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Description

    Warm and romantic were definitely not the first words to come to mind when (y/n) looked around the tiny Italian diner she was spending her evening in.

    She also couldn’t say that she was particularly comfortable sitting at a table for two, squeezed into a dress that had been thrusted at her last minute, trying not to stare at her blind date sitting across the fake, oak tabletop.

    The streets outside were just as rugged and dingy as was inside, the dimmed lights bathing the room in an uncomfortable atmosphere. The air around her was heavy, mixing in with the smells of stale italian and cigarette smoke which clung to her skin. Static sounds of classical music blaring far too loud in the background was almost a welcome sound seeing as the place was dead, nearly void of customers save for a couple singles, herself, and her apparent date. (E/c) eyes searched for a distraction, taking in the little bistro. The walls were coated in dull, muddy browns and oranges; fake vintage pictures in garish frames decorated the walls. Bright, waxy vines draped across the edges of the walls, booths, and tables. An attempt at bringing life into the dull scenery was a bit lacking, being as the greenery was more of a hazard hanging from the ceiling than anything else. Made her wonder how people hadn’t gotten trapped in the stuff when they tried to leave.

    Stifling a sigh she brings her attention to the menu and flips through it, trying not to look too surprised by the amount of sheer crap they had pushed onto pages and pages. (E/c) orbs peek up over the menu and past the tasteless, floral bouquet hoping to get some sort of rescue from the terrible silence that lingered at the table.

    The man sitting across from her hadn’t seemed to have even touched the menu, gaze staring out the window with the most stoic expression she had ever seen. His slender but firm frame leaned against his chair, neck turned and porcelain skin exposed as he leans with a hand on his chin. Slender fingers tapped in rhythm on the edge of the table. Raven locks framed his face in an interesting undercut, steely eyes with long onyx lashes stared unmoving at the rain as it fell with a vengeance, as if nothing inside nor outside this italian diner was even worth his interest.

    He was damn attractive, gorgeous even, if she dare say so herself. Thankfully her ogling seemed to go unnoticed. He was lost in his own world-at least that was what he seemed to be pretending to be.

    She would have tried to strike up a conversation with her ‘date’, may have already had been deep into a topic, but there was a certain aura that radiated around him. A dark, dangerously hostile vibe that made her wonder just what the hell he was doing sitting here on a blind date anyways, seeing as he seemed like he would rather be anywhere else in this world than right here at this table. That alone irritated her.

    He was supposed to be the one that set up this date. Apparently.

    The young woman bites back a sigh, feeling extremely disappointed already, and loosens her perfect posture to something more casual. She swore time was moving in slow motion and she was stuck with this difficult situation. (Y/n) was fine in silence, welcomed it even, but she had never known what awkward silence was until this moment. She was damn uncomfortable in every sense of the word.

    Even with his dark dress shirt and black vest she felt a bit overdressed. (H/c) locks tangled in an elegant updo, deep cherry dress dipping and clinging to her frame, black heels that hugged her feet in a way that made her want to scream and kick them across the floor. Especially seeing as he was obviously disinterested much to her chagrin.

    If that was the case, she wasn't going to bend over backwards trying to flatter the fucker.

    (Y/n) had assumed she was going to have a good time tonight. Her friend had raved on and on about how the man in front of her was supposed to be perfect. That should have been enough of a flag in itself, but she had described him as attractive as hell, a self-admitted asshole, but was charming and funny through the chatting she had done online. Even a little silly at times...How could she not get her hopes up? (Y/n) had to agree with thing though- he was undeniably attractive.

    It’s what made this so much more disappointing.

    Looking at him now, she couldn’t imagine how her friend could have said such high praise. Staring into her water glass, (y/n) thinks back a couple hours prior and how the hell she had let herself get into this waste of a night.

    As soon as (y/n) had opened the door to her apartment earlier that evening she was bombarded with a cold drink, loud music, and a sentence she wasn’t expecting to hear.

    “You're going on a date tonight.”

    “Excuse me? What nonsense are you spouting this time? I just got off work and last time I checked, I hadn’t met anybody new today.” (e/c) orbs stare blankly at her childhood friend as a mixed drink was forced into her hands.

    “You. Date. Tonight.” At (y/n)’s confused frown the nosey friend ushers her in, “I set you up duh. Get it together. Did you forget that I am in charge of your love life since apparently you’re too busy. Love isn't worth your time. Blah blah whatever.”

    (Y/n) rolls her eyes at the taller girl in front of her, snorting at her poor impression of herself.

    “I have some clothes on your bed you can pick from. I will do your hair and tired mug so you don’t look as dead tired as you feel, like a real woman would. Now go strip and get ready! You need to be there by 5:30.”

