Orders | Levi Ackerman

63• The Envelope

-Erens POV-

" You came"

With her chest heaving, and her hair falling in every which way, she smiles. Fatigue accompanies it, and laid in the circles buried deep beneath her eyes too but, she appears happy.

I hadn't seen Mia in two days, i feared i wouldn't again. It wasn't that I doubted her, I never did. I just knew that if she wanted to see me again, she'd have to fight against Zeke...and not many can do that.

Mia walks closer, her feet dragging against the cobbled floor as she refuses to meet my gaze. She's exhausted, and by the red embedded in her eyes, she's been crying too.

" Wasn't my choice." She whispers, curling her fingers around a piece of a paper she holds.

We stay in silence as she sits down. She had gotten here later than expected, resulting in the both of us stuck outside in the mid of winter at midnight.

The cool air ran down both our spines, no amount of layers could negate it. It grew the tire around my eyes, leaving me struggling to keep them open. The darkness has grown calm, instead of the rigid shadows it usually was. From treacherous waves of unkind matter, to a still, calm sea and I had the pleasure of floating in it. The moon was on my side, something finally was.

" How have you been?"

She stays silent again. Her eyes fixed to her shoes. She continues to twiddle her thumbs, sometimes sighing under her breath. The wind blows her hair back, allowing her to shut her eyes and cherish the cool air against her skin. I found a smile creeping up against my lips, at the sudden of realization of one little point.

Had she always been so beautiful?

It had been years since I last saw, she wasn't the little fifteen year old I once fell for anymore. Her hair had grown even longer, and of course she hadn't cut it. Her skin stayed clear and smooth, despite the scars that edged along her temple and across her lip. She hadn't grown, of course she hadn't. She looked so different, and yet so the same.

Mia turns to me, drawing me out of my daydream. The moonlight casts a glint over her face, enlightening the smile that curled upon her cheeks.

Her smile hadn't changed, it was still hers. It still belonged to the Mia that made my heart flutter every time she spoke. She still held the world in her eyes and the stars on her cheeks every time she beared a grin.

" I'm fine, I just...uh, I need your help." She asserts herself, pushing out her chest and curling her hands into fists. She used to do that then too, I guess she believed people would listen if they saw how determined she was. She never thought that they'd listen purely because of who she was, which they did.

She unfolds the piece of paper, gently pressing it against her chest as she lets out one final sigh.

" Eren....who is this man?"

She hands it to me, her eyes pinned to both me and the drawing as she awaits my response. I gasp, shuddering at who laid before me in the form of shaded penciling.

I look back to Mia, unsure of what...or how much I should say. It was as if it were fate, Mia had forgotten everything...everything but him. He was all she could think about, that was clear. As the girl who would of died at the opportunity to paint the stars, now sat with her eyes pinned to a piece of paper, of a man she couldn't recall.

She looked for him in the images she drew, and Levi looked for her every time his eyes met the moon.

" That's...That's Levi"

Even if to me she'd always be the light in a room of nothingness, even if my heart would continue to ache for hers every time she looked at me — I knew that part of my love for her was the smile she always shared...and how she only begun sharing it once she met him.

" Levi?" She seemed taken back once she said his name aloud, but continued to usher me on.

" His name is Levi Ackerman." I whispered. "you know him."

She shrugs her shoulders. " How?"

" Because you were in love with him," I run my hands through my hair. " Or are."

She raises an eyebrow, scoffing under her breath. " Sure, Eren. Because that makes sense."

" You met him when he recruited us to be in the scouts. He put us in his squad, the special operations squad. You didn't like him at first, thought he was too bossy." I turn back to the page, tracing the lines with my thumb. " he didn't like you either, though. He said you were an incompetent idiot — that was only on the first day. It got worse before it got better."

She nods carefully, smiling along to everything I say.

" But soon, you ended up looking at him like he was...like he was..." I sigh, looking up to the sky. " I don't know...but for the first time, you had hope. It was like you knew everything would be alright when you were with him. You even had me believing it."

" What happened to him? Why didn't he come for me?" She whispers, keeping her eyes pinned to the floor.

" He held you in his arms while you died, Mia." Her eyes widen, clasping her hands over her mouth as if it were she who spoke.

" He's hurting. Has been since you left us." I pull out an envelope, noticing Falco approaching us. " and as why for he hasn't come...well, i can assure you...he will."

" Hi Mister Kruger! Hi Hanna!" Falco smiles, waving at the both of us.

" Hello Falco, i need to ask you a favor." He nods, while Mia peers over us nervously.

" What is it, sir?" I hand him the envelope, allowing him to take hold of it.

" I can't deliver this, they'd know I'm faking an illness. I was hoping you would." Mia raises her eyebrow, i hadn't told her about that yet.

" What's in the letter?" He cocks his head to the side, holding the letter in his palm.

" It's to my family, I'm letting them know I'm here...and I'm alright." Falco smiles, throwing the envelope into his bag.

" I'll get this delivered! Goodbye Mister Kruger! Bye Hanna!"

He runs off, leaving the two of us alone once more. Mia turns to me, her eyes narrowed.

" You have family?" She says, folding her arms.

" No, we do. And they're coming for us."