pairing: levi ackerman x sunshine!reader
summary: levi and you are childhood friends, but when you have to leave town because of your father's work, he resigns on losing you. he doesn't know that many years later, life will find its way to lead him back to you.
contains: childhood friends to lovers, college au, grumpy x sunshine, yearner!levi, he fell first and harder, fluff, soft levi, short n sweet iykyk
a/n: hiii!!! first proper fic after years of not writing a complete chapter, so sorry if im a little rusty lol, hope u liked it!!! like and reblog if u want more <33
As soon as his last lecture ended, Levi immediately gathered his things up as he stood from his seat, wanting nothing other than going home to lay down to get a cup of tea and turn the heater on.
Shoes clicked against the floor as the rest of the classroom stood up to leave as well, caging him into the mass of people around as he neared the exit.
Levi got into his car and drove far away from campus. The day was crisp and chilly, but the sun shined bright despite it all.
The red traffic light stopped him on his tracks, so his gaze wondered somewhere else as he waited for the light to turn green again. He hadn't noticed until now, too enthralled in the thought of finally arriving to this apartment, but he had taken a different road than he usually did, so the sight of an unfamiliar street welcomed him.
His bright grey eyes narrowed, focusing on a small cafรฉ on the corner, which read 'Fallen Angel' on warm beige cursive letters. It was still early, 1pm in the afternoon, but this weird sensation took hold of him again. He hesitated for a moment, but then the street light turned green and Levi's hands moved on their own, turning the steering wheel to the left.
Levi parked the car on the nearest parking spot he found and turned off the car's engine. He glanced sideways to the rearview mirror, wondering what was he truly doing, but ran a hand through his face and got out of the car nonetheless.
A strong smell of coffee greeted him when he opened the glass door and looked around. It was warm and cozy, a small but comforting four beige walls with a few sets of wooden tables and brown club chairs, full of plants and bookshelves with countless titles.
The coffee shop wasn't much crowded but wasn't empty either, three of the wooden tables were taken by groups of two and one of the two baristas behind the light-colored counter neared the cashier when she watched him approach.
"Good morning, what can I get for you?" the girl asked. Levi took a moment to glance at the menu, before he decided to order an americano and a croissant. "Perfect, that'll be 9 dollars, it'll be ready in a minute."
"Thank you," Levi nodded, handing the barista the money. He glanced around, only to end up going towards the table besides the closest bookshelf.
His fingers traced the spines of the books, carefully choosing to read the titles engraved when the cafรฉ door opened once again. Levi was absent from the world, too focused on the warmth of the hard-book covers against his fingerprints but choose to briefly look up.
A girl not older than him with bright eyes entered the cafe, clutching her dark brown purse against her side as she went straight to the counter. Levi looked away but found his attention settling back to the girl.
She greeted the same barista who'd taken Levi's order, casually striking up a conversation with her like they were already familiar with each other.
"I don't know, Claire," the girl sighed "I ordered a chai frappe the last time but I want something saltier now. Or sweeter. I don't know," she shook her head, and Levi pretended he wasn't listening, too busy with the book titles. "Maybe an iced taro? No, I know, a caramel macchiato, that's it. With pistachio foam, please. I wanna try something new."
The barista laughed, like she was used to the girl's rambling. "Great choice, ____. Any pastry?"
"I just ate a huge burrito fifteen minutes ago, I don't think I can stomach anything else than a coffee, but thanks, babe."
Now that the conversation was over, Levi could hear the thumping of his heartbeat against his chest. Something rare striked within him, almost like familiarity, when he decided to finally look up.
His eyes widened when he got to properly catch sight of you. Every nerve on his body seemed to freeze, as his pulse spiked up and his stomach sommersaulted against his will. He had given up long ago on waiting for you, on being privileged enough to be near you once more, on watching that smile of yours, and he felt like a little kid again. A little kid with a big crush.
Apparently, he wasn't discrete enough with his staring because, almost like you were inevitably drawn to his staring, you looked up and froze as well, a huge smile breaking onto your lips as your eyes met Levi's.
"Levi? Is that you?" you laughed, walking towards him to get a good look of him. "It's been a long time, 'Vi, I can't believe it's you!"
"Hi." he breathed out, when you suddenly bumped into him for a hug. He froze once again, hands reaching into the air without touching you, surprised by the sudden hug and by catching glimpse of you after all these years. "Yeah, it's been a while."
When you broke the hug, warmth spread on his chest. You were standing there, smiling in the light of the window, a real person, not a figment of his imagination like you had been for the last few years.
"You still got that perpetually serious face, I can't believe I ever thought it would go away." you laughed, brushing a strand of hair from your face as you shook your head. "How are you?"
Right when Levi was about to answer, coming out of his shock, a voice called out. "Hot americano!"
"You should get that," you smiled, tilting your head to signal the counter.
Levi rushed to get the cup of coffee and his croissant before turning to get back to where you are standing a few feet away.
"I've been good. Busy with my degree," he answered, feeling like his tongue was depriving him of words. "What about you? When did you return to Trost?"
"At the beginning of the semester," you responded. "I got into this exchange program because I missed the quietness of this town. I tried to get ahold of you but I couldn't find you. It seems like we always find our way to each other, huh? That's funny." your eyes shined even brighter at the latest statement, searching for something in Levi's eyes. "You should give me your number," you stated, immediately starting to search for your phone on your purse. "Here."
Levi reached out for your cellphone, tapping the digits of his number in your keyboard before he returned it back to you, accidentally grazing his fingers with yours during the process.
You blinked twice, smile leaving your lips, before deciding to smile again like nothing flickered inside of you at the brief contact.
"Caramel macchiato with pistachio foam!" the barista called again, this time for your order.
You went to grab your coffee and returned back to Levi. You opened your mouth to say something else, when your phone rang in your hands. You looked down to your phone and sighed heavily.
"You don't know how sorry I am Levi, but I gotta go." you reached again for him, and this time, the hug was returned. You inhaled at the proximity, and the smell of his cologne washed over you.
"We should get coffee someday." Levi stated, separating from you.
"Yeah, we should." you smiled. "I'll see you later."
ยฉ arlertsdevotion do not copy or translate any of my work dividers by pixipix
