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Hi! Ive been looking forward to writing what happens in these next few chapters since I started the book and the main premise of the story is finally introduced! Hope you guys enjoy it!

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It wasn't easy, but it felt like a weight lifted off his chest, after enduring all of that before, to finally get some peace and quiet once he was able to part ways with Onyankopon for a moment and Levi made it back to his office. He knew he needed to take in every moment of silence and serenity that he had now because he knew it would come crashing down at any moment and his solitude would end very soon.

But after Levi reached his office, a couple moments later, Onyankopon came into the room but with his own tasks to do. Levi didn't really mind that he was there, as long as the both of them could coexist in the same space and the two of them could get their work done without any more interruptions. It was a big room that Levi's office was in, so the both of them could be in the same room without any inconveniences.

After leaving the theater and being able to escape answering any of Petra's questions that he knew she had for him after hearing that he went on a date, even if it was an accidental one, Levi was alone at last in his office, sitting on his desk and peacefully trying to get some paperwork done that he had pending.

He knew that as soon as Petra's rehearsal was over, she'd come right over and ask exactly what was plaguing her thoughts. It wasn't like her to just let it go. Her admiration and devotion for Levi wasn't something that Petra took lightly and Levi's come to realize that the hard way.

He'd started about 10 minutes ago and was signing and filling them all out by hand. He had a long way to go, still. Sure, he could use his powers and not put any real effort by just finishing in a couple minutes, but Levi didn't mind spending time on these forms. Especially now when he desperately needed something to distract himself.

He still had a stack of forms next to him on his desk, and he quietly went through each of them. These documents, that he was just flying by, included requests for approvals of certain events, business trip reports, employee forms, etc. He was the director and founder of this foundation after all, so all of the final decisions fell to him.

But, after a while of signing so many papers, Levi leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh as he held onto his wrist, the one he was using to write, and began massaging and mobilizing it a bit before he continued. He was almost done, but he could feel his wrist becoming a bit sore from writing so consistently over the last 10 minutes.

But as he held onto his wrist, Levi's gunmetal gaze suddenly turned to the side and they zeroed in on something on the wall behind him. Right behind his desk, there was a wall that led to his hall of clocks on the other side, but on the appearance of the wall itself, it was a mural that Levi hand picked himself that he thought would bring life to his office space. It's been the one thing in his office that has never changed.

It was a large mural with paintings of majestic and beautiful trees that had all sorts of life adorned on it, like birds, flowers, leaves, and sometimes Levi just liked turning his head back while he was working and just looked at it without saying anything. It brought him a sense of peace, and no words were needed to express how much he loved it. His eyes said it all and everyone who worked with him could see it.

His eyes softened just a bit and he raised his hand up in the air, snapping his fingers. When he did, one of the birds that were painted to be perched in one of the branches of the tree, suddenly came to life and flew right towards Levi's finger, flapping its wings gleefully.

The bird chirped happily and continued to do so as a soft and almost imperceptible smile reached Levi's lips. There was something about this bird that brought him ease, and the creature has always reminded him of something that was always in the back of his head, but he couldn't always place what it was so he tended to brush it off.

As Levi continued to look fondly at the bird in his finger tip, Onyankopon was still minding his own business on the other side of the room. He was standing behind the counter of the bar Levi had in his office, where he usually kept his tea. Now, knowing Levi missed out on having tea like he wanted, his assistant was now making sure he could at least have some here in his office while he worked.

"Earl Grey tea as always?" Onyankopon asked from all the way in his spot by the bar. Levi turned his attention from the bird in his hand over to his assistant. He thought about that offer for a bit, and he thought he might as well. He didn't get to before and Onyankopon made good tea that was up to his standards, which was a rare thing for Levi, so he just nodded in agreement and turned his attention back to the bird.

"Yeah, sure. I'm going to head out soon again so I can use it," Levi said, looking away, as he heard Onyankopon respond to his acceptance of tea by beginning to take out all of the items he needed to make Levi's favorite tea just how he liked it. He'd managed to perfect it over the years and now he's one of the only people Levi asked to make his tea, except when he made it himself. He liked it the most that way.

Hearing Levi say that he was going to leave again soon, Onyankopon already had an idea as to why. "Going out to make more deals, huh?" The man said, and quickly started to go over the standard procedure of making the tea. Heating up the water in the kettle, finding Levi's favorite type of tea out of the entire collection of types of tea he holds, and then doing the rest of the process like its second nature.

