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“Levi, getting a new roommate isn’t the end of the world. He’s Mike’s friend. I’ve met him. He’s really nice.”
Levi just glared at Petra. Of course she thought this guy was nice. Petra thought everyone was nice.
“Just meet him.”
“I was hoping not to have a roommate at all,” Levi complained.
“With the cost of living in this city? You’re either dreaming, or rich.” Petra sighed. “You chose to take the job at Maria Memorial. As a trauma nurse, you’re on call all the time.”
“I know.”
“Then, you also know you have to live within a 20 minute drive of the hospital. All the apartments in that area are either drug dens or hella expensive,” Petra reminded.
“I know, Petra. I’m not a child, so quit scolding me.” Levi let out an exasperated groan.
“And Erwin’s roommate just got married and moved out, so you’ll be helping him out, too.” Levi supposed that Petra meant for her smile to be comforting. Instead, it came across as conniving.
“Fine. I’ll talk to the bastard, but tell Hanji I make no promises.”
Turned out that Erwin was...a dork. Levi wondered briefly if he could actually live with someone who is his complete and total opposite.
The day they met, Erwin opened the door wearing a pair of pink plaid lounge pants, ratty green t-shirt, and a gray bathrobe that had seen better days. His blonde hair was disheveled, he was unshaven, and had bags under his too blue eyes. He looked homeless.
“You must be Levi.” The blonde was friendly, Levi would give him that. And even if he didn’t look like it, he did smell like he bathed. So, there was that.
“Yeah, I’m Levi. I’m guessing you’re Erwin?”
“Yes. Please come in, and I’ll give you the grand tour.”
The apartment was bigger than Levi expected, a two-story loft with hardwood floors and exposed brick. It was open and airy with large windows in all the shared living spaces. It was a little on the messy side, but not dirty, just cluttered with small stacks of papers and books on some of the tables.
“Sorry about the mess. I’m an associate at Zackley, Shadis, and Reeves. There is a trial coming up in a couple of months, and that means I’m the lucky bastard who gets all the grunt work. Meaning that I work from home on nights and weekends.”
“It’s fine,” Levi answered.
“I’m working pretty long hours at the office right now, so it will be almost as if you didn’t have a roommate, really,” Erwin explained, leading him to the kitchen.
“I work nights at Maria Memorial in the trauma unit,” Levi added lamely when the conversation died.
“Hanji told me. I prepared the upstairs bedroom for you. I don’t think our schedules will overlap often, but it’s quieter up there and I won’t have to worry about disturbing you while you’re trying to sleep. We only have the one bathroom though.”
Levi could live with that. He was desperate, and this place was much nicer than expected. So, they discussed rent and move in dates. Erwin offered to take a day to help Levi move, but Levi waved him off. He didn’t have much and he was too private to accept Erwin’s help. Despite being as nice as Petra claimed him to be, he was still as complete stranger.
Levi soon found that Erwin was correct in assuming that their schedules would never overlap. The first three weeks he lived there, he didn’t see Erwin at all. He did have a collection of neon sticky notes that he peeled off the refrigerator every morning asking Levi for grocery lists and laundry instructions. Groceries were delivered after Levi woke, and laundry done while he slept.
If it wasn’t for those things, Levi would swear he lived alone.
Then, one Sunday, Levi came downstairs, after waking, to the smell of fresh coffee and the news droning softly in the background. Erwin was sitting on the couch looking like something the cat dragged in. He looked even worse than their initial meeting. His hair was sticking out in all directions, a hideous pair of teal pajama pants decorated in narwhals and rainbows, and that god-awful bathrobe.
“You look like shit. Don’t you ever sleep?”
The blonde raised his head, the earpiece of his glasses dangling from his mouth. He looked at Levi for a moment as if he just remembered he now had a roommate.
“Morning, Levi,” he said with a bright smile after pulling his glasses out of his mouth. “There’s coffee.”
“No thanks, I’m more of a tea drinker.”
“If you give me about ten minutes, I’ll finish this brief and I’ll make breakfast.” Erwin put his glasses on, albeit crookedly, and went back to reading the text on his laptop.
“I’m in no hurry.” Levi lounged in a large armchair and waited. And so started a new Sunday tradition. Erwin would work until Levi woke, and then they would take turns making breakfast. They would, then, make a joint grocery trip before cleaning the apartment together.
