Stray {Ereri~Attack On Titan AU}

Chapter 7

The rest of the morning seemed to fly by. Mikasa came to pick up Armin, who was reluctant to leave, as expected. I occupied myself in the back of the shop for most of the day, Petra keeping a close watch for him while we worked; both of us were on edge. Sometime around four, the bell above the door rang, and a deep, thick voice greeted Petra happily.

He's here.

It's almost as if the whole atmosphere of the shop changed once he walked in. I dug my nails into my palms to keep myself focused, startled when Eren waves his hand in front of my face. He smiles, and I force a smile back. "Need something?"

"I need you to make a couples batches of different cookies to put up front by the register. Think you can handle it?"

"Yes, sir."

Eren smiles. "Thanks."

Once Eren goes back to the front of the shop I immediately busy myself with getting out the ingredients out for the five different types of cookies most commonly asked for at the shop; chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, double chocolate, white chocolate chip, and my favorite: butterscotch. I decide to start the batch of butterscotch cookies first, mixing the ingredients together and popping them in the oven, the sweet aroma filling my nose. A small sigh of happiness escapes my lips and my mouth starts to water as I recall the last time I'd had one.

"Eren! Is Levi here?" I freeze up. That was Armin's voice. That little shit was going to give me away!

I peek around the corner and force myself to stifle a giggle when I see Petra with a hand over his mouth. She smiles widely. "Why would he be here?" she asks cheekily, giving him a hard noogie on the top of his head. Armin meows in protest and tries to pry her off, dropping the bag he'd been carrying.

"Stop, Petra!" Armin glares at her when she flashes him a big, innocent smile. "Eren told me he and I wear the same size, so I have some clothes for him. Is he here?" Eren opens his mouth to speak, but Petra slaps her hand over his mouth and turns back to Armin.

"You actually just missed him, haha!" Her laugh was choppy and rough. "Not sure where he ran off to, though, so I'd just wait for him here," she says, sounding like she was ready to kill.

Armin cowered away from her and leaned in to whisper to Eren. "What's up with her?"

Eren shrugs, giving Petra a weird look. "No idea. I don't remember seeing him leave, but I guess you can go leave the bag in the back. I'll tell him you brought the clothes."

Armin nods with a smile. "Okay, thanks!" I panic when Armin strides happily towards the back of the shop. When he walks through the doorway I clap my hand over his mouth and shush him silently with my finger. His eyes widen and he raises and eyebrow, prying my hand away. "What the hell? What's your problem, Levi?" I glance nervously at the front of the shop, swallowing hard. Armin follows my gaze, and after a moment his jaw drops slightly. "...is that him? Your former owner?"

I nod. "Yes, unfortunately. If you don't remember me telling you, he and I didn't exactly part on great terms," I say gravely. Worry clouds Armin's expression, and he sighs quietly.

"No, I remember. But I don't understand; why is he here?"

"He and Petra are still good friends, so he finds it necessary to look after her and check up on her from time to time. I don't like it, but I can't force her to not be friends with him."

The small blonde shakes his head. "Why the hell would she want to still be friends with him if she knows how he treated you?"

"I ask myself the same question all the time," I mumble, taking the bag full of clothes.