Title: Paradise in the Pumpkin Patch
Author: imaginary-witness
Pairings: Eruri, Miche X Hanji, Mikasa X Armin
Ratings: Teen/PG
Warnings: None
Genre: Alt. Universe, Holiday, Romance.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters in this story, living (or passed) human beings or fictional characters. These events never happened, according to history or as the original author intended them. This is a work of fiction and is not intended to offend. For entertainment purposes only. Thanks.
Author's Notes: Published a week late, but better late than never. Happy Halloween!
As always, constructive criticism is more than welcome! Reviews are always appreciated!
Thursday, October 15th:
The day appeared to drag on endlessly. The electric lights buzzed loudly above, while the humdrum noise of the printer spitting out pages and the clack of keyboards filled the air around the office. The whispered chatter of coworkers over the tall cubicle walls distorted what little silence could be found in the cramped news source station. Someone had had the decency to pull the plain white blinds to the ceiling, so golden autumn sunshine streamed through the dirty glass and provided a glow of warmth and optimism to the journalists finishing up their reports for the day.
Levi sat back in his office chair, feeling the soft, warm, black leather cushion his shoulder blades as he stretched his legs out under his desk. He was one of the fortunate workers here, having a cubicle along the south wall of the station, which gave him an interesting view of the city below. The window was a welcome distraction from work on hard days, and he enjoyed to pass time by making up stories about the people that he could see walking along the streets. Other days he enjoyed to observe the changes the new seasons would bring and ignore humanity altogether: rain and grey skies in the winter, bright green trees in the spring, and birds swooping through clear blue skies in the summer helped take his mind off all the disgusting crimes he had to report that fellow humans committed. The newer workers were less fortunate than him, though he didn't find the effort in him to care much. They had cubicles in the center of the office, which didn't favour them with any windows or views outside, and he often wondered how it was they survived a full day of reporting the news without feeling depressed from all the negativity. The only person he could understand remaining positive in the station was his colleague Petra, but he found it completely understandable since her job duties were to focus on celebrity gossip and animal welfare; though on occasion he felt good to see her heading to the woman's rest room with tears streaming down her cheeks. Curious as to why bubbly Petra was distraught he would sneak glances at her computer screen and was satisfied to discover that even her line of work had to cover stories that showcased the cruelty of humanity: barbaric and disgusting acts of violence towards animals that would often leave them disabled or dead.
The sunlight gushing in warmed his chair, his desk, and his hands as he worked, and he took the opportunity to turn his chair to face the window and feel the sun on his face when he had finished typing up his document. Today was another mediocre day; no stories on rape, murder, or assault, but another political scandal that had him calling City Hall all day and begging for an interview. His shift was slowly inching towards over and there was still no direct reply yet, despite his desk phone ringing off the hook all day for stories that were of less importance, so he took deep breaths as he felt the prickles of anxiety start to creep up his neck and along his back.
The one flaw with his job was that he hated taking it home with him, and tonight – because of the lack of response during the day – he was sure he would receive a call by an anonymous civil servant with information. These types of calls often happened between the hours of eleven and two at night, and resulted in him booting up his laptop, editing his article and resubmitting it before the four in the morning printers deadline so that news sources buying their articles would have the information tomorrow. After a draining night, he'd be forced to drag himself into work the next morning at his usual time, and more often than not he received no overtime pay for the cost of his struggles. This was the case last night, which left him feeling exhausted half an hour before his shift was over.
A high-pitched, and rather annoying, signal tone alerted him that he had received a new message on the office chat. He sighed and turned back to face his monitor, moving the word document out of his way so that he could see the chat he often ignored.
BOSSMAN: Ackerman, I need that acl prd before you go today.
Levi sighed, pushing and holding his choppy black hair off his face with his hands and puffing his cheeks as he exhaled. He took a deep breath before releasing his hair to fall in his face again as he replied;
ACKERMAN1: pr now.
He scowled, noticing the amount of screen-names that appeared under his message back to his boss. The chat box was always being monitored by the circle of coworkers he had come to call 'the vultures,' a group of snobs that took it upon themselves to appear as if they were the Hollywood caste of the office.
He glanced at the time in the bottom right corner of the screen, then dragged his word document back into focus. His article spanned three pages without pictures, and despite his desire to submit it without actually proofreading it, he knew it would cost him more than his job if he were to let an error go to the print houses.
His desk phone rang just as he was initiating his proofreading process: spell check, grammar check, and a final re-reading. Already annoyed with his work, Levi answered the call without checking the display, hoping that whoever was on the other end would provide him with a worthy distraction.
"Levi? Is this a bad time?"
Levi blinked, surprised to hear the chirpy voice of his friend Isabella on the line. "I-It's fine." he replied quickly, giving his head a shake. "But I need to finish proofreading a document before I clock out."
"Oh, that's good! Look, I was wondering if you wanted to meet up for dinner, maybe a drink, before heading home?" she replied easily.
"You've just been in a restaurant all day." Levi mumbled, "Are you sure you want to go out to another?"
"It would be nice for me to be the one served for once." Isabella shot back. "Besides, I know you're just avoiding going out since your break up. But you need to get back out there and have fun. Locking yourself up in a home-work schedule isn't healthy for you."
Levi sighed. He knew Isabella would bring up his failed relationship as soon as he heard her voice on the line. He bit his lower lip, feeling tears prick at his eyes, then the familiar bubble of anger that drove him to being defensive.
"Bella-" he began, intending to cut her off.
"No!" She suddenly shouted, catching him off guard. Her voice was firm and authorities, and it surprised him to hear her usually childish voice grow so protectively maternal. There was a short pause where they both held their breath, then she continued in a soothing voice, as if she were trying to comfort him. "Levi, you can't do this to yourself anymore. It didn't- it didn't work out and you can't blaming yourself for that."
Levi sighed heavily. He opened his mouth to reply but then closed it and stayed silent.
"Come on. It's just dinner at a restaurant with your friend."
"I-" Levi sighed again, "I just don't want to talk about it."
"Fine. That's fair. We won't talk about it if you don't want to. But we're going out tonight. And we're going to keep going out regularly. You can't become a shut-in just because it didn't work."
"It was...a long time, Bella." Levi mumbled, feeling frustrated that the topic didn't appear to be ceasing anytime soon. "We were engaged."
"For two years, I know Levi." Isabella replied, attempting to keep her voice firm but also understanding. "I know you're hurt. But you don't have to get back in the dating scene yet. You can take your time with that. But you can't just ignore the world. People care about, I care about you. You can't just keep pushing friends away."
Levi sighed. "I'll meet you tonight. But please, no more. I...I know I stopped being...fun." he mumbled, rolling his eyes as he spoke and finding an amused smile gracing his lips. "I'll try harder. I promise."
Isabella heaved a sigh of relief, clueing Levi into how anxious she had been to make the call in the first place. "Thanks Levi." she replied, "I appreciate it."
"Yea-up." Levi replied, before putting the phone down. He realized he had forgotten to ask where it was they were meeting, and for a moment debating calling her back, but decided to text her instead. He glanced towards the door of his cubicle, then proceeded to pull his cell phone out of his top desk drawer and punch in a quick message. He put the phone on the desktop beside his keyboard, squared his shoulders, and set his gaze on the word document before him. His chatbox made another alert sound, which he chose to ignore along with the rest of the world, as he settled into the final proofreading of his article.
The sun was still hanging lazily in the sky as he walked out of his workplace. Despite its presence, a cool air had descended on the city, so he wrapped his tan cashmere coat tightly around his body, keeping the belt loosely snug around his waist, and slung his hickory-brown leather bag across his chest. He paused several paces away from the entrance to adjust his houndstooth scarf against his neck, then shoved his hands into his pockets and headed to the curbside to wait for the taxi he had called before he left his desk. Latitude 43, the restaurant Isabella had picked out, was a half-hour walk away, and in this chill Levi would rather just pay the fare and make the trip as short as possible.
The taxi rolled up two minute later and he climbed in the backseat, grateful that the driver had the heat turned up.
"Is it cold out there?" The man asked, noting Levi sigh with relief as he settled in the back.
"It's getting chilly." Levi replied, flashing the man a smile. "Uh, Latitude 43. If you could, take the Veterans Memorial bridge."
The driver nodded, then proceeded to pull away from the curbside. "You like the scenery?" he asked, glancing at Levi in his rearview mirror.
Levi nodded, his profile only visible to the man as he continued gazing out the window. "It's relaxing." he replied, hoping the man would stop trying to make small talk with him. He hated to admit that he enjoyed the scene of the rail-train bridge that ran alongside the one for vehicles. It was often empty, with a section of it turned perpendicular to allow mariners to sail through the openings they created, but sometimes he was lucky to catch a train passing by, and the train would take his mind off the things he didn't want to focus on: criminal stories from work or regrets that he let pollute his mind.
Today he wasn't lucky. The small section of the rail-bridge was perpendicular, so no trains would be crossing over it anytime soon. The drive to the restaurant was ten minutes but he was glad for the short distractions it provided him. They drove through mainly quiet residential streets that had Levi questioning the construction of the city; there didn't appear to be any specific layout, with the houses interrupted on occasion by a small corner store or a box-style building designed to be an office. He could describe the entire city as very vintage, but he supposed that was because it was old, being founded sometime in the eighteen-thirties. Bay City, Michigan. He shook his head at the name and rolled his eyes at himself. He was originally born in Flint, halfway between Bay City and Detroit, but after completing journalism school in the city of Ann Arbour, he headed to Bay City and got a job with the city's major newspaper, The Bay City Times. From there life had gone on for the last six years, mundane but content without ever having left the state, then it all seemingly ended rather roughly eight months ago.
Levi's sharply inhaled, glancing down at his hands as he pulled at the hangnails on his left index finger. He was getting close to the things he shouldn't think about, and now he was beginning to panic because he wasn't sure how to derail his mind from this train of thoughts. Luckily for him the taxi slowed and then turned left into the parking lot of a quaint looking brick building.
"Latitude 43," the taxi driver announced, "That will be ten-thirty."
Levi nodded, then reached into his bag for the zip-lock bag he kept his money in. He produced a ten and a five, and despite mentally kicking himself for appearing cheap, he waited for the taxi driver to hand him his change before getting out. He didn't have the means to give the man a four dollar tip when he knew he would have to tip the serve inside as well, and he was already hating having to meet Isabella for dinner regardless of if he was finding it hard to cut costs recently, since he knew seeing her more often than he did lately would increase his spending.
He spotted Isabella's red Toyota Corolla in the lot, so he headed inside the restaurant rather than debating entering alone outside. She waved at him from a table near the window, and he motioned to the greeter that he was heading over to her.
"It's so good to see you again!" She gushed as soon as he approached her, then stood up and grabbed him by both wrists and pulled him in to kiss both his cheeks. "Gosh, you're frozen!" she chirped, "Thank you for coming!"
Levi sighed, already feeling his lips pull into a fond smile. "Thanks for forcing me to." he mumbled, then followed her lead and sat at the table opposite her.
"I had to. It's been too long. It's a breakup, not a funeral. You owe it to yourself to get over it."
Levi didn't reply to her words and instead choice to pick up the drink menu and begin to flip through it. Isabella realized her mistake and tried a different approach to start a conversation.
"I hope you don't mind, I already ordered us an appetizer."
"Fried calamari?" Levi asked, surprised by the excitement in his voice.
"How'd you know?" Isabella teased. "Yes, you're favorite."
Levi blushed. "Thanks Bella." He mumbled, beginning to feel guilty for neglecting her recently. He settled on ordering a green-tea based Sedona for a drink, then thumbed through the menu to find his entree.
A waitress approached them with their appetizer.
"We're ready to order." Isabella informed her, glancing at Levi to make sure he was alright with the idea.
"Yeah," Levi agreed, then rushed to go first. "I'll have the Latitude chicken with roasted potatoes. And can I get a Sedona on the side."
"I'm gonna need to see two pieces of ID." the server smiled at him.
