Infinite Lovers

She gently set the clear glass on the bar, waving at the bartender for another round. He gave her a worried look but poured her another drink. The circles under her eyes only grew darker with each passing day. She had become a regular at a bar across town, far enough so her family didn't have to see her like this. So her brother didn't have to be so disappointed in her.

She swirled the amber-colored drink, watching it with lifeless eyes. She scowled as she stared at the amber liquid. The color reminded her of the one person she was trying to forget. "Excuse me, bartender," she waved the green-eyed bot over. He barely looked at the age of 21.

"Yes?" She pushed the untouched glass in his direction. "Is there something wrong?" He didn't understand. He had been keeping a close eye on the woman and she hadn't touched the drink.

"I can't drink this," she glared at the beverage.

He blinked. "Uh, I can get you something else if you'd like."

She nodded her head, "Vodka," she mumbled. He gave her another worried look, but poured her a glass of vodka and slid the glass in her direction.

She was the only one in the bar, other than his small group of friends that waited for his shift to be over. She usually stayed all night and would leave just before dawn, and then return once the sun dipped below the horizon. This had been going on for almost a year.

He glanced over at her once more, she motioned for him to pour her another. One turned into two, two turned into four. He went to pour her another when her glass disappeared.

"That's enough."

She snapped her gaze to the man that the hand belonged to. "I decide when it's enough." she all but growled.

The man glared down at her. "You've been coming here every night for the last 11 months to drink your life away, brat."

She slammed her hands on the bar, "You don't know a damn thing about me, so butt out!" She stood up only to stumble to the floor. Lucky for her, the man before her was there to catch her before she hit the ground. "I'm fine!" She pushed the man away and slammed some money on the counter before stumbling out the door.

"Women," Levi growled as he took the seat she was had once occupied.

"Levi!" Eren protested, "What if she gets hurt, or kidnapped, or worse..."

"Not my problem." he shrugged. Eren let out a groan as he quickly chased after the drunken woman. It hadn't taken him long to catch up to her. In fact, she hadn't gotten far. The heel on her shoe had broken and she was just sitting there, staring into space.

"Kagome," he helped her stand up, "Come on, I'll call a cab for you." She said nothing as he led her back to the bar and sat her down at one of the tables. He opened up his phone and called a cab for her. All the while, she stayed silent, staring at the wooden floorboards. Eren let out a sigh and kneeled in front of her and handed her a slip of paper. "Here, if you need anything, just call."

She nodded her head and took the piece of paper from him. He helped her out to the cab and watched as it drove away. Eren walked back into the bar and looked at Levi. "Really? Was that necessary?"

"That woman comes in here the same time every day like clockwork and wastes her life away drinking until she can hardly walk," Levi glanced at Eren from the corner of his eye. "Your shift is almost over. Your drunken princess will be here again tomorrow."

And just like Levi predicated, she arrived the next day. She sat in the corner of the bar, away from everyone else, just like she always did. Eren already knew what she wanted, so he poured a glass and handed it to her. She nodded her thanks and drank.

Again and again, it happened. Another month passed and suddenly it had been a full year since she arrived at the bar. It was a night after she had had several drinks when another couple entered the bar. The sight of silver hair in the corner of her eye drew her attention to them and she wish she hadn't looked up. At that moment, her eyes met with his amber ones.

"Kagome...?" he blinked. Eren looked from the couple to Kagome and back.

The woman on his arm laughed. "You look like crap. It's been a year, it's time to move on." The woman approached Kagome. "Inuyasha never loved you in the first place, so why dwell on it?" Kagome gripped the glass a little tighter in her hand.

Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest. "It doesn't matter, Kikyo. She's just another girl. Let's go somewhere else." He grabbed Kikyo by the hand and the two of them left.

"Kagome..." Eren started.

"Refill." she handed him the glass. "Wait, actually, I want the whole bottle."

