Lips Like an Angel

Chapter 2- Levi's Predicament

"What the fuck is this?" Levi muttered as his eyes locked onto the guitar case on the floor as he shuffled into the back room, peeling his coat off and hanging it neatly on the coat rack. He knew for a fact that none of them played the guitar, and for a split second it came across Levi's mind that Hange had stolen it; or worse, found it on the street. He really wouldn't put it past them at this point.

"Oh I forgot to call you," Hange stated as they sat down at their desk. Hange's eyes were glued to some finance papers that needed to be turned in by the end of the week. "This adorable kid came in with a guitar asking about the entertainment flyer," they spoke, eyes peering up to meet cold grey ones. "I would have texted you but I knew you would throw a fit so... surprise!" 

Levi let out an annoyed sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose as he let out a deep breath. "I thought we weren't going to do this," he started and sat down at his own desk as he rested his head in his hands; he felt a headache coming on and this four-eyed creature was the cause of it. "The last person you attempted to hire ended up singing about his sex life, which didn't really set the mood," he muttered tiredly and glanced down at his own pile of mail that he was refusing to open. Half of it was probably receipts from his and Erwin's down payment for their catering and other down payments for a wedding that he rather not think about at the moment. That was just unnecessary stress that Levi didn't want to put himself through right now.

Hange just laughed it off, knowing that his brutal words weren't meant to hurt them; that's just how he was. Eventually, after their laughter stopped, Hange's eyes looked up to study their partner, watching the way he completely ignored the mail on his desk. Seemed like things were still pretty tense at home.

"Things are still rough then, huh?" They asked, hoping that for once Levi would talk to them about what was bugging him. He rarely did, but they knew when he was upset, and it was not a secret that Erwin and he were currently going through a rough time, not including the stress of planning a wedding as well. Hange knew more than they were leading on, mostly because they knew Levi better than he knew himself. But still; didn't hurt to ask.

Levi opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut it, his eyes focusing on the picture frames on his desk, remembering when he and Erwin were actually happy and so desperately in love. He wondered when everything started to change; when a wedding felt more like a job and a task than supposedly the happiest day of his life.

"He hasn't talked to me in a week," Levi finally admitted and leaned back in his chair as he let out a tired sigh. "He's the one who was caught messaging someone else, so I don't get why he's the one pretending to be the victim." He muttered and let out a strain of curses in French. It was quite childish, and if Levi could have it his way, he would have beaten it out of the blonde days ago but technically that was called abuse. How tragic. 

Hange only nodded and placed their head in the palm of their hand as they chewed on their bottom lip. "Levi... I know it's none of my business, but as your best friend, I just don't know why you're continuing with the wedding... I know he didn't physically cheat but...he was talking with multiple guys." It may be overstepping their boundary to bluntly suggest such a thing, but it was obvious that it pained Levi, even if he refused to acknowledge it.

The raven had to admit that the truth stung, and he knew better than anyone else that he shouldn't stay, but he was scared and didn't want to lose the five years he had worked so had to create. He had already created a life that he was mostly content with, and stopping the wedding would throw his life back into chaos and he'd rather not have a mess to clean up. However, he couldn't get mad at Hange because they were right, and the sad part was that Hange was the one who introduced them so they knew better than anyone how hard this was. 

"I just need some time to think," He muttered and let his finger play with the small engagement ring that was on his finger. "I'm just so tired Hange... I'm 29 and not married... if I don't settle down with someone now, I might not ever."

It was the first time that Levi had talked so freely about his emotions and Hange wasn't about to ruin the moment with their witty remarks like they usually did. Instead, they tried to offer words of encouragement and strength. The last thing they needed to do was make Levi regret opening up to them in the first place.

"You know that no matter what you choose I will always be here; the cafe, and I will always be your home." Hange smiled, pushing their glasses up their nose with their finger before looking at the time and standing up with a jump in their step; what a drastic shift feeling in the air. 

"The kid should be done setting up the stage soon; I hope he's as good as he looks. Levi, the boy is simply darling," they spoke and grabbed their apron before heading towards the door; picking up the guitar case before they headed out. They knew that Levi obviously doubted them, and they wouldn't deny the fact that the last couple of people they tried to hire turned out...well...terribly. Yet, for some reason they felt differently about this boy; they should have gotten his name. "You should come to watch him play," they called back before disappearing into the front of the store.

That left Levi alone with his own thoughts, his mind bouncing from thought to thought making it difficult for him to actually think clearly. Was he being selfish for not wanting to throw away all those years of his life with Erwin, or did he need to be selfish and leave to save his heart from any more heartache?

"Shit," he breathed under his breath and wiggled the engagement ring off of his finger, and opened his desk drawer before safely putting it at the bottom. He didn't need to worry about this right now, and besides...Erwin was so busy with his 'work,' that he knew he wouldn't be coming by to visit anytime soon. 

It was time to see if this so-called 'radiant' kid was as good as Hange was hoping, and Levi didn't have high hopes because as sad as it was, Hange tended to only make things more difficult and frustrating; maybe that's why he kept her around, they brought their own sort of life into his troubling world.

Grabbing his suit jacket and his lighter Levi walked towards the storefront, leaving his ring finger empty and almost free.

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