Love Me Not - {riren au}

Love Me Not ~ 4

Eren left his shift that night in complete shock.

His heart had been ready to leap out of his chest.

Did he act weird? He was worried that he acted too awkward.

Levi definitely remembered everything from the past. That wasn't something that could easily be forgotten.

When Eren got home, he slipped his shoes off and plopped on the couch. Mikasa and Armin came out from the kitchen and watched with confusion.

"Was your first official day that bad?" Mikasa asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I guess..." Eren's voice trailed off.

"What happened?" Armin asked.

"Oh well, my last customer for the night was none other than Levi fucking Ackerman." Eren held his head in his hands. "I acted so awkward and now I'm embarrassed thinking about it."

"Wait really?" Armin asked.

"Well, it makes sense. He graduated college and got a job at a publishing company around here. He's back in town." Mikasa shrugged.

"Why didn't you tell me that?!" Eren asked, eyes wide.

Mikasa shrugged. "You stopped asking about him. It would be weird if I randomly told you this stuff without you even wanting to know. I figured you didn't want to know anymore."

Eren sighed. She had a point. He did stop asking a while back because he needed to get over him.

"Who's Levi?" Grisha asked, finally coming out of the kitchen.

Eren shot Mikasa a glare from the couch. "Mikasa's cousin."

"Oh, that's right." Grisha then remembered the name. He did keep in contact with Mikasa's family, mainly Kenny. Kenny had mentioned him before.

Mikasa looked over at Grisha. "Eren saw him today and embarrassed himself, nothing big."

"Of course he embarrassed himself." Grisha teased his son and left back into the kitchen.

"I didn't know dad was there! Why didn't you warn me?" Eren said quietly, huffing.

"Well, I didn't think you'd be coming home to talk about Levi." Mikasa whispered to Eren. "Not exactly something that happens often nowadays. We aren't fourteen anymore."

Eren sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, okay." He glanced to make sure his dad wasn't in the doorway and turned back to his friends.

Armin looked at Mikasa and raised an eyebrow, expecting her to tell Eren about what she saw when she was at the last family gathering.

Mikasa shook her head at Armin.

Eren noticed the exchange and raised an eyebrow. "What are you guys doing?"

"Oh, nothing." Armin said quickly.

Eren was suspicious, but let it go. He had a lot more to worry about than some weird communication between Armin and Mikasa.

"What if Levi comes into the bookstore again?" Eren asked, running a hand through his hair.

"Well, he's definitely going to go in there again." Mikasa said, watching Eren.

"Ugh, why?" Eren whined.

"Because he goes there? He's probably a frequent customer. He's a big book person, I did say he works in publishing after all." Mikasa added.

"Why does this have to happen to me of all people? I just wanted a lowkey summer until school started in the fall." Eren rolled on the couch and curled up into a ball.

"I know it feels like the end of the world for you, but it isn't. In the end he's just a person. Keep on working and going for what you want in life." Armin moved closer to Eren and poked him. "Now stop sulking and get up."

Eren looked at Armin and sat up. "Fine. If he comes in again I'm hoping I'm not weird. The thought of him coming in to the store again makes me want to puke though. I'm going to make someone else ring him up."

"No, then you'll always be avoiding him." Mikasa sighed. "You have to face your fears."

"I'm not scared of him, Mikasa." Eren argued.

"You just said that the thought of him going into the store again made you want to puke. That sounds pretty bad to me. Some anxiety and fear mixed in maybe?" Armin looked at Mikasa before glancing back at Eren.

"I'm not scared of him. When I see him my head and my heart just go back to when I was younger. I know it's stupid, but it's a reminder." Eren looked down at his hands, tightening them into fists. "I feel the same hurt and I was so shocked to see him."

"Well, I think you should hold your head up. Look happy and show him that you're doing better than ever." Armin smiled lightly. "Don't let him see that he hurt you, don't give him that satisfaction, okay? You'll still hurt for a while, but at some point you'll forget and it won't be as painful."

"I know, I'll have to fake it until I make it. It sounds easy, but I know I'll be really hard." Eren unclenched his fists and rested them on his thighs. "I'll pretend I don't know him, and then he'll just become another random person. The feelings I once had won't come to mind anymore."

Mikasa stayed silent and listened to the two talk. Would that really work?

"Armin! Are you staying for dinner?" Grisha's voice could be heard from the kitchen.

Armin turned when he heard his name. "Yes please, if that's okay!" He called back.

Grisha stuck his head out of the kitchen. "I was going to make you stay even if you said no. I'll send some leftovers with you to give to your grandfather." He went back into the kitchen.

Armin smiled and turned back towards his friends. Grisha had changed a lot from what he remembered.

Grisha had once been someone that was never seen. He was a workaholic. Karla took care of everything around the house because of how much Grisha worked. Karla got sick often, so she wasn't really able to go and work although she wanted to.

Once Karla passed he was around more. He needed to be there for his son and Mikasa, who was a daughter to him. They still struggled financially from his decision to leave the doctor's office, but felt being able to spend time with his kids, especially when they were grieving as well, was the best choice.

Armin looked at Eren to continue their conversation. "I think it'll work. It sucks that something from years ago can come back to haunt you like this."

"Yeah, it's not excruciating obviously. I'm not crying myself to sleep over it. It's just an uncomfortable pain."

-

Don't forget to vote / comment :)