Levi returns the favour
“Would you like a scarf?”
Levi looked up, his steel eyes fixed into slits as he searched the face of the boy in front of him. He was young; older than him by a number of years, but still young enough to care about the injustice.
Pathetic, really.
“Depends what you want for it,” he spat, hating every word as they left his throat.
“Nothing,” came the response and Levi's mouth opened, a small huff of hair escaping his thin lips.
“Right. Then who's put you up to this?”
“No one.”
He laughed at that, showing teeth and shaking his head. He looked at the scarf, wrapped comfortably around the boy's neck. It was thick, red and was a godsend compared to his rag.
Looking down so he wouldn't have to watch the boy take in his defeat, he reached out, his fingers uncurled as he waited for the material to be dropped into his inviting palm. Instead, he felt the scarf being draped around his neck, still warm from the body that it had been previously used for.
“It's very becoming on you,” he told Levi, picking himself up and dusting his hands on his pants. He pulled his collar up and started to walk, but before he got out of range, he turned back. “Merry Christmas.”
-----
It had been ten years since that day. Levi had managed to find work and with the little that he had saved, had put down a deposit on a small flat. Something to keep him going; something to refer to as 'home'.
He didn't know why he was here. He didn't owe him anything, and yet, he had been on his mind constantly.
Ten years.
It hadn't been hard to find him, not with his face and name plastered all over the papers. He was important, rich, an intellectual. He worked at a new firm and was someone to be kept an eye on.
Levi didn't really care.
Yet, here he was, standing outside of the firm, one hand curled around the scarf and the other pushing open the door. He moved through the building fast, eyes searching the doors, plaques and signs, looking for the name.
When he finally found it, he paused, steeling himself for a few extra seconds before pushing the door open and moving fast to the desk, pushing the scarf down onto the wood and stepping back.
“Merry Christmas.”
Erwin smiled.