Alright, alright! You guys convinced me enough! Thank you so much for the encouragement, the faves and follows! I decided I might as well finish what I started.
Hope you enjoy more of this weirdness, because I'm loving it so far!
Chapter 2.
"Oh, boy! Levi's going to get the surprise of his life, huh?" Bertolt giggled childishly, hiding behind green thick bushes, though not as discreetly as he imagined, since the man was as tall as the apple tree beside him.
Reiner, who was adjusting the silly red suit he was wearing, smirked widely as he confidently pointed toward Levi's house a few yards away, sunbeams bathing over its roof. "Fuck yes, this is his lucky day."
The two laughed victoriously. They had set up a dinner table right across from Levi's comfy little house, where a red rose stood on top in a glass vase. Reiner thought it was a perfect idea to eat together and strengthen their romantic bond, at least that's what he planned. With that punch he'd taken yesterday morning, Reiner fell head over heels even more for the raven. His strength was just too attractive, Reiner thought.
"I'm telling you, Bert, with this—" he pointed the well made table with the French Cuisine, "—Levi will definitely fall for me!" and Bertolt nodded in excitement.
"I'm sure he will, Reiner!" and with a clap of his big hands, Bert pushes himself out of his little hideout and stands next to his friend, "I'll create the mood with some music then!" and before Reiner could respond, Bert scrambled away to get his favorite violin he always played when they were kids.
Reiner rolled his eyes, he couldn't care less about the mood with music at all. He just wanted Levi, and he wanted him now. Deep inside, he knew and believed that Levi felt the same way, he just needed a little.. convincing.
With renewed confidence, Reiner straightens himself, adjusts his black tie around his neck one last time and advances over to Levi's doorstep, ringing his doorbell at least twice, or well, as many times he needed to for Levi to answer the door. He knew Levi's weird and/or crazy friend, Hanji, wasn't there, so today was the perfect day to win Levi's heart without any interruptions.
Finally, the door is answered, revealing a scowling Levi, his beautiful grey piercing eyes studying the intruder outside his door.
"Reiner. What a shitty surprise."
Reiner laughs, deep and controlled as he rudely lets himself in, pushing Levi to the side to step inside the living room. "Isn't it though? I'm generally full of surprises." He pauses to grin down at the shorter man, and he stops right by a mirror to check himself out. Levi rolled his eyes.
"You know, Levi, there is not one person in town who wouldn't love to be in your shoes right now." And he wiggles his thick eyebrows at Levi.
"Oh, please do tell me why?" Levi returned, sarcasm coloring his voice. He had left his door open, kind of like a silent invitation for Reiner to get the fuck out of my house. But Reiner didn't seem to get the message.
"Oh, but today is your lucky day!" Reiner pointed, "It's the day you'll finally fall for me! Your dreams are coming true."
"The fuck do you know about my dreams, shit-for-brains?"
"Pff," Reiner snorted, waving a dismissive hand, "I know plenty. Here, why don't you picture this;" and with his muddy boots, Reiner shamelessly hops onto Levi's couch, towering the shorter male who's scowl only seemed to deepen by his childish actions.
Reiner strikes a dramatic pose as he spoke, "A rustic hunting lodge, my latest kill roasting in the fire," he grinned toothily, "And my little wife massaging my feet—" Levi almost choked in disgust, "—while the little ones play with the dogs."
Levi's foot twitched automatically beneath him, and if it had a mind of its own, Reiner would've lost his head by a very, very powerful kick, but Levi's common sense was stronger than his inner murderous intent, so he calms himself with an angry sigh. His eyebrows remain knitted down, and his arms are folded over his chest, stiff and fidgeting. Why'd he let this idiot in his house again? Oh, right. He didn't.
With another laugh, Reiner continues, "Of course, we'll have six or seven."
"Dogs?" was Levi's fast reply, but he regrets it the second Reiner's expression turned from cocky to shocked.
