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empressgetou · 14 hours ago

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Event: @levievent | levimonth25 | day 1: knight/royalty + day 7: thug/noble

link to cross-posted fic on ao3

the stars don't glow, the moon can't shine | ARC I

✰ tags: Levi/fem!reader, royal knight!Levi, thug!Levi, (he's both it'll make sense), arranged marriage, slowburn, childhood friends to lovers, forbidden love, virgin!Levi, angst with a happy ending ✰ warnings: MDNI, smut, old-fashioned views on women and psychology, mentions of sex work, mentions of character death ✰ wc: 9.8k ✰ songs: So Ist Es Immer by Sawano Hiroyuki + Carnival of Rust by Poets of the Fall

✰ summary ✰ When Levi sees you for the first time, he immediately knows you don’t belong here, in the slums where the alleys are too dark for light to reach them and too light for stars to be seen. You’re elusive, and bright, and wonderful, like the sun and the moon and the stars he’s been starved for, for as long as he remembers. But then, one day, you’re gone, as abruptly as you appeared into his life. Now, years later, he’s no longer a street rat, but an anointed Knight in the Royal Guard. About to be married off to a faceless princess as reward for his prowess on the battlefield. And all he can think about is that he never got to learn your name.

Levi hates parties.

He hates the stiff, lavish clothes he’s forced to wear, too impractical for moving and fighting in should the need arise. He hates the way the noble ladies prance around, looking more like overgrown peacocks than anything else – with their colourful gowns, the chunky jewellery adorning slender necks and bony wrists like ropes of extravagance, too-white teeth flashing through lips painted red as blood.

But, most of all, he hates the way they look at him. The ladies with admiration, giggling and bashfully fanning their blushing cheeks whenever he passes, batting their long lashes in his direction. The men with cold, calculating looks, eyes hard as they try to figure out how big of a threat he’ll pose to them, now that he has returned from war branded a hero and granted the title of Duke.

Humanity’s Strongest, they call him.

He wonders if you are here, somewhere. He wonders if you’ve heard of the rumours surrounding him, of his achievements. If you know that he lost Furlan and Isabel. It’s been ten years, but somehow, you still manage to sneak your way into his thoughts, his dreams, his actions.

You are there when he shaves in the morning. It’s almost as if he can see your reflection staring back at him in the mirror, as he angles his jaw to get those spots behind his mandible he tended to miss when he was younger. “You’ve still got some stubble here,” you used to say, fingers gently ghosting across his skin.

You are there when he cleans his room. He recalls showing you how to get all the dirt out of the cracks in the wood, how to get stains out of a piece of clothing when water was sparse and soap even sparser. He recalls the times when he would clean and you would sit by the dining table, embroidering small patterns to decorate the patches on his clothes. When he asked why you were putting fucking flowers on his trousers and jacket, you just smiled at him and said, “To pass time while you’re having one of your cleaning fits. You’re welcome, by the way.”

You are there when he swings his sword on the battlefield. Not unlike he would wield his daggers when he had to protect you from all the men with ill intentions in the Underground. He tells himself he’s still protecting you like this, even if you don’t know it – not that he needs you to know.

You are on his mind tonight, when he imagines what you would say to him if you saw him here. If you would smile at him, hug him like you used to when you were children. He pretended not to like it whenever you got affectionate – something he’s come to regret sorely since then. He wonders if you would kiss him, like you used to do when you got older. He didn’t pretend not to like that at least.

Quite the contrary, in fact.

The ball tonight is in honour of the King’s decision to bestow him his new titles and land, and soon, it’s time for the welcoming speech.

The royal family is seated at the far end of the ballroom, like an alien entity. With the King front and centre, a large, imposing figure with a noble face weathered with age, and the queen by his side. She’s a delicate thing, looking almost breakable beside her husband, the crown so large on her head it looks like her neck might snap under the weight.

And on each side of the royal pair sit the royal children. The crown prince, looking to be around Levi’s age, as well as the seven princesses, some with their faces shrouded in veils of silk and lace, as is custom for the royal family’s unwed women.

“Levi!”

An obnoxiously loud voice reaches his ears, and when he looks up from the glass of champagne he has yet to touch, he’s met with the sight of Section Commander Hange Zöe waving at him. They’ve exchanged their usual, black eyepatch with one decorated with golden embroidery for the occasion.

He scowls, not bothering with pleasantries. “What?”

They blink innocently at him. “Can’t I congratulate my dearest friend during the royal ball held in celebration of his bravery on the battlefield? Of his prowess, his heroism, his absolute devotion to his nation, which finally ended the century-long dispute with our arch-enemy Marley?”

He cocks a brow but doesn’t grace them with an answer.

“Alright, maybe I did come here to gossip a little,” they admit after some time, throwing up their arms in defeat.

Levi lets out a snort. “Of course you did.”

“So, I heard rumours about the oldest princess finally being promised to someone – apparently some lower-ranking lord.”

“Well, I also guess the King has too many daughters to know what to do with,” Levi responds dryly.

Small gasps can be heard from the guests around him. Levi ignores them, used to people being put off by his bluntness. Unlike them, he didn’t grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth and another one in his ass. He never really did learn how to speak their posh language, where you say one thing but mean another.

Just one more thing he hates about social events like these.

“Some say it’s supposed to be a sort of punishment,” Hange continues, unperturbed. “For her Highness to learn her place. I’ve heard that she’s always sneaking out of the palace, mingling with all kinds of unsavoury types. In fact, I’ve heard rumours that that’s the reason for--”

But Levi doesn’t get to hear more about the princess’ escapades, because just then, all voices hush to a whisper. He glances up just in time to see the King get to his feet, his long, emerald green cape falling heavily around his shoulders.

“My lords, ladies, and knights of Eldia,” he starts voice grave and rumbling over the now silent ballroom. “We are all gathered on this day in honour of Sir Levi Ackerman, newly anointed Royal Knight and Duke of Trost. His valour has been proven, his loyalty weighed as he has guarded our borders and sowed fear in our enemies’ hearts, most noticeably during The Battle of Heaven and Earth where we finally defeated the Marleyans, putting an end to the 100-year feud between our nations.”

The King pauses, letting his words settle, before continuing. “However, that is not all. On this day, with you as witnesses, it is also my pride as both King of this nation and as a father, to announce that along with his newly granted titles and lands…I will also bestow upon Sir Levi Ackerman the honour of receiving my oldest daughter…as his wife.”

The silence thickens. Lying like a heavy, suffocating blanket over the ballroom.

Levi feels his heart skip a beat. His otherwise blank expression cracking, his eyes widening, fists clenching at his sides.

“May they live long and happy lives. Please join me in a toast for the newly betrothed couple!”

The guests all dutifully raise their glasses to their lips. Someone kicks Levi over his shin, and he turns his head to glare at Hange.

Drink, they mouth at him.

But Levi doesn’t register it. Doesn’t see Hange, or the stares send his way – some curious, some spiteful – doesn’t hear the whispering or the quiet, hissing noises directed at him.

No, all he can see, all he can hear, all he can think of is you.

You, and the promise he made to you all those years ago.

A promise he now can’t keep.

Because he has just been promised to someone else.

Levi is twelve years old the first time he meets you. He immediately knows that you’re not supposed to be here – in the slums, nicknamed the Underground because almost no sunlight reaches the dark alleys and streets

You’re too…clean. Your hair isn’t sticking to your skull in thick locks because it’s been a month since you last washed it. Your clothes are tattered and torn, yes, but not repaired and patched up again and again and again until not a single thread of the original fabric is left.

And you look healthy. Your cheeks full and flushed, nothing like the pale and hollow faces he’s so used to seeing around here. Your eyes are bright instead of dull, limbs strong instead of sickly thin.

No, you certainly don’t belong here and yet…here you are.

Levi is wary at first. His guess is that you’re some kind of noble’s daughter messing around where they shouldn’t. And Levi – well, he’d do best not to get involved.

He’s just about to silently fade back into the darkness when he sees it. The fear in your eyes, the way you keep glancing over your back as you stumble along, the way you bite your lip until it bleeds. Thundering footsteps can be heard further down the alley.

You’re being followed.

And before he knows what he’s doing – before he can so much as think of the consequences of someone like him touching a noble’s daughter like you – he has sprung from the shadows, grabbed your wrist and dragged you along with him.

“Hey, what are you--”

“Just shut up and follow along.”

You’re slow. Too slow. Gritting his teeth, Levi halts to a stop, then unceremoniously slings you onto his back. “Just hold on.”

You don’t have to be told twice because next moment, he surges forwards again, making you desperately cling to his back – legs gripping his waist like a vice and arms wrapped around his throat in a near choking grip.

It’s much faster this way. Levi might be scrawny, but he’s strong, and soon, the sounds of heavy footsteps and clanking of metal disappear far behind you. He doesn’t slow down just yet though, instead weaving in and out of the narrow streets he knows like back of his hand.

It’s first when he reaches a slightly wider alley than the others you’ve passed so far that he halts to a stop. Barely out of breath and only with hair slightly mussed from running and from you pressing your face against it.

“Alright, you can let go now,” he grumbles, crossing his arms over his chest. He’s been supporting your weight as he ran, but now, it’s entirely your own strength keeping you glued to his back.

“Oh, right.” Tentatively, you let go, your feet touching the uneven cobbled street below.

He turns around to face you. “Just continue straight ahead, then turn right. You’ll be out of the Underground then.”

You cock your head to the side, frowning. “Under…ground? But we’re not…underground?”

“You’re not funny.” Levi clicks his tongue in dismay.

You just purse your lips at him. “I’m not trying to be.”

He eyes you for a long moment. Suspicious at first, before incredulity slowly creeps up on him. He blinks. Are you really so sheltered that you’re not aware of the Underground?

Then, he scoffs, and without another word, turns around to leave.

“Hey wait!”

He doesn’t wait.

“What’s your name?”

He rolls his eyes. He isn’t stupid enough to give away any more identifying information than he already has to this damsel in distress.

“Thank you!”

He pauses. Just for a split second. But then, he continues onwards, ignoring the way his heart softens just a little.

The next time he sees you is a couple of weeks later. You’re in a much better state now and not quite as conspicuous. You were smart enough to don a grey cloak before coming here, at least. All kinds of shady people come and go in the Underground, so a hooded figure, even if it’s a child, isn’t something out of the ordinary.

“What the fuck are you doing here again?” he scowls. He’s leaning against a nearby brick wall, sheathing his dagger now that he knows it isn’t a thief, but you beneath the cloak.

You shrug. “I ran away.”

He lets out a snort. “Figures.”

“I wanted to try that fried fish at the market,” you tell him.

He cocks an eyebrow at you. “Can’t you just…go there and buy it?”

“Well, I don’t have any money,” you sniff.

His brows raise even higher at that. No way. You reek of wealth – from the way you walk, spine straight and chin lifted, to the way you talk, in that posh accent only the nobility and the royal family favour. And now that he’s closer, he can see that the cloak you’re wearing is thick and of good quality, something that could earn him an entire month of food if he sold it on the black market.

“Well, I don’t have any either,” he snaps, sudden anger coursing through him.

Tch. This is why he hates he upper class.

He’s just about to leave when you speak again.

“Oh wait!”

Despite himself, he stays to watch as you fumble with something near your head. Next moment, you present him with a pair of earrings.

His eyes widen. They look like the real deal – polished emeralds and diamonds woven in a delicate band of gold.

“You think these will do?”

Levi hurries to mould his face back into a disinterested expression. “You could buy all the fish in the market with that, and then some. Besides, if anyone saw you trying to buy anything with those around here, you’d be dead meat. People will know you’re some hot shit’s daughter and see if you can bring in a nice ransom.”

He expects you to flinch or flee. Or maybe curse at him. Or cry. But instead, you just continue to look at him with a thoughtful expression. “Are you one of those people?”

He feels his shoulders tense, jaw clenching. After a moment, he replies. “No.”

“Oh well, that’s a relief!” You beam at him. “So, if you were to try and buy something with these earrings, would people then think you’re some…what did you call it? Hot shit’s son?”

Despite himself, Levi feels a smile tugging at his lips. Then, he presses them together, averting his gaze. “No.”

“Good!” And then, without further pre-emptive, you grab his wrist and place the earrings in his palm before closing his fingers around them. “Use them as you see fit. As long as you buy me that fish too!”

