Only You & Me | (Levi x Reader) | Alternate Universe

Chapter Seventeen: Lovely

It was rather dark for seven o'clock in the evening. Cold and dark. Levi was sure he could see the half-moon in the sky as he got out of the black limousine, slamming the door behind him. The crescent plagiarized the sun's light, glowing proudly among the endless amount of stars that began to emerge like dots of white on a midnight-blue canvas.

'KNOCK, KNOCK'.

Levi adjusted his necktie while he waited, leaning against the railing of Hange's porch. He had one hand in his pant pocket and the other tugging constantly at his collar, trying to ease the pressure of the choking device around his neck.

But Levi knew it; he'd already adjusted his collar four times since he'd arrived. There was absolutely nothing wrong with his tie.

He wasn't nervous about the banquet. Why would he be? He knew how things went during these engagements, even if he'd only been to one. They would always be the same: making fake conversation with anyone that looks of importance, laughing at their jokes, even if they're shit, and counting the number of jewelry they have on. Any woman with less than three bracelets on one arm and any man with the sleeve of his dress shirt covering his watch isn't worth doing business with. The logic behind such a tactic was beyond Levi.

It was what his uncle had told him a couple of years back before he'd attended his first banquet. But Levi knew better than to listen to that fool.

Perhaps he was just nervous to take you with him. He knew how shitty banquets like these could be. But the reason he invited you―or much less, why he agreed to go with the sole intention of inviting you― remained a mystery to him.

Maybe he simply wanted to piss Kenny off? That seemed plausible enough.

"Wow...look at you, Shorty," Hange's voice drawled from the front doorway. Levi shot a glance her way. She wore a shit-eating grin, her glasses glinting creepily in the moonlight. Levi often wondered how her glasses always managed to glint that way, regardless of the lighting.

"Hair slicked back, suited up...you look fiiiine..." Levi wanted to roll his eyes. He wasn't sure if he had the patience to deal with her tonight. He wouldn't blame himself if he ended up insulting her within the next five minutes. Some part of his night had to be enjoyable in the least and the banquet alone surely wouldn't cut it.

Neither would Hange's pestering.

"I know that. Now, let me in?" It was more of a demand than a question. His nonchalant demeanor should have put emphasis on that. Before Hange could reply, she looked past Levi, her eyes catching sight of something behind him.

"Holy shit! Is that your ride?!" Hange gasped, pointing at the shiny black limousine that remained parked in front of her house. The engine rumbled smoothly as the driver Levi's uncle had sent to pick him up waited patiently at the driver's seat.

At least, he assumed the driver was waiting patiently. The windows were heavily tinted so it was rather hard to tell.

"Damn...my neighbours are gonna have a fit..." Growing tired of this conversation, Levi brushed past Hange and let himself inside her house.

Hange's house had always been simple. He liked it. The adjustable lighting was dimmed, just as it always was in the evenings and the mudroom was about three metres in distance from the staircase that led to the upper floor. To his left was the family room. The house wasn't small, neither was it big. The space was almost perfect...

Almost. He still preferred your house.

But besides the point, Hange's parents had an impeccable taste―but that was expected considering her mother was an architect and her father was a real estate agent. For that very reason, Levi always wondered why Hange's room remained a pigsty.