A/N:It seemed people liked this story so I'm going to continue it ^^ sorry I took so long to update I was away for a few weeks
Break in to My Heart
Chapter 2
The next morning Eren woke abruptly to the loud beeping of his alarm clock. After a few seconds of dazed panic he remembered that he'd set it up early so that he wouldn't oversleep and miss work. Sitting up with a groan, he prodded the button that turned the ringer off and struggled not to fall asleep again.
After Mikasa left to stay at her friend's place for studies, Eren bought the alarm clock to make sure he would get up on time. Glancing at the clock, he wasn't sure whether he liked this method of waking up or not. But as the alternative was having his blanket yanked off by Mikasa and being dragged out of his room, maybe he could get used to this one.
Running a hand through his hair, Eren got up and made his way to the bathroom. A look in the mirror told him it hadn't been a great idea to sleep yesterday while his hair was still wet, it now stood up at strange angles and all over the place. After a few minutes of tackling his hair with a wet comb, he gave it up as a hopeless case and started to wash his face. Running the cold water over his cheeks he shook off the grogginess from sleep and blinked a few times to rid himself of the fatigue. Then he froze, a trickle of water ran down his face and dripped off his chin, Ah... right- his green eyes widened having remembered yesterday's encounter.
Rushing the rest of his morning bathroom routine, Eren scrambled up the hallway and up to Levi's room. He was half hoping that yesterday had been a dream as he turned the metal lock on the door. But it was to no luck as it swung open revealing Levi who was sleeping soundly on the bed. Or had been. The moment Eren opened the door, his eyes snapped open and shot towards the door. Though the reflex was quick, Eren noticed that it took a few seconds for the dazed looked to pass and his eyes to focus, he was clearly still sleepy.
"Ah- sorry for waking you up!" he stammered.
"It's fine," muttered Levi, propping himself up on the bed. He gave Eren's bed hair a skeptical look. "I should've gotten up sooner anyways."
"No no you seem tired, maybe you should rest a little mo…" he trailed off as his eyes left Levi and his jaw dropped.
"You cleaned?!"
But that was an understatement. The room was no longer a mess, quite the contrary actually, everything was so thoroughly polished it practically glowed. On the desk sat five piles of paper, each stacked up a few centimeters high with a binder placed at the very top, subject name facing up. All of Eren's bags lay on in the corner next to the desk and the corner of his laptop was peeking out from the top of the shelf. The layer of dust that had been on ground since a week ago was now gone and the floorboards seemed to sparkle.
"Wha- What…?" sputtered Eren, staring at Levi and gesturing around the room, his mouth still hanging open.
"Stop gaping. About that," began Levi tonelessly. "It was bothering me. I hope you don't mind." But the glare he shot Eren looked rather as though he were saying you'd better not mind.
"I- uh, yeah…" said Eren, still staring around the room in awe. He hadn't seen it this clean since the last time Armin stayed over which was well over a year ago.
He brought his gaze back to Levi with an amused grin. "You heard me when I said I was going to clean it today though right?"
Levi nodded.
"It was…bothering me," he repeated. He got up from the bed and attempted to straighten out his shirt which was rumpled beyond flattening. He gave it a very disgruntled look but instead of giving up like Eren with his hair, he pressed as hard as he could on the edges, a frown pulling at the corners of his lips.
Eren watched him in amusement but he couldn't help saying, "Well you're quite the neat freak, huh?"
Levi shot him a glare and dropped the hem of his shirt. "No. I just like it clean." His tone clearly said, end of discussion.
Taking the hint, Eren dropped the subject and pointed at his shirt saying, "If it's too crumpled you could always borrow one of mine. They might be a little big but not too bad." He stretched out his arms to show Levi the plain blue t-shirt he was wearing. "They're all about this size."
He couldn't tell what Levi was thinking from his expression. His face was as passive as ever and those pale blue eyes bore into his skin. Eren wondered if he'd possibly crossed the line. He supposed he was being a little too close by offering Levi to stay at his house and even to borrow his clothes but honestly he didn't think it was that big a deal. Like every time Armin came over for the night Eren would lend him a shirt. It was just a piece of clothing when it comes down to it anyways.
Levi twisted the edge of his shirt one last time and let it fall. "Fine," he muttered. "Thanks. Again."
Eren was surprised. It looked like it took quite some effort to say for some reason and Levi certainly wasn't looking pleased. His brow was furrowed again and he averted his eyes for the first time.