"A-are you sure?" Eren met her glare and scrambled off to grab the entire bottle. An hour later she had downed the whole bottle. Another hour passed and another half a bottle of vodka went through her system.

Levi growled as he watched the girl continue to drink. "That's enough," he snatched the bottle from her and practically threw it at Eren. "We've sat here long enough watching you drink yourself away."

"Listen ass," she slurred, "I'm fine. I don't need you or anyone!" Kagome slid off the stool only to crumple to the floor. Levi stood above her with his arms crossed as she struggled to stand up.

"Fine," Levi grabbed his jacket and swiftly left the bar, slamming the door on his way out.

"Just another girl, huh?" Kagome mumbled as she made her way across the dimly lit bar and out the doors. Kagome stumbled down the sidewalk, clearly drunk. She mumbled incoherent words as she stepped onto the road she thought was abandon, only to collide with a black vehicle. She hit the ground, her head slamming into the pavement knocking her out instantly.

The owner of the vehicle stepped out of the vehicle and let out a sigh as he lifted the woman into his arms. "Idiot," he mumbled as he put her in the back seat of his car. When he arrived back at his apartment, he slung the woman over his shoulder and entered the building. He got a questioning look from the man behind the counter, but he just ignored him and continued down the hallway and up to the third floor.

He swung the door to his apartment open and tossed the keys on the couch and headed for his room. He laid the woman on the bed and removed her shoes. He stepped out of the room and filled an empty glass with water and grabbed two Tylenol and set them on the nightstand beside the bed. He then grabbed a spare blanket and pillow and made himself comfortable on his couch.

"Damn woman," he yawned before succumbing to the sweet embrace of sleep.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

He awoke early the next morning and made a cup of coffee. It was still early, so he decided to do some research.

Around noon, the woman from the previous night entered the room. Her blue eyes landed on his bored steely gray ones. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Who the hell are you?" she asked, "And where am I?" She gave him a horrified look, "You didn't... do anything, did you?"

"I didn't do anything brat," he snapped. "You're in my apartment because you decided to run into my car last night."

She nodded her head, "Alright, but who are you?"

"Forgot we've never spoken when you've been sober," he clicked his tongue, "Levi Ackerman."

"Well, Levi, thanks for not raping me. If you'll excuse me, I have to get to work." She quickly located her shoes and slipped them on, ignoring the pounding sensation in her head.

"Please, you were fired nearly 6 months ago," Levi took a from his cup of coffee.

She glared at him. "How do you know that? Never mind that I still have to return home."

Levi raised an eyebrow and Kagome knew he already knew. She sighed and sat on the couch and put her head in her hands. "It started after I found out Inuyasha had been cheating on me. Almost a week after we started dating, he met Kikyo and had been seeing her behind my back."

"And you found out and started drinking heavily?"

"Well, in short, yes. I didn't want to, but my friends invited me out to a party and there was alcohol. Of course, I didn't tell them what had happened and went. I had a few drinks and it made me feel numb." Kagome leaned back into the cushions to stare at the ceiling, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall, "I loved Inuyasha and he turned around and cheated on me, for nearly 4 years. He even proposed and I said yes."

"Tch,"

"But, I started drinking and I lost my job and now I'm losing my home." she let out a sigh. "I can't tell my mom."

"So your solution to heartbreak is becoming an alcoholic? Idiot." He downed the last bit of coffee. "You've been drinking heavily for a year now. I've been watching you drink yourself away since you walked into that bar," Levi stared at her. "The circles under your eyes suggest you don't get much sleep and stress from being jobless and now, homeless. The sleep you do get is from when you've passed out from drinking too much."

"Are you a stalker?" she was astonished this man she hardly knew, knew so much.

"No," he answered. "Used to be a detective and you talk a lot when you're drunk."

"Used to?" He didn't answer her. "Fine then," Kagome huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'll have to move back in with mom. But then she'll find out."

"Sounds like a you problem."

"Jerk," she muttered. "Thanks for helping, but I really gotta go."

