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Hi! Just as I promised, I finished and published this chapter just before New Years! As I'm posting this, It's about two days away so i'm happy I was able to stick to my schedule and get back on track. Anyway, this one is a bit of a tearjerker so brace yourselves everyone! Enjoy! :,)
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After you and Levi went inside your company's building and you briefly gave him a rundown of the lobby area as the two of you made your way to the elevators, while also letting him know which floor your main office when the two of you were heading up, everything after that felt pretty quick.

You also took note of those small comments he made about the cleanliness of the lobby, which you have never seen a problem with, but he seems to have the eyes of a hawk when it comes to even the smallest specks of dust. Still, you listened and decided to take it all into consideration.

The elevator ride was silent, so you quickly took the opportunity to text Hange, letting them know you were heading up with Levi and that you'd explain everything when you arrived. They were quick to respond and assured you that they'd be waiting for you, as well as Levi the moment the two of you made it up.

For some reason, the ride up the elevator was a lot more awkward than you thought. Somehow it feels anticlimactic that Levi was finally here, with you, in your office, having finally agreed to be your bodyguard. It had been such an intense process to get to this point, that it doesn't necessarily mean that it didn't feel right, because it does, just not the way you thought it would.

It definitely felt like one of the many issues that had been screwing with your head was finally lifted off your shoulders, and now you could put your focus on other things that were going on in your life, with Levi by your side this time, for good. It definitely felt like things were looking up and your mind had cleared. You had dealt with the issue with Karina, you and Levi finally came to an agreement, and now the two of you just had to be there for each other to fulfill one another's goals. You had a sole thing to focus on now and it left you ten times more at ease than you were just a couple of hours ago.

Though, in the elevator, as soon as the doors closed and you pressed the button to your floor, you could immediately feel the silence that overtook the space around the two of you. You had no idea if he noticed it, if he cared at all, or if you were just imagining it because the dynamic between the two of you changed a lot the moment the two of you came to an agreement.

Though, you could be imagining that, too. As you felt the elevator continue to go up and spotted the numbers in the monitor on the wall go up in a painfully slow way, you would awkwardly turn your head and take brief glances at Levi and hoped he wouldn't notice, you fiddled with the handles of your purse, moved your feet in uncomfortable motions, wishing those doors would just open and you would see Hange on the other side to break the tension.

But by the small glances you took at Levi, he looked completely fine. Calm, collected, neutral, relaxed. You tried to be as serene and nonchalant as he was being for the rest of the elevator ride, hoping he wouldn't sense how nervous you'd gotten all of a sudden. You did your best to mirror his calm, hoping he wouldn't notice your nerves. What was the matter with you? This is a new start and you settled on trying to treat it as such, no matter what.

Levi told you that you could trust him so you didn't know why you were still so out of sorts from just standing next to him in an elevator. You know that's all a matter of time and getting used to the fact that he'll be around all the time. You'd treat him as you have this entire time, it's that easy.

And as if it was a sign of the universe that your nervousness may be showing on the outside too, you almost exhaled audibly in relief when the elevator dinged and the doors opened. As soon as they did, you smiled in solace when you saw Hange on the other side of the elevator, standing there as they said they would with a bright look on their face that immediately brought you comfort.

You glanced at Levi once, and looked away instantly when you saw that he looked at you at the same time, startling you a little. You hadn't expected that, but, you still hid your shock and used your head to gesture outside with an uncertain smile, as if to signal him for the both of you to get off the elevator.

Levi stepped out first, and you hesitated for second, with your foot pausing just outside of the threshold. His shoes clicked on the floor as he stepped out, but you'd become more hyper-aware of how loud the sound of your own footsteps were. Levi noticed this and looked back at you, noticing that the air between the two of you felt heavy for reasons neither of you could understand, but you eventually swallowed your thoughts and followed Levi out of the elevator, with your eyes fixated on Hange, and not the eyes burning into the back of your head, not sure what to say next, but as soon as you made eye-contact with Hange, everything you wanted to say came rushing back to you.

You greeted your assistant with a smile and then raised your hand, gesturing it towards Levi, noticing the way they held their tablet next to them. "Hange, I'm sure you're familiar with Levi already, but he will be my new bodyguard," You said, remembering that these two have actually met, back when you were back at the hospital after the incident and you'd woken up with both of them there.

Hange turned to look at Levi and sent him a beaming smile from ear to ear, enthusiastically ready to meet a new coworker. "Oh, wonderful! Welcome to the company!" They said, and Levi nodded in response at Hange's welcoming words. Your assistant turned to look at you, pushing up their glasses slightly.

"I suppose you're calling off the bodyguard search the, Y/n?" They said, clueless to the fact that you hadn't mentioned quite yet to Levi that before this you'd had a handful of candidates that Hange had picked out or you. But in their defense, there was a lot of context that they'd missed from the whole issue you had with Levi to get to this point. You quickly felt your face flush in embarrassment and nod as you bashfully avoided Levi's gaze on you from the moment your assistant pointed that out. You swallowed hard and smiled nervously. "Um, yes. I am. Thanks for finding all of those candidates for me, before" You said, as you hung your head low, not wanting to meet Levi's eyes.

But he didn't make it easier on you. "Bodyguard candidates, huh? So much for 'not replacing me'" Levi said, and from the tone, you actually relaxed a little because you could tell he was trying to poke fun at you, but it still made you nervous. Down at the entrance, the two of you had agreed to start on a completely new slate and agreed that what the two of you said and did trying to get past it were all out of desperation and clearly neither of your minds were in the right place. So, he didn't really blame you for it.

Still, you felt the need to quickly defend yourself to make things clear. "To be fair, I never actually hired anybody. I was just looking at possible candidates. And don't act like you didn't know I'd do that," You said, turning to briefly look at him, only to see that he was looking at you with a skeptical look on his face, raising an eyebrow. You both turned to look at Hange when your assistant's hearty laugh resonated amongst the three of you.

"Yeah, as if, Levi," Hange rolled their eyes playfully and Levi deadpanned at them. You couldn't help but simply giggle as you looked back and forth between them, knowing there was definitely the hints of a blossoming friendship there, you could feel it. But it seems that Hange must have felt just a tad too comfortable. Just enough to throw you under the bus.

"Besides, she just kept comparing every applicant to yo-" They started but your head whipped to look at the, your smile dropped and your eyes went widen, quickly rushing over and cutting them off, putting a hand over their mouth. You regret telling Hange that. It was just earlier today that before heading over to that investors meeting, you'd been briefly looking over the bodyguards' resumes and you just said that neither of those seemed to catch your attention, and now it seems that Hange managed to piece what you said then to your body language next to Levi since the two of you walked in.

"Okay, that's enough of out of you," You laughed nervously and felt Hange's mischievous eyes on you as they smiled against your hand, all the while you tried to pretend in front of Levi that you had no idea what Hange was talking about. But you knew that by the look in his eyes in that moment, it was taking everything in him not to use that against you. You turned to your assistant, moved your hand away from their mouth and took a couple steps back from them, straightening your posture. "So, Hange, could you bring me some new employment forms so we can make it official?" You said, trying to get back into the topic of introducing Levi back into the office.

"Right away," Hange quickly nodded, but with a barely concealed smile. You ignored it and with a rise and fall of your shoulders as you exhaled, you put on your best and most professional smile and began to walk past the Levi and Hange, but not before you remembered something and quickly turned around. But when you did, you bumped into Levi. You look at each other in brief shock and then you composed yourself. Was he going to follow you into your office too? You didn't need any protection in there. At least you didn't think you did. There was still a lot of procedures to follow through with.

You were still feeling Levi's burn into you while you forced yourself to turn your attention back to Hange, who was pursing her lips and her eyes were filled with ecstasy and joy at the most minimal accident between you and Levi. "I almost forgot, Hange. But I'm going to head back to my office to finish up some work that I couldn't get done before the meeting but could you give Levi everything he needs for the job?" You asked, finally the tension leave your body when you no longer felt Levi's eyes on you, staring. Hange simply nodded at your request and in fact, they already had everything ready.

"Of course, Y/n" They said, and you sent them a grateful look. Happy that Hange was willing to take care of that and take a load off of you since you had some things you had to take care of. You'd scheduled meetings and appointments with new investors and you were either meeting with them online or sometime in the future in person. You needed to oversee that now.

You also needed to continue revising the material new Jean forwarded to you about their trio's pitch for their upcoming presentation. There was just too much to do. You were trying desperately to salvage the damage the Karina made with her article and focusing on any opportunity that arises for your company was a chance you weren't going to just let pass you by.

"Thank you, Hange" You breathed out as the same smile as before graced your lips. Knowing you had pretty much said everything you needed to, you turned around on your heel to get back to your office, but not before you accidentally made brief eye contact with Levi that you had to force to look away from and started walking towards your office, feeling Levi's eyes on you up until the point that you got to your office, open the door, close it behind you and try to focus for whatever's left to do today as best as you could.

As for Levi and Hange, the moment you stepped into your office, your assistant enthusiastically turned their body to face Levi with an excited look in her eye. "Come along, Levi! We have lots to do" Hange said, holding their tablet next to them and made a gesture with their hand so that Levi could follow. They started walking forward, past Levi, with a pep in their step and it was only a couple seconds after that Levi closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, and then started following after them. It'll be a long day.

As for Hange, they were feeling especially giddy today. They were just happy that after they've been your most trusted confidant in this office and in your life, they could finally share that title with somebody else. Levi and them would be a great duo to make sure you were safe at all times and they just couldn't wait to get to work. They were happy to tell Levi everything there is to know if he needed to when it comes to the company, you, or anything else.

Though, if you asked Hange what they thought, Hange was completely happy in just watching the interactions with you and Levi unfold, already getting a feeling that there was definitely something there. The whole issue with you being unsure about anyone else being your bodyguard except for Levi told Hange everything that they needed to know. Not to mention you bumping into him and Hange could practically see the sparks flying. They were a hopeless romantic, they couldn't help it. You've known Hange long enough to know that fact very well, so their reaction to that was not shocking to you, in fact, you knew exactly what was coming when Levi wasn't around.