    She continues to stare at the tall amber brunette just as confused as when she had walked in. What was she going on about? All the younger girl wanted was a night of rerun movies and blanket cocoons after a rough day at work, that was it.

    This wasn’t exactly uncommon, Jessica showing up at her place out of the blue with some crazy plan she had thought up. The younger sighs, proceeding to toss her coat and keys onto the counter, setting the mixed drink down and making her way to her room without a second thought. It really had been a while since she met someone new, months of the same routine was keeping her in a rut she didn't like to admit existed. Yet the smarter little part of her brain that demanded a break was cursing that she had decided to give that crazy woman a key to her apartment in the first place. The long night of relaxing she had originally planned for just flew out the window, much to her dismay.

    Jessica sat herself down on one of the worn down couches, propping her legs up and sipping on her cocktail as she watched the girl disappear down the hall. Fingers danced on the edge of her drink as she waited for (y/n) to get done, excited she could do some part. As much as her friend didn’t want her to, Jessica couldn't help but meddle in her love life. All she wanted was to give her friend a little something to spice up her life, make it fresh and exciting. Like herself. A swift kick in the ass for the little busy body.

    Jess was one of the only good friends that (y/n) had. When they had met years ago as children, the small (h/c) haired girl new in their neighborhood at their old woodsy town, they clicked easily. She would sneak into her home often, trying to pull the girl out of her shell, usually ending in the pair getting in trouble or losing things. Years of school life and being together only strengthened their friendship even though they were extremely different from one another. She pushed (Y/n) to be more adventurous and she kept Jessica grounded. It was a good balance that kept them together for years without any major hiccups in their friendship.

    She looked around the small living room and noticed that it was a lot less...clean than it had been the last time she had been over. Clothes and shoes were strung around the floor, assignment papers and aprons tossed on every surface in sight, pens and the occasional crayon sprinkle the hardwood floors. grocery bags and empty bottles tossed on the table already engulfed the girl's jacket she was more than likely to ‘lose' amongst the mess. She figured it was from how busy the younger had been with school and work. Full time college courses and part time waitress jobs in the local diners obviously didn’t leave her much time to clean.

    The brunette leans herself back against the edge of the couch and looks down the hall, keeping her drink steady. Her hair swishes down to the floor and honey eyes stare up toward the ceiling as she calls, “You finished in there yet?”

    “Yeah, just give me a sec!” a muffled voice calls, moments later a flustered (y/n) makes her way down the hallway, dressed in the clothes given to her. She was shifting with the fabric as she continues with, “Isn’t this a bit much for a first date?”

    “Maybe,” The brunette stares, honey eyes glinting as she looks her friend up and down, admiring her taste as the dress is finally adjusted to the girls liking. “I have damn good taste though. You need to let me dress you up more often.”

    The younger smiles as she watches her supposed elder roll off the couch, her hands grabbing at the smaller girl’s shoulders and spinning her around. “Off to the bathroom with you! You need hair and makeup. Hurry now, “ she says as she proceeds to maneuver down the hall into the bathroom, batting her hands at the sheen of steam lingering in the air.

    A part of her wanted to take care of it herself, not really needing her pushy friend to do anything for her. But she couldn’t help but let her since noticing her excitement. The time together has been a bit scarce recently so she was happy to spend some quality time with the brunette.

    “God...why don’t you use the fan?” at this she gets a shrug in reply.

    Flipping the fan on Jessica pulls out the flat iron along with her cover up and a few other necessities, setting up a little station on the countertop in front of the mirror. Sitting (y/n) down on the edge of the counter she turns with a smile, a glint in her eye when she spots the smaller girl swing her legs impatiently.

    (E/c) orbs catch her with a blank look, daring her to say something about her size with a barely noticeable frown. (Y/n) was a bit shorter than average, a fact which ended up with her getting shit from her supposed friend often. Thankfully today was not the day she was going to get an earful of bad short jokes.

    Jessica puts her hands up, iron and brush in each palm at the ready, smoothing down the many fly aways that sprung around her face. As impatient as she seemed the brunette was gentle in her work, letting (y/n) relax a bit as fingers twisted and twirled her (h/c) locks into place.

    “This guy is hot, so all this is necessary.” Jessica finally speaks, switching off the heat and turning to her makeup bag. “I setup a dating profile for you a while ago...I know you said you didn't want to waste your time searching for someone so I thought, ‘hey on my spare time I could do some searching.’ ”

    “Honestly Jess, you made a profile on a dating website?” (y/n) groans, hands itching to pinch a oncoming headache away. “That is so unsafe, using your phone to message random men. You could be setting me up for an attack or something.”

    “Actually, he offered the date and set it up.”

    (Y/n) opens her mouth, about to tell her off but gets cut short with a waving hand.