Levi was actually pretty content with this arrangement. They still really didn’t spend any leisure time together, but Erwin was nice enough...even if his taste in lounge wear was atrocious at best. Levi swore he was going to have nightmares about Erwin’s blue pants with cats riding unicorns. Where did he find such things, really?
Erwin was socially awkward and intimidatingly intelligent, but Levi doubted that they would never find a common enough ground to be friends.
The one thing that Levi never anticipated was...well, Erwin. Erwin being anything but the nice, dorky guy he lived with and saw only on Sunday mornings. After six months of this routine, everything changed when Levi was moved to the day shift.
“Good morning, Levi.”
Levi looked up from his bowl of cereal when he heard Erwin enter the apartment. Only the man in front of him couldn’t possibly be the man he was living with.
This man was breathless and sweaty, his white tee wet and practically translucent and practically painted on the hard lines of a very muscled torso. And those running shorts were absolutely obscene...in the best of ways. That man’s thighs…
Where in the hell has this man been hiding?
“Levi, you okay?”
Levi blinked and tried to focus back on Erwin’s unshaven face. At least that much hadn’t changed.
“Yeah, sorry, I guess I zoned out. Did you say something?”
“I asked if I could go ahead and shower. If you were planning on using it now, I’ll wait.”
“No, go ahead,” Levi said stiffly, trying not to think about what Erwin looked like naked, which had never been an issue before that moment.
“Great, thanks,” Erwin said as he walked down the hall, pulling his shirt off as he went.
“Damn...just...damn.”
When Erwin emerged 15 minutes later in nothing but a towel, Levi told himself he didn’t notice the trail of dark blonde hair that disappeared under the low slung terry cloth. And if Erwin almost naked wasn’t enough fantasy fuel, he came home to see Erwin standing in the kitchen, clean-shaven, in a perfectly pressed navy blue bespoke suit. He was shuffling through the mail while loosening his tie. Levi had not realized that he had a suit kink until then.
Levi had an epiphany: Erwin was sexy.
The question was: Now what?
Just how many different sides to Erwin were there. There was the goofy, fashion-stunted man on Sundays; the hot, sweaty fitness fanatic of the early mornings; and the suave, clean-cut daddy in a suit during business hours. The man was a chameleon of fantasy material.
Levi wasn’t sure he could take much more. He didn’t know how to handle this sudden attraction to his roommate. Things were becoming awkward.
There there was the evening Erwin came home with a smile on his face and cell phone pressed to his ear.
“Yeah, the verdict was in our favor. Hell yes, we’re going out. I’ve been living and breathing this case for a year. Tell Hanji. We’ll meet at the usual place.”
So, it turned out that Erwin also had more of a social life than Levi originally assumed.
“Levi, you’re home! Why don’t you come out with us tonight?”
And that’s how Levi found himself sitting in a pub surrounded by both his and Erwin’s friends. Levi really wasn’t surprised by that. They had mutual friends, so the situation was inevitable. What took Levi by surprise was the jealousy roiling in his gut as he watched Erwin flirt, quite masterfully, with the very attractive guy who had come over after buying Erwin a drink.
When they left the pub, Erwin had a new number in his phone, even if the man had been disappointed that Erwin would not be taking him home that night. Levi couldn’t help the feeling of triumph at that, no matter how temporary the victory. He was certain that it wouldn’t be long until Erwin was sharing a bed with the other man.
But it really shouldn’t matter, right? Erwin had not even been a blip on Levi’s radar until recently.
And somewhere in Levi’s brain, he knew Erwin was probably going out with other people.
And he hated the very idea of it.
“Thanks for coming out with me tonight,” Erwin said as they entered the apartment. He went straight to the sink and poured himself a glass of water. The street lights shone through the large windows, bathing Erwin in a soft, golden light. This was a more familiar Erwin, soft edges, comfortable, warm...home.
“So, will you be calling what’s-his-name in the morning? Or is that too soon?” Levi asked.
“Depends. I really haven’t decided yet.” Erwin winced. “Sorry, that made me sound like a total douche.”
“Yes, yes it did,” Levi scoffed. “But what does it depend on?”
“Well, I’ve been kinda hung up on this other guy for a while, but I think it’s a lost cause, so…”
“This guy just your back-up plan then?” Levi’s tone held no judgment.
