A/N Thank you! :)

His Neighbor's Girlfriend

Chapter 9

"Would you like to model for me? I'll pay you." Levi is surprised he manages to deliver it smoothly.

He notices how she gulps, hitching a breath. "I don't think I'm good enough," is her response.

But Levi doesn't take no for an answer. "I'm the artist. I know what's good enough and not." He scowls.

She gapes at him for a while and then, "Then, may I call you by your first name? We have the same last name. It's awkward."

"So, I've heard." Levi blinks, surprised but manages to choke out, "I don't mind. You know my name, right? I'm–"

"Levi." The way his name rolls out of her tongue feels like the way he first looked at her eyes. His world seemed to stop spinning. Oxygen feels scarce. And he finds himself feigning coughs to justify the heat spreading across his face. He turns his head away.

"It won't take long." He says, recomposing himself. He moves his canvas in front of her, in an attempt to misdirect her attention from him to the canvas.

She reaches a hand, almost grazing her fingers to the canvas. And Levi can't help but stare at her raw expression. It is not the usual blank face, it's that of someone in awe. "You haven't done much, but I feel like it's talking to me."

Levi swallows again as he reaches for her hand, skins brushing lightly, he squeezes her fingers. "Will you model for me?"

Nervously, she stares back at him, tearing her gaze away from the canvas. "But I'm not ready to take my clothes off."

The spell breaks and as if an electricity shocks through their bodies, they pull their hands and look away. Levi, for the nth time, recomposes himself. "I don't do nude paintings. I'm not fond." He explains as he waves his hand.

It is her turn to cough. Then, she laughs. It is short, but Levi thinks the sound of her laughter is soothing to the ears. "I thought… I'll have to take my clothes off." She lets out a sigh of relief.

But then, the light reflecting against her feature is so tempting that Levi finds himself moving his canvas to face it. "Just a quick one." He says as he grabs his brush, "Look up, don't mind me. Stare at the sky."

So, she did.

And he paints her in silence. He got so absorbed with his work that he missed what she said, directing only her grey eyes to him as she tried not to move her head.

"Come again?" He asks, hands still moving on its own.

"I'd like to be painted nude someday," She says boldly, "It's in my bucket list. Do you think modeling for art students is okay?"

He shakes his head, "If you're okay with strangers gawking at you naked, that should be fine."

Her lips thin into a straight line. "Not okay."

He is beyond mesmerized.

Levi frowns at himself. "Why did you quit being a doctor?"

Her eyes widen slightly, her mouth falls agape. For a minute, she stays quiet, and then a smile lines her lips. "So, it's true. You're Hange-san's friend."

He doesn't respond, he continues looking at her and then to his work as his hands move on its own.

"I have to." She answers quietly, bitter.

He hums, getting the hint that she doesn't want to elaborate further. "Then, your music?" He is curious. Not all who are enthusiastic with music becomes a child prodigy. A prodigy is not made, it is born. And such opportunity to go to waste. Well, he can't really say. After all, he knows a lot of gifted people who gives up on their passion because of unknown reasons. But he wants to hear her reason.

This time, she laughs. "Not everyone is as strong as you."

It is then he realizes, she knows more about him than he knows about her. "Your family?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. I just do what I want while I can." She says, shrugging her shoulders casually, her usual expression back.

"The articles don't state how old you are now." He changes the topic, brush strokes lightly against the canvas.

"I'm flattered. You're curious about me now. But Levi," Mikasa pauses, "That's not a nice thing to ask a lady." She laughs and gets serious again. "But well, no point in keeping quiet. I'm 28."

"Oh, older than I thought." He really should keep his mouth shut.

Mikasa bites her lower lip, shoulders shaking suspiciously. She's restraining her laughter. "I'll take that as a compliment."

Silence befalls upon them once again, as dusk envelopes the skies and only the incandescent light of the full moon illuminating their surroundings.

She breaks the ice, uncaring of the darkness. "If you didn't choose the same path you did, what would you be doing now?" She asks, her voice low.

Thoughtful, he replies as he finalizes his work. "Tea-making."

"Not an Ackerman lawyer?" She presses.

"No. I know what I want." Maybe he is imagining it, but he thinks he saw her smile so sad, it makes his heart melt like how the ice cream thaws on a hot, summer day. With final touches here and there, he adds. "I like tea and its tranquility."

She hums, stretching and placing the half-full teacup on the stool in his side of the balcony. "So, did you make that tea from scratch? It's good. But it has grown cold."

He responds, eyes on his painting. He's not quite satisfied, there's something it lacks. Maybe because it's already dark. But this is his first painting of her – so he wants to believe it is special. "No, I got it from the convenience store."

There is another pause, she doesn't move. Levi is unsure if she's looking at him or not, but he doesn't meet her gaze, he focuses his steely orbs on his work, figuring out what is wrong with it. And then, she says again, "The tea is good, where did you get it?"

She's got to be kidding. But he replies anyway, "Convenience store. That's just the ordinary black tea. You can buy it anywhere." He explains.

He feels her shift, "It's really good, where did you get–"

Now a bit annoyed, Levi cuts her off harshly as he looks up at her. "Convenience store. That's the second time you asked and my third time answering. The tea must have gotten quite the good impression on you." He can't believe she's got an IQ of 197.

Despite the darkness in their surroundings, he sees Mikasa stare at him, and the imaginary urgency of her expression makes him stare back at her. Their eyes lock. He doesn't miss how her ashen orbs faintly widens for a second and shows an emotion something akin to confusion. As the spell shatters and breaks, both turn their heads away.

She is the first to speak. "I must have liked it so much. I got carried away."

He nods, "Would you like to see? I'm done. But, my offer still stands. Let me draw you."

He sees her hesitate and then she shakes her head. "I'll look at it some other time. And yes, I'll try playing the violin. Draw me while I play. I'd like to see how I look in your eyes. No payments needed." She pauses and stands, "Your handmade tea should be enough."

And even before he can respond, she is quick to run away.

Leaving Levi, a bit muddled. Brows creasing and a deeper frown forming.

He glances at his canvas.

Ah, right. Something he missed – the smile on her lips.

In the canvas, as the saturating colors of pinks, reds and oranges are fading from sight, and as the eyes of a girl dye the night – a woman looks up as if she had always belonged to the heavens.

He strokes his brush and makes the woman in his painting smile.

Majestic.