Levi blushed, then reached into his bag. "Here." He replied, handing her his medical card and work ID. He tried to keep the zip-lock bag under the table so Isabella wouldn't see, but he could feel her green eyes scan through the tabletop at the plastic in his hands.
"And you?" the waitress turned to Isabella.
"The butternut squash ravioli for me, please." She replied, all sweet smiles for the waitress.
"Another Mediterranean Mule?" The waitress asked, motioning to the half-empty drink in front of Isabella.
"Not now, thanks."
"Alright then. This'll be about fifteen minutes." The girl took their menus, then headed towards the kitchen to deposit their orders.
Isabella rolled her eyes and released her breath in a frustrated sigh the minute the waitress was gone. "Let me see that." she commanded, "Your wallet, let me see your wallet."
Levi bit his lower lip, debating how much of a scene she would make in the restaurant if he denied her. He recalled she took after him with her temper, so he knew his odds weren't good, and surrendered, offering her the sandwich bag.
"A plastic bag?" she questioned him, as if what she was having a hard time believing what she was seeing. "A plastic bag? Really, Levi?"
Levi squirmed, uncomfortable in his seat. He quickly put the bag inside his leather bag so that other diners nearby them wouldn't get interested in eavesdropping.
"I know how bad it looks." Levi replied, hoping that he could steer the conversation into safer waters, "But I've been meaning to replace it."
"When?" Isabella asked directly.
"Bella, please." Levi countered, letting honest emotion of sorrow and hurt fill his voice, "I just, I need time, Bella. Please. Furlan bought me my last wallet. I just...I want to find myself again in this mess. I want to buy a new wallet that I'm gonna love, not just because I need to."
"Levi, that's the thing." Isabella replied, her tone sharp but full of concern. "You can't fall in love with a wallet. Don't you see? You're just trying to find other things to 'fall in love' with because you're trying to get over Furlan."
Levi frowned and the pair fell silent as the bartender approached, placing his Sedona in front of him. Levi took a sip as the bartender retreated, using his drink to avoid speaking to her.
"I know you're having a hard time getting over it, but it's been eight months, Levi. You're going to have to talk about it eventually. And the last thing you're gonna want to do is talk about it to a new date. You need to let go of Furlan."
Levi sighed again, then licked his lips. "You said we didn't have to talk about it." he protested weakly.
"It just isn't seeming to go away." Isabella replied.
Levi was silent for another minute, then took another sip of his drink. "Okay." He began, "Okay. I agree. Let's talk about it."
"Okay." Isabella replied, watching Levi for a moment with her sharp, green eyes and gauging if he really was capable of talking about it. "What even happened, Levi?"
"He dumped me." Levi replied easily, finding it easy to say the words in a sentence together now. He took another drink of Sedona, then realized he was beginning to rely on the alcohol to numb the pain of the breakup and put the glass back down on the table. "He came over one night, I had cooked us some spaghetti for dinner and planned a romantic night in because it was Valentine's day. He ate dinner, seemed stressed and kept being distant. When I asked him what was wrong he told me that he had something to tell me."
The whole scene seemed to replay in Levi's mind as he spoke:
The candles had barely burned by the time Furlan had finished eating his dinner and sat with his hands folded in his lap, not looking at Levi.
Levi noticed Furlan's unusually quiet demeanor and avoidance-seeking body language and paused in raising his fork to his own mouth. "Is something wrong?" he asked, beginning to feel as though he was sounding overbearing since he had already asked that same question three times before.
Furlan squirmed in his seat, clearly uncomfortable.
"Is it something with work?" Levi asked, but as soon as the words passed his lips he knew it was something much more serious than work. Furlan wouldn't have reacted this way if it was something as trivial as work. "Furlan?" he asked, "Is anyone hurt?"
Furlan shook his head, then mumbled something so low Levi couldn't make out what it was he said.
"I'm sorry, I- I didn't catch that." Levi replied, "What did you say?"
"Not yet." Furlan replied, then slowly he raised his face to meet Levi's gaze. "Levi." he gasped, saying his name softly.
Levi instinctively reached out and wrapped his fingers around Furlan's wrist, hoping the gesture would comfort Furlan more than his words or presence seemed to be doing at the moment.
To his surprise, Furlan pulled his arm out of Levi's grasp and stood up. He exhaled heavily, looking outside at the windows, then met Levi's eyes again. His own bright blue eyes were hard and cold, like slabs of ice, and empty of all emotion. "I can't do this anymore." he stated.
"What?" Levi gasped. He began to piece together Furlan's words and his actions, but his mind seemed determined to find a different reason; it wasn't what it appeared to be.
"Us!" Furlan stressed the word, "I can't do us anymore, Levi."
"Furlan, I don't understand." Levi began, beginning to feel anxious from the suddenness of the breakup. Up until this point things had been fine, and he began to rush through his recent memories of them, searching for signs of failings.
"I'm breaking up with you." Furlan stated, not understanding what it was Levi was asking. "I...I found a woman, and I want to pursue a family with her. So you and I...we're no longer a thing. In fact, it's better if we just say we never were a couple. We were...we were just friends."
Levi felt as if he had been punched in the gut. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to think through the pain. Furlan...wanted a family? He was going to treat Levi as if they had never dated? Levi bit his lower lip, trying to process what it was Furlan was telling him. Everything he said contradicted the Furlan he had known and dated for the last four years. His head began to hurt with the inability to understand. He heard Furlan's footsteps as he began to head to the door and got up, following him from a safe distance back to ask him the only question that seemed to matter to him in the moment.
"Where did we...go wrong?" Levi asked.
Furlan turned at the door, having slipped his feet into his shoes and was reaching for the door handle when Levi spoke. He shrugged, giving Levi a sympathetic look, then sighed. "We just didn't work, Levi." he replied, "Thanks for dinner."
Levi stayed frozen to the spot even after Furlan had stepped out and closed the door behind himself. He heard his car start, the engine turn over, then the vehicle back out of his side of the driveway. He felt the sun descend behind him in the window, then the chill and darkness of the night. When he realized the candles had burned low and were nearly extinguished, he began to clean up. He through the entire dinner into the garbage, along with the remains of the candles and the gift of a new camera for Furlan in the garbage.
The next day he dug the gift box out of the trash and tore it open to rescue the camera inside. He would return it and at least get his money back, since he wouldn't be able to get back his time.
"That's when I realized I was wearing his engagement ring." Levi mumbled. "I called my boss, requested a day off. Headed to the mall with the camera and ring, and returned them both. Got my money back in full for the camera, got half back for the ring." Levi sighed, "And I figured it was over, that...that we just didn't work out, like he said. I wanted to trust him, even at the end, but-" Levi stopped and shook his head.
"But what, Levi?" Isabella asked, her voice full of shock and disbelief.
"But on my way home, I had a change of heart. His attitude, the way he said everything, it bothered me. The fact that he said he wanted to pursue a family with this woman...he told me so many times before he didn't want kids. I asked him before he asked me to marry him if he would want kids and he always said no. So I told the taxi driver to take me to his house. I knew he wouldn't be home because he'd be at work. But as it happened, I just managed to catch him leaving."
Isabella inhaled sharply, leaning back in her seat after realizing she had been leaning forwards, hanging onto every last one of Levi's words.
"I'm sorry." the waitress interrupted them, placing down a dish in front of Levi. "Your Latitude 43 Chicken." she stated, "And here's your ravioli. Now, do we need any drink refills?"
"Please," Isabella replied. "Can you just bring two more of each?"
The waitress gave Isabella a weak smile, taken aback by her request, then nodded and left their table again.
"Go on." Isabella prompted Levi.
"So, he was heading down the steps of his place, so I told the taxi to pull up to the curb. And he did. Furlan was distracted, he was on his cell phone, and he hung just before he got in his car. Then he backed out of his driveway, all smiles, and began driving east. I told the taxi to follow him, and we drove for about twenty minutes before we pulled up at the curb of this large townhouse. This lady ran out and Furlan rushed over and threw his arms around her and kissed her, and placed his hands on her stomach."
Isabella's intake of breath expressed her understanding of what Levi was telling her.
"I thought it was a one-off thing. So I took down the address and I've check back every so often. She's gotten bigger...but I haven't seen a baby yet. I still haven't come up with a good cover story."
"'Cover story?'" Isabella repeated, "What for?"
"I just want to talk to her...just once." Levi mumbled, "Find out the name of the kid. Find out how long they've been together. Clearly he didn't just impregnate some woman days before dumping me. He was cheating on me this whole time, and I had no idea."
Isabella frowned, then reached out took Levi's hand. "Just let it go, Levi." she mumbled, "You can't keep trying to fit yourself in his life anymore. It doesn't matter how long he's been with her-"
"I just want to know if our whole relationship was fake to him." Levi mumbled.
"It may as well have been. Levi, you deserve better. Whether you were the affair or she was the affair, does it really matter now that you're the one left behind?"
Levi nodded, taking his first bite of the chicken. He took the moment eating to turn Isabella's question over and over in his mind. Did it matter? He was the one left behind in the end anyway. So why would it matter if he was the first of the second? He was still the last.
"You're right." he mumbled, suddenly feeling as if a great weight had been lifted off him. "You're right, Isabella. It doesn't matter at all."
Isabella paused in lifting a fork of ravioli to her lips, then smiled at him. "Exactly, Levi. He doesn't matter."
With the ugliness of Furlan discussed and left behind them, the pair enjoyed their dinner together talking about their work places and families. Isabella's parents had called her every week, and she had gone out with two of the other waitresses she worked with at Lucky's Steak House to fill the void Levi had left in her life when he disappeared.
"It was awful." she replied, wrinkling up her nose as she spoke about it, "They just didn't understand my humour. And all they wanted to talk about was their boyfriends and their makeup routines."
"Sounds awful." Levi commented, knowing Isabella would have hated it. "You're much better suited in my company."
Isabella beamed at his comment. "I know I am." She replied, "So you'd better not desert me like that again."
"I'll try not to." Levi replied, "But I guess you're right: I should have talked to you about it sooner."
Isabella smirked and raised her glass in an I-told-you-so kind of way, before taking a sip.
"What are you doing for Halloween?" She asked suddenly, as if she realized it was October.
"I'm probably taking the kids trick-or-treating." Levi replied, "If they're not too old to go still."
Isabella nodded. "Can I come?"
"You always come." Levi replied teasingly. "Why'd you ask about Halloween?"
"Because I wasn't sure if you were avoiding your cousin too."
Levi rolled his eyes. "No, you know he wouldn't let me do that. I managed to get out of seeing him as often by saying I was busy with that political scandal reporting the last few months, you know how election coverage makes the press run non-stop."
"I see. The kids must miss you though."
Levi frowned. "I guess so. Eren called me from time to time."
"But?" Isabella pushed, sensing Levi hadn't finished his original sentence.
"But I denied seeing him. I just...they're in Detroit, Isabella. I hate having to drive all the way out there just for a day."
"Well, they could've come for a weekend or something." she replied, pushing her empty plate towards the center of the table.
"Yeah, I guess so." he replied, "But I doubted my ability to be entertaining to them then."
Isabella laughed. "I agree on that." She finished her second drink, then flagged the waitress over to remove her plate. "What desserts do you have?" she asked.
Friday, October 23rd:
The first days of October had flown by faster than anyone had anticipated them to, and now that the month was finally beginning to come to a close, it was hard to believe time wasn't slowing down. The office had been loud all day, with the clatter of printers spitting out infinite pages, the constant clicking of keyboards filling the air around the office, and the endless chatter of coworkers scattered throughout the halls, through office doorways, or clumped up around the water cooler. Despite being cleaned by the janitors every night, the office space was constantly in disarray by mid-morning, with assigned folders ended up delivered to the wrong worker and phone lines creating a torrent of memos that mostly ended up forgotten about in the long run. The only detail in the office that kept the workers calm and relaxed was the golden autumn sunshine streamed through the windows and provided a glow of warmth and optimism to the lobbyists finishing up their campaign tasks for the day.
