Faithful or Not? [Levi | Reader | Modern AU!]
You smiled at Erwin, affectionately rolling your fingers over the knuckles on his left hand and the golden band on his ring finger. Your eyes were bright and you could tell Erwin was oozing happiness; across the table, Levi’s hand stood around Hanji’s shoulders as Mike scrunched up his nose and Nanaba watched him with growing concern. Once your dishes arrived, everybody dug in with the exception of Mike, who excused himself with a frown.
"I'm going to check on him." Nanaba informed with a small smile while getting up and quickly following her husband.
"It doesn’t look great." You stated with furrowed eyebrows, putting down your fork and observing Mike and Nanaba as they argued.
"There’s no couple on this Earth which doesn’t argue." Hanji shrugged as you watched Mike’s repulsed expression, eyes were burning a hole in your table while Nanaba tried to calm him down. You felt like his gaze prod at you like he knew something.
You went back to your food with a gulp but Erwin was quick to squeeze your hand and whisper: "(Y/N), are you feeling alright? You seem pale."
"I'm perfectly fine, Erwin, thank you." You flashed him a small smile as your gut warned you not to eat or you’d be rushing to the washroom less than a minute after. The face Mike was making managed to tie your windpipe in a knot. You glanced across the table at Hanji, who eagerly devoured her dinner, before your gaze slid over to the man at her side - short but handsome.
Your gazes locked and you could tell you were equally disturbed - it made you wonder if he’d noticed Mike’s staring and the disgust in his voice as he uttered something to Nanaba. When the couple returned, the tall blond’s gaze was set on you. For the main part the night was nice - there were lots of conversations and laughter, some eating and mainly the happiness of being with your friends. Still, the unsettling feeling of Mike’s hues never let you stray from dread.
Later than night, you went for a drink with your girl friends - and it might’ve been a shock to most men since not all women cheated on their husbands when saying they’d be with their friends. You got together with Hanji, Nanaba and Petra, having the freedom to laugh a lot more than you did at the restaurant you’d visited earlier the same night. Petra told you about Oluo and their recent decision to have a baby. Your group of three was quick to congratulate her, mostly because none of you had ever been set on having kids.
"I apologize for not being able to come earlier. Oluo was working late and I had to bring him food." Petra scratched the back of her neck with a sheepish smile. "So how was it?"
"Everything was great." Nanaba smiled while you took a sip from the vodka in your glass.
"Actually what happened with Mike? You seemed to be arguing." Your question made the blonde’s brows furrow, as if she were debating on whether to share or not. In the end, you were a close circle of good friends so she took a breath.
"At first he said we shouldn’t prolong our stay because he couldn’t stand the smell. I thought it was the food but Mike’s always had a weird sense of smell so he picks up on things we can’t..." Nanaba glanced at her glass darkly as you and the rest anticipated the conclusion of her story. You had a bad feeling about this. “He said he hated how infidelity reeked. It’s stupid to think one of us is cheating, more over when Mike’s nose is the only proof." Nanaba tried to chuckle but the atmosphere had turned heavy and no one was laughing.
Petra was looking down at her drink with furrowed brows and pursed lips, strawberry blond strands of hair falling from behind her ears in front of her face. Nanaba was thoughtful and frowning. Hanji wore a look of concentration but the gears in her mind were motionless. You remained calm but the grip you had on your glass was tight, your knuckles turning white as you eyed he wood under your hands grimly.
"Otherwise we had fun." Nanaba’s statement made everybody return to reality.
"Not as much as we did when we were teenagers, though." Hanji chuckled weakly and a small smile creeped over your lips. Well, your teenage years were done for but you could at least remember them with good.
"Yeah, the period everybody dated the wrong person." Petra giggled sweetly and though she was partially right she was still wrong in your opinion.
"(Y/N), you were dating Levi at the time, weren't you?" Hanji turned to look at you with a giant grin even though she was verifying that you’d dated her husband in the past. An awkward ‘yeah’ slipped past your lips as a blush poured over your cheeks. You thanked the poor lighting in the bar.
"And what did you think of him?" Petra inquired and you cursed mentally.
"I can't really discuss other men when I'm married, you know. I guess he was okay." Your stiff statement made them all laugh.
"Come on, (Y/N). Let’s just forget we’re married for tonight and talk it out honestly." Hanji grinned at you while gulping down all of the intoxicating beverage in her glass.
Petra eagerly nodded along: "Yeah, come on! It'll be fun."
"I guess it would be nice to not think about our husbands for a while, too." Even the usually respectable Nanaba had gotten on the ‘let’s be crazy’ train.
"Well, since you were going out with my current husband why don't you say what you thought of him?" You looked at Petra, who only chuckled, obviously tipsy.
"He was sooooo tall and toned as hell, I always thought he’d break me when he fell on top of me after sex!" She exclaimed with a grin while you laughed, relating to her fear since you had it yourself.
"And what did you think of Mike, Hanji?" Nanaba asked when your laughter died down and the brunette licked her lips prior to her story.
"He was always so nice and everything. He’d sometimes sniff me during dates because he always thought I cheated on him! He stopped after the fourth month and it’s how I knew I had his trust." She stated seriously as you added:
"And then you actually cheated."
