A/N: Hey guys, just a quick reminder that there will be triggers in here for some people. Also for this story's sake, Hanji is a girl.
Update: Due to circumstances, I will not be continuing this fic here. I had originally intended it to be readerxcannon story, but since that's apparently not allowed here, certain changes will be made to this chapter. If you want to continue reading the original story, you can find it here - story/46912756-god-hates-us
"Guys, this is Levi. He'll be working with us from now on, so show him around and then get ready for opening. Has any one see Yui?"
Levi stared at the people gathered in the room - five waitresses, another bartender and several bouncers. Bar tending wasn't his first choice; he'd done it a few years ago and recently acquired a renewed RSA so when Hanji had told him about this place looking for new staff, he'd decided that at least it was something he had some knowledge about. Getting a job these days was proving harder and harder, hopefully, he'd be able to hold this one down for more than a month.
"Hey, I'm Eren." a young guy with messy brown hair and blue eyes said. He wore tight black jeans and a black t-shirt that looked two-sizes too small, "I work the bar. This is Mikasa, Sasha, Annie, Ymir and Christa."
Levi nodded in greeting.
"Not very talkative are you?" Eren joked slapping a hand on Levi's shoulder. Levi tensed his jaw and restrained himself from punching the kid in the face - he was, after all, just being friendly.
"I'm so sorry I'm late!" came a light, soft voice and sunlight flooded the dimly lit bar as a girl, probably around Eren's age, but Levi's height came rushing in clutching a bag. Levi's gaze followed her as she walked closer, something was amiss about her face but he couldn't quite place it.
"Oh, good, Yui, you're here." the manager, Keith, said as the girl, Yui joined them, "This is Levi, he's new."
Her gaze dropped shyly as she mumbled a quiet hello.
"Hey." Levi replied, the first time he'd spoken since arriving.
"Yui can I talk to you a moment?" Keith asked in a hushed voice, grabbing the girl's arm and pulling her away.
"What's up with her?" Levi asked Eren who had been chatting with some of the bouncers.
"Huh? Oh she's uh...She's just shy, it's nothin'. Come on, I'll show you 'round the bar."
-Yui POV-
"I'm really, really sorry..." Yui said again, feeling yourself shrink even more from her balding boss.
"Don't worry about it." he told her, placing a caring hand on her shoulder, "What happened to your eye?"
She laughed, strained and totally fake, and touched her bruised right eye, "Oh this? It's nothing."
"Yui." Keith said sternly. Yui tried to keep her sigh natural, honestly, she'd spent hours this morning rushing around every cosmetic shop trying to find a shade of eyeshadow that matched the purple bruise. She'd thought she'd done a good job at hiding it too - evidently not.
"Really, it's stupid." Yui argued, desperately wishing he would stop asking questions about it, "I was rearranging my furniture at home and I slipped and hit my head. I'm really clumsy."
Keith gave her an unconvinced look, "You slipped..."
"Yeah." she replied trying to sound like she believed her lie. Keith sighed, "Alright...Put your stuff away and help Eren with the new guy. We got a big night ahead of us."
-Levi's POV-
The bar was so packed you couldn't take a step without running into something. Levi, Eren and Yui barely had time to scratch their asses with all the patrons rushing the bar wanting drinks. Eren had been surprised with Levi's ability to pick things up so quickly and it was nice to know Levi hadn't forgotten everything he learned when he was working with his uncle. He'd just finished making seventeen whiskey sours when he moved to the next patron.
"What can I get you?" he asked the tall, muscular dark haired man. The guy totally ignored him, he didn't even look at Levi. Levi resisted the urge to sneer at him and followed his line of sight. Yui was over the far side of the bar, filling drinks for her customers with a warm smile planted on her face.
Annoyance building in his veins, he leaned closer to the guy, "Oi, what d'you want?!" He asked louder so the guy heard him over the pumping music. His green eyes slid to Levi and he gave him a dangerous look,
"Nothin' from you. I'm waiting." the guy replied. Levi rocked back and crossed his arms,
"Wanna sit at the bar, you gotta order." he told him with an unimpressed stare. The guy glared hotly at Levi, his meaty hands curling into fists on the bar top,
"I said I'm waitin'." he repeated slowly, dangerously. Levi wasn't intimidated by this meat sack, he'd fought guys like him before and won. Big guys always seemed to over-estimate their abilities just because they were huge. Levi was short and looked skinny, however he'd trained his body so much that it was a weapon. There wasn't anyone who could beat him. Except maybe his uncle and that really depended on how Levi was feeling that particular day.
