He sighed from his spot sitting at the window bar. A coffee was sitting a few inches away from his crossed arms, which were covered with a black leather jacket he'd grown to like. The cars outside whizzed by on the road, and his steel-grey eyes watched intently. His jet-black undercut was slightly ruffled from the wind from outside, in the slightly darkening cloudy enviornment. He didn't bother fix it though. He didn't care.
He was one of the only people in the shop, save for two or three students on their laptops, the cashier, and the machine worker, who was preparing a new tub of hot chocolate to be inserted into its holder.

The door swung open, letting in a rush of cold air. He didn't bother look at who had entered. It had to be the middle-aged waitress who often came on her way home from work.
"One caramel latte please." A young voice stated to the cashier.

He couldn't help but notice how different it sounded from the haughty tone of the waitress. He still didn't bother look. New customers were common, since the shop was so near the busy road. He reached forward and grabbed the rim of the cup with the tips of his fingers, a familiar movement. He picked it up; his long, narrow nose sticking through the arch of his palm as he sipped the now cold beverage.

He listened to the old coffee machine whir loudly behind him, and he pushed the half empty coffee away, crossing his arms on the counter and once again and resuming his duty of staring out the window. After a few minutes it stopped, the young woman paid and began to march towards the door a few stools away from him. The bells tied to the handle jangled slightly, before they stopped, and the door was shut before it could open wide enough for a person to exit. He heard the clacking of low heels grow near.
He reached forward to snatch the coffee cup up once again, drawing it to his lips to take a sip.

"Heichou?"
He stopped, choking on his drink slightly.
He placed it down adruptly, turning on the stool to glance down and meet eye contact with a small woman, only a few inches shorter than he was, by his estimate, which was still reasonably short. Shoulder length strawberry blonde hair was streightened over the folds of her puffy grey jacket, and she wore a short black pencil skirt with small grey heels. Her amber eyes bored into him, and a small smile grew on her face.

His eyes narrowed at the warm smile and familiar nickname.
There was a long pause.
"I said I would find you now matter what." She said, seemingly relieved, almost on the verge of happy tears.

He turned back to his coffee, facing the window blankly.
"And like the last five lifetimes, I said I didn't want to be found." He said coldly. He could feel the woman's smile falter, the room growing cold and tense.
"And like the last five lifetimes, I said I didn't care." She responded. She seemed heated, the small cup in her hand crackling under her steel grip.
He turned to look at her, his eyes growing ever narrower. "Just leave. Leave me alone, and forget this ever happened." He hissed.
"Do you think I can leave you again?" She asked, her eyes narrowing as well, staring up at him, her face growing red. "Five times. Five times." She growled. "Five times I said okay. I surrendered. And now what? You keep telling me to leave! Why?"
He gritted his teeth. "Just-"
"No!" She interupted, causing the cashier to glance up slightly. "You tell me. You tell me right here and right now!"

He glanced around, now aware of the impending stare the students now had nailed on his back. He was about to retort, but another glance at her flustered expression caused him to sigh loudly.
"Every time I look at you, I remember that mission. Oi?" He looked at her, his mouth a thin, angry line, though his eyes were gazing at the ground. "I remember the day that I lost you. And you know what? Whenever I look at you I know I can't live with myself." His voice cracked as a lump formed in his throat.
Her eyes seemed to soften as he looked up at her. "That's what the guys said too. They were really depressed about it, when they found out. They really want to see you again. Eren especially." She put a hand on his shoulder, but he pulled away, putting his head in his arms.
"Heichou... we miss you. Please come back, Levi." She pulled out the stool next to him and sat on it, putting a hand on his back.

He adruptly stood though, brushing her hand away roughly and stalking out the door. He marched down the sidewalk, the wind tousling his hair further. He shoved his hands in his pocket, setting his jaw, his eyes narrowing. He glanced back, letting them grow wet slightly. The wind bit at his face, but he kept walking alongside the road, towards his apartment. He tried to focus on other things, the annoying cracks in the pavement, the numberless pebbles lining the edges of the road, the old weeds that had been left unattended.

He heard loud footsteps behind him. How the woman ran in those heels, he had no idea, but it was clear she was panting.
"Levi!" She called, and he soon found the hand on his shoulder. She pulled him towards her, his posture twisting to face her. He didn't look at her though, his head hanging low to his chest.

"Look at me." She said softly, taking his chin and pushing it up so she could see his face. His cheeks were blotted, his eyes red from crying. "You don't have to think that now. Okay? I'm here. I'm okay. I'm alive."
"I can't stop thinking about it." He said, ignoring the cars that raced by. "I just can't. I-I..." His voice faltered.
"Just let it out." She said softly, putting her hands on his shoulders and drawing him close.
"I can't lose you again." He whispered into her hair.
"You won't." She said. "I promise, you won't."
He sniffled quietly, unused to expressing so much emotion. Long ago he'd learned that emotion was a weakness, and before that he felt as if he'd bled out all of his emotions through loss and battle scars. But with every new body, every day he woke up he realized more than ever, he really, really needed to cry.
"It's a TV show now." She said. "Everything that happened... it's just something from someone's imagination. We all watched it... and, well... I guess you figured it out right?" She said quietly.
He nodded.

The loud screeching of brakes inturrupted the two. A van door slid open loudly.
"Levi!" A chorus of voices sounded from inside the vehicle.
He looked up, seeing the familiar faces of his friends.

And for the first time in four-hundred-and-seventy-two years, he smiled. Because he really could. It wasn't forced or fake. A real, genuine smile.

He climbed in the car, suddenly flooded with a chorus of voices and hugs and loud, happy greetings that he hadn't heard for a very long time.
He glanced at the woman as she climbed in, and she smiled at him. He placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Thank you, Petra."