OMG soon wasn't suppose to mean three weeks I am so freaking sorry.
Thank you everyone for putting up with my shit. School is being a bitch at the moment and I've got all my assignments and tests due in the next two weeks, so I really hope I can put one out before then.
Chapter 2:
"Ah, so I'm guessing you got my gift," Erwin's smirk could be heard through the phone, and Levi sent a heat-filled glare to the coffee table in front of him, hoping Erwin could feel the hatred of his gaze through the silence he provided with him.
Turns out Erwin had sent him a fucking puppy out of all things. The brat, not looking more than about ten weeks old, was a deep, brown-furred German Sheppard cross Collie, with the blue-green eyes that Levi had noticed before when he was trapped in the box. Hanji was currently occupying him nearby, cooing and nuzzling the creature. He seemed quite noisy, barking and panting and letting out little whines at everything whether it moved or not. He was also really hyperactive. It turns out he was sleeping throughout the entire trip to Levi's house, and was now using all his pent up energy exploring Levi's apartment, bouncing and slipping around on the polished floorboards and pulling himself up onto Levi's furniture. At one point, he came around the side of the couch to where Levi sat, offering him a tilted head and a curious gaze, but Levi only had to send him a pointed glare before he'd whine and back away with his tail tucked between his legs.
He turned his attention back to Erwin, who was currently chuckling to himself over the phone like it was some fantastic prank he just pulled that left Levi confused and angry. "I'm not keeping the fucking brat. I can't believe you gave me a literal shit-licker."
Erwin laughter quietened down as he sighed through the phone. "Levi, I'm asking this as a favour. He was the only one of the litter I wasn't able to sell."
A loud bark and the sound of something crashing perked at his ears. Levi sent a pointed look towards Hanji, who had retreated to the laundry to grab a broom to clean up the broken remains of a vase. The glass of the lamp was still shattered along the ground, and the dog was hidden underneath the chair, barking madly at the remains of the vase that had joined the mess.
"Yeah, and I can see why. Let's rejoice for humanity regaining some fucking not-so-common sense." Levi growled, shifting the phone to his other ear to try and block out the sound of the shitty dog's barking. "Just give it to Hanji; she's already bonded with the critter."
"Can't!" Hanji called, emerging from the laundry with one of Levi's many brooms gripped in her hands. She went to where the glass and broken pottery were spilled across the wooden floorboards, sweeping up the remains. "My apartment doesn't allow pets."
The shitty brat of an animal had now started barking at the broom, sneaking up to it and swiping out a paw before retreating underneath the table to continue barking at it. Hanji, who seemed to find the whole thing absolutely fucking hilarious, tried and failed to muffle her giggles at the dog's actions as she swept, bending down to stroke his fur every once and a while.
Levi massaged his temple with one hand, keeping a harsh grip on the phone with the other. "Why are you giving me the dim-witted animal?"
"Because," Erwin noted, with amusement in his voice. "It's the closest thing I can get you to a woman."
"It's not even a literal bitch."
"Precisely."
Levi chose to ignore whatever Erwin meant by that statement. He sighed and rubbed his forehead, not before spotting some of the brown fur from the dog coating his floor. He growled into the phone harshly, causing the dog's ears to prick up towards him from his current position behind the coat hanger. "The little fucker's already malted on my floor."
"Oh, yeah. Those breeds tend to shed a lot of fur…" Levi swore he saw red at Erwin's words as he gripped the phone so tightly he was afraid he might crush it in between his hands. "Knowing the breed of his mother, he'll be quite energetic, so you'll need to take him for lots of walks…"
"Are you fucking kidding me right now?!"
"…he's pretty bright too, so it'd be pretty easy to teach him some basic commands, which you'll have to do anyway otherwise he'll get bored and probably tear up your house in that boredom."
Levi went pale, blinking rapidly at Erwin's words. Holy fuck. What does he mean by 'tear up the house'…?
Erwin went quiet for a few moments. "Levi, are you there?"
"Yeah…" Levi mumbled, vacating his eyes down to the floor.
The dog had slipped under the coffee table, and was now rolled on his back and gazing up at Levi with his bright, turquoise eyes. Levi didn't even know if it was possible for a dog to have such an exquisite and unique eye colour; not entirely green, yet not entirely blue at the same time. The dog cocked his head to the side, and Levi could hear his tail drag along the wooden floors. He rolled back onto his stomach, letting out a whine and resting his head between his paws, gazing up at Levi with those eyes. He noted with amusement how only the dog's left ear stuck up, whereas his right flopped into his face.
"You'll have to get him used to collars and leashes. I already gave you a collar with his name tag and your address. You've got it, right?"
Levi looked down to the coffee table, where the green collar had sat. The dog had pulled it down from the coffee table and was currently chewing at one of the edges of the buckle. He seemed to realise Levi's gaze on him and met it, letting out a challenging growl around the piece of fabric in his mouth. Levi scowled and reached down for the other end, but the mutt took that as an excuse for a challenge and started attempting to tug it out of Levi's strong grip. After a harsh tug and a glare, the dog let out a whine and a narrowed glare, before scampering off, probably looking for something else to chew on.
