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It was in the early days of spring when the air of Shiganshina Village suddenly became filled with the sound of construction and the smell of freshly tilled soil. As soon as the last drops of snow melted and seeped into the ground, the long-abandoned farm to the south suddenly became bustling with the work of a lone young man, just eighteen and ready to start a life on his own. In a matter of days, the villagers noticed the sign over the path to the old farm, once weathered and faded and suspended haphazardly between two rotting posts, had been replaced. The new sign had been erected carefully and boasted the name “Freedom Farm” in fresh green paint.
“Huh? Someone actually moved into that old dump?” Levi couldn’t help expressing his surprise, but Erwin Smith nodded in confirmation from across the table. “That place is completely falling apart; weeds taking over the fields, and there is no way that barn in inhabitable. Does he have any animals? He better be taking damn good care of them or I swear to the fucking Harvest Goddess—”
Erwin cut him off with a chuckle. “No, Levi, he doesn’t have any animals with him. Actually, that’s why I wanted to introduce you two. He could use some help getting started in that department—and who better to ask than our very own animal shipper?”
Levi groaned. “No fucking way, if that brat doesn’t have the barn cleaned up and a proper pasture he is not going anywhere near my cows.”
“Actually, he’s made rather good progress. I hear the barn and the house have been completely repaired, and he’s already gotten a good start on clearing the fields.” Levi gaped at him. He had only left town for two weeks; surely that wasn’t enough time for the newbie to clean up the entire farm. The blonde man sat back in his chair, gazing off thoughtfully as he sipped his tea. “He’s barely taken a rest since he got here. That boy sure is persistent.”
When Erwin led him down the dirt path to the farm for the first time, Levi remained a few steps behind to carefully observe the property’s current state. Shielding his eyes from the bright spring sun with a hand at his brow, he swiveled his narrowed gaze to take in the spacious stretch of land. It was just as Erwin said—the farm had been cleaned up quite nicely. The grass was freshly trimmed, a fence erected around a sizable pasture, and both the farmhouse and the barn had been painted a crisp white. Levi nodded once to himself in satisfaction; he would never admit aloud that he was actually somewhat impressed at the speed and quality of the restoration.
It wasn’t long before they spotted the farmer heading in their direction from the fields, pushing a wheelbarrow full of weeds in front of him. His overalls were caked with dirt and the sleeves of his flannel were rolled up to the elbows, exposing strong, tan forearms. His entire face lit up in a grin when he noticed the two men standing near the farmhouse and he lifted a gloved hand to wave. “Mr. Smith!” he called in greeting; his voice hadn’t deepened much yet, still retaining some of its boyishness. His pace quickened into a light jog. When he reached where the older men stood, he set down the wheelbarrow. He wiped a forearm across his sweat-streaked forehead, sending damp, messy strands of brown hair askew. Levi couldn’t help but notice how damn tall he was, and given that the kid was about a decade younger than him, he also couldn’t help but be somewhat irked by that fact.
“Eren, it’s nice to see you,” Erwin replied, an easy smile gracing his lips. “It looks like work is going well here. You sure have made a lot of progress.”
The farmer grinned, hands propped on his hips. “Yeah, it’s been tough, but I’m so close to finishing up! I should be able to start planting soon.”
“That’s very good news! Oh, and I’ve brought someone to meet you.” Erwin stepped aside and motioned to Levi. The boy’s gaze shifted, appraising the new face for the first time, and Levi was baffled at the sudden widening of his brilliant turquoise eyes and the faint pink seeping into his tanned cheeks.
Eren Jeager was his name, and Levi learned fairly quickly that Erwin was right and the kid was, in fact, persistent as hell. Once the two were introduced, and after only a handful of engagements and a few chance meetings around town, it became clear to just about everyone in the village that the boy was utterly smitten with Levi, and Levi could not for the life of him understand why. And it seemed Eren would do anything to get the consideration and approval of the older man.
It was oddly endearing in a way, all the attention Eren gave him, but on the other hand, Levi did not know what about himself was so appealing. He was a short, ill-tempered, thirty-year-old man with insomnia and a penchant for crude language who got along better with animals than other people. Why a young, bright-eyed, charming guy like Eren would choose Levi when he was becoming so popular throughout Shiganshina Village and could probably have his pick of any bachelor or bachelorette in the area was beyond him. But he guessed he must have been a better option than, say, that lanky guy with the dorky two-toned hair that ran the hair salon; he looked like he could be twins with Levi’s horse.
It started when Levi returned to Freedom Farm on his own to inspect the interior of Eren’s barn. If the repair work was up to par, Levi planned to give him a cow, free of charge, as a springboard on which to begin farm life. While he walked the entire interior of the space, examining every inch of the floor, walls, feeding troughs, and fodder storage, he could feel a strange prickling sensation on the back of his neck, alerting him of the gaze following him as he worked. Levi chose to not comment on it.
Soon, the gifts began. The first time, it was only a few days after Levi had delivered the cow to his farm. “It’s a thank you for giving me Maria,” Eren explained, smiling sheepishly (Maria being the name he chose for the cow). Levi was hesitant to accept the gift at first. Having only one cow meant Eren needed to savor every drop of milk in order to begin making a profit. But the boy insisted, and so Levi relented and took the glass jug of fresh milk home with him. Somehow, the milk seemed to taste even more delicious than usual.
Every so often, Eren showed up at Levi’s stall in the town plaza, or at his house, or ran into him on the street, and gave him milk from one of the cows; he accumulated two more after Maria, and so could spare a jug here and there. Then, when he began raising chickens, there were eggs, and soon yarn, spun from the wool of his sheep—“For your cats to play with,” Eren clarified when Levi wondered what he would even do with a ball of yarn. Occasionally, it was a small bouquet of those brilliant yellow Moondrop flowers that grew all around the area, bright as the sun, bright as Eren and his silly grin and his stupidly vibrant eyes.
Even more often, he would show up just to talk to Levi, whether it be about the animals, his own farm, how Levi was doing—Eren himself didn’t seem to mind the topic, so long as he had a chance to spend time with Levi.
And when Eren invited him to a festival for the first time, Levi could no longer deny that the young farmer had developed feelings for him.