Erwin sat back in his office chair, stacking his hands behind his head and stretching his long legs out under his desk. He was surprised that he was even in the office today, having been visiting around the city the last ten days and checking in with all the locals, trying to gain as much information about their concerns as he could. The last municipal elect that ran Bay City had crossed many of the locals desires and pushed the city in a direction that had hindered more than helped local businesses. With many once-stable jobs facing budget and staff cuts, it was hard to imagine the city would vote him back into office – and that was before the press began to expose scandals dating back two years ago.
Erwin bit into a chocolate-coated granola bar as he ran the stories through his mind again. What started off as taking an election bribe snowballed faster than imaginable into a full scandal with drugs, gangs, and sex affairs. Figuring one bribe hadn't hurt him, Keith Shadis had started out by accepting drug money for political and police bribes from drug gangs. This eventually led to heavy alcoholism, which was made worse by experimenting with street drugs. After several media-covered public episodes, the press got word of the connection to street drugs, leading to in-and-out visits to rehab centers, and finally the exposure of a lengthy record of purchasing escort services that was shared with the next in-line running mate for the party. These scandals recently being released to the public, in conjunction with the only other party running being unorganized, left Erwin feeling rather confident in the fact that his party was going to win the November election.
The only thing that soured the fact that his first year as the party-leader would result in winning was that the other parties weren't any competition. While it thrilled him that they would definitely win, it was a blow to his ego that he was going to coast to the win on the basis that the other two leaders were incompetent fools that had really given the public no other option. Erwin had gone into politics to make a positive change in society, but he wanted the change to be welcomed and wanted, not just taken because there was no other option.
The sunlight gushing in through the window reminded him of the simplicity of the world, and he sighed in content. Bay City was cold, being nestled in the bottom of Lake Huron, and so something as simple as the warmed of the sun on his back, his neck, and his hands made him feel alive despite the winds picking up outside. Today was a rare mediocre day; no driving around the city, no having to speak to the locals or visit the major industries sites. Instead he had worked on his campaign promises and gone over the few speeches that he would be giving the next week before the election; taking place the first week of November. He hadn't been elected yet, but Erwin was already feeling the pressure of becoming mayor. The first thing he would tackle was the budget for his city and the amount of money he could allot for struggling businesses, especially after his predecessor. The next few years were looking rough, and he was determined that people in his city wouldn't be facing the same financial crisis's that were being felt all over the state.
That was the only dislike he had about working in politics: having to clean up the messes that other incompetent people who foolishly called themselves 'leaders' created, and this year – because of the lack of proper leadership for the last term – he was sure he would be expected to clean up a lot of the messes that he was left in inherit. These types of messes often gave him fuel to gain the public support and easily win the election, but it also left him putting his own ideas for city development and expansion on hold. After what was to be a rather tiresome first year in which he'd be forced to drag himself into work to fulfill his promises to make the city a much more inhabitable location, he mightbe granted the joys of working towards the changes he wanted to see happen for Bay City. This was his short-term motivation, but it was the long-term goal that kept him pushing himself to strive for more: municipal was only a stepping stone in his goals to correct the mistakes past leaders had made. Ambitious and determined, Erwin had plans to take on the state, and finally the country eventually. He had a smart team of close friends that he was fortunate to work with, and he was sure with enough chances to prove himself he would be able to tackle politically anything thrown at him.
A sharp rap of knuckles against his door frame woke him out of his usual daydream of running the country from the Oval Office. He sighed and opened his sea-blue eyes, not at all surprised to find his closest friend, Miche, taking up the entire doorway.
"I'm just wondering if you made plans for dinner tonight?" Miche asked. He rubbed the stubble on his chin as he spoke, letting the soft scratchy sound add to the gruffness of his low voice.
"I was thinking about it." Erwin replied lazily, giving Miche a winning smile. "I'm not sure I want to go out though, Miche. I was enjoying being out of the limelight for a while. Who knows when I'll be able to enjoy it again, since we all know that the win would mean we'd be under a lot of pressure to turn this city around."
Miche smirked, softly snorting at Erwin's comment. "That's true. I was just wondering if you'd like to stop for drinks at the bar." he offered.
"I'd rather we just take them back to your place." Erwin mumbled, rubbing his eyes to keep from having to look at Miche. "That bartender chewed me a new ear when I last visited; all the things he wants improved and all the tax cuts he thinks would help out the middle-class. I get what they're saying but when I go in for a drink, I just want a drink."
Miche nodded. "That sounds fun. I was going to have Hanji come home with me though, I gave her a ride in to work this morning."
"Why don't you two just move in together?" Erwin asked, cutting him off. He didn't mean to sound annoyed with his friend, on the contrary he was happy that his relationship with his now-steady girlfriend was flourishing, but it had become second nature for him to become defensive around the topic of dates; the last date he had had been several years ago in college and ended up with a drink thrown in his face for pursuing his political career over their rather flat relationship. He shook himself out of the memory in time to catch what it was Miche was saying,
"-have been great. I think it's just gonna take us some more time to get used to each other being around a lot more. You know how working with someone is often a no-no for dating them. We're just gonna see how it is driving in and out of work together for a while, then maybe having dinners together. Once we get that over with then it's a matter of if we're ready for that big jump."
"It's a lot of commitment." Erwin grumbled, hoping Miche would drop the subject before it came around to him.
"I think I'm ready for it with her. I really do, Erwin." Miche stated matter-of-factly.
"I'm glad then." Erwin replied, offering his friend a genuine smile. They seemed to be treading in easy waters.
"What about you?"
Erwin's smile suddenly felt frozen to his face. He knew this was the way the conversation would turn. "That's not really-"
"C'mon, Erwin. You know you can't just keeping using work as an excuse to stay single."
"You just said dating a colleague is a no-no." Erwin teased, beating around the subject and turning the attention back to Miche.
"But I am dating my colleague so that's a bit of a moot point, Erwin." Miche easily replied. He kicked off the door frame and came to sit in the chair in front of Erwin's desk. "I think you should open yourself up to the dating scene a bit. You'll thank me for it later when you're old and grey and not all alone."
Erwin chuckled, grateful that Miche wasn't digging into the subject too hard this time around. Perhaps Hanji really was a good influence on him? "Why don't we just focus on the election, and then adjust to being in office, and then you can badger me all you'd like about the dating world? Hmm?" Erwin teased.
"That sounds like a deal." Miche replied, "But I do have a simple request about having a fun time later."
"No dates?" Erwin asked, raising one of his bushy eyebrows and biting his lower lip. He knew Miche was planning a fun celebration for them before the election, and despite his desires for the campaign to go well, he did want to celebrate one more time as a regular civilian rather than an elected politician.
"No dates." Miche promised him, flashing him a grin under his bushy mustache. "I'll tell you about it when you come by for drinks tonight. It will take some preparation on your part."
Erwin sighed, his shoulders sagging for a moment, before he straightened his back and flashed Miche a big grin. "Alright. I'll be by around seven." he informed him, then turned back to face his monitor so that Miche would understand he had work to get back to doing. He clicked his mouse on a few word documents for show, but all the desk work he had needed doing was already sent off to his secretary for finalizing, so he waited until Miche had stood and left before opening up his web browser. He found himself entering the keywords 'homosexual,' 'dating,' 'sites,' into his search engine and clicked on the first one that came up.
"I am a man, searching for a man. Preferably five foot five, slender, dark haired." he mumbled, reading the words and his choice of options out loud in a gruff whisper to himself as he began to fill out the profile. "Blonde. Loves cats. Favorite food is spaghetti."
He scrolled up and reread through the entire profile application he had filled out, then moved his mouse over the little pink rectangle titled 'Sign Up.' He bit his lower lip, glanced at the time in the bottom right hand side of his screen, debated what the Bay City Times would say about their future mayor looking for love on grindr, then moved the mouse to click the red 'X' in the top right hand corner of the web browser. "If it's going to happen at all, it's going to happen on its own." He mumbled angrily, mentally kicking himself that Miche's conversation about dating always made him aware of the loneliness he felt from being single for so long.
Erwin sighed and fluffed his coat collar as he waited for Miche to open his front door. From the volume of chatter inside he could already suspect that it was going to be anything but a quiet evening in.
"Hey!" He grinned and greeted Miche the minute the door sprung open, "I brought a case. I wasn't aware there was going to be such a gathering!"
"Shh! Shh!" Miche hushed him, a finger jumping to his lips. He shook his dirty-blonde bangs out of his face and stepped outside, pulling the door closed behind him. "Hey, Erwin, man. I'm sorry about this. I didn't plan it. Hanji told one person and they told another and, god, it's hell in there right now."
Erwin smirked, "You must be annoyed you're quiet evening is ruined." He teased.
"Well, it's just this once. Hanji knows how I like my evenings." Miche replied in a mumble, toeing the porch deck with his sock-clad toes and the point of his grey flip-flop sole.
"Mmh." Erwin replied, unsure of what else to say.
"I wanted to ask you before we go in, I mean we'll duck into the man-cave and avoid the commotion, but Halloween, what's your plan for Halloween?"
The question caught Erwin off guard and he found himself pulling a face; his eyebrows pinched together and he frowned despite feeling a trickle of excitement run down his spine - a feeling of youth he hadn't felt in a long time.
"Oh, I don't know, Miche." He began, "Shouldn't I be seen handing out candies or something for kids? I bet the citizens would love that-"
"Just stop with the politics for this one time, please, Erwin!" Miche hissed in a whisper, then glanced at the door. "I want to surprise Hanji taking her out to this party. And I want to enjoy some time as a friend with you! It's been so long since just were normal citizens in society, and not having to worry about being the leaders of this whole collection of humans. Think about it, just a simple, fun, party where we don't have to greet anyone, or talk about politics or the state of the government; it's not in town and it's a costume party, so no one would recognize us from the campaign! Just dance, and drink, and enjoy each other's company."
Erwin bit his lower lip. Miche's invitation was tempting. "It would be nice to just be citizens again." He mumbled, appreciating the thought of having an evening to enjoy without the tabloids spinning stories the next day. "But what will we say if we were asked how we spent Halloween?" He asked, suddenly nervous. "I don't want to have the tabloids spin stories so close to the election."
"Here's what we'll do." Miche began, throwing an arm around Erwin's shoulders and turning to guide them into the small, single-story home and into the kitchen. "We'll hand out some candy at city hall around six o'clock, wave to the parents, hang around and promote our party. By eight o'clock, we announce we're heading to our homes to retire for the night - same as the parents - and then we go to the party."
"We'll make it in time?" Erwin asked. "What time does it start?"
"Nine." Miche replied easily, cracking open two bottles from the case Erwin had brought. "But it takes two hours to get there, so if we leave at eight, come back here, dress up, head out by say eight-thirty-"
"We'll reach by ten, ten-thirty." Erwin finished.
"Yeah. We head back around one, be home by three. The next day is Sunday, no one will be looking for you then."
Erwin grinned, "That...actually doesn't sound so bad!" He replied. "You're right. Everyone will be having a lazy Sunday. And I can always say I woke up and hit the gym."
"Exactly. You seem like the type of guy to lift weights to burn off candy-calories anyways." Miche grinned, turning to smile at Hanji as she came into the kitchen to grab the open bottle of red wine on the counter. He waited for her to leave, then reached out and touched their bottles together with a clink! "It's gonna be good, Erwin! We're gonna have so much fun!"
Saturday, Oct. 31st:
Levi groaned and rolled over, stretching out on his twin-sized bed as he slowly regained consciousness from sleeping. He knew he overslept, having hit the snooze button on his alarm clock a long time ago, but he was exhausted after having another late night caller that insisted they wanted to keep their identity secret to report more drug use and escort hires - this time purchased with taxpayer dollars - to the tabloids. He had entered bed around three in the morning, collapsed into an empty sleep, then awoke to the sound of his alarm clock and rain hitting the window glass. He fell asleep again, had a nightmare of being fired from his job for having been unable to answer the immeasurable amounts of phones that cluttered the surface of his desk, then jolted awake and ease back into a relaxed state of being as he became aware of the warm nest of blankets he had snuggled himself into.