Levi turned around in his chair as his eyes didn't leave the small bird in his finger. But still, he nodded at Onyankopon's question, since his assistant already knew how these things went. "More like someone today will be hitting the jackpot," Levi specified as he watched every little movement the bird made. The small twitches of its wings, how it moved its head, how it securely had its feet and small talons gripping around his finger. The bird felt safe in Levi's presence

"Even if it comes with a steep price? Most people don't really know what they're getting into even if you always lay out all the conditions beforehand," Onyankopon said, having quickly finished making Levi's tea and bringing it over to him along with a cup with its complete set. A cup, a saucer and a tea pot that had steaming hot tea inside.

He keeps recalling all the stories Levi has told him of all the people who have been so desperate to have their wishes fulfilled, that it's like listening to everything but the most important parts of the deals.

"That's because humans will jump at any chance to have all they've ever wanted. They should know that nothing in this world is free" Levi said bluntly as he turned his gaze from the bird still in his finger, to watch Onyankopon pour his tea into a cup, already feeling a lot more at ease just by seeing that not all went wrong today and he could still have the one thing he had been looking forward to.

But even he couldn't get everything he wanted. Just as Onyankopon finished pouring Levi his tea and he was about to grab it, the double doors of his office were suddenly pushed open so hard that it rattled his tea cup a little on his desk, the bird was startled so much that it flew right back into the painting, and Levi used his free hand to hold his cup in place. Thankfully, the tea didn't spill, though he hoped he could enjoy the bird's presence and company just a bit more.

The raven and his assistant both looked up to see a very angry and irritated-looking Petra at the entrance. Levi closed his eyes and brought his hand to the bridge of his nose as his bangs fell over his face. He couldn't have a single moment of peace, could he?

"Who is she?" Petra exclaimed as her voice projected across the room, but there was a certain tone of curiosity laced in her voice. Onyankopon gulped, not wanting to be on the receiving end of Petra's emotions right now. She sounded very upset, not only that her questions weren't answered before and the lack of information, but also by the thought of Levi spending time with someone else, and on a date no less.

Onyankopon instinctively scrambled back a bit in his fit and tripped on them as he saw Petra suddenly begin to make her way across the room, and her stride could say everything that was needed to know that she wasn't leaving until she knew everything since they refused to before.

But knowing she was coming straight for Levi, Onyankopon got his feet to move and just as she reached his desk, he stood in front of her and blocked off her view of his boss. He was trying his best to defuse the situation. But Petra simply moved fast enough to the side where she could finally look Levi in the eye and Onyankopon moved to stand next to her, giving up on trying to get her to calm down.

"Petra, calm down. Let's talk about this first, alright?" Onyankopon said, raising both of his hands to try and give her a motion to settle down before saying or doing something rash out of anger. Petra looked at Onyankopon once and then back at Levi expectantly.

"So, what's she like? Is she pretty? Does she have a thing for grumpy men?" Petra asked with a mix of determination that was suddenly mingled with concern, but she chuckled to herself at the last part. She watched as Levi rolled his eyes and proceeded to start drinking his tea.

He'd need it even more now to be able to deal with this and not lose his mind. He grabbed the teacup, with his fingers along the rim, and raised it up to his lips to take a sip. Just from getting a taste of it once, he already felt infinitely better. He'd need it to deal with this.

"It doesn't matter who she is. You're making this more complicated than it is. Nothing happened," Levi said with disinterest evident in his tone, trying to take another sip of his tea. He was bracing himself for the impending amount of questions that were about to crash on him.

"Can't you see I'm just looking out for you? You guys didn't answer my questions before and I want to know if she's worth your time" Petra said as her tone remained stern yet soft, crossing her arms.

"You know, If I had known you were going to turn out like this and knew this would be turned into an interrogation, I would've left you out there" Levi said, as his tone remained flat and blank. He recalled how it is that he met Petra in the first place, and the situation she was in, and how he ended up bringing her over to be part of the foundation. It was times like this that he tended to think about his choices.

Petra deadpanned at him and her eyes narrowed. "Seriously? After everything we've been through? Even if I've been your only human companion for years? You can't act like I don't matter" Petra countered as kept her gaze firm on Levi. Onyankopon heard her words and raised his arms in defense. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

What was he then? He's human too and he was Levi's assistant. "What do you mean? Of course you matter, Petra. But you're not the only one who cares. That hurts." He said, and Levi furrowed his eyebrows as he heard the two of them begin to bicker, prompting him to raise his cup and take another sip of his tea trying to ignore them.

