One Drink Away || Colt Grice

||Chapter Twelve||

Hannes and Pyxis both yelled out in frustration before turning to the newcomer who interrupted the show.

In the doorway stood none other than your little brother, face smug and amused. Colt and you had jolted away from each other at the commotion and were now staring at the man looming in the doorway. His little display was cut short when someone shoved him forwards.

"Hurry up." The voice belonged to none other than your older brother. You groaned, realisation hitting you like a freight train. Both of your incompetent brothers were here and they had just interrupted you and Colt when you were about to-

Wait... you were about to kiss.

Your face erupted into a crimson blush, eyes casting Colt a glance as your brothers walked over.

"Hello sister dearest. How are you?" Eren says with a teasing grin. He had definitely grown a bit more snarky than you had remembered.

"Hi Eren. Piss boy." You nod your head at the two of them. Despite your crude attitude, you were kinda surprised to see them.

It wasn't like you hated them.

"What can I get you?" You ask, standing up and straightening your apron.

"Whiskey on the rocks." Zeke replied, slumping down on the seat next Colt and draping an arm over the poor young man.

"Whatever pale ale you have is good." Eren said waving his hand as he sat down on the other side of Colt.

"Aren't you too young to be drinking?" You asked, face stoic as you sloshed the whiskey into Zeke's glass. Eren looked you dead in the eye with a deadpan expression.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny." He said shortly. You rolled your eyes at his attitude and pulled a bottle out of one of the fridges, slamming the bottle down and sliding it across. The two of them took their time, slowly sipping away and making the atmosphere much more awkward. You cast a glance at Colt who was situated between your brothers. He looked at you with fear and you grimaced.

You tapped your fingers on the counter and Eren and Zeke looked at you.

"What do you two nitwits want?" You asked. Eren and Zeke glanced at each other.

"Just popped by to see you. You invited me for drinks, remember?" Zeke replied smoothly. You nod, recalling that you had in fact told him to swing by.

"I haven't seen you in forever and this is how our reunion goes? Damn and mom wonders I wasn't in a rush to see you."  Eren mutters. You rolled your eyes and sneered at him.

"Shut up Eren, the adults are talking." Eren clenched his jaw at your words and you felt slightly pleased.

"So Zeke, I heard you're planning on making Colt work over thanksgiving weekend?" You say nonchalantly but the venom was literally dripping from your tone. Colt looked at you, a silent plead for you to shut up. Zeke didn't meet your eyes but rather took a sip of his drink before clearing his throat.

"I may be." His response was cold and indifferent. This pissed you off but you knew you had to keep your composure otherwise you'd never win.

"Well he won't be working. He'll be having a paid holiday. Say, a week?" You heard the authority in your voice and mentally patted yourself on the back.

"I think he will be working. The office has a lot of work that needs to be done." Zeke looked you dead in the eye.

"The office has other employees, right?" You held your ground. The two of you had an intense staring competition that was closely spectated by four people.

Well three as Hannes and Pyxis shared a braincell.

"Fine." Zeke sighed, caving from your glare. "He can have three days off."

"Six."

"Five."

"Deal." You stuck out your hand and Zeke shook it reluctantly. Then you turned to Colt with a smile.

"All sorted!" You winked and took a bottle out to top off his drink. He looked at you with admiration and awe before Eren nudged him.

"Stop drooling over my sister and date her already." Eren said with a scowl.

"Who hurt you Eren? Who made you such a brat?" You ask, wrinkling your nose in disgust. The two of you engaged in a petty conversation, leaving Colt and Zeke to converse.

"She was pretty adamant about getting you time off." Zeke's tone was suggestive, causing Colt's face to contort into something that conveyed his uncertainty. He wasn't sure whether to reveal that he was attending the Yeager family dinner or not, so he chose not to.

"Yeah. She thinks you're overworking me." He chuckled nervously.

"Do you think I'm overworking you?" Zeke's face was devoid of any emotion.

"No! No not at all!" Colt scrambled to fix whatever mess he was making. He flailed about, trying to make sure that his boss wasn't going to fire him anytime soon.

He was cut off by Zeke chuckling.

"Don't worry Colt. You're probably my favourite worker and one of my good friends. I have no problem with giving you some extra time off."

"O-oh." Colt wasn't sure how to respond. It wasn't everyday that your boss told you that you were his favourite worker. Not that he was complaining.

"But in return, I would like you to ask my sister out on a date."

"What?!" Colt exclaimed, slamming a hand down on the counter and causing heads to turn. You had given up on arguing with your little brother and were serving people's drinks when this happened. You were lucky to have not me enough holding anything as you would've most likely dropped it from the fright. Zeke waved you off and you reluctantly turned your attention back to your work after shooting Colt a confused look.

"Calm down Colt. The two of you have been dancing around your feelings for years. Please just date her already." Zeke elaborated. Colt's face shifted from shock to contemplative.

"You think she'd say yes?" He asked, voice quiet with anxiety.

"YES!" Pyxis and Hannes took it upon themselves to answer.

"I have no reason to think she'd say no." Zeke patted Colt's shoulder before tipping the contents of his glass into his mouth and grabbing Eren by the arm, pulling him out of the bar.

"Goodbye little sister! See you at thanksgiving!" He called out, not waiting for your response as he left. Eren tried calling out to you but he was too far away.

Colt looked at the small smile on your face.

"I'm gonna do it."