for the angst/fluff thingy... ereri and 16. “I’ve got you.” <333
“You couldn’t have thought to do something else for your birthday?” Eren asks Armin as they make their way down the street to the rollerskating rink.
“You’re just mad that you can’t skate and make a fool of yourself in front of Levi every time,” Jean fires back with a smirk, earning a pinch on the arm from Mikasa as punishment.
What Jean said isn’t wrong. Every time Eren and his friends came to the rollerskating arena, he fell either on his face or his ass without fail. Usually, it wasn’t ever a big deal but of course, Levi, Eren’s crush of three months and going, was there watching from behind the counter where they keep the skates.
They make their way inside the arena, the other three making their way to the counter to greet Hanji while Eren plops down at an empty table to scroll through his phone. After a few minutes, Eren looks up and watches as his friends sit at the table to pull on their skates. They know better than to ask if he’s going to join them, already knowing that he won’t. Mikasa ruffles his hair as she passes him, pulling Jean along with her. Armin smiles and follows, telling Eren to go enjoy some of the arcade games so that he isn’t bored.
He watches his friends skate around, smiling a little as Jean skates circles around Mikasa, taking her hand and spinning her. She laughs which makes Jean smile even more. Armin skates after them, pushing himself between them and linking their arms together.
He isn’t sure how long he’s been watching his friends when Levi plops a pair of rollerskates on the table in front of Eren before sitting in an empty seat.
“You aren’t skating?” he asks.
Eren doesn’t answer for a moment, shocked that Levi is even sitting next to him before he’s able to stammer out an answer.
“Uh—um, no. I don’t… no, I’m not.”
“You don’t what?” Levi presses. “You don’t skate?”
Eren shakes his head with an awkward laugh. “I’m sure you’ve seen me fall enough on my face to know that I’m no good at it.”
“Practice makes perfect,” Levi says with a shrug, shoving the skates into Eren’s lap. “Lace up.”
Staring down at the skates in his arms, Eren blinks several times before looking back up at Levi, asking, “What?”
“Lace up,” he repeats as he stands up. “I’m going to get my own skates and when I come back there should be at least one of those on your foot.”
Sighing, Eren pulls off his shoes and shoves his feet into the skates. He finishes lacing one of them when Levi comes back with his skates, sitting and doing the same thing. Levi stands with ease after finishing tying his skates and waits for Eren to do the same before standing up and offering Eren a hand.
“What?” Eren asks, narrowing his eyebrows suspiciously.
“We’re going skating.”
“We?”
Levi nods, shaking his hand in the air in emphasis for Eren to take it. He stares at the hand before reluctantly taking it, trying to ignore the sparks he feels at their hands touching. Levi helps pull him up to his feet, steadying him with a small chuckle.
“I’ve got you,” he reassures, carefully pulling Eren to the edge.
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Eren says, grabbing onto the half-wall to keep Levi from pulling him onto the floor.
“Eren,” Levi sighs. “It’ll be fine. You just have to trust me.”
They stare at each other for a few moments before Eren finally caves under the man’s gaze and lets himself be pulled onto the shiny floor. Levi is surprisingly patient with Eren as he pulls him along and tells him what he should be doing.
Eren stumbles, losing his balance for a moment but Levi steadies him once again.
“You better not fucking drop me,” the taller man murmurs, earning a breathy chuckle from the other.
“Don’t worry, I’ve got you. You’re not gonna fall.”
As the minutes tick by, Eren begins to feel more and more confident with himself after being instructed by Levi and convinces the man to let him go. He skates forward a few feet, throwing his hands up in victory, but it throws his balance off and he falls backwards.
Levi immediately comes to his side, asking if he’s okay and all Eren can do is give a stupid smile.
“Hey look, I’ve fallen for you.”
Levi snorts, crouching down closer to Eren’s level. “That was really cheesy, but cute so I’ll let it slide.”
“Does this mean that I can ask you out for coffee or something?” Eren asks dumbly as Levi pulls him up from the ground to begin skating again.
He spins Eren around, giving the man a smile as he says, “I thought you’d never ask.”
