Disclaimer: I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin.
Summary: LeviMikasa. Levi is the proprietor. Mikasa is the tenant. Modern AU. Romance/Humor.
Song: Nothing really, just random songs.
Throughout Time
l'appartement
She first meets him when she visits the apartment. His voice sounded gruff over the phone which caused her quite a surprise when she found a man of shorter stature open the door. With an aloof face, she hid her shock and followed the man into the apartment. Within the short tour, Mikasa's eyes marveled at the perfection of the unit amidst its cheap asking price. As she continued casting an appreciative gaze at the apartment, the man suddenly says,
"Bidding starts tomorrow."
He raises an incredulous brow as her brows furrow in question.
"You're the twelfth person interested in the unit." She was about to shake her head in disproof. "It was written all over your dumb face." She's taken back by his crass words. And as he continued, she starts to glare, not at all appreciating his demeanor. He doesn't take heed of her discomfort and simply hands her a piece of paper. "Everything's listed there."
Before she's able to say her peace, the short man with the piercing gaze simply nudged his chin towards the door before turning and slumping on his couch. Behind him, Mikasa's blood simmered. The man even had the audacity to pick up his remote control. He turned on his television to some silly cartoon show while she was still in the room.
With a sudden rise of anger, Mikasa pushes a vase off the edge of the table. The shattering noise makes the man turn back to her with a dangerous look. Of course, Mikasa had the same grave expression on her face.
Seeing her hand on the table was enough for Levi to deduce she purposely broke his stuff. With venom dripping on his voice, he tells her.
"Just get out." His tone was enough to continue his phrase. Get out before I kill you.
Mikasa wouldn't budge. And with the same glare, takes a step forward. Evidently replying, Fuck you. Without the need to utter the words. Levi, accepting the challenge, suddenly scrambles to his feet and approaches her with his heated scowl.
"What the hell is your problem, brat?"
Mikasa scoffs.
"What are you, an old man?"
A vein on Levi's head pops.
"I am."
Mikasa's angry face suddenly spits a taunting, snide laugh. Another vein pops.
"Cartoons and that height?" She leers at him. He was looking up at her and hated every second of it. "You look old enough to be in middle school."
"Fuck you, fucking brat." He spits at her angrily.
"I just wanted to call you on your inconsiderate behavior." Mikasa furiously says. "I pity the fool who gets this fucking apartment. It may seem like heaven but the landlord carries hell in his tiny little pocket."
With that, she turns, gives him a final glare, and slams the door as she leaves. The following week, around two months since she's started apartment hunting, she receives a mail and spits out her tea.
She got the apartment.
.
When meets him to sign contracts, she finds him unusually good-mannered. So much so that after their civil discussion, she apologizes to him about her behavior and hope they have a healthy landlord-tenant relationship.
She also adds that she'll pay him back for the vase.
Levi raises a brow at her.
"Of course you will." He said. "It's in Section VII of the contract."
Mikasa eyed him warily, looking through the pages. Then, there she finds it, although not blatantly said, yes, she did owe him money.
"You." She seethes, continuing to read in between the lines of the fine print she just signed.
"Sorry." Levi tells her indifferently, swiping off the contract from her hands. "I don't think we'll have that landlord-tenant relationship you want. Good day." He says before leaving her. On her seat, Mikasa tried her best to keep her anger in check.
At least, her subconscious soothed her, he bade her a good day.
.
She finally finished moving in a cold autumn's afternoon and patted herself for accepting the offer. Although she faced a horrid landlord, the place was remarkable. Besides, she only had to see him once a month. He preferred collecting the money in person. Also, he mentions, he likes visiting the specialty cleaning store nearby so it wouldn't be a problem.
On her first month, a knock came to her door. She frowned as she stood from her desk. She was buried in work. Upon opening her door, her eyes widened in surprise at what greeted her.
"Pay up." Comes a voice she never wanted to hear. The beautiful girl with the bloodshot eyes instantly glares.
"You said end of the week." She seethes. "It's just Wednesday."
Levi glares before brushing past her vicious scowl. Looking around the unit, he checks what she did to the place. The thin line of his lips said he was not pleased.
"What's wrong with you?" Came Mikasa's voice as she approached him.
"Don't you know how to clean?" He tells her with a look of incredulous disbelief. "When I lived here the place was spotless."
A vein pops on the side of Mikasa's head.
"Well, you don't." She grits as the man continues to walk around. Suddenly, he finally turns to face her. And with a serious face, he tells her.
"Have you never wondered why I gave you the unit?"