"You're different, Onyankopon. The two of you are bound by a contract, I'm not," Petra started, but then was quick to turn back to face Levi as a smug look reached her features, but Onyankopon wasn't giving up.

"I've had a genuine friendship with him that's been developing for years, so naturally... I'm concerned" Petra said, seeing how Levi wasn't even looking at the two of them anymore, just drinking his tea.

In fact, Levi was completely tuning them out as best as he knew how. "I had a contract with him in my past life. That counts for something. We have a genuine friendship, too—" Onyankopon started, but Petra was smirking and had something to retort right back to him, cutting him off.

"You still get paid by him. Come on, aren't you even the least bit curious about this girl?" She shot back, making Onyankopon roll his eyes in irritation and saw right through the irony of her words.

"You get paid too! We're not that different. And I wouldn't say I'm not curious, but I'd like to keep my job intact, thank you very much." Onyankopon retorted as he watched her scrunch her face in annoyance and narrow her eyes at him. But she wasn't done there.

"Can you two please be quiet?" Levi said as he turned his head to the side and his stern and commanding voice made them both go quiet and made them go from looking and bickering with each other, over to Levi. "If you're both here to argue, could you do it outside? Don't bring that in here" He said, annoyance becoming clear in his voice again.

"I'm not going anywhere until I get answers," Petra defied as she continued to look down at Levi, who was still sitting in his chair. He raised an eyebrow, not feeling even the least bit intimidated by her words. He didn't have to tell her anything, even if there was anything.

"I already told you that there's nothing to tell. It doesn't matter who she is" Levi said as he leaned back in his chair with a huff. Petra let out a breath through her nose and looked away from Levi.

She didn't want to leave this alone, but Levi seemed adamant on not wanting to talk about it at all. It was driving her crazy to have to draw conclusions on her own, going completely unanswered and unsolved.

As for Onyankopon, he was happy to just stop bickering overall, especially as Levi looked like he was about to say something else. The raven was leaning his body back into the chair, his head leaned back and his hair falling back as well.

His steel eyes were cold, calculating and hard as he looked at his assistant and the girl he took in all those years ago. "As for who matters the most, neither of you. Neither of you seem like normal human beings to me. There's no contest," Levi said bluntly to the two of them.

As soon as he said that, Levi heard gasps from both of the people in front of him as their mouths dropped open with offense. Levi straightened up and moved to prop his forearms on his desk, but then raised a single arm, and used it to point it to Onyankopon.

"You. You're still remembering your past life. Do you think that's normal?" Levi said and a look of recognition crossed his assistant's features, followed by a shrug as he looked away. Levi then turned to look at Petra, who made eye contact with Levi as soon as he turned to look at her. She didn't know what he was about to say.

"And don't even get me started on you. You're obsessed with a demon, and that's creepy enough on it's own" Levi pointed out, outright saying how Petra's admiration towards Levi could only be seen as obsession sometimes if she wasn't careful. But she only gave Levi a shameless smile, and after seeing her reaction, he could only lean back down in his chair and raise a hand to run it back through his hair.

"I rest my case, now can you both please leave me alone?" Levi said as he crossed his arms and looked up at Onyankopon and Petra who were silent for a couple seconds, but then his assistant decided to speak up and turn to look at Petra. Levi held back a groan and threw his head back, knowing they were about to get into a whole new conversation.

"You know what? Don't listen to him Petra. We've known him this long to know that he's just doing this to distance himself. We shouldn't be surprised, should we?" Onyankopon said, and hearing this, even if he wasn't looking, Levi turned his head slowly to look at his assistant with offense. He crossed his arms and heard what was being said about him, right in front of him. But he supposed it served him right for being too honest before. He shouldn't be too shocked.

"And on top of that, he's even befriended mortals in the past only to be left behind way too many times, so don't take it too personally, okay?" Onyankopon said breezily to Petra, as if what he said before wasn't the nail on the coffin. Levi wondered if they realized that he was still right there in front of them. They were talking as if he wasn't even there.

Levi leaned forward and propped his head up on his fist and closed his eyes as he tried to muffle this conversation in his head. It wasn't until Onyankopon seemed to now be redirecting his words over to Levi.

"You know I don't think we've ever talked about this before, but does it get lonely knowing you're immortal, Levi? You've been alive for so long and we've only been part of your life for barely half of it," Onyankopon said, and Levi kept his head in his fist as his assistant's question suddenly caused a small spark of interest in Levi's eyes to show, but the disinterest and glaring was still very much present in his gaze.

