making him smirk as he noticed Eren’s gaze pause momentarily at his own muscles, visible through his white work shirt.

Eren was smirking though, as he made eye contact again.

“I’m legal.” He said teasingly as he held open his apartment door and walked inside.

‘He’s legal but goddamn that ass shouldn’t be.’ Levi caught himself thinking as he followed the boy into the room.

 

 

“Okay, where did you last see it?” Levi enquired, trying not to look too judgemental of what seemed to be a typical college bachelor’s messy apartment.

Eren pointed a slim finger at the far left corner of the room. The wall that divided their apartments. Go figure.

There was a small pile of clothes in the corner, and if Levi knew cockroaches (he didn’t really, but there were similarities in their demeanour: small, dark and brooding) then that’s probably where it would be hiding.

Levi strode over to the pile and nudged it with his foot. He glanced back at a sheepish looking Eren but then turned his attention back to the matter at hand. He bent down and lifted a shirt from the pile and moved it out of the way. No cockroach yet. He turned back towards Eren again to ask what the fuck was this pile he was touching (with his bare hands, no less) only to catch Eren’s eyes frantically dart back up to his face.

Ohh, he’d caught the brat checking out his ass.

Levi smirked at the steadily flustering teenager before he heard it. The grotesque little clicking noise. He spun back around and lifted a pair of shorts and a huge, shiny, black cockroach flew out at him.

He let out an undignified yelp and jumped backwards – Eren screaming behind him and running for cover.

The cockroach landed on the opposite wall – gigantic and disgusting.

“That’s a big-ass cockroach.” Levi commented with wide eyes. The way it moved its antennae was seriously grossing him out.

Eren whimpered pitifully from where he was hiding behind the door.

“This is the colossal titan of cockroaches.” Levi murmured, edging closer to where the insect was twitching menacingly on the wall.

Levi had never been scared or creeped out by bugs before but…

The cockroach fucking hissed at him.

Levi turned around.

“Wanna stay at my place?”

Eren nodded gratefully, tears in his eyes.


 

How it had gone from a stare down with the biggest cockroach in the northern hemisphere to having a brown haired beauty straddling him on his own couch was a story that Levi probably couldn’t even recall, let alone tell.

He and Eren had gone to pick up ingredients for dinner from the store and cooked an incredibly simple pasta dish together. Levi remembered the smouldering gazes the youngster kept giving him over the dinner table, and shameless innuendos he kept dropping into the conversation – but it all got a bit fuzzy around about the time they sat on the couch with a beer each and Netflix up on the TV.

Who had kissed who first?

To be honest, probably Eren. Levi had quickly learned that the boy was a little slut, breathless moans and sweet whines leaving his parted lips as Levi licked a stripe up his neck.

Or maybe Levi had kissed him first, so wound up from the little touches and glances the boy kept giving him that he'd finally snapped.

They’d changed positions quite a few times on the couch; at one point Eren was on his back, his arms pinned above his head as Levi ravaged his mouth – then afterwards Eren was on top, rolling his hips down in to Levi’s, the King Cockroach currently setting up a stronghold in his apartment long forgotten.

‘How exactly did we get here?’ Levi caught himself thinking and Eren popped the button on his black work pants. It had been a long time since he’d had this kind of chemistry with someone. The air was thick with sexual tension and Levi’s cock was thick with arousal as Eren took it hungrily into his hot mouth.

Levi couldn’t even remember who’d chosen the movie that was playing on Netflix, (it was High School Musical so it was probably not him) but now it was totally ignored, the sound of Troy’s head being in the game but his heart in the song was drowned out by Eren’s desperate little gasps as he licked, sucked and choked around Levi’s girth.

“I’ve seen you a few times around the apartment block, you know…” Eren whispered almost conversationally, as though he hadn’t got a dick in his hand. “Sometimes when you go out jogging.” He added

Levi barely registered the words, much too engrossed in that fucking thing Eren was doing with his tongue.

“I’ve imagined doing this to you a couple of times already.” Moaned Eren before taking Levi all the way to the back of his throat and swallowing.

Levi threw his head back, one hand coming up to cover his face (because fuck) and the other tangling itself in Eren’s hair.

“You are filth.” He choked out, and felt Eren smile around his cock.


 

About three hours later, Eren was snuggled into Levi’s bed sheets as though there were no other natural place for him to be.

“You know you’re going to have to go home and face the cockroach tomorrow, right?” Mentioned Levi in the darkness, his throat a little scratchy from…overuse.

A sleepy little sigh that’s way cuter than it should have been is all he got in reply for a few minutes until Eren rolled over and pressed his face into the back of Levi’s neck. He gently snaked an arm over Levi’s form, his lips finding the older man’s ear.

“Cross that bridge when we come to it.” He mumbled, his voice also faltering (which makes Levi smile, though he’d never admit it.)


 

The next evening, Eren returns to Levi’s apartment with a packed duffel bag. Levi eyes it warily.

“My apartment has fallen to the cockroach.” Eren announces solemnly.

Levi rolls his eyes and steps to the side, making space for the teenager to enter.

“Get inside, you twat.”

Eren chuckles,

“I already ordered pizza to your address.”

“Nice.”

 

Notes:

Kinda based on a true story.
Me and my old room-mate fought a valiant 3 hour long battle with the biggest fucking roach I've ever seen. We took a breather outside for a bit and our downstairs neighbour was like "yo what hte f uCk is going on" bc he'd heard all of the screaming and crashes.

I'd have moved in with him then and there if he was Levi tbh.

Sadly tho, he was an overweight, 24/7 stoned canadian man who played his drumkit at 3am.

Tragic, I know.

The roach died though, and I took a picture and sent it to my mom to show that I'm a functioning adult.