Chapter Three: Holiday Part 2

Levi peered over and noticed the shivers overtaking Eren's petite frame. He sighed and pushed himself off the stone balcony, shrugging off his suit jacket in the process. He closed the distance between himself and Eren, wrapping his jacket around her shoulders. He startled her and he smirked knowing that he did. 'Her responses are so cute and honest.' Then, turning on his heel, he left her side and started towards the doorway to rejoin the others at the party.

He called over his shoulder as he made his way back to the doorway, "Don't stay out all night brat, you might catch a cold." He turned back slightly to look over his shoulder at her response, smirking again and waving his hand lazily when she shouted, "I'm twenty, so stop calling me a brat!"

'Oh, wow, twenty whole years, still a brat if you ask me,' he thought to himself as he walked through one of the doors, deciding not to close it and leave it cracked slightly. Levi retraced his steps down the gold railed walkway, descended the stairs, and made a left at the end of the staircase and continued down the hallway to the party space. He was greeted by his closest companions, Erwin, the Dean of Students, and Hange, the head of the Biology Department. He sighed to himself as he saw the slight raise of Erwin's thick blonde brow and Hange's eyes widen enthusiastically. He already knew what they were going to ask, he walked past them and grabbed a prepared glass of red wine, then turned back to join the two, awaiting their questions.

"So…?" Hange began, pushing her glasses frames further up towards the bridge of her nose.

"So what." Levi replied sternly, taking a quick whiff of the wine before taking a sip, 'This is pretty nice, I have to ask Mrs. Pixis what label this is.'

Erwin interrupted his thoughts on the quality of the wine, "What happened to your suit jacket?" Always terse and to the point.

Levi took another sip, savoring the flavor on his tongue before answering, "I loaned it out for the night." He received another questioning look from Erwin, and dismissed the look in favor of tasting the tangy burgundy liquid in his glass. He really wanted a bottle or two of it for himself. He looked up from his glass and gave Erwin a stern look, silently telling him that was the end of the conversation.

Erwin read the sign clearly, shrugging his shoulders and admitting defeat before walking back over to the spot at the bar their group had previously occupied. Mike and Nanaba decided to call it a night and left a half hour prior to Levi's return from the balcony. All that remained of their group was the trio. Levi reoccupied his previous seat, intent on finishing his glass and asking for the label when Mrs. Pixis returned, presumably from dancing.

Hange bounced over to the bar, grabbing another glass of champagne, eagerly sipping away as she sat down next to Levi, with Erwin mimicking her actions on the opposite side. For a short while longer, they sat in relatively comfortable silence, listening to low murmur of the various conversations being had around them. That is, relatively, until Hange spotted something interesting coming around the corner, and started bouncing slightly. With his wine glass now empty and no still sign of Mrs. Pixis return, Levi let out another heavy sigh and then took a deep breath. Levi spoke up, turning to address Hange, "What is it?"

"I wasn't aware Levi's loan service was reserved for pretty young women." She put a bit too much emphasis on the 'young' part, playfully jabbing Levi in the side as she directed her gaze over to hallway leading to the ballroom. Levi gave an annoyed grunt and shook his head, setting his empty glass down along with a card he pulled out of his pant pocket.

"Well since you know who I loaned it to," he pushed the card towards Hange before continuing, "I no longer need to stick around with you raging party animals" he punctuated his words with a roll of his eyes and hopped off the bar stool, waving as he headed back towards the entrance of the home. "Tell her to have it dry cleaned and dropped off there." With that, he made his way down the hallway and out of the door. He was greeted by the chill of night air as he fished his keys out of his pocket and unlocked his panther black Audi TTS Coupe. He opened the door; looking back up to the balcony and smiling while imagining the flustered look on Eren's face when she receives his calling card. He sat himself down, buckled up and turned on the engine, pausing a moment to let it warm up a bit and sending a quick text to Erwin to find out the label on the wine he enjoyed. Once he deemed it warm enough, he ripped out his parking space and drove a steady –- over the limit—pace out of the neighborhood and down the highway to his loft.

Eren yawned and stretched, being careful not to drop the slightly cooler jacket still draped around her shoulders. She let out a content sigh and decided it was time to rejoin her group of friends. She somehow managed to make her way back to ballroom, walking past the door just as Armin and Mikasa were exiting, both looking a bit spent, but very content. Mikasa was the first to raise her brow at Eren's wardrobe change. Eren blushed lightly and shrugged as if it were perfectly normal for her to be sporting such a well tailored suit jacket. Armin just laughed at their silent exchange as he led them back down the hall to get more refreshments and meet back up with the other students.

When they reached the end of the hallway and entered into the party space, Mikasa noticed that Jean was on one of sofas sulking and being comforted by Marco. She also noticed that both he and Marco were still wearing their jackets. Armin had removed his while they danced, but he was already wearing his again so it couldn't be his. She began to question, "Eren…" but she paused as she turned to see a retreating figure, a male figure, a jacketless male figure, heading towards the entrance of the home. She turned her head fully to Eren and continued, "Eren, whose jacket is that?"