"No, Levi!" he returns in disbelief, and he jumps off from Levi's couch, daring to step closer, "Strapping boys! Like me." And he beats his own muscled chest to make his point.
"For the sake of Humanity, don't fucking reproduce." It was above a whisper, but it was an insult nonetheless, though Reiner took it light heartedly as he greedily tosses an arm around Levi's shoulder to pull him closer.
Levi shudders in disgust, but visibly keeps up an unimpressed scowl.
"And you know who the wife will be, hm?"
"I hope it's your hand—that's the farthest you'll ever go with marriage." Levi bites, and he was about to shove the other away when Reiner suddenly traps him against a wall.
"You, Levi." And he was too close, already one too many inches right in his private space to a point where he could feel his breath ghost over his forehead as Reiner sinks his head low with a hunter's grin.
"You speechless?" Reiner's eyebrow shoots up in amusement, and he caresses Levi's shoulder when the man didn't speak.
But Levi regains his composure in seconds, angrily swatting Reiner's hand away before it travels any further up or down, quickly escaping towards his still wide open door.
"Yes, Reiner. I'm speechless over the fact of how much of a persistent little fuck you are." He soon responded, feeling Reiner following him from behind, his dirty boots tapping heavily around his hallway.
"So, will you let me have you then?" he sounded cocky, as if he won some kind of game. But Levi knew best.
"My apologies, Reiner, dear." Levi forces a weak smile, turns on his heel and looks up at Reiner who stood before him, "But, you know, I think it's about time—" suddenly, he abruptly snatches Reiner's stupid looking tie, "—you get the fuck out of my face." And with brutal force Reiner never knew Levi possessed, he was effortlessly tossed outside the door where he trips on air and falls face first right into a puddle of mud created by last night's rain just by the stone steps, dirtying his red suit and ruining his blond hair.
The door behind him slams shut, but only right after Levi spat his last words warningly, "Unless you want a rake shoved up your ass, stay the fuck outside, you selfish prick."
So yes, Reiner was hurt, or rather, his pride and dignity was in pain. Shit, and this was a fucking expensive suit he was wearing, too.
And by the time he lifts his face off the muddy puddle, Bertolt was running to his aid, violin in hand and worried eyes.
"Holy Hell, Reiner, what happened?!" Bert reaches a comforting hand, wiping away a little bit of mud off from Reiner's cheek. But Reiner wanted none of that, and he pushes his friend's hand away to properly stand up straight and adjust his already ruined clothes in rage.
"Levi belongs to me, make no mistake about that!" he scoffed, spat on the ground right next to Bert's worn out shoes and stubbornly stomped away. French Cuisine and roses be damned!
X
The back door of his house swings open a minute later, and Levi stomps out of his house and into his little garden in mute anger, tightly clutching onto his silver watering can and adjusting the green cloak around his shoulders he wore before stepping outside. Water sloshed from side to side inside the tool as he walked over to his little flowers, silently fuming over his recent unwanted guest.
Levi thought that watering his plants would be a good distraction from his anger that boiled within him, but so far it was no good.
"Can you believe this shit?" Levi grumbled, tilting the can down to spray his flowers gently. The rain was heavy yesterday night, watering his plants was really unnecessary, but he had nothing else in mind that would keep him from strangling the next person his eyes catches. So, he tends to his garden, slowly and gently, but his hands shake.
"Asking me to be his little plaything, that walking testosterone, massive fuck." And here Levi was, talking to his flowers like a loner, and he almost wished Hanji was here at the moment, because he really needed a distraction.
"Me? Being together with that boorish, brainless man? I'd rather eat my own hand."
Reiner had done a good plenty of things that did nothing to impress Levi, and he sure keeps biting off more than he can chew, it annoyed Levi to no end. Why can't he just take a no like a proper man, grow some balls and find someone else?
Apparently, Levi will never know the answer.
