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Levi stared resolutely at his computer screen, chair angled pointedly away from the window. Everything about his body screamed tension, from the stiffness of his back, to the lines in between his eyebrows. The tap of his fingers against the keys--which didn't sound as often as they should--were far more forceful than usual, and Levi had to restrain himself from turning around.
"You know," Petra mused, from across from him. "it's not that bad." She of course, was angled towards the window without a care. Her posture was relaxed and at ease, her head tilted back and to the side as she took in the scenery. "Shouldn't you enjoy it?"
"It's a way to tell me that I'm in trouble," Levi informed her, the force of his fingers hitting the keys increasing. "I can't enjoy it."
Petra's eyebrow raised. "Letting you stare at their bodies all day is punishment?"
"Yes," he snarled. "me and every single fucking person that works in this building, or the next, or even walks by. It's a punishment because Erwin is a fucking manipulative asshole who can pull strings in high places, and because Eren is just as bad and ten times as sensitive. I swear to fucking god, if it's not gone by next week I'm going too--"
"Levi," Petra interrupted gently. He looked up, lip curled. It took a moment for him to follow her gaze down to the keyboard he was abusing, and he let out a harsh sigh when he lifted his hands up off of it. "What is it punishment for?"
"...I told Eren that his soup sucked." A hefty insult for a chef.
Petra's eyes widened. "You did what?"
Levi sighed, rubbing at the bridge of his nose as if that would ease his frustration. "It was when I was sick last week. Everyone knows that people's taste buds go insane when you're sick. Besides, I didn't even know the kid had made the fucking stuff. I thought it was just that canned shit."
"Oh, Levi," she shook her head sympathetically. "Did you at least apologize?"
If it were anyone else, he would have told them to fuck off, as it was it was Petra, and Petra was almost impossible to be mad at. "Of course I did," Levi defended. A history of being an asshole had familiarized him with the practice of apologies, though he only used it on the people that truly mattered. "but Erwin has always had a bad influence on Eren."
"I'm sure they'll lighten up soon," Petra reassured. "Just wait it out a bit."
The nights following that week were filled with writhing bodies and possessive kisses. Knowing that hundreds of people were looking at his boyfriends naked bodies--technically they were wearing boxer briefs but that was besides the point--drove Levi mad. He was possessive to begin with, having the giant ass billboard outside his work was just overkill. Levi knew that they were models on the side of their work, and had learned to deal with it via the beautiful existence of ignorance, but having people come up to him every day with varied questions of "isn't that your...?' was getting tedious. By the second week, it had him at breaking point.
"I said I was sorry!" Levi snarled, storming into his apartment with a loud slam of the door. Eren blinked, glancing up at him from the stove. Erwin, who had been sitting at the counter and sorting through a file raised an eyebrow.
"For what?" Eren asked cautiously, stirring whatever was in his pot. It smelled delicious.
"The soup, what the fuck else?" Levi growled, yanking off his tie. He threw it at Erwin's laughing, useless face. "Don't laugh at me you piece of shit! I know this is all your fault."
"I didn't insult the chef," Erwin pointed out bemusedly, picking the tie up off of his shoulder. There was a hickey displayed just under the open collar of his shirt, and Levi fought off the wave of distraction that followed.
"I was sick!" Levi exclaimed, throwing his hands up in an uncharacteristic show of frustration. "Taste buds always get fucked up when you're sick, you know that--"
"Taste this," Eren interrupted, hand cradled under a ladle. Levi opened his mouth more on instinct than anything else, all too used to Eren's taste testing. He hardly ever regretted it and this wasn't one of those times.
"What is that?" He asked, almost sorry that he had to swallow it. His mouth was a burst of flavor, the broth warm and rich with hints of some sort of herb.
"A new recipe," Eren answered simply. "How is it?"
"Delicious," Levi told him, honestly. "I want more."
The taller male beamed, leaning down to peck him once on the nose. "Good. You're forgiven now."
He stared. "What?"
"I tried the soup after you said it was bad and you were right, it could use a little more something. So I made this." Eren shrugged, stirring slowly.
"...then what was the point of the giant billboard of your naked bodies?"
"Oh that," he grinned, looking over at Erwin. "I was still kinda mad at you and there was an opening for a modeling gig for that, so Erwin pulled some strings."
"Of course he did," Levi said flatly.
"It should be down by next week," Erwin told him, flicking to the next page calmly. "They're putting up some make-up add next."
"...sometimes I really hate you," Levi muttered, after Eren had flashed him another happy grin and Erwin had given him another raised eyebrow.
"No you don't," Eren piped up, setting a bowl of soup in front of the two of them once Levi had settled down.
Levi sighed, breathing in the scent of the soup. "No I don't," he agreed. Erwin knocked a knee against his own gently, smiling ever so slightly.