"Yeah, uh, quick question," I said sheepishly, knowing there was more than likely an obvious answer to what I was about to ask. "Where exactly do I park?"

"There's a lot by the library," Levi answered. "There are guest spots. Should be plenty of them open."

"Gotcha," I replied simply, spotting what seemed to be the library almost immediately. "Is the library the big, pretty one? Has a statue out in front?"

"That's the one."

"Great," I said, smiling now. "Then I found it."

I pulled into that lot, found one of the designated spots for guests, and parked. He had been right; there were plenty of spaces open. "Got a spot," I told Levi. "Come get me."

"I'm already on my way. Don't go anywhere, you'll only get lost."

"Yes, sir," I said, if only to make fun of his authoritative tone, the one he adopted often when addressing me, as though I was likely to wander off... Which might have been true, but it was still something to tease him for. "See you in a few."

I hung up and got out, going round to the backseat to gather my things. I had my overnight bag with me, and I quickly checked its contents to make sure nothing fell out and that I didn't need to make an emergency run to a store to get something I needed.

Thankfully, I'd been thorough in packing and careful enough in my driving to ensure that the bag hadn't tipped, and everything was still securely inside. When I had everything, I stood up straight, locked the car up, and leaned against it to wait for Levi.

Because he was right. For as much as I wanted to explore the campus, I'd probably only end up getting myself lost if I chose to wander off alone. And I didn't want to waste a single moment of this opportunity.

This opportunity, of course, being to visit Levi. It had come on the fortunate overlap of mid-semester breaks for our schools. We had a sort of fall break, which was essentially just an extended long weekend to prepare for midterms. By the grace of luck alone, our schools shared in the sentiment that students needed a break before the ever-important exams. And so, we decided to visit each other for the first time this semester.

I'd been picked up and brought home first, just for the night and to see my family. Of course, being picked up was a necessity only because my car was still at home. College was expensive enough, they did not need more of my money to keep the damn thing on campus.

In any case, it was now Friday morning, and it was a rather picture perfect autumn morning with crisp, cool air and the ever-present rustling of leaves in the trees, preparing to fall to the earth below. Most of the people on Levi's campus, as he had said, had left for the few days off, including even his roommate (who just so happened to be Erwin), so there would be no problem with me staying in the room for the weekend, or until he got tired of me.

Other than just me stopping by and spending a night or two, we had no further plans. For the most part, we figured we'd play it by ear. As far as my opinion on it went, I didn't really care what we did, because just getting to catch up with him and to see him – in person, after several weeks apart – was enough for me.

How we did it or where was not what I was concerned with. All I wanted to do was enjoy my time with Levi. And I had to admit that when I saw him round a corner and begin looking for me in the rather lonely parking lot, my heart gave a flutter.

Stop that, I told my stubborn heart. We're best friends. Nothing more.

Still, even that thought did nothing to subdue my excitement, calm my erratic heart, nor stop me from running to him. If I wasn't so excited to see him, I might have sighed, for my heart never listened to reason. Even extremely sound reason.

As soon as Levi's eyes caught movement – which was immediately – he turned to face me. And as soon as he caught on to what I was doing – which was also immediately – he prepared to catch me.

Once I reached him, I did exactly as he expected me to do, and that was to leap into his arms. He took only a single step back to steady himself as he took me into his arms, holding me steady against him.

"Levi," I greeted happily. "I missed you!"

"Easy there," he said gruffly, though not without a certain level of amusement that was uniquely Levi. "You act like we haven't seen each other in years."

"That's what it felt like!"

"You're being dramatic."

"Maybe, but I'm not lying," I whined, pulling back from his embrace. I looked into his eyes, pouting. "It really did feel like years to me."

"And the first thing you can think to do is piss me off," he muttered, reaching up with one hand to flick my forehead. "Get that dumb look off your face."

The words - if anyone who didn't know him as I knew him heard him - might have sounded rude or mean or otherwise not something someone would say to a close friend.

Well, perhaps it was more accurate to say they'd seem that way if literally anyone else on this damn planet heard it, because really, who knew him better than I did?

Still, I knew he was joking, and as such, I was playful right back. My faux pout only grew as I rubbed the spot that he'd hurt with one hand. It hadn't hurt, of course it hadn't, but at least a little bit of sympathy from him would've been nice.

Levi sighed. "We're here now, aren't we? So stop being upset."