    “I've been chatting with this guy for weeks! And he wasn't even remotely creepy or rude. If anything he was a gentleman, didn't even ask for pics if you know what I mean~”

    Jess winces at the slap on her shoulder, smiling wide at the younger girls disgusted expression, but there was a curious glint in her eyes she couldn’t hide.

    “He is a couple years older than you, a loan officer at a local realtor agency so he is well off, super funny, a little cocky at first, oh and he’s short! So you won't have to worry about standing on a stool to kiss him.”

“Oh shut up. I knew you couldn’t resist saying something about my height.” she huffs.

    “That's all you take from this? I did a great job finding Mr. Right, Levi Ackerman. I promise after this date you will see how perfect for you he is!”

    “Yeah. Good catch Jess…” the words dripping with sarcasm slip from her lips, so soft that for a moment (y/n) thinks that maybe she hadn’t said them at all. Hopes she hadn’t.

But no, of course she did.

    Mortified, a part of her shrinks in embarrassment when silver eyes snap to her, a twitch of a scowl tugging on the man's lips. In that stare was an emotion she was quickly learning she didn't like being on the receiving end of.

    She opens her mouth to speak, the beginning of an apology on her tongue but reels it in when the waitress saunters up to their table. Messy blond hair and piercing hazel eyes lazily take in the pair in with a barely shielded unimpressed look. Her hips jut to the side, hands resting on her waist and nails far too long tapping on the pens in her apron. With thin lips she blows a bubble, pink chewing gum popping against her teeth as she speaks.

    “Welcome to Vinnie’s, my name is Jodi and i’ll be your waitress this evening.” she drones, a happy tone that doesn't reach her eyes. “We have a wonderful selection of house wines and imports that you won't find anywhere else. Would you like a sample of our house cabernet?”

    “Just water.” levi starts, his jaw flexing with each loud snap. When his eyes drop to his glass however he seems to pause. His eyes flash in slight disgust as he pushes the glass away snapping out a quick, “on second thought; double scotch, top shelf, the least shitty brand you have.”

    His tone was a bit harsh, surprising his ‘date’ a bit. A little part of her temper rising at his abrupt rudeness. As a part time waitress herself she was put off, imagining dealing with him as a customer and not at all liking the idea.

    The waitress seems unaffected but turns to (y/n), an impatient gleam in her eyes though it doesn’t show on her face.

    “And you?”

    “N-no thank you…” she softly replies.

    “What do you want then?” she snaps back, eager to get away from the table.

    “Vodka cranberry please.” the younger woman finally returns with a smile, staring the waitress right in her eyes. This was something (y/n) could do well. Pretend a bad situation was a good one, and in this case it was the rude waitress and date. She holds that apologetic smile still as the older woman retreats into the bar.

    It was like flipping on a switch. The skill that most women seemed to have been born with, being fake. Extremely useful skill that was going to get her through this night-with the help of a little friend named vodka.

    She then turns that kilowatt smile onto levi.

    “This is nice. Thank you for meeting me here.” she starts, meeting those piercing silver orbs with her own intense (e/c) ones. Crossing her legs and leaning slightly forward with interest glinting in her eyes. “How was work for you today?”

    He didn’t want to tell her about his day. He wanted to just forget about it. It was shit. It was a day that started with bad instant coffee, terrible traffic, screaming children in the lobby…

    Levi takes a moment to recap. Erwin, his boss had dumped three extra customers on him, two home loans and a new contractor that the large blonde didn’t have the time to finish. Telling him it was a good test of his patience. It amazed the office that the blue eyed man hadn’t left levis desk without a foot to the face. That adding to his already full schedule was a killer on his days. His team was running late on deadlines, Hanji distracting the hell out of her, and his new intern Eren losing files on recent catches-to have everything run so shittily it did more than piss him off.

    He was at his breaking point by the end of the day so when he showed up here, at this ridiculous diner, he just wanted to turn his day around.

    “It was fine.” he says cooly. He seems to hesitate a bit, as if trying to remember something. “How was your day at...classes right?”

    “Yep, you remembered how sweet.” She pauses when the waitress returns with their drinks, both of them going straight for the glasses. They both barely touched the table before being swept up and onto their lips. (Y/n) couldn't delve into too many details with her not knowing how much Jess had told this man about herself. So she just redirects and dives into small talk hoping it would be enough to relax her tense date, though judging by the tight grip on his glass the idle chatter seemed to be doing the opposite of that. She was about to finish complimenting him on his choice of work but it cut short again-seeming to be a common trend tonight much to her irritation.

    “Knock that shit off.” silent the whole time Levi finally snaps, his tone as sharp as his gaze.

    “What are you…?” she trails on softly, hiding her flare of rage. How dare this man say that to her! When she was trying to salvage this night, or at least pretend that she wasn’t miserable.He himself hasn't done anything at all to rectify the negative feeling. A look of shock settles on her features, willing the tremors of anger in her shoulders to feign the gentle shivers of surprise. It only irks him further as he takes her in.