He scrunches up his nose. “I’m not your fucking servant.”

You just smile sweetly at him. “No, but you’re my friend now, and I’m asking you to please buy that fish for me? As a friend?”

“Tch. You don’t even know my name.”

“And who’s fault is that?”

It’s not often Levi finds himself speechless. He can’t decide whether he finds you annoying or funny. Or maybe both.

And you just stand there, batting your lashes at him and looking so damn pretty--

He feels heat creep up his cheeks. Lowering his gaze, he mumbles, “Name’s Levi.”

When you don’t give him your name in return he snaps his head back up, scowl back in place. “Oi, what’s yours?”

Another sweet smile, teeth glinting in the dim light. “That…is a secret.”

Levi is not quite sure how it happened. But before he knows it, your visits become more frequent. Part of his every day, almost.

He finally decides that you’re more entertaining than you’re annoying. Not too bad to be around.

And you’re…bright. Bright, like the sun he’s been starved for ever since he was born. He feels lighter than he ever has since his mother died in that godforsaken brothel he grew up in. Light, like he hasn’t felt since his only resemblance of a father figure left him to fend for himself, after making sure he could gut a person twice his age and size without batting an eye.

Eventually, he does buy you that fish from the market, but not for the earrings. He tells himself it’s because he’s waiting for the perfect opportunity to sell them that he hasn’t done it yet. Meanwhile, he keeps them in a little pouch in his inner pocket when he’s out, or under his thin pillow when he sleeps.

He finally brings you to his apartment. It’s a single room with no windows – because what’s the point when there’s no light outside, and the only thing you can see through it is another brick wall?

It’s more than most people in the Underground own anyways, and he’s never been ashamed of it before. He’s fought tooth and nail for it – there’s no such thing as paying rent here. Instead, it’s about defending your territory and building a reputation until no one dares trespass into your home.

And Levi has a reputation alright. Already at fifteen years old, his face has become famous throughout the Underground, and people know to keep a wide berth.

But not you. No, you’ve never been scared of him. And if you’re offput by his humble living conditions, you don’t show it. Instead, you carefully take a seat on his bed – the only furniture in here except for the spindly table in a corner – arranging your skirts as if readying yourself for a tea party in the royal palace.

“So, what’s on the menu today, my lord?”

He scowls. “Don’t call me that.”

“No? Personally, I think Lord Levi sounds fancy.”

“Well, you’ve got a shit taste then.”

“I happen to think that my taste is absolutely exquisite.”

He pretends to ignore you while he makes the tea. Exquisite my ass, he thinks. Who even uses such a word?

He carefully measures out the leaves, counts the seconds from when the water gets to a boil to let it get to the correct temperature, then counts the seconds after he’s poured it over the leaves before handing you the chipped mug.

The tea probably tastes stale and bitter compared to what you’re used to – he’s still not quite sure what your exact status is – but you still accept it you with a dip of your chin and a smile, then proceed to carefully nip at the hot liquid as if it were brewed from the finest import from the Azumabito Empire.

Then, you start talking. “By the way, I saw a sparrow in the gardens today. I tried to feed it, but it wouldn’t get close to me.”

He scoffs. “No wonder.”

“Not at first, at least,” you continue, unperturbed as usual. “But after a couple of hours, I finally did succeed! Its small feet tickled my palm – it was such fun.”

You then change the topic to the garden. Which flowers had bloomed that day, which had wilted, and which attracted the most insects.

Levi listens. He wonders what kind of life you live if you’re able to spend half a day on such useless endeavours.

But at the same time, some part of him also can’t help but swallow your words as if they were the freshest of spring water and he was dying of thirst. He wonders if you know how much he craves the outside – the light, the animals, the flowers. All they have in the Underground are oil lamps, rats, and sickly weeds struggling for survival in the cracks in the road, after all.

He wonders if you’re aware, and if that’s why you yap about it. About your life outside.

It sounds bright when you tell him about it.

It sounds wonderful.

It also sounds awfully lonely.

But then again, maybe that’s why you spend so much time in the slums with a street rat like him.

He enjoys these quiet times with you more than he cares to admit. When it’s just the two of you and a cup of tea, talking about anything and nothing – without giving away any identifying information about yourselves except for vague mentions and hints.

At one point, you ask if you can go out. He refuses at first, claiming it’s too dangerous.

“You’ll stick out like a sore thumb. We’d attract too much attention.”

“Please Levi. I have to get out.” Your fingers dig into his arm as you beg.

“No, it’s too risky. Do you know what people here would do to get their hands on money? They wouldn’t hesitate to--”

“But you’d be there, right?”

“Yes, but--”

“Please Levi, please. Not you too-- you can’t-- you can’t keep me in here. Please, I need to get out. Just a little.”

He looks at you for a long time, watching the way your wide eyes dart from side to side, feeling the way your nails leave half-moon shaped indents in his bicep. It doesn’t seem like the antics of a spoiled girl throwing a tantrum just because things don’t go her way – no, this seems more like…desperation.

He feels something tug at his heart. “…alright.”

Your whole body relaxes against his. Alarmed, his limbs awkwardly outstretched, he looks down in surprise as you wrap your arms around him and bury your face in the crook of his neck.

After some time, he pats you a bit on the back, then clears his throat. “Okay then, let’s…let’s go for a walk.”

Sometimes, you’re just out for a stroll along the canal running through the Underground. Both literal and figurative shit and filth are dumped into it daily, but since a steady stream keeps the water running, it’s all washed away, leaving it mostly clean in the morning.

Sometimes, you visit the market. You let him do all the talking, your face hidden beneath a hood, always staying close to him with a hand on his arm or shoulder. That was his three conditions for bringing you with him. You hadn’t complained.

“I’m used to keeping my face hidden anyways,” you’d mumbled, more to yourself than to him.

He didn’t know what to make of that.

One time, he takes you to the anonymous burial site where his mother’s remains lie. You bring flowers – a rare sight in the midst of the Underground. They’re weirdly shaped, looking almost like birds.

“They’re called birds of paradise,” you tell him in a quiet voice as you carefully place them on the unmarked grave.

Levi notices the tenderness with which you arrange the flowers, your small, sad smile, and the single tear rolling down your cheek for a woman you never knew.

He doesn’t know if it’s for his mother or for you that his heart aches in that moment.

After that, you start bringing gifts when you visit. Insisting that it’s good manners now that he’s hosting your small encounters. He suspects it’s just an excuse because you know he’d refuse them otherwise – he doesn’t want to be a fucking charity case, after all.

It’s never money, but it’s always something he needs or wants without knowing he wanted it. More grease for his lamp, claiming that you can’t stand the eternal darkness of the Underground – even if you keep coming here when you don’t have to, as Levi reminds you. A stack of new cloths and a bar of soap after you find out that he’s a clean freak. Freshly picked apples, red and plump and juicy and sweet, with just the right amount of tang, exactly as Levi likes them.

Sometimes, you’ll even forget your jewellery when you leave. Another pair of earrings. A bracelet you took off because you claimed it was too heavy for your wrist. A necklace and a brooch and a hair ornament. All of them decorated with diamonds and those polished emeralds.

Levi isn’t stupid. He knows those emeralds are the type of stone the royal family and those closest to them prefer. Green is the royal colour of Eldia, after all. So, he knows that you must be more important than you let on.

He never asks you though, and you never tell him. Just like he doesn’t tell you of all his dealings and business in the Underground, and you don’t ask. He thinks both of you prefer it like that – because then at least you can pretend to have a somewhat normal relationship.

He should have known it was only postponing the inevitable.

“Hey, Levi?”

“What?”

“…have you ever thought about leaving? The Underground?”

Every fucking day. “Sometimes.”

“You know…I could try talking to someone. I’m sure--”

“No.”

You press your lips together, clutching the fabric you’re holding. You’re sitting on his bed, patching up one of his shirts. You’re good with thread and needle, he must admit. Initially, you’d just wanted to bring him new clothes, but he’d refused. Saying he didn’t want to look like some stuck-up noble when doing dealings in the Underground.

You hadn’t taken it personally, just laughed and told him that at least you could try to repair it for him. You knew how to embroider, so how hard could patching some pieces of fabric together be?

Pretty fucking hard, it had turned out. But you’d learned along the way, and now, your nimble fingers work almost by their own accord, without you having to bend your neck and strain your eyes to concentrate on getting the stitches just right.

You let out a sigh, placing his shirt beside you. Crease forming between your brows as you see the wrinkles you made in it – you know he hates wrinkles. You try to smooth them out with your hands, but Levi gets to his feet to snatch your wrist, halting you in your endeavour.

He gulps. “Shit, sorry. I-- I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

Your eyes soften. “I know, Levi. It’s just that I want to help somehow. And if there’s just a small chance that I could--”

“You already help me plenty.” His jaw clenches and he looks away.

“But if I could just--”

“I said no.”

“But why?”

He doesn’t answer. Doesn’t know how to tell you that he does want to leave. He wants it so badly, dreams about the light, about the open spaces, about the night sky littered with stars.

But at the same time, he knows it would be dangerous for you to meddle in affairs involving the Underground. It’s not a place you should harbour any interest in whatsoever.

“You know, you’d get citizenship. If I married you.”

Levi chokes on his spit. Fists clenching, his entire body tensing. His heart convulsing in his chest.

“Levi, stop it. Levi, it hurts…”

He jerks away from you, eyes wide. Watching the way you gently rub the angry red marks in the shape of his fingers he’d left there. He hadn’t even noticed he was still holding onto your wrist.

Damn it.

He rakes a hand through his hair. “Fuck it, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to--"

“It’s alright.”

“No, it’s not alright.” He feels strangely warm. Almost angry, but not quite. Excited, a small voice whispers at the back of his mind. He pushes it away. “And what the fuck was that before? About-- about fucking marriage? Are you out of your damn mind?”

You freeze, for just a split second. A strange expression crossing your features.

But then, it’s gone again, as fleeting as the smile you send him right after. A smile that doesn’t quite reach your eyes. “Yeah. Yeah, what was I thinking about.”

It’s been a month since you last visited.

Which shouldn’t be that concerning. You’re probably getting busier as you’re getting older. More responsibilities or whatever. You’ve never told him exactly what it is you’re doing and he knows it’s gotta be more than just tea parties and looking pretty.

But still…it irks him.

He finds himself linger around the outskirts of the Underground. Contemplating whether the risk of execution is worth it, just to venture out to try and find you.

For the first time, he truly hates what he is. A street rat in a sewer, a lowly thug from the slums. How dare he miss you, when you could do so much better? How dare he hope you’ll come back to this hellhole when you probably live in an estate somewhere, never missing a meal, always with a bed to sleep in at night, and roof over your head?

Still…he can’t help it. Can’t help chasing after you, like the weed chasing after sunlight in the Underground.

It’s been two months since you last visited.

He wonders if he offended you. He didn’t mean to snap at you, didn’t mean to hurt you. But when you’d talked about marriage, as if it was no big deal, his mind had both blanked and exploded at the same time.

You’d said it so casually, like when you told him what your favourite colour was, or that it had rained on your way here. As if it didn’t matter.

It had made him angry.

Shit like that matters.

It fucking matters and there you were, talking about it as if you couldn’t care less.

“It fucking matters,” he mumbles to himself, as he angrily rubs at a stain right above one of your embroideries of a bird taking flight.

It’s been half a year since you last visited.

Levi is starting to think it’s for the better.

He tells himself it’s time to move on. To stop brewing two mugs of tea every time, only to watch one of them grow cold so that he can toss it after he’s finished his own mug. To stop washing the spare cloak you keep in his apartment, again and again and again even if it hasn’t been used in months. To stop buying that fried fish from the market he doesn’t even like.

To stop thinking about you so much that it physically hurts.

Why does it hurt so fucking much?

It’s been a year since you last visited.

A lot has happened since then.

He turns eighteen. He finally relents and sells some of the jewellery you kept ‘forgetting’. He’s been saving it under a loose floorboard beneath his bed until now because it felt wrong to sell it.

But now, he has to, especially after taking in Furlan and Isabel. He hates seeing them starve and besides, Furlan’s pain medication costs more than his monthly budget when he lived alone.