Hange guided Levi to the conference room, all the while your bodyguard expertly avoided the stares he was getting from the rest of the office. Your employees were all peeking from their cubicles at the appearance of someone they've never seen before, but it didn't seem like Levi cared at all. Once Hange was the first to reach for the handle of the glass door of the conference room, they held it open and Levi quickly stepped inside.

Hange closed the door behind them and swiftly out their tablet under their arm, clasping their hands together in front of them. They watched as Levi scanned the room he was in, not having taken a seat just yet. "Well, Levi, why don't you take a seat, and I'll head out for a second to grab what you need for the job," They started, but then briefly glanced outside through the glass wall of the conference room and saw that their colleagues were all still being very curious and trying to get a look at Levi's arrival. Hange turned back to Levi, apologetically regarding him. "And the eyes on you from the others isn't bothering you. They don't mean anything by it," Hange assured Levi.

He shrugged and decided to take a seat in the chair just across from the head of the table, where you usually sat at meetings. "It doesn't bother me. Let them stare, I guess. Can't change much, can it?" Levi said begrudgingly, in a flat and bored tone, with a hint of annoyance at the unwanted attention, as he ran his hand back through his hair, letting it fall back in place. Hange blinked a couple times at their new coworkers' words, but then watched as he leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. He was sitting down with his back to the wall, so all your employees had to go off of was a head of sleek raven head of hair in an undercut.

Hange let out a snort, followed by an amused laugh. They couldn't believe how unshaken Levi seemed, or at least tried to be. "Well, alright, then. I'm surprised it doesn't bother you. The others are looking at you like you're some kind of celebrity," Hange said curiously, taking one look back at the office through the glass wall of the conference room, though, as Hange looked back, the employee's eyes all widened as they froze and they sat back down in a hurry at the fact that they were caught staring. "Anyway, ill be back in a couple minutes, so just make yourself comfortable!" Hange said, knowing that they couldn't just stand here idly any longer, taking steps backwards towards the exit as they continued to look at Levi's body language.

"Take your time," Levi muttered, hearing Hange's footsteps echo faintly as he heard the door open and close shortly after. After that, all Levi could hear was the sounds any office would have like phones ringing, the light office chatter, printers and copiers running, paper shuffling, keyboards clicking, and everything in between. It was weirdly soothing to hear all of those sounds that reached Levi in a muffled way. Even if it was for just a moment before Hange came back, Levi let his shoulders relax as he allowed himself a moment of peace, despite the occasional stares from those who 'had to walk past him' just outside the conference room. None of them were being subtle.

But, just as any time that Levi tries to enjoy any moment of peace, a couple minutes went by in a flash and when he heard the door open, followed by footsteps, Levi opened his eyes and turned his head to see Hange holding a box under her arm and tablet on the other hand. His eyebrows furrowed and wondered what it is that he could possibly need for this job. His powers were already more than enough to be your bodyguard, but he supposed nobody else knew about that so he didn't comment on it. Hange closed the door behind them and turned to look at Levi with a bright expression that has not faltered since the moment that Y/n and Levi came in through the elevator.

"I see you're doing okay, Levi. None of the others have come in here and tried their luck, have they?" Hange said as a mischievous grin morphed into their features as they walked over to the long table to set down the box. They had a knowing smirk on their face, just sensing the discomfort that Levi es exuding but was failing to hide. Levi simply let out a long breath and looked up at Hange, raising a single eyebrow. "Other than pretending to walk past me because they 'have something to do', none of them have been brave enough to look me in the eye," Levi said incredulously, using air quotes, to highlight his point. Do those employee's have no other work to do?

Hange pursed their lips and nodded as they exhaled through their nose. "Yep. Sounds about right. You should've seen it, though. On my way here, all they could talk about was you behind their desks. You're the talk of the town. I've been working with all of them for a while, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised," They said as they let out more amused laughter as they set down the box.

Levi simply stared at Hange and wondered just how much work gets done around here. "Good for them. Do they enjoy watching me as much as watching paint dry? I haven't done anything but sit here," He said plainly, and Hange couldn't help but chuckle, nodding nonetheless. Those kids outs there were very easily distracted and entertained by anything, like right now, but, they could still buckle down and get serious when they needed to. Y/n has set rules for them to follow, so at the end of the day, they're hard-working employee's who follow the standards their boss has set down to a T.

"Ah...so you're really not the celebrity type, then?" Hange hummed, and Levi scoffed, leaning back against his chair. His eyes narrowed as his gaze zeroed in on Hange. "I don't know what about me gave that impression. I'm here to do one job. Protect Y/n. And I don't need their gossip for approval," He said, trying to sound as unbothered by the stares outside, but Hange knew that just him talking about it was proof that he did care on some level. And it was understandable. This office was a new environment for him and Levi didn't seem like a 'people person' to Hange. So, they'd help him as much as they can to get settled and know how things work around here.

Hange nodded understandingly as they started to open the box and started to unload what was inside of it. It was the basic kit that you had asked Hange to prepare in the occasion that you picked a bodyguard, and now that you have, this was it. "Determined. I like it. But don't be surprised when you have a fan club by the end of the day," They said, taking out a couple books out of the box and stacking them one on top of the other right in front of Levi, noticing the way that Levi was watching as Hange take out one book at a time from the box, wondering what he needed those for. But noticing his confusion, Hange was quick to begin to explain and that the conversation could be put on hold.

"These are just some books about martial arts for bodyguards, basics about security and protection, and just everything you could ever need to do your job. You'll also have a company-issued clothing for your job as Miss Y/n's bodyguard. I'll let you know as soon as it gets here," Hange explained, and Levi nodded along. He didn't think he'd need to know all of this since one of the main reasons you wanted him to be your bodyguard was because of his powers, and he already knows how to use those as if it was second nature. But if it was necessary, as he'd promised himself, he'd do what it takes to do this right. In fact, if all he had to do now was read, he'd gladly take up that offer.

Levi reached over to grab the first book on the pile about martial arts, and Hange watched as he started to flip through the pages and began to get comfortable in his chair, so they knew that was their cue to leave and attend to their own tasks. "Well, I guess i'll leave you to it. Happy reading!" Hange said cheerfully, turning on their heel and starting to make their towards the door, but not before they turned back around just as quickly when they heard Levi call out to them. "Wait, hold on," They heard Levi say, so Hange was quick to walk back towards Levi, seeing that he was not looking at them, but instead his eyes were already glued onto the pages of the first book he had to read.

"Yes?" They said, stopping right in front of him. Levi peeled his eyes away from the book and leaned his right elbow on the armrest of the chair, and looked up at your assistant. He looked like was in deep thought for a second, but then looked back down at the book, while Hange waited expectantly. "Will I get a weapon of some kind? Is that included?" Levi asked and while Hange's eyes momentarily nearly bugged out of their head at his question, it was quickly masked by this sickly-sweet expression. "No, you will not!" Hange said in an incredibly chipper tone, and then once and for all, turning around and heading towards the door, but not before they said one last thing.

Levi's eyes followed Hange up until they were out the door and he heard them say; "Have fun, shorty!" Hange called out, making Levi's eyes narrow in annoyance at what they called him, remembering that Hange had also called him that back at the hospital. He watched them walk out the door and then make their way out of sight, walking right in front of the glass wall of the conference room and to another section of the office. Once again, Levi didn't mind if he didn't get a physical weapons because just as long as he was around you and could have access to his powers, he didn't need any sort of weapon.

After that, It wasn't long before Levi had become fully immersed in what he was reading. He'd already read the first one and was onto the second, in the box he was also able to find an earpiece that he'd already went ahead and put to his ear, and he also found a walkie-talkie inside that he'd set down to the side to check out later. So far, he's learned some pretty useful details about this job and he was glad you'd thought of this so that he could have some notion of what it was like to have this job, rather than just it being an agreement for him to use his powers. He was now reading a book on understanding security equipment like the earpiece he had on and the walkie-talkie he found.

While Levi spent the next hour or so reading in the conference room and making sure he knows everything he need to, your employee's right outside were still putting most, if not all, of their focus on figuring out Levi's arrival. At first, they had all been curious, peeking around their cubicles, but now most of them had settled down and had gone back to work. Except for a couple of them who were still far too invested in observing Levi rather than their own work.

Jean usually stayed focused, especially with new arrivals, but Connie had pulled him into a web of suspicions about Levi's appearance. Now, he couldn't concentrate on anything. Every now and then, Jean and Connie peeked at the conference room to see if Levi had done anything. When he hadn't, Jean forced himself to focus on work, not being able to afford to fall behind. But not Connie. And definitely not Sasha. Neither of them could hide their curiosity.

Sasha was still peeking at Levi from above her cubicle, inquisitively looking at him and wondering to herself if she had just found a new person she could ask to trade lunch with, like she does with Connie and Jean sometimes, and with other colleagues of hers in the office as well, like Historia or Marco. She was wondering to herself what kind of food this new guy would bring to the office, too. Would he be willing to share? It was the only thing on her mind.

As for Connie, at this point, his computer had shut itself off and shut down from neglect and not having resumed his work since Levi walked in. He leaned halfway out of his chair, teetering dangerously close as his attention drifted back to Levi. Jean shot Connie a warning look, given that his desk was right next to his friend's. Connie snapped upright, but only for a moment before the cycle repeated all over again.

He couldn't tear his eyes away from the conference room and the new arrival. It came to the point where Connie couldn't keep his curiosity to himself anymore. His eyes darted between the conference room where Levi was in, and you in your office since the blinds of the large window were open and everyone could see you sitting by your desk, just working diligently in your computer. Which is what Connie should be doing too, but of course he was far too nosy.