"It's really not that big of a deal Levi," he grinned. "Come with me to my room, I'll get one for you." He held the door open for Levi.
"Well… you're quite the gentleman aren't you," muttered Levi, getting up and stalking past him out the door. There was slight taunting hint to his voice and Eren felt his face heat up in spite himself.
Though another thing hit him when Levi walked past:
He's short.
The top of his head barely passed Eren's nose, there must've been at least a ten centimeter difference. He hadn't paid it any notice yesterday as he literally crashed onto the guy, and on the floor you could barely tell who's taller than the other. Especially with the museum's dim lighting, plus the circumstances weren't exactly ideal for studying each others' physical appearances. And now that he thought about it, even after they arrived at Eren's apartment, Levi spent most of the time sitting on the couch anyways.
But wow… and he's four years older than me too.
They made their way to Eren's bedroom in silence, Levi studying Eren ever so slightly with that hard glare of his and Eren trying to keep a straight face because suddenly, Levi didn't seem so intimidating anymore. Eren dug through his closet, trying to find something suitable for him to wear. Levi sat down on Eren's bed without asking for permission and Eren could feel his gaze boring into the back of his skull.
"Um-so... how's this one?" He held up a plain black shirt, it had some colourful designs down the middle and short sleeves just past the shoulder, suitable enough for summer.
"Sure," replied Levi, throwing it a quick glance. "Pass it here."
Eren tossed him the shirt. Levi shrugged off his crumpled t-shirt and pulled on Eren's. Eren's eyes flickered towards his figure subconsciously, trailing down his sides to the hemline of his jeans. He couldn't help but notice that Levi had well defined muscles, but most of that pale skin was also covered in old wounds. He bit down on his lip, wondering if he could ask about it but deciding that it would be too nosy of him.
The shirt was a little large but not too bad. It hung loosely around his hips and passed the hem of his pants. Though his arms like everywhere else were fairly muscled, they still looked thin coming out of the baggy shirt.
Eren chuckled. "With the black shirt and your ripped jeans, you look kinda punk."
Levi didn't laugh. "Whatever," he muttered. "Don't you need to get to work? What time are you leaving?"
The way he asked the question sounded more like he were asking, 'what time am I leaving?'
This kid isn't stupid enough to leave me alone at his place. Even he's not that stupid.
Eren didn't seem to notice. "Well, it's seven thirty now, I should get there by eight. The museum is pretty close so we can walk there, maybe grab a bite for breakfast…"
"Hold up- we?" prompted Levi. "What makes you think that I'm going withyou?"
Eren looked to him in surprise. "Well, unless you have somewhere else you'd rather go, but since you're staying with me and I don't have a spare key, how're you going to get back in here tonight?" He blinked those bright green eyes innocently and Levi wanted to smack himself. Or better yet, smack Eren.
Heaving a sigh, he ran his hand through his hair in exasperation and padded over to the door holding it open for Eren this time. He glared at him.
"Well? Ladies first."
'This is absurd.'
Was the only thought going through Levi's head for the entire morning. He was being introduced to the very place and people he'd tried to steal from just a day ago. And Eren didn't seem to find it weird at all. He was still sticking firmly to his you-didn't-take anything-so-you're-not-a-criminal ideology and refused to hear another word against it. Of course he hadn't mentioned to his colleagues that Levi was the one who broke into the museum, but Levi thought that bringing him here was as stupid as letting him stay at Eren's home. Even when he whacked him upside the head, he still insisted he come along.
His day started going downhill from the moment they stepped out the front door. It turned out that Eren miscalculated the time it would take them to stop for breakfast and after a quick stop at a café along the way to his workplace, Levi was being dragged along at a sprint, clutching a cup of coffee and trying not to spill it on himself while Eren attempted to swallow a muffin whole. He was just about to dump the drink on the boy's head in irritation when he stopped abruptly at the door of the museum, nearly causing Levi to collide into him.
"Oi! What was that for?"
Eren smiled nervously. "Sorry, sorry, we're here."
"Obviously," muttered Levi darkly. "Give a warning next time, brat." He prodded Eren on the back and he stumbled through the double doors.
"So I've dropped from 'boy' to 'brat' now?" grumbled Eren, ascending the staircase with Levi at his heels. He received no reply.
Once they reached the main foyer, Eren trotted up to the front desk where a pretty girl with long blonde hair sat typing on her computer. She looked up as Eren approached.