They’ve also moved to a bigger apartment. Levi was reluctant at first because what if…what if you came back, only to discover that he was no longer there? Or worse, what if you knocked on the door only for a stranger to open it – someone with far more sinister intentions than just stealing from you? Someone who…

But Levi can’t even finish that thought in his head.

In the end, they do move.

He still finds himself hovering near his old apartment though, whenever he has a moment to spare. Furlan and Isabel think he’s just being sentimental, and in a way, they’re right. He keeps imagining that you’ll show up again – someday.

And he wants to be there if you do.

It’s evening. Furlan is sitting by the dining table, polishing a knife with the dedication of someone trying to diffuse a bomb. Isabel is following Levi around as he makes tea, talking his ear off about some kind of hair accessory that’s supposed to be in fashion at the moment.

He just grunts in response – he doesn’t know shit about fashion, but her comment reminds him of you. You’d probably know what Isabel is talking about. With a pang in his chest, he turns away from her, trying to hide the way his face twists at the memory.

“Hey, Levi!” Furlan’s voice echoes from the main room, snapping him out of it. “There’s…there’s a girl by the door! What should I do? I don’t want to--”

But Levi is already by his side before he can finish his sentence, almost shoving him away from the door to yank it open himself.

It’s stupid to get his hopes up, but he can’t help it. Can’t help the way his heart aches, the way his gut clenches and his throat constricts.

He stares at the intruder.

It is you.

You look older – taller, your features sharper, your eyes with a hard edge he hasn’t seen before. Paler and thinner, as if you haven’t seen the sun for ages.

“Levi,” you say.

Your voice is different too. More dull, less lively.

He grips the doorway to steady himself, so hard that his knuckles turn white and the worn wood complains under his strength.

“It’s you,” he says, voice strained, almost hoarse.

You dip your chin in confirmation. “It’s me.”

Maybe, it’s your calm tone or maybe, it’s the way you seem so unfazed, so unbothered by the fact that you haven’t shown your face here for an entire year and now have the audacity to come knocking on his door as if nothing happened.

Whatever it is, Levi sees red. “Where the fuck have you been?” he seethes, letting go of the doorway to fist his pockets instead.

You tilt your head to the side. “Busy.”

He throws back his head and lets out a loud, humourless bark of laughter. “And you couldn’t have given me a damn warning?”

Something akin to guilt flashes across your face, but it’s gone so fast that Levi thinks he might have imagined it. Furlan sends him a worried glance before slowly backing away, urging a wide-eyed Isabel to follow him to one of the small bedrooms at the back of the apartment.

“You could’ve been fucking dead and I wouldn’t know,” he spits.

You gulp. “I’m…sorry.”

“You’re sorry? You’re sorry? And what the fuck am I supposed to use your sorry for? You’ve got no idea...” He trails off, unable to get the words out. He wants to shout some more at you, maybe grab you by the shoulders and shake you – to see if any secrets will fall out.

He doesn’t even know your real name, for fuck’s sake.

Gritting his teeth, he takes a deep intake of breath, eyes closed and head tilted back. When he speaks again, his voice is colder than the canals running through Mitras in the dead of winter. “What do you want?”

“I just wanted to see you again. I missed you.” You say it so naturally, as if it’s obvious.

For some reason, it makes him even angrier.

He takes a step closer to you, brows furrowed, lips pressed into a thin line.

You don’t even flinch. Instead, you just close your eyes, as if accepting whatever he’s going to throw your way – more accusations, more curses, or maybe something more violent. Not that he would ever lay his hands on you like that. The mere thought makes him feel sick to his stomach.

Some of his anger dissipates. Just a little.

He’s close now, so close. He finds his gaze gravitate towards your mouth – he misses your smile, he realises. As if your subconsciousness notices his attention slip, your lips part slightly and your sweet breath fans over his cheeks.

It makes him almost dizzy.

He doesn’t know what he’s doing when he leans even closer and you still just let him. When he tilts his head to the side and presses his lips to yours in a chaste kiss.

You let out a small gasp in surprise, and for a moment, he freezes. Scared that he has fucked up for real this time.

But then…you smile. A real, genuine smile, that brightens your eyes the way he remembers it.

“I missed you,” you repeat, just a little breathless as you press your forehead against his.

Your warmth is so familiar it feels like coming home. He lets himself indulge in it. “I missed you too,” he admits. Whispering it, as if it’s a secret.

He feels more than sees your smile widening.

“I know you did.”

You’re back in his life again, as abruptly as you disappeared.

You take up the habit of bringing him gifts, except that now, it’s not only for him. You bring medicine for Furlan and a bunch of those hair accessories Isabel had been talking about. They both adore you, always yapping about you when you aren’t there and flocking to you when you are.

It both annoys and amuses him – just like you did, when he first met you. Besides, seeing you all happy together brings a sort of contentedness he never knew he craved.

It’s addicting.

It’s dangerous.

Because deep down…he knows it won’t last.

You’ve never slept over before. But it’s getting late, Furlan is out doing business at the other end of the Underground, and Levi doesn’t want you to walk out alone – but he also doesn’t want to leave Isabel in the apartment by herself.

It’s you suggesting that you stay – saying that you can just sleep on the floor if they have a blanket to spare.

He asks if you won’t get in trouble for staying.

You just smile at him, almost sheepishly. “Well, Sasha usually covers for me when I’m out. She’ll figure something out – she’s quite resourceful, that girl. My maid,” you add, when he cocks an eyebrow at you.

He suppresses a snort. Of course you have a maid.

“Alright, then stay,” he shrugs. Trying to act nonchalant, even if his heart is thundering loudly in his chest at the thought of you sleeping under the same roof as him.

You nod at him – one of those graceful dips of your chin that Levi would’ve scoffed at had it been any other than you.

“But you’ll sleep in my bed,” he adds when he catches your gaze scan the floor, as if searching for the softest spot to sleep on.

“Oh no, that’d be-- I couldn’t possibly--” You clear your throat, pink dusted across your cheeks.

Only then does Levi realise how you must’ve interpreted his offer (even if he did make it sound more like a demand). He lets out a string of curses in his embarrassment. “Damn it, I didn’t mean with me. I meant you can have our room – Furlan won’t be back before tomorrow anyways, and I’ll just take the chair.” He beckons towards one of the squeaky wooden chairs by the dining table. “I sleep there most nights anyways.”

You frown at him. “That can’t be very healthy. I assure you, I’ll be quite alright on the flo--”

“No.”

The word comes out harsher than he intended, and he sees you blink and lean back in surprise.

Then, you clear your throat again. “Ehem. Alright, if you…insist.”

“I do,” he grits out.

A little while later, you bid him goodnight before retreating to his bedroom. He has to restrain a sudden urge to follow you. Isabel’s soft snores can be heard from the open door beside the now closed one you disappeared behind, and he quietly moves to close it.

He’s just about to boil some water for tea when the creak of a handle being turned reaches his ears. Drawing his dagger, he whips around to face whoever dares trespass into his home…

…only to realise that it’s you, emerging from his bedroom again. You’re still fully clothed, your cheeks flushing a bright pink.

You stop to a halt in front of him, gaze flickering as you wrap your arms around yourself. Looking almost like a child bracing themselves for a scolding.

He hurries to sheathe the dagger. “What is it?”

You wring your hands, still not meeting his gaze. “It’s dark.”

He frowns. “I thought the dark didn’t bother you?”

You bite your lip.

Levi sighs, raking a hand through his hair. “Okay then. You can keep the door open if you want to.”

You give him a curt nod, but don’t retreat to the bedroom as he’d expected. Instead, you just continue to stand there, shifting on your feet.

He raises an eyebrow at you.

“I can’t…I mean-- I’ve never…I-I…” You trail off, then start again. “I…I need help, alright?” Then, you look down at your feet, chewing the inside of your cheek.

“Help with what?”

You mumble something so softly that he can’t hear a word of what you’re saying.

“Tch. If you don’t tell me, I can’t help you.”

“…I need help. Getting this thing off.” You wrinkle your nose as you look down at yourself.

And then, Levi realises. He feels his pulse quicken again, his breathing turning a little uneven.

Of course. You’ve probably never gotten dressed or undressed by yourself a single day in your life.

And now, you want him to help you.

He has half a mind to suggest asking Isabel for help. It would be much more proper, after all. But some part of him doesn’t want to ask Isabel. You came to him, and he wants to help you.

He gulps, trying to alleviate the lump forming in his throat as he takes a step closer. Then another.

You finally glance up to meet his gaze. Your eyes are a little glassy, your lips parted, your cheeks still flushed.

His mouth goes dry. Heat rushes to his own cheeks, as well as south.

Damn it.

Hastily, he places his hands on your shoulders to turn you around – both to get access to the labyrinth of buttons and strings and lace on your back, but also to keep you from noticing the growing bulge in his pants.

He’s fumbling at first, unaccustomed to this type of clothing. But his fingers are nimble and after some time, he finally works the dress open all the way from your nape and to the small of your back. He expected to find skin there – warm and silky under his touch – but instead, he’s met with more fabric and strings.

“It’s a corset,” you explain. “You’ll need to unfasten that too.”

“Looks uncomfortable,” he grunts as he gets to work again.

He tries to ignore the way you seem to shiver every time his knuckles brush over your nape. The way if feels like you’re burning every time he accidentally touches your bare skin.

And then, finally, he has loosened the last string. You take a deep intake of breath – probably relieved to finally be free of that cage, Levi thinks.

“Thank you, Levi.” You turn around to face him again.

He feels himself tense. He can see the curve of your throat as well as your collarbones, just before they dip beneath the fabric spilling down and barring your shoulders.

Your eyes darken as you look at him, and Levi feels his blood roar in his ears.

He doesn’t know who of you moved first. He also doesn’t care.

One of your hands reaches up to cup the back of his nape, the other fisting his shirt as you pull him closer.

He kisses you, more assertive this time compared to the first. Like he’s been wanting to, ever since he saw you again. His lips and tongue move in foreign ways, experimentally and daring as he presses them against yours. As he gently bites your bottom lip, swipes his tongue over the roof of your mouth. It’s hot and messy and wet and everything Levi normally hates, but for some reason doesn’t mind it when it’s with you.

His hands move to your waist, fingers digging into soft flesh. You let out a sound between a moan and a gasp. It spurs him on, making his already hard cock twitch in his pants.

In one swoop, he lifts you from the floor, one arm resting beneath your legs, hand curling around your knee, while the other supports your back. None of you break the kiss as he moves to the bedroom, closing the door silently after him, then carries you to the bed.

Carefully, he lays you atop the mattress, letting you drag him with you until he hovers above you, caging you in with his body. He ignores the way the bed creaks beneath your combined weight – he knows Isabel is a heavy sleeper, after all.

Yanking at the fabric still separating you, he finds himself growing more desperate – desperate to get closer to you, to feel your skin against his. You shimmy out of your dress and undergarments, letting it fall to the floor beside you in a heap of satin and silk. Your corset and his own shirt and pants go next, joining the rest on the floor.

Then, he pulls away, just to look at you. Your shyness seems to be gone – at least, you meet his gaze unblinkingly. You don’t cover yourself up as his eyes trail over your naked body, from your face to your breasts, your stomach and then to your thighs, already glistening near your mound.

Groaning, he clenches his fists at his sides. Not knowing how to touch you. Not daring to. He knows this is wrong – that you’re supposed to save your innocence for when you marry someone other than him, someone much more befit for your status.

He knows it, even if it pains him. It pains him, the mere thought of a faceless man standing in a suit with you in a frilly dress by his side. It makes him see red, even though he knows it’s unfair. He knows he doesn’t have any claim on you, have no right to take away what is neither his to take or yours to give.

But as you continue to look at him, just lying there, your chest rising and falling steadily, something within him cracks. You reach out to grab his hand and slowly place it over your breast.

It’s both soft and firm at the same time, and he can feel the hardened nipple against his palm.

“I trust you.”

Levi can’t help it. He lets out a low, strangled sound as he surges down to kiss you again, deeper, harder, faster. You guide his hand over your breast until he no longer needs you to tell him how to please you.

He squeezes lightly, kneads, and rolls your nipple between his fingers while listening intently to every sound you make. Every gasp, every breathy moan, every whine guiding him along, teaching him what works and what doesn’t.