He didn't say anything more as she left the apartment, the door shutting with a soft click and the apartment was silent once again.

A few days passed and she hadn't shown up to the bar Eren worked at.

"Kagome hasn't been here in a few days," Eren noted as he cleaned the glasses.

Levi shrugged, "Maybe she decided to stop drinking."

"You can't just stop drinking," Jean chimed in. "An alcoholic will always want alcohol and will do almost anything to get it. They can't stop drinking on their own."

"Jean's right," Armin spoke. "If she wants to stop, then she's got to want to stop with every fiber of her being."

"I think she'll stop drinking," Eren grinned. He had complete faith in her.

"I don't," Levi stated.

Before Eren could yell at him, Armin interjected, "Why do you say that?"

"She drinks to numb the pain of heartbreak. As long as she feels broken about her break, she'll continue to drink." He tapped his finger on the counter.

Nothing was said for a long while until a figure stumbled into the bar. "Eren," the woman plopped on the stool. "I need a drink."

"Kagome," Eren breathed.

"The other bars kicked me out," she said, "I wasn't going to come back here, but..." She trailed off.

"I thought you stopped drinking?" Eren questioned as he served his customer.

"When pigs fly," she nodded as she held up the glass and downed half of it, "Now that I am officially homeless and jobless, I've got nothing left to lose."

Levi glared at the woman from across the bar. He was angry at her, why? He didn't know. He did know that everything in his body was telling him to help this woman. "Homeless, jobless, and drunk." he scoffed gaining her attention.

"Yeah, so?" she hit him with one of her famous glares, "What else is new?"

"Listen here, brat," he strode towards her until he was standing beside her. She reeked of different types of alcohol. He spun the stool until she was facing him.

A goofy smile spread across her face as she stared at him, "Ya know, you're really handsome." The comment caught him off guard. The smile on her face faded, "I don't feel so good," she muttered and leaned forward so her head was resting against him. "Can I stay with you?"

He ignored the shocked stares from those around them. "Come on, let's go."

"Go where?" she whispered.

He gently pulled her to her feet, "I'll pay for it later." Eren nodded and watched as Levi lead the woman out the door. He opened the car door for her and got into the driver's seat and drove home.

"It hurts," she said after a while. He glanced at her, "Right here," she held a hand over her heart. Not long after that, she had passed out, and just like the other night, he put her to bed with water and pills on the nightstand and slept on the couch.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Here again?" she rose a questioning eyebrow from the hallway entrance.

"You're homeless and jobless and don't want your mother to see you being an alcoholic," he turned the page of the book he was reading. "Coffee is over there, cups in the cabinet."

She shook her head and opened the cabinet and froze. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she reached for the bottle of vodka. A hand slapped hers away, "That was a test and you failed."

"Bastard." She hissed.

"Sit down," he practically demanded. Kagome pouted, stealing one last longing look at the bottle before turning away and sitting at the table.

"So, why am I here this time? Did I hit your car again?" he set the cup of coffee in front of her and returned to his spot.

"No. Last night, after all the other bars kicked you out, you came to Eren's bar, drunk of course, and requested to stay with me, so here we are, again." He explained.

She didn't say anything. They sat there in silence, her slowly sipping at the coffee in her hand, and he turning the pages of his book. "I need help."

"I know."

"I'm being serious,"

"I know," he repeated. Kagome bit her lip. "Which is why you'll be staying here."

"Excuse me?"

"You have no home, no job, and just admitted to needing help," He turned the page of his book, "If you go back to your mother she'll have to see the mess you've become and you clearly don't want that. So, in the meantime, you'll be staying here. Of course, not for free."

"Why?" He didn't answer her and she didn't press the issue. "Thanks..."

The first thing he did was help her get a job. He specifically instructed her new boss on her current situation. Luckily, he was a very understanding man, or maybe he just scared the shit out of the poor man.

The next thing he did was get in contact with all of her old friends and boy had he wish he hadn't.