"Good morning Eren!" she piped up, her blue eyes as bright as her smile. "And who's this?"
"Morning Christa, this is Levi," grinned Eren, waving a hand towards him. Levi nodded. "He's a friend of mine, mind if he tags along today?"
"Well if you're asking me, of course not, the more the merrier," she laughed. "But you realize we don't open for another half hour right? He's got to pay the admission."
"Can he just pay now?" asked Eren.
"Mm I'd usually say no since we're still setting up, but since it's you I'll let it slide." Eren handed her a ticket which she ripped off a corner and stapled onto the pile on her desk. She gave the torn off slip back. "Though I should mention that Ymir is doing the assembly today, she wasn't so happy when you tripped with that Renaissance painting last time..." she trailed of nervously.
Eren scoffed and waved an airy hand. "If by 'not so happy' you mean she roundhouse kicked me across the room, yes I know what you mean."
Levi snorted and Christa gave a small chuckle. "She's not as bad as you make her out to be. Ymir's really nice once you get to know her."
"Then you're the only one who really knows her," replied Eren with half a smile. "Well, thanks Christa! We'll be going now Levi- Levi?"
He turned around only to find that Levi was gone.
By the time the brat finished talking with the girl, Levi was already long gone. He had no interest in listening to a couple of teenagers' small talk.
This is absurd...
His train of thought hadn't changed much since this morning. He made his way quietly down an empty corridor hands thrust deep into his pockets. Rows of paintings lined the walls and glass display cases enclosed works worth millions of dollars. Levi sort of appreciated art, either way, he found it fascinating how anyone could express anything through means like paint and pencil. He'd been taught for half his life that his feelings should be kept down and the other half, that they should be voiced only through his fists. Figure of speech of course, his kicks were quite strong too.
He sighed pausing in front of a painting. It was abstract, mostly orange with splotches of red throughout. It looks like blood...
"Hey."
He froze. Well, jumping was never quite like him. They used to compare him to a cat, always tensing up at the slightest disturbance. Turning, he found himself face to face with Eren.
"Oh...Hey."
Eren looked irritated.
"Where were you?" he demanded, fuming.
"I was here," stated Levi plainly.
"I see that, I meant why did you leave?"
"I was bored and your conversation had nothing to do with me."
Eren sighed exasperatedly. "At least don't wander off on your own, you might get lost in here!"
Levi eyed him sharply. "Do you really think I would get lost in here?"
"I-oh." He stared realizing what he had said. "Sorry."
"No," Levi shook his head. "I should be sorry, never mind."
But at the same time he couldn't help thinking, that can't be the only reason you're afraid of leaving me alone in here.
With a last irritated click of his tongue, he turned away from the red-washed painting and followed Eren out the hall.
For the next twenty minutes, Eren brought him around the museum trailing him like an annoying, overly friendly tour guide, and introduced him to all of his colleagues. Most of them came over to say hi but eventually drifted away as Levi wasn't much of a conversation starter. He didn't mind in the least, he preferred quiet anyways. Levi tailed Eren around in silence for majority of the day while he did his work. He rarely spoke and (Eren suspected, though he didn't dare voice it) that due to his height, most people didn't even notice he was there. Either that or they were just too afraid to approach him since that glare was scary.
Connie and Sasha, who were rather talkative, managed a decent conversation with Levi for a while but none of them looked like they were really into it. Annie had a short stare-down with him and Ymir took one glance at him, gave a small nod which he returned, and left. So all in all, the morning was pretty boring for Eren, though did have to stifle his laughter when Levi kicked Jean on the shin for calling him 'shorty'.
Eren could feel Levi's eyes on him and (as Armin would say,) if looks could kill he'd already be long dead. The saddest part is that he doesn't think Levi even realizes he's scaring people off too. After the first five minutes of getting walking around and getting no questions from the visitors, Eren realized that people were even starting to skirt around him in an attempt to avoid them. A little boy had run up to him smiling and when Eren smiled back, the kid looked absolutely terrified and ran off. He scratched the back of his head nervously wondering if there had perhaps been something on his face when turned to see Levi behind him practically emanating a dark aura.
"Um- Levi, could you-er- perhaps look a little less angry? You're scaring the children away…" he gestured to the two meter radius around them in which everyone seemed to be avoiding. Levi glowered at him. "Ah- I mean- just a little happier?" he gave a nervous smile and hoped that his eye wasn't twitching.