He watches, mesmerised, as your lashes flutter shut and you arche your back off the mattress, desperate for something more. You grab his hand again, moving it down over your stomach until his fingers reach the wetness between your legs.

It’s surprising, how warm and wet it is, he thinks as he swipes a finger along your folds, making you shudder and gasp beneath him. Curiously, he brings his fingers to his face. It’s already coated in slick and his gaze shifts towards the source.

He doesn’t know what urges him to move down the bed, to carefully hoist your legs over his shoulders as he nestles himself between them until he has perfect, unobscured view of your sex glistening right before him. Glancing up, he finds you staring at him, wide-eyed and panting.

You blush. “I…I don’t know if it’s clean down there.”

His eyes soften. He doesn’t care if it’s clean or not because what he’s about to do will clean you up nice and thoroughly anyways.

Without breaking eye contact with you, he lowers his mouth towards your lower lips.

F-fuck.

You taste divine. He could get drunk on this alone, he thinks as he presses his tongue flat against your core to lick up the juices dripping from your fluttering hole. Squirming, you let out a strangled moan, and he places a hand on your hip to keep you still as he continues to lap at your sex. There’s a small bud just above your folds that has you panting and whining every time his nose presses against it, so he moves further up to suck it gently.

Your hips buck up against his hand, but he tightens his grip on you, keeping you in place as he experimentally prods a finger at your opening. It’s tight, so tight that he hesitates at first, afraid of hurting you.

But as you let out an impatient cry and buck your hips again, he relents and gently pushes inside. It’s easier than he anticipated, maybe because you’re so wet and slippery and warm. And God, you’re clenching around him. Imagining how you would feel around his cock is almost enough to undo him right then and there. He squeezes his eyes shut, willing himself not to cum – not yet, not before you do and not before he gets to feel you around him.

“Levi.”

His name on your lips encourages him, and he starts moving his finger inside you – slowly at first, dragging it in and out of your warmth. His mouth finds that bud atop your folds yet again, licking and sucking gently in tandem with his finger pumping in and out, in and out. At one point, he dares add another.

You whimper a little at the stretch, and he stills his hand to let you get used to the feeling.

After a moment, you nod at him, and he starts moving again. Soon, your breathing turns more ragged, your moans louder as you fist the sheets beside you. Instinctively, he knows to go faster, to suck a little harder, to curl his fingers inside you until he feels you clamp down around them. His gaze never wavers from your face as you scrunch your eyes shut, jaw going slack in a silent scream as he feels you flutter repeatedly around his fingers.

When the final spasms seem to have subsided, he pulls out. Your chest rises and falls rapidly and your hair clings to your forehead with sweat, but to Levi, you’ve never looked more beautiful.

He crawls on top of you again, his cock heavy and leaky against his stomach. You reach out for him and he lets you wrap your arms around his neck as he settles himself between your quivering thighs. One arm braced on each side of your head, so as not to crush you with his weight, he carefully rubs himself against you. Coating himself in your slick. It makes a wet, slippery sound, that’s how much you’re dripping.

His cock twitches with need and Levi wants nothing more than to feel your heat around him, but he wills himself to go slow as he presses against your opening.

It’s still tight, so unbearably tight, even if he did his best to work you open with his fingers. It takes all his willpower not to thrust inside you, to fuck you into the mattress until you’re screaming his name and clenching around his cock as you did around his fingers.

But he also doesn’t want to hurt you. Afraid he might break you in half, he pauses with just the tip inside.

Your fingers dig into his back, and he finds himself hoping you’ll leave lasting marks.

“It’s alright,” you breathe. “I can…I can take it.”

He groans against the crook of your neck, and you move to place a light kiss to his temple.

Slowly, he raises his head to look at you again before continuing to press inside. Tears start pooling at the corners of your eyes and your breathing quickens, but you still smile at him and he doesn’t stop until the base of his cock is nestled snugly against your hips.

You let out a long, shuddering breath, as if you’ve been holding it in until now. “You can move now…if you want to.”

But Levi doesn’t move, not immediately. Your tight warmth envelops him so perfectly, and he’s afraid that if he starts moving, he’ll finish within the first thrusts.

“Just…just a moment,” he gets out.

You nod. “Whenever you’re ready.”

He closes his eyes, counting to ten. You shift a little beneath him and next thing he knows, your legs are wrapped around his hips, allowing him to sink impossibly deeper inside you.

Fuck. You’re not exactly making this easier.

He counts to ten again. Tilts his head to kiss you again, from the front of your ear to your jaw to the corner of your mouth to the base of your nose to your closed lids.

And then, finally, he rolls his hips. Once, twice. Slowly at first, more so gently rocking against you than actually thrusting in and out of you.

“Faster, please.”

Levi complies – he doesn’t think he could deny you anything right now. You throw your head back as he thrusts into you, your throat bobbing and your jaw clenched. He lowers his mouth to the place his lips right above your fluttering pulse and starts sucking, making you gasp and claw at his back.

He finds himself savouring the sting, combined with the delicious friction of your warm, wet heat as you start clenching around him. Heat coils low in his stomach, his balls tightening, his cock growing impossibly bigger.

Still, you take it so well. You take him so well. Like you were made for him.

When he knows you’re close to whatever high the both of you are chasing, he moves to grab your chin, gently tipping your head until your gaze locks with his.

“I want…to see,” he gasps. “Please…let me see you.”

You don’t close your eyes when you cum this time. No, you’re looking right at him, even as your gaze turns glassy with ecstasy, as he feels you clench around him as he drives into you again and again and again until he can’t hold it back any longer and has to pull out, spilling his load all over your stomach and thighs.

Panting, he takes a moment to observe you. Letting the world around you slowly return.

You’re still looking up at him, eyes no longer glassy but bright. You’re panting too, your body slick with sweat like his.

He bends down to place a quick kiss to your forehead before he moves from the bed to fetch a wet cloth from the bathroom – one of the soft ones you’ve gifted him, so as not to rub your skin raw with the coarse sponges usually favoured in the Underground.

Gently, he starts wiping you clean from his cum and your slick. Taking care to get every last drop before he leaves to rinse the cloth, then returns to meticulously fold both of your clothes into neat stacks before he joins you on the bed again.

You reach out for him, as if welcoming him home. Carefully, he rests his head atop your chest, draping an arm over your waist.

“I…I think I’m in love with you, Levi,” you whisper into his hair.

His heart skips a beat. Doing somersaults in his chest instead. He tightens his grip on you.

“I’m yours,” he croaks, his breath hot against your even hotter skin.

The next morning, you’re sitting at the dining table, nursing a cup of tea before Levi escorts you to the outskirts of the Underground.

Something he’s been wanting to tell you nags at the back of his mind. He forgot yesterday, but now, when you’re about to leave, it resurfaces, like a fresh wound in his mind.

He waits though, until you’ve weaved your way through the streets, until you’re almost at the border between your two worlds. Maybe because he’s a coward. Or because he wants to give you a chance to escape once he tells you.

He said he was yours last night, and he meant it. He means it. Still, that doesn’t mean that you are his.

You halt to a stop, looking at him expectantly – as if you know he’s been holding something back.

Gulping, he braces himself for your reaction. “I’m joining the royal army.”

Your eyes widen and you choke on your spit. Alarmed, he moves to pound you on your back as you cough and gargle. When you’ve regained your composure, you straighten your spine, looking at him over the bridge of your nose – accusingly, almost. “No, Levi. You can’t.”

He clicks his tongue impatiently. “You don’t get to decide that.”

“You do know that we’re at war, right? That we can barely hold our borders against the Marleyans? That the casualty rate for the last infiltration attempt of Marley was ninety percent over the course of a year?”

Levi doesn’t know. How could he? It’s not like he has access to all the hot gossip about politics and military strategy like you probably have. Again, he wonders what you are

His eyes narrow. “Didn’t you see the posters? They’re all around the damn Underground at the moment. If you join the royal army and rise within the ranks, you can get permits for yourself and your family to leave this shithole for good.”

“Yeah, I saw them, but I’m sure there is another way--”

He feels anger bubble in his veins, just beneath his skin. “Don’t you get it? I’ve – we’ve tried everything. For years,dammit. Do you know how it is? To always worry about your next meal? To know that the only reason we aren’t just shit in the canals by now is your fucking charity? To never see the damn sun?”

You open your mouth, then close it again with a snap.

Levi scoffs. “Of course you don’t.”

You flinch. “You never told me…you never told me that’s how you felt. About my…charity.”

“Tch. As if you’ve ever told me a damn thing about yourself.”

You press your lips together. “It’s because I can’t.”

Levi’s eyes harden. How can you tell him you’re in love with him if you don’t even trust him?

You’re both silent for a while. It’s cloying and threatens to choke him but for some reason, he can’t bring himself to break it. But when you open your mouth to speak again, he wishes he had.

“Well, there’s still the marriage option--”

“No, because that’s not an option. Anything but that.”

Your eyes turn a little colder as you return his glare. “Again, I was just trying to help. But if marrying me is more repulsive to you than staying in this shithole or dying a gruesome death on the battlefield, then suit yourself.”

Levi closes his eyes, letting out a weary sigh. Don’t you get it? He hears the swish of a cloak, the light padding of footsteps over cobbled stone.

And when he opens his eyes again, you’re gone.

Immediately, regret settles deep in his gut. Seeping into his veins, his bones, his soul.

To stay there, for many years to come.

credits to @saradika who's beautiful dividers I used for this fic!

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empressgetou · 1 day ago

Text

Not in Season? Pt. 2

Summary: Winter had settled in, and the scouts were busy training and preparing for the prospects of spring, still far away, to retake Wall Maria. Despite the snow accumulating outside, the building was freezing cold, and the world had secluded itself until the temperature rose. So, why was Captain Levi boiling in his own body? Something felt off, but his mind was quickly slipping into insanity as he tried to find a rational explanation.

Part 1!! Warnings: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha Levi Ackerman, Top Levi Ackerman, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mating Bites, Mating Bond, Possessive Levi Ackerman, Possessive Sex, Possessive Behavior, Knotting, Dubious Consent, Rough Sex, Vaginal Sex, Vaginal Fingering, Multiple Orgasms, Smut, Breeding, Forced breeding, Biting, Breeding Kink, dubcon, Unplanned Pregnancy, Pregnancy Kink, Forced Pregnancy, Unsafe Sex, Nurse reader, Alpha Levi x Omega reader, Captain Levi Ackerma, Captain Levi x Nurse Reader, Dirty talk, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Alpha Hange Zoë, Alpha/Omega, Alpha Erwin Smith, Alpha Eren Yeager, Alpha Jean Kirstein, Alpha Mikasa Ackerman. Omegaverse. Word count: 10.8k You had been warned lmao

Time—time was needed, whether it be a refreshing shower or a bucket of snow from outside the building thrown at him. Anything that could pull any part of his consciousness back to work. As her lips moved and the sounds of her mouth echoed softly, his mind wondered if she was truly awake or if it was unconscious spasms. He sat on the mattress, eyes fixed on her features, waiting, expecting anything.

Carefully and delicately, he crawled out of bed, like a mother leaving a baby in a room without waking it up. When his feet touched the floor, he almost tripped on something. His eyes surveyed the mess, and he fought every inch of his body not to go on a cleaning rampage. The only reason stopping him? She moved, flexing one leg up for more comfort, and he swore he didn’t mean to stare. His attention moving on its own over her body, focusing on the mating mark—his mating mark—most impressively, his own release between her legs.

Pulsations in his head, frowning as the pain appeared. That was the reason stopping him from tidying up the room, each breath triggering demands like “one more” and “just one more… to be sure.” He needed to scratch every skin cell with bleach if necessary, with the coldest water and the sharpest brush. Her scent, the aphrodisiac almost cloying aroma her body expelled, clouded his judgment. He picked up the crumpled sheets at the edge of the bed to gently cover her frame.

So that was exactly what he did—locked the door, turned on the rushing water without waiting for it to warm up, and jumped straight in. Regrets filled his mind; he had never behaved this way before. Alphas unable to control themselves, using heats or ruts as excuses, were something he despised. Perhaps even more than he hated MPs. The consequences were obvious; he had claimed her. Between Alphas and Omegas, a claiming mark was more powerful than any wedding ring.