"Now that I think about it, it's a little more understandable now why you never open up to anyone. We've known you for years and it feels like we're barely scratching the surface," Onyankopon said as he gestured between him and Petra and he leaned his body on the desk, with his hand keeping him propped up. Levi looked at his assistant with a look so vague that it was almost indecipherable to know what he was thinking. But all they knew was that their words had an effect on him.

Just as Levi leaned his head away from his fist and leaned back in his chair again, he sighed and stayed silent, not wanting to give them the satisfaction to know that what they were saying had any effect on him, because they didn't. It's all things he's come to terms with, but he knew that they wouldn't stop prying. They never did, and it's been that way since he met the two of them years ago.

There was silence in the room for a bit longer, until Petra finally decided to voice out her thoughts, even if there was clear hesitance in her voice. "How does it feel...to be immortal, I mean," Petra asked, putting her hands behind her back, not knowing where to keep them. She's always wanted to ask Levi that but now that they were on the subject, she couldn't think of a better time to do it than now.

"Do you want me to be honest?" Levi asked as Petra and Onyankopon gave him 'duh!' looks and their faces showed that they clearly wanted to know what Levi has lived through across centuries thanks to his immortality. It's one of the many secrets that he's harbored for years.

They were clearly desperate to know. Levi sighed and leaned his head back in his chair as he let out a breath. "In a word..." Levi started, trailing off, which made Petra and Onyankopon lean forward in anticipation involuntarily, not wanting to miss a single thing.

And finally having had enough and letting his true emotions that he's been building up for the last couple minutes, that felt like years to him, Levi slammed his hand down on his desk, enough to rattle everything on it, and stood up abruptly, startling Petra and Onyankopon.

"It feels..." Levi dragged on, his eyes falling on the two of them and seeing how antsy they were to hear his next words. "...like it's enough of a gift that I'll get to outlive the two of you," He finished his thought, looked up at the two, seemingly frozen, people in front of him and sent a glare their way and began to step around his desk.

He walked around it, leaving behind Petra and Onyankopon, and finally started to make his way out of his office. "Continue working on the performance. Annoying humans...you never listen to anything I say" Levi's voice, clearly sounding fed up, echoed through his office up until the point he left the room and his footsteps trailed off farther and farther away, leaving Petra and Onyankopon alone in silence as they processed what just happened.

Onyankopon always found it ironic that Levi used to be a human himself, and hasn't always been a demon. It's just all he remembers and the lifestyle he's adopted for centuries, so it's not like he blamed Levi at all for it. "Well, we tried. That felt too good to be true, anyway," He said as he let out a breath of defeat, putting his hands in the pockets of his hands, keeping his eyes on the door that Levi just left through. It was probably a sign to stop trying after so long.

Petra had watched him walk off, and she had moved to lean back against his desk with her hands propping her up behind her. After what Onyankopon said, she couldn't help but let a sly smile appear on her lips, and she began to think about what Levi used to be like.

"I bet he was even more handsome as a human..." Petra muttered to herself, almost giggling to herself, which Onyankopon was quick to react to by hearing her words and then not helping but turning his head to look at her and sending a weird expression her way. His face twisted even more when he saw her face suddenly light up with realization. "Wait! So, who is she?" Petra exclaimed as she leaned away from the table and quickly began heading out the door and following after Levi.

"Tell us!" She called out once again as she reached the door and her voice trailed off as she got farther and farther away, all the while Onyankopon's expression never faltered up until the point that he was left alone in the room once again. What just happened?

Once he regained his composure, he shook his head slightly and figured he'd start tidying up before Levi came back from doing a deal. Onyankopon turned around and saw the empty tea cup, the saucer, and the pot on his boss' desk, quickly grabbed it all, and then brought it over to the bar area where he could clean it and store the tea set safely until the next time Levi wanted to have some.

As he cleaned everything, including all pots and other items around the bar, Onyankopon decided that he would do his routine deep clean of the office. The only part he didn't touch was the hall of clocks because that was usually a section Levi liked taking care of himself.

But as Onyankopon cleaned, a weird feeling settled in his chest that he couldn't shake off, like something bad was going to happen. And usually, he was never wrong. Something awaited Levi later that day.

-

You should've known that this would happen. You didn't know why you didn't see it coming, now you were kicking yourself knowing yet another thing didn't go as planned. You just couldn't catch a break today, could you?

