A/N: I have some news, a lovely person named Em, has volunteered to be my beta. (I hope they do not regret their decision) Credit to my eagle eyed beta - fragile-freaks (Tumblr URL) for enduring my prattling on and waffle. Please note that they are working their way through my work one chapter at a time, currently, only the first chapter has been checked by my beta and the checked work has replaced the old chapter one.

Chapter 1

Spending the better part of the last month looking for a room to rent, checking newspapers and his university notice boards, Eren had come to the conclusion, that he would never find somewhere to live.

It was his final year of university and he needed to find a place fast. He had to leave his old place by the end of next week, so since he had yet to find anywhere suitable, Eren was beginning to panic. He had viewed a few places, but none seemed right, and others were just downright rancid.

He stared up at the massive building in front of him and then glanced down to the advertisement, circled in red, clutched in his hand. He sighed before gathering his courage and walking towards the large front doors that opened up to a pristine lobby.

The building itself looked amazing - lovely architecture and situated on a pleasant street. It was heaven compared to some of the others he had visited. The notice said that it was for a room in the uppermost apartment, so as he entered the elevator he pressed the very top button.

He couldn't help the large smile that had spread across his face by the time he stepped out. He had a good feeling about this place.

Locating the apartment door, Eren knocked and waited.

Not long after he had knocked, the door swung open, to reveal a serious looking man. He fixed Eren with an intense stare and waited.

"Erm…I am here about the room for rent," he raised his hand that was holding the newspaper and waved it nervously.

The door was opened wider to allow Eren to step inside. He was directed to sit with a hand gesture indicating the sofa; the man still had yet to speak.

Eren had quickly scanned the apartment, and he was in awe, it was magnificent. If he could rent a room here for the affordable price it was advertised for, he'd have hit the jackpot.

"The ad said the room was available immediately?" Eren pointed out wanting reassurance.

The other man had taken a seat in an armchair; he did not look very welcoming at all. However, Eren could put up with that if it meant he got this awesome apartment, in a lovely area, for a year.

"I can pay a month in advance and I can move in this weekend." Eren tried again.

A grunt.

"Um….I'm in my final year of university, so I'll be a quiet roommate. I need to be concentrating on my studies this year," he added desperately trying to make himself sound like a good roommate. Saying anything to try and get a reaction out of him.

"Look, kid," the man finally spoke up, his voice deep and low, "I did not place that ad. My last roommate and ex-friend did."

He glowered at the mention of them, "Hanji, is travelling for a year and will be back next year to reclaim their room. I was quite content to live alone for a year; apparently, Hanji had other ideas. They knew I would struggle to pay the rent alone, so they placed the ad behind my back." He explained, annoyance clear in his voice.

Eren sighed, "Then surely it's a win-win situation. I only need a room for a year as this is my last year of university- I'll be returning home afterwards. I'll be at uni most days, or I will be studying. You need the rent money, and I need a place to live." Eren pointed out.

Silence.

Feeling like the perfect place was slipping through his fingers, he blurted out, "Please," his voice pleading, "all the other places I've looked at are hideous. They were filthy! The last place even had used needles in the stairwells." He revealed frantically.

That got his attention, and the man turned to regard him fully, "One month's trial. If I decide it's not working, you're gone. A month in advance." He stated, his face motionless.

Grinning, Eren thanked him, "Of course a month in advance is fine. Can I move in on Sunday? I don't have many things, and I'll give you the money then."

"Sure, whatever," Came the uninterested reply.

A huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He wasn't going to be homeless, living in squalor and surrounded by drugs, in dangerous areas of the city. This apartment wasn't far from the university campus, and it was well within his price range, Eren couldn't believe it.

Eren suspected that the person who placed the ad knew that their roommate was, well he was…intimidating and rude. Maybe they advertised it as low rent to try and lure people to stay, as the rent was far too cheap for an apartment in this area. The low rent must be to compensate whoever decided to stay and put up with the other man. Eren was friends with Jean, he could tolerate an arsehole quite well, in more than one way, seeing as he was gay.

"What are you waiting around for? Leave already." Was the snappish order he received.

Eren stood up quickly, "Right, sorry. I'll um…I'll see you Sunday. Thank you." With that, Eren hurried out the door before he could change his mind.

Sunday rolled around and Eren convinced Armin to take a day off from studying to drive down and help him move. They borrowed Armin's grandfather's car and loaded it with the few belongings Eren possessed. His old place was fully furnished, so he only had a few boxes containing his personal items. He was thankful the new place was too. Otherwise, he didn't know where he would have scrounge up the money for new furniture.

On arrival, Eren gave the man – who he had yet to learn the name of – the month's rent and then explained he'd be bringing a few things up.

He was shown where his room was located, and the front door was propped open for him.