Connie's attention continue to flicker between Levi, sitting silently in the conference room, and you in your office, just typing away at your desk, completely focused. His itch of curiosity wasn't going to go away that easily, and it came to a point where Jean couldn't ignore it anymore, giving his friend an exasperated look. Sure, it was intriguing at first, but he had forced himself to go back to work while everybody else was just buzzing over his appearance and he didn't get it. He couldn't figure it out. Maybe it was just the way carried himself; composed, distant, and very intense. But either way, Jean was over it.

His fingers were typing away at his desk as he tried to drown out the chatter of his colleagues, knowing that above all else, he didn't know what kind of person Levi was, but that he definitely didn't seem like the type of person to want to get caught up in office buzz and drama. Jean tried to focus on his spreadsheets as much as he could, but he couldn't do that when Connie was making it increasingly hard. His friend couldn't sit still for two seconds, and neither could Sasha. Especially when there was someone new at the office.

"Connie..." Jean muttered under his breath, briefly putting his writing on hold and buried his face in his hands, propping up his elbows on his desk. Connie heard this and sat back down in his desk, turning to look at Jean with a sheepish grin. He didn't even try to hide his fascination anymore. "What? I'm just curious. Any idea on who that guy is?" Connie said as he leaned just his head to the side this time, instead of his whole body. But Jean just sighed and fell back against his seat, turning his head to the side to look at his friend.

"No, I don't. Because I have a job, and so do you. So get back to work before the boss notices,"  Jean said as he cautiously glanced at you in your office and hoped you hadn't noticed the slacking off outside. But, Connie refused to listen to Jean, and he continued to try and analyze Levi, disregarding everything Jean was saying to him and continue to lean to the side further to the point where he was teetering over. "Not yet," Connie muttered, and Jean rolled his eyes, but then leaned forward again in his chair and put his focus back in his computer.

"Connie, there will be a time where you fall on your face and I'm not going to be there,"  Jean said as he put his hand back on his mouse and started to resume the work in his spreadsheet. But when he didn't get a response, he knew Connie had tuned him out and when he leaned over to look at his friend's computer, he saw that the screen saver was occupying the screen.  "You and Sasha have been staring at him at least an hour. Are you sure you're not trying to figure out whether he's a robot or something?" Jean said, obviously joking, but Connie whipped his head back to look at his friend with wide eyes.

"Shit, actually? That would explain a lot. What if he is?" Connie said as his face suddenly became very thoughtful and Jean looked at his friend, completely dumbfounded. Jean was just joking when he said that, but knowing Connie, he probably believes that now. Jean slapped a hand over his face, leaning back in his chair again in frustration. "Please, Connie. For the love of God, can you just stop overanalyzing this? You're giving me a headache and now I can't work," Jean said as he closed his eyes and began to rub his temples with exasperation.

But Connie wasn't fazed by it at all, and he was still going strong with his theories. "I mean, look at him. He hasn't turned around once. He's sitting there all stoic, not even fazed by any of us," Connie said, and Jean dropped his hand from his face to turn his head to look at his friend and deadpan at him.

There was just no getting through to him, huh? Connie was just intrigued by the fact that Levi sat still in the conference room, his posture rigid and unflinching, not a glance in their direction, which only fueled his curiosity. "That doesn't mean anything. Has it occurred to you that maybe he has a job to do and that's exactly what he's doing?" Jean said, trying to get Connie to see clearly because it was clear that Levi was just trying to mind his own business.

Connie hummed in denial and shook his head. "No, that can't be it. I have a hunch. There's something weird about that guy. He's not normal. My hunches are never wrong," Connie said with certainty, and Jean looked at this friend incredulously. Was he serious? Connie loved to make theories, but rarely were they ever right in the end. Sometimes he got lucky, though, Jean will give him that. "Oh, really? They're never wrong? What about the time you had a 'hunch' that Niccolo was so creep that was following Sasha around? They were dating and she just hadn't told us yet," Jean pointed out, and when he heard nothing but silence for a few seconds, he thought that he had finally gotten Connie to stop overthinking the situation. But of course, that didn't last very long.

"Except for that one time, trust me, my hunches always right," Connie muttered, and Jean sighed in defeat. When there was an idea in his friend's head, there was just no getting right of it, was it? Jean just ran a hand back through his hair and leaned forward in his desk again, putting his focus back in front of his computer. He needed to maintain the smallest fraction of concentration he had left. "Sure, Connie. Just get back to work..." He muttered, shaking his head, but as he should have expected, his friend did no such thing and Connie continued to try and survey Levi from afar.

Before he could get another moment of peace, somehow Sasha decided to join into Connie's antic's and Jean was forced to look to the side to see Sasha walking over to Jean and Connie's desks, and when she got to them, she leaned her forearms on the top of her friends' cubicles. "Okay, here's what I know. He's reading martial arts books and a guide to security equipment. He also has an earpiece on," Sasha said, earning a thoughtful hum from Hange. They were treating this as if it the answer wasn't right in front of them.

"What do you mean, 'what could this mean'? How are you two this dense? The boss clearly hired a bodyguard. That's what he's doing here," Jean said, in an irritated tone, not knowing how his friends haven't been able to figure this thing out. Connie and Sasha looked at each other with a shrug and then looked back at Jean. "You don't know that. Those books could be for personal interest and that earpiece could be a fashion statement," Connie said, and Jean's mouth dropped open as his eyes darted back and forth between him and Sasha. This was not rocket science, and they were treating it like a stealth mission. Office life was boring, sure, but its not that boring for this to be their only source of entertainment. Right?

Jean decided to start playing into their game to see what their process was right now. He couldn't possibly focus on his work now so he supposed he'd briefly try to see what was going through their heads. "Oh, yeah? Go over there and ask him. I dare you," Jean said briskly as he fell back in his chair and pointed over to the conference room. Connie and Sasha both froze, looked at each other with wide eyes while Jean looked at the two of them in amusement. After a few seconds, they both turned to look at Jean again. "What? No, you do it," Connie said defensively and Jean wanted to laugh as soon as his friend said that, but he scoffed softly instead.

"I'm not the one wondering what he's here for instead of doing our work," He muttered, and at last, he decided that no matter what those two ended up doing in their little stealth mission, or whatever they were thinking about doing, he was going to end the day having finished all of his work and he wasn't going to get distracted. As he went back to the spreadsheet he was working on, he could hear and see in the corner of his eye the way Connie and Sasha were conspiring.

He had no idea how you hadn't noticed all of their moving around, especially since the blinds in your office were open, but he was glad you hadn't noticed yet. It would make it easier for him to finally focus and not make this a bigger deal than it was. Though, Jean knew that from now on, it would just be a day that was filled with questions and not a lot of work was going to be done before he'd be able to go home.

-

Just as everybody had hoped for, after a long, stressful day, It was finally time to go home, and you couldn't be more relieved. You had been wishing that this day would just come to an end after everything that happened and that you could move past all the stress that came with it to get to this point. But it was completely worth it.

The day had started early with Levi 'agreeing' to be your bodyguard, then the whole issue with the deal happened which made you step back from him, you spent most of the rest of the stressing and driving yourself crazy over it, and now, the day ended with Levi and you coming to an agreement of him being your bodyguard to protect you and so he could use his powers, coming to terms with a 50/50, win-win situation. It was a rocky journey but it was at least one issue less to have to worry about.

You'd been so caught up in your own work that you barely noticed the office winding down around you just outside your door. The moment it was time to pack up and close for the day, you were actually reminded it was time to leave right in the middle of doing some research of your own, seeing in the corner of your eye your employee's starting to leave their desks one by one, which made you look back at the time in your computer monitor. You had been so immersed in trying to get things done that time just flew by.

After you let out a small gasp once you realized what time it was, you looked at the time on your phone this time and it was true. The rest of the day had gone much quicker than you thought it would. You supposed that after wishing that the day would just end already, your wish finally came true. You couldn't even process everything that's already happened that day that its hard to believe it all happened in the span of 24 hours. But you were just glad the day didn't end on a bad note and that things actually ended up working out.

After that replaying everything that happened during the day in your head, trying to process it all at once, you'd been about to start packing up your own things, planning to take with you the briefcase of items Hange gave you for self-defense, your head shot up when you heard a knock on your door, then a beat passed, and then the door opened. You saw Levi step inside your office, and then close the door behind him. You subconsciously fixed yourself up noticing that he was walking towards you, and then stopping right in front of your desk.

"Come on, I'm taking you home," He said bluntly and your eyes widened a fraction. Usually Hange was the one who took you home right after work, but you suppose that since Levi was your bodyguard now, it only made sense that the responsibility fell to him now. "What?" You said as you began to gather your things and put your personal items back in your purse, still looking up at him. You were still sitting down and he was looking down at you, with his hands in the pockets of his pants.

Levi let out a huff and simply continued to explain, sensing that he must have been too forward with that and it was definitely sudden. "I talked to Hange. I told them I'd take care of it and made sure you made it home okay. They just left," He said, and upon hearing those words, your features softened a bit at this without your own volition. It had become his job to take you home, and it made complete sense as to why he'd do it, so you don't know why you suddenly felt all mushy inside.

"Really?" You said, with your coming out a lot smaller and quieter than you anticipated, putting in the last of your things inside your purse and standing up. You were holding your purse in one hand and the briefcase Hange gave you in the other. You started walking around your desk, once you made your way around and started to head towards your office door, Levi was quick to follow after you so that he could walk next to you in sync with your steps with brisk and relaxed steps.

"It's my job now. I'm your bodyguard. I can't risk you going home by yourself," He said, watching as the two of you reached the door and then you turned off the lights of your office in the light switches by the door. After your office went dark, you moved to wrap your hand around the handle of the door, opened it and stepped out, holding it open for Levi to step out too. "Well, aren't you sweet?" You joked, but a very small part of you meant it as a compliment for him. In reality, you were just happy he was adjusting into this bodyguard role well.

"Don't flatter yourself," He muttered and shut the door behind him with a soft thud. You let out a chuckle at his words, realizing that you really shouldn't have looked into it too much. "There he is..." You muttered to yourself as the two of you started walking towards the elevators side by side.