"Yeah, I got it…" Levi held the collar in front of him between the tips of his fingers. He narrowed his glare on the collar, specifically on the other end where the dog had left his gloopy slobber soaked into the green fabric. The name tag itself was shaped in the form of a key, with the dog's name, Eren, engraved on one side, and Levi's phone number and address engraved on the other. Levi spared another look at the opposite end of the collar, cringing and supressing a shudder at the sight. "I'm going to have to put this on him, won't I?" He could hear the emotional pain in his voice.
"Only if you keep him," Erwin's smile was audible in his voice, as if he already knew Levi's answer.
Levi sighed, turning his head to the side when the dog, Eren, waltzed into his peripheral vision. Eren sat obediently, his tail wagging happily behind him. In his muzzle, gripped between his teeth, was the latest newspaper of the week that Levi swore was on top of the kitchen counter before. It was torn up on both ends and ripped down one edge, a few sheets seemed to be missing, and a trail of torn paper seemed to lead into his kitchen, but the dog just looked so fucking proud of himself with his eyes that seemed to sparkle in happiness that Levi couldn't help but let one of the sides of his mouth upturn in a slight half-smile at the dog's stupidity.
"Okay," Levi said, returning to his passive expression. "I'll keep him for now, but if he majorly screws up anything, I'm sending him back."
Levi could practically feel Erwin's smugness that seeped through the phone so thickly he was convinced he'd be able to cut through it with a knife. "Alright," Erwin smiled. "Remember the things I told you though."
"I fucking hate you."
He could hear Erwin's laughter and thoroughly amused voicing of "Happy Birthday!" before Levi clicked off and tossed the phone lightly across the coffee table. Hanji's amused snort sounded from behind him, and he twisted in her seat to find her leaning over the edge of the couch, giving him one of her amused, shit-eating grins. Levi only scowled and got up from the sofa, bypassing Hanji and grabbing the broom from where she left it propped up against the wall.
"So…you're keeping him?" Hanji smirked as she flopped down into the creaky, wooden, dining table chair, cradling her half-empty glass of wine in her hand as she sent amused glances his way.
"So what?" Levi grumbled, sweeping around the hallways and near the coffee table where Eren's fur had already starting shedding in little clumps. Eren poked his paw underneath the table to swing toward the broom as Levi passed by, who let out a 'tch' and continued on, Eren following on his heels.
"Awww, look at him Levi! He's so cute!" Hanji cooed, watching the whole scene from her position at the table.
Levi looked down to Eren at his heels, who looked back up at him when he realised Levi had stopped moving. His tail wagged excitedly and he stuck tongue out, tilting his head to the side and letting his ear flop in front of one of his eyes. Levi smirked and let out a hum, before continuing to clean the kitchen.
Hanji chuckled, drowning the rest of the drink in her hand. "Well, I'm off." She said after she swallowed the remaining drops of wine.
Levi stopped his sweeping and turned to her, giving her an incredulous look. "You're seriously not fucking shit-brained enough to go out, in this weather after you've downed basically half of my wine bottle, by yourself?!"
Hanji smirked, amused, and waved a hand. "I'm taking a cab, you asshole," she laughed. Pulling back the curtain, she peered outside to where the snowstorm had reduced to a light fall. "Besides," she continued, hiccupping in the middle. "They should have cleared the roads by now."
She tossed her keys to Levi, who caught them in his hands. She smirked and grabbed her coat, slipping her arms into the warm sleeves and sending him a mock salute. "I'll be back for my car in the morning, Captain."
She waved him off as she headed out the door, shutting it loudly behind her, leaving only Eren and Levi behind. As if the dog could sense it, he knelt down around Levi's heels, wagging his tail in the air and bouncing around on his feet, as if literally begging for Levi's attention. Levi huffed, putting down the broom for the moment and making his way to the coffee table where he left the dog's collar, Eren following promptly at his heels. Levi grabbed the collar, trying to ignore to cold slobber at one end, and used it to rope Eren closer to him so he could buckle it around his neck. He tried to squirm his way out of the confinement, but Levi was quick and was able to lock the collar around his neck before he could manoeuvrer his way around it.
Levi's effort to put the collar on Eren, however, proved fruitless as he easily was able to struggle out of it, letting it fall onto the floor with a clatter. Levi gave him a deadpanned glare and Eren gave him that stupid happy look in return, sticking his tongue out and wagging his tail enthusiastically.
"I can already tell you're going to be such a shitty pain in my ass," Levi muttered to the dog.
Eren replied with a prompt lick to his hand.
I know nothing about snow...and it's looking nothing like Christmas over here...
I know nothing about puppies either...I'm not allowed one...*sniff*
