Customer Service [Levi and Jean]
10:03 AM. Three weeks until the poker tournament. Levi can be found in his usual spot by the corner.
He clicks and drags the cards into a winning combination. He raises his bet a little bit, just enough to seem like he’s doing well, but not enough to reveal the fact that he has a full house. He can win this; he can feel it. There is real currency on the line here, waiting to be turned into cash at any moment. More clicks of his mousepad. The amount of money rises. Levi lets nothing show.
Ever since he and Erwin started dating—and even before, to be honest—a tradition has somehow wormed its way into their routines. Every day Erwin personally brings him a cup of coffee and stays to chat with him for a while, both knowing that they’re too busy to have more than silly conversations about nothing that eventually lead to a comfortable silence full of brushing elbows and stolen glances. It’s all new to Levi, this feeling, this hopeful waiting and happiness ready to burst in his chest.
It drives him to distraction, sometimes. Like his skin is suddenly too tight and needs to be removed.
But today the starts are not aligned correctly, and so Erwin never comes. Erwin never comes, forcing a new barista to hand him his order.
10:06 AM. Levi is about to win and the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafts in from somewhere. That is when it all goes to shit.