After pulling out of the hospital parking lot and parting ways with your assistant, you had done a series of things that lead you to where you are now. Before you decided to make your way over to the hotel that Hange told you that Karina was staying in, you decided to change your attire into something a little bit more put together and decided to fix yourself up a little more.

Everything you had been wearing today somehow served as a reminder of everything that happened today, but that wasn't the only reason you changed, even if the day has felt eternal to you and that it's gone on forever.

You headed to your apartment really quickly, wanting to look presentable so that Karina knew you were serious and meant business when you stopped by, and then decided to discard the stained shirt and entire outfit overall.

So now, you were wearing something entirely different. You were wearing a  black swede ensemble that consisted of a high-neck cropped jacket and a long flared skirt that were both the same color. After that, you finished your stop at your apartment, changed, and then like you said you would, you stopped by the store and got some snacks for yourself to eat later, and then started to make your way by yourself to the hotel that Hange had told you about.

But you were just disappointed when you got there. When you got to the hotel, you left your snacks in the car, locked the doors and left it parked outside, only bringing your purse out with you. When you made through the revolving doors of the prestigious hotel where Karina seemed to be vacationing, you let your eyes search around the area until you found the front desk.

You briskly proceeded to walk over and, you noticed two people at the front desk, you started walking to the one closest to your vicinity. When the woman behind the desk noticed your approaching figure, she quickly straightened up and adjusted her glasses, and sent you a warm smile just as you reached the desk, stood right in front of her and made eye contact.

"Good afternoon, may I help you?" The woman asked as she intertwined her fingers with each other and leaned forward, keeping her expression warm and inviting. In response, you couldn't help but smile back and answer right back, steeling yourself in your mind to go and see Karina.

"Yes, I wanted to know if Karina Braun was still checked in?" You asked, as your hands subtly tightened around your hold on the front desk, purely out of uncertainty. Even though you didn't know why, you weren't intimidated by Karina by any means. Just the whole idea of it made you nervous and having to deal with her and her schemes once again made you feel reluctant.

A look of recognition fell on the receptionist's face and she recalled having heard that name before while having checked someone in a couple days. She quickly nodded and turned away from you, quickly beginning to type in her computer for any records of Karina still being or having been in this hotel

You exhaled through your nose and pursed your lips as you waited awkwardly, looking to the side and watching a flurry of people walking in and out of the hotel. You weren't so surprised that it was so full and bustling, since it was one of the most prestigious hotels in the city. No wonder Karina chose it.

Eventually, after a couple of seconds of waiting, you saw how the woman stopped typing and her face fell a bit. You noticed immediately and you couldn't help but let your face fall as well, already sensing what she was about to say. "I'm very sorry, she checked out a couple of hours ago" She said, her voice becoming apologetic and she adjusted her glasses while looking back at the screen.

You looked down at her and let out a breath as you closed your eyes for a second and ran a hand through your hair. You really should've seen it coming that confronting her wouldn't be as easy as you thought it would be and that it would either be a coincidence like this that she left just as you were coming to confront her or she heard about it before, and left just in time, on purpose.

You didn't want to waste this woman's time any longer. If she was gone, she was gone. You'll have to do this some other time and do it better, but there's just nothing you could do now. You turned to look at the woman who was still awaiting your answer. "Thank you, have a good day," You said, smiling softly and bowing your head forward a bit. With understanding, she sent you her most professional smile she could muster and gave you a nod.

After that, you began to walk away and made your way towards the exit. Once you made your way out of the hotel through the revolving doors, you saw your car was exactly as you'd left it and you began to make your way around it. You opened the door, slid in inside, and closed the door next to you and let out a deep breath that you didn't know you were holding inside since the moment you had stepped into the hotel before.

You were staring blankly ahead and leaning back against your seat as you tried to figure out what to do next. You had no work left for the day since Hange cleared the rest of your day to do exactly this, but now that it didn't work out, you couldn't help but look to the side in the passenger seat and saw your bag of snacks on the seat. You looked at them for a few seconds, momentarily, mulling over and over what to do. And then one thing came to mind.

You didn't even think about it for a second and turned your body to quickly reach over to grab your seatbelt and you buckled yourself in. You started up the car and began to drive out of the curb of the hotel, with the only destination in mind that could give you peace for a couple hours, and hopefully for the rest of the day if it was possible. It was still your birthday after all.

You just wanted to be by yourself and clear your thoughts that have been chasing you all day long, and you just needed a moment alone. So much happened that you desperately needed to unwind and just let your mind go blank and forget, even if it was just for a second. That was all you needed.

