"Finally, everything's set up."
Levi leaned back and surveyed the organized shelves and sparkling counters of his new business. The decision to move out to Shiganshina was an unpopular one among his coworkers back in Sina. But here he was, with a brand store and a shiny new sign that said "Legion Florists". Maybe his luck would hold out this time around.
Crash!
The source of the noise was near the front of his shop and Levi ran to see what had happened. Instead of some disgusting vermin he thought might have found its way into his shop, it was a teenager with a two-toned undercut, standing at the center of a massacred vase.
"Who the hell are you?" Levi spat. "Look what you did!"
"I am so sorry," the brat sputtered. "I didn't mean it, I swear!"
"What are you doing here?" Levi demanded, crossing his arms menacingly.
"I, uh, I'm looking for the owner of this shop. Legion Florists, right? Dumb name but that's not the point, um, may I speak to the owner? My ma sent me."
"You're speaking to him."
If a face could get any more horrified, this boy's did.
"I am so sorry...uh, I'm Jean. Jean Kirschstein."
"You're the Kirschstein boy?" Well this was a disappointment. "Fine, I promised you a job so here." Levi tossed him an apron and a broom. "Clean that up."
"Thanks so much, Mr. Ackerman."
God, that made him sound so old. "Just call me Levi."
"Right, uh, Levi." Jean relaxed a bit as he started to sweep up the shards. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. "I didn't know you were the owner, sorry. I mean, what kind of florist wears all black? And you're kinda shorter than I pictured…"
"I'm wearing all black because it doesn't get dirty as easily," Levi growled. The prices he paid for extra help.
"Alright, alright, sorry. Geez, you're like a grumpy old man."
"Do you still want a job?" Levi threatened. He needed the help but this brat was pushing every button.
"Yes, yes, sorry sir." Jean got right back to work.
"And Legion Florists is a perfectly good name."
"Keep telling yourself that."
-x-x-x-x-x-
"Hey, someone's moving into the shop next door," Jean said. He was cleaning the windows (again, because Levi can never be pleased). "I think it's a tattoo parlor."
"What? Dammit." Of all the neighbors he could have had, he got a tattoo parlor. There was bound to be tons of creeps hanging hear his shop now, scaring the customers away.
"Oh, come on Levi." Jean rolled his eyes. "I'm sure they're nice people. We should go out and greet them."
"Tattooing is so nasty," Levi scowled. "Do you think they sanitize the needles properly?"
"It's an art," Jean countered. "No one said you'd have to get a tattoo, just go out and say hello."
"Yeah, and maybe I'll send them some poppies too," Levi replied, and stomped back to check on some flowers.
"Wow, so rude," Jean called after him. "I can see two blondes out there. One of them probably is too young for you...he's kinda cute though. He's got some nice looking tattoos all the way up his arm."
What was this, the Daily News? "God, Kirschstein, if you want to talk to them so badly, then go ahead," Levi shouted back.
Jean paused, then decided against it. He really didn't want to get on Levi's bad side. "Nah, I'm not going to bother them. I'll say hi another time."
He resigned himself to looking out the window and Levi was perfectly content to sit and read a magazine behind the counter.
Unfortunately for him, his new neighbors had other ideas.
"Hi there!"
Levi looked up to see a blonde woman, hair cut short around her shoulders. He could see artistic swirls of ink curling out from underneath the sleeves of the grey shirt she was wearing.
"I'm Petra Ral," she greeted, extending her hand with a smile. "I run the tattoo parlor next door."
She was the antithesis of his image of the owner of a tattoo parlor. Strawberry-blonde hair and sparkling eyes. A sharp contrast to Levi's piercing grey eyes and dark hair - and he owned the flower shop. Guess he should stop judging people based on appearances.
"Ah. I'm Levi. Levi Ackerman."
"Nice to meet you!" Petra grinned and shook his hand. It was warm and steady. "This is a really beautiful place you've got here. Glad we're neighbors."
"Yeah, thanks." Levi was really hoping that his blunt nature would make her leave, but she just smiled happily.
"Well, I'll leave you to work, but drop by any time!"