Finally prying his eyes open, he turned to glance at the alarm clock on the bedside table, then jumped up and flew towards his desk to grab his cell phone.
"No!" He gasped, reading that he had missed fourteen calls, then hit redial and headed towards the kitchen to boil water for some tea.
"About time!" His cousin-in-Law chirped. "We'd almost given up on you!"
"Uncle Levi!" He heard his nephew exclaim in the background.
"I overslept!" He explained, "But I just got up and I'm getting ready now. I'll head out in fifteen minutes and be there to pick them up in about an hour!"
"They've been waiting for two!" He could hear her rolling her eyes at him even though he couldn't see her.
"Tell then I'll make it up to them. I'll buy them dinner or something." He replied easily, already back in the bedroom and rolling up a pair of Baby blue pajama pants to throw into a backpack.
"A movie!" He heard Eren cry instead, "Take us to the movies tomorrow!"
"A movie! Fine!" Levi replied, cutting his cousin-in-Law off as he blindly accepted Eren's request. "I'll take them to the movies before I leave tomorrow."
Levi could hear her giggle behind her hand, and the sound immediately made him relax; it was the sound that let him know all was forgiven and he wouldn't be in trouble with him family for sleeping in late.
"Alright. A movie then," she replied, still chuckling at him.
"I'm sorry for the wait. I thought I would only sleep another hour, but I guess I was just exhausted from all the late-night calls."
"Is work really that bad?" She asked, the childish air in her voice gone and replaced with a more adult-conversation tone.
"It is." Levi mumbled, throwing in several t-shirts and a handful of his boxers in the bag. "And I'm so close to being able to publish front page stories now too-"
A double beep close his ear had him stop mid-sentence and pull his phone away from his ear to glance at the screen.
"Shit. Look my battery is nearly dead. I'll call you when I leave." He replied, then immediately hung up. After a moment's hesitation he punched in Isabella's number and hit call.
"You slept in?" She greeted him immediately, catching him on the first ring.
"Yes. How'd you-"
"I assumed so. I've been ready and waiting for the last hour."
"Head over. I'm gonna jump in the shower but I'll the door unlocked for you."
"Sounds good." She replies, amusement in her voice as she listened to Levi give out orders while still managing to sound overwhelmed himself. "I'll be over in twenty minutes."
"We'll leave right away then." He replied, "I told them one hour."
Isabella laughed, "Hurry up then," she teased him, then added in a knowing voice, "And charge your phone!"
The shower was nowhere as warm or as long as he wanted it to be, but he had little choice in the matter. Immediately after getting out, he pat himself dry then pulled on a pair of ripped black jeans and a black long sleeve t-shirt, before applying a generous layer of black eyeliner to his narrow grey eyes and drying his hair with the cordless hair dryer Isabella had bought for him last Christmas.
"Godsend." He mumbled to himself about her before rushing back to the bedroom to add his toothbrush to his backpack. He threw a cheap black cape around his neck and grabbed his phone and charger off the table, before throwing the cable into his backpack and slinging the bag over one shoulder.
"Phone, charger, clothing, toothbrush, gifts," he ticked each item off the mental list he had for necessities to stay over at his cousin's house for the weekend. He felt like he was forgetting something, but nothing of importance came to mind, so he rushed to the kitchen and began to fill his travelling cup with boiled water and an Earl Grey teabag. "Wallet!" He recalled, heading back to the bedroom and rummaging around in his work bag for his wallet and keys. He threw the items in the small pouch on the front of his backpack, but the feeling of forgetfulness didn't ease.
"Anything else Bella will probably bring." He mumbled, before turning off the bedroom light, grabbing his tea from the counter, and heading towards the front door. He paused for a moment to check that he had turned off the stove, the electrical appliances for the kitchen were all unplugged from their wall sockets, and then turned the kitchen light off as well.
Bella's red Corolla was in the driveway when he pulled the front door open, and he waved at her as he turned around to pull the front door closed.
"It's alright! We'll make it on time!" She laughed from the driver's seat, watching him lock the front door then race to her car.
"I can't be late! Is your car able to make it in an hour?" He teased, throwing his backpack into the backseat and climbing into her car. "I already owe them a movie before we leave." He admitted, watching her howl with amusement as she turned the key and put the car into drive.
"My car is just fine for her age, thank you very much!" She retorted defensively when she could finally speak around her laughter, "And what movie? It better not be that new alien one."
The drive from Bay City to Detroit felt longer than it was. Worried that he would be late to pick up his niece and nephew for their Halloween adventures, Levi anxiously continued texting their mother every ten minutes, keeping her up to date on the traffic conditions and how far away they were. The one-hundred-sixteen mile journey taken straight down the I-75 South was never an hour long; it was considered lucky if it was only two, but it was a road trip Levi and Isabella had grown quite accustomed to.
"Do you think we'll make it before six?" Levi asked for what seemed the hundredth time in the last hour.
"Traffic's looking good." Isabella replied, repeating her answer to him again.
"But do you think-"
"Levi!" she snapped. "I know you're worried about sleeping-in, but it's only quarter to four. We have two more hours before it's even six. If this road condition continues, we'll be in Detroit before five."
Levi shuffled his feet and squirmed in his seat. "So, do we have time for a quick stop?" He asked.
"I'm already ahead of you." Isabella grinned, "There's some cookies and chips in the glove-box."
"Chips?" Levi asked, confused about the lack of proper food.
"It'll keep you until dinner." Isabella explained.
Levi popped open the glove compartment and pulled out one of the snack-size bags flavoured with sea-salt. "Thanks Bella." He replied, content with her reasoning, before sitting back in his seat and resting his feet up on the dashboard. He tore open the top of the bag and began to eat chips one at a time, wondering about what it was that he wanted to eat for dinner.
"Are you open to pizza?" Bella asked, breaking his thoughts.
Levi frowned. "I planned to work out today." he mumbled, as if not doing so had ruined his ability to eat pizza. "I didn't have time to, so I'm a little bummed out for fast food."
Isabella risked giving Levi a puzzled look. "You just asked if we could stop for food and now you're telling me no fast food?" She rolled her bright green eyes, "Please, Levi. A slice of pizza won't hurt you – you're already so slender, it's a wonder you have such glorious abs as it is!"
Levi chuckled, fishing in the foil bag for more chips. "Thanks Bella." He mumbled, "I know it won't, but it's all about habit, right?"
"Work out after." She grumbled in a mockingly jealous tone of voice. "Although, I'm sure any sane person would tell you you wouldn't have to worry about it."
Bay City's historical city hall was a large, lavish building constructed in the late eighteen-hundreds. While scattered showers were in the forecast for the day, the afternoon proved to be dry with cold winds breezing in and out. Erwin and Miche battled the chilly air with their long coats with scarves around their necks as they walked along the street in front of the city hall, which they had closed down from two until six. Their pockets were full of snack-sized, peanut-free, milk chocolates that they handed out to kids whenever parents would approach them.
Besides their presences, they had decided to throw quite an elaborate street party on behalf of their political party. There was a bouncy castle for children, face-painting, food trucks with Halloween-themed snacks, games, and for the afternoon all trips up the city hall's clock tower to catch a view of the city was free of charge for anyone in costume. The event had brought a mass of people out, and as Erwin and Miche walked through the crowd, stopping on occasion to speak to families and promote their campaign, they silently grew more excited about their private evening plans
"Everything looks as if it's going well." Erwin commented to Miche as they headed towards one of the food trucks to see if they could purchase some drinks.
"'Well?'" Miche repeated, raising an eyebrow that remained hidden behind his dirty blonde bangs. "I'd say things are going better than well, Smith. Look how many people came out? We're been talking more than walking, and we've done quite a bit of walking since getting here at one."
Erwin chuckled, then became momentarily distracted by a menu sign on the side of a truck. "Hmm," he hummed, debating if he wanted a warm hot chocolate or a cold lemonade. "What do you want to drink?" he asked Miche.
"Coffee?" Miche replied with a shrug, "If they got it. I'm saving my thirst for any drink tonight, if you catch my drift." he chuckled.
Erwin nodded, "Hmm, that does sound reasonable." he mumbled, then read over the menu again. "Water, green tea, black tea, coffee, hot chocolate, lemonade, apple, orange, or cranberry juice, Red bull, or milk. They have quite the selection."
Miche rolled his eyes and approached the vendor and handed him a five dollar bill, "Two coffees please. One black, one with two creams and three sugars. Keep the change."
Erwin smirked, letting Miche order for him as he saw fit.
"Trust me on this," Miche turned back to face him and gave him a leading smile, "You'll thank me when you're four beers deep tonight.
Erwin only chuckled, then glanced at his watch. They had another hour to go before the event would wrap up at six o'clock and then they would be on their way to the party. "Okay, Miche. I'll trust you...this once."
"Are we picking up the pizza or-"
"Nope. It's being delivered to the house."
Levi sighed and shifted in his seat. It was nearing five o'clock and they were finally driving into the heart of Detroit city. The sun was a blinding golden beacon that shone in on him from the side window, so he turned in his seat to face Bella and prop his back up against the door as he waited for her to pull up in front of his cousin's house. "That sun is just blinding me." he complained.
"We're nearly there." Bella replied, sounding tired from the long drive. "My ass is sore."
Levi chuckled, "We're nearly there." he teased her.
He shifted in his seat, noticing the familiar streets that signaled they were close to his cousin's house. He turned the radio down, then balled up the garbage that had gathered from them eating snacks on the way, attempting to keep Isabella's car as clean as he could before the three brats would get into it later on.
"We're here!" Isabella announced proudly, pulling in front of the house and putting the car into park before removing her key from the ignition.
"Thank fuck for that." Levi mumbled, rushing to jump out. He stretched as soon as he was on his feet again, then reached inside for his backpack and waited for Isabella to collect her bag as well.
"Uncle Levi!"
Levi turned in time to find his nephew rushing out to embrace him. The boy must have grown several inches since he had last seen him almost a year ago, so now he stood taller than Levi, forcing him to have to look up at him. His chocolate-brown hair was longer, with strands that hung into his bright green eyes, and his body had grown fuller, bearing a greater resemblance to man's and no longer a boy's. Today he was dressed entirely in red, with two scaly horns perched in his hair on a headband, and a long red tail with a tri-pronged end
"Eren!" Levi greeted him, opening his arms for the boy to nestle himself against the smaller man's chest. "How are you? You've grown!"
"Almost six inches!" Eren proudly proclaimed, "But don't let Mikasa hear me saying that or she'll tell you it's only four."
Levi laughed. "No, it's definitely six." he agreed. He could never understand why but there was always a tension between his niece and everyone he ever saw her encounter, with the exception of her subservient boyfriend, Armin. Whenever he could catch an easy break to exclude her from his visits with the family, he would gladly take the opportunity, and it was often easy to do when Eren valued his sole attention and refused to share.
"I missed you, uncle!" Eren whined, his voice a rough grumble as it struggled to find the correct pitch and landed somewhere between a boy and a man's. "You haven't returned any of my calls."
"I know." Levi mumbled, then hugged Eren tight to his side as he began to walk him back up the walkway towards the front door. "I've been very busy with work, and I just wasn't very...stable, I suppose."
Eren stopped them when they reached the porch and looked into Levi's eyes, and the older man could tell the teenager was trying to read him for any lies. He let his lips stay in a firm line and held the boy's bright gaze, determined not to shake the boy's faith in him any more than he already did the last few months.
"I know I've been a shit, and I'm really sorry about that, Eren. But I promise you I'm gonna make it up to you; I won't be distant anymore."
Eren nodded once, then wrapped his arms around Levi's torso again. "I missed you." he mumbled, his voice gruff with emotion this time.
Levi felt a warmth in his chest spread towards his limbs and up his neck, flushing his body simultaneously with shame and love. "I missed you too." he replied, touching the back of Eren's head with his hand as the boy leaned his head on his shoulder. "I missed you too."