There were still some other of your employee's packing up and hanging around, so maintenance would be the ones to turn off all the lights when everyone was gone. You and Levi reached the elevator. You pressed the button to go down, standing shoulder to shoulder next to him. Both of you looked up together to see the monitor start to signal that the elevator was coming up.

You thought that the wait would be silent and awkward, like it was for you at least when the two of you came up earlier, but it wasn't. It was weirdly comfortable, especially since Levi decided to have a little more input. "We have no idea if that creep will strike when I'm not around. It's the logical thing to do," He said, and you nodded in agreement, slightly shaking your head in hopes that you could finally get his words through your head. You don't know why you've been so nervous about this.

You briefly turned to glance at him and then back at the elevator monitor, seeing that it was getting closer to arriving. "You're right. It makes sense, I guess I'm the one who needs to start getting used to this new routine," You said as you moved to hold both your purse and your briefcase in front of you with both hands. You felt Levi turn to look at you and then let out a breath through his nose.

"I admit it hasn't been easy for me either. This is completely different from anything I've ever done. I'm sure it's the same for you. But I guess it's just a matter of letting things flow as they are, right?" Levi said and you blinked a couple times at his words, turning to look at him, only to see that he was still looking up at the monitor. You moved your gaze back to where you'd been looking and you numbly nodded along to his words as you repeated them over in your head a couple times. If that's what he's been going off of, it makes sense as to why he seems to be adjusting to this a lot better than you were.

"Right. You're right," You said as you held onto your purse and briefcase a little tighter, and Levi noticed the way your features wavered a bit, making his eyebrows knit together a bit. He had no doubt that you were 100% on board with this, but one thing is having proposed to be your bodyguard, and the other is actually making it happen and preparing for how your life would change. You've been used to being alone for most of your own personal time when you weren't with Hange or other people in your life, so this must be quite a lifestyle change you were going through that you were pretending to easily be able to tough through. He could easily see that.

"Look, I trust you. You trust me, right? That's the first step. We can't back out now," Levi said with a gentle sternness in his voice that made you turn to look at him with slight shock in your eyes, but after digesting his words for a second, you nodded silently and answered him. "I do. I trust you," You said with a quiet yet sure tone to your voice that was more than enough for Levi. He didn't want to go back to having to go back and forth again, not knowing what to do about the situation between you two, so now that the two of you have finally come to agree on one thing, he wasn't going to let you convince yourself of it.

Levi nodded as an imperceptible tug to his lips came onto his features suddenly appeared, which you only got a simple hint of. Even through how stoic he seems as he said those words, his voice and the way he spoke them said a different story. "There you go. Just one thing at a time. The rest will come with time, you'll overcome them and you won't even know it when you do, it will just be natural" He said, with a certain warmth in his voice you almost missed, and you nodded along to his words, taking them in carefully and with a grain of salt.

You hadn't realized it, but accepting his offer to take you home had felt so natural, something you'd subconsciously come to terms with already and it had been as simple as breathing. He was right. It was just a matter of letting things flow, and before you know it, the new routine would feel natural and as if you'd been doing it forever. As long as you knew that, you could handle any change that was thrown your way from this moment forward.

"Right...one thing at a time. One thing at a time," You repeat to yourself, and as if on cue, the elevator finally dinged, making you blink yourself out of your stupor. The doors opened and suddenly you were filled with confidence. The moment you stepped in, you'd leave this office differently than you came into it and when you walked out of the building, you'd be ready to accept this new change in your life and know that this is how things were going to be.

You'd come into this office feeling like once things became far too real for you, you felt awkward and anxious by just having Levi next to you and realizing that the measure you had to take to protect your life had become far too real for your liking at first.

But as you felt Levi's eyes drift to you and burn into your body, you took a big inhale and finally made your feet cooperate with you. You swiftly walked into the elevator, immediately hearing Levi step in shortly after you.

Once the two of you were inside, you could still feel Levi's eyes burning into you as you kept a steady gaze and posture forward as the doors closed and you were quick to reach over and press the button to head down to the garage. The moment they closed, it definitely felt like it was the start of something—a shift, like stepping into a new version of your life that you were more than willing to embrace now.

You didn't notice it since you were trying to remain as firm as possible as the two of you went down and stepped into the elevator, but after your conversation just now, a smirk tugged at his lips at the way your demeanor did a complete 360 once you took in his words. He knew he was in to witness a whole new version of you and he'd never admit it, but he was looking forward to it. You didn't even notice that this time around, he stood just a little bit closer to you.

Which is why the ride down the elevator this time felt a lot quicker than earlier that day, and soon enough, you heard a ding and the doors opened. You and Levi glanced at each other once and he extended a hand out, gesturing for you to step out first. You sent him a grateful smile and looked forward again, stepping out the elevator and starting to head straight towards where you usually park your car in the building and where you knew Hange stationed it too.

After a few seconds of walking across the concrete of the garage, seeing Levi quickly catch up by your side shortly after, your face brightened when your car was in sight and you started heading straight towards it.

Once the two of you reached it, you were about to head towards the driver's seat, but then a realization hit you as you gasped. "Oh, wait! My-" You started, but you were quickly cut off when Levi raised his hand and began to reach into the inner pocket of his jacket, and then pulled out exactly what you were looking for. "Keys? Hange gave them to me before they left," Levi said and you let out a breath of relief as a tired smile graced your lips. "Oh, good, you have them. I thought I forgot them upstairs," You said, but then catching that Levi's face suddenly turned smug and knowing.

"See? I told you I'd be good at this," Levi said with a hint of smug satisfaction as you rolled your eyes playfully at him, but you also didn't miss the way his eyes flicked toward you for a second as if to check your reaction. But then your face fell in confusion when you saw as he suddenly walked past you and you turned your body to see that he was heading straight for the driver's seat.

"What are you- you're driving?" You froze, cutting yourself off watching as he reached for the handle and then turned to look at you, raising an eyebrow at your obvious confusion. He thought what he was doing looked like the most obvious thing in the world. He didn't know why you looked so shocked.

Levi shrugged and resumed what he was doing, turning his body to face the car, opened the door, and moved to sit inside. "Obviously. What else does it look like?" He said plainly, shutting the door after him and you stood there frozen as you processed what he said. You didn't know why but you assumed that by 'taking you home' and 'making sure you made it home okay' just meant he was accompanying you, not driving you there too. Wow, you read that all wrong. "Oh, I thought-" You muttered to yourself, but still cut yourself off when you realized you'd already answered your own question.

You shook your head and got your feet to cooperate as you started to head towards the passenger's seat. Levi had proceeded to start up the car from the inside since the lights turned on and the sound of the engine starting startled you a bit.

You moved your purse over to the hand that you were holding your briefcase with, and then used your now free hand to open the door, step inside the car, get quickly settled inside as you put your things in your lap, and then closed the door next to you.

You quickly put on your seatbelt and when you finally did, hearing the lock click and getting comfortable at last, you looked to the side and sent Levi a happy smile that you watched as he fought to keep back the smirk that was morphing onto his face. "Okay, I'm ready," You said, smiling happily at him, and then looked forward, hearing Levi scoff in a way that was dangerously close to a chuckle.

You were just happy to be going home at last and being in the comfort of your apartment. After that brief moment, nothing much was said as Levi swiftly switched gears and kept one hand on the wheel as he started to drive out the parking lot and his gaze remained focused in front of him.

The car was filled with comfortable silence as Levi drove the car out of the parking lot, and then onto the main street, and you distracted yourself by just looking out the window and watched other cars pass by while Levi drove back to your apartment. It was soothing to just hear the muffled sound of the engine running, cars driving past, and the lights from the city outside were nice to look at too. But after being on the road for a bit, you thought that maybe you could try to make some light conversation until the two of you reached your apartment building. Wouldn't hurt, right?

It took you a while to muster up the courage, but when you did, you picked the moment where Levi halted the car just as a red stoplight was approaching to lightly clear your throat as you turned your head away from the window and turned to look at Levi instead, who still had a firm and steady gaze out onto the road. This is something you've had in the back of your mind ever since Levi finally came back and you two agreed to work together, and it came back to your trail of thought when Levi and you were waiting for the elevator. "Look, I was wondering..." You started, trailing off, but then noticed the way the corner of Levi's lips slightly upturned and he took this opportunity to say something too.

"That's dangerous," Levi muttered, and you scoffed as a smile threatened to appear on your lips too, knowing he was just lightly picking on you. It took you a couple seconds but after that, you finally remembered what you wanted to say.

Your tone shifted a bit just as you were about to open your mouth, knowing this was an entirely different area to jump into and ask about. "Is there any other reason that swayed you to come back? One you haven't told me yet. You'd been so adamant on not being my bodyguard, then you suddenly changed your mind. I didn't know why before, but I do now. I just want to know if there's anything else I should know about" You asked cautiously, not knowing what dangerous doors this conversation would and could open, but judging by the fact that Levi's expression hadn't changed because of your question, you knew that it didn't bother him that you'd asked that.

He just shrugged and ran a hand back through his raven hair, letting it fall right back over his face. "It's...not that complicated," He started, and you noticed the way his fingers tightened on the wheel after he said that. It seems to you that this was something a lot deeper than he was letting on and that it was very important to him. Something that he's been thinking about for a long time.

"Before everything went to hell and we ended up in this situation, I had a part of me that thought I needed something else. Something less predictable than what I've lived by for years. My life was just too much of a routine. Too damn perfect and boring. Thought I could used some trouble and excitement and this was a good opportunity to do that," He said, not necessarily complaining that he didn't like his old antics because that's exactly what he's trying to go back to, but he just thought that maybe in some form he could start to step out of the comfort zone and bubble of perfection he'd been living in where nothing ever changed, every day was the same, and it had become so predictable. Doing deals, completing them, finding new people nearly every day to repeat the process over and over again was taxing. He would never admit that to anyone, though. At least, this way, he could still do that and switch things up a little.

