The Book Store (Ereri/Riren) |COMPLETED|

Twelve - Mistletoe

Levi's P.O.V.

"Levi! Wake up! It's Christmas!"

I groaned and rubbed my eyes, shooing away the hands that had roughly shaken me awake. I rolled back over, bringing the covers up over my head in a fetal attempt to block out the three screaming teens.

"Levi!" Eren shouted again, shaking me by my shoulder. "Wake up!"

"Fuck off."

"Get up, old man!"

"He's only five years older, Armin!" Eren defended.

"Shut the fuck up." I growled, burying my face deeper in my pillow.

"We'll open the presents without you." Mikasa warned, like her threat would actually affect me.

"Go for it." I replied.

"Please, Levi? I want you to open the present I got you." Eren said, poking my shoulder. "And Armin and Mikasa got the both of us something too."

"Mostly Armin." Mikasa corrected. "I just helped."

"And we still have to cook, clean, ba-" I cut him off by putting my hand in his mouth.

"Fine, I'll get up." I grumbled as I sat up, stretching and yawning.

Eren cheered before pushing everyone out of the room, laughing happily as they all ran down the hall. Just hearing the squeals and thumps of their footsteps from them felt like I was babysitting the three of them, even if there were all nearly my age.

I forced myself out of bed and over to my closet, dressing myself since my clothes looked terrible considering I slept in them. I changed into a grey shirt and black jeans, since I didn't feel like putting much effort into my outfit or my appearance in general today. I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth, and once I was done, I stared at myself in the mirror for a moment.

The person staring back at me didn't look like me at all, they looked completely different. I knew it was me though, I just couldn't believe it. I wondered where the broken, filthy, disgusting and unwanted creature went, and who replaced it with this wanted, sarcastic, and cared for human being. I wondered where the scars on their wrists went, and the constant sad glint in their eyes, and who could forget the permanent frown?

The person I was before was broken, shattered even, while the me now was healing, and it was all because of Eren. I knew I had to thank him for doing something I could never do on my own, but I didn't know how to say thanks without sounding like a complete douche, or overdoing everything like I had when I told him how I felt. I could've just simply told him casually, but no, I had to spend my money, stay up an entire night writing a script, and nearly kill myself from nervousness.

"Levi!" Eren called, his tone agitated. "Hurry!"

"Calm yourself!" I shouted back, quickly running a hand through my hair to tame it.

Before I left the bathroom, I made sure to grab Eren's present that still sat untouched on my nightstand. I exited my room, making sure to take my time as I made my way to the kitchen. I put the kettle on and leaned against the counter to wait for it to boil.

"Morning, Levi." Armin greeted happily as he entered the kitchen. "Merry Christmas and happy birthday."

"Thanks." I muttered, grabbing two cups from the cupboard. "Merry Christmas."

"Oh!" He skipped over, grabbing Eren's present that I had placed on the counter. "Is this for Eren?"

"Yeah." I answered.