‘What if…’ his consciousness brought up once again as he quickly tidied up his appearance. Dark locks swayed as he shook his head forcefully, erasing the thought. ‘We will cross that bridge when we get there.’ Once rational thoughts replaced the arousal haze, anxiety kicked in. It felt loud inside his head, too many worries in such a small period. He wasn’t sure what was worse at this rate.

Blessing any existing god out there, his bathroom and the drawers with clothes were tidied up enough to find objects quickly. The dips of his hair dripped water almost everywhere. On other occasions, he would have waited until it dried a bit before anything else, but his mind was clouded with one priority—being in the room when she woke up. The idea of her waking up alone in his twisted sheets and undone bed, feeling used or discarded, was like a stab to his own morality.

Heavy with water, hair fell into his face. He pushed it backward as his hand ran through his locks while searching for a shirt to wear. A pair of sweatpants was on, and this time, he was wearing underwear—the first garment he put on as the idea of his nudity made him uneasy. The Captain tried to put the uniform on, perhaps to finally go back to work after so many days, but he felt sensitive in places that would probably make him ashamed to confess. Tight white jeans were the last thing he desired right now.

Gripping the edges of a simple white shirt to push it over his head, turning around and resting on the chest of drawers as he did. Pushing down the fabric, only to find two half-lidded eyes looking at him. Frozen in place, as if he waited for the bullet to pierce through his forehead. Slow blinks as he noticed her trying to gulp, her eyes focusing on him. On other occasions, he might consider how endearing and sexually appealing she looked while sleepily laying on her side, with the sheet sticking to the curve of her waist. Suddenly, the edge of the sheet was pushed upwards, clinging to her body as she sat down erratically.

‘Here we go,’ mentally preparing himself.

“Levi?!” The confusion in her tone, the desperation in her eyes judging him across the room. “What- What happened? What is this?!”

His lips parted softly as if he gathered what he could possibly answer. Her feet became exposed as she kept tugging on the sheet to cover her body. “Where are my clothes?”

“I—” Levi murmured, his voice sounding rough and raspy as he hadn’t spoken for a good couple of hours while his eyes searched on the floor for any piece of garment that didn’t belong to him. “I don’t know.”

“What time is it? What day is it? How—”

“Look,” one of his hands raised as the other gripped the edge of the furniture behind him, grounding him to reality. “I’ve as much information as you.”

A hiss of pain pierced through the room as she frowned deeply. Her hands instinctively reaching backward to her nape as the other tightly gripped the sheet against her chest. Confusion palpable in her face as, with drawn-together eyebrows and parted lips, she admired leftover blood in her hand from a wound that was probably repeated over the past few days.

“You… you marked me?” her voice sounded distant. “But… I’m a beta.”

Quick was him to add, “Yes, about that,” as if this was the only question on an exam’s sheet that he knew and was eager to answer. “No.”

Her accusing eyes were back on him, not looking very pleased. “What do you mean? I’m 24 years old, I can’t present now. I’m a beta.”

“Yeah,” he repeated this time less sure, “No…”

She scoffed, offended that he doubted her word. “You’re saying you know more than me about myself? Than doctors? Than my own enlistment sheet?”

Levi clicked his tongue and softly shook his head, “I ain’t no doctor, I’m just stating the shitty facts I got, and those are that alphas can’t claim betas,” his words seemed heavy with the weight of his own thoughts. “And betas don’t trigger a fucking rut of days into me. You got both.”

His lips pursed together, head tilted downwards, and looking to his right. Being subtle and diplomatic with his words wasn’t what he was known for, and therefore he was trying his best to control his sharp tongue. She seemed obviously confused and scared. Society had certain implicit rules and expectations learned after presentation that Alphas and Omegas learned across the way as they grew. Himself had taught Eren when he presented that the brat couldn’t go around baring teeth and sniffing around if there was an Omega, to get a hold of their instincts. Couldn’t even imagine how it felt to find out about it so late in life.

“Are you implying this was my fault?” Her eyes appeared reflective, and he hated that.

“No, that ain’t what I said,” He quickly restored, involuntarily getting defensive. “Look, let’s—” his right hand raised once again trying to get his point across. Now presented, he could perceive her uneasiness in the air.

“Don’t you dare to tell me to calm down,” the way she spat each word and the anger in her tone caught him off guard.

His unwillingness to add to the issue made the hand that was reaching out softly switch to the right, pointing to the door as he spoke. “Let’s take a shower,” he rearranged his statement, “I bet the water warmed up already. Why don’t you take a shower while I clean this pigsty?”

While the uneasiness in the room lingered as the stale air, the hostile undertones seemed to withdraw slowly as her attention focused on the bedroom’s floor, allowing Levi a moment of freedom from her demanding glance. “I— I’ve nothing to wear when I come out.”

As the soldier he was, ready to break from the shock and jump into the battlefield, it snapped him. Turning around to quickly gather the first pieces of garments he could find and handing them back to her. “There are towels in the bathroom.”

Y/N grabbed the pile of clothes and carefully put her feet back on the floor as she descended the bed, taking the sheet with her as if it could provide any sort of protection. Once the door was shut close, Levi let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. It hadn’t been easier than he anticipated. In reality, he had anticipated nothing, so her not snapping him across the face was already a win.

Though he dedicated himself to picking up the remaining food and belongings scattered on the floor, the bitten loaves of bread, now growing mold, made him grimace uneasily and blush slightly in shame. Images of him hastily consuming the food until crawling back to bed played in his mind. Being reduced to such an animalistic state brewed a self-absorbed shame that was hard to explain. Perhaps it felt akin to the last time he had experienced a rut, despite not being with an omega—back in his early to mid-twenties, nearly a decade ago. The closest feeling that mirrored his shame was as if he had regressed to bedwetting or, more accurately, having to wash sheets after a wet dream. While it was natural for alphas to suffer ruts twice a year upon reaching adulthood, the years without them left him feeling wrong.

Opening the window, he noticed the early morning glow in the sky. Inhaling fresh breaths, he felt a chill like sinking into frozen water. Both the office and bedroom windows were open, creating an airflow. Finally, out of his bedroom, he surveyed his suspiciously tidy office. Despite his hazy state, he seemed to have confined himself to lurking in his bedroom. A thin layer of dust, perceptible only to him, hinted that more days had passed than he anticipated. “There you are,” he murmured, his eyes fixed on two pieces of clothing strewn on the floor—a nightgown and a cardigan. Picking them up, he folded them together.

The sound of the bathroom door’s knob opening caught his attention. Instead of leading to the bedroom, she emerged from the entrance that connected to the office. Uncertain, he stood still as her presence appeared again, holding folded bedsheets in her arms. The grey trousers and black turtleneck sweater she wore belonged to him. Their eyes met again; she seemed not to expect this encounter.

“Uhm… I’m going to my room,” she muttered, avoiding eye contact. “Your sheets."

Levi extended his hand to accept her offer and handed her the folded clothes. He tried to engage the part of his brain responsible for social interaction to come up with an appropriate response. She took her clothes, mumbled a "Thank you,” and left. Standing there, looking at the closed door, he felt confused, ashamed, and doubtful. Should he have said something? Done something? Well, in his mind, he had done enough—more than enough.

‘Perhaps she needs time,’ he tried to rationalize the situation, but the painful short stabs in his body were something he wasn’t used to. His body wasn’t happy that he had let go of his mate, his perhaps pregnant mate. Instincts demanded once again; she may be carrying his offspring, and he just let her go—undefended, unprotected, to God knows where! ‘I know where, to her shitty room,’ he muttered under his breath as he argued against himself.

Slender fingers scratched the back of his head, searching for mental peace. The growl of his stomach gave him an answer to the roaming question in his mind—what to do now? Search for food, apparently. The coldness of the air coming through the open windows made him shiver; feeling something other than scorching heat was refreshing. The walk of shame down the halls to the higher-ups’ kitchen was reduced slightly by the early hours and its lack of people around. Continually sighing while thinking that anything inside the kitchen would be devoured. If it was from anyone else, he would apologize later; right now, he felt as if he had gone out and gotten pissed drunk the night before—overwhelmingly starving.

“Well well well, look who finally came out from his bunker,”

Levi did a quick side-eye contact as he bit on a piece of bread with cheese on top while he cooked himself breakfast, unable to wait until the actual meal was finished. Groaning an acknowledging reply to Hange as he had his mouth full.

“If it wasn’t for the very loud awkward noises that came from your room, I would have declared you dead already,” the mischievous smile was even perceptible in their tone as they wrapped an arm around the man’s shoulders.

“I’m not in the mood, four eyes,” the captain muttered once he had swallowed the food.

“Unbelievable, you are the lucky bastard who had been getting laid for almost twelve days straight, and you’re in a bad mood?! Nothing can make you stop being grumpy, isn’t it?” Hange said clearly entertained, but their words made Levi’s eyes sparkle.

“Twelve days? What day is it?”

Hange began to chuckle before replying, “18th of November. You owe me one; I had been training your squad and doing your paperwork for two weeks.”

Uneasy groans of complaint echoed in the small kitchen as he stirred around the eggs with the bacon. His deadly eyes met the other squad leader, “Owe you? You should have kept everyone out of my room! You realize what I’ve just done?”

Hange raised both of their hands in the air, “Wow wow, slow down! How is this my fault?” Their loud complaints were quick to arrive as Levi muttered bitter replies under his breath, “How was I supposed to know she was an omega? And even if I found out, you would have ripped my arms off just for the sake of mating with her.”

“Yeah… you’re fucking right, goddamned it,” Levi accepted it resigned.

“Where’s your baby girl?” Hange’s cheeky personality was quick to return. “Making breakfast for your wifey?”

“Don’t call her that,” Levi spit out, “In her room, she left.”

It was the squad leader’s time to groan uneasily, “You let your newly presented and bonded mate leave? And you call yourself a high breed Alpha?”

If it was even possible, Levi frowned more deeply. “What was I supposed to do?” he dragged the words as he muttered them under his breath, putting his breakfast out of the pan. “Kidnap her in my room?”

Hange, who grabbed a piece of bacon from the plate to eat, owned a tired dead gaze from Levi, only to see him roll his eyes as the squad leader complained about it burning their fingers and being hot while they tried to eat it anyway. “Well,” they chuckled with their mouth full, “You kidnapped her there for twelve days, one more one less wasn’t going to make a difference.”

The captain tiredly sighed echoed as he grabbed his plate and tugged it away from the other alpha before they devoured it all. Carefully putting the dishes in a tray with a tea set for the rest of the morning, ready to find solitude in his chambers again.

“By the way,” Hange added again, “When do you think the due date is? Erwin and I have a bet on who is going to be cool uncle.”

Levi stopped midway as he was about to leave the kitchen, raising an eyebrow as he turned to face the brunette. “Why the hell were you and Eyebrows talking about that shit?”

The other alpha simply shrugged and then commented, entertained, “It was hard not to talk about it. You two weren’t particularly hush about it, you know? We’re entitled to talk about it after enduring almost two weeks of hearing you two mate like wild animals.”

Uneasy groans mixed with his ashamed grimace at the mere thought. It didn’t help that the titan lover kept going, “You know, we both concluded that we can’t believe we thought of her as a beta.” Their comment, made with the same unbothered attitude as Hange was known for rambling about topics, didn’t match with Levi’s shift in attitude. First, the confusion surpassed his previous shame, only to then demand an explanation with his fierce, sharp eyes. Hange began to chuckle nervously as they thought that, perhaps, they shouldn’t have said that. “Well… you know…” they muttered, feeling the short man’s anger, “… it’s impossible that was a beta’s ass.”

Two alphas, closed in a room talking about his omega’s ass. It’s the best ass in the walls, don’t get him wrong, but he’s the only one allowed to make that observation… at least publicly.

“Ugh,” Hange complained loudly as they walked down a hall.

Erwin looked at the squad leader confused and highlighted, “I saw Levi’s window open; he’s finally out?” then added, “Are you alright?”

“Levi kicked me,” they replied as they caressed their butt.

Shaking his head slightly and sighing as if he were dealing with children, “I told you not to tell him anything weird while he still had a cocktail of hormones inside him,” the commander simply reproached them.

