A Stroke of Love

Boxes

"I can't believe we're doing this."

"Why? We talked about it for almost a year?"

"I know, but we just graduated like three months ago. Aren't we a bit too young?"

"Eren, you turned 18 already. The only thing you are too young for now is booze."

"Speaking of, you're too young too, how'd you get this?" I held out a bottle of wine sitting on the counter.

"It's a farewell gift from Farlan."

"I thought you weren't close to Kenny's family?"

"I used to play with him and his sister when we were kids." Levi took the bottle from my hands and analyzed it, "I guess him and Lizzy thought of us moving as us never having a reason to see each other again."

My brow furrowed, "You guys have never met since we started dating a year ago, why is it now that they miss you?"

"Well," Levi set down the bottle, "you could say that about your own family."

I turned away and resumed my previous task of packing up the inessentials from the kitchen. "What do you mean?"

"It's not like your dad has contacted you." It's been over a year and I still hurt when I thought of him. "But...."

I raised an eyebrow despite facing the wall instead of Levi, "But what?"

"I...visited him..."

"What?" This made me turn to face him, "why?"

"I wanted to talk to him. We didn't get too far though, he closed the door in my face."

I sighed into the box and I walked off to look for the tape. As I looked around at the apartment around me, I couldn't help but feel nostalgic. The once beautifully styled apartment was stripped bare. The couch and other furniture was gone. Every wall decoration was in boxes stacked and labeled on the floor. Throw pillows that once decorated our couch, rugs, everything.

"I called the guys over." Levi said, following me into the living room.

"Oh really?" I took advantage of the change of topic. "Are actually going to help out this time?"

"Of course," Levi said, coming closer, "I threatened them with bodily harm so they'd better."

"Good. I don't want a repeat of last time." I thought back to a few days ago when Erwin and Hanji convinced Mike to try to move as many boxes as humanly possible. Mike was able to do everything fine, it was when the other two decided to try and carry more than him that boxes ended up thrown on the concrete. Luckily nothing was broken except for Levi's trust for the "dumbass-duo", as Levi called them after that kerfuffle.

We kept on putting things away in boxes and after a bit a knock sounded at the door. When I opened it, I not only saw Mike, Erwin, and Hanji, but Jean too. He explained that Hanji saw him on the streets and forced him to come with. Like a giddy schoolgirl, Hanji nodded her head vigorously; she actually seemed more excited today than usual.

One by one, as per Levi's request, the boxes were carried downstairs and into the small U-Haul truck we had rented out. The drive to the new building in a new town was without conversation, instead it was filled with me singing along to to just about every song that came on the radio. I would catch Levi looking over at me with a smirk and had to yell at him so that he'd pay attention to the road.

We finally made it to Portland and a spark of excitement engulfed my heart. It was still so surreal that Levi and I had bought a place together, that there was now a building that was legitimately ours and not just a place Kenny paid the rent for. That I was now living in a different town, I had never lived outside of Eugene before this. After taking in all of Portland I could see, we got to the new home.