"I'll try," I said with a sigh as fake as my pout as been, but no less dramatic, while adjusting my bag on my shoulder. "So, where to first? Gonna give me the grand tour of this esteemed institution?"

"First, we can put your things down in my room," he said easily, just as easily as his movements were to effortlessly take my bag from my shoulder and hold it for me. I didn't even have it in me to argue with him, that I could hold it myself; if he wanted to be a gentleman, who was I to stop him?

He then turned on his heel and started to walk back in the direction from which he came. I fell into step alongside him and I looked around curiously at the new sights as he continued to speak. "Erwin is already gone for the break, so we don't have to worry about him."

"Oh?" I mused teasingly, bumping shoulders with him. "Nothing to worry about, hm? Have any plans I should know about?"

He only leered over at me in response, though something about the look set a flurry of butterflies alight in my belly.

It was... something about the incredibly delicate nature to his features that contrasted so completely and beautifully with his personality and the strength that I knew he possessed. And yet, while they contrasted, they fit together so perfectly. The delicateness of his eyes, so feline and guarded, did little to betray to others how strong he was.

And for someone so aloof as him, it just worked. Nothing about him was out of place, nothing in him was forced. He was wonderfully, perfectly Levi. All of him worked together like so many cogwheels crafted with such precision and grace that could only be attributed to being a labor of love.

He was just incredible.

The way his dark bangs shifted in front of his eyes of cobalt blue with each step he took, the way he portrayed such power and commanded such respect even with the height that others would ridicule him for, the way his sharp nose was just the right shape to compliment his profile, along with those alluring, possibly softer-than-silk lips that now quirked up into a smirk... No, wait. What?

"You're staring. Do you have plans I should know about?"

Holy shit, he was flirting back.

I'd expected to fluster him, and somehow... he'd flustered me?

"Absolutely not," I stammered out. Smooth.

"My, wasn't that convincing?"

"I'm going to hurt you."

"Do your worst."

"I... will do no such thing," I finally decided on saying, flustered and embarrassed enough to effectively make me useless. "Because while I can hurt you, I will not."

"Right." Amusement found its way into his eyes, and I huffed irritably and finally paid attention to where I was going, and just in time too; I only just managed to sidestep an overgrown root that had pushed a section of the sidewalk askew. If I hadn't paid attention to it and seen it when I had, I would have fallen.

So, at least I was able to avoid one embarrassing situation today.

I had no idea what was up with me today. I'd been fine all day yesterday and this morning and yet here and now I was suddenly walking like it was my first time with these legs, I was fumbling over my words like a schoolgirl with a crush, I was getting flustered by what he said, and worst of all I was getting increasingly more distracted by... by all of him.

It wasn't like he was doing anything differently. He was just regular old Levi doing his usual things. None of what he was doing should have surprised me, and none of it should have been having such a profound impact on me. What the hell was I so nervous about? This was Levi. I knew Levi. He was the same boy – man – that I had practically grown up alongside. It was regular, old Levi.

Except... Levi wasn't regular. He was extraordinary, in every sense of the word. He knew me better than anybody. Hell, I'd bet money that he knew me better than even I knew myself. How that would be possible, I didn't know, but it was believable enough to me.

Not only did he know me extremely well, but he was also exceedingly caring, and endlessly kind, and though he seemed to be guarded always by walls he'd thrown up from an early age to protect himself, he'd allowed me in. And perhaps that was most impressive of all.

Deep within that façade that many decided it wasn't worth trying to crack through was the most precious thing of all: his heart. Big and strong that it was, he had so much love to give and dammit, I'd gotten lost in my thoughts again and my eyes had drifted back to his profile.

I was sure that he noticed my staring once more, but this time decided against saying so to tease me more, but I stubbornly tried to convince myself that I hadn't gotten caught this time.

I didn't know how wrong I was.

Well, maybe I did know, I just refused to believe it.

Regardless, when I nearly walked right past his building, he grabbed my arm and tugged me back towards the door. He let us in, letting me head in first after pulling the door open for me. I walked in, getting immediately carried away by the memory of what I'd seen in this very hallway at the beginning of the term and so that was where I headed now.

"(Y/n)? Where are you going?"

"Looking for that board," I said through my giggles, glancing back at him as I jogged down the hallway. Finally, it came into view, that dreadful board detailing consent and how to have safe sex. I came to a stop before it, looking at it in all its glory.

