Only His {Levi x Reader Modern AU} [BEING REWRITTEN]

Chapter 26 - The Bookstore

He still strayed ahead of me but something caught my eye that made me freeze.

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Among the random things scattered about the alley from random businesses, I noticed a small shape curled behind a few boxes. I probably would have missed if I hadn't looked at the right time.

"Levi wait." I whisper-yelled in his direction but I didn't take my eyes off of the little body. I saw him turn in my peripheral and I pointed towards what I was looking at. His head turned in the direction but he made no reaction. I started to slowly approach the stack of boxes with the most stealth I could muster. I knew I probably looked stupid but in the moment I didn't care. I knelt down when I got close enough and made soft clicking noises with my tongue. A small black head popped up from the form and a large smile crossed my face.

"A cat?" I heard Levi's voice behind me. I shushed him frantically and nodded.

"A kitten." I corrected. "It doesn't look to be very old."

"Probably a baby from a stray." He commented. With my hand outstretched, the small kitten approached me and meowed. My fingers grazed the silk fur of its head and I could practically feel my heart melting. I had always wanted a pet of my own but I could never afford the upkeep. The little one in front of me looked to be several weeks old, at least old enough to be away from its mother. But the sight of it alone in that alley made my heart break. If I could have my way, it would have been on its way home with me already. (if you are allergic or hate cats, just pretend its a dog or something idk lmao)

"I wish we could take it home." I sighed. The words "we" and "home" slipped out before I could think and I immediately regretted it. Living with Levi started to feel like regular life already that it just came out naturally. I looked back at him with an embarrassed smile and stood up, "Sorry I mean-" I was a bit taken aback to find Levi's striking eyes boring into my own. The expression he wore was intrigued yet stoic.

"It's alright ______." Levi cut me off and stood up a little straighter. "Let's keep going for now, okay?"

"Alright." I watched as the kitten ran back into its hiding place out of sight. I felt my mood drop slightly while our footsteps echoed at the end of the alley. I couldn't help but feel like I made him uncomfortable with my slip-up. Even if this was a date, I couldn't let my thoughts get ahead of me. No more words were spoken between us for the rest of our walk.

When we finally emerged from the alley, Levi led me down the street a ways more until we stopped in front of a small business. It was somewhat crammed between two other, newer store fronts. In the windows were little displays of random genres of books. The windows themselves were weathered and almost frosted yellow with age and the front door was simple wood with chipped forest green paint. I loved it already.

"This is your store?" I asked. It seemed so tiny that any passerby would never even knew it existed. I was curious to know how he found it.

"Yeah," was all Levi said in return. I snuck a glance at him under my lashes to see what kind of expression he was making now. I was surprised to find his mouth set in a hard line and his hands shoved into his pant pockets as if being here again was uncomfortable. The door creaked as we entered, with only a small bell chime to signal our arrival. I was instantly flushed with the smell of old books and wood with the smallest hint of incense. It felt like another world entirely. No one greeted us when we walked in at first. I wasn't even sure it the place was open. But Levi made no signal that we should leave, so I followed his lead.

As we made our way towards the back of the store, I heard a shuffling that I couldn't place the direction of. All of a sudden, an older woman emerged.

"Mr. Ackerman! It is such a pleasure to see you again! I feel like its been ages!" She beamed at Levi who gave her a soft smile.

"It is good to see you again, ma'am." He nodded politely, "Though I told you, you can just call me Levi." She waved off this comment instantly and then her eyes fell on me.

"My goodness, you bring a guest and don't even introduce her? Where are your manners as a gentleman?" She exclaimed. I felt my face heat up and I gave her a smile and an extended hand.

"It's great to meet you. I'm _____."

She took my hand welcomingly and pulled me close to her, "Aren't you pretty! Quite the catch, Mr. Ackerman." She smiled warmly at Levi while he rolled his eyes and cleared his throat. "My name is Karina. Let me know if you need anything, dear."

"Anyway, Ms. Karina, we were just stopping by since we were in the area." He told her. "We won't be long."

"A shame." She shook her head pulled away from me finally, "You don't come around as much as you used to. I've missed your attitude." Karina patted Levi on his shoulder heartedly before turning back to me, "I hope to see you again soon, dear. I'll be in the back if you need any help. Mr. Ackerman knows where to find me." She smiled once more and disappeared from whatever backroom she had come out of. Levi and I were left to each others company once again and the quiet seemed to settle back into the book store. A million questions were swirling through my head about the history the two seemed to have. However with the silence of the store, it felt like you could hear a pin drop. So instead, I gave Levi a smile of my own before perusing the books that covered every inch of the shop. He seemed to welcome the silence as well and followed not too far behind.

-Time Skip-

After we had both found books of our choosing and said our goodbyes to Karina, I was surprised to find how much time we spent. The sun had begun to dip low in the sky, turning the clouds above into a rose gold glow. Now that we had reentered the "real world" the questions I had in my mind before began to resurface. But knowing Levi, I felt as though I shouldn't press my luck too much at once. I decided that just one would be enough for our walk back to the car,

"Levi?"

"What."

"Karina, she said that she hadn't seen you in forever, yet you mentioned that you went there a lot..." I let my words hang in the air open ended, unsure of what his response would be. Levi wasn't one for discrepancies.

"I... I used to." He kept walking without any other reaction and only our footsteps rang between us.

"Oh, okay." I deflated a little at the lack of closure.

"She's an old friend of the family. I used to help her organize books as a kid..." He trailed off and went quiet.

"She seems great." I smiled at him and chose to quell my curiosity for the moment.

"Do you want to get a drink?" He changed the subject so suddenly that I had to think about his question for a second longer than needed. Right on queue, my stomach growled as well. "Maybe some dinner too." he added. I heard the amusement clearly in his tone. But before I could respond, his elbow jutted out to the side while his hand remained in his pocket. It was a silent offering. My heart skipped a beat as I accepted his courtesy happily, snaking my arm around his and walking intertwined with a man I could never imagine standing beside. Though there was still a lot I didn't know about him, I had faith that it would come with time. And I was ready to be patient.

"I'd love to."

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