And then Reiner goes on about his dreams, dreams that Levi knew Reiner cannot accomplish for him, not with his selfish attitude and brainless head. How could he know about Levi's dreams? How could anyone know, that he wanted more than this provincial life?
Just as Levi let out an exhausted sigh, he lets go of his watering tool and dusts off his hands. He was ready to get back inside and clean off those muddy boot tracks Reiner left all over his hallway(even on his couch, God damn it!), but a sudden sound in the distance causes him to flinch.
It was a horse, running scared across the fields just a little further from his house, carrying a wagon that seemed too damaged to be used. Levi squinted his eyes suspiciously at the animal and—
It was Bean.
"What the.." he managed, and his heart raced worriedly when Hanji was nowhere to be seen. His throat goes dry and his eyes widen in fear. His feet kick up on their own, and before Levi knew it, he was running toward his friend's horse, calling its name. Bean bucks, whines and scatters about the field, and Levi extends his arms up to try and calm him down.
"Bean! Calm down!" Levi tried, "What happened, boy? What are you doing here?" but the panic in the horse's eyes is visible, and Bean kicks his feet up uneasily.
"Woah, easy there." he warned as Bean's nostrils flared, but the animal seemed to relax more upon finally acknowledging Levi's presence. Cautiously, Levi patted the side of Bean's jaw, and he eyes the damaged wagon behind which carried Hanji's machine.
"Bean, where's Hanji? Where is she, boy?" he questioned, fingers trembling against the horse's jaw in worry. Bean seemed to understand his owner's name, and he shakes his head lightly, shrugging Levi's hand away in the process.
"You know where she is? Can you take me to her, Bean? Come on," Levi masks the panic of Bean in his own grey steel eyes, fearing the worse for his childhood friend. In an instant, he walks over to the wagon and unhitches it from the horse, only to hop on top and tug on the reins, though not forcefully, afraid of freightening him further.
"Come on, please take me to her." He pleaded softly, forgetting everything else. He had completely forgotten about Reiner and his stupid antics. He didn't care about his unlocked house, or the muddy stains on his couch and hallway.
When Bean let out a determined huff and broke into a run toward the opposite side of the town, Levi didn't care about anything else but Hanji.
X
The ride was messy, but fast, and Levi encourages Bean with a praise when he takes on mysterious paths Levi's never seen before. He's only ever traveled to the fair with Hanji once, but he doesn't remember the route they currently rode on. As they pass through uneven grounds, a shudder hits him hard.
They pass by dead trees and dry grounds, and Levi frowns when snow suddenly falls above their heads, strange as it was. Where were they? He couldn't help but ask himself.
Bean's feet are mechanically uneven as he rode on dried leaves and heavy snow, but the horse was determined enough to continue on his path, and his long brown tail swings with adrenaline.
The icy wind that follows stings Levi's face, and his knuckles are white around the reins, but his mind can only focus on Hanji, hoping to whatever Gods that show mercy that Hanji was safe. It was all that mattered.
He lets out icy breaths with every gallop, and he crouches low to shield himself from the sudden cold, but an abrupt gasp crawls from his throat when he finally saw it. The Castle.
It appeared in his view out of thin air, but its structure was massive behind its gates.
"What the fuck." He gaped when Bean slows to a stop right by the tall gates that separated the both of them from the castle. The snow fell harder here, and the winds almost shoved him to the side when he jumps off the horse.
Instinctively, he readjusts his cloak and wears the hood over his head as he approached the gates that were already slightly ajar. Bean followed uneasily from behind.
"Are you really in there, Hanji?" his mumbled doubt was drowned out by the winds, and he takes his words back when his eyes catch the black of Hanji's glasses laying on the ground. He gasped.
His fists are tight by his sides, and with gathered courage, Levi pushes the gates and walks through, running toward the mysterious looking castle right after picking Hanji's glasses.
X
Back on the same sleeping table, Armin and Jean found themselves bickering once more.
