Turn Around Time

The awkwardness was down-right suffocating.

Eren almost dreaded going back into the office, choosing instead to hover around his car with a folder full of papers to deliver back to Rivaille. He leaned back against the hood, eyes gazing up at what little he could see of the sky between the sky-scrapers.

This was probably his fault.

At first, the quiet in the office had been pleasantly peaceful. Initially he thought it was because there was a meeting that day. Everyone seemed wrapped up in their own little world. Eren ran errands, took notes, avoided talking about any sort of culinary schools. There was no boisterous laughter from sales, no angry yelling about bets between the interns. It was kind of nice.

At first.

But one day day of silence dragged into two days, and now it would be the three and things still weren't back to normal.

The office was too close-knit for this. It was almost like a chain reaction - if one person was off, the entire office was off and suddenly work production decreased. It wasn't just an employee problem, though. Hanji was less playful than usual, even Rivaille's dry sense of humor was lacking. The tense atmosphere in the office had spread through like a wildfire, and Eren was almost positive it had to do with him and Rivaille.

Suddenly, all those companies that had a no-relationships policy made a lot of sense.

But it sure as hell wasn't all his fault. No matter how Eren looked at it, Rivaille had tried to force the school onto him. He wanted a lover, not a dad.

Still. He had almost gotten into a lot of trouble that night. He knew he owed his life - or at least a few unbroken bones and maybe a not-black eye - to Rivaille, but expressing gratitude to someone that would hardly talk to him was harder than he'd thought.

Running his hand through his hair, Eren paused when the back of his neck prickled. His eyes instinctively snapped up to the top of the building, the exact spot where Rivaille's office was. The tinted windows were impossible to see through, but Eren was pretty sure Rivaille's gaze could pierce through metal if it wanted to. He had felt those eyes on him too many times before to not recognize the sensation.

Sighing, he grabbed the folder and raised up from off his red car hood.

He could really use a drink.

x

"Who the hell told that brat he could go home early today?"

Grumbling under his breath as he pulled into his driveway, Rivaille glared at Eren's parked car. He had had left without so much as a word, under the premise that he was going to the bathroom.

Well, that must have been one mighty long shit.

Slamming his car door harder than was probably necessary, he stomped up to the front door and swung it open, not surprised that it was unlocked. Dumb as he might be at times, Eren was always pretty thoughtful.

Except for today, apparently.

"Jaeger!" he instinctively walked toward the kitchen, knowing exactly where the brown-haired kid would be. Predictable to a fault.

"Rivailleee."

That was not the response he was expecting.

He almost didn't see Eren, sitting at the island and grinning at him. Grinning. Eren hadn't said three full sentences to him in almost half a week and he was smiling like nothing was wrong at all.

It took about 30 seconds for Rivaille's brain to click together the scene. The empty shotglass next to Eren, the Jägermeister bottle in front of him-

"Jesus Christ."

Eren nodded in agreement. "Yeaaah, shots are gross."

"How many have you had?"

"One. Well, part of one, because I think I spit some out on accident. Shots are gross."

Rivaille sighed. "You said that already." he walked over toward the counter, taking his normal spot next to Eren. "You've only had one so far?" he scoffed. "What a lightweight."

Eren's nose flared in defiance as the older man settled down next to him, something Rivaille noted he always did when angry. "I'm not that drunk! I just feel good. Really good."

Rivaille narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing his assistant. With a sigh, he moved his hand to place it on top of Eren's head. "Yeah, alright. Just go to slee-"

He was cut off by Eren swatting away his hand, grabbing it and pinning it down to the counter. "Don't tell me what to do!" Seeing the surprised look on Rivaille's face at his outburst, he continued, "I have a sister for that. So don't tell me what to do."

Rivaille's glanced down to where Eren's hand was still covering his own, eyebrows raised. Catching on, Eren snatched his hand back like it was on fire, placing it into his lap and flushing. As if the alcohol didn't make his cheeks red enough on it's own.

"Shit, sorry." he glanced down, clenching his fists in his lap before looking back up to meet Rivaille's gaze. "... Hey, let's play a game."

Rivaille gave him a flat stare, unamusement evident in his face. Eren shook his head, quickly trying to backtrack. "No, like a drinking game. You know, that one, Never Don't I... No, wait... Never Will I... Ever?"

