Hello me here again!
Some of you note was kind enough to point out something I'd totally missed in the last chapter. I've been such a good author and inserted the same piece of text multiply times. I'm sorry about that and it is fixed now. All I have to say as an excuse is that I just recently realized I had to make changes in this story by adding chapters since it felt like I didn't develop the story enough. This means I'm a little stressed out since since I don't have so much time on my hands between work, household choirs and social life (it sucks to be adult sometimes).
So I probably didn't read thru the chapter proparly before uploading it. But hopefully this will not affect my uploding plan (for you who hasn't noted I'm trying to uplode a new chapter every Tuesday and Thursday). Well thank you all for reading, favorite, following and reviewing, it makes me smile and makes me so happy that you all seem to enjoy to read this as much as I enjoy to write it. Now heres chapter 12 for you to enjoy!


The days passed by, but for me the almost kiss made the situation between me and Levi awkward, at lest from my point of view. Levi seemed unaffected and like it wasn't a big of a deal. The problem was that I became nervous in his presence resulting in me being jumpy and clumsy. Of course this made both Farlan and Isabel laugh, the later just enjoying my clumsiness. Farlan on the other hand seemed to see right thru me and knew something was going on.

"What's going on with you Valerie?" He asked an evening when he was helping me with the dishes. Isabel was up in her room and Levi was out. I acted like I didn't know what he was talking about.

"What do you mean? There's nothing going on with me." I bluntly said and he shook his head as he wiped the plate I just handed him.

"Nah there's something. You've become so clumsy and nervous all of a sudden." He said before he leaned closer with a smirk on his face. "Especially around Levi." At the mention I blushed and dropped the plate in my hand which I was about to hand to him. It fell to the floor and shattered. I kneeled down immediately to pick up the pieces "See." Farlan said and kneeled down as well. I looked up at him, for a moment just watching him in silence before I sighed and looked down again.

"Levi…tried to kiss me the other night." I whispered and I could tell Farlan got surprised by the way his body flinched.

"What?" He asked and I looked up at him.

"It was that evening when Isabel asked about how we came to live here." I told him what happened when he left that evening and Levi had come back downstairs.

"I knew there was something there, but I didn't really believe he would do something like that anytime soon." I looked at Farlan with questioning eyes.

"What you mean with something there?" I asked and he looked at me with a smile.

"Come on Valerie, you think me and Linda has joked around about the two of you only for the fun of it?" He asked and laughed. When he stopped he turned his back to the counter, leaning against it and smiled, looking out at the room. "It was visible even the first time I saw you two together. But I guess that was because you were arguing about me, it's easy to spot it then. Well on you it's most easy to see it, Levi on the other hand you have to watch closely to notice it."

"What is it?" I asked, feeling like I was left out on a secret. He looked at me and smirked.

"It's so obvious that it's painful."

"What's obvious?" I felt irritated now and narrowed my eyes at him.

"That you're so custom to him, that you don't even realize that you're in love" My eyes widened at this and I opened my mouth to protest but my mind went blank and I couldn't find any words. Farlan smiled at this. "And since Levi is not the type to speak or act out on his feelings like that the two of you is just content living with each others presence."

"Don't be ridicules!" I spotted out at last in an sorry attempt to protest.

"You say so. Well tell me, you've been living with him for five years. Why does he keep you around?" I've been asking myself that many times so I answered him like I'd answered myself every time.

"Because it's convenient for him having me around to take care of the household. There's nothing more to it" I told him what I'd told myself over the years. Farlan shook his head again.

"Then why did he let me stay?" I flinched at this and blushed again since Levi told me the night he tried to kiss me why. I hadn't had the time to process that since I'd been to busy with the kiss attempt.

"Because…I..."

"…wanted it!" He filled in and gave me a meaning look. "And why did he decide he and you should share a bedroom when Isabel joined us?" The blush grew and I didn't even know what to answer at that. "So tell me Valerie, those sound to you like a man that's convenient having you around for the sake household care?"

"No." I simply answered, feeling stupid of some reason.

"You're so deep in it that you don't even realize it and when someone points it out, you make excuses and deny it because you haven't stopped to think about it for real." Farlan looked down at the floor and smiled, like he remembered something. "The night he came back, you were sleeping on the sofa as you'd been the other nights and I happened to walk downstairs. He was watching you sleeping." I blinked, knowing he talked about the night Levi came back after having left because of me standing up for Farlan. "You know, there's something I haven't told you. I realized that he'd been watching us, to make sure I would protect you when something happened and that I was not out to hurt you."

"He was angry, that can't be…"
"See, there you go making an excuse and denying it. He came back at night after I'd protected you from those drunks. It was not a coincidence." He looked me straight in the eyes. "Trust me it was a surprise for me too. Never could I believe that someone like him would ever look at anyone with so much care and devotion as he did that night. It was intense just watching it." Farlan leaned his head against the counter and looked up. "But it makes sense when you think about it you know. You're completing each other. And somehow it's enough for him to see you safe and alive, and he'd go lengths to make sure of it." I inhaled sharply, feeling my heart race a little because of Farlans straightforwardness. But there was something not fitting into this if it was like Farlan said.

"Let's say you're right about this, then why would he try to kiss me now?" I asked and Farlan look at me clearly thinking about it as well.

"I don't know." He said after a moment of silence. "That's why I'm wondering as well. But who really knows how his mind works." I sighed and looked down at the shattered plate on the ground. Of some reason my mind went back to the very first moment five years ago when he opened the pantry doors and our eyes meet for the first time. The thoughts I pushed away so long ago of why he'd left me alive came back to me. Love at first sight wasn't Levi at all nor was it to feel sympathy or guilt for people he didn't know. I was sure he didn't even feel remorse over such things. The closest to an answer I'd come to was that he hadn't felt the need to kill a defenceless fifteen year old girl especially since I'd been dead within days either way if I hadn't stayed. Still that didn't explain why he both let me live and stay with him. So why had he done it? I was so deep in thought that I didn't realize Farlan had picked up the shattered pieces or that the door had opened and closed until someone spoke.
"What are you doing?" I turned my head and looked up, my green eyes meeting Levis grey. And there it was again, that very same mixture of boredom, wonder and curiosity in his eyes that he often held when he looked at me. And I realized he probably didn't even know himself why he'd done it. A smile formed on my lips as I kept looking at him and thought about it all. Maybe it really didn't matter why he'd tried to kiss me or how we felt for each other. Maybe it just was enough with knowing the other was safe and alive. I'd gone five years without craving anything other then his presence and obviously it been the same for him, so just maybe it didn't matter if things stayed the same. It didn't to me anyways. "You're going to sit there all day?" He reached out his hand for me to help me stand, not that I needed it. The awkwardness I'd felt around him the last couple of days vanished as I placed my hand in his.

"Thank you!" I said when I stood up, him still holding my hand and for the shortest of moment a hint of a smile was visible on his face. Then he let go of my hand and sat down by the table his usual bored expression his face and I turned back to the dishes. What ever happened from now on I would just go along with it.