When he saw you in the corner of his eye nodding slowly in understanding, Levi suddenly felt the need to ask you the very same question right back at you. "Can I know what changed your mind? Aside from what you told me? You said you didn't want to be associated with my powers," Levi said, and suddenly you felt your cheeks start to burn from embarrassment all over again, remembering having to stop Hange from going further on the topic, but Levi was asking you again and he answered your question, so it was only fair you did the same.

You just needed to suck it up and do it. You ran a hand back through your hair and started to fiddle with your fingers in front of you as you tried to find a way to word this. "I think Hange already said it for me earlier, unfortunately. I said I'd find another bodyguard to hire, but I guess none of them really had what I was looking for. But you did. I guess I realized that to deal with that psycho, I needed someone who can do what you could," You said, and then finally braving enough to turn to look at Levi, but you regretted it when you saw how cocky he looked.

Your face fell and you crossed your arms in front of you. "Don't look so smug. I have to admit, you were right. I really thought that I could just stick to the moral high ground of this situation, but...it's not that simple. If I want to handle this well, I can't be afraid of getting my hands dirty. Things aren't black and white, I can't tell what's right from wrong anymore, and...I need to start accepting that," You said, avoiding eye contact with Levi, not knowing it would be as hard as it was to admit that the situation you were in called for you to always have to do what's right, but rather do what needs to be done in the moment, whether right or wrong. The definition of right and wrong was starting to become more and more blurred to you.

Though, It did feel a lot better to finally admit that to him completely. Before the car went into silence again, you realized that you still had a couple more questions for him that you've had swirling around in your head without any sort of answers. So, you figured now would be a good time to ask them since the two of you still had a long way until you made it back to your apartment.

The silence between you hung in the air for a few moments, the hum of the car and occasional flash of city lights the only sound. You didn't want to sound like you were dying to know or rushing into it. You were coming off as having a more delicate and hesitant approach. "I know it's....kind of weird and sudden to ask," You started as you looked over at him with hesitant curiosity. "But how exactly did you end up like this? I mean, were you born a demon and you've always been this way? How did you become one? Were you really human once?" You asked, just kind of spitballing the theories you've had in your head this entire time about Levi and what he is. You were really curious about it.

He said he'd be honest from now on, so you hoped he didn't beat around the bush and avoid certain details like he did before. Before, during your argument, you'd said that you assumed he's been a human before so he shouldn't be as self-righteous as he is but you weren't thinking then. You were hoping he could give you some confirmation now about how he ended up like this.

And Levi knew that very well. He remembers the promise he made to you and sighed, knowing that it would be best if he answered your questions now until all of your doubts were settled. His eyes flickered to you once, seeing how his mask of indifference slipped for a second. "Yeah," Levi started, keeping his voice low, and barely above a whisper. "I was human once, but it doesn't matter. I can't remember anything from that time and it's all a blur. It just feels foreign to me to think I was anything other than what I am now," He answered, keeping his eyes on the road as the stoplight turned green and he started driving again.

You gasped at his answer and turned your body fully in your seat to face him with excitement from his confirmation. After that, you just decided to let all of your questions go at once before you let them get lost in your train of thought again. "Really? So I was right? How old are you then? When were you born?" You started asking enthusiastically, making Levi chuckle as he shook his head. He should've known he was unleashing a barrage of questions from you.

Then, before he could answer any of your other questions, he was cut off when another gasp came out of your lips when you remembered something he'd said earlier that day when you'd parted ways and you'd completely blocked it out of your mind until now. "Wait, you said you've been a demon for 200 years. Wow, that's a really long time," You asked, and this time, you paused and waited expectantly, finally giving him an opportunity to answer. You had suddenly started to find the origins of his existence so fascinating. You couldn't believe he's been around and alive for that long. He's seen so much happen in the world.

"I shouldn't have revealed that to you so carelessly," Levi muttered, but that still didn't deter you from continuing to want to know more. You observed Levi with fascination and disbelief as more details about him were starting to click in your mind.

"You really don't look your age at all. Care to share your secrets?" You said teasingly and Levi shook his head, not sparing you a glance and continuing to keep his focus on the road. Were you making fun of him now? "I don't have any secrets. I'm sure you can piece that question together on your own based on what I've told you," He said, and you laughed lightly as you fell back against your seat, starting to reach into your purse to pull out your phone.

"But there's one thing I don't get. You seem to hate humans so much, thinking we're so insignificant, yet you were one at some point. Sounds to me like self-hatred," You said, holding your phone in one hand and turning your head to look over at Levi again. You saw that he simply let out a small huff and his hand flexed against the steering wheel. "I don't even remember ever being human. This...this is who I am now. It's all I've ever known, and it's all I've ever been able to form my opinions on. That's it," Levi said as his grip on the steering wheel tightened further. Levi said, and you nodded understandingly as you turned your attention back down to your phone and you unlocked it.

"I guess that's valid. Still sounds a little ironic to me," You said, making Levi roll his eyes and continue driving. It'll still be a long way to go before you really start to understand each other's point of view, but until then, the two of you would have to get past the awkward and shocking phase of telling each other things about one another and not always seeing why the other does it, why they think that way or how they got to that point. It's a slow process, but this agreement entailed trying to make efforts like that for one another. The two of you will have to spend a lot of time together now that he's your bodyguard and you need to start to get along or else it will be a hellish experience for both of you.

Because if not, the two of you won't make progress and not be able to be around each other for long. It was a long process, but as Levi said, there will be a time where the two of you will start to be accepting of the situation you're both in and will have been with each other for long enough that you won't even notice when you've already made the changes with each other that you were struggling to get past now. It was all just a matter of being tolerant, right? Trying to see what the other sees and trying to understand that adjusting this way isn't easy for anyone.

As Levi continued to drive and keep his eyes on the road, the lighthearted conversation the two of you were having lost its spark as it came to an end and you found yourself staring out the window again as the weight of Levi's words lingered in your mind. You were glad you were able to learn just a bit more about him. Though, just as you were trying to clear your head until you got home, your phone suddenly buzzed in your hand, sending a sharp feeling in your hand in the quiet car. You glanced down as your eyebrows pinched together and your face twisted in confusion when you flipped your phone over in your hand, and in your lock screen you saw that you just received a text from Grisha. He usually doesn't send messages during this time of day. That was really unusual.

Wondering what he could possibly have to tell you all of a sudden, It wasn't the complete text, so to see the full message, you quickly unlocked your phone, went to your messages app and went to the chat you had with Grisha, along with previous messages you've sent each other. But when you saw what he texted you, you let out an exasperated sigh. Was he seriously doing this again?

Grisha: This is it. I'm sorry, I love you, y/n.

The last time he said something like that, your heart almost leaped out of your chest trying to get to the hospital and it was just some prank Eren and he had come up with just to get you to go there. Was he trying to get you to go to him quickly? Does he know that he can just tell you that he needs to see you urgently and you'd get there just as fast? It would save you the stress and the mini heart-attacks when he pulls stunts like that. You weren't going to fall for that again. You'd rather just call him and ask him straight up what he needs.

You sighed and shook your head. "For God's sake..." You muttered, exiting the messages app and immediately pressed the button for the call app instead. You didn't have to search for Grisha's number since he was in your favorites contacts, so when you found his contact, tapped on your screen to call him, you raised your phone up to your ear, starting to hear the dial tone repeat a couple times as you waited for him to answer.

As you tried to call him, Levi turned his head briefly to look at you and then back at the road when he saw you were taking a call. Whoever it was, they completely changed your demeanor from the conversation you and him were having just seconds ago. Now, you look tense and aggravated.

After a couple seconds, an unsettling feeling grew in your chest all of a sudden when the dial tone continued to ring, but there was still no answer. You found it even more bizarre when the dial tone stopped and it went to the answering machine. "The number you have dialed cannot be reached" The automated voice said and you pulled your phone away from the screen, tapping the red button to hang up and then letting your phone fall in your lap.

You had a puzzled look on your face for a couple seconds as you looked down at your phone's screen with a blank on your face. Grisha's phone rarely ever went to voice mail, even when it was the middle of the night and you needed to talk to him. This was weird. There was an unsettling feeling growing in your chest and you didn't know if you should take it seriously or not.

You quickly composed yourself and turned to Levi, hoping it wasn't too much trouble what you were about to ask him. "Hey, could you turn the car around? I need to stop by somewhere," You said, and Levi turned his head to look at you with slight skepticism in his face, but even so, he nodded and did what you asked of him. He quickly swerved onto the closest lane to the curb, so that it could be easier to turn around and join the lane on the other side where cars were driving the opposite way.

Eventually, after a couple minutes, Levi found the opportunity to turn a corner and successfully merge with cars that had been going the other way, so now, the two of you were heading straight towards Grisha's house.

-

As much as you wanted to believe that nothing was wrong and that Grisha was just messing with you again, you knew deep in your conscience that something like that wasn't the case this time. There was something deep inside you that was telling you that this wasn't normal at all and something was wrong. Very wrong.

Grisha doesn't text you so suddenly like that and especially with such a cryptic message like that. You wanted to brush it off in the moment and try to pretend that the suspense inside you wasn't tearing you apart. This wasn't normal. Grisha just didn't disappear like that and go quiet when you tried to call him.

As soon as you saw his text, you felt the need to decipher whether he was being serious or not, because he'd done this before already just a couple days before and it had been nothing. You knew that the best way to know what was really going on and the reasoning behind that message was to just to go his house and go check on him yourself and see what this was really about. Grisha didn't do stuff like this.

This wasn't like the other times and it wasn't like another one of his cryptic messages or jokes that he tried to pull on you like he did the other day. He didn't send messages like that and just disappeared. You tried to tell yourself that it was nothing, but the feeling grew stronger the closer you got to his house. You weren't being naive. You had this feeling clawing at you and growing stronger the closer you and Levi got to his house. You knew better and knowing your hunch was right scared the hell out of you.

You forced yourself to sit still, but your pulse hammered in your ears. Your leg bounced involuntarily, and your fist clenched hard enough to ache. You couldn't focus and your body was betraying you. This feeling was becoming entirely too suffocating for you to handle it alone. You couldn't shake it, this wasn't one of those times where he's trying to mess with you is it? Should you believe that pit in your stomach saying it wasn't?