Rivaille sighed. "Never Have I Ever." At Eren's enthusiastic nod, the older man rolled his eyes. "You'll last 3 rounds, throwing back this stuff, Jaeger. Besides, I'm not really in the mood for-"

"Chicken!" Eren interrupted him. "You're just scared! We can water it down. Unless you're too scared to do it."

Rivaille pinched the bridge of his nose. "Jaeger, you do not want to be in a drinking game with me."

"I think I do."

Thrumming his fingers against the counter, Rivaille stared at Eren. The younger held his gaze boldly.

After a few seconds of the two just staring at each other, Rivaille looked away with a sigh.

"I swear to god, Eren, you are going into work tomorrow no matter how bad your hangover is."

x

Sucking in a breath as he looked at all the shot glasses filled with a combination of Jägermeister and water, Eren grabbed one and set it in front of him.

"I'll go first." he exhaled sharply, trying to focus through the buzz. "Um... Never have I ever... Sucked someone off?"

"Jaeger."

"Okay, sorry, that was a cheap shot." he grinned bashfully at Rivaille's glare. "Never have I ever had sex in a car."

With a sigh, Rivaille picked up the shot in front of him and tipped it back into his mouth. Eren laughed.

"I knew it! It's because you're so small-" he stopped mid-sentence, noticing the glare on Rivaille's face. "... Never mind. Your turn."

"Never have I ever gone a week without showering."

The face Rivaille made could be called nothing short of horrified as he watched Eren pick up the drink and throw it back. "You're disgusting."

Eren frowned with a shrug. "Middle school was a bad time for everyone. Okay, Never have I ever..." he paused, clicking his tongue before grinning. "Been to a gay bar!"

Rolling his eyes, Rivaille picked up another shot. He made a face this time as he pulled away. "I didn't put enough water in that one."

"You don't like Jäger?" Eren tipped his head. It was the only liquor he found in the house, so he just assumed it was Rivaille's favorite.

"Not by itself." he paused for a moment. "Never have I ever been in the ocean."

Eren smiled. "Never! Never have I ever... Been a bottom."

Rivaille gave him a flat look. "It isn't called Never Have I Ever Not, brat. You don't even know how to play the game."

"Fine, I'll take a shot too then. I was just curious." his picked up a shot glass, eyes widening when Rivaille snatched it out of his hand and finished it off.

"Really? S-So does that mean I can-"

"No." Rivaille cut him off before he could even ask the question. Eren's face fell. "... Maybe someday. When you actually know what the fuck you're doing."

Eren nodded, grabbing a shot to throw back himself. He set it back down and wiped his mouth, before looking confused.

"Who's turn is it now?"

Rivaille blinked. "Yours. No, wait. Mine?" he shrugged. "I don't care, just go."

"Never have I ever been in a gang."

Rivaille hesitated, hand stilling. "Fucking brat... Is this about what happened the other night?"

Eren nodded, looking sheepish. With a sigh, Rivaille reached toward the drinks.

"I guess, in a way. When you're a kid on the streets, you take the family you can get." Finishing the drink, he noticed Eren's face and quickly added, "It's not like you're in any danger or anything, so stop worrying about it. I told you I wiped my hands clean of all that."

Suddenly finding his hands more interesting, Eren looked down as he spoke. "I wasn't really..." he cleared his throat, glancing back up at Rivaille. "... How did you go from the streets to owning a company?"

"Irvin and Hanji." Rivaille sucked in a breath, eyes going unfocused for a second. Eren bit his lower lip, trying to focus through his alcohol muddled brain. Irvin? It sounded familiar, but he couldn't really place a face to the name. Seeing Eren's confusion, Rivaille clarified for him, "Irvin's the blond guy that was sitting in here that day you threw your hissy fit."

Eren winced at that. Hissy fit. Choosing to ignore his wording, he tipped his head slightly. "Why doesn't Irvin work there anymore?"

Rivaille was silent for a moment, giving Eren a hard stare. "It's my turn. Never have I ever said I loved someone and didn't mean it."

Eren scrunched his nose up, bothered by the way Rivaille had brushed off his question. He opened his mouth to comment, but despite his muddled brain he knew Rivaille well enough to know he wouldn't get a straight answer anyway. With a sigh, he stared at the shot-glass in front of him.

