Domestic

Something was bugging him.

When Petra suggested sharing a room for the winter, Levi hadn't thought anything of it. If anything, it was practical. The rent cost was split between them, a household of two was a less likely target for thieves than a single person living alone, not to mention (though he would never say it out loud) he didn't mind extra company until the Scouting expeditions resumed in the spring. Despite what others thought, he didn't especially value his solitary nature. It was a sensible arrangement, no matter what their gossiping and mildly intrusive neighbors thought.

And still, something was bugging him.

The Winged Sister was packed today, he observed. If it were any other day, he'd have slunk out the back door to wander the snowy streets of Shiganshina until nightfall, but that wasn't an option right now. Levi swallowed. Crowds like this made him nervous. An instinct he'd nurtured since birth reminded him that too many people in one place presented huge risks, ranging from poisoned water to a knife in his back. Levi closed his eyes. Calm down.

He'd gotten the water himself and he was sitting with his back to a corner, right where he could see the door, so everything was fine. He twitched irritably as a nearby drunk let out a raucous, deafening laugh. Petra had assured him this boarding house was a good place, even if it doubled as a tavern. "I know the proprietor here," She'd told him. "He's a good man."

He didn't know why she offered to let him stay with her, perhaps because she was worried he might off himself. Ridiculous. He swallowed and crushed a hand into his brow, watching the tavern's rowdy clientele with a bored yet cautious eye. Admittedly, this hadn't been the best year he'd ever lived, or even a good year for that matter, but he had a handle on things. He wasn't going to kill himself. Or commit any other kind of self-harm. Well, excluding his alcoholism, so he supposed he could understand her concern, but that shouldn't have been her problem. I'm not her brother or her husband or anyone in her family. She needn't have worried.

She was right, though. The landlord was a decent, older gentleman she seemed to be on good terms with. He'd looked him up and down with a critical eye when Petra introduced them, then grinned a knowing smile at her. "Hey, it's not what you think!"

This whole situation was making him uneasy, and he didn't know why. It wasn't the part about living with someone else, particularly a woman. He couldn't remember an extended period of time when he had lived alone, so he knew that wasn't the issue. Twisting his head, Levi fixed his gaze on the window and the snowy streets of Shiganshina. Up until the year before, he'd only seen glimpses of snow and had never really considered it fell everywhere on the surface, not just in little patches where the darkness gave way to the sky. It was such an odd revelation, and he wondered why he'd never given it any thought. It made sense now that he knew.

Hearing footsteps hurrying toward him, he turned around. The landlord's grandson was weaving his way toward him through the crowd, a small child wearing a scarf over his blond hair and a deceptively feminine apron that almost teased an amused smile out of Levi whenever he saw it. He raised an eyebrow as the kid stopped at his table, fixing him with a frantic, blue-eyed stare. "I know you're on break, but could you give me a hand in the kitchen? The dishes are piling so fast I can't keep up with them."

Levi sighed and drained his glass before standing. Unlike the boy, he had no trouble navigating the press of people, snapping at more than half a dozen of them to, "Move it!" The kid was hot on his heels when they made it to the back door behind the counter. The tavern's kitchen was hot and stifling and twice as noisy as the main room if one could believe it. Pots and pans clanged together in a horrible ruckus as the two cooks shouting back and forth, one of them arguing with a serving girl about a customer's order. No wonder this poor kid was at his wit's end. If this chaos didn't do him in, that gigantic stack of crockery that looked like it was about to topple over surely would.

"Sorry." The boy apologized, eyes on the flagstones. "There's just so many."

"No kidding. Why didn't you ask for help sooner?" He reached into the bottom of the wash basin and yanked out the plug, draining the grimy water. "Come on. We'll sorting out the cleaner plates from the dirtier ones so we don't contaminate the water so quickly."

"Right!"

There is nothing to worry about, so why the hell have I been so damn nervous lately. It was maddening. In all the years he'd been alive, this was the time he should've been the least nervous. He was out of the Underground, for goodness sake! Last year, Farlan and I were trying to plot out the robbery of a warehouse and trying to stop Isabel from folding paper airplanes out of the plans. Not to mention, we were practically squatting in that hovel and-Then it hit him.

It was the stability!

The revelation astonished him so much that he nearly dropped the stack of plates in his arms and stared dumbstruck at the floor. I'm living in a room I'm paying rent for. I have a job and I'm making friends. I can't remember the last time I was actually concerned about finding something to eat. I've stayed in one place for a full two weeks and everything's clean and no one's tried to kill me yet.

"Sir?" The landlord's grandson stared up at him. "Are you all right?"

He'd spent an entire lifetime sleeping with one eye open and a knife in his hand, doing whatever it took to survive another hour in that black abyss, struggling to see the day where he could finally get out. Levi felt the corner of his mouth twitch somewhat, but he clenched his jaw and turned to the monumental pile of dishes.

"Yeah, kid. I'm perfectly fine."

I made it out.

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: I wonder if he ever had a weird epiphany like this.

I've been stuck in a bit of writer's block with these, so some feedback would be very much appreciated. Pretty please? Anyone?

Happy Holidays!

We all know who wrote Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin. It wasn't me. Standard disclaimers apply, everyone.