"You couldn't keep quiet, could you? You just had to invite her in, serve her some tea, sit in the Master's chair, pet the damn pooch." Jean groaned, pointing a scolding finger at his friend.
Armin rolled his eyes, adjusting his candlestick's flames to a lower fire, "I was only trying to be hospitable, you don't need to—"
A knock on the door had both their attentions turning, and their eyes grow wide like plates as a hooded, short man enters the castle with a visible frown. When the door clicks close behind him, the halls bathe in darkness, save for Armin's flickering light.
"Fuck, it's dark in here," the two heard the short man say, and Jean examines the stranger suspiciously.
"Another one?!" Jean hissed quietly, but he received no response from the candelabra as Armin hops down onto the marbled floor and follows the man around in odd fascination.
"Holy shit, Armin, where are you going?!" Jean called, but it falls on deaf ears. The man stops in the middle of the grand hallway of the castle as he contemplates the dark area, and his feet pick up their pace once more as he slowly walked up a flight of stairs that led toward the high tower.
Jean's teeth are gritting in fear, and he hops down to tail the man from behind along with Armin.
"He mustn't go up there, Armin! We have to stop him!" he hissed into the butler's ears, but Armin hushes him with a frown.
"Wait, keep quiet for a second. There's something odd about this man."
When the stranger stops on the second floor that led to a cobbled hallway, his dark grey eyes studies his surroundings cautiously, but he misses the little objects running around his feet and discreetly pushing a single door open, right to the man's left.
The hooded stranger scowls suspiciously, but he follows the new path given to him and enters through the door. Surprisingly, there were another set of stairs.
"Why the fuck are you leading him up the tower?!" Jean panicked, pulling Armin away from the stairs before he could hop away.
"Damn it, Jean, just trust me!" Armin whispered, smacking Jean's wooden hand away.
"Last time I did, we pissed Master Eren off and shat in our pants!"
"We aren't wearing any pants, Jean. Now, be silent." Armin shushed, still determined to follow the man all the way up the tower.
And when they finally reached the highest level, Armin listens as the man gasps in shock when he found their prisoner inside the cell.
"Hanji!" the stranger called, and Hanji immediately scrambles up to the man, reaching her arms through the heavy cell bars, clutching onto his cloak.
"Hanji, what happened—who the fuck did this to you, why are you locked up in here?" a series of unanswered questions left the man's lips as he took Hanji's hands into his grip, feeling her cold fingertips scraping in his palms.
"Levi, what are you doing here! How did you find me?"
"Scratch that, I have to get you out of here—"
"No, no—there's no time," Hanji cut him off with a shake of her head, "Listen, Levi, you must leave this place."
"The fuck is that supposed to mean!" the man, Levi, suddenly yells in distress, and he shakes the bars of the cell door to no avail. In the corner of the wide room in the tower, Armin and Jean could do nothing but watch, and the clock cusses in whispers. The candelabra's fire dies out.
"Levi, there's no time to explain—please! Just go!" tried Hanji, and her cheeks stain once more with warm tears. "I'll be fine, I promise, just run!"
"Fuck, Hanji. I'm not leaving without you, shit!" Levi cursed under his breath, and tugs on the bars forcefully in a final attempt to get her out of there. But the door doesn't budge, it doesn't move and Levi was desperate.
And just as he was about to curse loudly once more, he felt a violent tug over his shoulder, a tug that quickly whipped him around in a blur, shoving him up against the cell's surface in the process. He groaned in pain that bit his back, and he screwed his eyes shut with a gasp.
"Oh my God, Levi!" Hanji cried worriedly from the other side.
"Who do you think you are, walking around my castle?!" Levi heard an inhuman growl, and with a dazed head, his eyes fly open. A crack through the ceiling leaves a flooding light to pool around the stone floors, but behind the shadows hides something that Levi couldn't identify.