It only took Armin and Eren two trips to carry up all of his belongings. Armin couldn't stay, he had to take his grandfather's car back and then return to his university.

Eren closed the front door and headed for his new room, which was massive. The double bed seemed to get lost in between all the extra space. His previous rooms barely fit a single bed, with scarcely enough room to walk around the edge. Now, not only did he have a double bed, but so much extra space.

He spent the next hour or so unpacking his stuff. As he was hanging his clothes in the built-in wardrobe, he started to wonder where this 'Hanji' person stored all of their stuff while they were travelling.

Another thought that crossed his mind was how much of a dick must his new roommate be for Hanji to advertise the rent far lower than it should be.

Eren collapsed onto his bed, observing his completed room. He began contemplating whether he should go outside in search of his roommate in an attempt to get to know him better or... just stay out of his way. In the end, Eren finally settled on going to get a drink and maybe ask where the bathroom was. He'd hate to inadvertently walk into the other guy's bedroom whilst he was searching for the bathroom.

Yet, a small part of his brain piped up – that would not be so bad, his new roommate may be a stern and intimidating bastard, but he was a hot intimidating bastard.

Eren, at least, knew where the kitchen was, as it was to your immediate right as soon as you walk through the front door. It was a sizable area, the kitchen contained a large breakfast bar, which separated it from the living room. The living space was dominated by a large corner sofa. The high ceiling was indented with huge skylights that allowed natural light to illuminate the room. A shelf ran along the top half of the walls of the room, housing numerous green plants, which overflowed and cascaded down the edge. The living room gave the apartment a welcoming feel that Eren basked in.

Eren chuckled to himself trying to picture his short roommate attempting to water the plants. Anyone would need to use a ladder, but even then he was sure his roommate would struggle.

Said roommate was on the sofa, doing some paperwork, muttering expletives under his breath.

Eren stepped into the kitchen area, and he felt stupid not knowing where anything was. He opened a few cupboards to try and locate the cups, with no luck.

Eventually, he heard an irritated tut followed by, "What are you looking for?"

Eren glanced over and looked at the back of his roommate's head, "Um….the cups. I was going to make a drink." He responded lamely.

Without turning to look at him, he replied, "Top Left cupboard on the far right."

Eren opened it, and there he found an array of cups, "Erm, thanks."

While he waited for the kettle to boil, he bravely went to join the other man, "I'm all unpacked now. It's a great room," trying his hand at small talk.

No response. It was like trying to get blood out of a stone.

He decided to introduce himself, "I'm Eren by the way."

Nothing.

Giving up as he heard the kettle click off, Eren stood and continued to make his drink. Once done he bypassed his roommate and headed straight for his room. It was fine. He didn't need to get on with him. Yes, it would be nice, he had to live with him for a year after all, but he could tolerate him for a year and spend most his time in his room. The apartment was massive, and it wouldn't exactly be hard to avoid each other.

Eren sipped his tea as he texted his parents, informing them that he was all settled in his new place. After, his thoughts wandered towards his new roommate.

There was something mysterious and sexy about him, the strong, silent, brooding type. Man of few words. Eren could see the appeal in that; it also helped that he was pretty good looking. Shame he was quite rude and unwelcoming.

Eren decided to have an early night, the fact that he, now, had a very comfy, and large bed at his disposal probably had something to do with it.

The downside of going to bed early was that he also woke early. Yawning, he sleepily shuffled out to the kitchen to get a drink.

Eren noted that his new roommate had already collected the mail from the front desk. Curiosity got the better of him, he picked up the post from the counter, glancing at the names, noting that there were letters for, a Hanji Zoe and a Levi Ackerman.

That meant his grumpy roommate was Levi, as he had mentioned a Hanji the other day as being the one who was travelling abroad.

Eren would probably not admit to his roommate that he knew his name was Levi. Rather, he would wait and see how long it took for him to tell Eren himself.

So lost in his thoughts Eren jumped, startled, as the sound of a phone ringing resonated through the room. He scanned around and spotting the phone on the wall by the front door.

He picked it up, "Hullo," he greeted.

"You're not Levi!" The voice on the other end declared surprised.

"Um...no, I'm Eren. I just moved in." He stated dumbly.

"Fuck me! Levi actually rented my room out." They exclaimed.

Eren grinned, this must be Hanji, "That he did. Reluctantly might I add." Eren told them.

A chuckle drifted through the phone, "How are you finding everything?" They asked, talking as if they called with the intention to speak with Eren in the first place.

Eren shrugged and then realised they would not see, "It's alright," he answered truthfully, "The bed- your bed is so comfy..."

"Shit, yes it is. I miss that bed. I'm staying in hostels as I travel." Hanji interrupted.

