"You speak to me so gently,

like you're touching something fragile.

But back then,

when I found it hard to even breathe,

you only listened to the voices around you.

You didn't believe me."


He stood up from the bench after he was left alone there, the patter of rain soothing the emptiness that seemed to grow without the other there. A loneliness that felt more dark than the one before his visits to the gazebo.. Since when had he started feeling this way? About a snotty high school brat, no less.

A soft sigh passed his parted lips as the man clicked open his umbrella, holding it overhead as he walked out from under the wooden shelter. The walk to his apartment took no longer than ten minutes.

His umbrella shut as he rode the elevator up to the sixth floor, where his residence was.

It was a small apartment, it was cleaned until every surface sparkled and the faint smell of lemon filled the air. The decor was dark and cold, there were no pictures. The whole space seemed to lack any life. But that was how the male liked it. He slipped off his shoes- the ones that indeed were scuffed and worn out -and set them on the small shoe mat. His fingers pulled at the cravat around his neck as he walked farther into the space, heading for the small bedroom.

His back hit the soft mattress of his bed once he got into the room, his gaze on the ceiling. It was just another rainy day in shinganshina.. but the man felt different. He just couldn't describe how, or why.

A buzzing sound interrupted his thoughts after a few moments, his cell phone which he had forgotten that morning was flashing bright on the dark night stand. The man knew exactly who it was, and he really didn't feel like picking up.

Alas, the buzzing eventually annoyed him enough for the man to reach over and pick up the phone. It was who he presumed. What was the point in picking up?

"What do you want?" The mans words were a hiss, they clearly showed his annoyance.

"I see you're in high moods this morning Levi," The mans silver eyes flicked over to the left wall of his small room, rolling in annoyance though the other man could not see it. "How are you feeling?"

There were those four concerned words, spoke softly as if they'd break the man upon impact. They would not, Levi had gotten much stronger than what he was before.. before seeing that brat. "I'm fine," It was not a complete lie, which was rather a good thing. "I can taste the shitty food I make now,"

"So your taste dysphoria is improving then?" Erwin- the man on the other end - seemed to believe the crap Levi spoke.

"Yes. Seeing that I could only taste wine and chocolate just a month ago..,"

"You're healing,"

"I suppose," Healing wasn't the best word. The man stood up from his bed as he held the phone to his ear, and began walking to his small living room.

"That old lady at the park seems to really have affected you Levi. I'm grateful to her," Levi paused as he sat down on the couch. Who was that old lady he was blabbering on about?He grunted in response, until he remembered he had called Eren an old lady, when explaining things to his ex, Erwin. An old lady was just an easier person to talk about.

"So, how are you doing Erwin? How are the wife and kids?" And, as simple as that, the subject was changed.

He talks to me like.. I'm something fragile.

as if his words could break me.

But.. I 'm damn sure they wouldn't.

Not again.

The man hung up the phone after saying his farewells to Erwin, and he set the device on the edge of the coffee table. When it buzzed once more, Levi made a reach to grab it, but his fingers were clumsy and knocked the phone off the side of the table. He let out an annoyed breath when he heard the impact the cellular device made on the ground. And to god he hoped the screen did not shatter.

Of course, his luck wasn't always golden.

When the man reached down for the phone and flipped it over in his hands, cracks webbed over the dark screen. If he weren't thinking about how impractical buying a new one would be, Levi would have maybe thought the cracked design was beautiful. There were no chips of glass that fell loose, just shallow cracks which circled and curved around the front.

His eyes narrowed a bit as he saw his reflection in the dark screen- had his eyes always been circled with dark patches?

With a slow shake of his head, Levi clicked the on button to the phone and saw it flash up, the clear picture of rain dripping off of the gazebo met his gaze. The phone was cracked and marked by its troubles.

It was strange, how a man could relate to the phone in his hands.

It truly was fate just spitting into his face, wasn't it?

Even with that boy.. Eren. That student who always was thoughtful.. who brought extra food because, for some reason, he cared for a strangers health. Would he and his company somehow circle around and bite Levi in the butt when he least expected it? As with what happened with everything, seemingly, Levi was involved with?

He damn well hoped not, the students company wasn't bad. He was inspiring… the way his eyes almost gleamed when he looked through the sketchbook of his.. or when he talked about his future in shoe making. A kid with so much promise, a student whom seemed to care for Levi.. he wouldn't possibly come with regret.

His fingers raked through his hair as yet another sigh passed his parted lips. Monday would be yet another rainy day.. though the season was indeed coming to a close. And it saddened the man more than he could comprehend. Would he stop seeing the boy once the rained stopped? That would just be god awful.

Just with a tilt of his head, Levi's eyes met with a rather large book that was sitting on the bookshelf on the other side of the room. Wasn't it just a strange thing.. how without him realising it.. he bought such an expensive book because he remembered that brat going on and on and on about it some days ago.. a book about shoemaking.

Maybe with that book, the brat wouldn't forget about Levi.