He could hear Hanji yelling, "Levi, run!"
With a flinch, Levi jolts back up on his feet alarmingly, taking a defensive stance when his gaze falls upon a tall figure in the corner.
"Who the fuck are you?" Levi spat, pain already forgotten.
"I'm the Master of this castle. You have no right to be here, stranger!" another growl.
"I've come for my friend," Levi explained calmly, "Let her out before I knock a teeth out of you."
The tall figure shook in anger, but Levi doesn't budge, and his scowl deepens.
"You dare insult me?"
"I do what I fucking want. Now get her out of there!" Levi yelled, already low on patience. There was another threat mixed with an insult right on the tip of his tongue, but before Levi could speak, the figure howls loudly, like an angry, hungry wolf.
"Never! She's my prisoner!"
By now, Levi could hear Hanji's hands desperately shaking the bars behind him, screaming at him to just fucking run!, and for the second time that day, he calms himself with a steady sigh. He isn't going anywhere, he decided, not until Hanji's released from that cell.
He steps forward, avoiding the light that flooded through the lining crack above, and with an honest tone, he fixed a confident stare at the Master of this castle.
"Hanji is no prisoner," he started with a loud exhale, "Release her. Replace her." It wasn't a request, it was more of a demand, an order.
When the figure finally moved, he approached Levi with warning growl, and he doesn't hesitate at all when he decided to step into the light, revealing his monstrous form. His bright green eyes are focused on the short man before him, and he bares his sharp teeth in a silent threat.
Levi doesn't flinch at the sight of the Beast however, but his eyes twitch as a string of emotions washed over those solid grey eyes. Surprise, disbelief, awe.
"Replace her, you say?" the Master's voice is low, "With who, smartass?"
"Take me instead." He wasn't hesitant, and his reply was quick, slicing through the air and causing the Beast's ears to twitch in interest.
Hanji cried out in disagreement, but Levi ignored her calls.
Strangely, Levi's response surprised the Beast, and his sharp green eyes grow wide, if only for a second.
"You.. would willingly take her place?" he sounded unsure, but Levi is quick.
"Yes, I'll stay, and she goes. I promise I'll stay for as long as you please."
"Fuck no! Levi, please!" Hanji was trembling, she wasn't sure if it was from the cold coming in through the open window or from clear fear.
"Step into the light, let me see you!" the Beast commands, and he impatiently waits as Levi does what he was told, pushing his green hood away, revealing his well did undercut and intimidating glare.
The Beast can only stare, but he responds soon after.
"Do you really promise to stay?"
"Yes," Levi nodded cautiously, "You have my word."
"Done!" howled the Beast, and he shoves past Levi to hurriedly unlock the cell door, dragging Hanji out.
Hanji resisted, rushing over to Levi and grabbing on his shoulders.
"Levi, you don't know what you're doing! Please, you don't have to do this—"
"Hanji!" Levi cut her off with an icy tone, grabbing her panicking hands and squeezing them with all the assurance he could offer, "Trust me." He said in a solid mutter, "Trust me."
Although Hanji stubbornly shook her head, she touched her forehead gently against Levi's own, a final affection between the two.
"Please, Levi, please. Be careful."
They both could say nothing more as Hanji was violently pulled away from Levi's grip, and the Beast of this castle takes her away with a growl, out of this castle and out of Levi's life forever.
And Levi cannot protest as he looked at Hanji's crying face for the last time. He cannot resist at all when she's dragged away, out of sight and into the dark shadows of the staircase, pulled away by the Master of this castle.
After all, he has no right, because starting today, Levi is nothing but a prisoner of a Beast with glowing, green eyes.
…
I admit, this chapter was rushed and a little messy. I've proofread it once, though I feel like there are still a few mistakes, so sorry about that.
I really appreciate your support, guys! Thanks again! Updates might take a while, but I'm not giving up on this story, I promise. I'll try my best!
See you in the next chapter!