"Are you Levi?" One of the three girls that approached him asked.

He nodded. "You must be Ayumi, Eri, and Yuka."

"How do you know Kagome?" Ayumi looked him up and down. "Hey, he's really hot!"

The other two nodded in agreement, "Yeah, much better looking than that Inuyasha guy." Yuka clapped her hands together.

"Are you Kagome's boyfriend?" Eri berated him.

"No," he snapped. "Now, would you shut up and let me talk." The three of them shut their mouths with an audible click. "You three know Kagome better than anyone else, clothes and shoe size included." Levi pulled out his wallet and slid them a credit card. The three of them gasped, "Don't get excited, brats. This is just a throwaway card I filled with a few hundred dollars for this occasion."

The three girls squealed.

"Wait wait wait, this is Kagome we're talking about. While we are shopping for clothes, we have to keep in mind that she's modest," Levi choose this opportunity to leave and leave he did. And quickly.

He rubbed his temple just thinking about it. Now all he had to do was sit and relax while he could. He had just sat down when the door slammed open.

"Levi!" the man sighed.

"Shitty glasses,"

"Eren and Jean said you have a woman in your life," she crossed her arms over her chest.

"They lied." he glared at her.

"Yeeeah, like Eren and Jean would lie about something like that, especially concerning you," Hanji was smart, he'd give her that.

"There is no woman." He insisted. He and Hanji stared at one another.

It was like God hated him. At that very moment, the door opened. "Geez, Maria is bitch," Kagome froze when she saw Hanji. "Am I... interrupting?"

"Levi..." Hanji smirked.

"Damn it," he cursed.

"Should...Should I leave?" Kagome made leave for the door.

"No, it's fine. It was going to happen sooner or later. Shitty glasses, this is Kagome Higurashi, Kagome, Shitty glasses."

"Zoe Hanji," The woman reached out and shook her hand, "How do you know each other?" Levi flickered his eyes to Kagome and opened his mouth to answer her.

"He's helping me," she quickly said, "I'm an alcoholic and asked him for help."

"You asked Levi, of all people?" She raised an eyebrow. "I thought you'd ask Eren or Armin or someone else. How long have you known him?"

"A few weeks..."

"Hmm," Hanji turned her full attention on Kagome. She looked her up and down and circled the woman, "Young and beautiful."

Kagome blushed, "T-thanks."

"Shitty glasses," Levi growled.

"Yeah yeah yeah, I'm leaving," she smiled at Kagome, "It was nice meeting you."

"You as well," She blinked as the woman walked past her and out the door. "I just came by to grab something and I'll be leaving. She only gave me thirty minutes." Kagome opened the kitchen door and pulled out a silver bottle. "Gotta split."

"It's already after five, you take the morning shift." Levi gave her a skeptical look and then he looked at the bottle in her hand "What's in the bottle?" Levi stepped in front of her with crossed arms.

"Um, water," she gave him a confused look.

"Let me see it," he held out a hand.

"Why?"

"Why are you getting defensive?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"If it was just water you would have handed it over already."

"I don't have time for this." She moved to step around him, but he stepped in her way.

"Give me the bottle."

"No!"

Levi grit his teeth. He quickly swept her feet from beneath her and pinned her to the ground. Kagome struggled beneath him, but he was stronger than her. He pinned her hands above her head and smirked at her as she glared at him. He grabbed the bottle and unscrewed the lid.

She looked away from him. He dumped the alcohol out onto the carpet and tossed the bottle to the side. He turned his cold, steely eyes to her teary blue ones. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I couldn't stop myself. I don't want to be this way anymore," she finally let the tears fall and he watched. "Please, help me." she covered her eyes with her hands and cried.

He stood up and walked into the kitchen. He pulled the bottle out from the cabinet and dumped it down the drain. He didn't say anything as he stood over her, arms crossed over his chest, and a glare that could put Inuyasha's elder brother, Sesshomaru, to shame.