And soon enough, after driving in a way that felt like auto-pilot, you finally made it to where you wanted to go. The beach. It was the perfect place to enjoy your snacks for a while listening to the waves crashing and the soft breeze joining you.

When you parked your car in the parking lot of the beach, before you got out of the car, you unbuckled your seatbelt and grabbed the bag of snacks and your purse. After that, you opened the door, stepped out of the car with a huff, shutting the door closed, and then pressed a button in your keys to lock it.

The problem with this parking lot is that it was pretty far away from the beach itself, which was inconvenient enough on its own, so the rest of the way, you'd have to walk through a designated path to get to the beach. But you didn't mind if you were being honest. It might do you good to do some walking for a change and just appreciate your surroundings. That's why you came here after all.

And after minutes of walking, of just mulling over your thoughts for a while and finding common ground and acceptance over them, before you knew it, your feet were hitting the soft sand of the beach. You had taken off your shoes before stepping on the sand, so now you were walking barefoot across it. On one hand you held your shoes, and on the other, your purse and your bag with snacks.

As you kept walking across the sand, even if you'd accepted that nearly none of the things that you had planned for the day had worked out. But the last one surprised you least of all. Karina's whims and schemes have only gotten worse over the years and you were finally going to confront her. You wondered if Reiner knew what she was up to constantly behind his back.

After walking for a couple more seconds on the beach, you realized that it was pretty much empty today which worked incredibly in your favor. You stopped in your tracks and let your feet sink fully into the sand as you crossed your arms, hearing the items in your purse and your bag of snacks ruffle against each other.

You closed your eyes and took a deep inhalation, held it a couple seconds, and exhaled as you opened your eyes again and felt your body shudder as a wafting breeze passed through you. You had your arms go from being crossed, to wrapping around yourself, hugging your body as your eyes began to trail across the scenery of the beach. Nothing has changed at all.

The ocean was so blue, the sunset was almost blinding but beautiful nonetheless, and the softness of the almost white, pristine sand against your feet calmed what were your relentless thoughts that were running through your head and you had no way to get rid of, as easy as you thought it would be.

You realized that it's been years since you've been to this beach in particular but there was a reason as to why you're here today. To feel like the only people who were the real family members to you, were still right there with you. This was your sanctuary, the only one that filled that gaping hole in your life.

And while you have a family, like Grisha, Erwin, Eren, Mikasa, Armin, and your cousins, and you were eternally grateful and indebted to them to have had a chance to have them in your life, it just...didn't feel the same. Nothing would ever feel the same without them and you missed them every single day. Nothing has felt the same since the moment you lost your parents, and no amount of relationships in your life could fill the void they left.

It's also the matter that you've never really told Grisha or the others, or even come close to verbalizing that it has never truly felt like you belonged, no matter how much they tried to bring you in. You've been an outsider since the beginning and that's all you felt that you'd be. It was ingrained in your brain, so you've just stopped trying at all. It didn't feel worth it to try to belong.

The people you were related to by blood and that you had the strongest connection with by far, were no longer alive. You didn't even know if you had any more blood-related relatives, because your parents never talked about it. Today of all days, it really feels like your parents were there by your side and that their warmth was still with you wherever you went, never making you feel alone, even when it used to be just the three of you and you loved it that way.

Now, after Grisha and Eren told you to finally take the leap that you had been holding back from and to finally celebrate your birthday the way you deserve after using this day to remember the day your parents passed, you mustered up the courage to return to this beach at last after so many years.

For so long, you didn't even consider this day as your birthday but as a constant reminder of the past and what happened. And somehow...It felt right to be standing on this beach after so long. You were right where you were supposed to be. You'd spend the last hours of your birthday in this very sand.

As you continued to let your eyes trail across the vast expanse of the beach, relishing that you were the only one here, turns out that you weren't. Closer to the shores, you squinted your eyes slightly and saw that there was a family of 3 sitting on a towel on the sand, while having an umbrella propped up on the sand and giving them a cool and looming shade over them to give them protection from the bright rays of the sunset. They also had a cooler on the side.

It was a mom, a dad, and their daughter. Your eyes softened and you hugged yourself tighter subconsciously when you saw the three of them stand up and start running together towards the water. The girl's parents were holding her hands on either side, and as they rushed towards the ocean, you could hear their unabashed laughter and joy, all the way from where you were standing.

