"Petra! Come lend me a hand real quick!" The dark haired male called out to his young colleague as he held the heavy box of old books above his head, standing on his toes.
"Mr. Levi!" The small girl ran forward some, helping him balance the box out and slide it carefully in its place. "There we go." She smiled up at him,almost making him want to smile in return.
"Thank you, Petra." A brighter smile spread across her face, only to have an image of it blood soaked enter Levi's thoughts. "You remind me of an old friend. She was just like you, same bright personality, and happy nature... You two even have the same smile..."
A faint blush tinted her cheeks, causing her to glance down. "T-thank you, Mr. Levi.. umm.. I was wondering if you weren't busy later, maybe we could go get something to eat or to drink.. My night was cleared up and I.."
She trailed off slightly and Levi nodded some. "Sounds wonderful. Sometime around seven sounds nice?"
Her entire being almost seemed to perk up at his words, nodding eagerly. "Sounds wonderful, Mr. Levi."
"You can just call me Levi, y'know?" His voice held an edge of amusement, making her face turn redder.
"O-okay, Levi. I'll text you before then, okay..?" He nodded some and waved lightly. "Later." She darted for the front room of bookstore to grab her things and leave for the day.
" Just remember me... Remember us..."
Levi flinched slightly as he turned back to the shelf of boxed up books, a sad look flickering in his eyes. "I won't, but it's so hard not to try at a new life without you here..."
He let his head rest against a box labeled 'John Green', letting tears swell up in his eyes. "Eren.. I miss you.."
"Levi, you okay..?" The short male lifted his head, glancing up at his friend, who looked business ready as usual. Erwin Smith stood a head or two taller than Levi, but always managed to make him feel as though the were the same size for some reason. "I heard you and Petra are going on a date later. You don't exactly seem excited about it."
"Is it a date? I thought it was just as friends..." Levi looked away some, his face returning to his ever present scowl, Erwin just made a noise of amusement.
"You act like you feel guilty about accepting her offer. What's gotten into you?" The taller male leaned against the shelf, adjusting his body so he blocked the door of the break/storage room of the small bookstore. "Hanji's been worried. You seem... sad."
"That's just how my face is, Erwin."
"No. Not your face, you. You seem sad. You eat a lot less, you're spacing out half the time when you're working or on break, and those rare little smiles you give just disappeared completely. I thought maybe going on a date with Petra would put you in a better mood, but it seems like it's making it worst of you're crying in here without anyone around. What's eating at you, Levi?" The dark-haired male looked up at his friend, their heights seeming to come into play now.
He felt like such a child sometimes. He's been out of high school for nearly four years now, he shouldn't feel so helpless. Not like this. Not looking up at one of the few friends he did have, and after all the time he spent trying to figure out where the walls were before this life. He searched for years and jumped at the chance to move to his home. He just wanted to be with Eren and he seemed to be the only person missing.
He wanted to confine to Erwin all the things he knew, the nightmares he had of the people in his life that had died, but he still saw them everyday, the love he may never find again, the fact that going on a date with Petra felt like he was betraying Eren, and everything else he could think of. Though he couldn't and that just made everything worst.
"Erwin.. When I left Paris before coming here.. there was someone who I left behind back in those few years I spent in Germany." Levi watched as his friend made an 'O' with his mouth and relaxed some.
"What was her name?"
"It wasn't a her.."
"Oh... OH! Levi you never told me-" Levi lifted his hand some to silence the other, sighing.
"I don't consider myself gay, actually. I never considered myself anything. It wasn't until I meet him that, well, I started to actually feel what love might be. Before I meet him you could say I wasn't the best of people, but he made me happy. He made me feel like I was worth happiness and I could feel it whenever I wanted to because he made me... feel... Do you know what I mean?" Levi raised his eyebrows at Erwin, who was practically beaming to have Levi open up to him so much (and even if it wasn't the whole truth, Levi felt a lot better).
"Yeah... It's amazing actually. Like you found your soulmate, but why are you here..? Not that I'm not glad to have such a great friend or anything, but why leave him?" Erwin seemed so genuinely interested in what Levi was saying, like a child being told stories of knights and dragons.
"I had to leave. Why isn't really important, so don't bother asking. Before I left, he told me to remember everything we did together and wait for him wherever I go. I know this sounds crazy, but I get the feeling this is where I'm suppose to wait for him..." Levi trailed off some, Erwin stayed perfectly silent. It almost seemed like he didn't want to ruin the end with any noise.
"Levi that's so sweet.." Both males turned and looked out the entrance of the room to see Hanji Zöe standing there, light shining in her eyes that seemed to pass through he glasses and reflect wildly off her dark brown eyes. "I didn't know you could feel that way about anything, much less someone else. I'm so happy for you. Anyway, what's his name?" The brunette moved to stand by Erwin, wrapping her arm with her fiance's, who smiled down at her.
Before Levi could answer there was a light ding at the counter. He sighed and help up his finger to tell the two he'd return to finish his story before walking past them to help the customer.
"Sorry for the wait, sir. How may I help-" Levi looked up to see almost turquoise eyes look at him, sending his heart racing. "Eren?"
The boy seemed a bit thrown off, his face set in surprise. "I'm sorry, do I know you..?"