"Wow," I said, letting out a low whistle afterward. "It's even worse in person." Levi came to a stop beside me, looking up at the board as well. He slid his free hand into his pocket, nodding to silently agree with me.

"Kind of a stupid question to ask me, asking where I was going," I teased. "Why wouldn't I want to see this? And besides, isn't this the way to your room?"

"It's one way," he told me. "It's a building. There are lots of ways to get everywhere." He gestured with his head in the direction we'd been walking from to get here. "This way is the way I usually take. I'm on the third floor but take the stairs."

"Oh," I said. "What way were you going to take us?"

"The way with the elevator," he answered, as though it should have been as obvious to me as it had been to him. He began to walk back in the direction in which we'd come, and I followed closely at his side. "I don't need to hear you whining about how tired you are from taking the stairs."

I smiled warmly at him, and rather gratefully now. He really could be considerate when he wanted to be. "You know me so well."

Along the way to the elevators, we passed by a desk at which a rather exhausted looking Resident Advisor was sitting at a desk. When he noticed us walk by, he glanced between me and Levi for a moment before a sly smirk reached his face. Then he looked to Levi, nodding in a way that could only mean "good job getting some, man."

Or at least, that's what I took it to mean. That's what I could see in his expression, anyway. And the thought thoroughly embarrassed me, and I internally cursed myself at the fact that my first instinct was to stand closer to Levi as though his presence alone would protect me from being embarrassed.

The desk was right across the hall from the elevators, so when Levi pressed the button to go up, we were forced to wait in horrible, awkward silence. 5th floor, 4th floor, 3rd... it's stopped. Back up to the 4th. Great.

"Hey, you two," the RA called out. Levi turned his head to look, one of his eyebrows rising in a silent question, or a prompt for him to continue. "If you need it, remember there are condoms and lube in the Student Store."

Levi opened his mouth to speak, but I beat him to it with a wide, grateful smile. "Thank you," I said to him. "We'll be stopping by later, then."

The man blinked, clearly surprised by what I'd said. And judging by the slack-jawed look I was getting from Levi, I'd surprised him, too. And if the furious rush of blush creeping up into his ears and cheeks were any indication, I'd effectively embarrassed him as well.

A ding distracted us all momentarily. A pair of students exited the elevators and started down the hall and once they were out of the way I stepped into the elevator, ready to press the button to bring us to the third floor. "Levi, are you coming?"

Levi, for his part, was finally shocked out of his reverie at my call. But before the doors could close, the RA shouted to us once more: "Remember, be mindful of your neighbors!"

A smug little smile sat on my lips all the way until we reached Levi's room and I began to look around and explore with a kind of awe-stricken look on my face instead. And Levi remained silent all the while.

I couldn't see what the problem was. I was only repaying the favor for what he'd done to me.

What was the saying... an eye for an eye? He had embarrassed me, so I embarrassed him.

All was fair in love and war, and if it was a battle he wanted, it was a battle he would get.

---

So, scratch what I said about battling him. After exploring his campus for a bit, we had lunch then returned to his room, and along the way we'd seemed to come to the mutual agreement of cutting it the hell out with the teasing because it was, for one thing, exhausting, and for another, we'd barely be able to hold a conversation if we kept it up, no matter how fun it was.

So I'd sat at his desk spinning idly while he got comfortable on his bed.

"Tired already?" I'd asked as he'd laid back.

"Mm."

"Shame. I was wondering if you wanted to take a little drive with me."

"Isn't the damn point of you being here to do shit together?"

"You can sound a bit more excited about it. But I was thinking.

"That's dangerous. Is that what the smoky smell is?"

"Ha-ha, very funny. Asshole. Anyway, I had an idea. What if we went and visited Ms. Fields?"

"At the orphanage?"

"Mm-hm!"

He'd lifted his head at that, looking at me curiously as though to see if I was being serious or not. He'd only seen sincerity and a bit of excitement in my eyes, so he nodded. "Alright," he'd replied. "Let's go."

And that led us right to where we currently stood, and that was just across the street from the orphanage. As soon as we'd arrived, my eyes had been glued to the building and they refused to look anywhere else. Not as Levi got out, not as he rounded the car, and not even as he opened my door and helped me out.

I'd absentmindedly taken his hand when offered and let him help me to my feet and close the door behind me. I'd let go of his hand as he'd locked the car and now...

We were both stood still and statuesque, gazing up at the building that had for so long housed us. The house that had been for so long our home. Our home together. A good many memories were made here, not least of all our own, and those we shared.