    “That look.” he continues after a drink of scotch, the caramel liquor spinning in his glass. A few loose strands of hair fall into his face as he leans forward, as if to whisper something secret. “That shit may work on any fuck walking down the street, but it’s waste of time on me.”

    (Y/n) eyes widen as he finishes with a, “A plastic smile isn’t going to get you anywhere.”

    “That nasty scowl isn’t exactly helping you, charming.” She snaps back with a sarcastic drawl, venom dripping from her words like acid hoping to melt some holes in his steely self. The (h/c) haired woman refuses to break her smile, refusing to cave under his words. She will do as she likes because she wasn’t here to please him! If Mr. Ackerman has a problem with her way of coping then he can let his ass hit the door on the way out. (Y/n) refuses to break her facade on his words alone. This to her was better than acting like a prick.

    She hadn’t expected any reaction from him, maybe a deeper scowl. Yet when her gaze stays unwavering under his, his eyes seem to flash with an unreadable expression. A split second was all it took for the air to relax just a fraction of an amount, seeming to lessen its grip on the pair.

    They both sit in silence as they finish their drinks. There was an unspoken agreement in the air- that this ‘date’ was over and nothing was going to salvage it.

    (Y/n) couldn't even try to pretend she was upset with the fact.

    If anything upset that this attractive of a man was such an insufferable dick.

When the waitress comes back to their table they both refuse food; Levi in that neutral cool tone she had deemed was his usual demeanor, and herself with a smile and soft voice. She had assumed at that point when they both saw the bottom of their glasses that that was it for the night. There was no more excitement to be had, and she was fine with that.

That was until someone sauntered up to their table.

(Y/n) looks over the rim of her glass, surprised to find the man across from her had stiffened up a considerable amount. His jaw taught and steely eyes darkened as he turns his head to face the ‘intruder’, she could nearly feel the waves of irritation rolling off of him. Much, much greater that before.

“What are you doing here Petra.”

(E/c) orbs skate over to the woman in question, though it seemed to her that Levi didn't really want an answer.

She was a little older than herself from what she could tell; smooth skin, golden eyes, soft red hair that framed her face gently, she was slim with curves that were accentuated well in her cream dress. Petra was pretty, and with the look she was pegging the man with it was obvious there was some history there.

“Levi, we didn’t get to finish our talk...Erwin told me you would be here.”

Levi immediately pinches the bridge of his nose, trying to cool a headache that (y/n) knows is already there. With a deep sigh he responds with a deep “We don’t have anything to talk about.”

(Y/n) felt lost, trying to find a way to give them privacy or an escape from the sheer awkwardness of this situation. She felt like an outsider looking into a window and witnessing something she shouldn’t have. She didn’t know where to look or how to act, should she step in and tell her to back off? Not that she felt any attachment to this man but this was just plain rude right? She isn’t a hero, but she can at least attempt a rescue here.

“Excuse me. Petra was it?” she starts off softly, an apologetic edge slicing into their bubble, “I’m going to need you-”

“Excuse you right.” she speaks quickly, eyes hardening as she takes the younger woman in. “Can’t you see we are in the middle of something more important here? This poor excuse for a fake date can wait.”

That was it, the last time tonight (y/n) was going to get cut off.

A spark of rage rolled in her chest and teeth clench painfully as she holds back her anger. She was at her breaking point and god dammit she refuses to break in this place because of these people. Her (e/c) eyes drop to the table, a ghost of a laugh bubbled to the surface as she uncrosses her legs.

“I don’t know who you are but sorry to break it to you like this. Little old Levi here was not here with you. There is a reason for that, you should figure that out yourself. Your embarrassing to watch.” She doesn’t even glance up at her, she knew she had crossed a line. Hit a nerve not meant to be touched, yet she couldn’t help but continue to ring it. “He was my date tonight, not yours.”

“He’s my-!” she begins, voice raw.

“Oh honey, I don’t care what he is to you.” she quickly stops the stranger, her tone sickly sweet. She ignores the redhead as she finishes her drink, leaving some bills on the table. Standing with the first genuine twitch of her lips all night she finishes with a wave and a bold, “I don’t want him.”

That was the most confident feeling of the night. The ringing sound of her heels clicking with absolute surety as she walked away from the fire she stoked, burn free.

As she walks through the door and steps into the chilly night air (y/n) couldn’t help a relieved sigh slipping past her lips, all the stress of this evening rushing out of her and falling with the raindrops. She turns back curiously, looking through the window and seeing nothing where her date once sat. A little part of her laughs as she hails a cab, wondering just what kind of terrible karma that man seemed to have.

