She Who Seemed Heartless

Chapter 20

His hands balled into tight fists, unable to control the regret, guilt, and rage he had been keeping inside for the past six years. Levi has never been humiliated in his entire life. All of his plans were always a success, save for the last sprak of war that Annie's father had initiated. He knew it was wrong to feel the same hatred towards his daughter who barely did anything during that time, but what could he do? He lost his best people and Petra too if he had been too late to find her.

Levi felt Petra's hand on his fist underneath the table, but that didn't stop him from slamming the other one on the surface. Armin and Annie were both stiff from terror, although it was more apparent on Armin. Instead of venting out his fuming anger towards any of them, he suddenly found the teacup in front of him very irksome. He stared at the object with burning eyes.

"...Or maybe smash that thing on his face if only he was still alive now and sitting right in front of me." He retreated both of his hands and ran them down on his face, letting out a loud groan.

"...I'm sorry."

"What?"

Annie put a hand on her chest as a sign of sincerity. "I'm sorry for your loss, and for what my father had done, whatever it was." All eyes fell on Annie, words absent to incorporate their intent listening. It wasn't Levi's behavior to let the past consume him completely, so he closed his eyes and heaved in hopes of dissipating his wrath from the nasty memory.

"A-Anyway", Armin said nervously. "Thank you for helping us out, especially Annie. We really appreciate it." In turn, Petra waved her hands in front of her. "We barely did anything! I have to apologize that both of you went through all the trouble of giving me a visit. And pardon me, Armin, but could it be you had an idea that what Annie saw in her dream was us?"

He grinned sheepishly. "When Annie mentioned that the soldier has a cravat, I already suspected it was Mr. Ackerman. I remembered he wore one that time when you visited us. However, it never crossed my mind that it was you who was lying on the hay..." When this was mentioned, Armin felt Levi's somewhat ballistic glare at him. He swallowed hard and promptly dismissed himself from continuing any further.

"Your eyes are as sharp as your mind. Kinda reminds me of the foolish couple you refer to as mom and dad." When Petra said this, Armin gasped in realization as he recalled his father confessing something to him and Annie. He decided not to keep it a secret to the other pair.

"My father told me and Annie some important key points in her past," Levi's eyebrows rose in amusement as he mumbled a simple "Oh?", a sign to let Armin finish. "I told him that you visited us and he immediately recognized you after all these years. He... He was the one who saved Annie, and he gave her to you. I'm not sure why, but I'm thinking he had to pull back because he was no longer a soldier during that time."

Levi stood up from where he was seated and walked over to Armin. The teenager stared up at him with cautious eyes. Despite being shorter than he is, Armin felt like Levi was towering him completely. He placed a hand on his shoulder, which made the blond jump a bit. "Your father deserves 'The Kindest Human Being to Ever Exist' award. And I'm not even fucking around." Petra giggled under her breath, then he proceeded to ruffle Armin's hair lightly. It was his way of showing affection, which was strange for him. "If only Timothy became the new Major, I would never have left the military." There was nostalgia in his tone of voice.

Awkward silence.

"Hey, Armin. If I told you that Donovan f-", Petra rushed to grab his wrist and pull him away slightly in an attempt to make him stop. He whipped his head to look at her, but she didn't show any form of fear. Instead, they let their eyes communicate for each other. Levi sighed, signaling defeat. Armin watched them with judging eyes, head tilted to the side. Annie did the same.