The shitty fucking brat that made Levi actually want to smile. Oh how would it hurt if the kid forgot about him..

The weekend passed by with Levi just tidying his apartment continuously, picking at his nails as he watched the television, and plenty of hours spent reading some novels. He honestly did uncanny things to get his mind away from chocolate and wine. The brat had inspired him to try and live more healthily, somehow. Though the taste dysphoria he had never seemed to get better.. Levi had given up hope on tasting anything other than chocolate and wine again.

Though it didn't exactly discourage him, he still tried. Monday morning he made himself a nice egg lunch and packed it away into his bag, along with folders of papers and a book. He pulled on his regular attire; white dress shirt, black slacks and blazer with his cravat tied neatly around his neck. Once his fruity breakfast was done, he grabbed his bag and umbrella, walked to the front door, and slipped on his worn out dress shoes. They were nice when he bought them.. though they weren't anymore. It meant something to him though.

His walk to the bus was short, his umbrella was overhead and protected him from the rain. Everything was content. Though, once he was seated on the bus he felt more tense. The air reeked of elders and sweat.. and he knew just how dirty the seats were. But it was what he had to tolerate, everyday.

The decision was in his mind throughout the bus ride, and on his way to the subway. He'd go to work today. He'd do it. Nothing could hold him back.. he knew he could do it. There were no doubts.

But as the subway carts door closed, Levi had not stepped in, and he was left just a few steps behind the yellow safety line. Was he just not ready to face that place again… or maybe.. no. It most definitely was not his yearning to see Eren.

"You're becoming more late everyday," The brat commented with a small smile as Levi approached the gazebo. The rain was heavy, though it was pleasant.

"I never knew we had a specific time to be here at," The man offered as a response as he closed his umbrella and sat on the bench.

"I guess we don't..,"

"Mhm..," The man reached into his bag and grabbed the book he had gotten for Eren.. and hesitated slightly. Why did he bring the book.. when his original goal was to go to work.. what a peculiar thing..

He shook his head a bit then pulled the book out of the bag and handed it over to Eren. "Here, brat, you wouldn't shut up about this damn book.. so maybe this'll make you be quiet..,"

The happy look that gleamed in those green eyes was just astonishing to Levi. He watched as the student gaze over the front side, then the back and sides, his fingers running over the pages. "Oh.. oh wow.. you.. this must have been so expensive..,"

"Damn well it was. But I suppose it was worth it,"

"How much? I'll.. I'll pay you back. Somehow, okay? Oh maybe I could help you make dinner for you sometime, yeah? And maybe teach you how to cook.. would that be enough?"

"Tch. You don't have to pay me back, you never asked me to get this for you," Levi's arms crossed over his chest as his right leg crossed over the other. He watched as Eren's eyes skimmed over the book in his hands, his lower lip pinched between his pearly white teeth. The man saw those grin eyes flash up, with possibly an idea.

"Oh," Eren spoke in a soft voice before his gaze trailed from the book, to Levi's shoes, then to his face. "I'm going to make you a pair of shoes,"

"Pardon?" That really was a shocker to Levi, had he just offered to make him a pair of shoes.. now why was that..

"I'll make you shoes. Since yours.. they're all scuffed. Plus, I owe you so much. This book.. it's honestly what I've been wanting for so long. With this, I can make you a nice pair of black dress shoes, the ones I've been sketching in my book," The man let a moment of silence pass before he sighed softly, his fingers running through his hair.

"You shouldn't,"

"What.. why not? It's really no problem, I'll make them the best pair I've ever done, and they can replace those ones there," Levi hesitated a moment before he reached down and pulled off his right shoe, leaving only his black sock on.

"Look here, brat," He held the shoe in his hand as he gestured to the scuffed toe bit of the dress shoe. "What colour is this?"

"It looks.. grey. But why?" The kid was obviously confused.. though Levi would elaborate.

"And grey is a shade lighter from black, is it not?"

"Uh.. yes it is," Eren's eyes left the shoes and they met Levi's. The silvers were cool, almost like they were clouded over..

"Black is a very arrogant shade, you see. It associates itself with power, as it contains all of the colours. But, I do not want all of those colours. The colours are symbols, they mark all of the stains your journey has caused up until this point. And you see, brat, I do not want all these colours. I want them gone, they must leave. So I am working my hardest to get these shoes back to the pure colour of white. Maybe one day they will get there. Maybe one day.. all these horrible colours will not stain me anymore,"

What the man had said, left a silence between the two. Eren, who was sitting there with his lips pursed and eyebrows narrowed in thought, was just stunned by that. He hadn't expected it.. not at all. Though.. what he was thinking.. was that those shoes could never become purely white again.. once they were painted black.. they were stained forever. "I want nothing more than to make you a pair of shoes, sir, and these shoes won't be black if you don't want.. but how about white? I could make them white for you,"

"Would you do that?" Would you make me pure again..

"I will," I will, I promise that.