Description

    Warm and romantic were definitely not the first words to come to mind when (y/n) looked around the tiny Italian diner she was spending her evening in.

    She also couldn’t say that she was particularly comfortable sitting at a table for two, squeezed into a dress that had been thrusted at her last minute, trying not to stare at her blind date sitting across the fake, oak tabletop.

    The streets outside were just as rugged and dingy as was inside, the dimmed lights bathing the room in an uncomfortable atmosphere. The air around her was heavy, mixing in with the smells of stale italian and cigarette smoke which clung to her skin. Static sounds of classical music blaring far too loud in the background was almost a welcome sound seeing as the place was dead, nearly void of customers save for a couple singles, herself, and her apparent date. (E/c) eyes searched for a distraction, taking in the little bistro. The walls were coated in dull, muddy browns and oranges; fake vintage pictures in garish frames decorated the walls. Bright, waxy vines draped across the edges of the walls, booths, and tables. An attempt at bringing life into the dull scenery was a bit lacking, being as the greenery was more of a hazard hanging from the ceiling than anything else. Made her wonder how people hadn’t gotten trapped in the stuff when they tried to leave.

    Stifling a sigh she brings her attention to the menu and flips through it, trying not to look too surprised by the amount of sheer crap they had pushed onto pages and pages. (E/c) orbs peek up over the menu and past the tasteless, floral bouquet hoping to get some sort of rescue from the terrible silence that lingered at the table.

    The man sitting across from her hadn’t seemed to have even touched the menu, gaze staring out the window with the most stoic expression she had ever seen. His slender but firm frame leaned against his chair, neck turned and porcelain skin exposed as he leans with a hand on his chin. Slender fingers tapped in rhythm on the edge of the table. Raven locks framed his face in an interesting undercut, steely eyes with long onyx lashes stared unmoving at the rain as it fell with a vengeance, as if nothing inside nor outside this italian diner was even worth his interest.

    He was damn attractive, gorgeous even, if she dare say so herself. Thankfully her ogling seemed to go unnoticed. He was lost in his own world-at least that was what he seemed to be pretending to be.

    She would have tried to strike up a conversation with her ‘date’, may have already had been deep into a topic, but there was a certain aura that radiated around him. A dark, dangerously hostile vibe that made her wonder just what the hell he was doing sitting here on a blind date anyways, seeing as he seemed like he would rather be anywhere else in this world than right here at this table. That alone irritated her.

    He was supposed to be the one that set up this date. Apparently.

    The young woman bites back a sigh, feeling extremely disappointed already, and loosens her perfect posture to something more casual. She swore time was moving in slow motion and she was stuck with this difficult situation. (Y/n) was fine in silence, welcomed it even, but she had never known what awkward silence was until this moment. She was damn uncomfortable in every sense of the word.

    Even with his dark dress shirt and black vest she felt a bit overdressed. (H/c) locks tangled in an elegant updo, deep cherry dress dipping and clinging to her frame, black heels that hugged her feet in a way that made her want to scream and kick them across the floor. Especially seeing as he was obviously disinterested much to her chagrin.

    If that was the case, she wasn't going to bend over backwards trying to flatter the fucker.

    (Y/n) had assumed she was going to have a good time tonight. Her friend had raved on and on about how the man in front of her was supposed to be perfect. That should have been enough of a flag in itself, but she had described him as attractive as hell, a self-admitted asshole, but was charming and funny through the chatting she had done online. Even a little silly at times...How could she not get her hopes up? (Y/n) had to agree with thing though- he was undeniably attractive.

    It’s what made this so much more disappointing.

    Looking at him now, she couldn’t imagine how her friend could have said such high praise. Staring into her water glass, (y/n) thinks back a couple hours prior and how the hell she had let herself get into this waste of a night.

    As soon as (y/n) had opened the door to her apartment earlier that evening she was bombarded with a cold drink, loud music, and a sentence she wasn’t expecting to hear.

    “You're going on a date tonight.”

    “Excuse me? What nonsense are you spouting this time? I just got off work and last time I checked, I hadn’t met anybody new today.” (e/c) orbs stare blankly at her childhood friend as a mixed drink was forced into her hands.

    “You. Date. Tonight.” At (y/n)’s confused frown the nosey friend ushers her in, “I set you up duh. Get it together. Did you forget that I am in charge of your love life since apparently you’re too busy. Love isn't worth your time. Blah blah whatever.”

    (Y/n) rolls her eyes at the taller girl in front of her, snorting at her poor impression of herself.

    “I have some clothes on your bed you can pick from. I will do your hair and tired mug so you don’t look as dead tired as you feel, like a real woman would. Now go strip and get ready! You need to be there by 5:30.”

