A/N: And it is finally up! The first chapter of Canvas of Memories! For those of you who don't remember or haven't read it, there was a Christmas special that I posted back in 2013 which I said was part of larger story that I was still working on. This is that story. Thank you to anyone who's been waiting patiently (or impatiently as the case may be) for this. (The story is rated M for language, nothing else. Thanks a lot, Levi.)

Chapter Summary: Yeah, no. You don't get one for the first section.

Levi stared disinterestedly down at the text he had just received. It was Erwin, again, asking him to come by the bar sometime. He had been getting such messages for weeks. It wasn't that he had no interest in seeing his friend (even though they shared an apartment, their work schedules conflicted, so they rarely saw each other), but he hated bars. They were disgusting, loud, and full of annoying people. He rarely drank alcohol anymore-particularly the shit Erwin sold to the customers-so visiting such places always ended up being a pointless waste of time. It irked him that he was going despite himself. He prepared for an unpleasant evening.

Using a handkerchief, which he resolved to disinfect and thoroughly wash later, he opened the door of Erwin's bar and headed inside. It was too early in the evening for the place to be busy, so for once, the bar was blessedly quiet. Business had obviously picked up since Levi was last in here, about three months ago, because Erwin wasn't the bartender. He must have finally gotten another employee. Levi couldn't see the person's face, since his back was turned as he mixed a customer's drink, but his hair was too dark a color to belong to the bar's owner. Moments later, the bartender finished and turned around, handing the completed drink to its buyer with a flourish. He must have noticed Levi out of the corner of his eye because he glanced up and a bright smile lit his face.

"Welcome!" He moved over to where Levi was now sitting at the bar. "What can I get you?" The young man faltered for a moment as Levi just continued to stare at him. "Um...sir?"

"Tea," Levi muttered, feeling vaguely disappointed, "as black as you can make it."

His answer seemed to confuse the boy, "Err...this is a bar, you know."

"And?"

"I'm probably not supposed to say this, but you'd be better served going to the coffee shop down the street."

"Just get me the damn tea. I know there's some in the back."

The bartender was clearly surprised a customer knew this, but he quickly covered his discomfort with a smile and turned to make the drink. "Sure."

Levi never took his eyes off of Eren. Even without a name tag, he knew that was the kid's name. The boy didn't look much different than he had in Levi's memories, although he must be at least a few years older. There was a certain maturity that had never shown on the rest of his face before, even if it burned in his green eyes. It was clear that Eren didn't recognize him, but Levi was used to that at this point. He didn't know exactly what portion of their group retained memories, but it wasn't a majority.

A few minutes later, Eren returned with a steaming cup of tea, which he placed in front of Levi. Levi picked it up, his hand positioned over the top of the teacup with his fingers grasping lightly around the rim. Eren stared at him curiously, but he apparently had better manners than in the past and didn't say anything. Certainly, it was an odd method of drinking, but then, Levi wasn't what anyone would call a normal person. It was one of many strange habits that he blamed on his past.

"This tastes like shit."

"Sorry," Eren said quietly, a contrite look on his face. "I haven't really had much practice making tea."

"It's not that fucking complicated. There are instructions on the box. Idiot."

A long silence followed after that. No new customers arrived, so Eren just stood there, watching Levi, not even trying to be inconspicuous about it. He rather got the impression that the man would notice anyway so there was no point. Levi himself just continued to drink his tea, even if it was terrible. He was about to ask where Erwin was when the boy's face suddenly brightened with recognition. For just a second, Levi let himself hope.

"Maybe...are you Levi?"

"Yeah."

His face lit up like a fuckin' Christmas tree. "Great! I'll go get Erwin. He said a friend of your description might be coming by sometime."

Levi could just imagine what the description had consisted of, probably something along the lines of "short, rude, and grumpy," if the past was any indication. Eren went to go call into the back room for Erwin, then returned and stuck his hand out for Levi to shake.

"I'm Eren."

Levi ignored the hand until the boy eventually lowered it. "Did I ask?"

"Well, no, but I figured, I mean, it's only fair, since I know your name."

"Life isn't fair, kid."

Eren's expression froze and Levi wondered whether he had gone too far, but after a moment more, the boy returned to his usual demeanor. "Just because life isn't, doesn't mean I can't be," he responded cheerily.