"Look, buddy-" Levi began earning more irritation from the man, only to be stopped by a light touch on his arm as he leaned against the bar.
"It's cool." a light voice said from beside him, the guy's demeanour lightened a fraction, "I've got it."
Levi glanced to Yui as she slid between him and the guy and started making a drink. Shrugging he went back to work.
-Yui POV-
"'Bout time you got your ass over here. Do you know how long I was waiting?" Dennis snapped, "Too fucking long."
"I'm sorry." Yui said, willing her hands to stop shaking as she poured him is beer. She didn't bother explaining that since she was at work, she had other people to serve. That would only piss Dennis off more.
"Good." he growled as she placed the schooner on the bar before him, "You know I don't like waiting."
"I know." she said about to turn and continue serving, but Dennis' hand clamped down on hers hard.
"Where you goin?" he growled. Yui flinched and tried to free her hand.
"Dennis, I'm working. I have other customers to serve..." Yui said softly, hoping he didn't hear her over the music. But, like always, he did.
"They got two guys to do that. You're staying here." he told her, gripping her hand harder.
"Dennis, please..." she whimpered just as two girls squeezed in down the other end and called for service. Dennis' eyes were cold as he glared at her and for a moment she thought he was going to slam her head into the bar. Instead, he allowed Yui to free her hand and quickly escape down to the other end.
When she turned back around, she was pleased to see the Dennis had relinquished his seat and was now standing around a table with his friends. At least for now, she didn't have to worry about him.
As the night progressed and people started to filter out, Yui finally caught a break and headed out the back for a cigarette. The air was cold and sh shivered; wearing shorts was probably not the best idea in autumn but inside the bar it got really hot, really fast. She wrapped her free arm around her middle and tried to warm herself as she took another draw of her smoke.
Something warm and soft dropped around her shoulders making her jump. Looking up, she saw the new guy, Levi, leaning against the brick wall, lighting his own cigarette.
"Thanks." Yui whispered tugging his black jacket tighter around her shoulders.
"Sure." he replied stoically. Yui wondered whether she should try to indulge in small talk to get to know him better, he was a work mate now, but she decided that Dennis wouldn't like her talking to other guys. That didn't stop Levi from talking to her though.
"So, I guess you know that asshole, right?" he asked, smoke floating from his lips as he spoke.
"Yeah, he comes in a lot." she half-lied. Dennis did come in a lot, regularly actually, but she wasn't going to tell a stranger about her boyfriend with anger management issues.
"He always like that?" Levi asked. Yui flinched, he was asking too many questions and she wasn't sure she liked it.
"He's just particular. Probably thought since you're new, you didn't know his order..." she lied. Truth was, Dennis didn't get served by anyone but her. The last guy, the bartender before Levi, had gotten two broken knee caps and a glass bottle upside the head for insisting.
"Right." Levi said in a tone that said he really didn't believe anything she were saying, "Why didn't you call for help?"
"Excuse me?" she asked looking up at him again then immediately dropping her gaze when she met Levi's cool grey eyes.
"I saw what he did, how he nearly crushed your hand." he told her, "So, why didn't you do anything?"
"You don't know what you're talking about." she said quickly and shifted on the plastic crate she was sitting on. Just then, Yui heard the unmistakable bellowing that belonged to Dennis.
"There you are!" he called from street in front of the ally way she and Levi were in, "We've been lookin' for ya!" Yui shrank into herself, Dennis was drunk. She hated it when he was drunk, he was less in control of his temper.
"Did'ya hear me? I said we was lookin' for ya!" he repeated a little more sternly than before as he got closer. Yui didn't know what to say, she couldn't exactly apologize in front of Levi, then he'd know something was definitely up but if she didn't, Dennis would hurt her again.
"Fuck you doin' here?" he growled, eyes locking onto Levi who was still leaning casually against the wall.
"What's it look like?" Levi replied, blowing out another lung full of smoke. Dennis mood shifted again and his whole body tensed,
"Looks like you're talkin' to my woman." he spat stopping in front of Levi and glaring down at him. He half turned back to Yui, "That what goin' on here?"
"Please, don't, Dennis." She begged quietly but Dennis was already gone. He ripped Levi's jacket from her shoulders and threw it at him. Levi let it hit his chest and fall onto his ready forearm.
