Lilac Wine | Levi Ackerman

Chicken Run

The restaurant was pretty crowded for a Thursday, but you and Cheshire managed to scope out your friend group in their usual spot like every week. You greeted Historia Reiss at the door-- she was the hostess and her dad was the manager-- and had polite conversation while you walked to your table. Everyone was there already (as per usual) and greeted the two of you loudly with your arrival.

Eren sat in between Mikasa and Armin, his two best friends, on the opposite side of the booth as Jean and Marco, who were being disgustingly cute and sharing a milkshake. Sasha and Connie sat in the chairs on the outside, scarfing down a large order of shared fries. They were never ones to wait to order. You sat next to Armin and Cheshire next to Marco, quickly joining whatever conversation the group was having. This time, it was Eren and Jean complaining about Professor Shadis and his "stupid fucking grading system."

"I swear! My project was so good!" Eren exclaimed animatedly, raising his hands and voice. Mikasa lowered his wrists, throwing him a glare for being too loud in public. "Sorry. But seriously! How the hell does Shadis expect us to suddenly be good at design?" You rolled your eyes.

"Maybe because you've been doing it for two and a half years?" Eren sent you a hurt look.

"Rude."

The lot of you continued to converse, eventually ordering your usual chicken orders and beer for the night. It was pleasant; a fantastic stress relief. It also felt good knowing you had a certain someone's phone number lying around in your contacts. All was well, and at some point, you stood up to go use the bathroom. Excusing yourself, you made your way over to the back of the restaurant. As you were about to open the door, you noticed the restaurant's owner, Rod Reiss, tip-toeing his way out the back door. You thought it a little bit strange that he peered over his shoulder, checking around him. Why did he feel the need to quietly exit his own restaurant?

He was wearing a thick black coat, holding his arm next to his chest. It was weird, you had to admit. You had only seen the man a number of times, each one an incredibly brief and hasty interaction. The man had always struck you as odd, and maybe if you caught a glimpse at what he was doing outside you would understand why. The nosy side of you gave in to your urges, shuffling towards the crack in the door after he had made his way out.

Reiss stood far away from the door, near some bushes at the back of the staff lot. He was talking to another man, and you could tell by their body language and stiff stances that it was a tense conversation. You were incredibly curious as to what they were talking about but you couldn't hear from that far away.

Just as you were about to open the door a smidge, you saw something you definitely shouldn't have.

Reiss whipped out a cloth, white and small, and covered the mouth of the other man. He barely had any time to react before he folded. You looked away before you caught sight of anything else.

What. The. Fuck.

You turned sharply and sprinted into the bathroom, locking the door behind you. You slid down to the floor, taking in a shaky gasp of air.

What the hell did I just witness? Was that chloroform? Did he just... Chloroform someone? Or am I just seeing things?

You wiped your tingling hands down your face, staring wide-eyed at the wall in front of you. You had no idea how to process what you just witnessed.

You sat, waiting, unable to move your limbs enough for a little bit to even check if Reiss was around. You most definitely did not need him to know what you saw. Was what you saw even what you thought you saw? You didn't know what to do with this information.

After a good five minutes of breathless contemplation, you stood up warily, unlocking the door and peering outside. No sign of anyone but the cooks and waiters. Fine. You decided to go back to the group before they all became worried about you, and so you did. Sitting down and plastering on a fake, albeit wobbly, smile, you hoped to immerse yourself back in the conversation to forget about the past events. Unfortunately, your anxiety did not let up, and you found yourself worrying if he saw you and was going to come after you next. You'll be fine.