This one's a modern AU


Rating: K


Unintended Meeting


'Are you here?' Hanji's asked on the phone.

'Yeah I am, what room are you guys in?' I eyed the reception ahead.

'We're on floor 5, room 203, Inpatient section,' she replied.

'I'll be up there in a second.'

'Levi.'

'Yeah.'

'Don't bother to bring flowers, the room is packed as it is.'

I snorted. 'Didn't plan to. I'm not wasting money on Erwin.' I hung up on the phone and headed to the nearest elevator, pressing the up button. When it arrived, I stepped into an empty compartment, but just as the doors were about the close, a hand flashed out of nowhere and they reopened. A young woman, dressed in simple jeans and jumper huffed in relief.

'Thank goodness,' she mumbled as she stepped in, and the doors closed behind her.

Pressing the Floor 5, I watched her press for Floor 7. Feeling satisfied that I would reach my floor before her I leaned against the handrails, watching my reflection in the side mirrors of the compartment. For a moment, I looked up at the numbers that flashed above the buttons.

Floor 2

Floor 3

And then it froze.

The elevator stopped with a jerk, and the young woman stumbled slightly, caught momentarily off guard. Frowning, I pressed the floor number again, but then the bright lights turned off and we were left in dim light.

We were stuck.

'Fuck this,' I muttered, reaching out to the emergency button and pressing it harshly before my hand fell back to my side.

'That's convenient,' the woman commented wryly, shifting her weight from one foot to another. She had an annoyed expression plastered on her face, and it all too clearly explained my feelings.

Pulling out my phone, I dialled in Hanji's number and held it to my ear. It rang once before she picked up.

'You got lost, didn't you?' was the first thing she said.

'No. The elevator stopped and I'm stuck. Bring your ass out here and call maintenance.' I fumed in a clipped tone.

Hanji burst into laughter on the other line loudly enough for me to keep the phone away at a safe distance. The woman stared at me, eyebrow quirked in amusement, clearly hearing the cackles.

'Just hurry up,' I said and ended the call, stuffing the phone back into my pocket and leaning against the wall. The young woman chose to sit on the floor. Knees pulled up with her arms resting on them, she sighed.

I don't know how long it we were there; probably a good ten minutes before I got frustrated and slid to the ground, assuming the same position and resting my head against the wall, eyes closed. The silence wasn't much, only our breathing audible to our ears. Until the woman moved and unzipped her messenger bag, rummaging through it before taking out something plastic. I didn't bother checking what it was, not until she said, 'you want one?'

Opening my eyes, my gaze fell on her hand, where she held out a bag of snake lollies.

I raised a brow at her, and she urged me. 'Do you want it or not?'

'No.'

'Then say so,' she retracted her hand, pulling out a snake and biting into it. For the first time since we entered the elevator, I studied her. She was short, surprisingly so, especially since she appeared shorter than me when she entered. She had a lithe figure, small hands and a youthful face. In the dim light, her auburn hair appeared brown, but her eyes had a deep colour of chocolate. She couldn't be too young, perhaps in her early twenties. It was only her figure that made anyone assume she was anything less.

Noticing my stare, she stopped chewing, swallowing the last of a red snake. 'I'm Petra,' she said, 'what's your name?'

She had some nerve, but her tone was casual, unthreatening.

'Levi.'

She nodded. 'Who are you here to see?'

'Curiosity killed the cat,' I remarked, not bothering to mask my annoyance.

She rolled her eyes, catching me off guard. What a daring, bold woman.

'I was making conversation, since we're bored. Forgive my attempts to humour myself.' She said sarcastically, eyeing me carefully. She reached out the snakes bag again, and I took one this time out of boredom.

We sat for another good fifteen minutes, hearing maintenance going on outside on the other side of door. Receiving a message from Hanji saying they were working on the problem, I was certain we'd be out soon. But half an hour later, we still sat in the dimness, eating snakes until the sound of chewing got too aggravating.

'I'm here to see a commander. He got injured while on duty.' I said finally.

Petra looked up, surprised. 'You're a soldier?' she inquired, sounding incredulous.

'Ex-soldier,' I responded grudgingly.

She shook her head, amazed. 'That's so cool. First time I've met one. Nice to meet you,' she flashed a sheepish grin, and I nodded tersely, focusing on the snake as I chewed it slowly.

'So what do you do now?'

'I'm at the police academy.'

'Living the dangerous life, I see,' she mused.

'Better than sitting behind a desk,' I pointed out, and she nodded after a moment.

I reached for another snake. 'What do you do for a living?'

'Studying to be a psychologist.'

'Impressive.'

'Thanks.'

Silence again until a banging noise came from somewhere above. 'Levi!' a muffled voice called, shrilling. 'Wait a little longer. We're almost done, okay?'

Hanji.

'Girlfriend?' Petra guessed.

If I had the energy I'd choke on the snake, but I snorted instead. 'Old colleague.'

She laughed wholeheartedly, and the melodious sound surprised me. 'She sounds pretty wild to be a friend of yours.'

'A result of unfortunate circumstances,' I informed in a dry voice, and decided to change the subject. The current one seemed to amuse her a little too much.

'So what are you here for?'

She grinned. 'A friend gave birth yesterday, so I came for a visit.' She paused for a moment, as though thinking of something. 'Hey,' she said, somewhat uncertainly.

I waited for her to continue.

'Can I have your number?'

I smirked. 'Find me attractive?'

She laughed again. 'Well, that's not the reason. Just thought I'd have good connections with an ex-soldier, future police, that sort of thing. But you are attractive,' she added the last part as an afterthought.

Before I could reply, the lights flashed on again, almost blinding me as I squinted, and then the elevator went back into movement. Taking out a piece of notepaper from my pocket, I scribbled down a number just before the doors opened and Hanji stood there, a grin plastered in her face as the maintenance man packed his equipment and left.

'Why hi there,' Hanji said casually, hands on hips as I stood up, glaring at her.

'Took your time.' I remarked.

'Don't fuss. Come on, Erwin's wondering where you are. Come before Aurou and Gunter have to leave.'

She turned her back, not waiting for me as she pranced down the corridor in all her ridiculous glory. I looked back at Petra, who was now on her feet.

'Nice meeting you,' she stretched out a hand. I took it, shaking it firmly and making sure I pressed the number into her hand.

'See you soon.' I smirked.

Her eyes widened slightly as she realized the paper in her palm before she smiled mischievously.

'You too.'

And as I followed the way I'd seen Hanji go, I felt unnaturally accomplished.