    She continues to stare at the tall amber brunette just as confused as when she had walked in. What was she going on about? All the younger girl wanted was a night of rerun movies and blanket cocoons after a rough day at work, that was it.

    This wasn’t exactly uncommon, Jessica showing up at her place out of the blue with some crazy plan she had thought up. The younger sighs, proceeding to toss her coat and keys onto the counter, setting the mixed drink down and making her way to her room without a second thought. It really had been a while since she met someone new, months of the same routine was keeping her in a rut she didn't like to admit existed. Yet the smarter little part of her brain that demanded a break was cursing that she had decided to give that crazy woman a key to her apartment in the first place. The long night of relaxing she had originally planned for just flew out the window, much to her dismay.

    Jessica sat herself down on one of the worn down couches, propping her legs up and sipping on her cocktail as she watched the girl disappear down the hall. Fingers danced on the edge of her drink as she waited for (y/n) to get done, excited she could do some part. As much as her friend didn’t want her to, Jessica couldn't help but meddle in her love life. All she wanted was to give her friend a little something to spice up her life, make it fresh and exciting. Like herself. A swift kick in the ass for the little busy body.

    Jess was one of the only good friends that (y/n) had. When they had met years ago as children, the small (h/c) haired girl new in their neighborhood at their old woodsy town, they clicked easily. She would sneak into her home often, trying to pull the girl out of her shell, usually ending in the pair getting in trouble or losing things. Years of school life and being together only strengthened their friendship even though they were extremely different from one another. She pushed (Y/n) to be more adventurous and she kept Jessica grounded. It was a good balance that kept them together for years without any major hiccups in their friendship.

    She looked around the small living room and noticed that it was a lot less...clean than it had been the last time she had been over. Clothes and shoes were strung around the floor, assignment papers and aprons tossed on every surface in sight, pens and the occasional crayon sprinkle the hardwood floors. grocery bags and empty bottles tossed on the table already engulfed the girl's jacket she was more than likely to ‘lose' amongst the mess. She figured it was from how busy the younger had been with school and work. Full time college courses and part time waitress jobs in the local diners obviously didn’t leave her much time to clean.

    The brunette leans herself back against the edge of the couch and looks down the hall, keeping her drink steady. Her hair swishes down to the floor and honey eyes stare up toward the ceiling as she calls, “You finished in there yet?”

    “Yeah, just give me a sec!” a muffled voice calls, moments later a flustered (y/n) makes her way down the hallway, dressed in the clothes given to her. She was shifting with the fabric as she continues with, “Isn’t this a bit much for a first date?”

    “Maybe,” The brunette stares, honey eyes glinting as she looks her friend up and down, admiring her taste as the dress is finally adjusted to the girls liking. “I have damn good taste though. You need to let me dress you up more often.”

    The younger smiles as she watches her supposed elder roll off the couch, her hands grabbing at the smaller girl’s shoulders and spinning her around. “Off to the bathroom with you! You need hair and makeup. Hurry now, “ she says as she proceeds to maneuver down the hall into the bathroom, batting her hands at the sheen of steam lingering in the air.

    A part of her wanted to take care of it herself, not really needing her pushy friend to do anything for her. But she couldn’t help but let her since noticing her excitement. The time together has been a bit scarce recently so she was happy to spend some quality time with the brunette.

    “God...why don’t you use the fan?” at this she gets a shrug in reply.

    Flipping the fan on Jessica pulls out the flat iron along with her cover up and a few other necessities, setting up a little station on the countertop in front of the mirror. Sitting (y/n) down on the edge of the counter she turns with a smile, a glint in her eye when she spots the smaller girl swing her legs impatiently.

    (E/c) orbs catch her with a blank look, daring her to say something about her size with a barely noticeable frown. (Y/n) was a bit shorter than average, a fact which ended up with her getting shit from her supposed friend often. Thankfully today was not the day she was going to get an earful of bad short jokes.

    Jessica puts her hands up, iron and brush in each palm at the ready, smoothing down the many fly aways that sprung around her face. As impatient as she seemed the brunette was gentle in her work, letting (y/n) relax a bit as fingers twisted and twirled her (h/c) locks into place.

    “This guy is hot, so all this is necessary.” Jessica finally speaks, switching off the heat and turning to her makeup bag. “I setup a dating profile for you a while ago...I know you said you didn't want to waste your time searching for someone so I thought, ‘hey on my spare time I could do some searching.’ ”

    “Honestly Jess, you made a profile on a dating website?” (y/n) groans, hands itching to pinch a oncoming headache away. “That is so unsafe, using your phone to message random men. You could be setting me up for an attack or something.”

    “Actually, he offered the date and set it up.”

    (Y/n) opens her mouth, about to tell her off but gets cut short with a waving hand.