"Pizza's on the way." A female voice spoke from the doorway, and Levi looked up to find his cousin's wife standing in the doorway. "I'm glad you could make it, Levi." She continued, stepping forwards to hug him too. "We were all starting to worry they'd have to head out without you."
"You know I'd never miss Halloween with you guys." Levi jested, before wrapping an arm around Eren's lower back and leading him into the house so he could put down his bag. "Hi Mikasa, how are you?" he asked, stopping to greet his niece who was wearing a large black witch's hat.
"Fine. You?" She replied, not bothering to move away from Armin to give Levi a hug.
"Better." Levi replied, carefully choosing his words so that he could give her as little information about his private life as possible while at the same time letting her in on the fact that he had only been absent because he hadn't been well. Interacting with Mikasa was always a hard line to walk, and he often tried to go along with her ideas or dialogue to keep the peace with her.
"Good to see you again, Uncle Levi." Armin greeted him, nodding at him.
"You too, Arlert." Levi replied, trying not to laugh out loud at the boy's bright orange pumpkin costume, then began heading up to Eren's bedroom where he slept when he stayed over. He placed his bag at the foot of Eren's bed, then chuckled to himself as he thought about how the boy's blonde bob made him look more like a large dumb vegetable than necessary, before he began to dig through his bag until he found the gifts he packed for the three of them: three new video games for Eren, a make-up kit for Mikasa, and a new book for Armin.
"Eren," Levi called out to him, before handing him the video games. "Happy Halloween."
The boy's eyes widened as he took the game, then he wrapped his arms around Levi yet again as he began to stammer his thanks.
Levi only chuckled in response, then headed back to Mikasa and Armin to give them their gifts as well. By the time they had all conversed about the presents the pizza had arrived, leaving Levi feeling a little puzzled as to where his own gift was; the kids usually couldn't afford very much, but it had become tradition for the past three years that they would pool their money and buy him a box of tea-infused chocolates.
"We got you something cooler!" Eren whispered to him as they all headed to the kitchen to sit around the table to eat.
"What's that?" he asked, trying to keep the conversation flowing.
"You'll see." Eren replied, "Trust me, you won't be disappointed.
Levi glanced at Isabella, who had been chatting with Mikasa and Armin, and shrugged. "Cool." He replied, "I'm excited now."
"Hurry up and eat so you can head out on time." Levi's cousin instructed his kids. "Six o'clock is usually when all the trick or treating starts."
Eren nodded eagerly, his mouth full of pizza, then grinned at Levi.
"How are you, cousin?" Levi greeted him, before taking a bite of pizza.
"I'm good." his cousin replied. He stood at the counter filling candy from boxes in to a large Halloween themed dish to put near the front door. "How have you been? We've barely heard from you lately. I was going to come down and visit you if you couldn't make it here tonight."
"No, no." Levi protested, "I've been really busy with work. We have the political scandal going on the past couple of months, so it's been a lot of late nights, early morning, odd hours all piling up and messing up my schedule."
"Oh, right. Right." his cousin easily agreed, falling for the excuse easily thanks to his ignorance of Levi's sexual orientation and therefore his previous dating dilemma. "I bet you'll be glad once the election is done then, hey?" he asked.
"Yeah, for sure." Levi agreed, then finished off his slice of pizza. "When does the Detroit one run?"
"Same week, different day than yours." his cousin shrugged, "But it's close enough."
Levi nodded, unable to answer with his mouth full of his second slice of pizza. A knock at that door sounded and sent his cousin heading to answer it with the bowl full of candy, so he turned back to face the kids instead.
"Are we all dressed up and ready to head out?" He asked, watching them all nod as they continued eating their food. "I'm just going to need to get my mask before we go."
Isabella giggled, "So will I." she agreed.
"I can't believe you still go." Her mother laughed, rolling her eyes at Levi and Isabella. "You're lucky you're short or else that would be too hard to pull off."
"Eren's going and he's sixteen!" Isabella protested.
"I don't really believe these things can have an age limit." Levi argued, "I put in the effort for the costume, so I should benefit from getting free chocolate."
Eren eagerly nodded, grinning widely at his uncle's reasoning. He took a third slice of pizza, watching Levi rise from the table as Mikasa opened her mouth to rebuttal her uncle's point with some snarky remark.
"Getting my mask and bags." Levi explained, "It's already quarter to seven so we should be heading out now." he warned them.
Armin nodded, then watched as Isabella stood up from the table and began to chase after Levi.
"I need my mask too!" she called, following him up the stairs and to Mikasa's room, where she stayed the night.
Eren turned his attention to his sister and her boyfriend, his bright eyes glowing with excitement. "Are we really going or should we just break it to him at the foot of the drive?" He asked.
"Well, we need the car." Armin stated, "So we should tell him we want to go to a different neighbourhood or something?"
"Yeah, because we can't say it in front of mom." Mikasa hissed, "She'll never let us go."
"Isn't she gonna worry-" Eren countered.
"We'll call and have them make up some excuse for us. Don't worry, we got it all covered." Mikasa whispered.
Isabella came back to stand beside the table. She had finally taken off her thigh-length sweater, revealing her costume underneath: she wore black leggings with a fishnet skirt and a black long-sleeve shirt. Over top, she had a red plaid scarf around her neck and red curved wings with black spots on them. For her mask, she had a pair of steampunk goggles whose lenses were jet black, reflective surfaces fashioned in a dodecahedron pattern. The goggles clipped behind and above her head, where two playful antennas completed the insect look.
"That...doesn't look sexy." Mikasa commented, turning her lip up at the realistic bug design.
"It's not supposed to, 'Kasa." Isabella replied, "Halloween is a time to be scary."
Eren rolled his eyes and put down the soda he was drinking. "I think it's pretty hot." he commented.
Isabella began to laugh as Mikasa choked on her drink.
"She's our uncle's age!" Mikasa retorted, giving Eren a disgusted look.
"Nothing wrong with saying she's really pretty!" Eren argued, "I didn't say I'd bang her! I just said she was pretty!"
"Eren! Gross!" Mikasa cried out.
"Hey, hey! Enough!" Isabella shouted, "Let's just all agree everyone's costumes look great and leave it at that, okay?"
Armin nodded, his expression slightly shocked by his girlfriend's outburst.
"What's up?" Levi asked, entering the room.
"We're just finishing up dinner!" Armin squeaked, pushing his chair back from the table and coming to stand by Levi's side. "I-I-I was wonder if we could drive to a different neighborhood tonight?" he began.
"Ask her, it's her car." Levi replied easily, pointing out Isabella.
"How far away did you want to go?" Isabella asked, handing treat bags out to Eren and Mikasa.
"A few blocks. Just away from this neighbourhood."
"Yeah," Mikasa cut in, "The neighbours here are stingy on high school kids."
"I see." Isabella replied, trying not to be obvious as she looked Mikasa's outfit up and down; she was definitely dressed as a high school girl's attempt at sexy, too much leg, too much cleavage, and impractical amounts of exposed flesh to be deemed warm while out at night.
Levi shook his head as he caught Isabella's glance, then shrugged. "Sure, we'll go a few blocks over. It's probably better for us adults too."
Eren nodded, coming to join the group putting their shoes on near the front door.
"Be safe." Levi's cousin stood up, coming to hug his kids. "Take care of each other."
"Dad, we know." Mikasa rolled her eyes, letting her father kiss her on the cheeks.
"Stay with Uncle Levi. And look both ways before you cross the street." he continued as if he hadn't heard her complaint at all.
Levi gave him a tight smile, understanding how hard it must be for him to father a teenage daughter. As they all began to pile onto the front porch, his cousin's wife came to see them off, and as tradition, take several pictures. Levi was glad that he had chosen to go as a variant personification of death: the skull mask he had chosen kept the expression on his face hidden from the shot, and he was grateful that he didn't have to smile for the camera.
Once the photoshoot was done and over with, Levi led them to the car, waiting for the kids to pile in the back before getting in himself.
"It's only seven thirty." Eren was bickering with his sister. "I say we go for at least half an hour and see what we can get."
"Only a half hour?" Isabella cut in, coming into the conversation at the same point Levi had. She fastened her seatbelt and tried to meet the kids' eyes in the rearview mirror as she started up the car. "We have loads of time guys. It's socially acceptable to go until eight-thirty at the least. Some places don't mind until nine."
"Uh-yeah!" Armin agreed, "We have loads of time! D-don't worry!"
Levi's eyebrows knit together behind his mask and he turned in his seat to face out the front window rather than at the kids. He wasn't sure if it was because he had become distant from the over the last year, but they seemed to be behaving rather oddly.
The party at city hall had finally dwindled to a close around quarter after six, and Erwin had briskly walked over Miche's car, suddenly finding himself impatient. The moon had begun to appear in the east, the sun barely visible in the west, when he suddenly found himself desperately longing to get out of the city and in a crowded party. He wanted to lose himself in the moment, drink some alcohol, feel the impulsive and confident energy he remembered feeling when he was in college. He realized as Miche drove them back to his house that he had worked so hard the last few years that he had forgotten he was a man and not a workhorse, and that by forcing himself to focus so heavily on his work he was only distracting himself from what Miche had referred to as their 'civil status,' their duty to not only lead society but be a functioning member in it.
Now that he had been poking at the empty feeling in his chest for the last two days, he had found it was not numb from pain but rather numb from being hollow for so long. Time had subconsciously healed him, without him even realizing healing had taken place, and now he found he was excited to reclaim his social circle and make risks with his heart once more.
He was surprised by his sudden change in attitude, unsure of what exactly brought it about, but he was sure it was thanks to Miche's idea of going out to a party and just...drinking, dancing, and making memories with his friends. Erwin found he couldn't stop smiling, and as he applied dark mascara to his long blonde lashes he caught himself chuckling for no reason other than his absurd happiness.
Miche grinned at him, radiating his joy of having his best friend back into the comical, relaxed man he was before he became overwhelmed and buried inside a work persona.
"I'm excited!" Erwin exclaimed, grinning at Miche.
"I'm glad to hear that!" Miche replied, heading over to the radio and turning on a Halloween playlist.
Erwin began swaying his hips and singing along as he dusted a light white powder on the side of his face he was transforming into a skull.
Miche watched from the kitchen, observing his best friend his date playfully fighting over the bathroom mirror. He hadn't seen Erwin dabble with makeup since college, and seeing the release it brought him was a heart-warming experience. He took a sip of his room-warm beer, glad that he had chosen a costume that was meant to be sloppy and imperfect so he didn't have to worry about his make-up.
"How much longer?" he asked, beginning to clean up the evidence of their pre-drink party and gathering his wallet, keys, and phone.
"Ten more minutes!" Hanji called out from the bathroom. "I want the fake blood to dry a bit more!"
Miche chuckled and sipped his beer. "We're leaving in ten then," he replied, "Or we won't make it on time!"
The moon had risen higher in the sky as the group of trick-or-treaters passed from house to house earning chocolates and candies. Levi noted the street lights had all turned on as they walked, going up one side of the street and then the other so that they could return the car each time and move it one block further up along with them. Despite only going three blocks their bags already felt quite heavy, and Levi wasn't sure if they should empty them in the trunk before going another block.
Isabella pulled over for the fourth block, putting the car into park and then turning in her seat to glance at the kids. "How many more blocks do you want to go?" She asked, noticing their skeptical expressions.
"Well," Eren began, looking at his sister and her boyfriend and then back to Isabella. He was careful to avoid his uncle's gaze. "We have these five tickets actually-"
"Tickets?" Isabella asked, turning to glance at Levi with a puzzled expression on her face, and then returning to gaze at Eren. "For what?"
"A dance." He replied, sounding hesitant. "We bought them to surprise you and uncle Levi. We thought maybe we could all go."
Isabella bit her lower lip and glanced at Levi, then at the clock on the dashboard. "Why didn't you say something sooner?" She asked, "Isn't it already going to end soon?"
"This isn't a high school dance." Mikasa rolled her eyes, "It starts at nine. Since it takes about an hour to get there-"
"An hour?!" Isabella asked, "Where is this place? Let me see the ticket!" She demanded.
