Chagara - Chaos in the Darkness (Levi x OC Fanfic / AttackOnTitan)

73. "Winter. Doctor Winter."

"We can go on a trip."

"Travel?"

"Mmh."

"The two of us? Alone?"

"Mmh."

"And where to?"

"Wherever you want. It's your present, after all."

"Okay."

"That means I got the job at your tea shop?"

"Mmh."

"It's a nice house. Your house, Mr Ackerman?," the carriage driver asked, noticing the smile on his passenger's face.

Levi handed him a couple of banknotes. "Keep the change," he replied and picked up his suitcase. Slowly he moved towards his house. Someone must have recently removed the weeds from between the stones of the footpath.

"Thank you, Mr Ackerman," the carriage driver called after him. "I hope you will stay. You'll make us feel safer here again." The carriage driver waved goodbye to Levi.

"Tch!" With trembling fingers, Levi put the key in the lock. "Does it still fit?" Indeed it did. The lock had not been changed. Squeaking, the door opened and Levi stood in the shop.

"You don't get a shop when you' re from the underworld."

"Yes. Now. Because everything is in short supply. But if there are no more Titans, there will be more space."

"And you believe in that? In a world without Titans?"

"I also believed that I wouldn't spend my whole life in the underworld."

Levi wiped over the dusty counter table with his fingers as he remembered Gabi's words. "I would protect the place." Somehow, this young girl was right. He could be close to Ayumi here. She would beat him up anyway if she found out in their next life that he had sold the shop and her house just like that. Should he really try it? Then he wouldn't have anything to blame himself for. And it had always been his dream. He had survived everything for that. "But?" Levi glanced at the stairs. Would he be able to stand it in the living space? With heavy legs, he walked to the stairs.

***

Levi watched the dance of the steam. The living space was silent. Only his quiet breathing could be heard. Now and then a wooden beam creaked. He sat at the table in front of his teacup. The first rays of sunlight shone through the freshly cleaned window. The quiet was sure to end soon. Already yesterday, Levi had noticed that the city was livelier than before. The atmosphere seemed relaxed. Apparently years ago the talks with the Yeagerist had actually been successful. Levi had not felt that he had arrived in a military state. Would he actually stay? The living place hurt. He looked up from his cup and glanced at the fireplace.

"Levi? We need to talk. I can't see you anymore."

"What?"

"I got married yesterday. And I'm sure my husband doesn't like it if I continue to see you."

"You're such an idiot."

"Sorry. I'll make it up to you, too. Will you take a shower with me?"

"Oi brat, that's the wrong direction."

"I just don't know our home yet."

Should he just start building a flat in the attic? He could live there and rent out the rooms here. But then their most important place would be lost. "Tch!" Levi stood up and walked to the kitchen sink, rolling up his shirtsleeves. The tea he had brought wouldn't last forever. He had to buy more. And since arriving on the island, this black tea he had brought with him was no longer his favourite either. When the carriage driver in the harbour had still been busy with the horses and the carriage, Levi had gone to drink a cup of tea. He thought he had got to know every kind of tea in the past years. But there was a flavour on the menu that he had never heard of before. Black tea with a hint of vanilla. Levi smiled and dried his teacup. If they had that brand of tea here, too? He would look around the city, visit the tea shops and study their products. Only then he could estimate whether he had a chance here.