    “I've been chatting with this guy for weeks! And he wasn't even remotely creepy or rude. If anything he was a gentleman, didn't even ask for pics if you know what I mean~”

    Jess winces at the slap on her shoulder, smiling wide at the younger girls disgusted expression, but there was a curious glint in her eyes she couldn’t hide.

    “He is a couple years older than you, a loan officer at a local realtor agency so he is well off, super funny, a little cocky at first, oh and he’s short! So you won't have to worry about standing on a stool to kiss him.”

“Oh shut up. I knew you couldn’t resist saying something about my height.” she huffs.

    “That's all you take from this? I did a great job finding Mr. Right, Levi Ackerman. I promise after this date you will see how perfect for you he is!”

    “Yeah. Good catch Jess…” the words dripping with sarcasm slip from her lips, so soft that for a moment (y/n) thinks that maybe she hadn’t said them at all. Hopes she hadn’t.

But no, of course she did.

    Mortified, a part of her shrinks in embarrassment when silver eyes snap to her, a twitch of a scowl tugging on the man's lips. In that stare was an emotion she was quickly learning she didn't like being on the receiving end of.

    She opens her mouth to speak, the beginning of an apology on her tongue but reels it in when the waitress saunters up to their table. Messy blond hair and piercing hazel eyes lazily take in the pair in with a barely shielded unimpressed look. Her hips jut to the side, hands resting on her waist and nails far too long tapping on the pens in her apron. With thin lips she blows a bubble, pink chewing gum popping against her teeth as she speaks.

    “Welcome to Vinnie’s, my name is Jodi and i’ll be your waitress this evening.” she drones, a happy tone that doesn't reach her eyes. “We have a wonderful selection of house wines and imports that you won't find anywhere else. Would you like a sample of our house cabernet?”

    “Just water.” levi starts, his jaw flexing with each loud snap. When his eyes drop to his glass however he seems to pause. His eyes flash in slight disgust as he pushes the glass away snapping out a quick, “on second thought; double scotch, top shelf, the least shitty brand you have.”

    His tone was a bit harsh, surprising his ‘date’ a bit. A little part of her temper rising at his abrupt rudeness. As a part time waitress herself she was put off, imagining dealing with him as a customer and not at all liking the idea.

    The waitress seems unaffected but turns to (y/n), an impatient gleam in her eyes though it doesn’t show on her face.

    “And you?”

    “N-no thank you…” she softly replies.

    “What do you want then?” she snaps back, eager to get away from the table.

    “Vodka cranberry please.” the younger woman finally returns with a smile, staring the waitress right in her eyes. This was something (y/n) could do well. Pretend a bad situation was a good one, and in this case it was the rude waitress and date. She holds that apologetic smile still as the older woman retreats into the bar.

    It was like flipping on a switch. The skill that most women seemed to have been born with, being fake. Extremely useful skill that was going to get her through this night-with the help of a little friend named vodka.

    She then turns that kilowatt smile onto levi.

    “This is nice. Thank you for meeting me here.” she starts, meeting those piercing silver orbs with her own intense (e/c) ones. Crossing her legs and leaning slightly forward with interest glinting in her eyes. “How was work for you today?”

    He didn’t want to tell her about his day. He wanted to just forget about it. It was shit. It was a day that started with bad instant coffee, terrible traffic, screaming children in the lobby…

    Levi takes a moment to recap. Erwin, his boss had dumped three extra customers on him, two home loans and a new contractor that the large blonde didn’t have the time to finish. Telling him it was a good test of his patience. It amazed the office that the blue eyed man hadn’t left levis desk without a foot to the face. That adding to his already full schedule was a killer on his days. His team was running late on deadlines, Hanji distracting the hell out of her, and his new intern Eren losing files on recent catches-to have everything run so shittily it did more than piss him off.

    He was at his breaking point by the end of the day so when he showed up here, at this ridiculous diner, he just wanted to turn his day around.

    “It was fine.” he says cooly. He seems to hesitate a bit, as if trying to remember something. “How was your day at...classes right?”

    “Yep, you remembered how sweet.” She pauses when the waitress returns with their drinks, both of them going straight for the glasses. They both barely touched the table before being swept up and onto their lips. (Y/n) couldn't delve into too many details with her not knowing how much Jess had told this man about herself. So she just redirects and dives into small talk hoping it would be enough to relax her tense date, though judging by the tight grip on his glass the idle chatter seemed to be doing the opposite of that. She was about to finish complimenting him on his choice of work but it cut short again-seeming to be a common trend tonight much to her irritation.

    “Knock that shit off.” silent the whole time Levi finally snaps, his tone as sharp as his gaze.

    “What are you…?” she trails on softly, hiding her flare of rage. How dare this man say that to her! When she was trying to salvage this night, or at least pretend that she wasn’t miserable.He himself hasn't done anything at all to rectify the negative feeling. A look of shock settles on her features, willing the tremors of anger in her shoulders to feign the gentle shivers of surprise. It only irks him further as he takes her in.