The pang you felt in your chest all of a sudden, hating the way your heart began to clench, seemed to reopen some wounds you thought you'd begun to make your peace with and that you were starting to see in a different way. But seeing that family makes you realize that it hurts. It really hurts, so much. You thought it was buried but it causes you physical pain to remember.

When the family disappeared down the hill that led to the shore, you didn't know if it's the ocean breeze that suddenly made an uncomfortable chill run down your spine, an entirely different breeze than before. It was a chilling, cold, and unusual feeling that started to crawl up your body as memories started to resurface in your head. Memories that haven't come back for years, and now that you're here on this beach, they're coming back to you in an agonizing way.

You felt like you were in some sort of daze as the world around you suddenly blurred. Your eyes were focused on the place where the family used to be, and instead, the ones running up back to their place in the towel, all the while it was pouring rain. This was all a memory you had stored in the back of your head, and as you felt it rehash right before your eyes, heat gathered behind your eyes.

Running up back to your family's spot in the towel as it began to drizzle, your parents were holding onto either of your hands, with you in the middle. Even if they had rain coming down on them too, they were using their free hands to cover you. They were still beaming with joy, not giving the rain a care in the world and laughing alongside you, as the three of you got drenched in rain. But in that moment, as a little girl, a little water was the least of your worries.

"Y/n! Come on!" Your dad said as his voice became accompanied by unadulterated laughter and happiness. The three of you continued to run up the hill of sand, and your heart felt a warmth you never got tired of feeling upon hearing your mother's voice. "Hurry, y/n!" She giggled and laughed as well, continuing to shield your head  from the rain along with your dad.

Your laughter still didn't cease, even when the three of you made it to the safety of being under the umbrella that you had been previously using to shield you from the rays of the sun. As the three of you sat down, with you in the middle, you heard the patter of the rain against the umbrella and watched the rain fall, as happy as you've ever been. You felt your mother run her hands through your hair to brush off any water that might have fallen on you, and then you turned your head to look at your dad.

"Dad, this is exactly why I thought we should stay home," You said as you remembered having seen how there were dark clouds looming over the city earlier that day, and told your parents about it, but they insisted the three of you came together to the beach despite the possible rain happening.

"And risk missing this? Come on, kid, look at that smile on your face. You have to admit it has been pretty fun, even when it started to rain," Your dad said, putting a hand on top of your head and ruffling it slightly, making you giggle. You couldn't even hide how happy you were before, and your dad could see that.

"Fine...it was fun" You muttered as you turned your head away and hid the smile that was evidently tugging on your lips. But you weren't fooling him. You've enjoyed yourself, and you couldn't deny it, despite your worries before.

"Yeah! Look at how worried you were about the rain? And look at you now, enjoying a day out with us, with your beautiful smile," Your mom said as you turned your head to look at her and she put a hand on your cheek, lowering her face slightly and pressing a loving kiss to your temple, making your smile grow.

There were moments of silence after that, just listening to the sound of the rain and enjoying each other's company. Just looking at the ocean made you recall a  memory you thought you had forgotten about, but it's amusing to look back on it now. "Dad, do you remember when you got me those floaties to teach me how to swim? They were giant," You recalled, and your mom let out a hearty laugh as she remembered too.

"Hey, those were fashion statements. You used to lose those floaties and I was ensuring your safety. They were so efficient I never once missed where you were in the water" Your dad said, putting a hand on your back, chuckling a bit, but you shrugged. Your mom tilted her head, giving her husband an incredulous look.

"Honey, ships at sea wouldn't have missed y/n with those floaties you got her," Your mom chuckled, and knowing his wife was teasing him, he turned to look at her and laughed along with her. "At least she didn't sink. They did their job," Your dad said proudly and your mom shook her head with a smile, turning her head away to look back towards the ocean once more.

You and your parents continued to watch the rain, and your young mind continued to wonder when the rain would cease. "The rain still hasn't stopped. I thought it would only drizzle. We can't do anything now," You pouted slightly and felt your mom's grip tighten around you as she brought you closer to her.

Your dad turned to look at you and gave you a reassuring smile. It definitely looked like the rain wouldn't let up at any moment, but he would try his best to keep your spirits up. "Don't worry. Maybe if we want it badly enough, it will stop raining," Your dad said, looking down at you with a smile as you looked up at him, and your eyes suddenly sparkled with hope that was growing inside you.