A crease of worry appeared in your face, and Levi only needed one glance to know that there was something that went beyond him at this point and had nothing to do with him. Whatever you saw on your phone changed your demeanor entirely in the span of a second. It was concerning. In your head, you just kept reminding yourself that maybe it really was nothing, because he's done this before; the playful messages, the teasing, the jokes, all of it.

But as much as you tried to pretend that it was nothing and wanted to be annoyed he was messing with you again, you knew it wasn't like that this time. Grisha's not like this. The only way to get answers and to be at ease is to see him in person, and despite the fact that you hated making Levi make two trips for you this late at night, you hoped he didn't mind. His presence alone was a lot more comforting for you than he realized and you didn't know how you'd react if you visited Grisha alone when you felt this way. You needed an anchor, and Levi would be exactly that.

You gave Levi the directions to Grisha's house, but your words were minimal, short, muffled, and numb. You were clearly too into your own head to even tell Levi where to go in detail. When it comes to Grisha, even the most minimal of worries and issues sent you into a spiral and you wouldn't be able to go to sleep tonight like you'd hoped until you made sure he was okay. You'd honestly feel much better knowing he's messing with you again than him being in actual trouble right now, but you just really needed to make sure. All Levi felt that he could do was offer you silent yet reassuring glances your way even when you weren't looking.

You were so caught up in the turmoil and the feeling that was gnawing in your chest telling you that something wasn't right that you didn't even notice the moment that Levi was pulling up to Grisha's driveway, with the mansion looming ahead, casting long shadows. You blinked, shaking off the haze in your mind as reality hit you. This was it.

You shook yourself out of your stupor and adjusted yourself nervously in your seat, watching noiselessly as Levi turned a corner, stopping the car right outside of the large iron gate in front of Grisha's home. The hollow feeling in your chest was only growing when you saw that you were finally where you were dreading to be and eager to get to at the same time. What exactly were you hoping to find here?

Just from taking a simple glance at you as he waited for the gates to open, Levi could see that you were far too lost in your own head and too consumed by whatever panic you couldn't shake to pay attention to anything else. He didn't say anything the whole way there, and you were grateful for that. You just needed Levi there. His silent presence grounded you, though you could feel his tension rising. He didn't ask questions, but the way his eyes flickered to you said everything you needed to know. He was becoming just as concerned about this as you.

You just needed Levi there. There were no questions asked that could confuse you more and send you through even more paths of distress, no reassurance, because his presence was enough. His calm and collected presence was all you needed. You just needed to see things for yourself.

You were panicking; you could feel it in the air, and the presence of Grisha weighed heavier and heavier the closer you knew you were to get to him. Were you driving yourself crazy for nothing? Was there really something to worry about? Or is it just your instincts that make you worry about Grisha even when it's the smallest issue?

Are you overreacting? Were you paranoid? You needed to steel yourself for what you might find, and maybe it might be nothing. You could be freaking out over nothing. You'd gone from thinking he was just joking with you again to full out thinking that there really was a reason he sent you that text and wasn't answering your calls.

And knowing that you were getting closer and closer to walking inside his home and seeing if there was or wasn't anything to worry about, you began to feel a void in your chest that started to feel like it was growing and feeling more empty than before.

Was there really anything to worry about? Levi hadn't said anything else the entire car ride, and you didn't know if he didn't have anything to say, if he could sense that any comment could set you off because of visibly vulnerable you became in a matter of seconds, or if there was any other reason, but you still didn't hear anything from him. You had so many unspoken fears you prayed weren't about to come true.

Since the security by the gate could recognize your license plate, with just a quick check of it by one of the guards and seeing through the windows that you were inside the car, that's all it took for the large metal gates to finally creak open in a few seconds.

Your chest was starting to feel tighter. Still not daring to say another word, Levi shifted gears and got the car to start moving and inching forward again into Grisha's driveway in front of his mansion while the gates closed behind the car.

Your mind felt dazed, but your pulse throbbed painfully in your ears as Levi pulled into the driveway and into one of the parking spots in front of the entrance of the mansion, since the others were occupied by the rest of Grisha's own cars. The car rolled to a stop, at the end of a row of other cars, the engine winded down, and you snapped back to reality. It's like you were on autopilot after that.

While Levi took his sweet time to take off his seatbelt, but once it registered into your brain that you were just steps away from knowing if Grisha was okay, your mind centered on a single goal to the point where you couldn't think about anything but that, so you haphazardly took off your seatbelt, turned your body to the side, opened the door, leaving your purse and briefcase behind and stepped out the car as you closed the door behind you. You started rushing to get to the front door as fast as your feet could take you, nearly tripping while your breathing got heavier and more erratic with panic and distress, hating that you weren't inside already.

Just as you were about to reach the door, you heard the sound of a car door shutting behind you and you knew that Levi had gotten out of the car too. You didn't turn back though, and continued rushing towards the door hurriedly, hearing the sound of Levi's fast and hurried footsteps trying to catch up with you. "Y/n, wait up! What's going on? Talk to me," You heard Levi call out, but it's like everything else had become muffled to you. You couldn't hear anything but the voices in your head started to get louder than before.

Just as you hurried up the stairs and reached the front door, and hearing Levi's steps getting close behind you, you came to a realization as you opened the front door without a second thought. You couldn't take the pounding of your heart against your chest or the increasing sound of your pulse in your ear. Grisha was either inside the house or out in his greenhouse, and you realized that you didn't want to drive yourself even crazier by trying to search for him all over, so you'd just go where you thought he'd be most likely to be at this hour. You'd head straight for his greenhouse and not spend a painful moment searching the house where you knew he wasn't at.

You opened the door hastily, despite the fact that your hand became very shaky as you fumbled for the knob, and rushed inside, ignoring the fact that the door to his house was open when it was usually locked. You did exactly as you'd decided before and made your way across the house. Luckily for Levi, he'd been right behind you as you opened the door, so as you rushed inside, he'd been quick enough to reach the door in time and hold it open in time, making his way inside too.

He closed the door behind him and immediately surveyed the area to see where you might have gone, and thankfully, he saw you turning a corner in the house before you were out of sight and he didn't hesitate to start following you. He didn't have a good feeling about this.

He didn't know what you received on your phone that made you want to rush here so suddenly, but just from the way the door was unlocked, the house was nearly dimmed to a total, and how eerie it felt, a feeling in his stomach told him that he needed to rush to catch up to you before you found anything that he was sure would destroy you if you were to face it all by yourself. You were right, because something here wasn't right at all and he needed to catch up to you.

That's why Levi started rushing across the house and following the sound of your footsteps, and thankfully, after going through a couple hallways, he finally turned a corner and he nearly sighed in relief when he saw you go through the backdoor that led to the backyard. He didn't waste a second in rushing straight through the back door, down the stairs that led to the backyard and the greenhouse that he could see in the distance, and once he made it down, he made a beeline towards you since you'd kept a big distance between the two of you.

But after a couple seconds, Levi finally slowed down and kept up with your pace as the two of you walked side by side towards the greenhouse. Both of you noticed that the lights were on inside, so that was good news, right? "Y/n, don't run off by yourself like that," Levi said as his eyes went back and forth between you and the greenhouse and the two of you approached the cobblestone path that led to the entrance.

You turned your head to look at Levi and when he made eye-contact with you, his breath hitched almost unnoticeably when he saw the desperation you were trying to hide behind them. "It's fine, Levi," You muttered, even if your voice wavered as the two of you finally made it to the cobblestone path and started to walk up to the entrance together. Levi rolled his eyes and held back a groan at your words.

He'd been looking into your behavior ever since you got that text and it seems like anything could make you unravel at any second at this point. "It's not about that. You should try to brace yourself for whatever you might find here and not go in there alone," Levi warned and when you moved your gaze to look forward as you let out a huff and shook your head, briefly passing by one of the windows of the greenhouse. Levi clicked his tongue and realized you just weren't listening to him anymore. You weren't listening to anybody but the thoughts clouding your conscience.

He didn't even realize he got so involved in something that he has no idea what its about and somehow he was starting to feel more and more inclined to get you to think this through before rushing into the scene. He had a feeling that started blossoming as he started to put two and two together in his mind with the little information he has that there is something wrong with someone very important to you that lives in this house.

He didn't realize how his discomfort when rushing over here was starting to become more prominent than he'd like, since it was slowly trying to show through his expressions, but he's trying to keep it together and not make further comments.

All the hints scattered around the inside of the house screamed at him that there was something seriously wrong that you were trying to ignore and dismiss for the sake of hoping that there was nothing wrong. He could somehow see where this was going and it wasn't pretty. Rushing into it would hurt you more.

You turned your head to try to get a peek through the plants that were blocking your view but you couldn't see much. The entrance was just a couple feet away but your impatience was making you get ahead of yourself, so instead, you decided to walk a little faster and head inside. Levi was quick to follow your speed and continued to keep up the same pace as you while the two of you turned the corner on the entrance and finally entered the greenhouse after so much rushing to get to it.

But almost instantly, you sensed how different it felt. It felt off. How eerie and strange it felt, in stark difference to how warm, comforting and serene it usually felt to stand here, even in night time without the sun. The air inside felt absent of the usual warmth that usually embraced you when you walked in here, even if the plants looked as vibrant as they ever were. The lights were on like they always were, the plants were the same, but as you looked around and slowed down in your steps, the stillness was feeling more unnatural than ever. Something happened here.

Both Levi and Y/n saw the way that the air in the greenhouse felt incredibly stifling. The usual fragrance of earth and the greenery felt the same, for the most part, but it was just so muted and as if there was something missing. The lights were casting shadows on the plants, turning them into distorted silhouettes that instantly made you wonder what was making you wonder why things felt so different from the moment you stepped inside. It was only worrying you more.