"I already told you, brat," he grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. "Stop crying."

"Oh gee, thanks," Kagome rolled her eyes as she wiped the tears from her eyes. She took a deep breath and smiled up at him, "Thank you, Levi. For everything. For taking me into your home and helping me through this."

"You're not going to better as long as you are still in love with that Inuyasha guy," Levi took a seat on his sofa.

"I can't just stop loving him," she said.

"I know," he replied.

"Well, what do you suggest I do?"

He leaned back into the couch, "Fall in love with someone else."

That night, Kagome lay in bed replaying what Levi had said. "Fall in love with someone else...?" she sighed, I don't know anyone else."

A few weeks passed by and Kagome found herself pacing in the living room. Levi was currently out, working. Eren had talked his boss into giving him a job at the bar. She hadn't had a drink in almost three weeks and it was driving her up the wall. All the pain she was numbing from her horrible breakup was hitting her like a thousand pounds of bricks. She wanted to cry, but at the same time, she didn't want to.

"That bastard doesn't deserve my tears!" she exclaimed, "But..." her shoulders slumped.

The door opened and closed. "I didn't know you were here," Hanji spoke.

"Hanji," Kagome gave a sigh of relief, "You scared me."

"Everything... Okay?" She questioned taking in her sloppy appearance. Her hair was a disaster and her clothes were all wrinkled.

"Um, define okay," Hanji smiled as she took Kagome by the hand and led her to the couch, and sat her down.

"Tell me about it," There was something about the way Hanji said that and the look in her eyes that made Kagome spill.

"I remember meeting him, Inuyasha I mean. On a cloudy day in August. Somehow I knew he was going to be the one, and eventually, he let me go," She gave a bitter, heartbreaking laugh, "I remember a year ago. Seeing him on a foggy September day, with her. Every bone in my body ached, seeing how happy he was with her, how much he loved her. Then I remember he doesn't care about me anymore, and I never will matter to him. And it hurts, it hurts a lot. Is there something wrong with me? Am I just not good enough for anyone?"

"It's okay to hurt," Hanji rubbed her back in soothing circles, "But, this is part of the healing process. You know that I will listen to you. Hell, even Eren and the others are here for you, especially Levi, and Levi has never taken a drunken woman into his home. And don't you EVER say you are not good enough. You're beautiful and smart. Yes, you have a bit of a drinking problem, but you're trying to fix that and that says something. Most alcoholics won't admit that there's a problem."

"I appreciate it," Kagome smiled, "But you said that Levi has never done anything like this for anyone."

Hanji smirked, "Probably because he's in love with you." She stood up and smiled at a flabbergasted Kagome.

"H-he's not in love with me!" She protested.

"I've known Levi for years," She winked at her, "See ya."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Where the hell have you been?" Levi asked as Hanji waltzed into the bar.

"I was at your apartment." she plopped down on a barstool and gave Levi a smile that could only mean trouble.

Levi narrowed his eyes, "What did you do?"

"Nothing. I stopped by and Kagome was there. She was a mess," Hanji let out a whistle, "We talked, and she was really torn up about that Inuyasha guy. But, don't worry I handled it, or at least, for the time being."

"What did you tell her," he almost wish he didn't ask. The mischievous smile on her face gave him a horrible feeling.

"Nothing much," Hanji shrugged. She leaned forward, "I just told her that you were in love with her."

He stared at her. Allowing this to process and when it did, it took Jean, Eren, and Connie to restrain Levi from throttling Hanji. "You bitch! Why the hell would you tell her something stupid!?"

"Listen, Levi," Hanji grew serious, "She's hurting from this break-up. She needs something, anything, as a distraction. Now, if you think about this logically, her believing your in love with her with get her mind off Inuyasha and will heal her wound faster, and thus the drinking problem will go away. She'll have no need to numb that pain. Now, all you have to do is play along."