"Because you want to torment me." Came her bland answer.
Levi's lips pursed, not saying she was wrong. Then, he added.
"It's because you're single. This place was meant to build a family but every single marriage that came through here fell apart. I wanted to spare the couples interested."
"Why are you telling me this?"
Levi eyes her and simply says.
"Because, you're single. You might not be able to resist your urge for me."
At this, Mikasa's brain implodes. Levi eyes her warily.
"I'll be back at Friday for the check."
Then, he leaves her irate at the incredulous idea he placed in her mind. As if she'd ever fall for him, she angrily thought. Just seeing him made her blood boil to no end.
.
Friday came and, as Mikasa handed her payment, she couldn't keep her eyes off the weird shapes protruding from his paper bag. He seemed to have passed by to purchase products from his favorite shop.
"It's a feather duster." He answers before she asked. "It has an ergonomic shape."
Mikasa simply nods then eyes his bags warily as he walks away.
.
On her second month, Levi catches her right before she locked her door. She was on her way to visit her foster parents back in her hometown. And she had forgotten about paying her dues.
At the sight of Levi, before he's even within earshot, she rushes into her apartment, scrambling for the check she wrote.
"Going somewhere?" Came his voice.
"My parents." She answered. Then said 'Aha!' when she found her check. She quickly hands it over to him and locks her door. "Here," She said. "Before you start bitching about it."
"Thanks." Levi's voice was rather cold. They walked down the steps in silence together.
.
One day, from her way home from work, Mikasa finds herself stopping in front of Levi's ever-loved cleaning store. Without thinking about it, she enters and her eyes gleam instantly. The shop was glorious.
That night, she ended up buying a set of cleaning materials for her home and wonders why she's never done so since she moved.
.
That third month, finding she had nothing much to do, she frowned, realizing she was waiting for Levi's knock. Still, deciding she has never tried warming up to her landlord, she decides to prepare a cake, coffee, and tea, resolute in inviting him in for a friendly chat.
His knock comes in later in the afternoon.
Mikasa glanced around. Her apartment was spotless. And there was food on her living room table. Surely, there'd be nothing to bitch about now.
"Something's different." He notes when she opens the door. Trying to put on a smile, Mikasa steps aside and before she gets to invite him in, he continues to say. "Finally got off your lazy ass, did you?"
Mikasa's scowl turns to a full blown glare. Then, feeling her hands tremble on her sides, itching to slam the door on him, Levi looks at her.
"Did you bake?"
Mikasa gives him a stiff nod.
"Did you make coffee?"
Mikasa nods again. Levi looks at her warily. Then, his expression changed. To the trained eye of those he's closest to, they could say that his face softened in the lightest, most unnoticeable manner.
"Well," He casually started. "Aren't you going to invite me in?"
Mikasa's glare turns into a questioning gaze. At any other day, he wouldn't think before simply strutting into her apartment as if he lived there. But now, he was oddly asking for her permission.
"Come on in." She says unsurely. Levi enters coolly. Behind him, Mikasa watched his back, perplexed, as her hands worked on the locks of her door. The man seated on her couch and waited for her before grabbing a slice of cake.
"Were you expecting company?" He says after his fifth bite, as if just realizing the goods could've been for someone else. Thank goodness, Mikasa shakes her head.
"I just want us to be civil." She tells him honestly. The sweet scent of the jasmine tea effectively calmed her nerves.
"We are civil." Levi tells her, rather taken aback she had not realized it.
"We are not." She replies with a sour look. "Every word you say makes my blood boil."
"So?"
Mikasa scowls once more.
"That's how I've always been. It's either you get used to it or not." He tells her coolly as he sips his coffee. "I don't plan on changing for anyone."
Then, he looks at her and sighs at her seething face.
"But I can try to catch my tongue." He finally gave in. Mikasa's face lightened at this. "I don't get why you're so upset when we barely see each other. My wife had to come home to this every day and she never once told me off about it."
At this, Mikasa's surprised. It was the first time she found out he was married. Although, she stole a glance at this hand, there was no ring to show for it.
He thanks her for the treat and leaves with her third check.
.
She gets a call from hhim on her fourth month. He told her that he's made a joint account for all his tenants. She should just deposit her payments there from now on. So, she does and wonders why her heart sinks after hearing this. She thinks, when then will she be able to see him.
.
Nearing her fifth month, she gets a package and her eyes widened at what it contained. She tried to muffle her laughter at the set of rather specific and unneeded cleaning materials that filled the large box. They were all brand new. Finally finding an excuse to call, she dials Levi's number and thanks him. She then realized just how much she missed hearing his voice, no matter how inappropriate the words his words were.