Not wanting to put too much focus into your surroundings but more about finding Grisha, you got your mind to focus on that. "Grisha? Are you here? Are you okay? Don't ever scare me like that again, old man," You called out into the space of the greenhouse, but the worse felt hollow somehow. They echoed across the space, reverberating in your chest. Chills ran down your spin. Your steps slowed, heart racing in sync with the sound of your own voice.

Something felt wrong. So wrong. You glanced back at Levi and saw that he gave you a small yet firm nod to give you the courage you needed. You started walking further into the greenhouse. Your steps were soft as your heart started beating faster with every passing second. Everything that led you here replayed over in your head. Her phone had gone unanswered, the cryptic text, his lack of a response now, it was all very bizarre. Very unusual.

It was only after a couple more steps after coming inside the greenhouse that you moved your head to look forward, and when you did. You felt like you couldn't breathe. Your blood ran cold. Your entire body froze on the spot. There he was.

Grisha was just across the room, with his back to you, slumped on his side against the nearest tree, sitting on the edge of the platform on the other side of it. If he was over there, looking as immobile as he was, why hadn't he answered you. Your heart rate and breath quickened, feeling your heart race with each tentative step towards him. Levi was still behind you, silent, watching, but you couldn't possibly focus on him now.

"Grisha?" You asked, with your voice more tentative and small than before as your mind started to flood your head with theories about what this was, but you weren't listening to any of them. Was he sleeping? You asked yourself. No. Your mind continued to try and get you to see what had happened here and you didn't want to believe any of it.

A lump rose in your throat, and your breath quickened. The walls seemed to close in, suffocating you with every step. Your legs are incredibly unsteady, but you forced them forward, panic clawing at your chest. Your steps were becoming more hurried and desperate as you got to the platform, got on it, and walked across it to get to the man you've been looking for, wishing deeply in your heart that he'd be okay. He had to be. There's no way he's not.

Though, because you weren't willing to see reality clearly just yet, the space around you was making the effort to make you realize it because of how the place that once gave you comfort and warmth, felt cold and lifeless. Even if the plants here looked fine, you knew you weren't imagining the fact that they were leaning inward, as if in mourning of their caretaker. Your breathing was becoming more erratic, your heart was pounding in your ears, and your disorientation was quickly catching up to you faster than you could register it.

It was only a matter of time before you realized it too. "Grisha, come on. Why are you sitting on the ground like that? How many times do I have to tell you that you'll hurt your knee," You laughed weakly, not realizing how in denial you were, as you made your way across the platform, ignoring how strained your voice felt. It was unusual how still and unmoving he looked. It was uncanny.

That didn't look natural at all. He was just resting right? He was drained from work and just fell asleep on the spot. As Levi followed after you, all he could do was watch how hard this is going to be for you, witnessing all of it and knowing nothing he could say would ever make you see this differently. The more you and him walked closer to Grisha, the more it reminded him of many sights like this he's seen before and it's unmistakable. Even not having seen a lot of death in your life, you knew in the back of your mind that its exactly what was in front of you. But you were fighting to not let yourself give into something like that.

But it was only when you'd made your way across the platform and you were standing right behind Grisha's slumped figure against the tree, is when you finally halted in your steps and your brain was really struggling to comprehend what you were seeing. Every voice in your head that was trying to tell you that everything was going to be fine, that Grisha was fine just suddenly went quiet, and the ones that were telling you things as they were are the only ones you could hear.

You stood still as your eyes went wide and your pupils wavered trying to analyze what you were looking at. You couldn't see his face, but there was something about the way he was sitting where you could tell there was no movement to his body, no breathing, no movement. No nothing. There was a painful feeling clawing at your heart that helped you bravely take yet another step forward, then another, and then another up until the point you were leaning over the edge of the platform to see if you could get a glance at his face.

You swallowed hard as your lips began to tremble and bile formed in your throat. This isn't happening. It can't be. Not him, please...not him. You prayed to yourself and to the universe, almost as a plea to have this be just a bad dream. But as your hand hovered over Grisha's cold, unyielding face, the reality sunk in with a crushing weight.

"Grisha?" You called again, this time your voice coming out choked and full of acceptance of what you were seeing in front of you. Were you dreaming? Were you going to wake up all of a sudden and you'd still be heading home with Levi in your car? But when you looked down, your stomach dropped when you saw his glasses on the grass, and his phone with his lock screen open for you to see.

You nearly sobbed as you let out a gasp when you saw that the notification for the call you made to him that he didn't answer was displayed clear as day on the screen. Your hand slapped over your mouth and your eyes went wide as your head shot over to look at Grisha again and not wasting another second to rush to sit next to him. You turned your head back to look at Levi and saw that he was watching the scene in front of him with such intensity and darkness to his gaze that immediately made you want to look away.

His chest had also had a much noticeable and prominent rise and fall to it, since it was getting heavier, and you could tell he was struggling to keep his composure as he clearly has come to terms of what was going on, but you hadn't.

There was a certain clench to his jaw and knowing look to them that made you realize he was trying not to get involved, even if every fibre of his being wanted to tell you straight up what's happening. Knowing you weren't going to look away, he did instead and swallowed hard as he hung his head low, hiding it from you.

You felt like all color drained from your face when you saw this and that every part of your body was sinking with this agonizing feeling you were trying to supress was being amplified by Levi. If he was playing another prank on you, he was doing an incredible job. The sense of dread in your body was spiraling into something much more visceral that you barely had any time register. You turned your head back to look at Grisha did the only thing you could do out of instinct.

Wanting to give yourself another chance to save yourself the agony, you did the only thing you could think of, despite the heat that was gathering behind your eyes and the lump that was forming in your throat. You put a hand on his shoulder and leaned slightly forward to get a look at his face.

"Grisha, come on..." You whispered tearfully as you shook his shoulder gently, but in doing so, you only made his body move from the position against the tree and then fall against you.

You froze for a second, and your breathing began to quicken and looked down in horror at your father figure you've had for the last decade of your life. Now, you were the one who was unmoving as you looked down at the very much lifeless body of Grisha against you. Out of instinct, you put your arms against him for support so he didn't fall any further, but you still couldn't help but shake him further as your eyes became even more blurry and hard to see out of.

"Grisha? Grisha, please...you're scaring me. This isn't funny, you can't do this to me. Please, wake up," You urged uselessly, sounding how ridiculous you sounded and knowing that the denial was still speaking for you. You hoped that this was just another cruel joke, another prank he was pulling, just like all the others. Your voice got more choked up and it became harder to speak once it came to a point of no return when the first tear dropped.

Hearing no response back, you repeated your words once again, not caring if you had to say the same thing over and over again. "Grisha, please...wake up. You totally got me, alright?" You whispered as you held back your sobs, insisting this was some sort of prank, and put a hand against Grisha's face, though you nearly gasped at how cold it felt, devoid of anything. You then put a hand against his pulse on his neck and desperately waited to feel anything, just anything at all that could indicate to you that he was still with you. But you purse your lips together as a sob came up your throat and you managed to suppress it and you looked down at the man in your arms.

You lowered your head and pressed your head on top of his as you wrapped your arms tighter around him and rocked the both of you back and forth. That's when every shred of denial left your body and reality was presented in front of you. And it hit you painfully. "Grisha, please! Wake up!" You yelled out in the air as your voice got more desperate and the sobs that were threatening to escape got mingled with your words. You continued to hold him close to you as more rogue tears started to fall down your face and you started to sniffle at how choked up you were becoming. This wasn't happening? Why was this happening? This doesn't feel real? Is it really happening? It can't. It just can't

It wasn't any easier for Levi to watch this either. He blinked a couple times as he let out a few shaky breaths as he watched the scene in front of him unfold. He tried to look away but what he couldn't unhear was the desperation, the horror, the agony, and the pain all over your voice as your cries started to unleash the more the situation became far too real for you. He knew from the hints that he'd spotted around the house that this is what they'd find themselves in, and even if he tried to soften the blow for you, he was sure that it was hurting all the same, if not more.

He'd only ever heard you break down this way once and the suffering in your voice had not gotten any easier to listen to. He wasn't going to dwell on that now, and will continue to have his presence offer some kind of middle ground. But the more you were allowing your sobs to overtake the greenhouse, the harder it became. "Come on! You can't do this to me! You can't leave me! I need you!" You cried out as your sobs ripped through your throat even further to the point that you didn't care who heard or who was around, including Levi, to hear your anguish.

"I need you to wake up, please! I totally fell for it, you got me! You can wake up now! I won't be mad, I swear," You sobbed as the last shred of hope that this wasn't real or that he was making a joke evaporated until it was nonexistent. You can't lose yet another person in your life when you already feel the most alone and hopeless you've ever felt in your life. You might just have lost the last person who helped you get to where you are now, the person who took you in when you thought you had nobody left in this world, supported you through thick and think, defended you against the venomous family you were a part of, the person you owed everything to and who you could tell everything to without judgement.

Without him, you'd feel lost in the world all over again, not knowing where to go, what to do next, who to follow and who to go to when everything comes crashing down. Why does everything and everyone you love get ripped away? What did he do to deserve this? He just had a checkup that said that he was doing well, so why was he in your arms, lifeless, unresponsive, and immobile? You needed him, and you were certain he would outlive all of you, like he used to say. You can't even believe you're already thinking about the past tense when you were already begging for him to wake up and tell you that this was some cruel joke. The air in the greenhouse felt too thick to breathe now.

More sobs ripped through your throat as you rocked Grisha back and forth with you and more tears fell down your cheeks to the point where you couldn't even see far anymore. "Please, Grisha, I'm here! I'm right here! Just wake up! I'll never leave your side if that's what you need but please come back!" You sobbed out into the air, and you kept your head pressed on top of his. You were sobbing so hard at this point that you were hiccuping and gasping painfully, wishing this was all just a dream. Or rather a nightmare. You'd much rather have that than this.

