"I knew it!" Eren threw open the office doors, a triumphant glint in his eyes.

huh ??

"Excuse me?" I asked, setting down the stack of papers I had been working on.

sorry farlan- this must be awkward for you

"You're-" he glanced around the room.

"I'm?"

"When did that desk get here?" He seemed genuinely confused.

"Levi bought it for me."

"To do what?"

"Work?"

i like to think that it was mostly so we would spend more time together

"Why are you doing work?"

"Because I live here?"

I'M CONFUSED- WHERE IS THIS GOING ????

"If he really loved you you wouldn't be working."

I MEAN YOU HAVE A POINT BUT

"So you're suggesting that if your sister was here my husband wouldn't put her to work?"

"Exactly."

"So if the first princess was the Duchess she would avoid her responsibilities as head of the house? Good to know," I muttered the last part under my breath, pretending to jot something down.

the sad thing is that i think we could move on from this eren .

i am not a fan of rehashing the same argument over and over again

i'm very much ok with you acknowledging that i'm worth respect and then the two of us never talking again

if you want to become besties or something uhhh

maybe pay me lol

"That's not what I was saying and you know that," Eren grumbled loudly, taking a seat in front of me.

OK YOU'RE HERE TO STAY I GUESS

"Maybe I'll stop when you stop misinterpreting me <3" I glanced around noticing that neither of his attendants were here.

not that either of them have really said anything but they really follow him around like he's the main character or something-

"Are you going to just sit there?" I asked after a moment of silence.

ITS SO AWKWARD

"You could be robbing Levi."

WHY R U SUCH A FANBOY

"Fine then, watch until you're satisfied," I glanced over at Farlan- gesturing for him to leave if he wanted to.

SERIOUS QUESTION WHY WOULD I STEAL FROM LEVI

WOULDN'T THT ?

BE STEALING FROM MYSELF ?

"Where are your attendants?" I asked, trying to break the heavy silence that laid between us.

in this situation there's no good answer

i don't want to talk to him but

I HATE THE QUIET

"Inspecting the rest of the estate."

WHAT ???

"Excuse me?" I looked up, frowning.

THERE'S NO WAY YOU'RE ALLOWED TO DO THAT

"You may have Levi's trust but you don't have mine."

"Do you even realize what you're saying?" I clenched my hand into a fist, trying to maintain my cool.

Eren maintained a childish silence.

"I've never done anything to you- I don't even think you know why you don't like me," I stood up, my chair scraping across the floor. "Get up right now, we're going to find your attendants."

"You're awfully brave to be insulting the first prince," Eren continued to glare at me.

"You're awfully brave to be insulting the Duke," I snapped back.

you have to realize that you're insulting levi

"I'm not-" he protested.

what about this don't you get?

"When are you going to realize that the only one suspicious of me are you and your sister?"

EVERYONE ELSE ACTS LIKE A NORMAL PERSON AROUND ME

I TRY TO BE LIKEABLE

I DON'T ASK FOR ANYTHING

"You don't have any respect for royalty," he deflected.

its rlly just you .

"I don't have any problems with royalty- I am royalty-" I frowned. "I don't even want to be doing this with you."

but what am i supposed to do?

sit there and take it

im not that kind of person

"I'll call them off," he stood up, heading to the door. "Don't talk to me."

fine by me

"I don't hate you," I called after him, he didn't respond shutting the door behind him.

that's all the damage control i think im willing to do

it's not like he can really say anything

the fact remains that he started investigating the ducal house

"Are you ok?" Farlan reentered the room.

"I'm fine," I muttered, maybe a bit too harshly, he shot me a look of concern. "Were you out there the whole time?"

"Only for the end," he glanced over at the doors, "I'm sure you handled it well."

im not too sure about that-

"I think he'll leave as soon as Levi comes back- I don't think the two of us can agree on anything."

even if i manage to convince him that im worth respect is it even a victory?

isn't the fact that he doesn't see that to start a failure?

i don't want to waste any more of my time on this

"I'm sure he'll be back soon," Farlan returned to his work.

i hope so

maybe it's because of eren-

or maybe it's because it's nearly been two months

it's neither

somewhere along the way i fell in love with him

and somewhere along the way it became something i couldn't ignore

my heart beats in a strange way when i think about how much i miss him

i don't think i've ever done that before

i don't think i've ever truly missed someone before

i know i've never been excited for someone to come home

is that stupid?

i really love him

_______________________

fun little thing i wrote n want 2 add in somewhere !

The Duchy had always had cold winters, what with being this far up north, the bite of the wind tended to be annoying at most for Levi Ackerman.

He was used to it- as most people would be after growing up here, still- this time it felt different.

Maybe it was in the way the wind nipped at the exposed skin on the back of his neck or the way that the snow seemed to find any way to get into his boots. Or maybe- just maybe this feeling didn't have anything to do with the cold at all.

At first, he brushed off his discomfort as a result of the lack of sleep- there must have been a draft that prevented him from getting comfortable. But the second night of restlessness proved him wrong, he had made sure to get extra layers. So no- that couldn't have been the reason.

He blamed the lack of sleep on stress.

The third night he blamed it on insomnia and stopped trying- he would sleep eventually. There was no point in wasting time he could be spending working trying (and failing) to sleep.

The fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth nights were much of the same. He would sleep sporadically, hunched over desks- his back aching slightly in the morning.

On the 17th night, it arrived- a letter addressed to him- a white flower pressed into the navy wax used for the seal. The familiar smell of the Ackerman Duchy pressed into its pages- but more importantly the shitty handwriting of someone he knew well.

The ever-present ache in his chest that he had attributed to the biting cold melting away like snow in spring. Quickly disappearing without a trace.

He knew what affliction had been plaguing him- hell he probably had known to begin with. It's funny how sometimes it takes the words of a friend to get you to open your eyes to yourself. The loneliness, whose icy grip had had a firm hold on his heart was easing up.

The letter was proof that there was someone somewhere who was thinking of him. The deal was sweetened by the amount of time he had spent thinking of them. The curve of their lips into a soft smile, the feeling of soft hands on his own, the sound of laughter- loud and full of life.

He needed to get back home.

ANYWAY ! that last bit is very unedited and perhaps a little bit ooc but i had fun with it and you deserve a little bit of levi <3

- ARGHmi