"Never."

The older man made no comment, no facial expression to give away what he was thinking. Eren licked his lips dryly.

"Never have I ever said I loved you to anyone, period."

This time Rivaille raised an eyebrow, grabbing one of the few remaining shot-glasses. Eren pursed his lips as he watched the drink disappear into the other's mouth. "Was it Irvin?"

Rivaille's silence gave him his answer. Eren nodded, looking down and then back up. "So why aren't you still together?"

This time he got more of a reaction from the normally-stoic man as Rivaille rolled his eyes, frowning. "If you're expecting some big sob story, you're going to be disappointed. Life happened, circumstances changed and he left the company to do his own thing. It was a clean break-up, if you have to know."

"How long were you together?"

Rivaille's eyebrow twitched.

"What is this, 20 fucking questions?" Eren bit his lip, and Rivaille continued, "Are you insecure or something? That's 3 years in the past, Eren." he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Christ..."

"Sorry. I was just curious." Eren ducked his gaze away from Rivaille's again, choosing to focus on a bit of the wall just above his head. They sat, quietly, before Eren spoke up again.

"Hey, Rivaille, I-" he cut himself off, looking uncertain and shaking his head. Starting over, he asked, "Why... Do you want to send me away so badly?

Rivaille clicked his tongue in annoyance, noting that Eren was still avoiding his gaze. He glanced to the forgotten shot-glasses on the table, before refocusing on the boy in front of him.

"Something tells me it's the same reason you don't want to go."

Eren's eyes widened as he snapped them back to Rivaille's, but now it was his turn to look elsewhere.

Rivaille knew it was something close to it, anyway. It was the risk he took, taking the young adult under his wing and into his home - especially when they started sharing meals, a bed, lives.

And if he said he minded the risk at all and what had come of it, then he'd be a liar.

"R..eally?" Nothing but disbelief dripped from Eren's voice as he tried to figure out if he had heard correctly, or if in his drunken state he was just assuming what he wanted to. Rivaille narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"If you have something to say, I'd suggest you spit it out."

Eren swallowed. Now or never, right?

"I... Love you."

It came out barely above a whisper, much softer than he had intended it. Rivaille's face didn't move, but gray eyes slid sideways to meet Eren's again. Something unreadable flickered behind the orbs and Eren tried again.

"I love you." this time it was louder, and he leaned closer to Rivaille, a smile having wormed it's way onto his face. "I love you, I love you, I lov-umf!"

His confession was cut short by Rivaille grabbing his tie and jerking him forward, closing the gap between their faces and crushing their lips together. On instinct, Eren parted his lips, savoring in the taste of alcohol and Rivaille.

The kiss ended as abruptly as it was initiated, Rivaille pulling away and looking flushed. Eren revelled at the sight.

"The feelings mutual."

A grin plastered itself onto Eren's face, but after a pause his gaze hardened. "... So say it."

"What?"

"Say it."

Rivaille's gaze narrowed again, eying Eren in front of him. He slowly leaned in, so close that their lips were just barely brushing, and whispered,

"I love you too."

Before he could move back again, Eren pressed their lips together. Smiling into the kiss, he wrapped his arms around Rivaille's waist and shoved his head into the crook of the other's neck, humming contentedly. Rivaille groaned, but rested his head on Eren's anyway.

"God, you're a clingy drunk, aren't you?"

"Maybe." he paused, before adding, "I'll go to that college. As long as I get to come back and visit. Every weekend."

"Every weekend?"

"Yeah," he breathed against his neck, making Rivaille shiver. "And every holiday. And I want to Facetime a lot. Everyday."

"You're drunk."

"Mhmm."

They stayed like that, Eren wrapped around Rivaille, sitting at the island counter with nothing but their breathing to fill the comfortable silence.

Until Rivaille noticed that Eren's breaths were a little too even.

Shifting slightly to get a better look at him, Rivaille frowned when he didn't move. "Eren?"

He was met by a loud snore. Rivaille groaned, but the corners of his lips twitched upward despite himself.

"Shitty fucking kid. You better remember every damn word of this conversation tomorrow."

A/N: (heavy breathing)

This chapter had the CHEESIEST PARTS IN IT and I've never been so happy.