“Not really. I’m just thinking that I may finally just throw in the towel. I can’t spend my life waiting, especially for someone who isn’t interested.” Erwin gave Levi a smile, but it looked sad.
“This other guy, how do you know he’s not interested? Did you ask him out?”
“Ah, well, no,” erwin said sheepishly.
“Then how do you know?”
“I’m not entirely sure he’s even into men, Levi. It’s a complicated situation and I don’t want to ruin a good friendship.”
“But --”
“It’s late. I’m going to bed. Goodnight, Levi. Sweet dreams.”
Levi was left standing in the kitchen wondering what exactly had happened. The soft click of Erwin’s bedroom door closing made Levi feel as if he missed something important.
The next morning found Erwin standing in front of the coffee maker, staring as if it held all the answers to the universe. His wardrobe of choice consisted of green pants with pictures of the Lucky Charms marshmallows on them. The words ‘Magically Delicious’ were emblazoned across the ass in bright yellow. His t-shirt was dark purple with an owl on the front asking: ‘How many lick does it take?’
Levi was curious. Just how many licks did it take?
“Where in the hell do you find these clothes?”
Erwin turned around, startled. “I have no clue. Mike gets them for me.”
“I thought he was your friend.”
“Well, it’s kinda an inside joke.” Erwin smiled to himself, clearly amused.
“And?”
“And, I used not to worry about pajamas. Nile, my old roommate, and I grew up together, so it was no big deal if ai lounged around in my underwear. Well, at least until he started dating Marie, his now wife.”
“Well, can’t say I blame him there.”
“I wasn’t trying to be an exhibitionist, but sometimes she would just be here, when I didn’t know or expect it. Apparently, she mentioned she liked the view a couple of times and Nile started accusing me of trying to steal his girl.”
“Were you?”
“No! Really!” Erwin panicked. “In order to make Nile feel better, I agreed to be dressed anytime I was in common areas. I told Mike about it and so he set out to find the most hideous sleepwear possible.”
“Well, let’s hope that your little crush doesn’t find out about them. Not many people would be able to look over them as I do.” Levi joked.
“Are you still hung up on that?”
“Jut curious as to who wouldn’t be interested in you , of all people.”
“Well, Levi, you,” Erwin answered smoothly.
“What?”
“You’re obviously not interested,” Erwin stated matter-of-factly.
“What makes you think that, Blondie?”
“Seriously, Levi? You’ve never looked twice. I--”
“Shut up for a minute,” Levi snapped, and Erwin shut his mouth with an audible click of teeth. “I want to make sure we’re on the same page here. Were you...your mystery man...you’re talking about me, right?”
“Don’t patronize me, Levi.” Erwin flinched at the force of Levi’s responding scowl. “Oh, you’re serious.”
“How the hell was I supposed to know?” Levi threw his hands up in exasperation.
“I was practically walking around naked for you!”
“I just figured you weren’t the body conscious type.”
“No. Just trying to figure out if you were into men, or dating, or me in general. I guess--” Levi cut him off with a kiss.
It was a little awkward because, well, Levi was so short, and Erwin was so tall, and the angle wasn’t just right. Oh, but it still made Levi tremble.
“You could of just asked, idiot,” Levi said against Erwin’s lips.
“I didn’t want to make things weird between us if you hadn’t been interested.”
“You’re so bad as this,” Levi said with a chuckle.
“Hey! I was really trying.” Erwin smiled brightly. “So, I can kiss you again? Just want to make sure we’re on the same page, and all.”
“God, I’m going to have to coach you through-”
This time Erwin was the cause of interruption as he took Levi’s lips in a much more satisfying kiss (he has a better angle than Levi, after all). It was soft, deep, and Levi could feel all his worries melt away as Erwin held him.
“So,” Erwin started after breaking the kiss. “Levi, would you like to have dinner with me?”
“Maybe. We’ll see how breakfast goes.” He looked at Erwin for a moment before something occurred to him. “And delete pretty boy’s number from your phone.”
Erwin laughed out loud at that.
“I deleted it last night, but here, you can look to make sure. I would ask for your number but I already have it.”
“You are so bad at this,” levi mumbled again, secretly preening at the fact that Erwin would not be calling his back-up boy.
“Apparently.”
“Hey, after breakfast, you want to make out some more?”
“I think that sounds like a great idea.”
--Fin