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I sometimes wondered if I was the only one. I often woke up crying unable to remember why. These vague dreams have been haunting my mind ever since I could remember. Occasionally, a man’s hazy face appears but I struggle to distinguish any precise details. But the most vivid thing in every single dream that I have is his dreadful death. It has occurred many different ways but each is more heartbreaking then the last, having found the one I loved more than anything and yet having him ripped away by the passage of time.
“Stop it” I say to myself, it would be really stupid if I would cry on my first day of work at Cafe Trost. I’m still unsure why I was so easily drawn to the cafe but the name of it just felt so familiar, like I had been there before.
I drag myself into the shower putting it on the highest pressure, as if to wash away the lingering anguish left by the unsettling nightmare. After pulling on a pair of black jeans and a plain black shirt except for the word STAFF written in bold on the back, my new uniform. I reach towards my favorite necklace gripping it tightly in my hand. A pair of wings overlapping over a shield shape, the wing one dark blue almost black and the other the purest white reflected the light slanting through the open window. The necklace was sort of a lucky charm; the metal always seemed to thrum with heat against my tanned skin bringing me a sense of peace, I’d seen it in a local store window one day when I was a kid, I had begged my mother to buy it for me and after a mere 24 hours she had given in a bought it.
Quickly rushing to make my bed, knowing that the small blond and my best friend Armin that would yell at me the moment he saw the mess, I stumbled out of the dorm room hopping in an attempt to pull my sneakers on, but just as I was about to shut the door I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, my untameable hair was looking particularly un-kept since it never saw a comb these days, no use in fighting a losing battle, my shocking green eyes were especially wide today since I was in a hurry for the first time in weeks, and I could just make out the chain of my necklace nestling on my collarbone.
Cafe Trost wasn't far away, luckily for me it only took me 10 minutes to arrive, and when I did only one person was there a woman, starting to set up the café for the day. As I neared her I noticed her crop of chestnut brown hair and slim facial features accompanied with a pair of wide brown eyes and a smile to match.
“Hi there. Eren right? My name is Petra and I’m the assistant manager here” she said looking me up and down as I tried in vain to stop myself from visibly panting.
“Y-yeah that’s right” I stammered straightening and standing to attention in front of her, she just giggled.
“Relax Eren we aren't in the army, would you mind helping me set up the umbrellas for the outside tables?” she said pointing to a set of green and beige umbrellas.
I was just setting up the last umbrella when the rest of the employees arrived. Petra introduced me the moment they arrived. The first was a man with sandy blonde hair that was tied into a messy ponytail who introduced himself as Erd. The next was another male with dark skin and bright eyes who was named Gunther. And the last was a man with two toned brown hair and a rough undercut who told Eren his name was Aurou. As people started to arrive however Petra quickly ushered me and the three men inside of the cafe.
“Here Eren, you’ll be working on tables today, so here’s your apron, it has a notepad and pen in the front pocket for taking down orders and that’s about it, good luck!” She smiled handing me the items and retreating behind the glittering counter where stacks of cakes and pastries rested and a tomato red coffee maker sat gleaming in the mid-morning sun streaming through the glass wall.
It took me a brief moment to realize that work had started until the tinkling of the doorbell rang as customers began entering cafe Trost.
The first hour was hard and long and I almost sighed out loud in relief when Aurou came to replace me as waiter as I fled to the kitchen. I spent the next few hours washing and drying dirty plates and cutlery as well as mopping the floor till it shone, which awarded me with a smile of delight from Petra.
The day continued in that manner until 4:30 arrived and the flow of customers started to thin. I was finishing my hour of washing the dishes when Erd came in to replace me handing me my apron with a mischievous smile. I entered the main cafe expecting it to be chaotic but was met instead with an almost empty cafe, almost. Petra appeared at my elbow as if out of thin air.
“Oh there you are Eren! You’ll be serving one more person today and then you’re done for the day, thanks for all your hard work” she said sweetly but I remained suspicious, Erd’s smile still fresh in my mind. I shook the thought loose as I tied my apron around my waist and looked to the last person left in the cafe. I couldn't see him very clearly since the table he had chosen was in the far corner, hidden in the shadow of one of Trost’s decorative book shelves. He had a sleek, expensive looking laptop on the table and was typing away faster than anyone I had ever seen, I could just make out his black hair in the darkness of the shadow as he furiously jabbed at the keys of his laptop as if he was throwing insults at the work he was producing with every jab of his lean fingers. I approached him with caution unsure why I was so nervous. He seemed alright though he did look a little on the short side I thought as I observed his lean muscular legs stretching under the table. I reached him just as he finished typing and shut his laptop with a snap causing me to jump slightly.
“Um hi a-are you ready to order now?” I asked keeping my eyes down as he turned to face me the chair legs scrapping on the floor as he did so. I could practically feel his severe gaze on me as my own eyes never left the floor; the sun shifted bathing the two of us in its golden glow.
“Are you new here kid?’ he questioned sternly.
“U-u-um yes I am my name’s Eren” I said still not looking up.
“Levi” he replied blandly but as he spoke his name Eren swore he heard a hint of something subtle, sarcasm or was it a small smile in his words.
That caught my attention. Levi… where had I heard that name before? More importantly why couldn't I look at him? Why did this little man, whose face I could barely see make me so nervous? Like I really cared what he thought of me. This was ridiculous so with a deep breath I raised my head and looked at him full in the face, which was now bathed in sunlight.
Levi was beyond belief; everything about him screamed order and superiority from the seemingly bored slope of his eyebrows to his neat black hair that was parted to the left with a net undercut. The glow of the mid-afternoon sun seemed to dance off his perfect features his sleek black hair stood out against unblemished porcelain skin, but it was his eyes that drew me in. Framed with surprisingly long lashes they were the color of grey storm clouds that gazed unblinkingly on mine.
The familiarity of him caused my head to throb as images flashed before my eyes. Levi’s strong figure, wings of freedom; that now hung from my neck, fluttered when he saved my life, the moments when he stayed outside my cell until I fell asleep, his steady gaze when he watched me throughout the day, when I realized my feelings for him were something far more and when he had confessed his too, the sun peeking through the leaves of a giant oak tree as we sat under it together. Finally when we had spent our last hours before our final mission together, not knowing that the end of everything I knew was about to be crushed before my eyes.
After Levi had coughed loud and given me a questioning look I came to the conclusion that I had been staring at him for some time now. Muttering something about needing to go the kitchens I quickly rushed out of the room and to the back of the cafe where I knew an empty alleyway was, walking into one of the stools as my breath came in shallow gasps. I reached the alleyway and ducked behind the large dustbins which hid me from prying eyes.
I collapsed onto the wet cement arms wrapped around my legs as I hugged them to my knees. Images and memories flashed before my eyes he was everywhere Levi, Levi, Levi. His smile, his eyes the color of blue tinted steel capturing me, his arms protecting me from harm. As I rocked gently on the cement I felt a pair of familiar arms wind their way around me, lifting me off the ground with ease and placing me ever so gently into their lap.
“Shoosh Eren its okay I’m here now, you’re safe” whispered Levi as he lovingly stroked my hair and hugged me close.
It took me a few moments to form the words I was desperately trying to say. “Levi, please never leave me, I love you.”
“Oh Eren I love you too for as long as I live I will always love you.”