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: And I am posting this close to midnight on Christmas Eve, just like when I started writing the Christmas special I posted last year. I'm beginning to sense a theme here...It was on purpose this time though so I suppose it doesn't really count. Merry Christmas everybody!

Eve of Solitude

"Hi."

Levi had been ignoring the stranger who had sat down next to him a while ago, but that would no longer be possible. At least the kid hadn't seemed intent on getting his attention. He'd expected the boy to try to talk to him much earlier, to wave his hands in Levi's face or something. The companionable silence had been an unexpected gift, which had now rudely been shattered and was lying broken at both of their feet. He considered leaving at that moment, but decided it wasn't worth the effort-he had nowhere to go. He could suffer the intrusion a little longer.

"You looked lonely so I'd thought I should sit with you," Levi gave the kid a slanted expression of annoyance, "but I guess that wasn't the case. You wanted to be alone, didn't you?"

"Obviously."

"I still won't leave," the boy quickly clarified. "It's Christmas Eve and regardless of what you want, I need some company. Spending holidays alone sucks. If you want me gone, you're gonna have to move yourself." It was like he knew that Levi had no intention to expend the energy to do so.

Maybe he could intimidate the kid into bothering someone else. "Selfish brat."

"Yeah, I'll accept that." The boy shivered and began creating friction between his hands and legs. "It's cold out here. I've been sitting too long."

"You don't have to stay."

He just laughed, a bright sound in the frosted night. "I just said I wasn't going to leave yet. You can't get rid of me that easily. Besides, I don't really have anywhere I want to go." He leaned back on his hands and looked up at the invisible stars, unbearable loneliness reflected in his eyes.

Levi turned his gaze up toward the same sky and breathed out slowly, the chill whitening his breath. He didn't have to ask what the boy meant. He knew the feeling of being surrounded by people who cared and yet still not feeling like he had a home to return to.

But the boy couldn't know that, so he immediately launched into an explanation. He must believe he had to answer for himself, to provide an excuse for his loneliness. "I'm actually studying abroad-Germany-at the university here so my family and close friends are all across the ocean. I'm staying at Connie's tomorrow, but no one thought about Christmas Eve, including me. I was gonna stay in the dorms and watch some movies or something, but" he smiled warmly despite the chill of the night and his solitude, "I thought I'd look at all the Christmas lights and decorations. Sometimes loneliness wants companionship, but other times it calls for cherishing the pain and going on walks by yourself at night."

"And yet you sat down next to me."

"Like I said, you looked like you needed the company! And it's Christmas Eve. It's not a night for spending time alone."

"Some prefer their own company."

"And I refuse to believe you're one of them."

"Why is that?"

"You're talking to me, aren't you?"

Levi looked off to his opposite side. "Tch."

"When did you come over?"

One of Levi's eyebrows rose at the comment and he made sure to look at the boy so he could see it.

"I mean to America. Or is it just your family that's French?"

His unimpressed expression wasn't enough to get the subject dropped.

"You won't be able to convince me that you're not. I recognize a French accent when I hear one. There's this guy Jean who lives in the dorm room across from mine. He's a foriegn student too."

There really was no point in arguing with this one, was there? "Almost twenty years ago; I was seventeen."

"And you're what...thirty-five now?"

"Thirty-four."

"How come you're not spending the holiday with your family? Didn't you come with them?" The kid didn't give Levi a chance to answer. "I suppose they could have moved back, or maybe you were just visiting and stayed or something. Was it an exchange program? That's why I'm here by myself if you remember, but then, I'm legally an adult so it's not such a problem for me. Just barely though, I'm nineteen."

"You're suddenly very talkative."

"Because we're not strangers anymore."

"I don't even know your name."

"Are you crazy? I don't want you stalking me later."

His reasoning was stupid, completely unexplainable and random, but Levi felt himself pulled in by it nonetheless. The answer came out slowly, halted the unfamiliarity of telling his story. "I left my parents behind when I moved. Genetics mean nothing to me and my real family died right before I left France. I've met others since then, but all of my friends are spending the holidays with their families. It didn't feel right for someone like me to intrude."

The boy's voice was soft. "You'll be alone tomorrow too then, won't you?"

"It's of no consequence to me. It's more tolerable that way."

The boy nodded and didn't ask anything else. He removed his eyes from Levi's face and looked back at the sky. His next words were almost a whisper. "It's almost midnight."

"When do you return to Germany?"

"Not until spring. It seems like such a long time away, but I bet I won't think so when it comes. I miss my dad and sister though. My sister is-she's adopted. It's why she looks so Asian while I'm so obviously...not." He laughed again.

The kid did that a lot, Levi realized. Had he truly known the boy, he might not have said so, but it seemed that the kid was genuinely just a perpetually happy person.

"There's all of my friends too. I talk to them all some of the time, but it's not quite the same as actually being together. This is worth it though." He paused for a few moments just to breathe in the still air, filling himself with the falling flakes of snow. "What about you? Are you ever going back to France?"

Of that Levi was certain. "No."

Another shudder passed through the boy's frame. "I'm still really cold."

Levi stared directly at him as he replied. "I'm not."

Their eyes met and held, something unspoken passing between them, the remembrance of time spent together long ago. It didn't seem to matter that they had never met before and would probably never meet again.

The boy stood up and stretched, then dusted his jeans free from the collected snow. "I should maybe get going. It was nice meeting you."

"It was tolerable."

He laughed as he started walking away. As the clock chimed twelve, it reminded him of what he had yet to do. "Oh, there's one more thing." The unknown boy stopped and turned his head back, a smile forcing his eyes closed. "Happy birthday, sir."

Levi exhaled, the puffs of cold air curling around his face and fading into the falling snow. The boy was long gone by the time he muttered, "Merry Christmas brat."

A/N: For those of you who are still waiting for the rest of Canvas of Memories, I'm sorry that it hasn't been posted yet. I'm still working on it, I promise. I was actually going to have it done for Christmas, but then this *looks pointedly up at fic* happened. I've been spending the last few days writing and editing it instead.

For those of you who have no idea what Canvas of Memories is, take a look at the Christmas special I posted last year. I'm kind of shocked that this story didn't develop into actual Riren, but it just didn't feel right for the flow of this story. I actually came up with the last two paragraphs before anything else, (I've seriously had the words written here on a sticky note on my desk for about a week) so I knew from the beginning where I wanted this to end. I hope you all enjoyed it.