Ghostly Breath
Summary: A desolate bus stop. An unabated rain. The bus that is yet to come. On the first day of autumn, Eren met Levi. Riren. English translation by Catanna on AO3 with some changes and slightly different ending.
Tags: Levi x Eren. Blushing Eren everywhere. Eren the polite boy. Attempt at humor. Armin, master of misunderstanding. Jean is wearing embarrassing underwear. Light angst. Slight one-sided Jean x Eren. Check out this Ghostly Breath translation by Catanna.
Eren ran through the rain with his satchel as an umbrella, not really protected from the rain. He was already soaked to the bone. From a distance, he saw the usual bus stop, the only transportation to his house in the corner of the city. He doubled his speed and almost slipped on a puddle which flooded next to the stop. Sheltered under the roof of the bus stop, Eren put his satchel on a chair and tried to dry his drenched uniform, though he knew it won't do him any good. He then tried to dry his hair, grunting to the fact that his usually messy hair became tameable because of the heavy rain.
The brunette looked up at the rumbling cloudy sky. It seemed that it would be a long time for the rain to subside. The boy sighed and sat on the waiting chair when suddenly he felt a shiver ran down his spine. The brunette looked around and his heart sank as soon as he found a very pale man sitting quietly at his side. How come he was not aware of the man's existence considering he stood out like a sore thumb in that bus stop.
He was wearing a black leather jacket. Beneath the jacket, a plain v-neck white tee wrapped tightly around his body, showing those delectable hard muscles. His hands were folded across his chest. Eren wondered, wasn't the raven cold wearing such an outfit? Sure he looked really hot (Ha! Get it? No? Forget it then), but still, the leather jacket can't fully protect him from the cold. The man wore a pair of dark blue ripped jeans while he crossed his legs arrogantly. His shiny black leather shoes reflected the lightning that occasionally struck the cloudy sky. When he raised his eyes to examine the man's face, his clear ocean colored eyes was caught by a pair of blue-gray eyes. The colors are very similar to that of the dark stormy ocean, very contrast to his bright tropical ocean one.
For a moment, no one said anything. Eren was the first to take his eyes off of the man. However, when he tried to steal a glance to the side, he found the man was still looking at him as if he was a piece of art with a priceless beauty. The brunette's face flushed and he cursed himself to think something like that. The seventeen-year-old felt awkward.
"Levi."
The ocean eyes looked back at an emotionless face with confusion.
"My name is Levi Ackerman," he repeated more clearly.
Ah. As if he just solved a complicated puzzle, Eren's expression brightened. Although he didn't understand why the pale man suddenly introduced himself. Maybe he thought we would often meet at this stop? He thought while nodding his head in understanding. The boy extended his right hand to shake, smiling sweetly.
"My name is Eren Yeager. Nice to meet you, sir."
The man just stared at the boy's right hand with a flat face. The brunette tilted his head confused and tentatively laid his right hand back into his lap, squeezing it with his other hand. His cheeks heat up, embarrassed because it seemed the ravenette rejected his offer to shake hands. Eren was confused as to why the man‒ah, no, Levi‒acted like that. He remembered clearly that shaking hands are a common thing to do in an introduction, and he did the right thing.
Maybe he is an OCD or even suffering an automysophobia. That's why he is reluctant to shake hands with other people. Eren nodded to himself, trying to not be a narrow-minded bitch. He didn't like people who didn't want to look at other possibilities and judged based on their own perspective. So he was always looking at things from many different points of view to avoid misunderstandings. There wasn't only one possibility in life, right?
It was their last conversation. No one says anything afterward. Eren felt uncomfortable with the awkward silence, but he was also too scared to say something to the sinister-looking man. He finally chose to look around him and realized that there is a huge private hospital across the broad highway. After all this time he went to the bus stop, the brunette never once did acknowledge its existence.
Some time later, the long awaited bus finally decided to show up. Eren jumped happily. Quickly, the brunette snatched his satchel and stood at the edge of the bus stop. He turned toward Levi with his brightest (awkward) smile.
"Um ... Levi-san?"
"Just Levi," he said briefly.
"Ah ... um ... Levi, my bus is coming. When will yours come?" Eren asked politely, still with his cute awkward smile.
Levi looked at the boy intently. There was an unreadable expression on his face. A strange glint in his dark eyes made Eren feel something... unfamiliar. He wondered what it was. When the bus had stopped in front of the stop, Levi suddenly stood up.
"I also ride this bus, Brat," he said flatly.
Eren's smile faded slightly. It was replaced with an even more awkward expression and his face burned with embarrassment. Levi walked past the brunette and stopped right in front of the bus' door.
"What are you waiting for, kid? Let's go," he said, one step away from the door, giving a way for Eren to go in first like a gentleman. Eren quickly walked toward the bus and tried to hide his burning face. Tried was the keyword. He swore that he saw a mischievous grin spread across the usually flat face before he actually got into the bus.
But that was not what bothered him. What disturbed him was...
The man's feet never touch the ground.
(= RnR =)