"You need come back..." You started, but it was cut off by a sob. "What about Eren? Mikasa? Armin? What will we do without you? We need you," You tried to whisper the words down to Grisha as softly as you could, but every couple of words, what you were trying to say was interrupted by a cry, a hiccup or a gasp to get air back into your body. You sniffled and your sobs had gotten to a point where they wouldn't stop for a long time. You were so caught up in your own grief that you didn't even hear Levi's footsteps approaching as he decided to stand behind you.

He tried to remain cool and collected while he witnessed your breakdown, but he had to take a sharp inhale before he turned to look down at you and kept his facial neutral as he spoke. "Y/n, stop...that's enough," He muttered, loudly enough for you to hear, and you didn't even register his words, simply his voice and your head shot up to look at him with wide and teary eyes. The reminder of his presence suddenly reminded you of a detail and gave you an idea.

You didn't even think when you detached one of your arms away from Grisha, but still keeping the other around him for support, extending your arm and grabbed Levi's hand, grabbing onto it desperately and forcefully, swallowing briefly as you gasped and panted in distress, and Levi's body stiffened at the touch, his eyes narrowing slightly, but regardless, he didn't pull away.

He couldn't. There was something raw in your desperation that caught him off guard, something that made his chest tighten painfully in a way that was entirely foreign to him and didn't know how to handle. "Levi, please. Save him. You can do that, right? That's my wish, I'll make a deal with you!" You asked desperately, with your eyes full of hope that the man in front of you could do something to make this all go away, to solve it with the snap of his fingers. You said you didn't want to be a part of his deals, but right now you didn't care about that. You just wanted to save Grisha even if it meant you died 10 years from now. But as hard as it was for Levi to do, he had to decline.

He looked down at you blankly, with a slight look in his eye of indifference in his eyes that he was trying to fabricate to look as neutral as you could, as opposed to how miserable you looked in that moment. "What? No," He said plainly and you looked at him with utter horror at what he said.

Why wouldn't he? Can't he see what's happening in front of me. "Why the fuck not?" You snapped, getting agitated, as your breathing got more ragged and undeniably hard to contain at an even pace. And even in a moment like that, he couldn't show you an ounce of understanding.

"It's pointless. I can't bring people back to life," He said, point blank, and with that, his reasoning made you look up at him with horror and dread as you tried to comprehend what he said. Your breathing got heavier and more choked as you looked back and forth between Levi and Grisha as you detached your hand away from Levi and wrapped it back around Grisha and held him close to you while more sobs were threatening to leave your body. You looked back up at Levi and it only fueled more anger mingled with anguish inside of you.

"I know you can do it! Please, save him! I'm begging you! I'll do anything!" You yelled at Levi as your voice cracked and went back to holding Grisha with every ounce of strength left in your body. It only shattered your heart further knowing that he would never, ever hug you back again. That was yet another crushing blow. You couldn't see anything, you couldn't feel anything, your hearing was muffling, and your heart was actively shattering to pieces. Your entire world crashed to pieces and now it was spinning painfully. 

"Please..." You sobbed, refusing to make eye contact with Levi but still directing all of your words towards him. "I'll do anything you want. I'll sign a contract! Fuck-! i'll even go to hell in 10 years, but please! I'm begging you! Let him live!" You continued to sob uncontrollably at the top of your lungs, up until the point that your throat was starting to burn, but you still managed to ignore that pain, because the one you were feeling right now was much greater. You didn't even know what you were saying at this point.

Now that you were starting to feel the effects like feeling the way your throat burned with a raw ache that made it harder to breathe, each sob tore apart your chest, leaving nothing but an open wound where your heart used to be, that you were sure Grisha took with you, that you had no idea if it would ever close back up again. Your vision continued to blue and the world around you darkened with each rogue tear. No. Please, no. Why did you have to leave me?

You asked that of Levi again, not registering what he just told you about not being able to bring Grisha back to life, but you still asked regardless because in this moment, you've never wanted anything more. To do anything it takes to get to hear his heart beating and to hear his voice one last time.

"Please, save him. Just this once..." You sobbed against Grisha's head as you continued to hold him tighter than you ever have. Your words were coming out muffled but Levi could still hear every word and couldn't ignore the fact that while he kept a blank face, every sob sent a pang through his heart that felt like he was being stabbed every time you gasped and cried. 

He couldn't possibly do anything for Grisha now, and he would usually jump at the opportunity of a new deal, but right now, it was just out of his hands completely and he was starting to hate that he couldn't fulfill your wish like you'd been begging him to do.

Levi's eyes continued to flicker from the broken figure in your arms and over to you, his face unreadable. But the tightness in his jaw, the slight tremor in his fingers he was so desperately trying to hide from you, told another story. He's here, he's by your side, but that's all he could do. This wasn't his fight. Not yet anyway. Still, his presence felt like an unnecessary weight that was bringing you only more suffocating pain in a moment like this.

"Just this once, just this once..." You sobbed and repeated over and over again as you held Grisha with all of your might, not knowing that if you let go now, it would be the very last time. You couldn't believe that he had always managed to be there, offering his help even when you'd refused it, and now when he seems to have gone through the worst moment of his life, you weren't able to be there for him and it shattered your heart into pieces that you couldn't ever repay your debt to him. He saved your life and you couldn't even do the same for him.

You hated that with every fibre of your being, wishing you could've been just a little bit faster to get here or would have visited a lot more. You wished he had told you what was going on with him so you could've been there for him, instead of him trying to protect you and hiding things from you for your sake.

"Grisha..." You sobbed painfully out into the greenhouse as your cries echoed even louder. "Please...don't go..." You said in a hoarse whisper, feeling your voice die out as you lowered your face and buried your face in his clothes and clung onto him, knowing it was the last time and because of the realization that he was never coming back hit you full force, harder than you could expected.

There was nothing you could do, there was nothing Levi could do, and there was nothing anybody could do. He was gone, forever, and you hated that you weren't able to tell him one last time how much he meant to you, to say goodbye one last time, that you appreciated every single one of the efforts he did for your sake and that he meant everything to you. You never got to tell him.

You'd hoped he was just sleeping, that he had to be, and there was no way he was dead, but he was. You felt the coldness of his skin seep deeper into your skin and into your bones, not being able to deny it anymore. The weight in your chest only grew heavier and unbearable pressing down on your heart. He's gone, he's really gone. He's dead, and he's never coming back. Everything hurt, you couldn't get it to stop, and you knew that pain wouldn't stop for a while. You can't stop crying- Fuck, It felt like every part of your body was shutting down.

At this point your sobs were coming out more as desperate screams of bloody-murder and pleas that you couldn't care less if anyone passing by heard. You were so caught up by grief that you didn't notice the way Levi had to drag his eyes away from the scene, because for the first time ever, even after seeing countless people die because of his deals, he was starting to feel like he no longer wanted to witness this and watch your heartbreak unfold for someone so dear to you and that he was unable to save. That he shouldn't be witnessing this anymore. He was useless, and he suddenly grew to quickly despise that feeling, and the daggers sticking into his heart were becoming harder to ignore.

You were continuing to sob like there was no tomorrow and not wanting to ever let go of the person who watched you grow up and did everything to make sure you lived a happy life after your parents died. You lost yet another person you cared about and allowed to get close to your heart.

You allowed another person to slip away from your grasp just as you thought everything was starting to look up. The pain in your body was spreading like wildfire, like you'd never recover. How could you tell the family? How could you tell Eren? Everybody dear to Grisha that cared about him. How could you be the one to explain this?

You were the only one here to see this and now you dreaded knowing that you were the only one in the family who had to bear the news. The rain fell harder, and its rhythmic drumming on the windows haunted you and gave you a reminder that the world was moving forward, indifferent to the loss you just faced. You briefly glanced and looked around at Grisha's plants he'd worked so hard to grow.

He'd cared for each one with so much tenderness and care that you know that they'd wilt with his absence. Who will take care of them now? Who will tend to this garden he's spent so many years of his life on? Who will take care of them with the love that Grisha gave them? Nobody else could do it like he could and now you'd have to watch this place wilt away, just like you were feeling your heart shrivel into tiny little pieces.

You came into this greenhouse hoping that this would all be some cruel joke and that the text you got was just another ploy of his. You should've listened to the red flags and alarms in your head when he didn't respond to your texts and you'd forever hate yourself for it. You'd never forgive yourself for that. And as if the universe wasn't cruel enough, to officially remind you that Grisha was no longer in the world, the rumbling from outside told you a storm was coming.

The first drops of rain struck the window, and soon enough, it was pouring rain outside. The sharp sounds of the rain contrasted the silence, as if the world itself wanted to mourn with you. The storm outside seemed to echo the storm that's raging inside of you, drowning out everything but the weight of what you'd lost. It was only reminding you that the world just lost someone like Grisha.

He was someone that was so misunderstood and tried his best to mend his mistakes. A person who had sins of his own but wanted to be forgiven from them so desperately so he could continue living his life in peace. He's had to make tough decisions in his life and made enemies along the way, but he realized it was never too late to repent. Now, he had to pay the ultimate price with his own life. You just hoped, that at the very least, he was at peace now and wouldn't have to worry about a thing, and that he was happy, like he deserved to be.

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Hello! Did you guys like this one? I know the ending of it was a bit of a bummer but I hope you guys enjoyed it nonetheless! Next chapter will be filled with drama and chaos so stay tuned! I'm so excited for you guys to see it! Hope you guys enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!

As I said at the beginning, I'm so glad I was able to post this on Sunday so I can get back on schedule, and that I could post this before New Years! I'm trying to write as much as I can now since I go back to uni in about two weeks or so, so i'll try to do as many prewritten chapters before that knowing things will start to get hectic again!

Anyway, just as I said last chapter, I am so happy to have started this book in September because now that we're nearing the end of the year, I wanted to express how thankful I am for all of you being here and for all of your support throughout this journey! It truly means more than you guys will ever know! I'm so excited to publish even more stories next year and continue writing as much as I can! Happy early New Year's everyone!

But, anyway, I'll see you guys on Sunday, or maybe even earlier and do double updates again! Either way, I love you all so, so much, and thank you again for everything! See you again next year! :,) XO
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