"The fuck do you think your doin', Shorty?" Dennis demanded. Levi stayed silent as he stared at the bigger man. Dennis slammed his fist into the wall right beside Levi's head - Yui flinched but Levi didn't.
"You think you're a big tough guy, huh? I'll tell ya, that face you got on is hiding that you're ready to piss yourself. I've seen guys like you, guys thinking they can get their grubby hands on my bitch, guys who end up dead 'cos of their mouths. I see you talking to her again, I'll put a bullet in your head." Dennis barked. Yui stood up and put her hand on his muscular arm,
"Baby, please just let it go tonight, okay?" she begged but the two men ignored her and continued to stare at each other.
"Is there a problem here?" Yui relaxed at the sound of Reiner's deep voice. He'd come at just the right time, as usual.
"Nah." Dennis said darkly, still glaring down at Levi, "Just getttin' friendly with the new guy. Ain't that right?"
Again, Levi stayed quiet.
"You know you're not allowed down here, Dennis. C'mon, your friends are looking for you." Reiner said gently shoving Dennis back away from Levi.
"Aight, aight. I'm goin'." Dennis said with his hands raised, "Nice chat, Shrimp." Yui waited until Reiner had escorted Dennis back to the car park before letting out the breath she'd been holding.
"I'm sorry about him." she said to Levi who was still glaring down the ally way, "He must have had too much..." She turned and headed back inside but Levi grabbed her elbow stopping her.
"Why do you put up with that guy?" he asked. Yui shook her arm free from his hold and for the first time looked him in the eyes.
"Look, just please stay out of it." she begged, she didn't want to see another person get hurt because of her. Without waiting for his reply, Yui turned from him, planted a warm, friendly smile on her face and headed back to work.
-Levi's POV-
"Look," Yui said, her eyes begging, "Just please stay out of it." Levi watched as she walked away and disappeared into the thinning sea of people.
"Stay out of it?" he asked no one, "Tch, yeah right."
The next morning Levi was at the private gym he and his two friends trained at every week. He hadn't slept at all, his mind kept replaying all the murderous things he wanted to do to that Dennis guy.
He was working the punching bag when his friends, Erwin and Hanji, wandered in, chatting to each other.
"Oh hey, Levi." Hanji called happily, "You're here early." Erwin crossed the room in several long strides and stood behind the bag as a support,
"How'd your first night go?" he asked. Levi threw his strength into the punch that followed causing Erwin to take a step backwards, "That bad, huh?"
"Please tell me you didn't get fired?" Hanji begged as she sat on the edge of the leg press machine.
"No." Levi replied, "Nothing like that."
"Then what?" Erwin asked. Levi sighed and hugged the bag,
"There's this girl..."
"Customer or waitress?" Hanji interrupted.
"Bartender." Levi answered shortly, "Anyway, she came in late before we opened. Looking at her she didn't seem like much, right? But there was just something about her face that I couldn't quite pick."
"So you got a crush on an ugly girl?" Hanji guessed earning a scowl from Levi,
"Do you have to be quite so judgmental? And no, that's not what I'm talking about. It looked as though she'd just applied too much eye make-up from a distance..."
"Look, Levi, I know you have this whole concept of protecting the weak, but you can't just go thinking that everyone is being beaten up. Some people have genuine accidents." Erwin said sternly. Levi shot him a condescending glare,
"No shit. I was going to leave it alone but then this guy came in. He sat at the bar and completely ignored me when I asked him what he wanted to drink. Apparently, he only ever gets served by her and that the last guy who tried to serve him ended up in hospital." Levi told them.
"So, what? You think he's an abusive boyfriend or something?" Hanji asked curiously, resting her chin on her hands.
"Well the threats he gave me certainly seems to point in that direction."
Erwin sighed and moved to stand beside his shorter friend, "What I'm about to say is going to sound terrible but stay out of it, Levi. You can't afford to lose this job, it's your last chance. You know what'll happen if you get fired again."
"Yeah, yeah...I go back. Don't you think I know that? I'm not getting fired on purpose, ya know."
"We know. We just don't want to see you get sent back to that hell. It almost ruined you. I don't think I could stand to see you like that again." Hanji said softly. Levi looked between his two friends; he knew they were only trying to help him but he couldn't just stand by and do nothing when he knew Yui was getting hurt. There wasn't anything he could do to help his mother but he would be damned if he wasn't going to help her.
PS. Dennis isn't from the SnK world; I was originally going to go with Reiner to be the big bad boyfriend, but I just couldn't picture it.