The thud of the forehead impacting with the harsh oak wood of the desk, the deep breath that came out as a scoff, fogging up the surface, the subtle sleet hitting the windows’ glass behind before turning into snow once again, dark locks tangling as they fell forward graciously, and the clock in the office announcing it was almost midnight. ‘I survived.’ Those felt like accurate words despite his line of work; his body felt as if he had been grabbed by a titan and snapped against those big trees. His body felt in better shape when he came back from an expedition, and he wasn’t lying. Not even the best intentions and the hardest mental strength could force him to go to training with his squad; the kids had been annoyingly supportive of hearing him feel better from his “cold.”

The muscles of his legs twitched involuntarily, and the muscles of his body felt like jelly; his brain fogged with tiredness. Blaming it completely on the drop in hormones that forced him to be on top of his game, now he felt as if he was suffering withdrawal. Any mix of substances that his body produced in excess during his rut to secure the stamina to endure the mating, the strength and sharpness to be ready to fight for his breeding right, and also to protect him and his mate during the period the pheromones could have driven someone into their nest had fulfilled its role. Now, without them and the tiredness of the aftermath of forcing his body into them, it had left him feeling as if someone had smashed all his bones. Adding to that, his instincts didn’t cease to remind him to stay close to his mate, whom he hadn’t seen all day. In normal situations, newly mated couples would have nested until both felt back to their usual selves and, more importantly, until the claiming mark settled and marked forever their bond.

If he had three surviving brain cells after everything, two were completely dedicated to reminding him that whatever they should be doing as mates, he simply wasn’t doing it. Gritting his teeth as his instincts having power over him was starting to drive him nuts. It’s not that he didn’t want to talk to her, but he also wished to respect her space. Tired eyes, half-lidded, looked through his dark and dense eyelashes as he checked the clock after it began to announce midnight. The only few times he had left his chambers to pick up and deliver paperwork and during meals to check on his squad, he hadn’t seen her. And from what he subtly asked, nobody else had either.

This anxiety and uncertainty in him weren’t normal; he was usually decisive. The tip of the fountain pen hit against the paper, leaving little dots as he pondered the idea of checking on her, trying to decipher if it was his instincts talking or actual rational thoughts.

“Fuck it,”

White rice with butter and cheese in a bowl, carried on a tray, sliced apples, chamomile tea. Were the rumors true that omegas felt nauseous during post-mating syndrome? He wasn’t sure, but he wasn’t going to take risks. Had he overdone it? His anxiety replied positively. His lack of security wasn’t something he enjoyed, and his knuckles hesitated to knock on the infirmary’s door that led to her personal chambers inside. Forcing himself, one, two, three knocks resounded too much for his liking in the middle of the night.

Time seemed to move slowly, and he seriously considered leaving the food there. Then the door creaked, and her tired eyes observed him from the gap.

“I-Uh… I brought you some supper,” Levi mentioned, slightly raising the tray as if the metal piece with food on top wasn’t enough indication.

The heavy dark circles under her eyes, the reflection in them, and her uneven look. She had seen better days; they had seen better days. Her silence gnawed at his sanity, and he seriously considered that interacting was easier when they were both intoxicated with their own hormones. Plus, his awkwardness and lack of social skills made him conclude that, perhaps, his body was right, and the only way he could engage in producing offspring was clouding his judgment completely.

“Everything smells very strong, makes me nauseous,” her voice, subtle as the flight of a moth in the middle of the night, murmured as her hands gripped the edge of the door, resting her face and weight on it. “It’s very overwhelming."

Levi readjusted his weight to the other leg and gave it a thought. "It’s natural; you’ll get used to it,” he replied shortly, “and learn to kinda switch off your brain to not pay attention to every piece of nonsense."

He, for example, could perceive it all. She was like an open book, her distress, confusion, and now subtle tints of happiness that he tried to attribute to her body reacting positively to the proximity of him as her mate. It was, in a sense, a bit endearing how she wasn’t able to control her pheromones yet.

Y/N’s soft chuckles caught his attention as the air turned sweet, and she smiled softly. "You know a lot,” she replied. Unconsciously, it boosted his pride; her body reacted positively and relaxed in his presence.

“I presented when I was 11, an early bloomer. I remember wanting to rip off my shitty nose from my face,” his comment made her chuckle again, and it made him wish he had something else to say to earn another smile.

She let the door adorned with a small brass plaque that simply read “Infirmary” slide open and stepped to a side as a subtle indication he was welcome in. Levi had been there too many times, none of them for himself but usually because Jean and Eren fought again. As one entered, the scent of antiseptic greeted them, mingling with the faint aroma of old wood and polished linoleum floors and hers that it took all his willpower to fight against. If his body was trying to return to its normal working system, her uncontrolled liberation of pheromones was like a punch in the gut that he tried to hide.

The walls were painted in a soothing, muted colour to create an illusion of calmness, while the tall, narrow windows allowed slivers of nightlight to filter through dusty curtains. Rows of narrow iron beds lined the room, each neatly made with crisp white sheets and thin, worn blankets. A wooden cabinet filled with basic medical supplies, from bandages to cough syrup, occupied one corner, its glass doors revealing caramel bottles with remedies.

A small desk in the corner held a register where ailments and treatments were meticulously recorded with pen and ink. A single, dim lamp illuminated the desk, casting a pool of light in an otherwise subdued room. One small door that mimetite with the walls, led to her personal chambers. They were very similar to his, slightly smaller and with a small round table probably to fill up the lack of an office. And, of course, a bathroom with two doors, one leading to the infirmary and another to her room. He left the tray on the table, and his eyes did a quick check on her room, mostly out of curiosity.

It was tidy, not to his standards but nice. The bed was made, and the sort of femininity that the place radiated made him giggle or nervous from inside. Perhaps it was the crochet table runner, the bed’s scarf, the small pots with plants on the window frame, the body lotions next to the bed. The attention to details that he, despite living in his own space for longer, hadn’t thought of buying, and she had insisted on making the place her own despite the lugged bags still being around as she hadn’t been done unpacking yet. It all made him wonder when the last time had been he had been at a woman’s place; the life in the scouts really makes nights lonely.

Not wanting to overstay his visit, he was ready to leave. But as she sat down on her small table, her hand reached out to grip his forearm and look up to him. “Stay; it makes my mind so calm and quiet when you’re around,” she said without any restrictions.

“It’s the bond,” Levi murmured, but he sat down anyway. Trying to disguise how mentally peaceful himself was now that they were close, his possessiveness of “what if there’s another alpha around when I’m not there? What if she lets another alpha claim her to change the mark when it’s still too fresh?” quickly subsided.

She took quiet and slow spoon feed portions of the rice, and he tried to glue his eyes on anything else to not make her feel observed while eating. Her loud tired sighs filled the extremely uncomfortable silence, “you know… my life was way easier when I was a beta."

Levi hummed in appreciation, "I bet,” he added without much to say.

“It’s a very weird feeling, bittersweet perhaps,” Y/N murmured while she slowly ate. She chuckled softly, as if she remembered something funny. “I had this very silly crush on you since I joined, and you helped me clean the infirmary. I accepted that we would only be friends because,” she stopped, and he looked at her, shocked. “Well, because you’re a high-breed alpha-"

"I’ve never actually cared about those shits, not like I’m some banker’s brat that needs to secure an heir,” Levi quickly added, interrupting her.

“Huh?” Her face turned to the left to look at him as his statement made no sense, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

Words weren’t his strength, so he decided to spit out anything in his brain. “That I didn’t care you were a beta."

"Are you implying you had been flirting with me before this?"

He scratched the back of his head and murmured slightly offended, "Yeah, for the past two months. Thank you for finally noticing."

Despite his soft words, she remained confused “That was you flirting?”

Levi scoffed, offended. "Fucking excuse me, usually, we flirt with scents and mark territory — both things you didn’t notice until now."

Perhaps then, pieces fell into place, the sense of calmness she experienced each time they had tea at his place. The subtle citrus, lavender-scented with a musky undertone had always been him, trying to convey his intentions in the only way he knew how. Or, maybe, all the opposites—his body reacting on its own, even at the prospect of her being a beta, trying to provide a sense of protection and calmness to the place, showing his willingness to a potential mate.

The only reply he got was a few shallows, quiet chuckles before she continued eating a little longer, a soft smile on her features. "And the bittersweet part?” Levi insisted, picking up where she had left off.

“Oh,” her memory recalled her comment, and she blushed heavily. “Well… apparently mating with an alpha is harder than being stepped on by a horde of Titans,” she explained, grimacing uneasily. “I’ve bruises everywhere, and I can barely move."

"I usually behave more… I’m not particularly vanilla, but I’m a bit more civilized.” As the air lightened slightly, and it felt as if both were finally addressing the elephant in the room, Levi tried to force himself to be a bit more talkative. “If it makes you feel better, I feel like shit too."

"You? What could you possibly be hurting from?"

"I would like to see you topping for twelve days straight,” Levi snorted back, his pride hurt that she wasn’t taking his part of the job seriously.

“Fair, fair.” Giving in just for the sake of it, she picked up a slice of the red apple and ate it casually. “You know…” she thought of commenting but then, “nevermind."

"What? Just spit it out,” Levi’s harsh nature stepped in, especially insisting as he observed her face turn red.

“I was just thinking that… Maybe this explains why,” her voice grew hushed and embarrassed, “I always felt like something was lacking with my beta ex."

An entertained scoff left his lips, mixed with a cocky side smirk. He felt as if his inner alpha was kicking out of happiness. Alphas are competitive, possessive, and jealous creatures by nature; they may even feel jealous of the pillow their omega hugs while asleep. Being delighted with the idea that there’s no other that could provide the strength they show while mating is like a big pat on their back.

Levi didn’t want to press the matter too much, letting her come and talk things out at her own pace. Her brows drew together as she felt the pain pulsing again, her hand reaching backward to softly caress the mark on her neck. “This hurts horrendously,” she admitted through clenched teeth, “I put numbing cream and-”

“Don’t put anything on it,” Levi quickly interrupted. “Your body may react more because it feels that you may be trying to reject it.”

Her eyes opened, locked into his, the frown still present. “Was biting me this hard so absolutely necessary?”

“If I had any power over my actions during a rut, do you think we would be in this situation? Where there is a high chance, I got you knocked up?”

Levi’s words pierced the night like a cannonball does from the top of the walls to a titan’s neck; she looked at him uneasy and confused. Nobody dared to even whisper; not even the sound of a mouse was perceived. Her expression of anger softly switched, as she averted his gaze looking in another direction. Maybe she preferred not to think about it, but Levi has always been a man that faced reality as it was given to him.

“Maybe…” she started to suggest, breathing deeply. “Maybe it didn’t take,”

Levi slightly contorted uneasily, taking a subtle deep breath to steady himself. “What?” her ignorance in certain dynamics was something he had to constantly remind himself. He knew she didn’t do it with harm, “I just came out of a two-week rut, my body has more hormones at the moment than a fifteen-year-old brat… try not to say straight in my face that I didn’t breed you properly because you’re only triggering another round on me.”

“I’m just saying that I know that some low-breed omegas can’t get pregnant by high-breeds that easily. “ She insisted, giving it a rational thought “Maybe the reason I didn’t present is that I’m closer to a beta than an omega by being low breed.”

While her explanation seemed logical in her mind, Levi heard her with a deadpan expression. “Didn’t you hear me? Two shitty weeks, no fuckin’ way you’re low-breed.”

Perhaps that had been the consolation she had been running with the entire day, and the weight of the matter began to hang on her heavier than before, which didn’t help Levi to feel less concerned and uneasy. Her attention lost somewhere, and for once, Levi wished he could be subtle and charismatic, perhaps to have something to say. The confession she had made a few minutes ago held in Levi’s mind longer than he liked to admit, and he tried to wrap himself around it to initiate his response, waiting first for a bit for her to add anything else.

“Ehm-” he cleared his throat as he drew attention back to him, sat down around her small round table in the corner of her room, “maybe we jumped a bunch of shitty steps in the dating process or whatever, but I don’t mind trying to make it work if you want.”

His right hand dubiously reached out thinking of creating physical contact for comfort. First reaching for her left thigh but reconsidering deeply, while pressing his lips together, he moved it upwards to her forearm and gave it a gentle squeeze. “And I’ll back you up in any decision you take about it if it turns out you’re knocked up.”