Eren squirmed in his seat as Mikasa pulled one of the tickets out of her treat bag and handed it to Isabella.
"This is...this is near the Ohio border! Kids! What were you thinking?" Isabella cried out.
Levi took the ticket from Isabella, having not said a word since the conversation started. The tickets explained what Eren had meant about having a surprise for him later, as well as their odd behaviour.
"This is a pumpkin farm." He mumbled, " Kids, you...you know this isn't an event for minors, right? How did you get these tickets?"
"I got Armin's grandfather to buy them for us." Mikasa explained, "It says we can attend with parents or guardians. You'll take us, right?"
Levi was surprised by the lack of attitude in Mikasa's voice. The girl sounded innocent and honest, as he remembered she did when she had just started high school. He took off his mask, revealing to them that he was biting his lower lip as he contemplated the matter.
"Does your parents know?" He asked, as if this was the deciding factor.
"They would never let us go." Eren mumbled, sounding crestfallen. "We just want to do something fun for Halloween that isn't childish." he explained, "And we thought dancing sounds nice. It is a pumpkin farm, but they decorated it to fit the theme. The pictures online were really nice and safe looking."
Levi chewed on his lip, staring intently at the ticket as if it held some kind of instruction on it on which he could base his decision.
"You're not seriously considering this?" Isabella asked, surprised that Levi hadn't immediately instructed her to drive back to his cousin's house.
"Well, these ticket's are forty-five dollars each." Levi began, then turned back to meet the eyes of each kid in the backseat. "I can only imagine the trouble they went through to save up two-hundred and fifty dollars, harass grandpa into purchasing the tickets, hiding them from their parents, and then going through all that effort to make sure they weren't caught when giving them to us."
Eren, Mikasa, and Armin all held their breath, letting their eyes go wide with fear of rejection.
"I mean, they're only kids, Isabella. We did this when we were their age. And I'd rather take them and be there to supervise them in case something goes wrong than have them lie to us and be there on their own and unsafe."
Eren and Mikasa sharply inhaled, waiting for their uncle's final decision. Isabella's eyes became misty with tears as she followed Levi's logic; the man acted cold and distant but his heart was made of pure gold when it came to understanding the emotions of others.
"I say...I say we go. I'll call my cousin, let him know we're going to a dance. I'll tell him I bought the tickets to surprise the kids and make up for not being around as much as I wanted to be."
Eren gasped in surprise and Mikasa launched herself between the front seats to wrap her arms around her uncle's neck in a hug.
"We're going?!" Eren exclaimed, "I can't believe it!"
Levi laughed, patting Mikasa on the back and handing Eren the ticket back with his free hand. "Yeah, I'll take you. But promise me, kids, don't do this again. If you want to go somewhere, tell me first. Then I can help plan it better. I mean, you're children. I know you don't like being called that anymore, but you shouldn't be footing a two hundred dollar bill to have fun. Especially for me and Isabella."
"We just thought...that maybe you didn't want to see us anymore...because we're not grown up like you." Mikasa mumbled, looking at the car floor as she settled back into her seat.
Levi's mouth dropped open in shock and he exhaled, feeling as though he was punched in the gut. "No, 'Kasa. No. Never. I was being a busy adult. I'd never not want to see you."
"Really?" she asked, her voice full of hurt and innocence.
"Yes. Really." He insisted.
Mikasa's face broke into a mischievous grin and Levi instantly regretted falling for her teenage ploy. "Then...you'll let us dress you up for the party?" she asked, keeping her tone of voice laced with the same level of sweetness.
Isabella began to laugh, clapping her hands together in glee as she pictured what outfit Mikasa would deem appropriate for her uncle to wear to a Halloween dance. "Armin," she called, "Why don't you come sit up front with me and Levi can go sit back there with Mikasa and Eren. They can dress him up while you help me navigate to the I-94."
"Alright," Armin agreed, unclipping his seatbelt and hurrying to get out of the car.
Levi frowned, but stepped out of the car and came around to sit between Eren and Mikasa. "Alright." he agreed. "Let's go."
The party – although still just beginning – was in full swing at the pumpkin farm when Erwin and his friends pulled into the makeshift, dirt parking lot. A man wearing a yellow reflective vest and holding a pair of luminous orange batons directed cars towards the back of the lot. Miche followed his guidance as smoothly as he could, barely speaking as he peered out into the darkness to drive his car headfirst into what he assumed was the perimeters of the stall.
"The music is really loud already." Hanji noted, turning so that she could look out of all the windows and observe the bright, multicoloured lights in the distance.
"Well, it's only gonna get louder 'cause I intend to hit up the dance floor." Miche grinned, taking the ignition out of the car.
"You're driving back?" Erwin asked him, "Or is Hanji?"
"Probably Hanji." Miche shrugged, before climbing out of the car, "I intend to get shitfaced."
Erwin grinned, "So do I." he replied.
Hanji made no protest, only shrugging and muttering about 'boys.' Erwin found himself reaching out and hugging her as they all headed toward the source of the loud music. Hanji squealed out of surprise and attempted to pull away, then began to laugh as Erwin lifted her off her feet easily and swung her around. Miche's laughter echoed around them as he watched with a burning feeling of happiness spreading throughout his chest. Without consciously deciding on it, he pulled out his phone and took several pictures, determined to preserve the memories as a physical keepsake.
Erwin began to laugh as the flash went off, and he turned to face the camera as Hanji began to laugh out loud as he raced forwards with her bouncing over his shoulder.
Miche laughed and followed him, jogging behind them and watching as Erwin led them, weaving through other party-goers, to get to the dance floor. They were stopped for a brief moment at the entrance to the patch, where a man asked them to present their tickets and then stamped their hands. Erwin continued to carry Hanji the entire time, causing her to laugh with amusement as he took her hand and held it out for the man to stamp. Once on the sides of the dance floor, he set Hanji on her feet and took her hand, leading her into the very heart of the dance floor, before raising his hands and beginning to move his hips. His friends formed a triangular stance with him, all swaying together and with each other, following the beat of the music and drowning out the restrictions social expectations placed on them. For now, here, they were three friends having a good time, free to feel and dance and express themselves without having to worry about being judged for it.
Eren and Mikasa traded ideas back and forth about Levi's outfit for most of the drive to the Ohio-Michigan border. Eren wanted to make him something scary while Mikasa argued that something sexy for an event such as a dance would be more acceptable. Isabella listened in on their suggestions, hiding her giggles in her fist whenever she could no longer hold them back. Armin was a good navigator, though she suspected it was avoid the conversation of costumes as best as he could, and Levi had also stayed quiet in the discussion about his looks. He casually attempted to suggest if they could just modify the outfit he was wearing already, without having to change the concept of his costume, but Mikasa wouldn't have it.
"There's nothing cute about that mask." she rebuked him, "And without it, you're just dressed in black wearing a cape."
Levi had fallen silent after her remark and settled on letting his thoughts go back in time to Halloween last year. They had driven up to his cousin's house, as usual, but his ex-fiancé had come with them as well. He had dressed up like a magician, so Levi had complimented the outfit by being a rabbit. He didn't exactly remember Isabella's outfit, just that it had red feathers and that she kept being mistaken for Furlan's magical assistant. After some time they had stopped bothering to correct people and went along with it, becoming a group costume rather than a couples one.
Levi pulled out his phone, turned on his data, and searched his social media profiles for a photo of the three of them together, before saving it to his device and turning his data back off. He gazed at the photo of the three of them together, surprised to find that he felt nothing but an emptiness as he stared directly into Furlan's dull blue eyes in the photo. A few weeks ago he would have been unable to imagine searching for the photo, let along staring at it for any period of time, but now he felt nothing but a feeling of distant affection for the memory and not at all for the person in it.
"We're here!" Armin announced, breaking Levi out of his thoughts.
Levi turned off his phone and placed it in his jeans pocket so that he could gaze out the window towards their destination. The parking lot seemed full already, so they pulled behind a row of cars that were seemingly just parking as close as they could make it to the entrance without blocking any other cars from leaving.
"Good thing this is a shit-box." Isabella commented, putting the vehicle into park. "Levi, did you call your cousin yet?" she asked.
"I called on the way out but they didn't answer." he replied, "So I left them a message saying I'm taking the kids and you to an all-ages dance in Ann Arbour. Don't want them to freak out that we're nearly out of the state."
"Or give them the name and have mom search it up." Mikasa commented. "Now get out of the car, I think I have an idea of what I want to do to you."
Levi grimaced but complied; since he had finally gotten Mikasa to stop being so cold with him, he didn't want to risk pushing her away again. He understood the age that her and her brother were at was vital in character development, so even though he hated the thought of having to accept that she would put him in a position that he would not be comfortable in, he would allow her the opportunity to at least explain her ideas to him before he would attempt to negotiate with her.
"Can I cut your shirt?" She asked, climbing out of the car behind him.
"'Cut?'" he repeated, dumbfounded.
"Crop it." she explained. "To expose your torso."
Levi choked on his laugh. "You want me in a crop top?" he asked, glad that Isabella had not yet emerged from the vehicle.
Mikasa nodded, "Well, your jeans are already ripped so that's fine. I can crop your shirt and then that would be fine. We'll leave your cape in the car so you have something to cover yourself with when you go home, but I think my parents will be asleep by the time we return."
Levi listened to Mikasa's reasoning, oddly amused by her perception and ability to plan not only for the event but for their return as well.
"I'm gonna use the remains of your shirt to make you a tail. And I think I have some cat ears in my treat bag, I brought them for Bella but since she seems to be fine with her outfit-"
"How come her outfit is fine?" Levi protested.
"Because it can be sexy. She just needs to crop her shirt and wear the glasses higher on her head, like a hair band." Mikasa countered. "There's nothing sexy about that mask."
Isabella was chuckling as she emerged from the car. "So we're cutting our clothes now?" She asked with the same level of enthusiasm as Levi.
"Come on." Mikasa whined, beginning to pull at the hem of Levi's shirt. "Let's hurry up so we can join the party."
Levi rolled his eyes and raised his arms straight up and into the air. "Okay." He sighed, "Go for it."
"Thanks, uncle Levi!" Mikasa exclaimed, before diving back into the backseat and retrieving her treat bag.
"When did you fill thing up with all those things?" Isabella asked, watching the teenager produce a pair of child crafting scissors.
"Before we left when you two were making sure to go over the plans of the road with my parents." she replied easily, beginning to snip at Levi's shirt. "I'm taking off four inches." she explained.
"Four inches?!" Levi gasped, "That's barely going to leave anything left!"
"Don't be so dramatic!" Mikasa rebutted, "It's just enough to expose...a little more than your belly button."
"Don't laugh." Levi hissed at Isabella, "Your next." He enjoyed watching the smile fall from her face as she realized he was right.
"Alright, safety pin." Mikasa directed Armin. She took the length of material she had shorn off Levi's shirt and pulled it, then twisted the material and pinned the two opposite ends together to form a moderately long but distinctive black cat tail. "Now, turn around." She ordered, before pinning the tail to the belt loop on the back of his jeans.
Eren removed the cape from around Levi's shoulders, folding it over his arms until it became a small bundle, then placed it on the backseat.
"You have your belly pierced?" Mikasa cried out suddenly, surprised by the diamond-studded jewelry that sparkled against his pale skin.
Levi blushed, then rolled his eyes slowly to express his embarrassment. "No questions." he commented, "Isabella's turn."
"Your ears." Mikasa objected.
"I'll get them." Eren replied, before turning to Armin. "Get me the ears."
"Cat ears?" Levi questioned as soon as he saw them, "I'm going to be a slutty cat?"
"Why not?" Mikasa asked, "It's a good costume."
"I wonder how many slutty cats will be here." he commented, rolling his eyes to express his frustration this time.
"If there's plenty, then it's a good choice." Mikasa countered as Eren slipped the head band on Levi's head and fluffed his hair around it to disguise the band.
"I hope there's only one pumpkin." Armin mumbled, watching Mikasa cut away at Isabella's shirt. Unlike how she had cut Levi's, she cut vertically strands from the hem of Isabella's shirt to the bottom of her bra, then instructed Armin to knot the end of each strand.