That..kind of worked. Petra left, and Levi went back to reading his magazine as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Jean sauntered over, looking disappointed in his boss.
"Well she was nice," he commented.
"Yeah, she was," Levi replied tonelessly.
"And you weren't."
"Yeah."
"Ugh, forget it."
-x-x-x-x-x-
The new doorbell really got on Levi's nerves. Jean convinced him to install one because "this is a flower shop, we have to have a bell" but it was ridiculous. Every time a customer walked in it made him feel less inclined to actually help them and more likely to tell them to buy a flower that matched their ugly shirt.
"Hey, Levi!" the newcomer shouted. "Where are - Jean?"
Jean almost dropped the pot of flowers he was holding. "Jaeger?"
"You're the last person I ever thought would be here," Eren laughed. "Carrying tulips, too!"
"What are you doing here," Jean muttered. Of course it had to be Jaeger. "Buying flowers for your nonexistent girlfriend?"
"Whoa, calm down," Eren held up his hands in surrender. "I'm just here for the job opening, that's all."
Jean grimaced. If he had to spend more time in flower land with Jaeger….
"Oh, it's you," Levi greeted as he walked in. "I thought I sensed a brat."
Eren chuckled. "Nice to see you to, old man. My buddy Armin works next door," Eren explained. "He told me there was a job opening, and I know Levi already so -"
His face was met with a green apron. "Stop talking and get to work," Levi growled.
"Cheerful as usual," Eren rolled his eyes. "I don't know how Mikasa stands it."
Levi walked by and slapped Eren upside the head. "You can start by watering the plants."
"So, your friend's Armin?" Jean said slowly. If he had to see Eren's face every day, he might as well make good use of it.
"Yeah, why?"
"Cool, cool."
"The pots don't go over there Kirschstein!" Levi shouted from the back, and Jean turned on his heel, nearly knocking over a rack of flower food.
Eren laughed. "I'll introduce you sometime."
-x-x-x-x-x-
"It's so hot," Jean groaned. It was a hot summer afternoon, the shop was slow, and he was miserable.
"No kidding," Eren sighed. "Maybe we should go next door."
"Where's Levi?" Jean asked, looking around for their boss.
Eren shrugged. "Who knows."
"Alright, screw it." Jean stood up and opened the door. "There's nothing to do here anyways."
There was no one inside the tattoo parlor, as they had expected. Armin was leaning against the counter spinning a pen. When the two of them walked in, he turned around.
"Hey guys," he greeted. "What's up?"
"Flower shop's boring as hell," Jean sighed, flopping down on a nearby chair.
Armin laughed. "It's a slow day for everyone, I guess."
"There are so many designs here," Eren commented, looking at the various designs displayed on the walls. "I've considered getting a tattoo before."
"Really?" Armin came over to stand next to him. "Got anything in mind?"
"I dunno. Just a small design, nothing too fancy like yours. I really like these wings, like on my arm or something."
"It'd suit you," Armin nodded.
"How do you think my mom would react if I got a tattoo?" Eren grinned.
His friend chuckled. "I think Carla would freak out for a day, but she'd be okay with it."
Putting his hands in his pockets, Eren leaned back. "Then maybe I will."
"Hey, what's this on the window?" Jean asked.
Armin looked over. "Oh, that's a flyer for the festival next month. Have you gone before? It's pretty fun. They string up all these lights and it looks really nice."
"Wonder if I could get Levi to go," Jean mumbled. "Man needs to get out more.
"Wow, so concerned about him," Eren laughed. "I don't know, sometimes Mikasa drags him out."
"You know who else needs to get out more," Armin chimed in. "Petra. You'd think she's pretty sociable but really she sits at home with her cats."
"It says here you can sign up to hold a stand at the festival," Jean continued. "Maybe Levi and Petra would be willing to do something like that."
"Levi hardly ever talks to Petra though." Eren smirked. "I think he's afraid of her. Or he likes her." Eren nudged Armin. "What do you think?"
Armin looked thoughtful. "Hmm, it is a possibility. It would be rude to assume anything though."
"Whatever, this is a good reason to get them to the festival," Jean said. "They can give temporary tattoos and flowers. Great combo."