    “That look.” he continues after a drink of scotch, the caramel liquor spinning in his glass. A few loose strands of hair fall into his face as he leans forward, as if to whisper something secret. “That shit may work on any fuck walking down the street, but it’s waste of time on me.”

    (Y/n) eyes widen as he finishes with a, “A plastic smile isn’t going to get you anywhere.”

    “That nasty scowl isn’t exactly helping you, charming.” She snaps back with a sarcastic drawl, venom dripping from her words like acid hoping to melt some holes in his steely self. The (h/c) haired woman refuses to break her smile, refusing to cave under his words. She will do as she likes because she wasn’t here to please him! If Mr. Ackerman has a problem with her way of coping then he can let his ass hit the door on the way out. (Y/n) refuses to break her facade on his words alone. This to her was better than acting like a prick.

    She hadn’t expected any reaction from him, maybe a deeper scowl. Yet when her gaze stays unwavering under his, his eyes seem to flash with an unreadable expression. A split second was all it took for the air to relax just a fraction of an amount, seeming to lessen its grip on the pair.

    They both sit in silence as they finish their drinks. There was an unspoken agreement in the air- that this ‘date’ was over and nothing was going to salvage it.

    (Y/n) couldn't even try to pretend she was upset with the fact.

    If anything upset that this attractive of a man was such an insufferable dick.

When the waitress comes back to their table they both refuse food; Levi in that neutral cool tone she had deemed was his usual demeanor, and herself with a smile and soft voice. She had assumed at that point when they both saw the bottom of their glasses that that was it for the night. There was no more excitement to be had, and she was fine with that.

That was until someone sauntered up to their table.

(Y/n) looks over the rim of her glass, surprised to find the man across from her had stiffened up a considerable amount. His jaw taught and steely eyes darkened as he turns his head to face the ‘intruder’, she could nearly feel the waves of irritation rolling off of him. Much, much greater that before.

“What are you doing here Petra.”

(E/c) orbs skate over to the woman in question, though it seemed to her that Levi didn't really want an answer.

She was a little older than herself from what she could tell; smooth skin, golden eyes, soft red hair that framed her face gently, she was slim with curves that were accentuated well in her cream dress. Petra was pretty, and with the look she was pegging the man with it was obvious there was some history there.

“Levi, we didn’t get to finish our talk...Erwin told me you would be here.”

Levi immediately pinches the bridge of his nose, trying to cool a headache that (y/n) knows is already there. With a deep sigh he responds with a deep “We don’t have anything to talk about.”

(Y/n) felt lost, trying to find a way to give them privacy or an escape from the sheer awkwardness of this situation. She felt like an outsider looking into a window and witnessing something she shouldn’t have. She didn’t know where to look or how to act, should she step in and tell her to back off? Not that she felt any attachment to this man but this was just plain rude right? She isn’t a hero, but she can at least attempt a rescue here.

“Excuse me. Petra was it?” she starts off softly, an apologetic edge slicing into their bubble, “I’m going to need you-”

“Excuse you right.” she speaks quickly, eyes hardening as she takes the younger woman in. “Can’t you see we are in the middle of something more important here? This poor excuse for a fake date can wait.”

That was it, the last time tonight (y/n) was going to get cut off.

A spark of rage rolled in her chest and teeth clench painfully as she holds back her anger. She was at her breaking point and god dammit she refuses to break in this place because of these people. Her (e/c) eyes drop to the table, a ghost of a laugh bubbled to the surface as she uncrosses her legs.

“I don’t know who you are but sorry to break it to you like this. Little old Levi here was not here with you. There is a reason for that, you should figure that out yourself. Your embarrassing to watch.” She doesn’t even glance up at her, she knew she had crossed a line. Hit a nerve not meant to be touched, yet she couldn’t help but continue to ring it. “He was my date tonight, not yours.”

“He’s my-!” she begins, voice raw.

“Oh honey, I don’t care what he is to you.” she quickly stops the stranger, her tone sickly sweet. She ignores the redhead as she finishes her drink, leaving some bills on the table. Standing with the first genuine twitch of her lips all night she finishes with a wave and a bold, “I don’t want him.”

That was the most confident feeling of the night. The ringing sound of her heels clicking with absolute surety as she walked away from the fire she stoked, burn free.

As she walks through the door and steps into the chilly night air (y/n) couldn’t help a relieved sigh slipping past her lips, all the stress of this evening rushing out of her and falling with the raindrops. She turns back curiously, looking through the window and seeing nothing where her date once sat. A little part of her laughs as she hails a cab, wondering just what kind of terrible karma that man seemed to have.