Nodding, Levi walked up to him and grabbed him by the collar. He gave a hard yank and Eren was forced to bend down slightly so that they on the same eye level. He winced already half expecting to get hit. But Levi didn't hit him.
Levi smiled at him. If you could even call it a smile. His lips curved up at the corners lightly and Eren could see light dimples on his cheeks. It would have been cute, but the smile definitely didn't reach his eyes which were still the same stone cold stare as they've always been. If anything, it made him even more terrifying.
"How's this?" Levi muttered.
Eren averted his eyes nervously.
"Ah… sure…"
Guess I'm not getting any more questions today.
And true to his expectations, Eren spent the rest of the day walking down the corridors and being avoided by all the visitors. Levi tailed along behind him with that creepy grin which Eren had been too frightened to ask him to stop. How do you even ask a guy to stop smiling because it's just too scary?
They walked back to Eren's apartment together after work, and dumping his stuff in a pile on the couch, Eren promptly got busy making dinner. Levi sighed and tidied up the mess before going back to sitting on the same spot on the sofa as before and not saying a word.
To be honest, Eren thought as he set the plates on the table. Levi isn't that bad. And even if he's not great with people, I refuse to believe he's a criminal.
After the meal was eaten and the dishes were done, Eren made his way to the bathroom to wash up before bed, except he found his path blocked by Levi.
"Levi?" he asked curiously. "What's up?"
His gaze was met by Levi's hard stare, cold and unwavering as always. It sent a shiver down his spine.
"You're not going to turn me in?" It was more of a statement than a question.
Eren was taken aback. "No I'm not."
"Why not?"
This again?
"I told you yesterday," he began exasperatedly. "I have no intentions in turning you over to the police. You never took anything from the museum and neither have you hurt anyone. I- I don't see why it's such a big deal."
Levi frown seemed to tighten. "You keep saying that but you're naïve. That's not the way police should think, that's not the way they do think. You're a security guard aren't you? Last time I checked, trespassing is also illegal."
"I-" Eren gritted his teeth. "That's-"
"Turn me in," Levi insisted quietly.
Eren froze. "Do you… want to be turned it?"
"…no."
"Then why are you so intent on being turned in?" he demanded. This didn't make any sense, Levi should be agreeing with him, and yet he's not.
"No Jaeger. Not being turned it, you turning me in." he replied calmly. "I'm trouble. And you're getting yourself involved in matters you don't need to be."
"So this is about me is it?" Eren almost laughed out loud in relief; at least he finally understood what was going on in Levi's head now, well sort of. "That's quite a heavy conscience you've got there. If you're worried about me then quit worrying, I can handle myself. What good does it do if you go to jail anyways? -Levi's eyes narrowed- "I mean you're only twenty-four, and - I dunno- why don't you take this as a second chance or something? I'm not turning you in."
With that he brushed past Levi and walked into the bathroom, closing the door.
"Tch. Those words are naïve, Jaeger," muttered Levi to no one in particular.
Making his way back to the living room, he dug around in Eren's bag and pulled out his cell phone. He punched in a few numbers and waited for the rings. The conversation didn't take long, by the time Eren came out of the bathroom Levi was already setting the phone back onto the counter.
"What're you doing?" Eren called from across the room.
"Just making a call." Levi replied tonelessly. Bidding goodnight to the boy, he shut the door to his room and heard the familiar metalic click.
The following morning, Eren made sure to get up as his alarm rang. As tempting as pressing the snooze button was, he didn't fancy going to work on an empty stomach. Throwing on a simple shirt and jeans, he left the room and shuffled up the hallway, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.
Not wanting to wake Levi up again, Eren rapped on the door lightly with his knuckles. There was no reply. Sighing, he placed his hand on the knob and found that it turned.
He was sure he had locked the door last night.
Swinging the door open, he half expected to see a crime scene, instead, his room was just the way it always was. Except Levi wasn't there anymore.
The room was as clean as it had been yesterday, the bed was made and the blankets folded. On the blanket, Eren noticed, was his shirt; the one he lent Levi yesterday, folded neatly with a small piece of paper resting on top.
He picked it up hoping for some kind of explanation. On it, three words were scrawled in neat handwriting, no thanks or any information on what had happened or where he had gone.
It read:
I washed it.
A/N: thanks for reading!