"Speaking of amazing beds, why is the rent I'm paying so cheap? I mean I'm grateful and all, but the size of the room, the furnishing, the apartment and the area it's in - all equate to a high-end let." Eren asked, no point beating around the bush.

"Ah, well you see...there are many reasons..."

"Levi is a rude bastard." Eren supplied.

Another laugh, "Pretty much," they sounded amused, "he's alright once you get used to him. Has he been giving you trouble?"

"No," Eren defended he could handle Levi, "He's just generally rude."

"You've not been around him enough, you'll see," they threatened gleefully.

"Besides," Hanji continued, "By sub-letting my room to you and still paying a share for the room, Levi cannot refuse to let me come back at the end of the year. As technically, I've paid the bigger share of the rent for that room, and I'm just subletting it to you." They stated proudly.

It was Eren's turn to laugh, "Fair play," he had only had a brief conversation with Hanji, but he concluded he liked them.

"Is he around?" Hanji asked, clearly meaning Levi.

"Nope, unless he's in his room and I am not risking my life going in there to check." He stated.

"What time is it there?"

"Um...7:08 am," Eren replied as he glanced at his watch.

"I forgot about time zones. He's still working out, won't be back until at least 8 am." Hanji explained Levi's absence.

"Oh," Eren stated.

"Did you know that the apartment has a gym, swimming pool and sauna?" Hanji asked.

"What! No way - that's fucking awesome." Eren's voice had risen in excitement.

"Yeah, that's where he disappears every morning. It's underground, you'll need the passcode to access the areas, but Levi might give them to you if you behave." She taunted.

Eren laughed, "That's likely to happen," he sarcastically acknowledged.

"No use wasting the credit on my phone card, I'll call again in a day or so," Hanji stated.

"Sure, nice talking with you." Eren honestly told them.

"Ditto," then the phone went dead as Hanji hung up the receiver.

It was far too early to process all that information right now, a gym, sauna and Levi working out - now wasn't that a wonderful image.

Eren grabbed a bowl of cereal (after spending ages looking for a bowl and the cereal) and retreated to the sofa, he flicked the television on and gradually began to wake up.

Hanji was right, around 8 am Levi returned, his face impassive as ever with a hint of annoyance, he flicked his eyes across to where Eren was sitting, and said, "Wash that fucking bowl up before the cereal dries to it," then he left to shower.

Eren scowled at his retreating back. Jeez, it was only a bowl, so what if the cereal dried to it? Yeah, that makes it a bitch to clean, but it's still doable.

Before he could do as he had been ordered to do, his phone rang. Eren spent a good fifteen minutes on the phone to Jean. He was in fact, still on the phone when Levi re-emerged, he glared from the still dirty bowl left on the coffee table, to Eren.

Eren winced, "Jean," he called firmly "Jean, shut up - I have to go. Just call Marco he'll help." Eren hung up.

Reaching for the bowl and standing, "Sorry, I..."

Levi walked away before Eren could finish his sentence, although he was still in the same room, he had just turned away from looking at Eren as they talked, to having his back to him completely uninterested.

Eren was caught off guard by the rudeness he had lost his train of thought, the sentence remained unfinished. He was standing with a bowl in one hand and an empty cup in the other, just gaping at the back of Levi's head.

"It is not going to wash its self," Levi stated flatly, as he opened his mail.

Levi's words broke the trance he was in, he walked over to the sink and set about washing up.

His first lesson was not until eleven, yet he was not sure if he wanted to hang around out here with Levi. Deciding he would get dressed, and maybe go over the work he had to hand in later, he took a few steps in the direction of his room, before he reached the hall he heard.

"Oi, arsewipe," came the cold voice of his roommate.

Eren screwed up his nose, what was he five? He turned slowly to face Levi. If looks could kill Eren would have left his body now and his spirit would have floated away.

"You switch the fucking TV on, you can switch the fucking thing off once you're done with it." He snapped.

Eren sighed, strolled over snatched the remote off of the table, turned the TV off, and then flung the remote on the sofa.

They stared at one another, both stubborn and both agitated by the other.

"Pick it up," Levi grit out.

Eren did not break eye contact and neither did he move to pick up the remote. Eren crossed his arms and waited.

"Pick. It. Up." Each word sounded like a threat.

Eren rolled his eyes, picked the controller up and put it down on the coffee table. Purposefully facing the wrong way - as all the remotes were in a line, and he knew having it out of place would piss Levi off. Yet, he could not complain as he only asked him to pick it up.

With one last look at Levi, Eren walked away. Once dressed and loaded up with his university things, he headed out early, he'd check if Jean still needed his help. He grinned when he walked through the living room and noticed that Levi must have adjusted the remote to how it was this morning, lined up and in its place.