You turned your head from looking at your dad and then back to looking up at the sky, with faith crossing all over your face, hoping that if you wished on it badly enough, it would stop raining. You hoped that the universe or whatever higher power out there was listening to the thoughts and pleads of a little girl who just wanted to continue spending the day with her parents.

And as if someone out there was listening, the drizzle that had stopped you and your parents' fun before, was now ceasing and soon enough, it had stopped altogether and you smiled when you spotted the sun slowly started to appear from behind the dark clouds. Even if it was just a shower, you gasped and your parents looked down at you simultaneously with matching expressions of joy.

"It stopped!" You giggled and turned your head to both sides as you looked up at both of your parents. Then, they both looked at each other and then back down at you. "Should we go back?" Your dad said excitedly as you nodded and they both took ahold of your hands, standing up, and bringing you up with them.

"Let's go!" Your mom said with glee clearly evident in her voice and not being shy about hiding it, as the three of you were now standing up once again, and before you knew it, you were all running down that same hill that you had come up from before. Your laughter continued and the rejoicing ensued for the rest of the day, until it was time to call it a day and go home.

You blinked and brought yourself back to reality and out of the memory. Your breathing became just slightly labored as you realized that a couple tears had fallen down your cheeks while remembering that memory that already seemed so long ago. You were 10 back then, and you didn't know it, but that moment would be a couple months before you lost them forever.

Now, you were turning 26 today, coming back to the same beach that held one of your best memories with them, and realizing that you for granted did not tell them how much they meant to you as much as you should have.

You continue to kick yourself for it every day and as heat gathered behind your eyes and a lump formed in your throat, you blinked a couple times and realized that as much as you tried to ignore it, you were reminded of them and what you lost everywhere you went.

You didn't know how much longer you could continue to pretend like you could live on without them, when right now, all you were asking for was to have them by your side and tell you that it would all be okay.

To have them take it all away; the pressure, the berating, the burdens, and everything that was driving you insane. You wanted them here and it was agonizing realizing that you didn't want to be alone, you didn't want to isolate yourself, you didn't want to keep living this way. You just wanted to see them.

They died on the day of your birthday because they were on their way to get to you from work, but why did they have to be so committed, hard-working and diligent that it eventually led to their demise? Why is it that qualities like that got them to the fate that they faced. The world was unfair and as a 10 year old girl, you wished it had been you, countless times over, because they didn't deserve it.

You've blamed yourself for years, and still do, always wondering that if it hadn't been your birthday, and if they hadn't been rushing to get to you, and the root of it all being you, you wouldn't have had to live the way you have. You were lucky enough to have had such caring, perfect parents, that would have gone to the ends of the Earth for you, to have done anything for you.

But eventually, that's what caused it and it's been years of not being able to shake off the intruding thoughts that reminded you that it was your fault. Over, and over, and over again. No matter how much you tried to convince yourself otherwise. You never celebrated your birthday after that, and only remembered this day as one to grieve and to continue to wish that they were by your side.

The thoughts soon became too much, your lips trembled and a sob escaped your lips without meaning to when it was just too much to keep inside for far too long. You raised your hand with your bags up to your mouth, covered it up, feeling your vision become blurry and hard to see through. Your sobs turned into muffled gasps as you tried our hardest to keep it together, but you just couldn't

Your breathing was short as you brought your hand from your mouth and down to grip your heart through your clothes  and you kept your head down. More involuntary tears came down, even as you tried to blink them away and your body began to shake, which the cold breeze of the beach wasn't helping with. All you could say was; "Please...come back..." You choked out as a whisper, a thought that was buried deep in the back of your mind, and has been for years.

God, you felt pathetic, even though you knew you shouldn't and you should embrace this, like Grisha and Eren had told you, but it's just so damn hard. The sun had set a lot more while you recalled that memory, which meant that your birthday was getting closer to ending than before. So much has happened already that you couldn't even fathom it was ending already. 

You thought you could push through this and get through the day without letting your emotions take over, but you failed. You don't know what came over you when you woke up this morning and thought you could get through the day without cracking, but you did, and now all you wanted to do was wait until the day was over at last and just go home once and for all.

You breathed in and out as you tried to pull yourself together and not spend the rest of your birthday crying and feeling sorry for yourself. You didn't want to remember this day like that, and see it in a new light like you were trying to do. Or at least trying to. You came here to be alone and toast to yourself, but also to two people you hoped were watching over you every day just as much as you have thought of them over the years, and especially today of all days.

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There's not a whole lot I want to disclose right now so i'll see you guys in the next chapter! Thank you so much for reading! <3

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