"No! I never cheated! We broke up because of his scholarship. I met him five years later with a job, a wife and all that jazz, I’m happy for him."
"Actually how did you break up with Levi?" Petra asked and you sighed, sipping some vodka and then asking for your fourth refill.
"I already told you, he dumped me because he thought I was cheating on him."
"Were you?" Nanaba asked suspiciously and you shook your head.
"No, he just caught me texting my ex because I was going back to my home town and I needed a lift from the station. Levi didn’t even let me explain all that, he just ended things. I always wondered why he was so abrupt but it’s in the past." You shrugged as Hanji laughed weakly and Petra stated:
"I read once in a psychology study that cheaters grow paranoid of their partner cheating on them."
"So that means Levi was cheating on me at the time?"
"Probably." Petra nodded and all eyes focused on Hanji.
"I wonder who the lucky girl was." The brunette gave an awkward chuckle, making your eyes narrow as you rolled them. "He's your husband, no need to grow nervous over having sex with him."
"It’s still immoral even if we’re married now." She sighed guiltily as you stared at your drink darkly. You should be feeling guilty. You were patting Hanji’s shoulder, saying it didn’t matter when Nanaba intervened:
"So now your opinion on Levi?" You glared at the blonde, then drowned your drink and exhaled.
"He was the greatest boyfriend ever, okay? He did everything right and accepted me for who I was, and I wished he’d never dumped me." You sighed heavily after speaking, feeling something lift from your shoulders as your heart was weighed down. "I said it, I just don’t want you to get mad, Hanji."
"It's not a problem, (Y/N). I literally stole your man and married him while being your friend. I feel like a traitor because I learn just now how you’ve felt about it all along.” Your eyes were getting teary as she hugged you - a tipsy pair of women embracing at a bar. "I'm sorry, (Y/N). I didn't know I’d done that to you." She buried her face in your hair as tears poured out of your eyes.
"I'm so sorry for making you say such things, Hanji. You shouldn't fucking apologize for liking somebody. He married you, please I beg you don't say you're sorry for that." You held onto her and your vision blurred when Nanaba and Petra's worried faces entered your vision.
Hanji patted your back and parted from her only to look at your three best friends’ worried expressions. You couldn’t do this to her anymore. You excused yourself and quickly headed to the restroom, where you fished your phone from your purse and hurriedly put it to your ear after dialing. A few beeps of anticipation and the call was picked up just as you sniffed and observed your bloodshot eyes in the mirror, along with the mascara smeared under them.
"Hey, Levi. Let's... stop this, okay?"
"(Y/N), what are you talking about? Are you drunk again?" The raven asked, making you sigh.
"You know what I'm talking about. I can't keep doing this to the people who love me. Hanji’s my best friend and Erwin’s the greatest husband I could’ve gotten. Please, let’s just stop." You begged, tears welling into your eyes as you spun the sink’s faucet.
"I love you. What about me?" He asked, additionally breaking your resolve. You loved him, too. But you also loved Erwin. This was wrong.
"That's the problem. We're not supposed to love each other." You stated, trembling hand searching for your make-up in your purse for after you washed your face.
"So you're cutting this off because you feel guilty?"
"Don’t you?" Your desperate question made him click his tongue. You glanced at the door worriedly, stomach doing flips with every second of the conversation becoming longer.
"I don't care as long as you're with me."
"I can't keep this up, Levi! What we’re doing is wrong and I don’t want to feel this way! Like Mike’s seeing through all our bullshit and Hanji’s going to end our friendship and Erwin’s going to file for a divorce--- I don’t- I can’t afford to lose the people I love!" You were nearly choking on your sobs.
"Don't you fucking love me?"
"I'm not supposed to, Levi. I-- I don’t love you." You tried to be serious and harsh but he already knew you were crying and that meant you were lying.
"Then we’re through. Better delete my number and all the messages if you're so scared of being caught." He stated coldly into the speaker, making your blackened tears drop in the sink as you covered your mouth and met your own gaze in the mirror.
"... fine." You chocked out, watching your bottom lip quiver.
"I'll always regret being too stupid to hold onto you, (Y/N)."
The line went dead, your phone was placed on the side of the sink and you started washing your face after breathing for a while. You watched the phone’s screen with Levi’s contact indicating your last call with him. Your fingers brushed over the screen with uncertainty as you pressed and held, closing your eyes and pushing the ‘detele’ button. You started fixing your mascara with a sigh, feeling like you could burst into tears again.
"Hey, how was (Y/N)? Is she coming back? You both stayed there for quite a while." Hanji asked cheerfully as the bartender refilled her glass and Nanaba shook her head lightly.
"She’s just emotional because of the alcohol, she’s coming back in a bit." The blonde sat down on her own stool, staring at her drink for a few seconds with a black gaze as Petra asked:
"Hey, do you have any guesses as to who Mike was talking about with the infidelity?" Hanji laughed in the background whilst lifting her glass to her lips. Nanaba could see your form exiting the restroom with renewed make-up and bloodshot eyes.
"I don't have an idea." She stated softly.