There'd been times when I was a rather dramatic youth that I'd firmly believed that I'd never get to leave. And now to be stood in front of it...

"Incredible," was the first word to escape my lips, little more than a whisper.

"Yeah," Levi agreed absently.

"Do you think she still works here?"

"That would've been a better question to ask hours ago," he said, "before we left." The look I sent him must've portrayed my annoyance because his features softened. "I'm sure she's here, brat. I can't imagine her letting anyone take over unless she's dead."

Well, that wasn't the greatest thought to have.

I swallowed my nerves down. Or at least I began to, when an anxious chill began to creep up my spine. What if she was dead?

Levi made up my mind for me. I'd have complained if not for the fact that if we left it up to me, I'd stay here thinking about it for several more minutes before Simon if the nerve to move. "Come on, (Y/n). Let's go."

Across the street we went. Towards the house we walked. Levi pulled the gate open, and it swung on its hinges hesitantly and with a reluctant, low groan of wood and a rebellious squeak of metal. We walked along the worn-down path, then up the few steps.

We passed by a few kids playing in the yard. Seeing us as a potential pair of parents, some of the kids got to talking and whispering conspiratorially amongst themselves. Dozens of sets of eyes peered upwards at us, wondering who we might choose to see. When we reached the door... I paused. I hesitated.

"Levi," I said quietly, calling his attention to me, "this is weird."

"What's weird?"

"Being back here," I said simply, refusing to look away from the heavy oak door that remained closed in front of us. "I don't know why."

"What about it is weird?" Levi prompted. When I shook my head and shrugged, he reached out to take my hand in his as though to offer me some courage, or perhaps to ground me, or perhaps even to offer only silent support. Maybe all of them, all at the same time. Whatever the intent, it worked, and I found my voice again.

"It's... we were adopted, and... This was my home for so long and I never thought I'd leave, but... I don't know. It just feels weird. I wonder if she'll remember us..."

"Don't be stupid," Levi said. "Of course she does. Now stop stalling."

Without another word, he reached for the doorknob, but it opened before he could grab it. A child came scurrying out, pushing between us quickly on his way outside. "Excuse me, sorry!" He called backwards toward us once he'd run into the garden.

We watched him run a few paces, but then turned back at the sound of the door opening further. And the woman who stood there, staring at us blankly as we stared dumbfoundedly back, was Ms. Fields. Her eyes flicked between my own and Levi's and recognition slowly replaced the confusion and shock that had been etched into her eyes.

"Oh, holy shit," she gasped.

A child appeared at her side then, clutching her shirt tightly. She had a wide, mischievous and playful smile on her face as she peered up at the matron of the orphanage. "Ms. Fields said a bad word!"

"Oh, go away, you," she muttered, swatting the little girl away. The girl scurried off, giggling wildly as she went round the corner. Fields returned her attention to us, a warm smile curling her lips. "Now, look at you two," she said. "You grew up on me, loves."

I was rendered speechless. So was Levi.

"Goodness, what am I thinking? Leaving you out there. Come in, come in."

Levi and I followed, as though in a trance. As soon as we were through the threshold, we began to look around. The old railing that ran along the stairs by the door was still old and weathered and old bars in the railing that had been broken were repaired with new, mismatched bars.

In fact, that kind of repair work seemed to be the same for the rest of the house: where old things had been broken or lost entirely, new things took their place. A few things here were replaced, a few things there were upgraded, but it was all the same house. Even the couch was the same in the living room, except that perhaps it had been reupholstered or at the very least cleaned thoroughly.

When Ms. Fields lowered herself into an armchair, Levi and I sat next to each other on the couch. His grip on my hand was still tight and I glanced briefly at him. He was still looking around, his eyes taking in every detail of the place.

"I can't believe it," Ms. Fields said as she reached towards a side table next to her chair for a pot of tea. Before she could pour herself a cup, she hesitated. "Ah, what am I thinking? Levi, you'll have a cup, won't you? It's green tea."

Levi nodded, and her smile grew as she poured him a cup. "Thanks."

"And (Y/n)? Would you like some?"

"Please," I said with my own nod.

And so she poured us each a cup, and then one for herself. Levi let go of my hand only to cross the space to grab both, then returned to my side to hand it to me. And Ms. Fields... her eyes had been intently trained on my own, and when I realized this, I flushed lightly. As always, it was as though she could see right through me.