"I like the idea," Armin smiled.
"Cool, I'll ask Levi about it then. See ya later, Armin."
Levi shot it down faster than he could blink. "No. I don't want to deal with brats at the festival."
"Come on, it'll be fun," Jean persuaded. Tried to anyways.
"I've gone with my sister a couple times," Levi said, focusing his attention back on the catalog he was paging through. "It was alright."
"Well, if you and Petra set up a stand, I'm sure it'll be more fun than walking around."
"No."
"Why not?"
"As far as I know, she doesn't even want to do it. I barely know her, Kirschstein."
"Right, you just talk to her a lot."
"I do not."
Jean threw up his hands. "Fine. I'll get her to talk to you personally."
"I said no, Kirschstein." Levi's voice grew steadily more agitated. "Out."
Just as Jean left Levi's office, he was surprised to see Petra there. Speak of the devil.
"Oh, hi," she smiled warmly. "Is Levi in his office?"
"Yeah," Jean gestured with his hands. "He's in a bad mood though."
She giggled. "Isn't he always."
-x-x-x-x-x-
A week later, Levi pulled Jean and Eren together to inform them that he and Petra were going to set up a stand at the festival.
"Hah!" Jean cheered. "I knew you'd give in."
"You can wipe that stupid smile off your face, or I might decide to wipe the windows with it."
"Right sir, I'll get back to work."
"Good."
With festival plans underway, Petra was at the flower shop more often. With her came her shining presence, sometimes Armin, and cookies. Her cookies were heavenly. Even Levi ate them.
"I'll mostly have stencils," Petra said, laying out an order catalogue on the counter. "But I can do things freehand too. Stencils will be easier for younger kids."
"Yeah, that sounds good," Levi nodded.
"What about the flowers?" Petra inquired. "Are you going to sell them or just give them away?"
"I'm going to sell them for a cheaper price," Levi replied. "So people will be a little more inclined to buy some."
Petra smiled. "That sounds great! As for the stand...hmm, we're going to need decorations."
"We can be in charge of that," Armin volunteered, with a mouth full of baked goods. "Eren can make some paper cut designs."
Eren raised an eyebrow. "I hope you're joking. Unless you want them in pieces like last time."
"You'd trust Eren with scissors?" Jean snickered.
Armin laughed. "I'm kidding. I was thinking about asking Mikasa. You can definitely help string them up though."
"Yeah, my kid sister's good at that stuff," Levi mumbled. "Don't know where she gets it."
"Paper designs sound like a great idea," Petra beamed. "I think I have some small lights in my garage, so if I can dig those out, we can use those too."
"Sounds great!" Armin exclaimed. "Do you want me to make a sign?"
"Sure, if you could."
"On it," Armin nodded. "I've got time now, so I'll head to the craft store. How about you guys come with me?"
"You're going to need three people to buy poster board and markers?" Levi raised an eyebrow.
"Well, I guess we might see other things we need while we're there." Eren hopped up. He wasn't staying in that stuffy flower shop if he didn't have to. "See you guys later."
When the door closed behind them, Armin admitted, "I really just wanted to give Levi and Petra some time alone." A conspiratorial smile pulled at his lips.
"What? Why?" Eren frowned. "I thought you said we shouldn't be trying to set them up if we don't know if they like each other."
"Just look," Armin tilted his head towards the window. "He's smiling."
"Would you look at that," Jean breathed, joining Eren at staring at the grumpy florist.
"Don't stare!" Armin protested. "He'll see-"
Too late. Levi gave a menacing glare through the window and the boys hurried down the street, Petra's unheard laughter following them all the way to the corner.
-x-x-x-x-x-
"These look amazing, Mikasa!" Armin praised, holding up the intricate paper designs up to the light.
"Thanks," she smiled.
"I helped!" Eren called down from the ladder he stood on. "I brought her coffee during the late nights."
"My hero," Mikasa deadpanned.
"I try my best," Eren laughed, giving her a mock salute.
Fifteen minutes later, the stand was set up and ready for the festivities to begin. Petra looked at the display proudly.
"This looks fantastic," she commended. "Great work, guys."