Eren blushed again, and looked around the room quickly, perking up slightly when she spotted the tall handsome blonde and the energetic brunette, but then looked on confused when she realized Levi wasn't with them. She searched the room one more time, her gaze sweeping more carefully, ignoring the scene of a dejected looking Jean taking up space on one of the sofas, but still ending up with nothing. She wondered briefly if maybe he went back up to the balcony to fetch his jacket from her, but dismissed the thought as she saw the brunette woman excitedly wave to her. Though she wasn't waving a greeting, it was after a few seconds of Eren processing that it wasn't a greeting and Mikasa gently nudging her forward and towards the bar that she realized she was waving her over.

Eren looked back at Mikasa and Armin for a moment, offering an "I'll be right back," and hesitantly walked over to the two occupying the bar area.

Hange smiled at her, patting the bar stool between herself and Erwin, the one Levi had previously occupied. Eren offered a small smile in return, looking nervously at the seat before pulling herself up to sit between the two older adults. Erwin spoke first, "Would you like something to drink?" directing Eren's gaze to the other end of the bar where there were a few remaining glasses of wine, both red and white, a few empty champagne glasses with a bottle available, a glass dispenser of sangria, as well as a few bottles of sparkling cider and water.

Eren nodded shyly, "Just a water please." Erwin reached over the counter and grabbed a bottle of Perrier, he loosened the lid and then placed the partially opened bottle in front of Eren. She smiled and thanked him, then turned to look at the bespectacled brunette who was watching her with wide, interest filled eyes.

"So, where did you get that jacket?" The wide eyed woman asked.

Eren blushed and pulled it a bit tighter around her torso, "From a man named Levi," she paused then added quickly, "he lent it to me because I was cold." The bespectacled woman's grin widened, she moved even closer to Eren, only a few inches away from her face as if inspecting her for anything that might betray a lie.

Erwin cleared his throat, reaching around Eren and gently pushed Hange back into her seat. His arm lingered in the position for a moment longer as he watched the tips of Eren's ears turn red. He retracted his arm adding, "I'm sorry, it was rude of us to not introduce ourselves before questioning you. I am Erwin Smith, you may call me Erwin" at this, Eren turned around to look at Erwin as he continued to speak, "the woman to your right is Hange Zoe." Eren turned back and nodded at Hange, offering a small smile before turning back to Erwin.

"I'm Eren…Yeager, nice to meet you both."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Eren," Erwin offered his hand as a greeting, Eren accepted and shook his hand, a little awed by how large his hand was and how firm its grip on her own was.

"So are you a student? I haven't seen you before, are you new? Transferring? Considering?" Hange asked one after another, in a somewhat hyper and excited voice.

"I am a student… well not quite yet. That is, I mean… I've been accepted already and I plan on starting this coming spring semester." Eren paused to take a drink of her sparkling water, giving herself a moment to compose herself before continuing on. "I am transferring from a community college; I just finished most of my basics there."

"Oh, so you're not a freshman then?" Hange looked over at Erwin and smiled. "What year are you coming in as?"

"Ah, no, I should have a junior's standing, but that all depends on how my credits transfer." Eren began to feel much more at ease with these two, and it was becoming much easier to talk.

Hange clapped her hands together lightly saying, "What about your major then, surely you have decided one by now!?"

Eren smiled sheepishly, reaching up and playing with a piece of her curled fringe. "Actually, I'm entering undecided, I'm still not dead set on a major yet," she paused and took another drink of the water, "I know it's awfully late to still be considering, but I do plan on talking to a guidance counselor about it… so I'm not too worried just yet."

Hange's grin grew even wider, "That's alright!" she put her hand on Eren's back, rubbing in an endearing way, "I know plenty of students who change majors the first semester of their junior year," she pushed her glasses back up and continued in a more serious tone, "though you should be prepared for a heavier course load the last three semesters if you don't decide soon."

Erwin broke into the conversation to add, "You might want to consider taking summer classes and interterm as well, it will help free up your schedule."

Eren looked at them both and smiled appreciatively, this was valuable advice, and worth taking note of. She turned to Erwin and asked "Sir… I mean, Erwin, do you mind if I ask what you do at the school?"

Erwin nodded and offered a warm yet stern smile, "I am the Dean of Students," he looked over at Hange, directing Eren's eyes in her direction as well, "Hange is the head of the Biology Department." At this new information, Eren's eyes widened in realization. Realization that she was sitting with two important and influential people of the school she would soon be considered a part of. While this information sunk in, Erwin added, "If you ever need anything, we would both be happy to help you in any way possible."

At that, Eren felt like a heavy weight was lifted off of her chest. She could ask them for advice on choosing a field and making it a successful career, on scholarships and financial aid, money management, the list was endless. She offered up a warm smile to both of them, nodding her head in acknowledgment and respect of their achievement and status.