"Hanji, if I may," Armin started, "What if Kagome falls in love with Levi?"

"Nothing to worry about. Wanna know why?" Armin nodded and Hanji reached out and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, "Levi is already in love with her. He just doesn't know. This method allows him to realize this," she whispered and then pushed him away.

"R-right," Armin straightened out his shirt and stepped away from her. When he actually thought about what she said, it all made sense. Levi had taken her in. The group practically knew almost everything about her, she often talked about her life a lot when she came in to drink. She just never mentioned anything about her love life.

"Damn it, shitty glasses, why couldn't you tell that Arlert was in love with her something," Levi scowled.

Hanji said nothing as she stood up, "Gotta go."

Levi ran a hand through his hair and throw a towel at Eren, "I'm leaving." Levi stormed out of the bar and headed home.

Levi opened the door and on the floor, he saw Kagome. For a moment, he thought she had passed out, that was until she glanced at him and then quickly looked away. "Welcome home."

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Staring at the ceiling, what else?"

"Why on the floor?" She merely shrugged.

He tossed his car keys onto a table, "Hanji stopped by apparently. She found you moping."

Kagome swallowed, "Um, yeah. She did."

"What happened?"

"Nothing much,"

"Is that so?" he stood above her and peered down at her. Kagome stared up at him with her blue eyes and Levi found that he couldn't look away from her. Her eyes were stunning, they drew him in. One could say they were blue, but that would be a vast understatement. They reminded him of a fragile piece of blue china, the lightest shade of teal, the seafloor in which you could be swimming in right this second. Her eyes reminded him of something extravagant. In that moment and in that moment only, that the twinkle in her eyes was the most beautiful thing he had witnessed.

"Y-yes..." she whispered.

"What else did she tell you?"

"She just listened to me," Kagome closed her eyes, "About Inuyasha."

"And what about him?" Levi reached down and grabbed her arms to pull the woman to her feet.

Kagome kept her eyes to the ground, "I told her about how it hurt to see him with another woman and how he didn't care and never will. Maybe no one ever will, and I know Hanji was wrong, she just wanted me to get my mind off of Inuyasha," Kagome looked up at Levi and gave him a heartbroken smile, "Sorry that I'm putting you through all this."

"That's not true," he said to her softly.

"Not true?" Her blue eyes grew furious, "The one person I have EVER loved and devoted everything to turned around and cheated and told me he didn't care about me! I feel like I wasted my time with Inuyasha. Everything we did together, all the good things, it hurts. What if I can never get over him? What if I never fall in love again? What if-"

The next thing she knew, he had slammed his lips to hers and nearly knocked all the wind from her lungs. Kagome was shocked, she had never expected something like this from him. His hand drifted to her hips. It settled there and pulled her closed. The kiss obliterated every thought she had. For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, Kagome's mind was locked onto the present. She splayed her hand against his chest, intending to push him away, but instead, she felt her hands begin to slide up his chest and encircle his neck.

They separated and she could only stare into those captivating steely, gray eyes. At that moment, he knew he had fallen for her and hard.

He couldn't resist. He leaned in a little closer, their foreheads touching. She urged herself to push away, but couldn't. Her body began to tremble uncontrollably. His head was angled slightly to the side as his lips came closer and closer to hers. She was surprised to find her own lips parted.

Their breaths mingled. Her heart fluttered inside her chest.

At first, it was a delicate butterfly of a kiss.

Then his arms encircled her.

He had no wish for the kiss to end. His only desire was to touch her, to move his hands under her layers and feel her perfect softness. In moments the soft caress becomes more firm, he savored her lips and the quickening of her breath that matched his own. A kiss like this was a beginning, a promise of much more to come.

Once again they separated. One look in his eyes and he gave in. In one swift motion, he had her in his arms and their lips locked once more as he made his way to the bedroom. In the twilight room, their fingers caressed each other's skin as if afraid a heavier touch would break the heady magic. They became one, one mind with one goal and purpose.