"I think this stand is going to be a great success," Armin grinned.
"Yeah, the kids'll love it," Jean nodded.
"You actually didn't screw anything up, brats," Levi walked over and patted Mikasa's head. "Good work."
They quickly recovered from the shock of his approval. It had been a shocking night in general - Levi had walked in a very nice blue button up and black pants. It was Mikasa's idea - in fact she was wearing a blue dress close to the same shade. It was the kind of cheesy sibling match-up Levi hated, but put up with anyways for the sake of his sister.
Their conversation was interrupted by the sudden noise of fireworks shooting off into the sky.
"Looks like the festival's started!" Petra rummaged through her bag for her phone. "I just want a quick picture before you all run off."
They all moaned and groaned, but managed to keep a smile for the five pictures Petra snapped.
"Mikasa and I are going to head off to play some carnival games," Eren said, waving some tickets in the air. "We'll be back to help out in an hour or so."
Petra waved them off. "Great! Have fun!"
"Don't do anything stupid," Levi shouted after them.
Eren held out his hands in a "who, us?" gesture before grabbing Mikasa's hand and disappearing into the crowd.
Meanwhile, Jean nervously walked up to Armin. "Hey, uh, I was wondering if you'd like to get something to eat?"
Armin grinned. "Thought you'd never ask."
"Young love," Petra laughed. It was just the two of them manning the stand now.
"Whatever you want to call it," Levi grumbled. It had been an...interesting experience, to say the least, when Mikasa informed him that Eren had asked her out. He hadn't felt the urge to dismember him, which was a surprise.
A silence fell between the two of them, but it wasn't awkward. He'd grown almost comfortable around Petra in the past month, and he wasn't quite sure what he thought of that.
"You look nice today," he said, clearing his throat.
Petra's eyes crinkled in that annoyingly cute way of hers. "Thanks, you look very nice yourself." She was wearing a long-sleeved green blouse and jeans, nothing fancy, but she looked lovely as usual. Levi could see the tips of a tattoo under the collar.
"So, what got you into becoming a florist?" Petra asked, twirling a paintbrush in her hands.
Levi shrugged. "It wasn't my initial plan. I started off in an office, and it drove me crazy. So I moved out here. Tried something new."
"A flower shop's way different from a boxy office cubicle."
"My mother does a lot of gardening. I used to help her, and she'd tell me the meanings of the flowers."
"Aww, cute little Levi helping his mom in the garden," Petra teased.
He looked away, staring at a distant lantern. "I guess I just found peace outside, where I couldn't find anywhere else. Might as well try it out."
"I see," Petra nodded. "Guess that's kind of like why I opened a tattoo parlor."
"And why's that?"
"Well," Petra started to draw swirls on the counter with the paintbrush. "I always loved art, but I loved the stories that went with it even more. I could stand in a museum for hours thinking about the painter and what the story behind the figures were. And then I got my first tattoo when I was in high school, in honor of a really tragic event that happened in the community I was living in. Every tattoo I bear has a story, and every tattoo I draw has one too. I like that."
Levi could see how much it meant to her, the way her eyes drifted into the sky like she could see something in the stars.
"That's amazing," was all he said. He had never thought of tattoos that way.
She smiled. "When life's a rollercoaster, sometimes it's nice to have something to remember it by. It's weird, isn't it? That you'd want to remember the pain. I don't know. I guess I like the permanence."
I couldn't agree more, Levi thought.
"Oh look, we have a customer!" Petra leapt from her stool, and the moment passed as a little kid asked for a tiger on her cheek.
For the rest of the night, Levi handed out carnations and tulips as Petra painted bursts of color on every person's skin.
Before the lights dimmed, the teenagers returned with stuffed teddy bears and too much sugar, which at least gave them enough energy to help clean up. Packing up the leftover flowers, Levi's fingers brushed against the petals of an iris.
Moving here, he had never expected to find any sort of stability in a flower shop, of all places, but somehow he had found it here, on Magnolia Street.
"Levi!" Petra called. "You coming?"
"Yeah," he replied, rolling the flower around in his hand. "I'll be there in a minute."