Crack of Sunlight (Ereri/Riren)

*~Chapter Three~*

Over the next several days, Eren fell into his own little routine. He went to school as normal, worked for three hours in the evening, studied for two while eating at the same time, showered, and went to bed just in time to get seven-ish hours of sleep. It wasn't exactly the healthiest routine, but the easiest and most practical when it came right down to it.

Levi continued to be the one to volunteer helping with the cleanup; Petra had gone on vacation for a week for some religious holiday she was spending with her family and Reiner was always busy with other business around the shop, be it organizing things, designing or giving tattoos.

Due to changing weather - dropping temperatures that weren't quite cold enough for the falling rain to be snow, therefore creating something along the lines of sleet, which in turned caused a hectic flow of traffic - Eren ended up nearly half an hour late for work. When he arrived, flustered, he apologized about a dozen times to Reiner, who brushed each apology off, not minding Eren's tardiness in the least.

The teen found himself to be disappointed by the fact that only Reiner was in the shop - meaning no Levi. For probably the millionth time, he tried to smother that disappointment and headed into the back room...where he found the exhausted looking man setting a box among the hundreds of others they'd already reorganized. Immediately, Eren's heart skipped and picked up the pace while butterflies exploded through his stomach. He put on his best poker face and, mumbling a greeting, got to work.

"You're late, brat," said Levi. His tone wasn't harsh as Eren half expected.

"I know. The bad weather tends to make drivers stupid. Sorry."

Levi sunk down next to Eren and started packing another box. Their conversation went along as normal - Eren talked about school, his friends and his home life with little detail while Levi listened, interjecting appropriate questions at appropriate moments. It was comfortable for them both, though each felt their heart was about to pound right through his ribs.

Several boxes each later, they took a small break. Levi's hands were trembling, though every so often a tremor would travel up his arms and down his back. By then, Eren was used to the shakiness of Levi's demeanor. It concerned him, nonetheless, and somehow it seemed to be worse that evening.

"Are you okay?" asked Eren.

"Yeah. It's...been a long day," replied the raven, voice equally as shaky as his limbs.

"Hmm, same."

Levi snorted. "Yeah. School. I remember those days."

"Some of the longest of your life, right?" The hint of a grin manifested in Eren's features.

Levi's face, on the other hand, took on a somewhat grim expression. "The days themselves were long...but the amount of days were limited."

"What do you mean?"

"Dropped out of high school when I was 17. That's what I mean."

Eren raised his brows, grin vanishing. "Really? Why?"

"It's a long story."

A silence settled over them for a long minute and they went back to work. After a while, something came over Eren and he suddenly found himself asking, "Hey, can I ask you something?"

Levi shot him a skeptical glance. "What is it?"

"Uhm...the other day I was looking around the shop at the artwork on the walls...and one really stood out to me. One that you drew. I just wondered what it means to you...why you drew it."