Her drained voice, perhaps due to tiredness or fear, whispered, “Really?”

“Huh?” Levi seemed slightly confused, “well, we are already bonded, so at least we could give it a try…”

“No, I mean the other. You really don’t mind anything?” her voice was barely above a whisper.

The washed-out memory of his own mother popped into his mind for a brief second before replying seriously and with no doubt on his face, "Well… I won’t be the one pregnant for nine months and neither the one who is going to be giving birth, so what I prefer doesn’t really matter,” Levi said unfazed. “And I know I’m not a fucking sunshine, but I’m not that shitty to get you knocked up and leave you to face it alone."

While nothing was written in stone, and the consequences of it were still too soon to be sure, there was a soft sense of tranquillity that washed over her. A soft smile cracked on her face. "Thank you,” she murmured.

At the beginning, it felt conflicting going back as if nothing had happened. Drinking tea at his office while both worked on their respective paperwork, nobody wanted to press the matter further. Though Levi would hear whispering gossip between his own squad, the Captain tried his best to let her process what had happened and allow himself to do it.

Keeping the scouts under strict rules of not letting it escalate was easy; a death glance from Humanity’s strongest soldier was enough to make all the curious cadet and squad leaders keep themselves in line. Humanity’s strongest soldier, that’s who Levi was. “Worth an entire army,” whispers as the scouts pass by, the only one that people recognized enough for those “Wanted” posters while they were fighting the uprising a few months ago. The person people put their dreams and hopes in now that they were planning the retake of Wall Maria.

“MH…” hummed sounds echoed in her throat as her delighted eyes admired the pastries in the showcase. Levi has taken his squad to pick up groceries downtown, and she had insisted on going, breathing some fresh air and sending medical reports. “I’m really craving something sweet,” it was more of an inner monologue than something meant to be answered.

Though her eyes full of desire caught Levi’s attention as he was waiting for the provisions given to him, analyzing it with second thoughts. But he wasn’t the only one with curious eyes; the baker admired the scene behind the counter. The madam was an omega, and, while her years of fertility may have already passed, she had been involved in too many dynamics and had enough kids behind her to spot a freshly mated couple from a mile.

“Ah! The hazelnuts one, please!” Y/N had finally made up her mind on her little treat, pointing with her finger across the glass at the small cake. The old woman nodded in agreement. Another coworker was putting the big flour white bags on the rustic cart they had brought to take the provisions as Levi supervised both. When the baker was handling the smaller purchase, Y/N was about to handle her payment, but Levi was quick to offer the money first with the military coupons for the food provisions.

“Hey,” she looked at him complaining but not completely mad. “It’s mine; I’m paying."

Levi clicked his tongue, "Don’t be stupid,” he insisted and grabbed the paper bag to hand to her. While he didn’t reciprocate the soft pouting, she did at him, the shop owner simply took his food coupons and smiled as she regretted the money.

“It’s on the house,” she quickly added, and Y/N checked the inside of the bag, and there were also extra treats and cookies. Levi didn’t seem convinced about it, but the old woman, with her white apron covering most of her dress and her hair out of the way, smiled interestedly and asked, “When is the due date?"

Older women and their audacity; colours quickly dropped from both, only to raise back harder as blood rushed to their cheeks.

"Ehm, it’s too soon yet,” Levi quickly added, trying to smooth out the situation, shortly spitting out the answer.

The surprised gasp, and then “Oh, I thought… well, it’s hard to tell with all the layers during winter,” she insisted. Y/N smiled awkwardly, as, after receiving the gift, she didn’t want to just leave. “So, is it recent?"

Levi’s eyes did quick checks on the cart, praying it would get all the provisions faster so he could slip himself from this social situation, "Yeah,” he groaned out.

“Weird… it’s not mating season,” she commented, pointing out something that Levi had probably seen coming; he had to hold back a sigh.

“Yes, well, thank you very much,” he replied faster as he noticed the cart was loaded, and he was more than ready to leave. Y/N thanked back too, gathering any left in her to give a sort of friendly grimace before walking away with him.

The uncomfortable silence as they walked across the rest of the shops, Levi’s squad taking care of different tasks, and some of them even shopping for themselves. “How?” she began to question unsure while adjusting her scarf that covered the mating mark.

“The scent,” Levi quickly replied, already knowing where the conversation was going. “I come here very often; she probably noticed the change, and you smelling as a mated omega put two and two together."

Humming a mix between an understanding but confused reply, she wrapped herself better in her coat as the weather was still very harsh. "I still get confused about the aromas thing,” the nurse confessed. “Sometimes it feels like teenagers get it better than me.” There was a sort of defeat with shame in her tone.

“When you’re mated, you can say that you stink less. After all, there’s no point in dragging attention any further,” Levi explained. “Think of it as getting a cheap, shitty perfume; you still smell like you, but less intense."

Her attention was drawn to her left as he explained it out for her, both resting on the edge of the cart as they waited. Blaming the cold on her cheeks, softly blushing as she smiled at his understanding. After this, she was thankful that her trips to the downtown were very scarce because the rumor spread faster than any winter flu. Levi could barely walk down without getting congratulations, presents, cheerful words from older women and young mothers. Some gifted him wood for the baby, treats for his mate, the proud pats of older alphas telling him that "good for him, it was time already for getting a proper mate."

Even the Reeves sent him meat under the excuse that "pregnant women need more iron.” His face always tried to hide the unpleasant social moments that came with this, but Hange insisted that he was not nailing at faking being happy about the public celebrations. ‘It’s too soon,’ he would insist, but 'you’re a high breed and so is she, both young, everybody is sure it will take.’

“Perhaps it’s bad timing,” Erwin commented, trying to hold back a mischievous smirk. “But Nile and Zackary send their congratulations.” Levi dedicated his beast dead glance across the office as they were in a meeting. Hange didn’t even try to hold back a loud laugh while Erwin tried his best not to chuckle in the captain’s face. “Don’t look at me like that; I didn’t tell them… they found out on their own."

Fingers doing pressure on the bridge of his wrinkled nose, "Fuck me,” he cursed under his breath. It’s not that he wasn’t “sure”; it had been almost two months, and she hadn’t come to him with any “news,” which meant that any passing day was more of a confirmation than a negative. She seemed reluctant even to mention the topic, and since both seemed to be improving the quality time together, Levi didn’t want to risk asking too much. But the uncertainty was starting to grow on him. It didn’t help that her pheromones sometimes gave him clues when they were alone that she was interested in perhaps moving a bit further than just sharing teatime together. His scent quickly matched, giving away that he was more than willing to get tangled in bed once again, this time both consciously.

But… she never noticed, never made a move, and after what happened, he wanted her to take the lead.'It’s her body reacting,’ he reminded himself, which was both arousing to know her deeper instincts wanted him, cute that she couldn’t control it yet, and frustrating to know that it wasn’t voluntary. He wasn’t sure if it was because he had never been mated before, obviously, and being around his mate triggered it more. If he had gone so many years without it that after getting laid again, he started to crave it more. But he felt the necessity.

So, there she was, sat down on his desk, legs swinging as she ranted about how her day visiting her friends had been. Until the unsure clearing of her throat caught his attention again from paperwork. “I was… wondering if perhaps you could spare me a couple of clothes?"

That had definitely caught him off guard. "My friends from my nurse’s hostel, most of them are omegas, so they almost threw me a welcome party,” Levi hummed understanding, wanting to know where this was going. “They mentioned that perhaps my insomnia may be due to… nesting? That my body feels uneasy, and perhaps having my mate’s scent would help? Sounds very stupid, I know-"

"Sure,” he quickly agreed and blessed his well-known stoic face to hide his disappointment. His own mate preferred a bunch of scented clothes over being with him; his inner instincts were kicking in anger, almost throwing a tantrum in the floor of his mind like a spoiled brat. Being rejected by your bond is not something alphas took easily, and he had to clench his teeth holding back the imperious necessity to mark territory again. He was better than behaving like a wild animal, he knew but yet.

“Give me a minute to finish this report,” he replied between clenched teeth.

“Expedition Wall Maria?” She asked, somehow trying to keep the conversation alive. He hummed positively. “How are the preparations going?” she insisted, pushing the topic further.

“Good."

Her lips pressed together; her eyes never left the back of his head as he curved over his desk to write endless reports. Then, "You’re going to come back, right?” pierced the room, followed by “…you’re not leaving me to deal with this alone, right?"

The pen stopped moving as his fingers left it to rest after it had run out of ink, his back straightened up to look over to her as she remained seated on the edge of the desk, the desk where he had undressed her. Coral light filtering through the window’s glass landing on her. The training was over only an hour ago, and he tried to advance paperwork before dinner. It was still early, and the bustling of the building hadn’t ceased yet. Despite it all, Levi felt as if the silence was overwhelmingly loud.

The doubt in her eyes was almost tangible; therefore, he said the only thing that crossed his mind. "I’ll come back walking if I have to."

Fast short scoff as her cheeks raised in a tender smile, Levi was tempted to push the idea further. He took it as a confirmation somehow and wanted to know it all, at least what she knew so far. But before he knew it, she was descending from his desk, and the intentions of leaving the place were written all over her face.

"Let me finish this, and I’ll give you the shirts,” Levi insisted, the disappointment on his face was hard to disguise until her hand grabbed his armrest for support, one leg then the other. It was so simple, but his legs tilted sideways, and he could feel how his blood dropped to pump downwards as she sat down on his lap. Instinctively tilting his leg outward, making space, parting legs.

The scent passing thought his nostrils, soaking in his brain, making him be aware of his fangs before he could notice. It wasn’t like a heat, of course, not but inviting enough. Receiprocating almost immediately, on full will and not so much too, seeing how with each breath her cheeks blushed more and her eyes turned transparent. Ass on his knees, making him wish she had moved forward directly over his bulge, to feel the sweet pressure of her body over his dick.

“I don’t think I want the shirts…” She murmured, somehow quickly breathless, as her right hand reached forward to cup his face, “I’ve one and it doesn’t smell like you,” her eyes turning transparent as the pheromones sank in, remembering the clothes he had borrowed her the morning after “You smell divine,”

His hands moved instinctively, quickly rubbing her sides lightly, cupping her hips before gripping and try to push her closer, “How is this fucking fair?” he said hoarsely, trying to keep his voice level despite the fire raging through his veins “You had my clothes and I was here, like a teenager trying to recall how your slippery cunt milked me dry,”

The shock ways shivering down both of them, forcing a soft gasp out of her parted lips as Levi buried his face on the crook of her neck, feeling his mating mark. Recalling with pleasure it had been him who had claimed her, she was all his and nobody else. Shameless tongue running through the mark with closed eyes and scoff of aphrodisiac reassurance, he could feel the pheromones in her skin. Both bodies reacting to each other as if they were made for this. Her hand gripping his dark locks as her neck suffered the attack.

Softly rocking between his parted legs, she could feel the outline of his hardening cock almost painfully twitching against the white trousers of the uniform. Crumping upwards the skirt but a strong push of her hand against his chest got him resting on the desk’s chair. Dusted cheeks, sassy smirk, her neck glistering under the tangerine light of the afternoon, “I want to suck you, Captain,”

He couldn’t make his mind in which he liked more, the memory of her in-drunk state of pure heat’s submission, becoming a pliant hole for him to fuck rough or her assertive cock drunk self. But he couldn’t mind it less as her hand palmed the front of his trousers before grasping his length to start to pump it through the fabric. She straddled Levi, hand on his shoulders before kissing him desperately, Levi kissed her back forcefully.

The early afternoon had turned excided as one of his hands gripped the back of her neck to kiss her deeply, hips gridding against each other. His hand kneeling her ass through the uniform dress with content. Head switching to the sides as he pried her mouth open, saliva dripping to the sides. The sound her lips parting echoed in the office, and he couldn’t help but smirk at the view of her reddish pumped lips. A low growl rumbled in his chest as he imagined her on her knees, those full lips wrapped around him.

His hands tightened around her ass cheeks, before giving it a good smack that made her jump slightly in his lap. Loud gasp as he pulls her closer and he leaned towards her ear again “Eager for it, huh?”

“Mhh-” Nodding enthusiastic while humming positively.