Erwin smiled back and spoke again, "It's about time for us to get going," he looked over to Hange, who was scribbling something on the back of a Levi's 'calling card', "Don't you think so?" He looked back down at Eren, reaching around her and grabbing the card from Hanji. He handed her the little business card, "Levi said he lent you the jacket for the night, just dry-clean it and bring it to this address." He pointed to front of the card which showed a building name and room number, he then narrowed his eyes at the scrawl written on the back. He turned the card around and added, "It might be better to get it back to him sooner though, so you can just drop off here." With that, he left the card in Eren's hands and got up from his seat. He and Hange waved goodbye and walked around towards the ballroom to inquire about the drink selection Mrs. Pixis chose for the night.

Eren sat, eyes wide, as the information began to sink in. She turned the card back to the front and studied it, 'So he's a psychology professor, and I guess that is the building where his office is…so the back must be… his home address? But why would he give me that… well I suppose he wouldn't be back in his office until the semester started again later in January so he probably would want his jacket back before then… but his home address, really? And why do I have to dry clean it. That prick, I bet he's laughing wherever the hell he is right now.' She got up from her seat and made her way back over to Armin, Mikasa, and the rest of the group she'd become acquainted with throughout the night.

She was greeted with the questioning eyes of Mikasa and Armin, she sighed and spoke "I'll tell you when we get back tonight; I'm too tired to relive it right now." Mikasa nodded and Armin smiled; they walked over to Marco who was still comforting a dramatically depressed Jean. After a few quick words, Marco handed his keys over to Armin and told him to go ahead and park in his usual spot in the garage and that he would come by Armin's dorm later to retrieve his keys. Marco didn't want to leave Jean alone in his current state, so he decided he would drive Jean home for the night and just crash there with him, since he didn't live too far from the campus.

The trio said their goodbyes and made their way out of the grand home and to Marco's parked minivan. Armin unlocked the doors to the vehicle, opened the door for Mikasa and helped her up before shutting her door, then slid the side door open and helped Eren up and in, he then walked around the front and got into the driver's seat. Once they were a few minutes out of the neighborhood and closer to the campus, Armin spoke up, breaking the somewhat awkward silence that had settled in the car. "Eren…what was all that?" He looked up into the rear view mirror while the car was stopped at red light.

With a light sigh, Eren looked up, meeting Armin's eyes in the mirror, then Mikasa's as she turned to look at her from the passenger's seat before beginning, "Remember when I left the ballroom earlier?"

Armin nodded, and then looked back to the road as the light turned green, "Well more like you smacked Jean and stormed off, but continue."

At that, Eren rolled her eyes and huffed, "He grabbed my ass; no way was he getting off easy!" A small laugh from Armin and the narrowing of Mikasa's eyes were her responses. She continued, "Anyway, I ended up getting lost and I wandered upstairs to the balcony… I didn't think anyone else was there and I ran into a guy named Levi again, we chatted for a bit, and then just kind of watched the stars. It was nice… he just lent me his jacket because I was cold, then he left, his friends, well I assume they were his friends, colleagues whatever," she waved her hand dismissively, "left me his contact information so I can return his jacket…yea, that's about it."

Mikasa's already narrowed eyes grew even slimmer, "Again? Eren what do you mean again?"

"O-oh, I mean, I don't think I told you guys this last time, but when we were at that pizza place I tripped on my way to the bathroom and…we he sort of…caught me and sort of saved me…so yea…again." At this point, Eren was a lovely shade of pink, the flush of embarrassment spreading all the way up to the tips of her ears again.

The rest of the drive to the dorms was filled with silence, Mikasa's stemmed from her anger over the incident with Jean and the sudden appearance of this smooth and perpetually disappearing midget who somehow managed to work his way into Eren's life. Armin's from his concentrating on getting them back safely, though the roads were relatively clear and the salt had been laid, there were still a few slick places that could cause problems if you weren't paying attention. Eren's from her embarrassment and the strangely exciting situation she'd found her way into, though she was still a bit wary of having the man's home address.

Armin parked the car in the garage and dropped the girls off at their room before making his way back to his own. Each member of the trio undressed, bathed, and redressed, preparing themselves for some much needed sleep and what the next few days held in store for them. By midnight, each one had their heads laid comfortably on a pillow and were nestled warmly under several layers of bedding. By the time the little black clock displayed 12:30 AM, they were all fast asleep.

In the days following the holiday party, Eren had helped Mikasa finish packing up her essentials and both ended up going back to Eren's cheap little apartment in Shiganshina to finish packing up, as well to prepare her for her move to Rose. Eren had to be out of her apartment by the fifth of January. Armin offered to help look for a few places since he lives so close to the area with his grandfather; Eren gave him her price range while she looked up places online. She also began filling out online applications for a variety of jobs near Rose University. She had saved up enough to live off of for at least three months, but she needed to secure another job so she wouldn't have to use up all of her savings.

Eren's next two weeks were spent packing and planning for her move, with the aid of Mikasa and Armin while Levi's were spent relaxing, cleaning, exercising, and occasionally being dragged around by Hange and Erwin.