"How come she gets to have some decency and I don't?" Levi protested in a mocking voice.
Mikasa chuckled, "Because she's a woman. You're a gay man, you have the right to be a little slutty. Bella probably wouldn't want the attention."
Levi licked his lower lip and looked away, attempting to control his anger at Mikasa's remark. She was young and foolish and didn't know his circumstances, he reminded himself; there was no need to become defensive to a naive girl.
Isabella had bent down to whisper into Mikasa's ear, and Levi was sure she was informing her that wasn't the correct way to base an argument for someone's outfit. Mikasa's blushing cheeks revealed her embarrassment and instant regret, but stubborn and arrogant – as teenage girls often could be – she didn't say anything regarding her statement to amend it.
"Are we ready to go then?" Armin asked, having made sure they left all their treat bags in the car.
"I got the tickets." Eren exclaimed.
"And do we all have cell phones?" Levi asked, making sure to remain the adult of the group.
"I have mine," Eren replied, "And Mikasa has her's. Armin, does your grandfather still have yours?" he asked.
"He does." Armin replied, "But I'll make sure to stay with either Mikasa or you, so it should be fine."
"Yes, stay together." Isabella stressed. "Me and Levi both have phones and are fully grown adults, so it's fine for us to explore a bit more. But you kids are minors. It's best to stay in our line of sight too, just so that you can point us out and we can keep an eye on you in case the organizers want to make sure you have supervision."
"And so we can make sure you're safe and not dying of some sort of seizure or something." Levi added, "I'm not going to judge you for what you do as long as you don't judge me, so if you want to make out or whatever, I don't really care. I'm not going to watch like a creep. I just want to be sure you don't get me killed by your parents by making yourself sick or something."
"Fair." Eren and Mikasa both exclaimed at the same time.
"Good." Levi replied, then distributed the tickets amongst the five of them. They headed to the gate together, all excited by the loud music and flashing lights. The line was a fifteen minute wait, since many of the ticket-holders were seemingly arriving at the same time they had to ensure the party was well underway when they arrived, but thankfully none of the kids seemed to mind. Rather they were excited by the opportunity to attend so they stayed well behaved and quiet, patently waiting for their turn to have their hands stamped and marked with an 'X' to inform the bartenders they were not allowed to order alcoholic drinks.
When they finally had passed through the gates, the trio followed Levi and Isabella towards the dance floor, joining the throng of bodies that all swayed under the colourful lights. Levi shuffled from side to side, remaining rather tame as a dancer, and allowed Isabella to entertain the kids with her unique movements. She swayed her hips and rolled her shoulders, eventually reaching out with her hands to take Mikasa's and guide their group further onto the dance floor.
Levi took the advantage of the kids' distraction to escape the dance floor and head over to the bar instead. Once on the floor, surrounded by happy couples his age all making eyes with their partners, he felt overwhelmed and decided his best course of action was to see if alcohol would help take his mind off Furlan. He took a seat at the bar, one of the few stools that were even available, and ordered himself what was called the vampire cocktail; an elaborate white drink made with vanilla ice cream, coconut shavings, white wine, vodka, and golden rum. To top it off, red grenadine was poured down the sides to imitate blood, giving the final product a very interesting look.
Levi thanked the bartender and paid him six dollars for the drink before he turned on his stool to watch Eren's head bobbing around on the dance floor. The boy had certainly grown in the last couple of months, and for the first time since he saw him again, Levi was grateful for it.
He sighed and unlocked him phone, giving in to the temptation to stare at his photo with Furlan again. He zoomed in to cut Isabella off his screen, then stared into Furlan's bright blue eyes for a long time, debating to call him. He still had his number in his phone, and he was sure the lady Furlan had left him for would have had her baby by now. He was curious to know if Furlan would remember dressing up as a magician with him, then he rolled his eyes and took another sip of his drink finding an irony he hadn't seen before in their costumes: he had always just been a prop for Furlan to pull out of his hat whenever he wanted to entertain an audience or appear to be a charming, enchanting man.
"Two poison apple shots." He informed the bartender, turning on his stool to face the bar once again. As the young man turned to fill his order, Levi pushed the button his cell phone that blacked out his screen and thrust the phone back into his pocket, then readjusted himself on the seat so he wasn't sitting on his tail. He'd feel better with more alcohol inside him, and then he would consider joining Isabella on the dance floor.
The dance floor had become progressively fuller as songs flew by. Erwin wasn't sure just how long he had been dancing with Miche and Hanji, he just knew that it must've been a while since he looked up and the crowd had grown to stretch out past the borders of the dance floor.
"I'm gonna go grab a drink." he shouted to Miche over the heavy bass of the beat, then began to head towards where he had last seen the bar.
They had sent Hanji on several beer runs for them, remaining behind to maintain their space on the dance floor, so he thought it was fair to grab some more alcohol for all of them. And since Hanji and Miche had slowly began to dance closer, Erwin was sure giving them some private time as a couple would be the right thing to do at the moment. He realized that a large portion of the dance floor was made up of couples, and the realization hit him harder than he thought it would; despite being excited to come and spend time with his friends, he couldn't ignore the fact that they were growing older alongside him and actually succeeding in finding the one that would stay by their side.
He heaved a sigh, feeling a bittersweet jealousy towards Miche for having found Hanji so easily through their workplace, and stepped towards the bar. Looking up, he heard himself inhale sharply and found himself paralyzed to the spot: there, seated at the bar, was the exact kind of man that he found himself wholly and undeniably attracted to. He resembled his college boyfriend so much so that he had thought he had run into him again, but upon closer inspection of his slender body Erwin could tell it was not so. This man was thinner, more angular, and in much better shape. His waist was tight and smooth, his legs were supple. Above a short, black tail hanging off the back of his stool, the small of his back – which was visible to Erwin from the exposure of his cropped long sleeve shirt – had the sexiest dip in it, and his jet black hair was cropped short and messy, and had a pair of cat ears peeking out from the shaggy strands. Erwin felt his mouth go dry and his skin flush hot; here he was, Mr. Five-five, slender, and dark-haired, dressed up like a sexy little cat, just as if he had been ordered by Erwin's dating site registration form.
Erwin sighed heavily, wanting nothing more than to rub his face but refraining so he wouldn't ruin the make-up of his costume, then mentally rebuked himself for suddenly feeling so nervous. He was funny, charming, even a little arrogant, but above all else he was confident; he was determined to approach the man and talk and at least see how their conversation would flow.
"Another vampire." he heard the man state in a smooth tenor voice that instantly made him want to hear the man talk more.
"Make that two." Erwin stated easily, tossing twelve dollars down on the bar to indicate he was paying.
The man turned to face Erwin, a scowl of disapproval already on his face, when he suddenly inhaled audibly and his mouth dropped open in surprise. He blinked several times very quickly, not fully opening his eyes as he did so, then gave his head a small shake.
Erwin smirked proudly, amazed at the man's reaction. He hoped the man hadn't recognized him and that he was simply just as awe-struck by him as he himself had been by the man.
"My name's-"
"Erwin Smith." the man replied, his voice breathy with surprise still. "I know."
Erwin bit his lower lip. Suddenly this seemed dangerous. The man knew who he was, even while he was in costume. One wrong move here could lead to someone tipping off the media about his presence here, and then there would be more than just paperwork at his job on Monday.
"Congratulations on your upcoming election-win." the man continued, attempting to distract himself with conversation.
Erwin found himself smiling, "I didn't win yet." he humbly replied.
"Ah, don't be modest. Dok is a drunken fool and Pixis is a complete and utter moron. You'll win."
Erwin chuckled, "Thank you, uh?" he prompted the strange man for his name.
"Levi." the man replied, "Levi Ackerman, of the Bay City-"
"Times." Erwin finished for him. "I read all your articles. You're covering the election; Nile's...scandals." He was suddenly extremely nervous to speak to the man. It was hard to believe that this little guy was the one exposing his opponent to the media; from afar the man looked very passion and even innocent in the right light. It was difficult to believe his little fingers could write the cold words and phrases he did that effectively could ruin a man's life by defaming him in light of the media.
"I didn't realize anyone would pay attention to my name." Levi chuckled, finding the fact that Erwin knew him amusing. "I thought they would all be too distracted by who it was I was writing about."
Erwin chuckled, a low sound in the back of his throat that came naturally from his amusement of the man. "Well, I find it surprising that such a handsome man would be able to write such harsh words."
Erwin held his breath, regretting what he said the minute the words left his mouth. He hadn't intended to begin flirting with Levi so suddenly, afraid that the man would report it the first chance he got as first page news, but to his surprise the man's thin lips pulled up into a smile of flattery and he rolled his silver eyes at Erwin.
"Flattery will get you nowhere, Mr. Smith." Levi teased him, picking his drink up from the bar where the bartender had set it down and took a sip. "I'm not going to write an article about how great you are in bed to help you get votes."
Erwin's mouth dropped open in complete shock and he began to laugh. Levi blushed and Erwin could tell he immediately regretted what he had said as well. And then he noticed it, the atmosphere between the two of them was intense, as if it were electrically charged. He picked up his drink and took a large sip, downing half of it in a single mouthful and tried to ignore the sudden tight feeling on his crotch as he pants suddenly felt two sizes too small.
"I'm sorry." Levi began, "I think I might have had too much to drink."
"What have you been sampling?" Erwin asked, stepping forwards and picking up Levi's martini glass and sloshing the remains of the slush-drink around.
"That's the...uh, candy corn one. Slush corn or something. I didn't really like it." Levi replied, rubbing his right eye with the back of his hand.
Erwin chuckled, "May I?" He asked, raising the glass to his lips and tilting it for Levi's permission.
"Go ahead. I'm having another vampire." Levi replied, then grinned.
Erwin took a seat on the stool beside Levi and downed the remains of the slush-drink in one large gulp; it was cold and had the consistency of a snow-cone, but tasted overpoweringly sweet. He choked and placed the empty glass on the counter harder than he intended to. "My god." he exclaimed in a politely taken aback tone.
"I'm too old for that much sugar in a sip." Levi chuckled, hugging himself. "Can I get another one for my friend?" He requested from the bartender as his drink was set down before him.
The bartender nodded and made to walk away when Erwin called him back. "Uh, no, no. I'll get something with bourbon in it, please."
"Then get the pumpkin...oh, what was it?" Levi asked the bartender.
"The pumpkin king?" The bartender asked, giving Levi a puzzled look.
"That's the one with the cinnamon stick, right?" Levi asked. "Yes, get him that one."
"Right away." The bartender nodded. "I'll be right back."
"And two more poison apple shots!" Levi called after him.
Erwin watched the bartender walk away, then turned to face Levi with a smile on his face. "How many have you sampled?" He asked, bemused.
"Um, I lost track actually." Levi replied. His fingers traced the circumference of the glass set in front of him and he chuckled lowly in the back of his throat. "Do you want to try the vampire?" he asked, motioning to the one in his hand.
"No, no." Erwin replied easily, "I think my friend's girlfriend tried that one."
Levi nodded then took a sip.
"What else did you have?" Erwin asked, attempting to keep the conversation flowing. He was intrigued by Levi and he didn't want to lose the opportunity he had to talk to him.
"Um, the poison apple shooter." Levi replied, "It's good. It's sweet, but it's a good level of sweet. And, um, I had the pumpkin king. It comes in this...small copper pot and it's orange, with a cinnamon stick. There's sherry in it too, and pumpkin puree, and nutmeg. It's very good. Strong. You like strong liquor?"
Erwin nodded along as Levi rambled, listening to the tones of his voice. He had become so interested in hearing him speak that he felt startled by Levi's question. "Oh, me." he mumbled, "Yeah," He ran a hand through his hair, brushing it off his face. "I do."
"Is bourbon your favorite?" Levi pressed him for more of an answer.
"I don't particularly have a favorite, I don't think." Erwin replied, "I go more on what I'm feeling at the time. Right now I'm feeling a like I want a little warmth."