“Good girl,” Levi smirked, caressing her ass once more, squeezing it tightly before slapping it again. Burning sensation crossing though her body only to feel it tingling with the afterglow heating sensation of the hit, “On your knees. Suck me dry, baby girl,”

Straighten up slightly on his seat as she pulled away to get on her knees to unbuckle his belt. Raising slightly to rip his trousers and boxes as down as they could go with the harness on. Uncomfortably staying on the middle of his thighs and Levi quickly concluded that whoever designed the military uniform didn’t get laid frequently or, at least, they weren’t thinking in getting fuck on their desk’s chair. Exposing his hardened cock fully, it stood erect and throbbing as the tip glistered with pre cum. On top of his balls, the base was slightly engorged as it prepared for the knotting at the correct time.

Half lidded eyes admiring as she hovered with her forearms on each side of his legs to softly, almost ghostly, run the tip of her tongue through his thick, pale shalf. The action alone, the teasing, made him want to thrust forward and leak precum thought the tip. Big eyes looking up to him through her eyelashes. Smirking playfully as she collected the dropping with her tongue, only to then roll down the foreskin, revealing the tip to wrap her lips around the darkened head and suck directly from the exposed slit.

His hands gripped the chenille of the chair tightly, his knuckles turning white as he tried to keep himself from thrusting into her mouth. Clenching his teeth as she kept teasing him, giving subtle little kitty licks to the sides, sucking directly from the tip without going down. Barely toughing him.

“Fuck,” Levi cursed as he could feel the smirk on her lips, moving up again to the head. His hands gripped her head firmly, guiding her towards his aching member. “Suck me,” he growled hoarsely, his voice filled with hunger and desire. Forcefully pushing her downwards this time, feeling the vibrations of her complain around his cock.

“There you go,” Levi groaned. Her lips wrapped around his cock, sucking hungrily on it as she continued to stroke him firmly. Slender fingers ran up and down around her hair before make shifting a ponytail to keep the hairs out of her face, admiring the view better. Her reddish lips, struggling around his cock, watery eyes as she tried to take a bit more each time she went down, the hollowing of her cheeks, the velvety sensation of her tongue against the pulsating vein of his cock each time she bobbed upwards. Delicate hands gripping the side of his thighs for support as she began to bob her head with favour. Her hand continued to stroke him rhythmically, matching the pace of her mouth movements.

“Fuck,” Levi’s eyes rolled back in ecstasy as she took him deep, her warm, wet mouth engulfing his entire length. His hand tightened in her hair, holding her head firmly as he began to thrust into her throat, fucking her face roughly.

“That’s it, girly,” he praised, his voice hoarse with desire. His mind kept reminding him he should have got his sooner, remind her who was his alpha and get it. Fucking her throat roughly, his hips bucked wildly, each powerful thrust pushing deeper into her throat. Her hands dropped to his legs, fingers digging into his thighs for balance, hearing her struggle to take him all in.

“MHH!” Her chocking sounds mixed with the whines as he kept forcing her head all the way down, the saliva dripping through her mouth corners. As she deep throated him, gagging, Levi’s grip on her hair tightened, pulling her head down harder against his member. His mind kept reminding him he should have gotten a mate sooner, priving himself from this was unhuman. To have an omega, to fuck her silly, to enjoy the tightest warmest cock-drunk cunt each time he wanted. Submissive pretty little thing, to mount and breed at least once per year.

“What’s the matter? Not used to the thick fat cock of an alpha?” the smirk on his face could almost be heard through the pants that left his lips, “Don’t worry,” he mocked with faked condescending, “I’ll teach you how to be a proper omega,”

Half lidded eyes looking back at him as she sobbed while letting Levi use her mouth, droll dripping down her chin.

The feeling of her throat contracting around his length was unlike anything else he had ever experienced, sending waves of pleasure coursing through his body. His hips bucked wildly, thrusting harder and faster, his balls slapping against her chin as she continued to suckle hungrily.

“That’s it,” he growled, his voice low and husky. Her moans turned into high-pitched whimpers, mixed with the wet sounds of her mouth working over his cock. “That’s my good girl,” he praised before finally pulling her head off with a loud pop. Quickly she crawled into his lap, straddling him.

His fingers unbuttoned the front of her uniform, yanked down the sleeves to a side so he could have direct access to her chest. His fingers traced the delicate curves of her breasts through the fabric, feeling her nipples harden under his touch. He leaned forward, capturing one of them between his lips, sucking greedily as his hand cupped her other breast, kneading it roughly.

“Ahh- Levi!” her soft moans echoing in the room mixing with the tale-tell of his lips licking her bud. His tongue circled her nipple, teasing it before finally taking it into his mouth, suckling on it hungrily through the fabric. The inner part of her breast turning a dark shade as he sucked the valley of her chest. Meanwhile, Levi’s freehand moved to gather her skirt to her waist.

Levi’s hands grabbed her ass, squeezing and kneading it roughly, his fingers digging into the soft flesh beneath her skirt. He couldn’t resist the urge to taste her again, suckling greedily on her nipple as he thrust his hips upwards, grinding their bodies together. His tongue continued to tease and suck on her nipple, alternating between gentle flicks of his tongue against the sensitive bud and deep, forceful sucks that left marks on her skin. His hips rocked rhythmically beneath her, grinding their crotches together, seeking more contact. But it wasn’t enough. He needed to feel her wetness, to know for certain how much she wanted him.

As soon as his fingers brushed against her entrance, she let out a soft cry, arching her back into his touch. Her hips bucked subtly against his hand, inviting him deeper inside her. And so, without any further hesitation and incapable of waiting any more, Levi pushed her underwear to a side and slid two fingers into her core, moaning softly at the slick warmth enveloping him.

“So fucking tight,” he groaned, his voice hoarse with desire. His thumb rubbed against her clit, circling it in a slow, deliberate motion. "You were made for this,“ then he insisted, “You got it all fucking wrong, you’ve always been made for this. To cramp down my fat knot,”

Levi couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride as he heard Y/N’s soft mewls, her body responding eagerly to his touch clinging to his fingers like a vice. "You like that?” he murmured; his voice thick with desire. “You want more? You want me to breed you again?”

“Mh,” she moaned, arching her back further as his fingers delved deeper. Her hands gripped his shoulders, holding herself steady as waves of pleasure washed over her. “Fuck yes…"

Hair falling backwards as she arched over him, continuing to fuck herself on his fingers, Levi could feel the tension building within him. He wanted more—needed to be inside her, feeling her tight heat surround him completely. But there was something else driving him, too—something primal and possessive that made him crave the act of mark her as his own, to make sure everyone knew she belonged to him.

“Yes! Ah- Yes, Levi!” Y/N mewled pleasantly, milking the digits.

It was a strange feeling for him, this possessiveness over another person—but at the same time, it felt right. Like something he had been missing all these years without even realizing it.

"Wanna get my knot again? Mh?” He chuckled darkly, almost coaxing a confession out of her. “I’ll fucking remind you how I got you knocked up,” he promised. Her body clenched around his fingers, a silent plea for more, and Levi didn’t disappoint.

“Tell me,” He growled, his voice low and husky. “Admit it, you want my knot inside you."

As if she had been waiting for this moment, Y/N’s eyes locked with his, filled with a mix of lust and submission. "Yes… I need it… give it to me…"

"That’s my girl,” he growled, his voice low and gravelly. “Take every inch of me, just like your tight little cunt was made for this."

He pulled his fingers out of her, savouring the sound of her whimpering protest. His hand reached down between their bodies, grasping his own painfully hard cock, which was now leaking copious amounts of precum onto his stomach. With one swift motion, he positioned himself at her entrance, lining up his head with her tight hole. Her hand gripped his shoulder and slowly sunk on it.

As Levi felt himself sliding into her tight heat, he groaned in pure bliss. Her walls squeezed around him, milking every inch of his length as she slowly lowered herself onto him. His fangs ached with the need to claim her again, but he resisted the urge for now.

“N-Ngh,” she mewled, “Ah, so big,”. He had just put it in, and she could feel the head of his cock already prodding her cervix. The fullness and tug of her own body trying to fit him all in was aphrodisiacal, if it wasn’t that they were already bonded, she would have promised to never fuck a beta again. Levi’s dick was so impossible thick, it didn’t help that he pressed a hand on her belly to feel himself there. To feel himself filling her up to the brim as she wiggled her way down to be fully seated.

His hands gripped her hips tightly, helping her to ease up and down his cock as he fucked her roughly, their bodies slapping together noisily. The scent of her arousal filled his nostrils, making his fangs ache with the need to mark her again. She was riding him as her life depended on it, mouth hanging open, drooling as her eyes rolled backwards each time his cock plugged all the way in, hitting all the good spots.

"Fuck,” Levi hissed, gasping softly as he admired with delight her well-fucked face. He could hear the wet sounds of their bodies coming together, see the glistening sweat on her skin as she moved against him.

“Fucking— Shit,” he growled breathless, thrusting harder into her depths. “You like that? You love swallowing my cock?”

“YES! Ah- yes!” shamelessly moaning as she sat down completely, gyrating her hips before going back to bounce.

Momentarily closing his eyes, pushing his head against the back of the seat as he felt his cock squeezed, sucking him in the best cunt he had ever had. “God- Yes, keep going,” he urged. Levi could feel it all the base of his cock inflate, her slick dripping down his balls. He gripped her hips tighter, pulling her ass cheeks apart for better access to her hole. His breath came out in ragged gasps, his voice interrupted for heavy inhales and satisfied groans.

“Fu-fuck, enjoying that dick?” Levi growled satisfied; his voice weakened with desperation.

Positive mewls vibrated on her throat as he thrusted upwards hard enough to make her wince each time.

"You’re mine,” Levi growled, his voice hoarse with desire. “Mine to claim and fuck whenever I want.” His hips bucked harder, driving deeper into her tight channel, hitting all her good spots mercilessly.

The sound of their bodies slapping together filled the room, creating a rhythmic beat that matched their shared heartbeats. Sweat dripped down both of them, mixing on their skin in a sticky mess. He could feel himself nearing climax, his balls tightening up as he prepared to release inside her.

“Cum for me, Y/N,” he commanded, his voice rough with need. “Let go and let me fill you up again."

She let out everything shamelessly; mewls, whims, load moans of his name as she sank down one last time. Using his shoulder to leverage, gripping his uniform jacket with her fist, tugging him closer. Crying in pleasure as she came all over him. Levi gripped her hips harder, pounding upwards with everything he had, chasing his own release.

“Nng- Ah-” she complained slightly as his swallowed base teased to finally pop inside. Levi gritted his teeth painfully as he kept gridding upwards, trying to finally put his knot.

Levi couldn’t hold back any longer, reaching forward and biting her harshly over his claiming mark once more. Painful gasp left her lips as she twitched over him. With one final powerful thrust, he buried himself to the hilt inside her tight channel, groaning in pure ecstasy as his climax crashed over him once his knot pressed against her entrance and managed to slip in. His cock twitched violently, spurting hot seed deep within her womb, filling her up completely.

"Ah- yesss!” he cried out, his voice cracking with pleasure. “Fuck, you feel so fucking good.” He kept jerking himself against her, pumping in in vain, unable to pull out, as he kept coming. He held onto her hips tightly, thrusting weakly against her even after he had finished, savouring the feel of being buried inside her. His heart pounded against his chest, and he could feel his breath hitching in his throat as the aftermath washed over him.

Body slacked against the chair, collapsing on it. Hair sticking to each other’s face as both panted heavily trying to catch their breath, chest rising and falling rapidly. Her head buried on the crook of his neck. Then she tilted lightly to the right as his hands softly caressed her face, pushing the sticky locks out of her features. She smiled softly with blushed cheeks and half lidded eyes in satisfaction. Leading forward, sharing a couple of sloppy kisses as they came down the peak.

The once warm light that came through the window had turned coldly as the night slightly slipped in. He felt exhausted yet satisfied, but an uncomfortable whine followed by a hiss left his lips as he felt her move. “Don’t” he warned her, his hand gripping her hips to hold her in place. His knot still locking them together and his cock twitched in overstimulation.

Y/N groaned uncomfortable, “How long does this take?”

“The more you move, the longer it will take,” He said, “Half an hour at least,”

“I’m hungry,” she complained.

“Well… that make two of us,” Levi replied.

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