THE PROMISE YOU MADE|| {Levi x Furlan x OC Fem}

8. The book

When both men came back home, Ella was finishing sewing one of Furlan's vests. She took her only task seriously. She was trying to impress Levi just in order to get his approval, which is why she started amending his clothes first. She could tell them apart from Furlan's because they were clearly smaller in size, and usually in darker tones too.

"We are back!" Furlan screamed from downstairs. With surprise, Ella pricked herself with the needle. She could hear his fast steps coming towards the room where she was. He knocked before entering the room. Ella really appreciated that from him as she valued her privacy too.

"We are back!" He announced again entering the room. "How was your day? Oh well, I see you really committed yourself to the cause." He said smiling, grabbing one of his old shirts, now humbly amended.

"I just did my best. At least it kept me busy." She added while offering to Furlan the rest of the clothes. "How was your day? You came earlier than yesterday."

"You know, just another day..." Furlan vacillated uncomfortably. "You know what? I got you a gift!" He said changing the subject. Ella's eyes widened in surprise. Furlan took something from his bag and handed it over to Ella. It was a small package wrapped in old newspapers and tied up with a vibrant red laze. Ella unwrapped the object carefully. It was a poem book. She passed her fingers delicately through its velvety covers, admiring every detail of the book. For a moment she tried to remember the last time someone gave her a gift, she couldn't even remember.

"Furlan... This is..." Ella said, still astonished with the book she was holding in her hands.

"A book?" He joked. "I thought that would come in handy for you. You spend a lot of hours alone, so now you have something to read to kill the time. Do you like it?"

"Of course, I do. It is beautiful. I just feel ashamed because I do not have anything for you..." Ella said sadly.

"Oh, but you don't have to! I got that for you because I wanted to. I wasn't expecting anything in return." When Ella heard those words coming out of his mouth, she got closer to him and hugged him tightly. Furlan was shocked by her sweet reaction, but he couldn't say he didn't enjoy it. He wrapped his arms around her carefully and closed his eyes, letting himself enjoy every second of that hug.

"Thank you, Furlan. That is really kind of you." She whispered while holding the hug. Slowly they both undid the hug, their eyes locked with each other. Ella held her new book against her chest, with her eyes looking down shyly, not believing what she just did.

"Excuse me... I guess I got too excited. I just don't remember the last time someone gave me a present. "She admitted, with flushed cheeks. Furlan chuckled and passed his hand through his light hair. 

"Well, in that case, I am glad to be the one to break the streak, so you can remember me easily next time someone gives you a gift. Besides, I would bring you a gift every day if I get to hug you..." He laughed nervously at his own joke. Damn it, Furlan. That was an awful joke,  he thought to himself. Ella giggled at his cheesy comment. Something on his timid expression caught her attention. Furlan had a light skin colour, thus whenever he would blush, his entire face would turn into a beautiful pink tone. They both stayed there for a couple of minutes without sharing another word but enjoying each other company.

"Mmm... Are you hungry yet?" Furlan broke the silence they were immersed in. Ella nodded at his question without hesitation.

Once again, the three of them enjoyed dinner together without hearing any cold comments from Levi's side. After several tries from Furlan to convince Levi, he finally thanked Ella for amending his clothes that morning. Ella was starting to feel more comfortable around them and that made Furlan happy. After dinner, Ella stayed in the living room reading her new book. Levi entertained himself with the dirty plates in the kitchen and Furlan, who was still sitting at the table couldn't stop of admiring Ella lovingly from the other side of the room without her noticing. The way she was immersed in the book was so intriguing to him that for a second, he wondered what she was reading exactly. She was beautiful when she was focused while reading, in fact, she was beautiful no matter what besides, now she seemed more relaxed than when they first met and therefore, happier. Suddenly, Ella looked at him and smiled, making Furlan look away nervously wondering if she would have noticed him staring at her.

"I think I'm going to sleep now... Have a good night, Furlan." She announced. Furlan sighted relieved to know she didn't notice him.

"Let me walk you to the room." He offered, getting up from the chair. Ella took his arm to go upstairs. She sat on the bed and put the book on the side next to her. Furlan stood up next to her. 

"I was thinking that now that you are feeling better maybe...mmm...We could go for a walk. You haven't been outside for long now so... what do you think?" He asked, expecting an affirmative answer from her side.

"Oh! That is a fantastic idea. I would love to." Ella replied with excitement.

"Great! Then we can go once I am back tomorrow. Now sleep tight." He said with a sweet smile that warmed her up. Furlan left the room and closed the door after him. Ella proceeded to continue reading the poem book until she fell asleep peacefully. When she closed her eyes, an image of Furlan smiling at her appeared in her mind, drawing a silly smile on her face. 

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, both men were arguing again. 

"I think it is about time for her to go, Furlan. She is doing better now, and we have things to do. Besides, you still don't know where she comes from, and we cannot trust her." Levi said coldly. Furlan tried to convince him once again that she was not a menace to them, yes, she was doing better, but she still had to fully recover.

"You know some gangs around here are keeping eyes on us for every move we make. She could be working for them. Is that maybe why you are lying to her about your...job?" Levi said emphasizing that last word sarcastically. "Are you perhaps embarrassed to admit to her what you are, what we do? Or are you afraid that she could be a mole?"

"Stop, Levi!" Furlan hit the table with his fist angrily. "Just stop please...". He took a deep breath before continuing. "The reason I haven't told her what we do is because I don't want her to look at me differently. You don't know where she is coming from, but I saw it. And I don't want her to think of me any differently, or to fear me. What we do is what she was running away from." The blonde man confessed. Levi sighed loudly, waiting for something else to be said but Furlan didn't open his mouth. Both of them kept silent for a while.

"You are falling for her, aren't you? I see the way you look at her." Levi said bluntly. Furlan's eyes opened wide after the unexpected comment. "That is why you lied to me, right? To protect her. Besides, what was the book thing about anyway?" Levi asked mockingly. Furlan was looking down, thinking of a smart comment to make but nothing would come to his mind.

"Of course I am not!" It was all he was able to say with a childish voice. Levi raised an eyebrow and took a sip of his tea. "I lied about her because I didn't want you to have any reasons to kick her out. And the book... She spends long hours on her own, so it was a way for her to get entertained." Levi sighed again in despair, getting rid of the woman would be more difficult than what he expected. 

"If you really want her to stay, you better prove to me that I can trust her." He finally said,  regretting it right after.

"Thank you, Levi," Furlan replied with a kind smile.

 "I am doing this for you, not for her, remember that." After that, nothing else was said.