.
On her sixth month, after not seeing him for over two months, after being busy with work, she stumbles upon him at a café. He was seated with a beautiful kind-looking girl with auburn hair. He seemed shock to see her. And she, oddly enough, suddenly felt ill in her stomach at the sight of the two.
"Petra," Levi's voice started. And already, Mikasa could feel her heart sink. "This is Mikasa, she's a tenant." Then he turned to Mikasa, "Petra's my—"
Before he could finish, Mikasa ran away. He didn't need to tell her. She had already known. It was then she realized she had stupidly fallen in love with him. She hadn't been cautious. And she was a fool for it.
"What's gotten into that girl?" Levi asks incredulously as he turns back to Petra. The girl simply laughs knowingly.
.
On her seventh month, a knock came to her door. She grunted as she stood up from her desk. Her eyes were weary from the all-nighter she pulled. Their department had been pursuing a big client and had just finished their pitch.
Her eyes widen at the sight before her.
"Why do you have a puppy?" Comes her voice in utter confusion. Levi shrugs and simply hands over the box containing the puppy to her.
"They're good for stress."
And without another word, he leaves her gaping.
.
On her eight month, she stares into the wide eyes of her dog.
On her ninth month, she gets a headache and tries to fend away the "Get well soon." licks of her dog.
On her tenth month, she finally agrees to go on a blind date, hoping to finally forget about her unwanted feelings for Levi.
"So," Jean starts unsurely. Mikasa's gaze was too much for him to handle. Looking at him, she decides he's handsome enough. But she didn't feel at all inclined to even talk to him. Suddenly, she thought she saw Levi telling her in a belittling manner, "I can't believe you're stupid enough to go on a date with some stranger just because you realized you like me." Then, as she imagines him, he scoffs at her. "But then again, who am I to judge a person's capacity for foolishness?"
Eventually the date ended and Mikasa was nowhere close to moving on. That night, she groaned her frustrations out on her pillow.
.
On her eleventh month, she was undoubtedly worn out. She could take no more. Thinking that distance and meeting new people would help, she agreed to take a special project in her homeland, Japan.
The job took her five long, grueling months. She was able to make all her payments, she had chosen to pay quarterly now. But the moment she got back to her apartment, the very unit reminded her of Levi.
Her departure had been utterly useless.
.
Around halfway through her second year, a familiar knock came on her door.
She was in a sad disposition, what with her unrequited love and all, but her heart couldn't help but escalate.
"It's been a while." Comes his voice. Mikasa finds herself smiling, his voice feeling like home, as if she was meant to hear it every day of her life. As usual, he enters her doors as if no time has passed between them. He sits on her couch and gives her a nonchalant look. She didn't know if she was smiling but she was happy. It was stupid really if she'd think about it. As she gingerly sits opposite him, he suddenly tells her. "I'm not married."
Mikasa's smile faded and froze. Levi looked away, flicking an invisible speck of dust.
"I thought I might as well put you out of your misery," Then he turns back to gaze at her with his steely eyes. "Seeing how much you're ridiculously in love with me."
Mikasa's mouth dropped. Color rushed into her cheeks almost instantly.
Suddenly, for the first time since she's known him, Levi's lips curve in the slightest. And eventually, he lets out a laugh, fully confusing the beautiful girl before him.
"I never actually thought it was true until now." He honestly told her, mirth filling his eyes. Mikasa simply gapes at him, aghast. She didn't know what to do. Her cheeks simply continued to redden. "I warned you, remember?"
Before she knew it, the man with the handsome cunning features pulled her towards him in a kiss she'd wholeheartedly return.
Later on, it is revealed to her that Levi fell for her the first day she walked into his apartment.
She almost hit herself on the head when she found out.
So much could've happened in two damn years.
TBC?
I don't know if this'll be my last one. If not, I'm sure to end this daily spree on Sunday, (GMT +8). I have to focus damn.
Explanations:
1. Everything's said I think, so I'll just add this little bit. Levi WAS married. For two years before getting a divorce, hence the line:
"It's because you're single. This place was meant to build a family but every single marriage that came through here fell apart. I wanted to spare the couples interested."
Ergo, this hinted to him having a failed marriage.
2. Petra COULD'VE been the ex-wife. It depends on you. I won't say if she was or not.
3. It's not an apartment that makes a marriage work. So, no, I don't think the apartment really will matter in their future relationship.