"So bourbon is warm to you?"
"I assume it's warm to several people." Erwin replied easily.
"They have another drink with bourbon in it but it was disgusting." Levi replied, "Half of these are so good, and the other half are just a waste. A complete fucking waste."
"So you tried all of them?" Erwin asked, surprised that Levi was still able to maintain a conversation.
"There's only like...what? Ten drinks?" Levi rolled his eyes. "The vampire, pumpkin king, apple shot, bat something – that's the other bourbon drink. Um, candy corn martini, I didn't try the skull brain one – that looked too gross to me. But I did try the mummy mimosa and the bloody punch. I had the other vampire one too – Dracula bites or something. It has frozen grenadine in vampire fangs, they hang it on the edge of the glass and it makes it look like the fangs are dripping blood as it melts. It's pretty cool!"
"That's like...everything on the menu." Erwin chuckled, quickly glancing at the board written in chalk behind the bar before turning back to face Levi. "And how many vampires did you have?"
"This is my third." Levi replied.
"How are you still relatively sober?" Erwin asked, completely blown away. "You're so tiny and you had...one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten...ten drinks, at least!"
Levi laughed. It was a simple, carefree sound, but it enchanted Erwin. To him it was the sweetest sound in the world. "I had a couple shots." He admitted.
"So more than ten?!" Erwin exclaimed, raising his eyebrows. "Wow! Levi- don't make yourself sick! I just had a few beers!"
Levi laughed again. "I'm fine. But...I admit I don't know if I can walk."
The bartender placed Erwin's drink in front of him, then brought over two shot glasses overflowing with smoke.
"Wait for the dry ice to completely melt." Levi instructed Erwin, reaching out to catch his hand as he reached for the shot first. "Otherwise that would burn in a not so good way."
Erwin's eyes widened and he instantly took a sip from his copper mug instead.
Levi laughed at his reaction. "Bartender!" he called, "Can I have another vampire bite this time?"
The bartender nodded, already in the process of mixing another man his drink.
"How much do you owe him?" Erwin asked, laughing at the fact that the bartender was grinning as he heard Levi call out to him.
"I think a hundred?" Levi asked, "Ten, no...now what...like, fifteen drinks, and they're about six or seven each."
"About." Erwin agreed, attempting the math in his head, "hundred, hundred and ten maybe?"
"Oh?" Levi asked, taking his drink from the bartender as it was placed in front of him. The bartender hung back, waiting for them to pay for their last five drinks.
"I only have one hundred flat, so I'll leave you to buy these shots." Levi teased. He turned the glass to show Erwin the grenadine beginning to drip from the fangs into the drink, making it appear as though they were bleeding.
Erwin laughed, "Fair enough." he replied, feeling pity for Levi. He reached into his wallet and dropped thirty onto the bar. "Tell you what, this whole round is on me."
"Oh, thanks Erwin!" Levi exclaimed. "That's sweet of you."
"Well, I think it's sweet of you to spend the evening hanging out with me." Erwin replied, licking his lips and feeling the sudden urge to kiss Levi. He hadn't noticed exactly when, but he had begun falling for him as they had spent the last half hour discussing drinks. He was the type of man Erwin had always fantasized about: mysterious, independent, challenging, and a little feisty, with just the right kind of humour that border-lined wrong. He wanted to take him out on a date and see how far their relationship could go.
"I feel like I should do something for you then." Levi replied, "So we're even."
"Would you like to dance then?" Erwin asked, motioning back to the dance floor. He hadn't intended to ask the question, but he didn't stop himself in time. "It might help you feel better."
Levi chuckled, then took another sip from his drink again. "That actually doesn't sound too bad." he replied, setting the glass down on the counter. "Would you catch me if stumble?" he asked, reaching a hand up to brush his hair out of his eyes.
"Of course." Erwin replied, "I'll take care of you." he promised him.
Levi smiled, "Let's down these bitches then head to the dance floor then." he replied, picking up his shot.
Erwin took the other and the pair both raised them, then touched the glasses together, before downing the contents in a single gulp. They placed their glasses down on the bar with resounding smacks, then exhaled a long sigh of relief.
"That was good!" Erwin gasped, still feeling the sting of fizzing candy he hadn't expected to be in the bottom of the shot.
"It's something, isn't it?" Levi asked, picking up his vampire bite and taking another long sip. "I just want to finish this." He pointed out, "Then we'll go dance."
"If you can walk." Erwin teased. He followed Levi's example and finished his pumpkin king, then stood up. The alcohol hit him hard as he rose, and he held the bar for a moment to readjust to being on his legs after so many drinks.
"Can you?" Levi teased him, then held the bar as he stumbled off the barstool. He looked up at Erwin, then narrowed his eyes as he saw Erwin simply staring down at him with a look of surprise. "What?" he asked.
"You're so much shorter than I thought you were." Erwin replied. He pulled out his phone and instinctively took a picture of Levi staring up at him, adoring the way his small face appeared so honest and playful, before reaching out to place a hand between Levi's shoulder blades. "It's cute."
Levi laughed at Erwin's reasoning, then shook his head. He didn't mention the photograph. "'Cute?''" he repeated, then gave his head a shake. "I might want to publish that one." he chuckled, "'Mayor of Bay City calls shitty journalist cute.'"
"Hey now," Erwin teased him, guiding the smaller man towards the dance floor. "Do I have your word this entire night is off record?"
"I'm not working tonight." Levi replied once they were standing between other couples on the dance floor, then stared into Erwin's eyes waiting for him to reply. When he didn't Levi rolled his eyes and nodded, "I mean, it's off record, I agree. Don't worry about it."
Erwin breathed a sigh of relief, then reached out and placed his hands on Levi's hips. "I'm glad; I really want to-"
"Have a good time?" Levi finished for him, "Me too."
Erwin chuckled, "Yeah."
The pair began to sway to the beat of the music together, following each other's movements as if they were a mirror image. Erwin let his fingertips skim along Levi's naked torso, teasing both himself and smaller man with skin-to-skin contact. Levi shivered and gasped at the familiar-but-foreign feeling of another man touching his body, and he turned around to press his entire body against Erwin's, reaching upwards to let his own fingers cup the back of the blonde's neck. It satisfied him when he heard the larger man's gruff, shaky exhale near his ear, so he boldly reached behind himself to grab the man's wrist and guide his hand back to his waist.
Suddenly their dancing was not as tame and innocent as before. Levi rubbed his backside against Erwin's crotch, sighing at the pressure he felt pressed back against him. Erwin's hands ran down his body, tracing down his chest, across his rock hard abdomen and fingering the dangling body jewelry that hung from his belly button, before stopping to squeeze handfuls of his thighs, causing Levi to quiver with a sudden strong desire to be taken by the blonde. He hadn't expected it when he had first arrived, or even when he had first met eyes with the man, but in the short time they had begun to interact he could feel an attraction blossom for him that was growing stronger with every second that passed by. He turned around again, careful to remain in the taller man's arms, then stretched up on his tiptoes to press his lips against Erwin's.
Erwin's inhale of surprise stole Levi's breath, and he released Levi only to pull him closer and caress his cheek with his hand. His fingers travelled upwards, spearing through his dark hair as he pressed their lips together in a passionate kiss. He deepened the kiss by beginning to moan, then gently began to prod the entrance of Levi's mouth with his tongue when the smaller man also began to moan.
Levi's only response was to moan lowly and pull Erwin closer towards himself.
Erwin chuckled, then fully plunged his tongue into Levi's mouth. Levi's tongue was ready and waiting to wrestle with his, and it surprised him when the dark-haired man began to suck on his tongue, drawing his tongue further into Levi's mouth several times while licking the underside of Erwin's tongue with his own.
"My goodness, Levi!" Erwin found himself gasping as he finally pulled away and released the man, taking a physical step back. "You should take care not to tease me so overwhelmingly!"
Levi's eyes widened and Erwin quickly corrected himself. "I-I'm not sure I can hold myself back from you if you do."
Levi sighed with relief at Erwin's words and he wrapped his arms around Erwin's waist, returning to innocently swaying to the beat of the music with him.
"I'm not sure I want you to hold yourself back from me." He teased him, feeling the atmosphere crackle with their sexual tension. It was obvious to him that they both were becoming increasingly attracted to each other, and he vaguely wondered if this was just some insane one-off when Erwin traced his jaw with his index finger and guided Levi to look up and meet his bright blue eyes.
"I'm not sure I want to either." he agree with Levi, his voice rough with passion. His eyes were dark and captivating, and Levi suddenly found it impossible to look away. "But I want to take it slow with you."
Levi realized he was breathing heavily, overwhelmed by the sudden lustful teasing that bloomed into something unexpectedly passionate. His eyes wavered with thought as he silently judged Erwin, debating whether he meant for the night or for longer, when Erwin once again clarified himself.
"I mean I want to get to know you, Levi, not just take you to bed with me once.
Levi was stunned. His mouth dropped open in surprise and he stopped bothering to attempt to sway to the music at all anymore. "Er-win," he slowly gasped his name, stunned that the man was seductive and charming and captivating all at once. His limbs felt heavy but he knew it wasn't from the alcohol he consumed. "That's...you're...so sweet." he mumbled, barely able to form a coherent sentence. He hadn't expected to find someone that would cause him to react so strongly to them in such a short amount of time, but with Erwin something about it just felt right.
"I'd...I'd like that." he found himself responding, then began to laugh as he realized Erwin had been holding his breath as he waited for an answer. "I'd really like that, Erwin." He repeated, before wrapping his arms around Erwin's waist and hugging him closely.
Erwin held Levi against his chest, grateful for the contact. He hadn't expected that something so quickly could develop between himself and another man, but from the moment he saw Levi he had a sudden hunger to have him – and in just a sexual way. Holding him in his arms made him feel complete, and for the first time in years, suddenly the pressure of his career, his dreams, and his ambitions didn't feel as though they were of sole importance. He didn't want to curse himself by admitting it so soon but he could see himself coming home to Levi each night and waking up beside him each morning.
Levi pulled away just enough so they could begin to sway together once more to the beat of the song.
"So, could I give you a ride home tonight then?" Erwin asked, feeling his blood rush faster throughout his body as he waited for a response. He bit his lower lip, hoping it didn't sound like he was after sex after all.
"Um, no. I'm not going to Bay City until Sunday night." Levi replied, "I'm actually here with my friend and my niece and nephew, and my niece's boyfriend, so I have to drive them home. They live in Detroit."
"Oh!" Erwin nodded, "Of course, of course. That's...wow, that's cool!"
"They're sixteen and fifteen right now." Levi nodded, "Shitty teenage brats. And I was late picking them up so I owe them dinner and a movie tomorrow, before I leave."
Erwin chuckled, "So, maybe later this week when you get back in town, we can graa coffee together and, uh, see where it goes?"
"That sounds good. I look forwards to that." Levi replied, "Do you need my number?"
"Please." Erwin replied, pulling out his phone and handing it to Levi.
"Levi!" Isabella appeared beside him, "I didn't think you would be on the dance floor. I just checked the bar and the server told me you wondered off with a grim reaper."
Levi chuckled, finishing entering his number in Erwin's phone by adding the photo Erwin had taken of him to the profile. "I did. Isabella, this is Erwin. Erwin, this is my friend Isabella."
"Pleased to meet you." Erwin greeted her, reaching out his hand.
Isabella took Erwin's hand, then looked at Levi and gave him a bright smile. "I'm glad you're having fun, Levi!"
"Thanks Bella." Levi replied.
"I'll leave you two to it. The kids are nowhere near tired yet." Isabella replied, "I'll text you when we're leaving though."
Levi nodded, grateful that he would get to spend some more time with Erwin. He placed his arms on Erwin's shoulders, beginning to dance with him again, assuming Isabella had walked away.
"Oh! Levi!" She called, turning from a distance of several feet away.
Levi looked up and met her eyes, his hands never leaving Erwin's shoulders.
"It turns out we are seeing that shitty alien movie tomorrow."
END.