Despite having not seen her in so long, I knew that still the love was there, and so was her unique playfulness that I knew was about to come into play. The woman had a knack for embarrassing me, after all. And that seemed to be a recurring theme today, people embarrassing me.

"So, you two," she said after taking a draught of her tea, "are you finally dating now?"

"No, no," I stammered out. "We're not."

"Aw," she pouted. "What a shame. What's the holdup?"

"No holdup," I said weakly. "We're just... not."

One look at her and I could tell she was absolutely unconvinced. As though to convince myself, I slid a bit further from him on the couch and cleared my throat. Her eyes slid over to Levi, who met her gaze evenly. Something seemed to be communicated between them, but I was still resolutely looking away and at anything else.

"Other than disappointing me by telling me that you're not dating yet," she said, "was there another reason for your visit?"

"Do we need a reason?" Levi asked. "You were the one who told each of us to visit, didn't you?"

She chuckled. "Still sharp as ever, Levi. No, you don't need a reason, but I won't lie to you and say that you coming here together didn't make me think that you were here to adopt."

"Your memory's going, Fields," Levi said. "We're not that old."

"Oh, I know," she huffed. "Can't believe you two are college students now. Where are you two? What are you studying?"

From there, a rather causal, rather comfortable conversation flowed between the three of us. Levi and I told her all about how our time at school was going, and not only that, but we were eager to talk about what we were studying, and we even went so far as to tell her about how we found each other in middle school not long after I was adopted.

She was absolutely delighted to hear about that, and she was so happy that we were able to find each other again. Not only that, but she remarked how that made her even more surprised about the fact that we weren't dating yet.

And there I was, embarrassed again.

It was at that point that Levi got up to use the bathroom, leaving us two women alone. "You're embarrassed, darling," she said, leaning back comfortably in her chair. "You're only embarrassed because you think you should be dating."

"I didn't say that, exactly," I muttered.

"I, for one, don't know what you two knuckleheads are waiting for. You were practically glued together at the hip as soon as Levi got here. And you two thought that was normal? Regular best friends aren't together that much."

"Right," I tried, "but-"

"But nothing," she interjected. "Did you honestly think I wouldn't notice you two sneaking into the other's room every night?"

Well, that was embarrassing.

"I... No, wait, but why didn't you ever say anything if you knew?"

"I knew you weren't doing anything more than sleeping," she chuckled. "Besides, me intervening would mean having two bratty kids and I'd risk waking everyone else up too, which would be a mess. I figured you two did enough around the home, I could at least allow you that much. Though I did want to tease you about it, though."

"Well, you're doing it now," I said dryly before a smile overtook my features. "At least you never found out about us sneaking out."

"You... what?!"

I chuckled, and we lapsed then into an easy, comfortable silence. "Listen, (Y/n)," she said, "what you two have is special. People spend years looking for what you two found within days of knowing each other. I wouldn't waste it if I was you."

"I... will think about what you said."

My words got a confused look right from Levi who chose that moment to return to the room. It was just as he sat down that a child ran in, throwing himself across Ms. Fields' lap. "Miss, I need your help!"

"Of course," she said. "It's time for your medicine, isn't it? Go ahead to the kitchen, I'll meet you there, honey." Then she turned to us. "If you two like, go ahead and take a look around. But don't even think of leaving before saying goodbye to me!"

And then she stood, following after the child towards the kitchen. Levi, having only just sat down, set a hand to his knee and stood once more. He offered me his hand and for a moment, only for a moment, the only thing I could focus on were Ms. Fields' words.

Dating Levi... Being with him, romantically...

I couldn't say I hadn't considered it before. But being confronted with it now, I wasn't quite sure what to do. I was now looking at him in a completely different light, and yet it was only a shade different from how I normally saw him.

I knew that I cared for him deeply. I knew that he was incredibly important to me.

What it meant was what I struggled to figure out. Was it simple attraction? The bond that came with family and close friends?

Or was it something more?

Was it love...?

My eyes drifted past his outstretched hand and into his eyes. He met my gaze evenly. If he only knew of the mental turmoil I was going through right now. Except, when his eyes met mine, he looked so sure of himself, as always. Those pretty blue eyes had always regarded me so kindly, so warmly, and so... yes, that's what it was. They regarded me lovingly.

That's exactly what it was.

It had to be.

With the way my heart fluttered once more, it only made sense.

And it all clicked.

My heart took over, and...

I reached for his hand.