"So you finally came," Erwin commented, coming out of the back.

There was no need to respond. It was obvious that he had.

"Eren, business is going to pick up soon, so why don't you go make sure that everything is stocked up for the evening?" Erwin suggested, unsubtly trying to send the boy away. It was particularly blatant considering that was what he himself had just been doing in the back room. Eren didn't seem to notice and hurried off to do as requested.

"You should have told me." The accusation in Levi's voice was obvious.

"I did tell you, multiple times."

"Be more fucking specific next time. There was no way for me to know that 'come to my shitty bar' meant 'I found Eren'."

"If I had, there was the chance that you might have purposely stayed away."

Levi wasn't sure whether that was true or not. He liked to think that he wasn't the type to get scared off so easily, but he had to admit that seeing Eren again was unsettling. If he had known the boy would be here beforehand, he might have put off the meeting indefinitely just to avoid the discomfort and disappointment of the entire situation. His voice was softer when he spoke again. "He doesn't remember, does he?"

Erwin shook his head.

"Shit."

"That does make things a little harder for you, doesn't it?"

"Maybe it's better this way," Levi said after a moment's hesitation, watching Eren as he busied himself with the customers that had just arrived. He was grinning widely, his laughter audible from the other end of the bar. "That time was full of despair, for all of us, but particularly for him."

"It wasn't all bad," Erwin argued.

Levi didn't reply right away, wanting to disagree but knowing Erwin would call him out on it if he had. When he did speak, it was about something else. "How long has he been here?"

"About two months."

"You've only been pestering me to come visit for one."

"I wanted to give him some time to adjust before inflicting your presence on him."

"I'm not that bad."

"You would have terrified him," Erwin replied bluntly. "This isn't like last time, Levi. At least then he knew who you were. He admired you. You have to admit, you are a bit rough sometimes."

"I don't do that flattery crap."

"You called the tea he'd just made shit."

"Well, it was."

"Do you want a different cup?"

"No," Levi muttered, taking another sip. He grimaced at the smile that was suddenly on Erwin's face.

Erwin returned to his scolding, "He's used to that sort of thing now-drunk customers don't care much for politeness-but if you'd done that when he first started working here, he might not have come back. Then what would you have done?"

"The same thing I've been doing for the rest of my life: pretend he never existed."

"You didn't know he was alive then."

"Perhaps it might be different," Levi acknowledged. "Maybe I'd try and find him again."

"I don't doubt it, and you know I'd help you if you did."

"And then I'd find him and have to find a way to fix my terrible first impression. That would work so well."

"Your impression the first time was much worse and he forgave you for it then."

"It's different when you're saving someone's life."

"Yes, I suppose so."

More comfortable silence.

"I thought you weren't hiring."

"I wasn't, but there were special circumstances." Erwin paused, then added, "He's a friend of Armin's."

"Is that supposed to be news?"

"Armin is my cousin. I was doing him a favor."

"And you didn't tell me? They were friends in the past. How did it never fucking occur to you that they would be now as well?" Levi demanded angrily.

To think that he could have met Eren long before now. He'd recently given up hope. After all, they had passed the point in their lives when they had met in their previous incarnations. Surely that indicated that Eren hadn't been reborn or that they weren't meant to meet in this lifetime. And instead Eren had been close this entire time but he'd had no way of knowing it because Erwin just had to keep his damn mouth shut.

"I hadn't meant to hide it from you, but I couldn't ask without raising suspicions. Armin is just as brilliant as he was then. He's already started to suspect." Erwin paused, trying to think of a reason he could give that would satisfy his friend. Levi wouldn't care whether Armin knew the truth or not, but there apparently was someone for whom he did. "Whatever he learns, he'll tell Eren. I think it would be better if Eren doesn't find out that he was the Rogue Titan. The knowledge will only hurt him."

Levi turned away with a short "tch."

"It looks like business is picking up, so I'm going to go help Eren. You're welcome to stay as long as you like."

"In this hell hole? Fuck no."

Levi ended up staying until the bar closed early the next morning.

Disclaimer: Most, if not all, of the characters, setting, and concepts included in this story belong to the creator(s) of the original work that this fanfic is based off of and not myself.

A/N: As always, I welcome feedback of any kind, positive or not. And updates will be on Wednesdays...at whatever time I get around to it.